Binchang Ma¹, Xinhai Yu², Gang Huang^3,*

CMC-Computers, Materials & Continua, Vol.86, No.1, pp. 1-21, 2026, DOI:10.32604/cmc.2025.071320 - 10 November 2025

Abstract Vacancy defects, as fundamental disruptions in metallic lattices, play an important role in shaping the mechanical and electronic properties of aluminum crystals. However, the influence of vacancy position under coupled thermomechanical fields remains insufficiently understood. In this study, transmission and scanning electron microscopy were employed to observe dislocation structures and grain boundary heterogeneities in processed aluminum alloys, suggesting stress concentrations and microstructural inhomogeneities associated with vacancy accumulation. To complement these observations, first-principles calculations and molecular dynamics simulations were conducted for seven single-vacancy configurations in face-centered cubic aluminum. The stress response, total energy, density of states More >

Wenxiang Zhang^1,2, Wenning Cui¹, Juan Huang³, Zhangen Lu¹, Kuijing Liang¹, Lingbao Wang^1,2, Shanshan Wei^1,2, Liran Shi¹, Huifen Li¹, Xiaoli Guo^1,2,*, Jianhui Ma^4,*

Phyton-International Journal of Experimental Botany, Vol.94, No.12, pp. 3893-3912, 2025, DOI:10.32604/phyton.2025.073736 - 29 December 2025

Abstract UDP-glycosyltransferases (UGTs) play essential roles in plant secondary metabolism and stress responses, yet their composition and functions in Sorghum bicolor, a model C4 plant, remain inadequately characterized. This study identified 196 SbUGT genes distributed across all 10 chromosomes and classified them into 16 subfamilies (A–P) through phylogenetic analysis. Among these, 61.2% were intronless, and 10 conserved motifs, including the UGT-specific PSPG box, were identified. Synteny analysis using MCScanX revealed 12 segmental duplication events and conserved syntenic relationships with other Poaceae species (rice, maize, and barley). Promoter analysis uncovered 125 distinct cis-acting elements, predominantly associated with stress and… More >

G. Hao^*, Z. Chen, R. Xian, W. Yifan

Chalcogenide Letters, Vol.22, No.3, pp. 255-260, 2025, DOI:10.15251/CL.2025.223.255

Abstract In present work, Cu₂BaSnS₄(CBTS) nanoparticles are reported solvothermally synthesized. The formation of single-phase trigonal structure of CBTS nanoparticles is confirmed by XRD and Raman spectroscopic analysis. SEM studies reveal that CBTS exhibits flower shaped structure self-assembling by nanosheets with uniform average thickness 30nm. CBTS materials show abroad absorption in the complete visible range, providing a band-gap value of 1.58eV, indicating potential applications in photocvoltaics. The excellent MB degradation efficiency of 93% under visible light within 100min is achieved, suggesting CBTS is a potential material for effective solar light photocatalytic application. Meanwhile, electrical properties are measured up More >

H. R. Shakir^a, O. A. Chichan^b, M. S. Sada^c,*, S. A. Hussein^d, S. S. Chiad^e, N. F. Habubi^f, Y. H. Kadhim^g, M. Jadan^h,i

Chalcogenide Letters, Vol.22, No.1, pp. 77-89, 2025, DOI:10.15251/CL.2025.221.77

Abstract CdS, and CdS: Al were grown onto glass bases via Chemical spray pyrolysis (CSP). XRD analysis of CdS films indicates a polycrystalline hexagonal structure with a predominant orientation of the (101) plane. The strain decreased from 28.55 to 25.66, and the grain size of undoped CdS films was around (13.51–12.14) nm as Al content rose. According to the results of AFM, CdS, CdS:2% Al, and CdS:4% Al all exhibit smooth surfaces with decreasing particle size in the range of (78.46), (69.75), and (42.20) nm, respectively. The root-mean-square roughness values for CdS and CdS:4% Al were… More >

Jo Van Damme¹, Stijn Van Damme², Soffe Struyf¹, Ghislain Opdenakker³

European Cytokine Network, Vol.36, No.1, pp. 6-14, 2025, DOI:10.1684/ecn.2025.0501

Abstract Since their discovery, chemotactic cytokines or chemokines have been intensively studied for about half a century. Chemokines originate from tissue cells, leukocytes, blood platelets and plasma. Here, we review a number of seminal findings on plasma chemokines within an historical and international context. These aspects include how induction and purification protocols led to the discovery of a new family of mediators, named chemokines, on the basis of protein sequencing; how molecular cloning techniques facilitated discoveries of additional family members on the basis of conserved protein structures; how blood plasma and platelets were used as a More >

