Publications

Background: Substantial sex differences exist in the incidence of cardiovascular disease (CVD), with women at lower risk for coronary heart disease (CHD) but higher risk for stroke compared with men. However, the underlying reasons remain poorly understood, and no study to date has quantified the contribution of conventional cardiovascular risk factors to these sex differences. Methods: We prospectively followed 71,342 women from the Nurses’ Health Study and 36,499 men from the Health Professionals Follow-up Study (1986-2012) without CVD history at baseline who had complete data on Life’s Simple 7 (LS7), including smoking, diet quality, physical activity, body mass index (BMI), hypertension, hypercholesterolemia and diabetes. Time-varying Cox proportional hazards regression was used to estimate hazard ratios (HRs) for CHD and stroke comparing men versus women adjusted for age. Impact of LS7 on sex differences was evaluated by change in the sex HR estimate after further adjustment for LS7. We assessed effect modification by sex for the associations between individual components of LS7 and risk of CHD and stroke. Results: The age-adjusted HR (95% CI) comparing men versus women was 2.21 (2.10, 2.32) for CHD and 0.74 (0.69, 0.80) for stroke. Rates of achieving LS7 goals were in general worse among women compared to men (age-standardized mean LS7 score: 3.7 versus 4.1). Smoking, diabetes, hypertension and hypercholesterolemia were more strongly associated with CHD risk in women than in men (p-interaction<0.01), whereas the associations with BMI, diet quality and physical activity were similar by sex (p-interaction>0.23). For example, every 5 pack-years of smoking was associated with 19% higher CHD risk in women (95% CI: 1.17, 1.21) and 8% higher risk in men (95% CI: 1.06, 1.10). The HR (95% CI) associated with diabetes was 2.63 (2.40, 2.88) in women and 1.32 (1.15, 1.50) in men. By contrast, while most risk factors showed stronger associations with stroke risk in women than in men, only the difference for smoking reached statistical significance (p-interaction=0.009). After adjustment for LS7, the HR (95% CI) by sex increased to 2.61 (2.47, 2.75) for CHD and was attenuated to 0.83 (0.76, 0.89) for stroke. Conclusion: Lower LS7 achievement and stronger associations of LS7 with CVD outcomes in women than in men appeared to explain some of the sex difference in stroke risk but not CHD risk on the risk ratio scale. Ongoing work is exploring the impact of LS7 on sex differences on the absolute risk difference scale.

'Propylene Glycol Methyl Ether Acetate (PGMEA)' published in 'Encyclopedia of Nanotechnology'

Bis-o-diynylarene (BODA) monomers polymerize by a step growth addition type mechanism providing branched polynaphthalene oligomers which contain reactive o-diyne terminal groups. The reactive oligomers have been successfully melt micromolded using the MIMIC protocol. Microstructures are carbonized to electrically conductive glassy carbon at 1000 °C. The highly aromatic nature of the precursor thermoset offers a high-yield route to glassy carbon microstructures with <25% weight loss by TGA and ca. 15% linear shrinkage of the microstructures by SEM.

Each January, the editors of Diabetes Care look back at the last year and forward to the next. In January 2021 we have much to be thankful and happy about. The journal continues to publish outstanding scientific reports together with illuminating and provocative Commentary, Perspective, and Review articles. We are indebted to the authors who submit their manuscripts, the reviewers who evaluate them, and the editorial and production group that manages the process. They make it all possible. In 2020, Diabetes Care ’s impact factor increased once again, from 15.27 to 16.02. Accumulating scientific evidence presented by our journal and others continues to improve understanding of the pathophysiology of diabetes and add to the array of treatments. And yet . . . it’s been a hell of a year in other ways. The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic started a year ago and still has the world in its grip. It has tested all of us and brought many activities nearly to a halt. Countless people have fallen ill, sadly many have died, and the daily routines of most families are disturbed. The lockdown to prevent spread of the virus keeps people at home, limits travel, harms businesses, closes schools, and interferes with diagnosis and treatment of other ailments. Acute medical facilities have been overwhelmed in some regions. Fierce debates about controlling the spread of COVID-19 and mitigating its human and economic costs have ensued. Yet, in this crisis we see much heroism. Medical personnel and those who support …

Rapid micropatterning of polymers on rigid and flexible substrates can be achieved by the method—vacuum-assisted micromolding in capillaries (MIMIC)—introduced here. The Figure shows an oblique-view SEM image of a single hexagonal cell of a pattern produced by vacuum-assisted MIMIC. The use of vacuum reduced the time taken to fill the pattern with UV-curable polyurethane from ∼30 min to ∼15 s.

