Silicon Photonic Waveguides and Devices for Near- and Mid-IR Applications

Silicon photonics has been a very buoyant research field in the last several years mainly because of its potential for telecom and datacom applications. However, prospects of using silicon photonics for sensing in the mid-IR have also attracted interest lately. In this paper, we present our recent results on waveguide-based devices for near- and mid-infrared applications. The silicon-on-insulator platform can be used for wavelengths up to 4 μm; therefore, different solutions are needed for longer wavelengths. We show results on passive Si devices such as couplers, filters, and multiplexers, particularly for extended wavelength regions and finally present integration of photonics and electronics integrated circuits for high-speed applications

Fractional calculus with applications in mechanics: wave propagation, impact and variational principles

The books Fractional Calculus with Applications in Mechanics: Vibrations and Diffusion Processes and Fractional Calculus with Applications in Mechanics: Wave Propagation, Impact and Variational Principles contain various applications of fractional calculus to the fields of classical mechanics. Namely, the books study problems in fields such as viscoelasticity of fractional order, lateral vibrations of a rod of fractional order type, lateral vibrations of a rod positioned on fractional order viscoelastic foundations, diffusion-wave phenomena, heat conduction, wave propagation, forced oscillat

Complex bifurcations in the oscillatory reaction model

The mixing of different types of bifurcations, i.e. supercritical Andronov-Hopf (SAH), double loop (DL) and saddle-loop (SL) bifurcations in the vicinity of their total annihilation, is examined on the highly nonlinear six-variable model for the Bray-Liebhafsky (BL) oscillatory reaction under continuously well-stirred tank reactor (CSTR) conditions. For this kind of the reaction system where the law of mass conservation is additional constraint that must be satisfied and where because of that, some simple bifurcations cannot be formed independently to the others, the considered transformations of the bifurcations are particularly important. That is why as the control parameters for bifurcation analysis, the specific flow rate (j(0)), as well as the inflow hydrogen peroxide concentration (h = [H2O2](in)), were used. The complex bifurcations obtained from numerical simulations are compared with some experimental results. It was shown that these complex bifurcations cannot be easily recognized in experimental investigations without knowing their evolution

Cytotoxicity of the gold complex based on mercaptotriazole - A comparison with the conventional cyanide electrolyte

The study presents the 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay results on human erythroleukemia K562 cell line to compare the toxicity of electrolytes based on the mercaptotriazole gold complex (Au-MT) and gold potassium cyanide. Solutions immediately after mixing and after three months at different concentrations were compared, with a prolonged aging period, to a year, for the electrolytes at pH = 9. Lower toxicity of new organic gold complex at pH = 4, 7, and 12 than of alkaline cyanide electrolyte, but higher at pH = 2, was determined. The solution of the Au-MT at pH = 9 had comparable, but lower cell toxicity in the whole investigated period

Interplay Between the Immunohistochemical Expression of P53 and the Proliferation Index in the Keratinocyte Tumors of the Skin

P53 is important for cell cycle regulation, and its overexpression is seen in malignant tumors. We examined correlation between p53 expression and cell proliferation, and its role in the pathogenesis of keratinocyte skin tumors. We used biopsies from patients with squamous cell carcinoma, actinic keratosis and keratoacanthoma. We examined crosssections stained with HE and using anti-cytokeratin, antip53 and anti-Ki67 antibodies

Material and optical properties of low-temperature NH3-free PECVD SiNx layers for photonic applications

Data supporting the paper Dominguez Bucio, Thalia, Khokhar, Ali and Lacava, Cosimo et al. (2016) Material and optical properties of low-temperature NH3-free PECVD SiNx layers for photonic applications. Journal of Physics D: Applied Physics DOI:10.1088/1361-6463/50/2/025106</span

Interaction Profiles of Central Nervous System Active Drugs at Human Organic Cation Transporters 1&ndash;3 and Human Plasma Membrane Monoamine Transporter

Many psychoactive compounds have been shown to primarily interact with high-affinity and low-capacity solute carrier 6 (SLC6) monoamine transporters for norepinephrine (NET; norepinephrine transporter), dopamine (DAT; dopamine transporter) and serotonin (SERT; serotonin transporter). Previous studies indicate an overlap between the inhibitory capacities of substances at SLC6 and SLC22 human organic cation transporters (SLC22A1&ndash;3; hOCT1&ndash;3) and the human plasma membrane monoamine transporter (SLC29A4; hPMAT), which can be classified as high-capacity, low-affinity monoamine transporters. However, interactions between central nervous system active substances, the OCTs, and the functionally-related PMAT have largely been understudied. Herein, we report data from 17 psychoactive substances interacting with the SLC6 monoamine transporters, concerning their potential to interact with the human OCT isoforms and hPMAT by utilizing radiotracer-based in vitro uptake inhibition assays at stably expressing human embryonic kidney 293 cells (HEK293) cells. Many compounds inhibit substrate uptake by hOCT1 and hOCT2 in the low micromolar range, whereas only a few substances interact with hOCT3 and hPMAT. Interestingly, methylphenidate and ketamine selectively interact with hOCT1 or hOCT2, respectively. Additionally, 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) is a potent inhibitor of hOCT1 and 2 and hPMAT. Enantiospecific differences of R- and S-&alpha;-pyrrolidinovalerophenone (R- and S-&alpha;-PVP) and R- and S-citalopram and the effects of aromatic substituents are explored. Our results highlight the significance of investigating drug interactions with hOCTs and hPMAT, due to their role in regulating monoamine concentrations and xenobiotic clearance

Rescue of Misfolded Organic Cation Transporter 3 Variants

Organic cation transporters (OCTs) are membrane proteins that take up monoamines, cationic drugs and xenobiotics. We previously reported novel missense mutations of organic cation transporter 3 (OCT3, SLC22A3), some with drastically impacted transport capabilities compared to wildtype. For some variants, this was due to ER retention and subsequent degradation of the misfolded transporter. For other transporter families, it was previously shown that treatment of misfolded variants with pharmacological and chemical chaperones could restore transport function to a certain degree. To investigate two potentially ER-bound, misfolded variants (D340G and R348W), we employed confocal and biochemical analyses. In addition, radiotracer uptake assays were conducted to assess whether pre-treatment with chaperones could restore transporter function. We show that pre-treatment of cells with the chemical chaperone 4-PBA (4-phenyl butyric acid) leads to increased membrane expression of misfolded variants and is associated with increased transport capacity of D340G (8-fold) and R348W (1.5 times) compared to untreated variants. We herein present proof of principle that folding-deficient SLC22 transporter variants, in particular those of OCT3, are amenable to rescue by chaperones. These findings need to be extended to other SLC22 members with corroborated disease associations