Research on trust mechanism of supply chain finance under Industrial Internet embedded with blockchain.

In traditional supply chain finance, the financing of enterprise mainly relies on the credit segmentation of the core enterprise, resulting in a short trust transmission radius and poor financing ability. The development of Internet technology, while expanding financing channels, has also seen an increasing severity in issues such as information fraud and data breaches, which has further aggravated the trust crisis in supply chain finance. This paper integrates blockchain technology into the industrial internet platform and analyzes the applicability of both in empowering supply chain financial trust. Then a supply chain financial trust framework, which emphasizes information sharing, data security, and trust circulation, is proposed. Furthermore, combined with the theories of Funk-SVD and entropy value, this paper designs a global trust evaluation mechanism that facilitates the trust circulation in supply chain finance and proposes a recommendation algorithm for global trust. With the testing conducted using the Epinions dataset, it is found that the algorithm proposed in this paper has a strong data dimensionality reduction and concentration ability, especially for large sample data, it can obtain more accurate evaluation values with less space occupation, thus enhancing the trust circulation ability of supply chain finance. Finally, the paper puts forward specific policy recommendations for the implementation of the supply chain finance information mechanism, aiming to better improve the financing accessibility of enterprises in supply chain, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises.

Research on investment optimization and coordination of fresh supply chain considering misreporting behavior under blockchain technology.

In the traditional fresh supply chain, farmers commonly conceal the true quality information of their products in order to achieve better sales. This article focuses on the use of blockchain technology to address the issue of false freshness reporting in a two-level fresh supply chain consisting of a rural cooperative and a supermarket. Taking into account the dual losses of quality and quantity in the process of agricultural products transportation, the impacts of the product freshness and the blockchain investment level on random market demand are quantified in this paper. And game models for centralized and decentralized decision-making before and after investing in blockchain technology are proposed. By comparing the supply chain optimal decisions and performances under different scenarios, a revenue-cost sharing contract is designed to coordinate the decentralized decision-making. Simulation results show that the application of the blockchain technology can further consolidate the superiority of the centralized decision-making. However, there is a certain threshold for the application of the blockchain technology in decentralized decision-making. When the unit cost of blockchain exceeds the threshold, the rural cooperative will abandon its cooperation with the supermarket due to reduced profits. And the combined contract also has a threshold boundary for its coordinating effect on decentralized decision-making.

Associations of serum gamma-linolenic acid levels with erythema severity and anxiety/depression status in patients with rosacea.

BACKGROUND: The development of rosacea is suggested to be closely associated with lipid metabolism, inflammation, and anxiety/depression. Gamma linolenic acid (GLA) is a key factor participating in lipid metabolism, which is also confirmed to regulate the inflammatory response. However, the associations of serum GLA levels with rosacea severity and psychological status still remain unclear. OBJECTIVE AND LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY: The present study aimed to investigate the associations of gamma linolenic acid (GLA), a key factor participating in lipid metabolism and the inflammatory response, with rosacea severity and psychological status. The present study still had some limitations. First, this study is a cross-sectional study and does not provide longitudinal evidence about the relationship between GLA and rosacea; Second, the cohort in this study is also relatively small, and a larger cohort is needed in further investigation to reveal the potential role of lipid metabolism in the pathogenesis of rosacea. METHODS: A total of 62 rosacea patients were consecutively recruited. Patient's Self-Assessment (PSA) scale and Clinician Erythema Assessment (CEA) as well as 7-item Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD-7) and 9-item Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) were conducted to evaluate the degree of erythema severity and anxiety/depression, respectively. Serum GLA levels were determined by gas chromatography mass. RESULTS: Lower levels of serum GLA in rosacea patients were observed (p<0.001), and subgroup analysis revealed that patients with higher-level GLA had lower scores of PSA, CEA, GAD-7 and PHQ-9. Moreover, Spearman correlation analysis uncovered that serum GLA levels were negatively associated with PSA, CEA, GAD-7 as well and PHQ-9 scores, respectively. Linear regression model found that serum GLA levels at baseline were a predictive factor for prognosis of clinical outcomes after 1-month conventional treatment. CONCLUSION: The present study indicates that lower levels of serum GLA in rosacea patients are negatively associated with the degree of erythema and anxiety/depression status.

