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Due to policy changes in the context of COVID-19 pandemic, online teaching has become the main form of class in many Chinese universities. Flipped classroom has been widely used in other disciplines, but there is a dearth of evidence available about the use in online teaching of emergency medicine. This study aimed to develop a flipped classroom for online emergency medicine teaching and evaluate its effectiveness by comparing it with traditional lecture-based online teaching. A total of 62 clinical medical undergraduates from Jinan University participated in this study from September to December in 2022. An online flipped classroom approach was developed (FC group, n = 31). Traditional lecture-based online teaching was applied as a contrast (LBT group, n = 31). The undergraduates completed examinations and questionnaires at the end of the course. A course experience questionnaire and course examination score were used to evaluate the effectiveness of the flipped classroom approach. Regarding the five dimensions of the course experience questionnaire, the scores for good teaching (3.47 ± 0.50 vs. 2.34 ± 0.48, p <.001), appropriate assessment (3.31 ± 0.68 vs. 2.95 ± 0.71, p =.043) and generic skills (3.16 ± 0.60 vs. 2.72 ± 0.39, p <.001) were higher for the FC group than for the LBT group. There was no significant difference between the two groups in clear goals and standards, and appropriate workload. The undergraduates in the FC group showed significantly higher overall satisfaction than those in the LBT group (3.52 ± 0.1.03 vs. 2.87 ± 0.92, p =.012). The examination scores (77.936 ± 11.573 vs. 70.484 ± 7.434, p <.001), especially the scores for questions related to case analysis (33.032 ± 5.363 vs. 26.968 ± 7.657, p <.001), were significantly higher in the FC group than in the LBT group. The flipped classroom for online teaching was efficient in improving undergraduates' emergency medical academic performance and promoting the development of clinical case analysis ability. These findings provide an alternative flipped classroom approach for online teaching of emergency medicine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on the meteorological and hydrological data of the Yalong River Basin from 1960 to 2019, meteorological and hydrological droughts were analyzed using the standardized precipitation evapotranspiration index (SPEI) and standardized runoff index (SRI); then, the spatio-temporal evolution and propagation characteristics of the droughts were studied on multiple time scales. The results showed that, firstly, on the annual scale, the frequencies of meteorological and hydrological droughts in the basin were 28.3% and 34.0%, respectively, in the past 60 years. From upstream to downstream, the longer the alternating period of dry and wet periods, the more significant the frequency of droughts. Secondly, on a seasonal scale, the frequency of meteorological droughts is high in autumn, and the frequency of hydrological drought is high in autumn and winter. The frequency of drought in different seasons decreases from the upper reaches to the lower reaches of the basin. Thirdly, on a monthly scale, the severe and exceptional meteorological drought frequencies are high from March to May, and the severe and exceptional hydrological drought frequencies are high in January, March, October, and December. The frequency of hydrological droughts is much higher than that of meteorological droughts, especially with respect to severe and exceptional drought. Meteorological and hydrological droughts spread in the same period without lag, but they tend to expand. The propagation time of drought is short in summer and autumn, but long in spring and winter. The conclusions can serve as a decision-making basis for the water diversion planning of the west route of China's South-to-North Water Diversion Project and the cascade hydropower operation of the basin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Peatlands are important nutrient-limited, carbon (C)-accumulating ecosystems where phosphorus (P) is one major limiting nutrient. An increase in P input to peatlands has been observed close to agricultural areas. However, the effects of P input on gross primary productivity (GPP), ecosystem respiration (ER) and net ecosystem exchange (NEE) of peatlands, especially in temperate Asia, have been rarely studied. We selected the P addition plots of a 12-year experiment simulating environmental change in a peatland in northeastern China to evaluate the effect of P addition (5 and 10 kg ha−1 y−1) on carbon dioxide fluxes. Our results showed that the growth of Sphagnum was inhibited but that of vascular plants was facilitated by P addition, resulting in an unchanged GPP. P addition increased ER due to the increased activity potentials of N-acetyl-β-glucosaminidase (NAG) and polyphenol oxidase (POX) that might, in turn, increase the metabolic rate of soil microbes and enhance the decomposition of peat. During the growing season, a mean net CO2 absorption of 0.002 mg m−2 s−1 was observed at high levels of P addition, which was much lower than that of 0.063 mg m−2 s−1 in the controls. The results suggest that long-term P addition will greatly weaken the C sequestration in peatlands by enhancing ER rather than reducing GPP. Our study highlights the importance of the response of vegetation and soil enzyme activities to P addition regarding peatland respiration and C sink function. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: To determine the association of the retinal capillary plexus (RCP) and ganglion cell complex (GCC) with cognitive impairment using optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA). Methods: A cross-sectional, community-based study utilizing data from the participants enrolled between August 2019 and January 2020 in the Jidong Eye Cohort Study. We assessed the vessel density in RCP and GCC thickness using OCTA, and cognitive testing using the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA). Cognitive impairment in this study was defined as MoCA score < 24. We used multivariable analysis to evaluate the association of RCP and GCC with cognitive impairment after adjusting for confounders. Results: This study analyzed 1555 participants. The mean age of participants was 52.3 (8.4) years, and 861 (55.4%) were women. Cognitive impairment was observed in 268 (17.2%) participants. The adjusted odds ratio (OR) with 95% confidence interval (95% CI) for parafovea vessel density in the deep RCP with cognitive impairment was 1.20 (1.03–1.39). For vessel area and length density surrounding foveal avascular zone with cognitive impairment, the ORs with 95% CIs were 1.23 (1.07–1.41) and 1.30 (1.13–1.49), respectively. For thickness in the superior GCC with cognitive impairment, the OR with 95% CI was 1.16 (1.01–1.32). Conclusion: Lower vessel density in the RCP and thinner GCC were associated with cognitive impairment. Our results suggest that alterations in the RCP and GCC could provide further evidence when assessing the cognitive function and may even be potentially useful biomarkers in the detection of cognitive impairment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cui, H.; Xiao, W.; Zhou, Y.; Hou, B; Lu, F., and Pei, M., 2019. Spatial and temporal variations in vegetation cover and responses to climatic variables in the Daqing River Basin, North China. In: Guido-Aldana, P.A. and Mulahasan, S. (eds.), Advances in Water Resources and Exploration. Journal of Coastal Research, Special Issue No. 93, pp. 450–459. Coconut Creek (Florida), ISSN 0749-0208. The establishment of Xiong'an New Area in Hebei Province has gained immense attention from the whole scientific community. The Daqing River Basin (DRB), where the New Area is located, has become a new focus of hydrological scientists. The vegetation cover plays a key role in hydrological and biogeochemical cycles, serving as a reference to understand the ecological environment and water circulation status of the watershed. To analyse the current situation of climate and vegetation changes in the DRB, kriging interpolation, moving average, trend analysis of Theil–Sen median, and Mann-Kendall statistical test were used based on ground-based observation data and Moderate-resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) data. The annual mean values of NDVI showed a significant upward trend from 2000 to 2015. The fluctuations in seasonal NDVI values followed this trend correspondingly to various extents. The variations in NDVI value positively correlated with those in temperature, both on the annual scale and during summer seasons (P ≤ 0.05). A large improvement in the vegetation cover of DRB was observed (54.21% of the areas), mainly distributed in the northeast of Mountainous Areas of Daqing River Basin and West Plain of Baiyangdian Lake. The findings might be helpful to understand the water and energy flux cycling in the changing environment of this region, providing guiding information on river basin management and the planning and construction of New Area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose. To investigate the psychometric properties of three commonly used dry eye questionnaires including McMonnies Questionnaire (MQ), the Ocular Surface Disease Index (OSDI), and the Salisbury Eye Evaluation Questionnaire (SEEQ) in Chinese. Methods. This prospective cross-sectional study was conducted at the Eye Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University. Ninety-eight participants completed three questionnaires in a random order. Ophthalmic examinations including tear break-up time, corneal fluorescein staining score, and Schirmer I test were performed. Reliability, validity, and accuracy were assessed for three questionnaires. Results. There were 35 mild-to-moderate dry eye patients, 14 severe dry eye patients, and 49 non-dry eye patients. The Cronbach α of MQ, OSDI, and SEEQ was 0.54, 0.74, and 0.76, respectively, and the intraclass correlation coefficients were 0.91, 0.90, and 0.94, respectively. There were significant differences (P<0.05) in MQ and OSDI scores among different groups, but there were no statistically significant differences between the mild-to-moderate group and the severe group in terms of SEEQ scores. With cutoff values for abnormal MQ of 15, OSDI of 27.2, and SEED of 1, respectively, good dry eye diagnostic accuracies were obtained. Conclusions. The three questionnaires showed fair accuracy in the diagnosis of dry eye. The cutoff values of OSDI changed when applied to Chinese people. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study assessed the fenhexamid sensitivity of 143 Botrytis cinerea isolates collected from greenhouse strawberries in five regions of China between 2012 and 2013, and identified four isolates with moderate levels of resistance: two from the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region and two from Hebei Province. The baseline fenhexamid sensitivity of B. cinerea exhibited a unimodal distribution with a mean EC50 value of 0.20 ± 0.10 μg/ml ( SD). The EC50 values of the fenhexamid-resistant isolates ranged from 0.05 to 0.40 μg/ml. Molecular analysis of the fenhexamid target gene erg27 revealed that the resistant isolates collected from Xinjiang (163-6 and 163-22) contained three mutations that led to amino acid changes (V365A, E368D and A378T) known to be associated with fenhexamid resistance, but that the isolates from Hebei lacked any mutations, indicating that an alternative mechanism could be responsible for their resistance. Most of the biological characteristics of the fenhexamid-resistant isolates, such as mycelial growth, sclerotia production and pathogenicity, did not significantly differ from those of the sensitive ones ( p ≤ .05), but it was noted that some of the resistant isolates exhibited reduced rates of sporulation and spore germination. In addition, the resistant isolates exhibited lower osmotic sensitivity than the sensitive ones. The study found no evidence of cross-resistance with other fungicides, but that there was negative cross-resistance with procymidone, iprodione, carbendazim and pyraclostrobin, which indicates that the inclusion of these fungicides within an integrated pest management ( IPM) programme could help to minimize the risk of fenhexamid resistance developing in B. cinerea. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives This study investigated the prevalence, etiology, assessment, treatment of pain in patients with cancer as well as their quality of life ( QOL). Methods Patients at the West China Hospital Cancer Center were invited to complete a questionnaire under the guidance of pain specialists. The questionnaire included general information, cancer pain status, its assessment, use of analgesics, and the effects of pain on QOL. Results In total, 1,050 patients were enrolled in the study. Of these, valid data were collected from 919 patients, among whom 454 (49.4%) suffered from pain, including 333 (36.2%) patients who had neuropathic pain symptoms. On average, the visual analog scale ( VAS) score of patients with cancer pain was 3.30 ± 1.68. Significant differences in the VAS score and pain frequency between patients with nociceptive and neuropathic pain were observed (both P < 0.05). Dull pain ranked first (64, 52.9%) among the patients with nociceptive pain, whereas pins and needles pain (97, 64.7%) was the most common type of pain in patients with neuropathic pain. There was a significant difference in QOL between the nociceptive and neuropathic pain groups ( P < 0.05). Only 183 of 454 patients with cancer pain used analgesics. Compared with the patients with pain not using any analgesics, those receiving analgesics had a significantly lower average pain relief rate ( P = 0.027). Adjuvant analgesics were inadequately used (9.3%) in patients with neuropathic cancer pain. Conclusion This study revealed the prevalence of neuropathic cancer pain in Chinese patients with cancer. Malignant neuropathic pain significantly impaired the patients' QOL. Insufficient assessment and inadequate analgesia still exist. These require more awareness and attention from both doctors and patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To develop a quality of life questionnaire appropriate for elderly low-vision patients in less-developed areas of China. Methods: The study was conducted at the Wenzhou Medical University Affiliated Eye Hospital. In the initial development of the questionnaire, we identified visual function concerns with individual interviews and designed a questionnaire and an empirical assessment of the questionnaire. Each individual visual function concern was then transformed into a question and put into a rating scale from 0 to 4. Then, questionnaire interviews were conducted on 188 low-vision patients and 63 normal control patients for item reduction and evaluation of psychometric properties. Results: We first identified 24 concerns that older adults with serious vision loss thought most affected their daily lives. The initial item list of the Elderly Low Vision Quality of Life Questionnaire (ELVQoL) consisted of 28 items, including the 24 identified items and 4 additional concerns about general vision. Psychometric item reduction removed 9 items, and a 19-item questionnaire was generated. Assessment showed that the resulting questionnaire had acceptable internal consistency, reliability, and validity (Cronbach's α > 0.9, mean item-total correlations >0.6, test-retest reliability >0.9, and concurrent validity range from 0.6 to 0.9). Low education level, need for a full range of working distances, and retinal diseases were all predictors of reduced visually related quality of life. Conclusions: A patient-derived ELVQoL Questionnaire was developed specifically for elderly, uneducated, rural Chinese. All the psychometric properties met accepted levels for a disease-specific Qol Questionnaire. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cui, H.; Xiao, W.; Zhou, Y.; Hou, B; Lu, F., and Pei, M., 2019. Spatial and temporal variations in vegetation cover and responses to climatic variables in the Daqing River Basin, North China. In: Guido-Aldana, P.A. and Mulahasan, S. (eds.), Advances in Water Resources and Exploration. Journal of Coastal Research, Special Issue No. 93, pp. 450–459. Coconut Creek (Florida), ISSN 0749-0208. The establishment of Xiong'an New Area in Hebei Province has gained immense attention from the whole scientific community. The Daqing River Basin (DRB), where the New Area is located, has become a new focus of hydrological scientists. The vegetation cover plays a key role in hydrological and biogeochemical cycles, serving as a reference to understand the ecological environment and water circulation status of the watershed. To analyse the current situation of climate and vegetation changes in the DRB, kriging interpolation, moving average, trend analysis of Theil–Sen median, and Mann-Kendall statistical test were used based on ground-based observation data and Moderate-resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) data. The annual mean values of NDVI showed a significant upward trend from 2000 to 2015. The fluctuations in seasonal NDVI values followed this trend correspondingly to various extents. The variations in NDVI value positively correlated with those in temperature, both on the annual scale and during summer seasons (P ≤ 0.05). A large improvement in the vegetation cover of DRB was observed (54.21% of the areas), mainly distributed in the northeast of Mountainous Areas of Daqing River Basin and West Plain of Baiyangdian Lake. The findings might be helpful to understand the water and energy flux cycling in the changing environment of this region, providing guiding information on river basin management and the planning and construction of New Area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to the climate variability and the intensification of human activities, the hydrological time series no longer satisfies the hypothesis of stationarity. In this study, a framework for precipitation frequency analysis is developed based on the Generalized Additive Models for Location, Scale and Shape parameters (GAMLSS), a tool for modeling time series under nonstationary condition. Based on the 12 stations in Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region of China, two approaches to nonstationary modeling in GAMLSS were applied to the annual maximum daily precipitation records. The results of the first approach, in which the parameters of the selected distributions are modeled as a function of time only, show the presence of clear nonstationarities in the annual maximum daily precipitation. In the second approach, the parameters of the precipitation distributions are modeled as functions of seven climate indices. The results show that the model using the second method captures more adequately the dispersion of precipitation values than the model using the first method. The application of nonstationary analysis shows the differences between the nonstationary quantiles and their stationary equivalents, which suggests the urgent need for nonstationary modeling of extreme precipitation in Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region of China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Yunnan is one of the provinces which had been frequently and heavily affected by drought disasters in China. Recently, large severe droughts struck Yunnan, caused considerable social, economic and ecological losses. A risk assessment of meteorological drought for Yunnan province is provided in this study. Based on the daily meteorological data of 29 stations during 1960-2010, duration and severity as two major drought characteristics, defined by the runs and the composite meteorological drought index, are abstracted from the observed drought events. Three bivariate Archimedean copulas are employed to construct the joint distributions of the drought characteristics. Based on the error analysis and tail dependence coefficient, the Gumbel-Hougaard copula is selected to analyze spatial distributions of the joint return periods of drought. The results indicate that a high risk is observed in the middle parts and the northeast parts of Yunnan province, while a relative lower drought risk is observed in the northwest of Yunnan province. The probabilistic properties can provide useful information for water resources planning and management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study examined whether children and adolescents can correctly report dry eyes and blurred distance vision, two visual problems associated with computer vision syndrome. Participants are 913 children and adolescents aged 6–17. They were asked to report their visual problems, including dry eyes and blurred distance vision, and received an eye examination, including tear film break-up time (TFBUT) and visual acuity (VA). Inconsistency was found between participants' reports of dry eyes and TFBUT results among all 913 participants as well as for all of four subgroups. In contrast, consistency was found between participants' reports of blurred distance vision and VA results among 873 participants who had never worn glasses as well as for the four subgroups. It was concluded that children and adolescents are unable to report dry eyes correctly; however, they are able to report blurred distance vision correctly. Three practical implications of the findings were discussed. Practioner Summary:Little is known about children's ability to report their visual problems, an issue critical to diagnosis and treatment of children's computer vision syndrome. This study compared children's self-reports and clinic examination results and found children can correctly report blurred distance vision but not dry eyes. