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Enhancing the luminescence property without sacrificing the charge collection is one key to high-performance organic solar cells (OSCs), while limited by the severe non-radiative charge recombination. Here, we demonstrate efficient OSCs with high luminescence via the design and synthesis of an asymmetric non-fullerene acceptor, BO-5Cl. Blending BO-5Cl with the PM6 donor leads to a record-high electroluminescence external quantum efficiency of 0.1%, which results in a low non-radiative voltage loss of 0.178 eV and a power conversion efficiency (PCE) over 15%. Importantly, incorporating BO-5Cl as the third component into a widely-studied donor:acceptor (D:A) blend, PM6:BO-4Cl, allows device displaying a high certified PCE of 18.2%. Our joint experimental and theoretical studies unveil that more diverse D:A interfacial conformations formed by asymmetric acceptor induce optimized blend interfacial energetics, which contributes to the improved device performance via balancing charge generation and recombination. High-performance organic solar cells call for novel designs of acceptor molecules. Here, He et al. design and synthesize a non-fullerene acceptor with an asymmetric structure for diverse donor:acceptor interfacial conformations and report a certificated power conversion efficiency of 18.2%.

In organic solar cells, the charge-transfer (CT) electronic states that form at the interface between the electron-donor (D) and electron-acceptor (A) materials have a crucial role in exciton-dissociation, charge-separation and charge-recombination processes. Since the introduction of active layers consisting of D–A bulk heterojunctions, CT states have been the focus of extensive experimental and theoretical studies. In this Review, we assess the current understanding of CT states and describe how factors such as the geometry of the D–A interface, electronic polarization and the extent of electron delocalization affect their nature and influence the radiative and non-radiative decay processes. We focus on the description and application of fundamental concepts, which provides the framework to discuss the path to organic solar cells with efficiencies comparable to those in inorganic photovoltaic technologies. The charge-transfer electronic states that form at the interfaces between electron-donor and electron-acceptor components have a key role in the electronic processes in organic solar cells. This Review describes the current understanding of how these charge-transfer states affect device performance.

Although it is known that molecular interactions govern morphology formation and purity of mixed domains of conjugated polymer donors and small-molecule acceptors, and thus largely control the achievable performance of organic solar cells, quantifying interaction–function relations has remained elusive. Here, we first determine the temperature-dependent effective amorphous–amorphous interaction parameter, χaa(T), by mapping out the phase diagram of a model amorphous polymer:fullerene material system. We then establish a quantitative ‘constant-kink-saturation’ relation between χaa and the fill factor in organic solar cells that is verified in detail in a model system and delineated across numerous high- and low-performing materials systems, including fullerene and non-fullerene acceptors. Our experimental and computational data reveal that a high fill factor is obtained only when χaa is large enough to lead to strong phase separation. Our work outlines a basis for using various miscibility tests and future simulation methods that will significantly reduce or eliminate trial-and-error approaches to material synthesis and device fabrication of functional semiconducting blends and organic blends in general.

Objectives To investigate the clinicopathological characteristics and prognosis of patients with uterine sarcoma treated following surgery for presumed benign disease. Methods We identified all patients with uterine sarcoma found incidentally after primary surgery for presumed benign disease who presented to our institution and received re-exploration for completion surgery from January 1, 2004 to January 1, 2021. We analyzed the clinicopathological characteristics and prognosis. Results Overall, 95 patients were included in our study. For the initial surgery, myomectomy was performed in 50 (52.6%, 50/95) patients, hysterectomy was performed in 45 (47.4%, 45/95) patients. All patients were re-explored to complete the staging operation. The median time to the staging surgery was 40 days (range 15–90 days). There were 29 patients (30.5%, 29/95) had remnant sarcomas, with 17 patients (17/95, 17.9%) on the remaining uterus, 9 patients (9/95, 9.5%) had disseminated diseases, and 4 patients (4/95, 4.2%) had positive lymph nodes. About 40 patients (42.1%) received adjuvant chemotherapy, 55.2% (16/29) and 36.4% (24/66) patients with/without remnant diseases received adjuvant chemotherapy, respectively ( P  = 0.087). The median follow-up duration was 76.7 months (IQR: 34.8-118.1 months). And 17 patients (17.9%) had recurrence following re-exploration surgery. 5-year progression-free survival (PFS) and 5-year overall survival (OS) for the entire cohort was 81.7% and 92.1%, respectively. Patients with remnant sarcomas had a tendency towards a worse 5-year PFS and 5-year OS, compared with those without (5-year PFS: 75.6% vs. 84.5%, P  = 0.224; 5-year OS: 85.5% vs. 95.1%, P  = 0.217). Patients with disseminated diseases had a worse 5-year OS (62.5% vs. 95.1%, P  = 0.007) and non-significantly worse 5-year PFS (64.8% vs. 83.4%, P  = 0.153) compared with those without. Conclusions Patients with uterine sarcoma treated following surgery for presumed benign disease have a favorable survival. Patients with disseminated diseases had a worse 5-year OS compared with those without. Surgical re-exploration may be valuable for removing remnant sarcomas and disseminated diseases.

