Comparative genomic analyses of Cutibacterium granulosum provide insights into genomic diversity

Cutibacterium granulosum, a commensal bacterium found on human skin, formerly known as Propionibacterium granulosum, rarely causes infections and is generally considered non-pathogenic. Recent research has revealed the transferability of the multidrug-resistant plasmid pTZC1 between C. granulosum and Cutibacterium acnes, the latter being an opportunistic pathogen in surgical site infections. However, there is a noticeable lack of research on the genome of C. granulosum, and the genetic landscape of this species remains largely uncharted. We investigated the genomic features and evolutionary structure of C. granulosum by analyzing a total of 30 Metagenome-Assembled Genomes (MAGs) and isolate genomes retrieved from public databases, as well as those generated in this study. A pan-genome of 6,077 genes was identified for C. granulosum. Remarkably, the ‘cloud genes’ constituted 62.38% of the pan-genome. Genes associated with mobilome: prophages, transposons [X], defense mechanisms [V] and replication, recombination and repair [L] were enriched in the cloud genome. Phylogenomic analysis revealed two distinct mono-clades, highlighting the genomic diversity of C. granulosum. The genomic diversity was further confirmed by the distribution of Average Nucleotide Identity (ANI) values. The functional profiles analysis of C. granulosum unveiled a wide range of potential Antibiotic Resistance Genes (ARGs) and virulence factors, suggesting its potential tolerance to various environmental challenges. Subtype I-E of the CRISPR-Cas system was the most abundant in these genomes, a feature also detected in C. acnes genomes. Given the widespread distribution of C. granulosum strains within skin microbiome, our findings make a substantial contribution to our broader understanding of the genetic diversity, which may open new avenues for investigating the mechanisms and treatment of conditions such as acne vulgaris

Design of the PMT underwater cascade implosion protection system for JUNO

Photomultiplier tubes (PMTs) are widely used underwater in large-scale neutrino experiments. As a hollow glass spherelike structure, implosion is unavoidable during long-term operation under large water pressure. There is a possibility of cascade implosion to neighbor PMTs due to shockwave. Jiangmen Underground Neutrino Observatory designed a protection structure for each 20-inch PMT, consisting of a top cover, a bottom cover, and their connection. This paper introduces the requirement and design of the PMT protection system, including the material selection, investigation of manufacture technology, and prototyping. Optimization and validation by simulation and underwater experiments are also presented.Comment: 10 pages, 15 figure

Check on the features of potted 20-inch PMTs with 1F3 electronics prototype at Pan-Asia

The Jiangmen underground neutrino observatory (JUNO) is a neutrino project with a 20-kton liquid scintillator detector located at 700-m underground. The large 20-inch PMTs are one of the crucial components of the JUNO experiment aiming to precision neutrino measurements with better than 3% energy resolution at 1 MeV. The excellent energy resolution and a large fiducial volume provide many exciting opportunities for addressing important topics in neutrino and astro-particle physics. With the container #D at JUNO Pan-Asia PMT testing and potting station, the features of waterproof potted 20-inch PMTs were measured with JUNO 1F3 electronics prototype in waveform and charge, which are valuable for better understanding on the performance of the waterproof potted PMTs and the JUNO 1F3 electronics. In this paper, basic features of JUNO 1F3 electronics prototype run at Pan-Asia will be introduced, followed by an analysis of the waterproof potted 20-inch PMTs and a comparison with the results from commercial electronics used by the container #A and #B

Potential of Core-Collapse Supernova Neutrino Detection at JUNO

JUNO is an underground neutrino observatory under construction in Jiangmen, China. It uses 20kton liquid scintillator as target, which enables it to detect supernova burst neutrinos of a large statistics for the next galactic core-collapse supernova (CCSN) and also pre-supernova neutrinos from the nearby CCSN progenitors. All flavors of supernova burst neutrinos can be detected by JUNO via several interaction channels, including inverse beta decay, elastic scattering on electron and proton, interactions on C12 nuclei, etc. This retains the possibility for JUNO to reconstruct the energy spectra of supernova burst neutrinos of all flavors. The real time monitoring systems based on FPGA and DAQ are under development in JUNO, which allow prompt alert and trigger-less data acquisition of CCSN events. The alert performances of both monitoring systems have been thoroughly studied using simulations. Moreover, once a CCSN is tagged, the system can give fast characterizations, such as directionality and light curve

