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Additional file 1: Table S1. [Characteristics of the study participants between baseline and follow-up]. Table S2. [The temporal relationship between adiposity and α-diversity and β-diversity]. Table S3. [The temporal relationship between adiposity and gut microbes]. Table S4. [The correlation of identified microbes between two time points]. Table S5. [The differences in the associations of BMI with identified gut microbes between females and males]. Table S6. [The temporal relationship between WC and α-diversity and β-diversity]. Table S7. [The temporal relationship between WC and gut microbes]. Table S8. [The prospective associations between dietary factors and identified microbes]. Table S9. [Replication of the associations between baseline BMI and follow-up microbes in the HMP cohort]. Table S10. [The association between gut microbes and insulin resistance related phenotypes]. Table S11. [The prospective associations between dietary factors and insulin resistance related phenotypes]. Table S12. [The prospective association between weight group and insulin resistance related phenotypes]. Table S13. [The association between Lachnospiraceae bacterium 3 1 57FAA CT1 and PWY-5022 pathway]. Table S14. [The associations between Lachnospiraceae bacterium 3 1 57FAA CT1 and other pathways apart from PWY-5022]. Figure S1. [The associations between BMI/long-term weight change and gut microbiota]. Figure S2. [The associations between BMI/long-term weight change and α-diversity further adjusting for sequencing depths]. Figure S3. [The correlations among identified BMI-associated microbes]. Figure S4. [The correlation between the regression coefficients for females and those for males]. Figure S5. [Global comparison of 1-SD difference of BMI versus WC associated with difference (in SD unit) of all gut microbial features and ten identified gut microbes].

Chunyan Yang, Ce Wang, Zhiwei Rong, Zhenyi Xu, Kui Deng, Weiwei Zhao, Lei Cao, Yaxin Lu, Humara Adnan, Kang Li, Yan Hou Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Public Health School, Harbin Medical University, Harbin, People’s Republic of ChinaCorrespondence: Kang Li Tel +86-451-87502939 Fax +86-451-87202885Email likang@ems.hrbmu.edu.cnYan Hou Tel +86-451-87502645Fax +86-451-87202885Email 3167503367@qq.comObjective: Ascites, an accumulation of peritoneal fluid, is associated with poor prognosis of certain cancers. The potential mechanism that ascites worsens prognosis has not been well understood. Lipids have been reported to correlate with the prognosis of patients with epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC). Therefore, we aimed here to investigate whether lipids mediate the effect of ascites on the recurrence of EOC.Methods: We collected the demographic and pathological data of 437 previously untreated patients with EOC to investigate the influence of ascites on recurrence. To identify the mechanism that mediates the potential influence of ascites on recurrence, we used ultra-performance liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS) to determine the plasma lipid profiles of 53 patients with EOC. We used mediation analysis to evaluate if lipids mediated the effects of ascites on the recurrence of EOC.Results: Patients with ascites had a poorer prognosis, which was associated with higher levels of carbohydrate antigen-CA125 (CA125) and FIGO stage. We identified six different lipid metabolites that were associated with ascites and recurrence. Mediation analysis revealed that the lipids LysoPC(P-15:0), PC(P-34:4), and PC(38:6) may mediate the effects of ascites on recurrence.Conclusion: Our findings suggest that LysoPC(P-15:0), PC(P-34:4), and PC(38:6) mediate the effect of ascites on the prognosis of patients with EOC. We believe therefore that it is reasonable to consider metabolic interventions targeting the metabolism of LysoPC(P-15:0), PC(P-34:4), and PC(38:6) as a palliative treatment for patients with EOC with ascites. Further studies of more patients will be required to validate our findings.Keywords: ascites, recurrence, mediation analysis, lipids, epithelial ovarian cancer

This study aims to explore the comovement and causal relationship between the stock market cycle and business cycle in China over the period from 1992Q1 to 2018Q1. While the existing literature treats the relationship as being time- and/or frequency-invariant, we attempt to detect possible time- and frequency-varying patterns by using wavelet analysis. The results show that the stock market cycle tends to lead the business cycle in expansion periods whereas the business cycle tends to lead the stock market in recession periods. Moreover, when the stock market cycle leads the business cycle, they are always positively correlated. In contrast, when the business cycle leads the stock market cycle, they tend to be negatively correlated. In addition, we find that there are substantial time- and frequency-variations in the comovement and causal relationship between the two cycles in China, suggesting the presence of the time- and frequency-variation features should not be ignored in future research. Finally, the relationship can be significantly affected by the domestic interest rates as well as the effect of some external shocks, such as the interest rate and business cycle shocks originated from other major advanced countries. These findings shed new light on the literature that merely considers one specific subject of the relationship and ignores the time and frequency-varying natures in the relationship.

