Butterfly plasmon: a plasmon capable of diverse focus modulation.

In this Letter, we propose a class of plasmon that exhibits properties such as autofocusing and self-bending. In a butterfly plasmon, several new dimensions of focus modulation are introduced. By adjusting its initial phase, the position, the length, the intensity, and the bending direction of the plasmonic focus can be precisely controlled, demonstrating a high degree of tunability.

ACVR1 mediates renal tubular EMT in kidney fibrosis via AKT activation.

Tubulointerstitial fibrosis in the kidneys is a chronic and progressive process. Although studies suggested that tubular epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) plays a key role in the development of kidney fibrosis, whether ACVR1, a member of the TGFβ superfamily, is involved in the EMT needs to be illustrated. Using bioinformatics analysis of bulk-seq data (GSE23338 and GSE168876), we found that TGF-β1 perhaps activated the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway and induced the mRNA expression of ACVR1, fibronectin, and Collagen I in HK-2 cells (human renal tubular epithelial cell line).

Pearcey Talbot-like plasmon: a plasmonic bottle array generation scheme.

In this Letter, a surface wave, the Pearcey Talbot-like plasmon, which has the properties of self-imaging and multiple autofocusing, is presented as a novel, to the best of our knowledge, plasmonic bottle array generation scheme. With originality, the overall structure and the partial intensity of the plasmonic bottle array can be adjusted through the initial input, and modifying the Pearcey function enables the plasmonic bottle array to exhibit self-bending characteristics, which makes particle capture and manipulation easier and more flexible. A scheme to generate the plasmon is proposed, and we prove it by the finite-difference time-domain numerical simulations.

Resonant Tunneling-Enhanced Photoresponsivity in a Twisted Graphene van der Waals Heterostructure.

Leveraging its ultrahigh carrier mobility, zero-bandgap linear dispersion, and extremely short response time, graphene exhibits remarkable potential in ultrafast broad-band photodetection. Nonetheless, the inherently low responsivity of graphene photodetectors, due to the low photogenerated carrier density, significantly impedes the development of practical devices. In this study, we present an improved photoresponse within a graphene-hexagonal boron nitride-graphene vertical tunnel junction device, where the crystallographic orientation of the two graphene electrodes is aligned.

Strong In-Plane Optoelectronic Anisotropy and Polarization Sensitivity in Low-Symmetry 2D Violet Phosphorus.

Anisotropic optoelectronics based on low-symmetry two-dimensional (2D) materials hold immense potential for enabling multidimensional visual perception with improved miniaturization and integration capabilities, which has attracted extensive interest in optical communication, high-gain photoswitching circuits, and polarization imaging fields. However, the reported in-plane anisotropic photocurrent and polarized dichroic ratios are limited, hindering the achievement of high-performance anisotropic optoelectronics. In this study, we introduce novel low-symmetry violet phosphorus (VP) with a unique tubular cross-linked structure into this realm, and the corresponding anisotropic optical and optoelectronic properties are investigated both experimentally and theoretically for the first time.

Probing the photocurrent in two-dimensional titanium disulfide.

Generating photocurrent in a condensed matter system involves the excitation, relaxation, and transportation of charge carriers. As such, it is viewed a potent method for probing the dynamics of non-equilibrium carriers and the electronic band structure of solid state materials. In this research, we analyze the photoresponse of the mechanically exfoliated titanium disulfide (TiS), a transition metal dichalcogenide whose classification as either a semimetal or a semiconductor has been the subject of debate for years.

Probing the Inelastic Electron Tunneling via the Photocurrent in a Vertical Graphene van der Waals Heterostructure.

Inelastic electron tunneling (IET), accompanied by energy transfer between the tunneling charge carriers and other elementary excitations, is widely used to investigate the collective modes and quasiparticles in solid-state materials. In general, the inelastic contribution to the tunneling current is small compared to the elastic part and is therefore only prominent in the second derivative of the tunneling current with respect to the bias voltage. Here we demonstrate a direct observation of the IET by measuring the photoresponse in a graphene-based vertical tunnel junction device.

NF-κB Activator 1 downregulation in macrophages activates STAT3 to promote adenoma-adenocarcinoma transition and immunosuppression in colorectal cancer.

Background: Adenoma-adenocarcinoma transition is a key feature of colorectal cancer (CRC) occurrence and is closely regulated by tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) and CD8 T cells. Here, we investigated the effect of the NF-κB activator 1 (Act1) downregulation of macrophages in the adenoma-adenocarcinoma transition.

Methods: This study used spontaneous adenoma-developing Apc, macrophage-specific Act1-knockdown (anti-Act1), and Apc; anti-Act1 (AA) mice.

Tunable Photoresponse in a Two-Dimensional Superconducting Heterostructure.

The photo-induced superconducting phase transition is widely used in probing the physical properties of correlated electronic systems and to realize broadband photodetection with extremely high responsivity. However, such photoresponse is usually insensitive to electrostatic doping due to the high carrier density of the superconductor, restricting its applications in tunable optoelectronic devices. In this work, we demonstrate the gate voltage modulation to the photoresponsivity in a two-dimensional NbSe-graphene heterojunction.

Evidence of premature lymphocyte aging in people with low anti-spike antibody levels after BNT162b2 vaccination.

