Y-Chromosome Evidence for Common Ancestry of Three Chinese Populations with a High Risk of Esophageal Cancer

High rates of esophageal cancer (EC) are found in people of the Henan Taihang Mountain, Fujian Minnan, and Chaoshan regions of China. Historical records describe great waves of populations migrating from north-central China (the Henan and Shanxi Hans) through coastal Fujian Province to the Chaoshan plain. Although these regions are geographically distant, we hypothesized that EC high-risk populations in these three areas could share a common ancestry. Accordingly, we used 16 East Asian-specific Y-chromosome biallelic markers (single nucleotide polymorphisms; Y-SNPs) and six Y-chromosome short tandem repeat (Y-STR) loci to infer the origin of the EC high-risk Chaoshan population (CSP) and the genetic relationship between the CSP and the EC high-risk Henan Taihang Mountain population (HTMP) and Fujian population (FJP). The predominant haplogroups in these three populations are O3*, O3e*, and O3e1, with no significant difference between the populations in the frequency of these genotypes. Frequency distribution and principal component analysis revealed that the CSP is closely related to the HTMP and FJP, even though the former is geographically nearer to other populations (Guangfu and Hakka clans). The FJP is between the CSP and HTMP in the principal component plot. The CSP, FJP and HTMP are more closely related to Chinese Hans than to minorities, except Manchu Chinese, and are descendants of Sino-Tibetans, not Baiyues. Correlation analysis, hierarchical clustering analysis, and phylogenetic analysis (neighbor-joining tree) all support close genetic relatedness among the CSP, FJP and HTMP. The network for haplogroup O3 (including O3*, O3e* and O3e1) showed that the HTMP have highest STR haplotype diversity, suggesting that the HTMP may be a progenitor population for the CSP and FJP. These findings support the potentially important role of shared ancestry in understanding more about the genetic susceptibility in EC etiology in high-risk populations and have implications for determining the molecular basis of this disease

The alexithymia traits and personality characteristics in patients with irritable bowel syndrome

2012-2013 > Academic research: refereed > Publication in refereed journalVersion of RecordPublishe

Long-term structural performance monitoring system for the Shanghai Tower

Author name used in this manuscript: You-Lin Xu2012-2013 > Academic research: refereed > Publication in refereed journalAccepted ManuscriptPublishe

MODELING OF CONTACT ANGLES AND WETTING EFFECTS WITH PARTICLE METHODS

The physics of fluid-fluid-solid contact line dynamics and wetting behaviors are closely related to the inter-particle and intra-molecular hydrodynamic interactions of the concerned multiple phase system. Investigation of surface tension, contact angle, and wetting behavior using molecular dynamics (MD) is practical only on extremely small time scales (nanoseconds) and length scales (nanometers) even if the most advanced high-performance computers are used. In this article we introduce two particle methods, which are smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH) and dissipative particle dynamics (DPD), for multiphase fluid motion on continuum scale and meso-scale (between the molecular and continuum scales). In both methods, the interaction of fluid particles and solid particles can be used to study fluid-fluid-solid contact line dynamics with different wetting behaviors. The interaction strengths between fluid particles and between fluid and wall particles are closely related to the wetting behavior and the contact angles. The effectiveness of SPH and DPD in modeling contact line dynamics and wetting behavior has been demonstrated by a number of numerical examples that show the complexity of different multiphase flow behaviors

MODELING OF CONTACT ANGLES AND WETTING EFFECTS WITH PARTICLE METHODS

The physics of fluid-fluid-solid contact line dynamics and wetting behaviors are closely related to the inter-particle and intra-molecular hydrodynamic interactions of the concerned multiple phase system. Investigation of surface tension, contact angle, and wetting behavior using molecular dynamics (MD) is practical only on extremely small time scales (nanoseconds) and length scales (nanometers) even if the most advanced high-performance computers are used. In this article we introduce two particle methods, which are smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH) and dissipative particle dynamics (DPD), for multiphase fluid motion on continuum scale and meso-scale (between the molecular and continuum scales). In both methods, the interaction of fluid particles and solid particles can be used to study fluid-fluid-solid contact line dynamics with different wetting behaviors. The interaction strengths between fluid particles and between fluid and wall particles are closely related to the wetting behavior and the contact angles. The effectiveness of SPH and DPD in modeling contact line dynamics and wetting behavior has been demonstrated by a number of numerical examples that show the complexity of different multiphase flow behaviors

Identification of QTL genes for BMD variation using both linkage and gene-based association approaches

Low bone mineral density (BMD) is a risk factor for osteoporotic fracture with a high heritability. Previous large scale linkage study in Northern Chinese has identified four significant quantitative trait loci (QTL) for BMD variation on chromosome 2q24, 5q21, 7p21 and 13q21. We performed a replication study of these four QTL in 1,459 Southern Chinese from 306 pedigrees. Successful replication was observed on chromosome 5q21 for femoral neck BMD with a LOD score of 1.38 (nominal p value = 0.006). We have previously identified this locus in a genome scan meta-analysis of BMD variation in a white population. Subsequent QTL-wide gene-based association analysis in 800 subjects with extreme BMD identified CAST and ERAP1 as novel BMD candidate genes (empirical p value of 0.032 and 0.014, respectively). The associations were independently replicated in a Northern European population (empirical p value of 0.01 and 0.004 for CAST and ERAP1, respectively). These findings provide further evidence that 5q21 is a BMD QTL, and CAST and ERAP1 may be associated with femoral neck BMD variation

