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The majority of basic and clinical studies have shown a protumor function of tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs), which represent a large proportion of matrix cells. TAMs promote tumorigenesis, and their number is related to the malignancy degree and poor prognosis of many kinds of tumors. Macrophage plasticity makes it possible to change the tumor microenvironment and remodel antitumor immunity during cancer immunotherapy. Increasing numbers of studies have revealed the effects of TAMs on the tumor microenvironment, for example, via promotion of tumor growth and tumorigenesis and through an increase in the number of cancer stem cells or via facilitation of angiogenesis, lymphangiogenesis, and metastasis. Investigators also proposed tumor-immunological treatments targeting TAMs by inhibiting TAM recruitment and differentiation, by regulating TAM polarization, and by blocking factors and pathways associated with the protumor function of TAMs. This comprehensive review presents recent research on TAMs in relation to prediction of poor outcomes, remodeling of the tumor immune microenvironment, and immunological targeted therapies.

Interfacial charge separation and transfer are the main challenges of efficient semiconductor-based Z-scheme photocatalytic systems. Here, it is discovered that a Schottky junction at the interface between the BiVO 4 {010} facet and Au is an efficient electron-transfer route useful for constructing a high-performance BiVO 4 {010}-Au-Cu 2 O Z-scheme photocatalyst. Spectroscopic and computational studies reveal that hot electrons in BiVO 4 {010} more easily cross the Schottky barrier to expedite the migration from BiVO 4 {010} to Au and are subsequently captured by the excited holes in Cu 2 O. This crystal-facet-dependent electron shuttle allows the long-lived holes and electrons to stay in the valence band of BiVO 4 and conduction band of Cu 2 O, respectively, contributing to improved light-driven CO 2 reduction. This unique semiconductor crystal-facet sandwich structure will provide an innovative strategy for rational design of advanced Z-scheme photocatalysts.

The precursor powders of Ca3Co4O9 were synthesized by a sol–gel method. The results of X‐ray diffraction and thermogravimetric and differential thermal analyses patterns indicate that pure Ca3Co4O9 powders could be obtained by calcining the precursor at 800°C for 2 h. High dense Ca3Co4O9 ceramic samples (∼99% of theoretical density) were prepared by the spark plasma sintering (SPS) method. Compared with the conventional sintering (CS), the SPS samples exhibit much higher electrical conductivity and power factor which are respectively about 118 S/cm and 3.51 × 10−4 W·(m·K2)−1. The SPS method is greatly effective for improving the thermoelectric properties of Ca3Co4O9 oxide ceramics.

Multiferroic composites made by combining ferroelectric and ferromagnetic substances have been rapidly developed for their excellent magnetoelectric (ME) effect above room temperature, which ensures large potential applications in multifunctional devices, transducer, actuators, and sensors. [1][2][3] The magnetoelectric effect is characterized by the appearance of an electric polarization (ME H output) on applying a magnetic field or a magnetic polarization (ME E output) on applying an electric field. It is well known that the ME effect in the composites is a product property deriving form the coupling between a piezoelectric effect in the ferroelectric phase and a magnetostrictive effect in the ferromagnetic phase. [4,5] That is, when a magnetic field is applied to the composites, the ferromagnetic phase changes its shape magnetostrictively, and the strain is passed along to the piezoelectric phase, resulting in a change of electric polarization. Among bulk multiferroic composites, the composites containing giant magnetostrictive alloy Tb 1-x Dy x Fe 2 (Terfenol-D) and piezoelectric Pb(Zr,Ti)O 3 (PZT), exhibiting high magneto-and electromechanical energy densities, respectively, are the most attractive due to their giant ME response. [6][7][8] Using the concept of phase connectivity, [9] we can describe the structures of a two-phase composite by notations like 0-3, 2-2, and 1-3 etc., in which each number denotes the connectivity of the phase. So far, 0-3, 2-2, and 1-3 type structured composites containing Terfenol-D and PZT (especially 0-3 and 2-2 composites) have been widely investigated. For example, a threephase 0-3 type composite in which Terfenol-D particles (notated as 0) are dispersed in PZT/polymer matrix (notated as 3) has been developed. [10] Similarly, by using polymer as binder and matrix, the pseudo 2-2-type composites have been fabricated by stacking and easily hot-pressing the Terfenol-D/ polymer layer and PZT/polymer layer together.[11] The lowfrequency ME sensitivity of such 0-3 type and pseudo 2-2 type composites is about 100 mV cm -1 Oe order of magnitude. In particular, by directly gluing Terfenol-D and PZT plates together, a much stronger ME effect was observed in such 2-2 Terfenol-D/PZT laminated composites, and the ME coefficient can reach up to several V cm -1 Oe, [7,8] which is one order of magnitude larger than the former 0-3 and pseudo 2-2 type composites. But the brittleness and high eddy current loss at high frequency of Terfenol-D plates restrict their applications. Besides these 0-3 and 2-2 structures, the 1-3 structure, that is, a fiber (or rod) reinforced composite, is another important structure. Recently, such 1-3 structured composites with PZT rod arrays in a Terfenol-D/epoxy (TDE) medium have been reported, [12] and were fabricated via the same dice-and-fill procedure as for the well-known piezoelectric 1-3 composites, [13] to exhibit a high ME coefficient of about 6 V cm -1 Oe at resonance frequency. By the dice-and-fill procedure, the preparation of PZT rod arrays becomes ...

Cell-membrane-coated nanoparticles have emerged as a promising antitumor therapeutic strategy. However, the immunologic mechanism remains elusive, and there are still crucial issues to be addressed including tumor-homing capacity, immune incompatibility, and immunogenicity. Here, we reported a tumor-associated macrophage membrane (TAMM) derived from the primary tumor with unique antigen-homing affinity capacity and immune compatibility. TAMM could deplete the CSF1 secreted by tumor cells in the tumor microenvironment (TME), blocking the interaction between TAM and cancer cells. Especially, after coating TAMM to upconversion nanoparticle with conjugated photosensitizer (NPR@TAMM), NPR@TAMM-mediated photodynamic immunotherapy switched the activation of macrophages from an immunosuppressive M2-like phenotype to a more inflammatory M1-like state, induced immunogenic cell death, and consequently enhanced the antitumor immunity efficiency via activation of antigen-presenting cells to stimulate the production of tumor-specific effector T cells in metastatic tumors. This TAM-membrane-based photodynamic immunotherapy approach offers a new strategy for personalized tumor therapy.