Browse Articles

Neoadjuvant Intralesional Daromun (L19IL2/L19TNF) in Resectable Locally Advanced Melanoma: An Update on the Efficacy and Safety Results of the PIVOTAL Phase III Trial

Daromun (L19IL2/L19TNF) was investigated as a neoadjuvant, intralesional therapy for patients with fully resectable stage III melanoma in the phase III PIVOTAL trial (ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT02938299 ). The trial enrolled 256 patients in the European Union and met its primary end point, demonstrating a statistically significant improvement in recurrence-free survival (RFS; hazard ratio, 0.59; P = .005) for daromun followed by surgery versus up-front surgery, at a median follow-up (FU) of 21 months from random assignment. PIVOTAL included two clinically distinct subgroups, namely, patients with de novo diagnosed metastatic disease (n = 34; 13%) and patients with recurrence(s) after surgery with or without radiotherapy and/or adjuvant systemic therapies (n = 222; 87%). Here, we present an updated analysis of the primary and secondary end points, including safety data, at a median FU of 36.8 months from random assignment (database cutoff: November 28, 2025), alongside new sensitivity analyses of event-free survival (EFS). The updated analysis confirms the clinically and statistically meaningful improvements in RFS and distant metastasis-free survival recorded in the neoadjuvant daromun versus control arm. The EFS post hoc analysis, conducted in both the overall population and the recurrent patient subgroups (with or without prior systemic therapies), provides consistency and robustness to the benefit of neoadjuvant daromun observed for the primary efficacy end point. No new safety signals of concern were recorded.

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Rapid acceleration of ice-cover loss from Northern Hemisphere lakes above critical air temperature thresholds

Widespread declines in lake-ice cover are a hallmark of climate warming, yet the dynamic sensitivity of ice cover to thermal forcing remains poorly understood across broad climatic gradients. By analyzing an extensive dataset from 724 Northern Hemisphere lakes between 2000 and 2022, we quantify the responsiveness of lake-ice phenology to changes in air temperature and project their future trajectories. Our hemispheric analysis reveals a pronounced asymmetrical sensitivity where ice-decay processes are significantly more responsive to warming than ice-formation events. We identify critical thermal threshold of mean winter air temperature (AT) ranging from −13.7 to −6.8 °C, beyond which phenological sensitivity accelerates nonlinearly. Once these winter temperature breakpoints are surpassed, the sensitivity of ice loss increases by up to 22-fold, signaling a threshold-dependent collapse of the seasonal ice cycle. These threshold-dependent responses are primarily driven by broad-scale thermal and radiative regimes, particularly winter AT and surface albedo, rather than localized lake morphology. Future projections indicate that under high-emission scenarios, ice-cover duration will contract by approximately 40 d, and the proportion of lakes crossing critical thermal thresholds and entering a state of accelerated phenological sensitivity is expected to rise from 23 to 70% by the end of the century. These findings suggest that many temperate and southern boreal lakes are nearing a state of heightened vulnerability where marginal warming will trigger abrupt and potentially irreversible ecological shifts.

Digestion-resistant proteins support the healthy metabolite profiles associated with plant-based diets

Plant-based diets are associated with both positive health outcomes and a diverse gut microbiome. Such diets alter the microbiome’s metabolic outputs, including increasing phenylalanine-derived phenols associated with beneficial health outcomes (hippuric acid and 3-phenylpropionate), while decreasing tyrosine-derived phenols considered uremic toxins (phenol sulfate and p-cresol sulfate). The mechanisms linking plant eating to these phenol metabolites are not known. Plant-based foods are fiber and phytochemical rich. They also contain proteins that are resistant to host digestion and thus reach the gut microbiome. Here, we show that fiber and digestion-resistant protein work in concert to shift the phenol profile by altering gut microbiome nutrient supply. Through isotope-tracing studies, we reveal that host secreted proteins are a source for phenol sulfate and p-cresol sulfate, while digestion-resistant dietary protein is the source for hippuric acid and 3-phenylpropionate. Fiber decreases bacterial digestion of host secreted proteins (e.g., mucins) and thus suppresses tyrosine-derived phenol sulfate and p-cresol sulfate, whose levels correlate with the mucin-digesting bacterial family Oscillospiraceae. Digestion-resistant dietary protein increases bacterial access to phenylalanine and thereby boosts phenylalanine-derived hippuric acid and 3-phenylpropionate. Thus, digestion-resistant plant protein modulates microbiome metabolism and, together with fiber, supports healthy metabolite profiles associated with plant-based diets.

