Magnetic field-induced quantum superconductor-insulator transition in Nb0.15Si0.85Nb_{0.15}Si_{0.85}

A study of magnetic-field tuned superconductor-insulator transitions in amorphous $Nb_{0.15}Si_{0.85}$ thin films shows that quantum superconductor-insulator transitions are characterized by an unambiguous signature -- a kink in the temperature profile of the critical magnetic field. Using this criterion, we show that the nature of the magnetic-field tuned superconductor-insulator transition depends on the orientation of the field with respect to the film. For perpendicular magnetic field, the transition is controlled by quantum fluctuations with indications for the existence of a Bose insulator; while for parallel magnetic field, the transition is classical, driven by the breaking of Cooper pairs at the temperature dependent critical field $H_{c2}$.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure

Density Matrix Renormalization Group Applied to the Ground State of the XY-Spin-Peierls System

We use the density matrix renormalization group (DMRG) to map out the ground state of a XY-spin chain coupled to dispersionless phonons of frequency $\omega$. We confirm the existence of a critical spin-phonon coupling $_c\propto \omega ^{0.7}$ for the onset of the spin gap bearing the signature of a Kosterlitz-Thouless transition. We also observe a classical-quantum crossover when the spin-Peierls gap $\Delta$ is of order $$. In the classical regime, $\Delta >\omega$, the mean-field parameters are strongly renormalized by non-adiabatic corrections. This is the first application of the DMRG to phonons.Comment: 10 pages, 5 figures. To be published in PR

Gap States in Dilute Magnetic Alloy Superconductors

We study states in the superconducting gap induced by magnetic impurities using self-consistent quantum Monte Carlo with maximum entropy and formally exact analytic continuation methods. The magnetic impurity susceptibility has different characteristics for T_{0} \alt T_{c0} and T_{0} \agt T_{c0} ($T_{0}$: Kondo temperature, $T_{c0}$: superconducting transition temperature) due to the crossover between a doublet and a singlet ground state. We systematically study the location and the weight of the gap states and the gap parameter as a function of $T_{0}/T_{c0}$ and the concentration of the impurities.Comment: 4 pages in ReVTeX including 4 encapsulated Postscript figure

Nivolumab and ipilimumab in the real-world setting in patients with mesothelioma

Objectives: Nivolumab (anti-PD-1) plus ipilimumab (anti-CTLA-4) is a new first-line treatment combination for patients with pleural mesothelioma. Nivolumab-ipilimumab improved the survival, however, 30.3% of the patients suffered from grade 3–4 treatment related adverse events (TRAE's) and TRAE's led to discontinuation in 23.0% of all patients. Here, we present the first real-world data of nivolumab plus ipilimumab in patients with malignant mesothelioma treated in two mesothelioma expert centers. Methods: Clinical data of patients with mesothelioma treated with nivolumab and ipilimumab were prospectively collected. Clinical parameters were obtained every visit, CT scans were evaluated every 12 weeks and adverse events were assessed continuously during the treatment. Data on grade 2–5 TRAE's and activity (overall response rate (ORR), duration of response (DOR), disease control rate (DCR), median progression-free survival (mPFS) and median overall survival (mOS) were reported. Results: Between January 2021 and August 2022, 184 patients were treated with nivolumab plus ipilimumab. The median follow-up was 12.1 months (95 %CI 11.1 – 13.1). Grade 3–4 TRAEs were seen in 27.7 % of the patients and 25.0 % discontinued immunotherapy treatment early because of TRAE's. ORR was 21.7 % (95 % CI 15.7–27.7), median DOR was 5.7 months (IQR 3.2–8.7) and DCR at 12 weeks 56.0 % (95 % CI 48.8–63.2). The mPFS was 5.5 months (95 %CI 4.1–6.9), mOS was 14.1 months (95 % CI 11.1–18.2). Conclusions: Nivolumab plus ipilimumab had an equal efficacy in a real-world comparable population but also a high risk of TRAE's, leading to discontinuation of treatment in 25% of the patients.</p

A fast and cost-effective approach to develop and map EST-SSR markers: oak as a case study

