DMRG method for the linear DC-conductance of one-dimensional correlated systems

Interesting discoveries have recently been made in the area of solid state physics and nano technology regarding electronic systems that are confined to reduced spatial dimensions. Under these circumstances the quantum nature of the electrons begins to surface. In the one-dimensional case this class of systems is therefore called quantum- or nano wires. The conductance in such quantum wires becomes quantized and is dominated by electronic correlations. The goal of this thesis was to develop a fast and efficient procedure to describe a realistic transport measurement for such systems. The method presented here is in- spired by the work of Dan Bohr et al. who used the Density Matrix Renormalization Group algorithm(DMRG) to evaluate the Kubo formula for the linear response to an applied potential. In a similar way the procedure of this thesis also computes the Kubo formula using the dynamical DMRG in order to calculate the low frequency response to an AC source-drain voltage of finite systems. Making use of a special finite size scaling allows to extrapolate the results into the thermodynamic limit and to finally obtain the linear DC-conductance. First, the theoretical framework for the new method was developed. This was fol- lowed by testing the new approach in different model systems. The first model com- prised of a tight-binding chain that was filled with spinless, noninteracting fermions. In subsequent steps the model was expanded by introducing a homogeneous in- teraction in the Luttinger liquid regime followed by inhomogeneous interaction for different chain sections. The potential impact of impurities was assessed in the above models. Lastly, the two cases of the Hubbard chain of spin- 2 1 electrons and of the Holstein model in one dimension, where Einstein phonons interact with spinless fermions, were studied. The results of the proposed method are consistent with Luttinger liquid and Lan- dauer scattering theory. In the Luttinger liquid regime the influence of phonons to the charge structure factor was confirmed. A dependency on the length of the quantum wire in the form of dissipation effects for the conductance was not observed.Im Bereich der Festkörperphysik und Nanotechnologie haben sich in jüngster Zeit interessante Beobachtungen in elektronischen Systemen machen lassen, die räumlich auf wenige Dimensionen eingeschränkt sind. Entgegen der klassischen Erwartung kommen hier Quantenphänomene der betrachteten Fermionen zum Vorschein. Im eindimensionalen Fall werden diese Systeme daher auch Quanten- oder Nanodrähte genannt. Die Leitfähigkeit in solchen Quantendrähten wird durch quantenmecha- nische Elektronenkorrelationen dominiert und ist quantisiert. In dieser Arbeit wird eine schnelle und effiziente numerische Methode entwickelt, die den Anspruch hat eine Transportmessung an einem Quantendraht möglichst re- alitätsnah zu beschreiben. Diese Methode ist inspieriert von der Arbeit Dan Bohrs et al., der bereits gezeigt hat, dass mithilfe der Dichte-Matrix Renormierungsgrup- penalgorithmus(DMRG) die Kuboformel für die lineare Antwort auf ein Potential berechnet werden kann. Ähnlich dazu wird auch hier die Kuboformel mithilfe der dy- namischen DMRG für eine AC Source-Drain Spannung für endliche Systeme berech- net. Ein spezielles Finite Size Scaling erlaubt es, die Ergebnisse für diese endlichen Systeme in den thermodynamischen Grenzfall zu extrapolieren und schließlich die lineare DC-Leitfähigkeit zu erhalten. Zunächst wird das theoretische Grundgerüst für die Methode erläutert. Im da- rauf folgenden Teil wird die Methode an verschiedensten Modellsystemen getestet. Als erstes Modell wird eine Tight-Binding Kette untersucht, in der die Fermio- nen weder Spin besitzen, noch in irgendeiner Form wechselwirken. Das Modell wird dann langsam erweitert, indem erst homogene Wechselwirkung im Luttinger Flüssigkeitsbereich und dann inhomogene Wechselwirkung in unterschiedlichen Teil- abschnitten der Kette untersucht werden. Des Weiteren wird der Einfluss von Störstellen in diesen Systemen untersucht. Zuletzt werden schließlich die beiden Fälle einer Hubbard Kette mit Spin- 12 Elektronen und des Holstein Modells in einer Dimension mit Einsteinphononen, die mit spinlosen Fermionen wechselwirken, be- trachtet. Die Ergebnisse der Methode sind konsistent mit der Luttinger Flüssigkeits- und mit der Landauer Streutheorie. Außerdem lässt sich ein Einfluss von Phononen auf den Ladungsstrukturfaktor im Luttinger Regime beobachten. Eine Abhängigkeit der Leitfähigkeit durch eine Änderung der Länge des Quantendrahtes und etwaigen Dissipationseffekten ließ sich in allen Fällen nicht beobachten

