The field-free Josephson diode in a van der Waals heterostructure.

The superconducting analogue to the semiconducting diode, the Josephson diode, has long been sought with multiple avenues to realization being proposed by theorists1-3. Showing magnetic-field-free, single-directional superconductivity with Josephson coupling, it would serve as the building block for next-generation superconducting circuit technology. Here we realized the Josephson diode by fabricating an inversion symmetry breaking van der Waals heterostructure of NbSe2/Nb3Br8/NbSe2. We demonstrate that even without a magnetic field, the junction can be superconducting with a positive current while being resistive with a negative current. The ΔIc behaviour (the difference between positive and negative critical currents) with magnetic field is symmetric and Josephson coupling is proved through the Fraunhofer pattern. Also, stable half-wave rectification of a square-wave excitation was achieved with a very low switching current density, high rectification ratio and high robustness. This non-reciprocal behaviour strongly violates the known Josephson relations and opens the door to discover new mechanisms and physical phenomena through integration of quantum materials with Josephson junctions, and provides new avenues for superconducting quantum devices.

Catalogue of flat-band stoichiometric materials.

Topological electronic flattened bands near or at the Fermi level are a promising route towards unconventional superconductivity and correlated insulating states. However, the related experiments are mostly limited to engineered materials, such as moiré systems1-3. Here we present a catalogue of the naturally occuring three-dimensional stoichiometric materials with flat bands around the Fermi level. We consider 55,206 materials from the Inorganic Crystal Structure Database catalogued using the Topological Quantum Chemistry website4,5, which provides their structural parameters, space group, band structure, density of states and topological characterization. We combine several direct signatures and properties of band flatness with a high-throughput analysis of all crystal structures. In particular, we identify materials hosting line-graph or bipartite sublattices-in either two or three dimensions-that probably lead to flat bands. From this trove of information, we create the Materials Flatband Database website, a powerful search engine for future theoretical and experimental studies. We use the database to extract a curated list of 2,379 high-quality flat-band materials, from which we identify 345 promising candidates that potentially host flat bands with charge centres that are not strongly localized on the atomic sites. We showcase five representative materials and provide a theoretical explanation for the origin of their flat bands close to the Fermi energy using the S-matrix method introduced in a parallel work6.

High-throughput calculations of magnetic topological materials.

The discoveries of intrinsically magnetic topological materials, including semimetals with a large anomalous Hall effect and axion insulators1-3, have directed fundamental research in solid-state materials. Topological quantum chemistry4 has enabled the understanding of and the search for paramagnetic topological materials5,6. Using magnetic topological indices obtained from magnetic topological quantum chemistry (MTQC)7, here we perform a high-throughput search for magnetic topological materials based on first-principles calculations. We use as our starting point the Magnetic Materials Database on the Bilbao Crystallographic Server, which contains more than 549 magnetic compounds with magnetic structures deduced from neutron-scattering experiments, and identify 130 enforced semimetals (for which the band crossings are implied by symmetry eigenvalues), and topological insulators. For each compound, we perform complete electronic structure calculations, which include complete topological phase diagrams using different values of the Hubbard potential. Using a custom code to find the magnetic co-representations of all bands in all magnetic space groups, we generate data to be fed into the algorithm of MTQC to determine the topology of each magnetic material. Several of these materials display previously unknown topological phases, including symmetry-indicated magnetic semimetals, three-dimensional anomalous Hall insulators and higher-order magnetic semimetals. We analyse topological trends in the materials under varying interactions: 60 per cent of the 130 topological materials have topologies sensitive to interactions, and the others have stable topologies under varying interactions. We provide a materials database for future experimental studies and open-source code for diagnosing topologies of magnetic materials.

Electron doping of a double-perovskite flat-band system.

Electronic structure calculations indicate that the Sr2FeSbO6 double perovskite has a flat-band set just above the Fermi level that includes contributions from ordinary subbands with weak kinetic electron hopping plus a flat subband that can be attributed to the lattice geometry and orbital interference. To place the Fermi energy in that flat band, electron-doped samples with formulas Sr2-xLaxFeSbO6 (0 ≤ x ≤ 0.3) were synthesized, and their magnetism and ambient temperature crystal structures were determined by high-resolution synchrotron X-ray powder diffraction. All materials appear to display an antiferromagnetic-like maximum in the magnetic susceptibility, but the dominant spin coupling evolves from antiferromagnetic to ferromagnetic on electron doping. Which of the three subbands or combinations is responsible for the behavior has not been determined.

