Short small-polaron lifetime in the mixed-valence perovskite Cs2_2Au2_2I6_6 from high-pressure pump-probe experiments

We study the ultrafast phonon response of mixed-valence perovskite Cs$_2$Au$_2$I$_6$ using pump-probe spectroscopy under high-pressure in a diamond anvil cell. We observed a remarkable softening and broadening of the Au - I stretching phonon mode with both applied pressure and photoexcitation. Using a double-pump scheme we measured a lifetime of the charge transfer excitation into single valence Au$^{2+}$ of less than 4 ps, which is an indication of the local character of the Au$^{2+}$ excitation. Furthermore, the strong similarity between the pressure and fluence dependence of the phonon softening shows that the inter-valence charge transfer plays an important role in the structural transition.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure

Galaxy and mass assembly (GAMA): the clustering of galaxy groups

We explore the clustering of galaxy groups in the Galaxy and Mass Assembly (GAMA) survey to investigate the dependence of group bias and profile on separation scale and group mass. Due to the inherent uncertainty in estimating the group selection function, and hence the group autocorrelation function, we instead measure the projected galaxy–group cross-correlation function. We find that the group profile has a strong dependence on scale and group mass on scales r⊥≲1h−1 role= presentation style= box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-variant: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: normal; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; display: inline; word-spacing: normal; overflow-wrap: normal; white-space: nowrap; float: none; direction: ltr; max-width: none; max-height: none; min-width: 0px; min-height: 0px; position: relative; \u3er⊥≲1h−1r⊥≲1h−1⁠. We also find evidence that the most massive groups live in extended, overdense, structures. In the first application of marked clustering statistics to groups, we find that group-mass marked clustering peaks on scales comparable to the typical group radius of r⊥ ≈ 0.5 h−1. While massive galaxies are associated with massive groups, the marked statistics show no indication of galaxy mass segregation within groups. We show similar results from the IllustrisTNG simulations and the L-GALAXIES model, although L-GALAXIES shows an enhanced bias and galaxy mass dependence on small scales

Simulating the WFIRST coronagraph Integral Field Spectrograph

A primary goal of direct imaging techniques is to spectrally characterize the atmospheres of planets around other stars at extremely high contrast levels. To achieve this goal, coronagraphic instruments have favored integral field spectrographs (IFS) as the science cameras to disperse the entire search area at once and obtain spectra at each location, since the planet position is not known a priori. These spectrographs are useful against confusion from speckles and background objects, and can also help in the speckle subtraction and wavefront control stages of the coronagraphic observation. We present a software package, the Coronagraph and Rapid Imaging Spectrograph in Python (crispy) to simulate the IFS of the WFIRST Coronagraph Instrument (CGI). The software propagates input science cubes using spatially and spectrally resolved coronagraphic focal plane cubes, transforms them into IFS detector maps and ultimately reconstructs the spatio-spectral input scene as a 3D datacube. Simulated IFS cubes can be used to test data extraction techniques, refine sensitivity analyses and carry out design trade studies of the flight CGI-IFS instrument. crispy is a publicly available Python package and can be adapted to other IFS designs.Comment: 15 page

The Second Beef Cattle Gain Evaluation Test Conducted at the Luling Foundation.

11 p

\u3cem\u3eDACH1\u3c/em\u3e Mutation Frequency in Endometrial Cancer Is Associated with High Tumor Mutation Burden

OBJECTIVE: DACH1 is a transcriptional repressor and tumor suppressor gene frequently mutated in melanoma, bladder, and prostate cancer. Loss of DACH1 expression is associated with poor prognostic features and reduced overall survival in uterine cancer. In this study, we utilized the Oncology Research Information Exchange Network (ORIEN) Avatar database to determine the frequency of DACH1 mutations in patients with endometrial cancer in our Kentucky population. METHODS: We obtained clinical and genomic data for 65 patients with endometrial cancer from the Markey Cancer Center (MCC). We examined the clinical attributes of the cancers by DACH1 status by comparing whole-exome sequencing (WES), RNA Sequencing (RNASeq), microsatellite instability (MSI), and tumor mutational burden (TMB). RESULTS: Kentucky women with endometrial cancer had an increased frequency of DACH1 mutations (12/65 patients, 18.5%) compared to The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) endometrial cancer population (25/586 patients, 3.8%) with p-value = 1.04E-05. DACH1 mutations were associated with increased tumor mutation count in both TCGA (median 65 vs. 8972, p-value = 7.35E-09) and our Kentucky population (490 vs. 2160, p-value = 6.0E-04). DACH1 mutated patients have a higher tumor mutation burden compared to DACH1 wild-type (24 vs. 6.02, p-value = 4.29E-05). DACH1 mutations showed significant gene co-occurrence patterns with POLE, MLH1, and PMS2. DACH1 mutations were not associated with an increase in microsatellite instability at MCC (MSI-H) (p-value = 0.1342). CONCLUSIONS: DACH1 mutations are prevalent in Kentucky patients with endometrial cancer. These mutations are associated with high tumor mutational burden and co-occur with genome destabilizing gene mutations. These findings suggest DACH1 may be a candidate biomarker for future trials with immunotherapy, particularly in endometrial cancers

