The Effects of Hemisphere Dome Orientation on the Structure of Diamond-like Carbon Film Prepared Using Ion Beam Assisted Deposition.

Diamond-like carbon (DLC) has attracted significant attention in the recent decades because of its unique properties and applications. Ion beam assisted deposition (IBAD) has been widely established in industry due to the advantages of easy handling and scalability. In this work, a hemisphere dome model is specially designed as a substrate. The influence of the surface orientation on the coating thickness, Raman ID/IG ratio, surface roughness and the stress of the DLC films are examined. The reduction in the stress in the DLC films reflects the lower energy-dependence in diamond due to the varied sp3/sp2 fraction and columnar growth pattern. The variation of the surface orientation provides an efficient means of tailoring the properties and microstructure of the DLC films.

Decreased APOC1 expression inhibited cancer progression and was associated with better prognosis and immune microenvironment in esophageal cancer.

Several studies have demonstrated the involvement of apolipoprotein C1 (APOC1) in multiple cancers. However, the role of APOC1 in esophageal cancer (ESCA) has not been elucidated. Hence, we examined the expression of APOC1 in ESCA tissues acquired from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database and clinical samples from our hospital. An investigation of the association of APOC1 with the clinicopathological characteristics, prognosis, and diagnosis of ESCA was carried out on the basis of survival, receiver operating characteristics, and correlation analyses. Gene ontology, KEGG analysis, and protein-protein interaction network showed that co-expressed APOC1 genes were involved in the functions, mechanisms, and action network. The effects of APOC1 expression on ESCA cells were explored using CCK-8, migration and invasion assays. The relationship between APOC1 expression and ESCA immune-infiltrating cells and cell markers were examined using correlation analysis. We found that APOC1 was overexpressed in TCGA ESCA tissues and the same was validated in clinical ESCA tissues, with the area under the curve for APOC1 being 0.887. Overexpression of APOC1 was associated with short overall survival, disease-specific survival, progression-free interval, T stage, pathological stage, body mass index, and histological grade. Inhibition of APOC1 expression significantly reduced the proliferation, migration, and invasion of ESCA cells. Furthermore, APOC1 expression positively correlated with the ESTIMATE, immune, and stromal scores in ESCA. Overexpression of APOC1 correlated with the tumor purity, B cells, T helper cells, natural killer cells, cytotoxic cells, and other immune cells. Moreover, APOC1 was involved in ESCA progression via T cell receptor, B cell receptor, and other immune signaling pathways. Thus, APOC1 overexpression is expected to be a biomarker for dismal prognosis and diagnosis of ESCA. Inhibition of APOC1 expression significantly reduced the proliferation, migration, and invasion of ESCA cells. Overexpression of APOC1 was associated with the immune microenvironment in ESCA. Thus, APOC1 may be an efficient biomarker for proper prognosis and diagnosis of ESCA.

Downregulation of T-cell cytotoxic marker IL18R1 promotes cancer proliferation and migration and is associated with dismal prognosis and immunity in lung squamous cell carcinoma.

Immunotherapy can improve the survival of patients with advanced lung squamous cell carcinoma (LUSC). T cytotoxic cells are one of the main members of the immune microenvironment. Herein, we aimed to identify the roles of T-cell cytotoxic markers interleukin 18 (IL18) receptor 1 (IL18R1) in the LUSC progression using bioinformatics, clinical tissue specimen, and cell experiment. We assessed the association between the IL18R1 expression and immune infiltration and IL18R1-related competing RNA network. The IL18R1 expression was downregulated in the LUSC tissues. The IL18R1 expression downregulation was associated with diagnosis and short overall survival and disease-specific survival, and it was also an independent risk factor for dismal survival time in LUSC. IL18R1-related nomograms predicted the survival time of patients with LUSC. IL18R1 overexpression inhibited the proliferation, migration, and invasion of LUSC cells. The IL18R1 expression was significantly associated with the microenvironment (stromal, immune, and estimate scores), immune cells (such as the T cells, cytotoxic cells, CD8 T cells), and immune cell markers (such as the CD8A, PD-1, and CTLA4) in LUSC. AC091563.1 and RBPMS-AS1 downregulation was positively associated with the IL18R1 expression, negatively associated with the miR-128-3p expression, and associated with short disease-specific survival and progression in LUSC. In conclusion, IL18R1 was significantly downregulated and associated with the prognosis and immune microenvironment. IL18R1 overexpression inhibits the growth and migration of cancer cells in LUSC. Furthermore, AC091563.1 and RBPMS-AS1 might compete with IL18R1 to bind miR-128-3p for participating in LUSC progression. These results showed that IL18R1 is a biomarker for evaluating the prognosis of patients with LUSC.