Interface engineering with an rGO electron extraction layer for high-efficiency and stable Cu2ZnSnS4-based photocathode

The practical application of Cu2ZnSnS4 (CZTS)-based photocathodes is hindered by severe charge recombination and insufficient charge transport capability. Herein, we demonstrate a high-performance Pt/reduced graphene oxide (rGO)/CdS/CZTS photocathode for solar hydrogen production by incorporating rGO nanosheets as an electron transport layer. The optimized photocathode achieves a photocurrent density of −21.73 mA/cm2 at 0 VRHE and an applied bias photon-to-current efficiency reaches 3.43%, representing 153% and 149% improvements over the control device without rGO, respectively. Furthermore, the incorporation of rGO boosts the charge separation efficiency from 94.89% to 99.07%, and the stability is significantly enhanced, maintaining performance over 10 h. Density functional theory calculations reveal the underlying electronic mechanism: the rGO interlayer facilitates efficient electron extraction from CdS and promotes charge exchange with Pt, thereby suppressing bulk recombination and enhancing interfacial charge transfer. This work provides useful insights into interface engineering of photocathodes for high-efficiency photoelectrochemical systems.

Transmission diffuse EUV scattering by nanoscale Lamb waves in thin membranes

We report time-resolved diffuse extreme ultraviolet (EUV) scattering measurements of optically excited acoustic waves in thin Ti/SiN bilayers in transmission geometry. Following femtosecond optical excitation, the EUV diffuse scattering signal yields circular fringe patterns evolving as a function of the time delay between the optical pump and EUV probe pulses. We demonstrate that these patterns originate from multiple guided acoustic modes (Lamb waves) with wavelengths in the range 60–400 nm. By comparing the experimental frequency–wavevector maps with calculated dispersion curves, we show that diffuse scattering signal from Lamb waves is enhanced at discrete frequencies corresponding to longitudinal thickness resonances of the membrane. This observation indicates that Lamb waves with high in-plane wavevectors originate from the scattering of longitudinal thickness resonances by surface roughness. Our findings establish time-resolved diffuse EUV scattering as an efficient tool for probing nanoscale Lamb waves, applicable to the characterization of elastic properties of thin membranes.

Optimized Nb-doped SnO2 buffer layer for enhanced carrier extraction and Sb2S3 photovoltaic responses

Crystal vertical orientation, deep-level traps, interface charge non-radiative recombination, etc., for Sb2S3 solar cells are the main factors that constrain its optoelectronic performance. Suitable electron transport layers (ETLs) can improve Sb2S3 film deposition and enhance crystallization quality. Here, niobium-doped SnO2 (Nb-SnO2) as the ETLs was prepared to increase the carrier concentration and film conductivity. The optimized Nb-SnO2 film can promote efficient charge separation and transport. The high crystallinity of Nb-SnO2 can also improve fusions between nanocrystals and reduce grain boundaries. The incorporated Nb5+/Nb3+ ions may form the Nb2S5 (Nb2S3) with the S2− ions at the interfaces to induce Sb2S3 film deposition, increase grain sizes, enhance crystal orientation, and reduce deep-level traps. The Nb-doped SnO2 film together with the high-quality Sb2S3 layer and Nb-SnO2/Sb2S3 heterojunction can promote charge separation and extraction and alleviate carrier non-radiative recombination. The best device performance with a high photoelectric conversion efficiency (7.25%, a VOC of 0.703 V, a JSC of 16.87 mAcm−2, and an FF of 0.611) is achieved. The whole dynamic process of charge separation, extraction, and recombination is determined via detailed characterizations. Our simple doping strategy also provides useful guidelines for Sb2S3 solar cells to enhance SnO2 film conductivity, reduce deep-level traps in the Sb2S3 layer, optimize Nb-SnO2/Sb2S3 band alignment, etc.

Exceptionally high thermoelectric power factors at low temperatures in heavily doped p- and n-type Ge-rich Ge1−xSnx films

Low-temperature thermoelectric thin films compatible with semiconductor technology are of increasing interest for cryogenic energy harvesting and thermal management of advanced Si-based electronics. Here, we show that heavily doped p- and n-type Ge1−xSnx epitaxial films exhibit exceptionally high thermoelectric power factors (PF) at low temperatures owing to a pronounced phonon-drag effect. Hall-effect and Seebeck-effect analyses over a wide temperature range of 6–300 K reveal that this phonon-drag contribution, manifested as a strong enhancement of the Seebeck coefficient at low temperatures, persists even at high carrier concentrations approaching 1020 cm−3. Along with the simultaneous increase in electrical conductivity upon cooling, the PFs rise dramatically, reaching 1.4 × 102 and 4.7 × 103 μWcm−1 K−2 around 20 K for the p- and n-type films, respectively. These remarkably high PFs enhanced by phonon-drag effect demonstrate that heavily doped Ge1−xSnx provides a promising platform for low-temperature group-IV thin-film thermoelectrics.

