| 1. |
- Wen, Wanqing, et al.
(author)
-
Genome-wide association studies in East Asians identify new loci for waist-hip ratio and waist circumference
- 2016
-
In: Scientific Reports. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2045-2322. ; 6
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Sixty genetic loci associated with abdominal obesity, measured by waist circumference (WC) and waist-hip ratio (WHR), have been previously identified, primarily from studies conducted in Europeanancestry populations. We conducted a meta-analysis of associations of abdominal obesity with approximately 2.5 million single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) among 53,052 (for WC) and 48,312 (for WHR) individuals of Asian descent, and replicated 33 selected SNPs among 3,762 to 17,110 additional individuals. We identified four novel loci near the EFEMP1, ADAMTSL3, CNPY2, and GNAS genes that were associated with WC after adjustment for body mass index (BMI); two loci near the NID2 and HLA-DRB5 genes associated with WHR after adjustment for BMI, and three loci near the CEP120, TSC22D2, and SLC22A2 genes associated with WC without adjustment for BMI. Functional enrichment analyses revealed enrichment of corticotropin-releasing hormone signaling, GNRH signaling, and/or CDK5 signaling pathways for those newly-identified loci. Our study provides additional insight on genetic contribution to abdominal obesity.
|
|
| 2. |
- Beal, Jacob, et al.
(author)
-
Robust estimation of bacterial cell count from optical density
- 2020
-
In: Communications Biology. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2399-3642. ; 3:1
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Optical density (OD) is widely used to estimate the density of cells in liquid culture, but cannot be compared between instruments without a standardized calibration protocol and is challenging to relate to actual cell count. We address this with an interlaboratory study comparing three simple, low-cost, and highly accessible OD calibration protocols across 244 laboratories, applied to eight strains of constitutive GFP-expressing E. coli. Based on our results, we recommend calibrating OD to estimated cell count using serial dilution of silica microspheres, which produces highly precise calibration (95.5% of residuals <1.2-fold), is easily assessed for quality control, also assesses instrument effective linear range, and can be combined with fluorescence calibration to obtain units of Molecules of Equivalent Fluorescein (MEFL) per cell, allowing direct comparison and data fusion with flow cytometry measurements: in our study, fluorescence per cell measurements showed only a 1.07-fold mean difference between plate reader and flow cytometry data.
|
|
| 3. |
- Cui, Hao, et al.
(author)
-
Multi-strategy boosted Aquila optimizer for function optimization and engineering design problems
- 2024
-
In: Cluster Computing. - : SPRINGER. - 1386-7857 .- 1573-7543.
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- As the complexity of optimization problems continues to rise, the demand for high-performance algorithms becomes increasingly urgent. This paper addresses the challenges faced by the Aquila Optimizer (AO), a novel swarm-based intelligent optimizer simulating the predatory behaviors of Aquila in North America. While AO has shown good performance in prior studies, it grapples with issues such as poor convergence accuracy and a tendency to fall into local optima when tackling complex optimization tasks. To overcome these challenges, this paper proposes a multi-strategy boosted AO algorithm (PGAO) aimed at providing enhanced reliability for global optimization. The proposed algorithm incorporates several key strategies. Initially, a chaotic map is employed to initialize the positions of all search agents, enriching population diversity and laying a solid foundation for global exploration. Subsequently, the pinhole imaging learning strategy is introduced to identify superior candidate solutions in the opposite direction of the search domain during each iteration, accelerating convergence and increasing the probability of obtaining the global optimal solution. To achieve a more effective balance between the exploration and development phases in AO, a nonlinear switching factor is designed to replace the original fixed switching mechanism. Finally, the golden sine operator is utilized to enhance the algorithm's local exploitation trends. Through these four improvement strategies, the optimization performance of AO is significantly enhanced. The proposed PGAO algorithm's effectiveness is validated across 23 classical, 29 IEEE CEC2017, and 10 IEEE CEC2019 benchmark functions. Additionally, six real-world engineering design problems are employed to assess the practicability of PGAO. Results demonstrate that PGAO exhibits better competitiveness and application prospects compared to the basic method and various advanced algorithms. In conclusion, this study contributes to addressing the challenges of complex optimization problems, significantly improving the performance of global optimization algorithms, and holds both theoretical and practical significance.
|
|
| 4. |
- Peng, Yanling, et al.
