A case of coagulation factor V inhibitor induced by immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy.

A 73-year-old woman with lung adenocarcinoma (cT4N3M1a: Stage IVA) was treated with atezolizumab as the eighth line of therapy. Four weeks after the fourth dose of atezolizumab, the prothrombin time (PT) and activated thromboplastin time (APTT) were prolonged. Coagulation factor V (FV) activity was decreased, and FV inhibitors were observed. There was no history of PT or APTT prolongation or bleeding before the use of atezolizumab. Atezolizumab-induced coagulation FV inhibitor was diagnosed. After 2 weeks, the PT and APTT spontaneously normalized. FV activity improved and the FV inhibitors disappeared after 6 and 9 weeks, respectively.

Surface Engineering of Methylammonium Lead Bromide Perovskite Crystals for Enhanced X-ray Detection.

The surface quality of lead halide perovskite crystals can extremely influence their optoelectronic properties and device performance. Here, we report a surface engineering crystallization technique in which we in situ grow a polycrystalline methylammonium lead tribromide (MAPbBr3) film on top of bulk mm-sized single crystals. Such MAPbBr3 crystals with a MAPbBr3 passivating film display intense green emission under UV light. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy demonstrates that these crystals with emissive surfaces are compositionally different from typical MAPbBr3 crystals that show no emission under UV light. Time-resolved photoluminescence and electrical measurements indicate that the MAPbBr3 film/MAPbBr3 crystals possess less surface defects compared to the bare MAPbBr3 crystals. Therefore, X-ray detectors fabricated using the surface-engineered MAPbBr3 crystals provide an almost 5 times improved sensitivity to X-rays and a more stable baseline drift with respect to the typical MAPbBr3 crystals.

High-Throughput Exploration of Triple-Cation Perovskites via All-in-One Compositionally-Graded Films.

Many devices heavily rely on combinatorial material optimization. However, new material alloys are classically developed by studying only a fraction of giant chemical space, while many intermediate compositions remain unmade in light of the lack of methods to synthesize gapless material libraries. Here report a high-throughput all-in-one material platform to obtain and study compositionally-tunable alloys from solution is reported. This strategy is applied to make all Csx MAy FAz PbI3 perovskite alloys (MA and FA stand for methylammonium and formamidinium, respectively), in less than 10 min, on a single film, on which 520 unique alloys are then studied. Through stability mapping of all these alloys in air supersaturated with moisture, a range of targeted perovskites are found, which are then chosen to make efficient and stable solar cells in relaxed fabrication conditions, in ambient air. This all-in-one platform provides access to an unprecedented library of compositional space with no unmade alloys, and hence aids in a comprehensive accelerated discovery of efficient energy materials.

Synergistic Effects of Bipolar Additives on Grain Boundary-Mediated Charge Transport for Efficient Carbon-Based Inorganic Perovskite Solar Cells.

Carbon-based all-inorganic CsPbIxBr3-x perovskite solar cells offer high stability against heat and humidity and a suitable band gap for tandem and semitransparent photovoltaics. In CsPbIxBr3-x perovskite films, the defects at grain boundaries (GBs) cause charge trapping, reducing the efficiency of the cell. Electronic deactivation of GB has been a conventional strategy to suppress the trapping, but at the cost of charge carrier transport through the boundaries. Here, we turn the GBs into benign charge transport pathways with the aid of bipolar charge transport semiconductors, namely, Ti3C2TX (MXene) and Spiro-OMeTAD, respectively. Thanks to the synergistic effects of both n- and p-type transport media, the charge transport is improved and balanced at the GBs. As a result, the cells achieve an efficiency of 12.7%, the highest among all low-temperature-processed carbon-based inorganic perovskite solar cells. Benign GBs also lead to enhanced light and aging stabilities. Our work demonstrates a proof-of-concept strategy of benign electronic modulation of GBs for solution-processed perovskite solar cells.

Metastatic squamous cell carcinoma of the lung mimicking multiple bone abscesses.

Squamous cell carcinoma of the lung is known to metastasize to the bones, but a presentation similar to bone abscess is rare. We encountered a case with bone metastases that mimicked bone abscess, which delayed the diagnosis of squamous cell lung carcinoma. A 67-year-old man presented with a left upper lung infiltrate and lytic lesions on the left first rib and right fifth rib. In consideration of a possible infectious process, cultures of the aspirate from the right fifth rib lesion and blood were taken; however, results were non-specific. Thereafter, bronchoscopic biopsy of the left upper lung nodule and ultrasound-guided biopsy of the right fifth rib lesion yielded a diagnosis of squamous cell lung carcinoma with bone metastases. Metastatic squamous cell lung carcinoma may have imaging characteristics of bone abscess and should be considered in the differential diagnosis of such lesions.

Antagonistic role of XESR1 and XESR5 in mesoderm formation in Xenopus laevis.

The notch signaling pathway is widely conserved from vertebrates to invertebrates and mediates the specification of numerous cell fates during developmental processes. In the Xenopus gastrula embryo, Xdelta1, one of the Notch ligands, is expressed in the prospective mesoderm prior to Xbra expression. Here, we examined the role of Notch signaling in mesoderm formation. Embryos injected with Xdelta1 morpholino oligo DNA showed a severe gastrulation defect and suppression of Xbra expression, which were completely rescued by co-injection with the active form of Notch. In order to fully understand the role of Notch signaling, we examined the expression of the Notch target genes XESR1 and XESR5. RT-PCR and whole-mount in situ hybridization analyses showed that XESR5 was highly expressed in the marginal zone of the early gastrula embryo, whereas expression of XESR1 was not detected. Animal cap assays indicated that expression of XESR5 was not induced by Notch signaling but by nodal signaling. To clarify the role of XESR5 in the gastrula embryo, a dominant negative form of XESR5 was injected into the prospective mesoderm. The truncated form of XESR5 induced the ectopic expression of XESR1, which caused a decrease in Xbra expression and defective gastrulation. In contrast, the truncated form of XESR1 caused an upregulation of XESR5 resulting in an increase in Xbra expression. The antagonistic effect of XESR1 and XESR5 suggests a dual regulation in which XESR5 produces a competent area for mesoderm formation by suppressing the gene expression of XESR1, while XESR1 sharpens the boundary of Xbra expression.