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Background: Initial knowledge of professionalism among medical students is particularly important for designing effective professionalism curricula and for studying the change in the knowledge of professionalism. Aim: The study examined first-semester medical students' initial knowledge of important attributes of good doctors. Methods: Mixed methods were used to examine initial knowledge among first-semester students from a Chinese medical college. We used an open-ended survey to identify attributes of good doctors and grounded theory analysis to find emergent themes. We also used a close-ended survey to solicit students' responses to 50 attributes of good doctors and explorative and confirmatory factor analysis to examine underlying factors. Results: 973 students completed the open-ended survey while 1730 students completed the close-ended survey. Through grounded theory analysis, 24 subthemes and three themes that include Ethics, Skill, and Person, emerged from the data. Explorative and confirmatory factor analysis showed convergent results: 24 valid items and three factors that include Ethics, Skill, and Person were identified. Conclusion: The initial knowledge of medical professionalism among first-semester students involves approximately 24 important attributes within three major dimensions of Ethics, Skill, and Person, with an overwhelming emphasis on Ethics. It is neither sophisticated nor comprehensive, compared with specialists' professional knowledge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The uplift of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau (QTP) dramatically changed the topography and climate of Asia and affected the biodiversity of the plateau and its adjacent areas. However, the effects of the uplift on the dispersal, differentiation and adaptation of plants remain a puzzle when the date and processes of the uplift cannot be determined with certainty and the impacts of the Quaternary glaciations on plants on the QTP are unknown. To clarify the relationships among plants on the QTP with the plateau uplift and the Quaternary glaciations, the cpDNA trnT- trnF regions of 891 individuals from 37 populations of Hippophae tibetana, endemic to the QTP, were sequenced in the present study. A total of 50 haplotypes were found and a strong phylogeographic structure was revealed ( NST = 0.854, GST = 0.611, NST > GST, P < 0.01). The results show that three main lineages of the present populations of H. tibetana occupy the western, the middle, and the eastern geographical range, respectively, and their divergence time dates back to 3.15 Ma before present. Of 50 haplotypes, 33 (66%) are private haplotypes, which are restricted to single populations. These private haplotypes are scattered throughout the present geographical range of H. tibetana and originated from multiple differentiations in many lineages during more than 1.0 Ma period, strongly suggesting that multiple microrefugia of H. tibetana existed throughout the present geographical range during the last glacial maximum (LGM) and even earlier glaciations. Additionally, the average elevation of present populations is over 4500 m in the west and the equilibrium-line of glaciers in the LGM was 500–300 m lower than present in the major interior part of the plateau suggesting that at most sites in the west, LGM microrefugia of H. tibetana may have been above 4000 m above sea level, the highest of all known refugia. Moreover, the divergence times among and within the three lineages and their distinct distributions as well as dispersal barriers support the theory of the recent and rapid uplift of the QTP. The rapid uplift of the plateau within the last 3.4 Ma and the associated environmental changes may have affected the dispersal and differentiation of H .tibetana and shaped its phylogeographic structure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aimed at the special background of arid region Shapotou in China, the paper presented a measure of ecosystem health, which was based on three criteria proposed by Costanza: vigor, organization, and resilience, then modified Costanza’s model, and calculated. The calculated results show that the mixed species plots had the highest overall health, this means that the monitoring and managing modes of mixed species plots are more suitable. The conclusion provide quantitative basis for restoration and rehabilitation of artificial vegetation in arid and semi-arid regions. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Understanding of the spatial connections in rainfall is a challenging and essential groundwork for reliable modeling of catchment processes. Recent developments in network theory offer new avenues to understand of the spatial variability of rainfall. The Yellow River Basin (YRB) in China is spatially extensive, with pronounced environmental gradients driven primarily by precipitation and air temperature on broad scales. Therefore, it is an ideal region to examine the availability of network theory. The concepts of clustering coefficient, degree distribution and small-world network are employed to investigate the spatial connections and architecture of precipitation networks in the YRB. The results show that (1) the choice of methods has little effect on the precipitation networks, but correlation thresholds significantly affected vertex degree and clustering coefficient values of precipitation networks; (2) the spatial distribution of the clustering coefficient appears to be high–low–high from southeast to northwest and the vertex degree is the opposite; (3) the precipitation network has small-world properties in the appropriate threshold range. The findings of this paper could help researchers to understand the spatial rainfall connections of the YRB and, therefore, become a foundation for developing a hydrological model in further studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: As China continues to commit to universal access to HIV/AIDS prevention, treatment and care services, its HIV/AIDS policies have become increasingly information driven. We review China's key national-level HIV/AIDS policies and discuss policy gaps and challenges ahead.Methods: We conducted a desk review of key national-level policies that have had a major impact on China's HIV/AIDS epidemic, and examined recent epidemiological data relevant to China's HIV response.Results: National-level policies that have had a major impact on China's HIV/AIDS response include: 'Four Frees and One Care'; 5-year action plans; and HIV/AIDS regulation. These landmark policies have facilitated massive scaling up of services over the past decade. For example, the number of drug users provided with methadone maintenance treatment significantly increased from 8116 in 2005 to 241 975 in 2009; almost a 30-fold increase. The 'Four Frees and One Care' policy has increased the number of people living with AIDS on anti-retroviral treatment from some 100 patients in 2003 to over 80 000 in 2009. However, stigma and discrimination remains major obstacles for people living with HIV/AIDS trying to access services.Conclusions: China's current national policies are increasingly information driven and responsive to changes in the epidemic. However, gaps remain in policy implementation, and new policies are needed to meet emerging challenges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Nematode communities were investigated at two locations along two transects on Chongming Island in the Changjiang Estuary, China, which had received different intensities of intertidal marsh reclamation. Our results demonstrate that marsh reclamation altered nematode community structure, and the frequency of reclamation also substantially affected nematode communities. Nematode generic richness and diversity were significantly lower at reclaimed stations than at tideland stations, whereas nematode abundance and evenness did not change significantly after reclamation. MDS ordination indicated that different nematode communities could be distinguished for un-reclaimed, newly reclaimed and old reclaimed stations. Stations on the same land type at two locations were grouped together, suggesting that land use management exerted greater influence on nematode communities than location. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract This study presents a model-based approach for assessing the impact of climate change on hydropower potential in the Nanliujiang River Basin of China. The variable infiltration capacity (VIC) hydrological model was proved to be able to do a good runoff simulation after 1000 times of calibration and validation, while it has greater uncertainty in the simulation of high flow and low flow. Coupling the VIC model with five climate models, the spatial and temporal distributions of water resources in the future are analyzed, and the uncertainty analysis shows that the multi-model ensemble results can more reliably reflect future climate change. Then, the hydropower potential of the whole river basin in the future is analyzed in order to allow for a more realistic picture of future hydropower planning. The results of this study indicate that, different degrees of future alterations in river discharge and the spatial and temporal distributions of water resources have to be expected, leading to an increase of 7.7%–15.6% in hydropower potentials under the scenario of RCP2.6, RCP4.5 and RCP8.5. Highlights • A VIC model coupled with five climate models is built in the Nanliujiang River basin. • The spatial and temporal distributions of water resources in the future are analyzed. • The uncertainty of hydrological model and climate change prediction results are analyzed. • The hydropower potential of the whole river basin in the future is calculated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: [•] Chinese schoolchildren read at very close distances. [•] Chinese children prefer to read at a table or desk, not in an armchair. [•] When writing and reading together children move even closer to text. [•] Near reading distance is much closer than the near distance tested by clinicians. [•] Children’s reading behavior can in part be controlled by their setting and text. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To assess the repeatability of common measurements with the Sirius Scheimpflug–Placido topographer and Lenstar LS900 optical low-coherence reflectometry (OLCR) biometer and the limits of agreement (LoA) between the devices. Setting: Eye Hospital of Wenzhou Medical College, Wenzhou, China. Design: Comparative evaluation of a diagnostic test or technology. Methods: One randomly healthy eye of subjects was scanned 3 times with both devices. The parameters assessed were central corneal thickness (CCT), anterior chamber depth (ACD) from the corneal epithelium and from the endothelium, mean keratometry (K), and white-to-white (WTW) corneal diameter. The repeatability of scans was calculated using the within-subject standard deviation after 1-way analysis of variance was performed. The agreement between devices was assessed using the Bland-Altman LoA method, which equals the mean difference between devices ± 1.96 × standard deviation of the differences. The mean of 3 scans of each device was used to assess the LoA. Results: Forty subjects were evaluated. The repeatability of the Scheimpflug–Placido topographer and OLCR biometer was 3.10 μm and 3.32 μm for CCT, 0.04 mm and 0.05 mm for WTW corneal diameter, and 0.17 D and 0.10 D for mean K, respectively. The repeatability for both devices was 0.02 mm for the ACD from the corneal epithelium and the ACD from the corneal endothelium. On Bland-Altman LoA analysis, all parameters were within clinically acceptable limits. Conclusion: Both devices had excellent repeatability for all parameters assessed. Good LoAs were found between the 2 devices, indicating they can be used interchangeably for the parameters assessed. Financial Disclosure: No author has a financial or proprietary interest in any material or method mentioned. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Ethnopharmacological relevance: Zhen-Wu-Tang (ZWT), the modified formulation of a classical Chinese prescription from “Treaties on Febrile Disease”, was clinically employed to treat Parkinson''s disease. Aim of the study: To investigate the neuroprotective effect of ZWT on intra-striatum injection of MPTP-induced Parkinson''s disease in rats. Materials and methods: The effect of ZWT on the behavioral changes (open-field test, Ladder walking, spontaneous alternation in Y maze), the dopamine transmitter systems of substantia nigra, striatum and frontal cortex of rats by HPLC-ECD, mRNA expression of tyrosine hydroxylase (TH), dopamine transporter (DAT) and vesicular monoamine transporter 2 (VMAT 2) of the above three brain regions was investigated. Results: This study showed that ZWT not only ameliorated the behavior induced by the administration of MPTP in striatum, but also increased DA in the brain, prevented the decreasing of TH and balanced the ratio of VMAT 2/DAT in mRNA level. Conclusions: These results suggest that ZWT possesses neuroprotective and anti-parkinsonism properties. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Vallisneria natans and Vallisneria spinulosa are two morphologically very similar and sympatrically dominant submerged macrophytes in lakes of the middle–lower reaches of the Yangtze River. Genetic variation was compared based on a total of 196 individuals from six V. natans populations and 201 individuals from seven V. spinulosa populations. Using eight ISSR primers, a total of 139 and 129 DNA fragments were generated with 121 being polymorphic in V. natans and 99 in V. spinulosa. The two species maintained higher genetic variation both at the species and population levels in comparison with other aquatic macrophytes. A higher level of genetic diversity among populations was found in V. natans than in V. spinulosa: the percentage of polymorphic loci (PPL) in V. natans was 52–62% vs. 38–47% in V. spinulosa; gene diversity (H) was 0.21 in V. natans vs. 0.17 in V. spinulosa. Both an analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) and F-estimation (F ST ) showed that most of the total genetic variation resided within populations of both species (AMOVA: 85% and 80%; F ST : 0.132 and 0.202), indicating low genetic differentiation between populations. Principal coordinates analysis (PCA) indicated evident gene flow between populations of both species. The outcrossing reproductive mode and pervasive gene flow might have played important roles in maintaining high genetic diversity and in shaping low population differentiation of the two Vallisneria species, while the extent of clonal growth might account for the different levels of population divergence between them. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Scirpus × mariqueter Tang & F.T. Wang (CYPERACEAE) is a pioneer plant of the tidal zone of estuaries of East Asia. Amplified fragment length polymorphisms (AFLP) were used to infer the relationship between S. × mariqueter and its putative progenitors, Scirpus planiculmis F. Schmidt and Scirpus triqueter L. The genetic distance between S. × mariqueter and S. triqueter was much higher than that between S. × mariqueter and S. planiculmis, and samples of S. × mariqueter and those of S. planiculmis did not form a monophyletic group, while the S. triqueter group formed a distinct monophyletic group. However, we also detected an apparent clustering of individuals of S. × mariqueter and S. planiculmis separately. Our results disprove the hybrid origin of S. × mariqueter and rather suggest that it is more closely related to S. planiculmis. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Background: Age-related blepharoptosis, or ptosis, affects vision and appearance. Associations with age, gender, BMI, and diabetes have been explored, but the link to blood lipids remains unclear. The impact on refraction also lacks consensus. This study addresses gaps by investigating ptosis prevalence and factors in a representative Chinese population, aiming for a comprehensive understanding., Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among individuals aged 50 and above who were willing to participate in comprehensive systemic check-ups, behavioral questionnaires, and ophthalmic examinations at Yaoxi Community Health Center in Wenzhou City, Zhejiang Province., Results: The prevalence of blepharoptosis among the elderly participants at this health center was 27.16%. Individuals with blepharoptosis tended to be older, male, exhibited slightly higher body mass index, wider waist circumference, engaged in lower exercise frequency, and had a higher prevalence of hypertension, diabetes, and with-the-rule astigmatism compared to their counterparts without these conditions. Adjusting for all other confounding variables, older age, being male, higher fasting plasma glucose (FPG), and lower exercise frequency displayed statistically significant relationships with blepharoptosis. After examining the distribution of blepharoptosis degrees within relevant factor subgroups, we noted a higher prevalence of severe ptosis in subgroups associated with older age, male gender, higher FPG, and against-the-rule astigmatism., Conclusion: The notable associations with age, gender, FPG, and exercise level suggest a multifactorial etiology for blepharoptosis. The observed link between with-the-rule astigmatism and blepharoptosis implies a potential contributory role in the refractive aspect of blepharoptosis., Level of Evidence Iv: This journal requires that authors assign a level of evidence to each article. For a full description of these Evidence-Based Medicine ratings, please refer to the Table of Contents or the online Instructions to Authors www.springer.com/00266 ., (© 2024. Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature and International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery.)

