A Systematic Search for the Geometric Structures, Stabilities and Electronic Properties of Bimetallic CsAu(0,±1)n Clusters

Hu Yan-Fei,Li Qing-Yang,Zhao Ya-Ru,Jiang Gang 한국물리학회 2020 THE JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN PHYSICAL SOCIETY Vol.77 No.1

The geometric structures, relative stabilities, growth-pattern behaviors, and electronic properties of neutral and charged CsAun(0,±1) clusters have been systematically investigated with the general gradient approximation (GGA) exchange correlation density functional theory (TPSSTPSS) and a relativistic effective core potential, together with a vibrational frequency anslysis. The optimized geometric structures show that the ground-state structures have three-dimensional (3D) structures from n = 4 and that the doped Cs atoms tend to locate at the symmetry and surface position. One gold-atom-capped CsAun-1(0,±1) structure for CsAun(0,±1) clusters with increasing number of Au atoms is the dominant growth pattern. The total energies and the averaged atomic binding energies exhibit a sequence of CsAun- > CsAun > CsAun+, which indicates that the stability of anionic CsAun- clusters is higher than that of neutral CsAun clusters and that the CsAun clusters is more stable than the cationic CsAun+ clusters. The relative stabilities are examined based on the analysis of the averaged atomic binding energy and the second-order difference energy, and the results indicate that the CsAu3, CsAu6+ and CsAu2- clusters are the most stable clusters. Based on the analysis of the frontier molecular orbitals, we find that the CsAun(0,±1) (n = 1 - 10) clusters can more easily acquire electrons and that the loss of electrons is difficult. The highest occupied-lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (HOMO-LUMO) gaps exhibit significant even-odd oscillation behavior. The higher gaps are exhibited by neutral CsAun clusters with odd numbers of gold atoms and ionic CsAunㅇ1 clusters with even numbers of gold atoms. Especially, the CsAu3, CsAu6+ and CsAu2- clusters have the highest HOMO-LUMO gaps, which proves again that CsAu3, CsAu6^+ and CsAu2- clusters are the most stable and the magic structures. Because of the electronegativity of Au is higher than that of the Cs atom, the charge transfers from the Cs atoms to the Aun frames in the CsAun±1 clusters. Furthermore, we have calculated the dissociation energies and found that the CsAun+ clusters have lower dissociation energies. This indicates that CsAun^+ clusters are easy to dissociate and less stable. The dissociation energies of the CsAun and the CsAun- clusters exhibit a generally opposite odd-even behavior.

Study on softening behavior of laser welded joint in GH909 alloy

Fei Yan,Tao Zhan,Sang Liu,Zhengwu Zhu,Chunming Wang,Xiyuan Hu 대한기계학회 2017 JOURNAL OF MECHANICAL SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY Vol.31 No.11

Laser beam welding was conducted on GH909 alloy in a solution treatment and aging conditions. The microstructure, mechanical properties, and softening behavior of welded joints were carefully studied using scanning electron microscopy, energy diffraction spectroscopy, and other techniques. Results indicated that γ′-Ni 3 (TiAl)-precipitated phases were produced inside the matrix, and the presence of Laves at grain boundaries restricted grain growth. A sharp reduction in γ′-precipitated phases evidently weakened the average tensile strength and microhardness of the welded joints. Moreover, fractures occurred in the weld zone. Microcracks in the fracture of the joint mainly depended on the competition result between thermal stress and cohesion forces among the grains.

Modeling on Thermal Efficiency and Nox Emission of Alkali Recovery Furnace Depending on Oxygen Content of Flue Gas

Yan Li,Zhen Hu,Ceng-fei,Yun Qing-yu Dai 한국펄프·종이공학회 2020 펄프.종이기술 Vol.52 No.5

Fabrication of Stiffness Gradient Nanocomposite Hydrogels for Mimicking Cell Microenvironment

Yan Hu,Yang Yang,Fei Tian,Pingping Xu,Rongcheng Du,Xuehuan Xia,Shimei Xu 한국고분자학회 2021 Macromolecular Research Vol.29 No.7

