Depinning of charge density waves of different dimensionalities in 1-TiSeand NbSe.

Nonlinear transport behavior is one of the signatures of the formation of electronic crystals such as charge density wave (CDW), as it provides evidence for their collective motion. Such experimental evidence has been widely reported in quasi-one-dimensional (1D) materials but is rarely studied in 2D systems. Only a few studies on the RTematerials have been previsouly reported.

Covalently bridging graphene edges for improving mechanical and electrical properties of fibers.

Assembling graphene sheets into macroscopic fibers with graphitic layers uniaxially aligned along the fiber axis is of both fundamental and technological importance. However, the optimal performance of graphene-based fibers has been far lower than what is expected based on the properties of individual graphene. Here we show that both mechanical properties and electrical conductivity of graphene-based fibers can be significantly improved if bridges are created between graphene edges through covalent conjugating aromatic amide bonds.

A procedure for producing an anti-AXL nanobody in E. coli.

As one of the receptors of the TAM family, AXL plays a vital role in stem cell maintenance, angiogenesis, immune escape of viruses and drug resistance against tumors. In this study, the truncated extracellular segment containing two immunoglobulin-like domains of human AXL (AXL-IG), which has been confirmed to bind growth arrest specific 6 (GAS6) by structural studies [1], was expressed in a prokaryotic expression system and then purified. Immunizing camelid with the purified AXL-IG as antigen could lead to the production of unique nanobodies composed of only variable domain of heavy chain of heavy-chain antibody (VHH), which are around 15 kD and stable.

Discovery of quantum phases in the Shastry-Sutherland compound SrCu(BO) under extreme conditions of field and pressure.

The 2-dimensional layered oxide material SrCu(BO), long studied as a realization of the Shastry-Sutherland spin topology, exhibits a range of intriguing physics as a function of both hydrostatic pressure and magnetic field, with a still debated intermediate plaquette phase appearing at approximately 20 kbar and a possible deconfined critical point at higher pressure. Here, we employ a tunnel diode oscillator (TDO) technique to probe the behavior in the combined extreme conditions of high pressure, high magnetic field, and low temperature. We reveal an extensive phase space consisting of multiple magnetic analogs of the elusive supersolid phase and a magnetization plateau.

An extended conformation of SARS-CoV-2 main protease reveals allosteric targets.

SignificanceThe coronavirus main protease (M) is required for viral replication. Here, we obtained the extended conformation of the native monomer of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) M by trapping it with nanobodies and found that the catalytic domain and the helix domain dissociate, revealing allosteric targets. Another monomeric state is termed compact conformation and is similar to one protomer of the dimeric form.

Structural basis of nanobodies neutralizing SARS-CoV-2 variants.

Because of the evolutionary variants of SARS-CoV-2, development of broad-spectrum neutralizing antibodies resilient to virus escape is urgently needed. We identified a group of high-affinity nanobodies from camels immunized with receptor-binding domain (RBD) of SARS-CoV-2 spike protein and resolved the structures of two non-competing nanobodies (NB1A7 and NB1B11) in complex with RBD using X-ray crystallography. The structures show that NB1A7 targets the highly conserved cryptic epitope shared by SARS-CoV-2 variants and some other coronaviruses and blocks ACE2 receptor attachment of the spike protein, and NB1B11 epitope overlaps with the contacting surface of ACE2 and is different from the binding site of NB1A7.

Structural insights into the activation of human calcium-sensing receptor.

Human calcium-sensing receptor (CaSR) is a G-protein-coupled receptor that maintains Ca homeostasis in serum. Here, we present the cryo-electron microscopy structures of the CaSR in the inactive and agonist+PAM bound states. Complemented with previously reported structures of CaSR, we show that in addition to the full inactive and active states, there are multiple intermediate states during the activation of CaSR.

Magnetic field reveals vanishing Hall response in the normal state of stripe-ordered cuprates.

The origin of the weak insulating behavior of the resistivity, i.e. [Formula: see text], revealed when magnetic fields (H) suppress superconductivity in underdoped cuprates has been a longtime mystery.

Development of a nanobody-based immunoassay for the sensitive detection of fibrinogen-like protein 1.

Immune checkpoint inhibition is an important strategy in cancer therapy. Blockade of CTLA-4 and PD-1/PD-L1 is well developed in clinical practice. In the last few years, LAG-3 has received much interest as an emerging novel target in immunotherapy.

Pair density wave at high magnetic fields in cuprates with charge and spin orders.

In underdoped cuprates, the interplay of the pseudogap, superconductivity, and charge and spin ordering can give rise to exotic quantum states, including the pair density wave (PDW), in which the superconducting (SC) order parameter is oscillatory in space. However, the evidence for a PDW state remains inconclusive and its broader relevance to cuprate physics is an open question. To test the interlayer frustration, the crucial component of the PDW picture, we perform transport measurements on charge- and spin-stripe-ordered LaEuSrCuO and LaNdSrCuO in perpendicular magnetic fields (H), and also with an additional field applied parallel to CuO layers (H).

Vortex phase diagram and the normal state of cuprates with charge and spin orders.

The phase diagram of underdoped cuprates in a magnetic field () is key to understanding the anomalous normal state of these high-temperature superconductors. However, the upper critical field ( ), the extent of superconducting (SC) phase with vortices, and the role of charge orders at high H remain controversial. Here we study stripe-ordered La-214, i.

Emergent bound states and impurity pairs in chemically doped Shastry-Sutherland system.

Impurities often play a defining role in the ground states of frustrated quantum magnets. Studies of their effects are crucial in understanding of the phase diagram in these materials. SrCu(BO), an experimental realization of the Shastry-Sutherland (SS) lattice, provides a unique model system for such studies using both experimental and numerical approaches.

Charge density waves in individual nanoribbons of orthorhombic-TaS₃.

Orthorhombic-TaS3 is a quasi-1D material that undergoes a Peierls' transition to become a charge density wave conductor at low temperatures. Electrical transport measurements of individual single-crystalline TaS3 nanoribbons prepared by a novel bottom-up method from elemental precursors indicate a depression of the Peierls' ordering temperature to 205 K, broadening of the electric-field-induced depinning of the charge density wave below the Peierls' transition temperature, and a greatly increased threshold voltage for nucleation of charge density wave dislocations posited to be a result of surface confinement and finite size effects. Single-nanoribbon measurements of broad-band noise indicate discrete phase slip events near the depinning threshold.