Multi-ancestry study of blood lipid levels identifies four loci interacting with physical activity.

Many genetic loci affect circulating lipid levels, but it remains unknown whether lifestyle factors, such as physical activity, modify these genetic effects. To identify lipid loci interacting with physical activity, we performed genome-wide analyses of circulating HDL cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, and triglyceride levels in up to 120,979 individuals of European, African, Asian, Hispanic, and Brazilian ancestry, with follow-up of suggestive associations in an additional 131,012 individuals. We find four loci, in/near CLASP1, LHX1, SNTA1, and CNTNAP2, that are associated with circulating lipid levels through interaction with physical activity; higher levels of physical activity enhance the HDL cholesterol-increasing effects of the CLASP1, LHX1, and SNTA1 loci and attenuate the LDL cholesterol-increasing effect of the CNTNAP2 locus. The CLASP1, LHX1, and SNTA1 regions harbor genes linked to muscle function and lipid metabolism. Our results elucidate the role of physical activity interactions in the genetic contribution to blood lipid levels

Multi-ancestry study of blood lipid levels identifies four loci interacting with physical activity

The present work was largely supported by a grant from the US National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) of the National Institutes of Health (R01HL118305). The full list of acknowledgments appears in the Supplementary Notes 3 and 4.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

A multi-ancestry genome-wide study incorporating gene-smoking interactions identifies multiple new loci for pulse pressure and mean arterial pressure

Elevated blood pressure (BP), a leading cause of global morbidity and mortality, is influenced by both genetic and lifestyle factors. Cigarette smoking is one such lifestyle factor. Across five ancestries, we performed a genome-wide gene-smoking interaction study of mean arterial pressure (MAP) and pulse pressure (PP) in 129 913 individuals in stage 1 and follow-up analysis in 480 178 additional individuals in stage 2. We report here 136 loci significantly associated with MAP and/or PP. Of these, 61 were previously published through main-effect analysis of BP traits, 37 were recently reported by us for systolic BP and/or diastolic BP through gene-smoking interaction analysis and 38 were newly identified (P <5 x 10(-8), false discovery rate <0.05). We also identified nine new signals near known loci. Of the 136 loci, 8 showed significant interaction with smoking status. They include CSMD1 previously reported for insulin resistance and BP in the spontaneously hypertensive rats. Many of the 38 new loci show biologic plausibility for a role in BP regulation. SLC26A7 encodes a chloride/bicarbonate exchanger expressed in the renal outer medullary collecting duct. AVPR1A is widely expressed, including in vascular smooth muscle cells, kidney, myocardium and brain. FHAD1 is a long non-coding RNA overexpressed in heart failure. TMEM51 was associated with contractile function in cardiomyocytes. CASP9 plays a central role in cardiomyocyte apoptosis. Identified only in African ancestry were 30 novel loci. Our findings highlight the value of multi-ancestry investigations, particularly in studies of interaction with lifestyle factors, where genomic and lifestyle differences may contribute to novel findings.Peer reviewe

Self-reported sleep status and influencing factors: a web-based national cross-sectional survey in China

AbstractObjectives To investigate self-reported sleep duration, sleep timing, sleep status and influencing factors in the Chinese population.Methods This web-based cross-sectional survey was conducted in 2022, covering 31 provinces (91%) in China. 11,000 questionnaires were collected, of which 8970 were valid for analysis. Self-reported sleep habits, problems and quality were investigated. Good or fair sleep ratings, enough duration, regular, with no sleep disturbances and <30 min sleep latency was defined as a composite variable: ‘Good sleep’. Factors influencing sleep patterns and ‘Good sleep’ were analyzed by multivariate logistic regression.Results Most participants sleep less than 7 h per night (55.13%), usually go to bed at 10–12 pm (47.99%), wake up at 6–8 am (49.86%), and take less than 30 min to fall asleep (66.30%) with regular sleep schedule (76.01%). Only 12.36% have ‘Good sleep’. In the past 3 months, 46.80% of the participants reported symptoms of insomnia, and 21.54% had snoring problems. Among the adults, the young, males, college students, freelancers, and those who resided in urban areas and pandemic-free areas slept later, and the northerners woke up earlier. The adults with low-moderate and moderate income and the minors at elementary and middle school slept earlier and woke up earlier. Mid-aged adults who often napped at noon were more likely to have ‘Good sleep’ than any other age group, and urban dwellers with the same habit were more likely to have ‘Good sleep’ than people dwelled in other regions. While people who slept late, woke up too early or too late, slept too little or too much, resided at GMT 7–8 area or pandemic area, had high income, or took up some occupations (entrepreneurs/individuals, professionals, manual and non-manual workers, housewives) were less likely to get a ‘Good sleep’.Conclusions The national survey provided a sleep profile of the Chinese population. Both socio-economic status and personal sleep hygiene habits had an impact on ‘Good sleep’

