OddzOn Products and Derivation of Invention: At Odds with the Purpose of Section 102(f) of the Patent Act of 1952?

Abstract Background Antimicrobial peptides are important components of the host defence with a broad range of functions including direct antimicrobial activity and modulation of inflammation. Lack of cathelin-related antimicrobial peptide (CRAMP) was associated with higher mortality and bacterial burden and impaired neutrophil granulocyte infiltration in a model of pneumococcal meningitis. The present study was designed to characterize the effects of CRAMP deficiency on glial response and phagocytosis after exposure to bacterial stimuli. Methods CRAMP-knock out and wildtype glial cells were exposed to bacterial supernatants from Streptococcus pneumoniae and Neisseria meningitides or the bacterial cell wall components lipopolysaccharide and peptidoglycan. Cell viability, expression of pro- and anti-inflammatory mediators and activation of signal transduction pathways, phagocytosis rate and glial cell phenotype were investigated by means of cell viability assays, immunohistochemistry, real-time RT-PCR and Western blot. Results CRAMP-deficiency was associated with stronger expression of pro-inflammatory and weakened expression of anti-inflammatory cytokines indicating a higher degree of glial cell activation even under resting-state conditions. Furthermore, increased translocation of nuclear factor ‘kappa-light-chain-enhancer’ of activated B-cells was observed and phagocytosis of S. pneumoniae was reduced in CRAMP-deficient microglia indicating impaired antimicrobial activity. Conclusions In conclusion, the present study detected severe alterations of the glial immune response due to lack of CRAMP. The results indicate the importance of CRAMP to maintain and regulate the delicate balance between beneficial and harmful immune response in the brain

Antireflective nanotextures for monolithic perovskite silicon tandem solar cells

Recently, we studied the effect of hexagonal sinusoidal textures on the reflective properties of perovskite silicon tandem solar cells using the finite element method FEM . We saw that such nanotextures, applied to the perovskite top cell, can strongly increase the current density utilization from 91 for the optimized planar reference to 98 for the best nanotextured device period 500 nm and peak to valley height 500 nm , where 100 refers to the Tiedje Yablonovitch limit. [D. Chen et al., J. Photonics Energy 8, 022601, 2018 , doi 10.1117 1.JPE.8.022601] In this manuscript we elaborate on some numerical details of that work we validate an assumption based on the Tiedje Yablonovitch limit, we present a convergence study for simulations with the finite element method, and we compare different configurations for sinusoidal nanotexture

Non-Amontons behavior of friction in single contacts

We report on the frictional properties of a single contact between a glassy polymer lens and a flat silica substrate covered either by a disordered or by a self-assembled alkylsilane monolayer. We find that, in contrast to common belief, the Amontons proportionality between frictional and normal stresses does not hold. Besides, we observe that the velocity dependence of the sliding stress is strongly sensitive to the structure of the silane layer. Analysis of the frictional rheology observed on both disordered and self-assembled monolayers suggests that dissipation is controlled by the plasticity of a glass-like interfacial layer in the former case, and by pinning of polymer chains on the substrate in the latter one.Comment: submitted to Eur. Phys. J.

Increased fluorescence of PbS quantum dots in photonic crystals by excitation enhancement

We report on the enhanced fluorescence of lead sulfide quantum dots interacting with leaky modes of slab type silicon photonic crystals. The photonic crystal slabs were fabricated, supporting leaky modes in the near infrared wavelength range. Lead sulfite quantum dots which are resonant in the same spectral range were prepared in a thin layer above the slab. We selectively excited the leaky modes by tuning the wavelength and angle of incidence of the laser source and measured distinct resonances of enhanced fluorescence. By an appropriate experiment design, we ruled out directional light extraction effects and determined the impact of enhanced excitation. Three dimensional numerical simulations consistently explain the experimental findings by strong near field enhancements in the vicinity of the photonic crystal surface. Our study provides a basis for systematic tailoring of photonic crystals used in biological applications such as biosensing and single molecule detection, as well as quantum dot solar cells and spectral conversion application