Cholesteryl ester transfer protein (CETP) inhibition reduces vascular event risk, but confusion surrounds its effects on low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol. Here, we clarify associations of genetic inhibition of CETP on detailed lipoprotein measures and compare those to genetic inhibition of 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-coenzyme A reductase (HMGCR). We used an allele associated with lower CETP expression (rs247617) to mimic CETP inhibition and an allele associated with lower HMGCR expression (rs12916) to mimic the well-known effects of statins for comparison. The study consists of 65,427 participants of European ancestries with detailed lipoprotein subclass profiling from nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Genetic associations were scaled to 10% reduction in relative risk of coronary heart disease (CHD). We also examined observational associations of the lipoprotein subclass measures with risk of incident CHD in 3 population-based cohorts totalling 616 incident cases and 13,564 controls during 8-year follow-up. Genetic inhibition of CETP and HMGCR resulted in near-identical associations with LDL cholesterol concentration estimated by the Friedewald equation. Inhibition of HMGCR had relatively consistent associations on lower cholesterol concentrations across all apolipoprotein B-containing lipoproteins. In contrast, the associations of the inhibition of CETP were stronger on lower remnant and very-low-density lipoprotein (VLDL) cholesterol, but there were no associations on cholesterol concentrations in LDL defined by particle size (diameter 18-26 nm) (-0.02 SD LDL defined by particle size; 95% CI: -0.10 to 0.05 for CETP versus -0.24 SD, 95% CI -0.30 to -0.18 for HMGCR). Inhibition of CETP was strongly associated with lower proportion of triglycerides in all high-density lipoprotein (HDL) particles. In observational analyses, a higher triglyceride composition within HDL subclasses was associated with higher risk of CHD, independently of total cholesterol and triglycerides (strongest hazard ratio per 1 SD higher triglyceride composition in very large HDL 1.35; 95% CI: 1.18-1.54). In conclusion, CETP inhibition does not appear to affect size-specific LDL cholesterol but is likely to lower CHD risk by lowering concentrations of other atherogenic, apolipoprotein B-containing lipoproteins (such as remnant and VLDLs). Inhibition of CETP also lowers triglyceride composition in HDL particles, a phenomenon reflecting combined effects of circulating HDL, triglycerides, and apolipoprotein B-containing particles and is associated with a lower CHD risk in observational analyses. Our results reveal that conventional composite lipid assays may mask heterogeneous effects of emerging lipid-altering therapies.

A preference for eveningness (being a “night owl”) and preterm birth (&lt;37 weeks of gestation) are associated with similar adversities, such as elevated blood pressure, impaired glucose regulation, poorer physical fitness, and lower mood. Yet, it remains unclear if and how preterm birth is associated with circadian preference. The aim of this study was to assess this association across the whole gestation range, using both objective and subjective measurements of circadian preference. Circadian preference was measured among 594 young adults (mean age 24.3 years, SD 1.3) from two cohorts: the ESTER study and the Arvo Ylppö Longitudinal Study. We compared 83 participants born early preterm (&lt;34 weeks) and 165 late preterm (34 to &lt;37 weeks) with those born at term (≥37 weeks, <i>n</i> = 346). We also compared very low birth weight (VLBW, &lt;1500 g) participants with term-born controls. We obtained objective sleep data with actigraphs that were worn for a mean period of 6.8 (SD 1.4) nights. Our primary outcome was sleep midpoint during weekdays and weekend. The sleep midpoint is the half-way time between falling asleep and waking up, and it represents sleep timing. We also investigated subjective chronotype with the Morningness–Eveningness Questionnaire (MEQ) in 688 (<i>n</i> = 138/221/329) ESTER participants. The MEQ consists of 19 questions, which estimates the respondent to be of a “morning”, “evening,” or “intermediate” chronotype, based on the Morningness–Eveningness Score (MES). We analyzed the data from the actigraphs and the MES with three linear regression models, and analyzed distribution of the chronotype class with Pearson χ2. There were no consistent differences across the study groups in sleep midpoint. As compared with those born at term, the mean differences in minutes:seconds and 95% confidence intervals for the sleep midpoint were: early preterm weekdays 11:47 (−8:34 to 32:08), early preterm weekend 4:14 (−19:45 to 28:13), late preterm weekdays −10:28 (−26:16 to 5:21), and late preterm weekend −1:29 (−20:36 to 17:37). There was no difference in sleep timing between VLBW-participants and controls either. The distribution of chronotype in the MEQ among all participants was 12.4% morningness, 65.4% intermediate, and 22.2% eveningness. The distribution of the subjective chronotype class did not differ between the three gestational age groups (<i>p</i> = 0.98). The linear regression models did not show any influence of gestational age group or VLBW status on the MES (all <i>p</i> &gt; 0.5). We found no consistent differences between adults born early or late preterm and those born at term in circadian preference. The earlier circadian preference previously observed in those born smallest is unlikely to extend across the whole range of preterm birth.

