Spintronics has captured a lot of attention since it was proposed. It has been triggering numerous research groups to make their efforts on pursuing spin-related electronic devices. Recently, ...flexible and wearable devices are in a high demand due to their outstanding potential in practical applications. In order to introduce spintronics into the realm of flexible devices, we demonstrate that it is feasible to grow epitaxial Fe3O4 film, a promising candidate for realizing spintronic devices based on tunneling magnetoresistance, on flexible muscovite. In this study, the heteroepitaxy of Fe3O4/muscovite is characterized by X-ray diffraction, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, and Raman spectroscopy. The chemical composition and magnetic feature are investigated by a combination of X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and X-ray magnetic circular dichroism. The electrical and magnetic properties are examined to show the preservation of the primitive properties of Fe3O4. Furthermore, various bending tests are performed to show the tunability of functionalities and to confirm that the heterostructures retain the physical properties under repeated cycles. These results illustrate that the Fe3O4/muscovite heterostructure can be a potential candidate for the applications in flexible spintronics.
Multiferroics—materials that exhibit coupled ferroic orders—are considered to be one of the most promising candidate material systems for next‐generation spintronics, memory, low‐power ...nanoelectronics and so on. To advance potential applications, approaches that lead to persistent and extremely fast functional property changes are in demand. Herein, it is revealed that the phase transition and the correlated ferroic orders in multiferroic BiFeO3 (BFO) can be modulated via illumination of single short/ultrashort light pulses. Heat transport simulations and ultrafast optical pump‐probe spectroscopy reveal that the transient strain induced by light pulses plays a key role in determining the persistent final states. Having identified the diffusionless phase transformation features via scanning transmission electron microscopy, sequential laser pulse illumination is further demonstrated to perform large‐area phase and domain manipulation in a deterministic way. The work contributes to all‐optical and rapid nonvolatile control of multiferroicity, offering different routes while designing novel optoelectronics.
All‐optical manipulation of the complex phases and domain structures in multiferroic BiFeO3 thin films on ultrafast timescale is demonstrated by adoption of extremely short light pulses. The configuration of large‐area optically written domains can be controlled by tuning the competing elastic and electrostatic energies. These results offer a novel route for the development of all‐optical switchable devices and high‐speed multifunctional optoelectronics.
Epitaxial growth is of significant importance over the past decades, given it has been the key process of modern technology for delivering high-quality thin films. For conventional heteroepitaxy, the ...selection of proper single crystal substrates not only facilitates the integration of different materials but also fulfills interface and strain engineering upon a wide spectrum of functionalities. Nevertheless, the lattice structure, regularity and crystalline orientation are determined once a specific substrate is chosen. Here, we reveal the growth of twisted oxide lateral homostructure with controllable in-plane conjunctions. The twisted lateral homostructures with atomically sharp interfaces can be composed of epitaxial "blocks" with different crystalline orientations, ferroic orders and phases. We further demonstrate that this approach is universal for fabricating various complex systems, in which the unconventional physical properties can be artificially manipulated. Our results establish an efficient pathway towards twisted lateral homostructures, adding additional degrees of freedom to design epitaxial films.
The liver has great regenerative capacity after functional mass loss caused by injury or disease. Many studies have shown that primary hepatocyte-derived exosomes, which can deliver biological ...information between cells, promote the regenerative process of the liver. However, the yield of exosomes is very limited. Recent studies have demonstrated that exosome-mimetic nanovesicles (NVs) can be prepared from cells with almost 100 times the production yield compared with exosomes. Thus, this study investigated the therapeutic capacity of exosome-mimetic NVs from primary hepatocytes in liver regeneration. Exosome-mimetic NVs were prepared by serial extrusions of cells through polycarbonate membranes, and the yield of these NVs was more than 100 times that of exosomes. The data indicated that the NVs could promote hepatocyte proliferation and liver regeneration by significantly enhancing the content of sphingosine kinase 2 in recipient cells. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time that exosome-mimetic NVs from primary hepatocytes have been prepared, and these NVs have components similar to exosomes from primary hepatocytes and, in some respects, biofunctions similar to exosomes. Strategies inspired by this study may lead to substitution of exosomes with exosome-mimetic NVs for biofunctional purposes, including utilization in tissue repair and regeneration.
