Search

Satellite-based PM2.5 estimation is an effective means to achieve large-scale and long-term PM2.5 monitoring and investigation. Currently, most of methods retrieve PM2.5 from satellite-derived aerosol optical depth (AOD) or top-of-atmosphere reflectance (TOAR) during daytime. A few algorithms are also developed to retrieve nighttime PM2.5 from the satellite day–night band and the accuracy is greatly limited by moonlight and artificial light sources. In this study, we utilize the properties of absorption pollutants in infrared spectrum to estimate PM2.5 concentrations from satellite infrared data, thus achieve the PM2.5 estimation in both day and night. Himawari-8 infrared bands data are used for PM2.5 estimation by a specifically designed neural network and loss function. Quantitative results show the satellite derived PM2.5 concentrations correlates with ground-based data well with R2 of 0.79 and RMSE of 15.43 μg · m−3 for hourly PM2.5 estimation. Spatiotemporal distributions of model-estimated PM2.5 over China are also analyzed, and exhibit a highly consistent with ground-based measurements. Dust storms, heavy air pollution and fire smoke events are examined to further demonstrate the efficacy of our model. Our method not only circumvents the intermediate retrievals of AOD, but also enables consistent estimation of PM2.5 concentrations during daytime and nighttime in real-time monitoring. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Propionic acidemia (PA) is a rare autosomal recessive congenital disease caused by mutations in the PCCA or PCCB genes. Elevated propionylcarnitine, 2-methylcitric acid (2MCA), propionylglycine, glycine and 3-hydroxypropionate can be used to diagnose PA. Early-onset PA can lead to acute deterioration, metabolic acidosis, and hyperammonemia shortly after birth, which can result in high mortality and disability. Late-onset cases of PA have a more heterogeneous clinical spectra, including growth retardation, intellectual disability, seizures, basal ganglia lesions, pancreatitis, cardiomyopathy, arrhythmias, adaptive immune defects, rhabdomyolysis, optic atrophy, hearing loss, premature ovarian failure, and chronic kidney disease. Timely and accurate diagnosis and appropriate treatment are crucial to saving patients' lives and improving their prognosis. Recently, the number of reported PA cases in China has increased due to advanced diagnostic techniques and increased research attention. However, an overview of PA prevalence in China is lacking. Therefore, this review provides an overview of recent advances in the pathogenesis, diagnostic strategies, and treatment of PA, including epidemiological data on PA in China. The most frequent variants among Chinese PA patients are c.2002G > A in PCCA and c.1301C > T in PCCB, which are often associated with severe clinical symptoms. At present, liver transplantation from a living (heterozygous parental) donor is a better option for treating PA in China, especially for those exhibiting a severe metabolic phenotype and/or end-organ dysfunction. However, a comprehensive risk–benefit analysis should be conducted as an integral part of the decision-making process. This review will provide valuable information for the medical care of Chinese patients with PA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of the capital market in China and the growing number of media companies have determined the expansion of ways to finance them: the growth of the financial market is due to the provision of services for the cultural industry, and companies in this sphere need to use the capabilities of the financial market to obtain funds. The use of multiple linear regression for empirical analysis has shown that the following factors demonstrate a significant positive correlation: non‐debt tax shield, growth and ratio of assets to liabilities; company size, growth and long‐term liabilities ratio; company size, volatility and current liabilities ratio. The results of the study are of statistical significance, they are recommended for use in future empirical studies by scientists, for representatives of government bodies in the field of culture and media in China that develop measures to optimize financing of this sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Snap bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) is the vegetable form of common bean, and regarded as one of the most important and commonly consumed products in the world. In this study, 221 snap bean core accessions mostly from China were characterized the genetic diversity, gene pool identity, and relationships using 30 microsatellite markers, and concurrently evaluated for phenotype traits and phaseolin patterns. A total of 140 alleles were detected with an average of 4.67 per locus. The polymorphic information content ranged from 0.215 to 0.823, with an average of 0.488. Nei's genetic distances between accessions ranged from 0 to 0.9999, with an average of 0.6143. In those Chinese snap beans, structure analysis proved the existence of a high proportion of hybrid accessions except for identification of Andean and Mesoamerican gene pools. Neighbor‐joining clustering and principal coordinate analysis based microsatellite markers were similar in explaining the extent of diversity with both revealed Andean and Mesoamerican gene pools, which were divided into seven subgroups. Four of those subgroups, including one arising from introgression, were identified as belonging to the Andean gene pool, which likely represented Nueva Granada and Peru races. Other three subgroups were identified as belonging to the Mesoamerican gene pool, which likely represented the Mesoamerican race, owing to their close association with the control