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Background: Hirschsprung disease (HSCR) is a hereditary defect, which is characterized by the absence of enteric ganglia and is frequently concurrent with Hirschsprung-associated enterocolitis (HAEC). However, the pathogenesis for HSCR is complicated and remains unclear. Recent studies have shown that pro-inflammatory cytokines such as interleukin-11 (IL-11) are involved in the enteric nervous system's progress. It was found that IL-11 SNPs (rs8104023 and rs4252546) are associated with HSCR in the Korean population waiting for replication in an independent cohort. This study evaluated the relationship between IL-11 and the susceptibility of patients to HSCR by performing subphenotype interaction examination, HAEC pre-/post-surgical patient-only association analysis, and independence testing. Methods: In this study, a cohort consisting of children from Southern China, comprising 1470 cases and 1473 controls, was chosen to examine the relationship between two polymorphisms (rs8104023 and rs4252546 in IL-11) and susceptibility to HSCR by replication research, subphenotype association analysis, and independence testing. Results: The results showed that IL-11 gene polymorphisms (rs8104023 and rs4252546) are not associated with the risk of HSCR in the Chinese population. The results of both short-segment and long-segment (S-HSCR and L-HSCR) surgery (3.34 ≤ OR ≤ 4.05, 0.02 ≤ P ≤ 0.04) showed that single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) rs8104023 is associated with susceptibility to HAEC. Conclusions: This study explored the relationship between genetic polymorphisms and susceptibility to HAEC in HSCR subtypes for the first time. These findings should be replicated in a larger and multicentre study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effect of wind on summer water temperature trends in a semi-closed bay (Tokyo Bay, Japan) is examined through several numerical experiments using a high-resolution three-dimensional ocean model. The model is executed under no-wind and uniform southerly/northerly wind conditions, and monthly mean currents and temperature distributions and heat transport in Tokyo Bay for July are calculated. The model results show that wind has a significant effect on heat transport and temperature distribution in the bay. (1) When a southerly wind prevails northward cool water transport intensifies while southward warm water transport declines, thus decreasing the water temperature in the central bay area while increasing temperature at the bay head. (2) A northerly wind has an opposing effect and decreases the water temperature in coastal bay head area while increase the temperature along the southwest coast. The results also suggest that the trend of increasing southerly wind amplitude may have affected water temperature trends in Tokyo Bay from 1979 to 1997. The model results demonstrated that the an intensified southerly wind lowers water temperatures in most areas of the bay by enhancing upwelling and open ocean-water intrusion near the bay mouth while increases temperatures in the bottom layer of the bay head by suppressing southward warm water transport. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The hydrodynamics of an idealized estuarine plume along a straight coast are studied using a three-dimensional hydrodynamical module of the Coupled Hydrodynamical Ecological Model for Regional Shelf Seas. The sensitivity of the solution with respect to river discharge, bottom roughness length, and the presence or absence of tides are studied. Assuming constant water depth and no wind forcing, modeled results for the surface layer are obtained, including: (1) variation in the horizontal shape of the plume; (2) horizontal distribution of the current vector; and (3) horizontal distribution of the salinity field within the plume over one tidal cycle. Effects of three different river discharges, four selected different bottom roughness lengths, and tides on its development are examined. Results suggest: (1) the plume length naturally increases through time under tidal forcing or as well as without tidal forcing, but its width shows approximately periodic variation; (2) both the plume width and length increase with increasing river discharge; (3) both the plume width and length decrease with increasing four selected bottom roughness lengths; and (4) both the bulge and coastal current of the plume are more evident without the presence of tidal effects. The results show their potential implications for contaminant fate and transport and novel methods of pollution prevention and control in estuarine and coastal waters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]