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Introduction: Autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (ASCT) has gained extensive application in the treatment of lymphoma and multiple myeloma (MM). Plenty of studies demonstrate that peripheral blood indicators could be considered potential predictive biomarkers for hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) collection efficiency, including white blood cell count (WBC), monocyte count (Mono), platelet count (PLT), hematocrit, and hemoglobin levels. Currently, clinically practical predictive models based on these peripheral detection indicators to quickly, conveniently, and accurately predict collection efficiency are lacking. Methods: In total, 139 patients with MM and lymphoma undergoing mobilization and collection of ASCT were retrospectively studied. The study endpoint was successful collection of autologous HSCs. We analyzed the effects of clinical characteristics and peripheral blood markers on collection success, and screened variables to establish a prediction model. We determined the optimal cutoff value of peripheral blood markers for predicting successful stem cell collection and the clinical value of a multi‐marker prediction approach. We also established a prediction model for collection efficacy. Results: Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses showed that the mobilization regimen, Mono, PLT, mononuclear cell count (MNC), and peripheral blood CD34+ cell count (PB CD34+ counts) were significant predictors of successful collection of peripheral blood stem cells (PBSC). Two predictive models were constructed based on the results of multivariate logistic analyses. Model 1 included the mobilization regimen, Mono, PLT, and MNC, whereas Model 2 included the mobilization regimen, Mono, PLT, MNC, and PB CD34+ counts. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis showed that the PB CD34+ counts, Model 1, and Model 2 could predict successful HSCs collection, with cutoff values of 26.92 × 106/L, 0.548, and 0.355, respectively. Model 1 could predict successful HSCs collection with a sensitivity of 84.62%, specificity of 75.73%, and area under the curve (AUC) of 0.863. Model 2 could predict successful HSCs collection with a sensitivity of 83.52%, specificity of 94.17%, and AUC of 0.946; thus, it was superior to the PB CD34+ counts alone. Conclusion: Our findings suggest that the combination of the mobilization regimen, Mono, PLT, MNC, and PB CD34+ counts before collection has predictive value for the efficacy of autologous HSCs collection in patients with MM and lymphoma. Using models based on these predictive markers may help to avoid over‐collection and improve patient outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In midsummer 2023, a record‐breaking extreme heatwave hit North China, causing significant impacts on people's daily lives and production. This study comprehensively analysed the unique features of this extreme event based on five indices describing the intensity, frequency and impact range. The results show that four of these indices broke the historical record in 2023, and the spatial extent (Tmax >40°C) is the second highest in history. The number of hot days with Tmax >40°C (Tmax >35°C) even reached 23 times (4.2 times) the normal. The combined results of these five indices undoubtedly indicate that this heatwave event is featured by high intensity, long duration, numerous extremely hot days and wide impact range. Furthermore, physical mechanism study revealed that the abnormally warm high‐pressure system persisted in dominating North China, resulting in descending airflow and temperature increases. The enhanced and unprecedented westward extending Western North Pacific Subtropical High, the enhanced and eastward extending Iran Subtropical High and the abnormal high‐pressure over southwestern China form an east–west connected anomalous high‐pressure zone, blocking the water vapour transport from lower latitude oceans to North China. Noticeably, North China has experienced a reduction in precipitation since about 2 months preceding this extreme heatwave, leading to severe soil moisture deficiency and reduced evaporation. Consequently, it increased surface sensible heat flux that led to a rise in temperature. This local land‐atmosphere positive feedback mechanism plays a crucial role in the intensification and maintenance of this extreme heatwave event. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Can the information technology revolution lead to carbon emission reduction for firms? This study extends the limited evidence in the literature and investigate the role and mechanism of digital inclusive finance on enterprises' carbon emissions using panel data of 247 prefectural-level cities and 6019 industrial enterprises in China. Our findings indicate that digital inclusive finance can promote enterprise carbon emission reduction, and this effect remains significant after the instrumental variable estimation test. The effect has regional heterogeneity and the development of digital inclusive finance in the area east of Hu Huanyong line has a significant impact on reducing enterprise carbon emission. The role of digital inclusive finance is heterogeneous in enterprise ownership, with a remarkable effect in non-state-owned enterprises. Sub-dimension analysis indicates that the breadth of coverage, depth of use, and degree of digitalization of digital inclusive finance have differential effects on reducing enterprise carbon emissions. The stepwise regression method shows that the impact of digital inclusive finance on enterprise carbon emissions can be passed through effect of technological progress, environmental protection investment and financing constrain. This study has significant reference value for evaluating the impact of financial inclusion and policy implications in formulating differentiated strategies for achieving carbon emission reduction efficiency in enterprises. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This longitudinal study in Mainland China (2021–2022) explored the impact of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) on complex posttraumatic stress disorder (CPTSD) symptoms, with a focus on the role of self-compassion. Among 18,933 surveyed university students, 21.2% reported experiencing at least one ACE. Results revealed a clear relationship between ACEs and CPTSD symptoms. Furthermore, self-compassion, particularly the dimensions of self-judgment and isolation, moderated the association between retrospective ACEs and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and disturbance in self-organization (DSO) symptoms. These findings highlight the enduring impact of ACEs on CPTSD symptoms and emphasize the importance of early identification and targeted interventions, especially addressing self-judgment and isolation, to mitigate CPTSD risk among young Chinese adults. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is associated with abnormal glucose and lipid metabolism. However, whether there is an independent association between Sleep Apnea-Specific Hypoxic Burden (SASHB) and glycolipid metabolism disorders in patients with OSA is unknown. Methods: We enrolled 2,173 participants with suspected OSA from January 2019 to July 2023 in this study. Polysomnographic variables, biochemical indicators, and physical measurements were collected from each participant. Multiple linear regression analyses were used to evaluate independent associations between SASHB, AHI, CT90 and glucose as well as lipid profile. Furthermore, logistic regressions were used to determine the odds ratios (ORs) for abnormal glucose and lipid metabolism across various SASHB, AHI, CT90 quartiles. Results: The SASHB was independently associated with fasting blood glucose (FBG) (β = 0.058, P = 0.016), fasting insulin (FIN) (β = 0.073, P < 0.001), homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) (β = 0.058, P = 0.011), total cholesterol (TC) (β = 0.100, P < 0.001), total triglycerides (TG) (β = 0.063, P = 0.011), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) (β = 0.075, P = 0.003), apolipoprotein A-I (apoA-I) (β = 0.051, P = 0.049), apolipoprotein B (apoB) (β = 0.136, P < 0.001), apolipoprotein E (apoE) (β = 0.088, P < 0.001) after adjustments for confounding factors. Furthermore, the ORs for hyperinsulinemia across the higher SASHB quartiles were 1.527, 1.545, and 2.024 respectively, compared with the lowest quartile (P < 0.001 for a linear trend); the ORs for hyper-total cholesterolemia across the higher SASHB quartiles were 1.762, 1.998, and 2.708, compared with the lowest quartile (P < 0.001 for a linear trend) and the ORs for hyper-LDL cholesterolemia across the higher SASHB quartiles were 1.663, 1.695, and 2.316, compared with the lowest quartile (P < 0.001 for a linear trend). Notably, the ORs for hyper-triglyceridemia{1.471, 1.773, 2.099} and abnormal HOMA-IR{1.510, 1.492, 1.937} maintained a consistent trend across the SASHB quartiles. Conclusions: We found SASHB was independently associated with hyperinsulinemia, abnormal HOMA-IR, hyper-total cholesterolemia, hyper-triglyceridemia and hyper-LDL cholesterolemia in Chinese Han population. Further prospective studies are needed to confirm that SASHB can be used as a predictor of abnormal glycolipid metabolism disorders in patients with OSA. Trial registration: ChiCTR1900025714 {http://www.chictr.org.cn/}; Prospectively registered on 6 September 2019; China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to realize the optimal planning of grid-resource-storage for distribution networks (DNs) with high penetrated distributed photovoltaics (PVs), a cluster partition-based two-layer expansion planning for DNs is proposed. First, a comprehensive cluster partition index-based cluster partition method is proposed, which involves the indexes such as electrical distance, power balance of the cluster, and cluster size. Second, a cluster partition-based two-layer expansion planning model is proposed. In the upper layer, a line planning model for clusters is established to carry out the planning of cluster connection lines. In the lower layer, a robust source-storage planning model is established with the uncertainty of PVs and loads, and then, the optimal location and capacity of PVs and energy storages (ESs) can be obtained. In addition, the uncertainty regulation parameter is utilized to control the range of uncertainty sets, which can reduce the conservatism of the