The recent article by Jiang et al published in World Journal of Gastroenterology reports substantial bidirectional associations between gallstone disease(GSD),non-alcoholic fatty liver disease(NAFLD),and kidney stone ...The recent article by Jiang et al published in World Journal of Gastroenterology reports substantial bidirectional associations between gallstone disease(GSD),non-alcoholic fatty liver disease(NAFLD),and kidney stone disease(KSD),based on multicenter cross-sectional studies and a systematic review with meta-analysis.While the findings have the potential to significantly impact clinical and pre-ventive strategies,several methodological issues merit closer examination.This letter critiques key aspects of the study,including sample population hetero-geneity,potential confounding variables,and the reliance on cross-sectional data that may limit causal inferences.We also discuss the generalizability of these results to broader populations given the study's focus on the Chinese demogra-phic.By addressing these concerns,we suggest a more nuanced interpretation of the associations between GSD,NAFLD,and KSD,advocating for longitudinal studies to validate these findings and enhance their applicability in global health contexts.展开更多
CircRNAs,widely found throughout the human bodies,play a crucial role in regulating various biological processes and are closely linked to complex human diseases.Investigating potential associations between circRNAs a...CircRNAs,widely found throughout the human bodies,play a crucial role in regulating various biological processes and are closely linked to complex human diseases.Investigating potential associations between circRNAs and diseases can enhance our understanding of diseases and provide new strategies and tools for early diagnosis,treatment,and disease prevention.However,existing models have limitations in accurately capturing similarities,handling the sparse and noise attributes of association networks,and fully leveraging bioinformatical aspects from multiple viewpoints.To address these issues,this study introduces a new non-negative matrix factorization-based framework called NMFMSN.First,we incorporate circRNA sequence data and disease semantic information to compute circRNA and disease similarity,respectively.Given the sparse known associations between circRNAs and diseases,we reconstruct the network to complete more associations by imputing missing links based on neighboring circRNA and disease interactions.Finally,we integrate these two similarity networks into a non-negative matrix factorization framework to identify potential circRNA-disease associations.Upon conducting 5-fold cross-validation and leave-one-out cross-validation,the AUC values for NMFMSN reach 0.9712 and 0.9768,respectively,outperforming the currently most advanced models.Case studies on lung cancer and hepatocellular carcinoma show that NMFMSN is a good way to predict new associations between circRNAs and diseases.展开更多
It is known that long non-coding RNAs(lncRNAs)play vital roles in biological processes and contribute to the progression,development,and treatment of various diseases.Obviously,understanding associations between disea...It is known that long non-coding RNAs(lncRNAs)play vital roles in biological processes and contribute to the progression,development,and treatment of various diseases.Obviously,understanding associations between diseases and lncRNAs significantly enhances our ability to interpret disease mechanisms.Nevertheless,the process of determining lncRNA-disease associations is costly,labor-intensive,and time-consuming.Hence,it is expected to foster computational strategies to uncover lncRNA-disease relationships for further verification to save time and resources.In this study,a collaborative filtering and graph attention network-based LncRNA-Disease Association(CFGANLDA)method was nominated to expose potential lncRNA-disease associations.First,it takes into account the advantages of using biological information from multiple sources.Next,it uses a collaborative filtering technique in order to address the sparse data problem.It also employs a graph attention network to reinforce both linear and non-linear features of the associations to advance prediction performance.The computational results indicate that CFGANLDA gains better prediction performance compared to other state-of-the-art approaches.The CFGANLDA’s area under the receiver operating characteristic curve(AUC)metric is 0.9835,whereas its area under the precision-recall curve(AUPR)metric is 0.9822.Statistical analysis using 10-fold cross-validation experiments proves that these metrics are significant.Furthermore,three case studies on prostate,liver,and stomach cancers attest to the validity of CFGANLDA performance.As a result,CFGANLDA method proves to be a valued tool for lncRNA-disease association prediction.展开更多
Learning from demonstration is widely regarded as a promising paradigm for robots to acquire diverse skills.Other than the artificial learning from observation-action pairs for machines,humans can learn to imitate in ...Learning from demonstration is widely regarded as a promising paradigm for robots to acquire diverse skills.Other than the artificial learning from observation-action pairs for machines,humans can learn to imitate in a more versatile and effective manner:acquiring skills through mere“observation”.Video to Command task is widely perceived as a promising approach for task-based learning,which yet faces two key challenges:(1)High redundancy and low frame rate of fine-grained action sequences make it difficult to manipulate objects robustly and accurately.(2)Video to Command models often prioritize accuracy and richness of output commands over physical capabilities,leading to impractical or unsafe instructions for robots.This article presents a novel Video to Command framework that employs multiple data associations and physical constraints.First,we introduce an object-level appearancecontrasting multiple data association strategy to effectively associate manipulated objects in visually complex environments,capturing dynamic changes in video content.Then,we propose a multi-task Video to Command model that utilizes object-level video content changes to compile expert demonstrations into manipulation commands.Finally,a multi-task hybrid loss function is proposed to train a Video to Command model that adheres to the constraints of the physical world and manipulation tasks.Our method achieved over 10%on BLEU_N,METEOR,ROUGE_L,and CIDEr compared to the up-to-date methods.The dual-arm robot prototype was established to demonstrate the whole process of learning from an expert demonstration of multiple skills and then executing the tasks by a robot.展开更多
Rowlands et al.1present an analysis of accelerometer data from the UK Biobank cohort,examining variations in the duration,intensity,and accumulation of moderate-intensity physical activity(MPA)and vigorous-intensity p...Rowlands et al.1present an analysis of accelerometer data from the UK Biobank cohort,examining variations in the duration,intensity,and accumulation of moderate-intensity physical activity(MPA)and vigorous-intensity physical activity(VPA)sufficient to reduce the risk of all-cause mortality.In this study,the authors questioned if shorter durations(i.e.,1,2,3,4,5,10,15,and 20 min/day)of MPA and VPA performed continuously or accumulated throughout the day would equally reduce the risks of all-cause mortality as longer duration MPA and VPA recommended in the physical activity(PA)guidelines.展开更多