Associations of serum gamma-linolenic acid levels with erythema severity and anxiety/depression status in patients with rosacea

Abstract Background The development of rosacea is suggested to be closely associated with lipid metabolism, inflammation, and anxiety/depression. Gamma linolenic acid (GLA) is a key factor participating in lipid metabolism, which is also confirmed to regulate the inflammatory response. However, the associations of serum GLA levels with rosacea severity and psychological status still remain unclear. Objective and limitations of the study The present study aimed to investigate the associations of gamma linolenic acid (GLA), a key factor participating in lipid metabolism and the inflammatory response, with rosacea severity and psychological status. The present study still had some limitations. First, this study is a cross-sectional study and does not provide longitudinal evidence about the relationship between GLA and rosacea; Second, the cohort in this study is also relatively small, and a larger cohort is needed in further investigation to reveal the potential role of lipid metabolism in the pathogenesis of rosacea. Methods A total of 62 rosacea patients were consecutively recruited. Patient's Self-Assessment (PSA) scale and Clinician Erythema Assessment (CEA) as well as 7-item Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD-7) and 9-item Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) were conducted to evaluate the degree of erythema severity and anxiety/depression, respectively. Serum GLA levels were determined by gas chromatography mass. Results Lower levels of serum GLA in rosacea patients were observed (p < 0.001), and subgroup analysis revealed that patients with higher-level GLA had lower scores of PSA, CEA, GAD-7 and PHQ-9. Moreover, Spearman correlation analysis uncovered that serum GLA levels were negatively associated with PSA, CEA, GAD-7 as well and PHQ-9 scores, respectively. Linear regression model found that serum GLA levels at baseline were a predictive factor for prognosis of clinical outcomes after 1-month conventional treatment. Conclusion The present study indicates that lower levels of serum GLA in rosacea patients are negatively associated with the degree of erythema and anxiety/depression status.

Electroporation-based Easi-CRISPR yields biallelic insertions of EGFP-HiBiT cassette in immortalized chicken oviduct epithelial cells.

Laying hens are an excellent experimental oviduct model for studying reproduction biology. Because chicken oviduct epithelial cells (cOECs) have a crucial role in synthesizing and secreting ovalbumin, laying hens have been regarded an ideal bioreactor for producing pharmaceuticals in egg white through transgene or gene editing of the ovalbumin (OVA) gene. However, related studies in cOECs are largely limited because of the lack of immortalized model cells. In addition, the editing efficiency of conventional CRISPR-HDR knock-in in chicken cells is suboptimal (ranging from 1 to 10%) and remains elevated. Here, primary cOECs were isolated from young laying hens, then infected with a retrovirus vector of human telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT), and immortalized cOECs were established. Subsequently, an electroporation-based Easi-CRISPR (Efficient additions with ssDNA inserts-CRISPR) method was adopted to integrate an EGFP-HiBiT cassette into the chicken OVA locus (immediately upstream of the stop codon). The immortalized cOECs reflected the self-renewal capability and phenotype of oviduct epithelial cells. This is because these cells not only maintained stable proliferation and normal karyotype and had no potential for malignant transformation, but also expressed oviduct markers and an epithelial marker and had a morphology similar to that of primary cOECs. EGFP expression was detected in the edited cells through microscopy, flow cytometry, and HiBiT/Western blotting. The EGFP-HiBiT knock-in efficiency reached 27.9% after a single round of electroporation, which was determined through genotyping and DNA sequencing. Two single cell clones contained biallelic insertions of EGFP-HiBiT donor cassettes. In conclusion, our established immortalized cOECs could act as an in vitro cell model for gene editing in chicken, and this electroporation-based Easi-CRISPR strategy will contribute to the generation of avian bioreactors and other gene-edited (GE) birds.

Quantitative analysis of fertilizer using laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy combined with random forest algorithm.

Chemical fertilizers are important for effectively improving soil fertility, promoting crop growth, and increasing grain yield. Therefore, methods that can quickly and accurately measure the amount of fertilizer in the soil should be developed. In this study, 20 groups of soil samples were analyzed using laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy, and partial least squares (PLS) and random forest (RF) models were established. The prediction performances of the models for the chemical fertilizer content and pH were analyzed as well. The experimental results showed that the R 2 and root mean square error (RMSE) of the chemical fertilizer content in the soil obtained using the full-spectrum PLS model were .7852 and 2.2700 respectively. The predicted R 2 for soil pH was .7290, and RMSE was .2364. At the same time, the full-spectrum RF model showed R 2 of .9471 (an increase of 21%) and RMSE of .3021 (a decrease of 87%) for fertilizer content. R 2 for the soil pH under the RF model was .9517 (an increase of 31%), whereas RMSE was .0298 (a decrease of 87%). Therefore, the RF model showed better prediction performance than the PLS model. The results of this study show that the combination of laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy with RF algorithm is a feasible method for rapid determination of soil fertilizer content.

