Ultrahigh Energy Storage Performance of BiFeO3-BaTiO3 Flexible Film Capacitor with High-Temperature Stability via Defect Design.

Nanoengineering polar oxide films have attracted great attention in energy storage due to their high energy density. However, most of them are deposited on thick and rigid substrates, which is not conducive to the integration of capacitors and applications in flexible electronics. Here, an alternative strategy using van der Waals epitaxial oxide dielectrics on ultra-thin flexible mica substrates is developed and increased the disorder within the system through high laser flux. The introduction of defects can efficiently weaken or destroy the long-range ferroelectric ordering, ultimately leading to the emergence of a large numbers of weak-coupling regions. Such polarization configuration ensures fast polarization response and significantly improves energy storage characteristics. A flexible BiFeO3-BaTiO3 (BF-BT) capacitor exhibits a total energy density of 43.5 J cm-3 and an efficiency of 66.7% and maintains good energy storage performance over a wide temperature range (20-200 °C) and under large bending deformation (bending radii ≈ 2 mm). This study provides a feasible approach to improve the energy storage characteristics of dielectric oxide films and paves the way for their practical application in high-energy density capacitors.

Phases of (2+1)D SO(5) Nonlinear Sigma Model with a Topological Term on a Sphere: Multicritical Point and Disorder Phase.

Novel critical phenomena beyond the Landau-Ginzburg-Wilson paradigm have been long sought after. Among many candidate scenarios, the deconfined quantum critical point (DQCP) constitutes the most fascinating one, and its lattice model realization has been debated over the past two decades. Here we apply the spherical Landau level regularization upon the exact (2+1)D SO(5) nonlinear sigma model with a topological term to study the potential DQCP therein. We perform a density matrix renormalization group (DMRG) simulation with SU(2)_{spin}×U(1)_{charge}×U(1)_{angular-momentum} symmetries explicitly implemented. Using crossing point analysis for the critical properties of the DMRG data, accompanied by quantum Monte Carlo simulations, we accurately obtain the comprehensive phase diagram of the model and find various novel quantum phases, including Néel, ferromagnet (FM), valence bond solid (VBS), valley polarized (VP) states and a gapless quantum disordered phase occupying an extended area of the phase diagram. The VBS-disorder and Néel-disorder transitions are continuous with non-Wilson-Fisher exponents. Our results show the VBS and Néel states are separated by either a weakly first-order transition or the disordered region with a multicritical point in between, thus opening up more interesting questions on the two-decade long debate on the nature of the DQCP.

Thermodynamic Response and Neutral Excitations in Integer and Fractional Quantum Anomalous Hall States Emerging from Correlated Flat Bands.

Integer and fractional Chern insulators have been extensively explored in correlated flat band models. Recently, the prediction and experimental observation of fractional quantum anomalous Hall (FQAH) states with spontaneous time-reversal symmetry breaking have garnered attention. While the thermodynamics of integer quantum anomalous Hall (IQAH) states have been systematically studied, our theoretical knowledge on thermodynamic properties of FQAH states has been severely limited. Here, we delve into the general thermodynamic response and collective excitations of both IQAH and FQAH states within the paradigmatic flat Chern-band model with remote band considered. Our key findings include (i) in both ν=1 IQAH and ν=1/3 FQAH states, even without spin fluctuations, the charge-neutral collective excitations would lower the onset temperature of these topological states, to a value significantly smaller than the charge gap, due to band mixing and multiparticle scattering; (ii) by employing large-scale thermodynamic simulations in FQAH states in the presence of strong interband mixing between C=±1 bands, we find that the lowest collective excitations manifest as the zero-momentum excitons in the IQAH state, whereas in the FQAH state, they take the form of magnetorotons with finite momentum; (iii) the unique charge oscillations in FQAH states are exhibited with distinct experimental signatures, which we propose to detect in future experiments.

2D Janus Polarization Functioned by Mechanical Force.

2D polarization materials have emerged as promising candidates for meeting the demands of device miniaturization, attributed to their unique electronic configurations and transport characteristics. Although the existing inherent and sliding mechanisms are increasingly investigated in recent years, strategies for inducing 2D polarization with innovative mechanisms remain rare. This study introduces a novel 2D Janus state by modulating the puckered structure. Combining scanning probe microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and density functional theory calculations, this work realizes force-triggered out-of-plane and in-plane dipoles with distorted smaller warping in GeSe. The Janus state is preserved after removing the external mechanical perturbation, which could be switched by modulating the sliding direction. This work offers a versatile method to break the space inversion symmetry in a 2D system to trigger polarization in the atomic scale, which may open an innovative insight into configuring novel 2D polarization materials.

