Room-temperature ferromagnetism, half-metallicity and spin transport in monolayer CrSc2Te4-based magnetic tunnel junction devices.

The discovery of novel two-dimensional (2D) half-metallic materials with a robust ferromagnetic (FM) order and a high Curie temperature (Tc) is attractive for the advancement of next-generation spintronic devices. Here, we propose a monolayer with stable 2D intrinsic FM half-metallicity, i.e., the CrSc2Te4 monolayer, which was constructed by intercalating a monolayer of 1T-CrTe2-type sandwiched between two layers of 2H-ScTe2 monolayers. Our calculations reveal that it exhibits exceptional dynamical, thermal, and mechanical stabilities accompanied by a robust half-metallicity characterized by a wide bandgap of 1.02 eV and FM ordering with a high Tc of 326 K. Notably, these properties remain intact in almost the entire range of the biaxial strain from -5% to 5%. Furthermore, our investigations demonstrate excellent spin transport capabilities, including an outstanding spin-filtering effect, and a remarkably high tunneling magnetoresistance ratio peaking at 6087.07%. The remarkable magnetic features of the 2D CrSc2Te4 monolayer with room temperature FM, intrinsic half-metallicity, and 100% spin-polarization make it a promising candidate for the next-generation high-performance spintronic nanodevices as well as high-density magnetic recording and sensors.

RASSF1A promotes radiosensitivity in nasopharyngeal carcinoma by promoting FoxO3a and inhibiting the Nrf2/TXNRD1 signaling pathway.

Radiotherapy is widely used as the first-line treatment for nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). However, the resistance of some patients to treatment lowers its clinical effectiveness. Compared to typical epithelial cells, NPC markedly lowers the Ras-association domain family 1A (RASSF1A) protein expression. RASSF1A overexpression sensitizes NPC cells to radiotherapy. Mechanistically, RASSF1A promotes the expression of Forkhead box O3a (FoxO3a) in the nucleus and inhibits the Nuclear factor E2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) signaling pathway via binding to the Kelch-like ECH-associated protein 1 (Keap1) promoter. Through elevating intracellular ROS levels, RASSF1A overexpression inhibits the expression of thioredoxin reductase 1 (TXNRD1), a crucial Nrf2 target gene, and increases NPC sensitivity to radiation. Immunohistochemical staining of NPC tissue sections revealed that the expression of RASSF1A is negatively correlated with that of TXNRD1. The traditional Chinese medicine component andrographolide (AGP), which induces RASSF1A expression, increased the sensitivity of NPC cells to radiotherapy in vitro and in vivo. Our findings implied that RASSF1A increases the sensitivity of NPC to radiation by increasing FoxO3a expression in the nucleus, inhibiting the Nrf2/TXNRD1 signaling pathway, and elevating intracellular ROS levels. AGP targets RASSF1A and may be a promising adjuvant sensitizer for enhancing radiosensitivity in NPC.

Non-volatile control of topological phase transition in an asymmetric ferroelectric In2Te2S monolayer.

The coupling of topological electronic states and ferroelectricity is highly desired due to their abundant physical phenomenon and potential applications in multifunctional devices. However, it is difficult to achieve such a phenomenon in a single ferroelectric (FE) monolayer because the two polarized states are topologically equivalent. Here, we demonstrate that the symmetry of polarized states can be broken by constructing a Janus structure in a FE monolayer. We illustrate such a general idea by replacing a layer of Te atoms in the In2Te3 monolayer with S atoms. Using first-principles calculations, we show that the In2Te2S monolayer has two asymmetric polarized states, which are characterized by a metal and semiconductor, respectively. Importantly, as the spin-orbit coupling is included, a band gap (50.4 meV) is created in the metallic state, resulting in a non-trivial topological phase. Thus, it proves to be a feasible method to engineer non-volatile FE control of topological order in a single-phase system. We also demonstrate the underlying physical mechanism of topological phase transition, which is unveiled to be related to the weakened intrinsic electric field resulting from charge transfer. These interesting results provide a general way to design asymmetric FE materials and shed light on their potential application in non-volatile multifunctional devices.

Analysis of public opinion on food safety in Greater China with big data and machine learning.

