Search

With over 290 million rural labourers transitioning to urban areas in 2019, China is experiencing an unparalleled scale of internal migration, the largest in human history. Employing instrumental variables (IVs) gleaned from the 2006 China Agricultural Census (CAC), we find that a 10 percentage point increase in the migration rate among co‐villagers amplifies an individual's probability of migrating by 7.13 percentage points. Influencing factors such as information dissemination at the origin and cost efficiencies at the destination likely contribute to the observed clustering of migration by age, destination and industrial sector. Intriguingly, migration seems to exert a negligible influence on the agricultural productivity of those who remain, which may be due to substantial labour redundancy at the point of origin and potentially higher productivity among migrants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As an important irritant trace gas in the atmosphere, ammonia (NH3) significantly impacts human health and environment. Bottom-up emission inventories are widely used to estimate ammonia emissions and their geographical distributions over China. However, high uncertainties are still associated with emission inventories due to inaccurate emission factors used. The Differential Evolution (DE) algorithm is a population-based stochastic optimization algorithm used to solve complicated optimization problems. We quantify NH3 emissions and lifetime from Infrared Atmospheric Sounding Interferometer (IASI) NH3 observations together with MERRA-2 wind fields based on the DE algorithm. Two inland cities, Urumchi and Golmud in China, are chosen to study of the NH3 emissions based on the distributions of NH3 total columns and wind fields. The NH3 emissions rate estimated is about 5.84 × 10−11 and 4.19 × 10−11 kg·m−2s−1 in Urumchi and in the Golmud area from May to September from 2008 to 2023, respectively. The lifetime of NH3 estimated in the two areas is 4.31 and 9.19 h, respectively. We compare the NH3 emissions and lifetime estimated in this study with the values in other studies, and the results show the reliability of the method used. This work is one of few quantitative studies of NH3 emissions from cities using satellite observations in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mobility restriction measures were the main tools to control the spread of COVID-19, but the extent to which the mobility has decreased remained unsure. We investigated the change in local population mobility and its correlation with COVID-19 infections, using 1185 billion aggregated mobile phone data records in nine main cities in China from 10 January to 24 February 2020. The mobility fell by as much as 79.57% compared to the normal days in 2020 and by 58.13% compared to the same lunar period in 2019. The daily incidence of COVID-19 was significantly correlated with local daily mobility (R2 = 0.77, P < 0.001). The instantaneous reproduction number R(t) declined by 3% when mobility was reduced by 10% in the GLM analysis (P < 0.05). Our study indicated that the decreased mobility level, driven by a mixture effect of holiday and public health interventions, could substantially reduce the transmission of COVID-19 to a low level. Our study could provide evidence of mobility restriction to control local transmission for other places facing COVID-19 outbreaks or potential next waves. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Professional Geographer is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The opposed wall-fired boiler has been widely employed in power plants in China due to its adaptability. However, the airflow in the same layer burners from the large air box is uneven, affecting the combustion characteristics of pulverized coal and causing the corrosion and slagging of the water-cooled wall. In this study, the numerical simulation is performed on a 600 MW wall-fired boiler to investigate the air distribution and flow characteristics of each burner and the secondary air duct under variable boiler loads (100%, 75%, 50%, and 30%), which would provide the basis for optimization of the secondary air box. The effectiveness of the modified burner, over-fire air (OFA) nozzle, and secondary air duct is demonstrated through the numerical simulation. The results indicate that the burner and OFA nozzle exhibit distinct flow deviation characteristics within the original air box. Specifically, the burner demonstrates a flow deviation ranging from 2% to 4%, whereas the OFA nozzle exhibits a flow deviation ranging from 10% to 35%. Integrating poly air rings into the burners and OFA nozzles on the sidewall separately addresses the issue of non-uniform flow distribution of the OFA nozzle while concurrently improving the air flow rate on both sides of the burners and OFA nozzles. The main air duct could be divided into three smaller air ducts by installing two deflectors at the corner of the secondary air duct. This scheme effectively decreases the pressure drops at the corner interface from 337.4 to 254.3 Pa. The findings of this study could have the potential to offer scientific insights into and recommendations for the optimal functioning of the boiler system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A clearer understanding of the stability of water use efficiency (WUE) and its driving factors contributes to improving water use efficiency and strengthening water resource management. However, the stability of WUE is unclear. Based on the EEMD method, this study analyses the spatial variations and mechanisms for the stability of WUE in China, especially in the National Forest Protection Project (NFPP) areas. It is found that the stable WUE was dominated by non-significant trends and increasing trends in China, accounting for 33.59% and 34.19%, respectively. The non-significant trend of stable WUE was mainly located in the Three-North shelterbelt program area, and the increasing trend of stable WUE was in Huaihe and Taihu, Taihang Mountains, and Pearl River shelterbelt program areas. Precipitation and soil moisture promoted the stable WUE in these project areas. The unstable WUE was dominated by positive reversals or negative reversals of WUE trends. The positive reversals of unstable WUE were mainly located in the Yellow River shelterbelt program areas, which was promoted by temperature and radiation, while the negative reversals of unstable WUE were mainly distributed in the Yangtze River and Liaohe shelterbelt program areas, which were mainly induced by saturation water vapor pressure difference (VPD). Our results highlight that some ecological restoration programs need to be improved to cope with the negative climate impact on the stability of WUE. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using organic fertilizer and maize straw as friendly amendment measures is effective for altering soil nitrogen (N) cycling in farmlands. However, the synthetical effects of organic fertilizer combined with straw returning on soil quality remain unknown, especially in response to soil nitrification and denitrification microorganisms. We set up an experiment in brunisolic soil from Northeast China, mainly including four treatments: CK (no addition without traditional chemical fertilizer), O (organic fertilizer application), S (straw returning), and OS (organic fertilizer combined with straw returning). The soil nitrification and denitrification microorganisms were further investigated using high-throughput sequencing. Our results show that, compared to CK, the soil water content, field capacity, macroaggregates with a diameter > 0.25 mm, mean weight diameter, total carbon, total nitrogen, ammonium, nitrate, microbial biomass carbon, and microbial biomass nitrogen were significantly improved, and penetration resistance was reduced in a 0–20 cm soil layer under O, S, and OS treatments. Moreover, OS treatment effectively increased the available potassium and available phosphorus content and decreased the three-phase R-value. The application of organic fertilizer and straw effectively optimized the soil structure, especially the OS treatment. Compared to CK, O, S, and OS treatments had a higher abundance of ammonia-oxidizing archaea (AOA) and further enhanced the alpha diversity and lower abundance of ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) and nirK-, nirS-, and nosZ-type denitrifying microbes. AOA and nirK were the key drivers of the ammonia oxidation process and nitrite reduction process, respectively. Meanwhile, the application of organic fertilizer and straw regulated the relative abundance of Nitrososphaeria (AOA), Gammaproteobacteria (nirK and nirS), Alphaproteobacteria (nirK), and Betaproteobacteria (nirS) in the soil. Organic fertilizer and straw returning regulated the soil structure by enhancing the abundance of Alphaproteobacteria, Betaproteobacteria, and Gammaproteobacteria in the nitrifying and denitrifying microorganism communities. Taken together, OS treatment was a suitable straw-returning practice for optimizing the nutrient balance of the farmland ecosystem in Northeast China. However, this study did not determine how to reduce traditional nitrogen fertilizer applications under organic fertilizer application and straw returning; therefore, we aim to carry out related research in future works. