| 1. |
- Fenstermacher, M.E., et al.
(författare)
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DIII-D research advancing the physics basis for optimizing the tokamak approach to fusion energy
- 2022
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Ingår i: Nuclear Fusion. - : IOP Publishing. - 0029-5515 .- 1741-4326. ; 62:4
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- DIII-D physics research addresses critical challenges for the operation of ITER and the next generation of fusion energy devices. This is done through a focus on innovations to provide solutions for high performance long pulse operation, coupled with fundamental plasma physics understanding and model validation, to drive scenario development by integrating high performance core and boundary plasmas. Substantial increases in off-axis current drive efficiency from an innovative top launch system for EC power, and in pressure broadening for Alfven eigenmode control from a co-/counter-I p steerable off-axis neutral beam, all improve the prospects for optimization of future long pulse/steady state high performance tokamak operation. Fundamental studies into the modes that drive the evolution of the pedestal pressure profile and electron vs ion heat flux validate predictive models of pedestal recovery after ELMs. Understanding the physics mechanisms of ELM control and density pumpout by 3D magnetic perturbation fields leads to confident predictions for ITER and future devices. Validated modeling of high-Z shattered pellet injection for disruption mitigation, runaway electron dissipation, and techniques for disruption prediction and avoidance including machine learning, give confidence in handling disruptivity for future devices. For the non-nuclear phase of ITER, two actuators are identified to lower the L-H threshold power in hydrogen plasmas. With this physics understanding and suite of capabilities, a high poloidal beta optimized-core scenario with an internal transport barrier that projects nearly to Q = 10 in ITER at ∼8 MA was coupled to a detached divertor, and a near super H-mode optimized-pedestal scenario with co-I p beam injection was coupled to a radiative divertor. The hybrid core scenario was achieved directly, without the need for anomalous current diffusion, using off-axis current drive actuators. Also, a controller to assess proximity to stability limits and regulate β N in the ITER baseline scenario, based on plasma response to probing 3D fields, was demonstrated. Finally, innovative tokamak operation using a negative triangularity shape showed many attractive features for future pilot plant operation.
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| 2. |
- Campbell, PJ, et al.
(författare)
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Pan-cancer analysis of whole genomes
- 2020
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Ingår i: Nature. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1476-4687 .- 0028-0836. ; 578:7793, s. 82-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Cancer is driven by genetic change, and the advent of massively parallel sequencing has enabled systematic documentation of this variation at the whole-genome scale1–3. Here we report the integrative analysis of 2,658 whole-cancer genomes and their matching normal tissues across 38 tumour types from the Pan-Cancer Analysis of Whole Genomes (PCAWG) Consortium of the International Cancer Genome Consortium (ICGC) and The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA). We describe the generation of the PCAWG resource, facilitated by international data sharing using compute clouds. On average, cancer genomes contained 4–5 driver mutations when combining coding and non-coding genomic elements; however, in around 5% of cases no drivers were identified, suggesting that cancer driver discovery is not yet complete. Chromothripsis, in which many clustered structural variants arise in a single catastrophic event, is frequently an early event in tumour evolution; in acral melanoma, for example, these events precede most somatic point mutations and affect several cancer-associated genes simultaneously. Cancers with abnormal telomere maintenance often originate from tissues with low replicative activity and show several mechanisms of preventing telomere attrition to critical levels. Common and rare germline variants affect patterns of somatic mutation, including point mutations, structural variants and somatic retrotransposition. A collection of papers from the PCAWG Consortium describes non-coding mutations that drive cancer beyond those in the TERT promoter4; identifies new signatures of mutational processes that cause base substitutions, small insertions and deletions and structural variation5,6; analyses timings and patterns of tumour evolution7; describes the diverse transcriptional consequences of somatic mutation on splicing, expression levels, fusion genes and promoter activity8,9; and evaluates a range of more-specialized features of cancer genomes8,10–18.
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| 3. |
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| 4. |
- Chen, M., et al.
