Three-Terminal Si-Based Negative Differential Resistance Circuit Element with Adjustable Peak-to-Valley Current Ratios Using a Monolithic Vertical Integration

Si-based resonant bipolar transistors are demonstrated by the monolithic vertical integration of Si-based resonant interband tunnel diodes atop the emitter of Si/SiGe heterojunction bipolar transistors ~HBTs! on a silicon substrate. In the common emitter configuration, IC versus VCE shows negative differential resistance characteristics. The resulting characteristics are adjustable peak-to-valley current ratios, including infinite and negative values, and tailorable peak current densities by the control of the HBT base current under room temperature operation. With the integrated RITD-HBT combination, latching properties which are the key operating principle for high-speed mixed-signal, memory, and logic circuitry, are experimentally demonstrated

Determination of the pharmacokinetics and oral bioavailability of salicylamine, a potent γ-ketoaldehyde scavenger, by LC/MS/MS

Levels of reactive γ-ketoaldehydes derived from arachidonate increase in diseases associated with inflammation and oxidative injury. To assess the biological importance of these γ-ketoaldehydes, we previously identified salicylamine as an effective γ-ketoaldehyde scavenger in vitro and in cells. To determine if salicylamine could be administered in vivo, we developed an LC/MS/MS assay to measure salicylamine in plasma and tissues. In mice, half-life (t1/2) was 62 minutes. Drinking water supplementation (1-10 g/L) generated tissue concentrations (10-500 μM) within the range previously shown to inhibit γ-ketoaldehydes in cells. Therefore, oral administration of salicylamine can be used to assess the contribution of γ-ketoaldehydes in animal models of disease. © 2010 by the authors licensee Molecular Diversity Preservation International, Basel, Switzerland

The bone morphogenetic protein axis is a positive regulator of skeletal muscle mass

Although the canonical transforming growth factor β signaling pathway represses skeletal muscle growth and promotes muscle wasting, a role in muscle for the parallel bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) signaling pathway has not been defined. We report, for the first time, that the BMP pathway is a positive regulator of muscle mass. Increasing the expression of BMP7 or the activity of BMP receptors in muscles induced hypertrophy that was dependent on Smad1/5-mediated activation of mTOR signaling. In agreement, we observed that BMP signaling is augmented in models of muscle growth. Importantly, stimulation of BMP signaling is essential for conservation of muscle mass after disruption of the neuromuscular junction. Inhibiting the phosphorylation of Smad1/5 exacerbated denervation-induced muscle atrophy via an HDAC4-myogenin–dependent process, whereas increased BMP–Smad1/5 activity protected muscles from denervation-induced wasting. Our studies highlight a novel role for the BMP signaling pathway in promoting muscle growth and inhibiting muscle wasting, which may have significant implications for the development of therapeutics for neuromuscular disorders

Full Band Atomistic Modeling of Homo-junction InGaAs Band-to-Band Tunneling Diodes Including Band Gap Narrowing

A homo-junction In0.53Ga0.47As tunneling diode is investigated using full-band, atomistic quantum transport approach based on a tight-binding model (TB) and the Non-equilibrium Green’s Function formalism. Band gap narrowing (BGN) is included in TB by altering its parameters using the Jain-Roulston model. BGN is found to be critical in the determination of the current peak and the second turn-on in the forward bias region. An empirical excess current that mimics additional recombination paths must be added to the calculation to model the diode behavior in the valley current region. Overall the presented model reproduces experimental data well

Full Band Modeling of Homo-junction InGaAs Band-to-Band Tunneling Diodes Including Band Gap Narrowing

A homo-junction In0.53Ga0.47As tunneling diode is investigated using full-band, atomistic quantum transport approach based on a tight-binding model (TB) and the Non-equilibrium Green’s Function formalism. Band gap narrowing (BGN) is included in TB by altering its parameters using the Jain-Roulston model. BGN is found to be critical in the determination of the current peak and the second turn-on in the forward bias region. An empirical excess current that mimics additional recombination paths must be added to the calculation to model the diode behavior in the valley current region. Overall the presented model reproduces experimental data well

Structural variants in 3000 rice genomes

Investigation of large structural variants (SVs) is a challenging yet important task in understanding trait differences in highly repetitive genomes. Combining different bioinformatic approaches for SV detection, we analyzed whole-genome sequencing data from 3000 rice genomes and identified 63 million individual SV calls that grouped into 1.5 million allelic variants. We found enrichment of long SVs in promoters and an excess of shorter variants in 5′ UTRs. Across the rice genomes, we identified regions of high SV frequency enriched in stress response genes. We demonstrated how SVs may help in finding causative variants in genome-wide association analysis. These new insights into rice genome biology are valuable for understanding the effects SVs have on gene function, with the prospect of identifying novel agronomically important alleles that can be utilized to improve cultivated rice

Determination of the Pharmacokinetics and Oral Bioavailability of Salicylamine, a Potent γ-Ketoaldehyde Scavenger, by LC/MS/MS

pharmaceutic