The Jiangmen Underground Neutrino Observatory(JUNO)is a large liquid scintillator detector designed to explore many topics in fundamental physics.In this study,the potential of searching for proton decay in the p→νK...The Jiangmen Underground Neutrino Observatory(JUNO)is a large liquid scintillator detector designed to explore many topics in fundamental physics.In this study,the potential of searching for proton decay in the p→νK^(+)mode with JUNO is investigated.The kaon and its decay particles feature a clear three-fold coincidence signature that results in a high efficiency for identification.Moreover,the excellent energy resolution of JUNO permits suppression of the sizable background caused by other delayed signals.Based on these advantages,the detection efficiency for the proton decay via p→νK^(+)is 36.9%±4.9%with a background level of 0.2±0.05(syst)±0.2(stat)events after 10 years of data collection.The estimated sensitivity based on 200 kton-years of exposure is 9.6×1033 years,which is competitive with the current best limits on the proton lifetime in this channel and complements the use of different detection technologies.展开更多
China is one of the countries with the richest wildlife population.The large variety of widely distributed species act as natural or susceptible hosts for numerous infectious diseases.It is estimated that there are mo...China is one of the countries with the richest wildlife population.The large variety of widely distributed species act as natural or susceptible hosts for numerous infectious diseases.It is estimated that there are more than 1.2 million unknown virus species in China,and there might be 10,000–30,000 unknown bacteria in wild mammals on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau alone.There are no less than 600,000 species of animal-borne parasites and approximately 2 million species of fungi worldwide.With rapid economic growth and globalization,humans and wildlife interact more frequently,which enhances the probability of wildlife-borne pathogens infecting humans.The occurrence of animal-borne infectious diseases will become the“new normal”we have to face in the future.Therefore,research should be carried out on wildlife-borne microorganisms and the prevention and control of emerging infectious diseases to establish an analytical framework and an evaluation technology system for risk assessment and early warning of potential animal-borne emerging infectious diseases.This will not only improve our understanding of wildlife-borne microbial communities but also enable in-depth analysis,discovery,early warning,and even prediction of major animal-borne emerging infectious diseases that might occur in the future.Furthermore,this research will reduce response times,minimize the social and economic impact and losses,enable interventions related to the emergence or spread of the disease as early as possible,and comprehensively improve our management of infectious disease outbreaks.展开更多
Seed dispersal is essential for plant recruitment and the maintenance of biodiversity.Colobine monkeys are primarily folivorous,but they also consume fruits and are often assumed to be seed predators.Although they are...Seed dispersal is essential for plant recruitment and the maintenance of biodiversity.Colobine monkeys are primarily folivorous,but they also consume fruits and are often assumed to be seed predators.Although they are known to be epizoochorous seed dispersers,their role as endozoochorous seed dispersers needs reassessment.We examined potential endozoochory in golden snub-nosed monkeys(Rhinopithecus roxellana)at Dalongtan in Shennongjia National Park,central China,by assessing potential germination of ingested seeds(n=1806,9 species)from fecal samples.Intact seeds were in almost all fecal samples(ranging from 5-130 seeds),and ingested seeds were from small seeded species(seed width<4.5 mm).The 2 most abundant species were Actinidia arguta(73%)and Rosa caudata(15%).The fruits of A.arguta were unripe when ingested(i.e.effective seed predation)and the ingested seeds did not germinate in the trials.Therefore,ingestion of unripe seeds does not lead to effective seed dispersal.However,germination rates of defecated R.caudata(9%)were greater than control seeds(6%and 0%),demon-strating potential endozoochorous seed dispersal.Thus,colobine monkeys do indeed disperse mainly small-seeded from multi-seeded fruits through potential endozoochory and this process enhances the recruitment of seedlings.展开更多
Wildlife tourism is a thriving form of nature-based tourism that can provide revenue for conservation funds,and increase public awareness of biodiversity conservation(Xiang et al.2011).Tourism,however,may induce behav...Wildlife tourism is a thriving form of nature-based tourism that can provide revenue for conservation funds,and increase public awareness of biodiversity conservation(Xiang et al.2011).Tourism,however,may induce behavioral and physiological stress responses on animals(Marechal 2015;Beehner and Bergman 2017).Part of the physiological stress response is increased activity of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal(HPA)axis,resulting in the systemic elevation of glucocorticoids.An increase of glucocorticoids in the bloodstream leads to rapid mobilization of stored energy reserves and inhibitions of nonimmediately critical activities like growth,reproduction,and digestion in response to environmental challenges(Beehner and Bergman 2017).展开更多
