MicroRNA-Based Diagnosis and Therapy

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a group of endogenous non-coding RNAs that regulate gene expression. Alteration in miRNA expression results in changes in the profile of genes involving a range of biological processes, contributing to numerous human disorders. With high stability in human fluids, miRNAs in the circulation are considered as promising biomarkers for diagnosis, as well as prognosis of disease. In addition, the translation of miRNA-based therapy from a research setting to clinical application has huge potential. The aim of the current review is to: (i) discuss how miRNAs traffic intracellularly and extracellularly; (ii) emphasize the role of circulating miRNAs as attractive potential biomarkers for diagnosis and prognosis; (iii) describe how circulating microRNA can be measured, emphasizing technical problems that may influence their relative levels; (iv) highlight some of the circulating miRNA panels available for clinical use; (v) discuss how miRNAs could be utilized as novel therapeutics, and finally (v) update those miRNA-based therapeutics clinical trials that could potentially lead to a breakthrough in the treatment of different human pathologies.     

Known-key distinguishers on type-1 Feistel scheme and near-collision attacks on its hashing modes

We present some known-key distinguishers for a type-1 Feistel scheme with a permutation as the round function. To be more specific, the 29-round known-key truncated differential distinguishers are given for the 256-bit type-1 Feistel scheme with an SP (substitution-permutation) round function by using the rebound attack, where the S -boxes have perfect differential and linear properties and the linear diffusion layer has a maximum branch number. For two 128-bit versions, the distinguishers can be applied on 25-round structures. Based on these distinguishers, we construct near-collision attacks on these schemes with MMO (Matyas-Meyer-Oseas) and MP (Miyaguchi-Preneel) hashing modes, and propose the 26-round and 22-round near-collision attacks for two 256-bit schemes and two 128-bit schemes, respectively. We apply the near-collision attack on MAME and obtain a 26-round near-collision attack. Using the algebraic degree and some integral properties, we prove the correctness of the 31-round known-key integral distinguisher proposed by Sasaki et al. We show that if the round function is a permutation, the integral distinguisher is suitable for a type-1 Feistel scheme of any size.     

虚拟局域网的设计与实现

NAT和防火墙设备的存在阻碍了很多应用和协议在Internet上的部署和实施.在局域网环境下,由于没有NAT和防火墙的限制,同一个局域网内的各种应用程序可以畅通无阻的通信.本文设计实现的虚拟局域网利用TUN/TAP虚拟设备和TUNNEL技术,可以突破NAT和大多数防火墙的限制,使受限的应用可以正常的通信.     

智能芯片SA866AE在变频电源中应用

介绍智能功率芯片SA866AE三相PWM波形发生器的功能、特点、工作原理及其在变频电源上的应用,提出高功率的变频电源设计方案,有效解决大功率IGBT的控制问题,并简化电路设计.     

Application of Dempster-Shafer evidence theory to unsupervisedclassification in multisource remote sensing

The aim of this paper is to show that Dempster-Shafer evidence theory may be successfully applied to unsupervised classification in multisource remote sensing. Dempster-Shafer formulation allows for consideration of unions of classes, and to represent both imprecision and uncertainty, through the definition of belief and plausibility functions. These two functions, derived from mass function, are generally chosen in a supervised way. In this paper, the authors describe an unsupervised method, based on the comparison of monosource classification results, to select the classes necessary for Dempster-Shafer evidence combination and to define their mass functions. Data fusion is then performed, discarding invalid clusters (e.g. corresponding to conflicting information) thank to an iterative process. Unsupervised multisource classification algorithm is applied to MAC-Europe'91 multisensor airborne campaign data collected over the Orgeval French site. Classification results using different combinations of sensors (TMS and AirSAR) or wavelengths (L- and C-bands) are compared. Performance of data fusion is evaluated in terms of identification of land cover types. The best results are obtained when all three data sets are used. Furthermore, some other combinations of data are tried, and their ability to discriminate between the different land cover types is quantified     

Low Doses of PFOA Promote Prostate and Breast Cancer Cells Growth through Different Pathways

Endocrine Disrupting Compounds (EDCs) are found in everyday products. Widely distributed throughout the environment, persistent organic pollutants (POPs) are a specific class of EDCs that can accumulate in adipose tissue. Many of them induce adverse effects on human health—such as obesity, fertility disorders and cancers—by perturbing hormone effects. We previously identified many compounds with EDC activity in the circulation of obese patients who underwent bariatric surgery. Herein, we analyzed the effects of four of them (aldrin, BDE28, PFOA and PCB153) on two cancer cell lines of hormone-sensitive organs (prostate and breast). Each cell line was exposed to serial dilutions of EDCs from 10⁻⁶ M to 10⁻¹² M; cytotoxicity and proliferation were monitored using the IncuCyte^® technology. We showed that none of these EDCs induce cytotoxicity and that PFOA and PCB153, only at very low doses (10⁻¹² M), increase the proliferation of DU145 (prostate cancer) and MCF7 (breast cancer) cells, while the same effects are observed with high concentrations (10⁻⁶ M) for aldrin or BDE28. Regarding the mechanistic aspects, PFOA uses two different signaling pathways between the two lines (the Akt/mTORC1 and PlexinD1 in MCF7 and DU145, respectively). Thus, our study demonstrates that even at picomolar (10⁻¹² M) concentrations PFOA and PCB153 increase the proliferation of prostate and breast cancer cell lines and can be considered possible carcinogens.     

Genome-Wide Identification of TaSAUR Gene Family Members in Hexaploid Wheat and Functional Characterization of TaSAUR66-5B in Improving Nitrogen Use Efficiency

Excessive input of nitrogen fertilizer not only causes a great waste of resources but brings about a series of ecological and environmental problems. Although Small Auxin Up-regulated RNAs (SAURs) participate in diverse biological processes, the function of SAURs in the nitrogen starvation response has not been well-studied. Here, we identified 308 TaSAURs in wheat and divided them into 10 subfamilies. The promoter regions of most TaSAURs contain hormone responsive elements, and their expression levels change under the treatment of different hormones, such as IAA, MeJA, and ABA. Interestingly, overexpression of one of the TaSAUR family members, a nitrogen starvation responsive gene, TaSAUR66-5B, can promote the growth of Arabidopsis and wheat roots. In addition, overexpression of TaSAUR66-5B in Arabidopsis up-regulates the expression levels of auxin biosynthesis related genes, suggesting that overexpression TaSAUR66-5B may promote root growth by increasing the biosynthesis of auxin. Furthermore, overexpression of TaSAUR66-5B in wheat can increase the biomass and grain yields of transgenic plants, as well as the nitrogen concentration and accumulation of both shoots and grains, especially under low nitrogen conditions. This study provides important genomic information of the TaSAUR gene family and lays a foundation for elucidating the functions of TaSAURs in improving nitrogen utilization efficiency in wheat.