Optical metasurfaces—patterned arrays of plasmonic nanoantennas that enable the precise manipulation of light–matter interactions—are emerging as critical components in many nanophotonic materials, including planar metamaterials, chemical and biological sensors, and photovoltaics. The development of these materials has been slowed by the difficulty of efficiently fabricating patterns with the required combinations of intricate nanoscale structure, high areal density, and/or heterogeneous composition. One convenient strategy that enables parallel fabrication of periodic nanopatterns uses self-assembled colloidal monolayers as shadow masks; this method has, however, not been extended beyond a small set of simple patterns and, thus, has remained incompatible with the broad design requirements of metasurfaces. This paper demonstrates a technique—shadow-sphere lithography (SSL)—that uses sequential deposition from multiple angles through plasma-etched microspheres to expand the variety and complexity of structures accessible by colloidal masks. SSL harnesses the entire, relatively unexplored, space of shadow-derived shapes and—with custom software to guide multiangled deposition—contains sufficient degrees of freedom to (i) design and fabricate a wide variety of metasurfaces that incorporate complex structures with small feature sizes and multiple materials and (ii) generate, in parallel, thousands of variations of structures for high-throughput screening of new patterns that may yield unexpected optical spectra. This generalized approach to engineering shadows of spheres provides a new strategy for efficient prototyping and discovery of periodic metasurfaces.

This paper describes the electrical characteristics of junctions composed of three-dimensional arrays of colloidal CdSe quantum dots (QDs) with tin-doped indium oxide (ITO)/poly(3,4-ethylenedioxy-thiophene):poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) and eutectic Ga-In (EGaIn) electrodes. It focuses on a comparison of junctions containing QDs of one size to those of arrays containing QDs of multiple sizes. This comparison makes it possible to estimate the relative contributions of transport across various interfaces (e.g., between the QDs and between the QDs and the electrodes) to the observed electrical characteristics of the junction and to evaluate the dependence of these contributions on the locations of various sizes of QDs within the junction. The junctions were diodes, and their turn-on voltage depended on the size of the QDs next to the PEDOT:PSS. We describe this dependence using a Marcus model to estimate the barrier for charge transfer induced by the difference in energies between the orbitals of the QDs and the valence band of PEDOT:PSS.

In this paper we study the partitioning and allocation of computations associated with the numerical solution of partial differential equations (PDEs). Strategies for the mapping of such computations to parallel MIMD architectures can be applied to different levels of the solution process. We introduce and study heuristic approaches defined on the associated geometric data structures (meshes). Specifically, we study methods for decomposing finite element and finite difference meshes into balanced, nonoverlapping subdomains which guarantee minimum communication and synchronization among the underlying associated subcomputations. Two types of algorithms are considered: clustering techniques based on sequential orderings of the discrete geometric data and optimization based techniques involving geometric or graphical metric criteria. These algorithms support the automatic mode of a geometry decomposition tool developed in the parallel ELLPACK environment which is implemented under X11-window systems. A brief description of this tool is presented.