Reversible Modulation of Spontaneous Emission by Strain in Silicon Nanowires

We computationally study the effect of uniaxial strain in modulating the spontaneous emission of photons in silicon nanowires. Our main finding is that a one to two orders of magnitude change in spontaneous emission time occurs due to two distinct mechanisms: (A) Change in wave function symmetry, where within the direct bandgap regime, strain changes the symmetry of wave functions, which in turn leads to a large change of optical dipole matrix element. (B) Direct to indirect bandgap transition which makes the spontaneous photon emission to be of a slow second order process mediated by phonons. This feature uniquely occurs in silicon nanowires while in bulk silicon there is no change of optical properties under any reasonable amount of strain. These results promise new applications of silicon nanowires as optoelectronic devices including a mechanism for lasing. Our results are verifiable using existing experimental techniques of applying strain to nanowires

Customer Experience Management - the Mantra for Success

The past decade has seen several changes in the business environment and markets are flooded with several me-too brands making the consumer perplexed and further increasing his search time. With new brands encroaching the mind space of the customers and displacing the existing ones, the only differentiator the brands can rely on for lasting advantage is the experience that lingers in the customer's head. Providing a meaningful experience is a challenging task for companies and they need to incorporate a CEM (customer experience management) culture by managing their customer, brand and their operational processes. CEM would not be possible without managing employee experience because they act as an interface between the company and the customer. It is also important to gain insights regarding perceptions of customers through research, so that changes can be incorporated to improve experiences in the future. In order to achieve strategic advantage organisations need to adopt policies and strategies that promote and enhance the experience environment

Cis-regulatory effect of HPV integration is constrained by host chromatin architecture in cervical cancers.

HPV infections are the primary drivers of cervical cancers, and often HPV DNA gets integrated into the host genome. Although the oncogenic impact of HPV encoded genes is relatively well known, the cis-regulatory effect of integrated HPV DNA on host chromatin structure and gene regulation remains less understood. We investigated genome-wide patterns of HPV integrations and associated host gene expression changes in the context of host chromatin states and TADs. HPV integrations were significantly enriched in active chromatin regions and depleted in inactive ones. Interestingly, regardless of chromatin state, genomic regions flanking HPV integrations showed transcriptional upregulation. Nevertheless, upregulation (both local and long-range) was mostly confined to TADs with integration, but not affecting adjacent TADs. Few TADs showed recurrent integrations associated with overexpression of oncogenes within them (e.g. MYC, PVT1, TP63 and ERBB2) regardless of proximity. Hi-C and 4C-seq analyses in cervical cancer cell line (HeLa) demonstrated chromatin looping interactions between integrated HPV and MYC/PVT1 regions (~500kb apart), leading to allele-specific overexpression. Based on these, we propose HPV integrations can trigger multimodal oncogenic activation to promote cancer progression

Benign lymphoid aggregates in the bone marrow: distribution patterns of B and T lymphocytes

Benign lymphoid aggregates are seen in only a minority of bone marrow specimens, but their distinction from non-Hodgkin lymphoma, particularly B-cell lymphomas, can represent a diagnostic challenge. Although criteria have been proposed to help distinguish between benign and malignant aggregates, a detailed description of the distribution patterns of B and T lymphocytes within benign lymphoid aggregates has not been investigated. One hundred thirty-seven cases of bone marrow specimens containing benign aggregates were studied with a panel of immunostains. A subset of these cases was also examined for immunoglobulin gene rearrangements by polymerase chain reaction. The aggregates were categorized based on size, location (paratrabecular or random), presence of infiltrating edges, and distribution of lymphoid cell populations. In addition, we examined 40 cases of bone marrow biopsies with documented malignant lymphoid aggregates for comparison purposes. We report that the distribution of B and T lymphocytes within lymphoid aggregates may serve as a useful criterion to aid in the separation between benign and malignant aggregates. When aggregates exhibit a predominance of T cells, consist of a central core of T cells surrounded by a rim of B cells, or have a mixed distribution of B and T cells, they are more likely to be benign. On the other hand, an increased likelihood of malignancy occurs when aggregates exhibit a predominance of B cells or consist of a central core of B cells surrounded by a rim of T cells (excluding germinal center formation), and assessing other features worrisome of malignancy (large aggregate size, presence of infiltrative edges, cellular atypia, and paratrabecular location, among others) is warranted

Benign lymphoid aggregates in the bone marrow: distribution patterns of B and T lymphocytes.

