Association between obesity indicators and cardiovascular risk factors among adults in low-income Han Chinese from southwest China.

There may be differences in optimal anthropometric cut-offs for diagnosing obesity among different regions of China. However, there has been little studies about choosing effective obesity indicators in Han People of low-income Chinese adults in southwest China. The purpose of this study was to compare and evaluate the associations between different obesity indicators and cardiovascular disease risk factors (CVDRF) and choose the optimal cut-off values.A cross-sectional study was carried out in southwest of China, with multi-stage sampling enrolling 2112 subjects aged 20 to 80 years old. Anthropometric measurements included Body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), Hip circumference, waist-to-hip ratio (WHR), and waist-to-height ratio (WHtR). We measured the percentage of body fat (PBF) by bioelectrical impedance analyzer to assess the body composition. The validity of different obesity indicators in assessing CVDRF risk were assessed through comparison area under curve of different indicators in assessing CVDRF risk in different gender. Logistic regression models were used to evaluate the association between the obesity indicators and CVDRF.When both male and female were considered, the optimal indicators were WHtR and percentage of body fat PBF for hypertension, WHR and WHtR for dyslipidemia. Both WC and WHtR were optimal indicators in assessing metabolic syndrome risk for both genders. When both disease and gender were considered, WHtR was the best associated indicators with various CVDRF. The cut-off of BMI and WC were consistent to the definition of obesity in Working Group of China. The WHtR positively correlated with the CVDRF. The cut-off of WHtR to do what was approximately 0.50 for adults in both genders in southwest of China.WHtR may be the best associated indicators for obesity-related CVDRF among the others (BMI, WC, Hip circumference, PBF, and WHR) in southwest of China. The cut-off of WHtR was approximately 0.50 for adults in both genders in southwest of China.

Genomic and transcriptomic analysis of the Asian honeybee Apis cerana provides novel insights into honeybee biology.

The Asian honeybee Apis cerana is one of two bee species that have been commercially kept with immense economic value. Here we present the analysis of genomic sequence and transcriptomic exploration for A. cerana as well as the comparative genomic analysis of the Asian honeybee and the European honeybee A. mellifera. The genome and RNA-seq data yield new insights into the behavioral and physiological resistance to the parasitic mite Varroa the evolution of antimicrobial peptides, and the genetic basis for labor division in A. cerana. Comparison of genes between the two sister species revealed genes specific to A. cerana, 54.5% of which have no homology to any known proteins. The observation that A. cerana displayed significantly more vigilant grooming behaviors to the presence of Varroa than A. mellifera in conjunction with gene expression analysis suggests that parasite-defensive grooming in A. cerana is likely triggered not only by exogenous stimuli through visual and olfactory detection of the parasite, but also by genetically endogenous processes that periodically activates a bout of grooming to remove the ectoparasite. This information provides a valuable platform to facilitate the traits unique to A. cerana as well as those shared with other social bees for health improvement.

Disparities in Hypertension Prevalence, Awareness, Treatment and Control between Bouyei and Han: Results from a Bi-Ethnic Health Survey in Developing Regions from South China.

Hypertension is highly prevalent in low-income population. This study aims to investigate ethnic disparities in hypertension and identify modifiable factors related to its occurrence and control in developing regions in South China. Blood pressure was measured in the Bouyei and Han populations during a community-based health survey in Guizhou, 2012. A multistage stratified sampling method was adopted to recruit Bouyei and Han aged from 20 to 80 years. Taking mixed effects into consideration, multilevel logistic models with random intercept were used for data analysis. The prevalence rates of hypertension were 35.3% for the Bouyei and 33.7% for the Han. Among the hypertensive participants, 30.1% of the Bouyei and 40.2% of the Han were aware of their hypertensive conditions, 19.7% of the Bouyei and 31.1% of the Han were receiving treatment, and only 3.6% of the Bouyei and 9.9% of the Han had their blood pressure under control. Age-sex standardized rates of awareness, treatment, and control were consistently lower in the Bouyei than the Han. Such ethnic disparities were more evident in the elderly population. Avoidance of excessive alcohol consumption and better education were favorable lifestyle for reduction in risk of hypertension. Moderate physical activity improved control of hypertension in Bouyei patients under treatment. Conclusively, hypertension awareness, treatment, and control were substantially lower in Bouyei than Han, particularly in the elderly population. Such ethnic disparities indicate that elderly Bouyei population should be targeted for tailored interventions in the future.

