Differences in reproductive endocrinology between Asian men and Caucasian men——a literature review

This review provides an overview of the literature on aspects of reproductive endocrinology wherein Asian menmay differ from Caucasian, notably, prostatic nioplasm and the sensivity to pharmacological regimens of male contra-ception. Both genetic and environmental factors, such as nutrition, might be relevant. Asian men residing in Asia seemto be relatively protected from clinical prostatic nioplasm while the prevalence of preclinical prostatic nioplasm is notdifferent. Migration to an area with a higher prevalence reduces this difference but does not undo it. With regard toprostatic nioplasm the following factors have been considered as relevant in Asian men: 1) a reduction in 5α-reductaselevel, 2) decreased levels of androgenic ketosteroid precursors of 5α-reduced androgen metabolites, 3) the decreasedpresence of a P53 mutation, 4) a higher CAG-repeat length of the androgen receptor, 5) a possible higher level ofphysical activity, 6) differences in sexual activity. Furthermore, Asian men respond to a higher degree with azoosper-mia in response to contraceptive steroids. Possible explanations offered for the more pronounced response to contracep-tive steroids are: 1) differences in testicular structure and decreased spermatogenic potential, 2) an earlier and moremarked suppression in LH secretion by exogenous androgens. The differences may be due to genetical and/or environ-mental factors influencing the peripheral testosterone metabolism. Dietary factors such as the higher intake of phytoe-strogens in Asians might exert effects on 5α-reductase activity and/or on sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG) levels,thus having an impact on the biological efficay of circulating androgens. ( Asian J Androl 2000; 2: 13 - 20)

Clinical features of alcoholic hepatitis in latinos and caucasians: A single center experience

AIM To study differences of presentation, management, and prognosis of alcoholic hepatitis in Latinos compared to Caucasians. METHODS We retrospectively screened 876 charts of Caucasian and Latino patients who were evaluated at University of California Davis Medical Center between 1/1/2002-12/31/2014 with the diagnosis of alcoholic liver disease. We identified and collected data on 137 Caucasians and 64 Latinos who met criteria for alcoholic hepatitis, including chronic history of heavy alcohol use, at least one episode of jaundice with bilirubin ≥ 3.0 orcoagulopathy, new onset of liver decompensation or acute liver decompensation in known cirrhosis within 12 wk of last drink. RESULTS The mean age at presentation of alcoholic hepatitis was not significantly different between Latinos and Caucasians. There was significant lower rate of overall substance abuse in Caucasians compared to Latinos and Latinos had a higher rate of methamphetamine abuse(12.5% vs 0.7%) compared to Caucasians. Latinos had a higher mean number of hospitalizations(5.3 ± 5.6 vs 2.7 ± 2.7, P = 0.001) and mean Emergency Department visits(9.5 ± 10.8 vs 4.5 ± 4.1, P = 0.017) for alcohol related issues and complications compared to Caucasians. There was significantly higher rate of complications of portal hypertension including gastrointestinal bleeding(79.7% vs 45.3%, P < 0.001), spontaneous bacterial peritonitis(26.6% vs 9.5%, P = 0.003), and encephalopathy(81.2% vs 55.5%, P = 0.001) in Latinos compared to Caucasians.CONCLUSION Latinos have significant higher rates of utilization of acute care services for manifestations alcoholic hepatitis and complications suggesting poor access to outpatient care.

Psychogenic Nonepileptic Seizures in Men: Comparison of Clinical and Psychosocial Features between Afro-American and Caucasian Patients

PNES represents an alternative diagnosis for refractory epilepsy in the EMU, however it is less frequent in males. The impact of ethnicity on PNES was evaluated retrospectively in 54 males with confirmed diagnosis of PNES. We evaluated and compared the demographic, clinical and psycho-social characteristics of both AAMs and WMs. In both AAMs and CMS, over half of all patients were <50 years of age, had a shorter history of spells, and took between 1 to 3 AEDS. However, the spells were more frequent in AAM (2.25) compared to CM, but the CMs had more frequent limp/unresponsive events. Also there was higher incidence of head injury report, alcohol and substance abuse, unemployment and disability benefits in AAMs compared to CMs. These differences may provide insight into the causative factors in PNES.