A. Ledesma-Juárez^a, J. F. Quintero-Guerrero^b, A. M. Fernández^a,*

Chalcogenide Letters, Vol.22, No.2, pp. 97-108, 2025, DOI:10.15251/CL.2025.222.97

Abstract The evaporation technique fabricates solar cells using the Cu(In, Ga)Se₂ (CIGS) absorber. This technique has strong limitations in preparing this absorber in a large area, necessitating the electrodeposition technique. However, the morphology and crystallinity of this absorber need to be sufficiently adequate to guarantee proper collection of charge carriers since a cauliflower-type growth is favored. This underscores the need for modifications during the synthesis, thermal treatments, and post-synthesis to improve the morphology and crystallinity, a complex and significant aspect of our research. This work discusses the structural, atomic composition, morphological, and optical results obtained for samples More >

A. S. Alqarni^a,, S. N. Alamri^b,

Chalcogenide Letters, Vol.22, No.5, pp. 493-506, 2025, DOI:10.15251/CL.2025.225.493

Abstract Abundant and environmentally friendly solar cells materials Cu₂AlSnS₄ (CATS) thin film successively prepared by electron beam deposition system. The impact of various deposition times and post-annealing at 450 °C under nitrogen gas atmosphere on the structures, morphologies, and spectroscopic characteristics of the obtained CATS films were investigated. Both deposition time variation and annealing process were found to significantly affect the crystallinity, bonding vibration, surface morphology, energy band gaps, and Urbach energy of the CATS films. EDX spectra of the films disclosed the existence of all constituents’ elements. XRD analysis of the post-annealed films verified their multiple More >

D. M. A. Latiff, B. A. Ahmed, S. M. Ali, K. A. Jasim^*

Chalcogenide Letters, Vol.22, No.6, pp. 521-528, 2025, DOI:10.15251/CL.2025.226.521

Abstract In this paper, the effect of sulfur substitution by arsenic on the structural, optical properties of thin films of the trivalent chalcogenide Se₆₆S_44-xAs_x at different concentrations (where x = 0, 8, 16, and 24 at %) was studied. Thin films with a thickness of (300±10 nm) were prepared using thermal evaporation of bulk samples. Structural examinations were performed using XRD and AFM techniques. All the studied film samples were amorphous in structure and the intensity of the crystalline parts was high in the range of 10-40. Also, in Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM). It was found that… More >

D. A. Adu-Boadu^a, M. Paal^a, M. B. Mensah^b, I. Nkrumah^a,*, R. Y. Tamakloe^a, F. K. Ampong^a, R. K. Nkum^a, F. Boakye^a

Chalcogenide Letters, Vol.22, No.7, pp. 603-614, 2025, DOI:10.15251/CL.2025.227.603

Abstract Cd_1-xPb_xSe (0≤ x ≤ 1) thin films with values of x = 0, 0.2, 0.4, 0.5 and 1, have been deposited by chemical bath technique for photovoltaic application. The deposition temperature, time and pH of the reactive solutions were 80℃, 150 min and 11 respectively. The XRD results confirmed the polycrystalline nature of all the films. It also showed that all the films exist in face centered cubic structures. There were no pure phases of CdSe and PbSe identified in the XRD results of the ternary compounds. The average grain sizes determined for each sample were… More >

Y. Arooj^a, A. Farhan^b, S. Maqsood^a,c, A. Erum^a, M. Ishaq^d, S. Rafique^a, A. Khalid^b, F. Wazahat^a, M. A. Qamar^e,*

Chalcogenide Letters, Vol.22, No.8, pp. 707-717, 2025, DOI:10.15251/CL.2025.228.707

Abstract Chemical co-precipitation synthesis was used to make pure and zirconium-doped cobalt sulfide (Co3S4) nanoparticles (NPs). Important characterizations such as FTIR, UV-VIS, Raman, PL, SEM, XRD, and four probe methods were used to examine the influence of the Zr (0%, 5%, 10%, 15%, and 20%) doping on optical, electrical, structural, and thermoelectric characteristics of Co₃S₄ NPs. X-ray diffraction and SEM examination verified the cubic structure and grain size of pure and Zr-doped Co₃S₄-NPs. The FTIR spectrum revealed the rotational and vibrational modes linked to the material's surface. The material is optimal for photocatalytic activity with a redshift More >