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Maize is the staple food of China, produced on 33.6% of the total arable land. In this context, an effective strategy to enhance maize yield is essential to meet the demand without expanding the cultivation areas. Maize yield can be increased by two key measures: plant-row space optimization and nutrient management. However, in traditional maize cultivation practices, fertilizer utilization by plants is inefficient. We therefore performed a manipulative experiment over two years (2018–2019), applying four treatments: (I) linear planting with nitrogen fertilization at 10 cm depth (CK), (II) linear planting with nitrogen fertilization at 20 cm depth (LD20), (III) zigzag planting with nitrogen fertilization at 10 cm depth (ZD10), and (IV) zigzag planting with nitrogen fertilization at 20 cm depth (ZD20). The aim of this study was to examine the influence of deep nitrogen fertilization and zigzag planting alone and in combination with root distribution, soil properties, canopy structures, and maize yield. Our results showed that all improved maize cultivating strategies (LD20, ZD10, and ZD20) increased the root length density up to 10–30 cm depth of soil layers compared to CK. Similarly, deep nitrogen fertilization increased the photosynthesis rate and leaf area duration after the silking stage. The leaf orientation value of the middle and upper canopies increased in zigzag planting compared to linear planting. It also increased the dry matter accumulation of medium leaves, leaf area duration, and dry matter accumulation after the silking stage. The maize yield was highly increased in ZD20 followed by ZD10, LD20, and the least by CK (traditional cultivating practices) in both years. Our study suggests that zigzag planting provides a higher yield than linear planting. Additionally, deep nitrogen fertilization in zigzag planting significantly increases the population resource utilization rate and yield by optimizing the root–canopy structures. Row spacing and nitrogen fertilization were found to be essential to enhance crop yield by influencing root growth and canopy efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: A programmed death 1 (PD-1) inhibitor coupled with radiotherapy and antiangiogenic therapy is a potential therapeutic strategy for advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). We aimed to determine if circulating tumor cells (CTCs) positive for programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) could be employed as a predictive biomarker in HCC patients receiving triple therapy. Methods: In this study, HCC patients received a PD-1 inhibitor in combination with intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) and antiangiogenic therapy. Following IMRT, the PD-1 inhibitor was administrated once every 3 weeks, while the antiangiogenic drug was given once a day. Treatment was continued until the disease progressed. Two mL of peripheral blood was collected at baseline, 1 month, and 3 months after treatment for CTC enrichment using the CytoSorter®system system with a CytoSorter™ CTC PD-L1 Kit (Watson Biotech., China). Result: A total of 47 HCC patients receiving the triple therapy were enrolled in this study. Patients with < 2 PD-L1+ CTCs at baseline had a higher objective response rate (ORR) and longer overall survival (OS) than those with = 2 PD-L1+ CTCs (56.5% vs. 16.7%, p = 0.007; not reach vs. 10.8 months, p = 0.001, respectively). The count of PD-L1+ CTCs was found to be an independent predictive biomarker of OS. Furthermore, the objective response was more likely to be achieved in patients with a dynamic decrease in PD-L1+ CTC counts at 1 month after treatment. Conclusions: Our study demonstrated that PD-L1+ CTCs could be a predictive biomarker for HCC patients receiving PD-1 inhibitors in combination with IMRT and antiangiogenic therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The stump and coarse root biomass remaining after tree harvesting are often overlooked by researchers, which may lead to underestimation of their role in carbon cycling, so we constructed two sets of additive models for larch (Larix olgensis Henry) plantations in Northeast China. Due to the absence of tree diameter at breast height data after harvesting, only the sole predictor variable stump disc diameter could be used to predict stump and coarse root biomass, and the results showed that stump disc diameter predicted stump biomass with higher accuracy than coarse root biomass predictions. In addition, to investigate the effect of the site class of complex stands on the predictive capability of the model, the generic model in this study was employed with all site class data and a specific model was developed and employed with all the site class data. We found that the generic model had different degrees of error compared to the predicted results for each site class, overestimating the total biomass by 15% and underestimating it by 10%, especially for site class IV. In conclusion, to obtain a biomass prediction model with reliable results, the impact of more complex site class effects should be considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The treatment of brain tumors, especially the malignant brain tumors, has entered in the bottleneck period at present. It is difficult for traditional molecular biology, cell and animal experiments to make a major breakthrough in the treatment of brain tumors, so researchers have turned their attention to the anatomy and pathology of human whole brain tissue. However, the human whole brain tissue which is available for research is extremely deficient. It is of great significance to encourage brain tumors patients to donate organs and establish a standard human brain tissue resource bank of brain tumors (shortened to brain bank) for the research of brain science and providing new treatment ideas for brain tumors, while the construction of brain bank in China started late, with a relatively small scale and relatively slow development. This paper intends to provide guidance for the construction and improvement of brain bank and specific brain tumors related brain bank in China by drawing on the relevant experience of the construction of brain bank in other countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Fuzheng Kang'ai decoction (FZKA) has been widely used to treat Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC) patients in China for decades, showing definitively curative effects in clinic. Recently, we found that FZKA could induce NSCLC cell ferroptosis, another type of programmed cell death (PCD), which is totally different from cell apoptosis. Therefore, in the present study, we aim to discover the exact mechanism by which FZKA induces NSCLC cell ferroptosis, which is rarely studied in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). Methods: Cell proliferation assay were performed to detect the cell viability. Cell ferroptosis triggered by FZKA was observed by performing lipid peroxidation assay, Fe2+ Ions assay, and mitochondrial ultrastructure by transmission electron microscopy. Ferroptosis inhibitors including liproxstatin-1 and UAMC 3203 were used to block ferroptosis. The ratio of GSH/GSSG was done to measure the alteration of oxidative stress. Western blot and qRT-PCR were carried out to detect the expression of solute carrier family 7 member 11 (SLC7A11), solute carrier family 3 member 2 (SLC3A2) and glutathione peroxidase 4 (GPX4) at protein and mRNA levels, respectively. Lentivirus transfection was performed to overexpress GPX4 stably. Animal model was done to verify the effect of FZKA-induced ferroptosis in NSCLC in vivo and immunohistochemistry was done to detect the expression of SLC7A11, SLC3A2 and GPX4 at protein level. Results: First of all, in vitro experiments confirmed the inhibition effect of FZKA on NSCLC cell growth. We then, for the first time, found that FZKA induced NSCLC cell ferroptosis by increasing lipid peroxidation and cellular Fe2+ Ions. Moreover, characteristic morphological changes of NSCLC cell ferroptosis was observed under transmission electron microscopy. Mechanistically, GPX4, as a key inhibitor of lipid peroxidation, was greatly suppressed by FZKA treatment both at protein and mRNA levels. Furthermore, system xc− (SLC7A11 and SLC3A2) were found to be suppressed and a decreased GSH/GSSG ratio was observed at the same time when treated with FZKA. Notably, overexpressing GPX4 reversed the effect of FZKA-induced NSCLC cell ferroptosis significantly. Finally, the above effect was validated using animal model in vivo. Conclusion: Our findings conclude that GPX4 plays a crucial role in FZKA-induced NSCLC cell ferroptosis, providing a novel molecular mechanism by which FZKA treats NSCLC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Roadside noise barriers (RNBs) are important urban infrastructures to develop a liveable city. However, the absence of accurate and large-scale geospatial data on RNBs has impeded the increasing progress of rational urban planning, sustainable cities, and healthy environments. To address this problem, this study proposes a geospatial artificial intelligence framework to create a vectorized RNB dataset in China using street view imagery. To begin, intensive sampling is performed on the road network of each city based on OpenStreetMap, which is used as the geo-reference to download 5.6 million Baidu Street View (BSV) images. Furthermore, considering the prior geographic knowledge contained in street view images, convolutional neural networks incorporating image context information (IC-CNNs) based on an ensemble learning strategy are developed to detect RNBs from the BSV images. Subsequently, the RNB dataset presented by polylines is generated based on the identified RNB locations, with a total length of 2,227 km in 215 cities. At last, the quality of the RNB dataset is evaluated from two perspectives: first, the detection accuracy; second, the completeness and positional accuracy. Specifically, based on a set of randomly selected samples containing 10,000 BSV images, four quantitative metrics are calculated, with an overall accuracy of 98.61 %, recall of 87.14 %, precision of 76.44 %, and F1-score of 81.44 %. 