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Two Gram-stain-negative, facultative anaerobic, rod-shaped, motile bacterial strains, designated F26243 T and F60267 T were isolated from coastal sediment in Weihai, China. Strains F26243 T and F60267 T were grown at 4-40 °C (optimum 33 °C), pH 7.0-9.5 and pH 6.5-9.5 (optimum at pH 7.0), in the presence of 1.0-7.0% (w/v) NaCl (optimum 2.5%) and 1.0-12.0% (w/v) NaCl (optimum 2.0%), respectively. The 16S rRNA gene sequences phylogenetic analysis showed that strains F26243 T and F60267 T are closely related to the genus Marinobacter and exhibited the highest sequence similarities to Marinobacter salexigens HJR7 T (97.7% and 98.0%, respectively), the similarity between two isolates was 96.7%. Strains F26243 T and F60267 T displayed genomic DNA G + C content of 53.6% and 53.8%, respectively. When compared to the M. salexigens HJR7 T , the average nucleotide identity (ANI) values were 83.7% and 84.1%, and the percentage of conserved proteins (POCP) values were 79.9% and 84.6%, respectively. Ubiquinone 9 (Q-9) was the only respiratory quinone detected in both isolates. The major cellular fatty acids (> 10.0%) were summed feature 3 (comprising C 16:1 ω7c and/or C 16:1 ω6c), C 16:0 and C 18:1 ω9c. The polar lipid profiles of strains F26243 T and F60267 T contained diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidyldimethylethanolamine, phosphatidylglycerol, aminophospholipid and one unidentified phospholipid. Based on genomic characteristics, phenotypic and chemotaxonomic, strains F26243 T and F60267 T represent two novel species of the genus Marinobacter, for which the names Marinobacter sediminicola sp. nov. and Marinobacter xiaoshiensis sp. nov. are proposed, the type strains are F26243 T (= KCTC 92640 T  = MCCC 1H01345 T ) and F60267 T (= KCTC 92638 T  = MCCC 1H01346 T )., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.)

Clarifying the accumulation pattern of soil microbial residue carbon and its contribution to soil organic carbon (SOC) across stand age is helpful to understand the mechanism underlying soil carbon cycling. In this study, we analyzed the differences of amino sugar content, physicochemical properties and microbial composition in surface soil (0-10 cm) in young (6 a), middle-aged (13 a), near-mature (29 a), mature (38 a) and over-mature (57 a) Pinus massoniana plantations of subtropical China, quantified the microbial residue carbon content and its contribution to SOC, and discussed the mechanism. The results showed that SOC, total nitrogen, amorphous iron oxide and leucine aminopeptidase contents in the middle-aged plantation were significantly lower than those in the mature plantation. Soil pH and fungal/bacteria in young plantation were significantly higher than those in other age groups. Across the stand age gradient, the ranges of microbial, fungal and bacterial residue carbon were 7.52-14.63, 4.03-8.00 and 3.48-6.63 g·kg -1 , respectively. The contents of all the residue carbon were significantly higher in the mature plantation than that of the middle-aged plantation, which were positively affected by soil total nitrogen content. The contribution of microbial, fungal, and bacterial residue carbon to SOC was 59.7%-72.3%, 33.4%-45.6%, and 24.3%-30.8%, respectively. The contribution of fungal residue carbon to SOC in young plantation was significantly higher than that in other age groups, and the contribution of bacterial residue carbon to SOC in middle-aged plantation was significantly higher than that in young and near-mature plantations, both of which were affected by soil inorganic nitrogen. Fungal residue carbon content was 1.2-1.7 times as that of bacterial residue carbon content, and dominated for the accumulation of microbial residue carbon. Results of the partial least squares model showed that stand age, soil environmental factors (such as leucine aminopeptidase, amorphous iron oxide, pH, and total nitrogen), bacterial residue carbon, fungal residue carbon and the contribution of bacterial residue carbon to SOC had total effects on the contribution of fungal residue carbon to SOC (-0.37, -1.16, 0.90, 1.09, and 0.83, respectively). In conclusion, stand age promoted the accumulation of microbial residue carbon but did not increase its contribution to SOC.

Background: Currently, numerous treatment measures exist for postpartum stress urinary incontinence (PSUI); however, the study results are inconsistent., Method: Computer searches of PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, CKNI, and Wanfang databases were conducted to search the literature on 13 different intervention modalities for PSUI from the date of establishment to January 2023 for analysis. The literature was independently screened, and the information was extracted by 2 researchers. A reticulated meta-analysis was conducted using Stata software., Results: The findings of the reticulated meta-analysis revealed that, in terms of the effectiveness of the 13 interventions for treating PSUI from highest to lowest, the most effective was acupressure + pelvic floor muscle training (94.6%). Following this, the interventions ranked from best to worst were electroacupuncture + trans moxibustion (79.1%), pelvic floor muscle training + acupuncture (64.3%), pelvic floor muscle training + pelvic floor electrical stimulation (60.3%), biofeedback electrical stimulation + acupuncture (60.0%), pelvic floor muscle training + biofeedback electrical stimulation (59.8%), biofeedback electrical stimulation + acupuncture + herbal hot compresses (56.6%), moxibustion + pelvic floor muscle training (56.6%), pelvic floor muscle training + pelvic floor electrical stimulation + acupuncture (53.1%), biofeedback electrical stimulation + moxibustion (52.1%), pelvic floor muscle training (17.6%), biofeedback electrical stimulation (16.1%), and health coaching (0.2%). The evidence indicates that acupressure + pelvic floor muscle training may be the most effective intervention for treating PSUI occurrence., Conclusion: Improvement in 13 clinical indicators was observed in patients with PSUI, and significant enhancement was achieved through acupressure + pelvic floor muscle training., Competing Interests: The authors have no funding and conflicts of interest to disclose., (Copyright © 2023 the Author(s). Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc.)

