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Background: There is no consensus on the cause and effect of systemic chronic inflammation (SCI) regarding chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The impact of second-hand smoke (SHS) on COPD has reached inconsistent conclusions. Methods: The China Kadoorie Biobank cohort was followed up from the 2004–08 baseline survey to 31 December 2018. Among the selected 445,523 participants in the final analysis, Cox and linear regressions were performed to estimate hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) of tobacco exposure with COPD risk and baseline levels of log-transformed inflammatory factors [βs (95% CIs)], respectively. Results: Participants were followed up for a median of 12.1 years and 11,825 incident COPD events were documented. Ever-smokers were associated with a higher risk of COPD than non-smokers with non-weekly SHS exposure. A younger age to start smoking, a greater amount of daily tobacco consumption, and deeper inhalation were associated with increased risk of COPD and correlated with elevated levels of plasma high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP, all Ptrend < 0.001) even two years before COPD onset. Among former smokers, COPD risk declined with longer smoking cessation (Ptrend < 0.001) and those quitting smoking for over ten years presented no difference in COPD risk and hs-CRP level from non-smokers [HR (95% CI) = 1.05 (0.89, 1.25), β (95% CI) = 0.17 (− 0.09, 0.43)]. Among non-smokers, weekly SHS exposure was associated with a slightly higher COPD risk [HR (95% CI) = 1.06 (1.01, 1.12)]. Conclusions: Incremental exposure to tobacco smoke was related to elevated SCI level before COPD onset, then an increase in COPD susceptibility. Quitting smoking as early as possible is suggested as a practical approach to reducing COPD risk in smokers. Given the high prevalence of both COPD and SHS exposure, the risk associated with SHS exposure deserves attention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the past few years, Transformer-based large language models (LLM) have become the dominant technology in a series of applications. To scale up the sequence length of the Transformer, FlashAttention is proposed to compute exact attention with reduced memory requirements and faster execution. However, implementing the FlashAttention algorithm on the new generation Sunway Supercomputer faces many constraints such as the unique heterogeneous architecture and the limited memory bandwidth. This work proposes SWattention, a highly efficient method for computing the exact attention on the SW26010pro processor. To fully utilize the 6 core groups (CG) and 64 cores per CG on the processor, we design a two-level parallel task partition strategy. Asynchronous memory access is employed to ensure that memory access overlaps with computation. Additionally, a tiling strategy is introduced to determine optimal SRAM block sizes. Compared with the standard attention, SWattention achieves around 2.0x speedup for FP32 training and 2.5x speedup for mixed-precision training. The sequence lengths range from 1k to 8k and scale up to 16k without being out of memory. As for the end-to-end performance, SWattention achieves up to 1.26x speedup for training GPT-style models, which demonstrates that SWattention enables longer sequence length for LLM training. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Elevated blood pressure (BP) is major risk factor for cardiovascular diseases (CVD). Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) conducted predominantly in populations of European ancestry have identified >2,000 BP-associated loci, but other ancestries have been less well-studied. We conducted GWAS of systolic, diastolic, pulse, and mean arterial BP in 100,453 Chinese adults. We identified 128 non-overlapping loci associated with one or more BP traits, including 74 newly-reported associations. Despite strong genetic correlations between populations, we identified appreciably higher heritability and larger variant effect sizes in Chinese compared with European or Japanese ancestry populations. Using instruments derived from these GWAS, multivariable Mendelian randomisation demonstrated that BP traits contribute differently to the causal associations of BP with CVD. In particular, only pulse pressure was independently causally associated with carotid plaque. These findings reinforce the need for studies in diverse populations to understand the genetic determinants of BP traits and their roles in disease risk.Here the authors identify 128 regions of the genome associated with blood pressure traits in 100,000 Chinese adults. Blood pressure traits contributed differently to CVD risk, with only pulse pressure independently causally associated with carotid plaque. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the high prevalence of snoring in Asia, little is known about the genetic etiology of snoring and its causal relationships with cardiometabolic traits. Based on 100,626 Chinese individuals, a genome-wide association study on snoring was conducted. Four novel loci were identified for snoring traits mapped on SLC25A21, the intergenic region of WDR11 and FGFR, NAA25, ALDH2, and VTI1A, respectively. The novel loci highlighted the roles of structural abnormality of the upper airway and craniofacial region and dysfunction of metabolic and transport systems in the development of snoring. In the two-sample bi-directional Mendelian randomization analysis, higher body mass index, weight, and elevated blood pressure were causal for snoring, and a reverse causal effect was observed between snoring and diastolic blood pressure. Altogether, our results revealed the possible etiology of snoring in China and indicated that managing cardiometabolic health was essential to snoring prevention, and hypertension should be considered among snorers. A genome-wide association study in the China Kadoorie Biobank identified four novel loci related to snoring, and highlights the relevance of cardiometabolic health to snoring prevention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Type 2 diabetes (T2D) is associated with higher risk of pancreatic cancer (PC), but the underlying mechanisms are not fully understood. Methods: We conducted a case-subcohort study involving 610 PC cases and 623 subcohort participants with 92 protein biomarkers measured in baseline plasma samples. Genetically-instrumented T2D was derived using 86 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), including insulin resistance (IR) SNPs. Results: In observational analyses of 623 subcohort participants (mean age, 52 years; 61% women), T2D was positively associated with 13 proteins (SD difference: IL6: 0.52 [0.23–0.81]; IL10: 0.41 [0.12–0.70]), of which 8 were nominally associated with incident PC. The 8 proteins potentially mediated 36.9% (18.7–75.0%) of the association between T2D and PC. In MR, no associations were observed for genetically-determined T2D with proteins, but there were positive associations of genetically-determined IR with IL6 and IL10 (SD difference: 1.23 [0.05–2.41] and 1.28 [0.31–2.24]). In two-sample MR, fasting insulin was associated with both IL6 and PC, but no association was observed between IL6 and PC. Conclusions: Proteomics were likely to explain the association between T2D and PC, but were not causal mediators. Elevated fasting insulin driven by insulin resistance might explain the associations of T2D, proteomics, and PC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sharing of genetic elements among different pathogens and commensals inhabiting same hosts and environments has significant implications for antimicrobial resistance (AMR), especially in settings with high antimicrobial exposure. We analysed 661 Escherichia coli and Salmonella enterica isolates collected within and across hosts and environments, in 10 Chinese chicken farms over 2.5 years using data-mining methods. Most isolates within same hosts possessed the same clinically relevant AMR-carrying mobile genetic elements (plasmids: 70.6%, transposons: 78%), which also showed recent common evolution. Supervised machine learning classifiers revealed known and novel AMR-associated mutations and genes underlying resistance to 28 antimicrobials, primarily associated with resistance in E. coli and susceptibility in S. enterica. Many were essential and affected same metabolic processes in both species, albeit with varying degrees of phylogenetic penetration. Multi-modal strategies are crucial to investigate the interplay of mobilome, resistance and metabolism in cohabiting bacteria, especially in ecological settings where community-driven resistance selection occurs. Bacteria in the same environment can share genetic material but the extent to which this influences development of antimicrobial resistance is unclear. Here, the authors investigate the evidence for co-evolution of antimicrobial resistance in bacteria found coexisting in animals and the environment in chicken farms and slaughterhouses in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Adiposity is associated with multiple diseases and traits, but little is known about the causal relevance and mechanisms underlying these associations. Large-scale proteomic profiling, especially when integrated with genetic data, can clarify mechanisms linking adiposity with disease outcomes. We examined the associations of adiposity with plasma levels of 1463 proteins in 3977 Chinese adults, using measured and genetically-instrumented BMI. We further used two-sample bi-directional MR analyses to assess if certain proteins influenced adiposity, along with other (e.g. enrichment) analyses to clarify possible mechanisms underlying the observed associations. Overall, the mean (SD) baseline BMI was 23.9 (3.3) kg/m2, with only 6% being obese (i.e. BMI ≥ 30 kg/m2). Measured and genetically-instrumented BMI was significantly associated at FDR < 0.05 with levels of 1096 (positive/inverse: 826/270) and 307 (positive/inverse: 270/37) proteins, respectively, with FABP4, LEP, IL1RN, LSP1, GOLM2, TNFRSF6B, and ADAMTS15 showing the strongest positive and PON3, NCAN, LEPR, IGFBP2 and MOG showing the strongest inverse genetic associations. These associations were largely linear, in adiposity-to-protein direction, and replicated (> 90%) in Europeans of UKB (mean BMI 27.4 kg/m2). Enrichment analyses of the top > 50 BMI-associated proteins demonstrated their involvement in atherosclerosis, lipid metabolism, tumour progression and inflammation. Two-sample bi-directional MR analyses using cis-pQTLs identified in CKB GWAS found eight proteins (ITIH3, LRP11, SCAMP3, NUDT5, OGN, EFEMP1, TXNDC15, PRDX6) significantly affect levels of BMI, with NUDT5 also showing bi-directional association. The findings among relatively lean Chinese adults identified novel pathways by which adiposity may increase disease risks and novel potential targets for treatment of obesity and obesity-related diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Different populations may exhibit differences in dietary intakes, which may result in heterogeneities in diet–disease associations. We compared intakes of major food groups overall, by sex, and by