Contrasting Behavior of Carbon Nucleation in the Initial Stages of Graphene Epitaxial Growth on Stepped Metal Surfaces

Using first-principles calculations within density functional theory, we study the energetics and kinetics of carbon nucleation in the early stages of epitaxial graphene growth on three representative stepped metal surfaces: Ir(111), Ru(0001), and Cu(111). We find that on the flat surfaces of Ir(111) and Ru(0001), two carbon atoms repel each other, while they prefer to form a dimer on Cu(111). Moreover, the step edges on Ir and Ru surfaces cannot serve as effective trapping centers for single carbon adatoms, but can readily facilitate the formation of carbon dimers. These contrasting behaviors are attributed to the delicate competition between C-C bonding and C-metal bonding, and a simple generic principle is proposed to predict the nucleation sites of C adatoms on many other metal substrates with the C-metal bond strengths as the minimal inputs.Comment: 4 figures, submitted versio

Raman Characterizations of Red Blood Cells With β-Thalassemia Using Laser Tweezers Raman Spectroscopy

This study aimed to study the differences in Raman spectra of red blood cells (RBCs) among patients with β-thalassemia and controls using laser tweezers Raman spectroscopy (LTRS) system.A total of 33 patients with β-thalassemia major, 49 with β-thalassemia minor, and 65 controls were studied. Raman spectra of RBCs for each sample were recorded. Principal component analysis (PCA), one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), and independent-sample t test were performed.The intensities of Raman spectra of β-thalassemia (major and minor) RBCs were lower than those of controls, especially at bands 1546, 1603, and 1619 cm. The intensity ratio of band 1546 cm to band 1448 cm demonstrated that there was a significant difference between the spectra of β-thalassemia major (mostly below 2.15) and those of controls. The spectra of controls could be well distinguished from those of β-thalassemia major using PCA. After normalization, the spectra of two different genotypes with β/β mutations mainly overlapped, while those with β/β mutations had lower intensity at bands 1546, 1603, and 1619 cm.The present study provided Raman characteristics of RBCs in patients with β-thalassemia major and supported the use of LTRS as a method for screening β-thalassemia major. The recognition rate for β-thalassemia minor needs to be further improved

Quinolinone inhibits proliferation of gastric cancer cells and induces their apoptosis via down-regulation of the expression of pro-oncogene c-Myc

Purpose: To determine the anti-proliferative potential of quinolinone against gastric cancer cells, and the underlying mechanism of action.Methods: Quinolinone-mediated proliferative changes were measured using 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay, while its effect on apoptosis was determined by flow cytometry. Transwell and wound healing assays were used for the determination of the effect of quinolinone on cell invasion and migration. The effect of quinolinone on protein expression levels were assayed with western blotting.Results: Quinolinone caused reduction in gastric cancer cell viability, but it had no effect on normal (GES-1) cells. Treatment with 8 μM quinolinone reduced the viability of SNU-5 and SGC-7901 cells to 32 and 27 %, respectively. Moreover, 8 μM quinolinone induced 67.90 and 71.54 % apoptosis in SNU-5 and SGC-7901 cells, respectively. Quinolinone significantly increased the population of cells in G1 phase, and suppressed migration potential (p < 0.05). Furthermore, in quinolinone-treated cells, the expression levels of p-PI3K, c-Myc and p-AKT were much lower than those in untreated cells (p < 0.05). Quinolinone also downregulated the expressions of MMP-2 and MMP-9, while it upregulated p21 expression in SNU-5 and SGC-7901 cells.Conclusion: Quinolinone suppresses the growth of SNU-5 and SGC-7901 gastric cancer cells via cell cycle arrest, induction of apoptosis and downregulation of the expressions of c-Myc and metalloproteinases. Thus, quinolinone may be developed as a potential drug candidate for the treatment of gastric cancer. Keywords: Gastric cancer, Apoptosis, Metalloproteinases, Phosphorylatio

Half-Heusler Compounds as a New Class of Three-Dimensional Topological Insulators

Using first-principles calculations within density functional theory, we explore the feasibility of converting ternary half-Heusler compounds into a new class of three-dimensional topological insulators (3DTI). We demonstrate that the electronic structure of unstrained LaPtBi as a prototype system exhibits distinct band-inversion feature. The 3DTI phase is realized by applying a uniaxial strain along the [001] direction, which opens a bandgap while preserving the inverted band order. A definitive proof of the strained LaPtBi as a 3DTI is provided by directly calculating the topological Z2 invariants in systems without inversion symmetry. We discuss the implications of the present study to other half-Heusler compounds as 3DTI, which, together with the magnetic and superconducting properties of these materials, may provide a rich platform for novel quantum phenomena.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figures; Phys. Rev. Lett. (in press

Environment Protection Strategies and Climate Change Adaption for Sustainable Development: An Overview of Bangladesh

Sustainable development can be achieved by developing the surrounding environment and by adapting climate change. This paper aims to explain the environmental protection and climate change adaption strategies taken by the Government of Bangladesh and the Bangladeshi nationalities in a different context to attain sustainable development. This paper based on empirical and theoretical data sources. Bangladesh significantly keeps on the good sign to achieve sustainable development by banning three-wheeler from controlling air pollution and by banning non-degradable polythene bags. If Bangladesh can overcome the challenges by implementing environment protection strategies the day is not so far when Bangladesh will be a developed country by becoming a role model for other developing countries

A Comprehensive Survey on Distributed Training of Graph Neural Networks

Graph neural networks (GNNs) have been demonstrated to be a powerful algorithmic model in broad application fields for their effectiveness in learning over graphs. To scale GNN training up for large-scale and ever-growing graphs, the most promising solution is distributed training which distributes the workload of training across multiple computing nodes. At present, the volume of related research on distributed GNN training is exceptionally vast, accompanied by an extraordinarily rapid pace of publication. Moreover, the approaches reported in these studies exhibit significant divergence. This situation poses a considerable challenge for newcomers, hindering their ability to grasp a comprehensive understanding of the workflows, computational patterns, communication strategies, and optimization techniques employed in distributed GNN training. As a result, there is a pressing need for a survey to provide correct recognition, analysis, and comparisons in this field. In this paper, we provide a comprehensive survey of distributed GNN training by investigating various optimization techniques used in distributed GNN training. First, distributed GNN training is classified into several categories according to their workflows. In addition, their computational patterns and communication patterns, as well as the optimization techniques proposed by recent work are introduced. Second, the software frameworks and hardware platforms of distributed GNN training are also introduced for a deeper understanding. Third, distributed GNN training is compared with distributed training of deep neural networks, emphasizing the uniqueness of distributed GNN training. Finally, interesting issues and opportunities in this field are discussed.Comment: To Appear in Proceedings of the IEE