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BACKGROUND: Although ambient temperature has been linked with injury incidence, there have been few nationwide studies to quantify the temperature-related risk and burden of cause-specific injury hospitalizations. Additionally, the impact of human-induced climate change to injury burden remains unknown. OBJECTIVES: Our objectives are to examine the associations between ambient temperature and injury hospitalizations from various causes and to quantify the contribution of human-induced warming to the heat-related burden. METHODS: We collected injury hospitalization data from a nationwide hospital-based registry in China during 2000–2019. Using a time-stratified case-crossover design, we investigated the associations between daily mean temperature (°C) and cause-specific injury hospitalizations. We also quantified the burden of heat-related injuries under the scenarios with and without anthropogenic forcing, using the Detection and Attribution Model Intercomparison Project to assess the contribution of human-induced warming. RESULTS: Our study included a total of 988,087 patients with hospitalization records for injuries. Overall, compared to the temperature at minimum risk of hospitalization (-12:1°C), the relative risk of hospitalization at extreme hot temperature (30.8°C, 97.5th percentile) was 1.18 [95% confidence interval (CI): 1.14, 1.22], with an approximately linear association between temperature and hospitalization. Vulnerability to heat-related injuries was more pronounced among males, young (<18 years of age) or middle-aged (45–64 years of age) individuals, and those living in the North. The heatrelated attributable fraction increased from 23.2% in the 2000s to 23.6% in the 2010s, with a corresponding increase in the contribution of humaninduced change over time. In the 2010s, the heat-related attributable fractions for specific causes of injury ranged from 12.4% to 54.4%, with humaninduced change accounting for 6.7% to 10.6% of the burden. DISCUSSION: This nationwide study presents new evidence of significant associations between temperature and cause-specific injury hospitalizations in China and highlights the increasing contribution of human-induced warming to the injury burden. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China's Hengduan Mountain region has been considered one of the most diverse regions in the northern hemisphere. Its stunning topography with many deep valleys and impassable mountain barriers has promoted an astonishing diversification in many groups of organisms including plants, birds, mammals, and amphibians. However, the insect biodiversity in this region is still poorly known. Here, the first checklist of ant species from the Southern Hengduan Mountain region is presented, generated by sampling ant diversity using a wide array of collection methods, including Winkler leaf litter extraction, vegetation beating, and hand collection. 130 species/morphospecies from nine subfamilies and 49 genera were identified. Among them, 17 species from 13 genera represent new records for Yunnan province, and eight species are newly recorded for China. Moreover, we believe 41 novel morphospecies (31% of the total collected taxa) will prove to be new to science. These results highlight the rich ant fauna of this region and strongly support its status as a biodiversity hotspot. The current ant species checklist for the whole of Yunnan Province was updated by recording 550 named species from 99 genera. Taken together, our results suggest that the Yunnan ant fauna still remains under-sampled, and future sampling will likely yield many more species, among them many undescribed ones. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China's Hengduan Mountain region has been considered one of the most diverse regions in the northern hemisphere. Its stunning topography with many deep valleys and impassable mountain barriers has promoted an astonishing diversification in many groups of organisms including plants, birds, mammals, and amphibians. However, the insect biodiversity in this region is still poorly known. Here, the first checklist of ant species from the Southern Hengduan Mountain region is presented, generated by sampling ant diversity using a wide array of collection methods, including Winkler leaf litter extraction, vegetation beating, and hand collection. 130 species/morphospecies from nine subfamilies and 49 genera were identified. Among them, 17 species from 13 genera represent new records for Yunnan province, and eight species are newly recorded for China. Moreover, we believe 41 novel morphospecies (31% of the total collected taxa) will prove to be new to science. These results highlight the rich ant fauna of this region and strongly sup-port its status as a biodiversity hotspot. The current ant species checklist for the whole of Yunnan Province was updated by recording 550 named species from 99 genera. Taken together, our results suggest that the Yunnan ant fauna still remains under-sampled, and future sampling will likely yield many more species, among them many undescribed ones. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We examined the moderating effects of core self-evaluation (CSE) on the relationships between interpersonal conflict and employee's absence and lateness in China and the United States. Employee-coworker matched data were collected from university employees in these 2 countries. The dataset was comprised of 204 employee-coworker dyads from the U.S. and 166 dyads from China. We found that self-reported interpersonal conflict at work was positively related to absence and lateness, but coworker-reported conflict was not. CSE buffered the positive relationship between self-reported conflict and employee's absence, as well as the positive relationships between co-worker-reported conflict and absence/lateness. Generally speaking, interpersonal conflict positively related to absence and lateness for employees low in CSE but not for employees high in CSE. Finally, the 3-way interaction analyses indicated that the buffering effects of CSE were significant in the U.S. but not in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using a mixed-method approach, we examined job stressors, job performance, an organizational citizenship behavior (i.e., job dedication), and the moderating effect of conscientiousness. Data were collected from 487 municipal law-enforcing officers from Beijing, China. Using a qualitative approach, we collected 150 stressful incident descriptions, which were classified into nine stressor categories. Among these nine stressors, workload, job complexity, new work environment, sudden event, and performance evaluation were classified as challenge stressors, and role stressors, interpersonal conflict, organizational constraints, and danger at work were classified as hindrance stressors. We found that employees who reported challenge stressors had more increased job performance (x = 22.57, df = 4, p < .001) and were more dedicated (x = 45.05, df = 26, p = .01) than employees who reported hindrance stressors. Using quantitative approach, we found that challenge stressor positively predicted job performance (b = .13, p = .06) and job dedication (b = .18, p < .01), whereas hindrance stressor negatively predicted job performance (b = —.27, p < .001) and job dedication (b = —.75, p < .001). The quantitative data also revealed that employees' conscientiousness level moderated hindrance stressor in relations to both job performance (b = —.34, p < .001) and dedication (b = —.24, p < .001). Hindrance stressor was more strongly negatively related to job performance and dedication for employees high in conscientiousness than for employees low in conscientiousness. This study provides support for the continuing interests and research o f challenge and hindrance stressors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We examined employees' conflict with their supervisors in cross-cultural work settings. Both qualitative and quantitative data were collected from 332 and 302 university employees in the United States and China, respectively. First, the qualitative data revealed that 54% versus 42% of supervisor conflicts were attributable to low job control in the United States and China, respectively. The quantitative data indicated that job autonomy was negatively related to supervisor conflict in the United States but not in China. Second, both quantitative and qualitative data showed that Chinese employees had more supervisor conflict than their U.S. counterparts. Third, both type of data suggested that supervisor conflict was more strongly related to job strains in China than in the United States. Finally, job autonomy played different roles in these two countries. It buffered supervisor conflict--job strain relations in the United States but exaggerated such relations in China. Therefore, our study provided a possible explanation to the inconsistent findings regarding the buffering effect of job autonomy on job stressors. Employees' cultural background may complicate the process. The qualitative data largely supported the quantitative findings and provided detailed information on employees' job stress experience in the cross-cultural context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The fig-fig pollinator association is a classic case of an obligate mutualism. Fig-pollinating wasps often have to fly long distances from their natal syconia to a receptive syconium and then must enter the narrow ostiole of the syconium to reproduce. Large wasps are expected to have a greater chance of reaching a receptive syconium. In this study, we tested this hypothesis and then examined whether the ostiole selectively prevented larger pollinators from entering the syconial cavity. In Xishuangbanna, China, Ceratosolen solmsi marchali Mayr (Hymenoptera: Agaonidae) pollinates the dioecious syconia of Ficus hispida L. (Moraceae). The body size of newly emerged wasps and wasps arriving at receptive syconia were compared. Wasps arriving at receptive syconia were significantly larger than newly emerged wasps. We also compared the size of wasps trapped in the ostiole with those in the cavity. Wasps trapped in the ostiole were significantly larger than those in the syconial cavity. Thus, in the case of F. hispida, large wasps were more likely to reach receptive syconia, but the ostiole limited maximum fig wasp size. This indicates that the ostiole, as a selective filter to pollinators, stabilizes pollinator size. Hence, it helps to maintain stability in the fig-fig pollinator mutualism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to the advancement of information and communication technologies, online donations have become unprecedentedly convenient, making money received from individual online donations an important form of revenue for many charitable organizations in China. However, factors contributing to people’s online donation intentions, in turn impacting donating behavior, have been under-examined. The current study aims to understand factors influencing online donation intention in the Chinese cultural context by combining constructs from the extended Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB; including