bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Hydroxyapatite Nanorods Function as Safe and Effective Growth Factors Regulating Neural Differentiation and Neuron Development
Authors: Hao Min , Zhang Zixian , Liu Chao , Tian Yue , Duan Jiazhi , He Jianlong , Sun Zhaoyang , Xia He , Zhang Shan , Wang Shuhua , Sang Yuanhua , Xing Guogang , Liu Hong 
Published: July 2021

AbstractNeural stem cell (NSC) transplantation is one of the most promising therapeutic strategies for neurodegenerative diseases. However, the slow spontaneous differentiation of NSCs often hampers their application in neural repair. Although some biological growth factors accelerate the differentiation of NSCs, their high cost, short half‐life, and unpredictable behavior in vivo, as well as the complexity of the operation, hinder their clinical use. In this study, it is demonstrated that hydroxyapatite (HAp), the main component of bone, in the form of nanorods, can regulate the neural differentiation of NSCs and maturation of the newly differentiated cells. Culturing NSCs with HAp nanorods leads to the differentiation of NSCs into mature neurons that exhibit well‐defined electrophysiological behavior within 5 days. The state of these neurons is much better than when culturing the cells without HAp nanorods, which undergo a 2‐week differentiation process. Furthermore, RNA‐sequencing data reveal that the neuroactive ligand–receptor interaction pathway is dominant in the enriched differentiated neuronal population. Hence, inorganic growth factors like HAp act as a feasible, effective, safe, and practical tool for regulating the differentiation of NSCs and can potentially be used in the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases.
Energy Autonomous Sweat‐Based Wearable Systems
Authors: Manjakkal Libu , Yin Lu , Nathan Arokia , Wang Joseph , Dahiya Ravinder 
Published: July 2021

AbstractThe continuous operation of wearable electronics demands reliable sources of energy, currently met through Li‐ion batteries and various energy harvesters. These solutions are being used out of necessity despite potential safety issues and unsustainable environmental impact. Safe and sustainable energy sources can boost the use of wearables systems in diverse applications such as health monitoring, prosthetics, and sports. In this regard, sweat‐ and sweat‐equivalent‐based studies have attracted tremendous attention through the demonstration of energy‐generating biofuel cells, promising power densities as high as 3.5 mW cm−2, storage using sweat‐electrolyte‐based supercapacitors with energy and power densities of 1.36 Wh kg−1 and 329.70 W kg−1, respectively, and sweat‐activated batteries with an impressive energy density of 67 Ah kg−1. A combination of these energy generating, and storage devices can lead to fully energy‐autonomous wearables capable of providing sustainable power in the µW to mW range, which is sufficient to operate both sensing and communication devices. Here, a comprehensive review covering these advances, addressing future challenges and potential solutions related to fully energy‐autonomous wearables is presented, with emphasis on sweat‐based energy storage and energy generation elements along with sweat‐based sensors as applications.
3D Atomic‐Scale Dynamics of Laser‐Light‐Induced Restructuring of Nanoparticles Unraveled by Electron Tomography
Authors: Albrecht Wiebke , Arslan Irmak Ece , Altantzis Thomas , Pedrazo‐Tardajos Adrián , Skorikov Alexander , Deng Tian‐Song , van der Hoeven Jessi E.S. , van Blaaderen Alfons , Van Aert Sandra , Bals Sara 
Published: July 2021

AbstractUnderstanding light–matter interactions in nanomaterials is crucial for optoelectronic, photonic, and plasmonic applications. Specifically, metal nanoparticles (NPs) strongly interact with light and can undergo shape transformations, fragmentation and ablation upon (pulsed) laser excitation. Despite being vital for technological applications, experimental insight into the underlying atomistic processes is still lacking due to the complexity of such measurements. Herein, atomic resolution electron tomography is performed on the same mesoporous‐silica‐coated gold nanorod, before and after femtosecond laser irradiation, to assess the missing information. Combined with molecular dynamics (MD) simulations based on the experimentally determined 3D atomic‐scale morphology, the complex atomistic rearrangements, causing shape deformations and defect generation, are unraveled. These rearrangements are simultaneously driven by surface diffusion, facet restructuring, and strain formation, and are influenced by subtleties in the atomic distribution at the surface.
A Biomimetic Aggregation‐Induced Emission Photosensitizer with Antigen‐Presenting and Hitchhiking Function for Lipid Droplet Targeted Photodynamic Immunotherapy
Authors: Xu Xiuli , Deng Guanjun , Sun Zhihong , Luo Yuan , Liu Junkai , Yu Xinghua , Zhao Yang , Gong Ping , Liu Guozhen , Zhang Pengfei , Pan Fan , Cai Lintao , Tang Ben Zhong 
Published: July 2021

