Uncooled Mid-Infrared Sensing Enabled by Chip-Integrated Low-Temperature-Grown 2D PdTe2 Dirac Semimetal.

Next-generation mid-infrared (MIR) imaging chips demand free-cooling capability and high-level integration. The rising two-dimensional (2D) semimetals with excellent infrared (IR) photoresponses are compliant with these requirements. However, challenges remain in scalable growth and substrate-dependence for on-chip integration. Here, we demonstrate the inch-level 2D palladium ditelluride (PdTe2) Dirac semimetal using a low-temperature self-stitched epitaxy (SSE) approach. The low formation energy between two precursors facilitates low-temperature multiple-point nucleation (∼300 °C), growing up, and merging, resulting in self-stitching of PdTe2 domains into a continuous film, which is highly compatible with back-end-of-line (BEOL) technology. The uncooled on-chip PdTe2/Si Schottky junction-based photodetector exhibits an ultrabroadband photoresponse of up to 10.6 µm with a large specific detectivity. Furthermore, the highly integrated device array demonstrates high-resolution room-temperature imaging capability, and the device can serve as an optical data receiver for IR optical communication. This study paves the way toward low-temperature growth of 2D semimetals for uncooled MIR sensing.

Reduced Proteolipid Protein 2 promotes endoplasmic reticulum stress-related apoptosis and increases drug sensitivity in acute myeloid leukemia.

BACKGROUND: The Proteolipid Protein 2 (PLP2), a protein in the Endoplasmic Reticulum (ER) membrane, has been reported to be highly expressed in various tumors. Previous studies have demonstrated that the reduced PLP2 can induce apoptosis and autophagy through ER stress-related pathways, leading to a decreased proliferation and aggressiveness. However, there is no research literature on the role of PLP2 in Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML). METHODS: PLP2 expression, clinical data, genetic mutations, and karyotype changes from GEO, TCGA, and timer2.0 databases were analyzed through the R packages. The possible functions and pathways of cells were explored through GO, KEGG, and GSEA enrichment analysis using the clusterProfiler R package. Immuno-infiltration analysis was conducted using the Cibersort algorithm and the Xcell R package. RT-PCR and western blot techniques were employed to identify the PLP2 expression, examine the knockdown effects in THP-1 cells, and assess the expression of genes associated with endoplasmic reticulum stress and apoptosis. Flow cytometry was utilized to determine the apoptosis and survival rates of different groups. RESULTS: PLP2 expression was observed in different subsets of AML and other cancers. Enrichment analyses revealed that PLP2 was involved in various tumor-related biological processes, primarily apoptosis and lysosomal functions. Additionally, PLP2 expression showed a strong association with immune cell infiltration, particularly monocytes. In vitro, the knockdown of PLP2 enhanced endoplasmic reticulum stress-related apoptosis and increased drug sensitivity in THP-1 cells. CONCLUSIONS: PLP2 could be a novel therapeutic target in AML, in addition, PLP2 is a potential endoplasmic reticulum stress regulatory gene in AML.

Utilization of group 10 2D TMDs-PdSe2 as a nonlinear optical material for obtaining switchable laser pulse generation modes.

In-plane anisotropic two-dimensional (2D) materials have gained considerable interest in the field of research, due to having the potential of being used in different device applications. Recently, among these 2D materials, group 10 transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) pentagonal Palladium diselenide (PdSe2) is utilized in various sections of researches like nanoelectronics, thermoelectric, spintronics, optoelectronics, and ultrafast photonics, owing to its high air stability and broad absorption spectrum properties. In this paper, it is demonstrated that by utilizing this novel 2D layered PdSe2 material as a saturable absorber (SA) in an EDF laser system, it is possible to obtain switchable laser pulse generation modes. At first, the Q-switching operation mode is attained at a threshold pump power of 56.8 mW at 1564 nm, where the modulation range of pulse duration and repetition rate is 18.5 µs-2.0 µs and 16.4 kHz-57.0 kHz, respectively. Afterward, the laser pulse generation mode is switched to the mode-locked state at a pump power of 63.1 mW (threshold value) by changing the polarization condition inside the laser cavity, and this phenomenon persists until the maximum pump power of 230.4 mW. For this mode-locking operation, the achieved pulse duration is 766 fs, corresponding to the central wavelength and 3 dB bandwidth of 1566 nm and 4.16 nm, respectively. Finally, it is illustrated that PdSe2 exhibits a modulation depth of 7.01%, which substantiates the high nonlinearity of the material. To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first time of switchable modes for laser pulse generation are achieved by using this PdSe2 SA. Therefore, this work will encourage the research community to carry out further studies with this PdSe2 material in the future.