The Risk Model Based on the Three Oxidative Stress-Related Genes Evaluates the Prognosis of LAC Patients.

Background: Oxidative stress plays a role in carcinogenesis. This study explores the roles of oxidative stress-related genes (OSRGs) in lung adenocarcinoma (LAC). Besides, we construct a risk score model of OSRGs that evaluates the prognosis of LAC patients. Methods: OSRGs were downloaded from the Gene Set Enrichment Analysis (GSEA) website. The expression levels of OSRGs were confirmed in LAC tissues of the TCGA database. GO and KEGG analyses were used to evaluate the roles and mechanisms of oxidative stress-related differentially expressed genes (DEGs). Survival, ROC, Cox analysis, and AIC method were used to screen the prognostic DEGs in LAC patients. Subsequently, we constructed a risk score model of OSRGs and a nomogram. Further, this work investigated the values of the risk score model in LAC progression and the relationship between the risk score model and immune infiltration. Results: We discovered 163 oxidative stress-related DEGs in LAC, involving cellular response to oxidative stress and reactive oxygen species. Besides, the areas under the curve of CCNA2, CDC25C, ERO1A, CDK1, PLK1, ITGB4, and GJB2 were 0.970, 0.984, 0.984, 0.945, 0.984, 0.771, and 0.959, respectively. This indicates that these OSRGs have diagnosis values of LAC and are significantly related to the overall survival of LAC patients. ERO1A, CDC25C, and ITGB4 overexpressions were independent risk factors for the poor prognosis of LAC patients and were associated with risk scores in the risk model. High-risk score levels affected the poor prognosis of LAC patients. Notably, a high-risk score may be implicated in LAC progression via cell cycle, DNA replication, mismatch repair, and other mechanisms. Further, ERO1A, CDC25C, and ITGB4 expression levels were related to the immune infiltrating cells of LAC, including mast cells, NK cells, and CD8 T cells. Conclusion: In summary, ERO1A, CDC25C, and ITGB4 of OSRGs are associated with poor prognosis of LAC patients. We confirmed that the risk model based on the ERO1A, CDC25C, and ITGB4 is expected to assess the prognosis of LAC patients.

SPDL1 Overexpression Is Associated With the 18F-FDG PET/CT Metabolic Parameters, Prognosis, and Progression of Esophageal Cancer.

Esophageal cancer (ESCA) is one of the common malignant tumors. The roles and signaling mechanisms of spindle apparatus coiled-coil protein 1 (SPDL1) in ESCA progression have not been reported previously. Therefore, the expression levels and potential clinical roles of SPDL1 were investigated using data from multiple databases and tissue samples of 53 ESCA patients who underwent 18F-FDG positron emission tomography (PET)/computed tomography (CT) before therapy. The signaling mechanisms of SPDL1 involved in ESCA progression were investigated via bioinformatics analysis. The effects of SPDL1 on the growth and migration of ESCA cells were investigated using CCK-8, Edu, and transwell assays. SPDL1 was upregulated in ESCA tissues. Increased SPDL1 expression was associated with age, grade, drinking history, cancer stage, lymph node metastasis, TP53 mutation, and poor prognosis in patients with ESCA. SPDL1 overexpression was significantly correlated with SUVmax, SUVmean, and TLG of PET/CT. SPDL1 silencing inhibited cell proliferation, migration, and invasion. SPDL1 was significantly enriched in cell cycle, spliceosome, DNA replication, and other processes. The hub genes of a constructed protein-protein interaction network included CDK1, BUB1, CCNB1, BUB1B, CCNA2, CDC20, MAD2L1, AURKB, NDC80, and PLK1, which were related to SPDL1 expression. The findings of this study suggest that SPDL1 may serve as a biomarker of ESCA prognosis.

