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Abstract Commodity aliphatic and aromatic acrylic‐based copolymers self‐heal due to ubiquitouskey‐and‐lock,ring‐and‐lock, andfluorophilic‐σ‐lockvan der Waals (vdW) interactions. However, the role of these interactions in the presence of covalently copolymerized ionic liquid (IL) is not known. This study is driven by the hypothesis that covalently incorporated cation–anion pairs to form poly(ionic liquid) copolymers (PILCs) can perturb inter‐ or intra‐chain vdW interactions reflected in mechanical and electrical responses. To test this hypothesis, we synthesized a series of PILCs comprising of pentafluorostyrene (PFS) and imidazolium‐based IL monomers with variable‐length aliphatic tails (methyl and butyl). Using a combination of 2D¹H‐¹H and¹⁹F ‐¹⁹F NOESY NMR and FTIR measurements supplemented by molecular dynamic (MD) simulations, these studies demonstrate that preferentially alternating/random PILCs topologies facilitate self‐healing. The introduction of cation–anion moieties modifies thefluorophilic‐σ‐lockinteractions and, along with longer aliphatic tails ─(CH₂)₃CH₃covalently attached to the imidazolium cation, enhances cation‐anion mobility, thus faster recovery from mechanical damage occurs. These findings underline how precise control over dipolar and ionic interactions through copolymer composition enables self‐healing in PILCs. These insights may open pathways for designing sustainable, mechanically resilient materials for applications in energy storage and energy harvesting. 

Many materials exhibit static and functional properties. 

Unclonable cryptography utilizes the principles of quantum mechanics to addresses cryptographic tasks that are impossible classically. We introduce a novel unclonable primitive in the context of secret sharing, called unclonable secret sharing (USS). In a USS scheme, there are n shareholders, each holding a share of a classical secret represented as a quantum state. They can recover the secret once all parties (or at least t parties) come together with their shares. Importantly, it should be infeasible to copy their own shares and send the copies to two non-communicating parties, enabling both of them to recover the secret. Our work initiates a formal investigation into the realm of unclonable secret sharing, shedding light on its implications, constructions, and inherent limitations. Connections: We explore the connections between USS and other quantum cryptographic primitives such as unclonable encryption and position verification, showing the difficulties to achieve USS in different scenarios. Limited Entanglement: In the case where the adversarial shareholders do not share any entanglement or limited entanglement, we demonstrate information-theoretic constructions for USS. Large Entanglement: If we allow the adversarial shareholders to have unbounded entanglement resources (and unbounded computation), we prove that unclonable secret sharing is impossible. On the other hand, in the quantum random oracle model where the adversary can only make a bounded polynomial number of queries, we show a construction secure even with unbounded entanglement. Furthermore, even when these adversaries possess only a polynomial amount of entanglement resources, we establish that any unclonable secret sharing scheme with a reconstruction function implementable using Cliffords and logarithmically many T-gates is also unattainable. 

It is well-established that interfaces play critical roles in biological and synthetic processes. Aside from significant practical applications, the most accessible and measurable quantity is interfacial tension, which represents a measure of the energy required to create or rejoin two surfaces. Owing to the fact that interfacial processes are critical in polymeric materials, this review outlines recent advances in dynamic interfacial processes involving physics and chemistry targeting self-healing. Entropic interfacial energies stored during damage participate in the recovery, and self-healing depends upon copolymer composition and monomer sequence, monomer molar ratios, molecular weight, and polymer dispersity. These properties ultimately impact chain flexibility, shape-memory recovery, and interfacial interactions. Self-healing is a localized process with global implications on mechanical and other properties. Selected examples driven by interfacial flow and shape memory effects are discussed in the context of covalent and supramolecular rebonding targeting self-healable materials development. 

Abstract NONEXPRESSER OF PATHOGENESIS-RELATED GENES 1 (NPR1) is the master regulator of salicylic acid-mediated basal and systemic acquired resistance in plants. Here, we report that NPR1 plays a pivotal role in restricting compatible infection by turnip mosaic virus, a member of the largest plant RNA virus genus Potyvirus , and that such resistance is counteracted by NUCLEAR INCLUSION B (NIb), the viral RNA-dependent RNA polymerase. We demonstrate that NIb binds to the SUMO-interacting motif 3 (SIM3) of NPR1 to prevent SUMO3 interaction and sumoylation, while sumoylation of NIb by SUMO3 is not essential but can intensify the NIb–NPR1 interaction. We discover that the interaction also impedes the phosphorylation of NPR1 at Ser11/Ser15. Moreover, we show that targeting NPR1 SIM3 is a conserved ability of NIb from diverse potyviruses. These data reveal a molecular “arms race” by which potyviruses deploy NIb to suppress NPR1-mediated resistance through disrupting NPR1 sumoylation. 

