Tunable superconductivity in electron- and hole-doped Bernal bilayer graphene.

Graphene-based, high-quality, two-dimensional electronic systems have emerged as a highly tunable platform for studying superconductivity1-21. Specifically, superconductivity has been observed in both electron- and hole-doped twisted graphene moiré systems1-17, whereas in crystalline graphene systems, superconductivity has so far been observed only in hole-doped rhombohedral trilayer graphene (RTG)18 and hole-doped Bernal bilayer graphene (BBG)19-21. Recently, enhanced superconductivity has been demonstrated20,21 in BBG because of the proximity to a monolayer WSe2. Here we report the observation of superconductivity and a series of flavour-symmetry-breaking phases in electron- and hole-doped BBG/WSe2 devices by electrostatic doping. The strength of the observed superconductivity is tunable by applied vertical electric fields. The maximum Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless transition temperature for the electron- and hole-doped superconductivity is about 210 mK and 400 mK, respectively. Superconductivities emerge only when the applied electric fields drive the BBG electron or hole wavefunctions towards the WSe2 layer, underscoring the importance of the WSe2 layer in the observed superconductivity. The hole-doped superconductivity violates the Pauli paramagnetic limit, consistent with an Ising-like superconductor. By contrast, the electron-doped superconductivity obeys the Pauli limit, although the proximity-induced Ising spin-orbit coupling is also notable in the conduction band. Our findings highlight the rich physics associated with the conduction band in BBG, paving the way for further studies into the superconducting mechanisms of crystalline graphene and the development of superconductor devices based on BBG.

Graphene nanoribbons grown in hBN stacks for high-performance electronics.

Van der Waals encapsulation of two-dimensional materials in hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) stacks is a promising way to create ultrahigh-performance electronic devices1-4. However, contemporary approaches for achieving van der Waals encapsulation, which involve artificial layer stacking using mechanical transfer techniques, are difficult to control, prone to contamination and unscalable. Here we report the transfer-free direct growth of high-quality graphene nanoribbons (GNRs) in hBN stacks. The as-grown embedded GNRs exhibit highly desirable features being ultralong (up to 0.25 mm), ultranarrow (<5 nm) and homochiral with zigzag edges. Our atomistic simulations show that the mechanism underlying the embedded growth involves ultralow GNR friction when sliding between AA'-stacked hBN layers. Using the grown structures, we demonstrate the transfer-free fabrication of embedded GNR field-effect devices that exhibit excellent performance at room temperature with mobilities of up to 4,600 cm2 V-1 s-1 and on-off ratios of up to 106. This paves the way for the bottom-up fabrication of high-performance electronic devices based on embedded layered materials.

Quantum anomalous Hall effect from intertwined moiré bands.

Electron correlation and topology are two central threads of modern condensed matter physics. Semiconductor moiré materials provide a highly tuneable platform for studies of electron correlation1-12. Correlation-driven phenomena, including the Mott insulator2-5, generalized Wigner crystals2,6,9, stripe phases10 and continuous Mott transition11,12, have been demonstrated. However, non-trivial band topology has remained unclear. Here we report the observation of a quantum anomalous Hall effect in AB-stacked MoTe2 /WSe2 moiré heterobilayers. Unlike in the AA-stacked heterobilayers11, an out-of-plane electric field not only controls the bandwidth but also the band topology by intertwining moiré bands centred at different layers. At half band filling, corresponding to one particle per moiré unit cell, we observe quantized Hall resistance, h/e2 (with h and e denoting the Planck's constant and electron charge, respectively), and vanishing longitudinal resistance at zero magnetic field. The electric-field-induced topological phase transition from a Mott insulator to a quantum anomalous Hall insulator precedes an insulator-to-metal transition. Contrary to most known topological phase transitions13, it is not accompanied by a bulk charge gap closure. Our study paves the way for discovery of emergent phenomena arising from the combined influence of strong correlation and topology in semiconductor moiré materials.

Continuous Mott transition in semiconductor moiré superlattices.

