Improving Buried Interface Contact by Bidentate Anchoring for Inverted Perovskite Solar Cells.

Nickel oxide (NiOx) is a promising hole transport layer (HTL) to fabricate efficient and large-scale inverted perovskite solar cells (PSCs) due to its low cost and superior chemical stability. However, inverted PSCs based on NiOx are still lagging behind that of other HTL because of the poor quality of buried interface contact. Herein, a bidentate ligand, 4,6-bis (diphenylphosphino) phenoxazine (2DPP), is used to regulate the NiOx surface and perovskite buried interface. The diphosphine Lewis base in the 2DPP molecule can coordinate both with NiOx and lead ions at NiOx/perovskite interface, leading to high-quality perovskite films with minimized defects. It is found that the inverted PSCs with 2DPP-modified buried interface exhibit double advantages of being both fast charge extraction and reduced nonradiative recombination, which is a combination of multiple factors including favorable energetic alignment, improved interface contact and strong binding between NiOx/2DPP and perovskite. The optimal PSC based on 2DPP modification yields a champion power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 21.9%. The unencapsulated PSC maintains above 75% of its initial PCE in the air with a relative humidity (RH) of 30-40% for 1000 h.

Bioinspired Polyoxo-titanium Cluster for Greatly Enhanced Solar-Driven CO2 Reduction.

Developing artificial enzymes with excellent catalytic activities and uncovering the structural and chemical determinants remain a grand challenge. Discrete titanium-oxo clusters with well-defined coordination environments at the atomic level can mimic the pivotal catalytic center of natural enzymes and optimize the charge-transfer kinetics. Herein, we report the precise structural tailoring of a self-assembled tetrahedral Ti4Mn3-cluster for photocatalytic CO2 reduction and realize the selective evolution of CO over specific sites. Experiments and theoretical simulation demonstrate that the high catalytic performance of the Ti4Mn3-cluster should be related to the synergy between active Mn sites and the surrounding functional microenvironment. The reduced energy barrier of the CO2 photoreduction reaction and moderate adsorption strength of CO* are beneficial for the high selective evolution of CO. This work provides a molecular scale accurate structural model to give insight into artificial enzyme for CO2 photoreduction.

Nomogram for predicting postoperative deep vein thrombosis in patients with spinal fractures caused by high-energy injuries.

OBJECTIVE: Deep venous thrombosis (DVT) is a common complication in patients with spinal fractures caused by high-energy injuries. Early identification of patients at high risk of postoperative DVT is essential for the prevention of thrombosis. This study aimed to develop and validate a prediction model based on a nomogram to predict DVT in patients with spinal fractures caused by high-energy injuries. METHODS: Clinical data were collected from 936 patients admitted to our hospital between January 2016 and December 2021 with spinal fractures caused by high-energy injuries. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to identify the risk factors for postoperative DVT and to develop a nomogram. The predictive performance of the nomogram was evaluated by the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve and calibration curve. RESULTS: The incidence of preoperative DVT was 15.38% (144/936). The postoperative incidence of DVT was 20.5% (192/936). The multivariate analysis revealed that age, operation time, blood transfusion, duration of bed rest, American Spinal Injury Association (ASIA) score and D-dimer were risk factors for postoperative DVT. The area under the ROC curve of the nomogram was 0.835 and the calibration curve showed good calibration. CONCLUSIONS: The nomogram showed a good ability to predict postoperative DVT in patients with spinal fractures caused by high-energy injuries, which may benefit pre- and postoperative DVT prophylaxis strategy development.

Stability of mpox virus on different commonly contacted surfaces.

Mpox is still spreading globally and is mostly reported to be transmitted by skin and mucosal contact. However, transmission through contact with fomites, contaminated objects, or surfaces has been reported in general population. Evaluation of the stability of mpox virus (MPXV) on different surfaces is important to minimize mpox transmission. In the study, the stability of MPXV on different kinds of commonly contacted surfaces was determined. MPXV was observed to have a surface-dependent stability pattern. Viable virus was detected on both glass and stainless steel for up to 5 days, and on plastic surfaces for up to 3 days. In contrast, no viable MPXV was detected on wooden board and cardboard, which are porous and water-absorbent surfaces, after 1 and 2 days of incubation, respectively. In addition, MPXV nucleic acids were more stable and showed better correlation with viral titers on stainless steel, plastic, and glass. The results indicate that fomite transmission of MPXV is plausible. Moreover, the stability of MPXV was highly surface-dependent and more stable on smooth surfaces, which could provide more information for minimizing the transmission of mpox and emphasize the significance of environmental disinfection in mpox prevention and control.

