Chinese Uyghur Research Articles

Genetic polymorphism of the Dab2 gene and its association with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus in the Chinese Uyghur population.

The human Disabled-2 (Dab2) protein is an endocytic adaptor protein, which plays an essential role in endocytosis of transmembrane cargo, including low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C). As a candidate gene for dyslipidemia, Dab2 is also involved in the development of type 2 diabetes mellitus(T2DM). The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of genetic variants of the Dab2 gene on the related risk of T2DM in the Uygur and Han populations of Xinjiang, China. A total of 2,157 age- and sex-matched individuals (528 T2DM patients and 1,629 controls) were included in this case-control study. Four high frequency SNPs (rs1050903, rs2255280, rs2855512 and rs11959928) of the Dab2 gene were genotyped using an improved multiplex ligation detection reaction (iMLDR) genotyping assay, and the forecast value of the SNP for T2DM was assessed by statistical analysis of clinical data profiles and gene frequencies. We found that in the Uygur population studied, for both rs2255280 and rs2855512, there were significant differences in the distribution of genotypes (AA/CA/CC), and the recessive model (CC vs. CA + AA) between T2DM patients and the controls (P < 0.05). After adjusting for confounders, the recessive model (CC vs. CA + AA) of both rs2255280 and rs2855512 remained significantly associated with T2DM in this population (rs2255280: OR = 5.303, 95% CI [1.236 to -22.755], P = 0.025; rs2855512: OR = 4.892, 95% CI [1.136 to -21.013], P = 0.033). The genotypes (AA/CA/CC) and recessive models (CC vs. CA + AA) of rs2855512 and rs2255280 were also associated with the plasma glucose and HbA1c levels (all P < 0.05) in this population. There were no significant differences in genotypes, all genetic models, or allele frequencies between the T2DM and control group in the Han population group (all P > 0.05). The present study suggests that the variation of the Dab2 gene loci rs2255280 and rs2855512 is related to the incidence of T2DM in the Uygur population, but not in the Han population. In this study, these variations in Dab2 were an independent predictor for T2DM in the Uygur population of Xinjiang, China.

Performance of the London Atlas, Willems, and a new quick method for dental age estimation in Chinese Uyghur children

BackgroundNumerous dental age estimation methods have been devised and practised for decades. Among these, the London Atlas and Willems methods were two of the most frequently adopted, however dependent on atlantes or tables. A new estimation method less reliant on external measurement could be efficient and economical.AimThis study aimed to evaluate the utility and applicability of the dental age estimation methods of London Atlas, Willems, and a new quick method that subtracts the number of developing teeth from the universal root mature age of 16 years in one of the lower quadrants reported in this work among Chinese Uyghur children.MethodsA comparative cross-sectional study was conducted. Subjects enrolled in the study were screened according to preset inclusion and exclusion criteria. The observer then obtained the dental age from the subjects’ panoramic radiographs based on the estimated rules of the London Atlas, Willems, and a new quick method. Paired t-test was used to compare the accuracy and precision of the above three estimation methods. Independent-sample t-test was used to find the difference between gender.ResultsTotally, 831 radiographs entered the analyses of this study. Among the three methods evaluated, the Willems method, in particular, showed a distinct underestimated tendency. The mean error of the dental age predicted by the London Atlas, the Willems method, and the quick method was 0.06 ± 1.13 years, 0.44 ± 1.14 years, and 0.30 ± 0.63 years, respectively. The mean absolute error was 0.86 ± 0.75 years according to the London Atlas, 1.17 ± 0.89 years under the Willems method, and 0.70 ± 0.54 years under our quick method. No significant difference was found between the chronological age and dental age using the London Atlas, generally for the 10 to 15 years group (p > 0.05), but our quick method for the 15–16 years children (p < 0.05) and Willems method (p < 0.001).ConclusionThe London Atlas outperformed the Willems method with better accuracy and precision among 10–15 years Chinese Uyghur children. Our new quick method may be comparable to the London Atlas for children aged 10–14 and potentially become a more straightforward dental age prediction instrument.

The Effects of Tangning Ziyabitusi on Gut Microbiota and T lymphocyte Subsets in Impaired Glucose Regulation Rats.

