Search

Background: Evidence suggests that functional training (FT) positively impacts physical fitness and sports performance. However, a systematic review addressing the effects of FT on basketball players remains absent. This systematic review aims to explore the influence of FT on physical fitness and skill-related performance in basketball players. Methods: We searched six databases: Web of Science, Scopus, PubMed, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), EBSCOhost, and Google Scholar. The search utilized a combination of keywords related to FT, physical fitness, and basketball. The Eligibility Criteria of Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA 2020) guidelines were followed in this systematic review. Results: 11 studies were ultimately included in this review, collectively recruiting 333 basketball players. These studies demonstrated that FT significantly improved muscle strength, linear speed, cardiovascular endurance, flexibility, balance, and muscular endurance. However, the effects of FT on power, change-of-direction speed, and basketball-related performance were inconsistent. Most studies showed FT significantly improves these three variables, but a small number of studies did not find positive effects of FT using specific tests including standing long jump, Sargent jump, touch high, lane agility, lateral shuffle, dribbling line drill, and free-throw tests. Conclusion: FT is an effective training method for enhancing physical fitness including muscle strength, linear speed, cardiovascular endurance, flexibility, balance, and muscular endurance. However, the effects of FT on power, change-of-direction speed, and basketball-related performance were divergent. Some tests were not improved after FT potentially due to the short program lengths and training session durations, varied athletic levels of players examined, and different foci of the FT exercises administered. The collective evidence suggests FT programs, especially the specific exercises prescribed, should be tailored to the desired training objectives. More studies investigating the effects of FT on physical fitness and basketball-related performance with established tests are encouraged in the future to expand the current evidence base. Systematic Review Registration: https://inplasy.com/, Identifier INPLASY202360072. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: As a primary form of work-related violence in the healthcare sector, patient mistreatment negatively impacts nurses' well-being. To date, there has yet reached a definitive conclusion on the mediating mechanism and boundary conditions behind the influence of patient mistreatment on nurses' emotional exhaustion. Methods: This study employed a convenience sampling method to recruit a sample of 1672 nurses from public hospitals in Western China. The data were collected through anonymous self-report questionnaires and analyzed using hierarchical regression and conditional processes to investigate a theoretical framework encompassing patient mistreatment, emotional exhaustion, social sharing of negative events, organizational support, and trait resilience. Results: Patient mistreatment led to emotional exhaustion among nurses (β = 0.625, p <.001), and social sharing of negative events mediated this positive relationship (effect = 0.073, SE = 0.013). The combined effects of organizational support and resilience moderated the mediating effect of the social sharing of negative events between patient mistreatment and emotional exhaustion (β=-0.051, p <.05). Specifically, nurses with a high level of resilience would benefit from organizational support to alleviate emotional exhaustion caused by patient mistreatment. Conclusions: This study validated a significant positive association between patient mistreatment and emotional exhaustion, which aligns with previous research findings. Integrating conservation of resources theory and goal progress theory, we addressed previous contradictory findings on the impact of social sharing of negative events on emotional exhaustion. Social sharing of negative events served as a mediator between patient mistreatment and emotional exhaustion. Additionally, the moderating effect of organizational support on the relationship between social sharing of negative events and emotional exhaustion depended on individual trait of resilience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The COVID-19 pandemic has altered the infection dynamics of numerous pathogens. This study aimed to elucidate its impact on Streptococcus pneumoniae (S. pneumoniae) infections in children with community acquired pneumonia (CAP)., Methods: A retrospective analysis was conducted in pediatric CAP patients admitted before (2018-2019) and during (2020-2022) the