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Objective: This study aimed to provide clinical evidence for lineage replacement and genetic changes of High-Risk Human Papillomavirus (HR-HPV) during the period of vaccine coverage and characterize those changes in eastern China. Methods: This study consisted of two stages. A total of 90,583 patients visiting the Obstetrics and Gynecology Hospital of Fudan University from March 2018 to March 2022 were included in the HPV typing analysis. Another 1076 patients who tested positive for HPV31, 33, 52, or 58 from November 2020 to August 2023 were further included for HPV sequencing. Vaccination records, especially vaccine types and the third dose administration time, medical history, and cervical cytology samples were collected. Viral DNA sequencing was then conducted, followed by phylogenetic analysis and sequence alignment. Results: The overall proportion of HPV31 and 58 infections increased by 1.23% and 0.51%, respectively, while infection by HPV33 and 52 decreased by 0.42% and 1.43%, respectively, within the four-year vaccination coverage period. The proportion of HPV31 C lineage infections showed a 22.17% increase in the vaccinated group, while that of the HPV58 A2 sublineage showed a 12.96% increase. T267A and T274N in the F-G loop of HPV31 L1 protein, L150F in the D-E loop, and T375N in the H-I loop of HPV58 L1 protein were identified as high-frequency escape-related mutations. Conclusions: Differences in epidemic lineage changes and dominant mutation accumulation may result in a proportional difference in trends of HPV infection. New epidemic lineages and high-frequency escape-related mutations should be noted during the vaccine coverage period, and regional epidemic variants should be considered during the development of next-generation vaccines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Grassland provides multiple ecosystem services and plays a key role in preventing desert encroachment and maintaining oasis stability. In China, the area of cropland in oases has expanded significantly in recent decades, which results in a rapid increase in agricultural water demand and encroachment on grassland subsistence space. However, our knowledge about how the expansion of cropland affects oasis grasslands remains limited. We used machine learning, temporal segmentation of spectral trajectories, and maximum covariance analysis to generate an annual oasis grassland aboveground biomass (AGB) data set at 30‐m resolution from 1989 to 2021 based on multiple remotely sensed and ground observation data sets, and investigated the dynamics of grassland AGB under cropland expansion in oases. We found that overall oasis grassland AGB increased significantly (0.3 gm−2 yr−1, P < 0.01) during 1989–2021, but trends in AGB were not consistent across basins. In the Yellow River, Turpan Hami, Qaidam, and southern Altai Mountains River Basins, AGB was dominated by a significant increase. Conversely, in all basins in southern Xinjiang, AGB showed a decreasing trend due to the rapid cropland expansion. Spatially, cropland expansion and AGB dynamics were strongly coupled. In regions characterized by agricultural concentration, grassland AGB benefitted from resource spillover via edge effects. However, in downstream areas or those with a low proportion of cropland, where most grasslands are distributed, the relationship between the two shifted to a trade‐off. Our study provides a scientific basis for identifying priority areas for ecological restoration and for science‐based planning of the scale of cropland in oases. Plain Language Summary: The rapid expansion of cropland in China's oases inevitably increases agricultural water demand, leading to a gradual reduction in water resources available for grasslands. We assessed the dynamic trends of aboveground biomass (AGB) in oasis grasslands and revealed the impact of cropland expansion on grasslands. We found that although AGB had increased significantly across the region, AGB across all basins of southern Xinjiang showed a decreasing trend due to continuous cropland expansion. Cropland expansion negatively impacts grassland AGB in downstream areas of basins and in areas with a low proportion of cropland. These findings identify hotspots of vegetation loss in Chinese oases and underscore the necessity of science‐based planning of the cropland scale. Key Points: Aboveground biomass (AGB) decreased in 46.0% of grasslands in Chinese oases from 1989 to 2021The river basins in southern Xinjiang are hotspots of grassland AGB loss in Chinese oasesGrassland AGB was more strongly coupled with cropland expansion than with climate factors [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

