Parent-offspring Relationship Research Articles

Parent-offspring relationship recognition based on SSR and mtDNA confirmed resource supplement effect of Fenneropenaeus chinensis release

Parent-offspring relationship recognition based on SSR and mtDNA confirmed resource supplement effect of Fenneropenaeus chinensis release

Lifestyle changes in Botryosphaeriaceae as evidenced by ancestral genome expansion and horizontal gene transfer

AbstractBotryosphaeriaceae (Botryosphaeriales, Dothideomycetes, Ascomycota) encompasses commonly encountered opportunistic pathogens that cause stem cankers on woody plants. Lifestyles of Botryosphaeriaceae species could vary as endophytes, pathogens and saprobes and one species can have one or more lifestyles. Therefore, this family is an excellent candidate to study the relationships among lifestyles and lifestyle changes. It is postulated that this family has saprobic ancestors, and the mechanisms by which they evolved from nonpathogenic ancestors to woody pathogens remain unclear. Here, we present an analysis of 18 Botryosphaeriaceae genomes, including four newly generated high-quality genomes of Botryosphaeriaceae strains. We compared Botryosphaeriaceae genomes with phylogenetically closely related Dothideomycetes taxa including plant pathogens and saprobes which revealed significant net gene family expansion in Botryosphaeriaceae. This gene expansion is prominent in the early ancestors before the divergence of genera of Botryosphaeriaceae. This expansion affected the pathogenicity-related genes and detoxification genes. Furthermore, we analysed horizontal gene transfer, which is a mechanism of transfer to genetic material between organisms that are not in a parent–offspring relationship and identified widespread putative intra-kingdom horizontal gene transfer events in this family. Most were transferred during the evolution of ancient ancestors of Botryosphaeriaceae, before the divergence of the modern genera and were enriched in pathogenicity-related genes and detoxification genes. Furthermore, The RNA sequencing analysis of the Botryosphaeriaceae species Lasiodiplodia theobromae revealed that pathogenicity-related genes and detoxification genes, including those obtained through gene family expansion and horizontal gene transfers, were significantly induced after the infection of plant hosts rather than before infection. These insights reveal critical roles for gene family expansion and horizontal gene transfers in the evolutionary adaptation of Botryosphaeriaceae in the infection of woody plants. We postulate that the pathogenic lifestyle of Botryosphaeriaceae species evolved from saprobic or endophytic lifestyles in the early divergence of this family. However, there are few endophytic genomes available for closely related species of Botryosphaeriaceae, thus further studies are necessary to clarify the evolutionary relationships of the endophytes.

Fashioning a Persianate Offspring for a Modern India: Urdu Visions of Persian Pasts, 1890s–1950s

Abstract This article addresses how some influential Indian Muslim intellectuals conceptualized and imagined the Urdu language as the linguistic offspring and heir of the Persian language and Persianate textual cultures from the late nineteenth century through the early 1950s. As the symbolic and material value of Persian gradually declined in India, select Persianate idioms, genres, and histories were drafted for Urdu’s modernity. This article considers the significance of Persian as it was variously construed as either a burden or a model by Urdu scholars and as either a worthy or unworthy predecessor for Urdu from the 1890s to the 1950s. It traces the shifting textual processes by which three prominent Indian Muslim intellectuals constructed a parent-offspring relationship between Persian and Urdu in response to colonial education reforms, competing national projects, and pan-Islamic intellectual currents. In summary, this article excavates the many uses that Persian served as it was simultaneously erased from and encoded into Urdu’s anticipated futures.

