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Aims In forest ecosystems, different types of regression models have been frequently used for the estimation of aboveground biomass, where Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) regression models are the most common prediction models. Yet, the relative performance of Bayesian and OLS models in predicting aboveground biomass of shrubs, especially multi-stem shrubs, has relatively been less studied in forests. Methods In this study, we developed the biomass prediction models for Caragana microphylla Lam. which is a widely distributed multi-stems shrub, and contributes to the decrease of wind erosion and the fixation of sand dunes in the Horqin Sand Land, one of the largest sand lands in China. We developed six types of formulations under the framework of the regression models, and then, selected the best model based on specific criteria. Consequently, we estimated the parameters of the best model with OLS and Bayesian methods with training and test data under different sample sizes with the bootstrap method. Lastly, we compared the performance of the OLS and Bayesian models in predicting the aboveground biomass of C. microphylla. Important Findings The performance of the allometric equation (power = 1) was best among six types of equations, even though all of those models were significant. The results showed that mean squared error of test data with non-informative prior Bayesian method and the informative prior Bayesian method was lower than with the OLS method. Among the tested predictors (i.e. plant height and basal diameter), we found that basal diameter was not a significant predictor either in OLS or Bayesian methods, indicating that suitable predictors and well-fitted models should be seriously considered. This study highlights that Bayesian methods, the bootstrap method and the type of allometric equation could help to improve the model accuracy in predicting shrub biomass in sandy lands. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective. The aim was to assess the clinical, laboratory and radiological features of SAPHO syndrome. Methods. We recruited all patients presenting to Peking Union Medical College Hospital from 2004 to 2015 diagnosed with SAPHO syndrome. The medical data, laboratory test results and imaging were collected for all patients. Results. One hundred and sixty-four patients (111 women and 53 men) were recruited to our cohort. The mean age of the patients was 40.71 years. Nine patients had osteoarticular symptoms without skin involvement. One hundred and forty-three and 25 patients had palmoplantar pustulosis and severe acne, respectively. Psoriasis vulgaris was accompanied by palmoplantar pustulosis or severe acne in 24 patients. One hundred and sixty-four patients suffered from pain in the anterior chest wall, followed by spine (12 in the cervical region, 36 in the thoracic region and 111 in the lumbosacral region) and peripheral joint (136 patients) involvement. None of the patients had IBD. The hs-CRP level was increased in 70.8% patients. Only 2.4% were HLA-B27 positive. CT scan indicated osteolysis, sclerosis and hyperostosis in the anterior chest wall and spine in SAPHO syndrome patients. The bull-horn sign was the typical characteristic of SAPHO syndrome seen in bone scintigraphy images. One hundred and thirty-one (79.9%), 85 (51.8%), 100 (61 %) and 54 (32.9%) patients took NSAIDs, CSs, DMARDs and oral bisphosphonates, respectively. Conclusion. SAPHO syndrome is predominant in middle-age women, characterized by dermatological and osteoarticular manifestations with unknown aetiology. CT scan and bone scintigraphy are useful for diagnosis. There is still no standard treatment to control the disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: This study aimed to establish an effective prognostic nomogram with or without plasma Epstein-Barr virus DNA (EBV DNA) for nondisseminated nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC).Methods: The nomogram was based on a retrospective study of 4630 patients who underwent radiotherapy with or without chemotherapy at Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center from 2007 to 2009. The predictive accuracy and discriminative ability of the nomogram were determined by a concordance index (C-index) and calibration curve and were compared with EBV DNA and the current staging system. The results were validated using bootstrap resampling and a prospective cohort study on 1819 patients consecutively enrolled from 2011 to 2012 at the same institution. All statistical tests were two-sided.Results: Independent factors derived from multivariable analysis of