CuI/Nylon Membrane Hybrid Film with Large Seebeck Effect

Room-temperature thermoelectric materials are important for converting heat into electrical energy.As a widebandgap semiconductor material,CuI has the characteristics of non-toxicity,low cost,and environmental friendliness.In this work,CuI powder was synthesized by a wet chemical method,then CuI film was formed by vacuum assisted filtration of the CuI powder on a porous nylon membrane,followed by hot pressing.The film exhibits a large Seebeck coefficient of 600μV·K^(-1)at room temperature.In addition,the film also shows good flexibility(~95%retention of the electrical conductivity after being bent along a rod with a radius of 4 mm for 1000 times).A finger touch test on a single-leg TE module indicates that a voltage of 0.9 mV was immediately generated within 0.5 s from a temperature difference of 4 K between a finger and the environment,suggesting the potential application in wearable thermal sensors.

RegVar:Tissue-specific Prioritization of Non-coding Regulatory Variants

Non-coding genomic variants constitute the majority of trait-associated genome variations;however,the identification of functional non-coding variants is still a challenge in human genetics,and a method for systematically assessing the impact of regulatory variants on gene expression and linking these regulatory variants to potential target genes is still lacking.Here,we introduce a deep neural network(DNN)-based computational framework,RegVar,which can accurately predict the tissue-specific impact of non-coding regulatory variants on target genes.We show that by robustly learning the genomic characteristics of massive variant-gene expression associations in a variety of human tissues,RegVar vastly surpasses all current non-coding variant prioritization methods in predicting regulatory variants under different circumstances.The unique features of RegVar make it an excellent framework for assessing the regulatory impact of any variant on its putative target genes in a variety of tissues.

Presence of multiple abnormal immunologic markers is an independent prognostic factor of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma

Autoimmune diseases (ADs) increase the risk of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and contribute to poor prognosis of patients. However, the association between immunologic markers and clinical outcome has rarely been investigated. This study aims to analyze the prognostic value of pretreatment immunologic markers in newly diagnosed patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL). We retrospectively reviewed the data on 502 patients with DLBCL treated in our institution from January 2013 to March 2018. Survival functions were estimated using Kaplan Meier method and Cox regression model. The 3-year progression free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) rates were 70.2% and 80.9%, respectively, and the complete remission (CR) rate was 78.1%. Among the patients, those with multiple (≥3) abnormal immunologic markers had significantly shorter 3-year PFS (52.7% vs. 77.3%, P < 0.001) and OS (68.5% vs. 85.8%, P=0.001) than those without multiple abnormal immunologic markers.Multivariate analysis revealed that the presence of multiple abnormal immunologic markers and the elevated serum levels of lactate dehydrogenase were the independent adverse prognostic factors for PFS (P= 0.008, P < 0.001) and OS (P = 0.003, P < 0.001). Meanwhile, advanced Ann Arbor stage was an independent adverse prognostic factor for PFS (P= 0.001) and age > 60 years for OS (P= 0.014). In conclusion, the immunologic status was closely related to lymphoma progression, and this study provides new insights into the risk stratification of patients with DLBCL.

How will telomeric complex be further contributed to our longevity?—The potential novel biomarkers of telomere complex counteracting both aging and cancer

With the smooth move towards the coming expected clinical reports of anticancer pharmaceutical molecules targeting telomeres and telomerase,and also with the exciting success in the extension of lifespan by regulating telomerase activity without increased onset of oncogenesis in laboratory mouse models(Garcia-Cao et al.,2006;Jaskelioff et al.,2011),we are convinced that targeting telomeres based on telomerase will be a potential approach to conquer both aging and cancer and the idea of longevity seems to be no more mysterious.More interestingly,emerging evidences from clinical research reveal that other telomeric factors,like specifi c telomeric binding proteins and nonspecific telomere associated proteins also show crucial importance in aging and oncogenesis.This stems from their roles in the stability of telomere structure and in the inhibition of DNA damage response at telomeres.Uncapping these proteins from chromosome ends leads to dramatic telomere loss and telomere dysfunction which is more abrupt than those induced by telomerase inactivation.Abnormal expression of these factors results in developmental failure,aging and even oncogenesis evidenced by several experimental models and clinical cases,indicating telomere specifi c proteins and its associated proteins have complimentary roles to telomerase in telomere protection and controlling cellular fate.Thus,these telomeric factors might be potential clinical biomarkers for early detection or even therapeutic targets of aging and cancer.Future studies to elucidate how these proteins function in telomere protection might benefit patients suffering aging or cancer who are not sensitive to telomerase mediation.

Telomeric impact of conventional chemotherapy

The increased level of chromosome instability in cancer cells,leading to aneuploidy and gross chromosomal rearrangements,is not only a driving force for oncogenesis but also can be the Achille’s heel of the disease since many chemotherapies(CT)kill cells by inducing a non-tolerable rate of DNA damage.A wealth of published evidence showed that telomere stability can be more affected than the bulk of the genome by several conventional antineoplasic drugs.These results raise the interesting possibility that CT with genotoxic drugs preferentially target telomeres.In agreement with this view,accelerated shortening of telomere length has been described in blood lineage cells following high-dose CT(stem cell transplantation)or non-myeloablative CT.However,almost nothing is known on the consequences of this shortening in terms of telomere stability,senescence and on the development of second cancers or post-treatment aging-like syndromes in cancer survivors(cognitive defect,fertility impairment,etc.).In this article,we propose:(1)telomeres of cancer cells are preferential genomic targets of chemotherapies altering chromosome maintenance;(2)telomere functional parameters can be a surrogate marker of chemotherapy sensitivity and toxicity;(3)the use of anti-telomere molecule could greatly enhance the sensitivity to standards chemotherapies.