Overall Spontaneous Water Splitting for Calcium Bismuthate Ca(BiO2)2: Flexible-Electronic-Controlled Band Edge Position and Adsorption-Site-Modulated Bond Strength.

Eco-friendly photocatalysts for water splitting, highly efficient in oxygen/hydrogen evolution reactions, hold great promise for the storage of inexhaustible solar energy and address environmental challenges. However, current common photocatalysts rarely exhibit both H2 and O2 production performances unless some regulatory measures, such as strain engineering, are implemented. Additionally, the extensive utilization of flexible electronics remains constrained by their high Young's modulus. Herein, on the basis of density functional theory calculations, we identify a novel spontaneous oxygen-producing two-dimensional Ca(BiO2)2 material, which can efficiently regulate the electronic structures of the surface active sites, optimize the reaction pathways, reduce the reaction energy barriers, and boost the overall water-splitting activity through biaxial strain modulation. In detail, an unstrained Ca(BiO2)2 monolayer not only possesses a suitable band gap value (2.02 eV) to fulfill the photocatalytic water-splitting band edge relationships but also holds favorable transport properties, excellent optical absorption across the visible light spectrum, and spontaneous oxygen production under neutral conditions. More excitingly, under application of a 7% biaxial tensile strain modulation with an ideal biaxial strength of 32.35 GPa nm, the Ca(BiO2)2 monolayer not only maintains its structural integrity but also exhibits a completely spontaneous reaction for photocatalytic hydrogen precipitation with superior optical absorption. This can primarily be attributed to the substantial reduction of the potential barrier through strain engineering as well as the weakening of bond energy resulting from changes of the adsorption site as calculated by crystal orbital Hamiltonian population analysis. This flexible stretchable electronic modulated the photocatalyst behavior and bond energy of O-Bi and O-Ca interactions, offering outstanding potential for photocatalytic water spontaneous oxygen and hydrogen evolution among all of the reported metal oxides, and is more likely to become a promising candidate for future flexible electronic devices.

New insight of variable lymphocyte receptor-likes in anti-bacteria activity from Eriocheir sinensis.

The Chinese mitten crab, Eriocheir sinensis, is a vital freshwater aquaculture species in China, however, is also facing various crab disease threats. In the present study, we identify three novel variable lymphocyte receptor-like (VLR-like) genes-VLR-like1, VLR-like3 and VLR-like4-from E. sinensis, which play vital roles in adaptive immune system of agnathan vertebrates. The bacterial challenge, bacterial binding and antibacterial-activity experiments were applied to study immune functions of VLR-likes, and the transcriptomic data from previous E. sinensis bacterial challenge experiments were analyzed to speculate the possible signaling pathway. VLR-like1 and VLR-like4 can respond to Staphylococcus aureus challenge and inhibit S. aureus specifically. VLR-like1 and VLR-like4 possess broad-spectrum bacteria-binding ability whereas VLR-like3 do not. VLR-likes in E. sinensis could associate with the Toll-like receptor (TLR) signaling pathway. The above results suggest that VLR-likes defend against bacteria invasion though exerting anti-bacteria activity, and probably connect with the TLR signaling pathway. Furthermore, studying the immune functions of these VLR-likes will provide a new insight into the disease control strategy of crustacean culture.

Massive expansion of P-selectin genes in two Venerida species, Sinonovacula constricta and Mercenaria mercenaria: evidence from comparative genomics of Bivalvia.

BACKGROUND: P-selectin is a molecule participating in the inflammatory response through mediating cellular adhesion and essential for wound repair. However, studies regarding P-selectin in Bivalvia are rare. This study identified 90 P-selectin genes among nine bivalve genomes and classified them into 4 subfamilies according to phylogenetic analysis. RESULTS: Notable P-selectin gene expansion was observed in two Venerida species, Sinonovacula constricta and Mercenaria mercenaria. The synteny analysis revealed that P-selectin gene expansion was mostly caused by tandem duplication. In addition, the expression profiles of P-selectin genes in S. constricta showed that many P-selectins were specifically highly expressed in the gills, and the P-selectin expression patterns changed dramatically under low salt stress and ammonia nitrogen stress. CONCLUSIONS: The massive expansion of P-selectins may facilitate the tolerance to environmental stresses. This study sheds light on the characterizations and expression profiles of P-selectin genes in Bivalvia and provides an integrated framework for further investigation of the role of P-selectins in the environmental tolerance of bivalves.

Expression of p53, bax and bcl-2 and Predictive Value of Fibrinogen, D-Dimer, and Mean Platelet Volume in Patients with Acute Cerebral Infarction after Intravenous Thrombolysis.

