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Land use and land cover changes (LUCC) are thought to be amongst the most important impacts exerted by humans on climate. However, relatively little research has been carried out so far on the effects of LUCC on extreme climate change other than on regional temperatures and precipitation. In this paper, we apply a regional weather research and forecasting (WRF) climate model using LUCC data from Heilongjiang Province, that was collected between the 1900s and 2010s, to explore how changes in forest cover influence extreme temperature indexes. Our selection of extreme high, low, and daily temperature indexes for analysis in this study enables the calculation of a five-year numerical integration trail with changing forest space. Results indicate that the total forested area of Heilongjiang Province decreased by 28% between the 1900s and 2010s. This decrease is most marked in the western, southwestern, and northeastern parts of the province. Our results also reveal a remarkable correlation between change in forested area and extreme high and low temperature indexes. Further analysis enabled us to determine that the key factor explaining increases in extreme high temperature indexes (i.e., calculated using the number of warm days, warm nights, as well as tropical nights, and summer days) is decreasing forest area; data also showed that this factor caused a decrease in extreme low temperature indexes (i.e., calculated using the number of cold days and cold nights, as well as frost days, and ice days) and an increase in the maximum value of daily minimum temperature. Spatial data demonstrated that there is a significant correlation between forest-to-farmland conversion and extreme temperature indexes throughout most of our study period. Spatial data demonstrated that there is a significant correlation between forest-to-farmland conversion and extreme temperature indexes throughout most of our study period. Positive correlations are also present between decreasing forest area, the more frequent occurrence of extreme high temperature events, and a rise in the maximum value of daily minimum temperature. At the same time, we found clear negative correlations between decreasing forest area and less frequent occurrence of extreme low temperature events. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: As an important outcome measure among rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients, functional disability may contribute to unemployment, loss of work productivity, and impaired quality of life. However, little is known about the risk factors of functional disability in Chinese RA patients. This study aimed (1) to examine the prevalence of functional disability in Chinese RA patients; (2) to explore factors associated with the health assessment questionnaire-disability index (HAQ-DI).Methods: A total of 101 RA patients in this cross-sectional study underwent standardized laboratory examinations and responded to the questionnaire for demographic data, the HAQ-DI for functional disability, the Compliance Questionnaire on Rheumatology (CQR) for medication adherence, the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) for psychological status, and the Short Form 36 health survey (SF-36) for quality of life. Pain, grip/pinch strength, disease activity, and large joint mobility were recorded. Independent samples t-tests, chi-square analyses, and logistic regression modeling were used to analyze the data.Results: The mean ± SD age of RA patients was 54.9 ± 11.9 years. Approximately 15.8% RA patients in mainland China experience functional disability (defined as a HAQ-DI score ≥ 1). Long disease duration, pain, high disease activity, a larger number of tender and swollen joints, high C-reactive protein (CRP) level, decreased grip strength, and limitation of shoulder, elbow, wrist, knee, and ankle motion were associated with the HAQ-DI. Participants with functional disability tended to have more severe depressive symptoms and a lower quality of life compared with individuals without functional disability. Stepwise logistic regression analyses found that limitation of wrist extension (P = 0.001) and lower body pain (BP) score (P = 0.001) explained higher HAQ-DI score.Conclusions: The present study reported that functional disability was common in Chinese RA patients. A low quality of life and limitation of joint mobility had great impacts on functional disability in Chinese RA patients. Targeted and culturally sensitive interventions should be strengthened to delay the onset of disabilities of this population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Daoism is a traditional Chinese religion. Daoism has had a deep and pervasive impact on the lives of China's peoples. Chinese theatrical performances were often integrated with religious activities, thereby gradually giving rise to many forms of popular drama that are deeply inflected with religious overtones. Xianggong Tapeng (Xianggong stamps the shed) is one component of Puxian opera's rites for stage cleaning that is closely linked with Daoist thought. First, Xianggong is both a theatrical spirit within Puxian opera and a member of the Daoist pantheon. Second, the lyric "luo li lian" featured in Xianggong