All-Water Etching-Free Electron Beam Lithography for On-Chip Nanomaterials.

Electron beam lithography uses an accelerated electron beam to fabricate patterning on an electron-beam-sensitive resist but requires complex dry etching or lift-off processes to transfer the pattern to the substrate or film on the substrate. In this study, etching-free electron beam lithography is developed to directly write a pattern of various materials in all-water processes, achieving the desired semiconductor nanopatterns on a silicon wafer. Introduced sugars are copolymerized with metal ions-coordinated polyethylenimine under the action of electron beams.

Characterization of microbiome and metabolite analyses in patients with metabolic associated fatty liver disease and type II diabetes mellitus.

Background: State-of-the-art renewal has indicated the improvement of diagnostics of patients with metabolic associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD) and/or type II diabetes mellitus (T2DM) by dissecting the clinical characteristics as well as genomic analysis. However, the deficiency of the characterization of microbial and metabolite signatures largely impedes the symptomatic treatment.

Methods: For the purpose, we retrospectively analyzed the clinical data of 20 patients with MAFLD (short for "M"), 20 cases with MAFLD and T2DM (short for "MD"), together with 19 healthy donors (short for "Ctr").

Sub-Nanometer Thick Wafer-Size NiO Films with Room-Temperature Ferromagnetic Behavior.

Adding ferromagnetism into semiconductors attracts much attentions due to its potential usage of magnetic spins in novel devices, such as spin field-effect transistors. However, it remains challenging to stabilize their ferromagnetism above room temperature. Here we introduce an atomic chemical-solution strategy to grow wafer-size NiO thin films with controllable thickness down to sub-nanometer scale (0.

Room-temperature processed high-quality SnO films by oxygen plasma activated e-beam evaporation.

Recently, SnO is considered to be one of the most promising materials as electron transport layer in perovskite solar cells (PSCs). Low-temperature processed SnO films are crucial for SnO-based PSCs and flexible devices. However, it is difficult to prepare stoichiometric SnO films by e-beam evaporation at low-temperature.

Fully stoichiometric CuBaSn(S Se ) solar cells via chemical solution deposition.

CuBaSn(S Se ) has shown great prospects in the photoelectric field due to Earth-abundance, low toxicity, cost efficiency, direct bandgap, high absorption coefficient (>10 cm) and reduced anti-site disorder relative to CuZnSn(S Se ). A fully-tunable ratio of S/Se is the key to broaden the bandgap of CuBaSn(S Se ). Here, we introduce a thionothiolic acid metathesis process to readily tune the stoichiometry of CuBaSn(S Se ) films for the first time.

An aqueous solution method towards SbS thin films for photoanodes.

An aqueous solution approach, integrating atomic layer deposition and chemical vapor deposition, is proposed to grow a high-quality Sb2S3 thin film. The Sb2S3 thin film is uniform and dense with a bandgap of 1.78 eV.

Large-Grained CuBaSnS Films for Photocathodes.

p-Type compounds CuBaSnS (CBTS) are extremely attractive materials for photocathode applications because of their suitable conduction and valence bands, earth-abundant sources, and environmental friendly nature. Herein, an inexpensive and reproducible aqueous solution approach has been developed to synthesize CBTS films with single-crystalline grains as large as micron scale. Because of the large crystalline grains, the as-grown CBTS films show excellent carrier mobility (1.

Correlation of PD-1/PD-L1 polymorphisms and expressions with clinicopathologic features and prognosis of ovarian cancer.

Objective: To explore the correlation of PD-1/PD-L1 polymorphisms and their expressions with clinicopathologic features and prognosis of ovarian cancer.

Methods: A total of 164 patients with ovarian cancer were enrolled as case group and 170 healthy women as control group. We conducted quantitative reverse transcription-PCR (qRT-PCR) to determine PD-1/PD-L1 expressions in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs).

Hierarchically interconnected nitrogen-doped carbon nanosheets for an efficient hydrogen evolution reaction.

Exploring low-cost and efficient electrocatalysts based on earth-abundant elements for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) is of great importance for the development of clean and renewable energy. In this work, we report a facile self-foaming strategy for synthesis of hierarchically interconnected nitrogen-doped carbon nanosheets (NCNS). The doping N species within the 3D interconnected carbon network affords rich active sites for the HER and facilitates fast charge transfer.

Ultra-smooth glassy graphene thin films for flexible transparent circuits.

Large-area graphene thin films are prized in flexible and transparent devices. We report on a type of glassy graphene that is in an intermediate state between glassy carbon and graphene and that has high crystallinity but curly lattice planes. A polymer-assisted approach is introduced to grow an ultra-smooth (roughness, <0.

Organic Small Molecule as the Underlayer Toward High Performance Planar Perovskite Solar Cells.

