Search

Two-dimensional (2D) ferromagnets with out-of-plane (OOP) magnetic anisotropy are potential candidates for realizing the next-generation memory devices with ultra-low power consumption and high storage density. However, a scalable approach to synthesize 2D magnets with OOP anisotropy directly on the complimentary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) compatible substrates has not yet been mainly explored, which hinders the practical application of 2D magnets. This work demonstrates a cascaded space confined chemical vapor deposition (CS-CVD) technique to synthesize 2D FexGeTe2 ferromagnets. The weight fraction of iron (Fe) in the precursor controls the phase purity of the as-grown FexGeTe2. As a result, high-quality Fe3GeTe2 and Fe5GeTe2 flakes have been grown selectively using the CS-CVD technique. Curie temperature (TC) of the as-grown FexGeTe2 can be up to ∼ 280 K, nearly room temperature. The thickness and temperature-dependent magnetic studies on the Fe5GeTe2 reveal a 2D Ising to 3D XY behavior. Also, Terahertz spectroscopy experiments on Fe5GeTe2 display the highest conductivity among other FexGeTe2 2D magnets. The results of this work indicate a scalable pathway for the direct growth and integration of 2D ternary magnets on CMOS-based substrates to develop spintronic memory devices.

To broaden the scope of van der Waals 2D magnets, we report the synthesis and magnetism of covalent 2D magnetic Cr$_2$Te$_3$ with a thickness down to one-unit-cell. The 2D Cr$_2$Te$_3$ crystals exhibit robust ferromagnetism with a Curie temperature of 180 K, a large perpendicular anisotropy of 7*105 J m-3, and a high coercivity of ~ 4.6 kG at 20 K. First-principles calculations further show a transition from canted to collinear ferromagnetism, a transition from perpendicular to in-plane anisotropy, and emergent half-metallic behavior in atomically-thin Cr$_2$Te$_3$, suggesting its potential application for injecting carriers with high spin polarization into spintronic devices.

Wrinkling two-dimensional (2D) transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs) provides a mechanism to adjust the physical and chemical properties as per need. Traditionally, TMDCs wrinkles achieved by transferring exfoliated materials on prestretched polymer suffer from poor control and limited sample area, which significantly hinders desirable applications. Herein, we fabricate large-area monolayer TMDCs wrinkle arrays directly on the

2D material-based heterostructures are constructed by stacking or spicing individual 2D layers to create an interface between them, which have exotic properties. Here, a new strategy for the in situ growth of large numbers of 2D heterostructures on the centimeter-scale substrate is developed. In the method, large numbers of 2D MoS

Doping is an effective way to modify the electronic property of two-dimensional (2D) materials and endow them with additional functionalities. However, wide-range control of the doping concentrations in monolayer 2D materials with large-scale uniformity remains challenging. Here, we report

Software defect prediction (SDP) can help developers reasonably allocate limited resources for locating bugs and prioritizing their testing efforts. Existing methods often serialize an Abstract Syntax Tree (AST) obtained from the program source code into a token sequence, which is then inputted into the deep learning model to learn the semantic features. However, there are different ASTs with the same token sequence, and it is impossible to distinguish the tree structure of the ASTs only by a token sequence. To solve this problem, this paper proposes a framework called Semantic Feature Learning via Dual Sequences (SFLDS), which can capture the semantic and structural information in the AST for feature generation. Specifically, based on the AST, we select the representative nodes in the AST and convert the program source code into a simplified AST (S-AST). Our method introduces two sequences to represent the semantic and structural information of the S-AST, one is the result of traversing the S-AST node in pre-order, and another is composed of parent nodes. Then each token in the dual sequences is encoded as a numerical vector via mapping and word embedding. Finally, we use a bi-directional long short-term memory (BiLSTM) based neural network to automatically generate semantic features from the dual sequences for SDP. In addition, to leverage the statistical characteristics contained in the handcrafted metrics, we also propose a framework called Defect Prediction via SFLDS (DP-SFLDS) which combines the semantic features generated from SFLDS with handcrafted metrics to perform SDP. In our empirical studies, eight open-source Java projects from the PROMISE repository are chosen as our empirical subjects. Experimental results show that our proposed approach can perform better than several state-of-the-art baseline SDP methods.

