Coordination-driven self-assembly of metal ions and organic ligands has been extensively utilised over the past four decades to access a variety of nano-sized cage assemblies, with functions ranging from sensing and catalysis to drug delivery. Many of the reported examples, however, are highly symmetric architectures that contain one type of organic ligand carrying not more than a single functionality. This contrasts significantly with the level of structural and functional complexity enc...

This thesis investigated eye movements (i.e. number of fixations, fixation duration) during learning in uncertain situations, i.e. when interacting with a technical system like a ticket machine and users are not aware of the functioning. It was predicted that eye movements allow insights into the process of developing a mental representation under uncertainty. In order to induce uncertainty, a visual spatial search task with likely and unlikely target locations was developed. Participants wer...

Die Übertragung von extrazellulären Signalen über die Plasmamembran durch die Aktivierung von Rezeptorproteinen sowie nachgeschalteten membranassoziierten und zytosolischen Proteinen stellt einen der wichtigsten Mechanismen für die Regulation biologischer Prozesse dar. Eine zentrale Rolle spielen dabei die lipidierten Src-Kinasen und Ras-Proteine, die das Signal von den aktivierten Rezeptorproteinen verstärken bzw. auf zytosolische Effektorproteine übertragen. Dadurch werden intrazelluläre Si...

Krebs zeichnet sich durch eine Fehlregulierung entscheidender Prozesse in der Zelle aus. Eine der prominentesten Vertreter, die zur Deregulierung als Onkogene für wichtige Zellfunktionen wie Proliferation, Zellzyklus und Migration beitragen können, sind die Src Tyrosin Kinasen (SFKs). Neben der Dephosphorylierung als aktivierendes Prinzip, ist auch eine Plasmamembranverankerung von entscheidender Bedeutung für die Aktivität der SFKs. Ein wichtiger Faktor hierbei spielt UNC119, das myristoylie...

In recent years, statistical machine learning has emerged as a key technique for tackling problems that elude a classic algorithmic approach. One such problem, with a major impact on human life, is the analysis of complex biomedical data. Solving this problem in a fast and efficient manner is of major importance, as it enables, e.g., the prediction of the efficacy of different drugs for therapy selection. While achieving the highest possible prediction quality appears desirable, doing so is o...

The quest for more performance of applications and systems became more challenging in the recent years. Especially in the cyber-physical and mobile domain, the performance requirements increased significantly. Applications, previously found in the high-performance domain, emerge in the area of resource-constrained domain. Modern heterogeneous high-performance MPSoCs provide a solid foundation to satisfy the high demand. Such systems combine general processors with specialized accelerators ran...

The pathological phenomenon of somatopause, noticeable in hypogonadal ageing subjects, is based on the growth hormone (GH) production and secretion decrease along with the fall in GH binding protein and insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) levels, causing different musculoskeletal, metabolic and mental issues. From the perspective of safety and efficacy, GH treatment is considered to be highly controversial, while some other therapeutic approaches (application of IGF-1, GH secretagogues, gona...

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a heterogeneous disease that is caused by the interaction of genetic and environmental factors. Although it is one of the most common cancers worldwide, CRC would be one of the most curable cancers if it is detected in the early stages. Molecular changes that occur in colorectal cancer may be categorized into three main groups: 1) Chromosomal Instability (CIN), 2) Microsatellite Instability (MSI), and 3) CpG Island Methylator phenotype (CIMP). Microsatellites, also ...

Metabolic syndrome (MS) is a condition associated with metabolic abnormalities that are characterized by central obesity (e.g. waist circumference or body mass index), hypertension (e.g. systolic or diastolic blood pressure), hyperglycemia (e.g. fasting plasma glucose) and dyslipidemia (e.g. triglyceride and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol). It is also associated with the development of diabetes mellitus (DM) type 2 and cardiovascular disease (CVD). Therefore, the rapid identification of...

The epithelium of the small intestine plays an important role in detoxification processes due to the presence of various xenobiotic-metabolizing enzymes from phase I and II, as well as transport proteins of the ATP-binding cassette superfamily. Exposure to xenobiotics induces the expression of these proteins in the small intestine, with multiple signaling pathways stimulated by exogenous compounds converging at individual gene promoters by mechanisms which have not been fully understood yet. ...

The present study was conducted to appraise the anticancer activity of Pinus roxburghii essential oil along with chemical composition evaluation. MTT assay revealed cytotoxicity induction in colon, leukemia, multiple myeloma, pancreatic, head and neck and lung cancer cells exposed to essential oil. Cancer cell death was also observed through live/dead cell viability assay and FACS analysis. Apoptosis induced by essential oil was confirmed by cleavage of PARP and caspase-3 that suppressed the ...

Our experimental work was aimed at evaluating the safety and protective effects of dietary spirulina supplemen- tation on the kidney of newborn rats, the offspring of lead contaminated lactating mothers. Female rats were ran- domly divided into four groups: group I (control) was given a normal diet, group II (positive control, S) received a diet enriched with spirulina, group III received only lead through drinking water (Pb), and group IV received both a diet enriched with spirulina and lead...

Recently, the biosafety and potential influences of nanoparticles on central nervous system have received more attention. In the present study, we assessed the effect of aluminium oxide nanoparticles (Al2O3-NPs) on spatial cognition. Male Wistar rats were intravenously administered Al2O3-NP suspension (20 mg/kg body weight/day) for four consecutive days, after which they were assessed. The results indicated that Al2O3-NPs impaired spatial learning and memory ability. An increment in malondial...

This study reports three novel sulfonamide derivatives 4-Chloro-N-[(4-methylphenyl) sulphonyl]-N-propyl ben- zamide (1A), N-(2-hydroxyphenyl)-4-methyl benzene sulfonamide (1B) and 4-methyl-N-(2-nitrophenyl) ben- zene sulfonamide (1C). The compounds were synthesised from starting material 4-methylbenzenesulfonyl chlo- ride and their structure was studied through 1H-NMR and 13C-NMR spectra. Computational docking was per- formed to estimate their binding energy against bacterial p-amino benzoic ...

Increase in the copy number of ERBB2, a Tyrosine Kinase Receptor (TKR) leads to the overexpression of oncogene product and consequently uncontrolled cell proliferation which has been reported in different aggressive cancers with mitochondrial malfunctions. Although, amplification of ERBB2 has been reported in different studies; however, the association between changes in mitochondrial DNA content and the ERBB2 gene copy number is poorly understood. The relative mitochondrial DNA content of br...