Bone density, microarchitecture and stiffness in Caucasian and Caribbean Hispanic postmenopausal American women

Hispanic Americans of Caribbean origin are a fast-growing subset of the US population, but there are no studies on bone density, microstructure and biomechanical integrity in this minority group. In this study, we aimed to compare Caucasian and Caribbean Hispanic postmenopausal American women with respect to these characteristics. Thirty-three Caribbean Hispanics were age-matched to thirty-three Caucasian postmenopausal women. At the lumbar spine, the Hispanic women had significantly lower areal bone mineral density （aBMD）. At the radius by high-resolution peripheral quantitative computed tomography （HR-pQCT）, there were minimal differences between Hispanic and Caucasian women. At the tibia, Hispanic women had lower trabecular volumetric bone density and trabecular number, and higher trabecular separation. Individual trabecula segmentation （ITS） analyses indicated that at the tibia, Hispanic women not only had significantly lower bone volume fraction, but also had significantly lower rod bone volume fraction, plate trabecular number, rod trabecular number and lower plate-plate, plate-rod and rod-rod junction densities compared to Caucasian women. The differences in bone quantity and quality contributed to lower whole bone stiffness at the radius, and both whole bone and trabecular bone stiffness at the tibia in Hispanic women. In conclusion, Hispanic women had poorer bone mechanical and microarchitectural properties than Caucasian women, especially at the load-bearing distal tibia.

The Issue of Genealogy of Armenians, Georgians and Other Caucasian Nations in the Historiography of the Middle Ages

The paper shows that the story about the origin of Armenians, Georgians and other Caucasians from a common ancestor, namely, from Targamos (Togormah)—The Life of the Fore-Patriarchs and Ancestors of the Georgian Kings, which is represented in the introductory part of The Georgian Chronicles and is dated back to the end of the11th, is a compiled work that mainly contains, on the one hand, an old Georgian genealogical-geographical story about Tarshish’s son Kartlos (Iber) and his six brothers ( Egros, Movakan, Heros, Bardos, Lekan and Caucas)created at the end of the 6th c.-first half of the 8th c. based on Byzantine works, and on the other hand, a genealogical story created in old Armenian historiography about Targamos and his son Hayk that went through certain steps of development as well. In the process of synthesizing, Togormah (Targamos) and his son Hayk (Haos)were inserted between Tarsish and his son Kartlos (Iber), which violated the Biblical scheme as well as the structure of the sentence in which the insertion was made. The goal of developing the synthesized scheme was to bring evidence of the common origin of Georgians and Armenians, as long as quite a large number of Armenians,because of the incorporation of a large part of Armenian territories within Georgian borders, became citizens of Georgia. At the same time, the story also offers a justification in the eyes of the Muslim world for the claims of Georgia for Armenian territories. According to the newly-created synthesized scheme, Georgia was “the successor brother” of Armenia(Haos//Hayk) and considering the absence of Armenian states, i.e., “the elder brother”,Georgia was the only legal heir of Armenian territories.

Polymorphisms of MTHFR and susceptibility to oesophageal adenocarcinoma in a Caucasian United Kingdom population

AIM:To identify if methylene tetra-hydrofolatereductase(MTHFR)C677T polymorphisms are associated with oesophageal adenocarcnomas in a Caucasian population and to test whether folic acid and homocysteine levels are linked with cancer risk.METHODS:A case control study comprising of 58 non cancer and 48 cancer patients,MTHFR C667T genotyping was made and serum folate,homocysteine and vitamin B12 levels were made.Tumour stage,differentiation and survival was recorded.A P value of less than0.05 was taken to be significant.Theχ2 used to compare discrete variables and the Mantel-Cox was used to compare survival.A P value less than 0.05 was deemed to be significant.RESULTS:MTHFR polymorphisms is associated with an increased risk of several cancers.A link between MTHFR C677T polymorphisms and oesophageal squamous cell carcinoma and gastric cardia adenocarcinoma has been demonstrated in at risk Chinese populations.In a Western European population the role of the MTHFR gene has not previously been investigated in the setting of oesophageal adenocarcinoma.No association between folic acid levels and cancer patients was found.The unstable MTHFR 667 TT genotype occurred in 11%cancers and 7%controls,but statistical significance was not reached,homocysteine levels and folic acid levels were not affected,cancer patients with TT genotype displayed a trend for a shorter survival 7 mo vs 20 mo.Serum vitamin B12 levels were higher in the cancer group.The MTHFR 667 TT genotype is much lower than previous population studies.CONCLUSION:We conclude that serum folic acid and MTHFR polymorphisms are not associated with an increased risk of oesophageal adenocarcinoma,although cancers with unstable TT genotype may indicate a more aggressive disease course.

