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Presently, a variety of policies and measures has implemented to enhance the scientific research and innovation ability of medical students, but in the process of practice, there are many problems, such as they lack of independent topic selection ability, weak scientific research skills, lack of autonomous learning ability, the research results are simple and ineffective, limited teacher guidance time and so on. This paper attempted to build an effective model for the promotion of medical students' scientific research and innovation ability, in order to establish an efficacy evaluation model of the "Medical students' Innovative Scientific Research Program." Undergraduates, graduate assistants, and tutors were interviewed with the Behavioral Event Interview technique, and a questionnaire of efficacy evaluation characteristics concluded from the interviews was formed. The questionnaire was conducted on medical students in the Medical students' Innovative Scientific Research Program, and the constructed model was analyzed using reliability analysis, validity analysis, and variation analysis. At the same time, the experimental teaching models are summarized and combed, and compared with other methods such as independent sample test. The results show the model could effectively evaluate the efficacy of the Medical students' Innovative Scientific Research Program and its teaching model is effective in cultivating medical students' learning and scientific research ability. It can provide theoretical support and practical reference for the evaluation and reform of the teaching modes related to the cultivation of scientific and innovative ability of medical students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A widespread dense fog event associated with heavy air pollution occurred in the central and eastern regions of China from 30 December 2016 to 5 January 2017. The fog event was characterized by three distinct propagation processes on different spatial scales. This study investigated the propagation of fog and variations of pollutants during the fog event in order to better understand the mechanisms of fog. The cold high-pressure system moved southward, and the southerly wind on the western flank of the high-pressure system enhanced the temperature inversion, both of which were favorable for fog propagation. In addition, the invasion of the weak cold air and radiative cooling, and the different land-sea thermodynamic properties also contributed to the formation and propagation of the fog. Heavy pollution related to this severe fog was also investigated. The field experiment indicates that amounts of aerosol particles accounted for the enhancement of fog droplets through its role of being the condensation nuclei. As a result, the PM 2.5 concentration decreased when the fog became strong. The strong temperature inversion and gas to particle phase conversion led to an increase of the PM 2.5 concentration and a decrease of pollution gases (SO 2 , NO 2) concentration during the mature stage. • Multi-source dataset is used to detect fog formation and propagation from local to regional scale. • Three key meteorological indications for the fog propagation are determined. • Hygroscopic effects accelerate droplet growth and result in the explosive enhancement of fog. • Hygroscopic effect, strong temperature inversion, and particle-phase conversion control PM 2.5 variation during fog event. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Blastus auriculatus, a shrub sparsely distributed in Yunnan, China, occurs only in bamboo forests at an elevation of below 200 m. It is categorized as 'Critically Endangered (CR)' in China Biodiversity Red List. In addition, the phylogenetic position of Blastus within the Melastomataceae family is still unclear. This study generated the complete chloroplast genome sequence of B. auriculatus with aims to provide genetic resources for conservation genetics and to reslove the phylogenetic position of Blastus. The size of the chloroplast genome of B. auriculatus is 155,981 bp, including a large single-copy (LSC) region of 85,955 bp and a small single-copy (SSC) region of 16,434 bp, separated by a pair of identical inverted repeat regions (IRs) of 26,796 bp each. The chloroplast genome contains a total of 125 genes, including 80 protein-coding genes, 37 tRNA genes, and 8 rRNA genes. Phylogenetic analysis showed that B. auriculatus is closest to Barthea barthei among species in Melastomataceae with available chloroplast genome sequences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Throughout more than ten years of observations, strong dense fog (SDF) (visibility < 200 m) and extremely dense fog (EDF) (visibility < 50 m) often occurred in the central and eastern regions of China. This could lead to serious traffic accidents. This review summarizes the research results of dense fog in China, including the burst reinforcement features of strong dense fog (SDF) formation, the microphysical process of the fog body enhancement, the causes of burst reinforcement and the characteristics of the boundary layer structure. There are also remarks about fog dissipations. The research results show that there are still many important scientific problems to be solved about dense fog. These are briefly introduced at the end of this paper. • Dense fog researches in China is summarized. • The Burst Reinforcement feature of strong dense fog are reviewed. • The microphysical process of dense fog burst reinforcement are presented. • The prospects of important scientific problems about dense fog are given. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: An unusually dense regional advection-radiation fog event over Anhui and the surrounding provinces in eastern China during Dec. 25–27, 2006, was investigated. At its mature stage, the fog covered most Anhui and parts of the surrounding provinces, reducing visibility to 100m or less. It lasted more than 36 consecutive hours in some places. A mesoscale meteorological model (MM5), together with back-trajectory analysis, was used to investigate this fog event. The observations from a field station as well as hundreds of routine stations, along with two sets of visibility computing methods, were used to quantitatively and objectively validate the MM5 simulated liquid water content (LWC) and visibility. The verifications demonstrate that MM5 has a better fog predictability for the first day compared to the second day forecast, and better fog predictability compared to dense fog predictability with regard to the probability of detection (POD) and the threat score (TS). The new visibility algorithm that uses both LWC and number density of fog droplets significantly outperforms the conventional LWC-only based one in the fog prediction in terms of the POD score, especially for dense fog prediction. The objective verification in this work is the first time conducted for MM5 fog prediction, with which we can better understand the performance of simulated temporal and spatial fog coverage. The back-trajectory and sensitivity experiments confirm that subsidence and the steady warm and moist advections from southeast and southwest maintained the dense fog while the northwesterly dry wind resulted in dissipation of the fog. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Variability of urban fog during the last 50 years in Anhui Province (China) and its possible underlying mechanisms are analyzed based on daily meteorological records from 78 stations. The effects of urban development and aerosols on fog formation are discussed through an analysis of trends in fog frequency and comparison with a number of meteorological parameters, coal consumption and vehicle usage as indicators of economic development and aerosol production, and visibility as an indicator of aerosol load. The impact of urbanization on fog is different at various stages of urban development. The number of annual fog days in most cities studied has increased since the 1960s but decreased after the mid 1980s in large, old cities. New cities, on the other hand, are characterized by still increasing fog frequency. During the last thirty years, fog dissipation time occurred later, average fog duration increased and visibility decreased at most urban stations. The annual total coal combustion of Anhui Province correlates negatively with the average visibility within fog and average annual fog frequency in old cities. The difference in minimum temperature between cities and towns is negatively (positively) correlated with fog frequency in old (new) cities. Our study therefore supports previous findings that the number of fog days in cities is influenced by increased (i) temperatures associated with urban development and (ii) aerosol concentration due to urban development and industrial activity. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Background: We aim to create a holistic competency-based assessment system to measure competency evolution over time - one of the first such systems in China., Method: Two rounds of self-reported surveys were fielded among the graduates from the Shantou University Medical College: June through December 2017, and May through August 2018. Responses from three cohorts of graduates specializing in clinical medicine - new graduates, resident physicians, and senior physicians - were analyzed. Gaps between respondents' expected and existing levels of competencies were examined using a modified service quality model, SERVQUAL., Results: A total of 605 questionnaires were collected in 2017 for the construction of competency indicators and a 5-level proficiency rating scale, and 407 in 2018, for confirmatory factor and competency gap analysis. Reliability coefficients of all competency indicators (36) were greater than 0.9. Three competency domains were identified through exploratory factor analysis: knowledge (K), skills (S), and attitude (A). The confirmatory factor analysis confirmed the fit of the scale (CMIN/DF < 4; CFI > 0.9; IFI > 0.9; RMSEA ≤ 0.08). Within the cohorts of resident and senior physicians, the largest competency gap was seen in the domain of knowledge (K): -1.84 and -1.41, respectively. Among new graduates, the largest gap was found in the domain of skills (S) (-1.92), with the gap in knowledge (-1.91) trailing closely behind., Conclusions: A competency-based assessment system is proposed to evaluate clinician's competency development in three domains: knowledge (K), skills (S), and attitude (A). The system consists of 36 competency indicators, a rating scale of 5 proficiency levels, and a gap analysis to measure competency evolution through 3 key milestones in clinician's professional career: new graduate, resident physician, and senior physician. The competency gaps identified can provide evidence-based guide to clinicians' own continuous development as well as future medical curriculum improvements.

Background: Acute respiratory infections (ARI) cause considerable morbidity and mortality worldwide, especially in children. Unfortunately, there are limited multi-center data on common viral respiratory infections in south China., Methods: A total of 4403 nasal swabs were collected from children in 10 cities in Guangdong, China in 2019. Seven respiratory viruses, influenza A virus (IFA), influenza B virus (IFB), respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), adenoviruses (ADV) and parainfluenza virus types 1-3 (PIV1, PIV2 and PIV3), were detected by direct immunofluorescence antibody assay. The personal information and clinical characteristics were recorded and analyzed., Results: The results showed that at least one virus was detected in 1099 (24.96 %) samples. The detection rates of RSV, IFA, ADV, PIV3, PIV1 and PIV2 were 7.13 % (314/4403), 5.31 % (234/4403), 4.02 % (177/4403), 3.04 % (134/4403), 1.70 % (75/4403) and 1.16 % (51/4403), respectively. The detection rate of RSV was highest in 0-6-month-old children at 18.18 % (106/583), while the detection rate of IFA was highest in 12-18-year-old children at 20.48 % (17/83). The total detection rates in winter and spring were 35.67 % (219/614) and 34.56 % (403/1166), higher than those in summer, 17.41 % (284/1631), and autumn, 19.46 % (193/992)., Conclusions: RSV and IFA were the main respiratory viruses in children. With increasing age the detection rate of RSV decreased in children, but the trends for the detection rates of IFA and IFB were the opposite. This study provided the viral etiology and epidemiology of pediatric patients with ARI in Guangdong, China.