Hybrid magnonic systems are a newcomer for pursuing coherent information processing owing to their rich quantum engineering functionalities. One prototypical example is hybrid magnonics in antiferromagnets with an easy-plane anisotropy that resembles a quantum-mechanically mixed two-level spin system through the coupling of acoustic and optical magnons. Generally, the coupling between these orthogonal modes is forbidden due to their opposite parity. Here we show that the Dzyaloshinskii–Moriya-Interaction (DMI), a chiral antisymmetric interaction that occurs in magnetic systems with low symmetry, can lift this restriction. We report that layered hybrid perovskite antiferromagnets with an interlayer DMI can lead to a strong intrinsic magnon-magnon coupling strength up to 0.24 GHz, which is four times greater than the dissipation rates of the acoustic/optical modes. Our work shows that the DMI in these hybrid antiferromagnets holds promise for leveraging magnon-magnon coupling by harnessing symmetry breaking in a highly tunable, solution-processable layered magnetic platform. Recently there has been interest in exploring the coupling between magnons for use in information processing, however, this is hampered by the fact that such coupling is forbidden due to the different parity of the acoustic and optical magnons. Here, Comstock et al show that the interlayer Dzyaloshinskii–Moriya-Interaction in a layered hybrid antiferromagnet can allow for strong coupling between the acoustic and optical magnons, offering a pathway for magnon coherent information processing.

Objectives To investigate the clinicopathological characteristics and prognosis of patients with undifferentiated uterine sarcomas (UUS). Methods 29 patients with UUS who were treated at our institution between 2001 and 2020 were analyzed. Results The median age at diagnosis was 52 years (range: 26–70 years). The FIGO 2009 distribution by stage was as follows: stage I, 17 patients (58.6%); stage II, 5 patients (17.2%); stage III, 4 patients (13.8%); and stage IV, 3 patients (10.3%). For 28 patients who underwent surgical treatment, 27 patients (96.4%) underwent total/sub-radical/radical hysterectomy combined bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy, 17 (58.6%) pelvic lymphadenectomy, 7 (24.1%) para-aortic lymphadenectomy and 8 (28.6%) patients underwent omentectomy, as part of the initial surgical treatment. The median follow-up was 23.4 months (range: 4.5–200.2 months). 18 patients (62.1%) died during follow up, and 13 patients (72.2%, 13/18) died within 2 years after diagnosis. Median progression-free survival (mPFS) and overall survival (mOS) for the entire cohort were 15.5 and 27.4 months, respectively. 2-year and 5-year PFS were 40.3% and 26.9%. 2-year and 5-year OS were 54.0% and 36.5%. Stage-specific median PFS and OS were as follows: stage I-II—17.7 and 35.5 months, stage III-IV—6.0 and 6.7 months. Patients with recurrent UUS who underwent cytoreduction surgery associated with an improved overall survival (mOS: 52.9 vs. 17.9 months), but the difference was not statistically significant ( P  = 0.081). Conclusions UUS are a rare group of tumors with an aggressive behavior and poor outcomes. A majority rapidly develops distant metastases despite surgical resection.

Geomagnetic substorms transfer solar wind energy into the planetary magnetosphere and ionosphere, producing auroral displays and ground magnetic disturbances, particularly intense during the expansion phase. Despite decades of study, the mechanisms governing the expansion phase remain unresolved. Based on coordinated observations of storm-time intense substorms, we reveal that substorm expansion is temporally embedded within a global cycle of field-aligned currents and auroral electrojets, coupled to large-scale plasma convection. The cycle manifests as a coherent movement of current peaks across magnetic longitude and latitude—first antisunward and equatorward, then sunward and poleward—and coincides with enhanced sunward ionospheric convection. This cycle involves two components of the auroral electrojets: the convection-driven DP-2 current and the expansion-phase DP-1 substorm current. The antisunward-equatorward phase, corresponding to intervals of dominant dayside reconnection, begins with DP-2 and can stepwise transition into DP-1. During the subsequent sunward-poleward phase, reflecting intervals of dominant nightside reconnection, DP-1 either persists from the earlier interval or develops within this phase. These observations show that expansion onset can occur under dominance of either dayside or nightside reconnection, while the full development of DP-1 generally involves nightside reconnection, providing insight into substorm evolution. Geomagnetic substorms abruptly release energy, producing intense auroras and magnetic disturbances during an expansion phase. Here, the authors show this expansion is part of a global cycle of currents and plasma flows shaped by dayside and nightside reconnection.

