Dapagliflozin ameliorates hepatic steatosis via suppressing LXRα-mediated synthesis of lipids and bile acids.

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) prevalence is rising globally with no pharmacotherapies approved. Hepatic steatosis is closely associated with progression and prognosis of NAFLD. Dapagliflozin, kind of sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibitor, was found to improve NAFLD in clinical trials, while the underlying mechanism remains poorly elucidated. Here, we reported that dapagliflozin effectively mitigated liver injury and relieved lipid metabolism disorders in vivo. Further investigation showed that dapagliflozin markedly suppressed Liver X Receptor α (LXRα)-mediated synthesis of de novo lipids and bile acids (BAs). In AML12 cells, our results proved dapagliflozin decreased lipid contents via inhibiting the expression of LXRα and downstream liposynthesis genes. Proteosome inhibitor MG132 eliminated the effect of dapagliflozin on LXRα-mediated signaling pathway, which suggested that dapagliflozin downregulated LXRα expression through increasing LXRα degradation. Knockdown of LXRα with siRNA abolished the reduction of lipogenesis from dapagliflozin treatment, indicating that LXRα might be the pivotal target for dapagliflozin to exhibit the aforementioned benefits. Furthermore, the data showed that dapagliflozin reversed gut dysbiosis induced by BAs disruption and altered gut microbiota profile to reduce intestinal lipids absorption. Together, our study deciphered a novel mechanism by which dapagliflozin relieved hepatic steatosis and highlighted the potential benefit of dapagliflozin in treating NAFLD.

Black Arsenic Phosphorus Mid-Wave Infrared Barrier Detector with High Detectivity at Room Temperature.

The barrier structure is designed to enhance the operating temperature of the infrared detector, thereby improving the efficiency of collecting photogenerated carriers and reducing dark current generation, without suppressing the photocurrent. However, the development of barrier detectors using conventional materials is limited due to the strict requirements for lattice and band matching. In this study, a high-performance unipolar barrier detector is designed utilizing a black arsenic phosphorus/molybdenum disulfide/black phosphorus van der Waals heterojunction. The device exhibits a broad response bandwidth ranging from visible light to mid-wave infrared (520 nm to 4.6 µm), with a blackbody detectivity of 2.7 × 1010 cmHz-1/2 W-1 in the mid-wave infrared range at room temperature. Moreover, the optical absorption anisotropy of black arsenic phosphorus enables polarization resolution detection, achieving a polarization extinction ratio of 35.5 at 4.6 µm. Mid-wave infrared imaging of the device is successfully demonstrated at room temperature, highlighting the significant potential of barrier devices based on van der Waals heterojunctions in mid-wave infrared detection.

Charge order driven by multiple-Q spin fluctuations in heavily electron-doped iron selenide superconductors.

Intertwined spin and charge orders have been widely studied in high-temperature superconductors, since their fluctuations may facilitate electron pairing; however, they are rarely identified in heavily electron-doped iron selenides. Here, using scanning tunneling microscopy, we show that when the superconductivity of (Li0.84Fe0.16OH)Fe1-xSe is suppressed by introducing Fe-site defects, a short-ranged checkerboard charge order emerges, propagating along the Fe-Fe directions with an approximately 2aFe period. It persists throughout the whole phase space tuned by Fe-site defect density, from a defect-pinned local pattern in optimally doped samples to an extended order in samples with lower Tc or non-superconducting. Intriguingly, our simulations indicate that the charge order is likely driven by multiple-Q spin density waves originating from the spin fluctuations observed by inelastic neutron scattering. Our study proves the presence of a competing order in heavily electron-doped iron selenides, and demonstrates the potential of charge order as a tool to detect spin fluctuations.

Research Progress of FeSe-based Superconductors Containing Ammonia/Organic Molecules Intercalation.