This paper adopts wavelet analysis to explore the time–frequency comovement and causality between the exchange rates and the interest rate differentials in China (compared to the USA) over the period from February 1999 to March 2018. While the existing literature in general treats the relationship between the two variables as being symmetric, this paper attempts to detect possible asymmetric patterns by extending the standard wavelet analysis to an asymmetric analysis. In addition, given that the relationship might be affected by exchange rate expectations and foreign exchange interventions, we further employ the partial wavelet tools to filter out the effects of the two controlled variables. The results show that the general pattern of the comovement and causality does not change. The comovement is intensified at the low frequency after the exchange rate reform in 2005. Moreover, exchange rates are found to positively comove with interest rate differentials, and the former leads the latter. More importantly, we provide robust evidence of meaningful asymmetry and substantial time and frequency variations in the comovement and causality between the two variables. These findings provide important implications for improving the transmission of monetary policy in China.

Appropriate social insurance contribution rates are crucial for the green development of firms. While the existing literature lacks an exploration of the relationship between social insurance policy and corporate environmental performance, this paper empirically examines the impact of social insurance contributions on corporate environmental performance using unbalanced panel data of 2947 A-share listed firms in China from 2008 to 2019. Our study shows that there is an inverted-U-shaped relationship between the social insurance burden and firms’ environmental performance, and the result remains robust after changing the measurements of core variables, replacing estimation method, and controlling endogenous problems. The inverted-U-shaped relationship is more pronounced in non-heavily polluting industries, non-labor-intensive industries, and non-state-owned enterprises (non-SOEs). In addition, corporate innovation and digital transformation can positively moderate the inverted-U-shaped effect of social insurance burden on corporate environmental performance, and firms should grasp the “double-edged sword” effect of innovation and digital transformation in different periods of social insurance burden. Further analysis reveals that a reasonable social insurance burden can enhance firm value and risk taking through improving firms’ environmental performance, whereas an excessive social insurance burden is not conducive to the improvement of firms’ environmental performance, internal value creation, and risk taking.

Summary Background As one of only a handful of countries that have achieved both Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) 4 and 5, China has substantially lowered maternal mortality in the past two decades. Little is known, however, about the levels and trends of maternal mortality at the county level in China. Methods Using a national registration system of maternal mortality at the county level, we estimated the maternal mortality ratios for 2852 counties in China between 1996 and 2015. We used a state-of-the-art Bayesian small-area estimation hierarchical model with latent Gaussian layers to account for space and time correlations among neighbouring counties. Estimates at the county level were then scaled to be consistent with country-level estimates of maternal mortality for China, which were separately estimated from multiple data sources. We also assessed maternal mortality ratios among ethnic minorities in China and computed Gini coefficients of inequality of maternal mortality ratios at the country and provincial levels. Findings China as a country has experienced fast decline in maternal mortality ratios, from 108·7 per 100 000 livebirths in 1996 to 21·8 per 100 000 livebirths in 2015, with an annualised rate of decline of 8·5% per year, which is much faster than the target pace in MDG 5. However, we found substantial heterogeneity in levels and trends at the county level. In 1996, the range of maternal mortality ratios by county was 16·8 per 100 000 livebirths in Shantou, Guangdong, to 3510·3 per 100 000 livebirths in Zanda County, Tibet. Almost all counties showed remarkable decline in maternal mortality ratios in the two decades regardless of those in 1996. The annualised rate of decline across counties from 1996 to 2015 ranges from 4·4% to 12·9%, and 2838 (99·5%) of the 2852 counties had achieved the MDG 5 pace of decline. Decline accelerated between 2005 and 2015 compared with between 1996 and 2005. In 2015, the lowest county-level maternal mortality ratio was 3·4 per 100 000 livebirths in Nanhu District, Zhejiang Province. The highest was still in Zanda County, Tibet, but the fall to 830·5 per 100 000 livebirths was only 76·3%. 26 ethnic groups had population majorities in at least one county in China, and all had achieved declines in maternal mortality ratios in line with the pace of MDG 5. Intercounty Gini coefficients for maternal mortality ratio have declined at the national level in China, indicating improved equality, whereas trends in inequality at the provincial level varied. Interpretation In the past two decades, maternal mortality ratios have reduced rapidly and universally across China at the county level. Fast improvement in maternal mortality ratios is possible even in less economically developed places with resource constraints. This finding has important implications for improving maternal mortality ratios in developing countries in the Sustainable Development Goal era. Funding National Health and Family Planning Commission of the People's Republic of China, China Medical Board, WHO, University of Washington Center for Demography and Economics of Aging, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