Identifying meaningful patterns of atomic and molecular arrangements from molecular simulations is crucial for revealing microscopic mechanisms in materials. Unraveling these patterns is challenging for the multi-component systems frequently encountered in advanced materials, energy and environmental applications. This limits the understanding of the microscopic mechanisms that ultimately govern the performance of devices based on these systems. Here, we propose a hierarchical incremental learning research protocol named HiDiscover to systematically expedite the mechanistic exploration in multi-component materials. As illustrations, we study Li-ion transport and gas adsorption in nanoporous framework materials, as well as molecular packing in organic active layers for photovoltaics. The HiDiscover protocol enables the detailed differentiation and facile extraction of ionic and molecular arrangements, and reveals quantitative microscopic features that are difficult to discern through conventional molecular simulations, thereby informing materials design. Our approach is seen to improve the reliability of mechanistic descriptions for three different processes in three different classes of materials. Understanding molecular arrangements in mechanistic studies of complex materials is critical but challenging. Here, the authors develop a hierarchical incremental learning protocol to uncover microscopic patterns, improving mechanistic insights obtained

Objective To explore the clinical efficacy of PARPis maintenance treatment rechallenge in patients with recurrent epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) in China. Methods We included patients diagnosed with primary EOC who received 2 lines of PARPis maintenance treatment after achieving complete response (CR) or partial response (PR) with the previous chemotherapies. The patients’ full medical records were included in this study. Clinical and pathologic variables, treatment modalities, and outcomes were assessed. We investigated the treatment patterns and time to next treatment (TTNT). Results A total of 31 ovarian cancer patients in our center were included. Among these patients, 20 of them (64.5%) had BRCA1/2 gene mutations. The median duration of PARPi1 and PARPi2 in the entire cohort was 11.2 months (range: 2.0–30.4 months) and 4.8 months (range: 1.0–16.7 months), respectively. Median TTNT1 and TTNT2 for the entire cohort was 12.4 and 7.7 months, respectively. Patients with BRCA1/2 mutation had a significantly better TTNT1 (median TTNT1: 17.3 vs 10.4 months, P  = 0.005) than those without. A non- significantly better TTNT2 was observed in patients with BRCA1/2 mutation than those without (median TTNT2: 8.2 vs 5.0 months, P  = 0.890). The association between previous chemotherapy response and TTNT was also analyzed. Patients who had a CR to previous chemotherapy had a significantly better TTNT1 (median TTNT1: 16.4 vs 7.6 months, P  = 0.001) and TTNT2 (median TTNT2: 11.1 vs 4.9 months, P  = 0.003) than those who had a PR. No grade Ⅲ-IV anemia occurred. Grade III PARPis-related thrombocytopenia was found in only 1 patient (3.2%, 1/31) who received PARPi2 treatment. For patients who developed PARPis-related anemia ( n  = 9) or thrombocytopenia ( n  = 7) during PARPi1 treatment, 7 patients (77.8%, 7/9) and 6 patients (85.7%, 6/7) developed anemia or thrombocytopenia again during PARPi2 treatment, respectively. Conclusions Patients with PARPis resistant recurrent EOC may derive benefit from PARPis re-treatment, especially for those with complete response to the last chemotherapy. Patients with BRCA1/2 mutation were more likely to benefit from PARPis retreatment than those with wild-type. Anemia and thrombocytopenia were more common in PARPis retreatment patients. A small proportion of patients had a longer benefit from PARPis retreatment than from previous PARPis treatment.

In this study, we propose a delayed sums method to investigate the convergence rates of partial sums. This approach enables general and systematic treatment of the convergence behavior of partial sums, encompassing and extending classical results such as the law of large numbers, the law of logarithm, and the law of the iterated logarithm, as well as convergence with respect to the general norming factors. By establishing almost sure convergence of appropriately defined delayed sums, the proposed method yields explicit convergence rates across a wide range of probabilistic settings. As a result, many convergence problems that were previously treated in isolation can be analyzed within a single coherent theoretical structure.