[Epidemiology of injury and risk factors among adults in Guizhou province, 2010].

OBJECTIVE: To understand the epidemiologic characteristics of injury among adults in Guizhou province. METHODS: A questionnaire survey was conducted among 9 280 residents aged ≥18 years selected though multistage cluster random sampling in Guizhou to collect the information about their demographic characteristics and incidence data of injury. Logistic regression analysis was done to identify the risk factors. RESULTS: The incidence of injury was 3.5% in the adults surveyed (3.6% in males, 3.4% in females). The incidences of injury in both urban area and rural area were same (3.5%). The incidence of injury was 3.9% in age group 18-44 years, 2.7% in age group 45-59 years, and 3.5% in age group≥60 years, the differences among different age groups were statistically significant (χ2=7.949, P=0.019). The top three injury causes were fall (35.0%), road traffic accident (20.0%) and animal bite (19.2%). The top three injury causes in the elderly were fall (59.3%), animal bite (22.0%) and sharp instrument cut (10.2%). Among the elderly, the incidence of road traffic injury was higher in males (1.1%) than in females (0.3%), the difference was statistically significant (χ2=18.156, P=0.000). The incidence of fall in urban area (1.6%) was higher than that in rural area (1.1%), the difference was statistically significant (χ2=4.616, P=0.032). Drinking and drunk driving, fatigue driving, smoking and gender were the influencing factors for injury. CONCLUSION: Injury related high risk behaviors were common in adults in Guizhou, it is necessary to develop effective intervention measures to prevent injury.

Prevalence of Obesity and Related Factors among Bouyei and Han Peoples in Guizhou Province, Southwest China.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the prevalence of general and abdominal obesity and associated factors in Bouyei and Han peoples. DESIGN: A cross-sectional study was carried out in Guizhou province, southwest China in 2012, with multi-stage sampling to enroll 4551 participants aged 20 to 80 years. General and abdominal obesity were defined by World Health Organization (WHO) for Chinese. A design-based analysis was performed to evaluate prevalence of obesity and its related factors. RESULTS: Bouyei people had a significantly lower prevalence of general obesity (4.8% vs. 10.9%, p < 0.05) and abdominal obesity (13.6% vs. 26.8%, p < 0.05) than that in Han people. Prevalence of obesity increased with age until middle-age period and declined thereafter. Men aged 40-49 years group and women aged 50-59 years group have the highest prevalence of general obesity. Prevalence of abdominal obesity was higher than that of general obesity. Middle-age, Higher income, Han people were significantly associated with an increased risk of General/abdominal obesity. CONCLUSIONS: Bouyei people had a lower prevalence of general and abdominal obesity than the Han people. Etiological studies should be conducted to determine underlying genetic factors and dietary factors.

[Prevalence and associated risk factors of diabetes among ethnic Han residents in Guizhou].

OBJECTIVE: To understand the fast plasma glucose (FPG) level and the epidemiologic characteristics of diabetes in ethnic Han residents of Guizhou province. METHODS: The survey was conducted among the ethnic Han residents aged 20-80 years, who were selected through multi stage cluster sampling in Guizhou. Basic laboratory test, physical examination were performed for each subject. RESULTS: A total of 2 967 subjects were surveyed. The average FPG level was 5.21 mmol/L for urban residents and 5.03 mmol/L for rural residents, (P<0.001) and the average FPG level was higher in males than in females (5.23 mmol/L vs. 5.09 mmol/L, P=0.003). The FPG level increased with age (P<0.001). In urban residents, the standardized prevalence of diabetes was 6.01% (crude prevalence: 7.45%), higher in males than in females (P<0.001) and increased with age. In rural residents, the standardized prevalence of diabetes was 3.47% (crude prevalence: 3.77%) and increased with age, but there was no sex specific difference in diabetes prevalence. The awareness rate of self diabetes status was 56.59%, the treatment rate was 84.47% and the plasma glucose control rate was 41.38%. Multiple logistic regression analysis indicated that risk factors for diabetes included being male, older than 40 years, family history of diabetes, frequent physical exercise, hypertension, high triglycerid level. CONCLUSION: The prevalence of diabetes was high in ethnic Han residents in Guizhou, the differences in diabetes prevalence between urban area and rural area was statistical significant. More than half of the patients' FPG level had not been under control after treatment. The awareness rate of self diabetes status, the treatment rate and the control rate of diabetes should be improved.

Global identification of transcription start sites in the genome of Apis mellifera using 5'LongSAGE.