COVID-19 pandemic. The epidemiology and antimicrobial resistance (AMR) patterns of S. pneumoniae were compared to reveal the impact of the pandemic., Results: A total of 968 S. pneumoniae-associated pediatric CAP patients were enrolled. Although the positivity rate and gender of patients were stable across both periods, the age notably increased in 2021 and 2022. Additionally, significant changes were observed in the co-infections with several pathogens and the resistance rates to certain antibiotics during the COVID-19 pandemic. The resistance rate to clindamycin and quinupristin-dalfopristin increased, whereas the resistance rate to tetracycline, trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, telithromycin, and proportion of multi-drug resistant isolates decreased. The number of S. pneumoniae strains and resistant isolates exhibited similar seasonal patterns in 2018 and 2019, peaking in November or December with another minor peak in March or April. During the COVID-19 pandemic, there was a sharp decrease in February 2020 and no resurgence was observed at the end of 2022. Additionally, the minor peak was absent in 2020 and shifted to other months in 2021 and 2022., Conclusions: The COVID-19 pandemic has markedly altered the infection spectrum of S. pneumoniae in pediatric CAP patients, as evidenced by shifts in the age of patients, respiratory co-infections, AMR patterns, and seasonal trends., Competing Interests: Declarations. Ethics approval: The study protocol was approved by the ethics committee of the Yongchuan Hospital of Chongqing Medical University (No. 2023-KeLunShen-76). Consent to participate: As a retrospective study, the need for informed consent was waived. Consent for publication: As a retrospective study, the need for informed consent was waived. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests., (© 2024. Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

Background: Streptococcus pneumoniae is a common pathogen that colonizes the human upper respiratory tract, causing high morbidity and mortality worldwide. This study aimed to investigate the prevalence status of S. pneumoniae isolated from patients of all ages in Southwest China, including serotype, antibiotic susceptibility and other molecular characteristics, to provide a basis for clinical antibiotic usage and vaccine development. Methods: This study was conducted from January 2018 to March 2022 at West China Hospital, West China Second University Hospital, First People's Hospital of Longquanyi District (West China Longquan Hospital), Meishan Women and Children's Hospital (Alliance Hospital of West China Second University Hospital) and Chengdu Jinjiang Hospital for Women and Children Health. Demographic and clinical characteristics of 263 pneumococcal disease (PD) all-age patients were collected and analyzed. The serotypes, sequence types (STs), and antibiotic resistance of the strains were determined by next-generation sequencing, sequence analysis and the microdilution broth method. Results: The most common pneumococcal serotypes were 19F (17.87%), 19A (11.41%), 3 (8.75%), 23F (6.46%) and 6A (5.70%). Coverage rates for PCV10, PCV13, PCV15, PCV20 and PCV24 were 36.12, 61.98, 61.98, 63.12 and 64.26%, respectively. Prevalent STs were ST271 (12.55%), ST320 (11.79%), ST90 (4.18%), ST876 (4.18%) and ST11972 (3.42%). Penicillin-resistant S. pneumoniae (PRSP) accounted for 82.35 and 1.22% of meningitis and nonmeningitis PD cases, respectively. Resistance genes msrD (32.7%), mefA (32.7%), ermB (95.8%), tetM (97.3%) and catTC (7.6%) were found among 263 isolates. Most isolates showed high resistance to erythromycin (96.96%) and tetracycline (79.85%), with more than half being resistant to SXT (58.94%). A few isolates were resistant to AMX (9.89%), CTX (11.03%), MEN (9.13%), OFX (1.14%), LVX (1.14%) and MXF (0.38%). All isolates were susceptible to vancomycin and linezolid. Conclusion: Our study provides reliable information, including the prevalence, molecular characterization and antimicrobial resistance of S. pneumoniae isolates causing pneumococcal diseases in Southwest China. The findings contribute to informed and clinical policy decisions for prevention and treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Four new γ-lactam alkaloids, suberitolactams A-D (1-4), two new pyridine alkaloids, suberitopyridines A-B (7-8), and two known compounds (5-6) were isolated from the South China Sea sponge Pseudospongosorites suberitoides. The structures were elucidated by detailed 1D and 2D NMR experiments along with HRESIMS analysis and single crystal X-ray diffraction. Compounds 1 and 8 showed moderate to weak antiviral activity against H1 N1 virus with IC 50 values of 27.6 and 13.3 μM, respectively., (© 2024 Wiley-VHCA AG, Zurich, Switzerland.)