Tapeng bears a remarkable resemblance to the two Daoist spells Yuanshuai Zhou (Incantation of Yuanshuai) and Xiangmo Zhou (Incantation for Subduing Demons). This is due to the fact that traditional Daoist verse often features phrases such as "luo li lian". Moreover, the stage cleaning rites that are characteristic of Puxian opera share many similarities with Daoist altar purification rites. A detailed investigation and comparison reveal that Xianggong Tapeng is an adaptation of the Daoist altar purification rite to the needs of popular custom and theatrical performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The flood-duration-frequency (QDF) analysis is performed using annual maximum streamflow series of 1-10 day durations observed at Pingshi and Lishi stations in southern China. The trends and change point of annual maximum flood flow and flood duration are also investigated by statistical tests. The results indicate that (1) the annual maximum flood flow only has a marginally increasing trend, whereas the flood duration exhibits a significant decreasing trend at the 0.10 significant level. The change point for the annual maximum flood flow series was found in 1991 and after which the mean maximum flood flow increased by 45.26%. (2)The period after 1991 is characterized by frequent and shorter duration floods due to increased rainstorm. However, land use change in the basin was found intensifying the increased tendency of annual maximumflow after 1991. And (3) under nonstationary environmental conditions, alternative definitions of return period should be adapted. The impacts on curve fitting of flood series showed an overall change of upper tail from "gentle" to "steep," and the design flood magnitude became larger. Therefore, a nonstationary frequency analysis taking account of change point in the data series is highly recommended for future studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a study which examines the origin and nosocomial transmission of human granulocytic anaplasmosis (HGA) in the Anhui Provence in China. The authors explain that HGA is a tick-borne infectious disease. A laboratory diagnosis to test for serum IgG to A phagocytophium was performed on patients who were suspected of HGA exposure to an index patient. A discussion of the epidemiological investigation is included. Results of the serological and molecular diagnosis are also included. Researchers found HGA in China and likely nosocomial transmission of HGA from direct contact with respiratory secretions or blood. A discussion of the contact investigation and risk factors for the disease are included.

High seroprevalence rates for Anaplasma phagocytophilum (8.8%), Coxiella burnetii (6.4%), Bartonella henselae (9.6%), and Rickettsia typhi (4.1%) in 365 farm workers near Tianjin, People's Republic of China, suggest that human infections with these zoonotic bacteria are frequent and largely unrecognized. Demographic features of seropositive persons suggest distinct epidemiology, ecology, and risks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effect of vegetation on temperature is an emerging topic in the climate science community. Existing studies have mostly examined the effects of vegetation on daytime temperature (Tmax), whereas this study investigates the effects on nighttime temperature (Tmin). Ground measurements from 53 sites across northeastern China (NEC) from 1982 to 2006 show that early summer (June) Tmax and Tmin increased at mean rates of approximately 0.61 °C/10 year and 0.67 °C/10 year, respectively. Over the same period, the satellite-based Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) decreased by approximately 0.10 (accounting for 18% of the climatological NDVI for 1982–1991). It is highlighted that a larger increase in Tmax (Tmin) co-occurred spatially with a larger (smaller) decrease in NDVI. Deriving from such spatial co-occurrences, we found that the spatial variability of changes in Tmax (i.e., ΔTmax) is negatively correlated with the spatial variability of changes in NDVI (i.e., ΔNDVI),while the spatial variability of changes in Tmin (i.e., ΔTmin) is positively correlated (r2 = 0.10; p < 0.05) with that of ΔNDVI. Similarly, we detected significant positive correlations between the spatial variability of ΔNDVI and the change in surface latent heat flux (r2 = 0.16; p < 0.01) and in surface air specific humidity (r2 = 0.28; p < 0.001). These findings on the spatial co-occurrences suggest that the vegetation growth intensifies the atmospheric water vapor through evapotranspiration, which enhances the atmospheric downward longwave radiation and strengthens the greenhouse warming effects at night. Thereby, the positive correlation between ΔNDVI and ΔTmin is better understood. These results indicate that vegetation growth may not only exert effects on daytime temperature but also exert warming effects on nighttime temperature by increasing atmospheric water vapor and thus intensifying the local greenhouse effect. This study presents new observation evidence of the effects of vegetation on local temperature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wang, Jinxia, Jikun Huang, Lijuan Zhang, Qiuqiong Huang, and Scott Rozelle, 2010. Water Governance and Water Use Efficiency: The Five Principles