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The recently discovered metal-like room-temperature plasticity in inorganic semiconductors reshapes our knowledge of the physical properties of materials, giving birth to a series of new-concept functional materials. However, current room-temperature plastic inorganic semiconductors are still very rare, and their performance is inferior to that of classic brittle semiconductors. Taking classic bismuth telluride (Bi 2 Te 3 )-based thermoelectric semiconductors as an example, we show that antisite defects can lead to high-density, diverse microstructures that substantially affect mechanical properties and thus successfully transform these bulk semiconductors from brittle to plastic, leading to a high figure of merit of up to 1.05 at 300 kelvin compared with other plastic semiconductors, similar to the best brittle semiconductors. We provide an effective strategy to plastify brittle semiconductors to display good plasticity and excellent functionality simultaneously.

Halide perovskites are of great interest due to their exceptional optical and optoelectronic properties. However, thermal conductivity of many halide perovskites remains unexplored. In this study, an ultralow lattice thermal conductivity κ L (0.24 W m -1 K -1 at 300 K) is reported and its weak temperature dependence (≈T -0.27 ) in an all-inorganic vacancy-ordered halide perovskite, Cs 3 Bi 2 Br 9 . The intrinsically ultralow κ L can be attributed to the soft low-lying phonon modes with strong anharmonicity, which have been revealed by combining experimental heat capacity and Raman spectroscopy measurements, and first-principles calculations. It is shown that the highly anharmonic phonons originate from the Bi 6s 2 lone pair expression with antibonding states of Bi 6s and Br 4p orbitals driven by the dynamic BiBr 6 octahedral distortion. Theoretical calculations reveal that these low-energy phonons are mostly contributed by large Br motions induced dynamic distortion of BiBr 6 octahedra and large Cs rattling motions, verified by the synchrotron X-ray pair distribution function analysis. In addition, the weak temperature dependence of κ L can be traced to the wave-like tunneling of phonons, induced by the low-lying phonon modes. This work reveals the strong anharmonicity and wave-like tunneling of low-energy phonons for designing efficient vacancy-ordered halide perovskites with intrinsically low κ L ., (© 2024 Wiley‐VCH GmbH.)

Grain boundary plays a vital role in thermoelectric transports, leading to distinct properties between single crystals and polycrystals. Manipulating the grain boundary to realize good thermoelectric properties in polycrystals similar as those of single crystals is a long-standing task, but it is quite challenging. Herein, we develop a liquid-phase sintering strategy to successfully introduce Mg 2 Cu nano-sintering-aid into the grain boundaries of Mg 3 (Bi, Sb) 2 -based materials. The nano-aid helps to enlarge the average grain size to 23.7 μm and effectively scatter phonons, leading to excellent electrical transports similar as those of single crystals and ultralow lattice thermal conductivity as well as exceptional thermoelectric figure of merit (1.5 at 500 K) and conversion efficiency (7.4% under temperature difference of 207 K). This work provides a simple but effective strategy for the fabrication of high-performance polycrystals for large-scale applications., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Ductile inorganic thermoelectric (TE) materials open a new approach to develop high-performance flexible TE devices. N-type Ag 2 (S,Se,Te) and p-type AgCu(Se,S,Te) pseudoternary solid solutions are two typical categories of ductile inorganic TE materials reported so far. Comparing with the Ag 2 (S,Se,Te) pseudoternary solid solutions, the phase composition, crystal structure, and physical properties of AgCu(Se,S,Te) pseudoternary solid solutions are more complex, but their relationships are still ambiguous now. In this work, via systematically investigating the phase composition, crystal structure, mechanical, and TE properties of about 60 AgCu(Se,S,Te) pseudoternary solid solutions, the comprehensive composition-structure-property phase diagrams of the AgCuSe-AgCuS-AgCuTe pseudoternary system is constructed. By mapping the complex phases, the "ductile-brittle" and "n-p" transition boundaries are determined and the composition ranges with high TE performance and inherent ductility are illustrated. On this basis, high performance p-type ductile TE materials are obtained, with a maximum zT of 0.81 at 340 K. Finally, flexible in-plane TE devices are prepared by using the AgCu(Se,S,Te)-based ductile TE materials, showing high output performance that is superior to those of organic and inorganic-organic hybrid flexible devices., (© 2024 Wiley‐VCH GmbH.)

Mode converters, crucial elements within photonic integrated circuits (PICs) designed for multimode optical transmission and switching systems, present a challenge due to their bulky structures in thin-film lithium niobate (TFLN) integrated platforms, which are incompatible with the compact and efficient nature desired for dense PICs. In this work, we propose TE 1 -TE 0 , TE 2 -TE 0 , and TE 3 -TE 0 mode converters in shallowly etched TFLN, within small footprints. The experimental results show that the insertion loss is 0.4 dB, 0.6 dB, and 0.5 dB for the compact TE 1 -TE 0 , TE 2 -TE 0 , and TE 3 -TE 0 mode converters, respectively, and these devices can be operated within a wide 1 dB bandwidth (BW) over 100 nm. This work facilitates the development of low-loss, broadband, and compact monolithically integrated photonic devices for future multimode communication networks in TFLN integrated platforms.

Cu-based liquid-like thermoelectric materials have garnered tremendous attention due to their inherent ultralow lattice thermal conductivity. However, their practical application is hampered by stability issues under a large current or temperature gradient. It has been reported that introduction of copper vacancies can enhance the chemical stability, whereas the micromechanism behind this macroscopic improvement still remains unknown. Here, we have established a quasi in situ TEM method to examine and compare the structural evolution of Cu 2- x S 0.2 Se 0.8 ( x = 0, 0.05) under external electric fields. It is then found that the preset Cu vacancies could favor the electric-induced formation of a more stable intermediate phase, i.e., the hexagonal CuSe-type structure in the form of either lamellar defects (majorly) or long-range order (minorly), in which ordering of S and Se also occurred. Thereby, copper and chalcogen atoms could largely be solidified into the matrix, and the elemental deposition and evaporation process is mitigated under an electric field.

Background: Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is associated with a dismal prognosis. Immune checkpoint inhibitors have shown promising antitumor activity in neoadjuvant settings. This single-arm, phase II trial aimed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of camrelizumab plus chemotherapy as the neoadjuvant therapy (NAT) in early TNBC., Methods: Patients received eight cycles of camrelizumab plus nonplatinum-based chemotherapy. The primary endpoint was total pathological complete response (pCR). Secondary endpoints included the breast pathological complete response (bpCR), adverse events (AEs). Multiomics biomarkers were assessed as exploratory objective., Results: Twenty of 23 TNBC patients receiving NAT underwent surgery, with the total pCR rate of 65% (13/20) and bpCR rate of 70% (14/20). Grade ≥3 treatment-related AEs were observed in 14 (60.9%) patients, with the most common AE being neutropenia (65.2%). Tumor immune microenvironment was analyzed between pCR and non-pCR samples before and after the NAT. Gene expression profiling showed a higher immune infiltration in pCR patients than non-pCR patients in pre-NAT samples. Through establishment of a predictive model for the NAT efficacy, TAP1 and IRF4 were identified as the potential predictive biomarkers for response to the NAT. Gene set enrichment analysis revealed the glycolysis and hypoxia pathways were significantly activated in non-pCR patients before the NAT, and this hypoxia was aggravated after the NAT., Conclusion: Camrelizumab plus nonplatinum-based chemotherapy shows a promising pCR rate in early-stage TNBC, with an acceptable safety profile. TAP1 and IRF4 may serve as potential predictive biomarkers for response to the NAT. Aggravated hypoxia and activated glycolysis after the NAT may be associated with the treatment resistance., (Copyright © 2023 The Author(s). Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc.)