genotype. The diversity index of the qualitative traits was 0.80 to 1.88, with the average value of 1.20, while the diversity of the quantitative traits was ranked as 100‐seed weight (H′ = 1.98) > pod length (H′ = 1.90). Six principal components explained 69.13% of the total variation. Eight phaseolin patterns were identified in the 221 accessions. This study demonstrated the gene pool, as well as geographical, diversity of snap bean germplasms in China. The substantial diversity level is important for the utilization and conservation of snap bean, as well as future breeding programs. Core Ideas: The distinction in snap bean of China has blurred between Andean and Mesoamerican pools for obvious introgression.The combination of microsatellites, phaseolin, and phenotypic traits is effectively evaluated for genetic diversity.Phaseolin can separate two gene pools but not be well detected population structure and new variation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mustard, which belongs to the family Brassicaceae, is an annual or biennial herb and is considered as one of the most important native vegetables in China. Glucosinolates are important secondary metabolites containing sulfur and nitrogen in plants, which form a network with other metabolic pathways that play important roles in plant growth, development, and interaction with the environment. We studied varied phenotypic and glucosinolate contents of 60 mustard resources collected from various areas of China. The results showed both agronomic traits and glucosinolates varied greatly among mustard resources. We detected nine glucosinolates in mustard resources and the contents of total glucosinolates ranged from 1.2023 to 30.7310 μmol/g. Through the correlation analysis, we preliminarily found a significant negative correlation between leaf color and glucosinolate contents but needed further validation. For mustard resource JC 18-56, we analyzed the glucosinolate contents in different organs of different growth stages. The results indicated a significant difference among organs in both glucosinolates concentration and composition. The contents of glucosinolatess in alabastrums at bolting stage were highest, up to 140.1257 μmol/g dry weight (DW). We found that the main glucosinolates in roots were 4-methoxyglucobrassicin, while in other organs the glucosinolates were sinigrin. The contents of glucosinolatess in different organs of mustard were as follows: alabastrums > seeds > flowers > siliques > leaves > flower stems > stems > roots. This study provides important references for the selection and cultivation of high-quality mustard varieties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Anaplasmosis is an important tick-borne disease caused by Anaplasma spp., significantly threating public health safety and breeding industry. The present study reported the occurrence of Anaplasma infection among dairy, cashmere, and meat goats in Shaanxi province, northwestern China, with the total prevalence of 58.5% (298/509) in goats. Anaplasma phagocytophilum, A. bovis, and A. ovis were the dominant species in meat, dairy, and cashmere goats, respectively, with the absence of A. ovis in meat goats. Furthermore, the different influencing factors (production categories, species, regions, and ages) were analyzed, and statistically significant differences were found. Frequent occurrence of Anaplasma in this study indicated One Health-based intervention approaches were urgently needed to block the transmission between humans and animals. Anaplasma spp. are important tick-borne pathogens endangering the health of humans and various animals. Although several studies have reported Anaplasma infection in livestock in China, little is known about the impact of production categories on the occurrence of Anaplasma species. In the present study, PCR tools targeting the 16S rRNA and msp4 genes were applied to investigate the prevalence of Anaplasma spp. in 509 blood samples of dairy (n = 249), cashmere (n = 139), and meat (n = 121) goats from Shaanxi province. The prevalence of Anaplasma spp. was 58.5% (298/509) in goats, and significant differences (p < 0.001) were identified in the prevalence among production categories, with the highest in meat goats (84.3%, 102/121), followed by cashmere goats (58.3%, 81/139) and dairy goats (46.2%, 115/249). Significant differences (p < 0.001) in prevalence were also found among sampling sites and age groups. Meanwhile, the prevalence was 36.9% (188/509) for A. phagocytophilum, 36.1% (184/509) for A. bovis, and 11.0% (56/509) for A. ovis, and significant differences (p < 0.001) in prevalence of A. phagocytophilum, A. bovis and A. ovis were recognized among production categories and sampling sites. A. phagocytophilum, A. bovis and A. ovis were dominant species in meat, dairy, and cashmere goats, respectively, and A. ovis was absent in meat goats. Co-infections were found in 124 (24.4%) investigated samples. Goats aged < 2, 3–6, and 7–12 months, and goats from Qingjian and Zhenba were risk factors associated with the occurrence of Anaplasma. Phylogenetic analysis indicated separate clades for the distribution of A. phagocytophilum from different ruminant, reflecting potential host adaption within this species. This study reported the colonization occurrence of Anaplasma spp. among production categories in goats in Shaanxi province and enriched our knowledge on the transmission of Anaplasma spp. in goats in China. Considering the existence of zoonotic A. phagocytophilum in goats in this study and previous reports, interventions based on One Health are needed to be developed to control the transmission of Anaplasma spp. between humans and animals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: This study first determined the 18S rDNA, ITS-1, ITS-2, and COI sequences of E. christenseni and E. arloingi. The lengths of the 18S rDNA, ITS-1, ITS-2, and COI were 1790 bp, 403 bp, 584 bp, and 1268 bp for E. arloingi and 1796 bp, 386 bp, 565 bp, and 1268 bp for E. christenseni, respectively. Furthermore, phylogenetic analyses based on the 18S rDNA, ITS-1, ITS-2, and COI loci were conducted to assess the relationship of E. christenseni, E. arloingi, and other Eimeria species in ruminants. Coccidiosis caused by Eimeria is one of the most common and significant diseases in goats, leading to serious economic losses in the development of the goat industry. Although several genetic loci, such as 18S rDNA, ITS-1, ITS-2, and COI, have been applied in the molecular characterization of Eimeria in chicken, rabbits, turkey, and wildlife, little is known about these molecular markers of Eimeria in goats. In the present study, we isolated purified oocysts of highly pathogenic Eimeriaarloingi and Eimeria christenseni from fecal samples of goats in Shaanxi province, China, and then subjected these purified oocysts to genomic DNA isolation, PCR amplification, and sequencing of 18S rDNA, ITS-1, ITS-2, and COI loci of Eimeria arloingi and Eimeria christenseni. Finally, the obtained sequences were used for phylogenetic analysis of Eimeria species in goats and other livestock. The lengths of the 18S rDNA, ITS-1, ITS-2, and COI were 1790 bp, 403 bp, 584 bp, and 1268 bp for E. arloingi and 1796 bp, 386 bp, 565 bp, and 1268 bp for E. christenseni, respectively. The phylogenetical analysis based on 18S rDNA indicated that E. christenseni and E. arloingi were the most closely related to ovine Eimeria, followed by E. bovis, E. ellipsoidalis, and E. zuernii from cattle. The phylogenetical analysis based on ITS-1 and ITS-2 could not effectively distinguish ovine Eimeria from caprine Eimeria. The phylogenetical analysis based on the COI locus could effectively distinguish between Eimeria species from goats and cattle, but it was ineffective in distinguishing between Eimeria species from sheep and goats. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first characterization of 18S rDNA, ITS-1, ITS-2, and COI in E. arloingi and E. christenseni; it can provide useful genetic markers for molecular epidemiological and population genetic studies on E. arloingi and E. christenseni in goats and contribute to the prevention and control of goat coccidiosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A ring-width series was developed from Dahurian larch (Larix gmelinii) in the northeastern forest area of Inner Mongolia, China. By analyzing the relationships between tree-ring data and climate records, an August–September mean maximum temperature (T89) series during 1845 and 2012 was reconstructed based on a simple linear regression equation. This reconstructed series explained 40.9% variance of the observed temperature from 1959 to 2012. The reconstructed T89 series was consistent with the historical disaster events caused by extreme climate (e.g., flood, frost disaster, and cold damage). Besides, the temperature comparisons showed that the year in which the warm months (April–September) in northeast China began to warm up has latitude differences. It started with a gradual delay from north to south, starting 1980 in the south region, after 1950 AD in the central region and after 1940 in the north region. Our study can enrich high-resolution temperature series in Northeast China and help clarify the characteristic of recent warming in northeast China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Alveolar echinococcosis (AE) is a life-threatening disease in humans caused by the larval stage of Echinococcus multilocularis. The tapeworm is transmitted between small mammals and dogs/foxes in the Northern Hemisphere. In this study 286 AE cases were reported from eight counties and one city in Yili Prefecture, Xinjiang Autonomous Region, the People's Republic of China from 1989 to 2015 with an annual incidence (AI) of 0.41/100,000. Among the patients, 73.08% were diagnosed in the last 11 years. Four counties in the high mountainous areas showed higher AI (0.51–1.22 cases//100,000 residents) than the four counties in low level areas (0.19–0.29/100,000 residents). The AI of AE in Mongolian (2.06/100,000 residents) and Kazak (0.93/100,000 residents) ethnic groups was higher than the incidence in other ethnic groups indicating sheep-farming is a risk for infection given this activity is mainly practiced by these two groups in the prefecture. A total of 1411 small mammals were captured with 9.14% infected with E. multilocularis metacestodes. Microtus obscurus was the dominant species in the mountain pasture areas with 15.01% of the voles infected, whereas Mus musculus and Apodemus sylvaticus were the dominant small mammals in the low altitude areas. Only 0.40% of A. sylvaticus were infected with E. multilocularis. PCR amplification and sequencing analysis of the mitochondrial cox1 gene showed that E. multilocularis DNA sequences from the small mammals were identical to isolates of local human AE cases. The overall results show that Yili Prefecture is a highly endemic area for AE and that the high-altitude pasture areas favorable for M. obscurus may play an important role in its transmission in this region. Author summary: Alveolar echinococcosis (AE) is a neglected zoonosis caused by the larval stage of the fox/dog tapeworm Echinococcus multilocularis. In this study, we collected data on 286 AE cases reported from Yili Prefecture, Xinjiang Autonomous Region, the People's Republic of China from 1989 to 2015 with an annual incidence (AI) of 0.41/100,000. Among the patients, 73.08% were