optimization. Finally, the proposed method is carried out in a real DN in China, which can effectively improve the economy of DN planning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Cell transplants as a treatment for Parkinson's disease have been studied for decades, and stem cells may be the most promising cell sources for this treatment. We aimed to investigate whether stem cell transplantation contributes to the cure for Parkinson's disease and the factors that may influence the efficacy for this therapy. Methods: PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, SinoMed, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), China Science and Technology Journal Database (VIP), and ChinaInfo were thoroughly searched to find controlled trials or randomized controlled trials performing stem cell transplantation in patients with Parkinson's disease. The pooled effects were analyzed to evaluate the weighted mean difference (WMD) with 95% confidence intervals. Results: Nine articles were identified including 129 individuals. Stem cell transplantation was an effective treatment for Parkinson's disease (WMD = -14.86; 95% CI: -16.62 to -13.10; p < 0.00001), with neural stem cells, umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells (UCMSCs), and bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMMSCs) being effective cell sources for transplantation. Stem cell transplantation can be effective for at least 12 months, but its long-term effectiveness remains unknown due to the limited studies monitoring patients for more than 1 year, not to mention decades. Conclusion: Data from controlled trials suggest that stem cell transplantation as a therapy for Parkinson's disease can be effective for at least 12 months. The factors that may influence its curative effect are time after transplantation and stem cell types. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The present study aimed to explore the relationship between insecure attachment (attachment anxiety and avoidance) and depressive symptoms in Chinese young adults as well as the mediating roles of positive and negative self-compassion. Methods: An online survey was administered among college students in mainland China. This involved their completion of questionnaires encompassing socio-demographic details, attachment anxiety, attachment avoidance, self-compassion, and depressive symptoms. Results: Attachment anxiety and avoidance exhibited connections with depressive symptoms through increased negative self-compassion and decreased positive self-compassion. Attachment anxiety was associated with depressive symptoms primarily through the mediating effect of negative self-compassion. Conversely, attachment avoidance was related to depressive symptoms mainly through the mediating role of positive self-compassion. Conclusions: Attachment anxiety exerted a slightly stronger influence on negative self-compassion, whereas attachment avoidance exhibited a more prominent impact on positive self-compassion. Despite these differences, both attachment styles were comparable in their overall influence on depressive symptoms. This revelation provides fresh insights into the relationship between insecure attachment and depressive symptoms among young adults, underscoring the importance for intervention program development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new emerging disease of quinoa, quinoa basal stem rot (QBSR), has been recorded in Shanxi Province, China. Observed during the inflorescence emergence stage, the pathogen causes wilting, foliar chlorosis, leaf abscission and eventual death of quinoa. In this study, isolates were identified as Fusarium solani using morphology, molecular and phylogenetic analysis (using sequences of calmodulin, rDNA internal transcribed spacer region, RNA polymerase II B‐subunits RPB1 RPB1 and RPB2 RPB2, and translation elongation factor 1‐α), and pathogenicity analysis. Twenty‐seven isolates were classified into two different groups according to their morphological characteristics, and the mycelial growth rate of Group 2 was higher than that of Group 1 on six different media. The optimum growth temperature for both groups was 30°C and the highest mycelial growth rates were 9.2 and 10.0 mm/day, for Groups 1 and 2, respectively. The sporodochial conidia (SC) and aerial conidia (AC) germinated normally at 15–25°C and 10–40°C, respectively, and the width of SC and AC germ tubes were 1.4 and 2.2 μm. The lethal temperature for AC was 51°C for 20 min, and SC stopped germinating at 45°C. Pathogenicity tests of representative isolates showed that mycelia or conidia caused typical symptoms of QBSR on wounded basal stems of Chenopodium quinoa at 6 days postinoculation. The optimum temperature for the onset of QBSR was 30°C for both groups of isolates, and lesion lengths ranged from 5.4 to 5.9 cm. Knowledge of this pathogen will provide useful information for effective disease management to prevent its spread. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Few prior studies have addressed how subnational differences within a country affect a firmʻs decision on location. We propose that two market constraints, product market constraints and factor market constraints reflect subnational differences in emerging markets, such as China. In addition, the effect of the investment experience of business group affiliated firms (BGAFs) has been neglected in prior studies on location. We propose that learning from the investment experience of other BGAFs in a specific subnational location could reduce the negative relationship between decision on a location and the extent to which they invest in it. Our data consists of Taiwanese firms doing business in China during the emergence of the new WTO institution in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rebuilding soil healthy microbiota is very important for preventing bacterial wilt. A 3-year-long field trial was conducted in China as follows: T1 (conventional fertilization), T2 (T1 + liming), T3 (T1 + bioorganic fertilizer), and T4 (T2 + bioorganic fertilizer). Fluorescence quantitative PCR and high-throughput sequencing were employed to study the dynamics of Ralstonia solanacearum population, microbial community, and network organizations between bacteria and quality-related variables. After 3 years of bioremediation, the control efficacy of tobacco bacterial wilt reached 61.30% and the occurrence delayed by approximately 40 days in T4, which had the highest tobacco yield and output value. The pathogen population of T4 remained below 106 copies/g soil during the entire growth period. Role-shifts prevailed among the network members. Microbes were unipathically associated with variables in T1 but multiplex in T4. In conclusion, soil bioremediation rebuilds a healthy soil microbiota and forms a more interactive and relevant micro-system, thus effectively controlling tobacco bacterial wilt. Key points: • This is the first time to effectively bio-control tobacco bacterial wilt in practical production in China, as well as to high-efficiently use the organic waste, thus promoting the organic cycling of the environment. • Soil bioremediation can effectively control soil-borne disease by rebuilding soil healthy microbiota and reducing abundance of pathogenic bacteria, thereby to prevent the soil borne disease occurrence. • After the soil remediated, microbes associated with soil and tobacco characteristics changed from unipathical to multiplex, and the keystone species play different roles compared with the original soil, thus signifying the complexity of multi-species interactions and achieving a closely relevant micro-system, which was ecologically meaningful to the environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of the study was to evaluate the efficacy of OLIF combined with pedicle screw internal fixation in the treatment of lumbar spinal stenosis by assessing the changes in spinal canal before and after surgery. Methods: In this retrospective study, we included sixteen patients who underwent a combination of single-segment OLIF and pedicle screw internal fixation for the treatment of lumbar spinal stenosis at the Affiliated Hospital of Jiangxi University of Chinese Medicine between February 2018 and August 2022. The patients' pre- and post-operative data were compared. Intraoperative bleeding, duration of surgery, visual analogue score (VAS), Oswestry Disability Index (ODI), disc height (DH), cross-sectional area of vertebral canal (CSAVC), cross-sectional area of dural sac (CSADS), cross-sectional area of intervertebral foramen (CSAIF), spinal canal volume (SCV), spinal canal volume expansion rate, lumbar lordosis, and sagittal vertical axis were observed and recorded. The efficacy of OLIF combined with pedicle screw internal fixation for lumbar spinal stenosis on spinal canal changes before and after surgery was summarized. Results: The results showed that OLIF combined with pedicle screw internal fixation effectively restored disc height and increased the cross-sectional area of the spinal canal. It also had an indirect decompression effect. The intraoperative bleeding and duration of surgery were within acceptable ranges. The VAS and ODI scores significantly improved after surgery, indicating a reduction in pain and improvement in functional disability. The CSAVC, CSADS, CSAIF, SCV, and spinal canal volume expansion rate were all increased postoperatively. Additionally, there was improvement in lumbar lordosis and sagittal vertical axis. We conducted a follow-up of all patients at 1 year after the surgery. The results revealed that the parameter values at 1 year post-surgery showed varying degrees of decrease or increase compared to the immediate postoperative values. However, these values remained statistically significant when compared to the preoperative parameter values (P < 0.05). Conclusions: OLIF combined with pedicle screw internal fixation effectively restores disc height and increases the cross-sectional area of the vertebral canal in patients with LSS, reflecting the indirect decompression effect. Measuring parameters such as DH, CSAVC, CSADS, CSAIF, SCV, and SCV expansion rate before and after surgery provides valuable information for evaluating the efficacy and functional recovery of the lumbar spine in LSS patients treated with OLIF surgery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Effective rural governance is the foundation for achieving rural revitalization and promoting the modernization of China's system