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[Objectives] To estimate the risk of Monochamus saltuarius Gebler spreading in China. [Methods] Three species distribution models within the BIOMOD2 modeling platform were used to predict the future distribution of M. saltuarius. In addition, we analyzed five potential consequences of the spread of this pest: its future distribution, its potential economic impact, the economic importance of its host plants, the possibility of transmission and the difficulty of control and management. [Results] The synthetic risk index, R, is 2.05 indicating that M. saltuarius has the potential to become widely distributed. [Conclusion] M. saltuarius has the potential to become a widespread, economically significant, pest in China. Quarantine management and removal measures need to be formulated to reduce the risk posed by this pest. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Paddy is an artificial ecosystem driven by human activities, such as adjustment of cropping systems, deployment of resistant varieties and pesticides use. Inappropriate human intervention aggravated the disruption of ecosystems, which resulted in rice viral disease epidemics characterized by fulminant, migrating and intermittent outbreaks. Rice stripe disease (RSD), lasting for over 10 years from 2000, was modeled for exploring better management strategies of plant viral disease transmitted by insect vectors. In eight counties of Jiangsu province, China, the biotic, abiotic and human factors between 2000 and 2012 were monitored to determine key factors of human activities related to RSD epidemics. RSD severity was significantly related to resistance, the interval of wheat harvest and rice sowing (WHRS) and inconsecutive interval of wheat sowing and rice harvest (WSRH). The relationship between human activities and the small brown planthopper (SBPH) showed that the resistance was more significantly associated with SBPH viruliferous rate in the preceding year than that of the current year but not correlated with SBPH density. Resistance could impact the SBPH viruliferous rate in the preceding year indirectly through transmission probability and, thereafter, the continuing disease epidemics. The insignificant interactive effects among resistance, WHRS and WSRH on disease severity meant that these three factors could be taken into consideration separately in agricultural practice according to rice chronological order. The quantitative field study conducted in Jiangsu province presented a good example of plant viral disease management, guided by which could not only avoid pointless actions but, most importantly, generate more efficient and economic returns. Therefore, in order to improve the management of RSD, it should focus on the adjustment of these human factors independently and sequentially in combination with the forecast of RSD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Endophytes may depend on degrading the plant cell wall with cellulases for their survival. Therefore, cellulase produced by endophytes may be useful in releasing the active ingredient of medicinal plants. Scutellaria baicalensis Georgi is a traditional Chinese medicinal plant widely used in China and baicalin is one of its main active ingredients. In this study, fresh S. baicalensis Georgi was used to isolate endophytes, Congo red staining was used to screen cellulase-producing strains, and HPLC was used to determine the content of baicalin in S. baicalensis Georgi. As a result, a highly active strain of endophyte capable of the extraction of high levels of baicalin was obtained. The strain was named HG-5 and identified as Bacillus sp. Scanning electron microscopy analysis confirmed that the enzyme better promotes the dissolution of plant active ingredients. After optimizing the enzyme production and extraction processes, we found that when compared with the traditional extraction method, the baicalin yield was increased 79.31% after extraction with the HG-5 enzyme. The current study provides a novel approach and method for the use of endophyte cellulase to improve the extraction of compounds from medicinal plants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, with the gradual networking of high-speed railways in China, the existing railway transportation capacity has been released. In order to improve transportation capacity, railway freight transportation enterprises companies have gradually shifted the transportation of goods from dedicated freight lines to passenger-cargo lines. In terms of the organization form of collection and distribution, China has a complete research system for heavy-haul railway collection and distribution, but the research on the integration of collection and distribution of the ordinary-speed railway freight has not been completed. This paper combines the theories of the integration of collection and distribution theory, coordination theory, and coupling theory and incorporates the machine learning fuzzy mathematics to construct an "Entropy-TOPSIS Coupling Development Degree Model" for dynamic intelligent quantitative analysis of the synergy of railway freight collection and distribution systems. Finally, we take the Tongchuan Depot of "China Railway Xi'an Group Co., Ltd." as a research object to construct a target system and use the intelligent information acquisition system to collect basic data. The analysis results show that through the coordinated control of the freight collection and distribution system, the coordination between the subsystems of the integrated freight collection and distribution system is increased by 5.94%, which verifies the feasibility of the model in the quantitative improvement of the integration of collection and distribution system. It provides a new method for the research of integrated development of railway freight collection and distribution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Plant seeds are not merely reproductive organs, they are also carriers of microorganism, particularly, inherent and non-invasive characteristic endophytes in host plant. Therefore, in this study, the endophytic diversity of Angelica seeds was studied and compared with endophytes isolated from healthy leaves, stems, roots, and seeds of A. sinensis using 20 different