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A recent genome-wide association study (GWAS) of Asian ancestry reported that single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in TERT (telomerase reverse transcriptase) was associated with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). TERT has a critical role in maintaining the chromosomal stability and the length of telomere. Given that only a small portion of the genetic heritability of SLE has been explained so far, we aimed to identify novel loci in telomere-related genes responsible for SLE susceptibility in Chinese populations. We performed a comprehensive genetic association analysis of SLE with telomere-related genes. To identify functional significance, we analyzed the publicly available HaploReg v4.1 and RegulomeDB databases. Differential gene expression analysis was also performed using ArrayExpress. A novel signal of PINX1 rs6984094 was identified (Pdiscovery = 4.13 × 10-2, OR = 0.58, 95% CI 0.35-0.98) and successfully replicated (Preplication = 5.73 × 10-3, OR = 0.45, 95% CI 0.26-0.81). Multiple layers of functional analysis suggested that the PINX1 rs6984094 risk T allele exhibited increased nuclear protein binding. We also observed an increased expression of PINX1 mRNA in peripheral blood mononuclear cells from SLE patients compared with healthy controls. Overall, we observed a novel genetic association between PINX1 (encodes the PinX1 protein, an inhibitory telomerase enzyme that lengthens telomeres) and SLE susceptibility in Chinese populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Background Musashi1 (Msi1) is a conserved RNA-binding protein that regulates the Notch and Wnt pathways, and serves as a stem cell marker in the breast and other tissues. It is unknown how Msi1 relates to other breast cancer markers, whether it denotes tumor initiating cells (TICs), and how it affects gene expression and tumor cell survival in breast cancer cells. Results Msi1 expression was analyzed in 20 breast cancer cell lines and in 140 primary breast tumors by western blotting and immunohistochemistry, respectively. Lentivirus RNA interference was used to reduce Msi1 expression in breast cancer cell lines MCF-7 and T47D grown as spheroid cultures and to assess stem cell gene expression and the growth of these cell lines as xenografts. In normal human breast tissue, Msi1 was expressed in 10.6% of myoepithelum and 1.2% of ductal epithelium in the terminal ductal lobular unit (TDLU), whereas, less than 0.05% of ductal epithelium and myoepithelium in large ducts outside the TDLU expressed Msi1. Msi1 was expressed in 55% of the breast cancer cell lines and correlated with ErbB2 expression in 50% of the cell lines. Msi1 was expressed in 68% of primary tumors and in 100% of lymph node metastases, and correlated with 5 year survival. Msi1 was enriched in CD133+ MCF-7 and T47D cells and in spheroid cultures of these cells, and Msi1 'knockdown' (KD) with a lentivirus-expressed shRNA decreased the number and size of spheroid colonies. Msi1 KD reduced Notch1, c-Myc, ErbB2 and pERK1/2 expression, and increased p21CIP1 expression, which is consistent with known Msi1 target mRNAs. Msi1 KD also reduced the expression of the somatic and embryonic stem cell markers, CD133, Bmi1, Sox2, Nanog and Oct4. Xenografts of MCF-7 and T47D Msi1 KD cells resulted in a marked reduction of tumor growth, reduced Msi1 and Notch1 expression and increased p21CIP1 expression. Conclusion Msi1 is a negative prognostic indicator of breast cancer patient survival, and is indicative of tumor cells with stem cell-like characteristics. Msi1 KD reduces tumor cell survival and tumor xenograft growth, suggesting that it may represent a novel target for drug discovery.

Background: Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a complex autoimmune disease with strong genetic disposition with more than 100 susceptibility genes identified until now. However, our knowledge on SLE genetic background is still limited. The present study was aimed at evaluating the role of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in SCUBE3, a TGF-β signaling activator, with SLE susceptibility in Chinese populations.Methods: A total of 2801 individuals (490 cases and 493 controls from GWAS cohort and 1003 cases and 815 controls from our cohort) were enrolled, and SNPs located 10 kb up- and downstream of SCUBE3 (chr6:35182190-35218609) were included in the genetic association study. Multiple layers of bioinformatics were conducted, and the levels of SCUBE3 expression were confirmed.Results: Of the 31 SNPs in SCUBE3 tested, 24 SNPs were significantly associated with SLE at p ≤ 0.05. The top locus was rs1888822 with p = 8.74∗10-6 in the discovery cohort and was confirmed by the replication cohort with p = 0.012. Additionally, the levels of SCUBE3 mRNA expression were significantly lower in patients with SLE comparing with healthy controls (p = 4.28∗10-4). Further expression data from ArrayExpress showed that the expression of SCUBE3 was also lower in CD3+ T cells and B cells from patients with SLE.Conclusions: Our research revealed that variants in SCUBE3, which encode SCUBE3 as a TGF-β signaling activator, can be considered as a new genetic susceptibility factor for systemic lupus erythematosus. And the reduced mRNA expression of SCUBE3 was first reported in patients with SLE. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, the chemical composition characteristics of typical secondary arsenic-bearing materials are analyzed. The alkaline dearsenization process of secondary arsenic-bearing materials produced in nonferrous smelting industry and its principle are summarized, including hydro-dearsenization process and combined pyro-hydro dearsenization process. Three alkaline hydro-dearsenization leaching systems are commonly used; NaOH single-alkali leaching, NaOH-Na2S mixed-alkali leaching and NaOH + Na2S mixed-alkali two-stage leaching. Hydrogen peroxide, pressure, aeration, microwave, ball milling and other oxidation methods are used to enhance arsenic leaching from secondary arsenic-bearing materials. The combined pyro-hydro dearsenization process mainly includes low-temperature alkaline smelting-water leaching, pre-oxidation roasting-alkaline leaching and low-temperature alkaline roasting-hot water leaching. Low-temperature alkaline roasting-hot water leaching process has good selectivity in arsenic removal and wide applicability of secondary arsenic-bearing materials. Based on all the existing research, the existing problems of alkaline dearsenization technology and the research direction of harmless treatment and resource utilization of secondary arsenic-bearing materials are pointed out. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rational design and fabrication of nanostructures has become a fashionable strategy for pursing high thermoelectric performance in solid-state materials. Here we report nanostructured Te–Sb2Te3 composites with significantly enhanced thermoelectric performance through a scalable bottom-up method followed by a rapid sintering process. The power factor along with the carrier concentration could be significantly enhanced by increasing the number of point defects of UGRAPHIC DISPLAY="INLINE" ID="UGT1" SRC="UGT1"/. Meanwhile, a great number of boundaries and hetero-interfaces between the Te and Sb2Te3 nanoparticles could play an important role in blocking phonons, resulting in the evident suppression of lattice thermal conductivity. Ultimately, a highest zT value close to 1.0 could be achieved at 623 K in samples with components of 2.6 mol% Sb2Te3 and 97.4 mol% Te. Such a peak zT value is comparable to that of doped Te materials synthesized by the conventional solid-state reaction process. This work reveals that high thermoelectric performance could be realized in an intentionally designed nanocomposite by synergistically improving the power factor and suppressing the lattice thermal conductivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Species identification through DNA barcoding or metabarcoding has become a key approach for biodiversity evaluation and ecological studies. However, the rapid accumulation of barcoding data has created some difficulties: for instance, global enquiries to a large reference library can take a very long time. We here devise a two‐step searching strategy to speed identification procedures of such queries. This firstly uses a Hidden Markov Model (HMM) algorithm to narrow the searching scope to genus level and then determines the corresponding species using minimum genetic distance. Moreover, using a fuzzy membership function, our approach also estimates the credibility of assignment results for each query. To perform this task, we developed a new software pipeline, FuzzyID2, using Python and C++. Performance of the new method was assessed using eight empirical data sets ranging from 70 to 234,535 barcodes. Five data sets (four animal, one plant) deployed the conventional barcode approach, one used metabarcodes, and two were eDNA‐based. The results showed mean accuracies of generic and species identification of 98.60% (with a minimum of 95.00% and a maximum of 100.00%) and 94.17% (with a range of 84.40%–100.00%), respectively. Tests with simulated NGS sequences based on realistic eDNA and metabarcode data demonstrated that FuzzyID2 achieved a significantly higher identification success rate than the commonly used Blast method, and the TIPP method tends to find many fewer species than either FuzztID2 or Blast. Furthermore, data sets with tens of thousands of barcodes need only a few seconds for each query assignment using FuzzyID2. Our approach provides an efficient and accurate species identification protocol for biodiversity‐related projects with large DNA sequence data sets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study is to explore the adsorption performance of meso-2, 3-dimercaptosuccinic acid (DMSA) modified Fe3O4@SiO2 magnetic nanocomposite (Fe3O4@SiO2DMSA) for Pb2+ ions removal from aqueous solutions. The effects of solution pH, initial concentration of Pb2+ions, contact time, and temperature on the amount of Pb2+ adsorbed were investigated. Adsorption isotherms, adsorption kinetics, and thermodynamic analysis were also studied. The results showed that the maximum adsorption capacity of the Fe3O4@SiO2DMSA composite is 50.5 mg/g at 298 K, which is higher than that of Fe3O4 and Fe3O4@SiO2 magnetic nanoparticles. The adsorption process agreed well with Langmuir adsorption isotherm models and pseudo second-order kinetics. The thermodynamic analysis revealed that the adsorption was spontaneous, endothermic and energetically driven in nature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In free space quantum channel, with the introduction and implementation of the satellite-ground link transmission, the researches of single-photon transmission have attracted great interest. We propose a single-photon receiving model and analyze the influence of the atmospheric turbulence on the single-photon transmission. We obtain the relationship between single-photon receiving efficiency and atmospheric turbulence, and analyze the influence of the atmospheric turbulence on the quantum channel performance by the single-photon counting. Finally, we present a reasonable simulation analysis. Simulation results show that as the strength of the atmospheric fluctuations increases, the counting distribution gradually broadens, and the utilization of quantum channel drops. Furthermore, the key generation rate and transmission distance decreases sharply in the case of strong turbulence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]