We report a new measurement of electron antineutrino disappearance using the fully constructed Daya Bay Reactor Neutrino Experiment. The final two of eight antineutrino detectors were installed in ...the summer of 2012. Including the 404 days of data collected from October 2012 to November 2013 resulted in a total exposure of 6.9×10^{5} GW_{th} ton days, a 3.6 times increase over our previous results. Improvements in energy calibration limited variations between detectors to 0.2%. Removal of six ^{241}Am-^{13}C radioactive calibration sources reduced the background by a factor of 2 for the detectors in the experimental hall furthest from the reactors. Direct prediction of the antineutrino signal in the far detectors based on the measurements in the near detectors explicitly minimized the dependence of the measurement on models of reactor antineutrino emission. The uncertainties in our estimates of sin^{2}2θ_{13} and |Δm_{ee}^{2}| were halved as a result of these improvements. An analysis of the relative antineutrino rates and energy spectra between detectors gave sin^{2}2θ_{13}=0.084±0.005 and |Δm_{ee}^{2}|=(2.42±0.11)×10^{-3} eV^{2} in the three-neutrino framework.
Metastasis is the major cause of death in colorectal cancer (CRC). Although multiple genes have been identified to be responsible for the development of CRC, the molecular changes that enable CRC ...cells to undergo early local invasion and to form distant metastatic colonies still remain largely unknown. Herein, we investigated the role of Forkhead box protein C2 (FOXC2) and explored the underlying mechanisms in invasion and metastasis of CRC. We show that both high FOXC2 expression and nuclear localization of FOXC2 are significantly correlated with advanced TNM (T=primary tumor; N=regional lymph nodes; M=distant metastasis) stages. FOXC2 enhanced the invasive abilities of CRC cells in vitro and promoted local invasion and distant metastasis in an orthotopic mouse metastatic model of CRC. Microarray analysis revealed that overexpression of FOXC2 increased the proto-oncogene MET tyrosine kinase expression and activated the hepatocyte growth factor (HGF)-MET signaling pathway. Furthermore, luciferase reporter assays and chromatin immunoprecipitation assays revealed that FOXC2 directly associated with MET promoter to increase the transcriptional activity of MET. Inhibition of MET attenuates the invasive phenotype and metastatic potential of FOXC2-overexpressing CRC cells, indicating that MET is a major mediator of FOXC2-promoted metastasis. In addition, FOXC2 expression was positively correlated with MET expression in CRC tissue samples. Our findings suggest that FOXC2 has a crucial role in CRC metastasis by regulating HGF-MET signaling via inducing MET expression, highlighting FOXC2 as a potential therapeutic target for preventing or reducing metastasis in CRC.
The inability of membranes to handle a wide spectrum of pollutants is an important unsolved problem for water treatment. Here we demonstrate water desalination via a membrane distillation process ...using a graphene membrane where water permeation is enabled by nanochannels of multilayer, mismatched, partially overlapping graphene grains. Graphene films derived from renewable oil exhibit significantly superior retention of water vapour flux and salt rejection rates, and a superior antifouling capability under a mixture of saline water containing contaminants such as oils and surfactants, compared to commercial distillation membranes. Moreover, real-world applicability of our membrane is demonstrated by processing sea water from Sydney Harbour over 72 h with macroscale membrane size of 4 cm
, processing ~0.5 L per day. Numerical simulations show that the channels between the mismatched grains serve as an effective water permeation route. Our research will pave the way for large-scale graphene-based antifouling membranes for diverse water treatment applications.
This Letter reports an improved search for light sterile neutrino mixing in the electron antineutrino disappearance channel with the full configuration of the Daya Bay Reactor Neutrino Experiment. ...With an additional 404 days of data collected in eight antineutrino detectors, this search benefits from 3.6 times the statistics available to the previous publication, as well as from improvements in energy calibration and background reduction. A relative comparison of the rate and energy spectrum of reactor antineutrinos in the three experimental halls yields no evidence of sterile neutrino mixing in the 2×10^{-4}≲|Δm_{41}^{2}|≲0.3 eV^{2} mass range. The resulting limits on sin^{2}2θ_{14} are improved by approx imately a factor of 2 over previous results and constitute the most stringent constraints to date in the |Δm_{41}^{2}|≲0.2 eV^{2} region.
