Level structure of 99Nb

The β decay of 97Sr to 97Y has been investigated using ion-guide on-line mass separation and a 10 Ge-detector array to record γ−γ coincidences to a detection limit well below that of former studies. Similarities are found in the β-decay patterns of 99Zr and of its isotone 97Sr and also in the γ-ray decay rates and branchings of the corresponding levels in their respective daughters 99Nb and 97Y. This indicates a persisting influence of the d5/2 neutron shell closure for 99Nb. The level structure of 99Nb and the β-feeding pattern are discussed in the frame of the interacting boson-fermion plus broken pair model and the microscopic quasiparticle phonon model

Combinatorial immunotherapies overcome MYC-driven immune evasion in triple negative breast cancer

Few patients with triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) benefit from immune checkpoint inhibitors with complete and durable remissions being quite rare. Oncogenes can regulate tumor immune infiltration, however whether oncogenes dictate diminished response to immunotherapy and whether these effects are reversible remains poorly understood. Here, we report that TNBCs with elevated MYC expression are resistant to immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy. Using mouse models and patient data, we show that MYC signaling is associated with low tumor cell PD-L1, low overall immune cell infiltration, and low tumor cell MHC-I expression. Restoring interferon signaling in the tumor increases MHC-I expression. By combining a TLR9 agonist and an agonistic antibody against OX40 with anti-PD-L1, mice experience tumor regression and are protected from new TNBC tumor outgrowth. Our findings demonstrate that MYC-dependent immune evasion is reversible and druggable, and when strategically targeted, may improve outcomes for patients treated with immune checkpoint inhibitors. The oncoprotein c-Myc is often overexpressed in triple negative breast cancer and has a role in tumor progression and resistance to therapy. Here the authors show that elevated MYC expression is correlated with low immune infiltration, diminished MHC-I pathway expression and that CpG/aOX40 treatment could overcome resistance to PD-L1 blockade in MYC-high breast tumors.Peer reviewe

Identification of yrast states in 187Pb

g -ray spectroscopy of the high-spin states of the neutron-deficient nucleus 187Pb has been conducted with the 155Gd(36Ar,4n) reaction. A cascade of three transitions was deduced from g -g coincidence data gated by detection of recoiling evaporation residues in a gas-filled recoil separator. In an earlier, separate experiment, two of these g rays were positively identified with 187Pb by recoil-g coincidence measurements with a high-resolution, recoil mass spectrometer. From comparison with similar sequences in heavier odd-A lead isotopes, the cascade in 187Pb is associated with the sequence of three E2 transitions from the yrast 25/2 + level to a low-lying 13/2 + isomer. The variation of excitation energy with mass number of the levels concerned suggests that their structure can be associated with weak coupling of an odd i13/2 neutron to states in the spherical well. However, the possibility that they are influenced by mixing with states in the prolate-deformed well cannot be discounted