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Tuning the thermal properties of materials is considered to be of crucial significance for improving the performance of electronic devices. Along these lines, the development of van der Waals (vdW) heterostructures becomes an effective solution to affect the thermal transport mechanisms. However, vdW interactions usually block phonon transport, which leads to a reduction in thermal conductivity. In this work, we experimentally demonstrate a large enhancement in the thermal conductivity of a vdW heterostructure composed of few-layer hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) and reduced graphene oxide (RGO). By controlling the reduction temperature of RGO and changing the thickness of h-BN, the thermal conductivity of the RGO is increased by nearly 18 times, namely, from 91 to 1685 W m

The PL emission and carrier relaxation of CuInP2S6 vary greatly with temperature under phase transition, while the two-photon absorption changes slightly with temperature.

Two organic–inorganic hybrid compounds [(CH3)3CN(CH3)2CH2F]2[MBr4] (M = Cd and Zn) undergo ferroelastic phase transitions. The substitution of metal center Cd with Zn of inorganic anions regulate the ferroelastic phase transitions.

Rhenium diselenide (ReSe2) has gathered much attention due to its low symmetry of lattice structure, which makes it possess in-plane anisotropic optical, electrical as well as excitonic properties and further enables ReSe2 have an important application in optoelectronic devices. Here, we report the thickness-dependent exciton relaxation dynamics of mechanically exfoliated few-layer ReSe2 flakes by using time-resolved pump–probe transient transmission spectroscopies. The results reveal two thickness-dependent relaxation processes of the excitons. The fast one correlates with the exciton formation (i.e., the conversion of hot carriers to excitons), while the slow one is attributed to the exciton recombination dominated by defect-assisted exciton trapping besides photon emission channel. The decrease of scattering probability caused by defects leads to the increase of fast lifetime with thickness, and the increase of slow lifetime with thickness is related to the trap-mediated exciton depopulation induced by surface defects. Polarization dependent transient spectroscopy indicates the isotropic exciton dynamics in the 2D plane. These results are insightful for better understanding of excitonic dynamics of ReSe2 materials and its application in future optoelectronic and electronic devices.

Generative adversarial networks are an emerging technique with wide applications in machine learning, which have achieved dramatic success in a number of challenging tasks including image and video generation. When equipped with quantum processors, their quantum counterparts—called quantum generative adversarial networks (QGANs)—may even exhibit exponential advantages in certain machine learning applications. Here, we report an experimental implementation of a QGAN using a programmable superconducting processor, in which both the generator and the discriminator are parameterized via layers of single- and two-qubit quantum gates. The programmed QGAN runs automatically several rounds of adversarial learning with quantum gradients to achieve a Nash equilibrium point, where the generator can replicate data samples that mimic the ones from the training set. Our implementation is promising to scale up to noisy intermediate-scale quantum devices, thus paving the way for experimental explorations of quantum advantages in practical applications with near-term quantum technologies.

The quantum Hall effect, fundamental in modern condensed matter physics, continuously inspires new theories and predicts emergent phases of matter. Analysing Chern insulators, a lattice version of the quantum Hall effect without external magnetic field, by testing the bulk-edge correspondence remains challenging on quantum simulation platforms. Here we experimentally demonstrate three types of Chern insulators with synthetic dimensions on a programable 30-qubit-ladder superconducting processor. Using a dynamic spectroscopic technique, we directly measure the band structures of the 2D Chern insulator along synthetic dimensions with various configurations of Aubry-André-Harper chains. By monitoring the quantum walks of an excitation initialised at the edge qubit, we observe dynamical localisation of the topologically protected chiral edge states. With these two signatures of topology, our experiments implement the bulk-edge correspondence in the synthetic 2D Chern insulator. Moreover, we simulate two different bilayer Chern insulators on the ladder-type superconducting processor. With the same periodically modulated on-site potentials for two coupled chains, we observe topologically nontrivial edge states with zero Hall conductivity. When the on-site potentials of two coupled chains have opposite signs, we probe a Chern insulator with higher Chern numbers. Our work shows the potential of using superconducting qubits for investigating different intriguing topological phases of quantum matter.