Effects of citric acids on contents of nicotine and aroma components in cut tobacco

In order to improve quality of cigarettes, the effect of citric acid on nicotine and aroma components content was studied. Five different concentrations of citric acid solution, i.e. 0.5%, 0.9%, 1.3%, 1.7%, and 2.1% (w/w), were prepared and evenly sprayed on cut tobacco. After balancing the system for 48 h, tobacco was dried at set conditions (temperature 110 °C, air velocity 1.57 m/sec and rotating speed 12 r/min) at moisture content of 12%-13%, and then extracted with tert-butyl methyl ether and determined by GC/MS. Results showed that: 1) When added at 0% to 0.5%, citric acid and ketones and alcohol showed positive correlation and when added with over 0.5% it showed negative correlation. 2) Content of nicotine in dissociative state was continuously decreased, after adding citric acid to the system. Appropriate amount of addition of citric acid into tobacco was helpful to enhance aroma components, improve the smoking quality, and control nicotine content

Combination of Ginsenoside Rg1 and Bone Marrow Mesenchymal Stem Cell Transplantation in the Treatment of Cerebral Ischemia Reperfusion Injury in Rats

Background/Aims: The present study aims to explore the protective role and mechanism of ginsenoside Rg1 combined with bone marrow mesenchymal stem cell (BMSC) transplantation for cerebral ischemia reperfusion injury (CIRI) in rat brain. Methods: One hundred twenty male SD rats were randomly divided into a sham group, an Ischemia Reperfusion (IR) group, an IR group treated with BMSC transplantation (IR+BMSCs), an IR group treated with Rg1 (IR+Rg1), and an IR group treated with BMSC transplantation and Rg1 (IR+Rg1+BMSCs). To establish a CIRI model, right middle cerebral artery embolization was used. The neurological score, 2,3,5-triphenyltet-razolium chloride monohydrate (TTC) staining and brain water content were detected to assess the treatment efficiency. HE staining and TUNEL were used to explore the pathologic changes and apoptosis. To explore the protein levels of neuron-specific enolase (NSE) and glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), immunofluoresence was utilized. Western blotting was used to explore apoptosis-related proteins such as Bcl-2 and Bax. Results: Compared with the sham group, the IR group demonstrated obvious ischemic changes, such as significant neurologic defects and enhanced brain water content. The Rg1 treatment resulted in an obvious decrease in cell apoptosis and improved ischemic conditions. By BMSC transplantation, the transplanted cells could be differentiated into neurons and glial cells, which also improved cerebral ischemia. More importantly, the IR+Rg1+BMSCs group showed the best treatment efficiency with reduced cell apoptosis and better cerebral recovery. Conclusions: The Rg1 treatment resulted in an obvious decrease in cell apoptosis, while the transplanted cells could be differentiated into neurons and glial cells, which also improved cerebral ischemia

Point-by-Point Induced High Birefringence Polymer Optical Fiber Bragg Grating for Strain Measurement

In this paper, the first- and fourth-order fiber Bragg grating (FBG)-based axial strain sensors are proposed. The FBGs are inscribed in step-index polymer optical fibers (POFs) (TOPAS core and ZEONEX cladding) via the point-by-point (PbP) direct-writing technique. A first-order FBG with a single peak is obtained with a pulse fluence of 7.16 J/cm2, showing a strain sensitivity of 1.17 pm/με. After that, a fourth-order FBG with seven peaks is obtained with a pulse fluence of 1.81 J/cm2 with a strain sensitivity between 1.249 pm/με and 1.296 pm/με. With a higher fluence of 2.41 J/cm2, a second fourth-order FBG with five peaks is obtained, each of which is split into two peaks due to high birefringence (Hi-Bi) of ~5.4 × 10−4. The two split peaks present a strain sensitivity of ~1.44 pm/με and ~1.55 pm/με, respectively. The peak difference corresponding to Hi-Bi presents a strain sensitivity of ~0.11 pm/με and could potentially be used for simultaneous dual-parameter measurement, such as temperature and strain