We analytically study the dynamical behavior of the quantum coherence of a single-qubit coupled to a bosonic reservoir at zero temperature via plugging additional non-interacting qubits into the reservoir in both Markovian and non-Markovian regimes. The influences of detuning, memory effects and number of additional qubits on the dynamics of the quantum coherence are considered. It is found that, via increasing the number of the additional qubits in the reservoir, the quantum coherence can be preserved. Moreover, the method based on the combination of larger effective detuning, the stronger non-Markovian effects and the more number of additional qubits, can more effectively prevent the loss of the quantum coherence.

Additional file 1.

A 2A12 aluminum alloy component with uniform high-strength and ductility was developed via predeformation (one-pass repetitive upsetting extrusion) and annular channel angular extrusion (ACAE). Moreover, the microstructure evolution and age-hardening behavior were investigated. The results show that the upsetting-extrusion predeformation improved the cumulative strain of the component and refined the grain size, and that the second Al–Cu–Mg phases were obviously broken and refined, and that, especially, the distribution of the second phases along the extrusion direction was weakened. Thus, compared with directly ACAE-formed components, after the T6 heat treatment, the axial ultimate tensile strength (UTS) of the cabin increased from 476 to 484 MPa, and the elongation (EL) increased from 12.9% to 17.5%. The circumferential UTS increased from 426 to 482 MPa, and the EL increased from 9.24% to 16.8%. A large number of dislocations were introduced into the upsetting extrusion (UE) + ACAE method, which resulted in strain hardening and higher precipitation strengthening in the late artificial aging process. The finer and denser grains and s precipitates significantly enhanced the strength and ensured the good ductility of the alloy. It is suggested that the combination of predeformation and annular channel angular extrusion is an effective method for forming aluminum alloy cabin components with higher and more uniform mechanical properties.

As the third-largest SO2 emitter in the world, China is facing mounting domestic and external pressure to tackle the increasingly serious SO2 pollution. Figuring out the convergence and persistence of sulfur dioxide (SO2) emissions matters much for environmental policymakers in China. This study mainly utilizes the Fourier quantile unit root test to survey the convergence of the SO2 emissions per capita in 74 cities of China during the period of December 2014 to June 2019, by conducting five traditional unit root tests and a quantile root unit test as a comparative analysis. The empirical results indicate that the SO2 emissions per capita in 72 out of 74 cities in China are convergent in the sample period. The results also suggest that the unit root behavior of the SO2 emissions per capita in these cities is asymmetrically persistent at different quantiles. For the cities with the convergent SO2 emissions, the government should consider the asymmetric mean-reverting pattern of SO2 emissions when implementing environmental protection policies at different stages. For Hefei and Nanjing, the local governments need to enact stricter environmental protection policies to control the emission of sulfur dioxide.

Additional file 2. Coverage area of medical institutions that participated in the two surveys. *NHS, newborn hearing screening.

Additional file 3. Detection rate of newborn hearing impairment in 2016 in China, by province and region. *The data of cases diagnosed as hearing impairment in the table could not totally represent the actual data of cases diagnosed in 2016, as the data of cases diagnosed as hearing impairment in our study were collected from licensed medical institutions providing diagnostic/treatment. a Referral rate of primary screening was estimated from the formula: number of referral in primary screening / NHS number *100. b Referral rate of secondary screening was estimated from the formula: number of referral in secondary screening / number of secondary screens *100. c Diagnostic rate of hearing impairment was estimated from the formula: number of referral in secondary screening / number of cases diagnosed with hearing impairment * 100. d Detection rate of hearing impairment was estimated from the formula: (referral rate of primary screening / 100) * (referral rate of re-screening / 100) * (Diagnostic rate of hearing impairment / 100) *100. e The 95% confidence interval for this detection rate was 0.15 to 0.26%, which was estimated as described in Methods. f Chongqing and Tibet were not included in the analysis.

Additional file 1. The process of newborn hearing screening specified in national technical guidelines for screening of neonatal diseases.

