Search

Gleditsia sinensis, commonly known as Chinese Zaojiao, has important economic value and medicinal compounds in its fruits and thorns, making it widely cultivated artificially in China. However, the available literature on the impact of waterlogging on the growth of G. sinensis seedlings and the accumulation of metabolite compounds in its thorns is limited. To address this knowledge gap, G. sinensis seedlings were planted in soil supplemented with pindstrup substrate, which enhances the water-holding capacity of the soil. The analyses of morphological traits and nutrient elements in one-year-old G. sinensis seedlings grown naturally under ambient conditions and metabolite accumulation in its thorns were conducted. The results showed that the waterlogged soil significantly diminished the height, fresh weight, and dry weight of seedling roots and stems (P < 0:05). Furthermore, waterlogging hindered the uptake of iron (Fe) and manganese (Mn), as well as the transport of potassium (K). The identified metabolites within the thorns were categorized into 16 distinct groups. Relative to the control soil, fatty acids and derivatives were the most down-regulated metabolites in the waterlogged soil, accounting for 40.58% of the total metabolites, followed by lignans (38.71%), phenolic acids (34.48%), saccharides and alcohols (34.15%), steroids (16.67%), alkaloids (12.24%), flavonoids (9.28%), and glycerophospholipids (7.41%). Conversely, nucleotides and derivatives experienced the greatest up-regulation in the waterlogged soil, accounting for 50.00% of the total metabolites. In conclusion, waterlogging negatively impacted the growth of G. sinensis seedlings and inhibited the accumulation of metabolites. Hence, when considering the accumulation of secondary metabolites such as lignans and phenolic acids, appropriate management of soil moisture levels should be taken into account. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Medical service prices play a crucial role in cost containment in China. This study aimed to assess the change in medical service price levels at the macro level and the relationship with relevant macroeconomic factors. Methods: Data from the 2022 China Statistics Yearbook, the 2022 China Health Statistics Yearbook, and the 2020 China National Health Accounts Report were used. Time trends of health price levels, utilization, and health expenditure were examined. A time-series regression model was employed to measure the impact of service utilization and medical service prices on total medical service expenditure growth from 2000 to 2021. The Johansen cointegration test was conducted to test the cointegrating relationship between medical service price levels and total medical service expenditure, average wage of employees and CPI. The Granger causality test was performed to observe the direction of causality. Results: Descriptive analyses showed consistent growth in utilization and medical service price levels from 2000 to 2021. The time-series model indicated that medical service expenditure was influenced by the rise in inpatient admissions and price levels of medical service and medicine. The Johansen cointegration test identified a long-term equilibrium relationship between medical service price levels and total medical service expenditure, average wage and CPI. The change in medical service price levels was the Granger cause of the change in medical service expenditure, but it had no impact on average wage and CPI. However, the change in medical service price levels was influenced by these three macroeconomic factors. Conclusions: The growth of medical service expenditure in China was driven by inpatient use and price level. There was a long-term equilibrium relationship between medical service price levels and relevant macroeconomic factors. However, medical service price levels only affected medical service expenditure and have no impact on average wage and CPI. It is necessary to improve the value transmission mechanism of medical service prices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Thyroid cancer (TC) is the most common endocrine system malignancy with a rapidly increasing incidence in China. Epidemiological data on TC at the national level are lacking. This study aimed to quantify the TC disease burden in China between 1990 and 2019 and evaluate the current status and trends of the disease burden attributed to a high body mass index (HBMI). Methods: The 2019 Global Burden of Disease Study dataset was used to explore the TC disease burden. Age-standardized rates of incidence (ASIR), prevalence (ASPR), deaths (ASDR), and disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) were considered and the estimated annual percentage change (EAPC) was calculated as a measure of the average change in age-standardized rates. The trend in TC-related mortality and DALYs attributed to an HBMI, accounting for different age groups and sexes, was examined. Results: Between 1990 and 2019, the ASDR and DALYs for TC decreased by 0.02/100000 and 1.17/100000, respectively. The ASPR and ASIR increased by 9.88/100000 and 1.04/100000, respectively. The EAPC for ASDR, age-standardized rates of DALYs, ASPR, and ASIR were 0.06 (95% CI: -0.09, 0.21), -0.20 (95% CI: -0.31, -0.10), 3.52 (95% CI: 3.35, 3.68), and 2.73 (95% CI: 2.58, 2.88), respectively. TC-related deaths, DALYs, and their prevalence and incidence in China increased by 118%, 350%, 81%, and 290%, respectively. The disease burden of TC was higher among male than female patients in different age groups, with varying distributions. The disease burden attributed to HBMI gradually increased over the past 30 years according to age-standardized DALYs, particularly in male patients. Conclusion: The TC burden has increased in China over the past 30 years, and population aging poses a challenge to TC prevention and control. HBMI has become an important factor in the TC disease burden and further research should focus on reducing the disease burden among Chinese male patients with TC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social donation is a means for individuals, government organizations, and non-government organizations (NGOs) to provide public products and services for society. Seeking social donation is vital in the improvement of the university. This paper probes into the relationship between social donation and university development by comparing social donation levels and practices in China with those in the U.S. The main reasons why social donations in Chinese universities are relatively low are as follows: (1) independent NGOs have not been formed; (2) the system and mechanism of social donation are not perfect, and (3) many restricting factors of social culture still exist in China.

