Superconducting topological crystalline insulators are expected to form a new type of topological superconductors to host Majorana zero modes under the protection of lattice symmetries. The bulk superconductivity of topological crystalline insulators has been induced through chemical doping and proximity effect. However, only conventional full gaps are observed, so the existence of topological superconductivity in topological crystalline insulators is still controversial. Here, we report the successful fabrication of atomically flat lateral and vertical Sn 1-x Pb x Te-Pb heterostructures by molecular beam epitaxy. The superconductivity of the Sn 1-x Pb x Te-Pb heterostructures can be directly investigated by scanning tunneling spectroscopy. Unconventional peak-dip-hump gap features and fourfold symmetric quasiparticle interference patterns taken at the zero energy support the presence of the topological superconductivity in superconducting Sn 1-x Pb x Te. Strong superconducting proximity effect and easy preparation of various constructions between Sn 1-x Pb x Te and Pb make the heterostructures to be a promising candidate for topological superconducting devices to detect and manipulate Majorana zero modes in the future.A topological superconductor (TSC) is characterized by having a pairing gap in the bulk and gapless Andreev bound states at its boundary, which is topologically distinct from a conventional superconductor (SC). [1,2] TSCs contain Majorana zero modes (MZMs) which obey non-Abelian statistics, [3][4][5] thus exhibiting great potential applications in fault-tolerant topological quantum computing. [6][7][8] After the realization of topological insulators (TIs), [1,9,10] the search for TSCs in real materials has already been a very hot topic in condensed matter physics. Natural TSCs are rarely found, but topological superconductivity can be induced in TIs through chemical doping and superconducting proximity effect. Bulk superconductivity of doped TIs such as Cu, [11,12] Sr, [13,14] Nb [15,16] doped Bi 2 Se 3 have been discovered. The superconducting doped TI is considered as TSC, [17,18] but scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy (STM/STS) experiments show conventional full BCS-like s-wave gaps without any in-gap states. [19,20] Further calculation suggests that the U-shaped STS spectrum in Cu x Bi 2 Se 3 is related to the cylindrical shape of the Fermi surface. [21,22] For proximity induced superconductivity in TIs, it has been theoretically proposed that combining a conventional s-

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Although neuronal Toll-like receptors (TLRs) (e.g., TLR2, TLR3, and TLR7) have been implicated in itch sensation, the roles of keratinocyte TLRs in chronic itch are elusive.Herein, we evaluated the roles of keratinocyte TLR2 and TLR7 in chronic itch under dry skin and psoriasis conditions, which was induced by either acetone-ether-water treatment or 5% imiquimod cream in mice, respectively. We found that TLR2 and TLR7 signaling were significantly upregulated in dry skin and psoriatic skin in mice. Chronic itch and epidermal hyperplasia induced by dry skin or psoriasis were comparably reduced in TLR2 and TLR7 knockout mice. In the dry skin model, the enhanced messenger RNA (mRNA) expression levels of pruritic CXCL1/2, IL-31, IL-33, ST2, IL-6, IL-17A, TNF-α, and IFN-γ were inhibited in TLR2 −/− mice, while CXCL2, IL-31, and IL-6 were inhibited in TLR7 −/− mice. In psoriasis model, the enhanced mRNA expression levels of pruritic CXCL1/2, IL-31, IL-33, ST2, IL-6, and TNF-α were inhibited in TLR2 −/− mice, while CXCL1/2, IL-31, IL-33, ST2, IL-6, IL-17A, and TNF-α were inhibited in TLR7 −/− mice. Incubation with Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) peptidoglycan (PGN-SA) (a TLR2 agonist), imiquimod (a TLR7 agonist), and miR142-3p (a putative TLR7 agonist) were sufficient to upregulate the expression of pruritic cytokines or chemokines in cultured keratinocyte HaCaT cells. Finally, pharmacological blockade of C-X-C Motif

Superconducting topological crystalline insulators are expected to form a new type of topological superconductors to host Majorana zero modes under the protection of lattice symmetries. The bulk superconductivity of topological crystalline insulators has been induced through chemical doping and proximity effect. However, only conventional full gaps are observed, so the existence of topological superconductivity in topological crystalline insulators is still controversial. Here, we report the successful fabrication of atomically flat lateral and vertical Sn 1-x Pb x Te-Pb heterostructures by molecular beam epitaxy. The superconductivity of the Sn 1-x Pb x Te-Pb heterostructures can be directly investigated by scanning tunneling spectroscopy. Unconventional peak-dip-hump gap features and fourfold symmetric quasiparticle interference patterns taken at the zero energy support the presence of the topological superconductivity in superconducting Sn 1-x Pb x Te. Strong superconducting proximity effect and easy preparation of various constructions between Sn 1-x Pb x Te and Pb make the heterostructures to be a promising candidate for topological superconducting devices to detect and manipulate Majorana zero modes in the future.A topological superconductor (TSC) is characterized by having a pairing gap in the bulk and gapless Andreev bound states at its boundary, which is topologically distinct from a conventional superconductor (SC). [1,2] TSCs contain Majorana zero modes (MZMs) which obey non-Abelian statistics, [3][4][5] thus exhibiting great potential applications in fault-tolerant topological quantum computing. [6][7][8] After the realization of topological insulators (TIs), [1,9,10] the search for TSCs in real materials has already been a very hot topic in condensed matter physics. Natural TSCs are rarely found, but topological superconductivity can be induced in TIs through chemical doping and superconducting proximity effect. Bulk superconductivity of doped TIs such as Cu, [11,12] Sr, [13,14] Nb [15,16] doped Bi 2 Se 3 have been discovered. The superconducting doped TI is considered as TSC, [17,18] but scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy (STM/STS) experiments show conventional full BCS-like s-wave gaps without any in-gap states. [19,20] Further calculation suggests that the U-shaped STS spectrum in Cu x Bi 2 Se 3 is related to the cylindrical shape of the Fermi surface. [21,22] For proximity induced superconductivity in TIs, it has been theoretically proposed that combining a conventional s-