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It is possible to manage the forest ecosystem and promote sustainable development by keeping track of spatio-temporal fluctuation in the forest area and its ecosystem service value (ESV). The forest ecology of Ganzi Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture (Ganzi Prefecture), which is located in the northern Hengduan Mountains region, i.e., China's most important ecological functional area, has seen significant alteration during the past 20 years. However, little is known about how the forest and its ESV evolve. We obtained data regarding Ganzi Prefecture's forests using visual interpretation of remote sensing images derived from 1997, 2007, and 2017, and we evaluated the spatial–temporal changes in the forest ESV from 1997 to 2017 using global value coefficients and adjusted local value coefficients. The results revealed that (1) from 1997 to 2017, the forest area of Ganzi Prefecture increased by 6729.95 km2, and the forest growth rate was 336.50 km2/a, while (2) from 1997 to 2017, the forest ESV in Ganzi Prefecture experienced an overall increase of 257.59 × 108 yuan. The primary driver of the forest ESV increase was the implementation of forestry ecological engineering and protection policies. (3) Finally, the spatial distribution of the forest ESV revealed that the forest ESV density increased during this period, with the most significant increase occurring in Yajiang. The forest ESV was scattered with the highest density in Yajiang and the lowest density in Shiqu. This study emphasizes how crucial forest ecosystems are to Ganzi Prefecture's mechanisms for maintaining life. It provided a scientific basis for the sustainable management of the forest ecosystem in the Hengduan Mountains. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Identifying the distribution dynamics of invasive alien species can help in the early detection of and rapid response to these invasive species in newly invaded sites. Ageratina adenophora, a worldwide invasive plant, has spread rapidly since its invasion in China in the 1940s, causing serious damage to the local socioeconomic and ecological environment. To better control the spread of this invasive plant, we used the MaxEnt model and ArcGIS based on field survey data and online databases to simulate and predict the spatial and temporal distribution patterns and risk areas for the spread of this species in China, and thus examined the key factors responsible for this weed's spread. The results showed that the risk areas for the invasion of A. adenophora in the current period were 18.394° N–33.653° N and 91.099° E–121.756° E, mainly in the tropical and subtropical regions of China, and densely distributed along rivers and well-developed roads. The high-risk areas are mainly located in the basins of the Lancang, Jinsha, Yalong, and Anning Rivers. With global climate change, the trend of continued invasion of A. adenophora is more evident, with further expansion of the dispersal zone towards the northeast and coastal areas in all climatic scenarios, and a slight contraction in the Yunnan–Guizhou plateau. Temperature, precipitation, altitude, and human activity are key factors in shaping the distribution pattern of A. adenophora. This weed prefers to grow in warm and precipitation-rich environments such as plains, hills, and mountains; in addition, increasing human activities provide more opportunities for its invasion, and well-developed water systems and roads can facilitate its spread. Measures should be taken to prevent its spread into these risk areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Huashi Baidu Formula (HSBDF), a key Chinese medical drug, has a remarkable clinical efficacy in treating acute lung injury (ALI), and it has been officially approved by the National Medical Products Administration of China for drug clinical trials. Nevertheless, the regulated mechanisms of HSBDF and its active compounds in plasma against ALI were rarely studied. Based on these considerations, the key anti-inflammatory compounds of HSBDF were screened by molecular docking and binding free energy. The key compounds were further identified in plasma by LC/MS. Network pharmacology was employed to identify the potential regulatory mechanism of the key compounds in plasma. Next, the network pharmacological prediction was validated by a series of experimental assays, including CCK-8, EdU staining, test of TNF-α, IL-6, MDA, and T-SOD, and flow cytometry, to identify active compounds. Molecular dynamic simulation and binding interaction patterns were used to evaluate the stability and affinity between active compounds and target. Finally, the active compounds were subjected to predict pharmacokinetic properties. Molecular docking revealed that HSBDF had potential effects of inhibiting inflammation by acting on IL-6R and TNF-α. Piceatannol, emodin, aloe-emodin, rhein, physcion, luteolin, and quercetin were key compounds that