Holding large conferences and events usually encourages the corresponding government to upgrade the host city. For this process, incorporating additional costs to increase accessibility for the elderly is a feasible means for a city to develop in an age-friendly manner. Providing evidence-based reports to policy makers is conducive to implementing the policies of age-friendly cities. This study used the scenario method to simulate the effect of promoting the "age-friendly cities" strategy on residents' psychological capital and social engagement (SE). We found that promoting the construction of age-friendly cities can significantly improve residents' psychological capital and SE and that residents from all age groups can benefit. This paper provides an economical means to influence policymakers through evidence-based reports in promoting the development of age-friendly cities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As one of the important policy measures to promote water conservation and efficient utilization, the evaluation of water resources tax reform policy regarding its water saving and economic impact (WSEI) is a fundamental prerequisite for policy implementation. In this study, multiple types of water production modules, including surface water, groundwater, and unconventional water, were integrated into a CGE model. Hebei Province, the first pilot area in China, was used as a case study. Through a "with–without" comparative analysis scenario, three water resources tax policy simulations were designed to address the three key issues, and the results showed that the implementation of water resources tax policy would have a certain negative impact on industry economic output in the short term, but it could effectively suppress the use of conventional water and promote the utilization of unconventional water, which is beneficial for long-term water resource conservation and sustainability. The imposition of higher differential tax rates on high water-consuming industries is more effective in further promoting the use of unconventional water and reducing the use of conventional water to achieve water conservation targets. Moreover, providing tax refunds as subsidies to water-using industries could alleviate the economic impact of water resources tax and promote water conservation. From the perspectives of water quantity, water use efficiency, and economic impact, the optimal policy scenario (S3) was selected, involving implementing differential water resources tax rates of 23% for high water-consuming industries and 18% for general water-consuming industries, coupled with tax refunds and subsidies for sectors. Based on this, corresponding recommendations in terms of differential tax rate setting, tax utilization, government regulation, and agricultural water resources tax collection were provided. These findings can offer a scientific reference for the formulation and implementation of water resources tax policies in other regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The eastern Guizhou Pb–Zn metallogenic belt (EGMB) is an important source of Pb–Zn resources and other critical minerals (including dispersed metals, such as Ge, Cd and Ga) in China. In order to ensure the continuous resource supply of Pb–Zn and associated dispersed metals, it is urgent to explore the direction of further prospecting for them. Fractal theory can realize the fractal structure characterization of fault structures and the spatial distribution of mineral deposits, which is helpful for mineral exploration. However, the fault fractal research and prospecting application are still seldom covered in the EGMB. We used fractal theory to determine fine-scale fractal structure characteristics of fault structures and ore deposits in the EGMB, and Fry analysis to delineate favorable metallogenic areas. The results show that within a scale range of 3.670–58.716 km, the integrated faults capacity dimension (CPD) is 1.5095, the information dimension (IND) is 1.5391, and the correlation dimension (CRD) is 1.5436, indicating fault structures with high maturity, which are conducive to the migration and accumulation of ore-forming fluids. The multi-fractal spectrum width and height are 0.3203 and 1.5355, respectively, implying a significant metallogenic potential. The spatial distribution fractal dimensions (SDD) of Pb–Zn specifically and metal deposits in general are 1.0193 and 1.0709, respectively; the quantity distribution fractal dimensions (QDD) are 1.4225 and 1.4716, respectively, and the density distribution fractal dimensions (DDD) are 1.422 and 1.472, respectively, indicating strong clustering. Hence, the favorable metallogenic regions can be divided into four grades, among which grade I region is continuously distributed in space and has the greatest prospecting potential. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Xyloglucan endotransglucosylase/hydrolase (XTH), belonging to glycoside hydrolase family 16, is one of the key enzymes in plant cell wall remodeling. Schima superba is an important timber and fireproof tree species in southern China. However, little is known about XTHs in S. superba. In the present study, a total of 34 SsuXTHs were obtained, which were classified into three subfamilies based on the phylogenetic relationship and unevenly distributed on 18 chromosomes. Furthermore, the intron–exon structure and conserved motif composition of them supported the classification and the members belonging to the same subfamily shared similar gene structures. Segmental and tandem duplication events did not lead to SsuXTH gene family expansion, and strong purifying selection pressures during evolution led to similar structure and function of SsuXTH gene family. The interaction network and cis -acting regulatory elements analysis revealed the SsuXTH expression might be regulated by multiple hormones, abiotic stresses and transcription factors. Finally, expression profiles and GO enrichment analysis showed most of the tandem repeat genes were mainly expressed in the phloem and xylem and they mainly participated in glycoside metabolic processes through the transfer and hydrolysis of xyloglucan in the cell wall and then regulated fiber elongation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Freshwater quality criteria of 2,4,6-trichlorophenol (2,4,6-TCP) were developed with particular reference to the aquatic biota in China, and based on USEPA’s guidelines. Acute toxicity tests were performed on nine different domestic species indigenous to China to determine 48 h LC50 and 96 h LC50 values for 2,4,6-TCP. In addition, 21 d survival–reproduction test with Daphnia magna, 30 d embryo-larval test with Carassius auratus, 60 d fry-juvenile test with Ctenopharyngodon idellus, 30 d early life stage test with Bufo bufo gargarizans and 96 h growth inhibition test with Scenedesmus obliqaus were also conducted to estimate lower chronic limit and upper chronic limit values. The final acute value (FAV) was 2.01 mg/l 2,4,6-TCP. Acute-to-chronic ratios ranged from 5.01 to 12.2. The final chronic value (FCV) and the final plant value (FPV) of 2,4,6-TCP were 0.226 and 2.24 mg/l respectively. Based on FAV, FCV and FPV for 2,4,6-TCP, a criteria maximum concentration of 1.01 mg/l and a criterion continuous concentration of 0.226 mg/l were derived. The results of this study provide useful data for deriving national or local water quality criteria for 2,4,6-TCP based on aquatic biota in China. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Objective: To evaluate the clinical effectiveness of orthogeriatric co-management care in long-lived elderly hip fracture patients (age ≥ 90)., Methods: Secondary analysis was conducted in long-lived hip fracture patients between 2018 to 2019 in 6 hospitals in Beijing, China. Patients were divided into the orthogeriatric co-management group (CM group) and traditional consultation mode group (TC group) depending on the management mode. With 30-day mortality as the primary outcome, multivariate regression analyses were performed after adjusting for potential covariates. 30-day mobility and quality of life were compared between groups., Results: A total of 233 patients were included, 223 of whom completed follow-up (125 in CM group, 98 in TC group). The average age was 92.4 ± 2.5 years old (range 90-102). The 30-day mortality in CM group was significantly lower than that in TC group after adjustments for (2.4% vs. 10.2%; OR = 0.231; 95% CI 0.059 ~ 0.896; P = 0.034). The proportion of patients undergoing surgery and surgery performed within 48 h also favored the CM group (97.6% vs. 85.7%, P = 0.002; 74.4% vs. 24.5%, P < 0.001; respectively). In addition, much more patients in CM group could walk with or without aids in postoperative 30 days than in the TC group (87.7% vs. 60.2%, P < 0.05), although differences were not found after 1-year follow-up. And there was no significant difference in total cost between the two groups (P > 0.05)., Conclusions: For long-lived elderly hip fracture patients, orthogeriatric co-management care lowered early mortality, improved early mobility and compared with the traditional consultation mode., (© 2023. BioMed Central Ltd., part of Springer Nature.)

Aim: This study was designed to assess the clinical applicability of the Postpartum Depression Predictors Inventory-Revised (PDPI-R) during the 1st month following delivery among women in China and to survey the prevalence of postpartum depression (PPD)-related risk factors included in the PDPI-R in this population. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study which recruited 447 women from the People's Liberation Army Hospital in Hefei of Anhui province. All participants completed the Chinese version of the PDPI-R (PDPI-R-C) and the Chinese version of the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (C-EPDS) within 1 month of delivery. The predictive ability of the PDPI-R was then evaluated through receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analyses. Results: The PDPI-R-C was able to accurately predict 73.2% of PPD cases (area under the ROC curve = 0.732; 95% CI 0.69-0.78) using a cut-off score of 5.5, as defined by a C-EPDS score of ≥10 (sensitivity = 62.8%; specificity = 73.5%; positive predictive value = 74.5%; negative predictive value = 61.5%). All 13 risk factors in the PDPI-R-C other than socioeconomic status and marital status were associated with the risk of PPD. Conclusions: The PDPI-R-C was found to be an effective and easy-toimplement tool that has promise as a means of screening for PPD in Chinese populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The emergence and quick spread of the COVID-19 pandemic has shifted the focus and dynamics of the debates about global health, international law, and policy. This shift has overshadowed many of the other controversies in the international sphere. It has also highlighted the tensions that often exist in international affairs--especially in understanding the place and purpose of international institutions, vis-à-vis states, in the general schema of public international law. Central to the international response to the current pandemic is the World Health Organization (WHO)--a treaty-based organization