The Decay of Disease Association with Declining Linkage Disequilibrium: A Fine Mapping Theorem

Several important and fundamental aspects of disease genetics models have yet to be described. One such property is the relationship of disease association statistics at a marker site closely linked to a disease causing site. A complete description of this two-locus system is of particular importance to experimental efforts to fine map association signals for complex diseases. Here, we present a simple relationship between disease association statistics and the decline of linkage disequilibrium from a causal site. Specifically, the ratio of Chi-square disease association statistics at a marker site and causal site is equivalent to the standard measure of pairwise linkage disequilibrium, r2. A complete derivation of this relationship from a general disease model is shown. Quite interestingly, this relationship holds across all modes of inheritance. Extensive Monte Carlo simulations using a disease genetics model applied to chromosomes subjected to a standard model of recombination are employed to better understand the variation around this fine mapping theorem due to sampling effects. We also use this relationship to provide a framework for estimating properties of a non-interrogated causal site using data at closely linked markers. Lastly, we apply this way of examining association data from high-density genotyping in a large, publicly-available data set investigating extreme BMI. We anticipate that understanding the patterns of disease association decay with declining linkage disequilibrium from a causal site will enable more powerful fine mapping methods and provide new avenues for identifying causal sites/genes from fine-mapping studies

Modeling and Modulation of NNPC Four-Level Inverter for Solar Photovoltaic Power Plant

Photovoltaic (PV) power plant is an attractive way of utilizing the solar energy. For high-power PV power plant, the multilevel inverter is of potential interest. In contrast to the neutral-point clamped (NPC) or flying capacitor (FC) multilevel inverter, the nested neutral point clamped (NNPC) four-level inverter has better features for solar photovoltaic power plant. In practical applications, the common mode voltage reduction of the NNPC four-level is one of the important issues. In order to solve the problem, a new modulation strategy is proposed to minimize the common mode voltage. Compared with the conventional solution, our proposal can reduce the common mode voltage to 1/18 of the DC bus voltage. Moreover, it has the capability to balance the capacitor voltages. Finally, we carried out time-domain simulations to test the performance of the NNPC four-level inverter

Colossal c-axis response and lack of rotational symmetry breaking within the kagome plane of the CsV3_3Sb5_5 superconductor

The kagome materials AV4$_3$Sb$_5$ (A = K, Rb, Cs) host an intriguing interplay between unconventional superconductivity and charge-density-waves. Here, we investigate CsV$_3$Sb$_5$ by combining high-resolution thermal-expansion, heat-capacity and electrical resistance under strain measurements. We directly unveil that the superconducting and charge-ordered states strongly compete, and that this competition is dramatically influenced by tuning the crystallographic c-axis. In addition, we report the absence of additional bulk phase transitions within the charge-ordered state, notably associated with rotational symmetry-breaking within the kagome planes. This suggests that any breaking of the C$_6$ invariance occurs via different stacking of C$_6$-symmetric kagome patterns. Finally, we find that the charge-density-wave phase exhibits an enhanced A$_{1g}$-symmetric elastoresistance coefficient, whose large increase at low temperature is driven by electronic degrees of freedom

An approximation algorithm for the solution of the nonlinear Lane-Emden type equations arising in astrophysics using Hermite functions collocation method

In this paper we propose a collocation method for solving some well-known classes of Lane-Emden type equations which are nonlinear ordinary differential equations on the semi-infinite domain. They are categorized as singular initial value problems. The proposed approach is based on a Hermite function collocation (HFC) method. To illustrate the reliability of the method, some special cases of the equations are solved as test examples. The new method reduces the solution of a problem to the solution of a system of algebraic equations. Hermite functions have prefect properties that make them useful to achieve this goal. We compare the present work with some well-known results and show that the new method is efficient and applicable.Comment: 34 pages, 13 figures, Published in "Computer Physics Communications

Mechanical properties and crystallographic texture of non-oriented electrical steel processed by repetitive bending under tension

Improving the magnetic properties of non-oriented electrical steel (NOES) through the optimization of crystallographic texture has been an on-going research activity for decades. However, using traditional rolling and annealing procedures, the obtained final textures were usually very similar, i.e., exhibiting the {111} (γ) and 〈 (α) fibres, which were not the desired {001} texture (θ-fibre) for optimal magnetic quality. In the current work, a 1.8 wt% Si NOES was processed using a new sheet metal deformation method, i.e., repetitive bending under tension (R-BUT), also known as continuous bending under tension (C-BUT), to modify the texture of the electrical steel. The hot-rolled and annealed NOES plates were repeatedly bent and unbent when they were pulled under tension. The deformed plates were then heat treated at different temperatures for various times. Neutron diffraction and electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) characterisation of the macro- and micro-textures proved that the R-BUT process significantly reduced the undesired {111} texture while promoting the {001} texture. The cube texture, which rarely formed after conventional rolling and annealing, was also seen in the R-BUT samples after annealing. It was shown that, the shear plastic deformation (induced by R-BUT) played a significant role in promoting the desired textures. In addition, the results indicated that the NOES processed by R-BUT could be deformed beyond its common formability limit, which may provide a method to address the poor workability challenge of high silicon electrical steels