The evolution of a Landau Fermi liquid into a non-magnetic Mott insulator with increasing electronic interactions is one of the most puzzling quantum phase transitions in physics1-6. The vicinity of the transition is believed to host exotic states of matter such as quantum spin liquids4-7, exciton condensates8 and unconventional superconductivity1. Semiconductor moiré materials realize a highly controllable Hubbard model simulator on a triangular lattice9-22, providing a unique opportunity to drive a metal-insulator transition (MIT) via continuous tuning of the electronic interactions. Here, by electrically tuning the effective interaction strength in MoTe2/WSe2 moiré superlattices, we observe a continuous MIT at a fixed filling of one electron per unit cell. The existence of quantum criticality is supported by the scaling collapse of the resistance, a continuously vanishing charge gap as the critical point is approached from the insulating side, and a diverging quasiparticle effective mass from the metallic side. We also observe a smooth evolution of the magnetic susceptibility across the MIT and no evidence of long-range magnetic order down to ~5% of the Curie-Weiss temperature. This signals an abundance of low-energy spinful excitations on the insulating side that is further corroborated by the Pomeranchuk effect observed on the metallic side. Our results are consistent with the universal critical theory of a continuous Mott transition in two dimensions4,23.

Simulation of Hubbard model physics in WSe2/WS2 moiré superlattices.

The Hubbard model, formulated by physicist John Hubbard in the 1960s1, is a simple theoretical model of interacting quantum particles in a lattice. The model is thought to capture the essential physics of high-temperature superconductors, magnetic insulators and other complex quantum many-body ground states2,3. Although the Hubbard model provides a greatly simplified representation of most real materials, it is nevertheless difficult to solve accurately except in the one-dimensional case2,3. Therefore, the physical realization of the Hubbard model in two or three dimensions, which can act as an analogue quantum simulator (that is, it can mimic the model and simulate its phase diagram and dynamics4,5), has a vital role in solving the strong-correlation puzzle, namely, revealing the physics of a large number of strongly interacting quantum particles. Here we obtain the phase diagram of the two-dimensional triangular-lattice Hubbard model by studying angle-aligned WSe2/WS2 bilayers, which form moiré superlattices6 because of the difference between the lattice constants of the two materials. We probe the charge and magnetic properties of the system by measuring the dependence of its optical response on an out-of-plane magnetic field and on the gate-tuned carrier density. At half-filling of the first hole moiré superlattice band, we observe a Mott insulating state with antiferromagnetic Curie-Weiss behaviour, as expected for a Hubbard model in the strong-interaction regime2,3,7-9. Above half-filling, our experiment suggests a possible quantum phase transition from an antiferromagnetic to a weak ferromagnetic state at filling factors near 0.6. Our results establish a new solid-state platform based on moiré superlattices that can be used to simulate problems in strong-correlation physics that are described by triangular-lattice Hubbard models.

Risk prediction models for cardiovascular events in hemodialysis patients: A systematic review.

OBJECTIVE: To perform a systematic review of risk prediction models for cardiovascular (CV) events in hemodialysis (HD) patients, and provide a reference for the application and optimization of related prediction models. METHODS: PubMed, The Cochrane Library, Web of Science, and Embase databases were searched from inception to 1 February 2023. Two authors independently conducted the literature search, selection, and screening. The Prediction model Risk Of Bias Assessment Tool (PROBAST) was applied to evaluate the risk of bias and applicability of the included literature. RESULTS: A total of nine studies containing 12 models were included, with performance measured by the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) lying between 0.70 and 0.88. Age, diabetes mellitus (DM), C-reactive protein (CRP), and albumin (ALB) were the most commonly identified predictors of CV events in HD patients. While the included models demonstrated good applicability, there were still certain risks of bias, primarily related to inadequate handling of missing data and transformation of continuous variables, as well as a lack of model performance validation. CONCLUSION: The included models showed good overall predictive performance and can assist healthcare professionals in the early identification of high-risk individuals for CV events in HD patients. In the future, the modeling methods should be improved, or the existing models should undergo external validation to provide better guidance for clinical practice.