High performance ZnS antireflection sub-wavelength structures with HfO2 protective film for infrared optical windows.

Antireflection sub-wavelength structures (SWSs) on ZnS were designed and ZnS SWSs with HfO2 protective film were prepared, and their properties in long-wave infrared applications were examined and compared to AR coatings. The SWS has good antireflection performance and exhibits less polarization sensitivity than the AR coating. At temperatures above 500 °C, the SWS with HfO2 protective film has a better thermal endurance property than the multilayer AR coating. Moreover, the HfO2 protective film significantly improved the mechanical properties of the ZnS SWS and was similar to HfO2 covered AR coating when the HfO2 film was not broken. This study shows that the ZnS SWS with HfO2 protective film has promising application prospects in infrared optical windows.

Evaluation of the roles and regulatory mechanisms of PD-1 target molecules in NSCLC progression.

BACKGROUND: Targeted programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) therapy could effectively improve the long-term prognosis of patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The role of PD-1 targets in the progression of NSCLC has not been fully revealed. METHODS: The differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in patients' blood after NSCLC treatment with PD-1 blocker nivolumab in the GSE141479 dataset were analyzed by GEO2R and identified in the TCGA database. The mechanism of action involved in the PD-1 target molecules via the Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG). The protein-protein interaction (PPI) network shows the relationship between PD-1 target molecules. The factors affecting the prognosis of NSCLC patients were identified via the COX regression analysis and survival analysis to build the risk model and nomogram. RESULTS: There were 64 DEGs in patients' blood after nivolumab treatment and 48 DEGs in NSCLC tissues. The PD-1 target molecules involved cell proliferation, DNA replication, cell cycle, lung cancer, and other cellular processes. The prognostic factors CCNA2, CHEK1, DLGAP5, E2F8, FOXM1, HIST1H2BH, HJURP, MKI67, PLK1, TPX2, and TYMS, and the independent factors HIST1H2BH and PLK1, influenced the prognosis of NSCLC patients. HIST1H2BH and PLK1 were overexpressed in LUAD and LUSC tissues. The elevated expression levels of HIST1H2BH and PLK1 were related to the overall survival (OS) and the progression-free survival of NSCLC patients. High-risk NSCLC patients had a poor prognosis and were an independent factor influencing the poor prognosis of NSCLC patients. The high-risk model group was enriched with signaling mechanisms such as cell cycle, DNA replication, and homologous recombination. CONCLUSIONS: The risk model based on PD-1 target molecules was helpful to assess the prognosis of NSCLC patients. HIST1H2BH and PLK1 might become prognostic biomarkers of NSCLC patients.

The Regulatory Network and Potential Role of LINC00973-miRNA-mRNA ceRNA in the Progression of Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer.

Background: The occurrence and development of cancer could be promoted by abnormally competing endogenous RNAs (ceRNA) network. This article aims to determine the prognostic biomarker of ceRNA for non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) prognosis. Methods: The expression and clinical significance of LINC00973 in NSCLC tissues were analyzed via the The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA), Gene Expression Profiling Interactive Analysis (GEPIA), lnCAR, and clinical samples in Taihe Hospital. The biological functions and signaling pathways involved in target genes of ceRNA network were analyzed via Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG). Survival analysis, univariate and multivariate Cox regression analysis were used for prognostic-related mRNA. Results: Expression of LINC00973 was increased in NSCLC tissues. High expression of LINC00973 was associated with poor prognosis of NSCLC patients. There were 15 miRNA and 238 differential mRNA in the INC00973-miRNA-mRNA ceRNA network, involving cell migration, endothelial cell proliferation, tumor growth factor (TGF)-ß, cellular senescence, phosphatidylinositol 3-hydroxy kinase (PI3K)-Akt, Hippo, Rap1, mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK), cell cycle signaling pathway, etc. The expression levels of RTKN2, NFIX, PTX3, BMP2 and LOXL2 were independent risk factors for the poor prognosis of NSCLC patients. Conclusions: LINC00973-miRNA-mRNA ceRNA network might be the basis for determining pivotal post-translational regulatory mechanisms in the progression of NSCLC. BMP2, LOXL2, NFIX, PTX3 and RTKN2 might be valuable prognostic markers and potential therapeutic targets.

