Observation of Complex Time Structures in the Cosmic-Ray Electron and Positron Fluxes with the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer on the International Space Station

We present high-statistics, precision measurements of the detailed time and energy dependence of the primary cosmic-ray electron flux and positron flux over 79 Bartels rotations from May 2011 to May 2017 in the energy range from 1 to 50 GeV. For the first time, the charge-sign dependent modulation during solar maximum has been investigated in detail by leptons alone. Based on 23.5×10^{6} events, we report the observation of short-term structures on the timescale of months coincident in both the electron flux and the positron flux. These structures are not visible in the e^{+}/e^{-} flux ratio. The precision measurements across the solar polarity reversal show that the ratio exhibits a smooth transition over 830±30 days from one value to another. The midpoint of the transition shows an energy dependent delay relative to the reversal and changes by 260±30 days from 1 to 6 GeV.

Precision Measurement of Cosmic-Ray Nitrogen and its Primary and Secondary Components with the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer on the International Space Station

A precision measurement of the nitrogen flux with rigidity (momentum per unit charge) from 2.2 GV to 3.3 TV based on 2.2×10^{6} events is presented. The detailed rigidity dependence of the nitrogen flux spectral index is presented for the first time. The spectral index rapidly hardens at high rigidities and becomes identical to the spectral indices of primary He, C, and O cosmic rays above ∼700  GV. We observed that the nitrogen flux Φ_{N} can be presented as the sum of its primary component Φ_{N}^{P} and secondary component Φ_{N}^{S}, Φ_{N}=Φ_{N}^{P}+Φ_{N}^{S}, and we found Φ_{N} is well described by the weighted sum of the oxygen flux Φ_{O} (primary cosmic rays) and the boron flux Φ_{B} (secondary cosmic rays), with Φ_{N}^{P}=(0.090±0.002)×Φ_{O} and Φ_{N}^{S}=(0.62±0.02)×Φ_{B} over the entire rigidity range. This corresponds to a change of the contribution of the secondary cosmic ray component in the nitrogen flux from 70% at a few GV to <30% above 1 TV.

Observation of Fine Time Structures in the Cosmic Proton and Helium Fluxes with the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer on the International Space Station

We present the precision measurement from May 2011 to May 2017 (79 Bartels rotations) of the proton fluxes at rigidities from 1 to 60 GV and the helium fluxes from 1.9 to 60 GV based on a total of 1×10^{9} events collected with the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer aboard the International Space Station. This measurement is in solar cycle 24, which has the solar maximum in April 2014. We observed that, below 40 GV, the proton flux and the helium flux show nearly identical fine structures in both time and relative amplitude. The amplitudes of the flux structures decrease with increasing rigidity and vanish above 40 GV. The amplitudes of the structures are reduced during the time period, which started one year after solar maximum, when the proton and helium fluxes steadily increase. Above ∼3  GV the p/He flux ratio is time independent. We observed that below ∼3  GV the ratio has a long-term decrease coinciding with the period during which the fluxes start to rise.

Long non-coding RNA DANCR facilitates glioma malignancy by sponging miR-33a-5p

Glioma is among the most fatal brain tumors characterized by a highly malignancy and rapid progression and early metastasis. Dysregulation of long non-coding RNA differentiation antagonizing non-protein coding RNA (LncRNA DANCR) is associated with the development, progression and metastasis of various cancers. In the present study, we investigated functional role of LncRNA DANCR in the malignancy of glioma. The results showed that LncRNA DANCR was increased in glioma tissues and cells compared with normal brain tissues and cells. DANCR expression was positively correlated with the malignancy and poor prognosis of glioma patients. DANCR contained a binding site of miR-33a-5p. miR-33a-5p was decreased in glioma tissues and cells compared with normal brain tissues and cells. Downregulation of miR-33a-5p was positively correlated with the malignancy and poor prognosis of glioma patients. In glioma tissues, the expression of DANCR was negatively correlated with the expression of miR-33a-5p. Downregulation of DANCR increased miR-33a-5p expression. miR-33a-5p mimic reduced the luciferase of DANCR-WT but not DANCR-MUT. DANCR pull-down showed the expression of miR-33a-5p. miR-33a-5p mimic enhanced knockdown of DANCR -induced inhibition of cell proliferation, migration, and EMT, and increase of apoptosis. Anti-miR-33a-5p reversed the effects of si- DANCR on cell malignancy. Knockdown of DANCR remarkably reduced the increase of tumor volumes in xenograft mouse models. In tumor tissues, knockdown of DANCR increased the expression of miR-33a-5p, reduced EMT and increased apoptosis. Our study provides novel insights in the functions of LncRNA DANCR-miR-33a-5p axis in tumorigenesis of glioma.

[Epidemiological analysis on mortality of cancer in China, 2015]

Objective: To understand the distribution of cancer deaths in China in 2015 and provide reference for the prevention and control of cancer. Methods: Based on the results of Global Burden of Disease 2015, the cancer death distributions in different age groups, sex groups, provinces or by different malignant tumor in Chinese were described. Results: The age-standardized mortality rate of cancer was 159.01/100 000 in China in 2015. The mortality rate was highest in age group ≥70 years (1 102.73/100 000), and lowest in age group 5-14 years (5.40/100 000). The mortality rate in males was 2.15 times higher than that in females. The first 5 provinces with high cancer mortality rate were Anhui, Qinghai, Sichuan, Guangxi and Henan. Lung cancer, liver cancer, stomach cancer, esophageal cancer and colorectal cancer ranked 1-5 in term of mortality rate. Conclusion: The cancer mortality differed with age, gender, area and different malignant tumors, suggesting the necessity to develop targeted prevention and control strategies.

Challenges of Francisella classification exemplified by an atypical clinical isolate

The accumulation of sequenced Francisella strains has made it increasingly apparent that the 16S rRNA gene alone is not enough to stratify the Francisella genus into precise and clinically useful classifications. Continued whole-genome sequencing of isolates will provide a larger base of knowledge for targeted approaches with broad applicability. Additionally, examination of genomic information on a case-by-case basis will help resolve outstanding questions regarding strain stratification. We report the complete genome sequence of a clinical isolate, designated here as F. novicida-like strain TCH2015, acquired from the lymph node of a 6-year-old male. Two features were atypical for F. novicida: exhibition of functional oxidase activity and additional gene content, including proposed virulence determinants. These differences, which could potentially impact virulence and clinical diagnosis, emphasize the need for more comprehensive methods to profile Francisella isolates. This study highlights the value of whole-genome sequencing, which will lead to a more robust database of environmental and clinical genomes and inform strategies to improve detection and classification of Francisella strains.

