Pan-cancer analysis of whole genomes

Cancer is driven by genetic change, and the advent of massively parallel sequencing has enabled systematic documentation of this variation at the whole-genome scale(1-3). 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 promoter(4); identifies new signatures of mutational processes that cause base substitutions, small insertions and deletions and structural variation(5,6); analyses timings and patterns of tumour evolution(7); describes the diverse transcriptional consequences of somatic mutation on splicing, expression levels, fusion genes and promoter activity(8,9); and evaluates a range of more-specialized features of cancer genomes(8,10-18).Peer reviewe

Ethnobotanical uses of endemic and RET plants by Pawra tribe of Nandurbar district, Maharashtra

311-315The paper enumerates ethnobotanical uses of 28 plant species that are endemic and/or in the RET (Rare, Endangered and Threatened) category belonging to 15 families, by Pawra tribe of Nandurbar district. Plants are arranged alphabetically with their botanical name, followed by family, IUCN status, local names and uses. Efforts for conservation, cultivation and afforestation have been done with help of the state forest department and Pawra tribe for the sustainable use of such important plant species in near future

Ethnomedicobotanical uses of endemic and RET plants utilised by the Korku tribe of Amravati district, Maharashtra

284-287Ethnomedicobotanical uses of 13 plant species belonging to 12 families used by the Korku tribe are given with their botanical name, local name and family. Efforts for their conservation, cultivation and afforestation for sustainable utilization of such plants in future have also been discussed

Fluxes of inorganic and organic particulate matter in the Arabian Sea off Bombay

21-23Sedimentation of organic and inorganic matter was determined at 2, 22, 42 and 62 m depths during 19 August to 30 September 1985 at a station in the Arabian Sea off Bombay. All the parameters measured of sedimented material increased with depth, probably due to resuspension. Decreasing ratios of particulate organic carbon (POC)/particulate organic nitrogen (PON); POC/particulate total phosphate (PTP); and PON/PTP suggest the mineralization and microbial growth on the sinking particles whereas, high ratios of POC/chlorophyll a equivalent indicate that less phytoplankton pigments are associated with the sinking particles. Settling particles had less organic carbon than suspended matter

Degumming, dewaxing and deacidification of rice bran oil-hexane miscella using ceramic membrane: pilot plant study

An indigenously developed low-cost clay-alumina-based ceramic microfiltration membrane of 19-channel configuration has been evaluated for degumming, dewaxing and deacidification of rice bran oil (RBO) miscella having different oil contents at pilot scale. Rice bran wax and soap particles in miscella will aggregate with changes in temperature. This suggests a technique for their effective separation. Low-temperature cross-flow membrane filtration was used for single-stage degumming-dewaxing and showed 70 % and 80 % removal of acetone insoluble residue from two RBO miscella samples, respectively. Color reduction was 50 %, and oryzanol retention was 70 %. NaOH was used for deacidification in a 10 % excess of that required based on the free fatty acid content in oil. This reduced free fatty acids to 0.2 %. Operating for 10 h with a 0.7 bar trans-membrane pressure, permeate fluxes of 15 and 8 L/m(2) hr were obtained for the degumming-dewaxing and deacidification operations, respectively. The process has advantages, such as high micronutrient content (1.56 % oryzanol) and negligible oil loss (2.6 %). Moreover, ceramic membrane processing of RBO miscella could be an effective pre-treatment step with respect to micronutrient enrichment, elimination of heating, neutral oil recovery and a viable option for solvent separation