Objectives: We aim to describe the intention to quit smoking among Chinese male smokers from different educational backgrounds and to explain this intention from their attitude, perceived social norms and self-efficacy regarding smoking cessation. Setting: Participants were recruited from workplaces and communities to reflect the occupational distribution in three cities (Shanghai, Nanning and Mudanjiang) in China. Design: and participants In 2013 interviews were conducted with 3676 male smokers aged 18 years and older. Outcome: measures...

Gene duplication allows for functional divergence and innovation that provide selective advantages. However, in flowering plants genetic studies have revealed that single-gene mutations affecting one of two or more closely related paralogs often fail to cause detectable morphological defects, suggesting functional redundancy. Flowering plants have hundreds of genes encoding leucine-rich repeat receptor-like protein kinases (LRR-RLKs), several of which play important roles in anther development but little is known about their evolutionary history and possible functional...

Objective: To compare corneal biomechanical properties, measured by a newly developed tonometer (Corneal Visualization Scheimpflug Technology?Corvis ST), in untreated primary open angle glaucoma (POAG) patients?POAG patients with long-term topical prostaglandin analog (PGA) therapy and in normal controls. Further is to investigate the potential effects of PGA on corneal biomechanics. Methods: In this case-control study, 35 consecutive medication naïve eyes with POAG, 34 POAG eyes with at least 2 years treatment by PGA and 19 normal...

The artificial fertilization of soils can alter the structure of natural plant communities and exacerbate pathogen emergence and transmission. Although the direct effects of fertilization on disease resistance in plants have received some research attention, its indirect effects of altered community structure on the severity of fungal disease infection remain largely uninvestigated. We designed manipulation experiments in natural assemblages of Tibetan alpine meadow vegetation along a nitrogen-fertilization gradient over 5 years to compare the relative...

The hypotheses suggesting that the nature and strength of species interactions should be determined by phylogenetic relatedness have important implications for the understanding of community structure. However, to date, there is limited empirical evidence to support them. At least two basic conditions need to be met in order to expect species interactions to be determined by evolutionary relatedness: a phylogenetic signal in the traits involved in the interactions and changes in the interactions as species...

Substantial genetic variation is found in weedy rice (Oryza sativa f. spontanea Roshev.) populations from different rice-planting regions with the change of farming styles. To determine the association of such genetic variation with rice farming changes is critical for understanding the adaptive evolution of weedy rice. We studied weedy-rice specific novel SNPs by genome-wide comparison between DNA sequences of weedy and cultivated rice, in addition to PCR fingerprinting at 22 selected novel SNP loci in...

In recent decades, hybridization has become a focus of attention because of its role in evolutionary processes. However, little is known about changes in genetic structure within and between parental species and hybrids over time. Here, we studied processes of genetic change in parental species and hybrids from the Daphnia longispina complex (Crustacea, Cladocera) over a period of six years across ten habitats. These cyclical parthenogens respond to fluctuating environments by switching from asexual to...

Understanding the extent of genetic diversity in natural populations and the correlations between population structure and environmental heterogeneity is of great importance to estimation of the potential for species to undergo rapid adaptive changes in response to environmental variation. In this study, we systematically sampled 800 individuals from 26 Tamarix chinensis populations distributed throughout the Yellow River Delta (YRD) region in China, where a mosaic of habitat patches varying in soil salinity was detected. By...

Bisphenol A (BPA) is an extensively used chemical with endocrine disrupting properties. Although animal and in vivo studies have suggested possible effects of BPA on levels of gonadotropic hormones, human studies are limited and inconclusive. The study examined whether environmental BPA exposure was associated with gonadotropic hormones levels in men. A total of 560 men aged 18–55 years were recruited from Sandu County, Guizhou Province, China. We collected urine samples for measurement of BPA, and...