Impaired glucose regulation (IGR) represents the prediabetic state and is associated with gut microbiota (GM) dysbiosis and chronic inflammation. Tangning Ziyabitusi Tablet (TZT) is a Chinese Uyghur herbal medicine with preventative and therapeutic effects on diabetes, but its hypoglycemic mechanisms are unclear. Thirty-six male Wistar rats were divided into the normal diet (ND) and IGR groups. The IGR group was given a high-fat diet (HFD). After the IGR model establishment, the ND group was divided into ND and ND+TZT groups, and the IGR group into IGR and IGR+TZT groups. After 8 weeks of TZT administration, 16S rRNA sequencing and untargeted metabolomics were performed on fecal samples. Mesenteric lymph nodes were also collected, and T lymphocytes separated after rats were sacrificed. Flow cytometry was used to characterize different CD4+ T cell subsets in mesenteric lymph nodes. Finally, we analyzed the correlation between GM and characteristic fecal metabolites. Impaired glucose tolerance and insulin resistance were improved in the IGR+TZT group when compared with the IGR group. Bacterial 16S rRNA sequencing results showed that Sobs and Chao1 indices in the IGR group were significantly decreased, but were increased in the IGR+TZT group. The relative abundance of Bacteroidetes was decreased while the relative abundance of Firmicutes was increased in the IGR group. Adlercreutzia abundance was decreased after TZT administration, while the abundance of Christensenellaceae_R-7_group, norank_f_norank_o_Clostridia_UCG-014, UCG-005, and Eubacterium_nodatum_group was increased in the IGR+TZT group. Lymph node CD4+ T cell proportions in the IGR group were significantly increased, while they were significantly decreased in the IGR+TZT group. Correlation analysis showed that tumor necrosis factor-α, interleukin-6, T helper cells (Th1, Th2, Treg), and insulin had a greater impact on GM community structure. TZT improved glucose tolerance and ameliorated GM dysbiosis in IGR rats. Additionally, TZT significantly modulated CD4+ T cell subset proportions in rat mesenteric lymph nodes and fecal metabolism. Moreover, correlation analysis showed that key microbiota was closely related to IGR indices. Thus, TZT modulated GM composition and immune functions of the intestinal mucosa. We provide useful information for the investigation of active mechanisms and the clinical application of TZT.

Analysis of the association of ANO3/MUC15, COL4A4, RRBP1, and KLK1 polymorphisms with COPD susceptibility in the Kashi population.

ObjectiveChronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a complex, multifactorial, polygenic disease. The rate of occurrence of COPD in the Kashi population (Uyghur) is significantly higher than that observed nationwide. The identification of COPD-related genes in the Chinese Uyghur population could provide useful insights that could help us understand this phenomenon. Our previous whole-exome sequencing study of three Uyghur families with COPD demonstrated that 72 mutations in 55 genes might be associated with COPD; these included rs15783G > A in the anoctamin 3 (ANO3) gene/mucin 15 (MUC15) gene, rs1800517G > A in the collagen type IV alpha 4 chain (COL4A4) gene, rs11960G > A in the ribosome binding protein 1 (RRBP1) gene, and rs5516C > G in the kallikrein 1 (KLK1) gene. This case–control study aimed to further validate the association of the four mutations with COPD in the Chinese Uyghur population.MethodsSanger sequencing was used for the genotyping of four polymorphisms (ANO3/MUC15 rs15783, COL4A4 rs1800517, RRBP1 rs11960, and KLK1 rs5516) in 541 unrelated Uyghur COPD patients and 534 Uyghur healthy controls. We then conducted stratified analyses based on the smoking status and airflow limitation severity, to explore the correlation between selected gene polymorphisms and COPD.ResultsANO3/MUC15 rs15783 and KLK1 rs5516 polymorphisms could significantly reduce COPD risk (p < 0.05), but COL4A4 rs1800517 and RRBP1 rs11960 polymorphisms were not correlated with COPD in the entire population. In a stratified analysis of smoking status, non-smokers with the ANO3/MUC15 rs15783G/G genotype (OR = 0.63, p = 0.032) or COL4A4 rs1800517 allele G (OR = 0.80, p = 0.023) had a reduced risk of COPD. Smokers with the RRBP1 rs11960A/G genotype had a lower risk of COPD (OR = 0.41, p = 0.025). The KLK1 rs5516G > C polymorphism was associated with a decreased risk of COPD (OR < 1, p < 0.05), irrespective of the smoking status of individuals. No significant association with COPD severity was observed in individuals with these four polymorphisms (p > 0.05).ConclusionWe identified four previously unreported mutations (ANO3/MUC15 rs15783, COL4A4 rs1800517, RRBP1 rs11960, and KLK1 rs5516) that might decrease the COPD risk in individuals with different smoking statuses in the Chinese Uyghur population. Our findings provide new light for the genetic risk factors associated with the occurrence of COPD.Supplementary InformationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12890-022-01975-3.