Objectives: Among the various impacts of disasters in terms of emotions, quarantine has been proven to result in significant increases in mental health problems. Studies of psychological resilience during outbreaks of epidemics tend to focus on long-term social quarantine. In contrast, insufficient studies have been conducted examining how rapidly negative mental health outcomes occur and how these outcomes change over time. We evaluated the time course of psychological resilience (over three different phases of quarantine) among students at Shanghai Jiao Tong University to investigate the influence of unexpected changes on college students., Methods: An online survey was conducted from 5 to 7 April 2022. A structured online questionnaire was administered using a retrospective cohort trial design. Before 9 March (Period 1), individuals engaged in their usual activities without restrictions. From 9 to 23 March (Period 2), the majority of students were asked to remain in their dormitories on campus. From 24 March to early April (Period 3), restrictions were relaxed, and students were gradually allowed to participate in essential activities on campus. We quantified dynamic changes in the severity of students' depressive symptoms over the course of these three periods. The survey consisted of five sets of self-reported questions: demographic information, lifestyle/activity restrictions, a brief mental health history, COVID-19-related background, and the Beck Depression Inventory, second edition., Results: A total of 274 college students aged 18-42 years (mean = 22.34; SE = 0.24) participated in the study (58.39% undergraduate students, 41.61% graduate students; 40.51% male, 59.49% female). The proportion of students with depressive symptoms was 9.1% in Period 1, 36.1% in Period 2, and 34.67% in Period 3. Depressive symptoms increased notably with the introduction of the quarantine in Periods 2 and 3. Lower satisfaction with the food supplied and a longer duration of physical exercise per day were found to be positively associated with changes in depression severity in Periods 2 and 3. Quarantine-related psychological distress was more evident in students who were in a romantic relationship than in students who were single., Conclusion: Depressive symptoms in university students rapidly increased after 2 weeks of quarantine and no perceptible reversal was observed over time. Concerning students in a relationship, ways to take physical exercise and to relax should be provided and the food supplied should be improved when young people are quarantined., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2023 Ma, Kuang, Lan, Zeng, Li, Shang, Zhang, Zhao and Li.)

Concern over the influences of constant addition of emerging anthropogenic chemicals to the environment has become a public issue during the rapid urbanization. Here, we investigated the occurrence of organophosphate esters (OPEs) in soil and corresponding tree bark in a megacity, Western China. Our results showed levels of OPEs in tree bark (1250 ± 573 ng/g dry weight (dw)) were 1-2 orders of magnitude higher than those in soil (40.4 ± 30.8 ng/g dw). Rooster Mountain is a background mountain area, exhibiting significantly lower concentrations of OPEs in soil and tree bark than those in other sites with relatively high population density. This result highlights the effect of human activities on the distribution of OPEs in environmental matrices. Alkyl-OPEs were predominant compounds in soil, whereas halogenated- (Cl-) OPEs were characterized in tree bark. Furthermore, tris(2-chloroethyl) phosphate (TCEP) positively correlated with tris(2-chloroisopropyl) phosphate (TCIPP) in soil (r 2  = 0.43, P < 0.05) while negatively correlated with TCIPP in tree bark (r 2  = 0.31, P < 0.05). The ratios of logarithm concentrations of OPEs in tree bark to those in soil correlated well with logK OA values of OPEs from 6 to 10, indicating the equilibrium status was achieved between OPE partitioning in soil and in tree bark. Nevertheless, tris (2-butoxyethyl) phosphate (TBEP) and tris(2-ethylhexyl) phosphate (TEHP) with high values of logK OA deviated from this linear tendency, which was possibly due to the fact that they were subjected to the particle-bound deposition process, leading to partition into the soil., (© 2022. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

Objectives: To study the correlation between neck circumference and body mass index and the value of neck circumference in identifying overweight and obesity in preschool children., Methods: The stratified cluster sampling method was used to recruit 3 719 children under 7 years from 10 kindergartens in Urumqi, China. General data were collected, and physical measurements were performed. A Pearson correlation analysis was used to evaluate the correlation between neck circumference and body mass index. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to assess the accuracy of neck circumference in identifying overweight/obesity. The Kappa consistency test was used to assess the consistency of neck circumference and body mass index in identifying overweight/obesity., Results: There was a positive correlation between neck circumference and body mass index in boys and girls of all ages ( r ≥0.50, P <0.001). According to body mass index as the criteria for overweight/obesity, the children were divided into an overweight/obesity group and a non-overweight/obesity group, and the analysis showed that the overweight/obesity group had a significantly larger neck circumference than the non-overweight/obesity group ( P <0.001). The ROC curve analysis showed that neck circumference had an area under the ROC curve of >0.7 in identifying overweight/obesity for boys and girls. The Kappa consistency test showed that the neck circumference and body mass index had a Kappa value of >0.40 in identifying overweight/obesity in boys and girls of all ages., Conclusions: Neck circumference is positively correlated to body mass index, and neck circumference can be used to identify overweight/obesity in preschool children.