In order to reduce the risks of sulfur-containing contaminants present in biofuels, the effects of microwave and content of hydrogen donor on the cracking of C-S bonds and the migration of sulfur were studied by co-pyrolysis of biomass and plastic. The synergistic mechanism of microwave and hydrogen donor was explored from the perspective of deducing the evolution of sulfur-containing compounds based on microwave thermogravimetric analysis. By combining temperature-weight curves, it was found that microwaves and hydrogen radicals promoted the cracking of sulfur-containing compounds and increased the mass loss of biomass during pyrolysis. The mixing ratio of hydrogen donor (plastic) was the key parameter resulting in the removal of sulfur from oil. By adjusting the mixing ratio, the yield of co-pyrolyzed oil was three times higher than that of cow dung pyrolysis alone and the relative removal rate of sulfur reached 73.67%. The relative content of sulfur in the oil was reduced by 73.77% due to the escape of sulfur-containing gases (H

Realizing van der Waals (vdW) epitaxy in the 1980s represents a breakthrough that circumvents the stringent lattice matching and processing compatibility requirements in conventional covalent heteroepitaxy. However, due to the weak vdW interactions, there is little control over film qualities by the substrate. Typically, discrete domains with a spread of misorientation angles are formed, limiting the applicability of vdW epitaxy. Here, the epitaxial growth of monocrystalline, covalent Cr5 Te8 2D crystals on monolayer vdW WSe2 by chemical vapor deposition is reported, driven by interfacial dative bond formation. The lattice of Cr5 Te8 , with a lateral dimension of a few tens of micrometers, is fully commensurate with that of WSe2 via 3 × 3 (Cr5 Te8 )/7 × 7 (WSe2 ) supercell matching, forming a single-crystalline moiré superlattice. This work establishes a conceptually distinct paradigm of thin-film epitaxy, termed "dative epitaxy", which takes full advantage of covalent epitaxy with chemical bonding for fixing the atomic registry and crystal orientation, while circumventing its stringent lattice matching and processing compatibility requirements; conversely, it ensures the full flexibility of vdW epitaxy, while avoiding its poor orientation control. Cr5 Te8 2D crystals grown by dative epitaxy exhibit square magnetic hysteresis, suggesting minimized interfacial defects that can serve as pinning sites. M.B., C.H., A.M., and H.Z. acknowledge support from the US National Science Foundation (Grant Nos. ECCS-2042085, MRI-1229208, MRI-1726303, CBET-1510121), and the University at Buffalo VPRED seed grant. M.B. and Y.H. acknowledge support from the National Key R & D Program of China (Grant No. 2017YFA0206301), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 52027801, 51631001, 52101280), the China–German Collaboration Project (Grant No. M-0199), and the China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (Grant No. 2020M670042). L.Z. and J.L. acknowledge the support from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 11974156), the Guangdong International Science Collaboration Project (Grant No. 2019A050510001), the Science, Technology and Innovation Commission of Shenzhen Municipality (Grant No. ZDSYS20190902092905285), and also the assistance of SUSTech Core Research Facilities. J.C. and S.A.C. acknowledge the support from the National Science Foundation (Grant No. DMR-1644779), the State of Florida, and the U.S. Department of Energy. X.W. and X.M.C. acknowledge the support from the US National Science Foundation (Grant No. DMR-1708790). S.Z. acknowledges the support from the Grant No. NSF ECCS-2042126. R.F.S. acknowledges the support from the NU Collaborative Research and NSF-DMREF (Grant No. 1729288).

Lorentz-violating type-II Dirac nodal line semimetals (DNLSs), hosting curves of band degeneracy formed by two dispersion branches with the same sign of slope, represent a novel states of matter. While being studied extensively in theory, convincing experimental evidences of type-II DNLSs remain elusive. Recently, Vanadium-based kagome materials have emerged as a fertile ground to study the interplay between lattice symmetry and band topology. In this work, we study the low-energy band structure of double-kagome-layered CsV$_8$Sb$_{12}$ and identify it as a scarce type-II DNLS protected by mirror symmetry. We have observed multiple DNLs consisting of type-II Dirac cones close to or almost at the Fermi level via angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES). First-principle analyses show that spin-orbit coupling only opens a small gap, resulting effectively gapless ARPES spectra, yet generating large spin Berry curvature. These type-II DNLs, together with the interaction between a low-energy van Hove singularity and quasi-1D band as we observed in the same material, suggest CsV$_8$Sb$_{12}$ as an ideal platform for exploring novel transport properties such as chiral anomaly, the Klein tunneling and fractional quantum Hall effect., Comment: 10 pages, 4 figures

Layered ferromagnets with high coercivity have special applications in nanoscale memory elements in electronic circuits, such as data storage. Therefore, searching for new hard ferromagnets and effectively tuning or enhancing the coercivity are the hottest topics in layered magnets today. Here, we report a strain tunability of perpendicular magnetic anisotropy in van der Waals (vdW) ferromagnets VI3 using magnetic circular dichroism measurements. For an unstrained flake, the M-H curve shows a rectangular-shaped hysteresis loop with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy and a large coercivity (up to 1.775 T at 10 K). Furthermore, the coercivity can be enhanced to a maximum of 2.6 T at 10 K under a 2.9% in-plane tensile strain. Our DFT calculations show that the magnetic anisotropy energy (MAE) can be dramatically increased after applying an in-plain tensile strain, which contributes to the enhancement of coercivity in the VI3 flake. Meanwhile, the strain tunability on the coercivity of CrI3, with a similar crystal structure, is limited. The main reason is the strong spin-orbital coupling in V3+ in VI6 octahedra in comparison with that in Cr3+. The strain tunability of coercivity in VI3 flakes highlights its potential for integration into vdW heterostructures, paving the way toward nanoscale spintronic devices and applications in the future.