may ameliorate ALI, and among which, there were five compounds (emodin, aloe-emodin, rhein, luteolin, and quercetin) in plasma. Network pharmacology results suggested that five key compounds in plasma likely inhibited ALI by regulating inflammation and oxidative damage. Test performed in vitro suggested that HSBDF (0.03125 mg/ml), quercetin (1.5625 μM), emodin (3.125 μM), and rhein (1.5625 μM) have anti-inflammatory function against oxidative damage and decrease apoptosis in an inflammatory environment by LPS-stimulation. In addition, active compounds (quercetin, emodin, and rhein) had good development prospects, fine affinity, and stable conformations with the target protein. In summary, this study suggested that HSBDF and its key active components in plasma (quercetin, emodin, and rhein) can decrease levels of pro-inflammatory factors (IL-6 and TNF-α), decrease expression of MDA, increase expression of T-SOD, and decrease cell apoptosis in an inflammatory environment. These data suggest that HSBDF has significant effect on anti-inflammation and anti-oxidative stress and also can decrease cell apoptosis in treating ALI. These findings provided an important strategy for developing new agents and facilitated clinical use of HSBDF against ALI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The southeast coastal region of China is frequently affected by typhoons. The observation station was chosen to be located on the roof of Wenzhou University's architectural engineering building to collect real-time wind speed data during the landfalling of Typhoon Morakot to investigate the properties of the near-ground wind field of typhoons. The turbulence characteristics of the near-ground wind and its variation with time intervals are analyzed on the basis of real-time measured data. The results show that the turbulence intensity only changes with the mean wind speed under relatively low wind speeds. The gust factors exhibit a scattered distribution under low wind speeds and tend to cluster together when the wind speed exceeds 8 m/s. With increasing time intervals, the turbulence intensity and the gust factor gradually decrease. The relationship between turbulence intensity and gust factor is obtained by the measured data and then compared with the empirical formulas. The peak factor remains constant while the mean wind speed changes, but diminish as the time intervals rise. The turbulence integral scale of typhoons slightly increases with the increasing mean wind speed, and its value falls between 70 and 150. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is limited evidence regarding the associations between air pollution and emergency hospital visits for upper respiratory tract infection (URTI) in the arid regions of northwest China. We collected daily emergency department (ED) visits for URTI from three hospitals in Lanzhou during January 2014 and December 2018, as well as daily air pollutants and meteorological factors. In the present study, generalized additive model with quasi-Poisson regression was used to evaluate the relationship between short-term exposure to ambient pollutants and daily emergency hospital visits for URTI in Lanzhou, China. Furthermore, subgroup analyses were conducted by gender (male and female), age (0–14, 15–64, and ≥ 65 years)), and season (cold season, warm season). The results of the single-pollutant model show that the associations of PM2.5, PM10, SO2, NO2, and CO with URTI ED visits were all statistically significant, whereas we observed insignificant associations of O38h. The highest association of each pollutant with hospital emergency visits was observed with PM2.5 (5.302% (95% CI: 3.202, 7.445)), PM10 (0.808% (95% CI: 0.291, 1.328)), SO2 (10.607% (95% CI: 5.819, 15.611)), and NO2 (5.325% (95% CI: 2.379, 8.357)) at lag 07 for an increase of 10 ug/m3 in concentrations of the pollutants. Percentage increase for each 1-mg/m3 increase in CO was 20.799% (95% CI: 11.834, 30.482) at lag 07. In the stratification analyses, females were more susceptible to PM2.5 and PM10, while males were more sensitive to the effects of SO2, NO2, and CO, and the higher association effect of four pollutants (PM2.5, SO2, NO2, and CO) on hospital visits for URTI among children (0–14 years). The associations appeared to be stronger in the cool season than in the warm season. This study suggests that short-term exposure to air pollution, especially to SO2 and CO, was associated with increased risk of hospital emergency visits for URTI in Lanzhou, China. Relevant strategies and health interventions should be strengthened to reduce the air pollution level in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During landfall of Typhoon Haikui in Eastern China in 2012, ground level wind data were recorded using a smart monitoring system installed on JiuBao Bridge in Hangzhou, China. This article documents the mean flow and turbulence characteristics from data recorded during the storm. The results show that both