Introduction: Hereditary spastic paraplegias (HSPs) are uncommon but not rare neurodegenerative diseases. More than 100 pathogenic genes and loci related to spastic paraplegia symptoms have been reported. HSPs have the same core clinical features, including progressive spasticity in the lower limbs, though HSPs are heterogeneous (eg, clinical signs, MRI features, gene mutation). The age of onset varies greatly, from infant to adulthood. In addition, the slow and variable rates of disease progression in patients with HSP represent a substantial challenge for informative assessment of therapeutic efficacy. To address this, we are undertaking a prospective cohort study to investigate genetic-clinical characteristics, find surrogates for monitoring disease progress and identify clinical readouts for treatment., Methods and Analysis: In this case-control cohort study, we will enrol 200 patients with HSP and 200 healthy individuals in parallel. Participants will be continuously assessed for 3 years at 12-month intervals. Six aspects, including clinical signs, genetic spectrum, cognitive competence, MRI features, potential biochemical indicators and nerve electrophysiological factors, will be assessed in detail. This study will observe clinical manifestations and disease severity based on different molecular mechanisms, including oxidative stress, cholesterol metabolism and microtubule dynamics, all of which have been proposed as potential treatment targets or modalities. The analysis will also assess disease progression in different types of HSPs and cellular pathways with a longitudinal study using t tests and χ 2 tests., Ethics and Dissemination: The study was granted ethics committee approval by the first affiliated hospital of Fujian Medical University (MRCTA, ECFAH of FMU (2019)194) in 2019. Findings will be disseminated via presentations and peer-reviewed publications. Dissemination will target different audiences, including national stakeholders, researchers from different disciplines and the general public., Trial Registration Number: NCT04006418., Competing Interests: Competing interests: None declared., (© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2022. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.)

In order to better understand the industrial volatile organic compounds(VOCs) emissions in China in recent years, an industrial VOCs emission inventory was developed from 2011 to 2019, based on the dynamic emission factors method and the comprehensive source classification system. The results showed that VOCs emissions increased first from 11122.7 kt in 2011 to 13397.9 kt in 2017, and then decreased to 13247.0 kt in 2019. The emission structure of the four source categories changed. The contribution from basic organic chemical industries, gasoline storage and transportation, manufacturing(i.e., coatings, inks, pigments, and similar products), and industrial protective coatings continued to increase. On the contrary, the contributions of oil and natural gas processing, automobile, and container manufacturing industries declined over the study period. Among the industrial emissions in China in 2019, industrial coating, printing, and basic organic chemical industries emitted large amounts of VOCs(accounting for 39.2% of the total emission), and because their contribution became increasingly prominent since 2011, these sectors will be the key emission sources in the future. With respect to the spatial distribution in 2019, East China and South China had the largest VOCs emissions. Shandong, Guangdong, Jiangsu, and Zhejiang were the four provinces that contributed the most, accounting for 40.6% of the total VOCs emissions.

To determine the differences in emissions among different types of coatings, such as solvent-based, water-based, solvent-based ultra-violet(UV), water-based UV, and powder coatings, representative furniture manufacturing companies were selected for analysis. The emission concentrations and compositional characteristics of volatile organic compounds(VOCs) in different types of coatings were compared and studied. The ozone formation potential(OFP) and secondary organic aerosol formation potential(SOAFP) of the different types of coatings were also analyzed. Solvent-based coatings has higher TVOC concentrations, OFPs, and SOAFPs than water-based, solvent-based UV, water-based UV, and powder coatings. The concentrations and composition of VOCs emitted from the different types of coatings were also different. The main VOC groups of the solvent-based and solvent-based UV coatings were aromatic hydrocarbons and oxygenated volatile organic compounds(OVOCs). Specifically, the proportions of aromatic hydrocarbons are 41.91%-60.67% and 42.51%-43.00%, respectively, and the proportions of OVOCs were 24.75%-41.29% and 41.34%-43.21%, respectively. OVOCs accounted for the highest proportion of VOCs in the water-based, water-based UV, and powder coatings, at 54.02%-62.10%, 55.23%-64.81%, and 42.98%-46.45%, respectively. The major VOC compound of the solvent-based coatings was styrene(14.68%), and the main component of the water-based coatings was methylal(14.61%). The main species of VOCs from the solvent-based UV and water-based UV coatings were butyl acetate(15.36% and 20.56%, respectively). The most abundant species from the powder coatings was ethyl 3-ethoxy propionate(20.19%). Aromatic hydrocarbons were the most important contributor to the OFP of the solvent-based and solvent-based UV coatings, accounting for 79.84% and 80.32%, respectively. Aromatic hydrocarbons(51.48% and 36.71%) and OVOCs(42.30% and 41.03%) were the major contributors to the OFP of the water-based and water-based UV coatings, respectively. Aromatic hydrocarbons(43.46%), OVOCs(28.06%), and olefins(25.24%) were the main factors affecting the OFP of the powder coatings. Aromatic hydrocarbons dominate the SOAFP of solvent-based, water-based, solvent-based UV, water-based UV, and powder coatings, accounting for more than 99%.

Presently, there are a few studies on the measurement of industrial organic solvents in China. To determine the content and species of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in industrial organic solvents and to provide the emission factors of organic solvents, the Chinese wood and automotive coatings, which accounted for the largest proportion of production in the world, were investigated. Coating samples were obtained by sampling from companies and buying from markets, and were measured in accordance with the domestic standard testing methods for coatings. The content and composition spectrum of VOCs in the coatings were determined, and the ozone formation potential (OFP) was then calculated. The results showed that for wood coatings, the average content of the VOCs in solvent-based, water-based, and ultra-violet (UV) coatings were 37.28%, 9.88%, and 18.02%, respectively. For automotive coatings, the average content of the VOCs in water-based original equipment manufacturer (OEM) coating, solvent-based OEM coating, water-based refinishing coating, and solvent-based refinishing coating were 15.06%, 59.90%, 11.79%, and 54.50%, respectively. The content of the VOCs in different types of coatings varied substantially. The main components and OFP contributors were alcohols and ethers for water-based coatings, benzene series and esters for solvent-based coatings, and esters, alcohols, and ethers for UV coatings. The average value of the coating samples could meet the current mandatory national standards, but 12% of the solvent-based wood coating samples and 42% of the solvent-based OEM coating samples did not meet the standards. In addition, except for the benzene series of the water-based wood coatings, the contents of harmful substances in other coating samples were up to the standards.

