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Background: Although rarely indicated, antibiotics are commonly used for acute diarrhoea in China. We conducted a randomised, double blind exploratory clinical trial of loperamide, berberine and turmeric for treatment of acute diarrhoea. Methods: Adults with acute uncomplicated diarrhoea aged 18 to 70 were randomised to 4 groups: (A) loperamide; (B) loperamide and berberine; (C) loperamide and turmeric; (D) loperamide, berberine and turmeric. All participants were given rescue ciprofloxacin for use after 48 h if symptoms worsened or were unimproved. Primary endpoints were feasibility and ciprofloxacin use during the 2-week follow-up period. Semi-structured interviews were conducted following recruitment and were analysed thematically. Recruiting doctors, delivery pharmacists and research assistants were blinded to treatment allocation. Results: Only 21.5% (278/1295) of patients screened were deemed eligible, and 49% (136/278) of these consented and were entered into the final analysis. Most participants had mild symptoms, because most patients with moderate or severe symptoms wanted to be given antibiotics. Follow-up was good (94% at 2 weeks). Only three participants used rescue antibiotics compared to 67% of acute diarrhoea patients in the hospital during the recruitment period. The median symptom duration was 14 h in group B (interquartile range (IQR) 10-22), 16 h in group D (IQR 10-22), 18 h in group A (IQR 10-33) and 20 h in group C (IQR 16-54). Re-consultation rates were low. There were no serious treatment-related adverse events. Most interviewed participants said that although they had believed antibiotics to be effective for diarrhoea, they were surprised by their quick recovery without antibiotics in this trial. Conclusion: Although recruitment was challenging because of widespread expectations for antibiotics, patients with mild diarrhoea accepted trying an alternative. The three nutraceuticals therapy require further evaluation in a fully powered, randomised controlled trial among a broader sample. Trial registration: ChiCTR-IPR-17014107 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses relations between China and Taiwan in the last four months of 2014. Topics discussed include delay toward resolving deadlock on issues like Cross-Strait Agreements Oversight Bill or services trade agreement (STA) in Legislative Yuan (LY) due to local election campaigning, challenges faced by China such as defeat of political party Kuomintang (KMT) in local elections, and merchandise trade agreement (MTA) talks held by China and Taiwan in September and December 2014.

The article discusses relations between China and Taiwan as of September 2012. It reports on policies introduced by Republic of China (ROC) President Ma Ying-jeou with regard to its cross-strait relations with China. It also explores strategies launched by the two regions with regard to the disputed Senkaku/Diaoyutai Islands in the East China Sea, commitment of the Taiwanese government to improve trade liberalization, and its economic cooperation agreement with Singapore.

The article discusses the relationship between China and Taiwan. It notes that while there has been progress in implementing the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA) and other existing pacts, differences has prevented finalization of the investment protection agreement. It cites the sea trials of China's first aircraft carrier whose capabilities threaten Taiwan and indicates an agreement between Taiwan and the U.S. to upgrade Taiwan's existing F-16A/B fighters.

The article focuses on the bilateral relations between China and Taiwan. It discusses the first meeting of the Cross-Strait Economic Cooperation Committee which represented an important step in the implementation of the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement. It mentions the increasing military capabilities that continue to threat Taiwan and confronted Washington with difficult decisions on the sales of military weapons to Taiwan.

The article examines China-Taiwan relations as of the third quarter of 2010. Constructive developments between Taipei and Beijing are ongoing with efforts to ratify the implementation of the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA) which could result in a World Trade Organization- (WTO) consistent economic cooperation agreement. Such flexibility is expected to allow Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou to show that ECFA has opened the door for Taiwan in trade regional liberalization.

The article discusses the relationship between China and Taiwan as of the second quarter of 2010. China and Taiwan signed an Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA) that includes a list of tariff reductions, and provides a basis for the integration of their economies. A continued complication on U.S.-China relations is the issue of U.S. arms sales to Taiwan. The consideration of a new 10-year platform by the Democratic Progressive Party shows an internal difference over cross-Strait policy.

The article reports on China's bilateral relations with Taiwan. The formal negotiation of an Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA) started in January 2010. The Taiwanese Democratic Progressive Party continues to oppose ECFA. A U.S. arms sales package announced in January 2010 was welcomed by Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou, but created tensions between the U.S. and China.

The article focuses on the little progress in China-Taiwan relations as of October 2009. Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA) and the fourth round of Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF)-Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits (ARATS) talks are being prepared in 2010. Cross-Strait trade is starting to recover from the decline due to the great recession and the first mainland investments in Taiwan. The chronology of China-Taiwan relations from July-October 2009 is also presented.

The article focuses on the China-Taiwan relations as of June 2009. It highlights the decision of Taipei to participate in the annual World Health Assembly (WHA) as an observer after receiving an invitation which resulted from consultations between Taipei and Beijing. Reported is the meeting of Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) Chairman Chiang Pin-kung and Association for Relations across the Taiwan Strait (ARATS) Chairman Chen Yunlin held in Nanjing from April 25 to 27, 2009. It notes that China-Taiwan relations is focused on cultural and education ties.

