Genetic Sharing with Cardiovascular Disease Risk Factors and Diabetes Reveals Novel Bone Mineral Density Loci.

Bone Mineral Density (BMD) is a highly heritable trait, but genome-wide association studies have identified few genetic risk factors. Epidemiological studies suggest associations between BMD and several traits and diseases, but the nature of the suggestive comorbidity is still unknown. We used a novel genetic pleiotropy-informed conditional False Discovery Rate (FDR) method to identify single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) associated with BMD by leveraging cardiovascular disease (CVD) associated disorders and metabolic traits. By conditioning on SNPs associated with the CVD-related phenotypes, type 1 diabetes, type 2 diabetes, systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, high density lipoprotein, low density lipoprotein, triglycerides and waist hip ratio, we identified 65 novel independent BMD loci (26 with femoral neck BMD and 47 with lumbar spine BMD) at conditional FDR < 0.01. Many of the loci were confirmed in genetic expression studies. Genes validated at the mRNA levels were characteristic for the osteoblast/osteocyte lineage, Wnt signaling pathway and bone metabolism. The results provide new insight into genetic mechanisms of variability in BMD, and a better understanding of the genetic underpinnings of clinical comorbidity

Age at first birth in women is genetically associated with increased risk of schizophrenia

Prof. Paunio on PGC:n jäsenPrevious studies have shown an increased risk for mental health problems in children born to both younger and older parents compared to children of average-aged parents. We previously used a novel design to reveal a latent mechanism of genetic association between schizophrenia and age at first birth in women (AFB). Here, we use independent data from the UK Biobank (N = 38,892) to replicate the finding of an association between predicted genetic risk of schizophrenia and AFB in women, and to estimate the genetic correlation between schizophrenia and AFB in women stratified into younger and older groups. We find evidence for an association between predicted genetic risk of schizophrenia and AFB in women (P-value = 1.12E-05), and we show genetic heterogeneity between younger and older AFB groups (P-value = 3.45E-03). The genetic correlation between schizophrenia and AFB in the younger AFB group is -0.16 (SE = 0.04) while that between schizophrenia and AFB in the older AFB group is 0.14 (SE = 0.08). Our results suggest that early, and perhaps also late, age at first birth in women is associated with increased genetic risk for schizophrenia in the UK Biobank sample. These findings contribute new insights into factors contributing to the complex bio-social risk architecture underpinning the association between parental age and offspring mental health.Peer reviewe

Comparisons of Transparency AZO Films Using Sol-Gel and RF Sputtering Methods

In this research, we report the result of two different methods of making AZO films. In the first method, the AZO film was deposited on silicon wafer and glass substrate using a magnetic controlled RF sputtering system, with rf power (150 W) at two working pressures, 5 mtorr, and 10 mtorr, respectively. The deposition temperatures were 25, 100, 150, 200, and 300 A degrees C, respectively. In the second method, the AZO film was made by sol-gel coating using (CH(3)COO)(2) Zna <...2H(2)O mixed with AlCl(3)a <...6H(2)O and melting in HOC(2)H(4)NH(2) and CH(3)OC(2)H(5)OH solvent and annealing at N(2) and/or 6% H(2)/Ar for one hour. The transparencies of the films are all larger than 80%, and the resistivities may reach 10(-3) Omega cm

Process simulation development of a clean waste-to-energy conversion power plant: Thermodynamic and environmental assessment

Waste-to-energy (WTE) conversion technologies for generating renewable energy and solving the environmental problems have an important role in the development of sustainable circular economy. This paper presents a novel high-efficiency WTE power plant using refuse-derived fuel (RDF) as feedstock by integrating torrefaction (T) pretreatment with plasma gasifier (PG), solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC), and combined heat and power (CHP) system. The combined impacts of torrefaction conditions (i.e. temperature and residence time) and steam-to-fuel (S/F) ratio on the energy and environmental performances of the proposed T-PG-SOFC-CHP power plant without CO2 capture (System I) is first evaluated. Results show that torrefaction of RDF prior to plasma gasification provides better syngas quality and therefore the system electrical efficiency (SEE) and CHP efficiency (CHPE) of System I can be markedly boosted compared to that of untreated RDF. However, the integration of torrefaction unit shows a negative effect on the energy return on investment (EROI) due to high energy demands for torrefaction and plasma gasification. Overall, the values of CHPE of System I range from 47.25% to 55.39% when the torrefaction temperatures of 200 and 250 °C are adopted. In contrast, the torrefaction of RDF at 300 °C is not a recommended condition for operation in the T-PG-SOFC-CHP power plant because of noticeably negative energy and environmental impacts. Moreover, to prevent the risk of carbon deposition on the SOFC anode, a recirculation ratio (RR) of the anode off-gas of 30% is required. Finally, the introduction of oxy-fuel combustion technology into the T-PG-SOFC-CHP system for CO2 capture (System II) allows to achieve a zero direct CO2 emission WTE power plant. However, this results in an energy penalty of about 5.40–6.77% associated with the CO2 capture and compression process.Energy Technolog