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We aimed to investigate and interpret the associations between socioeconomic factors and the prevalence, awareness, treatment, and control of hypertension at the provincial level in China. A nationally and provincially representative sample of 179,059 adults from the China Chronic Disease and Nutrition Surveillance study in 2015–2016 was used to estimate hypertension burden. The spatial Durbin error model was fitted to investigate socioeconomic factors associated with hypertension indicators. Overall, it was estimated that 29.20% of the participants were hypertensive nationwide, among whom, 34.32% were aware of their condition, 27.69% had received antihypertensive treatment, and 7.81% had controlled their condition. Per capita gross domestic product (GDP) was associated with hypertension prevalence (coefficient: –2.95, 95% CI : –5.46, –0.45) and control (coefficient: 6.35, 95% CI : 1.36, 11.34) among adjacent provinces and was also associated with awareness (coefficient: 2.93, 95% CI: 1.12, 4.74) and treatment (coefficient: 2.67, 95% CI : 1.21, 4.14) in local province. Beds of internal medicine (coefficient: 2.66, 95% CI : 1.08, 4.23) was associated with control in local province. Old dependency ratio (coefficient: –3.58, 95% CI : –5.35, –1.81) was associated with treatment among adjacent provinces and with control (coefficient: –1.69, 95% CI : –2.42, –0.96) in local province. Hypertension indicators were not only directly influenced by socioeconomic factors of local area but also indirectly affected by characteristics of geographical neighbors. Population-level strategies should involve optimizing supportive socioeconomic environment by integrating clinical care and public health services to decrease hypertension burden. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective To examine the association between habitual sleep duration and obesity among Chinese adults. Methods The association of sleep duration and obesity was investigated among 7,094 community-dwelling Chinese adults. Sleep duration was self-reported. In this study, obesity was defined as follows: body mass index (BMI) ≥ 28 kg/m 2 , waist circumference (WC) ≥ 85 cm in men and ≥ 80 cm in women, and percent body fat (%BF) ≥ 25 in men and ≥ 35 in women. Logistic and quantile regressions were employed to examine relationships of interest. Results Overall, 6.42% of the participants reported short sleep durations (< 6 h/d) while 14.71% reported long (≥ 9 h/d) sleep durations. Long sleepers (≥ 9 h/d) represented a greater frequency of women with obesity [odds ratio ( OR ): 1.30; 95% confidence interval ( CI ), 1.02–1.67] and high body fat (1.43, 1.04–1.96) than those who slept 7–8 h/d. An association between long sleep times and higher BMI estimations was found across the 10 th −75 th percentile of the BMI distribution. Among men, long sleepers (≥ 9 h/d) presented lower risks of developing abdominal obesity compared with individuals who slept 7-8 h/d ( OR = 0.79, 95% CI : 0.44–0.99). Conclusion Our study suggests that long sleep durations are associated with general obesity in Chinese women but reduced waist circumferences in men. Confirmatory studies are needed to determine the heterogeneous association of sleep time and obesity by gender. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective To understand the associations of physical activity domains with metabolic syndrome among a middle-aged Chinese population. Methods In all, 3326 professional adults aged 35-64 years from Beijing and Zhejiang province were recruited with a cluster random sampling method. The Global Physical Activity Questionnaire was modified, and the recommended Asia-Pacific cut-offs of waist circumstance were introduced into the criteria for metabolic syndrome from the Adult Treatment Panel III. A binary logistic regression model was applied to examine the association of all physical activity domains with the risk of the syndrome. Results Participants who engaged in domestic activity for ≥1176 MET-min/week had a 41.6% less chance of having metabolic syndrome [odds ratio (OR), 0.584; 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.480-0.710] than those without this activity. In adjusted models, adults who actively commuted for ≥33 MET-min/week but <528 MET-min/week had a 25% less chance of having the syndrome (OR, 0.750; 95% CI, 0.582-0.966) than those who did not. No interaction was