Search

Abstract Background To analyze the risk factors for the development of avascular necrosis (AVN) of the femoral head after reduction surgery in children with developmental hip dysplasia (DDH), and to establish a prediction nomogram. Methods The clinical data of 134 children with DDH (169 hips) treated with closure reduction or open reduction from December 2016 to December 2019 were retrospectively analyzed. Independent risk factors for AVN after DDH reduction being combined with cast external immobilization were determined by univariate analysis and multivariate logistic regression and used to generate nomograms predicting the occurrence of AVN. Results A total of 169 hip joints in 134 children met the inclusion criteria, with a mean age at surgery of 10.7 ± 4.56 months (range: 4–22 months) and a mean follow-up duration of 38.32 ± 27.00 months (range: 12–94 months). AVN developed in 42 hip joints (24.9%); univariate analysis showed that the International Hip Dysplasia Institute (IHDI) grade, preoperative development of the femoral head ossification nucleus, cartilage acetabular index, femoral head to acetabular Y-shaped cartilage distance, residual acetabular dysplasia, acetabular abduction angle exceeding 60°, and the final follow-up acetabular index (AI) were associated with the development of AVN (P

Abstract Currently, one in three adults worldwide may be obese or overweight. Obesity is characterized by an excess of energy‐storing white fat. An ingenious and sought‐after strategy against obesity is to activate energy‐consuming beige fat, which is converted from white fat or brown fat. However, existing tools for assessing brown or beige fat activation in vivo have certain limitations, such as being cumbersome and expensive. Optical imaging is a relatively straightforward and economical imaging technique that utilizes light to peer into the structural–functional information of living organisms at multiple scales. Despite the availability of various optical imaging modalities for detecting brown or beige fat, there is a dearth of literature summarizing relevant studies. Accordingly, this review focuses on these optical modalities and elaborates on their imaging principles, characteristics, and recent research advances in the detection of brown or beige fat. Their imaging targets, advantages, and disadvantages are further concluded. As a methodological reference, this review can guide the selection of optimal optical modalities to noninvasively profile brown or beige fat activation from a specific biological perspective, maximizing the potential of optical imaging in anti‐obesity assessment.

Abstract Background Pneumonia is a common disease worldwide in preschool children. Despite its large population size, China has had no comprehensive study of the national prevalence, risk factors, and management of pneumonia among preschool children. We therefore investigated the prevalence of pneumonia among preschool children in Chinese seven representative cities, and explore the possible risk factors of pneumonia on children, with a view to calling the world's attention to childhood pneumonia to reduce the prevalence of childhood pneumonia. Methods Two group samples of 63,663 and 52,812 preschool children were recruited from 2011 and 2019 surveys, respectively. Which were derived from the cross-sectional China, Children, Homes, Health (CCHH) study using a multi-stage stratified sampling method. This survey was conducted in kindergartens in seven representative cities. Exclusion criteria were younger than 2 years old or older than 8 years old, non-permanent population, basic information such as gender, date of birth and breast feeding is incomplete. Pneumonia was determined on the basis of parents reported history of clearly diagnosed by the physician. All participants were assessed with a standard questionnaire. Risk factors for pneumonia, and association between pneumonia and other respiratory diseases were examined by multivariable-adjusted analyses done in all participants for whom data on the variables of interest were available. Disease management was evaluated by the parents’ reported history of physician diagnosis, longitudinal comparison of risk factors in 2011 and 2019. Results In 2011 and 2019, 31,277 (16,152 boys and 15,125 girls) and 32,016 (16,621 boys and 15,395 girls) preschool children aged at 2–8 of permanent population completed the questionnaire, respectively, and were thus included in the final analysis. The findings showed that the age-adjusted prevalence of pneumonia in children was 32.7% in 2011 and 26.4% in 2019. In 2011, girls (odds ratio [OR] 0.91, 95%CI [confidence interval]0.87–0.96; p = 0.0002), rural (0.85, 0.73–0.99; p = 0.0387), duration of breastfeeding ≥ 6 months(0.83, 0.79–0.88; p

Basic leucine zipper (bZIP) transcription factors (TFs) are one of the largest families involved in plant physiological processes such as biotic and abiotic responses, growth, and development, etc. In this study, 66 members of the bZIP family were identified in Bletilla striata, which were divided into 10 groups based on their phylogenetic relationships with AtbZIPs. A structural analysis of BsbZIPs revealed significant intron–exon differences among BsbZIPs. A total of 63 bZIP genes were distributed across 16 chromosomes in B. striata. The tissue-specific and germination stage expression patterns of BsbZIPs were based on RNA-seq. Stress-responsive expression analysis revealed that partial BsbZIPs were highly expressed under low temperatures, wounding, oxidative stress, and GA treatments. Furthermore, subcellular localization studies indicated that BsbZIP13 was localized in the nucleus. Yeast two-hybrid (Y2H) and bimolecular fluorescence complementation (BiFC) assays suggested that BsbZIP13 could interact with multiple BsSnRK2s. The results of this study provide insightful data regarding bZIP TF as one of the stress response regulators in B. striata, while providing a theoretical basis for transgenic and functional studies of the bZIP gene family in B. striata.

