Shareholders Wealth Effects of Recent Mergers and Acquisitions: the Chinese Experience

This paper studies the shareholder wealth effects of recent mergers and acquisitions in the Chinese market from 06/2006 to 05/2007. Results show that short-term CARs around the announcement day are significantly positive for both bidding and target companies. However, when cumulating over the 61-day test period, both bidding and target firms suffer significantly negative abnormal return

Genome-wide association study on serum alkaline phosphatase levels in a Chinese population

Background: Serum alkaline phosphatase (ALP) is a complex phenotype influenced by both genetic and environmental factors. Recent Genome-Wide Association Studies (GWAS) have identified several loci affecting ALP levels; however, such studies in Chinese populations are limited. We performed a GWAS analyzing the association between 658,288 autosomal SNPs and serum ALP in 1,461 subjects, and replicated the top SNPs in an additional 8,830 healthy Chinese Han individuals. The interactions between significant locus and environmental factors on serum ALP levels were further investigated. Results: The association between ABO locus and serum ALP levels was replicated (P = 2.50 × 10-21, 1.12 × 10-56 and 2.82 × 10-27 for SNP rs8176720, rs651007 and rs7025162 on ABO locus, respectively). SNP rs651007 accounted for 2.15% of the total variance of serum ALP levels independently of the other 2 SNPs. When comparing our findings with previously published studies, ethnic differences were observed across populations. A significant interaction between ABO rs651007 and overweight and obesity was observed (FDR for interaction was 0.036); for individuals with GG genotype, those with normal weight and those who were overweight or obese have similar serum ALP concentrations; minor allele A of rs651007 remarkably reduced serum ALP levels, but this effect was attenuated in overweight and obese individuals. Conclusions: Our findings indicate that ABO locus is a major determinant for serum ALP levels in Chinese Han population. Overweight and obesity modifies the effect of ABO locus on serum ALP concentrations

Genome-Wide Analysis of DNA Methylation and Cigarette Smoking in a Chinese Population

Background: Smoking is a risk factor for many human diseases. DNA methylation has been related to smoking, but genome-wide methylation data for smoking in Chinese populations is limited. Objectives: We aimed to investigate epigenome-wide methylation in relation to smoking in a Chinese population. Methods: We measured the methylation levels at > 485,000 CpG sites (CpGs) in DNA from leukocytes using a methylation array and conducted a genome-wide meta-analysis of DNA methylation and smoking in a total of 596 Chinese participants. We further evaluated the associations of smoking-related CpGs with internal polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) biomarkers and their correlations with the expression of corresponding genes. Results: We identified 318 CpGs whose methylation levels were associated with smoking at a genome-wide significance level (false discovery rate < 0.05), among which 161 CpGs annotated to 123 genes were not associated with smoking in recent studies of Europeans and African Americans. Of these smoking-related CpGs, methylation levels at 80 CpGs showed significant correlations with the expression of corresponding genes (including RUNX3, IL6R, PTAFR, ANKRD11, CEP135 and CDH23), and methylation at 15 CpGs was significantly associated with urinary 2-hydroxynaphthalene, the most representative internal monohydroxy-PAH biomarker for smoking. Conclusion: We identified DNA methylation markers associated with smoking in a Chinese population, including some markers that were also correlated with gene expression. Exposure to naphthalene, a byproduct of tobacco smoke, may contribute to smoking-related methylation. Citation: Zhu X, Li J, Deng S, Yu K, Liu X, Deng Q, Sun H, Zhang X, He M, Guo H, Chen W, Yuan J, Zhang B, Kuang D, He X, Bai Y, Han X, Liu B, Li X, Yang L, Jiang H, Zhang Y, Hu J, Cheng L, Luo X, Mei W, Zhou Z, Sun S, Zhang L, Liu C, Guo Y, Zhang Z, Hu FB, Liang L, Wu T. 2016. Genome-wide analysis of DNA methylation and cigarette smoking in Chinese. Environ Health Perspect 124:966–973; http://dx.doi.org/10.1289/ehp.150983