Fog vehicular computing: augmentation of fog computing using vehicular cloud computing

© 20XX IEEE. Personal use of this material is permitted. Permission from IEEE must be obtained for all other uses, in any current or future media, including reprinting/republishing this material for advertising or promotional purposes, creating new collective works, for resale or redistribution to servers or lists, or reuse of any copyrighted component of this work in other works. This is an accepted manuscript of an article published by IEEE in IEEE Vehicular Technology Magazine, available online: http://dx.doi.org/10.1109/MVT.2017.2667499 The accepted version of the publication may differ from the final published version.Fog computing has emerged as a promising solution for accommodating the surge of mobile traffic and reducing latency, both known to be inherent problems of cloud computing. Fog services, including computation, storage, and networking, are hosted in the vicinity of end users (edge of the network), and, as a result, reliable access is provisioned to delay-sensitive mobile applications. However, in some cases, the fog computing capacity is overwhelmed by the growing number of demands from patrons, particularly during peak hours, and this can subsequently result in acute performance degradation. In this article, we address this problem by proposing a new concept called fog vehicular computing (FVC) to augment the computation and storage power of fog computing. We also design a comprehensive architecture for FVC and present a number of salient applications. The result of implementation clearly shows the effectiveness of the proposed architecture. Finally, some open issues and envisioned directions are discussed for future research in the context of FVC.Published versio

2Zero project D5.1 Modelling And Simulation Report

This report summarises the work in the Modelling and Simulation Work Package, WP 2, of the 2Zero project (funded by Innovate UK, grant agreement number 74829) under UKRI’s Future Flight Challenge Fund. It discusses the simulation that was built, how it works, its purpose, how it was used within the project, the results of doing so, and the various lessons learned from the project

Symmetry and topology in antiferromagnetic spintronics

Antiferromagnetic spintronics focuses on investigating and using antiferromagnets as active elements in spintronics structures. Last decade advances in relativistic spintronics led to the discovery of the staggered, current-induced field in antiferromagnets. The corresponding N\'{e}el spin-orbit torque allowed for efficient electrical switching of antiferromagnetic moments and, in combination with electrical readout, for the demonstration of experimental antiferromagnetic memory devices. In parallel, the anomalous Hall effect was predicted and subsequently observed in antiferromagnets. A new field of spintronics based on antiferromagnets has emerged. We will focus here on the introduction into the most significant discoveries which shaped the field together with a more recent spin-off focusing on combining antiferromagnetic spintronics with topological effects, such as antiferromagnetic topological semimetals and insulators, and the interplay of antiferromagnetism, topology, and superconductivity in heterostructures.Comment: Book chapte

Population attributable risk for diabetes associated with excess weight in Tehranian adults: a population-based cohort study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Little evidence exists regarding the magnitude of contribution of excess weight to diabetes in the Middle East countries. This study aimed at quantification of the impact of overweight and obesity on the incidence of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) at a population level in Tehran, Iran.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Using data of a population-based short-term cohort study in Iran, which began in 1997 with 3.6-year follow-up, we calculated the adjusted odds ratios (OR) and population attributable risks (PAR) of developing T2DM, i.e. the proportion of diabetes that could have been avoided had overweight and/or obesity not been present in the population.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Of the 4728 subjects studied, aged ≥ 20 years, during the 3.6-year follow-up period, 3.8% (n = 182) developed T2DM. This proportion was 1.4%, 3.6%, and 7.8% for the normal, overweight, and obese subjects, respectively. When compared to normal BMI, the adjusted ORs for incident diabetes were 1.76 [95% confidence interval (CI) 1.07 to 2.89] for overweight and 3.54 (95% CI 2.16 to 5.79) for obesity. The PARs adjusted for family history of diabetes, age, triglycerides, systolic blood pressure was 23.3% for overweight and 37.1% for obesity. These figures were 7.8% and 26.6% for men and 35.3% and 48.3% for women, respectively.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Incident T2DM is mainly attributable to excess weight, significantly more so in Tehranian women than men. Nonetheless, the contribution of excess weight in developing T2DM was lower in our short-term study than that reported in long-term periods. This probably reflects the significant role of other risk factors of T2DM in a short-term follow-up. Hence, prevention of excess weight probably should be considered as a major strategy for reducing incidence of T2DM; the contribution of other risk factors in developing T2DM in short-term period deserve to be studied and be taken into account.</p