Background: There is growing evidence that allergic rhinitis (AR) is associated with indoor environmental factors, but their role in childhood AR during early life remains unclear. Objective: To investigate the association of preconceptional, prenatal, early postnatal, and current exposure to home environmental factors with childhood AR, and to further explore whether this association can be interacted by outdoor air pollution and temperature. Methods: A retrospective cohort study of 8689 preschool children was conducted during 2019–2020 in Changsha, China. A standard questionnaire was used to collect data on each family’s health outcomes and home environments. We considered home environmental exposures during one year before conception, pregnancy, first year of life, and past year. Associations of indoor air pollution and allergens with AR were assessed by multiple logistic regression models. Results: Pre-birth exposure to indoor air pollution emitted by new furniture or redecoration and dampness related allergen derived from mold/damp stains and mold/damp clothes or bedding during 1 year before conception and pregnancy was significantly associated with increased AR, with adjusted ORs (95% CI) ranging from 1.35 (1.05–1.75) to 1.87 (1.55–2.27). Childhood AR was also significantly related with post-birth exposure to dampness related indoor allergen including mold/damp stains and mold/damp clothes or bedding in first year and past year and pollen allergen including total and nonflowing plants in past year, with a range of ORs (95% CI) from 1.20 (1.01–1.42) to 1.79 (1.42–2.27). We identified that pre-birth, particularly in utero exposure to both indoor air pollution from renovation and dampness related allergens, played a key role in AR development compared to post-birth exposures, and accumulative effect was observed with the highest risk of AR. High exposure to traffic-related air pollution (TRAP) including outdoor PM2.5, NO2, CO, and O3, as well as living near traffic road not only significantly increased adverse effect of home environmental factors but also decreased protective effect of household dogs on childhood AR. Early life exposure to low temperature in pregnancy and high temperature in first year significantly increased AR risk of home environmental exposure. Sensitivity analysis indicated that some sub-groups were more susceptible to AR risk of home environmental exposure. Conclusion: Our study suggests that pre-birth exposure to home environmental factors played an important role in AR development and this effect can be interacted by TRAP and temperature, which supports a hypothesis of “(pre)fetal origin of childhood AR”.

Background: Although mounting evidence has associated air pollution and environmental temperature with children’s health problems, it is unclear whether there is an interaction between these factors on childhood asthma. Objectives: To explore the effects of temperature-pollution interactions during pre- and post-natal periods on asthma among pre-schoolers. Methods: A retrospective cohort study of 39,782 pre-schoolers was performed during 2010–2012, in seven cities in China. Exposure to three temperature indicators (TI) and three critical ambient air pollutants, including particulate matter with aerodynamic diameter ≤ 10 μm (PM10), sulfur dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) as proxies of industrial and vehicular air pollution, was estimated by an inverse distance weighted (IDW) method. Two-level logistical regression analysis was used to examine the association between both pre- and post-natal exposure and childhood asthma in terms of odds ratio (OR) and 95 % confidence interval (CI). Results: Asthma prevalence in pre-schoolers at age of 3–6 years (6.9 %) was significantly associated with traffic-related air pollutant (NO2) exposure, with ORs (95 % CI) of 1.17 (1.06, 1.28), 1.19 (1.05–1.34) and 1.16 (1.03–1.31) for an IQR increase in NO2 exposure during lifetime, pregnancy, and entire postnatal period respectively. Furthermore, childhood asthma was positively associated with exposure to increased temperature during lifetime, pregnancy, and entire postnatal period with ORs (95 % CI) = 1.89 (1.66, 2.16), 1.47 (1.34, 1.61), and 1.15 (1.11, 1.18) respectively, while was negatively associated with decreased temperatures. Childhood asthma was positively related with exposure to extreme heat days (EHD) during postnatal period particularly in first year of life respectively with ORs (95 % CI) = 1.23 (1.04, 1.46) and 1.26 (1.07, 1.47), but was not related with extreme cold days (ECD) exposure. A combination of high air pollutant levels and high temperatures significantly increased the risk of asthma during both pre- and post-natal periods. Strikingly, we found a significantly positive interaction of temperature and PM10 or SO2 on asthma risk among boys and younger children. Conclusions: Prenatal and postnatal exposure to ambient air pollution and high temperatures are independently and jointly associated with asthma risk in early childhood.

