Magnetically active vacancy related defects in irradiated GaN layers

We present the studies of magnetic properties of 2 MeV 4He+-irradiated GaN grown by metal-organic chemical-vapor deposition. Particle irradiation allowed controllable introduction of Ga-vacancy in the samples. The magnetic moments with concentrations changing between 4.3...8.3x10^17 cm^-3 showing superparamagnetic blocking at room temperature are observed. The appearance of clear hysteresis curve at T = 5 K with coercive field of about H_C = 270 Oe suggests that the formation of more complex Ga vacancy related defects is promoted with increasing Ga vacancy content. The small concentration of the observed magnetically-active defects with respect to the total Ga- vacancy concentration suggests that the presence of the oxygen/hydrogen-related vacancy complexes is the source of the observed magnetic moments.Comment: 3 pages, 3 figure

Experimental Study of Concrete Subjected to Explosive Loading

The main subject of this paper was to demonstrate the response of structural concrete to different imposed strain rates. Attention is focused on the strain rate about 10^-2 s^-1, where some technical difficulties are experienced when an exact determination of mechanical properties for quasi-brittle materials is attempted. The design of a measurement system, which realizes computer acquisition, analysis and graphics pictures viewing of date, is also presented.Выполненные экспериментальные исследования свидетельствуют о влиянии различных скоростей деформирования на прочность конструкционного бетона. Особое внимание уделено скорости деформирования 10^-2 с^-1 для которой проблематично точно определить механические характеристики квазихрупких материалов. Приведена новая конструкция системы измерения, в которой реализуются компьютеризованное получение, обработка и графическое представление экспериментальных данных.Проведені експериментальні дослідження свідчать про вплив різної швидкості деформування на міцність конструкційного бетону. Особлива увага зосереджена на швидкості деформування 10^-2 c^-1 , для якої проблематично точно визначити механічні характеристики квазікрихких матеріалів. Наведено нову конструкцію системи вимірювання, в якій реалізуються комп’ютеризоване одержання експериментальних даних, їхня обробка та графічне зображення

Dynamic Testing of Reinforced Glass Fibre-Epoxy Composite at Elevated Temperatures

We present the experimental analysis of the deformation, strength and failure of tubular speciImens, made of woven reinforced glass fibre-epoxy composite. These specimens were subjected to uniaxial tensile testing with the average strain rates of about 10 ^-5 and up to 20 с ^-1 . Tests were performed at room and three elevated temperatures, up to the temperature corresponding to the phase change of the matrix.Проведено експериментальний аналіз деформування, міцності і руйнування трубчастих зразків, виготовлених із армованого скловолокном епоксидного композита. Зразки випробовували на одновісний розтяг при середній швидкості деформації від 10 ^-5 до 20 c ^-1. Випробування проводили за кімнатної температури, а також за трьох підвищених до моменту фазового перетворення матриці.Представлен экспериментальный анализ деформирования, прочности и разрушения трубчатых образцов, изготовленных из армированного стекловолокном эпоксидного композита. Образцы подвергались одноосному растяжению при средних скоростях деформации от 10^-5 до 20 с^-1. Испытания проводились при комнатной температуре, а также при трех повышенных температурах до момента фазового превращения матрицы

Limb body wall complex, amniotic band sequence, or new syndrome caused by mutation in IQ Motif containing K (IQCK)?

published_or_final_versio

Small RNA Profile in Moso Bamboo Root and Leaf Obtained by High Definition Adapters

Moso bamboo (Phyllostachy heterocycla cv. pubescens L.) is an economically important fast-growing tree. In order to gain better understanding of gene expression regulation in this important species we used next generation sequencing to profile small RNAs in leaf and roots of young seedlings. Since standard kits to produce cDNA of small RNAs are biased for certain small RNAs, we used High Definition adapters that reduce ligation bias. We identified and experimentally validated five new microRNAs and a few other small non-coding RNAs that were not microRNAs. The biological implication of microRNA expression levels and targets of microRNAs are discussed

Cohesin complex-associated holoprosencephaly

Marked by incomplete division of the embryonic forebrain, holoprosencephaly is one of the most common human developmental disorders. Despite decades of phenotype-driven research, 80–90% of aneuploidy-negative holoprosencephaly individuals with a probable genetic aetiology do not have a genetic diagnosis. Here we report holoprosencephaly associated with variants in the two X-linked cohesin complex genes, STAG2 and SMC1A, with loss-of-function variants in 10 individuals and a missense variant in one. Additionally, we report four individuals with variants in the cohesin complex genes that are not X-linked, SMC3 and RAD21. Using whole mount in situ hybridization, we show that STAG2 and SMC1A are expressed in the prosencephalic neural folds during primary neurulation in the mouse, consistent with forebrain morphogenesis and holoprosencephaly pathogenesis. Finally, we found that shRNA knockdown of STAG2 and SMC1A causes aberrant expression of HPE-associated genes ZIC2, GLI2, SMAD3 and FGFR1 in human neural stem cells. These findings show the cohesin complex as an important regulator of median forebrain development and X-linked inheritance patterns in holoprosencephaly