Laser Q-switching with PtS2 microflakes saturable absorber.

Numerous studies have been conducted to explore the performance of two-dimensional (2D) layered nano-materials based saturable absorber (SA) for pulsed laser applications. However, fabricating materials in nanoscale requires complicated preparation processes, high energy consumption, and high expertise. Hence, the study of pulsed laser performance based on the saturable absorber prepared by layered materials with bulk-micro size have gained a great attention. Platinum disulfide (PtS2), which is newly developed group 10 2D layered materials, offers great potential for the laser photonic applications owing to its high carrier mobility, broadly tunable natural bandgap energy, and stability. In this work, the first passively Q-switched Erbium (Er) doped fiber laser is demonstrated with an operational wavelength of 1568.8 nm by using PtS2 microflakes saturable absorber, fabricated by a simple liquid exfoliation in N-Methyl-2-pyrrolidone (NMP) and then incorporated into polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) polymer thin film. A stable Q-switched laser operation is achieved by using this PtS2-SA within a fiber laser ring cavity. The maximum average output power is obtained as 1.1 mW, corresponding to the repetition rate of 24.6 kHz, the pulse duration of 4.2 µs, and single pulse energy of 45.6 nJ. These results open up new applications of this novel PtS2 layered material.

High-performance MoS2/Si heterojunction broadband photodetectors from deep ultraviolet to near infrared.

Polycrystalline 2D layered molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) films were synthesized via a thermal decomposition method. The MoS2/Si heterostructures were constructed in situ by synthesis MoS2 on plane Si substrates. Such MoS2/Si heterostructures exhibited high sensitivity to light illumination with wavelengths ranging from the deep ultraviolet to the near infrared. Photoresponse analysis reveals that a high responsivity of 23.1 A/W, a specific detectivity of 1.63×1012 Jones, and a fast response speed of 21.6/65.5 µs were achieved. Notably, the MoS2/Si heterojunction photodetector could operate with excellent stability and repeatability over a wide frequency range up to 150 kHz. The high performance could be attributed to the high-quality heterojunction between MoS2 and Si obtained by the in situ fabrication process. Such high performance with broadband response suggests that MoS2/Si heterostructures could have great potential in optoelectronic applications.

Bilayer graphene based surface passivation enhanced nano structured self-powered near-infrared photodetector.

A simple methyl-terminated (-CH(3)) surface passivation approach has been employed to enhance the performance of the bilayer graphene/Si nanohole array (BLG/SiNH array) Schottky junction based self-powered near infrared photodetector (SPNIRPD). The as-fabricated SPNIRPD exhibits high sensitivity to light at near infrared region at zero bias voltage. The I(light)/I(dark) ratio measured is 1.43 × 10(7), which is more than an order of magnitude improvement compared with the sample without passivation (~6.4 × 10(5)). Its corresponding responsivity and detectivity are 0.328 AW(-1) and 6.03 × 10(13) cmHz(1/2)W(-1), respectively. The demonstrated results have confirmed the high-performance SPNIRPD compared with the photo-detectors of similar type and its great potential application in future optoelectronic devices.

Screening of genes characteristic of pancreatic cancer by LASSO regression combined with support vector machine and recursive feature elimination, and immune correlation analysis.

