Exploring the impact of high-precision top-quark pair production data on the structure of the proton at the LHC

The impact of recent LHC top-quark pair production single differential cross section measurements at 13 TeV collision energy on the structure of the proton is explored. In particular, the impact of these high-precision data on the gluon and other parton distribution functions (PDFs) of the proton at intermediate and large partonic momentum fraction $x$ is analyzed. This study extends the CT18 global analysis framework to include these new data. The interplay between top-quark pair and inclusive jet production as well as other processes at the LHC, is studied. In addition, a study of the impact of scale choice on the theory description of the new 13 TeV $t\bar t$ measurements is performed.Comment: 48 pages, 23 figures, regular articl

Two-dimensional germanium islands with Dirac signature on Ag2Ge surface alloy

Two-dimensional (2D) Dirac materials have attracted intense research efforts due to their promise for applications ranging from field-effect transistors and low-power electronics to fault-tolerant quantum computation. One key challenge is to fabricate 2D Dirac materials hosting Dirac electrons. Here, monolayer germanene is successfully fabricated on a Ag2Ge surface alloy. Scanning tunneling spectroscopy measurements revealed a linear energy dispersion relation. The latter was supported by density functional theory calculations. These results demonstrate that monolayer germanene can be realistically fabricated on a Ag2Ge surface alloy. The finding opens the door to exploration and study of 2D Dirac material physics and device applications

Heavy-flavor impact on CTEQ-TEA global QCD analyses

We discuss heavy-flavor production at hadron colliders in recent global QCD analyses to determine parton distribution functions (PDFs) in the proton. We discuss heavy-flavor treatments in precision theory predictions at the LHC. In particular, we discuss factorization schemes in presence of heavy flavors in proton-proton collisions, as well as the impact of heavy-flavor production at the LHC on PDFs. We show results of recent updates beyond CT18, the latest global QCD analysis from the CTEQ-TEA group.Comment: 7 pages, 3 Figures, QCD@work 2022, International Workshop on QCD, Theory and Experiment, Conference Proceedin

Clinical sequencing identifies potential actionable alterations in a high rate of urachal and primary bladder adenocarcinomas.

OBJECTIVE Administration of targeted therapies provides a promising treatment strategy for urachal adenocarcinoma (UrC) or primary bladder adenocarcinoma (PBAC); however, the selection of appropriate drugs remains difficult. Here, we aimed to establish a routine compatible methodological pipeline for the identification of the most important therapeutic targets and potentially effective drugs for UrC and PBAC. METHODS Next-generation sequencing, using a 161 cancer driver gene panel, was performed on 41 UrC and 13 PBAC samples. Clinically relevant alterations were filtered, and therapeutic interpretation was performed by in silico evaluation of drug-gene interactions. RESULTS After data processing, 45/54 samples passed the quality control. Sequencing analysis revealed 191 pathogenic mutations in 68 genes. The most frequent gain-of-function mutations in UrC were found in KRAS (33%), and MYC (15%), while in PBAC KRAS (25%), MYC (25%), FLT3 (17%) and TERT (17%) were recurrently affected. The most frequently affected pathways were the cell cycle regulation, and the DNA damage control pathway. Actionable mutations with at least one available approved drug were identified in 31/33 (94%) UrC and 8/12 (67%) PBAC patients. CONCLUSIONS In this study, we developed a data-processing pipeline for the detection and therapeutic interpretation of genetic alterations in two rare cancers. Our analyses revealed actionable mutations in a high rate of cases, suggesting that this approach is a potentially feasible strategy for both UrC and PBAC treatments

A Multifunctional Interlayer for Solution Processed High Performance Indium Oxide Transistors

International audienceMultiple functionality of tungsten polyoxometalate (POM) has been achieved applying it as interfacial layer for solution processed high performance In 2 O 3 thin film transistors, which results in overall improvement of device performance. This approach not only reduces off-current of the device by more than two orders of magnitude, but also leads to a threshold voltage reduction, as well as significantly enhances the mobility through facilitated charge injection from the electrode to the active layer. Such a mechanism has been elucidated through morphological and spectroscopic studies