the original TPB constructs and moral norm) and trust-related constructs (i.e., trust in charity organizations and trust in technology). The moderation effect of past donation behavior on the relationship between trust and donation intention was also explored. A total of 721 Chinese participants completed the online survey. SPSS was used to perform hierarchical multiple regressions. The results showed that attitude, perceived behavioral control, moral norm, and subjective norm were all positively related to online donation intention. Moral norm was found to be a stronger predictor than subjective norm, raising the amount of explained variance of the original TPB model. Trust in charity organizations was found to positively predict donation intention while trust in technology was not. The results also revealed that past donation behavior moderated the effect of trust in charity organizations on donation intention. This study not only adds to the body of knowledge on charitable donation in the online context by incorporating two trust-related constructs into the extended TPB model, but also highlights the different roles moral and subjective norms play in predicting people’s prosocial behavior in the context of Chinese culture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on the panel data of 31 provinces in the Chinese Mainland from 2014 to 2018, this research uses the event history analysis (eha) model to explore the influencing factors of the policy diffusion of innovation vouchers. The event history analysis of the adoption of the science and technology innovation voucher policy shows that: among the internal factors, financial support, special investment, science and technology supply, and length of use are the key drivers of innovation voucher policy adoption; among the external factors, policy learning and vertical pressure have significant effects on the adoption results of innovation voucher policy. The conversion rate of scientific and technological achievements, the proportion of r&d activities without r&d institutions, the demand of enterprises for scientific and technological achievements, and the number of redemptions per year have no significant effects on the popularity of innovation vouchers. External diffusion effects such as policy imitation and inter-provincial competition were also weak. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose - With the rapid economic development, China has been increasingly paying special attention to its sports and health industries. In October 2014, the State Council raised the goal to upscale the sports industry to the net worth of 5 trillion yuan by 2025. To gain further insights into the current development of tennis in China, especially the development of Women's Tennis Association (WTA) tennis competitions, an interview with the director of Wuhan Opening Fabrice Chouquet and Mr Guoqing Yi of Wuahan Sport Investment Inc. was conducted. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach - To gain further insights into the current development of tennis in China, especially the development of WTA tennis competitions, an interview with the director of Wuhan Opening Fabrice Chouquet and Mr Guoqing Yi of Wuahan Sport Investment Inc. was conducted. Findings - The interview comprised a series of topics including motivators of tennis industries in China, the strategic position of China for WTA development, WTA choice of hosting city, effects of WTA competition events toward the hosting city, and the operation of WTA tennis competitions. Integrating the aforementioned topics with Wuhan Tennis Open, the interviewees also provided suggestions toward the future development of tennis industry in China. Research limitations/implications - This study has several limitations that are of concern to researchers in the future. First, the interviewees of this research came from Wuhan Tennis Open. Though Mr Fabrice used to be the managing director of WTA in Asia, he only knows about women tennis in China, and his viewpoints have their own limitation. Therefore, the interviewee in the future has to be the person who could hold the opinion on tennis development in China at the macro scale. Second, the questions in the interview have a wide scale, but lack depth and penetration. For instance, the interview only relates to the motive of tennis development but does not go deeply into the relation between the above two aspects. Moreover, it mentions the problems related to the tennis development. It only concentrates on the tennis tournaments but does not discuss the tennis culture and the industry. These questions need to be considered when the authors research on the development of tennis in China in the future. Originality/value - Through the analysis on WTA and tennis in China, the authors can understand the development of sports in China and the Chinese sports industry in recent years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: Few multicity studies have evaluated the association between cold spells and mortality risk and burden. OBJECTIVES: We aimed to estimate the association between cold spells and cause-specific mortality and to evaluate the mortality burden in China. METHODS: We conducted a time-series analysis with a nationally representative Disease Surveillance Points System database during the cool seasons spanning from 2013 to 2015 in 272 Chinese cities. We used 12 cold-spell definitions and overdispersed generalized additive models with distributed lag models to estimate the city-specific cumulative association of cold spells over lags of 0–28 d. We