Proteogenomic characterization of endometrial carcinoma

We undertook a comprehensive proteogenomic characterization of 95 prospectively collected endometrial carcinomas, comprising 83 endometrioid and 12 serous tumors. This analysis revealed possible new consequences of perturbations to the p53 and Wnt/β-catenin pathways, identified a potential role for circRNAs in the epithelial-mesenchymal transition, and provided new information about proteomic markers of clinical and genomic tumor subgroups, including relationships to known druggable pathways. An extensive genome-wide acetylation survey yielded insights into regulatory mechanisms linking Wnt signaling and histone acetylation. We also characterized aspects of the tumor immune landscape, including immunogenic alterations, neoantigens, common cancer/testis antigens, and the immune microenvironment, all of which can inform immunotherapy decisions. Collectively, our multi-omic analyses provide a valuable resource for researchers and clinicians, identify new molecular associations of potential mechanistic significance in the development of endometrial cancers, and suggest novel approaches for identifying potential therapeutic targets

Whole-genome sequencing of cultivated and wild peppers provides insights into Capsicum domestication and specialization

As an economic crop, pepper satisfies people's spicy taste and has medicinal uses worldwide. To gain a better understanding of Capsicum evolution, domestication, and specialization, we present here the genome sequence of the cultivated pepper Zunla-1 (C. annuum L.) and its wild progenitor Chiltepin (C. annuum var. glabriusculum). We estimate that the pepper genome expanded similar to 0.3 Mya (with respect to the genome of other Solanaceae) by a rapid amplification of retrotransposons elements, resulting in a genome comprised of similar to 81% repetitive sequences. Approximately 79% of 3.48-Gb scaffolds containing 34,476 protein-coding genes were anchored to chromosomes by a high-density genetic map. Comparison of cultivated and wild pepper genomes with 20 resequencing accessions revealed molecular footprints of artificial selection, providing us with a list of candidate domestication genes. We also found that dosage compensation effect of tandem duplication genes probably contributed to the pungent diversification in pepper. The Capsicum reference genome provides crucial information for the study of not only the evolution of the pepper genome but also, the Solanaceae family, and it will facilitate the establishment of more effective pepper breeding programs

A review of the corrective power of personal comfort systems in non-neutral ambient environments

This paper discusses a spectrum of systems that cool or heat occupants personally, termed ‘personal comfort systems’ (PCS), in order to quantify their ability to produce comfort in ambient temperatures that are above or below the subjects’ neutral temperatures.The comfort-producing effectiveness may be quantified in terms of a temperature difference, coining the index ‘corrective power’ (CP). CP is defined as difference between two ambient temperatures at which equal thermal sensation is achieved - one with no PCS (the reference condition), and one with PCS in use.  CP represents the degree to which a PCS system may “correct” the ambient temperature toward neutrality. CP can alternatively be expressed in terms of thermal sensation and comfort survey scale units.Published studies of PCS are reviewed to extract their CP values. Cooling CP ranges from -1 to -6K, and heating CP from 2K to 10K.  The physical characteristics of the particular PCS systems are not reported in detail here, but are presented as prototypes of what is possible.  Deeper understanding of PCS will require new physiological and psychological information about comfort in local body segments and subsegments, and about spatial and temporal alliesthesia.  These topics present many opportunities for productive future research

Preparation and hydration mechanism of low shrinkage railway sleeper concrete containing hot steaming steel slag

The cascade grinding technology was used to product cementitious materials with hot steaming steel slag (SS), iron ore tailings (IOT), granulated blast furnace slag (GBFS), cement clinker (CC) and flue gas desulfurization gypsum (FGDG). The effect of SS on the mechanical properties and autogenous shrinkage of railway sleeper concrete and the mechanism of SS inhibiting the autogenous shrinkage of railway sleeper concrete were studied by means of X-ray diffraction (XRD), flourier transform-infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), and scanning electron microscope (SEM). The results show that the compressive strength of IOT railway sleeper concrete mixed with SS (SIRSC) is lower than that of IOT railway sleeper concrete unmixed with SS (UIRSC) at the same age. However autogenous shrinkage of SIRSC is significantly lower than that of UIRSC, autogenous shrinkage value of SIRSC at 28 d was 230×10-6, while that of UIRSC was 593×10-6. The hydration mechanism analysis shows that the hydration expansion of a small amount of inert f-CaO and f-MgO phase contained in the SS is the main expansion source to restrain the autogenous shrinkage of SIRSC. The f-CaO and f-MgO phases are highly dispersed after superfine grinding SS is mixed with concrete. In the middle and later stage of concrete hardening, the synergistic growth of ettringite (AFt) and C-S-H gels inhibits the autogenous shrinkage of SIRSC and improves the mechanical properties

A Low-Power, Fast-Transient Output-Capacitorless LDO with Transient Enhancement Unit and Current Booster

