Understanding the genetic basis of neuro-related proteins is essential for dissecting the molecular basis of human behavioural traits and the disease aetiology of neuropsychiatric disorders. Here the SCALLOP Consortium conducted a genome-wide association meta-analysis of over 12,000 individuals for 184 neuro-related proteins in human plasma. The analysis identified 125 cis-regulatory protein quantitative trait loci (cis-pQTL) and 164 trans-pQTL.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: Subclinical hyperthyroidism (SCH) is common and associated with atrial fibrillation (AF) risk in the elderly. Current guidelines rely on a low level of evidence.
Methods: Randomized clinical trial including patients 50 years and older, with TSH <0.
Acta Pharmacol Sin
October 2024
T cell engaging bispecific antibodies (TCBs) have recently become significant in cancer treatment. In this study we developed MSLN490, a novel TCB designed to target mesothelin (MSLN), a glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI)-linked glycoprotein highly expressed in various cancers, and evaluated its efficacy against solid tumors. CDR walking and phage display techniques were used to improve affinity of the parental antibody M912, resulting in a pool of antibodies with different affinities to MSLN.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFContext: Germline CDKN1B variants predispose patients to multiple endocrine neoplasia type 4 (MEN4), a rare MEN1-like syndrome, with <100 reported cases since its discovery in 2006. Although CDKN1B mutations are frequently suggested to explain cases of genetically negative MEN1, the prevalence and phenotype of MEN4 patients is poorly known, and genetic counseling is unclear.
Objective: To evaluate the prevalence of MEN4 in MEN1-suspected patients and characterize the phenotype of MEN4 patients.
Osteoarthritis is a prevalent, complex disease of the joints, and affects multiple intra-articular tissues. Here, we have examined genome-wide DNA methylation profiles of primary infrapatellar fat pad and matched blood samples from 70 osteoarthritis patients undergoing total knee replacement surgery. Comparing the DNA methylation profiles between these tissues reveal widespread epigenetic differences.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjectives: Global cardiometabolic disease prevalence has grown rapidly over the years, making it the leading cause of death worldwide. Proteins are crucial components in biological pathways dysregulated in disease states. Identifying genetic components that influence circulating protein levels may lead to the discovery of biomarkers for early stages of disease or offer opportunities as therapeutic targets.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe ability to distinguish a threatening from non-threatening conspecific based on past experience is critical for adaptive social behaviors. Although recent progress has been made in identifying the neural circuits that contribute to different types of positive and negative social interactions, the neural mechanisms that enable the discrimination of individuals based on past aversive experiences remain unknown. Here, we developed a modified social fear conditioning paradigm that induced in both sexes robust behavioral discrimination of a conspecific associated with a footshock (CS+) from a non-reinforced interaction partner (CS-).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFGenetic prediction of common complex disease risk is an essential component of precision medicine. Currently, genome-wide association studies (GWASs) are mostly composed of European-ancestry samples and resulting polygenic scores (PGSs) have been shown to poorly transfer to other ancestries partly due to heterogeneity of allelic effects between populations. Fixed-effects (FETA) and random-effects (RETA) trans-ancestry meta-analyses do not model such ancestry-related heterogeneity, while ancestry-specific (AS) scores may suffer from low power due to low sample sizes.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntegr Comp Biol
December 2023
Neural input is critical for establishing behavioral output, but understanding how neuromuscular signals give rise to behaviors remains a challenge. In squid, locomotion through jet propulsion underlies many key behaviors, and the jet is mediated by two parallel neural pathways, the giant and non-giant axon systems. Much work has been done on the impact of these two systems on jet kinematics, such as mantle muscle contraction and pressure-derived jet speed at the funnel aperture.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe middle corona, the region roughly spanning heliocentric distances from 1.5 to 6 solar radii, encompasses almost all of the influential physical transitions and processes that govern the behavior of coronal outflow into the heliosphere. The solar wind, eruptions, and flows pass through the region, and they are shaped by it.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFUnderstanding the genetic basis of neuro-related proteins is essential for dissecting the disease etiology of neuropsychiatric disorders and other complex traits and diseases. Here, the SCALLOP Consortium conducted a genome-wide association meta-analysis of over 12,500 individuals for 184 neuro-reiated proteins in human plasma. The analysis identified 117 cis-regulatory protein quantitative trait loci (cis-pQTL) and 166 trans-pQTL.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Atopic dermatitis (AD) affects up to 25% of children and 10% of adults in Western countries. When severe or recurrent infections and exceedingly elevated serum IgE levels occur in AD patients, an inborn error of immunity (IEI) may be suspected. The International Union of Immunological Societies classification lists variants in different genes responsible for so-called Hyper-IgE syndromes.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: Deep sequencing offers unparalleled access to rare variants in human populations. Understanding their role in disease is a priority, yet prohibitive sequencing costs mean that many cohorts lack the sample size to discover these effects on their own. Meta-analysis of individual variant scores allows the combination of rare variants across cohorts and study of their aggregated effect at the gene level, boosting discovery power.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCollective behaviors in biological systems such as coordinated movements have important ecological and evolutionary consequences. While many studies examine within-species variation in collective behavior, explicit comparisons between functionally similar species from different taxonomic groups are rare. Therefore, a fundamental question remains: how do collective behaviors compare between taxa with morphological and physiological convergence, and how might this relate to functional ecology and niche partitioning? We examined the collective motion of two ecologically similar species from unrelated clades that have competed for pelagic predatory niches for over 500 million years-California market squid, (Mollusca) and Pacific sardine, (Chordata).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSevere acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) variants of concern (VOCs) continue to wreak havoc across the globe. Higher transmissibility and immunologic resistance of VOCs bring unprecedented challenges to epidemic extinguishment. Here we describe a monoclonal antibody, 2G1, that neutralizes all current VOCs and has surprising tolerance to mutations adjacent to or within its interaction epitope.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIoT environments are forecasted to grow exponentially in the coming years thanks to the recent advances in both edge computing and artificial intelligence. In this paper, a model of remote computing scheme is presented, where three layers of computing nodes are put in place in order to optimize the computing and forwarding tasks. In this sense, a generic layout has been designed so as to easily achieve communications among the diverse layers by means of simple arithmetic operations, which may result in saving resources in all nodes involved.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMulti-access edge computing implementations are ever increasing in both the number of deployments and the areas of application. In this context, the easiness in the operations of packet forwarding between two end devices being part of a particular edge computing infrastructure may allow for a more efficient performance. In this paper, an arithmetic framework based in a layered approach has been proposed in order to optimize the packet forwarding actions, such as routing and switching, in generic edge computing environments by taking advantage of the properties of integer division and modular arithmetic, thus simplifying the search of the proper next hop to reach the desired destination into simple arithmetic operations, as opposed to having to look into the routing or switching tables.
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