Gibsonbaun4655

Based on first-principles calculations, we investigate the geometric, energetic and electronic properties of two-dimensional (2D) InSe functionalized with magnetic superatoms (MnCl3). As a nonmagnetic semiconductor, 2D InSe exhibits non-covalent interaction with MnCl3 and provides an ideal substrate for the assembly of magnetic superatoms. We show that with a low coverage of MnCl3, the functionalized system behaves as a magnetic semiconductor with spin-polarized superatomic states residing inside the energy gap of InSe. When the coverage becomes higher, the system has one spin channel crossing Fermi level while the other remains insulating, thus being half-metallic. We further demonstrate electric field effects on the functionalized system, and reveal that half metal with 100% spin polarization can be achieved at a lower coverage due to the field induced charge transfer, which downshifts the unoccupied bands of one spin component so that they become partially filled. These findings are generally applicable, demonstrating the great promise of combining superatom assembly with electric gating for controllable and versatile 2D spintronics. © 2020 IOP Publishing Ltd.In this work, combining first-principles calculation and phonon Boltzmann transport equation, we explored the diffusive thermal conductivity of diamond-like bi-layer graphene. The converged iterative solution provides high room temperature thermal conductivity of 2034 W/mK, significantly higher than other 2D materials. More interesting, the thermal conductivity calculated by relaxation time approximation is about 33% underestimated, revealing remarkable phonon hydrodynamic transport characteristic. Significant strain dependence is reported, for example, under 5% tensile strain, room temperature thermal conductivity (1081 W/mK) is only about 50% of the strain free sample, and under 20% strain, it reduces dramatically to only about 11% of the intrinsic one (226 W/mK). Unexpectedly, in addition to the remarkable reduction in absolute value of thermal conductivity, tensile strain can impact the hydrodynamic significance. For example, under 5% strain, the underestimation of relaxation time approximation in thermal conductivity is reduced to 20%. Furthermore, using non-equilibrium Green's function calculation, high ballistic thermal conductance (2.95 GW/m2K) is demonstrated, and the mean free path is predicted to be 700 nm at room temperature. The importance of the knowledge of phonon transport in diamond-like bi-layer graphene goes beyond fundamental physics owing to its relevance to thermal management applications due to the super-high thermal conduction. © 2020 IOP Publishing Ltd.The structure and magnetic properties are studied in co-doped Cs2-xKxCuBr4-xClx and pressurized Cs2CuBr4 samples. No structural phase transition is found with doping concentration x ≤ 0.1 and pre-compression pressure up to 4.5 GPa. The maximum susceptibility temperature Tmax of the zero-field-cooling (ZFC) susceptibility curves decreases slightly with increasing doping concentration and pre-compression pressure, indicating only small changes in the exchange coupling constants. However, an unusual enhancement of the magnetic moment deduced from the ZFC susceptibility is observed in both series samples. A maximum increase of 40% is obtained in Cs1.9K0.1CuBr3.9Cl0.1 sample. The magnetic moment increases almost linearly with decreasing Δ, i. e., defined as the wavenumber difference between the short- and long-bond stretching modes of the CuBr42 tetrahedra in the Raman spectra. The effect is likely due to the recovery of the Cu-3d orbital magnetic moments by strain-induced suppression of Jahn-Teller distortion in CuBr42 tetrahedra. © 2020 IOP Publishing Ltd.Flexible sensors at small scales have potential applications in many fields. Until now, the research on high-performance vibration sensors based on soft materials with high sensitivity and precision, fast response, high stability are still in its infancy. In this work, a flexible, wearable and high precision film sensor based on multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) was prepared via a vacuum filtration process and then encapsulated within polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS). The sensor exhibits an ultrahigh sensitivity with gauge factor of 214.3 at flexural strain of 0.4 %. When used to monitor the vibration responses of a carbon-fiber beam induced by the base excitation and impact hammer, the time and frequency responses were comparable with the results obtained by the accelerometer, with difference less than 1 %. In addition, when the MWCNT/PDMS thin film was employed as an electronic skin sensor attached on the human body to detect human activities, the high sensitivity and repeatability demonstrate a great potential application in monitoring human motion. © 2020 IOP Publishing Ltd.Layered osteochondral composite scaffolds are considered as a promising strategy for the treatment of osteochondral defects. However, the insufficient osseous support and integration of the subchondral bone layer frequently result in the failure of osteochondral repair. Therefore, it is essentially important to explore new subchondral bone constructs tailored to support bone integration and healing. In this study, a novel three-dimensional porous biomimetic construct (HA/pDA-OTMS) was successfully developed by polydopamine (pDA) regulating hydroxyapatite (HA) microspheres grown in the honeycomb-like mollusk shell-derived organic template (OTMS). The biomimetic OTMS had good mechanical properties, high toughness, biodegradability and excellent biocompatibility. Moreover, the long-range ordered cavity structure of OTMS allowed the smallest material to create the largest