Pan-cancer analysis of whole genomes

Cancer is driven by genetic change, and the advent of massively parallel sequencing has enabled systematic documentation of this variation at the whole-genome scale(1-3). Here we report the integrative analysis of 2,658 whole-cancer genomes and their matching normal tissues across 38 tumour types from the Pan-Cancer Analysis of Whole Genomes (PCAWG) Consortium of the International Cancer Genome Consortium (ICGC) and The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA). We describe the generation of the PCAWG resource, facilitated by international data sharing using compute clouds. On average, cancer genomes contained 4-5 driver mutations when combining coding and non-coding genomic elements; however, in around 5% of cases no drivers were identified, suggesting that cancer driver discovery is not yet complete. Chromothripsis, in which many clustered structural variants arise in a single catastrophic event, is frequently an early event in tumour evolution; in acral melanoma, for example, these events precede most somatic point mutations and affect several cancer-associated genes simultaneously. Cancers with abnormal telomere maintenance often originate from tissues with low replicative activity and show several mechanisms of preventing telomere attrition to critical levels. Common and rare germline variants affect patterns of somatic mutation, including point mutations, structural variants and somatic retrotransposition. A collection of papers from the PCAWG Consortium describes non-coding mutations that drive cancer beyond those in the TERT promoter(4); identifies new signatures of mutational processes that cause base substitutions, small insertions and deletions and structural variation(5,6); analyses timings and patterns of tumour evolution(7); describes the diverse transcriptional consequences of somatic mutation on splicing, expression levels, fusion genes and promoter activity(8,9); and evaluates a range of more-specialized features of cancer genomes(8,10-18).Peer reviewe

Micropropagation of Vaccinium bracteatum Thunb.

Vaccinium bracteatum Thunb. is a vigorous plant that is easy to grow, can adapt to various acid soil species and has good resistance to drought. It has fewer pest problems than most other blueberry cultivars, offering an advantage rootstock for various blueberry cultivars to resist pest and disease. However, it is relatively difficult to propagate and the cuttings can be difficult to root. The present study is an investigation into the effects of the types and combination of plant growth regulators on the tissue culture system of V. bracteatum Thunb. When nodal explants were cultured on media without plant growth regulators (PGRs), the shoots did not produce new buds, while all media supplemented with PGRs significantly affected adventitious bud proliferation in woody plant medium (WPM). Upon addition of PGRs, adventitious buds occurred and significant differences were observed (P < 0.05). The shoot length and proliferation coefficient in WPM basal medium containing 0 mg L-1 KT, 2.0 mg L-1 BA, 2.0 mg L-1 ZT and 2.0 mg L-1 TDZ was much more than other concentrations. The shoot length and proliferation reached 9.64 and 7.66 cm. For rooting, significant variation was observed (P < 0.05) between different concentrations of IBA and NAA. In general, the effect of IBA was much better than NAA. The root length gradually increased with increasing concentration of IBA from 0 to 2.0 mg L-1 followed by a decrease from 2.0 to 4.0 mg L-1. The highest root length and number was 3.16 and 3.33 cm respectively when the concentration of IBA was 2.0 mg L-1.Keywords: Vaccinium bracteatum Thunb., plant growth regulator, tissue culture, micropropagationAfrican Journal of Biotechnology Vol. 12(7), pp. 695-70

Microstructure, mechanical and corrosion properties of FeCrNiCoMnSi0.1 high-entropy alloy coating via TIG arc melting technology and high-frequency ultrasonic impact with welding

With the increase in studies on high-entropy alloys and their impressive structural properties, the preparation processes and applications of high-entropy alloys have become a popular research topic in metallic materials. In this paper, the preparation of FeCrNiCoMnSi0.1 high-entropy alloy coatings was carried out by the follow-welding high-frequency power ultrasonic impact composite TIG arc melting process, the effects of different power ultrasonic impacts on the microstructure and properties of the coatings are investigated. The results showed that the average grain size is reduced by 74 % (from 278 μm to 72 μm), the average microhardness is increased by 41 % from 568 HV1 to 807 HV1, the abrasion resistance is improved by 68 % under the effect of ultrasonic impact. The ultrasonic impact treatment process can effectively refine the microstructure of the coatings and improve the strength of grain boundaries. The corrosion resistance of the coating in 3.5 wt% NaCl solution is enhanced by 65 %, the corrosion type was changed from intergranular corrosion to uniform corrosion. This is mainly caused by the ultrasonic impact treatment which suppresses the elemental segregation of Cr and Mn and improves the grain boundary strength