Novel multilayer network analysis to assess variation in the spatial co-occurrences of close kin in wild caribou populations

Understanding how individuals within populations are connected genetically and through shared space-use is critical to understanding the demographic patterns of at-risk populations. In recent years, non-invasive genetic sampling methods have allowed us to begin addressing these questions. Using a network analysis framework, we examined the spatial co-occurrence and genetic relatedness of boreal and central mountain caribou (Rangifer tarandus) in populations varying in sizes and trend from across western Canada. Using 15 microsatellites loci and a sex-specific marker, we developed pedigree networks for each population, including first to third order relationships. We constructed networks of individual spatial co-occurrence, and using multilayer network analysis, we determined the degree to which caribou that co-occurred spatially were related. Caribou populations varied in the extent and classes of familial relationships which co-occurred in space. In most populations, spatial co-occurrences were greater than expected only for parent-offspring relationships. A sex-specific analysis of the longest sampled population revealed that this was driven by a significant overlap between mothers and their offspring. Whereas in populations where very few parent-offspring relationship were detected, no significant overlap was found between any relationship categories. The lack of overlap in these populations may be an indication of poor calf survival. On the other hand, the higher degree of overlap with more distant relations (i.e., grandparents) seen in some populations may indicate a population that lacks mobility. Our research presents a new approach to explore both spatial and genetic overlap at the individual level in support of the conservation of threatened populations.

A tri-directional examination of adolescent personality, perceived parenting, and economic and parental adversity contexts in influencing adolescent behavioral outcomes.

Adolescent personality is consistently linked to behavioral strengths and difficulties. However, most of this work is limited in that it does not consider personality beyond the Big Five or economic or parental adversity contexts. The Tri-Directional Framework of Parent and Offspring Traits and Outcomes highlights the collective influence of personality, parenting, and context on offspring behavioral outcomes. Parent and adolescent cross-sectional data were collected from 2019 to 2021 as part of the Parents and Children Together project in the United Kingdom. Adolescents (N = 310, 48.7% female) self-reported on Dark Triad traits, parenting, and behavior. Parents (N = 288, 46.9% mothers) self-reported on socioeconomic status and adverse childhood experiences. In two path analysis models, we examined: (1) adolescent Dark Triad, context, and their interactions as predictors of perceived maternal and paternal warmth, hostility, and control; and (2) adolescent Dark Triad, perceived parenting, context, and personality-parenting interactions as predictors of adolescent behavioral strengths and difficulties. Adolescent narcissistic traits were the strongest predictors of perceived maternal parenting, whereas adolescent psychopathy and Machiavellianism were the strongest predictors of perceived paternal parenting. Adolescent personality interacted with contextual factors in predicting parenting, but not with perceived parenting in predicting behavior. Adolescent Dark Triad traits, especially narcissism, and contextual factors are important for the parent-offspring relationship and developmental outcomes. We recommend that research move beyond assessing direct trait-outcome associations to examining how these associations operate in different environments.

Historical genomes elucidate European settlement and the African diaspora in Delaware

The 17th-century colonization of North America brought thousands of Europeans to Indigenous lands in the Delaware region, which comprises the eastern boundary of the Chesapeake Bay in what is now the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States.1 The demographic features of these initial colonial migrations are not uniformly characterized, with Europeans and European-Americans migrating to the Delaware area from other countries and neighboring colonies as single persons or in family units of free persons, indentured servants, or tenant farmers.2 European colonizers also instituted a system of racialized slavery through which they forciblytransported thousands of Africans to the Chesapeake region. Historical information about African-descended individuals in the Delaware region is limited, with a population estimate of less than 500 persons by 1700 CE.3,4 To shed light on the population histories of this period, we analyzed low-coverage genomes of 11 individuals from the Avery's Rest archaeological site (circa 1675-1725 CE), located in Delaware. Previous osteological and mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) sequence analyses showed a southern group of eight individuals of European maternal descent, buried 15-20 feet from a northern group of three individuals of African maternal descent.5 Autosomal results further illuminate genomic similarities to Northwestern European reference populations or West and West-Central African reference populations, respectively. We also identify three generations of maternal kin of European ancestry and a paternal parent-offspring relationship between an adult and child of African ancestry. These findings expand our understanding of the origins and familial relationships in late 17th and early 18th century North America.

