Blood samples were thawed and equilibrated to room temperature.  RNA extraction was completed as per the RNeasy MinElute Clean Up Kit (QIAGEN catalog no. 74204) protocol. 1ng of each RNA sample was used to generate a 3' RNA library using the QIAGEN UPX 3' Transcriptome kit (QIAGEN catalog no 333088). Libraries were prepared following steps in the manufacturer's handbook for purified RNA samples.