Two dimensional (2D) materials have generated enormous interest in various research fields in recent years due to their fascinating properties, such as atomic thickness, distinct structures and superior characteristics. In particular, electronic and optoelectronic devices based on 2D materials have been widely investigated, which is promising for the innovation of future nanoelectronics technology. Recently, the technique of laser processing 2D materials with the advantages of facile operation, versatility and low cost has been reported to enable the fabrication of diverse 2D material electronic and optoelectronic devices, such as field-effect transistors (FETs), p–n junction diodes, bipolar junction transistors (BJTs), inverters, memory devices, photodetectors, photovoltaic devices and light-emitting devices. Here, various interactions between lasers and 2D materials are introduced, such as direct writing processing, reduction, doping, phase transition engineering, thinning, oxidation and creating defects. The current advances in laser processing-assisted 2D material electronic and optoelectronic devices are reviewed. A comprehensive outlook on the future development of 2D material nanoelectronics/optoelectronics via laser processing is also presented.

Recently, palladium diselenide (PdSe2) has emerged as a promising material with potential applications in electronic and optoelectronic devices due to its intriguing electronic and optical properties. The performance of the device is strongly dependent on the charge–carrier dynamics and the related hot phonon behavior. Here, we investigate the photoexcited–carrier dynamics and coherent acoustic phonon (CAP) oscillations in mechanically exfoliated PdSe2 flakes with a thickness ranging from 10.6 nm to 54 nm using time-resolved non-degenerate pump–probe transient reflection (TR) spectroscopy. The results imply that the CAP frequency is thickness-dependent. Polarization-resolved transient reflection (PRTR) measurements reveal the isotropic charge–carrier relaxation dynamics and the CAP frequency in the 10.6 nm region. In addition, the deformation potential (DP) mechanism dominates the generation of the CAP. Moreover, a sound velocity of 6.78 × 103 m s−1 is extracted from the variation of the oscillation period with the flake thickness and the delay time of the acoustic echo. These results provide insight into the ultrafast optical coherent acoustic phonon and optoelectronic properties of PdSe2 and may open new possibilities for PdSe2 applications in THz-frequency mechanical resonators.

Molecular perovskite materials have recently attracted extraordinary interest from the academic community owing to their excellent multifunctional properties. Nevertheless, although massive efforts have been made, molecular ferroelastics with three-dimensional (3D) perovskite structures are still rare. Herein, we report two 3D organic-inorganic hybrid perovskites [(2-hydroxy-propyl)-tripropyl-ammonium][Mn(dca)3] (1) and [(2-hydroxy-1-methyl-ethyl)-tripropyl-ammonium] [Mn(dca)3] (2) [dca = dicyanamide, N(CN)2]. The different position of the chiral center results in a tremendous difference in the properties. Compound 1 displays only one phase transition; however, intriguingly, 2 has three phase transitions and represents ferroelastic behavior with exceptional two-step switching of quadratic nonlinear optical (NLO) properties. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first molecular ferroelastic with two-step switching of quadratic NLO properties. The results demonstrate that the molecular chiral design works, and this finding opens up a new avenue to designing multifunctional molecular perovskite materials.

Increased expression and activity of cardiac and circulating cathepsin D and soluble fms‐like tyrosine kinase‐1 (sFlt‐1) have been demonstrated to induce and promote peripartum cardiomyopathy (PPCM) via promoting cleavage of 23‐kD prolactin (PRL) to 16‐kD PRL and neutralizing vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), respectively. We hypothesized that activation of Hes1 is proposed to suppress cathepsin D via activating Stat3, leading to alleviated development of PPCM. In the present study, we aimed to investigate the role of Notch1/Hes1 pathway in PPCM. Pregnant mice between prenatal 3 days and postpartum 3 weeks were fed with LY‐411575 (a notch inhibitor, 10 mg/kg/d). Ventricular function and pathology were evaluated by echocardiography and histological analysis. Western blotting analysis was used to examine the expression at the protein level. The results found that inhibition of Notch1 significantly promoted postpartum ventricular dilatation, myocardial hypertrophy and myocardial interstitial fibrosis and suppressed myocardial angiogenesis. Western blotting analysis showed that inhibition of Notch1 markedly increased cathepsin D and sFlt‐1, reduced Hes1, phosphorylated Stat3 (p‐Stat3), VEGFA and PDGFB, and promoted cleavage of 23k‐D PRL to 16‐kD PRL. Collectively, inhibition of Notch1/Hes1 pathway induced and promoted PPCM via increasing the expressions of cathepsin D and sFlt‐1. Notch1/Hes1 was a promising target for prevention and therapeutic regimen of PPCM.