BACKGROUND: Pancreatic cancer is a malignant tumor of the digestive tract that shows increased mortality, recurrence, and morbidity year on year. METHODS: Differentially expressed genes between pancreatic cancer and healthy tissues were first analyzed from four datasets within the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO). Gene ontology, disease ontology, and gene set enrichment analysis of differentially expressed genes were performed, and genes identified as characteristic of pancreatic cancer were screened using LASSO regression combined with support vector machine and recursive feature elimination (SVM-RFE). Differential analysis and receiver operating characteristic curve analysis were performed on the identified eigengenes, and validation was carried out using another dataset from the GEO database. Differences and correlations between characteristic pancreatic cancer genes and immune cells were analyzed. RESULTS: A total of 90 differentially expressed genes were identified by screening, and six genes characteristic of pancreatic cancer were obtained by taking the intersection of two characteristic genes identified by machine learning. Immunoassays yielded multiple immune cells associated with pancreatic cancer signature genes. CONCLUSION: The six characteristic genes screened by a combination of LASSO regression and SVM-RFE are potential new biomarkers for the early diagnosis and prognosis of pancreatic cancer, and could be a novel therapeutic target.

Sensitive bispecific chimeric T cell receptors for cancer therapy.

The expression of a synthetic chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) to redirect antigen specificity of T cells is transforming the treatment of hematological malignancies and autoimmune diseases [1-7]. In cancer, durable efficacy is frequently limited by the escape of tumors that express low levels or lack the target antigen [8-12]. These clinical results emphasize the need for immune receptors that combine high sensitivity and multispecificity to improve outcomes. Current mono- and bispecific CARs do not faithfully recapitulate T cell receptor (TCR) function and require high antigen levels on tumor cells for recognition [13-17]. Here, we describe a novel synthetic chimeric TCR (ChTCR) that exhibits superior antigen sensitivity and is readily adapted for bispecific targeting. Bispecific ChTCRs mimic TCR structure, form classical immune synapses, and exhibit TCR-like proximal signaling. T cells expressing Bi-ChTCRs more effectively eliminated tumors with heterogeneous antigen expression in vivo compared to T cells expressing optimized bispecific CARs. The Bi-ChTCR architecture is resilient and can be designed to target multiple B cell lineage and multiple myeloma antigens. Our findings identify a broadly applicable approach for engineering T cells to target hematologic malignancies with heterogeneous antigen expression, thereby overcoming the most frequent mechanism of relapse after current CAR T therapies.

Monolayer graphene film on ZnO nanorod array for high-performance Schottky junction ultraviolet photodetectors.

A new Schottky junction ultraviolet photodetector (UVPD) is fabricated by coating a free-standing ZnO nanorod (ZnONR) array with a layer of transparent monolayer graphene (MLG) film. The single-crystalline [0001]-oriented ZnONR array has a length of about 8-11 µm, and a diameter of 100∼600 nm. Finite element method (FEM) simulation results show that this novel nanostructure array/MLG heterojunction can trap UV photons effectively within the ZnONRs. By studying the I-V characteristics in the temperature range of 80-300 K, the barrier heights of the MLG film/ZnONR array Schottky barrier are estimated at different temperatures. Interestingly, the heterojunction diode with typical rectifying characteristics exhibits a high sensitivity to UV light illumination and a quick response of millisecond rise time/fall times with excellent reproducibility, whereas it is weakly sensitive to visible light irradiation. It is also observed that this UV photodetector (PD) is capable of monitoring a fast switching light with a frequency as high as 2250 Hz. The generality of the above results suggest that this MLG film/ZnONR array Schottky junction UVPD will have potential application in future optoelectronic devices.

High-performance nonvolatile Al/AlO(x)/CdTe:Sb nanowire memory device.

Here we demonstrate a room temperature processed nonvolatile memory device based on an Al/AlO(x)/CdTe:Sb nanowire (NW) heterojunction. Electrical analysis shows an echelon hysteresis composed of a high-resistance state (HRS) and a low-resistance state (LRS), which can allow it to write and erase data from the device. The conductance ratio is as high as 106, with a retention time of 3 × 104 s. Moreover, the SET voltages ranged from +6 to +8 V, whilst the RESET voltage ∼0 V. In addition, flexible memory nano-devices on PET substrate with comparable switching performance at bending condition were fabricated. XPS analysis of the Al/AlO(x)/CdTe:Sb NW heterojunction after controlled Ar⁺ bombardment reveals that this memory behavior is associated with the presence of ultra-thin AlO(x) film. This Al/AlO(x)/CdTe:Sb NW heterojunction will open up opportunities for new memory devices with different configurations.

Biomolecular Condensation of SH2 Domain-Containing Proteins on Membranes.