The Jiangmen Underground Neutrino Observatory(JUNO)features a 20 kt multi-purpose underground liquid scintillator sphere as its main detector.Some of JUNO's features make it an excellent location for^8B solar neut...The Jiangmen Underground Neutrino Observatory(JUNO)features a 20 kt multi-purpose underground liquid scintillator sphere as its main detector.Some of JUNO's features make it an excellent location for^8B solar neutrino measurements,such as its low-energy threshold,high energy resolution compared with water Cherenkov detectors,and much larger target mass compared with previous liquid scintillator detectors.In this paper,we present a comprehensive assessment of JUNO's potential for detecting^8B solar neutrinos via the neutrino-electron elastic scattering process.A reduced 2 MeV threshold for the recoil electron energy is found to be achievable,assuming that the intrinsic radioactive background^(238)U and^(232)Th in the liquid scintillator can be controlled to 10^(-17)g/g.With ten years of data acquisition,approximately 60,000 signal and 30,000 background events are expected.This large sample will enable an examination of the distortion of the recoil electron spectrum that is dominated by the neutrino flavor transformation in the dense solar matter,which will shed new light on the inconsistency between the measured electron spectra and the predictions of the standard three-flavor neutrino oscillation framework.IfDelta m^(2)_(21)=4.8times10^(-5);(7.5times10^(-5))eV^(2),JUNO can provide evidence of neutrino oscillation in the Earth at approximately the 3sigma(2sigma)level by measuring the non-zero signal rate variation with respect to the solar zenith angle.Moreover,JUNO can simultaneously measureDelta m^2_(21)using^8B solar neutrinos to a precision of 20% or better,depending on the central value,and to sub-percent precision using reactor antineutrinos.A comparison of these two measurements from the same detector will help understand the current mild inconsistency between the value of Delta m^2_(21)reported by solar neutrino experiments and the KamLAND experiment.展开更多
Coronavirus disease 2019 is an infectious disease that has emerged naturally,not accidentally or deliberately.Similarly,Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 is not a man-made or genetically modified virus.R...Coronavirus disease 2019 is an infectious disease that has emerged naturally,not accidentally or deliberately.Similarly,Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 is not a man-made or genetically modified virus.Reverse genetic technology can only be used to produce infectious clones of a known virus.Phylogenetically,the RaTG13 genome sequence recovered from bats is the most closely related viral sequence to SARS-CoV-2;however,the corresponding RaTG13 virus is yet to be isolated or cultured in a laboratory.Therefore,the so-called bat coronavirus RaTG13 could not have been used as a starting strain or“backbone”for genetic modification.Furthermore,it would be impossible to generate SARS-CoV-2 by inserting the furin cleavage site into the bat coron-avirus RaTG13.It is critical for the prevention and control of SARS-CoV-2 to investigate the animal reservoirs of SARS-CoV-2,and this work is on going.From the prospective of biosafety and biosecurity,outbreaks of infectious diseases can be classified into three types:natural,acci-dental,and deliberate.^(1,2) There is a large body of evidence that COVID-19 is caused by a natural virus.It has no characteristics of an accidental or deliberate infection.^(3)展开更多
The origin of SARS-CoV-2 is still an unresolved mystery.In this study,we systematically reviewed the main research progress of wild animals carrying virus highly homologous to SARS-CoV-2 and analyzed the natural foci ...The origin of SARS-CoV-2 is still an unresolved mystery.In this study,we systematically reviewed the main research progress of wild animals carrying virus highly homologous to SARS-CoV-2 and analyzed the natural foci characteristics of SARS-CoV-2.The complexity of SARS-CoV-2 origin in wild animals and the possibility of SARS-CoV-2 long-term existence in human populations are also discussed.The joint investigation of corona virus carried by wildlife,as well as the ecology and patho-ecology of bats and other wildlife,are key measures to further clarify the characteristics of natural foci of SARS-CoV-2 and actively defend against future outbreaks of emerging zoonotic diseases.展开更多
基金supported by the Chinese Academy of Sciencesthe National Key R&D Program of China+22 种基金the CAS Center for Excellence in Particle PhysicsWuyi Universitythe Tsung-Dao Lee Institute of Shanghai Jiao Tong University in Chinathe Institut National de Physique Nucléaire et de Physique de Particules (IN2P3) in Francethe Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare (INFN) in Italythe Italian-Chinese collaborative research program MAECI-NSFCthe Fond de la Recherche Scientifique (F.R.S-FNRS)FWO under the "Excellence of Science-EOS" in Belgiumthe Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnològico in Brazilthe Agencia Nacional de Investigacion y Desarrollo in Chilethe Charles University Research Centrethe Ministry of Education,Youth,and Sports in Czech Republicthe Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG)the Helmholtz Associationthe Cluster of Excellence PRISMA+ in Germanythe Joint Institute of Nuclear Research (JINR)Lomonosov Moscow State University in Russiathe joint Russian Science Foundation (RSF)National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) research programthe MOST and MOE in Taiwan,Chinathe Chulalongkorn UniversitySuranaree University of Technology in Thailandthe University of California at Irvine in USA
文摘The Jiangmen Underground Neutrino Observatory(JUNO)is a large liquid scintillator detector designed to explore many topics in fundamental physics.In this study,the potential of searching for proton decay in the p→νK^(+)mode with JUNO is investigated.The kaon and its decay particles feature a clear three-fold coincidence signature that results in a high efficiency for identification.Moreover,the excellent energy resolution of JUNO permits suppression of the sizable background caused by other delayed signals.Based on these advantages,the detection efficiency for the proton decay via p→νK^(+)is 36.9%±4.9%with a background level of 0.2±0.05(syst)±0.2(stat)events after 10 years of data collection.The estimated sensitivity based on 200 kton-years of exposure is 9.6×1033 years,which is competitive with the current best limits on the proton lifetime in this channel and complements the use of different detection technologies.