Stripe phases in WSe2/WS2 moiré superlattices.

Stripe phases, in which the rotational symmetry of charge density is spontaneously broken, occur in many strongly correlated systems with competing interactions1-11. However, identifying and studying such stripe phases remains challenging. Here we uncover stripe phases in WSe2/WS2 moiré superlattices by combining optical anisotropy and electronic compressibility measurements. We find strong electronic anisotropy over a large doping range peaked at 1/2 filling of the moiré superlattice. The 1/2 state is incompressible and assigned to an insulating stripe crystal phase. Wide-field imaging reveals domain configurations with a preferential alignment along the high-symmetry axes of the moiré superlattice. Away from 1/2 filling, we observe additional stripe crystals at commensurate filling 1/4, 2/5 and 3/5, and compressible electronic liquid crystal states at incommensurate fillings. Our results demonstrate that two-dimensional semiconductor moiré superlattices are a highly tunable platform from which to study the stripe phases and their interplay with other symmetry breaking ground states.

Dietary patterns, skeletal muscle mass loss, and cardiovascular risk among elderly men: A preliminary cross-sectional study in Sichuan province.

The present study investigated the correlation between dietary patterns (DPs) with skeletal muscle mass (SMM) and cardiovascular risks in Sichuan males aged ≥65-years-old. Three major DPs were extracted by principal component analysis: animal-based and processed food, traditional food, and ovo-lacto vegetarian food, which accounted for 14.83%, 14.36%, and 11.86% of the variance, respectively. Adjusted logistic regression analysis showed that animal-based and processed food DP was positively associated with overweight/obesity(OR: 3.25, 95% CI: 1.94-5.46) and dyslipidemia(OR: 3.53, 95% CI: 2.00-6.22). Traditional DP was negatively associated with overweight/obesity(OR: 0.51, 95% CI: 0.36-0.72), dyslipidemia(OR: 0.50, 95% CI: 0.35-0.75), and high blood pressure(OR: 0.54, 95% CI: 0.38-0.77), but positively associated with decreased SMM (OR: 2.21, 95% CI: 1.36-3.16). Ovo-lacto vegetarian DP was negatively associated with dyslipidemia (OR: 0.56, 95% CI: 0.39-0.81) and hyperuricemia (OR: 0.56, 95% CI: 0.39-0.79), but positively associated with decreased SMM (OR: 1.57, 95% CI: 0.74-2.32). How to choose the best DP to control the cardiovascular risks and fight skeletal muscle loss needs further investigation in the future.

Quantum Oscillations in Two-Dimensional Insulators Induced by Graphite Gates.

We demonstrate a mechanism for magnetoresistance oscillations in insulating states of two-dimensional (2D) materials arising from the interaction of the 2D layer and proximal graphite gates. We study a series of devices based on different 2D systems, including mono- and bilayer T_{d}-WTe_{2}, MoTe_{2}/WSe_{2} moiré heterobilayers, and Bernal-stacked bilayer graphene, which all share a similar graphite-gated geometry. We find that the 2D systems, when tuned near an insulating state, generically exhibit magnetoresistance oscillations corresponding to a high-density Fermi surface, in contravention of naïve band theory. Simultaneous measurement of the resistivity of the graphite gates shows that the oscillations of the sample layer are precisely correlated with those of the graphite gates. Further supporting this connection, the oscillations are quenched when the graphite gate is replaced by a low-mobility metal, TaSe_{2}. The observed phenomenon arises from the oscillatory behavior of graphite density of states, which modulates the device capacitance and, as a consequence, the carrier density in the sample layer even when a constant electrochemical potential is maintained between the sample and the gate electrode. Oscillations are most pronounced near insulating states where the resistivity is strongly density dependent. Our study suggests a unified mechanism for quantum oscillations in graphite-gated 2D insulators based on electrostatic sample-gate coupling.

Dietary patterns and metabolic syndrome among urbanized Tibetans: A cross-sectional study.