Glioblastoma (GBM) is the most aggressive and lethal tumor of the central nervous system. The present study set out to identify reliable prognostic and predictive biomarkers for patients with GBM. RNA-sequencing data were obtained from The Cancer Genome Atlas database and DNA methylation data were downloaded using the University of California Santa Cruz-Xena database. The expression and methylation differences between patients with GBM, and survival times

Applied strain introduces significant changes in the carbon–carbon bond of graphene and thereby forms electronic superlattices. The electron/phonon coupling and existence of pseudogauge fields within these superlattices render unique electronic and magnetism properties. However, the interfacial interactions between strained and pristine graphene have rarely been studied. Herein, we report a prominent increase in photocurrent at the interface between pristine graphene and the strain-induced superlattice (i.e., the graphene wrinkle). The photocurrent distribution indicates a large increase in the bending lattice of graphene. These results demonstrate that the photocurrent enhancement is due to the difference in the Seebeck coefficient between pristine graphene and deformed superlattices, resulting in a significant increase in the photo­thermo­electric effect at the interface.

Two-dimensional (2D) materials such as graphene, black phosphorus, and transition metal dichalcogenides have attracted significant research attention due to their novel properties and wide range of applications in electronic and optoelectronic devices. In particular, investigation of twist-controlled 2D materials has attracted tremendous attention due to their excellent properties such as smooth heterointerfaces, highly gate-tunable bandgaps, and ultrafast carrier transport. Twist-controlled 2D materials combined with their fascinating electronic structures have also indicated their outstanding potential in electronic and optoelectronic applications. In this review, the recent developments in twisted 2D materials are summarized, covering aspects related to their fabrication, twist angle-dependent optical properties, and optoelectronic applications. The photodetectors and orientation-dependent van der Waals junctions are introduced and discussed systematically. Finally, we deliver a summary and outlook to provide a guideline for the future development of this rapidly growing field.

Two-dimensional (2D) bipolar junction transistors (BJTs) with van der Waals heterostructures play an important role in the development of future nanoelectronics. Herein, a convenient method is introduced for fabricating a symmetric bipolar junction transistor (SBJT), constructed from black phosphorus and MoS2, with femtosecond laser processing. This SBJT exhibits good bidirectional current amplification owing to its symmetric structure. We placed a top gate on one side of the SBJT to change the difference in the major carrier concentration between the emitter and collector in order to further investigate the effects of electrostatic doping on the device performance. The SBJT can also act as a gate-tunable phototransistor with good photodetectivity and photocurrent gain of β = ∼21. Scanning photocurrent images were used to determine the mechanism governing photocurrent amplification in the phototransistor. These results promote the development of the applications of multifunctional nanoelectronics based on 2D materials.

Highly stable nanopores with precise size and film thickness are essential for ultrasensitive molecular biosensors and efficient ion filters. However, the stability of both solid-state nanopores and biological nanopores is of a few hours. Even for two-dimensional (2D) materials with excellent properties, it is very difficult to prepare nanopores with stability for more than 1 day. Here, in mechanically exfoliated 2D materials with excellent quality, highly stable nanopores have been fabricated. Through the manual control of defect density and laser spot irradiation, the breakdown process is more controllable. The nanopore diameter can be precisely adjusted from 1 to 10 nm. The 2 nm thick graphene nanopore (with a diameter of 2 nm) maintains good consistency in conductivity during the 1-month immersion in KCl (1 M) solution. The pore size changes less than 0.7% per day. We found that 2D material nanopores can produce a strong rectification ratio (∼50) due to the morphology undulation. In addition, our devices can recognize modified 5 nm Au nanoparticles, showing great potential for single-molecule detection. This work can guide the development of high-quality ion rectifier devices and biosensors based on 2D material nanopores.

