8,768 research outputs found
Satellite-based estimates of groundwater depletion in the Badain Jaran Desert, China
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PHIP – a novel candidate breast cancer susceptibility locus on 6q14.1
Most non-BRCA1/2 breast cancer families have no identified genetic cause. We used linkage and haplotype analyses in familial and sporadic breast cancer cases to identify a susceptibility locus on chromosome 6q. Two independent genome-wide linkage analysis studies suggested a 3 Mb locus on chromosome 6q and two unrelated Swedish families with a LOD >2 together seemed to share a haplotype in 6q14.1. We hypothesized that this region harbored a rare high-risk founder allele contributing to breast cancer in these two families. Sequencing of DNA and RNA from the two families did not detect any pathogenic mutations. Finally, 29 SNPs in the region were analyzed in 44,214 cases and 43,532 controls from BCAC, and the original haplotypes in the two families were suggested as low-risk alleles for European and Swedish women specifically. There was also some support for one additional independent moderate-risk allele in Swedish familial samples. The results were consistent with our previous findings in familial breast cancer and supported a breast cancer susceptibility locus at 6q14.1 around the PHIP gene.The study was supported by grants provided by the Swedish Cancer Society (Cancerfonden), the Stockholm County Council (ALF project), the Swedish Research Council (Vetenskapsrådet), the Stockholm Cancer Society (Radiumhemsfonderna) and Bert von Kantzows and Nilsson-Ehle’s foundations. BCAC is funded by Cancer Research UK (C1287/A16563, C1287/A10118), the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme (grant numbers 634935 and 633784 for BRIDGES and B-CAST respectively), and by the European Community´s Seventh Framework Programme under grant agreement number 223175 (grant number HEALTH-F2-2009-223175) (COGS). Funding for the iCOGS infrastructure came from: the European Community’s Seventh Framework Programme under grant agreement n° 223175 (HEALTH-F2-2009-223175) (COGS), Cancer Research UK (C1287/A10118, C1287/A10710, C12292/A11174, C1281/A12014, C5047/A8384, C5047/A15007, C5047/A10692, C8197/A16565), the National Institutes of Health (CA128978) and Post-Cancer GWAS initiative (1U19 CA148537, 1U19 CA148065 and 1U19 CA148112 - the GAME-ON initiative), the Department of Defence (W81XWH-10-1-0341), the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) for the CIHR Team in Familial Risks of Breast Cancer, Komen Foundation for the Cure, the Breast Cancer Research Foundation, and the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund. Funding of individual BCAC studies is listed in the Supplemental Note
A new model for predicting relative nonwetting phase permeability from soil water retention curves
Relative permeability of the nonwetting phase in a multiphase flow in porous media is a function of phase saturation. Specific expressions of this function are commonly determined by combining soil water retention curves with relative nonwetting phase permeability models. Experimental evidence suggests that the relative permeability of the nonwetting phase can be significantly overestimated by the existing relative permeability models. A new model for the prediction of relative nonwetting phase permeability from soil water retention curves is proposed in this paper. A closed form expression can be obtained in combination with soil water retention curves. The model is mathematically simple and can easily and efficiently be implemented in numerical models of multiphase flow processes in porous media. The predicting capability of the proposed model is contrasted with well-supported models by comparing the measured and predicted relative air permeability data for 11 soils, representing a wide range of soil textures, from sand to silty clay loam. In most of the cases the proposed model improves the agreement between the predicted relative air permeability and the measured data. Copyright 2011 by the American Geophysical Union.published_or_final_versio
Defining Species When There is Gene Flow
Whatever one’s definition of species, it is generally expected that individuals of the same species should be genetically more similar to each other than they are to individuals of another species. Here, we show that in the presence of cross-species gene flow, this expectation may be incorrect. We use the multispecies coalescent model with continuous-time migration or episodic introgression to study the impact of gene flow on genetic differences within and between species and highlight a surprising but plausible scenario in which different population sizes and asymmetrical migration rates cause a genetic sequence to be on average more closely related to a sequence from another species than to a sequence from the same species. Our results highlight the extraordinary impact that even a small amount of gene flow may have on the genetic history of the species. We suggest that contrasting long-term migration rate and short-term hybridization rate, both of which can be estimated using genetic data, may be a powerful approach to detecting the presence of reproductive barriers and to define species boundaries.[Gene flow; introgression; migration; multispecies coalescent; species concept; species delimitation.
Increased Water Storage in the Qaidam Basin, the North Tibet Plateau from GRACE Gravity Data
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Review on airflow in unsaturated zones induced by natural forcings
Subsurface airflow in unsaturated zones induced by natural forcings is of importance in many environmental and engineering fields, such as environmental remediation, water infiltration and groundwater recharge, coastal soil aeration, mine and tunnel ventilation, and gas exchange between soil and atmosphere. This review synthesizes the published literature on subsurface airflow driven by natural forcings such as atmospheric pressure fluctuations, topographic effect, water table fluctuations, and water infiltration. The present state of knowledge concerning the mechanisms, analytical and numerical models, and environmental and engineering applications related to the naturally occurring airflow is discussed. Airflow induced by atmospheric pressure fluctuations is studied the most because of the applications to environmental remediation and transport of trace gases from soil to atmosphere, which are very important in understanding biogeochemical cycling and global change. Airflow induced by infiltration is also an extensively investigated topic because of its implications in rainfall infiltration and groundwater recharge. Airflow induced by water table fluctuations is important in coastal areas because it plays an important role in coastal environmental remediation and ecological systems. Airflow induced by topographic effect is studied the least. However, it has important applications in unsaturated zone gas transport and natural ventilation of mines and tunnels. Finally, the similarities and differences in the characteristics of the air pressure and airflow are compared and future research efforts are recommended.published_or_final_versio
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