Spatial evolution of the proton-coupled Mott transition in correlated oxides for neuromorphic computing.

The proton-electron coupling effect induces rich spectrums of electronic states in correlated oxides, opening tempting opportunities for exploring novel devices with multifunctions. Here, via modest Pt-aided hydrogen spillover at room temperature, amounts of protons are introduced into SmNiO3-based devices. In situ structural characterizations together with first-principles calculation reveal that the local Mott transition is reversibly driven by migration and redistribution of the predoped protons. The accompanying giant resistance change results in excellent memristive behaviors under ultralow electric fields. Hierarchical tree-like memory states, an instinct displayed in bio-synapses, are further realized in the devices by spatially varying the proton concentration with electric pulses, showing great promise in artificial neural networks for solving intricate problems. Our research demonstrates the direct and effective control of proton evolution using extremely low electric field, offering an alternative pathway for modifying the functionalities of correlated oxides and constructing low-power consumption intelligent devices and neural network circuits.

DNMT1-mediated epigenetic suppression of FBXO32 expression promoting cyclin dependent kinase 9 (CDK9) survival and esophageal cancer cell growth.

Esophageal cancer (EC) is a common and serious form of cancer, and while DNA methyltransferase-1 (DNMT1) promotes DNA methylation and carcinogenesis, the role of F-box protein 32 (FBXO32) in EC and its regulation by DNMT1-mediated methylation is still unclear. FBXO32 expression was examined in EC cells with high DNMT1 expression using GSE163735 dataset. RT-qPCR assessed FBXO32 expression in normal and EC cells, and impact of higher FBXO32 expression on cell proliferation, migration, and invasion was evaluated, along with EMT-related proteins. The xenograft model established by injecting EC cells transfected with FBXO32 was used to evaluate tumor growth, apoptosis, and tumor cells proliferation and metastasis. Chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) assay was employed to study the interaction between DNMT1 and FBXO32. HitPredict, co-immunoprecipitation (Co-IP), and Glutathione-S-transferase (GST) pulldown assay analyzed the interaction between FBXO32 and cyclin dependent kinase 9 (CDK9). Finally, the ubiquitination assay identified CDK9 ubiquitination, and its half-life was measured using cycloheximide and confirmed through western blotting. DNMT1 negatively correlated with FBXO32 expression in esophageal cells. High FBXO32 expression was associated with better overall survival in patients. Knockdown of DNMT1 in EC cells increased FBXO32 expression and suppressed malignant phenotypes. FBXO32 repressed EC tumor growth and metastasis in mice. Enrichment of DNMT1 in FBXO32 promoter region led to increased DNA methylation and reduced transcription. Mechanistically, FBXO32 degraded CDK9 through promoting its ubiquitination.

Family obligation in Chinese adolescents: Consequences and parental antecedents.

Adolescents' family obligation is a cultural strength that shows enduring prevalence in China. Given that the meaning of family obligation has undergone rapid changes in recent decades, it is crucial to examine the role of family obligation in adolescent adjustment in contemporary China. More importantly, although past research has investigated the consequences of family obligation on adolescents' adjustment, little is known about the antecedents of Chinese adolescents' family obligation. Using a two-wave longitudinal sample of 450 Chinese adolescents (mean age = 13.78 years, SD = .71 years; 49% female) and their parents, the current research explored two questions. First, this study examined the role of family obligation in adolescents' academic achievement, externalizing problems, and internalizing problems over early adolescence. Second, this study explored the role of parents in predicting Chinese adolescents' family obligation, specifically whether parental expectations or parental acceptance was predictive of adolescents' family obligation over time. Third, this study investigated whether family obligation is an underlying mechanism between parenting and Chinese adolescents' adjustment. Results showed that Chinese adolescents' family obligation was longitudinally associated with increased academic achievement and reduced externalizing problems. Moreover, perceived parental acceptance, but not parental expectations, was longitudinally associated with Chinese adolescents' greater family obligation. Notably, family obligation mediated the longitudinal effect of parental acceptance on Chinese adolescents' externalizing problems. By studying both the consequences and antecedents of Chinese adolescents' family obligation, this study helps provide a comprehensive understanding of this cultural strength.

Ultrasensitive detection of tyrosinase with click reaction-combined dark-field imaging platform.

