Superconductivity without Local Inversion Symmetry; Multi-layer Systems

While multi-layer systems can possess global inversion centers, they can have regions with locally broken inversion symmetry. This can modify the superconducting properties of such a system. Here we analyze two dimensional multi-layer systems yielding spatially modulated antisymmetric spin-orbit coupling (ASOC) and discuss superconductivity with mixed parity order parameters. In particular, the influence of ASOC on the spin susceptibility is investigated at zero temperature. For weak inter-layer coupling we find an enhanced spin susceptibility induced by ASOC, which hints the potential importance of this aspect for superconducting phase in specially structured superlattices.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures, proceedings of the 26th International Conference on Low Temperature Physics (LT26

Evolution of Paramagnetic Quasiparticle Excitations Emerged in the High-Field Superconducting Phase of CeCoIn5

We present In NMR measurements in a novel thermodynamic phase of CeCoIn5 in high magnetic field, where exotic superconductivity coexists with the incommensurate spin-density wave order. We show that the NMR spectra in this phase provide direct evidence for the emergence of the spatially distributed normal quasiparticle regions. The quantitative analysis for the field evolution of the paramagnetic magnetization and newly-emerged low-energy quasiparticle density of states is consistent with the nodal plane formation, which is characterized by an order parameter in the Fulde-Ferrell-Larkin-Ovchinnikov (FFLO) state. The NMR spectra also suggest that the spatially uniform spin-density wave is induced in the FFLO phase.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, accepted for publication in Phys. Rev. Let

Induction of Apoptosis by PQ1, a Gap Junction Enhancer that Upregulates Connexin 43 and Activates the MAPK Signaling Pathway in Mammary Carcinoma Cells

Citation: Shishido, S. N., & Nguyen, T. A. (2016). Induction of Apoptosis by PQ1, a Gap Junction Enhancer that Upregulates Connexin 43 and Activates the MAPK Signaling Pathway in Mammary Carcinoma Cells. International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 17(2), 19. doi:10.3390/ijms17020178The mechanism of gap junction enhancer (PQ1) induced cytotoxicity is thought to be attributed to the change in connexin 43 (Cx43) expression; therefore, the effects of Cx43 modulation in cell survival were investigated in mammary carcinoma cells (FMC2u) derived from a malignant neoplasm of a female FVB/N-Tg(MMTV-PyVT)634Mul/J (PyVT) transgenic mouse. PQ1 was determined to have an IC50 of 6.5 mu M in FMC2u cells, while inducing an upregulation in Cx43 expression. The effects of Cx43 modulation in FMC2u cell survival was determined through transfection experiments with Cx43 cDNA, which induced an elevated level of protein expression similar to that seen with PQ1 exposure, or siRNA to silence Cx43 protein expression. Overexpression or silencing of Cx43 led to a reduction or an increase in cell viability, respectively. The mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) family has been implicated in the regulation of cell survival and cell death; therefore, the gap junctional intercellular communication (GJIC)-independent function of PQ1 and Cx43 in the Raf/Mitogen-activated protein kinase/ERK kinase/extracellular-signal-regulated kinase (Raf-MEK-ERK) cascade of cellular survival and p38 MAPK-dependent pathway of apoptosis were explored. PQ1 treatment activated p44/42 MAPK, while the overexpression of Cx43 resulted in a reduced expression. This suggests that PQ1 affects the Raf-MEK-ERK cascade independent of Cx43 upregulation. Both overexpression of Cx43 and PQ1 treatment stimulated an increase in the phosphorylated form of p38-MAPK, reduced levels of the anti-apoptotic protein Bcl-2, and increased the cleavage of pro-caspase-3. Silencing of Cx43 protein expression led to a reduction in the phosphorylation of p38-MAPK and an increase in Bcl-2 expression. The mechanism behind PQ1-induced cytotoxicity in FMC2u mammary carcinoma cells is thought to be attributed to the change in Cx43 expression. Furthermore, PQ1-induced apoptosis through the upregulation of Cx43 may depend on p38 MAPK, highlighting that the effect of PQ1 on gap junctions as well as cellular survival via a MAPK-dependent pathway