and governance capacity in the new era. The elucidation of the influencing factors and driving pathways underlying effective rural governance has significant importance in facilitating the advancement of rural revitalization. Drawing upon the Actor-Network Theory (ANT), this study introduces an analytical framework of "human actor dimension—non-human actor dimension". The study employs the fuzzy-set Qualitative Comparison Analysis (fsQCA) to explore the effective governance pathways within 20 typical cases of rural governance. The study reveals that a cooperative-based collective economy is a necessary condition for effective governance, while possessing a resource advantage is a core condition. Villager autonomy, local culture, and new technology are marginal conditions for effective governance, while the absence of elite participation fails to promote effective governance. The combination of human variables and resource compacts gives rise to "human actor-resource compacts" and "non-human actor-resource compacts". The study further elaborates on the efficacious model of rural governance through three multifactor driving pathways: "human actor-non-human actor resource sparse linkage". The research emphasizes the importance of fortifying rural governance and revitalization through the cultivation of relationships, enhancing government management systems, embracing technological innovation, supporting community economies, and advocating mechanisms that empower rural elites and talent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The brown planthopper (BPH), Nilaparvata lugens (Stål), is a major insect pest of rice in Asia and is mainly controlled with insecticides. Dinotefuran has been commercialized for control of N. lugens in China since 2013; however, the characteristics and mechanisms of resistance to dinotefuran are still unclear. Here, we conducted a long-term (from 2013 to 2021) and large geographical scale (11 provinces) resistance monitoring program for dinotefuran in the BPH in China. Before 2020, field populations of N. lugens have developed moderate resistance to dinotefuran, while since 2020, most field populations of N. lugens have developed high resistance. To develop a better resistance management strategy, a dinotefuran-resistant (Din-R) strain of N. lugens was selected in the laboratory to investigate the inheritance, possible mechanisms of resistance and potential fitness costs. This Din-R strain developed resistance to imidacloprid, nitenpyram and thiamethoxam. The dinotefuran resistance was controlled by multiple genes. RNA interference (RNAi)-mediated suppression of NlCYP6ER1, NlCYP6CS1 and NlCYP314A1 expression increased the susceptibility of N. lugens to dinotefuran. Transgenic lines of Drosophila melanogaster expressing NlCYP6ER1 or NlCYP314A1 were less susceptible to all four neonicotinoids. Furthermore, the Din-R strain had a relative fitness of 0.64 with a substantially decreased survival rate, emergence rate and fecundity. Collectively, our results showed that dinotefuran resistance was mediated by multiple CYP genes. The high expression of these genes was related to the cross-resistance of N. lugens to other neonicotinoids. This study provided valuable information for facilitating the development of neonicotinoids resistance management strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the largest and most widely used social media platform in China, WeChat could bring convenience to people's lives, while over-reliance on the use of WeChat has harmed personal physical and mental health to a certain extent. WeChat addiction has aroused widespread concern in academic circles. Although prior studies have found that negative life events were the main antecedents of WeChat addiction, little is known about the underlying psychological mechanisms. This study proposed a moderated mediation model focusing on the roles of maladaptive cognition toward WeChat and rumination to clarify the mechanism underlying the relationship between negative life events and WeChat addiction in Chinese college students. A total of 892 Chinese college students (59.90% females; Mage = 18.80 ± 1.10) completed measures including negative life events, WeChat addiction, maladaptive cognition toward WeChat, and rumination. The SPSS 23.0 was used for descriptive statistics and Pearson correlation analyses, the SPSS macro PROCESS was used to test the mediating effects of maladaptive cognition and the moderating of rumination. After controlling for gender and age, maladaptive cognition toward WeChat mediated the relation between negative life events and WeChat addiction, while rumination moderated the effects of negative life events on maladaptive cognition toward WeChat. Specifically, the effect of negative life events on maladaptive cognition toward WeChat was stronger for college students with higher rumination than for those with lower rumination. The implications of our findings shed light on WeChat addiction in college students and can help clinical workers to prevent WeChat addiction behavior more efficiently. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Pymetrozine is one of the most common insecticides used to control the rice pest Nilaparvata lugens in China. Because of its unique mechanism of action and the fact that there is no obvious lethal effect after pymetrozine treatment, it is unreasonable to determine the sensitivity of pymetrozine by only calculating the mortality rate. In the context of traditional bioassay methods, which do not reflect pymetrozine's control effect on the pest populations in the field, we established fecundity assay bioassay methods to monitor N. lugens' resistance level to pymetrozine, and systematically evaluated pymetrozine's effect on the fecundity of N. lugens. Treatment with pymetrozine significantly reduced the number of offspring in both N. lugens nymphs and adults. On the basis of the inhibition effects of pymetrozine on the reproductive behavior of N. lugens, we established a bioassay method to accurately evaluate the toxicity of pymetrozine in N. lugens and clarified the level of pymetrozine resistance of N. lugens in the field. In this study, pymetrozine's effects on the fecundity of N. lugens were evaluated using the topical application method and rice-seedling-dipping method. Moreover, the resistance of N. lugens to pymetrozine in a pymetrozine-resistant strain (Pym-R) and two field populations (YZ21 and QS21) was determined using the rice-seedling-dipping method and fecundity assay methods. The results showed that treatment of N. lugens third-instar nymphs with LC15, LC50, and LC85 doses of pymetrozine resulted in a significantly reduced fecundity of N. lugens. In addition, N. lugens adults treated with pymetrozine, using the rice-seedling-dipping and topical application method, also exhibited a significantly inhibited fecundity. Using the rice-stem-dipping method, pymetrozine resistance levels were shown to be high in Pym-R (194.6-fold), YZ21 (205.9-fold), and QS21 (212.8-fold), with LC50 values of 522.520 mg/L (Pym-R), 552.962 mg/L (YZ21), and 571.315 (QS21) mg/L. However, when using the rice-seedling-dipping or topical application fecundity assay method, Pym-R (EC50: 14.370 mg/L, RR = 12.4-fold; ED50: 0.560 ng/adult, RR = 10.8-fold), YZ21 (EC50: 12.890 mg/L, RR = 11.2-fold; ED50: 0.280 ng/adult; RR = 5.4-fold), and QS21 (EC50: 13.700 mg/L, RR = 11.9-fold) exhibited moderate or low levels of resistance to pymetrozine. Our studies show that pymetrozine can significantly inhibit the fecundity of N. lugens. The fecundity assay results showed that N. lugens only developed low to moderate levels of resistance to pymetrozine, indicating that pymetrozine can still achieve effective control on the next generation of N. lugens populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many young women were believed to die due to pregnancy and childbirth in the past, yet few cases of pregnant female burials have been reported in bioarcheological literature. Therefore, this paper reports the burial of an adult female (H49‐1) and her infant (H49‐2), who were buried together in an early Western Zhou pit at the Sanbulijia site, Jiaodong Peninsula, Shandong Province, China. It is the first reported case of obstetric death in thePre‐Qin Period in Shandong Province. The mother–child relationship was proved by ancient DNA evidence and archeological context. The infant's remains were placed between the adult's lower legs. Skeletal histological evidence suggests that the infant died during or shortly after childbirth. Sacroiliac fusion of individual H49‐1 may have resulted in dystocia. Furthermore, a special postmortem burial ritual—pit burial, was carried out for both the infant and the mother. H49 is the first Zhou Dynasty pit burial (multiple burial) with an exact radiocarbon date in the Shandong Peninsula. The case under review suggests that both the adult and the infant may have died due to special events, which may be related to obstetric death. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

