Schizophrenia-associated somatic copy-number variants from 12,834 cases reveal recurrent NRXN1 and ABCB11 disruptions

While germline copy-number variants (CNVs) contribute to schizophrenia (SCZ) risk, the contribution of somatic CNVs (sCNVs)—present in some but not all cells—remains unknown. We identified sCNVs using blood-derived genotype arrays from 12,834 SCZ cases and 11,648 controls, filtering sCNVs at loci recurrently mutated in clonal blood disorders. Likely early-developmental sCNVs were more common in cases (0.91%) than controls (0.51%, p = 2.68e−4), with recurrent somatic deletions of exons 1–5 of the NRXN1 gene in five SCZ cases. Hi-C maps revealed ectopic, allele-specific loops forming between a potential cryptic promoter and non-coding cis-regulatory elements upon 5′ deletions in NRXN1. We also observed recurrent intragenic deletions of ABCB11, encoding a transporter implicated in anti-psychotic response, in five treatment-resistant SCZ cases and showed that ABCB11 is specifically enriched in neurons forming mesocortical and mesolimbic dopaminergic projections. Our results indicate potential roles of sCNVs in SCZ risk

Pyrolyzed cellulose/rGO aerogel composites via I2 treatment and silane surface functionalization with highly improved through-plane thermal conductivity and EMI shielding effectiveness

Owing to the significant advancements in technology over the past few years, the importance of treating heat generated by electronic products is increasing. In addition, the importance of preventing electromagnetic interference (EMI) is increasing. In this work, we fabricated pyrolyzed cellulose (PC)/reduced graphene oxide (rGO) aerogel composites with thermally and electrically conductive properties. Cellulose and graphene oxide (GO) were subjected to iodine treatment before pyrolysis to maintain their morphology during pyrolysis. After that, iodine ions are adsorbed onto the surface of the composite. During pyrolysis, iodine ions preferentially generate HI to suppress the decomposition of carbon. After thermal reduction, the electrical conductivity of the composite was significantly improved. In addition, by attaching 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane (APTES) to the surface of GO (APTES-GO), the dispersibility of GO to the cellulose matrix was improved. The thermal and electrical conductivity increased as the APTES-GO formed a path more easily on the matrix. So, PC nanofibers and rGO sheets form a double three-dimensional (3D) network structure that is thermally and electrically conductive. The fabricated composite shows high electrical conductivity of 85.3 S/cm, at a 50-wt percentage of APTES-GO, the composite exhibits an EMI shielding effectiveness (SE) of 72 dB and a through-plane thermal conductivity of 4.74 W/m·K

Thermal Properties of Surface-Modified and Cross-Linked Boron Nitride/Polyethylene Glycol Composite as Phase Change Material

A thermally conductive phase change material (PCM) was fabricated using polyethylene glycol (PEG) and boron nitride (BN). However, the interfacial adhesion between the BN and the PEG was poor, hindering efficient heat conduction. Grafting polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) onto the surface of BN and cross-linking due to hydrogen bonding between the hydroxyl groups in PVA and oxygen atoms in PEG improved the wettability of fillers. By employing this strategy, we achieved a thermal conductivity value of 0.89 W/mK, a 286% improvement compared to the thermal conductivity of the pristine PEG (0.23 W/mK). Although the latent heat of composites decreased due to the mobility of the polymer chain, the value was still reasonable for PCM applications

Thermal Properties of Surface-Modified and Cross-Linked Boron Nitride/Polyethylene Glycol Composite as Phase Change Material

A thermally conductive phase change material (PCM) was fabricated using polyethylene glycol (PEG) and boron nitride (BN). However, the interfacial adhesion between the BN and the PEG was poor, hindering efficient heat conduction. Grafting polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) onto the surface of BN and cross-linking due to hydrogen bonding between the hydroxyl groups in PVA and oxygen atoms in PEG improved the wettability of fillers. By employing this strategy, we achieved a thermal conductivity value of 0.89 W/mK, a 286% improvement compared to the thermal conductivity of the pristine PEG (0.23 W/mK). Although the latent heat of composites decreased due to the mobility of the polymer chain, the value was still reasonable for PCM applications

Surface Modification of Aluminum Nitride to Fabricate Thermally Conductive poly(Butylene Succinate) Nanocomposite

Biodegradable polymers and their composites are considered promising materials for replacing conventional polymer plastics in various engineering fields. In this study, poly(butylene succinate) (PBS) composites filled with 5% aluminum nitride nanoparticles were successfully fabricated. The aluminum nitride nanoparticles were surface-modified to improve their interaction with the PBS matrix. Field-emission scanning electron microscopy revealed that the nanocomposites with surface-modified nanoparticles had better interface interaction and dispersion in the polymer matrix than those with untreated nanoparticles. The PBS/modified AlN nanocomposites exhibited maximal thermal conductivity enhancement, 63.7%, compared to the neat PBS. In addition, other thermomechanical properties of the PBS nanocomposites were investigated in this study. The nanocomposites also showed a superior storage modulus compared to the neat PBS matrix. In this work, a PBS nanocomposite with suitable thermal conductivity that can be used in various electronic fields was fabricated

