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High-Entropy Catalyst for Oxygen Evolution

In article number 2410295, Soumyabrata Roy, Bijun Tang, Hongyan Wang, Keyong Tang, and co-workers present a high-entropy phosphide catalyst that significantly enhances the oxygen evolution reaction. In FeCoNiCuYP, Fe and Ni sites respectively stabilize the HO* and HOO* intermediates, effectively breaking their scaling relation of Gibbs free energy and boosting catalytic performance.

LNP is modified by a novel STING-activating polymer (PD) to enhance immune effect of mRNA vaccines by boosting cellular uptake and triggering robust immune activation. Optimizing the polymerization of PD significantly amplifies mRNA translation efficiency and STING-mediated immune responses, offering a powerful approach to advance mRNA-based immunotherapy.

Abstract

The unprecedented success of mRNA vaccines against COVID-19 has inspired scientists to develop mRNA vaccines for cancer immunotherapy. However, using nucleoside modified mRNA as vaccine, though evading innate immune toxicity, diminishes its therapeutic efficacy for cancers. Here, we report a polyvalent stimulator of interferon genes (STING) activating polymer (termed as PD) to bolster the immunogenicity of mRNA vaccine. PD is made of tertiary amine units and conjugated with a biodegradable alkyl chain. Co-formulation of PDs bearing different number of tertiary amines with lipid materials and mRNA resulted in the lipid-like nanoparticles (PD LNPs) which effectively promoted lymphatic delivery and elicited robust immune activation via the STING signaling pathway. Notably, PD with eighteen tertiary amines (PD18) is predominant in balancing immune activity and tolerability. Subcutaneous administration of PD18 LNPs containing ovalbumin (OVA) mRNA enhanced the frequency of antigen specific CD8+ T cell with immune memory, leading to potent anticancer efficacy that surpassed 2′3’-cGAMP in both prophylactic and therapeutic cancer models. Additionally, PD18 LNP-based mRNA vaccine showed conferred resistance to cancer challenge for up to 60 days. Overall, this study offers a new perspective of using STING- activating polymer for imparting synergistic activity in mRNA vaccine-based cancer immunotherapy.

Graph theory modeling of RGD nano inter-relation inversely proportional to the shortest path distance and proportional to the corresponding number of possible instances is harnessed. RGD nano inter-relation can be regulated by modulating the aspect ratio of magnetic nanobars, which can be increased by unidirectionally aligning or reversibly lifting magnetic nanobars, thereby promoting integrin-bearing filopodia penetration and adhesion-mediated pro-regenerative polarization of host macrophages.

Abstract

Graph theory has been widely used to quantitatively analyze complex networks of molecules, materials, and cells. Analyzing the dynamic complex structure of extracellular matrix can predict cell-material interactions but has not yet been demonstrated. In this study, graph theory-based mathematical modeling of RGD ligand graph inter-relation is demonstrated by differentially cutting off RGD-to-RGD interlinkages with flexibly conjugated magnetic nanobars (MNBs) with tunable aspect ratio. The RGD-to-RGD interlinkages are less effectively cut off by MNBs with a lower aspect ratio, which decreases the shortest path while increasing the number of instances thereof, thereby augmenting RGD nano inter-relation. This facilitates integrin recruitment of macrophages and thus actin fiber assembly and vinculin expression, which mediates pro-regenerative polarization, involving myosin II, actin polymerization, and rho-associated protein kinase. Unidirectional pre-aligning or reversibly lifting highly elongated MNBs both increase RGD nano inter-relation, which promotes host macrophage adhesion and switches their polarization from pro-inflammatory to pro-regenerative phenotype. The latter approach produces nano-spaces through which macrophages can penetrate and establish RGD links thereunder. Using graph theory, this study presents the example of mathematically modeling the functionality of extracellular-matrix-mimetic materials, which can help elucidate complex dynamics of the interactions occurring between host cells and materials via versatile geometrical nano-engineering.

The first Mn-based magnetoplumbites, ASb3Mn9O19 (A = K or Rb), are discovered, synthesized, and characterized. According to magnetic properties measurements, neutron diffraction, and reverse Monte Carlo refinement, short-range magnetic correlations are observed in the new materials. These observations reveal 2D magnetic correlations and magnetic frustration in ASb3Mn9O19, making it a promising platform for inducing exotic quantum states.

Abstract

Magnetoplumbites are one of the most broadly studied families of hexagonal ferrites, typically with high magnetic ordering temperatures, making them excellent candidates for permanent magnets. However, magnetic frustration is rarely observed in magnetoplumbites. Herein, the discovery, synthesis, and characterization of the first Mn-based magnetoplumbite, as well as the first magnetoplumbite involving pnictogens (Sb), ASb3Mn9O19 (A = K or Rb) are reported. The Mn3+ (S = 2) cations, further confirmed by DC magnetic susceptibility and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, construct three geometrically frustrated sublattices, including Kagome, triangular, and puckered honeycomb lattices. Magnetic properties measurements revealed strong antiferromagnetic spin–spin coupling as well as multiple low-temperature magnetic features. Heat capacity data does not show any prominent λ-anomaly, suggesting minimal associated magnetic entropy. Moreover, neutron powder diffraction (NPD) implied the absence of long-range magnetic ordering in KSb3Mn9O19 down to 3 K. However, several magnetic peaks are observed in RbSb3Mn9O19 at 3 K, corresponding to an incommensurate magnetic structure. Interestingly, strong diffuse scattering is seen in the NPD patterns of both compounds at low angles and is analyzed by reverse Monte Carlo refinements, indicating short-range spin ordering related to frustrated magnetism as well as 2D magnetic correlations in ASb3Mn9O19 (A = K or Rb).