SMAD3 rs36221701 T>C polymorphism impacts COPD susceptibility in the Kashi population.

Small mother against decapentaplegic (SMAD) family member 3 (SMAD3) is well correlated with the inflammatory response of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). A previous study indicated that the single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) rs36221701 of SMAD3 was related to the risk of inflammatory disease. Hence, given the pathogenesis of COPD is intently associated with smoking and gene polymorphism, this study aims to analyze the relationship between SMAD3 rs36221701 and COPD susceptibility, and to explore whether the interaction is related to smoking status. We studied the association between the rs36221701 and rs34307601 of SMAD3 and COPD susceptibility, a total of 541 COPD patients and 534 controls of the Uyghur population were recruited at the First People's Hospital and the village of Kashi. The interrelation of the two SNPs with the risk of COPD was determined by calculating odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (95% CI). We found a significant association between the rs36221701 and COPD risk in the non-smoking population. TC genotype showed a significant decreased association with COPD risk (OR=0.59, 95% CI=0.41-0.83, P<0.05), but CC genotype can increased the COPD risk (OR>1, P<0.05). In addition, COPD susceptibility was not related to the genetic variations in the rs34307601 (P>0.05). In conclusion, we confirmed that the SMAD3 rs36221701 may be associated with COPD susceptibility in the Chinese Uyghur population, especially among non-smokers. Our data provide new light for the relationship between SMAD3 gene polymorphisms and COPD susceptibility in the Chinese Uyghur population.

A Cross-Lingual Sentence Similarity Calculation Method With Multifeature Fusion

Cross-language sentence similarity computation is among the focuses of research in natural language processing (NLP). At present, some researchers have introduced fine-grained word and character features to help models understand sentence meanings, but they do not consider coarse-grained prior knowledge at the sentence level. Even if two cross-linguistic sentence pairs have the same meaning, the sentence representations extracted by the baseline approach may have language-specific biases. Considering the above problems, in this paper, we construct a Chinese–Uyghur cross-lingual sentence similarity dataset and propose a method to compute cross-lingual sentence similarity by fusing multiple features. The method is based on the cross-lingual pretraining model XLM-RoBERTa and assists the model in similarity calculation by introducing two coarse-grained prior knowledge features, i.e., sentence sentiment and length features. At the same time, to eliminate possible language-specific biases in the vectors, we whitened the sentence vectors of different languages to ensure that they were all represented under the standard orthogonal basis. Considering that the combination of different vectors has different effects on the final performance of the model, we introduce different vector features for comparison experiments based on the basic feature splicing method. The results show that the absolute value feature of the difference between two vectors can reflect the similarity of two sentences well. The final F1 value of our method reaches 98.97%, which is 19.81% higher than that of the baseline.

Association of Tumor Protein 53 Polymorphism with Esophageal Cancer Cases: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

To investigate the association between tumor protein 53 polymorphism and esophageal cancer cases using systematic review and meta-analysis, this provides a basis for future researches. All studies on tumor protein 53 mutations in patients with esophageal cancer and its influencing factors, which published before May 2021, were collected by searching Cochrane Library, PubMed, Embase, China National Knowledge Infrastructure and Wanfang data. Meta-analysis was performed using RevMan 5.3. Ten eligible studies (Chinese n=7, English n=3) involving 1379 cases were included in this analysis. Meta-analysis showed that the odds ratio value (95 % confidence interval) of tumor protein 53 mutations in Caucasian patients with esophageal cancer was 70.51 (9.77, 508.88), z=4.22, p<0.0001; the odds ratio value (95 % confidence interval) of tumor protein 53 mutations in Chinese Han patients with esophageal cancer was 1.06 (0.63, 1.79), z=0.22, p=0.83; the odds ratio value (95 % confidence interval) of tumor protein 53 mutations in Chinese Uyghur patients with esophageal cancer was 18.48 (4.44, 76.90), z=4.01, p<0.0001. The odds ratio value (95 % confidence interval) of tumor protein 53 mutations in patients with esophageal cancer was 1.01 (0.60, 1.72), z=0.05, p=0.96; the odds ratio value (95 % confidence interval) of tumor protein 53 deletions in patients with esophageal cancer was 23.02 (9.04, 58.63), z=6.57, p≤0.00001. There was no significant difference in tumor protein 53 mutations between patients with esophageal cancer and the control group. There is a certain correlation between tumor protein 53 polymorphism and the incidence of esophageal cancer and the change of tumor protein 53 gene will affect the risk and prognosis of esophageal cancer.