turbulence intensity and gust factor decrease with the increase in the mean wind velocity. However, as the mean wind velocity increases, this trend gradually attenuates. The peak factor distribution with gust averaging time duration derived with the Typhoon Haikui data agrees well with the Durst curve. However, the longitudinal gust factor derived from the typhoon wind-speed record in this study is higher compared with the curves proposed by Durst and Krayer-Marshall. Analyses of the gust factor distribution with the turbulence intensity during the passage of the storm reveal a similarity to the empirical curves of Ishizaki and Choi. Results show that the relationship between lateral turbulence and gust factors can be well represented by a quadratic polynomial. Turbulence scale increased with mean wind velocity. The values of autocorrelation coefficients in longitudinal direction are larger than those in lateral direction. There has no obvious dependency of cross-correlation coefficients with mean wind velocity. In general, the wind characteristics in this study are shown to be very similar to those of winds under normal circumstance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Beijing-Shanghai high-speed railway is one of the milestones of China’s high-speed railway development and its security plays a significant role in China’s economic and social development. However, the evaluation methods used for large-scale security operations and important infrastructure systems, such as the high-speed railways, are discrete and nonlinear; thus they cannot issue emergency warnings in a timely manner. The emergence of optical fiber sensing technology can solve this problem. This technology has progressed rapidly in its application to the monitoring of railway security and it has attracted much attention within the industry. This study considers the newly built passenger railway line between Shijiazhuang and Jinan as an example. The web-based, all-in-one fiber Bragg grating static level is described as well as a set of online monitoring systems, which is automated, real-time, remote, visual, and adaptable to the standards of the Beijing-Shanghai high-speed railway. According to our theoretical analysis, the planned automated monitoring of settlement deformation for the Beijing-Shanghai high-speed railway and the real-time analysis and calculation of monitoring data can ensure the operational security of this section of China’s high-speed railway system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Sinomenine is a novel inhibitor of thioredoxin reductase. • Sinomenine triggers oxidative stress-mediated apoptosis of cancer cells. • Pharmacological inhibition of thioredoxin reductase by sinomenine contributes to its cytotoxicity in vitro and in vivo. Overexpression of thioredoxin reductase (TrxR) has been linked to tumorigenesis and phenotypic maintenance of malignant tumors. Thus, targeting TrxR with natural molecules is a promising strategy for developing anticancer drugs. Sinomenine is a naturally occurring alkaloid isolated from Sinomenium acutum. The drug, Zhengqing Fengtongning made from sinomenine, has been universally applied in rheumatoid arthritis treatment in China as well as other Asian countries for decades. Recently, increasing evidence indicates that sinomenine appears to be a promising therapeutic agent against various cancer cells. However, the exact mechanism underlying the anticancer activity of sinomenine remains unclear. In this study, we identified sinomenine as a kind of new inhibitor for TrxR. Pharmacological inhibition of TrxR by sinomenine results in the decrease of thiols content, increases the levels of reactive oxygen species, and finally facilitates oxidative stress-mediated cancer cell apoptosis. It is vital that knockdown in TrxR1 by shRNA can increase cell sensitivity to sinomenine. Treatment with sinomenine in vivo leads to a decrease in TrxR activity and tumor growth, and an increase in apoptosis. Our findings provide a novel action mechanism related to sinomenine and presents an insight on how to develop sinomenine as a chemotherapeutic agent for cancer therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Tongling region, an important Cu + Au ore district, consists of a series of S-folds and is defined by an irregular set of boundaries. The regional structural framework was traditionally considered to be the result of coaxial compression, followed by simple shear. By analysing the spatial distribution of fold geometries and fault densities, we propose a new deformation model. Two tectonic stages, that is, early NW-SE compression, and later NE-SW compression, have been newly identified in this region. In the early stage, shortening produced by the collision between the Lower Yangtze block and the North China block mainly acted on the south-eastern and north-western boundaries; NE-SW-trending anticlines adjacent to the regional boundaries are tight to isoclinal and overturned, and