Body mass index versus percentage body fat in Chinese, African-American and Caucasian postmenopausal women

Objective: The aim of the study was to investigate in postmenopausal women whether the relationship between percentage body fat (PBF) and body mass index (BMI) differs between Asians living in Beijing (BA) and African-Americans (AA), and Caucasians (Ca) living in New York City. Methods: Healthy postmenopausal women (231 BA; 113 AA, 95 Ca), aged 50-80 years, were studied. Weight, height and PBF by dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) were measured. The relationship between PBF and BMI was assessed by multiple regression analysis. Results: Race, reciprocal of BMI (1/BMI) and the interaction between race and 1/BMI were all significantly (P<0.05) related to PBF in this sample. The slope of the line relating 1/BMI to PBF was different for BA compared to AA (P=0.01) and Ca (P=0.003) while the slopes for AA and Ca were not different (P>0.05). At lower levels of BMI, Asians tended to have higher PBF comparable to AA and Ca, while at BMI >30 BA tended to have less PBF than the other groups. Conclusion: The relation between PBF and BMI in BA postmenopausal women differs from that of AA and Ca women in this sample.

高加索三叶草种子内生细菌B7的分离鉴定及其促生特性

采用传统的分离培养手段从高加索三叶草种子内分离筛选出内生细菌B7,通过生理生化以及16S rDNA进行分子鉴定,结果表明菌株B7属于泛菌属(Pantoea sp.)。菌株B7在15%PEG6000干旱胁迫下能够正常生长,表现出较强的耐旱能力;在pH值5~11范围内均能生长,有良好的耐酸碱能力;兼具产IAA、分泌铁载体、固氮和溶磷能力,其中产IAA能力高达0.28 g/L,溶解有机磷、无机磷和产铁载体的指数分别是3.15、2.91和2.63,速率分别为2.15、1.91和1.63。菌株B7具有良好的促生效果,显著提高了高加索三叶草的株高、地上鲜重、地下鲜重与干重、叶长、叶宽、叶片数、叶面积、根长、根投影面积、根表面积、根尖数,促进了高加索三叶草的生长发育。

Trends and rates of holocene soil evolution in the North Caucasian Piedmont

In the piedmont of the North Caucasus a 3500 yr B.P. steppe was replaced by forest asclimate became moister. Steppe Chernozems were preserved under high (up to 8 m) burial mounds(kurgans) constructed about 5000 yr B.P. On natural landsurfaces surrounding the kurgans,Chernozems evolved to Luvisols. On the kurgans made of loess and Chernozem soil, matureLuvisols formed during the forest stage. On the kurgans covered with artificial limestone paving,the Luvisol profile is less developed. Migration and transformation of substances occur throughoutthe whole kurgan pile. These include fissures and earthworm channels filled with clay-humusmaterial or secondary carbonates, gleyed mottles, iron oxides, and neoformed gypsum. Theseprocesses cause diagenetic transformation of buried Chernozems even at depth.

Comparison and predicted equation of energy expenditure during walking or running among Caucasians,African Americans and Asians

Knowledge of measured energy expenditure(EE)during walking and running is important for exercise pre-scription.Further,research on the EE comparison and EE predicted equation during walking or running among different ethnicities is limited.The purpose of the current study was to compare EE to walk or run 1 mile in Caucasian,African American and Asian adults and to develop a regression equation to predict EE to walk or run 1 mile.Two hundred and twenty-four participants were included(71 Caucasians,68 African Americans and 85 Asians)with 3 groups(normal weight walking,overweight walking and running).EE was measured via indirect calorimetry.Analysis of variance was used to compare EE across groups.Multiple regression analysis was employed for EE prediction,and the prediction equation was cross-validated.A significant EE difference was found between walking and running among three ethnicities.The prediction equation was:EE=0.978 Body Weight-4.571 Gender(male=1;female=2)+3.524 Ethnicities(Caucasians=1,African Americans=2,Asians=3)+32.447(standard error of estimate=12.5 kcal·mile^(-1)).The equation was valid through cross-validation,so it is recommended to apply for calculating EE during walking or running 1 mile among Cauca-sians,African Americans and Asians.