Imaging of vascular remodeling after simulated thoracoabdominal aneurysm repair

ObjectiveA better understanding of the response of the spinal cord blood supply to segmental artery (SA) sacrifice should help minimize the risk of paraplegia after both open and endovascular repair of thoracoabdominal aortic (TAA) aneurysms.MethodsTwelve female juvenile Yorkshire pigs were randomized into 3 groups and perfused with a barium–latex solution. Pigs in group 1 (control) had infusion without previous intervention. Pigs in group 2 were infused 48 hours after ligation of all SAs (T4-L5) and those in group 3 at 120 hours after ligation. Postmortem computed tomographic scanning of the entire pig enabled overall comparisons and measurement of vessel diameters in the spinal cord circulation.ResultsWe ligated 14.5 ± 0.8 SAs: all filled retrograde to the ligature. Paraplegia occurred in 38% of operated pigs. A significant increase in the mean diameter of the anterior spinal artery (ASA) was evident after SA sacrifice (P < .0001 for 48 hours and 120 hours). The internal thoracic and intercostal arteries also increased in diameter. Quantitative assessment showed an increase in vessel density 48 hours after ligation of SAs, reflected by an obvious increase in small collateral vessels seen on 3-dimensional reconstructions of computed tomographic scans at 120 hours.ConclusionsRemodeling of the spinal cord blood supply—including dilatation of the ASA and proliferation of small collateral vessels—is evident at 48 and 120 hours after extensive SA sacrifice. It is likely that exploitation of this process will prove valuable in the quest to eliminate paraplegia after TAA aneurysm repair

A heuristic framework for video-based teaching and learning scenarios in higher education

Video has been proven to be an effective tool for enhancing the professional vision of higher education students, which is a crucial situation-specific skill within their professional competence. To ensure the successful integration of video in higher education teaching and learning, several implementation actions and processes need to be considered. This paper proposes a heuristic framework for implementing video-based teaching and learning scenarios across various disciplines in higher education. The framework combines existing research strands on professional vision, video implementation, technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK), and interactive, constructive, active, and passive (ICAP) learning activities. To highlight the interdisciplinary nature of the framework, examples from four different higher education disciplines (Catholic moral theology, Communication science, German as a second and foreign language, Medicine) are provided. These examples serve to underscore the framework’s applicability across a range of academic fields

The majority of β-catenin mutations in colorectal cancer is homozygous

Background: β-catenin activation plays a crucial role for tumourigenesis in the large intestine but except for Lynch syndrome (LS) associated cancers stabilizing mutations of β-catenin gene (CTNNB1) are rare in colorectal cancer (CRC). Previous animal studies provide an explanation for this observation. They showed that CTNNB1 mutations induced transformation in the colon only when CTNNB1 was homozygously mutated or when membranous β-catenin binding was hampered by E-cadherin haploinsufficiency. We were interested, if these mechanisms are also found in human CTNNB1 mutated CRCs. Results: Among 869 CRCs stabilizing CTNNB1 mutations were found in 27 cases. Homo- or hemizygous CTNNB1 mutations were detected in 74% of CTNNB1 mutated CRCs (13 microsatellite instabile (MSI-H), 7 microsatellite stabile (MSS)) but only in 3% (1/33) of extracolonic CTNNB1 mutated cancers. In contrast to MSS CRC, CTNNB1 mutations at codon 41 or 45 were highly selected in MSI-H CRC. Of the examined three CRC cell lines, β-catenin and E-cadherin expression was similar in cell lines without or with hetereozygous CTNNB1 mutations (DLD1 and HCT116), while a reduced E-cadherin expression combined with cytoplasmic accumulation of β-catenin was found in a cell line with homozygous CTNNB1 mutation (LS180). Reduced expression of E-cadherin in human MSI-H CRC tissue was identified in 60% of investigated cancers, but no association with the CTNNB1 mutational status was found. Conclusions: In conclusion, this study shows that in contrast to extracolonic cancers stabilizing CTNNB1 mutations in CRC are commonly homo- or hemizygous indicating a higher threshold of β-catenin stabilization to be required for transformation in the colon as compared to extracolonic sites. Moreover, we found different mutational hotspots in CTNNB1 for MSI-H and MSS CRCs suggesting a selection of different effects on β-catenin stabilization according to the molecular pathway of tumourigenesis. Reduced E-cadherin expression in CRC may further contribute to higher levels of transcriptionally active β-catenin, but it is not directly linked to the CTNNB1 mutational status

The functional genome of CA1 and CA3 neurons under native conditions and in response to ischemia

