| 1. |
- Amloy, Supaluck, et al.
(författare)
-
Excitons and biexcitons in InGaN quantum dot like localization centers
-
Annan publikation (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Indium segregation in a narrow InGaN single quantum well creates quantum dot (QD) like exciton localization centers. Cross section transmission electron microscopy reveals varying shapes and lateral sizes in the range ~1-5 nm of the QD-like features, while scanning near field optical microscopy demonstrates a highly inhomogeneous spatial distribution of optically active individual localization centers. Microphotoluminescence spectroscopy confirms the spectrally inhomogeneous distribution of localization centers, in which the exciton and the biexciton related emissions from single centers of varying geometry could be identified by means of excitation power dependencies. Interestingly, the biexciton binding energy (Ebxx) was found to vary from center to center, between 3 to -22 meV, in correlation with the exciton emission energy. Negative binding energies justify the three-dimensional quantum confinement, which confirms QD-like properties of the localization centers.! The observed energy correlation is proposed to be understood as variations of the lateral extension of the confinement potential, which would yield smaller values of Ebxx for reduced lateral extension and higher exciton emission energy. The proposed relation between lateral extension and Ebxx is further supported by the exciton and the biexciton recombination lifetimes of a single QD, which suggest a lateral extension of merely ~3 nm for a QD with strongly negative Ebxx = -15.5 meV.
|
|
| 2. |
|
|
| 3. |
- Herrera-Rivero, Marisol, et al.
(författare)
-
Exploring the genetics of lithium response in bipolar disorders.
- 2023
-
Ingår i: Research square.
-
Annan publikation (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Lithium (Li) remains the treatment of choice for bipolar disorders (BP). Its mood-stabilizing effects help reduce the long-term burden of mania, depression and suicide risk in patients with BP. It also has been shown to have beneficial effects on disease-associated conditions, including sleep and cardiovascular disorders. However, the individual responses to Li treatment vary within and between diagnostic subtypes of BP (e.g. BP-I and BP-II) according to the clinical presentation. Moreover, long-term Li treatment has been linked to adverse side-effects that are a cause of concern and non-adherence, including the risk of developing chronic medical conditions such as thyroid and renal disease. In recent years, studies by the Consortium on Lithium Genetics (ConLiGen) have uncovered a number of genetic factors that contribute to the variability in Li treatment response in patients with BP. Here, we leveraged the ConLiGen cohort (N=2,064) to investigate the genetic basis of Li effects in BP. For this, we studied how Li response and linked genes associate with the psychiatric symptoms and polygenic load for medical comorbidities, placing particular emphasis on identifying differences between BP-I and BP-II.We found that clinical response to Li treatment, measured with the Alda scale, was associated with a diminished burden of mania, depression, substance and alcohol abuse, psychosis and suicidal ideation in patients with BP-I and, in patients with BP-II, of depression only. Our genetic analyses showed that a stronger clinical response to Li was modestly related to lower polygenic load for diabetes and hypertension in BP-I but not BP-II. Moreover, our results suggested that a number of genes that have been previously linked to Li response variability in BP differentially relate to the psychiatric symptomatology, particularly to the numbers of manic and depressive episodes, and to the polygenic load for comorbid conditions, including diabetes, hypertension and hypothyroidism.Taken together, our findings suggest that the effects of Li on symptomatology and comorbidity in BP are partially modulated by common genetic factors, with differential effects between BP-I and BP-II.
|
|
| 4. |
- Herrera-Rivero, Marisol, et al.
(författare)
-
Immunogenetics of lithium response and psychiatric phenotypes in patients with bipolar disorder.
- 2023
-
Ingår i: Research square.
-
Annan publikation (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The link between bipolar disorder (BP) and immune dysfunction remains controversial. While epidemiological studies have long suggested an association, recent research has found only limited evidence of such a relationship. To clarify this, we investigated the contributions of immune-relevant genetic factors to the response to lithium (Li) treatment and the clinical presentation of BP. First, we assessed the association of a large collection of immune-related genes (4,925) with Li response, defined by the Retrospective Assessment of the Lithium Response Phenotype Scale (Alda scale), and clinical characteristics in patients with BP from the International Consortium on Lithium Genetics (ConLi+Gen, N = 2,374). Second, we calculated here previously published polygenic scores (PGSs) for immune-related traits and evaluated their associations with Li response and clinical features. We found several genes associated with Li response at p < 1×10- 4 values, including HAS3, CNTNAP5 and NFIB. Network and functional enrichment analyses uncovered an overrepresentation of pathways involved in cell adhesion and intercellular communication, which appear to converge on the well-known Li-induced inhibition of GSK-3β. We also found various genes associated with BP's age-at-onset, number of mood episodes, and presence of psychosis, substance abuse and/or suicidal ideation at the exploratory threshold. These included RTN4, XKR4, NRXN1, NRG1/3 and GRK5. Additionally, PGS analyses suggested serum FAS, ECP, TRANCE and cytokine ligands, amongst others, might represent potential circulating biomarkers of Li response and clinical presentation. Taken together, our results support the notion of a relatively weak association between immunity and clinically relevant features of BP at the genetic level.
|
|