At present, the COVID-19 pandemic is still ongoing globally and the virus is constantly mutating. The herd immunity barrier established by past infections or vaccinations is gradually weakening and reinfections are occurring. To evaluate the pandemic fatigue and vaccine hesitancy among people who have recovered from COVID-19 in the post-pandemic era, we conducted an anonymous cross-sectional survey study in China from 4 July to 11 August 2023, nearly 6 months after the last large-scale nationwide infection. Basic sociodemographic characteristics, health-related factors (smoking, drinking, and chronic disease history), COVID-19 vaccination history, and self-reported long COVID were obtained as potential covariates. A series of logistic regression models were performed to examine the association between pandemic fatigue and vaccine hesitancy toward the next dose of COVID-19 vaccines via crude relative risks (cORs) and adjusted relative risks (aORs) with 95% CIs. According to our results, of the 2942 participants, 1242 (42.2%) were hesitant (unwilling or not sure) to receive the next dose of COVID-19 vaccines. The average score on the Pandemic Fatigue Scale was 21.67 ± 8.86, in which the scores of all items in the vaccine-hesitant group were significantly higher than those in the vaccine-accepting group. Additionally, the higher the pandemic fatigue level among people who have recovered from COVID-19, the more likely they were to be hesitant to receive the next dose of the COVID-19 vaccines (moderate: aOR = 2.94, 95% CI: 2.46–3.53; high: aOR = 6.88, 95% CI: 5.49–8.64). Overall, more than 40% of the recovered participants were unwilling or uncertain about the next vaccine dose, with varying degrees of pandemic fatigue. Pandemic fatigue is a potentially relevant factor for vaccine hesitancy and may hinder the translation of vaccination intention into behavior. Considering the ongoing reinfection situation, implementing a health education plan to reduce pandemic fatigue and prioritizing vaccination issues for people who have recovered from COVID-19 may be key to promoting the reduction of the COVID-19 disease burden and ensuring the health and well-being of the population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Multimorbidity of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) is increasingly prevalent among older adults around the world, leading a higher risk of household catastrophic health expenditure (CHE). As current powerful evidence was insufficient, we aimed to estimate the association between multimorbidity of NCDs and the risk of CHE in China. Methods: We designed a cohort study using data investigated in 2011–2018 from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study, which is a nationally-representative study covering 150 counties of 28 provinces in China. We used mean ± standard deviation (SD) and frequencies and percentages to describe baseline characteristics. Person χ2 test was employed to compare the differences of baseline characteristics between households with and without multimorbidity. Lorenz curve and concentration index were used to measure the socioeconomic inequalities of CHE incidence. Cox proportional hazards models were applied to estimate adjusted hazard ratios (aHRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for the association between multimorbidity and CHE. Results: Among 17,708 participants, 17,182 individuals were included for the descriptive analysis of the prevalence of multimorbidity in 2011, and 13,299 individuals (8029 households) met inclusion criteria and were included in the final analysis with a median of 83 (interquartile range: 25–84) person-months of follow-up. 45.1% (7752/17,182) individuals and 56.9% (4571/8029) households had multimorbidity at baseline. Participants with higher family economic level (aOR = 0.91, 95% CI: 0.86–0.97) had lower multimorbidity prevalence than those with lowest family economic level. 82.1% of participants with multimorbidity did not make use of outpatient care. The CHE incidence was more concentrated among participants with higher socioeconomic status (SES) with a concentration index of 0.059. The risk of CHE was 19% (aHR = 1.19, 95% CI: 1.16–1.22) higher for each additional NCD. Conclusions: Approximately half of middle-aged and older adults in China had multimorbidity, causing a 19% higher risk of CHE for each additional NCD. Early interventions for preventing multimorbidity among people with low SES could be intensified to protect older adults from financial hardship. In addition, concerted efforts are needed to increase patients' rational healthcare utilization and strengthen current medical security for people with high SES to reduce economic disparities in CHE. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vaccines against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) have been in use for over two years, but studies that reflect real-world vaccination coverage and demographic determinants are lacking. Using a multistage stratified random cluster sampling method, we planned to directly explore vaccination coverage and the demographic determinants of different doses of COVID-19 vaccines in Beijing, especially in older populations. All 348 community health service centers in 16 districts were involved. We performed multivariable logistic regression analyses to identify demographic determinants of different coverage rates via adjusted odds ratios (aORs) and 95% CIs. Of the 42,565 eligible participants, the total vaccination coverage rates for ≥1 dose, ≥2 doses, ≥3 doses, and 4 doses were 93.3%, 91.6%, 84.9%, and 13.0%, respectively, but decreased to 88.1%, 85.1%, 76.2%, and 3.8% in the older population. Among all participants, younger (aOR = 1.77, 95% CI: 1.60–1.95), male (aOR = 1.15, 95% CI: 1.06–1.23), and better-educated residents (high school and technical secondary school aOR = 1.58, 95% CI: 1.43–1.74; bachelor's degree aOR = 1.53, 95% CI: 1.37–1.70) were more likely to be fully vaccinated. People who lived in rural areas (aOR = 1.45, 95% CI: 1.31–1.60) and held the new rural cooperative health insurance (aOR = 1.37, 95% CI: 1.20–1.57) established a higher rate of full vaccination coverage. No history of chronic disease was positively associated with a higher coverage rate (aOR = 1.81, 95% CI: 1.66–1.97). Occupation also affected vaccination coverage. Demographic factors influencing the rate of vaccination with at least one or three doses were consistent with the results above. Results remained robust in a sensitivity analysis. Given the highly transmissible variants and declining antibody titers, accelerating the promotion of booster vaccination coverage, especially in high-risk groups such as the elderly, is a top priority. For all vaccine-preventable diseases, rapidly clarifying vaccine-hesitant populations, clearing barriers, and establishing a better immune barrier can effectively safeguard people's lives and property and coordinate economic development with epidemic prevention and control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To explore the synergistic effects of modified biochar in the purification of herbicide-containing wastewater, the effect of biochar addition on the removal effect of the herbicide atrazine in wastewater was verified by the addition of biochar bags in a small reed bed-constructed wetland in the laboratory. The results showed that the addition of sulfuric acid-modified biochar could increase the removal rate of atrazine in wastewater from 50% to 70%, and the COD elimination rate in wastewater was from 66.7% to 86.7%. The addition of biochar to the constructed reed bed wetland improved the removal efficiency of total nitrogen and total phosphorus in the wastewater, and the outlet water from the constructed wetland reached the Class III level of China's surface water quality standard (the inlet water was inferior to Class V). The experimental design met the requirements of low-cost, generalized atrazine-containing wastewater treatment and thus could have the potential for wide application. The results reflected the application potential of modified biochar as a synergist in the treatment of herbicide wastewater in constructed wetlands. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. An important feature of aging cells is the gradual loss of physiological integrity. As aging progresses, MSCs change preferring to differentiate toward adipocytes rather than osteoblasts. Oxidative stress accumulation is an important factor in age-related bone loss. Many experiments have demonstrated the good therapeutic effect of Ginsenoside (Rg1) on oxidative stress injury. In this study, we investigated the effect of Rg1 on the osteogenic-adipogenic differentiation balance of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMMSC). Objective. To analyze the potential application value of Rg1 in the treatment of senile osteoporosis. Methods. BMMSCs were isolated from healthy donors of different ages and identified based on isotype and by multi-differentiation induction. Rg1 was used to treat BMMSCs, The differentiation propensity was analyzed by induction of differentiation assay. Antioxidant capacity of BMMSCs as measured by oxidative stress product assay Related mechanism studies were confirmed by quantitative real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (qRT‐PCR), immunofluorescence, western blotting, and inhibitor treatment. Moreover, Observation of the effects of Rg1 on aging BMMSCs under in vivo conditions by treatment of aged mice with Rg1 injections. Results. Rg1 treatment rescued age‐induced switch of BMMSCs differentiation fate in vitro. In elderly people, Rg1 markedly increased osteogenic differentiation of BMMSCs by decreasing oxidative stress, while inhibiting adipogenic differentiation. However, this effect was abolished in BMMSCs by an Nrf2-inhibitor. Notably, aging mice showed a reduction in adipocyte distribution in the bone marrow and a decrease in oxidative stress products after a 3-month period of Rg1 treatment. Conclusion. We have uncovered a novel function for Rg1 that involves attenuating bone loss via Nrf2 antioxidant signaling, which in turn may potentially be utilized as a therapeutic agent for improving osteogenic differentiation in aging BMMSCs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Grass carp are an important farmed fish in China that are infected by many pathogens, especially grass carp reovirus (GCRV). Notably, grass carp showed age-dependent susceptibility to GCRV; that is, grass carp not older than one year were sensitive to GCRV, while those over three years old were resistant to this virus. However, the underlying mechanism remains unclear. Herein, whole genome-wide DNA methylation and gene expression variations between susceptible five-month-old (FMO) and resistant three-year-old (TYO) grass carp were investigated aiming to uncover potential epigenetic mechanisms. Results: Colorimetric quantification revealed that the global methylation level in TYO fish was higher than that in FMO fish. Whole-genome bisulfite sequencing (WGBS) of the two groups revealed 6214 differentially methylated regions (DMRs) and 4052 differentially methylated genes (DMGs), with most DMRs and DMGs showing hypermethylation patterns in TYO fish. Correlation analysis revealed that DNA hypomethylation in promoter regions and DNA hypermethylation in gene body regions were associated with gene expression. Enrichment analysis revealed that promoter hypo-DMGs in TYO fish were significantly enriched in typical immune response pathways, whereas gene body hyper-DMGs in TYO fish were significantly enriched in terms related to RNA transcription, biosynthesis, and energy production. RNA-seq analysis of the corresponding samples indicated that most of the genes in the above terms were upregulated in TYO fish. Moreover, gene function analysis revealed that the two genes involved in energy metabolism displayed antiviral effects. Conclusions: Collectively, these results revealed genome-wide variations in DNA methylation between grass carp of different ages. DNA methylation and gene expression variations in genes involved in immune response, biosynthesis, and energy production may contribute to age-dependent susceptibility to GCRV in grass carp. Our results provide important information for disease-resistant breeding programs for grass carp and may also benefit research on age-dependent diseases in humans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Strong evidence has linked overweight and obesity to increased risks of cardiovascular disease and all-cause mortality in Chinese populations. Menopause is considered associated with increased obesity and central body fat distribution. However, the correlation between obesity and menopausal symptoms has not been well studied. Objective: To examine the associations between obesity or abdominal obesity and menopausal symptoms as women progressed from premenopausal to postmenopausal status. Design: This study included 430 midlife Chinese women who had experienced natural menopause and were followed up for 10 years. Physical examinations and questionnaires should be completed annually. The questionnaires include the Menopause-Specific Quality of Life questionnaire, the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, and other physical and behavioral factors. Results: Among women who were not obese (n=345) or not abdominal obese (n=372) at baseline, 5.8% and 31.7% became obese or abdominal obese at the recent follow-up visit, respectively. Women at the recent follow-up visit had an increased body mass index (BMI) by 0.14%, and the waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) increased by 5.2% compared with the data at baseline. In multivariate analysis, more frequent hot flashes, moderate/severe bothered vasomotor symptoms (VMS), mild bothered sexual functioning, and less anxiety symptoms were significantly associated with obesity. Increasing age, moderate/severe bothered VMS, and less anxiety symptoms were independently associated with abdominal obesity. Multivariable analysis also showed that less education level is independently associated with both obesity and abdominal obesity. Conclusion: Our findings suggest that the proportion of obesity and abdominal obesity increased gradually during menopause. The increase of abdominal obesity is more rapidly than obesity in middle-aged women. Both obesity and abdominal obesity are related with severe or frequent VMS and anxiety symptoms in Chinese women. Although the proportion of obese women in China is lower than in western countries, the problem of abdominal obesity and related complications cannot be ignored. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Yaks (Bos grunniens) live primarily in high-altitude hypoxic conditions and have a unique intestinal micro-ecosystem, remarkable adaptability, and strong climatic resistance. Accumulating evidence revealed the importance of probiotics in host metabolism, gut microbiota, growth performance, and health. The goal of this study was to screen out probiotics with excellent probiotic potential for clinical application. In this study, four strains of Bacillus , i.e., Bacillus proteolyticus (named Z1 and Z2), Bacillus amyloliquefaciens (named J), and Bacillus subtilis (named K), were isolated and identified. Afterward, their probiotic potential was evaluated. Antioxidant activity tests revealed that Z1 had the highest DPPH and hydroxyl radical scavenging activity, whereas Z2 had higher reducing power and inhibited lipid peroxidation. Additionally, the antibacterial testing revealed that all strains were antagonistic to three indicator pathogens, Escherichia coli C83902, Staphylococcus aureus BNCC186335, and Salmonella enteritidis NTNC13349. These isolates also had a higher hydrophobicity, autoaggregation, and acid and bile tolerance, all of which helped to survive and keep dangerous bacteria out of the host intestine. Importantly, all strains could be considered safe in terms of antibiotic susceptibility and lack of hemolysis. In conclusion, this is the first study to show that B. proteolyticus and B. amyloliquefaciens isolated from yaks have probiotic potential, providing a better foundation for future clinical use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Diarrhea is an important ailment limiting the production of the Tibetan pig industry. Dynamic balance of the intestinal microbiota is important for the physiology of the animal. The objective of this work was to study fungal diversity in the feces of early weaning Tibetan piglets in different health conditions. Results: In the present study, we performed high-throughput sequencing to characterize the fungal microbial diversity in healthy, diarrheal and treated Tibetan piglets at the Tibet Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China. The four alpha diversity indices (Chao1, ACE, Shannon and Simpson) revealed no significant differences in the richness across the different groups (P > 0.05). In all samples, the predominant fungal phyla were Ascomycota, Basidiomycota and Rozellomycota. Moreover, the healthy piglets showed a higher abundance of Ascomycota than the treated ones with a decreased level of Basidiomycota. One phylum (Rozellomycota) showed higher abundance in the diarrheal piglets than in the treated. At genus level, compared with that to the healthy group, the proportion of Derxomyces and Lecanicillium decreased, whereas that of Cortinarius and Kazachstania increased in the diarrheal group. The relative abundances of Derxomyces, Phyllozyma and Hydnum were higher in treated piglets than in the diarrheal ones. Conclusions: A decreased relative abundance of beneficial fungi (e.g. Derxomyces and Lecanicillium) may cause diarrhea in the early-weaned Tibetan piglets. Addition of probiotics into the feed may prevent diarrhea at this stage. This study presented the fungal diversity in healthy, diarrheal and treated early-weaned Tibetan piglets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idellus) is an important aquaculture species in China that is affected by serious diseases, especially hemorrhagic disease caused by grass carp reovirus (GCRV). Grass carp have previously shown age-dependent susceptibility to GCRV, however, the mechanism by which this occurs remains poorly understood. Therefore, we performed transcriptome and metabolome sequencing on five-month-old (FMO) and three-year-old (TYO) grass carp to identify the potential mechanism. Viral challenge experiments showed that FMO fish were susceptible, whereas TYO fish were resistant to GCRV. RNA-seq showed that the genes involved in immune response, antigen presentation, and phagocytosis were significantly upregulated in TYO fish before the GCRV infection and at the early stage of infection. Metabolome sequencing showed that most metabolites were upregulated in TYO fish and downregulated in FMO fish after virus infection. Intragroup analysis showed that arachidonic acid metabolism was the most significantly upregulated pathway in TYO fish, whereas choline metabolism in cancer and glycerophospholispid metabolism were significantly downregulated in FMO fish after virus infection. Intergroup comparison revealed that metabolites from carbohydrate, amino acid, glycerophospholipid, and nucleotide metabolism were upregulated in TYO fish when compared with FMO fish. Moreover, the significantly differentially expressed metabolites showed antiviral effects both in vivo and in vitro. Based on these results, we concluded that the immune system and host biosynthesis and metabolism, can explain the age-dependent viral susceptibility in grass carp. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pico-/nanoeukaryotes (P/NEs) comprise both primary producers and bacterial predators, playing important biogeochemical and ecological roles in the marine microbial loop. Besides the difference in size, these small-sized fractions can be distinguished from microplankton by certain functional and ecological traits. Nevertheless, little information is available regarding patterns of their taxonomic and functional diversity and community composition along environmental gradients in coastal marine ecosystems. In this study, we applied high-throughput sequencing of 18S rRNA gene to assess the taxonomic species richness and community composition of P/NEs in surface waters of Bohai Sea and North Yellow Sea, northern China spanning a 600-km distance during summer and winter of 2011. The richness of operational taxonomic units (OTUs) formed a U-shaped relationship with concentration of chlorophyll a (Chl- a , a proxy of primary productivity), but a stronger, negative relationship with concentration of dissolved oxygen (DO). These two factors also significantly co-varied with the OTU-based community composition of P/NEs. The effect of geographic distance on community composition of P/NEs was negligible. Among the three functional groups defined by trophic traits, heterotrophs had the highest OTU richness, which exhibited a U-shaped relationship with both DO and Chl- a. The community of P/NEs was dominated by heterotrophs and mixotrophs in terms of read numbers, which showed a trade-off along the gradient of phosphate, but no significant changes along DO and Chl- a gradients, indicating functional redundancy. Similarly, the proportion of phototrophs was significantly and positively correlated with the concentration of silicate. Our results indicate that taxonomic and functional composition of P/NEs are decoupled on a regional scale, and limiting nutrients are important factors in modulating functional composition of these microorganisms in the studied area. These findings contribute toward gaining a better understanding of how diversity of small eukaryotes and their functions are structured in coastal oceans and the effect of environmental changes on the structuring process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ecosystems respond to climatic and anthropogenic forcings with regime shifts and reorganizations of their system structures. In river basins, changes in sediment transport can have cascading effects that cause ecosystem regime shifts. The Yellow River, once the world's most sediment-rich river, has experienced dramatic regime shifts. Although recent intervention has returned sediment discharge in the Yellow River to pristine levels, our understanding of previous regime shifts remains inadequate, particularly for the regime shift to a sediment rich period during early historical time. We reanalyzed previous datasets to clarify the first historical sediment transport regime shift in the Yellow River. Our results show that while historical climatic changes (e.g., the Medieval Warm Period, about 900–1100 AD) caused changes in sediment transport, a regime shift occurred only under increased forcing from anthropogenic stresses (started from about 1350 AD, reached the tipping point after 1900 AD). This unique behavior of the Yellow River under increasing anthropogenic forces may provide perspective for sustainable river basin management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context: During the menopausal transition, there is a greater likelihood of the prevalence of various bothersome symptoms, including vasomotor symptoms (VMS) and mood symptoms.Objective: To investigate the association among bothersome VMS and symptoms of anxiety and depression in Chinese women during perimenopause and early in menopause.Design, Patients, Setting, and Interventions: This study included 430 midlife Chinese women who had experienced natural menopause and were followed up for 10 years. A structured questionnaire was provided annually, comprising the VMS Bother Score (range 1-8) from the Menopause-Specific Quality of Life questionnaire, the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, and other physical and behavioral factors.Results: Among the 430 women evaluated, 78.8% had experienced VMS during long-term follow-up. The overall level of VMS bother score was relatively low (1.92 ± 1.32). Both anxiety and depressive symptoms were significantly associated with VMS bother. After adjusting for potential covariates, the association between anxiety or depression symptoms and VMS bother remained highly significant. Menopausal stage, body mass index, general health, follicle-stimulating hormone, and estradiol were independent contributors to VMS. In time-lagged (1-year) models, VMS bother scores significantly predicted the risk of symptoms of both anxiety and depression the following year. In contrast, anxiety symptoms, rather than depressive symptoms, could predict VMS bother the following year.Conclusion: The prevalence of VMS in our cohort was higher than has been previously reported; however, the overall level of bother was relatively low. This study demonstrated a strong relationship between VMS bother and mood symptoms in Chinese women progressing from perimenopause through natural menopause. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Grass carp is an important commercial fish widely cultivated in China. A wide range of temperatures, particularly extremely low temperatures, have dramatic effects on the aquaculture of this teleost. However, relatively few studies have characterized the molecular responses of grass carp exposed to acute cooling in natural environment. Here, we investigated the transcriptome profiles of the grass carp brain in response to cooling. Through regulation pattern analyses, we identified 2,513 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) that responded to moderate cold stress (12°C), while 99 DEGs were induced by severe low temperature (4°C).The pathway analyses revealed that the DEGs sensitive to moderate cold were largely enriched in steroid biosynthesis, spliceosome, translation, protein metabolism, phagosome, gap junction and estrogen signaling pathways. Additionally, we discerned genes most likely involved in low temperature tolerance, of which the MAPK signaling pathway was dominantly enriched. Further examination and characterization of the candidate genes may help to elucidate the mechanisms underpinning extreme plasticity to severe cold stress in grass carp. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Injuries are of growing public health concern in China, and the trends of urban-rural injury mortality disparity for the last decade are still being explored. This study aims to analyze trends in injury mortality disparity between urban and rural areas of China by region, sex, and age from 2010 to 2016.Methods: Using data from the Disease Surveillance Points system (DSPs) collected by the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) from 2010 to 2016, injury age-standardized mortality rates (ASMRs) and rate ratios (RRs) were calculated for different groups. Chi-square tests were used to compare differences in rates between urban and rural residents. The time trends of injury ASMRs were assessed via the annual percentage change (APC), and RRs were used to analyze urban-rural mortality disparity.Results: The crude injury mortality rate of rural areas was 1.5 times higher than that of urban areas. The urban-rural RR of injury ASMR decreased from 1.8 to 1.5 (APC = 5.0%) over time, from 2.0 to 1.7 (APC = 4.7%) for eastern regions, from 1.9 to 1.5 (APC = 5.4%) and from 1.6 to 1.3 (APC = 4.5%) among males and females, respectively. Further decreases were from 2.0 to 1.4 (APC = 7.8%), from 1.9 to 1.6 (APC = 6.4%), and from 1.8 to 1.2 (APC = 5.7%) in the 5-14, 45-64, and 65+ year age groups, respectively. The urban-rural RRs of ASMRs for fall, drowning and suicide decreased from 1.3 to 1.2 (APC = - 3.0%), from 2.3 to 1.6 (APC = - 13.8%) and from 2.1 to 1.6 (APC = - 9.9%,), respectively.Conclusions: The urban-rural injury mortality disparity was large, but showed a significant decreasing trend in China. Residents of eastern regions, males/females, 5-14/45+ year age groups in the urban-rural injury mortality disparity all decreased gradually during the investigated period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A survey was conducted in the summer monsoon transition region of China. By combining data from the Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observations (CALIPSOs) and Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS), the effects of East Asian summer monsoon circulation on the spatial distribution of aerosol, as well as the response mechanisms of different aerosols in an abundant and a deficient summer monsoon year, were analyzed. It was found that, in the summer monsoon transition region, the aerosol optical depth (AOD) in abundant monsoon years was lower than that in deficient years. Only in the Gobi Desert region of the Loess Plateau, the AOD in abundant monsoon years was significantly larger than that in deficient years. When the AOD was less than 0.06, the frequency of dust aerosol was higher than that of polluted aerosol in both the abundant and deficient monsoon years. When the AOD was over 0.06, the frequency of polluted aerosol was higher than that of dust aerosol in both the abundant and deficient monsoon years. In summer, the AOD was larger and the frequency of polluted aerosol in abundant monsoon years was higher than that in deficient years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose The purpose of the paper is to examine the impact of investor sentiment on managers’ decisions to provide CSR disclosures. The core issue focuses on whether, why and how managers adjust their approach to CSR disclosure to cater to the investor sentiment.Design/methodology/approach On the basis of 13,488 observations of A-share listed companies, the authors examine the impacts of investor sentiment on CSR disclosure, which is measured separately by the propensity to issue a standalone CSR report and the quality of CSR reports. Furthermore, the authors examine the moderating role of institutional factors in China.Findings The authors find that during low-sentiment periods, managers are more likely to issue a standalone CSR report and the quality of CSR reports is higher, and vice versa. Additionally, the authors find that the negative correlations between CSR disclosure and investor sentiment are stronger in state-owned enterprises.Research limitations/implications First, the measurement of investor sentiment reflects only a part of characteristics of investor sentiment. Second, the authors pay less attention to the specific items of a CSR report.Originality/value The study contributes to the literature on CSR disclosure and investor sentiment by combining the two fields together. Furthermore, the study deepens the understanding of the institutional context in China and contributes to research on the predictors of CSR disclosure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Digitalization has become an engine driving industrial transformation and social change; however, the impact on carbon emissions during digital transformation remains poorly understood. We used the Tencent Digitalization Index based on big data to explore the effects of digital development on carbon emissions in China's 281 cities. The results show that the impact of digitization on carbon emissions follows an inverted U-curve in China, supported by a series of robustness tests. Considering city geographical location and resource endowment, this non-linear effect of digitalization on carbon emissions is more significant in eastern and non-resource-based cities. The inverted U-shaped impact of digitalization in central and western cities is not significant and resource-based cities have not yet reached the carbon reduction inflection point. Spatial spillover analysis indicates that digitalization will reduce carbon emissions of neighboring cities in the mature digital period. Digitalization also affects carbon emissions by promoting industrial structure upgrading and economic development. Understanding the relationship between digitalization and carbon emissions is a key ingredient for urban sustainable transformation, representing crucial knowledge for building climate-resilient cities and for policy-making. • A big data-based index is used to measure digitization from four dimensions. • The impact of digitization on carbon emissions presents an inverted U-shaped curve. • Heterogeneous effects are explored in terms of geographic location and resource endowment. • Digitalization has an inverted U-shaped spatial spillover effect on carbon emissions. • Identify digitalization affects carbon emissions through two channels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background/Aims: Cytokines IL-2 and IL-8 both participate in immune regulation. However, the relationship between polymorphisms in these two cytokines and the risk of acquired aplastic anemia (acquired AA) has not been explored. Methods: We selected five SNPs including rs11575812, rs2069772 and rs2069762 of IL-2, rs2227306 and rs2227543 of IL-8. SNaPshot genotyping was used to test the genotypes of IL-2 and IL-8 polymorphisms in a population of 101 acquired AA patients and 165 healthy controls. Results: The rs2069762 G allele appeared to be a protective mutation, but no significant differences were found in other four SNPs. We also found that rs2069762 had an impact on the transcriptional regulation. Conclusions: It could be assumed that the rs2069762 polymorphism might reduce the risk of acquired aplastic anemia, while the remaining four SNPs might not contribute to susceptibility to acquired AA in a Chinese population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Glyphosate is a widely used herbicide worldwide and its prevalent presence in aquatic ecosystems poses a threat to living organisms. This study evaluated potential ecological risk of glyphosate to sediment-dwelling organisms and assessed the probable effect of glyphosate on structure and predicated function of sediment-attached bacterial communities from a large shallow lake in northern China based on 16S rRNA high-throughput sequencing. Results suggested that glyphosate showed a medium to high concentration (up to 8.63 mg/kg) and chronic risk to sediment-dwelling organisms (10% samples exhibiting medium to high risk quotient), especially in sites nearby farmland and residential areas in August. Bacterial community identification based on 16S rRNA sequence indicated some species of dominant phylum Proteobacteria and Campilobacterota (e.g., Steroidobacteraceae , Thiobacillus, Gallionellaceae, Sulfurimonadaceae) were stimulated while some species of dominant phylum Actinobacteriota, Acidobacteriota and Firmicutes (e.g., Nocardioidaceae, Microtrichales, Vicinamibacteraceae, Paenisporosarcina) were inhibited by glyphosate accumulation. The stimulating species were related to sulfur-oxidizing, sulfate-, iron-, or nitrate-reducing bacteria; The inhibiting species were related to plant bacterial endophytes, polyphosphate-accumulating organisms (PAOs) and denitrifers. Correspondingly, promoted bacterial metabolic functions of "sulfite respiration", "nitrogen respiration", "aromatic compound degradation" and "nitrification" but suppressed "cellulolysis", "manganese oxidation", "anoxygenic photoautotrophy S oxidizing" and "nitrate denitrification" were predicated on functional annotation of prokaryotic taxa. Although these results could only partly suggest the impacts of glyphosate on the bacterial communities due to the lack of actual results from control experiments, the identified Steroidobacteraceae could be thought as a bioindicator in the future mechanism study for the ecological effect and bioremediation of glyphosate. This work intends to arise the concern about the depletion of biodiversity and bacterial metabolic functions with contribution of glyphosate in part in eutrophic lakes. [Display omitted] • Glyphosate (Gly) showed a medium to high level of concentration and risk quotient. • Relatively higher abundance of Steroidobacteraceae and Sulfurimonadaceae in Gly-High group. • Relatively higher abundance of Nocardioidaceae and Nitrosomonadaceae in Gly-Low group. • Significantly higher predicted "sulfite respiration" but lower "denitrification" in Gly-High group. • Current field findings partly revealed the glyphosate effect on N and S cycling in lake. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Missense mutations in MLH1 have frequently been detected in patients with Lynch syndrome, but their genetic significance has not been extensively assessed. In this study, we attempt to evaluate the etiological role of eight MLH1 missense variants. The variants were analyzed for their ability to affect MLH1 protein interaction with its partner PMS2 in vivo employing a yeast two-hybrid system. In addition, a SIFT (sorting intolerant from tolerant) algorithm was adopted to predict the effects of amino acid substitutions. Finally, scanning of mutations in a normal Chinese population and assay of the clinical characteristics have all been taken into account. Our results demonstrated that the MLH1 variants D485E and L653R cause functional alterations of the human MutLα complex significantly. The R265C, D304V, A586P, and R755S variants affect partial interaction. The remaining two variants, N38D and L559R, could be nonfunctional polymorphisms or might affect the mismatch repair system through other mechanisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two types of guanxi have a close association with auditor independence in China: firm-level connections derived from state ownership and personal connections developed through management affiliations with external auditors. This article examines the effects of these two types of connection and their joint effect on audit quality. We find that state ownership and management affiliations with the external auditor both increase the probability of receiving a clean audit opinion in China. Furthermore, the probability increment brought by management affiliations for non-state-owned enterprises (NSOEs) is greater than that for state-owned enterprises (SOEs). These results suggest that state ownership and management affiliations are two important types of connection that impair auditor independence, and that management affiliations are of greater importance to private-sector firms than to SOEs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Soil water has become a major limiting factor in agriculture and forestry development on the Loess Plateau of China. In the past 20–30 years, large areas of apple orchards have been built in this region, which have resulted in excessive consumption of deep soil water and soil desiccation. To evaluate the effects of orchard development on deep soil water content (SWC), a meta-analysis of 162 sampling sites on the loess tableland from 44 peer-reviewed publications was conducted in this study. The results showed that the deep SWC in orchards depended on stand age, planting density and annual precipitation. In regions with 550–600 mm precipitation, the orchard with lower planting density showed no soil desiccation in young and early fruiting stages, while deep soil (>2 m) desiccation occurred in full fruiting and old orchards. The effect of planting density on deep SWC varied with stand age. There were significant differences in SWC among different planting densities in early fruiting orchards (p < 0.05), in which soil desiccation occurred in orchards with higher planting density. However, with the continuous consumption of soil water by apple trees, deep soil desiccation occurred in old orchards regardless of planting density. Further, affected by the spatial variation of annual precipitation, deep SWC in orchards significantly decreased with annual precipitation from 650 to 500 mm among the 44 study sites (p < 0.05). Our results suggest that the planting density should be reasonably regulated on the level of annual precipitation, and apple trees need to be pruned appropriately with a goal of moderate productivity, so as to achieve the sustainable use of regional water resources, food security and economic development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Diazinon is an organophosphorus pesticide widely used in agriculture and household pest control, and its use also poses several environmental and health hazards. In this study, we investigated the spatial and temporal distribution of diazinon in Baiyangdian, evaluated its potential ecological risk and toxicity to aquatic organisms based on RQ (Risk quotient) and TU (Toxic unit) analysis, and assessed the potential effects of diazinon accumulation on probiotics and pathogens based on statistical analysis of high-throughput sequencing data. The results showed that diazinon in Baiyangdian posed a low to moderate chronic risk to sediment-dwelling organisms and a low toxicity effect on aquatic invertebrates, which was mainly concentrated in October and human-intensive areas. Meanwhile, increases in sediment electrical conductivity (EC), amorphous iron oxides content and phenol oxidase activity favored diazinon accumulation in sediments, whereas the opposite was the case for sediment organic carbon, β-1,4-glucosidase, phosphatase, catalase and pH, suggesting that environmental indicators play a key role in the behavior and distribution of diazinon. In addition, diazinon in heavily contaminated areas seem to inhibit the rare probiotics (Bifidobacterium adolescentis and Serratia sp.), while promoted dominant pathogens (e.g., Burkholderia cenocepacia), which can lead to increased disease risk to humans and ecosystems, disruption of ecological balance and potential health problems. However, probiotic Streptomyces xiamenensis resist to diazinon would be a potential degrader for diazinon remove. In conclusion, this study unveiled the effects of diazinon pollution on wetland ecosystems, emphasizing ecological impacts and potential health concerns. In addition, the discovery of diazinon resistant probiotics provided new insights into wetland ecological restoration., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Objectives: The application of artificial intelligence (AI) in healthcare is an important public health issue. However, few studies have investigated the perceptions and attitudes of healthcare professionals toward its applications in nursing. This study aimed to explore the knowledge, attitudes, and concerns of healthcare professionals, AI-related professionals, and others in China toward AI in nursing., Methods: We conducted an online cross-sectional study on nursing students, nurses, other healthcare professionals, AI-related professionals, and others in China between March and April 2024. They were invited to complete a questionnaire containing 21 questions with four sections. The survey followed the principle of voluntary participation and was conducted anonymously. The participants could withdraw from the survey at any time during the study., Results: This study obtained 1,243 valid questionnaires. The participants came from 25 provinces and municipalities in seven regions of China. Regarding knowledge of AI in nursing, 57% of the participants knew only a little about AI, 4.7% did not know anything about AI, 64.7% knew only a little about AI in nursing, and 13.4% did not know anything about AI in nursing. For attitudes toward AI in nursing, participants were positive about AI in nursing, with more than 50% agreeing and strongly agreeing with each question on attitudes toward AI in nursing. Differences in the numbers of participants with various categories of professionals regarding knowledge and attitudes toward AI in nursing were statistically significant ( p  < 0.05). Regarding concerns and ethical issues about AI in nursing, every participant expressed concerns about AI in nursing, and 95.7% of participants believed that it is necessary to strengthen medical ethics toward AI in nursing., Conclusion: Nursing students and healthcare professionals lacked knowledge about AI or its application in nursing, but they had a positive attitude toward AI. It is necessary to strengthen medical ethics toward AI in nursing. The study's findings could help develop new strategies benefiting healthcare., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2024 Wang, Fei, Wei, Huang, Xiang, Tu, Wang and Gan.)