Regulation of High-Temperature Stress Response by Small RNAs

Temperature extremes constitute one of the most common environmental stresses that adversely affect the growth and development of plants. Transcriptional regulation of temperature stress responses, particularly involving protein-coding gene networks, has been intensively studied in recent years. High-throughput sequencing technologies enabled the detection of a great number of small RNAs that have been found to change during and following temperature stress. The precise molecular action of some of these has been elucidated in detail. In the present chapter, we summarize the current understanding of small RNA-mediated modulation of high- temperature stress-regulatory pathways including basal stress responses, acclimation, and thermo-memory. We gather evidence that suggests that small RNA network changes, involving multiple upregulated and downregulated small RNAs, balance the trade-off between growth/development and stress responses, in order to ensure successful adaptation. We highlight specific characteristics of small RNA-based tem- perature stress regulation in crop plants. Finally, we explore the perspectives of the use of small RNAs in breeding to improve stress tolerance, which may be relevant for agriculture in the near future

Deep Sequencing of Human Nuclear and Cytoplasmic Small RNAs Reveals an Unexpectedly Complex Subcellular Distribution of miRNAs and tRNA 3′ Trailers

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are ∼22-nt small non-coding regulatory RNAs that have generally been considered to regulate gene expression at the post-transcriptional level in the cytoplasm. However, recent studies have reported that some miRNAs localize to and function in the nucleus.To determine the number of miRNAs localized to the nucleus, we systematically investigated the subcellular distribution of small RNAs (sRNAs) by independent deep sequencing sequenced of the nuclear and cytoplasmic pools of 18- to 30-nucleotide sRNAs from human cells. We identified 339 nuclear and 324 cytoplasmic known miRNAs, 300 of which overlap, suggesting that the majority of miRNAs are imported into the nucleus. With the exception of a few miRNAs evidently enriched in the nuclear pool, such as the mir-29b, the ratio of miRNA abundances in the nuclear fraction versus in the cytoplasmic fraction vary to some extent. Moreover, our results revealed that a large number of tRNA 3′trailers are exported from the nucleus and accumulate in the cytoplasm. These tRNA 3′ trailers accumulate in a variety of cell types, implying that the biogenesis of tRNA 3′ trailers is conserved and that they have a potential functional role in vertebrate cells.Our results provide the first comprehensive view of the subcellular distribution of diverse sRNAs and new insights into the roles of miRNAs and tRNA 3′ trailers in the cell

Assessment of variation in immunosuppressive pathway genes reveals TGFBR2 to be associated with risk of clear cell ovarian cancer

BACKGROUND: Regulatory T (Treg) cells, a subset of CD4+ T lymphocytes, are mediators of immunosuppression in cancer, and, thus, variants in genes encoding Treg cell immune molecules could be associated with ovarian cancer. METHODS: In a population of 15,596 epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) cases and 23,236 controls, we measured genetic associations of 1,351 SNPs in Treg cell pathway genes with odds of ovarian cancer and tested pathway and gene-level associations, overall and by histotype, for the 25 genes, using the admixture likelihood (AML) method. The most significant single SNP associations were tested for correlation with expression levels in 44 ovarian cancer patients. RESULTS: The most significant global associations for all genes in the pathway were seen in endometrioid (p = 0.082) and clear cell (p = 0.083), with the most significant gene level association seen with TGFBR2 (p = 0.001) and clear cell EOC. Gene associations with histotypes at p < 0.05 included: IL12 (p = 0.005 and p = 0.008, serous and high-grade serous, respectively), IL8RA (p = 0.035, endometrioid and mucinous), LGALS1 (p = 0.03, mucinous), STAT5B (p = 0.022, clear cell), TGFBR1 (p = 0.021 endometrioid) and TGFBR2 (p = 0.017 and p = 0.025, endometrioid and mucinous, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: Common inherited gene variation in Treg cell pathways shows some evidence of germline genetic contribution to odds of EOC that varies by histologic subtype and may be associated with mRNA expression of immune-complex receptor in EOC patients