media. The metabolites of endophytic strains were evaluated with six different methods for their antioxidant activity and the paper disc diffusion method for antimicrobial activities. As a result, 226 endophytes were isolated. Compared with the biodiversity and abundance of uncultured fungi from Angelica seed, the result showed that the most frequent endophytic fungi were Alternaria sp. as seen in artificial media; moreover, compared with artificial media, the pathogenic fungi, including Fusarium sp. and Pseudallescheria sp., were not found from the Angelica seed, the results suggested it may not be inherent endophytes in plants. In addition, bacteria from seven phyla were identified by high-throughput sequencing, while five phyla of endophytic bacteria were not isolated on artificial media including Proteobacteria , Actinobacteria , Bacteroidetes , Microgenomates , and Saccharibacteria. Furthermore, the sample JH-4 mycelium displayed the best antioxidant activity, and the active constituent may be a flavonoid as determined by total phenol and flavonoid content. Moreover, YH-12-1 mycelium had strong inhibitory activity against the five tested strains and the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) against Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Streptococcus pneumoniae was found to be 25 μg/mL. Our results confirm that plant endophytes are rich in biodiversity and contain important resource of many uncultured microorganisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study employed a data envelopment analysis (DEA) by using slacks-based measure (SBM) with undesirable outputs to assess the industrial environmental efficiency of western China during the period of 2001–2015. The Malmquist index was further used to examine the changes in the industrial environmental efficiency of the analyzed region. The result showed that western China presented a low industrial environmental efficiency throughout the period of 2001–2015. Chongqing City was the only province that exhibited strong economic and environmental coordination. The level of technical development was identified as a key determinant of industrial environmental efficiency. This study provided policy implications on emissions reduction and the improvement of industrial efficiency. Limitations of the approach were provided to lay foundation for future studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Unsmooth pulse is one of the most important pulses in TCM diagnostics. We constructed the wave intensity (WI) images of unsmooth pulse based on the pressure wave (P), flow velocity wave (U), and WI [(dP/dt)(dU/dt)] by ALOKA Prosound α 10 Color Doppler. The characteristic of Cunkou normal pulse could be summarized as follows: compared to Renying pulse, its W1 amplitude is smaller and NA wave is more obvious, while the W2 wave is indistinct or even invisible, and the R-1st is longer than that of Renying pulse. The principal U wave of Renying pulse looks like “Λ” shape, while it looks like an arched blunt “∩” shape in Cunkou pulse, and the amplitude of U wave in Cunkou pulse is smaller. The direction of the principal U wave in Cunkou unsmooth pulse is up, which shows hoof boots “h” shape with high amplitude and a significant notch on declined branch; the amplitude of predicrotic wave in unsmooth pulse P wave is significantly higher, which could be even higher than that of h1, resulting in early appearance of h3 or integrating with h1, which forms a wide and blunt peak. Unsmooth pulse shows poorer vascular elasticity and greater vascular stiffness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The textbooks of psychological history published in China three decades ago abandoned humanism and adopted scientism, leading Chinese psychological studies to an unprecedented paradox: on the one hand, we were offered ancient Chinese psychological thoughts based on the ethical culture, which is totally different from the western culture; on the other hand, the texts adhered to the scientific research model imported from the western world. In order to address this problem, Professor Pan Shu advanced "the consistency principle". Moreover, the western psychology, which emphasized cognition research and paid little attention to emotion research, is now beginning to turn to the spiritual nature, which takes emotion as its core. This spiritual turn in the western psychology provides an important chance to solve the problem about how to combine Chinese psychology and western psychology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In making the historical account of Chinese psychology in the textbook published nearly three decades ago, the compilers adopted the scientific paradigm at the expense of the humanistic paradigm, giving rise to two ways of making historical studies on the development of Chinese psychology. One is to use the theoretical system of scientific psychology as the major framework to make historical investigations, thus excluding the ancient Chinese psychological studies from the logical studies on psychology; the other is the way advocated by Professor Pan Shu, who saw through the difficulties of the scientific paradigm of psychological studies by arguing that the criteria for judging the contribution of ancient Chinese psychology should depend on whether it is in line with the facts of human psychological activities and whether it can help solve the problems we are facing today and thus enhance the scientific studies on human psychology. The innovations in the studies on the history of Chinese psychology should stick to the principle advanced by Professor Pan. Only when we combine the advantages of humanistic and scientific paradigms can we establish a theoretical system of psychology characterized by the inner logic of Chinese culture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As an emerging viral pathogen, Decapod iridescent virus 1 (DIV1) is a severe threat to the farmed and wild crustaceans, and it can spread between shrimp and crabs. Although swimming crab (Portunus trituberculatus) was identified as one of the DIV1 susceptible species by experimental infection mimicking the natural pathway, no case of natural infection was reported to date. Samples of Po. trituberculatus suffered from severe mortality were