The roles of risk model based on the 3-XRCC genes in lung adenocarcinoma progression.

BACKGROUND: The abnormal expression of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) repair genes might be the cause of tumor development and resistance of malignant cells to chemotherapeutic drugs. A risk model based on the X-ray repair of cross-complementary (XRCC) genes was constructed to improve the diagnosis and treatment of lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) patients. METHODS: The expression levels, diagnostic values, and prognostic values of XRCC genes were identified, and the roles and regulatory mechanisms of the risk model based on the XRCC4/5/6 in LUAD progression was explored via The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and Oncomine databases. RESULTS: XRCC1/2/3/4/5/6, XRCC7 (PRKDC), and XRCC9 (FANCG) were overexpressed, and had diagnostic value for LUAD. The XRCC genes were involved in DNA repair, and participated in the regulation of non-homologous end-joining, homologous recombination, etc. The overall survival (OS), tumor (T) stage, and survival status of patients were significantly different between the Cluster1 and Cluster2 groups. XRCC4/5/6 were independent risk factors affecting the prognosis of LUAD patients. The risk score was related to the prognosis, sex, clinical stage, T, lymph node (N), and metastasis (M) stage, as well as the survival status of LUAD patients. The clinical stage and risk score were independent risk factors for poor prognosis in LUAD patients. The risk model was involved in RNA degradation, cell cycle, basal transcription factors, DNA replication etc. The risk scores were significantly correlated with the expression levels of TGFBR1, CD160, TNFSF4, TNFRSF14, IL6R, CXCL16, TNFRSF25, TAPBP, CCL16, and CCL14. CONCLUSIONS: The risk model based on the XRCC4/5/6 genes could predict the progression of LUAD patients.

Influence of dry etching on the properties of SiO2 and HfO2 single layers.

A comparative study was performed to investigate how etching methods and parameters affect the properties of SiO2 and HfO2 coatings. SiO2 and HfO2 single layers were prepared by electron-beam evaporation (EBE), ion-beam assisted deposition (IAD), and ion-beam sputtering (IBS). Then, ion-beam etching (IBE), reactive ion etching (RIE), and inductively coupled plasma etching (ICPE) were used to study the influence of ion bombardment energy and chemical reaction on the etching rates and properties of the prepared SiO2 and HfO2 single layers. For SiO2 coatings, chemical reaction plays a dominant role in determining the etching rates, so ICPE that has the strongest CHF3 plasma shows the highest etching rate. Moreover, all three etching methods have barely any influence on the properties of SiO2 coatings. For HfO2 coatings, the etching rates are more dependent on the ion bombardment energy, although the chemical reaction using CHF3 plasma also helps to increase the etching rates to some extent. To our surprise, the ion bombardment with energy as high as 900 V does not change the amorphous microstructure or crystalline states of prepared HfO2 coatings. However, the high-energy ion bombardment in IBE significantly increases the absorption of the HfO2 coatings prepared by all deposition techniques and decreases their laser damage resistance to different extents.

Overexpression of the Long Noncoding RNA FOXD2-AS1 Promotes Cisplatin Resistance in Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma Through the miR-195/Akt/mTOR Axis.

