4,411 research outputs found
Multiple Unpinned Dirac Points in Group-Va Single-layers with Phosphorene Structure
Emergent Dirac fermion states underlie many intriguing properties of
graphene, and the search for them constitute one strong motivation to explore
two-dimensional (2D) allotropes of other elements. Phosphorene, the ultrathin
layers of black phosphorous, has been a subject of intense investigations
recently, and it was found that other group-Va elements could also form 2D
layers with similar puckered lattice structure. Here, by a close examination of
their electronic band structure evolution, we discover two types of Dirac
fermion states emerging in the low-energy spectrum. One pair of (type-I) Dirac
points is sitting on high-symmetry lines, while two pairs of (type-II) Dirac
points are located at generic -points, with different anisotropic
dispersions determined by the reduced symmetries at their locations. Such
fully-unpinned (type-II) 2D Dirac points are discovered for the first time. In
the absence of spin-orbit coupling, we find that each Dirac node is protected
by the sublattice symmetry from gap opening, which is in turn ensured by any
one of three point group symmetries. The spin-orbit coupling generally gaps the
Dirac nodes, and for the type-I case, this drives the system into a quantum
spin Hall insulator phase. We suggest possible ways to realize the unpinned
Dirac points in strained phosphorene.Comment: 30 pages, 6 figure
SPINK4 modulates inhibition of glycolysis against colorectal cancer progression
Dysregulation of glycolysis is frequently linked to aggressive tumor activity in colorectal cancer (CRC). Although serine peptidase inhibitor, Kazal type 4 (SPINK4) has been linked to CRC, its exact linkage to glycolytic processes and gene expression remains unclear. Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were screened from two CRC-related datasets (GSE32323 and GSE141174), followed by expression and prognostic analysis of SPINK4. In vitro techniques such as flow cytometry, western blotting, transwell assay, and quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) were used to assess SPINK4 expression in CRC cells. Its effects on apoptosis, glycolysis, and the cell cycle were also investigated. Finally, the impact of SPINK4 overexpression on tumor development was assessed using a xenograft model, while histological and immunohistochemical analyses characterized SPINK4 expression patterns in CRC tissues. SPINK4 expression was downregulated in CRC, correlating with poor patient prognosis. In vitro assays confirmed that overexpression of SPINK4 reduced CRC cell proliferation, invasion, and migration, while its knockdown promoted these processes and caused G1 arrest. SPINK4 also regulated apoptosis by altering caspase activation and Bcl-2 expression. Besides, SPINK4 overexpression altered glycolytic activity, reduced 2-Deoxy-D-glucose (2-DG) absorption, and controlled critical glycolytic enzymes, resulting in alterations in metabolic pathways, whereas SPINK4 knockdown reversed this effect. SPINK4 overexpression significantly reduced tumor volume in vivo, indicating its inhibitory role in carcinogenesis. Moreover, high expression of SPINK4, hexokinase 2 (HK2), glucose transporter 1 (GLUT1), lactate dehydrogenase A (LDHA), and pyruvate kinase M2 (PKM2) was observed in CRC tissues. As a key inhibitor of glycolytic metabolism in CRC, SPINK4 promises metabolic intervention in CRC therapy due to its impact on tumor growth and cell proliferation
Distributed UAV Swarm Augmented Wideband Spectrum Sensing Using Nyquist Folding Receiver
Distributed unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) swarms are formed by multiple UAVs
with increased portability, higher levels of sensing capabilities, and more
powerful autonomy. These features make them attractive for many recent
applica-tions, potentially increasing the shortage of spectrum resources. In
this paper, wideband spectrum sensing augmented technology is discussed for
distributed UAV swarms to improve the utilization of spectrum. However, the
sub-Nyquist sampling applied in existing schemes has high hardware complexity,
power consumption, and low recovery efficiency for non-strictly sparse
conditions. Thus, the Nyquist folding receiver (NYFR) is considered for the
distributed UAV swarms, which can theoretically achieve full-band spectrum
detection and reception using a single analog-to-digital converter (ADC) at low
speed for all circuit components. There is a focus on the sensing model of two
multichannel scenarios for the distributed UAV swarms, one with a complete
functional receiver for the UAV swarm with RIS, and another with a
decentralized UAV swarm equipped with a complete functional receiver for each
UAV element. The key issue is to consider whether the application of RIS
technology will bring advantages to spectrum sensing and the data fusion
problem of decentralized UAV swarms based on the NYFR architecture. Therefore,
the property for multiple pulse reconstruction is analyzed through the
Gershgorin circle theorem, especially for very short pulses. Further, the block
sparse recovery property is analyzed for wide bandwidth signals. The proposed
technology can improve the processing capability for multiple signals and wide
bandwidth signals while reducing interference from folded noise and subsampled
harmonics. Experiment results show augmented spectrum sensing efficiency under
non-strictly sparse conditions
Wideband Power Spectrum Sensing: a Fast Practical Solution for Nyquist Folding Receiver
The limited availability of spectrum resources has been growing into a
critical problem in wireless communications, remote sensing, and electronic
surveillance, etc. To address the high-speed sampling bottleneck of wideband
spectrum sensing, a fast and practical solution of power spectrum estimation
for Nyquist folding receiver (NYFR) is proposed in this paper. The NYFR
architectures is can theoretically achieve the full-band signal sensing with a
hundred percent of probability of intercept. But the existing algorithm is
difficult to realize in real-time due to its high complexity and complicated
calculations. By exploring the sub-sampling principle inherent in NYFR, a
computationally efficient method is introduced with compressive covariance
sensing. That can be efficient implemented via only the non-uniform fast
Fourier transform, fast Fourier transform, and some simple multiplication
operations. Meanwhile, the state-of-the-art power spectrum reconstruction model
for NYFR of time-domain and frequency-domain is constructed in this paper as a
comparison. Furthermore, the computational complexity of the proposed method
scales linearly with the Nyquist-rate sampled number of samples and the
sparsity of spectrum occupancy. Simulation results and discussion demonstrate
that the low complexity in sampling and computation is a more practical
solution to meet the real-time wideband spectrum sensing applications
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