Spin-dependent transport in p+-CdBxF2-x - n-CdF2 planar structures

The CV measurements and tunneling spectroscopy are used to study the ballistic transport of the spin-polarized holes by varying the value of the Rashba spin-orbit interaction (SOI) in the p-type quantum well prepared on the surface of the n-CdF2 bulk crystal. The findings of the hole conductance oscillations in the plane of the p-type quantum well that are due to the variations of the Rashba SOI are shown to be evidence of the spin transistor effect, with the amplitude of the oscillations close to e2/h.Comment: 5 pages, 6 figure

How to determine a quantum state by measurements: The Pauli problem for a particle with arbitrary potential

The problem of reconstructing a pure quantum state ¿¿> from measurable quantities is considered for a particle moving in a one-dimensional potential V(x). Suppose that the position probability distribution ¿¿(x,t)¿2 has been measured at time t, and let it have M nodes. It is shown that after measuring the time evolved distribution at a short-time interval ¿t later, ¿¿(x,t+¿t)¿2, the set of wave functions compatible with these distributions is given by a smooth manifold M in Hilbert space. The manifold M is isomorphic to an M-dimensional torus, TM. Finally, M additional expectation values of appropriately chosen nonlocal operators fix the quantum state uniquely. The method used here is the analog of an approach that has been applied successfully to the corresponding problem for a spin system

Cadmium accumulation and interactions with zinc, copper, and manganese, analysed by ICP-MS in a long-term Caco-2 TC7 cell model

The influence of long-term exposure to cadmium (Cd) on essential minerals was investigated using a Caco-2 TC7 cells and a multi-analytical tool: microwave digestion and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. Intracellular levels, effects on cadmium accumulation, distribution, and reference concentration ranges of the following elements were determined: Na, Mg, Ca, Cr, Fe, Mn, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, Mo, and Cd. Results showed that Caco-2 TC7 cells incubated long-term with cadmium concentrations ranging from 0 to 10 lmol Cd/l for 5 weeks exhibited a significant increase in cadmium accumulation. Furthermore, this accumulation was more marked in cells exposed long-term to cadmium compared with controls, and that this exposure resulted in a significant accumulation of copper and zinc but not of the other elements measured. Interactions of Cd with three elements: zinc, copper, and manganese were particularly studied. Exposed to 30 lmol/l of the element, manganese showed the highest inhibition and copper the lowest on cadmium intracellular accumulation but Zn, Cu, and Mn behave differently in terms of their mutual competition with Cd. Indeed, increasing cadmium in the culture medium resulted in a gradual and significant increase in the accumulation of zinc. There was a significant decrease in manganese from 5 lmol Cd/l exposure, and no variation was observed with copper. Abbreviation: AAS – Atomic absorption spectrometry; CRM– Certified reference material; PBS – Phosphate buffered saline without calcium and magnesium; DMEM – Dubelcco’s modified Eagle’s medium

Developing a Model to Simulate the Effect of Hypothermia on Cerebral Blood Flow and Metabolism

Hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) is a significant cause of death and neurological disability in newborns. Therapeutic hypothermia at 33.5 °C is one of the most common treatments in HIE and generally improves outcome; however 45-55% of injuries still result in death or severe neurodevelopmental disability. We have developed a systems biology model of cerebral oxygen transport and metabolism to model the impact of hypothermia on the piglet brain (the neonatal preclinical animal model) tissue physiology. This computational model is an extension of the BrainSignals model of the adult brain. The model predicts that during hypothermia there is a 5.1% decrease in cerebral metabolism, 1.1% decrease in blood flow and 2.3% increase in cerebral tissue oxygenation saturation. The model can be used to simulate effects of hypothermia on the brain and to help interpret bedside recordings

Financing SME growth in the UK: meeting the challenges after the global financial crisis

In the aftermath of the Global Financial Crisis new forms of SME finance are emerging in the place of traditional banking and equity finance sources. This Special Issue has its origins in a conference organised in June 2014 by the Centre for Enterprise and Economic Development Research (CEEDR) at Middlesex University Business School, where all but the final two papers were presented. The Conference was designed to provide a timely forum for leading academics, practitioners and policy makers to disseminate current research and practitioner knowledge exploring finance gaps and how best to address the financing needs of small high growth potential businesses

