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Therapeutic landscape of metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH)
A Universal Thick Anode for Aqueous and Seawater Energy Storage Devices
AbstractAqueous and seawater energy storage devices hold great potential for electrical grids application due to safety, affordability, and sustainability. However, their broader deployment has been constrained by the absence of a durable thick anode. Here, the first universal thick anode operating stably across 15 simple‐ion and 3 complex‐ion systems, including nonmetallic (H+, NH4 +), monovalent (Li+, Na+, K+), multivalent ions (Zn2+, Ca2+, Mg2+, Al3+), and seawater ions (>5 cations) is reported. Composed of polymer nanosheets and carbon nanotubes, this anode supports thick electrode fabrication (e.g., 100 mg cm−2 and 1 mm) with low porosity/tortuosity, superior electrical conductivity, mechanical robustness, and chemical stability. Consequently, it achieves exceptionable cycle life (up to 380 000 cycles) in supercapacitors and ultrahigh areal capacities (6.5 mAh cm−2) in batteries, even under practical/extreme conditions, attributed to the formation of a water‐scarce, cation‐rich electrical double‐layer structure, as revealed by simulations. Compatible with sea salt‐based electrolytes and paired with a metal‐free cathode, the anode enables seawater batteries with thousands‐cycle life and high energy/power density. Of universal ion storage, ultrahigh‐loading capability, unlimited resources, and cost‐effectiveness, this polymer electrode is promising for practical aqueous (seawater) energy devices.
A Universal Therapeutic Vaccine Leveraging Autologous Pre‐Existing Immunity to Eliminate in Situ Uniformly Engineered Heterogeneous Tumor Cells
Abstract Tumor vaccines that activate the autologous immune system to eliminate tumor cells represent a promising approach in cancer immunotherapy. However, challenges such as tumor heterogeneity, limited antigen selection, insufficient antigen presentation, and the slow onset of de novo immune responses have resulted in poor universality and suboptimal response rates. In contrast, pathogen‐specific pre‐existing immunity acquired through infection or vaccination, can rapidly generate a more potent and enduring immune response upon re‐encounter with the same antigen. Here, an adeno‐associated virus (AAV)‐based therapeutic vaccine capable of genetically modifying diverse tumor cells to uniformly overexpress and efficiently present the highly immunogenic transmembrane SARS‐CoV‐2 receptor binding domain (RBD), and to release RBD‐enveloped virus‐like particles, which awaken and enhance the RBD‐specific pre‐existing immunity, leading to significant tumor remission, is engineered. Mechanistically, this therapeutic vaccine leverages the robust RBD‐specific pre‐existing immunity and heightened antibody‐mediated phagocytosis to eliminate engineered tumor cells while inducing antigen spreading, thereby provoking a more diverse tumor‐specific cellular immune responses. Notably, widespread administration of vaccines against various pathogens has provided a versatile pool of pre‐existing immunity that can be redirected to eradicate tumors. These findings offer a novel perspective on overcoming the limitations posed by tumor heterogeneity and personalized medicine.
Quantitative assessment of abdominal ectopic fat deposits in patients with different glucose tolerance by using mDixon Quant MRI
Molecular Trojan Based on Membrane‐Mimicking Conjugated Electrolyte for Stimuli‐Responsive Drug Release
AbstractEnhancing payload encapsulation stability while enabling controlled drug release are both critical objectives in drug delivery systems but are challenging to reconcile. This study introduces a zwitterionic conjugated electrolyte (CE) molecule named Zwit, which acts as a molecular Trojan by mimicking the lipid bilayers. When integrated into liposome membranes, Zwit rigidifies the bilayer structure likely due to its hydrophobic interactions providing structural support, thus inhibiting drug leakage. Upon 808 nm laser excitation, Zwit rapidly accelerates DOX release from liposome core, likely due to light‐triggered conformational changes or photothermal effects that compromise membrane permeability. These findings demonstrate Zwit’s ability to overcome the challenge of simultaneously preventing premature payload leakage and enabling stimuli‐responsive drug release with a single component. Additionally, Zwit exhibits excellent biocompatibility with membranes, outperforming its quaternary ammonium counterpart and commonly used dye indocyanine green (ICG). By harnessing its NIR‐II emission, Zwit enables durable in vivo biodistribution tracking of nanocarriers, whereas ICG suffers from significant dye leakage. In subcutaneous tumor models, the synergistic effects of chemotherapy and thermotherapy facilitated by this light‐triggered system induced a potent antitumor immune response, further enhancing anticancer efficacy. This work underscores the potential of membrane‐mimicking CEs as multifunctional tools in advanced drug delivery systems.
