Constructing 3D crystal templates for photonic band gap materials using holographic optical tweezers

A simple and robust method is presented for the construction of 3-dimensional crystals from silica and polystyrene microspheres. The crystals are suitable for use as templates in the production of three-dimensional photonic band gap (PBG) materials. Manipulation of the microspheres was achieved using a dynamic holographic assembler (DHA) consisting of computer controlled holographic optical tweezers. Attachment of the microspheres was achieved by adjusting their colloidal interactions during assembly. The method is demonstrated by constructing a variety of 3-dimensional crystals using spheres ranging in size from 3 µm down to 800 nm. A major advantage of the technique is that it may be used to build structures that cannot be made using self-assembly. This is illustrated through the construction of crystals in which line defects have been deliberately included, and by building simple cubic structures

Para-infectious brain injury in COVID-19 persists at follow-up despite attenuated cytokine and autoantibody responses

To understand neurological complications of COVID-19 better both acutely and for recovery, we measured markers of brain injury, inflammatory mediators, and autoantibodies in 203 hospitalised participants; 111 with acute sera (1–11 days post-admission) and 92 convalescent sera (56 with COVID-19-associated neurological diagnoses). Here we show that compared to 60 uninfected controls, tTau, GFAP, NfL, and UCH-L1 are increased with COVID-19 infection at acute timepoints and NfL and GFAP are significantly higher in participants with neurological complications. Inflammatory mediators (IL-6, IL-12p40, HGF, M-CSF, CCL2, and IL-1RA) are associated with both altered consciousness and markers of brain injury. Autoantibodies are more common in COVID-19 than controls and some (including against MYL7, UCH-L1, and GRIN3B) are more frequent with altered consciousness. Additionally, convalescent participants with neurological complications show elevated GFAP and NfL, unrelated to attenuated systemic inflammatory mediators and to autoantibody responses. Overall, neurological complications of COVID-19 are associated with evidence of neuroglial injury in both acute and late disease and these correlate with dysregulated innate and adaptive immune responses acutely

Whole-genome sequencing reveals host factors underlying critical COVID-19

Critical COVID-19 is caused by immune-mediated inflammatory lung injury. Host genetic variation influences the development of illness requiring critical care1 or hospitalization2,3,4 after infection with SARS-CoV-2. The GenOMICC (Genetics of Mortality in Critical Care) study enables the comparison of genomes from individuals who are critically ill with those of population controls to find underlying disease mechanisms. Here we use whole-genome sequencing in 7,491 critically ill individuals compared with 48,400 controls to discover and replicate 23 independent variants that significantly predispose to critical COVID-19. We identify 16 new independent associations, including variants within genes that are involved in interferon signalling (IL10RB and PLSCR1), leucocyte differentiation (BCL11A) and blood-type antigen secretor status (FUT2). Using transcriptome-wide association and colocalization to infer the effect of gene expression on disease severity, we find evidence that implicates multiple genes—including reduced expression of a membrane flippase (ATP11A), and increased expression of a mucin (MUC1)—in critical disease. Mendelian randomization provides evidence in support of causal roles for myeloid cell adhesion molecules (SELE, ICAM5 and CD209) and the coagulation factor F8, all of which are potentially druggable targets. Our results are broadly consistent with a multi-component model of COVID-19 pathophysiology, in which at least two distinct mechanisms can predispose to life-threatening disease: failure to control viral replication; or an enhanced tendency towards pulmonary inflammation and intravascular coagulation. We show that comparison between cases of critical illness and population controls is highly efficient for the detection of therapeutically relevant mechanisms of disease

Preliminary Assessment of Hydrogeology and Water Quality in Ground Water in Teton County, Idaho

This report documents a preliminary investigation of the hydrology in Teton County, Idaho done by the Idaho Water Resources Research Institute (IWRRI) for the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality (IDEQ). IDEQ initiated this work in 2006 due to the high rate of housing development in Teton County, Idaho. IDEQ has mounting concerns over the potential introduction of water quality problems due to the installation of domestic onsite wastewater systems. An assessment of the area hydrogeology is necessary to evaluate Nutrient-Pathogen (N-P) Level 1 analyses submitted by developers (Howarth, et al, 2002). The N-P Level 1 evaluations include a spreadsheet analysis which requires hydrologic characteristics as input values. This project was intended to provide IDEQ with some guidelines regarding appropriate values for those inputs. The project work documented in this report includes an assessment of the hydrogeology in the Teton Valley, based on published reports and the ground-water model in the valley and an assessment of the sensitivity of the N-P Level 1 evaluation tool to various aquifer parameters. After the project was underway, an opportunity arose for further funding to conduct a synoptic measurement of water quality parameters in the Teton Valley, so the work on this project was expanded to support that effort. The water quality results are included in this report. Additionally, as work on this project was underway, it became apparent that one of the greatest water quality concerns in the Teton Valley is the potential impact to water quality if the valley were to fully build out using onsite wastewater systems. To address this need, we added a task to create a crude spreadsheet-based tool to analyze nitrate loading for user-defined build-out scenarios. The nitrate loading tool is documented in a separate report

Preliminary Assessment of Hydrogeology and Water Quality in Ground Water in Canyon County, Idaho

This report is the second of two reports documenting a preliminary investigation of the geology and hydrogeology in the Canyon County, Idaho area done by the Idaho Water Resources Research Institute (IWRRI) for the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality (IDEQ). The companion report, Preliminary Geology of the Northwestern Portion of Canyon County, Idaho, IWRRI Technical Report 20051, April, 2005, documents the geology of the study area. This report documents the preliminary hydrogeology and water quality investigation done for the study area. IDEQ initiated this work in 2004 due to several concerns. The high rate of housing development in Canyon County, Idaho is causing mounting concerns over the potential introduction of water quality problems due to the installation of domestic onsite wastewater systems. An assessment of the area hydrogeology is necessary to evaluate Nutrient-Pathogen (N-P) Level 1 analyses submitted by developers (Howarth, et al, 2002). The N-P Level 1 evaluations include a spreadsheet analysis which requires hydrologic characteristics as input values. The second primary water quality concern in the study area is the occurrence of radionuclides, particularly uranium, in the aquifer. Uranium concerns in Canyon County stem from previous water quality analyses indicating high concentrations of uranium in some locations. Because few water samples have been analyzed for uranium, the extent of the problem is largely unknown. Although nitrate concentration levels due to onsite wastewater systems and the high concentrations of uranium are the primary concerns, IDEQ is also interested in characterizing other contaminants (arsenic and thermal waters) to determine whether other water quality problems exist and to baseline the water quality in the study area. In 2000, the 1977 Radionuclide Rule for community public water systems was revised to include a requirement to test for uranium, effective in 2004 (Environmental Protection Agency, 2003). Table 1 lists selected maximum concentration levels (MCLs) and maximum contaminant level goals (MCLGs) published in 2003