Abstract
Optical transient surveys have led to the discovery of dozens of stellar tidal disruption events (TDEs) by massive black hole in the centers of galaxies. Despite extensive searches, X-ray ...follow-up observations have produced no or only weak X-ray detections in most of them. Here we report the discovery of delayed X-ray brightening around 140 days after the optical outburst in the TDE OGLE16aaa, followed by several flux dips during the decay phase. These properties are unusual for standard TDEs and could be explained by the presence of supermassive black hole binary or patchy obscuration. In either scenario, the X-rays can be produced promptly after the disruption but are blocked in the early phase, possibly by a radiation-dominated ejecta which leads to the bulk of optical and ultraviolet emission. Our findings imply that the reprocessing is important in the TDE early evolution, and X-ray observations are promising in revealing supermassive black hole binaries.
Significance Although oncolytic virotherapy is showing great promise in clinical trials, not all patients are benefiting. Identifying predictors of therapeutic effectiveness for each oncolytic virus ...would provide a good chance to increase response rate. Here, we describe an alphavirus (M1) that possesses selective and potent antitumor activity through intravenous infusion, whereas its replication is controlled by the zinc-finger antiviral protein (ZAP) gene. A survey of cancer tissue banks reveals that ZAP is commonly deficient in human cancers, suggesting extensive application prospects of M1. Our work provides an example of a potentially personalized cancer therapy using a targeted oncolytic virus that can be selectively administered to patients with ZAP-deficient tumors. We predict that such agents will form the armamentarium of cancer therapy in the future.
Oncolytic virotherapy is a growing treatment modality that uses replicating viruses as selective antineoplastic agents. Safety and efficacy considerations dictate that an ideal oncolytic agent would discriminate between normal and cancer cells on the basis of common genetic abnormalities in human cancers. Here, we identify a naturally occurring alphavirus (M1) as a novel selective killer targeting zinc-finger antiviral protein (ZAP)-deficient cancer cells. In vitro, in vivo, and ex vivo studies showed potent oncolytic efficacy and high tumor tropism of M1. We showed that the selectivity depends on ZAP deficiency by systematic identification. A large-scale multicenter pathology study using tissue microarrays reveals that ZAP is commonly deficient in human cancers, suggesting extensive application prospects for M1. Additionally, M1 killed cancer cells by inducing endoplasmic reticulum stress-mediated apoptosis. Our report provides novel insights into potentially personalized cancer therapy using oncolytic viruses.
Orogenic growth, characterized by formation and forward propagation of fold‐thrust belts and foreland basins, is predicted by wedge models of thrust systems. The growth of the Nanpanjiang fold‐thrust ...belt and foreland basin system of the Indosinian orogenic belt in the southwestern South China remains poorly understood. The development of the Indosinian foreland system remains underappreciated due to few constraints on structural styles, kinematics and ages. Surface cross sections, seismic profiles and detrital zircon data are presented to address the structural styles and evolution of the Indosinian foreland system. The results reveal that the fold‐thrust belt is characterized by fault‐related folds with deeper duplexes and shallower imbricates, which yield a NNE‐SSW regional shortening magnitude of ∼36%. Our new constraints indicate that the Nanpanjiang region experienced multi‐staged thrusting during the Indosinian orogeny (D1). The D11 affected the southernmost southern fold‐thrust belt, producing thick‐skinned thrusts involving Neoproterozoic basement and initiating the Nanpanjiang foreland basin. During the D12, NNE‐verging thick‐skinned thrusting continued and was followed by thin‐skinned thrusting in the northern fold‐thrust belt. Locally preserved foreland basin deposits at the northernmost Nanpanjiang Basin define D13. The progressive D14 co‐axially deformed the residual basin into a wide and gentle syncline. Thus, the progressive D11 to D14 deformation sequence of NNE‐verging in‐sequence thrusting and foreland basin migration describe the kinematic and dynamic relationship between fold‐thrust belt and foreland basin during the Indosinian tectonic event. Indosinian D1 structures were subsequently refolded by the Yanshanian tectonic event (D2), forming N‐ to NE‐striking cleavage and arcuation of D1 fold axes.