Unlocking room-temperature magnetoelectricity in Ba1.5Sr1.5-based Z-type hexaferrites via magnetic anisotropy modulation

Current research on room-temperature magnetoelectric (ME) Z-type hexaferrites has predominantly centered on modifications based on Sr3Co2Fe24O41, which severely restricts the compositional freedom for regulating the Ba/Sr ratio. In particular, compositions with high Ba content, exemplified by the balanced Ba1.5Sr1.5Co2Fe24O41 (Ba1.5Sr1.5-based), are traditionally regarded as incapable of hosting room-temperature ME coupling, attributed to its distinct Co2+ site preference compared to Sr-rich counterparts. In this work, we realized magnetoelectric coupling above room temperature in the Ba1.5Sr1.5-based system through Al and Cu co-substitution, altering this conventional wisdom. This doping strategy effectively modulates the magnetic anisotropy to stabilize the magnetoelectric phase up to approximately 360 K while significantly enhancing the electric polarization. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the magnetoelectric states exhibit enhanced stability against external fields. Room-temperature magnetization modulation driven by an electric field is also observed. Our findings unlock the potential of the Ba-rich Z-type system and provide a broader compositional space for designing high-performance room-temperature multiferroics.

Chirality-induced spin-regulated synaptic dynamics in 2D perovskite memristors for polarimetric neuromorphic computing

Conventional von Neumann architectures face fundamental energy-efficiency bottlenecks, while current optoelectronic neuromorphic devices remain confined to simple optoelectronic responses, unable to leverage continuous physical degrees of freedom such as light polarization for continuous, analog synaptic modulation. We report a continuously polarization-tunable photonic memristor based on chiral 2D (R/S-MBA)2PbI4 perovskites, which integrates polarimetric sensing with neuromorphic computing. By incorporating molecular chirality into the inorganic framework, we leverage the chirality-induced spin selectivity effect to regulate synaptic relaxation dynamics via spin-dependent carrier transport. This mechanism enables continuous, polarization-tunable synaptic weight updates, significantly extending the functional dimensionality of neuromorphic hardware. We validate this architecture through noise-resilient modified national institute of standards and technology (MNIST) database classification—where chiroptical filtering improves accuracy from 76% to 88%—and high-precision semantic segmentation, achieving a polarization phase resolution of 5° and a Sørensen–Dice coefficient exceeding 0.9. These results establish a physical foundation for integrating spin-dependent degrees of freedom into optoelectronic neuromorphic systems, offering a robust pathway for next-generation intelligent processing.

Rebound dynamics of polymer drops impacting on soft solids at low Weber numbers

The impact of polymer drops on soft solid substrates occurs frequently in engineering applications such as inkjet printing and pesticide spraying. Here, we investigate how substrate elasticity and polymer concentration affect drop rebound at low Weber numbers. Four representative rebound metrics, including the contact time, maximum contact diameter, maximum equatorial diameter, and restitution coefficient, are analyzed. Experiments show that the rebound metrics depend only weakly on substrate elasticity, except for a modest increase in the maximum contact diameter on the ultrasoft gel. With increasing polymer concentration, the contact time increases and the maximum contact diameter decreases, whereas the maximum equatorial diameter and restitution coefficient remain nearly unchanged. Further direct numerical simulations suggest that such an increase in contact time is presumably associated with the increased solution viscosity rather than polymer elasticity. These findings advance our understanding of how substrate elasticity and drop viscoelasticity influence complex drops impacting onto compliant substrates at a low velocity.

Coherent control of solid-state defect spins via patterned boron-doped diamond circuit

We demonstrate the coherent control of nitrogen-vacancy (NV) spins using an electronic circuit integrated within diamond: a patterned, conductive boron-doped diamond (BDD) microwave waveguide. First, we validate the high-frequency performance of the circuit by characterizing its impedance up to the microwave range, confirming microwave transmission sufficient for optically detected magnetic resonance (ODMR) and coherent Rabi control. Under ambient conditions, we perform ODMR and observe Rabi oscillations driven by the heavily doped BDD circuit. We verify that microwave-induced frequency shifts remain limited under the present operating conditions at room temperature. In addition, separate high-pressure and low-temperature continuous-wave ODMR measurements demonstrate that the BDD antenna remains operational as a microwave delivery element in a high-pressure and low-temperature environment. These results indicate the potential of BDD circuits for on-chip microwave delivery in NV-based quantum devices, particularly for ODMR operation under extreme conditions.

