Identification of PPAR-related differentially expressed genes liver hepatocellular carcinoma and construction of a prognostic model based on data analysis and molecular docking.

Liver hepatocellular carcinoma (LIHC) is a significant global health issue with limited treatment options. In this study, single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) data were used to explore the molecular mechanisms of LIHC development and identify potential targets for therapy. The expression of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors (PPAR)-related genes was analysed in LIHC samples, and primary cell populations, including natural killer cells, T cells, B cells, myeloid cells, endothelial cells, fibroblasts and hepatocytes, were identified. Analysis of the differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between normal and tumour tissues revealed significant changes in gene expression in various cell populations. PPAR activity was evaluated using the 'AUCell' R software, which indicated higher scores in the normal versus the malignant hepatocytes. Furthermore, the DEGs showed significant enrichment of pathways related to lipid and glucose metabolism, cell development, differentiation and inflammation. A prognostic model was then constructed using 8 PPARs-related genes, including FABP5, LPL, ACAA1, PPARD, FABP4, PLIN1, HMGCS2 and CYP7A1, identified using least absolute shrinkage and selection operator-Cox regression analysis, and validated in the TCGA-LIHC, ICGI-LIRI and GSE14520 datasets. Patients with low-risk scores had better prognosis in all cohorts. Based on the expression of the eight model genes, two clusters of patients were identified by ConsensusCluster analysis. We also predicted small-molecule drugs targeting the model genes, and identified perfluorohexanesulfonic acid, triflumizole and perfluorononanoic acid as potential candidates. Finally, wound healing assay confirmed that PPARD can promote the migration of liver cancer cells. Overall, our study offers novel perspectives on the molecular mechanisms of LIHC and potential areas for therapeutic intervention, which may facilitate the development of more effective treatment regimens.

A highly efficient process to enhance the bioleaching of spent lithium-ion batteries by bifunctional pyrite combined with elemental sulfur.

Bioleaching technologies have been shown to be an environmentally friendly and economically beneficial tool for extracting metals from spent lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). However, conventional bioleaching methods have exhibited low efficiency in recovering metals from spent LIBs. Therefore, relied on the sustainability principle of using waste to treat waste, this study employed pyrite (FeS2) as an energy substance with reducing properties and investigated its effects in combination with elemental sulfur (S0) or FeSO4 on metals bioleaching from spent LIBs. Results demonstrated that the bioleaching efficiency was significantly higher in the leaching system constructed with FeS2 + S0, than in the FeS2 + FeSO4 or FeS2 system. When the pulp densities of FeS2, S0 and spent LIBs were 10 g L-1, 5 g L-1 and 10 g L-1, respectively, the leaching efficiency of Li, Ni, Co and Mn all reached 100%. Mechanistic analysis reveals that in the FeS2 + S0 system, the activity and acid-producing capabilities of iron-sulfur oxidizing bacteria were enhanced, promoting the generation of Fe (Ⅱ) and reducible sulfur compounds. Simultaneously, bio-acids were shown to disrupt the structure of the LIBs, thereby increasing the contact area between Fe (Ⅱ) and sulfur compounds containing high-valence metals. This effectively promoted the reduction of high-valence metals, thereby enhancing their leaching efficiency. Overall, the FeS2 + S0 bioleaching process constructed in this study, improved the leaching efficiency of LIBs while also effectively utilizing waste, providing technical support for the comprehensive and sustainable management of solid waste.

Breaking the Minimum Limit of Thermal Conductivity of Mg3 Sb2 Thermoelectric Mediated by Chemical Alloying Induced Lattice Instability.

Thermal properties strongly affect the applications of functional materials, such as thermal management, thermal barrier coatings, and thermoelectrics. Thermoelectric (TE) materials must have a low lattice thermal conductivity to maintain a temperature gradient to generate the voltage. Traditional strategies for minimizing the lattice thermal conductivity mainly rely on introduced multiscale defects to suppress the propagation of phonons. Here, the origin of the anomalously low lattice thermal conductivity is uncovered in Cd-alloyed Mg3 Sb2 Zintl compounds through complementary bonding analysis. First, the weakened chemical bonds and the lattice instability induced by the antibonding states of 5p-4d levels between Sb and Cd triggered giant anharmonicity and consequently increased the phonon scattering. Moreover, the bond heterogeneity also augmented Umklapp phonon scatterings. Second, the weakened bonds and heavy element alloying softened the phonon mode and significantly decreased the group velocity. Thus, an ultralow lattice thermal conductivity of ≈0.33 W m-1 K-1 at 773 K is obtained, which is even lower than the predicated minimum value. Eventually, Na0.01 Mg1.7 Cd1.25 Sb2 displays a high ZT of ≈0.76 at 773 K, competitive with most of the reported values. Based on the complementary bonding analysis, the work provides new means to control thermal transport properties through balancing the lattice stability and instability.