Anaerobically Digesting Hazardous Waste Pichia pastoris Associated with Butyric Acid Cleaner Production.

Recombinant Pichia pastoris semisolid hazardous waste treatment is difficult and traditional solid waste treatment is not applicable. However, P. pastoris wastes have features of high density and enriched proteins/polysaccharides, which could supply nitrogen/carbon sources for butyric acid production. The waste P. pastoris was first treated using NaOH to form a waste yeast suspension, and then the suspension was mixed with glucose to obtain a starting medium containing 5.6 g DCW/L (dry cell weight) yeast to initiate butyrate fermentation. The suspension was intermediately supplemented to bring the total waste yeast concentration to 26.3 g DCW/L while continuously feeding the concentrated glucose solution. With the proposed strategy, butyrate concentration reached high levels of 51.0-54.0 g/L using Clostridium tyrobutyricum as the strain. Amino acids/oligosaccharides/SO4 2- in the suspension, raw material costs, complicated pretreatment process, and butyric acid cleaner production could be effectively utilized, reduced, eliminated, and realized. However, the apparent waste P. pastoris reduction rate was only 49% per batch, thus a "tanks in-series type's repeated waste treating system" model was developed to theoretically explore the possibility of increasing the waste yeast reduction rate R. The simulation results indicated that when setting the treatment unit numbers at 4, waste solid concentration could decrease from 26.3 to 3.37 g DCW/L and the hazardous waste yeast reduction rate R would increase from 49 to 97%.

Effects of a Brain-Computer Interface-Operated Lower Limb Rehabilitation Robot on Motor Function Recovery in Patients with Stroke.

Purpose: To observe the effect of a brain-computer interface-operated lower limb rehabilitation robot (BCI-LLRR) on functional recovery from stroke and to explore mechanisms. Methods: Subacute-phase stroke patients were randomly divided into two groups. In addition to the routine intervention, patients in the treatment group trained on the BCI-LLRR and underwent the lower limb pedal training in the control group, both for the same time (30 min/day). All patients underwent assessment by instruments such as the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) and the Fugl-Meyer upper and lower limb motor function and balance tests, at 2 and 4 weeks of treatment and at 3 months after the end of treatment. Patients were also tested before treatment and after 4 weeks by leg motor evoked potential (MEP) and diffusion tensor imaging/tractography (DTI/DTT) of the head. Results: After 4 weeks, the Fugl-Meyer leg function and NIHSS scores were significantly improved in the treatment group vs. controls (P < 0.01). At 3 months, further significant improvement was observed. The MEP amplitude and latency of the treatment group were significantly improved vs. controls. The effect of treatment on fractional anisotropy values was not significant. Conclusions: The BCI-LLRR promoted leg functional recovery after stroke and improved activities of daily living, possibly by improving cerebral-cortex excitability and white matter connectivity.

Coexistence in a competition-diffusion-advection system with equal amount of total resources.

We consider a Lotka-Volterra competition-diffusion-advection system with the total resources for two competitors fixed at the same level. We reveal the combined effect of competition abilities and spatial variations on the coexistence of two competing species. It is obtained that when the ratio of advection rate α to diffusion rate d1 is appropriately large, the two competing species will always coexist if the inter-specific competition coefficients (b,c) in (0,1]×(0,1] and when the ratio is appropriately small, the two species will coexist if the inter-specific competition coefficients c is appropriately small and b is in (0,1].

Research on evaluation of manufacturing cloud service oriented to environmental benefits of supply chain.

From the perspective of improving the environmental benefits of the supply chain, in this paper, the evaluation index system of manufacturing cloud service is established. It is oriented to the environmental benefits of the supply chain and takes into account the environmental indicators of the candidate providers. The fuzzy DEMATEL modified entropy method is used to calculate the comprehensive weight of the evaluation index. Then, the candidate manufacturing cloud service providers are selected based on gray relational analysis to ensure the rationality of the evaluation results. The evaluation system not only objectively considers the situation of each supplier but also reflects the platform's emphasis on low-carbon environmental factors. Finally, this paper takes the seat suppliers' selection problem in the supply chain of Tianjin industrial cloud automotive mold supply chain as examples to verify the practical significance of this model. At the same time, this paper can provide ideas for the application of cloud manufacturing mode and the solution of supply chain environment problems.