In this paper, we propose a dynamic direct-writing optical holographic display system based on quantum-dot-doped liquid crystal (QDDLC). Instead of using two-beam interference to generate the desir...

MnBi2Te4 is an antiferromagnetic topological insulator that has stimulated intense interest due to its exotic quantum phenomena and promising device applications. The surface structure is a determinant factor to understand the magnetic and topological behavior of MnBi2Te4, yet its precise atomic structure remains elusive. Here we discovered a surface collapse and reconstruction of few-layer MnBi2Te4 exfoliated under delicate protection. Instead of the ideal septuple-layer structure in the bulk, the collapsed surface is shown to reconstruct as a Mn-doped Bi2Te3 quintuple layer and a MnxBiyTe double layer with a clear van der Waals gap in between. Combined with first-principles calculations, such surface collapse is attributed to the abundant intrinsic Mn-Bi antisite defects and the tellurium vacancy in the exfoliated surface, which is further supported by in situ annealing and electron irradiation experiments. Our results shed light on the understanding of the intricate surface-bulk correspondence of MnBi2Te4 and provide an insightful perspective on the surface-related quantum measurements in MnBi2Te4 few-layer devices.

Indium selenide (InSe) has become a research hotspot because of its favorable carrier mobility and thickness-tunable band gap, showing great application potential in high-performance optoelectronic devices. The trend of miniaturization in optoelectronics has forced the feature sizes of the electronic components to shrink accordingly. Therefore, atomically thin InSe crystals may play an important role in future optoelectronics. Given the instability and ultralow photoluminescent (PL) emission of mechanically exfoliated ultrathin InSe, synthesis of highly stable mono- and few-layer InSe nanosheets with high PL efficiency has become crucial. Herein, ultrathin InSe nanosheets were prepared via thermal annealing of electrochemically intercalated products from bulk InSe. The size and yield of the as-prepared nanosheets were up to ∼160 μm and ∼70%, respectively, and ∼80% of the nanosheets were less than five layer. Impressively, the as-prepared nanosheets showed greatly enhanced stability and PL emission because of surface modification by carbon species. Efficient photoresponsivity of 2 A/W was achieved in the as-prepared nanosheet-based devices. These nanosheets were further assembled into large-area thin films with photoresponsivity of 16 A/W and an average Hall mobility of about 5 cm2 V-1 s-1. Finally, one-dimensional (1D) InSe nanoscrolls with a length up to 90 μm were constructed by solvent-assisted self-assembly of the exfoliated nanosheets.

Interlayer interaction could substantially affect the electrical transport in transition metal dichalcogenides, serving as an effective way to control the device performance. However, it is still challenging to utilize interlayer interaction in weakly interlayer-coupled materials such as pristine MoS2 to realize layer-dependent tunable transport behavior. Here, we demonstrate that, by substitutional doping of vanadium atoms in the Mo sites of the MoS2 lattice, the vanadium-doped monolayer MoS2 device exhibits an ambipolar field effect characteristic, while its bilayer device demonstrates a heavy p-type field effect feature, in sharp contrast to the pristine monolayer and bilayer MoS2 devices, both of which show similar n-type electrical transport behaviors. Moreover, the electrical conductance of the doped bilayer MoS2 device is drastically enhanced with respect to that of the doped monolayer MoS2 device. Employing first-principle calculations, we reveal that such striking behaviors arise from the presence of electrical transport networks associated with the enhanced interlayer hybridization of S-3pz orbitals between adjacent layers activated by vanadium dopants in the bilayer MoS2, which is nevertheless absent in its monolayer counterpart. Our work highlights that the effect of dopant not only is confined in the in-plane electrical transport behavior but also could be used to activate out-of-plane interaction between adjacent layers in tailoring the electrical transport of the bilayer transitional metal dichalcogenides, which may bring different applications in electronic and optoelectronic devices.