Quantum Dot Luminescence Microspheres Enable Ultra‐Efficient and Bright Micro‐LEDs
Abstract Quantum dot (QD)‐converted micrometer‐scale light‐emitting diodes (micro‐LEDs) are regarded as an effective solution for achieving high‐performance full‐color micro‐LED displays because of their narrow‐band emission, simplified mass transfer, facile drive circuits, and low cost. However, these micro‐LEDs suffer from significant blue light leakage and unsatisfactory electroluminescence properties due to the poor light conversion efficiency and stability of the QDs. Herein, the construction of green and red QD luminescence microspheres with the simultaneously high conversion efficiency of blue light and strong photoluminescence stability are proposed. These luminescence microspheres exhibit high external photoluminescence quantum yields exceeding 46% under 450 nm excitation, along with excellent reliability against blue light, heat, and water‐oxygen degradation, owing to the waveguide and spatial confinement effects of the microspheres. The microsphere‐based green and red micro‐LEDs achieve world‐record external quantum efficiencies of 40.8% and 22.1%, respectively, and high brightness values of 1.7 × 10 8 and 7.6 × 10 7 cd m −2 , respectively. Finally, 0.6 inch red, green, and blue monochrome micro‐LED displays are demonstrated by integrating microsphere‐converted micro‐LED arrays with thin‐film transistor backplanes, which show a pixel resolution as high as 1700 PPI and brightness exceeding 10 000 cd m −2 .
Twisted spin waves in a cylindrical magnonic crystal
Twisted spin waves (or twisted magnons, TMs) have significant potential in high-capacity communication due to their orbital angular momentum (OAM) degree of freedom. Consequently, manipulating the propagation of TMs has become an important topic in spintronics. Here, we theoretically study the band structures of TMs in ferromagnetic cylindrical magnonic crystals with periodically modulated anisotropy. We find that the TMs with arbitrary OAMs exhibit forbidden bands at the boundary of the Brillouin zone, though, in different frequency ranges. This unique feature offers a promising avenue for developing filters capable of blocking the propagation of TMs with specific OAMs. Furthermore, we demonstrate the tunability of TM bandgaps, as their position and width can be easily adjusted by altering the magnitude of anisotropy or the period of the crystal structure. Full micromagnetic simulations are performed to verify the theoretical predictions, showing good agreement. Our work not only enhances our understanding of TM propagation characteristics but also paves the way for the design of advanced spintronic devices that harness the magnon OAM degree of freedom.
Risk factors of diabetes in a high risk cardiovascular population in Hainan Province
Glucose‐Activated Programmed Hydrogel with Self‐Switchable Enzyme‐Like Activity for Infected Diabetic Wound Self‐Adaptive Treatment
Abstract The defective blood glucose regulation ability of diabetic patients leading to bacterial infection, cellular oxidative stress, and vascular damage results in delayed healing of chronic diabetic wounds. Here, a glucose‐activated self‐switching enzyme‐like activity programmed hydrogel is proposed to provide self‐regulated timely intelligent insulin release affected by blood glucose fluctuations, thereby forming feedback blood glucose management and exerting a full‐stage wound healing. The hydrogel is composed of Au─MoS 2 ─phenylboronic acid nanozyme and insulin‐loaded nitroimidazole‐modified sodium alginate hypoxia‐sensitive microcapsules and penylboronic‐acid‐modified chitosan. It utilizes glucose as a sacrificial agent to generate antibacterial reactive oxygen species by recognizing the hyperglycemia environment, and releasing insulin for blood glucose regulation for up to 12 h with the help of the enzyme‐like catalysis‐generated hypoxia environment. In a normoglycemia environment, the hydrogel switches the enzyme‐like activity to supply oxygen, inhibiting further insulin release. The hydrogel achieves ≈3 times the wound recovery rate of commercial dressings through blood glucose regulation and improved wound microenvironment. The hydrogel has been proven to significantly improve the healing of chronic diabetic wounds by regulating the body's blood glucose homeostasis and implementing a staged healing treatment plan, providing a powerful solution for diabetic wound care.