H(+)/Cl(­) exchange transporter 7 promotes lysosomal acidification­mediated autophagy in mouse cardiomyocytes.

Autophagy protects cardiomyocytes in various pathological and physiological conditions; however, the molecular mechanisms underlying its influence and the promotion of autophagic clearance are not completely understood. The present study aimed to explore the role of H(+)/Cl(­) exchange transporter 7 (CLC­7) in cardiomyocyte autophagy. In this study, rapamycin was used to induce autophagy in mouse cardiomyocytes, and the changes in CLC­7 were investigated. The expression levels of CLC­7 and autophagy­related proteins, such as microtubule associated protein 1 light chain 3, autophagy related 5 and Beclin 1, were detected using western blotting or immunofluorescence. Autolysosomes were observed and analyzed using transmission electron microscopy and immunofluorescence following CLC­7 silencing with small interfering RNAs. Cellular viability was assessed using Cell Counting Kit­8 and lactate dehydrogenase assays. Lysosomal acidification was measured using an acidification indicator. Increased CLC­7 co­localization with lysosomes was identified during autophagy. CLC­7 knockdown weakened the acidification of lysosomes, which are the terminal compartments of autophagy flux, and consequently impaired autophagy flux, ultimately resulting in cell injury. Collectively, the present study demonstrated that in cardiomyocytes, CLC­7 may contribute to autophagy via regulation of lysosomal acidification. These findings provide novel insights into the role of CLC­7 in autophagy and cytoprotection.

Game analysis on the evolution of COVID-19 epidemic under the prevention and control measures of the government.

In this paper, the interaction strategies and the evolutionary game analysis of the actions taken by the government and the public in the early days of the epidemic are incorporated into the natural transmission mechanism model of the epidemic, and then the transmission frequency equations of COVID-19 epidemic is established. According to the cumulative confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the UK and China, the upper limit of the spread of COVID-19 in different evolutionary scenarios is set. Using SPSS to perform logistic curve fitting, the frequency fitting equations of cumulative confirmed cases under different evolution scenarios are obtained respectively. The analysis result shows that the emergency response strategy adopted by the government in the early days of the epidemic can effectively control the spread of the epidemic. Combined with the transmission frequency equation of COVID-19 epidemic, measures taken by the government are analyzed. The influence of each measure on the frequency variable is judged and then the influence on the spread of the epidemic is obtained. Finally, based on the above analysis, the government is advised to adhere to the principles of scientific, initiative and flexibility when facing major epidemics.

In-situ synthesis of poly(m-phenylenediamine) on chitin bead for Cr(VI) removal.

In this work, a user-friendly chitin-based adsorbent (CT-PmPD) was synthesized by in-situ polymerization of m-phenylenediamine on chitin bead, which could effectively remove Cr(VI) from water. The structure and morphology of the CT-PmPD were characterized by FT-IR, XRD, SEM, zeta potential and XPS. Specifically, the effect of adsorbed dosage, pH, contact time, adsorption temperature and coexisting salt on the adsorption of Cr(VI) were studied. Besides, the adsorption mechanism of CT-PmPD toward Cr(VI) were also analyzed. Consequently, CT-PmPD exhibited a monolayer adsorption and the Langmuir model fitted a Cr(VI) adsorption capacity reaching 185.4 mg/g at 298 K. The high adsorption capacity was attributed to the abundant amino groups of CT-PmPD, which could be protonated to boost the electrostatic attraction of Cr(VI) oxyanions, thus providing electron to reduce Cr(VI). Additionally, the CT-PmPD revealed a good regeneration and reusability capacity, maintaining most of its adsorption capacity even after five cycles of adsorption-desorption. This high adsorption capacity and excellent regeneration performance highlighted the great potential of CT-PmPD for the removal of Cr(VI).

Specificity and application of SOX2 antibody.