Nonisothermal Crystallization of Surface-Treated Alumina and Aluminum Nitride-Filled Polylactic Acid Hybrid Composites

This work investigates the nonisothermal crystallization and melting behavior of polylactic acid (PLA), filled with treated and untreated alumina and nano-aluminum nitride hybrid composites. Analysis by attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy revealed that the treated fillers and the PLA matrix developed a good interaction. The crystallization and melting behaviors of the PLA hybrid composites were investigated using differential scanning calorimetry showed that the degree of crystallinity increased with the addition of hybrid fillers. Unlike the untreated PLA composites, the complete crystallization of the treated PLA hybrid composites hindered cold crystallization during the second heating cycle. The crystallization kinetics studied using the Avrami model indicated that the crystallization rate of PLA was affected by the inclusion of filler particles. X-ray diffraction analysis confirmed crystal formation with the incorporation of filler particles. The inclusion of nano-aluminum nitride (AlN) and the increase in the crystallinity led to an improvement of the storage modulus

Incorporating MXene into Boron Nitride/Poly(Vinyl Alcohol) Composite Films to Enhance Thermal and Mechanical Properties

Aggregated boron nitride (ABN) is advantageous for increasing the packing and thermal conductivity of the matrix in composite materials, but can deteriorate the mechanical properties by breaking during processing. In addition, there are few studies on the use of Ti3C2 MXene as thermally conductive fillers. Herein, the development of a novel composite film is described. It incorporates MXene and ABN into poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) to achieve a high thermal conductivity. Polysilazane (PSZ)-coated ABN formed a heat conduction path in the composite film, and MXene supported it to further improve the thermal conductivity. The prepared polymer composite film is shown to provide through-plane and in-plane thermal conductivities of 1.51 and 4.28 W/mK at total filler contents of 44 wt.%. The composite film is also shown to exhibit a tensile strength of 11.96 MPa, which is much greater than that without MXene. Thus, it demonstrates that incorporating MXene as a thermally conductive filler can enhance the thermal and mechanical properties of composite films

Thermoelectric Generator Using Polyaniline-Coated Sb2Se3/β-Cu2Se Flexible Thermoelectric Films

Herein, Sb2Se3 and β-Cu2Se nanowires are synthesized via hydrothermal reaction and water evaporation-induced self-assembly methods, respectively. The successful syntheses and morphologies of the Sb2Se3 and β-Cu2Se nanowires are confirmed via X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Raman spectroscopy, field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), and field emission transmission electron microscopy (FE-TEM). Sb2Se3 materials have low electrical conductivity which limits application to the thermoelectric generator. To improve the electrical conductivity of the Sb2Se3 and β-Cu2Se nanowires, polyaniline (PANI) is coated onto the surface and confirmed via Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), FE-TEM, and XPS analysis. After coating PANI, the electrical conductivities of Sb2Se3/β-Cu2Se/PANI composites were increased. The thermoelectric performance of the flexible Sb2Se3/β-Cu2Se/PANI films is then measured, and the 70%-Sb2Se3/30%-β-Cu2Se/PANI film is shown to provide the highest power factor of 181.61 μW/m·K2 at 473 K. In addition, a thermoelectric generator consisting of five legs of the 70%-Sb2Se3/30%-β-Cu2Se/PANI film is constructed and shown to provide an open-circuit voltage of 7.9 mV and an output power of 80.1 nW at ΔT = 30 K. This study demonstrates that the combination of inorganic thermoelectric materials and flexible polymers can generate power in wearable or portable devices

Conductive PEDOT:PSS-Based Organic/Inorganic Flexible Thermoelectric Films and Power Generators

We present a simple thermoelectric device that consists of a conductive poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS)-based inorganic/organic thermoelectric film with high thermoelectric performance. The PEDOT:PSS-coated Se NWs were first chemically synthesized in situ, and then mixed with an Ag precursor solution to produce the PEDOT:PSS-coated Ag2Se NWs. The PEDOT:PSS matrix was then treated with dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) prior to the production of flexible PEDOT:PSS-coated Ag2Se NW/PEDOT:PSS composite films with various weight fractions of Ag2Se via a simple drop-casting method. The thermoelectric properties (Seebeck coefficient, electrical conductivity, and power factor) of the composite films were then analyzed. The composite film with 50 wt.% NWs exhibited the highest power factor of 327.15 μW/m·K2 at room temperature. The excellent flexibility of this composite film was verified by bending tests, in which the thermoelectric properties were reduced by only ~5.9% after 1000 bending cycles. Finally, a simple thermoelectric device consisting of five strips of the proposed composite film was constructed and was shown to generate a voltage of 7.6 mV when the temperature difference was 20 K. Thus, the present study demonstrates that that the combination of a chalcogenide and a conductive composite film can produce a high-performance flexible thermoelectric composite film