Extended Y chromosome investigation suggests postglacial migrations of modern humans into East Asia via the northern route.

Genetic diversity data, from Y chromosome and mitochondrial DNA as well as recent genome-wide autosomal single nucleotide polymorphisms, suggested that mainland Southeast Asia was the major geographic source of East Asian populations. However, these studies also detected Central-South Asia (CSA)- and/or West Eurasia (WE)-related genetic components in East Asia, implying either recent population admixture or ancient migrations via the proposed northern route. To trace the time period and geographic source of these CSA- and WE-related genetic components, we sampled 3,826 males (116 populations from China and 1 population from North Korea) and performed high-resolution genotyping according to the well-resolved Y chromosome phylogeny. Our data, in combination with the published East Asian Y-haplogroup data, show that there are four dominant haplogroups (accounting for 92.87% of the East Asian Y chromosomes), O-M175, D-M174, C-M130 (not including C5-M356), and N-M231, in both southern and northern East Asian populations, which is consistent with the proposed southern route of modern human origin in East Asia. However, there are other haplogroups (6.79% in total) (E-SRY4064, C5-M356, G-M201, H-M69, I-M170, J-P209, L-M20, Q-M242, R-M207, and T-M70) detected primarily in northern East Asian populations and were identified as Central-South Asian and/or West Eurasian origin based on the phylogeographic analysis. In particular, evidence of geographic distribution and Y chromosome short tandem repeat (Y-STR) diversity indicates that haplogroup Q-M242 (the ancestral haplogroup of the native American-specific haplogroup Q1a3a-M3) and R-M207 probably migrated into East Asia via the northern route. The age estimation of Y-STR variation within haplogroups suggests the existence of postglacial (∼18 Ka) migrations via the northern route as well as recent (∼3 Ka) population admixture. We propose that although the Paleolithic migrations via the southern route played a major role in modern human settlement in East Asia, there are ancient contributions, though limited, from WE, which partly explain the genetic divergence between current southern and northern East Asian populations.

E-Cigarette Markets and Policy Responses in Southeast Asia: A Scoping Review.

BACKGROUND: The global e-cigarette market has proliferated and is increasingly dominated by transnational tobacco companies. While Southeast Asian countries have received relatively little attention in e-cigarette research, the region represents an area of potentially untapped growth for the industry. We review the e-cigarette situation in Southeast Asia in terms of the e-cigarette markets, advertising and promotion of e-cigarettes, reported health impacts of e-cigarette use, and policy responses in the region. METHODS: We examined e-cigarette market data from the Euromonitor Global Market Information Database (GMID) Passport database, searched in the academic literature, grey literature and news archives for any reports or studies of e-cigarette related diseases or injuries, e-cigarette marketing, and e-cigarette policy responses in Southeast Asian countries, and browsed the websites of online e-cigarette retailers catering to the region's active e-cigarette markets. RESULTS: In 2019, e-cigarettes were sold in six Southeast Asian markets with a total market value of $595 million, projected to grow to $766 million by 2023. E-commerce is a significant and growing sales channel in the region, with most of the popular or featured brands in online shops originating from China. Southeast Asian youth are targeted with a wide variety of flavours, trendy designs and point of sale promotions, and several e-cigarette related injuries and diseases have been reported in the region. Policy responses vary considerably between countries, ranging from strict bans to no or partial regulations. CONCLUSION: Although Southeast Asia's e-cigarette market is relatively nascent, this is likely to change if transnationals invest more heavily in the region. Populous countries with weak e-cigarette regulations, notably Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam and the Philippines, are desirable targets for the transnationals. Regulatory action is needed to prevent e-cigarette use from becoming entrenched into these societies, especially among young people.

[Production of porcine blastocysts expressed EGFP by handmade cloning].

Production of transgenic animals via somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) has been widely used worldwide. However, the application of SCNT is impeded by overall high costs and low efficiency. Here, we reported a modification of the existing technology in order to overcome some of the disadvantages associated with SCNT. Firstly, a marker gene, enhanced green fluorescent gene (EGFP), was transfected into pig fetal fibroblast cells, and was subsequently screened by fluorescent expression to ensure donor cells expressing EGFP. Porcine embryos expressing EGFP were then produced by a method called handmade cloning (HMC), a simplified method for micromanipulation. To demonstrate the concept, we collected a total of 378 fresh swine oocytes, from which 266 with the nucleus removed, obtained a total of 127 viable recombinant oocytes after fusion with EGFP-expressing cells. In vitro incubation of the 127 recombinant oocytes for approximately 144 hours resulted in successful generation of 65 viable embryos, with an average success rate of 52.1±8.3%. Compared with the traditional SCNT, the method of HMC is not only easy to operate, but also increases the rate of recombinant embryo significantly. Furthermore, the modified method no longer relies on expensive instrument like micromanipulator, facilitating the industrialization of transgenic animal production.

[Molecular detection of specific HPV types in Condylomata acuminata].

To detect HPV in genital warts (Condylomata acuminata, CA) for infection rate and association of specific HPV types between males and females, and to provide support for the development of HPV vaccines, we designed HPV type-specific oligonucleotide primers to amplify DNA fragments encoding L1 viral capsule protein. SSP-PCR was conducted in duplication for each CA sample from male and female patients. DNA of TA-cloned HPV was used as positive control, and deionized H2O was used as negative control. A total of 22 clinical samples, 13 from males and 9 from females, was collected from patients diagnosed with CA at hospitals in Beijing and Handan. HPV viral DNA was amplified in all 22 samples analyzed, with 100% detection rate. TA-cloning and sequencing of the PCR products confirmed correct amplification of HPV type-specific fragments. Of the 13 samples from males, 5 were infected with HPV6, 6 with HPV11, and 2 with HPV6 + HPV11. Of the 9 samples from females, 3 were infected with HPV6, 2 with HPV11, and 4 with both HPV6 and HPV11 infection. In addition, high-risk types HPV16, HPV18, HPV33, HPV35, HPV45, HPV54, HPV56 and HPV58 were also detected in 4 female samples that were mixed with cervical cell debris during sample collection. However, no HPV types other than HPV6 and HPV11was detected in all CA-only samples in this study. We have established a sensitive and reliable laboratory procedure for HPV detection and classification. Using the method, we reached 100% detection rate of HPV in the CA samples. Our results confirm that HPV6 and HPV11 are primarily responsible for CA, and there is no specific association of HPV types between warts in males and females.

[Molecular Cloning of Smooth Muscle Calponin h1 in SHeep.].

It was found that the level of Calponin h1 (CaP h1) mRNA was significantly up-regulated by Estrogen in the myometrium of sheep towards the end pregnancy. Although the CaP h1 has been widely used as a reference gene to observe the changes of expression level of other genes, the full-length gene in sheep has not been obtained. With the oligo nucleotide primers according to human, mouse and pig CaP h1 mRNA, the full-length cDNA of CaP h1 was cloned by 5'- and 3'-RACE (Genbank accession number = AY327118). The cDNA was 1499bp in length and contained a complete open reading frame of 891 bp, encoding a protein of 297 amino acid residues. 5'-and 3'-UTR was 79 bp and 529bp, respectively. With PCR-SSP approaches,the genomic DNA of sheep CaP h1 was obtained .It showed that the gene has 7 exons and 6 introns, spanning over 8kb(Genbank accession number of introns : AY771807,AY771808, AY771809, AY771810.) Homologous comparison indicated that the cDNA sequences are highly conserved across the species. The highest homology was found in wild pig (92%), followed by human (88%), rat (81%), mouse (81%) and chicken (79%). The intron sequence and length showed a large variation among species (>50%).