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In the traditional control scheme of a 12/8-pole bearingless switched reluctance motor (BSRM), radial force and torque are usually controlled as a compromise due to the conflict between their effective output areas. Additionally, each phase requires individual power circuits and is excited in turn to produce a continuous levitation force, resulting in high power device requirements and high controller costs. This paper discusses a 12/8-pole single-winding hybrid-rotor bearingless switched reluctance motor (HBSRM) with a hybrid rotor consisting of cylindrical and salient-pole lamination segments. The asymmetric rotor of the HBSRM slightly increases the complexity of its structure and magnetic circuit, but makes it possible to generate the desired radial force at any rotor angular position. A control scheme for the HBSRM is developed to utilize the independent excitation of the four windings in one phase to generate the desired levitation force at any rotor angular position, and it requires only half the number of power circuits used in the conventional control scheme of a 12/8-pole single-winding BSRM. Different from the average torque chosen to be controlled in traditional methods, this scheme directly regulates the instantaneous total torque produced by all excited phases together and presents a current algorithm to optimize the torque contribution of each phase so as to reduce torque pulsation, and the improved performance of this bearingless motor is finally validated by simulation analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Stem trichomes and seed fibers originate from epidermal cells and partially share a regulatory pathway at the molecular level. In Gossypium barbadense, two insertions of a Ty1 long-terminal repeat-retrotransposon [transposable element TE1 and TE2] in a homeodomain-leucine zipper gene (HD1) result in glabrous stems. The primers used to identify the TE insertions in G. barbadense were applied to screen for the same events in 81 modern G. hirsutum varieties and 31 wild races. Three wild races were found carrying the same TEs as G. barbadense. However, the TE insertions in two of these wild races occurred at different sites (4th exon), therefore, named TE3, while the TE in the other wild race occurred at the same site as TE2. An RNA sequencing and qRT-PCR analysis indicated that the loss of HD1 function was caused by the TE insertion. Genetic mapping revealed a strong association between glabrous stems and TE3 insertions, confirming that HD1 is a critical gene for stem trichome initiation in G. hirsutum, as in G. barbadense. Using the long-terminal repeat sequence as a query to search against the Texas Marker-1 reference genome sequence, we found that the TE occurred after tetraploid cotton formation and evolved at different rates in G. hirsutum and G. barbadense. Interestingly, at least three independent insertion events of the same retrotransposon occurred preferentially in the A sub-genome's HD1 gene, but not in the D sub-genome of G. hirsutum or G. barbadense, suggesting that an unknown TE insertion mechanism and resultant gene function changes may have hastened cotton speciation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract The morbidity and mortality of prostate cancer (PCa) in China have increased obviously, which became the second leading cause of death in men with cancer. Hedgehog (Hh) signaling pathway is a key signaling pathway involved in the prostate cancer progression. The human oncogene SCL/TAL1 interrupting locus (STIL) can modulate the Hh signaling pathway, but its function in PCa has not been reported. Here, we showed that STIL was increased in high grade prostate cancer tissue. Knockdown of STIL in prostate cancer cells PC-3 and DU 145 significantly decreased the proliferation of cells and induced cellular apoptosis through casepase3/7 mediated pathway. Moreover, the colony formation ability was also inhibited when knockdown of STIL by lentivirus-mediated shRNA. Furthermore, the cellular signaling antibody array analysis revealed which signaling pathway was affected when silencing STIL. Altogether, we found that STIL could affect MAPK/ERK, PI3K/Akt and AMPK signaling pathways, thus promoting cellular proliferation, colony formation and suppressing cellular apoptosis in prostate cancer. Highlights • The expression of STIL was gradually increased with the grade of prostate cancer. • Knockdown of STIL suppresses the proliferation and induces apoptosis of prostate cancer cells. • STIL silencing regulated tumor growth through MAPK/ERK, PI3K/Akt and AMPK signaling pathways in prostate cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose. DNA