The Internet contains a wealth of public opinion on food safety, including views on food adulteration, food-borne diseases, agricultural pollution, irregular food distribution, and food production issues. To systematically collect and analyze public opinion on food safety in Greater China, we developed IFoodCloud, which automatically collects data from more than 3,100 public sources. Meanwhile, we constructed sentiment classification models using multiple lexicon-based and machine learning-based algorithms integrated with IFoodCloud that provide an unprecedented rapid means of understanding the public sentiment toward specific food safety incidents. Our best model's F1 score achieved 0.9737, demonstrating its great predictive ability and robustness. Using IFoodCloud, we analyzed public sentiment on food safety in Greater China and the changing trend of public opinion at the early stage of the 2019 Coronavirus Disease pandemic, demonstrating the potential of big data and machine learning for promoting risk communication and decision-making.

Two new alkaloids from the endophytic fungus Schizophyllum sp. HM230 isolated from Vincetoxicum mongolicum Maxim.

Endophytic fungi is an important source for the discovery of bioactive natural compounds. A chemical investigation of the ethyl acetate extract of the endophytic fungus Schizophyllum sp. HM230 derived from stems of the herb Vincetoxicum mongolicum Maxim led to isolation of five alkaloids, including two new compounds, schizophyllins M (1) and N (2), along with three known ones (3-5). The planar structures of two new compounds were elucidated by extensive spectroscopic methods including MS, 1D and 2D NMR. Their absolute configurations were determined by Mosher's method and comparison of the ECD data. All the isolates were evaluated for their cytotoxicity and antioxidant activities. Compounds 1-4 showed middle cytotoxicity against MCF-7 cells with IC50 values range of 68.1 ∼ 87.32 µM. Compounds 1-5 displayed obvious antioxidant activity with the IC50 values range of 0.86 ∼ 5.78 mg/mL.

Novel microporous resin-based polymer device for sustained glipizide release: Production, characterization and pharmacokinetic study.

The objective of this study was to explore an innovative sustained release technology and design a new microporous resin-based polymer device (RPD) for controlled release of glipizide (GZ). Photocurable resin was applied to prepare the resin layer to control GZ release. The impact of formulation parameters consisting of the type and amount of pore formers and pH modifiers, photocurable curing time as well as the weight of resin layer on GZ release were examined. The GZ-RPD was fabricated applying 24 mg of resin layer with PEG400 (100 % of the resin weight) as pore former and 10 mg of Na2CO3 as pH modifier. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) demonstrated resin particles presenting a porous structure constituted the resin layer. The GZ-RPD possessed prolonged Tmax and reduced Cmax relative to commercial tablets. The relative bioavailability of the RPDs as well as commercial tablets was 93.65 % since the AUC0-24 h were 6111.05 ± 238.89 ng·h/mL and 6525.09 ± 760.59 ng h/mL, respectively. The release mechanism of the GZ-RPD was discussed. This paper provided an innovative concept to produce controlled GZ release oral formulation fabricated by photocurable resin, which demonstrated both excellent in vitro release and in vivo pharmacokinetics.

Quantum anomalous Hall effect in M2X3honeycomb Kagome lattice.

The quantum anomalous Hall (QAH) effect has recently drawn great attention in spintronics with extraordinary property of chiral edge states without dissipation in absence of magnetic field. In M2X3honeycomb Kagome lattice, numerous two-dimensional materials are predicted to be QAH insulators including metal oxides/sulfides and metal organic lattice. In this work, we proposed a general model to explain the mechanism of Dirac half metal with absence of spin orbital coupling and the nontrivial topological property with spin orbital coupling, which could be induced by combination of electron counting rule, crystal field effect anddxz,dyzorbitals hybridization. Based on the mechanism, we further predict that triphenyl-metal lattice M2(C6H4)3(M= V, Nb, Ta) are all QAH insulators with high Curie temperature and large nontrivial band gap for triphenyl-Nb and triphenyl-Ta lattice.

Carotane sesquiterpenoids A-G from the desert endophytic fungus Fusarium sp. HM 166.

