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This study aimed to develop and evaluate a new parent-report measure to assess primary schoolchildren's academic behaviors in the home context. We developed the Academic Behavior Scale (ABS) and administered it to Chinese parents of primary schoolers along with other measures. Six hundred and forty-five parents and 170 primary schoolchildren in Grades 4-6 were recruited from a public primary school and completed a set of questionnaires. After that, the psychometric properties of the ABS including factorial validity, convergent and concurrent validity, as well as internal consistency were evaluated using confirmatory factor analysis and correlation analysis in Mplus v.8.3. The results confirmed a two-factor structure for the scale, with satisfactory convergent and concurrent validity and internal consistency. This study provides preliminary evidence for the satisfactory psychometric properties of the ABS among Chinese parents.

Background: Surgery is the primary treatment for benign breast disease and causes some disruption to the normal physiology of the breast, even when this disruption is localised, it remains unclear whether it affects women's ability to breastfeed. There are only a few studies describing the experience of breastfeeding in women who have undergone benign breast disease (BBD) surgery. Methods: We retrospectively analysed data from patients aged 20–40 years in Guangdong, China, who underwent breast lumpectomy for BBD in our department between 01 January 2013 and 30 June 2019, with a follow-up date of 01 February 2022. Patients were included who had a history of childbirth between the time of surgery and the follow-up date. By collecting general information about this group of patients and information about breastfeeding after surgery, we described the breastfeeding outcomes of women of a fertile age who had previously undergone surgery for benign breast disease. Results: With a median follow-up of 5.9 years, a total of 333 patients met the inclusion criteria. From the breastfeeding data of the first child born postoperatively, the mean duration of 'exclusive breastfeeding' was 5.1 months, and the mean duration of 'any breastfeeding' was 8.8 months. The rate of 'ever breastfeeding' is 91.0%, which is lower than the national average of 93.7%, while the exclusive breastfeeding rate at six months was 40.8%, was higher than the 29.2% national average. The any breastfeeding rate at 12 months was 30.0%, which was well below the 66.5% national average. The common reason for early breastfeeding cessation was insufficient breast milk. A total of 29.0% of patients who had ever breastfed after surgery voluntarily reduced the frequency and duration of breastfeeding on the operated breast because of the surgery. Conclusions: There are some impacts of BBD surgery on breastfeeding and some may be psychological. Institutions should provide more facilities for mothers who have undergone breast surgery to help them breastfeed, such as conducting community education on breastfeeding after breast surgery, training professional postoperative lactation consultants in hospitals, and extending maternity leave. Families should encourage mothers to breastfeed with both breasts instead of only the non-operated breast. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this paper is to explore whether the implementation of carbon emissions trading policy (CETP) promotes carbon finance, proxied by investment and financing facilitating carbon emissions reduction (IFCER), and reduces carbon emissions. Evidence shows that first, CETP is effective in stimulating IFCER and reducing carbon emissions. Second, the effects of CETP persist over time. Third, the effects of CETP taking effect in pilot regions can spill over to non-pilot regions nearby. Fourth, the effect is more pronounced in eastern and wealthy regions. Finally, R&D and industrial upgrading have a mediating effect linking CETP to IFCER and carbon emissions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the main challenges of bottom ash reutilization is heavy metal and salts' leaching potential. The effect of wet treatment on chemical composition and leaching toxicity of bottom ash were investigated in this study to mitigate this leaching potential. Batch leaching and column leaching tests were first conducted to investigate the leaching behavior of the targeted elements (Cu, Zn, Ni, Cl−, and SO42−) from raw bottom ash and treated bottom ash after wet treatment. X-ray fluorescence analysis was used to analyze the chemical composition of bottom ash, and sequential extraction procedure (SEP) operation was done to analyze the chemical species of the heavy metals of bottom ash. The obtained results showed that the wet treatment applied on raw bottom ash posed a slight influence on the concentration of most of the major elements, 5.57–18.18%. SEP results showed the acid extractable Zn that accounted for 22.4–24.5% of the total Zn, and the iron manganese oxide bound Ni was 25.2–28.4%, and the organic matter bound Cu was 21.4–31.7%. The wet treatment reduced the concentrations and leachable amount of the targeted