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The southeastern China coast is a region of special interest in the study of past and present relative sea-level change, given its distal location from giant ice sheets (far-field regions). During the past decades, a large number of biological, geological, and archaeological sea-level indicators have been retrieved from the Fujian coastal region which allows for recalibration and recalculation of sea-level index points (SLIPs). This study constructs a database of Holocene relative sea-level (RSL) observations for the Fujian coast, southeastern China. The database contains 59 quality-controlled SLIPs which show that RSL for the Fujian coast did not exceed present (0 m) during the Holocene, except potentially during 7.5–5.5 cal. kyr BP and 1.8–0.7 cal. kyr BP. Rates of RSL change were highest during the early Holocene and have decreased over time, due to the diminishing response of the Earth's mantle to glacial isostatic adjustment (GIA) and reduction of meltwater input. A series of sea-level oscillations were recorded in our SLIPs-based reconstructions which might correspond to global climate warming or cooling events. We assessed the spatial variability of RSL histories and compared these with the ICE-6G_C and ANU-ICE GIA model predictions. Substantial misfits between GIA predictions and regional RSL reconstructions were recognized: (1) the deceleration of the early-Holocene sea-level rise ended about one millennia earlier in the ICE-6G_C model than in the SLIPs-based reconstructions; (2) GIA model predictions show a mid-Holocene sea-level highstand of 1–3 m which is absent from our SLIPs-based reconstructions; and (3) all GIA model predicted a gradual RSL fall to 0 m since the middle Holocene, while our reconstruction displays significant RSL oscillations. It is presently unknown whether these misfits are caused by uncertainties in regional tectonic movement estimation or parameters used in the GIA models. Future applications of spatiotemporal statistical techniques are required to better quantify the gradient of the isostatic contribution and to provide improved context for the assessment of the ongoing acceleration of sea-level rise. Ministry of Education (MOE) National Research Foundation (NRF) Submitted/Accepted version This work was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 42076207 to Fengling Yu); the Funda- mental Research Funds for the Central Universities of Xiamen University (Grant No. 20720190096 to Fengling Yu); the China Postdoctoral Sci- ence Foundation (Grant No. 2021M691862 to Nannan Li); the Singapore Ministry of Education Academic Research Fund MOE2019-T3-1-004 and MOE-T2EP50120-0007, the National Research Foundation Singapore, and the Singapore Ministry of Education, under the Research Centers of Excellence initiative (to Tanghua Li).

Aim Vasa vasorum neovascularization is a key feature of atherosclerosis (AS) and is strongly associated with inflammatory infiltration, lipid deposition, intraplaque hemorrhage, and hemosiderin deposit. Here we investigate the effects of Endostar, a strong anti-angiogenic drug, on vasa vasorum neovascularization in the experimental porcine model of early AS. Methods Eighteen adult male Ba-Ma mini pigs were randomized into three groups, with six animals in each group. The pigs in the normal (N) group were fed a normal diet for 18 weeks, without balloon injury surgery. The animals in the atherosclerotic (AS) control and AS＋Endostar groups were fed a hypercholesterolemic diet for 12 weeks after balloon injury surgery; they received either saline or Endostar for an additional six weeks, while continuing the hypercholesterolemic diet. The atherosclerotic abdominal aorta and levels of serum lipids, TNF-alpha, IL-6, and hs-CRP were analyzed at 18 weeks. Results The AS group had a significantly higher body weight and serum lipid concentration levels than the N group (p ＜ 0.05), confirming the success of the hypercholesterolemic diet. However, no statistical differences were noted between the AS and AS＋Endostar groups. Histopathology results revealed that vasa vasorum density and intima-media thickness (IMT) had also increased in the AS group compared with those in the N group (p ＜ 0.05). The Endostar treatment significantly alleviated AS with decreased vasa vasorum density and IMT (AS vs. AS＋Endostar, p ＜ 0.05). Western blot analysis indicated that the expression of VEGF, β-catenin, and TNF-alpha in the atherosclerotic abdominal aorta was considerably reduced by the Endostar treatment. In addition, immunohistochemistry results showed that the angiogenesis markers VEGF and β-catenin were predominately localized in endothelial cells of the adventitial vasa vasorum. The levels of the serum inflammatory markers TNF-alpha, hs-CRP, and IL-6 were markedly higher in the AS group than in the N group (p ＜ 0.05) but showed no marked difference during the Endostar treatment, suggesting that the local inhibition of angiogenesis was not accompanied by a change in serum inflammatory markers and that the inhibitive effect of Endostar on local TNF-alpha expression could be because of the prevention of vasa vasorum neovascularization. Conclusions Our results demonstrated that the Endostar treatment inhibited vasa vasorum neovascularization and AS progression in the experimental porcine model of early AS, supporting the role of vasa vasorum neovascularization in the development of AS and the therapeutic potential of anti-angiogenesis intervention in AS.

Objective: Atherosclerotic plaques and neovascularization play an important role in the course of coronary atherosclerosis. This study evaluated the effect of recombinant endostatin on experimental atherosclerotic plaques and neovascularization in rabbits. Methods: Eighteen healthy male rabbits were divided into three groups: control group, atherosclerotic model group, and recombinant endostatin treated group. The atherosclerotic model was established via a high-cholesterol diet after balloon catheter injury. The subject weights, serum total cholesterol, creatine kinase-myocardial band fraction (CKMB), and matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2) were measured. Six weeks after treatment, the aortic roots were taken for pathological assay. The thickness ratio of the intima to media was measured by hematoxylin and eosin (HE) staining, and the number of neovessels was measured by immunohistochemistry via monoclonal antibody CD31 staining. Results: The weight, plasma total cholesterol, and CKMB were not significantly different between the atherosclerotic model group and the recombinant endostatin treated group, but much higher than those of the control group (P0.05) in the recombinant endostatin treated group, compared to the atherosclerotic model group. Conclusions: Recombinant endostatin is able to inhibit the growth of neovascularization in the atherosclerotic plaque and the development of plaque.

To improve teaching quality in higher education is the primary task and one of the main teaching research topics in our country. This thesis aims at analyzing the influencing factors on teaching quality based on the thesis of crisis management, exporting the strategy of constructing long-term teaching quality monitoring system of hospitals affiliated to medical universities. It can provide a favorable theoretical basis for improving teaching quality of medical universities.