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Purpose: The role of inorganic arsenic (iAs) in the risk of metabolic syndrome (MetS) remains unclear. This investigation focused on the effect of iAs exposure on MetS and whether the results are consistent in different subgroups. Patients and Methods: The present study was conducted on 629 men and 616 women aged 35– 70 years and living in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, China. The 1:1 propensity score matching (PSM) was adopted to regulate the confounding factors, and the multivariate logistic regression was performed to assess the relationship between urinary iAs and MetS. Results: The median content of urinary iAs was examined as 2.20 μg/dL (interquartile range: 1.30– 3.20 μg/dL), and the MetS prevalence reached 23.69% (295 cases/950 participants). After the confounding factors were adjusted, the ORs (95% CIs) for MetS from the minimal to the maximum urinary iAs quartiles reached 1.171 (0.736,1.863), 1.568 (1.008, 2.440) and 2.011 (1.296, 3.120), respectively (referencing 1.00) (P for trend=0.001). After the PSM, the urinary iAs content still plays a potential prediction role in MetS (P for trend=0.011). In addition, as revealed from the subgroup analysis, the urinary iAs content was a predictor of MetS in the female patients, whereas it did not serve as a significant predictor of MetS in the male patients (P for interaction< 0.05). Conclusion: The increased urinary iAs content was associated with the increased prevalence of MetS in Chinese population. More attention should be paid to female urinary iAs content to avoid the high prevalence of MetS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Salinity is a major constraint to crop growth and productivity, limiting sustainable agriculture production. Planting canola (Brassica napus L.) variety with salinity-alkalinity tolerance as a green manure on the large area of salinity-affected land in Xinjiang could alleviate feed shortage. To investigate the differential effects of neutral and alkaline salt stress on seed germination and seedling growth of canola, we used two salts at varying concentrations, i.e., NaCl (neutral salt at 100, 150, and 200 mM) and Na2CO3 (alkaline salt at 20, 30, and 40 mM). To further explore the effects of Na+ and pH on seed germination, we included combined of NaCl (0, 100, 150, and 200 mM) and pH (7.1, 8.0, 9.0, 10.0, and 11.0). Shoot growth was promoted by low concentrations of NaCl and Na2CO3 but inhibited at high salt concentrations. Given the same Na+ concentration, Na2CO3 inhibited seed germination and seedling growth more than NaCl. The results showed that the main factor affecting seed germination and seedling growth is not pH alone, but the interaction between pH and salt ions. Under NaCl stress, canola increased the absorption of K+, Ca2+, and Mg2+ in roots and K+ in leaves. However, under Na2CO3 stress, canola maintained a high K+ concentration and K+/Na+ ratio in leaves and increased Ca2+ and Mg2+ in roots. Our study showed that alkaline salts inhibit canola seed germination and seedling growth more significantly than neutral salts and salt species, salt concentration, and pH significantly affected on seed germination and seedling growth. However, pH affected seed germination and seedling growth mainly through an interaction with salt ions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The resource connection between microflora and microfauna in soil micro-food web is of great importance for soil ecosystem in terms of maintaining its quality, productivity, and sustainability. However, the responses of soil micro-food web to continuous cropping (CC) are still unclear at present. In this study, the responses of soil micro-food web to different duration of CC (0 (the control), 5, 10, 15, and 20 years) were investigated in a long-term experiment in Xinjiang, China. The trophic groups of soil nematodes in 0–10 cm and 11–20 cm soil layers were determined according to the trophic habits, oesophageal structure, and predation pattern. The stability and maturity of soil micro-food web were determined by nematode faunal analysis. The connectance was determined according to the predation relationship between nematodes and microbes. The results showed that the abundance of nematodes in the 10- and 20-year CC treatments were higher than that in the control in the 0–10 cm soil layer, and the abundance of nematodes in the 5- and 20-year CC treatments were also higher than that in the control in the 11–20 cm soil layer. In the same soil layer, the abundance of plant parasites in the 10- and 20-year CC treatments and omnivores-predators in the 5- and 20-year CC treatments were higher than those in the control. CC increased the metabolic footprint of omnivore-predators and structure footprint in both soil layers. The soil micro-food web in the CC treatments received fewer disturbances than that in the control, which increased soil nutrients. Meanwhile, the soil micro-food web became stable and mature. The connectance of omnivore-predators channel in the 5-year CC treatment was higher than that in the control in the 0–10 cm soil layer, and the connectance of bacterial channel in the 20-year CC treatment and omnivores-predators channel in the 5-, 10-, and 15-year CC treatments were also higher than those in the control in the 11–20 cm soil layer. Mantel test showed that soil pH, electrical conductivity, organic carbon, total nitrogen, and C/N ratio were key factors affecting soil nematode communities. Therefore, continuous cropping could effectively enhance the soil micro-food web structure and function through bottom-up effects in the cotton fields. • Continuous cropping increased the abundance and metabolic activities of soil nematodes. • Different continuous cropping years were more favorable for carbon allocating into soil nematodes than that in the control. • Continuous cropping affected nematode communities by improving soil food web conditions. • Carbon flows in bacterial and omnivores-predators channels were increased under continuous cropping. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Objective: Of three first-line anti-tuberculosis (anti-TB) drugs, isoniazid is most commonly associated with hepatotoxicity. Differences in INH-induced toxicity have been attributed to genetic variability at several loci, NAT2, CYP2E1, GSTM1and GSTT1, that code for drug-metabolizing enzymes. This study evaluated whether the polymorphisms in these enzymes were associated with an increased risk of anti-TB drug-induced hepatitis in patients and could potentially be used to identify patients at risk of liver injury. Methods and Design: In a cross-sectional study, 2244 tuberculosis patients were assessed two months after the start of treatment. Anti-TB drug-induced liver injury (ATLI) was defined as an ALT, AST or bilirubin value more than twice the upper limit of normal. NAT2, CYP2E1, GSTM1 and GSTT1 genotypes were determined using the PCR/ligase detection reaction assays. Results: 2244 patients were evaluated, there were 89 cases of ATLI, a prevalence of 4% 9 patients (0.4%) had ALT levels more than 5 times the upper limit of normal. The prevalence of ATLI was greater among men than women, and there was a weak association with NAT2*5 genotypes, with ATLI more common among patients with the NAT2*5*CT genotype. The sensitivity of the CT genotype for identifying patients with ATLI was 42% and the positive predictive value 5.9%. CT ATLI was more common among slow acetylators (prevalence ratio 2.0 (95% CI 0.95,4.20) )compared to rapid acetylators. There was no evidence that ATLI was associated with CYP2E1 RsaIc1/c1genotype, CYP2E1 RsaIc1/c2 or c2/c2 genotypes, or GSTM1/GSTT1 null genotypes. Conclusions: In Xinjiang Uyghur TB patients, liver injury was associated with the genetic variant NAT2*5, however the genetic markers studied are unlikely to be useful for screening patients due to the low sensitivity and low positive predictive values for identifying persons at risk of liver injury. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]