SARS-CoV-2 vaccines have unquestionably blunted the overall impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, but host factors such as age, sex, obesity, and other co-morbidities can affect vaccine efficacy. We identified individuals in a relatively healthy population of healthcare workers (CORALE study cohort) who had unexpectedly low peak anti-spike receptor binding domain (S-RBD) antibody levels after receiving the BNT162b2 vaccine. Compared to matched controls, "low responders" had fewer spike-specific antibody-producing B cells after the second and third/booster doses.

US Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 Epsilon Variant: Highly Transmissible but With an Adjusted Muted Host T-Cell Response.

Background: The multiple mutations comprising the epsilon variant demonstrate the independent convergent evolution of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2), with its spike protein mutation L452R present in the delta (L452R), kappa (L452R), and lambda (L452Q) variants.

Methods: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) variants were detected in 1017 patients using whole-genome sequencing and were assessed for outcome and severity. The mechanistic effects of the epsilon versus non-epsilon variants were investigated using a multiomic approach including cellular response assays and paired cell and host transcriptomic and proteomic profiling.

Viral-specific cytotoxic T-cell responses in HLA-sensitized kidney transplant patients maintained on everolimus and low-dose tacrolimus.

Background: Maintenance with "everolimus + reduced dose tacrolimus" (Ev + Tac ) was reported to reduce the risk of viral infections compared to "tacrolimus + mycophenolate mofetil" (Tac + MMF). Here we examined viremia and viral-specific T-cell (viral-Tc) responses in patients treated with Ev + Tac versus Tac + MMF in highly-human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-sensitized patients.

Methods: HLA-sensitized (HS) kidney transplant patients were monitored pre- and post-transplant for viremia (cytomegalovirus (CMV), BK, and Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)) by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) in 19 Ev + Tac and 48 Tac + MMF patients.

Assessment of humoral and cellular immune responses to SARS CoV-2 vaccination (BNT162b2) in immunocompromised renal allograft recipients.

Background: Assessing the composition of immune responses to SARS-CoV-2 vaccines is critical for our understanding of protective immunity, especially for immune compromised patients. The Pfizer (BNT162b2) vaccination showed >90% efficacy in protecting individuals from infection. However, these studies did not examine responses in immunocompromised kidney transplant patients (KT).

Divergent Immune Responses to SARS-CoV-2 Vaccines in Immunocompromised Patients.

Supplemental Digital Content is available in the text.

Ex vivo generation of regulatory T cells from liver transplant recipients using costimulation blockade.

The potential of adoptive cell therapy with regulatory T cells (Tregs) to promote transplant tolerance is under active exploration. However, the impact of specific transplant settings and protocols on Treg manufacturing is not well-delineated. Here, we compared the use of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from patients before or after liver transplantation to the use of healthy control PBMCs to determine their suitability for Treg manufacture using ex vivo costimulatory blockade with belatacept.

A Sensitive Whole Blood Assay Detects Antigen-Stimulated Cytokine Release From CD4+ T Cells and Facilitates Immunomonitoring in a Phase 2 Clinical Trial of Nexvax2 in Coeliac Disease.

Improved blood tests assessing the functional status of rare gluten-specific CD4+ T cells are needed to effectively monitor experimental therapies for coeliac disease (CD). Our aim was to develop a simple, but highly sensitive cytokine release assay (CRA) for gluten-specific CD4+ T cells that did not require patients to undergo a prior gluten challenge, and would be practical in large, multi-centre clinical trials. We developed an enhanced CRA and used it in a phase 2 clinical trial ("RESET CeD") of Nexvax2, a peptide-based immunotherapy for CD.

Tumor Tolerance-Promoting Function of Regulatory T Cells Is Optimized by CD28, but Strictly Dependent on Calcineurin.

Regulatory T cells (Treg) restrain immune responses against malignant tumors, but their global depletion in cancer patients will likely be limited by systemic autoimmune toxicity. Instead, approaches to "tune" their activities may allow for preferential targeting of tumor-reactive Treg. Although Ag recognition regulates Treg function, the roles of individual TCR-dependent signaling pathways in enabling Treg to promote tumor tolerance are not well characterized.

B Cells Drive Autoimmunity in Mice with CD28-Deficient Regulatory T Cells.

Follicular regulatory T (T) cells are a newly defined regulatory T cell (Treg) subset that suppresses follicular helper T cell-mediated B cell responses in the germinal center reaction. The precise costimulatory signal requirements for proper T cell differentiation and function are still not known. Using conditional knockout strategies of CD28, we previously demonstrated that loss of CD28 signaling in Tregs caused autoimmunity in mice (termed CD28-ΔTreg mice), characterized by lymphadenopathy, accumulation of activated T cells, and cell-mediated inflammation of the skin and lung.

Rescue of exhausted CD8 T cells by PD-1-targeted therapies is CD28-dependent.

Programmed cell death-1 (PD-1)-targeted therapies enhance T cell responses and show efficacy in multiple cancers, but the role of costimulatory molecules in this T cell rescue remains elusive. Here, we demonstrate that the CD28/B7 costimulatory pathway is essential for effective PD-1 therapy during chronic viral infection. Conditional gene deletion showed a cell-intrinsic requirement of CD28 for CD8 T cell proliferation after PD-1 blockade.