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PurposeTo replicate previously confirmed telomere-length loci in a Chinese Han population with coronary heart disease (CHD), and investigate these loci and the possibility of and age at onset of CHD.Patients and methods1514 CHD patients and 2470 normal controls were recruited. Medical data including age, sex, body mass index, lipid profiles, history of hypertension, type 2 diabetes mellitus, and dyslipidemia were collected from all the participants. Seven previously identified single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) related to leucocyte telomere length were genotyped, including rs10936599 in TERC, rs2736100 in TERT, rs7675998 in NAF1, rs9420907 in OBFC1, rs8105767 in ZNF208, rs755017 in RTEL1, and rs11125529 in ACYP2.ResultsNo significant difference in genotype frequencies from the Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium test was noted for all tested SNPs both in the CHD patients and the normal controls. No polymorphism was observed for rs9420907, and AA genotype was noted in both the CHD patients and the controls. Neither the genotype nor the allele frequencies of rs2736100, rs8105767, rs11125529, and rs2967374 were significantly different between the CHD patients and the normal controls. For rs10936599 and rs755017, statistical difference was found for the allele frequency but not genotype. Distributions of genotype and allele were significantly different between the two groups for rs7675998. The odds ratio for carriers of CHD was 2.127 (95% confidence interval: 1.909–2.370) for the A allele of rs7675998. By one-way analysis of variance test, rs7675998 was associated with the onset age of CHD. CHD patients with the AA genotype of rs7675998 had significantly lower onset age (P<0.05).ConclusionIn a Chinese Han population, NAF1 gene encoding proteins with known function in telomere biology may influence both the possibility of and the age at onset of CHD, as previously reported in European studies.

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Trapping the aneurysms after revascularization of PICAs by OA-PICA bypass is a safe method to treat the VA-PICA dissecting aneurysms.

River flooding affects more people worldwide than other natural hazards. Thus, analysis of the changes in flood regime caused by global warming and increasing anthropogenic activities will help us make adaptive plans for future flood management. The nonstationary flood behavior in the upper Yangtze River was examined comprehensively in terms of trend, change point, and periodicity with co-usage of different methods. Results show that there are decreasing tendencies in the corresponding series of annual maximum flood peak flow and flood volume in four out of six control stations, except Pingshan and Wulong stations in the Jinsha River and the Wu River, respectively, and the flood peak occurrence time appears earlier mostly. The uniformity of flood process increases in four main tributaries, while it decreases in mainstream of the Yangtze River (Yichang and Pingshan stations). The rates of both rising limb and recession limb of all the typical flood process flowing through the six stations were analyzed. 77.8% of the rates of rising limb decrease, while 61.1% of the rates of recession limb increase, which is almost consistent with the variation reflected by the uniformity. The change points of most evaluation indicators happened in 1970s–1990s. The first main periodicity of evaluation indicators in Yichang is about 45 years, while that of other stations is about 20 years. Invalidity of stationarity in the flood series can be attributed to the intensified construction on major water conservancy projects, changes of underlying surface, and influences of climatic variables. The contributions of both climatic control and the Three Gorges Dam (TGD) to the variation of the annual flood peak in Yichang station were further quantitatively evaluated, which has verified that the construction of the TGD has played a positive role in peak-flood clipping.