Translation and adaptation of the family climate for road safety scale to a Spanish speaking population using confirmatory factor analysis and exploratory structural equational modeling

The Family Climate for Road Safety Scale (FCRSS) was originally developed and validated in Israel to assess young drivers’ perception of their family values, practices, and priorities regarding safe driving. The scale consists of seven factors representing various aspects of the parent-offspring relationship relating to safe driving: Modeling, Feedback, Communication, Monitoring, Messages, Limits, and Noncommitment to Safety. The present research aimed to adapt and validate a Spanish-language version of the FCRSS in Argentina via two separate studies. Study 1 (n = 1071) examined the FCRSS factor structure and internal consistency and the associations between FCRSS factors and sex, age, and self-reported traffic crashes. Study 2 (n = 487) provide further evidence of the factor structure and internal consistency in a second sample and examined the associations between FCRSS dimensions on the one hand, and measures of attitude towards traffic safety and reckless driving style on the other. The results indicate that a seven-factor model consistent with the original FCRSS provides the best representation of the scale dimensionality in both samples. All factors yielded good internal consistency reliability coefficients, and as predicted significant differences in FCRSS scores were found between women and men. Greater parental monitoring was negatively associated with traffic crash involvement. Finally, theoretically expected associations were found between FCRSS scores and attitude towards risky driving and the risky driving style. On the whole, the two studies present convincing evidence in support of the validity and reliability of the FCRSS in Argentina.

Parent-offspring inference in inbred populations.

Genealogical relationships are fundamental components of genetic studies. However, it is often challenging to infer correct and complete pedigrees even when genome-wide information is available. For example, inbreeding can obscure genetic differences between individuals, making it difficult to even distinguish first-degree relatives such as parent-offspring from full siblings. Similarly, genotyping errors can interfere with the detection of genetic similarity between parents and their offspring. Inbreeding is common in natural, domesticated, and experimental populations and genotyping of these populations often has more errors than in human data sets, so efficient methods for building pedigrees under these conditions are necessary. Here, we present a new method for parent-offspring inference in inbred pedigrees called specific parent-offspring relationship estimation (spore). spore is vastly superior to existing pedigree-inference methods at detecting parent-offspring relationships, in particular when inbreeding is high or in the presence of genotyping errors, or both. spore therefore fills an important void in the arsenal of pedigree inference tools.

Horizontal mtDNA transfer between cells is common during mouse development

SummaryCells transmit their genomes vertically to daughter cells during cell divisions. Here, we demonstrate the occurrence and extent of horizontal mitochondrial (mt)DNA acquisition between cells that are not in a parent-offspring relationship. Extensive single-cell sequencing from various tissues and organs of adult chimeric mice composed of cells carrying distinct mtDNA haplotypes showed that a substantial fraction of individual cardiomyocytes, neurons, glia, intestinal, and spleen cells captured donor mtDNA at high levels. In addition, chimeras composed of cells with wild-type and mutant mtDNA exhibited increased trafficking of wild-type mtDNA to mutant cells, suggesting that horizontal mtDNA transfer may be a compensatory mechanism to restore compromised mitochondrial function. These findings establish the groundwork for further investigations to identify mtDNA donor cells and mechanisms of transfer that could be critical to the development of novel gene therapies.

TSH concentrations in parents and their offspring: a cross-sectional family-based analysis.