AbstractPhotodynamic therapy (PDT) is a promising alternative approach for effective cancer treatment that is associated with an antitumor immune response. However, immunosuppression of the tumor microenvironment limits the immune response induced by PDT. Stimulation and proliferation of T cells is a critical step for generating immune responses and depends on the efficient presentation of tumor antigens and co‐stimulatory molecules by antigen‐presenting cells (APCs). Here, biomimetic aggregation‐induced emission (AIE) photosensitizers with antigen‐presenting and hitchhiking abilities (DC@AIEdots) are developed by coating dendritic cell (DC) membranes on the nanoaggregates of the AIEgens. Notably, the inner AIE molecules can selectively accumulate in lipid droplets of tumor cells, and the outer cell membrane can facilitate the hitchhiking of DC@AIEdots onto the endogenous T cells and enhance the tumor delivery efficiency by about 1.6 times. Furthermore, DC@AIEdots can stimulate the in vivo proliferation and activation of T cells and trigger the immune system. The potential applications of therapeutic agents targeting lipid droplets for immunotherapy are indicated and a new hitchhiking approach for drug delivery is provided. Lastly, the study presents a photoactive and artificial antigen‐presenting platform for effective T cell stimulation and cancer photodynamic immunotherapy.
Sequentially Bridged Graphene Sheets for High‐Performance Anticorrosion
Authors: Zhao Hongran , Shi Shuo , Ding Jiheng , Zhou Min , Liu Panlin , Geng Lihong , Iqbal Mohammad Irfan , Yu Haibin 
Published: July 2021

AbstractGraphene has been widely studied in metal protection due to its complete impermeability and ultrathin properties. However, it is still a huge challenge to fully use the unparalleled features to design and construct graphene‐based coatings with long‐term anticorrosion properties. Herein, a facile and scalable approach to design an ultrathin bioinspired graphene‐based (B–G–WEP) composite coating through sequential bridging of interfacial interactions and ordered graphene layers, is described. The combination of covalent bonding and π–π stacking greatly increases the graphene sheet ordered alignment and compatibility with epoxy matrix. This optimizes physical barrier effect, penetration resistance to sea water, and resistance to localized galvanic corrosion deterioration. The resultant B–G–WEP coating has a 190‐times reduced corrosion rate as well as a three‐orders increased impedance modulus, and keeps a high protection efficiency of 99.5% after 60 days of immersion tests. Furthermore, the coating damage function and coating damage index also decline by 2.8‐ and 10.7‐fold, respectively. This work provides overall consideration to facile, scalable, practical, high barrier and anticorrosion properties, showing great potential applications for high‐efficiency and durable metal protection.
Impact of Different Intermediate Layers on the Morphology and Crystallinity of TiO2 Grown on Carbon Nanotubes by Atomic Layer Deposition
Authors: Wang Jiao , Yin Zhigang , Hermerschmidt Felix , List‐Kratochvil Emil J. W. , Pinna Nicola 
Published: July 2021

AbstractNanocomposites of TiO2 and carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have been extensively studied in photocatalysis, sensing, and energy conversion and storage over the last decade. The unique properties of these nanocomposites are greatly dependent on the morphology, crystallinity, and homogeneity of the TiO2 coating. However, a fine control of the film microstructure is still challenging due to limited understanding of early stages of the TiO2 growth. The presence of an intermediate buffer layer can induce remarkable changes in the morphological and structural characteristics of the coatings. Here, TiO2 films deposited by atomic layer deposition (ALD) on CNTs without and with different intermediate layers (Al2O3 and ZnO) have been systematically investigated. Compared to bare CNTs, it is suggested that these two intermediate layers with higher surface energy can lead to a delay of the TiO2 crystallization, ultimately resulting in the growth of conformal and crystalline TiO2 films. This study demonstrates a strategy to tailor the microstructure and the properties of thin films via ALD by applying intermediate layers and provides information about the role of surface energy of the substrate in crystallization and growth behavior of ALD thin films.
Ultralight and Hyperelastic Nanofiber‐Reinforced MXene–Graphene Aerogel for High‐Performance Piezoresistive Sensor
Authors: Niu Fengxiao , Qin Zhen , Min Lizhen , Zhao Biao , Lv Yuhuan , Fang Xiaohui , Pan Kai 
Published: July 2021