Emerging evidence has demonstrated that long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) mediate the development of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) via various pathophysiological pathways. This study explored the impact of the lncRNA FOXD2-AS1 on cisplatin resistance in ESCC and its possible mechanisms. Upregulation of FOXD2-AS was detected in patients with ESCC and ESCC cells that are resistant to cisplatin. In an in vitro assay, knockdown of FOXD2-AS1 noticeably inhibited cell invasion and growth, triggered cell death, and repressed the stimulation of the Akt/mTOR axis in cisplatin-resistant ESCC cells (TE-1/DDP). Conversely, the overexpression of FOXD2-AS1 remarkably increased cell invasion and growth, repressed cell death, and triggered the stimulation of the Akt/mTOR axis in TE-1/DDP cells. These findings, along with bioinformatics and validation tests, showed that FOXD2-AS1 targeted miR-195 by acting as a competing endogenous RNA. FOXD2-AS1/miR-195/Akt/mTOR axis plays a crucial role in resistance to cisplatin in ESCC cells, offering an innovative strategy to treat ESCC.

Microstructure Evolution of the Semi-Macro Segregation Induced Banded Structure in High Strength Oil Tubes During Quenching and Tempering Treatments.

C110 oil well casing tubes should have high strength and corrosion resistance which is commonly used for deep wells operation containing corrosive media. In this paper, the microstructure evolution of a kind of semi-macro segregation originated banded structure in casing tubes is studied under different heat treatments. It is shown that the characteristics of the banded structure will change significantly in subsequent hot working and heat treatment processes. For the hot-rolled ones, the banded structure is composed of pearlite plus bainite. After quenching, it evolves into martensite band with high concentration solute elements. Finally, the banded structure will change into a carbide banding under the following tempering process. The temperature and cooling rate of the tempering practice show an obvious effect on the final band structure. To improve anti-SSC (sulfide stress corrosion cracking) performance, the favorable QT (quenching and tempering) practice for C110 steel should be a higher tempering temperature and a quicker cooling rate, from which the banded structure defects can be decreased together with an obvious improvement of the tube wall hardness uniformity.

Quantitative assessment and suppression of defect-induced scattering in low-loss mirrors.

In this Letter, defect-induced scattering in 1064 nm high-reflection coatings prepared by dual ion beam sputtering and its suppression were investigated by artificial nodules, finite-difference time-domain simulations, angular resolved scattering (ARS) measurements, and planarization technology. After establishing the geometric model of the nodules grown from ϕ 1 µm SiO2 microspheres, the far-field scattering of the multiple nodules was determined by intensity superposition. For a nodule density of 100 mm-2, there is good agreement between the simulated and measured ARS. The total scattering is ∼500 ppm for the multilayer coating with artificial nodules, which is more than 10 times that for the coating without nodules. Next, an iterative deposition-etching process was used to planarize the defects, which reduced scattering by almost one order of magnitude. Moreover, detailed characterization of the planarized seeds reveals that the planarization technology is a complex process, and it still does not produce a perfect flat surface. The results showed that there is a pit over each planarized seed in the coating surface, which leads to additional scattering. The possible reasons for the presence of these pits are briefly discussed, and the directions for further research are provided at the end of this Letter.

[Applied research on the physical model for calculating optical constant of metal oxide films].

In the present paper, two metal oxide films of HfO2 and Ta2 O5 were prepared by ion beam sputtering technology. Through measuring ellipsometric parameters of HfO2 and Ta2O5 films, their optical constants can be inversion-calculated by nonlinear least squares techniques. In the fitting process, eight experiment groups were arranged by the orthogonal table L8 (2(7)). After selecting Cauchy model, the largest influencing factor for fitting optical constant of HfO2 is surface layer model and the largest influencing factor for fitting optical constant of Ta2 O5 is refractive index gradient model. The impact of different physical model on MSE and the order for selecting model in the fitting process are determined. According to the selecting model and the determined fitting order, optical constants of the two metal oxide films were inversion-calculated with adding weak absorption model, and the obtained MSE can descend 79% and 39% according to the initial value. The results indicated that the selecting model possesses definite physical significance in the fitting process. The obtained method can be applied in inversion-calculating many metal oxide films with weak absorption. It has wide application value. At 500 nm, the refractive index gradient of Ta2O5 films is greater than HfO2 films, while the extinction coefficient of HfO2 films is greater than Ta2O5. It was shown that Hf metal is easier to form stable oxide than Ta metal. And the absorption of HfO2 films is larger than Ta2O5 films.

Correlation between properties of HfO2 films and preparing parameters by ion beam sputtering deposition.

