168 research outputs found
Surface-acoustic-wave driven planar light-emitting device
Electroluminescence emission controlled by means of surface acoustic waves
(SAWs) in planar light-emitting diodes (pLEDs) is demonstrated. Interdigital
transducers for SAW generation were integrated onto pLEDs fabricated following
the scheme which we have recently developed. Current-voltage, light-voltage and
photoluminescence characteristics are presented at cryogenic temperatures. We
argue that this scheme represents a valuable building block for advanced
optoelectronic architectures
Measuring OC in Latin America. A methodology for developing and validating scores and composite indicators for measuring OC at national and subnational level.
The aim of this working paper is to develop and test a methodology for measuring Organized Crime in selected countries of the Latin American region. This study is one of the first systematic attempts to obtain reliable and comparable measurements of OC presence and threats in that region. The outcomes will provide a more comprehensive view on how to measure and analyze OC today in Latin America, taking the regional specificities of the phenomenon into account. Moreover, creating a valid measurement of OC has important policy implications, since valid indicators may improve the effectiveness of government and enforcement action
Acoustic charge transport in n-i-n three terminal device
We present an unconventional approach to realize acoustic charge transport
devices that takes advantage from an original input region geometry in place of
standard Ohmic input contacts. Our scheme is based on a n-i-n lateral junction
as electron injector, an etched intrinsic channel, a standard Ohmic output
contact and a pair of in-plane gates. We show that surface acoustic waves are
able to pick up electrons from a current flowing through the n-i-n junction and
steer them toward the output contact. Acoustic charge transport was studied as
a function of the injector current and bias, the SAW power and at various
temperatures. The possibility to modulate the acoustoelectric current by means
of lateral in-plane gates is also discussed. The main advantage of our approach
relies on the possibility to drive the n-i-n injector by means of both voltage
or current sources, thus allowing to sample and process voltage and current
signals as well.Comment: 9 pages, 3 figures. Submitted to Applied Physics Letter
Germany
This report provides the country profile of the project The Factbook on the Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products. It focuses on Germany, where illicit trade in tobacco products is not a political priority and there are no official estimates. Nevertheless, German Authorities, and especially German Customs are aware of the problem of cigarette smuggling
Lectin Pathway of Complement Activation Is Associated with Vulnerability of Atherosclerotic Plaques
Inflammatory mechanisms may be involved in atherosclerotic plaque rupture. By using a novel histology-based method to quantify plaque instability here, we assess whether lectin pathway (LP) of complement activation, a major inflammation arm, could represent an index of plaque instability. Plaques from 42 consecutive patients undergoing carotid endarterectomy were stained with hematoxylin-eosin and the lipid core, cholesterol clefts, hemorrhagic content, thickness of tunica media, and intima, including or not infiltration of cellular debris and cholesterol, were determined. The presence of ficolin-1, -2, and -3 and mannose-binding lectin (MBL), LP initiators, was assessed in the plaques by immunofluorescence and in plasma by ELISA. LP activation was assessed in plasma by functional in vitro assays. Patients presenting low stenosis (≤75%) had higher hemorrhagic content than those with high stenosis (>75%), indicating increased erosion. Increased hemorrhagic content and tunica media thickness, as well as decreased lipid core and infiltrated content were associated with vulnerable plaques and therefore used to establish a plaque vulnerability score that allowed to classify patients according to plaque vulnerability. Ficolins and MBL were found both in plaques’ necrotic core and tunica media. Patients with vulnerable plaques showed decreased plasma levels and intraplaque deposition of ficolin-2. Symptomatic patients experiencing a transient ischemic attack had lower plasma levels of ficolin-1. We show that the LP initiators are present within the plaques and their circulating levels change in atherosclerotic patients. In particular, we show that decreased ficolin-2 levels are associated with rupture-prone vulnerable plaques, indicating its potential use as marker for cardiovascular risk assessment in atherosclerotic patients
Italy
This report is part of the project The Factbook on the Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products. It focuses on Italy, where the illicit trade in tobacco seems to have grown in recent years. This fact, combined with the geographical location of the country and the consolidated presence of organised crime, makes Italy an interesting country to explore in terms of ITTP flows in the Mediterranean basin and towards North European countries
Estrogen Modulates Specific Life and Death Signals Induced by LH and hCG in Human Primary Granulosa Cells In Vitro
Luteinizing hormone (LH) and human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) are glycoprotein hormones used for assisted reproduction acting on the same receptor (LHCGR) and mediating different intracellular signaling. We evaluated the pro- and anti-apoptotic effect of 100 pM LH or hCG, in the presence or in the absence of 200 pg/mL 17β-estradiol, in long-term, serum-starved human primary granulosa cells (hGLC) and a transfected granulosa cell line overexpressing LHCGR (hGL5/LHCGR). To this purpose, phospho-extracellular-regulated kinase 1/2 (pERK1/2), protein kinase B (pAKT), cAMP-responsive element binding protein (pCREB) activation and procaspase 3 cleavage were evaluated over three days by Western blotting, along with the expression of target genes by real-time PCR and cell viability by colorimetric assay. We found that LH induced predominant pERK1/2 and pAKT activation STARD1, CCND2 and anti-apoptotic XIAP gene expression, while hCG mediated more potent CREB phosphorylation, expression of CYP19A1 and procaspase 3 cleavage than LH. Cell treatment by LH is accompanied by increased (serum-starved) cell viability, while hCG decreased the number of viable cells. The hCG-specific, pro-apoptotic effect was blocked by a physiological dose of 17β-estradiol, resulting in pAKT activation, lack of procaspase 3 cleavage and increased cell viability. These results confirm that relatively high levels of steroidogenic pathway activation are linked to pro-apoptotic signals in vitro, which may be counteracted by other factors, i.e., estrogens
Range margin reduction in carbon ion therapy: potential benefits of using radioactive ion beams
Radiotherapy with heavy ions, in particular, 12C beams, is one of the most
advanced forms of cancer treatment. Sharp dose gradients and high biological
effectiveness in the target region make them an ideal tool to treat deep-seated
and radioresistant tumors, however, at the same time, sensitive to small errors
in the range prediction. Safety margins are added to the tumor volume to
mitigate these uncertainties and ensure its uniform coverage, but during the
irradiation they lead to unavoidable damage to the surrounding healthy tissue.
To fully exploit the benefits of a sharp Bragg peak, a large effort is put into
establishing precise range verification methods for the so-called image-guided
radiotherapy. Despite positron emission tomography being widely in use for this
purpose in 12C ion therapy, the low count rates, biological washout, and broad
shape of the activity distribution still limit its precision to a few
millimeters. Instead, radioactive beams used directly for treatment would yield
an improved signal and a closer match with the dose fall-off, potentially
enabling precise in vivo beam range monitoring. We have performed a treatment
planning study to estimate the possible impact of the reduced range
uncertainties, enabled by radioactive 11C beams treatments, on sparing critical
organs in the tumor proximity. We demonstrate that (i) annihilation maps for
11C ions can in principle reflect even millimeter shifts in dose distributions
in the patient, (ii) outcomes of treatment planning with 11C beams are
significantly improved in terms of meeting the constraints for the organs at
risk compared to 12C plans, and (iii) less severe toxicities for serial and
parallel critical organs can be expected following 11C treatment with reduced
range uncertainties, compared to 12C treatments
Lithuania
This report is part of the project The Factbook on the Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products(henceforth ITTP)
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