detected between the two domains of activity and the syndrome. Conclusion This study highlighted the independently negative association of traffic and house activity with the prevalence of the syndrome in this sample with a generally low level of moderate activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A series of Al- and Ga-promoted tungstated zirconia strong solid acid catalysts were prepared. The effect of Al2O3 and Ga2O3 on the structural, acidic and redox features of WO3/ZrO2 (WZ) has been characterized by means of X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), N2 adsorption (BET), UV–visible diffuse reflectance spectra (UV–vis), infrared spectra (IR), NH3 temperature-programmed desorption (NH3-TPD) and H2 temperature-programmed reduction (H2-TPR). With respect to tungstated zirconia, the promoted catalysts stabilized the zirconia tetragonal phase, prevented crystalline WO3 growth. Al or Ga addition to WZ had less effect on the strength of the acid sites, but effected reduction temperature of WZ. The isomerization of n-butane was investigated at 300 °C over tungstated zirconia and promoted catalysts. The promoted catalysts improved the isomerization conversion and stability in the presence of hydrogen. The best Al and Ga loading in these catalysts is around 0.5 and 1.0%, respectively, and the optimal calcination temperature is ∼850 °C. The experiment results showed that Ga was a more efficient promoter than Al. Pt addition to promoted catalysts showed great improvement on the performance of selectivity and stability. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The Geneva Sentimentality Scale (GSS) measures the experience of being moved and its effects on behavior. Despite the prevalence of this emotional response, it has not been extensively studied in China. This study aims to adapt and revise the GSS for Chinese college students to assess its cross‐cultural consistency. A sample of 1328 students aged 18–24 years participated in the study, with 127 randomly selected for retesting after an 8‐week interval. Exploratory factor analysis reveals that the Chinese version of the GSS includes three factors (emotional labels, tears of joy, and warm feelings in the chest), with a total of nine items. The internal consistency coefficients for the three factors and the overall scale are high, and the total score remains stable over time. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) shows that the three‐factor model has a good fit. Multigroup CFA indicates measurement invariance across genders. The results also demonstrate good discriminant and convergent validity for the scale. Overall, the GSS is a reliable and flexible tool for assessing the emotion of being moved among Chinese college students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Obesity is a major risk factor for type 2 diabetes, many indexes can be used to describes obesity and predict diabetes. This research attempts to identify the best indicator of obesity to screening diabetes in Chinese population., Methods: A cross-sectional data of 8121 subjects aged 35-60 years were included in this research belongs to the Diabetes Appropriate Technology Intervention Study. Anthropometric indicators including body weight, height, waist circumferences (WC), body fat index (BFI) and visceral fat index (VFI) and blood biochemical indicators after an overnight fast [fasting blood glucose, total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, and triacylglycerol] were measured. BMI (body mass index) and Weight to Height Ratio was calculated., Results: Subjects with obesity had a higher risk of physician diagnosed diabetes (OR=2.50, 95% CI 1.83-3.43), new diagnosed diabetes (OR=4.23, 95% CI 2.91-6.15) and pre-diabetes (OR=1.75, 95% CI 1.31-2.34) compared to those with normal Body mass index (BMI). There was a significant trend of increased risk of all diabetes status with increased waist circumference (WC). The waist-to-height ratio (WHtR) yielded the most significant association with new diagnosed diabetes and physician diagnosed diabetes than other indices., Conclusion: Central obesity is significantly correlated with diabetes. VFI was most correlated with pre-diabetes while WHtR is an efficient screening index than BMI and WC in Chinese community diabetes screening., (Copyright © 2013 The Editorial Board of Biomedical and Environmental Sciences. Published by China CDC. All rights reserved.)