Searching for new high-performance thermoelectric (TE) materials that are economical and environmentally friendly is an urgent task for TE society, but the advancements are greatly limited by the time-consuming and high cost of the traditional trial-and-error method. The significant progress achieved in the computing hardware, efficient computing methods, advance artificial intelligence algorithms, and rapidly growing material data have brought a paradigm shift in the investigation of TE materials. Many electrical and thermal performance descriptors are proposed and efficient high-throughput (HTP) calculation methods are developed with the purpose to quickly screen new potential TE materials from the material databases. Some HTP experiment methods are also developed which can increase the density of information obtained in a single experiment with less time and lower cost. In addition, machine learning (ML) methods are also introduced in thermoelectrics. In this review, the HTP strategies in the discovery of TE materials are systematically summarized. The applications of performance descriptor, HTP calculation, HTP experiment, and ML in the discovery of new TE materials are reviewed. In addition, the challenges and possible directions in future research are also discussed., (© 2024 Wiley‐VCH GmbH.)

The recently discovered plastic/ductile inorganic thermoelectric (TE) materials open a new avenue for the fabrication of high-efficiently flexible TE devices, which can utilize the small temperature difference between human body and environment to generate electricity. However, the maximum power factor (PF) of current plastic/ductile TE materials is usually around or less than 10 µW cm -1 K -2 , much lower than the classic brittle TE materials. In this work, a record-high PF of 18.0 µW cm -1 K -2 at 375 K in plastic/ductile bulk SnSe 2 -based crystals is reported, superior to all the plastic inorganic TE materials and flexible organic TE materials reported before. The origin of such high PF is from the modulation of material's stacking forms and polymorph crystal structures via simultaneously doping Cl/Br at Se-site and intercalating Cu inside the van der Waals gap, leading to the significantly enhanced carrier concentrations and mobilities. An in-plane fully flexible TE device made of the plastic/ductile SnSe 2 -based crystals is successfully developed to show a record-high normalized maximum power density to 0.18 W m -1 under a temperature difference of 30 K. This work indicates that the plastic/ductile material can realize high TE power factor to achieve large output electric power density in flexible TE technology., (© 2023 Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

Critical phenomena are one of the most captivating areas of modern physics, whereas the relevant experimental and theoretical studies are still very challenging. Particularly, the underlying mechanism behind the anomalous thermoelectric properties during critical phase transitions remains elusive, i.e., the current theoretical models for critical electrical transports are either qualitative or solely focused on a specific transport parameter. Herein, we develop a quantitative theory to model the electrical transports during critical phase transitions by incorporating both the band broadening effect and carrier-soft TO phonon interactions. It is found that the band-broadening effect contributes an additional term to Seebeck coefficient, while the carrier-soft TO phonon interactions greatly affects both electrical resistivity and Seebeck coefficient. The universality and validity of our model are well confirmed by experimental data. Furthermore, the features of critical phase transitions are effectively tuned. For example, alloying S in Cu 2 Se can reduce the phase transition temperature but increase the phase transition parameter b. The maximum thermoelectric figure of merit zT is pushed to a high value of 1.3 at the critical point (377 K), which is at least twice as large as those of normal static phases. This work not only provides a clear picture of the critical electrical transports but also presents new guidelines for future studies in this exciting area., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

The flexible thermoelectric technique, which can convert heat from the human body to electricity via the Seebeck effect, is expected to provide a peerless solution for the power supply of wearables. The recent discovery of ductile semiconductors has opened a new avenue for flexible thermoelectric technology, but their power factor and figure-of-merit values are still much lower than those of classic thermoelectric materials. Herein, we demonstrate the presence of morphotropic phase boundary in Ag 2 Se-Ag 2 S pseudobinary compounds. The morphotropic phase boundary can be freely tuned by adjusting the material thermal treatment processes. High-performance ductile thermoelectric materials with excellent power factor (22 μWcm -1  K -2 ) and figure-of-merit (0.61) values are realized near the morphotropic phase boundary at 300 K. These materials perform better than all existing ductile inorganic semiconductors and organic materials. Furthermore, the in-plane flexible thermoelectric device based on these high-performance thermoelectric materials demonstrates a normalized maximum power density reaching 0.26 Wm -1 under a temperature gradient of 20 K, which is at least two orders of magnitude higher than those of flexible organic thermoelectric devices. This work can greatly accelerate the development of flexible thermoelectric technology., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

Materials with low thermal conductivity have received significant attention across various research fields, including thermal insulation materials, thermal barrier coatings, and thermoelectric materials. Exploring novel materials with intrinsically low thermal conductivity and investigating their phonon transport properties, chemical bonding, and atomic coordination are crucial. In this study, a novel ternary sulfide is successfully discovered, Cu 2 ZrS 3 , which is achieved by introducing copper ions into both the interlayer and intralayer of ZrS 2 . The resulting structure encompasses various coordination forms within each layer, such as [CuS 4 ], [ZrS 6 ], and [CuS 3 ], leading to pronounced phonon anharmonicity induced by the asymmetric bonding of tri-coordinated Cu atoms within the [ZrS 6 ] layer. As a result, Cu 2 ZrS 3 exhibits intrinsically low lattice thermal conductivity (κ L ) of about 0.83 W m -1 K -1 at 300 K and 0.35 W m -1 K -1 at 683 K, which are in the exceptionally low level among sulfides. In comparison to the conventional approach of inserting guests between layers, the substitution of atoms within layers provides a novel and effective strategy for designing low κ L materials in transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs)., (© 2023 Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

Calcium peroxide (CP) is an oxidizing agent that can gradually release hydrogen peroxide (HP) to achieve selective killing of cyanobacteria in water blooms, and reduce the phosphorus content in the water column. Despite the potential of CP for use in cyanobacterial water bloom disposal, there is a lack of research on the mechanism of oxidative damage on cyanobacterial cells by calcium peroxide. Further studies are required to comprehend the underlying scientific principles and potential risks and benefits of applying this approach to cyanobacteria disposal. In this investigation, we employed varying doses of CP for the treatment of Microcystis aeruginosa (M. aeruginosa), which resulted in the following findings: (1) the HP released from CP can damage the photosystem II of M. aeruginosa, reduce cell photosynthetic pigment content, intensify the degree of membrane lipid peroxidation, and increase the extracellular protein content; (2) CP significantly increased the soluble extracellular polysaccharide (sEPS) and bound extracellular polysaccharide (bEPS) content of cells (p < 0.05), causing the cells to exist as agglomerates and effectively allowing them to flocculate and precipitate, reducing the turbidity of the water body; (3) The increased dose elevated the pH and calcium ions significantly decreased the orthophosphate content, resulting in an increase in extracellular alkaline phosphatase activity, but possibly increasing the total extracellular nitrogen content. These results suggested that CP is an effective chemical algaecide for cyanobacteria, and has the potential to be applied to dispose of cyanobacterial blooms while reducing the phosphorus content of the water column and further inhibiting the growth and proliferation of cells., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

