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Carbonisation is one of the important methods to improve the utilisation of coal. The structural composition of coal plays an important role in coal carbonisation. This work used small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) to investigate the pore structure of three kinds of raw coals with different carbon content derived from Xingtai City, Hebei Province, China. The structures of the corresponding cokes obtained through carbonisation at 1200°C were investigated by elemental analysis and SAXS. In addition, the gasification reaction of the three cokes (C1, C2, C3) with CO2 were studied by thermogravimetric analysis. The SAXS results indicate that the surface fractal dimension increases while the pore size decreases, and the pore distribution became wider after carbonisation. In addition, all coals and cokes present a positive deviation from Porod's law, indicating that there is a micro-fluctuation of electron density in the samples. Besides, it exhibites a negative correlation has been found between the degree of deviation from Porod's law and the carbon content. The gasification reactivity of cokes C1 and C3 in CO2 are higher than that of C2, indicating that the pore structures affect the gas reactivity of the three different metamorphic degree cokes in CO2. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Guangxi Partridge chicken is a well-known chicken breed in southern China with good meat quality, which has been bred as a meat breed to satisfy the increased demand of consumers. Compared with line D whose body weight is maintained at the average of the unselected group, the growth rate and weight of the selected chicken group (line S) increased significantly after breeding for four generations. Herein, transcriptome analysis was performed to identify pivotal genes and signal pathways of selective breeding that contributed to potential mechanisms of growth and development under artificial selection pressure. The average body weight of line S chickens was 1.724 kg at 90 d of age, which showed a significant increase at 90 d of age than line D chickens (1.509 kg), although only the internal organ ratios of lung and kidney changed after standardizing by body weight. The myofiber area and myofiber density of thigh muscles were affected by selection to a greater extent than that of breast muscle. We identified 51, 210, 31, 388, and 100 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in the hypothalamus, pituitary, breast muscle, thigh muscle, and liver between the two lines, respectively. Several key genes were identified in the hypothalamus-pituitary-muscle axis, such as FST, THSB, PTPRJ, CD36, PITX1, PITX2, AMPD1, PRKAB1, PRKAB2, and related genes for muscle development, which were attached to the cytokine–cytokine receptor interaction signaling pathway, the PPAR signaling pathway, and lipid metabolism. However, signaling molecular pathways and the cell community showed that elevated activity in the liver of line S fowl was mainly involved in focal adhesion, ECM-receptor interaction, cell adhesion molecules, and signal transduction. Collectively, muscle development, lipid metabolism, and several signaling pathways played crucial roles in the improving growth performance of Guangxi Partridge chickens under artificial selection for growth rate. These results support further study of the adaptation of birds under selective pressure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Carbonization is one of the main methods for comprehensive utilization of bituminous coal. Bituminous coal and its solid products from carbonization, namely char and coke, have complex pore structures, which can be characterized by fractals. We performed a study on the fractal structure of the solid products prepared from the bituminous coal of Shuiyu mine in Shanxi Province, China, at different carbonization temperatures (25°C∼1000°C) by synchrotron radiation small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS). The results show that the bituminous coal has a surface fractal structure during the whole carbonization process. The variation of fractal dimension with carbonization temperature illustrates the different stages of the carbonization process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Coronary artery disease (CAD) is the most frequent multifactorial disease worldwide and is characterised by endothelial injury, lipid deposition and coronary artery calcification. The purpose of this study was to determine the allelic and genotypic frequencies of two loci (rs2026458 and rs9349379) of phosphatase and actin regulator 1 (PHACTR1) to the risk of developing CAD in the Chinese Han population.Methods: A case-control study was conducted including 332 patients with CAD and 119 controls. Genotype analysis was performed by PCR and Sanger sequencing. Genetic model analysis was performed to evaluate the association between single nucleotide polymorphisms and CAD susceptibility using Pearson's χ2 test and logistic regression analysis.Results: The GG genotype of rs9349379 represented 50% and 29% of patients with CAD and controls, respectively (p<0.001). The CC genotype of rs2026458 was more prevalent in the controls than in patients with CAD compared with TT genotype (OR=0.548, 95% CI 0.351 to 0.856, p=0.008). Logistic regression analyses revealed that PHACTR1 rs9349379 GG genotype was significantly associated with increased risk of CAD