diagnosed in the last 11 years. The incidence (0.51–1.22 cases/100,000 residents) was higher in the high-altitude mountainous areas than those in low level areas (0.19–0.29/100,000 residents). In term of ethnic group, the AI of AE in Mongolian (2.06/100,000 residents) and Kazak (0.93/100,000) groups had higher incidence than the other ethnic groups, indicating sheep-farming activity is a risk for infection given that sheep farming is mainly practiced by these two groups in the prefecture. A total of 1411 small mammals were captured with 9.14% infected with E. multilocularis metacestodes. Microtus obscurus was the dominant species captured in the mountainous pasture areas with 15.01% infection rate, whereas Mus musculus and Apodemus sylvaticus were the dominant small mammals in the low altitude areas. Only 0.40% of A. sylvaticus were infected with E. multilocularis. These findings show that Yili Prefecture is a highly endemic area for AE and that the high-altitude pasture areas favorable for M. obscurus may play an important role in its transmission in this region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aquaculture is a rapidly increasing industry, and managers in China are searching sustainable development in the context of much more intensive culture. Our study area focused on an embayment that exposed to suspended culture of oysters. Impact of oyster expansion was evaluated in the context of ecosystem which do not limits to the phytoplankton−oyster relationship but other interspecific relations by the use of food web model. Following recently proposed measures, the ecological carrying capacity (ECC) was defined as the maximum amount of oyster biomass that would not yet cause ecosystem function to depredate beyond their resilience capacity, i.e., not to cause any other group's biomass to fall below 10% of its original biomass. The result suggests that an increase of oyster biomass caused negative impact on the ecosystem in terms of biomass of the most of functional groups and ecosystem indicators such as flow diversity and transfer efficiency. The ECC of oyster in suspended culture was 976 t km−2 (1.8 times of present biomass), and exceeding the levels will cause zooplanktivorous fish biomasses to fall below the 10% threshold. The ecosystem-based ECC assessment method in the present simulation dynamically predicted the impact of oyster development on other organisms in the environment to guide the sustainable development of bivalve culture in Sanggou Bay and provides an approach for the assessment of bivalve ECC in other parts of the world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: A high prevalence of work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs) has been reported among flight attendants. Identifying the root causes of these disorders may improve the health conditions of flight attendants and further improve flight safety and service quality. OBJECTIVE: In this study, we aimed to identify WMSD risk factors for a specific population, namely Chinese female flight attendants. METHODS: A two-stage survey including an online questionnaire (46 flight attendants) and a semi-structured interview (16 flight attendants) was used to assess the WMSDs of Chinese female flight attendants. Text analysis tools in NVivo 11 were used to identify the main concerns and risk factors for WMSDs of Chinese flight attendants. RESULTS: In the online questionnaire, more than 86% of the participants reported discomfort in at least one body part. Biomechanical factors, work organizational factors, and psychosocial factors were reported by participants in this study. Chinese passengers were found to have an effect on WMSD development in Chinese flight attendants. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study suggested that WMSDs are severe problems among Chinese flight attendants. General factors as well as the passenger-relevant factor were identified as the most influential causes of WMSDs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Limited data is available on retinal vessel morphology in the north China. The study aimed to evaluate the prevalence of retinal vascular abnormalities (RVAs) and investigate their associations with the self-reported diagnosis of cardiovascular and cerebrovascsular diseases (CCVds) in a rural adult population of northeast China.Methods: A population-based, cross-sectional study was conducted, using the cluster random sampling method. One eye of each participant was photographed with a non-mydriatic fundus camera. RVAs including focal and general arteriolar narrowing (FAN and GAN), arteriovenous nicking (AVN), arteriolar sheathing (AS), and retinopathy were evaluated. Data on self-reported diagnosis of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases and status of smoking and alcohol drinking were obtained from questionnaires.Results: Among the 6267 participants with an age ≥ 50 years, photographs were obtained of 99.2%, with quality sufficient to perform retinal evaluations in 82.5%. The prevalence of FAN, AVN, AS, retinopathy and GAN were 9.1, 8.9, 5.0, 6.6 and 6.2%, respectively. All the retinal lesions were associated with hypertension (all P < 0.01). After adjusting for age, gender, and left/right eyes, hypertension, hyperlipidaemia, diabetes mellitus, habits of past or current smoking and alcohol consumption, AVN was strongly associated with the self-reported diagnosis histories of coronary heart diseases(CHD) (OR, 1.44; 95% CI, 1.09, 1.89) and retinopathy was significantly associated with a self-reported diagnosis of stroke (OR, 2.05; 95% CI, 1.18, 3.57).Conclusions: The overall prevalence of retinal microvascular abnormalities in this population was relatively higher than that reported in