As the core regulation network for the abscisic acid (ABA) signaling pathway, the PYL-PP2C-SnRK2s family commonly exists in many species. For this study, a total of 9 BsPYLs, 66 BsPP2Cs, and 7 BsSnRK2s genes were identified based on the genomic databases of Bletilla striata, which were classified into 3, 10, and 3 subgroups, respectively. Basic bioinformatics analysis completed, including the physicochemical properties of proteins, gene structures, protein motifs and conserved domains. Multiple cis-acting elements related to stress responses and plant growth were found in promoter regions. Further, 73 genes were localized on 16 pseudochromosomes and 29 pairs of paralogous genes were found via intraspecific collinearity analysis. Furthermore, tissue-specific expression was found in different tissues and germination stages. There were two BsPYLs, 10 BsPP2Cs, and four BsSnRK2 genes that exhibited a difference in response to multiple abiotic stresses. Moreover, subcellular localization analysis revealed six important proteins BsPP2C22, BsPP2C38, BsPP2C64, BsPYL2, BsPYL8, and BsSnRK2.4 which were localized in the nucleus and plasma membrane. Finally, yeast two-hybrid (Y2H) and bimolecular fluorescence complementation (BiFC) assays suggested that BsPP2C22 and BsPP2C38 could interact with multiple BsPYLs and BsSnRK2s proteins. This study systematically reported on the identification and characterization of the PYL-PP2C-SnRK2s family in B. striata, which provided a conceptual basis for deep insights into the functionality of ABA core signal pathways in Orchidaceae.

Background: Emerging evidence suggests that early-life (in-utero and first-year since birth) exposure to ambient PM2.5 is a risk factor for asthma onset and exacerbation among children, while the hazards caused by PM2.5 compositions remain largely unknown. Objective: To examine potential associations of early-life exposures to PM2.5 mass and its major chemical constituents with childhood asthma and wheezing. Methods: By conducting the Phase II of the China, Children, Homes, Health study, we investigated 30,325 preschool children aged 3–6 years during 2019–2020 in mainland China. Early-life exposure to PM2.5 mass and its constituents (i.e., black carbon [BC], organic matter [OM], nitrate, ammonium, sulfate) were calculated based on monthly estimates at a 1 km × 1 km resolution from satellite-based models. We adopted a novel quantile-based g-computation approach to assess the effect of a mixture of PM2.5 constituents on childhood asthma/wheezing. Results: The average PM2.5 concentrations during in-utero and the first year since birth were 64.7 ± 10.6 and 61.8 ± 10.5 µg/m3, respectively. Early-life exposures to a mixture of major PM2.5 constituents were significantly associated with increased risks of asthma and wheezing, while no evident compositions-wheezing associations were found in the first year. Each quintile increases in all five PM2.5 components exposures in utero was accordingly associated with an odds ratio of 1.18 [95% confidence interval: 1.07–1.29] for asthma and 1.08 [1.01–1.16] for wheezing. BC, OM and SO42− contributed more to risks of asthma and wheezing than the other PM2.5 constituents during early life, wherein the effects of BC were only observed during pregnancy. Sex subgroup analyses suggested stronger associations among girls of first-year exposures to PM2.5 components with childhood asthma. Conclusion: Early-life exposures to ambient PM2.5, particularly compositions of BC, OM and SO42−, are associated with an increased risk of childhood asthma.

Abstract Background Pneumonia is the leading cause of death and hospitalization among young children worldwide, but its risk factors remain unclear. Objective To evaluate the effect of maternal exposure to diurnal temperature variation (DTV) during preconceptional and prenatal periods on childhood pneumonia. Methods A retrospective cohort study by case-control design was conducted for pneumonia (N = 699) and normal (N = 811) children under age of 14 who were enrolled in XiangYa Hospital, Changsha, China from May 2017 to April 2019. Demographic data including gender, age, birth season, gestational age, parity, mode of delivery, and parental atopy were collected from the electronic medical records in the hospital system. We obtained the data of daily DTV in Changsha during 2003–2019 from China Meteorological Administration. Maternal exposure to DTV during preconceptional and prenatal periods was respectively calculated by the average of daily DTV during one year and three months before conception and entire pregnancy as well as the three trimesters. The association between maternal exposure to outdoor DTV and childhood pneumonia was analyzed by multiple logic regression model. Results We found that childhood pneumonia was significantly associated with exposure to an increase in DTV during one year before conception and entire pregnancy, with ORs (95 % CI) = 2.53 (1.56–4.10) and 1.85 (1.24–2.76). We further identified a significant risk of pneumonia of DTV exposure during the first and second trimester of pregnancy. Sensitivity analysis showed that boys were more susceptible to the effect of prenatal exposure to outdoor DTV during pregnancy particularly in the first two trimesters compared to girls. Conclusions Preconceptional and prenatal exposure to DTV plays an important role in development of childhood pneumonia, especially during the first and second trimesters of pregnancy.

