Discriminating among Earth composition models using geo-antineutrinos

It has been estimated that the entire Earth generates heat corresponding to about 40 TW (equivalent to 10,000 nuclear power plants) which is considered to originate mainly from the radioactive decay of elements like U, Th and K, deposited in the crust and mantle of the Earth. Radioactivity of these elements produce not only heat but also antineutrinos (called geo-antineutrinos) which can be observed by terrestrial detectors. We investigate the possibility of discriminating among Earth composition models predicting different total radiogenic heat generation, by observing such geo-antineutrinos at Kamioka and Gran Sasso, assuming KamLAND and Borexino (type) detectors, respectively, at these places. By simulating the future geo-antineutrino data as well as reactor antineutrino background contributions, we try to establish to which extent we can discriminate among Earth composition models for given exposures (in units of kt$\cdot$ yr) at these two sites on our planet. We use also information on neutrino mixing parameters coming from solar neutrino data as well as KamLAND reactor antineutrino data, in order to estimate the number of geo-antineutrino induced events.Comment: 24 pages, 10 figures, final version to appear in JHE

Increased Fusobacterium tumoural abundance affects immunogenicity in mucinous colorectal cancer and may be associated with improved clinical outcome

There is currently an urgent need to identify factors predictive of immunogenicity in colorectal cancer (CRC). Mucinous CRC is a distinct histological subtype of CRC, associated with a poor response to chemotherapy. Recent evidence suggests the commensal facultative anaerobe Fusobacterium may be especially prevalent in mucinous CRC. The objectives of this study were to assess the association of Fusobacterium abundance with immune cell composition and prognosis in mucinous CRC. Our study included two independent colorectal cancer patient cohorts, The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) cohort, and a cohort of rectal cancers from the Beaumont RCSI Cancer Centre (BRCC). Multiplexed immunofluorescence staining of a tumour microarray (TMA) from the BRCC cohort was undertaken using Cell DIVE technology. Our cohorts included 87 cases (13.3%) of mucinous and 565 cases (86.7%) of non-mucinous CRC. Mucinous CRC in the TCGA dataset was associated with an increased proportion of CD8+lymphocytes (p=0.018), regulatory T-cells (p=0.001) and M2 macrophages (p=0.001). In the BRCC cohort, mucinous RC was associated with enhanced CD8+lymphocyte (p=0.022), regulatory T-cell (p=0.047), and B-cell (p=0.025) counts. High Fusobacterium abundance was associated with an increased proportion of CD4+lymphocytes (p=0.031) and M1 macrophages (p=0.006), whilst M2 macrophages (p=0.043) were underrepresented in this cohort. Patients with increased Fusobacterium relative abundance in our mucinous CRC TCGA cohort tended to have better clinical outcomes (DSS: likelihood ratio p=0.04, logrank p=0.052). Fusobacterium abundance may be associated with improved outcomes in mucinous CRC, possibly due to a modulatory effect on the host immune response.  Key messages  • Increased Fusobacterium relative abundance was not found to be associated with microsatellite instability in mucinous CRC. • Increased Fusobacterium relative abundance was associated with an M2/M1 macrophage switch, which is especially significant in mucinous CRC, where M2 macrophages are overexpressed.  • Increased Fusobacterium relative abundance was associated with a significant improvement in disease specific survival in mucinous CRC.  • Our findings were validated at a protein level within our own in house mucinous and non-mucinous rectal cancer cohorts </p