Integrated Metabolomics and Network Pharmacology to Establish the Action Mechanism of Qingrekasen Granule for Treating Nephrotic Syndrome.

Nephrotic syndrome (NS) is a clinical syndrome resulting from abnormal glomerular permeability, mainly manifesting as edema and proteinuria. Qingrekasen granule (QRKSG), a Chinese Uyghur folk medicine, is a single-flavor preparation made from chicory (Cichorium intybus L.), widely used in treating dysuria and edema. Chicory, the main component in QRKSG, effectively treats edema and protects kidneys. However, the active components in QRKSG and its underlying mechanism for treating NS remain unclear. This study explored the specific mechanism and composition of QRKSG on an NS rat model using integrated metabolomics and network pharmacology. First, metabolomics explored the relevant metabolic pathways impacted by QRKSG in the treatment of NS. Secondly, network pharmacology further explored the possible metabolite targets. Afterward, a comprehensive network was constructed using the results from the network pharmacology and metabolomics analysis. Finally, the interactions between the active components and targets were predicted by molecular docking, and the differential expression levels of the target protein were verified by Western blotting. The metabolomics results showed “D-Glutamine and D-glutamate metabolism” and “Alanine, aspartate, and glutamate metabolism” as the main targeted metabolic pathways for treating NS in rats. AKT1, BCL2L1, CASP3, and MTOR were the core QRKSG targets in the treatment of NS. Molecular docking revealed that these core targets have a strong affinity for flavonoids, terpenoids, and phenolic acids. Moreover, the expression levels of p-PI3K, p-AKT1, p-mTOR, and CASP3 in the QRKSG group significantly decreased, while BCL2L1 increased compared to the model group. These findings established the underlying mechanism of QRKSG, such as promoting autophagy and anti-apoptosis through the expression of AKT1, CASP3, BCL2L1, and mTOR to protect podocytes and maintain renal tubular function.

Genetic structure analyses and ancestral information inference of Chinese Kyrgyz group via a panel of 39 AIM-DIPs

Ancestry informative markers have extensive uses and advantages in inferring ancestral origins and estimating ancestral genetic information components of admixed populations. With the characteristics of highly cultural exchange and the admixed genetic structure of the Kyrgyz group, it is essential to enrich the genetic data of the Kyrgyz group. In this study, we used a self-developed ancestry informative marker-deletion/insertion polymorphic (AIM-DIP) panel to explore ancestral components of Chinese Kyrgyz group and population genetic relationships between the Kyrgyz group and reference populations. Results showed that all AIM-DIP loci were conformed to Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium. There were 36 AIM-DIP loci that contributed significantly to genetic information inference. Multiple statistical analyses revealed that Chinese Kyrgyz group had a closer genetic relationship with Chinese Uyghur group. The ancestral components of the Kyrgyz group, being mostly composed of genetic components of European and East Asian populations, were more similar to the ancestral components of Chinese Uyghur group.

Distribution of APOE gene polymorphism in the Chinese Uyghur children & its association with urolithiasis.

Background & objectives:This study was to survey the apolipoprotein E (APOE) gene polymorphism distribution among Chinese Uyghur children and to explore the relationship between APOE gene polymorphism and the occurrence of urolithiasis.Methods:A total of 144 Uyghur children with urolithiasis and 274 without the history of urolithiasis were enrolled in this study. Venous blood samples were collected from all participants, and APOE genotyping, derived from rs429358 and rs7412, was performed using Sanger sequencing.Results:Among the 418 children, the most prevalent genotype was E3/3, accounting for 71.3 per cent in the urolithiasis group and 71.4 per cent in the control group, followed by E3/4 and E2/3. Higher frequencies of the ɛ2 and ɛ4 alleles and lower frequencies of the ɛ3 allele were observed in the test group, and the unusual allele ɛ1 was also found in them. However, there were no significant differences between cases and controls at both rs429358 and rs7412 genotype and allele frequencies [odds ratio (OR)=0.98, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.57-1.67; 0.98 (0.59-1.63); 1.43 (0.75-2.74) and 1.40 (0.74-2.62), respectively]. Likewise, none of significant differences was found between cases and controls at both APOE genotype and allele frequencies [OR=0.88, 95% CI: 0.51-1.53; 0.74 (0.33-1.64); 1.10 (0.73-1.66); 1.13 (0.76-1.67) and 1.14 (0.76-1.70), respectively].Interpretation & conclusions:The present study does not support any association between APOE genotyping and urolithiasis in Uyghur children.

