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As an important destination for upstream materials and element accumulation, lake sediments hold a multitude of contextual information about climatic changes and anthropogenic disturbances. However, understanding the lake sedimentation state to link catchment pressures and biogenic regime shifts remains challenging. To address this, research was conducted on the lake sedimentation state, including the dynamics, catchment drivers, effects on biogenic regimes, and responses to typical historical events using nine sediment cores from Dongting Lake, China, a typical global priority ecoregion. Three transitions of lake sedimentation state were distinguished over the century (1937, 1968, and 1993), whereby hydrologic dynamics and land‐use changes in the watershed were the direct drivers with relative contributions of 16.30% and 14.56%, respectively. Lake sedimentation state and organic matter inputs not only preceded sediment biogenic elements at the shift time but also exhibited nonlinear trigger effects on biogenic element contents (R2 = 0.47, p < 0.01), which promoted an increase in sediment biogenic element burial rates. Rate of change analysis indicated that intensive human activities altered the relationship between the sedimentation state and biogenic regime shift, thus revealing the response to anthropogenic events in the catchment. Pathways quantified by the partial least squares path model established the link between watershed attributes and lake biogenic properties via the lake sedimentation state. Our findings revealed a cascading linkage among catchment eco‐surroundings, lake sedimentation states, and biogenic regime shifts. The research further provided insights into driver‐response relationships in lake‐catchment systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides) is an important freshwater‐cultured species in China. Recently, a lethal and epidemic disease caused by Micropterus salmoides rhabdovirus (MSRV) results in huge economic losses to the largemouth bass industry. Current diagnostics for detecting MSRV are limited in sensitivity and speed and are inconvenient to be used for non‐laboratory detection. In this study, three rapid and convenient detection assays of MSRV by recombinase polymerase amplification (RPA) and lateral flow dipsticks (LFD), targeting the conserved sequences of the MSRV‐SS N gene, are described. With these RPA methods, the detection could achieve within 50 min at 38°C. Both methods of RPA‐AGE and RPA‐LFD could detect the viral DNA as low as 170 copies/μl of the MSRV standard plasmid and were 100‐fold more sensitive than that in the method of routine PCR. Meanwhile, these RPA methods were highly specific for the detection of MSRV and can be feasibly applied to the diagnostic of MSRV infection. In brief, RPA‐AGE, RPA‐LFD and RT‐RPA‐LFD provide convenient, rapid, sensitive and reliable methods that could improve field diagnosis of MSRV with limited machine resources, and would enhance the production of largemouth bass. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Purpose: Compassion is increasingly considered essential to quality nursing care and is a concept that is strongly embedded across cultures, including Chinese culture. The Patient Compassion Model (PCM) depicts the unique yet overlapping domains of compassion. The Sinclair Compassion Questionnaire (SCQ) was directly developed and validated from this empirical model. In this study, we sought to establish initial validation of a translated SCQ among Mandarin-speaking patients by assessing the transferability of the PCM and the clinical sensibility of the SCQ. Methods: Forward and back-translation of the PCM and SCQ were performed in accordance with World Health Organization guidelines. Qualitative interviews were used to assess the transferability of the PCM with conceptualizations of compassion within a Chinese context. Cognitive interviews were conducted to assess the clarity, readability, wording, questions, and response scales of the Mandarin translation of the SCQ. Qualitative data were analyzed using constant comparative analysis, and cognitive interviews were analyzed using framework analysis. Results: The original categories of the PCM were verified in this Mandarin-speaking patient population. Specifically, participants' understanding of compassion is described as consisting of healthcare provider virtues, emphasizing the importance of a virtuous response that sought to understand the individual and their unique needs, to relationally communicate from a place of shared humanity and to ameliorate suffering. Participants were able to answer, comprehend, and endorse all 15 Mandarin SCQ items, resulting in no modifications to the Mandarin SCQ. Conclusions: This study provides initial validation of the Mandarin SCQ and PCM. Future studies should consider further establishing the validity and reliability of the Mandarin SCQ among a larger Chinese patient population., (© Copyright 2024 Springer Publishing Company, LLC.)

Background: N-Nitroso compounds are thought to play a significant role in the development of gastric cancer. Epidemiological data, however, are sparse in examining the associations between biomarkers of exposure to N-nitroso compounds and the risk of gastric cancer., Methods: A nested case-control study within a prospective cohort of 18,244 middle-aged and older men in Shanghai, China, was conducted to examine the association between urinary level of N-nitroso compounds and risk of gastric cancer. Information on demographics, usual dietary intake, and use of alcohol and tobacco was collected through in-person interviews at enrollment. Urinary levels of nitrate, nitrite, N-nitroso-2-methylthiazolidine-4-carboxylic acid (NMTCA), N-nitrosoproline (NPRO), N-nitrososarcosine (NSAR), N-nitrosothiazolidine-4-carboxylic acid (NTCA), as well as serum H. pylori antibodies were quantified in 191 gastric cancer cases and 569 individually matched controls. Logistic regression method was used to assess the association between urinary levels of N-nitroso compounds and risk of gastric cancer., Results: Compared with controls, gastric cancer patients had overall comparable levels of urinary nitrate, nitrite, and N-nitroso compounds. Among individuals seronegative for antibodies to H. pylori, elevated levels of urinary nitrate were associated with increased risk of gastric cancer. The multivariate-adjusted odds ratios for the second and third tertiles of nitrate were 3.27 (95% confidence interval = 0.76-14.04) and 4.82 (95% confidence interval = 1.05-22.17), respectively, compared with the lowest tertile (P for trend = 0.042). There was no statistically significant association between urinary levels of nitrite or N-nitroso compounds and risk of gastric cancer. Urinary NMTCA level was significantly associated with consumption of alcohol and preserved meat and fish food items., Conclusion: The present study demonstrates that exposure to nitrate, a precursor of N-nitroso compounds, may increase the risk of gastric cancer among individuals without a history of H. pylori infection.

Objective: To understand the epidemiological characteristics of the index cases in severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) cases clusters and to evaluate their importance in the whole epidemic process of SARS., Methods: Data of the index SARS cases and the subsequent case clusters were collected by means of face-to-face interview in combination with field investigation and case history consultations., Results: In all three SARS clusters, the index cases all had chronic disease and played the role of infection source that transmitted the virus to the patients' family members, attending medical staff as well as other non-SARS patients sharing the same ward with them., Conclusion: The index cases played an important role in transmission of SARS virus among the case clusters, and their infective stages are confined within certain phases of the disease course.