An atlas of DNA methylomes in porcine adipose and muscle tissues

It is evident that epigenetic factors, especially DNA methylation, have essential roles in obesity development. Here, using pig as a model, we investigate the systematic association between DNA methylation and obesity. We sample eight variant adipose and two distinct skeletal muscle tissues from three pig breeds living within comparable environments but displaying distinct fat level. We generate 1,381 Gb of sequence data from 180 methylated DNA immunoprecipitation libraries, and provide a genome-wide DNA methylation map as well as a gene expression map for adipose and muscle studies. The analysis shows global similarity and difference among breeds, sexes and anatomic locations, and identifies the differentially methylated regions. The differentially methylated regions in promoters are highly associated with obesity development via expression repression of both known obesity-related genes and novel genes. This comprehensive map provides a solid basis for exploring epigenetic mechanisms of adipose deposition and muscle growth

The DNA Methylome of Human Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells

Analysis across the genome of patterns of DNA methylation reveals a rich landscape of allele-specific epigenetic modification and consequent effects on allele-specific gene expression

Effect of Intrinsic Stress on Structural and Optical Properties of Amorphous Si-Doped SnO2 Thin-Film

The effect of intrinsic stress on the structure and physical properties of silicon-tin-oxide (STO) films have been investigated. Since a state of tensile stress is available in as-deposited films, the value of stress can be exponentially enhanced when the annealing temperature is increased. The tensile stress is able to not only suppress the crystallization and widen the optical band gap of STO films, but also reduce defects of STO films. In this report, the good electrical performance of STO thin-film transistors (TFTs) can be obtained when annealing temperature is 450 °C. This includes a value of saturation mobility that can be reached at 6.7 cm2/Vs, a ratio of Ion/Ioff as 7.34 × 107, a steep sub-threshold swing at 0.625 V/decade, and a low trap density of 7.96 × 1011 eV−1·cm−2, respectively

A Semi-Analytical Extraction Method for Interface and Bulk Density of States in Metal Oxide Thin-Film Transistors

A semi-analytical extraction method of interface and bulk density of states (DOS) is proposed by using the low-frequency capacitance–voltage characteristics and current–voltage characteristics of indium zinc oxide thin-film transistors (IZO TFTs). In this work, an exponential potential distribution along the depth direction of the active layer is assumed and confirmed by numerical solution of Poisson’s equation followed by device simulation. The interface DOS is obtained as a superposition of constant deep states and exponential tail states. Moreover, it is shown that the bulk DOS may be represented by the superposition of exponential deep states and exponential tail states. The extracted values of bulk DOS and interface DOS are further verified by comparing the measured transfer and output characteristics of IZO TFTs with the simulation results by a 2D device simulator ATLAS (Silvaco). As a result, the proposed extraction method may be useful for diagnosing and characterising metal oxide TFTs since it is fast to extract interface and bulk density of states (DOS) simultaneously

Mini-LED Backlight Technology Progress for Liquid Crystal Display

As consumers pursue higher display quality, Mini-LED backlight technology has become the focus of research in the current display field. With its size advantage (100–200 μm), it can achieve one-thousand-level divisional dimming, and it can also be combined with quantum dot technology to greatly improve the contrast, color gamut, dark state and other element of the display performance of LCD displays. Mini-LED backlight technology is undoubtedly the most ideal solution to realize a highly dynamic range display of LCD displays, and has been widely commercialized in many fields such as TVs, tablet computers, notebook computers, and car monitors. This review mainly introduces the efforts made by researchers to eliminate the halo effect, thinning of the backlight module and reducing the backlight power consumption. The application of quantum dot technology in backlight is also presented. We predict that the number of Mini-LED backlight partitions is expected to reach a level of more than 3000 in the future, further utilizing the advantages of the small size in local dimming, but it will also inevitably be challenged by some issues such as power consumption and heat dissipation

Enhanced Transmittance Modulation of SiO2-Doped Crystalline WO3 Films Prepared from a Polyethylene Oxide (PEO) Template

Polyethylene oxide (PEO)-modified silicon dioxide (SiO2)-doped crystalline tungsten trioxide (WO3) films for use as electrochromic layers were prepared on indium tin oxide (ITO) glass by the sol–gel spin coating technique. The effects of the PEO template and SiO2 on the electrochromic transmittance modulation ability of crystalline WO3 films were investigated. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) spectra analysis indicated that PEO was decomposed after annealing at 500 °C for 3 h. X-ray diffraction (XRD) pattern analysis showed that both SiO2 and PEO helped reduce the crystalline grain size of the WO3 films. Atomic force microscope (AFM) images showed that the combined action of SiO2 and PEO was helpful for achieving high surface roughness and a macroporous structure. An electrochromic test indicated that PEO-modified SiO2-doped crystalline WO3 films intercalated more charges (0.0165 C/cm2) than pure WO3 crystalline films (0.0095 C/cm2). The above effects resulted in a good transmittance modulation ability (63.2% at 628 nm) of PEO-modified SiO2-doped crystalline WO3 films, which was higher than that of pure WO3 crystalline films (9.4% at 628 nm)

