Control over the Preferred Orientation of CIGS Films Deposited by Magnetron Sputtering Using a Wetting Layer

Yong Yan,Fan Jiang,Lian Liu,Zhou Yu,Yong Zhang,Yong Zhao 대한금속·재료학회 2016 ELECTRONIC MATERIALS LETTERS Vol.12 No.1

A growth method is presented to control the preferred orientation inchalcopyrite CuInxGa1-xSe2 (CIGS) thin films grown by magnetronsputtering. Films with (220/204) and (112) preferred orientation aswell as randomly oriented films were prepared. The effects of anIn2Se3 wetting layer and the working pressure on the texture transitionphenomena were examined. A large-grained CIGS film with (220/204) texture was formed at 400°C with the inclusion of a thin (80 nm)In2Se3 layer and liquid phase (excess copper selenide phase)formation, and the reaction mechanism is proposed. The devicedeposited at 2.0 Pa on an In2Se3 layer exhibited the optimal electricalproperties.

Bioinformatic and integrated analysis identifies an lncRNA–miRNA–mRNA interaction mechanism in gastric adenocarcinoma

Yong Liao,Wen Cao,Kunpeng Zhang,Yang Zhou,Xin Xu,Xiaoling Zhao,Xu Yang,Jitao Wang,Shouwen Zhao,Shiyu Zhang,Longfei Yang,Dengxiang Liu,Yanpeng Tian,Weizhong Wu 한국유전학회 2021 Genes & Genomics Vol.43 No.6

Background lncRNAs–miRNAs–mRNAs networks play an important role in Gastric adenocarcinoma (GA). Identifcation of these networks provide new insight into the role of these RNAs in gastric cancer. Objectives Biological information databases were screened to characterize and examine the regulatory networks and to further investigate the potential prognostic relationship this regulation has in GA. Methods By mining The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database, we gathered information on GA-related lncRNAs, miRNAs, and mRNAs. We identifed diferentially expressed (DE) lncRNAs, miRNAs, and mRNAs using R software. The lncRNA–miRNA–mRNA interaction network was constructed and subsequent survival examination was performed. Representative genes were selected out using The Biological Networks Gene Ontology plug-in tool on Cytoscape. Additional analysis of Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) terms were used to screen representative genes for functional enrichment. Reverse transcription quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) were used to identify the expression of fve candidate diferential expressed RNAs. Results Information of samples from 375 cases of gastric cancer and 32 healthy cases (normal tissues) were downloaded from the TCGA database. A total of 1632 DE-mRNAs, 1008 DE-lncRNAs and 104 DE-miRNAs were identifed and screened. Among them, 65 DE-lncRNAs, 10 DE-miRNAs, and 10 DE-mRNAs form lncRNAs–miRNAs–mRNAs regulatory network. Additionally, 10 lncRNAs and 2 mRNAs were associated with the prognosis of GA. Multivariable COX analysis revealed that AC018781.1 and VCAN-AS1 were independent risk factors for GA. GO functional enrichment analysis found DE-mRNA was signifcantly enriched TERM (P<0.05). The KEGG signal regulatory network analysis found 11 signifcantly enrichment networks, the most prevailing was for the AGE-RAGE signaling pathway associated with Diabetic complications. Results of RT-qPCR was consistent with the in silico results. Conclusions The results of the present study represent a view of GA from a analysis of lncRNA, miRNA and mRNA. The network of lncRNA–miRNA–mRNA interactions revealed here may potentially further experimental studies and may help biomarker development for GA.

Macrophages Promote Coal Tar Pitch Extract-induced Tumorigenesis of BEAS-2B Cells and Tumor Metastasis in Nude Mice Mediated by AP-1

Zhang, Peng,Jin, Yue-Fei,Zhang, Qiao,Wu, Yi-Ming,Wu, Wei-Dong,Yao, Wu,Wu, Yong-Jun,Li, Zhi-Tao,Zhao, Yong,Liu, Yu,Feng, Fei-Fei Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2014 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.15 No.12

Background: We sought to evaluate the role of tumor associated macrophages (TAMs) on the promotion of coal tar pitch extract (CTPE)-induced tumorigenesis of human bronchial epithelial cells (BEAS-2B) and tumor metastasis in nude mice, and related mechanisms. Materials and Methods: BEAS-2B cells were first treated with 2.4 mg/mL CTPE for 72 hours. After removal of CTPE, the cells were continuously cultured and passaged using trypsin-EDTA. THP-1 cells were used as macrophage-like cells. BEAS-2B cells under different conditions (n=6/group) were injected into the back necks of nude mice, and alterations of tumor xenograft growth, indicative of tumorigenicity, and tumor metastasis were determined. Pathological changes (tumor nests and microvascular lesions) of HE-stained tumor tissues were also evaluated. The expression of AP-1(c-Jun) in xenografts and metastatic tumors was determined using immunohistochemistry. Results: Tumor size and weight in nude mice transplanted with the mixture of CTPE-induced passage 30 BEAS-2B and THP-1 cells (2:1) were increased compared to those from the CTPE-treated BEAS-2B cells at passage 30 alone at different observation time points. Tumor metastasis to lymph nodes and liver was only detected after transplantation of a mixture the two kinds of cells. The numbers of tumor nests and microvascular lesions, and the expression levels of AP-1 (c-Jun) in tumors from the mixture of two kinds of cells were increased apparently in contrast to those in tumor from the CTPE-treated BEAS-2B cells of passage 30 alone. In addition, there was positive correlation between AP-1 (c-Jun) expression level and the number of microvascular lesions, or between AP-1 (c-Jun) expression level and tumor metastasis in these two groups. Conclusions: TAMs not only facilitate tumorigenesis transformation of CTPE-induced BEAS-2B cells, but also promote tumor growth, angiogenesis and metastasis in nude mice in vivo, which may be mediated by AP-1.

