Desert Procession

Ope

Chocolate Mousse Trifecta

Ope

Happy Hearts: Associations of Maternal Depressive Symptomatology on Child Profiles of C-Reactive Protein

Elevated concentrations of inflammatory markers in the bloodstream, such as C-reactive protein (CRP), can predict development of obesity and cardiometabolic dysfunction. Elevated CRP levels are found as early as infancy among children born to mothers with maternal depression. Little is known, however, of the intergenerational influence of maternal depression on offspring’s CRP profiles and the associated obesity risks during childhood, particularly in high-risk populations with limited resources. Cross-sectional data was collected from low-income Mexican mother-child dyads (n=97) living in central Mexico enrolled in the Family-based Intergenerational Evaluation of Salivary Telomeres and Acculturation (FIESTA) study. Mothers completed the Patient Healthcare Questionnaire (PHQ-9) to screen for depression. Body composition through bioelectrical impedance and dried blood spots were collected across all dyads. An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kit will be used to measure CRP from dried blood spots. Mothers ranged in age from 19 to 55 (M=31.29±8.42). Half the mothers were overweight (50.5%), and 23.7% met criteria for obesity, and 15.5% of mothers had elevated depressive symptoms (PHQ-9 ≥9 ). Children were between the ages of 3 to 6 years old (M=4.58±0.57). About 48.2% of children were male, 13.4% of children were overweight and 20.7% were considered obese. Results are forthcoming for CRP profiles, but we anticipate a positive association with body weight and moderation of this relationship (if any) by maternal depression status. This study has the potential to introduce preliminary evidence of the intergenerational interaction between maternal depressive symptoms and childhood CRP profiles and subsequent effect on child weight status.Office of Undergraduate ResearchOpe

Improving the stiffness of multilayer 3D woven composites by the integration of shape memory alloys (SMAs) into structures

Shape memory alloys (SMAs) are capable of shape-retaining and stress generation when activated. SMA wires are embedded in laminated composites for improving the properties of the composites. Laminated composites have low through-the-thickness properties and poor delamination resistance. 3D composites are well known for having higher through-the-thickness properties. In 3D woven composites, a set of yarn is in through-the-thickness direction that improves through-the- thickness properties and provides resistance to delamination of layers. As in multilayer 3D woven structures, yarns are distributed from in-plane to through-the-thickness direction, so in-plane properties are reduced with the same number of yarns compared to 2D laminated composites. In this research, SMA wires are embedded into different types of 3D woven structures for utilising stress generation property of SMA wires for improving in-plane properties, specifically stiffness of the composites. Three types of 3D orthogonal interlocking composites: layer-to-layer, through-the-thickness, and modified multilayer interlock structures are fabricated with and without SMA wires. From the tensile test, results show that embedding SMA wires into structures significantly improves the stiffness of the structures due to the stress-induced martensite phase of SMA wire when subjected to load. When these SMA wires are activated, stresses are generated by SMA wires due to phase transformation from martensite to austenite that further gives remarkable higher values of stiffness. This results in a composite structure that has higher in-plane properties due to embedded SMA wire and through-the-thickness properties due to 3D structure of composite reinforcement. The interlocking pattern in the through-the-thickness direction of 3D structures was also found to have an effect on the extent of the improvement in stiffness

A projected finite element update method for inverse identification of material constitutive parameters in transversely isotropic laminates

In this paper, a novel application of Finite Element Update Method (FEUM) is proposed for the inverse identification of material constitutive parameters in transversely isotropic laminates. Two-dimensional Digital Image Correlation (2D–DIC) is used for full-field measurements which is required for the identification process. Instead of measuring the in-plane displacements, which is a well-known application of 2D–DIC, we seek to measure the pseudo-displacements resulting from out-of-plane (towards camera) deflection of plate under a point load. These pseudo-displacements are basically the perspective projection of the three dimensional displacement fields on the image-plane of the image acquisition system. The cost function in this method is defined in terms of these projections instead of the true displacements – and hence the name Projected Finite Element Update Method (PFEUM). In this article, identification of in-plane elastic moduli of Carbon Fiber Reinforced Plastic (CFRP) plate has been performed using plate bending experiments which show pre-dominantly out-of-plane deflection with little contribution from the in-plane displacements. Identification results are validated by direct experimental measurements of the unknown elastic constants as well as theoretical estimates based on volume ratio of constituents. The results show good conformance between estimated and target values for at least three material parameters namely E1, E2 and G12. Effects of experimental noise on parameter estimates has also been evaluated to explain the observed deviation in estimated parameters with current test configuration

Easy Movement Facilities for Users' Comfort in Shopping Malls in Clifton, Karachi, Pakistan

peer reviewedIn society, shopping plays a part in outdoor activity. With the passage of time, different societies develop different modes of shopping by following particular societal values and norms. Modern shopping is a modified activity that is widely adopted by shopping malls. In this new set of shopping activities, users of shopping malls are not interested only in shopping but also in allied facilities like a ramp, main entrance of the mall, wheelchair, information desk/ reception, informal seating, signage system/wayfinding, emergency exit, central circulation, horizontal circulation, wide walkways/corridors, staircase, elevator/lift, escalators and cargo lift. Some basic facilities are unavoidable while designing a shopping mall, but these facilities may differ in different shopping malls. One of the specialities of the specific mall is a user-based facility which is the main attribute of shopping malls. This study emphasises selected attributes of a shopping mall, i.e., easy movement facilities. Emerald Mall in the city of Karachi, Pakistan, was selected as a case study building. A quantitative and qualitative research methodology has been adopted; the collected data was then presented statistically. An analysis of the findings has been carried out according to the standard attributes of the shopping mall. The conclusion of the study includes that some of the areas of Emerald Mall are well established, but there is still a need for improvements in many areas, such as the ramp, main entrance of the mall, wheelchair, information desk/reception, informal seating, signage system/wayfinding, emergency exit, central circulation, horizontal circulation, wide walkways/corridors, staircase, elevator/lift, escalators, and cargo lift. The research establishes its contribution as the provision of framework and modular analysis of selected study for a contextual approach to architectural design development. This study recommends innovation for the future in the design of the selected mall in order to address the discrepancies identified.8. Decent work and economic growt

Seroprevalence of SARS-CoV2 Antibodies among Patients and Healthy Individuals of Lahore

Objective: To determine the seroprevalence of SARS-CoV2 antibodies in patients and healthy individuals presenting to a tertiary care hospital in Lahore. Study Design: Cross-sectional study Place and Duration of Study: Pathology Department of Surayya Azeem Hospital, Lahore Pakistan, from May to Jul 2020. Methodology: The study included clinically suspected patients of COVID-19 referred by clinicians and healthy individuals presenting to the hospital for the SARS-CoV-2 antibody test, irrespective of age and gender. Results: The SARS-CoV-2 antibody positivity was 704(59.4%) in our study. Out of 1184 individuals tested, 690 patients had a positive clinical history of COVID-19 infection, and 517(74.9%) were positive for COVID-19 antibodies. Out of 494 asymptomatic healthy individuals, positivity for COVID-19 antibodies was 187(37.8%). It was observed that positivity was significantly higher 169(44.0%) in contacts of COVID-19 infection patients compared to asymptomatic healthy individuals 18(16.3%). Conclusion: Our study shows that the seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in the general public in Pakistan has greatly increased

Indian Medical Mission at Hajj-2016: Mass-Gathering Medicine Perspectives, Challenges, and Opportunities in a Mission Posture

