Mapping of ionomic traits in Mimulus guttatus reveals Mo and Cd QTLs that colocalize with MOT1 homologues

Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Retrospective evaluation of whole exome and genome mutation calls in 746 cancer samples

Funder: NCI U24CA211006Abstract: The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and International Cancer Genome Consortium (ICGC) curated consensus somatic mutation calls using whole exome sequencing (WES) and whole genome sequencing (WGS), respectively. Here, as part of the ICGC/TCGA Pan-Cancer Analysis of Whole Genomes (PCAWG) Consortium, which aggregated whole genome sequencing data from 2,658 cancers across 38 tumour types, we compare WES and WGS side-by-side from 746 TCGA samples, finding that ~80% of mutations overlap in covered exonic regions. We estimate that low variant allele fraction (VAF < 15%) and clonal heterogeneity contribute up to 68% of private WGS mutations and 71% of private WES mutations. We observe that ~30% of private WGS mutations trace to mutations identified by a single variant caller in WES consensus efforts. WGS captures both ~50% more variation in exonic regions and un-observed mutations in loci with variable GC-content. Together, our analysis highlights technological divergences between two reproducible somatic variant detection efforts

Current Stem Cell Delivery Methods for Myocardial Repair

Heart failure commonly results from an irreparable damage due to cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in the United States. In recent years, the rapid advancements in stem cell research have garnered much praise for paving the way to novel therapies in reversing myocardial injuries. Cell types currently investigated for cellular delivery include embryonic stem cells (ESCs), induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), and adult stem cell lineages such as skeletal myoblasts, bone-marrow-derived stem cells (BMSCs), mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), and cardiac stem cells (CSCs). To engraft these cells into patients’ damaged myocardium, a variety of approaches (intramyocardial, transendocardial, transcoronary, venous, intravenous, intracoronary artery and retrograde venous administrations and bioengineered tissue transplantation) have been developed and explored. In this paper, we will discuss the pros and cons of these delivery modalities, the current state of their therapeutic potentials, and a multifaceted evaluation of their reported clinical feasibility, safety, and efficacy. While the issues of optimal delivery approach, the best progenitor stem cell type, the most effective dose, and timing of administration remain to be addressed, we are highly optimistic that stem cell therapy will provide a clinically viable option for myocardial regeneration

Low-cost UAV-based thermal infrared remote sensing: Platform, calibration and applications

Thermal infrared (TIR) remote sensing is recognized as a powerful tool for collecting, analyzing and modeling of energy fluxes and temperature variations. Traditional aircraft, satellite or ground TIR platforms can provide valuable regional-scale environmental information. However, these platforms have limitations, such as expensive cost, complicated manipulation, etc. In comparison, small unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) have many advantages in TIR remote sensing applications over traditional platforms. In this paper, a low-cost UAV-based TIR remote sensing platform: AggieAir-TIR is introduced. AggieAir-TIR is a small, low-cost, flexible TIR remote sensing platform, which was accomplished at the Center for Self Organizing and Intelligent Systems (CSOIS) in Utah State University (USU). The detailed introduction of AggieAir-TIR remote sensing platform is provided in the paper. Furthermore, a low-cost TIR imaging camera calibration experiment is designed, and the calibration results are provided. Based on this AggieAir-TIR remote sensing platform, many remote TIR image data collection and analysis projects can be effectively implemented

Locations of elemental accumulation QTLs.

<p>QTLs for experiment 1 (white), experiment 2 (black), and both experiments (gray) are plotted as 1.5 LOD intervals on the linkage map of the RILs. Locations of the two major homologues of <i>MOT1</i> are also plotted on the map. Up arrows indicate greater accumulation by the IM allele, while down arrows indicate greater accumulation by the DUN allele.</p

21st Century Cardio-Oncology

Cardiotoxicity is a well-established complication of oncology therapies. Cardiomyopathy resulting from anthracyclines is a classic example. In the past decade, an explosion of novel cancer therapies, often targeted and more specific than conventional therapies, has revolutionized oncology therapy and dramatically changed cancer prognosis. However, some of these therapies have introduced an assortment of cardiovascular (CV) complications. At times, these devastating outcomes have only become apparent after drug approval and have limited the use of potent therapies. There is a growing need for better testing platforms, both for CV toxicity screening and for elucidating mechanisms of cardiotoxicities of approved cancer therapies. This review discusses the utility of available nonclinical models (in vitro, in vivo, and in silico) and highlights recent advancements in modalities like human stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes for developing more comprehensive cardiotoxicity testing and new means of cardioprotection with targeted anticancer therapies

Parental means for elemental accumulation (µg g⁻¹) in both experiments, and comparison by Wilcoxon Rank-Sum tests.

<p>*denotes traits that were significantly different after Bonferroni correction at alpha = 0.05.</p

Mavrilimumab in patients with severe COVID-19 pneumonia and systemic hyperinflammation (MASH-COVID): an investigator initiated, multicentre, double-blind, randomised, placebo-controlled trial

In patients with COVID-19, granulocyte-macrophage colony stimulating factor (GM-CSF) might be a mediator of the hyperactive inflammatory response associated with respiratory failure and death. We aimed to evaluate whether mavrilimumab, a monoclonal antibody to the GM-CSF receptor, would improve outcomes in patients with COVID-19 pneumonia and systemic hyperinflammation