The plasma membrane serves as an effective platform for signal transduction of membrane receptor pathways. Activation of the T-cell receptor (TCR) triggers the formation of membrane-associated condensates that are formed through liquid-liquid phase separation. These condensates are assembled by multivalent interactions between the tyrosine-phosphorylated receptor/adaptor and the SH2 domain-containing protein at membrane-proximal milieu. Here, we describe a biochemical reconstitution system that has been implemented to decipher the mechanisms of phospholipase PLCγ1-mediated LAT condensate formation. To characterize the interaction between specific phosphotyrosine-SH2 pair, we developed a total internal reflection fluorescence (TIRF) microscopy-based system to quantify the binding preference of each SH2 domain to specific tyrosine in the context of membranes. An assay to determine the condensate-mediated protection of phosphotyrosines from being dephosphorylated by phosphatase is also elaborated. These assays could be applied to study other transmembrane receptor pathway as well as condensates formed on endomembrane systems including the endoplasmic reticulum, mitochondrion, and Golgi apparatus.

IDR-induced CAR condensation improves the cytotoxicity of CAR-Ts against low-antigen cancers.

Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-T cell-based therapies demonstrate remarkable efficacy for the treatment of otherwise intractable cancers, particularly B-cell malignancies. However, existing FDA-approved CAR-Ts are limited by low antigen sensitivity, rendering their insufficient targeting to low antigen-expressing cancers. To improve the antigen sensitivity of CAR-Ts, we engineered CARs targeting CD19, CD22, and HER2 by including intrinsically disordered regions (IDRs) that promote signaling condensation. The "IDR CARs" triggered enhanced membrane-proximal signaling in the CAR-T synapse, which led to an increased release of cytotoxic factors, a higher killing activity towards low antigen-expressing cancer cells in vitro, and an improved anti-tumor efficacy in vivo. No elevated tonic signaling was observed in IDR CAR-Ts. Together, we demonstrated IDRs as a new tool set to enhance CAR-T cytotoxicity and to broaden CAR-T's application to low antigen-expressing cancers.

Wafer-Scale Patterning Synthesis of Two-Dimensional WSe2 Layers by Direct Selenization for Highly Sensitive van der Waals Heterojunction Broadband Photodetectors.

Two-dimensional (2D) transition-metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) exhibit promising potential in fabricating highly sensitive photodetectors due to their unique electrical and optoelectrical characteristics. However, micron-sized 2D materials produced by conventional chemical vapor deposition (CVD) and mechanical exfoliation methods fail to satisfy the demands for applications in integrated optoelectronics and systems given their poor controllability and repeatability. Here, we propose a simple selenization approach to grow wafer-scale (2 in.) 2D p-WSe2 layers with high uniformity and customized patterns. Furthermore, a self-driven broadband photodetector with a p-WSe2/n-Si van der Waals heterojunction has been in situ fabricated with a satisfactory responsivity of 689.8 mA/W and a large specific detectivity of 1.59 × 1013 Jones covering from ultraviolet to short-wave infrared. In addition, a remarkable nanosecond response speed has been recorded under 0.5% duty cycle of the input light. The proposed selenization approach on the growth of 2D WSe2 layers demonstrates an effective route to fabricate highly sensitive broadband photodetectors used for integrated optoelectronic systems.

Retinomorphic Motion Detector Fabricated with Organic Infrared Semiconductors.

Organic retinomorphic sensors offer the advantage of in-sensor processing to filter out redundant static backgrounds and are well suited for motion detection. To improve this promising structure, here, the key role of interfacial energetics in promoting charge accumulation to raise the inherent photoresponse of the light-sensitive capacitor is studied. Specifically, incorporating appropriate interfacial layers around the photoactive layer is crucial to extend the carrier lifetime, as confirmed by intensity-modulated photovoltage spectroscopy. Compared to its photodiode counterpart, the retinomorphic sensor shows better detectivity and response speed due to the additional insulating layer, which reduces the dark current and the RC time constant. Lastly, three retinomorphic sensors are integrated into a line array to demonstrate the detection of movement speed and direction, showing the potential of retinomorphic designs for efficient motion tracking.

Phase-controlled van der Waals growth of wafer-scale 2D MoTe2 layers for integrated high-sensitivity broadband infrared photodetection.