A Neural-Network-Based Approach to Chinese–Uyghur Organization Name Translation

The recognition and translation of organization names (ONs) is challenging due to the complex structures and high variability involved. ONs consist not only of common generic words but also names, rare words, abbreviations and business and industry jargon. ONs are a sub-class of named entity (NE) phrases, which convey key information in text. As such, the correct translation of ONs is critical for machine translation and cross-lingual information retrieval. The existing Chinese–Uyghur neural machine translation systems have performed poorly when applied to ON translation tasks. As there are no publicly available Chinese–Uyghur ON translation corpora, an ON translation corpus is developed here, which includes 191,641 ON translation pairs. A word segmentation approach involving characterization, tagged characterization, byte pair encoding (BPE) and syllabification is proposed here for ON translation tasks. A recurrent neural network (RNN) attention framework and transformer are adapted here for ON translation tasks with different sequence granularities. The experimental results indicate that the transformer model not only outperforms the RNN attention model but also benefits from the proposed word segmentation approach. In addition, a Chinese–Uyghur ON translation system is developed here to automatically generate new translation pairs. This work significantly improves Chinese–Uyghur ON translation and can be applied to improve Chinese–Uyghur machine translation and cross-lingual information retrieval. It can also easily be extended to other agglutinative languages.

Genome-Scale Expression Pattern of Long Non-Coding RNAs in Chinese Uyghur Patients with Parkinson's Disease.

BackgroundLong non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are transcripts thought to regulate gene expression at the post-transcriptional level. Some lncRNAs are associated with Parkinson’s disease (PD) and participate in pathological processes of PD. The incidence of PD is relatively high in members of the Uyghur minority living in Xingjiang province of China. This study measured the expression of lncRNAs in the peripheral blood cells of Chinese Uyghur individuals with and without PD and analyzed the possible function of these lncRNAs in the development of PD.Material/MethodsPeripheral blood samples were collected from 55 Uyghur patients with PD and 55 healthy volunteers. Total RNA was extracted, and the levels of expression of whole-genome lncRNAs and mRNAs in 10 samples (5 PD and 5 controls) were determined by microarray method. The expression levels of lncRNAs in all 100 subjects were determined by qRT-PCR. The lncRNA expression profiles of PD patients were determined based on lncRNA microarray chip analysis, and differentially expressed lncRNAs were identified. The results of chip analysis were confirmed in a large clinical cohort.ResultsComparison of subjects with and without PD identified 32 significantly up-regulated and 18 significantly down-regulated lncRNAs in the PD group. GO analysis showed that mRNAs encoding proteins involved in the regulation of biological processes were differentially expressed, with the inflammatory immune response being the most significantly related pathway.ConclusionsThe expression of lncRNAs in peripheral blood differed significantly in PD patients and controls. These differentially expressed lncRNAs may play a role in the development of PD.

Associations between residential greenness and blood lipids in Chinese Uyghur adults

BackgroundDyslipidemia is a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease. Several studies have explored the associations of greenness with blood lipids. However, the evidence is still limited and mixed, especially in rural areas. MethodsFrom May to September 2016, we recruited 4735 Uyghur adults from rural areas of northwestern China. We measured levels of total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C). Two satellite-derived vegetation indices — Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and Soil Adjusted Vegetation Index (SAVI) — were used to estimate residential greenness levels. The associations between exposure to residential greenness and blood lipids levels and dyslipidemia prevalence were examined using the Generalized Linear Mixed Models. ResultsLiving in greener areas was associated with lower TG levels, higher HDL-C levels, and lower odds of hypoalphalipoproteinemia (e.g., per 0.20-unit increase in NDVI100 m was associated with 0.02 mmol/L (95% CI: 0.001, 0.03) higher levels of HDL-C and 0.87-fold (95% CI: 0.77, 0.98) lower odds of hypoalphalipoproteinemia). These associations remained in a series of sensitivity analyses. Stratified analyses showed that the associations of NDVI100 m with LDL-C and HDL-C levels were stronger in women and in participants with higher education level. ConclusionsHigher greenness exposure was beneficially associated with blood lipids among rural Uyghur population in China, especially among women or those with higher education level.

