Health Effects of Occupational and Environmental Exposures to Nuclear Power Plants: A Meta-Analysis and Meta-Regression.

Purpose Of Review: Numerous epidemiological studies have shown increased health risks among workers and residents living near nuclear power plants exposed to radiation levels meeting regulatory dose limits. This study aimed to evaluate the association between radiation exposure and disease risks among these populations exposed to radiation levels meeting the current regulatory dose limits.

Recent Findings: We searched four databases (Cochrane Library, PubMed, ScienceDirect, and Web of Science) for studies published before August 2023, screened eligible studies (inclusion and exclusion criteria based on population, exposure, comparator, and outcome framework), and collected data on exposure indicators and disease risks.

DNMT and HDAC inhibition induces immunogenic neoantigens from human endogenous retroviral element-derived transcripts.

Immunotherapies targeting cancer-specific neoantigens have revolutionized the treatment of cancer patients. Recent evidence suggests that epigenetic therapies synergize with immunotherapies, mediated by the de-repression of endogenous retroviral element (ERV)-encoded promoters, and the initiation of transcription. Here, we use deep RNA sequencing from cancer cell lines treated with DNA methyltransferase inhibitor (DNMTi) and/or Histone deacetylase inhibitor (HDACi), to assemble a de novo transcriptome and identify several thousand ERV-derived, treatment-induced novel polyadenylated transcripts (TINPATs).

New n-p Junction Floating Gate to Enhance the Operation Performance of a Semiconductor Memory Device.

To lower the charge leakage of a floating gate device and improve the operation performance of memory devices toward a smaller structure size and a higher component capability, two new types of floating gates composed of pn-type polysilicon or np-type polysilicon were developed in this study. Their microstructure and elemental compositions were investigated, and the sheet resistance, threshold voltages and erasing voltages were measured. The experimental results and charge simulation indicated that, by forming an n-p junction in the floating gate, the sheet resistance was increased, and the charge leakage was reduced because of the formation of a carrier depletion zone at the junction interface serving as an intrinsic potential barrier.

Improvements of Electrical Characteristics in Poly-Si Nanowires Thin-Film Transistors with External Connection of a BiFeO Capacitor.

By a sol-gel method, a BiFeO (BFO) capacitor is fabricated and connected with the control thin film transistor (TFT). Compared with a control thin-film transistor, the proposed BFO TFT achieves 56% drive current enhancement and 7-28% subthreshold swing (SS) reduction. Moreover, the effect of the proposed BiFeO capacitor on I-V hysteresis in the BFO TFT is 0.

Epigenetic Modulation of Radiation-Induced Diacylglycerol Kinase Alpha Expression Prevents Pro-Fibrotic Fibroblast Response.

Radiotherapy, a common component in cancer treatment, can induce adverse effects including fibrosis in co-irradiated tissues. We previously showed that differential DNA methylation at an enhancer of diacylglycerol kinase alpha () in normal dermal fibroblasts is associated with radiation-induced fibrosis. After irradiation, the transcription factor EGR1 is induced and binds to the hypomethylated enhancer, leading to increased and pro-fibrotic marker expression.

Integrated transcriptomic-genomic tool Texomer profiles cancer tissues.

Profiling of both the genome and the transcriptome promises a comprehensive, functional readout of a tissue sample, yet analytical approaches are required to translate the increased data dimensionality, heterogeneity and complexity into patient benefits. We developed a statistical approach called Texomer ( https://github.com/KChen-lab/Texomer ) that performs allele-specific, tumor-deconvoluted transcriptome-exome integration of autologous bulk whole-exome and transcriptome sequencing data.

HAHap: a read-based haplotyping method using hierarchical assembly.

Background: The need for read-based phasing arises with advances in sequencing technologies. The minimum error correction (MEC) approach is the primary trend to resolve haplotypes by reducing conflicts in a single nucleotide polymorphism-fragment matrix. However, it is frequently observed that the solution with the optimal MEC might not be the real haplotypes, due to the fact that MEC methods consider all positions together and sometimes the conflicts in noisy regions might mislead the selection of corrections.

Effects of immuno-related gene polymorphisms on a bispecific antibody targeting colorectal cancer cell.

Background: Colorectal cancer (CRC) represents the third most common type of cancer and the third leading cause of death from cancer around the world. M701 is a CD3/EpCAM bispecific antibody that shows promising cytotoxicity toward CRC cells.

Aim: To investigate the influence of immuno-related gene polymorphisms on M701 mediated cytotoxicity to CRC cell HCT116.

Navigating the i5k Workspace@NAL: A Resource for Arthropod Genomes.

The i5k Workspace@NAL is a genome database tailored toward newly sequenced arthropod genomes and their research communities. With 56 arthropod genomes and counting, the i5k Workspace strives to facilitate public data access, visualization, and community curation across arthropod species. Any researcher with an arthropod genome project who would like to take advantage of the i5k Workspace facilities is encouraged to submit their data.

New Immunotherapy Strategies in Breast Cancer.

Breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer among women. Therapeutic treatments for breast cancer generally include surgery, chemotherapy, radiotherapy, endocrinotherapy and molecular targeted therapy. With the development of molecular biology, immunology and pharmacogenomics, immunotherapy becomes a promising new field in breast cancer therapies.

DDAH1-V3 transcript might act as miR-21 sponge to maintain balance of DDAH1-V1 in cultured HUVECs.

Objective: To investigate whether microRNA (miRNA) miR-21 regulates dimethylarginine dimethylaminohydrolase 1 (DDAH1) expression through binding 3'-UTR region directly in human umbilical venous endothelial cells (HUVECs) and to explore whether DDAH1-V2/V3 transcripts can function as microRNA sponge, thereby modulating DDAH1-V1 expression.

Methods: The DDAH1 3'-UTR containing miR-21 recognizing sequence was cloned into PmirGLO dual-luciferase miRNA target expression plasmid to construct PmirGLO-miR-21. The plasmid and miR-21 (at concentrations of 25, 50, 100 nM, respectively) or negative control (100 nM) were co-transfected into HUVECs, luciferase activity was detected at 24 h.

Role of Deficient Mismatch Repair in the Personalized Management of Colorectal Cancer.

Colorectal cancer (CRC) represents the third most common type of cancer in developed countries and one of the leading causes of cancer deaths worldwide. Personalized management of CRC has gained increasing attention since there are large inter-individual variations in the prognosis and response to drugs used to treat CRC owing to molecular heterogeneity. Approximately 15% of CRCs are caused by deficient mismatch repair (dMMR) characterized by microsatellite instability (MSI) phenotype.

MZF-1/Elk-1 interaction domain as therapeutic target for protein kinase Cα-based triple-negative breast cancer cells.

Recent reports demonstrate that the expression of protein kinase C alpha (PKCα) in triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) correlates with decreased survival outcomes. However, off-target effects of targeting PKCα and limited understanding of the signaling mechanisms upstream of PKCα have hampered previous efforts to manipulate this ubiquitous gene. This study shows that the expression of both myeloid zinc finger 1 (MZF-1) and Ets-like protein-1 (Elk-1) correlates with PKCα expression in TNBC.

Protein kinase C α is involved in the regulation of AXL receptor tyrosine kinase expression in triple-negative breast cancer cells.

AXL receptor tyrosine kinase is overexpressed in triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), and has a function in cancer progression and metastases. However, the mechanism underlying AXL gene regulation in TNBC remains unknown. In this study, the involvement of protein kinase C α (PKCα) in the expression of AXL was investigated in human TNBC cells.

Discovery of Organophosphate Resistance-Related Genes Associated With Well-known Resistance Mechanisms of Plutella xylostella (L.) (Lepidoptera: Plutellidae) by RNA-Seq.

Pesticide resistance poses many challenges for pest control, particularly for destructive pests such as diamondback moths ( Plutella xylostella ). Organophosphates have been used in the field since the 1950s, leading to selection for resistance-related gene variants and the development of resistance to new insecticides in the diamondback moth. Identifying actual and potential genes involved in resistance could offer solutions for control.

Integrating RNA-seq and ChIP-seq data to characterize long non-coding RNAs in Drosophila melanogaster.

Background: Recent advances in sequencing technology have opened a new era in RNA studies. Novel types of RNAs such as long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) have been discovered by transcriptomic sequencing and some lncRNAs have been found to play essential roles in biological processes. However, only limited information is available for lncRNAs in Drosophila melanogaster, an important model organism.

Antitumor activity of acriflavine in lung adenocarcinoma cell line A549.

Unlabelled: Aim/Materials and Methods: In order to develop better drugs against non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), we screened a variety of compounds and treated the human lung adenocarcinoma cell line A549 with different drug concentrations. We then examined the cell viability using the MTT assay.

Results: Data show that a new candidate drug, acriflavine (ACF), suppresses the viability of A549 cells in a concentration- and time-dependent manner.

Antitumor activity of acriflavine in human hepatocellular carcinoma cells.

Patients suffering from advanced hepatocellular carcinoma can generally be treated only by targeted therapy to achieve a survival rate that lasts a few months more than that achieved with conventional therapy. To develop better drugs against hepatocellular carcinoma, we screened a variety of compounds and treated four human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cell lines with different drug concentrations. We then examined cell viability using the MTT assay.

Aberrant nuclear localization of EBP50 promotes colorectal carcinogenesis in xenotransplanted mice by modulating TCF-1 and β-catenin interactions.

Dysregulation of canonical Wnt signaling is thought to play a role in colon carcinogenesis. β-Catenin, a key mediator of the pathway, is stabilized upon Wnt activation and accumulates in the nucleus, where it can interact with the transcription factor T cell factor (TCF) to transactivate gene expression. Normal colonic epithelia express a truncated TCF-1 form, called dnTCF-1, that lacks the critical β-catenin-binding domain and behaves as a transcriptional suppressor.