Objective Previous Mendelian randomization(MR)studies have suggested an association between the gut microbiome and metabolic-associated fatty liver disease(MAFLD).However,the reliance on 16S rRNA sequencing data has l...Objective Previous Mendelian randomization(MR)studies have suggested an association between the gut microbiome and metabolic-associated fatty liver disease(MAFLD).However,the reliance on 16S rRNA sequencing data has led to inconsistent findings and limited species-level insights.To address this,we conducted a de novo MR analysis using species-level shotgun metagenomic data,combined it with a meta-analysis to consolidate the existing evidence,and explored metabolite-mediated pathways.Methods Bidirectional MR analyses were performed between 883 gut microbiota taxa(derived from shotgun metagenomic genome-wide association study)and MAFLD.Published MR studies(up to December 1,2024)were identified using PubMed,Embase,Web of Science,and the Cochrane Library for meta-analysis.Multivariable MR(MVMR)and mediation analyses were applied to assess the mediating effects of 1,400 blood metabolites.Results The de novo MR identified 25 MAFLD-associated microbial taxa.Integration with 7 published studies revealed 34 causal taxa,including 10 at the species level.Among the 1,400 metabolites,53 showed causal links with MAFLD.MVMR and mediation analyses identified deoxycholate as a mediator of the effect of Bifidobacterium on MAFLD risk(22.06%mediation proportion).Conclusion This study elucidated the connections between species-level gut microbiota and MAFLD,highlighting the interplay between microbiota,metabolites,and disease pathogenesis.These findings provide novel insights into the potential therapeutic targets for MAFLD.展开更多
The published article titled“MicroRNA-148a Acts as a Tumor Suppressor in Osteosarcoma via Targeting Rho-Associated Coiled-Coil Kinase”has been retracted from Oncology Research,Vol.25,No.8,2017,pp.1231–1243.DOI:10.3...The published article titled“MicroRNA-148a Acts as a Tumor Suppressor in Osteosarcoma via Targeting Rho-Associated Coiled-Coil Kinase”has been retracted from Oncology Research,Vol.25,No.8,2017,pp.1231–1243.DOI:10.3727/096504017X14850134190255 URL:https://www.techscience.com/or/v25n8/56908 Following the publication,concerns have been raised about a number of figures in this article.An unexpected area of similarity was identified in terms of the cellular data,where the results from differently performed experiments were intended to have been shown,although the areas immediately surrounding this area featured comparatively different distributions of cells.In addition,the western blots in this article were presented with atypical,unusually shaped and possibly anomalous protein bands in many cases.展开更多
Astrocytes,a major class of glial cells,have emerged as crucial regulators of synaptic function,neuronal homeostasis,and cognitive processes(Cabral-Miranda et al.,2024).These star-shaped cells not only provide structu...Astrocytes,a major class of glial cells,have emerged as crucial regulators of synaptic function,neuronal homeostasis,and cognitive processes(Cabral-Miranda et al.,2024).These star-shaped cells not only provide structural and metabolic support to neurons but also actively participate in modulating synaptic transmission,neurovascular coupling,and inflammatory responses in the brain.展开更多
Both diabetes mellitus and cancer are prevalent diseases worldwide. It is evident that there is a substantial increase in cancer incidence in diabetic patients. Epidemiologic studies have indicated that diabetic patie...Both diabetes mellitus and cancer are prevalent diseases worldwide. It is evident that there is a substantial increase in cancer incidence in diabetic patients. Epidemiologic studies have indicated that diabetic patients are at significantly higher risk of common cancers including pancreatic, liver, breast, colorectal, urinary tract, gastric and female reproductive cancers. Mortality due to cancer is moderately increased among patients with diabetes compared with those without. There is increasing evidence that some cancers are associated with diabetes, but the underlying mechanisms of this potential association have not been fully elucidated. Insulin is a potent growth factor that promotes cell proliferation and carcinogenesis directly and/or through insulin-like growth factor 1(IGF-1). Hyperinsulinemia leads to an increase in the bioactivity of IGF-1 by inhibiting IGF binding protein-1. Hyperglycemia serves as a subordinate plausible explanation of carcinogenesis. High glucose may exert direct and indirect effects upon cancer cells to promote proliferation. Also chronic inflammation is considered as a hallmark of carcinogenesis. The multiple drugs involved in the treatment of diabetes seem to modify the risk of cancer. Screening to detect cancer at an early stage and appropriate treatment of diabetic patients with cancer are important to improve their prognosis. This paper summarizes the associations between diabetes and common cancers, interprets possible mechanisms involved, and addresses implications for medical practice.展开更多
Objective This study aimed to describe frequency and quantity of total dairy consumption of Chinese children and adolescents and explore the associations between dairy consumption and nutrition status, including stunt...Objective This study aimed to describe frequency and quantity of total dairy consumption of Chinese children and adolescents and explore the associations between dairy consumption and nutrition status, including stunting, wasting, overweight, and obesity. Methods Participants included 28,250 children and adolescents aged 6-17 years old. A food frequency questionnaire(FFQ) including 100 kinds of food was used to collect information about frequency and quantity of dairy consumption. Determination of stunting was with a height cutoff value for age and gender, and determination for wasting, overweight, and obesity was with BMI for age and gender. Results Of the total sample, 36.1% of children aged 6-17 reported consuming dairy food more than once per day(≥ 1/day). The average total dairy intake of all the participants was 126.7 g/day. For boys, dairy consumption had an inverse correlation with stunting and wasting after controlling for confounders. For girls, dairy consumption was negatively associated with stunting and obesity after controlling for confounders as above. Conclusion Dairy consumption in Chinese children and adolescents was relatively lower than that in developed countries, and was negatively associated with stunting and wasting for boys and with stunting and obesity for girls.展开更多
Background'. This study sought to explore the dose—response rate/association between aerobic fitness (VC)2max) and self-reported physical activity(PA) and to assess whether this association varies by sex, age, an...Background'. This study sought to explore the dose—response rate/association between aerobic fitness (VC)2max) and self-reported physical activity(PA) and to assess whether this association varies by sex, age, and weight status.Methods. VO2max was assessed using the 20・m shuttle・run test. PA was assessed using the Physical Activity Questionnaire (PAQ) for Adolescents(aged > 11 years, PAQ-A) or for Children (aged <11 years, PAQ-C). The associations between V02raax and PAQ were analyzed using analysisof covariance (ANCOVA), adopting PAQ and PAQ2 as covariates but allowing the intercepts and slope parameters of PAQ and PAQ2 tovary with the categorical variables sex, age group, and weight status.Results: ANCOVA identified a curvilinear association between VO2max and PAQ, with positive linear PAQ terms that varied for both sex andweight status but with a negative PAQ2 term of —0.39 (95% confidence interval (CI): —0.57 to —0.21) that was common for all groups in regardto age, sex, and weight status. These curvilinear (inverted U) associations suggest that the benefits of increasing PA (same dose) on VO2max isgreater when children report lower levels of PA compared to children who report higher levels of PA. These dose-response rates were alsosteeper for boys and were steeper for lean children compared to overweight/obese children.Conclusion'. Health practitioners should be aware that encouraging greater PA (same dose) in inactive and underweight children will result ingreater gains in V02max (response) compared with their active and overweight/obese counterparts.展开更多