It has attracted much attention to develop a gradient hydrogel for real mimic of the extracellular matrix. Despite simplicity and ease of electrophoresis preparation method, some drawbacks limit the application of the method including toxic organic crosslinker residual, specific ionic monomer types, as well as narrow gradient gaps. In this work, we successfully prepared gradiently crosslinked nonionic PNIPAm/Laponite nanocomposite (NC) hydrogels with controllable gradient structures by adjusting the intensity of the direct current electric field. The results showed that the stiffness, surface property and thermosensitivity of the hydrogel changed with gradient distributions of Laponite. The average stiffness gradients varied from 0.18 kPa/mm, 0.41 kPa/mm to 1.28 kPa/mm by simply adjusting the intensity of the direct current electric field from 0.13 V/mm, 0.20 V/mm to 0.27 V/mm accordingly. The stiffness reached in a range of 13.8~33.0 kPa. The growth behaviors of human cervical cancer cells (HeLa cells) on the gradient NC hydrogel surface were discussed. Spreading and proliferation, as well as morphology of HeLa cells were closely related to the stiffness of the gradient NC hydrogels. This work develops a stiffness-controllable gradient NC hydrogel and opens up a new insight into the better understanding of cells behaviors in different tissues and organs in vivo.

Calpain-10 SNP43 and SNP19 Polymorphisms and Colorectal Cancer: a Matched Case-control Study

Hu, Xiao-Qin,Yuan, Ping,Luan, Rong-Sheng,Li, Xiao-Ling,Liu, Wen-Hui,Feng, Fei,Yan, Jin,Yang, Yan-Fang Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2013 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.14 No.11

Objective: Insulin resistance (IR) is an established risk factor for colorectal cancer (CRC). Given that CRC and IR physiologically overlap and the calpain-10 gene (CAPN10) is a candidate for IR, we explored the association between CAPN10 and CRC risk. Methods: Blood samples of 400 case-control pairs were genotyped, and the lifestyle and dietary habits of these pairs were recorded and collected. Unconditional logistic regression (LR) was used to assess the effects of CAPN10 SNP43 and SNP19, and environmental factors. Both generalized multifactor dimensionality reduction (GMDR) and the classification and regression tree (CART) were used to test gene-environment interactions for CRC risk. Results: The GA+AA genotype of SNP43 and the Del/Ins+Ins/Ins genotype of SNP19 were marginally related to CRC risk (GA+AA: OR = 1.35, 95% CI = 0.92-1.99; Del/Ins+Ins/Ins: OR = 1.31, 95% CI = 0.84-2.04). Notably, a high-order interaction was consistently identified by GMDR and CART analyses. In GMDR, the four-factor interaction model of SNP43, SNP19, red meat consumption, and smoked meat consumption was the best model, with a maximum cross-validation consistency of 10/10 and testing balance accuracy of 0.61 (P < 0.01). In LR, subjects with high red and smoked meat consumption and two risk genotypes had a 6.17-fold CRC risk (95% CI = 2.44-15.6) relative to that of subjects with low red and smoked meat consumption and null risk genotypes. In CART, individuals with high smoked and red meat consumption, SNP19 Del/Ins+Ins/Ins, and SNP43 GA+AA had higher CRC risk (OR = 4.56, 95%CI = 1.94-10.75) than those with low smoked and red meat consumption. Conclusions: Though the single loci of CAPN10 SNP43 and SNP19 are not enough to significantly increase the CRC susceptibility, the combination of SNP43, SNP19, red meat consumption, and smoked meat consumption is associated with elevated risk.