Background: Expressed Sequence Tags (ESTs) are a source of simple sequence repeats (SSRs) that can be used to develop molecular markers for genetic studies. The availability of ESTs for Quercus robur and Quercus petraea provided a unique opportunity to develop microsatellite markers to accelerate research aimed at studying adaptation of these long-lived species to their environment. As a first step toward the construction of a SSR-based linkage map of oak for quantitative trait locus (QTL) mapping, we describe the mining and survey of EST-SSRs as well as a fast and cost-effective approach (bin mapping) to assign these markers to an approximate map position. We also compared the level of polymorphism between genomic and EST-derived SSRs and address the transferability of EST-SSRs in Castanea sativa (chestnut). Results: A catalogue of 103,000 Sanger ESTs was assembled into 28,024 unigenes from which 18.6% presented one or more SSR motifs. More than 42% of these SSRs corresponded to trinucleotides. Primer pairs were designed for 748 putative unigenes. Overall 37.7% (283) were found to amplify a single polymorphic locus in a reference fullsib pedigree of Quercus robur. The usefulness of these loci for establishing a genetic map was assessed using a bin mapping approach. Bin maps were constructed for the male and female parental tree for which framework linkage maps based on AFLP markers were available. The bin set consisting of 14 highly informative offspring selected based on the number and position of crossover sites. The female and male maps comprised 44 and 37 bins, with an average bin length of 16.5 cM and 20.99 cM, respectively. A total of 256 EST-SSRs were assigned to bins and their map position was further validated by linkage mapping. EST-SSRs were found to be less polymorphic than genomic SSRs, but their transferability rate to chestnut, a phylogenetically related species to oak, was higher. Conclusion: We have generated a bin map for oak comprising 256 EST-SSRs. This resource constitutes a first step toward the establishment of a gene-based map for this genus that will facilitate the dissection of QTLs affecting complex traits of ecological importance

Disulfide bonds reduce the toxicity of the amyloid fibrils formed by an extracellular protein

In a stable condition: Disulfide bonds stabilize folded proteins primarily by decreasing the entropic cost of folding. Such cross-links also reduce toxic aggregation by favoring the formation of highly structured amyloid fibrils (see picture). It is suggested that disulfide bonds in extracellular proteins were selected by evolutionary pressures because they decrease the propensity to form toxic aggregates. Copyright © 2011 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH &amp; Co. KGaA, Weinheim

Dark Matter Search in the Edelweiss Experiment

Preliminary results obtained with 320g bolometers with simultaneous ionization and heat measurements are described. After a few weeks of data taking, data accumulated with one of these detectors are beginning to exclude the upper part of the DAMA region. Prospects for the present run and the second stage of the experiment, EDELWEISS-II, using an innovative reversed cryostat allowing data taking with 100 detectors, are briefly described.Comment: IDM 2000, 3rd International Workshop on the Identification of Dark Matter, York (GB), 18-22/09/2000, v2.0 minor modification

The EDELWEISS Experiment : Status and Outlook

The EDELWEISS Dark Matter search uses low-temperature Ge detectors with heat and ionisation read- out to identify nuclear recoils induced by elastic collisions with WIMPs from the galactic halo. Results from the operation of 70 g and 320 g Ge detectors in the low-background environment of the Modane Underground Laboratory (LSM) are presented.Comment: International Conference on Dark Matter in Astro and Particle Physics (Dark 2000), Heidelberg, Germany, 10-16 Jul 2000, v3 minor revision

Human metapneumovirus infection after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation

Background: The clinical characteristics of human metapneumovirus (hMPV)-associated lower respiratory tract infection (LRTI) after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) is not well described. We describe the clinical course in eight HSCT recipients suffering from hMPV infection. Methods: We prospectively included all patients with hMPV-associated LRTI after allogeneic HSCT during a period of 1year. hMPV was diagnosed by multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) from bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL). Results: Eight patients with hMPV-associated LRTI were identified from 93 BAL samples. Three of the eight patients had co-infections with other pathogens. The median age of the patients was 45years [interquartile range (IQR) 36.8-53.5], the median time posttransplant was 473days (IQR 251-1,165), 5/8 patients had chronic graft-versus-host disease (cGvHD), and 6/8 patients received immunosuppression. Chest computed tomography (CT) scanning showed a ground-glass pattern in 7/8 patients. Seven of eight patients required hospitalization due to severe symptoms and hypoxemia. All were treated with intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG), which was combined with oral ribavirin in six patients. The mortality rate was 12.5% (1/8). Conclusions: hMPV-associated LRTI in allogeneic HSCT recipients are not uncommon and present with unspecific respiratory symptoms, ground-glass pattern in CT scanning, and co-infectio