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Antiferromagnetic spintronics is an emerging field of non-volatile data storage and information processing. The zero net magnetization and zero stray fields of antiferromagnetic materials eliminate interference between neighbor units, leading to high-density memory integrations. However, this invisible magnetic character at the same time also poses a great challenge in controlling and detecting magnetic states in antiferromagnets. Here, two antiferromagnetic spin states close in energy in strained BiFeO 3 thin films at room temperature are discovered. It can be reversibly switched between these two non-volatile antiferromagnetic states by a moderate magnetic field and a non-contact optical approach. Importantly, the conductivity of the areas with each antiferromagnetic textures is drastically different. It is conclusively demonstrated the capability of optical writing and electrical reading of these newly discovered bistable antiferromagnetic states in the BiFeO 3 thin films., (© 2022 Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

Spin state transitions and intermetallic charge transfers can essentially change material structural and physical properties while excluding external chemical doping. However, these two effects have rarely been found to occur sequentially in a specific material. In this article, we show the realization of these two phenomena in a perovskite oxide PbCoO 3 with a simple ABO 3 composition under high pressure. PbCoO 3 possesses a peculiar A- and B-site ordered charge distribution Pb 2+ Pb 4+ 3 Co 2+ 2 Co 3+ 2 O 12 with insulating behavior at ambient conditions. The high spin Co 2+ gradually changes to low spin with increasing pressure up to about 15 GPa, leading to an anomalous increase of resistance magnitude. Between 15 and 30 GPa, the intermetallic charge transfer occurs between Pb 4+ and Co 2+ cations. The accumulated charge-transfer effect triggers a metal-insulator transition as well as a first-order structural phase transition toward a Tetra.-I phase at the onset of ∼20 GPa near room temperature. On further compression over 30 GPa, the charge transfer completes, giving rise to another first-order structural transformation toward a Tetra.-II phase and the reentrant electrical insulating behavior.

Magnetic and multiferroic nanocomposites with two distinct phases have been a topic of intense research for their profound potential applications in the field of spintronics. In addition to growing high-quality phase separated heteroepitaxial nanocomposites, the strain engineering that is conducive to enhance the tunability of material properties, in general, and the magnetic properties, in particular, is of utmost importance in exploring new possibilities. Here, we investigated the magneto-structural coupling between antiferromagnetic BiFeO3 (BFO) and ferrimagnetic CoFe2O4 (CFO) in self-assembled vertically aligned nanocomposites grown on LaAlO3 (LAO) and SrTiO3 (STO) substrates. We found that BFO exhibits tetragonal (T) and rhombohedral (R) structures as the stable phases and CFO has high magnetocrystalline anisotropy even in the form of nanocomposites. The temperature and magnetic field dependent magnetizations of T_BFO-CFO/LAO and R_BFO-CFO/STO nanocomposites primarily demonstrate the magnetoelastic coupling between these variants.

Epitaxial core-shell CoO-CoFe2 O4 nanocrystals are fabricated by using pulsed laser deposition with the aid of melted material (Bi2 O3 ) addition and suitable lattice mismatch provided by substrates (SrTiO3 ). Well aligned orientations among nanocrystals and reversible core-shell sequence reveal tunable magnetic anisotropy. The interfacial coupling between core and shell further engineers the nanocrystal functionality., (© 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.)

In the past decades, mesocrystal, a kind of nanocrystals with specific crystallographic orientation, has drawn a lot of attention due to its intriguing functionalities. While the research community keeps searching for new mesocrystal systems, it is equally crucial to develop new approaches to tune the properties of mesocrystals. In this work, a self-organized two-dimensional mesocrystal composed of highly oriented CoFe2O4 (CFO) nano-crystals with assistance of different perovskite matrices is studied as a model system. We have demonstrated that the strain state and corresponding magnetic properties of the CFO mesocrystal can be modulated by changing the surrounding perovskite matrix through their intimate structural coupling. Interestingly, this controllability is more strongly correlated to the competition of bonding strength between the matrices and the CFO mesocrystals rather than the lattice mismatch. When embedded in a matrix with a higher melting point or stiffness, the CFO mesocrystal experiences higher out-of-plane compressive strain and shows a stronger magnetic anisotropy as well as cation site-exchange. Our study suggests a new pathway to tailor the functionalities of mesocrystals.