Comparison of Two Methods to Extract DNA from Formalin-Fixed, Paraffin-Embedded Tissues and their Impact on EGFR Mutation Detection in Non-small Cell Lung Carcinoma

Hu, Yu-Chang,Zhang, Qian,Huang, Yan-Hua,Liu, Yu-Fei,Chen, Hong-Lei Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2014 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.15 No.6

Objective: Molecular pathology tests are often carried for clinicopathological diagnosis and pathologists have established large collections of formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissue (FFPE) banks. However, extraction of DNA from FFPE is a laborious and challenging for researchers in clinical laboratories. The aim of this study was to compare two widely used DNA extraction methods: using a QIAamp DNA FFPE kit from Qiagen and a Cobas Sample Preparation Kit from Roche, and evaluated the effect of the DNA quality on molecular diagnostics. Methods: DNA from FFPE non-small cell lung carcinoma tissues including biopsy and surgical specimens was extracted with both QIAamp DNA FFPE and Cobas Sample Preparation Kits and EGFR mutations of non-small cell lung carcinomas were detected by real-time quantitative PCR using the extracted DNA. Results and Conclusion: Our results showed that DNA extracted by QIAamp and Cobas methods were both suitable to detect downstream EGFR mutation in surgical specimens. Howover, Cobas method could yield more DNA from biopsy specimens, and gain much better EGFR mutation results.

A Novel Kinetic Analysis of Crystallization of Polypropylene (PP) in Dynamically-vulcanized PP/Ethylene-propylene-diene Rubber (EPDM) Blends Using an In-situ Measurement Technique

Lei Hu,Bin Yang,Yan-Li Deng,Fei-Xue Lu,Ru Xia,Zheng-Zhi Zheng,Ji-Bin Miao,Jia-Sheng Qian,Chuan-Ru Zhang,Peng Chen,Yu-Chuan Zhang 한국고분자학회 2017 폴리머 Vol.41 No.4

The effects of cooling medium temperatures and plastic/rubber ratios on solidification and crystallization kinetics of dynamically-vulcanized polypropylene/ethylene-propylene-diene rubber (PP/EPDM) blends were investigated with the aid of an in-situ measurement technique. The cooling medium temperature heavily influenced the solidification kinetics primarily due to a combination of latent heat liberated from the molten polymer and the heat transferred away via the metallic wall during the cooling period. Interestingly, the parameter C in three-parameter model was not only affected by the material properties, but also by the cooling condition, different from the previous literature. The crystallization kinetics analysis indicated that the effect of EPDM in the blends consisted of both nucleation-promoting effect (low EPDM loading) and steric effect (higher EPDM loading). The present kinetic analysis may be helpful to further studies on improving the product performances for industrial applications.

Improvement of energy storage performance in PbZr0.52Ti0.48O3/PbZrO3 multilayer thin films via regulating PbZrO3 thickness

Yang Fei,Shi Yu Jia,Lin Lin,Chen Jing Yao,Hou Meng Zhe,Yu Ke Xin,Zhang Yi Han,Yuan Zheng,Li Xiao Fang,Hu Yan Chun,Shang Jun,Yin Shao Qian,Wang Xian Wei 한국물리학회 2023 Current Applied Physics Vol.50 No.-

In this work, to prepare the PbZr0.52Ti0.48O3(PZT)/PbZrO3(PZ) multilayer films, PZ films and PZT films were spin-coated on LaNiO3/SiO2/Si substrates in sequence by the sol-gel method, and the PZ films were prepared using PZ precursor solution with different concentrations. After each spin-coating, PZ layer and PZT layer were annealed with rapid thermal annealing (RTA) technique at 650 ◦C and 550 ◦C, respectively. The crystal structures, microstructures and electrical properties of the films with different PZ film thickness were comprehensively investigated. The PZ films with different thickness showed perovskite phase. The PZT films on crystallized PZ films exhibited the coexistence of pyrochlore phase and perovskite phase at the annealing temperature of 550 ◦C. The PZT/PZ multilayer films with 0.2 M PZ precursor solution exhibit typical anti-ferroelectricity with double hysteresis loops, while other multilayer films exhibit nearly linear loops. In addition, the recoverable energy storage density increases with the increase of the film thickness and reaches the maximum value 32.4 J/ cm3 in the PZT/PZ multilayer films with 0.4 M PZ precursor solution. Therefore, the ferroelectric properties of the PZT/PZ multilayer films could be regulated by different PZ film thickness, which effectively further enhances the energy storage performance.

