Genome-wide association study identifying novel risk variants associated with glycaemic traits in the continental African AWI-Gen cohort.

Aims/hypothesis: Glycaemic traits such as high fasting glucose levels and insulin resistance are positively associated with the risk of type 2 diabetes and other cardiometabolic diseases. Genetic association studies have identified hundreds of associations for each glycaemic trait, yet very few studies have involved continental African populations. We report the results of genome-wide association studies (GWASs) in a pan-African cohort for four glycaemic traits, namely fasting glucose, fasting insulin, insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) and beta cell function (HOMA-B), which are quantitative variables that affect the risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

A Novel Differentiation Nomogram Model for Brucellar Spondylitis and Tuberculous Spondylitis.

Background: Tuberculous spondylitis (TS) and brucellar spondylitis (BS) exhibit certain similarities in clinical presentation and imaging characteristics, making differential diagnosis challenging. Developing a reliable differential diagnosis model can assist clinicians in distinguishing between these two conditions at an early stage, allowing for targeted prevention and treatment strategies.

Methods: Patients diagnosed with TS and BS were retrospectively collected and randomized into training and validation cohorts (ratio 7:3).

Dynamic evaluation and prediction of the ecological environment quality of the urban agglomeration on the northern slope of Tianshan Mountains.

In order to timely determine the dynamic changes of the ecological environment quality and future development laws of the urban agglomeration on the northern slope of the Tianshan Mountains, combined with the actual situation of the urban agglomeration, 11 indicators were selected from the three aspects of natural ecology, social ecology, and economic ecology. To reduce the dimensions of the indicators, principal component analysis, coefficient of variation, and analytic hierarchy process were used based on RS and GIS technology methods, and the ecological environmental quality (EQI) from 2000 to 2018 was dynamically evaluated. Further, the CA-Markov model was introduced to simulate the development status in 2026 for predictive purposes.

Study of coordinated development of county urbanization in arid areas of China: The case of Xinjiang.

Urbanization is a comprehensive process of mutual influence among the population, economy, society and living environment, and it depends on the synergy of a series of factors. This paper uses the statistical data of 76 counties in Xinjiang from 1996 to 2018 to construct a comprehensive urbanization evaluation system. Based on the entropy method, comprehensive evaluation model and coupling coordination model, from the scales of time and space, this paper discusses the current situation of the coordinated development of population, economy, society and living environment factors in counties in Xinjiang in the process of urbanization.

Spatial Pattern Analysis of Xinjiang Tourism Resources Based on Electronic Map Points of Interest.

This study considers the Point of Interest data of tourism resources in Xinjiang and studies their spatial distribution by combining geospatial analysis methods, such as the average nearest neighbor index, standard deviation ellipse, kernel density analysis, and hotspot analysis, to explore their spatial distribution characteristics. Based on the analysis results, the following conclusions are made. Different categories of tourism resource sites have different spatial distributions, and all categories of tourism resources in Xinjiang are clustered in Urumqi city.

Carbon emissions index decomposition and carbon emissions prediction in Xinjiang from the perspective of population-related factors, based on the combination of STIRPAT model and neural network.

In the present study, the STIRPAT model was adopted to examine the impacts of several factors on dioxide emissions using the time series data from 2000 to 2019 in Xinjiang. The said factors included population aging, urbanization, household size, per capita GDP, number of vehicles, per capita mutton consumption, education level, and household direct energy consumption structure. Findings were made that the positive effects of urbanization, per capita GDP, per capita mutton consumption and education on carbon emissions were obvious; the number of vehicles had the biggest positive impact on carbon dioxide emissions; and household size and household direct energy consumption structure had a significantly negative impact on carbon emissions.

Isolation, structural characterization, biological activity, and application of Glycyrrhiza polysaccharides: Systematic review.

Glycyrrhiza, one of the most widely used Chinese herbal medicines, is a perennial plant with good medicinal value. Polysaccharides as one of the main bioactive components of Glycyrrhiza, mainly composed of arabinose, glucose, galactose, rhamnose, mannose, xylose, and galacturonic acid in different proportions and types of glycosidic bonds. Glycyrrhiza polysaccharides (GP) have many biological activities, such as anti-oxidation, immune regulation, anti-tumor, apoptosis, anti-microbial, anti-inflammatory and regulation of intestinal flora.

[Correlation between transient receptor potential canonical channel with heart and kidney injure of rat model of obstructive sleep apnea hypopnea syndrome].

Objective: To investigate the expression of transient receptor potential canonical channels (TRPCs) in the heart and kidney of rat model of obstructive sleep apnea hypopnea syndrome (OSAHS).