The underlayer plays an important role for organic-inorganic hybrid perovskite formation and charge transport in perovskite solar cells (PSCs). Here, we employ a classical organic small molecule, 5,6,11,12-tetraphenyltetracene (rubrene), as the underlayer of perovskite films to achieve 15.83% of power conversion efficiency with remarkable moisture tolerance exposed to the atmosphere.

High-Performance Hydrogen Evolution Electrocatalyst Derived from NiC Nanoparticles Embedded in a Porous Carbon Network.

In this letter, we report a facile self-foaming strategy to synthesize NiC nanoparticles embedded in a porous carbon network (NiC@PCN) by rationally incorporating a nickel salt precursor into the carbon source. As a novel hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) catalyst, the NiC@PCN shows superior catalytic activity with an onset potential of -65 mV, an overpotential of 262 mV to achieve 50 mA cm current density, a Tafel slope of 63.4 mV/dec, and durability over 12 h in acidic media.

Tuning Bandgap of p-Type CuZn(Sn, Ge)(S, Se) Semiconductor Thin Films via Aqueous Polymer-Assisted Deposition.

Bandgap engineering of kesterite CuZn(Sn, Ge)(S, Se) with well-controlled stoichiometric composition plays a critical role in sustainable inorganic photovoltaics. Herein, a cost-effective and reproducible aqueous solution-based polymer-assisted deposition approach is developed to grow p-type CuZn(Sn, Ge)(S, Se) thin films with tunable bandgap. The bandgap of CuZn(Sn, Ge)(S, Se) thin films can be tuned within the range 1.

Self-Cleaning Glass of Photocatalytic Anatase TiO@Carbon Nanotubes Thin Film by Polymer-Assisted Approach.

Due to the good photocatalytic activity, the TiO@CNTs thin film is highly desirable to apply to the self-cleaning glass for green intelligent building. Here, the TiO@CNTs thin film has been successfully achieved by polymer-assisted approach of an aqueous chemical solution method. The polymer, polyethylenimine, aims to combine the Ti with CNTs for film formation of TiO@CNTs.

Enhancement of Low-field Magnetoresistance in Self-Assembled Epitaxial La0.67Ca0.33MnO3:NiO and La0.67Ca0.33MnO3:Co3O4 Composite Films via Polymer-Assisted Deposition.

Polymer-assisted deposition method has been used to fabricate self-assembled epitaxial La0.67Ca0.33MnO3:NiO and La0.

Nitrogen-Doped Carbon Dots for "green" Quantum Dot Solar Cells.

Considering the environment protection, "green" materials are increasingly explored for photovoltaics. Here, we developed a kind of quantum dots solar cell based on nitrogen-doped carbon dots. The nitrogen-doped carbon dots were prepared by direct pyrolysis of citric acid and ammonia.

Aqueous Solution-Deposited Molybdenum Oxide Films as an Anode Interfacial Layer for Organic Solar Cells.

Unlabelled: In this study, we report the growth of molybdenum oxide (MoOx) film by polymer-assisted deposition (PAD), an environmentally friendly strategy in an aqueous system. The MoOx film has good crystal quality and is dense and smooth. The transparency of the film is >95% in the wavelength range of 300-900 nm.

Transparent p-type epitaxial thin films of nickel oxide.

Transparent p-type nickel oxide (NiO) thin films have been epitaxially grown on (0001) Al2O3 substrates by a chemical solution method of polymer-assisted deposition for the first time. The films have a high optical transparency of above 95% in the wavelength range of 350-900 nm.

Low temperature route synthesis of SiC-Al2O3 hetero-structural nanofibers.

SiC-Al2O3 hetero-structural nanofibers have been synthesized by the chemical solution approach at 200 ° C. The diameters of nanofibers are in the range of 60-100 nm while the lengths are from tens of micrometers to hundreds of micrometers. The microstructural analysis shows that the fibers possess a like-epitaxial relationship between (104) of hexagonal Al2O3 and (111) of cubic SiC.

Enhanced mechanical strength and electrical conductivity of carbon-nanotube/TiC hybrid fibers.

We report the synthesis of carbon nanotube/TiC hybrid fibers using a polymer-assisted chemical solution approach. Ti metal ions are bound to aqueous polyethyleneimine (PEI) to form precursor solution. Amphiphilic PEI with Ti easily permeates the CNT fibers.

[Evaluation of the clinical value of simultaneous hysterectomy and bilateral salpingectomy in perimenopausal women].

Objective: To investigate the effects on pelvic pseudocyst, ovarian function and symptoms of peri-menopausal period in patients with benign uterine disease undergoing simultaneous hysterectomy and bilateral salpingectomy.

Methods: From Jan. 2000 to Dec.