collected from a farm in Shandong Province of China. Diseased Po. trituberculatus exhibited slow movement and loss of appetite, while dying crabs showed empty stomachs and guts. Real-time PCR revealed that Po. trituberculatus samples were DIV1 positive and had a very high DIV1 load (up to 5.68 × 1010 copies/μg DNA) in gill tissue. Histopathological examination revealed eosinophilic inclusions and pyknosis in the hemocytes of the Po. trituberculatus gill tissue. Transmission electron microscopy of ultrathin sections showed that there were typical DIV1 particles in the gill tissue and hemocytes, which confirmed the disease of the farmed Po. trituberculatus was caused by the infection with Decapod iridescent virus 1 (iDIV1). Further bioassay by oral administration with tissues of diseased crabs and hemolymph coagulation examination showed that the diseased Po. trituberculatus had a significantly longer coagulation time than in healthy individuals. This study reported a severe case of natural infection with DIV1 in cultured swimming crab, further confirming the risk of DIV1 to the swimming crab farming industry and providing a new approach for on-site diagnosis of iDIV1 or other potential pathogens in Po. trituberculatus. • A disease outbreak of farmed Portunus trituberculatus has caused serious damage to this farm. • The evidence consistently confirmed that the farmed swimming crab were infected with DIV1. • Bioassay showed that the diseased Po. trituberculatus had a significantly longer coagulation time than in the healthy crab. • This study further confirming the risk of DIV1 to the swimming crab farming industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a newly found virus that seriously threatens the economic crustacean aquaculture, the susceptible host range of Decapod iridescent virus 1 (DIV1) plays a critical role in both epidemic prevention and international trade. The swimming crab, Portunus trituberculatus , is widely distributed in the coastal waters of Asia and has become an important economic species in China. In the present study, healthy swimming crabs Po. trituberculatus were artificially infected with DIV1 (isolate SHIV 20141215) through intramuscular injection and per os pathways. The infected individuals showed symptoms with decreased vitality, retarded reaction, anorexia, and mortalities of 100% and 50%, respectively. Nested PCR showed that all the moribund individuals and some surviving individuals were DIV1-positive. Histological examination revealed that eosinophilic inclusions and karyopyknosis existed in hemocytes of gills, hepatopancreas, ovaries, and muscles of diseased Po. trituberculatus , which was also verified by the positive signal of in situ DIG-labeling loop-mediated isothermal amplification (ISDL) at the same location of these tissues. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) of ultrathin sections showed that typical DIV1 virions, the virogenic stroma, and the process of nucleocapsid formation existed in hemocytes. Quantitative detection results showed that gills and epidermis of the diseased Po. trituberculatus had the highest DIV1 load, while the gonads and hepatopancreas had the lowest DIV1 load. The above-mentioned results support that Po. trituberculatus is a newly confirmed susceptible host for infection with DIV1. Furthermore, the epidemiological survey showed that the DIV1 detection rates of farmed Po. trituberculatus , wild Helice tientsinensis , and wild Hemigrapsus penicillatus were relatively high, from 6.9% (2/29) to 42% (22/53). The findings warn that polyculture with shrimps and crabs has a nonnegligible risk of cross-species transmission of pathogens, and wild crabs are very likely to be vectors of DIV1 to an aquaculture system. • Portunus trituberculatus was firstly confirmed as susceptible to iDIV1. • DIV1 could infect hemocytes of many tissues of the swimming crab. • Farmed swimming crab and two wild crab species had relatively high DIV1 positive rates. • The findings warn of the risk of cross-species transmission of DIV1 in polyculture with shrimps and crabs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

“Soundscape” is defined as “an acoustic environment as perceived or experienced and/or understood by a person or people, in context.” The research focuses on the physical properties of sound, paying attention to the relationship between the soundscape and people. Sports provide a comprehensive context, including the athletes, their behavior, the environment, spectators, and other elements. Soundscape in sports has many important functions, such as indicating the movement process, promoting positive emotions, and enhancing the entertainment atmosphere. It is also related to the physical and mental health of people who are exercising. As a technical sport with multidimensional soundscape qualities, diabolo is very popular among older adults in China due to its easy portability and operation. In order to explore the influence mechanism of the soundscape on the mental health of older players and better guide the shaping of soundscapes at sports venues, this paper focuses on soundscape perception and proposes a two-channel (direct and indirect) model of the influence of the diabolo soundscape on the psychological perception of older players. At the same time, we introduce the flow state as an indicator to evaluate mental health, and use the Short Flow State Scale (SFSS) to measure the flow state. By setting up a control experiment using the diabolo with and without sound and using the two-channel (direct and indirect) influence model to compare the differences in flow state scores under the two states, we analyzed the influence mechanism of the diabolo soundscape on the flow state of elderly groups. The results show that the scores of various flow state dimensions and total flow scores in the silent state of diabolo exercise are significantly lower than those in the sound state (p < 0.05 and p < 0.001), and the main differences are in the three dimensions of unambiguous feedback, sense of control, and autotelic experience. The two-channel influence model can effectively explain the differences in older adults’ flow state, which provides a new comprehensive perspective to study the effect of the soundscape in sports on people’s mental health.

