Plasma exosomes lncRNA-miRNA-mRNA network construction and its diagnostic efficacy identification in first-episode schizophrenia.

BACKGROUND: The exosomal lncRNA-miRNA-mRNA networks in first episode schizophrenia (FOS) have not reported yet. This study examined the lncRNA, miRNA and mRNA expression level in exosome derived from first episode schizophrenia (FOS) patients, and explored the the potential of exosomes as biomarkers for schizophrenia. METHODS: We recruited 10 FOS patients and healthy controls (HCs) respectively, examined the lncRNA, miRNA and mRNA expression level of plasma exosome by high throughput sequencing, constructed lncRNA-miRNA-mRNA network, and performed correlation analysis, GO and KEGG pathway analysis, PPI network construction and ROC analysis. RESULTS: There were 746 differently expressed lncRNA, 22 differently expressed miRNA, and 2637 differently expressed mRNA in plasma exosome in FOS compared with HCs. Then we constructed ceRNA network consisting of 8 down-regulated lncRNA, 7 up-regulated miRNA and 65 down-regulated mRNA, and 1 up-regulated lncRNA, 1 down-regulated miRNA and 4 up-regulated mRNA. The expression level of 1 lncRNA and 7 mRNA in exosomal network were correlated with PANSS score. GO and KEGG pathway analysis showed that 4 up-regulated mRNAs were enriched in neuropsychiatric system function. Down-regulated mRNA EZH2 and SIRT1 were identified as hub gene. Finally, we detected the ROC curve of ENSG00000251562, miR-26a-5p, EZH2, miR-22-3p, SIRT1, ENSG00000251562-miR-26a-5p-EZH2, ENSG00000251562-miR-22-3p-SIRT1, and found that the AUC of ceRNA network was higher than lncRNA, miRNA and mRNA alone. CONCLUSION: We constructed the lncRNA-miRNA-mRNA network in exosome derived from FOS plasma, and found that lncRNA-miRNA-mRNA network has potential as biomarkers for FOS.

Prevalence and severity of anxiety and depression in Chinese patients with breast cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Context: Anxiety/depression in breast cancer (BC) is common around the world, and Chinese BC patients should not be ignored. The prevalence of anxiety and depression among BC patients are various in different regions of China, but no clear summarization has been made. Purpose: This meta-analysis aimed to evaluate the prevalence and severity of anxiety and depression among breast cancer (BC) patients in China. Methods: A literature search on PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, CINAHL, Scopus, PsycINFO, Cochrane database library, CNKI, Wanfang, and SinoMed was conducted up to 29 December 2021. The effect size (ES) or standard mean difference (SMD) and the corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for the prevalence and severity of anxiety/depression were calculated using the STATA 12.0 software. Results: A total of 63 identified studies were included, containing a total of 53,513 Chinese women confirmed breast cancer. The results showed a high pooled prevalence of anxiety (38%, 95% CI, 27-50%, I2 = 99.4%, p < 0.001) and depression (38%, 95% CI, 33-44%, I2 = 99.2%, p < 0.001) among Chinese BC patients. Moreover, both anxiety (SMD = 0.30, 95% CI, 0.08-0.53, I2 = 91.6%, p < 0.001) and depression (SMD = 0.25, 95% CI, -0.05-0.55, I2 = 95.3%, p < 0.001) in BC patients were more serious than those in healthy controls, but not significantly different from patients with other diseases. Specifically, among the six regions included, the prevalence of anxiety and depression were both the highest in Northeast China, obviously superior than the second-highest region. Conclusion: The study showed high levels of anxiety and depression among BC patients in China, especially those in the northeast. Clinicians and researchers should pay attention to the psychological problems of patients with breast cancer and regard it as one of the important prognostic outcomes of patients. Systematic review registration: https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/index.php, PROSPERO: CRD42020151752.