Background: Cervical cancer is the fourth highest incidence of malignancy in the world and a common cause of cancer death in women. We assessed the trends of incidence and mortality and disability-adjusted life year (DALY) in China, England and India from 1990 to 2030., Method: Data were obtained from the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) database. We collected the number and rate of incidence, death and DALY from 1990 to 2019 and calculated the estimated annual percentage change (EAPC). Further analysis was carried out by ages and years. We also collected attributable risk factors to cervical cancer. Finally, we utilized the Bayesian Age-Period-Cohort (BAPC) model to forecast trends in the rate of age-standardized incidence (ASIR) and age-standardized death (ASDR) the for the next decade., Result: Globally, the incidence of cervical cancer cases increased from 335,641.56 in 1990 to 565,540.89 in 2019. In 2019, the ASIR and ASDR of cervical cancer were higher than those of India but lower than those of England. Furthermore, unsafe sex and smoking emerge as prominent risk factors for cervical cancer. Over the next decade, ASIR and ASDR are expected to decline in China and England, while India's ASIR is still on an upward trend and ASDR is on a downward trend., Conclusion: The epidemiological data of cervical cancer in these three countries reflects the influence of different stages of development and healthcare systems. Trends over the next decade suggest that China and India still face a huge burden of cervical cancer. When England has made significant progress, China and India need to take more measures to improve the prevention and control of cervical cancer., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2024 Wu, Jiao, Yue and Wang.)