Electron and hole states in quantum-dot quantum wells within a spherical 8-band model

In order to study heterostructures composed both of materials with strongly different parameters and of materials with narrow band gaps, we have developed an approach, which combines the spherical 8-band effective-mass Hamiltonian and the Burt's envelope function representation. Using this method, electron and hole states are calculated in CdS/HgS/CdS/H_2O and CdTe/HgTe/CdTe/H_2O quantum-dot quantum-well heterostructures. Radial components of the wave functions of the lowest S and P electron and hole states in typical quantum-dot quantum wells (QDQWs) are presented as a function of radius. The 6-band-hole components of the radial wave functions of an electron in the 8-band model have amplitudes comparable with the amplitude of the corresponding 2-band-electron component. This is a consequence of the coupling between the conduction and valence bands, which gives a strong nonparabolicity of the conduction band. At the same time, the 2-band-electron component of the radial wave functions of a hole in the 8-band model is small compared with the amplitudes of the corresponding 6-band-hole components. It is shown that in the CdS/HgS/CdS/H_2O QDQW holes in the lowest states are strongly localized in the well region (HgS). On the contrary, electrons in this QDQW and both electron and holes in the CdTe/HgTe/CdTe/H_2O QDQW are distributed through the entire dot. The importance of the developed theory for QDQWs is proven by the fact that in contrast to our rigorous 8-band model, there appear spurious states within the commonly used symmetrized 8-band model.Comment: 15 pages, 5 figures, E-mail addresses: [email protected], [email protected]

Polymorphisms in the multiple drug resistance protein 1 and in P-glycoprotein 1 are associated with time to event outcomes in patients with advanced multiple myeloma treated with bortezomib and pegylated liposomal doxorubicin

Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the multiple drug resistance protein 1 (MRP1) and P-glycoprotein 1 (MDR1) genes modulate their ability to mediate drug resistance. We therefore sought to retrospectively evaluate their influence on outcomes in relapsed and/or refractory myeloma patients treated with bortezomib or bortezomib with pegylated liposomal doxorubicin (PLD). The MRP1/R723Q polymorphism was found in five subjects among the 279 patient study population, all of whom received PLD + bortezomib. Its presence was associated with a longer time to progression (TTP; median 330 vs. 129 days; p = 0.0008), progression-free survival (PFS; median 338 vs. 129 days; p = 0.0006), and overall survival (p = 0.0045). MDR1/3435(C > T), which was in Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium, showed a trend of association with PFS (p = 0.0578), response rate (p = 0.0782) and TTP (p = 0.0923) in PLD + bortezomib patients, though no correlation was found in the bortezomib arm. In a recessive genetic model, MDR1/3435 T was significantly associated with a better TTP (p = 0.0405) and PFS (p = 0.0186) in PLD + bortezomib patients. These findings suggest a potential role for MRP1 and MDR1 SNPs in modulating the long-term outcome of relapsed and/or refractory myeloma patients treated with PLD + bortezomib. Moreover, they support prospective studies to determine if such data could be used to tailor therapy to the genetic makeup of individual patients

RNA editing signature during myeloid leukemia cell differentiation

Adenosine deaminases acting on RNA (ADARs) are key proteins for hematopoietic stem cell self-renewal and for survival of differentiating progenitor cells. However, their specific role in myeloid cell maturation has been poorly investigated. Here we show that ADAR1 is present at basal level in the primary myeloid leukemia cells obtained from patients at diagnosis as well as in myeloid U-937 and THP1 cell lines and its expression correlates with the editing levels. Upon phorbol-myristate acetate or Vitamin D3/granulocyte macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF)-driven differentiation, both ADAR1 and ADAR2 enzymes are upregulated, with a concomitant global increase of A-to-I RNA editing. ADAR1 silencing caused an editing decrease at specific ADAR1 target genes, without, however, interfering with cell differentiation or with ADAR2 activity. Remarkably, ADAR2 is absent in the undifferentiated cell stage, due to its elimination through the ubiquitin–proteasome pathway, being strongly upregulated at the end of the differentiation process. Of note, peripheral blood monocytes display editing events at the selected targets similar to those found in differentiated cell lines. Taken together, the data indicate that ADAR enzymes play important and distinct roles in myeloid cells