the density of NW-SE-trending strike-slip faults is high as revealed by the large box dimensions of the spatial fault distribution. In addition, NW-SE compressions of the two stress boundaries are non-coaxial and asymmetric. With regard to the disposition of the irregular boundaries, non-coaxial and asymmetric compression led to the formation of S-folds and to obvious displacement between the north-eastern and south-western parts of the region. In the later stage, weak NE-SW compression, derived from the south-westward component of subduction of the Izanagi plate beneath the Eurasian plate, acted on the north-eastern boundary and redeformed the local structures to a minor extent. High fault density near the region boundaries promoted the formation of an interconnected fault system, which facilitated magma migration and emplacement, as well as the development of deposits genetically related to the igneous activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, analytical results from 3D temporal characteristics of the responses of an RC frame building subjected to both a large aftershock and the main shock of Wenchuan Ms8.0 earthquake are presented. The ground motion records from the main shock were obtained from three nearby stations. The acceleration records were analyzed in terms of instantaneous tangential acceleration aT normal acceleration aN, Euclidean norm of acceleration vector ∣a∣, velocity vector ∣v∣, displacement vector ∣d∣, temporal curvature k, kt, and temporal torsion γ and γt. Results of the kinematic relationship between the above factors and some additional in depth information obtained from extensive analyses are provided and discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The frequent detection of persistent per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in organisms and environment coupled with surging evidence for potential detrimental impacts, have attracted widespread attention throughout the world. In order to reveal research hotspots and trends of technologies for PFAS removal, herein, we performed a data-driven analysis of 3975 papers and 436 patents from Web of Science Core Collection and Derwent Innovation Index databases up to 2023. The results showed that China and the USA led the way in the research of PFAS removal with outstanding contributions to publications. The progression generally transitioned from accidental discovery of decomposition, to experimentation with removal effects and mechanisms of existing methods, and finally to enhanced defluorination and mechanism-driven design approaches. The keywords co-occurrence network and technology classification together revealed the main knowledge framework, which was constructed and correlated through contaminants, substrates, materials, processes and properties. Moreover, adsorption was demonstrated to be the dominant removal process among the current studies. Subsequently, we concluded the principles, advances and drawbacks of enrichment and separation, biological methods, advanced oxidation and reduction processes. Further exploration indicated the hotspots such as alternatives and precursors for PFAS ("genx": 1.258, "f-53b": 0.337), degradable mineralization technologies ("photocatalytic degrad": 0.529, "hydrated electron": 0.374), environment-friendly remediation technologies ("phytoremedi": 0.939, "constructed wetland": 0.462) and combination with novel materials ("metal-organic framework": 1.115, "layered double hydroxid": 0.559) as well as computer science ("molecular dynamics simul": 0.559, "machine learn"). Furthermore, the future direction of technological innovation might lie in high-performance processes that minimize secondary pollution, the development of recyclable and renewable treatment agents, and collaborative control strategies for multiple pollutants. Overall, this study offers comprehensive and objective review for researchers and industry professionals in this field, enabling rapid access to knowledge guidance and insights into research frontiers. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Accurate typhoon wind speed prediction is significant because it enables wind farms to take advantage of high wind speeds and to simultaneously protect wind turbines from damage. However, the wind characteristics of the typhoon are highly random, fluctuating, and nonlinear, which makes precise prediction difficult. One-year wind data collected from a wind farm on the southeast coast of China are employed in the study. The characteristics of the typhoon are analyzed, and a sensitivity study is carried out by comparing two groups of training datasets. This study proposes a hybrid approach that considers both the physical model and the artificial neural network (ANN) model to accurately predict the short-term typhoon wind speed. The variational mode decomposition (VMD) algorithm is selected to decompose wind speed, and the particle swarm optimization (PSO) method is employed to optimize the