Being capable of sensing broadband infrared (IR) light is vitally important for wide-ranging applications from fundamental science to industrial purposes. Two-dimensional (2D) topological semimetals are being extensively explored for broadband IR detection due to their gapless electronic structure and the linear energy dispersion relation. However, the low charge separation efficiency, high noise level, and on-chip integration difficulty of these semimetals significantly hinder their further technological applications. Here, we demonstrate a facile thermal-assisted tellurization route for the van der Waals (vdW) growth of wafer-scale phase-controlled 2D MoTe2 layers. Importantly, the type-II Weyl semimetal 1T'-MoTe2 features a unique orthorhombic lattice structure with a broken inversion symmetry, which ensures efficient carrier transportation and thus reduces the carrier recombination. This characteristic is a key merit for the well-designed 1T'-MoTe2/Si vertical Schottky junction photodetector to achieve excellent performance with an ultrabroadband detection range of up to 10.6 µm and a large room temperature specific detectivity of over 108 Jones in the mid-infrared (MIR) range. Moreover, the large-area synthesis of 2D MoTe2 layers enables the demonstration of high-resolution uncooled MIR imaging capability by using an integrated device array. This work provides a new approach to assembling uncooled IR photodetectors based on 2D materials.

Estrogen Acts Through Estrogen Receptor-ß to Promote Mannan-Induced Psoriasis-Like Skin Inflammation.

Sex-bias is more obvious in several autoimmune disorders, but not in psoriasis. However, estrogen levels fluctuate during puberty, menstrual cycle, pregnancy, and menopause, which are related to variations in psoriasis symptoms observed in female patients. Estrogen has disease promoting or ameliorating functions based on the type of immune responses and tissues involved. To investigate the effects of estrogen on psoriasis, at first, we developed an innate immunity dependent mannan-induced psoriasis model, which showed a clear female preponderance in disease severity in several mouse strains. Next, we investigated the effects of endogenous and exogenous estrogen using ovariectomy and sham operated mice. 17-ß-estradiol (E2) alone promoted the skin inflammation and it also significantly enhanced mannan-induced skin inflammation. We also observed a prominent estrogen receptor-ß (ER-ß) expression in the skin samples, especially on keratinocytes. Subsequently, we confirmed the effects of E2 on psoriasis using ER-ß antagonist (PHTPP) and agonist (DPN). In addition, estrogen was found to affect the expression of certain genes (vgll3 and cebpb), microRNAs (miR146a and miR21), and immune cells (DCs and γδ T cells) as well as chemokines (CCL5 and CXCL10) and cytokines (TNF-α, IL-6, IL-22, IL-23, and IL-17 family), which promoted the skin inflammation. Thus, we demonstrate a pathogenic role for 17-ß-estradiol in promoting skin inflammation, which should be considered while designing new treatment strategies for psoriasis patients.

In Situ Fabrication of PdSe2/GaN Schottky Junction for Polarization-Sensitive Ultraviolet Photodetection with High Dichroic Ratio.

Polarization-sensitive ultraviolet (UV) photodetection is of great technological importance for both civilian and military applications. Two-dimensional (2D) group-10 transition-metal dichalcogenides (TMDs), especially palladium diselenide (PdSe2), are promising candidates for polarized photodetection due to their low-symmetric crystal structure. However, the lack of an efficient heterostructure severely restricts their applications in UV-polarized photodetection. Here, we develop a PdSe2/GaN Schottky junction by in situ van der Waals growth for highly polarization-sensitive UV photodetection. Owing to the high-quality junction, the device exhibits an appealing UV detection performance in terms of a large responsivity of 249.9 mA/W, a high specific detectivity, and a fast response speed. More importantly, thanks to the puckered structure of the PdSe2 layer, the device is highly sensitive to polarized UV light with a large dichroic ratio up to 4.5, which is among the highest for 2D TMD material-based UV polarization-sensitive photodetectors. These findings further enable the demonstration of the outstanding polarized UV imaging capability of the Schottky junction, as well as its utility as an optical receiver for secure UV optical communication. Our work offers a strategy to fabricate the PdSe2-based heterostructure for high-performance polarization-sensitive UV photodetection.