AgCuSe-based materials have attracted great attentions recently in thermoelectric (TE) field due to their extremely high electron mobility, ultralow lattice thermal conductivity, and abnormal "brittle-ductile" transition at room temperature. However, although the investigation on the crystal structure of AgCuSe low-temperature phase (named as β-AgCuSe) was started more than half a century before, it is still in controversy yet, which greatly limits the understanding of its intriguing electrical, thermal, and mechanical performance. In this work, via adopting the advanced three-dimensional electron diffraction technique, this study finds that the AgCuSe-based materials crystalize in an incommensurately modulated structure with an orthorhombic Pmmn(0β1/2)s00 superspace group. The local lattice distortion in the incommensurately modulated structure has weak effects on the conduction band minimum due to the delocalized and isotropic feature of Ag 5s states, leading to high carrier mobility. Likewise, the inhomogeneous, weak, and anisotropic Ag-Se bonds result in the high degree of anharmonicity and ultralow lattice thermal conductivity. Furthermore, alloying S in AgCuSe reinforces the interaction between the adjacent Ag-Se layers, yielding the "brittle-ductile" transition at room temperature. This work well interprets the structure-performance relationship of AgCuSe-based materials and sheds light on the future investigation of this class of promising TE materials., (© 2023 Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

Ge-Sb-Te compounds (GST), the well-known phase-change materials, are considered to be promising thermoelectric (TE) materials due to their decent thermoelectric performance. While Ge 2 Sb 2 Te 5 and GeSb 2 Te 4 have been extensively studied, the TE performance of GeSb 4 Te 7 has not been well explored. Reducing the excessive carrier concentration is crucial to improving TE performance for GeSb 4 Te 7 . In this work, we synthesize a series of Se-alloyed GeSb 4 Te 7 compounds and systematically investigate their structures and transport properties. Raman analysis reveals that Se alloying introduces a new vibrational mode of GeSe 2 , enhancing the interatomic interaction forces within the layers and leading to the reduction of carrier concentration. Additionally, Se alloying also increases the effective mass and thus improves the Seebeck coefficient of GeSb 4 Te 7 . The decrease in carrier concentration reduces the carrier thermal conductivity, depressing the total thermal conductivity. Finally, a maximum zT value of 0.77 and an average zT value of 0.48 (300-750 K) have been obtained in GeSb 4 Te 5.5 Se 1.5 . This work investigates the Raman vibration modes and the TE performance in Se-alloyed GeSb 4 Te 7 sheddinglight on the performance optimization of other GST materials.

Purpose: We aimed to identify effectiveness-associated indicators and evaluate the optimal tumor reduction rate (TRR) after two cycles of neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) in patients with invasive breast cancer., Methods: This retrospective case-control study included patients who underwent at least four cycles of NAC at the Department of Breast Surgery between February 2013 and February 2020. A regression nomogram model for predicting pathological responses was constructed based on potential indicators., Results: A total of 784 patients were included, of whom 170 (21.68%) reported pathological complete response (pCR) after NAC and 614 (78.32%) had residual invasive tumors. The clinical T stage, clinical N stage, molecular subtype, and TRR were identified as independent predictors of pCR. Patients with a TRR > 35% were more likely to achieve pCR (odds ratio, 5.396; 95% confidence interval [CI], 3.299-8.825). The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was plotted using the probability value, and the area under the ROC curve was 0.892 (95% CI, 0.863-0.922)., Conclusion: TRR > 35% is predictive of pCR after two cycles of NAC, and an early evaluation model using a nomogram based on five indicators, age, clinical T stage, clinical N stage, molecular subtype, and TRR, is applicable in patients with invasive breast cancer., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no competing interests., (© 2023 Korean Breast Cancer Society.)

Objective: Neoadjuvant therapy (NAT) has been widely implemented as an essential treatment to improve therapeutic efficacy in patients with locally-advanced cancer to reduce tumor burden and prolong survival, particularly for human epidermal growth receptor 2-positive and triple-negative breast cancer. The role of peripheral immune components in predicting therapeutic responses has received limited attention. Herein we determined the relationship between dynamic changes in peripheral immune indices and therapeutic responses during NAT administration., Methods: Peripheral immune index data were collected from 134 patients before and after NAT. Logistic regression and machine learning algorithms were applied to the feature selection and model construction processes, respectively., Results: Peripheral immune status with a greater number of CD3 + T cells before and after NAT, and a greater number of CD8 + T cells, fewer CD4 + T cells, and fewer NK cells after NAT was significantly related to a pathological complete response ( P < 0.05). The post-NAT NK cell-to-pre-NAT NK cell ratio was negatively correlated with the response to NAT (HR = 0.13, P = 0.008). Based on the results of logistic regression, 14 reliable features ( P < 0.05) were selected to construct the machine learning model. The random forest model exhibited the best power to predict efficacy of NAT among 10 machine learning model approaches (AUC = 0.733)., Conclusions: Statistically significant relationships between several specific immune indices and the efficacy of NAT were revealed. A random forest model based on dynamic changes in peripheral immune indices showed robust performance in predicting NAT efficacy., Competing Interests: No potential conflicts of interest are disclosed., (Copyright © 2023 Cancer Biology & Medicine.)

Neoadjuvant therapy (NAT) is currently recommended to patients with human epidermal growth factor receptor 2-positive breast cancer (HER2+ BC) that typically exhibit a poor prognosis. The tumor immune microenvironment profoundly affects the efficacy of NAT. However, the correlation between tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes or their specific subpopulations and the response to NAT in HER2+ BC remains largely unknown. In our study, the immune infiltration status of 295 patients was classified as "immune-rich" or "immune-poor" phenotypes. The "immune-rich" phenotype was significantly positively related to pathological complete response (pCR). Ten genes were correlated with both pCR and the immune phenotype based on the results of spline and logistic regression. We constructed a generalized non-linear model combining linear and non-linear gene effects and successfully validated its predictive power using an internal and external validation set (AUC = 0.819, 0.797; respectively) and a clinical set (accuracy = 0.75)., Competing Interests: The authors declare no competing interests., (© 2023 The Authors.)