controlled for the nonlinear and lagged effects of cold temperature over 0–28 d to evaluate the added effect estimates of cold spell. We also quantified the nationwide mortality burden and pooled the estimated association at national and different climatic levels with meta-regression models. RESULTS: For the cold-spell definition of daily mean temperatures of ≤5th percentile of city-specific daily mean temperature and duration of ≥4 consecutive d, the relative risks (i.e., risk ratios) associated with cold spells were 1.39 [95% confidence interval (CI): 1.15, 1.69] for non-accidental mortality, 1.66 (95% CI: 1.20, 2.31) for coronary heart disease mortality, 1.49 (95% CI: 1.12, 1.97) for stroke mortality, and 1.26 (95% CI: 0.85, 1.87) for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease mortality. Cold spells showed a maximal lagged association of 28 d with the risks peaked at 10-15 d. A statistically significant attributable fraction (AF) of non-accidental mortality [2.10% (95% CI: 0.94%, 3.04%)] was estimated. The risks were higher in the temperate continental and the temperate monsoon zones than in the subtropical monsoon zone. The elderly population was especially vulnerable to cold spells. DISCUSSION: Our study provides evidence for the significant relative risks of non-accidental, cardiovascular, and respiratory mortality associated with cold spells. The findings on vulnerable populations and differential risks in different climatic zones may help establish region-specific forecasting systems against the hazardous impact of cold spells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Air pollution may increase cardiovascular and respiratory risk through inflammatory pathways, but evidence for acute effects has been weak and indirect. Between December 2014 and July 2015, we enrolled 36 healthy, nonsmoking college students for a panel study in Shanghai, China, a city with highly variable levels of air pollution. We measured personal exposure to particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter less than or equal to 2.5 µm (PM2.5) continuously for 72 hours preceding each of 4 clinical visits that included phlebotomy. We measured 4 inflammation proteins and DNA methylation at nearby regulatory cytosine-phosphate-guanine (CpG) loci. We applied linear mixed-effect models to examine associations over various lag times. When results suggested mediation, we evaluated methylation as mediator. Increased PM2.5 concentration was positively associated with all 4 inflammation proteins and negatively associated with DNA methylation at regulatory loci for tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) and soluble intercellular adhesion molecule-1. A 10-µg/m³ increase in average PM2.5 during the 24 hours preceding blood draw corresponded to a 4.4% increase in TNF-α and a statistically significant decrease in methylation at one of the two studied candidate CpG loci for TNF-α. Epigenetics may play an important role in mediating effects of PM2.5 on inflammatory pathways. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a key factor in epigenetic regulation of gene expression, but miRNA responses to fine particulate matter (PM2:5) air pollution and their potential contribution to cardiovascular effects of PM2:5 are unknown. OBJECTIVE: We explored the potential influence of PM2:5 on the expression of selected cytokines relevant to systemic inflammation, coagulation, and vasoconstriction, and on miRNAs that may regulate their expression. METHODS:We designed a double-blind, randomized crossover study in which true and sham air purifiers were used to expose 55 healthy young adult students in Shanghai, China, to reduced or ambient levels of indoor PM2:5 during two-week periods, and we measured the expression (mRNA and protein) of 10 serum cytokines, and miRNAs that target them, after each intervention period. We used linear mixed-effect models to estimate associations of the intervention, and time-weighted personal PM2:5 exposures, with the cytokines, mRNA, and miRNAs; we also explored potential mediation by miRNAs. RESULTS: The findings were generally consistent for associations with the intervention and for associations with an interquartile range increase in time-weighted PM2:5. Specifically, higher PM2:5 exposure was positively associated with the expression (mRNA, protein, or both) of interleukin-1 (encoded by IL1), IL6, tumor necrosis factor (encoded by TNF), toll-like receptor 2 (encoded by TLR2), coagulation factor 3 (encoded by F3), and endothelin 1 (encoded by EDN1), and was negatively associated with miRNAs (miR-21-5p, miR-187-3p, miR-146a-5p, miR-1-3p, and miR-199a-5p) predicted to target mRNAs of IL1, TNF, TLR2, and EDN1. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings require confirmation but suggest that effects of PM2:5 on cardiovascular diseases may be related to acute effects on cytokine expression, which may be partly mediated through effects of PM2:5 on miRNAs that regulate cytokine expression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: Few large multicity studies have been conducted in developing countries to address the acute health effects of atmospheric ozone pollution. OBJECTIVE: We explored the associations between ozone and daily cause-specific mortality in China. METHODS: We performed a nationwide time-series analysis in 272 representative Chinese cities between 2013 and 2015. We used distributed lag models and over-dispersed generalized linear models to estimate the cumulative effects of ozone (lagged over 0-3 d) on mortality in each city, and we used hierarchical Bayesian models to combine the