Competition between unconventional superconductivity and incommensurate antiferromagnetic order in CeRh1-xCoxIn5

Elastic neutron diffraction measurements were performed on the quasi-two dimensional heavy fermion system CeRh1-xCoxIn5, ranging from an incommensurate antiferromagnet for low x to an unconventional superconductor on the Co-rich end of the phase diagram. We found that the superconductivity competes with the incommensurate antiferromagnetic (AFM) order characterized by qI=(1/2, 1/2, delta) with delta=0.298, while it coexists with the commensurate AFM order with qc=(1/2, 1/2, 1/2). This is in sharp contrast to the CeRh1-xIrxIn5 system, where both the commensurate and incommensurate magnetic orders coexist with the superconductivity. These results reveal that particular areas on the Fermi surface nested by qI play an active role in forming the superconducting state in CeCoIn5.Comment: RevTeX4, 4 pages, 4 eps figures; corrected a typo and a referenc

Polyphenol Concentration of Native Plant Species, and Its Effect on Blood Antioxidant Capacity in Grazing Cattle in a Species-Rich Vegetation in Japan

It is known that polyphenols in plants have a high antioxidant capacity. However, there is scarce information on its concentration in native plants and the effect of antioxidant capacity to grazing animals. In this study, polyphenol concentration of available plants was investigated in a species-rich grazing area in north-eastern district of Japan. In addition, polyphenol concentration in blood serum of grazing cattle was also measured. Eight beef cows grazed in a grazing area (hill pasture 3.1 ha; forest 16.9 ha) from late spring to mid-autumn (142 days), and four cows among the eight grazed at an orchardgrass pasture in mid-summer (10 days). During the grazing period, foraging behaviour was directly observed, and plant species proportion in ingesta and residence time in the hill pasture and the forest were measured. Based on these results, the top 10–13 species were hand-clipped by mimicking foraging manner of cows, and total polyphenol and catechin concentration were measured. Blood samples of cows were also collected during the grazing period, and potential antioxidant [PAO] and serum total antioxidant status [STAS] were analysed. The cows ingested 17–32 plant species in the hill pasture, and 53–73 species in the forest. In contrast, the cows ingested mainly orchardgrass in the sown pasture in mid-summer. Total polyphenol and catechin concentration were higher in tree leaves (112.8–209.3 g/kg DM, 0.081–6.250 g/kg DM) than monocots (11.9–34.0 g/kg DM, 0–0.159g/kg DM). However, those concentration in ingesta of the cows were low throughout the seasons (35.0–56.9 g/kg DM, 0.108–0.467 g/kg DM), as in the sown pasture (26.2 g/kg DM, 0.158 g/kg DM), due to high proportion of monocots in ingesta at the hill pasture (67–75%). PAO (373.4–455.8 μ mol/L) and STAS (769.8–910.0 μ mol/L) of the cows were almost constant throughout the seasons

Flux Line Lattice Melting and the Formation of a Coherent Quasiparticle Bloch State in the Ultraclean URu2_2Si2_2 Superconductor

We find that in ultraclean heavy-fermion superconductor URu$_2$Si$_2$ ($T_{c0}=1.45$ K) a distinct flux line lattice melting transition with outstanding characters occurs well below the mean-field upper critical fields. We show that a very small number of carriers with heavy mass in this system results in exceptionally large thermal fluctuations even at subkelvin temperatures, which are witnessed by a sizable region of the flux line liquid phase. The uniqueness is further highlighted by an enhancement of the quasiparticle mean free path below the melting transition, implying a possible formation of a quasiparticle Bloch state in the periodic flux line lattice.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures, accepted for publication in Phys. Rev. Let

Microwave Penetration Depth and Quasiparticle Conductivity in PrFeAsO_1-y Single Crystals : Evidence for a Full-Gap Superconductor