Seven undescribed carotane sesquiterpenoids named fusanoids A-G (1-7), along with one known analog (8) and two known sesterterpenes (9 and 10), were isolated from the fermentation broth of the desert endophytic fungi Fusarium sp. HM166. The structures of the compounds, including their absolute configurations, were determined by spectroscopic data, single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis, and ECD calculations. Compound 10 showed cytotoxic activities against human hepatoma carcinoma cell line (Huh-7) and human breast cell lines (MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231), and compound 2 showed cytotoxic activity against MCF-7, while compounds 4-9 were inactive against all the tested cell lines. Compounds 4 and 10 showed potent inhibitory activities against the IDH1R132h mutant.

Intrinsic ferromagnetism and the quantum anomalous Hall effect in two-dimensional MnOCl2 monolayers.

Due to their potential application in spintronic devices, two-dimensional (2D) ferromagnetic materials are highly desired. We used first-principles calculations and Monte Carlo simulations to investigate the electronic structure and magnetic characteristics of the MnOCl2 monolayers. We discovered two stable monolayer structures, Pmna-MnOCl2 and Pmmn-MnOCl2. Our findings show that the Pmna-MnOCl2 monolayer is an intrinsic ferromagnetic semiconductor with an indirect band gap of 0.152 eV and a Curie temperature (TC) of 202 K, while the Pmmn-MnOCl2 monolayer is an intrinsic ferromagnetic Dirac semimetal with a high TC (910 K) and triaxial magnetic anisotropy. We also show that a Pmmn-MnOCl2 monolayer with a nontrivial band gap of 6.2 meV can achieve the quantum anomalous Hall effect (QAHE) with Chern number C = 1. Additionally, the existence of a gapless edge state can be flexibly regulated by choosing the terminal edges. Our studies reveal that the Pmmn-MnOCl2 monolayer can serve as a candidate material to achieve high-temperature QAHE.

Non-biological fluorescent chemosensors for pesticides detection.

The ongoing poisoning of agricultural products has pushed the security problem to become an important issue. Among them, exceeding the standard rate of pesticide residues is the main factor influencing the quality and security of agricultural products. Moreover, the abuse of pesticides has introduced a large amount of residues in soil and drinking water, which will enter the food chain to the human body, leading to neurological disorders and cancer. Therefore, great efforts have been devoted to developing fluorescent sensors for detecting pesticide in a facile, quickly, sensitive, selective, accurate manner, which exhibit greater advantages than some traditional methods. In this review, we mainly focus on summarizing the non-biological fluorescent probes for organic pesticides detection with the detection limit of micromole to nanomole, including organic functional small molecules, calixarenes and pillararenes, metal organic framework systems, and nanomaterials. Meanwhile, we described the different sensing mechanisms for pesticides detection of these mentioned fluorescent sensors, the detection limit of each pesticide, the application in detecting actual samples, as well as their respective advantages and development prospects associated with present non-biological fluorescent sensors.

Coexistence of intrinsic room-temperature ferromagnetism and piezoelectricity in monolayer BiCrX3 (X = S, Se, and Te).

Two-dimensional (2D) materials with intrinsic ferromagnetism and piezoelectricity have received growing attention due to their potential applications in nanoscale spintronic devices. However, their applications are highly limited by the low Curie temperatures (TC) and small piezoelectric coefficients. Here, using first-principles calculations, we have successfully predicted that BiCrX3 (X = S, Se, and Te) monolayers simultaneously possess ferromagnetism and piezoelectricity by replacing one layer of Bi atoms with Cr atoms in Bi2X3 monolayers. Our results demonstrate that BiCrX3 monolayers are not only intrinsic ferromagnetic semiconductors with indirect band gaps, adequate TC values of higher than 300 K, and significant out-of-plane magnetic anisotropic energies, but also exhibit appreciable in-plane and out-of-plane piezoelectricity. In particular, the in-plane piezoelectric coefficients of BiCrX3 monolayers with ABCAB configuration are up to 15.16 pm V-1, which is higher than those of traditional three-dimensional piezoelectric materials such as α-quartz. The coexistence of ferromagnetism and piezoelectricity in BiCrX3 monolayers gives them promising applications in spintronics and nano-sized sensors.