Long non-coding RNA SNHG16 contributes to glioma malignancy by competitively binding miR-20a-5p with E2F1

Glioma is among the most fatal and highly aggressive primary malignant tumors in the central nervous system. Small nucleolar RNA host gene 16 (SNHG16) is identified to play an oncogenic role in several cancers. However, the exact mechanism of SNHG16 action in the regulation of glioma development remains unknown. LncRNA SNHG16 was increased in glioma tissues and cells compared with normal brain tissues and cells. SNHG16 expression was correlated with the malignancy and poor prognosis of glioma patients. SNHG16 and E2F1 contained a binding site of miR-20a-5p. miR-20a-5p was decreased in glioma tissues and cells compared with normal brain tissues and cells. Downregulation of miR-20a-5p was correlated with the malignancy and poor prognosis of glioma patients. In glioma tissues, the expression of SNHG16 was negatively correlated with miR-20a-5p. Downregulation of SNHG16 increased miR-20a-5p expression. miR-20a-5p mimic reduced the luciferase activity of SNHG16 and E2F1; miR-20a-5p mimic enhanced the inhibition of cell proliferation, invasion, migration, and EMT, and increase of apoptosis induced by SNHG16 knockdown. Anti-miR-20a-5p reversed the effects of shSNHG16. We also found that SNHG16 may act as a ceRNA for miR-20a-5p, enhancing the expression of E2F1. Additionally, knockdown of SNHG16 remarkably reduced the increase of tumor volumes in xenograft mouse models. In tumor tissues, knockdown of SNHG16 increased the expression of miR-20a-5p, reduced EMT and increased apoptosis. In conclusion, SNHG16 promotes glioma tumorigenesis by sponging miR-20a-5p, leading to the enhancement of its endogenous targets E2F1. The data provides a new clue for the role of SNHG16/miR-20a-5p/E2F1 in the development of glioma.

Genomic prediction for growth and reproduction traits in pig using an admixed reference population

This study investigated the efficiency of genomic prediction using an admixed reference population comprising 3 Yorkshire populations with different genetic backgrounds. In total, 2,084 and 1,388 individuals with growth and reproduction records, respectively, were genotyped with a PorcineSNP80 marker panel. The corrected phenotypic values derived from conventional EBV of each population were taken as response variables. Three approaches, that is, a linear genomic BLUP (GBLUP) model, a Bayesian mixture model (BayesR), and single-step GBLUP (ssGBLUP), were implemented to predict genomic breeding values. Our results indicated that the accuracy of genomic prediction was increased by enlarging the reference population by admixing different populations. However, the improvement was lower than expected, because the relationships among individuals of different populations were not strong enough. Among the 3 approaches, for reproduction and growth traits, ssGBLUP produced 30 to approximately 38% and 23 to 31%, respectively, higher accuracy than GBLUP. And the ssGBLUP produced 28 to approximately 38% and 18 to approximately 31% higher accuracy than BayesR. In addition, ssGBLUP also yielded lower bias. In most situations, BayesR performed comparably to GBLUP for most traits. Our results indicated ssGBLUP using an admixed reference population is also meaningful for national joint genetic evaluation of Chinese pig breeding.

Observation of New Properties of Secondary Cosmic Rays Lithium, Beryllium, and Boron by the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer on the International Space Station

We report on the observation of new properties of secondary cosmic rays Li, Be, and B measured in the rigidity (momentum per unit charge) range 1.9 GV to 3.3 TV with a total of 5.4×10^{6} nuclei collected by AMS during the first five years of operation aboard the International Space Station. The Li and B fluxes have an identical rigidity dependence above 7 GV and all three fluxes have an identical rigidity dependence above 30 GV with the Li/Be flux ratio of 2.0±0.1. The three fluxes deviate from a single power law above 200 GV in an identical way. This behavior of secondary cosmic rays has also been observed in the AMS measurement of primary cosmic rays He, C, and O but the rigidity dependences of primary cosmic rays and of secondary cosmic rays are distinctly different. In particular, above 200 GV, the secondary cosmic rays harden more than the primary cosmic rays.

Observation of the Identical Rigidity Dependence of He, C, and O Cosmic Rays at High Rigidities by the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer on the International Space Station

We report the observation of new properties of primary cosmic rays He, C, and O measured in the rigidity (momentum/charge) range 2 GV to 3 TV with 90×10^{6} helium, 8.4×10^{6} carbon, and 7.0×10^{6} oxygen nuclei collected by the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS) during the first five years of operation. Above 60 GV, these three spectra have identical rigidity dependence. They all deviate from a single power law above 200 GV and harden in an identical way.

[Role of IgG antibody to galactose-deficient IgA1 in children with IgA nephropathy]

Objective: In order to learn the serum level of galactose-deficient IgA1 (GdIgA1), IgG antibody to galactose-deficient IgA1(GdIgA1-IgG) and the clinical role of them in IgA nephropathy(IgAN) children. Method: We compared blood levels of GdIgA1, GdIgA1-IgG in 33 children with IgAN, 38 children with other renal disease (including focal segmental glomerular nephritis, minimal change disease, Alport syndrome and thin basement membrane nephropathy) as disease controls, 35 healthy children as normal controls with enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA). Twenty-four-hour urine protein content and Lee's pathological classification were collected in IgAN cases. The difference among the three groups were examined by analysis of variance. The specificity and sensitivity of GdIgA1, GdIgA1-IgG to IgA nephropathy were evaluated by ROC curve.The correlations were analyzed by correlation analysis among GdIgA1, GdIgA1-IgG and urine protein content and pathological classification . All statistical analyses were performed by SPSS 18.0. P value of <0.05 was considered statistically significant. Result: The levels of GdIgA1 and GdIgA1-IgG significantly elevated in children with IgAN compared to disease controls and normal controls. GdIgA1(mg/L): 1.728±0.456, 1.123±0.461, 1.410±0.905 (F=15.04, P<0.001); GdIgA1-IgG(g/L): 1.299±0.499, 1.111±0.549, 0.628±0.142 (F=76.96, P<0.001). Area under the curve of ROC of GdIgA1 between IgAN and normal controls was 0.765, with specificity 0.943 and sensitivity 0.697, while the area under the curve of GdIgA1-IgG was 0.969, with specificity 0.971 and sensitivity 0.939.The blood level of GdIgA1-IgG was mildly correlated with both 24-hour urine protein(r=0.364, ) and renal pathological grading(r=0.392) in children with IgAN. Conclusion: The levels of GdIgA1 and GdIgA1-IgG significantly elevated in children with IgAN compared to disease controls and normal controls. GdIgA1-IgG had higher sensitivity in distinguishing IgAN from normal controls, GdIgA1-IgG was mildly correlated with 24-hour urine protein volume and pathological grading in children with IgAN.

Identification of proteome, antigen protein and antigen membrane protein from Spiroplasma eriocheiris

Spiroplasma eriocheiris, which causes tremor disease in Chinese mitten crab Eriocheir sinensis, has led to huge economic losses in aquaculture. Immunoproteomics, a new scientific technique combining proteomics and immunological analytical methods, provided the direction of our research on S. eriocheiris. The aim of our study was to identify the proteome, antigen proteins and antigen membrane proteins of S. eriocheiris. A total of 780 S. eriocheiris proteins were identified by the LC-MS/MS technique. Based on immunoproteomics, 51 proteins and 7 proteins in S. eriocheiris were identified by anti-S. eriocheiris serum and negative serum respectively (six proteins in common). Thus, 45 antigenic proteins in S. eriocheiris were identified; among them, molecular chaperone DnaK, glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH), ATP synthase subunit beta and enolase can be considered as immunogenic proteins. Similarly, 32 membrane proteins and 6 membrane proteins were identified by anti-S. eriocheiris serum and negative serum respectively (two proteins in common). Thus, 30 antigenic membrane proteins in S. eriocheiris were identified; three of them have been reported as surface proteins including pyruvate kinase, enolase and GAPDH. All of these proteins may play key roles in the pathogeny and can be used in the future for diagnoses and prevention.

SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY

Spiroplasma eriocheiris is a novel pathogen causing the tremor disease in Chinese mitten crab Eriocheir sinensis. This is the first time LC-MS/MS was used to identify the proteome, antigen protein and antigen membrane protein of S. eriocheiris. The results can certainly provide valuable information towards the identification of virulent proteins or diagnosis of pathogenic mechanisms.

Malignant pericardial mesothelioma : A systematic review of current practice

BACKGROUND

Malignant mesothelioma is a rare but aggressive tumor, with a high misdiagnosis rate and overall bleak prognosis. In 0.7% of all cases, the origin is the pericardium.

METHODS

The present study is a review of the literature published in recent decades focusing on the advances in clinical manifestations, radiological findings, diagnosis, differential diagnosis, and treatment of malignant pericardial mesothelioma (MPM).

RESULTS

No clear relationship has been established between the etiologies and the development of MPM. Clinical symptoms and signs are nonspecific when present. The main presentations are chest pain and dyspnea. Imaging plays an important role in the detection, characterization, staging, and posttreatment follow-up. The definitive diagnosis is made on the basis of pathological findings. Chest radiography and echocardiography are common techniques used initially, but their roles are limited. Computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging have an advantage in depicting the thickened pericardium, mediastinal lymph node, tumor, and the extension of adjacent structures. Surgery is the most important treatment modality and remains palliative in most cases, while the roles of chemo- and radiotherapy are unsatisfactory.

CONCLUSION

Clinical trials of malignant pleural and peritoneal mesothelioma remain important for MPM management. Multimodality treatment of surgery, chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and immunotherapy is expected to have a role in the treatment of MPM.

36 SERIAL SOMATIC CELL NUCLEAR TRANSFER INCREASES PREGNANCY LOSSES IN GOATS

Serial cloning by somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) has been successful in several mammalian species. This method can be beneficial for transgenic line expansion or resetting the lifespan of transgenic cells. Previous studies in bovine and porcine have shown a decrease in efficiency over multiple iterations of serial cloning. However, the contradictory data has been reported in mice where no decrease in cloning efficiency was observed after 25 generations of recloning. To our knowledge, no data have been reported investigating the efficiency of serial cloning in goats. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether there is an effect of recloning on goat SCNT efficiency. αMHC-TGF-β1 fetal fibroblast cells (containing transforming growth factor-β under control of a cardiac-specific promoter) were produced by electroporation and used for the first round of SCNT. For serial cloning, we used neonatal fibroblast cells obtained from skin biopsies used as nuclear donors. These cells were collected from the transgenic cloned goats generated by the first round of SCNT. Cumulus-oocyte complexes recovered from abattoir-derived ovaries using slicing technique were matured in vitro for 20 to 24 h. The first polar body and metaphase plate were removed from a cumulus cell-free oocyte, and a donor fibroblast cell was subsequently transferred into the enucleated oocyte. Fused embryos were then activated for 5 min in 5 mM ionomycin followed by 4 h in 2 mM DMAP with 5 mg mL−1 cycloheximide. Activated embryos were cultured in G1 medium with 5 mg mL−1 BSA for 12 h, followed by surgical transfer into the oviducts of recipients synchronized to show oestrus within 12 h of SCNT. In total, 592 and 395 embryos were transferred to 37 and 25 recipient goats, respectively, for the first and second round of SCNT. Pregnancy rate, rate of pregnancy loss, and term rate were analysed by Chi-squared with a 2-tailed P-value. No significant difference was observed in Day 40 pregnancy rates (32.4 v. 36%) and term rates (32.4 v. 20%) between the first round of cloning and the successive recloning. However, the rate of pregnancy losses was significantly greater in recloning group (P < 0.05), with 4 out of 9 pregnancies lost between Day 40 of gestation and term, whereas no pregnancy losses were observed after Day 40 of gestation in the first-round cloning group. The greater pregnancy loss in the recloning procedure might be caused by accumulation of epigenetic errors resulting from incomplete reprogramming. We are assessing the DNA methylation pattern of differentially methylated regions (DMR) of 2 paternally imprinted genes (H19 and IGF2R) in the cloned and recloned goats and expect to see a difference in their imprinted gene DNA methylation pattern, which could explain the greater rate of pregnancy loss in recloned goats.

TLR4 and Caveolin-1 in Monocytes Are Associated With Inflammatory Conditions in Diabetic Neuropathy

The purpose of this study was to investigate the expression of TLR4 and caveolin‐1 in monocytes among healthy volunteers as well as those with type‐2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN). Nineteen healthy control subjects, 18 patients with T2DM, and 20 patients with DPN were enrolled. Toll‐like receptor (TLR)4, caveolin‐1, MyD88, phosphorylated IκB, and plasma TNF‐α and interleukin (IL)‐6 were measured using real‐time polymerase chain reaction, Western blotting, and enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay. Compared with the other two groups, the DPN group had higher expression of TLR4, MyD88, phosphorylated IκB, TNF‐α, and IL‐6, but significantly lower levels of caveolin‐1 and total IκB in monocytes. Plasma concentrations of TNF‐α and IL‐6 were positively correlated with TLR4 and negatively correlated with caveolin‐1 in patients with DPN. Plasma concentration of TLR4 was negatively correlated with caveolin‐1 in patients with DPN. Reduced expression of caveolin‐1 in monocytes could aggravate the TLR4‐mediated inflammatory cascade.

Precision Measurement of the Boron to Carbon Flux Ratio in Cosmic Rays from 1.9 GV to 2.6 TV with the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer on the International Space Station

Knowledge of the rigidity dependence of the boron to carbon flux ratio (B/C) is important in understanding the propagation of cosmic rays. The precise measurement of the B/C ratio from 1.9 GV to 2.6 TV, based on 2.3 million boron and 8.3 million carbon nuclei collected by AMS during the first 5 years of operation, is presented. The detailed variation with rigidity of the B/C spectral index is reported for the first time. The B/C ratio does not show any significant structures in contrast to many cosmic ray models that require such structures at high rigidities. Remarkably, above 65 GV, the B/C ratio is well described by a single power law R^{Δ} with index Δ=-0.333±0.014(fit)±0.005(syst), in good agreement with the Kolmogorov theory of turbulence which predicts Δ=-1/3 asymptotically.

MicroRNA221-3p modulates Ets-1 expression in synovial fibroblasts from patients with osteoarthritis of temporomandibular joint

OBJECTIVE

This study aimed to screen differential expression of microRNAs (miRNAs), and investigate function of the specifically selected miRNA in synovial fibroblasts from patients suffering osteoarthritis of temporomandibular joint (TMJOA).

