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• Revised the deposition timing of the Guandu Group in Zanhuang Complex, NCC. • Subdivide the Guandu Group into Neoarchean and Paleoproterozoic parts. • The Zanhuang Complex experienced at least two subduction-collision events. • A new two-period tectonic events model is proposed. The Zanhuang Complex is located in central section of the Trans-North China Orogen (TNCO) in the North China Craton (NCC) with complicated tectonic history. The formation timing (Neoarchean or Paleoproterozoic) of the Guandu Group or Central Zanhuang Domain (CZD) is still under debate, while this question is critical for understanding the tectonic evolution of the Zanhuang Complex and the TNCO. The mafic rocks in the Guandu Group (or CZD) can be subdivided into three different types by petrological, geochronological, structural and petrogenetic differences. Type 1 consists of "pillow" epidosites and amphibolites, located at the west part of the Guandu Group; type 2 dominated by amphibolites and interbedding with various sedimentary rocks, located at the east part; and type 3 consists of mafic dikes beyond the scope of this paper. Type 1 mafic rock yielded zircon U-Pb age of 2501 ± 12 Ma which constrains it formed at Neoarchean with older Nd T DM ages (2.8–3.0 Ga). Interbedded sedimentary rocks with younger than 2.1 Ga detrital zircon ages, and the much younger Nd T DM model ages (2.2–2.3 Ga) of the amphibolites from type 2, together suggest that the type 2 mafic rocks and associated sedimentary rocks may have formed at Paleoproterozoic. Thus, we propose that the so-called Guandu Group is not a single and unitary tectonic-lithological unit but consists of at least two different volcanic-sedimentary successions formed at different times and pieced together by later tectonic event (s). A new two-period tectonic events model is proposed here. Before 2.5 Ga, the western margin of the Eastern Block deposited a series of volcanic-sedimentary rocks (type 1). At ∼2.5 Ga, the Fuping arc (including the Western Zanhuang Domain) amalgamated with the Eastern Block by arc-continent collision. After a quiescent period, it underwent ∼2.1 Ga extension and rifting. Later, the rift evolved into a small ocean basin with the deposition of volcanic-sedimentary sequences (type 2), then closed through west-dipping subduction and collision at 1.9–1.85 Ga, resulting in the final amalgamation of the NCC and the widespread deformation and metamorphism in the Zanhuang Complex as well as the whole TNCO. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Context: The treatment of spinal metastases (SM) has been significantly improved in recent years, which gives health-related quality of life (HRQOL) further significance in management of SM. The Spine Oncology Study Group Outcomes Questionnaire version 2.0 (SOSGOQ 2.0) was a specific targeted SM HRQOL criterion that was previously reported to pose good reliability and validity. However, there is no culturally adapted, reliable, and validated version of SOSGOQ 2.0 in mainland China.Purpose: The current study aimed to translate the SOSGOQ 2.0 in a cross-cultural fashion, before evaluating the reliability and validity of the adapted simplified Chinese version of (SC-SOSGOQ 2.0) for patients with spinal metastases (SM).Study Design/setting: Translation, cross-cultural adaptation, and validation were performed on the Chinese version of the SOSGOQ 2.0.Patient Sample: Patients who were diagnosed with metastatic spinal disease, posing at least 6-years experience of education and the ability to read and speak Chinese.Outcome Measures: Reliability and Validity of the SC-SOSGOQ 2.0 were measured to assess HRQOL in patients with SM.Methods: The cross-cultural adaptation of the SOSGOQ 2.0 was conducted following international guidelines. The reliability and validity of the SC-SOSGOQ 2.0 was assessed in a multi-center, prospective observational study. The test-retest reliability was assessed by comparing the results of the first and final SC-SOSGOQ 2.0 scales, with 2 weeks apart. The discriminative, concurrent, and construct validity of the cross-culturally adapted questionnaire was individually evaluated. The relationship among the SC-SOSGOQ 2.0, SC-EQ-5D-5L and SC-SF-36 was assessed using the correlation coefficients.Results: One hundred and twenty patients were included in this study. No floor or ceiling effects were observed for the SC-SOSGOQ 2.0. The Cronbach's α for domains of neurological function, pain, mental health, social function, and post-therapy were 0.825, 0.876, 0.896, 0.897, 0.943, and 0.835, respectively. The value of inter-class correlation coefficient ranged from 0.55 to 0.83, which reflected a satisfactory test-retest reliability. Concurrent assessment of criterion validity demonstrated a moderate-to-strong correlation in all domains of SC-SOSGOQ 2.0 with the SC-EQ-5D-5L (0.34-0.74) and SC-SF-36 (0.33-0.76). The best-correlated domain was physical function (0.741 in the EQ-5D-5L and 0.722 in the SF-36).Conclusions: The SC-SOSGOQ 2.0 demonstrated an excellent acceptability, score distribution, internal consistency, test-retest reliability and validity. It was therefore considered as a tool effective for evaluating HRQOL of Chinese patients with SM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Pathogen characteristics in sewage, sludge, and air during rural sewage treatment process. • Rural WWTFs cut down on the genera and concentration of pathogens. • Effluent caused higher pathogen concentrations in downstream river than in upstream river. • Pathogens in aerosol and sludge were mainly from sewage and biological units, respectively. • Aerobic unit aerosols and effluent of rural WWTFs increased the microbial exposure risks. Pathogenic microorganisms can cause infection, sepsis, and other diseases in humans. Although municipal wastewater plants are important sources and sinks for potential pathogenic microorganisms, data on rural wastewater treatment processes are limited. The proximity of rural wastewater facilities to human settlements and the trend toward wastewater resourcing could pose risks to humans. Here, a typical village in southern China was selected to analyze potential pathogenic microorganisms in wastewater, sewage sludge, and aerosols during the collection, treatment, and discharge of domestic wastewater. The succession characteristics and concentration variations of potential pathogenic microorganisms throughout the wastewater treatment process were identified using high-throughput sequencing and culture methods. Bacteria-associated health risks in facility aerosols were estimated based on average daily dose rates from inhalation and dermal exposure. Lower amounts of pathogenic bacteria and pathogenic fungi were detected in the effluent of the 1-ton treatment scale and the 10-ton treatment scale facilities, compared to those in the influent. Pathogen effluent concentrations were significantly lower than influent concentrations after treatment in rural wastewater facilities. 16 and 29 potential pathogenic bacteria and fungi were detected in aerosols from wastewater treatment facilities, respectively. Furthermore, the potential pathogen concentrations were higher than those in the background air. Aerobic units are the main source of pathogen emissions from aerosols. There were 42 potential pathogenic bacteria and 34 potential pathogenic fungi in the sewage sludge. Biochemical units were the main source of potential pathogens in sewage sludge, and more potential airborne pathogens originated from wastewater. In rural wastewater resourcing processes with greater pollutant exposure, the effluent of rural wastewater treatment facilities (WWTFs), downstream rivers, and facility aerosols, could be important potential sources of microbial risk. Inhalation is the main pathway of human exposure to airborne bacteria. Therefore, more attention should be focused on microbiological risk in rural wastewater treatment processes. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Misinformation has become prevalent since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. To understand why people believe and share misinformation, we conducted a nationwide survey during the COVID-19 outbreak in China. We found the indirect effects of COVID-19 risk on people's information accuracy judgment and associated information sharing intention through people's emotional states. People faced with a higher level of COVID-19 risk (measured by a 7-day moving average of daily new deaths or new cases) experienced weaker positive and stronger negative emotions, and heightened emotionality (both the positive and negative emotions) was associated with increased belief in and greater likelihood to share the COVID-19 information regardless of veracity. We also found that only the negative emotion mediated the relation between the COVID-19 risk and the truth discernment regarding accuracy judgment. However, the mediating effect of negative emotion disappeared among people with high analytic thinking ability. These findings suggest that the analytic thinking ability could moderate the destructive relationship between negative emotion and accuracy discernment. Based on a large sample, our findings provide actionable insights for the policymakers to respond to the spread of misinformation appropriately and promptly during the pandemic. • Heightened emotionality was associated with increased belief in and a greater likelihood to share COVID-19 information. • Negative emotion was negatively associated with accuracy discernment. • Analytic thinking moderated the indirect relation between COVID-19 risk and accuracy discernment via negative emotion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Corona Virus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak has changed the lifestyles of billions of people. Face masks, as a daily protective tool, have become a must-have item. The number of masks discarded has soared, making environmental and hygiene problems impossible to ignore. The rapid development of biodegradable materials may be one of the solutions to this issue. In this study, life cycle assessment (LCA) was used as a method to quantitatively analyze the environmental impacts of two disposable medical masks, biodegradable polylactic acid (PLA) and fossil-based polypropylene (PP). The results show that human toxicity (63.93%), acidification (39.93%), global warming potential (36.29%), and abiotic depletion (83.55%) of disposable medical masks mainly made of PLA were significantly lower than those of PP. The photochemical oxidation (4.89%) for PLA masks was slightly higher. The manufacturing cost per unit hour was 0.060 yuan (PP) and 0.0675 yuan (PLA). It was estimated that the replacement could reduce global carbon emissions by 321,392,700 tons and 466,400 tons for China. Furthermore, the process improvements in the raw material acquisition stage could maximize the benefits of carbon reduction. [Display omitted] • Feasibility of PLA as a substitute for PP in the disposable masks production verified by LCA. • The replacement can reduce annual global carbon emissions by about 321 million tons. • The manufacturing cost are 0.06 yuan/h (PP) and 0.0675 yuan/h (PLA). • Raw material acquisition stage has the greatest impact on the carbon emission. