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BACKGROUND. Current methods for the detection and surveillance of bladder cancer (BCa) are often invasive and/or possess suboptimal sensitivity and specificity, especially in early-stage, minimal, and residual tumors. METHODS. We developed an efficient method, termed utMeMA, for the detection of urine tumor DNA methylation at multiple genomic regions by MassARRAY. We identified the BCa-specific methylation markers by combined analyses of cohorts from Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital (SYSMH), The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA), and the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database. The BCa diagnostic model was built in a retrospective cohort (n = 313) and validated in a multicenter, prospective cohort (n = 175). The performance of this diagnostic assay was analyzed and compared with urine cytology and FISH. RESULTS. We first discovered 26 significant methylation markers of BCa in combined analyses. We built and validated a 2-marker-based diagnostic model that discriminated among patients with BCa with high accuracy (86.7%), sensitivity (90.0%), and specificity (83.1%). Furthermore, the utMeMA-based assay achieved a great improvement in sensitivity over urine cytology and FISH, especially in the detection of early-stage (stage Ta and low-grade tumor, 64.5% vs. 11.8%, 15.8%), minimal (81.0% vs. 14.8%, 37.9%), residual (93.3% vs. 27.3%, 64.3%), and recurrent (89.5% vs. 31.4%, 52.8%) tumors. The urine diagnostic score from this assay was better associated with tumor malignancy and burden. CONCLUSION. Urine tumor DNA methylation assessment for early diagnosis, minimal, residual tumor detection and surveillance in BCa is a rapid, high-throughput, noninvasive, and promising approach, which may reduce the burden of cystoscopy and blind second surgery. FUNDING. This study was supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China and the National Natural Science Foundation of China., Introduction Bladder cancer (BCa) is the most common malignancy of the urinary system, with an estimated roughly 549,393 new cases and approximately 199,922 deaths worldwide each year (1). Approximately 75% [...]

The discovery of superconductivity in hole‐doped infinite‐layer nickelates has fueled intense research to identify the critical factor responsible for high‐Tc superconductivity. Magnetism and superconductivity are closely entangled, and elucidating the magnetic interactions in hole‐doped nickelates is critical for understanding the pairing mechanism. Here, these calculations based on the generalized Bloch theorem (GBT) and magnetic force theorem (MFT) consistently reveal that hole doping stabilizes an incommensurate (IC) spin state and increases the IC wave vector continuously, in a way strikingly similar to hole‐doped cuprates. Going further, a nonlinear Heisenberg model including first‐neighbor and third‐neighbor in‐plane magnetic interactions is developed. The analytical solutions successfully reproduce GBT and MFT results and reveal that the competition between the two magnetic interactions is the decisive factor for the IC magnetic transition. Eventually, by analyzing the doping‐controlled spin splitting of dx2−y2${d}_{{x}^2 - {y}^2}$ band and orbital‐contributed exchange interactions, direct links between hole doping, magnetization, exchange constants, and magnetic order are established. This discovery of the IC spin state, new understanding of its electronic origin, and establishment of direct connection with the paring dx2−y2${d}_{{x}^2 - {y}^2}$ electrons radically change the current understanding of the magnetic properties in hole‐doped NdNiO2 and open new perspectives for the superconducting mechanism in nickelates superconductors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highly active, durable, and cost‐effective electrodes for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) at ultrahigh current densities (≥1 A cm−2) are extremely demanded for industrial high‐rate hydrogen production, but challenging. Here, a robust strongly coupled Ag(S)@NiO/nickel foam (NF) electrode is reported. Taking advantage of millisecond laser direct writing in liquid nitrogen technique, lattice‐matched and coherent interfaces are formed between Ag nanoparticles with stacking faults (denoted by Ag(S)) and NiO nanosheets, leading to strong interfacial electronic coupling, not only promoting H2O adsorption and dissociation on Ni2+ but also enhancing H* adsorption on intrinsically inactive but most electrically conductive Ag. Strong chemical bonding is established at NiO/NF interface, guaranteeing rapid electron transfer and excellent mechanical durability under high‐rate hydrogen evolution. The physicochemically stable electrode achieves record‐low alkaline HER overpotential of 167 and 180 mV at 1 and 1.5 A