charged with the overarching mandate of ensuring "the highest possible level of health" for all peoples.1 Interestingly, the WHO has also become entangled in a foreign policy spat between China and the United States of America. This work explores the public international law aspects of the WHO and why we should focus on its primary policy mandate and avoid unduly heaving the institution into perennial strategic policy games of states. It argues against turning such an illustrious institution, charged with a peculiar mandate, into an arena of zero-sum competitions amongst states. The hope is that this paper will provide crucial insights and assist legal and policy experts in understanding the organization, insulating it from unnecessary strategic games of powerful states, and ensuring the continued and effective delivery of global health policy2 through the WHO. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nitrogen (N) is an essential plant nutrient, and plants can take up N from several sources, including via mycorrhizal fungal associations. The N uptake patterns of understory plants may vary beneath different types of overstory trees, especially through the difference in their type of mycorrhizal association (arbuscular mycorrhizal, AM; or ectomycorrhizal, ECM), because soil mycorrhizal community and N availability differ beneath AM (non-ECM) and ECM overstory trees (e.g., relatively low nitrate content beneath ECM overstory trees). To test this hypothesis, we examined six co-existing AM-symbiotic understory tree species common beneath both AM-symbiotic black locust (non-ECM) and ECM-symbiotic oak trees of dryland forests in China. We measured AM fungal community composition of roots and natural abundance stable isotopic composition of N (δ15N) in plant leaves, roots, and soils. The root mycorrhizal community composition of understory trees did not significantly differ between beneath non-ECM and ECM overstory trees, although some OTUs more frequently appeared beneath non-ECM trees. Understory trees beneath non-ECM overstory trees had similar δ15N values in leaves and soil nitrate, suggesting that they took up most of their nitrogen as nitrate. Beneath ECM overstory trees, understory trees had consistently lower leaf than root δ15N, suggesting they depended on mycorrhizal fungi for N acquisition since mycorrhizal fungi transfer isotopically light N to host plants. Additionally, leaf N concentrations in the understory trees were lower beneath ECM than the non-ECM overstory trees. Our results show that, without large differences in root mycorrhizal community, the N uptake patterns of understory trees vary between beneath different overstory trees. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and aims There is inconsistent evidence that behavioural support to promote smoking reduction is effective at increasing smoking cessation. We examined the effectiveness of brief physician advice together with four very brief telephone calls in promoting smoking cessation among Chinese men via reduction compared with equivalent advice on diet and exercise. Design A two-group pragmatic randomized controlled trial. Participants and Setting Male patients attending the Endocrinology and Acupuncture out-patient clinics of a general hospital in Beijing, China. Intervention and comparators Physicians advised participants allocated to the smoking-reduction intervention (SRI, n = 181) group to reduce smoking to at least half of their current consumption within 1 month at baseline. At follow-up, a telephone counsellor repeated this advice if the participant had not reduced their cigarette consumption. Participants who had reduced consumption were encouraged to quit smoking. Physicians gave participants in the exercise and diet advice (EDA, n = 188) control group brief advice about physical activity and healthy diet at baseline, and a telephone counsellor reinforced this at each follow-up interview. Both groups had one face-to-face interview at baseline plus five telephone interviews and interventions (approximately 1 minute each) at 1 week and 1-, 3-, 6- and 12-month follow-up. Measurements The primary outcome was self-reported 6-month prolonged abstinence rate at 12-month follow-up interview. Findings By intention-to-treat, the self-reported 6-month prolonged abstinence rate at 12-month follow-up in the SRI groups (19 quitters, 15.7%) was higher, but not significantly, than the EDA control group (10 quitters, 7.8%), and the adjusted odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) was 2.26 (0.97-5.26), P = 0.062. The self-reported 7-day point prevalence quit rate (secondary outcome) in the SRI group was significantly higher than the control group at each follow-up interview (at 12-month follow-up: 13.3 versus 6.9%, OR (95% CI) = 2.09 (1.01, 4.34), P = 0.049). Conclusions A very brief, proactive and low-cost smoking-reduction intervention without medications for Chinese male smokers with no intention to quit appears to increase smoking abstinence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The site known as Yinxu (present-day Anyang, Henan, China) is believed to be the last capital of China's first historical dynasty, Shang (ca. 1600-1046 BC). We use stable carbon and nitrogen isotope analysis of human bone collagen to reconstruct the dietary practices of 59 humans from the site Xin'anzhuang (XAZ), a residential neighborhood in Yinxu. By comparing the reconstructed diets with other archaeological and mortuary evidence, the study reveals that the XAZ inhabitants had a varied diet and that their dietary patterns correlate with certain mortuary