University of Saskatchewan

About: University of Saskatchewan is a education organization based out in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Health care. The organization has 25021 authors who have published 52579 publications receiving 1483049 citations. The organization is also known as: USask.

Metallic Conduction through Engineered DNA: DNA Nanoelectronic Building Blocks

Abstract: A novel way of engineering DNA molecules involves substituting the imino proton of each base pair with a metal ion to obtain $M$-DNA with altered electronic properties. We report the first direct evidence of metalliclike conduction through $15\ensuremath{\mu}\mathrm{m}$ long $M$-DNA. In contrast, measurements on $B$-DNA give evidence of semiconducting behavior with a few hundred meV band gap at room temperature. The drastic change of $M$-DNA conductivity points to a new degree of freedom in the development of future molecular electronics utilizing DNA, such as creating all-DNA junction devices for use as nanoelectronic building blocks.

MicroRNA Expression in Squamous Cell Carcinoma and Adenocarcinoma of the Esophagus: Associations with Survival

Abstract: Purpose: The dismal outcome of esophageal cancer patients highlights the need for novel prognostic biomarkers, such as microRNAs (miRNA). Although recent studies have established the role of miRNAs in esophageal carcinoma, a comprehensive multicenter study investigating different histologic types, including squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) and adenocarcinoma with or without Barrett9s, is still lacking. Experimental Design: miRNA expression was measured in cancerous and adjacent noncancerous tissue pairs collected from 100 adenocarcinoma and 70 SCC patients enrolled at four clinical centers from the United States, Canada, and Japan. Microarray-based expression was measured in a subset of samples in two cohorts and was validated in all available samples. Results: In adenocarcinoma patients, miR-21, miR-223, miR-192, and miR-194 expression was elevated, whereas miR-203 expression was reduced in cancerous compared with noncancerous tissue. In SCC patients, we found elevated miR-21 and reduced miR-375 expression levels in cancerous compared with noncancerous tissue. When comparing cancerous tissue expression between adenocarcinoma and SCC patients, miR-194 and miR-375 were elevated in adenocarcinoma patients. Significantly, elevated miR-21 expression in noncancerous tissue of SCC patients and reduced levels of miR-375 in cancerous tissue of adenocarcinoma patients with Barrett9s were strongly associated with worse prognosis. Associations with prognosis were independent of tumor stage or nodal status, cohort type, and chemoradiation therapy. Conclusions: Our multicenter-based results highlight miRNAs involved in major histologic types of esophageal carcinoma and uncover significant associations with prognosis. Elucidating miRNAs relevant to esophageal carcinogenesis is potentially clinically useful for developing prognostic biomarkers and identifying novel drug targets and therapies. (Clin Cancer Res 2009;15(19):6192–200)

Critical linkages among TQM factors and business results

Abstract: Purpose – To empirically investigate the relationships among critical TQM factors and business results.Design/methodology/approach – Twenty‐three hypotheses regarding the relationships among TQM factors and business results have been developed through literature review and tested using structural equation modeling (SEM). The study utilized survey data obtained from US manufacturing companies.Findings – Provides information about the results of each hypothesis, their implications, and how these findings compare to previous studies. Pays special attention to the relationships between TQM factors and business results and discusses findings in this area by offering insights from 22 previous studies that analyzed TQM‐performance relationships.Research limitations/implications – Researchers could use the results of this study to explore various related hypotheses in more detail and improve the accuracy of future empirical quality management studies. The study makes specific recommendations for such future studi...