Phenotypic characteristics of wild-type plague phage growth in different experimental environments / 中国热带医学

@#Abstract: Objective To observe the phenotypic characteristics of 3 wild-type plague phages under different experimental environments, providing scientific evidence for the identification of phage biological characteristics and the study of their interaction with host bacteria in the future. Methods The sensitivity of 3 wild-type plague phages were detected by using liquid culture method, emisolid medium method and micro-liquid culture method based on OmniLog TM microbial identification system. Results The growth result based on LB liquid medium showed that the growth of plague phage 476 for 20-24 hours at both 28 ℃ and 37 ℃was better than that of plague phages 087 and 072204 at 37 ℃, and the growth of plague phages 087 was better than that of plague phages 072204 at 37 ℃. With the attenuated plague bacterium EV76 as the host bacterium, phage 476 was able to form visible plaque on double-layer agar medium for 20-20 hours at both 28 ℃ and 37 ℃, phages 087 and 072204 were only able to form opaque plaque on double-layer agar medium for 20-24 hours at 37 ℃. The growth results based on OmniLogTM system showed that when plague phage was lysed in EV76 strain at 33 ℃, the first row appeared as a straight line with a peak of no more than 100 in the 96-well microplate curve chart. As the phage quantity decreased, the dilution plate appeared with growth curve similar to EV76 strain in turn, and the color of tetrazolium dyes in the experimental wells gradually deepened as the phage number decreased and the host bacteria number increased. Therefore, it indicates that phage 476 was sensitively at both 28 ℃ and 37 ℃, while phage 087 and 072204 were temperature-dependent only at 37 ℃ to attenuated plague bacterium EV76. Conclusions The lysing ability of 3 wild-type plague phages are temperature-dependent, and the growth results are consistent under the three experimental conditions.

Less Social Support for Patients With COVID-19: Comparison With the Experience of Nurses.

Context: Since December 2019, more than 80,000 patients have been diagnosed with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in China. Social support status of COVID-19 patients, especially the impact of social support on their psychological status and quality of life, needs to be addressed with increasing concern. Objectives: In this study, we used social support rating scale (SSRS) to investigate the social support in COVID-19 patients and nurses. Methods: The present study included 186 COVID-19 patients at a Wuhan mobile cabin hospital and 234 nurses at a Wuhan COVID-19 control center. Responses to a mobile phone app-based questionnaire about social support, anxiety, depression, and quality of life were recorded and evaluated. Results: COVID-19 patients scored significantly lower than nurses did on the Social Support Rating Scale (SSRS). Among these patients, 33.9% had anxiety symptoms, while 23.7% had depression symptoms. Overall SSRS, subjective social support scores and objective support scores of patients with anxiety were lower than those of patients without anxiety. This result was also found in depression. In addition, all dimensions of social support were positively correlated with quality of life. Interestingly, in all dimensions of social support, subjective support was found to be an independent predictive factor for anxiety, depression, and quality of life, whereas objective support was a predictive factor for quality of life, but not for anxiety and depression via regression analysis. Conclusion: Medical staffs should pay attention to the subjective feelings of patients and make COVID-19 patients feel respected, supported, and understood from the perspective of subjective support, which may greatly benefit patients, alleviate their anxiety and depression, and improve their quality of life.

Heterozygous PAX6 mutations may lead to hyper-proinsulinaemia and glucose intolerance: A case-control study in families with congenital aniridia.

AIM: PAX6 is a transcription factor involved in embryonic development of many organs, including the eyes and the pancreas. Mutations of PAX6 gene is the main cause of a rare disease, congenital aniridia (CA). This case-control study aims to investigate the effects of PAX6 mutations on glucose metabolism and insulin secretion in families with CA. METHODS: In all, 21 families with CA were screened by Sanger sequencing. Patients with PAX6 mutations and CA (cases) and age-matched healthy family members (controls) were enrolled. Oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) was performed to detect diabetes or impaired glucose tolerance (IGT). Insulin and proinsulin secretion were evaluated. RESULTS: Among 21 CA families, heterozygous PAX6 mutations were detected in five families. Among cases (n = 10) from the five families, two were diagnosed with newly identified diabetes and another two were diagnosed with IGT. Among controls (n = 12), two had IGT. The levels of haemoglobin A1c were 36 ± 4 mmol/mol (5.57 ± 0.46%) and 32 ± 5 mmol/L (5.21 ± 0.54%) in the cases and the controls, respectively (p = 0.049). More importantly, levels of proinsulin in the cases were significantly higher than that of the controls, despite similar levels of total insulin. The areas under the curve of proinsulin in the cases (6425 ± 4390) were significantly higher than that of the controls (3709 ± 1769) (p = 0.032). CONCLUSION: PAX6 may participate in the production of proinsulin to insulin and heterozygous PAX6 mutations may be associated with glucose metabolism in CA patients.