Soaring cases of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) are pummeling the global health system. Overwhelmed health facilities have endeavored to mitigate the pandemic, but mortality of COVID-19 continues to increase. Here, we present a mortality risk prediction model for COVID-19 (MRPMC) that uses patients' clinical data on admission to stratify patients by mortality risk, which enables prediction of physiological deterioration and death up to 20 days in advance. This ensemble model is built using four machine learning methods including Logistic Regression, Support Vector Machine, Gradient Boosted Decision Tree, and Neural Network. We validate MRPMC in an internal validation cohort and two external validation cohorts, where it achieves an AUC of 0.9621 (95% CI: 0.9464-0.9778), 0.9760 (0.9613-0.9906), and 0.9246 (0.8763-0.9729), respectively. This model enables expeditious and accurate mortality risk stratification of patients with COVID-19, and potentially facilitates more responsive health systems that are conducive to high risk COVID-19 patients.

Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate and compare the performance of the Chinese version of the Neurological Disorder Depression Inventory for Epilepsy (CNDDI-E) with that of the depression subscale of the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (C-HADS-D) as screening tools for depression in the same patients with epilepsy (PWE)., Methods: A total of 213 consecutive PWE were evaluated. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis was performed using the C-NDDI-E and C-HADS-D as predictors and the Chinese version of the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview (C-MINI) as the gold standard., Results: The area under the curve (AUC) for the C-NDDI-E was 0.870, and the optimal cutoff score was >11 (sensitivity 85.71%, specificity 79.78%); for the C-HADS-D, the AUC was 0.804, and the optimal cutoff score was >5 (sensitivity 85.71%, specificity 62.36%). The AUC for the C-NDDI-E was larger than the AUC for the C-HADS-D, but the comparison of the AUCs revealed no significant differences (P = 0.1444)., Conclusion: Our findings indicate that the C-NDDI-E and C-HADS-D have high validity and support the use of these screening tools for depression in PWE. Moreover, the C-NDDI-E is a better screening scale for diagnosing depression than the C-HADS-D according to the results of this study., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare no conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

This article reviews the clinical studies on acupuncture in the treatment of asthma, chronic bronchitis, and acute exacerbation and stable phase of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in China over the past 10 years, and the results suggest that acupuncture has a good clinical effect. At present, there are still several problems in related clinical studies, including lacking of standard operation procedure for acupuncture, unreasonable design of control group, and low quality of clinical research. Therefore, in the future, top-level design should be standardized and large-sample multicenter clinical studies should be conducted to provide stronger evidence of evidence-based medicine for acupuncture in the treatment of respiratory diseases.

Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the clinical reliability and validity of the Chinese version of the Patient Health Questionnaire 9 (C-PHQ-9) in patients with epilepsy., Methods: A total of 213 consecutive adult patients with epilepsy were evaluated. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis was performed using C-PHQ-9 and Chinese version of Patient Health Questionnaire 2 (C-PHQ-2) as predictors and the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview Plus Version 5.0.0 as the gold standard., Results: The C-PHQ-9 was easily understood and quickly finished by the patients. According to the gold standard, the prevalence of current major depressive disorder in this population was 16.4%. Cronbach's α coefficient for the C-PHQ-9 was 0.860. The ROC analysis showed an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.888 (95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.838-0.927). At a cutoff score of >6, the C-PHQ-9 had a sensitivity of 82.86%, a specificity of 84.27%, a positive predictive value of 50.9%, and a negative predictive value of 96.2%. The C-PHQ-2 at a cutoff score of >1 resulted in the greatest balance of sensitivity and specificity (77.14% and 75.28%, respectively)., Conclusion: Our findings support a high reliability and validity for the C-PHQ-9 as a screening tool for the detection of current major depression in Chinese patients with epilepsy., (Copyright © 2019 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: Parkinson's disease is characterized by motor and non-motor symptoms with wide ranging impacts on the health-related quality of life. The 39-item Parkinson's disease Questionnaire (PDQ-39) is the most widely used PD-specific health-related quality-of-life questionnaire. The short-form 8-item Parkinson's disease Questionnaire (PDQ-8) was found to produce results similar to that of the PDQ-39 cross-culturally. However, there is no evaluation of the PDQ-8 in the mainland of China., Methods: In this longitudinal study, 283 patients with Parkinson's disease were recruited. The PDQ-39, the PDQ-8 and other scales were administered. Patients attended the clinic once annually for three years to complete the scales., Results: The PDQ-8 was found to have good validity and reliability. There was a strong correlation between the summary indices of the PDQ-8 and the PDQ-39 (r=0.93, P<0.001). Results suggested that the PDQ-8 was also associated with other clinical scales of mobility, depression and cognition. The convergent validity and discriminant validity of the PDQ-8 were demonstrated by item-to-dimension correlations. There was acceptable internal consistency of the PDQ-8 (Cronbach's α: 0.80; Item-scale correlation efficient: 0.56-0.72). The PDQ-8 replicated the results of the PDQ-39 well at all follow-up time points (intraclass correlation coefficient: 0.96-0.98). In addition, there was good test-retest reliability of the PDQ-8., Conclusion: The PDQ-8 is a valid and reliable instrument assessing health-related quality of life for PD patients in the mainland of China.