State-building in the Soviet Union and the Idea of the Uyghurs in Central Asia

ABSTRACT Nationalists usually emphasise the timeless and primordialist origins of the nation, but states also make conscious efforts to construct nations. Drawing on the case of the Uyghurs, this article shows how states support certain nationalist tendencies and use them – with varying degrees of success – to advance particular ideologies. In the 1930s, as a consequence of Soviet national policy, different ethnicities joined a new Uyghur nation. The state therefore constructed the Uyghurs (together with other ethnic groups) through a political decision. In doing so the state emphasised the primordial aspect of Uyghurdom, however, whereby the nation should have existed from time immemorial and its attributes should be stable and firm. After World War II, both the Chinese government and Uyghur leaders in Xinjiang fighting against that government adopted this Soviet-inspired concept of a united Uyghur nation, and it was also adopted by Uyghurs in post-Soviet Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan. States have the capacity to construct new nations, but other factors (geographic, political, cultural and intercommunal) can nullify or amplify these efforts. This is evident in southern Kyrgyzstan, where coexistence with Uzbeks has led to the assimilation of the Uyghurs, while in the north the Uyghurs have maintained their cultural characteristics.

Associations of Residential Greenness with Diabetes Mellitus in Chinese Uyghur Adults.

Greenness exposure is nominated as a potential beneficial factor for health, but evidence is limited on its diabetes effects. We conducted a cross-sectional study between May and September 2016 in rural areas of northwestern China, including 4670 Uyghur adults, to explore the associations between residential greenness and fasting glucose levels and diabetes prevalence. Fasting glucose levels were determined, and information on covariates was collected by questionnaire. Normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) and soil-adjusted vegetation index (SAVI) were calculated to assess greenness levels. Generalized linear mixed models were applied to evaluate the associations of greenness with fasting glucose levels and diabetes prevalence. The prevalence of diabetes was 11.6%. We found that living in rural areas characterized by increased amounts of greenness was associated with reduced diabetes prevalence (e.g., NDVI1000m: OR, 0.92; 95% CI, 0.86, 0.99). Stratified analyses showed that the protective effects of greenness on diabetes prevalence were found only in women (NDVI1000m: OR, 0.90; 95% CI, 0.82, 0.99). However, none of the interaction was statistically significant. Our study suggests that greater residential greenness levels were associated with a lower odds ratio of diabetes prevalence in Xinjiang Uyghur adults. Further well-designed longitudinal studies are needed to confirm our findings.

Forensic features and genetic structure of the Hotan Uyghur inferred from 27 forensic markers

Background: The Uyghur is the fifth largest group in China and also the largest ethnic minority in Xinjiang.Aim: To explore the genetic variations of 27 forensic genetic markers included in the newly developed SureID® PanGlobal Human DNA Identification System and analyse the genetic relationship between Xinjiang Uyghur and their neighbours.Subjects and methods: We genotyped 27 markers in 2,189 unrelated Uyghur individuals from the Hotan Prefecture in Southwest Xinjiang. Comprehensive population genetic studies among Chinese populations and worldwide populations were conducted via various statistics.Results: The combined power of discrimination (CPD) and the combined power of exclusion (CPE) of the new-generation autosomal STR amplification system in the Hotan Uyghur are 9,9999-E01 and 9,9999-E01, respectively. Population genetic studies indicate that the Hotan Uyghur show a close genetic relationship with geographically different Uyghurs and Kazakhs, while significant genetic differentiation exists between the Hotan Uyghur and some ethnicities from other non-Turkic-speaking populations. The results of population comparisons among the 52 worldwide populations demonstrate that geographically approached intercontinental populations have close genetic relationships.Conclusions: 24 autosomal STRs are highly polymorphic and informative in the Uyghur and this system is suitable for forensic personal identification and paternity testing. Our findings not only reveal that Chinese Uyghur is a homogenous population based on forensic genetic markers, but also indicate that population genetic affinity is closely related to the adjacent populations with common ethnic origin.

