RECONSTITUTION OF ALLOPHYCOCYANIN FROM Mastigocladus laminosus WITH ISOLATED LINKER POLYPEPTIDE

The core linker polypeptide Lc 8.9 was isolated from Mastigocladus laminosus and purified on a preparative scale. A method for the reconstitution of allophycocyanin (AP)—linker complexes from isolated polypeptides was developed. The complex (αAP(βAP)3 Lc 8.9 was reconstituted and compared to (αAPβAP) and (αAPβAP)3 by sucrose density gradient ultracentrifugation, absorption, fluorescence emission and circular dichroism spectroscopy. Differences in the spectra of reconstituted and of directly isolated AP complexes are discussed

Bacteriochlorophyll aggregates in positively charged micelles

Micellar complexes were prepared from bacteriochlorophyll a and bacteriopheophytin a with the cationic detergents, cetyltrimethyl ammonium bromide and cetylpyridinium chloride. These complexes have spectroscopic properties (absorption, circular dichroism) which are very different from the ones formed with non-ionic detergents like Triton X-100, and also with anionic detergents. Bacteriochlorophyll a forms two complexes: One is blue-shifted and has excitonically coupled Qy transitions. The second one is extremely red-shifted. The unusual properties are suggested to result from interactions of the positively charged head-group of the detergent with the tetrapyrrole

Noncontact electrical metrology of Cu/low-k interconnect for semiconductor production wafers

We have demonstrated a technique capable of in-line measurement of dielectric constant of low-k interconnect films on patterned wafers utilizing a test key of ~50x50 \mu m in size. The test key consists of a low-k film backed by a Cu grid with >50% metal pattern density and <250 nm pitch, which is fully compatible with the existing dual-damascene interconnect manufacturing processes. The technique is based on a near-field scanned microwave probe and is noncontact, noninvasive, and requires no electrical contact to or grounding of the wafer under test. It yields <0.3% precision and 2% accuracy for the film dielectric constant

Electronic and magnetic properties of substitutional Mn clusters in (Ga,Mn)As

The magnetization and hole distribution of Mn clusters in (Ga,Mn)As are investigated by all-electron total energy calculations using the projector augmented wave method within the density-functional formalism. It is found that the energetically most favorable clusters consist of Mn atoms surrounding one center As atom. As the Mn cluster grows the hole band at the Fermi level splits increasingly and the hole distribution gets increasingly localized at the center As atom. The hole distribution at large distances from the cluster does not depend significantly on the cluster size. As a consequence, the spin-flip energy differences of distant clusters are essentially independent of the cluster size. The Curie temperature $T_C$ is estimated directly from these spin-flip energies in the mean field approximation. When clusters are present estimated $T_C$ values are around 250 K independent of Mn concentration whereas for a uniform Mn distribution we estimate a $T_C$ of about 600 K.Comment: 7 pages, 5 figures, 2 tables; Revised manuscript 26. May 200

A hybrid neutrosophic-grey analytic hierarchy process method : decision-making modelling in uncertain environments

The analytic hierarchy process (AHP) is recognised as one of the most commonly applied methods in the multiple attribute decision-making (MADM) literature. In the AHP, encompassing uncertainty feature necessitates using suitable uncertainty theories, since dealing efficiently with uncertainty in subjective judgements is of great importance in real-world decision-making problems. The neutrosophic set (NS) theory and grey systems are two reliable uncertainty theories which can bring considerable benefits to uncertain decision-making. The aim of this study is to improve uncertain decision-making by incorporating advantages of the NS and grey systems theories with the AHP in investigating sustainability through agility readiness evaluation in large manufacturing plants. This study pioneers a combined neutrosophic-grey AHP (NG-AHP) method for uncertain decision-making modelling. The applicability of the hybrid NG-AHP method is shown in an illustrative real-case study for agility evaluations in the Iranian steel industry. The computational results indicate the effectiveness of the proposed method in adequately capturing uncertainty in the subjective judgements of decision makers. In addition, the results verify the significance of the research in group decision-making under uncertainty. The practical outcome reveals that, to become a more sustainable agile steel producer in the case country, they should first focus on the “organisation management agility” as the most significant criterion in the assessment followed by “manufacturing process agility,” “product design agility,” “integration of information system,” and “partnership formation capability,” respectively

Multiple criteria decision analysis under uncertainty in sustainable construction : a neutrosophic modified best-worst method