Studies that evaluated the genetic influences on thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) concentrations were primarily performed in twin cohorts. The aim of this study was to investigate the sex-specific association of serum TSH concentrations between parents and their offspring. We used data from the population-based Heinz Nixdorf Recall Study and the associated MultiGeneration Study, including offspring and their biological parents. In 3115 participants (including 1558 offspring from 1138 families), self-reported thyroid diseases and median TSH concentrations depending on thyroid status were assessed. Familial associations of TSH concentrations were investigated in 1485 healthy subjects using linear regression modeling in each group of the parent-offspring relationship using the parent's TSH concentration as the exposure of interest. To account for the family effect, a mixed-effects ordinal logistic regression model with random intercept varying at the family level was fitted, using the TSH concentration of the offspring classified into sex- and age-specific quartiles as the outcome. For every 1 mIU/L increase in the mother's or father's TSH concentration, the daughter's TSH concentration increases by 0.13 mIU/L (95% CI: -0.01; 0.27) and 0.19 mIU/L (0.05; 0.33), respectively, and the son's TSH concentration increases by 0.13 mIU/L (0.02; 0.25) and 0.20 mIU/L (0.08; 0.32), respectively. Further sensitivity analyses by expanding inclusion criteria and taking family clustering into account corroborated these results. Serum TSH concentrations of parents are positively associated with those of their offspring in all sex-specific relationships.

Anxiety and depression: population distribution and family associations

Aim. The aim of the study was to characterize the population distribution of psychiatric phenotypes according to anxiety and depression. Methods. The level of anxiety and depression was assessed with the HADS Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale test. Students in grades 9-11 of secondary schools in Kharkiv, as well as their parents, were tested. We tested 306 persons from 115 families. Results. The frequency of depression among men in the Kharkiv population is 9%, among women 11%, among boys 15%, among girls 22%; the frequency of increased anxiety among men is 14%, among women 22%, among boys 19%, among girls 44%. There is a positive relationship between anxiety and depression in older men and women, expressed by the association coefficient in men rDT =0.45, in women rDT =0.79. The relatives revealed a similarity in psychological types, described by the association index for depression in mother/daughter pairs r = 0.40, mother/son r = 0.03, father/daughter r = 0.20, father/son r = 0.40; for anxiety: mother/daughter r = 0.15, mother/son r = 0.05, father/daughter r = 0.24, father/son r = 0.01. Conclusions. Individuals of the younger generation are more likely to have signs of anxiety and depression than those of their parents' generation. The parent-offspring phenotype relationship is stronger in same-sex couples compared to opposite-sex couples.
 Keywords: depression, anxiety, population distribution, family analysis.

Effect of parental arterial stiffness in offspring: the Kailuan study.

The aim of this study was to examine effect of parental arterial stiffness in offspring. The individuals who participated in the second or subsequent follow-up and had parent-offspring relationship and completed measurements of brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV) from the Kailuan study were recruited. The individuals were divided into groups by the 10-year intervals and sex. Arterial stiffness was defined as the 75th percentiles in each age category. Multivariable generalized estimating equations was used to analyse the effect of parental baPWV and blood pressure in offspring. Multivariable logistic regression using generalized estimating equations was used to analyse the effect of parental arterial stiffness in offspring. A total of 4514 parents and offspring who met the inclusion criteria, including 1785 paternal offspring and 625 maternal offspring was recruited. Mean age of paternal offspring and maternal offspring were 36.26 (SD 7.86) and 36.42 (SD 7.57) years, while their mean baPWV were 1294.40 (SD 225.32) and 1270.74 (SD 241.42) cm/s, respectively. In multivariate linear regression analyses, after adjusted for the covariate risk factors, an increase of 1 cm/s in the paternal and maternal baPWV of resulted in an increase of 0.05 and 0.30 cm/s in offspring, respectively. In multivariate logistic regression analyses, the risk of arterial stiffness in the offspring of paternal and maternal arterial stiffness increased by 50 and 77%, respectively. Paternal and maternal baPWV are linear positively correlated with baPWV in offspring. Parental arterial stiffness is a risk factor for arterial stiffness of offspring and is independent of traditional risk factors of offspring arterial stiffness.

SNP-based assessment of genetic purity and diversity in maize hybrid breeding.

