Microwave-free magnetometry with nitrogen-vacancy centers in diamond

We use magnetic-field-dependent features in the photoluminescence of negatively charged nitrogen-vacancy centers to measure magnetic fields without the use of microwaves. In particular, we present a magnetometer based on the level anti-crossing in the triplet ground state at 102.4 mT with a demonstrated noise floor of 6 nT/$\sqrt{\text{Hz}}$, limited by the intensity noise of the laser and the performance of the background-field power supply. The technique presented here can be useful in applications where the sensor is placed closed to conductive materials, e.g. magnetic induction tomography or magnetic field mapping, and in remote-sensing applications since principally no electrical access is needed.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure

A phase transition driven by subtle distortion without broken symmetry on spin, charge and lattice in Layered LnCu4-{\delta}P2(Ln=Eu, Sr)

In the scenario of Landau phase transition theory in condensed matter physics, any thermal dynamic phase transition must be subject to some kind of broken symmetries, that are relative to its spin, charge, orbital and lattice. Here we report a rare phase transition at Tp ~120 K or 140 K in layered materials LnCu4-{\delta}P2 (Ln=Eu, Sr) driven by a subtle structural-distortion without any broken symmetry on charge, spin and lattice. The variations of the lattice parameters, ({\Delta}Lc/Lc) ~ 0.013% or 0.062%, verified by thermal expansion, is much less than that for a typical crystalline phase transition (~0.5-1%), but the significant anomaly in heat capacity provides clear evidence of its intrinsic nature of thermodynamic transition.Comment: 13 pages, 4 figure

Linking Artificial Sweetener Intake With Kidney Function: Insights From Nhanes 2003-2006 and Findings From Mendelian Randomization Research

BACKGROUND: The current investigation examines the association between artificial sweetener (AS) consumption and the likelihood of developing chronic kidney disease (CKD), along with its impact on kidney function. METHODS: We utilized data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey from 2003-2006 to conduct covariance analysis and weighted adjusted logistic regression, aiming to assess the association between artificial sweetener intake and CKD risk, as well as kidney function indicators. Subsequently, we employed Mendelian randomization methods to validate the causal relationship between the intake of artificial sweeteners, CKD risk, and kidney function indicators. Instrumental variable analysis using inverse-variance weighting and Robust adjusted profile score were the primary analytical methods employed. RESULTS: A total of 20,470 participants were included in the study, with 1,257 participants ultimately included in the analysis. In all adjusted logistic regression models, no significant association was found between the intake of artificial sweeteners and CKD risk. Similarly, the summary odds ratios (OR) for each unit change in genetically predicted CKD risk were 2.14 (95% CI: 0.83, 5.21, CONCLUSION: Our study does not support a causal relationship between artificial sweetener intake and the risk of CKD. However, due to the limitations and potential confounding factors, these findings need to be further validated through larger sample sizes in observational studies and Mendelian randomization analyses

Miconazole induces aneuploidy-mediated tolerance in Candida albicans that is dependent on Hsp90 and calcineurin

Antifungal resistance and antifungal tolerance are two distinct terms that describe different cellular responses to drugs. Antifungal resistance describes the ability of a fungus to grow above the minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) of a drug. Antifungal tolerance describes the ability of drug susceptible strains to grow slowly at inhibitory drug concentrations. Recent studies indicate antifungal resistance and tolerance have distinct evolutionary trajectories. Superficial candidiasis bothers millions of people yearly. Miconazole has been used for topical treatment of yeast infections for over 40 years. Yet, fungal resistance to miconazole remains relatively low. Here we found different clinical isolates of Candida albicans had different profile of tolerance to miconazole, and the tolerance was modulated by physiological factors including temperature and medium composition. Exposure of non-tolerant strains with different genetic backgrounds to miconazole mainly induced development of tolerance, not resistance, and the tolerance was mainly due to whole chromosomal or segmental amplification of chromosome R. The efflux gene CDR1 was required for maintenance of tolerance in wild type strains but not required for gain of aneuploidy-mediated tolerance. Heat shock protein Hsp90 and calcineurin were essential for maintenance as well as gain of tolerance. Our study indicates development of aneuploidy-mediated tolerance, not resistance, is the predominant mechanism of rapid adaptation to miconazole in C. albicans, and the clinical relevance of tolerance deserves further investigations

