Mitigating Dark Current in Photomultiplication Organic Photodetectors via the Charge Trap Gradient Bulk Heterojunction.

Photomultiplication-type organic photodetectors (PM-OPDs) with dispersed electron or hole traps in a bulk heterojunction (BHJ) have external quantum efficiency far exceeding unity. However, it typically requires a very low donor-to-acceptor ratio, as excess donor or acceptor molecules in the BHJ lead to a high dark current by forming dense charge trap pathways, resulting in hopping conduction. The BHJ layer with a low donor-to-acceptor ratio often associates with a high operating voltage, limiting the use of the PM-OPDs.

Highly Efficient Platinum-Free Photocatalytic Hydrogen Evolution From Low-cost Conjugated Polymer Nanoparticles.

While the interest in hydrogen photocatalysis from organic semiconductors is rapidly growing, there is a necessity to achieve hydrogen production without platinum (Pt), considering its price, availability and toxicity. In this work, this is demonstrated that high hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) efficiencies can be achieved without the use of Pt. A series of low-cost conjugated polymers are designed around the dibenzothiophene-S,S-sulfoxide (BTSO) unit, and self-assembled as nanoparticles in water via the nanoprecipitation technique.

Wearable PEDOT:PSS/DVS-Coated Yarn-Type Transpiration-Driven Electrokinetic Power Generator with High Power Efficiency and Water Stability.

Hydrovoltaic nanogenerators, which harness small quantities of water to generate power, are gaining considerable attention for applications in next-generation wearable electronics. Conventional hydrovoltaic nanogenerators are constrained by their limited power density and suboptimal long-term stability. Therefore, a transpiration-driven electrokinetic power generator (TEPG) based on silk yarn coated with poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrene sulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS)/divinyl sulfone (DVS) and designed as a wearable hydrovoltaic nanogenerator offering outstanding power generation efficiency and water stability is presented in this study.

Conjugated D-A Polymers to Integrate the Through-Bond and Through-Space Charge Transfers to Boost the One-For-All Phototheranostics.

To achieve the efficient cancer therapy, one-for-all phototheranostics are highly important, but their engineering of agents is still challenging. Particularly, the balancing of emission and reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation is urgently needed in NIR-II region. To address this issue, a conjugated D-A polymer of PY2V-BDTF is designed to combine the through-bond/through-space charge transfer (TBCT/TSCT) features in a single molecule by connecting D and A units with the rotatable vinyl linkers.

Assessing Structural and Optical Properties of PTQ10-Based Donor Polymers in Solution for Eco-Friendly Photovoltaics: A Multiscale Modeling Study.

Aqueous-processable materials are desired to produce and commercialize eco-friendly organic solar cells. Despite the achievement of developing aqueous soluble electron donor and acceptor polymers by incorporating polar side chains (SCs), the efficiency of the greenest devices is lower than that of state-of-the-art technology processed on halogenated solvents. To investigate the impact of different substituents on structural and optical properties in solution, we considered the backbone of the PTQ10 polymer with alkyl and alkoxy SCs.

Vinyl-Functionalized Linear Alkyl Chains in Nonfullerene Acceptors Enable 19.2% Efficiency and Stable As-Cast Organic Solar Cells.

Developing efficient and stable as-cast organic solar cells (OSCs) is imperative for alleviating costs and complexity for large-scale commercial applications. Nevertheless, achieving the desired double-fibril morphology of active layer through single-step processing is challenging. Herein, two nonfullerene acceptors, namely BTP-N6 and BTP-V6, are designed and synthesized to construct as-cast OSCs by introducing linear alkyl chains adjacent to the pyrrole moiety.

Siloxane Decorated Water-Obstructing Guest for Efficient Air-Processed OSCs.

The future applications of organic solar cells (OSCs) necessitate a thorough consideration of their ambient stability and processability, particularly for large area air-processed engineering, but water-induced degradation of active layer critically restricts its development. To surmount this hurdle, a water-obstructing guest (WOG) strategy is proposed to attenuate the interaction of the active layer with water molecules, reduce defects in blend films, and enhance the devices stability under high relative humidity (RH) conditions by introducing a siloxane-containing polymer D18-SiO. In addition to suppressing trap density, the WOG with hydrophobic and low surface free energy characteristics, forms a capping layer that blocks moisture penetration while preserving ideal nano-micromorphology with high crystallinity and tight packing properties.