In recent years, student development and learning outcomes have become a central focus of quality higher education research. Identifying factors associated with student learning outcomes is the key to continuous quality improvement. The purpose of this study was to explore the impact of college experiences on student learning outcomes. A sample of 17,609 undergraduates from 23 Chinese colleges/universities were selected for the study and asked to complete the Chinese version of the College Student Experiences Questionnaire. Structural equation modeling analyses suggested academic and social activity involvement was an important factor influencing student learning outcomes. Campus facilities and the college environment also predicted student learning outcomes. Family background, on the other hand, exerted minimal influence on student learning outcomes. Students' involvement in academic and social activities served as strong mediators between campus facilities/environment and student learning outcomes. The results highlighted the significance of providing high-quality college experiences. They also informed policymakers and practitioners of possible pathways to support student learning outcomes by enhancing students' involvement in social and academic activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: This study elaborated the natural history parameters of Delta variant, explored the differences in detection cycle thresholds (Ct) among cases. Methods: Natural history parameters were calculated based on the different onset time and exposure time of the cases. Intergenerational relationships between generations of cases were calculated. Differences in Ct values of cases by gender, age, and mode of detection were analyzed statistically to assess the detoxification capacity of cases. Results: The median incubation period was 4 days; the detection time for cases decreased from 25 to 7 h as the outbreak continued. The average generation time (GT), time interval between transmission generations (TG) and serial interval (SI) were 3.6 ± 2.6 days, 1.67 ± 2.11 days and 1.7 ± 3.0 days. Among the Ct values, we found little differences in testing across companies, but there were some differences in the gender of detected genes. The Ct values continuous to decreased with age, but increased when the age was greater than 60. Conclusion: This epidemic was started from aggregation of factories. It is more reasonable to use SI to calculate the effective reproduction number and the time-varying reproduction number. And the analysis of Ct values can improve the positive detection rate and improve prevention and control measures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Doctors who wish to become general practitioners (GPs) in China are required to attend and complete general practice resident training. In the early stages of the standardized GP training system, GP training supervisors play important roles. This study aims to explore how GP residents perceive their GP supervisors, factors that affect GP residents' satisfaction level, as well as to offer suggestions based on the implications of this study. Design: We conducted a mixed quantitative and qualitative study. Firstly, with respect to the quantitative research, we conducted a survey to investigate training satisfaction through questionnaires, then extracted and analyzed the factors that influence training satisfaction. In the qualitative study, we conducted in-depth, semistructured interviews using qualitative research criteria (COREQ)––a 32-item checklist for interviews. Participants: Participants in the quantitative survey included 1172 GPs whose training time wasbetween 2008 and 2017. Afterwards, 100 participants were selected from this sample , filtered by stratified random sampling and by having provided extreme answers on the quantitative survey (less than 5% of the total sample). They were chosen for the qualitative research to conduct a more detailed investigation., This stratified random sampling was based on residents' grades, regions, and training levels (city level or county level). Extreme answers were identified as answers of "extremely good" or "extremely bad" to questions from the initial comprehensive survey of 1172 participants. Consequently, 30 participants with extreme answers were found, while the remaining 70 participants in the interviews were selected by stratified random sampling. Ultimately, this sample of participants met our information collection and sample estimation requirements. Results: The results show that satisfaction with GP theoretical training supervisors, GP hospital-based training supervisors, and GP community-based training supervisors differed. Considering long-term averages, the hierarchy of satisfaction is as follows: GP theoretical training supervisors > GP community-based training supervisors > GP hospital-based training supervisors. GP hospital-based training supervisors need to improve their conception of GPs, teaching methods and conscientiousness. GP community-based training supervisors need to improve their teaching methods, knowledge of clinical theory and practice ability. Conclusions: On the one hand, teams of GP supervisors in China have gradually been established over time. On the other hand,the satisfaction tendencies of residents with respect to their GP supervisors are quite different, and teams of GP supervisors must be promoted and improved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Whereas loess-mudstone landslides are widely distributed and frequently occurred at the loess Plateau, this type of landslides is hard to detect due to its particularity, and easily generates serious losses. To clarify the shear characteristics and formation mechanism of loess-mudstone landslides, field investigations, ring shear tests and numerical simulation analyses were performed on the loess specimens collected from the Dingjiagou landslide in Yan'an city, China. The test results showed that both the peak strength and residual strength of slip zone soils have a decreasing tendency with moisture content, while the increasing of normal stress caused an increase in the shear strength. These phenomena indicate that the rise in the moisture content induced by precipitation or the decreasing of normal stress due to excavation activities would result in the weakening of slip zone soils. Numerical simulations of the evolution process of slope failure using the finite element method were conducted based on the Mohr-Coulomb criterion. It was found that the heavy precipitation played a more important role in the slope instability compared with the excavation. In addition, the field investigation showed that loess soils with well-developed cracks and underlying mudstone soils provide material base for the formation of loess-mudstone landslides. Finally, the formation mechanism of this type of landslides was divided into three stages, namely, the local deformation stage, the penetration stage, the creeping — sliding stage. This study may provide a basis for understanding the sliding process of loess-mudstone landslides, as well as guidelines for the prevention and mitigation of loess-mudstone landslides. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, Halysituberosus Dong & Wang, 2017 is treated as a synonym of Allorhynchium van der Vecht, 1963 (syn. nov.). Halysituberosus yingjiangensis Dong & Wang, 2017 is a new synonym of Allorhynchium lugubrinum (Cameron, 1900) (syn. nov.) and Halysituberosus menglianensis Dong & Wang, 2017 is transferred to Allorhynchium as a new combination (comb. nov.). Based on additional COI gene sequencing and morphological characters including genitalia characters, both Allorhynchium diffinis (Giordani Soika, 1986) and Allorhynchium radiatum Li, Barthélémy & Carpenter, 2019 are confirmed to be valid species, and their males of the two species are described for the first time. Allorhynchium quadrimaculatum Gusenleitner, 1997 is newly recorded from China. A key to the Chinese species of Allorhynchium are also updated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Coxsackievirus A6 emerged as one of the predominant causative agents of hand, foot and mouth disease epidemics in many provinces of China in 2013 and 2015. This virus strain accounted for 25.9% of mild and 15.2% of severe cases in 2013 and 25.8% of mild and 16.9% of severe cases in 2015. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Case cancellation (CC) has significant impact on the efficiency of operating room (OR) management, which can be mitigated by taking preventive measures. In this study, using the data of the West China Hospital (WCH), we identified the effect of contributing factors and recommended hospital interventions to facilitate CC prevention.Method: We conducted a retrospective review of 11,331 elective surgical cases from January 1 to December 31, 2014. CC reasons were grouped into six categories. The methods of descriptive statistics and hypothesis test were used to identify the effect of factors.Results: CC reasons (746) were divided into six broad categories: workup related (preoperative diagnostic assessment issues or sudden medical condition changes) (25.8%), non-specified reasons (25.8%), coordination issues (15.1%), patient related (13.0%), support system issues (11.8%), and doctor related (8.5%). The types of the most frequently performed operations are identified, as well as their CRs. The cancellation rate (CR) of males was lower than that of females (16.7% to 18.3%). A large difference in the CRs existed among doctors. The CR on Monday was significantly higher than the other four weekdays.Conclusions: Workup related issues, the types of procedures, the menstrual cycle of females, highly imbalanced CRs among doctors, and tendency of cancellation on Monday are the major identified factors, which account for a significant amount of preventable cancellations. It is suggested that corresponding hospital interventions can reduce CR and improve OR efficiency, including maintaining effective coordination, good communication and well-designed preoperative assessment processes, focusing on the type of procedures which are more time-consuming and complex, paying special attention to the physiology of females during surgery planning, taking measures to reduce CR of top eight doctors, and improving surgery scheduling on Monday. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Accurate forecasting of hospital outpatient visits is beneficial for the reasonable planning and allocation of healthcare resource to meet the medical demands. In terms of the multiple attributes of daily outpatient visits, such as randomness, cyclicity and trend, time series methods, ARIMA, can be a good choice for outpatient visits forecasting. On the other hand, the hospital outpatient visits are also affected by the doctors' scheduling and the effects are not pure random. Thinking about the impure specialty, this paper presents a new forecasting model that takes cyclicity and the day of the week effect into consideration.Methods: We formulate a seasonal ARIMA (SARIMA) model on a daily time series and then a single exponential smoothing (SES) model on the day of the week time series, and finally establish a combinatorial model by modifying them. The models are applied to 1 year of daily visits data of urban outpatients in two internal medicine departments of a large hospital in Chengdu, for forecasting the daily outpatient visits about 1 week ahead.Results: The proposed model is applied to forecast the cross-sectional data for 7 consecutive days of daily outpatient visits over an 8-weeks period based on 43 weeks of observation data during 1 year. The results show that the two single traditional models and the combinatorial model are simplicity of implementation and low computational intensiveness, whilst being appropriate for short-term forecast horizons. Furthermore, the combinatorial model can capture the comprehensive features of the time series data better.Conclusions: Combinatorial model can achieve better prediction performance than the single model, with lower residuals variance and small mean of residual errors which needs to be optimized deeply on the next research step. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The social domain is 1 of 5 preschool curricular domains in mainland China. Chinese preschool teachers are expected to use teaching practices that foster young children's social competence. The purpose of this study was to explore a small sample of Chinese preschool teachers' use of teaching and behavior support practices associated with the Pyramid Model. Twenty preschool classrooms in mainland China were observed using the prepublication version of the Teaching Pyramid Observation Tool for Preschool Classrooms (L. Fox, M. L. Hemmeter, & P. Snyder, 2008). In addition, each teacher completed a social-emotional teaching practices survey. Results indicated that Chinese teachers were observed to use, on average, about 31% of key teaching practices associated with the Pyramid Model. They were implementing more universal promotion practices than targeted social-emotional teaching practices. Chinese teachers generally were not observed to be teaching behavior expectations and social problem solving, nor were they developing individualized interventions for children with the most persistent challenging behavior. Correlational analyses suggested that observed implementation of Pyramid Model practices generally was not related to self-reported use of these practices. Limitations and implications of the present study along with considerations for future research are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Total of 172 total suspended particulate (TSP) samples and its chemical compositions were collected and analyzed from January to December 2010 in Pengjia Yu Island, an open region in East China Sea (ECS). Despite the predominance of sea-salt major ions (Na+, Cl−), the presence of non-sea-salt SO 4 2− (nss-SO 4 2−) and NO 3 − as well as combustion-derived trace metals clearly establishes the impact of anthropogenic sources over ECS. The annual contributions of coal, heavy-fuel oil and traffic to the measured chemical species were 21.0 %, 15.0 % and 15.5 %, respectively. Especially in spring, the contributions of crustal minerals to measured chemical species during dust period (33.6 %) were higher than that (13.2 %) during non-dust period. The calculated annual average dry deposition fluxes for trace metals and total inorganic nitrogen were 246.1 ± 345.8 μg/m2/d and 2950.4 ± 2245.0 μg/m2/d, suggesting that atmospheric deposition is an important source of nutrient elements for the south of ECS. • Seasonal variations of TSP chemical compositions were observed in Pengjia Yu Island. • Sea salt was the highest contributions, contributes 37.8 %–53.1 % to TSP. • Dust originated from North China frequently transport to East China Sea in spring. • Anthropogenic activities contributed the highest percentage in winter of four seasons. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives. To assess the improvements of the Chinese Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDCs) systembetween2002and 2012, andproblems the system hasencountered. Methods. We obtained data from 2 national cross-sectional surveys in 2006 and 2013, including 32 provincial, 139 municipal, and 489 county-level CDCs throughout China. We performed a pre-post comparative analysis to determine trends in resource allocation and service delivery. Results. The overall completeness of public health services significantly increased from 47.4% to 76.6%. Furthermore, the proportion of CDC staff with bachelor's or higher degrees increased from 14.6% to 32.6%, and governmental funding per CDC increased 5.3-fold (1.283-8.098 million yuan). The working area per CDC staff increased from 37.9 square meters to 63.3 square meters, and configuration rate of type A devices increased from 28.1% to 65.0%. Remaining problems included an 11.9% reduction in staff and the fact that financial investments covered only 71.1% of actual expenditures. Conclusions. China's CDC system has progressed remarkably, enabling quicker responses to emergent epidemics. Future challenges include establishing a sustainable financing mechanism and retaining a well-educated, adequately sized public health workforce. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Stable isotopes ( δ 15 N, δ 18 O) can serve as tracers for sources of nitrogen in the receiving environment. Hong Kong discharges ~ 3 × 10 6 m 3 d − 1 of treated wastewater into the ocean from 68 facilities implementing preliminary to tertiary treatment. We sampled treated sewage from 18 plants across 5 treatment types and examined receiving seawater from northeast Hong Kong. We analyzed nitrate and nitrite (NO 3 − + NO 2 − , hereafter NO x ) ammonium (NH 4 + ), phosphate (PO 4 + ) concentrations and δ 15 N NOx , δ 18 O NOx . Sewage effluents contained high mean nutrient concentrations (NO 3 − = 260 μmol L − 1 , NH 4 + = 1400 μmol L − 1 , PO 4 + = 50 μmol L − 1 ) with some indication of nitrogen removal in advanced treatment types. Mean δ 15 N NOx of sewage effluents from all plants and treatment types (12‰) was higher than natural sources and varied spatially and seasonally. There was no overall effect of sewage treatment type on δ 15 N NOx . A mass balance model indicated that sewage (> 68%) remains a dominant source of nitrate pollution in seawater in Tolo Harbor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Classified diagnose and treatment (CDT) is a hot research topic in hospital management in China. As an essential way to implement CDT, the inpatient admission assessment involves different kinds of vague and uncertain information. The hesitant fuzzy linguistic term set provides a new technology to depict the vague and subjective evaluation information of the experts in hospital. In this paper, we apply the hesitant fuzzy linguistic VIKOR (HFL-VIKOR) method to the inpatient admission assessment process in which all the evaluation information over the patients are expressed as linguistic term sets or linguistic expressions. Firstly, the index of CDT (ICDT) of a patient is introduced to describe the degree to which the patient conforms to the classified diagnose and treatment principle. Based on these indices of different patients, the priorities of inpatient admission are assigned to the patients to ensure that the scarce medical resources be distributed to the most appropriate patients in the view of CDT. The numerical example in the West China Hospital reveals that the HFL-VIKOR method is a feasible and efficient methodology to solve the inpatient admission problem for the purpose of the classified diagnose and treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Low levels of folate combined with high levels of homocysteine may cause unexplained recurrent pregnancy loss (URPL). However, the relationships between polymorphisms in genes of the folate metabolic pathway and URPL remain controversial. We conducted a case-control study to explore polymorphisms of the major folate pathway genes, including methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) 677C>T, MTHFR 1298A>C, methionine synthase (MTR) 2756A>G, methionine synthase reductase (MTRR) 66A>G and reduced folate carrier 1 (RFC-1) 80A>G, and their associations with URPL. Polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) was used to determine the distributions of MTHFR, MTR and RFC-1 polymorphisms, and the results were validated using direct sequencing. The polymorphisms in MTRR were determined using direct sequencing. Haplotypes were analyzed using SHEsis, an online tool for biological analysis. We found that the MTHFR 677T allele and the 677T/1298A/2756A/66A/80G haplotype were risk factors for URPL, while the MTR 2756G allele and the 677C/1298A/2756A/66A/80A haplotype exhibited protective effects on susceptibility to URPL in a Chinese Han population from the Hangzhou area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Recent studies have indicated the predominance of Toxoplasma gondii genotype Chinese 1 in animals in China. However, little is known of the genetic features of the parasite in humans. This study aims to determine the prevalence of anti-T. gondii antibodies based on which the genetic character of the parasite was identified in cancer patients in China. Methods: A total of 1014 serum samples with malignant neoplasms were collected from six tertiary-care hospitals (HAUCM, APH, HAMU, XAH, FHH and HBMC) from January, 2012 to August, 2013. Antibodies against T. gondii were examined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Blood samples were subsequently used for PCR assay to detect T. gondii DNA (gra6). The DNA positive samples were subjected to genotyping using a multiplex multilocus nested PCR-RFLP at 10 loci, including sag1, sag2, sag3, btub, gra6, l358, c22-8, c29-2, pk1 and apico. Samples from the patients were anonymous and only data with regard to age and gender was available at sample collection. Results: Overall, 8.38% (85/1014) of the examined patients showed positive antibodies against T. gondii. Among them, 61 (6.02%) were seropositive only for IgG, 16 (1.58%) were only for IgM, and 8 (0.79%) were found to be positive for both IgG and IgM. The seroprevalence of antibodies to Toxoplasma ranged from 5.8% to 11.0%, without regional difference (X2 = 4.764, P = 0.445). No significant differences of the positive rates