Background: This study investigated the association of the 27 SNPs located in RASGRF1. GJD2, and ACTC1 genes with pathological myopia in a Chinese Han population., Methods: Myopia patients were stratified according to whether they did (n = 274) or did not (n = 131) have myopic macular degeneration (MMD). The SNPbrowser software was used to identify specific SNPs for analysis and minimal allele frequency of >20%, and a pairwise r(2) < 0.85 were genotyped using MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry., Results: Before controlling for false discovery rate, the frequency of the rs1867315 C/C genotype compared with healthy controls was lower in the myopia group (p = 0.006) and in myopia patients without macular degeneration (p = 0.019). The frequency of the rs670957A/A genotype was also lower in patients without MMD compared with controls (p = 0.045). For rs2070664, the frequency of the A allele was higher in the patients with MMD compared to those without MMD (p = 0.032). After controlling for a false discovery rate of 5%, there was no significant difference in genotype and allele frequencies between these groups., Conclusion: In this study, there was no association of the analyzed SNPs located in RASGRF1. GJD2, and ACTC1 with pathological myopia, suggesting that SNPs included in our study have no or a limited role in causing pathologic myopia in this Chinese Han population.

Evapotranspiration (ET) is an important component of ground surface energy balance and water balance, and closely related to water cycle. By using eddy covariance technique, this paper studied the ET characteristics of agroecosystems in the semi-arid area of Loess Plateau in growth season (from April to September), 2010, and analyzed the relationships between crop coefficient and environmental factors. During the observation period, the diurnal variation of latent heat flux (LE) in each month was similar to single-peak curve, and the peak value (151.4 W x m(-2)) occurred in August. The daytime energy partitioning manner showed a significant seasonal variation, with LE/R(n) < H/R(n) (R(n) was net radiation, and H was sensible heat flux) from April to June, and LE/R(n) > H/R(n) from July to September. The daily ET rate also showed a significant seasonal variation, with the maximum of 4.69 mm x d(-1). The wind speed (W(s)), relative humidity (RH), soil water content (theta), and atmospheric vapor pressure deficit (D) were the major factors affecting the crop coefficient K(c) which was exponentially decreased with increasing W(s), exponentially increased with increasing RH and theta, and linearly decreased with increasing D.

By using the site-specific observation data of oil flax growth and related meteorological records in semi-arid region of Loess Plateau, this paper studied the effects of climate change on the oil flax growth, and analyzed the relationships between the oil flax water use efficiency and meteorological condition. In this region, the annual precipitation displayed a decreasing trend, and its climatic trend rate was -15.80 mm (10 a)(-1), with an annual periodic change of 3 a and 6 a, whereas the annual air temperature had an increasing trend, and its climatic trend rate was 0.36 degrees C (10 a)(-1). In crop growth period, the aridity index displayed a marked increasing trend, its climatic trend rate was 0.12 (10 a)(-1), and the aridity tendency was more obvious from the beginning of 1990s to the year 2009. From sowing to maturation, oil flax needed 120-150 d, 1700-2100 degrees C d of > or = 0 degrees C accumulated temperature, 200-250 mm precipitation, and 1000-1300 h sunshine hours. The main meteorological factors affecting the oil flax growth in the region were air temperature and precipitation. The increase of air temperature shortened the prophase vegetative growth stage, whereas the increase of air temperature and the decrease of precipitation extended the reproductive growth stage, causing the extension of the whole growth period of the oil flax. The air temperature in the oil flax whole growth period except at seeding stage and maturing stage had negative effect on the yield formation, being more obvious at squaring stage, whereas the precipitation in the whole growth period except at blooming stage had positive effect on the yield formation, being more obvious at seeding stage. The water use efficiency of the oil flax was significantly positively correlated with the air temperature and sunshine hours at seeding stage as well as the aridity index from squaring stage to maturing stage, and negatively correlated with the precipitation from squaring stage to maturing stage. In the study region, the aridity index from May to July was the key factor affecting the water use efficiency of oil flax.

Background: Enterovirus type 71 (EV71) causes large outbreaks with significant mortality among young children, and no specific antiviral treatment is currently available. Antibody-based therapy represents a promising alternative strategy for lethal EV71 infection. Our previous data has shown that anti-EV71 neutralization antibodies were present in a significant proportion of blood donors in China., Objectives: To produce a new human intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) product containing high titer anti-EV71 neutralizing antibodies and investigate its therapeutic efficacy against lethal EV71 infection in a murine model., Study Design: Plasma units that contained high titer neutralizing antibodies from selected Chinese donors were pooled and processed into pharmaceutical grade IVIG preparations according to the standard procedure. The efficacy of these EV71-specific IVIG product was characterized in vitro by neutralization assay and in vivo by suckling mouse protection testing. The therapeutic effects against lethal EV71 challenge were further assayed in a suckling mouse model., Results: About 12% of the normal plasma units were selected and pooled to manufacture the EV71-IVIG preparations, and in vitro and in vivo efficacy data showed that these EV71-specific IVIG preparations were enriched with neutralizing antibodies against EV71. Furthermore, treatment with EV71-specific IVIG was evidenced to confer protection against lethal EV71 challenge in a dose- and time-dependent manner in the suckling mouse model., Conclusions: This preclinical study indicates that these "tailor-made" EV71-IVIG preparations manufactured from selected plasma donors in EV71-endemic areas may represent a promising therapeutic option for the lethal EV71 infections, and further clinical trials should be warranted in the future., (Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Human enterovirus 71 (EV71) is the major etiological agent of hand, foot, and mouth disease (HFMD), which is a common infectious disease in young children and infants. EV71 can cause various clinical manifestations and has been associated with severe neurological complications; it has resulted in fatalities during recent outbreaks in Asian-Pacific regions since 1997. The early and rapid detection is critical for prevention and control of EV71 infection, since no vaccine or antiviral drugs are currently available. In this study, a simple and sensitive reverse transcription-loop-mediated isothermal amplification (RT-LAMP) assay was developed for rapid detection of EV71. The detection limit of the RT-LAMP assay was approximately 0.01 PFU per reaction mixture, and no cross-reactive amplification with other enteroviruses was observed. The assay was evaluated further with 40 clinical specimens and exhibited 92.9% sensitivity and 100% specificity. This RT-LAMP assay may become a useful alternative in clinical diagnosis of EV71, especially in resource-limited hospitals or rural clinics of China and other countries in the Asian-Pacific region.