Pathogenic and targetable genetic alterations in 70 urachal adenocarcinomas

Urachal cancer (UrC) is a rare but aggressive malignancy often diagnosed in advanced stages requiring systemic treatment. Although cytotoxic chemotherapy is of limited effectiveness, prospective clinical studies can hardly be conducted. Targeted therapeutic treatment approaches and potentially immunotherapy based on a biological rationale may provide an alternative strategy. We therefore subjected 70 urachal adenocarcinomas to targeted next-generation sequencing, conducted in situ and immunohistochemical analyses (including PD-L1 and DNA mismatch repair proteins (MMR)) and evaluated the microsatellite instability (MSI) status. The analytical findings were correlated with clinicopathological and outcome data and Kaplan-Meier and univariable/multivariable Cox regression analyses were performed. The patients had a mean age of 50 years, 66% were male and a 5-year overall survival (OS) of 58% and recurrence-free survival (RFS) of 45% was detected. Sequence variations were observed in TP53 (66%), KRAS (21%), BRAF (4%), PIK3CA (4%), FGFR1 (1%), MET (1%), NRAS (1%), and PDGFRA (1%). Gene amplifications were found in EGFR (5%), ERBB2 (2%), and MET (2%). We detected no evidence of MMR-deficiency (MMR-d)/MSI-high (MSI-h), whereas 10 of 63 cases (16%) expressed PD-L1. Therefore, anti-PD-1/PD-L1 immunotherapy approaches might be tested in UrC. Importantly, we found aberrations in intracellular signal transduction pathways (RAS/RAF/PI3K) in 31% of UrCs with potential implications for anti-EGFR therapy. Less frequent potentially actionable genetic alterations were additionally detected in ERBB2 (HER2), MET, FGFR1, and PDGFRA. The molecular profile strengthens the notion that UrC is a distinct entity on the genomic level with closer resemblance to colorectal than to bladder cancer. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved

Modeling Soil CO2 Efflux in a Subtropical Forest by Combining Fused Remote Sensing Images with Linear Mixed Effect Models

Monitoring tropical and subtropical forest soil CO2 emission efflux (FSCO2) is crucial for understanding the global carbon cycle and terrestrial ecosystem respiration. In this study, we addressed the challenge of low spatiotemporal resolution in FSCO2 monitoring by combining data fusion and model methods to improve the accuracy of quantitative inversion. We used time series Landsat 8 LST and MODIS LST fusion images and a linear mixed effect model to estimate FSCO2 at watershed scale. Our results show that modeling without random factors, and the use of Fusion LST as the fixed predictor, resulted in 47% (marginal R2 = 0.47) of FSCO2 variability in the Monthly random effect model, while it only accounted for 19% of FSCO2 variability in the Daily random effect model and 7% in the Seasonally random effect model. However, the inclusion of random effects in the model’s parameterization improved the performance of both models. The Monthly random effect model that performed optimally had an explanation rate of 55.3% (conditional R2 = 0.55 and t value > 1.9) for FSCO2 variability and yielded the smallest deviation from observed FSCO2. Our study highlights the importance of incorporating random effects and using Fusion LST as a fixed predictor to improve the accuracy of FSCO2 monitoring in tropical and subtropical forests

Antioxidant and antihyperglycemic activity of Sophora alopecuroides seed on streptozotocin-nicotinamide induced diabetic rats / Abdulwali Ablat

Sophora alopecuroides seed (SAS) was extracted with chloroform, ethanol and distilled water. The TLC result showed the presence of alkaloids in all of the extracts and the total alkaloid contents was 7.56%. The alkaloids were separated and identified with Q-TQF MS with known reference standard and were found that Sophora alopecuroides seed contained alkaloids namely sophocarpine, matrine, baptifoline, oxysophocarpine, oxymatrine, sophocarpine dimer, oxysophocarpine dimer, oxymatrine dimer and sophoranol-N-oxide dimer. The in vitro bioassays were performed to determine the antioxidant activity and glycogen phosphorylase enzyme inhibition activity of Sophora alopecuroides seed in ethanol and water extracts. In all of the bioassays, ethanol extract had showed highest activities. In DPPH assay the IC50 value of ethanol extract was 155.33 ± 0.06 μg/ml while in FRAP assay the IC50 value of ethanol extract was 9.71 ± 0.02 μg/ml. In GPa enzyme assay the IC50 of ethanol Sophora alopecuroides seed extract was 581.61 μg/ml. Acute toxicity of ethanol Sophora alopecuroides seed extract was tested at increasing dose level in non-diabetic rats and no toxic effects were observed in male rats at a dose of 5 g/kg body weight. The ethanol Sophora alopecuroides seed extract at the dose of 500 mg/kg was capable of decreasing the glycemia of non-diabetic rats during an oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT). The treatment with SAS at the dose of 500 mg/kg to the diabetic rats for 28 days decreased fasting blood glucose levels significantly compared to the 0th day. The 95% ethanol SAS extract at the dose of 250 mg/kg and 500 mg/kg body weight significantly (*P < 0.05) decreased serum triglycerides and total cholesterol levels, and increased serum HDL levels compared to the diabetic control. Therefore, these results validate the traditional use of Sophora alopecuroides seed as an antidiabetic remedy