Objective： Genome-wide association studies （GWAS） have identified 11 loci that influence the risk of developing colorectal cancer （CRC）. Given that these studies were conducted in European Caucasian populations, ...Objective： Genome-wide association studies （GWAS） have identified 11 loci that influence the risk of developing colorectal cancer （CRC）. Given that these studies were conducted in European Caucasian populations, it is not clear whether the results are relevant for populations with different ethnicities. The aim of this study was to examine these associations in a southern Chinese population. Methods： Eleven single-nucleotide polymorphisms （SNPs）, rs12701937, rs16892766, rs7014346, rs6983267, rs719725, rs10795668, rs3802842, rs4444235, rs9929218, rs10411210, and rs961253, were genotyped in 229 CRC patients and 267 controls using the MassArray SNP genotyping system. Results： Evidence of an association with CRC was found for four of the 11 loci. The strongest associations were with rs4444235 and rs961253, with significant odds ratios close to those reported in previous GWAS. Among these four loci, rs719725 and rs4444235 were significantly associated with female gender, rs3802842, rs961253, and rs4444235 with early disease onset, and rs3802842 with later disease onset. However, no associations with CRC risk were detected for six other loci （rs9929218, rs10411210, rs12701937, rs7014346, rs6983267, and rs10795668）, and one SNP, rs16892766, was not polymorphic in any of the study participants. Conclusion： The rs4444235 and rs961253 loci are strongly associated with the risk of CRC in southern Chinese.展开更多
Species-habitat association analysis is useful to detect spatial arrangement of individual plants, to discover rules about the distribution of species and to generate hypotheses about the possible underlying process c...Species-habitat association analysis is useful to detect spatial arrangement of individual plants, to discover rules about the distribution of species and to generate hypotheses about the possible underlying process controlling observed structures. Quantifying methods were used to classify habitats in terms of topographical variables in a mixed temperate broad-leaved Korean pine forest of the Changbai mountains in northeastern China. All of the 625 20 m × 20 m quadrats of the plot could be unambiguously assigned to one of three habitat categories （low-plateau, high-plateau and slope）. Torus-translation tests were used to estimate species-habitat associations. Many species are clearly distributed in a biased fashion with respect to habitats. Fifteen （55.6%） out of 27 species showed strong positive or negative association with specific habitats. We compared species-habitat associations at the sapling and adult stages. Adjusted density values indicated few species exhibit extremely strong habitat associations. Only 9 out of 26 species had adjusted densities 〉 3 in the habitat for which they had strong positive affinity. Few species show the same associations at the small tree and large tree stages. Only 3 out of 22 occurring associations with a specific habitat appeared to have a consistent habitat association at the two stages. These results suggest that species-habitat associations exist in the 25-ha plot of the temperate forest of the Chang- bai mountains. Owing to limitations in our statistical methodology, we partly underestimated associations by ignoring rare species. Regeneration niches can contribute to co-existence, but regeneration niches due to habitat associations play a limited role in species co-existence, since most species show a similar trend in habitat associations at the sapling and adult stages. We should pay more attention to shifts in habitat associations, i.e. niche shifts at different stages of existence.展开更多
AIM To study the type and frequency of adverse events associated with anti-tumor necrosis factor(TNF)therapy and evaluate for any serologic and genetic associations.METHODS This study was a retrospective review of pat...AIM To study the type and frequency of adverse events associated with anti-tumor necrosis factor(TNF)therapy and evaluate for any serologic and genetic associations.METHODS This study was a retrospective review of patients attending the inflammatory bowel disease(IBD) centers at Cedars-Sinai IBD Center from 2005-2016. Adverse events were identified via chart review. IBD serologies were measured by ELISA. DNA samples were genotyped at Cedars-Sinai using Illumina Infinium Immunochipv1 array per manufacturer's protocol. SNPs underwent methodological review and were evaluated using several SNP statistic parameters to ensure optimal allele-calling. Standard and rigorous QC criteria were applied to the genetic data, which was generated using immunochip. Genetic association was assessed by logistic regression after correcting for population structure.RESULTS Altogether we identified 1258 IBD subjects exposed to anti-TNF agents in whom Immunochip data were available. 269/1258 patients(21%) were found to have adverse events to an anti-TNF-α agent that required the therapy to be discontinued. 25% of women compared to 17% of men experienced an adverse event. All adverse events resolved after discontinuing the antiTNF agent. In total: n = 66(5%) infusion reactions; n = 49(4%) allergic/serum sickness reactions; n = 19(1.5%) lupus-like reactions, n = 52(4%) rash, n = 18(1.4%) infections. In Crohn's disease, Ig A ASCA(P = 0.04) and Ig G-ASCA(P = 0.02) levels were also lower in patients with any adverse events, and anti-I2 level in ulcerative colitis was significantly associated with infusion reactions(P = 0.008). The logistic regression/human annotation and network analyses performed on the Immunochip data implicated the following five signaling pathways: JAK-STAT(Janus Kinase-signal transducer and activator of transcription), measles, IBD, cytokine-cytokine receptor interaction, and toxoplasmosis for any adverse event. CONCLUSION Our study shows 1 in 5 IBD patients experience an adverse event to anti-TNF therapy with novel serologic, genetic, and pathways associations.展开更多
Marker assisted selection （MAS） for residual feed intake （RFI） is considered to be one of the powerful means to improve feed conversion efficiency, and therefore reduce production costs. To test the inner relation...Marker assisted selection （MAS） for residual feed intake （RFI） is considered to be one of the powerful means to improve feed conversion efficiency, and therefore reduce production costs. To test the inner relationship among body compositions, growth traits and RFI, four models were proposed to assess the extensively explanatory variables accounting for partial variables in feed intake besides metabolic body weight and growth rate. As a result, the original model （Koch＇s model） had the lowest R2 （80.78%） and the highest Bayesian information criterion （1 323.3） value among the four models. Moreover, the effects on RFI caused by single nucleotide polymorphisms （SNPs） were assessed in this study. Twelve SNPs from 7 candidate genes were genotyped in 2 Chinese native strains, rs14743490 of RPLP2 gene showed suggestively significant association with initial body weight in both strains （P〈0.10）. rs15047274 of TAF15 was significantly associated with growth weight, final weight, and feed intake （P〈0.05） in N301 strain, in contrast, it was only suggestively significant associated with feed intake （P〈0.10） in N414 strain, rs15869967 was significantly associated with RFI in N414 strain but not in N301 strain. This study has identified potential genetic markers suitable for MAS in improving the above mentioned traits, but these associations need to be rectified in other larger populations in future.展开更多
Objectives The aims of this study were to assess the associations between parity and metabolic syndrome(Met S)and its components and to evaluate the effects of body mass index(BMI)on these associations.Methods A total...Objectives The aims of this study were to assess the associations between parity and metabolic syndrome(Met S)and its components and to evaluate the effects of body mass index(BMI)on these associations.Methods A total of 5,674 women were enrolled from Jidong and Kailuan communities(Tangshan,Hebei)in Northern China.All participants completed standardized questionnaires,physical examination,and biochemical measurements.Logistic regression analysis was used to test the associations.Results Compared with women with parity of one,nulliparous women had decreased odds ratios(ORs);those with parity of two had odds of abdominal obesity[OR=1.45,95%confidence interval(CI)1.17–1.81,P<0.001],high blood pressure(OR=1.26,95%CI:1.03–1.54,P=0.025),elevated fasting glucose levels(OR=1.36,95%CI:1.03–1.79,P=0.029),and Met S(OR=1.39,95%CI:1.13–1.73,P=0.002);and those with parity of three or more had increased odds of elevated triglyceride levels(OR=1.42,95%CI:1.04–1.94,P=0.027)and Met S(OR=1.50,95%CI:1.10–2.05,P=0.011)after complete adjustment for confounders.Furthermore,BMI and age subgroups partially modified the associations between parity and Met S and its components.Conclusions Parity is positively associated with Met S and select components in women.BMI is an important modifier involved in the associations between parity and MetS.展开更多
