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Strong spin-lattice coupling in condensed matter gives rise to intriguing physical phenomena such as colossal magnetoresistance and giant magnetoelectric effects. The phenomenological hallmark of such a strong spin-lattice coupling is the manifestation of a large anomaly in the crystal structure at the magnetic transition temperature. Here we report that the magnetic Néel temperature of the multiferroic compound BiFeO 3 is suppressed to around room temperature by heteroepitaxial misfit strain. Remarkably, the ferroelectric state undergoes a first-order transition to another ferroelectric state simultaneously with the magnetic transition temperature. Our findings provide a unique example of a concurrent magnetic and ferroelectric transition at the same temperature among proper ferroelectrics, taking a step toward room temperature magnetoelectric applications. Magnetoelectric materials combine ferroelectric and magnetic properties through a coupling of the spin and lattice degrees of freedom. Here, magnetoelectric bismuth ferrite is found to simultaneously undergo both a magnetic and a ferroelectric transition at the same temperature.

The emergence of a triple phase point in a two-dimensional parameter space (such as pressure and temperature) can offer unforeseen opportunities for the coupling of two seemingly independent order parameters. On the basis of this, we demonstrate the electric control of magnetic order by manipulating chemical pressure: lanthanum substitution in the antiferromagnetic ferroelectric BiFeO 3 . Our demonstration relies on the finding that a multiferroic triple phase point of a single spin-disordered phase and two spin-ordered phases emerges near room temperature in Bi 0.9 La 0.1 FeO 3 ferroelectric thin films. By using spatially resolved X-ray absorption spectroscopy, we provide direct evidence that the electric poling of a particular region of the compound near the triple phase point results in an antiferromagnetic phase while adjacent unpoled regions remain magnetically disordered, opening a promising avenue for magnetoelectric applications at room temperature. The triple point is a well-known feature on pressure–temperature phase diagrams. A multiferroic triple point is now reported for La-doped BiFeO 3 ; La concentration and temperature are the phase variables and the phases display different spin (dis)order.

We report a simple one-step approach for the synthesis of -4 nm uniform and fully L10-ordered face-centered tetragonal （fct） FePt nanoparticles （NPs） embedded in -60 nm MCM-41 （fct-FePt NPs@MCM-41）. We controlled the Pt-shell thickness of the fct-FePt NPs by treating the fct-FePt NPs@MCM-41 with acetic acid （HOAc） or hydrochloric acid （HC1） under sonicafion, thereby etching the surface Fe atoms of the NPs. The fct-FePt NPs deposited onto the carbon support （fct-FePt NP/C） were prepared by mixing the fct-FePt NPs@MCM-41 with carbon and subsequently removing the MCM-41 using NaOH. We also developed a facile method to synthesize acid-treated fct-FePt NP/C by using a HF solution for simultaneous surface-Fe etching and MCM-41 removal. We studied the effects of both surface-Fe etching and Pt-shell thickness on the electrocatalytic properties of fct-FePt NPs for the methanol oxidation reaction （MOR）. Compared with the non-treated fct-FePt NP/C catalyst, the HOAc-treated and HCl-treated catalysts exhibit up to 34% larger electrochemically active surface areas （ECASAs）; in addition, the HCl-treated fct-FePt NP （with -1.0 nm Pt shell）/C catalyst exhibits the highest specific activity. The HF-treated fct-FePt NP/C exhibits an ECASA almost 2 times larger than those of the other acid-treated fct-FePt NP/C catalysts and shows the highest mass activity （1,435 mA·mgPt^-1, 2.3 times higher than that of the commercial Pt/C catalyst） and stability among the catalysts tested. Our findings demonstrate that the surface-Fe etching for the generation of the Pt shell on fct-FePt NPs and the Pt-shell thickness can be factors for optimizing the electrocatalysis of the MOR.

Human pluripotent stem cell (hPSC)-derived intestinal organoids (hIOs) form 3D structures organized into crypt and villus domains, making them an excellent in vitro model system for studying human intestinal development and disease. However, hPSC-derived hIOs still require in vivo maturation to fully recapitulate adult intestine, with the mechanism of maturation remaining elusive. Here, we show that the co-culture with human T lymphocytes induce the in vitro maturation of hIOs, and identify STAT3-activating interleukin-2 (IL-2) as the major factor inducing maturation. hIOs exposed to IL-2 closely mimic the adult intestinal epithelium and have comparable expression levels of mature intestinal markers, as well as increased intestine-specific functional activities. Even after in vivo engraftment, in vitro-matured hIOs retain their maturation status. The results of our study demonstrate that STAT3 signaling can induce the maturation of hIOs in vitro, thereby circumventing the need for animal models and in vivo maturation. Human pluripotent stem cell-derived intestinal organoids (hIOs) are a useful model with which to study intestinal development and disease, but they require in vivo maturation to resemble adult tissue. Here, the authors show that T lymphocyte-derived IL-2 induces hIO maturation in vitro through the activation of STAT3.