of T. gondii infection were noted in genders (male, 8.96%; female, 7.45%) (X2 = 0.707, P = 0.400) and in ages (X2 = 1.172, P = 0.947). Of 1014 DNA samples, 36 (3.55%) were positive for T. gondii by nested PCR at gra6 locus and nine gave rise to complete genotyping results. All samples with achieved PCR-RFLP genotyping showed a common genetic character of type Chinese 1 (ToxoDB#9). Conclusion: Seroprevalence of toxoplasmosis in immunosuppressed individuals is rarely reported in China and we presented a positive rate of 8.38% in cancer patients. Toxoplasma genomic DNA genotyping demonstrated a common genetic character of Chinese 1, indicating a possible pathogenic origin of animals in human infection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the past two decades, Shanghai, the largest megacity in China, has been coping with unprecedented growth of its economy and population while overcoming previous underinvestment in the health system by the central and local governments. We study the evolution of Shanghai's healthcare system by analyzing "Avoidable Mortality" (AM) - deaths amenable to public health and healthcare interventions, as previously defined in the literature. Based on analysis of mortality data, by cause of death, from the Shanghai Municipal Center for Disease Control and Prevention, we analyze trends over the period 2000-10 and compare Shanghai's experience to other mega-city regions - New York, London and Paris. Population health status attributable to public health and healthcare interventions improved dramatically for Shanghai's population with permanent residency status. The age-adjusted rate of AM, per 1,000 population, dropped from 0.72 to 0.50. The rate of decrease in age-adjusted AM in Shanghai (30%) was comparable to New York City (30%) and Paris (25%), but lower than London (42%). Shanghai's establishment of the Municipal Center for Disease Control and Prevention and its upgrading of public health and health services are likely to have contributed to the large decrease in the number and rate of avoidable deaths, which suggests that investments in public health infrastructure and increasing access to health services in megacities - both in China and worldwide - can produce significant mortality declines. Future analysis in Shanghai should investigate inequalities in avoidable deaths and the extent to which these gains have benefitted the significant population of urban migrants who do not have permanent residency status. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. Deqi sensation is a complex but an important component for acupuncture effect. In this study, we tried to observe the relationship between Deqi and skin temperature changes and whether there was some relativity between Deqi and needle stimulations on cold congealing and dysmenorrhea rat model. Thirty-two female Sprague Dawley (SD) rats were randomly divided into four groups (Saline Control Group, Model Group, Group A with strong stimulation, and Group B with small stimulation). Group A and Group B were performed with different stimulations.We found that, compared with saline control group,model group, and Group B, Group A showed that the skin temperature changes on right acupoint SP6 and SP10 increased significantly at 5 min-10 min interval. The skin temperature changes on left SP6 decreased at instant-5 min interval. The skin temperature changes on right SP10 decreased significantly at instant-5 min interval and 10 min-20 min interval. Thermogenic action along Spleen Meridian of Foot Greater Yin was manifested as simultaneous skin temperature increase on right SP6 and SP10 at 5 min-10 min interval after needling SP6, which was helpful to illustrate the relationship between the characteristic of Deqi and needle stimulations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, we try to evaluate the effects of acupuncture stimulation with different amounts at Sanyinjiao (SP6) on uterine contraction and uterus microcirculation in rats with dysmenorrhea of cold coagulation syndrome and to explore whether there is direct relativity between "De qi" and needle stimulus intensity. Diestrus female rats were randomly divided into 4 groups, including saline control group,model control group, "A" stimulus group (with strong stimulus), and "B" stimulus group (with weak stimulus). We found that dysmenorrhea rats of the cold coagulation syndrome present a high intensity in uterine tension and high contraction of microvascular diameter. Acupuncture applied with two different stimuli could relieve the symptoms, but, compared with "B" stimulus, "A" stimulus leads to better outcomes on reducing uterine contraction and increasing diameter of uterine microvascular; moreover, hand manipulation during needling mediates the curative effect on the microvascular diameter. Our finding indicates that using thick needles and deep insertion with hand manipulation are more effective and achieve desired level of "De qi" in dysmenorrhea rats. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Recent studies of Toxoplasma gondii isolates from animals in different regions of China have shown a limited genetic diversity and type China 1 was the dominant genotype of T. gondii prevalent in Chinese animals. However, little has been known concerning the isolation and genotyping of T. gondii circulating in chickens, pigs and rodents in China. The aim of the study was to characterize samples of T. gondii isolates obtained from naturally infected cats, pigs and free-range chickens slaughtered for human consumption in China. Methods: In the present study, brain tissues of 77 animals collected from different areas of China, including 24 free-range chickens (Gallus domesticus) , 13 voles (Rattus flavipectus), 23 pigs and 17 cats, were bioassayed in mice and viable T. gondii were isolated from the brains of eleven. These eleven T. gondii isolates were maintained in Kunming (KM) outbred mice and DNA isolated from tissues of infected mice was characterized using 11 PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) markers: SAG1, SAG2, SAG3, BTUB, GRA6, c22-8, c29-2, L358, PK1, Apico, and CS3. Moreover, to determine mouse virulence of China 1 lineage of parasites, a TgCtgy5 genotype isolate was selected randomly and assessed in KM mice with different inoculation doses. Results: Results of genotyping revealed that ten isolates were type China 1 (ToxoDB PCR-RFLP genotype #9), and TgCksz1 was a new genotype that was reported for the first time designated here as ToxoDB PCR-RFLP #225. No clonal types I, II and III lineages were found. DNA sequencing of four introns (EF1, HP2, UPRT1 and UPRT7) and two genes (GRA6 and GRA7) from representative isolates confirmed the results of PCR-RFLP genotyping. The TgCtgy5 isolate was highly virulent in KM mice; all infected mice died of acute toxoplasmosis, irrespective of the inoculation dose. The results indicate that mouse virulent isolates of T. gondii are predominantly circulating in cats in China. Conclusions: T. gondii isolated from chickens, pigs, cats and rodents in different locations in China were genotyped and the results reconfirmed the limited diversity of T. gondii in China and showed that type China 1 lineage was dominant in this country [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