Purpose: Despite the poor prognosis of triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), it has been demonstrated that neoadjuvant immunotherapy in combination with chemotherapy can improve the pathologic complete response (pCR) rate and/or long-term outcome of TNBC. However, there have been no real-world studies reporting on the effectiveness of neoadjuvant checkpoint inhibitors in early TNBC., Methods: Between November 2019 and December 2021, 63 early TNBC patients treated with anti-PD-1 antibodies (pembrolizumab or camrelizumab) or anti-PD-L1 antibody (atezolizumab) in combination with chemotherapy at seven institutions were included. PCR1 defined as ypT0/Tis and ypN0 was the primary endpoint. Secondary endpoints included pCR2 defined as ypT0/Tis, overall response rate (ORR), disease-free survival (DFS), drug-related adverse events (AEs) and biomarkers., Results: Among the patients in the current study, 34.9% of patients were able to achieve pCR1, and 47.6% of patients had achieved pCR2. The ORR was 82.5%. 33 patients with non-pCR2 tumors were found to have a median DFS of 20.7 months (95% CI 16.3 months-not reached). The DFS of patients with pCR2 and non-pCR2 after neoadjuvant therapy was significantly different (HR = 0.28, 95% CI 0.10-0.79; P = 0.038). The most common AEs were nausea (63.4%), fatigue (42.7%), leucopenia (30.0%) and elevated transaminase (11.7%)., Conclusion: It is possible to achieve a meaningful pCR rate and DFS by combining neoadjuvant checkpoint blockade with chemotherapy in patients with high-risk TNBC. Compared to clinical trials, however, there was a slightly lower pCR rate in this multicentered real-world study., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

Thermoelectric technology provides a promising solution to sustainable energy utilization and scalable power supply. Recently, Ag 2 Q-based (Q = S, Se, Te) silver chalcogenides have come forth as potential thermoelectric materials that are endowed with complex crystal structures, high carrier mobility coupled with low lattice thermal conductivity, and even exceptional plasticity. This review presents the latest advances in this material family, from binary compounds to ternary and quaternary alloys, covering the understanding of multi-scale structures and peculiar properties, the optimization of thermoelectric performance, and the rational design of new materials. The "composition-phase structure-thermoelectric/mechanical properties" correlation is emphasized. Flexible and hetero-shaped thermoelectric prototypes based on Ag 2 Q materials are also demonstrated. Several key problems and challenges are put forward concerning further understanding and optimization of Ag 2 Q-based thermoelectric chalcogenides., (© 2022 Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

Today solid-state cooling technologies below liquid nitrogen boiling temperature (77 K), crucial to quantum information technology and probing quantum state of matter, are greatly limited due to the lack of good thermoelectric and/or thermomagnetic materials. Here, we report the discovery of colossal Nernst power factor of 3800 × 10 -4  W m -1 K -2 under 5 T at 25 K and high Nernst figure-of-merit of 71 × 10 -4  K -1 under 5 T at 20 K in topological semimetal NbSb 2 single crystals. The observed high thermomagnetic performance is attributed to large Nernst thermopower and longitudinal electrical conductivity, and relatively low transverse thermal conductivity. The large and unsaturated Nernst thermopower is the result of the combination of highly desirable electronic structures of NbSb 2 having compensated high mobility electrons and holes near Fermi level and strong phonon-drag effect. This discovery opens an avenue for exploring material option for the solid-state heat pumping below liquid nitrogen temperature., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

Inorganic semiconductors exhibit multifarious physical properties, but they are prevailingly brittle, impeding their application in flexible and hetero-shaped electronics. The exceptional plasticity discovered in InSe crystal indicates the existence of abundant plastically deformable two-dimensional van der Waals (2D vdW) materials, but the conventional trial-and-error method is too time-consuming and costly. Here we report on the discovery of tens of potential 2D chalcogenide crystals with plastic deformability using a nearly automated and efficient high-throughput screening methodology. Seven candidates e.g., famous MoS 2 , GaSe, and SnSe 2 2D materials are carefully verified to show largely anisotropic plastic deformations, which are contributed by both interlayer and cross-layer slips involving continuous breaking and reconstruction of chemical interactions. The plasticity becomes a new facet of 2D materials for deformable or flexible electronics., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

Internal mammary lymph node (IMLN) metastasis forms part of the clinical node classification for primary breast cancer, which influences the treatment strategy. However, because of the IMLNs' complicated anatomical structures and relationships with adjacent structures, IMLN biopsy or resection is associated with a limited improvement in prognosis and a high complication rate. The positivity rate also varies broadly according to imaging modality, and there is a low rate of agreement between the imaging and pathological diagnoses, which creates imprecision in the preoperative staging. The IMLN positivity rate also varies remarkably, and there are no clear, accurate, and non-invasive modalities for diagnosing the pre-mastectomy IMLN status. Nevertheless, medical imaging modalities continue to evolve, with functional imaging and image-guided thoracoscopic biopsy of sentinel IMLNs being well established. Thus, personalized decision-making and treatment selection should be based on the modality-specific differences in the diagnosis of IMLN metastasis/recurrence and the patient's specific risk factors., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

The recently discovered ductile/plastic inorganic semiconductors pave a new avenue toward flexible thermoelectrics. However, the power factors of current ductile/plastic inorganic semiconductors are usually low (below 5 µW cm -1  K -2 ) as compared with classic brittle inorganic thermoelectric materials, which greatly limit the electrical output power for flexible thermoelectrics. Here, large plasticity and high power factor in bulk two-dimensional van der Waals (2D vdW) single-crystalline SnSe 2 are reported. SnSe 2 crystals exhibit large plastic strains at room temperature and they can be morphed into various shapes without cracking, which is well captured by the inherent large deformability factor. As a semiconductor, the electrical transport properties of SnSe 2 can be readily tuned in a wide range by doping a tiny amount of halogen elements. A high power factor of 10.8 µW cm -1  K -2 at 375 K along the in-plane direction is achieved in plastic single-crystalline Br-doped SnSe 2 , which is the highest value among the reported flexible inorganic and organic thermoelectric materials. Combining the good plasticity, excellent power factors, as well as low-cost and nontoxic elements, bulk 2D vdW single-crystalline SnSe 2 shows great promise to achieve high power density for flexible thermoelectrics., (© 2022 The Authors. Advanced Science published by Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

Mode-division multiplexing (MDM) is a promising solution to improve data transmission capacity for future optical interconnect networks. Mode converters and mode filters play a key role in on-chip MDM systems. Here, we propose and experimentally demonstrate a device, enabling mode conversion and filtering simultaneously, which is composed of asymmetrical directional couplers with subwavelength gratings, in a small footprint of 14.7 µm × 1.42 µm. The device can realize optical mode conversion between the first-order transverse electric (TE) mode and the fundamental TE mode, and can also filter the fundamental TE mode efficiently. The conversion efficiency is over 95%, with a broad 1 dB bandwidth over 80 nm and a high mode extinction ratio of >29 dB. As a mode filter, strong mode elimination of >30 dB is achieved.

Flexible thermoelectrics provide a different solution for developing portable and sustainable flexible power supplies. The discovery of silver sulfide-based ductile semiconductors has driven a shift in the potential for flexible thermoelectrics, but the lack of good p-type ductile thermoelectric materials has restricted the reality of fabricating conventional cross-plane π-shaped flexible devices. We report a series of high-performance p-type ductile thermoelectric materials based on the composition-performance phase diagram in AgCu(Se,S,Te) pseudoternary solid solutions, with high figure-of-merit values (0.45 at 300 kelvin and 0.68 at 340 kelvin) compared with other flexible thermoelectric materials. We further demonstrate thin and flexible π-shaped devices with a maximum normalized power density that reaches 30 μW cm -2 K -2 . This output is promising for the use of flexible thermoelectrics in wearable electronics.