bidirectional, long short-term memory (Bi-LSTM) prediction model. The results show that the proposed PSO-VMD-Bi-LSTM has strong robustness for making uncertainty predictions and can be utilized to predict the wind speed of typhoons. This study demonstrates the potential of an innovative ANN method to predict wind speed during the typhoon period. • An innovative Typhoon wind speed prediction model based on PSO–Bi-LSTM improved by VMD is proposed. • One year of wind data collected from a wind farm, including four large typhoons is analyzed. • A sensitivity study of the ANN training dataset is demonstrated. • A prediction method combining both physical model and ANN model in predicting typhoon wind speed is proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The Xinxu bauxite orebodies, which are contained in Quaternary depressions overlying strata of Permian to Devonian age, were formed through the break-up, oxidation and re-sedimentation of a pre-existing Permian bauxite horizon. With progressive karsitification, the underlying strata of the Quaternary orebodies were eroded out downwards in sequence, gradually transiting from Permian to Devonian. Thus an older underlying stratum generally infers a higher degree of weathering. A total of 47 exploration wells, sampled each meter, were chosen from several orebodies to evaluate the vertical distribution of four major components (Al2O3, Fe2O3, SiO2 and loss-on-ignition) in the ores. The vertical evenness is quantified via a box-gliding multifractal model. The small width of the multifractal spectrum suggests that the vertical ore quality is even overall, indicating an intertwining break-up and mixing up processes during evolution of the Quaternary orebody. Although the four components show complex spatial distributions, topographic elevation displays a positive relationship with the mean Fe2O3 content, and a negative correlation with the vertical unevenness of Al2O3 and Fe2O3 in the wells. This is taken to reflect the more uniform oxidizing environment in the higher depressions, which facilitates a homogeneous and greater increase of Fe2O3 content throughout the orebody. In contrast, the redox conditions in lower depressions are less oxidizing and varied in space, inducing great variation in degree of Fe2O3 increase in the ores. This study also demonstrates that, in the Xinxu deposit, the ore-forming redox environment has more impact on the ore quality than the degree of weathering. As the contents show irregular vertical changes in the lower depressions, it follows that it is the ancient redox environment rather than the modern conditions which affect the orebody vertical structure. This clarifies the fact that the vertical structure of the orebody is jointly constrained by the physical mélange accumulation of ores and the differences between the ancient redox environments in the higher and lower locations. These factors should be the primary factors affecting the vertical structure of karst bauxite deposits. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The Heqing area, located in the Sanjiang ore belt, China, consists of the Beiya gold orefield related to the alkaline porphyry, the Emeishan volcanic mafic rocks and a series of sedimentary rocks. Thirty-nine elements of stream sediment samples taken in the 1:200,000 geochemical survey in the Heqing area can be classified into four groups using principal component analysis. Two fractal models, i.e., the concentration–area model and the number–size model, are applied in determination of the thresholds for the representative elements in the four groups. The thresholds obtained from the two models are similar. According to the thresholds, the element concentration distribution can be divided into 3 segments, each of them is mainly correlated to one type of rocks, including the alkaline porphyry related to gold-mineralized rocks, mafic rocks and sedimentary rocks. This paper reveals that the various geological events can be characterized by the different fractal models of element distribution. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Dinoflagellates Prorocentrum donghaiense and Karlodinium veneficum are the dominant species of harmful algal blooms in the East China Sea. The role of their allelopathy on the succession of marine phytoplankton populations is a subject of ongoing debate, particularly concerning the formation of blooms. To explore the allelopathy of K. veneficum on P. donghaiense, an investigation was conducted into photosynthetic performance (including PSII functional activities, photosynthetic electron transport chain, energy flux, photosynthetic different genes and photosynthetic performance) and photosynthetic damage-induced oxidative stress (MDA, SOD, and CAT activity). The growth of P. donghaiense was strongly restrained during the initial four days (1-6 folds, C K /C P ), but the cells gradually resumed activity at low filtrate concentrations from the eighth day. On the fourth day of the