the primary cohort to predict recurrence were age, sex, body mass index (BMI), T stage, N stage, plasma EBV DNA, pretreatment high sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), and hemoglobin level (HGB), which were all assembled into the nomogram with (nomogram B) or without EBV DNA (nomogram A). The calibration curve for the probability of recurrence showed that the nomogram-based predictions were in good agreement with actual observations. The C-index of nomogram B for predicting recurrence was 0.728 (P < .001), which was statistically higher than the C-index values for nomogram A (0.690), EBV DNA (0.680), and the current staging system (0.609). The C-index of nomogram B (0.730) and nomogram A (0.681) remained higher for predicting recurrence among patients treated with intensity-modulated radiotherapy (P < .001). The results were confirmed in the validation cohort.Conclusions: The proposed nomogram with or without plasma EBV DNA resulted in more accurate prognostic prediction for NPC patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study focuses on the development of disciplinary structure in China's top research universities. Using the science structures of Mainland China, the world, and the world's top 10 universities as three reference standards, we measure the disciplinary structure 'distance' between the Chinese '985 universities' and the references, and analyze whether the 985 universities are moving toward or away from the reference groups (RG) in terms of disciplinary structure. The results show that most of the 985 universities' disciplinary structures are very similar to China's science structure. The disciplinary structure distances between the 985 universities and both the world reference and the world's top universities reference have narrowed recently, but the overall degrees of similarity are still low. Another important finding is that the rise of biomedical science has played an important role in the 985 universities' move from a native 'sci-engineering focused' structure to an international 'bio-science focused' structure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. Seven persons in one family living in eastern China developed fever and thrombocytopenia during May 2007, but the initial investigation failed to identify an infectious etiology. In December 2009, a novel bunyavirus (designated severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome bunyavirus [SFTSV]) was identified as the cause of illness in patients with similar clinical manifestations in China. We reexamined this family cluster for SFTSV infection. Methods. We analyzed epidemiological and clinical data for the index patient and 6 secondary patients. We tested stored blood specimens from the 6 secondary patients using real time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), viral culture, genetic sequencing, micro-neutralization assay (MNA), and indirect immunofluorescence assay (IFA). Results. An 80-year-old woman with fever, leucopenia, and thrombocytopenia died on 27 April 2007. Between 3 and 7 May 2007, another 6 patients from her family were admitted to a local county hospital with fever and other similar symptoms. Serum specimens collected in 2007 from these 6 patients were positive for SFTS viral RNA through RT-PCR and for antibody to SFTSV through MNA and IFA. SFTSV was isolated from 1 preserved serum specimen. The only shared characteristic between secondary patients was personal contact with the index patient; none reported exposure to suspected animals or vectors. Conclusions. Clinical and laboratory evidence confirmed that the patients of fever and thrombocytopenia occurring in a family cluster in eastern China in 2007 were caused by a newly recognized bunyavirus, SFTSV. Epidemiological investigation strongly suggests that infection of secondary patients was transmitted to family members by personal contact. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The winged imago of Prorhinotermes japonicus (Holmgren 1912) is described herein for the first time. The soldier caste and two morphs of the neotenic caste also are redescribed. Based on the similar morphology of soldier, alate and neotenic, two Chinese species, Prorhinotermes xishaensis Li & Tsai 1976 and Prorhinotermes hainanensis Ping & Xu 1989, are reverted to junior synonyms of P. japonicus. The current distribution of P. japonicus includes tropical islands surrounding the northern part of the South China Sea. Another Chinese species, Prorhinotermes spectabilis Ping & Xu 1989 from Yunnan Province and two Philippines species, Prorhinotermes tibiaoensis (Oshima 1920) and Prorhinoternws gracilis Light 1921, were compared and