Despite the serious health threats due to wide use of organophosphorus pesticides (OPPs) have been experimentally claimed to be remediated by probiotic microorganisms in various food and organism models, the interactions between OPPs and probiotics in the natural wetland ecosystem was rarely investigated. This study delves into the spatial and temporal distribution, contamination levels of OPPs in the Baiyangdian region, the diversity of probiotic communities in varying environmental contexts, and the potential connection with OPPs on these probiotics. In typical shallow lake wetland ecosystem-Baiyangdian lake in north China, eight OPPs were identified in the lake sediments, even though their detection rates were generally low. Malathion exhibited the highest average content among these pesticides (9.51 ng/g), followed by fenitrothion (6.70 ng/g). Conversely, chlorpyrifos had the lowest detection rate at only 2.14%. The region near Nanliu Zhuang (F10), significantly influenced by human activities, displayed the highest concentration of total OPPs (136.82 ng/g). A total of 145 probiotic species spanning 78 genera were identified in Baiyangdian sediments. Our analysis underscores the relations of environmental factors such as phosphatase activity, pH, and electrical conductivity (EC) with probiotic community. Notably, several high-abundance probiotics including Pseudomonas chlororaphis, Clostridium sp., Lactobacillus fermentum, and Pseudomonas putida, etc., which were reported to exhibit significant potential for the degradation of OPPs, showed strongly correlations with OPPs in the Baiyangdian lake sediments. The outcomes of this research offer valuable insights into the spatiotemporal dynamics of OPPs in natural large lake wetland and the probability of their in-situ residue bioremediation through the phosphatase pathway mediated by probiotic such as Lactic acid bacteria in soils/sediments contaminated with OPPs., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Aim: Evaluate the cost utility of menopausal hormone therapy for women in China., Materials and Methods: A bespoke Markov cost utility model was developed to evaluate a cohort of symptomatic perimenopausal women (>45 years) with intact uterus in China in accordance with China's Pharmacoeconomic guideline. Short (5-year) and long (10-year) treatment durations were evaluated over a lifetime model time horizon with 12-month cycle duration. Societal and healthcare payer perspectives were evaluated in the context of a primary care provider/prescriber, outpatient setting with inpatient care for patients with chronic conditions. Disease risk and mortality parameters were derived from focused literature searches, and China Diagnosis-related Group cost data was included. Comprehensive scenario, univariate and probabilistic sensitivity analysis were undertaken along with independent validation. This is the first model to include MHT-related disease risks., Results: According to base case results, the total cost for MHT was 22,516$ (150,106¥) and total quality adjusted life years 12.32 versus total cost of no MHT 30,824$ (205,495¥) and total quality adjusted life years 11.16 resulting in a dominant incremental cost effectiveness ratio of -7,184$ (-47,898¥) per QALY. Results hold true over a range of univariate deterministic sensitivity and scenario analyses. Probabilistic analysis showed a 91% probability of being cost effective at a willingness to pay threshold of three times Gross Domestic Product per capita in China., Conclusion: Contingent on the structure and assumptions of the model, combination of estradiol plus dydrogesterone MHT is potentially cost saving in symptomatic women over the age of 45 years in China.

