2,455 research outputs found
Integrin-Mediated Cell-Matrix Interaction in Physiological and Pathological Blood Vessel Formation
Physiological as well as pathological blood vessel formation are fundamentally dependent on cell-matrix interaction. Integrins, a family of major cell adhesion receptors, play a pivotal role in development, maintenance, and remodeling of the vasculature. Cell migration, invasion, and remodeling of the extracellular matrix (ECM) are integrin-regulated processes, and the expression of certain integrins also correlates with tumor progression. Recent advances in the understanding of how integrins are involved in the regulation of blood vessel formation and remodeling during tumor progression are highlighted. The increasing knowledge of integrin function at the molecular level, together with the growing repertoire of integrin inhibitors which allow their selective pharmacological manipulation, makes integrins suited as potential diagnostic markers and therapeutic targets
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Syk-dependent Phosphorylation of CLEC-2: A Novel Mechanism of Hem-Immunoreceptor Tyrosine-Based Activation Motif Signaling
The C-type lectin-like receptor CLEC-2 signals via phosphorylation of a single cytoplasmic YXXL sequence known as a hem-immunoreceptor tyrosine-based activation motif (hemITAM). In this study, we show that phosphorylation of CLEC-2 by the snake toxin rhodocytin is abolished in the absence of the tyrosine kinase Syk but is not altered in the absence of the major platelet Src family kinases, Fyn, Lyn, and Src, or the tyrosine phosphatase CD148, which regulates the basal activity of Src family kinases. Further, phosphorylation of CLEC-2 by rhodocytin is not altered in the presence of the Src family kinase inhibitor PP2, even though PLCÎł2 phosphorylation and platelet activation are abolished. A similar dependence of phosphorylation of CLEC-2 on Syk is also seen in response to stimulation by an IgG mAb to CLEC-2, although interestingly CLEC-2 phosphorylation is also reduced in the absence of Lyn. These results provide the first definitive evidence that Syk mediates phosphorylation of the CLEC-2 hemITAM receptor with Src family kinases playing a critical role further downstream through the regulation of Syk and other effector proteins, providing a new paradigm in signaling by YXXL-containing receptors
Hole spin dephasing time associated to hyperfine interaction in quantum dots
The spin interaction of a hole confined in a quantum dot with the surrounding
nuclei is described in terms of an effective magnetic field. We show that, in
contrast to the Fermi contact hyperfine interaction for conduction electrons,
the dipole-dipole hyperfine interaction is anisotropic for a hole, for both
pure or mixed hole states. We evaluate the coupling constants of the
hole-nuclear interaction and demonstrate that they are only one order of
magnitude smaller than the coupling constants of the electron-nuclear
interaction. We also study, theoretically, the hole spin dephasing of an
ensemble of quantum dots via the hyperfine interaction in the framework of
frozen fluctuations of the nuclear field, in absence or in presence of an
applied magnetic field. We also discuss experiments which could evidence the
dipole-dipole hyperfine interaction and give information on hole mixing.Comment: 35 pages, 7 figures and 2 table
Collaborative Course Design in Scientific Writing: Experimentation and Productive Failure
English 3820: Scientific Writing, a writing-intensive (WI) course offered by
the Department of English at East Carolina University (ECU), serves primarily
science majors. According to the course catalog, it provides students with
ĂąâŹĆpractice in assimilation and written presentation of scientific information.ĂąâŹïżœ
The course asks students to consider the situated nature of scientific writing
and also to produce scientific writing for various audiences. Throughout the
course, students examine theories, methodologies, and ideologies that undergird
scientific writing with an eye to perfecting both critique and imitation
of scientific styles
Bistability of the Nuclear Polarisation created through optical pumping in InGaAs Quantum Dots
We show that optical pumping of electron spins in individual InGaAs quantum
dots leads to strong nuclear polarisation that we measure via the Overhauser
shift (OHS) in magneto-photoluminescence experiments between 0 and 4T. We find
a strongly non-monotonous dependence of the OHS on the applied magnetic field,
with a maximum nuclear polarisation of 40% for intermediate magnetic fields. We
observe that the OHS is larger for nuclear fields anti-parallel to the external
field than in the parallel configuration. A bistability in the dependence of
the OHS on the spin polarization of the optically injected electrons is found.