Screening of PAH-degrading bacteria in a mangrove swamp using PCR-RFLP

There are abundant PAH-degrading bacteria in mangrove sediments, and it is very important to screen the high efficiency degraders in order to perform bioremediation of PAH polluted environments. In order to obtain the more highly efficient PAH-degrading bacteria from a mangrove swamp, we first obtained 62 strains of PAH-degrading bacteria using traditional culture methods and based on their morphological characteristics. We then used the modern molecular biological technology of PCR-RFLP, in which the 16S rDNA of these strains were digested by different enzymes. Based on differences in the PCR-RFLP profiles, we obtained five strains of phenanthrene-degrading bacteria, five strains of pyrene-degrading bacteria, four strains of fluoranthene-degrading bacteria, five strains of benzo[a]pyrene-degrading bacteria and two strains of mixed PAH-degrading bacteria (including phenanthrene, pyrene, fluoranthene and benzo[a]pyrene). Finally, a total of 14 different PAH-degrading bacteria were obtained. The 16S rDNA sequences of these strains were aligned with the BLAST program on the NCBI website and it was found that they belonged to the alpha-proteobacteria and gamma-proteobacteria, including four strains, where the similarities were no more than 97% and which were suspected therefore to be new species. This study indicated that PCR-RFLP was a very important method to screen degrading-bacteria, and also a significant molecular biological tool for the rapid classification and accurate identification of many different strains. On the other hand, it also showed that rich bacterial resources existed in mangrove areas, and that exploring and developing the functional microorganism from these mangrove areas would have wide use in the study of bioremediation of contaminated environments in the future. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.National Natural Science Foundation of China [40976069, 40930847, 30710103908, 30930017, 30940002]; National Programs for High Technology Research and Development of China [2008AA09Z408]; Fujian Province Universit

Schisandrin C enhances type I IFN response activation to reduce tumor growth and sensitize chemotherapy through antitumor immunity

With the advancing comprehension of immunology, an increasing number of immunotherapies are being explored and implemented in the field of cancer treatment. The cGAS-STING pathway, a crucial element of the innate immune response, has been identified as pivotal in cancer immunotherapy. We evaluated the antitumor effects of Schisandra chinensis lignan component Schisandrin C (SC) in 4T1 and MC38 tumor-bearing mice, and studied the enhancing effects of SC on the cGAS-STING pathway and antitumor immunity through RNA sequencing, qRT-PCR, and flow cytometry. Our findings revealed that SC significantly inhibited tumor growth in models of both breast and colon cancer. This suppression of tumor growth was attributed to the activation of type I IFN response and the augmented presence of T cells and NK cells within the tumor. Additionally, SC markedly promoted the cGAS-STING pathway activation induced by cisplatin. In comparison to cisplatin monotherapy, the combined treatment of SC and cisplatin exhibited a greater inhibitory effect on tumor growth. The amplified chemotherapeutic efficacy was associated with an enhanced type I IFN response and strengthened antitumor immunity. SC was shown to reduce tumor growth and increase chemotherapy sensitivity by enhancing the type I IFN response activation and boosting antitumor immunity, which enriched the research into the antitumor immunity of S. chinensis and laid a theoretical basis for its application in combating breast and colon cancer

Prospective memory in non-psychotic first-degree relatives of patients with schizophrenia

Although a number of studies have found prospective memory (PM) impairment in patients with schizophrenia, very little is known about the PM performance in non-psychotic relatives of these patients. The current study aimed to explore the PM performance in non-psychotic first-degree relatives of these patients. Two groups of participants (26 non-psychotic first-degree relatives of schizophrenia patients and 26 healthy comparison participants) were administered three PM tasks (time-, event-, and activity-based) and a set of neurocognitive tests. Results showed that the relatives performed significantly worse than the comparisons on most indices of the PM tasks, with a similar pattern of impairment found in other neurocognitive measures. Together with findings from previous studies, results of the current study suggest that PM may be a potential endophenotype for schizophrenia. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.</p