in the recessive model (OR=2.359, 95% CI 1.442 to 3.862, p=0.001), even after adjusting for age gender, hypertension, type 2 diabetes, hyperlipidaemia and smoking habit. Heterogeneity test proved that rs9349379's risk effects on CAD were more significant among women.Conclusions: Our study indicate that the PHACTR1 rs9349379 polymorphism is associated with the increased risk for CAD in the female Chinese Han population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Climate change and human activities have substantially changed hydrological and geomorphologic processes, particularly in upper mountainous catchments. The Jinsha River Basin (JRB), the uppermost region of the Yangtze River and the largest hydropower production region in China, was chosen to investigate the sediment load responses to climate variations and human activities. The non-parametric Mann-Kendall test and double mass curve were used to explore the spatial-temporal variations of hydro-meteorological variables and quantify the contributions of climate variation and human activities to changes in discharge and sediment load in the JRB from the 1950s to 2015. The results indicate that human activities, in particular cascade damming, were the governing factor for sediment load changes, while climate variations (increasing precipitation and snow and glacier melt) dominated the discharge changes in the JRB. The average annual sediment load at the Panzhihua (PZH) station increased by 42.4% from 1966–1984 to 1985–2010, mainly due to mineral extraction and deforestation, followed by a decrease of 75.9% in 2011–2015 because of the operation of the cascade reservoirs in the middle JRB since 2010. The construction of new dams like the Xiangjiaba Reservoir (2012) and the Xiluodu Reservoir (2013) in the lower JRB and many other cascade reservoirs since 2010 in the middle JRB further decreased the sediment load by 58.5% (BHT) and 83.8% (XJB) in the recent five years from 2011 to 2015. Although channel erosion downstream of the XJB Dam can provide new sediment to the Three Gorges Reservoir (TGR), the sedimentation rate of the TGR has decreased rapidly and will continue to be reduced due to the construction of more dams in the future. Highlights • Sediment load reduced significantly in the Jinsha River after 2010. • Human activities particularly cascade reservoirs' operation dominated sediment load changes. • Discharge rise at the PZH was dominated by increasing precipitation and snow and glacier melt. • Sediment load decline in the Jinsha River reduced the sedimentation rate of the Three Gorges Reservoir. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pleurospermum lindleyanum (Lipsky) B. Fedtsch is a perennial herb classified in the Apiaceae family, genus Pleurospermum, chiefly native to the Taxkorgan County, Xinjiang, China. In the Xinjiang Province, it is a well-known ethnic traditional herb, often addressed by its tribal name, Kurumuti. It grows in harsh conditions over 4000 m above sea level, such as the Pamirs plateau. It is rich in flavonoids, coumarins, terpenoids, essential oil, substances that have been widely applied in the prevention and treatment of hypertension, diabetes, coronary heart disease, and cerebral thrombosis by local Tajik residents. The present study aimed to evaluate the antihypertensive effects of the Pleurospermum Lindleyanum aqueous extract (PLAE) in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRs). The Pleurospermum lindleyanum was collected from the Taxkorgan Tajik Autonomous County, Xinjiang, China. The main chemical composition of PLAE was identified using the ultra-performance liquid chromatography coupled with quadrupole-time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UPLC-Q-TOF-MS). SHRs were treated by gavage with PLAE (equivalent to Pleurospermum lindleyanum 5 or 10 g/kg/day) for 6 weeks, using Captopril (10 mg/kg/day) as positive control. The systolic blood pressure (SBP), renal and cardiac morphology, plasma levels of angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE), aldosterone (ALD), angiotensinⅡ (AngⅡ), superoxide dismutase (SOD), endothelin-1 (ET-1) and nitric oxide (NO) were measured. A total of 30 compounds were identified in PLAE. PLAE significantly attenuated the SBP of SHRs. The effects began after 3 weeks of administration and then became steady and long-lasting. Its potential mechanisms may be associated with the protective effects on renal and cardiac injury caused by hypertension, the decrease of plasma vasoconstrictors, such as ACE, ALD, AngⅡ, and ET-1 levels, the maintenance of NO/ET balance, the increase in plasma NO levels and SOD activity, thereby reducing oxidative stress. Pleurospermum lindleyanum can be suggested as a novel antihypertensive ethnic traditional herb, which lays the foundation for researching safe and effective antihypertensive herbal medicines. [Display omitted] • The incidence of primary hypertension increasing year by year, and becoming a major risk factor for many cardiovascular diseases. • The Pleurospermum Lindleyanum aqueous extract (PLAE) can reduce the systolic blood pressure, and protect cardiac and renal injury caused by hypertension. • The antihypertensive mechanisms could be the decrease of plasma ACE, ALD, AngⅡ levels, the increase of plasma NO, SOD levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article reports on the groundwater crisis in China and discusses the contamination of chemicals with groundwater.