Introduction: The role of ophthalmologists is defined by tasks requiring visual effort, emphasizing the importance of examining their condition within the realm of occupational visual health. Our goal was to explore the occurrence of asthenopia among Chinese ophthalmologists and identify contributing factors through the use of a reliable and validated survey instrument., Methods: A national cross-sectional online survey was carried out in June 2017, involving 6,220 practicing ophthalmologists in China. Utilizing an 11-item Asthenopia Survey Questionnaire with established reliability and validity. Prevalence rates of asthenopia among subgroups categorized by age, gender, hospital classification, physician level, daily near vision activity duration, sleep duration, sleep quality, presbyopia status, and history of eye surgery were determined using the independent t -test, chi-square test and bonferroni test. Multiple logistic regression analysis was employed to pinpoint independent factors linked to asthenopia., Results: Out of the 5,009 ophthalmologists who completed the survey, a 40.7% prevalence of asthenopia was identified. Multivariate analysis revealed that good sleep quality (OR: 0.24, 95%CI: 0.20-0.30), moderate sleep quality (OR: 0.47, 95%CI: 0.38-0.59), engaging in daily near vision activities for less than 7 h (OR: 0.76, 95%CI: 0.68-0.86), having daily sleep duration exceeding 7 h (OR: 0.87, 95%CI: 0.77-0.98), and working in tertiary hospitals (OR: 0.88, 95%CI: 0.78-0.99) were protective factors against asthenopia. Conversely, presbyopia was identified as a risk factor (OR: 1.33, 95%CI: 1.04-1.70). All calculated p values were below 0.05. Age, gender, physician level, and eye surgery history were not related factors., Conclusion: Asthenopia is prevalent among Chinese ophthalmologists, with employment in tertiary hospitals providing a protective effect and presbyopia is a risk factor. Preventive strategies include improving sleep quality, restricting daily near vision activity to under 7 h, and extending daily sleep duration to over 7 h. Further investigation is needed to explore the protective implications of working in tertiary hospitals., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2023 Lin, Zhu, Wu, Yang, Lu and Deng.)

