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| 2. |
- Li, Peng, et al.
(författare)
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Transcriptional reactivation of OTX2, RX1 and SIX3 during reprogramming contributes to the generation of RPE cells from human iPSCs
- 2016
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Ingår i: International Journal of Biological Sciences. - : Ivyspring International Publisher. - 1449-2288. ; 12:5, s. 505-517
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Directed differentiation of human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) into retinal pigmented epithelium (RPE) holds great promise in cell replacement therapy for patients suffering from degenerative eye diseases, including age-related macular degeneration (AMD). In this study, we generated iPSCs from human dermal fibroblasts (HDFs) by electroporation with episomal plasmid vectors encoding OCT4, SOX2, KLF4, L-MYC together with p53 suppression. Intriguingly, cell reprogramming resulted in a metastable transcriptional activation and selective demethylation of neural and retinal specification-associated genes, such as OTX2, RX1 and SIX3. In contrast, RPE progenitor genes were transcriptionally silent in HDFs and descendant iPSCs. Overexpression of OCT4 and SOX2 directly stimulated the expression of OTX2, RX1 and SIX3 in HDFs and iPSCs. Luciferase and chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) assays further identified an OCT4- and two SOX2-binding sites located in the proximal promoter of OTX2. Histone acetylation and methylation on the local promoter also participated in the reactivation of OTX2. The transcriptional conversion of RX1 and SIX3 genes partially attributed to DNA demethylation. Subsequently, iPSCs were induced into the RPE cells displaying the characteristics of polygonal shapes and pigments, and expressing typical RPE cell markers. Taken together, our results establish readily efficient and safe protocols to produce iPSCs and iPSC-derived RPE cells, and underline that the reactivation of anterior neural transcription factor OTX2, eye field transcription factor RX1 and SIX3 in iPSCs is a feature of pluripotency acquisition and predetermines the potential of RPE differentiation.
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| 3. |
- Schmit, Stephanie L, et al.
(författare)
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Novel Common Genetic Susceptibility Loci for Colorectal Cancer.
- 2019
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Ingår i: Journal of the National Cancer Institute. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 0027-8874 .- 1460-2105. ; 111:2, s. 146-157
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Previous genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have identified 42 loci (P < 5 × 10-8) associated with risk of colorectal cancer (CRC). Expanded consortium efforts facilitating the discovery of additional susceptibility loci may capture unexplained familial risk.Methods: We conducted a GWAS in European descent CRC cases and control subjects using a discovery-replication design, followed by examination of novel findings in a multiethnic sample (cumulative n = 163 315). In the discovery stage (36 948 case subjects/30 864 control subjects), we identified genetic variants with a minor allele frequency of 1% or greater associated with risk of CRC using logistic regression followed by a fixed-effects inverse variance weighted meta-analysis. All novel independent variants reaching genome-wide statistical significance (two-sided P < 5 × 10-8) were tested for replication in separate European ancestry samples (12 952 case subjects/48 383 control subjects). Next, we examined the generalizability of discovered variants in East Asians, African Americans, and Hispanics (12 085 case subjects/22 083 control subjects). Finally, we examined the contributions of novel risk variants to familial relative risk and examined the prediction capabilities of a polygenic risk score. All statistical tests were two-sided.Results: The discovery GWAS identified 11 variants associated with CRC at P < 5 × 10-8, of which nine (at 4q22.2/5p15.33/5p13.1/6p21.31/6p12.1/10q11.23/12q24.21/16q24.1/20q13.13) independently replicated at a P value of less than .05. Multiethnic follow-up supported the generalizability of discovery findings. These results demonstrated a 14.7% increase in familial relative risk explained by common risk alleles from 10.3% (95% confidence interval [CI] = 7.9% to 13.7%; known variants) to 11.9% (95% CI = 9.2% to 15.5%; known and novel variants). A polygenic risk score identified 4.3% of the population at an odds ratio for developing CRC of at least 2.0.Conclusions: This study provides insight into the architecture of common genetic variation contributing to CRC etiology and improves risk prediction for individualized screening.
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| 4. |
- Akiyama, Kazunori, et al.
(författare)
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First M87 Event Horizon Telescope Results. V. Physical Origin of the Asymmetric Ring
- 2019
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Ingår i: Astrophysical Journal Letters. - : American Astronomical Society. - 2041-8213 .- 2041-8205. ; 875:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) has mapped the central compact radio source of the elliptical galaxy M87 at 1.3 mm with unprecedented angular resolution. Here we consider the physical implications of the asymmetric ring seen in the 2017 EHT data. To this end, we construct a large library of models based on general relativistic magnetohydrodynamic (GRMHD) simulations and synthetic images produced by general relativistic ray tracing. We compare the observed visibilities with this library and confirm that the asymmetric ring is consistent with earlier predictions of strong gravitational lensing of synchrotron emission from a hot plasma orbiting near the black hole event horizon. The ring radius and ring asymmetry depend on black hole mass and spin, respectively, and both are therefore expected to be stable when observed in future EHT campaigns. Overall, the observed image is consistent with expectations for the shadow of a spinning Kerr black hole as predicted by general relativity. If the black hole spin and M87's large scale jet are aligned, then the black hole spin vector is pointed away from Earth. Models in our library of non-spinning black holes are inconsistent with the observations as they do not produce sufficiently powerful jets. At the same time, in those models that produce a sufficiently powerful jet, the latter is powered by extraction of black hole spin energy through mechanisms akin to the Blandford-Znajek process. We briefly consider alternatives to a black hole for the central compact object. Analysis of existing EHT polarization data and data taken simultaneously at other wavelengths will soon enable new tests of the GRMHD models, as will future EHT campaigns at 230 and 345 GHz.