30 Moreover, a total length of 254 km of roads in different cities are manually surveyed using BSV images to evaluate the mileage deviation and overlap level between the generated and surveyed RNBs. The root-mean-squared error for mileage deviation is 0.08 km, and the intersection over union for overlay level is 88.08 % ± 2.95 %. The evaluation results suggest that the generated RNB dataset is of high quality and can be applied as an accurate and reliable dataset for a variety of large-scale urban studies. The generated vectorized RNB dataset and the labelled BSV image benchmark dataset are publicly available at https://doi.org/10.11888/Others.tpdc.271914 (Chen, 2021). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Nephrology professionals' understanding of food literacy (FL) and influencing factors is significant for nutrition management, which is key to controlling disease progress among non-dialysis patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD). However, few studies have explored FL in CKD patients. Hence, this study aimed to investigate the level of FL of non-dialysis patients with CKD and to analyze influencing factors in China. Patients and Methods: A total of 203 CKD patients without dialysis were recruited from August to December 2020 to participate in a cross-sectional study. Food literacy was assessed by a modified short food literacy questionnaire for adults. Related influencing factors were measured by the motivation for dietary self-control scale and the satisfaction with dietary behavior scale. Data were also collected regarding patients' health information-seeking behavior (four items), satisfaction and compliance with dietary advice from healthcare professionals (two items), and demographics and clinical diagnoses. Results: The mean age of patients was 44.5 years (range 18 to 75), and 42.5% were male. Most (50.2%) were in stages 1– 2 of CKD. The mean FL score of these patients was 38.75± 0.38. The multivariable linear regression analysis shows that secondary educational level (β=0.221, p=0.004), motivation for controlling diet (β=0.198, p=0.003), satisfaction with dietary behaviors (β=0.319, p< 0.001), and health information-seeking behavior (β=0.146, p=0.019) were significant influencing factors. Conclusion: Food literacy of Chinese CKD patients without dialysis should be improved. Patients with higher education levels exhibit more active information-seeking behaviors, have greater satisfaction with dietary behaviors, and their motivation for dietary self-control is more likely to be associated with better FL. Healthcare workers should be aware of factors influencing FL and attempt to integrate assessment of FL into routine food-related education for CKD patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: DNA damage response (DDR) genes have low mutation rates, which may restrict their clinical applications in predicting the outcomes of immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) treatment. Thus, a systemic analysis of multiple DDR genes is needed to identify potential biomarkers of ICI efficacy. Methods: A total of 39,631 patients with mutation data were selected from the cBioPortal database. A total of 155 patients with mutation data were obtained from the Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center (FUSCC). A total of 1,660 patients from the MSK-IMPACT cohort who underwent ICI treatment were selected for survival analysis. A total of 249 patients who underwent ICI treatment from the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (DFCI) cohort were obtained from a published dataset. The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) level 3 RNA-Seq version 2 RSEM data for gastric cancer were downloaded from cBioPortal. Results: Six MMR and 30 DDR genes were included in this study. Six MMR and 20 DDR gene mutations were found to predict the therapeutic efficacy of ICI, and most of them predicted the therapeutic efficacy of ICI, in a manner dependent on TMB, except for 4 combined DDR gene mutations, which were associated with the therapeutic efficacy of ICI independently of the TMB. Single MMR/ DDR genes showed low mutation rates; however, the mutation rate of all the MMR/DDR genes associated with the therapeutic efficacy of ICI was relatively high, reaching 10%-30% in several cancer types. Conclusions: Coanalysis of multiple MMR/DDR mutations aids in selecting patients who are potential candidates for immunotherapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We preform a first-principles study of performance of 5 nm double-gated (DG) Schottky-barrier field effect transistors (SBFETs) based on two-dimensional SiC with monolayer or bilayer metallic 1T-phase MoS2 contacts. Because of the wide bandgap of SiC, the corresponding DG SBFETs can weaken the short channel effect. The calculated transfer characteristics also meet the standard of the high performance transistor summarized by international technology road-map for semiconductors. Moreover, the bilayer metallic 1T-phase MoS2 contacts in three stacking structures all can further raise the ON-state currents of DG SiC SBFETs in varying degrees. The above results are helpful and instructive for design of short channel transistors in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Long-term development of resource utilization has caused a series of economic, social, and ecological problems in resource-based cities (RBCs). Thus, in pursuit of sustainable urban development, many RBCs have begun seriously pursuing urban transformation and have achieved good results. However, the RBCs' urban resilience also exhibits evident stage characteristics throughout the processes of urban transformation. Herein, we constructed an evaluation index system to measure the urban resilience of Panzhihua, China and analyzed the resilience time-varying characteristics and influencing factors from 2000 to 2016. The results show that: (1) after undergoing urban transformation, changes in Panzhihua's resilience can be divided into three stages consisting of a slow rising period (2000-2005), a rapidly fluctuating rising period (2006-2010), and a stable development period (2011-2016). (2) Among the four divisions of urban resilience, the largest changes were found in the infrastructure and environment, and economic and social categories; only relatively small changes were observed in health and well-being, and government management capabilities. Nevertheless, all showed an upward trend. (3) Among the 12 indicators, transportation and communication, social security, education development, and comprehensive development ability were found to be closely linked to urban resilience. (4) Under the influence of urban transformation, RBCs' resilience greatly fluctuates, likely in response to actively transitioning the urban system from its previous state to its current state. Our study demonstrates that there is a high degree of correlation between the RBCs' life cycles and adaptation cycles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Saline‐alkali soils are widely distributed in China, affecting plant growth and sustainable development of ecosystems. Few studies have been done on the improvement of saline‐alkali soils by planting Melia azedarach in phytoremediation. This study characterized the effects of planting M. azedarach on chemical properties and microbial communities in saline‐alkali soils [bare (CK), bulk (BS), and rhizosphere soil (RS)]. Compared with the bare soil, planting M. azedarach lowered salt content and concentrations of extractable Na+, K+, Ca2+, Mg2+, and Cl−, but significantly increased organic matter, total nitrogen, total phosphorus, available phosphorus, soil urease activity, and alkaline phosphatase activity in the rhizosphere soil. High‐throughput sequencing results indicated that M. azedarach increased the Chao1 index and Shannon index of soil microbial communities. The three dominant bacterial phyla were Proteobacteria, Actinobacteria and Bacteroidetes, and the three dominant fungal phyla were Ascomycota, Basidiomycota, and Glomeromycota. Redundancy analysis indicated that total phosphorus concentration and alkaline phosphatase activity significantly influenced bacterial diversity, whereas soil Ca2+ and Mg2+ concentrations were closely related to the fungal community diversity. In conclusion, planting Melia azedarach improved soil properties, increased the diversity and richness of soil microbial communities, and thus ameliorated the saline‐alkali soil. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Accurate warning is realized in this study in order to improve the reliability of the construction risk analysis model of shield machine (tunnel boring machine, TBM) in a long inclined shaft of coal mine. First, the risk factors of TBM construction of a long inclined shaft in coal mine were identified, the index system of secondary risk assessment was established, and the classification standard of risk grade was determined. Then, on the basis of introducing two trapezoidal vague number algorithms, the trapezoidal vague number BM operator and the weighted arithmetic average operator were proposed, respectively, and several conclusions were obtained. The weight vector of the risk index was determined by the deviation maximization method, after which the VlseKriterijumska Optimizacija I Kompromisno Resenje (VIKOR) model based on the trapezoidal Vague number was established. Finally, the TBM construction risks of the long inclined shaft (No. 2 test well) in the Taigmiao mining area of Shenhua Group of China was evaluated, and the trends were forecasted by using this model. Results show that: (1) The risk method proposed in this study can effectively depict and deal with uncertain monitoring information. (2) Compared with the results of the scoring method and the utility value method, the rankings of the optimal and the worst risk grades are maintained, and the ranking results obtained by the scoring method and the VIKOR method are also the same. (3) The calculated monitoring results are consistent with the actual safety conditions of the coal mine construction. Conclusions indicate that the model and method are effective and practical in coal mine risk assessment, which can provide a new way for the analysis and prediction of TBM construction risks in a long inclined shaft. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Human adenovirus infection is a common cause of upper and lower respiratory illness and easily breaks out in schools and the army. In an adenovirus epidemic, a large number of samples would be collected for laboratory diagnosis, and it is urgent to optimize the current sampling strategy. We researched the application of laboratory detection in the adenovirus epidemic and optimized the range of laboratory pathogen detection in the adenovirus epidemic by summarizing previous theoretical achievements, research reports, and experts' opinions and by using mathematical model tools. Under certain assumptions, a susceptible-infectious-quarantined-recovered (SIQR) model was established to describe the adenovirus epidemic and optimize the range of laboratory pathogen detection. Some standards and implementation rules suggest that when the number of cases is less than 10 or 20, all patients should be sampled for laboratory examination, and when the number of cases is more than 10 or 20, at least 10 or 20 samples should be collected. In practice, the sampling range can be appropriately expanded. A total of 21 studies were analyzed, and the sampling rate of adenovirus infection was 31% (95%CI: 24%~38%). The mathematical model suggested that the screening of asymptomatic people in the latent stage can slow the spreading of the epidemic, but the detection range will be too large. These findings may be helpful for policymaking during an adenovirus epidemic and to avoid proceeding with laboratory testing blindly. Furthermore, it may also provide some guidance for optimizing the sampling strategy of other diseases, especially for respiratory tract infections. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and objective IIIa-N2 non-small cell lung cancer was significant different in survival, although N stage of lung cancer based on anatomic location of metastasis lymph node. Lymph node ratio considered of prognostic factor might be the evaluation index for IIIa-N2 non-small cell lung cancer prognosis. Therefore, the aim of the study was to evaluate the correlation between lymph node ratio and clinicopathological features and prognosis of IIIa-N2 non-small cell lung cancer prognosis. Methods A total of 288 cases of pathological IIIa-N2 non-small cell lung cancer were enrolled who received radical resection at the Department of Thoracic Surgery II, Peking University Cancer Hospital from January 2006 to December 2016. The univariate analysis between clinicopathological variables and lymph node ratio used Pearson's chi-squared test. Cox regression was conducted to identify the independent prognosis factors for IIIa-N2 non-small cell lung cancer. Results There were 139 cases in the lower lymph node ratio group, another 149 cases in the higher lymph node ratio group. Adenocarcinoma (χ²=5.924, P=0.015), highest mediastinal lymph node metastasis (χ²=46.136, P<0.001), multiple-number N2 metastasis (χ²=59.347, P<0.001), multiple-station N2 metastasis (χ²=77.387, P<0.001) and skip N2 lymph node metastasis (χ²=61.S24, P<0.001) significantly impacted lymph node ratio. The total number of lymph node dis¬section was not correlated with the lymph node ratio (χ²=0.537, P=0.464). Cox regression analysis confirmed that adeno-carcinoma (P=0.008), multiple-number N2 metastasis (P=0.025) and lymph node ratio (P=0.00l) were the independent prognosis factors of disease free survival. The 5-year disease free survival was 18.1% in the higher lymph node ratio group, and 44.1% in the lower. Lymph node ratio was the independent prognosis factor of overall survival (P<0.001). The 5-year overall survival was 36.7% in the higher lymph node ratio group, and 64.1% in the lower. Conclusion Lymph node ratio was correlative with the pathology, highest mediastinal lymph node metastasis, multiple-number N2 metastasis, multiple- station N2 metastasis and skip N2 lymph node metastasis. Lymph node ratio was the independent prognosis factor for IIIa-N2 non-small cell lung cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Public transit, especially urban rail systems, plays a vital role in shaping commuting patterns. Compared with census data and survey data, large-scale and real-time big data can track the impacts of urban policy implementations at finer spatial and temporal scales. Therefore, this study proposed a multi-level analytical framework using transit smartcard data to examine urban commuting dynamics in response to rail transit upgrades. The study area was Shenzhen, one of the most highly urbanized and densely populated cities in China, which provides the opportunity to examine the effects of rail transit upgrades on commuting patterns in a rapidly developing urban context. Changes in commuting patterns were examined at three levels: city, region, and individual. At the city level, we considered the average commuting time, commuting speed, and commuting distance across the whole city. At the region level, we analyzed changes in the job accessibility of residential zones. Finally, this study evaluated the potential effects of rail transit upgrades on the jobs-housing relationship at the individual level. Difference-in-difference models were used for causal inference between rail transit upgrades and commuting patterns. In the very short term, the opening of new rail transit lines resulted in no significant changes in overall commuting patterns across the whole city; however, two effects of rail transit upgrades on commuting patterns were identified. First, rail transit upgrades enhanced regional connectivity between residential zones and employment centers, thus improving job accessibility. Second, rail transit improvement increased the commuting distances of individuals and contributed to the separation of workplaces and residences. This study provides meaningful insights into the effects of rail transit upgrades on commuting patterns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Autoimmune diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis, systematic lupus erythematosus and Sjögren's syndrome, are a group of diseases characterized by the activation of immune cells and excessive production of autoantibodies. Although the pathogenesis of these diseases is still not completely understood, studies have shown that multiple factors including genetics, environment and immune responses play important roles in the development and progression of the diseases. In China, there are great achievements in the mechanisms of autoimmune diseases during the last decades. These studies provide new insight to understand the diseases and also shed light on the development of novel therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Murina shuipuensis, a small-sized forest bat with distinct bright orange-yellow ventral fur, is only found from its type locality thus far. In this study, a complete mitochondrial genome of a male individual of M. shuipuensis from Shuifu Village, Libo, Guizhou China (type locality) was sequenced using Illumina Hiseq. Total length of its genome is 16,585 bp, including two rRNA genes, 22 tRNA genes, 13 protein-coding genes, and a control region. The general arrangement of genes is similar to the other chiropteran mitochondrial genomes. The phylogenetic inference indicates M. shuipuensis and M. leucogaster have closer phylogenetic relationship than other taxa that deposited in NCBI-nt. The complete mitochondrial genome provides valuable information for further taxonomic and phylogenetic researches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, the complete mitochondrial genome of a male individual of Murina cyclotis from Guangxi province, China, was sequenced and analyzed. The genome is a circular molecule of 16,463 bp length, containing 13 protein-coding genes, 2 ribosomal RNA genes, 22 transfer RNA genes, and a control region. Most of the genes were encoded on the H-strand, except for 8 tRNA and ND6 genes. Phylogenetic trees of the complete mitochondrial genome were constructed using RAxML. Our result suggests that M. cyclotis is closely related to M. leucogaster from Korea. The complete mitochondrial genome sequence of M. cyclotis will be helpful for future taxonomic and phylogenetic studies on Murina. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective To provide a disease-specific instrument for evaluating the health-related quality life of Chinese kidney allograft recipients. Methods Cross-cultural adaptation of the Kidney Transplant Questionnaire (KTQ) was performed by forward translation of the original English version into Chinese, followed by back translation and evaluation of the Chinese version by health care professionals, language professionals, and the translators. Results A total of 297 patients (110 women and 187 men; mean age, 43.91 ± 11.38 y; average time since transplant, 40.36 ± 32.86 mo) completed the Chinese versions of the KTQ and 36-Item Short Form Health Survey, and the results were used to evaluate the validity and reliability of the Chinese KTQ. The Cronbach α values for all KTQ dimensions were satisfactory (physical symptoms, α = 0.876; fatigue, α = 0.896; uncertainty/fear, α = 0.686; appearance, α = 0.701; and emotions, α = 0.886) and similar to values reported for the English and Spanish versions. The correlation coefficients among the dimensions of the Chinese KTQ ranged from 0.26 to 0.69, and those between the KTQ and 36-Item Short Form Health Survey physical component summary and mental component summary subscales were low and moderate to high, respectively, except for the appearance dimension. A good fit of the data in the confirmatory factor analysis indicated that the individual items of the translated instrument indeed evaluated the intended concepts. Conclusion The Chinese version of the KTQ was found to be similarly valid and reliable compared with the original version and, thus, can be used to evaluate health-related quality of life among Chinese adult kidney allograft recipients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, with the vigorous development of the Chinese herbal medicine market in China, the government and various circles of society pay close attention to the safety of Chinese herbal medicine production. The cultivation and production of traditional Chinese herbal medicine already could not satisfy the current mak et demands. This paper summarized the forming, changing and the influencing factors of Chinese herbal medicines, and organized the research for the formation of traditional Chinese herbal medicines by modern scholars in China. It reached the following conclusion : the production of modern Chinese herbal medicines should ensure its unique properties, and the more important is to guarantee the quality and safety. With the continuous improvement of science and technolog innovation ability and the appraisal method of Chinese medicines, the better management system has been applied in the process of planting. This paper summarized the six attributes of modern production of Chinese herbal medicines, to ensure genuine, safe and standardized production of traditional Chinese medicines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Jellyfish envenomations are emerging as an important public health concern occurred worldwide. In China, the situation is getting worse with numerous people stung by jellyfish Nemopilema nomurai ( N . nomurai ) and Cyanea nozakii ( C . nozakii ) in the summer. However, the proteinaceous mixtures in nematocysts responsible for the symptoms of jellyfish stings were scarcely characterized and understood in view of enzymatic constituents and toxicity. In the present study, enzymatic properties of jellyfish N . nomurai and C . nozakii nematocyst venom were analyzed biochemically and kinetically. The current data revealed that N . nomurai and C . nozakii nematocyst venom exhibited various enzymatic activities, of which metalloproteinases activity and PLA 2 s-like activity were predominant. Moreover, the catalytic activities of metalloproteinases and PLA 2 s-like were dependent on different physiochemical conditions such as temperature, pH and divalent ions. Kinetic profiling revealed their catalytic behaviors fitted the Michaelis-Menten equation under specific conditions. Findings suggested jellyfish nematocyst venom possessed diverse enzymatic constituents, which may underlie the extensively characterized bioactivities of jellyfish venom and human envenomations. Hence, our study will contribute to understanding the enzymatic constituents and toxicity of jellyfish nematocyst venom and may afford potential therapeutic targets for developing drugs for jellyfish stings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The concentrations of Carbonyl in 40 urban residences in Beijing were measured in this study. The carbonyls in indoor air were collected by a DNPH-pre-treated cartridge, extracted by acetonitrile and analyzed by HPLC. A questionnaire was administrated to the residents in order to collect the information of building characteristics and human health conditions. The total concentrations of carbonyls were 136.0±77.5 μg/m 3 . Formaldehyde was the most abundant species with concentrations of 64.4±39.7 μg/m 3 , following by acetaldehyde, acetone, and hexaldehyde. The indoor source strengths of carbonyl species were estimated with One-compartment mass balance model. The indoor source strengths of formaldehyde acetaldehyde, acetone and hexaldehyde were estimated to be 11.6 mg/h, 4.41 mg/h, 1.17 mg/h, and 4.85 mg/h, respectively. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) was employed to examine the impacts of possible factors on the carbonyl concentrations. We found that sofa material, smoking and residence location had significant impacts on formaldehyde concentration, smoking and kitchen structure on acetaldehyde, quantity of plants and kitchen structure on acetone, quantity of plants and pesticide on hexaldehyde, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The major jellyfish stings that occur in China are caused by scyphozoan Nemopilema nomurai , whose venom exhibits significant metalloproteinase activity that contributes to the toxic effects of jellyfish envenomation. Researching effective inhibitors suppressing the metalloproteinase activity of jellyfish venom represents a new attempt to cure jellyfish envenomations. In the present study, secondary metabolites produced by the jellyfish-associated fungus Aspergillus versicolor SmT07 were isolated and evaluated for their anti-proteolytic activities. Two xanthones, sterigmatocystin (JC-01) and oxisterigmatocystin C (JC-06), and four alkaloids, cottoquinazoline A (JC-02), phenazine-1-carboxylic acid (JC-03), viridicatin (JC-04) and viridicatol (JC-05), were isolated and identified. Only phenazine-1-carboxylic acid (PCA) showed significant anti-proteolytic activity of jellyfish venom assayed on azocasein, and the IC 50 value was 2.16 mM. PCA also significantly inhibited fibrinogenolytic activity, protecting the Bβ chain of fibrinogen from degradation when preincubated with jellyfish venom at a ratio of >1:0.6 (PCA:venom, w / w). Molecular docking with several well-characterized snake venom metalloproteinases suggested the venom metalloproteinases inhibitory property of PCA by forming complex interactions with the active site via hydrogen bonds, π-π stacking and salt bridges, which was distinct from the binding mode of batimastat. The present study represents the first study identifying natural jellyfish venom metalloproteinase inhibitors from marine natural products, which may provide an alternative to develop therapeutic agents for treating jellyfish envenomations. • Anti-proteolytic metabolites were isolated from Aspergillus versicolor SmT07. • PCA significantly inhibited the metalloproteinase activity with IC 50 of 2.16 mM. • PCA also significantly inhibited the fibrinogenolytic activity of jellyfish venom. • PCA was able to bind to BaP1 with the docking energy of −36.94 kcal/mol. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Airborne bacteria may absorb the substance from the atmospheric particles and play a role in biogeochemical cycling. However, these studies focused on a few culturable bacteria and the samples were usually collected from one site. The metabolic potential of a majority of airborne bacteria on a regional scale and their driving factors remain unknown. In this study, we collected particulates with aerodynamic diameter ≤2.5 μm (PM 2.5) from 8 cities that represent different regions across China and analyzed the samples via high-throughput sequencing of 16S rRNA genes, quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) analysis, and functional database prediction. Based on the FAPROTAX database, 326 (80.69%), 191 (47.28%) and 45 (11.14%) bacterial genera are possible to conduct the pathways of carbon, nitrogen, and sulfur cycles, respectively. The pathway analysis indicated that airborne bacteria may lead to the decrease in organic carbon while the increase in ammonium and sulfate in PM 2.5 samples, all of which are the important components of PM 2.5. Among the 19 environmental factors studied including air pollutants, meteorological factors, and geographical conditions, PM 2.5 concentration manifested the strongest correlations with the functional genes for the transformation of ammonium and sulfate. Moreover, the PM 2.5 concentration rather than the sampling site will drive the distribution of functional genera. Thus, a bi-directional