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ambient air pollution increases the risk of respiratory mortality and morbidity, but evidence concerning effects of air pollution on chronic bronchitis (CB) is scarce. This study aimed to evaluate the associations of a set of air pollutants with the burden of CB, and to explore potential modifiers on the associations. In 2020, a total of 6,556,440 adults living in the Northwestern region of China were recruited. The Space-Time Extra-Trees model was employed to assess the annual average concentrations of six air pollutants for the three years (2017-2019) before 2020 , and subsequently allocated to the participants based on the latitude and longitude of their home addresses. We investigated the associations between the levels of various air pollutants and the odds of CB using generalized linear mixed models, and conducted multiple sensitivity analyses and subgroup analyses. The odds of CB displays an approximately linear association with particulate matter with aerodynamic diameter ≤2.5 μm (PM 2.5), particulate matter with aerodynamic diameter ≤10 μm (PM 10), while it shows a non-linear relationship with gaseous pollutants. In the adjusted model, the odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals for CB per 10 μg/m3 increase in PM 2.5 , PM 10 , and sulfur dioxide (SO 2) were 1.297 (1.262–1.332), 1.072 (1.064–1.080), and 2.587 (2.186–3.063), respectively. Furthermore, several additional sensitivity analyses demonstrated the stability of these associations. Subgroup analyses found that the aforementioned associations were greater among participants aged below 50 years old and those who smoked and had no leisure time exercise. Long-term exposure to ambient air pollutants may increase the odds of CB, especially among younger people and those with unhealthy lifestyles. [Display omitted] • Evidence concerning ambient air pollution and chronic bronchitis (CB) is limited. • We examined the association between air pollution and CB in northwestern China. • Exposure to particulate and gaseous pollutants was related to higher odds of CB. • Our findings may help develop individual-and population-level interventions to reduce CB burden. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The meteorological reanalysis field is one of the key inputs to drive mesoscale meteorology simulations. To investigate the impacts of different reanalysis data on predictions of the meteorology parameters, as well as predictions of air quality, this study utilized the Weather Research and Forecasting/Community Multiscale Air Quality modeling system (WRF/CMAQ) with two sets of meteorological reanalysis inputs, the NCEP Final Operational Global Analysis (FNL) and the ECMWF Reanalysis v5.0 (ERA5) to predict the concentrations of ozone (O 3) and fine particulate matter (PM 2.5) in the Yangtze River Delta (YRD) in 2018. The results showed that ERA5 outperformed FNL in simulating 2-m temperature and relative humidity, while FNL demonstrated better accuracy in predicting wind fields. Both FNL and ERA5 underestimated the PM 2.5 in spring and summer while overestimating it in autumn and winter. Furthermore, the Normalized mean bias (NMB) value for ERA5 exceeded the standard in winter (0.34), and the Normalized mean error (NME) value exceeded the standard in autumn (0.54). Both FNL and ERA5 underestimated the PM 2.5 concentration during the pollution episodes, and FNL's simulations of PM 2.5 concentrations were closer to observations than ERA5's as pollution levels intensified. Regarding O 3 concentrations, ERA5 exhibited better performance than FNL, with the NMB (0.30, 0.27) and NME (0.39, 0.37) of FNL and ERA5 both exceeding the standard only in wintertime. [Display omitted] • The impact of two meteorological reanalysis fields on air quality modeling was discussed. • The FNL has relatively high biases in temperature and relative humidity estimates over Eastern China. • The FNL performed better in simulating PM 2.5 , whereas ERA5 demonstrated better performance in predicting O 3. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: [•] We detect the sensitivity of various vegetation indices to ANPP of different grassland types. [•] We develop an integrated model to estimate grassland ANPP with various vegetation indices. [•] Notable gradient and annual increase in grassland ANPP are observed in Northern China. [•] Spatial pattern of the grassland ANPP is correlated with the gradients of LST and LSWI. [•] The temporal grassland ANPP is significantly negative to LST, but positive to LSWI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Genetic variation and phylogenetic relationships of H9 avian influenza viruses (AIVs) were analyzed based on hemagglutinin (HA) gene sequences of 84 Chinese H9 reference viruses recently available in GenBank, 3 widely used vaccine strains and 29 novel isolates. The novel isolates were obtained from vaccinated poultry flocks in 11 provinces of China during 2010 to 2012. The nucleotide homologies of HA genes of these isolates ranged from 87.8–99.8%, and from 89.8–93.2% as compared with the vaccine strains. Among the 29 novel isolates and the 84 reference viruses, 69.9% of the them belonged to the lineage h9.4.2.5 and had the dominant PSRSSR↓GLF motifs in the HA cleavage sites, while 27.4% of the them belonged to the newly emerging lineage h9.4.2.6 and had the dominant PARSSR↓GLF motifs, no consecutive basic amino acids insertion, showing the characteristic feature of low-pathogenic AIV. All the lineage h9.4.2.5 viruses and 75% of the lineage h9.4.2.6 viruses had the substitution Q226L (in H3 numbering). Additional potential glycosylation site at residues 313–315 (NCS) were found merely in all the lineage h9.4.2.5 viruses. Our results demonstrated that lineage h9.4.2.5 was more dominant than other lineages as it harbored more viruses that widely distributed in China in recent years. New lineage h9.4.2.6 previously existed mainly in South China had emerged in North China. Updated vaccine and increased veterinary biosecurity on poultry farms and trade markets are needed to prevent and control avian influenza. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Reconstruction of sedimentary evolution plays a significant role in the investigation of natural groundwater contamination and stratigraphic mineral resources. In this paper, the variation in sedimentary characteristics and sedimentary evolution were studied by lithology, chronology and organic matter with the high-resolution grain size parameters of boreholes for Quaternary in northern Jianghan Basin. Following more traditional plotting of grain size parameters and summary statistics, visual categorization and analysis of grain size frequency distribution curves provided an effective measure for the identification of sedimentary facies. Combining with the Fisher model, new and highly efficient discriminant formulas were established, and tested for the validity. Additionally, the sedimentary evolution process and the provenance of different sedimentary facies were identified with the help of organic matter and δ 13C org data, provided geological information to explore the natural contamination of reducing arsenic ions and excessive nitrate in strata. The identification results suggest that fluvial and lacustrine sediments are dominant in the area, and the regional sedimentary environment is uniform and not affected by the transgression. The analysis results of grain size with organic matter parameters are consistent for discriminating sedimentary facies, which verified the rationality of grain size analysis and confirmed the use of organic matter content to be effective in identifying the process of fluvial and lacustrine sediments. Based on the chronological results of Optically Stimulated Luminescence dating and sedimentary facies determination, the sedimentary evolutionary process was deduced during the Quaternary for the study area. This research has important significance for the division and correlation of Quaternary borehole strata, underground contamination study, as well as environmental planning and protection. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Vegetation fractional coverage (VFC) is an important vegetation parameter affecting exchanges of carbon, water, energy between the atmosphere and surface. In this study, the applicability of tonal and texture measures calculated using an IKONOS_2 image in retrieving VFC of forests was investigated in the urban area of Nanjing city, China. Four spectral vegetation indices (VI) and six texture measures (TEX) were related to VFCs acquired from in situ measurements. Models for estimating VFC based on VIs or/and TEXs were established and validated for planted low broad-leaf forest plots (PLB), planted mature forest plots (PMF), natural broad-leaf forest plots (NBF), and all forest plots (ALLv), respectively. The results show that high spatial resolution remote sensing data is applicable to estimate VFC in urban areas, and TEXs may act as effective supplements of vegetation indices (VIs) for the retrieval of VFC. VIs are suitable for VFC estimation of mature forests (such as NBF and PMF) with high vegetation density, and TEXs can yield a more accurate estimate for planted forests (such as PLB and PMF) with regular spatial distribution if they are calculated with proper parameters, such as window size. The combination of VIs and TEXs improve the estimation of VFC if forest types are not previously differentiated. The results can be used as a reference for determining effective spectral or texture parameters in VFC estimation under similar environmental conditions according to vegetation maturity and regularity. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Most rural wastewater treatment facilities require electricity to maintain operation. Traditional fossil energy consumption increases the environmental load and greenhouse gas emissions. Wind-solar power generation is widely recognized as a renewable energy technology. However, conventional wind-solar power systems need batteries to store energy, which can lead to secondary pollution. Additionally, the alternating aerobic and anaerobic process were crucial for nitrogen and phosphorus removal, and some distributed wastewater treatment systems do not require continuity operation. Therefore, this study reports on a wind–solar power generation mode without batteries (Mode-II) to control and drive a bioecological rural domestic wastewater treatment system with a scale of 0.5 m³/day. By logic control, the inspired combination of power generation capacity and treatment process requirements was realized. The effluent COD cr , NH 4 +-N, and TN concentrations were 14.63 ± 7.02, 1.39 ± 1.63, and 8.65 ± 4.02 mg/L, with removal rates of 89.01 ± 4.15%, 88.58 ± 2.28%, 75.47 ± 8.84%, respectively. From the perspective of environmental load and carbon emissions, based on life cycle assessment theory, this novel approach was compared with the traditional wind–solar power generation driven mode with battery storage (Mode-I) and mains power driven mode (Mode-III). The environmental load and carbon emissions of Mode-II were 1.08 kPt and 2836 kg CO 2 eq by end-of-life (25 years), the lowest of the three modes. Compared with the mains power drive mode, the environmental load and carbon emissions of Mode-II can be repayment until years 6 and 2. The supercapacitors and solar panels were the main source of environmental load and carbon emissions for Mode-II. Overall, Mode-II was found to be the most environmentally friendly mode all over the China, which is expected to be promoted in the field of rural wastewater treatment. [Display omitted] • Battery-free clean energy generation mode was suit for rural wastewater treatment. • Environmental load and carbon emission were used to quantify the advantage. • Climate change human health and human toxicity were the main impact factors. • Battery-free mode was most eco-friendly compared with traditional power supply mode. • Environmental and carbon load of battery-free mode were 1.08 kPt and 2836 kg CO 2 eq. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Diabetes osteoporosis (DOP) is a chronic bone metabolic disease induced by diabetes, whose morbidity continues to increase. Epimedium brevicornum Maxim (EB), a popular Chinese traditional medicine, has been used to treat bone diseases in China for thousands of years. But its material basis and specific mechanism of action are not clear. Epimedium brevicornum crude polysaccharide (EPE) is the main component, in this research the characterized the structure of EBPC1 purified from EPE was detected and its effects on cell proliferation, differentiation, and cytoskeletal in osteoblasts induced by high glucose. The molecular weight of EBPC1 was 10.5 kDa. It was mainly comprised of glucose and galactose, and the backbone of EBPC1 was→4)-α-D-Galp-(1→4)-α-D-Galp-(1→6)-β-D-Galp-(1→6)-β-D-Galp-(1→4)-α-D-Glcp-(1→4)-α-D-Glcp-(1→. The results from in vitro experiments revealed that EBPC1 significantly increased alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity and mineralized nodule formation in primary osteoblasts, also significantly up-regulated expression of Alp mRNA and Runx2 mRNA in the presence of EBPC1 pretreatment. Moreover, EBPC1 modulated apoptosis via the regulation of Bax/Bcl2. These results indicate that EBPC1 treatment can promote osteogenesis during DOP, which can ameliorate apoptosis by regulating Bax/Bcl2 and accelerating osteogenesis in osteoblasts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To determine the normative cut-off score that defines hirsutism among Chinese women, and the effect of age, menstrual irregularities, and polycystic ovaries on the same. Design: Cross-sectional, population-based study. Setting: A multistage systematic cluster random sampling among 16 communities from two rural and two city regions. Patient(s): A representative sample of 2,988 women aged 20–45 years from the general population of Southern China. Intervention(s): Subjects underwent physical and ultrasound evaluations. Main Outcome Measure(s): Terminal hair growth was assessed using the modified Ferriman-Gallwey (mFG) scoring system. Result(s): An mFG score ≥5 was observed in 10% and a score of ≥2 in 25% of the subjects. Cluster analysis identified an mFG score of 5 as the cut-off value that defines abnormal terminal facial and body hair growth in a male pattern (i.e., hirsutism) in the total population; scores of 6, 5, and 4 for women aged 20–25, 26–30, and >30 years, respectively. Defined by these cut-off values, the prevalence of hirsutism in our total population was 10.5%; and decreased with increasing age: 14.4%, 10.7%, 7.9%, 3.6%, and 1.5%, respectively, in women aged 20–25, 26–30, 31–35, 36–40, and 41–45 years. Furthermore, the incidence of acne, menses irregularities, polycystic ovaries, and acanthosis nigricans were significantly increased among the hirsute women. Conclusion(s): An mFG score of 5 or greater indicates hair growth above the norm among women in the general Southern Chinese population, a cut-off value that decreases with increasing age. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Long-term decreases in the incident total radiation and water clarity might substantially affect the underwater light environment in aquatic ecosystems. However, the underlying mechanism and relative contributions of radiation dimming and decreasing water clarity to the underwater light environment on a national or global scale remains largely unknown. Here, we present a comprehensive dataset of unprecedented scale in China's lakes to address the combined effects of radiation dimming and decreasing water clarity on underwater darkening. Long-term total radiation and sunshine duration showed 5.8% and 7.9% decreases, respectively, after 2000 compared to 1961–1970, resulting in net radiation dimming. An in situ Secchi disk depth (SDD) dataset in 170 lakes showed that the mean SDD significantly decreased from 1.80 ± 2.19 m before 1995 to 1.28 ± 1.82 m after 2005. SDD remote sensing estimations for 641 lakes with areas ≥ 10 km2 showed that SDD markedly decreased from 1.26 ± 0.62 m during 1985–1990 to 1.14 ± 0.66 m during 2005–2010. Radiation dimming and decreasing water clarity jointly caused an approximately 10% decrease in the average available photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) in the euphotic layer. Our results revealed a more important role of decreasing water clarity in underwater darkening than radiation dimming. A meta -analysis of long-term SDD observation data from 61 various waters further elucidated a global extensive underwater darkening. Underwater darkening implies a decrease in water quality for potable water supplies, recession in macrophytes and benthic algae, and decreases in benthic primary production, fishery production, and biodiversity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chronic hepatitis B is a serious and chronic health problem, requiring self-management to control the disease and related complications. To develop a structural model to identify how social support, self-efficacy and disease knowledge contribute to their self-management behaviors in adults with chronic hepatitis B. A cross-sectional study. Hepatology units in two hospitals in Chongqing, China. A total of 306 patients with chronic hepatitis B were recruited. Data were collected using Social Support Rating Scale, Self-Efficacy for Managing Chronic Disease, Hepatitis B Knowledge Questionnaire and Chronic Hepatitis B Self-Management Scale. Structural equation model was applied to analyze the data. The final model showed good model fit. Social support directly influenced self-management behaviors (β = 0.19, p < 0.01), and indirectly influenced self-management behaviors (β = 0.20, p < 0.01) through self-efficacy. Self-efficacy directly influenced self-management behaviors (β = 0.37, p < 0.05). Disease knowledge indirectly influenced self-management behaviors (β = 0.12, p < 0.05) through self-efficacy. Our findings indicated that social support, self-efficacy and disease knowledge directly or indirectly affected self-management behaviors in adults with chronic hepatitis B. This provides a theoretical basis for developing self-management interventions for patients with chronic hepatitis B, which may lead to health improvements in this population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Spatially and thematically explicit information of wetlands is important to understanding ecosystem functions and services, as well as for establishment of management policy and implementation. However, accurate wetland mapping is limited due to lacking an operational classification system and an effective classification approach at a large scale. This study was aimed to map wetlands in China by developing a hybrid object-based and hierarchical classification approach (HOHC) and a new wetland classification system for remote sensing. Application of the hybrid approach and the wetland classification system to Landsat 8 Operational Land Imager data resulted in a wetland map of China with an overall classification accuracy of 95.1%. This national scale wetland map, so named CAS_Wetlands, reveals that China's wetland area is estimated to be 451,084 ± 2014 km2, of which 70.5% is accounted by inland wetlands. Of the 14 sub-categories, inland