strongest inhibition, allelochemicals reduced representative photosynthetic performance parameters PI and Φ PSII , disrupted related processes of photosynthesis, and elevated the levels of MDA content in P. donghaiense. Simultaneously, P. donghaiense repairs these impairments by up-regulating the expression of 13 photosynthetic genes, modifying photosynthetic processes, and activating antioxidant enzyme activities from the eighth day onward. Overall, this study provides an in-depth overview of allelopathic photosynthetic damage, the relationship between genes and photosynthesis, and the causes of oxidative damage induced by photosynthesis. ENVIRONMENTAL IMPLICATIONS: As a typical HAB species, Karlodinium veneficum is associated with numerous fish poisoning events, which have negative impacts on aquatic ecosystems and human health. Allelochemicals produced by K. veneficum can provide a competitive advantage by interfering with the survival, reproduction and growth of competing species. This study primarily investigated the effects of K. veneficum allelochemicals on the photosynthesis and photosynthetic genes of Prorocentrum donghaiense. Grasping the mechanism of allelochemicals inhibiting microalgae is helpful to better understand the succession process of algal blooms and provide a new scientific basis for effective prevention and control of harmful algal blooms., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

With economic and social globalization, invasive alien species have significantly threatened local ecological security. Identifying the invasive mechanisms of invasive alien species can aid in preventing species invasions and protecting local ecological and economic security. As a globally invasive plant, Ageratina adenophora (Asteraceae) has spread to many parts of the world and had a seriously impacted the ecology and economy of its invaded areas. Using observational data and Landsat OLI images in an arid valley region in southwest China, this study examined how climate, human activity and environmental factors influence the invasion of A. adenophora and its underlying mechanism. Our results showed that the invasion abundance of A. adenophora was significantly affected by environmental factors (the relative importance was 87.2%), but was less influenced by human activity and climate factors (the relative importance was 2% and 10.8%, respectively). The A. adenophora abundance significantly decreased with aspect, community canopy density, shrub layer coverage, herb layer coverage, Simpson diversity index of shrub and herb layers, the shortest distance to residential areas and temperature seasonality, whereas it increased with soil moisture, temperature annual range, precipitation of wettest month and precipitation of driest month. We conclude that biotic competition is the most influential factor in the invasion of this plant in the arid valley regions. Our results are of great significance for invasion prevention and forest conservation and management in southwest China. Our work emphasized that optimizing the community structure, such as by increasing canopy and shrub coverage and species biodiversity, may help control and mitigate the A. adenophora invasion in southwest China., Competing Interests: The authors declare there are no competing interests., (©2023 Zhang et al.)

The relationship between fine particulate matter (PM 2.5 ) and respiratory disease outcomes among children aged 0 to 14 years in Lanzhou, China, was evaluated. We utilized a generalized additive model linked by a quasi-Poisson distribution to examine the associations between PM 2.5 and paediatric respiratory outpatient visits for time lags of 0 up to 7 days, and stratified by gender, age, and season. Cases of respiratory disease in children were collected from 3 large hospitals for the years 2014-2017 and then linked with air pollutant concentrations from 4 air quality monitoring stations by date. We observed positive and significant associations between PM 2.5 and respiratory disease from the lag to lag 7, and from lag01 to lag07, with ER reaching the maximum value at lag07. For each 10 μg/m 3 increase in PM 2.5 (lag07), the associated increment in respiratory diseases was 2.83% (95% CI 1.80%-3.86%). Males were more sensitive to the adverse effects, and the association was more significant in spring (from March to May) and winter (from December to the next February). Overall, the child group (age 3-6 years) demonstrated a higher risk of respiratory disease after PM 2.5 exposure. The associations between ambient PM 2.5 and respiratory hospital outpatients among young children became partially attenuated after the adjustment for gaseous pollutants in subgroups. The exposure-response curves were positive and generally nonlinear but flatted at concentrations over 60 μg/m 3 . This research found a significant association between ambient PM 2.5 levels and hospital outpatient visits in child with respiratory diseases in Lanzhou, China.