The rice-crayfish co-cropping pattern is a traditional method for the intensive utilization of rice fields. In recent years, this pattern has been over-developed in many countries and regions, especially in China, because of its simple agronomic technology and high economic benefits. However, little is known about the potential ecological problems regarding soil microorganisms caused by the over-utilization of this pattern. The results show that rice-crayfish co-cropping, when over-utilized for a long time, reduced soil microbial richness and diversity compared with rice monocropping. A decrease in bacterial abundance in the nitrogen cycle and an increase in bacterial abundance in the carbon cycle led to a decrease in the nitrogen cycle function and an increase in the carbon cycle function. In an analysis of bacteria that are sensitive to cropping patterns, it was found that in the rice-crayfish co-cropping, the relative abundances of sensitive OTUs from Firmicutes (Bacillus and Clostridium) and Chloroflexi (Anaerolineaceae) were significantly higher during the entire growth period than those observed in the rice monocropping pattern, while the relative abundances of sensitive OTUs from Nitrospirae (Nitrospira), Gemmatimonadetes (Gemmatimonas), and Actinobacteria (Nocardioides) were significantly lower than those observed in the rice monocropping pattern. A network analysis shows that growth-period-sensitive OTUs drive the co-occurrence network modules, although the OTUs also have positive and negative correlations among modules but a positive synergistic effect on the regulation of soil nutrients. In addition, OTUs that were sensitive at the booting stage and filling stage were the key microbial groups in the rice-crayfish co-cropping and rice monocropping networks, respectively. Understanding the classifications and functions of sensitive microbes present during the rice growth period is the basis for formulating a microbial flora management strategy for the rice-crayfish co-cropping pattern, which is of great significance for adjusting agricultural management measures and controlling current soil microbial ecological problems., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that there is no conflict of interests., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Direct comparison data on spatial patterns of visual field (VF) defects among primary angle-closure glaucoma (PACG), high-tension glaucoma (HTG) and normal-tension glaucoma (NTG) are not available. We aimed to compare the intraocular asymmetry of VF loss among patients with PACG, NTG and HTG across different severity levels. A total of 162 eyes of 114 patients with PACG, 111 eyes of 74 patients with HTG and 148 eyes of 102 patients with NTG were included. VF defects were categorized into 3 stages (early, moderate, and advanced), and each hemifield was divided into 5 regions according to the Glaucoma hemifield test (GHT). The mean total deviation (TD) of each GHT region was calculated. In the early stage, the paracentral, peripheral arcuate 1 and peripheral arcuate 2 regions in the superior hemifield in the NTG group had significantly worse mean TDs than their corresponding regions in the inferior hemifield. In the advanced stage, the central region in the superior hemifield in the PACG group had a significantly worse mean TD than that in the inferior hemifield. There was no significant difference in the mean TD for any of the five regions between hemifields across all severity levels in the in the HTG group. The superior hemifield was affected more severely than the inferior hemifield in all three subtypes of primary glaucoma. This asymmetric tendency was more pronounced in NTG than in PACG and HTG.