METHODS

MiRNA microarray was used to select differentially expressed miRNAs between TMJOA and normal synovial fibroblasts. The expression of screened miRNA221-3p was quantified using real-time PCR, and its specific target gene was predicted by bioinformatics. After transfection of miRNA221-3p mimics or inhibitor into synovial fibroblasts, the expression of v-Ets avian erythroblastosis virus E26 oncogene homolog 1 (Ets-1) was detected by immunohistochemistry, real-time PCR and Western blot, respectively. Dual luciferase activity was performed to identify the direct regulation of miRNA221-3p on Ets-1. Interlukin-1β (IL-1β) mimics an inflammatory situation.

RESULTS

In TMJOA synovial fibroblasts, eight miRNAs were up-regulated and six miRNAs were down-regulated. MiRNA221-3p was the most down-expressed. A sequence in the 3'-untranslated (3'-UTR) of Ets-1 complementary to the seed sequence of miRNA221-3p. Elevated expression of Ets-1 associated with attenuation of miRNA221-3p. Over-expression of miRNA221-3p suppressed the activity of a reporter construct containing the 3'-UTR of Ets-1 transcript and inhibited the expression of Ets-1 as well as its downstream molecules, matrix metalloproteinase 1 (MMP1) and MMP9 in TMJOA synovial fibroblasts. IL-1β suppressed the expression of miRNA221-3p in both a dose-dependent and time-dependent manner.

CONCLUSION

The reduction of miRNA221-3p in synovial fibroblasts, attributed from abundance of IL-1β in inflamed circumstance, induces Ets-1 up-regulation and then, initiates MMP1 and MMP9 secretion, thereby leading to continuously pathological development in TMJOA.

Thermal comfort of people in the hot and humid area of China-impacts of season, climate, and thermal history

We conducted a climate chamber study on the thermal comfort of people in the hot and humid area of China. Sixty subjects from naturally ventilated buildings and buildings with split air conditioners participated in the study, and identical experiments were conducted in a climate chamber in both summer and winter. Psychological and physiological responses were observed over a wide range of conditions, and the impacts of season, climate, and thermal history on human thermal comfort were analyzed. Seasonal and climatic heat acclimatization was confirmed, but they were found to have no significant impacts on human thermal sensation and comfort. The outdoor thermal history was much less important than the indoor thermal history in regard to human thermal sensation, and the indoor thermal history in all seasons of a year played a key role in shaping the subjects' sensations in a wide range of thermal conditions. A warmer indoor thermal history in warm seasons produced a higher neutral temperature, a lower thermal sensitivity, and lower thermal sensations in warm conditions. The comfort and acceptable conditions were identified for people in the hot and humid area of China.

First case of hepatopancreatic necrosis disease in pond-reared Chinese mitten crab, Eriocheir sinensis, associated with microsporidian

An epidemic of hepatopancreatic necrosis disease (HPND) with a high mortality rate (40%-50%) recently occurred in the cultured Chinese mitten crab, Eriocheir sinensis, which is a very important economic crustacean species in China. Histology revealed infection by a microsporidian parasite within the cytoplasm of the epithelial cells of the hepatopancreas. Numerous discrete inclusions in the infected cells and presumably free parasite spores were also observed. By negative staining using electron microscopy, a typical morphology of spores was observed with a protuberant front of the anchoring disc. Infection was confined to the epithelial cells of the hepatopancreas, with no other organ implicated. By sequencing the PCR products using specific primers based on conserved regions of microsporidian small subunit (18S) ribosomal DNA, it was revealed that the parasite from HPND ponds had 99% sequence identity to that of Hepatospora eriocheir. Phylogentic analysis also placed the microsporidian in the same lineage as H. eriocheir. This study reported the first case of widespread infections of H. eriocheir associated with HPND found in the pond-reared Chinese mitten crab, E. sinensis. The description of microsporidian in this important commercial host is fundamental for future consideration of factors affecting stock health and sustainability.

Antiproton Flux, Antiproton-to-Proton Flux Ratio, and Properties of Elementary Particle Fluxes in Primary Cosmic Rays Measured with the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer on the International Space Station

A precision measurement by AMS of the antiproton flux and the antiproton-to-proton flux ratio in primary cosmic rays in the absolute rigidity range from 1 to 450 GV is presented based on 3.49×10^{5} antiproton events and 2.42×10^{9} proton events. The fluxes and flux ratios of charged elementary particles in cosmic rays are also presented. In the absolute rigidity range ∼60 to ∼500  GV, the antiproton p[over ¯], proton p, and positron e^{+} fluxes are found to have nearly identical rigidity dependence and the electron e^{-} flux exhibits a different rigidity dependence. Below 60 GV, the (p[over ¯]/p), (p[over ¯]/e^{+}), and (p/e^{+}) flux ratios each reaches a maximum. From ∼60 to ∼500  GV, the (p[over ¯]/p), (p[over ¯]/e^{+}), and (p/e^{+}) flux ratios show no rigidity dependence. These are new observations of the properties of elementary particles in the cosmos.

Association of COL1A1 polymorphism with subchondral bone degeneration of the temporomandibular joint

The G/T polymorphism of the COL1A1 gene exhibits a clinically significant influence on bone remodelling, leading to a predisposition to degenerative diseases. The enhancement of bone turnover and further loss of bone mass are thought to be the primary pathological changes in the early degenerative course of temporomandibular joint osteoarthritis (TMJ OA), with the appearance of low-density lesions. Thus, it was hypothesized that this polymorphism may also affect this type of bone lesion in TMJ OA. A total of 130 TMJ OA patients with low-density lesions (cortical bone erosion, condylar head resorption, cyst-like lesion) and 186 healthy individuals were recruited. DNA samples were extracted from buccal mucosa swabs; genotyping was performed by high-resolution melting assay. The distribution of genotypes in these groups was compared using a multivariate logistic regression model. No significant differences in the distributions of TT and TG genotypes were observed between the groups (P>0.05). Significance was detected for GG homozygous carriers (P=0.043); this genotype might be a risk factor for this type of low-density lesion (odds ratio 1.643, 95% confidence interval 1.016-2.658). This study indicates that the GG genotype might be a risk factor for low-density lesions in the TMJ.

Long-term efficacy of endovascular vs open surgical repair for complicated type-B aortic dissection: a single-center retrospective study and meta-analysis

This study aimed to evaluate the long-term survival and risk factors of traditional open surgical repair (OSR) vs thoracic endovascular aneurysm repair (TEVAR) for complicated type-B aortic dissection (TBAD). A total of 118 inpatients (45 OSR vs 73 TEVAR) with TBAD were enrolled from January 2004 to January 2015. Kaplan-Meier curves and Cox proportional hazards analysis were performed to identify the long-term survival rate and independent predictors of survival, respectively. Meta-analysis was used to further explore the long-term efficacy of OSR and TEVAR in the eight included studies using Review Manager 5.2 software. An overall 10-year survival rate of 41.9% was found, and it was similar in the two groups (56.7% OSR vs 26.1% TEVAR; log-rank P=0.953). The risk factors of long-term survival were refractory hypertension (OR=11.1; 95%CI=1.428-86.372; P=0.021] and preoperative aortic diameter >55 mm (OR=4.5; 95%CI=1.842-11.346; P=0.001). Long-term survival rate did not differ significantly between OSR and TEVAR (hazard ratio=0.87; 95%CI=0.52-1.47; P=0.61). Compared with OSR, TEVAR did not show long-term advantages for patients with TBAD. Refractory hypertension and total aortic diameter >55 mm can be used to predict the long-term survival of TBAD in the Chinese Han population.