of WUA Management and Performance in China. Journal of the American Water Resources Association (JAWRA) 46(4): 665-685. DOI: 10.1111/j.1752-1688.2010.00439.x In recent years China has attempted to reform water management by decentralizing water management responsibilities. The overall goal of our paper is to better understand the emergence of water user associations (WUAs) in China and assess if they are adhering to the practices spelled out by the Five Principles, a set of recommended practices that are supposed to lead to successful WUA operation. Using four sets of different types of villages to examine implementation and performance, we find that World Bank-supported WUA villages (“Bank villages”) can be thought of as operating mostly according to the Five Principles. For example, the Bank villages were endowed with a more reliable water supply; were set up and were operating with a relatively high degree of farmer participation; and leaders were more consultative and the process more formal. When WUAs are run according to the Five Principals, we show that WUAs increase water use efficiency. The study also provides evidence that there is a perception in the Bank villages that water management is improving in general and that there is less conflict both within the village and among villages. Perhaps more importantly, we find that the Bank’s effort to promote WUAs extended beyond their own project villages. The openness, consultative nature, and transparency found in the Bank WUAs are also found (albeit at a somewhat lower level) in the non-Bank WUA villages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present the WRF-GC model v2.0, an online two-way coupling of the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) meteorological model (v3.9.1.1) and the GEOS-Chem chemical model (v12.7.2). WRF-GC v2.0 is built on the modular framework of WRF-GC v1.0 and further includes aerosol-radiation interactions (ARI) and aerosol-cloud interactions (ACI) based on bulk aerosol mass and composition, as well as the capability to nest multiple domains for high-resolution simulations. WRF- GC v2.0 is the first implementation of the GEOS-Chem model in an open-source dynamic model with chemical feedbacks to meteorology. We apply prescribed size distributions to the 10 aerosol types simulated by GEOS-Chem to diagnose aerosol optical properties and activated cloud droplet numbers; the results are passed to the WRF model for radiative and cloud microphysics calculations. We use WRF-GC v2.0 to conduct sensitivity simulations with different combinations of ARI and ACI over China during January 2015 and July 2016, with the goal of evaluating the simulated aerosol and cloud properties and the impacts of ARI and ACI on meteorology and air quality. WRF-GC reproduces the day-to-day variability of the aerosol optical depth (AOD) observed by the Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET) project at four representative Chinese sites in January 2015, with temporal correlation coefficients of 0.56 to 0.85. The magnitudes and spatial distributions of the simulated liquid cloud effective radii, liquid cloud optical depths, surface downward shortwave radiation, and surface temperature over China for July 2016 are in good agreement with aircraft, satellite, and surface observations. WRF-GC simulations including both ARI and ACI reproduce the observed surface concentrations and spatial distributions of PM2.5 in January 2015 (normalized mean bias = -6.6 %, spatial correlation r = 0.74) and afternoon ozone in July 2016 (normalized mean bias = 19 %, spatial correlation r = 0.56) over Eastern China, respectively. Our sensitivity simulations show that including the ARI and ACI improved the model's performance in simulating ozone concentrations over China in July, 2016. WRF-GC v2.0 is open source and freely available from http://wrf.geos-chem.org. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We developed the WRF-GC model, an online coupling of the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) mesoscale meteorological model and the GEOS-Chem atmospheric chemistry model, for regional atmospheric chemistry and air quality modeling. Both WRF and GEOS-Chem are open-source and community-supported. WRF-GC provides regional chemistry modellers easy access to the GEOS-Chem chemical module, which is stably-configured, state-of-the-science, well-documented, traceable, benchmarked, actively developed by a large international user base, and centrally managed by a dedicated support team. At the same time, WRF-GC gives GEOS-Chem users the ability to perform high-resolution forecasts and hindcasts for any location and time of interest. WRF-GC is designed to be easy to use, massively parallel, extendable, and easy to update. The WRF-GC coupling structure allows future versions of either one of the two parent models to be immediately integrated into WRF-GC. This enables WRF-GC to stay state-of-the-science with traceability to parent model versions. Physical and chemical state variables in WRF and in GEOS-Chem are managed in distributed memory and translated between the two models by the WRF-GC Coupler at runtime. We used the WRF-GC model to simulate surface PM2.5 concentrations over China during January 22 to 27, 2015 and compared the