Nephrotic syndrome (NS) is a common urinary system disease that carries a poor progrnosis due to nonresponsivess to current treatments. The purpose of this study was to investigate the therapeutic effects of Forsythiaside (FA) in a rat model of adriamycin-induced nephropathy (AN). Compared with control group, FA treatment significantly reduced proteinuria, serum creatinine and urea nitrogen levels and reduced the number of apoptotic cells in the kidneys. FA alleviated Adr induced renal injury, and increased the sactivity of superoxide dismutase (SOD), while decreasing malondialdehyde (MDA) and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) in the serum. In addition, FA, in a dose-dependent manner, decreased the levels of NF-kappaBp65/MIP-2 in the kidenys, reduced the serum level of pro-inflammatory cytokines (IL-6, IL-1 β and TNF-alpha), and increased the survival rate of Adr treated rats. Taken together, the results show that FA alleviates renal dysfunction in adriamycin-induced nephropathy rats.

Abstract Ziziphus spinosa (Bunge) H.H. Hu ex F.H. Chen is a woody plant species of the family Rhamnaceae (order Rhamnales) that possesses high nutritional and medicinal value. Predicting the effects of climate change on the distribution of Z. spinosa is of great significance for the investigation, protection, and exploitation of this germplasm resource. For this study, optimized maximum entropy models were employed to predict the distribution patterns and changes of its present (1970–2000) and future (2050s, 2070s, and 2090s) potential suitable regions in China under multiple climate scenarios (SSP1‐2.6, SSP2‐4.5, SSP3‐7.0 & SSP5‐8.5). The results revealed that the total area of the present potential suitable region for Z. spinosa is 162.60 × 104 km2, which accounts for 16.94% of China's territory. Within this area, the regions having low, medium, and high suitability were 80.14 × 104 km2, 81.50 × 104 km2, and 0.96 × 104 km2, respectively, with the high suitability regions being distributed primarily in Shanxi, Hebei, and Beijing Provinces. Except for SSP‐1‐2.6‐2070s, SSP‐5‐8.5‐2070s, and SSP‐5‐8.5‐2090s, the suitable areas for Z. spinosa in the future increased to different degrees. Meanwhile, considering the distribution of Z. spinosa during different periods and under different climate scenarios, our study predicted that the low impact areas of Z. spinosa were mainly restricted to Shanxi, Shaanxi, Ningxia, Gansu, Liaoning, Inner Mongolia, and Jilin Provinces. The results of core distributional shifts showed that, except for SSP1‐2.6, the center of the potential suitable region of Z. spinosa exhibited a trend of gradually shifting to the northwest.

Environmental exposure is considered to be a main triggering factor of laryngitis, a common upper respiratory tract infection, especially in developing countries. However, unclear detrimental air pollutants and lack of understanding on their early-life exposure and laryngitis warrant further investigation. Therefore, a retrospective cohort including 2328 preschool children was conducted during 2015–2016 in Shenzhen, China. We measured ambient air quality of PM10, SO2 and NO2 in 12 monitoring stations, and obtained childhood laryngitis prevalence and confounding covariates by questionnaire. Multiple logistic regression analysis showed that the lifetime prevalence of childhood laryngitis (12.2%) was associated with an interquartile range increase in late preconception (adjusted odds ratio: 1.43, 95% confidence interval: 1.06‒1.92), prenatal (1.35, 1.02–1.79) and early-postnatal (1.32, 1.11‒1.57) exposure to SO2. Sensitivity analysis revealed that this relationship appeared more obvious among boys without parental atopy, mold/damp stains, or window condensation. Nevertheless, there was no evidence for the association between early-life PM10 and NO2 exposure and childhood laryngitis. These findings suggest that early-life exposure to SO2 significantly increases risk of childhood laryngitis. Preventive measures need to be implemented to mitigate industrial air pollution.

The main target of retrosynthesis is to recursively decompose desired molecules into available building blocks. Existing template-based retrosynthesis methods follow a template selection stereotype and suffer from limited training templates, which prevents them from discovering novel reactions. To overcome this limitation, we propose an innovative retrosynthesis prediction framework that can compose novel templates beyond training templates. As far as we know, this is the first method that uses machine learning to compose reaction templates for retrosynthesis prediction. Besides, we propose an effective reactant candidate scoring model that can capture atom-level transformations, which helps our method outperform previous methods on the USPTO-50K dataset. Experimental results show that our method can produce novel templates for 15 USPTO-50K test reactions that are not covered by training templates. We have released our source implementation.