The effects of combined microwave ablation and open surgery for the treatment of lung cancer-derived thoracolumbar metastases.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the clinical effects of microwave ablation (MWA) in addition to open surgery for the treatment of lung cancer-derived thoracolumbar metastases. METHODS: This was a single-institution, retrospective, cohort study. From January 2019 to December 2020, a total of 47 patients with lung cancer-derived thoracolumbar metastases underwent posterior spinal canal decompression and fixation surgery in our hospital. Two independent surgical teams treated these patients. One group underwent open surgery combined with MWA therapy, while the other had open surgery only (control). The pre- and post-operative visual analog scale (VAS) scores and the overall survival (OS) were compared between the MWA and control groups. The Frankel Grade classification was applied for the evaluation of the post-surgical spinal cord function. Improvement was defined as an increase of at least one rank from the pre-operative scores. Each patient was evaluated pre- and post-operatively at 48 h, 1 month, and 3-month intervals. Data on surgical-related complications were recorded. RESULTS: Thirty men and 17 women were included, with an average age of 57.9 ± 11.4 years (range, 26-81 years). Twenty-eight patients underwent MWA and were in the MWA group, and 19 patients were included in the control group. Post-operatively all patients were followed up regularly; the median follow-up time was 12 months (range, 3-24 months), and their median OS was 14 months. Patients in the MWA group had a lower VAS score than those in the control group at the 48-h (1.75 ± 1.01 vs 2.47 ± 0.96, P = 0.01) and 1-month (1.79 ± 0.92 vs 2.53 ± 1.35, P = 0.048) check-ups. At the 3-month evaluation, the VAS score differences between the two groups were not significant (P = 0.133). After surgery, spinal cord function improvement was not significantly different between the MWA and control groups (P = 0.515). MWA therapy combined with open surgery was not associated with increased OS compared with the control group (P = 0.492). CONCLUSION: MWA can be an effective and safe pain-relief method but may not extend the OS of patients with lung cancer.

Supramolecular copolymerization through self-correction of non-polymerizable transient intermediates.

Kinetic control over structures and functions of complex assembly systems has aroused widespread interest. Understanding the complex pathway and transient intermediates is helpful to decipher how multiple components evolve into complex assemblies. However, for supramolecular polymerizations, thorough and quantitative kinetic analysis is often overlooked. Challenges remain in collecting the information of structure and content of transient intermediates in situ with high temporal and spatial resolution. Here, the unsolved evolution mechanism of a classical self-sorting supramolecular copolymerization system was addressed by employing multidimensional NMR techniques coupled with a microfluidic technique. Unexpected complex pathways were revealed and quantitatively analyzed. A counterintuitive pathway involving polymerization through the 'error-correction' of non-polymerizable transient intermediates was identified. Moreover, a 'non-classical' step-growth polymerization process controlled by the self-sorting mechanism was unraveled based on the kinetic study. Realizing the existence of transient intermediates during self-sorting can encourage the exploitation of this strategy to construct kinetic steady state assembly systems. Moreover, the strategy of coupling a microfluidic technique with various characterization techniques can provide a kinetic analysis toolkit for versatile assembly systems. The combined approach of coupling thermodynamic and kinetic analyses is indispensable for understanding the assembly mechanisms, the rules of emergence, and the engineering of complex assembly systems.

Abnormal linear dichroism transition in two-dimensional PdPS.

The linear dichroism (LD) conversion shows promising applications for polarized detectors, optical transition and light propagation. However, polarity reversal always occurs at a certain wavelength in LD materials, which can only distinguish two wavelength bands as wavelength-selective photodetectors. In this study, the multi-degree-of-freedom of optical anisotropy based on 2D PdPS flakes is carefully described, in which four critical switching wavelengths are observed. Remarkably, the quadruple LD conversion shows a significant wavelength-dependent behavior, allowing us to pinpoint five wavelength bands, 200-239 nm, 239-259 nm, 259-469 nm, 469-546 nm, and 546-700 nm, for a wavelength-selective approach to photodetectors. In addition, the polarized photoresponse under 532 nm was realized with an anisotropy factor of ∼1.51 and further illustrated the in-plane anisotropy. Raman spectroscopy of PdPS flakes also shows strong phonon anisotropy. The unique wavelength-selective property shows great potential for the miniaturization and integration of photodetectors.