Background: Health disparities exist among different cultural groups in a multicultural society. Older people from minority groups usually face greater challenges in accessing and utilizing healthcare services due to language barriers, low levels of health literacy and cognitive impairment., Objectives: The aims of this study were to measure nursing students' cultural competence in the context of caring for older people from diverse cultural backgrounds and explore associated factors affecting their cultural competence in order to inform curriculum design in Xinjiang, China., Design: A cross-sectional study design., Settings: The study was undertaken in the School of Nursing, Xinjiang Medical University, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, China., Participants: Students enrolled in a 4-year Bachelor of Nursing Program., Methods: Students' cultural competence was measured using a validated Chinese version of Cross-cultural Care Questionnaire. Data were collected using a self-administered survey., Results: The number of students in the survey was 677. Of those students, 59.5% of them were from an ethnic group other than Han Chinese. A higher proportion of students from ethnic groups, other than Han Chinese, were able to fluently speak a language other than Chinese and used this language in their study and daily lives. Nursing students demonstrated low scores in knowledge, skills and encounters subscales for cultural competence, but had a relatively high score in awareness across all academic years. Findings from students' responses to open-ended questions reveal the need to integrate cross-cultural care and gerontological care into the nursing curricula and support students to apply gerontological knowledge to practice in clinical placements., Conclusions: Nursing students enrolled in a 4-year Bachelor degree program in a multicultural and less developed region demonstrated lower scores on cultural competence and recognized the need to develop crosscultural and gerontological competencies., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases (ARSs) are responsible for cellular protein synthesis and cell viability involving in various process of tumorigenesis. We hypothesized that genetic variants in core ARSs genes may play an important role in the development of breast cancer. Thus, we conducted a case-control study including 1064 breast cancer cases and 1073 cancer-free controls to evaluate the associations of 28 potentially functional polymorphisms in 12 core ARSs genes (AARS, CARS, EPRS, HARS, KARS, LARS, MARS, QARS, RARS, VARS, WARS, and YARS) with breast cancer risk. We found significant associations with the risk of breast cancer for rs34087264 in AARS [odds ratio (OR) = 1.15, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.01-1.31], rs801186 in HARS (OR = 1.29, 95% CI = 1.08-1.54), rs193466 in RARS (OR = 1.17, 95% CI = 1.02-1.35), and rs2273802 in WARS (OR = 1.14, 95% CI = 1.01-1.30). We further observed significant interactions between rs2273802 and age at the first live birth (P = 0.041), and between rs801186 and age on breast cancer risk (P = 0.018). Combined analysis of these four SNPs showed a significant allele-dosage association between the number of risk alleles and breast cancer risk (Ptrend  = 2.00 × 10(-4) ). Compared with individuals with "0-2" risk alleles, those carrying "3," "4," or "5 or more" risk alleles had a 1.32 (95% CI = 1.07-1.64), 1.48 (95% CI = 1.45-1.91), or 1.60 folds (95% CI = 1.06-2.41) risk of breast cancer, respectively. These findings indicate that genetic variants in core ARSs genes may modify the individual susceptibility to breast cancer in Chinese population., (© 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.)