pollutants, which could decrease the leaching concentration of Cu by 77.1%, Zn by 34.7%, Ni by 100%, Cl by 30.1%, and SO42− by 51.4% based on the batch leaching tests under acid condition. The column leaching tests also suggest that wet treatment decreases Cu, Zn, and Cl− leaching concentration in bottom ash. This indicates that wet treatment improves the suitability of municipal solid waste incineration bottom ash for reutilization in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The tectonic history and time of closure of the Palaeo-Asian ocean of the Altaids are issues of lively current debate. To address these issues, this paper presents detailed geological, petrological and geochemical data of the Liuyuan complex (LC) in the Beishan region in NW China, located in the southernmost Altaids, in order to constrain its age, origin and tectonic setting. The LC mainly comprises massive basalts, pillow basalts, basaltic breccias, gabbros and ultramafic rocks together with cherts and tuffs. Most prominent are gabbros and large volumes of basaltic lavas. These mafic rocks have high TiO2 contents, flat rare earth element (REE) patterns and show high-field-strength elements (HFSEs) similar to those of mid-ocean ridge basalts (MORB). The mafic rocks exhibit positive εNd(t) (6.6–9.0) values, representing magmas derived from the mantle. But these basic rocks are also enriched in Th relative to REEs, and are systematically depleted in Nb–Ta–(Ti) relative to REEs. There is also a large range in initial 87Sr/86Sr (0.7037–0.7093). All these variables indicate that mantle-derived magma was contaminated by fluids and/or melts from a subducting lithospheric slab, and formed in a supra-subduction zone (SSZ) setting. A gabbro intruded in the complex was dated by LA-ICP-MS on 20 zircons that yielded a 206Pb–238U weighted average age of 286 ± 2 Ma. Considering the fact that all these basalts are imbricated against Permian tuffaceous sediments and limestone, we propose that the LC formed as an ophiolite in a fore-arc in Carboniferous–Permian time. This indicates that the Palaeo-Asian ocean still existed at 286 ± 2 Ma in early Permian time, and thus the time of closure of the Palaeo-Asian ocean was in or after the late Permian. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Abstract: The Beishan orogenic belt, which connects the Tianshan suture on the west and Solonker suture on the east, contains key evidence for the termination time of the southern Altaids. Critical for evaluating different controversial tectonic models are Permian marine volcaniclastic arenites in the Liuyuan and Heishankou areas, which are dominated by greywackes and lenticular pebbly litharenites that contain grading, groove marks, and erosional bases, which provide evidence of turbidity action. Sandstones from the Liuyuan section are dominated by angular basaltic, andesitic, and feldspar fragments, but sandstones from the Heishankou section mainly consist of andesitic and felsic volcanic fragments. These relations suggest derivation from two different sources. Major element compositions suggest that the source rocks of the Heishankou litharenites were more SiO2-rich than those at Liuyuan. Sandstones at Heishankou are characterized by lower Ni–Co–Cr–V and slightly higher Th and La contents than those at Liuyuan. This indicates that the litharenites in the Liuyuan and Heishankou areas were derived from intermediate-mafic and intermediate-felsic source rocks, respectively. Tectonic setting discrimination plots suggest that the Liuyuan sandstones were deposited as detritus from an oceanic island arc, but the Heishankou sediments from an Andean continental margin. Our petrological and geochemical data from these two types of Permian turbidites suggest that an arc-continent collision took place in the Early Permian, and this is consistent with the Permian termination of the southern Altaids. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The Karamay area, situated in the eastern part of Western Junggar, Southern Altaids, contains an ophiolitic mélange with ultramafic rocks, gabbro, basalt, chert and limestone, which show typical block-in-matrix structures, and coherent turbidites and tuffs. These lithological associations are interpreted as incoherent and coherent series formed in an accretionary complex. On the basis of detailed field mapping and analyses of the asymmetry of imbricate thrusts, duplexes, tilted structures, shear band cleavages, and the NW-verging inclined to overturned folds, we conclude that the overall movement in the accretionary complex was top-to-the-NW. The youngest tuff involved in the deformation contains detrital zircons that have a U–Pb age (LA-MC ICP-MS) of 308±7Ma. 39 Ar–40Ar resistance furnace step-heating of amphibole separates from a diorite dike, which cuts the folded and imbricated rocks in the accretionary prism, yielded a plateau age of 307±2Ma. Consequently, the age of the deformation in the prism is tightly constrained at 307–308Ma, implying that the deformation occurred in an extremely short time-span during SE-ward subduction. Combined contemporaneous occurrence of Baogutu adakite, high-Mg, Sr-enriched and Y-poor dioritic dikes, Miaoergou charnockite, and Maliya mafic rocks, we further suggest the accretionary complex was cut by near-trench volcanic rocks and plutons possibly due to interaction with a spreading ridge. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Background: H. pylori exhibits antibiotic resistance with regional differences. In this paper, we explored antibiotic resistance of H. pylori to five antibiotics in an area with a high risk of gastric cancer. Results: H. pylori resistance rates to metronidazole, levofloxacin, clarithromycin, amoxicillin, and tetracycline were 78.0, 56.0, 31.0, 9.0, and 15.0%, respectively. Double, triple, quadruple, and quintuple resistance rates were 23, 20, 6, and 4%, respectively. The clarithromycin and multidrug resistance rates were significantly higher in males than females (clarithromycin: 44.4% vs 15.2%, respectively, P = 0.002; multidrug: 75.5% vs 37.2%, respectively; P < 0.001). During the three periods of 1998–1999, 2002–2004 and 2016–2017, the resistance rates to levofloxacin and amoxicillin were increasing (OR: 2.089, 95%CI: 1.142–3.821, P = 0.017; and OR: 5.035, 95%CI: 1.327–19.105, P = 0.018, respectively). The antibiotic resistance rates were unassociated with the host disease state. Metronidazole resistance was lower in the vacAs1m1/m2 group than the vacAs1m1m2 group (65% vs 85.7%, respectively; P = 0.026). As for levofloxacin resistance, it was higher with cagA+ than cagA− (60.9% vs 23.1%, respectively; P = 0.020) but lower with slyD+ than slyD− (41.4% vs 68.5%, respectively; P = 0.009). Clarithromycin had a lower resistance rate with iceA++ than iceA−+ (19.7% vs 52.4%, respectively; P = 0.017). For amoxicillin, the iceA++ group had a lower resistance rate than the iceA−− group (1.6% vs 27.8%, respectively; P = 0.009). Conclusions: The total resistance rates of H. pylori to metronidazole, levofloxacin, clarithromycin, amoxicillin, and tetracycline were high in Zhuanghe. The resistanc rates to levofloxacin and amoxicillin increased over time. Clarithromycin resistance was associated with male and iceA. The resistance of metronidazole was related to vacA. Levofloxacin resistance was concerned with cagA and slyD and amoxicillin resistance was concerned with iceA. While, the antibiotic resistance of H. pylori had nothing to do with the status of gastric disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on a research related to insights from end-permian to middle triassic magmatic record along the solonker suture zone to study evolution of Central Asian orogeny. Topics discussed include collisional orogen and accretionary orogen in the region; geochemical and isotopic data from tonalitic-granodioritic-granitic plutons with high Strontium-Yttrium signature; and identification of collision-induced granitoids and mountain building.

Abstract: The Devonian and Carboniferous rock assemblages in Western Junggar, southern Altaids, include ophiolitic mélanges and coherent units. At Baijiantan, Yeyagou and Dagun Devonian gabbros and one group of volcanic rocks (type I lava) generally crop out as blocks in a matrix of ultramafic rocks and/or mudstone. They have a depleted light rare earth element (LREE) and mid-oceanic ridge basalt (MORB)-like signature with a small negative Nb anomaly, suggesting formation in a back-arc basin. Another group of volcanic rocks (type II lava) from Baijiantan, Yeyagou, Western Karamay and Maliya includes alkaline basalt, basanite, andesite, dacite and trachyte that contain microphenocrysts of clinopyroxene–plagioclase, amygdales filled with chalcedony and calcite, and accessory pyrite and ilmenite. The type II lavas are further subdivided into five sub-types: (1) Type II1 lava is strongly enriched in LREE with incompatible trace element ratios similar to oceanic island basalt (OIB), suggesting derivation from enriched mantle. (2) Type II2 lava and tuff are slightly LREE-enriched, with a marked negative Nb anomaly and Th/Yb-enrichment indicating that they were generated in a supra-subduction zone (SSZ). (3) Type II3 lava is also moderately enriched in LREE suggesting derivation from a more-enriched MORB mantle. (4) Type II4 lava is enriched in LREE and has high Nb/Yb values close to those of OIB. It is extensively depleted in Nb suggesting a source containing a mixture of enriched and SSZ mantle. (5) Type II5 lava has MORB-like REE patterns, and Nb/Yb and Th/Yb ratios. Based on field structural data, and the contemporaneity of the Baogutu adakite, a high-Mg diorite dike and the Miaoergou charnockite, these enriched and depleted magmatic features suggest generation in an intra-oceanic subduction zone influenced by ridge-trench interaction. The Altaids in Western Junggar are characterized by multiple intra-oceanic subduction systems, which may have continued to operate to the late Carboniferous. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Small-scale aquaculture operation is being increasing practised around the world, particularly in the developing countries, but the greenhouse gas (GHG) dynamics and fluxes from small aquaculture ponds are still poorly assessed. In this study, the dissolved concentrations and fluxes of CO 2 and CH 4 were determined in three coastal earthen shrimp ponds over one whole year, covering both the farming and non-farming periods, in the Min River Estuary, southeastern China. Both ebullitive and diffusive CH 4 fluxes were measured, which were rarely done in previous studies. The average concentrations of dissolved CO 2 and CH 4 in water column in the farming period varied between 18.1 ± 0.1 and 79.6 ± 1.1 μmol L−1, and 1.3 ± 0.1 and 55.9 ± 3.2 μmol L−1, respectively. When averaged across the whole year, the mean CO 2 and CH 4 fluxes from the ponds were − 18.4 ± 7.4 and 22.6 ± 6.9 mg m−2 h−1, respectively, suggesting that the shrimp ponds acted as a CO 2 sink and a CH 4 source. Based on the sustained-flux global warming potential (SGWP) and sustained-flux global cooling potential (SGCP) models, the annual warming potential was estimated to be 7.1 × 103 g CO 2 -eq m−2 yr−1, with approximately 90% of this arising from the farming period. Ebullition was the dominant emission pathway for CH 4 , accounting for over 90% of the total CH 4 emission during the farming period. This full-year study improves our understanding of carbon cycling in coastal aquaculture ponds and provides a scientific basis for updating the GHG inventories. • Water concentrations and atmospheric fluxes of CO 2 and CH 4 were determined in aquaculture ponds. • CO 2 -eq emission during the aquaculture period contributed to 90% of the annual emission. • The high CH 4 emissions were largely attributed to ebullitive fluxes. • Subtropical coastal aquaculture ponds had much higher CH 4 effluxes per m2 compared with other aquatic systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• CH 4 ebullition contributed to over 90% of total CH 4 emissions from aquaculture ponds. • These ponds exhibited large spatiotemporal variations in ebullitive CH 4 fluxes. • Sediment temperature governed the temporal variations in ebullition. • Organic matter supply and aeration controlled the spatial variations in ebullition. Aquaculture ponds are hotspots of carbon cycling and important anthropogenic sources of the potent greenhouse gas methane (CH 4). Despite the importance of CH 4 ebullition in aquatic ecosystems, its magnitude and spatiotemporal variations in aquaculture ponds remain poorly understood. In this study, we determined the rates and spatiotemporal variations of ebullitive CH 4 emissions from three mariculture ponds during the aquaculture period of two years at a subtropical estuary in southeast China. Our results showed that the mean ebullitive CH 4 flux from the studied ponds was 14.9 mg CH 4 m−2 h−1 during the aquaculture period and accounted for over 90% of the total CH 4 emission, indicating the importance of ebullition as a major CH 4 transport mechanism. Ebullitive CH 4 emission demonstrated a clear seasonal pattern, with a peak value during the middle stage of aquaculture. Sediment temperature was found to be an important factor influencing the seasonal variations in CH 4 ebullition. Ebullitive CH 4 fluxes also exhibited considerable spatial variations within the ponds, with 49.7–71.8% of the whole pond CH 4 ebullition being detected in the feeding zone where the large loading of sediment organic matter fueled CH 4 production. Aquaculture ponds have much higher ebullitive CH 4 effluxes than other aquatic ecosystems, which indicated the urgency to mitigate CH 4 emission from aquaculture activities. Our findings highlighted that the importance of considering the large spatiotemporal variations in ebullitive CH 4 flux in improving the accuracy of large-scale estimation of CH 4 fluxes in aquatic ecosystems. Future studies should be conducted to characterize CH 4 ebullitive fluxes over a greater number and diversity of aquaculture ponds and examine the mechanisms controlling CH 4 ebullition in aquatic ecosystems. Image, graphical abstract [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the negative repercussions of environmental devastation, such as air quality decline and air pollution, become more apparent, environmental consciousness is growing across the world, forcing nations to take steps to mitigate the damage. China pledged to achieve air quality improvement goal to combat global environment issue, yet the spatial-temporal differentiation and its driving factors of environment-meteorology-economic index for air quality are not fully analysed. To promote regional collaborative control of air pollution and achieve sustainable urban development, spatial and temporal different and its driving factors of air quality in Shandong Province during 2013-2020. Results revealed that concentrations of sulfur dioxide (SO 2 ), nitrogen dioxide (NO 2 ), particulate matter 2.5 (PM 2.5 ), particulate matter 10 (PM 10 ), and carbon monoxide (CO-95per) exhibited decreasing trend (SO 2 concentrations decreasing 84 % and CO-95per concentrations decreasing 90 %). Air quality was improved from inland areas to coastal areas. Pollutant indicators of SO 2 , NO 2 , PM 10 , PM 2.5 , and CO-95per demonstrated significant positive correlation (P < 0.05). Air temperature and precipitation are significantly negatively correlated with concentrations of SO 2 , NO 2 , PM 10 , PM 2.5 , and