Tyrosinase (TYR) is an essential oxidase that is responsible for the regulation of multiple physiological processes and diseases. Achieving the trace and reliable detection of TYR in complex biological samples is of great significance for the diagnosis of TYR-related diseases, but which faces a great challenge. In this study, we developed an ingenious and powerful method for the ultrasensitive detection of TYR by click reaction-combined dark-field microscopy. This method begins with the formation of cuprous ions (Cu+) based on the reduction of copper ions (Cu2+) by ascorbic acid (AA). Subsequently, the formed Cu+ can catalyze the crosslinking between azide- and alkyne-functionalized gold nanoparticles, causing a significant red-shift in the scattering spectrum. However, AA can chelate with TYR, which inhibits the generation of Cu+ and subsequent click reaction, thus achieving TYR-controlled scattering spectral shift. The proposed sensing platform shows a good linear detection range of 0.01-0.8 U/L with a low detection limit of 0.003 U/L, which is three orders of magnitude lower than the best performance of TYR sensing probes reported to date. Most importantly, the strategy has the ability to reliably and accurately detect TYR in serum sample, suggesting its potential clinical application in diagnosing TYR-related diseases. This visual sensing platform offers promising prospects for future research in enzymatic analysis and biomedical diagnostics.

Effects of Voice Pitch on Social Perceptions Vary With Relational Mobility and Homicide Rate.

Fundamental frequency ( fo) is the most perceptually salient vocal acoustic parameter, yet little is known about how its perceptual influence varies across societies. We examined how fo affects key social perceptions and how socioecological variables modulate these effects in 2,647 adult listeners sampled from 44 locations across 22 nations. Low male fo increased men's perceptions of formidability and prestige, especially in societies with higher homicide rates and greater relational mobility in which male intrasexual competition may be more intense and rapid identification of high-status competitors may be exigent. High female fo increased women's perceptions of flirtatiousness where relational mobility was lower and threats to mating relationships may be greater. These results indicate that the influence of fo on social perceptions depends on socioecological variables, including those related to competition for status and mates.

Three reasons why parental burnout is more prevalent in individualistic countries: a mediation study in 36 countries.

PURPOSE: The prevalence of parental burnout, a condition that has severe consequences for both parents and children, varies dramatically across countries and is highest in Western countries characterized by high individualism. METHOD: In this study, we examined the mediators of the relationship between individualism measured at the country level and parental burnout measured at the individual level in 36 countries (16,059 parents). RESULTS: The results revealed three mediating mechanisms, that is, self-discrepancies between socially prescribed and actual parental selves, high agency and self-directed socialization goals, and low parental task sharing, by which individualism leads to an increased risk of burnout among parents. CONCLUSION: The results confirm that the three mediators under consideration are all involved, and that mediation was higher for self-discrepancies between socially prescribed and actual parental selves, then parental task sharing, and lastly self-directed socialization goals. The results provide some important indications of how to prevent parental burnout at the societal level in Western countries.

Aqueous Solution Enhanced Room Temperature Phosphorescence through Coordination-Induced Structural Rigidity.

Achieving aqueous solution enhanced room temperature phosphorescence (RTP) is critical for the applications of RTP materials in solution phase, but which faces a great challenge. Herein, for the first time, a strategy of coordination-induced structural rigidity is proposed to achieve enhanced quantum efficiency of aluminum/scandium-doped phosphorescent microcubes (Al/Sc-PMCs) in aqueous solution. The Al/Sc-PMCs in a dry state exhibit a nearly invisible blue RTP. However, they emit a strong RTP emission in aqueous solution with a RTP intensity increase of up to 22.16-times, which is opposite to common solution-quenched RTP. The RTP enhancement mechanism is attributed to the abundant metal sites (Al3+ and Sc3+ ions) on the Al/Sc-PMCs surface that can tightly combine with water molecules through the strong coordination. Subsequently, these coordinated water molecules as the bridging agent can bind with surface groups by hydrogen bonding interaction, thereby rigidifying chemical groups and inhibiting their motions, resulting in the transition from the nonradiative decay to the radiative decay, which greatly enhances the RTP efficiency of the Al/Sc-PMCs. This work not only develops a coordination rigidity strategy to enhance RTP intensity in aqueous solution, but also constructs a phosphorescent probe to achieve reliable and accurate determination of analyte in complex biological matrices.

Inferring Causal Relationships Between Metabolites and Polycystic Ovary Syndrome Using Summary Statistics from Genome­Wide Association Studies.

