The genetic basis of endometriosis and comorbidity with other pain and inflammatory conditions.

Endometriosis is a common condition associated with debilitating pelvic pain and infertility. A genome-wide association study meta-analysis, including 60,674 cases and 701,926 controls of European and East Asian descent, identified 42 genome-wide significant loci comprising 49 distinct association signals. Effect sizes were largest for stage 3/4 disease, driven by ovarian endometriosis.

A Multi-tissue Transcriptome Analysis of Human Metabolites Guides Interpretability of Associations Based on Multi-SNP Models for Gene Expression.

There is particular interest in transcriptome-wide association studies (TWAS) gene-level tests based on multi-SNP predictive models of gene expression-for identifying causal genes at loci associated with complex traits. However, interpretation of TWAS associations may be complicated by divergent effects of model SNPs on phenotype and gene expression. We developed an iterative modeling scheme for obtaining multi-SNP models of gene expression and applied this framework to generate expression models for 43 human tissues from the Genotype-Tissue Expression (GTEx) Project.

Occurrence and risk assessment of heavy metals and organochlorine pesticides in surface soils, Central Kenya.

Background: The present study investigated pollution in surface soils of five dominant land use types in central Kenya. The mean concentration of heavy metals (Zn, Hg, Cd, Cu, Cr, As and Ni) in (mg/kg) and two organochlorine pesticides (DDTs and HCHs) (μg/kg) were determined.

Method: Heavy metal contamination and potential ecological risk using the Nemerow pollution index and Hakanson ecological risk index respectively were used in examining pollution level.

Exome sequencing of 20,791 cases of type 2 diabetes and 24,440 controls.

Protein-coding genetic variants that strongly affect disease risk can yield relevant clues to disease pathogenesis. Here we report exome-sequencing analyses of 20,791 individuals with type 2 diabetes (T2D) and 24,440 non-diabetic control participants from 5 ancestries. We identify gene-level associations of rare variants (with minor allele frequencies of less than 0.

Concentrations, Sources, and Risk Assessment of Organohalogen Compounds in Soils from Kiambu to Mombasa, Kenya.

Concentrations, sources, and risk assessment of 16 organochlorinated pesticides (OCPs), seven polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and seven polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) were determined in soils from Kiambu to Mombasa in Kenya. The total concentrations of OCPs ranged between 7.62 and 76.

Monitoring of Endocrine-Disrupting Compounds in Surface Water and Sediments of the Three Gorges Reservoir Region, China.

Occurrence and distribution of eight selected endocrine-disrupting compounds (EDCs), including estrone (E1), 17α-ethinylestradiol (EE2), 17α-estradiol (αE2), 17β-estradiol (βE2), estriol (E3), bisphenol A (BPA), 4-nonylphenol (NP), and 4-octylphenol (OP), were investigated in surface water and sediments of the Three Gorges Reservoir region (TGRR). The mean concentrations of E1, αE2, βE2, E3, EE2, BPA, NP, and OP were 10.3, 3.

Microplastics pollution in inland freshwaters of China: A case study in urban surface waters of Wuhan, China.

Microplastics have been considered as an emerging pollutant in the aquatic environment. However, research about microplastic pollution in inland freshwaters of China is insufficient. The present study investigated the levels of microplastics in surface water of 20 urban lakes and urban reaches of the Hanjiang River and Yangtze River of Wuhan, the largest city in central China.

Polymorphism in a lincRNA Associates with a Doubled Risk of Pneumococcal Bacteremia in Kenyan Children.

Bacteremia (bacterial bloodstream infection) is a major cause of illness and death in sub-Saharan Africa but little is known about the role of human genetics in susceptibility. We conducted a genome-wide association study of bacteremia susceptibility in more than 5,000 Kenyan children as part of the Wellcome Trust Case Control Consortium 2 (WTCCC2). Both the blood-culture-proven bacteremia case subjects and healthy infants as controls were recruited from Kilifi, on the east coast of Kenya.

Ready-to-use therapeutic food with elevated n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid content, with or without fish oil, to treat severe acute malnutrition: a randomized controlled trial.

Background: Ready-to-use therapeutic foods (RUTF) are lipid-based pastes widely used in the treatment of acute malnutrition. Current specifications for RUTF permit a high n-6 polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) content and low n-3 PUFA, with no stipulated requirements for preformed long-chain n-3 PUFA. The objective of this study was to develop an RUTF with elevated short-chain n-3 PUFA and measure its impact, with and without fish oil supplementation, on children's PUFA status during treatment of severe acute malnutrition.