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OBJECTIVE: To detect the expression of long non-coding ribonucleic acid (lncRNA) NCK1-AS1 in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), analyze the association between its expression and the clinicopathological characteristics of NSCLC patients, and study the biological function of NCK1-AS1 in vitro. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The relative expression of NCK1-AS1 in NSCLC tissues and cells was detected via quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). The association between the expression of NCK1-AS1 and the clinicopathological characteristics of NSCLC was statistically analyzed. The effects of interference in the expression of NCK1-AS1 on the biological behaviors of NSCLC cells were detected via in vitro experiments, including Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8) assay, colony formation assay and flow cytometry. After interference in the expression of NCK1-AS1, the expression of cyclin-dependent kinase 1 (CDK1) was determined using Western blotting. RESULTS: The results of qRT-PCR showed that the expression of NCK1-AS1 was up-regulated in 50 out of 64 cases of NSCLC tissues. It was found via statistical analysis that highly expressed NCK1-AS1 was positively correlated with tumor size, TNM stage and lymph node metastasis. The results of qRT-PCR revealed that the expression of NCK1-AS1 was also up-regulated in NSCLC cells. After interference in the expression of NCK1-AS1, the proliferation of NSCLC cells was inhibited, and the cell cycle was arrested at G2/M phase. The results of Western blotting manifested that the expression of CDK1 was suppressed after interference in the expression of NCK1-AS1. CONCLUSIONS: The expression of NCK1- AS1 is up-regulated in NSCLC, which indicates a poor prognosis. Highly expressed NCK1- AS1 promotes the proliferation of NSCLC cells through activating CDK1. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

OBJECTIVE: We aimed to determine the expression level of long intergenic non-coding ribonucleic acid 1605 (LINC01605) in colorectal cancer (CRC), and to explore the effects of the LINC01605/microRNA (miR)-3960/sex-determining region Y-box 11 (SOX11) regulatory axis on the biological behaviors of CRC cells and the molecular mechanism therein. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Tissue specimens were collected from 38 patients with CRC, and the relative expression level of LINC01605 in the CRC tissues and CRC cells was measured using quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). Then, the effects of LINC01605 on the proliferation, apoptosis, invasion and metastasis of CRC cells were observed via in vitro assays [cell counting kit (CCK)-8 assay, flow cytometry and transwell assay]. Besides, the possible miRNAs binding to LINC01605 were predicted by the bioinformatics method, and they were screened and verified using qRT-PCR and Dual-Luciferase reporter gene assay. Finally, the downstream target genes of miR-3960 were predicted by means of bioinformatics, and they were also screened and confirmed via qRT-PCR and Dual-Luciferase reporter gene assay. RESULTS: According to the results of qRTPCR, the expression of LINC01605 was up-regulated in 31 out of 38 cases of CRC tissue specimens, and its expression in CRC cells was higher than that in normal colorectal cells. The results of in vitro assays revealed that the proliferation, migration and invasion abilities of CRC cells were weakened, with an increased apoptosis rate after interference with LINC01605 expression. Based on the results of qRT-PCR and Dual-Luciferase reporter gene assay, miR-3960 was the target of LINC01605, while SOX11 was the target of miR-3960. Moreover, the expression of miR-3960 rose, but that of SOX11 declined after interference with LINC01605 expression. It was found through Western blotting that the protein expression of SOX11 was lowered after interference with LINC01605 expression. CONCLUSIONS: LINC01605 has an up-regulated expression in CRC, and accelerates the proliferation, migration and metastasis of CRC cells by the miR-3960/SOX11 regulatory axis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Barriers to continuous cropping of poplar plantations are closely related to the accumulation of phenolic acids in the soil. The purpose of this study was to explore the mechanism through which phenolic acid stress affects poplar productivity. The results showed that phenolic acids had a significant inhibitory effect on the photosynthesis of poplar. The inhibition of photosynthesis due to phenolic acids occurred mainly because, during electron transfer at the PSII reaction center, the primary quinone acceptor of PSII (QA) in the oxidized state was reduced, and excess light energy was lost in the form of heat dissipation; thus, poplar productivity decreased. At low phenolic acid concentrations (0X--1.5X), the activity of the PSII reaction center was temporarily inactivated, mainly because of stomatal limiting factors. At high phenolic acid concentrations (1.5X--3.0X), the PSII reaction centers were damaged, and photoinhibition occurred, mainly because of nonstomatal limiting factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Potassium tantalates, K2Ta2O6 and KTaO3, were synthesized by hydrothermal route. The crystal structural, optical, and adsorption properties of tantalates were investigated in the manuscript. The results indicate that the initial concentration of KOH is the determinate factor of crystal structure of tantalates. When the concentration of KOH is lower than 6M, the product is K2Ta2O6. While when the concentration is higher than 7M, the main product is KTaO3. Optical properties of tantalates analysis shows that the band gap of K2Ta2O6 is larger than that of KTaO3, which may be due to the different electronic band structure originating from the different overlapping way of the atomic orbital of tantalum and oxygen. The adsorption performance study shows that the adsorption property of K2Ta2O6 is higher than that of KTaO3, which would be assigned to its larger surface area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effect of nitrogen concentration on the interfacial and optical properties, as well as band offsets of HfTiO thin films by rf sputtering HfTi alloy target has been systematically investigated. The results indicate that an interfacial layer is unavoidably formed between HfTiON thin films and