Multi-layer Crystal Field Effect in locally non-centrosymmetric compounds

Abstract not available

• Speaker: Marie-Aude Measson - CNRS Institut Neel
• Wednesday 19 March 2025, 11:15-12:00
• Venue: Mott Seminar Room (531), Cavendish Laboratory, Department of Physics.
• Series: Quantum Matter Seminar; organiser: Mads Fonager Hansen.

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Energy Environ. Sci., 2025, Accepted Manuscript
DOI: 10.1039/D4EE05703A, Paper Open Access &nbsp This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported Licence.Mayank Kedia, Chittaranjan Das, Malgorzata Kot, Yenal Yalcinkaya, Weiwei Zuo, Kenedy Tabah Tanko, Peter Matvija, Mikel Ezquer, Iñaki Cornago, Wolfram Hempel, Florian Kauffmann, Paul Plate, Monica Lira-Cantu, Stefan A.L. Weber, Michael Saliba
Atomic layer deposition of aluminum oxide (ALD-Al2O3) layers has been extensively studied for stabilizing perovskite solar cells (PSCs) against environmental stressors, such as humidity and oxygen. In addition, the ALD-Al2O3...
The content of this RSS Feed (c) The Royal Society of Chemistry

Energy Environ. Sci., 2025, Accepted Manuscript
DOI: 10.1039/D4EE05582A, Review ArticleXiaomin Zhang, Xiaoyu Zhang, Xingbo Wang, Guoliang Cui, Hongge Pan, Wenping Sun
Developing efficient catalysts is essential for mitigating the shuttle effect and accelerating the conversion kinetics of polysulfides in lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries. To date, numerous strategies have been employed to optimize...
The content of this RSS Feed (c) The Royal Society of Chemistry

Galois groups of low degree points on curves

Whilst the study of low degree algebraic points on curves is an active area of research, there has been little emphasis on the Galois-theoretic description of these points. In this talk, we focus on the behaviour of low degree points whose Galois group is primitive. Furthermore, we shall see that the behaviour changes if the degree is large (with respect to the genus of the curve). This talk is based on joint work with Samir Siksek (Warwick).

• Speaker: Maleeha Khawaja (Bristol)
• Tuesday 18 March 2025, 14:30-15:30
• Venue: MR13.
• Series: Number Theory Seminar; organiser: Jef Laga.

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Energy Environ. Sci., 2025, Accepted Manuscript
DOI: 10.1039/D5EE00269A, PaperBo Jiang, Boyang Yu, Yong Zhang, Weiwei Deng, Baomin Xu, Xinyan Zhao
Printing of electrodes to replace thermal evaporation of metals for back contacts in perovskite solar cells (PSCs) is essential for scalable manufacturing. However, PSCs incorporating printed electrodes typically exhibit lower...
The content of this RSS Feed (c) The Royal Society of Chemistry

Energy Environ. Sci., 2025, Accepted Manuscript
DOI: 10.1039/D5EE00116A, Review ArticlePengcheng Du, Tianhao Liu, Tuoyu Chen, Meihui Jiang, Hongyu Zhu, Yitong Shang, Hui Hwang Goh, Zhao HaiSen Zhao HaiSen, Chao Huang, Fannie Kong, Tonni Agustiono Kurniawan, Kai Chen Goh, Yu Du, Dongdong Zhang
Vehicle-to-Grid accelerates the transition to renewable, low-carbon power systems by integrating electric vehicles. This study analyzes the 2023 U.S. electric vehicle charging demand, variable renewable energy capacities, and charging infrastructure...
The content of this RSS Feed (c) The Royal Society of Chemistry

Energy Environ. Sci., 2025, Accepted Manuscript
DOI: 10.1039/D5EE00368G, PaperRui Yang, Ding Ai, Sidi Fan, Wenqi Zhang, Xiao Yang, Fangcheng Lv, Yonghong Cheng, Xiang Yu
Aromatic polymer films with high glass transition temperatures (Tg) exhibit superior thermal stability, making them ideal for high-temperature dielectric capacitors in advanced electrical and electronic systems. However, the leakage current...
The content of this RSS Feed (c) The Royal Society of Chemistry

Nature Materials, Published online: 12 March 2025; doi:10.1038/s41563-025-02153-6

Highly selective formation of C2+ alcohols is obtained using CO electroreduction with a trimetallic-copper-based catalyst incorporating gold nanoparticles and isolated silver atoms.