In this paper, we proposed a new statistical dependency measure for two random vectors based on copula, called copula dependency coefficient （CDC）. The CDC is proved to be robust to outliers and easy to be implement...In this paper, we proposed a new statistical dependency measure for two random vectors based on copula, called copula dependency coefficient （CDC）. The CDC is proved to be robust to outliers and easy to be implemented. Especially, it is powerful and applicable to high-dimensional problems. All these properties make CDC practically important in related applications. Both experimental and application results show that CDC is a good robust dependence measure for association detecting.展开更多
Secure interaction and interoperability between two or more administrative domains is a major concern. The IRBAC 2000 model accomplishes secure interaction and interoperability by flexibly dynamic inter-domain role tr...Secure interaction and interoperability between two or more administrative domains is a major concern. The IRBAC 2000 model accomplishes secure interaction and interoperability by flexibly dynamic inter-domain role translations. Associations are the key element of the IRBAC 2000 model, which have a great impact on security and efficiency of dynamic role translations. Therefore, it is a crucial problem how to manage the associations in the IRBAC 2000 model. There are two cases under which some matters will emerge. One is where conflicting associations may result in a security hazard. Another is where redundant associations may reduce the efficiency of dynamic role translations and increase the difficulty of management of associations. The formal definitions on conflicting associations and redundant associations are given, and the methods are discusses to judge whether there are conflicting associations or redundant associations in IRBAC 2000 model. The protective mechanism is presented, which utilizes prerequisite conditions to prevent conflicting or redundant associations from appearing in IRBAC 2000 model.展开更多
Background: Improving the feed efficiency would increase profitability for producers while also reducing the environmental footprint of livestock production. This study was conducted to investigate the relationships a...Background: Improving the feed efficiency would increase profitability for producers while also reducing the environmental footprint of livestock production. This study was conducted to investigate the relationships among feed efficiency traits and metabolizable efficiency traits in 180 male broilers. Significant loci and genes affecting the metabolizable efficiency traits were explored with an imputation-based genome-wide association study. The traits measured or calculated comprised three growth traits, five feed efficiency related traits, and nine metabolizable efficiency traits.Results: The residual feed intake(RFI) showed moderate to high and positive phenotypic correlations with eight other traits measured, including average daily feed intake(ADFI), dry excreta weight(DEW), gross energy excretion(GEE), crude protein excretion(CPE), metabolizable dry matter(MDM), nitrogen corrected apparent metabolizable energy(AMEn), abdominal fat weight(Ab F), and percentage of abdominal fat(Ab P). Greater correlations were observed between growth traits and the feed conversion ratio(FCR) than RFI. In addition, the RFI, FCR, ADFI, DEW,GEE, CPE, MDM, AMEn, Ab F, and Ab P were lower in low-RFI birds than high-RFI birds(P < 0.01 or P < 0.05), whereas the coefficients of MDM and MCP of low-RFI birds were greater than those of high-RFI birds(P < 0.01). Five narrow QTLs for metabolizable efficiency traits were detected, including one 82.46-kb region for DEW and GEE on Gallus gallus chromosome(GGA) 26, one 120.13-kb region for MDM and AMEn on GGA1, one 691.25-kb region for the coefficients of MDM and AMEn on GGA5, one region for the coefficients of MDM and MCP on GGA2(103.45–103.53 Mb), and one 690.50-kb region for the coefficient of MCP on GGA14. Linkage disequilibrium(LD) analysis indicated that the five regions contained high LD blocks, as well as the genes chromosome 26 C6 orf106 homolog(C26 H6 orf106), LOC396098, SH3 and multiple ankyrin repeat domains 2(SHANK2), ETS homologous factor(EHF), and histamine receptor H3-like(HRH3 L), which are known to be involved in the regulation of neurodevelopment, cell proliferation and differentiation, and food intake.Conclusions: Selection for low RFI significantly decreased chicken feed intake, excreta output, and abdominal fat deposition, and increased nutrient digestibility without changing the weight gain. Five novel QTL regions involved in the control of metabolizable efficiency in chickens were identified. These results, combined through nutritional and genetic approaches, should facilitate novel insights into improving feed efficiency in poultry and other species.展开更多
In 2012 a plot was established with 1-ha area in a mixed coniferous-broadleaf forest in the Changbai Mountains, northeastern China for examining local forest processes, structure and succession. A method of O-ring sta...In 2012 a plot was established with 1-ha area in a mixed coniferous-broadleaf forest in the Changbai Mountains, northeastern China for examining local forest processes, structure and succession. A method of O-ring statistics （pair- correlation function） was applied to analyze the spatial patterns and associations of the dominant species within different vertical layers. After the evaluation by their importance values, six tree species （or group） （i.e. Abies nephrolepis, Picea jezoensis, Pinus koraiensis, Tilia amurensis, and species group of Betula ssp. and species group of Acer ssp.） were determined as dominant trees species. It was found that some of these species exhibited closely clustered distributions at fine distances. As spatial distance increased, a random or even regular distribution gradually appeared with the exception of the upper layers of A. nephrolepis and P. koraiensis, and the lower layers of P. jezoensis, P. koraiensis and Betula ssp., which were substantially randomly distributed. Intra- and inter-species spatial associations varied in accordance with species, tree height and reciprocal distances. Positive associations were observed between the lower and upper height classes of trees of the same species （except for that of P. jezoensis） at fine distances. This may be owing to limited seed dispersal and geological heterogeneity. The aggregation intensity declines with increasing distances and this consistent with the predictions of self-thinning. Some coniferous trees （e.g. Pinus koraiensis） in the lower height class were positively associated with T. amurensis and group of Betula ssp. of the upper height class at some distances, suggesting that saplings of coniferous trees occupy a broader niche and can grow well under the canopy of the adult of broad-leaved trees. Negative associations were observed between upper coniferous trees and lower broad-leaved trees and between upper P. jezoensis and lower P. koraiensis, suggesting that a canopy of these trees might not provide suitable environment for the survival, establishment, and growth of o lower individuals, corresponding well to Janzen-Connell hypothesis.展开更多
基金Supported by The National Natural Science Foundation of China,No.82074508Fujian Provincial Natural Science Foundation,No.2023J011627+2 种基金Fujian Provincial Health and Wellness Science and Technology Plan Project,No.2023CXB003Xiamen City Support for the Development of Traditional Chinese Medicine Special TCM Scientific Research Project,No.XWZY-2023-0603The Seventh Batch of National Famous Old Traditional Chinese Medicine Experts Experience Heritage Construction Program of National Administration of TCM,No.76(2022).