Human genome meeting 2016 : Houston, TX, USA. 28 February - 2 March 2016

O1 The metabolomics approach to autism: identification of biomarkers for early detection of autism spectrum disorder A. K. Srivastava, Y. Wang, R. Huang, C. Skinner, T. Thompson, L. Pollard, T. Wood, F. Luo, R. Stevenson O2 Phenome-wide association study for smoking- and drinking-associated genes in 26,394 American women with African, Asian, European, and Hispanic descents R. Polimanti, J. Gelernter O3 Effects of prenatal environment, genotype and DNA methylation on birth weight and subsequent postnatal outcomes: findings from GUSTO, an Asian birth cohort X. Lin, I. Y. Lim, Y. Wu, A. L. Teh, L. Chen, I. M. Aris, S. E. Soh, M. T. Tint, J. L. MacIsaac, F. Yap, K. Kwek, S. M. Saw, M. S. Kobor, M. J. Meaney, K. M. Godfrey, Y. S. Chong, J. D. Holbrook, Y. S. Lee, P. D. Gluckman, N. Karnani, GUSTO study group O4 High-throughput identification of specific qt interval modulating enhancers at the SCN5A locus A. Kapoor, D. Lee, A. Chakravarti O5 Identification of extracellular matrix components inducing cancer cell migration in the supernatant of cultivated mesenchymal stem cells C. Maercker, F. Graf, M. Boutros O6 Single cell allele specific expression (ASE) IN T21 and common trisomies: a novel approach to understand DOWN syndrome and other aneuploidies G. Stamoulis, F. Santoni, P. Makrythanasis, A. Letourneau, M. Guipponi, N. Panousis, M. Garieri, P. Ribaux, E. Falconnet, C. Borel, S. E. Antonarakis O7 Role of microRNA in LCL to IPSC reprogramming S. Kumar, J. Curran, J. Blangero O8 Multiple enhancer variants disrupt gene regulatory network in Hirschsprung disease S. Chatterjee, A. Kapoor, J. Akiyama, D. Auer, C. Berrios, L. Pennacchio, A. Chakravarti O9 Metabolomic profiling for the diagnosis of neurometabolic disorders T. R. Donti, G. Cappuccio, M. Miller, P. Atwal, A. Kennedy, A. Cardon, C. Bacino, L. Emrick, J. Hertecant, F. Baumer, B. Porter, M. Bainbridge, P. Bonnen, B. Graham, R. Sutton, Q. Sun, S. Elsea O10 A novel causal methylation network approach to Alzheimer’s disease Z. Hu, P. Wang, Y. Zhu, J. Zhao, M. Xiong, David A Bennett O11 A microRNA signature identifies subtypes of triple-negative breast cancer and reveals MIR-342-3P as regulator of a lactate metabolic pathway A. Hidalgo-Miranda, S. Romero-Cordoba, S. Rodriguez-Cuevas, R. Rebollar-Vega, E. Tagliabue, M. Iorio, E. D’Ippolito, S. Baroni O12 Transcriptome analysis identifies genes, enhancer RNAs and repetitive elements that are recurrently deregulated across multiple cancer types B. Kaczkowski, Y. Tanaka, H. Kawaji, A. Sandelin, R. Andersson, M. Itoh, T. Lassmann, the FANTOM5 consortium, Y. Hayashizaki, P. Carninci, A. R. R. Forrest O13 Elevated mutation and widespread loss of constraint at regulatory and architectural binding sites across 11 tumour types C. A. Semple O14 Exome sequencing provides evidence of pathogenicity for genes implicated in colorectal cancer E. A. Rosenthal, B. Shirts, L. Amendola, C. Gallego, M. Horike-Pyne, A. Burt, P. Robertson, P. Beyers, C. Nefcy, D. Veenstra, F. Hisama, R. Bennett, M. Dorschner, D. Nickerson, J. Smith, K. Patterson, D. Crosslin, R. Nassir, N. Zubair, T. Harrison, U. Peters, G. Jarvik, NHLBI GO Exome Sequencing Project O15 The tandem duplicator phenotype as a distinct genomic configuration in cancer F. Menghi, K. Inaki, X. Woo, P. Kumar, K. Grzeda, A. Malhotra, H. Kim, D. Ucar, P. Shreckengast, K. Karuturi, J. Keck, J. Chuang, E. T. Liu O16 Modeling genetic interactions associated with molecular subtypes of breast cancer B. Ji, A. Tyler, G. Ananda, G. Carter O17 Recurrent somatic mutation in the MYC associated factor X in brain tumors H. Nikbakht, M. Montagne, M. Zeinieh, A. Harutyunyan, M. Mcconechy, N. Jabado, P. Lavigne, J. Majewski O18 Predictive biomarkers to metastatic pancreatic cancer treatment J. B. Goldstein, M. Overman, G. Varadhachary, R. Shroff, R. Wolff, M. Javle, A. Futreal, D. Fogelman O19 DDIT4 gene expression as a prognostic marker in several malignant tumors L. Bravo, W. Fajardo, H. Gomez, C. Castaneda, C. Rolfo, J. A. Pinto O20 Spatial organization of the genome and genomic alterations in human cancers K. C. Akdemir, L. Chin, A. Futreal, ICGC PCAWG Structural Alterations Group O21 Landscape of targeted therapies in solid tumors S. Patterson, C. Statz, S. Mockus O22 Genomic analysis reveals novel drivers and progression pathways in skin basal cell carcinoma S. N. Nikolaev, X. I. Bonilla, L. Parmentier, B. King, F. Bezrukov, G. Kaya, V. Zoete, V. Seplyarskiy, H. Sharpe, T. McKee, A. Letourneau, P. Ribaux, K. Popadin, N. Basset-Seguin, R. Ben Chaabene, F. Santoni, M. Andrianova, M. Guipponi, M. Garieri, C. Verdan, K. Grosdemange, O. Sumara, M. Eilers, I. Aifantis, O. Michielin, F. de Sauvage, S. Antonarakis O23 Identification of differential biomarkers of hepatocellular carcinoma and cholangiocarcinoma via transcriptome microarray meta-analysis S. Likhitrattanapisal O24 Clinical validity and actionability of multigene tests for hereditary cancers in a large multi-center study S. Lincoln, A. Kurian, A. Desmond, S. Yang, Y. Kobayashi, J. Ford, L. Ellisen O25 Correlation with tumor ploidy status is essential for correct determination of genome-wide copy number changes by SNP array T. L. Peters, K. R. Alvarez, E. F. Hollingsworth, D. H. Lopez-Terrada O26 Nanochannel based next-generation mapping for interrogation of clinically relevant structural variation A. Hastie, Z. Dzakula, A. W. Pang, E. T. Lam, T. Anantharaman, M. Saghbini, H. Cao, BioNano Genomics O27 Mutation spectrum in a pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) cohort and identification of associated truncating mutations in TBX4 C. Gonzaga-Jauregui, L. Ma, A. King, E. Berman Rosenzweig, U. Krishnan, J. G. Reid, J. D. Overton, F. Dewey, W. K. Chung O28 NORTH CAROLINA macular dystrophy (MCDR1): mutations found affecting PRDM13 K. Small, A. DeLuca, F. Cremers, R. A. Lewis, V. Puech, B. Bakall, R. Silva-Garcia, K. Rohrschneider, M. Leys, F. S. Shaya, E. Stone O29 PhenoDB and genematcher, solving unsolved whole exome sequencing data N. L. Sobreira, F. Schiettecatte, H. Ling, E. Pugh, D. Witmer, K. Hetrick, P. Zhang, K. Doheny, D. Valle, A. Hamosh O30 Baylor-Johns Hopkins Center for Mendelian genomics: a four year review S. N. Jhangiani, Z. Coban Akdemir, M. N. Bainbridge, W. Charng, W. Wiszniewski, T. Gambin, E. Karaca, Y. Bayram, M. K. Eldomery, J. Posey, H. Doddapaneni, J. Hu, V. R. Sutton, D. M. Muzny, E. A. Boerwinkle, D. Valle, J. R. Lupski, R. A. Gibbs O31 Using read overlap assembly to accurately identify structural genetic differences in an ashkenazi jewish trio S. Shekar, W. Salerno, A. English, A. Mangubat, J. Bruestle O32 Legal interoperability: a sine qua non for international data sharing A. Thorogood, B. M. Knoppers, Global Alliance for Genomics and Health - Regulatory and