Here, we discuss a model for the quasi-static magnetoelectric (ME) interaction in three-layer composites consisting of a single piezoelectric (PE) layer and two magnetostrictive (MS) layers with positive and negative magnetostriction. Two types of layer arrangements are considered: Type 1: a sandwich structure with the PE layer between the two MS layers and Type 2: the two MS layers form the adjacent layers. Expressions for the ME response are obtained using the system of equations of elasto- and electrostatics for the PE and MS phases. The contributions from longitudinal and bending vibrations to the net ME response are considered. The theory is applied for trilayers consisting of lead zirconate titanate (PZT), nickel for negative magnetostriction, and Metglas for positive magnetostriction. Estimates of the dependence of the strength of the ME response on the thickness of the three layers are provided. It is shown that the asymmetric three-layer structures of both types lead to an increase in the strength of ME interactions by almost an order of magnitude compared to a two-layer piezoelectric-magnetostrictive structure. The model predicts a much stronger ME response in Type 2 structures than in Type 1. The theory discussed here is of importance for designing composites for applications such as magnetic field sensors, gyrators, and energy harvesters. 

One of the primary research challenges in Attribute-Based Encryption (ABE) is constructing and proving cryptosystems that are adaptively secure. To date the main paradigm for achieving adaptive security in ABE is dual system encryption. However, almost all such solutions in bilinear groups rely on (variants of) either the subgroup decision problem over composite order groups or the decision linear assumption. Both of these assumptions are decisional rather than search assumptions and the target of the assumption is a source or bilinear group element. This is in contrast to earlier selectively secure ABE systems which can be proven secure from either the decisional or search Bilinear Diffie-Hellman assumption. In this work we make progress on closing this gap by giving a new ABE construction for the subset functionality and prove security under the Search Bilinear Diffie-Hellman assumption. We first provide a framework for proving adaptive security in Attribute-Based Encryption systems. We introduce a concept of ABE with deletable attributes where any party can take a ciphertext encrypted under the attribute string and modify it into a ciphertext encrypted under any string where is derived by replacing any bits of with symbols (i.e. ``deleting" attributes of ). The semantics of the system are that any private key for a circuit can be used to decrypt a ciphertext associated with if none of the input bits read by circuit are symbols and . We show a pathway for combining ABE with deletable attributes with constrained psuedorandom functions to obtain adaptively secure ABE building upon the recent work of Tsabary. Our new ABE system will be adaptively secure and be a ciphertext-policy ABE that supports the same functionality as the underlying constrained PRF as long as the PRF is ``deletion conforming". Here we also provide a simple constrained PRF construction that gives subset functionality. Our approach enables us to access a broader array of Attribute-Based Encryption schemes support deletion of attributes. For example, we show that both the Goyal~et al.~(GPSW) and Boyen ABE schemes can trivially handle a deletion operation. And, by using a hardcore bit variant of GPSW scheme we obtain an adaptively secure ABE scheme under the Search Bilinear Diffie-Hellman assumption in addition to pseudo random functions in NC1. This gives the first adaptively secure ABE from a search assumption as all prior work relied on decision assumptions over source group elements. 

A model for the low-frequency magnetoelectric (ME) effect that takes into consideration the bending deformation in a ferromagnetic and ferroelectric bilayer is presented. Past models, in general, ignored the influence of bending deformation. Based on the solution of the equations of the elastic theory and electrostatics, expressions for the ME voltage coefficients (MEVCs) and ME sensitivity coefficients (MESCs) in terms of the physical parameters of the materials and the geometric characteristic of the structure were obtained. Contributions from both bending and planar deformations were considered. The theory was applied to composites of PZT and Ni with negative magnetostriction, and Permendur, or Metglas, both with positive magnetostriction. Estimates of MEVCs and MESCs indicate that the contribution from bending deformation is significant but smaller than the contribution from planar deformations, leading to a reduction in the net ME coefficients in all the three bilayer systems.