Mediating Point Defects Endows n-Type Bi2 Te3 with High Thermoelectric Performance and Superior Mechanical Robustness for Power Generation Application.

Bi2 Te3 -related alloys dominate the commercial thermoelectric market, but the layered crystal structure leads to the dissociation and intrinsic brittle fracture, especially for single crystals that may worsen the practical efficiency. In this work, point defect configuration by S/Te/I defects engineering is engaged to boost thermoelectric and mechanical properties of n-type Bi2 Te3 alloy, which, coupled with p-type BiSbTe, shows a competitive conversion efficiency for the fabricated module. First, as S alloying suppresses the intrinsic B i T e , antisite defects and forms a donor-like effect, electronic transport properties are optimized, associated with the decreased thermal conductivity due to the point defect scattering. The periodide compound TeI4 is afterward adopted to further tune carrier concentration for the realization of an optimal ZT. Finally, an advanced average ZT of 1.05 with ultra-high compressive strength of 230 MPa is achieved for Bi2 Te2.9 S0.1 (TeI4 )0.0012 . Based on this optimum composition, a fabricated 17-pair module demonstrates a maximum conversion efficiency of 5.37% under the temperature difference of 250 K, rivaling the current state-of-the-art Bi2 Te3 modules. This work reveals the novel mechanism of point defect reconfiguration in synergistic enhancement of thermoelectric and mechanical properties for durably commercial application, which may be applicable to other thermoelectric systems.

Phase-transition temperature suppression to achieve cubic GeTe and high thermoelectric performance by Bi and Mn codoping.

Germanium telluride (GeTe)-based materials, which display intriguing functionalities, have been intensively studied from both fundamental and technological perspectives. As a thermoelectric material, though, the phase transition in GeTe from a rhombohedral structure to a cubic structure at ∼700 K is a major obstacle impeding applications for energy harvesting. In this work, we discovered that the phase-transition temperature can be suppressed to below 300 K by a simple Bi and Mn codoping, resulting in the high performance of cubic GeTe from 300 to 773 K. Bi doping on the Ge site was found to reduce the hole concentration and thus to enhance the thermoelectric properties. Mn alloying on the Ge site simultaneously increased the hole effective mass and the Seebeck coefficient through modification of the valence bands. With the Bi and Mn codoping, the lattice thermal conductivity was also largely reduced due to the strong point-defect scattering for phonons, resulting in a peak thermoelectric figure of merit (ZT) of ∼1.5 at 773 K and an average ZT of ∼1.1 from 300 to 773 K in cubic Ge0.81Mn0.15Bi0.04Te. Our results open the door for further studies of this exciting material for thermoelectric and other applications.

Manipulation of ionized impurity scattering for achieving high thermoelectric performance in n-type Mg3Sb2-based materials.

Achieving higher carrier mobility plays a pivotal role for obtaining potentially high thermoelectric performance. In principle, the carrier mobility is governed by the band structure as well as by the carrier scattering mechanism. Here, we demonstrate that by manipulating the carrier scattering mechanism in n-type Mg3Sb2-based materials, a substantial improvement in carrier mobility, and hence the power factor, can be achieved. In this work, Fe, Co, Hf, and Ta are doped on the Mg site of Mg3.2Sb1.5Bi0.49Te0.01, where the ionized impurity scattering crosses over to mixed ionized impurity and acoustic phonon scattering. A significant improvement in Hall mobility from ∼16 to ∼81 cm2⋅V-1⋅s-1 is obtained, thus leading to a notably enhanced power factor of ∼13 µW⋅cm-1⋅K-2 from ∼5 µW⋅cm-1⋅K-2 A simultaneous reduction in thermal conductivity is also achieved. Collectively, a figure of merit (ZT) of ∼1.7 is obtained at 773 K in Mg3.1Co0.1Sb1.5Bi0.49Te0.01 The concept of manipulating the carrier scattering mechanism to improve the mobility should also be applicable to other material systems.

