We present the first Ge-based constraints on sub-MeV /c2 dark matter (DM) particles interacting with electrons using a 33.4 g Ge cryogenic detector with a 0.53 electron-hole pair (rms) resolution, ...operated underground at the Laboratoire Souterrain de Modane. Competitive constraints are set on the DM-electron scattering cross section, as well as on the kinetic mixing parameter of dark photons down to 1 eV / c2. In particular, the most stringent limits are set for dark photon DM in the 6 to 9 eV / c2 range. These results demonstrate the high relevance of Ge cryogenic detectors for the search of DM-induced eV-scale electron signals.
We make use of the EDELWEISS-III array of germanium bolometers to search for electron interactions at the keV scale induced by phenomena beyond the Standard Model. A 90% C.L. lower limit is set on ...the electron lifetime decaying to invisibles, ?>1.2×1024 years. We investigate the emission of axions or axionlike particles (ALPs) by the Sun, constraining the coupling parameters gae<1.1×10?11 and gae×gaNeff<3.5×10?17 at 90% C.L. in the massless limit. We also directly search for the absorption of bosonic dark matter particles that would constitute our local galactic halo. Limits are placed on the couplings of ALPs or hidden photon dark matter in the mass range 0.8–500 keV/c2. Prospects for searching for dark matter particles with masses down to 150 eV/c2 using improved detectors are presented.
The EDELWEISS Collaboration has performed a search for dark matter particles with masses below the GeV scale with a 33.4-g germanium cryogenic detector operated in a surface lab. The energy deposits ...were measured using a neutron-transmutation-doped Ge thermal sensor with a 17.7 eV (rms) baseline heat energy resolution leading to a 60 eV analysis energy threshold. Despite a moderate lead shielding and the high-background environment, the first sub-GeV spin-independent dark matter limit based on a germanium target has been achieved. The experiment provides the most stringent, nuclear-recoil-based, above-ground limit on spin-independent interactions above 600 MeV/c2. The experiment also provides the most stringent limits on spin-dependent interactions with protons and neutrons below 1.3 GeV/c2. Furthermore, the dark matter search results were studied in the context of strongly interacting massive particles, taking into account Earth-shielding effects, for which new regions of the available parameter space have been excluded. Finally, the dark matter search has also been extended to interactions via the Migdal effect, resulting for the first time in the exclusion of particles with masses between 45 and 150 MeV/c2 with spin-independent cross sections ranging from 10−29 to 10−26 cm2.
The sensitivities of light Dark matter particle searches with cryogenic detectors are mostly limited by large backgrounds of events that do not produce ionization signal. The CRYOSEL project develops ...a new technique, where this background in a germanium cryogenic detector is rejected by using the signals from a superconducting single electron device (SSED) sensor designed to detect the phonons emitted through the Neganov–Trofimov–Luke effect by the e
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pairs as they drift in a nearby very high-field region. A tag on signals from this device should suppress the heat-only background. The measurement of the response to IR laser pulses of the first CRYOSEL prototype show the relevance of such sensor technology.
The simultaneous removal of organic, inorganic, and microbial contaminants from water by one material offers significant advantages when fast, facile, and robust water purification is required. ...Herein, we present a supported ionic liquid phase (SILP) composite where each component targets a specific type of water contaminant: a polyoxometalate‐ionic liquid (POM‐IL) is immobilized on porous silica, giving the heterogeneous SILP. The water‐insoluble POM‐IL is composed of antimicrobial alkylammonium cations and lacunary polyoxometalate anions with heavy‐metal binding sites. The lipophilicity of the POM‐IL enables adsorption of organic contaminants. The silica support can bind radionuclides. Using the POM‐SILP in filtration columns enables one‐step multi‐contaminant water purification. The results show how multi‐functional POM‐SILPs can be designed for advanced purification applications.
Pure and simple: Multi‐functional polyoxometalate supported ionic liquid phases (POM‐SILPs) can remove organic, inorganic, and microbial contaminants from water. Each POM‐SILP component targets one specific contaminant so that toxic heavy metals, radionuclides, organic dyes, and bacteria can be removed from water simultaneously.
The photothermal response of plasmonic nanomaterials can be exploited for a number of biomedical applications in diagnostics (biosensing and optoacoustic imaging) and therapy (drug delivery and ...photothermal therapy). The most common cellular response to photothermal cancer treatment (ablation of solid tumors) using plasmonic nanomaterials is necrosis, a process that releases intracellular constituents into the extracellular milieu producing detrimental inflammatory responses. Here we report the use of laser-induced photothermal therapy employing gold nanoprisms (NPRs) to specifically induce apoptosis in mouse embryonic fibroblast cells transformed with the SV40 virus. Laser-irradiated “hot” NPRs activate the intrinsic/mitochondrial pathway of apoptosis (programmed cell death), which is mediated by the nuclear-encoded proteins Bak and Bax through the activation of the BH3-only protein Bid. We confirm that an apoptosis mechanism is responsible by showing how the NPR-mediated cell death is dependent on the presence of caspase-9 and caspase-3 proteins. The ability to selectively induce apoptotic cell death and to understand the subsequent mechanisms provides the foundations to predict and optimize NP-based photothermal therapy to treat cancer patients suffering from chemo- and radioresistance.
Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) are a family of zinc-dependent extracellular matrix (ECM) remodeling endopeptidases that have the capacity to degrade almost every component of the ECM. The ...degradation of the ECM is of great importance, since it is related to embryonic development and angiogenesis. It is also involved in cell repair and the remodeling of tissues. When the expression of MMPs is altered, it can generate the abnormal degradation of the ECM. This is the initial cause of the development of chronic degenerative diseases and vascular complications generated by diabetes. In addition, this process has an association with neurodegeneration and cancer progression. Within the ECM, the tissue inhibitors of MMPs (TIMPs) inhibit the proteolytic activity of MMPs. TIMPs are important regulators of ECM turnover, tissue remodeling, and cellular behavior. Therefore, TIMPs (similar to MMPs) modulate angiogenesis, cell proliferation, and apoptosis. An interruption in the balance between MMPs and TIMPs has been implicated in the pathophysiology and progression of several diseases. This review focuses on the participation of both MMPs (e.g., MMP-2 and MMP-9) and TIMPs (e.g., TIMP-1 and TIMP-3) in physiological processes and on how their abnormal regulation is associated with human diseases. The inclusion of current strategies and mechanisms of MMP inhibition in the development of new therapies targeting MMPs was also considered.
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