1,624 research outputs found
Delineating the role of βIV-Tubulins in pancreatic cancer: βIVb-tubulin inhibition sensitizes pancreatic cancer cells to vinca alkaloids
Pancreatic cancer (PC) is a lethal disease which is characterized by chemoresistance. Components of the cell cytoskeleton are therapeutic targets in cancer. βIV-tubulin is one such component that has two isotypes—βIVa and βIVb. βIVa and βIVb isotypes only differ in two amino acids at their C-terminus. Studies have implicated βIVa-tubulin or βIVb-tubulin expression with chemoresistance in prostate, breast, ovarian and lung cancer. However, no studies have examined the role of βIV-tubulin in PC or attempted to identify isotype specific roles in regulating cancer cell growth and chemosensitivity. We aimed to determine the role of βIVa- or βIVb-tubulin on PC growth and chemosensitivity. PC cells (MiaPaCa-2, HPAF-II, AsPC1) were treated with siRNA (control, βIVa-tubulin or βIVb-tubulin). The ability of PC cells to form colonies in the presence or absence of chemotherapy was measured by clonogenic assays. Inhibition of βIVa-tubulin in PC cells had no effect chemosensitivity. In contrast, inhibition of βIVb-tubulin in PC cells sensitized to vinca alkaloids (Vincristine, Vinorelbine and Vinblastine), which was accompanied by increased apoptosis and enhanced cell cycle arrest. We show for the first time that βIVb-tubulin, but not βIVa-tubulin, plays a role in regulating vinca alkaloid chemosensitivity in PC cells. The results from this study suggest βIVb-tubulin may be a novel therapeutic target and predictor of vinca alkaloid sensitivity for PC and warrants further investigation
Non-Markovian entanglement dynamics in coupled superconducting qubit systems
We theoretically analyze the entanglement generation and dynamics by coupled
Josephson junction qubits. Considering a current-biased Josephson junction
(CBJJ), we generate maximally entangled states. In particular, the entanglement
dynamics is considered as a function of the decoherence parameters, such as the
temperature, the ratio between the reservoir cutoff
frequency and the system oscillator frequency , % between
the characteristic frequency of the %quantum system of interest, and
the cut-off frequency of %Ohmic reservoir and the energy levels
split of the superconducting circuits in the non-Markovian master equation. We
analyzed the entanglement sudden death (ESD) and entanglement sudden birth
(ESB) by the non-Markovian master equation. Furthermore, we find that the
larger the ratio and the thermal energy , the shorter the
decoherence. In this superconducting qubit system we find that the entanglement
can be controlled and the ESD time can be prolonged by adjusting the
temperature and the superconducting phases which split the energy
levels.Comment: 13 pages, 3 figure
Elementary operations for quantum logic with a single trapped two-level cold ion beyond Lamb-Dicke limit
A simple alternative scheme for implementing quantum gates with a single
trapped cold two-level ion beyond the Lamb-Dicke (LD) limit is proposed. Basing
on the quantum dynamics for the laser-ion interaction described by a
generalized Jaynes-Cummings model, one can introduce two kinds of elementary
quantum operations i.e., the simple rotation on the bare atomic state,
generated by applying a resonant pulse, and the joint operation on the internal
and external degrees of the ion, performed by using an off-resonant pulse.
Several typical quantum gates, including Hadamard gate, controlled-Z and
controlled-NOT gates , can thus be implemented exactly by using these
elementary operations. The experimental parameters including the LD parameter
and the durations of the applied laser pulses, for these implementation are
derived analytically and numerically. Neither the LD approximation for the
laser-ion interaction nor the auxiliary atomic level is needed in the present
scheme.Comment: 5 pages, no figure, to appear in Opt. Com
Site-Specific Topoisomerase I-Mediated DNA Cleavage Induced by Nogalamycin: A Potential Role of Ligand-Induced DNA Bending at a Distal Site
Sai Peng Sim, Daniel S. Pilch and LEroy F. Li
Optical activity of neutrinos and antineutrinos
Using the one-loop helicity amplitudes for low-energy
and scattering in the standard model with
massless neutrinos, we study the optical activity of a sea of neutrinos and
antineutrinos. In particular, we estimate the values of the index of refraction
and rotary power of this medium in the absence of dispersion.Comment: Additional reference
Morphology and Orientation Selection of Non-Metallic Inclusions in Electrified Molten Metal
The effect of electric current on morphology and orientation selection of non-metallic inclusions in molten metal has been investigated using theoretical modelling and numerical calculation. Two geometric factors, namely the circularity (fc) and alignment ratio (fe) were introduced to describe the inclusions shape and configuration. Electric current free energy was calculated and the values were used to determine the thermodynamic preference between different microstructures. Electric current promotes the development of inclusion along the current direction by either expatiating directional growth or enhancing directional agglomeration. Reconfiguration of the inclusions to reduce the system electric resistance drives the phenomena. The morphology and orientation selection follows the routine to reduce electric free energy. The numerical results are in agreement with our experimental observations
Bistable Operation of a Two-Section 1.3-mm InAs Quantum Dot Laser—Absorption Saturation and the Quantum Confined Stark Effect
Room temperature, continuous-wave bistability was observed in oxide-confined, two-section, 1.3- m quantum-dot (QD) lasers with an integrated intracavity quantum-dot saturable absorber. The origin of the hysteresis and bistability were shown to be due to the nonlinear saturation of the QD absorption and the electroabsorption induced by the quantum confined Stark effect
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