Size and shape characteristics of mountain-leather actinolite

Size distribution measurements of mountain-leather actinolite by scanning electron microscopy. This material was characterized by the University of Maryland in collaboration with the US Bureau of Mines as part of studies on the nature of asbestos. The sample was provided to the University of Maryland by the US Bureau of Mines. The actinolite sample was mined in Africa. Sample obtained and measured ca. 1980. Data values were obtained with Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) with Energy-Dispersive X-Ray Analysis (EDXA) capability. See documentation file for full study abstract, an explanation of the content of the data files, and references to associated publications. The csv version contains the same data as the corresponding xlsx file. The csv file is provided as a software-independent alternative to the xlsx format

Size distribution measurements of amosite, crocidolite, chrysotile, and nonfibrous tremolite

[Originally uploaded 2015-12-09. Updated 2016-03-24 to add the chrysotile data.] Size distribution measurements of South African amosite, South African crocidolite, chrysotile, and New York tremolite by scanning electron and transmission electron microscopy. These materials were characterized by the University of Maryland as part of a project undertaken by the US Bureau of Mines on behalf of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) which used the materials in an animal oral ingestion study. Data were collected in ca. 1976. See documentation file for full study abstract, an explanation of the content of the data files, and references to associated publications. The csv versions contain the same data as the corresponding xlsx files. The csv files are provided as a software-independent alternative to the xlsx format

Size and shape characteristics of Indian tremolite asbestos

Size distribution measurements of Indian tremolite asbestos by scanning electron microscopy. This material was characterized by the University of Maryland in collaboration with the US Bureau of Mines as part of studies on the nature of asbestos. The sample was provided to the University of Maryland by the US Bureau of Mines. The tremolite sample is from Rajasthan state, India. Sample obtained and measured ca. 1980. Data values were obtained with Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) with Energy-Dispersive X-Ray Analysis (EDXA) capability. See documentation file for full study abstract, an explanation of the content of the data files, and references to associated publications. The csv versions contain the same data as the corresponding xlsx files. The csv files are provided as a software-independent alternative to the xlsx format

Size and shape characteristics of South African actinolite asbestos (ferro-actinolite)

Size distribution measurements of South African actinolite asbestos (ferro-actinolite) by scanning electron microscopy. This material was characterized by the University of Maryland in collaboration with the US Bureau of Mines as part of studies on the nature of asbestos. The sample was provided to the University of Maryland by the US Bureau of Mines. The actinolite sample is from the Northern Cape province, South Africa. Sample obtained and measured ca. 1980. Data values were obtained with Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) with Energy-Dispersive X-Ray Analysis (EDXA) capability. See documentation file for full study abstract, an explanation of the content of the data files, and references to associated publications. The csv version contains the same data as the corresponding xlsx file. The csv file is provided as a software-independent alternative to the xlsx format

Size and shape characteristics of amphibole cleavage fragments from milled riebeckite

Data on size and shape characteristics of riebeckite cleavage fragments. The sample was obtained from the Long Valley Creek Quarry, California. Data were collected in ca. 1978-1979. Data values were obtained with Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) with Energy-Dispersive X-Ray Analysis (EDXA) capability. See documentation file for full study abstract, an explanation of the content of the data files, and references to associated publications. The csv version contains the same data as the corresponding xlsx file, but its structure has been modified to make well-formed csv. The csv files are provided as a software-independent alternative to the xlsx format

Longitudinal dynamics of skin bacterial communities in the context of Staphylococcus aureus decolonization

Decolonization with topical antimicrobials is frequently prescribed in health care and community settings to prevent Staphylococcus aureus infection. However, effects on commensal skin microbial communities remains largely unexplored. Within a household affected by recurrent methicillin-resistant S. aureus skin and soft tissue infections (SSTI), skin swabs were collected from the anterior nares, axillae, and inguinal folds of 14 participants at 1- to 3-month intervals over 24 months. Four household members experienced SSTI during the first 12-months (observational period) and were prescribed a 5-day decolonization regimen with intranasal mupirocin and bleach water baths at the 12-month study visit. We sequenced the 16S rRNA gene V1-V2 region and compared bacterial community characteristics between the pre- and post-intervention periods and between younger and older subjects. The median Shannon diversity index was stable during the 12-month observational period at all three body sites. Bacterial community characteristics (diversity, stability, and taxonomic composition) varied with age. Among all household members, not exclusively among the four performing decolonization, diversity was unstable throughout the year post-intervention. In the month after decolonization, bacterial communities were changed. Although communities largely returned to their baseline states, relative abundance of some taxa remained changed throughout the year following decolonization (e.g., more abundan

Multiple novel prostate cancer susceptibility signals identified by fine-mapping of known risk loci among Europeans

Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have identified numerous common prostate cancer (PrCa) susceptibility loci. We have fine-mapped 64 GWAS regions known at the conclusion of the iCOGS study using large-scale genotyping and imputation in 25 723 PrCa cases and 26 274 controls of European ancestry. We detected evidence for multiple independent signals at 16 regions, 12 of which contained additional newly identified significant associations. A single signal comprising a spectrum of correlated variation was observed at 39 regions; 35 of which are now described by a novel more significantly associated lead SNP, while the originally reported variant remained as the lead SNP only in 4 regions. We also confirmed two association signals in Europeans that had been previously reported only in East-Asian GWAS. Based on statistical evidence and linkage disequilibrium (LD) structure, we have curated and narrowed down the list of the most likely candidate causal variants for each region. Functional annotation using data from ENCODE filtered for PrCa cell lines and eQTL analysis demonstrated significant enrichment for overlap with bio-features within this set. By incorporating the novel risk variants identified here alongside the refined data for existing association signals, we estimate that these loci now explain ∼38.9% of the familial relative risk of PrCa, an 8.9% improvement over the previously reported GWAS tag SNPs. This suggests that a significant fraction of the heritability of PrCa may have been hidden during the discovery phase of GWAS, in particular due to the presence of multiple independent signals within the same regio

A global experiment on motivating social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic

Finding communication strategies that effectively motivate social distancing continues to be a global public health priority during the COVID-19 pandemic. This cross-country, preregistered experiment (n = 25,718 from 89 countries) tested hypotheses concerning generalizable positive and negative outcomes of social distancing messages that promoted personal agency and reflective choices (i.e., an autonomy-supportive message) or were restrictive and shaming (i.e., a controlling message) compared with no message at all. Results partially supported experimental hypotheses in that the controlling message increased controlled motivation (a poorly internalized form of motivation relying on shame, guilt, and fear of social consequences) relative to no message. On the other hand, the autonomy-supportive message lowered feelings of defiance compared with the controlling message, but the controlling message did not differ from receiving no message at all. Unexpectedly, messages did not influence autonomous motivation (a highly internalized form of motivation relying on one’s core values) or behavioral intentions. Results supported hypothesized associations between people’s existing autonomous and controlled motivations and self-reported behavioral intentions to engage in social distancing. Controlled motivation was associated with more defiance and less long-term behavioral intention to engage in social distancing, whereas autonomous motivation was associated with less defiance and more short- and long-term intentions to social distance. Overall, this work highlights the potential harm of using shaming and pressuring language in public health communication, with implications for the current and future global health challenges

Finishing the euchromatic sequence of the human genome

The sequence of the human genome encodes the genetic instructions for human physiology, as well as rich information about human evolution. In 2001, the International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium reported a draft sequence of the euchromatic portion of the human genome. Since then, the international collaboration has worked to convert this draft into a genome sequence with high accuracy and nearly complete coverage. Here, we report the result of this finishing process. The current genome sequence (Build 35) contains 2.85 billion nucleotides interrupted by only 341 gaps. It covers ∼99% of the euchromatic genome and is accurate to an error rate of ∼1 event per 100,000 bases. Many of the remaining euchromatic gaps are associated with segmental duplications and will require focused work with new methods. The near-complete sequence, the first for a vertebrate, greatly improves the precision of biological analyses of the human genome including studies of gene number, birth and death. Notably, the human enome seems to encode only 20,000-25,000 protein-coding genes. The genome sequence reported here should serve as a firm foundation for biomedical research in the decades ahead

Effect of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor and angiotensin receptor blocker initiation on organ support-free days in patients hospitalized with COVID-19

IMPORTANCE Overactivation of the renin-angiotensin system (RAS) may contribute to poor clinical outcomes in patients with COVID-19. Objective To determine whether angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor or angiotensin receptor blocker (ARB) initiation improves outcomes in patients hospitalized for COVID-19. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS In an ongoing, adaptive platform randomized clinical trial, 721 critically ill and 58 non–critically ill hospitalized adults were randomized to receive an RAS inhibitor or control between March 16, 2021, and February 25, 2022, at 69 sites in 7 countries (final follow-up on June 1, 2022). INTERVENTIONS Patients were randomized to receive open-label initiation of an ACE inhibitor (n = 257), ARB (n = 248), ARB in combination with DMX-200 (a chemokine receptor-2 inhibitor; n = 10), or no RAS inhibitor (control; n = 264) for up to 10 days. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES The primary outcome was organ support–free days, a composite of hospital survival and days alive without cardiovascular or respiratory organ support through 21 days. The primary analysis was a bayesian cumulative logistic model. Odds ratios (ORs) greater than 1 represent improved outcomes. RESULTS On February 25, 2022, enrollment was discontinued due to safety concerns. Among 679 critically ill patients with available primary outcome data, the median age was 56 years and 239 participants (35.2%) were women. Median (IQR) organ support–free days among critically ill patients was 10 (–1 to 16) in the ACE inhibitor group (n = 231), 8 (–1 to 17) in the ARB group (n = 217), and 12 (0 to 17) in the control group (n = 231) (median adjusted odds ratios of 0.77 [95% bayesian credible interval, 0.58-1.06] for improvement for ACE inhibitor and 0.76 [95% credible interval, 0.56-1.05] for ARB compared with control). The posterior probabilities that ACE inhibitors and ARBs worsened organ support–free days compared with control were 94.9% and 95.4%, respectively. Hospital survival occurred in 166 of 231 critically ill participants (71.9%) in the ACE inhibitor group, 152 of 217 (70.0%) in the ARB group, and 182 of 231 (78.8%) in the control group (posterior probabilities that ACE inhibitor and ARB worsened hospital survival compared with control were 95.3% and 98.1%, respectively). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE In this trial, among critically ill adults with COVID-19, initiation of an ACE inhibitor or ARB did not improve, and likely worsened, clinical outcomes. TRIAL REGISTRATION ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT0273570