The prevalence of metabolic syndrome (MetS) and the major dietary patterns among urbanized Tibetans are unclear. The present study aimed to investigate the prevalence of MetS among Jiarong Tibetans in Aba Plateau, identify the major dietary patterns, and evaluate their association with the risk of MetS. In this cross-sectional study on 476 subjects, 18-80-years-old, dietary intakes were evaluated using a simplified food frequency questionnaire (SFFQ). MetS was defined according to the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) guidelines. Principal component analysis was performed to assess the major dietary patterns. Multivariate logistic regression analysis examined the associations between dietary patterns and the risk of MetS. The prevalence of Mets in the population was 37.6%. Herein, three major dietary patterns were extracted: traditional Tibetan, urbanized, and healthy dietary patterns. After adjusting for potential confounders (Model 1: adjusted for sex and age; Model 2: adjusted for sex, age, smoking status, drinking situation, physical activity level and total energy intake), subjects in the highest tertile of the healthy dietary had a lower risk of MetS compared to those from the lowest tertile. Also, no significant statistical association was established between the risk of MetS and the traditional Tibetan and urbanized diet.

Nonlinear anomalous Hall effect in few-layer WTe2.

The Hall effect occurs only in systems with broken time-reversal symmetry, such as materials under an external magnetic field in the ordinary Hall effect and magnetic materials in the anomalous Hall effect (AHE)1. Here we show a nonlinear AHE in a non-magnetic material under zero magnetic field, in which the Hall voltage depends quadratically on the longitudinal current2-6. We observe the effect in few-layer Td-WTe2, a two-dimensional semimetal with broken inversion symmetry and only one mirror line in the crystal plane. Our angle-resolved electrical measurements reveal that the Hall voltage maximizes (vanishes) when the bias current is perpendicular (parallel) to the mirror line. The observed effect can be understood as an AHE induced by the bias current, which generates an out-of-plane magnetization. The temperature dependence of the Hall conductivity further suggests that both the intrinsic Berry curvature dipole and extrinsic spin-dependent scatterings contribute to the observed nonlinear AHE.

Pressure-controlled interlayer magnetism in atomically thin CrI3.

Stacking order can influence the physical properties of two-dimensional van der Waals materials1,2. Here we applied hydrostatic pressure up to 2 GPa to modify the stacking order in the van der Waals magnetic insulator CrI3. We observed an irreversible interlayer antiferromagnetic-to-ferromagnetic transition in atomically thin CrI3 by magnetic circular dichroism and electron tunnelling measurements. The effect was accompanied by a monoclinic-to-rhombohedral stacking-order change characterized by polarized Raman spectroscopy. Before the structural change, the interlayer antiferromagnetic coupling energy can be tuned up by nearly 100% with pressure. Our experiment reveals the interlayer ferromagnetic ground state, which is established in bulk CrI3 but not observed in native exfoliated thin films. The observed correlation between the magnetic ground state and the stacking order is in good agreement with first principles calculations3-8 and suggests a route towards nanoscale magnetic textures by moiré engineering3,9.

Validity and reliability of a simplified food frequency questionnaire: a cross sectional study among physical health examination adults in southwest region of China.

BACKGROUND: In China, many people are regarded suitable for participating in regular physical examination for diagnosis and prevention of diseases. Some simplified food frequency questionnaires have been designed and used; however, the accuracy of the questionnaire is absent. This study aimed to examine the reliability and validity of simplified food frequency questionnaire (SFFQ) used among adults undergoing physical examination in southwest region of China. METHODS: This was a cross-sectional study conducted among physical health examination adults in the Southwest region of China. A total of 239 participants aged 20-65 were included from February 2019 to June 2019. The performance of SFFQ was evaluated by means of a three-day 24-h dietary record (3R24). The relative validity and agreement was assessed by Pearson's correlation and intra-class correlation coefficients (ICC), respectively. RESULTS: The median energy-adjusted ICC of food groups between SFFQ2 and SFFQ1 was 0.59 (range: 0.49-0.73) and the ICC of nutrients was 0.47(range: 0.39-0.76). The Pearson correlation showed a valid comparisons between SFFQ1 and 3R24, ranging from -0.086 to 0.93 for food and 0.21 to 0.71 for nutrition, respectively. The energy-adjustment slightly increased the correlation coefficients. CONCLUSIONS: The reliability and validity of SFFQ was acceptable, and it could be an appropriate dietary assessment tool for the future epidemiological studies conducted among physical health examination adults of southwest China. Trial registration CHiCTR, ChiCTR1900020934, Registered 22 January 2019, https://www.chictr.org.cn/edit.aspx?pid=35414&htm=4 .