cm−2, respectively, along with negligible activity decay after 120 h test at ≈1.5 A cm−2, surpassing reported non‐platinum group metal electrocatalysts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The gut microbiota play an important role in digestion, development, nutritional metabolism and detoxification in insects. The rice stem borer, Chilo suppressalis, is one of the most destructive rice pests and has caused serious economic losses to major rice‐producing areas of China. However, little is known about how its gut microbiota has adapted to different geographical environments. We investigated the gut microbiota of C. suppressalis populations collected from five sites in the typical areas of northern China using 16S rDNA gene sequencing on an Illumina MiSeq platform. In total, 453,853,707 reads and 1650 operational taxonomic units (OTUs) in 25 gut samples of C. suppressalis were obtained. We identified 697 bacterial genera from 30 phyla, and Proteobacteria and Firmicutes were the most dominant phyla. Gut bacterial richness and alpha‐diversity metrics revealed no significant differences among these populations. We detected the highest bacterial diversity in Beizhen, western Liaoning Province. Principal coordinates analysis (PCoA) and clustering analysis (UPGMA) showed no distinct gut microbial community structure of C. suppressalis in these regions. Linear discriminant analysis (LDA) effect size (LEfSe) indicated that the bacterial species exhibited significant differences among the middle, northern and western regions. Finally, PICRUSt analysis demonstrated that microbial functions closely associated with the gut microbiome mainly included membrane transport, amino acid metabolism and carbohydrate metabolism. Accordingly, our study provided important insights into the investigation of insect‐bacteria symbioses and evaluated gut microorganisms as biocontrol agents for this pest and other agricultural lepidopterans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ferroelectric perovskite materials are crucial candidates for the solid-state cooling devices due to their distinguished electrocaloric effect (ECE). Here we report the coexistence of negative and positive ECE in sol–gel derived single-layer (SL) Pb(ZrxTi1–xO3 (PZT) thin films with a composition close to the morphotropic phase boundary (MPB). A negative ECE of Δ T = − 1.81 K at 135 °C and positive ECE of Δ T = 0.64 K at 40 °C under an applied electric field of 374 kV cm−1 are achieved. Such appearance of negative and positive ECE at different temperatures is attributed to the transition from rhombohedral to tetragonal phase and associated with the effect of defect dipoles in SL-PZT thin films at MPB. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sodium ion batteries based on the more sodium source reserve than that of lithium have been designed as promising alternatives to lithium ion batteries. However, several problems including unsatisfied specific capacity and serious cyclic stability must be solved before the reality. One of the effective approaches to solve the abovementioned problems is to search for suitable anode materials. In this work, we designed and prepared FeSe2 nanoflakes via a simple hydrothermal method which can be adjusted in composition by Fe precursor. As a potential anode for sodium storage, the optimized FeSe2 electrode was further evaluated in different electrolytes of NaClO4 in propylene carbonate/fluoroethylene carbonate and NaCF3SO3 in diethylene glycol dimethyl ether. The capacity was about 470 mAh g − 1 and 535 mAh g − 1 at 0.5 A g − 1 , respectively, in the voltage between 0.5 V and 2.9 V in the cycle of stabilization phase. Superior performance both in capacity and in stability was obtained in ether-based electrolyte, which affords the property without plugging the intermediates of transition metal dichalcogenides during charge/discharge processes. FeSe2 nanoflakes with high sodium storage capacity were prepared by one-step hydrothermal reaction. As a result, the optimized FeSe2 electrode exhibited a high reversible capacity of 535 mAh g–1 after 500 cycles at 500 mA g–1. The comparison of the performance in different electrolytes indicated that ether-based electrolytes could avoid the reaction with the anionic group of the charge/discharge products, leading to the superior stability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Three-dimensional (3D) mixed phases NiSe nanoparticles growing on the nickel foam were synthesized via a simple one-step hydrothermal method. A series of experiments were carried out to control the morphology by adjusting the amount of selenium in the synthetic reaction. Meanwhile, the as-prepared novel column-acicular structure NiSe exist three advantages including ideal electrical conductivity, high specific capacity and high cycling stability. It delivered a high capacitance of 10.8 F cm − 2 at a current density − of 5 mA cm − 2 . An electrochemical capacitor device operating at 1.6 V was then constructed using NiSe/NF and activated carbon (AC) as positive and negative electrodes. Moreover, the device showed high energy density of 31 W h kg − 1 at a power density of 0.81 kW kg − 1 , as well as good cycling stability (77% retention after 1500 cycles). Mixed phase NiSe nanomaterials on nickel foam are prepared using a simple method that can be used as electrode materials for supercapacitors without binder. The evolution of this morphology was successfully explored through regulating the quality of Se powder. The column-acicular NiSe on NF was used directly as electrode material of supercapacitor, which showed super electrochemical performance (10.8 F cm−2 at a current density of 5 mA cm−2). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Few-layered MoSe2 nanosheets with mixed 1T/2H phase were successfully arrayed on a Ti substrate (forming 1T@2H-MoSe2/Ti) through a facile one-step solvothermal process. After testing different synthesis conditions, it was found that the optimal process involves a temperature of 200 °C and a reaction time of 12 h. Structural characterizations reveal that the morphology of 1T@2H-MoSe2 consists of edge-terminated nanosheets with one to five layers, composed of a mixed 1T/2H phase dominated by the 1T one. The 1T@2H-MoSe2/Ti electrode shows excellent HER catalytic activity, with a small onset potential (−120 mV vs. reversible hydrogen electrode, RHE) and an electrode potential of only −133 mV (vs. RHE) to achieve a current density of 20 mA·cm−2. This excellent electrocatalytic activity is due to the synergistic effects of 1T metallic phase, few-layered nanosheet morphology, and direct growth of 1T@2H-MoSe2on the Ti substrate. In addition, the 1T@2H-MoSe2/Ti electrode shows excellent stability towards long-term electrolysis. This is due to the long-term stability of the valence states of Mo and Se, as shown by post-electrolysis X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The metamorphic conditions of the Upper Permian Yangjiagou Formation in eastern Changchun, China, were evaluated based on the mineral assemblage, illite crystallinity, illite polytypism, the b dimension of illite, and the chemical composition of chlorite. The pelitic rocks in the Yangjiagou Formation are characterized by illite + kaolinite + chlorite ± mixed‐layer chlorite/smectite and detrital quartz + plagioclase. Illite in the formation has a crystallinity of 0.38–0.55 and comprises mixed 2M1 and 1Md polytypes, indicating a metamorphic temperature of >200°C. Based on the chemical composition of chlorite and the chlorite geothermometer, we estimated diagenetic to very low‐grade metamorphic conditions with temperatures of 185°C–204°C. The b dimension of illite varies from 8.992Å to 9.005Å. We used a mathematical algorithm to extend Guidotti and Sassi's (1986) diagram relating illite b dimension with temperature and pressure, and used this diagram, together with illite crystallinity and chlorite chemical composition, to semi‐quantitatively estimate the formation pressure at<1.2 kbar. These reveal that the Yangjiagou Formation has experienced very low‐grade metamorphism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A three-dimensional (3D) nickel oxide (NiO) catalytic electrode was fabricated by annealing Ni(L-asp)bipy MOF membrane and was subsequently applied for electrochemical glucose sensor. This 3D self-supported MOF membrane precursor provided uniform and porous architecture, and it was used for fabricating 3D NiO electrode in the first time. The SEM and XRD data showed that the NiO was evenly distributed on Ni mesh and complete transformation from Ni(L-asp)bipy to NiO. This catalytic electrode, using a chronoamperometric approach, demonstrated linear range up to 400 μM with high sensitivity of 478.9 μA mM cm and low limit of detection of 4.34 μM. Uric acid, urea and ascorbic acid showed negligible interferences to the detection of glucose. The excellent performance of this electrode was attributed to the uniformly distributed NiO on the Ni substrate, direct electron transformation from Ni substrate to electrochemical active NiO and the porosity of such electrode design. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Enterococcus was the most abundant in the gut of S. exigua larvae. • The temperature stress had certain effects on the microbial composition of S. exigua. • The symbiotic bacteria in S. exigua were more sensitive to low temperatures. The gut microbiota is critical for energy and nutrient utilization and plays a role in host immunity in response to environmental changes. The beet armyworm Spodoptera exigua is a worldwide polyphagous agricultural pest and has frequently experienced potentially stressful temperature fluctuations under natural environmental conditions. However, little is known about the effects of thermal stress on the gut microbiome of this moth pest. Therefore, we investigated the gut microbiome variations, composition and community structure of S. exigua among low-temperature (10 °C), control (26 °C) and high temperature (35 °C) treatments using 16S amplicon sequencing. Overall, 1,192,707 high-quality reads and 762 operational taxonomic units (OTUs) were detected from 15 samples. A total of 289 genera belonging to 19 bacterial phyla were captured, with Firmicutes and Proteobacteria being the most prominent phyla. Alpha diversity metrics indicated no significant differences in the gut bacterial diversity of S. exigua among the three temperature treatments. Principal coordinates and hierarchical cluster analysis revealed significant differences in the structure of gut microbiota between the low-temperature treatment and the other two temperature treatments. In addition, PICRUSt2 analysis demonstrated that the predicted metagenomes associated with the gut microbiome were amino carbohydrate transport and metabolism, acid transport and metabolism, inorganic ion transport and metabolism and cellular processes. Our study showed that thermal stress induced changes in the gut microbiome of the beet armyworm, which may contribute to better understanding the ecological adaptation of S. exigua under changing temperature trends and to evaluating the use of gut microorganisms as biocontrol agents for this pest. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The quest for new 2D ferroelectric materials continues to arouse interest. Based on first‐principles calculations, here, 2D ferroelectric properties in lead chalcogenides PbXs (X = S, Se, and Te) with a thickness of two atomic layers via strain engineering is demonstrated. Although these materials are stable in a rocksalt‐type cubic structure and are intrinsically nonferroelectric materials, an appropriate mechanical strain can readily activate a paraelectric to ferroelectric phase transition and induce in‐plane electric polarization in these atomic layers. The induced polarization magnitude can be as large as 1.90 × 10−10 C m−1 at a biaxial strain of ε = 4.0%, which is comparable in magnitude to that of ultrathin ferroelectric SnTe. The Curie temperature Tc of the materials is also estimated using effective Hamiltonian simulations. The origin of the emerged ferroelectric phase is attributed to softening of the polar mode with applied strain. In addition, the band gaps of the crystals are found to be tunable with applied strain, which can be adjusted to the ideal value of 1.3 eV for photovoltaic applications. The results not only provide a new route to explore ferroelectricity in 2D materials but also suggest promising semiconducting ferroelectrics for solar applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hierarchical Ni-Co double transition metal hydroxide nanosheets have been explored as an effective strategy for the design of nonenzymatic glucose sensors. Ni-Co hydroxide nanosheets constructed hollow cubes were successfully synthesized by using Cu2O cubes as templates and subsequently etched by Na2S2O3 to achieve a hollow cubic structure. The molar ratio between Ni and Co was tuned by varying the precursor ratio of NiCl2 and CoCl2. It was observed by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) that the increasing Ni precursor resulted in particle morphology, and the increasing ratio of the Co precursor resulted in more lamellar morphology. The sample with the composition of Ni0.7Co0.3(OH)2 displayed the best performance for glucose sensing with high selectivity (1541 μA mM–1 cm–2), low detection limit (3.42 µM with S/N = 3), and reasonable selectivity. Similar strategies could be applied for the design of other electrode materials with high efficiency for nonenzymatic glucose determination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lymph node (LN) metastasis is the leading cause of bladder cancer-related mortality. Splicing factors facilitate cancer progression by modulating oncogenic variants, but it is unclear whether and how splicing factors regulate bladder cancer LN metastasis. In this study, Polypyrimidine tract binding protein 1 (PTBP1) expression was found to relate to bladder cancer LN metastasis, and was positively correlated with LN metastasis status, tumor stage, histological grade, and poor patient prognosis. Functional assays demonstrated that PTBP1 promoted bladder cancer cell migration, invasion, and proliferation in vitro, as well as LN metastasis and tumor growth in vivo. Mechanistic investigations revealed that PTBP1 upregulated MEIS2-L variant to promote metastasis and increased expression of PKM2 variant to enhance proliferation by modulating alternative mRNA splicing. Moreover, overexpression of MEIS2-L or PKM2 could rescue the oncogenic abilities of bladder cancer cells