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Background: Data on clinical, laboratory, and radiographic characteristics and risk factors for in‐hospital mortality of lung cancer patients with COVID‐19 are scarce. Here, we aimed to characterize the early clinical features of lung cancer patients with COVID‐19 and identify risk factors associated with in‐hospital mortality. Methods: All consecutive lung cancer patients with laboratory‐confirmed COVID‐19 admitted to 12 hospitals in Hubei province, China, from 3 January to 6 May 2020 were included in the study. Patients without definite clinical outcomes during the period were excluded. Data on initial clinical, laboratory and radiographic findings were compared between survivors and nonsurvivors. Univariable and multivariable logistic regression analyses were used to explore the risk factors associated with in‐hospital mortality. Results: Of the 45 lung cancer patients (median [interquartile range] age, 66 [58–74] years; 68.9% males) included, 34 (75.6%) discharged and 11 (24.4%) died. Fever (73.3%) and cough (53.3%) were the dominant initial symptoms, and respiratory symptoms were common. Lung cancer patients also presented atypical appearances of COVID‐19. In the multivariable analysis, prolonged prolongation prothrombin time (PT) (OR = 2.1, 95% CI: 1.00–4.41, P = 0.0497) and elevated high sensitivity cardiac troponin I (hs‐TNI) (OR = 7.65, 95% CI: 1.24–47.39, P = 0.0287) were associated with an increased risk of in‐hospital mortality. Conclusions: Lung cancer patients with COVID‐19 have high in‐hospital mortality. Prolonged PT and elevated hs‐TNI are independent risk factors for in‐hospital mortality of lung cancer patients with COVID‐19. Key points: Significant findings of the study: Lung cancer patients with COVID‐19 have atypical early symptoms and imaging features.The prolonged prothrombin time and elevated high sensitivity cardiac troponin I are independent risk factors for in‐hospital mortality of lung cancer patients with COVID‐19. What this study adds: This study characterizes the early clinical features of lung cancer patients with COVID‐19 in China, and identifies the risk factors associated with in‐hospital mortality of lung cancer patients with COVID‐19. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine the factors that influence Chinese consumers' purchase of organic products, with a focus on organic tea. Design/methodology/approach: A structured questionnaire was used to survey 202 shoppers in Guangdong Province, China. The data were analyzed using multivariate regression. Findings: The study suggests two significant predictors of organic tea purchase intentions: perceiving organic tea as a healthier alternative to non-organic tea; perceiving the purchase of organic tea as a status symbol. Younger respondents and respondents with higher educational attainment reported greater organic tea purchase intentions. Non-significant predictors of organic tea purchase intentions were respondents' knowledge of organic tea through media exposure, their gender and income. Research limitations/implications: The findings help further research on consumer preferences regarding organic foods providing key insights for researchers and marketers as they strive to make informed decisions in the emerging organic food retail environment. Specifically, Chinese consumers perceiving organic tea as a healthy option and as a status symbol are more likely to state organic tea purchase intentions. These results point to the need for extended research on key antecedents of Chinese consumers' purchase intentions of organic products. Originality/value: Little was known about the motivations of Chinese consumers for purchasing organic food products, as the psychological and demographic factors that are associated with organic food purchase behavior in China were not well researched. Specifically, there is still a notable gap in the understanding of how consumers in China make organic tea purchase decisions. With organic foods occupying a progressively larger portion of Chinese diets and budgets, this research fills in some of the knowledge gap by examining how the social norms of status symbols influence Chinese consumers' purchase intentions of organic tea. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The extracellular polysaccharide (EPS) matrix embedding microbial cells and soil particles plays an important role in the development of biological soil crusts (BSCs), which is widely recognized as beneficial to soil fertility in dryland worldwide. This study examined the EPS-producing bacterial strains YL24-1 and YL24-3 isolated from sandy soil in the Mu Us Desert in Yulin, Shaanxi province, China. The strains YL24-1 and YL24-3 were able to efficiently produce EPS; the levels of EPS were determined to be 257.22 μg/mL and 83.41 μg/mL in cultures grown for 72 h and were identified as Sinorhizobium meliloti and Pedobacter sp., respectively. When the strain YL24-3 was compared to Pedobacter yulinensis YL28-9T using 16S rRNA gene sequencing, the resemblance was 98.6% and the strain was classified as Pedobacter sp. using physiological and biochemical analysis. Furthermore, strain YL24-3 was also identified as a subspecies of Pedobacter yulinensis YL28-9T on the basis of DNA–DNA hybridization and polar lipid analysis compared with YL28-9T. On the basis of the EPS-related genes of relevant strains in the GenBank, several EPS-related genes were cloned and sequenced in the strain YL24-1, including those potentially involved in EPS synthesis, assembly, transport, and secretion. Given the differences of the strains in EPS production, it is possible that the differences in gene sequences result in variations in the enzyme/protein activities for EPS biosynthesis, assembly, transport, and secretion. The results provide preliminary evidence of various contributions of bacterial strains to the formation of EPS matrix in the Mu Us Desert. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]