Anomalous Conductance Oscillations in the Hybridization Gap of InAs/GaSb Quantum Wells.

We observe the magnetic oscillation of electric conductance in the two-dimensional InAs/GaSb quantum spin Hall insulator. Its insulating bulk origin is unambiguously demonstrated by the antiphase oscillations of the conductance and the resistance. Characteristically, the in-gap oscillation frequency is higher than the Shubnikov-de Haas oscillation close to the conduction band edge in the metallic regime. The temperature dependence shows both thermal activation and smearing effects, which cannot be described by the Lifshitz-Kosevich theory. A two-band Bernevig-Hughes-Zhang model with a large quasiparticle self-energy in the insulating regime is proposed to capture the main properties of the in-gap oscillations.

Effects of catalpol on the activity of human liver cytochrome P450 enzymes.

1. Catalpol possesses numerous pharmacological activities, and however, little data available for the effects of catalpol on the activity of human liver cytochrome P450 (CYP) enzymes. 2. This study investigates the inhibitory effects of catalpol on the main human liver CYP isoforms. In this study, the inhibitory effects of catalpol on the eight human liver CYP isoforms 1A2, 2A6, 2E1, 2D6, 2C9, 2C19, 2C8 and 3A4 were investigated in human liver microsomes. 3. The results indicated that catalpol could inhibit the activity of CYP3A4, CYP2E1 and CYP2C9, with IC50 values of 14.27, 22.4 and 14.69 µM, respectively, but those other CYP isoforms were not affected. Enzyme kinetic studies showed that catalpol was not only a noncompetitive inhibitor of CYP3A4, but also a competitive inhibitor of CYP2E1 and CYP2C9, with Ki values of 7.40, 10.75 and 7.37 µM, respectively. In addition, catalpol is a time-dependent inhibitor for CYP3A4, with maximum inactivation (kinact) and 50% maximum inactivation (KI) values of 0.02 min-1 and 1.86 µM, respectively. 4. The in vitro studies of catalpol with CYP isoforms suggest that catalpol has the potential to cause pharmacokinetic drug interactions with other co-administered drugs metabolized by CYP3A4, CYP2E1 and CYP2C9. Further in vivo studies are needed in order to evaluate the significance of this interaction.

Rapamycin inhibits activation of AMPK-mTOR signaling pathway-induced Alzheimer's disease lesion in hippocampus of rats with type 2 diabetes mellitus.

BACKGROUND: Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is strongly correlated with Alzheimer's disease (AD). Rapamycin has important uses in oncology, cardiology and transplantation medicine. This study aims to investigate effects of rapamycin on AD in hippocampus of T2DM rat by AMPK/mTOR signaling pathway. METHODS: Morris water maze test was applied to evaluate the learning and memory abilities. The fasting plasma glucose (FBG), glycosylated haemoglobin, total cholesterol, triglyceride and serum insulin level were measured. RT-qPCR and Western blot analysis were performed to test expression of AMPK and mTOR. Immunohistochemistry was used to detect the Aß deposition and immunoblotting to test the total tau, p-tau and Aß precursor APP expressions. RESULTS: After treated with rapamycin, T2DM rats and rats with T2DM and AD showed increased learning-memory ability, and decreased levels of FBG, glycosylated hemoglobin, total cholesterol, triglyceride and serum insulin, decreased expression of APP and p-tau, increased AMPK mRNA expression and p-AMPK and decreased Aß deposition, mTOR mRNA expression and p-mTOR. CONCLUSION: The study demonstrated that rapamycin reduces the risk of AD in T2DM rats and inhibits activation of AMPK-mTOR signaling pathway, thereby improving AD lesion in hippocampus of T2DM rats.