Higher thermoelectric performance of Zintl phases (Eu0.5Yb0.5)1-xCaxMg2Bi2 by band engineering and strain fluctuation.

Complex Zintl phases, especially antimony (Sb)-based YbZn0.4Cd1.6Sb2 with figure-of-merit (ZT) of ∼1.2 at 700 K, are good candidates as thermoelectric materials because of their intrinsic "electron-crystal, phonon-glass" nature. Here, we report the rarely studied p-type bismuth (Bi)-based Zintl phases (Ca,Yb,Eu)Mg2Bi2 with a record thermoelectric performance. Phase-pure EuMg2Bi2 is successfully prepared with suppressed bipolar effect to reach ZT ∼ 1. Further partial substitution of Eu by Ca and Yb enhanced ZT to ∼1.3 for Eu0.2Yb0.2Ca0.6Mg2Bi2 at 873 K. Density-functional theory (DFT) simulation indicates the alloying has no effect on the valence band, but does affect the conduction band. Such band engineering results in good p-type thermoelectric properties with high carrier mobility. Using transmission electron microscopy, various types of strains are observed and are believed to be due to atomic mass and size fluctuations. Point defects, strain, dislocations, and nanostructures jointly contribute to phonon scattering, confirmed by the semiclassical theoretical calculations based on a modified Debye-Callaway model of lattice thermal conductivity. This work indicates Bi-based (Ca,Yb,Eu)Mg2Bi2 is better than the Sb-based Zintl phases.

Thermoelectric performance enhancement of Mg2Sn based solid solutions by band convergence and phonon scattering via Pb and Si/Ge substitution for Sn.

In this study, the thermoelectric properties of Mg2Sn0.98-xPbxSb0.02 were first studied, and then Mg2Sn0.93-xSixPb0.05Sb0.02 and Mg2Sn0.93-xGexPb0.05Sb0.02 were accordingly investigated. The results showed that the formation of Mg2Sn0.98-xPbxSb0.02 solid solutions effectively reduced the lattice thermal conductivity of Mg2Sn. The room temperature lattice thermal conductivity of Mg2Sn0.98Sb0.02 is ∼5.2 W m(-1) K(-1) but only ∼2.5 W m(-1) K(-1) for Mg2Sn0.73Pb0.25Sb0.02, a reduction of ∼52%. Further alloying Mg2Sn0.98-xPbxSb0.02 with Mg2Si or Mg2Ge to form Mg2Sn0.93-xSixPb0.05Sb0.02 or Mg2Sn0.93-xGexPb0.05Sb0.02 reduced the lattice thermal conductivity significantly due to enhanced phonon scattering by point defects as well as nanoparticles. Moreover, bipolar thermal conductivities were suppressed due to the larger bandgap of Mg2Si and Mg2Ge than Mg2Sn. Furthermore, similar to the pseudo-binary Mg2Sn-Mg2Si and Mg2Sn-Mg2Ge systems, band convergence was also observed in pseudo-ternary Mg2Sn0.93-xSixPb0.05Sb0.02 and Mg2Sn0.93-xGexPb0.05Sb0.02 materials. The convergence of conduction bands led to higher PFs at lower temperatures for Mg2Sn0.93-xSixPb0.05Sb0.02 and Mg2Sn0.93-xGexPb0.05Sb0.02 materials. As a result, higher peak ZTs of ∼1.3 for Mg2Sn0.63Si0.3Pb0.05Sb0.02 and ∼1.2 for Mg2Sn0.68Ge0.25Pb0.05Sb0.02 were achieved.

Recent discovery and development of AXL inhibitors as antitumor agents.

AXL, a receptor tyrosine kinase (RTK), plays a pivotal role in various cellular functions. It is primarily involved in processes such as epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) in tumor cells, angiogenesis, apoptosis, immune regulation, and chemotherapy resistance mechanisms. Therefore, targeting AXL is a promising therapeutic approach for the treatment of cancer. AXL inhibitors that have entered clinical trials, such as BGB324(1), have shown promising efficacy in the treatment of melanoma and non-small cell lung cancer. Additionally, novel AXL-targeted drugs, such as AXL degraders, offer a potential solution to overcome the limitations of traditional small-molecule AXL inhibitors targeting single pathways. We provide an overview of the structure and biological functions of AXL, discusses its correlation with various cancers, and critically analyzes the structure-activity relationship of AXL small-molecule inhibitors in cellular contexts. Additionally, we summarize multiple research and development strategies, offering insights for the future development of innovative AXL inhibitors.