Low carbon-to-nitrogen (C/N) ratios are the main characteristic of domestic wastewater. In this study, we evaluated the nitrate removal characteristics of Pseudomonas sp. XS-18 at low C/N ratios (4.0 ...and 6.0) and pH 11.0. We also analyzed the causes of the nitrate removal at low C/N ratios in this strain. At pH 11.0 and a C/N ratio of 4.0, the strain was effective in removing nitrate. Additionally, the total organic carbon content decreased over time at low C/N ratios, requiring more energy to complete vital activities. Furthermore, low C/N conditions resulted in less strain secretion compared to high C/N settings, and the polysaccharide content degraded more quickly than protein over time. To provide a carbon source for the nitrate reduction process, strains with low C/N ratio and high pH secreted more soluble microbial by-products. This strain is able to metabolize its own secreted extracellular polymeric substances as a carbon source to enhance nitrate removal.
To address the issue of low efficiency in extracting plasmid DNA (pDNA) from Lactobacillus plantarum by breaking the cell wall, we proposed an effective pretreatment scheme. This study investigated ...the impacts of lysozyme concentrations and glucose, as well as centrifugal forces during lysozyme removal in the pretreatment system. The efficiency of pDNA extraction was assessed using non-staining method, acridine orange staining method (AO staining) and agarose gel electrophoresis (AGE). Furthermore, the glucose high lysozyme method was compared to the commercial kit method and the lysozyme removal method using L. plantarum PC518, 9L15, JS193 and Staphylococcus aureus USA300. The results indicated that the pDNA extraction concentrations from the four tested strains were increased by 8.9, 7.2, 8.5, and 3.6 times, respectively, compared to the commercial kit method. Furthermore, they increased by 1.9, 1.5, 1.8, and 1.4 times, respectively, compared to the lysozyme removal method. The maximum average concentration of pDNA extraction (from L. plantarum PC518) reached 590.8 ± 31.9 ng/ul. In conclusion, the incorporation of sugar, high concentration lysozyme and mild lysozyme removal proved to be effective enhancements in improving the efficiency of pDNA extraction from L. plantarum. Using the pretreatment scheme, the concentration of pDNA extraction was significantly increased, approaching levels comparable to pDNA extraction from Gram-negative bacteria.
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•A pretreatment method for plasmid extraction, which can be widely used for pDNA extraction from Gram-positive bacteria.•The pretreatment system containing 200 mg/ml lysozyme and 5% glucose was feasible.•The glucose high lysozyme method for plasmid extraction was significantly advantages.
Background:
Patients with terminal illnesses have different symptoms. The goal of palliative care is to alleviate the suffering induced by these symptoms. Available research on symptoms has focused ...on their prevalence or identification of clusters. Little is known about the central symptoms contributing to the maintenance of the whole system of symptoms or the mechanism of influence between symptoms, particularly between physical and psychosocial symptoms.
Aim:
The study used network analysis to explore symptom clusters among patients with terminal illnesses and identify the central symptoms, the bridge symptoms, and pathways between physical and psychosocial symptoms.
Design and Setting/Participants:
This is a retrospective cohort study using baseline symptom assessment of 677 adults with terminal illnesses receiving care from the Integrated Community End-of-Life Care Support Teams.
Results:
Three symptom clusters were identified: physical, psychological, and practical clusters. “Weakness or lack of energy” was identified as the crucial symptom affecting the changes of other symptoms, followed by depression and anxiety. Three connections between the psychological and physical symptoms were identified: anxiety-pain, depression-constipation, and perceived family anxiety-poor appetite pathways. Pathways of practical concern-peace and practical concern-depression were indicated between practical and psychological symptoms.
Conclusions:
This study is the first of its kind to investigate the connections and mechanism of influence between symptoms among patients with terminal illnesses. It offers clear pathways for intervention with the most influential symptoms of weakness, anxiety, and depression.
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