Preferential orientation of diamond formation on TaC: Diamond(111)//TaC(111)

Experimental results showed that for the diamond film prepared by hot filament chemical vapor deposition (HFCVD) using Ta filament, TaC existed between diamond and the silicon substrate, and diamond grew directly on TaC, while the inherent mechanism was not clear. Here, a special coherent interface Diamond(111)//TaC(111) is observed using high resolution transmission electron microscopy, and then we explore the effects of the TaC with different lattice planes on the diamond formation by first-principle calculations. The results show that C tends to adsorb on the TaC(111) C-terminated surface. The strong covalent bond between C from diamond and Ta from TaC is formed in the Diamond(111)//TaC(111) interface, while only C–C covalent bonds are formed at the Graphite(002)/TaC(111). This makes diamond thermodynamically more stable than graphite on the TaC surfaces. Our investigations provide critical information to understand the complex diamond formation mechanism, especially with the presence of TaC.</p

Semantics-guided generative diffusion model with a 3DMM model condition for face swapping

Face swapping is a technique that replaces a face in a target media with another face of a different identity from a source face image. Currently, research on the effective utilisation of prior knowledge and semantic guidance for photo-realistic face swapping remains limited, despite the impressive synthesis quality achieved by recent generative models. In this paper, we propose a novel conditional Denoising Diffusion Probabilistic Model (DDPM) enforced by a two-level face prior guidance. Specifically, it includes (i) an image-level condition generated by a 3D Morphable Model (3DMM), and (ii) a high-semantic level guidance driven by information extracted from several pre-trained attribute classifiers, for high-quality face image synthesis. Although swapped face image from 3DMM does not achieve photo-realistic quality on its own, it provides a strong image-level prior, in parallel with high-level face semantics, to guide the DDPM for high fidelity image generation. The experimental results demonstrate that our method outperforms state-of-the-art face swapping methods on benchmark datasets in terms of its synthesis quality, and capability to preserve the target face attributes and swap the source face identity.</p

Semantics-guided generative diffusion model with a 3DMM model condition for face swapping

Face swapping is a technique that replaces a face in a target media with another face of a different identity from a source face image. Currently, research on the effective utilisation of prior knowledge and semantic guidance for photo-realistic face swapping remains limited, despite the impressive synthesis quality achieved by recent generative models. In this paper, we propose a novel conditional Denoising Diffusion Probabilistic Model (DDPM) enforced by a two-level face prior guidance. Specifically, it includes (i) an image-level condition generated by a 3D Morphable Model (3DMM), and (ii) a high-semantic level guidance driven by information extracted from several pre-trained attribute classifiers, for high-quality face image synthesis. Although swapped face image from 3DMM does not achieve photo-realistic quality on its own, it provides a strong image-level prior, in parallel with high-level face semantics, to guide the DDPM for high fidelity image generation. The experimental results demonstrate that our method outperforms state-of-the-art face swapping methods on benchmark datasets in terms of its synthesis quality, and capability to preserve the target face attributes and swap the source face identity.</p

The effect of DP on the morphological characteristics and the viability of SW620 cells.

<p>A, Morphological changes of SW620 cells observed under phase-contrast microscopy (100 × magnification) after treating cells with (a) control, (b) 5 μM, (c) 10 μM, (d) 20 μM, (e) 40 μM or (f) 80 μM of DP for 24 h. B, SW620 cells were treated with various concentrations (0, 5, 10, 20 40 and 80 μM) of DP for 24 or 48 h, as described in the methods. Cell viability was measured using the MTT assay. The results are expressed as the mean ± S.D. (n = 3); * p < 0.05.</p

Effect of DP on SW480 cell migration and invasion <i>in vitro</i>.

<p>A, Wound-healing assay showed that 5 μM DP did not affect movement of SW480 cells. Representative images of wound closure were taken at 0, 24, 48 and 72 h after injury under 40 × magnification (above). Bar graphs of upper panel are shown (below). Values are the means ± SD; n = 3. Ctrl, control. B, Transwell penetration assays showed that 5 μM DP did not affect migration (without Matrigel) and invasion (with Matrigel) of SW480 cells compared with the control group (above). Bar graphs showed the cell number per field of SW480 cell migration (middle) or invasion (below). Values are the means ± SD; n = 3; Ctrl, control.</p

Effects of DP on TMEM16A expression.

<p>TMEM16A protein expression were determined by western blotting after SW620 cells were treated with 5 μM of DP for 24, 48 or 72 h (above). Control SW620 cells were treated with DMSO for 24 h. β-actin was used as a loading control. Representative western blots are shown. The bar graph summarizes the relative expression level of TMEM16A protein (below). Expression of TMEM16A protein was normalized with the expression levels of β-actin. All data are shown as the mean ± SD. n = 3; * p < 0.05, ** p < 0.01.</p

Effects of DP on SW620 cell motility.

<p>Migration of SW620 cells was assessed by a wound-healing assay in the presence of 5 μM DP, compared to the control group. Representative images of wound closure were taken at 0, 24, 48 and 72 h after injury under 40 × magnification (above). Bar graphs of wound area are shown (below). Values are the means ± SD; n = 3; ** p < 0.01. Ctrl, control.</p

Effects of DP on SW620 cell migration and invasion <i>in vitro</i>.

<p>Migration (without Matrigel) and invasion (with Matrigel) of SW620 cells are significantly suppressed by 5 μM DP compared with the control group through transwell penetration assays. Non-migrated cells were scraped with a cotton swab. Cells that penetrated the transwell filters were stained with Coomassie blue. Representative images are shown (above). Bar graphs showed cells number per field of SW620 cell migration (lower left) or invasion (lower right). All data are shown as the mean ± SD. n = 3; ** p < 0.01. Ctrl, control.</p

Identification of a small molecule inhibitor (DP) of human TMEM16A.

<p>A, FRT cells stably transfected with human TMEM16A and GFP showing green membrane fluorescence (above) and TMEM16A protein by western blotting (below). B, Examples of whole-cell currents recorded from FRT-TMEM16A cells at a holding potential of 0 mV, followed by pulsing voltages between ±100 mV in steps of 20 mV in the absence (above) or presence of 50 μM DP (below). TMEM16A CaCC currents were elicited by 600 nM of free calcium in pipette solution. C, Current/voltage (I/V) plot of the mean currents at the middle of each voltage pulse. D, Chemical structure of DP. E, CFTR Cl^- current trace recorded from CFTR-expressing FRT cells. CFTR Cl^- current was elicited by 1 mM ATP, followed by the addition of DP and CFTR_inh-172. The dashed line represents zero current. F, The bars represent the percentage inhibition of DP (n = 6) and CFTR_inh-172 (n = 4) on CFTR Cl^- current.</p