文摘China is one of the countries with the richest wildlife population.The large variety of widely distributed species act as natural or susceptible hosts for numerous infectious diseases.It is estimated that there are more than 1.2 million unknown virus species in China,and there might be 10,000–30,000 unknown bacteria in wild mammals on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau alone.There are no less than 600,000 species of animal-borne parasites and approximately 2 million species of fungi worldwide.With rapid economic growth and globalization,humans and wildlife interact more frequently,which enhances the probability of wildlife-borne pathogens infecting humans.The occurrence of animal-borne infectious diseases will become the“new normal”we have to face in the future.Therefore,research should be carried out on wildlife-borne microorganisms and the prevention and control of emerging infectious diseases to establish an analytical framework and an evaluation technology system for risk assessment and early warning of potential animal-borne emerging infectious diseases.This will not only improve our understanding of wildlife-borne microbial communities but also enable in-depth analysis,discovery,early warning,and even prediction of major animal-borne emerging infectious diseases that might occur in the future.Furthermore,this research will reduce response times,minimize the social and economic impact and losses,enable interventions related to the emergence or spread of the disease as early as possible,and comprehensively improve our management of infectious disease outbreaks.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(31870509,31670397).
文摘Seed dispersal is essential for plant recruitment and the maintenance of biodiversity.Colobine monkeys are primarily folivorous,but they also consume fruits and are often assumed to be seed predators.Although they are known to be epizoochorous seed dispersers,their role as endozoochorous seed dispersers needs reassessment.We examined potential endozoochory in golden snub-nosed monkeys(Rhinopithecus roxellana)at Dalongtan in Shennongjia National Park,central China,by assessing potential germination of ingested seeds(n=1806,9 species)from fecal samples.Intact seeds were in almost all fecal samples(ranging from 5-130 seeds),and ingested seeds were from small seeded species(seed width<4.5 mm).The 2 most abundant species were Actinidia arguta(73%)and Rosa caudata(15%).The fruits of A.arguta were unripe when ingested(i.e.effective seed predation)and the ingested seeds did not germinate in the trials.Therefore,ingestion of unripe seeds does not lead to effective seed dispersal.However,germination rates of defecated R.caudata(9%)were greater than control seeds(6%and 0%),demon-strating potential endozoochorous seed dispersal.Thus,colobine monkeys do indeed disperse mainly small-seeded from multi-seeded fruits through potential endozoochory and this process enhances the recruitment of seedlings.
基金support was provided by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(31870509 and 31670397).
文摘Wildlife tourism is a thriving form of nature-based tourism that can provide revenue for conservation funds,and increase public awareness of biodiversity conservation(Xiang et al.2011).Tourism,however,may induce behavioral and physiological stress responses on animals(Marechal 2015;Beehner and Bergman 2017).Part of the physiological stress response is increased activity of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal(HPA)axis,resulting in the systemic elevation of glucocorticoids.An increase of glucocorticoids in the bloodstream leads to rapid mobilization of stored energy reserves and inhibitions of nonimmediately critical activities like growth,reproduction,and digestion in response to environmental challenges(Beehner and Bergman 2017).