Abstract: The Eye Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University (the Eye Hospital) has found its ways to thrive within the contexts of China to become one of the world-leading institutes in providing ophthalmology and optometry training, education, research, and clinical care at the international standards within 2 decades. It is also the only eye institute in China that possesses 3 national-level research centers (National Clinical Research Center for Ocular Disease, State Key Laboratory of Ophthalmology, Optometry and Visual Science, and National Engineering Technology Research Center for Ophthalmology and Optometry). The hospital is instrumental to the unique medical program in which medical graduates could be both medical doctors and optometrists. Over 10% of the eye doctors in China were trained by the hospital. The SCI-indexed journal Eye and Vision, which is the top eye journal from China, was established by the Eye Hospital in 2015. Its recent endeavor entitled "Eye Valley" provides a one-stop platform for innovation and technology incubation, basic research to clinical trial, from US Food & Drug Administration (FDA) registration to drug production, etc. This article reviews the history of development of the Eye Hospital and elaborates its spirit of "making the impossible possible", which has guided it all the way through from an unknown regional to a renowned top-tier hospital with national and global recognition as a first-class institution., (Copyright © 2021 Asia-Pacific Academy of Ophthalmology. Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. on behalf of the Asia-Pacific Academy of Ophthalmology.)

This study shows accommodative accuracy and distance accommodation facility in myopic children do not play a role in myopia progression. In 144 subjects, the monocular distance accommodative facility (DAF) and continuous accommodative stimulus-response curves (ASRCs) were measured at the enrolment. Retrospective and prospective refraction with regard to the enrolment visit were obtained from the outpatient database system based on noncycloplegic subjective spherical equivalent refraction (SER). The rate of myopic progression at enrolment was the first derivative of the Gompertz function, which was fitted with each subject's longitudinal refractive error data, including at least four records of SER with an interval of more than 6 months between each visit. A mixed linear model for multilevel repeated-measures data was used to explore the associations between the rate of myopia progression and accommodative parameters. The mean rate of myopia progression at enrolment was -0.61 ± 0.31 D/y with a mean age of 12.27 ± 1.61 years. By adjusting for age and SER, it was shown that the myopic progression rate was not associated with the accommodative lag (F = 0.269, P = 0.604), accommodative lag area (F = 0.086, P = 0.354), slope of ASRC (F = 0.711, P = 0.399), and DAF (F = 0.619, P = 0.432).