Binary Zn-Sb-based compounds, ZnSb and Zn 4 Sb 3 , are promising thermoelectric (TE) materials because they are low-cost and earth-abundant. However, for a long time, their real applications have been limited by the low TE figure-of-merit ( zT ) of ZnSb and poor thermodynamic stability of Zn 4 Sb 3 . In this study, we successfully integrate both high zT and good stability in (Ag, Cd)-containing ZnSb compounds. Alloying Cd in ZnSb greatly suppresses the lattice thermal conductivity to a minimum value of 0.97 W K -1 m -1 at 300 K, while doping Ag significantly enhances the power factor to a peak value of 17.7 μW cm -1 K -2 at 500 K and reduces the bipolar thermal conductivity. As a result of the simultaneously optimized electrical and thermal transport, a peak zT of 1.2 is achieved for Zn 0.698 Ag 0.002 Cd 0.3 Sb at 600 K, which is comparable with the best values reported for Zn 4 Sb 3 -based compounds. Moreover, a current stress test confirms that introducing Ag and Cd does not degrade the good stability of ZnSb under an electric field. The phase composition and thermoelectric performance of Zn 0.698 Ag 0.002 Cd 0.3 Sb are not changed even under a high current density of 50 A cm -2 , showing much better stability than Zn 4 Sb 3 . This study would accelerate the real application of ZnSb-based compounds in the field of waste heat harvesting.

The conduction type of semiconductors is vitally important in many fields (e.g., photovoltaics, transistors, and thermoelectrics), but so far, there is no effective and simple indicator to quickly judge or predict the conduction type of various semiconductors. In this work, based on the relationship between the formation energy of charged defect and the Fermi level, we propose a simple and low-cost strategy for high-throughput screening the potential n-type or p-type semiconductors from the material database by using energy positions of band edges as indicators. As a case study, we validate this strategy in searching potential n-type thermoelectric materials from copper (Cu)-containing metal chalcogenides. A new promising thermoelectric material, CuIn 5 Se 8 , with potential intrinsic n-type conduction, is successfully screened from 407 Cu-containing metal chalcogenides and validated in the subsequent experiments. Upon doping iodine in CuIn 5 Se 8 , a peak thermoelectric figure of merit zT of 0.84 is obtained at 850 K. Beyond thermoelectrics, the strategy proposed in this study also sheds light on the new material development with desired conduction types in photovoltaics, transistors, and other fields.

To date, thermoelectric materials research stays focused on optimizing the material's band edge details and disfavors low mobility. Here, the paradigm is shifted from the band edge to the mobility edge, exploring high thermoelectricity near the border of band conduction and hopping. Through coalloying iodine and sulfur, the plain crystal structure is modularized of liquid-like thermoelectric material Cu 2 Te with mosaic nanograins and the highly size mismatched S/Te sublattice that chemically quenches the Cu sublattice and drives the electronic states from itinerant to localized. A state-of-the-art figure of merit of 1.4 is obtained at 850 K for Cu 2 (S 0.4 I 0.1 Te 0.5 ); and remarkably, it is achieved near the Mott-Ioffe-Regel limit unlike mainstream thermoelectric materials that are band conductors. Broadly, pairing structural modularization with the high performance near the Mott-Ioffe-Regel limit paves an important new path towards the rational design of high-performance thermoelectric materials., (© 2022 Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

Metabolic adaptation is an emerging hallmark of cancer, as it provides tumor cells sufficient energy and metabolic intermediates. Although tumor cells are believed to highly rely on Warburg effect to satisfy their energy demand, more studies have pointed out that various types of tumor cells are highly dependent on oxidative phosphorylation to drive the tumorigenesis. Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-c coactivator 1α (PGC1α), the crucial member of PGC1 family, is aberrantly expressed in several cancer types, implicating its role in tumor proliferation, migration, invasion, metastasis, and chemoresistance. Numerous studies have reported that PGC1α participates in the regulation of tumor development by altering the transcriptional programs as well as the metabolic phenotypes. Thus, PGC1α-targeted therapy is therapeutically exploitable to target the metabolic vulnerabilities in tumor cells. This review mainly focuses on the current underlying mechanisms for its roles in regulating metabolic adaptation of tumor cells and its upstream regulators; how PGC1α participates in the regulation of the tumor proliferation, migration, invasion, metastasis, therapy resistance; and the feasibility of PGC1α-targeted therapy for cancer treatment., (© 2022. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

Chronic stress refers to continuous emotional changes and psychological pressure that individuals experience when they are unable to adjust and stabilize the internal environment over an extended period. It can increase the pressure on endocrine mediators and cytokines in the circulation, as well as tissues throughout the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenaline (HPA) axis and sympathetic nervous system (SNS); thus, evolving the internal environment of the tumor. This review assesses several key issues, involving psychosocial factors, and integrates clinical, cellular, and molecular studies-as well as the latest research progress-to provide a mechanistic understanding regarding breast oncopsychology. We propose that chronic stress contributes to large individual diferences in the prognosis of breast cancer survivors because they change the basic physiological processes of the endocrine and immune systems, which in turn regulate tumor growth. The study of psychological and physiological reactions of breast cancer patients suggests a new idea for psychological intervention and clinical treatment for breast cancer patients., (© 2023 Xiuyun Chen, Mozhi Wang, Keda Yu, Shouping Xu, Pengfei Qiu, Zhidong Lyu, Xinwen Zhang, Yingying Xu, published by De Gruyter on behalf of Scholar Media Publishing.)

Bacterial wilt caused by Ralstonia solanacearum is a distributed and worldwide soilborne disease. The application of biocontrol microbes or agricultural chemicals has been widely used to manage tomato bacterial wilt. However, whether and how agricultural chemicals affect the antagonistic ability of biocontrol microbes is still unknown. Here, we combined potassium phosphite (K-Phite), an environmentally friendly agricultural chemical, and the biocontrol agent Bacillus amyloliquefaciens QPF8 (strain F8) to manage tomato bacterial wilt disease. First, K-Phite at a concentration of 0.05% (wt/vol) could significantly inhibit the growth of R. solanacearum . Second, 0.05% K-Phite enhanced the antagonistic capability of B. amyloliquefaciens F8. Third, the greenhouse soil experiments showed that the control efficiency for tomato bacterial wilt in the combined treatment was significantly higher than that of the application of B. amyloliquefaciens F8 or K-Phite alone. Overall, our results highlighted a novel strategy for the control of tomato bacterial wilt disease via application and revealed a new integrated pattern depending on the enhancement of the antagonistic capability of biocontrol microbes by K-Phite.