Sox2 is known to play an important role in maintaining the totipotency and self-renewal of embryonic stem cells. The purpose of this study was to prepare an anti-chicken Sox2 polyclonal antibody using prokaryotic expression techniques, to evaluate its specificity and to use it to investigate the expression and distribution of Sox2 in the chicken brain and lungs. The chicken Sox2 gene was amplified and subcloned to a pET-30a vector to construct a prokaryotic expression vector, pET-Sox2. A His-Sox2 fusion protein was expressed, purified, and used to prepare an antichicken Sox2 polyclonal antibody. Western blotting revealed that the antichicken Sox2 antibody could specifically bind not only to the purified His-Sox2 fusion protein but also to the endogenous Sox2 protein in the testes of chicken, showing a distinct dose-dependent relationship between antigen and Sox2 antibody. Indirect immunofluorescent staining of Sox2-overexpressing cells showed strong nuclear and diffuse cytoplasmic immunoreactivity for Sox2 in the antichicken Sox2 antibody-staining cells. A CRISPR/Cas9 effector system-mediated Sox2 knockdown assay indicated that Sox2 expression in HEK 293T cells was downregulated in the presence of doxycycline but upregulated in the absence of doxycycline. In addition, cryosectioning and immunohistochemical staining illustrated that most spermatogonia in the seminiferous tubules, and a small number of Sertoli and Leydig cells, were positive for Sox2. The antichicken Sox2 antibody was also successfully used to investigate the expression and distribution of Sox2 in the chicken cerebellar cortex, optic tectum, cerebral cortex, and lungs. The results of this study confirmed the specificity of the antichicken Sox2 polyclonal antibody, which will be available for the study of biological functions of the chicken Sox2 gene and the self-renewal mechanisms of chicken pluripotent stem cells.

TRPV1 activation mitigates hypoxic injury in mouse cardiomyocytes by inducing autophagy through the AMPK signaling pathway.

Autophagy is a highly conserved self-protection mechanism that plays a crucial role in cardiovascular diseases. Cardiomyocyte hypoxic injury promotes oxidative stress and pathological alterations in the heart, although the interplay between these effects remains elusive. The transient receptor potential vanilloid 1 (TRPV1) ion channel is a nonselective cation channel that is activated in response to a variety of exogenous and endogenous physical and chemical stimuli. Here, we investigated the effects and mechanisms of action of TRPV1 on autophagy in hypoxic cardiomyocytes. In this study, primary cardiomyocytes isolated from C57 mice were subjected to hypoxic stress, and their expression of TRPV1 and adenosine 5'-monophosphate-activated protein kinase (AMPK) was regulated. The autophagy flux was assessed by Western blotting and immunofluorescence staining, and the cell viability was determined through Cell counting kit-8 assay and Lactate dehydrogenase assays. In addition, the calcium influx after the upregulation of TRPV1 expression in cardiomyocytes was examined. The results showed that the number of autophagosomes in cardiomyocytes was higher under hypoxic stress and that the blockade of autophagy flux aggravated hypoxic damage to cardiomyocytes. Moreover, the expression of TRPV1 was induced under hypoxic stress, and its upregulation by capsaicin improved the autophagy flux and protected cardiomyocytes from hypoxic damage, whereas the silencing of TRPV1 significantly attenuated autophagy. Our observations also revealed that AMPK signaling was activated and involved in TRPV1-induced autophagy in cardiomyocytes under hypoxic stress. Overall, this study demonstrates that TRPV1 activation mitigates hypoxic injury in cardiomyocytes by improving autophagy flux through the AMPK signaling pathway and highlights TRPV1 as a novel therapeutic target for the treatment of hypoxic cardiac disease.

A cellulose-based adsorbent with pendant groups of quaternary ammonium and amino for enhanced capture of aqueous Cr(VI).

As a promising candidate of Cr(VI) decontamination, cellulose is limited in the Cr(VI) uptake due to its poor accessibility. Herein, We describe the synthesis of a novel cellulose-based adsorbent (PQC, where P and QC designate the polyethylenimine and quaternized cellulose, respectively) with functional groups of quaternary ammonium and amino for enhanced capture of Cr(VI) from water. For preparing PQC, cellulose is first quaternized homogeneously, followed by grafting and/or cross-linking with polyethylenimine in the presence of epichlorohydrin. The PQC follows the Langmuir isotherm and presents a maximum Cr(VI) uptake capacity of 490.3 mg/g at 30 °C and initial pH about 2.0, much higher than many other reported cellulose-based adsorbents. The adsorption of PQC is spontaneous and endothermic, which follows the pseudo-second-order kinetic model and achieves the equilibrium after contacting about 50 min. Furthermore, the PQC, with favorable reusability, can work well in a high coexisting anion concentration. These excellent absorption performances are attributed to its physicochemical properties such as the robust porous structure and high density of functional groups including quaternary ammonium, amino and hydroxyl, which improve the availability to capture or reduce Cr(VI). This work demonstrates the significant potential of cellulose-based adsorbent for remediating aqueous Cr(VI).