CO-95per but significantly positively correlated with ozone (O 3 -8 h). SO 2 , NO 2 , PM 2.5 , PM 10 , CO-95per, and proportion of days with heavy pollution are strongly positively correlated with proportion of secondary industry but strongly negatively correlated with proportion of tertiary industry and volume of household waste. Except for O 3 -8 h, pollutant index of Provincial Capital Economic Circle (PCEC) and Southern Shandong Economic Circle (SSEC) has significant negative correlation (P < 0.05) with regional gross domestic product and investment in environmental protection; however, investment in environmental protection of Eastern Shandong Economic Circle (ESEC) has no significant correlation with air pollution index. There was significant negative correlation between vegetable sowing area and SSEC pollutant index. The relationship between pollution emission and investment in environmental protection has shifted from high pollution-low investment to low pollution-low investment in PCEC, ESEC and SSEC, and the inflection point was in 2020 for PCEC, 2019 for ESEC, and 2020 for SSEC. Those results provide empirical evidence and theoretical support for the improvement of regional air quality, aiming to achieve high-quality development. According to these findings, it has been found that meteorological elements, pollutant emission, socio-economic factors and agricultural data affect air quality. Those results could provide meaningful and significant supporting for synergistic regulation of diverse pollutants., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare no competing interests., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Introduction: With the deepening of the healthcare reform in China, the competition in the sector is becoming fiercer leading to several unintended consequences such as talent turnover, which highly affect hospital development. Taking the case of a specialized university-affiliated stomatology hospital in Guangzhou, this thesis aims to analyze the main factors that contribute to talent turnover in this type of hospitals. The loss of talents in the field of stomatology is not unique to China and represents a significant problem in both developed and developing countries., Methods: The data for the study were collected from post facto live interviews conducted with 21 resigners to understand their feelings and motivations after the passage of time. The data were coded and concepts refined using MAXQDA software to form 18 sub-categories and six aggregate dimensions leading to the construction of two theoretical models., Results: The balance of power embedded in the dual leadership system characteristic of Chinese organizations and corresponding leadership style and behavior, deeply affect the turnover of talents. The more unbalanced the power, the greater the impact on turnover., Conclusion: Based on the situation studied, a power imbalance allowed for individual behaviors that determined the development of the hospital and directly affected institutional fairness, culture, working atmosphere and ultimately led to turnover., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2024 Zhang, Guo, Pathak, Ou, Li and Trigo.)

Objective: The impact of the aging population in China varies between regions. It is because regions with different resource endowments, such as those related to economy, population, and medical care, have different degrees of disability risk in the face of the increases in the disabled and semi-disabled older population caused by the overall aging of the population. This study aimed to construct an evaluation system to monitor and measure the degree of social disability risk in different regions in China and to evaluate and compare the degree of social disability risk in different regions using empirical data., Method: This study used the Delphi method to construct a social disability risk measurement index system with macro, meso, and micro dimensions. At the same time, based on the data of CHARLS2018, an AHP-entropy method was used to calculate the index's total weight, and the standard deviation classification method was used to classify the total and criterion-level measurement scores of 28 provinces., Results: The regional degree of social disability risk was analyzed in subdimensions. Our research indicates that China's social disability risk situation is not promising, with a general medium to high-risk level. The score of degree of social disability risk among provinces is consistent with the regional economic development level to a large extent. The risk of social disability varies significantly among the eastern and central, and western regions of China and the provinces within the three regions., Discussion: Currently, the situation facing the degree of social disability risk in China is that the overall risk level of the country is higher, and the difference between regions is significant. It is necessary to take measures to meet better the needs of the aging population and the disabled and semi-disabled older populations in a large-range, large-scale, multilevel way., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2023 Guo, Sun, Fan and Li.)

