Genetic relationships of European, Mediterranean, and SW Asian populations using a panel of 55 AISNPs

The set of 55 ancestry informative SNPs (AISNPs) originally developed by the Kidd Lab has been studied on a large number of populations and continues to be applied to new population samples. The existing reference database of population samples allows the relationships of new population samples to be inferred on a global level. Analyses show that these autosomal markers constitute one of the better panels of AISNPs. Continuing to build this reference database enhances its value. Because more than half of the 25 ethnic groups recently studied with these AISNPs are from Southwest Asia and the Mediterranean region, we present here various analyses focused on populations from these regions along with selected reference populations from nearby regions where genotype data are available. Many of these ethnic groups have not been previously studied for forensic markers. Data on populations from other world regions have also been added to the database but are not included in these focused analyses. The new population samples added to ALFRED and FROG-kb increase the total to 164 population samples that have been studied for all 55 AISNPs

Surfactant Protein D Augments Bacterial Association but Attenuates Major Histocompatibility Complex Class II Presentation of Bacterial Antigens

Surfactant protein D (SP-D) is a secreted pattern recognition molecule associated with lung surfactant and mediates the clearance of pathogens in multiple ways. SP-D is an established part of the innate immune system, but it also modulates the adaptive immune response by interacting with both antigen-presenting cells and T cells. In a previous study, antigen presentation by bone marrow–derived dendritic cells was enhanced by SP-D. As dendritic cell function varies depending on the tissue of origin, we extended these studies to antigen-presenting cells isolated from mouse lung. Flow cytometric studies showed that SP-D binds calcium dependently and specifically to lung CD11c-positive cells. Opsonization of fluorescently labeled Escherichia coli by SP-D enhanced uptake by lung dendritic cells. SP-D facilitated the association of E. coli and antigen-presenting cells by increasing the frequency of CD11+ cells associated with E. coli by up to 10-fold. In contrast to the effect on bone marrow–derived dendritic cells, SP-D decreased the antigen presentation of ovalbumin, expressed in E. coli, to ovalbumin-specific major histocompatibility complex class II–specific T-cell hybridomas by 30–50%. The reduction of antigen presentation did not depend on whether the dendritic cells were isolated from the lungs of nonstimulated mice or mice that had been exposed to LPS aerosols. Our results show that SP-D increases the opsonization of pathogens, but decreases the antigen presentation by lung dendritic cells, and thereby, potentially dampens the activation of T cells and an adaptive immune response against bacterial antigens—during both steady-state conditions and inflammation

Proportioning of Steel Fibre Reinforced Concrete Mixes for Pavement Construction and Their Impact on Environment and Cost

Steel fibre reinforced concrete (SFRC) is a construction material investigated for more than 40 years including for pavement applications. A number of studies have demonstrated the technical merits of SFRC pavements over conventional concrete pavements; however little work has been carried out on the environmental and economical impact of SFRC during the pavement’s life cycle. Therefore, extended research was undertaken within the framework of the EU funded project “EcoLanes” to estimate the environmental and economical loadings of SFRC pavements. The innovative concept of the project is the use of recycled steel tyre-cord wire as concrete fibre reinforcement, which provides additional environmental benefits for tyre recycling over landfilling. Within the project framework a demonstration of a steel-fibre-reinforced roller-compacted concrete (SFR-RCC) pavement was constructed in a rural area in Cyprus. In order to assess the economical and environmental picture of the demonstration pavement, life cycle cost analysis (LCCA) and life cycle assessment (LCA) studies were undertaken, which also compared the under study pavement design with four conventional alternatives. The main output of the studies is that SFR-RCC is more environmentally and economically sustainable than others. In addition, various concrete mix designs were investigated by considering parameters such as fibre type and dosage, cement type, and transportation distances to the construction site. Fibre dosage has been highlighted as a crucial factor compared with economical and environmental loadings in SFR-RCC pavement construction

Proportioning of steel fibre reinforced concrete mixes for pavement construction and their impact on environment and cost