Eight full-length genes of an avian influenza virus Chinese isolate of H9N2 subtype, A/Chicken/Guangdong/HL/2006 (H9N2) (abbreviated as Ck/GD/HL/06), were amplified by RT-PCR, including the 5' and 3' non-coding region. All the genes were cloned and sequenced. The phylogenetic analysis results showed the HA gene of Ck/GD/HL/06 was located in the same phylogenetic clade as Dk/HK/Y280/97 (H9N2), while the Dk/HK/Y280/97-like viruses had been predominately isolated from chickens in mainland China. After the analysis of glycosylation sites and receptor-binding sites in the HA, it was shown that the HA of Ck/GD/HL/06 exhibited the common feature of H9 subtype avian influenza virus isolated from China, but the leucine (Leu) residue at the amino acid position 226 indicated the potential of binding with SA alpha,2-6 receptor. The three internal genes of Ck/GD/HL/06 (PB1, PA and NP) had the highest nucleotide identity with A/Viet Nam/1203/2004 (abbreviated A/VN/1203/04) isolate, which was shown to be transmitted from chickens to human and caused lethal infection in human. No analogous H9N2 strains was reported in previous studies. Based on the high similarity of Ck/GD/HL/06 three genes to A/VN/1203/04, it was suggested that the possibility of generating new highly pathogenic H5N1 AIVs by recombination was worthy of our attention. Further studies should be needed for molecular epidemiologic surveillance of H9N2 AIV in the south China for a long time.

Background: Cholesterol gallstone disease is a very common disease in both industrialized and developing countries. Many studies have found that cholesterol gallstones are more common in women than men. The molecular mechanisms underlying the relationship between female gallstone disease and hepatic sterol transporters are still undergoing definition and have not been evaluated in humans., Aims: The aim of this study is to probe for underlying hepatic molecular defects associated with development of gallstones in female., Methods/results: Fifty-seven nonobese, normolipidemic Chinese female gallstone patients (GS) were investigated with 12 age- and body mass index-matched female gallstone-free controls (GSF). The bile from the female GS had higher cholesterol saturation than that from the female GSF. The hepatic NPC1L1 mRNA levels were lower in female GS, correlated with SREBP2 mRNA. NPC1L1 downregulation was confirmed at protein levels. Consistently, immunohistochemistry showed decreased NPC1L1 expression in female GS., Conclusions: The decreased hepatic NPC1L1 levels in female GS might indicate a downregulated reabsorption of biliary cholesterol in the liver, which, in turn, leads to the cholesterol supersaturation of bile. Our data are consistent with the possibility that hepatic NPC1L1 may be mediated by SREBP2.

Based on the 1988-2008 located observation and 2007-2008 encrypted observation of potato growth and the 1957-2008 meteorological observation in semi-arid region of Loess Plateau, this paper studied the effects of climate change on the potato growth in this region. In 1957-2008, the annual precipitation in this region had a descending trend, with a linear fitting rate of the annual precipitation change curves being - 13.359 mm x (10 a)(-1), while the annual mean temperature displayed an ascending trend, with a linear fitting rate of the annual mean temperature change curves being 0.239 degrees C x (10 a)(-1). During potato growth period, the aridity index displayed a marked ascending trend, and the linear fitting rate of the aridity index change curves was 0.102 x (10 a)(-1). The growth rate of potato tuber became faster from the 96th day after sowing, reached the maximum on the 110th day, and turned slower from the 124th day. The interval from sowing to seedling emergence was shortened by 1-2 d x (10 a)(-1), and that from inflorescence formation to reaping and of whole growth period was lengthened by 9-10 d x (10 a) (-1). In the study region, climate warming shortened the vegetative growth stage, but lengthened the reproductive growth stage and whole growth period of potato.

Based on the 1981-2006 observation data from agricultural meteorological stations at Minle (high altitude) and Zhangye (low altitude) in northwest arid area, the effects of air temperature change at the two altitudes on the growth and yield of spring wheat were studied. It was shown that during study period, the air temperature at the two altitudes had an increasing trend, and the increment was greater at high altitude than at low altitude. At high altitude, the growth duration of spring wheat shortened but the grain yield increased; while at low altitude, the growth duration shortened and the yield decreased. When the mean daily air temperature during spring wheat growth period increased by 1 degrees C, the growth duration shortened by 8.3 days at high altitude and by 3.8 days at low altitude. The growth duration and grain yield of spring wheat at high altitude had a slight increase when the maximum air temperature during growth period was below 30.4 degrees C, but decreased when the maximum air temperature was above 30.4 degrees C.

