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Summary Elm samples with and without witches'-broom symptoms (EWB) were collected from Tai'an and Zhaoyuan, Shandong Province, China. Phytoplasmal cells were observed in the phloem cells of symptomatic plants under electron microscope. Specific fragments of about 1.2 kb in length were amplified with nested-PCR from symptomatic samples, while no fragment was obtained from healthy plants. The 16S rRNA gene sequences of the phytoplasmas associated with elm witches'-broom in Tai'an (EWB-TA) and Zhaoyuan (EWB-ZHY) had high similarities, and formed a sublineage in phylogenetic tree, with members of subgroup B or D of aster yellows group (16SrI). Computer simulated restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis of 16S rRNA gene revealed that EWB-TA and EWB-ZHY patterns had similarity coefficients of 1.00 with the pattern from the representative strains of subgroup 16SrI-B, and had a similarity coefficient of lower than 0.97 with representatives of other subgroups. These results indicated that the phytoplasma strain associated with elm witches'-broom in China was very closely related to ' Candidatus Phytoplasma asteris' OAY, belonging to subgroup-B of aster yellows group (16SrI-B). This is the first report of a phytoplasma associated with elm witches'-broom disease in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To describe the investigation and management of patients admitted to hospitals in China with suspected acute coronary syndromes (ACS) and to identify potential areas for improvement in practice. Design: A multicentre prospective survey of socio-demographic characteristics, medical history, clinical features, in-hospital investigations, treatment practices and major events among patients with suspected ACS. Setting: Large urban public hospitals. Patients: Consecutive patients admitted to in-patient facilities with a diagnosis of suspected acute myocardial infarction (Ml) or unstable angina pectoris. Main outcome measures: Myocardial infarction/re- infarction, heart failure, death. Results: Between September 2004 and May 2005, data were collected prospectively from 2973 patients admitted to 51 hospitals in 18 provinces of China. An initial diagnosis of ST elevation Ml, non-ST elevation Ml and unstable angina was made in 43%, 11% and 46% of patients, respectively. Diagnosis was inconsistent with objective measures in up to 20% of cases. At both tertiary and non-tertiary centres, there was little evidence that clinical risk stratification was used to determine the intensity of investigation and management. The mortality rate during hospitalisation was 5% overall and similar in tertiary and non-tertiary centres, but reported in-hospital re-infarction rates (8%) and heart failure rates (16%) were substantially higher at non-tertiary centres. Conclusion: This study has identified a number of areas in the management of ACS patients, including diagnosis and risk stratification, which deviate from current guide- lines. These findings will help inform the introduction of widely used quality improvement initiatives such as clinical pathways. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2005, rose plants ( Rosa rugosa cv. ‘Plena’) exhibiting typical phytoplasma disease symptoms of stunting, yellowing, witches’-broom and dieback were observed in Pingyin, Shandong Province, China. The disease, rose witches’-broom (RoWB), is progressively destructive and can be graft-transmitted. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR), sequencing of PCR products and electron microscopy were used to investigate the possible association of phytoplasma with RoWB. All results indicated that presence of phytoplasma in the symptomatic rose plants. Sequence alignment of 16S rRNA gene, tuf gene and rp gene confirmed that the phytoplasma associated with RoWB is the causal agent of Paulownia witches’-broom disease, which might be transmitted from the paulownia tree that is several meters away. To our knowledge, this is the first report of the molecular characterization of phytoplasma infecting rose in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction The aim of this study was to investigate the reference interval of protein-induced vitamin K absence or antagonist- II ( PIVKA- II) in China population and to evaluate its medical decision level for hepatocellular carcinoma ( HCC) diagnosis. Methods To determine the reference range for Chinese individuals, a total of 855 healthy subjects in five typical regions of China were enrolled in this study to obtain a 95% reference interval. In a case-control study which recruited the subjects diagnosed with HCC, metastatic liver cancer, bile duct cancer, hepatitis, cirrhosis, other benign liver diseases and the subjects administrated anticoagulant, receiver operating characteristic analysis was used to determine PIVKA- II cutoff value for a medical decision. Results The concentration of PIVKA- II had no relationship with age or gender and that region was a significant factor associated with the level of PIVKA- II. The 95% reference interval determined in this study for PIVKA- II in Chinese healthy individuals was 28 mAU/mL, and the cutoff value which to distinguish patients with HCC from disease control groups is 36.5 mAU/mL. Conclusion In clinical applications, it is recommended that each laboratory chooses their own reference interval based on the regional population study or cutoff value for disease diagnosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate dictates wildfire activity around the world. But East and Southeast Asia are an apparent exception as fire-activity variation there is unrelated to climatic variables. In subtropical China, fire activity decreased by 80% between 2003 and 2020 amid increased fire risks