Detection of the Diffuse Supernova Neutrino Background with JUNO

As an underground multi-purpose neutrino detector with 20 kton liquid scintillator, Jiangmen Underground Neutrino Observatory (JUNO) is competitive with and complementary to the water-Cherenkov detectors on the search for the diffuse supernova neutrino background (DSNB). Typical supernova models predict 2-4 events per year within the optimal observation window in the JUNO detector. The dominant background is from the neutral-current (NC) interaction of atmospheric neutrinos with 12C nuclei, which surpasses the DSNB by more than one order of magnitude. We evaluated the systematic uncertainty of NC background from the spread of a variety of data-driven models and further developed a method to determine NC background within 15\% with {\it{in}} {\it{situ}} measurements after ten years of running. Besides, the NC-like backgrounds can be effectively suppressed by the intrinsic pulse-shape discrimination (PSD) capabilities of liquid scintillators. In this talk, I will present in detail the improvements on NC background uncertainty evaluation, PSD discriminator development, and finally, the potential of DSNB sensitivity in JUNO

Real-time Monitoring for the Next Core-Collapse Supernova in JUNO

Core-collapse supernova (CCSN) is one of the most energetic astrophysical events in the Universe. The early and prompt detection of neutrinos before (pre-SN) and during the SN burst is a unique opportunity to realize the multi-messenger observation of the CCSN events. In this work, we describe the monitoring concept and present the sensitivity of the system to the pre-SN and SN neutrinos at the Jiangmen Underground Neutrino Observatory (JUNO), which is a 20 kton liquid scintillator detector under construction in South China. The real-time monitoring system is designed with both the prompt monitors on the electronic board and online monitors at the data acquisition stage, in order to ensure both the alert speed and alert coverage of progenitor stars. By assuming a false alert rate of 1 per year, this monitoring system can be sensitive to the pre-SN neutrinos up to the distance of about 1.6 (0.9) kpc and SN neutrinos up to about 370 (360) kpc for a progenitor mass of 30$M_{\odot}$ for the case of normal (inverted) mass ordering. The pointing ability of the CCSN is evaluated by using the accumulated event anisotropy of the inverse beta decay interactions from pre-SN or SN neutrinos, which, along with the early alert, can play important roles for the followup multi-messenger observations of the next Galactic or nearby extragalactic CCSN.Comment: 24 pages, 9 figure

Investigation of a High-Performance Nanofiber Cathode with Ultralow Platinum Loading for Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells

Nanofiber electrodes fabricated by using the electrospinning technique in the cathode of proton exchange membrane fuel cells gave a peak power density of 0.692Wcm(-2) with an ultralow Pt loading of 0.087mgcm(-2). As the cathode, the electrospun (E_spun) electrodes exposed a high Pt surface to oxygen, with a highly uniform distribution of Pt catalyst and Nafion ionomer, which improved the utilization of Pt. The ionic resistance of the E_spun electrode was decreased owing to the nanofiber structure. The high porosity of the E_spun electrode enhanced the Knudsen diffusion in small pores, which mitigated the oxygen-transfer resistance. The addition of 5wt% polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) to the E_spun electrode optimized water management, especially at high current densities. The accelerated stability test showed that the long-term durability of the E_spun electrode is much better than the conventional decal electrode due to the interaction of the carbon support and hydrophilic poly(acrylic acid)

High-Performance Low-Platinum Electrode for Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells: Pulse Electrodeposition of Pt on Pd/C Nanofiber Mat