Role of angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 in neurodegenerative diseases during the COVID-19 pandemic.

SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2) uses the angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) receptor for infecting and spreading in humans. Studies have shown that the widespread expression of ACE2 in human tissues may be associated with organ function damage (e.g., lung, kidney, and stomach) in patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). However, in neurodegenerative diseases, whose pathogenesis is closely related to advanced age, ACE2 plays a neurotrophic and protective role by activating the ACE2/Ang-(1-7)/Mas axis, thus inhibiting cognitive impairment. Early reports have revealed that the elderly are more susceptible to COVID-19 and that elderly patients with COVID-19 have faster disease progression and higher mortality. Therefore, during the COVID-19 pandemic, it is crucial to understand the role of ACE2 in neurodegenerative diseases. In this paper, we review the relationship between COVID-19, neurodegenerative diseases, and ACE2, as well as provide recommendations for the protection of elderly patients with neurodegenerative diseases during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Molecular Model Construction and Evaluation of Jincheng Anthracite.

Despite its importance, limited representations of the anthracite models have been developed. The first molecular representation of Chinese Jincheng anthracite with the incorporation of diverse molecular structures was constructed based on the available analytical data. Three hundred individual aromatic sheets were first built based on the aromatic fringe distribution obtained from high-resolution transmission electron microscopy. Alkyl chains and nitrogen, sulfur, and oxygen heteroatoms were added in the aromatic skeletons to form diverse anthracite structural units based on 13C NMR, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and ultimate analyses. Fifty-five different anthracite molecules were formed by covalent cross-linking considering the constraint imposed by the molecular weight distribution of the Jincheng anthracite obtained from laser desorption time-of-flight mass spectrometry (LD-TOF MS). These molecules were packed into a three-dimensional cell to form a Jincheng anthracite model (C7730H3916O133N123S25). We showed that the proposed model can provide a reasonable representation of the Jincheng anthracite by comparing the simulated and experimental magnetic resonance spectroscopy, LD-TOF MS, density, and X-ray diffraction data. Because of the large, molecularly diverse structure, many anthracite behavioral processes can be further explored using this model in the future.

Vicarious traumatization in the general public, members, and non-members of medical teams aiding in COVID-19 control.

Since December 2019, more than 79,000 people have been diagnosed with infection of the Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). A large number of medical staff was sent to Wuhan city and Hubei province to aid COVID-19 control. Psychological stress, especially vicarious traumatization caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, should not be ignored. To address this concern, the study employed a total of 214 general public and 526 nurses (i.e., 234 front-line nurses and 292 non-front-line nurses) to evaluate vicarious traumatization scores via a mobile app-based questionnaire. Front-line nurses are engaged in the process of providing care for patients with COVID-19. The results showed that the vicarious traumatization scores for front-line nurses including scores for physiological and psychological responses, were significantly lower than those of non-front-line nurses (P < 0.001). Interestingly, the vicarious traumatization scores of the general public were significantly higher than those of the front-line nurses (P < 0.001); however, no statistical difference was observed compared to the scores of non-front-line nurses (P > 0.05). Therefore, increased attention should be paid to the psychological problems of the medical staff, especially non-front-line nurses, and general public under the situation of the spread and control of COVID-19. Early strategies that aim to prevent and treat vicarious traumatization in medical staff and general public are extremely necessary.

Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO)-assisted intratracheal tumor resection and carina reconstruction: A safer and more effective technique for resection and reconstruction.

