Browsing by Author "Yang, Yang"
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- ItemOpen AccessDevelopment of a Nano-Composite Coating Technology for Improvement of Carbon Steel Pipe to Erosion-Corrosion in Oil Sands Slurry(2013-09-13) Yang, Yang; Cheng, Yufeng (Frank)Erosion-corrosion (E-C) has constituted an essential threat to the integrity of oil sands slurry hydrotransport system. To improve the resistance of carbon steel pipes to E-C in oil sands slurry, a composite coating technology has been developed by electrolytic deposition in this research. Parametric effects on the structure and properties of the coating were investigated in order to fabricate high performance coatings. It is found that the electrodepositing parameters, such as the concentration of SiC nano-particles in bath electrolyte, cathodic current density, current pattern and temperature, affect remarkably the particle deposition which relates directly with the coating performance. Furthermore, the parameters in pulse current electrodeposition also affect the properties and performance of the prepared coatings. Enhancements of the corrosion resistance and micro-hardness of the coating have been obtained at a low duty cycle and high frequency, which result in an increased amount of SiC particles in the coating. The nucleation and early stage growth mechanism of the composite coating on the steel substrate was determined by cyclic voltammetry, chronoamperometry current transient measurements and atomic force microscopy (AFM) characterization. A mixed instantaneous and progressive mechanism is followed during electrodeposition under low cathodic overpotentials. At high overpotentials, it switches to the instantaneous mechanism. An empirical model based on the modified Guglielmi’s model was developed to enable quantification and prediction of the co-depositing rate of SiC particles with Ni-Co coating during pulse electrodeposition. To understand the E-C behavior of pipe steel in oil sands slurry and the performance of the fabricated coating for E-C resistance, parametric effects, including the sand concentration, flow velocity and impact angle, on the E–C behavior of bare and coated steels were studied. It is demonstrated that erosion components are the dominant contributors to E–C in oil sands slurry, while the contribution of corrosion components is slight. The developed Ni-Co-SiC nano-composite coating shows a higher resistance to E-C than the base steel.
- ItemEmbargoAn Essay on Bilateral Relations and Trade Between Canada and China(2016-09) Yang, Yang; Beaulieu, EugeneChina is the second largest economy in the world and Canada’s second largest trading partner. According to the government of Canada, the two countries generally maintain a co-operative relationship. However, Canada’s economic co-operation with China is still limited; the share of Canadian exports to mainland China was only 1.08 per cent in 2014 and 4.11 per cent in 2015, while China supplied 12.26 per cent of total Canadian imports in 2015. Since 2012, Canada‘s exports to China have declined. Also, foreign investment between Canada and China is limited and experienced a downward trend from 2013-2015. There is a huge potential for Canada to expand its market share in China. Based on facts and accredited sources, this thesis intends to study whether Canada should further enhance its political and economic ties with China, and to identify what the opportunities, challenges and barriers are to Canada-China bilateral trade. The research here mainly covers foreign investment and the most promising trade sectors with high economic complementarities, including agriculture, clean technology and natural resources. The findings indicate that it is mutually beneficial for Canada and China to deepen their economic ties.
- ItemOpen AccessING1 Impacts Ovarian Cancer by Altering EMT(2019-08-30) Yang, Yang; Riabowol, Karl T.; Bonni, Shirin; Rancourt, Derrick E.; Muruve, Daniel A.The INhibitor of Growth (ING) proteins are type II tumour suppressors that regulate epigenetic state and transcription by recruiting various chromatin-modifying complexes to chromatin. INGs are involved in multiple cellular processes such as DNA repair, apoptosis and cellular senescence. In this study, we investigated the potential role of ING1 in inhibiting the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) program that suppresses cancer metastasis and identifies the mechanism of how ING1 regulates gene transcription, as well as its clinical implication in epithelial ovarian cancer. Our analyses revealed that ING1 epigenetically regulates the transcription machinery of the EMT program through binding to the promoter region of Twist1, the critical gene encoding transcription factor (TF) that induce EMT. Subsequently, ING1 promoted the expression of epithelial cell markers, including E-cadherin, while suppressing the expression of mesenchymal markers such as N-cadherin. ING1 antagonized TGF-β or EGF induced EMT and inhibited cancer cell invasion and migration in a Twist1-dependent manner. Integration of ChIP-seq and RNA-seq data revealed the overall genomic binding characteristics of ING1 and its candidate target genes. Gene ontology (GO) and pathway analyses indicated that the genes targeted by ING1 were involved in diverse physiological processes and pathways, mostly associated with the EMT program. The bioinformatical analysis revealed the ING1 binding motif sequence, showing that ING1 recognized target genes through the TEAD family of transcription factors and their co-factor, YAP1, to further influence gene expression. Lastly, we found that high ING1 protein expression was associated with p16 and ARID1A levels and predicted better DSS in ovarian clear cell carcinoma (OCCC). Our data also suggested that high ING1/low N-cadherin expression predicts favourable disease-specific survival (DSS) in epithelial ovarian cancer. These data provide evidence that as a tumour suppressor, ING1 can impact ovarian cancer development through modulating the EMT process and play an essential role in regulating ovarian cancer chemoresistance. In summary, by downregulating the EMT-TF expression and hence and EMT program, ING1 suppresses tumour cell invasion and cancer metastasis. Global genomic profiling revealed new insights into ING1 biology and provided justification for further exploring ING1 functions. This study has also provided critical pre-clinical data that could help establish ING1 as a prognostic and therapeutic agent for ovarian cancer.
- ItemOpen AccessRegulatory mechanisms mediated by va14 NKT cells in type 1 diabetes(2009) Wang, Jianxiong; Yang, Yang; Santamaria, Pere
- ItemOpen AccessThe regulation of Va14 NKT Cells(2007) Cheng, Lu; Yang, Yang