Constructing Uyghur Commonsense Knowledge Base by Knowledge Projection

Although considerable effort has been devoted to building commonsense knowledge bases (CKB), it is still not available for many low-resource languages such as Uyghur because of expensive construction cost. Focusing on this issue, we proposed a cross-lingual knowledge-projection method to construct an Uyghur CKB by projecting ConceptNet’s Chinese facts into Uyghur. We used a Chinese–Uyghur bilingual dictionary to get high-quality entity translation in facts and employed a back-translation method to eliminate the entity-translation ambiguity. Moreover, to tackle the inner relation ambiguity in translated facts, we made a hand-crafted rule to convert the structured facts into natural-language phrases and built the Chinese–Uyghur lingual phrases based on the similarity of phrases that corresponded to the bilingual semantic similarity scoring model. Experimental results show that the accuracy of our semantic similarity scoring model reached 94.75% for our task, and they successfully project 55,872 Chinese facts into Uyghur as well as obtain 67,375 Uyghur facts within a very short period.

Evaluation of the appropriate predictive contributor and diagnostic threshold for the cardio-metabolic syndrome in Chinese Uyghur adults

BackgroundSeveral epidemiological studies have suggested that optimal obesity and visceral adiposity indicators and their cut-off values to predict cardio-metabolic risks varied among different ethnic groups. However, few studies have investigated the associations of anthropometric indices with cardio-metabolic risks in Chinese Uyghur adults, and the results were inconsistent.MethodsBetween May and September 2016, a total of 4664 subjects aged ≥18 years old were recruited from Northwest China. Anthropometric indices and cardio-metabolic risk factors were measured by trained personnel. Partial correlation analyses and logistic regression analyses were used to evaluate the associations of anthropometric indices with cardio-metabolic risk factors. Receiver operating characteristic analysis was used to compare the abilities of different anthropometric indices to predict cardio-metabolic risk factors, and to determine the optimal cut-off values.ResultsThe prevalence of metabolic syndrome was 39.41% in Uyghur adults from Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. Waist circumference (WC) performed better than other obesity indices in predicting the cardio-metabolic risk factors, and the optimal cut-off value of WC to diagnose metabolic syndrome risk factors was 86.50 cm for women and 90.50 cm for men.ConclusionsOur study suggests that WC had the strongest predictive power for identifying cardio-metabolic risks in Xinjiang Uyghur adults. Further well-designed longitudinal studies are needed to confirm our findings.

RETRACTED ARTICLE: Y Chromosomal STR haplotypes in Chinese Uyghur, Kazakh and Hui ethnic groups and genetic features of DYS448 null allele and DYS19 duplicated allele.

Y Chromosomal short-tandem repeats (Y-STRs) provide valuable information that can be used for forensic investigation and population studies. The Yfiler® Plus PCR Amplification Kit allows the multiplex amplification of 27 Y-STRs, including seven rapidly mutating markers. With the kit, 447 unrelated males of three minorities (161 Uyghurs, 130 Kazakhs and 156 Huis) from the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region of China were analysed in this study. The gene diversity values of the 27 Y-STRs in the Uyghur, Kazakh and Hui groups ranged from 0.4770 to 0.9545, 0.3897 to 0.9375 and 0.4621 to 0.9725, respectively. One specific sequence pattern of null alleles at the DYS448 locus was confirmed. The individuals carrying the null alleles at the DYS448 locus belonged to haplogroups C2b and C2b1a1b1, while those carrying duplicated alleles at the DYS19 locus belonged to haplogroups C2b1a2 and G2a. A total of 155, 118 and 146 distinct haplotypes were obtained in these three groups, respectively, with overall haplotype diversities of 0.9998, 0.9993 and 0.9996, respectively. Compared with 17 Y-plex, 27 Y-plex demonstrated an increased power of discrimination, especially for the Kazakh group. Visualisation of pairwise genetic distances between 24 ethnic groups in China using multidimensional scaling (MDS) demonstrates the distribution of various groups, which is largely in keeping with ethno-geographic patterns.

Social Class and Islamic Identity: Chinese Uyghur Students and Working Class in Turkey

Social Class and Islamic Identity: Chinese Uyghur Students and Working Class in Turkey