Assessment of genetic purity of parental inbred lines and their resultant F1 hybrids is an essential quality control check in maize hybrid breeding, variety release and seed production. In this study, genetic purity, parent-offspring relationship and diversity among the inbred lines were assessed using 92 single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers. A total of 188 maize genotypes, comprising of 26 inbred lines, four doubled haploid (DH) lines and 158 single-cross maize hybrids were investigated in this study using Kompetitive Allele Specific Polymerase Chain Reaction (KASP) genotyping assays. The bi-allelic data was analyzed for genetic purity and diversity parameters using GenAlex software. The SNP markers were highly polymorphic and 90% had polymorphic information content (PIC) values of > 0.3. Pairwise genetic distances among the lines ranged from 0.05 to 0.56, indicating a high level of dissimilarity among the inbred lines. A maximum genetic distance of (0.56) was observed between inbred lines CKDHL0089 and CML443 while the lowest (0.05) was between I-42 and I-40. The majority (67%) of the inbred lines studied were genetically pure with residual heterozygosity of <5%, while only 33% had heterozygosity levels of >5%. Inbred lines, which were not pure, require purification through further inbreeding. Cluster analysis partitioned the lines into three distinct genetic clusters with the potential to contribute new beneficial alleles to the maize breeding program. Out of the 68 hybrids (43%) that passed the parent-offspring test, seven hybrids namely; SCHP29, SCHP95, SCHP94, SCHP134, SCHP44, SCHP114 and SCHP126, were selected as potential candidates for further evaluation and release due to their outstanding yield performance.

The Use of “Genotyping-by-Sequencing” to Recover Shared Genealogy in Genetically Diverse Eucalyptus Populations

The recovery of genealogy in both natural and captive populations is critical for any decision in the management of genetic resources. It allows for the estimation of genetic parameters such as heritability and genetic correlations, as well as defining an optimal mating design that maintains a large effective population size. We utilised “genotyping-by-sequencing” (GBS) in combination with bioinformatics tools developed specifically for GBS data to recover genetic relatedness, with a focus on parent-offspring relationships in a Eucalyptus nitens breeding population as well as recognition of individuals representing other Eucalyptus species and putative hybrids. We found a clear advantage on using tools specifically designed for data of highly variable sequencing quality when recovering genetic relatedness. The parent-offspring relatedness showed a significant response to data filtering from 0.05 to 0.3 when the standard approach (G1) was used, while it oscillated around 0.4 when the specifically designed method (G5) was implemented. Additionally, comparisons with commonly used tools demonstrated vulnerability of the relatedness estimates to incorrect imputation of missing data when shallow sequencing information and genetically distant individuals are present in the population. In turn, these biased imputed genotypes negatively affected the estimation of genetic relatedness between parents and offspring. Careful filtering for both genetic outliers and shallowly sequenced markers led to improvements in estimations of genetic relatedness. Alternatively, a method that avoided missing data imputation and took sequence depth into consideration improved the accuracy of parent-offspring relationship coefficients where sequencing data quality was highly variable.

The genomic origin of Zana of Abkhazia.

Enigmatic phenomena have sparked the imagination of people around the globe into creating folkloric creatures. One prime example is Zana of Abkhazia (South Caucasus), a well-documented 19th century female who was captured living wild in the forest. Zana's appearance was sufficiently unusual, that she was referred to by locals as an Almasty-the analog of Bigfoot in the Caucasus. Although the exact location of Zana's burial site was unknown, the grave of her son, Khwit, was identified in 1971. The genomes of Khwit and the alleged Zana skeleton were sequenced to an average depth of ca. 3× using ancient DNA techniques. The identical mtDNA and parent-offspring relationship between the two indicated that the unknown woman was indeed Zana. Population genomic analyses demonstrated that Zana's immediate genetic ancestry can likely be traced to present-day East-African populations. We speculate that Zana might have had a genetic disorder such as congenital generalized hypertrichosis which could partially explain her strange behavior, lack of speech, and long body hair. Our findings elucidate Zana's unfortunate story and provide a clear example of how prejudices of the time led to notions of cryptic hominids that are still held and transmitted by some today.