included in discussion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective. We have performed a large-scale replication study based on our previous genome-wide association study (GWAS) of SLE in the Chinese Han population to further explore additional genetic variants affecting susceptibility to SLE.Methods. Thirty-eight single nucleotide polymorphisms from our GWAS were genotyped in two additional Chinese Han cohorts (total 3152 cases and 7050 controls) using the Sequenom Massarray system. Association analyses were performed using logistic regression with gender or sample cohorts as a covariate.Results. Association evidence for rs16972959 (PRKCB at 16p11.2) and rs12676482 (8p11.21) with SLE was replicated independently in both replication cohorts (P < 0.05), showing high significance for SLE in combined all 4199 cases and 8255 controls of Chinese Han [rs16972959: odds ratio (OR) = 0.81; 95% CI 0.76, 0.87; Pcombined = 1.35 × 10−9; rs12676482: OR = 1.26; 95% CI 1.15, 1.38; Pcombined = 6.68 × 10−7). PRKCB is related to the established SLE immune-related pathway (NF-κB) and 8p11.21 contains important candidate genes such as IKBKB and DKK4. IKBKB is a critical component of NF-κB and DKK4 is an inhibitor of canonical Wnt signalling pathway. Interestingly, PRKCB is required for recruiting IKBKB into lipid rafts, up-regulating NF-κB-dependent survival signal.Conclusions. Our findings provided novel insights into the genetic architecture of SLE and emphasized the contribution of multiple variants of modest effect. Further study focused on PRKCB, 8p11.21, should advance our understanding on the pathogenesis of SLE. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Kalotermes inamurae Oshima 1912 (Isoptera: Kalotermitidae) is reassigned to Incisitermes (Krishna, 1961) based on the winged imago that is described herein for the first time. The two size morphs of the soldier caste are redescribed, as is the distinctly different morphology of the soldier of incipient colonies. The distribution of L inamurae is restricted to the tropical zone of Taiwan. Another tropical species, Incisitermes mcgregori (Light), from Luzon, Philippines, has similar soldier morphology and may be a junior synonym of L inamurae. The five Incisitermes species reported in Japan, China, Taiwan, and the Philippines were compared morphologically. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Dexing adakitic porphyries (quartz diorite–granodiorite porphyries), associated with giant porphyry Cu deposits, are located in the interior of a continent (South China). They exhibit relatively high MgO, Cr, Ni and Sr contents, high La/Yb and Sr/Y ratios, but low Yb and Y contents, similar to adakites produced by slab melting associated with subduction. However, they are characterized by bulk Earth-like Nd–Sr isotope compositions (ɛNd(t) = −1·14 to +1·80 and (87Sr/86Sr)i = 0·7044 – 0·7047), and high Th (12·6–27·2 ppm) contents and Th/Ce (0·19–0·94) ratios, which are different from those of Cenozoic slab-derived adakites. Sensitive High-Resolution Ion Microprobe (SHRIMP) geochronology studies of zircons reveal that the Dexing adakitic porphyries have a crystallization age of 171 ± 3 Ma. This age is contemporaneous with Middle Jurassic extension within the Shi-Han rift zone, and within-plate magmatism elsewhere in South China, indicating that the Dexing adakitic porphyries were probably formed in an extensional tectonic regime in the interior of the continent rather than in an arc setting. Their high Th contents and Th/Ce ratios, and Middle Jurassic age, argue against an origin from a Neoproterozoic (∼1000 Ma) stalled slab in the mantle. Taking into account available data for the regional metamorphic–magmatic rocks, and the present-day crustal thickness (∼31 km) in the area, we suggest that the Dexing adakitic porphyries were most probably generated by partial melting of delaminated lower crust, which was possibly triggered by upwelling of the asthenospheric mantle due to the activity of the Shi-Hang rift zone. Moreover, the Dexing adakitic magmas must have interacted with the surrounding mantle peridotite during their ascent, which elevated not only their MgO, Cr and Ni contents, but also the oxygen fugacity (fO2) of the mantle. The high fO2 could have induced oxidation of metallic sulfides in the mantle and mobilization of chalcophile elements, which are required to produce associated Cu mineralization. Therefore, the Cu metallogenesis associated with the Dexing adakitic porphyries is probably related to partial melting of delaminated lower crust, similar to the metallogenesis accompanying slab melting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]