(author)
-
Phylogeographic analysis of the fir species in southern China suggests complex origin and genetic admixture
- 2012
-
In: Annals of Forest Science. - 1286-4560 .- 1297-966X. ; 69:3, s. 409-416
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- ContextFir species are mainly distributed across the high latitudes, preferring cold climates. The phylogeographic origins of those subtropical fir species that occur in low latitudes in southern China remain elusive, as does the nature of any inter-lineage hybridization.AimsIn fir species, mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) is mater- nally inherited and chloroplast DNA (cpDNA) is paternally inherited, and the genetic variations in the two make them particularly useful for examining species’ hybridizations and evolutionary histories.Materialsand methods We sequenced four DNA frag- ments: two of mtDNA and two of cpDNA for 161 individuals from four subtropical endangered fir species (Abies beshan- zuensis, Abies ziyuanensis, Abies yuanbaoshanensis, and Abies fanjingshanensis) and two more northerly distributed ones (Abies recurvata and Abies fargesii) from central and southwest China.ResultsThree mitotypes and four chlorotypes were recov- ered from the four southern species. In most populations, individuals share a single fixed mitotype and chlorotype. Three mitotypes clustered into two distinct clades, each associated with one of the northern species examined. For four chlorotypes, one occurred in A. ziyuanensis, A. beshan- zuensis, A. fargesii, and A. recurvata, another in A. ziyua- nensis and A. recurvata, the remaining two differed from others by two mutations exclusively in A. fanjingshanenis and A. yuanbaoshanensis.ConclusionPhylogeographic origins of the subtropical fir species are complex, and genetic admixtures occurred dur- ing the evolutionary history of A. ziyuanensis. The geno- typed populations further provide basic frames for genetic delimitation and effective conservation of these endangered species in the future.
|
|
| 5. |
- Wang, Yanling, et al.
(author)
-
Protein kinase A-mediated cell proliferation in brown preadipocytes is independent of Erk1/2, PI3K and mTOR
- 2014
-
In: Experimental Cell Research. - : Elsevier BV. - 0014-4827 .- 1090-2422. ; 328:1, s. 143-155
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The physiological agonist norepinephrine promotes cell proliferation of brown preadipocytes during the process of tissue recruitment. In a primary culture system, CAMP mediates these adrenergic effects. In the present study, we demonstrated that, in contrast to other systems where the mitogenic effect of cAMP requires the synergistic action of (serum) growth factors, especially insulin/IGF, the cAMP effect in brown preadipocytes was independent of serum and insulin. Protein kinase A, rather than Epac, mediated the cAMP mitogenic effect. The Erk 1/2 family of MAPK, the PI3K system and the mTOR complexes were all activated by cAMP, but these activations were not necessary for cAMP-induced cell proliferation; a protein kinase C isoform may be involved in mediating cAMP-activated cell proliferation. We conclude that the generally acknowledged cellular mediators for induction of cell proliferation are not involved in this process in the brown preadipocyte system; this conclusion may be of relevance both for examination of mechanisms for induction of brown adipose tissue recruitment but also for understanding the mechanism behind e.g. certain endocrine neoplasias.
|
|
| 6. |
- Yin, Zhan, et al.
(author)
-
Numerical Simulation of Laminar Film Condensation in a Horizontal Minitube with and Without Non-Condensable Gas by the VOF Method
- 2015
-
In: Numerical Heat Transfer Part A: Applications. - : Informa UK Limited. - 1040-7782 .- 1521-0634. ; 68:9, s. 958-977
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Based on the volume of fluid (VOF) method, a steady three-dimensional numerical simulation of laminar film condensation of water vapor in a horizontal minitube, with and without non-condensable gas, has been conducted. A user-defined function defining the phase change is interpreted and the interface temperature is correspondingly assumed to be the saturation temperature. An annular flow pattern is to be expected according to a generally accepted flow regime map. The heat-transfer coefficient increases with higher saturation temperature and a smaller temperature difference between the saturation and wall temperatures, but varies little with different mass flux and degree of superheat. The existence of a non-condensable gas will lead to the generation of a gas layer between vapor and liquid, resulting in a lower mass-transfer rate near the interface and higher vapor quality at the outlet. In consequence, the heat-transfer coefficient of condensation with a non-condensable gas drops sharply compared with that of pure vapor condensation. Meanwhile, the non-condensable gas with a smaller thermal conductivity would cause a stronger negative effect on heat flux as a result of a higher thermal resistance of heat conduction in the non-condensable gas layer.
|
|
