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Background Pancreatic cancer is a malignant tumor of the digestive tract that shows increased mortality, recurrence, and morbidity year on year. Methods Differentially expressed genes between pancreatic cancer and healthy tissues were first analyzed from four datasets within the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO). Gene ontology, disease ontology, and gene set enrichment analysis of differentially expressed genes were performed, and genes identified as characteristic of pancreatic cancer were screened using LASSO regression combined with support vector machine and recursive feature elimination (SVM–RFE). Differential analysis and receiver operating characteristic curve analysis were performed on the identified eigengenes, and validation was carried out using another dataset from the GEO database. Differences and correlations between characteristic pancreatic cancer genes and immune cells were analyzed. Results A total of 90 differentially expressed genes were identified by screening, and six genes characteristic of pancreatic cancer were obtained by taking the intersection of two characteristic genes identified by machine learning. Immunoassays yielded multiple immune cells associated with pancreatic cancer signature genes. Conclusion The six characteristic genes screened by a combination of LASSO regression and SVM–RFE are potential new biomarkers for the early diagnosis and prognosis of pancreatic cancer, and could be a novel therapeutic target.

There is an emerging need for high-sensitivity solar-blind deep ultraviolet (DUV) photodetectors with an ultra-fast response speed. Although nanoscale devices based on Ga 2 O 3 nanostructures have been developed, their practical applications are greatly limited by their slow response speed as well as low specific detectivity. Here, the successful fabrication of two-/three-dimensional (2D/3D) graphene (Gr)/PtSe 2 /β-Ga 2 O 3 Schottky junction devices for high-sensitivity solar-blind DUV photodetectors is demonstrated. Benefitting from the high-quality 2D/3D Schottky junction, the vertically stacked structure, and the superior-quality transparent graphene electrode for effective carrier collection, the photodetector is highly sensitive to DUV light illumination and achieves a high responsivity of 76.2 mA/W, a large on/off current ratio of ~ 10 5 , along with an ultra-high ultraviolet (UV)/visible rejection ratio of 1.8 × 10 4 . More importantly, it has an ultra-fast response time of 12 µs and a remarkable specific detectivity of ~ 10 13 Jones. Finally, an excellent DUV imaging capability has been identified based on the Gr/PtSe 2 /β-Ga 2 O 3 Schottky junction photodetector, demonstrating its great potential application in DUV imaging systems.

Being capable of sensing broadband infrared (IR) light is vitally important for wide-ranging applications from fundamental science to industrial purposes. Two-dimensional (2D) topological semimetals are being extensively explored for broadband IR detection due to their gapless electronic structure and the linear energy dispersion relation. However, the low charge separation efficiency, high noise level, and on-chip integration difficulty of these semimetals significantly hinder their further technological applications. Here, we demonstrate a facile thermal-assisted tellurization route for the van der Waals (vdW) growth of wafer-scale phase-controlled 2D MoTe 2 layers. Importantly, the type-II Weyl semimetal 1T′-MoTe 2 features a unique orthorhombic lattice structure with a broken inversion symmetry, which ensures efficient carrier transportation and thus reduces the carrier recombination. This characteristic is a key merit for the well-designed 1T′-MoTe 2 /Si vertical Schottky junction photodetector to achieve excellent performance with an ultrabroadband detection range of up to 10.6 µm and a large room temperature specific detectivity of over 10 8 Jones in the mid-infrared (MIR) range. Moreover, the large-area synthesis of 2D MoTe 2 layers enables the demonstration of high-resolution uncooled MIR imaging capability by using an integrated device array. This work provides a new approach to assembling uncooled IR photodetectors based on 2D materials. Wafer-scale phase-controlled 2D MoTe 2 layers was synthesized for in-situ fabrication of room-temperature high-performance broadband infrared photodetector and device array.

