The Galactic extinction and reddening from the South Galactic Cap U-band Sky Survey: u band galaxy number counts and u−ru-r color distribution

We study the integral Galactic extinction and reddening based on the galaxy catalog of the South Galactic Cap U-band Sky Survey (SCUSS), where $u$ band galaxy number counts and $u-r$ color distribution are used to derive the Galactic extinction and reddening respectively. We compare these independent statistical measurements with the reddening map of \citet{Schlegel1998}(SFD) and find that both the extinction and reddening from the number counts and color distribution are in good agreement with the SFD results at low extinction regions ($E(B-V)^{SFD}<0.12$ mag). However, for high extinction regions ($E(B-V)^{SFD}>0.12$ mag), the SFD map overestimates the Galactic reddening systematically, which can be approximated by a linear relation $\Delta E(B-V)= 0.43[E(B-V)^{SFD}-0.12$]. By combing the results of galaxy number counts and color distribution together, we find that the shape of the Galactic extinction curve is in good agreement with the standard $R_V=3.1$ extinction law of \cite{ODonnell1994}

Project Overview of the Beijing-Arizona Sky Survey

The Beijing-Arizona Sky Survey (BASS) is a wide-field two-band photometric survey of the Northern Galactic Cap using the 90Prime imager on the 2.3 m Bok telescope at Kitt Peak. It is a four-year collaboration between the National Astronomical Observatory of China and Steward Observatory, the University of Arizona, serving as one of the three imaging surveys to provide photometric input catalogs for target selection of the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) project. BASS will take up to 240 dark/grey nights to cover an area of about 5400 deg$^2$ in the $g$ and $r$ bands. The 5$\sigma$ limiting AB magnitudes for point sources in the two bands, corrected for the Galactic extinction, are 24.0 and 23.4 mag, respectively. BASS, together with other DESI imaging surveys, will provide unique science opportunities that cover a wide range of topics in both Galactic and extragalactic astronomy.Comment: 10 pages, submitted to PAS

Photometric Metallicity Calibration with SDSS and SCUSS and its Application to distant stars in the South Galactic Cap

Based on SDSS g, r and SCUSS (South Galactic Cap of u-band Sky Survey) $u$ photometry, we develop a photometric calibration for estimating the stellar metallicity from $u-g$ and $g-r$ colors by using the SDSS spectra of 32,542 F- and G-type main sequence stars, which cover almost $3700$ deg$^{2}$ in the south Galactic cap. The rms scatter of the photometric metallicity residuals relative to spectrum-based metallicity is $0.14$ dex when $g-r<0.4$, and $0.16$ dex when $g-r>0.4$. Due to the deeper and more accurate magnitude of SCUSS $u$ band, the estimate can be used up to the faint magnitude of $g=21$. This application range of photometric metallicity calibration is wide enough so that it can be used to study metallicity distribution of distant stars. In this study, we select the Sagittarius (Sgr) stream and its neighboring field halo stars in south Galactic cap to study their metallicity distribution. We find that the Sgr stream at the cylindrical Galactocentric coordinate of $R\sim 19$ kpc, $\left| z\right| \sim 14$ kpc exhibits a relative rich metallicity distribution, and the neighboring field halo stars in our studied fields can be modeled by two-Gaussian model, with peaks respectively at [Fe/H]$=-1.9$ and [Fe/H]$=-1.5$.Comment: 8 pages, 7 figures, Accepted for publication in MNRA

Dual loading miR-218 mimics and Temozolomide using AuCOOH@FA-CS drug delivery system: promising targeted anti-tumor drug delivery system with sequential release functions

Supplementary figures. (DOCX 524 kb

C1ql4 regulates breast cancer cell stemness and epithelial-mesenchymal transition through PI3K/AKT/NF-κB signaling pathway

BackgroundThe stemness characteristic of breast cancer (BC) is a crucial factor underlying cancer recurrence and metastasis after operative therapy and chemoradiotherapy. Understanding the potential mechanism of breast cancer stem cells (BCSCs) may ameliorate the prognosis of patients.MethodsWe collected clinical specimens of BC patients for staining and statistical analysis to verify the expression status and clinical significance of complement C1q-like 4 (C1ql4). Western blot and qRT-PCR were employed to detect the expression of molecules. Flow cytometry was used to examine cell cycle, cell apoptosis and the portion of BCSCs. Wound healing and Transwell assays were used to detect cell metastasis. The effect of C1ql4 on breast cancer progression in vivo was examined in a nude mouse tumor bearing model.ResultsOur clinical analysis showed that C1ql4 was highly expressed in BC tissues and cell lines, and the high expression of C1ql4 was significantly corelated with the malignancy of BC patients. Moreover, we also found that C1ql4 was overexpressed in BCSCs. C1ql4 knockdown suppressed the BCSC and EMT properties, promoted cell cycle progression, enhanced BC cell apoptosis, and inhibited cell migration and invasion, whereas the C1ql4 overexpression exhibited the opposite effects. Mechanistically, C1ql4 promoted the activation and nuclear location of NF-κB and the expression of downstream factors TNF-α and IL-1β. Moreover, inhibition of PI3K/AKT signaling suppressed the C1ql4-induced stemness and EMT.ConclusionsOur findings suggest that C1ql4 promotes the BC cell stemness and EMT via modulating the PI3K/AKT/NF-κB signaling, and provides a promising target for BC treatment

Elucidating the Synergic Effect in Nanoscale MoS\u3csub\u3e2\u3c/sub\u3e/TiO\u3csub\u3e2\u3c/sub\u3e Heterointerface for Na-Ion Storage

Interface engineering in electrode materials is an attractive strategy for enhancing charge storage, enabling fast kinetics, and improving cycling stability for energy storage systems. Nevertheless, the performance improvement is usually ambiguously ascribed to the “synergetic effect”, the fundamental understanding toward the effect of the interface at molecular level in composite materials remains elusive. In this work, a well-defined nanoscale MoS2/TiO2 interface is rationally designed by immobilizing TiO2 nanocrystals on MoS2 nanosheets. The role of heterostructure interface between TiO2 and MoS2 by operando synchrotron X-ray diffraction (sXRD), solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance, and density functional theory calculations is investigated. It is found that the existence of a hetero-interfacial electric field can promote charge transfer kinetics. Based on operando sXRD, it is revealed that the heterostructure follows a solid-solution reaction mechanism with small volume changes during cycling. As such, the electrode demonstrates ultrafast Na+ ions storage of 300 mAh g−1 at 10 A g−1 and excellent reversible capacity of 540 mAh g−1 at 0.2 A g−1. This work provides significant insights into understanding of heterostructure interface at molecular level, which suggests new strategies for creating unconventional nanocomposite electrode materials for energy storage systems

The First Data Release of the Beijing-Arizona Sky Survey

The Beijing-Arizona Sky Survey (BASS) is a new wide-field legacy imaging survey in the northern Galactic cap using the 2.3m Bok telescope. The survey will cover about 5400 deg$^2$ in the $g$ and $r$ bands, and the expected 5$\sigma$ depths (corrected for the Galactic extinction) in the two bands are 24.0 and 23.4 mag, respectively. BASS started observations in January 2015, and has completed about 41% of the whole area as of July 2016. The first data release contains both calibrated images and photometric catalogs obtained in 2015 and 2016. The depths of single-epoch images in the two bands are 23.4 and 22.9 mag, and the full depths of three epochs are about 24.1 and 23.5 mag, respectively.Comment: 16 pages, published by A