The intrinsic activity of in-plane chalcogen atoms plays a significant role in the catalytic performance of transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs). A rational modulation of the local configurations is essential to activating the in-plane chalcogen atoms but restricted by the high energy barrier to break the in-plane TM-X (X = chalcogen) bonds. Here, we theoretically design and experimentally realize the tuning of local configurations. The electron transfer capacity of local configurations is used to screen suitable TMDs materials for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). Among various configurations, the triangular-shape cobalt atom cluster with a central sulfur vacancy (3CoMo-VS) renders the distinct electrocatalytic performance of MoS2 with much reduced overpotential and Tafel slope. The present study sheds light on deeper understanding of atomic-scale local configuration in TMDs and a methodology to boost the intrinsic activity of chalcogen atoms., Designing and realizing local configurations can activate the in-plane chalcogen atoms of transition metal dichalcogenide to enhance the HER activity. We combine the theoretical screening (charge transfer capability) and experimental realization to achieve highly active local configurations

This paper focuses on multi-modal Information Perception (IP) for Soft Robotic Hands (SRHs) using Machine Learning (ML) algorithms. A flexible Optical Fiber-based Curvature Sensor (OFCS) is fabricated, consisting of a Light-Emitting Diode (LED), photosensitive detector, and optical fiber. Bending the roughened optical fiber generates lower light intensity, which reflecting the curvature of the soft finger. Together with the curvature and pressure information, multi-modal IP is performed to improve the recognition accuracy. Recognitions of gesture, object shape, size, and weight are implemented with multiple ML approaches, including the Supervised Learning Algorithms (SLAs) of K-Nearest Neighbor (KNN), Support Vector Machine (SVM), Logistic Regression (LR), and the unSupervised Learning Algorithm (un-SLA) of K-Means Clustering (KMC). Moreover, Optical Sensor Information (OSI), Pressure Sensor Information (PSI), and Double-Sensor Information (DSI) are adopted to compare the recognition accuracies. The experiment results demonstrate that the proposed sensors and recognition approaches are feasible and effective. The recognition accuracies obtained using the above ML algorithms and three modes of sensor information are higher than 85 percent for almost all combinations. Moreover, DSI is more accurate when compared to single modal sensor information and the KNN algorithm with a DSI outperforms the other combinations in recognition accuracy.

Background Rapid identification of COVID-19 cases, which is crucial to outbreak containment efforts, is challenging due to the lack of pathognomonic symptoms and in settings with limited capacity for specialized nucleic acid–based reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing. Methods This retrospective case-control study involves subjects (7–98 years) presenting at the designated national outbreak screening center and tertiary care hospital in Singapore for SARS-CoV-2 testing from 26 January to 16 February 2020. COVID-19 status was confirmed by PCR testing of sputum, nasopharyngeal swabs, or throat swabs. Demographic, clinical, laboratory, and exposure-risk variables ascertainable at presentation were analyzed to develop an algorithm for estimating the risk of COVID-19. Model development used Akaike’s information criterion in a stepwise fashion to build logistic regression models, which were then translated into prediction scores. Performance was measured using receiver operating characteristic curves, adjusting for overconfidence using leave-one-out cross-validation. Results The study population included 788 subjects, of whom 54 (6.9%) were SARS-CoV-2 positive and 734 (93.1%) were SARS-CoV-2 negative. The median age was 34 years, and 407 (51.7%) were female. Using leave-one-out cross-validation, all the models incorporating clinical tests (models 1, 2, and 3) performed well with areas under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUCs) of 0.91, 0.88, and 0.88, respectively. In comparison, model 4 had an AUC of 0.65. Conclusions Rapidly ascertainable clinical and laboratory data could identify individuals at high risk of COVID-19 and enable prioritization of PCR testing and containment efforts. Basic laboratory test results were crucial to prediction models., A risk score incorporating easily ascertainable demographic, clinical evaluation, and clinical testing covariates to identify patients at high risk of COVID-19 can help prioritize subjects for testing and public health measures to prevent onward transmission, especially in resource-limited settings.

Every year tens of millions reconstruction surgeries were performed to repair tissue defects caused by trauma or malignant tumor. As the composite tissues are very difficult to be preserved for a long time in vitro, “organ bank” was proposed. In addition to immune rejection, tissue cryopreservation is the key step of the “Organ Bank”. In this study, two severed fingers were cryopreserved because the patients’ conditions were not allowed to undergo the replantation immediately. The fingers were perfused with the cryopreservation solution through the digital artery at a speed of 1 ml/min, they were frozen following a control rate freezing procedure and stored in the liquid nitrogen. One finger was cryopreserved for 10 days and the other for 30 days. Both fingers were successfully replanted when the patient get better. After 1 year follow-up, the replanted fingers achieved satisfactory appearance and function. Our result demonstrate small composite tissues such as severed fingers can be cryopreserved and replanted successfully, which will help the patients who cannot receive the replantation immediately. This method will have important application value in cryobiology and clinical medicine.