(författare)
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A highly stable optical humidity sensors based on nano-composite film
- 2019
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Ingår i: Sensors and actuators. B, Chemical. - : Elsevier. - 0925-4005 .- 1873-3077. ; 287, s. 329-337
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We report a highly stable humidity sensor based on nanocomposite film obtained by depositing Au nanoparticles on the surface of 3-mercaptopropionic acid (MPA) capped CdTe quantum dots (QDs) and then modifying NaOH (CdTe@Au/NaOH). The CdTe@Au/NaOH film will form compound salts that can be dissolved or crystallized with humidity changes, resulting in a significant absorption variation of green light, which is very benefit for water vapor detection. In this study, we systematically investigated the influence on the performance of humidity sensing by varying the thickness of Au layer as well as the concentration of NaOH. Our results show that the quickest response-recovery time (˜less than 30 s) was found in the sensing film with the Au layer thickness of 20 nm and NaOH concentration of 1M, which can be ascribed to the combined effects of the better morphology and the yield of compound salts. The repeatable response and recovery measurements demonstrate that the designed sensors exhibit an ultralow humidity detection level with fast response-recovery time, high stability and reproducibility at room temperature. The simplicity, low fabrication cost, and wide working range of the humidity sensor will pave the way for its application in environments and gas detection.
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| 5. |
- Gu, S. L., et al.
(författare)
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beta-Sitosterol blocks the LEF-1-mediated Wnt/beta-catenin pathway to inhibit proliferation of human colon cancer cells
- 2023
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Ingår i: Cellular Signalling. - : Elsevier BV. - 0898-6568. ; 104
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Objectives: This study aimed to investigate the LEF-1-mediated Wnt/beta-catenin pathway for its biological functions and prognostic value in colon cancer (CC). Furthermore, the potential molecular mechanism of beta-sitosterol in CC was investigated in vitro.Methods: Clinical information and gene expression profiles from CC patients were obtained based on Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) and The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) databases. In addition, we applied R software "Limma" package for the differential analysis of LEF-1 between cancer and para-carcinoma tissue samples. Kaplan-Meier (KM) survival analysis was adopted for analyzing whether LEF-1 was of prognostic significance. Moreover, gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) was adopted for pathway enrichment analysis and visualization. In addition, CCK8, plate cloning, scratch and high-content screening (HCS) imaging assays were performed to examine the therapeutic efficacy of beta-sitosterol in human CC HCT116 cells. siRNA technology was employed to knock down LEF1 expression in HCT116 cells. qRT-PCR and Western-blot (WB) analysis were carried out to analyze the HCT-116 mRNA and protein expression levels, respectively.Results: LEF-1 was up-regulated within CC and acted as an oncogenic gene. LEF-1 up-regulation predicted the dismal prognostic outcome and activated the Wnt/beta-catenin pathway. beta-sitosterol effectively suppressed HCT116 cells proliferation and invasion. For the mechanism underlying beta-sitosterol, beta-sitosterol was found to significantly down-regulate LEF-1 gene and protein expression and disrupt Wnt/beta-catenin pathway transmission in HCT116 cells. After suppressing LEF-1 expression, its downstream targets including C-myc, Survivin and CCND1 were also down-regulated.Conclusion: According to our results, LEF-1 down-regulation can effectively block Wnt/beta-catenin pathway, inhibit CC cell growth and migration. Collectively, beta-sitosterol can be used to treat CC, which can provide anti-tumor activity by targeting LEF-1.
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| 6. |
- Klionsky, Daniel J., et al.
(författare)
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Guidelines for the use and interpretation of assays for monitoring autophagy
- 2012
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Ingår i: Autophagy. - : Informa UK Limited. - 1554-8635 .- 1554-8627. ; 8:4, s. 445-544
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- In 2008 we published the first set of guidelines for standardizing research in autophagy. Since then, research on this topic has continued to accelerate, and many new scientists have entered the field. Our knowledge base and relevant new technologies have also been expanding. Accordingly, it is important to update these guidelines for monitoring autophagy in different organisms. Various reviews have described the range of assays that have been used for this purpose. Nevertheless, there continues to be confusion regarding acceptable methods to measure autophagy, especially in multicellular eukaryotes. A key point that needs to be emphasized is that there is a difference between measurements that monitor the numbers or volume of autophagic elements (e.g., autophagosomes or autolysosomes) at any stage of the autophagic process vs. those that measure flux through the autophagy pathway (i.e., the complete process); thus, a block in macroautophagy that results in autophagosome accumulation needs to be differentiated from stimuli that result in increased autophagic activity, defined as increased autophagy induction coupled with increased delivery to, and degradation within, lysosomes (in most higher eukaryotes and some protists such as Dictyostelium) or the vacuole (in plants and fungi). In other words, it is especially important that investigators new to the field understand that the appearance of more autophagosomes does not necessarily equate with more autophagy. In fact, in many cases, autophagosomes accumulate because of a block in trafficking to lysosomes without a concomitant change in autophagosome biogenesis, whereas an increase in autolysosomes may reflect a reduction in degradative activity. Here, we present a set of guidelines for the selection and interpretation of methods for use by investigators who aim to examine macroautophagy and related processes, as well as for reviewers who need to provide realistic and reasonable critiques of papers that are focused on these processes. These guidelines are not meant to be a formulaic set of rules, because the appropriate assays depend in part on the question being asked and the system being used. In addition, we emphasize that no individual assay is guaranteed to be the most appropriate one in every situation, and we strongly recommend the use of multiple assays to monitor autophagy. In these guidelines, we consider these various methods of assessing autophagy and what information can, or cannot, be obtained from them. Finally, by discussing the merits and limits of particular autophagy assays, we hope to encourage technical innovation in the field.
