Recent selection and introgression facilitated high-altitude adaptation in cattle.

During the past 3000 years, cattle on the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau have developed adaptive phenotypes under the selective pressure of hypoxia, ultraviolet (UV) radiation, and extreme cold. The genetic mechanism underlying this rapid adaptation is not yet well understood. Here, we present whole-genome resequencing data for 258 cattle from 32 cattle breeds/populations, including 89 Tibetan cattle representing eight populations distributed at altitudes ranging from 3400 m to 4300 m. Our genomic analysis revealed that Tibetan cattle exhibited a continuous phylogeographic cline from the East Asian taurine to the South Asian indicine ancestries. We found that recently selected genes in Tibetan cattle were related to body size (HMGA2 and NCAPG) and energy expenditure (DUOXA2). We identified signals of sympatric introgression from yak into Tibetan cattle at different altitudes, covering 0.64%-3.26% of their genomes, which included introgressed genes responsible for hypoxia response (EGLN1), cold adaptation (LRP11), DNA damage repair (LATS1), and UV radiation resistance (GNPAT). We observed that introgressed yak alleles were associated with noncoding variants, including those in present EGLN1. In Tibetan cattle, three yak introgressed SNPs in the EGLN1 promoter region reduced the expression of EGLN1, suggesting that these genomic variants enhance hypoxia tolerance. Taken together, our results indicated complex adaptation processes in Tibetan cattle, where recently selected genes and introgressed yak alleles jointly facilitated rapid adaptation to high-altitude environments.

Variations in ocular biometry in an adult Tibetan population of Lhasa / 中华实验眼科杂志

Objective:To investigate the variations in ocular biometry and its influencing factors in adult Tibetans of Lhasa.Methods:A cross-sectional study was adopted.A total of 100 consecutive adult Tibetans (100 eyes) with cataract, who were treated in Tibet Autonomous Region People's Hospital from March 2017 to July 2017 were enrolled, including 51 males and 49 females, with an average age of (63.38±12.80) years.The subjects were divided into two groups, with 57 subjects (57 eyes) older than 60 years in the elder group and 43 subjects (43 eyes) younger than 60 years in the youth group.Corneal curvature, corneal astigmatism, anterior chamber depth and axial length of subjects were measured and compared with those of Beijing population which were used as standardized data of Han Chinese.The differences in ocular parameters associated with age and gender were analyzed.This study adhered to the Declaration of Helsinki.The study protocol was approved by an Ethics Committee of Tibet Autonomous Region People's Hospital (No.ME-TBHP-21-KJ-005).Written informed consent was obtained from each subject prior to any examination.Results:The mean corneal curvature, corneal astigmatism, anterior chamber depth and axial length of the 100 Tibetans were (43.68±1.62)D, 0.750 (0.375, 1.000)D, (3.05±0.41)mm, (23.07±0.86)mm, respectively.The axial length of Tibetan was shorter than that of Beijing Han people and the difference was significant ( t=2.65, P<0.01).Corneal astigmatism of the elder group was higher than that of youth group and the difference was significant ( t=2.11, P<0.05).There were no significant differences in corneal curvature, anterior chamber depth and axial length between the elder group and youth group (all at P>0.05).The anterior chamber depth and axial length of males were much longer than those of females, and the differences were significant ( t=2.71, 2.25; both at P<0.05). Conclusions:In adult Tibetan population, the axial length is short, and the anterior chamber is deep.The corneal astigmatism increases with age and there is a gender difference in axial length and anterior chamber depth.

Comparative efficacy and safety of antiplatelet agents in cerebral ischemic disease: A network meta-analysis.

We performed a network meta-analysis (NMA) to enhance the corresponding evidence of the relative efficacy and safety of different antiplatelet agents in cerebral ischemic disease. PubMed and EMBASE were searched systematically for relevant studies. Outcomes were compared using odds ratios and 95% credible intervals. Each agent was ranked according to the value of surface under the cumulative ranking curve (SUCRA). Publication bias was evaluated by funnel plots, while consistency between direct and indirect comparison was analyzed by node-splitting and heat plots. Besides, the clustering technique was used to categorize similar agents. A number of 44 eligible studies with 148 578 patients were included in this NMA. In terms of efficacy (including mortality, recurrent stroke, and vascular event), all six interventions were better than placebo. clopidogrel (Clop) and aspirin (ASA)+Clop were the best two interventions from SUCRA. However, the performance of ASA+Clop declined significantly when considering safety (including myocardial infarction, all-cause withdrawal, and intracranial hemorrhage), especially worse in intracranial hemorrhage. In conclusion, Clop was potentially the most preferable treatment for preventing cerebral ischemic in terms of efficacy and safety. However, the addition of ASA was associated with a potential increase in intracranial hemorrhage, therefore, combination therapy of ASA and Clop should be introduced with caution although it may be more effective than the monotherapy of ASA.

[Brief research on Nectar Offering in Tibetan medicine].

As a part of the culture of Tibetan medicine, the Nectar Offering has a long history of a thousand year. There are some contents of Esoteric Sect in its ritual procedure. It was improved and established a special theory in the development. On the basic of literature research and investigating the senior inheritors, the contents of ritual procedure, including instrument, participants and procedure, its characteristics and significance were introduced. Nowadays, the culture of Nectar Offering is diluted gradually, and facing the danger of disappearing.

The Influence of Difference of Dietary Pattern between Elderly Tibetans and Han Peoples on Blood Lipids / 中国慢性病预防与控制

Objective To analyze the dietary behavior and blood lipid profiles of the local elderly Tibetans and Han people living in Tibet and in Beijing,and to advise some steps to promote the health of local elderly Tibetans.Methods We collected the data of diet and blood lipids of the local Tibetan and Han people living in Tibet and in Beijing aged over 35 yrs by the method of migration epidemiology.Results The diet pattern of Tibetan was high intakes of coarse grains(219.8?123.3 g/day),meat(226.2?210.1 g/day),and wine(580.8?1 049.0 g/day),but low intakes of fresh vegetable & fruits(217.8?160.4 g/day).The prevalence of hypertriglyceridemia(5.0%) and low high-density lipoprotein cholesterol(3.1%) of Tibetan was lower than that of other two groups(elderly Han people in Tibet 22.5% and 10.7%;elderly Han people living in Beijing 14.7% and 8.4%,all P