KIF21A Mutations in Two Chinese Families with Congenital Fibrosis of the Extraocular Muscles (CFEOM)

Purpose: Two Chinese families (XT and YT) with congenital fibrosis of the extraocular muscles (CFEOM) were identified. The purpose of this study was to determine if previously described Homo sapiens kinesin family member 21A (KIF21A) mutations were responsible for CFEOM in these two Chinese pedigrees. Methods: Clinical characterization and genetic studies were performed. Microsatellite genotyping for linkage to the CFEOM1 and CFEOM3 loci was performed. The probands were screened for KIF21A mutations by bidirectional direct sequencing. Once a mutation was detected in the proband, all other participating family members and 100 unrelated control normal individuals were screened for the mutation. Results: All affected individuals in family XT shared the common manifestations of CFEOM1. Family YT had two affected individuals, a mother and a daughter. The daughter had CFEOM1, while her mother never had congential ptosis but did have limited extraocular movements status post strabismus surgery. Haplotype analysis revealed that pedigree XT was linked to the 12q CFEOM1 locus and the affected memberes harbored the second most common missense mutation in KIF21A (2,861G>A, R954Q). Family YT harbored the most common missense de novo mutation in KIF21A (2,860C>T, R954W). Both of these mutations have been previously described. Conclusions: The observation of these two KIF21A mutations in a Chinese pedigree underscores the homogeneity of these mutations as a cause of CFEOM1 and CFEOM3 across ethnic divisions

Condom use peer norms and self-efficacy as mediators between community engagement and condom use among Chinese men who have sex with men.

BACKGROUND: Community engagement strategies are often integrated in public health interventions designed to promote condom use among men who have sex with men (MSM), a key population for HIV prevention. However, the ways in which condom use peer norms and self-efficacy play a role in the association between community engagement and condom use is unclear. This study examines the potential mediating roles of peer norms and self-efficacy in this association. METHODS: A nationwide cross-sectional online survey was conducted among Chinese MSM in 2015. Recruitment criteria included being born biologically male, being older than 16 years, having had anal sex with a man at least once during their lifetime, and having had condomless anal or vaginal sex in the past three months. Mplus 6.11 was used to conduct confirmatory factor analysis and path modeling analysis to examine the structural relationships between HIV/sexual health community engagement (e.g., joining social media and community events related to HIV and sexual health services), condom use peer norms, condom use self-efficacy, and frequency of condom use. RESULTS: The study found that HIV/sexual health community engagement, condom use peer norms, condom use self-efficacy, and frequency of condom use were mutually correlated. A good data model was achieved with fit index: CFI = 0.988, TLI = 0.987, RMSEA = 0.032, 90% CI (0.028, 0.036). HIV/sexual health community engagement was associated with frequency of condom use, which was directly mediated by condom use peer norms and indirectly through self-efficacy. CONCLUSION: The study suggests that condom use peer norms and self-efficacy may be mediators in the pathway between community engagement and condom use, and suggests the importance of peer-based interventions to improve condom use

Cassava genome from a wild ancestor to cultivated varieties

Cassava is a major tropical food crop in the Euphorbiaceae family that has high carbohydrate production potential and adaptability to diverse environments. Here we present the draft genome sequences of a wild ancestor and a domesticated variety of cassava and comparative analyses with a partial inbred line. We identify 1,584 and 1,678 gene models specific to the wild and domesticated varieties, respectively, and discover high heterozygosity and millions of single-nucleotide variations. Our analyses reveal that genes involved in photosynthesis, starch accumulation and abiotic stresses have been positively selected, whereas those involved in cell wall biosynthesis and secondary metabolism, including cyanogenic glucoside formation, have been negatively selected in the cultivated varieties, reflecting the result of natural selection and domestication. Differences in microRNA genes and retrotransposon regulation could partly explain an increased carbon flux towards starch accumulation and reduced cyanogenic glucoside accumulation in domesticated cassava. These results may contribute to genetic improvement of cassava through better understanding of its biology

线路板废水再生处理中管式膜-反渗透工艺药耗分析 Analysis on the dosage consumption of the tube emebrane-reverse osmosis process in the breadboard wastewater recycling

线路板行业废水重金属等污染物种类多、含量高，根据广东省电镀行业相关标准中的回用要求，须对线路板废水进行再生处理。珠海市某线路板生产厂采用高效微絮凝—管式膜(TMF)—两级反渗透(RO)工艺处理线路板废水，但在膜系统运行过程中须投加多种药剂，以保证膜系统的稳定运行和再生水水质达标。研究了TMF—RO工艺的药剂使用情况，该工艺投加药剂主要包括絮凝剂、还原剂、阻垢剂、酸碱调节剂、清洗剂等，当再生水水量为4 020m3/d时，设计药剂总投加量为156.7kg/d，单位再生水的平均药耗为39g/m3。该系统每天的药剂费用约为0.584万元/d，单位再生水的药剂成本为1.45元/m3，其中碱调节剂在药剂成本中所占比例最高，达65.64%。 There are various kinds of pollutants such as heavy metal in the breadboard industry wastewater with high concentration.According to the requirements of the wastewater reclamation for the electroplating industry in Guangdong Province,the breadboard wastewater should be recycled.Some breadboard production in Zhuhai City used the process of high-efficient micro-coagulation-tube membrane filter(TMF)-two-stage reverse osmosis(RO) to treat the breadboard wastewater.However,multiple kinds of dosages should be added in the membrane process to secure its stable operation and the water quality of the reclaimed wastewater.This paper studied the dosage for the TMF-RO system which mainly included coagulant,reducer,antisludging agent,acid and alkaline regulator,and cleaning agent.When the reclaimed wastewater quantity was 4 020 m3/d,the total dosage was 156.7 kg/d and the average dosage consumption was 39 g/m3.The daily dosage cost for this system was 5 840 YUAN/d;the cost of the reclaiming dosage was 1.45 YUAN/m3,among which the acid and alkaline regulator took 65.64%

Stock Market Trading Rules Discovery Based on Biclustering Method

The prediction of stock market’s trend has become a challenging task for a long time, which is affected by a variety of deterministic and stochastic factors. In this paper, a biclustering algorithm is introduced to find the local patterns in the quantized historical data. The local patterns obtained are regarded as the trading rules. Then the trading rules are applied in the short term prediction of the stock price, combined with the minimum-error-rate classification of the Bayes decision theory under the assumption of multivariate normal probability model. In addition, this paper also makes use of the idea of the stream mining to weaken the impact of historical data on the model and update the trading rules dynamically. The experiment is implemented on real datasets and the results prove the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm