Effects of carbon sources, oxygenation and ethanol on the production of inulinase by Kluyveromyces marxianus YX01

Inulinase is one of the most important factors in consolidated bioprocessing, which combines enzyme production, inulin saccharification, and ethanol fermentation into a single process. In our study, inulinase production and cell growth of Kluyveromyces marxianus YX01 under different conditions were studied. Carbon source was shown to be significant on the production of inulinase, because the activity of inulinase was higher using inulin as a carbon source compared with glucose or fructose. The concentration of the carbon source had a repressive effect on the activity of inulinase. When the concentration was increased to 60 g/L, inulinase activity was only 50% compared with carbon source concentration of 20 g/L. Enzyme activity was also strongly influenced by aeration rate. It has been shown that the activity of inulinase and cell growth under anaerobic conditions were maintained at low levels, but aeration at 1.0 vvm (air volume/broth volume minute) led to higher activity. Inulinase activity per unit biomass was not significantly different under different aeration rates. Ethanol had a repressive effect on the cell growth. Cells ceased growing when the level of ethanol was greater than 9% (v/v), but ethanol did not affect the activity of secreted inulinase and the enzyme was stable at ethanol concentration up to 15%

Research on source location of micro-seismic event ‎based on dynamic cluster velocity model

A new velocity model based on dynamic cluster was proposed in this paper. During the process ‎of iteration, the sensors can be formed a cluster according to the velocity similitude degree. ‎Based on the assumption that the speeds from source to each sensor in the same cluster are ‎equal, the corresponding objective function was proposed to solve the source location, which ‎didn’t include the velocity parameter. It not only avoided the error from field measurement ‎and the inversion, but also appropriated for the actual situation that the speeds from every ‎source to different sensors are different. By analyzing 24 different cases, the positioning ‎accuracy based on the velocity model proposed in this paper was verified to be preferable and ‎stable, no matter the source is within the region of the sensor’s array or not. Even for the cases ‎of different velocity variation ranges, the velocity model was still reliable.

Quantum metallic state in the titanium sesquioxide heterointerface superconductor

The emergence of the quantum metallic state marked by a saturating finite electrical resistance in the zero-temperature limit in a variety of two-dimensional superconductors injects a new momentum to the realm of unconventional superconductivity. Despite much research efforts over last few decades, there is not yet a general consensus on the nature of this unexpected quantum metal. Here, we report the unique quantum metallic state within the hallmark of Bose-metal characterized by the saturated resistance and simultaneously vanished Hall resistance in the titanium sesquioxide heterointerface superconductor Ti$_2$O$_3$/GaN. Strikingly, the quantum bosonic metallic state proximate to the two-dimensional superconductivity-metal transition tuned by magnetic fields persists in the normal phase, suggesting that the existence of composite bosons formed by electron Cooper pairs survives even in the normal phase. Our work marks the observation of the preformed electron Cooper pairs in heterointerface superconductor and sheds new light on understanding the underlying pairing mechanism of unconventional superconductivity.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figure

Initial partial response and stable disease according to RECIST indicate similar survival for chemotherapeutical patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Stable disease (SD) has ambiguous clinical significance for patients according to the dominant Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumours (RECIST). The primary aims of the study were: (1) to clarify the clinical significance of SD by comparing the progression-free survival (PFS) of response and SD patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) after the first two courses of the standard first-line platinum-based chemotherapy; (2) to explore the relationship between the percentage change in tumour size and PFS among initial SD patients, in order to provide some guidance for clinicians in deciding continuation/termination of the current treatment at a relative early time.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A total of 179 advanced NSCLC patients whose baseline CT image was available for review were included in the study. Another CT image was taken in the initial assessment after chemotherapy. A comparison of PFS between initial partial response (PR) and SD was used to determine whether significant differences exist. The relationship between the early percentage of change in tumour size of initial SD patients and their PFS was investigated. In addition, overall survival (OS), the secondary endpoint in this study, was investigated as well.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Patients with initial PR are not significantly distinguished from those with initial SD when their PFS is concerned (median PFS 249 days [95% confidence interval, 187-310 days] versus 220 days [95% confidence interval, 191-248 days], p > 0.05). Their median OS was 364 days (95% confidence interval, 275-452 days) for the initial PR patients versus 350 days (95% confidence interval, 293-406 days) for the initial SD patients, which suggests no significant difference as well p > 0.05). In addition, all the initial SD patients enjoyed similar PFS and OS.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Initial PR and SD enjoy similar PFS and OS for patients with advanced NSCLC. Within the initial SD subgroup, different percentages of tumour shrinkage or increase undergo similar PFS and OS. RECIST remains a reliable norm in assessing the effectiveness of chemotherapy for patients with advanced NSCLC before functional assessment has been integrated into the criteria.</p

Measuring Star-formation Rate and Far-Infrared Color in High-redshift Galaxies Using the CO (7-6) and [NII] 205 micron Lines

To better characterize the global star formation (SF) activity in a galaxy, one needs to know not only the star formation rate (SFR) but also the rest-frame, far-infrared (FIR) color (e.g., the 60-to-100 $\mu$m color, $C(60/100)$] of the dust emission. The latter probes the average intensity of the dust heating radiation field and scales statistically with the effective SFR surface density in star-forming galaxies including (ultra-)luminous infrared galaxies [(U)LIRGs]. To this end, we exploit here a new spectroscopic approach involving only two emission lines: CO\,(7$-$6) at 372 $\mu$m and [NII] at 205 $\mu$m. For local (U)LIRGs, the ratios of the CO (7$-$6) luminosity ($L_{\rm CO\,(7-6)}$) to the total infrared luminosity ($L_{\rm IR}$; 8$-$1000 $\mu$m) are fairly tightly distributed (to within $\sim$0.12 dex) and show little dependence on $C(60/100)$. This makes $L_{\rm CO\,(7-6)}$ a good SFR tracer, which is less contaminated by active galactic nuclei (AGN) than $L_{\rm IR}$ and may also be much less sensitive to metallicity than $L_{\rm CO\,(1-0)}$. Furthermore, the logarithmic [NII] 205 $\mu$m to CO (7$-$6) luminosity ratio is fairly steeply (at a slope of $\sim$$-1.4$) correlated with $C(60/100)$, with a modest scatter ($\sim$0.23 dex). This makes it a useful estimator on $C(60/100)$ with an implied uncertainty of $\sim$0.15 [or $\lesssim$4 K in the dust temperature ($T_{\rm dust}$) in the case of a graybody emission with $T_{\rm dust} \gtrsim 30$ K and a dust emissivity index $\beta \ge 1$]. Our locally calibrated SFR and $C(60/100)$ estimators are shown to be consistent with the published data of (U)LIRGs of $z$ up to $\sim$6.5.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures, 1 table; accepted for publication in the ApJ Lette

B7DC/PDL2 Promotes Tumor Immunity by a PD-1–independent Mechanism

B7H1 (PDL1) and B7DC (PDL2) are two new members of the B7 family that can interact with PD-1, a putative negative regulator for immune function. Recent studies have provided evidence for inhibitory functions of both members via PD-1. Meanwhile, compelling evidence exists for costimulatory function of both members. Here we demonstrate that expression of B7DC on the tumor cells promotes CD8 T cell–mediated rejection of tumor cells, at both the induction and effector phase of antitumor immunity. Moreover, B7DC binds to PD-1(−/−) cells and enhances T cell killing in a PD-1–independent mechanism. Our results demonstrate a novel pathway for B7DC to promote tumor immunity and may reconcile the apparently contradictory findings on the function of B7DC