Genomic analysis of oesophageal squamous-cell carcinoma identifies alcohol drinking-related mutation signature and genomic alterations

Approximately half of the world's 500,000 new oesophageal squamous-cell carcinoma (ESCC) cases each year occur in China. Here, we show whole-genome sequencing of DNA and RNA in 94 Chinese individuals with ESCC. We identify six mutational signatures (E1–E6), and Signature E4 is unique in ESCC linked to alcohol intake and genetic variants in alcohol-metabolizing enzymes. We discover significantly recurrent mutations in 20 protein-coding genes, 4 long non-coding RNAs and 10 untranslational regions. Functional analyses show six genes that have recurrent copy-number variants in three squamous-cell carcinomas (oesophageal, head and neck and lung) significantly promote cancer cell proliferation, migration and invasion. The most frequently affected genes by structural variation are LRP1B and TTC28. The aberrant cell cycle and PI3K-AKT pathways seem critical in ESCC. These results establish a comprehensive genomic landscape of ESCC and provide potential targets for precision treatment and prevention of the cancer

Antibiotics and antibiotic resistance genes in global lakes:A review and meta-analysis

Lakes are an important source of freshwater, containing nearly 90% of the liquid surface fresh water worldwide. Long retention times in lakes mean pollutants from discharges slowly circulate around the lakes and may lead to high ecological risk for ecosystem and human health. In recent decades, antibiotics and antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) have been regarded as emerging pollutants. The occurrence and distribution of antibiotics and ARGs in global freshwater lakes are summarized to show the pollution level of antibiotics and ARGs and to identify some of the potential risks to ecosystem and human health. Fifty-seven antibiotics were reported at least once in the studied lakes. Our meta-analysis shows that sulfamethoxazole, sulfamerazine, sulfameter, tetracycline, oxytetracycline, erythromycin, and roxithromycin were found at high concentrations in both lake water and lake sediment. There is no significant difference in the concentration of sulfonamides in lake water from China and that from other countries worldwide; however, there was a significant difference in quinolones. Erythromycin had the lowest predicted hazardous concentration for 5% of the species (HC5) and the highest ecological risk in lakes. There was no significant difference in the concentration of sulfonamide resistance genes (sul1 and sul2) in lake water and river water. There is surprisingly limited research on the role of aquatic biota in propagation of ARGs in freshwater lakes. As an environment that is susceptible to cumulative build-up of pollutants, lakes provide an important environment to study the fate of antibiotics and transport of ARGs with a broad range of niches including bacterial community, aquatic plants and animals

A Novel Stability Analysis of Uncertain Switched Systems with Time-Varying Delays

This paper deals with the stability of switched systems with time-varying delay. The time-varying system parameters are assumed to be norm-bounded. Based on a novel switched time-varying Lyapunov functional method, some new LMI-based sufficient conditions have been obtained to ensure the exponential stability for the uncertain switched delays systems. Finally, the proposed method is applied to a numerical example and the simulative results are also given

Assessing the Impact of Lifestyle Interventions on Diabetes Prevention in China: A Modeling Approach

China’s diabetes epidemic is getting worse. People with diabetes in China usually have a lower body weight and a different lifestyle profile compared to their counterparts in the United States (US). More and more evidence show that certain lifestyles can possibly be spread from person to person, leading some to propose considering social influence when establishing preventive policies. This study developed an innovative agent-based model of the diabetes epidemic for the Chinese population. Based on the risk factors and related complications of diabetes, the model captured individual health progression, quantitatively described the peer influence of certain lifestyles, and projected population health outcomes over a specific time period. We simulated several hypothetical interventions (i.e., improving diet, controlling smoking, improving physical activity) and assessed their impact on diabetes rates. We validated the model by comparing simulation results with external datasets. Our results showed that improving physical activity could result in the most significant decrease in diabetes prevalence compared to improving diet and controlling smoking. Our model can be used to inform policymakers on how the diabetes epidemic develops and help them compare different diabetes prevention programs in practice

Building Integrated Photovoltaic (BIPV) Development Knowledge Map: A Review of Visual Analysis Using CiteSpace

Achieving zero energy consumption in buildings is one of the most effective ways of achieving ‘carbon neutrality’ and contributing to a green and sustainable global development. Currently, BIPV systems are one of the main approaches to achieving zero energy in buildings in many countries. This paper presents the evolution of BIPV systems and predicts their future trends by deriving a base sample of core papers on BIPV systems from 2012 to 2022 from the Web of Science core database and conducting a bibliometric study using CiteSpace scientific visualisation software. To gain a deeper understanding and grasp of the research progress of BIPV systems, research group discovery, research hotspot analysis, and research frontier detection of the relevant literature were conducted. (1) Research groups on the topic were summarised through author coupling network, publication distribution, and country mapping analysis; (2) Research hotspots on the topic were explored through keyword co-occurrence, keyword emergence, and time zone map analysis; (3) Research hotspots on the topic were explored through literature co-citation timeline maps, literature co-citation categories, and literature co-citation clustering analysis to detect the frontiers of research in the field. Finally, we conclude that research trends in BIPV systems are mainly in the areas of heat transfer, thermal performance, renewable energy, solar cell and renewable building materials, and evaluation systems. In the future, BIPV research and applications will move towards interdisciplinary and multinational cooperation, which will maximise the benefits of clean energy conversion in buildings. It will also provide researchers and practitioners with a clearer understanding of BIPV research trends and hotspots, and provide new directions for future research

Associations of Dietary Habits, Physical Activity and Cognitive Views With Gestational Diabetes Mellitus Among Chinese Women

Objective To evaluate the relationship between dietary habits, physical activity and cognitive views and the risk of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) in Chinese women. Design A cross-sectional study to explore the potential risk factors of GMD through the International Physical Activity Questionnaire, an FFQ and a self-designed structured questionnaire, respectively. Setting Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, China. Subjects Chinese pregnant women (n 571) who underwent a 75-g oral glucose tolerance test at their 24th to 28th gestational week. Results Thirteen per cent of the investigated women were identified as having GDM, and an increased intake of local featured foods and lower physical activity were observed in the GDM-positive group v. The GDM-negative group. Women who regarded early-pregnancy morning sickness as relevant to fetal abnormalities and those with unlimited dietary intake after the ending of morning sickness both had an increased risk for GDM (P = 0·018 and P = 0·038, respectively). After multiple logistic regression analysis, cognitive views for unlimited food intake subsequent to morning sickness, increased consumption of energy-dense snack foods and high-glycaemic-index fruits were strongly associated with the risk of GDM (OR = 1·911, P = 0·032; OR = 1·050, P = 0·001; and OR = 1·002, P = 0·017, respectively). Conclusions Local featured foods and incorrect cognitive views on pregnancy-related health were closely related to the risk of GDM in Chinese women. Intensive health education about pregnancy physiology and reasonable dietary and physical exercise behaviours should be strengthened for the control of GDM