Transethnic analysis of the human leukocyte antigen region for ulcerative colitis reveals not only shared but also ethnicity-specific disease associations

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a chronic inflammatory disease of the gut. Genetic association studies have identified the highly variable human leukocyte antigen (HLA) region as the strongest susceptibility locus for IBD, and specifically DRB1*01:03 as a determining factor for ulcerative colitis (UC). However, for most of the association signal such a delineation could not be made due to tight structures of linkage disequilibrium within the HLA. The aim of this study was therefore to further characterize the HLA signal using a trans-ethnic approach. We performed a comprehensive fine mapping of single HLA alleles in UC in a cohort of 9,272 individuals with African American, East Asian, Puerto Rican, Indian and Iranian descent and 40,691 previously analyzed Caucasians, additionally analyzing whole HLA haplotypes. We computationally characterized the binding of associated HLA alleles to human self-peptides and analysed the physico-chemical properties of the HLA proteins and predicted self-peptidomes. Highlighting alleles of the HLA-DRB1*15 group and their correlated HLA-DQ-DR haplotypes, we identified consistent associations across different ethnicities but also identified population-specific signals. We observed that DRB1*01:03 is mostly present in individuals of Western European descent and hardly present in non-Caucasian individuals. We found peptides predicted to bind to risk HLA alleles to be rich in positively charged amino acids such. We conclude that the HLA plays an important role for UC susceptibility across different ethnicities. This research further implicates specific features of peptides that are predicted to bind risk and protective HLA proteins

Risk of post-acute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 infection associated with pre-coronavirus disease obstructive sleep apnea diagnoses: an electronic health record-based analysis from the RECOVER initiative

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) has been associated with more severe acute coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) outcomes. We assessed OSA as a potential risk factor for Post-Acute Sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 (PASC).We assessed the impact of preexisting OSA on the risk for probable PASC in adults and children using electronic health record data from multiple research networks. Three research networks within the REsearching COVID to Enhance Recovery initiative (PCORnet Adult, PCORnet Pediatric, and the National COVID Cohort Collaborative [N3C]) employed a harmonized analytic approach to examine the risk of probable PASC in COVID-19-positive patients with and without a diagnosis of OSA prior to pandemic onset. Unadjusted odds ratios (ORs) were calculated as well as ORs adjusted for age group, sex, race/ethnicity, hospitalization status, obesity, and preexisting comorbidities.Across networks, the unadjusted OR for probable PASC associated with a preexisting OSA diagnosis in adults and children ranged from 1.41 to 3.93. Adjusted analyses found an attenuated association that remained significant among adults only. Multiple sensitivity analyses with expanded inclusion criteria and covariates yielded results consistent with the primary analysis.Adults with preexisting OSA were found to have significantly elevated odds of probable PASC. This finding was consistent across data sources, approaches for identifying COVID-19-positive patients, and definitions of PASC. Patients with OSA may be at elevated risk for PASC after SARS-CoV-2 infection and should be monitored for post-acute sequelae

Spin-up instability of a levitated molten drop in magnetohydrodynamic-flow transition to turbulence

2230-223

Surface oscillations of an electromagnetically levitated droplet

1565-158

Comparing the Effect of Hydroalcoholic Extract of Rosemary and Metronidazole in Treating Infection Caused by Giardia lamblia in Mice under In vivo Conditions

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Giardiasis is one of the most common infections of the gastric tract in the world, which is caused by protozoa. Today, metronidazole, furazolidun, tinidazole and quinacrine are commonly used to treat this disease. These medications are associated with several adverse side effects and finding an alternative solution with fewer side effects seems necessary. The present study aims to analyze the effect of hydroalcoholic extract of rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis) on the cysts of Giardia lamblia parasite under in vitro conditions. METHODS: In this experimental study, 25 mice were categorized into 5 groups (n=5) including negative control group, positive control group (treated with metronidazole) and other three treatment groups (treated with 100, 200 and 400 mg/ml rosemary extract). Then, the effect of hydroalcoholic extract of rosemary was analyzed until the tenth day. FINDINGS: According to the results of this study, the body weight of the mice in the groups treated with hydroalcoholic extract of rosemary (20.78 - 26.64) was less than control group (28.70 ± 0.69), which received no medication (p<0.0001). Investigating the effect of rosemary extract on Giardia lamblia parasite demonstrated that decline in the number of cysts in 100, 200 and 400 mg/ml groups were 70.7, 80.6 and 94%, respectively (p<0.05). CONCLUSION: Results of the present study demonstrated that rosemary has proper in vivo effects and can be considered as a suitable alternative for treatment of Giardiasis

Transparent microwave crossover for transparent Butler matrix using micro-metal mesh conductive film

This paper presents the design of a novel transparent microwave crossover (MC) for a transparent Butler matrix (BM) using a proprietary self-assembling nano-particle technology based Micro-metal Mesh (MM) conductive film. The transparent MM conductive film has a sheet resistance of 0.7 ohms/sq and a visible-light transmission of 75 %, resulting in high transparency and good conductivity, respectively. The proposed transparent crossover is placed on a 2 mm-thick glass substrate of dielectric 5.7 and designed to operate at 2.45 GHz. A layer of MM film placed at the back of the glass serves as a ground. The transparent MC delivered a measured crossing coupling of 1.5 dB. The transparent MC can be used as a building block for realizing a transparent Butler Matrix (BM) Beam Forming Network (BFN) for inter/intra-vehicle wireless communication (IIVWC) in Intelligent Transport System (ITS). Besides being transparent, the proposed MC has a 0.25 mm profile excluding the glass substrate. These advantages greatly enhance the MC's potential to be used also as a BM building component that can be mounted onto the glass surfaces of buildings for future 5G indoor wireless communications