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

Metrology concept design of the GAIA basic angle monitoring system

The GAIA satellite, scheduled for launch in 2010, will make a highly accurate map of our Galaxy. It will measure the position of stars with an accuracy of 50 prad using two telescopes, which are positioned under a 'basic' angle between the the lines-of-sight of the telescopes of 106°. With a Basic Angle Monitoring system, variations of this angle will be measured with 5 prad accuracy, to correct for these variations on the measured position of stars. A conceptual design of the Basic Angle Monitoring system is presented. Two pairs of parallel laser bundles are sent to the telescopes, which create two interference patterns. If the basic angle varies, the interference patterns will shift. The optical design is such that the rotation of one pair of beams with respect to the other pair, does not affect the measured basic angle. The position stability requirement of the mirrors is a maximum shift of 1 pm in 6 hours. For material stability and good thermal and mechanical properties, Silicon Carbide has been chosen. The structural design is such that the design is as much monolithic as possible. The alignment is performed along the horizontal plane with external and removable alignment mechanisms. The components are locked by adhesives