Clinical characteristics of abruptly increased paediatric patients with Omicron BF.7 or BA.5.2 in Beijing.

BACKGROUND: The coronavirus disease 2019 outbreak has hit Beijing since mid-Nov, 2022, with soaring growth of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) among children. Therefore, it is vital to determine the clinical manifestations of epidemic SARS-CoV-2 strains in paediatric patients. METHODS: In this study, nucleic acid tests (NATs) for SARS-CoV-2 were performed in paediatric outpatients with symptoms of acute respiratory tract infection during 18 Nov-6 Dec, 2022. Half of the outpatients positive for SARS-CoV-2 were randomly selected to screen for other respiratory pathogens, whereas those with low cycle threshold values in SARS-CoV-2 NATs were amplified and sequenced to determine the SARS-CoV-2 variants. Finally, children positive for SARS-CoV-2 with clinical information in detail were enrolled in a follow-up study to identify potential factors significantly associated with long recovery. RESULTS: Among 9625 paediatric outpatients tested for nucleic acid of SARS-CoV-2, 733 (7.62%, 733/9625) were identified as SARS-CoV-2 NAT positive, with only three (0.82%, 3/366) co-infected with other pathogens among 366 randomly selected patients, and 71 (62.83%) determined as Omicron subvariant BF.7 and 42 (37.22%) as BA.5.2 among 113 successfully sequenced. Among the 681 patients with complete clinical information, fever was the most common symptom (96.8%). In a follow-up study of 592 patients, 46.96% became asymptomatic on the third day and 65.71% on the fifth day. Only 1.7% of infected children experienced febrile seizures. Combined with abnormal C-reactive protein, a higher percentage of antibiotics administration was observed. More co-living members and longer duration of first symptoms served as independent risk factors for long-term recovery, especially in children vaccinated for SARS-CoV-2. CONCLUSIONS: BF.7 and BA.5.2 were the dominate Omicron subvariants and caused milder infections during the SARS-CoV-2 outbreak in Beijing. The number of co-living members and duration of first symptoms were independent risk factors for long-term recovery.

Multiple-Intercalation Stages and Universal Tc Enhancement through Polar Organic Species in Electron-Doped 1T-SnSe2.

In this work, we report multiple-intercalation stages and universal Tc enhancement of superconductivity in 1T-SnSe2 through Li and organic molecule co-intercalation. We observe significantly increased lattice parameters of up to 40 Šand a dramatically enlarged interlayer distance of up to ∼11 Šin Li and N,N-dimethylformamide (DMF) co-intercalated SnSe2. Well-separated co-intercalation stages with different stacking patterns have been discovered by carefully controlled reaction times and concentrations of solutions. These co-intercalation stages are superconductors showing different superconducting signals. In addition, Li and various organic species such as acetone, dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), and tetrahydrofuran (THF) have been co-intercalated into SnSe2 crystals; all of which show an enhanced superconducting Tc compared to solely Li-intercalated SnSe2. Our findings may provide more insight into effectively tuning the electronic structure of the lamellar structure through organic molecule co-regulation and open a new strategy to engineer the physical properties of these layered materials by controlling their different intercalation stages.

Chemistry in Superconductors.

Superconductors with exotic physical properties are critical to current and future technology. In this review, we highlight several important superconducting families and focus on their crystal structure, chemical bonding, and superconductivity correlations. We connect superconducting materials with chemical bonding interactions based on their structure-property relationships, elucidating our empirically chemical approaches and other methods used in the discovery of new superconductors. Furthermore, we provide some technical strategies to synthesize superconductors and basic but important characterization for chemists needed when reporting new superconductors. In the end, we share our thoughts on how to make new superconductors and where chemists can work on in the superconductivity field. This review is written using chemical terms, with a focus on providing some chemically intuitive thoughts on superconducting materials design.

Electron transport, ferroelectric, piezoelectric and optical properties of two-dimensional In2Te3: a first-principles study.

Two-dimensional (2D) materials have garnered significant interest in the fields of optoelectronics and electronics due to their unique and diverse properties. In this work, the electron transport, ferroelectric, piezoelectric, and optical properties of 2D In2Te3 were systematically investigated using first-principles based on density functional theory. The analysis of the phonon spectrum and elastic modulus of the Born effective criterion indicates that the structure of the novel 2D In2Te3 is dynamically stable. The calculation results show that 2D In2Te3 exhibits a carrier mobility as high as 3680.99 cm2 V-1 s-1 (y direction), a high in-plane polarization of 2.428 × 10-10 C m-1, and an excellent ferroelectric phase transition barrier (52.847 meV) and piezoelectric properties (e11 = 1.52 × 10-10 C m-1). The higher carrier mobility is attributed to the band degeneracy and small carrier effective mass. In addition, biaxial strain is an effective way to modulate the band gap and optical properties of 2D In2Te3. These properties indicate that 2D In2Te3 is a promising candidate material for flexible electronic devices and ferroelectric photovoltaic devices.