De-qi refers to the participant's subjective sensations and objective body responses as well as the acupuncturist's perceptions while the acupuncturist needles certain acupoints in the participant's body. In recent years, De-qi is getting increasing attention of the researchers and many efforts have been made to understand its mechanism. By the broad literature survey, this paper explores the subjective De-qi sensation of the patients, its influencing factors, and the resulting physiological responses. The purpose of this paper is expected to find out a possible mechanism of De-qi and to provide certain scientific evidence for acupuncture fundamental research and clinical practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The prevalence of population-wide hypertension, obesity and dyslipidemia has not been well studied in the pasture area of Xinjiang. The present epidemiological study was performed to determine the prevalence of hypertension, obesity and dyslipidemia in minority populations from the pasture area of Xinjiang and to discuss the potential risk factors for hypertension.Methods: A population-based, cross-sectional study in the Xinjiang pasture area was performed which included 2251 participants aged over 30 years (90.33% participation rate) of whom 71.26% were Kazaks. Several risk factors were considered: hypertension (defined as systolic or diastolic blood pressure or both of at least 140/90 mmHg measured on one occasion or treatment for hypertension) overweight/obesity (body mass index > or = 25 kg/m2) alcohol intake, smoking/tobacco use and dyslipidemia. Outcomes were prevalence of hypertension, obesity and dyslipidemia and the associated risk factors of hypertension detected by multivariate logistic regression analysis taking into account various metabolic and lifestyle characteristics.Results: The prevalence of hypertension, overweight/obesity and dyslipidemia in all participants from the pasture area of Xinjiang was 51.9%, 47.9% and 49.2% respectively. Independently, the prevalence and awareness of hypertension was 52.6% and 15.3% among Kazaks (n = 1604), 54.6% and 14.1% among Uygurs (n = 418), 39.5% and 16.1% among Mongolians (n = 81) and 43.9% and 18.2% among non-Xinjiang-born Han immigrants (n = 148). The prevalence of overweight/obesity in Kazaks, Uygurs, Mongolians and Han immigrants was 46.7%, 48.9%, 62.5% and 50.3%, respectively. The prevalence of dyslipidemia in the four ethnic groups mentioned was 53.5%, 34.8%, 49.3% and 47.3%, respectively. The mean blood pressure in all participants was 136/86 mmHg (pre-hypertensive), the mean BMI was 24.7 kg/m2. Based on multiple logistic regression analysis, the significant risk factors for hypertension were age [1.07(1.06-1.09), P < 0.0001], overweight/obesity [overweight: 1.61(1.22-2.13), p = 0.0007; obesity: 1.95 (1.33-2.87), p = 0.0007], hypercholesterolemia [1.30(1.15-1.47), p < 0.0001] and an alcohol intake of over 30 g/day [2.22(1.43-3.45), p = 0.0004].Conclusions: The considerably high prevalence of hypertension, overweight/obesity and dyslipidemia among the minority population aged over 30 from the pasture area of Xinjiang calls for effective preventive measures. Age, increased body mass index, hypercholesterolemia and > or =30 g/d alcohol intake can be counted as risk factors for hypertension, but further genetic or environmental clarification would be desirable to explain the unusually high prevalence of the conditions mentioned above. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) is one of the leading causes of cancer death in China. In the present study, proteins in tumors and adjacent normal esophageal tissues from 41 patients with ESCC were extracted, and two-dimensional electrophoresis (2-DE) was performed using the pH 3–10 and 4–7 immobilized pH gradient strips. The protein spots expressed differentially between tumors and normal tissues were identified by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization and liquid chromatography electrospray/ionization ion trap mass spectrometry. A total of 22 proteins differentially expressed between ESCC and normal esophageal tissues were identified, in which 17 proteins were upregulated and 5 downregulated in tumors. Biological functions of these proteins are related to cell signal transduction, cell proliferation, cell motility, glycolysis, regulation of transcription, oxidative stress processes, and protein folding. Some of the proteins obtained were confirmed by Western blotting and immunohistochemical staining. We showed that high expression of calreticulin and 78-kDa glucose-regulated protein (GRP78) were correlated with poor prognosis by Kaplan–Meier analysis and log rank analysis. Zinc finger protein 410, annexin V, similar to the ubiquitin-conjugating enzyme E2 variant 1 isoform c, mutant hemoglobin beta chain, TPM4–ALK fusion oncoprotein type 2, similar to heat shock congnate 71-kDa protein, GRP78, and pyruvate kinase M2 (M2–PK) were for the first time observed to be dysregulated in human ESCC tissues. The proteins here identified will contribute to the understanding of the tumorigenesis and progression of Chinese ESCC and may potentially provide useful markers for diagnosis or targets for therapeutic intervention and drug development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China is home to the second largest population of children and adolescents in the world. Yet demographic shifts mean that the government must manage the challenge of fewer children with the needs of an ageing population, while considering the delicate tension between economic growth and environmental sustainability. We mapped the health problems and risks of contemporary school-aged children and adolescents in China against current national health policies. We involved multidisciplinary experts, including young people, with the aim of identifying actionable strategies and specific recommendations to promote child and adolescent health and wellbeing. Notwithstanding major improvements in their health over the past few decades, contemporary Chinese children and adolescents face distinct social challenges, including high academic pressures and youth unemployment, and new health concerns including obesity, mental health issues, and sexually transmitted infections. Inequality by gender, geography, and ethnicity remains a feature of health risks and outcomes. We identified a mismatch between current health determinants, risks and outcomes, and government policies. To promote the health of children and adolescents in China, we recommend a set of strategies that target government-led initiatives across the health, education, and community sectors, which aim to build supportive and responsive families, safe communities, and engaging and respectful learning environments. For the Chinese translation of the abstract see Supplementary Materials section. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Mutations in the leucine-rich repeat kinase 2 gene (LRRK2) are known to cause typical, late-onset familial Parkinson''s disease in different geographic origins. However, there was no report about mutations of LRRK2 gene in mainland China. The 51 coding exons and intron/exon boundaries of the LRRK2 gene were sequenced in nine families with Parkinson''s disease. A novel LRRK2 missense mutation resulting in a single amino acid substitution K616R was present in one family with a dominant form of PD, and not in 200 controls. The patient presented with slowly progressive resting tremor, dyskinesia, and responded well to l-dopa. In conclusion, we identified a novel mutation in LRRK2 gene, which was the first mutation of LRRK2 found in the mainland Chinese population with familial Parkinson''s disease. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Apolipoproteins are carrier proteins that bind to lipids to form lipoprotein particles and have been shown to play an important role in lipid metabolism. In this study, a full-length cDNA for apolipoprotein E, named AsapoE, was cloned from the Chinese sturgeon (Acipenser sinensis). This cDNA sequence is 1289bp in length, and codes for a polypeptide of 274 amino acid residues, which is 45% and 42% identical to that of the rainbow trout and zebrafish, respectively, and 39%, 30%, and 29% identical to frog, mouse, and human respectively. The predicted AsApoE protein has a conserved amphipathic α-helix region with the potential to bind to lipids. RT-PCR analysis reveals that AsapoE is expressed in all tissues examined with a preferential expression in the kidney and liver. During the embryo development stage, AsapoE mRNA is low but still detectable at gastrula stage embryos; then AsapoE mRNAs reach a higher level in muscle contraction stage embryos, this relatively stable expression persists during the following embryogenic stages and declines 1day after hatching. These results will serve as a basis for comparative studies on vertebrate apoE genes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Price levels of medical services may vary across regions with different income levels, which would raise concerns about the equal access to medical services. This study aimed to estimate the spatial price index of medical services to measure price levels across 31 provincial regions in China., Methods: Price data were collected from medical service price schedule in each region. Two methods based on the Purchasing Power Parities were used to estimate the spatial price index and measure price differences across regions. The two-way fixed effects models were used to examine the association between medical service price levels and income levels, and further investigate the impacts of price differences on utilization of medical services and medical expenditure., Results: The consistent estimation results were given by two methods. Medical service price level in the highest-price region was found to be 74% higher than the lowest. There was a significant negative correlation between price levels and income levels, as well as price levels and the utilization of outpatient services. Moreover, we also found a 1% increase in medical service price level was significantly associated with a 0.34% and 0.24% increase in the medical service expense per outpatient visit and per inpatient respectively., Conclusions: Regions in China had significant gaps in medical service price levels. Policymakers should pay more attention to regional price differences and take great measures such as enhancing financial protection to ensure the equal access to medical services and better achieve the universal health coverage., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Background: Price differences of medical services across regions may affect equity in health financing. This study aimed to estimate the spatial price index of medical services to measure price levels across regions in the Yangtze River Delta, China., Methods: Gini-Éltetö-Köves-Szulc method and minimum spanning tree method based on the purchasing power parities were used in this study., Results: According to the Gini-Éltetö-Köves-Szulc method, Shanghai and Anhui province had price levels that are 127.55% and 103.45% respectively of the price level in Zhejiang province, whereas in Jiangsu medical services were priced at 92.71% of that in Zhejiang province. The spatial price index of medical services in the Yangtze River Delta based on the minimum spanning tree method provided similar results., Conclusions: Regions in the Yangtze River Delta had significant gaps in medical services price levels. And the price levels tended to not correlate with socioeconomic levels. It is necessary to promote the regional coordination of medical services price and better achieve equity in health., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

Objective: The participation of general practice (GP) residents in COVID-19 prevention and control tasks touched workload participation in public health and disease prevention and control and was also a rare, valuable training experience for the residents and research material for medical education. This experience contributed to the understanding of three key points: First, was the content of the COVID-19 prevention task suited to them, or did it overload them in the present? Second, their competence in the COVID-19 prevention task reflected whether the early medical school training was sufficient or not. Third, what can be drawn from this study to promote public health training in the future? This study aimed to explore these issues by conducting a real epidemic situated training (REST) program. Methods: A situated cognition study was designed that included situational context design, legitimate peripheral participation, and the construction of a community of practice. The Task Cognitive Load Scale (NASA-TLX Scale) and self-developed questionnaires were adopted to conduct a questionnaire survey of resident doctors in a GP training program from West China Hospital of Sichuan University, and 183 questionnaires were collected. SPSS 23.0 statistical software was used for the statistical analysis of data. Results: The NASA scale showed that the intensity of field epidemic prevention and control (training) was tolerable. In particular, there was statistical difference in the cognitive load intensity of training before and after the epidemic occurred at different time points ( P < 0.05). This shows that they were early trained and well-prepared before sudden outbreak of the COVID-19. Before the outbreak of the epidemic, the public health knowledge and training received came from undergraduate education (83.16%), early residents program training (69.47%), online self-study (49.16%), and continuing education (20.53%). Conclusion: Former medical school education and training at the regulatory training stage have a good effect and enable residents to master the skills required for epidemic prevention and control and to physically and mentally prepare for the task. After this stage, epidemic prevention and control training in real situations will make important contributions to the self-assessment and performance improvement of public health training., 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 © 2021 Xin, Li, Qiaoli and Xingyue.)