Abstract3D aerogel‐based piezoresistive sensors have attracted tremendous attention due to their high sensitivity and excellent mechanical properties. Here, a novel piezoresistive sensor with ultrahigh linear sensitivity is tactfully designed and prepared based on nanofiber‐reinforced MXene–reduced graphene oxide aerogel. The presence of MXene endows the piezoresistive sensor with high conductivity. Besides, the nanofibers can act as a scaffold to improve the compression resilience of the aerogel significantly by penetrating the entire aerogel network. Furthermore, due to the synergy effect among the multiple components, the prepared piezoresistive sensor exhibits outstanding performance, including high linear sensitivity (331 kPa−1 from 0 to 500 Pa, 126 kPa−1 from 500 Pa to 7.5 kPa), fast response time (load 71 ms, recovery 15 ms), and low detection limit (1.25 Pa). More importantly, it can maintain stable signal output even after 17 000 compression cycles. Furthermore, the prepared sensor can efficiently detect breathing, heartbeat, and vocalization of the human body in real time. Based on these advantages, the prepared sensor is expected to show significant potentials in future flexible wearable electronic devices.
Shape‐Selective Ultramicroporous Carbon Membranes for Sub‐0.1 nm Organic Liquid Separation
Authors: Seo Hyeokjun , Yoon Sunghyun , Oh Banseok , Chung Yongchul G. , Koh Dong‐Yeun 
Published: July 2021

AbstractLiquid‐phase chemical separations from complex mixtures of hydrocarbon molecules into singular components are large‐scale and energy‐intensive processes. Membranes with molecular specificity that efficiently separate molecules of similar size and shape can avoid phase changes, thereby reducing the energy intensity of the process. Here, forward osmosis molecular differentiation of hexane isomers through a combination of size‐ and shape‐based separation of molecules is demonstrated. An ultramicroporous carbon membrane produced with 6FDA‐polyimides realized the separation of isomers for different shapes of di‐branched, mono‐branched, and linear molecules. The draw solvents provide the driving force for fractionation of hexane isomers with a sub‐0.1 nm size difference at room temperature without liquid‐phase pressurization. Such membranes could perform bulk chemical separations of organic liquids to achieve major reductions in the energy intensity of the separation processes.
Identification and Characterization of Robust Hepatocellular Carcinoma Prognostic Subtypes Based on an Integrative Metabolite‐Protein Interaction Network
Authors: Chen Di , Zhang Yiran , Wang Wen , Chen Huan , Ling Ting , Yang Renyu , Wang Yawei , Duan Chao , Liu Yu , Guo Xin , Fang Lei , Liu Wuguang , Liu Xiumei , Liu Jing , Otkur Wuxiyar , Qi Huan , Liu Xiaolong , Xia Tian , Liu Hong‐Xu , Piao Hai‐long 
Published: July 2021

AbstractMetabolite‐protein interactions (MPIs) play key roles in cancer metabolism. However, our current knowledge about MPIs in cancers remains limited due to the complexity of cancer cells. Herein, the authors construct an integrative MPI network and propose a MPI network based hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) subtyping and mechanism exploration workflow. Based on the expressions of hub proteins on the MPI network, two prognosis‐distinctive HCC subtypes are identified. Meanwhile, multiple interdependent features of the poor prognostic subtype are observed, including hypoxia, DNA hypermethylation of metabolic pathways, fatty acid accumulation, immune pathway up‐regulation, and exhausted T‐cell infiltration. Notably, the immune pathway up‐regulation is probably induced by accumulated unsaturated fatty acids which are predicted to interact with multiple immune regulators like SRC and TGFB1. Moreover, based on tumor microenvironment compositions, the poor prognostic subtype is further divided into two sub‐populations showing remarkable differences in metabolism. The subtyping shows a strong consistency across multiple HCC cohorts including early‐stage HCC. Overall, the authors redefine robust HCC prognosis subtypes and identify potential MPIs linking metabolism to immune regulations, thus promoting understanding and clinical applications about HCC metabolism heterogeneity.
Pten Regulates Cardiomyocyte Differentiation by Modulating Non‐CG Methylation via Dnmt3
Authors: Wang Wuming , Lu Gang , Liu Hong‐Bin , Xiong Zhiqiang , Leung Ho‐Duen , Cao Ruican , Pang Alan Lap‐Yin , Su Xianwei , Law Patrick Wai Nok , Zhao Zhiju , Chen Zi‐Jiang , Chan Wai‐Yee 
Published: July 2021