Background: People in China and the countries in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) are affected by neglected tropical diseases and malaria (NTDM). In this study, we aimed to assess the current status and trends of NTDM burden from 1990 to 2019 in China and ASEAN countries, and also explore the association of NTDM burden with socio-demographic index (SDI)., Methods: The data from the Global Burden of Diseases Study 2019 (GBD 2019) results were used. Absolute incidence and death number, and age-standardized incidence and mortality rate (ASIR and ASMR) of NTDM in China and ASEAN were extracted. The estimated annual percentage change (EAPC) and join-point regression in the rates quantified the trends. Nonlinear regression (second order polynomial) was used to explore the association between SDI and ASRs., Results: The ASIR of NTDM increased in China, Philippines, Singapore and Brunei, at a speed of an average 4.15% (95% CI 3.83-4.47%), 2.15% (1.68-2.63%), 1.03% (0.63-1.43%), and 0.88% (0.60-1.17%) per year. Uptrends of ASIR of NTDM in recent years were found in China (2014-2017, APC = 10.4%), Laos (2005-2013, APC = 3.9%), Malaysia (2010-2015, APC = 4.3%), Philippines (2015-2019, APC = 4.2%), Thailand (2015-2019, APC = 2.4%), and Vietnam (2014-2017, APC = 3.2%, all P < 0.05). Children < 5 had relatively low incidences but unexpectedly high mortality rates of NTDM in most ASEAN countries. Both incidence and mortality rates of NTDM were higher in older people. ASIR and ASMR of NTDM had a U-shaped association with SDI., Conclusions: The burden of NTDM in China and ASEAN countries was still huge and affects vulnerable and impoverished populations' livelihoods, including children under the age of 5 and people aged 60 and older. Facing with the large burden and complex situation of NTDM in China and ASEAN countries, regional cooperating strategies are needed to reduce the burden of NTDM, so as to achieve the goal of elimination in the world., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