Introduction: Single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) at 6q25.1 that are associated with breast cancer susceptibility have been identified in several genome-wide association studies (GWASs). However, the exact causal variants in this region have not been clarified., Methods: In the present study, we genotyped six potentially functional single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) within the CCDC170 and ESR1 gene regions at 6q25.1 and accessed their associations with risk of breast cancer in a study of 1,064 cases and 1,073 cancer-free controls in Chinese women. The biological function of the risk variant was further evaluated by performing laboratory experiments., Results: Breast cancer risk was significantly associated with three SNPs located at 6q25.1-rs9383935 in CCDC170 and rs2228480 and rs3798758 in ESR1-with variant allele attributed odds ratios (ORs) of 1.38 (95% confidence interval (CI): 1.20 to 1.57, P=2.21×10(-6)), 0.84 (95% CI: 0.72 to 0.98, P=0.025) and 1.19 (95% CI: 1.04 to 1.37, P=0.013), respectively. The functional variant rs9383935 is in high linkage disequilibrium (LD) with GWAS-reported top-hit SNP (rs2046210), but only rs9383935 showed a strong independent effect in conditional regression analysis. The rs9383935 risk allele A showed decreased activity of reporter gene in both the MCF-7 and BT-474 breast cancer cell lines, which might be due to an altered binding capacity of miR-27a to the 3' untranslated region (3' UTR) sequence of CCDC170. Real-time quantitative reverse transcription PCR confirmed the correlation between rs9383935 genotypes and CCDC170 expression levels., Conclusions: The results of this study suggest that the functional variant rs9383935, located at the 3' UTR of CCDC170, may be one candidate of the causal variants at 6q25.1 that modulate the risk of breast cancer.

Background: A recent genome-wide association study (GWAS) focused on esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) has identified several susceptible regions (5q11, 21q22, 6p21 10q23, and 12q24) in Chinese population. We hypothesized that single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) identified in these regions for ESCC were also associated with the risk of head and neck cancer (HNC) which share similar risk factors with ESCC., Methods: To test this hypothesis, we genotyped three SNPs (rs2274223, rs2014300 and rs10484761) in a case-control study with 503 HNC cases and 900 cancer-free controls in a Chinese population., Results: We found that rs2274223 was associated with a significantly increased risk of HNC in our population [GG vs. AA: adjusted odds ratio (OR)=1.86, 95% confidence interval (CI)=1.09-3.16; GG vs. (AG/AA): adjusted OR=1.85, 95% CI=1.09-3.12], and the effect appeared to be more prominent among drinkers (P=0.024) and patients with oral cavity cancer (P=0.019). In contrast, rs2014300 and rs10484761 variant were not observed any significantly association with risk of HNC., Conclusions: These results indicate that rs2274223 may be a marker SNP for HNC susceptibility in Chinese population., (Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Genetic variants may influence miRNA-mRNA interaction through modulate binding affinity, creating or destroying miRNA-binding sites. Twenty-four single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) that were predicted to affect the binding affinity of breast cancer-related miRNAs to 3'-untranslated regions (UTR) of known genes were genotyped in 878 breast cancer cases and 900 controls in Chinese women. Three promising SNPs (rs10494836, rs10857748 and rs7963551) were further validated in additional 914 breast cancer cases and 967 controls. The variant allele (C) of rs7963551 at 3'-UTR of RAD52 showed a consistently reduced breast cancer risk in two stages with a combined odds ratio (OR) of 0.84 [95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.75-0.95], which was more prominent among women with early age at first live birth (OR = 0.71, 95% CI = 0.58-0.87). A significant interaction was observed between rs7963551 and age at first live birth on breast cancer risk (P for interaction = 0.04). Luciferase activity assay showed a higher expression level for rs7963551 C allele as compared with A allele (P = 5.19 × 10(-3) for MCF-7 cell lines), which might be due to a reduced inhibition from a weakened binding capacity of miRNA to 3'-UTR of RAD52 harboring C allele. These findings indicate that rs7963551 located at hsa-let-7 binding site may alter expression of RAD52 through modulating miRNA-mRNA interaction and contribute to the development of breast cancer in Chinese women.