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• The Milankovitch cycles are well preserved in the Dameigou Formation. • Coal seams derive organic matter from submerged and floating aquatic plants, as well as terrestrial higher plants. • Differences in the sources of organic matter in coal seams are driven by a combination of eccentricity, obliquity, and precession. Coal seams, as a terrestrial carbon sink, are not only important sedimentary and energy mineral resources but also excellent recorders of paleoclimate change. The study of coal-bearing strata is particularly significant in exploring the relationship between geological records and orbital forcing. However, the understanding of the relationship between coal seams of different sources of organic matter and astronomical cycles is incomplete. This study focuses on the Dameigou Formation, a typical Jurassic coal seam in the Qaidam Basin, Northwestern China. Organic petrology analysis, biomarker analysis, and whole-rock mineral analysis were combined to reconstruct the vegetation types and paleolake water level changes during coal seam deposition. In addition, using a time-series analysis method and high-precision gamma-scanning data from Well D1, we established a floating astronomical timescale and a time-depth model for cyclostratigraphical analysis. The results show that the Dameigou Formation, as coal-bearing strata, preserves well-developed Milankovitch cycles, and the climatic conditions and vegetation types during coal formation vary among different coal seams. Different patterns of variation in eccentricity, obliquity, and procession determine the thickness of the coal seam. This study is of great significance for understanding the astronomical factors that influenced climate evolution and coal deposition during the Middle Jurassic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Diabetic kidney disease (DKD) is the leading cause of end-stage renal disease, but the molecular mechanisms of disease remain not very clear and there is no curative therapeutic strategy so far. This study was carried out to identify the expression profile of circular RNA (circRNA) in human DKD and explore circRNA regulatory function in glomeruli and tubuli simultaneously. As a result, a total of 40 upregulated and 23 downregulated differentially expressed circRNAs (DEcircRNAs) were detected. Six candidate DEcircRNAs were verified by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction in high glucose-treated human mesangial cells and human proximal renal tubular epithelial cells, respectively. Gene ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathway analysis revealed that both in glomeruli and in tubuli the DEcircRNAs-targeted genes participated in many pathophysiological processes of DKD. Correlation analysis with renal function showed that expression level of DEcircRNA-targeted hub gene was related to renal function. In conclusion, this is the first study to report expression profiles of circRNAs in kidney of DKD patients, and further analysis demonstrated that circRNA probably played a significant regulatory role, providing help for understanding the pathogenesis of DKD and investigating novel diagnostic and therapeutic strategy.

Objective: The intent of this study was to evaluate the clinical outcome and risk factors affecting mortality of the continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD) patients in a single peritoneal dialysis (PD) center over a period of 10 years., Patients and Methods: We retrospectively analyzed patients on PD from June 2001 to June 2011. The clinical and biochemical data were collected from the medical records. Clinical variables included gender, age at the start of PD, smoking status, body mass index (BMI), cause of end-stage renal disease (ESRD), presence of diabetes mellitus and blood pressure. Biochemical variables included hemoglobin, urine volume, residual renal function (RRF), serum albumin, blood urea nitrogen (BUN), creatinine, total cholesterol, triglyceride, comorbidities, and outcomes. Survival curves were made by the Kaplan-Meier method. Univariate and multivariate analyses to identify mortality risk factors were performed using the Cox proportional hazard regression model., Results: A total of 421 patients were enrolled, 269 of whom were male (63.9%). The mean age at the start of PD was 57.9 ± 14.8 years. Chronic glomerulonephritis was the most common cause of ESRD (39.4%). Estimation of patient survival by Kaplan-Meier was 92.5%, 80.2%, 74.4%, and 55.7% at 1, 3, 5, and 10 years, respectively. Patient survival was associated with age (hazard ratio [HR]: 1.641 [1.027 - 2.622], p = 0.038), cardiovascular disease (HR: 1.731 [1.08 - 2.774], p = 0.023), hypertriglyceridemia (HR: 1.782 [1.11 - 2.858], p = 0.017) in the Cox proportional hazards model analysis. Estimation of technique survival by Kaplan-Meier was 86.7%, 68.8%, 55.7%, and 37.4% at 1, 3, 5, and 10 years, respectively. In the Cox proportional hazards model analysis, age (HR: 1.672 [1.176 - 2.377], p = 0.004) and hypertriglyceridemia (HR: 1.511 [1.050 - 2.174], p = 0.026) predicted technique failure., Conclusion: The PD patients in our center exhibited comparable or even superior patient survival and technical survival rates, compared with reports from other centers in China and other countries., (Copyright © 2015 International Society for Peritoneal Dialysis.)