other regions of the world. Retinopathy is associated with the self-reported diagnosis of stroke while AVN was associated with the self-reported diagnosis of CHD, but the remaining retinal lesions were not consistently associated with CCVds. Thus, an examination of retinal microvascular characteristics may offer clues to CCVds and could be a potentially novel biomarkers for CCVds risk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China has been the world's largest gold producer since 2007 and the world's largest gold consumer since 2013. However, despite it being the second largest exchange-traded market in the world, gold price shows persistent volatility and deviations from the international gold price. This study explores the impact of fundamentals, global contagion and financial shocks on the gap between international and domestic gold price using an extended GARCH model. The empirical study shows that the exchange rate of renminbi plays an important role in moving the price gap. The global contagion factors associate more with the level of the price gap, not with the volatility; policy shocks do not present expected significant influence on the price gap. For black swan events, their impact on both level and volatility of the price gap is discernible. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since 2013, China has become the world's largest gold producer and consumer. To gain the corresponding global pricing power in gold, many actions have been taken by China in recent years, including the International Board at Shanghai Gold Exchange, Shanghai-Hong Kong Gold Connect and Shanghai Gold Fix. Our work studies the dependence structure between China's and international gold price and examines whether these moves are changing the dependence structure. We use GARCH-copula models to detect the dynamic dependence and tail dependence. The research period is set to contain the Financial Crisis in 2008, the dramatical plunge of gold price in 2013 and a series of black swan events in 2016. The empirical study shows that some event driven dependence structure breaks are statistically insignificant. And the time-varying Symmetrized Joe-Clayton copula is the best copula to model the dependence structure based on AIC value. Finally, an example of applications of this dependence structure is given by estimating the VaR of an equally weighted portfolio with a simulation-based method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The successful estimation of soil organic matter (SOM) and soil total nitrogen (TN) contents with mid-infrared (MIR) reflectance spectroscopy depends on selecting appropriate variable selection techniques and multivariate methods for regression analysis. This study aimed to explore the potential of combining a multivariate method and spectral variable selection for soil SOM and TN estimation using MIR spectroscopy. Five hundred and ten topsoil samples were collected from Quzhou County, Hebei Province, China, and their SOM and TN contents and reflectance spectra were measured using DRIFT-MIR spectroscopy (diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform in the mid-infrared range, MIR, wavenumber: 4000–400 cm−1; wavelength: 2500–25,000 nm). Two multivariate methods (partial least-squares regression, PLSR; multiple linear regression, MLR) combined with two variable selection techniques (stability competitive adaptive reweighted sampling, sCARS; bootstrapping soft shrinkage approach, BOSS) were used for model calibration. The MLR model combined with the sCARS method yielded the most accurate estimation result for both SOM (Rp2 = 0.72 and RPD = 1.89) and TN (Rp2 = 0.84 and RPD = 2.50). Out of the 2382 wavenumbers in a full spectrum, sCARS determined that only 31 variables were important for SOM estimation (accounting for 1.30% of all variables) and 27 variables were important for TN estimation (accounting for 1.13% of all variables). The results demonstrated that sCARS was a highly efficient approach for extracting information on wavenumbers and mitigating redundant wavenumbers. In addition, the current study indicated that MLR, which is simpler than PLSR, when combined with spectral variable selection, can achieve high-precision prediction of SOM and TN content. As such, DRIFT-MIR spectroscopy coupled with MLR and sCARS is a good alternative for estimating the SOM and TN of soils. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Knowledge for the distribution and genetic diversity of Blastocystis sp. can provide novel insights for the prevention and control of this parasite. The present study first reported the occurrence of Blastocystis infection in Camelus bactrianus, an important economic animal in northwestern China. We found the existence of eight Blastocystis subtypes in C. bactrianus, indicating potential risks and transmission of Blastocystis sp. for C. bactrianus. Blastocystis sp. is an important zoonotic protist in humans and various animals with worldwide distribution. However, there have been no data on the occurrence of Blastocystis sp. in C. bactrianus, an important economic animal in northwestern China. In the present study, a PCR-sequencing tool based on the SSU rRNA gene was applied to investigate the prevalence and genetic diversity of Blastocystis sp. in 638 faecal samples from C. bactrianus in 21 sampling sites within three main breeding areas (Gansu, Inner Mongolia and Xinjiang) in northwestern China. The total prevalence of Blastocystis sp. was 21.8% (139/638) in C. bactrianus, with the infection rates of 29.5% (18/61), 50.0% (14/28) and 19.5% (107/549) for animals aged <2 years, 2–6 years and >6 years, respectively. Significant differences in prevalence were detected among C. bactrianus from three