As an important part of Fe-based superconductors, FeSe-based superconductors have become a hot field in condensed matter physics. The exploration and preparation of such superconducting materials form the basis of studying their physical properties. With the help of various alkali/alkaline-earth/rare-earth metals, different kinds of ammonia/organic molecules have been intercalated into the FeSe layer to form a large number of FeSe-based superconductors with diverse structures and different layer spacing. Metal cations can effectively provide carriers to the superconducting FeSe layer, thus significantly increasing the superconducting transition temperature. The orientation of organic molecules often plays an important role in structural modification and can be used to fine-tune superconductivity. This review introduces the crystal structures and superconducting properties of several typical FeSe-based superconductors containing ammonia/organic molecules intercalation discovered in recent years, and the effects of FeSe layer spacing and superconducting transition temperature are briefly summarized.

Multiband Superconductivity with Sign-Preserving Order Parameter in Kagome Superconductor CsV_{3}Sb_{5}.

The superconductivity of a kagome superconductor CsV_{3}Sb_{5} is studied by scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy at ultralow temperature with high resolution. Two kinds of superconducting gaps with multiple sets of coherent peaks and residual zero-energy density of states (DOS) are observed on both half-Cs and Sb surfaces, implying multiband superconductivity. In addition, in-gap states can be induced by magnetic impurities but not by nonmagnetic impurities, suggesting a sign-preserving or s-wave superconducting order parameter. Moreover, the interplay between charge density waves (CDW) and superconductivity differs on various bands, resulting in different density-of-states distributions. Our results suggest that the superconducting gap is likely isotropic on the sections of Fermi surface that play little roles in CDW, and the superconducting gaps on the sections of Fermi surface with anisotropic CDW gaps are likely anisotropic as well. The residual spectral weights at zero energy are attributed to the extremely small superconducting gap on the tiny oval Fermi pockets. Our study provides critical clues for further understanding the superconductivity and its relation to CDW in CsV_{3}Sb_{5}.

Modulation Effect Generated by A Cations in Hybrid A2BB'X6 Double Halogen Perovskite Materials.

Double perovskite A2BB'X6, including all-inorganic and hybrid organic-inorganic composition, show great potential applications. The role of A cations (organic molecules or inorganic ions) in the double perovskite is distinct from that in the standard perovskite. Therefore, we carried out systematic analyses of the geometric and electronic structures of Cs2AgBiBr6 and (MA)2AgBiBr6 (MA = CH3NH3) double perovskites. Cs2AgBiBr6 maintains the standard cubic double perovskite lattice. While MA molecules prefer to align in the [110] direction in (MA)2AgBiBr6 and give rise to obvious lattice distortion. The band gap of (MA)2AgBiBr6 is slightly less than that of Cs2AgBiBr6. Because of the spherical or quasi-spherical wave functions of the s/d orbitals, the lattice distortion and the transverse shift between Ag/Bi and Br induced by MA molecules do not change the composition of the band edges. But the complex bonding interactions between MA and the inorganic frameworks make the Ag-Br or Bi-Br bond lengths no longer identical values, so the bond strength and the energy level of each bonding state are dispersed and the band is expanded, which reduces the band gap of the hybrid organic-inorganic double perovskite (MA)2AgBiBr6. Making the role of A cations in the A2BB'X6 double perovskite clear, we could find an excellent double perovskite to put forward their applications.

Investigation of the Mn dopant-enhanced photoluminescence performance of lead-free Cs2AgInCl6 double perovskite crystals.

The lead-free double perovskite Cs2AgInCl6 is a potential candidate for LEDs, the photoluminescence performance of which is reinforced greatly by Mn doping. Here, we analyzed the geometric, electronic and photoluminescence properties of Mn-doped Cs2AgInCl6 by means of first-principle calculations. We found that in the interior of Cs2AgInCl6, the Mn dopant formed defect complexes by substituting an Ag atom and generating an Ag vacancy (MnAgVAg) owing to the charge balance and the weak distortion of the metal octahedra. The MnAgVAg defect introduced two defect bands in the forbidden gap, which was contributed predominantly by the 3d orbitals of the Mn2+ ions. The electron transition of the Mn2+ ions from the first excited state to the ground state, i.e., from 4T1 to 6A1 states, gives rise to the PL spectrum that is lower than the bandgap. Therefore, we show that the Mn dopant indeed reinforces the PL performance of Cs2AgInCl6 greatly and is beneficial for its use as an LED material.