All Light Controlled Five State Logic Gates on a Ferroelectric Ceramic Chip
Abstract Differentiating photoelectric response in a single material with a simple approach is desirable for all‐in‐one optoelectronic logical devices. In ferroelectric materials, significantly distinct photoelectric features should be observed if they are in diverse polarization states, unveiling a possible pathway to realize multifunctional optoelectronic logic gates through ferroelectric polarization design. In this study, the Ti 3+ self‐doping strategy is first applied to 0.5Ba(Zr 0.2 Ti 0.8 )O 3 ‐0.5(Ba 0.7 Ca 0.3 )TiO 3 ferroelectric ceramics (BZT‐BCT‐ x T) through co‐firing metallic Ti powders and BZT‐BCT powders to enhance photoelectric output. Subsequently, on the BZT‐BCT‐3T ceramic surface that has optimal photoelectric properties, three individual regions are separated and heterogeneously polarized by using a novel planar three‐electrodes structure. Intriguing illumination region‐dependent photocurrent directions are demonstrated in this as‐fabricated device. Based on this, five basic optoelectronic logic gates are integrated into single ferroelectric ceramic via fully light‐controlled methods, including “AND”, “OR”, “NOT”, “NAND” and “NOR”. These gates can be readily switched by simply altering the output electrodes or light intensity of 405 nm LED modulating light. This work not only puts forward an innovative strategy for designing ferroelectric optoelectronic logic gates, but also provides feasibility for more ferroelectric materials to be applied in logical devices.
Perovskite-based transparent pn junction in CuI/SrTiO3 toward enhanced photoelectric response <i>via</i> interfacial homogeneous perovskite LaCoO3 transition layer
A transparent pn junction comprising CuI/LaCoO3 QDs/SrTiO3 was synthesized using the solgel-hydrothermal-freeze drying-sputtering in situ iodization method. The CuI/LaCoO3 QDs/SrTiO3 pn junction achieves transmittance of ∼85%, photoelectric enhancement of ∼2.2 × 103-fold to the intrinsic CuI/SrTiO3, and good stability in 5 months. It can be primarily attributed to the LaCoO3 QDs. In addition to appropriate Fermi level and high QY, the LaCoO3 QDs with carrier inducing–injecting–driving can ameliorate the carrier dynamics for PCE-transparency balance, meanwhile increasing the hole by Cu vacancy. Furthermore, the CuI, LaCoO3, and SrTiO3 can maintain good structural stability for potential photoelectric devices.
Multiscale numerical investigation into the effects of rock content and rock particle size on the macroscopic and mesoscopic mechanical characteristics of soil rock mixture
Atomically Engineered Trimetallic Nanoclusters Toward Enhanced Photoluminescence and Photoinitiation Activity
Abstract Precise doping is of vital significance for atomic engineering and the establishment of structure‐property relationships in nanocluster (NC) chemistry. Herein, two novel trimetallic MAu 18 Cd 3 (M = Pd/Pt) NCs that are derived from M‐doped Au 25 templates of MAu 24 are reported, in which the central doping of M atom and the surface‐motif doping of Cd atoms are concurrently achieved. Compared to the original templates, Cd‐induced surface engineering enhances the rigidity of the structural framework and enlarges the HOMO‐LUMO gaps of the MAu 18 Cd 3 , significantly improving photoluminescent efficiency by suppressing nonradiative relaxation. The critical role of the central M (Pd/Pt) dopant in photoluminescence, which regulates the rate of radiative decay of excited‐state electrons, has also been substantiated. More notably, the doped case of PtAu 18 Cd 3 exhibits excellent photoinitiation activity in 3D two‐photon printing with a high resolution of ≈140 nm, which may be attributed to the prolonged excited state. Overall, this work provides a generalized routine for the precise synthesis of multi‐metal NCs with concurrent enhancements in photoluminescence and photoinitiation activity, which is expected to stimulate further research for the design and preparation of multi‐functional, multi‐metal NCs.