Ethics Working Group O33 High throughput screening platform of competent sineups: that can enhance translation activities of therapeutic target H. Takahashi, K. R. Nitta, A. Kozhuharova, A. M. Suzuki, H. Sharma, D. Cotella, C. Santoro, S. Zucchelli, S. Gustincich, P. Carninci O34 The undiagnosed diseases network international (UDNI): clinical and laboratory research to meet patient needs J. J. Mulvihill, G. Baynam, W. Gahl, S. C. Groft, K. Kosaki, P. Lasko, B. Melegh, D. Taruscio O36 Performance of computational algorithms in pathogenicity predictions for activating variants in oncogenes versus loss of function mutations in tumor suppressor genes R. Ghosh, S. Plon O37 Identification and electronic health record incorporation of clinically actionable pharmacogenomic variants using prospective targeted sequencing S. Scherer, X. Qin, R. Sanghvi, K. Walker, T. Chiang, D. Muzny, L. Wang, J. Black, E. Boerwinkle, R. Weinshilboum, R. Gibbs O38 Melanoma reprogramming state correlates with response to CTLA-4 blockade in metastatic melanoma T. Karpinets, T. Calderone, K. Wani, X. Yu, C. Creasy, C. Haymaker, M. Forget, V. Nanda, J. Roszik, J. Wargo, L. Haydu, X. Song, A. Lazar, J. Gershenwald, M. Davies, C. Bernatchez, J. Zhang, A. Futreal, S. Woodman O39 Data-driven refinement of complex disease classification from integration of heterogeneous functional genomics data in GeneWeaver E. J. Chesler, T. Reynolds, J. A. Bubier, C. Phillips, M. A. Langston, E. J. Baker O40 A general statistic framework for genome-based disease risk prediction M. Xiong, L. Ma, N. Lin, C. Amos O41 Integrative large-scale causal network analysis of imaging and genomic data and its application in schizophrenia studies N. Lin, P. Wang, Y. Zhu, J. Zhao, V. Calhoun, M. Xiong O42 Big data and NGS data analysis: the cloud to the rescue O. Dobretsberger, M. Egger, F. Leimgruber O43 Cpipe: a convergent clinical exome pipeline specialised for targeted sequencing S. Sadedin, A. Oshlack, Melbourne Genomics Health Alliance O44 A Bayesian classification of biomedical images using feature extraction from deep neural networks implemented on lung cancer data V. A. A. Antonio, N. Ono, Clark Kendrick C. Go O45 MAV-SEQ: an interactive platform for the Management, Analysis, and Visualization of sequence data Z. Ahmed, M. Bolisetty, S. Zeeshan, E. Anguiano, D. Ucar O47 Allele specific enhancer in EPAS1 intronic regions may contribute to high altitude adaptation of Tibetans C. Zeng, J. Shao O48 Nanochannel based next-generation mapping for structural variation detection and comparison in trios and populations H. Cao, A. Hastie, A. W. Pang, E. T. Lam, T. Liang, K. Pham, M. Saghbini, Z. Dzakula O49 Archaic introgression in indigenous populations of Malaysia revealed by whole genome sequencing Y. Chee-Wei, L. Dongsheng, W. Lai-Ping, D. Lian, R. O. Twee Hee, Y. Yunus, F. Aghakhanian, S. S. Mokhtar, C. V. Lok-Yung, J. Bhak, M. Phipps, X. Shuhua, T. Yik-Ying, V. Kumar, H. Boon-Peng O50 Breast and ovarian cancer prevention: is it time for population-based mutation screening of high risk genes? I. Campbell, M.-A. Young, P. James, Lifepool O53 Comprehensive coverage from low DNA input using novel NGS library preparation methods for WGS and WGBS C. Schumacher, S. Sandhu, T. Harkins, V. Makarov O54 Methods for large scale construction of robust PCR-free libraries for sequencing on Illumina HiSeqX platform H. DoddapaneniR. Glenn, Z. Momin, B. Dilrukshi, H. Chao, Q. Meng, B. Gudenkauf, R. Kshitij, J. Jayaseelan, C. Nessner, S. Lee, K. Blankenberg, L. Lewis, J. Hu, Y. Han, H. Dinh, S. Jireh, K. Walker, E. Boerwinkle, D. Muzny, R. Gibbs O55 Rapid capture methods for clinical sequencing J. Hu, K. Walker, C. Buhay, X. Liu, Q. Wang, R. Sanghvi, H. Doddapaneni, Y. Ding, N. Veeraraghavan, Y. Yang, E. Boerwinkle, A. L. Beaudet, C. M. Eng, D. M. Muzny, R. A. Gibbs O56 A diploid personal human genome model for better genomes from diverse sequence data K. C. C. Worley, Y. Liu, D. S. T. Hughes, S. C. Murali, R. A. Harris, A. C. English, X. Qin, O. A. Hampton, P. Larsen, C. Beck, Y. Han, M. Wang, H. Doddapaneni, C. L. Kovar, W. J. Salerno, A. Yoder, S. Richards, J. Rogers, J. R. Lupski, D. M. Muzny, R. A. Gibbs O57 Development of PacBio long range capture for detection of pathogenic structural variants Q. Meng, M. Bainbridge, M. Wang, H. Doddapaneni, Y. Han, D. Muzny, R. Gibbs O58 Rhesus macaques exhibit more non-synonymous variation but greater impact of purifying selection than humans R. A. Harris, M. Raveenedran, C. Xue, M. Dahdouli, L. Cox, G. Fan, B. Ferguson, J. Hovarth, Z. Johnson, S. Kanthaswamy, M. Kubisch, M. Platt, D. Smith, E. Vallender, R. Wiseman, X. Liu, J. Below, D. Muzny, R. Gibbs, F. Yu, J. Rogers O59 Assessing RNA structure disruption induced by single-nucleotide variation J. Lin, Y. Zhang, Z. Ouyang P1 A meta-analysis of genome-wide association studies of mitochondrial dna copy number A. Moore, Z. Wang, J. Hofmann, M. Purdue, R. Stolzenberg-Solomon, S. Weinstein, D. Albanes, C.-S. Liu, W.-L. Cheng, T.-T. Lin, Q. Lan, N. Rothman, S. Berndt P2 Missense polymorphic genetic combinations underlying down syndrome susceptibility E. S. Chen P4 The evaluation of alteration of ELAM-1 expression in the endometriosis patients H. Bahrami, A. Khoshzaban, S. Heidari Keshal P5 Obesity and the incidence of apolipoprotein E polymorphisms in an assorted population from Saudi Arabia population K. K. R. Alharbi P6 Genome-associated personalized antithrombotical therapy for patients with high risk of thrombosis and bleeding M. Zhalbinova, A. Akilzhanova, S. Rakhimova, M. Bekbosynova, S. Myrzakhmetova P7 Frequency of Xmn1 polymorphism among sickle cell carrier cases in UAE population M. Matar P8 Differentiating inflammatory bowel diseases by using genomic data: dimension of the problem and network organization N. Mili, R. Molinari, Y. Ma, S. Guerrier P9 Vulnerability of genetic variants to the risk of autism among Saudi children N. Elhawary, M. Tayeb, N. Bogari, N. Qotb P10 Chromatin profiles from ex vivo purified dopaminergic neurons establish a promising model to support studies of neurological function and dysfunction S. A. McClymont, P. W. Hook, L. A. Goff, A. McCallion P11 Utilization of a sensitized chemical mutagenesis screen to identify genetic modifiers of retinal dysplasia in homozygous Nr2e3^rd7 mice Y. Kong, J. R. Charette, W. L. Hicks, J. K. Naggert, L. Zhao, P. M. Nishina P12 Ion torrent next generation sequencing of recessive polycystic kidney disease in Saudi patients B. M. Edrees, M. Athar, F. A. Al-Allaf, M. M. Taher, W. Khan, A. Bouazzaoui, N. A. Harbi, R. Safar, H. Al-Edressi, A. Anazi, N. Altayeb, M. A. Ahmed, K. Alansary, Z. Abduljaleel P13 Digital expression profiling of Purkinje neurons and dendrites in different subcellular compartments