Aim: To study the distribution characteristics of common mutations in the GJB2, SLC26A4, and mtDNA genes in children with severe or profound sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) in southwestern China., Materials and Methods: A total of 1,164 individuals were recruited to screen for the common GJB2, SLC26A4, and mtDNA mutations by microarrays. Subsequencing for the coding region of the GJB2 gene in the samples without the GJB2 hotspot mutations as well as subsequencing for the exon 1 of the TRMU gene in those samples with the mtDNA hotspot mutations was performed by Sanger sequencing. All mutations were analyzed in association with medical imaging., Results: In this study, 28.43% of all subjects carried mutations. The mutation frequencies in the GJB2, SLC26A4, and mtDNA genes were 17.27%, 7.04%, and 4.12%, respectively. No TRMU mutation was found in the study. The frequency of the mtDNA mutations in the multiethnic minorities was six times that in the Han (11.23% vs. 1.91%; p approaches 0.000) and in the urban group was one-third of that in the suburban group(1.49% vs. 4.47%; p=0.047). The frequency of the GJB2 mutations in urban and suburban groups was 23.38% and 15.99%, respectively (p=0.012). The enlarged vestibular aqueduct (EVA) was the most common inner ear malformation and ∼79.10% of EVA cases were associated with the SLC26A4 mutations., Conclusions: More than one-fourth of children with severe or profound SNHL carried the common deafness mutations. The proportions of ethnic minorities and urban subjects could impact the frequency of the GJB2 and mtDNA mutations. The SLC26A4 hotspot mutations are prevalent and correlate strongly with EVA.

Inherited deafness has been shown to have high genetic heterogeneity. For many decades, linkage analysis and candidate gene approaches have been the main tools to elucidate the genetics of hearing loss. However, this associated study design is costly, time-consuming, and unsuitable for small families. This is mainly due to the inadequate numbers of available affected individuals, locus heterogeneity, and assortative mating. Exome sequencing has now become technically feasible and a cost-effective method for detection of disease variants underlying Mendelian disorders due to the recent advances in next-generation sequencing (NGS) technologies. In the present study, we have combined both the Deafness Gene Mutation Detection Array and exome sequencing to identify deafness causative variants in a large Chinese composite family with deaf by deaf mating. The simultaneous screening of the 9 common deafness mutations using the allele-specific PCR based universal array, resulted in the identification of the 1555A>G in the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) 12S rRNA in affected individuals in one branch of the family. We then subjected the mutation-negative cases to exome sequencing and identified novel causative variants in the MYH14 and WFS1 genes. This report confirms the effective use of a NGS technique to detect pathogenic mutations in affected individuals who were not candidates for classical genetic studies.

Purpose: To evaluate the effect of an educational training program for hospital nurses on universal precautions in Changsha, Hunan Province, People's Republic of China., Method: Using a quasi-experimental design, 50 of 100 randomly selected hospital nurses were randomly assigned to receive an educational intervention. Questionnaires were administered to the 100 nurses prior to and 4 months after the training., Findings: Knowledge, practice, and behaviors related to universal precautions and the prevalence of hepatitis B immunization improved among nurses in the group who received training. No significant change in the frequency of glove use was found. Underreporting of sharps injuries to hospital authorities continued in both groups., Conclusion: Although educational training significantly improved Chinese nurses' knowledge, practice, and behavior related to universal precautions, there remains room for improvement in glove use and needlestick injury reporting.