Role of IL-9, IL-2RA, and IL-2RB genetic polymorphisms in coronary heart disease.

BACKGROUND: Coronary heart disease (CHD) is one of the leading causes of disability and death worldwide. Inflammatory cytokines play an essential role in the pathogenesis of CHD. This study aimed to detect the potential association between interleukin (IL)-9, IL-2RA, and IL-2RB variants and CHD in a Han Chinese population. METHODS: This case-control study included 499 CHD patients and 496 healthy controls. Seven single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were genotyped to investigate the possible association between the polymorphisms and CHD risk. Interactions between SNPs and CHD risk were analyzed via multifactor dimensionality reduction (MDR). RESULTS: We observed an association between IL­9 rs55692658 (OR = 1.72, p = 0.003) and increased CHD risk. Age-stratified analysis indicated that regardless of the participants' age, IL­9 rs55692658 and IL-2RB rs1573673 contributed significantly to CHD susceptibility (p < 0.05, respectively). Results showed an association between IL­9 rs55692658 and an increased risk for CHD (OR = 2.32, p = 0.003), while IL-2RA rs12722498 was correlated with decreased susceptibility to CHD (OR = 0.54, p = 0.033) in female patients. Furthermore, IL-2RA rs12569923 was related to diabetes risk in CHD patients (OR = 1.50, p = 0.028). The MDR analysis revealed a positive interaction between the SNPs. CONCLUSION: The present study demonstrated that IL­9 rs55692658, IL-2RA rs12569923, IL-2RA rs12722498, and IL-2RB rs3218264 polymorphisms might be related to CHD. The results require validation in larger studies.

Spatiotemporal evolution of dry and wet and quantitative analysis of the influence of meteorological factors based on MI and the FAO P-M model.

The frequent occurrence of extreme climate events disrupts the regional water budget balance and leads to changes in the dry and wet conditions of the surface, making the water surplus and deficit more complex and variable. To explore the quantitative relationship between the spatiotemporal evolution of dry and wet conditions and meteorological factors in the Hexi Corridor under changing environmental conditions, the relative moisture index (MI) and FAO Penman-Monteith (FAO P-M) model were combined to construct a partial differential quantitative attribution model for dry and wet variations affected by climate factors in the Hexi Corridor. The results show that: (1) MI in the Hexi Corridor increased significantly (Z = 2.341) during 1960-2019, showing a wet-trend change, and the degree of drought increased from southeast to northwest in the Hexi Corridor. (2) The order of drought degree in four seasons is as follows: winter (- 0.95), spring (- 0.93), autumn (- 0.89) and summer (- 0.83). (3) The frequency of extreme drought, severe drought, moderate drought, and mild drought within 60 years of 21 meteorological stations accounted for 28.38%, 50.48%, 8.85%, and 7.38%, respectively, and the frequency above severe drought was the highest. (4) The sensitivity of meteorological factors gradually increased from northwest to southeast, and MI was the most sensitive to the change of precipitation (P), followed by net radiation (Rn), wind speed (u2), mean temperature (Tmean), relative humidity (RH) and maximum temperature (Tmax). MI was the least sensitive to the change of minimum temperature (Tmin). P is the most important meteorological variable that contributes to the increase of MI, followed by u2, Tmean, and Tmin. Rn, Tmax, and RH have the least influence, and the total contribution of the seven meteorological factors is 85.59%. Compared with the reference evapotranspiration, P is the main factor affecting the dry and wet variations in Hexi Corridor.

Spatial-temporal variations of sediment transport rate and driving factors in Shule River Basin, northwest China.