geographic areas (χ2 = 19.972, df = 2, p < 0.001) and all sampling sites (χ2 = 104.154, df = 20, p < 0.001). A total of 16 of 21 sampling sites were positive for Blastocystis sp., with the prevalence ranging from 7.7% to 70.6%. Sequence analysis of the SSU rRNA gene identified eight subtypes in C. bactrianus in the present study, including seven animal adapted subtypes (ST10, ST14, ST21, ST24, ST25, ST26 and ST30) and one potentially novel subtype, with ST10 being the dominant one. To the best of our knowledge, this study provides the first insight for the occurrence and genetic make-up of Blastocystis sp. in C. bactrianus and contributes to the understanding of the transmission of Blastocystis infection in C. bactrianus in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pseudo-invariant calibration sites (PICS) have been used for the radiometric calibration and stability monitoring of satellite optical sensors. Several stable PICS, such as those in the Sahara Desert in North Africa, were selected for the vicarious calibration of earth remote sensing satellites. However, the selection procedure of PICSs in the whole of Northwest China has not been fully explored before. This paper presents a novel technique for selecting PICS in Northwest China by combined using the coefficient of variation (CV) and the iteratively reweighted multivariate alteration detection (IR-MAD) technique. IR-MAD, which calculates the differences between two multispectral N-band images from the same scene acquired at different times, is used to identify no-change pixels (NCPs) of the scene through one image pair. The NCPs from IR-MAD using the long-term data of FY-3 visible infrared radiometer (VIRR) and aqua Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) were aggregated into the contiguously stable sites. The traditional spatial uniformity and temporal stability from MODIS surface products were used to select the potential PICS. By combining the results of both methods, over thirty PICSs with a wider brightness range of the scene types were selected. To confirm and characterize these PICSs over Northwest China, Landsat operational land imager (OLI) high-spatial-resolution images were used to check the spatial uniformity of the selected site to determine the specific location and the size of these sites. Additionally, the surface spectral reflectance and bidirectional reflectance distribution function (BRDF) were obtained from the field campaign at Chaidamu Basin, 2018. To demonstrate the practical utilization and usability of these PICSs, they were employed in the multi-site top of atmosphere (TOA) reflectance simulation to validate the operational calibration performance of Aqua/MODIS and FY-3D/MERSI-II (Medium Resolution Spectral Imager II). The simulation results showed good consistency compared with the observations from both MODIS and MERSI-II, with a relative bias and root mean square error (RMSE) of <5% and <0.05%, respectively. These sites provide prospects for multi-site vicarious calibrations of solar reflective bands, which may help to evaluate or characterize instrumental nonlinear responses using a wider signal dynamic from the sites in different seasons. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • A series of typical commercial building models were defined through statistic method. • The envelope's size, shape, thermal properties and opaque feature were determined. • The indoor space partition and function area distribution were also identified. • The models could serve as a standard platform for building energy simulation research. Abstract A research was carried out on the typical commercial building model definition within the Pearl River Delta region, South China. As a first step, drawings of over 200 actual commercial buildings located in this area were collected. The basic information, including the size, shape, orientation, envelope thermal parameters as well as the inside spatial distribution of these buildings were statistically analyzed. A k-means clustering analysis was applied on different building design factors to determine the most representative value. Three different kinds of typical commercial building floor models were created based on the statistical and analytical results. With different combinations of the building floors, a series of typical commercial building models could be defined. The purpose of this study is to establish a unified typical commercial building model for the Pearl River Delta region, thereby providing a standard for the simulation research of building performance and indoor environment quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Salmonella is an important zoonotic and foodborne pathogen that can infect humans and animals, causing severe concerns about food safety and a heavy financial burden worldwide. The pathogen can adhere to living and abiotic surfaces by forming biofilms, which increases the risk of transmission and infection. In this study, we investigated the biofilm-forming ability of 243 Salmonella strains of 36 serotypes from different sources in China using microplate crystal violet staining method. The results showed that 99.6% tested strains, with the exception of one strain of S. Thompson, were capable of forming biofilms. The strains with the biofilm-forming ability of strong, medium and weak accounted for 2.88%, 24.28% and 72.43%, respectively. The strains of S. Havana and S. Hvittingfoss had the strongest biofilm-forming ability, with the OD 570 of 0.81 ± 0.02 and 0.81 ± 0.38, respectively, while the strains of S. Agona and S. Bovismorbificans had the weakest biofilm-forming ability, with the OD 570 of 0.16 ± 0.02 and 0.15 ± 0.00, respectively. Furthermore, statistical analysis results demonstrated that isolation of source had no effect on the biofilm formation ability, while the detection rates of pefABCD and ddhC were positively correlated with the biofilm formation ability of Salmonella. In particular, the detection rate of ddhC gene was more than 60% in the biofilm forming strains. These findings have important guiding significance for the investigation of pathogenesis, as well as the prevention and control of salmonellosis. • 242 Salmonella isolates belonging to 36 serotypes from different sources in China were capable of forming biofilms. • Havana and Hvittingfoss had the strongest biofilm-forming ability, while Agona and Bovismorbificans had the weakest ability. • The detection rates of pefABCD and ddhC were positively correlated with the biofilm formation ability of the strains. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bovine enteroviruses, which belong to the Picornaviridae family, can cause clinical symptoms in cattle and are excreted in feces. In this study, a cytolytic virus was isolated from Madin-Darby bovine kidney (MDBK) cells from fecal samples of bovine with severe diarrhea and hemorrhagic intestinal mucosa that had been originally diagnosed with bovine viral diarrhea (BVD) by a bovine viral diarrhea virus Ag point-of-care test (IDEXX, American). Random priming PCR was used to amplify underlying viral sequences and identify the isolated virus. Phylogenetic analysis indicated that the isolated virus closely matches the EV-E2 species, which is different from other Chinese strains previously isolated. The newly identified virus was named HLJ-3531/2013. We infected the sulking mice with the isolated virus. Reverse-transcription PCR, hematoxylin and eosin (HE) staining, serum neutralization (SN) test, and virus isolation from various tissues revealed that HLJ-3531/2013 can infect the intestine, liver, and lung of suckling mice. The present work is the first to report the reproduction of clinical symptoms by an isolated virus in an experimental infection model of animals and lays a solid foundation for the development of the pathogenesis of bovine enteroviruses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Peste des petits ruminants (PPR) is an important viral disease of sheep and goats. The wildlife hosts of PPR, which may play an important role in the epidemiology of this disease, are not well characterized. The research was undertaken to study the infection of PPR virus (PPRV) in free-living bharals (Pseudois nayaur) in Tibet, China. In 2007, PPRV infection was confirmed in two bharals in Rutog County of Tibet based on clinical signs and detection of PPRV RNA in tissue samples. In 2008, PPRV infection was found in one bharal in Ge’gyai County of Tibet by competitive ELISA, reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction, and sequence analysis of PPRV fusion protein (F) and nucleoprotein (N) gene segments. The PPRV variant identified in infected bharal was closely related to other circulating PPRV variants recently identified in sheep and goats from Tibet. This is the first report of PPRV infection in free-living bharals. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Background: A considerable proportion of patients hospitalized with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) acquired secondary bacterial infections (SBIs). The etiology and antimicrobial resistance of bacteria were reported and used to provide a theoretical basis for appropriate infection therapy., Methods: This retrospective study reviewed electronic medical records of all the patients hospitalized with COVID-19 in the Wuhan Union Hospital between January 27 and March 17, 2020. According to the inclusion and exclusion criteria, patients who acquired SBIs were enrolled. Demographic, clinical course, etiology, and antimicrobial resistance data of the SBIs were collected. Outcomes were also compared between patients who were classified as severe and critical on admission., Results: Among 1495 patients hospitalized with COVID-19, 102 (6.8%) patients had acquired SBIs, and almost half of them (49.0%, 50/102) died during hospitalization. Compared with severe patients, critical patients had a higher chance of SBIs. Among the 159 strains of bacteria isolated from the SBIs, 136 strains (85.5%) were Gram-negative bacteria. The top three bacteria of SBIs were A. baumannii (35.8%, 57/159), K. pneumoniae (30.8%, 49/159), and S. maltophilia (6.3%, 10/159). The isolation rates of carbapenem-resistant A. baumannii and K. pneumoniae were 91.2 and 75.5%, respectively. Meticillin resistance was present in 100% of Staphylococcus aureus and Coagulase negative staphylococci, and vancomycin resistance was not found., Conclusions: SBIs may occur in patients hospitalized with COVID-19 and lead to high mortality. The incidence of SBIs was associated with the severity of illness on admission. Gram-negative bacteria, especially A. baumannii and K. pneumoniae, were the main bacteria, and the resistance rates of the major isolated bacteria were generally high. This was a single-center study; thus, our results should be externally examined when applied in other institutions.