Organic Crystal Growth: Directly from Amorphous Solid Powder to Single Crystals.

Preparation of organic crystals mainly depends on solution-deposition, sublimation, and melt-deposition techniques. Solid-state growth methods are generally not suitable for organic crystal growth due to the unprocurable mass transfer. Herein, we report two pyridine-substituted fluorenone compounds with extraordinary crystal-growth capacity, and these compounds can directly and quickly form single crystals from their amorphous solid powder by heating under antisolvent-assistance conditions. The novel experimental phenomenon and crystal growth mechanism were investigated in depth. The results indicate that multiple intermolecular hydrogen-bonding sites and planar aromatic structure (prone to π-π interactions) of these molecules dominate the mass transfer during crystal growth by providing enough energy. This discovery enhances our knowledge of solid-state methods for single-crystal growth.

Two-dimensional stable Mn based half metal and antiferromagnets promising for spintronics.

In this paper, we predict that the tetragonal MnSi and MnC0.5Si0.5 monolayers are mechanically stable metallic ferromagnetic materials. The thermal stability of the MnC0.5Si0.5 monolayer is verified by our ab initio molecular dynamics (AIMD) result at 300 K. Both MnSi and MnC0.5Si0.5 monolayers exhibit room temperature half-metallic properties, which is very promising for spintronic applications. Both monolayers exhibit large perpendicular magnetic anisotropy, which is desirable for maintaining magnetic order and for high density storage spintronics. A bilayer of the MnSi nanosheet has obviously enhanced thermal stability and exhibits antiferromagnetic metal properties. The Néel temperature could be effectively manipulated and improved by surface functionalization. In addition, monolayer and bilayer MnSi nanosheets exhibit nodal lines in the reciprocal space, and the nodal lines are robust against spin orbit coupling.

[Platelet-rich plasma injection for the treatment of atrophic fracture nonunion].

OBJECTIVE: To explore clinical effects of platelet rich plasma (PRP) injection in treating atrophic fracture nonunion. METHODS: From March 2015 to March 2017, 15 patients with atrophic fracture nonunion were treated with PRP injection, including 10 males and 5 females, aged from 23 to 56 years old with an average age of (40.0±9.1) years old, the time of fracture nonunion ranged from 6 to 14 months with an average of (8.87±2.45) months. Preparing PRP by extracting 60 to 100 ml peripheral blood. PRP platelet count ranged from 587 to 1 246 with an average of (947.13±158.58) ×10 9 /L. Under the perspective, 13 to 20 ml PRP were injected into the fracture end, and each injection was performed once on the first and the second week of the treatment. Complications such as whether the limb was shortened, angulation, and rotational deformity and radiological examination were observed. RESULTS: All patients were followed up from 6 to 12 months with an average of (6.8± 2.1) months. No shortening, angulation, and rotational deformity occurred. Thirteen patients had fracture healing, the time ranged from 4 to 6 months with an average of (4.8±0.7) months. Two patients had no completely porosis at 12 months during following up, and 1 patient occurred bolt loose. Other patients had no complications. CONCLUSION: The stability of fracture ends of atrophic fracture nonunion after internal fixation is an indication for local PRP injection. PRP treatment for atrophic fractures could completed under local anesthesia, and it has advantages of safe operation and reliable efficacy.

The effects of an enteral nutrition feeding protocol on critically ill patients: A prospective multi-center, before-after study.

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to explore the effects of an enteral nutrition (EN) feeding protocol in critically ill patients. METHODS: This was a prospective multi-center before-after study. We compared energy related and prognostic indicators between the control group (pre-implementation stage) and intervention group (post-implementation stage). The primary endpoint was the percentage of patients receiving EN within 7 days after ICU admission. RESULTS: 209 patients in the control group and 230 patients in the intervention group were enrolled. The implementation of the EN protocol increased the percentage of target energy reached from day 3 to day 7, and the difference between two groups reached statistical significance in day 6 (P = .01) and day 7 (P = .002). But it had no effects on proportion of patient receiving EN (P = .65) and start time of EN (P = .90). The protocol application might be associated with better hospital survival (89.1% vs 82.8%, P = .055) and reduce the incidence of EN related adverse (P = .004). There was no difference in ICU length of stay, duration of mechanical ventilation and ICU cost. CONCLUSION: The implementation of the enteral feeding protocol is associated with improved energy intake and a decreased incidence of enteral nutrition related adverse events for critically ill patients, but it had no statistically beneficial effects on reducing the hospital mortality rate. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT02976155. Registered November 29, 2016- Retrospectively registered, https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02976155.

