ORCID Profile
0000-0001-7836-5809
Current Organisations
University of Antwerp
,
University of Oxford
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Publisher: International Union of Crystallography (IUCr)
Date: 10-08-2016
DOI: 10.1107/S1600576716010657
Abstract: Voids can significantly affect the performance of materials and a key question is how voids form and evolve. Voids also provide a rare opportunity to study the fundamental interplay between surface crystallography and atomic diffusion at the nanoscale. In the present work, the shrinkage of voids in aluminium from 20 to 1 nm in diameter through in situ annealing is imaged in a transmission electron microscope. It is found that voids first shrink anisotropically from a non-equilibrium to an equilibrium shape and then shrink while maintaining their equilibrium shape until they collapse. It is revealed that this process maximizes the reduction in total surface energy per vacancy emitted. It is also observed that shrinkage is quantized, taking place one atomic layer and one void facet at a time. By taking the quantization and electron irradiation into account, the measured void shrinkage rates can be modelled satisfactorily for voids down to 5 nm using bulk diffusion kinetics. Continuous electron irradiation accelerates the shrinkage kinetics significantly however, it does not affect the energetics, which control void shape.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 30-09-2022
Abstract: A new methodology is presented to count the number of atoms in multimetallic nanocrystals by combining energy dispersive X‐ray spectroscopy (EDX) and high angle annular dark field scanning transmission electron microscopy (HAADF STEM). For this purpose, the existence of a linear relationship between the incoherent HAADF STEM and EDX images is exploited. Next to the number of atoms for each element in the atomic columns, the method also allows quantification of the error in the obtained number of atoms, which is of importance given the noisy nature of the acquired EDX signals. Using experimental images of an Au@Ag core–shell nanorod, it is demonstrated that 3D structural information can be extracted at the atomic scale. Furthermore, simulated data of an Au@Pt core–shell nanorod show the prospect to characterize heterogeneous nanostructures with adjacent atomic numbers.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 02-2017
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 04-2023
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 06-2017
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 02-2016
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 12-2017
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 08-2019
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 11-2019
Publisher: Ovid Technologies (Wolters Kluwer Health)
Date: 13-04-2012
DOI: 10.1161/CIRCRESAHA.112.266171
Abstract: Epigenetic changes are implicated in the persisting vascular effects of hyperglycemia. The precise mechanism whereby chromatin structure and subsequent gene expression are regulated by glucose in vascular endothelial cells remain to be fully defined. We have studied the molecular and functional mechanism whereby the Set7 methyltransferase associates with chromatin formation and histone methylation in vascular cells in response to current and previous exposure to glucose. To characterize the molecular and functional identity of the Set7 protein, we used vascular cells overexpressing or lacking Set7. Chromatin fractionation for mono-methylation of lysine 4 on histone H3 identified methyltransferase activity. Immunofluorescence experiments strongly suggest that Set7 protein accumulates in the nucleus in response to hyperglycemia. Moreover, activation of proinflammatory genes by high glucose is dependent on Set7 but distinguished by H3K4m1 gene patterns. We show that transient hyperglycemia regulates the expression of proinflammatory genes in vascular endothelial cells in vitro and the persistent increase in glucose-induced gene expression in the aorta of nondiabetic mice. This study uncovers that the response to hyperglycemia in vascular endothelial cells involves the H3K4 methyltransferase, Set7. This enzyme appears to regulate glucose-induced chromatin changes and gene expression not only by H3K4m1-dependent but also H3K4m1-independent pathways. Furthermore, Set7 appears to be responsible for sustained vascular gene expression in response to prior hyperglycemia and is a potential molecular mechanism for the phenomenon of hyperglycemic memory.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 03-2012
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 06-03-2020
DOI: 10.1038/S41467-020-15087-1
Abstract: Many phase transformations associated with solid-state precipitation look structurally simple, yet, inexplicably, take place with great difficulty. A classic case of difficult phase transformations is the nucleation of strengthening precipitates in high-strength lightweight aluminium alloys. Here, using a combination of atomic-scale imaging, simulations and classical nucleation theory calculations, we investigate the nucleation of the strengthening phase θ′ onto a template structure in the aluminium-copper alloy system. We show that this transformation can be promoted in s les exhibiting at least one nanoscale dimension, with extremely high nucleation rates for the strengthening phase as well as for an unexpected phase. This template-directed solid-state nucleation pathway is enabled by the large influx of surface vacancies that results from heating a nanoscale solid. Template-directed nucleation is replicated in a bulk alloy as well as under electron irradiation, implying that this difficult transformation can be facilitated under the general condition of sustained excess vacancy concentrations.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 11-2012
DOI: 10.1016/J.BIOCHI.2012.06.002
Abstract: The advent of massive parallel sequencing of immunopurified chromatin and its determinants has provided new avenues for researchers to map epigenome-wide changes and there is tremendous interest to uncover regulatory signatures to understand fundamental questions associated with chromatin structure and function. Indeed, the rapid development of large genome annotation projects has seen a resurgence in chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) based protocols which are used to distinguish protein interactions coupled with large scale sequencing (Seq) to precisely map epigenome-wide interactions. Despite some of the great advances in our understanding of chromatin modifying complexes and their determinants, the development of ChIP-Seq technologies also pose specific demands on the integration of data for visualization, manipulation and analysis. In this article we discuss some of the considerations for experimental design planning, quality control, and bioinformatic analysis. The key aspects of post sequencing analysis are the identification of regions of interest, differentiation between biological conditions and the characterization of sequence differences for chromatin modifications. We provide an overview of best-practise approaches with background information and considerations of integrative analysis from ChIP-Seq experiments.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 11-2012
Location: United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
No related grants have been discovered for Zezhong Zhang.