Simulating response properties of molecules is crucial for interpreting experimental spectroscopies and accelerating materials design. However, it remains a long-standing computational challenge for electronic structure methods on classical computers. While quantum computers hold the promise to solve this problem more efficiently in the long run, existing quantum algorithms requiring deep quantum circuits are infeasible for near-term noisy quantum processors. Here, we introduce a pragmatic variational quantum response (VQR) algorithm for response properties, which circumvents the need for deep quantum circuits. Using this algorithm, we report the first simulation of linear response properties of molecules including dynamic polarizabilities and absorption spectra on a superconducting quantum processor. Our results indicate that a large class of important dynamical properties such as Green's functions are within the reach of near-term quantum hardware using this algorithm in combination with suitable error mitigation techniques., 22 pages, 4 figures

Background: N6-methyladenosine (m6A) methylation played a key role in tumor growth. However, the relationship between m6A and soft tissue sarcoma (STS) was still unclear.Methods: The characterization and patterns of m6A modification in STS (TCGA-SARC and GSE17674) were analyzed comprehensively through bioinformatics and real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). The effects of different m6A modification patterns on prognosis and immune infiltration of STS were further explored. Differentially expressed gene (DEG) analysis was performed. Moreover, an m6Ascore was constructed by principal component analysis (PCA). In addition, two immunotherapy datasets (IMvigor210 and GSE78220) and a sarcoma dataset (GSE17618) were used to evaluate the m6Ascore.Results: Huge differences were found in somatic mutation, CNV, and expression of 25 m6A regulators in STS. Two modification patterns (A and B) in STS were further identified and the m6A cluster A showed a better clinical outcome with a lower immune/stromal score compared with the m6A cluster B (p < 0.050).In addition to , most STS samples from m6A cluster A showed a high m6Ascore, which was related to mismatch repair and a better prognosis of STS (p < 0.001). In contrast, the m6A cluster B, characterized by a low m6Ascore, was related to the MYC signaling pathway, which led to a poor prognosis of STS. A high m6Ascore also contributed to a better outcome of PD-1/PD-L1 blockade immunotherapy.Conclusion: The modification patterns of 25 m6A regulators in the STS microenvironment were explored comprehensively. The novel m6Ascore effectively predicted the characteristics of the tumor microenvironment (TME) and outcome in STS and provided novel insights for future immunotherapy.

Purpose: To analyze the expression of epithelial-mesenchymal transformation (EMT)-related genes in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).Methods: Bronchoalveolar lavage fluid samples were collected from patients diagnosed with NSCLC, COPD, and COPD complicated with NSCLC. RNA from cells was extracted with Trizol reagent. Differential genes were screened and validated using the PCR Array and qRT-PCR, respectively.Results: The expressions of ITGB1, VIM, and MMP-9 were higher in the NSCLC group compared to the COPD group (P < 0.05). Moreover, the expressions of ITGB1, VIM, MMP-9, and Notch1 were higher, and the expression of KRT14 was lower in the complicated group compared to the NSCLC group (PConclusions: The upregulation of ITGB1, VIM, MMP-9, and Notch1 and downregulation of KRT14 might be closely related to the occurrence and development of NSCLC, mainly lung adenocarcinoma.

Recently, palladium diselenide (PdSe

Although abundant research on the anisotropy of van der Waals (vdW) materials has been published, we undertake an in-depth study of their optical properties as they have an important guiding role for light control in two-dimensional (2D) nanospace. As an example, we study the reflectance of few-layered black phosphorus (BP) in the total internal reflection (TIR) mode in detail. We demonstrate that its optical anisotropy can be changed on a large scale by varying the incident angles, polarization states, and the in-plane rotation angles of the BP samples. Theoretical analysis indicates that the phenomena observed are common to all the atom-thick biaxial crystals, so these conclusions can be widely applied to other anisotropic 2D materials. This research furthers the current understanding of the properties of BP more comprehensively, and provides guidance for developing new optoelectronic applications, especially when BP and other atom-thick biaxial crystals are integrated with TIR devices. Keywords: Black phosphorus, Optical anisotropy, Total internal reflection, Biaxial crystal