socio-economic status (SES) (defined as both education and income), between participants in the China Kadoorie Biobank (CKB) and the UK Biobank (UKB). Methods: Data were from ~ 25,000 CKB participants who completed a validated interviewer-administered computer-based questionnaire (2013–2014) and ~ 74,000 UKB participants who completed ≥ 3 web-based 24-h dietary assessments (2009–2012). Intakes of 12 major food groups and five beverages were harmonized and compared between the cohorts overall, by sex and by SES. Multivariable-adjusted linear regression examined the associations between dietary intakes and body mass index (BMI) in each cohort. Results: CKB participants reported consuming more rice, eggs, vegetables, soya products, and less wheat, other staple foods (other than rice and wheat), fish, poultry, all dairy products, fruit, and beverages compared to UKB participants. Red meat intake was similar in both cohorts. Having a higher SES was generally associated with a higher consumption of foods and beverages in CKB, whereas in UKB dietary intakes differed more by education and income, with a positive association observed for meat and income in both UKB and CKB but an inverse association observed for education in UKB. Associations of dietary intakes with BMI varied between the two cohorts. Conclusion: The large differences in dietary intakes and their associations with SES and BMI could provide insight into the interpretation of potentially different diet–disease associations between CKB and UKB. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Associations of circulating metabolic biomarkers with type 2 diabetes (T2D) and their added value for risk prediction are uncertain among Chinese adults. A case-cohort study included 882 T2D cases diagnosed during 8-years' follow-up and a subcohort of 789 participants. NMR-metabolomic profiling quantified 225 plasma biomarkers in stored samples taken at recruitment into the study. Cox regression yielded adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) for T2D associated with individual biomarkers, with a set of biomarkers incorporated into an established T2D risk prediction model to assess improvement in discriminatory ability. Mean baseline BMI (SD) was higher in T2D cases than in the subcohort (25.7 [3.6] vs. 23.9 [3.6] kg/m2). Overall, 163 biomarkers were significantly and independently associated with T2D at false discovery rate (FDR) controlled p < 0.05, and 138 at FDR-controlled p < 0.01. Branched chain amino acids (BCAA), apolipoprotein B/apolipoprotein A1, triglycerides in VLDL and medium and small HDL particles, and VLDL particle size were strongly positively associated with T2D (HRs 1.74–2.36 per 1 SD, p < 0.001). HDL particle size, cholesterol concentration in larger HDL particles and docosahexaenoic acid levels were strongly inversely associated with T2D (HRs 0.43–0.48, p < 0.001). With additional adjustment for plasma glucose, most associations (n = 147 and n = 129 at p < 0.05 and p < 0.01, respectively) remained significant. HRs appeared more extreme among more centrally adipose participants for apolipoprotein B/apolipoprotein A1, BCAA, HDL particle size and docosahexaenoic acid (p for heterogeneity ≤ 0.05). Addition of 31 selected biomarkers to an established T2D risk prediction model modestly, but significantly, improved risk discrimination (c-statistic 0.86 to 0.91, p < 0.001). In relatively lean Chinese adults, diverse metabolic biomarkers are associated with future risk of T2D and can help improve established risk prediction models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: There is limited and inconsistent evidence about the relationships of erythrocyte polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) with stroke and stroke types, particularly in China where the stroke rates are high. We aimed to investigate the associations of different erythrocyte PUFAs with incidence of total stroke, ischemic stroke (IS), and intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) in Chinese adults. Methods: In the prospective China Kadoorie Biobank, erythrocyte PUFAs were measured using gas chromatography in 10,563 participants who attended 2013–14 resurvey. After a mean follow-up of 3.8 years, 412 incident stroke cases (342 IS, 53 ICH) were recorded among 8,159 participants without prior vascular diseases or diabetes. Cox regression yielded adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) for stroke associated with 13 PUFAs. Results: Overall, the mean body mass index was 24.0 (3.4) kg/m2 and the mean age was 58.1 (9.9) years. In multivariable analyses, 18:2n–6 was positively associated with ICH (HR = 2.33 [95% CIs 1.41, 3.82] for top versus bottom quintile, Ptrend = 0.007), but inversely associated with IS (0.69 [0.53,0.90], Ptrend = 0.027), while 20:3n-6 was positively associated with risk of IS (1.64 [1.32,2.04], Ptrend < 0.001), but not with ICH. Inverted-U shape curve associations were observed of 20:5n–3 with IS (Pnonlinear = 0.002) and total stroke (Pnonlinear = 0.008), with a threshold at 0.70%. After further adjustment for conventional CVD risk factors and dietary factors, these associations remained similar. Conclusion: Among relatively lean Chinese adults, erythrocyte PUFAs 18:2n–6, 20:3n–6 and 20:5n–3 showed different associations with risks of IS and ICH. These results would improve the understanding of stroke etiology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Absolute risks of stroke are typically estimated using measurements of cardiovascular disease risk factors recorded at a single visit. However, the comparative utility of single versus