A. Kratz, P. Beguin, S. Poulain, M. Kaneko, C. Takahiko, A. Matsunaga, S. Kato, A. M. Suzuki, N. Bertin, T. Lassmann, R. Vigot, P. Carninci, C. Plessy, T. Launey P14 The evolution of imperfection and imperfection of evolution: the functional and functionless fractions of the human genome D. Graur P16 Species-independent identification of known and novel recurrent genomic entities in multiple cancer patients J. Friis-Nielsen, J. M. Izarzugaza, S. Brunak P18 Discovery of active gene modules which are densely conserved across multiple cancer types reveal their prognostic power and mutually exclusive mutation patterns B. S. Soibam P19 Whole exome sequencing of dysplastic leukoplakia tissue indicates sequential accumulation of somatic mutations from oral precancer to cancer D. Das, N. Biswas, S. Das, S. Sarkar, A. Maitra, C. Panda, P. Majumder P21 Epigenetic mechanisms of carcinogensis by hereditary breast cancer genes J. J. Gruber, N. Jaeger, M. Snyder P22 RNA direct: a novel RNA enrichment strategy applied to transcripts associated with solid tumors K. Patel, S. Bowman, T. Davis, D. Kraushaar, A. Emerman, S. Russello, N. Henig, C. Hendrickson P23 RNA sequencing identifies gene mutations for neuroblastoma K. Zhang P24 Participation of SFRP1 in the modulation of TMPRSS2-ERG fusion gene in prostate cancer cell lines M. Rodriguez-Dorantes, C. D. Cruz-Hernandez, C. D. P. Garcia-Tobilla, S. Solorzano-Rosales P25 Targeted Methylation Sequencing of Prostate Cancer N. Jäger, J. Chen, R. Haile, M. Hitchins, J. D. Brooks, M. Snyder P26 Mutant TPMT alleles in children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia from México City and Yucatán, Mexico S. Jiménez-Morales, M. Ramírez, J. Nuñez, V. Bekker, Y. Leal, E. Jiménez, A. Medina, A. Hidalgo, J. Mejía P28 Genetic modifiers of Alström syndrome J. Naggert, G. B. Collin, K. DeMauro, R. Hanusek, P. M. Nishina P31 Association of genomic variants with the occurrence of angiotensin-converting-enzyme inhibitor (ACEI)-induced coughing among Filipinos E. M. Cutiongco De La Paz, R. Sy, J. Nevado, P. Reganit, L. Santos, J. D. Magno, F. E. Punzalan , D. Ona , E. Llanes, R. L. Santos-Cortes , R. Tiongco, J. Aherrera, L. Abrahan, P. Pagauitan-Alan; Philippine Cardiogenomics Study Group P32 The use of “humanized” mouse models to validate disease association of a de novo GARS variant and to test a novel gene therapy strategy for Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease type 2D K. H. Morelli, J. S. Domire, N. Pyne, S. Harper, R. Burgess P34 Molecular regulation of chondrogenic human induced pluripotent stem cells M. A. Gari, A. Dallol, H. Alsehli, A. Gari, M. Gari, A. Abuzenadah P35 Molecular profiling of hematologic malignancies: implementation of a variant assessment algorithm for next generation sequencing data analysis and clinical reporting M. Thomas, M. Sukhai, S. Garg, M. Misyura, T. Zhang, A. Schuh, T. Stockley, S. Kamel-Reid P36 Accessing genomic evidence for clinical variants at NCBI S. Sherry, C. Xiao, D. Slotta, K. Rodarmer, M. Feolo, M. Kimelman, G. Godynskiy, C. O’Sullivan, E. Yaschenko P37 NGS-SWIFT: a cloud-based variant analysis framework using control-accessed sequencing data from DBGAP/SRA C. Xiao, E. Yaschenko, S. Sherry P38 Computational assessment of drug induced hepatotoxicity through gene expression profiling C. Rangel-Escareño, H. Rueda-Zarate P40 Flowr: robust and efficient pipelines using a simple language-agnostic approach;ultraseq; fast modular pipeline for somatic variation calling using flowr S. Seth, S. Amin, X. Song, X. Mao, H. Sun, R. G. Verhaak, A. Futreal, J. Zhang P41 Applying “Big data” technologies to the rapid analysis of heterogenous large cohort data S. J. Whiite, T. Chiang, A. English, J. Farek, Z. Kahn, W. Salerno, N. Veeraraghavan, E. Boerwinkle, R. Gibbs P42 FANTOM5 web resource for the large-scale genome-wide transcription start site activity profiles of wide-range of mammalian cells T. Kasukawa, M. Lizio, J. Harshbarger, S. Hisashi, J. Severin, A. Imad, S. Sahin, T. C. Freeman, K. Baillie, A. Sandelin, P. Carninci, A. R. R. Forrest, H. Kawaji, The FANTOM Consortium P43 Rapid and scalable typing of structural variants for disease cohorts W. Salerno, A. English, S. N. Shekar, A. Mangubat, J. Bruestle, E. Boerwinkle, R. A. Gibbs P44 Polymorphism of glutathione S-transferases and sulphotransferases genes in an Arab population A. H. Salem, M. Ali, A. Ibrahim, M. Ibrahim P46 Genetic divergence of CYP3A5*3 pharmacogenomic marker for native and admixed Mexican populations J. C. Fernandez-Lopez, V. Bonifaz-Peña, C. Rangel-Escareño, A. Hidalgo-Miranda, A. V. Contreras P47 Whole exome sequence meta-analysis of 13 white blood cell, red blood cell, and platelet traits L. Polfus, CHARGE and NHLBI Exome Sequence Project Working Groups P48 Association of adipoq gene with type 2 diabetes and related phenotypes in african american men and women: The jackson heart study S. Davis, R. Xu, S. Gebeab, P Riestra, A Gaye, R. Khan, J. Wilson, A. Bidulescu P49 Common variants in casr gene are associated with serum calcium levels in koreans S. H. Jung, N. Vinayagamoorthy, S. H. Yim, Y. J. Chung P50 Inference of multiple-wave population admixture by modeling decay of linkage disequilibrium with multiple exponential functions Y. Zhou, S. Xu P51 A Bayesian framework for generalized linear mixed models in genome-wide association studies X. Wang, V. Philip, G. Carter P52 Targeted sequencing approach for the identification of the genetic causes of hereditary hearing impairment A. A. Abuzenadah, M. Gari, R. Turki, A. Dallol P53 Identification of enhancer sequences by ATAC-seq open chromatin profiling A. Uyar, A. Kaygun, S. Zaman, E. Marquez, J. George, D. Ucar P54 Direct enrichment for the rapid preparation of targeted NGS libraries C. L. Hendrickson, A. Emerman, D. Kraushaar, S. Bowman, N. Henig, T. Davis, S. Russello, K. Patel P56 Performance of the Agilent D5000 and High Sensitivity D5000 ScreenTape assays for the Agilent 4200 Tapestation System R. Nitsche, L. Prieto-Lafuente P57 ClinVar: a multi-source archive for variant interpretation M. Landrum, J. Lee, W. Rubinstein, D. Maglott P59 Association of functional variants and protein physical interactions of human MUTY homolog linked with familial adenomatous polyposis and colorectal cancer syndrome Z. Abduljaleel, W. Khan, F. A. Al-Allaf, M. Athar , M. M. Taher, N. Shahzad P60 Modification of the microbiom constitution in the gut using chicken IgY antibodies resulted in a reduction of acute graft-versus-host disease after experimental bone marrow transplantation A. Bouazzaoui, E. Huber, A. Dan, F. A. Al-Allaf, W. Herr, G. Sprotte, J. Köstler, A. Hiergeist, A. Gessner, R. Andreesen, E. Holler P61 Compound heterozygous mutation in the LDLR gene in Saudi patients suffering severe hypercholesterolemia F. Al-Allaf, A. Alashwal, Z. Abduljaleel, M. Taher, A. Bouazzaoui, H. Abalkhail, A. Al-Allaf, R. Bamardadh, M. Athar