Successful pregnancy inevitably depends on the implantation of a competent embryo into a receptive endometrium. Although many substances have been suggested to improve the rate of embryo implantation targeting enhancement of endometrial receptivity, currently there rarely are effective evidence-based treatments to prevent or cure this condition. Here we strongly suggest minimally-invasive intra-uterine administration of embryo-secreted chemokine CXCL12 as an effective therapeutic intervention. Chemokine CXCL12 derived from pre- and peri-implanting embryos significantly enhances the rates of embryo attachment and promoted endothelial vessel formation and sprouting in vitro. Consistently, intra-uterine CXCL12 administration in C57BL/6 mice improved endometrial receptivity showing increased integrin β3 and its ligand osteopontin, and induced endometrial angiogenesis displaying increased numbers of vessel formation near the lining of endometrial epithelial layer with higher CD31 and CD34 expression. Furthermore, intra-uterine CXCL12 application dramatically promoted the rates of embryo implantation with no morphologically retarded embryos. Thus, our present study provides a novel evidence that improved uterine endometrial receptivity and enhanced angiogenesis induced by embryo-derived chemokine CXCL12 may aid to develop a minimally-invasive therapeutic strategy for clinical treatment or supplement for the patients with repeated implantation failure with less risk.

Molecular classifications of breast cancer (BRC), such as human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2), luminal A and luminal B, have been developed to reduce unnecessary treatment by dividing patients with BRC into low- and high-risk progression groups. However, these methods do not cover all of the pathological characteristics of BRC, and investigations into novel prognostic/therapeutic markers are thus continually required. In this study, we identified the overexpression of the histone methyltransferase, euchromatic histone-lysine N-methyltransferase 2 (EHMT2) in BRC samples (n=1,222) and normal samples (n=113) derived from the TCGA portal by performing a BRC tissue microarray. EHMT2 overexpression was clearly associated with a poor prognosis in multiple cohorts of patients with BRC (total, n=1,644). Furthermore, the knockdown of EHMT2 expression affected cell apoptosis via the downregulation and re-localization of heat shock protein family D (Hsp60) member 1 (HSPD1). In addition, a statistically significant positive correlation between EHMT2 and HSPD1 expression was revealed in the clinical cohorts. On the whole, the findings of this study may assist the development of novel therapeutic strategies and provide a prognostic marker (EHMT2) for patients with BRC.

Subcritical-water extraction is an ecofriendly method for extracting antioxidant compounds only using water. The Subcritical-water extraction was employed for the extraction of bioactive compounds from Orostachys japonicus known as rock pine by investigating the use of various temperatures (110–260 °C) and extraction times (5–20 min). The Subcritical-water extraction condition at 220 °C for 15 min; the total phenolics content (39.9 ± 4.1 mg/g), flavonoids content (11.4 ± 0.6 mg/g), and antioxidant activities (90.3 ± 2.2%, 96.0 ± 2.9%, and 662.4 ± 17.2 mg/g) of Subcritical-water extract were higher under this condition than for extraction with either methanol or ethanol. Triterpene saponins were observed only in subcritical-water extraction condition at 220 °C for 15 min. Further, some of its phenolic constituents; gallic acid, quercetin, and kaempferol were quantified by high performance liquid chromatography. Subcritical-water extraction is an effective method for extracting valuable bioactive compounds from Orostachys japonicus .