city-specific estimates. Regional, seasonal, and demographic heterogeneity were evaluated by meta-regression. RESULTS: At the national-average level, a 10-μg/m3 increase in 8-h maximum ozone concentration was associated with 0.24% [95% posterior interval (PI): 0.13%, 0.35%], 0.27% (95% PI: 0.10%, 0.44%), 0.60% (95% PI: 0.08%, 1.11%), 0.24% (95% PI: 0.02%, 0.46%), and 0.29% (95% PI: 0.07%, 0.50%) higher daily mortality from all nonaccidental causes, cardiovascular diseases, hypertension, coronary diseases, and stroke, respectively. Associations between ozone and daily mortality due to respiratory and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease specifically were positive but imprecise and nonsignificant. There were no statistically significant differences in associations between ozone and nonaccidental mortality according to region, season, age, sex, or educational attainment. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings provide robust evidence of higher nonaccidental and cardiovascular mortality in association with short-term exposure to ambient ozone in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Healthcare resource utilisation for Alzheimer's disease (AD) in China is not well understood. This Delphi panel study aimed to describe the clinical management pathways for moderate and severe AD patients in urban China and to define the amount and cost of healthcare resources used. Methods: A panel of 11 experts was recruited from urban China to participate in two rounds of preparatory interviews. In the first round, 9 physicians specialised in dementia gave a qualitative description of the clinical management of AD patients. In the second round, 2 hospital administrators were asked about the cost of AD management and care. Results from the interviews were discussed by the experts in a Delphi panel meeting, where consensus was reached on quantitative aspects of AD management, including the rate of healthcare resource utilisation, the respective unit costs and caregiving time. Results: Interviewees reported that mild AD is under-recognised in China; most patients are diagnosed with moderate to severe AD. Loss of independence and agitation/aggression are the main drivers for healthcare resource utilisation and contribute to a heavier caregiver burden. It was estimated that 70 % moderate AD patients are independent/non-aggressive at the time of diagnosis, 15 % are independent/aggressive, 10 % are dependent/non-aggressive, and 5 % are dependent/aggressive. Dependent/aggressive AD patients are more likely to be hospitalised (70-90 %) than accepted in a nursing home (0-20 %), while the opposite is true for dependent/non-aggressive patients (5-35 % for hospitalisation vs. 80 % for nursing home). Independent AD patients require 1-3 hours/day of caregiver time, while dependent patients can require up to 12-15 hours/day. Experts agreed that AD complicates the management of age-related comorbidities, found in 70-80 % of all AD patients, increasing the frequency and cost of hospitalisation. Conclusions: The Delphi panel approach was an efficient method of gathering data about the amount of healthcare resources used and associated costs for moderate and severe AD patients in urban China. The results of this study provide a useful source of information for decision makers to improve future healthcare policies and resource planning, as well as to perform economic evaluations of AD therapies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The reduction of hepatitis B virus replication to minimal levels is emerging as key therapeutic goal in chronic hepatitis B (CHB). Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate and compare the efficacies of adefovir (ADV) and entecavir (ETV) in CHB. Patients and Methods: In this prospective study, 100 naïve patients were assigned to treatment with ADV (33 HBeAg-positive and 19 HBeAg-negative patients) or ETV (32 HBeAg-positive and 16 HBeAg-negative patients). The primary efficacy outcome was ALT normalization, reduction in HBV DNA, and seroconversion of HBeAg. Second efficacy outcomes included resistance and safety. Comparisons of quantitative and qualitative variables between groups were analyzed by student t-test and chi-square test (or Fisher's exact test), respectively. Results: Among HBeAg-positive patients, ETV was superior to ADV with respect to mean reduction in HBV DNA (-7.5 versus -6.3, respectively, at Month 24, p=0.003) and the percentage of those with HBV DNA<103 copies/mL at Month 24 [96.9% (31/32) vs. 69.7% (23/33), respectively, p=0.002] and <300 copies/mL at Month 24 [84.4% (27/32) vs. 54.5% (18/33), respectively, p=0.004]. But, the rates of ALT normalization and HBeAg seroconversion between the groups were similar [87.9% (29/33) vs. 96.9% (31/32), respectively, p=0.355; and 24.2% (8/33) vs. 25.0% (8/32), respectively, p=0.943]. In HBeAg-negative patients who received ETV or ADV, the reduction in HBV DNA (-6.8 versus -5.9, respectively, p=0.192), percentage of ALT normalization [100% (16/16) vs. 78.9% (15/19), respectively, p=0.109], HBV DNA<103 copies/mL [100% (16/16) vs. 89.5% (17/19), respectively, p=0.489], and HBV DNA <300 copies/mL [100% (16/16) vs. 84.2% (16/19), respectively, p=0.234] were similar. No ETV- or ADV-associated mutations were observed, and both agents were well tolerated. Conclusions: ETV and ADV are effective therapies for CHB. In HBeAg-positive patients, the efficacy of ETV is significantly superior to that of ADV, and in HBeAg-negative patients, the agents effect similar biochemical and virological responses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]