Purpose: High myopia (HM) is defined as a refractive error worse than -6.00 diopter (D). This study aims to update the phenotypic and genotypic landscape of nonsyndromic HM and to establish a biological link between the phenotypic traits and genetic deficiencies., Methods: A cross-sectional study involving 731 participants varying in refractive error, axial length (AL), age, myopic retinopathy, and visual impairment. The phenotypic traits were analyzed by four ophthalmologists while mutational screening was performed in eight autosomal causative genes. Finally, we assessed the clinical relevance of identified mutations under the guidance of the American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics., Results: The relationship between refractive error and AL varied in four different age groups ranging from 3- to 85-years old. In adult groups older than 21 years, 1-mm increase in AL conferred 10.84% higher risk of pathologic retinopathy (Category ≥2) as well as 7.35% higher risk of low vision (best-corrected visual acuities <0.3) with P values < 0.001. The prevalence rates of pathologic retinopathy and low vision both showed a nonlinear positive correlation with age. Forty-five patients were confirmed to harbor pathogenic mutations, including 20 novel mutations. These mutations enriched the mutational pool of nonsyndromic HM to 1.5 times its previous size and enabled a statistically significant analysis of the genotype-phenotype correlation. Finally, SLC39A5, CCDC111, BSG, and P4HA2 were more relevant to eye elongation, while ZNF644, SCO2, and LEPREL1 appeared more relevant to refracting media., Conclusions: Our findings shed light on how multiple HM-related phenotypes are associated with each other and their link with gene variants.

Purpose: To assess differences in clinical and demographic characteristics between glaucoma patients identified by community screening and those newly diagnosed in hospital in a Chinese setting., Design: Prospective comparative cohort study., Methods: A total of 373 patients identified with glaucoma among 27 000 persons undergoing community screening were enrolled as the Screening group. The Clinic group consisted of 119 consecutively presenting, newly diagnosed glaucoma patients in hospital. Primary outcomes were mean deviation (MD), visual field index (VFI) and pattern standard deviation (PSD) on Humphrey Field Analyzer, and intraocular pressure (IOP). Disease severity was categorized into 5 stages based on MD., Results: A total of 89.6% (328/373) of Screening group patients had IOP < 21 mm Hg, compared to 48.7% (58/119) in the Clinic group (P < .001). The mean VFI, MD, and PSD were 76.4% ± 23.8%, -9.7 ± 7.3 dB, and 6.4 ± 3.4 dB in the Screening group and significantly worse in the Clinic group: 44.1% ± 32.0%, -19.8 ± 9.5 dB, and 7.6 ± 3.1 dB (P < .001 for MD and VFI, P = .001 for PSD). Nearly three quarters of Screening patients had early or moderate visual field loss (monocular), while nearly half of Clinic patients had severe loss at the time of diagnosis. Screening patients were significantly more likely to be older (P < .001) and female (P < .001) than Clinic patients., Conclusion: Glaucoma patients detected through community screening had significantly milder damage, and were more likely to include underserved groups (women, elderly) than those newly diagnosed in a clinic in this setting. Comparison with population studies suggests that cases of glaucoma with IOP < 21 mm Hg are severely underascertained in China, a situation that may be improved by screening., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

High myopia (HM) is a leading cause of mid-way blindness with a high heritability in East Asia. Although only a few disease genes have been reported, a small proportion of patients could be identified with genetic predispositions. In order to expand the mutation spectrum of the causative genes in Chinese adult population, we investigated three genes, SLC39A5, LEPREL1 and LRPAP1, in a cohort of 187 independent Chinese patients with high myopia. Sanger sequencing was used to find possible pathogenic mutations, which were further screened in normal controls. After a pipeline of database and predictive assessments filtering, we, thereby, identified totally seven heterozygous mutations in the three genes. Among them, three novel missense mutations, c.860C > T, p.Pro287Leu and c.956G > C, p.Arg319Thr in SLC39A5, c.1982A > G, p.Lys661Arg in LEPREL1, were identified as potentially causative mutations. Additionally, the two heterozygous mutations (c.1582G > A, p.Ala528Thr; c.1982A > G, p.Lys661Arg) in one patient in LEPREL1 gene were reported in this study. Our findings will not only augment the mutation spectrum of these three genes, but also provide insights of the contribution of these genes to adult high myopia in Chinese. However, further studies are still needed to address the pathogenicity of each of the mutations reported in this study.

Background: Achromatopsia (ACHM) is a severe congenital autosomal recessive retinal disorder caused by loss of cone photoreceptors. Here, we aimed to determine the underlying genetic lesions and phenotypic correlations in two Chinese families with ACHM., Methods: Medical history and clinical evaluation were obtained from both families. Targeted exome sequencing (TES) was performed on 201 disease-causing genes of inherited retinal dystrophies to screen for ACHM causative mutations in the two probands., Results: The compound heterozygous mutations in CNGA3 (c.1074G > A, p.W358X; c.1706G > A, p.R569H) were identified in the first proband, and a novel homozygous mutation (c.968C > A, p.A323D) was detected in the other pedigree. The proposed topological model of the CNGA3 polypeptide suggested that the missense mutations primarily affected the transmembrane helix 5 and the cGMP-binding domain, respectively. Crystal structure modeling of the cyclic nucleotide-gated cation channel α-3 (CNGA3) protein encoded by the CNGA3 gene revealed an abnormal combined structure generated by R569H., Conclusions: We firstly used the TES approach to identify genetic alterations in patients with ACHM. We uncovered three mutations in CNGA3, including one novel mutation. Our results not only expand the genotypic spectrum for CNGA3 mutations, but also demonstrate that the TES approach is a valuable tool for molecular diagnosis.

