Genetic predisposition for sudden cardiac death in myocardial ischaemia: the Arrhythmia Genetics in the NEtherlandS study

Sudden cardiac death from ventricular fibrillation during myocardial infarction is a leading cause of total and cardiovascular mortality. This multifactorial, complex condition clusters in families, suggesting a substantial genetic cause. We carried out a genomewide association study (GWAS) for sudden cardiac death, in the AGNES (Arrhythmia Genetics in the Netherlands) population, consisting of patients with (cases) and without (controls) ventricular fibrillation during a first ST-elevation myocardial infarction. The most significant association was found at chromosome 21q21 (rs2824292; odds ratio = 1.78, 95% CI 1.47–2.13, P = 3.3 × 10−10), 98 kb proximal of the CXADR gene, encoding the Coxsackie and adenovirus receptor. This locus has not previously been implicated in arrhythmia susceptibility. Further research on the mechanism of this locus will ultimately provide novel insight into arrhythmia mechanisms in this condition

Expression of transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) in chronic idiopathic cough

In patients with chronic idiopathic cough, there is a chronic inflammatory response together with evidence of airway wall remodelling and an increase in airway epithelial nerves expressing TRPV-1. We hypothesised that these changes could result from an increase in growth factors such as TGFβ and neurotrophins

The Relative Role of Perceived Partner Risks in Promoting Condom Use in a Three-City Sample of High-Risk, Low-Income Women

We examined the effect of women’s perceptions of sexual partner risks on condom use. Women from three US cities (n = 1,967) were recruited to provide data on HIV risks. In univariate models, increased odds of condom use were associated with perceiving that partners had concurrent partners and being unaware of partners': (a) HIV status, (b) bisexuality, (c) concurrency; and/or (d) injection drug use. In multivariate models, neither being unaware of the four partner risk factors nor perceiving a partner as being high risk was associated with condom use. Contextual factors associated with decreased odds of condom use were having sex with a main partner, homelessness in the past year, alcohol use during sex, and crack use in the past 30 days. Awareness of a partner’s risks may not be sufficient for increasing condom use. Contextual factors, sex with a main partner in particular, decrease condom use despite awareness of partner risk factors

Functional and informatics analysis enables glycosyltransferase activity prediction

The elucidation and prediction of how changes in a protein result in altered activities and selectivities remain a major challenge in chemistry. Two hurdles have prevented accurate family-wide models: obtaining (i) diverse datasets and (ii) suitable parameter frameworks that encapsulate activities in large sets. Here, we show that a relatively small but broad activity dataset is sufficient to train algorithms for functional prediction over the entire glycosyltransferase superfamily 1 (GT1) of the plant Arabidopsis thaliana. Whereas sequence analysis alone failed for GT1 substrate utilization patterns, our chemical–bioinformatic model, GT-Predict, succeeded by coupling physicochemical features with isozyme-recognition patterns over the family. GT-Predict identified GT1 biocatalysts for novel substrates and enabled functional annotation of uncharacterized GT1s. Finally, analyses of GT-Predict decision pathways revealed structural modulators of substrate recognition, thus providing information on mechanisms. This multifaceted approach to enzyme prediction may guide the streamlined utilization (and design) of biocatalysts and the discovery of other family-wide protein functions

Effects of varying environmental conditions on emissivity spectra of bulk lunar soils: Application to Diviner thermal infrared observations of the Moon

Currently, few thermal infrared measurements exist of fine particulate ( < 63 μm) analogue samples (e.g. minerals, mineral mixtures, rocks, meteorites, and lunar soils) measured under simulated lunar condi- tions. Such measurements are fundamental for interpreting thermal infrared (TIR) observations by the Diviner Lunar Radiometer Experiment (Diviner) onboard NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter as well as future TIR observations of the Moon and other airless bodies. In this work, we present thermal in- frared emissivity measurements of a suite of well-characterized Apollo lunar soils and a fine particu- late ( < 25 μm) San Carlos olivine sample as we systematically vary parameters that control the near- surface environment in our vacuum chamber (atmospheric pressure, incident solar-like radiation, and sample cup temperature). The atmospheric pressure is varied between ambient (1000 mbar) and vacuum ( < 10^−3 mbar) pressures, the incident solar-like radiation is varied between 52 and 146 mW/cm 2 , and the sample cup temperature is varied between 325 and 405 K. Spectral changes are characterized as each parameter is varied, which highlight the sensitivity of thermal infrared emissivity spectra to the atmospheric pressure and the incident solar-like radiation. Finally spectral measurements of Apollo 15 and 16 bulk lunar soils are compared with Diviner thermal infrared observations of the Apollo 15 and 16 sam- pling sites. This comparison allows us to constrain the temperature and pressure conditions that best simulate the near-surface environment of the Moon for future laboratory measurements and to better interpret lunar surface compositions as observed by Diviner.</p

Effects of varying environmental conditions on emissivity spectra of bulk lunar soils: Application to Diviner thermal infrared observations of the Moon

Currently, few thermal infrared measurements exist of fine particulate ( &lt; 63 μm) analogue samples (e.g. minerals, mineral mixtures, rocks, meteorites, and lunar soils) measured under simulated lunar condi- tions. Such measurements are fundamental for interpreting thermal infrared (TIR) observations by the Diviner Lunar Radiometer Experiment (Diviner) onboard NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter as well as future TIR observations of the Moon and other airless bodies. In this work, we present thermal in- frared emissivity measurements of a suite of well-characterized Apollo lunar soils and a fine particu- late ( &lt; 25 μm) San Carlos olivine sample as we systematically vary parameters that control the near- surface environment in our vacuum chamber (atmospheric pressure, incident solar-like radiation, and sample cup temperature). The atmospheric pressure is varied between ambient (1000 mbar) and vacuum ( &lt; 10^−3 mbar) pressures, the incident solar-like radiation is varied between 52 and 146 mW/cm 2 , and the sample cup temperature is varied between 325 and 405 K. Spectral changes are characterized as each parameter is varied, which highlight the sensitivity of thermal infrared emissivity spectra to the atmospheric pressure and the incident solar-like radiation. Finally spectral measurements of Apollo 15 and 16 bulk lunar soils are compared with Diviner thermal infrared observations of the Apollo 15 and 16 sam- pling sites. This comparison allows us to constrain the temperature and pressure conditions that best simulate the near-surface environment of the Moon for future laboratory measurements and to better interpret lunar surface compositions as observed by Diviner.</p