Phase transition is an effective strategy to engineer thermal conductivity and electrical transports. Recently, p-type CuAgTe 1- x Se x materials were reported to show excellent thermoelectric performance at 300-450 K, but the data are controversial due to the cooccurrence of phase transition in this temperature range. Accurately measuring and analyzing the electrical and thermal transport properties in the narrow phase transition temperature range is a quite challenging task. In this work, we systemically investigate the phase transition behavior, and electrical and thermal transport properties of p-type CuAgTe 1- x Se x ( x = 0.3, 0.4, and 0.5) near 400 K. CuAgTe 1- x Se x ( x = 0.3, 0.4, and 0.5) materials show similar phase transition temperatures but quite different phase transition speeds. The phase transition has a weak influence on the electrical transport properties of CuAgTe 0.7 Se 0.3 and CuAgTe 0.6 Se 0.4 , but a strong influence on those of CuAgTe 0.5 Se 0.5 . Likewise, an obvious underestimation of thermal diffusivity, with a maximum deviation about 20% off the real value, is observed during the phase transition temperature range for CuAgTe 1- x Se x . Finally, CuAgTe 0.7 Se 0.3 shows a peak zT around 0.9 at 390 K. The present study proves that CuAgTe 1- x Se x solid solutions are one kind of promising near-room-temperature thermoelectric material.

Background: The discordance of estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR), human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2), and Ki-67 cell nuclear proliferation antigen status in patients with locally advanced breast cancer pre- and post-neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) is quite common. This study aimed to assess the frequency of changes in receptor status after NAC in patients with invasive ductal breast cancer and the prognostic impact of such changes., Methods: The study comprised 670 patients who were diagnosed with invasive ductal breast carcinoma and treated with both NAC and surgery from 2012-2017. Hormone receptor (HR; including ER and PR), HER2, and Ki-67 status was assessed before NAC and in residual invasive tumor cells of the surgical specimens. The prognostic impact of receptor conversions in breast cancer patients treated with NAC was evaluated in this retrospective study., Results: The conversion of ER was related to overall survival (OS; P=0.008) and disease-free survival (DFS; P=0.004). Patients whose ER status was always positive had the best prognosis, and those who were always negative had the worst prognosis. Similar results were also found for PR status, as the conversion of PR status was also related to OS (P<0.001) and DFS (P<0.001). At the same time, the conversion of Ki-67 status was related to OS (P=0.042) and DFS (P=0.037), and patients whose Ki-67 status was ≤20% persistently after NAC had the best survival among the 4 groups, while those whose Ki-67 status changed from ≤20% to >20% after NAC had the worst survival. Nevertheless, there was no statistical significance in the conversion of HER2 status. In multivariate Cox regression analyses, PR conversion and post-neoadjuvant pathological lymph node stage (ypN) were independent prognostic factors for DFS (P=0.008, <0.001) and OS (P=0.002, <0.001)., Conclusions: Changes in receptor status between pre-treatment and residual disease after NAC are common. Moreover, these alterations have an impact on the survival outcome of invasive ductal breast cancer patients. Thus, receptor status should be re-evaluated routinely before and after NAC to guide individualized treatment., Competing Interests: Conflicts of Interest: All authors have completed the ICMJE uniform disclosure form (available at https://atm.amegroups.com/article/view/10.21037/atm-21-6924/coif). The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare., (2022 Annals of Translational Medicine. All rights reserved.)

Introduction: Ki67 value and its variation before and after neoadjuvant chemotherapy are commonly tested in relation to breast cancer patient prognosis. This study aims to quantify the extent of changes in Ki67 proliferation pre- and post-neoadjuvant chemotherapy, confirm an optimal cut-off point, and evaluate its potential value for predicting survival outcomes in patients with different molecular subtypes of breast cancer. Methods: This retrospective real-world study recruited 828 patients at the Department of Breast Surgery of the First Affiliated Hospital of China Medical University and the Cancer Hospital of China Medical University from Jan 2014 to Nov 2020. Patient demographic features and disease pathology characteristics were recorded, and biomarkers were verified through immunohistochemistry. Various statistical methods were used to validate the relationships between different characteristics and survival outcomes irrespective of disease-free and overall survival. Results: Among 828 patients, statistically significant effects between pathological complete response and survival outcome were found in both HER2-enriched and triple-negative breast cancer ( p < 0.05) but not in Luminal breast cancer ( p > 0.05). Evident decrease of Ki67 was confirmed after neoadjuvant chemotherapy. To quantify the extent of Ki67 changes between pre- and post-NAC timepoints, we adopted a computational equation termed ΔKi67% for research. We found the optimal cut-off value to be " ΔKi67% = -63%" via the operating characteristic curve, defining ΔKi67% ≤ -63% as positive status and ΔKi67% > -63% as negative status. Patients with positive ΔKi67% status were 37.1% of the entire cohort. Additionally, 4.7, 39.9, 34.5 and 39.6% of patients with Luminal A, Luminal B, HER2-enriched and triple negative breast cancer were also validated with positive ΔKi67% status. The statistically significant differences between ΔKi67% status and prognostic outcomes were confirmed by univariate and multivariate analysis in Luminal B (univariate and multivariate analysis: p < 0.05) and triple negative breast cancer (univariate and multivariate analysis: p < 0.05). We proved ΔKi67% as a statistically significant independent prognostic factor irrespective of disease-free or overall survival among patients with Luminal B and triple-negative breast cancer. Conclusions: ΔKi67% can aid in predicting patient prognostic outcome, provide a measurement of NAC efficacy, and assist in further clinical decisions, especially for patients with Luminal B breast cancer., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2021 Tan, Fu, Xu, Qiu, Lv, Xu and Zhang.)

Oxidized low-density lipoprotein receptor 1 (OLR1), a key receptor for oxidized low-density lipoprotein (ox-LDL), plays a crucial role in cancer and inflammatory disease. However, the correlation between OLR1 expression and immune infiltration in breast cancer (BC) remain unclear. In this study, we comprehensively analyzed the expression level of OLR1 in BC tissues and explore the prognostic importance of OLR1 using quantitative real-time PCR, immunohistochemical analysis and different databases. The significantly enriched KEGG and GO pathways were used to identify the potential biological function of OLR1 via LinkedOmics analysis. Furthermore, we detected the correlation between OLR1 expression and a variety of immune infiltrating cells via Tumor Immune Estimation Resource database and GEPIA database. Our study revealed that OLR1 upregulation was observed in BC tissues and correlated with worse clinical outcomes and advanced clinicopathological factors. Meanwhile, OLR1 regulated various immunity-related pathways, especially the polarization of macrophages. Immunohistochemical analysis further confirmed the significant correlation between OLR1 expression and tumor infiltration of M2 macrophages as well as tumor-associated macrophages. OLR1 upregulation indicated poor prognosis in BC, possibly through inducing macrophage polarization and triggering immune evasion. Collectively, OLR1 may represent a potential therapeutic target for BC tailored therapy., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