Allocation of Peltier heating–cooling through the anomalous Hall effect

We report the observation of a spatial allocation of Peltier-effect-induced temperature modulation through the anomalous Hall effect (AHE) in a hybrid system comprising a magnetic metal and a thermoelectric semiconductor. AHE in the magnetic metal generates a transverse electric field perpendicular to the applied bias voltage, inducing charge injection into the thermoelectric layer via the closed circuit and resultant heating and cooling generation in a transverse geometry. Using an active thermal imaging technique, lock-in thermography, we visually extract the AHE-originating thermal contribution from other magneto-thermoelectric effects. Such heat allocation enables flexible design of transverse thermoelectric conversion, providing a pathway toward on-chip thermal management and selective temperature control at designated regions.

Generation of ultraviolet optical vortex beams with independently controlled topological charge and central wavelength

The development of ultraviolet (UV) optical vortex beams is critical for advancing nanoscale photonic applications; however, it has long been hindered by fundamental limitations in high-performance UV optical components. In this study, we demonstrate a compact, two-stage nonlinear frequency upconversion architecture for generating UV optical vortex beams. The scheme integrates a synchronized dual-quasi-phase-matching process, where second-harmonic generation and sum-frequency generation processes occur concurrently, followed by a cascaded UV upconversion stage. This design enables independent control of the topological charge (TC) of the UV vortex beam and discrete, broadband wavelength selection across the deep- to near-UV spectral range. Experimentally, 269 nm femtosecond UV optical vortex pulses with a TC controllably tuned from ℓ = 1 to ℓ = 4 were generated. Moreover, by selecting distinct cascaded upconversion pathways enabled by the spatiotemporally synchronized multi-vortex output from the preceding SHG–SFG stage, discrete wavelength tuning from 241 to 407 nm was achieved. Collectively, this compact, two-stage nonlinear upconversion platform provides a robust and versatile route to structured light generation at short UV wavelengths.

Domain switching-induced large rigid shift of the bulk photovoltaic effect in (111)-oriented BiFeO3 epitaxial films

The bulk photovoltaic effect (BPVE) in ferroelectric materials exhibits intrinsic sensitivity to light polarization, offering opportunities for self-powered polarization photodetection. However, the impact of ferroelectric domain switching on BPVE and its underlying mechanism remain insufficiently understood. Herein, we report the first experimental demonstration of electric-field modulation of BPVE in (111)-oriented BiFeO3 (BFO) epitaxial films. The (111)-oriented devices exhibit a continuous and rigid vertical shift (i.e., photocurrent offset) of the BPVE curves under external electric field, while preserving their amplitude and phase, in contrast to the (001) counterparts. Notably, the photocurrent modulation range along the in-plane electrode direction is four times larger than that of (001)-oriented devices. Piezoresponse force microscopy and crystal structure analysis reveal multidirectional domain switching in the (111)-oriented BFO films, which continuously modulates the interfacial Schottky barriers, thus accounts for the observed rigid shift. These findings elucidate the orientation dependent electric-field tuning mechanism of BPVE and highlight the advantage of (111)-oriented BFO for polarization-sensitive photodetector applications.

Optoelectronic performance enhancement of 1–5  <i>μ</i> m InGaN-based micro-LEDs using chemical etching coupled with dielectric passivation

Although InGaN-based micro-light-emitting diodes (micro-LEDs) have been extensively studied as key components for next-generation display technologies, the performance of micro-LEDs smaller than 5 μm remains severely constrained by the sidewall effect, posing an urgent challenge to be addressed. This study successfully fabricated InGaN-based micro-LEDs with dimensions ranging from 1 to 5 μm by introducing a coupled chemical etching with dielectric passivation technique. It is revealed that the peak external quantum efficiency (EQE) of all devices significantly improved after coupled chemical etching, while their surface recombination velocity decreased significantly. Moreover, this enhancement in peak EQE becomes more pronounced as the device size decreases from 5 to 1 μm. APSYS simulations further indicate that as the sidewall defect density decreases, the distribution of holes across different quantum wells becomes more uniform, and the radiative recombination rate relative to the Shockley–Read–Hall rate significantly increases, which is in excellent agreement with the experimental results. More importantly, the peak EQE of 1 and 5 μm micro-LEDs reached 14.01% and 40.46%, respectively, increasing by 363% and 151% compared to that without coupled chemical etching. These findings validate the effectiveness of chemical etching coupled with dielectric passivation technology in micro-LED manufacturing, and also reveal the significant impact of sidewall defects in size-dependent efficiency.