Cdk5 Is Required for Memory Function and Hippocampal Plasticity via the cAMP Signaling Pathway

Memory formation is modulated by pre- and post-synaptic signaling events in neurons. The neuronal protein kinase Cyclin-Dependent Kinase 5 (Cdk5) phosphorylates a variety of synaptic substrates and is implicated in memory formation. It has also been shown to play a role in homeostatic regulation of synaptic plasticity in cultured neurons. Surprisingly, we found that Cdk5 loss of function in hippocampal circuits results in severe impairments in memory formation and retrieval. Moreover, Cdk5 loss of function in the hippocampus disrupts cAMP signaling due to an aberrant increase in phosphodiesterase (PDE) proteins. Dysregulation of cAMP is associated with defective CREB phosphorylation and disrupted composition of synaptic proteins in Cdk5-deficient mice. Rolipram, a PDE4 inhibitor that prevents cAMP depletion, restores synaptic plasticity and memory formation in Cdk5-deficient mice. Collectively, our results demonstrate a critical role for Cdk5 in the regulation of cAMP-mediated hippocampal functions essential for synaptic plasticity and memory formation.Norman B. Leventhal FellowshipUnited States. National Institutes of Health (NIH T32 MH074249)United States. National Institutes of Health (NIH RO1 NS051874

Quasistationary Stabilization of the Decay of a Weakly-Bound Level and Its Breakdown in a Strong Laser Field

Although it was pointed out about 10 years ago that an atomic decay rate might decrease as the intensity of a high-frequency laser field increases, there still does not exist any complete understanding of either the physical origin of this interesting nonlinear phenomenon or its dependence on the atomic and field parameters. Essentially, the problem consists in that the phenomenon requires a major modification of the standard picture of photoeffect in a strong laser field. In Reference #1 the origin of this stabilization is related to a particular distortion of an atomic potential by an intense monochromatic high-frequency field. This phenomenon is called adiabatic or quasistationary stabilization (QS). For the case of Rydberg levels, another (interference) mechanism of QS was suggested. Both theories predict an unlimited decrease of the decay rate (or of the width Γ of an atomic level, i.e., of the imaginary part of the complex quasienergy, ε = Re ε – iΓ/2 ) as the laser field amplitude increases. In recent years the idea of “dynamic stabilization” (DS) has become popular. It originates from the pulse form of a laser field rather than from any intrinsic property of the atom in a strong monochromatic field. Within this model the numerous simulations point also to the possibility of a breakdown of stabilization for the case of superintense short laser pulses. However, a recent paper, using the quasistationary quasienergy states (QQES) as an adiabatic basis for the laser pulse has shown that DS has the same (quasistationary) origin as QS. Finally, a number of authors deny the existence of stabilization, in particular, of QS for ionization from a short-range potential and of DS in pulsed fields. Obviously, these controversies and ambiguities are caused by the complexity of the numerical solution of the Cauchy problem for the time-dependent Schrödinger equation in a strong field and by the absence of analyses for exactly solvable analytical models. We analyze the exactly solvable problem of an electron in a three-dimensional, short-range potential and consider the two questions: does a QS-like behavior of the decay rate exist for this model, and, if so, is there an upper intensity limit of the QS regime

Stochastic Gravity: Theory and Applications

Whereas semiclassical gravity is based on the semiclassical Einstein equation with sources given by the expectation value of the stress-energy tensor of quantum fields, stochastic semiclassical gravity is based on the Einstein-Langevin equation, which has in addition sources due to the noise kernel. In the first part, we describe the fundamentals of this new theory via two approaches: the axiomatic and the functional. In the second part, we describe three applications of stochastic gravity theory. First, we consider metric perturbations in a Minkowski spacetime, compute the two-point correlation functions of these perturbations and prove that Minkowski spacetime is a stable solution of semiclassical gravity. Second, we discuss structure formation from the stochastic gravity viewpoint. Third, we discuss the backreaction of Hawking radiation in the gravitational background of a black hole and describe the metric fluctuations near the event horizon of an evaporating black holeComment: 100 pages, no figures; an update of the 2003 review in Living Reviews in Relativity gr-qc/0307032 ; it includes new sections on the Validity of Semiclassical Gravity, the Stability of Minkowski Spacetime, and the Metric Fluctuations of an Evaporating Black Hol

Prognostic significance of the expression of GFRα1, GFRα3 and Syndecan-3, Proteins binding ARTEMIN, In mammary carcinoma

10.1186/1471-2407-13-34BMC Cancer13-BCMA