Search

Han is the largest of China's 56 ethnic groups and the most populous ethnic group in the world. The Luzhou region is located in southwest China, at the junction of three provinces. The unique historical factors contribute to the genetic polymorphism information. Short tandem repeats (STRs) are highly polymorphic, but the polymorphism of the Y chromosomal STRs (Y-STRs) loci in the Luzhou region is still unclear. It is of great significance to provide Y-STRs genetic data for the Han population from the Luzhou areas of southwest China. A total of 910 unrelated male individuals of the Han population from the Luzhou area were recruited, and 24 Y-STRs were analyzed. The population structure and phylogenetic relationships were compared with those of another 11 related Han populations. A total of 893 different haplotypes were achieved from 910 samples, of which 877 (98.21%) haplotypes were unique. Haplotype diversity and discrimination were 0.999956 and 0.981319, respectively. The lowest genetic diversity of DYS437 is 0.4321, and the highest genetic diversity of DYS385a/b is 0.9642. Pair-to-pair genetic distance and relative probability values indicate that Luzhou Han people are close to Sichuan Han people, Guangdong Han people, and Hunan Han people, which is consistent with geographical distribution, historical influence, and economic development. The 24 Y-STR markers of the southwest Luzhou Han population were highly polymorphic, which provided us with genetic polymorphism information and enriched the population genetic database. Therefore, it is of great value to our forensic applications and population genetics research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Han nationality is an ancient and populous people, and different places in China may have their distinct group relationships. Luzhou area, as a crossroads of several provinces in Southwest China, lacks autosomal short tandem repeat (STR) research and population genetics research. In this study, 21 autosomal STR loci were evaluated in 1959 Han-Chinese individuals from Luzhou area. There was no substantial linkage disequilibrium (LD) among the 21 autosomal STR markers, and all markers were in Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium (HWE). The total discrimination power (TDP) and cumulative probability of exclusion (CPE) of the 21 autosomal STR loci were calculated to be 1–9.8505 × 10−16 and 1–1.9406 × 10−9, respectively. There were 333 alleles for 21 STRs with allelic frequencies ranging from 0.00026 to 0.51302, and the number of alleles ranged from 7 in locus TPOX to 29 in locus Penta E. According to the results of population comparison and population differentiation, historical influences, geographical distribution, cultural integration, and economic development may have an impact on the Luzhou Han population and other Chinese populations. These 21 STR loci were found to enrich autosomal STR information in forensic databases and provide highly informative polymorphisms for our forensic practice in China, including personal identification and parentage testing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a cellular protease, transmembrane serine protease 2 (TMPRSS2) plays roles in various physiological and pathological processes, including cancer and viral entry, such as severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Herein, we conducted expression, mutation, and prognostic analyses for the TMPRSS2 gene in pan-cancers as well as in COVID-19-infected lung tissues. The results indicate that TMPRSS2 expression was highest in prostate cancer. A high expression of TMPRSS2 was significantly associated with a short overall survival in breast invasive carcinoma (BRCA), sarcoma (SARC), and uveal melanoma (UVM), while a low expression of TMPRSS2 was significantly associated with a short overall survival in lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD), demonstrating TMPRSS2 roles in cancer patient susceptibility and severity. Additionally, TMPRSS2 expression in COVID-19-infected lung tissues was significantly reduced compared to healthy lung tissues, indicating that a low TMPRSS2 expression may result in COVID-19 severity and death. Importantly, TMPRSS2 mutation frequency was significantly higher in prostate adenocarcinoma (PRAD), and the mutant TMPRSS2 pan-cancer group was significantly associated with long overall, progression-free, disease-specific, and disease-free survival rates compared to the wild-type (WT) TMPRSS2 pan-cancer group, demonstrating loss of functional roles due to mutation. Cancer cell lines were treated with small molecules, including cordycepin (CD), adenosine (AD), thymoquinone (TQ), and TQFL12, to mediate TMPRSS2 expression. Notably, CD, AD, TQ, and TQFL12 inhibited TMPRSS2 expression in cancer cell lines, including the PC3 prostate cancer cell line, implying a therapeutic role for preventing COVID-19 in cancer patients. Together, these findings are the first to demonstrate that small molecules, such as CD, AD, TQ, and TQFL12, inhibit TMPRSS2 expression, providing novel therapeutic strategies for preventing COVID-19 and cancers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

SARS-Cov-2 caused the COVID-19 pandemic worldwide. ADAM17 functions as a disintegrin and transmembrane metalloproteinase domain protein involved in the regulation of SARS-CoV-2 receptor ACE2. However, its impact on cancer patients infected with COVID-19 and its correlation with immune cell infiltration is unclear. This study compared ADAM17 expression between normal and tumor tissues based on GEPIA. The correlations between ADAM17 expression and immune cell infiltration and immunomodulators were investigated. Besides, treated drugs for targeting ADAM17 were searched in the TISDB database. We found that ADAM17 was highly conserved in many species and was mainly expressed in lung, brain, female tissues, bone marrow and lymphoid tissues. It was also highly expressed in respiratory epithelial cells of rhinitis and bronchus. ADAM17 expression in tumors was higher than that in several paired normal tissues and was negatively correlated with the prognosis of patients with malignant tumors. Interestingly, ADAM17 expression significantly correlated with immunomodulators and immune cell infiltration in normal and tumor tissues. Moreover, eight small molecules targeting ADAM17 only demonstrate therapeutic significance. These findings imply important implications for ADAM17 in cancer patients infected with COVID-19 and provide new clues for development strategy of anti-COVID-19. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In his article "Mo Yan's Reception in China and a Reflection on the Postcolonial Discourse" Binghui Song argue that the controversial style and themes of Mo Yan's works are necessitated by the interconnected yet different contexts of China and the rest of the world, only by means of which Mo Yan can let his voice be heard. As one of the most excellent and unique contemporary Chinese writers, Mo Yan has exerted extensive influence on Chinese readers, and his works have also caused various controversies over the past 30 years. His winning of the Nobel Prize in Literature, rather than ending such controversies, has only intensified the disputes centering around his works. It is this paper's contention that a critique of Mo Yan's work as distortion and condemnation of the image of China catering to the Western stereotypes is but a product of postcolonial theory misplaced in the Chinese context, which represents a Western cultural neo-colonialism, as well as a narrow-minded interpretation veiling the uniqueness of Mo Yan's creativity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Loess is a kind of world-recognized problematic soil and, as a consequence, it is a major hazard in geotechnical engineering. This study examines the small to medium strain dynamic properties of Lanzhou intact and recompacted loess through a set of resonant column (RC) tests. The influence of soil structure on the small-strain shear modulus G 0 , the variations of G / G 0, and damping ratio DT(%) with shear strain γ were analyzed and discussed. The test results show that the structure has an important influence on the dynamic properties of dry loess at small and medium strain, whereas, with the increase of moisture, its effect weakens. It is proved that a normalized correlation between G / G 0 and γ/γ 0.7 is practically identical for undisturbed and recompacted loess in Lanzhou, irrespective of soil structure, which may be useful in practical applications. • The small to medium strain dynamic properties of Lanzhou loess with metastable structure were examined. • Structure effect reduces the ductility in dynamic response for Lanzhou loess. • The correlations between G / G 0 and γ/γ 0.70 could be normalized well for Lanzhou loess, irrespective of structure effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dysregulation of long non-coding RNA (IncRNA) antisense non-coding RNA in the INK4 locus (ANRIL) is associated with the risk of myocardial infarction (MI). Therefore, the present study aimed to determine the mechanisms underlying this association, which is currently poorly understood, to the best of our knowledge. The current study used an in vitro myocardial ischemia and reperfusion (MI/R) model, in which H9c2 cardiomyocytes were exposed to hypoxia/reoxygenation (H/R), which demonstrated that ANRIL expression was downregulated and that ANRIL positively regulated sirtuin 1 (SIRT1) expression following H/R injury. Subsequently, it was demonstrated that ANRIL upregulated SIRT1 expression by sponging microRNA-181a (miR-181a). In addition, ANRIL overexpression reduced lactate dehydrogenase release and apoptosis of H9c2 cardiomyocytes exposed to H/R, indicating that ANRIL prevented H/R-induced cardiomyocyte injury. Moreover, both miR-181a overexpression and SIRT1 knockdown significantly decreased the protective effects of ANRIL on H/R-induced cardiomyocyte injury, thus demonstrating that SIRT1 upregulation via sponging miR-181a is a critical mechanism that mediates the function of ANRIL. These results provided a novel mechanistic insight into the role of ANRIL in H/R-injured cardiomyocytes and suggested that the ANRIL/miR-181a/SIRT1 axis may be a therapeutic target for reducing MI/R injury. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Atherosclerosis (AS) is a common etiology of cardiovascular disease. As an emerging functional biomarker, circular RNAs (circRNAs) are involved in various diseases, including cardiovascular disease. However, the mechanism of action of circ_0030042 in AS has not been reported.Human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) stimulated by ox-LDL served as a cellular model of AS. Gene expression was detected using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction. The influence of circ_0030042 on cell viability, proliferation, and apoptosis was verified using Cell Counting Kit-8, 5-ethynyl-2'-deoxyuridine, and flow cytometry assays. An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was performed to measure the contents of tumor necrosis factor-α, interleukin (IL) -6, and IL-1β. Western blot assay was utilized to determine the protein levels of Bax, Bcl-2, PCNA, and regulatory factor X 7 (RFX7). The interrelationship between miR-616-3p and circ_0030042 or RFX7 was validated using dual-luciferase reporter, RNA immunoprecipitation, and RNA pull-down assays.The expression of circ_0030042 was downregulated in ox-LDL-induced HUVECs. It was found that overexpression of circ_0030042 facilitated cell proliferation, repressed apoptosis, and reduced the level of inflammatory factors in HUVECs. Circ_0030042 and miR-616-3p had a targeting relationship, and the miR-616-3p mimic eliminated the effects of overexpressed circ_0030042 on ox-LDL-induced HUVECs. RFX7 was a downstream gene of miR-616-3p and was lowly expressed in ox-LDL-induced HUVECs. The miR-616-3p inhibitor stimulated cell proliferation, arrested apoptosis, and caused a decline in the levels of inflammatory factors, whereas knockdown of RFX7 abolished the effects.Circ_0030042 weakened ox-LDL-induced HUVEC injury by regulating the miR-616-3p/RFX7 pathway, thereby influencing AS progression. Circ_0030042 is likely to be a potential biomarker for the future treatment of patients with AS.