Structural contributions to the pressure-tuned charge-density-wave to superconductor transition in ZrTe3: Raman scattering studies

Superconductivity evolves as functions of pressure or doping from charge-ordered phases in a variety of strongly correlated systems, suggesting that there may be universal characteristics associated with the competition between superconductivity and charge order in these materials. We present an inelastic light (Raman) scattering study of the structural changes that precede the pressure-tuned charge-density-wave (CDW) to superconductor transition in one such system, ZrTe3. In certain phonon bands, we observe dramatic linewidth reductions that accompany CDW formation, indicating that these phonons couple strongly to the electronic degrees of freedom associated with the CDW. The same phonon bands, which represent internal vibrations of ZrTe3 prismatic chains, are suppressed at pressures above ~10 kbar, indicating a loss of long-range order within the chains, specifically amongst intrachain Zr-Te bonds. These results suggest a distinct structural mechanism for the observed pressure-induced suppression of CDW formation and provide insights into the origin of pressure-induced superconductivity in ZrTe3.Comment: 6 pages, 5 figure

Barrier-to-autointegration factor 1 protects against a basal cGAS-STING response

Although the pathogen recognition receptor pathways that activate cell-intrinsic antiviral responses are well delineated, less is known about how the host regulates this response to prevent sustained signaling and possible immune-mediated damage. Using a genome-wide CRISPR-Cas9 screening approach to identify host factors that modulate interferon-stimulated gene (ISG) expression, we identified the DNA binding protein Barrier-to-autointegration factor 1 (Banf1), a previously described inhibitor of retrovirus integration, as a modulator of basal cell-intrinsic immunity. Ablation of Banf1 by gene editing resulted in chromatin activation near host defense genes with associated increased expression of ISGs, includin

Section on Prospects for Dark Matter Detection of the White Paper on the Status and Future of Ground-Based TeV Gamma-Ray Astronomy

This is a report on the findings of the dark matter science working group for the white paper on the status and future of TeV gamma-ray astronomy. The white paper was commissioned by the American Physical Society, and the full white paper can be found on astro-ph (arXiv:0810.0444). This detailed section discusses the prospects for dark matter detection with future gamma-ray experiments, and the complementarity of gamma-ray measurements with other indirect, direct or accelerator-based searches. We conclude that any comprehensive search for dark matter should include gamma-ray observations, both to identify the dark matter particle (through the charac- teristics of the gamma-ray spectrum) and to measure the distribution of dark matter in galactic halos.Comment: Report from the Dark Matter Science Working group of the APS commissioned White paper on ground-based TeV gamma ray astronomy (19 pages, 9 figures

A New Scintillator Tile/Fiber Preshower Detector for the CDF Central Calorimeter

A detector designed to measure early particle showers has been installed in front of the central CDF calorimeter at the Tevatron. This new preshower detector is based on scintillator tiles coupled to wavelength-shifting fibers read out by multi-anode photomultipliers and has a total of 3,072 readout channels. The replacement of the old gas detector was required due to an expected increase in instantaneous luminosity of the Tevatron collider in the next few years. Calorimeter coverage, jet energy resolution, and electron and photon identification are among the expected improvements. The final detector design, together with the R&D studies that led to the choice of scintillator and fiber, mechanical assembly, and quality control are presented. The detector was installed in the fall 2004 Tevatron shutdown and started collecting colliding beam data by the end of the same year. First measurements indicate a light yield of 12 photoelectrons/MIP, a more than two-fold increase over the design goals.Comment: 5 pages, 10 figures (changes are minor; this is the final version published in IEEE-Trans.Nucl.Sci.

Heavy Quark Production In Hadronic Collisions

We review the physics of heavy quark and quarkonium production in high energy hadronic collisions. We discuss the status of the theoretical calculations and compare the current results with the most recent measurements from the Tevatron collider experiments.Comment: 12 pages, latex, 7 postscript figures, compressed and submitted separately. To appear in the Proceedings of the 6th International Symposium on Heavy Flavour Physics, Pisa, Italy, June 6-10, 199

Circulating Exosomal microRNAs as Predictive Biomarkers of Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy Response in Breast Cancer

Background: Neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT) is an increasingly used approach for treatment of breast cancer. The pathological complete response (pCR) is considered a good predictor of disease-specific survival. This study investigated whether circulating exosomal microRNAs could predict pCR in breast cancer patients treated with NACT. Method: Plasma samples of 20 breast cancer patients treated with NACT were collected prior to and after the first cycle. RNA sequencing was used to determine microRNA profiling. The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) was used to explore the expression patterns and survivability of the candidate miRNAs, and their potential targets based on the expression levels and copy number variation (CNV) data. Results: Three miRNAs before that NACT (miR-30b, miR-328 and miR-423) predicted pCR in all of the analyzed samples. Upregulation of miR-127 correlated with pCR in triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). After the first NACT dose, pCR was predicted by exo-miR-141, while miR-34a, exo-miR182, and exo-miR-183 predicted non-pCR. A significant correlation between the candidate miRNAs and the overall survival, subtype, and metastasis in breast cancer, suggesting their potential role as predictive biomarkers of pCR. Conclusions: If the miRNAs identified in this study are validated in a large cohort of patients, they might serve as predictive non-invasive liquid biopsy biomarkers for monitoring pCR to NACT in breast cancer