If dark matter decays to electromagnetically interacting particles, it can inject energy into the baryonic gas and thus affect the processes of recombination and reionization. This leaves an imprint on the cosmic microwave background (CMB): the large-scale polarization is enhanced, and the small-scale temperature fluctuation is damped. We use the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) three-year data combined with galaxy surveys to constrain radiatively decaying dark matter. Our new limits to the darkmatter decay width are about 10 times stronger than previous limits. For dark-matter lifetimes that exceed the age of the Universe, a limit of ÿ < 1:7 10 ÿ25 s ÿ1 (95% C.L.) is derived, where is the efficiency of converting decay energy into ionization energy. Limits for lifetimes short compared with the age of the Universe are also derived. We forecast improvements expected from the Planck satellite.

A novel two-step electrodeposition method is presented to fabricate a high-performance CoS/graphene hybrid network with a nanosheet structure on Ni foam.

Ni3S2 nanosheets doped with tin (Sn) grown on nickel foam (Sn–Ni3S2/NF) through a facile hydrothermal process were found to be superior water-splitting electrocatalysts. As for overall water splitting (OWS), when the current density is 10 mA cm–2, the required voltage is only 1.46 V. Meanwhile, it exhibits a large current density property and long-time stability (>60 h current–time tests) for both the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and the oxygen evolution reaction (OER). In order to reach the current densities of 100 and 1000 mA cm–2, Sn–Ni3S2/NF needs overpotentials of 0.17 and 0.57 V for HER, and 0.27 and 0.58 V for OER, respectively. The water-splitting property of Sn–Ni3S2/NF is much better than that of pure Ni3S2/NF or even 20 wt % Pt/C/NF and RuO2/NF. Furthermore, Sn–Ni3S2/NF showed a higher turnover frequency at different potentials, with ∼100% Faraday efficiency for both O2 and H2. The improved activity of Sn–Ni3S2/NF activity for water-splitting is attributed to the doping of Sn, which enhanced the intrinsic activity of Sn–Ni3S2/NF for OWS. This article not only provides a new efficient and stable catalyst for OWS, but also proposes an interface design principle for NF-based high-performance water-splitting materials.

Experimental evidence suggest that breast tumors originate from breast cancer stem cells (BCSCs), and that mitochondrial biogenesis is essential for the anchorage-independent clonal expansion and survival of CSCs, thus rendering mitochondria a significant target for novel treatment approaches. One of the recognized side effects of the FDA-approved drug, doxycycline is the inhibition of mitochondrial biogenesis. Here we investigate the mechanism by which doxycycline exerts its inhibitory effects on the properties of breast cancer cells and BCSCs, such as mammosphere forming efficiency, invasion, migration, apoptosis, the expression of stem cell markers and epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) related markers of breast cancer cells. In addition, we explored whether autophagy plays a role in the inhibitory effect of doxycycline on breast cancer cells. We find that doxycyline can inhibit the viability and proliferation of breast cancer cells and BCSCs, decrease mammosphere forming efficiency, migration and invasion, and EMT of breast cancer cells. Expression of stem cell factors Oct4, Sox2, Nanog and CD44 were also significantly downregulated after doxycycline treatment. Moreover, doxycycline could down-regulate the expression of the autophagy marker LC-3BI and LC-3BII, suggesting that inhibiting autophagy may be responsible in part for the observed effects on proliferation, EMT and stem cell markers. The potent inhibition of EMT and cancer stem-like characteristics in breast cancer cells by doxycycline treatment suggests that this drug can be repurposed as an anti-cancer drug in the treatment of breast cancer patients in the clinic.

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53acids between TR and ME, we analyzed recombinant viruses in which the UL74(gO) ORF was 54 swapped. TR virions were >40-fold more infectious than ME. Transcriptional repression of 55 UL128-131 enhanced infectivity of ME to the level of TR, despite still far lower levels of 56 gH/gL/gO. Swapping the UL74(gO) ORF had no effect on either TR or ME. A quantitative 57 immunoprecipitation approach revealed that gH/gL expression was within 4-fold between TR 58 and ME, but gO expression was 20-fold less by ME, and suggested differences in mRNA