Growth and optical properties of Er³⁺-doped BaGdcrystal ₂ (MoO₄)₄

Pojedynczy kryształ BaGd2(MoO4)4 domieszkowany 1% at. Er3+ wyhodowano metodą Czochralskiego. Omówiono szczegóły procedury otrzymywania i wzrostu kryształu. Kryształ ma doskonałą płaszczyznę poślizgu (010), a jego łupliwość czyni go przydatnym jako ośrodek czynny w mikrolaserach. Zmierzono widmo absorpcyjne w zakresie światła widzialnego i bliskiej podczerwieni (NIR) w temperaturze pokojowej. W zakresie od 380 do 1600 nm występuje kilka intensywnych pików absorpcyjnych. Zmierzono również widmo fluorescencyjne wzbudzane za pomocą lampy ksenonowej. Zaobserwowano intensywny pik emisyjny NIR 1536 nm. Czasy trwania fluorescencji 4I13/2 oraz 4I11/2 wyznaczone za pomocą dopasowania krzywej wykładniczej wyniosły odpowiednio 5,85 ms i 112,62 μs. Ciepło właściw Er3+ BaGd2(MoO4)4 w 25°C wynosi 0,471 J g-1 K-1. Na podstawie zmierzonych widm obliczono parametry optyczne na podstawie teorii Judda-Ofelta (J–O).A 1 at % Er3+ doped BaGd2(MoO4)4 single crystal was grown by the Czochralski method. Details on the preparation and growth procedures were discussed. The crystal has a perfect (010) cleavage plane, and the cleavage character makes the crystal suitable as a gain medium for microchip lasers. The absorption spectrum in the visible and near-infrared (NIR) regions was measured at room temperature. There are several strong absorption peaks in the range from 380 to 1600 nm. The fluorescence spectrum excited by a Xenon lamp was also measured. A strong NIR emission peak located at 1536 nm was observed. The fluorescence lifetimes of 4I13/2 and 4I11/23+:BaGd2(MoO4)4 at 25°C is 0.471 J g-1 K-1. Using the measured spectra, the optical parameters were calculated using the J–O theory

sj-docx-1-ijl-10.1177_15347346241227001 - Supplemental material for Efficacy and Safety of Platelet-Rich Plasma for Pressure Ulcers: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials

Supplemental material, sj-docx-1-ijl-10.1177_15347346241227001 for Efficacy and Safety of Platelet-Rich Plasma for Pressure Ulcers: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials by Zhonglin Hu, Haona Xv, Aiping Feng, Senmao Wang and Xuefeng Han in The International Journal of Lower Extremity Wounds</p

Preparation and properties of all solid-state electrochromic devices based on tungsten oxide nanocomposites

The optical properties of electrochromic materials can change reversibly under an applied voltage. Tungsten oxide has been widely used in various fields because of its excellent electrochromic efficiency. The electrochromic films produced by W _18 O _49 nanowires and WO _3 have excellent performance. Compared with WO _3 film, the porous structure of the nanowires can make ions rapidly diffuse, provide a larger surface area for the charge transfer reaction, promote electrolyte penetration, and effectively improve the electrochromic efficiency. In this paper, a kind of electrochromic tungsten oxide thin film combining W _18 O _49 nanowires and WO _3 was prepared by combining a hydrothermal method and a tungstic acid method. The electrochromic performance of the film was improved considerably by combining the two kinds of thin films. The results show that the optical modulation amplitude is close to ideal (92.5%) and has a fast colour fading (colour 1.7 s and colour fading 1.3 s) effect, a good cycle stability, which is much better than those of the WO _3 and W _18 O _49 films. Using lithium perchlorate and PC as raw materials and polyurethane as a photocuring agent, a solid-state electrochromic device based on a tungsten oxide composite film was fabricated by capillarity. The colouring time of the device is 2 s, the fading time is 1 s, and the optical modulation amplitude is 85%

MRI-based clinical-radiomics nomogram to predict early neurological deterioration in isolated acute pontine infarction: a two-center study in Northeast China

Abstract Objective To predict the appearance of early neurological deterioration (END) among patients with isolated acute pontine infarction (API) based on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-derived radiomics of the infarct site. Methods 544 patients with isolated API were recruited from two centers and divided into the training set (n = 344) and the verification set (n = 200). In total, 1702 radiomics characteristics were extracted from each patient. A support vector machine algorithm was used to construct a radiomics signature (rad-score). Subsequently, univariate and multivariate logistic regression (LR) analysis was adopted to filter clinical indicators and establish clinical models. Then, based on the LR algorithm, the rad-score and clinical indicators were integrated to construct the clinical-radiomics model, which was compared with other models. Results A clinical-radiomics model was established, including the 5 indicators rad-score, age, initial systolic blood pressure, initial National Institute of Health Stroke Scale, and triglyceride. A nomogram was then made based on the model. The nomogram had good predictive accuracy, with an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.966 (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.947–0.985) and 0.920 (95% [CI] 0.873–0.967) in the training and verification sets, respectively. According to the decision curve analysis, the clinical-radiomics model showed better clinical value than the other models. In addition, the calibration curves also showed that the model has excellent consistency. Conclusion The clinical-radiomics model combined MRI-derived radiomics and clinical metrics and may serve as a scoring tool for early prediction of END among patients with isolated API