Designing barrier-free metal/MoS contacts through electrene insertion.

Transition-metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs), including MoS, have great potential in electronics applications. However, achieving low-resistance metal contacts is a challenge that impacts their performance in nanodevices due to strong Fermi-level pinning and the presence of a tunnelling barrier. As a solution, we explore a strategy of inserting monolayers of alkaline-earth sub-pnictide electrenes with a general formula of [MX]e (M = Ca, Sr, Ba; X = N, P, As, Sb) between the TMDC and the metal.

Long-term mortality in treated-to-target RA and UA: results of the BeSt and IMPROVED cohort.

Objectives: To study long-term (up to 20-year) mortality of two treat-to-target trial cohorts in undifferentiated arthritis (UA) and early rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

Methods: The BeSt (BehandelStrategieën) study (n=508, early RA) was performed between 2000 and 2012. For 10 years, patients were treated-to-target disease activity score (DAS)≤2.

Periodic trends in the structural, electronic, and transport properties of electrenes.

Two-dimensional layered electrides are a class of atomically thin materials in which the anion is an excess electron rather than a negatively charged ion. These excess electrons form delocalized sheets of charge surrounding each layer of the material. A well-known example is CaN; its identification and characterization has triggered an avalanche of studies aimed at broadening applications of electrides.

In Vitro Simulated Neuronal Environmental Conditions Qualify Umbilical Cord Derived Highly Potent Stem Cells for Neuronal Differentiation.

The healing of neuronal injuries is still an unachieved goal. Medicine-based therapies can only extend the survival of patients, but not finally lead to a healing process. Currently, a variety of stem cell-based tissue engineering developments are the subject of many research projects to bridge this gap.

Nanometer-Thick Oxide Semiconductor Transistor with Ultra-High Drain Current.

High drive current is a critical performance parameter in semiconductor devices for high-speed, low-power logic applications or high-efficiency, high-power, high-speed radio frequency (RF) analogue applications. In this work, we demonstrate an InO transistor grown by atomic layer deposition (ALD) at back-end-of-line (BEOL) compatible temperatures with a record high drain current in planar FET, exceeding 10 A/mm, the performance of which is 2-3 times better than all known transistors with semiconductor channels. A high transconductance reaches 4 S/mm, recorded among all transistors with a planar structure.

The Treasury of Wharton's Jelly.

Background: Postnatal umbilical cord tissue contains valuable mesenchymal progenitor cells of various differentiation stages. While mesenchymal stem cells are plastic-adherent and tend to differentiate into myofibroblastic phenotypes, some round cells detach, float above the adherent cells, and build up cell aggregates, or form spheroids spontaneously. Very small luminescent cells are always involved as single cells or within collective forms and resemble the common well-known very small embryonic-like cells (VSELs).

Mechanotransductive Differentiation of Hair Follicle Stem Cells Derived from Aged Eyelid Skin into Corneal Endothelial-Like Cells.

Corneal endothelial insufficiency is one of the leading causes of blindness. The main contemporary treatment for corneal blindness is endothelial keratoplasty, which, however, is unsatisfactory as a medical therapy due to the lack of donor corneas and graft rejection. Therefore, autologous stem cell-based corneal endothelial tissue substitutes may be a promising alternative to conventional grafts in the future.

Tapering of disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs: an overview for daily practice.

In this Review, we discuss the possibility of drug tapering in patients with rheumatoid arthritis in remission or low disease activity, for glucocorticoids and disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs. We review international guidelines and recommendations, as well as remaining uncertainties, and provide an overview of the current literature. Three strategies of tapering are discussed: (1) tapering by discontinuation of one of the drugs in combination therapy regimens, (2) tapering by reducing the dose of one of the drugs in combination therapy regimens, and (3) tapering by dose reduction of monotherapy with disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs.

Glucocorticoid discontinuation in patients with early rheumatoid and undifferentiated arthritis: a post-hoc analysis of the BeSt and IMPROVED studies.

Objectives: To evaluate the success rate of glucocorticoid discontinuation and to study which factors are associated with successful discontinuation.

Methods: Data from two treat-to-target studies, BeSt (target Disease Activity Score (DAS) ≤2.4) and IMPROVED (target DAS <1.

Phenotype and treatment of elderly onset compared with younger onset rheumatoid arthritis patients in international daily practice.

Objective: To identify possible differences in baseline characteristics, initial treatment and treatment response between RA patient subgroups based on age at disease onset.

Methods: Daily practice data from the worldwide METEOR registry were used. Patients (7912) were stratified into three age-groups (age at disease diagnosis <45 years, 45-65 years, >65 years).

A case report of severe tuberous sclerosis complex detected in utero and linked to a novel duplication in the TSC2 gene.

Background: Disease severity is tremendously variable in tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC). In contrast with the detailed guidelines available for TSC diagnosis and management, clinical practice lacks adequate tools to evaluate the prognosis, especially in the case of in utero diagnosis. In addition, the correlation between genotypes and phenotypes remains a challenge, in part due to the large number of mutations linked to TSC.

From Cord to Eye: Wharton Jelly-Derived Stem Cells Differentiate Into Corneal Endothelial-Like Cells.

