Two-dimensional (2D) materials have been studied extensively as monolayers, vertical or lateral heterostructures. To achieve functionalization, monolayers are often patterned using soft lithography ...and selectively decorated with molecules. Here we demonstrate the growth of a family of 2D materials that are intrinsically patterned. We demonstrate that a monolayer of PtSe
can be grown on a Pt substrate in the form of a triangular pattern of alternating 1T and 1H phases. Moreover, we show that, in a monolayer of CuSe grown on a Cu substrate, strain relaxation leads to periodic patterns of triangular nanopores with uniform size. Adsorption of different species at preferred pattern sites is also achieved, demonstrating that these materials can serve as templates for selective self-assembly of molecules or nanoclusters, as well as for the functionalization of the same substrate with two different species.
Micro-structural evolution and grain refinement in ANSI 304 stainless steel subjected to multiple laser shock processing (LSP) impacts were investigated by means of cross-sectional optical microscopy ...and transmission electron microscopy observations. The plastic strain-induced grain refinement mechanism of the face-centered cubic (fcc) materials with very low stacking fault energy was identified. The micro-structure was obviously refined due to the ultra-high plastic strain induced by multiple LSP impacts. The minimum grain size in the top surface was about 50–200
nm. Multidirectional mechanical twin matrix (MT)–MT intersections led to grain subdivision at the top surface during multiple LSP impacts. Furthermore, a novel structure with submicron triangular blocks was found at the top surface subjected to three LSP impacts. The grain refinement process along the depth direction after multiple LSP impacts can be described as follows: (i) formation of planar dislocation arrays (PDAs) and stacking faults along multiple directions due to the pile up of dislocation lines; (ii) formation of submicron triangular blocks (or irregularly shaped blocks) by the intersection of MT–MT (or MT–PDA or PDA–PDA) along multiple directions; (iii) transformation of MTs into subgrain boundaries; (iv) evolution by continuous dynamic recrystallization of subgrain boundaries to refined grain boundaries. The experimental results and analyses indicate that a high strain with an ultra-high strain rate play a crucial role in the grain refinement process of fcc materials subjected to multiple LSP impacts.
Growing evidence indicates that resistin-an obesity-related cytokine-is upregulated in breast cancer patients, yet its impact on breast cancer behavior remains to be ascertained. Similarly, Toll-like ...receptor 4 (TLR4) has been implicated in breast cancer progression, however, its clinically relevant endogenous ligand remains elusive. In this study, we observed that high serum resistin levels in breast cancer patients positively correlated with tumor stage, size and lymph node metastasis. These findings were replicated in animal models of breast cancer tumorigenesis and metastasis. Resistin was found to promote epithelial-mesenchymal transition and stemness in breast cancer cells-mechanisms critical to tumorigenesis and metastasis-through a TLR4/nuclear factor kappa-light-chain-enhancer of activated B cells (NF-κB)/signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) signaling pathway and negated by TLR4-specific antibody and antagonist. These findings provide clear evidence that resistin is a clinically relevant endogenous ligand for TLR4, which promotes tumor progression via TLR4/NF-κB/STAT3 signaling, providing insights into a novel therapeutic target in breast cancer.
Fast radio bursts (FRBs) are highly dispersed, millisecond-duration radio bursts1-3. Recent observations of a Galactic FRB4-8 suggest that at least some FRBs originate from magnetars, but the origin ...of cosmological FRBs is still not settled. Here we report the detection of1,863 bursts in 82 h over 54 days from the repeating source FRB 20201124A (ref.9). These observations show irregular short-time variation ofthe Faraday rotation measure (RM), which scrutinizes the density-weighted line-of-sight magnetic field strength, of individual bursts during the first 36 days, followed by a constant RM. We detected circular polarization in more than half of the burst sample, including one burst reaching a high fractional circular polarization of 75%. Oscillations in fractional linear and circular polarizations, as well as polarization angle as a function of wavelength, were detected. All of these features provide evidence for a complicated, dynamically evolving, magnetized immediate environment within about an astronomical unit (au; Earth-Sun distance) ofthe source. Our optical observations of its Milky-Way-sized, metal-rich host galaxy10-12 show a barred spiral, with the FRB source residing in a low-stellar-density interarm region at an intermediate galactocentric distance. This environment is inconsistent with a young magnetar engine formed during an extreme explosion of a massive star that resulted in a long gamma-ray burst or superluminous supernova.