AbstractThe regulation of cardiomyocyte differentiation is a fundamental aspect of cardiac development and regenerative medicine. PTEN plays important roles during embryonic development. However, its role in cardiomyocyte differentiation remains unknown. In this study, a low‐cost protocol for cardiomyocyte differentiation from mouse embryonic stem cells (ESCs) is presented and it is shown that Pten deletion potently suppresses cardiomyocyte differentiation. Transcriptome analysis shows that the expression of a series of cardiomyocyte marker genes is downregulated in Pten−/− cardiomyocytes. Pten ablation induces Dnmt3b expression via the AKT/FoxO3a pathway and regulates the expression of a series of imprinted genes, including Igf2. Double knockout of Dnmt3l and Dnmt3b rescues the deficiency of cardiomyocyte differentiation of Pten−/− ESCs. The DNA methylomes from wild‐type and Pten−/− embryoid bodies and cardiomyocytes are analyzed by whole‐genome bisulfite sequencing. Pten deletion significantly promotes the non‐CG (CHG and CHH) methylation levels of genomic DNA during cardiomyocyte differentiation, and the non‐CG methylation levels of cardiomyocyte genes and Igf2 are increased in Pten−/− cardiomyocytes. Igf2 or Igf1r deletion also suppresses cardiomyocyte differentiation through the MAPK/ERK signaling pathway, and IGF2 supplementation partially rescues the cardiomyocyte differentiation. Finally, Pten conditional knockout mice are generated and the role of PTEN in cardiomyocyte differentiation is verified in vivo.
De Novo Design of Peptidic Positive Allosteric Modulators Targeting TRPV1 with Analgesic Effects
Authors: Xu Lizhen , Zhang Heng , Wang Yunfei , Lu Xiancui , Zhao Zhenye , Ma Cheng , Yang Shilong , Yarov‐Yarovoy Vladimir , Tian Yuhua , Zheng Jie , Yang Fan 
Published: July 2021

AbstractTransient receptor potential vanilloid 1 (TRPV1) ion channel is a nociceptor critically involved in pain sensation. Direct blockade of TRPV1 exhibits significant analgesic effects but also incurs severe side effects such as hyperthermia, causing failures of TRPV1 inhibitors in clinical trials. In order to selectively target TRPV1 channels that are actively involved in pain‐sensing, peptidic positive allosteric modulators (PAMs) based on the high‐resolution structure of the TRPV1 intracellular ankyrin‐repeat like domain are de novo designed. The hotspot centric approach is optimized for protein design; its usage in Rosetta increases the success rate in protein binder design. It is demonstrated experimentally, with a combination of fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) imaging, surface plasmon resonance, and patch‐clamp recording, that the designed PAMs bind to TRPV1 with nanomolar affinity and allosterically enhance its response to ligand activation as it is designed. It is further demonstrated that the designed PAM exhibits long‐lasting in vivo analgesic effects in rats without changing their body temperature, suggesting that they have potentials for developing into novel analgesics.
Probing Ferrimagnetic Semiconductor with Enhanced Negative Magnetoresistance: 2D Chromium Sulfide
Authors: Moinuddin Mohamad G. , Srinivasan Srikant , Sharma Satinder K. 
Published: July 2021

AbstractMagnetic 2D materials have emerged as a great interest in spintronics due to atomic thickness scaling, low energy switching, and ease in the manipulation of spins. This report demonstrates a facile, bottom‐up, chemical vapor deposition approach for non‐van der Waals (non‐vdWs), 2D chromium (III) sulfide (Cr2S3) with c‐axis orientation, out‐of‐plane magnetic anisotropy (easy axis), and ferrimagnetic ordering. Importantly, the anisotropic magnetic saturation and resistivity of 10.23 mΩ cm reveal a narrow bandgap ferrimagnetism in Cr2S3 (∆EActivation ≈ 22 meV and Eg ≈ 40 meV). The prototype lateral spin‐channel Al/Cr2S3/Al devices exhibit a negative magnetoresistance of ≈25% and ≈15% at 100 K (below Néel temperature) for few‐layer (≈8 nm) and thin‐film (≈50 nm) device structures, respectively, owing to itinerant ferrimagnetism of Cr2S3. The magnetic field‐induced spin polaron formations are quite resilient and enhance the field‐dependent carrier conduction, making it greatly useful for negative magnetoresistance operation. These prototype Al/Cr2S3/Al structures have demonstrated a low power (≈2 µW for 8 µm channel at 10 µA current) operation with a negative field‐dependent resistance coefficient (rM) of ≈−5 × 10−4 Oe−1. The computed rM magnitude is tenfold higher than the bulk Cr2S3. This study identifies the potential of non‐vdW Cr2S3 toward new and robust 2D‐based spintronic applications.
Bifunctional Catalytic Activity Guided by Rich Crystal Defects in Ti3C2 MXene Quantum Dot Clusters for Li–O2 Batteries
Authors: Wang Peng , Zhao Danyang , Hui Xiaobin , Qian Zhao , Zhang Peng , Ren Yingying , Lin Yue , Zhang Zhiwei , Yin Longwei 
Published: July 2021

