A Quaternary ZnCdSeTe Nanotip Photodetector

The authors report the growth of needle-like high density quaternary Zn0.87Cd0.13Se0.98Te0.02nanotips on oxidized Si(100) substrate. It was found that average length and average diameter of the nanotips were 1.3 μm and 91 nm, respectively. It was also found that the as-grown ZnCdSeTe nanotips exhibit mixture of cubic zinc-blende and hexagonal wurtzite structures. Furthermore, it was found that the operation speeds of the fabricated ZnCdSeTe nanotip photodetector were fast with turn-on and turn-off time constants both less than 2 s

Biophysical Characteristics Reveal Neural Stem Cell Differentiation Potential

Distinguishing human neural stem/progenitor cell (huNSPC) populations that will predominantly generate neurons from those that produce glia is currently hampered by a lack of sufficient cell type-specific surface markers predictive of fate potential. This limits investigation of lineage-biased progenitors and their potential use as therapeutic agents. A live-cell biophysical and label-free measure of fate potential would solve this problem by obviating the need for specific cell surface markers

Search for new phenomena in final states with an energetic jet and large missing transverse momentum in pp collisions at √ s = 8 TeV with the ATLAS detector

Results of a search for new phenomena in final states with an energetic jet and large missing transverse momentum are reported. The search uses 20.3 fb−1 of √ s = 8 TeV data collected in 2012 with the ATLAS detector at the LHC. Events are required to have at least one jet with pT > 120 GeV and no leptons. Nine signal regions are considered with increasing missing transverse momentum requirements between Emiss T > 150 GeV and Emiss T > 700 GeV. Good agreement is observed between the number of events in data and Standard Model expectations. The results are translated into exclusion limits on models with either large extra spatial dimensions, pair production of weakly interacting dark matter candidates, or production of very light gravitinos in a gauge-mediated supersymmetric model. In addition, limits on the production of an invisibly decaying Higgs-like boson leading to similar topologies in the final state are presente

Levels of DNA methylation vary at CpG sites across the BRCA1 promoter, and differ according to triple negative and "BRCA-like" status, in both blood and tumour DNA

Triple negative breast cancer is typically an aggressive and difficult to treat subtype. It is often associated with loss of function of the BRCA1 gene, either through mutation, loss of heterozygosity or methylation. This study aimed to measure methylation of the BRCA1 gene promoter at individual CpG sites in blood, tumour and normal breast tissue, to assess whether levels were correlated between different tissues, and with triple negative receptor status, histopathological scoring for BRCA-like features and BRCA1 protein expression. Blood DNA methylation levels were significantly correlated with tumour methylation at 9 of 11 CpG sites examined (p<0.0007). The levels of tumour DNA methylation were significantly higher in triple negative tumours, and in tumours with high BRCA-like histopathological scores (10 of 11 CpG sites; p<0.01 and p<0.007 respectively). Similar results were observed in blood DNA (6 of 11 CpG sites; p<0.03 and 7 of 11 CpG sites; p<0.02 respectively). This study provides insight into the pattern of CpG methylation across the BRCA1 promoter, and supports previous studies suggesting that tumours with BRCA1 promoter methylation have similar features to those with BRCA1 mutations, and therefore may be suitable for the same targeted therapies

Reduced Body Weight and Increased Energy Expenditure in Transgenic Mice Over-Expressing Soluble Leptin Receptor

studies have shown that OBRe expression is inversely correlated to body weight and leptin levels. However, it is not clear whether OBRe plays an active role, either in collaboration with leptin or independently, in the maintenance of body weight.To investigate the function of OBRe in the regulation of energy homeostasis, we generated transgenic mice that express OBRe under the control of human serum amyloid P (hSAP) component gene promoter. The transgene led to approximately doubling of OBRe in circulation in the transgenic mice than in wild type control mice. Transgenic mice exhibited lower body weight at 4 weeks of age, and slower rate of weight gain when compared with control mice. Furthermore, transgenic mice had lower body fat content. Indirect calorimetry revealed that transgenic mice had reduced food intake, increased basal metabolic rate, and increased lipid oxidation, which could account for the differences in body weight and body fat content. Transgenic mice also showed higher total circulating leptin, with the majority of it being in the bound form, while the amount of free leptin is comparable between transgenic and control mice.These results are consistent with the role of OBRe as a leptin binding protein in regulating leptin's bioavailability and activity

Evidence for the direct two-photon transition from ψ(3686) to J/ψ

published_or_final_versio

Arabidopsis R-SNARE Proteins VAMP721 and VAMP722 Are Required for Cell Plate Formation

