Meta-analysis Followed by Replication Identifies Loci in or near CDKN1B, TET3, CD80, DRAM1, and ARID5B as Associated with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus in Asians

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a prototype autoimmune disease with a strong genetic involvement and ethnic differences. Susceptibility genes identified so far only explain a small portion of the genetic heritability of SLE, suggesting that many more loci are yet to be uncovered for this disease. In this study, we performed a meta-analysis of genome-wide association studies on SLE in Chinese Han populations and followed up the findings by replication in four additional Asian cohorts with a total of 5,365 cases and 10,054 corresponding controls. We identified genetic variants in or near CDKN1B, TET3, CD80, DRAM1, and ARID5B as associated with the disease. These findings point to potential roles of cell-cycle regulation, autophagy, and DNA demethylation in SLE pathogenesis. For the region involving TET3 and that involving CDKN1B, multiple independent SNPs were identified, highlighting a phenomenon that might partially explain the missing heritability of complex diseases

Gain-of-function mutations in Trim71 linked to congenital hydrocephalus.

The genetic basis of congenital hydrocephalus is only partially understood. A new study in PLOS Biology reports a potential gain-of-function pathological mechanism of congenital hydrocephalus in mouse embryonic stem cells that involves Wnt-β-catenin signaling pathway regulation

Wear-Resistant Fe₆AlCoCrNi Medium-Entropy Alloy Coating Made by Laser Cladding

An Fe6AlCoCrNi medium-entropy (MEA) coating was coated on a steel substrate by laser cladding. The micro-structure, crystal structure, phases, and wear properties of the coating were investigated. The coating was mainly composed of a dendritic face-center cubic (FCC) phase, which showed preferred crystal orientation of , normal to the coating surface, and a body-center cubic (BCC) phase. The MEA coating exhibited satisfactory rigidity with superior wear resistance at different loads and temperatures, much higher than that of the steel substrate. When the test temperature increased from 293 K to 573 K, the coefficient of friction (COF) of the coating markedly decreased from about 0.75 to 0.35; a large decrease in wear was also observed. The wear mechanism of the MEA coating was abrasion wear at room temperature, while the wear of the coating at high temperatures involved considerable oxidation, which enhanced the wear resistance of the coating

Template Preparation of Copper-Based Chalcogenides and their Electrochemical Performance for Li-ion Batteries

Transition-Metal chalcogenides have high Li-ion storage capacity and considerable cycle performance, which has attracted great interest from researchers and is expected to replace graphite materials in the field of Li ion batteries. The purpose of this paper is to find a low-cost and ecofriendly method for producing copper-based chalcogenides as anodes with a high capacity and long cycling stability for lithium ion batteries. In our strategy, carbon nanospheres are used as templates to prepare precursor Cu(OH)(2)@C. Then, the Cu(OH)(2)@C is converted into copper-based chalcogenides by different routes. The structure and morphology of the as-synthesized materials is characterized by the X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. The anode electrochemical performance of the samples was investigated by galvanostatic cycling (GC) vs. Li/Li+ at different current rate. Compared to other copper chalcogenides, the synthesized copper oxide shows better charge/discharge cycle stability and rate performance. Its capacity retention is as high as 128 % at a current density of 0.5 C after 200 cycles

Special Staining of the Liquid-Based Cytopathology Test in Bronchoalveolar Lavage Fluid for Diagnosis of Invasive Pulmonary Aspergillosis with Nonneutropenic Patients

In recent years, various biomarkers have been gradually applied on bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid for the diagnosis of invasive pulmonary aspergillosis (IPA). The objective of this study is to assess the value of the liquid-based cytopathology test (LCT) for improving the identification of IPA in BAL fluid from possible IPA patients, following special staining with periodic acid-Schiff staining (PAS) or Grocott’s methenamine silver (GMS). A total of 47 consecutive possible IPA patients who underwent bronchoscopy with BAL fluid from January 2017 to December 2018 were included. 45 people had a pair of BAL fluid specimens and 2 patients had two BAL fluid specimens. The 49 pairs of BAL fluid specimens were processed for culture, tuberculosis acid fast staining smear, direct microbial smear, and LCT with special staining (PAS and GMS), respectively. Then, we compared the sensitivity and specificity of PAS and GMS in BAL fluid in high-risk patients. Among 47 possible IPA patients, 25 patients had proven/probable IPA, and 11 patients had other invasive fungal diseases. The sensitivity of GMS was higher than that of PAS (92.11% versus 81.58%; P=0.175). The specificity of GMS was 81.82%, which was higher than that of PAS (81.82% versus 72.73%; P=0.611). The negative predictive value (NPV) for PAS and GMS were 53.33% and 75.00%, respectively. The positive predictive value (PPV) for PAS and GMS were 91.18% and 94.59%, respectively. This study showed that special staining of LCT in BAL fluid may be a novel method for the diagnosis of IPA, and the GMS of LCT had higher sensitivity and specificity, which was superior to PAS

MnO(2 )Nanosheets on a Carbon Nanofiber Freestanding Film by Electrospinning and In Situ Spraying for Lithium and Sodium Storage

Freestanding electrodes are critical for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) and sodium-ion batteries (SIBs) with high energy density and long cycling stability. We fabricated freestanding MnO2 nanosheet-coated carbon nanofibers by synchronous in situ spraying of MnO2 nanosheets onto electrospinning polymer nanofibers, which might be a high-voltage electric field-induced assembly process. The designed film is used as anode material for LIBs and SIBs. It demonstrates good cycling stability without capacity loss after long cycling for LIBs, delivers a capacity of 256.4 mAh g-1 at 1.00 A g-1, and has an extremely stable cycle life for over 200 cycles at 0.05 A g-1. For SIBs, it delivers a capacity of 135.0 mAh g-1 at 1.00 A g-1 and has a stable cycle life for over 500 cycles at 0.50 A g-1. The capacitive contribution ratio increases from 44.4 to 76.2% (0.2-1.0 mV s-1), and the capacitive process plays a major role in the total capacity. The enhancement of the electrochemical performance is attributed to the good conductivity of the carbon nanofiber network and the one-dimensional (1D)/ two-dimensional (2D) composite structure of the electrode, in which the high performance of carbon nanofibers and MnO2 nanosheets is fully exploited. Importantly, the combination of in situ spraying and electrospinning can be extended to two or more materials with different polarities, zeta-potential values, or solubilities, broadening the applications of composites