The two-dimensional layered semiconducting tungsten disulfide (WS 2 ) film exhibits great promising prospects in the photoelectrical applications because of its unique photoelectrical conversion property. Herein, in this paper, we report the simple and scalable fabrication of homogeneous, large-size and transferable WS 2 films with tens-of-nanometers thickness through magnetron sputtering and post annealing process. The produced WS 2 films with low resistance (4.2 kΩ) are used to fabricate broadband sensitive photodetectors in the ultraviolet to visible region. The photodetectors exhibit excellent photoresponse properties, with a high responsivity of 53.3 A/W and a high detectivity of 1.22 × 10 11 Jones at 365 nm. The strategy reported paves new way towards the large scale growth of transferable high quality, uniform WS 2 films for various important applications including high performance photodetectors, solar cell, photoelectrochemical cell and so on.

Highlights Thermodynamic and detailed balance calculations are provided to derive guideline for the optimization of perovskite solar cells. The influence of photon management on the energy conversion efficiency of perovskite solar cells is discussed. An optimized solar cell design is proposed, which allows for realizing perovskite/silicon tandem solar cell with an energy conversion efficiency exceeding 32%. Energy conversion efficiency losses and limits of perovskite/silicon tandem solar cells are investigated by detailed balance calculations and photon management. An extended Shockley–Queisser model is used to identify fundamental loss mechanisms and link the losses to the optics of solar cells. Photon management is used to minimize losses and maximize the energy conversion efficiency. The influence of photon management on the solar cell parameters of a perovskite single-junction solar cell and a perovskite/silicon solar cell is discussed in greater details. An optimized solar cell design of a perovskite/silicon tandem solar cell is presented, which allows for the realization of solar cells with energy conversion efficiencies exceeding 32%.

Pili are critical in host recognition, colonization and biofilm formation during bacterial infection. Here, we report the crystal structures of SafD-dsc and SafD-SafA-SafA (SafDAA-dsc) in Saf pili. Cell adherence assays show that SafD and SafA are both required for host recognition, suggesting a poly-adhesive mechanism for Saf pili. Moreover, the SafDAA-dsc structure, as well as SAXS characterization, reveals an unexpected inter-molecular oligomerization, prompting the investigation of Saf-driven self-association in biofilm formation. The bead/cell aggregation and biofilm formation assays are used to demonstrate the novel function of Saf pili. Structure-based mutants targeting the inter-molecular hydrogen bonds and complementary architecture/surfaces in SafDAA-dsc dimers significantly impaired the Saf self-association activity and biofilm formation. In summary, our results identify two novel functions of Saf pili: the poly-adhesive and self-associating activities. More importantly, Saf-Saf structures and functional characterizations help to define a pili-mediated inter-cellular oligomerizaiton mechanism for bacterial aggregation, colonization and ultimate biofilm formation.

Tunnel‐structured materials have garnered significant attention as promising candidates for high‐performance rechargeable batteries, owing to their unique structural characteristics that facilitate efficient ionic transport. However, understanding the dynamic processes of ionic transport within these tunnels is crucial for their further development and performance optimization. Analytical in situ transmission electron microscopy (TEM) has demonstrated its effectiveness as a powerful tool for visualizing the complex ionic transport processes in real time. In this review, we summarize the state‐of‐the‐art in situ tracking of ionic transport processes in tunnel‐structured materials for alkali metal‐ion batteries (AMIBs) by TEM observation at the atomic scale, elucidating the fundamental issues pertaining to phase transformations, structural evolution, interfacial reactions and degradation mechanisms. This review covers a wide range of electrode and electrolyte materials used in AMIBs, highlighting the versatility and general applicability of in situ TEM as a powerful tool for elucidating the fundamental mechanisms underlying the performance of AMIBs. Furthermore, this work critically discusses current challenges and future research directions, offering perspectives on the development of next‐generation battery materials through advanced in situ characterization techniques. This review comprehensively investigates the latest advancements and key insights derived from in situ transmission electron microscopy (TEM) studies of tunnel‐structured materials in alkali metal‐ion batteries. By elucidating fundamental issues such as phase transformations, structural evolution, interfacial reactions, and degradation mechanisms, this work highlights the critical role of in situ TEM in advancing the understanding of these materials. Additionally, it highlights current challenges and future opportunities, providing valuable perspectives for the development of next‐generation battery technologies.