This was to study the application value of fibrinogen (FIB), D-dimer (D-D), and mean platelet volume (MPV) in the prediction of vascular re-occlusion (VRO) after intravenous thrombolysis (IVT) in patients with acute cerebral infarction (ACI). 114 patients with ACI were retrospectively included as the research objects and then were divided into the improvement group (66 cases) and the progressive group (48 cases). A multivariate Logistic regression model was applied to analyze the independent risk factors of VRO after IVT. The receiver operator characteristic (ROC) curve was also adopted to assess the predictive value of relevant factors for VRO after IVT. In addition, the expression of p53, bax and bcl-2 genes was investigated in patients with acute cerebral infarction and healthy people by real-time PCR. As a result, MPV, FIB, and D-D levels of venous blood in the improvement group were remarkably lower than those in the progressive group (P<0.05). The regression coefficients between MPV, FIB, D-D at admission and VRO after IVT were 0.411, 0.362, and 0.391, respectively, so there was a significant positive correlation (P<0.05). The combined prediction model of MPV, FIB, and D-D had greater sensitivity, specificity, and area under the curve (AUC) in predicting the risk of VRO after IVT than single MPV, FIB, or D-D, showing differences of statistical significance (P<0.05). In conclusion, MPV, FIB, and D-D in venous blood at admission were independent risk factors for the VRO after IVT. The combined model of MPV, FIB, and D-D had an excellent predictive performance on the risk of VRO after IVT. The expression level of genes p53 and bax was 4.5 and 3 times higher in patients than in controls, respectively. The expression of gene bcl-2 decreased (0.75 times) in patients (P<0.001).

Coupling Aptamer-based Protein Tagging with Metabolic Glycan Labeling for In Situ Visualization and Biological Function Study of Exosomal Protein-Specific Glycosylation.

Exosomal glycoproteins play important roles in many physiological and pathological functions. Herein, we developed a dual labeling strategy based on a protein-specific aptamer tagging and metabolic glycan labeling for visualizing glycosylation of specific proteins on exosomes. The glycosylation of exosomal PD-L1 (exoPD-L1) was imaged in situ using intramolecular fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) between fluorescent PD-L1 aptamers bound on exoPD-L1 and fluorescent tags on glycans introduced via metabolic glycan labeling. This method enables in situ visualization and biological function study of exosomal protein glycosylation. Exosomal PD-L1 glycosylation was confirmed to be required in interaction with PD-1 and participated in inhibiting of CD8+ T cell proliferation. This is an efficient and non-destructive method to study the presence and function of exosomal protein-specific glycosylation in situ, which provides a powerful tool for exosomal glycoproteomics research.

Activation of Aptamers with Gain of Function by Small-Molecule-Clipping of Intramolecular Motifs.

Click reactions have the advantages of high reactivity, excellent orthogonality, and synthetic accessibility. Inspired by click reactions, we propose the concept of "clipped aptamers", whose binding affinity is regulated by the "clip"-like specific interaction between a synthetic DNA-mismatch-binding small molecule (molecular glue, Z-NCTS) and the preset CGG/CGG sequences in nucleic acid sequences. In this study, we investigated a Z-NCTS-mediated de novo selection of clipped aptamers against epithelial cell adhesion molecule. The generated clipped aptamers can achieve the efficient transition from a binding-inactive state to an active state by clipping of Z-NCTS with two CGG sites, which otherwise would not hybridize. The experimental and simulation results showed that the clipped aptamer had ideal binding thermodynamics and the ability to regulate cellular adhesion. Because of this superior activated mechanism and structural diversity, clipped aptamers hold great potential in biosensing, imaging, conditional gene- and cellular behavior-regulation, and drug delivery.

Spin-Orbit-Induced Topological Flat Bands in Line and Split Graphs of Bipartite Lattices.

Topological flat bands, such as the band in twisted bilayer graphene, are becoming a promising platform to study topics such as correlation physics, superconductivity, and transport. In this Letter, we introduce a generic approach to construct two-dimensional (2D) topological quasiflat bands from line graphs and split graphs of bipartite lattices. A line graph or split graph of a bipartite lattice exhibits a set of flat bands and a set of dispersive bands. The flat band connects to the dispersive bands through a degenerate state at some momentum. We find that, with spin-orbit coupling (SOC), the flat band becomes quasiflat and gapped from the dispersive bands. By studying a series of specific line graphs and split graphs of bipartite lattices, we find that (i) if the flat band (without SOC) has inversion or C_{2} symmetry and is nondegenerate, then the resulting quasiflat band must be topologically nontrivial, and (ii) if the flat band (without SOC) is degenerate, then there exists a SOC potential such that the resulting quasiflat band is topologically nontrivial. This generic mechanism serves as a paradigm for finding topological quasiflat bands in 2D crystalline materials and metamaterials.