Light management with sinusoidal nanotextures

Nanoimprint lithography can be used to fabricate sinusoidal nanotextures on a large scale. We present optical and numerical results for sinusoidal nanotextures in two types of solar cells thin film c Si and perovskite silicon tandem solar cell

Jung und Alt im Hörsaal:Erfahrungen jüngerer Studierender mit dem „Studium im Alter“ an der Universität Münster

Das „Studium im Alter“ ist ein Weiterbildungsangebot der Universität Münster für Personen im mittleren und höheren Lebensalter, die als Gasthörer gemeinsam mit jüngeren, regulären Studierenden Vorlesungen und Seminare an der Hochschule besuchen. In der Presse erschienen von Zeit zu Zeit Berichte über Konflikte, die das Gaststudium der Älteren in den Hörsälen verursacht. Das nahm eine Gruppe von Teilnehmern am „Studium im Alter“ zum Anlass, in einem zweisemestrigen Forschungsprojekt zu untersuchen, inwiefern solche Berichte die Regel oder Einzelfälle beschreiben. Das Ergebnis der schriftlichen Befragung regulärer Studierender zu Ihren Erfahrungen mit Studierenden im Alter liegt mit dieser Studie vor. Abgesehen von wenigen Ausnahmen belegt sie ein grundsätzlich harmonisches Miteinander von jüngeren und älteren Studierenden in den Hörsälen der Universität Münster

Toxicity of dietary methylmercury to fish: Derivation of ecologically meaningful threshold concentrations

Threshold concentrations associated with adverse effects of dietary exposure to methylmercury (MeHg) were derived from published results of laboratory studies on a variety of fish species. Adverse effects related to mortality were uncommon, whereas adverse effects related to growth occurred only at dietary MeHg concentrations exceeding 2.5 µg g −1 wet weight. Adverse effects on behavior of fish had a wide range of effective dietary concentrations, but generally occurred above 0.5 µg g −1 wet weight. In contrast, effects on reproduction and other subclinical endpoints occurred at dietary concentrations that were much lower (<0.2 µg g −1 wet wt). Field studies generally lack information on dietary MeHg exposure, yet available data indicate that comparable adverse effects have been observed in wild fish in environments corresponding to high and low MeHg contamination of food webs and are in agreement with the threshold concentrations derived here from laboratory studies. These thresholds indicate that while differences in species sensitivity to MeHg exposure appear considerable, chronic dietary exposure to low concentrations of MeHg may have significant adverse effects on wild fish populations but remain little studied compared to concentrations in mammals or birds. Environ. Toxicol. Chem. 2012; 31: 1536–1547. © 2012 SETACPeer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/92130/1/etc_1859_sm_SupplReferences.pdfhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/92130/2/1859_ftp.pd

Borrelia recurrentis employs a novel multifunctional surface protein with anti-complement, anti-opsonic and invasive potential to escape innate immunity

Borrelia recurrentis, the etiologic agent of louse-borne relapsing fever in humans, has evolved strategies, including antigenic variation, to evade immune defence, thereby causing severe diseases with high mortality rates. Here we identify for the first time a multifunctional surface lipoprotein of B. recurrentis, termed HcpA, and demonstrate that it binds human complement regulators, Factor H, CFHR-1, and simultaneously, the host protease plasminogen. Cell surface bound factor H was found to retain its activity and to confer resistance to complement attack. Moreover, ectopic expression of HcpA in a B. burgdorferi B313 strain, deficient in Factor H binding proteins, protected the transformed spirochetes from complement-mediated killing. Furthermore, HcpA-bound plasminogen/plasmin endows B. recurrentis with the potential to resist opsonization and to degrade extracellular matrix components. Together, the present study underscores the high virulence potential of B. recurrentis. The elucidation of the molecular basis underlying the versatile strategies of B. recurrentis to escape innate immunity and to persist in human tissues, including the brain, may help to understand the pathological processes underlying louse-borne relapsing fever