Two-dimensional (2D) layered materials have been considered promising candidates for next-generation optoelectronics. However, the performance of 2D photodetectors still has much room for improvement due to weak light absorption of planar 2D materials and lack of high-quality heterojunction preparation technology. Notably, 2D materials integrating with mature bulk semiconductors are a promising pathway to overcome this limitation and promote the practical application on optoelectronics. In this work, we present the patterned assembly of MoSe 2 /pyramid Si mixed-dimensional van der Waals (vdW) heterojunction arrays for broadband photodetection and imaging. Benefited from the light trapping effect induced enhanced optical absorption and high-quality vdW heterojunction, the photodetector demonstrates a wide spectral response range from 265 to 1550 nm, large responsivity up to 0.67 A·W −1 , high specific detectivity of 1.84 × 10 13 Jones, and ultrafast response time of 0.34/5.6 μs at 0 V. Moreover, the photodetector array exhibits outstanding broadband image sensing capability. This study offers a novel development route for high-performance and broadband photodetector array by MoSe 2 /pyramid Si mixed-dimensional heterojunction.

Sex-bias is more obvious in several autoimmune disorders, but not in psoriasis. However, estrogen levels fluctuate during puberty, menstrual cycle, pregnancy, and menopause, which are related to variations in psoriasis symptoms observed in female patients. Estrogen has disease promoting or ameliorating functions based on the type of immune responses and tissues involved. To investigate the effects of estrogen on psoriasis, at first, we developed an innate immunity dependent mannan-induced psoriasis model, which showed a clear female preponderance in disease severity in several mouse strains. Next, we investigated the effects of endogenous and exogenous estrogen using ovariectomy and sham operated mice. 17-β-estradiol (E2) alone promoted the skin inflammation and it also significantly enhanced mannan-induced skin inflammation. We also observed a prominent estrogen receptor-β (ER-β) expression in the skin samples, especially on keratinocytes. Subsequently, we confirmed the effects of E2 on psoriasis using ER-β antagonist (PHTPP) and agonist (DPN). In addition, estrogen was found to affect the expression of certain genes ( vgll3 and cebpb ), microRNAs (miR146a and miR21), and immune cells (DCs and γδ T cells) as well as chemokines (CCL5 and CXCL10) and cytokines (TNF-α, IL-6, IL-22, IL-23, and IL-17 family), which promoted the skin inflammation. Thus, we demonstrate a pathogenic role for 17-β-estradiol in promoting skin inflammation, which should be considered while designing new treatment strategies for psoriasis patients.

Infrared (IR) detection is vital for various military and civilian applications. Recent research has highlighted the potential of two‐dimensional (2D) topological semimetals in IR detection due to their distinctive advantages, including van der Waals (vdW) stacking, gapless electronic structure, and Van Hove singularities in the electronic density of states. However, challenges such as large‐scale patterning, poor photoresponsivity, and high dark current of photodetectors based on 2D topological semimetals significantly impede their wider applications in low‐energy photon sensing. Here, we demonstrate the in situ fabrication of PtSe2/Ge Schottky junction by directly depositing 2D PtSe2 films with a vertical layer structure on a Ge substrate with an ultrathin AlOx layer. Due to high quality junction, the photodetector features a broadband response of up to 4.6 μm, along with a high specific detectivity of ~1012 Jones, and operates with remarkable stability in ambient conditions as well. Moreover, the highly integrated device arrays based on PtSe2/AlOx/Ge Schottky junction showcases excellent Mid‐IR (MIR) imaging capability at room temperature. These findings highlight the promising prospects of 2D topological semimetals for uncooled IR photodetection and imaging applications. The large‐area, low‐temperature growth of vertically standing 2D PtSe2 layers allows for the in situ fabrication of a highly‐integrated PtSe2/Ge Schottky junction array with interface passivation, demonstrating an ultrabroadband detection range up to 4.6 μm at room‐temperature, along with a high specific detectivity.