Purpose: To investigate near-vision posture in Chinese myopic schoolchildren and compare near-vision posture during different near-vision tasks (i.e., playing video games, reading, and writing)., Methods: The study investigated 120 myopic children (grades 1 through 6 and aged 6 to 13 years). An electromagnetic motion-tracking system was used for continuous measurements of the working distance and head declination of the subjects while they were playing video games or reading or writing at a desk. The reading and writing documents were adjusted by grade level (i.e., grades 1 to 2, 3 to 4, and 5 to 6). For analysis, the subjects were grouped in two refractive groups according to their median spherical equivalent refractive error (-1.50D)., Results: The myopic schoolchildren used close working distances for all tasks: 21.3 ± 5.2 cm (video games), 27.2 ± 6.4 cm (reading), and 24.9 ± 5.8 cm (writing). The mean head declinations were 63.5 ± 12.2 deg (video games), 37.1 ± 12.8 deg (reading), and 44.5 ± 14.1 deg (writing). Working distance decreased significantly across time for the reading and writing tasks (p < 0.001). Head declination increased significantly across time only for the reading task (p < 0.001). Grade level significantly influenced working distance, but the difference was not significant when working distance was adjusted by the subject's size. No differences were observed within the refractive or the accommodative lag groups in terms of the posture data (p > 0.05). Working distance was negatively correlated with head declination (r = -0.53, p < 0.001)., Conclusions: Close working distances were observed for Chinese myopic schoolchildren. The attention dedicated to each task, the task difficulty, and the page/screen size may affect near working distance and head declination. Handheld video games were associated with the closest working distance, which may be a risk factor for myopia progression, according to previous studies.

Purpose: To evaluate eyelid and eye contour factors that can influence the fitting of toric soft contact lenses (TSCLs)., Methods: Thirty-two subjects (64 eyes) were enrolled and fitted with Lo-Torque design TSCLs. One eye of each subject was randomly selected. High-resolution digital images were acquired after the subjects had worn the lens for 20 minutes, and the images were then processed with Adobe Photoshop. The palpebral aperture (PA), various angles of the eyelid, horizontal visible iris diameter (HVID), and lens parameters were obtained. Finally, lens fitting was evaluated., Results: During the assessment of the correlations between the eyelid and eye contour factors and the lens fitting, there were four pairs of significant correlations: (1) the PA and rotational direction of the lens: larger eye PA was associated with a greater possibility of nasal rotation of the corresponding lens (P=0.03); (2) the angle of the central lower lid (θ3) and the rotational stability of the lens: the larger the angle was, the worse the rotational stability was (P=0.02); (3) the lower lid angle of the medial canthus (θ5) and temporal rotational recovery: the smaller the angle was, the more quickly the lens recovered (P=0.05); and (4) HVID and routine fitting assessments: the larger the HVID was, the looser the lens fitting (P=0.00). Finally, when assessing correlations between some lens parameters and the orientation of the lens, we found that lower sphere values were associated with quicker lens recovery (P=0.04)., Conclusion: Several eye factors, as well as lens characteristics, had impacts on the TSCLs fitting, including the PA, the angle of the central lower lid (θ3), the lower lid angle of the medial canthus (θ5), and the sphere of the lens. These factors should receive particular attention when fitting TSCLs.

Objective: This study was to characterize the continuously changing trends of HIV prevalence, risks, sexual behaviors, and testing behaviors among men who have sex with men (MSM) in Chongqing, China., Methods: Five consecutive cross-sectional surveys were conducted among MSM in 2006, 2008, 2010, 2012, and 2013. Testing for HIV and syphilis was performed, and HIV risks, sexual behavior, prevention, and HIV testing behavior were collected using the same questionnaire., Results: HIV prevalence increased from 13.0% to 19.7% from 2006 to 2013 (P = 0.004), with an increase of 1.0% per year. Syphilis prevalence peaked in 2008 with a positive rate of 11.6% and then experienced a sharp drop to 2.8% in 2012 and 2.9% in 2013. Percentage of those who ever received HIV testing in the last year increased from 17.0% to 43.3% (P < 0.001); condom use at the last anal intercourse and reported consistent condom use in the last 6 months increased from 51.8% to 71.0% (P < 0.001) and from 24.7% to 47.9% (P < 0.001), respectively., Conclusions: HIV continued to spread among MSM in Chongqing even when a decline in prevalence of syphilis and increase in awareness rate, condom use, and HIV testing seeking behaviors seemed to occur.

Purpose: BH3-like motif containing, cell death inducer (BLID) and LOC399959 are two genes associated with the single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) rs577948, which is a susceptibility locus for high myopia in Japanese subjects. The purpose of this study was to determine if BLID and LOC399959 are associated with high myopia in Chinese Han subjects., Methods: High myopia subjects (n=476) had a spherical refractive error of less than -6.00 D in at least one eye and/or an axial length greater than 26 mm. Genomic DNA was extracted and genotyped from peripheral blood leukocytes of high myopes and controls (n=275). Using a case-control association study of candidate regions, linkage disequilibrium blocks for 19 tag SNPs (tSNPs), including rs577948, harbored within and surrounding the BLID and LOC399959 genes were analyzed on a MassArray platform using iPlex chemistry. Each of the tSNPs had an r(2)>0.8 and minor allele frequency >10% in the Chinese Han population. Haplotype association analysis was performed on Haploview 4.1 using Chi-square (χ(2)) tests., Results: None of the 19 tSNPs were statistically associated with high myopia., Conclusions: While rs577948 may be associated with high myopia in Japanese subjects, it and the other tSNPs near the BLID and LOC399959 genes are not susceptibility loci for high myopia in the Chinese Han population. Thus, associations of SNPs with high myopia as determined by Genome-Wide Association Study (GWAS) may be restricted to certain ethnic or genetically distinct populations. Without systematic replication in other populations, the results of GWAS associations should be interpreted with great caution.