globally. Here, we assessed the fire regime, vegetation structure, fuel flammability and their interactions across subtropical Hubei, China. We show that tree basal area (TBA) and fuel flammability explained 60% of fire-frequency variance. Fire frequency and fuel flammability, in turn, explained 90% of TBA variance. These results reveal a novel system of scrubland–forest stabilized by vegetation–fire feedbacks. Frequent fires promote the persistence of derelict scrubland through positive vegetation–fire feedbacks; in forest, vegetation–fire feedbacks are negative and suppress fire. Thus, we attribute the decrease in wildfire activity to reforestation programs that concurrently increase forest coverage and foster negative vegetation–fire feedbacks that suppress wildfire. Vegetation-fire feedbacks in Subtropical China. [Display omitted] • A novel system of scrubland–forest stabilized by vegetation–fire feedbacks. • The feedbacks are positive and promote frequent fire in scrubland. • The feedbacks are negative and suppress fire in forest. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study determined the tuf gene sequence of the phytoplasma specific to paulownia witches’-broom from Nanyang, China (hereby designated PaWB-Ny). The PaWB-Ny tuf gene was 1185 nucleotides in length and confirmed that the phytoplasma belongs to subgroup 16SrI-D of aster yellows. Three characteristic GTP-binding protein motifs were identified based on the peptide deduced from the tuf gene sequence. Results suggested that the elongation factor EF-Tu was localized in the cytoplasm and lacked hydrophobic transmembrane domains. Antibodies against PaWB-Ny EF-Tu were prepared by rabbit immunization with glutathione-S-transferase (GST)-tagged EF-Tu fusion protein expressed in Escherichia coli. EF-Tu exhibited a molecular weight of ∼43 kDa and was detected in PaWB-infected paulownia plants by western blot analysis. Indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA) and dot blotting analyses were performed with freezing and thawing treatments during antigen preparation. Dilution of extracts to an appropriate scale significantly reduced non-specific reactions. The resultant PaWB EF-Tu antibody reacted with antigens from plants infected with periwinkle virescence and chinaberry tree witches’-broom phytoplasmas, but not those infected with jujube witches’-broom or bishopwood witches’-broom phytoplasma. The EF-Tu was characteristically localized within the phytoplasmal cytoplasm of infected plant phloem tissues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: Sustainable agriculture requires effective and safe biofertilizers and biofungicides with low environmental impact. Natural ecosystems that closely resemble the conditions of biosaline agriculture may present a reservoir for fungal strains that can be used as novel bioeffectors. Methods and Results: We isolated a library of fungi from the rhizosphere of three natural halotolerant plants grown in the emerging tidal salt marshes on the south‐east coast of China. DNA barcoding of 116 isolates based on the rRNA ITS1 and 2 and other markers (tef1 or rpb2) revealed 38 fungal species, including plant pathogenic (41%), saprotrophic (24%) and mycoparasitic (28%) taxa. The mycoparasitic fungi were mainly species from the hypocrealean genus Trichoderma, including at least four novel phylotypes. Two of them, representing the taxa Trichoderma arenarium sp. nov. (described here) and T. asperelloides, showed antagonistic activity against five phytopathogenic fungi, and significant growth promotion on tomato seedlings under the conditions of saline agriculture. Conclusions: Trichoderma spp. of salt marshes play the role of natural biological control in young soil ecosystems with a putatively premature microbiome. Significance and Impact of the Study: The saline soil microbiome is a rich source of halotolerant bioeffectors that can be used in biosaline agriculture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

SUMMARY: Objective: To evaluate the development of blood transfusion services in Mainland China within the context of health‐care system reform. Background: China launched a health‐care reform program in 2009 to redistribute health‐care resources, which are currently over‐concentrated in well‐developed cities. A geographically equitable blood transfusion service is key to achieving this goal. Methods: Based on the national survey of blood establishments in July 2015, total blood collection, whole‐blood donations per 1000 population and the supply and demand relationship were analysed at the administrative region level. Areas at different developmental levels were compared in terms of total blood collection and human resources. Results: In 2014, Mainland China's 31 provinces showed wide variation, with total blood collection in blood facilities ranging from about 1000 units to over 600 000 units (each 200 mL), and the whole‐blood donation rate per 1000 population, ranging from 1·48 to 17·09. 69% of the country's total collection, was concentrated in 29 provincial capitals, and 31% was in 311 non‐capital cities. Of 97 personnel with doctorates, 74 worked in 32 provincial blood establishments, whereas the remaining 23 worked at the other 318 blood stations. In most provinces, per permanent resident donation was within 2–4 mL, and blood volume per inpatient was 10–35 mL regardless of the development of the transfusion service. Conclusion: In 2014, China had an imbalanced development and insufficient access to blood transfusion services. This service must be redeployed at the national level to facilitate health‐care reform in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a study on phytoplasma disease of R. xanthina and the association of 16SrI-D phytoplasma with witches' broom in R. xanthina in China.