143 research outputs found
Conformational Influence on Quantum Transport in Nanostructures
In the present thesis we have studied the interplay of conformational and electronic transport properties in metallic and organic nano-structures. Characterization of the influence of thermal, electrostatic or fabrication-induced structural rearrangement on the conductance characteristics gives new insights into the functionality of nano-scale systems, such as quantum point contacts, nano-wires and nano-particles
Connected creativity â a human centered community innovation platform in the context of product generation engineering
Applying the extended molecule approach to correlated electron transport: important insight from model calculations
Theoretical approaches of electronic transport in correlated molecules
usually consider an extended molecule, which includes, in addition to the
molecule itself, parts of electrodes. In the case where electron correlations
remain confined within the molecule, and the extended molecule is sufficiently
large, the current can be expressed by means of Laudauer-type formulae.
Electron correlations are embodied into the retarded Green function of a
sufficiently large but isolated extended molecule, which represents the key
quantity that can be accurately determined by means of ab initio quantum
chemical calculations. To exemplify these ideas, we present and analyze
numerical results obtained within full CI calculations for an extended molecule
described by the interacting resonant level model. Based on them, we argue that
for organic electrodes the transport properties can be reliably computed,
because the extended molecule can be chosen sufficiently small to be tackled
within accurate ab initio methods. For metallic electrodes, larger extended
molecules have to be considered in general, but a (semi-)quantitative
description of the transport should still be possible particularly in the
typical cases where electron transport proceeds by off-resonant tunneling. Our
numerical results also demonstrate that, contrary to the usual claim, the ratio
between the characteristic Coulomb strength and the level width due to
molecule-electrode coupling is not the only quantity needed to assess whether
electron correlation effects are strong or weak
mRNA expression and localization of bNOS, eNOS and iNOS in human cervix at preterm and term labour
BACKGROUND: Preterm birth is the primary cause of the neonatal mortality and morbidity. There will be no preterm birth without a cervical softening. Nitric oxide (NO) is shown to be a mediator of term cervical ripening. The aim of this study was to investigate mRNA expression of the three isomers of NO synthases (NOS) and to identify them by immunohistochemistry in the human cervix at preterm birth compared to term. METHODS: The three isomers of NOS- inducible (iNOS), endothelial (eNOS) and neuronal (bNOS) â were investigated in the human cervix. The expression of mRNA was determined using Real-Time Multiplex RT-PCR. The localisation of synthases in the cervical tissue was analysed using immunohistochemistry. Cervical biopsies were obtained from 4 groups of women without clinical signs of infection: preterm (PTL), term labour (TL), preterm not in labour (PTnotL) and term not in labour (TnotL) patients. One-Way ANOVA, Kruskal-Wallis, Student t-test or Mann-Whitney test were applied as appropriate to determine statistically significant differences among the groups. RESULTS: Patients in preterm labour had significantly (p < 0.01) higher mRNA levels of all the three NOS isomers compared to those in term labour. Women not in labour, irrespective of gestational age, thus with unripe cervices, had significantly lower eNOS mRNA levels compared to those in labour (p < 0.01). Immunoreactivity for all three NO synthases was observed in each examined sample in all groups. The bNOS staining was the most prominent. CONCLUSION: The mRNA levels were higher in the preterm labour group compared to the women at term labour. The significant increase of the eNOS mRNA expression, from the unripe to the favourable cervical state during labour, may indicate a role of eNOS and supports the role of NO in the cervical ripening process. All the three synthases were identified by immunohistochemistry in all the groups of study
Swiss Recommendations for Cutaneous Basal Cell Carcinoma
Basal cell carcinoma (BCC) is the most common nonmelanoma skin cancer in Switzerland and worldwide. Most BCCs can be treated in a curative setting. However, patients can develop locally destructive and, rarely, metastatic tumors that require a different treatment approach. The clinical subtype of individual lesions provides prognostic information and influences management decisions. Surgical excision, topical therapies, and radiotherapy are highly effective in the majority of subtypes as well as in low- and high-risk diseases. For patients with low-risk diseases and superficial tumors not amenable to surgery, several nonsurgical alternatives are available. Systemic therapy is indicated for high-risk BCCs, which are not amenable to either surgery or radiotherapy. Hedgehog pathway inhibitors (HHI) are currently approved. Other therapeutic options such as immune checkpoint inhibitors show promising results in clinical trials. This first version of Swiss recommendations for diagnosis and management of BCC was prepared through extensive literature review and an advisory board consensus of expert dermatologists and oncologists in Switzerland. The present guidelines recommend therapies based on a multidisciplinary team approach and rate of recurrence for individual lesions. Based on the risk of recurrence, two distinct groups have been identified: low-risk (easy-to-treat) and high-risk (difficult-to-treat) tumors. Based on these classifications, evidence-based recommendations of available therapies are presented herein
Swiss Recommendations for Cutaneous Basal Cell Carcinoma.
Basal cell carcinoma (BCC) is the most common nonmelanoma skin cancer in Switzerland and worldwide. Most BCCs can be treated in a curative setting. However, patients can develop locally destructive and, rarely, metastatic tumors that require a different treatment approach. The clinical subtype of individual lesions provides prognostic information and influences management decisions. Surgical excision, topical therapies, and radiotherapy are highly effective in the majority of subtypes as well as in low- and high-risk diseases. For patients with low-risk diseases and superficial tumors not amenable to surgery, several nonsurgical alternatives are available. Systemic therapy is indicated for high-risk BCCs, which are not amenable to either surgery or radiotherapy. Hedgehog pathway inhibitors (HHI) are currently approved. Other therapeutic options such as immune checkpoint inhibitors show promising results in clinical trials. This first version of Swiss recommendations for diagnosis and management of BCC was prepared through extensive literature review and an advisory board consensus of expert dermatologists and oncologists in Switzerland. The present guidelines recommend therapies based on a multidisciplinary team approach and rate of recurrence for individual lesions. Based on the risk of recurrence, two distinct groups have been identified: low-risk (easy-to-treat) and high-risk (difficult-to-treat) tumors. Based on these classifications, evidence-based recommendations of available therapies are presented herein
XRCC1 suppresses somatic hypermutation and promotes alternative nonhomologous end joining in Igh genes
As revealed using mice heterozygous for the base excision repair (BER) protein XRCC1, BER and mutagenic repair pathways can simultaneously compete for access to single-strand breaks induced by activation-induced deaminase
Women, autoimmunity, and cancer: a dangerous liaison between estrogen and activation-induced deaminase?
Why women are more susceptible to autoimmune diseases is not completely clear, but new data suggest that the hormone estrogen may play an important role. A new study now shows that estrogen activates the expression of activation-induced deaminase (AID), a protein that drives antibody diversification by deaminating cytosine in DNA to uracil. If estrogen increases the level of AID, increased mutations could transform benign antibodies into anti-self pariahs. AID might also contribute to cancerâparticularly in breast tissue, which is highly responsive to estrogenâby introducing mutations and strand breaks into the genome
- âŠ