Cremastraappendiculata (Orchidaceae) is a perennial medicinal herb, which is included in the national second-class protected plant catalog in China. Due to the influences of climate change and anthropogenic activities, in conjunction with soaring commercial prices, the wild sources of C.appendiculata have been drastically reduced and are in danger of extinction. Consequently, it is important to predict the distribution of potentially suitable growth/propagation areas for C.appendiculata under the backdrop of climate change for its protection and sustainable use. For this study, an optimized maximum entropy model was employed to analyze the distribution patterns and changes of potentially suitable regions for C.appendiculata during different periods since the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM, 18–24 ka). Based on multiple climate change scenarios (SSP1-2.6, SSP2-4.5, SSP3-7.0, and SSP5-8.5), the distribution range of C. appendiculata was predicted for the 2050s (average for 2041–2060), 2070s (average for 2061–2080), and 2090s (average for 2081–2100). The results revealed that during the LGM period, the highly suitable growth area for C.appendiculata was 0.28 × 104 km2, which accounted for only 3.26% of the current highly suitable growth area. During the mid-Holocene (MH, 6 ka) period, the area of highly suitable regions increased to 8.38 × 104 km2, which accounted for 99.30% of the present highly suitable growth area. Further, the cumulative existing potentially suitable growth area for C. appendiculata is 213.9 × 104 km2, which accounts for 22.28% of China’s territory. Of these lands, the low, medium, and high suitable areas are 147.76 × 104 km2, 57.71 × 104 km2, and 8.44 × 104 km2, respectively. The highly suitable areas are primarily distributed across Sichuan, Gansu, Shaanxi, Chongqing, Guizhou, Hubei, and Anhui Provinces. Moreover, in the future the potentially suitable growth areas for C. appendiculata will decrease to varying degrees. Further, the results of this study found that the relatively low impact areas for C. appendiculata were mainly distributed across Shaanxi, Sichuan, Chongqing, and Guizhou Provinces. Centroid transfer analysis indicated that the center of potentially suitable growth areas for C.appendiculata shifted to the northwest in SSP2-4.5 and SSP3-7.0, while they initially shifted to the northwest and then to the southeast in SSP1-2.6 and SSP5-8.5.

SWEETs (sugars will eventually be exported transporters), a well-known class of sugar transporters, are involved in plant growth and development, sugar transport, biotic and abiotic stresses, etc. However, to date, there have been few investigations of SWEETs in Orchidaceae. In this study, 23 SWEET genes were identified in Bletilla striata for the first time, with an MtN3/saliva conserved domain, and were divided into four subgroups by phylogenetic tree. The same subfamily members had similar gene structures and motifs. Multiple cis-elements related to sugar and environmental stresses were found in the promoter region. Further, 21 genes were localized on 11 chromosomes and 2 paralogous pairs were found via intraspecific collinearity analysis. Expression profiling results showed that BsSWEETs were tissue-specific. It also revealed that BsSWEET10 and BsSWEET18 were responsive to low temperature and oxidative stresses. In addition, subcellular localization study indicated that BsSWEET15 and BsSWEET16 were localized in the cell membrane. This study provided important clues for the in-depth elucidation of the sugar transport mechanism of BsSWEET genes and their functional roles in response to abiotic stresses.

We studied indoor sources of indoor particulate matter (PM), outdoor air pollution and antibiotic use in relation to asthma, rhinitis and eczema among pre-school children and investigated synergistic effects between PM and antibiotics use. Children (3-6y) from randomly selected day care centres in seven cities across China were included (n = 39,782). Data on ambient temperature and air pollution were collected from local monitoring stations. Data on indoor PM sources (ETS, burning of incense or mosquito coils and biomass for cooking), antibiotics use and health (doctor diagnosed asthma and rhinitis, lifetime eczema, current wheeze and current rhinitis) were assessed by a parental questionnaire. Associations were calculated by multilevel logistic regression. Asthma diagnosis was associated with outdoor temperature, NO2 and burning mosquito coils. Rhinitis diagnosis was associated with NO2, ETS, gas cooking and burning biomass for cooking. Lifetime eczema was associated with temperature, PM10, NO2, ETS, biomass cooking and burning mosquito coils. Burning incense was associated with current wheeze and current rhinitis. Children using antibiotics had more asthma, wheeze, rhinitis, and eczema. Excluding children with respiratory infections did not change associations with antibiotics use. Antibiotics use enhanced the effects of ETS and PM10 (a synergistic effect). In conclusion, a warmer climate, outdoor NO2 and PM10, ETS, gas cooking and burning biomass, incense and mosquito coils can increase the risk of asthma, wheeze, rhinitis and eczema among pre-school children in China. Antibiotics use is a risk factor for childhood asthma, wheeze, rhinitis and eczema and ETS and outdoor PM10 can enhance the effect.

