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Abstract Background The hunt for the molecular markers with specificity and sensitivity has been a hot area for the tumor treatment. Due to the poor diagnosis and prognosis of pancreatic cancer (PC), the excision rate is often low, which makes it more urgent to find the ideal tumor markers. Methods Robust Rank Aggreg (RRA) methods was firstly applied to identify the differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between PC tissues and normal tissues from GSE28735, GSE15471, GSE16515, and GSE101448. Among these DEGs, the highly correlated genes were clustered using WGCNA analysis. The co-expression networks and molecular complex detection (MCODE) Cytoscape app were then performed to find the sub-clusters and confirm 35 candidate genes. For these genes, least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (lasso) regression model was applied and validated to build a diagnostic risk score model. Cox proportional hazard regression analysis was used and validated to build a prognostic model. Results Based on integrated transcriptomic analysis, we identified a 19 gene module (SYCN, PNLIPRP1, CAP2, GNMT, MAT1A, ABAT, GPT2, ADHFE1, PHGDH, PSAT1, ERP27, PDIA2, MT1H, COMP, COL5A2, FN1, COL1A2, FAP and POSTN) as a specific predictive signature for the diagnosis of PC. Based on the two consideration, accuracy and feasibility, we simplified the diagnostic risk model as a four-gene model: 0.3034*log2(MAT1A)-0.1526*log2(MT1H) + 0.4645*log2(FN1) -0.2244*log2(FAP), log2(gene count). Besides, a four-hub gene module was also identified as prognostic model = − 1.400*log2(CEL) + 1.321*log2(CPA1) + 0.454*log2(POSTN) + 1.011*log2(PM20D1), log2(gene count). Conclusion Integrated transcriptomic analysis identifies two four-hub gene modules as specific predictive signatures for the diagnosis and prognosis of PC, which may bring new sight for the clinical practice of PC.

Heterojunction perovskite solar cells combine the stability of 2D perovskites and the high efficiency of 3D perovskites, making them an excellent photovoltaic candidate. While heterojunctions with intermixed or gradient perovskites can reduce surface recombination, the aggregation and phase distribution of 2D perovskite induce transport losses, thereby limiting device fill factors. Accordingly, a bulk in situ reconstruction (BISR) strategy is proposed to induce the reconstruction of 3D perovskites on a minim self‐assembled 2D crystal seed, forming heterojunction perovskite that runs through the entire active layer. This facilitates charge extraction, relieves tensile stress, and avoids the decomposition of perovskite on grain boundaries. As a result, the best‐performing heterojunction perovskite solar cells show a high‐power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 24.06% with 82.9% FF for the small‐area device (0.105 cm2) and a superior PCE of 19.2% for the large‐area module (5 × 5 cm2). Importantly, the unencapsulated device shows dramatically improved operational stability, maintaining 87% of its initial efficiency after 8000 h of storage under ambient atmosphere at room temperature. This work provides an effective and simple approach to establish heterojunction perovskite to simultaneously boost the efficiency and stability of PSCs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Drought stress is one of the major limiting factors for the growth and development of perennial trees. Xylem vessels act as the center of water conduction in woody species, but the underlying mechanism of its development and morphogenesis under water‐deficient conditions remains elucidation.Here, we identified and characterized an osmotic stress‐induced ETHYLENE RESPONSE FACTOR 15 (PtoERF15) and its target, PtoMYC2b, which was involved in mediating vessel size, density, and cell wall thickness in response to drought in Populus tomentosa.PtoERF15 is preferentially expressed in differentiating xylem of poplar stems. Overexpression of PtoERF15 contributed to stem water potential maintaining, thus promoting drought tolerance. RNA‐Seq and biochemical analysis further revealed that PtoERF15 directly regulated PtoMYC2b, encoding a switch of JA signaling pathway. Additionally, our findings verify that three sets of homologous genes from NAC (NAM, ATAF1/2, and CUC2) gene family: PtoSND1‐A1/A2, PtoVND7‐1/7‐2, and PtoNAC118/120, as the targets of PtoMYC2b, are involved in the regulation of vessel morphology in poplar.Collectively, our study provides molecular evidence for the involvement of the PtoERF15‐PtoMYC2b transcription cascade in maintaining stem water potential through the regulation of xylem vessel development, ultimately improving drought tolerance in poplar. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Organic thermoelectric (TE) materials are considered as the next‐generation TE materials owing to their merits including high mechanical flexibility, low cost, abundant elements, and nontoxicity. However, their Seebeck coefficient is lower than that of the inorganic counterparts by around one order of magnitude, and thus they have a lower dimensionless figure of merit (ZT) value. Herein, the significant enhancement in the Seebeck coefficient and thus the overall TE properties of poly(3,4‐ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) that is the most popular TE polymer by adding a zwitterion like rhodamine 101 (R101), N‐dodecyl‐N,N‐dimethyl‐3‐ammonio‐1‐propane‐sulfonate (DDMAP), or 1‐(N,N‐dimethylcarbamoyl)‐4‐(2‐sulfoethyl) pyridinium hydroxide (DMCSP) are reported. In particular, R101 can enhance the Seebeck coefficient of the acid‐then‐base‐treated PEDOT:PSS from 21.2 to 61.6 μV K−1. The PEDOT:PSS/R101 film can exhibit a power factor of 546 μW m−1 K−2 and a ZT of 0.46 that is the highest for pure organic solid films. The enhancement in the Seebeck coefficient is ascribed to the energy filtering induced by the dipole moment of zwitterion and the π–π overlapping between conjugated rhodamine 101 and PEDOT:PSS. To distinguish it from the conventional methods, this method is named as the molecular energy filtering. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The prognostic roles of three common lymph node staging schemes, number of positive lymph nodes (pN), lymph node ratio (LNR) and log odds of positive lymph nodes (LODDS) in small bowel adenocarcinoma (SBA) are unclear. We assessed their prognostic ability in SBA. Methods: A total of 2128 patients diagnosed with SBA between 1988 and 2010 from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database and 186 patients from 15 hospitals in France and China were identified. We evaluated the prognostic ability of the schemes in both continuous and stratified patterns using R2, Harrell's C, and time-dependent receiver operating characteristic curve analyses. Findings: For continuous pattern, the LODDS had a better capacity of discrimination and higher accuracy of prognosis than pN and LNR. Similarly, the stratified LODDS classification had a better performance of discrimination and higher accuracy of prognosis than the pN and LNR classification. The multivariable model using the LODDS classification also showed superiorly predictive accuracy and discriminatory capacity to those of the 7th and, 8th TNM node and LNR classification. These results were fully validated in an independent international multicentre cohort. Interpretation: The LODDS scheme showed a better prognostic performance than the LNR or pN schemes in patients with SBA regardless of continuous or stratified pattern. The LODDS scheme could serve as an auxiliary to lymph node staging systems in future revisions of the American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) manual. Fund: This work was funded by the Zhejiang Province Natural Science Fund of China. Keywords: Small bowel adenocarcinoma, Log odds of positive lymph nodes, Lymph node ratio, Number of positive lymph nodes, Prognosis, Multicentre cohort

Directional transport of high-temperature droplets enjoys broad application prospects in the fields of drag reduction and heat transfer. In this paper, two adjacent regions with different surface roughness were constructed on 304 stainless steel by laser etching to control the directional movement of high-temperature droplets. It is found that the regions with different surface roughness have different Leidenfrost temperatures, and the Leidenfrost temperature is lower under smaller roughness. When the droplet hits the boundary of the adjacent regions at high temperatures, it will bounce towards the region with larger roughness spontaneously, and the directional bouncing distance tends to first increase and then decrease with the increase of temperature and Weber number. In addition, when the droplet impacts at the boundary of the adjacent regions which have different Leidenfrost temperatures, the two parts of the droplet will be in transition boiling and film boiling respectively. The resulting Young’s force is the main factor that drives the droplets to bounce directionally.