results to surface observations and the outcomes from a GEOS-Chem nested-grid simulation. Both models were able to reproduce the observed spatiotemporal variations of regional PM2.5, but the WRF-GC model (r = 0.68, bias = 29%) reproduced the observed daily PM2.5 concentrations over Eastern China better than the GEOS-Chem model did (r = 0.72, bias = 55%). This was mainly because our WRF-GC simulation, nudged with surface and upper-level meteorological observations, was able to better represent the spatiotemporal variability of the planetary boundary layer heights over China during the simulation period. Both parent models and the WRF-GC Coupler are parallelized across computational cores and can scale to massively parallel architectures. The WRF-GC simulation was three times more efficient than the GEOS-Chem nested-grid simulation at similar resolutions and for the same number of computational cores, owing to the more efficient transport algorithm and the MPI-based parallelization provided by the WRF software framework. WRF-GC scales nearly perfectly up to a few hundred cores on a variety of computational platforms. Version 1.0 of the WRF-GC model supports one-way coupling only, using WRF-simulated meteorological fields to drive GEOS-Chem with no feedbacks from GEOS-Chem. The development of two-way coupling capabilities, i.e., the ability to simulate radiative and microphysical feedbacks of chemistry to meteorology, is under-way. The WRF-GC model is open-source and freely available from http://wrf.geos-chem.org. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Gout is a painful, inflammatory disease that may cause decreased function and health-related quality of life (HRQoL). Limited study did not take the influence of gout characteristics and anxiety on HRQoL into consideration and there are no studies associated with functional disability in individuals with gout from China. This study aims to investigate the related factors of functional disability and HRQoL in gout patients recruited from China.Methods: A total of 226 consecutive gout patients and 232 age- and gender-matched healthy individuals were involved in the study. A series of questionnaires (the Short Form 36 health survey, the Patient Health Questionnaire, the Generalized Anxiety Disorder questionnaire, the 10 cm Visual Analog Scale, and the Health Assessment Questionnaire-Disability Index) were applied. Blood samples were taken to examine the level of serum uric acid. Independent samples t-tests, Chi square tests, U test, Spearman rank correlation, logistic regression modeling, and linear regression were used to analyze the data.Results: After adjusted demographic variables, individuals with gout have poorer HRQoL compared to healthy controls. Univariate tests presented that patients with functional disability had longer disease duration, more frequent flares/last year, more severe total pain, more number of tophi, higher degree of depression and anxiety, with a trend toward diabetes, the treatment of colchicine and corticosteroids use, compared to patients without functional disability. Meanwhile, place of residence, hypertension, DM, disease duration, cardiovascular disease, number of flares/last year, total pain, more number of tophi, presence of tender joints, depression, anxiety, currently using colchicine and corticosteroids were correlated significantly with HRQoL. Additionally, multiple regression analysis identified severe pain, depression, and colchicine use as predictors of functional disability. Cardiovascular disease, total pain, number of flares/last year, presence of tender joints, depression, anxiety, colchicine and corticosteroids use contributed to low HRQoL.Conclusions: After adjusted demographic variables, gout subjects have poorer HRQoL compared to healthy controls. Chinese gout population experiencing poor HRQoL and functional disability were likely to suffer from gout-related features and psychological problems. The results underscore the need of effective interventions including psychological nursing and appropriate treatment approaches to reduce their functional disability and improve their HRQoL. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Regarded as an emerging diarrheal micropathogen, Vibrio cholerae serogroup O139 was first identified in 1992 and has become an important cause of cholera epidemics over the last two decades. O139 strains have been continually isolated since O139 cholera appeared in China in 1993, from sporadic cases and dispersed foodborne outbreaks, which are the common epidemic types of O139 cholera in China. Antibiotic resistance profiles of these epidemic strains are required for development of clinical treatments, epidemiological studies and disease control. In this study, a comprehensive investigation of the antibiotic resistance of V. cholerae O139 strains isolated in China from 1993 to 2009 was conducted. The initial O139 isolates were resistant to streptomycin, trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole and polymyxin B only, while multidrug resistance increased suddenly and became common in strains isolated after 1998. Different resistance profiles were observed in the isolates from different years. In contrast, most V. cholerae O1 strains isolated in the same period were much