In-plane microwave penetration depth $\lambda_{ab}$ and quaiparticle conductivity at 28 GHz are measured in underdoped single crystals of the Fe-based superconductor PrFeAsO$_{1-y}$ ($T_c\approx 35$ K) by using a sensitive superconducting cavity resonator. $\lambda_{ab}(T)$ shows flat dependence at low temperatures, which is incompatible with the presence of nodes in the superconducting gap $\Delta({\bf k})$. The temperature dependence of the superfluid density demonstrates that the gap is non-zero ($\Delta/k_BT_c\gtrsim 1.6$) all over the Fermi surface. The microwave conductivity below $T_c$ exhibits an enhancement larger than the coherence peak, reminiscent of high-$T_c$ cuprate superconductors.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures. Version accepted for publication in Phys. Rev. Lett. For related results of hole-doped 122 system, see arXiv:0810.350

Anomalous superfluid density in quantum critical superconductors

When a second-order magnetic phase transition is tuned to zero temperature by a non-thermal parameter, quantum fluctuations are critically enhanced, often leading to the emergence of unconventional superconductivity. In these `quantum critical' superconductors it has been widely reported that the normal-state properties above the superconducting transition temperature $T_c$ often exhibit anomalous non-Fermi liquid behaviors and enhanced electron correlations. However, the effect of these strong critical fluctuations on the superconducting condensate below $T_c$ is less well established. Here we report measurements of the magnetic penetration depth in heavy-fermion, iron-pnictide, and organic superconductors located close to antiferromagnetic quantum critical points showing that the superfluid density in these nodal superconductors universally exhibit, unlike the expected $T$-linear dependence, an anomalous 3/2 power-law temperature dependence over a wide temperature range. We propose that this non-integer power-law can be explained if a strong renormalization of effective Fermi velocity due to quantum fluctuations occurs only for momenta $\bm{k}$ close to the nodes in the superconducting energy gap $\Delta(\bm{k})$. We suggest that such `nodal criticality' may have an impact on low-energy properties of quantum critical superconductors.Comment: Main text (5 pages, 3 figures) + Supporting Information (3 pages, 4 figures). Published in PNAS Early Edition on February 12, 201

Fermi-Surface Reconstruction in the Periodic Anderson Model

We study ground state properties of periodic Anderson model in a two-dimensional square lattice with variational Monte Carlo method. It is shown that there are two different types of quantum phase transition: a conventional antiferromagnetic transition and a Fermi-surface reconstruction which accompanies a change of topology of the Fermi surface. The former is induced by a simple back-folding of the Fermi surface while the latter is induced by localization of $f$ electrons. The mechanism of these transitions and the relation to the recent experiments on Fermi surface are discussed in detail.Comment: 8 pages, 7 figures, submitted to Journal of the Physical Society of Japa

The effect of antineoplastic drugs in a male spontaneous mammary tumor model

Male breast cancer is a rare disease. The limited number of clinical cases has led to the primary treatments for men being derived from female breast cancer studies. Here the transgenic strain FVB/N-Tg(MMTV-PyVT)634Mul/J (also known as PyVT) was used as a model system for measuring tumor burden and drug sensitivity of the antineoplastic drugs tamoxifen, cisplatin, and paclitaxel on tumorigenesis at an early stage of mammary carcinoma development in a male mouse model. Cisplatin treatment significantly reduced tumor volume, while paclitaxel and tamoxifen did not attenuate tumor growth. Cisplatin treatment was shown to induce apoptosis, grossly observed by reduced tumor formation, through reduced Bcl-2 and survivin protein expression levels with an increase in caspase 3 expression compared to control tumors. Tamoxifen treatment significantly altered the hormone receptor expression levels of the tumor, while additionally upregulating Bcl-2 and Cyclin D1. This suggests an importance in hormonal signaling in male breast cancer pathogenesis. The results of this study provide valuable information toward the better understanding of male breast cancer and may help guide treatment decisions