In order to exhaustively investigate the physical and chemical mechanisms of heavy metal immobilization in sludge incineration residue (SIR)-based magnesium potassium phosphate cement (MKPC), this work investigated the influence of Pb2+ and Zn2+ on the compressive strength and microstructure of SIR-based MKPC, and the efficiency of Pb and Zn immobilization. Taking the difference of Ksp (solubility product) of different heavy metal compounds as the entry point, the physical and chemical mechanisms of Pb and Zn immobilization, and the competitive mechanism between coexisting ions, were comprehensively analyzed. It was discovered that Pb2+ is in the form Pb3(PO4)2, and Zn2+ is immobilized in the form Zn2(OH)PO4 [Zn3(PO4)2 is preferentially formed, when the pH > 7, Zn3(PO4)2 is converted to Zn2(OH)PO4]. The low solubility of heavy metal phosphates is the main reason that Pb2+ and Zn2+ are well immobilized. The preferential formation of Pb3(PO4)2 (Ksp = 8 × 10−43) and Zn3(PO4)2 (Ksp = 9.0 × 10−33) reduced the amount of MgKPO4·6H2O (Ksp = 2.4 × 10−11), resulting in a decrease in compressive strength. Besides, coexisting Pb2+ and Zn2+ has a competitive effect: Pb2+ will weaken the immobilization efficiency of Zn2+. The new exploration of these mechanisms provide a theoretical basis for rationally adjusting the Magnesia/Phosphate ratio to enhance the compressive strength and improve the efficiency of heavy metals immobilization.

The intertwining of charge order, superconductivity and band topology has promoted the AV$_3$Sb$_5$ (A=K, Rb, Cs) family of materials to the center of attention in condensed matter physics. Underlying those mysterious macroscopic properties such as giant anomalous Hall conductivity (AHC) and chiral charge density wave is their nontrivial band topology. While there have been numerous experimental and theoretical works investigating the nontrivial band structure and especially the van Hove singularities, the exact topological phase of this family remains to be clarified. In this work, we identify CsV$_3$Sb$_5$ as a Dirac nodal line semimetal based on the observation of multiple Dirac nodal lines and loops close to the Fermi level. Combining photoemission spectroscopy and density functional theory, we identify two groups of Dirac nodal lines along $k_z$ direction and one group of Dirac nodal loops in the A-H-L plane. These nodal loops are located at the Fermi level within the instrumental resolution limit. Importantly, our first-principle analyses indicate that these nodal loops may be a crucial source of the mysterious giant AHC observed. Our results not only provide a clear picture to categorize the band structure topology of this family of materials, but also suggest the dominant role of topological nodal loops in shaping their transport behavior.

In this study, we firstly used alginate to enhance an electrokinetic technology to remediate soil contaminated with divalent heavy metals (Pb2+, Cu2+, Zn2+). The mechanisms of alginate-associated migration of metal ions in electric field were confirmed. Alginate resulted in a high electrical current during electrokinetic process, and soil conductivity also increased after remediation. Obvious changes in both electroosmotic flow and soil pH were observed. Moreover, these factors were affected by increasing alginate dosage. The highest Cu (95.82%) and Zn (97.33%) removal efficiencies were obtained by introducing 1 wt% alginate. Alginate can desorb Cu2+ and Zn2+ ions from soil by forming unstable gels, which could be dissociated through electrolysis. However, Pb2+ ions did not easily migrate out of the contaminated soil. The density functional theory (DFT) calculations show Pb2+ ions could form a more stable coordination sphere in metal complexes than Cu2+ and Zn2+ ions. The metal removal efficiency was decreased by increasing alginate dosage at a high level. More alginate could provide more carboxyl ligands for divalent metal ions to stabilize gels, which were difficult to dissociate by electrolysis. In summary, the results indicate it is potential for introducing alginate into an electrokinetic system to remediate Cu- and Zn- contaminated soil.

Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) have been substantially reported to have critical roles in regulating tumorigenesis in recent years. However, the expression pattern and biological function of SNHG17 in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remain unclear. Bioinformatics analysis and qRT-PCR were performed to detect the expression pattern of SNHG17 in HCC tissues, adjacent nontumorous tissues, and cell lines. The effect of SNHG17 on proliferation, migration, and apoptosis of HCC was investigated by knockdown and overexpressing SNHG17 in HCC cell lines. RNA sequencing was utilized to explore the underlying mechanism. Utilizing publicly available TCGA-LIHC, GSE102079 HCC datasets, and qRT-PCR, we found SNHG17 was significantly upregulated in HCC tissues and cell lines and was notably associated with larger tumor size, poorly differentiation, presence of vascular invasion, and advanced TNM stage. Furthermore, gain- and loss-of-function studies demonstrated that SNHG17 promoted cell proliferation and migration and inhibited apoptosis of HCC. By employing RNA sequencing, we found knockdown of SNHG17 caused 1037 differentially expressed genes, highly enriched in several pathways, including metabolic, PI3K-Akt, cell adhesion, regulation of cell proliferation, and apoptotic pathway; among them, 92 were overlapped with SNHG17-related genes in the TCGA-LIHC dataset. Furthermore, ERH, TBCA, TDO2, and PDK4 were successfully validated and found significantly dysregulated in HCC tissues. Moreover, HCC patients with higher SNHG17 expression had a relatively poor overall survival and disease-free survival, and ERH and PDK4 also played a marked role in the prognosis of HCC. Broadly, our findings illustrate that SNHG17 acts as a noncoding oncogene in HCC progression, suggesting its potential value as a novel target for HCC therapy.