Purpose: To investigate the influence of color vision on myopia development by testing refraction error and axial length of the eye for high school students with and without color vision deficiency (CVD)., Methods: A school-based cross-sectional, cluster sample study was conducted to test the color vision and refractive error of 16,539 high school students. Students were screened for CVD using a pseudoisochromatic plate. CVD was confirmed in students failing the test using a Farnsworth-Munsell 100-Hue Test which also served to classify the subtype (protan or deutan). Three classmates of each CVD subject, matched in five myopia risk factors, were chosen to form the normal color vision (CN) control group. Ophthalmic examinations were performed to determine refractive status and axial length., Results: Of the students, 309 were found to have red-green CVD and 927 were selected as the CN control group. The prevalence of myopia in the CVD group (45.6%) was significantly lower than that of the CN group (65.8%; P<0.001). The CVD group was also less myopic in refraction (P<0.001) than CN, and protan subjects had shorter axial lengths than those in the control group (P=0.007)., Conclusions: Color vision deficiencies appear to influence the development of myopia. The observed lower incidence of myopia in people with CVD may be linked to the reduced functionality of the L/M chromatic mechanism.

Based on the field plot observation and related meteorological data, the effects of climate change in 1985-2005 on the growth and development of subalpine meadow Poa botryoides in Maqu County of Gansu Province were analyzed. The results showed that during study period, the annual precipitation in the Maqu County had a decreasing trend, with a rate of -9.895 mm x (10 a)(-1) and a cycle of 3 years, while the annual air temperature had an increasing trend, with a rate of 0.341 degrees C x (10 a)(-1). The aridity index of P. botryoides in growth season had an obvious increasing trend, with a rate of 0.036 x (10 a)(-1), and the tendency was more markedly from the beginning of the 1990s to 2005. The period from reviving to ripeness of P. botryoides was 140-150 d, and the requirements of accumulated temperature above 0 degree C, precipitation, and sunshine duration in this period were 1000 degrees C-1200 degrees C, 400-450 mm, and 1000-1100 h, respectively. The growth rate of P. botryoides turned to higher at 54 d after reviving, reached the highest at 80 d after reviving, and became lower at 104 d after reviving. Under the effects of climate warming, the phenophase of P. botryoides was advanced by 15 d x (10 a)(-1) at heading stage, 7-8 d x (10 a)(-1) at flowering stage, 8-9 d x (10 a)(-1) at ripeness stage, and 3 d x (10 a)(-1) at withering stage. Climate change made the P. botryoides yield in study area have greater variation and higher unsteadiness.

Objective: A population-based study was conducted to compare the prevalence of congenital color vision deficiencies (CVD) in high-school students of Uygur and Han nationalities in Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region., Methods: Students from 7 high schools were examined with pseudoisochromatic color plates and further with Farnsworth Munsell 100 test. The chi-square test was applied to compare categorical variables, and the independent-samples t test was used to compare the measure data., Results: In the study population of 3764 Uygur students, 88 students had CVD, including 69 males and 19 females. 48 of 2055 Han students were diagnosed with CVD, including 46 males and 2 females. No significant difference existed in the prevalence of CVD in boys between two nationalities. The prevalence of CVD in Uygur girls was higher than that in Han girls., Conclusions: No significant difference was found in the prevalence of CVD in boys between two nationalities. The prevalence of CVD in Uygur girls was higher than that in Han girls.

In this randomised, double-blind, comparator-controlled, multicentre study conducted in China, 142 hospitalised patients aged 18-75 years with pneumonia (n=80) or complicated skin and soft-tissue infection (cSSTI) (n=62) due to suspected or known Gram-positive pathogens were randomised (1:1) to receive either linezolid 600mg (n=71) or vancomycin 1g in patients aged < or =60 years or 0.75g in patients aged >60 years (n=71) intravenously every 12h. The duration of treatment was 10-21 days for patients with pneumonia and 7-21 days for patients with cSSTI. Clinical outcomes were assessed at end-of-treatment (EOT) visit and follow-up (FU) visit 7-28 days post therapy. Staphylococcus aureus was the most common pathogen at baseline and most of these isolates were resistant to meticillin. All isolates were susceptible to linezolid and vancomycin. For the evaluable patients, the effective treatment rate for linezolid was higher than that for vancomycin at EOT (86.9% (53/61) vs. 61.7% (37/60)) and at FU (83.1% (49/59) vs. 64.9% (37/57)). Pathogen eradication rates for the microbiologically evaluable patients at FU were 79.2% (42/53) for linezolid and 61.5% (32/52) for vancomycin. The incidence of drug-related adverse events (AEs) was 25.4% (18/71) for linezolid and 16.9% (12/71) for vancomycin. Four (5.6%) linezolid-treated and eight (11.3%) vancomycin-treated patients discontinued the study drug because of an AE. Linezolid was well tolerated and effective for the treatment of infections caused by Gram-positive pathogens, including meticillin-resistant S. aureus.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the lung disorders of the workers exposed to rush smear dust. A cross sectional study was carried out on 1,709 current workers (788 male, 921 female) in 80 factories. All subjects were asked by questionnaire, and health examination including chest X-ray was conducted for 661 workers in 35 factories. Lung function test was also examined for 119 non-smoking males among 661 subjects. Dust samplings were collected and total and respirable dust concentrations at 127 spots in 35 factories were measured. The geometric mean dust concentration in the workshops was up to 20.00 mg/m(3), and the geometric mean respirable dust concentration reached 8.22 mg/m(3). The mean quartz concentration of accumulated dust was 29.2%. The prevalence of radiographic small opacities profusion category > or = 1/0, according to the ILO 1980 Classification System, was 2.6% among 661 employees. One worker was found to have pneumoconiotic findings of 2/2 profusion accompanied with large opacity. The prevalence of pneumoconiosis (1/0 or more) correlated with cumulative dust exposure (r=0.192, p<0.0001). The similar relationship was found between the prevalence rate of cough or sputa and worksite dust concentration. In non-smokers, a positive association was found between the prevalence of cough and occupational exposure duration (r=0.080, p=0.004). Approximately 19.3% and 34.5% of employees suffered from respiratory impairment for FVC and FEV1.0, respectively. This is the first report of "rush" pneumoconiosis in China. Rush mat workers were found to be at high risk for pneumoconiosis, a preventable disease. Our results showed a dose-response relationship between rush-mat dust level and the prevalence of pneumoconiosis. Similar relationship between the prevalence of cough and sputum and the work duration was found for non-smoking workers but not for smoking workers.