Carina resection and reconstruction is required when a tracheal tumor invades the tracheal carina. It is a relatively complicated surgical procedure that requires complex reconstruction to maintain airway continuity. The technical difficulty lies in minimizing the influence of anesthetic endotracheal intubation and maintaining good ventilation function during surgery by establishing appropriate ventilation channels, which are contradictory in many cases. Therefore, in order to achieve the optimal surgical outcome, we performed intratracheal tumor resection and carina reconstruction with the help of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation.

From Hyper- to Hypoinsulinemia and Diabetes: Effect of KCNH6 on Insulin Secretion.

Glucose-stimulated insulin secretion from islet ß cells is mediated by KATP channels. However, the role of non-KATP K+ channels in insulin secretion is largely unknown. Here, we show that a non-KATP K+ channel, KCNH6, plays a key role in insulin secretion and glucose hemostasis in humans and mice. KCNH6 p.P235L heterozygous mutation co-separated with diabetes in a four-generation pedigree. Kcnh6 knockout (KO) or Kcnh6 p.P235L knockin (KI) mice had a phenotype characterized by changing from hypoglycemia with hyperinsulinemia to hyperglycemia with insulin deficiency. Islets from the young KO mice had increased intracellular calcium concentration and increased insulin secretion. However, islets from the adult KO mice not only had increased intracellular calcium levels but also had remarkable ER stress and apoptosis, associated with loss of ß cell mass and decreased insulin secretion. Therefore, dysfunction of KCNH6 causes overstimulation of insulin secretion in the short term and ß cell failure in the long term.

Correlation between normal range of serum alanine aminotransferase level and metabolic syndrome: A community-based study.

Serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) is a biomarker of hepatocyte damage. However, the relationship between normal range of serum ALT level and metabolic syndrome (MetS) has not been completely understood. This study aimed to investigate the correlation between normal range of serum ALT level and MetS.A total of 2453 participants from the Beijing Community Pre-Diabetes study were enrolled. Multiple linear regression analysis was performed to calculate the regression coefficient. Normal serum ALT levels were divided into quartiles. Logistic regression model was used to compare the relative risk of MetS, and the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve to calculate the optimal ALT boundary value for predicting MetS.The frequency of MetS increased with the ALT level within the normal range. Compared with the first group, the risk of MetS was greater in the other quartiles of ALT level in males, the difference was significant for the fourth group. For females, the risk of MetS increased with ALT level within the normal range as well, with all differences showing statistical significance. The optimal ALT boundary value of the ROC curve for males and females was 24.5 and 14.5 U/L, respectively.ALT was related to metabolic factors and used as one of the indicators to assess the morbidity risk of metabolic diseases.

Waist-to-height ratio is better than body mass index and waist circumference as a screening criterion for metabolic syndrome in Han Chinese adults.

Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is a major public health concern. Efficient screening requires criteria that are economical, easily accessible, and applicable for all populations. We aimed to compare the discriminating ability of body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), and waist-to-height ratio (WHtR) for the diagnosis of MetS in a Han Chinese population.Demographic information, obesity indices, and results of biochemical tests were collected from a cross-sectional sample of 8084 individuals (3619 men and 4465 women, 18-79 years old) from Changping District, Beijing, China. Areas under receiver operating characteristic curves (AUCs) and adjusted odd ratios of 3 obesity indices were analyzed and their optimal cutoffs were determined.For women, the AUCs demonstrated that WHtR was significantly more powerful than BMI and WC (both P < .05) for predicting MetS [WHtR, 0.857 (0.846-0.868); WC, 0.849 (0.837-0.860); BMI, 0.808 (0.795-0.821)]. For men, WHtR was significantly better than BMI [P < .05; WHtR, 0.859 (0.846-0.871); WC, 0.855 (0.843-0.868); BMI, 0.815 (0.802-0.829)]. The optimal cutoffs for WHtR for discriminating MetS were 0.51 in both genders. Multiple logistic regression confirmed the positive association between WHtR and the risk of MetS. In the nonobese subgroup, WHtR was also superior to BMI and WC for predicting MetS in men (P < .05) and better than BMI in women (P < .05).Among the obesity indices analyzed here, WHtR was the best for predicting MetS in Han Chinese adults, especially in nonobese adults.