Plasma transthyretin may be engaged in glucose regulation. We aimed to investigate the association between plasma transthyretin levels and the risk of newly diagnosed T2DM and impaired glucose regulation (IGR) in a Chinese population. We conducted a case-control study including 1244 newly diagnosed T2DM patients, 837 newly diagnosed IGR patients, and 1244 individuals with normal glucose tolerance (NGT) matched by sex and age. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was utilized to estimate the independent association of plasma transthyretin concentrations with the risk of T2DM and IGR. Plasma transthyretin concentrations were significantly higher in T2DM and IGR patients compared with control subjects (p < 0.005). After multiple adjustment and comparison with the lowest quartile of plasma transthyretin concentrations, the odds ratios (95% confidence intervals) of T2DM and IGR in the highest quartile were 2.22 (1.66, 2.98) and 2.29 (1.72, 3.05), respectively. Plasma transthyretin concentrations also showed a great performance in predicting the risk of T2DM (AUC: 0.76). Moreover, a potential nonlinear trend was observed. Our results demonstrated that higher plasma transthyretin concentrations, especially more than 290 mg/L, were associated with an increased risk of T2DM and IGR. Further studies are warranted to confirm our findings and elucidate the potential mechanisms.

In order to accurately predict the development trend of the "Internet +" logistics industry in the context of the new period and to understand the circulation of the Internet and logistics between countries and the development dynamics of the economy, this paper will take the "Belt and Road" initiative as the research background and elaborate the specific development mode of the "Internet +" logistics industry and the corresponding strategies. Meanwhile, the development trend is evaluated based on its development data using the method of combined forecasting. The results show that the combined prediction results fluctuate within the range of 1, indicating a high degree of prediction accuracy. This is important for predicting the trend of development forces and adjusting the strategic approach and development direction., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2022 Chunhui Wen et al.)

Background: Tumor of the digestive system is a common malignancy with high morbidity and mortality. Although programmed cell death-1 (PD-1) inhibitors have become an effective treatment strategies for many kinds of tumors, there is still some uncertainty in digestive tumors, including: (I) therapeutic effects of PD-1 inhibitors are relatively limited; (II) responses of digestive system tumors to immunotherapies are highly heterogeneous. In the present study, we investigated the outcomes of PD-1 inhibitors for digestive system tumors in Chinese patients to analyze factors that may affect the effects of immunotherapies in digestive system tumors., Methods: Data were obtained from the Hospital Information System (HIS) of the Department of Digestive Oncology (Henan Cancer Hospital) between January 2019 and December 2019. Inclusion criteria included patients receiving the same PD-1 inhibitor continuously for advanced or recurrent/metastatic digestive system tumors. Indicators including age, sex, clinical diagnosis, height, weight, gene status, PD-1 inhibitors, treatment regimen, medication cycle, efficacy evaluation results, and adverse reactions were analyzed retrospectively. The clinical outcomes were progression-free survival (PFS) and safety., Results: A total of 2,767 patients were discharged from HIS, of which 64 (37 male/27 female) were included in this study. Thirty-eight (59.4%) of the patients were aged <60 years. Tumors included esophageal, gastric, liver, colorectal, and pancreatic cancer. Up until 30 June 2020, 51 patients were followed up to median progression-free survival (PFS), which was 5 months; the longest PFS was 18.5 months. There was no statistical significance in grouping according to sex, age and body mass index. Nevertheless, the median PFS differed statistically between monotherapy (9.4 months) versus combined therapy (4.7 months), and Cox regression analysis suggested that patients might benefit more from monotherapy than combined therapy. The incidence of adverse reactions was 47.7%, with thyroid dysfunction the most common adverse reaction. The incidence of grade 3-4 adverse reactions was 9.2% and mainly included pulmonary infection, immune-associated hepatitis, and severe oral ulcers., Conclusions: In digestive tumors, especially for second-line treatment and beyond, PD-1 monotherapy might be more beneficial than combined therapy. However, this might be related to the patient's tolerance. Large-sample prospective studies are needed for confirmation.

