OBJECTIVE Multiple common gene variants play a role in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) susceptibility. Our goal was to investigate the association between variants polymorphisms and NAFLD in the Uygur and Han from Northwestern China. METHODS Eight tag single nucleotide polymorphisms (tSNPs) previously reported to be associated with NAFLD were characterized in 396 NAFLD individuals a...

Population genetic studies provide a foundation for conservation planning, especially for endangered species. Three chloroplast SSRs (mtrnSf-trnGr, mtrnL2-trnF, and mtrnL5-trnL3) and the internal transcribed spacer were used to examine the population structure of Helianthemum in northwestern China. A total of 15 populations of the genus were collected. Nine chloroplast haplotypes and two nuclea...

Placusa pinearum, a newly described beetle species found living in pine shoot tunnels bored by the pine tip moth, Dioryctria rubella (Pyralidae), has potential as a vector to transport biological agents for controlling this moth pest of pine trees because of the high degree of niche overlap (co-occurrence) between them. In order to help determine the suitability of potential biological control ...

In Northwest China, aridification and desert expansion play significant roles in promoting desert plant diversification and speciation. However, to date, little is known about the effects of the desert barrier on the population structure of montane, non-desert species in the area. In this study, we sequenced chloroplast DNA regions (trnL-trnF and trnS-trnG) and a nuclear gene (rpb2) to investig...

Water has become increasingly scarce in northwestern China due to climate change, economic growth and burgeoning population. Improving agriculture water use efficiency is of strategic significance in promoting socio-economic water productivity for arid and semi-arid inland river basins. Based on the household-level data collected in Zhangye City, which is located in the middle reaches of Heihe ...

In May 1999, field surveys of Lyme disease spirochetes were conducted around the Tianshan Mountains in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in northwestern People's Republic of China. Ixodes persulcatus ticks were obtained in a Tianchi Lake valley with primary forest, while the tick fauna was poor in the semidesert or at higher altitudes in this region. Species identities were confirmed by molecula...

BACKGROUND Drug absorption, distribution, metabolism and excretion (ADME) contribute to the high heterogeneity of drug responses in humans. However, the same standard for drug dosage has been applied to all populations in China although genetic differences in ADME genes are expected to exist in different ethnic groups. In particular, the ethnic minorities in northwestern China with substantial ...

Reducing information rents is an important task for government agencies wishing to purchase maximal environmental services with limited budgets. This paper reports on several green auction options for reducing information rents and improving the performance of the "Grain for Green" Payments for environmental services (PES) program implemented in northwestern China. In r experimental auctions an...

Enterocytozoon bieneusi, the most common zoonotic pathogen of microsporidiosis, has been found in various animals and humans, but no information is available concerning the prevalence and genotypes of E. bieneusi in white yaks (Bos grunniens). In the present study, 353 faecal samples from white yaks in Tianzhu Tibetan Autonomous County, Gansu Province, Northwestern China, were collected and exa...

As part of national epidemiological survey on bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV), a total of 274 dejecta samples were collected from 14 cattle farms in 8 areas of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in northwestern China. Total RNA was extracted from each sample, and 5’-untranslated region (UTR) of BVDV genome was amplified by using two-step reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR)...