• Damming dominated reduced sediment fluxes, followed by climate change. • The Wenchuan Earthquake had little effect on long-term downstream sediment flux. • The drastically decreased sediment fluxes benefit the Three Gorges Reservoir. Riverine sediment flux is a crucial proxy influencing channel morphology, biogeochemical processes, and riverine ecosystems. However, recent climate change and multiple anthropogenic activities have substantially altered the sediment regimes of the world's rivers. On a basis of the "multiple double mass curves" method, this study selected the Jialing River (JR) basin as a case study to distinguish the relative impacts of climate change, land-use change, and damming on changes in the runoff and sediment flux over the past 60 years. The results showed that the sediment fluxes in the JR basin drastically decreased by 57–77% from the baseline period (1950s–1984) to the post-change period (1985–2017) mainly due to damming (60–75%), climate change (5–30%), and revegetation (10–20%). The runoff in the JR basin also exhibited a reduction (12–22%) likely because of the joint impacts of a reduction in precipitation and the restoration of vegetation. Although the 2008 Wenchuan Earthquake (M = 7.9) increased the short-term sediment fluxes, its impact on the long-term sediment fluxes in the downstream areas of the JR basin was limited as a result of the buffering effect of the thousands of constructed reservoirs. The decreased sediment fluxes in the JR basin benefit the life expectancy of the Three Gorges Reservoir (the world's largest hydropower plant), but the reduced runoff can exacerbate water stress. The findings of our study have important implications for better management of water resources, sediment fluxes, and reservoir sedimentation not only for the JR basin, but also for the Three Gorges Reservoir. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sleep problem among undergraduate students has become one of the most pressing public health problems. This study aimed to explore the latent class of sleep patterns and the factors affecting sleep in Chinese students of medical university. 3423 students participated in the cross-sectional study. The survey consisted of the reduced Morningness-Evening Questionnaire, the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, and Health-Promoting Lifestyle Profile-II. Latent profile analysis and multinominal logistic regression analysis were performed. Three potential sleep categories were identified: "sleep disorder group" (1.87 %), "daytime dysfunction group" (24.42 %), and "good sleep group" (73.71 %). Compared with the "good sleep group," the "sleep disorder group" showed monthly living expenses (RMB) ≥ 3000 yuan (OR) = 13.04), interpersonal relationships as poor (OR = 3.71), health status as poor (OR = 45.09), circadian rhythm as eveningness (OR = 6.17), and poor health-promoting lifestyles (OR = 2.090) as its risk factors (all p < 0.05). Meanwhile, sophomore (OR = 1.75), junior (OR = 1.52), interpersonal relationships as poor (OR = 1.88), health status as poor (OR = 4.62), intermediate-chronotype (OR = 2.19), eveningness chronotype (OR = 5.66), and health-promoting lifestyles as poor (OR = 1.55) were identified as risk factors for the "daytime dysfunction group" (all p < 0.05). C ausal conclusions can not be drawn and recall bias in data collection. Significant population heterogeneity was found in the sleep quality. Implementing targeted interventions focusing on circadian rhythm and lifestyle is crucial to improve the sleep quality of students with different conditions. • Research on sleep quality in Chinese undergraduate of medical university was limited. • Our study was the first to explore their sleep quality patterns and influence factors. • Three categories (sleep disorder; daytime dysfunction; good sleep) were identified. • Sleep disorders and daytime dysfunction were each related with five different factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The construction of an engineered cover layer over landfills is a common method applied to reduce the emission of hazardous gases into the atmosphere. Landfill gas pressures can reach 50 kPa or even higher in some cases, thus posing a serious threat to nearby properties and human safety. As such, the evaluation of gas breakthrough pressure and gas permeability in a landfill cover layer is of great necessity. In this study, the loess