In recent years, a sharp increase in the amount of municipal sewage sludge (MSS) in Tibet has posed serious threats to the fragile ecological environment. Tibetan sludge, with a high content of volatile and low heavy metals, has re-utilization advantages, and thus, the selection of appropriate utilization processes for Tibetan MSS is of great importance. In this study, not only the processes themselves, but also other factors including legislations and environmental pollution were investigated. This study introduced the current waste management legislation situation (especially for MSS) in China and Tibet, China. Moreover, a series of SWOT (strength & weakness and opportunity & threats) analyses were conducted to compare anaerobic digestion (AD), incineration, pyrolysis (PY), gasification, and anaerobic digestion coupled with pyrolysis. The results showed that anaerobic digestion coupled with pyrolysis was the optimal treatment option, because anaerobic digestion was suitable for the low oxygen content in Tibet. Although only 50-60% of the organic matter in MSS could be degraded by anaerobic digestion, the residual organic matter (energy) could be further decomposed by pyrolysis, converting it into pyrolytic gas, bio-oil, and biochar, as valuable products. Sludge digestate pyrolysis could reduce environmental risks, save energy, recover materials, and produce high value-added materials. Moreover, it provides a "zero waste" solution for sludge disposal and promotes a "Circular Economy." The challenges and obstacles of MSS anaerobic digestion coupled with pyrolysis in Tibet were also investigated. This study provides an important technical reference for the comprehensive utilization of Tibetan MSS., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Backgroud: Chromium has been suggested playing a role in alleviating diabetes, insulin resistance and lipid anomalies, but the effect on metabolic syndrome (MetS) in humans remains controversial., Methods: We conducted a matched case-control study in a Chinese population, involving 2141 MetS cases and 2141 healthy controls, which were 1:1 matched by age (±2 years) and sex. Plasma chromium was measured by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry., Results: Plasma chromium levels were lower in MetS group than in control group (mean: 4.36 μg/L and 4.66 μg/L, respectively, P < 0.001), and progressively decreased with the number of MetS components (P for trend < 0.001). After adjustment for potential confounding factors, the odds ratios (95% confidence intervals) for MetS across increasing quartiles of plasma chromium levels were 1 (reference), 0.84 (0.67-1.05), 0.76 (0.61-0.95), and 0.62 (0.49-0.78), respectively (P for trend < 0.001). For the components of MetS (high waist circumference, high triglycerides and high blood glucose), the odds ratios (95% confidence intervals) of the highest quartiles were 0.77 (0.61-0.95), 0.67 (0.55-0.80), and 0.53 (0.44-0.64), respectively (P for trend < 0.05)., Conclusions: Our results indicated that plasma chromium levels were inversely associated with MetS in Chinese adults. The association may be explained by the relations between plasma chromium levels and high waist circumference, and the triglycerides and blood glucose levels.

Aims/hypothesis: There is evidence for a bidirectional association between type 2 diabetes and Alzheimer's disease. Plasma β-amyloid (Aβ) is a potential biomarker for Alzheimer's disease. We aimed to investigate the association of plasma Aβ40 and Aβ42 with risk of type 2 diabetes., Methods: We performed a case-control study and a nested case-control study within a prospective cohort study. In the case-control study, we included 1063 newly diagnosed individuals with type 2 diabetes and 1063 control participants matched by age (±3 years) and sex. In the nested case-control study, we included 121 individuals with incident type 2 diabetes and 242 matched control individuals. Plasma Aβ40 and Aβ42 concentrations were simultaneously measured with electrochemiluminescence immunoassay. Conditional logistic regression was used to evaluate the association of plasma Aβ40 and Aβ42 concentrations with the likelihood of type 2 diabetes., Results: In the case-control study, the multivariable-adjusted ORs for type 2 diabetes, comparing the highest with the lowest quartile of plasma Aβ concentrations, were 1.97 (95% CI 1.46, 2.66) for plasma Aβ40 and 2.01 (95% CI 1.50, 2.69) for plasma Aβ42. Each 30 ng/l increment of plasma Aβ40 was associated with 28% (95% CI 15%, 43%) higher odds of type 2 diabetes, and each 5 ng/l increment of plasma Aβ42 was associated with 37% (95% CI 21%, 55%) higher odds of type 2 diabetes. Individuals in the highest tertile for both plasma Aβ40 and Aβ42 concentrations had 2.96-fold greater odds of type 2 diabetes compared with those in the lowest tertile for both plasma Aβ40 and Aβ42 concentrations. In the nested case-control study, the multivariable-adjusted ORs for type 2 diabetes for the highest vs the lowest quartile were 3.79 (95% CI 1.81, 7.94) for plasma Aβ40 and 2.88 (95% CI 1.44, 5.75) for plasma Aβ42. The multivariable-adjusted ORs for type 2 diabetes associated with each 30 ng/l increment in plasma Aβ40 and each 5 ng/l increment in plasma Aβ42 were 1.44 (95% CI 1.18, 1.74) and 1.47 (95% CI 1.15, 1.88), respectively., Conclusions/interpretation: Our findings suggest positive associations of plasma Aβ40 and Aβ42 concentration with risk of type 2 diabetes. Further studies are warranted to elucidate the underlying mechanisms and explore the potential roles of plasma Aβ in linking type 2 diabetes and Alzheimer's disease.