The development of a rapid-forming in-situ sprayable hydrogel with the functions of tumor treatment and wound healing is essential for eliminating residual tumor tissue and promoting wound healing caused by surgical resection. On account of its semiconductor properties, β-FeSi 2 (FS) was widely explored as a thermoelectric material. In this work, FS was first applied as a bioactive material for the application of tissue engineering. Excitedly, we found that FS could be used as a novel antitumor agent. It exhibited excellent photothermal performance, and the released Fe ions could generate •OH under the acidic conditions and excessive H 2 O 2 in the tumor microenvironment. Moreover, the sprayable β-FeSi 2 -incorporated sodium alginate (FS/SA) hydrogel was prepared as an instant gelation after spraying in situ, contributing to timely tumor-induced skin wound healing and efficiently suppressing tumors through photothermal and chemodynamic therapy (PTT and CDT). Furthermore, the released bioactive Fe and Si ions could promote the migration and differentiation of endothelial cells and the pro-angiogenesis of skin wounds. Accordingly, such sprayable hydrogel played an effective role in emergency wound treatment with the advantage of convenience and portability. Overall, with incorporation of FS into the sprayable FS/SA hydrogel, the composite hydrogel possessed dual functions of tumor therapy and skin wound healing., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

As a low-cost substitute that uses no expensive rare-earth elements for the high-efficiency Cu(In,Ga)(S,Se) 2 solar cell, the Cu 2 ZnSn(S,Se) 4 (CZTSSe) solar cell has borrowed optimization strategies used for its predecessor to improve its device performance, including a profiled band gap and surface inversion. Indeed, there have been few reports of constructing CZTSSe absorber layers with surface inversion to improve efficiency. Here, a strategy that designs the CZTSSe absorber to attain surface modification by using n-type Ag 2 ZnSnS 4 is demonstrated. It has been discovered that Ag plays two major roles in the kesterite thin film devices: surface inversion and front gradient distribution. It has not only an excellent carrier transport effect and reduced probability of electron-hole recombination but also results in increased carrier separation by increasing the width of the depletion region, leading to much improved V OC and J SC . Finally, a champion CZTSSe solar cell renders efficiency as high as 12.55%, one of the highest for its type, with the open-circuit voltage deficit reduced to as low as 0.306 V (63.2% Shockley-Queisser limit). The band engineering for surface modification of the absorber and high efficiency achieved here shine a new light on the future of the CZTSSe solar cell., (© 2021 Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

Aquatic ecosystems and drinking water supply systems worldwide are increasingly affected by taste and odor episodes. In this study, molecular approaches including next-generation sequencing (NGS) and quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) were used to study the diversity and dynamics of cyanobacteria and 2-methylisoborneol (2-MIB)-producing cyanobacteria in Yuqiao Reservoir, a eutrophicated drinking water reservoir in Tianjin city, northern China. NGS revealed that the entire cyanobacterial community consisted of 16 genera, with Planktothrix (28.8%), Pseudanabaena (18.4%), Cylindrospermosis (7.8%), and Microcystis (7.6%) being the dominant genera, while microscopic examination identified only eight cyanobacterial genera. NGS of the 2-MIB synthesis gene revealed that Pseudanabaena and Planktothricoides were the main 2-MIB producers, with Pseudanabaena being dominant. This finding demonstrated that NGS can identify 2-MIB producers quickly and accurately and it can thus play an important role in the practical monitoring of aquatic ecology. The qPCR test showed 2-MIB synthesis gene with 4.27 × 10 6 copies/L to 2.24 × 10 9 copies/L occurring at the three sampling sites. The mic gene copy number increased before the 2-MIB concentration increased, indicating that forecasting role in dealing with the 2-MIB concentration by gene copy number. Predicting 2-MIB by qPCR in the field must be verified with additional studies. The combination of NGS and qPCR can be an even more comprehensive method to provide early warning information to managers of reservoirs and water utilities facing taste and odor incidents. This is the first amplicon NGS dataset based on 2-MIB gene to study the diversity and dynamics of 2-MIB-producing cyanobacteria., (Copyright © 2021. Published by Elsevier Ltd.)

Silver selenide, Ag 2 Se, is a promising low-temperature thermoelectric material which can be used to harvest the low-quality waste heat for electrical power generation or cool the microelectronics. Currently, the investigation on Ag 2 Se and its derivatives has become a hot topic in the thermoelectric community, but the thermoelectric properties of Ag 2 Se below 300 K have been rarely investigated. In this study, we prepared Ag 2 Se by using the zone-melting method. The electrical and thermal transport properties of zone-melted Ag 2 Se from 5 to 380 K were systematically investigated and compared with the previously reported data of Ag 2 Se and other typical low-temperature thermoelectric materials, such as Mg 3 Bi 2 , Bi 2 Te 3 , and BiSb. Ag 2 Se shows intrinsic semiconductor features, ultrahigh carrier mobility, small density-of-state effective mass, and ultralow lattice thermal conductivity. At 300 K, the zT of zone-melted Ag 2 Se is 0.75. This study will shed light on the further investigation of Ag 2 Se.

High-efficiency thermoelectric (TE) technology is determined by the performance of TE materials. Doping is a routine approach in TEs to achieve optimized electrical properties and lowered thermal conductivity. However, how to choose appropriate dopants with desirable solution content to realize high TE figure-of-merit (zT) is very tough work. In this study, via the use of large mass and strain field fluctuations as indicators for low lattice thermal conductivity, the combination of (Mg, Bi) in GeTe is screened as very effective dopants for potentially high zTs. In experiments, a series of (Mg, Bi) co-doped GeTe compounds are prepared and the electrical and thermal transport properties are systematically investigated. Ultralow lattice thermal conductivity, about 0.3 W m -1 K -1 at 600 K, is obtained in Ge 0.9 Mg 0.04 Bi 0.06 Te due to the introduced large mass and strain field fluctuations by (Mg, Bi) co-doping. In addition, (Mg, Bi) co-doping can introduce extra electrons for optimal carrier concentration and diminish the energy offset at the top of the valence band for high density-of-states effective mass. Via these synthetic effects, a superhigh zT of ≈2.5 at 700 K is achieved for Ge 0.9 Mg 0.04 Bi 0.06 Te. This study sheds light on the rational design of effective dopants in other TE materials., (© 2021 Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

Hetero-shaped thermoelectric (TE) generators (TEGs) can power the sensors used in safety monitoring systems of undersea oil pipelines, but their development is greatly limited by the lack of materials with both good shape-conformable ability and high TE performance. In this work, a new ductile inorganic TE material, Ag 20 S 7 Te 3 , with high TE performance is reported. At 300-600 K, Ag 20 S 7 Te 3 crystallizes in a body-centered cubic structure, in which S and Te atoms randomly occupy the (0, 0, 1) site. Due to the smaller generalized stacking fault energy in the ( 10 1 ¯ )[010] slip system, Ag 20 S 7 Te 3 shows better ductility than Ag 2 S, yielding excellent shape-conformability. The high carrier mobility and low lattice thermal conductivity observed in Ag 20 S 7 Te 3 result in a maximum dimensionless figure of merit (zT) of 0.80 at 600 K, which is comparable with the best commercial Bi 2 Te 3 -based alloys. The prototype TEG consisting of 10 Ag 20 S 7 Te 3 strips displays an open-circuit voltage of 69.2 mV and a maximum power output of 17.1 µW under the temperature difference of 70 K. This study creates a new route toward hetero-shaped TEG., (© 2021 Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

An tetraphenylethylene-based MOF (HNU-49) has been synthesized, which exhibits interesting piezofluorochromic behavior. Additionally, rhodamine B (RhB) can be successful encapsulated in HNU-49, to emit the characteristic dual-emission of RhB and the framework. The combination of host-guest interaction and piezofluorochromism can precisely modulate the luminescence to achieve near white-light.