Magnetically stabilized bed packed with synthesized magnetic silicone loaded with ionic liquid particles for efficient enrichment of flavonoids from tree peony petals.

In this work, synthesized magnetic silicone loaded with ionic liquid (Fe3O4@SiO2@IL) particles combined with gas-liquid-solid magnetically stabilized bed (GLS-MSB) were applied to enrich flavonoids from tree peony petal extraction solution. The magnetic core (Fe3O4) encased in silica was conducive to its rapid and efficient separation, and the modification of silica with ionic liquids (ILs) could provide the functional groups for selective adsorption of flavonoids. Furthermore, the magnetic materials were evenly dispersed in the GLS-MSB system, realizing the adequate contact and causing the positive influence on the result. After physicochemical characterization, the prepared Fe3O4@SiO2@IL (IL=VBimBr) particles were validated in the enrichment performance of flavonoids, including the type of ionic liquid loaded, desorption solution, adsorption and desorption kinetics. The adsorption kinetics obeyed the pseudo-second-order model, the adsorption isotherms were consistent with the Langmuir equation, and the adsorption process was spontaneous and exothermic. Additionally, the dynamic processes using GLS-MSB packed with Fe3O4@SiO2@IL particles were evaluated systematically, deriving the optimum conditions (5 mL/min liquid flow rate, 130 mL Loading amount and 42.55 Oe magnetic field intensity) and improving the purity of flavonoids. After enrichment, the Fe3O4@SiO2@IL particles were successfully recycled and reused. Overall, the developed method offers a great potential for the enrichment of flavonoids from natural materials.

Two-dimensional ZrB2C2 with multiple tunable Dirac states.

In this paper, we designed a two-dimensional honeycomb monolayer ZrB2C2, which is predicted to be a stable nanosheet and exhibits favorable mechanical and thermal properties. The Young's modulus of ZrB2C2 is 122.3 N m-1, which is about one third of that of graphene. The ab initio molecular dynamics (AIMD) results show that ZrB2C2 can sustain up to 500 K. In addition, ZrB2C2 is semi-metallic and it exhibits twelve Dirac cones in the first Brillouin zone; the six pairs of Dirac cones form compensated electron-hole pockets, and the maximum Fermi velocity is about 6.3 × 105 m s-1, which is about 60% of that of graphene. Compared with other transition metal borides which possess Dirac states, the twelve Dirac cones are all robust under different types of external strains, and the Dirac states could be shifted along the opposite direction crossing the Fermi energy barrier by external strains and the gap of the two Dirac cones could be opened around the Fermi energy level with the effect of spin-orbit coupling.

MnB2 nanosheet and nanotube: stability, electronic structures, novel functionalization and application for Li-ion batteries.

In this paper, two kinds of two-dimensional manganese boride monolayers, h-MnB2 and t-MnB2, are predicted to be stable metallic nanosheets, which exhibit favorable mechanical and thermal properties. The Young's moduli of h-MnB2 and t-MnB2 are 77.73 N m-1 and 59.59 N m-1, respectively. Ab initio molecular dynamics results show that h-MnB2 and t-MnB2 can sustain up to 500 K and 1000 K, respectively. The magnetic property of h-MnB2 is frustrated antiferromagnetic with a Néel temperature of about 25 K, and the magnetic property of t-MnB2 is collinear antiferromagnetic with a Néel temperature of about 317 K. In addition, the electronic structure of the h-MnB2 monolayer can be tuned by passivation to exhibit Dirac states. h-MnB2 can also self-assemble to form nanotubes, and is thus very promising for application as the anode for Li-ion batteries because of its high capacity (about 875 mA h g-1), low diffusion barrier (about 0.03 eV) and strong stability.