Effects of massive laser shock peening (LSP) treatment as a function of coverage layer on surface residual stress, microstructure, and corrosion fatigue (CF) resistance of Fe-Cr alloy were studied by ...X-ray diffraction technique, scanning electron microscope observations, and corrosion fatigue crack growth (CFCG) testing. Special attention was paid to the details of compressive residual stress and fracture morphology, and the influence mechanism of coverage layer on CF behaviour was also determined. Results indicated that LSP generated deeper compressive residual stress and effectively decreased the CFCG rate, and increased coverage layers further improved the corrosion fatigue life of notched specimens.
•Laser shock peening generated compressive residual stress in the surface layer.•Laser shock peening effectively decreased the corrosion fatigue crack growth rate.•Increased coverage layer further improved the corrosion fatigue life of Fe-Cr alloy.•Special attention was paid to compressive residual stress and fracture morphology.•Influence mechanism of laser shock wave on corrosion fatigue life was determined.
Serotonin (5-HT) plays a key role in early brain development, and manipulation of 5-HT levels during this period can have lasting neurobiological and behavioral consequences. It is unclear how ...perinatal exposure to drugs, such as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), impacts cortical neural network function and what mechanism(s) may elicit the disruption of normal neuronal connections/interactions. In this article, we report on cortical wiring organization after pre- and postnatal exposure to the SSRI citalopram. We show that manipulation of 5-HT during early development in both in vitro and in vivo models disturbs characteristic chemoarchitectural and electrophysiological brain features, including changes in raphe and callosal connections, sensory processing, and myelin sheath formation. Also, drug-exposed rat pups exhibit neophobia and disrupted juvenile play behavior. These findings indicate that 5-HT homeostasis is required for proper brain maturation and that fetal/infant exposure to SSRIs should be examined in humans, particularly those with developmental dysfunction, such as autism.
An accurate speciation mapping of non-methane volatile organic compounds (NMVOC) emissions has an important impact on the performance of chemical transport models (CTMs) in simulating ozone mixing ...ratios and secondary organic aerosols. Taking the INTEX-B Asian NMVOC emission inventory as the case, we developed an improved speciation framework to generate model-ready anthropogenic NMVOC emissions for various gas-phase chemical mechanisms commonly used in CTMs in this work, by using an explicit assignment approach and updated NMVOC profiles. NMVOC profiles were selected and aggregated from a wide range of new measurements and the SPECIATE database v.4.2. To reduce potential uncertainty from individual measurements, composite profiles were developed by grouping and averaging source profiles from the same category. The fractions of oxygenated volatile organic compounds (OVOC) were corrected during the compositing process for those profiles which used improper sampling and analyzing methods. Emissions of individual species were then lumped into species in different chemical mechanisms used in CTMs by applying mechanism-dependent species mapping tables, which overcomes the weakness of inaccurate mapping in previous studies. Emission estimates for individual NMVOC species differ between one and three orders of magnitude for some species when different sets of profiles are used, indicating that source profile is the most important source of uncertainties of individual species emissions. However, those differences are diminished in lumped species as a result of the lumping in the chemical mechanisms. Gridded emissions for eight chemical mechanisms at 30 min × 30 min resolution as well as the auxiliary data are available at http://mic.greenresource.cn/intex-b2006. The framework proposed in this work can be also used to develop speciated NMVOC emissions for other regions.
Resting-state functional MR imaging has been used for motor mapping in presurgical planning but never used intraoperatively. This study aimed to investigate the feasibility of applying intraoperative ...resting-state functional MR imaging for the safe resection of gliomas using real-time motor cortex mapping during an operation.
Using interventional MR imaging, we conducted preoperative and intraoperative resting-state intrinsic functional connectivity analyses of the motor cortex in 30 patients with brain tumors. Factors that may influence intraoperative imaging quality, including anesthesia type (general or awake anesthesia) and tumor cavity (filled with normal saline or not), were studied to investigate image quality. Additionally, direct cortical stimulation was used to validate the accuracy of intraoperative resting-state fMRI in mapping the motor cortex.
Preoperative and intraoperative resting-state fMRI scans were acquired for all patients. Fourteen patients who successfully completed both sufficient intraoperative resting-state fMRI and direct cortical stimulation were used for further analysis of sensitivity and specificity. Compared with those subjected to direct cortical stimulation, the sensitivity and specificity of intraoperative resting-state fMRI in localizing the motor area were 61.7% and 93.7%, respectively. The image quality of intraoperative resting-state fMRI was better when the tumor cavity was filled with normal saline (
= .049). However, no significant difference between the anesthesia types was observed (
= .102).
This study demonstrates the feasibility of using intraoperative resting-state fMRI for real-time localization of functional areas during a neurologic operation. The findings suggest that using intraoperative resting-state fMRI can avoid the risk of intraoperative seizures due to direct cortical stimulation and may provide neurosurgeons with valuable information to facilitate the safe resection of gliomas.
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