Low field magnetotransport in strained Si/SiGe cavities

Low field magnetotransport revealing signatures of ballistic transport effects in strained Si/SiGe cavities is investigated. We fabricated strained Si/SiGe cavities by confining a high mobility Si/SiGe 2DEG in a bended nanowire geometry defined by electron-beam lithography and reactive ion etching. The main features observed in the low temperature magnetoresistance curves are the presence of a zero-field magnetoresistance peak and of an oscillatory structure at low fields. By adopting a simple geometrical model we explain the oscillatory structure in terms of electron magnetic focusing. A detailed examination of the zero-field peak lineshape clearly shows deviations from the predictions of ballistic weak localization theory.Comment: Submitted to Physical Review B, 25 pages, 7 figure

Magnetothermal properties of molecule-based materials

We critically review recent results obtained by studying the low-temperature specific heat of some of the most popular molecular magnets. Perspectives of this field are discussed as well.Comment: 12 pages text + 14 pages figures, Submitted as "feature article" to Journal of Materials Chemistr

Crosstalks of GSK3 signaling with the mTOR network and effects on targeted therapy of cancer

Abstract The introduction of therapeutics targeting specific tumor-promoting oncogenic or non-oncogenic signaling pathways has revolutionized cancer treatment. Mechanistic (previously mammalian) target of rapamycin (mTOR), a highly conserved Ser/Thr kinase, is a central hub of the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K)/Akt/mTOR network, one of the most frequently deregulated signaling pathways in cancer, that makes it an attractive target for therapy. Numerous mTOR inhibitors have progressed to clinical trials and two of them have been officially approved as anticancer therapeutics. However, mTOR-targeting drugs have met with a very limited success in cancer patients. Frequently, the primary impediment to a successful targeted therapy in cancer is drug-resistance, either from the very beginning of the therapy (innate resistance) or after an initial response and upon repeated drug treatment (evasive or acquired resistance). Drug-resistance leads to treatment failure and relapse/progression of the disease. Resistance to mTOR inhibitors depends, among other reasons, on activation/deactivation of several signaling pathways, included those regulated by glycogen synthase kinase-3 (GSK3), a protein that targets a vast number of substrates in its repertoire, thereby orchestrating many processes that include cell proliferation and survival, metabolism, differentiation, and stemness. A detailed knowledge of the rewiring of signaling pathways triggered by exposure to mTOR inhibitors is critical to our understanding of the consequences such perturbations cause in tumors, including the emergence of drug-resistant cells. Here, we provide the reader with an updated overview of intricate circuitries that connect mTOR and GSK3 and we relate them to the efficacy (or lack of efficacy) of mTOR inhibitors in cancer cells

The genus <i>Acanthochitona</i> (Mollusca: Polylacophora) in the Mediterranean Sea: morphological and molecular data

En el presente trabajo se pretende resolver la confusa taxonomía de las especies mediterráneas de los quitones del género Acanthochitona a través de su estudio morfológico (observaciones al SEM de aestetes, rádula y cintura) y molecular (COI, 12S, ITS1). En ambos casos se confirma la validez de las tres especies Acanthochitona fascicularis, A. crinita y A. oblonga, las dos últimas consideradas previamente como sinónimas

Giant isotope effect in the incoherent tunneling specific heat of the molecular nanomagnet Fe8

Time-dependent specific heat experiments on the molecular nanomagnet Fe8 and the isotopic enriched analogue 57Fe8 are presented. The inclusion of the 57Fe nuclear spins leads to a huge enhancement of the specific heat below 1 K, ascribed to a strong increase in the spin-lattice relaxation rate Gamma arising from incoherent, nuclear-spin-mediated magnetic quantum tunneling in the ground-doublet. Since Gamma is found comparable to the expected tunneling rate, the latter process has to be inelastic. A model for the coupling of the tunneling levels to the lattice is presented. Under transverse field, a crossover from nuclear-spin-mediated to phonon-induced tunneling is observed.Comment: Replaced with version accepted for publication in Physical Review Letter

Therapeutic targeting of CK2 in acute and chronic leukemias

CK2 is a ubiquitously expressed, constitutively active Ser/Thr protein kinase, which is considered the most pleiotropic protein kinase in the human kinome. Such a pleiotropy explains the involvement of CK2 in many cellular events. However, its predominant roles are stimulation of cell growth and prevention of apoptosis. High levels of CK2 messenger RNA and protein are associated with CK2 pathological functions in human cancers. Over the last decade, basic and translational studies have provided evidence of CK2 as a pivotal molecule driving the growth of different blood malignancies. CK2 overexpression has been demonstrated in nearly all the types of hematological cancers, including acute and chronic leukemias, where CK2 is a key regulator of signaling networks critical for cell proliferation, survival and drug resistance. The findings that emerged from these studies suggest that CK2 could be a valuable therapeutic target in leukemias and supported the initiation of clinical trials using CK2 antagonists. In this review, we summarize the recent advances on the understanding of the signaling pathways involved in CK2 inhibition-mediated effects with a particular emphasis on the combinatorial use of CK2 inhibitors as novel therapeutic strategies for treating both acute and chronic leukemia patients