We report here the clinical, genetics and molecular characterization of a five-generation Han Chinese family with Leber's hereditary optic neuropathy (LHON). Strikingly, this family exhibits very high penetrance and occurrence of optic neuropathy. In particular, 25 (10 males/15 females) of 30 matrilineal relatives exhibited the variable severity, ranging from profound to mild of visual impairment. This penetrance of optic neuropathy in this Chinese family is much higher than those in many families with LHON worldwide. The age-at-onset for visual impairment in matrilineal relatives in this Chinese family varied from 7 to 24years old, with the average of 15 years old. Furthermore, the ratio between affected male and female matrilineal relatives is 1:1.5 in the Chinese family. This observation is in contrast with the typical features in LHON pedigrees that there was predominance of affected males in LHON in many families from different ethnic origins. Molecular analysis of mitochondrial genome identified the known ND4 G11778A mutation and 51 variants, belonging to Asian haplogroup C4a1. The absence of other known secondary LHON-associated and functionally significant mtDNA mutations in this Chinese family suggested that mitochondrial variants may not play an important role in the phenotypic manifestation of the G11778A mutation in this Chinese family. Therefore, nuclear modifier gene(s) may be responsible for very high penetrance and occurrence of optic neuropathy in this Chinese pedigree., (Copyright 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Objectives: To assess HIV and syphilis infection among men who have sex with men (MSM) in Chinese regions with historically low HIV prevalence., Method: A cross-sectional survey was conducted in 20 cities or districts across 4 provinces, 2 autonomous regions, and a municipality. Socioeconomic/behavioral risk factors were measured. Blood samples were tested for HIV via enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and Western blot confirmation and syphilis via rapid plasma reagin and passive particle agglutination test for detection of Treponema pallidum Antibodies., Results: Of 4983 MSM participants, 2.9% were HIV infected (range: 0%-15.1%) and 9.8% were syphilis infected (1.3%-29.3%). Syphilis infection was associated with older age [adjusted odds ratio (AOR) = 2.9; 95% confidence interval (CI): 2.0 to 4.3], not being married or cohabiting (AOR = 0.7; 95% CI: 0.5-0.9), less education (AOR = 1.3; 95% CI: 1.0 to 1.7), inconsistent condom use during anal sex with men (AOR = 1.4; 95% CI: 1.0 to 1.8), and living in inner Mongolia (AOR = 23.9; 95% CI: 9.7 to 58.6), Jilin (AOR = 7.9; 95% CI: 3.4 to 18.3), Heilongjiang (AOR = 7.1; 95% CI: 3.1 to 16.6), Liaoning (AOR = 6.1; 95% CI: 2.6 to 14.2), or Chongqing (AOR = 5.9; 95% CI: 2.5 to 13.9). HIV infection was associated with older age (AOR = 3.7; 95% CI: 2.0 to 6.7), less education (AOR = 2.9; 95% CI: 1.8 to 4.7), inconsistent condom use during anal sex with men (AOR = 1.9; 95% CI: 1.2 to 3.2), syphilis infection (AOR = 2.1; 95% CI: 1.3 to 3.4), and living either in Liaoning (AOR = 8.2; 95% CI: 1.1 to 61.4) or Chongqing (AOR = 57.2; 95% CI: 7.9 to 414.4)., Conclusions: HIV and syphilis have reached alarming rates in China's MSM population, thus, appropriate responses are urgently needed.

In order to research the effect of high humidity on the growth of aerosol particles, the APS, TEOM and BC instruments were used to monitor the aerosol in Beijing during August, 2007. The results show that, under steady-state weather condition, the correlation coefficient between the mass concentration of PM10 and BC aerosol is 0.82, but the correlation between the number concentration and the mass concentration of PM10 is not in accordance with that under non-steady-state weather condition. Tie number concentration and the ratio of fine particles less than 1 microm to the whole samples increase obviously. The change of aerosol particles size distribution suggests that the size of aerosol particles increases obviously by moisture absorption under the high humid condition.

The objective of this paper is to describe the evolution of human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome surveillance in mainland China, with a focus on reviewing the sources of data being used for improved surveillance of HIV/AIDS. We review the development of HIV/AIDS surveillance and its multiple data sources to monitor the dynamics of HIV/AIDS in China. The surveillance system for HIV/AIDS in China was initiated in 1986. It has evolved in three stages: (1) passive surveillance, (2) HIV sentinel surveillance with coexisting active surveillance and passive surveillance, and (3) comprehensive surveillance. In parallel with the evolution of the surveillance system itself, the HIV epidemic in China has gone through increasing stages of complexity, through an Introduction Phase, a Spreading Phase, and a Rapidy Spreading Phase. More reliable data from improved surveillance suggest that the HIV/AIDS epidemic is expanding in China. HIV infections among 2005 estimates remain concentrated among injection drug users (IDUs), those buying and selling sex, and men who have sex with men. Better HIV/AIDS surveillance synthesizes multiple data sources to provide a more accurate picture of the dynamics of specific HIV/AIDS circumstances in different areas of China. Improved surveillance is meaningful insofar as data are used to implement more effective HIV prevention programs in China. Support for surveillance and strategic analyses can enable policy decision makers to make more effective program choices and mobilize adequate resources to contain HIV.

We report here the characterization of a four-generation Han Chinese family with Leber's hereditary optic neuropathy (LHON). This Chinese family exhibited a variable severity and age-at-onset of visual loss. Notably, the average age-at-onset of vision impairment changed from 26 years (generation III) to 14 years (generation IV), with the average of 18 years in this family. In addition, 30% and 50% of matrilineal relatives in generation III and IV of this family developed visual loss with a variability of severity, ranging from blindness to normal vision. Sequence analysis of the complete mitochondrial DNA in this pedigree revealed the presence of the homoplasmic ND4 G11778A mutation and 33 other variants, belonging to the Asian haplogroup D4. Of other variants, the homoplasmic G11696A mutation in the ND4 gene is of special interest as it was implicated to be associated with LHON in a large Dutch family and five Chinese pedigrees with extremely penetrance of visual loss. In fact, the G11696A mutation caused the substitution of an isoleucine for valine at amino acid position 313, located in a predicted transmembrane region of ND4. These imply that the G11696A mutation may act in synergy with the primary LHON-associated G11778A mutation in this Chinese pedigree.

We report here the clinical, genetic, and molecular characterization of three Chinese families with maternally transmitted Leber's hereditary optic neuropathy (LHON). Clinical and genetic evaluations revealed the variable severity and age-of-onset in visual impairment in these families. In the affected matrilineal relatives, the loss of central vision is bilateral, the fellow eye becoming affected either simultaneously (45%) or sequentially (55%). The penetrances of vision loss in these pedigrees were 27%, 50%, and 60%, respectively. The age-at-onset of vision loss in these families was 14, 19, and 24 years, respectively. Furthermore, the ratios between affected male and female matrilineal relatives were 1:1, 1:1.2, and 1:2, respectively. Mutational analysis of mitochondrial DNA revealed the presence of homoplasmic ND6 T14484C mutation, which has been associated with LHON. The incomplete penetrance and phenotypic variability implicate the involvement of nuclear modifier gene(s), environmental factor(s) or mitochondrial haplotype(s) in the phenotypic expression of the LHON-associated T14484C mutation in these Chinese pedigrees.

We report here the clinical, genetic, and molecular characterization of five Chinese families with Leber's hereditary optic neuropathy (LHON). Clinical and genetic evaluations revealed the variable severity and age-of-onset in visual impairment in these families. Strikingly, there were extremely low penetrances of visual impairment in these Chinese families. Sequence analysis of the complete mitochondrial genomes in these pedigrees showed the distinct sets of mtDNA polymorphism, in addition to the identical ND4 G11696A mutation associated with LHON. Indeed, this mutation is present in homoplasmy only in the maternal lineage of those pedigrees but not other members of these families. In fact, the occurrence of the G11696A mutation in these several genetically unrelated subjects affected by visual impairment strongly indicates that this mutation is involved in the pathogenesis of visual impairment. Furthermore, the N405D in the ND5 and G5820A in the tRNA(Cys), showing high evolutional conservation, may contribute to the phenotypic expression of G11696A mutation in the WZ10 pedigree. However, there was the absence of functionally significant mtDNA mutations in other four Chinese pedigrees carrying the G11696A mutation. Therefore, nuclear modifier gene(s) or environmental factor(s) may play a role in the phenotypic expression of the LHON-associated G11696A mutation in these Chinese pedigrees.