South China (SC) was a region with mixed rice–millet farming during the Middle Neolithic period and was also suggested to be the homeland of Tai‐Kadai (TK)‐speaking people. However, the formations of inland TK‐speaking people and southwestern Hans are far from clear due to very few studies on this subject. Here, we reveal the spatiotemporally demographic history of SC by analyzing newly‐generated genome‐wide SNP data of 115 modern southwestern individuals and find that inland TK‐speaking Dongs and Bouyeis have a close genomic affinity to coastal TK/Austronesian (AN)‐speaking people and Neolithic Yangtze River basin (YZRB) farmers, while southwestern Hans and TK‐speaking Gelaos possess a close genomic affinity to Neolithic Yellow River basin (YRB) farmers. Genetic differentiations are identified among TK people from SC and Southeast Asia, and between northern and southern inland Chinese TK people, in which the identified shared genetic ancestry between TK and AN people highlights a common origin of AN/TK groups. Conclusively, our findings indicate that millet farmers deriving from the YRB and rice farmers deriving from the YZRB substantially contribute to the present‐day inland TK speakers and southwestern Hans via a two‐way admixture scenario of bi‐directional gene‐flow events, which facilitates the formation of a modern two‐way genetic admixture profile. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Multiple myeloma remains incurable despite treatment advancements over the last 20 years. LCAR-B38M Cells in Treating Relapsed/Refractory Multiple Myeloma was a phase 1, first-in-human, investigator-initiated study in relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma conducted at four sites in China. The study used LCAR-B38M chimeric antigen receptor-T cells expressing two B-cell maturation antigen-targeting single-domain antibodies designed to confer avidity, and a CD3ζ signaling domain with a 4-1BB costimulatory domain to optimize T-cell activation and proliferation. This chimeric antigen receptor construct is identical to ciltacabtagene autoleucel. In the LEGEND-2 study (n = 57, Xi'an site), overall response rate was 88%; median (95% CI) progression-free survival and overall survival were 19.9 (9.6–31.0) and 36.1 (26.4–not evaluable) months, respectively; and median follow-up was 25 months. This case study reports on a patient with relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma (λ light chain type) who was treated with LCAR-B38M chimeric antigen receptor T cells in the LEGEND-2 study (Xi'an site); he had received five prior lines of treatment and had extensive extramedullary lesions. Case presentation: The patient, a 56-year-old Asian male, received cyclophosphamide (500 mg daily × 3 days) as lymphodepletion therapy and a total dose of 0.5 × 106 chimeric antigen receptor + T cells/kg split into three infusions (days 1, 24, and 84 from June to August 2016). He experienced grade 2 cytokine release syndrome after the first infusion; all symptoms resolved with treatment. No cytokine release syndrome occurred following the second and third infusions. His λ light chain levels decreased and normalized 20 days after the first infusion, and extramedullary lesions were healed as of January 2018. He has sustained remission for 5 years and received no other multiple myeloma treatments after LCAR-B38M chimeric antigen receptor T cell infusion. As of 30 October 2020, the patient is still progression-free and has maintained minimal residual disease-negative (10–4) complete response status for 52 months. Conclusions: This case provides support that treatment with LCAR-B38M chimeric antigen receptor T cells can result in long-term disease remission of 5 or more years without disease progression in a heavily pretreated patient with extensive extramedullary disease and no other treatment options. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: The brown planthopper, Nilaparvata lugens, is considered the most destructive pest of rice in many Asian countries including China. Use of pymetrozine in insect resistance management (IRM) has been one strategy to control this pest. In this study, we reported the status of pymetrozine resistance in Nilaparvata lugens (Stål) collected from China over the period 2017–2021 and selected a strain of N. lugens resistant to pymetrozine and evaluated the cross‐resistance, inheritance and fitness costs of the resistance. RESULTS: Monitoring data (2017–2021) showed that field populations of N. lugens in China developed moderate‐ to high‐level pymetrozine resistance during these 5 years. By continuous selection with pymetrozine in the lab, the pymetrozine selected N. lugens strain (Pym‐R98) developed a 225.2‐fold resistance compared to a susceptible strain. The Pym‐R98 strain showed high cross‐resistance to dinotefuran (66.6‐fold) and low cross‐resistance to nitenpyram (5.2‐fold) and sulfoxaflor (5.8‐fold). Inheritance pattern analysis of Pym‐R93 revealed that resistance to pymetrozine was polygenic, autosomal and incompletely dominant. Fitness costs of pymetrozine resistance were present in Pym‐R90 and WA2020 strains with a relative fitness of 0.72 and 0.60, respectively. The developmental duration of Pym‐R90 and WA2020 was significantly longer and hatchability was significantly lower compared to pymetrozine‐susceptible strain (Pym‐S). CONCLUSIONS: N. lugens has developed high level of resistance to pymetrozine. Pymetrozine‐resistance brown planthopper had cross‐resistance with some of neonicotinoids such as dinotefuran, nitenpyram and sulfoxaflor. The autosomal, incompletely dominant and polygenic resistance to pymetrozine in N. lugens and the fitness costs associated with this resistance can be exploited in IRM strategies to preserve the lifetime of pymetrozine for control of N. lugens in China. © 2022 Society of Chemical Industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The urban street has evolved into an important indicator reflecting citizens' living standard today, and pedestrian walking activity in the streets has been proved to be a major facilitator of public health. Uncertainties, however, exist in the factors affecting pedestrian walking behavior and walking experience in streets. Especially, the factors affecting pedestrian walking behavior and walking experience in the historical and cultural streets. For the study of their main influencing factors, Hefang Street business block and Gongchen Bridge life block in Hangzhou are selected here as the study objects. Both non-participatory and participatory research methods are adopted to collect pedestrian information and observe pedestrians' ambiguous behavior, specific behavior, and stopping behavior. According to the study result, walking preference, walking time, environmental characteristics, and land-use mix (LUM) significantly impact pedestrian walking motivation. The type differences between Gongchen Bridge life block and Hefang Street business block leads to the difference in pedestrians' behaviors and their stopping time in business. Meanwhile, gender differences bring pedestrians' significant differences in walking motivation. Pedestrian walking preference and walking time are positively correlated with walking motivation in both streets. Environmental characteristics and LUM have also been proved to be important influencing factors of pedestrians' walking motivation. In this article, design and planning strategies are proposed for streets of different types in an attempt to provide reference for the revitalization and utilization of cultural heritage streets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Except for excessive nutrient input and climate warming, the rapidly rising SO 42- concentration is considered as a crucial contributor to the eutrophication in shallow lakes; however, the driving process and mechanism are still far from clear. In this study, we constructed a series of microcosms with initial SO 42- concentrations of 0, 30, 60, 90, 120, and 150 mg L -1 to simulate the rapid SO 42- increase in Lake Taihu, China, subjected to cyanobacteria blooms. Results showed that the sulfate reduction rate was stimulated by the increase in initial SO 42- concentrations and cyanobacteria-derived organic matter, with the maximal sulfate reduction rate of 39.68 mg (L d) -1 in the treatment of 150 mg L -1 SO 42- concentration. During the sulfate reduction, the produced maximal ∑ S 2- concentration in the overlying water and acid volatile sulfate (AVS) in the sediments were 3.15 mg L -1 and 11.11 mg kg -1 , respectively, and both of them were positively correlated with initial SO 42- concentrations (R2=0.97 ; R2= 0.92). The increasing abundance of sulfate reduction bacteria (SRB) was also linearly correlated with initial SO 42- concentrations (R2=0.96), ranging from 6.65×107 to 1.97×108 copies g -1. However, the Fe 2+ concentrations displayed a negative correlation with initial SO 42- concentrations, and the final Fe 2+ concentrations were 9.68, 7.07, 6.5, 5.57, 4.42, and 3.46 mg L -1 , respectively. As a result, the released total phosphorus (TP) in the overlying water, to promote the eutrophication, was up to 1.4 mg L -1 in the treatment of 150 mg L -1 SO 42- concentration. Therefore, it is necessary to consider the effect of rapidly increasing SO 42- concentrations on the release of endogenous phosphorus and the eutrophication in lakes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Semen analysis (SA) plays a key role in guiding treatments of male reproductive diseases and infertility due to male factors; however, it remains challenging to conduct an accurate SA due to lack of standardization, highly subjective assessments, and problems with automated procedures. Therefore, quality assurance (QA) and teaching courses are essential for making the laboratory results more consistent. Materials and methods: The external quality assurance (EQA) scheme was organized by national human sperm bank technology training bases in Guangdong province in China between 2009 and 2020. Until 2020, 124 laboratories from China participated in the EQA program. The EQA scheme per year has been organized involving two semen aliquots for sperm concentration, two video recordings for motility, and two smears for sperm morphology. All samples used in the EQA scheme were obtained from different healthy donors or patients. Results: We estimated that the median coefficient of variation (CV) of sperm concentration, ignoring the method used, was 26.6%. Using a 100 µm deep counting chamber led to a decreasing CV of 13.6%. For sperm motility, the median CV of nonprogressive motility was high (50.8%), but the CV of progressive motility (13.2%), immotile sperm (14.3%), and total motility (11.8%) were acceptable. The morphology assessment revealed large variability (44.4%) irrespective of the classification criteria. Discussion: The reduction of interlaboratory variability is still a challenge during SA in China. Therefore, it is critical to increase awareness of joining EQA schemes and establish standardized training centers to follow WHO‐recommended procedures toward Chinese standards. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study implemented a stable Regional Reference Frame in Shanghai, East China (called SHRRF), using seven years of continuous GNSS observations from the Shanghai Continuously Operating Reference System stations (SHCORS) to examine reclaimed coast–land subsidence. A well−distributed core station network suitable for regional applications was derived. The instantaneous station coordinates and seven frame parameters (translations, rotations, and scale) were estimated at each epoch through minimum constraint during the process of aligning SHRRF to the International Terrestrial Reference Frame (ITRF14). The average root mean square error (RMSE) of all stations under SHRRF was within 1.5 mm horizontally and 5 mm vertically for most epochs. Simultaneously, compared with the ITRF14 solutions, the average RMSE for each site at all epochs was reduced by ~30% horizontally and ~10% vertically. A temporal consolidation settlement model of the reclaimed soil under self−weight was established by combining a geotechnical−derived model with high precision permanent GNSS vertical solutions under SHRRF. The model indicates that ~50% of settlements occurred within 3.6 years, with the whole subsidence time being 46 years. SHRRF provides a precise regional reference frame for use in many East China geophysical applications besides reclaimed coast–land settlement including hydrologic loading, microplate motions, and critical structure deformation monitoring. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A growing number of countries worldwide have committed to achieving net zero emissions targets by around mid-century since the Paris Agreement. As the world's greatest carbon emitter and the largest developing economy, China has also set clear targets for carbon peaking by 2030 and carbon neutrality by 2060. Carbon-reduction AI applications promote the green economy. However, there is no comprehensive explanation of how AI affects carbon emissions. Based on panel data for 270 Chinese cities from 2011 to 2017, this study uses the Bartik method to quantify data on manufacturing firms and robots in China and demonstrates the effect of AI on carbon emissions. The results of the study indicate that (1) artificial intelligence has a significant inhibitory effect on carbon emission intensity; (2) the carbon emission reduction effect of AI is more significant in super- and megacities, large cities, and cities with better infrastructure and advanced technology, whereas it is not significant in small and medium cities, and cities with poor infrastructure and low technology level; (3) artificial intelligence reduces carbon emissions through optimizing industrial structure, enhancing information infrastructure, and improving green technology innovation. In order to achieve carbon peaking and carbon neutrality as quickly as possible during economic development, China should make greater efforts to apply AI in production and life, infrastructure construction, energy conservation, and emission reduction, particularly in developed cities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: LCAR-B38M is a chimeric antigen receptor T cell product with two binding domains targeting B cell maturation antigen. Our previous reports showed a remarkable efficacy of LCAR-B38M in patients with relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma (RRMM) at a median follow-up of 2 years. Here, we report long-term safety and efficacy data from a median follow-up of 4 years. Methods: LEGEND-2 was a phase 1, single-arm, open-label study conducted in four registered sites in China. Seventy-four participants with RRMM received LCAR-B38M treatment. Lymphodepletion was performed using cyclophosphamide or cyclophosphamide plus fludarabine. LCAR-B38M, at a median dose of 0.513 × 106 cells/kg, was intravenously administered either in three split infusions or in a single infusion. The primary objective was the safety of LCAR-B38M, and the secondary objective was efficacy. Results: As of May 25, 2021, the median follow-up was 47.8 months. All patients experienced ≥ 1 adverse events (AEs). Grade ≥ 3 AEs were observed in 45/74 (60.8%) patients. Cytokine release syndrome (CRS) occurred in 68/74 (91.9%) cases; 7 (9.5%) had grade ≥ 3 CRS. One patient experienced grade 1 central nervous system toxicity. The overall response rate was 87.8%. Fifty-four out of 74 (73.0%) patients achieved complete response. The median progression-free survival was 18.0 months, and the median overall survival for all patients was not reached. The median duration of response was 23.3 months. Four patients experienced viral infection more than 6 months post-infusion, and four patients developed second primary non-hematological malignancies at a median time of 11.5 months post-CAR-T cell transfer. Conclusions: The 4-year follow-up data of LCAR-B38M therapy demonstrated a favorable long-term safety profile and a durable response in patients with RRMM. Trial registration Clinicaltrials.gov NCT03090659 (retrospectively registered on March 27, 2017); ChiCTR-ONH-17012285. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Limited data exists on the clinical features of patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) during reproductive ages. Objective: Our study characterized the clinical features of ALS and the effects of pregnancy on disease progression in patients with ALS. Methods: We performed a retrospective study of female patients with ALS in three ALS research centers in southern China from 2009 to 2021. Data regarding fertility status, and clinical and genetic features, were collected. Age-matched male patients with ALS served as controls. The patients were divided into the following two subgroups: patients with symptom onset within 1 year of pregnancy and patients with symptom onset over 1 year group after pregnancy. Results: A total of 52 female and 52 matched male patients were enrolled. There were no differences in female and male patients in the mean age of symptom onset, the mean baseline ALSFRS-R score, or median reduction of ALSFRS-R score (p > 0.05). The mean age of first pregnancy was 25.57 ± 4.40) years. The mean age of first pregnancy in the over 1 year group was lower than that in the within 1 year group (p = 0.01). There was no difference in the median reduction of ALSFRS-R between the two subgroups. In the univariate analysis, diagnostic delay was highly correlated with the disease progression, with short delay representing rapid progress. No multicollinearity was found among every variable. In addition, 40.38% patients carried ALS-related gene variants. The proportion with gene mutations in the within 1 year group was higher than that in the over 1 year group (p < 0.01). Furthermore, SETX was the most frequently mutated gene in this cohort (16.67%) including 4 uncertain mutation. Conclusion: Pregnancy and fertility were not associated with disease progression. Diagnostic delay was correlated with disease progression in this cohort. In addition, SETX might be a gene of concern for ALS patients of childbearing age. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Up until now, evidence pertaining to the short-term effects of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) in cardiovascular diseases (CVD) is scarce in China. In this study, we aim to estimate the association between short-term exposure to PM2.5 and hospitalizations for total and cause-specific CVD in Lanzhou of China. Methods: Daily counts of cardiovascular admissions were obtained from three large general hospitals in Lanzhou, China between 2014 and 2019. Air quality and meteorological data were obtained from the monitoring stations nearest to the admitting hospitals. We utilized Quasi-Poisson time-series regressions with distributed lag nonlinear models (DLNM) to assess the association between PM2.5 and CVD admitted in the three general hospitals. A stratified analysis was also conducted for age, sex, and disease subcategories. Results: PM2.5 was positively correlated with daily admissions for total or other cause-specific CVD under different lag patterns. For every 10 μg/m3 increase in the PM2.5 concentration, the relative risk of daily admissions for total CVD, ischemic heart disease (IHD), heart rhythm disturbances (HRD), heart failure (HF), and cerebrovascular disease (CD) was: 1.011 [95% confidence interval (CI), 1.001–1.020] in lag01; 1.020 (95% CI 1.004–1.036) in lag07; 1.013 (95% CI 1.001–1.026) in lag7; 1.018 (95% CI 1.005–1.038) in lag1; and 1.007 (95% CI 1.001–1.018) in lag1. Both low and high temperatures increased the risk of cardiovascular hospitalization. No differences were found after stratification by gender and age. We found an almost linear relationship between the exposure to PM2.5 and cause-specific CVD admissions with no threshold effect. Males as well as the elderly, aged ≥ 65 years, were more vulnerable to PM 2.5 exposure. Conclusions: Our results have demonstrated that PM2.5 has adverse impacts on cardiovascular hospitalizations in Lanzhou, especially on IHD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Changes in land management and climate alter vegetation dynamics; however, the factors driving vegetation changes remain elusive at multiple spatiotemporal levels. Here, we assess the drivers of changes in greenness from 2000 to 2015 in Northwest China (NW China). We used multiple stepwise linear regression (MSLR), redundancy analysis (RDA), and 12 other models to quantify the impacts of precipitation and temperature metrics, gross domestic product (GDP), population, and grazing intensity on the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) at three administrative levels (county, town, and village), four temporal levels (yearly, May, July, and September), two vegetation types (woodland and grassland), and at annual precipitation gradients of <200, 200–400, and >400 mm. The results suggest that NW China underwent vegetation greening from 2000 to 2015. Precipitation and temperature were the most influential factors contributing to the NDVI change. Population was the main determinant of NDVI under the precipitation gradient of <200 mm, and the effect of GDP on NDVI was moderate. On the temporal scale, annual precipitation, precipitation before the previous year, and precipitation in the current year determined the NDVI in May, July, and September, respectively, for both woodland and grassland. At multiple scales, climate change was the primary driver of vegetation change in NW China, rather than human disturbance. These findings expand our understanding on drivers of NDVI at multiple levels over a long period. Measures to manage decreasing vegetation coverage may be more effective and could be implemented sooner based on predicted climate change in drylands worldwide. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Plant diversity is changing in the world; climate variation at annual scale is believed to drive these changes; however, the effects of climate variation at month scale are still unknown. Anxi, West Ordos, Xilingol, and Tumuji grassland nature reserves, located in northern China, have been well protected from human disturbance, are ideal areas to identify the drive forces for plant diversity change. Using Landsat images from 1982 to 2017, we analyzed the evolution of month- and annual-climate variables and spectral plant diversity indices, and explored the effects of the variability of temperature and precipitation on plant diversity and their relationship. The results showed that the diversity of the four grasslands was decreasing. Climate variables, in particular temperature at month scale, significantly related to grassland plant diversity. These results enlarge our understanding in how climate change driving plant diversity during a long term. Measurements coping with plant diversity decreasing may be more effective and earlier based on monthly climate variables. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ecosystem services can be enhanced through ecological restoration, industrial structure adjustment, land-use optimization, and agricultural and forestry ecosystem transformation. The ecosystem services in hilly and mountainous areas of southern China are crucially needed to be enhanced since these regions are important ecological functional zones in China. However, due to its large area, it is not possible to simultaneously upgrade the ecosystem services for all areas, and therefore, priority areas need to be selected to individually upgrade the ecosystem service function. In this study, via an approach of combining remote sensing, geographic information system, and spatial statistics, we identify the priority areas that need to be upgraded based on the analysis of ecological sensitivity, importance of ecosystem service function, and decreased degree in ecosystem services. For five counties in hilly and mountainous areas of southern China, only less than 2% of the total area was identified as the first priority area; its land-use compositions were analyzed and recommendations on how to enhance ecosystem service were suggested. This approach overcomes the conflict and contradiction issues associated with identifying priority areas in previous studies and solves the problems of high cost or difficult implementation of priority areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigated the potential impacts of climate change on ecosystem services and their components in two distinct ecosystems: the northern grasslands and southern hills in China. The effects of minimum, average, and maximum temperature, and precipitation at monthly, seasonal, and yearly scales on ecosystem services and their components were studied through stepwise multiple regression analysis. The results showed that in the northern grasslands, an increase in the total ecosystem services value (ESV) was mainly attributed to soil conservation, biodiversity, hydrological regulation, and aesthetic landscape. In the southern hills, an increase in total ESV in each region was mainly attributed to climate regulation, environmental purification, biodiversity, and aesthetic landscape. There were strong correlations between ESVs and fluctuations in temperature and precipitation. In the northern grasslands, temperature was the main driving factor of the values from 11 categories of ecosystem services in Anxi, Tumuji, and Xilingol. However, in West Ordos, precipitation negatively affected the change in ESVs. In the southern hills, ESVs were governed by both precipitation and temperature in Huaying. Precipitation variables were an important factor affecting the ESVs in Cili. There was a stronger correlation between temperature and the majority of ESVs in Danjiangkou, Chongyi, and Lechang than precipitation. This paper provides a basis for a better understanding of the impact of climate change on different ecosystem services, and helps to enhance ESV under climate warming. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Use of genetically engineered plants that express insecticidal Cry proteins derived from Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) have been proven efficacious for managing lepidopteran pests. However, in some cases herbivores that are not targeted by the Bt trait have increased in importance. It has been suggested that reduced caterpillar damage to Bt crops could lead to decreased levels of induced plant defensive compounds which might benefit other non‐target herbivores. Here we investigated the potential effect of reduced damage by larvae of Mythimna separata on aphid populations in Bt corn. We compared the performance of Rhopalosiphum maidis feeding on non‐Bt corn plants that had been infested by M. separata larvae or were uninfested. The results showed that caterpillar‐infested corn plants significantly reduced the fitness of R. maidis leading to a prolonged nymphal development time, reduced adult longevity and fecundity compared to uninfested plants. Consequently, the population growth rate of corn aphids feeding on caterpillar‐infested corn plants was significantly lower than on uninfested plants. As expected, the aphids performed significantly better on Lepidoptera‐resistant Bt corn than on non‐Bt corn when plants were infested with M. separata, since the caterpillars caused very little damage to the Bt plants. The current findings indicate that reduced M. separata infestation could benefit aphid development in Bt corn. Bt corn has the potential to be commercialized in China in the near future and aphids and other non‐target pests should be monitored in the farming fields. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rural settlements serve as an important part of the rural landscape, and environmental conditions influence their spatial distribution. We hypothesize that there are variations in the spatial patterns of settlements across different farming–pastoral ecotones that exist in accordance with different human activities and environmental conditions. We used remote sensing imagery, digital elevation model, and GIS technology to analyze and compare the spatial patterns of settlements and factors influencing these patterns across pastoral, agricultural, and ecotone areas in Inner Mongolia, China. A Voronoi model, adjacency analysis, landscape metrics, and quantitative analysis were conducted. The results indicated that (1) the settlements in the three areas tended to have a random spatial distribution, and although there were no significant differences between the settlement types, agricultural settlements tended to be clustered and pastoral settlements tended to be evenly distributed; (2) the pastoral area had only a few large and sparsely fragmented patches; (3) the factors influencing settlement distribution mainly differed with respect to the NDVI, distance to roads and rivers, and elevation across three areas, but the slope degree was similar. These results indicated there are no significant differences between the spatial patterns of settlements along the agricultural to pastoral gradient, although environmental conditions differ. Consequently, we can optimize the spatial pattern of settlements and achieve sustainable development within farming–pastoral ecotones. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Local adaptation is particularly likely in invertebrate pests that typically have short generation times and large population sizes, but there are few studies on pest species investigating local adaptation and separating this process from contemporaneous and historical gene flow. Here, we use a population genomic approach to investigate evolutionary processes in the two most dominant spider mites in China, Tetranychus truncatus Ehara and Tetranychus pueraricola Ehara et Gotoh, which have wide distributions, short generation times, and large population sizes. We generated genome resequencing of 246 spider mites mostly from China, as well as Japan and Canada at a combined total depth of 3,133×. Based on demographic reconstruction, we found that both mite species likely originated from refugia in southwestern China and then spread to other regions, with the dominant T. truncatus spreading ~3,000 years later than T. pueraricola. Estimated changes in population sizes of the pests matched known periods of glaciation and reinforce the recent expansion of the dominant spider mites. T. truncatus showed a greater extent of local adaptation with more genes (76 vs. 17) associated with precipitation, including candidates involved in regulation of homeostasis of water and ions, signal transduction, and motor skills. In both species, many genes (135 in T. truncatus and 95 in T. pueraricola) also showed signatures of selection related to elevation, including G‐protein‐coupled receptors, cytochrome P450s, and ABC‐transporters. Our results point to historical expansion processes and climatic adaptation in these pests which could have contributed to their growing importance, particularly in the case of T. truncatus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using specific primers, we measured the infection status of Wolbachia, WO, Cardinium, and Spiroplasma in Chilo suppressalis (Walker) (Lepidoptera: Crambidae) collected from 14 locations in China, and conducted phylogenetic analysis of the three endosymbionts. The results showed that eight geographical populations of C. suppressalis were infected by Wolbachia. The infection rates of Wolbachia in four geographical populations had no significant difference between 2011 and 2012 (P>0.05). There were five geographical populations infected with Cardinium and seven geographical populations infected with Spiroplasma. Seven populations of C. suppressalis carrying Wolbachia were also infected with WO. The maximum parsimony tree shows that Wolbachia from C. suppressalis, Pieris rapae, Coliaserate poliographus and Tetranychus urticae fall into the same clade. Cardinium from C. suppressalis joins together with Cardinium from Oppiella nova. Spiroplasma in C. suppressalis has a close relationship with that of Fannia manicata. In conclusion, infections of three endosymbionts showed regional differences, and there were eight geographical populations infected with more than one endosymbiont. Our study found, for the first time, double infection with Wolbachia and Spiroplasma in one sample from Xinzhou. Phylogenetic analysis of the three endosymbionts proved that the endosymbionts can transfer horizontally between different individuals of the same or different hosts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Tacrolimus is a novel effective immunosuppressant for myasthenia gravis (MG) patients. However, the narrow therapeutic window, and high inter- and intrapatient variation in bioavailability largely limited its clinical application. This article intended to find the SNPs influencing clinical outcome and discover the possible mechanisms. Methods: Based on the tagSNPs genotyped by Improved Multiple Ligase Detection Reaction, Plink 1.07 was used to find the SNPs having close interaction to tacrolimus serum concentration, QMG score changes or even reasonable drug dose. Then we searched several databases to predict the possible miRNA binding rs15524 sequence. Based on the prediction, dual-luciferase reporter assay and miRNA transfection were used to discover the mechanism of how SNP rs15524 controls tacrolimus serum concentration through influencing CYP3A5 expression. Results: In this article, we found multiple SNPs on CYP3A4, CYP3A5, FKBP1A, NFATC2 genes were predicted closely related to tacrolimus serum concentration, therapeutic effect which reflected by QMG score changes or even reasonable drug dose. After in silico miRNA selection, possible relationship between hsa-miR-500a and rs15524 was found. With the help of dual-luciferase reporter assay, wild-type rs15524 (T allele) was found having a stronger binding affinity for hsa-miR-500a. Higher expression of CYP3A5 may also led by lower hsa-miR-500a level. Conclusions: SNP rs15524 may control CYP3A5 expression by affecting the binding affinity between CYP3A5 3'UTR and hsa-miR-500a. Wild type (T allele) 3'UTR of CYP3A5 has stronger binding affinity to hsa-miR-500a and cause lower CYP3A5 expression and higher tacrolimus serum concentration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The relationship between landscape pattern and drought/flood intensity was studied. • The key landscape metrics were identified by correlation analysis and RDA at seven grid sizes. • Landscape pattern affecting drought/flood intensity vary across land use types and patterns. • Suitable landscape pattern was suggested for alleviating drought/flood intensity. Although land use has proved to have substantial impacts on extreme weather, it is still unknown whether its mosaic or configuration, i.e., landscape pattern, has such effects. Inner Mongolia in northern China (latitudes 40–48° N), a flat plateau with almost uniform altitude (1 km a.s.l.), has diverse landscape patterns formed by various land uses. It is a desirable area to explore the above issues. The landscape pattern of Inner Mongolia in 2000, 2005, 2010 and 2015 was analyzed by GIS techniques, and drought and flood intensity data were collected in the same years. Correlations between landscape pattern and drought/flood events were examined at grain extents of 200, 600, 1000, 1500, 2000, 2500 and 3000 m. Overall, patch metrics of woodland and waters significantly negatively related with drought intensity, those of cropland mostly positively related with flood, grassland metrics positively related with flood and negatively with drought, bareland demonstrated a non-significant relation. Urban metrics were mainly positively related with both disasters. Based on these findings, a landscape pattern contains woodland patches with less patch number, complex shape, and moderate core area, grasslands with moderate core area, complex shape and even spatial distribution, croplands with high patch number and core area with simple patch shape, companying with the large number of shrub and water patches, is suggested as the most suitable landscape pattern for reducing the possibility of drought/flood intensity in arid and semiarid regions in the world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The tomato red spider mite, Tetranychus evansi, is an important invasive pest of solanaceous plants worldwide. China is a potentially suitable region for T. evansi but there was no official record of its distribution. In this study, we reported five new records of T. evansi from eggplant, tomato and cucumber in southern and southwest China. The invasion of T. evansi constitutes a new threat to solanaceous crops in mainland China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Arthritis is a major complication of Kawasaki disease (KD). The aims of this study were to define the frequency and the clinical characteristics of arthritis in KD in China and to analyze the relation between arthritis and coronary outcome in KD. We included 1420 KD patients followed at Jiangxi Children's Hospital from January 2014 to December 2017. Demographic, clinical and laboratory features of KD were analyzed. Among the 1420 patients enrolled, 151 had arthritis. The median age of KD patients with arthritis was 29 months and older than those without arthritis (20 months). Of the 151 patients developed arthritis, 101 patients (66.9%) had oligoarticular involvement and 50 patients (33.1%) had polyarticular involvement. Early-onset and late-onset arthritis were, respectively, observed in 123 (81.45%) and 28 (18.54%) patients. The KD patients with arthritis had significantly increased levels of inflammatory markers, and we observed a higher incidence rate of coronary artery aneurysms among those with arthritis (7.28%) compared to those without arthritis (2.75%) (p = 0.003), but the prevalence of coronary artery lesions (CALs) was similar in the two groups. The arthritis in KD was self-limited, left no sequelae and did not require additional medications. KD patients with arthritis were more likely to get coronary artery aneurysms than the patients without arthritis, so examination of joints in KD was necessary. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Under global climate change, we can adjust landscape patterns to mitigate the effects of climate factors on crop yield. Field and landscape-scale research suggests that increased land cover diversity and non-crop habitats can improve crop yield, but little is known on the effects of patch area and shape of one type of land use (i.e., class-level) and spatial patterns (aggregation, fragmentation, and heterogeneity) of surrounding multiple land-use classes (i.e. landscape-level) on crop yield. We evaluated the relationship between 375 landscape metrics at both class- and landscape-levels, 120 climate variables, and the crop yields of maize, rice, and wheat in China from years 2000–2015 at national and sub-climatic zone scales. Our results suggest that both class- and landscape-level patterns were the main drivers, contributing averagely 12% of the variations in crop yields. Specifically at national scale, crop yield in cropland with forest cover (>27%) was increased by 169% than where without forest cover. Shape complexity in forest and cropland patches, aggregation degree, and spatial complexity of land cover types were more closely associated with crop yield (accounting for 2–73% of the variations in crop yield at sub-climatic zones) than landscape diversity (<2%), mainly owing to their mediating effects on the relationship between climate factors and crop yield. Not all non-crop habitats are beneficial to crop yield, and forest patches with a suitable area and shape complexity perform best. Our findings suggest that the regulation of both class- and landscape-level patterns may be an alternative way to improve crop yield, rather than only enhancing land-cover diversity or increasing the area of non-crop habitats. • Both class- and landscape-level landscape patterns influence crop yield. • The crop yield in the landscape with forest cover (>27%) was increased by 169%. • Land shape complexity (6%) and area (7%) contributed more to the variation of crop yield than landscape diversity (∼2%). • Most suitable class- and landscape-level patterns to improve crop yield were suggested. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Allele frequency data and forensic statistical parameters were determined for 20 autosomal short tandem repeat (STR) loci of the PowerPlex 21 System in 214 unrelated healthy individuals of a Uyghur ethnic minority group living in Xinjiang province, northwest China. A total of 232 alleles were observed with the corresponding allele frequencies ranging from 0.0023 to 0.5304. All loci were consistent with Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium (HWE) after the Bonferroni correction (p > 0.0025). The combined probability of exclusion, power of discrimination, probability of matching value were 0.999999999, 0.9999999999999999999999995, and 4.78246 × 10−25, respectively. Our results revealed that the 20 STRs were highly polymorphic and informative, and could be suitable for forensic application, especially parentage test and personal identification. The further population comparison between the Uyghur and other 26 reference populations revealed that the loci of D13S317, TH01 and D6S1043 showed high ethnical specificity. Phylogenetic analysis based on 19 shared loci demonstrated that the Uyghur had a close genetic relationship with the Kazakh, but a distinct genetic distance with other Chinese populations from different ethnicity and regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The exploitation of coal resources can lead to change of regional environment, and open-pit mining makes even more direct impact on vegetation, topsoil, surface water and underground water in grass area. Studying the change of hydrogeological condition caused by open-pit mining is beneficial for rational utilization of water resource in grass area and guaranteeing normal exploitation of open-pit mine. In this study, the Shengli 1 open-pit coal mine with typical hydrogeographical features, locating in typical meadow steppe area, was taken as researched area. Through collecting basic mine production data, such as annual output, drainage quantity, water inflow, the water inflow (including static- storage and recharge rate) of mine was predicted and calculated by horizontal catchment channel method, big well method and replenishment quantity method, respectively. This study investigates the hydrogeological condition changes of open-pit coal mine in grass area during production process. Results show that the static storage of hydrogeological unit exerts great impact to coal mine exploitation and production in early stage, while recharge rate exerts continuous influence to the whole mining process. As the quarternary loess in earth surface of steppe area is thick, and phreatic layer has a direct association with mining pit, the replenishment quantity method can achieve the most accurate calculation; the influence of open-pit mining to geohydrologic condition is mainly determined by aquifer hydraulic conductivity and mining depth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A fractional model for simulating long-term fracture conductivity decay was developed. • The damage rate of cumulative production