sequential risk factor measurements for stroke prediction is unclear. Risk factors were recorded on three separate visits on 13,753 individuals in the prospective China Kadoorie Biobank. All participants were stroke-free at baseline (2004–2008), first resurvey (2008), and second resurvey (2013–2014), and were followed-up for incident cases of first stroke in the 3 years following the second resurvey. To reflect the models currently used in clinical practice, sex-specific Cox models were developed to estimate 3-year risks of stroke using single measurements recorded at second resurvey and were retrospectively applied to risk factor data from previous visits. Temporal trends in the Cox-generated risk estimates from 2004 to 2014 were analyzed using linear mixed effects models. To assess the value of more flexible machine learning approaches and the incorporation of longitudinal data, we developed gradient boosted tree (GBT) models for 3-year prediction of stroke using both single measurements and sequential measurements of risk factor inputs. Overall, Cox-generated estimates for 3-year stroke risk increased by 0.3% per annum in men and 0.2% per annum in women, but varied substantially between individuals. The risk estimates at second resurvey were highly correlated with the annual increase of risk for each individual (men: r = 0.91, women: r = 0.89), and performance of the longitudinal GBT models was comparable with both Cox and GBT models that considered measurements from only a single visit (AUCs: 0.779–0.811 in men, 0.724–0.756 in women). These results provide support for current clinical guidelines, which recommend using risk factor measurements recorded at a single visit for stroke prediction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Apache Storm is a scalable fault-tolerant distributed real time stream-processing framework widely used in big data applications. For distributed data-sensitive applications, low-latency, high-throughput communication modules have a critical impact on overall system performance. Apache Storm currently uses Netty as its communication component, an asynchronous server/client framework based on TCP/IP protocol stack. The TCP/IP protocol stack has inherent performance flaws due to frequent memory copying and context switching. The Netty component not only limits the performance of the Storm but also increases the CPU load in the IPoIB (IP over InfiniBand) communication mode. In this paper, we introduce two new implementations for Apache Storm communication components with the help of RDMA technology. The performance evaluation on Mellanox QDR Cards (40 Gbps) shows that our implementations can achieve speedup up to 5 × compared with IPoIB and 10 × with Gigabit Ethernet. Our implementations also significantly reduce the CPU load and increase the throughput of the system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Gallstone disease (GSD) is associated with a higher risk of gastrointestinal (GI) cancer. However, it is unclear whether the associations are causal.Methods: The prospective China Kadoorie Biobank (CKB) recorded 17,598 cases of GI cancer among 510,137 participants without cancer at baseline during 10 years of follow-up. Cox regression was used to estimate hazard ratios (HRs) for specific cancer by GSD status and duration. Mendelian randomisation was conducted to assess the genetic associations of GSD with specific cancer.Results: Overall 6% of participants had symptomatic GSD at baseline. Compared with those without GSD, individuals with symptomatic GSD had adjusted HRs of 1.13 (1.01-1.29) for colorectal, 2.01 (1.78-2.26) for liver, 3.70 (2.88-4.87) for gallbladder, 2.31 (1.78-3.07) for biliary tract, and 1.38 (1.18-1.74) for pancreatic cancer. Compared with participants without GSD, the risks of colorectal, liver, gallbladder, biliary tract, and pancreatic cancer were highest during 0 to <5 years following disease diagnosis. There was evidence of genetic associations of GSD with these cancers, with odds ratios per 1-SD genetic score of 1.08 (1.05-1.11) for colorectal, 1.22 (1.19-1.25) for liver, 1.56 (1.49-1.64) for gallbladder, 1.39 (1.31-1.46) for biliary tract, and 1.16 (1.10-1.22) for pancreatic cancer. When meta-analysing the genetic estimates in CKB and UK Biobank, there was evidence of causal associations of GSD with colon cancer, gallbladder and biliary tract cancer (GBTC), and total GI cancer (RR per 1-SD: 1.05 [0.99-1.11], 2.00 [1.91-2.09], and 1.09 [1.05-1.13]).Conclusions: GSD was associated with higher risks of several GI cancers, warranting future studies on the underlying mechanisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Epidemiological evidence on the association of soy intake with breast cancer risk is still inconsistent due to different soy intake levels across previous studies and small number of breast cancer cases. We aimed to investigate this issue by analyzing data from the China Kadoorie Biobank (CKB) study and conducting a dose–response meta-analysis to integrate existing evidence. The CKB study included over 300,000 women aged 30–79 from 10 regions across China enrolled between 2004 and 2008, and followed-up for breast cancer events until 31 December 2016. Information on soy intake was collected from baseline, two resurveys and twelve 24-h dietary recalls. We also searched for relevant prospective cohort studies to do a dose–response meta-analysis. The mean (SD) soy intake was 9.4 (5.4) mg/day soy isoflavones among CKB women. During 10 years of follow-up, 2289 women developed breast cancers. The multivariable-adjusted relative risk was 1.00 (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.81–1.22) for the fourth (19.1 mg/day) versus the first (4.5 mg/day) soy isoflavone intake quartile. Meta-analysis of prospective studies found that each 10 mg/day increment in soy isoflavone intake was associated with a 3% (95% CI 1–5%) reduced risk of breast cancer. The CKB study demonstrated that moderate soy intake was not associated with breast cancer risk among Chinese women. Higher amount of soy intake might provide reasonable benefits for the prevention of breast cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: In a Chinese population from both urban and rural areas, weight loss of ≥ 5 kg from early adulthood to midlife was associated with a higher risk of hip fracture and lower BMD in later life. Introduction: This study investigates the association of the long-term weight loss from young adulthood through the middle ages with the subsequent 10-year risk of hospitalized fracture and calcaneus bone mineral density (BMD). Methods: China Kadoorie Biobank (CKB) was established during 2004–2008 in ten areas across China. Weight at age 25 years was self-reported at baseline, and weight at baseline and resurvey was measured by the calibrated equipment. Outcomes were hospitalized fracture during follow-up and calcaneus BMD measured at resurvey. Analysis for fracture risk included 411,812 participants who were free of fracture in the last 5 years before baseline, cancer, or stroke at any time before baseline. Analysis for BMD included 21,453 participants who participated in the resurvey of 2013–2014 with the same exclusion criteria as above. Results: The mean age was 50.8 at baseline and 58.4 at resurvey. Median weight change from age 25 to baseline was 4.4 kg, with 20.7% losing weight and 58.5% gaining weight. During a median follow-up of 10.1 years, we documented 13,065 cases of first diagnosed fracture hospitalizations, including 1222 hip fracture. Compared with participants whose weight was stable (± 2.4 kg), the adjusted hazard ratios (95% CIs) for those with weight loss of ≥ 5.0 kg from age 25 to baseline was 1.39 (1.17 to 1.66) for hip fracture. Weight loss was not associated with fracture risk at other sites. Those with weight loss from age 25 to resurvey had the lowest BMD measures, with β (95% CIs) of − 4.52 (− 5.08 to − 3.96) for broadband ultrasound attenuation (BUA), − 4.83 (− 6.98, − 2.67) for speed of sound (SOS), and − 4.36 (− 5.22, − 3.49) for stiffness index (SI). Conclusions: Weight loss from early adulthood to midlife was associated with a higher risk of hip fracture and lower BMD in later life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims/hypothesis: Previous evidence linking red meat consumption with diabetes risk mainly came from western countries, with little evidence from China, where patterns of meat consumption are different. Moreover, global evidence remains inconclusive about the associations of poultry and fish consumption with diabetes. Therefore we investigated the associations of red meat, poultry and fish intake with incidence of diabetes in a Chinese population. Methods: The prospective China Kadoorie Biobank recruited ~512,000 adults (59% women, mean age 51 years) from ten rural and urban areas across China in 2004–2008. At the baseline survey, a validated interviewer-administered laptop-based questionnaire was used to collect information on the consumption frequency of major food groups including red meat, poultry, fish, fresh fruit and several others. During ~9 years of follow-up, 14,931 incidences of new-onset diabetes were recorded among 461,036 participants who had no prior diabetes, cardiovascular diseases or cancer at baseline. Cox regression analyses were performed to calculate adjusted HRs for incident diabetes associated with red meat, poultry and fish intake. Results: At baseline, 47.0%, 1.3% and 8.9% of participants reported a regular consumption (i.e. ≥4 days/week) of red meat, poultry and fish, respectively. After adjusting for adiposity and other potential confounders, each 50 g/day increase in red meat and fish intake was associated with 11% (HR 1.11 [95% CI 1.04, 1.20]) and 6% (HR 1.06 [95% CI 1.00, 1.13]) higher risk of incident diabetes, respectively. For both, the associations were more pronounced among men and women from urban areas, with an HR (95% CI) of 1.42 (1.15, 1.74) and 1.18 (1.03, 1.36), respectively, per 50 g/day red meat intake and 1.15 (1.02, 1.30) and 1.11 (1.01, 1.23), respectively, per 50 g/day fish intake. There was no significant association between diabetes and poultry intake, either overall (HR 0.96 [95% CI 0.83, 1.12] per 50 g/day intake) or in specific population subgroups. Conclusions/interpretation: In Chinese adults, both red meat and fish, but not poultry, intake were positively associated with diabetes risk, particularly among urban participants. Our findings add new evidence linking red meat and fish intake with cardiometabolic diseases. Data availability: Details of how to access the China Kadoorie Biobank data and rules of China Kadoorie Biobank data release are available from www.ckbiobank.org/site/Data+Access. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Systemic inflammation, reflected by increased plasma concentrations of C-reactive protein (CRP) and fibrinogen, is associated with increased risk of coronary heart disease, but its relevance for stroke types remains unclear. Moreover, evidence is limited in non-European populations. We investigated associations of CRP and fibrinogen with risks of incident major coronary events (MCE), ischemic stroke (IS) and intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) in a cohort of Chinese adults. A nested case-control study within the prospective China Kadoorie Biobank included 1,508 incident MCE cases, 5,418 IS cases, 4,476 ICH cases, and 5,285 common controls, aged 30–79 years. High-sensitivity CRP and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) were measured in baseline plasma samples from all participants, and fibrinogen in a subset (n = 9,380). Logistic regression yielded adjusted odds ratios (ORs) per SD higher usual levels of log-transformed CRP and fibrinogen. The overall mean (SD) baseline LDL-C was 91.6 mg/dL (24.0) and geometric mean (95% CI) CRP and fibrinogen were 0.90 mg/L (0.87–0.93) and 3.01 g/L (2.98–3.03), respectively. There were approximately log-linear positive associations of CRP with each outcome, which persisted after adjustment for LDL-C and other risk factors, with adjusted ORs (95% CI) per SD higher CRP of 1.67 (1.44–1.94) for MCE and 1.22 (1.10–1.36) for both IS and ICH. No associations of fibrinogen with MCE, IS, or ICH were identified. Adding CRP to prediction models based on established risk factors improved model fit for each of MCE, IS, and ICH, with small improvements in C-statistic and correct reclassification of controls to lower risk groups. Among Chinese adults, who have low mean LDL-C, CRP, but not fibrinogen, was independently associated with increased risks of MCE and stroke. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pregnancy and pregnancy loss may be associated with increased risk of diabetes in later life. However, the evidence is inconsistent and sparse, especially among East Asians where reproductive patterns differ importantly from those in the West. We examined the associations of pregnancy and pregnancy loss (miscarriage, induced abortion, and still birth) with the risk of incident diabetes in later life among Chinese women. In 2004–2008, the nationwide China Kadoorie Biobank recruited 302 669 women aged 30–79 years from 10 (5 urban, 5 rural) diverse localities. During 9.2 years of follow-up, 7780 incident cases of diabetes were recorded among 273,383 women without prior diabetes and cardiovascular disease at baseline. Cox regression yielded multiple-adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) for the risk of diabetes associated with pregnancy and pregnancy loss. Overall, 99% of women had been pregnant, of whom 10%, 53%, and 6% reported having a history of miscarriage, induced abortion, and stillbirth, respectively. Among ever pregnant women, each additional pregnancy was associated with an adjusted HR of 1.04 (95% CI 1.03; 1.06) for diabetes. Compared with those without pregnancy loss, women with a history of pregnancy loss had an adjusted HR of 1.07 (1.02; 1.13) and the HRs increased with increasing number of pregnancy losses, irrespective of the number of livebirths; the adjusted HR was 1.03 (1.00; 1.05) for each additional pregnancy loss. The strength of the relationships differed marginally by type of pregnancy loss. Among Chinese women, a higher number of pregnancies and pregnancy losses were associated with a greater risk of diabetes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Current experimental and epidemiological studies provide inconsistent evidence toward the association between tea consumption and cancer incidence. We investigated whether tea consumption was associated with the incidence of all cancers and six leading types of cancer (lung cancer, stomach cancer, colorectal cancer, liver cancer, female breast cancer and cervix uteri cancer) among 455,981 participants aged 30–79 years in the prospective cohort China Kadoorie Biobank. Tea consumption was assessed at baseline (2004–2008) with an interviewer-administered questionnaire. Cancer cases were identified by linkage to the national health insurance system. Cox proportional hazard regression models were used to estimate hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). In the present population, daily tea consumers were more likely to be current smokers and daily alcohol consumers. 22,652 incident cancers occurred during 10.1 years follow-up (5.04 cases/1000 person-years). When we restricted analyses to non-smokers and non-excessive alcohol consumers to minimize confounding, tea consumption was not associated with all cancers (daily consumers who added tea leaves > 4.0 g/day vs. less-than-weekly consumers: HR, 1.03; 95%CI, 0.93–1.13), lung cancer (HR, 1.08; CI, 0.84–1.40), colorectal cancer (HR, 1.08; CI, 0.81–1.45) and liver cancer (HR, 1.08; CI, 0.75–1.55), yet might be associated with increased risk of stomach cancer (HR, 1.46; CI, 1.07–1.99). In both less-than-daily and daily tea consumers, all cancer risk increased with the amount of tobacco smoked or alcohol consumed. Our findings suggest tea consumption may not provide preventive effect against cancer incidence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims/hypothesis: Season of birth as a surrogate for potential environmental exposure during fetal development and early postnatal life has shown an inconsistent association with adult type 2 diabetes in white populations living in high-latitude regions. The present study aimed to examine the association between birth seasonality and risk of adult type 2 diabetes in Chinese individuals living across wide regions of low latitude and lower to middle latitude. Methods: Participants from the China Kadoorie Biobank were enrolled during 2004-2008 and followed up until 31 December 2013. After excluding participants with cancer, heart disease, stroke and diabetes at baseline, the present study included 189,153 men and 272,058 women aged 