Capturing uncertainty in multiple criteria decision analysis (MCDA) is not a new theme but a largely developing topic which is in close connection with uncertainty theories such as fuzzy set and grey systems theories. Due to growing complexity of construction processes mainly because of implementation of sustainability aspects it would be necessary to take advantage of a novel MCDA methodology as an efficient tool to handle the uncertainty in sustainable construction decision making. In this study, we utilise a novel neutrosophic modified best-worst method (NM-BWM) to deal with the uncertainty in decision making in the context of sustainable construction. The method is an integration of neutrosophic set theory (NST) and the modified best-worst method (M-BWM). The NST can provide insights on efficient uncertainty handling of decision makers (DMs) subjective judgements. The BWM is a MCDA method which utilises two vectors of pairwise comparisons (the best criterion to others and others to the worst criterion) to obtain the weights of evaluation criteria. Merits of the BWM include its capability in effectively remedying the inconsistency derived from pairwise comparisons as well as simplicity and less pairwise comparisons compared to other similar methods like analytic hierarchy process (AHP). We show the applicability of the method in a case study with focus on the implementation of sustainable construction

Chaperone-Mediated Autophagy Markers LAMP2A and HSPA8 in Advanced Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer after Neoadjuvant Therapy.

In recent years autophagy has attracted the attention of researchers from many medical fields, including cancer research, and certain anti-macroautophagy drugs in combination with cytotoxic or targeted therapies have entered clinical trials. In the present study, we focused on a less explored subtype of autophagy, i.e., chaperone-mediated autophagy (CMA), with the key proteins LAMP2A and HSPA8 (HSC70), and their immunohistochemical evaluation with previously extensively validated antibodies. We were interested in whether the marker expression is influenced by the antecedent therapy, and its correlation with survival on a cohort of patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) after neoadjuvant therapy and matched primary resected tumors. In concordance with our previous study, we did not find any intratumoral heterogeneity, nor correlation between the two parameters, nor correlation between the markers and any included pathological parameters. Surprisingly, the expression of both markers was also independent to tumor response or administered neoadjuvant treatment. In the survival analysis, the results were only significant for LAMP2A, where higher levels were associated with longer 5-year overall survival and disease-free survival for the mixed group of adenocarcinomas and squamous cell carcinomas (p &lt; 0.0001 and p = 0.0019 respectively) as well as the squamous cell carcinoma subgroup (p = 0.0001 and p = 0.0001 respectively). LAMP2A was also an independent prognostic marker in univariate and multivariate analysis

The effect of neoadjuvant therapy on PD-L1 expression and CD8+lymphocyte density in non-small cell lung cancer.

PD-L1 expression is the routine clinical biomarker for the selection of patients to receive immunotherapy in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). However, the application and best timing of immunotherapy in the resectable setting is still under investigation. We aimed to study the effect of chemotherapy on PD-L1 expression and tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs), which is to date still poorly understood. Our retrospective, single-centre neoadjuvant cohort comprised 96 consecutive patients with NSCLC resected 2000-2016 after neoadjuvant therapy, including paired diagnostic chemo-naïve specimens in 53 cases. A biologically matched surgical cohort of 114 primary resected cases was included. PD-L1 expression, CD8 + TILs density and tertiary lymphoid structures were assessed on whole slides and correlated with clinico-pathological characteristics and survival. Seven/53 and 12/53 cases had lower respectively higher PD-L1 expressions after neoadjuvant therapy. Most cases (n = 34) showed no changes in PD-L1 expression, the majority of these harboring PD-L1 &lt; 1% in both samples (21/34 [61.8%]). Although CD8 + TILs density was significantly higher after chemotherapy (p = 0.031) in resections compared to diagnostic biopsies, this might be due to sampling and statistical bias. No difference in PD-L1 expression or CD8 + TILs density was detected when comparing the neoadjuvant and surgical cohort. In univariable analyses, higher CD8 + TILs density, higher numbers of tertiary lymphoid structures but not PD-L1 expression were significantly associated with longer survival. Increased PD-L1 expression after neoadjuvant chemotherapy was not significantly associated with shorter 5-year survival, but the number of cases was very low. In multivariable analysis, only pT category and age remained independent prognostic factors. In summary, PD-L1 expression was mostly unchanged after neoadjuvant chemotherapy compared to diagnostic biopsies. The sample size of cases with changed PD-L1 expression was too small to draw conclusions on any prognostic value