Development and therapeutic perspectives of CXCR4 antagonists for disease therapy.

Chemokine receptor 4 (CXCR4) is a subtype receptor protein of the GPCR family with a seven-transmembrane structure widely distributed in human tissues. CXCR4 is involved in diseases (e.g., HIV-1 infection), cancer proliferation and metastasis, inflammation signaling pathways, and leukemia, making it a promising drug target. Clinical trials on CXCR4 antagonists mainly focused on peptides and antibodies, with a few small molecule compounds, such as AMD11070 (2) and MSX-122 (3), showing promise in cancer treatment. This perspective discusses the structure-activity relationship (SAR) of CXCR4 and its role in diseases, mainly focusing on the SAR of CXCR4 antagonists. It also explores the standard structural features and target interactions of CXCR4 binding in different disease categories. Furthermore, it investigates various modification strategies to propose potential improvements in the effectiveness of CXCR4 drugs.

Synergistically Optimized Thermoelectric and Mechanical Properties of Mg3.2Bi1.5Sb0.5-SiC Composites.

Motivated by the surging demand for low-temperature waste heat harvesting, materials with both prominent thermoelectric and good mechanical properties are preferred in practical applications. In this present work, the composite exploration of Te-doped Mg3.2Bi1.5Sb0.5-x vol % nanosized SiC (x = 0, 0.05, 0.1, 0.2, and 0.5) was carried out, where nanosized SiC is physically dispersed in the matrix in the form of a second phase. SiC second phase compositing further optimized the matrix carrier concentration, resulting in a higher power factor in the service temperature range (the highest value from 28.9 to 31.7 µW cm-1 K-2), and the (ZT)ave from 0.91 to 0.96 compared with the matrix sample. In addition, the SiC second phase effectively enhanced the mechanical properties of composite materials, including flexural strength, microhardness, and modulus. Because of the simultaneous optimization of thermoelectric and mechanical properties, the overall performance of Te-doped Mg3.2Bi1.5Sb0.5-0.05 vol % SiC composite is leveraged to meet special requirements of power generation. It is expected that the addition of SiC should be broadly applicable to address the physical performance in other thermoelectric systems.

Suppression of Adverse Phase Transition of Layered Oxide Cathode via Local Electronic Structure Regulation for High-Capacity Sodium-Ion Batteries.

Advancing the high-voltage stability of the O3-type layered cathodes for sodium-ion batteries is critical to boost their progress in energy storage applications. However, this type of cathode often suffers from intricate phase transition and structural degradation at high voltages (i.e., >4.0 V vs Na+/Na), resulting in rapid capacity decay. Here, we present a Li/Ti cosubstitution strategy to modify the electronic configuration of oxygen elements in the O3-type layered oxide cathode. This deliberate modulation simultaneously mitigates the phase transitions and counteracts the weakening of the shielding effect resulting from the extraction of sodium ions, thus enhancing the electrostatic bonding within the TM layer and inducing and optimizing the O3-OP2 phase transition occurring in the voltage range of 2.0-4.3 V. Consequently, the cosubstituted NaLi1/9Ni1/3Mn4/9Ti1/9O2 exhibits an astounding capacity of 161.2 mAh g-1 in the voltage range of 2.0-4.3 V at 1C, and stable cycling up to 100 cycles has been achieved. This work shows the impact mechanism of element substitution on interlayer forces and phase transitions, providing a crucial reference for the optimization of O3-type materials.

Doping strategy in metavalently bonded materials for advancing thermoelectric performance.

Metavalent bonding is a unique bonding mechanism responsible for exceptional properties of materials used in thermoelectric, phase-change, and optoelectronic devices. For thermoelectrics, the desired performance of metavalently bonded materials can be tuned by doping foreign atoms. Incorporating dopants to form solid solutions or second phases is a crucial route to tailor the charge and phonon transport. Yet, it is difficult to predict if dopants will form a secondary phase or a solid solution, which hinders the tailoring of microstructures and material properties. Here, we propose that the solid solution is more easily formed between metavalently bonded solids, while precipitates prefer to exist in systems mixed by metavalently bonded and other bonding mechanisms. We demonstrate this in a metavalently bonded GeTe compound alloyed with different sulfides. We find that S can dissolve in the GeTe matrix when alloyed with metavalently bonded PbS. In contrast, S-rich second phases are omnipresent via alloying with covalently bonded GeS and SnS. Benefiting from the reduced phonon propagation and the optimized electrical transport properties upon doping PbS in GeTe, a high figure-of-merit ZT of 2.2 at 773 K in (Ge0.84Sb0.06Te0.9)(PbSe)0.05(PbS)0.05 is realized. This strategy can be applied to other metavalently bonded materials to design properties beyond thermoelectrics.