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a disorder characterized by hyperandrogenism, ovulatory dysfunction, and polycystic ovarian morphology. Previous studies have suggested that metabolites may play a pivotal mediating role in the progression of phenotypic variations. Although several metabolites had been identified as potential markers for PCOS, the relationship between blood metabolites and PCOS was not comprehensively explored. Previously, Pickrell et al. designed a robust approach to infer evidence of a causal relationship between different phenotypes using independently putative causal SNPs. Our previous paper extended this approach to make it more suitable for cases where only a few independently putative causal SNPs were identified to be significantly associated with the phenotypes (i.e., metabolites). When the most significant SNPs in each independent locus (the independent lead SNPs) with p-values of < 1 × 10-5 were used, 3 metabolites (2-tetradecenoyl carnitine, threitol, 1-docosahexaenoylglycerophosphocholine) causally influencing PCOS and 2 metabolites (asparagine and phenyllactate) influenced by PCOS were identified, (relative likelihood r < 0.01). Under a less stringent threshold of r < 0.05, 7 metabolites (trans-4-hydroxyproline, glutaroyl carnitine, stachydrine, undecanoate, 7-Hoca, N-acetylalanine and 2-hydroxyisobutyrate) were identified. Taken together, this study can provide novel insights into the pathophysiological mechanisms underlying PCOS; whether these metabolites can serve as biomarkers to predict PCOS in clinical practice warrants further investigations.

Cultural values, parenting, and child adjustment in China.

To examine whether parents' cultural values are related to parenting practices and children's behavioural adjustment, mothers, fathers and children (N = 218) from two cities in China (Jinan and Shanghai) were interviewed when children were, on average, 10 years old. Mothers and fathers reported their endorsement of cultural values (individualism, collectivism, conformity), which were used to separately predict warmth and family obligation expectations reported by each parent, as well as children's report of parental psychological control, rule setting, knowledge solicitation and perceived family obligation expectations. Cross-informant (parents and child) composites of internalising and externalising behaviours were also obtained. The results showed that maternal individualism positively predicted parents' knowledge solicitation. Parental collectivism positively predicted their own warmth and family obligation expectations. Mothers' conformity positively predicted mothers' family obligation expectations, paternal warmth and children's perception of family obligation, whereas fathers' conformity only positively predicted fathers' family obligation expectations. These effects were largely consistent across regional subsamples, although mothers in Jinan were more collectivistic than mothers in Shanghai, and parents in Shanghai adopted less psychological control and more knowledge solicitation in parenting.

Spatiotemporal Controlled Formation of Synthetic Nanoreactors in Single Living Cells.

Cellular compartments provide confined environments for spatiotemporal control of biological processes and enzymatic reactions. To mimic such compartmentalization of eukaryotic cells, we report an efficient and general platform to precisely control the formation of artificial nanoreactors in single living cells. We introduce an electroosmotic controlled strategy for the synthesis of ZIF-8 at the nanoscale liquid-liquid interface around the tip of a nanopipet, whereby the formed ZIF-8 nanoparticles are driven into a single living cell by the electroosmotic flow. The porous ZIF-8 nanoparticles, as synthetic nanoreactors, are not only able to harvest fluorescent molecules from peripheral cytoplasm but also perform the subsequent photocatalytic degradation, mimicking compartmentalized chemical reactions in eukaryotic cells. Our strategy provides a useful tool for spatiotemporal controlled synthesis of artificial nanoreactors with on-demand functions in single living cells with versatile applications in chemical biology.

Schiff Base Reaction in a Living Cell: In Situ Synthesis of a Hollow Covalent Organic Polymer To Regulate Biological Functions.

Artificially performing chemical reactions in living biosystems to attain various physiological aims remains an intriguing but very challenging task. In this study, the Schiff base reaction was conducted in cells using Sc(OTf)3 as a catalyst, enabling the in situ synthesis of a hollow covalent organic polymer (HCOP) without external stimuli. The reversible Schiff base reaction mediated intracellular Oswald ripening endows the HCOP with a spherical, hollow porous structure and a large specific surface area. The intracellularly generated HCOP reduced cellular motility by restraining actin polymerization, which consequently induced mitochondrial deactivation, apoptosis, and necroptosis. The presented intracellular synthesis system inspired by the Schiff base reaction has strong potential to regulate cell fate and biological functions, opening up a new strategic possibility for intervening in cellular behavior.

What Motivates Chinese Mothers' Involvement in Adolescents' Learning? Longitudinal Investigation on the Role of Mothers' Expectations of Adolescents' Family Obligations and Adolescents' Academic Performance.

