SWI/SNF Alterations in Squamous Bladder Cancers.

Dysfunction of the SWI/SNF complex has been observed in various cancers including urothelial carcinomas. However, the clinical impact of the SWI/SNF complex in squamous-differentiated bladder cancers (sq-BLCA) remains unclear. Therefore, we aimed to analyze potential expression loss and genetic alterations of (putative) key components of the SWI/SNF complex considering the co-occurrence of genetic driver mutations and PD-L1 expression as indicators for therapeutic implications.

Single-molecule measurement of the strength of a siloxane bond.

Increasing the mechanical stability of artificial polymer materials is an important task in materials science, and for this a profound knowledge of the critical mechanoelastic properties of its constituents is vital. Here, we use AFM-based single-molecule force spectroscopy measurements to characterize the rupture of a single silicon-oxygen bond in the backbone of polydimethylsiloxane as well as the force-extension behavior of this polymer. PDMS is not only a polymer used in a large variety of products but also an important model system for highly flexible polymers.

Progress in plasmodial differentiation improves regularity of oscillating contractions in Physarum polycephalum.

Based on the knowledge about subcellular morphogenetic processes in the acellular slime mold Physarum polycephalum, we hypothesized that during differentiation of undifferentiated endoplasm to the highly differentiated complex structure of the contractile apparatus of this organism, the regularity of oscillating contractions must improve. We measured the endogenous contraction automaticity starting from the de novo generation within minutes after sampling small portions of undifferentiated endoplasm. The standard deviation of the normalized period duration of these samples was compared to the respective values of radial contractions of differentiated protoplasmic plasmodial strands.

Modified chemistry of siloxanes under tensile stress: interaction with environment.

We present first principles molecular dynamics simulations of stretched siloxane oligomers in an environment representative of that present in single molecule atomic force microscopy experiments. We determine that the solvent used (hexamethyldisiloxane) does not influence the stretching of the siloxane in the high force regime or the rupture process, but trace amounts of water can induce rupture before the maximum siloxane extension has been attained. This would result in a significantly lower rupture force.