Linearized force constants method for lattice dynamics in mixed semiconductors

A simple and accurate method of calculating phonon spectra in mixed semiconductors alloys, on the basis of preliminarily (from first principles) relaxed atomic structure, is proposed and tested for (Zn,Be)Se and (Ga,In)As solid solutions. The method uses an observation that the interatomic force constants, calculated ab initio for a number of microscopic configurations in the systems cited, show a clear linear variation of the main (diagonal) values of the interatomic force constants with the corresponding bond length. We formulate simple rules about how to recover the individual 3x3 subblocks of the force constants matrix in their local (bonds-related) coordinate systems and how to transform them into a global (crystal cell-related) coordinate system. Test calculations done for 64-atom supercells representing different concentrations of (Zn,Be)Se and (Ga,In)As show that the phonon frequencies and compositions of eigenvectors are faithfully reproduced in a linearized force constants calculation, as compared to true ab initio calculations.Comment: to appear in the proceedings of the Phonons2007 conference (Paris, July 2007

Flat ring epimorphisms and universal localizations of commutative rings

We study different types of localizations of a commutative noetherian ring. More precisely, we provide criteria to decide: (a) if a given flat ring epimorphism is a universal localization in the sense of Cohn and Schofield; and (b) when such universal localizations are classical rings of fractions. In order to find such criteria, we use the theory of support and we analyse the specialization closed subset associated to a flat ring epimorphism. In case the underlying ring is locally factorial or of Krull dimension one, we show that all flat ring epimorphisms are universal localizations. Moreover, it turns out that an answer to the question of when universal localizations are classical depends on the structure of the Picard group. We furthermore discuss the case of normal rings, for which the divisor class group plays an essential role to decide if a given flat ring epimorphism is a universal localization. Finally, we explore several (counter)examples which highlight the necessity of our assumptions

Vitamin C inhibits endothelial cell apoptosis in congestive heart failure

Background - Proinflammatory cytokines like tumor necrosis factor- and oxidative stress induce apoptotic cell death in endothelial cells (ECs). Systemic inflammation and increased oxidative stress in congestive heart failure (CHF) coincide with enhanced EC apoptosis and the development of endothelial dysfunction. Therefore, we investigated the effects of antioxidative vitamin C therapy on EC apoptosis in CHF patients. Methods and Results - Vitamin C dose dependently suppressed the induction of EC apoptosis by tumor necrosis factor- and angiotensin II in vitro as assessed by DNA fragmentation, DAPI nuclear staining, and MTT viability assay. The antiapoptotic effect of vitamin C was associated with reduced cytochrome C release from mitochondria and the inhibition of caspase-9 activity. To assess EC protection by vitamin C in CHF patients, we prospectively randomized CHF patients in a double-blind trial to vitamin C treatment versus placebo. Vitamin C administration to CHF patients markedly reduced plasma levels of circulating apoptotic microparticles to 32±8% of baseline levels, whereas placebo had no effect (87±14%, P<0.005). In addition, vitamin C administration suppressed the proapoptotic activity on EC of the serum of CHF patients (P<0.001). Conclusions - Administration of vitamin C to CHF patients suppresses EC apoptosis in vivo, which might contribute to the established functional benefit of vitamin C supplementation on endothelial function

Interpretation of comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography data using advanced chemometrics

The power of comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography (GC × GC) for the study of complex mixtures has been indisputably proved in the past several decades. This review encompasses the whole of GC × GC-related data processing and summarizes relevant applications. We include theoretical introduction to some specific methods and studies to aid readers&#039; understanding of chemometrics strategies for advanced data interpretation

Cancer stem cells in melanoma

The identification of cancer stem cells in various malignancies led to the hypothesis that these cells have the exclusive ability of self-renewal, contribute to the plasticity of the tumours and may be the cause for ineffective cancer therapies. Several markers of melanoma stem cells have been described in recent studies including CD133, CD166, Nestin and BMI-1. Further studies are necessary to identify, better define and understand the origin and function of cancer stem cells. If confirmed that cancer stem cells play an important role in malignancy, therapeutic strategies may need to be redirected towards these cells to circumvent the failure of conventional therapies

Lattice dynamics of mixed semiconductors (Be,Zn)Se from first-principles calculations

Vibration properties of Zn(1-x)Be(x)Se, a mixed II-VI semiconductor haracterized by a high contrast in elastic properties of its pure constituents, ZnSe and BeSe, are simulated by first-principles calculations of electronic structure, lattice relaxation and frozen phonons. The calculations within the local density approximation has been done with the Siesta method, using norm-conserving pseudopotentials and localized basis functions; the benchmark calculations for pure endsystems were moreover done also by all-electron WIEN2k code. An immediate motivation for the study was to analyze, at the microscopic level, the appearance of anomalous phonon modes early detected in Raman spectra in the intermediate region (20 to 80%) of ZnBe concentration. This was early discussed on the basis of a percolation phenomenon, i.e., the result of the formation of wall-to-wall --Be--Se-- chains throughout the crystal. The presence of such chains was explicitly allowed in our simulation and indeed brought about a softening and splitting off of particular modes, in accordance with experimental observation, due to a relative elongation of Be--Se bonds along the chain as compared to those involving isolated Be atoms. The variation of force constants with interatomic distances shows common trends in relative independence on the short-range order.Comment: 11 pages, 10 figures, to be published in Phys. Rev.

Molecular characterization of signalling pathways in cancer stem cells

To avoid artefacts introduced by culturing cells for extended periods of time, it is crucial to use low-passage patient-derived tumour cells. The ability to enrich, isolate and assay sub-populations of cells that behave as cancer stem cells (CSCs) from these primary cell lines is essential before performing characterizations such as gene-expression profiling. We have isolated cells from glioblastomas which show characteristics of CSCs. Although glioblastomas contain only a relatively small amount of putative CSCs, these cells express many genes which seem to be worthy targets for future therapies