(1) Background: Parental involvement in adolescents' learning generally benefits adolescents' development, thus highlighting the importance of investigating why parents involve. Specifically, Chinese parents are highly involved in adolescents' learning, which may be explained by their cultural beliefs. This longitudinal study provided a novel cultural understanding of the antecedents of Chinese mothers' involvement in adolescents' learning by examining the predicting effect of their expectations of adolescents' family obligations over time, with attention to how adolescents' academic performance moderated such effect. (2) Methods: Chinese mothers (N = 450; Mage = 39.52 years, SD = 3.96) of middle-school adolescents reported on their expectations of adolescents' family obligations at Wave 1 and their involvement in adolescents' learning twice over six months. Adolescents' academic performance (i.e., grade) was obtained from teachers. (3) Results: Chinese mothers who had greater expectations of adolescents' family obligations were involved more in adolescents' learning over time. Moreover, adolescents' academic performance moderated this longitudinal association, such that mothers' expectations only predicted their greater involvement among adolescents with high, but not low, academic performance. (4) Conclusions: These findings highlight the cultural understanding of parents' beliefs that motivate their involvement in adolescents' learning in a non-Western society, as well as the moderating role of adolescents' characteristics.

Amperometric Identification of Single Exosomes and Their Dopamine Contents Secreted by Living Cells.

Dopamine (DA) is an important neurotransmitter, which not only participates in the regulation of neural processes but also plays critical roles in tumor progression and immunity. However, direct identification of DA-containing exosomes, as well as quantification of DA in single vesicles, is still challenging. Here, we report a nanopipette-assisted method to detect single exosomes and their dopamine contents via amperometric measurement. The resistive-pulse current measured can simultaneously provide accurate information of vesicle translocation and DA contents in single exosomes. Accordingly, DA-containing exosomes secreted from HeLa and PC12 cells under different treatment modes successfully detected the DA encapsulation efficiency and the amount of exosome secretion that distinguish between cell types. Furthermore, a custom machine learning model was constructed to classify the exosome signals from different sources, with an accuracy of more than 99%. Our strategy offers a useful tool for investigating single exosomes and their DA contents, which facilitates the analysis of DA-containing exosomes derived from other untreated or stimulated cells and may open up a new insight to the research of DA biology.

Fermion Disorder Operator at Gross-Neveu and Deconfined Quantum Criticalities.

The fermion disorder operator has been shown to reveal the entanglement information in 1D Luttinger liquids and 2D free and interacting Fermi and non-Fermi liquids emerging at quantum critical points (QCPs) [W. Jiang et al., arXiv:2209.07103]. Here we study, by means of large-scale quantum Monte Carlo simulation, the scaling behavior of the disorder operator in correlated Dirac systems. We first demonstrate the logarithmic scaling behavior of the disorder operator at the Gross-Neveu (GN) chiral Ising and Heisenberg QCPs, where consistent conformal field theory (CFT) content of the GN-QCP in its coefficient is found. Then we study a 2D monopole-free deconfined quantum critical point (DQCP) realized between a quantum-spin Hall insulator and a superconductor. Our data point to negative values of the logarithmic coefficients such that the DQCP does not correspond to a unitary CFT. Density matrix renormalization group calculations of the disorder operator on a 1D DQCP model also detect emergent continuous symmetries.

A tale of two cities: Chinese mothers' parental burnout and parenting behaviors in Shanghai and Nanning.

PURPOSE: Parental burnout is a psychological syndrome that develops in response to the chronic stressors in one's role as a parent. It can be detrimental to the health and wellbeing of both parents and children and has been empirically proven to result in more negative parenting behaviours. Based on recent research, parental burnout is more prevalent in individualistic cultures. Considering that parenting norms and practices vary greatly across cultures, there could be different effects of parental burnout on parenting practices in different areas. The present study aimed to determine the relationship between parental burnout and parenting behaviours in Shanghai and Nanning, two cities in China that differ in the extent to which they have been exposed to the cultural influence of Western individualism, and to examine the moderating effect of city on these relationship patterns. METHODS: Three hundred and sixty-eight mothers in Shanghai and 180 mothers in Nanning took part in the survey. RESULTS: On average, mothers in Shanghai had more severe parental burnout than their counterparts in Nanning. Furthermore, parental burnout was associated with positive parenting behaviours (i.e., parental warmth) and negative parenting behaviours (i.e., parental hostility and neglect), and the associations between parental burnout and negative parenting behaviours in Nanning were greater than in Shanghai. CONCLUSIONS: These results can be explained by cultural differences in individualism and collectivism between Shanghai and Nanning. This study extends the knowledge on the role of culture in shaping parental roles.