Objective: To conduct a preliminary study on the reliability of left ventricle volume filling curve through the commercial medical program Report-Card 4.0., Methods: A total pf 22 normal volunteers underwent the examination. Images of standard 2-chamber view and short-axis view were acquired at end-expiration by electrocardiography-gated FIESTA CINE sequence. Then one experienced doctor manually contoured the endocardium during end-systole and end-diastole phases respectively, obtained the results of the volume of end-diastole (EDV) and end-systole (ESV), ejection fraction (EF), stroke volume (SV) and cardiac output (CO), processing time and mean processing time per phase. Papillary muscle was not included into left ventricle volume. Another two observers utilized LV ANALYSIS of Report-Card, generated the left ventricle volume filling curve and recorded the processing time and mean processing time per phase. From the curve, EDV, ESV, SV, EF, CO, peak ejecting rate (PER) and peak filling rate (PFR) were also acquired. One observer repeated the procedures a week later., Results: The difference of results from two methods were insignificant (P > 0.05) and the correlation was excellent (EDV 0.963, ESV 0.944). Intra-observer and inter-observer variability for measurements (EDV, ESV) were assessed by Bland-Altman analysis and interclass correlation coefficient (0.985, 0.987, 0.959 and 0.957 respectively). The mean processing time (179 ± 51) s by means of manually contouring was significantly less than the mean processing time (331 ± 99) s through REPORT-CARD 4.0 (P < 0.001). However, the mean processing time per phase (17 ± 5) s by means of REPORT-CARD 4.0 was significantly less than the mean processing time per phase (89 ± 26) s through manually contouring (P < 0.001)., Conclusion: The reliability of left ventricle volume filling curve generated through Report-Card is excellent. Left ventricle volume filling curve may be a reliable method of further studying the functions of left ventricle.

Objective: To obtain the evidence of fibrotic resolution in fatty liver by changing the diet and to clarify the mechanism of hepatocyte proliferation inhibition in rat with fatty liver fibrosis., Methods: (1) Nonalcoholic steatohepatitis with advanced fibrosis was induced in rats by giving them a methionine-choline-deficient diet (MCDD) for 10 weeks (group M). A methionine-choline-control diet (MCCD) instead of MCDD was given for the last 2 weeks to the experimental group (group R). (2) Fibrosis and inflammation were determined by tissue staining. The activation of hepatic stellate cells and Kupffer cells were determined by immunostaining, immunoblot or quantitative RT-PCR respectively. (3) Hepatocytic apoptosis and proliferation were determined by TUNEL and BrdU staining respectively. Expressions of IL-6, STAT3, JNK-1, c-Jun, p21, C/EBPalpha, HNF6 and HGF-alpha were evaluated by quantitative RT-PCR and immunoblot to clarify the mechanism of hepatocytic proliferation inhibition., Results: (1) Changing the diet from MCDD to MCCD triggered the reduction of fat in hepatocytes and a decrease in inflammatory response. (2) The regression of fibrosis was accompanied by the disappearance of activated stellate cells and macrophages. (3) Compared with control group (group C), hepatocytic apoptotic number increased significantly in group M (68 +/- 16 vs 40 +/- 8, P < 0.05) and the ratio of hepatocytic proliferation/apoptosis decreased markedly in group M (0.10 +/- 0.03 vs 0.19 +/- 0.03, P < 0.01); compared to group M, hepatocytic apoptotic number decreased significantly in group R (48 +/- 6, P < 0.05) and hepatocytic proliferation number and the ratio of hepatocytic proliferation/apoptosis increased markedly in group R (17.2 +/- 4.4 vs 7.5 +/- 3.0, 0.41 +/- 0.09 vs 0.10 +/- 0.03 respectively, P < 0.01). (4) Compared with group C, the mRNA level of IL-6, JNK-1, c-Jun, C/EBPalpha, p21 and HNF6 mRNA decreased significantly (0.34 +/- 0.18 vs 1.33 +/- 0.44, 0.41 +/- 0.11 vs 0.83 +/- 0.26, 0.19 +/- 0.03 vs 1.53 +/- 1.2, 1.94 +/- 0.64 vs 4.51 +/- 1.15, 0.34 +/- 0.20 vs 1.30 +/- 0.75, 0.47 +/- 0.21 vs 0.92 +/- 0.16 respectively, P < 0.05 or P < 0.01), and protein level of IL-6, STAT3, JNK-1, c-Jun, C/EBPalpha, P21 and HNF6 also decreased significantly in liver fibrotic stage (P < 0.05 or P < 0.01) while only IL-6, JNK-1 and p21 recovered immediately after a changed diet from MCDD to MCCD (P < 0.05 or P < 0.01)., Conclusion: Food intake is a very important factor for controlling the fatty status and pathology of liver. Hepatocytic proliferation inhibition is associated with the arrested G(0)-S phasic transition in fatty liver fibrosis and the up-regulated expression of IL-6, JNK-1 and p21. These factors play a very important role in the recovery of fatty liver fibrosis.