Emerging adult wellbeing: associations with adverse childhood experiences, parenting practices and the parent-adolescent relationship

ABSTRACT Objective: Parenting practices and the parent-offspring relationship may protect against the effects of childhood adversity; however, their influence past adolescence is unclear. This paper investigates the associations between adverse childhood experiences, parenting practices and the parent-adolescent relationship, and emerging adults’ wellbeing (positive development, emotional difficulties). Method: A survey of 298 emerging adults aged 18-25, recruited from a university and the wider community was conducted and analysed using moderated multiple regression, controlling for demographic characteristics and recruitment method. Results: Emerging adults’ wellbeing was associated with their past experiences of adversity, parenting practices and parent-adolescent relationship. Experiencing more types of adversity was associated with greater emotional difficulties. Independent of the level of adversity experienced, connectedness and supportive monitoring were associated with more positive development, and hostility was associated with more emotional difficulties. No parenting variables moderated the relationship between adversity and wellbeing. Conclusions: Although emerging adults who experienced childhood adversity may have more emotional difficulties, the parenting experienced during adolescence is also an important predictor of wellbeing during emerging adulthood. Regardless of their level of adversity, adolescents may benefit from supportive monitoring and a connected, non-hostile relationship with their parent; to help them develop positive skills and emotional wellbeing into emerging adulthood. KEY POINTS What is already known about this topic: Adverse childhood experiences are linked with poorer wellbeing across the life course. Parenting practices and the parent-adolescent relationship can protect adolescents from some of adversity’s effects on wellbeing. The parent-adolescent relationship and parenting practices experienced during adolescence can influence young people’s wellbeing. What this topic adds: Emerging adults’ wellbeing is associated with their past experiences of adversity, parenting practices and the parent-adolescent relationship. The more types of adversity experienced by emerging adults, the higher their emotional difficulties are likely to be. Regardless of their level of past adversity, emerging adults are more likely to report better wellbeing if they had experienced a connected, non-hostile parent-adolescent relationship, and more supportive monitoring during adolescence.

Genetic structure analysis of cultivated and wild chestnut populations reveals gene flow from cultivars to natural stands

Japanese chestnut (Castanea crenata Sieb. et Zucc.), the only fruit tree species domesticated in Japan, has been cultivated alongside natural stands since prehistorical times. Understanding the genetic diversity of this species and the relationships between cultivated and wild chestnut is important for clarifying its breeding history and determining conservation strategies. We assessed 3 chestnut cultivar populations and 29 wild chestnut populations (618 accessions). Genetic distance analysis revealed that wild populations in the Kyushu region are genetically distant from other populations, whereas other wild and cultivar populations are comparatively similar. Assignment tests suggested that cultivars were relatively similar to populations from central to western Honshu. Bayesian structure analyses showed that wild individuals were roughly classified according to geographical distribution along the Japanese archipelago, except that some wild individuals carried the genetic cluster prevalent in cultivars. Parentage analyses between cultivars and wild individuals identified 26 wild individuals presumed to have a parent–offspring relationship with a cultivar. These results suggested that the genetic structure of some wild individuals in natural stands was influenced by gene flow from cultivars. To conserve wild individuals carrying true “wild” genetic clusters, these individuals should be collected and preserved by ex situ conservation programs.

