Conformational dynamics and internal friction in homopolymer globules: equilibrium vs. non-equilibrium simulations

We study the conformational dynamics within homopolymer globules by solvent-implicit Brownian dynamics simulations. A strong dependence of the internal chain dynamics on the Lennard-Jones cohesion strength ε and the globule size N [subscript G] is observed. We find two distinct dynamical regimes: a liquid-like regime (for ε ε[subscript s] with slow internal dynamics. The cohesion strength ε[subscript s] of this freezing transition depends on N G . Equilibrium simulations, where we investigate the diffusional chain dynamics within the globule, are compared with non-equilibrium simulations, where we unfold the globule by pulling the chain ends with prescribed velocity (encompassing low enough velocities so that the linear-response, viscous regime is reached). From both simulation protocols we derive the internal viscosity within the globule. In the liquid-like regime the internal friction increases continuously with ε and scales extensive in N [subscript G] . This suggests an internal friction scenario where the entire chain (or an extensive fraction thereof) takes part in conformational reorganization of the globular structure.American Society for Engineering Education. National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate Fellowshi

Genome-wide association study of lung adenocarcinoma in East Asia and comparison with a European population

Lung adenocarcinoma is the most common type of lung cancer. Known risk variants explain only a small fraction of lung adenocarcinoma heritability. Here, we conducted a two-stage genome-wide association study of lung adenocarcinoma of East Asian ancestry (21,658 cases and 150,676 controls; 54.5% never-smokers) and identified 12 novel susceptibility variants, bringing the total number to 28 at 25 independent loci. Transcriptome-wide association analyses together with colocalization studies using a Taiwanese lung expression quantitative trait loci dataset (n = 115) identified novel candidate genes, including FADS1 at 11q12 and ELF5 at 11p13. In a multi-ancestry meta-analysis of East Asian and European studies, four loci were identified at 2p11, 4q32, 16q23, and 18q12. At the same time, most of our findings in East Asian populations showed no evidence of association in European populations. In our studies drawn from East Asian populations, a polygenic risk score based on the 25 loci had a stronger association in never-smokers vs. individuals with a history of smoking (Pinteraction = 0.0058). These findings provide new insights into the etiology of lung adenocarcinoma in individuals from East Asian populations, which could be important in developing translational applications

Novel Loci for Adiponectin Levels and Their Influence on Type 2 Diabetes and Metabolic Traits : A Multi-Ethnic Meta-Analysis of 45,891 Individuals

J. Kaprio, S. Ripatti ja M.-L. Lokki työryhmien jäseniä.Peer reviewe

Automated decision-making fairness in an AI-driven world: Public perceptions, hopes and concerns

Ongoing advances in artificial intelligence (AI) are increasingly part of scientific efforts as well as the public debate and the media agenda, raising hopes and concerns about the impact of automated decision making across different sectors of our society. This topic is receiving increasing attention at both national and cross- national levels. The present report contributes to informing this public debate, providing the results of a survey with 958 participants recruited from high-quality sample of the Dutch population. It provides an overview of public knowledge, perceptions, hopes and concerns about the adoption of AI and ADM across different societal sectors in the Netherlands. This report is part of a research collaboration between the Universities of Amsterdam, Tilburg, Radboud, Utrecht and Eindhoven (TU/e) on automated decision making, and forms input to the groups’ research on fairness in automated decision making

Submarine limestones in the nearshore environment off Kuwait, northern Arabian Gulf*

Even with careful petrographic and mineralogic characterization of marine limestones, intertidally and subtidally lithified rocks are often difficult to differentiate, thus hindering an accurate delineation of the diagenetic environment. Limestones from water depths of 6 to 8 m off Kuwait vary in petrographic character from oosparite and biosparite (in which the cement is entirely aragonite) to oomicrite and biomicrite (in which at least some of the cement is microcrystalline magnesian calcite). Carbon‐14 dates suggest that the oosparite may have lithified at depths shallower than at present (possibly intertidally) during a lower stand of sea‐level. In contrast the biosparite, oomicrite and biomicrite appear to be contemporaneous and to have lithified subtidally. Copyright © 1987, Wiley Blackwell. All rights reserve