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Runs of homozygosity (ROHs) has become an effective method for analysing inbreeding in livestock populations. Moreover, ROHs is well‐suited to detect signatures of selection via ROH islands. This study aimed to investigate the occurrence and distribution of ROHs, compare the genomic inbreeding coefficients and identify the genomic regions with high ROH frequencies in different Beijing‐You chicken (BY) populations, including a random conservation population (BY_R), a pedigree conservation population (BY_P), and a commercial population obtained from the market (BY_C). Among them, BY_R in 2010 and 2019 were BY_R1 and BY_R2 respectively. A total of 27 916 ROHs were identified. The average number of ROHs per individual across the three BY populations ranged from 213 (BY_P) to 161 (BY_C), and the average length of ROHs ranged from 0.432 Mb (BY_R2) to 0.451 Mb (BY_P). The highest inbreeding coefficient calculated based on ROHs (FROH) was 0.1 in BY_P, whereas the lowest FROH was 0.0743 in BY_C. In addition, the inbreeding coefficient of BY_R2 (FROH = 0.0798) was higher than that of BY_R1 (FROH = 0.0579). Furthermore, the highest proportion of long ROH fragments (>4 Mb) was observed in BY_P and BY_C. This study showed the top 10 ROH islands of each population, and these ROH islands harboured 53 genes, some of which were related to limb development, body size and immune response. These findings contribute to the understanding of genetic diversity and population demography, and might help improve breeding and conservation strategies for BY populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The prevalence of cognitive impairment is growing and higher in rural areas. The association between carotid plaque and cognitive impairment remains uncertain, and few studies focused on the cognitive function of the rural population. We designed this study to investigate the association between carotid plaque and cognitive impairment in a rural community. Methods: We enrolled 3,336 participants who underwent carotid ultrasound and cognitive function measurements, free of cerebrovascular diseases, and without neurological deficits, from the China National Stroke Screen Survey program. Cognitive function was evaluated by the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (Beijing version). We used multivariable logistic regression to assess the association between asymptomatic carotid plaques and the presence of cognitive impairment. Results: Nine hundred seventy-six participants had cognitive impairment in this study. After adjustment for potential confounding factors, asymptomatic carotid plaques (odds ratio was 1.35; 95% confidence interval, 1.15–1.58), especially vulnerable carotid plaques (odds ratio was 1.54; 95% confidence interval, 1.28–1.85), were associated with cognitive impairment. Conclusion: In this community-based and observational study, asymptomatic vulnerable carotid plaque is an independent and significant risk factor for cognitive impairment in rural residents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]