Neoadjuvant anti-4-1BB confers protection against spontaneous metastasis through low-affinity intratumor CD8 T cells in triple-negative breast cancer.

Neoadjuvant immunotherapy seeks to harness the primary tumor as a source of relevant tumor antigens to enhance systemic anti-tumor immunity through improved immunological surveillance. Despite having revolutionized the treatment of patients with high-risk early-stage triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), a significant portion of patients remain unresponsive and succumb to metastatic recurrence post-treatment. Here, we found that optimally scheduled neoadjuvant administration of anti-4-1BB monotherapy was able to counteract metastases and prolong survival following surgical resection.

Effects of Alkyl Spacer Length in Carbazole-Based Self-Assembled Monolayer Materials on Molecular Conformation and Organic Solar Cell Performance.

Carbazole-based self-assembled monolayer (SAM) materials as hole transport layers (HTL) have led organic solar cells (OSCs) to state-of-the-art photovoltaic performance. Nonetheless, the impact of the alkyl spacer length of SAMs remains inadequately understood. To improve the knowledge, four dichloride-substituted carbazole-based SAMs (from 2Cl-2PACz to 2Cl-5PACz) with spacer lengths of 2-5 carbon atoms is developed.

Facilitating effects of plant extracts on soil health and replanted Panax ginseng growth in recession soil.

Background: Plant extracts have been shown to be effective agricultural strategies for improving soil fertility and quality, and promoting plant growth in soil degradation remediation. The application of plant extracts improves the material cycle of soil microecology, such as the decomposition of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium, while increasing plant resistance. However, there is currently no experiment to demonstrate whether plant extracts have a promoting effect on the growth of ginseng and the mechanism of action.

Aberrant cytoplasmic expression of UHRF1 restrains the MHC-I-mediated anti-tumor immune response.

Immunotherapy successfully complements traditional cancer treatment. However, primary and acquired resistance might limit efficacy. Reduced antigen presentation by MHC-I has been identified as potential resistance factor.

Unveiling the Influence of Linkers on Conformations of Oligomeric Acceptors for High-Performance Polymer Solar Cells.

Conformational isomerism of organic photovoltaic materials has a profound impact on their molecular packing and therefore performance of polymer solar cells (PSCs). However, the conformations of oligomeric acceptors (OAs) are mostly predicted by simulations rather than experimental determinations. Herein, the stereochemical S-shaped structure of two dimeric-type acceptor molecules, V-DYIC and V-DYIC-4F, is first confirmed with different end groups (IC for V-DYIC and IC-2F for V-DYIC-4F), incorporating vinylene linkage for connecting the distinct state-of-the-art small molecule acceptor Y-segments.

Facilitating Effects of Reductive Soil Disinfestation on Soil Health and Physiological Properties of Panax ginseng.

Chemical soil fumigation (CSF) and reductive soil disinfestation (RSD) have been proven to be effective agricultural strategies to improve soil quality, restructure microbial communities, and promote plant growth in soil degradation remediation. However, it is still unclear how RSD and CSF ensure soil and plant health by altering fungal communities. Field experiments were conducted to investigate the effects of CSF with chloropicrin, and RSD with animal feces on soil properties, fungal communities and functional composition, and plant physiological characteristics were evaluated.

Aqueous Processed All-Polymer Solar Cells with High Open-Circuit Voltage Based on Low-Cost Thiophene-Quinoxaline Polymers.

Eco-friendly solution processing and the low-cost synthesis of photoactive materials are important requirements for the commercialization of organic solar cells (OSCs). Although varieties of aqueous-soluble acceptors have been developed, the availability of aqueous-processable polymer donors remains quite limited. In particular, the generally shallow highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) energy levels of existing polymer donors limit further increases in the power conversion efficiency (PCE).

Chromatin Remodeling in Patient-Derived Colorectal Cancer Models.

Patient-Derived Organoids (PDO) and Xenografts (PDX) are the current gold standards for patient-derived models of cancer (PDMC). Nevertheless, how patient tumor cells evolve in these models and the impact on drug response remains unclear. Herein, the transcriptomic and chromatin accessibility landscapes of matched colorectal cancer (CRC) PDO, PDX, PDO-derived PDX (PDOX), and original patient tumors (PT) are compared.

