Subquery Allocation Problem and Heuristics for Secret Sharing Distributed Database System

We discuss query optimization in a secure distributed database system, called the Secret Sharing Distributed DataBase System (SSDDBS). We have to consider not only subquery allocations to distributed servers and data transfer on the network but also decoding distributed shared data. At first, we formulated the subquery allocation problem as a constraints satisfaction problem. Since the subquery allocation problem is NP-complete in general, it is not easy to obtain the optimal solution in practical time. Secondly, we proposed a heuristic evaluation function for the best-first search. We constructed an optimization model on an available optimization software, and evaluated the proposed method. The results showed that feasible solutions could be obtained by using the proposed method in practical time, and that quality of the obtained solutions was good

The whole blood transcriptional regulation landscape in 465 COVID-19 infected samples from Japan COVID-19 Task Force

「コロナ制圧タスクフォース」COVID-19患者由来の血液細胞における遺伝子発現の網羅的解析 --重症度に応じた遺伝子発現の変化には、ヒトゲノム配列の個人差が影響する--. 京都大学プレスリリース. 2022-08-23.Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a recently-emerged infectious disease that has caused millions of deaths, where comprehensive understanding of disease mechanisms is still unestablished. In particular, studies of gene expression dynamics and regulation landscape in COVID-19 infected individuals are limited. Here, we report on a thorough analysis of whole blood RNA-seq data from 465 genotyped samples from the Japan COVID-19 Task Force, including 359 severe and 106 non-severe COVID-19 cases. We discover 1169 putative causal expression quantitative trait loci (eQTLs) including 34 possible colocalizations with biobank fine-mapping results of hematopoietic traits in a Japanese population, 1549 putative causal splice QTLs (sQTLs; e.g. two independent sQTLs at TOR1AIP1), as well as biologically interpretable trans-eQTL examples (e.g., REST and STING1), all fine-mapped at single variant resolution. We perform differential gene expression analysis to elucidate 198 genes with increased expression in severe COVID-19 cases and enriched for innate immune-related functions. Finally, we evaluate the limited but non-zero effect of COVID-19 phenotype on eQTL discovery, and highlight the presence of COVID-19 severity-interaction eQTLs (ieQTLs; e.g., CLEC4C and MYBL2). Our study provides a comprehensive catalog of whole blood regulatory variants in Japanese, as well as a reference for transcriptional landscapes in response to COVID-19 infection

DOCK2 is involved in the host genetics and biology of severe COVID-19

「コロナ制圧タスクフォース」COVID-19疾患感受性遺伝子DOCK2の重症化機序を解明 --アジア最大のバイオレポジトリーでCOVID-19の治療標的を発見--. 京都大学プレスリリース. 2022-08-10.Identifying the host genetic factors underlying severe COVID-19 is an emerging challenge. Here we conducted a genome-wide association study (GWAS) involving 2, 393 cases of COVID-19 in a cohort of Japanese individuals collected during the initial waves of the pandemic, with 3, 289 unaffected controls. We identified a variant on chromosome 5 at 5q35 (rs60200309-A), close to the dedicator of cytokinesis 2 gene (DOCK2), which was associated with severe COVID-19 in patients less than 65 years of age. This risk allele was prevalent in East Asian individuals but rare in Europeans, highlighting the value of genome-wide association studies in non-European populations. RNA-sequencing analysis of 473 bulk peripheral blood samples identified decreased expression of DOCK2 associated with the risk allele in these younger patients. DOCK2 expression was suppressed in patients with severe cases of COVID-19. Single-cell RNA-sequencing analysis (n = 61 individuals) identified cell-type-specific downregulation of DOCK2 and a COVID-19-specific decreasing effect of the risk allele on DOCK2 expression in non-classical monocytes. Immunohistochemistry of lung specimens from patients with severe COVID-19 pneumonia showed suppressed DOCK2 expression. Moreover, inhibition of DOCK2 function with CPYPP increased the severity of pneumonia in a Syrian hamster model of SARS-CoV-2 infection, characterized by weight loss, lung oedema, enhanced viral loads, impaired macrophage recruitment and dysregulated type I interferon responses. We conclude that DOCK2 has an important role in the host immune response to SARS-CoV-2 infection and the development of severe COVID-19, and could be further explored as a potential biomarker and/or therapeutic target

Heterogeneity of synonymous substitution rates in the Xenopus frog genome.

With the increasing availability of high quality genomic data, there is opportunity to deeply explore the genealogical relationships of different gene loci between closely related species. In this study, we utilized genomes of Xenopus laevis (XLA, a tetraploid species with (L) and (S) sub-genomes) and X. tropicalis (XTR, a diploid species) to investigate whether synonymous substitution rates among orthologous or homoeologous genes displayed any heterogeneity. From over 1500 orthologous/homoeologous genes collected, we calculated proportion of synonymous substitutions between genomes/sub-genomes (k) and found variation within and between chromosomes. Within most chromosomes, we identified higher k with distance from the centromere, likely attributed to higher substitution rates and recombination in these regions. Using maximum likelihood methods, we identified further evidence supporting rate heterogeneity, and estimated species divergence times and ancestral population sizes. Estimated species divergence times (XLA.L-XLA.S: ~25.5 mya; XLA-XTR: ~33.0 mya) were slightly younger compared to a past study, attributed to consideration of population size in our study. Meanwhile, we found very large estimated population size in the ancestral populations of the two species (NA = 2.55 x 106). Local hybridization and population structure, which have not yet been well elucidated in frogs, may be a contributing factor to these possible large population sizes

A case of pulmonary adenocarcinoma showing rapid progression of peritoneal dissemination after immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy

Abstract Background Immune checkpoint inhibitors are standard treatments for non-small cell lung cancer. Unique cases with paradoxical acceleration of the disease after immunotherapy have been reported. These have been described as cases of hyperprogressive disease. Case presentation A 76-year-old man was diagnosed with pulmonary adenocarcinoma with pleural dissemination and liver and adrenal metastases. Genomic analysis revealed neither EGFR mutations nor ALK translocations. Immunohistochemical analysis revealed a programmed death-ligand 1 tumor proportion score of 23%. Chemotherapy with carboplatin, paclitaxel, and bevacizumab resulted in Grade 3 skin eruption and disease progression. Pembrolizumab was initiated as a second-line treatment. However, peritoneal dissemination and ascites developed. The patient died 2 weeks later. The autopsy revealed widespread peritoneal dissemination and an extensive hemorrhagic infarction. Conclusion This was a rare case of hyperprogressive disease with rapid progression of peritoneal dissemination after pembrolizumab treatment