and the expression of MMP9 or CCND1 respectively after PTBP1 knockdown. In conclusion, our data demonstrate that PTBP1 induces bladder cancer LN metastasis and proliferation through an alternative splicing mechanism. PTBP1 may serve as a novel prognostic marker and therapeutic target for LN-metastatic bladder cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As promising oxygen evolution reaction (OER) catalysts, spinel-type oxides face the bottleneck of weak adsorption for oxygen-containing intermediates, so it is challenging to make a further breakthrough in remarkably lowering the OER overpotential. In this study, a novel strategy is proposed to substantially enhance the OER activity of spinel oxides based on amorphous/crystalline phases mixed spinel FeNi 2 O 4 nanosheets array, enriched with oxygen vacancies, in situ grown on a nickel foam (NF). This unique architecture is achieved through a one-step millisecond laser direct writing method. The presence of amorphous phases with abundant oxygen vacancies significantly enhances the adsorption of oxygen-containing intermediates and changes the rate-determining step from OH*→O* to O*→OOH*, which greatly reduces the thermodynamic energy barrier. Moreover, the crystalline phase interweaving with amorphous domains serves as a conductive shortcut to facilitate rapid electron transfer from active sites in the amorphous domain to NF, guaranteeing fast OER kinetics. Such an anodic electrode exhibits a nearly ten fold enhancement in OER intrinsic activity compared to the pristine counterpart. Remarkably, it demonstrates record-low overpotentials of 246 and 315 mV at 50 and 500 mA cm -2 in 1 m KOH with superior long-term stability, outperforming other NiFe-based spinel oxides catalysts., (© 2024 Wiley‐VCH GmbH.)

Antiferroelectrics with antiparallel dipoles are receiving tremendous attention for their technological importance and fundamental interest. However, intrinsic one-dimensional (1D) materials harboring antiferroelectric ordering have rarely been reported despite the promise of novel paradigms for miniaturized and high-density electronics. Herein, based on first- and second-principles calculations, we demonstrate the VOF 3 atomic wire, exfoliated from an experimentally synthesized yet underexplored 1D van der Waals (vdW) bulk, as a new 1D antiferroelectric material. The energetic, thermal, and dynamic stabilities of the nanowire are confirmed theoretically. Moreover, the temperature-dependent phase transitions and double-hysteresis polarization-field loops are computed for the VOF 3 nanowire by constructing the second-principles model. According to the hysteresis loops, high energy densities and efficiencies can be obtained simultaneously at room temperature in the VOF 3 nanowire under moderate applied fields. Our identified 1D atomic wire not only expands the family of antiferroelectricity but also holds potential for novel high-power energy storage nanodevices.

Perovskite nickelates R NiO 3 ( R = rare-earth ion) exhibit complex rare-earth ion dependent phase diagram and high tunability of various appealing properties. Here, combining first- and finite-temperature second-principles calculations, we explicitly demonstrate that the superior merits of the interplay among lattice, electron, and spin degrees of freedom can be passed to R NiO 2 , which recently gained significant interest as superconductors. We unveil that decreasing the rare-earth size directly modulates the structural, electronic, and magnetic properties and naturally groups infinite-layer nickelates into two categories in terms of the Fermi surface and magnetic dimensionality: compounds with large rare-earth sizes (La, Pr) closely resemble the key properties of CaCuO 2 , showing quasi-two-dimensional (2D) antiferromagnetic (AFM) correlations and strongly localized d x 2 - y 2 orbitals around the Fermi level; the compounds with small rare-earth sizes (Nd-Lu) are highly analogous to ferropnictides, showing three-dimensional (3D) magnetic dimensionality and strong k z dispersion of d 3 z 2 - r 2 electrons at the Fermi level. Additionally, we highlight that R NiO 2 with R = Nd-Lu exhibit on cooling a structural transition with the appearance of oxygen rotation motion, which is softened by the reduction of rare-earth size and enhanced by spin-rotation couplings. The rare-earth control of k z dispersion and structural phase transition might be the key factors differentiating the distinct upper critical field and resistivity in different compounds. The established original phase diagram summarizing the temperature and rare-earth controlled structural, electronic, and magnetic transitions in R NiO 2 compounds provides rich structural and chemical flexibility to tailor the superconducting property., (© The Author(s) 2023. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of National Academy of Sciences.)

Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Purpose: Advanced prostate cancer (PCa) has limited treatment regimens and shows low response to chemotherapy and immunotherapy, leading to poor prognosis. Histone modification is a vital mechanism of gene expression and a promising therapy target. In this study, we characterized WD repeat domain 5 (WDR5), a regulator of histone modification, and explored its potential therapeutic value in PCa. Experimental Design: We characterized specific regulators of histone modification, based on TCGA data. The expression and clinical features of WDR5 were analyzed in two dependent cohorts. The functional role of WDR5 was further investigated with siRNA and OICR-9429, a small molecular antagonist of WDR5, in vitro and in vivo . The mechanism of WDR5 was explored by RNA-sequencing and chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP). Results: WDR5 was overexpressed in PCa and associated with advanced clinicopathological features, and predicted poor prognosis. Both inhibition of WDR5 by siRNA and OICR-9429 could reduce proliferation, and increase apoptosis and chemosensitivity to cisplatin in vitro and in vivo . Interestingly, targeting WDR5 by siRNA and OICR-9429 could block IFN-γ-induced PD-L1 expression in PCa cells. Mechanistically, we clarified that some cell cycle, anti-apoptosis, DNA repair and immune related genes, including AURKA, CCNB1, E2F1, PLK1, BIRC5, XRCC2 and PD-L1, were directly regulated by WDR5 and OICR-9429 in H3K4me3 and c-Myc dependent manner. Conclusions: These data revealed that targeting WDR5 suppressed proliferation, enhanced apoptosis, chemosensitivity to cisplatin and immunotherapy in PCa. Therefore, our findings provide insight into OICR-9429 is a multi-potency and promising therapy drug, which improves the antitumor effect of cisplatin or immunotherapy in PCa., Competing Interests: Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interest exists., (© The author(s).)

Bladder cancer patients with lymph node (LN) metastasis have an extremely poor prognosis and no effective treatment. The alternative splicing of precursor (pre-)mRNA participates in the progression of various tumors. However, the precise mechanisms of splicing factors and cancer-related variants in LN metastasis of bladder cancer remain largely unknown. The present study identified a splicing factor, non-POU domain-containing octamer-binding protein (NONO), that was significantly downregulated in bladder cancer tissues and correlated with LN metastasis status, tumor stage, and prognosis. Functionally, NONO markedly inhibited bladder cancer cell migration and invasion in vitro and LN metastasis in vivo. Mechanistically, NONO regulated the exon skipping of SETMAR by binding to its motif, mainly through the RRM2 domain. NONO directly interacted with splicing factor proline/glutamine rich (SFPQ) to regulate the splicing of SETMAR, and it induced metastasis suppression of bladder cancer cells. SETMAR-L overexpression significantly reversed the metastasis of NONO-knockdown bladder cancer cells, both in vitro and in vivo. The further analysis revealed that NONO-mediated SETMAR-L can induce H3K27me3 at the promotor of metastatic oncogenes and inhibit their transcription, ultimately resulting in metastasis suppression. Therefore, the present findings uncover the molecular mechanism of lymphatic metastasis in bladder cancer, which may provide novel clinical markers and therapeutic strategies for LN-metastatic bladder cancer., (Copyright © 2020 The American Society of Gene and Cell Therapy. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Correction for 'Two-dimensional polar metal of a PbTe monolayer by electrostatic doping' by Tao Xu et al., Nanoscale Horiz., 2020, 5, 1400-1406, DOI: .