Osteosarcoma is prevalent worldwide and characterized as a challenging health burden. It has been increasingly indicated that long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are significant in pathological processes of numerous cancers, exerting oncogenic or tumor-suppressive function. However, the participation of KCNQ1OT1 in osteosarcoma has not been elaborated. In this study, we focus on interrogating the function of KCNQ1OT1 and its underlying mechanism in osteosarcoma. Our work demonstrated the upregulation of KCNQ1OT1 in osteosarcoma through qRT-PCR. Besides, loss of function assay (CCK-8, transwell migration) indicated KCNQ1OT1 promoted cell proliferation, migration in osteosarcoma. Mechanically, KCNQ1OT1 acting as sponge for miR-4458 antagonized its tumor-suppressive impact on CCND2 expression. The anti-apoptotic nature of KCNQ1OT1 was also unveiled via caspase-3 activity assay. Overexpressed KCNQ1OT1 acted as competing endogenous RNA (ceRNA) for miR-4458 and subsequently reinforced target gene CCND2. Collectively, the results of rescue experiments suggested that the oncogenic role of KCNQ1OT1 was performed through sponging miR-4458 and upregulating CCND2 during osteosarcoma development, providing a novel perspective of intervention in osteosarcoma management.

We simulated hydraulic fracturing in different lithologic rocks in the horizontal drilling by using the true physical model experiment and large rock specimens, carried out the real-time dynamic monitoring with adding tracer and then did post-fracturing cutting and so on. Based on this monitoring results, we compared and assessed the factors affecting expansion in shale, shell limestone, and tight sandstone and the fracture expansion in these rocks. In shale, the reformed reservoir volume is the highest, fracture network is formed in the process of fracturing. In tight sandstone, the fracture surface boundaries are curved, and the fracture surface area accounts for 25–50% of the entire specimen. In shell limestone, the complexity of the fracture morphology is between shale and tight sandstone, but no fracture network is developed. Brittleness controls the fracture surface area. In highly brittle rocks, the fracture surface area is high. Fracture toughness mainly affects the initiation and propagation of cracks. A fracture network is formed only if bedding planes are present and are more weaker than their corresponding matrix. The horizontal in situ deviatoric stress affects the crack propagation direction, and different lithologies have different horizontal in situ deviatoric stress thresholds. Low fluid injection rate facilitates the formation of complex cracks, whereas high fluid injection rate favors the development of fractures. Fluid injection weakly controls the complexity of hydraulic fracturing in low-brittleness rocks, whereas low-viscosity fracturing fluids favor the formation of complex cracks owing to easy enter microcracks and micro-pore. Displacement has a greater impact on high brittle rocks than low brittle rocks.

Nuclear receptor binding SET domain 2 (NSD2)-mediated metabolic reprogramming has been demonstrated to regulate oncogenesis via catalyzing the methylation of histones. The present study aimed to investigate the role of NSD2-mediated metabolic abnormality in pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). Monocrotaline (MCT)-induced PAH rat model was established and infected with adeno-associated virus carrying short hairpin RNA (shRNA) targeting NSD2. Hemodynamic parameters, ventricular function, and pathology were evaluated by microcatheter, echocardiography, and histological analysis. Metabolomics changes in lung tissue were analyzed by LC–MS. The results showed that silencing of NSD2 effectively ameliorated MCT-induced PAH and right ventricle dysfunction, and partially reversed pathological remodeling of pulmonary artery and right ventricular hypertrophy. In addition, the silencing of NSD2 markedly reduced the di-methylation level of H3K36 (H3K36me2 level) and inhibited autophagy in pulmonary artery. Non-targeted LC–MS based metabolomics analysis indicated that trehalose showed the most significant change in lung tissue. NSD2-regulated trehalose mainly affected ABC transporters, mineral absorption, protein digestion and absorption, metabolic pathways, and aminoacyl-tRNA biosynthesis. In conclusion, we reveal a new role of NSD2 in the pathogenesis of PAH related to the regulation of trehalose metabolism and autophagy via increasing the H3K36me2 level. NSD2 is a promising target for PAH therapy.