Trans-ancestry genome-wide association study identifies 12 genetic loci influencing blood pressure and implicates a role for DNA methylation

We carried out a trans-ancestry genome-wide association and replication study of blood pressure phenotypes among up to 320,251 individuals of East Asian, European and South Asian ancestry. We find genetic variants at 12 new loci to be associated with blood pressure (P = 3.9 × 10-11 to 5.0 × 10-21). The sentinel blood pressure SNPs are enriched for association with DNA methylation at multiple nearby CpG sites, suggesting that, at some of the loci identified, DNA methylation may lie on the regulatory pathway linking sequence variation to blood pressure. The sentinel SNPs at the 12 new loci point to genes involved in vascular smooth muscle (IGFBP3, KCNK3, PDE3A and PRDM6) and renal (ARHGAP24, OSR1, SLC22A7 and TBX2) function. The new and known genetic variants predict increased left ventricular mass, circulating levels of NT-proBNP, and cardiovascular and all-cause mortality (P = 0.04 to 8.6 × 10-6). Our results provide new evidence for the role of DNA methylation in blood pressure regulation

Fine-Scale Mapping of the 4q24 Locus Identifies Two Independent Loci Associated with Breast Cancer Risk

Background: A recent association study identified a common variant (rs9790517) at 4q24 to be associated with breast cancer risk. Independent association signals and potential functional variants in this locus have not been explored. Methods: We conducted a fine-mapping analysis in 55,540 breast cancer cases and 51,168 controls from the Breast Cancer Association Consortium. Results: Conditional analyses identified two independent association signals among women of European ancestry, represented by rs9790517 [conditional P = 2.51 × 10−4; OR, 1.04; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.02–1.07] and rs77928427 (P = 1.86 × 10−4; OR, 1.04; 95% CI, 1.02–1.07). Functional annotation using data from the Encyclopedia of DNA Elements (ENCODE) project revealed two putative functional variants, rs62331150 and rs73838678 in linkage disequilibrium (LD) with rs9790517 (r2 ≥ 0.90) residing in the active promoter or enhancer, respectively, of the nearest gene, TET2. Both variants are located in DNase I hypersensitivity and transcription factor–binding sites. Using data from both The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and Molecular Taxonomy of Breast Cancer International Consortium (METABRIC), we showed that rs62331150 was associated with level of expression of TET2 in breast normal and tumor tissue. Conclusion: Our study identified two independent association signals at 4q24 in relation to breast cancer risk and suggested that observed association in this locus may be mediated through the regulation of TET2. Impact: Fine-mapping study with large sample size warranted for identification of independent loci for breast cancer risk

Color radiation in the classical Yang-Mills theory

10.1103/PhysRevD.33.1133Physical Review D3341133-113

Adaptive library-based device performance-driven optical proximity correction

10.1049/el.2010.2724Electronics Letters467513-515ELLE

Some exact solutions of (2+1)-dimensional Yang-Mills equations with the Chern-Simons term

10.1103/PhysRevD.40.601Physical Review D402601-60

Retracted: Significance of personalized learning style in promoting E-technology

This article was withdrawn and retracted by the Journal of Fundamental and Applied Sciences and has been removed from AJOL at the request of the journal Editor in Chief and the organisers of the conference at which the articles were presented (www.iccmit.net). Please address any queries to [email protected]

Timing performance oriented Optical proximity correction for mask cost reduction

10.1109/ASMC.2010.5551426ASMC (Advanced Semiconductor Manufacturing Conference) Proceedings99-10

Using A-Buffer in Radiosity

Proceedings of Computer Graphics International Conference, CGI193-20

Morphological studies of randomized dispersion magnetite nanoclusters coated with silica

In this study, we report a simple way to produce randomized dispersion magnetite nanoclusters coated with silica (RDMNS) via Stöber process with minor modifications. The morphology of silica coated magnetite nanoclusters was emphasized by studying various reaction parameters including alcohols with different polarities as co-solvents, concentration of alcohol-water, concentration of alkaline catalyst (ammonia), and concentration of TEOS monomer. The results of transmission electron microscope (TEM) showed that the sizes and morphological behaviour of the magnetite nanoclusters vary accordingly with the different reaction parameters investigated. The results showed that ethanol would be the best candidate as co-solvent in the preparation of randomized dispersion magnetite nanoclusters. Besides, the optimum alcohol-water ratio has been determined to be 70-30 v/v as this concentration range could render desired shape of randomized dispersion magnetite nanoclusters. The volume of ammonia (NH 3) catalyst in the reaction media also strongly governs the formation of silica coated magnetite nanoclusters in a desired shape. Apart from that, the addition of TEOS monomer into the reaction media has to be well-controlled as the excess amount of monomer added might affect the thickness of the silica layer that is coated on the magnetite nanoparticles. Prior to silica coating, the bare magnetite nanoparticles were first treated with trisodium citrate (0.5 M) to enhance the particles' dispersibility. Improvement in the size distribution and dispersibility of the magnetite nanoparticles after the citrate treatment has been examined using TEM. The XRD results show that the magnetite samples retained good crystallinity although they have been surface-modified with citrate group and silica. The Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) prove that the magnetite nanoparticles have been successfully coated with citrate and silica. The superparamagnetic behaviour of the magnetite samples was confirmed by VSM. The produced silica coated magnetite nanoclusters possess great potential to be applied in bio-medical research and clinical diagnosis application. © 2010 Elsevier Ltd and Techna Group S.r.l