645 research outputs found
Increased Expression of Tissue Factor and Receptor for Advanced Glycation End Products in Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells of Patients With Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus with Vascular Complications
The aim of the study was to determine the correlation between
the expression of tissue factor (TF) and the receptor
for advanced glycation end products (RAGEs) and vascular
complications in patients with longstanding uncontrolled
type 2 diabetes (T2D). TF and RAGE mRNAs as well as
TF antigen and activity were investigated in 21 T2D patients
with and without vascular complications. mRNA expression
was assessed by reverse transcriptase–polymerase
chain reaction (RT-PCR) in nonstimulated and advanced
glycation end product (AGE) albumin–stimulated peripheral
blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs). TF antigen expression
was determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay
(ELISA) and TF activity by a modified prothrombin
time assay. Basal RAGE mRNA expression was 0.2 ± 0.06
in patients with complications and 0.05 ± 0.06 patients without
complications (P = .004). Stimulation did not cause any
further increase in either group. TF mRNA was 0.58 ± 0.29
in patients with complications and 0.21 ± 0.18 in patients
without complications (P = .003). Stimulation resulted in
a nonsignificant increase in both groups. Basal TF activity
(U/106 PBMCs) was 18.4 ± 13.2 in patients with complications
and 6.96 ± 5.2 in patients without complications (P =
.003). It increased 3-fold in both groups after stimulation
(P = .001). TF antigen (pg/106 PBMCs) was 33.7 ± 28.6 in
patients with complications, 10.4 ± 7.8 in patients without complications (P = .02). Stimulation tripled TF antigen in
both groups of patients (P = .001). The RAGE/TF axis is
up-regulated inT2Dpatients with vascular complications as
compared to patients without complications. This suggests
a role for this axis in the pathogenesis of vascular complications
in T2D
Certification of spin-based quantum simulators
Quantum simulators are engineered devices controllably designed to emulate complex and classically intractable quantum systems. A key challenge is to certify whether the simulator truly mimics the Hamiltonian of interest. This certification step requires the comparison of a simulator's output to a known answer, which is usually limited to small systems due to the exponential scaling of the Hilbert space. Here, in the context of Fermi-Hubbard spin-based analog simulators, we propose a modular many-body spin to charge conversion scheme that scales linearly with both the system size and the number of low-energy eigenstates to discriminate. Our protocol is based on the global charge state measurement of a 1D spin chain performed at different detuning potentials along the chain. In the context of semiconductor-based systems, we identify realistic conditions for detuning the chain adiabatically to avoid state mixing while preserving charge coherence. Large simulators with vanishing energy gaps, including 2D arrays, can be certified block-by-block with a number of measurements scaling only linearly with the system size
Imaging the formation of a p-n junction in a suspended carbon nanotube with scanning photocurrent microscopy
We use scanning photocurrent microscopy (SPCM) to investigate individual
suspended semiconducting carbon nanotube devices where the potential profile is
engineered by means of local gates. In situ tunable p-n junctions can be
generated at any position along the nanotube axis. Combining SPCM with
transport measurements allows a detailed microscopic study of the evolution of
the band profiles as a function of the gates voltage. Here we study the
emergence of a p-n and a n-p junctions out of a n-type transistor channel using
two local gates. In both cases the I-V curves recorded for gate configurations
corresponding to the formation of the p-n or n-p junction in the SPCM
measurements reveal a clear transition from resistive to rectification regimes.
The rectification curves can be fitted well to the Shockley diode model with a
series resistor and reveal a clear ideal diode behavior.Comment: Accepted for publication in Journal or Applied Physics. 4 pages, 3
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