soil that is often applied as a cover layer in landfills in northwestern China was used to conduct gas breakthrough, gas permeability, and mercury intrusion porosimetry (MIP) tests. Resultantly, the smaller the capillary tube diameter, the higher the capillary force, and the more significant the capillary effect. Gas breakthrough could be attained with no difficulty, provided that the capillary effect was minimal or approached zero. A good fit between the experimental gas breakthrough pressure–intrinsic permeability relationship and a logarithmic equation was found. The mechanical effect blew up the gas flow channel. In the worst-case scenario, the mechanical effect could lead to the overall failure of a loess cover layer in a landfill. A new gas flow channel was formed between the rubber membrane and the loess specimen as a result of the interfacial effect. Although both the mechanical and interfacial effects can elevate the gas emission rate, the latter did not play a role in the improvement of the gas permeability; therefore, misleading interference took place in the evaluation of the gas permeability, and an overall failure of the loess cover layer. To tackle this problem, the point at which the large- and small-effective stress asymptotes cross on the volumetric deformation– P eff diagram may be applied to give early warning signals of the potential overall failure of the loess cover layer in landfills in northwestern China. • The capillary effect is a crucial factor affecting the gas breakthrough pressure. • Both the mechanical and interfacial effects gear up the gas emission rate. • The interfacial effect can mislead the assessment of the failure of a cover layer. • The volumetric deformation goes up with decrease in P eff in an exponential manner. • Such exponential relationship gives early warning of the failure of a cover layer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Intermittent rivers in semiarid and arid regions, constituting over half of the world's rivers, alternate the carbon cycle interactions among the biosphere, hydrosphere, and atmosphere. Inadequate quantification of flow duration and river water surface area, along with overlooked CO 2 emissions from dry riverbeds, result in notable inaccuracies in global carbon cycle assessments. High-resolution remote sensing images combined with intensive field measurements and hydrological modelling were used to estimate and extract the flow duration, river water surface area and dry riverbed area of Huangfuchuan, an intermittent river watershed that acts as a major tributary of the Yellow River in semiarid Northwest China. CO 2 emission rates and partial pressures in water and air across the watershed were in-situ measured. In 2018, the flow duration of Huangfuchuan increased from less than 5 days in the first-order tributary to 150 days in the sixth-order mainstream. River water surface area estimated by remote sensing extraction plus the hydrodynamic model simulation varied from 3.9 to 88.6 km 2 under 5 %-95 % discharge frequencies. CO 2 emissions from the water-air interface and dry riverbed in 2018 were estimated at 582.3 × 10 3 and 355.2 × 10 3 ton, respectively. The estimated total annual emission (937.5 × 10 3 ton) aligns closely with the range of emissions (67.3 × 10 3 -1377.2 × 10 3 ton) calculated for the water-air interface alone, derived using DEM river length and hydraulic geometry method. This similarity can be attributed to the overestimation of flow duration and flow velocity, as well as the over- or under-estimation of river water surface area and slope. The new method proposed in this study has large potential to be applied in estimating CO 2 emissions from data-scarce intermittent rivers located in mountainous regions and provides a standardized solution in the estimation of CO 2 emission. Results of this research reveal the spatiotemporal distribution of CO 2 emissions along an intermittent river system and highlight the substantial role of dry riverbed in carbon cycle., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing interests: Chao Qin, Baosheng Wu, Mengzhen Xu, Lishan Ran reports financial support was provided by National Natural Science Foundation of China. Chao Qin reports financial support was provided by China Postdoctoral Science Foundation. If there are other authors, they declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024. Published by Elsevier Ltd.)