基金This work was supported by the Chinese Academy of Sciences,the National Key R&D Program of China,the CAS Center for Excellence in Particle Physics,the Joint Large Scale Scientific Facility Funds of the NSFC and CAS,Wuyi University,and the Tsung-Dao Lee Instiute of Shanghai Jiao Tong University in China,the In stiut National de Physique Nucleaire et de Physique de Particules(IN2P3)in France,the Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare(INFN)in Italy,the Fond de la Recherche Scintifique(F.R.S-FNRS)and FWO under the"Excellence of Science-EOS"in Belgium,the Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cientificoce Tecnologico in Brazil,the Agencia Nacional de Investigacion y Desrrollo in Chile,the Charles University Research Centre and the Ministry of Education,Youth,and Sports in Czech Republic,the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft(DFG),the Helmholtz Association,and the Cluster of Exellence PRISMA+in Germany,the Joint Institute of Nuclear Research(JINR),Lomonosov Moscow State University,and Russian Foundation for Basic Research(RFBR)in Russia,the MOST and MOE in Taiwan,the Chu-lalongkorm University and Suranaree University of Technology in Thailand,and the University of aliformia at Irvine in USA.
文摘The Jiangmen Underground Neutrino Observatory(JUNO)features a 20 kt multi-purpose underground liquid scintillator sphere as its main detector.Some of JUNO's features make it an excellent location for^8B solar neutrino measurements,such as its low-energy threshold,high energy resolution compared with water Cherenkov detectors,and much larger target mass compared with previous liquid scintillator detectors.In this paper,we present a comprehensive assessment of JUNO's potential for detecting^8B solar neutrinos via the neutrino-electron elastic scattering process.A reduced 2 MeV threshold for the recoil electron energy is found to be achievable,assuming that the intrinsic radioactive background^(238)U and^(232)Th in the liquid scintillator can be controlled to 10^(-17)g/g.With ten years of data acquisition,approximately 60,000 signal and 30,000 background events are expected.This large sample will enable an examination of the distortion of the recoil electron spectrum that is dominated by the neutrino flavor transformation in the dense solar matter,which will shed new light on the inconsistency between the measured electron spectra and the predictions of the standard three-flavor neutrino oscillation framework.IfDelta m^(2)_(21)=4.8times10^(-5);(7.5times10^(-5))eV^(2),JUNO can provide evidence of neutrino oscillation in the Earth at approximately the 3sigma(2sigma)level by measuring the non-zero signal rate variation with respect to the solar zenith angle.Moreover,JUNO can simultaneously measureDelta m^2_(21)using^8B solar neutrinos to a precision of 20% or better,depending on the central value,and to sub-percent precision using reactor antineutrinos.A comparison of these two measurements from the same detector will help understand the current mild inconsistency between the value of Delta m^2_(21)reported by solar neutrino experiments and the KamLAND experiment.
文摘Coronavirus disease 2019 is an infectious disease that has emerged naturally,not accidentally or deliberately.Similarly,Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 is not a man-made or genetically modified virus.Reverse genetic technology can only be used to produce infectious clones of a known virus.Phylogenetically,the RaTG13 genome sequence recovered from bats is the most closely related viral sequence to SARS-CoV-2;however,the corresponding RaTG13 virus is yet to be isolated or cultured in a laboratory.Therefore,the so-called bat coronavirus RaTG13 could not have been used as a starting strain or“backbone”for genetic modification.Furthermore,it would be impossible to generate SARS-CoV-2 by inserting the furin cleavage site into the bat coron-avirus RaTG13.It is critical for the prevention and control of SARS-CoV-2 to investigate the animal reservoirs of SARS-CoV-2,and this work is on going.From the prospective of biosafety and biosecurity,outbreaks of infectious diseases can be classified into three types:natural,acci-dental,and deliberate.^(1,2) There is a large body of evidence that COVID-19 is caused by a natural virus.It has no characteristics of an accidental or deliberate infection.^(3)
基金This work was supported by the State Key Research Development Program of China(2019YFC1200601,2019YFC1200500,2019YFC1200700).
文摘The origin of SARS-CoV-2 is still an unresolved mystery.In this study,we systematically reviewed the main research progress of wild animals carrying virus highly homologous to SARS-CoV-2 and analyzed the natural foci characteristics of SARS-CoV-2.The complexity of SARS-CoV-2 origin in wild animals and the possibility of SARS-CoV-2 long-term existence in human populations are also discussed.The joint investigation of corona virus carried by wildlife,as well as the ecology and patho-ecology of bats and other wildlife,are key measures to further clarify the characteristics of natural foci of SARS-CoV-2 and actively defend against future outbreaks of emerging zoonotic diseases.