Ion beam sputtering is one of the most important technologies for preparing hafnium dioxide thin films. In this paper, the correlation between properties of hafnium dioxide thin films and preparing parameters was systematically researched by using the orthogonal experiment design method. The properties of hafnium oxide films (refractive index, extinction coefficient, deposition rate, stress, and inhomogeneity of refractive index) were studied. The refractive index, extinction coefficient, physical thickness, and inhomogeneity of refractive index were obtained by the multiple wavelength curve-fitting method from the reflectance and transmittance of single layers. The stress of thin film was measured by elastic deformation of the thin film-substrate system. An orthogonal experimental strategy was designed using substrate temperature, ion beam voltage, ion beam current, and oxygen flow rate as the variables. The experimental results indicated that the temperature of the substrate is the key influencing parameter on the properties of hafnium oxide films, while other preparing parameters are also correlated with specific properties. The experimental results are significant for selecting proper parameters for preparing hafnium oxide films with different applications.

Absorption, structural, and electrical properties of Ge films prepared by ion-beam-assisted deposition.

Effects of ion energy on the optical, microstructure, and electrical properties of Ge films prepared by ion-beam-assisted deposition were investigated. The absorption edge is found to shift toward a longer wavelength when the ion energy increases. 150 eV ion bombardment energy could help to reduce absorption in the infrared spectrum, elevating 2% of film transmittance. Diffraction intensity decreases with bombardment ion energy indicates that the crystallinity of Ge film is degenerated. Electrical property has been analyzed through Hall measurement. The resistivity of sample prepared with 300 eV ion energy drops substantially from 477 to 137 Ω cm, and it changes slowly with further increase of ion bombardment energy.

Optical and interfacial layer properties of SiO2 films deposited on different substrates.

SiO2 films were deposited on fused silica, silicon, glass, germanium, and sapphire substrates by an ion beam sputtering technique. The optical properties of SiO2 films on different substrates and interfacial layer properties between SiO2 films and different substrates were researched by the spectroscopic ellipsometry technique. The refractive indices of SiO2 films deposited on different substrates are about 1.477 at the wavelength of 632.8 nm. The optical anisotropy property of SiO2 films on fused silica substrate is the best. The impact of thermal treatment on surface roughness and interfacial layer properties between SiO2 films and Si substrates were also investigated. When the annealing temperature is 550°C, the least surface thickness and thinnest interface layer thickness between v films and silicon substrate can be achieved. The results indicate that the surface and interface layer properties between SiO2 films and silicon substrate can be greatly improved when the optimum annealing temperature is selected.

Evaluation and analysis of polished fused silica subsurface quality by the nanoindenter technique.

We evaluate the subsurface quality of polished fused silica samples using the nanoindenter technique. Two kinds of samples, consisting of hundreds of nanometers and micrometers of subsurface damage layers, are fabricated by controlling the grinding and polishing processes, and the subsurface quality has been verified by the chemical etching method. Then several nanoindentation experiments are performed using the Berkovich tip to investigate the subsurface quality. Some differences are found by relative measurements in terms of the relationship between the total penetration and the peak load on the surfaces, the modulus calculated over the defined depths and from unload, and the indented morphology at a constant load near the surface collapse threshold. Finally, the capabilities of such a mechanical method for detecting subsurface flaws are discussed and analyzed.

Influence of cleaning process on the laser-induced damage threshold of substrates.

The cleaning process of optical substrates plays an important role during the manufacture of high-power laser coatings. Two kinds of substrates, fused silica and BK7 glass, and two cleaning processes, called process 1 and process 2 having different surfactant solutions and different ultrasonic cleaning parameters, are adopted to compare the influence of the ultrasonic cleaning technique on the substrates. The evaluation standards of the cleaning results include contaminant-removal efficiency, weak absorption, and laser-induced damage threshold of the substrates. For both fused silica and BK7, process 2 is more efficient than process 1. Because acid and alkaline solutions can increase the roughness of BK7, process 2 is unsuitable for BK7 glass cleaning. The parameters of the cleaning protocol should be changed depending on the material of the optical components and the type of contamination.