induced by shale creep is unignorable. • The formation viscous modulus determines the strength of shale viscoelastic mechanical behaviors. • Cumulative production damage rate caused by shale creep is obvious when formation viscous modulus is less than 30GPa. Due to the high-content of clay and kerogen, shale will always show viscoelastic mechanical behaviors during the development of shale gas, which will lead to the increase of proppant embedment and do harm to gas recovery from shale reservoirs. In the previous studies, viscoelastic mechanical behaviors of reservoir rock had not been coupled with productivity model of gas well and the long-term fracture conductivity was overestimated. In order to figure out the creep damage to long-term fracture conductivity and predict the estimated ultimate recovery of shale gas wells accurately, a novel time-varying fracture conductivity model based on fractional calculus was developed for simulating the long-term decay of fracture conductivity. Proppant deformation, proppant embedment, and shale creep described by fractional Kelvin model were taken into consideration in the time-varying fracture conductivity model and it was coupled with embedded discrete fracture model (EDFM) to simulate the well performance. Simulation results show that: Daily gas production curve simulated by the EDFM with creep damage under field conditions of a shale gas well in Sichuan Province, China was aligned with its production data. The damage rate of cumulative production considering shale creep is more than twice that only caused by proppant deformation and proppant embedment. And the formation viscous modulus determines the strength of the shale viscoelastic mechanical behaviors. According to formation viscous modulus, the shale reservoirs can be divided into three types: Type I with strong creep damage (E 2 v < 5GPa), Type Ⅱ with moderate creep damage (5GPa < E 2 v < 30GPa), and Type III with few creep damage (E 2 v > 30GPa). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective To in vestigate potential gender differences in the odds of overweight/obese, weight-related perceptions, and behaviors among Chinese school children. Methods Height, weight, and a survey of weight-related perceptions and behaviors were measured in a nationally representative survey of 12,811 children in primary schools in China. Logistic regression analyses were used to assess gender differences, adjusting for confounders. Results Boys had higher odds of being overweight/obese compared to girls within both urban [adjusted odds ratio ( OR ) 2.30, 95% CI 2.00 to 2.65] and rural areas ( OR = 1.85, 95% CI 1.55 to 2.20). Girls reported healthier diets (e.g., daily vegetables OR = 0.79, 95% CI 0.73 to 0.85) whereas boys consumed fried food ( OR = 1.21, 95% CI 1.06 to 1.38) and sugar-sweetened drinks more often ( OR = 1.49, 95% CI 1.34 to 1.65). Gender differences included higher odds of boys perceiving themselves as overweight if they had more highly educated mothers ( OR = 1.35, 95% CI 1.09 to 1.68), less educated fathers ( OR = 0.79, 95% CI 0.63 to 0.99), and if they frequently consumed carbonated drinks ( OR = 1.48, 95% CI 1.07 to 2.05). Conclusion Childhood obesity prevention in China should be gender-focused, particularly for boys who reported an unhealthier diet but were less likely to see they were fat, even though more boys were overweight or obese than girls. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The spatio-temporal variation of surface sensible heat flux (SHF) in southern China (SC) is studied based on the data evaluated from conventional observational meteorological data. There exist prominent increasing trends in all seasonal surface sensible heat fluxes in the western SC and decreasing trends in the central-eastern part of southern China. The variations of surface sensible heat flux in all seasons are dominant on interannual time-scales. The land-air temperature difference and the near-surface wind speed are two key factors for the interannual variations of SHF, but the former is more important. The first two major anomalous patterns of SHF are presented as the region-wide in-phase anomalies and the east-west dipole anomalies, respectively, based on the EOF analysis results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Survival rate and emergence timing of the overwintering generation of many temperate agricultural pests is expected to affect their population dynamics and damage potential. However the impact of fluctuating winter and spring conditions on the successful emergence of insects post-diapause is generally poorly known. Here we characterize diapause responses in the peach fruit moth (PFM) pest, Carposina sasakii Matsumura, which overwinters at the larval stage in soil. Temperatures at a depth of 5 cm fluctuated markedly in early spring during the critical PFM post-diapause period (late December to mid-April). By removing outdoor larval samples over this period, we show that the completion of diapause for PFM in northern China starts from late January and continues until March. This extended developmental period is accompanied by an ongoing loss of cold resistance. Temperature conditions experienced in the field were associated with cold tolerance and emergence times, and reduced cold tolerance was associated with shorter emergence time. Cryoprotectants declined from late December, and levels were associated with changes in the supercooling point (SCP) of the larvae, but both correlated weakly to survival under cold stress during the post-diapause period. These findings suggest that diapause stage and soil temperatures should be taken into account when predicting field dynamics of soil-dwelling overwintering insects based on degree day accumulation models and other approaches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although industrial zones have been attracting attention around the world due to their huge regional economic contributions, ecological risk assessment for industrial zones has gained little attention. In high ecological risk locations, landslides, earthquakes, and floods often occur, often causing extensive damage, including loss of human lives and property. However, during planning, development, and management of industrial zones, only the socioeconomic risks are usually taken into account and the risks of ecological factors affecting industries are often ignored. In this article, we put forward a procedure to link different risk factors and their GIS-determined spatial variation to estimate the ecological risk to key industrial zones in the 98,200 km2area surrounding the Bo Sea. The ecological risk factors in this region are mainly rainstorms, geological risks, storm surges, seawater intrusion, soil erosion, and earthquakes. The key industrial development zones located in this area were classified into three industry types according to the sensitivity of the industry to different ecological risk factors. Using historical data and hierarchical analytic process as well as weighted ecological risk values, industry susceptibility was determined. We integrated the risk values of each ecological factor with the susceptibility of each industry type to each ecological factor in order to quantify the total risk associated with each key industry zone in the region. The results showed that high ecological risk existed in Liaodong and Laizhou Bay and Tianjin and Dalian seashore. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Primary objective: The mechanism underlying interleukin-6 (IL-6) prevention of N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA)-induced neuronal Ca2+ overload was explored at the profile of Ca2+ channel receptors, including NMDA, inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate and ryanodine receptors (NMDAR, IP3R and RyR, respectively). Methods: Cerebellar granule neurons from 8-day-old rats were exposed to IL-6 (40 or 120 ng ml−1) for 8 days and stimulated with NMDA (100 μM) for 15 or 30 minutes. Results: NMDA evoked an acute and sustained enhancement of intracellular Ca2+ fluorescence intensity in the entire 15-minute NMDA application period. IL-6 prevented the acute and sustained intracellular Ca2+ elevation triggered by NMDA in a concentration-dependent manner. MK-801, an NMDAR antagonist, completely suppressed NMDA-evoked neuronal Ca2+ overload in the absence or presence of IL-6. IP3R antagonist 2-APB lessened NMDA-evoked acute and sustained cytosolic Ca2+ overload and IL-6 further reduced the acute 2-APB-dependent Ca2+ component. Dissimilarly, after RyR antagonist DAN treatment, NMDA still induced an acute and sustained elevation of intracellular Ca2+ levels, and the elevated Ca2+ was significantly suppressed by IL-6. Moreover, IL-6 down-regulated NMDAR1 and IP3R1 but did not alter RyR2 expression. Conclusion: The present results suggest that IL-6 suppresses NMDA-induced neuronal Ca2+ overload by inhibiting NMDAR and IP3R activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a famous master of ci studies in the 20th century, Tang Guizhang spoke highly of the characteristic contributions to the studies on ci poetry made by the scholars in the late Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China. He found that the foundation of ci theory of the late Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China was established by Duan Mucal and Chen Tingzhuo, who had exerted far-reaching influence on later ci theorists. Tang also valued very highly the contributions made by Zhu Zumou, who inherited the legacy left by Duan Mucai and Wang Pengyun and made friends with Wen Tingshi, Zheng Wenzhuo and Kuang Zhouyi and pave the way for Wu Mei, Long Yusheng, Xia Chengtao and Chen Feishi. He held that we can draw a genealogical picture of the ci studies centering on Nanjing in the late Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China through tracing the academic linkage of Zhu Zumou. Tang Guizhang's theorization on the ci studies in the late Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China shows that he managed to strike a balance between the Northern and Southern Song Dynasties as well as between emphasizing solemn and significant theme over linguistic art and emphasizing the creation of artistic images and pursuit of prosodic refinement in ci poetry. His achievement can be regarded as the summation of the ci studies in the late Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China and is thus of great significance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]