Doping dependence of upper critical field and Hall resistivity in LaFeAsO1-xFx

The electrical resistivity (Rxx) and Hall resistivity (Rxy) of LaFeAsO1-xFx have been measured over a wide fluorine doping range 0 =< x =< 0.14 using 60 T pulsed magnets. While the superconducting phase diagram (Tc, x) displays the classic dome-shaped structure, we find that the resistive upper critical field (Hc2) increases monotonically with decreasing fluorine concentration, with the largest Hc2 >= 75 T for x = 0.05. This is reminiscent of the composition dependence in high-Tc cuprates and might correlate with opening of a pseudo-gap in the underdoped region. Further, the temperature dependence of Hc2(T) for superconducting samples can be understood in terms of multi-band superconductivity. Rxy data for non-superconducting samples show non-linear field dependence, which is also consistent with a multi-carrier scenario.Comment: 15 pages, 5 figures, Accepted by PR

Lapatinib and Poziotinib Overcome ABCB1-Mediated Paclitaxel Resistance in Ovarian Cancer

Conventional frontline treatment for ovarian cancer consists of successive chemotherapy cycles of paclitaxel and platinum. Despite the initial favorable responses for most patients, chemotherapy resistance frequently leads to recurrent or refractory disease. New treatment strategies that circumvent or prevent mechanisms of resistance are needed to improve ovarian cancer therapy. We established in vitro paclitaxel-resistant ovarian cancer cell line and organoid models. Gene expression differences in resistant and sensitive lines were analyzed by RNA sequencing. We manipulated candidate genes associated with paclitaxel resistance using siRNA or small molecule inhibitors, and then screened the cells for paclitaxel sensitivity using cell viability assays. We used the Bliss independence model to evaluate the anti-proliferative synergy for drug combinations. ABCB1 expression was upregulated in paclitaxel-resistant TOV-21G (q \u3c 1x10-300), OVCAR3 (q = 7.4x10-156) and novel ovarian tumor organoid (p = 2.4x10-4) models. Previous reports have shown some tyrosine kinase inhibitors can inhibit ABCB1 function. We tested a panel of tyrosine kinase inhibitors for the ability to sensitize resistant ABCB1-overexpressing ovarian cancer cell lines to paclitaxel. We observed synergy when we combined poziotinib or lapatinib with paclitaxel in resistant TOV-21G and OVCAR3 cells. Silencing ABCB1 expression in paclitaxel-resistant TOV-21G and OVCAR3 cells reduced paclitaxel IC50 by 20.7 and 6.2-fold, respectively. Furthermore, we demonstrated direct inhibition of paclitaxel-induced ABCB1 transporter activity by both lapatinib and poziotinib. In conclusion, lapatinib and poziotinib combined with paclitaxel synergizes to inhibit the proliferation of ABCB1-overexpressing ovarian cancer cells in vitro. The addition of FDA-approved lapatinib to second-line paclitaxel therapy is a promising strategy for patients with recurrent ovarian cancer

Syntaxin 16 is a master recruitment factor for cytokinesis

Recently it was shown that both recycling endosome and endosomal sorting complex required for transport (ESCRT) components are required for cytokinesis, in which they are believed to act in a sequential manner to bring about secondary ingression and abscission, respectively. However, it is not clear how either of these complexes is targeted to the midbody and whether their delivery is coordinated. The trafficking of membrane vesicles between different intracellular organelles involves the formation of soluble N-ethylmalei­mide–sensitive factor attachment protein receptor (SNARE) complexes. Although membrane traffic is known to play an important role in cytokinesis, the contribution and identity of intracellular SNAREs to cytokinesis remain unclear. Here we demonstrate that syntaxin 16 is a key regulator of cytokinesis, as it is required for recruitment of both recycling endosome–associated Exocyst and ESCRT machinery during late telophase, and therefore that these two distinct facets of cytokinesis are inextricably linked