A Novel All-trans Retinoid Acid Derivative Induces Apoptosis in MDA-MB-231 Breast Cancer Cells

Wang, Bei,Yan, Yun-Wen,Zhou, Qing,Gui, Shu-Yu,Chen, Fei-Hu,Wang, Yuan Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2014 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.15 No.24

Aims: To explore the effect and probable mechanism of a synthetic retinoid 4-amino-2-tri-fluoromethylphenyl ester (ATPR) on apoptosis of MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells. Materials and Methods: MTT assays were performed to measure the proliferation of MDA-MB-231 cells treated with different concentrations of all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) and ATPR. Morphologic changes were observed by microscopy. The apoptosis rates and cell cycling of MDA-MB-231 cells treated with ATRA or ATPR were assessed using flow cytometry analysis. Expression of retinoic acid receptor and phosphorylation of ERK, JNK, p38 proteins were detected by Western blotting. Results: Treatment of the cells with the addition of $15{\mu}mol/L$ ATPR for 48 h clearly demonstrated reduced cell numbers and deformed cells, whereas no changes in the number and morphology were observed after treatment with ATRA. The apoptosis rate was 33.2% after breast cancer MDA-MB-231 cells were treated by ATPR ($15{\mu}mol/L$) whereas ATRA ($15{\mu}mol/L$) had no apoptotic effect. ATPR inhibited the phosphorylation of ERK, JNK, and p38 while ATRA had no significant effect. ATPR inhibited the expression of BiP and increased the expression of Chop at the protein level compared with control groups, ATRA and ATPR both decreased the protein expression of $RXR{\alpha}$, ATPR reduced the protein expression of $RAR{\beta}$ and $RXR{\beta}$ while ATRA did not decrease $RAR{\beta}$ or $RXR{\beta}$. Conclusions: ATPR could induce apoptosis of breast cancer MDA-MB-231 cells, possible mechanisms being binding to $RAR{\beta}/RXR{\beta}$ heterodimers, then activation of ER stress involving the MAPK pathway.

Systemic Inflammatory Biomarkers, Especially Fibrinogen to Albumin Ratio, Predict Prognosis in Patients with Pancreatic Cancer

Lin Fang,Fei-Hu Yan,Chao Liu,Jing Chen,Dan Wang,Chun-Hui Zhang,Chang-Jie Lou,Jie Lian,Yang Yao,Bo-Jun Wang,Rui-Yang Li,Shu-Ling Han,Yi-Bing Bai,Jia-Ni Yang,Zhi-Wei Li,Yan-Qiao Zhang 대한암학회 2021 Cancer Research and Treatment Vol.53 No.1

Purpose Systemic inflammatory response is a critical factor that promotes the initiation and metastasis of malignancies including pancreatic cancer (PC). This study was designed to determine and compare the prognostic value of neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR), monocyte-to-lymphocyte ratio (MLR), and fibrinogen-to-albumin ratio (FAR) in resectable PC and locally advanced or metastatic PC. Materials and Methods Three hundred fifty-three patients with resectable PC and 807 patients with locally advan-ced or metastatic PC were recruited in this study. These patients were classified into a training set (n=758) and a validation set (n=402). Kaplan-Meier survival plots and Cox proportional hazards regression models were used to analyze prognosis. Results Overall survival (OS) was significantly better for patients with resectable PC with low preoperative PLR (p=0.048) and MLR (p=0.027). Low FAR, MLR, NLR (p < 0.001), and PLR (p=0.003) were significantly associated with decreased risk of death for locally advanced or metastatic PC patients. FAR (hazard ratio [HR], 1.522; 95% confidential interval [CI], 1.261 to 1.837; p < 0.001) and MLR (HR, 1.248; 95% CI, 1.017 to 1.532; p=0.034) were independent prognostic factors for locally advanced or metastatic PC. Conclusion The prognostic roles of FAR, MLR, NLR, and PLR in resectable PC and locally advanced or metastatic PC were different. FAR showed the most prognostic power in locally advanced or metastatic PC. Low FAR was positively correlated with OS in locally advanced or metastatic PC, which could be used to predict the prognosis.