The precise identification of the transcription start sites (TSSs) of genes in the honeybee genome will be helpful for inferring start codons and for determining promoter elements. The 5'SAGE approach provides a powerful tool for identifying TSSs in the sequenced genome. The main purpose of this study is to identify the actual TSSs of expressed genes as well as the usage of different TSSs in the Apis mellifera genome. We performed a 5'LongSAGE (5'LS) analysis for the adult drone head, and the TSSs of the expressed genes were determined by mapping the 5'LS tag sequences to the honeybee genome. A total of 8,280 unique 19 bp 5'LS tag sequences were identified that corresponded to 3,655 predicted genes. Out of these tags, 4,998 tags (60.4%) were mapped to a region from -1,000 bp to +100 bp of the start codon of 2,301 reference coding sequences. Notably, we observed that 28-47% of the 3,655 honeybee genes initiated transcription from alternative TSSs. The TSS consensus pattern of the honeybee genes, DT(rich) PyPu(G(rich))(T/A)(T(rich))(3), was obtained by aligning the sequences flanking the 5'LS-TSSs. We also identified three new genes in the regions downstream of 5'LS tags and validated 21 TSSs using RT-PCR amplification. Additionally, 17 genes identified by the 5'LS tags were associated with the Gene Ontology term "behavior." Mapping of the 5'LS tags on the genome not only provided direct evidence of expression for in silico predicted genes but also allowed for the identification of previously unrecognized, novel exons and alternative TSSs.

Proteomic characterization of royal jelly proteins in Chinese (Apis cerana cerana) and European (Apis mellifera) honeybees.

In this study, the proteins contained in royal jelly (RJ) derived from Chinese and European honeybees have been analyzed in detail and compared. Remarkable differences were found in the heterogeneity of major royal jelly proteins (MRJPs), MRJP2 and MRJP3, in terms of molecular weight and isoelectric points between the two species of RJ. MRJP2 and MRJP3 produced by Chinese honeybee are less polymorphic than those produced by European honeybee. This study is a contribution to the description of the royal jelly proteome.

Estimating the population of female sex workers in two Chinese cities on the basis of the HIV/AIDS behavioural surveillance approach combined with a multiplier method.

OBJECTIVE: To estimate the size of the population of female sex workers (FSWs) on the basis of the HIV/AIDS behavioural surveillance approach in two Chinese cities, using a multiplier method. METHOD: Relevant questions were inserted into the questionnaires given to two behavioural surveillance groups-female attendees of sexually transmitted disease (STD) clinics and FSWs. The size of the FSW population was derived by multiplying the number of FSWs in selected STD clinics during the study period by the proportion of FSW population who reported having attended the selected STD clinics during the same period. RESULTS: The size of the FSW population in the urban area of Xingyi, China, was estimated to be about 2500 (95% CI 2000 to 3400). This accounted for 3.6% of the total urban adult female population. There were an estimated 17,500 FSWs in the urban area of Guiyang, China (95% CI 10,300 to 31,900) or about 3.4% of its total urban adult female population (rounded to the nearest 100). CONCLUSIONS: The multiplier method could be a useful and cost-effective approach to estimate the FSW population, especially suitable in countries where HIV behavioural surveillance has been established in high-risk populations.

The rice 14-3-3 gene family and its involvement in responses to biotic and abiotic stress.

14-3-3 proteins function as major regulators of primary metabolism and cellular signal transduction in plants. However, their involvement in plant defense and stress responses is largely unknown. In order to better address functions of the rice 14-3-3/GF14 proteins in defense and abiotic stress responses, we examined the rice GF14 family that comprises eight numbers. The phylogenetic comparison with the Arabidopsis 14-3-3 family revealed that the majority of rice GF14s might have evolved as an independent branch. At least four rice GF14 genes, GF14b, GF14c, GF14e and Gf14f were differentially regulated in the interactions of rice-Magnaporthe grisea and rice-Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae, and the incompatible interactions stronger induced the genes than the compatible interactions. These GF14 genes were also induced by the defense compounds, benzothiadiazole, methyl jasmonate, ethephon and hydrogen peroxide. Similarly, they were differentially regulated by salinity, drought, wounding and abscisic acid. Tissue-specific analysis and expression of GF14-YFP fusions revealed that the four GF14 isoforms were expressed with tissue specificity and accumulated differentially in the cytoplasm and nucleus. Our current study provides fundamental information for the further investigation of the rice GF14 proteins.