marsh has the largest area (152,429 ± 373 km2), while coastal swamp has the smallest coverage (259 ± 15 km2). Geospatial variations in wetland areas at multiple scales indicate that China's wetlands mostly present in Tibet, Qinghai, Inner Mongolia, Heilongjiang, and Xinjiang Provinces. This new map provides a new baseline data to establish multi-temporal and continuous datasets for China's wetlands and biodiversity conservation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Major depressive disorder (MDD) is common among older adults. The epidemiology of MDD is greatly influenced by sociocultural and economic factors. This study examined the 1-month and lifetime prevalence of MDD and its socio-demographic correlates in older adults living in Hebei province, an agricultural area of China.Methods: Multistage, stratified, random sampling was administered between April and August 2016. The diagnosis of MDD was established with the Structured Clinical Interview for the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders fourth edition (DSM-IV) Axis I Disorders.Results: A total of 3911 participants were enrolled. The 1-month and lifetime prevalence of MDD in older adults was 2.0% (95%CI: 1.6-2.4%) and 3.4% (95%CI: 2.8-4.0%), respectively. Multivariable logistic regression analyses revealed that female gender [P < 0.001, adjusted odds ratio (aOR) = 2.6, 95%CI: 1.53-4.53], presence of comorbid major medical conditions (P < 0.001, aOR = 4.8, 95%CI: 2.17-10.39) and family history of psychiatric disorders (P = 0.013, aOR = 3.4, 95%CI: 1.30-8.96) were independently and significantly associated with higher odds of MDD.Conclusion: The prevalence of MDD in older adults in Hebei province, China, was lower than most findings in China and other countries. Nevertheless, continued surveillance of elderly depression in China along with the development of primary, secondary and tertiary preventative interventions for the elderly with MDD is indicated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Few studies have estimated the prevalence and correlates of bipolar disorder (BP) in agricultural areas of China. This study examined the one-month and lifetime prevalence of BP, its subtypes and socio-demographic factors in the adult population of Hebei province, a predominantly agricultural area of China.Methods: A multistage, stratified, cluster random sampling method was used to estimate the prevalence and correlates of BP in adults in Hebei province, China. The expanded version of the 12-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12) and the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Axis I Disorders-Patient Edition (SCID-I/P/C) were administered to establish the diagnosis of BP.Results: A total of 20,884 participants were screened. The weighted lifetime prevalence of BP, BP type I (BP-I), type II (BP-II), and BP not otherwise specified (BP-NOS) were 0.20% (95% CI: 0.14-0.26%), 0.13% (95% CI: 0.08-0.18%), 0.03% (95% CI: 0.009-0.06%) and 0.03% (95% CI: 0.009-0.06%), respectively. The weighted one-month prevalence estimates were 0.12% (95% CI: 0.08-0.17%) for BP, 0.07% (95% CI: 0.04-0.11%) for BP-I, 0.03% (95% CI: 0.006-0.05%) for BP-II, and 0.02% (95% CI: 0.003-0.04%) for BP-NOS. Multiple Poisson regression analysis revealed that positive family history of any psychiatric disorder (P<0.001, OR=6.48, 95% CI: 2.53-16.56) was significantly associated with greater risk of BP.Conclusion: The prevalence of BP in Hebei province appears lower than in most areas of China and other countries. Continued surveillance of BP in China along with the development of primary and tertiary preventative interventions for psychiatric disorders is indicated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • UAVs can extract tiny patch changes in the early invasion stage. • Patch expansion ratio in the seaside correlate with the original area. • Excessive slope inhibits S. alterniflora distribution and expansion. • Patch expansion features show differences from land to sea. As a major invasive species in coastal China, Spartina alterniflora (S. alterniflora) has seriously threatened the ecological functions of coastal wetlands. Based on multisource high-precision geospatial data obtained by unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), the shape and distribution of S. alterniflora patches were extracted and analysed by using object-oriented classification and the landscape pattern index in this study. Considering microtopographic variations, the trend-surface subregions were delimited. In this way, we examined the relationship between S. alterniflora distribution and expansion and the variation in microtopography and tidal hydrology in the early invasion stage. The results showed that the microtopography silted up acceleration from land to sea, and the inundation time was reduced significantly in the study area for 2020–2022. In 2020, the average area of S. alterniflora patches showed a decreasing trend from land to sea. The distribution of patches on both sides of the sea and land was relatively concentrated and dispersed in the middle. By 2022, S. alterniflora presented a rapid expansion, with the total area expanding from 8488.57 m2 to 18470.72 m2. With the variation in microtopography, the characteristics of S. alterniflora patch expansion presented regional differences: Due to the small microtopographic and tidal hydrological variations, the patches fluctuated outwards slightly (average variation distance was 0.93 m) near the dike. The patches in the seaside front area had an annular expansion, and the expansion speed positively correlated with the area of the original patch. In the central region, the small patches merged and filled to form an S. alterniflora belt, while a large number of new small patches appeared. In general, the heterogeneous environment formed by microtopographic variations was conducive to the colonization and growth of S. alterniflora , but the excessive slope could inhibit expansion. This study will provide a theoretical basis for coastal ecological management and rapid control of S. alterniflora expansion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Peste des petits ruminants (PPR) is an important viral disease of sheep and goats. The wildlife hosts of PPR, which may play an important role in the epidemiology of this disease, are not well characterized. The research was undertaken to study the infection of PPR virus (PPRV) in free-living bharals (Pseudois nayaur) in Tibet, China. In 2007, PPRV infection was confirmed in two bharals in Rutog County of Tibet based on clinical signs and detection of PPRV RNA in tissue samples. In 2008, PPRV infection was found in one bharal in Ge’gyai County of Tibet by competitive ELISA, reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction, and sequence analysis of PPRV fusion protein (F) and nucleoprotein (N) gene segments. The PPRV variant identified in infected bharal was closely related to other circulating PPRV variants recently identified in sheep and goats from Tibet. This is the first report of PPRV infection in free-living bharals. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Background: Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a common psychiatric disorder which is associated with significant disability and psychosocial factors. There are only few epidemiological studies of MDD in economically underdeveloped regions of China. This study examined the 1-month and lifetime prevalence of MDD and their sociodemographic correlates in Hebei province, China.Methods: Using multistage, stratified and random sampling, the study was conducted between April and August 2016. The diagnosis of MDD was established using the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Axis I Disorders-Patient Edition.Results: The weighted 1-month and lifetime prevalence of MDD were 0.9% (95%CI: 0.8-1.1%) and 1.6% (95%CI: 1.4-1.8%), respectively in the sample of 14,654 adult participants. Multiple logistic regression analysis revealed that the age group of 45-59 years (P < 0.001, OR=3.206, 95%CI:1.693-6.072), female gender (P < 0.001, OR=2.171, 95%CI: 1.522-3.097), married marital status (P < 0.001, OR=0.328, 95%CI: 0.198-0.545), college educational level or higher (P = 0.006, OR=0.145, 95%CI: 0.037-0.573), employment (P = 0.010, OR=2.305, 95%CI: 1.220-4.353), major medical conditions (P < 0.001, OR=3.758, 95%CI: 2.607-5.418) and family history of psychiatric disorders (P < 0.001, OR=3.947, 95%CI: 2.203-7.071) were significantly associated with MDD.Conclusion: The prevalence of MDD in Hebei province was found to be lower than in most areas of China and other countries. Further studies are warranted to confirm the low prevalence of MDD in other economically underdeveloped regions of China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Our data confirmed not only niche differentiation but also complex. associations among three bloom-forming cyanobacteria. • Effects of environmental and biological factors were assessed on species-specific biomass. • Microcystis biomass was strongly affected by water temperature and phosphorus concentrations across the studied lakes. • The responses of Aphanizomenon and Dolichospermum to environmental conditions exhibited lake-specific patterns. Non-diazotrophic Microcystis and filamentous N 2 -fixing Aphanizomenon and Dolichospermum (formerly Anabaena) co-occur or successively dominate freshwaters globally. Previous studies indicate that dual nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) reduction is needed to control cyanobacterial blooms; however, N limitation may cause replacement of non-N 2 -fixing by N 2 -fixing taxa. To evaluate potentially counterproductive scenarios, the effects of temperature, nutrients, and zooplankton on the spatio-temporal variations of cyanobacteria were investigated in three large, shallow eutrophic lakes in China. The results illustrate that the community composition of cyanobacteria is primarily driven by physical factors and the zooplankton community, and their interactions. Niche differentiation between Microcystis and two N 2 -fixing taxa in Lake Taihu and Lake Chaohu was observed, whereas small temperature fluctuations in Lake Dianchi supported co-dominance. Through structural equation modelling, predictor variables were aggregated into 'composites' representing their combined effects on species-specific biomass. The model results showed that Microcystis biomass was affected by water temperature and P concentrations across the studied lakes. The biomass of two filamentous taxa, by contrast, exhibited lake-specific responses. Understanding of driving forces of the succession and competition among bloom-forming cyanobacteria will help to guide lake restoration in the context of climate warming and N:P stoichiometry imbalances. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Data-driven and knowledge-supported BNs were developed for evaluating MCs concentration. • Different Microcystis morphospecies were considered indicative for the risk of MCs. • Incorporating morphospecies into BNs improved the predictive performance for MCs. • Hazardous MCs was sensitive to synergistic effect between water temperature and nutrients. Microcystis spp., which occur as colonies of different sizes under natural conditions, have expanded in temperate and tropical freshwater ecosystems and caused seriously environmental and ecological problems. In the current study, a Bayesian network (BN) framework was developed to access the probability of microcystins (MCs) risk in large shallow eutrophic lakes in China, namely, Taihu Lake, Chaohu Lake, and Dianchi Lake. By means of a knowledge-supported way, physicochemical factors, Microcystis morphospecies, and MCs were integrated into different network structures. The sensitive analysis illustrated that Microcystis aeruginosa biomass was overall the best predictor of MCs risk, and its high biomass relied on the combined condition that water temperature exceeded 24 °C and total phosphorus was above 0.2 mg/L. Simulated scenarios suggested that the probability of hazardous MCs (≥1.0 μg/L) was higher under interactive effect of temperature increase and nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorus) imbalance than that of warming alone. Likewise, data-driven model development using a naïve Bayes classifier and equal frequency discretization resulted in a substantial technical performance (CCI = 0.83, K = 0.60), but the performance significantly decreased when model excluded species-specific biomasses from input variables (CCI = 0.76, K = 0.40). The BN framework provided a useful screening tool to evaluate cyanotoxin in three studied lakes in China, and it can also be used in other lakes suffering from cyanobacterial blooms dominated by Microcystis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The phenomenon of cooking fuel stacking is common in rural households. • Livelihood capital plays an important role in affecting the cooking fuel choice. • Higher natural capital restrains rural households' acceptance of clean cooking. • Higher financial capital promotes household adoption of clean cooking fuels. Identifying the effects of household livelihood on cooking fuel choices is key to promoting rural household energy transitions. However, the available evidence is limited. To fill the gap, this study aims to explore the effects of livelihood capital on clean cooking. Based on the survey data from 485 rural households, the boosted regression trees model was employed to identify these effects. The results signify that firewood predominated among all the cooking fuel types in the study area. Firewood consumption accounted for 82% of the total cooking fuel consumption. The per capita cooking fuel consumption in the study area was 358.39kgce in 2021 and it rose with the increase of household income. Most importantly, physical capital, financial capital, human capital, and social capital significantly facilitated household acceptance of clean cooking fuels with a relative influence of 34.58%, 21.38%, 15.29%, and 13.94%. However, natural capital restrained household adoption of clean cooking fuels. Our findings highlight the importance of livelihood capital in affecting clean cooking, provide a distinct study perspective for exploring other energy decisions in developing countries, and shed some light for the local government on formulating effective policies to promote the cooking energy transition of rural households. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• SSRMs boosted running properties of bioelectrogenesis and acidogenesis effectively. • SSRMs improved the protein and carbohydrate metabolisms-related genes' expression. • SSRMs elevated electron transfer efficiency by up-regulating cytochrome c oxidase. • SSRMs raised microbial diversity to realize superior bioelectrogenesis/acidogenesis. Anaerobic biological treatment was regarded as one of promising options for realizing concurrent WAS reduction, stabilization and bioenergy/bioresource recycle. But the relatively low treatment efficiency limited its spreading application toward larger scale considerably in China. Aimed at such barrier, this study offered a novel enhancing strategy for achieving high-efficiency of bioenergy/bioresource recycle from WAS anaerobic treatment via improving bioelectrogenesis/acidogenesis using sludge source-redox mediators (SSRMs). SSRMs not only facilitated bioeletrogenesis with an increasing efficiency of 36% for voltage output and 39% for bioelectricity bioconversion, but also enhanced acidogenesis of WAS with a mean elevating efficiency of 37.5% of volatile fatty acids (VFAs) production within 5 d Mechanistic investigations indicated that SSRMs had a potential influence on improving the protein and carbohydrate metabolisms-related genes' expression for enhancing bioelectrogenesis and acidogenesis. Moreover, SSRMs exerted roles of electrochemical "catalysts" or as terminal electron acceptors with affecting functional proteins of complexes of Ⅰ and Ⅳ in electron transfer chains for improving electron transfer efficiency. Meanwhile, the core members' abundance, microbial diversity and community distributive evenness were prompted concurrently for carrying out superior bioelectrogenesis and acidogenesis. A schematic illustration was established for demonstrating the mechanism of SSRMs for enhancing bioelectrogenesis and acidogenesis via changing microbial metabolism functions, enhancing electron transfer efficiency, and regulating functional genes' expression of functional proteins (up-regulating cytochrome c oxidase and down-regulating-NADH dehydrogenase). This study provided an effective enhancing strategy for facilitating WAS bioconversion to bioenergy/bioresource with well-process sustainability. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The role of inland water in CO 2 exchange with the atmosphere was evaluated on the basis of calculated partial pressure of CO 2 ( p CO 2 ) from sampling of 207 lakes and 84 reservoirs across China in late summer. The results suggested that almost 60% of these water bodies were supersaturated with CO 2 with respect to atmosphere, and the collected reservoirs samples exhibited higher mean p CO 2 than lakes. The mean p CO 2 in fresh water lakes was about 3.5 times of the value in saline lakes. The lakes and reservoirs were divided into five groups (Inner Mongolia -Xinjiang plateau region, Tibetan Plateau region, Northeastern plain and mountainous region, Yunnan- Guizhou Plateau region, and Eastern plain region). The Yunnan- Guizhou Plateau region showed the highest p CO 2 compared with other regions, most likely due to the typical karst landforms, karst processes may promote aqueous CO 2 concentration, and karstification has a significant effect on the capture of atmospheric CO 2 . Inner Mongolia-Xinjiang plateau and Tibetan Plateau region reserviors showed negative CO 2 flux to atmosphere, other waters in this study all supersaturated with CO 2 with respect to the atmosphere. A which We analyzed the relationship between p CO 2 and environmental variables, and results showed that some indicators had correlations with p CO 2 in individual region such as total phosphorus, dissolved organic matter, and total suspended solids, but the relationship could not be observed with all surveyed waters. This indicated that it might be much more effective in a smaller regional scale than the broadened scale when the environmental factors were used as the predictor of p CO 2 in lakes. Therefore, the common algorithm that extrapolates CO 2 concentration or emission flux from the study region to a wider scale might not be accurate because of the changes in the environmental and water quality conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Locust swarms are destructive agricultural and biological disasters in China. The green prevention and control (GPC, such as ecological regulation and physical control) of locusts is a comprehensive and complex process, especially in information technology. In this study, a web-based decision support system (DSS) integrated with geographic information system (GIS) is developed to prevent and control locusts efficiently, accurately, and rapidly. The locust prevention and control DSS (LPCDSS) is developed to assist farmers and local government agencies in Chinese provinces with high incidence of locust by providing spatial decision-making information. LPCDSS offers online access to county, city, provincial, and national level data queries and is capable of storing, spatial analyzing, and displaying geographically referenced information of locust data. The system can also provide the real-time tracking of global positioning system (GPS) location, as well as goods scheduling of locust plagues prevention. Six types of web service, real-time data synchronization model, and locust population estimation model are developed and implemented to improve the decision-making usability and feasibility of LPCDSS by adopting a three-layer system architecture. The system is developed by using several programming languages, libraries, and software components. As a result, this system has been running successfully for several years and has improved efficiency of the locust prevention and control in China with high efficiency and great accuracy. The approaches and methodologies presented in this paper can serve as a reference for those who are interested in developing integrated