Project Heartbeat! was a longitudinal study of metabolic and morphological changes in adolescents aged 8-18 years and was conducted in the 1990s. A study is currently being conducted to consider the ...relationship between a collection of phenotypes including BMI, blood pressure and blood lipids and a panel of 1500 candidate SNPs (single nucleotide polymorphisms). Traditional genetics software such as PLINK and HelixTree lacks the ability to model longitudinal phenotype data. This talk will describe the use of Stata for a longitudinal genetic association study from the early stages of data checking (allele frequencies and Hardy-Weinberg Equilibrium), modeling of individual SNPs, the use of False Discovery Rates to control for the large number of comparisons, exporting and importing the data through PHASE for haplotype reconstruction, selection of tagSNPs in Stata, and the analysis of haplotypes. We will also discuss strategies for scaling up to an Illumina 100k SNP chip using Stata. All SNP and gene names will be de-identified as this is a work in progress.
Glioblastomas are deadly cancers that display a functional cellular hierarchy maintained by self-renewing glioma stem cells (GSCs). Self-renewal is a complex biological process necessary for ...maintaining the glioma stem cells. Nuclear factor rythroid 2-related factor 2(Nrf2) plays a significant role in protecting cells from endogenous and exogenous stresses. Nrf2 is a key nuclear transcription factor that regulates antioxidant response element (ARE)-containing genes. Previous studies have demonstrated the significant role of Nrf2 in the proliferation of glioblastoma, and in their resistance to radioactive therapies. We examined the effect of knocking down Nrf2 in GSCs.
Nrf2 expression was down-regulated by shRNA transinfected with lentivirus. Expression levels of Nestin, Nrf2, BMI-1, Sox2 and Cyclin E were assessed by western blotting, quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) and immunohistochemistry analysis. The capacity for self-renewal in vitro was assessed by genesis of colonies. The capacity for self-renewal in vivo was analyzed by tumor genesis of xenografts in nude mice.
Knockdown of Nrf2 inhibited the proliferation of GSCs, and significantly reduced the expression of BMI-1, Sox2 and CyclinE. Knocking down of Nrf2 changed the cell cycle distribution of GSCs by causing an uncharacteristic increase in the proportion of cells in the G2 phase and a decrease in the proportion of cells in the S phase of the cell cycle.
Nrf2 is required to maintain the self-renewal of GSCs, and its down-regulation can attenuate the self-renewal of GSCs significantly.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
The dependence of traditional network functions (NFs) on special hardware results in high capital expenditures (CAPEX) and operating expenditures (OPEX). Network Function Virtualization (NFV) is ...considered a promising technology to reduce the specificity of network equipment as well as the CAPEX and OPEX. With the decoupling of software and hardware, the flexible placement of virtual network functions (VNFs) resolves a wide range of network issues ranging from delay to reliability, from cost to performance, and so on. In this paper, we conduct a comprehensive survey of the VNF placement problem (VNFPP). Firstly, we provide a generic definition of the VNFPP by proposing and combining the basic models of chaining, placing, embedding, and routing. Secondly, we construct a fine-grained taxonomy of works in the VNF placement field based on the solving steps, i.e., objectives, constraints, models, and algorithms. In addition to the traditional cloud network scenario, we investigate the research progress of VNF placement problems in emerging placing scenarios, e.g., backbone networks, mobile networks, and the Internet of Things. Finally, we point out the open challenges and research directions in the field of VNF placement. Compared with the existing surveys, our survey provides a more granular taxonomy and a more comprehensive analysis of the state-of-the-art works in the VNFPP field.
In this study, the Beibu earth fissure site in the northeastern part of Weihe Basin, which contains four nearly parallel earth fissures, was studied. A long straight microtremor measuring line, ...containing 49 measuring points across four earth fissures, was established to investigate the dynamic response of this site using Fourier spectrum, response acceleration spectrum, Arias intensity, and HVSR analyses. The main results are as follows: (1) The fundamental frequencies of 44 measuring points obtained from HVSR analysis are concentrated within 1.67 Hz–2.25 Hz, and the existence of the earth fissures has little effect on the fundamental frequency changes. (2) There is an amplification effect near a single earth fissure. The dynamic responses are large at the measuring points near the earth fissure, and the values decrease with increasing distance from the earth fissure. In areas between two adjacent earth fissures, these values decrease and are even lower than those in sites without amplification effects. (3) In this earth fissure site, the general area (or less affected area) and affected areas were delineated based on the amplification effect. In engineering applications, construction design should avoid these affected areas and existing structures should be reinforced to satisfy the seismic fortification requirements.
Atmospheric cold plasma (ACP) holds great potential in postharvest preservation of blueberries, yet ACP-induced microbiota alterations in blueberries have rarely been researched. Herein, the effects ...of ACP on the microbiota community composition and diversity as well as their correlation with anthocyanin accumulation in blueberries during storage were investigated. The results showed that ACP-induced microbiota inactivation was not selective at the phylum level, but the proportion of Bacteroides and Faecalibacterium at the genus level was increased. MND1, Curtobacterium, Blastococcus and Owenweeksia can function as biomarkers of ACP-mediated sterilization. The surviving microbiota were less pathogenic and more sensitive to environmental stresses. The anthocyanin concentration of blueberries was slightly affected by the 10-min ACP treatment but decreased after the 20-min ACP treatment. Correlation analysis demonstrated that Alternaria was positively correlated with all anthocyanins, while Bacteroides, Ruminnococcus-torques-group, Lachnoclostridium and Escherichia-Shigella were negatively correlated with over four anthocyanins. This study will help evaluate the performance and risk of ACP-mediated postharvest preservation of blueberries.
