27 research outputs found
Mgb2 Nonlinear Properties Investigated under Localized High RF Magnetic Field Excitation
In order to increase the accelerating gradient of Superconducting Radio
Frequency (SRF) cavities, Magnesium Diboride (MgB2) opens up hope because of
its high transition temperature and potential for low surface resistance in the
high RF field regime. However, due to the presence of the small superconducting
gap in the {\pi} band, the nonlinear response of MgB2 is potentially quite
large compared to a single gap s-wave superconductor (SC) such as Nb.
Understanding the mechanisms of nonlinearity coming from the two-band structure
of MgB2, as well as extrinsic sources, is an urgent requirement. A localized
and strong RF magnetic field, created by a magnetic write head, is integrated
into our nonlinear-Meissner-effect scanning microwave microscope [1]. MgB2
films with thickness 50 nm, fabricated by a hybrid physical-chemical vapor
deposition technique on dielectric substrates, are measured at a fixed location
and show a strongly temperature-dependent third harmonic response. We propose
that at least two mechanisms are responsible for this nonlinear response, one
of which involves vortex nucleation and penetration into the film. [1] T. M.
Tai, X. X. Xi, C. G. Zhuang, D. I. Mircea, S. M. Anlage, "Nonlinear Near-Field
Microwave Microscope for RF Defect Localization in Superconductors", IEEE
Trans. Appl. Supercond. 21, 2615 (2011).Comment: 6 pages, 6 figure
Modeling the nanoscale linear response of superconducting thin films measured by a scanning probe microwave microscope
A localized and strong RF magnetic field, created by a magnetic write head, is used to examine the linear electrodynamic properties of a Nb superconducting film. The complex reflection coefficient of the write head held in close proximity to the films is measured as a function of sample temperature. A model combining a magnetic circuit (magnetic write head inductively coupled to the sample) and transmission line (microwave circuit) is given to interpret the linear response measurement. Additionally, this reflection linear response measurement can be used to determine the temperature dependence of the magnetic penetration depth on a variety of superconductors. V C 2014 AIP Publishing LLC. [http://d
Imaging the Anisotropic Nonlinear Meissner Effect in Nodal YBaCuO Thin-Film Superconductors
We have directly imaged the anisotropic nonlinear Meissner effect in an
unconventional superconductor through the nonlinear electrodynamic response of
both (bulk) gap nodes and (surface) Andreev bound states. A superconducting
thin film is patterned into a compact self-resonant spiral structure, excited
near resonance in the radio-frequency range, and scanned with a focused laser
beam perturbation. At low temperatures, direction-dependent nonlinearities in
the reactive and resistive properties of the resonator create photoresponse
that maps out the directions of nodes, or of bound states associated with these
nodes, on the Fermi surface of the superconductor. The method is demonstrated
on the nodal superconductor YBaCuO and the results are
consistent with theoretical predictions for the bulk and surface contributions.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures, Phys. Rev. Lett. (in press
The completion of the Mammalian Gene Collection (MGC)
Since its start, the Mammalian Gene Collection (MGC) has sought to provide at least one full-protein-coding sequence cDNA clone for every human and mouse gene with a RefSeq transcript, and at least 6200 rat genes. The MGC cloning effort initially relied on random expressed sequence tag screening of cDNA libraries. Here, we summarize our recent progress using directed RT-PCR cloning and DNA synthesis. The MGC now contains clones with the entire protein-coding sequence for 92% of human and 89% of mouse genes with curated RefSeq (NM-accession) transcripts, and for 97% of human and 96% of mouse genes with curated RefSeq transcripts that have one or more PubMed publications, in addition to clones for more than 6300 rat genes. These high-quality MGC clones and their sequences are accessible without restriction to researchers worldwide
Structural and optical properties of ITO/TiO2 anti-reflective films for solar cell applications
31st Annual Meeting and Associated Programs of the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC 2016) : part two
Background
The immunological escape of tumors represents one of the main ob- stacles to the treatment of malignancies. The blockade of PD-1 or CTLA-4 receptors represented a milestone in the history of immunotherapy. However, immune checkpoint inhibitors seem to be effective in specific cohorts of patients. It has been proposed that their efficacy relies on the presence of an immunological response. Thus, we hypothesized that disruption of the PD-L1/PD-1 axis would synergize with our oncolytic vaccine platform PeptiCRAd.
Methods
We used murine B16OVA in vivo tumor models and flow cytometry analysis to investigate the immunological background.
Results
First, we found that high-burden B16OVA tumors were refractory to combination immunotherapy. However, with a more aggressive schedule, tumors with a lower burden were more susceptible to the combination of PeptiCRAd and PD-L1 blockade. The therapy signifi- cantly increased the median survival of mice (Fig. 7). Interestingly, the reduced growth of contralaterally injected B16F10 cells sug- gested the presence of a long lasting immunological memory also against non-targeted antigens. Concerning the functional state of tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs), we found that all the immune therapies would enhance the percentage of activated (PD-1pos TIM- 3neg) T lymphocytes and reduce the amount of exhausted (PD-1pos TIM-3pos) cells compared to placebo. As expected, we found that PeptiCRAd monotherapy could increase the number of antigen spe- cific CD8+ T cells compared to other treatments. However, only the combination with PD-L1 blockade could significantly increase the ra- tio between activated and exhausted pentamer positive cells (p= 0.0058), suggesting that by disrupting the PD-1/PD-L1 axis we could decrease the amount of dysfunctional antigen specific T cells. We ob- served that the anatomical location deeply influenced the state of CD4+ and CD8+ T lymphocytes. In fact, TIM-3 expression was in- creased by 2 fold on TILs compared to splenic and lymphoid T cells. In the CD8+ compartment, the expression of PD-1 on the surface seemed to be restricted to the tumor micro-environment, while CD4 + T cells had a high expression of PD-1 also in lymphoid organs. Interestingly, we found that the levels of PD-1 were significantly higher on CD8+ T cells than on CD4+ T cells into the tumor micro- environment (p < 0.0001).
Conclusions
In conclusion, we demonstrated that the efficacy of immune check- point inhibitors might be strongly enhanced by their combination with cancer vaccines. PeptiCRAd was able to increase the number of antigen-specific T cells and PD-L1 blockade prevented their exhaus- tion, resulting in long-lasting immunological memory and increased median survival