Global dynamics of a Lotka-Volterra competition-diffusion-advection system for small diffusion rates in heterogenous environment.

We investigate the global dynamics of a Lotka-Volterra competition-diffusion-advection system for small diffusion rates in heterogenous environment. Our result suggests that the sign of $ \int_{0}^{L}(m_{1}-m_{2})e^{kx}dx $ plays a significant role in understanding the global dynamics. In addition, the limiting behavior of coexistence steady state is obtained when diffusion rates of two species tend to zero meanwhile.

Isolation and Identification of Chemical Constituents from Zhideke Granules by Ultra-Performance Liquid Chromatography Coupled with Mass Spectrometry.

Chemical constituents from Zhideke granules were rapidly isolated and identified by ultra-performance liquid chromatography (UPLC) coupled with hybrid quadrupole-orbitrap mass spectrometry (MS) in positive and negative ion modes using both full scan and two-stage threshold-triggered mass modes. The secondary fragment ion information of the target compound was selected and compared with the compound reported in databases and related literatures to further confirm the possible compounds. A total of 47 chemical constituents were identified from the ethyl acetate extract of Zhideke granules, including 21 flavonoids and glycosides, 9 organic acids, 4 volatile components, 3 nitrogen-containing compounds, and 10 other compounds according to the fragmentation patterns, relevant literature, and MS data. The result provides a new method for the analysis of chemical constituents of Zhideke granules which laid the foundation for quality control and the study of pharmacodynamic materials of Zhideke granules.

The evaluation model of the enterprise energy efficiency based on DPSR.

The reasonable evaluation of the enterprise energy efficiency is an important work in order to reduce the energy consumption. In this paper, an effective energy efficiency evaluation index system is proposed based on DPSR (Driving forces-Pressure-State-Response) with the consideration of the actual situation of enterprises. This index system which covers multi-dimensional indexes of the enterprise energy efficiency can reveal the complete causal chain which includes the "driver forces" and "pressure" of the enterprise energy efficiency "state" caused by the internal and external environment, and the ultimate enterprise energy-saving "response" measures. Furthermore, the ANP (Analytic Network Process) and cloud model are used to calculate the weight of each index and evaluate the energy efficiency level. The analysis of BL Company verifies the feasibility of this index system and also provides an effective way to improve the energy efficiency at last.

Integrative Functional Genomics Implicates EPB41 Dysregulation in Hepatocellular Carcinoma Risk.

Genome-wide association studies (GWASs) have provided many insights into cancer genetics. However, the molecular mechanisms of many susceptibility SNPs defined by GWASs in cancer heritability and in promoting cancer risk remain elusive. New research strategies, including functional evaluations, are warranted to systematically explore truly causal genetic variants. In this study, we developed an integrative functional genomics methodology to identify cancer susceptibility SNPs in transcription factor-binding sites across the whole genome. Employing integration of functional genomic data from c-Myc cistromics, 1000 Genomes, and the TRANSFAC matrix, we successfully annotated 12 SNPs present in the c-Myc cistrome with properties consistent with modulating c-Myc binding affinity in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). After genotyping these 12 SNPs in 1,806 HBV-related HCC case subjects and 1,708 control subjects, we identified a HCC susceptibility SNP, rs157224G>T, in Chinese populations (T allele: odds ratio = 1.64, 95% confidence interval = 1.32-2.02; p = 5.2 × 10(-6)). This polymorphism leads to HCC predisposition through modifying c-Myc-mediated transcriptional regulation of EPB41, with the risk rs157224T allele showing significantly decreased gene expression. Based on cell proliferation, wound healing, and transwell assays as well as the mouse xenograft model, we identify EPB41 as a HCC susceptibility gene in vitro and in vivo. Consistent with this notion, we note that EPB41 expression is significantly decreased in HCC tissue specimens, especially in portal vein metastasis or intrahepatic metastasis, compared to normal tissues. Our results highlight the involvement of regulatory genetic variants in HCC and provide pathogenic insights of this malignancy via a genome-wide approach.