Genome-Wide Association Study of Young-Onset Hypertension in the Han Chinese Population of Taiwan

Young-onset hypertension has a stronger genetic component than late-onset counterpart; thus, the identification of genes related to its susceptibility is a critical issue for the prevention and management of this disease. We carried out a two-stage association scan to map young-onset hypertension susceptibility genes. The first-stage analysis, a genome-wide association study, analyzed 175 matched case-control pairs; the second-stage analysis, a confirmatory association study, verified the results at the first stage based on a total of 1,008 patients and 1,008 controls. Single-locus association tests, multilocus association tests and pair-wise gene-gene interaction tests were performed to identify young-onset hypertension susceptibility genes. After considering stringent adjustments of multiple testing, gene annotation and single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) quality, four SNPs from two SNP triplets with strong association signals (−log10(p)>7) and 13 SNPs from 8 interactive SNP pairs with strong interactive signals (−log10(p)>8) were carefully re-examined. The confirmatory study verified the association for a SNP quartet 219 kb and 495 kb downstream of LOC344371 (a hypothetical gene) and RASGRP3 on chromosome 2p22.3, respectively. The latter has been implicated in the abnormal vascular responsiveness to endothelin-1 and angiotensin II in diabetic-hypertensive rats. Intrinsic synergy involving IMPG1 on chromosome 6q14.2-q15 was also verified. IMPG1 encodes interphotoreceptor matrix proteoglycan 1 which has cation binding capacity. The genes are novel hypertension targets identified in this first genome-wide hypertension association study of the Han Chinese population

Optimizing NiCr and FeCr HVOF Coating Structures for High Temperature Corrosion Protection Applications

In order to achieve a desired dense structure for coatings employed in high temperature corrosion conditions, thermal spray process optimization with diagnostic tools can be applied. In this study, NiCr (51Ni-46Cr-2Si-1Fe) and FeCr (Fe-19Cr-9W-7Nb-4Mo-5B-2C-2Si-1Mn) powders were sprayed with HVOFGF (gas-fueled) and HVOFLF (liquid-fueled) systems, and the spray processes were monitored with diagnostic tools, including SprayWatch for measuring the temperature and velocity of the spray stream, and in situ coating property (ICP measurement) for measuring the stress state. Various spray parameters were applied to attain the best coating characteristics for high temperature applications. Selected coatings were exposed to high temperature corrosion conditions both in laboratory and actual power plant. The coatings were analyzed by microscopic means and mechanical testing. The application of process-structure-properties-performance methodology with the process monitoring, analysis of the coating characteristics, and results of corrosion performance are presented in this paper