All our findings are qualitatively understood with a model based on a simple
perturbative approach.Comment: Phys Rev B (in press
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Phosphorylation of CLEC-2 is dependent on lipid rafts, actin polymerization,secondary mediators, and Rac
The C-type lectin-like receptor 2 (CLEC-2)activates platelets through Src and Syk tyrosine kinases via a single cytoplasmic YxxL motif known as a hem immunoreceptor tyrosine-based activation motif (hemITAM).Here, we demonstrate using sucrose gradient ultracentrifugation and methyl--cyclodextrin treatment that CLEC-2 translocates to lipid rafts upon ligand engagement and that translocation is essential for hemITAM phosphorylation and signal initiation. HemITAM phosphorylation, but not translocation, is also critically dependent on actin polymerization,Rac1 activation, and release of ADP and thromboxane A2 (TxA2). The role of ADP and TxA2 in mediating hosphorylation is dependent on ligand engagement and rac activation but is independent of platelet aggregation. In contrast,tyrosine phosphorylation of the GPVIFcR -chain ITAM, which has 2 YxxL motifs,is independent of actin polymerization and secondary mediators. These results reveal a unique series of proximal events in CLEC-2 phosphorylation involving actin polymerization, secondary mediators,and Rac activation
Demagnetization of Quantum Dot Nuclear Spins: Breakdown of the Nuclear Spin Temperature Approach
The physics of interacting nuclear spins arranged in a crystalline lattice is
typically described using a thermodynamic framework: a variety of experimental
studies in bulk solid-state systems have proven the concept of a spin
temperature to be not only correct but also vital for the understanding of
experimental observations. Using demagnetization experiments we demonstrate
that the mesoscopic nuclear spin ensemble of a quantum dot (QD) can in general
not be described by a spin temperature. We associate the observed deviations
from a thermal spin state with the presence of strong quadrupolar interactions
within the QD that cause significant anharmonicity in the spectrum of the
nuclear spins. Strain-induced, inhomogeneous quadrupolar shifts also lead to a
complete suppression of angular momentum exchange between the nuclear spin
ensemble and its environment, resulting in nuclear spin relaxation times
exceeding an hour. Remarkably, the position dependent axes of quadrupolar
interactions render magnetic field sweeps inherently non-adiabatic, thereby
causing an irreversible loss of nuclear spin polarization.Comment: 15 pages, 3 figure
Etiology of pure tricuspid regurgitation based on anular circumference and leaflet area: Analysis of 45 necropsy patients with clinical and morphologic evidence of pure tricuspid regurgitation
Despite recent renewed interest in the detection of tricuspid valve regurgitation by echocardiographic and Doppler techniques, little morphologic information is available on dysfunctioning tricuspid valves. This report describes 45 necropsy patients with clinical and morphologic evidence of pure(no element of stenosis) tricuspid regurgitation and provides morphometric observations (anular circumference, leaflet area) of the tricuspid valve useful in determining the etiology of pure tricuspid regurgitation. Of 45 patients, 24 (53%) had pure tricuspid regurgitation resulting from an anatomically abnormal valve (prolap9e in 7, papillary muscle dysfunction in 6, rheumatic disease in 5, Ebstein's anomaly in 3, infective endocarditis in 2, carcinoid tumor in 1), and 21(47%) had an anatomically normal valve with systolic pulmonary artery hypertension (cor pulmonary in 12, mitral stenosis in 9). Anular circumference was dilated (> 12 cm) in patients with various causes of pulmonary hypertension, floppy valve and Ebstein's tricuspid anomaly. Leaflet area was increased in floppy valve and Ebstein's anomaly.Of the 45 patients, 24 had pulmonary systolic artery pressure measurements available for correlation with tricuspid valve morphology. Pulmonary artery pressures accurately predicted morphologically normal from abnormal valves in 16 patients (89 %). Morphologic overlap occurred in six patients with pulmonary pressures of 41 to 54 mm Hg. Of these six, the additional knowledge of normal or dilated anular circumference correctly separated valves with normal and abnormal leaflets
Full Stokes imaging polarimetry using dielectric metasurfaces
Polarization is a degree of freedom of light carrying important information
that is usually absent in intensity and spectral content. Imaging polarimetry
is the process of determining the polarization state of light, either partially
or fully, over an extended scene. It has found several applications in various
fields, from remote sensing to biology. Among different devices for imaging
polarimetry, division of focal plane polarization cameras (DoFP-PCs) are more
compact, less complicated, and less expensive. In general, DoFP-PCs are based
on an array of polarization filters in the focal plane. Here we demonstrate a
new principle and design for DoFP-PCs based on dielectric metasurfaces with the
ability to control polarization and phase. Instead of polarization filtering,
the method is based on splitting and focusing light in three different
polarization bases. Therefore, it enables full-Stokes characterization of the
state of polarization, and overcomes the 50% theoretical efficiency limit of
the polarization-filter-based DoFP-PCs.Comment: 20 pages, 4 figure
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