An Increase in Normal SUA Level Within the Normal Range Predicts Risk of Metabolic Syndrome, Especially in Women: A Cross-Sectional Study.

This study was aimed to evaluate the relationship between normal serum uric acid (SUA) level and metabolic syndrome (MetS) risk. This cross-sectional study involved 1914 subjects with MetS and 3 659 healthy controls aged 18-79 years. All participants filled out questionnaires and underwent physical examination and blood sample collection for biochemical examination. Demographic and clinical characteristics data were analyzed by t-test or chi-squared test. Normal SUA levels were divided into quartiles. Associations between quartiles of normal SUA level and the risk of MetS were explored using logistic regression analysis and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis. Values of age, waist circumference, blood lipid, blood pressure, fasting plasma glucose, SUA, and body mass index were all higher in subjects with MetS than that of healthy controls significantly. The frequency of MetS increased with SUA level within the normal range. Compared with Q1, the risk of MetS was greater in the other quartiles of SUA level in men (OR, 1.495-2.288); this difference was significant for Q3 and Q4 (p<0.05), but not for Q2. Among women, the risk of MetS also increased with SUA level within the normal range, with all differences showing statistical significance (p<0.05). The area under the ROC curve of normal SUA level for MetS presence was larger for women than for men. In conclusion, the results provide support for the use of normal SUA level as a contributing clinical predictor of MetS, especially in women.

Efficacy of intermittent pneumatic compression for venous thromboembolism prophylaxis in patients undergoing gynecologic surgery: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

We sought to comprehensively assess the efficacy of Intermittent Pneumatic Compression (IPC) in patients undergoing gynecologic surgery. A computerized literature search was conducted in Pubmed, Embase and Cochrane Library databases. Seven randomized controlled trials involving 1001 participants were included. Compared with control, IPC significantly lowered the deep vein thrombosis (DVT) risk [risk ratio (RR) = 0.33, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.16 - 0.66]. The incidence of DVT in IPC and drugs group was similar (4.5% versus. 3.99%, RR = 1.19, 95% CI: 0.42 - 3.44). With regards to pulmonary embolism risk, no significant difference was observed in IPC versus control or IPC versus drugs. IPC had a lower postoperative transfusion rate than heparin (RR = 0.53, 95% CI: 0.32 - 0.89), but had a similar transfusion rate in operating room to low molecular weight heparin (RR = 1.06, 95% CI: 0.69 - 1.63). Combined use of IPC and graduated compression stockings (GCS) had a marginally lower risk of DVT than GCS alone (RR = 0.38, 95% CI: 0.14 - 1.03). In summary, IPC is effective in reducing DVT complications in gynecologic surgery. IPC is neither superior nor inferior to pharmacological thromboprophylaxis. However, whether combination of IPC and chemoprophylaxis is more effective than IPC or chemoprophylaxis alone remains unknown in this patient population.

Urine Proteome Specific for Eye Damage Can Predict Kidney Damage in Patients With Type 2 Diabetes: A Case-Control and a 5.3-Year Prospective Cohort Study.

OBJECTIVE: The predictive value of microalbuminuria (MAU) for kidney damage is limited in type 2 diabetes (T2D). We studied whether a urine proteome specific for sight-threatening proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR) is an indicator to predict chronic renal insufficiency (CRI) in patients with T2D. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: A shotgun urine proteomic analysis was performed in patients with MAU and PDR (case subjects) and in patients with MAU and a duration of T2D for >10 years but without any degree of retinopathy (control subjects). In the cohort study, 210 patients with T2D with an estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) ≥80 mL/min/1.73 m2 were followed for a median of 5.3 years. Urine proteins specific for PDR were used for predicting CRI (eGFR <60 mL/min/1.73 m2). RESULTS: The top two urine proteins with the highest difference in ratio of case subjects to control subjects were haptoglobin (8.7 times; P < 0.0001) and α-2-macroglobulin (5.7 times; P < 0.0001). In the cohort study, patients with baseline urinary haptoglobin ≥20 ng/min (haptoglobinuria) had a higher incidence of CRI than those without (hazard ratio [95% CI] 3.27 [1.41-7.58]; P = 0.006). The overall CRI rate was 3.2% for patients without haptoglobinuria or MAU, 9.5% for those with MAU, and 13.3% for those with haptoglobinuria. The highest rate for CRI (22.4%) was in patients with both MAU and haptoglobinuria (P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Urine haptoglobin, which is specific for PDR, is a novel biomarker and complement to urine albumin for predicting kidney damage in patients with T2D.

