A longitudinal cline characterizes the genetic structure of human populations in the Tibetan plateau

Indigenous populations of the Tibetan plateau have attracted much attention for their good performance at extreme high altitude. Most genetic studies of Tibetan adaptations have used genetic variation data at the genome scale, while genetic inferences about their demography and population structure are largely based on uniparental markers. To provide genome-wide information on population structure, we analyzed new and published data of 338 individuals from indigenous populations across the plateau in conjunction with worldwide genetic variation data. We found a clear signal of genetic stratification across the east-west axis within Tibetan samples. Samples from more eastern locations tend to have higher genetic affinity with lowland East Asians, which can be explained by more gene flow from lowland East Asia onto the plateau. Our findings corroborate a previous report of admixture signals in Tibetans, which were based on a subset of the samples analyzed here, but add evidence for isolation by distance in a broader geospatial context

Indoor pollution in high altitude dwellings: an assessment of affecting factors across four Sherpa villages in the Khumbu region, Nepal.

Household air pollution (HAP) from biomass fuel smoke is a major health risk, especially in developing countries. The ventilation of buildings and the type of fume discharge could also affect HAP. The present study aims to investigate the impact of stove type and kitchen characteristics on levels of pollutants. In particular, we investigated the potential geometric ventilation of buildings using geometric ventilation index (GVI), the presence of chimneys, the type of fuel and the environmental carbon monoxide level (a marker of indoor pollution) in the households of four Sherpa villages located in a mountain region of Nepal at altitudes between 2500 and 3900 m. We analysed 114 buildings (76 private residences and 38 lodges that accommodate tourists). Lodges had a more effective discharge system and a higher GVI, which had an inverse, significant correlation with indoor CO levels (r¼0.52). The level of indoor CO was more than 50% higher in private residences than in lodges. In the univariate analysis, only the absence of a chimney was associated with higher indoor CO (OR 3.4 (CL95%, 1.2–10.0), p¼0.02). We conclude that the adoption of chimneys and sealed stoves with exhaust pipes should be the first measure taken to reduce pollutants inside the households of high mountain regions until a switch to clean fuels can be achieved

Tibetan GWAS Summary Statistics for Fertility Traits 6

This file is a tar archive containing 8 files with the GWAS summary statistics generated by the software gemma for the fertility traits childhood death and childhood survival. The individual gemma files are compressed, tab delimited text files. See the accompanying README for further details

Tibetan GWAS Summary Statistics for Fertility Traits 3

This file is a tar archive containing 4 files with the GWAS summary statistics generated by the software gemma for the fertility trait live births. The individual gemma files are compressed, tab delimited text files. See the accompanying README for further details

Tibetan GWAS Summary Statistics for Fertility Traits 2

This file is a tar archive containing 8 files with the GWAS summary statistics generated by the software gemma for the fertility traits miscarriages and stillbirths. The individual gemma files are compressed, tab delimited text files. See the accompanying README for further details

Tibetan GWAS Summary Statistics for Physiological Traits

This file is a tar archive containing 8 files with the GWAS summary statistics generated by the software gemma for the Tibetan physiological traits. The individual gemma files are compressed, tab delimited text files. See the accompanying README for further details

PLINK formatted genotype data for 53 Nepali Tibetans

Compressed tarball archive containing PLINK formatted files (bim, bed, fam) with genotype data for 53 Tibetans from highland Nepal (69,427 SNPs)