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| 7. |
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| 8. |
- Shang, Q., et al.
(författare)
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Association Between Osteopontin Gene Polymorphisms and Cerebral Palsy in a Chinese Population
- 2016
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Ingår i: Neuromolecular Medicine. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1535-1084 .- 1559-1174. ; 18:2, s. 232-238
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Cerebral palsy (CP) is a neurological disorder affecting movement and posture that develops as a complication of prenatal, perinatal, and postnatal brain injury. Such non-progressive brain injury is often accompanied by neonatal encephalopathy and inflammation. The widely expressed soluble cytokine osteopontin (OPN) plays an important role in inflammation and neurological protection. Therefore, it is of great interest to study the relationship between CP and genetic variants of OPN. To explore the genetic association between OPN gene single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and CP in the Chinese Han population, five SNPs (rs2853744, rs2853749, rs11728697, rs4754, and rs1126616) were genotyped among 715 CP patients and 658 healthy controls using the MassArray platform. Statistical analysis was performed using the online SHEsis program, and Bonferroni correction was applied as necessary. We found an association between rs1126616 and global CP (corrected allelic P = 0.0006 and genotypic P = 0.0011 after Bonferroni correction). The other SNPs were not statistically associated with CP or any of its subgroups. By testing a relatively large sample size, our study demonstrates that the OPN gene SNP rs1126616 is statistically associated with CP. We suspect that the OPN gene might be a susceptibility factor for CP.
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| 9. |
- Sun, H., et al.
(författare)
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Effect of early prophylactic low-dose recombinant human erythropoietin on retinopathy of prematurity in very preterm infants
- 2020
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Ingår i: Journal of Translational Medicine. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1479-5876. ; 18:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Very preterm infants are at risk of developing retinopathy of prematurity (ROP). Recombinant human erythropoietin (rhEPO) is routinely used to prevent anemia in preterm infants; however, the effect of rhEPO on ROP development is still controversial. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of early prophylactic low-dose rhEPO administration on ROP development in very preterm infants. Methods: A total of 1898 preterm infants born before 32weeks of gestation were included. Preterm infants received rhEPO (n = 950; 500 U/kg, rhEPO group) or saline (n = 948, control group) intravenously within 72h of birth and then once every other day for 2weeks. Results: The total incidence of ROP was not significantly different between the two groups (10.2% vs. 13.2%, p = 0.055). Further analysis showed that rhEPO group had lower rates of type 2 ROP than the control group (2.2% vs. 4.1%, RR 0.98; 95% CI 0.96–1.00; p = 0.021). Subgroup analysis found that rhEPO treatment significantly decreased the incidence of type 2 ROP in infant boys (1.8% vs. 4.3%, p = 0.021) and in those with a gestational age of 28–296/7weeks (1.1% vs. 4.9%, p = 0.002) and birth weight of 1000–1499g (1.2% vs. 4.2%, p = 0.002). There was a small increasing tendency for the incidence of ROP in infants with a gestational age of < 28weeks after rhEPO treatment. Conclusions: Repeated low-dose rhEPO administration has no significant influence on the development of ROP; however, it may be effective for type 2 ROP in infant boys or in infants with gestational age > 28weeks and birth weight > 1500g. Trial registration The data of this study were retrieved from two clinical studies registered ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT 02036073) on January 14, 2014, https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02036073; and (NCT03919500) on April 18, 2019. https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03919500. © 2020, The Author(s).
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