Riverine water and sediment discharge drive global material circulation and energy transfer, and they are crucial to the biogeochemical cycle. We investigated the changes in water-sediment fluxes in six major rivers from north to south in China from the mid-1950s to 2020 under the influence of climate change and human activities, and quantified the contributions of these specific influencing factors to water-sediment flux changes. Results showed that streamflow of the Songhua, Liao and Yellow rivers decreased significantly (p < 0.05). The sediment load of all rivers reduced significantly (p < 0.01) except the Songhua River. Streamflow or sediment fluxes to the oceans have increased or stabilized since around 2000, and the terrestrial sediment yielding center in China has shifted southward from the Yellow River to the Yangtze and Pearl rivers. The contribution of precipitation to the streamflow and sediment load changes decreased from north to south across the six rivers. From the mid-1950s to 2020, the underlying land surface change was the dominant contributor (>70 %) to reducing streamflow in the Songhua and Yellow rivers, while climate change (>50 %) was responsible for decreased streamflow in the Liao and Huai rivers. The sediment load reduction of the six rivers was attributed mainly to human activities. Among them, dam construction, human water consumption and catchment land surface change have reduced the total sediment load into the sea by 49 %, 25 % and 19 %, respectively. These results highlight that north-south variability in water and sediment flux are driven by both natural and anthropogenic forcing agents., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Objective: To determine willingness to pay for a diabetic retinopathy screening, and its determinants, among people with diabetes mellitus in Qujiang District of Shaoguan City, rural Guangdong, southern China., Design: This cross-sectional study was conducted through a large-scale screening programme in 2019. We randomly selected 575 (21.5%) among 2677 people over 18 years old with known diabetes who attended the screening. Participants elected to pay nothing or RMB10-RMB120 (US$1.6-US$18.8), in RMB10 intervals, displayed on printed cards. One trained interviewer collected all the data., Setting: Ten primary health centres in Qujiang District of Shaoguan City, Guangdong., Participants: 545 from the 575 randomly selected people (94.8%) agreed to participate in the study., Outcome Measures: Proportion of participants willing to pay anything for screening, mean amount they were willing to pay and determinants of these figures., Results: Among 545 participants (mean age 64.6 years (SD±10.4), 40.7% men), 327 (60.0%) were willing to pay something for screening, of whom 273 (83.5%) would pay RMB10-RMB30 (US$1.6-US$4.7). People living in rural areas and those from lower-income families were more likely to be willing to pay anything, while men, urban residents and those covered by employer-linked insurance were willing to pay larger sums (p<0.05 for all)., Conclusion: Nearly two-thirds of participants were willing to pay for screening in this screening programme organised at the primary care level in rural China. This finding offers the potential that such activities can be sustained and scaled up through user fees., Competing Interests: Competing interests: None declared., (© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2023. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.)

Detection of asymptomatic or subclinical novel human coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 infection is critical for understanding the overall prevalence and infection potential of COVID-19. To estimate the cumulative prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 infection in China, we evaluated the host serologic response, measured by the levels of immunoglobulins M and G in 17,368 individuals, in the city of Wuhan, the epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic in China, and geographic regions in the country, during the period from 9 March 2020 to 10 April 2020. In our cohorts, the seropositivity in Wuhan varied between 3.2% and 3.8% in different subcohorts. Seroposivity progressively decreased in other cities as the distance to the epicenter increased. Patients who visited a hospital for maintenance hemodialysis and healthcare workers also had a higher seroprevalence of 3.3% (51 of 1,542, 2.5-4.3%, 95% confidence interval (CI)) and 1.8% (81 of 4,384, 1.5-2.3%, 95% CI), respectively. More studies are needed to determine whether these results are generalizable to other populations and geographic locations, as well as to determine at what rate seroprevalence is increasing with the progress of the COVID-19 pandemic. Serologic surveillance has the potential to provide a more faithful cumulative viral attack rate for the first season of this novel SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Background: Coronary artery disease (CAD) is the most frequent multifactorial disease worldwide and is characterised by endothelial injury, lipid deposition and coronary artery calcification. The purpose of this study was to determine the allelic and genotypic frequencies of two loci (rs2026458 and rs9349379) of phosphatase and actin regulator 1 (PHACTR1) to the risk of developing CAD in the Chinese Han population., Methods: A case-control study was conducted including 332 patients with CAD and 119 controls. Genotype analysis was performed by PCR and Sanger sequencing. Genetic model analysis was performed to evaluate the association between single nucleotide polymorphisms and CAD susceptibility using Pearson's χ 2 test and logistic regression analysis., Results: The GG genotype of rs9349379 represented 50% and 29% of patients with CAD and controls, respectively (p<0.001). The CC genotype of rs2026458 was more prevalent in the controls than in patients with CAD compared with TT genotype (OR=0.548, 95% CI 0.351 to 0.856, p=0.008). Logistic regression analyses revealed that PHACTR1 rs9349379 GG genotype was significantly associated with increased risk of CAD in the recessive model (OR=2.359, 95% CI 1.442 to 3.862, p=0.001), even after adjusting for age gender, hypertension, type 2 diabetes, hyperlipidaemia and smoking habit. Heterogeneity test proved that rs9349379's risk effects on CAD were more significant among women., Conclusions: Our study indicate that the PHACTR1 rs9349379 polymorphism is associated with the increased risk for CAD in the female Chinese Han population., Competing Interests: Competing interests: None declared., (© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2019. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.)

