Structure-driven intercalated architecture of septuple-atomic-layer MA2Z4MA_2Z_4 family with diverse properties from semiconductor to topological insulator to Ising superconductor

Motivated by the fact that septuple-atomic-layer MnBi$_2$Te$_4$ can be structurally viewed as the combination of double-atomic-layer MnTe intercalating into quintuple-atomic-layer Bi$_2$Te$_3$, we present a general approach of constructing twelve septuple-atomic-layer $\alpha_i$- and $\beta_i$-$MA_2Z_4$ monolayer family (\emph{i} = 1 to 6) by intercalating MoS$_2$-type $MZ$$_2$ monolayer into InSe-type A$_2$Z$_2$ monolayer. Besides reproducing the experimentally synthesized $\alpha_1$-MoSi$_2$N$_4$, $\alpha_1$-WSi$_2$N$_4$ and $\beta_5$-MnBi$_2$Te$_4$ monolayer materials, another 66 thermodynamically and dynamically stable $MA_2Z_4$ were predicted, which span a wide range of properties upon the number of valence electrons (VEC). $MA_2Z_4$ with the rules of 32 or 34 VEC are mostly semiconductors with direct or indirect band gap and, however, with 33 VEC are generally metal, half-metal ferromagnetism, or spin-gapless semiconductor upon whether or not an unpaired electron is spin polarized. Moreover, we propose $\alpha_2$-WSi$_2$P$_4$ for the spin-valley polarization, $\alpha_1$-TaSi$_2$N$_4$ for Ising superconductor and $\beta_2$-SrGa$_2$Se$_4$ for topological insulator.Comment: Maintext 9 pages; 5 figures; Supplementary Materials 8 figures and 4 table

Oncolytic Bovine Herpesvirus 1 Inhibits Human Lung Adenocarcinoma A549 Cell Proliferation and Tumor Growth by Inducing DNA Damage

Bovine herpesvirus 1 (BoHV-1) is a promising oncolytic virus with broad antitumor spectrum; however, its oncolytic effects on human lung adenocarcinoma in vivo have not been reported. In this study, we report that BoHV-1 can be used as an oncolytic virus for human lung adenocarcinoma, and elucidate the underlying mechanism of how BoHV-1 suppresses tumor cell proliferation and growth. First, we examined the oncolytic activities of BoHV-1 in human lung adenocarcinoma A549 cells. BoHV-1 infection reduced the protein levels of histone deacetylases (HDACs), including HDAC1-4 that are promising anti-tumor drug targets. Furthermore, the HDAC inhibitor Trichostatin A (TSA) promoted BoHV-1 infection and exacerbated DNA damage and cytopathology, suggesting a synergy between BoHV-1 and TSA. In the A549 tumor xenograft mouse model, we, for the first time, showed that BoHV-1 can infect tumor and suppressed tumor growth with a similar high efficacy as the treatment of TSA, and HDACs have potential effects on the virus replication. Taken together, our study demonstrates that BoHV-1 has oncolytic effects against human lung adenocarcinoma in vivo

High Precision Self-Mixing Interferometer Based on Reflective Phase Modulation Method

In this paper, a novel self-mixing interferometer based on reflective phase modulation (RPM) method has been developed to perform micro-displacement reconstruction with nanometer accuracy. Broaden harmonic components spectrum of the self-mixing signal is produced by employing a high-frequency vibrating reflective mirror as the phase modulation device. Phase demodulation is implemented applying the orthogonal demodulation algorithm subject to the signal spectrum, in which orthogonal signal can be extracted from the harmonic components of the expanded Bessel function. The principle and signal processing approach are introduced in detail, and the simulation results indicate that the reconstruction error can be reduced as the number of reflections increases. A series of experiments at different vibration amplitudes show that the reconstructed errors are all less than 10 nm with modulation frequency of 1 kHz. And the minimum error of 3 nm has been achieved at the measured amplitude of 229 nm, which demonstrates the technical-superiority and high-performance of the method

Heat treatment, microstructure and mechanical properties of a Mg-Gd-Y alloy grain-refined by Al additions

