Structural, Surface Morphology and Optical Properties of ZnS Films by Chemical Bath Deposition at Various Zn/S Molar Ratios

In this study, ZnS thin films were prepared on glass substrates by chemical bath deposition at various Zn/S molar ratios from 1/50 to 1/150. The effects of Zn/S molar ratio in precursor on the characteristics of ZnS films were demonstrated by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, optical transmittance, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and Fourier transform infrared spectrometry. It was found that more voids were formed in the ZnS film prepared using the precursor with Zn/S molar ratio of 1/50, and the other ZnS films showed the denser structure as the molar ratio was decreased from 1/75 to 1/150. From the analyses of chemical bonding states, the ZnS phase was indeed formed in these films. Moreover, the ZnO and Zn(OH)2 also appeared due to the water absorption on film surface during deposition. This would be helpful to the junction in cell device. With changing the Zn/S molar ratio from 1/75 to 1/150, the ZnS films demonstrate high transmittance of 75–88% in the visible region, indicating the films are potentially useful in photovoltaic applications

Y Chromosomes of 40% Chinese Are Descendants of Three Neolithic Super-grandfathers

Demographic change of human populations is one of the central questions for delving into the past of human beings. To identify major population expansions related to male lineages, we sequenced 78 East Asian Y chromosomes at 3.9 Mbp of the non-recombining region (NRY), discovered >4,000 new SNPs, and identified many new clades. The relative divergence dates can be estimated much more precisely using molecular clock. We found that all the Paleolithic divergences were binary; however, three strong star-like Neolithic expansions at ~6 kya (thousand years ago) (assuming a constant substitution rate of 1e-9/bp/year) indicates that ~40% of modern Chinese are patrilineal descendants of only three super-grandfathers at that time. This observation suggests that the main patrilineal expansion in China occurred in the Neolithic Era and might be related to the development of agriculture.Comment: 29 pages of article text including 1 article figure, 9 pages of SI text, and 2 SI figures. 5 SI tables are in a separate ancillary fil

Prediction feedback in intelligent traffic systems

The optimal information feedback has a significant effect on many socioeconomic systems like stock market and traffic systems aiming to make full use of resources. In this paper, we studied dynamics of traffic flow with real-time information provided and the influence of a feedback strategy named prediction feedback strategy is introduced, based on a two-route scenario in which dynamic information can be generated and displayed on the board to guide road users to make a choice. Our model incorporates the effects of adaptability into the cellular automaton models of traffic flow and simulation results adopting this optimal information feedback strategy have demonstrated high efficiency in controlling spatial distribution of traffic patterns compared with the other three information feedback strategies, i.e., vehicle number and flux.Comment: 14 pages, 15 figure

SUSY QCD impact on top-pair production associated with a Z0Z^0-boson at a photon-photon collider

The top-pair production in association with a $Z^0$-boson at a photon-photon collider is an important process in probing the coupling between top-quarks and vector boson and discovering the signature of possible new physics. We describe the impact of the complete supersymmetric QCD(SQCD) next-to-leading order(NLO) radiative corrections on this process at a polarized or unpolarized photon collider, and make a comparison between the effects of the SQCD and the standard model(SM) QCD. We investigate the dependence of the lowest-order(LO) and QCD NLO corrected cross sections in both the SM and minimal supersymmetric standard model(MSSM) on colliding energy $\sqrt{s}$ in different polarized photon collision modes. The LO, SM NLO and SQCD NLO corrected distributions of the invariant mass of $t\bar t$-pair and the transverse momenta of final $Z^0$-boson are presented. Our numerical results show that the pure SQCD effects in \ggttz process can be more significant in the $+ +$ polarized photon collision mode than in other collision modes, and the relative SQCD radiative correction in unpolarized photon collision mode varies from 32.09% to $-1.89$ when $\sqrt{s}$ goes up from $500 GeV$ to $1.5 TeV$.Comment: 22 pages and 13 figure

Aurora-A down-regulates IkappaBα via Akt activation and interacts with insulin-like growth factor-1 induced phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase pathway for cancer cell survival

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The mitotic Aurora-A kinase exerts crucial functions in maintaining mitotic fidelity. As a bona fide oncoprotein, Aurora-A aberrant overexpression leads to oncogenic transformation. Yet, the mechanisms by which Aurora-A enhances cancer cell survival remain to be elucidated.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Here, we found that Aurora-A overexpression was closely correlated with clinic stage and lymph node metastasis in tongue carcinoma. Aurora-A inhibitory VX-680 suppressed proliferation, induced apoptosis and markedly reduced migration in cancer cells. We further showed that insulin-like growth factor-1, a PI3K physiological activator, reversed VX-680-decreased cell survival and motility. Conversely, wortmannin, a PI3K inhibitor, combined with VX-680 showed a synergistic effect on inducing apoptosis and suppressing migration. In addition, Aurora-A inhibition suppressed Akt activation, and VX-680-induced apoptosis was attenuated by Myr-Akt overexpression, revealing a cross-talk between Aurora-A and PI3K pathway interacting at Akt activation. Significantly, we showed that suppression of Aurora-A decreased phosphorylated Akt and was associated with increased IkappaBα expression. By contrast, Aurora-A overexpression upregulated Akt activity and downregulated IkappaBα, these changes were accompanied by nuclear translocation of nuclear factor-κB and increased expression of its target gene Bcl-xL. Lastly, Aurora-A overexpression induced IkappaBα reduction was abrogated by suppression of Akt either chemically or genetically.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Taken together, our data established that Aurora-A, via activating Akt, stimulated nuclear factor-κB signaling pathway to promote cancer cell survival, and promised a novel combined chemotherapy targeting both Aurora-A and PI3K in cancer treatment.</p