Nature Materials, Published online: 12 March 2025; doi:10.1038/s41563-025-02119-8

Architected materials provide a pathway to achieve properties beyond those of monolithic materials. This Perspective discusses complex architecture designs and their fabrication, characterization and functions across length scales and timescales.

CASCADE Poster Social (+ Compiler Tech Talk)

CASCADE Poster Social

Please join us for a look at some of the cutting-edge research in computer architecture coming out of the Department of Computer Science and Technology with a poster session and light refreshments. We’ll have posters from students and postdocs working in the broad area of computer architecture, where you can browse at your leisure, speak directly to the authors and network with other computer architects whilst enjoying an early evening drink and light snacks in the William Gates Building.

Schedule

15:00 – 16:00 | Compiler Tech Talks

16:00 – 18:00 | Cascade Poster Social

Registration https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/cascade-poster-session-and-social-event-tickets-1249170325069

Before the Cascade Poster Social, we are hosting a Compiler Tech Talk with Sean Silva.

A High-Velocity Architecture for MLIR AI Compilers

In this talk we present an MLIR -based compiler architecture that delivers predictable performance for AI workloads. We derive its design from intuitive mental models, and along the way subsume seemingly competing goals of performance, portability, and generality into one concept: velocity (of developing the compiler). Hence we call this a high-velocity compiler architecture. We present this compiler architecture in detail, compare it with the most widespread competing architectural ideas, and connect it with prior art.

Sean Silva

... is a Principal Engineer at Encharge AI, where among other responsibilities he leads the architecture and implementation of the compiler. He previously worked on state-of-the-art AI software and hardware for 7 years at Google and Waymo, including IREE , XLA, Google Edge TPU , and Pixel Visual Core. His humble start in the LLVM community was refactoring TableGen in 2012 which has grown into a decade-long adventure through LLVM , Clang, LLD , and MLIR .

https://www.linkedin.com/in/sean-silva-144b611b5/

Slides: https://gist.github.com/ssilva-encharge/022659297610a763792c45d56dad49e3

• Speaker: Sean Silva, Encharge AI
• Tuesday 11 March 2025, 15:00-18:00
• Venue: Computer Laboratory, William Gates Building, LT2.
• Series: tcg40's list; organiser: Tobias Grosser.

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The place to be? At the nexus of psychology and geography

Nobody lives in a vacuum. Whoever we are and wherever we go, every second of our existence is spent in a physical and sociocultural environment that we inevitably interact with. Building on this simple fact of life, in the present talk I argue that geography is foundational to psychology and that to understand who we are we need to understand where we are. To support this claim, I introduce a new conceptual framework to systematise and guide research at the intersection of psychology and geography. I then present original empirical findings that speak to three broad questions: 1) how do places differ psychologically? 2) why do places differ psychologically? and 3) what do these differences mean for individuals and the places in which they live? To address these questions, in my lab I combine large-scale geo-tagged personality datasets with diverse real-world behavioral outcomes and ecological indicators (e.g., housing prices, personal financial records, patent production rates) across multiple countries (e.g., India, Japan, USA ) and spatial levels (e.g., states, cities). Among other results, this work 1) demonstrates systematic regional variation in Big Five personality traits, cultural tightness, courage, and loneliness, 2) identifies various ecological, sociocultural, and economic factors that may contribute to geographical psychological differences, and 3) shows how regional psychological differences may contribute to outcomes as diverse as divorce rates, political conservatism, and individual spending. In the current talk, I present a whistle-stop tour of this program of research that highlights some of its most compelling and vexing results. I conclude with personal reflections on doing research at the nexus of psychology and geography and a list of resources for interested researchers and practitioners.

• Speaker: Friedrich Goetz (University of British Columbia)
• Monday 17 March 2025, 15:00-16:00
• Venue: Ground Floor Lecture Theatre, Department of Psychology, Downing Site, Cambridge.
• Series: Social Psychology Seminar Series (SPSS); organiser: Yara Kyrychenko.

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Invitation to Leavitt path algebras

Leavitt path algebras, which are algebras associated to directed graphs, were first introduced about 20 years ago. They have strong connections to such topics as group theory, symbolic dynamics, operator algebras, non-commutative geometry, representation theory, and even chip firing. In this talk we invite the reader to sneak a peek at these fascinating algebras and their interplay with several seemingly disparate parts of mathematics.

• Speaker: Roozbeh Hazrat, University of Western Sydney
• Wednesday 14 May 2025, 16:30-17:30
• Venue: MR12.
• Series: Algebra and Representation Theory Seminar; organiser: Adam Jones.

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Invitation to Leavitt path algebras

Leavitt path algebras, which are algebras associated to directed graphs, were first introduced about 20 years ago. They have strong connections to such topics as group theory, symbolic dynamics, operator algebras, non-commutative geometry, representation theory, and even chip firing. In this talk we invite the reader to sneak a peek at these fascinating algebras and their interplay with several seemingly disparate parts of mathematics.

• Speaker: Roozbeh Hazrat, University of Western Sydney
• Wednesday 14 May 2025, 16:30-17:30
• Venue: MR12.
• Series: Algebra and Representation Theory Seminar; organiser: Adam Jones.

Add to your calendar or Include in your list