Objective: Few longitudinal studies exist on childhood exposure to indoor and outdoor air pollution and respiratory illness in China. We studied associations between indoor and outdoor environment and prevalence, onset and remission of wheeze and rhinitis among children across China. Methods: Children (3–6 y) were recruited from randomized day care centres in six cities. The main data analysis was restricted to children not moving since birth (N = 17,679). Data on wheeze, rhinitis and the home environment were assessed by a parental questionnaire. Prevalence in the first two years of life (baseline) and the last year (follow-up) was used to calculate onset and remission. Outdoor PM2.5, PM10, and NO2 at the day care centre were modelled from monitoring station data. Associations were calculated by multilevel logistic regression. Results: Prenatal NO2 was associated with decreased remission of wheeze and increased prevalence and increased onset of rhinitis. Prenatal PM2.5 was associated with increased prevalence of wheeze. Postnatal NO2 and postnatal PM10 were associated with increased prevalence and lower remission of wheeze and rhinitis. Mould, window pane condensation, renovation and cockroaches at home were associated with increased prevalence and increased onset of wheeze and rhinitis. Gas cooking was associated with increased onset of rhinitis. Children of mothers with industrial work had more wheeze. Conclusions: Outdoor PM2.5, PM10 and NO2 can increase childhood wheeze and rhinitis. Dampness and mould can increase onset and decrease remission. Crowdedness, cockroaches at home and emissions from new building materials and gas cooking can be risk factors for wheeze and rhinitis. Keywords: Asthma, Rhinitis, Dampness, PM2.5, Traffic-related air pollution (TRAP), Renovation

Background: Increasing evidence has linked childhood pneumonia with early exposure to ambient air pollution. However, the impact of exposure to air pollutants before birth is unclear. Objective: To further clarify whether exposure to a particular pollutant during preconceptional and prenatal periods, may pose a higher risk of developing childhood pneumonia. Methods: This case-control cohort study consisted of 1510 children aged 0–14 years in Changsha, China between 2017 and 2019. Data of children's history of pneumonia and blood biomarkers were obtained from the XiangYa Hospital records. Each child's exposure to air pollutants, including nitrogen dioxide (NO2), sulfur dioxide (SO2), and particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter ≤ 10 µm (PM10), was calculated using data from ten air pollution monitoring stations. A multivariate logistic regression model was used to quantify the relationship between childhood pneumonia and exposure to ambient air pollution during the preconceptional and prenatal periods. Results: Childhood pneumonia was significantly associated with preconceptional and prenatal exposure to the industrial-related air pollutant, SO2, for 1 year before conception, for 3 months before conception and for the entire pregnancy, with ORs(95% CI)= 4.01(3.17–5.07), 4.06(3.29–5.00) and 6.51(4.82–8.79). Also, children who were sick with pneumonia had higher white blood cell and neutrophil counts, and children with low eosinophil count or hemoglobin are likely to get pneumonia. Sensitivity analysis showed that boys, and children in high temperature area were susceptible to the effect of both preconceptional and prenatal exposure to industrial SO2. Conclusion: Preconceptional and prenatal exposure to industrial-related air pollution plays a significant role in the incidence and progression of childhood pneumonia, supporting the hypothesis of “(pre-)fetal origin of childhood pneumonia”.

