Meta-analysis of type 2 Diabetes in African Americans Consortium

Type 2 diabetes (T2D) is more prevalent in African Americans than in Europeans. However, little is known about the genetic risk in African Americans despite the recent identification of more than 70 T2D loci primarily by genome-wide association studies (GWAS) in individuals of European ancestry. In order to investigate the genetic architecture of T2D in African Americans, the MEta-analysis of type 2 DIabetes in African Americans (MEDIA) Consortium examined 17 GWAS on T2D comprising 8,284 cases and 15,543 controls in African Americans in stage 1 analysis. Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) association analysis was conducted in each study under the additive model after adjustment for age, sex, study site, and principal components. Meta-analysis of approximately 2.6 million genotyped and imputed SNPs in all studies was conducted using an inverse variance-weighted fixed effect model. Replications were performed to follow up 21 loci in up to 6,061 cases and 5,483 controls in African Americans, and 8,130 cases and 38,987 controls of European ancestry. We identified three known loci (TCF7L2, HMGA2 and KCNQ1) and two novel loci (HLA-B and INS-IGF2) at genome-wide significance (4.15 × 10(-94)<P<5 × 10(-8), odds ratio (OR)  = 1.09 to 1.36). Fine-mapping revealed that 88 of 158 previously identified T2D or glucose homeostasis loci demonstrated nominal to highly significant association (2.2 × 10(-23) < locus-wide P<0.05). These novel and previously identified loci yielded a sibling relative risk of 1.19, explaining 17.5% of the phenotypic variance of T2D on the liability scale in African Americans. Overall, this study identified two novel susceptibility loci for T2D in African Americans. A substantial number of previously reported loci are transferable to African Americans after accounting for linkage disequilibrium, enabling fine mapping of causal variants in trans-ethnic meta-analysis studies.Peer reviewe

A History of Discrete Event Simulation Programming Languages

The history of simulation programming languages is organized as a progression in periods of similar developments. The five periods, spanning 1955-1986, are labeled: The Period of Search (1955-1960); The Advent (1961-1965); The Formative Period (1966-1970); The Expansional Period (1971-1978); and The Period of Consolidation and Regeneration (1979-1986). The focus is on recognizing the people and places that have made important contributions in addition to the nature of the contribution. A balance between comprehensive and in-depth treatment has been reached by providing more detailed description of those languages which have or have had major use. Over 30 languages are mentioned, and numerous variations are described in the major contributors. A concluding summary notes the concepts and techniques either originating with simulation programming languages or given significant visibility by them

Tålegrenser for overflatevann. Sammenheng mellom kjemiske kriterier og fiskestatus

Tålegrensekart for tilførsler av sterke syrer til Norge er nå utarbeidet basert på underruter av enheten 0.5° lengde og 1.0° bredde. Totalt er tålegrensen for svovel idag overskredet i et areal på ca. 117.000 km² i hele Norge. Forsuringsskader på fisk er blitt registrert ved hjelp av systematiske intervjuundersøkelser helt fra midten av 1970-årene, og gyldigheten av metoden er bekreftet med omfattende prøvefiske. Skader på fiskebestander er fremstilt i geografiske ruteenheter basert på UTM-systemet. En skadeindeks er beregnet for hver rute. De to databasene er blitt konvertert til samme rutenett. Ialt 128.526 km² (alle fylker sør for Møre og Romsdal og Sør-Trøndelag, dvs. ca 40% av fastlands-Norges areal) er kartlagt for begge variable. Tålegrensene er overskredet i 94.000 km² av dette arealet, mens fiskeskader er registrert i ca. 86.000 km². De to datasettene er samlet inn uavhengig av hverandre. Den valgte verdi for ANC limit (20µeq/l) er anslått på grunnlag av en empirisk sammenheng mellom ANC og fiskestatus fra 1000-sjøers undersøkelsen. Ved å bruke dette utgangspunktet for tålegrenseberegninger finner en god sammenheng mellom overskrideler av tålegrenser og fiskeskader fra en uavhengig database basert på mer omfattende fiskestatusundersøkelse. Dette bekrefter at tålegrensemetoden gir et reelt bilde av forholdene, og at prognoser basert på denne metoden vil gi gode resultater for anslag av omfang av fiskeskader ved gitte fremtidige scenarier.Arbeidsgruppen for programmet Naturens Tålegrense