Amyloidosis cutis dyschromica (ACD) is a distinct form of primary cutaneous amyloidosis characterized by generalized hyperpigmentation mottled with small hypopigmented macules on the trunks and ...limbs. Affected families and sporadic case subjects have been reported predominantly in East and Southeast Asian ethnicities; however, the genetic cause has not been elucidated. We report here that the compound heterozygosity or homozygosity of GPNMB truncating alleles is the cause of autosomal-recessive ACD. Six nonsense or frameshift mutations were identified in nine individuals diagnosed with ACD. Immunofluorescence analysis of skin biopsies showed that GPNMB is expressed in all epidermal cells, with the highest staining observed in melanocytes. GPNMB staining is significantly reduced in the lesional skin of affected individuals. Hyperpigmented lesions exhibited significantly increased amounts of DNA/keratin-positive amyloid deposits in the papillary dermis and infiltrating macrophages compared with hypo- or depigmented macules. Depigmentation of the lesions was attributable to loss of melanocytes. Intracytoplasmic fibrillary aggregates were observed in keratinocytes scattered in the lesional epidermis. Thus, our analysis indicates that loss of GPNMB, which has been implicated in melanosome formation, autophagy, phagocytosis, tissue repair, and negative regulation of inflammation, underlies autosomal-recessive ACD and provides insights into the etiology of amyloidosis and pigment dyschromia.
The functionalized utilization of lignin is attracting more and more attention. In this paper, we report a 3D interconnected foamy carbon material with highly open pore structure. The carbon foam is ...synthesized by depolymerization reforming strategy. The foamy carbon has a deep internal pore channels and exhibits an enhanced electrosorption capacity. The highest desalination of the foamy carbon reaches 30.2 mg·g−1 in 500 mg·L−1 NaCl at 1.2 V with adsorption rate of 3.75 mg/g/min. Meanwhile, the optimal electrode PDLC-1 shows good regeneration capacity. Our work provides a usable way for the preparation of lignin-derived carbon foam with high-performance of capacitive deionization.
•Depolymerization-reforming lignin regulates its agglomeration behavior.•An efficient strategy to prepare carbon foam with highly open porous structures.•The ultra-high electrosorption performance and cycle stability are observed.
Soft technology has been an emerging field since flexible and wearable electronics started flourishing. In this research field, oxides can play an important role due to their intriguing ...functionalities and superior thermal and chemical stabilities. To deliver high-quality thin films or structures based on oxides, heteroepitaxy is essential. However, the lack of a suitable approach remains an obstacle for flexible oxide heteroepitaxy. Recently, due to the advancement of growth facilities and characterization tools, various techniques have been employed to acquire flexible oxide heteroepitaxy. This review highlights the methods as well as direct and indirect approaches that are essential for developing oxide heteroepitaxy with mechanical flexibility. We also provide an overview, classifying the fields in terms of applications involving flexible oxide heteroepitaxy and the development of oxide-based approaches.
Soft technology has been an emerging field since flexible and wearable electronics started flourishing.
