In this work, density functional theory calculations along with ab initio molecular dynamics simulations are employed to evaluate the potential of intermixed and separated phases of borophene as anode materials for lithium-ion batteries. The most stable binding positions are identified, followed by a gradual increase of lithium-ion concentration until a maximum value of theoretical specific capacity is achieved. The results indicate that separate phases of striped, β 12 and χ 3 show adsorption energies of −1.16, −1.42 and −1.25 eV to lithium adatom, respectively. Moreover, the maximum lithium concentration for the mentioned phases are Li 0.75 B, Li 0.8 B and Li 0.583 B with their corresponding specific capacities being 1864, 1983 and 1487 mAh g −1 , accordingly. Moreover, the energy barrier for lithium diffusion is calculated along different pathways to determine the performance of each of the discussed phases. As intermixing of the phases is an inevitable phenomenon in the synthesis process of borophene, three possible types of intermixing are analyzed. The predicted capacity for both separated and intermixed phases are well above the highest reported values for common materials, which renders this material a promising candidate for future high capacity lithium-ion batteries.

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Background Nodal status evaluation is a crucial step in determining prognostic factors and managing treatment strategies for breast cancer patients. Preoperative (CNB), intraoperative (SLNB), and even postoperative techniques (Formalin-Fixed Paraffin-Embedded sectioning, FFPE) have definite limitations of precision or sometimes are time-consuming for the result declaration. The primary purpose of this prospective study is to provide a precise complementary system for distinguishing lymph nodes (LNs) involved by cancerous cells in breast cancer patients intraoperatively. Methods The proposed system, Electrical Lymph Scoring(ELS), is designed based on the dielectric properties of the under-test LNs. The system has a needle-shaped 2-electrode probe entered into SLNs or ALNs dissected from patients through standard surgical guidelines. Impedance magnitude in f = 1 kH (Z1kHz) and Impedance Phase Slope in frequency ranges of 100 kHz–500 kHz (IPS) were then extracted from the impedance spectroscopy data in a cohort study of 77 breast cancer patients(totally 282 dissected LNs) who had been undergone surgery before (n = 55) or after (n = 22) chemical therapies (non-neoadjuvant or neoadjuvant chemotherapy). A new admittance parameterSymbol also proposed for LN detection in neoadjuvant chemotherapy patients. Results Considering the permanent pathology result as the gold standard checked by two independent expert pathologists, a significant correlation was observed between the presence of cancerous cells in LNs and individual ranges of the ELS electrical responses. Compared with normal LNs containing fatty ambient and immune cells, LNs involved by cancerous clusters would reduce the Z1kHz and increase the IPS. These changes correlate with fat metabolism by cancer cells due to their Fatty Acid Oxidation (FAO) in LN, which results in different dielectric properties between high and low-fat content of normal and cancerous LNs, respectively. Conclusions By finding the best correlation between our defined impedimetric parameters and pathological states of tested LNs, a real-time intraoperative detection approach was developed for highly-sensitive (92%, P<0.001) diagnosis of involved sentinel or axillary LNs. The impact of real-time intraoperative scoring of SLNs would make a pre-estimation about the necessity of excising further LNs to help the surgeon for less invasive surgery, especially in the absence of frozen-section equipment. Graphical abstract Highlights

The most fatal malignancy of the central nervous system (CNS) is glioblastoma. Brain cancer is a 'cold' tumor because of fewer immunoregulatory cells and more immunosuppressive cells. Due to the cold nature of brain cancers, conventional treatments which are used to manage glioma patients show little effectiveness. Glioma patients even showed resistance to immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) and no significant efficacy. It has been shown that myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) account for approximately 30-50% of the tumor mass in glioma. This study aimed to review MDSC function in brain cancer, as well as possible treatments and related challenges. In brain cancer and glioma, several differences in the context of MDSCs have been reported, including disagreements about the MDSC subtype that has the most inhibitory function in the brain, or inhibitory function of regulatory B cells (Bregs). There are also serious challenges in treating glioma patients. In addition to the cold nature of glioma, there are reports of an increase in MDSCs following conventional chemotherapy treatments. As a result, targeting MDSCs in combination with other therapies, such as ICB, is essential, and recent studies with the combination therapy approach have shown promising therapeutic effects in brain cancer.

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