relationship between PM 2.5 and bacterial metabolism is suggested. Our findings shed light on the potential bacterial pathway for the biogeochemical cycling in the atmosphere and the important role of PM 2.5 , offering a new perspective for atmospheric ecology and pollution control. [Display omitted] • Airborne bacteria can conduct carbon, nitrogen, and sulfur cycles in Chinese cities. • The bacterial carbon cycle was conducive to the degradation of organic carbon. • Bacterial nitrogen and sulfur cycles contributed to ammonium and sulfate formation. • PM 2.5 will drive the bacterial metabolisms in carbon, nitrogen, and sulfur cycles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: High energy gas fracturing (HEGF) technique has been one of central stimulating measures to enhance oil recovery in low permeability reservoirs. But, in recently few years, some serious CO poisoning accidents took place in oilfields here in China. It is very important to reveal the dynamic mechanisms of carbon monoxide flow and diffusion to operating safety during high energy gas fracturing. In this paper, some dynamic mechanisms of carbon monoxide CO flowing inside a oil wellbore and diffusion on the top of the well during high energy gas fracturing were studied with fluid/gas hydrodynamics. The CO flow model within a wellbore and the diffusion model in air were established. The key factors affecting CO flow and diffusion such as wellbore pressure, gas–oil ratio, wind speed, leakage speed, air-permanence were inspected with mathematical simulation. It will be of significance to provide an important guidance for monitoring and preventing CO poisoning accidents during high energy gas fracturing. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Vitiligo is a mucocutaneous pigmentary disorder with worldwide distribution. Little is known about the clinical profile of vitiligo in North-eastern China. Accordingly, we reviewed 692 vitiligo out-patients from seven government hospitals in North-eastern China via a questionnaire in a multi-centre study conducted between June 2007 and June 2008, and hence characterized the epidemiology of vitiligo in North-eastern China. The mean ± standard deviation age of onset was 23.69±13.83 years (range < 1-77 years). No gender preponderance was seen. The back was the most common site of involvement (39.6%). Vitiligo vulgaris was the predominant form (53.5%). Mucosal lesions were associated with lesions on the feet (odds ratio (OR)=3.177, p<0.001), hands (OR=2.228, p<0.01), face (OR=2.028, p<0.05) and neck (OR=0.454, p<0.05); but were not associated with chest, abdomen, waist, arms, legs or scalp lesions. Mucosal vitiligo is probably a special form of acrofacial vitiligo. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Virulence analysis and restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) were used to evaluated the population structure of Xanthomonas oryzae pv . oryzae ( Xoo) from the main rice-growing region in China. The pathotype of Xoo was determined for 103 strains by inoculating 13 near-isogenic rice lines using IR24 as the recurrent parent. Sixty-one pathotypes was shared by these strains, on the basis of the consensus of three clustering statistics, and four clusters for pathotype were formed. Cluster 2 consists of strains with high molecular polymorphorism and many pathotypes that are either virulent to a majority of the 13 major resistance ( R) genes or avirulent only to Xa21, and is geographically dispersed. The resistance gene Xa21 has broader resistance than others to the strains tested. A probe from a member of the avrBs3/pthA type III effector family, 1376 bp SphI-digested fragment, was used to screen the genomes of 52 strains tested. Four common bands were found in the DNA fingerprint pattern of Xoo, suggesting basic patterns of evolutionary relationship for members of avrBs3/pthA family and/or the pathogen. Each distinct RFLP banding pattern of each strain was considered as a haplotype; 42 haplotypes were revealed by the probe and divided into four lineages by the same statistics method. It was observed that some isolates with different pathotypes shared the same haplotype and others with different haplotypes harboured identical pathotype. There was a weak correlation between virulent pathotypes and molecular haplotypes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Scyphozoan envenomation is featured as severe cutaneous damages due to the toxic effects of venom components released by the stinging nematocysts of a scyphozoan. However, the oedematogenic property and mechanism of scyphozoan venoms remain uninvestigated. Here, we present the oedematogenic properties of the nematocyst venom from Nemopilema nomurai (NnNV), a giant stinging scyphozoan in China, for the first time, using in vivo and in vitro models with class-specific inhibitors. NnNV was able to induce remarkable oedematogenic effects, including induction of significant oedema in the footpad and thigh of mouse, and increase in vascular permeability in the dorsal skin and kidney. Moreover, batimastat, a specific metalloproteinase inhibitor, could significantly reduce the Evan's blue leakage in the damaged organs and attenuate paw oedema after 12 h, but exerted no influence on NnNV-induced thigh oedema. These observations suggested a considerable contribution of NnNV metalloproteinase-like components to the increased vasopermeability, and the participation was strongly suggested to be mediated by destroying the integrity of the vascular basement membrane. Moreover, partial isolation combined LC-MS/MS profiling led to identification of the protein species Nn65 with remarkable metalloproteinase activity. This study contributes to the understanding of the effector components underlying the cutaneous damages induced by scyphozoan stings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

More and more urban residents in China have suffered from food insecurity and failed to meet the national recommendation of daily fruit and vegetable consumption due to rapid urbanization in recent years. Introducing edible landscapes to urban greening systems represents an opportunity for improving urban food supply and security. However, residents' opinion on urban edible landscapes has rarely been discussed. In this study, questionnaire surveys were performed in eight sample communities in Wuhan, China, to collect the information on residents' attention and awareness of urban edible landscapes. Results indicated that nearly one-third of the respondents were unaware of edible landscapes before the interview. Most residents thought that an edible landscape could promote efficient land use (57.26%) and express special ornamental effects (54.64%), but quite a few didn't believe that growing edible plants in urban public spaces could increase food output (37.10%) and improve food quality (40.12%). Overall, 45.65% and 32.73% of the growers performed their cultivation behavior in private and semiprivate spaces, respectively. Lack of public areas for agriculture use was regarded as the main barrier restricting the development of urban horticulture by 55.86% of growers and 59.51% of non-growers. The residents were also worried about their property manager's opposition, possible conflicts, and complex relationships with their neighbors. Food policies and infrastructure support from local governments and official institutions were needed to ensure the successful implementation of edible landscapes in urban areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Metalloproteinases of Nemopilema nomurai nematocyst venom (NnNV) may be the main dermal toxicity effector molecules. • Batimastat and EDTA disodium salt can effectively inhibit the inflammatory effect of NnNV. • Batimastat and EDTA disodium salt are expected to be effective medicines for jellyfish dermatitis. Jellyfish dermatitis is a common medical problem in many countries due to the jellyfish envenomation. However, there are no specific and targeted medications for their treatment. Here we investigated the possible therapeutic effects of metalloproteinase inhibitors on the dermal toxicity of Nemopilema nomurai nematocyst venom (NnNV), a giant venomous jellyfish from China, using the jellyfish dermatitis model, focusing on inflammatory effector molecules during jellyfish envenomation. Metalloproteinase may further stimulate inflammation by promoting oxidative stress in the organism and play key roles by activating MAPK and NF-κB, in the pathogenesis of jellyfish dermatitis. And the metalloproteinase inhibitors batimastat and EDTA disodium salt may treat the Jellyfish dermatitis by inhibiting the metalloproteinase activity in NnNV. These observations suggest that the metalloproteinase components of NnNV make a considerable contribution to dermal toxicity as the inflammation effect molecular, and metalloproteinase inhibitors can be regarded as novel therapeutic medicines in jellyfish envenomation. This study contributes to understanding the mechanism of jellyfish dermatitis and suggests new targets and ideas for the treatment of jellyfish envenomation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Jellyfish envenomation is a common medical problem in many countries. However, the myotoxicity and effector molecules of scyphozoan venoms remain uninvestigated. Here, we present the myotoxicity of nematocyst venom from Nemopilema nomurai (NnNV), a giant venomous scyphozoan from China, for the first time, using in vivo models with inhibitors. NnNV was able to induce remarkable myotoxicity including significant muscle swelling, increasing the content of CK and LDH in serum, stimulating inflammation of muscle tissue, and destroying the structure of muscle tissue. In addition, the metalloproteinase inhibitors BMT and EDTA significantly reduced the myotoxicity induced by NnNV. Moreover, BMT and EDTA could decrease the inflammatory stimulation and necrosis of muscle tissue caused by the venom. These observations suggest that the metalloproteinase components of NnNV make a considerable contribution to myotoxicity. This study contributes to understanding the effector molecules of muscle injury caused by jellyfish stings and suggests a new idea for the treatment of scyphozoan envenomation. [Display omitted] • Jellyfish Nemopilema nomurai nematocyst venom (NnNV) processes myotoxicity. • NnNV caused the swelling, inflammation and necrosis of muscle tissue. • Batimastat and EDTA can effectively inhibit muscle tissue injury caused by NnNV. • NnNV metalloproteinases may be the main myotoxic molecules. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gluconacetobacter strains are prominent bacteria during traditional vinegar fermentation. Here, we report a draft genome sequence of Gluconacetobacter sp. strain SXCC-1. This strain was isolated from a fermentation starter (Daqu) used for commercial production of Shanxi vinegar, the best-known vinegar of China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ensuring equitable access to health services is crucial for public welfare and social equity, and is a key objective of the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). However, existing datasets often define hospital accessibility using travel time to hospitals in geographic dimension only, without considering the supply (hospital capacity) and demand (population distribution) dynamics. To overcome this limitation, we developed and validated a national-scale 1 km map of both hospital travel time and hospital accessibility in China. We used the Gaussian two-step floating catchment area (Ga2SFCA) model to calculate hospital accessibility, incorporating hospital capacity and service population. Various file types and statistical indicators are provided, making the dataset highly accessible for non-specialists. The dataset fills the gap in publicly available nationwide hospital accessibility data for China and can serve as a critical tool in optimizing resource allocation and developing targeted strategies to improve healthcare equity., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Background: Existing data on maternal dietary patterns and birth weight remains limited and inconsistent, especially in non-Western populations. We aimed to examine the relationship between maternal dietary patterns and birth weight among a cohort of Chinese., Methods: In this study, 4,184 mother-child pairs were included from the Iodine Status in Pregnancy and Offspring Health Cohort. Maternal diet during pregnancy was evaluated using a self-administered food frequency questionnaire with 69 food items. Principal component analysis was used to identify dietary patterns. Information on birth weight and gestational age was obtained through medical records. Adverse outcomes of birth weight were defined according to standard clinical cutoffs, including low birth weight, macrosomia, small for gestational age, and large for gestational age., Results: Three maternal dietary patterns were identified: plant-based, animal-based, and processed food and beverage dietary patterns, which explained 23.7% variance in the diet. In the multivariate-adjusted model, women with higher adherence to the plant-based dietary patten had a significantly higher risk of macrosomia (middle tertile vs. low tertile: odds ratio (OR) 1.45, 95% CI 1.00-2.10; high tertile vs. low tertile: OR 1.55, 95% CI 1.03-2.34; P-trend = 0.039). For individual food groups, potato intake showed positive association with macrosomia (high tertile vs. low tertile: OR 1.72, 95% CI 1.20-2.47; P-trend = 0.002). Excluding potatoes from the plant-based dietary pattern attenuated its association with macrosomia risk. No significant associations was observed for the animal-based or processed food and beverage dietary pattern with birth weight outcomes., Conclusions: Adherence to a plant-based diet high in carbohydrate intake was associated with higher macrosomia risk among Chinese women. Future studies are required to replicate these findings and explore the potential mechanisms involved., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Aesthetic education, conveyed through public art courses, serves as a vital form of humanistic literacy education. It represents an effective approach to fostering innovative and creative thinking among college students. In order to effectively analyze the aesthetic education work of 46 universities, an aesthetic education index evaluation system is constructed, involving indicators including faculty strength, curriculum setting, teaching management, artistic practice, and teaching support. The secondary indicators corresponding to the five indicators are statistically analyzed, and a comprehensive evaluation analysis of the current development status of aesthetic education in 46 universities in Anhui Province is conducted by combining theoretical analysis with empirical analysis. Based on principal component analysis, an integrated evaluation model for the development of aesthetic education in universities in Anhui Province is further constructed. The model designed quantifies the influence weight of each aesthetic education index on the development of aesthetic education in Anhui Province, and forges a theoretical basis for determining the precursors of rapid development of aesthetic education in Anhui Province. Additionally, a novel approach is introduced to gauge the progression of aesthetic education within universities in Anhui Province, considering the dispersion of aesthetic education index data across the province. The comprehensive evaluation model for the development of aesthetic education in Anhui Province exhibits an overall declining trend. Hence, it is suggested to utilize the maximum value of the first derivative of the comprehensive evaluation model as an indicator of the imminent rapid development of aesthetic education in Anhui Province. On this basis, the probability equation of sustainable development of aesthetic education in Anhui Province is defined. Overall, the research results lay a theoretical foundation for the development of aesthetic education in Anhui Province., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: © 2024 Xu et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

Rivers are undergoing significant changes under the pressures of natural processes and human activities. However, characterizing and understanding these changes over the long term and from a spatial perspective have proven challenging. This paper presents a novel framework featuring twelve indicators that combine geometric and spatial structures for evaluating changes in river network patterns. Through global principal component analysis, these indicators were integrated into a comprehensive river network pattern index (RNP). Employing Pearson correlation analysis, geographically weighted regression, geographic detector models, and the Shapley Value, the study quantitatively analyzed various stressors' impacts and relative contributions on river network changes from the 1960s to 2015s. The results showed a clear trend of degradation over time, particularly with frequency and density declining by 57 % and 48 %, respectively. The changes across subbasins varied temporally and spatially, with the 1980s emerging as a significant temporal hotspot and six spatial hotspots identified among twenty subbasins. The analysis showed that agriculture was significantly negatively associated with RNP, while the relationship between urbanization and RNP was inverted N-shaped. To address the negative effects of human activities, a shift from uniform management approaches is crucial. In agricultural areas, adopting more intensive farming practices could help mitigate negative impacts on RNP. For highly urbanized regions, city planning should consider the interactions between urbanization and other factors affecting RNP. Overall, incorporating an understanding of RNP's spatial-temporal dynamics and driving factors into spatial planning is critical for creating effective and sustainable management strategies for human-river interactions., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The author declares that there are no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that influenced the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Artificial sweeteners (ASs) are emerging contaminants in the environment, primarily derived from wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) effluents. In this study, the influents and effluents of three WWTPs in the Dalian urban area, China, were analyzed for the distribution of 8 typical ASs to investigate their seasonal fluctuations in the WWTPs. The results showed that acesulfame (ACE), sucralose (SUC), cyclamate (CYC), and saccharin (SAC) were both detected in the influent and effluent water samples of WWTPs, with concentrations ranging from not detected (ND) to 14.02 μg·L -1 . In addition, SUC was the most abundant ASs type, accounting for 40 %-49 % and 78 %-96 % of the total ASs in the influent