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In this paper, we present an innovative electric-field-assisted magnetron-sputtering deposition method for films preparation. By grain boundary-engineering, we successeful obtained the ordered Sb2Te3 film with greatly high figure of merit via controlling external electric field. It has been found that the electric field can induce the change in the angle of intraplanar grain boundaries between (0 1 5) and (0 1 5) planes, which leads to the enhanced holes mobility and maintained low thermal conductivity. The energy filtering takes place at the angular intraplanar grain boundaries. At room temperature, a high ZT value of 1.75 can be achieved in the deposited Sb2Te3 film under 30 V external electric field. This is a very promising approach that the electric field induced deposition can develop high-performance Sb2Te3-based thermoelectric films.

The uniquely tilted nanopillar array favorably influence carrier and phonon transport properties. We present an innovative interfacial design concept and a novel tilt-structure of hierarchical Bi1.5Sb0.5Te3 nanopillar array comprising unique interfaces from nano-scaled open gaps to coherent grain boundaries, and tilted nanopillars assembled by high-quality nanowires with well oriented growth, utilizing a simple vacuum thermal evaporation technique. The unusual structure Bi1.5Sb0.5Te3 nanopillar array with a tilt angle of 45° exhibits a high thermoelectric performance ZT = 1.61 at room temperature. The relatively high ZT value in contrast to that of previously reported Bi1.5Sb0.5Te3 materials and the Bi1.5Sb0.5Te3 nanopillar array with a tilt angle of 60° or 90° evidently reveals the crucial role of the unique interface and tilt-structure in favorably influencing carrier and phonon transport properties, resulting in a significantly improved ZT value. This method opens a new approach to optimize nano-structure film materials.

The thermal stability of joints in thermoelectric (TE) modules, which are degraded during interdiffusion between the TE material and the contacting metal, needs to be addressed in order to utilize TE technology for competitive, sustainable energy applications. Herein, we deposit a 200 nm-thick Zr-based thin-film metallic glass (TFMG), which acts as an effective diffusion barrier layer with low electrical contact resistivity, on a high-zT Se-doped AgSbTe2 substrate. The reaction couples structured with TFMG/TE are annealed at 673 K for 8–360 hours and analyzed by electron microscopy. No observable IMCs (intermetallic compounds) are formed at the TFMG/TE interface, suggesting the effective inhibition of atomic diffusion that may be attributed to the grain-boundary-free structure of TFMG. The minor amount of Se acts as a tracer species, and a homogeneous Se-rich region is found nearing the TFMG/TE interface, which guarantees satisfactory bonding at the joint. The diffusion of Se, which has the smallest atomic volume of all the elements from the TE substrate, is found to follow Fick’s second law. The calculated diffusivity (D) of Se in TFMG falls in the range of D~10−20–10−23(m2/s), which is 106~107 and 1012~1013 times smaller than those of Ni [10−14–10−17(m2/s)] and Cu [10−8–10−11(m2/s)] in Bi2Te3, respectively.

A major limitation in the development of effective scaffolds for bone regeneration has been the limited vascularization of the regenerating tissue. Here, we propose the development of a novel calcium phosphate cement (CPC)-based scaffold combining the properties of mesoporous silica (MS) with recombinant human bone morphogenic protein-2 (rhBMP-2) to facilitate vascularization and osteogenesis. Specifically, the development of a custom MS/CPC paste allowed the three-dimensional (3D) printing of scaffolds with a defined macroporous structure and optimized silicon (Si) ions release profile to promote the ingrowth of vascular tissue at an early stage after implantation in support of tissue viability and osteogenesis. In addition, the scaffold microstructure allowed the prolonged release of rhBMP-2, which in turn significantly stimulated the osteogenesis of human bone marrow stromal cells in vitro and of bone regeneration in vivo as shown in a rabbit femur defect repair model. Thus, the combination MS/CPC/rhBMP-2 scaffolds might provide a solution to issues of tissue necrosis during the regeneration process and therefore might be able to be readily developed into a useful tool for bone repair in the clinic.

The thermal stability of joints in thermoelectric (TE) modules, which are degraded during interdiffusion between the TE material and the contacting metal, needs to be addressed in order to utilize TE technology for competitive, sustainable energy applications. Herein, we deposit a 200 nm-thick Zr-based thin-film metallic glass (TFMG), which acts as an effective diffusion barrier layer with low electrical contact resistivity, on a high-zT Se-doped AgSbTe2 substrate. The reaction couples structured with TFMG/TE are annealed at 673 K for 8–360 hours and analyzed by electron microscopy. No observable IMCs (intermetallic compounds) are formed at the TFMG/TE interface, suggesting the effective inhibition of atomic diffusion that may be attributed to the grain-boundary-free structure of TFMG. The minor amount of Se acts as a tracer species, and a homogeneous Se-rich region is found nearing the TFMG/TE interface, which guarantees satisfactory bonding at the joint. The diffusion of Se, which has the smallest atomic volume of all the elements from the TE substrate, is found to follow Fick’s second law. The calculated diffusivity (D) of Se in TFMG falls in the range of D~10−20–10−23(m2/s), which is 106~107 and 1012~1013 times smaller than those of Ni [10−14–10−17(m2/s)] and Cu [10−8–10−11(m2/s)] in Bi2Te3, respectively.

MicroRNAs manifest significant functions in brain neural stem cell (NSC) self-renewal and differentiation through the post-transcriptional regulation of neurogenesis genes. Let-7b is expressed in the mammalian brain and regulates NSC proliferation and differentiation by targeting the nuclear receptor TLX, which is an essential regulator of NSC self-renewal. Whether let-7b and TLX act as important regulators in retinal progenitor cell (RPC) proliferation and differentiation remains unknown. Here, our data show that let-7b and TLX play important roles in controlling RPC fate determination in vitro. Let-7b suppresses TLX expression to negatively regulate RPC proliferation and accelerate the neuronal and glial differentiation of RPCs. The overexpression of let-7b downregulates TLX levels in RPCs, leading to reduced RPC proliferation and increased neuronal and glial differentiation, whereas antisense knockdown of let-7b produces robust TLX expression,enhanced RPC proliferation and decreased differentiation. Moreover, the inhibition of endogenous TLX by small interfering RNA suppresses RPC proliferation and promotes RPC differentiation. Furthermore, overexpression of TLX rescues let-7b-induced proliferation deficiency and weakens the RPC differentiation enhancement caused by let-7b alone. These results suggest that let-7b, by forming a negative feedback loop with TLX, provides a novel model to regulate the proliferation and differentiation of retinal progenitors in vitro.

The high-quality and low-cost of the graphene preparation method decide whether graphene is put into the applications finally. Enormous efforts have been devoted to understand and optimize the CVD process of graphene over various d-block transition metals (e.g. Cu, Ni and Pt). Here we report the growth of uniform high-quality single-layer, single-crystalline graphene flakes and their continuous films over p-block elements (e.g. Ga) liquid films using ambient-pressure chemical vapor deposition. The graphene shows high crystalline quality with electron mobility reaching levels as high as 7400 cm(2) V(-1) s(-1) under ambient conditions. Our employed growth strategy is ultra-low-loss. Only trace amounts of Ga are consumed in the production and transfer of the graphene and expensive film deposition or vacuum systems are not needed. We believe that our research will open up new territory in the field of graphene growth and thus promote its practical application.