Objective: To investigate the clinical characteristics of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) patients in China., Methods: Totally 143 HIV/AIDS patients who were first diagnosed in Peking Union Medical College Hospital form January 1988 to April 2006 were enrolled in this study. Clinical characteristics were retrospectively analyzed., Results: Among 143 HIV/ AIDS patients, 57 patients had no clinical symptoms and were confirmed by routine examinations; 86 patients had clinical symptoms, including fever (n = 50), weight loss (n = 18), and discomforts involving respiratory system (n = 34), gastrointestinal system (n = 16), and derma and mucosa (n = 17). Opportunistic infections (OIs) such as pneumocystis jiroveci pneumonia (PCP) (n = 27), oropharyngeal candidiasis (n = 16), tuberculosis (n = 15) , and cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection (n = 9) were also observed in patients whose CD4 + T cell counts were less than 200/mm3. Most CMV infection and cryptococcal meningitis occurred in patients whose CD4 + T cell counts were less than 100/mm3. CD4 + T cell count was negatively correlated with plasma viral load (r = -0.420, P = 0.001)., Conclusions: Fever, dyspnea, and weight loss are the most common symptoms in the patients of this study. The respiratory system, gastrointestinal system, derma and mucosa are the most commonly affected areas by OIs, and PCP is the most common OI. The occurrence of OIs corelates with CD4 + T cell count.

Refractive surgery develops very quickly in recent years. Normalized the pre-surgery examination and gradual development of refractive surgery methods which are close to the over-sea are all current situations. Clinic experiences improve the quality of surgery. While the basic research perfects the effective of surgery. To pursuit high vision quality challenges the refractive surgery.

An epidemiological survey on Tourette syndrome (TS) in a developing country is relatively scarce. This study was conducted to investigate the prevalence and distribution of TS in children and juveniles aged 7-16 years in Wenzhou of P.R. China. A total of 9742 children and adolescents were included in this survey. Cross-sectional study with stratified-cluster sampling method was used. The prevalence of TS among school-age children was estimated to be an average of 0.43%. The ratio of male to female was 10.6 to 1 (0.74% for males and 0.07% for females). Pupils in the age range of 7-16 years are more likely to have comorbid disorders. The mean age at onset of TS was 7.7+/-2.7 years, with 45.2% of them at the age of 6-7. The rate of delayed diagnosis, misdiagnosis and misclassification of the syndrome were 78.6, 42.9 and 23.8%, respectively. This survey supports that TS is a common disease prevalent amongst children and juveniles in Wenzhou area of P.R. China, and its incidence was correlated with age and sex and often misdiagnosed and misclassified.

Objective: To study the epidemiological features of tic disorders (TD) among schoolchildren in Wenzhou area., Methods: Stratified cluster sampling was carried out to investigate TD in 9742 schoolchildren aged 7 to 16 years old in Wenzhou., Results: The average prevalence rate of TD among school-age children was 104/10 000 (166/10 000 for males, 29/10 000 for females). There was a significantly higher prevalence rate for males than that for females (chi(2) = 43.96, P < 0.001, prevalence ratio = 5.7, prevalence ratio 95% CI: 3.20 - 10.30). The prevalence rates of clinical subtypes in males was significantly higher than that of females while pupils was significantly higher than that in high school students (chi(2) = 11.33, P < 0.01, prevalence ratio = 2.2, prevalence ratio 95% CI: 1.37 - 3.43). Prevalence rate of transient tic disorders (TTD), chronic motor vocal tic disorder (CMVTD), tourette syndrome (TS) were 34/10 000, 27/10 000 and 43/10 000 respectively with the highest among 9-10 years old group. The mean onset age of TD was 8.5 +/- 2.8 years. The peak of onset was among 6-10 year olds. The rate of delayed diagnosis of the disorders was 69.3% and the median in delayed diagnosis was 1.0 year., Conclusion: TD is a common disease with high rate of misdiagnoses among schoolchildren in Wenzhou area. Physicians and population should be trained to identify the syndromes and to practice correct diagnosis and effective treatment as early as possible.

Objective: To study the prevalence and distribution of Tourette syndrome (TS)., Methods: Nine thousand, seven hundred and forty-two children and juveniles aged 7 - 16 years in Wenzhou were studied, using cluster random sampling method., Results: The prevalence of TS among school-age children was estimated to be 0.43% (0.74% for males and 0.07% for females). The prevalence of male children and juveniles was higher than that of female children and juveniles (chi(2) = 25.09, P < 0.001, prevalence ratio = 10.95, prevalence ratio 95% CI: 3.38 - 35.46). The highest prevalence of TS was between 9 - 10 years old. The mean age at onset of TS was 7.7 +/- 2.7 years, with 45.2% of them among 6 - 7 year olds. The rate of delayed diagnosis and rates of misdiagnosis and misclassification of the syndromes were 78.6%, 42.9% and 23.8%, respectively., Conclusion: Tourette syndrome had been a common disease of children and juveniles in Wenzhou area. The disease was correlated with age and sex, often misdiagnosed and misclassified. Physicians and as well as general publics should be trained to identify the cases.