30-79 years. We used multivariable Cox proportional hazards model to estimate the HR and 95% CI. Results: During a median follow-up of 7.2 years (3.3 million person-years), we documented 8784 incident cases of type 2 diabetes. In the whole cohort, compared with summer-born participants, the adjusted HRs (95% CIs) were 1.09 (1.02, 1.16), 1.08 (1.02, 1.15) and 1.09 (1.02, 1.15) for those who were born in Spring, Autumn and Winter, respectively. The association was consistent in both men and women and across subgroups defined by residence and lifestyle factors later in life. Conclusions/interpretation: In this large prospective study, participants born in summer had a lower risk of adult type 2 diabetes compared with other seasons of birth, suggesting exposures in early life with some degree of seasonal variation might influence the risk of adult diabetes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims/hypothesis: In women, higher parity has been associated with increased risk of diabetes later in life. It is unclear, however, whether this association is mainly due to biological effects of childbearing, or to socioeconomic and lifestyle factors associated with childrearing. We assessed the association between number of children and diabetes risk separately in women and men. Methods: Between 2004 and 2008, the nationwide China Kadoorie Biobank recruited 0.5 million individuals aged 30-79 (mean 51 years) from ten diverse regions across China. During 7 years of follow-up, 8,840 incident cases of diabetes were recorded among 463,347 participants without prior cardiovascular diseases or diabetes. Multivariable Cox regression yielded sex-specific HRs and 95% CIs for incident diabetes by number of children. Results: Overall, ∼98% of all participants had children. In women, there was a J-shaped association between number of children and risk of diabetes. Compared with women with one child, the adjusted HRs for diabetes were 1.39 (95% CI 1.11, 1.73) for childless women, 1.12 (95% CI 1.07, 1.18) for those with two children, 1.23 (95% CI 1.16, 1.31) for those with three children, and 1.32 (95% CI 1.21, 1.44) for those with four or more children. In men, there was a similar association with risk of diabetes; the corresponding HRs were 1.28 (95% CI 1.02, 1.60), 1.19 (95% CI 1.12, 1.26), 1.32 (95% CI 1.21, 1.44) and 1.41 (95% CI 1.24, 1.60), respectively. In both sexes, the findings were broadly similar in different population subgroups. Conclusions/interpretation: The similarity between women and men in the association between number of children and risk of diabetes suggests that parenthood is most likely to affect diabetes risk through factors associated with childrearing rather than via biological effects of childbearing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Uncertainty remains about the associations of adiposity with intestinal cancer in China and by its anatomical subtype.Methods: The prospective China Kadoorie Biobank recorded 3024 incident cases of colorectal (CRC) and 143 cases of small intestine (SIC) cancer during a 10-year follow-up among 509 568 participants without prior cancer at baseline. Cox regression was used to estimate adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) for specific cancers associated with adiposity.Results: Overall mean body mass index (BMI) was 23.7  kg/m2. BMI was positively associated with CRC (HR per SD 1.10 [95% CI 1.06-1.14]), colon (1.13 [1.07-1.18]), and rectal (1.07 [1.02-1.13]) cancer. For waist circumference, the corresponding HRs per SD were 1.14 (1.10-1.18), 1.18 (1.13-1.24), and 1.11 (1.05-1.16), respectively. The adjusted HRs were somewhat greater in men than women. Adiposity was positively, but non-significantly, associated with SIC risk.Conclusions: Among relatively lean Chinese adults, adiposity was associated with risks of colon and rectal cancer, with the associations somewhat stronger in men than women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Code-Division Multiple-Access (CDMA) systems are interference limited, and therefore efficient interference management is necessary to enhance the performance of a CDMA system. In this paper, a successive beamforming (spatial filtering), linear decorrelating MultiUser Detection (MUD, temporal filtering) and diversity reception structure for uplink multicarrier Direct Sequence CDMA (DS-CDMA) system with antenna array are proposed. By beamforming, the antenna array suppresses interference according to the distinct array signature. Subsequently, linear decorrelating MUD is applied to separate the signals of different users and eliminate Multiple Access Interference (MAI). Finally, the decorrelated signals at different subcarriers that belong to the same user are combined to achieve frequency diversity. Simulation results show that the proposed structure offers significant Bit Error Rate (BER) performance improvement by successively exploiting the space-time-frequency processing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes an improved Direction Of Arrival(DOA) estimation algorithm for asynchronous multipath Code Division Multiple Access(CDMA) system. The algorithm is based on the correlation matrices of outputs of decorrelator, which is a Multi-User Detection(MUD) approach, one of the key techniques for CDMA system. Through decorrelating processing, the desired user’s mulipath signals can be resolved and all the other resolved multipath signal interference is eliminated. So the proposed algorithm is expected to perform much better than algorithm such as that based directly on the Matched Filter(MF) bank outputs. Simulation