Supplemental material, sj-pdf-1-msc-10.1177_0969141320973690 for Incidence of inborn errors of metabolism detected by tandem mass spectrometry in China: A census of over seven million newborns between 2016 and 2017 by Kui Deng, Jun Zhu, Erling Yu, Liangcheng Xiang, Xuelian Yuan, Yongna Yao, Xiaohong Li and Hanmin Liu in Journal of Medical Screening

An efficient base-promoted tandem cyclization for the synthesis of polyfunctional 2-hydroxy-2,3-dihydrofurans from arylglyoxal monohydrates and 3-(1H-indol-3-yl)-3-oxopropanenitrile has been established. The investigation of the mechanism suggested that this reaction proceeds through a Knoevenagel condensation–Michael addition–oxidation–cyclization sequence. This method demonstrates the compatibility with a wide range of functional groups to produce the 2-hydroxy-2,3-dihydrofuran scaffolds in good to excellent yields in one pot.

This study investigates whether bubbles exist in Bitcoin markets and tracks when they will occur and collapse. We apply the generalized sup Augmented Dickey-Fuller test method proposed by Phillips et al. (2013). The results show that there have been four explosive bubbles in China and the U.S. market, primarily occurring during the periods of huge surges in Bitcoin prices. This is consistent with the bubble model improved by Gurkaynak (2008), in which asset price is decomposed into fundamental and bubble components. In particular, exogenous shocks, including foreign or domestic economic events, lead to the origination of bubbles. A serious financial crisis may trigger long-term and large-scale bubbles, whereas relatively short-term bubbles are caused by domestic components. It can be inferred that Bitcoin can be used as a hedge against market-specific risk. Finally, Bitcoin bubbles collapse due to administrative intervention by economic authorities. Therefore, the government should manage public expectations to maintain confidence in authority and reduce speculation behavior to stabilize the asset price and financial market.

Pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) is one of the widely cultivated vegetable crops in the world. The color formation of pepper fruit is closely related to the carotenoid composition and content. In order to understand the regulatory mechanism of red and orange pepper formation, comprehensive transcriptome and carotenoid content determination were carried out at 25, 40 and 55 days after flower. At the mature stage (55 DAF), the contents of zeaxanthin, β-cryptoxanthin, β-carotene and capsanthin in red chili pepper(R) were significantly higher than those in orange pepper (O), while the content of lutein in orange pepper(O) was higher than that in red pepper(R). Moreover, it was found that many differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were involved in the biosynthesis of carotenoids, phenylpropanoids, flavonoids and metabolism of phenylalanine. A total of 23 DEGs were found to be involved in carotenoid biosynthesis, among which β-carotene hydroxylase 1(CHYB1) and capsanthin-capsorubin synthase(CCS)were significantly different during fruit development. Further analysis showed that there were complete CCS genes in both red and orange pepper fruits. However, the expression level in orange pepper fruits was maintained at a very low level, on the contrary, the red fruits exhibited a remarkable upward trend and extremely high transcript level. Through weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA), transcription factors F-box protein SKIP23, GATA transcription factor 26, U-box domain-containing protein 52, zinc finger family FYVE/PHD-type, RING/FYVE/PHD-type and CONSTANS-LIKE 9 might be involved in the regulation of CCS gene. This study will lay a base to further analyze the regulation mechanism of carotenoid metabolism pathway in the process of pepper fruit color formation.

Detecting the adverse effects of major emergencies on financial markets and real economy is of great importance not only for short-term policy reactions but also for economic and financial stability. This is the lesson we learnt from the COVID-19 pandemic. This paper focuses on the risk spillover effect of the COVID-19 on Chinese energy industry using a high-dimensional and time-varying factor-augmented VAR model. The results show that the net volatility spillovers of the pandemic remain positive to all underlying energy sectors during January to June of 2020 and February to April of 2021. For the former sub-period, the volatility spillover of the COVID-19 is not only the highest, but also lasts longest for oil exploitation sector, followed by the power and gas sectors. While for the latter sub-period, the COVID-19 has relatively higher volatility spillovers to the power, coal mining and petrochemical sectors. These findings suggest that the COVID-19 has significant risk spillover effects on Chinese energy sectors, and the effects vary among different energy sub-sectors and across different periods of time.

This paper analyzes the causal relationship between trade policy uncertainty, government subsidies, and the role of political connections using annual data on Chinese energy firms from 2003 to 2018. The results show that when trade policy uncertainty increases, the Chinese government tends to increase subsidies for energy firms, and firms with political ties may receive more subsidies. Furthermore, firms with poor sales performance and in less marketized regions will be granted even more subsidies when uncertainty rises and firms are politically connected. We also observe that subsidies promote firms' fixed asset investments and innovations but decrease their overall investment efficiency.