Isolation and analysis of differentially expressed genes from peanut in response to challenge with Ralstonia solanacearum

Background: Bacterial wilt caused by Ralstonia solanacearum is the most devastating disease in peanut. Planting resistant peanut cultivars is deemed as the sole economically viable means for effective control of the disease. To understand the molecular mechanism underlying resistance and facilitate breeding process, differences in gene expression between seeds of Rihua 1 (a Virginia type peanut variety resistant to bacterial wilt) inoculated with the bacterial pathogen suspension (109 cfu ml-1) and seeds of the same cultivar treated with water (control), were studied using the GenefishingTM technology. Results: A total of 25 differentially expressed genes were isolated. Expression of genes encoding cyclophilin and ADP-ribosylation factor, respectively, were further studied by real time RTPCR, and full length cDNAs of both genes were obtained by rapid amplification of cDNA ends. Conclusions: The study provided candidate genes potentially useful for breeding peanut cultivars with both high yield and bacterial wilt resistance, although confirmation of their functions through transgenic studies is still needed

A novel prognostic scoring model based on copper homeostasis and cuproptosis which indicates changes in tumor microenvironment and affects treatment response

Background: Intracellular copper homeostasis requires a complex system. It has shown considerable prospects for intervening in the tumor microenvironment (TME) by regulating copper homeostasis and provoking cuproptosis. Their relationship with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remains elusive.Methods: In TCGA and ICGC datasets, LASSO and multivariate Cox regression were applied to obtain the signature on the basis of genes associated with copper homeostasis and cuproptosis. Bioinformatic tools were utilized to reveal if the signature was correlated with HCC characteristics. Single-cell RNA sequencing data analysis identified differences in tumor and T cells’ pathway activity and intercellular communication of immune-related cells. Real-time qPCR analysis was conducted to measure the genes’ expression in HCC and adjacent normal tissue from 21 patients. CCK8 assay, scratch assay, transwell, and colony formation were conducted to reveal the effect of genes on in vitro cell proliferation, invasion, migration, and colony formation.Results: We constructed a five-gene scoring system in relation to copper homeostasis and cuproptosis. The high-risk score indicated poor clinical prognosis, enhanced tumor malignancy, and immune-suppressive tumor microenvironment. The T cell activity was markedly reduced in high-risk single-cell samples. The high-risk HCC patients had a better expectation of ICB response and reactivity to anti-PD-1 therapy. A total of 156 drugs were identified as potential signature-related drugs for HCC treatment, and most were sensitive to high-risk patients. Novel ligand-receptor pairs such as FASLG, CCL, CD40, IL2, and IFN-Ⅱ signaling pathways were revealed as cellular communication bridges, which may cause differences in TME and immune function. All crucial genes were differentially expressed between HCC and paired adjacent normal tissue. Model-constructed genes affected the phosphorylation of mTOR and AKT in both Huh7 and Hep3B cells. Knockdown of ZCRB1 impaired the proliferation, invasion, migration, and colony formation in HCC cell lines.Conclusion: We obtained a prognostic scoring system to forecast the TME changes and assist in choosing therapy strategies for HCC patients. In this study, we combined copper homeostasis and cuproptosis to show the overall potential risk of copper-related biological processes in HCC for the first time

Artificial intelligence : A powerful paradigm for scientific research

Y Artificial intelligence (AI) coupled with promising machine learning (ML) techniques well known from computer science is broadly affecting many aspects of various fields including science and technology, industry, and even our day-to-day life. The ML techniques have been developed to analyze high-throughput data with a view to obtaining useful insights, categorizing, predicting, and making evidence-based decisions in novel ways, which will promote the growth of novel applications and fuel the sustainable booming of AI. This paper undertakes a comprehensive survey on the development and application of AI in different aspects of fundamental sciences, including information science, mathematics, medical science, materials science, geoscience, life science, physics, and chemistry. The challenges that each discipline of science meets, and the potentials of AI techniques to handle these challenges, are discussed in detail. Moreover, we shed light on new research trends entailing the integration of AI into each scientific discipline. The aim of this paper is to provide a broad research guideline on fundamental sciences with potential infusion of AI, to help motivate researchers to deeply understand the state-of-the-art applications of AI-based fundamental sciences, and thereby to help promote the continuous development of these fundamental sciences.Peer reviewe