Effects of reductive soil disinfestation combined with different types of organic materials on the microbial community and functions.

Reductive soil disinfestation (RSD) is an effective method to inhibit soilborne pathogens. However, it remains unclear how RSD combined with different types of organic materials affects the soil ecosystems of perennial plants. Pot experiments were conducted to investigate the effects of RSD incorporated with perilla (PF), alfalfa (MS), ethanol, and acetic acid on soil properties, enzyme activities, microbial communities and functions, and seedling growth.

Breaking NGF-TrkA immunosuppression in melanoma sensitizes immunotherapy for durable memory T cell protection.

Melanoma cells, deriving from neuroectodermal melanocytes, may exploit the nervous system's immune privilege for growth. Here we show that nerve growth factor (NGF) has both melanoma cell intrinsic and extrinsic immunosuppressive functions. Autocrine NGF engages tropomyosin receptor kinase A (TrkA) on melanoma cells to desensitize interferon γ signaling, leading to T and natural killer cell exclusion.

Branched-Chain Amino Acid Accumulation Fuels the Senescence-Associated Secretory Phenotype.

The essential branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs) leucine, isoleucine, and valine play critical roles in protein synthesis and energy metabolism. Despite their widespread use as nutritional supplements, BCAAs' full effects on mammalian physiology remain uncertain due to the complexities of BCAA metabolic regulation. Here a novel mechanism linking intrinsic alterations in BCAA metabolism is identified to cellular senescence and the senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP), both of which contribute to organismal aging and inflammation-related diseases.

On the Conformation of Dimeric Acceptors and Their Polymer Solar Cells with Efficiency over 18 .

The determination of molecular conformations of oligomeric acceptors (OAs) and their impact on molecular packing are crucial for understanding the photovoltaic performance of their resulting polymer solar cells (PSCs) but have not been well studied yet. Herein, we synthesized two dimeric acceptor materials, DIBP3F-Se and DIBP3F-S, which bridged two segments of Y6-derivatives by selenophene and thiophene, respectively. Theoretical simulation and experimental 1D and 2D NMR spectroscopic studies prove that both dimers exhibit O-shaped conformations other than S- or U-shaped counter-ones.

Embedding plasmonic gold nanoparticles in a ZnO layer enhanced the performance of inverted organic solar cells based on an indacenodithieno[3,2-]thiophene--5,5'-di(thiophen-2-yl)-2,2'-bithiazole-based push-pull polymer.

Recently, plasmonic nanoparticles (NPs) have attracted considerable attention as good candidates for enhancing the power conversion efficiency (PCE) of organic solar cells (OSCs) owing to their localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR). In this study, the effect of embedding colloidal gold nanoparticles (cAu NPs) in the ZnO electron transport layer (ETL) on the PCEs of wide band gap polymer-based inverted OSCs was investigated. The active layer was composed of a bulk heterojunction of conjugated polymer based on indacenodithieno[3,2-]thiophene and 5,5'-di(thiophen-2-yl)-2,2'-bithiazole PIDTT-DTBTz as a donor and [6,6]-phenyl-C71-butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM) as an acceptor.

Effect of ginsenosides on microbial community and enzyme activity in continuous cropping soil of ginseng.

Root exudates contain plant metabolites secreted by the roots into the soil, such as ginsenosides secreted by the ginseng root. However, little is known about ginseng root exudate and its impact on the chemical and microbial properties of soil. In this study, the effect of increasing concentrations of ginsenosides on the chemical and microbial properties of soil was tested.

Antagonizing the irreversible thrombomodulin-initiated proteolytic signaling alleviates age-related liver fibrosis via senescent cell killing.

Cellular senescence is a stress-induced, stable cell cycle arrest phenotype which generates a pro-inflammatory microenvironment, leading to chronic inflammation and age-associated diseases. Determining the fundamental molecular pathways driving senescence instead of apoptosis could enable the identification of senolytic agents to restore tissue homeostasis. Here, we identify thrombomodulin (THBD) signaling as a key molecular determinant of the senescent cell fate.