Methods: Eighteen male SD rats were randomly assigned to intermittent hypoxia (IH) group (=9 ) and control group (=9). In IH group, rats were placed in a chamber and exposed to intermittent hypoxia for 8h (10AM-6PM) daily.

Transient receptor potential canonical 5 channel is involved in the cardiac damage related to obstructive sleep apnea-hypopnea syndrome in rats.

Background: Obstructive sleep apnea-hypopnea syndrome (OSAHS) is recognized as an independent risk factor of cardiovascular disease. The release of Ca2+ mediated by transient receptor potential canonical (TRPC) channels participates in the hypoxia-induced pathophysiological changes in the cardiovascular systems in case of OSAHS. This study aimed to investigate which subtypes of TRPCs were involved in OSAHS in a rat model of intermittent hypoxia.

Deletion Polymorphism of Angiotensin Converting Enzyme Gene is Associated with Left Ventricular Hypertrophy in Uighur Hypertension-Obstructive Sleep Apnea Hypopnea Syndrome (OSAHS) Patients.

BACKGROUND This study aimed to explore the association of angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) gene insertion/deletion polymorphisms with left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) in Han and Uighur hypertension-OSAHS (obstructive sleep apnea hypopnea syndrome) patients in China. MATERIAL AND METHODS A total of 162 Han and 72 Uygur patients with hypertension-OSAHS were independently subdivided into an LVH group and a non-LVH (NLVH) group based on the left ventricular mass index. The insertion/deletion polymorphisms of ACE gene were determined by polymerase chain reaction.

Pollution assessment and health risks evaluation of (metalloid) heavy metals in urban street dust of 58 cities in China.

In this research, we conducted a statistical analysis of ten (metalloid) heavy metals, including Cu, Hg, Cd, Zn, Pb, As, Ni, Cr, Co, and Mn in urban dust of 58 cities in China from 2000 to 2018, and then we analyzed the statistic characters, pollution statue, and health risks of ten heavy metals. Results showed that (1) the maximum (average) values of ten (metalloid) heavy metals in the street dust of 58 Chinese cities all exceeded Chinese background values, and there were obvious differences in contents of heavy metals of Hg, Zn, Co, Cr, and As between industry cities and common cities. A provincial spatial distribution analysis revealed large variations of distributions of heavy metals Cu, Zn, Pb, and Cr, which distributed in cities mainly located in southern, central, and eastern China, ranging from relatively low to high levels, while Ni, Co, and Mn mainly distributed in southern and central China.

[Influencing factors of renal function in hypertensive patients with obstructive sleep apnea-hypopnea syndrome].

Objective: To investigate the related factors of renal functions in hypertensive patients with obstructive sleep apnea-hypopnea syndrome (OSAHS).

Methods: A total of 438 hypertensive patients with complain of snoring at night were enrolled in the study from the First teaching Hospital of Xinjiang Medical University during March 2011 and March 2014. The diagnosis of OSAHS was confirmed with polysomnography examination, and the patients were divided into 4 groups according to the apnea hypoventilation index (AHI): hypertensive group (AHI<10/h, n=102), mild OSAHS group (AHI 10-<15/h, n=97), moderate OSAHS group (AHI 15-<30/h, n=149), and severe OSAHS group (AHI≥30/h, n=90).

Analysis of Early Kidney Injury-Related Factors in Patients with Hypertension and Obstructive Sleep Apnea Hypopnea Syndrome (OSAHS).

Objective: The aim of this study was to analyze the related factors of obstructive sleep apnea hypopnea syndrome (OSAHS) that would affect early kidney injury in patients with hypertension (Hyp).

Methods: A total of 457 Hyp patients with nocturnal snoring were selected for polysomnography (PSG). The patients were divided into four groups according to the apnea hypopnea index (AHI), and the related factors that would impact blood urea, creatinine, 24 hr urinary protein (24 hr UTP), 24 h urinary microalbuminuria and serum cystatin C (Cyst C) were analyzed in the groups.

Associations of plasma atrial natriuretic peptide and electrolyte levels with essential hypertension.

This study aimed to investigate the associations among the levels of plasma atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) and electrolytes and essential hypertension (EH) in Uygur, Han and Kazakh populations in Xinjiang. A total of 724 hypertensive participants of different ethnicities from Xinjiang (208 Uygur, 287 Han and 229 Kazakh) and 741 normal controls (208 Uygur, 267 Han and 266 Kazakh) were enrolled. The associations of ANP with serum potassium, serum sodium and blood pressure were assessed.