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In response to regulations on material specifications for commercial applications requiring specific optical properties, researchers have developed lead-free materials over the past decade as alternatives to lead-based halide perovskite materials. An in-depth investigation into material composition has revealed various trends in the emission mechanism, showcasing significant potential characterized by distinctive features. This paper explores the inorganic cesium copper halide (ICCH) materials characterized by self-trapped exciton (STE) derived from 0D and 1D isolated metal halide structures. Our optical analyses indicate a predominant role of STE in influencing the optical properties. Further, we investigated the non-stoichiometric growth mechanism and identified its association with Cu+-OLA (oleylamine). The fabricated transition-metal dichalcogenides (TMD)-based photodetector demonstrated enhanced performance using the 1D structured CsCu2X3composition under 365 nm irradiation, attributed to its reduced electron-localization properties.

Natural killer (NK) cells have been recognized as a next-generation therapy for cancer as they are less likely to trigger adverse events (e.g., cytokine storm or graft-versus-host disease) than T cell-based therapeutics. Although NK cell activation strategies through genetic engineering and cytokine treatment have been actively studied for successful cancer treatment, the approaches are inefficient, expensive, and involve complex processing. Here, we developed a facile and efficient method of activating NK cells using cationic nanoparticles (cNPs). The cytotoxic activity of cNP-treated primary NK and NK-92MI cells against triple-negative breast cancer cells was over 2-fold higher than that of control NK cells in vitro. Molecular biological analyses confirmed that cNPs altered the expression of CCR4 and CXCR4 of NK cells that function as chemokine receptors. In vitrolive cell imaging showed that the NK cells treated with cNPs were better than control NK cells at interacting with cancer cells. Consistent with these in vitroresults, cNP-treated NK cells effectively inhibited tumor growth in an in vivotumor animal model of triple-negative breast cancer. Additionally, NK cells treated with cNPs were tracked effectively in vivoby magnetic resonance imaging. Thus, cNP-mediated activation of NK cells has great potential as an NK cell-based cancer immunotherapy. Most of all, activating NK cells using cNPs has a great advantage over conventional methods in that immune cells can be activated by a one-step facile process with exogenously charged nanomaterials, without the need for genetic engineering or cytokine treatment.

Sensory adaptation is an essential part of biological neural systems for sustaining human life. Using the light-induced halide phase segregation of CsPb(Br1–xIx)3perovskite, we introduce neuromorphic phototransistors that emulate human sensory adaptation. The phototransistor based on a hybrid structure of perovskite and transition-metal dichalcogenide (TMD) emulates the sensory adaptation in response to a continuous light stimulus, similar to the neural system. The underlying mechanism for the sensory adaptation is the halide segregation of the mixed halide perovskites. The phase separation under visible-light illumination leads to the segregation of I and Br into separate iodide- and bromide-rich domains, significantly changing the photocurrent in the phototransistors. The devices are reversible upon the removal of the light stimulation, resulting in near-complete recovery of the photosensitivity before the phase segregation (sensitivity recovery of 96.65% for 5 min rest time). The proposed phototransistor based on the perovskite–TMD hybrid structure can be applied to other neuromorphic devices such as neuromorphic photonic devices, intelligent sensors, and selective light-detecting image sensors.

In patients with screening mammography–detected ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS), higher nuclear grade and dense breast were associated with second breast cancer; in patients with screening US–detected DCIS, human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 positivity was associated with second breast cancer.

ABSTRACTTriple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is the most challenging subtype of breast cancer because of its aggressive behavior and the limited therapeutic strategies available. In the last decade, immunotherapy has become a promising treatment to prolong survival in advanced solid cancers including TNBC. However, the efficacy of immunotherapy in solid cancers remains limited because solid tumors contain few tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes. Here, we show that targeting an ETS transcription factor ELK3 (ELK3) recruits immune cells including natural killer (NK) cells into tumors via the chemotactic activity of chemokine. ELK3 depletion increases CXCL16 expression level and promotes NK cell cytotoxicity through CXCL16-mediated NK cell recruitment in TNBC. In silicoanalysis showed that ELK3is negatively correlated with CXCL16expression in breast cancer patient samples. Low expression of ELK3and high expression of CXCL16were associated with a better prognosis. Low expression of ELK3and high expression of CXCL16were associated with increased expression of NK cell-related genes. Our findings demonstrate that the ELK3-CXCL16 axis modulates NK cell recruitment to increase NK cell cytotoxicity, suggesting that targeting the ELK3gene could be an adjuvant strategy for increasing the efficacy of immunotherapy in TNBC.

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are inevitable by-products of aerobic metabolic processes, causing non-specific oxidative damage and also acting as second messengers. Superoxide is a short-lived ROS that functions in various cellular responses, including aging and cell death. However, it is unclear as to how superoxide brings about age-dependent cell death and senescence. Here, we show that the accumulation and signaling of superoxide are mediated by three Arabidopsisproteins—RPK1, CaM4, and RbohF—which trigger subsequent cellular events leading to age-dependent cell death. We demonstrate that the NADPH oxidase RbohF is responsible for RPK1-mediated transient accumulation of superoxide, SIRKkinase induction, and cell death, all of which are positively regulated by CaM4. RPK1 physically interacts with and phosphorylates CaM4, which, in turn, interacts with RbohF. Overall, we demonstrate how the protein trio governs the superoxide accumulation and signaling at the cell surface to control senescence and cell death.

The objective of this study was to compare the targeting and ablation performance between a newly developed radiofrequency (RF) electrode embedded with an electromagnetic position sensor (EMPS) at the electrode tip and a conventional RF electrode.

Researchers frequently use nurse staffing measures to examine hospital quality of care. Measure choices include nurse-reported perception of staffing adequacy, nurse-reported patient workloads, and empirically derived hours per patient day (HPPD).

The purpose of this study was to develop a novel polymer cuff for the local delivery of a-lipoic acid (ALA) to inhibit neointimal formation in vivo. The polymer cuff was fabricated by incorporating the ALA into poly-(D,L-lactide-co-caprolactone) 40:60 (PLC), with or without methoxy polyethylene glycol (MethoxyPEG). The release kinetics of ALA and in vitro degradation by hydrolysis were analyzed by HPLC and field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), respectively. In vivo evaluation of the effect of the ALA-containing polymer cuff was carried out using a rat femoral artery cuff injury model. At 24 h, 48% or 87% of the ALA was released from PCL cuffs with or without MethoxyPEG. FE-SEM results indicated that ALA was blended homogenously in the PLC with MethoxyPEG, whereas ALA was distributed on the surface of the PLC cuff without MethoxyPEG. The PLC cuff with MethoxyPEG showed prolonged and controlled release of ALA in PBS, in contrast to the PLC cuff without MethoxyPEG. Both ALA-containing polymer cuffs had a significant effect on the inhibition of neointimal formation in rat femoral artery. Novel ALA-containing polymer cuffs made of PLC were found to be biocompatible and effective in inhibiting neointimal formation in vivo. Polymer cuffs containing MethoxyPEG allowed the release of ALA for one additional week, and the rate of drug release from the PLC could be controlled by changing the composition of the polymer. These findings demonstrate that polymer cuffs may be an easy tool for the evaluation of anti-restenotic agents in animal models.