Introduction: Hajj is an annual mass gathering of over 3.5 million pilgrims congregating from 200 countries in the desert climate of Saudi Arabia. Mass gathering medicine at Hajj is challenged by issues of healthcare accessibility, infection control, on-site treatment, referral, evacuation, and response to disasters and public health emergencies. The Indian Medical Mission at Hajj 2016 established, operated, and coordinated a strategic network of mass gathering medical operations, the proceeds of which are discussed herein. Methods: The mission was designed to provide holistic health security through health intelligence for pre-existing chronic diseases, epidemic intelligence for endemic and exotic diseases, public-health and disaster-health preparedness, and tiered healthcare through mobile medical task forces, static clinics, tent clinics, secondary care hospitals, and evacuation capabilities. Results: Primary care, secondary care, and tertiary care treated 374 475, 930, and 523 patients, respectively. Patients exhibited limited compliance with pre-instituted treatments and precautionary protocols. Respiratory and gastrointestinal infections, cardiorespiratory, trauma, and heat illnesses were seen. Epidemic intelligence revealed an outbreak of food poisoning. Respiratory infections were reported by 90% of the healthcare personnel. Surge capacity was overwhelmed with patient throughput and ambulance transfers. Crude unadjusted mortality was 11.99/10 000. Conclusion: The Indian Medical Mission at Hajj 2016 yielded solutions to the challenges faced during the 2016 Hajj pilgrimage. The mission posture of the Indian Medical Mission in Hajj presents a modus operandi for handling crisis scenarios in mass gathering. The situational analysis of the Hajj health mission calls for dynamic interventions in preparedness, clientele, and health systems

Coding Variation in ANGPTL4, LPL, and SVEP1 and the Risk of Coronary Disease.

BACKGROUND: The discovery of low-frequency coding variants affecting the risk of coronary artery disease has facilitated the identification of therapeutic targets. METHODS: Through DNA genotyping, we tested 54,003 coding-sequence variants covering 13,715 human genes in up to 72,868 patients with coronary artery disease and 120,770 controls who did not have coronary artery disease. Through DNA sequencing, we studied the effects of loss-of-function mutations in selected genes. RESULTS: We confirmed previously observed significant associations between coronary artery disease and low-frequency missense variants in the genes LPA and PCSK9. We also found significant associations between coronary artery disease and low-frequency missense variants in the genes SVEP1 (p.D2702G; minor-allele frequency, 3.60%; odds ratio for disease, 1.14; P=4.2×10(-10)) and ANGPTL4 (p.E40K; minor-allele frequency, 2.01%; odds ratio, 0.86; P=4.0×10(-8)), which encodes angiopoietin-like 4. Through sequencing of ANGPTL4, we identified 9 carriers of loss-of-function mutations among 6924 patients with myocardial infarction, as compared with 19 carriers among 6834 controls (odds ratio, 0.47; P=0.04); carriers of ANGPTL4 loss-of-function alleles had triglyceride levels that were 35% lower than the levels among persons who did not carry a loss-of-function allele (P=0.003). ANGPTL4 inhibits lipoprotein lipase; we therefore searched for mutations in LPL and identified a loss-of-function variant that was associated with an increased risk of coronary artery disease (p.D36N; minor-allele frequency, 1.9%; odds ratio, 1.13; P=2.0×10(-4)) and a gain-of-function variant that was associated with protection from coronary artery disease (p.S447*; minor-allele frequency, 9.9%; odds ratio, 0.94; P=2.5×10(-7)). CONCLUSIONS: We found that carriers of loss-of-function mutations in ANGPTL4 had triglyceride levels that were lower than those among noncarriers; these mutations were also associated with protection from coronary artery disease. (Funded by the National Institutes of Health and others.).Supported by a career development award from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health (NIH) (K08HL114642 to Dr. Stitziel) and by the Foundation for Barnes–Jewish Hospital. Dr. Peloso is supported by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute of the NIH (award number K01HL125751). Dr. Kathiresan is supported by a Research Scholar award from the Massachusetts General Hospital, the Donovan Family Foundation, grants from the NIH (R01HL107816 and R01HL127564), a grant from Fondation Leducq, and an investigator-initiated grant from Merck. Dr. Merlini was supported by a grant from the Italian Ministry of Health (RFPS-2007-3-644382). Drs. Ardissino and Marziliano were supported by Regione Emilia Romagna Area 1 Grants. Drs. Farrall and Watkins acknowledge the support of the Wellcome Trust core award (090532/Z/09/Z), the British Heart Foundation (BHF) Centre of Research Excellence. Dr. Schick is supported in part by a grant from the National Cancer Institute (R25CA094880). Dr. Goel acknowledges EU FP7 & Wellcome Trust Institutional strategic support fund. Dr. Deloukas’s work forms part of the research themes contributing to the translational research portfolio of Barts Cardiovascular Biomedical Research Unit, which is supported and funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR). Drs. Webb and Samani are funded by the British Heart Foundation, and Dr. Samani is an NIHR Senior Investigator. Dr. Masca was supported by the NIHR Leicester Cardiovascular Biomedical Research Unit (BRU), and this work forms part of the portfolio of research supported by the BRU. Dr. Won was supported by a postdoctoral award from the American Heart Association (15POST23280019). Dr. McCarthy is a Wellcome Trust Senior Investigator (098381) and an NIHR Senior Investigator. Dr. Danesh is a British Heart Foundation Professor, European Research Council Senior Investigator, and NIHR Senior Investigator. Drs. Erdmann, Webb, Samani, and Schunkert are supported by the FP7 European Union project CVgenes@ target (261123) and the Fondation Leducq (CADgenomics, 12CVD02). Drs. Erdmann and Schunkert are also supported by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research e:Med program (e:AtheroSysMed and sysINFLAME), and Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft cluster of excellence “Inflammation at Interfaces” and SFB 1123. Dr. Kessler received a DZHK Rotation Grant. The analysis was funded, in part, by a Programme Grant from the BHF (RG/14/5/30893 to Dr. Deloukas). Additional funding is listed in the Supplementary Appendix.This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from the Massachusetts Medical Society via http://dx.doi.org/10.1056/NEJMoa150765

