Detection of Lung Cancer: Concomitant Volatile Organic Compounds and Metabolomic Profiling of Six Cancer Cell Lines of Different Histological Origins

In recent years, there has been an extensive search for a non-invasive screening technique for early detection of lung cancer. Volatile organic compound (VOC) analysis in exhaled breath is one such promising technique. This approach is based on the fact that tumor growth is accompanied by unique oncogenesis, leading to detectable changes in VOC emitting profile. Here, we conducted a comprehensive profiling of VOCs and metabolites from six different lung cancer cell lines and one normal lung cell line using mass spectrometry. The concomitant VOCs and metabolite profiling allowed significant discrimination between lung cancer and normal cell, nonsmall cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and small cell lung cancer (SCLC), as well as between different subtypes of NSCLC. It was found that a combination of benzaldehyde, 2-ethylhexanol, and 2,4-decadien-1-ol could serve as potential volatile biomarkers for lung cancer. A detailed correlation between nonvolatile metabolites and VOCs can demonstrate possible biochemical pathways for VOC production by the cancer cells, thus enabling further optimization of VOCs as biomarkers. These findings could eventually lead to noninvasive early detection of lung cancer and differential diagnosis of lung cancer subtypes, thus revolutionizing lung cancer treatment

Room-Temperature Giant Charge-to-Spin Conversion at the SrTiO₃–LaAlO₃ Oxide Interface

The two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) formed at the interface between SrTiO₃ (STO) and LaAlO₃ (LAO) insulating layer is supposed to possess strong Rashba spin–orbit coupling. To date, the inverse Edelstein effect (i.e., spin-to-charge conversion) in the 2DEG layer is reported. However, the direct effect of charge-to-spin conversion, an essential ingredient for spintronic devices in a current-induced spin–orbit torque scheme, has not been demonstrated yet. Here we show, for the first time, a highly efficient spin generation with the efficiency of ∼6.3 in the STO/LAO/CoFeB structure at room temperature by using spin torque ferromagnetic resonance. In addition, we suggest that the spin transmission through the LAO layer at a high temperature range is attributed to the inelastic tunneling via localized states in the LAO band gap. Our findings may lead to potential applications in the oxide insulator based spintronic devices

Agency and discourse Recruiting consultants in a life assurance company

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Effect of Extrinsically Introduced Passive Interface Layer on the Performance of Ferroelectric Tunnel Junctions

We report the effect of the top electrode/functional layer interface on the performance of ferroelectric tunnel junctions. Ex situ and in situ fabrication process were used to fabricate the top Pt electrode. With the ex situ fabrication process, one passive layer at the top interface would be induced. Our experimental results show that the passive interface layer of the ex situ devices increases the coercive voltage of the functional BaTiO₃ layer and decreases the tunneling current magnitude. However, the ex situ tunneling devices possess more than 1000 times larger ON/OFF ratios than that of the in situ devices with the same size of top electrode

Origin of Photocarrier Losses in Iron Pyrite (FeS₂) Nanocubes

Iron pyrite has received significant attention due to its high optical absorption. However, the loss of open circuit voltage (<i>V</i>_oc) prevents its further application in photovoltaics. Herein, we have studied the photophysics of pyrite by ultrafast laser spectroscopy to understand fundamental limitation of low <i>V</i>_oc by quantifying photocarrier losses in high quality, stoichiometric, and phase pure {100} faceted pyrite nanocubes. We found that fast carrier localization of photoexcited carriers to indirect band edge and shallow trap states is responsible for major carrier loss. Slow relaxation component reflects high density of defects within the band gap which is consistent with the observed Mott-variable range hopping (VRH) conduction from transport measurements. Magnetic measurements strikingly show the magnetic ordering associated with phase inhomogeneity, such as FeS_2−δ (0 ≤ δ ≤ 1). This implies that improvement of iron pyrite solar cell performance lies in mitigating the intrinsic defects (such as sulfur vacancies) by blocking the fast carrier localization process. Photocarrier generation and relaxation model is presented by comprehensive analysis. Our results provide insight into possible defects that induce midgap states and facilitate rapid carrier relaxation before collection

The Mechanism of Electrolyte Gating on High‑<i>T</i>_<i>c</i> Cuprates: The Role of Oxygen Migration and Electrostatics

Electrolyte gating is widely used to induce large carrier density modulation on solid surfaces to explore various properties. Most of past works have attributed the charge modulation to electrostatic field effect. However, some recent reports have argued that the electrolyte gating effect in VO₂, TiO₂, and SrTiO₃ originated from field-induced oxygen vacancy formation. This gives rise to a controversy about the gating mechanism, and it is therefore vital to reveal the relationship between the role of electrolyte gating and the intrinsic properties of materials. Here, we report entirely different mechanisms of electrolyte gating on two high-<i>T</i>_<i>c</i> cuprates, NdBa₂Cu₃O_7−δ (NBCO) and Pr_2–<i>x</i>Ce_<i>x</i>CuO₄ (PCCO), with different crystal structures. We show that field-induced oxygen vacancy formation in CuO chains of NBCO plays the dominant role, while it is mainly an electrostatic field effect in the case of PCCO. The possible reason is that NBCO has mobile oxygen in CuO chains, while PCCO does not. Our study helps clarify the controversy relating to the mechanism of electrolyte gating, leading to a better understanding of the role of oxygen electro migration which is very material specific

From Titanium Sesquioxide to Titanium Dioxide: Oxidation-Induced Structural, Phase, and Property Evolution

In contrast to Ti⁴⁺-containing titanium dioxide (TiO₂), which has a wide bandgap (∼3.0 eV) and has been widely explored for catalysis and energy applications, titanium sesquioxide (Ti₂O₃) with an intermediate valence state (Ti³⁺) possesses an ultranarrow bandgap (∼0.1 eV) and has been much less investigated. Although the importance of Ti³⁺ to the applications of TiO₂ is widely recognized, the connection between TiO₂ and Ti₂O₃ and the transformation pathway remain unknown. Herein, we investigate the oxidation-induced structural, phase, and property evolution of Ti₂O₃ using a complementary suite of microscopic and spectroscopic tools. Interestingly, transformation pathways to both rutile and anatase TiO₂ are identified, which sensitively depend on oxidation conditions. Unique Ti₂O₃/TiO₂ core–shell structures with annealing-controlled surface nanostructure formation are observed for the first time. The compositional and structural evolution of Ti₂O₃/TiO₂ particles is accompanied by continuously tuned optical and electrical properties. Overall, our work reveals the connection between narrow-bandgap Ti³⁺-containing Ti₂O₃ and wide-bandgap Ti⁴⁺-containing TiO₂, providing a versatile platform for exploring photoelectrocatalytic applications in valence- and structure-tailored oxide materials