Insect-specific microRNA involved in the development of the silkworm Bombyx mori

Yong Zhang,Xue Zhou,Xie Ge,Jiang-Hao Jiang,Mu-Wang Li,Shi-Hai Jia,Xiao-Nan Yang,Yun-Chao Kan,Xue-Xia Miao,Guo-Ping Zhao,Fei Li,Yong-Ping Huang 한국응용곤충학회 2009 한국응용곤충학회 학술대회논문집 Vol.2009 No.10

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are endogenous non-coding genes that participate in post-transcription regulation by either degrading mRNA or blocking its translation. It is considered to be very important in regulating insect development and metamorphosis. Insects are the largest group of animals and are extremely valuable in biological and agriculture research. Insects are also important pests to human health and agriculture, and efforts are necessary protect both humans and plants from disease and damage. Despite their importance, insects lag behind mammals, nematodes, and plants in miRNA research. At present, only 279 insect miRNAs have been identified from Drosophila melanogaster, Anopheles gambiae, Apis mellifera, Bombyx mori, and D. pseudoobscura in miRBase, and most of these miRNAs were computationally predicted without experimental validation. Functional analysis of insect miRNAs has only been conducted in D. melanogaster.

Antiproliferative Effects of Celecoxib in Hep-2 Cells through Telomerase Inhibition and Induction of Apoptosis

Zhao, Yong-Qiang,Feng, Hui-Wei,Jia, Tao,Chen, Xue-Mei,Zhang, Hui,Xu, An-Ting,Zhang, Hai-Ling,Fan, Xian-Liang Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2014 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.15 No.12

Background: To investigate the effect of celecoxib on telomerase activity and apoptosis in a human laryngeal squamous carcinoma cell line (Hep-2 cells). Materials and Methods: The growth inhibition rate of Hep-2 cells in vitro was measured by MTT assay, and apoptosis by TUNEL assay and flow cytometry (FCM). The TRAP-ELISA method was used to determine telomerase activity in Hep-2 cells. The mRNA expression of human telomerase RNA component(hTR), human telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT) and human telomerase-associated protein(hTEP1) was determined by RT-PCR assay. Expression of Bax and Bcl-2 proteins was assessed by Western blotting. Results: Celecoxib can inhibit proliferation and induce apoptosis in a dose- and time-dependent manner, repress telomerase activity, decrease hTERT mRNA and Bcl-2 protein expression and increase Bax protein expression, PGE2 had no effect on telomerase. Conclusions: Celecoxib had the antiproliferative and pro-apoptotic effect in Hep-2 cells. Apoptosis was accompanied by a decrease in telomerase activity which was directly correlated with hTERT mRNA and up-regulation of Bax/Bcl-2. Bcl-2 may thus play an important role in telomerase activity as well as apoptosis.

Trade Liberalization, Economic Growth and Convergence: Evidence From East Asian Economies

( Zhao Yong Zhang ) 세종대학교 경제통합연구소 2001 Journal of Economic Integration Vol.16 No.2

In recent years most studies analyzing cross-country convergence have ignored the role of international trade, simply framing the analysis in a Solow world. These models then have very limited power in explaining the economic growth of East Asia, given that East Asian integration is largely due to the market-driven forces, trade induced by foreign direct investment (FDI). This paper investigates the interrelationship between regional integration and economic convergence by linking income convergence to intra-regional trade and FDI. A central focus of the model is on how the degree of market integration driven through trade and FDI interacts with income convergence among the East Asian countries during the period 1960-1996. We shed light on the significance of trade openness, liberalization and regional integration in contributing to cross-country income convergence.

A Local and Analytical Curvature-Smooth Method with Jerk-Continuous Feedrate Scheduling along Linear Toolpath

Yong Zhang,Peiqing Ye,Hui Zhang,Mingyong Zhao 한국정밀공학회 2018 International Journal of Precision Engineering and Vol.19 No.10

Linear toolpath, which is always in forms of a large amount G01 codes, is most popular in practical Computer Numerical Control (CNC) systems. The linear toolpath discontinuity will bring the unavoidable fluctuations on velocity and acceleration, leading to unsatisfied machining efficiency and quality. To improve the G01 machining, corners are normally smoothened by various smooth curves and in this paper, a novel two-step method including path-smoothing and feedrate scheduling is proposed. In path-smoothing, a B-spline curve is adopted to blend sharp corners locally and the smooth curvature along transition toolpath is obtained. With constrained chord error, the analytical curvature extreme is proved to occur at the B-spline midpoint and optimal curvature extreme is searched to enhance machining efficiency. In feedrate scheduling, based on the extreme points, a look-ahead methodology is utilized to determine the reachable feedrate at these critical points and a jerk-continuous scheduling scheme is developed afterwards. To verify the proposed method, tracking and machining experiments are conducted to demonstrate the efficiency, contour performance as well as machining quality compared to point-to-point and curvature-continuous methods.