AbstractAmeliorating round‐trip efficiency and mitigating parasitic reaction play a key role in enhancing the activity and durability of lithium–oxygen batteries. Herein, it is first reported that Ti3C2 MXene quantum dot clusters full of rich crystal defects anchored on N‐doped carbon nanosheets (Ti3C2 QDC/N‐C) can operate well as bifunctional catalyst for Li–O2 batteries. The well‐defined grain boundary and edge defects make crucial contributions in modulating the local unsaturated coordination state of active titanium atoms and thus the electronic structure of Ti3C2 QDC/N‐C, greatly enhancing the catalytic capability. Furthermore, density functional theory calculations disclose that the fruitful crystal defects governed catalytic centers endow substantial benefits for inducing charge density delocalization, regulating the LixOy intermediate adsorption and reducing the oxidation‐reduction energy barriers. The geometric morphology and distribution of final Li2O2 accommodations are distinctly altered with optimized decomposition reversibility, which strengthens electro‐catalytic kinetics and lowers redox voltage gaps. As expected, Li–O2 cells based on Ti3C2 QDC/N‐C show favorable long‐period stability (240 cycles at 200 mA g−1) with minimal side reactions and distinguished discharge/charge overpotential (0.62 V). Critically, this crystal defect strategy paves a new way for expanding the active sites in MXenes for catalytic applications.
Aerosol Assisted Solvent Treatment: A Universal Method for Performance and Stability Enhancements in Perovskite Solar Cells
Authors: Du Tian , Ratnasingham Sinclair R. , Kosasih Felix U. , Macdonald Thomas J. , Mohan Lokeshwari , Augurio Adriana , Ahli Huda , Lin Chieh‐Ting , Xu Shengda , Xu Weidong , Binions Russell , Ducati Caterina , Durrant James R. , Briscoe Joe , McLachlan Martyn A. 
Published: July 2021

AbstractMetal‐halide perovskite solar cells (PSCs) have had a transformative impact on the renewable energy landscape since they were first demonstrated just over a decade ago. Outstanding improvements in performance have been demonstrated through structural, compositional, and morphological control of devices, with commercialization now being a reality. Here the authors present an aerosol assisted solvent treatment as a universal method to obtain performance and stability enhancements in PSCs, demonstrating their methodology as a convenient, scalable, and reproducible post‐deposition treatment for PSCs. Their results identify improvements in crystallinity and grain size, accompanied by a narrowing in grain size distribution as the underlying physical changes that drive reductions of electronic and ionic defects. These changes lead to prolonged charge‐carrier lifetimes and ultimately increased device efficiencies. The versatility of the process is demonstrated for PSCs with thick (>1 µm) active layers, large‐areas (>1 cm2) and a variety of device architectures and active layer compositions. This simple post‐deposition process is widely transferable across the field of perovskites, thereby improving the future design principles of these materials to develop large‐area, stable, and efficient PSCs.
Efficient, doubly robust estimation of the effect of dose switching for switchers in a randomized clinical trial
Authors: Van Lancker Kelly , Vandebosch An , Vansteelandt Stijn 
Published: July 2021

AbstractMotivated by a clinical trial conducted by Janssen Pharmaceutica in which a flexible dosing regimen is compared to placebo, we evaluate how switchers in the treatment arm (i.e., patients who were switched to the higher dose) would have fared had they been kept on the low dose. This is done in order to understand whether flexible dosing is potentially beneficial for them. Simply comparing these patients' responses with those of patients who stayed on the low dose does not likely entail a satisfactory evaluation because the latter patients are usually in a better health condition. Because the available information in the considered trial is too limited to enable a reliable adjustment, we will instead transport data from a fixed dosing trial that has been conducted concurrently on the same target, albeit not in an identical patient population. In particular, we propose an estimator that relies on an outcome model, a model for switching, and a propensity score model for the association between study and patient characteristics. The proposed estimator is asymptotically unbiased if either the outcome or the propensity score model is correctly specified, and efficient (under the semiparametric model where the randomization probabilities are known and independent of baseline covariates) when all models are correctly specified. The proposed method for transporting information from an external study is more broadly applicable in studies where a classical confounding adjustment is not possible due to near positivity violation (e.g., studies where switching takes place in a (near) deterministic manner). Monte Carlo simulations and application to the motivating study demonstrate adequate performance.