368 research outputs found
The Gallant 71st : A March
https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mmb-ps/2615/thumbnail.jp
The Stricken City
https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mmb-vp/6775/thumbnail.jp
Charge dynamics of a single donor coupled to a few electrons quantum dot in silicon
We study the charge transfer dynamics between a silicon quantum dot and an
individual phosphorous donor using the conduction through the quantum dot as a
probe for the donor ionization state. We use a silicon n-MOSFET (metal oxide
field effect transistor) biased near threshold in the SET regime with two side
gates to control both the device conductance and the donor charge. Temperature
and magnetic field independent tunneling time is measured. We measure the
statistics of the transfer of electrons observed when the ground state D0 of
the donor is aligned with the SET states
Giant g factor tuning of long-lived electron spins in Ge
Control of electron spin coherence via external fields is fundamental in
spintronics. Its implementation demands a host material that accommodates the
highly desirable but contrasting requirements of spin robustness to relaxation
mechanisms and sizeable coupling between spin and orbital motion of charge
carriers. Here we focus on Ge, which, by matching those criteria, is rapidly
emerging as a prominent candidate for shuttling spin quantum bits in the mature
framework of Si electronics. So far, however, the intrinsic spin-dependent
phenomena of free electrons in conventional Ge/Si heterojunctions have proved
to be elusive because of epitaxy constraints and an unfavourable band
alignment. We overcome such fundamental limitations by investigating a two
dimensional electron gas (2DEG) confined in quantum wells of pure Ge grown on
SiGe-buffered Si substrates. These epitaxial systems demonstrate exceptionally
long spin relaxation and coherence times, eventually unveiling the potential of
Ge in bridging the gap between spintronic concepts and semiconductor device
physics. In particular, by tuning spin-orbit interaction via quantum
confinement we demonstrate that the electron Land\'e g factor and its
anisotropy can be engineered in our scalable and CMOS-compatible architectures
over a range previously inaccessible for Si spintronics
Recent advances in searching c-Myc transcriptional cofactors during tumorigenesis
Background: The mechanism by which c-Myc exerts its oncogenic functions is not completely clear and different hypotheses are still under investigation. The knowledge of the capacity of c-Myc to bind exclusively E-box sequences determined the discrepancy between, on the one hand, genomic studies showing the binding of c-Myc to all active promoters and, on the other hand, the evidence that only 60% or less of the binding sites have E-box sequences. Main body: In this review, we provide support to the hypothesis that the cooperation of c-Myc with transcriptional cofactors mediates c-Myc-induced cellular functions. We produce evidence that recently identified cofactors are involved in c-Myc control of survival mechanisms of cancer cells. Conclusion: The identification of new c-Myc cofactors could favor the development of therapeutic strategies able to compensate the difficulty of targeting c-Myc
PTEN as a Prognostic/Predictive Biomarker in Cancer: An Unfulfilled Promise?
Abstract
Identifying putative biomarkers of clinical outcomes in cancer is crucial for successful enrichment, and for the selection of patients who are the most likely to benefit from a specific therapeutic approach. Indeed, current research in personalized cancer therapy focuses on the possibility of identifying biomarkers that predict prognosis, sensitivity or resistance to therapies. Phosphatase and tensin homolog deleted on chromosome 10 (PTEN) is a tumor suppressor gene that regulates several crucial cell functions such as proliferation, survival, genomic stability and cell motility through both enzymatic and non-enzymatic activities and phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K)-dependent and -independent mechanisms. Despite its undisputed role as a tumor suppressor, assessment of PTEN status in sporadic human tumors has yet to provide clinically robust prognostic, predictive or therapeutic information. This is possibly due to the exceptionally complex regulation of PTEN function, which involves genetic, transcriptional, post-transcriptional and post-translational events. This review shows a brief summary of the regulation and function of PTEN and discusses its controversial aspects as a prognostic/predictive biomarker
Universal response of the type-II Weyl semimetals phase diagram
The discovery of Weyl semimetals represents a significant advance in
topological band theory. They paradigmatically enlarged the classification of
topological materials to gapless systems while simultaneously providing
experimental evidence for the long-sought Weyl fermions. Beyond fundamental
relevance, their high mobility, strong magnetoresistance, and the possible
existence of even more exotic effects, such as the chiral anomaly, make Weyl
semimetals a promising platform to develop radically new technology. Fully
exploiting their potential requires going beyond the mere identification of
materials and calls for a detailed characterization of their functional
response, which is severely complicated by the coexistence of surface- and
bulk-derived topologically protected quasiparticles, i.e., Fermi arcs and Weyl
points, respectively. Here, we focus on the type-II Weyl semimetal class where
we find a stoichiometry-dependent phase transition from a trivial to a
non-trivial regime. By exploring the two extreme cases of the phase diagram, we
demonstrate the existence of a universal response of both surface and bulk
states to perturbations. We show that quasi-particle interference patterns
originate from scattering events among surface arcs. Analysis reveals that
topologically non-trivial contributions are strongly suppressed by spin
texture. We also show that scattering at localized impurities generate
defect-induced quasiparticles sitting close to the Weyl point energy. These
give rise to strong peaks in the local density of states, which lift the Weyl
node significantly altering the pristine low-energy Weyl spectrum. Visualizing
the microscopic response to scattering has important consequences for
understanding the unusual transport properties of this class of materials.
Overall, our observations provide a unifying picture of the Weyl phase diagram
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