Non-wetting drops at liquid interfaces: From liquid marbles to Leidenfrost drops

We consider the flotation of deformable, non-wetting drops on a liquid interface. We consider the deflection of both the liquid interface and the droplet itself in response to the buoyancy forces, density difference and the various surface tensions within the system. Our results suggest new insight into a range of phenomena in which such drops occur, including Leidenfrost droplets and floating liquid marbles. In particular, we show that the floating state of liquid marbles is very sensitive to the tension of the particle-covered interface and suggest that this sensitivity may make such experiments a useful assay of the properties of these complex interfaces.Comment: 21 pages, 9 figures. Minor typos correcte

Shear-induced instabilities of flows through submerged vegetation

We consider the instabilities of flows through a submerged canopy and show how the full governing equations of the fluid-structure interactions can be reduced to a compact framework that captures many key features of vegetative flow. First, by modelling the canopy as a collection of homogeneous elastic beams, we predict the steady configuration of the plants in response to a unidirectional flow. This treatment couples the beam equations in the canopy to the fluid momentum equations. Subsequently, a linear stability analysis suggests new insights into the development of instabilities at the surface of the vegetative region. In particular, we show that shear at the top of the canopy is a dominant factor in determining the onset of instabilities known as monami. Based on numerical and asymptotic analysis of the quadratic eigenvalue problem, the system is shown to be stable if the canopy is sufficiently sparse

Multi-Omics Approaches to Study Long Non-coding RNA Function in Atherosclerosis

Atherosclerosis is a complex inflammatory disease of the vessel wall involving the interplay of multiple cell types including vascular smooth muscle cells, endothelial cells, and macrophages. Large-scale genome-wide association studies (GWAS) and the advancement of next generation sequencing technologies have rapidly expanded the number of long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) transcripts predicted to play critical roles in the pathogenesis of the disease. In this review, we highlight several lncRNAs whose functional role in atherosclerosis is well-documented through traditional biochemical approaches as well as those identified through RNA-sequencing and other high-throughput assays. We describe novel genomics approaches to study both evolutionarily conserved and divergent lncRNA functions and interactions with DNA, RNA, and proteins. We also highlight assays to resolve the complex spatial and temporal regulation of lncRNAs. Finally, we summarize the latest suite of computational tools designed to improve genomic and functional annotation of these transcripts in the human genome. Deep characterization of lncRNAs is fundamental to unravel coronary atherosclerosis and other cardiovascular diseases, as these regulatory molecules represent a new class of potential therapeutic targets and/or diagnostic markers to mitigate both genetic and environmental risk factors

Perspectives of Social Justice Activists: Advocating Against Native-themed Mascots, Nicknames, and Logos

This study investigated perspectives of social justice activists who directly advocate for the elimination of Native-themed mascots, nicknames, and logos. Using Consensual Qualitative Research methodology, the research team analyzed transcripts of interviews conducted with eleven social justice activists to generate themes, categories, and domains within the data. Five domains emerged: (a) deleterious impact of Native-themed mascots, nicknames, and logos; (b) components of identity preservation among supporters; (c) reasons why some American Indians might support Native-themed mascots, nicknames, logos; (d) frontline advocacy efforts; and (e) coping strategies for advocates. Results provided insights into the sociopsychological processes which operate—among both non-Indians and Indians—to allow the misappropriation of American Indian culture, symbols, and imagery in sport to continue to exist in society. Findings can help counseling psychologists better understand the lived experience of social justice activists, while also highlighting ways that our field can support efforts to eliminate race-based mascots, nicknames, and logos

Multi-ancestry genetic analysis of gene regulation in coronary arteries prioritizes disease risk loci

Genome-wide association studies (GWASs) have identified hundreds of risk loci for coronary artery disease (CAD). However, non-European populations are underrepresented in GWASs, and the causal gene-regulatory mechanisms of these risk loci during atherosclerosis remain unclear. We incorporated local ancestry and haplotypes to identify quantitative trait loci for expression (eQTLs) and splicing (sQTLs) in coronary arteries from 138 ancestrally diverse Americans. Of 2,132 eQTL-associated genes (eGenes), 47% were previously unreported in coronary artery; 19% exhibited cell-type-specific expression. Colocalization revealed subgroups of eGenes unique to CAD and blood pressure GWAS. Fine-mapping highlighted additional eGenes, including TBX20 and IL5. We also identified sQTLs for 1,690 genes, among which TOR1AIP1 and ULK3 sQTLs demonstrated the importance of evaluating splicing to accurately identify disease-relevant isoform expression. Our work provides a patient-derived coronary artery eQTL resource and exemplifies the need for diverse study populations and multifaceted approaches to characterize gene regulation in disease processes.</p