The sediment content and transport rate of rivers are crucial indicators reflecting soil erosion, water quality, and water resource management in a region. Studying changes in river sediment transport rates within a basin is essential for evaluating water quality, restoring water ecosystems, and implementing soil and water conservation measures. This study focused on the Shule River Basin and utilized various methods such as moving average, cumulative anomaly, Mann-Kendall mutation test, Mann-Kendall (M-K) trend test, Sen's slope estimation, Correlation analysis, wavelet analysis, R/S analysis, ARCGIS10.7 interpolation, non-uniformity coefficient, and concentration to analyze data from hydrologic stations at Changmapu (CMP), Panjiazhuang (PJZ), and Dangchengwan (DCW). The research examined the temporal and spatial characteristics of sediment transport rates and identified key driving factors. Findings revealed significant increases in annual sediment transport rates at CMP and PJZ by 12.227 and 4.318 kg/s (10a)-1, respectively, while DCW experienced a decrease of 0.677 kg/s (10a)-1. The sediment transport rate of the three stations had a sudden change around 1994. The average annual sediment transport rates displayed distinct cycles, with CMP, PJZ, and DCW showing cycles of 51a, 53a, and 29a respectively. Additionally, while CMP and PJZ exhibited a continuous upward trend in sediment transport rates, DCW showed a consistent decline. The annual average sediment transport rates of CMP, PJZ, and DCW were 1305.43 kg/s, 810.06 kg/s, and 247.80 kg/s, respectively. These research findings contribute to enhancing the comprehension of sediment dynamics in the arid region of northwest China and offer a theoretical basis for the restoration and management of ecological environments in similar areas in the future.

Fast synthesis of gold nanostar SERS substrates based on ion-track etched membrane by one-step redox reaction.

Surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS), due to its high detecting sensitivity and rapid data acquisition ability, has been considered as a powerful technique for label-free ultrasensitive detection of chemical and biochemical analytes. As an important part, the uniform SERS substrate is the prerequisite for this technology being used in all the related areas. Therefore, seeking the fast, convenient and low-cost way to obtain the SERS substrate with high performance and reproducibility never stops in recent decades. In this work, the PC membrane with uniform nanopores obtained by ion irradiation and chemical etching (i.e., ion-track etched PC membrane) was first used to prepare the gold nanostar SERS substrate. The monolayer gold nanostars can be obtained through a one-step redox reaction on the surface of the PC membrane, which not only can act as the base of SERS substrate but also can work as the reaction adjuster. By optimizing the growth conditions, the SERS substrate with uniform monolayer gold nanostars can be fabricated without any complicated procedures and costly equipment fast (in 20 mins). Meanwhile, the prepared flexible gold nanostar SERS substrate exhibits excellent Raman performance, which can effectively detect the analyte R6G with the concentration as low as 1 × 10-10 M and the SERS enhancement factors can be around 3.70 × 105. The new facile SERS substrate preparation method is cost-effective, convenient, fast and easily scale up, which can satisfy the requests of the real applications in many fields.

NT5C2 Gene Polymorphisms and the Risk of Coronary Heart Disease.

BACKGROUND: Increasing studies have reported that 5'-nucleotidase cytosolic II (NT5C2) has a strong relationship with coronary heart disease (CHD) development. This study was designed to examine the relationship between NT5C2 polymorphisms and CHD in the Chinese Han population. METHODS: We studied 501 CHD patients and 496 healthy controls from the Second Affiliated Hospital of Hainan Medical University in Hainan Province, China. Four single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in NT5C2 were selected and genotyped using Agena MassARRAY technology. Odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals were calculated using logistic regression after adjusting for age and gender. Stratification analysis was performed by age and gender in all individuals; we especially investigated the effects of NT5C2 SNPs on hypertension and diabetes among CHD patients. RESULTS: rs2148198 of NT5C2 was strongly associated with an increased risk of CHD (allele: p = 0.045; codominant: p = 0.007; additive: p = 0.016). Stratified analysis revealed that rs2148198 was associated with increased CHD risk in individuals aged ≤61 years and males. For CHD patients, rs2148198 significantly affected the risk of hypertension and diabetes (p < 0.05). Further, rs79237883 of NT5C2 was associated with decreased susceptibility to hypertension in multiple genetic models for individuals with CHD (allele: p = 0.007; codominant: p = 0.001; dominant: p = 0.001; additive: p = 0.008). CONCLUSION: This study reports the association of NT5C2 gene variants and CHD susceptibility in the Chinese Han population. Especially, NT5C2 rs2148198 was significantly associated with CHD risk in the subgroups of males, hypertension, and diabetes.