Si substrate, and the main content of the interfacial layer is silicate. No silicide is formed in the interfacial layer which is partly responsible for the poor electrical properties of high-k gate dielectrics. The optical properties of HfTiON films change, such as the refractive index decreases, while the extinction coefficient increases with the increase of N content, due to the defects increase in the films. The results also indicate that the bandgap and VB offset reduce with the introduction of N into HfTiO thin films. The CB offset of the HfTiON thin films is almost unchanged indicating that the N concentration has little effect on CB offset. However, the bandgap and band offsets are all higher than 1 eV, the sufficient band offsets still makes sputtering-derived HfTiON films by HfTi alloy target a promising high-k gate dielectric for future complementary metal oxide semiconductor technology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Thickness-modulated optical dielectric constants and band alignments of HfOxNy films grown by sputtering have been investigated by spectroscopic ellipsometry (SE) and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Based on SE measurements, it has been noted that an increase in optical dielectric constant and band gap has been observed as a function of the film thickness. Analyses of thickness-dependent band alignment of the HfOxNy/Si system indicate that the valence band offset increases, but only slight change in the conduction band offset, resulting from the thickness-induced change in the structure. The suitable optical dielectric constants and band offsets relative to Si make sputtering-derived HfOxNy film a promising candidate for high-k gate dielectrics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Composition-dependent electronic structure and optical properties of Hf1-xSixOy (0.1≤x≤0.6) gate dielectrics on Si at 450 °C grown by UV-photo-induced chemical vapor deposition (UV-CVD) have been investigated via x-ray photoemission spectroscopy and spectroscopy ellipsometry (SE). By means of the chemical shifts in the Hf 4f, Si 2p, and O 1s spectra, the Hf–O–Si bondings in the as-deposited films have been confirmed. Analyses of composition-dependent band alignment of Hf1-xSixOy/Si gate stacks have shown that the valence band (VB) offset (ΔEv) demonstrates little change; however, the values of conduction band offset (ΔEc) increase with the increase in the silicon atomic composition, resulting from the increase in the separation between oxygen 2p orbital VB state and antibonding d states intermixed of Hf and Si. Analysis by SE, based on the Tauc–Lorentz model, has indicated that decreases in the optical dielectric constant and increase in band gap have been observed as a function of silicon contents. Changes in the complex dielectric functions and band gap Eg related to the silicon concentration in the films are discussed systematically. From the band offset and band gap viewpoint, these results suggest that Hf1-xSixOy films provide sufficient tunneling barriers for electrons and holes, making them promising candidates as alternative gate dielectrics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High-k gate dielectric YOxNy films were prepared by reactive sputtering. The effects of postdeposition annealing on the structure and optical properties of YOxNy films have been investigated. The x-ray diffraction result shows that the crystallization starts at the annealing temperature of 500 °C. Spectroscopic ellipsometry was employed to determine the optical properties of a set of YOxNy films annealed at various temperatures. It was found that the refractive index (n) of YOxNy films decreased with the increase of annealing temperature below 600 °C, whereas it increased with increasing annealing temperature above 600 °C. The annealing-temperature dependence of the optical band gap of YOxNy films was also discussed in detail. It has indicated that the optical band gap of YOxNy films shifts to higher energy after higher temperature annealing, which is likely due to the reduction of N content and the change of crystalline structure in YOxNy films. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

N-doped ZnO films were prepared by annealing zinc oxynitride films deposited by rf reactive sputtering. Two Raman peaks were observed at 274 and 580 cm-1. According to the variation of the integral intensity of these two peaks, the nitrogen activation at 500 °C [the activation temperature (AT)] has been obtained. Below the AT, the integral intensities of them show a different variation trend. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) indicates the N chemical state variation for them and finds the activated Zn-N bond. Further analyses by photoluminescence (PL) spectra and spectroscopic ellipsometry (SE) have been carried out. The activated sample exhibits a symmetric emission peak at 3.22 eV assigned to be the A0X emission at room temperature. SE investigation takes account of samples within the different temperature span divided by the AT. Different factors, such as nitrogen dopant (N)O and the nanocrystal growth, which affect the redshift of the absorption edges, have been discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The structural stability and optical properties of ultrathin HfAlOx films grown by facing-target reactive sputtering, depending on the postannealing temperature, have been determined via x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and spectroscopic ellipsometry (SE). By virtue of the chemical shifts of Hf4f, Al2p, and Si2p core-level spectra, it has been found that the structural stability of HfAlOx/Si system sustains up to 800 °C. However, the breaking of the Hf–Al–O bond and the phase separation take place drastically at the annealing temperature of 900 °C. In particular, the information of an interfacial Si–O–Si bond as the dominant reaction during the postannealing treatment has been observed, confirmed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. Analysis by SE, based on the Tauc-Lorentz model, has indicated that increase in the refractive index and reduction in thickness has been observed as a function of annealing temperature, originating from the annealing-induced higher packing density. The change of the complex dielectric functions and bandgap Eg correlated with the annealing temperature are discussed in detail. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]