Special Issue on Networks-on-Chip Again on the Rise: From Emerging Applications to Emerging Technologies.

Twenty years after the advent of interconnection networks to tackle the on-chip communication bottleneck [...

Design of reconfigurable on-chip wireless interconnections through Optical Phased Arrays.

In this paper we report the design of a device allowing on-chip optical wireless interconnections, based on transmitting and receiving Optical Phased Arrays (OPA). The proposed device aims at realizing high-bandwidth and power-efficient reconfigurable connections between multiple nodes, e.g.

The natural inhibitor of DNA topoisomerase I, camptothecin, modulates HIF-1α activity by changing miR expression patterns in human cancer cells.

DNA topoisomerase I (Top1) inhibition by camptothecin derivatives can impair the hypoxia-induced cell transcriptional response. In the present work, we determined molecular aspects of the mechanism of camptothecin's effects on hypoxia-inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α) activity in human cancer cells. In particular, we provide evidence that low concentrations of camptothecin, without interfering with HIF-1α mRNA levels, can reduce HIF-1α protein expression and activity.

Characterization of novel antisense HIF-1α transcripts in human cancers.

Whole transcriptome analyses have revealed new classes of long ncRNA (lncRNA), the functions of which are however largely unknown. Recently, we showed that the antitumor DNA topoisomerase I (Top1) inhibitor camptothecin (CPT) increases the cellular levels of two antisense lncRNAs at the 5' (5'aHIF-1α) and 3' (3'aHIF-1α) ends of the human HIF-1α gene. To gain insights into their functions, we have here determined structural and functional aspects of the two antisense RNAs in human cancer cell lines and kidney tumor specimen.

DNA topoisomerase I inhibition by camptothecin induces escape of RNA polymerase II from promoter-proximal pause site, antisense transcription and histone acetylation at the human HIF-1alpha gene locus.

Top1 inhibition by camptothecin (CPT) perturbs RNA polymerase II (Pol II) density at promoters and along transcribed genes suggesting an involvement of Top1 in Pol II pausing. Here, we demonstrate that Top1 inhibition favors Pol II escape from a promoter-proximal pausing site of the human HIF-1alpha gene in living cells. Interestingly, alternative splicing at exon 11 was markedly altered in nascent HIF-1alpha mRNAs, and chromatin structure was also affected with enhanced histone acetylation and reduced nucleosome density in a manner dependent on cdk activity.