Efficient clearance of dying cells (efferocytosis) is an evolutionarily conserved process for tissue homeostasis. Genetic enhancement of efferocytosis exhibits therapeutic potential for inflammation ...resolution and tissue repair. However, pharmacological approaches to enhance efferocytosis remain sparse due to a lack of targets for modulation. Here, we report the identification of columbamine (COL) which enhances macrophage‐mediated efferocytosis and attenuates intestinal inflammation in a murine colitis model. COL enhances efferocytosis by promoting LC3‐associated phagocytosis (LAP), a non‐canonical form of autophagy. Transcriptome analysis and pharmacological characterization revealed that COL is a biased agonist that occupies a part of the ligand binding pocket of formyl peptide receptor 2 (FPR2), a G‐protein coupled receptor involved in inflammation regulation. Genetic ablation of the Fpr2 gene or treatment with an FPR2 antagonist abolishes COL‐induced efferocytosis, anti‐colitis activity and LAP. Taken together, our study identifies FPR2 as a potential target for modulating LC3‐associated efferocytosis to alleviate intestinal inflammation and highlights the therapeutic value of COL, a natural and biased agonist of FPR2, in the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease.
Synopsis
Enhancement of efferocytosis has been regarded as an emerging strategy for inflammatory diseases, while pharmacological approaches to modulate efferocytosis are poorly defined. Our study identified a natural compound, columbamine (COL), that can activate LC3‐associated efferocytosis and attenuate DSS‐induced colitis by biasedly targeting FPR2 on macrophages. This study provides a novel therapeutic strategy for inflammatory diseases, including colitis, via enhancing FPR2‐mediated efferocytosis.
COL has been identified as a novel efferocytosis enhancer that ameliorates mouse colitis.
COL binds to and biasedly activates FPR2, leading to enhanced efferocytosis in macrophages.
FPR2 emerges as a promising therapeutic target for the treatment of inflammatory diseases through modulating LC3‐associated efferocytosis in macrophages.
Enhancement of efferocytosis has been regarded as an emerging strategy for inflammatory diseases, while pharmacological approaches to modulate efferocytosis are poorly defined. Our study identified a natural compound, columbamine (COL), that can activate LC3‐associated efferocytosis and attenuate DSS‐induced colitis by biasedly targeting FPR2 on macrophages. This study provides a novel therapeutic strategy for inflammatory diseases, including colitis, via enhancing FPR2‐mediated efferocytosis.
microRNAs (miRNAs) are non-coding RNAs which have the capacity to regulate gene expression at the post-transcriptional level, and have emerging as key factors involved in cancer at all stages ranging ...from initiation to metastasis. In the present review, we summmarize the diverse roles of the microRNA-29 (miR-29) family in cancer. First, we present a concise introduction to the miR-29 family and the expression profile of miR-29 in various cancer types. We next highlight the upstream regulatory pathway of miR-29 and describe the relationship between miR-29 and cancer in detail. As a tumor suppressor, miR-29 restrains cancer progression by promoting tumor cell apoptosis, by suppressing DNA methylation of tumor-suppressor genes, by reducing proliferation of tumors and by increasing chemosensitivity. However, as a tumor promoter, miR-29 mediates epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and promotes metastasis in breast cancer and colon cancer. Finally, we suggest that miR-29 represents a novel diagnostic and prognostic biomarker or a therapeutic target for cancer. Our review highlights the diverse relationship between miR-29 and cancer (particularly digestive system neoplasms). Further research of miR-29 in cancer is warranted.
Abstract
We utilized transmission-type pump–probe technique to investigate coherent acoustic phonons in the superlattices of perovskite oxides such as SrIrO
3
/SrTiO
3
and SrRuO
3
/SrTiO
3
. Because ...the films in the superlattices are of high-quality and their thicknesses are only several monolayers, quasi-monochromatic acoustic phonons with THz frequency have been achieved. By investigating the propagation of coherent acoustic phonons in the superlattices with different epitaxial periods, the phonon mean free paths of SrTiO
3
were studied in the frequency range between 0.5 THz and 1 THz. We further demonstrated coherent control to amplify or cease the THz coherent acoustic phonon oscillations in the superlattices. By controlling the delay of two pulses for shining the superlattices, the amplitude and phase of the THz coherent acoustic phonons were manipulated. According to the measurements of time-domain Brillouin scatterings, we found the optoacoustic conversion efficiency of SrIrO
3
outperforms that of SrRuO
3
for generating acoustic phonons.
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