High-dimensional genome-wide association study and misspecified mixed model analysis

We study behavior of the restricted maximum likelihood (REML) estimator under a misspecified linear mixed model (LMM) that has received much attention in recent gnome-wide association studies. The asymptotic analysis establishes consistency of the REML estimator of the variance of the errors in the LMM, and convergence in probability of the REML estimator of the variance of the random effects in the LMM to a certain limit, which is equal to the true variance of the random effects multiplied by the limiting proportion of the nonzero random effects present in the LMM. The aymptotic results also establish convergence rate (in probability) of the REML estimators as well as a result regarding convergence of the asymptotic conditional variance of the REML estimator. The asymptotic results are fully supported by the results of empirical studies, which include extensive simulation studies that compare the performance of the REML estimator (under the misspecified LMM) with other existing methods.Comment: 3 figure

A novel boundary integral equation for surface crack model

A novel boundary integral equation (BIE) is developed for eddy‐current nondestructive evaluation problems with surface crack under a uniform applied magnetic field. Once the field and its normal derivative are obtained for the structure in the absence of cracks, normal derivative of scattered field on the conductor surface can be calculated by solving this equation with the aid of method of moments (MoM). This equation is more efficient than conventional BIEs because of a smaller computational domain needed

A novel colorimetric biosensor based on non-aggregated Au@Ag core–shell nanoparticles for methamphetamine and cocaine detection

We report a novel colorimetric biosensor based on non-aggregation Au@Ag core-shell nanoparticles to detect methamphetamine and cocaine. The biosensor consisted of a reporter probe (RP) that is a specific single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) sequence coated on Au@Ag nanoparticles, a capture probe (CP) conjugated with magnetic beads, and an illicit drug-binding DNA aptamer (Apt). Au@Ag nanoparticles were synthesized by seed growth and characterized by scanning electron microscope (SEM), high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM), and UV–vis spectra. Methamphetamine (METH) was used as an example to evaluate the feasibility of the biosensor and to optimize the detection conditions. We demonstrated that this sensing platform was able to detect as low as 0.1 nM (14.9 ng L−1) METH with a negligible interference from other common illicit drugs. Various concentrations of METH were spiked into urines, and the biosensor yielded recoveries more than 83.1%. In addition, the biosensor also showed a high sensitivity to detect cocaine. These results demonstrated that our colorimetric sensor holds promise to be implemented as a visual sensing platform to detect multiple illicit drugs in biological samples and environmental matrices

Amplification and adaptation of centromeric repeats in polyploid switchgrass species.

Centromeres in most higher eukaryotes are composed of long arrays of satellite repeats from a single satellite repeat family. Why centromeres are dominated by a single satellite repeat and how the satellite repeats originate and evolve are among the most intriguing and long-standing questions in centromere biology. We identified eight satellite repeats in the centromeres of tetraploid switchgrass (Panicum virgatum). Seven repeats showed characteristics associated with classical centromeric repeats with monomeric lengths ranging from 166 to 187 bp. Interestingly, these repeats share an 80-bp DNA motif. We demonstrate that this 80-bp motif may dictate translational and rotational phasing of the centromeric repeats with the cenH3 nucleosomes. The sequence of the last centromeric repeat, Pv156, is identical to the 5S ribosomal RNA genes. We demonstrate that a 5S ribosomal RNA gene array was recruited to be the functional centromere for one of the switchgrass chromosomes. Our findings reveal that certain types of satellite repeats, which are associated with unique sequence features and are composed of monomers in mono-nucleosomal length, are favorable for centromeres. Centromeric repeats may undergo dynamic amplification and adaptation before the centromeres in the same species become dominated by the best adapted satellite repeat

A Tensor-Based Framework for Studying Eigenvector Multicentrality in Multilayer Networks

Centrality is widely recognized as one of the most critical measures to provide insight in the structure and function of complex networks. While various centrality measures have been proposed for single-layer networks, a general framework for studying centrality in multilayer networks (i.e., multicentrality) is still lacking. In this study, a tensor-based framework is introduced to study eigenvector multicentrality, which enables the quantification of the impact of interlayer influence on multicentrality, providing a systematic way to describe how multicentrality propagates across different layers. This framework can leverage prior knowledge about the interplay among layers to better characterize multicentrality for varying scenarios. Two interesting cases are presented to illustrate how to model multilayer influence by choosing appropriate functions of interlayer influence and design algorithms to calculate eigenvector multicentrality. This framework is applied to analyze several empirical multilayer networks, and the results corroborate that it can quantify the influence among layers and multicentrality of nodes effectively.Comment: 57 pages, 10 figure

New insight into the material parameter B to understand the enhanced thermoelectric performance of Mg2Sn1−x−yGexSby

Historically, a material parameter B incorporating weighted mobility and lattice thermal conductivity has guided the exploration of novel thermoelectric materials. However, the conventional definition of B neglects the bipolar effect which can dramatically change the thermoelectric energy conversion efficiency at high temperatures. In this paper, a generalized material parameter B* is derived, which connects weighted mobility, lattice thermal conductivity, and the band gap. Based on the new parameter B*, we explain the successful tuning of the electron and phonon transport in Mg[subscript 2]S[subscript n1−x−y]Ge[subscript x]Sb[subscript y], with an improved ZT value from 0.6 in Mg[subscript 2]Sn[subscript 0.99]Sb[subscript 0.01] to 1.4 in Mg[subscript 2]Sn[subscript 0.73]Ge[subscript 0.25]Sb[subscript 0.02]. We uncover that the Ge alloying approach simultaneously improves all the key variables in the material parameter B*, with an ∼25% enhancement in the weighted mobility, ∼27% band gap widening, and ∼50% reduction in the lattice thermal conductivity. We show that a higher generalized parameter B* leads to a higher optimized ZT in Mg[subscript 2]Sn[subscript 0.73]Ge[subscript 0.25]Sb[subscript 0.02], and some common thermoelectric materials. The new parameter B* provides a better characterization of material's thermoelectric transport, particularly at high temperatures, and therefore can facilitate the search for good thermoelectric materials.United States. Department of Energy. Office of Science. Solid-State Solar Thermal Energy Conversion Center (Award DE-SC0001299/DE-FG02-09ER46577