Deep learning for HGT insertion sites recognition

BackgroundHorizontal Gene Transfer (HGT) refers to the sharing of genetic materials between distant species that are not in a parent-offspring relationship. The HGT insertion sites are important to understand the HGT mechanisms. Recent studies in main agents of HGT, such as transposon and plasmid, demonstrate that insertion sites usually hold specific sequence features. This motivates us to find a method to infer HGT insertion sites according to sequence features.ResultsIn this paper, we propose a deep residual network, DeepHGT, to recognize HGT insertion sites. To train DeepHGT, we extracted about 1.55 million sequence segments as training instances from 262 metagenomic samples, where the ratio between positive instances and negative instances is about 1:1. These segments are randomly partitioned into three subsets: 80% of them as the training set, 10% as the validation set, and the remaining 10% as the test set. The training loss of DeepHGT is 0.4163 and the validation loss is 0.423. On the test set, DeepHGT has achieved the area under curve (AUC) value of 0.8782. Furthermore, in order to further evaluate the generalization of DeepHGT, we constructed an independent test set containing 689,312 sequence segments from another 147 gut metagenomic samples. DeepHGT has achieved the AUC value of 0.8428, which approaches the previous test AUC value. As a comparison, the gradient boosting classifier model implemented in PyFeat achieve an AUC value of 0.694 and 0.686 on the above two test sets, respectively. Furthermore, DeepHGT could learn discriminant sequence features; for example, DeepHGT has learned a sequence pattern of palindromic subsequences as a significantly (P-value=0.0182) local feature. Hence, DeepHGT is a reliable model to recognize the HGT insertion site.ConclusionDeepHGT is the first deep learning model that can accurately recognize HGT insertion sites on genomes according to the sequence pattern.

Association of Family History With Incidence and Outcomes of Aortic Dissection

BackgroundAortic dissection (AD) is a life-threatening emergency. However, the heritability and association of family history with late outcomes are unclear. ObjectivesThe purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of family history of AD on the incidence and prognosis of AD and estimate the heritability and environmental contribution in AD in Taiwan. MethodsBoth cross-sectional and cohort studies were conducted using Taiwan National Health Insurance database. A registry parent–offspring relationship algorithm was used to reconstruct the genealogy of this population for heritability estimation. The cross-sectional study included 23,868 patients with a diagnosis of AD in 2015. The prevalence and adjusted relative risks (RRs) were evaluated, and the liability threshold model was used to examine the effects of heritability and environmental factors. Furthermore, a 1:10 propensity score–matched cohort comprising AD patients with or without a family history of AD was included to compare late outcomes in the cohort study. ResultsA family history of AD in first-degree relatives was associated with an RR of 6.82 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 5.12 to 9.07). The heritability of AD was estimated to be 57.0% for genetic factors, and 3.1% and 40.0% for shared and nonshared environmental factors, respectively. After excluding individuals with Marfan syndrome or bicuspid aortic valve, a family history of AD was associated with an RR of 6.56 (95% CI: 4.92 to 8.77) for AD. Furthermore, patients with AD and a family history of AD had a higher risk of later aortic surgery than those with AD without a family history (subdistribution hazard ratio: 1.40; 95% CI: 1.12 to 1.76). ConclusionsA family history of AD was a strong risk factor for AD. Furthermore, patients with AD with a family history of AD had a higher risk of later aortic surgery than those with no family history of AD.

Energy and exergy efficiencies enhancement analysis of integrated photovoltaic-based energy systems

Abstract Integrated energy systems (IESs) take advantage of the complementarity of their subsystems to improve the overall system functionality, sustainability and performance. Presently, the cost of the recovery of thermodynamic losses from photovoltaic modules has not been addressed. In this study, novel energy and exergy efficiencies enhancement analysis (EEEEA) is proposed for the study of the implications of recovering the conversion and usage losses from a photovoltaic (PV) module. Four evolutionary IES were analysed: a PV-Battery (System 1); a Photovoltaic-thermal (PV/T)-Battery (System 2); a PV-Battery-Electrolyser-Fuel cell (System 3) and a PV/T-Battery-Electrolyser-Fuel cell (System 4). Actual solar radiation and temperature data coupled with synthesised data were applied. Results show that both the energy and exergy efficiencies of System 2 upgraded by 27.89% and 5.42%, respectively, over System 1. The energy and exergy efficiencies of System 3 degraded by 3.11% and 4.10%, respectively, over System 1; whereas the energy and exergy efficiencies of System 4 degraded by 21.92% and 7.72%, respectively, over System 2. Furthermore, the thermodynamic efficiencies of the IESs did not naturally upgrade with system complexity. The EEEEA can help scientists, engineers and policymakers to analyse IESs with a parent-offspring relationship in order to establish the optimum efficiency and thermo-economics.