and most stable geometric space, endowing it high HA loading capacity. The modification of pDA on OTMS surface effectively promoted the mineral nucleation of HA in the micro-nano cavities of OTMS. The compression mechanical tests showed that the combination of inorganic HA and organic pDA-OTMS greatly improved the mechanical properties of the construct. Additionally, the HA/pDA-OTMS composite provided adequate 3-D support for osteoblast cell attachment, proliferation and differentiation, as well as significantly up-regulated the expression of osteogenesis-related genes. These results demonstrated that as-prepared HA/pDA-OTMS constructs with combined mechanical strength and excellent osteogenic activity show great application prospects in subchondral bone regeneration. © 2020 IOP Publishing Ltd.The extended line defect of graphene is an extraordinary candicate in valleytronics while the high valley polarization can only occur for electrons with high incidence angles which brings about tremendous challenges to experimental relization. In this paper, we propose a simple scheme to filter one conical valley state by applying a local magnetic field. It is found that due to the movement of the Dirac points, the transmission profiles of the two valleys are shifted along the injection-angle axis at the same pace, resulting in the peak transmission of one valley state being reduced drastically while remaining unaffected for the other valley state, which induces nearly perfect valley polarization. This scheme can be easily implemented in experiments and plays a key role in graphene valleytronics. © 2020 IOP Publishing Ltd.BACKGROUND As age increases, the risk of developing fragility also increases. Improving the knowledge of frailty could contribute to maintaining the functional ability of elderly people. Interleukin (IL)-10 homozygous knockout mice (IL-10tm/tm [IL10KO]) constitute an excellent tool for the study of frailty. Because patients with frailty demonstrate an overexpression of CCR5, rapamycin (RAPA) and/or maraviroc (MVC), two molecules able to decrease CCR5 expression, were evaluated. RESULTS Muscle myostatin was reduced in all the therapeutic groups but the MVC group (p less then 0.001 for RAPA and MVC-RAPA) and in serum samples (p less then 0.01 for all the groups). Serum CK levels were also significantly lower in MVC and RAPA groups (p less then 0.01 in both cases). Lower AST levels were observed in all the therapeutic groups (p less then 0.05 for all of them). The apoptotic effector caspase-3 was significantly lower in MVC and RAPA groups (p less then 0.05 in both cases). Combined treatment with MVC-RAPA showed a synergistic increase in p-AKT, p-mTOR and SIRT1 levels. CONCLUSIONS MVC and RAPA show a protective role in some factors involved in frailty. More studies are needed to prove their clinical applications. MATERIAL AND METHODS Eighty male homozygous IL10KOs were randomly assigned to one of 4 groups (n= 20) i) IL10KO group (IL10KO); ii) IL10KO receiving MVC in drinking water (MVC group), iii) IL10KO receiving RAPA in drinking water (RAPA group), and finally, iv) MVC-RAPA group that received MVC and RAPA in drinking water. selleckchem Blood and muscle samples were analysed. Survival analysis, frailty index calculation, and functional assessment were also performed.We investigated the effect of poor masticatory ability on cognitive trajectories and dementia risk in older adults. 544 cognitively intact adults aged ≥50 were followed for up to 22 years. Cognitive domains (verbal, spatial/fluid, memory, and perceptual speed) were assessed at baseline and follow-ups. Dementia was ascertained according to standard criteria. Masticatory ability was assessed using the Eichner Index and categorized according to the number of posterior occlusal zones A (all four), B (3-1), and C (none).At baseline, 147 (27.0%) participants were in Eichner category A, 169 (31.1%) in B and 228 (41.9%) in C. After the age of 65, participants in Eichner category B and C showed an accelerated decline in spatial/fluid abilities (β -0.16, 95% CI -0.30 to -0.03) and (β -0.15, 95% CI -0.28 to -0.02), respectively. Over the follow-up, 52 incident dementia cases were identified. Eichner categories B or C were not associated with an increased risk of dementia, compared to category A (Hazard Ratio [HR] 0.83, 95% CI 0.39 to 1.76 and HR 0.63, 95% CI 0.30 to 1.29, respectively).Poor masticatory ability is associated with an accelerated cognitive decline in fluid/spatial abilities, however it was not related to a higher risk of dementia.BACKGROUND Recently, we demonstrated that arteriosclerosis in the smaller intrarenal arteries is associated with shorter telomere length, independently of history of cardiovascular events and calendar age. This suggests that intrarenal arteriosclerosis reflects replicative senescence, although the underlying molecular alterations remain unclear. RESULTS Shorter intrarenal telomere length associated significantly with the presence of renal arteriosclerosis (T/S ratio 0.91±0.15 vs. 1.20±0.23 with vs. without arteriosclerosis, p=0.007, test cohort; T/S ratio 0.98 ±0.26 vs. 1.03 ±0.18 with vs. without arteriosclerosis, p=0.02, validation cohort). The presence versus absence of intrarenal arteriosclerosis was associated with differential expression of 1472 transcripts. Pathway analysis revealed enrichment of molecules involved in the superpathway of cholesterol biosynthesis as the most significant. The differential expression of these genes was confirmed in the independent validation cohort. Furthermore, the specific mRNA expression of the molecules in the superpathway of cholesterol biosynthesis associated significantly with intrarenal telomere length, and with history of cardiovascular events.