Multi-ancestry genetic analysis of gene regulation in coronary arteries prioritizes disease risk loci

Genome-wide association studies (GWASs) have identified hundreds of risk loci for coronary artery disease (CAD). However, non-European populations are underrepresented in GWASs, and the causal gene-regulatory mechanisms of these risk loci during atherosclerosis remain unclear. We incorporated local ancestry and haplotypes to identify quantitative trait loci for expression (eQTLs) and splicing (sQTLs) in coronary arteries from 138 ancestrally diverse Americans. Of 2,132 eQTL-associated genes (eGenes), 47% were previously unreported in coronary artery; 19% exhibited cell-type-specific expression. Colocalization revealed subgroups of eGenes unique to CAD and blood pressure GWAS. Fine-mapping highlighted additional eGenes, including TBX20 and IL5. We also identified sQTLs for 1,690 genes, among which TOR1AIP1 and ULK3 sQTLs demonstrated the importance of evaluating splicing to accurately identify disease-relevant isoform expression. Our work provides a patient-derived coronary artery eQTL resource and exemplifies the need for diverse study populations and multifaceted approaches to characterize gene regulation in disease processes.</p

Integrative single-cell meta-analysis reveals disease-relevant vascular cell states and markers in human atherosclerosis

Coronary artery disease (CAD) is characterized by atherosclerotic plaque formation in the arterial wall. CAD progression involves complex interactions and phenotypic plasticity among vascular and immune cell lineages. Single-cell RNA-seq (scRNA-seq) studies have highlighted lineage-specific transcriptomic signatures, but human cell phenotypes remain controversial. Here, we perform an integrated meta-analysis of 22 scRNA-seq libraries to generate a comprehensive map of human atherosclerosis with 118,578 cells. Besides characterizing granular cell-type diversity and communication, we leverage this atlas to provide insights into smooth muscle cell (SMC) modulation. We integrate genome-wide association study data and uncover a critical role for modulated SMC phenotypes in CAD, myocardial infarction, and coronary calcification. Finally, we identify fibromyocyte/fibrochondrogenic SMC markers (LTBP1 and CRTAC1) as proxies of atherosclerosis progression and validate these through omics and spatial imaging analyses. Altogether, we create a unified atlas of human atherosclerosis informing cell state-specific mechanistic and translational studies of cardiovascular diseases.</p

The ventilation of buildings and other mitigating measures for COVID-19: a focus on wintertime.

The year 2020 has seen the emergence of a global pandemic as a result of the disease COVID-19. This report reviews knowledge of the transmission of COVID-19 indoors, examines the evidence for mitigating measures, and considers the implications for wintertime with a focus on ventilation.This work was undertaken as a contribution to the Rapid Assistance in Modelling the Pandemic (RAMP) initiative, coordinated by the Royal Society

PlaqView 2.0: A comprehensive web portal for cardiovascular single-cell genomics

Single-cell RNA-seq (scRNA-seq) is a powerful genomics technology to interrogate the cellular composition and behaviors of complex systems. While the number of scRNA-seq datasets and available computational analysis tools have grown exponentially, there are limited systematic data sharing strategies to allow rapid exploration and re-analysis of single-cell datasets, particularly in the cardiovascular field. We previously introduced PlaqView, an open-source web portal for the exploration and analysis of published atherosclerosis single-cell datasets. Now, we introduce PlaqView 2.0 (www.plaqview.com), which provides expanded features and functionalities as well as additional cardiovascular single-cell datasets. We showcase improved PlaqView functionality, backend data processing, user-interface, and capacity. PlaqView brings new or improved tools to explore scRNA-seq data, including gene query, metadata browser, cell identity prediction, ad hoc RNA-trajectory analysis, and drug-gene interaction prediction. PlaqView serves as one of the largest central repositories for cardiovascular single-cell datasets, which now includes data from human aortic aneurysm, gene-specific mouse knockouts, and healthy references. PlaqView 2.0 brings advanced tools and high-performance computing directly to users without the need for any programming knowledge. Lastly, we outline steps to generalize and repurpose PlaqView's framework for single-cell datasets from other fields