Key Points
The Nanpanjiang fold‐thrust belt and its associated foreland basin migrated NNE‐ward during the Middle Triassic to Early Jurassic
Indosinian deformation produced an orogenic wedge with a thick‐skinned hinterland belt, a thin‐skinned foreland belt and shortening of 36%
In‐sequence thrusting and foreland‐propagation (237–186 Ma) led to incorporation of the Nanpanjiang foreland basin into the fold‐thrust belt
The expansion of inland Asia deserts has considerably influenced the environmental, social and economic activities in Asia. Aridification of inland Asia, especially timing of the initiation of Asian ...desertification, is a contentious topic in paleoclimatology. Late Cenozoic eolian loess-red clay sequences on the Chinese Loess Plateau, which possess abundant paleoclimatic and paleo-environmental information, can be regarded as an indicator of inland Asia desertification. Here we present a detailed magnetostratigraphic investigation of a new red clay sequence about 654 m in Zhuanglang located at the western Chinese Loess Plateau. Sedimentological, geochemical, mineralogical, and quartz morphological lines of evidence show that the red clay is of eolian origin. Magnetostratigraphic correlations indicate that this core sequence spans from 25.6 to 4.8 Ma, and typical eolian red clay appears as early as 25 Ma. This extends the lower limit of the red clay on the Chinese Loess Plateau from the previously thought early Miocene back into the late Oligocene. This new red clay record further implies that the inland Asia desertification was initiated at least by the late Oligocene. This sequence provides a unique high-resolution geological record for understanding the inland Asia desertification process since the late Oligocene.
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•Fe2+/Fe3+ ratio for Fe/g-C3N4 remains unchanged during photo-Fenton cycles.•Fe3+ capture photo-induced electrons from g-C3N4 to regenerate Fe2+.•The conservation of Fe2+/Fe3+ ratio ...leads to enhanced and sustained activity.•This mechanistic insight will guide the design of high performance Fenton catalysts.
Visible light has shown to greatly enhance the activity of iron-doped semiconductor catalyst in a Fenton reaction system, however, the mechanism for this activity enhancement remains unclear. This work attempts to reveal the origin of this visible light driven activity enhancement by studying the iron doped semiconductor catalyst Fe/g-C3N4 in both photo-Fenton and dark Fenton reactions. Through analysis of XPS spectra of catalyst, it is found that Fe2+/Fe3+ ratio for Fe/g-C3N4 catalyst remains unchanged and sustained during the photo-Fenton reaction cycles. This is in direct contrast to the progressively decreased Fe2+/Fe3+ ratio observed in the dark Fenton reaction. It is clear that under visible light, Fe3+ is able to capture the photo-generated electrons from the semiconductor and revert back to Fe2+, thus sustain the catalytic activity during the photo-Fenton reaction. This new mechanistic insight will guide the future design and optimization of high performance catalysts by immobilizing transition metal ions in semiconductors for advanced oxidation processes.
The prevalence of intracranial aneurysm (IA) is increasing, and the consequences of its rupture are severe. This study aimed to reveal specific, sensitive, and non‐invasive biomarkers for diagnosis ...and classification of ruptured and unruptured IA, to benefit the development of novel treatment strategies and therapeutics altering the course of the disease. We first assembled an extensive candidate biomarker bank of IA, comprising up to 717 proteins, based on altered proteins discovered in the current tissue and serum proteomic analysis, as well as from previous studies. Mass spectrometry assays for hundreds of biomarkers were efficiently designed using our proposed deep learning‐based method, termed DeepPRM. A total of 113 potential markers were further quantitated in serum cohort I (n = 212) & II (n = 32). Combined with a machine‐learning‐based pipeline, we built two sets of biomarker combinations (P6 & P8) to accurately distinguish IA from healthy controls (accuracy: 87.50%) or classify IA rupture patients (accuracy: 91.67%) upon evaluation in the external validation set (n = 32). This extensive circulating biomarker development study provides valuable knowledge about IA biomarkers.
Synopsis
This study constructed a comprehensive mass spectrometry‐based proteomics strategy for serum protein biomarker discovery for intracranial aneurysm (IA).
The presented workflow integrates the results of current proteome research and previously reported studies, yielding a comprehensive serum protein biomarker bank of IA.