Gate-Tunable Transport in Quasi-One-Dimensional α-Bi4I4 Field Effect Transistors.

Bi4I4 belongs to a novel family of quasi-one-dimensional (1D) topological insulators (TIs). While its ß phase was demonstrated to be a prototypical weak TI, the α phase, long thought to be a trivial insulator, was recently predicted to be a rare higher order TI. Here, we report the first gate tunable transport together with evidence for unconventional band topology in exfoliated α-Bi4I4 field effect transistors. We observe a Dirac-like longitudinal resistance peak and a sign change in the Hall resistance; their temperature dependences suggest competing transport mechanisms: a hole-doped insulating bulk and one or more gate-tunable ambipolar boundary channels. Our combined transport, photoemission, and theoretical results indicate that the gate-tunable channels likely arise from novel gapped side surface states, two-dimensional (2D) TI in the bottommost layer, and/or helical hinge states of the upper layers. Markedly, a gate-tunable supercurrent is observed in an α-Bi4I4 Josephson junction, underscoring the potential of these boundary channels to mediate topological superconductivity.

Narrow Linewidth Half-Open-Cavity Random Laser Assisted by a Three-Grating Ring Resonator for Strain Detection.

A stabilized narrow-linewidth random fiber laser for strain detection, based on a three-grating ring (TGR) resonator and half-open-cavity structure, is proposed and investigated experimentally. The half-open-cavity structure proved to provide double optical gain of erbium-doped fiber, which was beneficial to increase the photon lifetime as well as further narrow the linewidth. Meanwhile, the stability and frequency noise of narrow lasing output was improved by suppressing the competition-induced undesired residual random lasing modes with the TGR resonator. The TGR resonator is composed of a double-cavity fiber Bragg grating Fabry-Perot (FBG-FP) interferometer, a section of single-mode fiber, and a circulator. The specially designed double-cavity FBG-FP interferometer embedded in the TGR resonator acted as the strain-sensing element and improved the resolution of the dynamic strain. A stable ultra-narrow linewidth of about 205 Hz was obtained. The frequency noise was reduced to about 2 Hz/√Hz. A high dynamic strain measuring resolution of 35 femto-strain (fε)/√Hz was achieved.

Interfacial Superconductivity Achieved in Parent AEFe2As2 (AE = Ca, Sr, Ba) by a Simple and Realistic Annealing Route.

Materials with interfaces often exhibit extraordinary phenomena exemplified by rich physics, such as high-temperature superconductivity and enhanced electronic correlations. However, demonstrations of confined interfaces to date have involved intensive effort and fortuity, and no simple path is consistently available. Here, we report the achievement of interfacial superconductivity in the nonsuperconducting parent compounds AEFe2As2, where AE = Ca, Sr, or Ba, by simple subsequent annealing of the as-grown samples in an atmosphere of As, P, or Sb. Our results indicate that the superconductivity originates from electron transfer at the interface of the hybrid van der Waals heterostructures, consistent with the two-dimensional superconducting transition observed. The observations suggest a common origin of interfaces for the nonbulk superconductivity previously reported in the AEFe2As2 compound family and provide insight for the further exploration of interfacial superconductivity.

Construction and immune efficacy of recombinant Lactobacillus casei expressing OmpAI of Aeromonas veronii C5-I as molecular adjuvant.

Despite advancements in diagnosis and control, Aeromonas infections are considered the leading cause of economic aquaculture loss. In this study, to enhance DNA vaccine efficacy against Aeromonas infections, a fused DNA fragment (1504 bp) of the OmpAI gene from Aeromonas veronii (A. veronii) combined with the C5-I gene from the common carp was generated with splicing by overlapping PCR (SOE-PCR) and expressed in Lactobacillus casei strain CC16. Protein C5-I served as a molecular adjuvant for the antigen OmpAI. Two types of fusion antigens were developed (anchored and secretory). Generally, anchored-type antigens are more effective in inducing immune responses in fish than secretory antigens. Western blot analysis showed that the bands of both antigens were present at 58 kDa. After oral immunization, both DNA vaccines enhanced the serum levels of AKP, ACP, SOD and LZM in immunized carp; the genes IL-10, IL-1ß, TNF-α, and IFN-γ in the heart, liver, spleen, head kidney, and intestinal tract were upregulated; and a stronger phagocytic response was triggered in immunized fish. In addition, common carp administered the fused antigens were more protected from Aeromonas challenge (60-73.3% protection). Recombinant Lactobacillus bacteria expressing the fused protein showed a greater propensity for colonization in the intestinal tract in immunized fish than in controls. Here, we provide a promising approach to improve DNA vaccine immunogenicity for protecting common carp from A. veronii infections.