Steel fibre reinforced concrete (SFRC) is a construction material investigated for more than 40 years including for pavement applications. A number of studies have demonstrated the technical merits of SFRC pavements over conventional concrete pavements; however little work has been carried out on the environmental and economical impact of SFRC during the pavement’s life cycle. Therefore, extended research was undertaken within the framework of the EU funded project “EcoLanes” to estimate the environmental and economical loadings of SFRC pavements. The innovative concept of the project is the use of recycled steel tyre-cord wire as concrete fibre reinforcement, which provides additional environmental benefits for tyre recycling over landfilling. Within the project framework a demonstration of a steel-fibre-reinforced roller-compacted concrete (SFR-RCC) pavement was constructed in a rural area in Cyprus. In order to assess the economical and environmental picture of the demonstration pavement, life cycle cost analysis (LCCA) and life cycle assessment (LCA) studies were undertaken, which also compared the under study pavement design with four conventional alternatives. The main output of the studies is that SFR-RCC is more environmentally and economically sustainable than others. In addition, various concrete mix designs were investigated by considering parameters such as fibre type and dosage, cement type, and transportation distances to the construction site. Fibre dosage has been highlighted as a crucial factor compared with economical and environmental loadings in SFR-RCC pavement construction

Proportioning of Steel Fibre Reinforced Concrete Mixes for Pavement Construction and Their Impact on Environment and Cost

Steel fibre reinforced concrete (SFRC) is a construction material investigated for more than 40 years including for pavement applications. A number of studies have demonstrated the technical merits of SFRC pavements over conventional concrete pavements; however little work has been carried out on the environmental and economical impact of SFRC during the pavement’s life cycle. Therefore, extended research was undertaken within the framework of the EU funded project “EcoLanes” to estimate the environmental and economical loadings of SFRC pavements. The innovative concept of the project is the use of recycled steel tyre-cord wire as concrete fibre reinforcement, which provides additional environmental benefits for tyre recycling over landfilling. Within the project framework a demonstration of a steel-fibre-reinforced roller-compacted concrete (SFR-RCC) pavement was constructed in a rural area in Cyprus. In order to assess the economical and environmental picture of the demonstration pavement, life cycle cost analysis (LCCA) and life cycle assessment (LCA) studies were undertaken, which also compared the under study pavement design with four conventional alternatives. The main output of the studies is that SFR-RCC is more environmentally and economically sustainable than others. In addition, various concrete mix designs were investigated by considering parameters such as fibre type and dosage, cement type, and transportation distances to the construction site. Fibre dosage has been highlighted as a crucial factor compared with economical and environmental loadings in SFR-RCC pavement construction.steel fibre reinforced concrete; life cycle assessment; tire recycling

Particulate matter concentrations during desert dust outbreaks and daily mortality in Nicosia, Cyprus

Ambient particulate matter (PM) has been shown to have short- and long-term effects on cardiorespiratory mortality and morbidity. Most of the risk is associated with fine PM (PM 2.5); however, recent evidence suggests that desert dust outbreaks are major contributors to coarse PM (PM 10-2.5) and may be associated with adverse health effects. The objective of this study was to investigate the risk of total, cardiovascular and respiratory mortality associated with PM concentrations during desert dust outbreaks. We used a time-series design to investigate the effects of PM 10 on total non-trauma, cardiovascular and respiratory daily mortality in Cyprus, between 1 January 2004 and 31 December 2007. Separate PM 10 effects for non-dust and dust days were fit in generalized additive Poisson models. We found a 2.43% (95% CI: 0.53, 4.37) increase in daily cardiovascular mortality associated with each 10-μg/m 3 increase in PM 10 concentrations on dust days. Associations for total (0.13% increase, 95% CI: -1.03, 1.30) and respiratory mortality (0.79% decrease, 95% CI: -4.69, 3.28) on dust days and all PM 10 and mortality associations on non-dust days were not significant. Although further study of the exact nature of effects across different affected regions during these events is needed, this study suggests adverse cardiovascular effects associated with desert dust events