and effluent water, respectively. The WWTPs revealed high removal efficiencies of CYC, SAC, and ACE, while the SUC removal efficiency was poor (26 % ± 36 %). The ACE and SUC concentrations were higher in spring and summer, and all ASs showed lower levels in winter, which may be caused by the high consumption of ice-cream in warmer months. The per capita ASs loads in the WWTPs were determined in this study based on the wastewater analysis results. The calculated per capita daily mas loads for individual ASs ranged from 0.45 g·d -1 ·1000p -1 (ACE) to 2.04 g·d -1 ·1000p -1 (SUC). In addition, the relationship between per capita ASs consumption and socioeconomic status showed no significant correlation., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare no competing financial interest., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Autoimmune eye diseases (AEDs), a collection of autoimmune inflammatory ocular conditions resulting from the dysregulation of immune system at the ocular level, can target both intraocular and periorbital structures leading to severe visual deficit and blindness globally. The roles of air pollution and meteorological factors in the initiation and progression of AEDs have been increasingly attractive, among which the systemic and local mechanisms are both involved in. Exposure to excessive air pollution and extreme meteorological conditions including PM 2.5 /PM 0.1 , environmental tobacco smoke, insufficient sunshine, and high temperature, etc., can disturb Th17/Treg balance, regulate macrophage polarization, activate neutrophils, induce systemic inflammation and oxidative stress, decrease retinal blood flow, promote tissue fibrosis, activate sympathetic nervous system, adversely affect nutrients synthetization, as well as induce heat stress, therefore may together deteriorate AEDs. The crosstalk among inflammation, oxidative stress and dysregulated immune system appeared to be prominent. In the present review, we will concern and summarize the potential mechanisms underlying linkages of air pollution and meteorological factors to ocular autoimmune and inflammatory responses. Moreover, we concentrate on the specific roles of air pollutants and meteorological factors in several major AEDs including uveitis, Graves' ophthalmopathy (GO), ocular allergic disease (OAD), glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy (DR), etc., 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 © 2023 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: Mobility restriction was one of the primary measures used to restrain the spread of COVID-19 globally. Governments implemented and relaxed various mobility restriction measures in the absence of evidence for almost 3 years, which caused severe adverse outcomes in terms of health, society, and economy., Objective: This study aimed to quantify the impact of mobility reduction on COVID-19 transmission according to mobility distance, location, and demographic factors in order to identify hotspots of transmission and guide public health policies., Methods: Large volumes of anonymized aggregated mobile phone position data between January 1 and February 24, 2020, were collected for 9 megacities in the Greater Bay Area, China. A generalized linear model (GLM) was established to test the association between mobility volume (number of trips) and COVID-19 transmission. Subgroup analysis was also performed for sex, age, travel location, and travel distance. Statistical interaction terms were included in a variety of models that express different relations between involved variables., Results: The GLM analysis demonstrated a significant association between the COVID-19 growth rate ratio (GR) and mobility volume. A stratification analysis revealed a higher effect of mobility volume on the COVID-19 GR among people aged 50-59 years (GR decrease of 13.17% per 10% reduction in mobility volume; P<.001) than among other age groups (GR decreases of 7.80%, 10.43%, 7.48%, 8.01%, and 10.43% for those aged ≤18, 19-29, 30-39, 40-49, and ≥60 years, respectively; P=.02 for the interaction). The impact of mobility reduction on COVID-19 transmission was higher for transit stations and shopping areas (instantaneous reproduction number [R t ] decreases of 0.67 and 0.53 per 10% reduction in mobility volume, respectively) than for workplaces, schools, recreation areas, and other locations (R t decreases of 0.30, 0.37, 0.44, and 0.32, respectively; P=.02 for the interaction). The association between mobility volume reduction and COVID-19 transmission was lower with decreasing mobility distance as there was a significant interaction between mobility volume and mobility distance with regard to R t (P<.001 for the interaction). Specifically, the percentage decreases in R t per 10% reduction in mobility volume were 11.97% when mobility distance increased by 10% (Spring Festival), 6.74% when mobility distance remained unchanged, and 1.52% when mobility distance declined by 10%., Conclusions: The association between mobility reduction and COVID-19 transmission significantly varied according to mobility distance, location, and age. The substantially higher impact of mobility volume on COVID-19 transmission for longer travel distance, certain age groups, and specific travel locations highlights the potential to optimize the effectiveness of mobility restriction strategies. The results from our study demonstrate the power of having a mobility network using mobile phone data for surveillance that can monitor movement at a detailed level to measure the potential impacts of future pandemics., (©Jizhe Xia, Kun Yin, Yang Yue, Qingquan Li, Xiling Wang, Dongsheng Hu, Xiong Wang, Zhanwei Du, Ben J Cowling, Erzhen Chen, Ying Zhou. Originally published in JMIR Public Health and Surveillance (https://publichealth.jmir.org), 26.04.2023.)

Purpose: There is limited and inconsistent evidence about the relationships of erythrocyte polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) with stroke and stroke types, particularly in China where the stroke rates are high. We aimed to investigate the associations of different erythrocyte PUFAs with incidence of total stroke, ischemic stroke (IS), and intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) in Chinese adults., Methods: In the prospective China Kadoorie Biobank, erythrocyte PUFAs were measured using gas chromatography in 10,563 participants who attended 2013-14 resurvey. After a mean follow-up of 3.8 years, 412 incident stroke cases (342 IS, 53 ICH) were recorded among 8,159 participants without prior vascular diseases or diabetes. Cox regression yielded adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) for stroke associated with 13 PUFAs., Results: Overall, the mean body mass index was 24.0 (3.4) kg/m 2 and the mean age was 58.1 (9.9) years. In multivariable analyses, 18:2n-6 was positively associated with ICH (HR = 2.33 [95% CIs 1.41, 3.82] for top versus bottom quintile, P trend  = 0.007), but inversely associated with IS (0.69 [0.53,0.90], P trend  = 0.027), while 20:3n-6 was positively associated with risk of IS (1.64 [1.32,2.04], P trend  < 0.001), but not with ICH. Inverted-U shape curve associations were observed of 20:5n-3 with IS (P nonlinear  = 0.002) and total stroke (P nonlinear  = 0.008), with a threshold at 0.70%. After further adjustment for conventional CVD risk factors and dietary factors, these associations remained similar., Conclusion: Among relatively lean Chinese adults, erythrocyte PUFAs 18:2n-6, 20:3n-6 and 20:5n-3 showed different associations with risks of IS and ICH. These results would improve the understanding of stroke etiology., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

Airborne bacteria may absorb the substance from the atmospheric particles and play a role in biogeochemical cycling. However, these studies focused on a few culturable bacteria and the samples were usually collected from one site. The metabolic potential of a majority of airborne bacteria on a regional scale and their driving factors remain unknown. In this study, we collected particulates with aerodynamic diameter ≤2.5 μm (PM 2.5 ) from 8 cities that represent different regions across China and analyzed the samples via high-throughput sequencing of 16S rRNA genes, quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) analysis, and functional database prediction. Based on the FAPROTAX database, 326 (80.69%), 191 (47.28%) and 45 (11.14%) bacterial genera are possible to conduct the pathways of carbon, nitrogen, and sulfur cycles, respectively. The pathway analysis indicated that airborne bacteria may lead to the decrease in organic carbon while the increase in ammonium and sulfate in PM 2.5 samples, all of which are the important components of PM 2.5 . Among the 19 environmental factors studied including air pollutants, meteorological factors, and geographical conditions, PM 2.5 concentration manifested the strongest correlations with the functional genes for the transformation of ammonium and sulfate. Moreover, the PM 2.5 concentration rather than the sampling site will drive the distribution of functional genera. Thus, a bi-directional relationship between PM 2.5 and bacterial metabolism is suggested. Our findings shed light on the potential bacterial pathway for the biogeochemical cycling in the atmosphere and the important role of PM 2.5 , offering a new perspective for atmospheric ecology and pollution control., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)