文摘The recent article by Jiang et al published in World Journal of Gastroenterology reports substantial bidirectional associations between gallstone disease(GSD),non-alcoholic fatty liver disease(NAFLD),and kidney stone disease(KSD),based on multicenter cross-sectional studies and a systematic review with meta-analysis.While the findings have the potential to significantly impact clinical and pre-ventive strategies,several methodological issues merit closer examination.This letter critiques key aspects of the study,including sample population hetero-geneity,potential confounding variables,and the reliance on cross-sectional data that may limit causal inferences.We also discuss the generalizability of these results to broader populations given the study's focus on the Chinese demogra-phic.By addressing these concerns,we suggest a more nuanced interpretation of the associations between GSD,NAFLD,and KSD,advocating for longitudinal studies to validate these findings and enhance their applicability in global health contexts.
基金the Gansu Province Industrial Support Plan(No.2023CYZC-25)Natural Science Foundation of Gansu Province(No.23JRRA770)the National Natural Science Foundation of China(No.62162040)。
文摘CircRNAs,widely found throughout the human bodies,play a crucial role in regulating various biological processes and are closely linked to complex human diseases.Investigating potential associations between circRNAs and diseases can enhance our understanding of diseases and provide new strategies and tools for early diagnosis,treatment,and disease prevention.However,existing models have limitations in accurately capturing similarities,handling the sparse and noise attributes of association networks,and fully leveraging bioinformatical aspects from multiple viewpoints.To address these issues,this study introduces a new non-negative matrix factorization-based framework called NMFMSN.First,we incorporate circRNA sequence data and disease semantic information to compute circRNA and disease similarity,respectively.Given the sparse known associations between circRNAs and diseases,we reconstruct the network to complete more associations by imputing missing links based on neighboring circRNA and disease interactions.Finally,we integrate these two similarity networks into a non-negative matrix factorization framework to identify potential circRNA-disease associations.Upon conducting 5-fold cross-validation and leave-one-out cross-validation,the AUC values for NMFMSN reach 0.9712 and 0.9768,respectively,outperforming the currently most advanced models.Case studies on lung cancer and hepatocellular carcinoma show that NMFMSN is a good way to predict new associations between circRNAs and diseases.
基金supported by the Vietnam Ministry of Education and Training under project code B2023-SPH-14。
文摘It is known that long non-coding RNAs(lncRNAs)play vital roles in biological processes and contribute to the progression,development,and treatment of various diseases.Obviously,understanding associations between diseases and lncRNAs significantly enhances our ability to interpret disease mechanisms.Nevertheless,the process of determining lncRNA-disease associations is costly,labor-intensive,and time-consuming.Hence,it is expected to foster computational strategies to uncover lncRNA-disease relationships for further verification to save time and resources.In this study,a collaborative filtering and graph attention network-based LncRNA-Disease Association(CFGANLDA)method was nominated to expose potential lncRNA-disease associations.First,it takes into account the advantages of using biological information from multiple sources.Next,it uses a collaborative filtering technique in order to address the sparse data problem.It also employs a graph attention network to reinforce both linear and non-linear features of the associations to advance prediction performance.The computational results indicate that CFGANLDA gains better prediction performance compared to other state-of-the-art approaches.The CFGANLDA’s area under the receiver operating characteristic curve(AUC)metric is 0.9835,whereas its area under the precision-recall curve(AUPR)metric is 0.9822.Statistical analysis using 10-fold cross-validation experiments proves that these metrics are significant.Furthermore,three case studies on prostate,liver,and stomach cancers attest to the validity of CFGANLDA performance.As a result,CFGANLDA method proves to be a valued tool for lncRNA-disease association prediction.
基金Supported by Zhejiang Provincial Key Research and Development Program(Grant No.2021C04015)。
文摘Learning from demonstration is widely regarded as a promising paradigm for robots to acquire diverse skills.Other than the artificial learning from observation-action pairs for machines,humans can learn to imitate in a more versatile and effective manner:acquiring skills through mere“observation”.Video to Command task is widely perceived as a promising approach for task-based learning,which yet faces two key challenges:(1)High redundancy and low frame rate of fine-grained action sequences make it difficult to manipulate objects robustly and accurately.(2)Video to Command models often prioritize accuracy and richness of output commands over physical capabilities,leading to impractical or unsafe instructions for robots.This article presents a novel Video to Command framework that employs multiple data associations and physical constraints.First,we introduce an object-level appearancecontrasting multiple data association strategy to effectively associate manipulated objects in visually complex environments,capturing dynamic changes in video content.Then,we propose a multi-task Video to Command model that utilizes object-level video content changes to compile expert demonstrations into manipulation commands.Finally,a multi-task hybrid loss function is proposed to train a Video to Command model that adheres to the constraints of the physical world and manipulation tasks.Our method achieved over 10%on BLEU_N,METEOR,ROUGE_L,and CIDEr compared to the up-to-date methods.The dual-arm robot prototype was established to demonstrate the whole process of learning from an expert demonstration of multiple skills and then executing the tasks by a robot.
文摘Rowlands et al.1present an analysis of accelerometer data from the UK Biobank cohort,examining variations in the duration,intensity,and accumulation of moderate-intensity physical activity(MPA)and vigorous-intensity physical activity(VPA)sufficient to reduce the risk of all-cause mortality.In this study,the authors questioned if shorter durations(i.e.,1,2,3,4,5,10,15,and 20 min/day)of MPA and VPA performed continuously or accumulated throughout the day would equally reduce the risks of all-cause mortality as longer duration MPA and VPA recommended in the physical activity(PA)guidelines.