pest control system applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Bacteria and intestinal bacteria were detected in the bioaerosol in six MWTPs. • Bioaerosol diffusion were simulated by ADMS. • Bioaerosols characteristics in the six MWTPs varied due to regional and aeration modes difference. • Bioaerosols' diffusion range related with its' source strength and wind speed. Bioaerosols produced by municipal wastewater treatment plants (MWTP) can spread in air, thereby polluting the atmosphere and causing safety hazards to workers and surrounding residents. In this study, the biological reaction tanks (BRTs) of six MWTPs undergoing typical processes in North China, Yangtze River Delta, and the Greater Bay Area were selected to set up sampling points and investigate the production characteristics of bioaerosols. The Atmospheric Dispersion Modelling System method was used to simulate the diffusion of bioaerosols in the MWTPs. The concentrations of bacteria and, specifically, intestinal bacteria in the bioaerosols ranged from 389 CFU/m3 to 1,536 CFU/m3 and 30 CFU/m3 to 152 CFU/m3, respectively, and the proportion of the intestinal bacteria was 8.85%. The concentration of soluble chemicals (SCs) in the bioaerosols was 18.36 μg/m3–82.19 μg/m3, and the main SCs found were Mg2+, Ca2+, and SO 4 2−. The proportion of intestinal bacteria (75.79%) produced via surface aeration by a BRT attached to large-sized bioaerosol particles was higher than that of a BRT undergoing the bottom aeration process (37.28%). The main microorganisms found in the bioaerosols included Moraxellaceae, Escherichia–Shigella, Psychrobacter, and Cyanobacteria. The generation of bioaerosols exhibited regional characteristics. The wastewater treatment scale, wastewater quality, and aeration mode were the main factors influencing bioaerosol production. Model simulation showed that, after 1 h, the diffusion distance of bioaerosol was 292 m–515 m, and the affected area was 42,895 m2–91,708 m2. The diffusion distance and range of the bioaerosols were significantly correlated with the concentration at the bioaerosol source and the aeration mode adopted by the BRTs. Wind speed and direction were two environmental factors that affected the diffusion of bioaerosols. With an increase in the diffusion distance, the concentration of microorganisms, intestinal bacteria, ions, and fine particles in the bioaerosols decreased significantly, resulting in a corresponding reduction in the exposure risk. This study provides new insights to help predict bioaerosol risks at MWTPs and identify safe areas around MWTPs. The study also provides a basis for selecting safe MWTP sites and reducing bioaerosol pollution risks. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Six plant species roots can reduce toe erosion from 0.4% to 68.4%, with peak effects during dry season and recession stages. • Banks with PE roots had the highest Fs, NT and GU roots had the smallest value. • The Fs values of a hydrological year increased linearly with increasing RAR for each vegetation species. The desert riparian vegetation zone is an important part of the riparian ecosystem. It is significant for river evolution and to channel beds owing to the reinforcement effect of the vegetation roots on the bank and resistance to erosion. The quantitative effects on toe erosion and bank collapse were first investigated to determine how vegetation roots affect the continuous retreat process of riverbanks under different water levels. The case study is the Tarim river, the degrees of riverbank stability at eight sampling sites during the 2016 and 2017 hydrological years were calculated using the bank stability and toe erosion model (BSTEM). Furthermore, the effects of six vegetation species, Populus euphratica (PE), Tamarix ramosissima (TR), Alhagi sparsifolia (AS), Nitraria tangutorum (NT), Phragmites australis (PA), and Glycyrrhiza uralensis (GU), on riverbank stability were discussed. Taking the right bank of sampling site II (Alar New Bridge) as an example, the bank stability safety factor (Fs) and collapse process under the roots of six vegetation species with different root area ratios (RARs) were calculated. The following conclusions were drawn from the results: (a) Different vegetation roots can reduce toe erosion from 0.4 % to 68.4 %, with peak effects during the dry season and recession stages; (b) The presence of near-bank vegetation roots can strongly influence bank collapse, particularly during the recession stage when water level drops rapidly; and (c) Most of the calculated Fs with the roots of all six plant species studied were higher than those without roots during four stages. Moreover, it was greater than the critical value of 1.3 in most cases. The results also indicate that banks with PE roots had the highest Fs values. By contrast, banks with NT and GU roots had the smallest Fs. As the RAR increased, the Fs values in a hydrological year increased linearly for each vegetation specie. The rate of increase order was as follows: PE > TR > NT > AS > PA > GU under a particular range of RAR (0.9 % < RAR < 1.8 %). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To combat China’s water crisis tremendous research efforts are undertaken aiming at the improvement of water management in cotton production, which is the major consumer of the scarce water resources in arid Northwestern China. In recent years extensive field experiment based research strongly enhanced the theoretical knowledge of optimal water management in cotton production. However, farmers’ actual irrigation water productivity remains low. To fill the critical void the present study aims at increasing the understanding of Chinese cotton farmers’ actual irrigation water management. The northwestern Chinese Aksu-Tarim Region was selected as a hot-spot of water scarcity in China, where around 60% of total sown crop land are cultivated with cotton. The increasing overuse of scarce surface water resources for irrigation not only leads to severe ecological degradation, but also increases competition among water users triggering the expansion of groundwater exploitation. Based on primary survey data of 228 cotton producing farm households we firstly analyze the production factors determining farmers’ yield and irrigation water productivity (IWP). Apart from soil salinity and unbalanced fertilization, which negatively affect yield and IWP, especially the applied irrigation method (drip vs. flood irrigation) and installation of a groundwater well were identified as major determinants. Secondly, we apply logistic regression to evaluate which household and farm characteristics determine the irrigation method and installation of groundwater well. We find that farm size, crop types and cropping intensity determine the use of drip irrigation. We furthermore find that the installation of well is largely related to marginalization, with farm families of ethnic minorities, remote farms and lower educated families being more likely to install wells. The findings of our study can help policymakers in devising strategies for improving irrigation water productivity, while reducing groundwater degradation in the study region and similar arid production regions in the world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Compressed air energy storage (CAES) is a method of energy storage which can convert the surplus power to the internal energy of compressed air, and regenerates electricity whenever power is needed. A clean CAES system coupled with wind and solar energy was developed to solve the dependence of traditional CAES system on fossil fuels in China. The operating variables of the hybrid system include heat exchanger effectiveness, ambient temperature, mass flow rate, total pressure ratio and compressor/turbine stages. The effect of these variables on the system performance was evaluated, including output power, overall efficiency, energy ratio ( ER ) and heat ratio ( HR ). The parameters, delineating criteria of the potential development localities for the hybrid CAES system sites, such as solar and wind energy resources, abandoned cavities of mines resources used as compressed air containers and the distribution of cross-transmission lines in China were investigated. By this research, it was found that more than 13 major zones were of the capability to support the hybrid system in China. Finally, the environmental and economic benefits of this CAES system were calculated, comparing to the conventional thermal power plants; restrictions and policy supports of the CAES systems in China were discussed as well. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Peanut (Arachis hypogaea) yield is often reduced by calcium (Ca) deficiency. Ca deficiency of peanut plants is likely to occur in most acidified soils (ASs, pH < 5.5) and some neutral soils (NSs, pH 6.5–7.5) in China. Liming is widely used to supply Ca and increase peanut yield. Nevertheless, the effects of liming on the chemical and microbial properties of peanut soils are still unclear, particularly in soils with different initial pH values. A pot experiment was conducted to investigate the effects of CaO (with application rates of 0, 225 and 450 kg/ha) on the chemical properties and bacterial communities and network structures in AS and NS. Compared with CK (CaO 0), the addition of lime improved the pH as well as the exchangeable calcium (ECa) and total nitrogen (TN) contents of both soils. The peanut yield as well as the available nitrogen (AN), available phosphorus (AP) and exchangeable potassium (EK) contents were also higher in AS treated with lime than in that treated with no lime, while lime application to NS had little effect on the yield and AN and EK contents and even significantly reduced the AP content. Lime amendment, especially for the high lime treatment, significantly increased the α-diversity indexes of AS, while no difference in α-diversity was observed among treatments with different liming rates in NS. A weaker β-diversity response to lime addition was observed in NS than in AS. Lime application strongly altered the bacterial community structure of AS by increasing the relative abundances of copiotrophic taxa (e.g., Saccharibacteria) involved in C and N metabolism and pathogen resistance while reducing the percentages of oligotrophic taxa (e.g., Chloroflexi), which were also related to C and N metabolism. In NS, liming favored the growth of Verrucomicrobia with the potential function of denitrification, while microbial groups related to nitrification (e.g., Nitrospirae) and nitrogen fixation (e.g., Acidobacteria) were weakened under liming treatments. Additionally, network analysis revealed that lime amendment provided a more complex and stable network for AS than for NS. Taken together, the responses of the peanut yield, soil chemical properties, bacterial α-diversity and community composition to lime were stronger and more positive in AS than in NS. Results from this study provide critical data for understanding the influence of liming on soil habitats in main peanut-planting areas in China. • Responses of the nutrient availability to lime were more positive in AS than in NS. • The bacterial α- and β-diversity of AS were more responsive to lime than those of NS. • The effect of liming on the bacterial communities of AS and NS was much different. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Huangshan gold deposit is hosted in the ductile shear zone of the metamorphosed Precambrian Chencai Group in the Jiangshan-Shaoxing fault zone between the Yangtze and the Cathaysia blocks. The mineralization can be divided into three stages: pre-ore stage barren quartz-sericite veins, ore stage quartz-pyrite veins, and post-ore stage calcite-quartz veins. A combination of fluid inclusion microthermometry and Raman spectroscopy analysis reveals three types of fluid inclusions: H 2 O-CO 2 -NaCl (type I), CO 2 -rich aqueous (type II), and aqueous fluid inclusions (type III). Primary fluid inclusions in the pre-ore stage quartz veins are mainly type I with low salinities (≤ 6 wt.% NaCl equivalents) that homogenized to liquid at moderate temperatures (298 to 371 °C). Primary fluid inclusions in the ore stage quartz veins contain the following: type I fluid inclusions with variable CO 2 volumetric ratios, which homogenized to liquid at moderate temperatures (287 to 376 °C) and with moderate salinity (2.0 to 7.7 wt.% NaCl equivalents), type II (CO 2 rich) inclusions of low salinity (1.6 to 4.8 wt.% NaCl equivalents), and type III fluid inclusions of low-moderate salinity (4.7 to 9.5 wt.% NaCl equivalents). In particular, some type II and III inclusions occur in the same isolated cluster or fracture, where type II inclusions homogenized into the CO 2 phase (263 to 304 °C) and type III inclusions into the aqueous phase (226 to 305 °C) at almost the same temperature. This occurrence indicates that fluid immiscibility took place during ore-forming processes. Aqueous secondary fluid inclusions in the trans-granular fracture of quartz grains and primary inclusions in the post-ore stage calcite display low homogenization temperature (135 to 227 °C and low to moderate salinity (0.2 to 5.5 wt.% NaCl equivalents). Trapping pressures of the immiscible fluid inclusion assemblages from ore stage veins are between 87 and 162 MPa, indicating the gold-bearing quartz veins were precipitated deeper than 3.2 km. These pressures are too high and exclude the previously proposed epithermal model for this deposit. Raman spectroscopy shows that volatile compositions in the CO 2 -bearing inclusions are primarily CO 2 with minor N 2 . The oxygen and hydrogen isotope compositions (δD = − 56‰ to − 67‰; δ 18 O = 3.3‰ to 4.4‰) imply a likely metamorphic origin of the ore stage fluids. Sulfur (+ 4.1‰ to + 5.4‰) and lead ( 206 Pb/ 204 Pb: 17.606 to 17.704; 207 Pb/ 204 Pb: 15.490 to 15.536; 208 Pb/ 204 Pb: 37.701 to 38.083) isotopes of the ore minerals show similar signatures to the host rocks of the Chencai Group. These data strongly indicate that the Huangshan gold deposit is an orogenic-type deposit. Combined with previously published geochronology data and the geological setting, we stress the existence of a Caledonian orogenic gold belt along the Jiangshan-Shaoxing fault zone and thus suggest an extensive target area for further gold exploration along the Jiangshan-Shaoxing fault zone. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Promoting the collaborative governance of regional environmental pollution is a key issue of the "14th Five-Year Plan" period of China, which has great significance in accelerating the construction of Chinese ecological civilization. Given this, this paper uses quantum game theory to analyze the interaction between two heterogeneous governments in environmental governance and to discuss the impact of heterogeneity difference of local governments on the game system. As an embodiment of the innovation of this paper, an interpretation of entanglement and quantum strategy under the context of environmental governance is presented, and the impact of the heterogeneity difference between local governments on the quantum game system is studied. The results show that the entanglement can effectively prevent the free-riding behavior of local governments, and the heterogeneity difference does not change the equilibrium of the quantum game. As a byproduct, this paper reveals the control effect of the combination of punishment mechanism and information disclosure mechanism on free-riding behavior to a certain extent. Finally, we construct the "Entanglement Agreement" of regional environmental collaborative governance according to the interpretation of entanglement and quantum strategy. In addition, it is an important guarantee for incentive enthusiasm of local governments to improve their governance capability. This study provides a quantitative basis and decision-making reference for promoting regional collaborative governance in China. The approach used in this paper can also be applied to similar situations in other countries or regions with suitable modifications. • A quantum game model of collaborative governance is constructed. • The impact of local governments' heterogeneity on a game system is studied. • The control effect of the quantum mechanism on free-riding behavior is analyzed. • An interpretation of the quantum mechanism is proposed for realistic application. • An "Entanglement Agreement" is constructed to guide collaborative governance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nature fractures developed in tight gas-bearing sand reservoirs significantly increase reservoir porosity and permeability and vary in scale, angle, aperture, density. The detection of effective hydrocarbon fractures are requirements for commercial production from these reservoirs. Based on the equivalent medium theory, we propose an approach to eliminate the influence of low-productivity horizontal bedding fractures and directly extract the orientation and intensity information of effective high-angle fractures in the reservoir where horizontal bedding fractures are mainly developed. First, we assume that the complex tight gas-bearing sand reservoir is considered as a weakly orthorhombic medium with a single suite of parallel vertical fractures embedded in a vertical transverse isotropy (VTI) medium. Then, we derive a linearized relationship between the reflection coefficient and the fracture orientation and intensity in an orthorhombic medium. Furthermore, we implement a Bayesian elastic impedance (EI) inversion workflow, in which the seismic data are transformed to EI datasets, and subsequently EI datasets are used to estimate the fracture orientation and intensity. Finally, the proposed approach is demonstrated by tests on synthetic examples and field data sets. The predicted results illustrate the approach is feasible and robust, and agree well with the log data and geological interpretation. Compared with the conventional method, our approach has the greater advantages to accurately predict the fracture characteristics. We conclude that the proposed approach can reliably produce the distributions and properties of vertical fracture systems, which may provide crucial fracture information for tight gas-bearing sand reservoirs characterization. • A novel method is used to predict fracture signatures of tight sand reservoirs. • The influence of low-productivity horizontal bedding fractures is eliminated. • The orientation and intensity of high-angle fractures are directly estimated. • The new method has a great correlation with geological law and log interpretation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigated whether sleep duration and quality were related to life satisfaction (LS) among older Chinese adults and whether depression mediated those relationships. Cross-sectional data from the aging arm of the Rugao Longevity and Aging Study were used. Sleep duration, sleep quality, depression, LS and covariates were analyzed using logistic regressions. To assess the potential mediation of depression on the association between sleep duration and quality and LS, Aroian tests were used. Of 1756 older Chinese adults aged 70–84 years, 90.7% of the men and 83.3% of the women reported being satisfied with their lives. After adjusting for covariates, older adults who slept ≤6 h per night were more likely to suffer from life dissatisfaction compared with those who slept 7–8 h (OR = 2.67, 95% CI 1.86–3.79), and individuals who slept poorly were almost 2 times (OR = 2.91, 95% CI 2.16–3.91) more likely to have life dissatisfaction. The Aroian tests confirmed that these relationships were partially mediated by depression (p < 0.001). Between short sleep and LS, the mediating effect of depression accounted for 13.9% of the total effects. Moreover, the mediating effect of depression on the association between sleep quality and LS was 13.3%. Short sleep duration and poor sleep quality were inversely associated with LS, and the relationships were partially mediated by depression. Our study suggests that both sleep and depression status are important factors for LS among the elderly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There are several gold deposits in the eastern section of the regional Jiang−Shao Fault between the Yangtze and Cathaysia Blocks in South China. Auriferous quartz veins in these deposits are strictly hosted in second-order NE-trending ductile shear zones. The ores generally contain low amounts of sulfide minerals (<5%), with pyrite as the most common sulfide mineral hosting native gold. Detailed fluid inclusion work and Rb–Sr dating were conducted on the auriferous quartz veins from the Pingshui and Huangshan deposits. H 2 O–CO 2 inclusions (type I) and aqueous inclusions (type II) ubiquitously coexist in the main mineralization stage veins in the Huangshan and Pingshui deposits. Type I and II inclusions in the Huangshan deposit have similar homogenization temperatures at 214–282 °C, but different salinities with 1.2–6.0 and 2.7–8.7 wt.