less resistant to these antibiotics and no obvious multidrug resistance patterns were detected. Most of the non-toxigenic strains isolated from the environment and seafood were resistant to four antibiotics or fewer, although a few multidrug resistant strains were also identified. These toxigenic O139 strains exhibited a high prevalence of the class I integron and the SXT element, which were rare in the non-toxigenic strains. Molecular subtyping of O139 strains showed highly diverse pulsed-field gel electrophoresis patterns, which may correspond to the epidemic state of sporadic cases and small-scale outbreaks and complex resistance patterns. Severe multidrug resistance, even resistance transfers based on mobile antibiotic resistance elements, increases the probability of O139 cholera as a threat to public health. Therefore, continual epidemiological and antibiotic sensitivity surveillance should focus on the occurrence of multidrug resistance and frequent microbial population shifts in O139 strains. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The World Bank Loan Project (WBLP) for controlling schistosomiasis in China was implemented during 1992-2001. Its short-term impact has been assessed from non-spatial perspective, but its long-term impact remains unclear and a spatial evaluation has not previously been conducted. Here we compared the spatial distribution of schistosomiasis risk using national datasets in the lake and marshland regions from 1999-2001 and 2007-2008 to evaluate the long-term impact of WBLP strategy on China's schistosomiasis burden. Methodology/Principal Findings: A hierarchical Poisson regression model was developed in a Bayesian framework with spatially correlated and uncorrelated heterogeneities at the county-level, modeled using a conditional autoregressive prior structure and a spatially unstructured Gaussian distribution, respectively. There were two important findings from this study. The WBLP strategy was found to have a good short-term impact on schistosomiasis control, but its long-term impact was not ideal. It has successfully reduced the morbidity of schistosomiasis to a low level, but can not contribute further to China's schistosomiasis control because of the current low endemic level. A second finding is that the WBLP strategy could not effectively compress the spatial distribution of schistosomiasis risk. To achieve further reductions in schistosomiasis affected areas, and for sustainable control, focusing on the intermediate host snail should become the next step to interrupt schistosomiasis transmission within the two most affected regions surrounding the Dongting and Poyang Lakes. Furthermore, in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River, the WBLP's morbidity control strategy may need to continue for some time until snails in the upriver provinces have been well controlled. Conclusion: It is difficult to further reduce morbidity due to schistosomiasis using a chemotherapy-based control strategy in the lake and marshland regions of China because of the current low endemic levels of infection. The future control strategy for schistosomiasis should instead focus on a snail-based integrated control strategy to maintain the program achievements and sustainably reduce the burden of schistosomiasis in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The overall aim of this paper is to attempt to discover the true facts in order to ascertain whether or not there is a water crisis in China, and if there is, to identify the responses of the different stakeholders—government water officials, community leaders and farmers. In order to achieve this goal, several specific objectives are pursued. First, the paper evaluates the status of China's groundwater economy, examining whether or not the groundwater table is systematically falling. Second, in the parts of China that face a water crisis (or potential crisis), the paper documents the regulations and policies that the government—both local and regional—have implemented and discusses whether they have been successfully implemented. Third, it describes how farmers have responded to the water crisis and tries to assess whether or not their roles have helped alleviate the water scarcities or exacerbated the crisis. To meet these objectives, two large field surveys are used that cover seven provinces in northern China. The findings demonstrate that, although the water table is not falling everywhere in northern China, there are still a substantial number of communities that appear to be facing a water crisis. When there is a water crisis, the data show that the government in China has begun to make a number of policy responses, but the implementation is not always effective. Where water is becoming scarce, farmers and community leaders have also responded in numerous ways. However, farmers do not necessarily respond in ways that effectively save water, mostly because they do not always have incentives to do so. With good incentives, the research shows that they do save water. Hence, the government cannot ignore the way that farmers respond. Indeed, good policy needs to use this responsiveness to reduce the adverse effects of water scarcities and encourage conservation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]