Fluctuations of TASEP and LPP with general initial data

We prove Airy process variational formulas for the one-point probability distribution of (discrete time parallel update) TASEP with general initial data, as well as last passage percolation from a general lattice path to a point. We also consider variants of last passage percolation with inhomogeneous parameter geometric weights and provide variational formulas of a similar nature. This proves one aspect of the conjectural description of the renormalization fixed point of the Kardar-Parisi-Zhang universality class.Comment: 44 pages, 6 figure

Fluctuations of TASEP and LPP with general initial data

We prove Airy process variational formulas for the one-point probability distribution of (discrete time parallel update) TASEP with general initial data, as well as last passage percolation from a general lattice path to a point. We also consider variants of last passage percolation with inhomogeneous parameter geometric weights and provide variational formulas of a similar nature. This proves one aspect of the conjectural description of the renormalization fixed point of the Kardar-Parisi-Zhang universality clas

ULTRALOW-FREQUENCY MUTATIONAL VARIATIONS REFLECT SPATIAL HETEROGENEITY OF GLIOBLASTOMAS

Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is the most common and aggressive type of brain tumor in adults, hallmarked by inter and intratumoral heterogeneity. Current treatment incorporates several biomarkers at the genomic and epigenomic levels. However, the efficacy of prognosis based on single biopsy was often undermined by the heterogeneous nature of GBM. Studies have highlighted the need for multi-sector biopsies to minimize the effect of intratumoral heterogeneity in clinical decision-making. In this project, we investigated mutations of geographically different regions of 20 primary glioblastoma specimens from seven patients for the selected regions of 13 genes using a novel targeted deep sequencing technology, Duplex Sequencing (DS). We have focused on subclonal (ultralow- and low-frequency) mutations that are not detectable by conventional next generation sequencing (NGS) methodologies but are accurately detectable by DS. Our findings indicate the heterogeneity of known GBM biomarkers, TERT promoter C228T mutation and IDH1 nonsynonymous mutations (R132H, R132G) in codon 132, in different regions of the GBM. Intratumoral heterogeneity of subclonal mutations are mainly found in EGFR, TERT, MSH6, PIK3CA, and PIK3R1 genes in most patients (six out of seven). Our results reveal that the similarity in mutation sequence context was not significantly higher in closely located specimens compared with distally located specimens. These findings could provide information on clinically relevant mutations that are unique to different regions of the tumors, and help guide future studies that seek to develop multi-sector biopsies for GBM prognosis

Drought Tolerance Dissection and Molecular Breeding in Alfalfa

Drought stress is one of the leading impediments that limit the productivity of global alfalfa (Medicago sativa). The underlying molecular and genetic mechanisms for drought tolerance in alfalfa remain largely unclear. In order to fully reveal the transcriptional changes of alfalfa in response to abiotic stress, the alfalfa transcriptome database under mannitol (simulated drought stress), NaCl (simulated salt stress), or exogenous ABA application was built via various RNA-seq technologies. Through further screening of the transcriptome database, a number of genes significantly induced by drought stress, such as the Nuclear Transport Factor 2-like (MsNTF2L), Drought-Induced Unknown Protein 1 (MsDIUP1), and MsNST1, were identified. These three genes were transferred into alfalfa by overexpression and RNAi techniques, and their physiological characteristics and transcriptional level response were synthetically studied. Alfalfa MsNTF2L-OE plants have been approved by the Ministry of Agriculture of China to carry out the field test in Gansu Province. Furthermore, we constructed a GWAS population and obtained 50 excellent plants with strong drought tolerance and high hay-yield. These studies provide a theoretical foundation for drought-tolerant molecular breeding of alfalfa