Monolayer Bi2Se3-xTex: novel two-dimensional semiconductors with excellent stability and high electron mobility.

Two-dimensional materials play a vital role in next-generation microelectronics, optoelectronics and flexible electronics due to their novel physical properties caused by quantum-confinement effects. In this work, we investigate the stability and the possibility of exfoliation of monolayer Bi2Se3-xTex (x = 0, 1, 2) using first-principles calculations. Our calculations show that these materials are indirect bandgap semiconductors, and the elastic modulus is smaller than other conventional materials, which indicates better flexibility. We find that the electron mobility of monolayer Bi2SeTe2 along the armchair direction is higher than that of black phosphorene, reaching 2708 cm2 V-1 s-1, and the electron mobility of monolayer Bi2Se3 along the zigzag direction is about 24 times larger than the hole mobility. The remarkable electron mobilities and highly anisotropic properties of these new monolayers pave the way for future applications in high-speed (opto)electronic devices.

Higher-Order Topology of the Axion Insulator EuIn_{2}As_{2}.

Based on first-principles calculations and symmetry analysis, we propose that EuIn_{2}As_{2} is a long-awaited axion insulator with antiferromagnetic (AFM) long-range order. Characterized by the parity-based invariant Z_{4}=2, the topological magnetoelectric effect is quantized with θ=π in the bulk, with a band gap as large as 0.1 eV. When the staggered magnetic moments of the AFM phase are along the a or b axis, it is also a topological crystalline insulator phase with gapless surface states emerging on (100), (010), and (001) surfaces. When the magnetic moments are along the c axis, both the (100) and (001) surfaces are gapped, and the material can also be viewed as a high-order topological insulator with one-dimensional chiral states existing on the hinges between those gapped surfaces. We have calculated both the topological surface states and the hinge state in different phases of the system, respectively, which can be detected by angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy or STM experiments.

First-Principles Calculations of Angular and Strain Dependence on Effective Masses of Two-Dimensional Phosphorene Analogues (Monolayer α-Phase Group-IV Monochalcogenides MX).

Group IV monochalcogenides M X (M = Ge, Sn; X = S, Se)-semiconductor isostructure to black phosphorene-have recently emerged as promising two-dimensional materials for ultrathin-film photovoltaic applications owing to the fascinating electronic and optical properties. Herein, using first-principles calculations, we systematically investigate the orbital contribution electronic properties, angular and strain dependence on the carrier effective masses of monolayer M X . Based on analysis on the orbital-projected band structure, the VBMs are found to be dominantly contributed from the p z orbital of X atom, while the CBM is mainly dominated by p x or p y orbital of M atom. 2D SnS has the largest anisotropy ratio due to the lacking of s orbital contribution which increases the anisotropy. Moreover, the electron/hole effective masses along the x direction have the steeper tendency of increase under the uniaxial tensile strain compared to those along y direction.

The role of Anderson's rule in determining electronic, optical and transport properties of transition metal dichalcogenide heterostructures.

Two-dimensional (2D) transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) MX2 (M = Mo, W; X = S, Se, Te) possess unique properties and novel applications in optoelectronics, valleytronics and quantum computation. In this work, we performed first-principles calculations to investigate the electronic, optical and transport properties of the van der Waals (vdW) stacked MX2 heterostructures formed by two individual MX2 monolayers. We found that the so-called Anderson's rule can effectively classify the band structures of heterostructures into three types: straddling, staggered and broken gap. The broken gap is gapless, while the other two types possess direct (straddling, staggered) or indirect (staggered) band gaps. The indirect band gaps are formed by the relatively higher energy level of Te-d orbitals or the interlayer couplings of M or X atoms. For a large part of the formed MX2 heterostructures, the conduction band maximum (CBM) and valence band minimum (VBM) reside in two separate monolayers, thus the electron-hole pairs are spatially separated, which may lead to bound excitons with extended lifetimes. The carrier mobilities, which depend on three competitive factors, i.e. elastic modulus, effective mass and deformation potential constant, show larger values for electrons of MX2 heterostructures compared to their constituent monolayers. Finally, the calculated optical properties reveal strong absorption in the ultraviolet region.

Sunitinib versus sorafenib plus transarterial chemoembolization for inoperable hepatocellular carcinoma patients.