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| 5. |
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| 6. |
- Huang, He, et al.
(författare)
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Critical stress for twinning nucleation in CrCoNi-based medium and high entropy alloys
- 2018
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Ingår i: Acta Materialia. - : PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD. - 1359-6454 .- 1873-2453. ; 149, s. 388-396
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The CrCoNi-based medium and high entropy alloys (MHEAs) have drawn much attention due to their exceptional mechanical properties at cryogenic temperatures. The twinning critical resolved shear stress (CRSS) is a fundamental parameter for evaluating the strength-ductility properties of MHEAs. Here we construct and apply an extended twinning nucleation Peierls-Nabarro (P-N) model to predict the twinning CRSSes of face-centered cubic (FCC) CrCoNi-based MHEAs. The order of the twinning CRSSes of the selected alloys is CrCoNi > CrCoNiMn > CrCoNiFe > CrCoNiFeMn and the values are 291, 277, 274 and 236 MPa, respectively. These theoretical predictions agree very well with the experimental twinning CRSSes of CrCoNi and CrCoNiFeMn accounting for 260 +/- 30 and 235 +/- 10 MPa, respectively and are perfectly consistent with the strength-ductility properties including yield stress, ultimate tensile stress and uniform elongation for fracture of the FCC CrCoNi-based MHEAs obtained at cryogenic temperatures. The present method offers a first-principle quantum-mechanical tool for optimizing and designing new MHEAs with exceptional mechanical properties.
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| 7. |
- Huang, Shuo, et al.
(författare)
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Mechanism of magnetic transition in FeCrCoNi-based high entropy alloys
- 2016
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Ingår i: Materials & design. - : Elsevier. - 0264-1275 .- 1873-4197. ; 103, s. 71-74
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- First-principles alloy theory and Monte-Carlo simulations are performed to investigate the magnetic properties of FeCrCoNiAlx high entropy alloys. Results show that face-centered-cubic (fcc) and body-centered-cubic (bcc) structures possess significantly different magnetic behaviors uncovering that the alloy's Curie temperature is controlled by the stability of the Al-induced single phase or fcc-bcc dual-phase. We show that the appearance of the bcc phase with increasing Al content brings about the observed transition from the paramagnetic state for FeCrCoNi to the ferromagnetic state for FeCrCoNiAl at room-temperature. Similar mechanism is predicted to give rise to room-temperature ferromagnetism in FeCrCoNiGa high entropy alloy.
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| 8. |
- Huang, Shuo, et al.
(författare)
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Twinning in metastable high-entropy alloys
- 2018
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Ingår i: Nature Communications. - : Nature Publishing Group. - 2041-1723. ; 9:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Twinning is a fundamental mechanism behind the simultaneous increase of strength and ductility in medium- and high-entropy alloys, but its operation is not yet well understood, which limits their exploitation. Since many high-entropy alloys showing outstanding mechanical properties are actually thermodynamically unstable at ambient and cryogenic conditions, the observed twinning challenges the existing phenomenological and theoretical plasticity models. Here, we adopt a transparent approach based on effective energy barriers in combination with first-principle calculations to shed light on the origin of twinning in high-entropy alloys. We demonstrate that twinning can be the primary deformation mode in metastable face-centered cubic alloys with a fraction that surpasses the previously established upper limit. The present advance in plasticity of metals opens opportunities for tailoring the mechanical response in engineering materials by optimizing metastable twinning in high-entropy alloys.
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| 9. |
- Satizabal, Claudia L., et al.
(författare)
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Genetic architecture of subcortical brain structures in 38,851 individuals
- 2019
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Ingår i: Nature Genetics. - : Nature Publishing Group. - 1061-4036 .- 1546-1718. ; 51:11, s. 1624-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Subcortical brain structures are integral to motion, consciousness, emotions and learning. We identified common genetic variation related to the volumes of the nucleus accumbens, amygdala, brainstem, caudate nucleus, globus pallidus, putamen and thalamus, using genome-wide association analyses in almost 40,000 individuals from CHARGE, ENIGMA and UK Biobank. We show that variability in subcortical volumes is heritable, and identify 48 significantly associated loci (40 novel at the time of analysis). Annotation of these loci by utilizing gene expression, methylation and neuropathological data identified 199 genes putatively implicated in neurodevelopment, synaptic signaling, axonal transport, apoptosis, inflammation/infection and susceptibility to neurological disorders. This set of genes is significantly enriched for Drosophila orthologs associated with neurodevelopmental phenotypes, suggesting evolutionarily conserved mechanisms. Our findings uncover novel biology and potential drug targets underlying brain development and disease.
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| 10. |
- Farahini, Nasim, et al.
(författare)
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Physical Design Aware System Level Synthesis of Hardware
- 2015
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Ingår i: Proceedings - Embedded Computer Systems: Architectures, Modeling, and Simulation (SAMOS), 2015. - : IEEE. ; , s. 141-148
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- In spite of decades of research, only a small percentage of hardware is designed using high-level synthesis because of the large gap between the abstraction levels of standard cells and algorithmic level. We propose a grid-based regular physical design platform composed of large grain hardened building blocks called SiLago blocks. This platform is divided into regions which are specialized for different functionalities like computation, storage, system control, etc. The characterized micro-architectural operations of the SiLago platform serve as the interface to meet-in-the-middle high-level and system-level syntheses framework. This framework was used to generate three hardware macro instances, derived from SiLago platform for three applications from signal processing domain. Results show two orders of magnitude improvements in efficiency of the system-level design space exploration and synthesis time, with average loss in design quality of 18% for energy and 54% for area compared to the commercial SOC flow.
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