25 research outputs found
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Tropical Warm Pool International Cloud Experiment TWP-ICE Cloud and rain characteristics in the Australian Monsoon
The impact of oceanic convection on its environment and the relationship between the characteristics of the convection and the resulting cirrus characteristics is still not understood. An intense airborne measurement campaign combined with an extensive network of ground-based observations is being planned for the region near Darwin, Northern Australia, during January-February, 2006, to address these questions. The Tropical Warm Pool International Cloud Experiment (TWP-ICE) will be the first field program in the tropics that attempts to describe the evolution of tropical convection, including the large scale heat, moisture, and momentum budgets, while at the same time obtaining detailed observations of cloud properties and the impact of the clouds on the environment. The emphasis will be on cirrus for the cloud properties component of the experiment. Cirrus clouds are ubiquitous in the tropics and have a large impact on their environment but the properties of these clouds are poorly understood. A crucial product from this experiment will be a dataset suitable to provide the forcing and testing required by cloud-resolving models and parameterizations in global climate models. This dataset will provide the necessary link between cloud properties and the models that are attempting to simulate them
Phase Separation of Rigid-Rod Suspensions in Shear Flow
We analyze the behavior of a suspension of rigid rod-like particles in shear
flow using a modified version of the Doi model, and construct diagrams for
phase coexistence under conditions of constant imposed stress and constant
imposed strain rate, among paranematic, flow-aligning nematic, and log-rolling
nematic states. We calculate the effective constitutive relations that would be
measured through the regime of phase separation into shear bands. We calculate
phase coexistence by examining the stability of interfacial steady states and
find a wide range of possible ``phase'' behaviors.Comment: 23 pages 19 figures, revised version to be published in Physical
Review
Novel genetic loci associated with hippocampal volume
The hippocampal formation is a brain structure integrally involved in episodic memory, spatial navigation, cognition and stress responsiveness. Structural abnormalities in hippocampal volume and shape are found in several common neuropsychiatric disorders. To identify the genetic underpinnings of hippocampal structure here we perform a genome-wide association study (GWAS) of 33,536 individuals and discover six independent loci significantly associated with hippocampal volume, four of them novel. Of the novel loci, three lie within genes (ASTN2, DPP4 and MAST4) and one is found 200 kb upstream of SHH. A hippocampal subfield analysis shows that a locus within the MSRB3 gene shows evidence of a localized effect along the dentate gyrus, subiculum, CA1 and fissure. Further, we show that genetic variants associated with decreased hippocampal volume are also associated with increased risk for Alzheimer's disease (rg =-0.155). Our findings suggest novel biological pathways through which human genetic variation influences hippocampal volume and risk for neuropsychiatric illness
The genetic architecture of the human cerebral cortex
INTRODUCTION
The cerebral cortex underlies our complex cognitive capabilities. Variations in human cortical surface area and thickness are associated with neurological, psychological, and behavioral traits and can be measured in vivo by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Studies in model organisms have identified genes that influence cortical structure, but little is known about common genetic variants that affect human cortical structure.
RATIONALE
To identify genetic variants associated with human cortical structure at both global and regional levels, we conducted a genome-wide association meta-analysis of brain MRI data from 51,665 individuals across 60 cohorts. We analyzed the surface area and average thickness of the whole cortex and 34 cortical regions with known functional specializations.
RESULTS
We identified 306 nominally genome-wide significant loci (P < 5 × 10−8) associated with cortical structure in a discovery sample of 33,992 participants of European ancestry. Of the 299 loci for which replication data were available, 241 loci influencing surface area and 14 influencing thickness remained significant after replication, with 199 loci passing multiple testing correction (P < 8.3 × 10−10; 187 influencing surface area and 12 influencing thickness).
Common genetic variants explained 34% (SE = 3%) of the variation in total surface area and 26% (SE = 2%) in average thickness; surface area and thickness showed a negative genetic correlation (rG = −0.32, SE = 0.05, P = 6.5 × 10−12), which suggests that genetic influences have opposing effects on surface area and thickness. Bioinformatic analyses showed that total surface area is influenced by genetic variants that alter gene regulatory activity in neural progenitor cells during fetal development. By contrast, average thickness is influenced by active regulatory elements in adult brain samples, which may reflect processes that occur after mid-fetal development, such as myelination, branching, or pruning. When considered together, these results support the radial unit hypothesis that different developmental mechanisms promote surface area expansion and increases in thickness.
To identify specific genetic influences on individual cortical regions, we controlled for global measures (total surface area or average thickness) in the regional analyses. After multiple testing correction, we identified 175 loci that influence regional surface area and 10 that influence regional thickness. Loci that affect regional surface area cluster near genes involved in the Wnt signaling pathway, which is known to influence areal identity.
We observed significant positive genetic correlations and evidence of bidirectional causation of total surface area with both general cognitive functioning and educational attainment. We found additional positive genetic correlations between total surface area and Parkinson’s disease but did not find evidence of causation. Negative genetic correlations were evident between total surface area and insomnia, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, depressive symptoms, major depressive disorder, and neuroticism.
CONCLUSION
This large-scale collaborative work enhances our understanding of the genetic architecture of the human cerebral cortex and its regional patterning. The highly polygenic architecture of the cortex suggests that distinct genes are involved in the development of specific cortical areas. Moreover, we find evidence that brain structure is a key phenotype along the causal pathway that leads from genetic variation to differences in general cognitive function
Geographical and temporal distribution of SARS-CoV-2 clades in the WHO European Region, January to June 2020
We show the distribution of SARS-CoV-2 genetic clades over time and between countries and outline potential genomic surveillance objectives. We applied three available genomic nomenclature systems for SARS-CoV-2 to all sequence data from the WHO European Region available during the COVID-19 pandemic until 10 July 2020. We highlight the importance of real-time sequencing and data dissemination in a pandemic situation. We provide a comparison of the nomenclatures and lay a foundation for future European genomic surveillance of SARS-CoV-2.Peer reviewe