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Background Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection is the main cause of gastric cancer, but with the increase of H. pylori antibiotic resistance, the eradication rate has not substantially improved in many areas. Objective To understand the H. pylori antibiotic resistance situation in Wenzhou from 2013—2020, and analyse the difference of H. pylori antibiotic resistance with time period, age and gender. Methods From 2013-01-01 to 2020-12-31, a total of 47 658 patients undergoing gastroscopy in Wenzhou Central Hospital were selected. Gastric mucosa specimens were collected for H. pylori isolation and culture, and the isolated H. pylori strains obtained from the culture were analyzed for drug susceptibility to six antibiotics, including levofloxacin, clarithromycin, amoxicillin, metronidazole, tetracycline and furazolidone. A chi-square test was used to compare H. pylori antibiotic resistance rate between years, age groups and sexes. Results Multiple antibiotic resistance existed in 16 847 H. pylori strains isolated in Wenzhou from 2013—2020. Separate statistics on the resistance rates of H. pylori to the six commonly used antibiotics revealed that the resistance rates to levofloxacin, clarithromycin and metronidazole were high in the region, respectively 32.81% (5 536/16 874) 、26.02% (4 390/16 874) 、95.67% (16 144/16 874) . The resistance rate to amoxicillin was low, only 0.28% (47/16 874) , and 1.36% (25/1 844) in 2017. No strains were found with resistance to tetracycline hydrochloride and furazolidone. From 2013 to 2020, there were statistically significant differences in H. pylori resistance rates to levofloxacin, clarithromycin and amoxicillin (P88.00%) with no statistical difference (P>0.05) . There was statistically significant difference in the H. pylori resistance rate for evofloxacin, clarithromycin and metronidazole between female and male (P0.05) . There was statistically significant difference in the H. pylori resistance rate for levofloxacin or clarithromycin among different age groups in the region (P0.05) . Conclusion The H. pylori antibiotic resistance rate differed by year, and varied across different age and sex groups of H. pylori-positive cases in Wenzhou during the period. The overall H. pylori resistance rate was high. The eradication regimens based on metronidazole, clarithromycin or levofloxacin are difficult to achieve satisfactory results, so clinical H. pylori eradication treatment based on drug sensitivity test results should be encouraged.

Fiscal decentralization, widely believed to be one essential tool to boost economic growth, is typically presented as something that works for developed countries. However, this needs to be investigated, which is what this paper aims to do. This paper investigates the relationship between fiscal decentralization and economic growth, specifically focusing on its applicability in both developed and developing countries. Using cross-sectional data from 23 African and 23 OECD countries, we employ two-stage estimation methods, including two-stage least squares (2SLS), Generalized Method of Moments (GMM), and Limited Information Maximum Likelihood (LIML), to address concerns related to endogeneity. The inclusion of instruments representing country size, ethnoreligious diversity, and administrative structure enhances the analysis. The dependent variable is based on average values for the five-year period between 2015 and 2019, while the explanatory variables are derived from data in 2017, representing the midpoint of the 2013–2021 period. The results highlight the effectiveness of the 2SLS method in estimating the relationship between fiscal decentralization, control variables, instrument variables, and per capita GDP. Empirical findings indicate significant positive impacts of both expenditure decentralization and revenue decentralization on per capita GDP, holding true for both developed and developing countries, with a slightly stronger effect observed in the latter. These results underscore the potential benefits of fiscal decentralization across diverse economies and offer valuable insights for policymakers.The study uses cross-sectional data from 23 African and 23 OECD countries and applies two-stage estimation methods to effectively address the endogeneity issue in the modeling. A variety of such methods in two-stage least squares (2SLS), Generalized Method of Moments (GMM), and Limited Information Maximum Likelihood (LIML) are applied and compared against the ordinary least squares (OLS) method. Variables that represent the size, the ethnoreligious diversity and the type of administrative structure of the countries are employed as instruments. The 2SLS method proved to excellently estimate the relationship between the fiscal decentralization terms as well as other control and instrument variables and the per capita GDP. The findings from the empirical analysis showed that both expenditure decentralization and revenue decentralization have significant positive impacts on per capita GDP of a country. This relationship holds not only for developed countries but also for developing ones, even to a slightly better degree in the latter.

The interfacial instability of high‐nickel layered oxides severely plagues practical application of high‐energy quasi‐solid‐state lithium metal batteries (LMBs). Herein, a uniform and highly oxidation‐resistant polymer layer within inner Helmholtz plane is engineered by in situ polymerizing 1‐vinyl‐3‐ethylimidazolium (VEIM) cations preferentially adsorbed on LiNi0.83Co0.11Mn0.06O2 (NCM83) surface, inducing the formation of anion‐derived cathode electrolyte interphase with fast interfacial kinetics. Meanwhile, the copolymerization of [VEIM][BF4] and vinyl ethylene carbonate (VEC) endows P(VEC‐IL) copolymer with the positively‐charged imidazolium moieties, providing positive electric fields to facilitate Li+ transport and desolvation process. Consequently, the Li||NCM83 cells with a cut‐off voltage up to 4.5 V exhibit excellent reversible capacity of 130 mAh g−1 after 1000 cycles at 25 °C and considerable discharge capacity of 134 mAh g−1 without capacity decay after 100 cycles at −20 °C. This work provides deep understanding on tailoring electric double layer by cation specific adsorption for high‐voltage quasi‐solid‐state LMBs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study focuses on the inversion of sub-bottom profile (SBP) data in the northern South China Sea using an empirical relationship derived from sediment acoustic data. The sub-bottom profile is primarily utilized for various marine applications, such as geological mapping and resource exploration. In this research, we present a study conducted in the northern slope canyon of the South China Sea. Firstly, we obtained the seabed reflection coefficient from sub-bottom profiles obtained by the autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) detection system. Secondly, we utilized the acoustic empirical relationship in the northern South China Sea to establish relationship equations between the seabed reflection coefficient and the porosity, density, and average particle size of the sediment at a main frequency of 4 kHz (the AUV shallow profile main frequency). Then, using these equations, we were able to invert the physical parameters such as porosity, density, and average particle size of the seabed surface sediments. Finally, the inverted results are compared and analyzed by using the sediment samples test data. The overall deviation rate of the inverted physical parameters is within the range of ±10% when compared. The inverted results closely match the measured values, accurately reflecting the dynamic changes in the physical properties of seabed surface sediments. Notably, the average grain size is a direct indicator of the sediment particles size with smaller particles found in deeper water. The variation characteristics of sediment physical parameters align well with the variation of sediment types in the canyon, which is consistent with changes in the water depth, topography, and hydrodynamic conditions of the area. This further demonstrates the reliability of the inversion results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]