methylation alterations play important roles in initiation and progression of clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC). In this study, we attempted to identify differentially methylated mRNA signatures with prognostic value for ccRCC. Methods. The mRNA methylation and expression profiling data of 306 ccRCC tumors were downloaded from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) to screen differentially methylated lncRNAs and mRNAs (DMLs and DMMs) between bad and good prognosis patients. Uni- and multivariable Cox regression analyses and LASSO Cox-PH regression analysis were used to select prognostic lncRNAs and mRNAs. Corresponding risk scores were calculated and compared for predictive performance in the training set using Kaplan-Meier OS and ROC curve analyses. The optimal risk score was then identified and validated in the validation set. Function enrichment analysis was conducted. Results. This study screened 461 DMMs and 63 DMLs between good prognosis and bad prognosis patients, and furthermore, nine mRNAs and six lncRNAs were identified as potential prognostic molecules. Compared to nine-mRNA status risk score model, six-lncRNA methylation risk score model, and six-lncRNA status risk score model, the nine-mRNA methylation risk score model showed superiority for prognosis stratification of ccRCC patients in the training set. The prognostic ability of the nine-mRNA methylation risk score model was validated in the validation set. The nine prognostic mRNAs were functionally associated with neuroactive ligand receptor interaction and inflammation-related pathways. Conclusion. The nine-mRNA methylation signature (DMRTA2, DRGX, FAM167A, FGGY, FOXI2, KRTAP2-1, TCTEX1D1, TTBK1, and UBE2QL1) may be a useful prognostic biomarker and tool for ccRCC patients. The present results would be helpful to elucidate the possible pathogenesis of ccRCC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Pheochromocytoma and paraganglioma (PPGL) are rare autosomal dominant disorders derived from the neural crest chromaffin tissues of the autonomic nervous system. The succinate dehydrogenase complex subunit D (SDHD) gene has been implicated as one of the pathogenic genes. Although more than 100 SDHD mutations have been reported, the phenotype-genotype association remains unclear.Methods: We reported a case of a patient who presented with multifocal PPGLs and with a rare SDHD mutation, and reviewed the phenotype-genotype association of SDHD.Results: We identified a pathogenic variant of SDHD (c.170-1G>T, NM_003002.3), which caused the complete deletion of exon 3 in the transcript and resulted in a shorter and unstable SDHD mRNA. And truncated SDHD mutations were prone to cause multifocal PPGL, whereas missense SDHD mutations usually caused unifocal lesions.Conclusion: This is the first report linking the c.170-1G>T variant to multifocal tumors. We recommend whole-body imaging examinations and close, regular follow-up for these patients, given the risk of multifocal tumor development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

J Clin Hypertens (Greenwich). 2012;14:802-805. ©2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Recurrent cerebral hemorrhages caused by hypertension secondary to reninoma are extremely rare in children. Because of its detrimental effects on children's health, the importance of early diagnosis of and treatment for reninoma should be emphasized. Here, the authors present a 10-year-old boy with intermittent headaches and neurologic deficiency symptoms caused by hypertension. A reninoma in the right kidney was detected and successfully treated with laparoscopic partial nephrectomy. Two cell types were revealed in the tumor tissue under electron microscopy: renin secreting tumor cells and mast cells. This rare case expands our knowledge of hypertension in children and provides direct evidence that mast cells may infiltrate reninoma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Peripheral primitive neuroectodermal tumor (PNET) in the prostate is one of the most aggressive tumors and a rare, uncommon clinical disease entity with a very poor prognosis. We reported a case of PNET in the prostate of a 49-year-old man and diagnosed through a biopsy. The patient underwent chemotherapy followed by adjuvant external radiation therapy without cystoprostatectomy as recommended, and 2 years later there is no sign of recurrence or distant metastasis. The patient had a good recovery and satisfactory outcomes in the follow-up. The successful treatment of PNET in the prostate in our case without surgery will provide a good therapeutic regime for reference until now. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]