practices (e.g., burial orientation, burial goods, etc.). This complex internal social stratification suggests that XAZ consisted of an agglomeration of people of different socio-cultural affiliations, confirming the hypothesis that Yinxu was a vibrant and diverse cultural center in early Bronze Age China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Globalization is the major confronting challenge of higher education worldwide. And internationalization has become a response of higher education to meet the demands and challenges of globalization. In the recent decades, Chinese government has developed different policies to steer education reforms in order to achieve the aim of internationalization. The internationalizing process has produced contradictory changes in academic workplaces. This study explores how globalizing processes affect academic work and academics’ workplace learning in China. It reports on a series of policy changes, and the effects of these policies on the workplace learning of academics. The changing policies positively affect academics by bringing rich information and resources to their workplaces. But at the same time, academic work is becoming increasingly restrictive and controlled. The self-interests of the academics are reconstituted in terms of the interests of government and university, producing tension in academics’ workplaces. Moreover, the conflicts among different policies cause confusion. We argue that the changing policies in relation to the internationalization of higher education have affected academics in both positive and negative ways. Therefore, there is a call for policy-makers to adjust the existing policies in order to create a better policy environment for academics. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Environmental assessments are often performed for industries due to a lot of issues produced in the processes. However, few studies are reported for environmental assessment of Chinese liquor production. A lot of material consumptions in Chinese liquor industries often bring about serious environmental pollution. Thus, Chinese strong aromatic liquor (CSAL) is taken as a representative for the environmental issues assessment of Chinese liquor industry in view of cleaner production (CP). The assessment is performed for the brewing system of CSAL including three main phases: crude liquor brewing, crude liquor blending, and steam production, which addresses resource and energy consumptions and environmental impacts. The results indicate that, according to the standards of Ministry of Environmental Protection of China, the consumptions of materials and energy are acceptable while the water consumption is higher than the requirement. Moreover, the discharge of chemical oxygen demand (COD) in the brewing phase is above the standard requirement and contributes much to eutrophication. The total environmental impacts in the blending phase are less than those in the brewing and steam production phases. In detail, in the brewing phase, high concentration of volatile organic compounds in the wastewater results in the odor threshold values and photochemical ozone creation. In the blending phase, the main environmental impact is eutrophication owing to the wastewater. In the steam production phase, the most and least significant impacts are global warming and soot emission, respectively, wherein waste gas emission is dominated. Cost analysis reveals that when the water consumption and COD discharge meet the requirements according to the CP option, there are plenty of economic and environmental benefits for the CSAL industry. The results confirm that the reform strategies for the Chinese liquor enterprise should be performed to decrease the water consumption, promote the utilization efficiency of water, improve recycle and reuse of by-products, reduce the pollutant discharge, and enhance waste treatment efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

American (i.e., Western) thinking favors the analytic style, focusing on the focal object and internal attributes; Chinese (i.e., Eastern) thinking favors the holistic style, paying attention to the context and whole system. This research investigates whether such holistic and analytic thinking styles affect attitudes towards holistic ads which contain many types of information (availability, price, company, etc.) and attribute ads which contain only one type of information (product feature). The first study showed that (i) American consumers prefer attribute ads more than Chinese consumers do; (ii) both American and Chinese consumers prefer holistic ads more than attribute ads; and both prefer the holistic ads equally well. The second study showed that the impact of cultural differences in thinking styles on ad attitudes were not influenced by thinking speed - whether the thinking was fast and automatic or whether the thinking was slow and effortful. The stable and verifiable managerial implication is that ad content in the East and West, in the US and China must include more, diverse information. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article examines whether the Chinese congressional Eighth Amendment to criminal law for encompassing bribery of foreign government officials or of international public organisations as per the UN Convention against Corruption is justified. Some commentators project the Amendment equivalent to the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). It concludes that the Amendment does not address the mandates of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development's Anti-Bribery Convention.

