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Boron carbide is super-strong and has many important engineering applications such as body armor and cutting tools. However, the extended applications of boron carbide have been limited by its low fracture toughness arising from anomalous brittle failure when subjected to hypervelocity impact or under high pressure. This abnormal brittle failure is directly related to the formation of a tiny amorphous shear band of 2–3 nm in width and several hundred nm in length. In this Perspective, we discuss mitigating the amorphous shear bands in boron carbide from various strategies including microalloying, grain boundary engineering, stoichiometry control, and the addition of a second phase. Combined with recent theoretical and experimental studies, we discuss strategies that can be applied in synthesizing and producing boron carbide-based materials with improved ductility by suppressing the formation of the amorphous shear band. 

Extracellular ATP (eATP) is known to act as a danger signal in both plants and animals. In plants, eATP is recognized by the plasma membrane (PM)‐localized receptor P2K1 (LecRK‐I.9). Among the first measurable responses to eATP addition is a rapid rise in cytoplasmic free calcium levels ([Ca²⁺]_cyt), which requires P2K1. However, the specific transporter/channel proteins that mediate this rise in [Ca²⁺]_cytare unknown. Through a forward genetic screen, we identified an Arabidopsis ethylmethanesulfonate (EMS) mutant impaired in the [Ca²⁺]_cytresponse to eATP. Positional cloning revealed that the mutation resided in thecngc6gene, which encodes cyclic nucleotide‐gated ion channel 6 (CNGC6). Mutation of theCNGC6gene led to a notable decrease in the PM inward Ca²⁺current in response to eATP. eATP‐induced mitogen‐activated protein kinase activation and gene expression were also significantly lower incngc6mutant plants. In addition,cngc6mutant plants were also more susceptible to the bacterial pathogenPseudomonas syringae. Taken together, our results indicate that CNGC6 plays a crucial role in mediating eATP‐induced [Ca²⁺]_cytsignaling, as well as plant immunity.

 

The superτ-charm facility (STCF) is an electron–positron collider proposed by the Chinese particle physics community. It is designed to operate in a center-of-mass energy range from 2 to 7 GeV with a peak luminosity of 0.5 × 10³⁵cm⁻²·s⁻¹or higher. The STCF will produce a data sample about a factor of 100 larger than that of the presentτ-charm factory — the BEPCII, providing a unique platform for exploring the asymmetry of matter-antimatter (charge-parity violation), in-depth studies of the internal structure of hadrons and the nature of non-perturbative strong interactions, as well as searching for exotic hadrons and physics beyond the Standard Model. The STCF project in China is under development with an extensive R&D program. This document presents the physics opportunities at the STCF, describes conceptual designs of the STCF detector system, and discusses future plans for detector R&D and physics case studies.