基金supported by grants from the National Natural Science Foundation of China(82270924)the CAMS Innovation Fund for Medical Sciences(CIFMS 2021-I2M-1-016)the National High Level Hospital Clinical Research Funding(2022-PUMCH-C-014,2025-PUMCH-C-041).
文摘Objective Previous Mendelian randomization(MR)studies have suggested an association between the gut microbiome and metabolic-associated fatty liver disease(MAFLD).However,the reliance on 16S rRNA sequencing data has led to inconsistent findings and limited species-level insights.To address this,we conducted a de novo MR analysis using species-level shotgun metagenomic data,combined it with a meta-analysis to consolidate the existing evidence,and explored metabolite-mediated pathways.Methods Bidirectional MR analyses were performed between 883 gut microbiota taxa(derived from shotgun metagenomic genome-wide association study)and MAFLD.Published MR studies(up to December 1,2024)were identified using PubMed,Embase,Web of Science,and the Cochrane Library for meta-analysis.Multivariable MR(MVMR)and mediation analyses were applied to assess the mediating effects of 1,400 blood metabolites.Results The de novo MR identified 25 MAFLD-associated microbial taxa.Integration with 7 published studies revealed 34 causal taxa,including 10 at the species level.Among the 1,400 metabolites,53 showed causal links with MAFLD.MVMR and mediation analyses identified deoxycholate as a mediator of the effect of Bifidobacterium on MAFLD risk(22.06%mediation proportion).Conclusion This study elucidated the connections between species-level gut microbiota and MAFLD,highlighting the interplay between microbiota,metabolites,and disease pathogenesis.These findings provide novel insights into the potential therapeutic targets for MAFLD.
文摘The published article titled“MicroRNA-148a Acts as a Tumor Suppressor in Osteosarcoma via Targeting Rho-Associated Coiled-Coil Kinase”has been retracted from Oncology Research,Vol.25,No.8,2017,pp.1231–1243.DOI:10.3727/096504017X14850134190255 URL:https://www.techscience.com/or/v25n8/56908 Following the publication,concerns have been raised about a number of figures in this article.An unexpected area of similarity was identified in terms of the cellular data,where the results from differently performed experiments were intended to have been shown,although the areas immediately surrounding this area featured comparatively different distributions of cells.In addition,the western blots in this article were presented with atypical,unusually shaped and possibly anomalous protein bands in many cases.
文摘Astrocytes,a major class of glial cells,have emerged as crucial regulators of synaptic function,neuronal homeostasis,and cognitive processes(Cabral-Miranda et al.,2024).These star-shaped cells not only provide structural and metabolic support to neurons but also actively participate in modulating synaptic transmission,neurovascular coupling,and inflammatory responses in the brain.
基金Supported by Zhejiang Provincial Program for the Cultivation of High-level Innovative Health TalentsProgram for Zhejiang Leading Team of Science and Technology InnovationFundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities
文摘Both diabetes mellitus and cancer are prevalent diseases worldwide. It is evident that there is a substantial increase in cancer incidence in diabetic patients. Epidemiologic studies have indicated that diabetic patients are at significantly higher risk of common cancers including pancreatic, liver, breast, colorectal, urinary tract, gastric and female reproductive cancers. Mortality due to cancer is moderately increased among patients with diabetes compared with those without. There is increasing evidence that some cancers are associated with diabetes, but the underlying mechanisms of this potential association have not been fully elucidated. Insulin is a potent growth factor that promotes cell proliferation and carcinogenesis directly and/or through insulin-like growth factor 1(IGF-1). Hyperinsulinemia leads to an increase in the bioactivity of IGF-1 by inhibiting IGF binding protein-1. Hyperglycemia serves as a subordinate plausible explanation of carcinogenesis. High glucose may exert direct and indirect effects upon cancer cells to promote proliferation. Also chronic inflammation is considered as a hallmark of carcinogenesis. The multiple drugs involved in the treatment of diabetes seem to modify the risk of cancer. Screening to detect cancer at an early stage and appropriate treatment of diabetic patients with cancer are important to improve their prognosis. This paper summarizes the associations between diabetes and common cancers, interprets possible mechanisms involved, and addresses implications for medical practice.
基金supported by the Major program for health care reform from Chinese National Health and Family Planning Commission [No.20120212]
文摘Objective This study aimed to describe frequency and quantity of total dairy consumption of Chinese children and adolescents and explore the associations between dairy consumption and nutrition status, including stunting, wasting, overweight, and obesity. Methods Participants included 28,250 children and adolescents aged 6-17 years old. A food frequency questionnaire(FFQ) including 100 kinds of food was used to collect information about frequency and quantity of dairy consumption. Determination of stunting was with a height cutoff value for age and gender, and determination for wasting, overweight, and obesity was with BMI for age and gender. Results Of the total sample, 36.1% of children aged 6-17 reported consuming dairy food more than once per day(≥ 1/day). The average total dairy intake of all the participants was 126.7 g/day. For boys, dairy consumption had an inverse correlation with stunting and wasting after controlling for confounders. For girls, dairy consumption was negatively associated with stunting and obesity after controlling for confounders as above. Conclusion Dairy consumption in Chinese children and adolescents was relatively lower than that in developed countries, and was negatively associated with stunting and wasting for boys and with stunting and obesity for girls.
文摘Background'. This study sought to explore the dose—response rate/association between aerobic fitness (VC)2max) and self-reported physical activity(PA) and to assess whether this association varies by sex, age, and weight status.Methods. VO2max was assessed using the 20・m shuttle・run test. PA was assessed using the Physical Activity Questionnaire (PAQ) for Adolescents(aged > 11 years, PAQ-A) or for Children (aged <11 years, PAQ-C). The associations between V02raax and PAQ were analyzed using analysisof covariance (ANCOVA), adopting PAQ and PAQ2 as covariates but allowing the intercepts and slope parameters of PAQ and PAQ2 tovary with the categorical variables sex, age group, and weight status.Results: ANCOVA identified a curvilinear association between VO2max and PAQ, with positive linear PAQ terms that varied for both sex andweight status but with a negative PAQ2 term of —0.39 (95% confidence interval (CI): —0.57 to —0.21) that was common for all groups in regardto age, sex, and weight status. These curvilinear (inverted U) associations suggest that the benefits of increasing PA (same dose) on VO2max isgreater when children report lower levels of PA compared to children who report higher levels of PA. These dose-response rates were alsosteeper for boys and were steeper for lean children compared to overweight/obese children.Conclusion'. Health practitioners should be aware that encouraging greater PA (same dose) in inactive and underweight children will result ingreater gains in V02max (response) compared with their active and overweight/obese counterparts.