Background: According to Office International Des Epizooties (OIE) Bulletin, the PanAsia strain of Foot-and-Mouth Disease Virus (FMDV) was invaded into the People's Republic of China in May 1999. It was confirmed that the outbreaks occurred in Tibet, Hainan and Fujian provinces. In total, 1280 susceptible animals (68 cattle, 1212 swine) were destroyed for the epidemic control. To investigate the distinct biological properties, we performed plaque assay, estimated the pathogenicity in suckling mice and determined the complete genomic sequence of FMDV swine-isolated O/Fujian/CHA/5/99 strain. In addition, a molecular modeling was carried out with the external capsid proteins. Results: The pathogenicity study showed that O/Fujian/CHA/5/99 had high virulence with respect to infection in 3-day-old suckling-mice (LD50 = 10-8.3), compared to O/Tibet/CHA/1/99 (LD50 = 10-7.0) which isolated from bovine. The plaque assay was distinguishable between O/Fujian/CHA/5/99 and O/Tibet/CHA/1/99 by their plaque phenotypes. O/Fujian/CHA/5/99 formed large plaque while O/Tibet/CHA/1/99 formed small plaque. The 8,172 nucleotides (nt) of O/Fujian/CHA/5/99 was sequenced, and a phylogenetic tree was generated from the complete nucleotide sequences of VP1 compared with other FMDV reference strains. The identity data showed that O/Fujian/CHA/5/99 is closely related to O/AS/SKR/2002 (94.1% similarity). Based on multiple sequence alignments, comparison of sequences showed that the characteristic nucleotide/amino acid mutations were found in the whole genome of O/Fujian/CHA/5/99. Conclusion: Our finding suggested that C275T substitution in IRES of O/Fujian/CHA/5/99 may induce the stability of domain 3 for the whole element function. The structure prediction indicated that most of 14 amino acid substitutions are fixed in the capsid of O/Fujian/CHA/5/99 around B-C loop and E-F loop of VP2 (antigenic site 2), and G-H loop of VP1 (antigenic site 1), respectively. These results implicated that these substitutions close to heparin binding sites (E136G in VP2, A174 S in VP3) and at antigenic site 1 (T142A, A152T and Q153P in VP1) may influence plaque size and the pathogenicity to suckling mice. The potential of genetic characterization would be useful for microevolution and viral pathogenesis of FMDV in the further study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Seagrass meadows play critical roles in supporting a high level of biodiversity but are continuously threatened by human activities, such as sea reclamation. In this study, we reported on a large seagrass (Zostera marina L.) meadow in Caofeidian shoal harbor in the Bohai Sea of northern China. We evaluated the environmental impact of sea reclamation activities using Landsat imagery (1974–2019) by mapping seagrass meadow distribution changes. ISODATA was adopted for the unsupervised classification and mapping of seagrass beds. The error matrix developed using the in situ data obtained from acoustic surveys for Landsat 8OLI image classification was 87.20% accurate. The maps showed rapidly increasing changes in seagrass meadows as the amount of reclaimed land increased. Some seagrass meadows experienced large-scale changes, and sea reclamation has been suggested as the main factor responsible for habitat loss, which results from physical damage, excessive sedimentation, and increased turbidity caused by reclamation. In addition, habitat degradation may have resulted from three storm surges induced by typhoons in 1992–1998. Fortunately, land reclamation, forming an artificial "longshore bar", buffers seagrass meadows from wave actions, providing relatively sheltered conditions, which has allowed a large habitat increase since 2012. These were the largest eelgrass meadows (3,217.32 ha), with a peripheral area of ~100 km2, in the Bohai Sea of northern China in 2019. However, the existing largest eelgrass beds in China are threatened by trawling, clam harvesting (especially clam sucking), channel dredging, and culture pond construction. Our work will help coastal managers monitor the environmental impacts of reclamation activities on seagrass meadows on a large spatio-temporal scale and will also provide information for seagrass restoration using artificial "longshore bars". [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]