With the wide application of advanced portable devices, output-capacitorless low dropout regulators (OCL-LDO) are receiving increasing attention. This paper presents a low quiescent current OCL-LDO with fast transient response. A transient enhancement unit (TEU) is proposed as the output voltage-spike detection circuit. It enhances the transient response by improving the slew-rate at the gate of the power transistor. In addition, a current booster (CB), which consists of a current subtractor and a non-linear current mirror, is designed to improve the slew-rate further. The current subtractor increases the transconductances of the differential-input transistors to obtain a large slewing current, while the non-linear current mirror further boosts the current with no extra quiescent current consumption. The simulated results show that the proposed OCL-LDO is capable of supplying 100 mA load current while consuming 10.3 μA quiescent current. It regulates the output at 1 V from a supply voltage ranging from 1.2 to 1.8 V. When the load current is stepped from 1 mA to 100 mA in 100 ns, the OCL-LDO has attained a settling time of 190 ns, and the output voltage undershoot and overshoot are controlled under 110 mV

Depositional system constrained by the high-precision sequence framework and the source to sink systems: A case study from the First Member of the Liushagang Formation in the Weixinan Sag

Objective The exploration direction of the Weixinan Sag in the Beibuwan Basin has shifted from structural traps to lithological traps, and the key problem in searching for lithological traps is to clarify the distribution of sandstones. Methods In this study, the high-frequency sequence division and depositional system of the First Member of the Liushagang Formation in the Weixinan Sag were analyzed using zircon dating, logging, core and seismic data. Results Then, the types and distributions of depositional facies in the First Member of the Liushagang Formation in the Weixinan Sag were clarified. The results show that the First Member of the Liushagang Formation was deposited as a third-order sequence, which can be divided into three system tracts and eight parasequence sets. Based on the analysis of the source to sink systems and sedimentary facies, the sediments in the Weixinan Sag mainly sourced from the Wanshan provenance in the northwest, the Qixi provenance in the east, the Wexinan provenance in the southeast, and the Xinan provenance in the southwest. The First Member of the Liushagang Formation in the Weixinan Sag mainly contains three sedimentary facies types: delta, lacustrine and sublacustrine fan. The lowstand system tract is dominated by mid-deep lake and sublacustrine fan deposits, including turbidity channels, natural levee, and sheet lobes. The expanding system tract mainly contains the sedimentary microfacies of deep lacustrine mud. The highstand system tract consists of front-delta deposition, among which the subaqueous distributary channel and subaqueous distributary interchannel are widely developed, and sedimentary microfacies such as mouth bar and sheet sand are less developed. Conclusion Three types of sublacustrine fan are mainly developed in the B subsag, including the western delta progradation slump type, southern near source fault slope belt type, and eastern far source gentle slope type.Among them, the southern provenance system with large-scale and good reservoir-forming conditions is the most promising target for further exploration

A Low-Power, Fast-Transient Output-Capacitorless LDO with Transient Enhancement Unit and Current Booster

With the wide application of advanced portable devices, output-capacitorless low dropout regulators (OCL-LDO) are receiving increasing attention. This paper presents a low quiescent current OCL-LDO with fast transient response. A transient enhancement unit (TEU) is proposed as the output voltage-spike detection circuit. It enhances the transient response by improving the slew-rate at the gate of the power transistor. In addition, a current booster (CB), which consists of a current subtractor and a non-linear current mirror, is designed to improve the slew-rate further. The current subtractor increases the transconductances of the differential-input transistors to obtain a large slewing current, while the non-linear current mirror further boosts the current with no extra quiescent current consumption. The simulated results show that the proposed OCL-LDO is capable of supplying 100 mA load current while consuming 10.3 μA quiescent current. It regulates the output at 1 V from a supply voltage ranging from 1.2 to 1.8 V. When the load current is stepped from 1 mA to 100 mA in 100 ns, the OCL-LDO has attained a settling time of 190 ns, and the output voltage undershoot and overshoot are controlled under 110 mV

Characterization of the complete chloroplast genome of Elymus kamoji (Ohwi) S. L. Chen

Elymus kamoji (Ohwi) S. L. Chen is a perennial herb, had high grazing value and were important forage resources, the study of E. kamoji chloroplast genome (cp genome) provides an important basis for the study of chloroplast genetic engineering and system evolution. Its chloroplast genome was 135,075 bp in length, containing a pair of inverted repeated (IR) regions (20,813 bp), separated by a large single copy region (LSC) of 80,681 bp, and a small single copy (SSC) region of 12,768 bp. Moreover, a total of 129 functional genes were annotated, including 83 mRNA, 38 tRNA genes, and 8 rRNA genes. The phylogenetic relationships of 15 species indicated that E. kamoji was closely related to Elymus sibiricus. This study might contribute to provide a theoretical basis for species identification and biological research