As typical Chinese indigenous pig breeds, Erhualian and Meishan have been widely used to produce new strain or breed in the world. However, the genetic basis of characteristics of these pig breeds is still limited. Moreover, considering cost and output of sequencing, it is necessary to further develop cost-effective method for pig genome screening. To contribute on this issue, we developed a SLAF-seq (specific-locus amplified fragment sequencing) method for pigs and applied it to analyze the genetic difference among Landrace, Erhualian, and Meishan pigs. A total of 453.75 million reads were produced by SLAF-seq. After quality-control, 165,670 SNPs (single nucleotide polymorphisms) were used in further analysis. The results showed that Landrace had distinct genetic relationship compared to Erhualian (F ST  = 0.5480) and Meishan (F ST  = 0.5800), respectively, while Erhualian and Meishan held the relatively close genetic relationship (F ST  = 0.2335). Furthermore, a genome-wide scanning revealed 268 differentially selected regions (DSRs) with 855 genes and 256 DSRs with 347 genes between Landrace and the two Chinese indigenous pig breeds and between Erhualian and Meishan, respectively. This study provides a new cost-effective method for pig genome study and might contribute to a better understanding on the formation mechanism of genetic difference among pigs with different geographical origins.

Background: Uric acid (UA) is a complex phenotype influenced by both genetic and environmental factors as well as their interactions. Current genome-wide association studies (GWASs) have identified a variety of genetic determinants of UA in Europeans; however, such studies in Asians, especially in Chinese populations remain limited., Methods: A two-stage GWAS was performed to identify single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) that were associated with serum uric acid (UA) in a Chinese population of 12,281 participants (GWAS discovery stage included 1452 participants from the Dongfeng-Tongji cohort (DFTJ-cohort) and 1999 participants from the Fangchenggang Area Male Health and Examination Survey (FAMHES). The validation stage included another independent 8830 individuals from the DFTJ-cohort). Affymetrix Genome-Wide Human SNP Array 6.0 chips and Illumina Omni-Express platform were used for genotyping for DFTJ-cohort and FAMHES, respectively. Gene-environment interactions on serum UA levels were further explored in 10,282 participants from the DFTJ-cohort., Results: Briefly, we identified two previously reported UA loci of SLC2A9 (rs11722228, combined P = 8.98 × 10-31) and ABCG2 (rs2231142, combined P = 3.34 × 10-42). The two independent SNPs rs11722228 and rs2231142 explained 1.03% and 1.09% of the total variation of UA levels, respectively. Heterogeneity was observed across different populations. More importantly, both independent SNPs rs11722228 and rs2231142 were nominally significantly interacted with gender on serum UA levels (P for interaction = 4.0 × 10-2 and 2.0 × 10-2, respectively). The minor allele (T) for rs11722228 in SLC2A9 has greater influence in elevating serum UA levels in females compared to males and the minor allele (T) of rs2231142 in ABCG2 had stronger effects on serum UA levels in males than that in females., Conclusions: Two genetic loci (SLC2A9 and ABCG2) were confirmed to be associated with serum UA concentration. These findings strongly support the evidence that SLC2A9 and ABCG2 function in UA metabolism across human populations. Furthermore, we observed these associations are modified by gender.