Lattice defects of ZnO and hybrids with GO: Characterization, EPR and optoelectronic properties

We have prepared and combined ZnO nanoparticles (ZnO-NPs) with different graphene oxide (GO) contents (10%, 20% and 30%) via microwave processing. The procedure provided well-dispersed ZnO-NPs between and onto the rGO layers (GZCs). The annealing temperature and graphene oxide contents affected the UV-Vis absorption, PL emission, defect-states of the ZnO, EPR signals, photo-electrochemical response and charge transfer properties. The HRTEM microscopy images of the GZCs showed interpenetrating structures and clearly visible vacancy defects. The results indicated that the defect sites (Zn interstitials, oxygen vacancy, ionized zinc vacancy and oxygen interstitials) significantly decreased after hybridization with GO. The photo-conversion efficiency of the GZC-10% (η = 13.1 x 10-3%), is 13 times higher than the ZnO-NPs (η = 1.02 x 10-3%) illustrating higher exciton production and separation efficiency of the GZCs under photo-excitation. The GZC-10% has lower (8-15 Ω) charge transfer resistance (Rct) compared to all the GZCs under same experimental conditions, therefore an important reason of better performance of the GZC 10%. The EPR spectra showed presence of radicals in all the samples with GZC 10% most intense signal among the different GZCs

Corrosion mechanism of micro-arc oxidation treated biocompatible AZ31 magnesium alloy in simulated body fluid

AbstractThe rapid degradation of magnesium (Mg) based alloys has prevented their further use in orthopedic trauma fixation and vascular intervention, and therefore it is essential to investigate the corrosion mechanism for improving the corrosion resistance of these alloys. In this work, the effect of applied voltage on the surface morphology and the corrosion behavior of micro-arc oxidation (MAO) with different voltages were carried out to obtain biocompatible ceramic coatings on AZ31 Mg alloy. The effects of applied voltage on the surface morphology and the corrosion behavior of MAO samples in the simulated body fluid (SBF) were studied systematically. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) and X-ray diffractometer (XRD) were employed to characterize the morphologies and phase compositions of coating before and after corrosion. The results showed that corrosion resistance of the MAO coating obtained at 250V was better than the others in SBF. The dense layer of MAO coating and the corrosion precipitation were the key factors for corrosion behavior. The corrosion of precipitation Mg(OH)2 and the calcium phosphate (Ca–P) minerals on the surface of MAO coatings could enhance their corrosion resistance effectively. In addition, the mechanism of MAO coated Mg alloys was proposed

Research Progress of High Dielectric Constant Zirconia-Based Materials for Gate Dielectric Application

The high dielectric constant ZrO2, as one of the most promising gate dielectric materials for next generation semiconductor device, is expected to be introduced as a new high k dielectric layer to replace the traditional SiO2 gate dielectric. The electrical properties of ZrO2 films prepared by various deposition methods and the main methods to improve their electrical properties are introduced, including doping of nonmetal elements, metal doping design of pseudo-binary alloy system, new stacking structure, coupling with organic materials and utilization of crystalline ZrO2 as well as optimization of low-temperature solution process. The applications of ZrO2 and its composite thin film materials in metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistor (MOSFET) and thin film transistors (TFTs) with low power consumption and high performance are prospected

Effects of Annealing Temperature on Optical Band Gap of Sol-gel Tungsten Trioxide Films

Tungsten trioxide (WO3) is a wide band gap semiconductor material that is used as an important electrochromic layer in electrochromic devices. In this work, the effects of the annealing temperature on the optical band gap of sol-gel WO3 films were investigated. X-ray Diffraction (XRD) showed that WO3 films were amorphous after being annealed at 100 °C, 200 °C and 300 °C, respectively, but became crystallized at 400 °C and 500 °C. An atomic force microscope (AFM) showed that the crystalline WO3 films were rougher than the amorphous WO3 films (annealed at 200 °C and 300 °C). An ultraviolet spectrophotometer showed that the optical band gap of the WO3 films decreased from 3.62 eV to 3.30 eV with the increase in the annealing temperature. When the Li+ was injected into WO3 film in the electrochromic reaction, the optical band gap of the WO3 films decreased. The correlation between the optical band gap and the electrical properties of the WO3 films was found in the electrochromic test by analyzing the change in the response time and the current density. The decrease in the optical band gap demonstrates that the conductivity increases with the corresponding increase in the annealing temperature