Background: Klebsiella pneumoniae is a prominent nosocomial pathogen that accounts for up to 10 % of all hospital-acquired infections. It is a frequent cause of ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP). The purpose of this study was to investigate the clinical characteristics of K. pneumoniae-associated VAP and the molecular characteristics of K. pneumoniae strains., Methods: We retrospectively reviewed 70 mechanically ventilated patients with K. pneumoniae isolated. All K. pneumoniae strains were examined to determine hypermucoviscosity (HV) phenotype, capsular serotypes, virulence genes, multilocus sequence typing and antimicrobial susceptibility., Results: Hypermucoviscosity was found in 14 of 70 (20 %) isolates of K. pneumoniae. Among the 70 patients, 43 cases (61.4 %) developed VAP. Furthermore, VAP was more frequently induced by HV-positive K. pneumoniae (14/14, 100 %) than by HV-negative strains (29/56, 51.7 %). HV-positive K. pneumoniae-associated VAP patients were more inclined to develop bacteremia and had a higher mortality rate than HV-negative strains VAP patients. Antibiotic resistance was more frequent in HV- negative strains- than in HV- positive strains-infected patients. The prevalence of rmpA and aerobactin genes were 85.7 % and 85.7 % respectively, and serotypes K1 and K2 accounted for 14.3 % and 28.6 % of the hypermucoviscosity strains, respectively. Strains carrying rmpA and aerobactin genes were significantly associated with HV-phenotype, and rmpA and aerobactin coexisted in HV-positive strains. Multilocus sequence typing analysis identified 24 different sequence types from K. pneumoniae VAP samples., Conclusions: HV-phenotype is the major virulence determinant for mechanically ventilated patients. There was a specific sequence typing (ST) distribution between HV-positive and HV-negative strains.

Background: Although many patients with facial paralysis have obtained benefits or completely recovered after acupuncture or electroacupuncture therapy, it is still difficult to list intuitive evidence besides evaluation using neurological function scales and a few electrophysiologic data. Hence, the aim of this study is to use more intuitive and reliable detection techniques such as facial nerve magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), nerve electromyography, and F waves to observe changes in the anatomic morphology of facial nerves and nerve conduction before and after applying acupuncture or electroacupuncture, and to verify their effectiveness by combining neurological function scales., Methods/design: A total of 132 patients with Bell's palsy (grades III and IV in the House-Brackmann [HB] Facial Nerve Grading System) will be randomly divided into electroacupuncture, manual acupuncture, non-acupuncture, and medicine control groups. All the patients will be given electroacupuncture treatment after the acute period, except for patients in the medicine control group. The acupuncture or electroacupuncture treatments will be performed every 2 days until the patients recover or withdraw from the study. The primary outcome is analysis based on facial nerve functional scales (HB scale and Sunnybrook facial grading system), and the secondary outcome is analysis based on MRI, nerve electromyography and F-wave detection. All the patients will undergo MRI within 3 days after Bell's palsy onset for observation of the signal intensity and facial nerve swelling of the unaffected and affected sides. They will also undergo facial nerve electromyography and F-wave detection within 1 week after onset of Bell's palsy. Nerve function will be evaluated using the HB scale and Sunnybrook facial grading system at each hospital visit for treatment until the end of the study. The MRI, nerve electromyography, and F-wave detection will be performed again at 1 month after the onset of Bell's palsy., Trial Registration: Chinese Clinical Trials Register identifier: ChiCTR-IPR-14005730. Registered on 23 December 2014.

