GaTe is an important III-VI semiconductor with direct bandgap; thus, it holds great potential in the field of optoelectronics. Although it is known that GaTe can exist both in monoclinic and hexagonal phases, current studies are still exclusively restricted to the monoclinic phase of two dimensional (2D) GaTe owing to the difficulty in the fabrication of 2D hexagonal GaTe. Both monoclinic and hexagonal GaTe are demonstrated in this work, which can be selectively synthesized via a physical vapor deposition method, under precisely controlled growth temperatures. The pristine Raman and non-linear optical properties of hexagonal GaTe has been systematically explored for the first time; moreover, a novel selected-area phase transition from hexagonal to monoclinic of GeTe has been achieved via fs-laser irradiation. This work may pave the way for widely use of 2D GaTe in various fields in future.a strategy for selected-area phase transition from h-GaTe to m-GaTe, which may pave the way for wide applications of GaTe in future.

Aim: To investigate the association between the experience of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and neurodevelopment of 6-month-old and 1-year-old children and explore the differences in the association by birth order.Methods: This comparison study was embedded in the Born in Guangzhou Cohort Study in China. The exposed group included 546 6-month-old and 285 1-year-old children who attended neurodevelopment assessments between March 1 and May 15, 2020, and the non-exposed group included 3,009 6-month-old and 2,214 1-year-old children during the same months from 2015 to 2019. Neurodevelopment at age 6 months and 1 year was assessed by trained clinical staff using the Ages and Stages Questionnaires, third edition (ASQ-3) and the Gesell Developmental Schedules (GDS).Results: The experience of the pandemic in 2020 was associated with a higher risk of delay in the fine motor (adjusted OR: 2.50, 95% CI: 1.25, 4.99; estimated by logistic regression) and communication (adjusted RR [aRR]: 1.13, 95% CI: 1.02, 1.25; estimated by log-binomial regression) domains at age 1 year. The association between the experience of the pandemic and communication delay at age 1 year only existed in first-born children (aRR: 1.15, 95% CI: 1.03, 1.30) but not in later-born children (aRR: 1.02, 95% CI: 0.84, 1.25). No associations were observed in any domain among 6-month-olds.Conclusion: Experiencing the COVID-19 pandemic and related public health strategies might be associated with a higher risk of delay in the development of fine motor and communication in 1-year-old children; the association observed in the communication domain only existed in first-born children.

The Born in Guangzhou Cohort Study (BIGCS) is a large-scale prospective observational study investigating the role of social, biological and environmental influences on pregnancy and child health and development in an urban setting in southern China. Pregnant women who reside in Guangzhou and who attend Guangzhou Women and Children's Medical Center (GWCMC) for antenatal care in early pregnancy (<20 weeks' gestation) are eligible for inclusion. Study recruitment commenced in February 2012, with an overall participation rate of 76.3%. Study recruitment will continue until December 2018 to achieve the target sample size of 30,000 mother-child pairs. At 30 April 2016, a total of 75,422 questionnaires have been collected, while 14,696 live births have occurred with planned follow-up of cohort children until age 18 years. During the same period a total of 1,053,000 biological samples have been collected from participants, including maternal, paternal and infant blood, cord blood, placenta, umbilical cord, and maternal and infant stool samples. The dataset has been enhanced by record linkage to routine health and administrative records. We plan future record linkage to school enrolment and national examination records.

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