Despite the detailed imaging information provided by optical coherence tomography (OCT) during percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), clinical benefits of this imaging technique in this setting remain uncertain. The aim of the OCCUPI trial was to compare the clinical benefits of OCT-guided versus angiography-guided PCI for complex lesions, assessed as the rate of major adverse cardiac events at 1 year. This investigator-initiated, multicentre, randomised, open-label, superiority trial conducted at 20 hospitals in South Korea enrolled patients aged 19–85 years for whom PCI with drug-eluting stents was clinically indicated. After diagnostic angiography, clinical and angiographic findings were assessed to identify patients who met the criterion of having one or more complex lesions. Patients were randomly assigned 1:1 to receive PCI with OCT guidance (OCT-guidance group) or angiography guidance without OCT (angiography-guidance group). Web-response permuted-block randomisation (mixed blocks of four or six) was used at each participating site to allocate patients. The allocation sequence was computer-generated by an external programmer who was not involved in the rest of the trial. Outcome assessors were masked to group assignment. Patients, follow-up health-care providers, and data analysers were not masked. PCI was done according to conventional standard methods with everolimus-eluting stents. The primary endpoint was major adverse cardiac events (a composite of cardiac death, myocardial infarction, stent thrombosis, or ischaemia-driven target-vessel revascularisation), 1 year after PCI. The primary analysis was done in the intention-to-treat population. The margin used to establish superiority was 1·0 as a hazard ratio. This trial is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT03625908) and is completed. Between Jan 9, 2019, and Sept 22, 2022, 1604 patients requiring PCI with drug-eluting stents for complex lesions were randomly assigned to receive either OCT-guided PCI (n=803) or angiography-guided PCI (n=801). 1290 (80%) of 1604 patients were male and 314 (20%) were female. The median age of patients at randomisation was 64 years (IQR 57–70). 1588 (99%) patients completed 1-year follow-up. The primary endpoint occurred in 37 (5%) of 803 patients in the OCT-guided PCI group and 59 (7%) of 801 patients in the angiography-guided PCI group (absolute difference –2·8% [95% CI –5·1 to –0·4]; hazard ratio 0·62 [95% CI 0·41 to 0·93]; p=0·023). Rates of stroke, bleeding events, and contrast-induced nephropathy were not significantly different across the two groups. Among patients who required drug-eluting stent implantation for complex lesions, OCT guidance resulted in a lower incidence of major adverse cardiac events at 1 year compared with angiography guidance. These findings indicate the existence of a therapeutic benefit of OCT as an intravascular imaging technique for PCI guidance in patients with complex coronary lesions. Abbott Vascular and Cardiovascular Research Center. For the Korean translation of the abstract see Supplementary Materials section.

Active research on crack detection technology for structures based on unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) has attracted considerable attention. Most of the existing research on localization of cracks using UAVs mounted the Global Positioning System (GPS)/Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) on the UAVs to obtain location information. When such absolute position information is used, several studies confirmed that positioning errors of the UAVs were reflected and were in the order of a few meters. To address these limitations, in this study, without using the absolute position information, localization of cracks was defined using relative position between objects in UAV-captured images to significantly reduce the error level. Through aerial photography, a total of 97 images were acquired. Using the point cloud technique, image stitching, and homography matrix algorithm, 5 cracks and 3 reference objects were defined. Importantly, the comparative analysis of estimated relative position values and ground truth values through field measurement revealed that errors in the range 24–84 mm and 8–48 mm were obtained on the x- and y-directions, respectively. Also, RMSE errors of 37.95–91.24 mm were confirmed. In the future, the proposed methodology can be utilized for supplementing and improving the conventional methods for visual inspection of infrastructures and facilities.

Designing highly conductive and (electro)chemical stable inorganic solid electrolytes using cost-effective materials is crucial for developing all-solid-state batteries. Here, we report halide nanocomposite solid electrolytes (HNSEs) ZrO 2 (-ACl)-A 2 ZrCl 6 (A = Li or Na) that demonstrate improved ionic conductivities at 30 °C, from 0.40 to 1.3 mS cm −1 and from 0.011 to 0.11 mS cm −1 for Li + and Na + , respectively, compared to A 2 ZrCl 6 , and improved compatibility with sulfide solid electrolytes. The mechanochemical method employing Li 2 O for the HNSEs synthesis enables the formation of nanostructured networks that promote interfacial superionic conduction. Via density functional theory calculations combined with synchrotron X-ray and 6 Li nuclear magnetic resonance measurements and analyses, we demonstrate that interfacial oxygen-substituted compounds are responsible for the boosted interfacial conduction mechanism. Compared to state-of-the-art Li 2 ZrCl 6 , the fluorinated ZrO 2 −2Li 2 ZrCl 5 F HNSE shows improved high-voltage stability and interfacial compatibility with Li 6 PS 5 Cl and layered lithium transition metal oxide-based positive electrodes without detrimentally affecting Li + conductivity. We also report the assembly and testing of a Li-In||LiNi 0.88 Co 0.11 Mn 0.01 O 2 all-solid-state lab-scale cell operating at 30 °C and 70 MPa and capable of delivering a specific discharge of 115 mAh g −1 after almost 2000 cycles at 400 mA g −1 . Compositional tuning is a standard procedure to improve the ionic conductivity of inorganic superionic conductors. Here, the authors report (electro)chemical stable composite halide solid electrolytes applying a nanostructure approach that promotes interfacial superionic conductivity.