Human activities have increased anthropogenic CO 2 emissions, which are believed to play important roles in global warming. The spatiotemporal variations of CO 2 concentration and flux at fine spatial scales in aquaculture ponds remain unclear, particularly in China, the country with the largest aquaculture. In this study, the plot-scale spatiotemporal variations of water CO 2 concentration and flux, both within and among ponds, were researched in shrimp ponds in Shanyutan Wetland, Min River Estuary, Southeast China. The average water CO 2 concentration and flux across the water-air interface in the shrimp ponds over the shrimp farming period varied from 22.79 ± 0.54 to 186.66 ± 8.71 μmol L -1 and from - 0.50 ± 0.04 to 2.87 ± 0.78 mol m -2  day -1 , respectively. There was no remarkable difference in CO 2 concentration and flux within the ponds, but significantly spatiotemporal differences in CO 2 flux were observed between shrimp ponds. Chlorophyll a, pH, salinity, air temperature, and morphometry were the important factors driving the spatiotemporal patterns of CO 2 flux in the shrimp ponds. Our findings highlighted the importance and spatiotemporal variations of CO 2 flux in the important coastal ecosystems.

Objective: To investigate an association between maternal prenatal exposure to several environmental factors and risk of childhood acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL), and the possible interactions in the Chinese population., Methods: 345 cases with ALL and their 1:1 age, gender, residence region matched controls aged 0-15 years were recruited from four hospitals in Henan Province from 2014 to 2016. Information was collected by interviews using a questionnaire. Unconditional logistic regression adjusted for age, gender, residence region and relevant confounders was carried out to generate the odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs)., Results: Our data indicate that maternal prenatal exposure to interior housing renovation (adjusted OR: 2.98, 95% CI: 1.51-5.86) or pesticides (adjusted OR: 1.48, 95% CI: 1.67-2.28) increased the risk of childhood ALL. Various subgroup analyses stratified by child's gender, age at diagnosis and other factors also supported these results. However, no interaction was detected between exposure to internal housing renovation and pesticides using an additive model. No significant links between maternal exposures to, environmental tobacco smoking (ETS), antipyretic analgesia intake, or viral infectious diseases with risk of ALL were detected., Conclusion: Findings in our study are in line with the existing literatures, which support the hypothesis that maternal prenatal exposure to interior housing renovation and pesticides are risk factors for childhood ALL. Notably, we found no interaction between these two risk factors, these findings may inform prevention and early detection strategies., (Copyright © 2018 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM), characterized by myocardial hypertrophy, is the most common cause of sudden cardiac arrest in young individuals. More than 270 mutations have been found to be responsible for familial HCM to date; mutations in MYH7, which encodes the β-myosin heavy chain (β-MHC) and MYBPC3, which encodes the myosin binding protein C, are seen most often. This study aimed to screen a pathogenic mutation causing HCM in a large family and assess its possible impact on the function of the specific protein. Exome sequencing was applied in the proband for searching a novel mutation; segments bearing the specific mutation were analyzed by polymerase chain reaction and direct sequencing. A novel p.G407C mutation in the β-MHC gene (MYH7) was identified to be responsible for familial HCM in this family. The mutation may cause damage to the second structure of the protein despite the fact that patients bearing the mutation may have a relatively benign prognosis in this family. The clinical details of the p.G407C mutation are described for the first time in this study. Our report shows a good genotype-phenotype consistency and makes it possible for genetic counseling in this family.