Objectives: This study aimed to investigate the association between interleukin 28B (IL28B) single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and sustained virological response (SVR) in Chinese Han patients with chronic hepatitis C (CHC) and to analyze the correlations between IL28B SNPs and their personal, virological and clinical characteristics., Methods: Altogether 631 Chinese Han individuals, including 297 CHC patients treated with pegylated interferon α plus ribavirin, 14 spontaneous responders to hepatitis C virus (HCV) and 320 healthy controls were enrolled in the study. Two main SNPs of IL28B, rs12979860 and rs8099917, were genotyped using an SNaPshot Multiplex Assay. Associations between IL28B, treatment outcomes and the patients' characteristics were assessed by multivariate logistic regression., Results: The proportion of individuals with the rs12979860 CC or rs8099917 TT genotype was similar in the healthy controls and the CHC patients, although all spontaneous responders presented with both genotypes. Patients with IL28B genotypes had a significantly high rate of rapid virological response (RVR) and SVR. Multivariate analysis revealed that the IL28B SNP rs12979860 CC genotype, being aged <40 years and having a non-genotype 1 (G1) were independent predictors for SVR. The rs12979860 CC genotype and rs8099917 TT genotypes were predictors for RVR. The rs12979860 CC and rs8099917 TT genotypes were more prevalent in patients with a non-G1 genotype than those with G1 genotype., Conclusions: IL28B rs12979860 CC genotype is a significant predictor for SVR and RVR in Chinese Han patients with CHC. Non-G1 HCV genotype is associated with favourable IL28B genotypes., (© 2014 Chinese Medical Association Shanghai Branch, Chinese Society of Gastroenterology, Renji Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine and Wiley Publishing Asia Pty Ltd.)

Objective: This study aimed to explore the most up-to-date distribution of hepatitis C virus (HCV) genotypes in China, especially the association between HCV genotypes and patients' characteristics and clinical parameters., Methods: Sera from 483 HCV antibody-positive patients were genotyped using a HCV genotyping chip assay. The distribution of HCV genotypes, clinical parameters, modes of transmission and duration of infection were determined and the relationships among these parameters were analyzed., Results: A total of 424 patients were successfully genotyped. HCV genotypes 1, 2, 3 and 6 were found with a constituent ratio of 72.1%, 12.3%, 10.6% and 5.0%, respectively, in which subtypes 1b (69.1%), 2a (11.6%) and 3a (7.5%) were prevalent. The mean age of patients with genotype 1 and 2 was significantly elder than those with genotype 3 and 6 (P < 0.05). The distribution of HCV genotypes in relation to the mode of HCV transmission was remarkable (P < 0.001). Transfusion of blood and blood products was the main mode of transmission. Most genotype 1 infection (53.1%) was found in the group with a duration of HCV infection of 10-20 years. Genotype 1b was independently associated with age (P = 0.001) and mode of HCV transmission (P = 0.007)., Conclusions: The main HCV subtype was genotype 1b in Chinese patients. The prevalence of HCV genotypes was correlated with age and the mode of HCV transmission. Genotype 3a and 6 may become an increasing threat in the future., (© 2012 The Authors. Journal of Digestive Diseases © 2012 Chinese Medical Association Shanghai Branch, Chinese Society of Gastroenterology, Renji Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine and Wiley Publishing Asia Pty Ltd.)

Objective: By summarize the characteristics of death cases caused by road traffic accident, to provide information and data for prevention of traffic accident., Methods: To retrospectively analyze 4148 death cases caused by road traffic accident in Shenzhen. The characteristics studied include the age and sex of the dead, the cause of death, time and place of the accidents and vehicle types, etc., Results: The death was mainly male and the proportion of male to female is 2.45:1; the accidents mainly occured in 6:00-8:00 and 18:00-2:00; 72% of the accidents took place on the main suburban roads. The proportions for each traffic modes of the death were: 44% of walking, 19% of bike, 15% of motorbike. Most traffic accidents were induced by truck, 83.2% of the death causations were severe head injury and 13.3% were complex injuries., Conclusion: The death cases of road-traffic accident in Shenzhen has obvious characteristic and maybe is preventible.