Analysis-ready VCF at Biobank scale using Zarr.

Background: Variant Call Format (VCF) is the standard file format for interchanging genetic variation data and associated quality control metrics. The usual row-wise encoding of the VCF data model (either as text or packed binary) emphasises efficient retrieval of all data for a given variant, but accessing data on a field or sample basis is inefficient. Biobank scale datasets currently available consist of hundreds of thousands of whole genomes and hundreds of terabytes of compressed VCF.

Effects of Polymer Properties on Solid-State Shear Pulverization: Thermoplastic Processability and Nanofiller Dispersibility.

Solid-state shear pulverization (SSSP) is an alternative polymer processing technique based on twin-screw extrusion with a continuous cooling system. In SSSP, low-temperature mechanochemistry modifies the macromolecular architecture and morphology, which in turn leads to physical property changes in the material. While a wide range of homopolymers, polymer blends, and polymer (nano)composites have been previously developed with SSSP, a fundamental understanding of how mechanochemistry affects polymer chain architecture and structure, and in turn, material properties, has not been elucidated.

Problems and Progress regarding Sex Bias and Omission in Neuroscience Research.

Neuroscience research has historically ignored female animals. This neglect comes in two general forms. The first is sex bias, defined as favoring one sex over another; in this case, male over female.

No Evidence for Sex Differences in the Electrophysiological Properties and Excitatory Synaptic Input onto Nucleus Accumbens Shell Medium Spiny Neurons.

Sex differences exist in how the brain regulates motivated behavior and reward, both in normal and pathological contexts. Investigations into the underlying neural mechanisms have targeted the striatal brain regions, including the dorsal striatum and nucleus accumbens core and shell. These investigations yield accumulating evidence of sexually different electrophysiological properties, excitatory synaptic input, and sensitivity to neuromodulator/hormone action in select striatal regions both before and after puberty.