Modelling the nesting-habitat of threatened vulture species in the caucasus:An ecosystem approach to formalising environmental factors in species distribution models

Abiotic factors play an important role in species localisation,but biotic and anthropogenic predictors must also be considered in distribution modelling for models to be biologically meaningful.In this study,we formalised the biotic predictors of nesting sites for four threatened Caucasian vultures by including species distribution models(wild ungulates,nesting tree species)as biotic layers in the vulture Maxent models.Maxent was applied in the R dismo package and the best set of the model parameters were defined in the R ENMeval package.Performance metrics were continuous Boyce index,Akaike's information criterion,the area under receiver operating curve and true skill statistics.We also calculated and evaluated the null models.Kernel density estimation method was applied to assess the overlap of vulture ecological niches in the environmental space.The accessibility of anthropogenic food resources was estimated using the Path Distance measure that considers elevation gradient.The availability of pine forests(Scots Pine)and wild ungulates(Alpine Chamois and Caucasian Goat)contributed the most(29.6%and 34.3%)to Cinereous Vulture(Aegypius monachus)nesting site model.Wild ungulate distribution also contributed significantly(about 46%)to the Bearded Vulture(Gypaetus barbatus)model.This scavenger nests in the highlands of the Caucasus at a minimum distance of 5–10 km from anthropogenic facilities.In contrast,livestock as a food source was most important in colony distribution of Griffon Vulture(Gyps fulvus).The contribution of distances to settlements and agricultural facilities to the model was 45%.The optimal distance from Egyptian Vulture(Neophron percnopterus)nesting sites to settlements was only 3–10 km,to livestock facilities no more than 15 km with the factor contribution of about 57%.Excluding the wild ungulate availability,the ecological niches of studied vultures overlapped significantly.Despite similar foraging and nesting requirements,Caucasian vultures are not pronounced nesting and trophic competitors due to the abundance of nesting sites,anthropogenic food sources and successful niche sharing.

龙睛还是凤目:伏羲的眼睛

视觉文化尤其是塑像或画像中的伏羲形象,其圆目源自龙睛,而龙睛来自伏羲与太皞氏的合二为一,因为太皞氏在五行思想的建构中为东方的苍龙。然而,伏羲的圆目形象与中华民族始祖的伦理身份存在着知识科学上的冲突。雅利安白种人的特征之一为圆目,而蒙古人种的黄种人眼睛为凤目,从而伏羲的圆目塑像就存在着族源真实性的问题。如何解决这个问题?建议将塑像或画像中伏羲的龙睛改为凤目。

基于代谢组学的‘蒙农三叶草1号’与结瘤相关的根系代谢物研究

为探究高加索三叶草与根瘤菌互作后根系代谢物的变化,本研究以‘蒙农三叶草1号’高加索三叶草(Trifolium ambiguum Bieb.‘Mengnong No.1’)为试验材料,通过设置接种与不接种根瘤菌处理,观察其结瘤效果,并运用代谢组学技术分析接种根瘤菌后根系代谢产物的变化。结果表明,在接种根瘤菌后,‘蒙农三叶草1号’根系出现结瘤现象,共有249个化合物含量发生显著变化,主要注释在“次生代谢产物生物合成”过程中;共有75个化合物富集在47个通路中,主要富集在“黄酮和黄酮醇的生物合成”和“类黄酮生物合成”过程中。其中有16个差异代谢物在结瘤过程中起重要作用,酮戊二酸、山奈酚、槲皮苷、根皮苷、杨梅素和黄豆黄甙促进了该三叶草结瘤过程,精氨酸促进根瘤的生长。本研究可为后期提高高加索三叶草结瘤效率提供理论参考。

高加索三叶草全长转录组测序及Dof转录因子家族分析

为探究面临长时间低温胁迫的高加索三叶草(Trifolium ambiguum Bieb.)的转录特征,本研究通过PacBio Sequel平台进行全长转录组测序,获得70590条全长转录本(isoforms)。Isoforms的功能注释结果为:与红三叶的同源相似率最高,涉及信号转导机制、刺激响应、淀粉和蔗糖代谢通路、植物激素信号转导通路的Isoforms较多。Isoforms的结构分析结果为:预测到19693个SSR、2668条LncRNA、2788个AS和2917条TFs序列,TFs中的ERF,C3H,Dof等家族含序列数量较多。Dof转录因子家族的生物信息学分析结果为:42个Dof家族成员全部为亲水蛋白,大部分定位于细胞核;系统进化树分析将高加索三叶草与拟南芥Dof蛋白聚类为11个亚族;保守基序Motif1和Motif2出现的频率较高。以上发现可为下一步抗寒基因挖掘和功能验证提供数据支撑,并为解析高加索三叶草耐受长时间低温胁迫的生理生化机制奠定理论基础。