Aims: To estimate the association of catastrophic health expenditure (CHE) with the risk of depression in middle-aged and old people in China., Methods: We used data of 2011, 2013, 2015 and 2018 from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study, which covered 150 counties of 28 provinces in China. CHE was calculated as out-of-pocket health expenditure exceeding 40% of a household's capacity to pay. Depression was measured by a 10-item Centre for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale. We evaluated CHE prevalence and applied Cox proportional hazard models to estimate adjusted hazard ratios (aHRs) and 95% confident intervals (CIs) for the risk of depression among participants with CHE after controlling potential confounders, compared with those without CHE., Results: Among 5765 households included in this study, CHE prevalence at baseline was 19.24%. The depression incidence of participants with CHE (8.00 per 1000 person-month) was higher than that of those without CHE (6.81 per 1000 person-month). After controlling confounders, participants with CHE had a 13% higher risk (aHR = 1.13, 95% CI: 1.02-1.26) of depression than those without CHE. In subgroup analysis, the association of CHE with depression was significant in males and in people with chronic diseases, of younger age, living in rural areas and of lowest family economic level (all P  < 0.05)., Conclusions: Nearly one of five middle-aged and old people in China incurred CHE, and CHE was associated with the risk of depression. Concerted efforts should be made to monitor CHE and related depression episode. Moreover, timely interventions about CHE and depression need to be implemented and strengthened among middle-aged and old people.

As a new mode of mining development, green mine optimizes the development and utilization of mineral resources with a minimum of the environmental impact, and how to objectively evaluate the construction level of the green mine has become the key to promote green mine construction and it has also been an important path to achieve sustainable development of mineral resources. The evaluation system and methods of green mine construction, however, are not perfect at present as the existing green mine evaluation mostly adopts the index scoring accumulation method, with which the internal relations between the indicators are ignored, and the subjective influence it causes is too large. Based on the framework model of driving forces, pressure, state, impact and response, an indicator system is constructed in this paper to express the internal relationship between indicators more intuitively. Combined with subjective and objective combination weighting method to determine the index weight, TOPSIS and coupling coordination degree models are introduced to quantitatively evaluate the spatio-temporal evolution process of green mine construction and the coupling coordination between subsystems, analyze and obtain the main obstacle factors affecting the green mine construction of enterprises, and provide suggestions and countermeasures for the improvement of green mine construction of enterprises. The applicability of the model is verified by an actual case study of a mine in China. The model enriches the connotation of green mines, making the evaluation process and results fairer and more reliable, thus providing an effective way to promote the sustainable development of mines.

Respiratory infections remain a major public health problem, affecting people of all age groups, but there is still a lack of studies analyzing the burden of upper respiratory infections (URIs) in Asian countries. We used the data from the Global Burden of Diseases Study 2019 results to assess the current status and trends of URI burden from 1990 to 2019 in Asian countries. We found that Thailand had the highest age-standardized incidence rate (ASIR) of URI both in 1990 (354,857.14 per 100,000) and in 2019 (344,287.93 per 100,000); and the highest age-standardized mortality rate (ASMR) was in China in 1990 (2.377 per 100,000), and in Uzbekistan in 2019 (0.418 per 100,000). From 1990 to 2019, ASIRs of URI slightly increased in several countries, with the speediest in Pakistan (estimated annual percentage change [EAPC] = 0.404%, 95% CI, 0.322% to 0.486%); and Kuwait and Singapore had uptrends of ASMRs, at a speed of an average 3.332% (95% CI, 2.605% to 4.065%) and 3.160% (95% CI, 1.971% to 4.362%) per year, respectively. The age structure of URI was similar at national, Asian and Global levels. Children under the age of five had the highest incidence rate, and the elderly had the highest mortality rate of URI. Asian countries with a Socio-demographic Index between 0.5 and 0.7 had relatively lower ASIRs but higher ASMRs of URIs. The declined rate of URI ASMR in Asian countries was more pronounced in higher baseline (ASMR in 1990) countries. Our findings suggest that there was a huge burden of URI cases in Asia that affected vulnerable and impoverished people's livelihoods. Continuous and high-quality surveillance data across Asian countries are needed to improve the estimation of the disease burden attributable to URIs, and the best public health interventions are needed to curb this burden.

Catastrophic health expenditure (CHE) is a major obstacle to achieving universal health coverage, and body mass index (BMI) is linked to both health and economy. We aimed to explore the association of BMI with the risk of CHE to provide advice for reducing CHE. We used national cohort data from the China Family Panel Studies, which comprised 33,598 individuals (14,607 households) from 25 provinces between 2010 to 2018. We used multivariate Cox proportional hazard models to estimate adjusted hazard ratios (aHRs) and 95% confident interval (CI) for CHE in participants at underweight, overweight, and obesity, compared with those at normal weight. Restricted cubic splines were employed to model the association of continuous BMI scale with risk of CHE. We found that families with female household heads at underweight had a 42% higher risk of CHE (aHR = 1.42, 95%CI: 1.16-1.75), and those at overweight had a 26% increased risk of CHE (aHR = 1.26, 95%CI: 1.09-1.47), compared with those at normal weight. A weak U-shaped curve for the association of continuous BMI with risk of CHE in female-headed households ( p for non-linear = 0.0008) was observed, which was not significant in male-headed households ( p for non-linear = 0.8725). In female-headed households, underweight and overweight BMI are connected with a higher risk of CHE. Concerted efforts should be made to keep a normal BMI to prevent CHE.