基金supported by a grant from the Key Programs for Scienceand Technology Development of Guangzhou (No. 2008A1-E4151)
文摘Objective： Genome-wide association studies （GWAS） have identified 11 loci that influence the risk of developing colorectal cancer （CRC）. Given that these studies were conducted in European Caucasian populations, it is not clear whether the results are relevant for populations with different ethnicities. The aim of this study was to examine these associations in a southern Chinese population. Methods： Eleven single-nucleotide polymorphisms （SNPs）, rs12701937, rs16892766, rs7014346, rs6983267, rs719725, rs10795668, rs3802842, rs4444235, rs9929218, rs10411210, and rs961253, were genotyped in 229 CRC patients and 267 controls using the MassArray SNP genotyping system. Results： Evidence of an association with CRC was found for four of the 11 loci. The strongest associations were with rs4444235 and rs961253, with significant odds ratios close to those reported in previous GWAS. Among these four loci, rs719725 and rs4444235 were significantly associated with female gender, rs3802842, rs961253, and rs4444235 with early disease onset, and rs3802842 with later disease onset. However, no associations with CRC risk were detected for six other loci （rs9929218, rs10411210, rs12701937, rs7014346, rs6983267, and rs10795668）, and one SNP, rs16892766, was not polymorphic in any of the study participants. Conclusion： The rs4444235 and rs961253 loci are strongly associated with the risk of CRC in southern Chinese.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 30570306, 30870400 and 40971286)the Public Benefit Research Foun- dation of State Forestry Administration, China (No. 201104040)
文摘Species-habitat association analysis is useful to detect spatial arrangement of individual plants, to discover rules about the distribution of species and to generate hypotheses about the possible underlying process controlling observed structures. Quantifying methods were used to classify habitats in terms of topographical variables in a mixed temperate broad-leaved Korean pine forest of the Changbai mountains in northeastern China. All of the 625 20 m × 20 m quadrats of the plot could be unambiguously assigned to one of three habitat categories （low-plateau, high-plateau and slope）. Torus-translation tests were used to estimate species-habitat associations. Many species are clearly distributed in a biased fashion with respect to habitats. Fifteen （55.6%） out of 27 species showed strong positive or negative association with specific habitats. We compared species-habitat associations at the sapling and adult stages. Adjusted density values indicated few species exhibit extremely strong habitat associations. Only 9 out of 26 species had adjusted densities 〉 3 in the habitat for which they had strong positive affinity. Few species show the same associations at the small tree and large tree stages. Only 3 out of 22 occurring associations with a specific habitat appeared to have a consistent habitat association at the two stages. These results suggest that species-habitat associations exist in the 25-ha plot of the temperate forest of the Chang- bai mountains. Owing to limitations in our statistical methodology, we partly underestimated associations by ignoring rare species. Regeneration niches can contribute to co-existence, but regeneration niches due to habitat associations play a limited role in species co-existence, since most species show a similar trend in habitat associations at the sapling and adult stages. We should pay more attention to shifts in habitat associations, i.e. niche shifts at different stages of existence.
文摘AIM To study the type and frequency of adverse events associated with anti-tumor necrosis factor(TNF)therapy and evaluate for any serologic and genetic associations.METHODS This study was a retrospective review of patients attending the inflammatory bowel disease(IBD) centers at Cedars-Sinai IBD Center from 2005-2016. Adverse events were identified via chart review. IBD serologies were measured by ELISA. DNA samples were genotyped at Cedars-Sinai using Illumina Infinium Immunochipv1 array per manufacturer's protocol. SNPs underwent methodological review and were evaluated using several SNP statistic parameters to ensure optimal allele-calling. Standard and rigorous QC criteria were applied to the genetic data, which was generated using immunochip. Genetic association was assessed by logistic regression after correcting for population structure.RESULTS Altogether we identified 1258 IBD subjects exposed to anti-TNF agents in whom Immunochip data were available. 269/1258 patients(21%) were found to have adverse events to an anti-TNF-α agent that required the therapy to be discontinued. 25% of women compared to 17% of men experienced an adverse event. All adverse events resolved after discontinuing the antiTNF agent. In total: n = 66(5%) infusion reactions; n = 49(4%) allergic/serum sickness reactions; n = 19(1.5%) lupus-like reactions, n = 52(4%) rash, n = 18(1.4%) infections. In Crohn's disease, Ig A ASCA(P = 0.04) and Ig G-ASCA(P = 0.02) levels were also lower in patients with any adverse events, and anti-I2 level in ulcerative colitis was significantly associated with infusion reactions(P = 0.008). The logistic regression/human annotation and network analyses performed on the Immunochip data implicated the following five signaling pathways: JAK-STAT(Janus Kinase-signal transducer and activator of transcription), measles, IBD, cytokine-cytokine receptor interaction, and toxoplasmosis for any adverse event. CONCLUSION Our study shows 1 in 5 IBD patients experience an adverse event to anti-TNF therapy with novel serologic, genetic, and pathways associations.
基金supported by the China Agriculture Research System(CARS-42-G05,CARS-42-Z17)the High Technology Research and Development Program of China(2013AA102501)
文摘Marker assisted selection （MAS） for residual feed intake （RFI） is considered to be one of the powerful means to improve feed conversion efficiency, and therefore reduce production costs. To test the inner relationship among body compositions, growth traits and RFI, four models were proposed to assess the extensively explanatory variables accounting for partial variables in feed intake besides metabolic body weight and growth rate. As a result, the original model （Koch＇s model） had the lowest R2 （80.78%） and the highest Bayesian information criterion （1 323.3） value among the four models. Moreover, the effects on RFI caused by single nucleotide polymorphisms （SNPs） were assessed in this study. Twelve SNPs from 7 candidate genes were genotyped in 2 Chinese native strains, rs14743490 of RPLP2 gene showed suggestively significant association with initial body weight in both strains （P〈0.10）. rs15047274 of TAF15 was significantly associated with growth weight, final weight, and feed intake （P〈0.05） in N301 strain, in contrast, it was only suggestively significant associated with feed intake （P〈0.10） in N414 strain, rs15869967 was significantly associated with RFI in N414 strain but not in N301 strain. This study has identified potential genetic markers suitable for MAS in improving the above mentioned traits, but these associations need to be rectified in other larger populations in future.
基金supported by grants from the National Natural Science Foundation of China[No.81670294,81973138,91749205,81973112].
