In this paper, the potential existence of two-gap superconductivity in Mo₈Ga₄₁ is addressed in detail by means of thermodynamic and spectroscopic measurements. A combination of highly sensitive bulk and surface probes, specifically ac-calorimetry and scanning tunneling spectroscopy (STS), are utilized on the same piece of crystal and reveal the presence of only one intrinsic gap in the system featuring strong electron-phonon coupling. Minute traces of additional superconducting phases detected by STS and also in the heat capacity measured in high magnetic fields on a high-quality and seemingly single-phase crystal might mimic the multigap superconductivity of Mo₈Ga₄₁ suggested recently in several studies.

The magnetization properties of the endohedral cluster superconductor Mo ₈ Ga ₄₁ are studied by sensitive Hall-probe magnetometry. The temperature dependence of the lower critical magnetic field H _{c 1} is obtained and compared to theoretical models accounting for single-gap and two-gap superconductivity. Data can be described by both models with minor differences. These results are confronted with our previous measurements which evidence that the system is inherently single-gap s -wave superconductor but minor additional phases are present also in seemingly perfect samples. We discuss how presence of such additional phases with varying size of the penetration depth and H _{c 1} field is reflected in magnetization measurements which could lead to misinterpretation of the multigap superconductivity in Mo ₈ Ga ₄₁ .

Tunable electronic properties upon doping make laboratory-grown nanodiamond films a promising and intriguing platform for not only refining conventional electronics, but also developing superconducting quantum devices. In a variety of superconducting systems, mostly in layered materials and heterointerfaces, superconductivity exhibits a two-dimensional (2D) character as evidenced by the anisotropy factor $\epsilon ={\mu }_0{H}_{\mathrm{c}2}^{\parallel }/{\mu }_0{H}_{\mathrm{c}2}^{\mathrm{\perp }}\gg 1$, where ${\mu }_0{H}_{\mathrm{c}2}^{\parallel }$ and ${\mu }_0{H}_{\mathrm{c}2}^{\mathrm{\perp }}$ are the in-plane and out-of-plane upper critical fields, respectively. Here, we report on the observation of an anomalous anisotropy of superconductivity in heavily boron-doped nanodiamond films, which had been considered a purely three-dimensional (3D) material owing to the minute value of its coherence length in contrast to the film thickness. We investigate the resistive superconducting transition as a function of the angle of the applied magnetic field. The angular dependence of the resistive superconducting transition reveals ɛ < 1 in the nanodiamond films, indicating an anomalous anisotropy of the superconductivity. Our structural analysis shows that the grain boundaries, particularly twin boundaries, divide the nanodiamond film into nanoscale fragments standing out of the plane. The counterintuitive anisotropic superconductivity is interpreted as a result of the quantum confinement of the superconducting order parameter in the presence of the columnar grain boundaries and intragrain twin boundaries. This research provides physical insight for developing nanodiamond-based miniaturized superconducting quantum devices by making use of the as-grown grain boundaries and/or twin boundaries.

Peripheral blood CD8⁺ T lymphocytes play a crucial role in cell-mediated immunity and tumor-related immune responses in breast cancer. In this study, label-free quantification analysis and gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) of CD8⁺ T lymphocytes in the peripheral blood of benign patients and patients with different breast cancer (BC) subtypes, i.e., luminal A, luminal B, and triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), were performed using nano-UHPLC and Orbitrap mass spectrometry. Differential protein expression in CD8⁺ T lymphocytes revealed significant downregulation (log₂ FC ≥ 0.38 or ≤−0.38, adj. p < 0.05), particularly in proteins involved in cytotoxicity, cytolysis, and proteolysis, such as granzymes (GZMs) and perforin 1 (PRF1). This downregulation was observed in the benign group (GZMH, GZMM, and PRF1) and luminal B (GZMA, GZMH) subtypes, whereas granzyme K (GZMK) was upregulated in TNBC in comparison to healthy controls. The RNA degradation pathway was significantly downregulated (p < 0.05, normalized enrichment score (NES) from −1.47 to −1.80) across all BC subtypes, suggesting a potential mechanism for regulating gene expression during T cell activation. Also, the Sm-like proteins (LSM2, LSM3, and LSM5) were significantly downregulated in the RNA degradation pathway. Proteomic analysis of CD8⁺ T lymphocytes in peripheral blood across different breast cancer subtypes provides a comprehensive view of the molecular mechanisms of the systemic immune response that can significantly contribute to advancements in the diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis of this disease.