Background: Cell plate formation during plant cytokinesis is facilitated by SNARE complex-mediated vesicle fusion at the cell-division plane. However, our knowledge regarding R-SNARE components of membrane fusion machinery for cell plate formation remains quite limited. Methodology/Principal Findings: We report the in vivo function of Arabidopsis VAMP721 and VAMP722, two closely sequence-related R-SNAREs, in cell plate formation. Double homozygous vamp721vamp722 mutant seedlings showed lethal dwarf phenotypes and were characterized by rudimentary roots, cotyledons and hypocotyls. Furthermore, cell wall stubs and incomplete cytokinesis were frequently observed in vamp721vamp722 seedlings. Confocal images revealed that green fluorescent protein-tagged VAMP721 and VAMP722 were preferentially localized to the expanding cell plates in dividing cells. Drug treatments and co-localization analyses demonstrated that punctuate organelles labeled with VAMP721 and VAMP722 represented early endosomes overlapped with VHA-a1-labeled TGN, which were distinct from Golgi stacks and prevacuolar compartments. In addition, protein traffic to the plasma membrane, but not to the vacuole, was severely disrupted in vamp721vamp722 seedlings by subcellular localization of marker proteins. Conclusion/Significance: These observations suggest that VAMP721 and VAMP722 are involved in secretory trafficking to the plasma membrane via TGN/early endosomal compartment, which contributes substantially to cell plate formatio

Oestrogen receptor α gene haplotype and postmenopausal breast cancer risk: a case control study

INTRODUCTION: Oestrogen receptor α, which mediates the effect of oestrogen in target tissues, is genetically polymorphic. Because breast cancer development is dependent on oestrogenic influence, we have investigated whether polymorphisms in the oestrogen receptor α gene (ESR1) are associated with breast cancer risk. METHODS: We genotyped breast cancer cases and age-matched population controls for one microsatellite marker and four single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in ESR1. The numbers of genotyped cases and controls for each marker were as follows: TA(n), 1514 cases and 1514 controls; c.454-397C → T, 1557 cases and 1512 controls; c.454-351A → G, 1556 cases and 1512 controls; c.729C → T, 1562 cases and 1513 controls; c.975C → G, 1562 cases and 1513 controls. Using logistic regression models, we calculated odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Haplotype effects were estimated in an exploratory analysis, using expectation-maximisation algorithms for case-control study data. RESULTS: There were no compelling associations between single polymorphic loci and breast cancer risk. In haplotype analyses, a common haplotype of the c.454-351A → G or c.454-397C → T and c.975C → G SNPs appeared to be associated with an increased risk for ductal breast cancer: one copy of the c.454-351A → G and c.975C → G haplotype entailed an OR of 1.19 (95% CI 1.06–1.33) and two copies with an OR of 1.42 (95% CI 1.15–1.77), compared with no copies, under a model of multiplicative penetrance. The association with the c.454-397C → T and c.975C → G haplotypes was similar. Our data indicated that these haplotypes were more influential in women with a high body mass index. Adjustment for multiple comparisons rendered the associations statistically non-significant. CONCLUSION: We found suggestions of an association between common haplotypes in ESR1 and the risk for ductal breast cancer that is stronger in heavy women

Comparative Analysis of Human Protein-Coding and Noncoding RNAs between Brain and 10 Mixed Cell Lines by RNA-Seq

In their expression process, different genes can generate diverse functional products, including various protein-coding or noncoding RNAs. Here, we investigated the protein-coding capacities and the expression levels of their isoforms for human known genes, the conservation and disease association of long noncoding RNAs (ncRNAs) with two transcriptome sequencing datasets from human brain tissues and 10 mixed cell lines. Comparative analysis revealed that about two-thirds of the genes expressed between brain and cell lines are the same, but less than one-third of their isoforms are identical. Besides those genes specially expressed in brain and cell lines, about 66% of genes expressed in common encoded different isoforms. Moreover, most genes dominantly expressed one isoform and some genes only generated protein-coding (or noncoding) RNAs in one sample but not in another. We found 282 human genes could encode both protein-coding and noncoding RNAs through alternative splicing in the two samples. We also identified more than 1,000 long ncRNAs, and most of those long ncRNAs contain conserved elements across either 46 vertebrates or 33 placental mammals or 10 primates. Further analysis showed that some long ncRNAs differentially expressed in human breast cancer or lung cancer, several of those differentially expressed long ncRNAs were validated by RT-PCR. In addition, those validated differentially expressed long ncRNAs were found significantly correlated with certain breast cancer or lung cancer related genes, indicating the important biological relevance between long ncRNAs and human cancers. Our findings reveal that the differences of gene expression profile between samples mainly result from the expressed gene isoforms, and highlight the importance of studying genes at the isoform level for completely illustrating the intricate transcriptome