PURPOSE: To compare sunitinib vs sorafenib plus transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) for inoperable hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients. METHODS: From January 2010 to December 2016, 104 patients with inoperable stage III HCC were included and randomly divided into two groups. Patients in the sunitinib+TACE (SU+TACE) group received sunitinib orally 37.5 mg daily, while patients in the sorafenib+TACE (SO+TACE) group received sorafenib 400 mg twice daily. The two groups were given sunitinib or sorafenib on an interrupted schedule, with a 4-7 days interval before or after TACE sessions. TACE treatment was repeated every 6-8 weeks. Patients were treated for about 4-6 cycles until the occurrence of toxicity or patient refusal, or progressive disease. RESULTS: The median overall survival (OS) and the median progression-free survival (PFS) in the SO+TACE group were significantly higher than that in the SU+TACE (OS: p=0.017; PFS: p=0.036, respectively). The rates of response and disease control were higher in the SO+TACE group (58%, 79%, respectively) compared to the SU+TACE group (37%, 66%, respectively), although without statistical significance. Regarding the toxicities, we found higher rates of hand-foot skin reaction (HFSR) in the SO+TACE group, while frequent occurrence of thrombocytopenia and neutropenia in the SU+TACE group. CONCLUSIONS: The SO+TACE regimen was more effective and well tolerated in patients with unresectable stage III HCC compared to the SU+TACE regimen. The SO+TACE regimen may be a better alternative to the current standard regimens.

Secretory expression of a novel human spermatozoa antigen in E. coli and its application to a protein chip.

OBJECTIVE: To produce a recombinant spermatozoa antigen peptide using the E. coli: PhoA system on a protein chip for screening anti-sperm antibodies (ASA). RESULTS: The purity of the recombinant spermatozoa antigen exceeded 95% after two-step purification, as assessed using SDS-PAGE and HPLC. The diagnostic performance of a protein chip coated with the recombinant antigen peptide was evaluated by examining ASA in 51 infertile patients in comparison with a commercial ELISA kit. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) was 0.944, which indicated that the protein chip coated with recombinant spermatozoa antigen peptide was consistent with ELISA for ASA detection. CONCLUSION: A recombinant spermatozoa antigen was expressed in the E. coli PhoA secretory expression system and its potential application for clinical ASA detection was validated.

H2O2-Induced Oxidative Stress Responses in Eriocheir sinensis: Antioxidant Defense and Immune Gene Expression Dynamics.

Eriocheir sinensis, a key species in China's freshwater aquaculture, is threatened by various diseases, which were verified to be closely associated with oxidative stress. This study aimed to investigate the response of E. sinensis to hydrogen peroxide (H2O2)-induced oxidative stress to understand the biological processes behind these diseases. Crabs were exposed to different concentrations of H2O2 and their antioxidant enzyme activities and gene expressions for defense and immunity were measured. Results showed that activities of antioxidant enzymes-specificallysuperoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), total antioxidant capacity(T-AOC), glutathione (GSH), and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px)-varied with exposure concentration and duration, initially increasing then decreasing. Notably, SOD, GSH-Px, and T-AOC activities dropped below control levels at 96 h. Concurrently, oxidative damage markers, including malondialdehyde (MDA), H2O2, and 8-hydroxy-2'-deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG) levels, increased with exposure duration. The mRNA expression of SOD, CAT, and GSH-Px also showed an initial increase followed by a decrease, peaking at 72 h. The upregulation of phenoloxidaseloxidase (proPO) and peroxinectin (PX) was also detected, but proPO was suppressed under high levels of H2O2. Heat shock protein 70 (HSP70) expression gradually increased with higher H2O2 concentrations, whereas induced nitrogen monoxide synthase (iNOS) was upregulated but decreased at 96 h. These findings emphasize H2O2's significant impact on the crab's oxidative and immune responses, highlighting the importance of understanding cellular stress responses for disease prevention and therapy development.

Catalog of topological phonon materials.

Phonons play a crucial role in many properties of solid-state systems, and it is expected that topological phonons may lead to rich and unconventional physics. On the basis of the existing phonon materials databases, we have compiled a catalog of topological phonon bands for more than 10,000 three-dimensional crystalline materials. Using topological quantum chemistry, we calculated the band representations, compatibility relations, and band topologies of each isolated set of phonon bands for the materials in the phonon databases. Additionally, we calculated the real-space invariants for all the topologically trivial bands and classified them as atomic or obstructed atomic bands. We have selected more than 1000 "ideal" nontrivial phonon materials to motivate future experiments. The datasets were used to build the Topological Phonon Database.