This paper focuses on how to improve the operation ability of a soft robotic hand (SRH). A trigger-based dexterous operation (TDO) strategy with multimodal sensors is proposed to perform autonomous choice operations. The multimodal sensors include optical-based fiber curvature sensor (OFCS), gas pressure sensor (GPS), capacitive pressure contact sensor (CPCS), and resistance pressure contact sensor (RPCS). The OFCS embedded in the soft finger and the GPS series connected in the gas channel are used to detect the curvature of the finger. The CPCS attached on the fingertip and the RPCS attached on the palm are employed to detect the touch force. The framework of TDO is divided into sensor detection and action operation. Hardware layer, information acquisition layer, and decision layer form the sensor detection module, action selection layer, actuator drive layer, and hardware layer constitute the action operation module. An autonomous choice decision unit is used to connect the sensor detecting module and action operation module. The experiment results reveal that the TDO algorithm is effective and feasible, and the actions of grasping plastic framework, pinching roller ball pen and screwdriver, and handshake are executed exactly.

Probing large‐scale intrinsic structure of air‐sensitive 2D materials with atomic resolution is so far challenging due to their rapid oxidization and contamination. Here, by keeping the whole experiment including growth, transfer, and characterizations in an interconnected atmosphere‐control environment, the large‐scale intact lattice structure of air‐sensitive monolayer 1T’‐WTe2 is directly visualized by atom‐resolved scanning transmission electron microscopy. Benefit from the large‐scale atomic mapping, collective lattice distortions are further unveiled due to the presence of anisotropic rippling, which propagates perpendicular to only one of the preferential lattice planes in the same WTe2 monolayer. Such anisotropic lattice rippling modulates the intrinsic point defect (Te vacancy) distribution, in which they aggregate at the constrictive inner side of the undulating structure, presumably due to the ripple‐induced asymmetric strain as elaborated by density functional theory. The results pave the way for atomic characterizations and defect engineering of air‐sensitive 2D layered materials., The large‐scale intrinsic lattice structure of air‐sensitive 1T’‐WTe2 monolayer is directly revealed by atomic scanning transmission electron microscopy imaging with dedicated sample protection. The collective thermal equilibrium lattice distortion, i.e., rippling, is found to be anisotropic and propagate only perpendicular to one of the preferential lattice planes, completely different than monolayer graphene and MoS2 with hexagonal symmetry.

Objectives: Hematopoietic cell signal transducer (HCST) participates in the activation of phosphatidylinositol 3 kinase-dependent signaling pathway and in the natural killer (NK) and T cell responses, which affect cell survival and proliferation. Here, the values of HCST in kidney renal clear cell carcinoma (KIRC) are analyzed. Methods: We used GEO, TCGA, GEPIA, UALCAN and TIMER databases to profile the expression of HCST in KIRC tissues, and define its clinical roles. The biological functions and signaling mechanisms modulated by HCST and its co-expressed genes were identified and analyzed via the GO and KEGG databases. On the other hand, the potential value of HCST expression in KIRC immunity was explored using the TIMER and GEPIA databases. Results: Our analysis demonstrated that HCST is significantly overexpressed in KIRC tissues. The upregulation of HCST is associated with clinical stage, tumor grade, tissue subtype and poor prognosis of KIRC patients. Increased HCST expression might be involved in signaling pathways such as antigen processing and presentation, cell adhesion molecules, cytokine-cytokine receptor, chemokine signaling pathway, T cell receptor signaling pathway, FC gammar mediated phagocytosis and B cell receptor signaling pathway. In addition, the expression of HCST was significantly correlated with the levels of KIRC purity, B cells, CD8(+) T Cell, CD4(+) T cells, macrophages, neutrophils and dendritic cells (DC). Furthermore, the HCST expression is associated with levels of immune infiltration B cells, CD8(+) T Cell, CD4(+) T cells, macrophages, neutrophils and DC. Conclusions: Our data demonstrated that HCST could be a potential prognostic biomarker, and is related to the immune infiltration in KIRC.