Polar metals characterized by the simultaneous coexistence of a polar structure and metallicity have been a long-sought goal due to the promise of novel electronic devices. Developing such materials at low dimensions remains challenging since both conducting electrons and reduced dimensions are supposed to quench the polar state. Here, based on first-principles calculations, we report the discovery of a non-centrosymmetric polar structure in two-dimensional (2D) metallic materials with electrostatic doping, even though ferroelectricity is unconventional at the atomic scale. We revealed that the PbTe monolayer is intrinsically ferroelectric with pronounced out-of-plane electric polarization originating from its non-centrosymmetric buckled structure. Moreover, the polar distortions can be preserved with carrier doping in the monolayer, which further enables the doped PbTe monolayer to act as a 2D polar metal. With an effective Hamiltonian extracted from the parametrized energy space, we found that the special elastic-polar mode interaction is of great importance for the existence of robust polar instability (i.e., soft phonon mode associated with polar distortion) in the doped system. The application of this doping strategy is not specific to the present crystal, but is rather general to other 2D ferroelectrics to bring about the fascinating non-centrosymmetric metallic state. Our findings thus change the conventional knowledge in 2D materials and will facilitate the development of multifunctional materials in low dimensions.

Low dimensional ferroelectric materials, including nano thin films, nanowires and nanoparticules, exhibit excellent electrocaloric effect (ECE) and have potential application in solid-state cooling devices. Predicting the ECE property of nanoscale ferroelectrics is of scientific significance and practice importance. Here, the direct and indirect methods based on effective Hamilton are employed to study the ECE in BaTiO 3 nanoparticle under different electric fields and temperatures. In indirect method, the Monte Carlo simulation is used to obtain the polarization changes with temperature under different electric fields. The ECE is calculated indirectly based on the Maxwell relation. In direct method, the demon energy is introduced into the system in order to obtain the ECE directly. The results shows that the difference between the peak values of direct method and indirect method is less than 5%, which means both direct method and indirect method can be used to simulate the ECE of ferroelectric nanoparticle.

The prognosis for patients with bladder cancer (BCa) with lymph node (LN) metastasis is poor, and it is not improved by current treatments. Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) are involved in the pathology of various tumors, including BCa. However, the role of Differentiation antagonizing non-protein coding RNA (DANCR) in BCa LN metastasis remains unclear. In this study, we discover that DANCR was significantly upregulated in BCa tissues and cases with LN metastasis. DANCR expression was positively correlated with LN metastasis status, tumor stage, histological grade, and poor patient prognosis. Functional assays demonstrated that DANCR promoted BCa cell migration, invasion, and proliferation in vitro and enhanced tumor LN metastasis and growth in vivo. Mechanistic investigations revealed that DANCR activated IL-11-STAT3 signaling and increased cyclin D1 and PLAU expression via guiding leucine-rich pentatricopeptide repeat containing (LRPPRC) to stabilize mRNA. Moreover, oncogenesis facilitated by DANCR was attenuated by anti-IL-11 antibody or a STAT3 inhibitor (BP-1-102). In conclusion, our findings indicate that DANCR induces BCa LN metastasis and proliferation via an LRPPRC-mediated mRNA stabilization mechanism. DANCR may serve as a multi-potency target for clinical intervention in LN-metastatic BCa., (Copyright © 2019 The American Society of Gene and Cell Therapy. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) driven by high-performance and low-cost electrocatalysts has been well-identified as one of the most promising technologies to explore sustainable power sources. In this work, the authors demonstrated a series of Fe-Mo selenide composite nanomaterials with adjustable HER catalytic activities by a simple one-step hydrothermal reaction. The heterostructured catalyst exhibited significant enhancement in HER activity compared to the pristine MoSe 2 and FeSe 2 catalysts. It is found that the optimized Mo-Fe selenide can drive the HER at a current density of 10 mA cm -2 by an overpotential of 86.9 mV in acidic solution. Also, it possesses outstanding kinetics (Tafel slope of 57.7 mV dec -1 ) of the electrochemical reaction. Besides the synergistic effect of different chemicals, the coupled Mo-Fe selenide achieved the electronic modulation of the heterointerface, where electrons were accelerated to transfer from dispersed FeSe 2 to the active edges on 1T-MoSe 2 and further activated the electrochemical performance.