Background: Few Chinese population studies exist on early life risk factors for furry pet allergy. Objectives: We studied childhood respiratory symptoms when in contact with furry pets in relation to early life exposure. Moreover, we studied similar environmental associations for rhinitis not related to furry pets. Methods: Children aged 3–6 y from day care centres in seven Chinese cities participated (N = 39,782). Parents answered a questionnaire on home environment and children’s health, including rhinoconjunctivitis and wheeze when in contact with furry pets, and diagnosed rhinitis. Prenatal and postnatal outdoor temperature, PM2.5, PM10, and NO2 were calculated using data from monitoring stations. Associations were estimated by multilevel logistic regression. Results: Totally 2% had cats, 4% dogs, and 3.2% had rhinoconjunctivitis or wheeze when in contact with furry pets (FP symptoms). Moreover, 1.1% had furry pet related diagnosed rhinitis and 7.5% had diagnosed rhinitis not related to furry pets (other diagnosed rhinitis). Prenatal PM2.5 and PM10, especially in second trimester, and a colder climate were risk factors for FP symptoms. ETS, dampness and mould, condensation on windows in wintertime, and cats and dog keeping were associated with FP symptoms. Breast feeding and frequent window opening were protective. Similar indoor associations were found for furry pet related diagnosed rhinitis. ETS, dampness and mould, window condensation, urbanization and mechanical exhaust ventilation were risk factors for other diagnosed rhinitis. Cooking with an electric stove and early life exposure to animals (cats, dogs, farm environment during pregnancy) were protective for diagnosed rhinitis not related to furry pets. Conclusions: Prenatal outdoor PM10 and PM2.5 can be risk factors for symptoms suggestive of furry pet allergy. Early life dampness and mould can be risk factors for rhinitis related and not related to furry pets. Exposure to animals (cats, dogs, farm environment) may reduce diagnosed rhinitis not related to furry pets.

Bletilla striata (Thunb. ex A. Murray) Rchb. f., a species of the perennial herb Orchidaceae, has potent anti-inflammatory and antiviral biological activities. MADS-box transcription factors play critical roles in the various developmental processes of plants. Although this gene family has been extensively investigated in many species, it has not been analyzed for B. striata. In total, 45 MADS-box genes were identified from B. striata in this study, which were classified into five subfamilies (Mδ, MIKC, Mα, Mβ, and Mγ). Meanwhile, the highly correlated protein domains, motif compositions, and exon–intron structures of BsMADSs were investigated according to local B. striata databases. Chromosome distribution and synteny analyses revealed that segmental duplication and homologous exchange were the main BsMADSs expansion mechanisms. Further, RT-qPCR analysis revealed that BsMADSs had different expression patterns in response to various stress treatments. Our results provide a potential theoretical basis for further investigation of the functions of MADS genes during the growth of B. striata.

The main aim was to study associations between asthma, allergic rhinitis and eczema among adults across China and dampness and mold at home. Young adults (N = 40,279) in eight cities in China answered a questionnaire in 2010–2012 (response rate 75.0%). Data on asthma, allergic rhinitis, eczema and the home environment was assessed by the questionnaire. Climate data was obtained from China Meteorological Administration and the website of Weather Underground. Health associations were analyzed by two-level logistic regression models, adjusting for covariates. Totally 1.6% had asthma, 6.6% allergic rhinitis and 2.2% eczema. Mold odor was associated with asthma (OR = 1.90) and allergic rhinitis (OR = 1.25–1.44). Window pane condensation in winter was associated with asthma (OR = 1.39), allergic rhinitis (OR = 1.26–1.58) and eczema (OR = 1.36–1.77). Presence of mold spots or damp stains was related to asthma (OR = 1.58–2.49), allergic rhinitis (OR = 1.35–1.76) and eczema (OR = 1.47–1.70). Water damage was related to asthma (OR = 1.69–1.82), allergic rhinitis (OR = 1.40–1.45) and eczema (OR = 1.44–1.96). Damp bed clothing was related to asthma (OR = 1.23), allergic rhinitis (OR = 1.23) and eczema (OR = 1.35). A higher dampness score was associated with increased odds ratios for diseases. Those living in older buildings had more asthma (OR = 1.39–1.76) and allergic rhinitis (OR = 1.16–1.21). Those living in suburban or rural areas had less asthma, allergic rhinitis and eczema as compared to those living in urban areas (OR values from 0.24 to 0.66). Stronger health associations with dampness and mold were found in southern China and in newer buildings (constructed after 2005). In conclusion, dampness and mold at home can be risk factors for asthma, allergic rhinitis and eczema among adults in China. Living in older buildings can be risk factors for asthma or allergic rhinitis while living in less urbanized areas can be protective. Keywords: Asthma, Allergic rhinitis, Eczema, Dampness, Mold, Climate

The modified asphalt with waste packaging polypropylene (WPP) and WPP/organic rectorite (OREC) was prepared by the melt blending method. The effects of OREC on the physical and aging properties of WPP-modified asphalt were studied. The morphologies, microstructure, and thermal properties of WPP-modified asphalt and WPP/OREC-modified asphalt were characterized by fluorescence microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and thermogravimetry (TG). The results show that the composite-modified asphalt exhibits excellent ductility and plasticity when the contents of WPP and OREC are 4 wt. % and 1.5 wt. %, respectively. The deformation ability, softening point, ductility, and high-temperature storage stability of WPP-modified asphalt can be improved by adding the appropriate content of OREC. It is demonstrated that the composite-modified asphalt has an outstanding operational performance when the content of OREC is in the range of 1.5–2 wt. %. Compared with base asphalt, the high temperature performance of WPP-modified asphalt and WPP/OREC-modified asphalt is also improved significantly.