A highly efficient and timesaving PRM assay approach (DeepPRM) is proposed to facilitate targeted quantification of large‐scale candidate proteins.
Machine learning on the serum proteome distinguishes IA from healthy controls with an accuracy of 87.50%, and ruptured from unruptured IA with an accuracy of 91.67%.
This study constructed a comprehensive mass spectrometry‐based proteomics strategy for serum protein biomarker discovery for intracranial aneurysm (IA).
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In the present study, an up-flow solid-phase denitrification biofilm reactor (US-DBR) was established for simultaneous nitrate and dissolved organic matter (DOM) removal from ...wastewater treatment plant effluent. After 100 days operation, the nitrate and COD removal efficiencies were high of 97% and 80%, respectively. According to EEM-FRI analysis, aromatic and tryptophan protein-like, humic-like and fulvic acid-like substances were identified in DOM. Additionally, protein-like substances in DOM components were much easier transformed as carbon source for denitrification. Moreover, protein secondary structure of DOM changed significantly due to the biodegradation and microorganisms metabolic process. High-throughput sequencing analysis implied that Simplicispira, Diaphorobacter, Hydrogenophaga, Pseudoxanthmonas and Stenotrophomonas were the dominate genera in the whole of US-DBR, that were responsible for the removal of nitrate, organics and degradation of solid carbon source, respectively. This study provided a further biological basis about practical application of solid-phase denitrification for simultaneously remove nitrate and organic matter.
•Revealed key factors controlling the shale gas adsorption capacity.•Discussed why certain factors affect the shale gas adsorption capacity.•A potential conversion occurs between absorbed and free ...gases.•The conversion between absorbed and free gas favors gas preservation.
This article performed a series of parallel experiments with numerical modeling to reveal key factors affecting the gas adsorption capacity of shale, including shale quality, gas composition and geological conditions. Adsorption experiments for shales with similar OM types and maturities indicate that the OM is the core carrier for natural gas in shale, while the clay mineral has limited effect. The N2 and CO2 adsorption results indicate pores less than 3nm in diameter are the major contributors to the specific surface area for shale, accounting for 80% of the total. In addition, micropores less than 2nm in diameter are generated in large numbers during the thermal evolution of organic matter, which substantially increases the specific surface area and adsorption capacity. Competitive adsorption experiments prove that shale absorbs more CO2 than CH4, which implies that injection CO2 could enhance the CH4 recovery, and further research into N2 adsorption competitiveness is needed. The Langmuir model simulations indicate the shale gas adsorption occurs via monolayers. Geologically applying the adsorption potential model indicates that the adsorption capacity of shale initially increases before decreasing with increasing depth due to the combined temperature and pressure, which differs from the changing storage capacity pattern for free gases that gradually increase with increasing depth at a constant porosity. These two tendencies cause a mutual conversion between absorbed and free gas that favors shale gas preservation. During the thermal evolution of organic matter, hydrophilic NSO functional groups gradually degrade, reduce the shale humidity and increase the gas adsorption capacity. The shale quality, gas composition and geological conditions all affect the adsorption capacity. Of these factors, the clay minerals and humidity are less important and easily overshadowed by the other factors, such as organic matter abundance.
Although having shown great promise for efficient water treatment, rational structural design and engineering of polycrystalline MOF membranes remain rarely investigated so far. In this study, we ...prepared well‐intergrown MOF‐801 membranes with tailorable structural deficiencies in the framework for application in dye rejection. Of particular note, we found that the addition of formic acid as modulator led to the formation of MOF‐801 membrane with higher missing‐linker number, which was beneficial for increasing water flux with little compromise in dye rejection rate. The MOF‐801 membrane prepared in this work exhibited excellent dye rejection performance (CR rejection rate of 99.50 % and water flux of 31.69 L m−2 h−1 bar−1) as well as excellent long‐term stability.
Well‐intergrown MOF‐801 membranes were presented with different defects, which showed excellent dye rejection performance by epitaxial growth. The control of the structure and function of MOF‐801 membranes by formic was presented so that their separation performances could be deliberately tailored. This strategy would promote the further development of defect engineering to improve the performance of MOF membrane.
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