Supraglottic jet oxygenation and ventilation during colonoscopy under monitored anesthesia care: a controlled randomized clinical trial

OBJECTIVE

Supraglottic jet oxygenation and ventilation may provide active pulse oxygenation and ventilation in patients with respiratory suppression. This randomized controlled clinical study was designed to determine the efficacy and safety of supraglottic jet oxygenation/ventilation during monitored anesthesia care (MAC) by intravenous (IV) infusion of propofol in patients undergoing colonoscopy.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

Forty-nine adult patients receiving colonoscopy were randomly divided into two groups: the control group with passive oxygen supply from regular nasal cannula (N = 24) and the supraglottic jet oxygenation/ventilation (SJV) group with active pulse oxygen supply and ventilation using a manual jet ventilator (N = 25). MAC was induced and maintained by intravenous injection of propofol. HR, ECG, BP, SaO2 were continuously monitored during and 1 hour after the procedure.

RESULTS

Demographic characteristics were similar in height, weight, age and BMI (Body Mass Index) between the two groups. Compared to the control group, the SJV group had similar averaged lowest SaO2, but highest SaO2 in SJV group were significantly lower during operation (p = 0.01). The proportion of maximum chest rise movement were increased significantly in SJV group (p = 0.03) compared with control group. Demographic characteristics were similar in the times needed to use facial mask ventilation, percentage of time to maintain SaO2 above 96%, average PetCO2 during the procedure, or complications between the two groups.

CONCLUSIONS

SJV can provide adequate oxygenation/ventilation during monitored anesthesia care and convenient monitoring for patients' breath, without complications.

Significant association between the MTHFR A1298C polymorphism and hepatocellular carcinoma risk: a meta-analysis

The A1298C polymorphism of the methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) gene has been reported to be associated with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), but there are conflicting results from previous studies. The present study aimed to investigate the association between this polymorphism and the risk of HCC using a meta-analysis of the published studies. Published literature from PubMed and Embase databases was systematically searched to identify relevant studies before October 2014. The Begg test was used to measure publication bias. Sensitivity analyses were performed to ensure the authenticity of the outcome. The meta-analysis results showed significant association between the MTHFR A1298C polymorphism and HCC risk (CC vs AA: OR = 0.52, 95%CI = 0.33-0.81; CC vs AC: OR = 0.50, 95%CI = 0.32-0.79; dominant model: OR = 1.94, 95%CI = 1.24-3.02; recessive model: OR = 1.00, 95%CI = 0.84-1.18). In the subgroup analysis, significant associations between the MTHFR A1298C polymorphism and HCC risk were found in Asians (CC vs AA: OR = 0.46, 95%CI = 0.27-0.78; CC vs AC: OR = 0.41, 95%CI = 0.24-0.71; dominant model: OR = 2.27, 95%CI = 1.33-3.86; recessive model: OR = 1.03, 95%CI = 0.86-1.24). Our results suggest that the MTHFR A1298C polymorphism might be related to increased risk of HCC in Asians. Further large and well-designed studies are needed to confirm these conclusions.