High Prevalence of Diabetic Retinopathy in Diabetic Patients Concomitant with Metabolic Syndrome.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the relationship between metabolic syndrome (MetS) and the prevalence of diabetic retinopathy (DR). RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: We conducted a case-controlled study, with data obtained from 2,551 Chinese participants between 18-79 years of age (representing a population of 1,660,500 in a district of Beijing). 74 cases of DR were found following data assessment by two 45° digital retinal images. Subjects without DR (NDR group) selected from the remaining 2,477 subjects were matched 1:1 to the DR group by HbA1c. MetS was defined by incorporating diagnostic criteria of the American Heart Association/National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (AHA/NHLBI) and the International Diabetes Federation (IDF). RESULTS: There were no statistical differences between the DR group and NDR group in a number of biological or laboratory tests. However, the percentage of patients with DR increased vs. patients without DR with the number of MetS components from 1 to 5 (14.3% vs. 85.7%, 38.9% vs. 61.1%, 49.1% vs. 50.9%, 61.4% vs. 38.6% and 83.3% vs. 16.7%, respectively) (Pearson χ2 = 9.938, P = 0.037). The trend to develop DR with MetS was significantly higher than that without MetS (NMetS) (χ2 = 5.540, P = 0.019). MetS was an independent statistical indicator of the presence of DR after adjusting for age and sex [odds ratio (95% CI): 2.701(1.248-5.849), P = 0.012], which is still the case with an additional adjustment for WC, SBP, TC, HbA1c and duration of diabetes [odds ratio (95% CI): 2.948(1.134-7.664), P = 0.027]. CONCLUSION: DR is one of the diabetic microvascular complications. Apart from poor glycemic control, the concomitance of other metabolic factors can also influence DR. MetS, defined as a cluster of metabolic risk factors, is a strong and independent indicator of DR, even to the same extent as glycemic control.

[The pathogenic ecology research on plague in Qinghai plateau].

OBJECTIVE: To study the pathogenic ecology characteristics of plague in Qinghai plateau. METHODS: Applied molecular biology techniques, conventional technologies and geographic information system (GIS) to study phenotypic traits, plasmid spectrum, genotype, infected host and media spectrum etc.of 952 Yersinia pestis strains in Qinghai plateau plague foci, which were separated from different host and media in different regions during 1954 to 2012. RESULTS: The ecotypes of these strains were Qingzang plateau (91.49%, 871/952),Qilian mountain (6.41%, 61/952) and Microtus fuscus (1.26%, 12/952).83.6% (796/952) of these strains contained all the 4 virulence factors (Fr1, Pesticin1,Virulence antigen, and Pigmentation), 93.26% (367/392) were velogenic strains confirmed by virulence test.725 Yersinia pestis strains were separated from Qinghai plateau plague foci carried 9 kinds of plasmid, among which 713 strains from Marmot himalayan plague foci carried 9 kinds of plasmid, the Mr were 6×10(6), 7×10(6), 23×10(6), 27×10(6), 30×10(6), 45×10(6), 52×10(6), 65×10(6) and 92×10(6) respectively. 12 Yersinia pestis strains were separated from Microtus fuscus plague foci carried only 3 kinds of plasmid, the Mr were 6×10(6), 45×10(6), 65×10(6). Meanwhile, the strains carrying large plasmid (52×10(6), 65×10(6) and 92×10(6)) were only distributed in particular geographical location, which had the category property. The research also confirmed that 841 Yersinia pestis strains from two kinds of plague foci in Qinghai plateau had 11 genomovars. The strains of Marmot himalayan plague foci were given priority to genomovar 5 and 8, amounted to 611 strains, genomovar 8 accounted for 56.00% (471/841), genomovar 5 accounted for 23.07% (194/841). Besides, 3 new genomovars, including new 1(62 strains), new 2(52 strains), new 3(48 strains) were newly founded, and 12 strains of Microtus fuscus plague foci were genomovar 14. CONCLUSION: The main host and media of Qinghai plateau plague foci directly affected the spatial distribution regularities of plague epidemic and the pathogens characteristics, meanwhile the polymorphism of plague ecological geographic landscape leds to the complexity of Yersinia pestis' genotype.