Macrocyclic Inorganic Tin-Containing Oxo Clusters: Heterometallic Strategy for Configuration and Catalytic Activity Modulation.

In this work, the first examples of inorganic macrocyclic tin-oxo clusters which are stabilized by sulfate ligands are reported. As determined by X-ray diffraction and photoelectron spectroscopy analyses, the prepared inorganic Sn10 -oxo cluster displays interesting mixed valence behaviors, with 8 Sn4+ located at the cyclic skeleton and two Sn2+ encapsulated in the center. When further introducing Ti4+ and In3+ ions to the synthetic systems, heterometallic Sn2 Ti6 and SnIn5 Ti6 complexes with Ti6 (SO4 )9 and SnIn5 (SO4 )12 macrocyclic skeletons were prepared whose configuration and packing models were affected by the ionic radius of incorporated metals. Moreover, comparative CO2 reduction experiments confirm that such heterometallic composition can significantly improve the catalytic activities of these inorganic macrocyclic oxo clusters. This work represents a milestone in constructing inorganic tin complexes and also macrocyclic metal oxo clusters with tunable configurations and properties.

Discovery of novel VEGFR-2 inhibitors embedding 6,7-dimethoxyquinazoline and diarylamide fragments.

VEGF/VEGFR-2 signaling plays a critical part in tumor angiogenesis. Inhibition of this pathway has been considered as a promising approach for cancer treatment. In this work, a series of 6,7-dimethoxy-4-anilinoquinazoline derivatives bearing diarylamide moiety were designed, synthesized and evaluated as potent inhibitors of VEGFR-2 kinase. Their in vitro antiproliferation activities against two human cancer cell lines Hep-G2 and MCF-7 have also been determined. Among them, compound 14b exhibited the most potent inhibitory activity against VEGFR-2 with IC50 value of 0.016 ± 0.002 µM and it showed the most potent antiproliferative effect against Hep-G2 and MCF-7 with IC50 values at low-micromolar range. Molecular docking studies revealed that these compounds represented by the most potent compound 14b could bind well to the ATP-binding site of VEGFR-2, which suggested that compound 14b could be a potential anticancer agent targeting VEGFR-2.

Physapubescin B enhances the sensitivity of gastric cancer cells to trametinib by inhibiting the STAT3 signaling pathway.

Given the poor prognosis of unresectable advanced gastric cancer (GC), novel therapeutic strategies are needed. The mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling cascade, the most frequently activated pathway in GC, plays an important role in tumorigenesis and metastasis. The MAPK/extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) pathway is an attractive therapeutic target for GC. In this study, trametinib, a mitogen-activated protein/extracellular signal-regulated kinase kinase (MEK) inhibitor, reduced the p-ERK level and significantly increased signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) phosphorylation in GC cells, resulting in reduced sensitivity to trametinib. Physapubescin B (PB), a steroidal compound extracted from the plant Physalis pubescens L., inhibited the proliferation and induced the apoptosis of GC cells by suppressing STAT3 phosphorylation. The combination of PB and trametinib suppressed the STAT3 phosphorylation induced by trametinib, and synergistically suppressed gastric tumor growth in vitro and in vivo. Together, these results indicate that inhibition of both MEK and STAT3 may be effective for patients with MAPK/ERK pathway-addicted GC.

Crystal Structure and Electronic Properties of New Compound Zr6.5Pt6Se19.

A new ternary nonstoichiometric Zr6.5Pt6Se19 has been discovered as a part of effort to dope Zr into the layered transitional metal chalcogenide PtSe2. With a new structure type (oC68), it is the first Pt-based ternary chalcogenide with group 4 elements (Ti, Zr, and Hf). The crystal structure adopts the orthorhombic space group Cmmm with lattice parameters of a = 15.637(6) Å, b = 26.541(10) Å, c = 3.6581(12) Å, and V = 1518.2(9) Å3. This unusual structure consists of several building units: chains of edge-sharing selenium trigonal prisms and octahedra centered by zirconium atoms, chains of corner-shared square pyramid, and square planar centered by Pt atoms. The condensation of these building blocks forms a unique structure with bilayered Zr5.54Pt6Se19 slabs stacking along the b direction and large channels parallel to the c direction within the bilayered slabs. Band structure calculations suggest that partial occupancy of Zr atoms creates a pseudo gap at the Fermi level and is likely the main cause for the stability of this new phase.