Background and Aim: The immune modulatory drug lenalidomide has shown promising anti-tumor activity in a clinical trial of patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The present study explored whether lenalidomide can enhance the anti-tumor activity of sorafenib, the standard molecular targeted therapy for HCC., Methods: The anti-tumor efficacy of single-agent or combination treatment was measured by change in tumor volume and animal survival using an orthotopic liver cancer model. Distribution of T-cell subpopulations in tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) and splenocytes derived from tumor-implanted mice was measured by flow cytometry. Depletion of relevant T-cell subpopulations or cytokines was done by co-administration of relevant antibodies with study drug treatment. Tumor cell apoptosis and tumor angiogenesis were measured by transferase deoxytidyl uridine end labeling assay and immunohistochemical study, respectively., Results: Combination of sorafenib and lenalidomide produced significant synergistic anti-tumor efficacy in terms of tumor growth delay and animal survival. This synergistic effect was associated with a significant increase in interferon-γ expressing CD8(+) lymphocytes in TILs and a significantly higher number of granzyme- or perforin-expressing CD8(+) T cells, compared with vehicle- or single-agent treatment groups. Combination treatment significantly increased apoptotic tumor cells and vascular normalization in tumor tissue. The synergistic anti-tumor effect was abolished after CD8 depletion., Conclusions: Lenalidomide can enhance the anti-tumor effects of sorafenib in HCC through its immune modulatory effects, and CD8(+) TILs play an important role in the anti-tumor synergism., (© 2014 Journal of Gastroenterology and Hepatology Foundation and Wiley Publishing Asia Pty Ltd.)

Background: To explore whether combining inhibitors that target the insulin-like growth factor receptor (IGFR)/PI3K/Akt/mTOR signaling pathway (vertical blockade) can improve treatment efficacy for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC)., Methods: HCC cell lines (including Hep3B, Huh7, and PLC5) and HUVECs (human umbilical venous endothelial cells) were tested. The molecular targeting therapy agents tested included NVP-AEW541 (IGFR kinase inhibitor), MK2206 (Akt inhibitor), BEZ235 (PI3K/mTOR inhibitor), and RAD001 (mTOR inhibitor). Potential synergistic antitumor effects were tested by median dose-effect analysis in vitro and by xenograft HCC models. Apoptosis was analyzed by flow cytometry (sub-G1 fraction analysis) and Western blotting. The activities of pertinent signaling pathways and expression of apoptosis-related proteins were measured by Western blotting., Results: Vertical blockade induced a more sustained inhibition of PI3K/Akt/mTOR signaling activities in all the HCC cells and HUVEC tested. Synergistic apoptosis-inducing effects, however, varied among different cell lines and drug combinations and were most prominent when NVP-AEW541 was combined with MK2206. Using an apoptosis array, we identified survivin as a potential downstream mediator. Over-expression of survivin in HCC cells abolished the anti-tumor synergy between NVP-AEW541 and MK2206, whereas knockdown of survivin improved the anti-tumor effects of all drug combinations tested. In vivo by xenograft studies confirmed the anti-tumor synergy between NVP-AEW541 and MK2206 and exhibited acceptable toxicity profiles., Conclusions: Vertical blockade of the IGFR/PI3K/Akt/mTOR pathway has promising anti-tumor activity for HCC. Survivin expression may serve as a biomarker to predict treatment efficacy.

Complex oxide nanocrystals with a spinel structure show their remarkable optical, electronic, mechanical, thermal, and magnetic properties. In this study, we present a simple yet versatile strategy to grow self-assembled epitaxial CoFe2O4 nanocrystals with well-controlled size (less than 10 nm) and single orientation. CoFe2O4 nanocrystals were fabricated via phase separation in a BiFeO3-CoF2O4 ultrathin film by pulsed laser deposition. The coherent strain at the BiFeO3-CoF2O4 interface suppressed the growth of the nanocrystals regardless of substrate temperatures. This strain also resulted in the ferromagnetic anisotropy and interesting conducting behaviors of ultrafine CFO nanocrystals.

In the past decade, self-assembled vertical nano-heterostructures have drawn considerable attention because a high interface-to-volume ratio can be used to tailor or create functionalities. We have systematically investigated the magnetic properties of oxide heterostructures consisting of the CoFe2O4 nanopillars embedded in the BiFeO3 matrix using macroscopic magnetization measurements and element-selective soft X-ray absorption magnetic circular dichroism (XMCD) at the Co- and Fe-L2,3 edge. The magnetization and XMCD data show that the total ordered magnetic moment of Co(2+) in CoFe2O4-BiFeO3 nano-heterostructures is strongly enhanced. This study clearly indicates that the high interface-to-volume ratio vertical nanostructure creates a strong ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic magnetic coupling via an interface. Furthermore, the magnetic coupling can be tuned in the multiferroic-ferrimagnetic self-assembled heterostructures by controlling the spacing between nanopillars.

In this study, advanced control of crystallographic orientations and magnetic properties of self-assembled nanostructures via rational selections of substrates is demonstrated. We show that in the perovskite-spinel BiFeO(3)-CoFe(2)O(4) model system the crystal orientation of self-assembled CoFe(2)O(4) nanopillars can be tuned among (001), (011), and (111), while that of the BiFeO(3) matrix is fixed in (001). Moreover, the resultant CoFe(2)O(4) nanopillars appear in various shapes: pyramid, roof, and triangular platform, respectively. The tunable nanostructures through this approach enable the control of material functionality such as the magnetic anisotropy of CoFe(2)O(4). This study opens a new pathway for the engineering of self-assembled heteroepitaxial nanostructures.