Lanthanide-enabled nanomaterials with tunable fluorescence are promising for cancer theragnostics. Fluorescence-active, carbon-coated amorphous Yb(OH)₃ nanoparticles with Eu³⁺ or Dy³⁺ ions incorporation were synthesized and evaluated for optical imaging, X-ray contrast enhancement, pH-responsive drug delivery, and Photodynamic therapy within a single theragnostic platform. These nanoparticles were uniform in size (70–88 nm), and showed hydrodynamic diameters ranging from 133 to 182 nm within enhanced permeability and retention effect. Photoluminescence spectra revealed broad emissions from 287 to 466 nm, with Dy³⁺ and Eu³⁺ incorporation enhancing visible fluorescence. Drug loading studies with curcumin achieved high loading capacities (LC 32–35
In this work, Sr-doped Ruddlesden–Popper nickelates, La2-ySryNiO4-δ (y = 0.25, 0.5, and 1.0), are investigated for microwave absorption applications. Tetragonal layered structures are confirmed by X-ray diffraction, while electron paramagnetic resonance and magnetic hysteresis measurements reveal that moderate Sr substitution induces weak ferromagnetic behavior, whereas higher Sr contents suppress magnetic ordering, leading to paramagnetic- or diamagnetic-like characteristics. Among the investigated compositions, the y = 0.25 sample exhibits the best impedance matching (|Zin/Z0| ≈ 1), delivering an ultralow RLmin of − 89 dB at a matching thickness of 0.9 mm and an effective absorption bandwidth of 2.1 GHz in the X-band. In contrast, higher Sr concentrations are associated with reduced dielectric loss and weaker absorption, likely due to changes in defect structure and charge-transport pathways. These results demonstrate that controlled Sr doping effectively tunes electromagnetic dissipation in layered nickelates, highlighting La2-ySryNiO4-δ as a promising candidate for microwave absorption applications.
Palladium diselenide (PdSe2) exhibits a unique anisotropic electronic behavior, high carrier mobility, and layer-dependent indirect-to-direct bandgap transition, positioning it as a versatile material for next-generation 2D device architectures. In this work, we investigated the electrical properties and conduction and relaxation mechanisms of mechanically exfoliated PdSe2 flakes. Raman spectroscopy and AFM were employed to confirm the purity and thickness of the sample. Electrical characterizations, including current-voltage (I-V) measurements and complex impedance spectroscopy (CIS) were performed, revealing crucial information about charge carrier transport mechanisms, contact behavior, and resistive properties. For contact-limited conduction mechanisms, Schottky emission was investigated, and the thermionic emission model was employed to determine the Schottky diode parameters, along with a re-evaluation of Richardson's constant. In bulk-limited conduction mechanisms, the Poole-Frenkel (PF) emission was ascertained with a determination of the dielectric constant. To gain insights into the relaxation mechanisms, complex impedance spectroscopy, complex dielectric permittivity, and complex modulus spectroscopy analyses were conducted. A switching ratio of similar to 102 was achieved, indicating the suitability of PdSe2 for applications in memory devices, neuromorphic computing, and sensing technologies.
This study aims to evaluate the phenotypic and molecular levels of resistance of Triticum aestivum L. (bread wheat) genotypes to leaf rust (Puccinia triticina) and stripe rust (Puccinia striiformis). Increasing climate pressures and the rapid evolution of pathogens threaten wheat production, underscoring the critical role of understanding genetic resistance mechanisms for sustainable solutions. The study evaluated 175 wheat lines sourced from CIMMYT for disease severity and infection type under natural field conditions; subsequently, genome-wide association analysis was used to correlate these phenotypic data with existing molecular markers. The analyses identified four lines resistant to stripe rust, 33 lines resistant to leaf rust, and two lines (no. 69 and 164) resistant to both diseases. One hundred seventy-six marker-trait associations were identified on 19 of 21 chromosomes, particularly on chromosomes 3B, 5B, 7A, and the D genome, with significant p-values (p < 0.001). These QTL regions explain 6.8–27.0
This article investigates the leader-following cluster consensus for generic linear heterogeneous multiagent systems (MASs). Unlike the existing research, a novel event-triggered (ET) control mechanism is designed and developed on the transmission side of the agents, over directed communication topologies, to reduce communication load. For this purpose, a variable threshold function as the fully distributed ET condition (ETC) is suggested, which provides a smooth transition and considers both maximum and minimum threshold levels for triggering. A relative-state feedback-based cluster consensus control protocol is designed by considering the cooperative and competitive interaction behavior of agents. Then, the convergence analysis is performed by utilizing the Lyapunov method. This work is then further extended for the ET observer-based output feedback cluster consensus problem. The proposed ETC naturally eliminates the Zeno behavior for each agent. In contrast to existing methods, a variable threshold-based ET scheme, a cooperation-competition network, and an elimination of Zeno behavior for both state-based and output-based methods have been considered for the leader-following cluster consensus. Finally, illustrative examples are used to validate the theoretical results.