Mammalian embryos often suffer from oxidative stress in vitro, as the oxygen in the atmosphere is higher than that in the oviductal environment. Vitamin C (Vc) has been proven to enhance early embryonic development in vitro, but the underlying mechanism remains unclear. In this study, we investigated the pathways of action by which Vc promotes the in vitro development of porcine embryos. Comparative analysis of in vitro and in vivo gene expression profiles of morula found that most of the differentially expressed genes were enriched in pathways related to mitochondrial function. The addition of 12.5 μg/mL Vc to the culture medium significantly increased blastocyst production in a dose- and duration-dependent manner. Moreover, ROS levels were significantly higher in embryos cultured in the air (21% oxygen) than cultured in a hypoxic condition (5% oxygen) and were reduced by Vc supplementation. Vc also significantly increased the mitochondrial membrane potential levels and the expression levels of mitochondrial function-related genes (MFN1 and OPA1) and TCA cycle-related genes (PDHA1 and OGDH) in embryos cultured in vitro. These results suggest that the addition of Vc to the in vitro culture medium can increase the developmental potential and improve the mitochondrial function of early porcine embryos.

Amaranthus retroflexus L. is one of the invasive malignant weeds in soybean fields. Diphenyl ether herbicides are commonly used to control weeds in soybean fields currently, among which fomesafen is the most widely used. With the long-term use of fomesafen, the weed species in soybean fields in multiple areas declined, and the control effect of fomesafen against Amaranthus retroflexus decreased significantly. This study aims to confirm the effects of long-term use of fomesafen on weed community richness and the current resistance level of Amaranthus retroflexus. In this paper, the result of seed germination indicated that the weed community richness decreased significantly due to the long-term application of fomesafen, and the primary dominant weed was Amaranthus retroflexus. The result of the whole-plant bioassay showed that Amaranthus retroflexus has developed resistance to fomesafen, and the resistance index was 50~59 g a.i. ha-1. The resistance level and mechanism of Amaranthus retroflexus were clarified by target gene detection, enzyme activity determination, and gene expression analysis. The results showed that there were both target resistance with Arg128Gly mutation in the PPX2 gene and non-target resistance (NTSR), with increased activity of metabolic enzymes (cytochromes P450 (P450s) and glutathione S-transferase (GSTs)) and protective enzymes (peroxidase (POD) and catalase (CAT)) in Amaranthus retroflexus.

Morphogenesis is a precise and robust dynamic process during metazoan embryogenesis, consisting of both cell proliferation and cell migration. Despite the fact that much is known about specific regulations at molecular level, how cell proliferation and migration together drive the morphogenesis at cellular and organismic levels is not well understood. Using Caenorhabditis elegans as the model animal, we present a phase field model to compute early embryonic morphogenesis within a confined eggshell. With physical information about cell division obtained from three-dimensional time-lapse cellular imaging experiments, the model can precisely reproduce the early morphogenesis process as seen in vivo, including time evolution of location and morphology of each cell. Furthermore, the model can be used to reveal key cell-cell attractions critical to the development of C. elegans embryo. Our work demonstrates how genetic programming and physical forces collaborate to drive morphogenesis and provides a predictive model to decipher the underlying mechanism. Author summary: Embryonic development is a precise process involving cell division, cell-cell interaction, and cell migration. During the process, how each cell reaches its supposed location and be in contact with the right neighbors, and what roles genetic factors and physical forces play are important and fascinating questions. Using the worm Caenorhabditis elegans as a model system, we build a phase field model to simulate early morphogenesis. With a few physical inputs, the model can precisely reproduce the early morphological development of the worm. Such an accurate simulator can not only teach us how physical forces work together with genetic factors to shape up the complex process of development, but also make predictions, such as key cell-cell attractions critical in the process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a symbol of green environmental protection in the new era, low-energy green building has set off a building trend all over the world. Improving the energy efficiency and green environmental protection level of buildings and realizing the sustainable development have become one of the symbols of a powerful country today. This paper introduces the current situation of low-energy green buildings from three aspects: the maturity of lowenergy building technology system, the expansion of popularization scope and the continuous improvement of building energy efficiency, and points out the problems of limited concept popularization and slow technology development in China. Also, it introduces the development direction of three new low-energy green building technology, namely HTWD wall technology, vacuum insulated panel and waterproofing membrane for photovoltaic power generation. Finally, it is suggested that foreign technology should be introduced to promote the domestic low-energy construction industry market, and the concept of green and low energy consumption should be adopted for development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]