Comparing the carbon emission efficiency (CEE) of resource and non-resource-based cities in the Yellow River Basin (YRB) can guide their synergistic development and low-carbon transition. This study used the super-efficiency slacks-based measure (super-SBM) model to measure the CEE of cities in the YRB. Kernel density estimation and Theil index decomposition methods were used to explore the spatiotemporal evolutionary patterns, and a panel regression model was established to analyze the influencing factors of CEE. The research results showed that the CEE of the two types of cities have an overall upward trend in time, with a widening regional gap. Resource-based cities mainly displayed the characteristics of decentralized regional agglomeration, while non-resource-based cities mainly showed the characteristics of convergent regional agglomeration. Panel regression results showed that the levels of economic development, indus-trial structure, and population density are significantly positively correlated with CEE in the YRB, while foreign direct investment and resource endowment are significantly negatively correlated with CEE. Except for economic development and industrial structure, there is some variability in the contribution of the remaining influencing factors to the CEE of the resource and non-resource-based cities. The research results suggest developing classification measures for low-carbon transition in the YRB.

Urban agglomerations have become the core areas for carbon reduction in China since they account for around 75% of its total emissions. Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei (BTH), Yangtze River Delta (YRD), and the Pearl River Delta (PRD), which are its most important poles of regional development and technological innovation, are key to achieving China's carbon peak emissions target. Based on the panel data of these three major urban agglomerations from 2003 to 2017, this study estimated the carbon emission efficiency (CEE) by the super-efficiency slacks-based measure (super-SBM) model and analyzed its spatiotemporal distribution pattern. The Dagum Gini coefficient was used to evaluate the difference in CEE between the three major agglomerations, while panel data models were established to analyze the impact of technological innovation on the three agglomerations. The overall CEE showed an upward trend during the study period, with significant spatial and temporal variations. Additionally, the main source of urban agglomeration difference in CEE evolved from inter-regional net differences to intensity of transvariation. While technological innovations are expected to significantly improve CEE, their effect varies among urban agglomerations. These results provide policymakers with insights on the collaborative planning of urban agglomerations and the low-carbon economy.

Objectives: To estimate anaemia prevalence and the associated factors among hospitalised people living with HIV (PLHIV) receiving antiretroviral therapy (ART)., Design: A cross-sectional study., Setting: PLHIV receiving ART and hospitalised in a specialised hospital for infectious disease in Guizhou Province, Southwest China, between 1 January 2018 and 31 March 2021., Participants: A total of 6959 hospitalised PLHIV aged ≥18 years and receiving ART were included in this study., Primary and Secondary Outcome Measures: Anaemia was diagnosed as a haemoglobin concentration <120 g/L for non-pregnant females and <130 g/L for males. Mild, moderate and severe anaemia were diagnosed as below the gender-specific lower limit of normal but ≥110 g/L, 80-110 g/L and <80 g/L, respectively., Results: The prevalence of anaemia was 27.5%, and that of mild, moderate and severe anaemia was 9.2%, 12.2% and 6.1%, respectively. Results from multivariate logistic regression showed that females had increased odds of anaemia (adjusted OR (aOR)=1.60, 95% CI: 1.42 to 1.81) compared with males. Widowed or divorced inpatients (anaemia: aOR=1.26, 95% CI: 1.08 to 1.47; severe anaemia: aOR=1.52, 95% CI: 1.16 to 1.97) and thrombocytopenia inpatients (anaemia: aOR=4.25, 95% CI: 3.54 to 5.10; severe anaemia: aOR=4.16, 95% CI: 3.24 to 5.35) had increased odds of anaemia and severe anaemia compared with their counterparts. Hepatitis C was associated with increased odds of severe anaemia (aOR=1.80, 95% CI: 1.11 to 2.92)., Conclusions: Anaemia was prevalent among hospitalised PLHIV. Female sex, those widowed or divorced, and thrombocytopenia were associated with increased odds of anaemia, and those widowed or divorced, thrombocytopenia and hepatitis C were associated with increased odds of severe anaemia. Determination of anaemia predictors, early detection and timely management of anaemia are crucial to prevent anaemia progression., Competing Interests: Competing interests: None declared., (© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2022. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.)

Meteorological parameters are the critical factors of affecting respiratory infectious disease such as Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS), Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) and influenza, however, the effect of meteorological parameters on coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) remains controversial. This study investigated the effects of meteorological factors on daily new cases of COVID-19 in 127 countries, as of August 31 2020. The log-linear generalized additive model (GAM) was used to analyze the effect of meteorological variables on daily new cases of COVID-19. Our findings revealed that temperature, relative humidity, and wind speed are nonlinearly correlated with daily new cases, and they may be negatively correlated with the daily new cases of COVID-19 over 127 countries when temperature, relative humidity and wind speed were below 20°C, 70% and 7 m/s respectively. Temperature(>20°C) was positively correlated with daily new cases. Wind speed (when>7 m/s) and relative humidity (>70%) was not statistically associated with transmission of COVID-19. The results of this research will be a useful supplement to help healthcare policymakers in the Belt and Road countries, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO) to develop strategies to combat COVID-19., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Aims: Epidemiological data on diabetic retinopathy (DR) in Chinese population is still rather scarce, and risk factors for diabetic retinopathy are inconsistent because of study designs, grading standards, and population samples., Materials and Methods: This hospital-based retrospective study included 1052 type 2 diabetes patients. Diabetic retinopathy was diagnosed by nonmydriatic fundus photography and/or fundus examination apparatus. Logistic regression analysis was performed to evaluate the risk of diabetic retinopathy., Results: A total of 352 (33.5% prevalence) subjects were diagnosed with diabetic retinopathy based on our population. The patients in the DR group not only had significantly higher hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c), fasting plasma glucose (FPG), urinary microalbumin-creatinine ratio (ACR), and systolic blood pressure but also had higher follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), luteinizing hormone (LH), and sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG) levels compared to those in the non-DR group. Moreover, we confirmed that diabetes duration and HbA1c are strongly associated with DR risk. We also found that serum LH was an independent risk factor in male diabetic retinopathy patients (OR = 1.086, 95% CI 1.024-1.152), and the levels of LH were significantly associated with diabetic retinopathy prevalence ( P = 0.018)., Conclusions: Our study strengthens the argument that diabetes duration and HbA1c are risk factors for patients with DR. Additionally; we firstly confirmed that serum LH was an independent risk factor in male diabetic retinopathy patients., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2021 Qingmin Sun et al.)

Context: During the menopausal transition, there is a greater likelihood of the prevalence of various bothersome symptoms, including vasomotor symptoms (VMS) and mood symptoms., Objective: To investigate the association among bothersome VMS and symptoms of anxiety and depression in Chinese women during perimenopause and early in menopause., Design, Patients, Setting, and Interventions: This study included 430 midlife Chinese women who had experienced natural menopause and were followed up for 10 years. A structured questionnaire was provided annually, comprising the VMS Bother Score (range 1-8) from the Menopause-Specific Quality of Life questionnaire, the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, and other physical and behavioral factors., Results: Among the 430 women evaluated, 78.8% had experienced VMS during long-term follow-up. The overall level of VMS bother score was relatively low (1.92 ± 1.32). Both anxiety and depressive symptoms were significantly associated with VMS bother. After adjusting for potential covariates, the association between anxiety or depression symptoms and VMS bother remained highly significant. Menopausal stage, body mass index, general health, follicle-stimulating hormone, and estradiol were independent contributors to VMS. In time-lagged (1-year) models, VMS bother scores significantly predicted the risk of symptoms of both anxiety and depression the following year. In contrast, anxiety symptoms, rather than depressive symptoms, could predict VMS bother the following year., Conclusion: The prevalence of VMS in our cohort was higher than has been previously reported; however, the overall level of bother was relatively low. This study demonstrated a strong relationship between VMS bother and mood symptoms in Chinese women progressing from perimenopause through natural menopause., (© Endocrine Society 2020. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

Background: The gut microbiota is a complex ecosystem, which is essential for the metabolism, health and immunity of host. Many diseases have been shown to be closely related to the alteration of intestinal flora. Aeromonas veronii as a conditioned pathogen can cause disease in Yangtze finless porpoise through intestinal infections. However, it is not clear whether the disease caused by Aeromonas veronii is related to changes of intestinal flora. In the current study, the diversity and composition of gut microbiota in the healthy and Aeromonas veronii-infected Yangtze finless porpoise were evaluated by high-throughput sequencing to further investigate the potential association between intestinal flora alteration and pathogen invasion., Results: A total of 127,3276 high-quality sequences were achieved and 2465 operational taxonomic units (OTUs) were in common among all samples. The results of alpha diversity showed that there was no obvious difference in richness and diversity between healthy and Aeromonas veronii-infected Yangtze finless porpoise. Firmicutes, Bacteroidetes and Proteobacteria were the most dominant phyla in all samples. In addition, the healthy Yangtze finless porpoise exhibited higher abundance of Firmicutes and Fusobacteria than Aeromonas veronii-infected Yangtze finless porpoise, while, the level of Proteobacteria was decreased. At the genus level, Paeniclostridium and Paraclostridium were the predominant bacteria genera in the CK (healthy Yangtze finless porpoise) group. In the DIS (Aeromonas veronii-infected Yangtze finless porpoise) group, Lactobacillus and unidentified&#95;Enterobacteriaceae were the dominant bacteria genera and the proportion of Paeniclostridium, Paraclostridium, Terrisporobacter, Cetobacterium, Candidatus Arthromitus, Terrabacter and Dechloromonas were reduced., Conclusions: In conclusion, our results showed that Aeromonas veronii infection can alter the gut microbiota of the Yangtze finless porpoise by affecting the number of harmful bacteria and beneficial bacteria.

