IFT trains overcome an NPHP module barrier at the transition zone

Cilia harbor diffusion barriers for soluble and membrane proteins within their proximal-most transition zone (TZ) region and employ an intraflagellar transport (IFT) system to form dynamic motile and signaling compartments. In this issue, De-Castro and colleagues (2021. J. Cell Biol.https://doi.org/10.1083/jcb.202010178) uncover a long-suspected role for the TZ in gating IFT particles.

Comparison of CrN, AlN and TiN Diffusion Barriers on the Interdiffusion and Oxidation Behaviors of Ni+CrAlYSiN Nanocomposite Coatings

CrN, AlN, TiN layer were prepared as diffusion barriers between the K417 substrate and Ni+CrAlYSiN nano composite coatings via vacuum arc evaporation. Oxidation kinetics and microstructure evaluation of these nano coating systems at 1000 °C after 100 h were studied. Results show that the AlN layer showed good thermodynamic stability, effectively inhibited the interdiffusion between the coating and the substrate, improved the oxidation resistance of Ni+CrAlYSiN nano composite coatings, and a single-layer Al2O3 film was formed on the coating. The CrN layer was decomposed, which did not block the diffusion of elements and had little effect on the oxidation resistance of the Ni+CrAlYSiN nano composite coating. The TiN layer effectively prevented the interdiffusion between the coating and the substrate. However, it deteriorated the oxidation resistance of the composite coating. Similar to the Ni+CrAlYSiN coating without a diffusion barrier, a double-layer oxide film structure with Al2O3 as the inner layer and Ni(Al,Cr)2O4 as the outer layer formed on the Ni+CrAlYSiN nano composite coatings with the CrN or TiN diffusion barrier.