The First Molecular Ferroelectric Mott Insulator
Abstract With the discovery of colossal magnetoresistance materials and high‐temperature superconductors, Mott insulators can potentially undergo a transition from insulating state to metallic state. Here, in molecular ferroelectrics system, a Mott insulator of (C 7 H 14 N) 3 V 12 O 30 has been first synthesized, which is a 2D organic–inorganic ferroelectric with composition of layered vanadium oxide and quinuclidine ring. Interestingly, accompanied by the ferroelectric phase transition, (C 7 H 14 N) 3 V 12 O 30 changes sharply in conductivity. The occurrence of a Mott transition has been proven by electric transport measurements and theoretical calculations. This research has significantly expanded the applicative horizons of ferroelectric materials, and offering an ideal platform for the investigation of strongly correlated electron systems.
Investigation on the structural and electronic property of monoclinic Al2O3/β-Ga2O3 superlattice with varying layer periods
In this study, we employ first-principles calculations to explore the structural and electronic properties of monoclinic Al2O3/Ga2O3 superlattices with varied layer thickness and to perform a comparative analysis with (AlxGa1−x)2O3 alloys. Our investigation examines the lattice constants and electronic energy bandgaps of both the superlattice structures and alloys across different Al concentrations, shedding light on the intricate relationship between composition and electronic properties. The analysis on electronic properties reveals that as the number of Al2O3 monolayers in the Al2O3/Ga2O3 superlattice rises from 2 to 6 monolayers, the bandgap correspondingly expands from 5.29 to 6.43 eV. The band alignment between monoclinic Al2O3 and Ga2O3 exhibits a type-II band alignment. The conduction and valence band offsets between the bulk material and Al2O3/Ga2O3 superlattice varies with change in the number of Al2O3 monolayers. Our study gives a deeper insight into the properties of the Al2O3/Ga2O3 superlattice and suggests a solution to the Al-phase separation issue in (AlxGa1−x)2O3 alloys for advanced semiconductor device applications.
Cost effectiveness analysis of three colorectal cancer screening modalities in Kuwait
Stress Release of Single Crystal Arrays Bridged by SAM Interface Toward Highly Mechanically Durable Flexible Perovskite NIR Photodetector
AbstractPerovskite photodetectors with superior optoelectronic properties, lightweight, and compatibility with flexible substrates have attracted much attention in wearable electronics. However, the large bandgap, inherent brittleness, poor environmental stability, and weak interfacial adhesion interaction between perovskites and substrates hinder the application of near‐infrared (NIR) wearable devices. Herein, a universal strategy to enhance the performance and mechanical stability of flexible perovskite NIR photodetector arrays is demonstrated through a combination of mussel‐inspired self‐assembled monolayer (SAM) bridging interface and precise modulation of the nano‐array size, which enables to significantly increase interfacial adhesion, crystallinity, crystallographic orientation, and reduce mechanical stresses of perovskite single‐crystal arrays. Moreover, inserting paddle‐wheel metal–organic cluster ligands lead to an unprecedented small bandgap of 1.04 eV, enhanced lattice rigidity, and environmental stability for 2D perovskite. The flexible perovskite NIR photodetector arrays with superior mechanical robustness and record NIR performance are revealed with a maximum response wavelength of 1050 nm, a responsivity of 1.66 A W−1, detectivity of 6.19 × 1012 Jones, high fidelity imaging, and extra‐long environmental stability. This work pioneers a new insight into the integration of high‐performance and mechanically durable perovskite flexible wearable devices.
Experiments on unidirectional excitation of designer flexural edge waves
We demonstrate the unidirectional propagation of structure-induced edge waves in a thin plate. These waves, termed designer flexural edge waves (DFEWs), are observed along the free edge of a thin plate featuring periodically corrugated rectangular grooves. These DFEWs can be activated unidirectionally using either a pair of point sources exhibiting phase differences or a “chiral” source characterized by a clockwise phase distribution, as evidenced in the experimental results. The observed asymmetric behavior in the former scenario is attributed to the destructive interference among the edge waves. In the latter scenario, we elucidate this phenomenon by analyzing the spatial Fourier spectrum. The chiral source induces a spatial asymmetry, while the periodic edge structure selects the specific evanescent components of the asymmetric Fourier spectrum.