Gate tunable photodetection and imaging in WS2 phototransistors enabled by a lithium niobate functional substrate

Heterogeneous integration with two-dimensional materials offers a promising route to address the photoelectric conversion challenges of lithium niobate (LiNbO3, LN). However, previous works have mostly relied on the weak spontaneous polarization of LN, which underutilizes the potential of ferroelectric polarization and lacks sufficient degrees of freedom for programmable control. In this work, we fabricate a LiNbO3/WS2 phototransistor via photolithography and van der Waals transfer, and back-gate voltage is employed to achieve programmable modulation of the photocurrent magnitude and polarity, which can be interpreted through a parallel-plate capacitor model combined with the pyroelectric effect. Moreover, the thin-film LN enables back-gate modulation while retaining the ferroelectric and pyroelectric functionalities of LN, allowing the photoresponse of the WS2 channel to be continuously regulated by the gate voltage, leading to exceptional programmable performance with Ilight/Idark ratio tunable from 26.6 to 66 437.82 and responsivity from 5.47 to 492.35 A/W, while photocurrent imaging further reveals that the back-gate bias continuously adjusts the trade-off between image brightness and contrast. This work establishes that functional polarized substrates can provide a new system-level control dimension for two-dimensional optoelectronic devices, paving the way for programmable detection, adaptive imaging, and task-oriented intelligent sensing.

5–24 GHz high <i>f-Q</i> product multi-mode surface acoustic wave resonances in LiNbO3/SiC heterostructures

This work reports multi-mode surface acoustic wave resonances in a lithium niobate on silicon carbide (LiNbO3/SiC) heterostructure, achieving high resonant frequency-quality factor (f-Q) products over a broad frequency range from 5 to 24 GHz. By employing a 600-nm-thick LiNbO3 functional layer, multiple high-velocity acoustic modes with wavelengths (λ) ranging from 0.24 to 0.8 μm are effectively confined. This strong energy confinement arises from the large acoustic impedance mismatch between the LiNbO3 thin film and the high-phase-velocity SiC substrate, enabling the selected modes to consistently exhibit high f-Q products exceeding 1012 with a maximum f-Q product of 1.6 ×1013 achieved for the SH1 mode at 10.6 GHz. The operating frequency is further extended to the millimeter-wave regime at 24.45 GHz with a shorter λ of 0.24 μm while maintaining an excellent f-Q product of 6 ×1012. These results highlight the strong potential of the LiNbO3/SiC platform for the development of frequency-scalable, high-performance acoustic devices for next-generation communication systems.

Molecular beam epitaxy and characterization of wurtzite LaAlN

We report the molecular beam epitaxy and structural characterization of single-phase wurtzite LaxAl1−xN thin films, with a La composition as high as x=0.20. In situ reflection high-energy electron diffraction confirms epitaxial film formation, and atomic force microscopy reveals sub-nanometer surface roughness for all compositions investigated. High-resolution x-ray diffraction and scanning transmission electron microscopy further confirm c-axis orientation, high crystalline quality, and precise in-plane epitaxial alignment. Importantly, atomic-resolution structural analysis demonstrates a continuous decrease in the c/a lattice-parameter ratio with increasing La content. In addition, out-of-plane piezoresponse force microscopy measurements show an enhanced effective d33, increasing from 5.00 pm/V for AlN to 7.66 pm/V for La0.20Al0.80N. These results establish LaAlN as a promising new wurtzite nitride alloy platform for future wide bandgap electronics, optoelectronics, and quantum photonics.

Ablation removal of transport-blocking defects in surface-electrode ion traps

We demonstrate in situ removal of a transport-blocking defect on a surface-electrode ion trap device using a Q-switched Nd:YAG 532 nm pulsed ablation laser. This approach eliminates the need to vent and rebake the vacuum system, providing a low-overhead defect-remediation technique well suited for ion-shuttling architectures where system modifications typically incur substantial downtime—particularly in shuttling focused experiments operating at temperatures that necessitate bakes. Additionally, the hardware used is readily available in many ion trap laboratories, making this solution attractive to experiments operating in such regimes. Following ablation, we observe near-unit shuttling success rates across the previously obstructed region and measure micromotion levels that remain within acceptable limits. This technique enables rapid, reliable restoration of transport pathways without interruption to experimental operation.