Genetic relationships of Southwest Asian and Mediterranean populations

The Southwest Asian, circum-Mediterranean, and Southern European populations (collectively, SWAMSE) together with Northern European populations form one of five "continental" groups of global populations in many analyses of population relationships. This region is of great anthropologic and forensic interest but relationships of large numbers of populations within the region have not been able to be cleanly resolved with autosomal genetic markers. To examine the genetic boundaries to the SWAMSE region and whether internal structure can be detected we have assembled data for a total of 151 separate autosomal genetic markers on populations in this region and other parts of the world for a global set of 95 populations. The markers include 83 ancestry informative SNPs as singletons and 68 microhaplotype loci defined by 204 SNPs. The 151 loci are ancestry informative on a global scale, identifying at least five biogeographic clusters. One of those clusters is a clear grouping of 37 populations containing the SWAMSE plus northern European populations to the exclusion of populations in South Central Asia and populations from farther East. A refined analysis of the 37 populations shows the northern European populations clustering separately from the SWAMSE populations. Within Southwest Asia the Samaritans and Shabaks are distinct outliers. The Yemenite Jews, Saudi, Kuwaiti, Palestinian Arabs, and Southern Tunisians cluster together loosely while the remaining populations from Northern Iraq, Mediterranean Europe, the Caucasus region, and Iran cluster in a more complex graded fashion. The majority of the SWAMSE populations from the mainland of Southwest Asia form a cluster with little internal structure reflecting a very complex history of endogamy and migrations. The set of 151 DNA polymorphisms not only distinguishes major geographical regions globally but can distinguish ancestry to a small degree within geographical regions such as SWAMSE. We discuss forensic characteristics of the polymorphisms and also identify those that rank highest by Rosenberg's I-n measure for the SWAMSE region populations and for the global set of populations analyzed

Generation of ligand-receptor alliances by "SEA" module-mediated cleavage of membrane-associated mucin proteins

A mechanism is described whereby one and the same gene can encode both a receptor protein as well as its specific ligand. Generation of this receptor–ligand partnership is effected by proteolytic cleavage within a specific module located in a membrane resident protein. It is postulated here that the "SEA" module, found in a number of heavily O-linked glycosylated membrane-associated proteins, serves as a site for proteolytic cleavage. The subunits generated by proteolytic cleavage of the SEA module reassociate, and can subsequently elicit a signaling cascade. We hypothesize that all membrane resident proteins containing such a "SEA" module will undergo cleavage, thereby generating a receptor–ligand alliance. This requires that the protein subunits resulting from the proteolytic cleavage reassociate with each other in a highly specific fashion. The same SEA module that serves as the site for proteolytic cleavage, probably also contains the binding sites for reassociation of the resultant two subunits. More than one type of module can function as a site for proteolytic cleavage; this can occur not only in one-pass membrane proteins but also in 7-transmembrane proteins and other membrane-associated proteins. The proposal presented here is likely to have significant practical consequences. It could well lead to the rational design and identification of molecules that, by binding to one of the cleaved partners, will act either as agonists or antagonists, alter signal transduction and, hence, cellular behavior

North Asian population relationships in a global context

Population genetic studies of North Asian ethnic groups have focused on genetic variation of sex chromosomes and mitochondria. Studies of the extensive variation available from autosomal variation have appeared infrequently. We focus on relationships among population samples using new North Asia microhaplotype data. We combined genotypes from our laboratory on 58 microhaplotypes, distributed across 18 autosomes, on 3945 individuals from 75 populations with corresponding data extracted for 26 populations from the Thousand Genomes consortium and for 22 populations from the GenomeAsia 100 K project. A total of 7107 individuals in 122 total populations are analyzed using STRUCTURE, Principal Component Analysis, and phylogenetic tree analyses. North Asia populations sampled in Mongolia include: Buryats, Mongolians, Altai Kazakhs, and Tsaatans. Available Siberians include samples of Yakut, Khanty, and Komi Zyriane. Analyses of all 122 populations confirm many known relationships and show that most populations from North Asia form a cluster distinct from all other groups. Refinement of analyses on smaller subsets of populations reinforces the distinctiveness of North Asia and shows that the North Asia cluster identifies a region that is ancestral to Native Americans

Genetic relationships of European, Mediterranean, and SW Asian populations using a panel of 55 AISNPs

The set of 55 ancestry informative SNPs (AISNPs) originally developed by the Kidd Lab has been studied on a large number of populations and continues to be applied to new population samples. The existing reference database of population samples allows the relationships of new population samples to be inferred on a global level. Analyses show that these autosomal markers constitute one of the better panels of AISNPs. Continuing to build this reference database enhances its value. Because more than half of the 25 ethnic groups recently studied with these AISNPs are from Southwest Asia and the Mediterranean region, we present here various analyses focused on populations from these regions along with selected reference populations from nearby regions where genotype data are available. Many of these ethnic groups have not been previously studied for forensic markers. Data on populations from other world regions have also been added to the database but are not included in these focused analyses. The new population samples added to ALFRED and FROG-kb increase the total to 164 population samples that have been studied for all 55 AISNPs