Is Nuclear Factor Erythroid 2-Related Factor 2 a Target for the Intervention of Cytokine Storms?

The term "cytokine storm" describes an acute pathophysiologic state of the immune system characterized by a burst of cytokine release, systemic inflammatory response, and multiple organ failure, which are crucial determinants of many disease outcomes. In light of the complexity of cytokine storms, specific strategies are needed to prevent and alleviate their occurrence and deterioration. Nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (NRF2) is a CNC-basic region-leucine zipper protein that serves as a master transcription factor in maintaining cellular redox homeostasis by orchestrating the expression of many antioxidant and phase II detoxification enzymes. Given that inflammatory response is intertwined with oxidative stress, it is reasonable to assume that NRF2 activation limits inflammation and thus cytokine storms. As NRF2 can mitigate inflammation at many levels, it has emerged as a potential target to prevent and treat cytokine storms. In this review, we summarized the cytokine storms caused by different etiologies and the rationale of interventions, focusing mainly on NRF2 as a potential therapeutic target.

Development and validation of an artificial neural network prediction model for postpartum hemorrhage with placenta previa.

BACKGROUND: Postpartum hemorrhage (PPH) is a leading cause of maternal morbidity worldwide and placenta previa is one of the major risk factors for PPH in overall population. However, the clinical prediction of PPH remains challenging. This study aimed to investigate an ideal machine learning-based prediction model for PPH in placenta previa parturients with cesarean section. METHODS: The clinical data of 223 placenta previa parturients who underwent cesarean delivery in our hospital from 2016 to 2019 were retrospectively collected for analysis. An artificial neural network model was designed to predict PPH, defined as blood loss exceeding 1000 mL with 24h after delivery. Twenty clinical variables were selected as predictors. We also applied six conventional machine learning methods as reference models, including support vector machine, decision tree, random forest, gradient boosting decision tree, adaboost and logistic regression. All the models were validated using 5-fold cross-validation. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC), precision, recall and the prediction accuracy of each model were reported. RESULTS: A total of 223 pregnant women were enrolled in this study, including 101 cases (45.29%) experienced PPH. The proposed model achieved superior prediction performance with an AUC of 0.917, an accuracy of 0.851, a precision score of 0.829 and a recall score of 0.851, which outperformed other six conventional machine learning methods. CONCLUSIONS: Compared to the conventional machine learning approaches, artificial neural network model shows discriminative ability in identifying women's risk of PPH with placenta previa during cesarean section.

Comprehensive insights into the gallic acid assisted bioleaching process for spent LIBs: Relationships among bacterial functional genes, Co(III) reduction and metal dissolution behavior.

Despite the growing demand for resource recovery from spent lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) by bioleaching, low Co leaching efficiency has hindered the development and application of this technology. Therefore, a novel process was designed, combining gallic acid (GA) and mixed culture bioleaching (MCB), to enhance the removal of metals from spent LIBs. Results indicated that the GA + MCB process achieved 98.03% Co and 98.02% Li leaching from spent LIBs, simultaneously reducing the biotoxicity, phytotoxicity and leaching toxicity of spent LIBs under optimal conditions. The results of mechanism analysis demonstrated that functional microorganisms adapted to the leaching system through various strategies, including oxidative stress reduction, DNA damage repair, heavy metal resistance and biofilm formation, maintaining normal physiological activities and the continuous production of biological acid. The biological acid erodes the surface of waste LIBs, causing some Co and a large amount of Li to be released, while also increasing the contact area between GA and Co(III). Therefore, GA is beneficial for reducing insoluble Co(III), forming soluble Co(II). Finally, biological acid can effectively promote Co(II) leaching. Collectively, the results of this study provide valuable insight into the simultaneous enhancement of metal extraction and the mitigation of environmental pollution from spent LIBs.