Objective: Tumour biomarkers are used as indicators for cancer screening and as predictors for therapeutic responses and prognoses in cancer patients. We aimed to identify genetic loci that influence concentrations of cancer antigen 19-9 (CA19-9), carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) and α fetoprotein (AFP), and investigated the associations between the significant single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) with risks of oesophageal squamous cell (OSCC), pancreatic and hepatocellular cancers., Design: We carried out a genome wide association study on plasma CA19-9, CEA and AFP concentrations in 3451 healthy Han Chinese and validated the results in 10 326 individuals. Significant SNPs were further investigated in three case control studies (2031 OSCC cases and 2044 controls; 981 pancreatic cancer cases and 1991 controls; and 348 hepatocellular cancer cases and 359 controls)., Results: The analyses showed association peaks on three genetic loci for CA19-9 (FUT6-FUT3 at 19p13.3, FUT2-CA11 at 19q13.3 and B3GNT3 at 19p13.1; p=1.16×10(-13)-3.30×10(-290)); four for CEA (ABO at 9q34.2, FUT6 at 19p13.3, FUT2 at 19q13.3 and FAM3B at 21q22.3; p=3.33×10(-22)-5.81×10(-209)); and two for AFP (AFP at 4q11-q13 and HISPPD2A at 15q15.3; p=3.27×10(-18) and 1.28×10(-14)). These explained 17.14% of the variations in CA19-9, 8.95% in CEA and 0.57% in AFP concentrations. Significant ABO variants were also associated with risk of OSCC and pancreatic cancers, and AFP variants with risk of hepatocellular cancer (p<0.05)., Conclusions: This study identified several loci associated with CA19-9, CEA and AFP concentrations. The ABO variants were associated with risk of OSCC and pancreatic cancers and AFP variants with risk of hepatocellular cancer.

Plasma lipid levels are important risk factors for cardiovascular disease and are influenced by genetic and environmental factors. Recent genome wide association studies (GWAS) have identified several lipid-associated loci, but these loci have been identified primarily in European populations. In order to identify genetic markers for lipid levels in a Chinese population and analyze the heterogeneity between Europeans and Asians, especially Chinese, we performed a meta-analysis of two genome wide association studies on four common lipid traits including total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL) and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL) in a Han Chinese population totaling 3,451 healthy subjects. Replication was performed in an additional 8,830 subjects of Han Chinese ethnicity. We replicated eight loci associated with lipid levels previously reported in a European population. The loci genome wide significantly associated with TC were near DOCK7, HMGCR and ABO; those genome wide significantly associated with TG were near APOA1/C3/A4/A5 and LPL; those genome wide significantly associated with LDL were near HMGCR, ABO and TOMM40; and those genome wide significantly associated with HDL were near LPL, LIPC and CETP. In addition, an additive genotype score of eight SNPs representing the eight loci that were found to be associated with lipid levels was associated with higher TC, TG and LDL levels (P = 5.52 × 10(-16), 1.38 × 10(-6) and 5.59 × 10(-9), respectively). These findings suggest the cumulative effects of multiple genetic loci on plasma lipid levels. Comparisons with previous GWAS of lipids highlight heterogeneity in allele frequency and in effect size for some loci between Chinese and European populations. The results from our GWAS provided comprehensive and convincing evidence of the genetic determinants of plasma lipid levels in a Chinese population.

Background: Serum alkaline phosphatase (ALP) is a complex phenotype influenced by both genetic and environmental factors. Recent Genome-Wide Association Studies (GWAS) have identified several loci affecting ALP levels; however, such studies in Chinese populations are limited. We performed a GWAS analyzing the association between 658,288 autosomal SNPs and serum ALP in 1,461 subjects, and replicated the top SNPs in an additional 8,830 healthy Chinese Han individuals. The interactions between significant locus and environmental factors on serum ALP levels were further investigated., Results: The association between ABO locus and serum ALP levels was replicated (P = 2.50 × 10⁻²¹, 1.12 × 10⁻⁵⁶ and 2.82 × 10⁻²⁷ for SNP rs8176720, rs651007 and rs7025162 on ABO locus, respectively). SNP rs651007 accounted for 2.15% of the total variance of serum ALP levels independently of the other 2 SNPs. When comparing our findings with previously published studies, ethnic differences were observed across populations. A significant interaction between ABO rs651007 and overweight and obesity was observed (FDR for interaction was 0.036); for individuals with GG genotype, those with normal weight and those who were overweight or obese have similar serum ALP concentrations; minor allele A of rs651007 remarkably reduced serum ALP levels, but this effect was attenuated in overweight and obese individuals., Conclusions: Our findings indicate that ABO locus is a major determinant for serum ALP levels in Chinese Han population. Overweight and obesity modifies the effect of ABO locus on serum ALP concentrations.