results confirm this. While the improved algorithm performs better and better as Signal-to-Noise Ratio(SNR) increases, the performance of algorithm based directly on the MF bank outputs can not be improved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, a Direction Of Arrival (DOA) estimation algorithm is proposed for multiuser signals through uplink asynchronous multipath Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) channels. The algorithm is based directly on the correlation matrices of matched filter bank outputs of desired user’s multipath signals and it does not require that the elements of base station antenna array outnumber the multipath signals, which is necessary for the conventional sub-space based direction-finding algorithm. Simulation results show that the proposed algorithm estimates the DOA of multipath signals effectively and acceptably. The proposed algorithm has the prominent advantages of low complexity, simpleness and practicality, which make it much more suitable for practical application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

These authors jointly supervised this work: Robert Clarke, Zhengming Chen and Benjamin J. Cairns. Correction to: I Scientific Reports i https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-95244-8, published online 02 September 2021 The original version of this Article contained an error in the spelling of author names Zhengming Chen and Liming Li, which were incorrectly given as Zhengming Chen (PI) and Liming Li (PI) in the China Kadoorie Biobank Collaborative Group. [Extracted from the article]

Keshan disease is an endemic cardiomyopathy of unknown cause in The People's Republic of China that occurs most frequently in children under 15 years of age and women of child-bearing age. Studies of children 1-9 years old in Mianing County of Sichuan Province have indicated that Keshan disease is a selenium responsive condition. Incidence rates of 9.5-13.5/1000 in 1974-1975 were reduced to 1-2/1000 in children treated with a tablet weekly of 0.5-1 mg sodium selenite. During 1974-1977, only 21 cases of the disease occurred in 36,603 treated children, compared with 106 cases in 9430 untreated children, of whom 53 died and 5 still have insufficient heart function. Occurrence of the disease was invariably associated with a lower selenium content of cereals, and of hair (less than 0.12 ppm Se) in residents from affected, compared with non-affected, areas. The dose relationship between selenium and regional characteristics of Keshan disease suggests that it is probably a biogeochemical disease; other etiological factors have also been considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Adiposity is an increasing public health problem in China. We aimed to examine the associations of adiposity with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and other chronic liver diseases in Chinese adults. The prospective China Kadoorie Biobank recruited 512,891 adults aged 30-79 years from 10 areas. During 10 years of follow-up, 7,386 incident liver disease cases were recorded among 503,991 participants without prior cancer or chronic liver disease at baseline. The mean body mass index (BMI) (SD) was 23.7 (3.3) kg/m2 and mean waist circumference (WC) 80.3 (9.8) cm, with 33% having BMI ≥25 kg/m2. Throughout the range examined (BMI 15-50) BMI showed a log-linear positive association with NAFLD (n = 1,298), with adjusted HR per 5 kg/m2 of 2.81 (95% CI 2.63-3.01), adjusting for regression dilution. There were also positive associations of percent body fat, WC, and waist-to-hip ratio with NAFLD, with HRs per 1-SD of 2.27 (2.14-2.41), 2.60 (2.44-2.76), and 1.84 (1.76-1.92). BMI was unrelated to viral hepatitis (n = 1,477), and had a U-shaped association with cirrhosis (n = 2,082) and an inverse association with liver cancer (n = 2,568), which disappeared after excluding the first 5 years of follow-up. Among Chinese adults, adiposity was a major risk factor for NAFLD but not other chronic liver diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Consumers in most developed countries have greater access to safer food than ever before, yet the issue of consumer perception on the safety of the food supply, the control infrastructure and existing and new process technologies is often not positive. A series of high profile food incidents, which have been ineffectively managed by both the regulators and the industry, and where there has been a failure to be open and transparent, have sensitised a proportion of consumers to scary stories about the food supply. There has been concomitant damage to consumer confidence in (i) the safety of food, (ii) the food industry's commitment to producing safe food and (iii) the authorities' ability to oversee the food chain. Threats to consumers' health and their genuine concerns have to be addressed with effective risk management and the protection of public health has to be paramount. Dealing with incorrect fears and misperceptions of risk has also to be addressed but achieving this is very difficult. The competencies of social scientists are needed to assist in gaining insights into consumer perceptions of risk, consumer behaviour and the determinants of trust. Conventional risk communication will not succeed on its own and more innovative and creative communication strategies are needed to engage with consumers using all available media channels in an open and transparent way. The digital media affords the opportunity to revolutionise engagement with consumers on food safety and nutrition-related issues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]