Development of an Adaptive-Feedrate Planning and Iterative Interpolator for Parametric Toolpath with Normal Jerk Constraint

Yong Zhang,Hui Zhang,Jiadong Shi,Jiali Jiang,Mingyong Zhao 한국정밀공학회 2021 International Journal of Precision Engineering and Vol.22 No.1

Compared to conventional linear and circular segments, the parametric curve has advantages in approximating and machining, guaranteeing higher machining precision and better machining quality. Therefore, in Computer Numerical Control (CNC) systems, parametric toolpath has become more and more popular for its high-performance in practical machining and the performance of the parametric interpolator has become a standard to illustrate the advanced CNC systems. In this paper, adaptive-feedrate planning and the iterative interpolator have been developed to generate sampling points with respect to error and higher order kinematic constraints. Firstly, a jerk-limited feedrate profile and look-ahead algorithm are utilized to provide reachable feedrate at critical points. Afterwards, normal jerk (i.e. the jerk in a normal direction) are limited to improve machining precision and quality. In theory, it is proved that the normal jerk limitations have relationship with curvature derivative and a novel iterative interpolator is proposed to ensure the normal jerk limitation by considering the corresponding constraints at curvature derivative extreme points. Finally, simulation and experiments are conducted to demonstrate the efficiency and contour performance of the proposed method compared to conventional method and time-optimal method.

Population-Stratified Analysis of Bone Mineral Density Distribution in Cervical and Lumbar Vertebrae of Chinese from Quantitative Computed Tomography

Yong Zhang,Zhuang Zhou,Cheng’ai Wu,Danhui Zhao,Chao Wang,Xiaoguang Cheng,Wei Cai,Ling Wang,Yangyang Duanmu,Chenxin Zhang,Wei Tian 대한영상의학회 2016 Korean Journal of Radiology Vol.17 No.5

Objective: To investigate the bone mineral density (BMD) of cervical vertebrae in a population-stratified manner and correlate with that of the lumbar vertebrae. Materials and Methods: Five hundred and ninety-eight healthy volunteers (254 males, 344 females), ranging from 20 to 64 years of age, were recruited for volumetric BMD (vBMD) measurements by quantitative computed tomography. Basic information (age, height, weight, waistline, and hipline), and vBMD of the cervical and lumbar vertebrae (C2–7 and L2–4) were recorded. Comparisons among sex, age groups and different levels of vertebrae were analyzed using analysis of variance. Linear regression was performed for relevance of different vertebral levels. Results: The vBMD of cervical and lumbar vertebrae was higher in females than males in each age group. The vBMD of the cervical and lumbar vertebrae in males and the vBMD of lumbar vertebrae in females decreased with aging. In each age group, the vBMD of the cervical vertebrae was higher than that of the lumbar vertebrae with gradual decreases from C2 to C7 except for C3; moreover, the vBMD of C6 and C7 was significantly different from that of C2–5. Correlations of vBMD among different cervical vertebrae (females: r = 0.62–0.94; males: r = 0.63–0.94) and lumbar vertebrae (males: r = 0.93–0.98; females: r = 0.82–0.97) were statistically significant at each age group. Conclusion: The present study provided normative data of cervical vertebrae in an age- and sex-stratified manner. Sex differences in vBMD prominently vary with age, which can be helpful to design a more comprehensive pre-operative surgical plan.

Effects of Pressure and Deposition Time on the Characteristics of In2Se3 Films Grown by Magnetron Sputtering

Yong Yan,Shasha Li,Yufeng Ou,Yaxin Ji,Zhou Yu,Lian Liu,Chuanpeng Yan,Yong Zhang,Yong Zhao 대한금속·재료학회 2014 ELECTRONIC MATERIALS LETTERS Vol.10 No.6

Crystalline In2Se3 films were fabricated by magnetron sputtering from a sintered In2Se3-compound target and the effects of the deposition parameters, including the working pressure and deposition time, on the phase composition, structure, morphology, and optical properties were clarified. Single-phase κ-In2Se3 was prepared at 4.0 Pa, but γ-In2Se3 was recognized when the working pressure was lower than 4.0 Pa. The optical transmittance of the films decreased to 45% and the optical band gap varied from 2.9 to 2.0 eV with increasing film thickness from 80 to 967 nm. Metal-semiconductor-metal (MSM) photodetectors based on γ-In2Se3 thin films with various thicknesses were also fabricated. The result of photosensitivity research on such MSM photodetectors suggests that it may be impossible to fabricate wide-absorption-range MSM devices by just using a single material (γ-In2Se3) because of spatial potential fluctuations in the layers.