Reintegration from Sex Trafficking: Chinese Women in Flushing, NY

This article attempts to provide a comprehensive analysis of the needs for reintegration from sex trafficking and the gap of current social services provided to foreign national victims in the United States by focusing on Chinese female victims in Flushing NY. Through the research, the author understands the safe long-term housing ranks first among all the victims\u27 needs for social services in the process of reintegration, which hasn’t been sufficiently addressed yet. Although the U.S. Congress passed the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA) to protect and assist international victims, and made T-visas available, the laudable goal of protecting and restoring foreign national victims of sex trafficking has not been adequately accomplished. Despite the gaps and shortcomings, some feasible practice has been applied and made breakthrough in the anti-trafficking field

Shareholders Wealth Effects of Recent Mergers and Acquisitions: the Chinese Experience

This paper studies the shareholder wealth effects of recent mergers and acquisitions in the Chinese market from 06/2006 to 05/2007. Results show that short-term CARs around the announcement day are significantly positive for both bidding and target companies. However, when cumulating over the 61-day test period, both bidding and target firms suffer significantly negative abnormal return

Transcriptomic Response of Escherichia coli O157:H7 to Oxidative Stress▿ †

Chlorinated water is commonly used in industrial operations to wash and sanitize fresh-cut, minimally processed produce. Here we compared 42 human outbreak strains that represented nine distinct Escherichia coli O157:H7 genetic lineages (or clades) for their relative resistance to chlorine treatment. A quantitative measurement of resistance was made by comparing the extension of the lag phase during growth of each strain under exposure to sublethal concentrations of sodium hypochlorite in Luria-Bertani or brain heart infusion broth. Strains in clade 8 showed significantly (P < 0.05) higher resistance to chlorine than strains from other clades of E. coli O157:H7. To further explore how E. coli O157:H7 responds to oxidative stress at transcriptional levels, we analyzed the global gene expression profiles of two strains, TW14359 (clade 8; associated with the 2006 spinach outbreak) and Sakai (clade 1; associated with the 1996 radish sprout outbreak), under sodium hypochlorite or hydrogen peroxide treatment. We found over 380 genes were differentially expressed (more than twofold; P < 0.05) after exposure to low levels of chlorine or hydrogen peroxide. Significantly upregulated genes included several regulatory genes responsive to oxidative stress, genes encoding putative oxidoreductases, and genes associated with cysteine biosynthesis, iron-sulfur cluster assembly, and antibiotic resistance. Identification of E. coli O157:H7 strains with enhanced resistance to chlorine decontamination and analysis of their transcriptomic response to oxidative stress may improve our basic understanding of the survival strategy of this human enteric pathogen on fresh produce during minimal processing

Baseline Levels of Serum Progesterone and the First Trimester Pregnancy Outcome in Women with Threatened Abortion: A Retrospective Cohort Study

Objective. The relationship between serum progesterone and the first trimester pregnancy outcome of threatened abortion is still controversial. Therefore, we aimed to further study the association between these two parameters. Methods. The present study is an observational retrospective cohort study. A total of 726 participants who had threatened abortion from a hospital in Guangdong, China, were included in this study from 17th August 2011 to 30th October 2018. The exposure variable and the outcome variable were serum progesterone measured at baseline and early pregnancy outcome, respectively. Covariates involved in this study included patients’ basic demographics, obstetric history, and clinical information. Results. A negative association and a saturation effect were detected between serum progesterone and the first trimester pregnancy outcome. When progesterone <90.62 nmol/L, an increase in 1 nmol/L of serum progesterone was associated with 3% decrease of the risk of miscarriage (OR: 0.97, 95% CI: 0.95-0.98). Conclusion. There was a greater risk of abortion when the serum progesterone level was less than 90.62 nmol/L. Our findings can better assist the clinician in understanding patients’ conditions and making medical decisions