Objective: To analyze the current status of diagnosis and management of acute appendicitis (AA) in China., Methods: Questionnaire survey was used to retrospectively collect data of hospitalized patients with AA from 43 medical centers nationwide in 2017 (Sort by number of cases provided: Jinling Hospital of Medical School of Nanjing University, The First Affiliated Hospital of Xinjiang Medical University, Lu'an People's Hospital, Tengzhou Central People's Hospital, Dalian Central Hospital, The Affiliated Hospital of Xuzhou Medical University, Dongying People's Hospital, Jinjiang Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Huangshan Shoukang Hospital, Xuyi People's Hospital, Nanjing Jiangbei People's Hospital, Lanzhou 940th Hospital of PLA, Heze Municipal Hospital, The First College of Clinical Medical Science of China Three Gorges University, Affiliated Jiujiang Hospital of Nanchang University, The Second People's Hospital of Hefei, Affiliated Central Hospital of Shandong Zaozhuang Mining Group, The Third People's Hospital of Kunshan City, Xuzhou First People's Hospital, The 81st Group Army Hospital of PLA, Linyi Central Hospital, The General Hospital of Huainan Eastern Hospital Group, The 908th Hospital of PLA, Liyang People's Hospital, The 901th Hospital of Joint Logistic Support Force, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, The Fourth Hospital of Jilin University, Harbin Acheng District People's Hospital, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Nanjing Luhe People's Hospital, Taixing Municipal People's Hospital, Baotou Central Hospital, The Affiliated Hospital of Nantong University, Linyi People's Hospital, The 72st Group Army Hospital of PLA, Zaozhuang Municipal Hospital, People's Hospital of Dayu County, Taixing City Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Suzhou Municipal Hospital, Beijing Guang'anmen Hospital, Langxi County Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Nanyang Central Hospital, The Affiliated People's Hospital of Inner Mongolia Medical University).The diagnosis and management of AA were analyzed through unified summary. Different centers collected and summarized their data in 2017 and sent back the questionnaires for summary., Results: A total of 8 766 AA patients were enrolled from 43 medical centers, including 4 711 males (53.7%) with median age of 39 years and 958 (10.9%) patients over 65 years old. Of 8 776 patients, 5 677 cases (64.6%) received one or more imaging examinations, and the other 3 099 (35.4%) did not receive any imaging examination. A total of 1 858 (21.2%) cases received medical treatment, mainly a combination of nitroimidazoles (1 107 cases, 59.8%) doublet regimen, followed by a single-agent regimen of non-nitroimidazoles (451 cases, 24.4%), a nitroimidazole-free doublet regimen (134 cases, 7.2%), a triple regimen of combined nitroimidazoles (116 cases, 6.3%), nitroimidazole alone (39 cases, 2.1%) and nitroimidazole-free triple regimen (3 cases, 0.2%). Of the 6 908 patients (78.8%) who underwent surgery, 4 319 (62.5%) underwent laparoscopic appendectomy and 2589 (37.5%) underwent open surgery. Ratio of laparotomy was higher in those patients under 16 years old (392 cases) or over 65 years old (258 cases) [15.1%(392/2 589) and 10.0%(258/2 589), respectively, compared with 8.5%(367/4 316) and 8.0%(347/4 316) in the same age group for laparoscopic surgery, χ²=91.415, P<0.001; χ²=15.915,P<0.001]. Patients with complicated appendicitis had higher ratio of undergoing open surgery as compared to those undergoing laparoscopic surgery [26.7%(692/2 589) vs. 15.6%(672/4 316), χ²=125.726, P<0.001].The cure rates of laparoscopic and open surgery were 100.0% and 99.8%(2 585/2 589) respectively without significant difference (P=0.206). Postoperative complication rates were 4.5%(121/2 589) and 4.7%(196/4 316) respectively, and the difference was not statistically significant (χ²=0.065, P=0.799). The incidence of surgical site infection was lower (0.6% vs. 1.7%, χ²=17.315, P<0.001), and hospital stay was shorter [6(4-7) days vs. 6(5-8) days, U=4 384 348.0, P<0.001] in the laparoscopic surgery group, while hospitalization cost was higher (median 12 527 yuan vs. 9 342 yuan, U=2 586 809.0, P<0.001)., Conclusions: The diagnosis of acute appendicitis is still clinically based, supplemented by imaging examination. Appendectomy is still the most effective treatment at present. Laparoscopic appendectomy has become the main treatment strategy, but anti-infective drugs are also very effective.

Purpose: To investigate the primary causes of visual impairment and blindness in rural China., Design: Population-based, cross-sectional study., Methods: Geographic cluster sampling was used in randomly selecting residents from a rural county/district within 9 provinces in the East Coast, Inland Middle, and West regions of mainland China. Persons aged 50 years or older were enumerated through household visits and invited to examination sites for visual acuity testing and ocular examination. Causes of vision impairment and blindness in 2014 were compared with data from an earlier 2006 survey., Results: Mild visual impairment (20.4% prevalence) was caused by uncorrected refractive error in two thirds of cases and by cataract in nearly another one fourth; moderate-to-severe visual impairment (10.3% prevalence) was caused by cataract in over onec half of cases and by uncorrected refractive error in another one fifth; blindness (1.66% prevalence) was caused by cataract in approximately one half of cases and in another one fourth by retinal disease. Primary causes of visual impairment and blindness in cataract-operated eyes were uncorrected refractive error, posterior capsule opacity, and retinal disease. From 2006 to 2014, the proportion of visual impairment caused by uncorrected refractive error increased, but rates for unoperated cataract were reduced., Conclusions: Uncorrected refractive error and unoperated cataract are the 2 primary causes of mild, moderate, and severe visual impairment in rural China, with unoperated cataract and retinal diseases primary causes for blindness. An effective public health strategy to increase service delivery for these causes would lead to substantial reduction in vision impairment and blindness., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)