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The development of immunotherapy has changed the treatment landscape of advanced kidney renal clear cell carcinoma (KIRC), offering patients more treatment options. Cuproptosis, a novel cell death mode dependent on copper ions and mitochondrial respiration has not yet been studied in KIRC. We assembled a comprehensive cohort of The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA)-KIRC and GSE29609, performed cluster analysis for typing twice using seven cuproptosis-promoting genes (CPGs) as a starting point, and assessed the differences in biological and clinicopathological characteristics between different subtypes. Furthermore, we explored the tumor immune infiltration landscape in KIRC using ESTIMATE and single-sample gene set enrichment analysis (ssGSEA) and the potential molecular mechanisms of cuproptosis in KIRC using enrichment analysis. We constructed a cuproptosis score (CUS) using the Boruta algorithm combined with principal component analysis. We evaluated the impact of CUS on prognosis, targeted therapy, and immunotherapy in patients with KIRC using survival analysis, the predictions from the Cancer Immunome Atlas database, and targeted drug susceptibility analysis. We found that patients with high CUS levels show poor prognosis and efficacy against all four immune checkpoint inhibitors, and their immunosuppression may depend on TGFB1. However, the high-CUS group showed higher sensitivity to sunitinib, axitinib, and elesclomol. Sunitinib monotherapy may reverse the poor prognosis and result in higher progression free survival. Then, we identified two potential CPGs and verified their differential expression between the KIRC and the normal samples. Finally, we explored the effect of the key gene FDX1 on the proliferation of KIRC cells and confirmed the presence of cuproptosis in KIRC cells. We developed a targeted therapy and immunotherapy strategy for advanced KIRC based on CUS. Our findings provide new insights into the relationship among cuproptosis, metabolism, and immunity in KIRC.

Perovskite-type Ba 1− x Sr x Ti 0.9 Sn 0.1 O 3 ( x = 0, 0.06, 0.07, and 0.08) oxides were prepared by conventional solid-state synthesis, and their electrocaloric effect was investigated, revealing that doping by Sr reduces the Curie temperature to ambient values. The largest electrocaloric strength of 0.31 K mm kV −1 was obtained for x = 0.06 at 47 °C, significantly exceeding values displayed by other lead-free ceramics and implying that novel Sr-doped Ba 1− x Sr x Ti 0.9 Sn 0.1 O 3 ceramics are promising materials for ecofriendly refrigeration applications.

International audience; Considerable excitement was generated by the observation of large and linear positive magnetoresistance in nonmagnetic silver chalcogenides. Renewed interest in these materials was kindled by the discovery that Ag2Te in particular is a topological insulator with gapless linear Dirac-type surface states. High-pressure x-ray-diffraction studies, combined with first-principles electronic structure calculations, have identified three phase transitions as the pressure is increased: an isostructural transition identified with an electronic topological transition followed by two structural phase transitions. These recent studies were carried out on nominally stoichiometric Ag2Te. For the present work we have prepared single-phase self-doped Ag2−δTe samples with a well-characterized silver deficit (δ=2.0×10−4) for structural and electrical transport measurements over extended ranges of pressure (0–43 GPa), temperature (2–300 K), and magnetic field (0–9 T). The temperature dependence of the resistivity exhibits anomalous behavior at 2.3 GPa, slightly above the isostructural transition, which we postulate is due to Fermi surface reconstruction associated with a charge density wave (CDW) phase. The anomaly is enhanced by the application of a 9-T magnetic field and shifted to higher temperature, implying that the electronic Zeeman energy is sufficient to alter the gapping of the Fermi surface. A peak in the pressure dependence of the resistivity and a sudden drop in the pressure dependence of the mobility, occurring at 2.3 GPa, provide additional evidence for a CDW phase at pressures slightly above the isostructural transition.

The objective of this study is to investigate the influence of various tissue loads on the working characteristic of the ultrasonic scalpel, including working frequency, input admittance and reflection factor. Ex vivo animal experiments are carried out and relevant discussions of experimental results are provided. Admittance measurement results show that different tissue loads have different effects on a scalpel's working ability. Soft tissue makes the working frequency decrease and bone tissue makes it increase. Radius of admittance circles and reflection factor are also different. Equivalent circuit model is found and with a least-square parameter identification method, input admittance of ultrasonic scalpel with different tissue loads is solved. Results show that admittance circle radius is determined by the value of R1. Changes in L1 and C1 contribute to the shift of working frequency. This study will help decrease the sensitivity of ultrasonic scalpel to loads and greatly increase surgery efficiency.