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The different physiological repertoire of CA3 and CA1 neurons in the hippocampus, as well as their differing behaviour after noxious stimuli are ultimately based upon differences in the expressed genome. We have compared CA3 and CA1 gene expression in the uninjured brain, and after cerebral ischemia using laser microdissection (LMD), RNA amplification, and array hybridization.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Profiling in CA1 vs. CA3 under normoxic conditions detected more than 1000 differentially expressed genes that belong to different, physiologically relevant gene ontology groups in both cell types. The comparison of each region under normoxic and ischemic conditions revealed more than 5000 ischemia-regulated genes for each individual cell type. Surprisingly, there was a high co-regulation in both regions. In the ischemic state, only about 100 genes were found to be differentially expressed in CA3 and CA1. The majority of these genes were also different in the native state. A minority of interesting genes (e.g. inhibinbetaA) displayed divergent expression preference under native and ischemic conditions with partially opposing directions of regulation in both cell types.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The differences found in two morphologically very similar cell types situated next to each other in the CNS are large providing a rational basis for physiological differences. Unexpectedly, the genomic response to ischemia is highly similar in these two neuron types, leading to a substantial attenuation of functional genomic differences in these two cell types. Also, the majority of changes that exist in the ischemic state are not generated de novo by the ischemic stimulus, but are preexistant from the genomic repertoire in the native situation. This unexpected influence of a strong noxious stimulus on cell-specific gene expression differences can be explained by the activation of a cell-type independent conserved gene-expression program. Our data generate both novel insights into the relation of the quiescent and stimulus-induced transcriptome in different cells, and provide a large dataset to the research community, both for mapping purposes, as well as for physiological and pathophysiological research.</p

The elegans of spindle assembly

The Caenorhabditis elegans one-cell embryo is a powerful system in which to study microtubule organization because this large cell assembles both meiotic and mitotic spindles within the same cytoplasm over the course of 1 h in a stereotypical manner. The fertilized oocyte assembles two consecutive acentrosomal meiotic spindles that function to reduce the replicated maternal diploid set of chromosomes to a single-copy haploid set. The resulting maternal DNA then unites with the paternal DNA to form a zygotic diploid complement, around which a centrosome-based mitotic spindle forms. The early C. elegans embryo is amenable to live-cell imaging and electron tomography, permitting a detailed structural comparison of the meiotic and mitotic modes of spindle assembly

H2A.Z Demarcates Intergenic Regions of the Plasmodium falciparum Epigenome That Are Dynamically Marked by H3K9ac and H3K4me3

Epigenetic regulatory mechanisms and their enzymes are promising targets for malaria therapeutic intervention; however, the epigenetic component of gene expression in P. falciparum is poorly understood. Dynamic or stable association of epigenetic marks with genomic features provides important clues about their function and helps to understand how histone variants/modifications are used for indexing the Plasmodium epigenome. We describe a novel, linear amplification method for next-generation sequencing (NGS) that allows unbiased analysis of the extremely AT-rich Plasmodium genome. We used this method for high resolution, genome-wide analysis of a histone H2A variant, H2A.Z and two histone H3 marks throughout parasite intraerythrocytic development. Unlike in other organisms, H2A.Z is a constant, ubiquitous feature of euchromatic intergenic regions throughout the intraerythrocytic cycle. The almost perfect colocalisation of H2A.Z with H3K9ac and H3K4me3 suggests that these marks are preferentially deposited on H2A.Z-containing nucleosomes. By performing RNA-seq on 8 time-points, we show that acetylation of H3K9 at promoter regions correlates very well with the transcriptional status whereas H3K4me3 appears to have stage-specific regulation, being low at early stages, peaking at trophozoite stage, but does not closely follow changes in gene expression. Our improved NGS library preparation procedure provides a foundation to exploit the malaria epigenome in detail. Furthermore, our findings place H2A.Z at the cradle of P. falciparum epigenetic regulation by stably defining intergenic regions and providing a platform for dynamic assembly of epigenetic and other transcription related complexes

Preliminary Results for the Multi-Robot, Multi-Partner, Multi-Mission, Planetary Exploration Analogue Campaign on Mount Etna

This paper was initially intended to report on the outcome of the twice postponed demonstration mission of the ARCHES project. Due to the global COVID pandemic, it has been postponed from 2020, then 2021, to 2022. Nevertheless, the development of our concepts and integration has progressed rapidly, and some of the preliminary results are worthwhile to share with the community to drive the dialog on robotics planetary exploration strategies. This paper includes an overview of the planned 4-week campaign, as well as the vision and relevance of the missiontowards the planned official space missions. Furthermore, the cooperative aspect of the robotic teams, the scientific motivation, the sub task achievements are summarised

Finally! Insights into the ARCHES Lunar Planetary Exploration Analogue Campaign on Etna in summer 2022

This paper summarises the first outcomes of the space demonstration mission of the ARCHES project which could have been performed this year from 13 june until 10 july on Italy’s Mt. Etna in Sicily. After the second postponement related to COVID from the initially for 2020 planed campaign, we are now very happy to report, that the whole campaign with more than 65 participants for four weeks has been successfully conduced. In this short overview paper, we will refer to all other publication here on IAC22. This paper includes an overview of the performed 4-week campaign and the achieved mission goals and first results but also share our findings on the organisational and planning aspects