Prostate cancer (PCa) is the most common cancer type in men worldwide. Currently, the management of metastatic PCa (mPCa) remains a challenge to urologists. The analysis of hub genes and pathways may facilitate the understanding of the molecular mechanism of PCa. In the present study, to identify the hub genes in the mPCa, the three datasets GSE3325, GSE6919 and GSE38241 were downloaded from the platform of the Gene Expression Omnibus and function enrichment analysis of differentially expressed genes (DEGs) was performed. A total of 168 DEGs were obtained and the DEGs were significantly enriched in ‘cell junction’ and ‘cell adhesion’, among others. The Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathway enrichment analysis demonstrated that DEGs were enriched in three pathways including ‘focal adhesion’, ‘renal cell carcinoma’ and ‘Hippo signaling pathway’. The results of the protein-protein interaction network revealed that the hub genes in mPCa were separately PTEN, Rac GTPase-activating protein 1, protein regulator of cytokinesis 1, PDZ binding kinase, centromere-associated protein E, NUF2 component of NDC80 kinetochore complex, TPX2 microtubule nucleation factor, SOX2, CD44 and ubiquitin-like with PHD and ring finger domains 1. As a hub gene, CD44 was differentially expressed in PCa, as determined by Oncomine analysis. Further experiments in vivo demonstrated that SB-3CT, a selective matrix metalloproteinase inhibitor that has been reported to block CD44 cleavage and inhibit the downstream signaling pathway, suppressed the tumorigenicity of PCa cells by decreasing the expression levels of pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase 1 and 6-phosphofructo-2-kinase/fructose-2,6-biphosphatase 4. Moreover, the combination therapy with SB-3CT and docetaxel was more effective in inhibiting PCa compared with monotherapy. In conclusion, the identification of DEGs and the in vivo experimental results helped to elucidate the molecular mechanisms of PCa and provided a potential strategy for the treatment of PCa.

We studied the performance of an algorithm combining multiplex polymerase chain reaction with phenotypic detection of extended-spectrum β-lactamases and carbapenemases directly from positive blood culture bottles in patients with gram-negative bacteremia and found good concordance with routine cultures. Such an algorithm may be a tool to improve time to optimal therapy in patients with gram-negative bacteremia.

Virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) have widespread applications. The vergence-accommodation conflict (VAC), which causes 3D visual fatigue, has become an urgent challenge for VR and AR displays. Alvarez lenses, with precise and continuously tunable focal length based on the lateral shift of its two sub-elements, are a promising candidate as the key electro-optical component in vari-focal AR display systems to solve the VAC problem. In this paper, we propose and fabricate a compact Alvarez lens based on planar polymetric liquid crystal Pancharatnam-Berry optical elements. It can provide continuous diopter change from -1.4 D to 1.4 D at the wavelength of 532 nm with the lateral shift ranging from -5 mm to 5 mm. We also demonstrate an AR display system using this proposed Alvarez lens, where virtual images are augmented on the real world at different depths.

To realize the efficient resource utilization of sewage sludge, this work explored the competitive relationship and reaction mechanisms between syngas quality optimization and heavy metals (HMs) immobilization. The results showed that continuous microwave pyrolysis (CMP) technology with an instantaneous temperature increase could shorten the pyrolysis time, and the biogas yield and syngas concentration reached 51.68 wt% and 83.6 vol%, respectively. Although a higher pyrolysis (750 °C) temperature could optimize the syngas quality, the HMs immobilization efficiency was reduced due to the deep pyrolysis of the biochar. The moderate pyrolysis temperature (650 °C) facilitated the rapid formation of biochar with abundant surface functional groups and pore structure, thus enhancing HMs immobilization. Furthermore, the HMs could also form more stable crystalline compounds with inorganic components (SiO

Grain boundaries (GBs) frequently emerge in a CVD-grown large-scale transition metal dichalcogenides monolayer thin film, which affect the electronic and optical properties of the material. Photoluminescence (PL) can be easily quenched/enhanced at GBs, which are, however, merely investigated in relatively large tilt angles ([Formula: see text]) in previous research. Here, we experimentally examine the PL properties of monolayer WS2 GBs with tilt angles as small as a few degrees. Contrary to conventional wisdom, we find that PL intensity remains intact by the GBs when their tilt angles [Formula: see text]. The abnormal PL behavior is elucidated by a detailed structure analysis on the dislocation cores. For a small tilt angle, the strain fields introduced by the defective cores are sparsely distributed without mutual coupling, and the chemical stoichiometry along the GBs preserves very well. These two key structural features of the small-tilt-angle GBs allow excitons to diffuse transparently across the GB, leading to a neglectable influence on the optical and electronic properties, as verified by our first-principle simulations. The PL invariant of the small-tilt-angle GBs sheds light on the future development of CVD-grown wafer-scale techniques and their optical applications.

Mermin-Wagner-Coleman theorem predicts no long-range magnetic order at finite temperature in the two-dimensional (2D) isotropic systems, but it does predict a quasi-long-range order with a divergent correlation length at the Kosterlitz-Thouless (KT) transition for planar magnets. As a representative of two-dimensional planar antiferromagnets, single-layer ${\mathrm{CoPS}}_{3}$ carries the promise of monolayer antiferromagnetic platforms for the ultimately thin spintronics. Here, with the aid of magnetostriction which is sensitive to the local magnetic order, we observe the signature phonon mode splitting of below ${T}_{\mathrm{KT}}$ in monolayer ${\mathrm{CoPS}}_{3}$. The two-magnon signal in the monolayer one manifests the associated magnetic transition. It indicates the quasi-long-range order in an exact 2D planar spin model below KT phase transition. The ratio ($J$\ensuremath{'}/$J$) between the interlayer and intralayer interactions, which characterizes the 2D behaviors, is evaluated to be around 0.03. Our results provide an efficient method to detect the quasi-long-range antiferromagnetic ordering in the two-dimensional magnets down to the monolayer limit.