Validation of simple indexes for nonalcoholic fatty liver disease in western China: a retrospective cross-sectional study.

Various noninvasive algorithms have been developed for predicting the presence of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). The evaluation of the indexes' diagnostic performance has been reported in Europe and Asia over the past decade; however, external validation of them in China is rare. This study was aimed to evaluate various indexes for NAFLD in western China. It was a retrospective cross-sectional study, using data from a large-scale health check-up project at Sichuan provincial hospital. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves of eight indexes, including the fatty liver index (FLI), the hepatic steatosis index, lipid accumulation product and etc., were developed to predict ultrasonographic NAFLD. There were 13,122 subjects in this study (2,692 NAFLD patients and 10,430 non-NAFLD participants). The area under ROC curve of FLI for predicting NAFLD was 0.880 (95% confidence interval, 0.874-0.886), which was significantly higher than other seven indexes. Accuracy, sensitivity and specificity of FLI for NAFLD were good (cut-off value = 30, 0.782, 0.832, 0.770 and cut-off value = 60, 0.838, 0.443, 0.940, respectively). Furthermore, FLI also presented advantages in expenditure and accessibility, compared with other indexes. It supports FLI as an easily accessible index for physicians and a reliable predictor for NAFLD screening in western China.

Tuning Edge States in Strained-Layer InAs/GaInSb Quantum Spin Hall Insulators.

We report on a class of quantum spin Hall insulators (QSHIs) in strained-layer InAs/GaInSb quantum wells, in which the bulk gaps are enhanced up to fivefold as compared to the binary InAs/GaSb QSHI. Remarkably, with consequently increasing edge velocity, the edge conductance at zero and applied magnetic fields manifests time reversal symmetry-protected properties consistent with the Z_{2} topological insulator. The InAs/GaInSb bilayers offer a much sought-after platform for future studies and applications of the QSHI.

Observation of a Helical Luttinger Liquid in InAs/GaSb Quantum Spin Hall Edges.

We report on the observation of a helical Luttinger liquid in the edge of an InAs/GaSb quantum spin Hall insulator, which shows characteristic suppression of conductance at low temperature and low bias voltage. Moreover, the conductance shows power-law behavior as a function of temperature and bias voltage. The results underscore the strong electron-electron interaction effect in transport of InAs/GaSb edge states. Because of the fact that the Fermi velocity of the edge modes is controlled by gates, the Luttinger parameter can be fine tuned. Realization of a tunable Luttinger liquid offers a one-dimensional model system for future studies of predicted correlation effects.

Accumulated subcutaneous fat in abdomen is associated with long COVID-19 symptoms among non-hospitalized patients: a prospective observational study.

Introduction: Long COVID-19 symptoms may have a variety of potential overlapping causes. In this study, we aimed to investigate the potential correlation between abdominal adipose tissue and long COVID-19 symptoms in non-hospitalized patients in China. Methods: This is a prospective observational study. 424 subjects, recovered from COVID-19 for 2-4 weeks, were enrolled and 408 subjects were finished the follow-up investigation at baseline, 8th week and 12th week. Physical measurements were collected. Kaplan-Meier analysis and cox regression analysis were carried out to assess the correlation. Results: A total of 72 subjects reported the long COVID-19 symptoms. The adjusted Kaplan-Meier analysis and Cox regression analysis revealed a significant correlation with accumulated subcutaneous fat (SFA ≥ 2.0 dm2) and the long COVID-19 symptoms (HR = 2.63, P < 0.001 for male, HR = 1.52, P = 0.048 for female). However, overweight and central obesity showed positive correlation only in women. Discussion: This study suggested that accumulated subcutaneous fat in abdomen (SFA ≥ 2.0 dm2) was an important positive factor associated with long COVID-19 symptoms among Chinese non-hospitalized patients. Large investigation and prospective studies are needed to validate the correlation in the future.