Performance boost for bismuth telluride thermoelectric generator via barrier layer based on low Young's modulus and particle sliding.

The lack of desirable diffusion barrier layers currently prohibits the long-term stable service of bismuth telluride thermoelectric devices in low-grade waste heat recovery. Here we propose a new design principle of barrier layers beyond the thermal expansion matching criterion. A titanium barrier layer with loose structure is optimized, in which the low Young's modulus and particle sliding synergistically alleviates interfacial stress, while the TiTe2 reactant enables metallurgical bonding and ohmic contact between the barrier layer and the thermoelectric material, leading to a desirable interface characterized by high-thermostability, high-strength, and low-resistivity. Highly competitive conversion efficiency of 6.2% and power density of 0.51 W cm-2 are achieved for a module with leg length of 2 mm at the hot-side temperature of 523 K, and no degradation is observed following operation for 360 h, a record for stable service at this temperature, paving the way for its application in low-grade waste heat recovery.

Design of N-Type Textured Bi2 Te3 with Robust Mechanical Properties for Thermoelectric Micro-Refrigeration Application.

Thermoelectric refrigeration is one of the mature techniques used for cooling applications, with the great advantage of miniaturization over traditional compression refrigeration. Due to the anisotropic thermoelectric properties of n-type bismuth telluride (Bi2 Te3 ) alloys, these two common methods, including the liquid phase hot deformation (LPHD) and traditional hot forging (HF) methods, are of considerable importance for texture engineering to enhance performance. However, their effects on thermoelectric and mechanical properties are still controversial and not clear yet. Moreover, there has been little documentation of mechanical properties related to micro-refrigeration applications. In this work, the above-mentioned methods are separately employed to control the macroscopic grain orientation for bulk n-type Bi2 Te3 samples. The HF method enabled the stabilization of both composition and carrier concentration, therefore yielding a higher quality factor to compare with that of LPHD samples, supported by DFT calculations. In addition to superior thermoelectric performance, the HF sample also exhibited robust mechanical properties due to the presence of nano-scale distortion and dense dislocation, which is the prerequisite for realizing ultra-precision machining. This work helps to pave the way for the utilization of n-type Bi2 Te3 for commercial micro-refrigeration applications.

Screening strategy for developing thermoelectric interface materials.

Thermoelectric interface materials (TEiMs) are essential to the development of thermoelectric generators. Common TEiMs use pure metals or binary alloys but have performance stability issues. Conventional selection of TEiMs generally relies on trial-and-error experimentation. We developed a TEiM screening strategy that is based on phase diagram predictions by density functional theory calculations. By combining the phase diagram with electrical resistivity and melting points of potential reaction products, we discovered that the semimetal MgCuSb is a reliable TEiM for high-performance MgAgSb. The MgCuSb/MgAgSb junction exhibits low interfacial contact resistivity (ρc <1 microhm square centimeter) even after annealing at 553 kelvin for 16 days. The fabricated two-pair MgAgSb/Mg3.2Bi1.5Sb0.5 module demonstrated a high conversion efficiency of 9.25% under a 300 kelvin temperature gradient. We performed an international round-robin testing of module performance to confirm the measurement reliability. The strategy can be applied to other thermoelectric materials, filling a vital gap in the development of thermoelectric modules.

Maximizing the performance of n-type Mg3Bi2 based materials for room-temperature power generation and thermoelectric cooling.

Although the thermoelectric effect was discovered around 200 years ago, the main application in practice is thermoelectric cooling using the traditional Bi2Te3. The related studies of new and efficient room-temperature thermoelectric materials and modules have, however, not come to fruition yet. In this work, the electronic properties of n-type Mg3.2Bi1.5Sb0.5 material are maximized via delicate microstructural design with the aim of eliminating the thermal grain boundary resistance, eventually leading to a high zT above 1 over a broad temperature range from 323 K to 423 K. Importantly, we further demonstrated a great breakthrough in the non-Bi2Te3 thermoelectric module, coupled with the high-performance p-type α-MgAgSb, for room-temperature power generation and thermoelectric cooling. A high conversion efficiency of ~2.8% at the temperature difference of 95 K and a maximum temperature difference of 56.5 K are experimentally achieved. If the interfacial contact resistance is further reduced, our non-Bi2Te3 module may rival the long-standing champion commercial Bi2Te3 system. Overall, this work represents a substantial step towards the real thermoelectric application using non-Bi2Te3 materials and devices.