Large Diamagnetism and Electromagnetic Duality in Two-Dimensional Dirac Electron System.

A Dirac electron system in solids mimics relativistic quantum physics that is compatible with Maxwell's equations, with which we anticipate unified electromagnetic responses. We find a large orbital diamagnetism only along the interplane direction and a nearly temperature-independent electrical conductivity of the order of e^{2}/h per plane for the new 2D Dirac organic conductor, α-(BETS)_{2}I_{3}, where BETS is bis(ethylenedithio)tetraselenafulvalene. Unlike conventional electrons in solids whose nonrelativistic effects bifurcate electric and magnetic responses, the observed orbital diamagnetism scales with the electrical conductivity in a wide temperature range. This demonstrates that an electromagnetic duality that is valid only within the relativistic framework is revived in solids.

Molecular mechanisms of long chain non-coding RNA CTBP1-AS in regulation of invasion and migration of breast cancer cells.

This study aimed to investigate the role of long-chain non-coding RNA CTBP1-AS in breast cancer progression and cell invasion as well as migration. Clinical data of breast cancer patients (N = 155) in our hospital was collected for further analysis. qRT-PCR was used to detect LncRNA CTBP1-AS expression levels in human normal breast epithelial cell (MCF-10A) and breast cancer cells (MCF-7, BT- 549, MDA-MB-231 and MDA-MB-435). LncRNA CTBP1-AS knock-down and overexpressed lentivirus vectors were constructed to transfect breast cancer cells. Colony formation assay was employed to detect cell proliferative abilities. Flow cytometry was performed to detect cell apoptosis ratio. Wound healing scratch assay was used to detect cell migration, and Transwell matrigel assay was used to detect cell invasion. Bioinformatics analysis was performed to predict the downstream targets of LncRNA CTBP1-AS, which were further validated by dual-luciferase reporter gene system. The results showed that LncRNA CTBP1-AS was aberrantly overexpressed in breast cancer tissues and breast cancer cells compared to the control group. Moreover, the expression levels of LncRNA CTBP1-AS were positively related with tumor size, histological grade and the expression levels of Ki-67 and Her2. Further analysis showed that LncRNA CTBP1-AS expression levels negatively correlated with patient survival time and clinical prognosis. Of note, overexpressed LncRNA CTBP1-AS promoted breast cancer cell proliferation and invasion as well as migration, and decreased cell apoptosis ratio. Bioinformatics analysis and dual-luciferase reporter gene system results validated that microRNA-940 was the downstream target of LncRNA CTBP1-AS. Interestingly, overexpressed microRNA-940 abrogated the effects of LncRNA CTBP1-AS on cell proliferation, apoptosis, and invasion. In conclusion, overexpressed LncRNA CTBP1- AS promoted breast cancer cell proliferation, invasion as well as migration, inhibited cell apoptosis and accelerated breast cancer development by sponging microRNA-940.

Association between alpha-adducin gene rs4963 polymorphism and hypertension risk in Asian population: a meta-analysis.

Some studies investigated the association between ADD1 rs4963 polymorphism and hypertension risk. However, the results remained inconclusive. Thus, we performed a meta-analysis. Published reports were searched in PubMed and Google Scholar. The strength of association was assessed by calculating odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI). Twelve studies with 5097 cases and 5937 controls were conducted in this study. Individuals with ADD1 rs4963 polymorphism showed an increased hypertension risk (OR = 1.21; 95%CI, 1.11-1.33; P < 0.0001). Subgroup analyses were performed according to country and age. The results showed that Chinese with ADD1 rs4963 polymorphism showed an increased hypertension risk (OR = 1.28; 95%CI, 1.09-1.51; P = 0.003). However, subjects in Japan and India did not have increased hypertension risk. In the subgroup analysis by age, older subjects, but not younger subjects, with ADD1 rs4963 polymorphism showed an increased hypertension risk (OR = 1.19; 95%CI, 1.07-1.32; P = 0.001). In conclusion, this meta-analysis suggested that ADD1 rs4963 polymorphism might be associated with increased hypertension risk.

Male-specific association of the APC rs383830 T allele with the risk of coronary heart disease.

APC is a tumor suppressor gene that is involved in the processes of cell migration and adhesion, transcriptional activation, and apoptosis. The goal of this study was to evaluate the contribution of the APC rs383830 polymorphism to coronary heart disease (CHD) in Han Chinese. A total of 783 patients with CHD and 737 controls were tested in the current association study. Although our study did not identify an association between the APC rs383830 polymorphism and CHD, a breakdown analysis by gender indicated there was a significant contribution of the rs383830 T allele to the risk of CHD in males (P = 0.046, odds ratio = 1.267, 95% confidence interval = 1.004-1.598). In conclusion, our study suggested a male-specific association of the APC rs383830 polymorphism with CHD.

Pressure-dependent metallic and superconducting phases in a germanium artificial metal.

Germanium (Ge) becomes an "artificial metal" and a superconductor (T(c) approximately 5 K) above the pressure-induced semiconductor-(diamond structure)-to-metal (beta-Sn structure) transition at 10 GPa. We report single crystal resistance studies of the pressure-dependent metallic and metastable phases in the range 2.6 to 23 GPa, and show for a controlled pressure release, Ge is a metastable metal below 3 GPa. We find Ge has a superconducting upper critical field of 300 Oe (at 10.7 GPa and 1.8 K), above which a positive magnetoresistance consistent with that of a compensated closed orbit metal is observed.

Compensation of effective field in the field-induced superconductor kappa-(BETS)2FeBr4 observed by 77Se NMR.

We report results of 77Se NMR frequency shift in the normal state of the organic charge-transfer salt kappa-(BETS)2FeBr4 which shows magnetic field-induced superconductivity (FISC). From a simple mean-field analysis, we determined the field and the temperature dependences of the magnetization m(pi) of the pi conduction electrons on BETS molecules. We found that the Fe spins are antiferromagnetically coupled to the pi electrons and determined the exchange field to be J = -2.3T/microB. The exchange field from the fully saturated Fe moments (5 microB) is compensated by an external field of 12 T. This is close to the central field of the FISC phase, consistent with the Jaccarino-Peter local field-compensation mechanism for FISC [Phys. Rev. Lett. 9, 290 (1962)].