A unique dense network of multi-member-ring round hole defects is formed in monolayer WSe${}_{2}$ from the evolution of multivacancies by suitable control of a scanning focused electron beam, whereas the same process leads predominantly to chalcogen-vacancy line defect array in other trigonal-prismatic transition metal dichalcogenide (TMDC) monolayers. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations track the formation of the observed complex multivacancy structures and find that the underlying atomic-scale processes are quasi-thermodynamic, which elaborates the formation mechanism of dense round hole defects in WSe${}_{2}$ monolayers. The high-density round holes in WSe${}_{2}$ hold promise for novel applications such as atomic and molecular sieving.

Background This study was to investigate the effects of recombinant human growth hormone (rhGh) on ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) injury of mouse flaps. Methods Healthy mice were randomly divided into four groups as follows: sham group, the IR group, the sham+rhGH group and the IR+rhGH group, with 12 mice in each group. Skin pathology was tested by hematoxylin and eosin staining. The flap survival of each group was measured after 7 days. The levels of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and malondialdehyde (MDA) were determined using corresponding kit. The levels of interleukin (IL)-6 and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α in serum and flap were respectively measured by performing enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and quantitative real-time (qRT)-PCR. The expressions of cleaved caspase-3, B cell lymphoma/leukemia-2 (Bcl-2), Bcl-2-associated X protein (Bax), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), MnSOD, toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4), and galectin-3 and (p)-p65 were analyzed by RT-PCR or/and Western blot. Results Prophylactic systemic application of recombinant human GH reduced the pathological damage of skin IR and significantly improved the flap survival of IR in mice, accompanied by elevation of VEGF. After administration of recombinant human GH, the activity of SOD/MnSOD in the flap was significantly increased, while the content of MDA was decreased. Cleaved caspase-3 and Bax were downregulated and Bcl-2 was upregulated in IR+rhGH group, compared to IR group. The levels of TLR4, Galectin-3 and p-p65 were decreased by rhGH. Conclusion rhGH had protective effects on flap IR injury, and can be used as a drug intervention target for the treatment of skin flap IR injury.

Since the very recent discovery of ferroic ordering under two dimensional limit, novel devices based on 2D ferroelectricity or ferromagnetism has attracted a lot of interests and are promising for next generation electronic and optoelectronic applications. We find that, below the transition temperature Tc ~320 K, ultrathin CuInP2S6 (CIPS) nanoflakes down to bilayer are still pyroelectric. Changing the temperature will lead to charge modification at the surface of CIPS. 2D pyroelectric nanogenerator is fabricated which can efficiently convert the pyroelectric charges into electrical current. This work will facilitate novel applications of pyroelectric and ferroelectric materials, including pyroelectric devices, thermal sensors, ultrathin nanogenerators and various van der Waals (vdW) heterostructure at room temperature. Ministry of Education (MOE) National Research Foundation (NRF) Accepted version This work was supported by the National Research Foundation Singapore under NRF award number NRF-RF2013-08, Tier 2 MOE2017-T2-2-136, Tier 2 MOE2016-T2-2-153, MOE2015-T2-2-007, Tier 1 RG7/18, Tier 1 RG4/17. X.F.L thanks the support from the Ministry of Science and Technology (2017YFA0205004 and 2016YFA0200700), National Natural Science Foundation of China (21673054 and 11874130), Natural Science Foundation of Beijing Municipality (4182076 and 4184109).

Pneumatic soft actuator is a crucial component of soft robot. This paper proposes several pneumatic control schemes implemented with proportional and PWM-solenoid valves to achieve optimal control for pneumatic soft actuators adapted to different soft robots, such as soft gripper and soft humanoid hand. The schemes include: proportional valve; 3/2-way PWM-solenoid valve; 2/2-way PWM-solenoid valve. The control framework of these schemes contains human–machine interface in upper computer and control algorithm in lower computer. Sinusoidal and multi-step signals are served as reference input to draw a comparison of pressure tracking precision, steady-state accuracy and responsibility of these proposed schemes. The experimental results show that the scheme of proportional valve is more excellent than those of the PWM-solenoid valves, and the scheme of 3/2-way is superior to that of 2/2-way with regard to PWM-solenoid valve. Considering the cost, the scheme of 3/2-way PWM-solenoid valve is the most suitable choice for the system with multi-channel soft actuators. Therefore, the research achievement of this paper is providing a valuable suggestion on balancing the performance and cost for different soft robotic system applications.