A novel electrode (E-P electrode) with a nanofiber structure and Pd/C@dendritic Pt catalysts is prepared by using electrospinning and pulse electrodeposition (PED) techniques. The maximum power density of the E-P electrode is 1.43-fold larger than that of the conventional electrode at the same cathode Pt loadings of 0.1 mg cm(-1). Owing to the in situ deposition of dendritic Pt on the surface of Pd in the Pd/C nanofiber mat, almost all Pt catalysts are accessible for oxygen. The electronic tuning between Pd and Pt enhances the oxygen reduction reaction activity of Pt catalysts. The large Pt surface area of the E-P electrode mitigates the oxygen-transport resistance in comparison with that of the conventional electrode. After the accelerated degradation test for 10000 cyclic voltammetry cycles, the maximum power density of the E-P electrode only decreases by 12%. The long-term stability of the E-P electrode is ascribed to the Pd/C@dendritic Pt catalysts and nanofiber structure

A high-performance PEM fuel cell with ultralow platinum electrode via electrospinning and underpotential deposition

A novel PEMFC electrode (E-U electrode) with ultralow platinum is prepared by electrospinning and underpotential deposition techniques. The platinum skin (Ptskin) is in situ deposited on the surface of Pd nanoparticle in the electrospun Pd/ C catalyst layer. The energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) mapping of the cross-section of a single fiber confirms that the distribution of Pd/C@ Pt-skin catalysts and Nafion1 ionomer matches well in the E-U electrode. The high porosity and large electrochemical surface area (ECSA) of the E-U electrode mitigates the oxygen transfer resistance. The peak power density of the E-U electrode arrives at 0.62 W cm(-2) with a Pt loading of 19 mg cm(-2), which is higher than that of the conventional electrode (0.55 W cm(-2)) with a Pt loading of 100 mg cm(-2). The degradation rate of peak power density of the E-U electrode is only 4.8% after accelerated stability test (AST) for 30000 cyclic voltammetry (CV) cycles, demonstrating a better durability than that of the conventional electrode. The enhanced durability of the E-U electrode is attributed to nanofiber structure and interaction between Pd and Pt in the Pd/C@ Pt-skin catalyst. (C) 2017 Published by Elsevier Ltd

Application of non-contact strain measurement based on CCD camera in PMMA material constitutive model

The Jiangmen Underground Neutrino Observation (JUNO) will build a polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) spherical vessel of a diameter of 35.4 meters. The constitutive model of PMMA is a key parameter for the design of PMMA structure. The bulk polymerization bonding area is often the weak point of the PMMA structure, so it is useful to understand the constitutive model of bonding areas for FEA. However, the traditional contact strain measurement methods, such as the strain extensometer and resistance strain gauge, will have an impact on the strain of PMMA, as the lossy measurement. Traditional measuring methods also can’t measure the small-sized bonding areas as 3 mm in most structures. The non-contact strain measurement method based on the CCD camera is studied. The tensile test result shows that the influence of environment on the strain value is less than 0.01%. The two strain measurement methods, the CCD camera and strain extensometer, are compared. The strain curves obtained by the two methods are highly consistent, and the maximum strain difference is 8.53 e-4. The fracture strain of the PMMA tensile specimen is 4.32% and slight plastic deformation has occurred. The Zhu-Wang-Tang (ZWT) nonlinear viscoelastic constitutive model of PMMA is obtained by fitting the stress-strain data. The tensile test result of PMMA specimen with bulk polymerization bonding area shows that the constitutive equations are different when the length ratio of the bonding area is different. By analyzing the relationship between the length ratio and the coefficients of constitutive equation, the constitutive equation of the bonding area is finally obtained. The results show that the coefficient ${E}_{0}$ of the constitutive equation of the bonding area is smaller than that of the mother material. The fracture strain of PMMA specimen with bonding area is 2.60%, lower than that of mother material, which makes the coefficient ${\beta }$ of the bonding area constitutive equation opposite to the sign of the mother material. The tensile strength of specimen with bonding area is about 85.68% of that of the mother material. The lower tensile strength makes the bonding area become one of the weak points of the structure