The spatial accessibility of prehospital EMS is particularly important for the elderly population's physiological functions. Due to the recent expansion of aging populations all over the globe, elderly people's spatial accessibility to prehospital EMS presents a serious challenge. An efficient strategy to address this issue involves using geographic information systems (GIS)-based tools to evaluate the spatial accessibility in conjunction with the spatial distribution of aging people, available road networks, and prehospital EMS facilities. This study employed gravity model and empirical Bayesian Kriging (EBK) interpolation analysis to evaluate the elderly's spatial access to prehospital EMS in Ningbo, China. In our study, we aimed to solve the following specific research questions: In the study area, "what are the characteristics of the prehospital EMS demand of the elderly?" "Do the elderly have equal and convenient spatial access to prehospital EMS?" and "How can we satisfy the prehospital EMS demand of an aging population, improve their spatial access to prehospital EMS, and then ensure their quality of life?" The results showed that 37.44% of patients admitted to prehospital EMS in 2020 were 65 years and older. The rate of utilization of ambulance services by the elderly was 27.39 per 1000 elderly residents. Ambulance use by the elderly was the highest in the winter months and the lowest in the spring months (25.90% vs. 22.38%). As for the disease spectrum, the main disease was found to be trauma and intoxication (23.70%). The mean accessibility score was only 1.43 and nearly 70% of demand points had scored lower than 1. The elderly's spatial accessibility to prehospital EMS had a central-outward gradient decreasing trend from the central region to the southeast and southwest of the study area. Our proposed methodology and its spatial equilibrium results could be taken as a benchmark of prehospital care capacity and help inform authorities' efforts to develop efficient, aging-focused spatial accessibility plans.

Background: The epidemiologic and clinical characteristics of heart transplant (HTx) recipients during the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) epidemic remains unclear. We studied the characteristics of HTx recipients from December 20, 2019, to February 25, 2020, in an effort to understand their risk and outcomes., Methods: All accessible HTx recipients were included in this single-center retrospective study. We collected information on the recipients using a web-based questionnaire as well as the hospital database., Results: We followed 87 HTx recipients (72.4% were men, and the average age was 51 years). A total of 79 recipients resided in Hubei, and 57 recipients had a Wuhan-related history of travel or contact. Most took precautionary measures while in contact with suspicious crowds, and 96.6% of the families and communities undertook prevention and quarantine procedures. Four upper airway infections were reported, and 3 of them tested negative for SARS-CoV-2 (the fourth recovered and was not tested). All cases were mild and successfully recovered after proper treatment. Laboratory results of 47 HTx cases within the last 2 months were extracted. Of these, 21.3% of recipients had pre-existing lymphopenia, and 87.2% of recipients had a therapeutic concentration of tacrolimus (5-12 ng/ml). Liver and kidney insufficiency was seen in 5 and 6 recipients, respectively., Conclusion: HTx recipients who practiced appropriate prevention measures had a low rate of infection with SARS-CoV-2 and transition to the associated disease COVID-19. These early data will require confirmation as the pandemic establishes around the world., (Copyright © 2020 International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Objectives: The elephant trunk method was introduced to treat aortic disease. There are a variety of modified elephant trunk methods, including the stented elephant trunk. We retrospectively reviewed our experience and evaluated the effectiveness of surgical treatment for acute aortic dissection using the Chinese CRONUS stented elephant trunk technique., Methods: From August 2005 to December 2012, 252 patients with acute aortic dissection underwent surgical treatment using the Chinese CRONUS stented elephant trunk technique at the Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University. We review the characteristics of the patients, the surgical method, and the prognosis. Furthermore, we modified the stented elephant trunk technique to simplify the surgical procedure using stented elephant trunk fenestration in 81 patients., Results: The procedure was technically successful in all patients. The mean duration of cardiopulmonary bypass, myocardial ischemia, and circulatory arrest was 158±34 minutes, 98±24 minutes, and 27±9 minutes, respectively. The mean stay in the intensive care unit was 74±11 hours. The in-hospital mortality rate was 3.2% (8/252). A 92.2% (225/244) follow-up rate was achieved. Five patients died during follow-up. The diameter of the descending aorta significantly decreased in 173 patients (78.6%), did not change 39 patients (17.7%), and dilated in 8 patients (3.7%)., Conclusions: In surgery for acute aortic dissection, the Chinese CRONUS stented elephant trunk technique had a low prevalence of morbidity and mortality in our patients. The satisfactory effects demonstrated that the technique is safe and effective in closing the residual false lumen of the descending aorta. Stented elephant trunk fenestration could further simplify the surgical procedure with minimal invasion., (Copyright © 2014 The American Association for Thoracic Surgery. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Early onset parkinsonism (EOP) has been associated with mutations in the Parkin, PINK1, and DJ-1 genes. We studied the prevalence of mutations in all three genes in 127 unrelated Chinese patients with apparently sporadic EOP using direct sequencing analysis and real-time quantitative PCR analysis assay. There are 16 patients (12.6%) with mutations of Parkin gene, four patients (3.1%) with mutations of PINK1 gene, and three patients (2.4%) with mutation of DJ-1 gene. In conclusion, Parkin gene mutation is the most common pathogenic factor in Chinese patients with sporadic EOP. Mutations of DJ-1 and PINK1 gene are also found in Chinese patients with sporadic EOP.

Objective: To investigate the mutation characteristics of ATP13A2 gene in Chinese patients with familial autosomal recessive early-onset parkinsonism (AREP)., Methods: Mutations of ATP13A2 gene were screened by polymerase chain reaction combined with DNA direct sequencing in patients with familial AREP., Results: No pathogenic mutations in ATP13A2 gene were detected in this group. Six reported polymorphisms were identified. They were IVS6+70A>G, IVS12+66A>G, m.1849C>T, IVS20-56 G>A, m2671C>T and m2824G>A., Conclusion: ATP13A2 gene mutations may be rare in Chinese patients with familial autosomal recessive early-onset parkinsonism.