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Phase-change materials (PCMs) play a pivotal role in the development of advanced thermal devices due to their reversible phase transitions, which drastically modify their thermal and optical properties. In this study, we present an effective dynamic thermal transistor with an asymmetric design that employs distinct PCMs, vanadium dioxide (VO2), and germanium antimony telluride (GST), on either side of the gate terminal, which is the center of the control unit of the near-field thermal transistor. This asymmetry introduces unique thermal modulation capabilities, taking control of thermal radiation in the near-field regime. VO2 transitions from an insulating to a metallic state, while GST undergoes a reversible switch between amorphous and crystalline phases, each inducing substantial changes in thermal transport properties. By strategically combining these materials, the transistor exhibits enhanced functionality, dynamically switching between states of absorbing and releasing heat by tuning the temperature of gate. This gate terminal not only enables active and efficient thermal management but also provides effective opportunities for manipulating heat flow in radiative thermal circuits. Our findings highlight the potential of such asymmetrically structured thermal transistors in advancing applications across microelectronics, high-speed data processing, and sustainable energy systems, where precise and responsive thermal control is critical for performance and efficiency. 

Comparative evaporation rate testing in a dark environment, commonly used to characterize a reduced vaporization enthalpy in interfacial solar evaporators, requires the assumption of equal energy input between cases. However, this assumption is not generally valid, leading to misleading characterization results. Interfacial evaporators yield larger evaporation rates in dark conditions due to enlarged liquid-vapor surface areas, resulting in increased evaporative cooling and larger environmental temperature differentials. Theoretical and experimental evidence is provided, which shows that these temperature differences invalidate the equal energy input assumption. The results indicate that differences in evaporation rates correspond to energy input variations, without requiring enthalpy to be reduced below theoretical values. These findings offer alternative explanations for previous claims of reduced vaporization enthalpy and contradict enthalpy-related conclusions drawn from differential scanning calorimetry. We conclude that postulating a reduced vaporization enthalpy using the dark environment method is inaccurate and that re-evaluation of vaporization enthalpy reduction is required. 

Abstract BackgroundThe La-related proteins (LARPs) are a superfamily of RNA-binding proteins associated with regulation of gene expression. Evidence points to an important role for post-transcriptional control of gene expression in germinating pollen tubes, which could be aided by RNA-binding proteins. ResultsIn this study, a genome-wide investigation of the LARP proteins in eight plant species was performed. The LARP proteins were classified into three families based on a phylogenetic analysis. The gene structure, conserved motifs,cis-acting elements in the promoter, and gene expression profiles were investigated to provide a comprehensive overview of the evolutionary history and potential functions ofZmLARPgenes in maize. Moreover,ZmLARP6c1was specifically expressed in pollen and ZmLARP6c1 was localized to the nucleus and cytoplasm in maize protoplasts. Overexpression ofZmLARP6c1enhanced the percentage pollen germination compared with that of wild-type pollen. In addition, transcriptome profiling analysis revealed that differentially expressed genes includedPABPhomologous genes and genes involved in jasmonic acid and abscisic acid biosynthesis, metabolism, signaling pathways and response in aZmlarp6c1::Dsmutant andZmLARP6c1-overexpression line compared with the corresponding wild type. ConclusionsThe findings provide a basis for further evolutionary and functional analyses, and provide insight into the critical regulatory function ofZmLARP6c1in maize pollen germination. 

Passive radiative cooling materials are widely recognized as attractive innovations for reducing emissions and expanding life-saving cooling access. Despite immense research attention, the adoption of such technologies is limited largely due to a lack of scalability and cost compatibility with market needs. While paint and coating-based approaches offer a more sensible solution, many demonstrations suffer from issues such as a low solar reflectance performance or a lack of material sustainability due to the use of harmful solvents. In this work, we demonstrate a passive radiative cooling paint which achieves an extremely high solar reflectance value of 98% using a completely water-based formulation. Material sustainability is promoted by incorporating size-dispersed calcium phosphate biomaterials, which offer broadband solar reflectance, as well as a self-crosslinking water-based binder, providing water resistance and durability without introducing harmful materials. Common industry pigments are integrated within the binder for comparison, illustrating the benefit of finely-tuned particle size distributions for broadband solar reflectance, even in low-refractive-index materials such as calcium phosphates. With scalability, outdoor durability, and eco-friendly materials, this demonstrated paint offers a practical passive radiative cooling approach without exacerbating other environmental issues. 

Evolution is an important part of biology education, but many college biology students do not accept important components of evolution, like the evolution of humans. Practices that reduce perceived conflict between religion and evolution have been proposed to increase student evolution acceptance. This study investigates college student experiences of conflict reducing practices in evolution education and how these experiences are related to their gains in acceptance of human evolution during evolution instruction. We measured the natural variation in student experiences of conflict reducing practices among 6,719 college biology students in 55 courses and 14 states including (1) their experiences of an instructor demonstrating religion-evolutioncompatibilityby presenting examples of religious leaders and scientists who accept evolution and (2) their experiences of an instructor emphasizing students’autonomyin their own decision to accept evolution or not. We also measured student acceptance of human evolution before and after instruction so that we could test whether any changes in evolution acceptance were associated with student experiences of the conflict reducing practices. Linear mixed models showed that highly religious Christian students accepted evolution more when they perceived more compatibility practices. Further, students from all religious and non-religious affiliations accepted human evolution more after instruction when they perceived more autonomy practices. These results indicate that integrating examples of religion compatibility in evolution education will positively impact Christian students’ views on evolution and that emphasizing students’ autonomy over their decision to accept evolution may be important for students more broadly. If instructors incorporate practices that emphasize compatibility and one’s personal choice to accept or not accept evolution, then these results suggest that students will leave their college biology classes accepting evolution more. Perhaps by using more conflict reducing practices, instructors can help increase evolution acceptance levels that have remained low in the United States for decades.