Identifying obesity indicators which best correlate with type 2 diabetes in a Chinese population.

BACKGROUND: Obesity has been shown to be a prognostic indicator of type 2 diabetes (T2D); however, the power of different obesity indicators in the detection of T2D remains controversial. This study evaluates the detecting power of body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) and waist-to-height ratio (WHTR) for the presence of T2D in undiagnosed diabetics among the Chinese population. METHODS: Individuals were selected from an ongoing large-scale population-based Beijing Community Pre-Diabetes (BCPD) study cohort. The oral glucose tolerance tests (OGTT) were performed to diagnose diabetes. A total of 220 new cases of T2D and 1,868 normal blood glucose subjects were analyzed. ROC curve analyses were used to compare the association of different obesity indicators with T2D and determine the optimal cut-off points of the best predictor for identifying T2D in men and women. RESULTS: All indicators positively correlated with presence of T2D in both men and women. In women, WC, WHR and WHTR were similar, but were better in identifying T2D when compared to BMI (P < 0.0001, P=0.0016 and P=0.0001, respectively). In men, WC, WHTR and BMI were similar, but WC and WHTR were better than WHR (P=0.0234, P=0.0101, respectively). For women, 86 cm was the optimal WC cut-off point, and its sensitivity and specificity were 0.714 and 0.616; for men, the optimal cut-off point was 90 cm, and its sensitivity and specificity were 0.722 and 0.571. CONCLUSION: Compared with BMI, WHR and WHTR, WC is a simple and accurate measure for predicting T2D in the Chinese population.

Contributions of renin-angiotensin system-related gene interactions to obesity in a Chinese population.

BACKGROUND: Gene-gene interactions may be partly responsible for complex traits such as obesity. Increasing evidence suggests that the renin-angiotensin system (RAS) contributes to the etiology of obesity. How the epistasis of genes in the RAS contributes to obesity is still under research. We aim to evaluate the contribution of RAS-related gene interactions to a predisposition of obesity in a Chinese population. METHODOLOGY AND PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We selected six single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) located in angiotensin (AGT), angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE), angiotensin type 1 receptor (AGTR1), MAS1, nitric oxide synthase 3 (NOS3) and the bradykinin B2 receptor gene (BDKRB2), and genotyped them in 324 unrelated individuals with obesity (BMI ≥ 28 kg/m(2)) and 373 non-obese controls (BMI 18.5 to <24 kg/m(2)) from a large scale population-based cohort. We analyzed gene-gene interactions among 6 polymorphic loci using the Generalized Multifactor Dimensionality Reduction (GMDR) method, which has been shown to be effective for detecting gene-gene interactions in case-control studies with relatively small samples. Then we used logistic regression models to confirm the best combination of loci identified in the GMDR. It showed a significant gene-gene interaction between the rs220721 polymorphism in the MAS1 gene and the rs1799722 polymorphism in the gene BDKB2R. The best two-locus combination scored 9 for cross-validation consistency and 9 for sign test (p = 0.0107). This interaction showed the maximum consistency and minimum prediction error among all gene-gene interaction models evaluated. Moreover, the combination of the MAS1 rs220721 and the BDKRB2 rs1799722 was associated with a significantly increased risk of obesity (OR 1.82, CI 95%: 1.15-2.88, p = 0.0103). CONCLUSIONS AND SIGNIFICANCE: These results suggest that the SNPs from the RAS-related genes may contribute to the risk of obesity in an interactive manner in a Chinese population. The gene-gene interaction may serve as a novel area for obesity research.