An Improved Bayesian Shrinkage Regression Algorithm for Genomic Selection.

Currently a hot topic, genomic selection (GS) has consistently provided powerful support for breeding studies and achieved more comprehensive and reliable selection in animal and plant breeding. GS estimates the effects of all single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and thereby predicts the genomic estimation of breeding value (GEBV), accelerating breeding progress and overcoming the limitations of conventional breeding. The successful application of GS primarily depends on the accuracy of the GEBV. Adopting appropriate advanced algorithms to improve the accuracy of the GEBV is time-saving and efficient for breeders, and the available algorithms can be further improved in the big data era. In this study, we develop a new algorithm under the Bayesian Shrinkage Regression (BSR, which is called BayesA) framework, an improved expectation-maximization algorithm for BayesA (emBAI). The emBAI algorithm first corrects the polygenic and environmental noise and then calculates the GEBV by emBayesA. We conduct two simulation experiments and a real dataset analysis for flowering time-related Arabidopsis phenotypes to validate the new algorithm. Compared to established methods, emBAI is more powerful in terms of prediction accuracy, mean square error (MSE), mean absolute error (MAE), the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) and correlation of prediction in simulation studies. In addition, emBAI performs well under the increasing genetic background. The analysis of the Arabidopsis real dataset further illustrates the benefits of emBAI for genomic prediction according to prediction accuracy, MSE, MAE and correlation of prediction. Furthermore, the new method shows the advantages of significant loci detection and effect coefficient estimation, which are confirmed by The Arabidopsis Information Resource (TAIR) gene bank. In conclusion, the emBAI algorithm provides powerful support for GS in high-dimensional genomic datasets.

Comparison of the short-term efficacy between docetaxel plus carboplatin and 5-fluorouracil plus carboplatin in locoregionally advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma.

OBJECTIVE: Platinum-based chemotherapy in combination with radiotherapy is a standard treatment strategy for locoregionally advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). This study aimed to investigate the long-term efficacy and tolerability of inductive chemotherapy with docetaxel plus carboplatin (TC) or 5-fluorouracil plus carboplatin (FC) followed by concurrent radiation therapy in patients with NPC. METHODS: Patients (N=88) were randomized to receive TC or FC as inductive therapy followed by concurrent radiotherapy (60-70 Gy) with two cycles of carboplatin (area under the curve =5 mg·h/L). Patients were followed up for 8 years. Primary end point was progression-free survival (PFS). Secondary end points included overall survival (OS), toxicity, tumor response, distant metastasis-free survival, and local recurrence-free survival. RESULTS: At the end of the follow-up period, 31 patients died, 32 had disease progression, eleven had cancer recurrence, and 25 had distant metastasis. Overall, there was no difference between treatment groups with regard to response or survival. We found that following induction and concurrent chemoradiotherapy, the majority of patients showed a complete response (~96%-98% for induction therapy and 82%-84% for comprehensive therapy) to both therapies. PFS and OS were also similar between groups. The rate of PFS was 63.6% for both FC and TC and that of OS was 65.9% and 63.5%, respectively. The overall incidence of grade 3-4 adverse events in the TC group (20.5%) was higher than in the FC group (10.7%). Neutropenia and leukopenia were the most common grade 3-4 adverse events in the TC group, and mucositis was the most common in the FC group. CONCLUSION: These data indicate that TC and FC therapies have similar efficacy in treating locally advanced NPC and both are well tolerated.

A cell-based screening for TAZ activators identifies ethacridine, a widely used antiseptic and abortifacient, as a compound that promotes dephosphorylation of TAZ and inhibits adipogenesis in C3H10T1/2 cells.

Transcriptional co-activator with PSD-95/Dlg-A/ZO-1 (PDZ)-binding motif (TAZ) regulates in cell proliferation and differentiation. In mesenchymal stem cells it promotes osteogenesis and myogenesis, and suppresses adipogenesis. TAZ activators are expected to prevent osteoporosis, obesity and muscle atrophy. TAZ activation induces epithelial-mesenchymal transition, confers stemness to cancer cells and leads to poor clinical prognosis in cancer patients. In this point of view, TAZ inhibitors should contribute to cancer therapy. Thus, TAZ attracts attention as a two-faced drug target. We screened for TAZ modulators by using human lung cancer A549 cells expressing the fluorescent reporter. Through this assay, we obtained TAZ activator candidates. We unexpectedly found that ethacridine, a widely used antiseptic and abortifacient, enhances the interaction of TAZ and protein phosphatases and increases unphosphorylated and nuclear TAZ. Ethacridine inhibits adipogenesis in mesenchymal C3H10T1/2 cells through the activation of TAZ. This finding suggests that ethacridine is a bona fide TAZ activator and supports that our assay is useful to discover TAZ activators.

Transferable and flexible nanorod-assembled TiO2 cloths for dye-sensitized solar cells, photodetectors, and photocatalysts.

Flexible and transferable TiO(2) nanorods cloths (TNRCs) were synthesized from a fast and catalyst-free microwave heating route by using carbon cloth as an efficiently sacrificial template. The as-synthesized TNRCs were assembled by numerous aligned TiO(2) nanorods with diameters of about 100 nm. The good transferability and flexibility make it possible to be transferred to any substrate for further device applications. As an example, we transferred the TNRCs to a FTO substrate to make dye-sensitized solar cells, which exhibited an improved efficiency of around 2.21% assisted by TiCl(4) treatment. The transferable TNRCs were also configured as high-performance photodetectors. Illuminated by UV light with a wavelength of 365 nm, the current was found significantly enhanced, and an I(UV)/I(dark) of about 60, a rise time of nearly 1.4 s, and a decay time of 6.1 s were obtained. Moreover, they were also configured as flexible and recyclable photocatalysts with good photocatalytic performance for the degradation of methylene blue solution under UV light irradiation.