•Atmospheric cold plasma (ACP) could restrain microbiota in blueberries.•ACP-induced microbiota inactivation was selective at genus level.•The surviving microbiota were less pathogenic.•MND1, Curtobacterium, Blastococcus and Owenweeksia can be the biomarkers.•Alternaria was positively correlated with anthocyanins of ACP treated blueberries.
Type 2 diabetes (T2DM) is closely related to nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and is an important risk factor for the progression of liver fibrosis, but the role of 2-h postprandial blood ...glucose (PPG) as a biomarker in this process remains unclear. This study was designed to investigate the relationship between PPG and liver fibrosis in Chinese NAFLD populations with or without T2DM.
This study included three independent NAFLD populations: 1) 618 inpatients with T2DM or pre-diabetes, 2) 255 patients with T2DM or pre-diabetes who underwent liver biopsy, and 3) a prospective community-based cohort without diabetes who completed a median of 4.22 years follow-up. The degree of liver fibrosis was assessed by liver fibrosis stage in subjects with a liver biopsy, and by NAFLD fibrosis score (NFS) in subjects without liver biopsy.
In the first population, PPG {OR 0.02, 95% CI (0.01–0.03), P< 0.001} was positively correlated with NFS. In the second population, an increasing PPG was associated with increase in the proportion of advanced liver fibrosis (P = 0.012). Multivariate line regression revealed that PPG {OR 0.03 95% CI (0.00–0.06), P = 0.049}was positively associated with liver fibrosis stages. In the third population, PPG {OR 0.103, 95% CI (0.011–0.194) P = 0.028} at baseline was positively associated with NFS at follow-up. Furthermore, changes in PPG were significantly associated with NFS change after follow-up. We did not find a similar association between fasting glucose or HbA1c and liver fibrosis.
PPG was independently associated with the severity of liver fibrosis in the Chinese NAFLD population.
Abstract Aim To investigate the relationship between thyroid function and weight regain in patients with obesity after metabolic surgery. Methods This retrospective study enrolled 162 patients who ...underwent metabolic surgery. Correlations between decreases in thyroid hormone levels and changes in weight, waist circumference (WC) and the Chinese visceral adiposity index (CVAI) were assessed. Binary logistic regression and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were used to identify predictors and clinically useful cut‐off values, respectively. Results The levels of thyroid‐stimulating hormone (TSH) and free triiodothyronine (FT3) decreased markedly at 1 year after surgery, as did weight, body mass index (BMI), triglycerides, total cholesterol, high‐density lipoprotein cholesterol, low‐density lipoprotein cholesterol, WC and CVAI. Decreases in TSH and FT3 after metabolic surgery were associated with changes in weight, BMI and CVAI. Binary logistic regression and ROC curve analyses confirmed that decreases in TSH can predict good weight loss after metabolic surgery to some extent. Finally, binary logistic regression and ROC curve analyses confirmed that changes in TSH can predict weight regain after metabolic surgery. Conclusions Changes in TSH and FT3 after metabolic surgery were correlated with changes in weight and CVAI. Changes in thyroid hormones can predict weight regain in patients with obesity who underwent metabolic surgery.
Large-scale deployment of GaAs solar cells in terrestrial photovoltaics demands significant cost reduction for preparing device-quality epitaxial materials. Although multilayer epitaxial growth in ...conjunction with printing-based materials assemblies has been proposed as a promising route to achieve this goal, their practical implementation remains challenging owing to the degradation of materials properties and resulting nonuniform device performance between solar cells grown in different sequences. Here we report an alternative approach to circumvent these limitations and enable multilayer-grown GaAs solar cells with uniform photovoltaic performance. Ultrathin single-junction GaAs solar cells having a 300-nm-thick absorber (i.e., emitter and base) are epitaxially grown in triple-stack releasable multilayer assemblies by molecular beam epitaxy using beryllium as a p-type impurity. Microscale (∼500 × 500 μm2) GaAs solar cells fabricated from respective device layers exhibit excellent uniformity (<3% relative) of photovoltaic performance and contact properties owing to the suppressed diffusion of p-type dopant as well as substantially reduced time of epitaxial growth associated with ultrathin device configuration. Bifacial photon management employing hexagonally periodic TiO2 nanoposts and a vertical p-type metal contact serving as a metallic back-surface reflector together with specialized epitaxial design to minimize parasitic optical losses for efficient light trapping synergistically enable significantly enhanced photovoltaic performance of such ultrathin absorbers, where ∼17.2% solar-to-electric power conversion efficiency under simulated AM1.5G illumination is demonstrated from 420-nm-thick single-junction GaAs solar cells grown in triple-stack epitaxial assemblies.
Recent studies have revealed that geranylgeranyl pyrophosphate synthase (GGPPS), a key enzyme involved in protein prenylation, plays a critical role in postnatal heart growth by regulating ...cardiomyocyte size. However, the role of GGPPS in myocardial ischemia/reperfusion (MIR) injury is still not clear. The objective of this work was to investigate the effect of GGPPS on MIR injury in H9c2 cells subjected to hypoxia/reoxygenation (HR) to mimic MIR. Prior to HR, the cells were transfected with GGPPS, shGGPPS, or shGFP. The results showed that cell viability was reduced, and cell injury and cell apoptosis were increased as a result of overexpression of GGPPS. Knockdown of GGPPS improved cell viability, and decreased cell injury and cell apoptosis. Furthermore, overexpression of GGPPS increased Rac1 activity and ROS generation, while GGPPS silencing decreased Rac1 activity and ROS generation. Based on these findings, we propose that the alteration of GGPPS expression changed the Rac1 activity and ROS production, and finally led to the different severity of HR-induced injury in H9c2 cells. These findings indicate that GGPPS might be a potential target in preventing H9c2 cells from HR-induced injury.
PDF