Peroxide-Templated Assembly of a Trimetal Neodymium Complex Single-Molecule Magnet.

In this work, we present a trimetal neodymium complex with two notable qualities. First, the assembly of the complex is templated by peroxide derived from atmospheric oxygen. Second, the bulk material behaves as a superparamagnet, implying that the individual complexes are molecular magnets. Peroxide-templated assembly is possible because of the confluence of the high oxophilicity of neodymium along with the use of an azeotropic distillation synthesis method, which excludes water but admits oxygen. SQUID magnetometry measurements show an extremely high magnetic susceptibility as well as a lack of remanence.

Ti4(embonate)6 Cage-Ligand Strategy on the Construction of Metal-Organic Frameworks with High Stability and Gas Sorption Properties.

Herein we report an efficient strategy to construct cage-based metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) via the assembly of Ti4L6 (L = embonate) cages and N-contained ligands with Mn2+ and Zn2+ ions, respectively, and two Ti4L6-cage-based MOFs (PTC-219 and PTC-220) with high stability and gas sorption properties have been generated through two-step reactions, respectively.

Thermal transport properties of novel two-dimensional CSe.

Recently, as a novel member of the IV-VI group compounds, two-dimensional (2D) buckled monolayer CSe has been discovered for use in high-performance light-emitting devices (Q. Zhang, Y. Feng, X. Chen, W. Zhang, L. Wu and Y. Wang, Nanomaterials, 2019, 9, 598). However, to date, the heat transport properties of this novel CSe is still lacking, which would hinder its potential application in electronic devices and thermoelectric materials that can generate electricity from waste heat. Here we systematically study the heat transport properties of monolayer CSe based on ab initio calculations and phonon Boltzmann transport theory. We find that the lattice thermal conductivity κlat of monolayer CSe is around 42 W m-1 K-1 at room temperature, which is much lower than those of black phosphorene, buckled phosphorene, MoS2, and buckled arsenene. Moreover, the longitudinal acoustic phonon mode contributes the most to the κlat, which is much larger than those of the out-of-plane phonon mode and transverse acoustic branches. The calculated size-dependent κlat shows that the sample size can significantly reduce the κlat of monolayer CSe and can persist up to 10 µm. These discoveries provide new insight into the size-dependent thermal transport in nanomaterials and guide the design of CSe-based low-dimensional quantum devices, such as thermoelectric devices.

Pathologic T-cell response in ischaemic failing hearts elucidated by T-cell receptor sequencing and phenotypic characterization.

AIMS: A persistent cardiac T-cell response initiated by myocardial infarction is linked to subsequent adverse ventricular remodelling and progression of heart failure. No data exist on T-cell receptor (TCR) repertoire changes in combination with phenotypic characterization of T cells in ischaemic failing human hearts. METHODS AND RESULTS: Analysis of TCR repertoire with high-throughput sequencing revealed that compared with T cells in control hearts, those in ischaemic failing hearts showed a clonally expanded TCR repertoire but similar usage patterns of TRBV-J rearrangements and V gene segments; compared with T cells in peripheral blood, those in ischaemic failing hearts exhibited a restricted and clonally expanded TCR repertoire and different usage patterns of TRBV-J rearrangements and V gene segments, suggesting the occurrence of tissue-specific T-cell expansion in ischaemic failing hearts. Consistently, TCR clonotype sharing was prominent in ischaemic failing hearts, especially in hearts of patients who shared human leucocyte antigen (HLA) alleles. Furthermore, ischaemia heart failure (IHF) heart-associated clonotypes were more frequent in peripheral blood of IHF patients than in that of controls. Heart-infiltrating T cells displayed memory- and effector-like characteristics. Th1 cells were the predominant phenotype among CD4+ T cells; CD8+ T cells were equally as abundant as CD4+ T cells and produced high levels of interferon-γ, granzyme B, and perforin. CONCLUSION: We provide novel evidence for a tissue-specific T-cell response predominated by Th1 cells and cytotoxic CD8+ T cells in ischaemic failing human hearts that may contribute to the progression of heart failure.