Association of the PHACTR1/EDN1 genetic locus with spontaneous coronary artery dissection

Background: Spontaneous coronary artery dissection (SCAD) is an increasingly recognized cause of acute coronary syndromes (ACS) afflicting predominantly younger to middle-aged women. Observational studies have reported a high prevalence of extracoronary vascular anomalies, especially fibromuscular dysplasia (FMD) and a low prevalence of coincidental cases of atherosclerosis. PHACTR1/EDN1 is a genetic risk locus for several vascular diseases, including FMD and coronary artery disease, with the putative causal noncoding variant at the rs9349379 locus acting as a potential enhancer for the endothelin-1 (EDN1) gene. Objectives: This study sought to test the association between the rs9349379 genotype and SCAD. Methods: Results from case control studies from France, United Kingdom, United States, and Australia were analyzed to test the association with SCAD risk, including age at first event, pregnancy-associated SCAD (P-SCAD), and recurrent SCAD. Results: The previously reported risk allele for FMD (rs9349379-A) was associated with a higher risk of SCAD in all studies. In a meta-analysis of 1,055 SCAD patients and 7,190 controls, the odds ratio (OR) was 1.67 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.50 to 1.86) per copy of rs9349379-A. In a subset of 491 SCAD patients, the OR estimate was found to be higher for the association with SCAD in patients without FMD (OR: 1.89; 95% CI: 1.53 to 2.33) than in SCAD cases with FMD (OR: 1.60; 95% CI: 1.28 to 1.99). There was no effect of genotype on age at first event, P-SCAD, or recurrence. Conclusions: The first genetic risk factor for SCAD was identified in the largest study conducted to date for this condition. This genetic link may contribute to the clinical overlap between SCAD and FMD