The effect of additions of 0.5-1 wt% Al on grain refinement, heat treatment and mechanical properties of Mg-10Gd-3Y (wt%) alloy has been investigated. The additions of 0.6-1 wt% Al showed a dramatic grain refinement effect, which is associated with the formation of the Al(GdY) particles that act as nucleants for α-Mg grains. Compared to the Zr refined counterpart, the Al refined alloy needed to be solution treated at a higher temperature to dissolve the majority of the intermetallic particles. Subsequent ageing at low temperatures led to pronounced precipitation hardening and consequently a large improvement in strength. In the peak-aged condition, the strength of the Al refined alloy is comparable to that of the Zr refined counterpart

Effects of edge on graphene plasmons as revealed by infrared nanoimaging

We used scattering-type scanning near-field optical microscopy (s-SNOM) to investigate the plasmonic properties of edges in well-defined graphene nanostructures, including sharp tapers, nanoribbons and nanogaps, which were all fabricated via the growth-etching chemical vapor deposition (GECVD) method. The obtained near-field images revealed the localized plasmon modes along the graphene nanoribbon; these modes strongly depended on the size of the graphene pattern, the angle of the tapered graphene and the infrared excitation wavelength. These interesting plasmon modes were verified by numerical simulations and explained by the reflection, and interference of electromagnetic waves at the graphene-SiO2 edge. The constructive interference at the graphene nanogap caused by charge accumulation was demonstrated for the first time. Using the infrared nanoimaging technique, greater plasmon broadening was observed in the zigzag edge than in the armchair edge. Our study suggests that graphene edges should be separated by an effective working distance to avoid the overlapping of localized plasmon modes, which is very important for the design of graphene-based plasmonic circuits and devices

Additional file 1 of Comparative transcriptome analysis of high- and low-embryogenic Hevea brasiliensis genotypes reveals involvement of phytohormones in somatic embryogenesis

Additional file 1: Supplementary Table 1. Relative phytohormone based on UPLC-ESI-MS/MS in YT and HT genotypes at four stages of somatic embryogenesis of Hevea genotypes YT and RT

ciRS-7 Promotes the Proliferation and Migration of Papillary Thyroid Cancer by Negatively Regulating the miR-7/Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor Axis

Purpose. The incidence of papillary thyroid cancer (PTC) is increasing, and traditional diagnostic methods are unsatisfactory. Therefore, identifying novel prognostic markers is very important. ciRS-7 has been found to play an important role in many cancers, but its role in PTC has not been reported. This study was performed to evaluate the biological role and mechanism of ciRS-7 in PTC. Material and Methods. The expression of ciRS-7 in PTC tissues and the matched adjacent tissues was determined by quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). The PTC cell lines (TPC-1 and BCPAP) were used to evaluate the role of ciRS-7. ciRS-7-siRNA and overexpression plasmid were constructed and transfected into PTC cells. A CCK-8 assay and colony formation assay were performed to explore the effects of ciRS-7 on cell proliferation. Annexin V/PI staining and FACS detection were used to detect cell apoptosis. Wound healing assay was performed to detect cell migration. A transwell assay was conducted to explore the effects of ciRS-7 on invasion and migration. Western blotting was performed to evaluate protein expression. The luciferase reporter system was used to determine the underlying mechanism of miR-7. Result. ciRS-7 was highly expressed in PTC tissues and cell lines compared with the corresponding controls. In vitro study showed that ciRS-7 silencing suppressed proliferation, migration, and invasion of TPC-1 and BCPAP. Mechanistically, the effects of ciRS-7 on invasion and migration may be related to epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT). ciRS-7 silencing could attenuate effects on PTC cells induced by miR-7 knockdown. Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), which was demonstrated to be a target of miR-7, decreased significantly in ciRS-7-siRNA PTC cells. Overexpression of EGFR also attenuated effects of PTC cells induced by silencing ciRS-7. Conclusion. ciRS-7 was significantly upregulated in PTC tissues, and it promoted the progression of PTC by regulating the miR-7/EGFR axis. ciRS-7 is a promising prognostic biomarker and therapeutic target in PTC