Purpose: A malfunction of the corneal endothelium leading to corneal opacity is one of the main causes of impaired vision. Currently, keratoplasty is the one and only donor cornea-dependent treatment, and this calls for alternatives because of the worldwide lack of donor corneas. Recently, the topography of Descemet membrane (DM) has been discovered as a feasible stem cell differentiation tool.

sv-callers: a highly portable parallel workflow for structural variant detection in whole-genome sequence data.

Structural variants (SVs) are an important class of genetic variation implicated in a wide array of genetic diseases including cancer. Despite the advances in whole genome sequencing, comprehensive and accurate detection of SVs in short-read data still poses some practical and computational challenges. We present , a highly portable workflow that enables parallel execution of multiple SV detection tools, as well as provide users with example analyses of detected SV callsets in a Jupyter Notebook.

A highly‑enriched Pu reference material for nuclear safeguards and nuclear forensics measurements.

A highly-enriched Pu isotope dilution reference material has been prepared and characterized for metrologically traceable measurements of very small quantities of plutonium. The amount of plutonium in samples associated with nuclear safeguards and nuclear forensic measurements can be significantly less than 1 ng. Accordingly, the ability to quantify the amount and isotopic composition of plutonium from a single mass-spectrometric analysis is particularly desirable.

Descemet's Membrane Biomimetic Microtopography Differentiates Human Mesenchymal Stem Cells Into Corneal Endothelial-Like Cells.

Purpose: Loss of corneal endothelial cells (CECs) bears disastrous consequences for the patient, including corneal clouding and blindness. Corneal transplantation is currently the only therapy for severe corneal disorders. However, the worldwide shortages of corneal donor material generate a strong demand for personalized stem cell-based alternative therapies.

Closing the Yield Gap of Sugar Beet in the Netherlands-A Joint Effort.

The reform of the European Union's sugar regime caused potential decreasing beet prices. Therefore, the Speeding Up Sugar Yield (SUSY) project was initiated. At the start, a 3 × 15 target was formulated: in 2015 the national average sugar yield in the Netherlands equals 15 t/ha (60% of the sugar beet potential) and the total variable costs 15 euro/t sugar beet, aspiring a saving on total variable costs and a strong increase in sugar yield.

Interstitial Mo-Assisted Photovoltaic Effect in Multilayer MoSe Phototransistors.

Thin-film transistors (TFTs) based on multilayer molybdenum diselenide (MoSe ) synthesized by modified atmospheric pressure chemical vapor deposition (APCVD) exhibit outstanding photoresponsivity (103.1 A W ), while it is generally believed that optical response of multilayer transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) is significantly limited due to their indirect bandgap and inefficient photoexcitation process. Here, the fundamental origin of such a high photoresponsivity in the synthesized multilayer MoSe TFTs is sought.

Large Enhancement of Thermal Conductivity and Lorenz Number in Topological Insulator Thin Films.

Topological insulators (TI) have attracted extensive research effort due to their insulating bulk states but conducting surface states. However, investigation and understanding of thermal transport in topological insulators, particularly the effect of surface states, are lacking. In this work, we studied thickness-dependent in-plane thermal and electrical conductivity of BiTeSe TI thin films.

Proton-induced production and radiochemical isolation of Ti from scandium metal targets for Ti/Sc generator development.

Scandium-44g (half-life 3.97h) shows promise for application in positron emission tomography (PET), due to favorable decay parameters. One of the sources of Sc is the Ti/Sc generator, which can conveniently provide this radioisotope on a daily basis at a diagnostic facility.

Bulk production and evaluation of high specific activity Re for cancer therapy using enriched WO targets in a proton beam.

Introduction: Rhenium-186g (t = 3.72 d) is a β emitting isotope suitable for theranostic applications. Current production methods rely on reactor production by way of the reaction Re(n,γ)Re, which results in low specific activities limiting its use for cancer therapy.

Auxetic Black Phosphorus: A 2D Material with Negative Poisson's Ratio.

The Poisson's ratio of a material characterizes its response to uniaxial strain. Materials normally possess a positive Poisson's ratio - they contract laterally when stretched, and expand laterally when compressed. A negative Poisson's ratio is theoretically permissible but has not, with few exceptions of man-made bulk structures, been experimentally observed in any natural materials.

Comparing the 2,2'-Biphenylenedithiophosphinate Binding of Americium with Neodymium and Europium.

Advancing our understanding of the minor actinides (Am, Cm) versus lanthanides is key for developing advanced nuclear-fuel cycles. Herein, we describe the preparation of (NBu4 )Am[S2 P((t) Bu2 C12 H6 )]4 and two isomorphous lanthanide complexes, namely one with a similar ionic radius (i.e.

Deficiency of the TLR4 analogue RP105 aggravates vein graft disease by inducing a pro-inflammatory response.

Venous grafts are often used to bypass occlusive atherosclerotic lesions; however, poor patency leads to vein graft disease. Deficiency of TLR4, an inflammatory regulator, reduces vein graft disease. Here, we investigate the effects of the accessory molecule and TLR4 analogue RadioProtective 105 (RP105) on vein graft disease.