文摘Objectives The aims of this study were to assess the associations between parity and metabolic syndrome(Met S)and its components and to evaluate the effects of body mass index(BMI)on these associations.Methods A total of 5,674 women were enrolled from Jidong and Kailuan communities(Tangshan,Hebei)in Northern China.All participants completed standardized questionnaires,physical examination,and biochemical measurements.Logistic regression analysis was used to test the associations.Results Compared with women with parity of one,nulliparous women had decreased odds ratios(ORs);those with parity of two had odds of abdominal obesity[OR=1.45,95%confidence interval(CI)1.17–1.81,P<0.001],high blood pressure(OR=1.26,95%CI:1.03–1.54,P=0.025),elevated fasting glucose levels(OR=1.36,95%CI:1.03–1.79,P=0.029),and Met S(OR=1.39,95%CI:1.13–1.73,P=0.002);and those with parity of three or more had increased odds of elevated triglyceride levels(OR=1.42,95%CI:1.04–1.94,P=0.027)and Met S(OR=1.50,95%CI:1.10–2.05,P=0.011)after complete adjustment for confounders.Furthermore,BMI and age subgroups partially modified the associations between parity and Met S and its components.Conclusions Parity is positively associated with Met S and select components in women.BMI is an important modifier involved in the associations between parity and MetS.
基金Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(31600290)
文摘In this paper, we proposed a new statistical dependency measure for two random vectors based on copula, called copula dependency coefficient （CDC）. The CDC is proved to be robust to outliers and easy to be implemented. Especially, it is powerful and applicable to high-dimensional problems. All these properties make CDC practically important in related applications. Both experimental and application results show that CDC is a good robust dependence measure for association detecting.
基金Supported bythe Scientific Research Foundation ofHunan Provincial Education Department (03C500)
文摘Secure interaction and interoperability between two or more administrative domains is a major concern. The IRBAC 2000 model accomplishes secure interaction and interoperability by flexibly dynamic inter-domain role translations. Associations are the key element of the IRBAC 2000 model, which have a great impact on security and efficiency of dynamic role translations. Therefore, it is a crucial problem how to manage the associations in the IRBAC 2000 model. There are two cases under which some matters will emerge. One is where conflicting associations may result in a security hazard. Another is where redundant associations may reduce the efficiency of dynamic role translations and increase the difficulty of management of associations. The formal definitions on conflicting associations and redundant associations are given, and the methods are discusses to judge whether there are conflicting associations or redundant associations in IRBAC 2000 model. The protective mechanism is presented, which utilizes prerequisite conditions to prevent conflicting or redundant associations from appearing in IRBAC 2000 model.
基金supported by grants from the National Nonprofit Institute Research Grant (Y2020PT02)the earmarked fund for the modern agroindustry technology research system (CARS-41)+1 种基金Agricultural Science and Technology Innovation Program (ASTIP-IAS04ASTIP-IAS-TS-15)。
文摘Background: Improving the feed efficiency would increase profitability for producers while also reducing the environmental footprint of livestock production. This study was conducted to investigate the relationships among feed efficiency traits and metabolizable efficiency traits in 180 male broilers. Significant loci and genes affecting the metabolizable efficiency traits were explored with an imputation-based genome-wide association study. The traits measured or calculated comprised three growth traits, five feed efficiency related traits, and nine metabolizable efficiency traits.Results: The residual feed intake(RFI) showed moderate to high and positive phenotypic correlations with eight other traits measured, including average daily feed intake(ADFI), dry excreta weight(DEW), gross energy excretion(GEE), crude protein excretion(CPE), metabolizable dry matter(MDM), nitrogen corrected apparent metabolizable energy(AMEn), abdominal fat weight(Ab F), and percentage of abdominal fat(Ab P). Greater correlations were observed between growth traits and the feed conversion ratio(FCR) than RFI. In addition, the RFI, FCR, ADFI, DEW,GEE, CPE, MDM, AMEn, Ab F, and Ab P were lower in low-RFI birds than high-RFI birds(P < 0.01 or P < 0.05), whereas the coefficients of MDM and MCP of low-RFI birds were greater than those of high-RFI birds(P < 0.01). Five narrow QTLs for metabolizable efficiency traits were detected, including one 82.46-kb region for DEW and GEE on Gallus gallus chromosome(GGA) 26, one 120.13-kb region for MDM and AMEn on GGA1, one 691.25-kb region for the coefficients of MDM and AMEn on GGA5, one region for the coefficients of MDM and MCP on GGA2(103.45–103.53 Mb), and one 690.50-kb region for the coefficient of MCP on GGA14. Linkage disequilibrium(LD) analysis indicated that the five regions contained high LD blocks, as well as the genes chromosome 26 C6 orf106 homolog(C26 H6 orf106), LOC396098, SH3 and multiple ankyrin repeat domains 2(SHANK2), ETS homologous factor(EHF), and histamine receptor H3-like(HRH3 L), which are known to be involved in the regulation of neurodevelopment, cell proliferation and differentiation, and food intake.Conclusions: Selection for low RFI significantly decreased chicken feed intake, excreta output, and abdominal fat deposition, and increased nutrient digestibility without changing the weight gain. Five novel QTL regions involved in the control of metabolizable efficiency in chickens were identified. These results, combined through nutritional and genetic approaches, should facilitate novel insights into improving feed efficiency in poultry and other species.
基金supported by the planning projects of the introduction of international advanced forestry science and technology in China (948-project) (Grant No. 2013-4-66)"The Twelfth Five-Year-Plan" of National Science and Technology for Rural Development in China (Grant No. 2012BAD22B0203)
文摘In 2012 a plot was established with 1-ha area in a mixed coniferous-broadleaf forest in the Changbai Mountains, northeastern China for examining local forest processes, structure and succession. A method of O-ring statistics （pair- correlation function） was applied to analyze the spatial patterns and associations of the dominant species within different vertical layers. After the evaluation by their importance values, six tree species （or group） （i.e. Abies nephrolepis, Picea jezoensis, Pinus koraiensis, Tilia amurensis, and species group of Betula ssp. and species group of Acer ssp.） were determined as dominant trees species. It was found that some of these species exhibited closely clustered distributions at fine distances. As spatial distance increased, a random or even regular distribution gradually appeared with the exception of the upper layers of A. nephrolepis and P. koraiensis, and the lower layers of P. jezoensis, P. koraiensis and Betula ssp., which were substantially randomly distributed. Intra- and inter-species spatial associations varied in accordance with species, tree height and reciprocal distances. Positive associations were observed between the lower and upper height classes of trees of the same species （except for that of P. jezoensis） at fine distances. This may be owing to limited seed dispersal and geological heterogeneity. The aggregation intensity declines with increasing distances and this consistent with the predictions of self-thinning. Some coniferous trees （e.g. Pinus koraiensis） in the lower height class were positively associated with T. amurensis and group of Betula ssp. of the upper height class at some distances, suggesting that saplings of coniferous trees occupy a broader niche and can grow well under the canopy of the adult of broad-leaved trees. Negative associations were observed between upper coniferous trees and lower broad-leaved trees and between upper P. jezoensis and lower P. koraiensis, suggesting that a canopy of these trees might not provide suitable environment for the survival, establishment, and growth of o lower individuals, corresponding well to Janzen-Connell hypothesis.