Watersheds are coupled with human-water systems where human, and water resources interact and coevolve with each other. Restoration management not only affects the ecosystem itself but also alters the mutual feedback relationship between humans and water, resulting in additional effects and impeding the ecological restoration process. Taking the lower reaches of the Heihe River as an example (Inner Mongolia, PR China), this study investigated the evolution of the human-water system after the implementation of ecological water conveyance using multiple data sources (e.g., remote sensing data, hydrological data, field data and socioeconomic data). We found that (1) after the implementation of ecological water conveyance, vegetation recovered in the last 15 years with an NDVI increasing from 0.10 to 0.13 across the region except some degraded areas near the river; (2) besides restoring the target ecosystem, ecological water conveyance also promoted socioeconomic development and affected the water resources utilization; (3) after 15 years' water conveyance, the coupled human-water system changed from the early ecological water deficit to the present ecological-socioeconomic water-use trade-off with negative impact resulted from agriculture expansion and water usage conflict between the middle and the lower reaches. These effects impeded the restoration of the ecological environment and aggravated the conflicts of water resources utilization within the whole Heihe watershed, consistent with of the hypothesized disturbance effect transmutation. Our results highlighted that analysis on the mutual feedback effect in the coupled human-water system, and dynamic adjustments for restoration measures are needed for sustainable watershed management., (Copyright © 2019 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Burkitt lymphoma (BL), an aggressive malignancy, brings a prognosis varying among children, adolescents, and adults. Most of previous retrospective studies of BL focused on a part of population. This study aimed to find the leading prognostic factors in BL among patients of different age groups. World Health Organization classification of lymphoid neoplasms in 2008 and revision in 2016 were used as diagnostic criteria for BL. We compared the laboratory results and clinical manifestations in 2 age groups by Kaplan-Meier survival analysis. Our study strongly indicated that age >14 years and lactate dehydrogenase >570 U/L were 2 powerful prognostic factors for BL. The results indicated that poor prognosis may be for the poor tolerance and low dose of drugs in adolescents and adults.

Background: Hypospadias risk-associated gene variants have been reported in populations of European descent using genome-wide association studies (GWASs). There is little known at present about any possible hypospadias risk associations in Han Chinese populations., Methods: To systematically investigate hypospadias risk-associated gene variants in Chinese patients, we performed the first GWAS in a Han Chinese cohort consisting of 197 moderate-severe hypospadias cases and 933 unaffected controls. Suggestive loci (p < 1 × 10 - 4 ) were replicated in 118 cases and 383 controls, as well as in a second independent validation population of 137 cases and 190 controls. Regulatory and protein-protein interactions (PPIs) were then conducted for the functional analyses of candidate variants., Results: We identified rs11170516 with the risk allele G within the SP1/SP7 region that was independently associated with moderate-severe hypospadias [SP1/SP7, rs11170516, P combine  = 3.5 × 10 - 9 , odds ratio (OR) = 1.96 (1.59-2.44)]. Results also suggested that rs11170516 is associated with the expression of SP1 as a cis-expression quantitative trait locus (cis-eQTL). Protein SP1 could affect the risk of hypospadias via PPIs., Conclusions: We performed the first GWAS of moderate-severe hypospadias in a Han Chinese cohort, and identified one novel susceptibility cis-acting regulatory locus at 12q13.13, which may regulate a variety of hypospadias-related pathways by affecting proximal SP1 gene expression and subsequent PPIs. This study complements known common hypospadias risk-associated variants and provides the possible role of cis-acting regulatory variant in causing hypospadias.

The concentrations of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in two 210 Pb-dated sediment cores collected from mud deposits along the southeastern coast of the Liaodong Peninsula were investigated to reconstruct the sedimentary records of PAHs and their relationship with anthropogenic and natural activities. The concentrations of 16 PAHs (∑PAHs) were low and remained stable before the year 1820, reflecting an autarkic agricultural civilization. From 1820 to 1900, with the gradual lifting of prohibition, people migrated into Northeast China, resulting in the release of large amounts of ∑PAHs into the environment. At the beginning of the 1900s, the ∑PAH levels in the two cores displayed increasing trends with significant fluctuations, linked to a period of social turbulence with continuous wars in Northeast China. After 1949, vertical ∑PAH trends in the cores predominantly reflected trends in economic development. Based on the different PAH composition trends (2-3-ring and 4-6-ring PAHs), we consider that historical energy usage in Northeast China can be divided into three stages: biomass fuel use dominated before 1920, biomass and fossil fuels co-existed from 1920 to 1980, and fossil fuels dominated after 1980. In addition, this study also demonstrates that the PAH concentrations (2-3-ring PAHs) in these two sediment cores can be used, to a certain extent, to identify anthropogenic fire events., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Nowadays, many big cities are suffering from heavy air pollution and continuous haze weather. Compared with the threat on physical health, the influence of haze on people's mental health is much less discussed in the current literature. Emotion is one of the most important indicators of mental health. To understand the negative impact of haze weather on the emotion of the people, we conducted an investigation based on historical weather records and microblog data in Tianjin, China. Specifically, an emotional thesaurus was generated with a microblog corpus collected from sample data. Based on the thesaurus, the public emotion under haze was statistically described. Then, through correlation analysis and comparative study, the relation and seasonal variation of haze and negative emotion of the public were well discussed. According to the study results, there was indeed a correlation between haze and negative emotion of the public, but the strength of this relationship varied under different conditions. The level of air pollution and weather context were both important factors that influence the mental effects of haze, and diverse patterns of negative emotion expression were demonstrated in different seasons of a year. Finally, for the benefit of people's mental health under haze, recommendations were given for haze control from the side of government.

ATP-binding cassette A3 (ABCA3) is a phospholipid carrier that is mainly expressed in the alveolar epithelium. Biallelic mutations of ABCA3 has been associated with fatal respiratory distress syndrome and interstitial lung disease (ILD) in children. However, whether variations in ABCA3 have a role in the development of adult ILD, including idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), remains to be addressed. In this study, we screened for germline variants of ABCA3 by exons-sequencing in 30 patients with sporadic IPF and in 30 matched healthy controls. Eleven missense variants, predominantly in heterozygous, were found in 13 of these patients, but only two missenses in 2 healthy controls. We then selected four of the detected missense variants (p.L39V, p.S828F, p.V968M and p.G1205R) to performed cohort analysis in 1,024 ILD patients, containing 250 IPF and 774 connective tissue disease-ILD (CTD-ILD) patients, and 1,054 healthy individuals. Our results showed that the allele frequency of p.G1205R, but not p.L39V, was significantly higher in ILD patients than in healthy controls. However, no additional subject carrying the variant p.S828F or p.V968M was detected in the cohort analysis. These results indicate that the heterozygous ABCA3 gene variants may contribute to susceptibility to diseases in the Chinese population.

Background/aims: IGF1 is a key regulator in cell proliferation and apoptosis, and the 3' un-translated region (3'UTR) of the gene plays an important role in gene expression. For the first time, we explored the relationship between polymorphisms in the IGF1 3'UTR region and the risk of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL)., Methods: Questionnaires were applied to collect epidemiological data. The genotypes of IGF1 polymorphisms were tested in a population of 744 ALL patients and 1088 cancer-free controls utilizing Taqman. Cell functional studies included real-time PCR, cell culture and transfection and luciferase assays., Results: We found that rs6214 homozygous AA genotype and rs6218 homozygous CC genotype were significantly associated with increased risk of childhood ALL. In addition, rs6218 CC genotype was associated with increased level of IGF1 mRNA in bone marrow, and the mutation in rs6218 led to aberrant binding capacity of hsa-miR-603 and hsa-miR-3941 in the 3'UTR of IGF1., Conclusion: Polymorphisms of rs6214 and rs6218 in the 3'UTR of IGF1 are associated with childhood ALL susceptibility, and the polymorphism of rs6218 is related with IGF1 expression at mRNA level., (© 2015 S. Karger AG, Basel.)