外源水杨酸对盐胁迫下三叶草种子萌发特征的影响

水杨酸是提高植物非生物胁迫的调节物质。研究采用裂区试验方法,进行了纸上发芽床试验。主处理为盐胁迫,副处理为水杨酸浸种,探究了水杨酸对盐胁迫下高加索三叶草杂交后代种子萌发的影响。实验结果表明:(1)盐胁迫抑制高加索三叶草杂交后代品系种子的萌发,种子的萌发状况随着盐浓度增高而变差;(2)适宜的水杨酸浓度对于缓解盐胁迫下高加索三叶草杂交后代品系种子萌发效果明显;(3)SA 0.4mM为盐胁迫下白三叶品系最适宜浓度;SA 0.1 mM是红三叶盐胁迫下萌发的最适宜浓度;0.3 mM SA为高加索三叶草、高加索三叶草与白三叶杂交后代盐胁迫下最适宜的浓度。

跨文化戏剧中的中国古典戏曲元素呈现——以《高加索灰阑记》为例

在《高加索灰阑记》中,中国古典戏曲元素在文学创作和舞台表演等方面被吸收和借鉴。中国古典戏曲元素在跨文化戏剧中的呈现促进了布莱希特的戏剧改革,推动了世界戏剧艺术新形态的发展,同时亦成为中国戏曲“走出去”的新形式。

不同孕前BMI的高加索人种及蒙古人种的产程及分娩并发症分析

目的:探讨不同孕前体质指数的高加索人种及蒙古人种的产程及相关并发症发生率。方法:回顾性纳入2016年6月至2020年6月在北京和睦家医院进行产前检查和分娩的高加索人种(C组,346例)和蒙古人种(M组,692例),根据孕前体质指数(BMI),分为高加索低体质量组(C1组,BMI<18.5kg/m 2)、高加索正常体质量组(C2组,BMI 18.5~24.9kg/m 2)、高加索超重组(C3组,BMI≥25kg/m 2),蒙古低体质量组(M1组,BMI<18.5kg/m 2)、蒙古正常体质量组(M2组,BMI 18.5~24.9kg/m 2)、蒙古超重组(M3组,BMI≥25kg/m 2),分别比较高加索人种及蒙古人种不同孕前体质指数患者产程时间及并发症发生率。结果:1)不同孕前体质量内高加索人种第一产程及总产程产程时限普遍高于蒙古人种(P<0.05)。2)正常体质量及高体质量组高加索人群孕妇并发症高于蒙古人种(P<0.05)。结论:高加索人种与蒙古人种相比,无论在产程时间、速度以及并发症均存在较大差异。

高加索人群白癜风多态性位点与中国汉族人群白癜风发病的相关性研究

目的探讨高加索人群白癜风易感基因与中国汉族白癜风患者发病的相关性。方法在1 977例白癜风患者和2 024例健康正常中对PTPN22、RERE、GZMB、C1QTNF6和UBASH3A这5个基因的8个易感位点进行基因分型。Plink 1.07和SPSS 16.0软件进行统计分析。结果 (1)PTPN22(rs2476601)、RERE(rs301819、rs4908760、rs11121194)、GZMB(rs8192917)、C1QTNF6(rs5756546)和UBASH3A(rs11203203、rs2839511)这8个SNP位点的等位基因频率在病例和对照组间无显著相关性(P>0.05);(2)分层分析显示SNP位点rs8192917基因型频率在有无家族史患者间存在差异(P=0.008);SNP位点rs4908760的等位基因频率在有家族史和无家族史的白癜风患者中存在差异(P=0.024),但校正后差异无统计学意义。结论高加索人群的PTPN22、RERE、GZMB、C1QTNF6和UBASH3A这5个基因的易感位点与中国汉族人群白癜风发病无显著关联,表明不同人群白癜风的发病存在较大的遗传异质性。

高加索三叶草、白三叶及其杂种F_1代的ISSR分析

利用耐寒、耐旱的六倍体高加索三叶草与强固氮能力、生长能力的大兴安岭四倍体白三叶进行远缘杂交,通过胚拯救技术得到杂种F1,同时通过组培快繁技术建立了F1的再生体系。为了明确杂种F1与亲本在DNA水平上的差异,建立适用于F1的分子标记反应体系,利用ISSR技术对其进行了鉴定分析。结果表明,16个ISSR引物共扩增出170条条带,长度介于100～2000bp之间,多态性条带138条,多态性条带百分率为81.18%;4个供试材料间的遗传距离变幅为0.0756～0.6798,平均为0.5313;父本白三叶与母本高加索三叶草之间的遗传距离较大,F1与母本高加索三叶草的遗传相似系数较大,F1组培再生植株与杂种F1之间存在轻微差异;从分子水平鉴定了杂种F1的真实性,并确定了其与亲本之间的遗传差异。