Benign lymphoid aggregates are seen in only a minority of bone marrow specimens, but their distinction from non-Hodgkin lymphoma, particularly B-cell lymphomas, can represent a diagnostic challenge. Although criteria have been proposed to help distinguish between benign and malignant aggregates, a detailed description of the distribution patterns of B and T lymphocytes within benign lymphoid aggregates has not been investigated. One hundred thirty-seven cases of bone marrow specimens containing benign aggregates were studied with a panel of immunostains. A subset of these cases was also examined for immunoglobulin gene rearrangements by polymerase chain reaction. The aggregates were categorized based on size, location (paratrabecular or random), presence of infiltrating edges, and distribution of lymphoid cell populations. In addition, we examined 40 cases of bone marrow biopsies with documented malignant lymphoid aggregates for comparison purposes. We report that the distribution of B and T lymphocytes within lymphoid aggregates may serve as a useful criterion to aid in the separation between benign and malignant aggregates. When aggregates exhibit a predominance of T cells, consist of a central core of T cells surrounded by a rim of B cells, or have a mixed distribution of B and T cells, they are more likely to be benign. On the other hand, an increased likelihood of malignancy occurs when aggregates exhibit a predominance of B cells or consist of a central core of B cells surrounded by a rim of T cells (excluding germinal center formation), and assessing other features worrisome of malignancy (large aggregate size, presence of infiltrative edges, cellular atypia, and paratrabecular location, among others) is warranted

Methylation specific targeting of a chromatin remodeling complex from sponges to humans

DNA cytosine methylation and methyl-cytosine binding domain (MBD) containing proteins are found throughout all vertebrate species studied to date. However, both the presence of DNA methylation and pattern of methylation varies among invertebrate species. Invertebrates generally have only a single MBD protein, MBD2/3, that does not always contain appropriate residues for selectively binding methylated DNA. Therefore, we sought to determine whether sponges, one of the most ancient extant metazoan lineages, possess an MBD2/3 capable of recognizing methylated DNA and recruiting the associated nucleosome remodeling and deacetylase (NuRD) complex. We find that Ephydatia muelleri has genes for each of the NuRD core components including an EmMBD2/3 that selectively binds methylated DNA. NMR analyses reveal a remarkably conserved binding mode, showing almost identical chemical shift changes between binding to methylated and unmethylated CpG dinucleotides. In addition, we find that EmMBD2/3 and EmGATAD2A/B proteins form a coiled-coil interaction known to be critical for the formation of NuRD. Finally, we show that knockdown of EmMBD2/3 expression disrupts normal cellular architecture and development of E. muelleri. These data support a model in which the MBD2/3 methylation-dependent functional role emerged with the earliest multicellular organisms and has been maintained to varying degrees across animal evolution

Recommendations for empowering early career researchers to improve research culture and practice

Early career researchers (ECRs) are important stakeholders leading efforts to catalyze systemic change in research culture and practice. Here, we summarize the outputs from a virtual unconventional conference (unconference), which brought together 54 invited experts from 20 countries with extensive experience in ECR initiatives designed to improve the culture and practice of science. Together, we drafted 2 sets of recommendations for (1) ECRs directly involved in initiatives or activities to change research culture and practice; and (2) stakeholders who wish to support ECRs in these efforts. Importantly, these points apply to ECRs working to promote change on a systemic level, not only those improving aspects of their own work. In both sets of recommendations, we underline the importance of incentivizing and providing time and resources for systems-level science improvement activities, including ECRs in organizational decision-making processes, and working to dismantle structural barriers to participation for marginalized groups. We further highlight obstacles that ECRs face when working to promote reform, as well as proposed solutions and examples of current best practices. The abstract and recommendations for stakeholders are available in Dutch, German, Greek (abstract only), Italian, Japanese, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish, and Serbian