Reduction of depression-like behavior in rat model induced by ShRNA targeting norepinephrine transporter in locus coeruleus

Depression may be associated with reduced monoamine neurotransmission, particularly serotonin and norepinephrine (NE). Reuptake of NE by the norepinephrine transporter (NET) is the primary mechanism by which many of the antidepressants are high-affinity substrates for NET. This study aimed to examine the effect of lentivirus-mediated shRNA targeting NET in locus coeruleus (LC) on depression-like behaviors of rats. We randomly assigned 60 male Wistar rats to 6 experimental groups: (1) Control group: without chronic unpredictable mild stress (CUMS) and without NET-shRNA treatment; (2) shRNA group: without CUMS + NET-shRNA; (3) CUMS group: 3-week CUMS without NET-shRNA; (4) CUMS + nonsense shRNA group; (5) CUMS + amygdala (Amy)-shRNA group; (6) CUMS+ locus coeruleus (LC)-shRNA group. First, recombinant lentiviral vector expressing shRNA (ShRNA-629, ShRNA-330, ShRNA-1222, ShRNA-1146 or ShRNA- negative control) against NET were produced, and their efficiency in knocking down of NET in PC12 cells were assessed by Q-PCR and western blot analysis. Second, shRNA was injected into the rat LC bilaterally to investigate whether it could prevent the depressive-like behavior induced by 3-week CUMS. Third, we tested the depressive-like behavior of the rats in the forced swimming test, the open field test, the sucrose preference test, as well as the body weight gain at the end of the seventh week. Finally, the protein expressions of NET was measured by western blot and the NE levels were measured by high performance liquid chromatography. Q-PCR and western blot showed that the ShRNA-1146 had the best interference efficiency targeting on NET in PC12 cells (p &lt; 0.01). Compared to the depression model group, the immobility time in the forced swimming test was significantly reduced (p &lt; 0.01), but the sucrose preference and the total scores in the open field test were significantly increased (all p &lt; 0.01) in the group treated with shRNA in LC. Furthermore, compared with the depression model group, NET levels were significantly decreased (p &lt; 0.01), but NE levels were significantly increased in the group treated with shRNA in LC (p &lt; 0.05). Our findings suggest that Lentivirus-mediated shRNA targeting NET in LC downregulated NET both in vitro and in vivo, resulting in a significant decrease in depressive-like behavior of rats.</p

Urinary Metals and Heart Rate Variability: A Cross-Sectional Study of Urban Adults in Wuhan, China

Background: Epidemiological studies have suggested an association between external estimates of exposure to metals in air particles and altered heart rate variability (HRV). However, studies on the association between internal assessments of metals exposure and HRV are limited. Objectives: The purpose of this study was to examine the potential association between urinary metals and HRV among residents of an urban community in Wuhan, China. Methods: We performed a cross-sectional analysis of 23 urinary metals and 5-min HRV indices (SDNN, standard deviation of normal-to-normal intervals; r-MSSD, root mean square of successive differences in adjacent normal-to-normal intervals; LF, low frequency; HF, high frequency; TP, total power) using baseline data on 2,004 adult residents of Wuhan. Results: After adjusting for other metals, creatinine, and other covariates, natural log-transformed urine titanium concentration was positively associated with all HRV indices (all p 52), current smokers (vs. nonsmokers), body mass index < 25 kg/m2 (vs. ≥ 25), and among those who were not hypertensive. Conclusions: Urine concentrations of several metals were associated with HRV parameters in our cross-sectional study population. These findings need replication in other studies with adequate sample sizes. Citation Feng W, He X, Chen M, Deng S, Qiu G, Li X, Liu C, Li J, Deng Q, Huang S, Wang T, Dai X, Yang B, Yuan J, He M, Zhang X, Chen W, Kan H, Wu T. 2015. Urinary metals and heart rate variability: a cross-sectional study of urban adults in Wuhan, China. Environ Health Perspect 123:217–222; http://dx.doi.org/10.1289/ehp.130756