Background: With the improvement of the efficacy of neoadjuvant therapy (NAT) that is guided by molecular subtypes, the rate of pathologically node-negative disease after NAT (ypN0) is increasing for HER2 positive (HER2+) and triple-negative (TN) breast cancer patients. The necessity of axillary surgery for patients with high ypN0 has been questioned. This study aimed to identify patients among HER2+ and TN breast cancer with low risk for axillary metastases after NAT, and, perhaps, they are suitable for selective elimination of axillary surgery staging., Methods: From January 2010 to August 2018, 865 breast cancer patients who underwent NAT were included in this retrospective clinical study, and 184 patients (21.3%,184/865) suffered from TN and HER2+ breast cancer and received full-course NAT. The correlation among clinicopathological characteristics of HER2+ and TN breast cancer and ypN0 were analyzed., Results: Among the 184 HER2+ and TN breast cancer patients, tumor staging, lymph node staging and Ki-67 before NAT, clinically node-negative disease after NAT (ycN0), and breast radiologic and pathologic complete response (bpCR) were correlated with ypN0 (P<0.05). Lymph node staging before NAT (OR =0.363, P<0.001), ycN0 (OR =4.995, P<0.001) and bpCR (OR =11.285, P<0.001) were the independent effects of ypN0. The ypN0 rate after NAT in cN0/1 patients with bpCR and ycN0 (97.6%, 40/41) was significantly higher than that in cN2/3 patients (62.5%, 10/16) (P<0.001). Among the 37 patients with initial nodal ultrasonography showing cN0 disease, 17 of 17 (100.0%) with and 18 of 20 (90.0%) without bpCR had no evidence of residual nodal disease (P=0.178). Among the 42 patients with cN1 to ycN0, 23 of 24 (95.8%) with and 10 of 18 (55.6%) without bpCR had no evidence of residual nodal disease (P<0.001). Patients without bpCR had a relative risk for nodal residual metastases of 10.560 (95% CI: 2.720-41.003; P<0.001) compared with those with bpCR in cN1 group., Conclusions: In terms of HER2+ and TN breast cancer patients, clinical lymph node staging before NAT, ycN0 and bpCR were the independent predictors of ypN0. bpCR was highly correlated with nodal status after NAT. The risk of axillary lymph nodes residual metastases after NAT in the patients of bpCR with cN0 and cN1 to ycN0 was less than 5%, thus making it possible to selectively avoid axillary surgery., Competing Interests: Conflicts of Interest: All authors have completed the ICMJE uniform disclosure form (available at http://dx.doi.org/10.21037/gs-20-573). The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare., (2021 Gland Surgery. All rights reserved.)

Thermoelectric materials (TMs) can uniquely convert waste heat into electricity, which provides a potential solution for the global energy crisis that is increasingly severe. Bulk Cu 2 Se, with ionic conductivity of Cu ions, exhibits a significant enhancement of its thermoelectric figure of merit zT by a factor of ~3 near its structural transition around 400 K. Here, we show a systematic study of the electronic structure of Cu 2 Se and its temperature evolution using high-resolution angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy. Upon heating across the structural transition, the electronic states near the corner of the Brillouin zone gradually disappear, while the bands near the centre of Brillouin zone shift abruptly towards high binding energies and develop an energy gap. Interestingly, the observed band reconstruction well reproduces the temperature evolution of the Seebeck coefficient of Cu 2 Se, providing an electronic origin for the drastic enhancement of the thermoelectric performance near 400 K. The current results not only bridge among structural phase transition, electronic structures and thermoelectric properties in a condensed matter system, but also provide valuable insights into the search and design of new generation of thermoelectric materials., Competing Interests: Conflict of interest The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2020 Science China Press. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

In this work, we report a series of Cu 3 R Te 3 ( R = Y, Sm, and Dy) ternary compounds with a trigonal structure ( R 3̅) as a family of new thermoelectric materials. First-principles calculations show that Cu 3 R Te 3 ( R = Y, Sm, and Dy) compounds are semiconductors with similar band structures and moderate band gaps (0.69-0.82 eV). The synthesized polycrystalline Cu 3 R Te 3 ( R = Y, Sm, and Dy) compounds possess moderate carrier concentrations (0.8-2.2 × 10 20 cm -3 ) and density-of-state effective masses (around 1.1 m e ), yielding decent electrical transport performance. Furthermore, intrinsically low lattice thermal conductivities, below 1 W m -1 K -1 at 300-900 K, originating from the heavy average atomic masses and large number of atoms in the unit cell, are observed for Cu 3 R Te 3 ( R = Y, Sm, and Dy). Finally, Cu 3 DyTe 3 demonstrates a peak dimensionless figure of merit of 0.9 at 900 K, which is among the highest reported for the Cu/Ag-based tellurides.

Inorganic semiconductors are vital for a number of critical applications but are almost universally brittle. Here, we report the superplastic deformability of indium selenide (InSe). Bulk single-crystalline InSe can be compressed by orders of magnitude and morphed into a Möbius strip or a simple origami at room temperature. The exceptional plasticity of this two-dimensional van der Waals inorganic semiconductor is attributed to the interlayer gliding and cross-layer dislocation slip that are mediated by the long-range In-Se Coulomb interaction across the van der Waals gap and soft intralayer In-Se bonding. We propose a combinatory deformability indicator (Ξ) to prescreen candidate bulk semiconductors for use in next-generation deformable or flexible electronics., (Copyright © 2020 The Authors, some rights reserved; exclusive licensee American Association for the Advancement of Science. No claim to original U.S. Government Works.)

Self-powered wearable electronics require thermoelectric materials simultaneously with a high dimensionless figure of merit ( zT ) and good flexibility to convert the heat discharged by the human body into electricity. Ag 2 (S,Se)-based semiconducting materials can well satisfy these requirements, and thus, they are attracting great attention in thermoelectric society recently. Ag 2 (S,Se) crystalizes in an orthorhombic structure or monoclinic structure, depending on the detailed S/Se atomic ratio, but the relationship between its crystalline structure and mechanical/thermoelectric performance is still unclear to date. In this study, a series of Ag 2 Se 1- x S x ( x = 0, 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.4, and 0.45) samples were prepared and their mechanical and thermoelectric performance dependence on the crystalline structure was systematically investigated. x = 0.3 in the Ag 2 Se 1- x S x system was found to be the transition boundary between orthorhombic and monoclinic structures. Mechanical property measurement shows that the orthorhombic Ag 2 Se 1- x S x samples are brittle while the monoclinic Ag 2 Se 1- x S x samples are ductile and flexible. In addition, the orthorhombic Ag 2 Se 1- x S x samples show better electrical transport performance and higher zT than the monoclinic samples under a comparable carrier concentration, most likely due to their weaker electron-phonon interactions. This study sheds light on the further development of flexible inorganic TE materials., Competing Interests: The authors declare no competing financial interests., (Copyright © 2020 Jiasheng Liang et al.)