The article explores the relations between China and Taiwan. It discusses the impact of comprehensive cross-Strait economic agreement between China and Taiwan. It relates the response of the administration of Taiwan's President Ma Ying-jeou to the speech delivered by Chinese President Hu Jintao which tackled the separatist challenge posed by Taiwan to China. It relates the decline in trade between China and Taiwan.

The article focuses on China-Taiwan relations as of January 2009. It notes that these countries are working to improve cross-Strait relations through several dialogue channels. It states that during the visit of Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits (ARATS) Chairman Chen Yunlin to Taiwan in November 2008, four agreements were signed. In the last quarter of 2008, positive developments regarding Beijing's handling to the demands of Taiwan for increased access to international organizations were seen.

The article highlights developments in China-Taiwan relations for the third quarter of 2008. Taiwan's Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) and Beijing's Association for Relations across the Taiwan Strait (ARATS) finalized agreements over weekend charter flights and Chinese tourism. Taiwan has started opening the Taipei exchange to investments and easing the restrictions on Taiwan funds invested in mainland companies. Taipei calls for the establishment of a health safety communications channel in the face of the melamine-tainted Chinese milk scandal.

The author explores the state of bilateral relations between China and Taiwan in 2008. He discusses a dialogue between the Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait (ARATS) of China and the Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) of Taiwan. He highlights the agreements on charter flights and Chinese tourism reached between the two countries. However, he notes that political constraints on Chinese President Hu Jintao and Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou will make progress difficult, particularly on international relations and security issues.

The article discusses the developments in the relations between China and Taiwan. Chen Shui-bian, the President of the Republic of China or Taiwan has been promoting a referendum on joining the United Nations under the name "Taiwan." The U.S. government has opposed the referendum and has decided to put on hold Taiwan's purchase of F-16 fighter jets. Hu Jintao, president of the Republic of China, has proposed to end hostilities between China and Taiwan under the One China principle. The proposal was rejected by Chen Shui-bian.

Residential water use (RWU) is directly linked with the health of the general public and constitutes well over half of the total municipal water use in many countries. Because RWU is the most important component of municipal water use, it is always being given the top priority in municipal water supply and planning. But little is known about RWU in developing economies, especially in the Chinese context. In order to obtain the determinants of water use and consumption, empirical study is widely pursued. In a transition economy, rapidly changing socioeconomic conditions profoundly alter household water use in Beijing and Tianjin. A social survey on urban household water use and consumption is judged as a necessary starting point to an efficient municipal water planning and management in the two cities. A total of 806 in-house interviews were completed in Beijing and Tianjin by using stratified sampling method based on the predominant housing typologies. A multivariate analysis has also been performed in order to reveal the structured relationship between the water use and consumption and postulated explanatory variables in various urban households. For the first time, this empirical study will bridge the information gaps regarding urban household water use patterns and compositions, household water amenities and facilities, household water using habits and behaviors, household water perceptions and environmental attitudes as well as a household''s capacity and willingness to respond to water conservation policy in different housing typologies in the Chinese context. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Within the state sector the Foreign Trade Corporation (FTCs) have been at the forefront of changes arising out of China's ‘open door’ policy. The FTCs have had to cope with deregulation, changes in scope and increased internal competition. Such pressures have brought about changes in personnel and management practices and have led to an interest in Western HRM. Recent evidence about such changes has been drawn from eighteen projects undertaken by the FTCs and reported within a major UN-funded management development programme. The research confirms increased emphasis in the FTCs on strategic awareness, individuality and flexibility; in two areas, however, namely workers' representation and empowerment of line managers, there was no evidence of significant change in Chinese practices. These developments in the FTCs, while far from being widespread throughout China's state-owned enterprises, may well be a pointer to emerging personnel management practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reconstruction of hydrological fluctuations in arid regions has proven challenging due to a lack of reliable chronologic constraints on sparse geological archives. The aim of this study was to establish an independent record of hydrologic changes in the hyper-arid Tarim Basin (TB; northwest China) with high spatiotemporal resolution. We present comprehensive radiocarbon and tree-ring data sets of subfossilized plant remains in the TB compiled from geomorphological investigations of the paleochannels of the Tarim River (TR), the longest endorheic river in China, crossing the world's second-largest shifting sand desert. Results show that the late medieval configuration of the TR basin was characterized by enhanced hydrological connectivity, as indicated by the formation of significant riparian forests in the desert regions at ca. 1170 CE. A distinct low-flow interval (ca. 1500-1650 CE) is identified for the first time, refining the period of a wetter-than-present TB. The present-day organization of streams in the lower TR was proto-formed after the dry period, possibly led by episodic flood-induced diversion. Our study describes the centennial-scale dynamics in the TR flow over the past millennium, offering a robust long-term context for hydrological assessment in the extensive drylands of the Asian interior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]