% NaCl equivalent, respectively. In the gold orebodies from the Pingshui deposit, type I and II inclusions also have similar homogenization temperatures ranging from 236 to 304 °C, but different salinities ranging from 1.2 to 6.4 and from 3.2 to 9.8 wt.% NaCl equivalent, respectively. Fluid inclusion observations and microthermometric results show that the ore fluids are low salinity and CO 2 -rich. Petrography and microthermometric results of fluid inclusions suggest that extensive fluid immiscibility occurred during the gold mineralization stage. Rb–Sr dating of quartz-hosted fluid inclusions (ca. 450 Ma) for the gold mineralization at Pingshui, combined with previous radiometric age data (ca. 397 Ma) of gold mineralization at Huangshan, suggest that the regional gold mineralization was formed in the Early Paleozoic. This study suggests that there is an Early Paleozoic orogenic gold belt in the eastern section of the Jiang−Shao Fault, formed in response to the coeval northward underthrusting of the Cathaysia Block beneath the Yangtze Block during the Caledonian Orogeny in South China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

IR, 13C NMR, X-ray diffraction and DSC applied to study the physicochemical properties of starches from six different cultivars of Jinhai (I–VI) sweet potato strains in China. Jinhai II showed the highest rate of retrogradation while Jinhai III showed the lowest in all studied cultivars. The hydrolysis rates of those starches by α-amylase were from 98.1% in Jinhai II to 99.9% in Jinhai VI with a mean value of 99.3%. The ratio of R (1158/991cm−1) in IR spectra of those six different sweet potato starches could be the feature to identify them. All of the six studied Jinhai sweet potato starches showed strong peak at diffraction angle (2θ) of 17°, 15° and 23°, meanwhile an extremely weak peak at 2θ around 5.5° was also identical. XRD pattern of Jinhai II and IV starch also gave strong diffraction peaks at 26.6°, which could be the characteristics of them. The enthalpy and T p of Jinhai II were especially lower than other cultivars. Jinhai IV revealed two T p of 128.0°C and 140°C, respectively. The second T p was maybe the characteristic of Jinhai IV starch. IR and DSC were the most effective methods to distinguish different cultivars of sweet potato. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Granitoids near the Bayan Obo giant rare earth element (REE) deposit at the north margin of the North China Craton (NCC), the world's largest light REE (LREE) deposit, have been taken by some authors as the key factors that controlled the mineralization. In contrast, others proposed that the REE deposit has been partially destructed by these granitoids. Here we report systematic studies on geochronology and geochemical characteristics of granitoids of different distances from the orebodies, to investigate the genesis and their relationship to the giant Bayan Obo deposit. Granitoids studied here, including granites and quartz monzonites, are peraluminous with A/CNK=0.99–1.11, LREE enriched and heavy REE (HREE) depleted, with variable REE concentrations (total REE=54–330ppm) and large negative Eu anomaly (δEu=0.19–0.70). The REE patterns are distinct from those of ore-bearing dolomites. Some samples have slightly higher LREE concentrations, which may have been contaminated by the orebodies during intrusion. Trace elements of the granitoids are characterized by positive Pb anomaly, strong negative Ti anomaly and Nb, Ta and Sr anomalies. The granites exhibit negative Ba anomaly. The granitoids plot within the post-collision granite field in the Pearce diagram, which is consistent with the tectonic regime. The quartz monzonites and one granite have A-type granite characteristics and belong to the A2 subgroup. Zircons in these granitoids have high Th/U values, which are typical for magmatic zircons. High precision U–Pb dating for these zircons by secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) and laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA–ICP-MS) yields Permian–Triassic 206Pb/238U ages ranging from 243.2 to 293.8Ma. The formation of the granitoids is >55Ma later than the latest ore forming age. The zircons have low La concentrations (0.02–12ppm), high (Sm/La)N (0.8–685) and Ce/Ce⁎ (1.4–80). The Ti-in-zircon temperature of the granitoids ranges from 590 to 770°C. All these evidences suggest that the granitoids have no contribution to the formation of the Bayan Obo deposit. Granitoids that are close to the orebodies had limited interaction with it and gained some LREE-enriched characteristics during magmatisms. Nevertheless, their effects to the orebodies are subtle. All the granitoids formed in a post-collisional tectonic regime at convergent margins, which is consistent with plate subduction during the closure of the Palaeo-Asian Ocean, which started in the Neoproterozoic and lasted until the Carboniferous/Permian. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Underground coal mining produces large amounts of mine water annually in the Shendong mining area of China. Due to the severe scarcity of water resources, mine water is extensively used for productive, domestic, and ecological demands. However, mine water exhibits high fluoride levels. For water-use security, reduction of fluoride exposure and environmental protection, knowledge of sources and geochemical controls of fluoride enrichment in mine water is required. The results showed that F− concentrations of mine waters vary from 0.05 to 11.65 mg/L, with a mean value of 1.96 mg/L, and 51% of the mine waters contain F− concentrations exceeding the Chinese drinking water standard (1 mg/L). The overall mine water quality is influenced by cation exchange, mineral dissolution, pyrite oxidation, silicate weathering and so on. The high-fluoride mine waters are all associated with Na–type, with a remarkable cation composition feature of higher Na+ and lower Ca2+ and Mg2+ concentrations. Overall, the high-fluoride mine waters are well-matched with the water environment with higher pH, TDS, and EC levels. PCA reveals that the geochemical controls on the enrichment of F− in mine waters include dissolution of fluoride-bearing minerals and F−-OH− ion exchange; the former process is mainly caused by the decrease in Ca2+ concentrations resulting from Na + -Ca2+ cation exchange and mineral precipitation, and the latter process benefits from a highly alkaline water environment, facilitating the substitution of OH− in the mine water for F− within or absorbed on the minerals. Evaporation also controls F− enrichment in local areas. [Display omitted] • 51% of mine water samples exceed the Chinese drinking water limit for fluoride (1 mg/L). • The overall mine water quality is influenced by cation exchange, dissolution of minerals and so on. • NaHCO 3 type mine water possesses the highest average fluoride concentration. • Fluoride concentrations are overall proportional to higher pH, TDS, and EC levels. • Fluoride enrichment is related to ion exchange, mineral precipitation, and evaporation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: In the past five decades, waterbirds habitats have been seriously damaged in the West Songnen Plain due to the continuous deterioration of wetland ecosystems. Identifying suitable habitats is critical to wetland management and restoration. In this study, by developing an object-oriented segmentation approach in conjunction with geographic information system (GIS) spatial analysis and remote sensing image data, we analyzed and assessed the suitability of habitat for waterbirds in the West Songnen Plain, China. Nesting locations were used to validate the precision. The results show that the area of good, fair, poor, and not suitable habitat for waterbirds is 216×103 ha, 329×103 ha, 109×103 ha, and 283×103 ha, respectively. Approximately 23.48% of the total area of the West Songnen Plain is good suitable habitat. The results also indicate the great potential of this approach for objectively and effectively evaluating habitat suitability for waterbirds. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: A total of 81 Salmonella isolates from retail meats and seafood in Hebei province, China, were assayed for the presence of and horizontal transfer of class 1 integrons. By the PCR screening for the integrons, class 1 integron was detected from strains in serotypes of Derby, Indiana, London and Choleraesuis, which were isolated from pork, chicken or seafood; however, two isolates contained the empty integron that lacked the resistance cassette, a potential hotspot for development of the multidrug resistance. In contrast, two other isolates had the antibiotic resistance gene cassettes within the class 1 integron, which were dfrA1-aadA1 and aadB-cmlA, respectively. The conjugation experiments demonstrated the plasmid-mediated transfer of the class 1 integrons. Furthermore, each of the integrons was transmitted to Streptococcus mutans via natural gene transformation. These findings suggest the possible transfer of class 1 integrons from foodborne pathogens to human residential bacteria via horizontal gene transfer. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Bioaerosol particles in the atmosphere were collected from the coastal region of Qingdao from Jul. 2009 to Jun. 2010. The concentrations of microorganisms (including culturable, nonculturable, terrestrial and marine microorganisms) were measured. Average concentrations of airborne terrestrial bacteria, marine bacteria, terrestrial fungi, marine fungi and total bioaerosol were in the ranges of 33–664CFU/m3, 63–815CFU/m3, 2–777CFU/m3, 66–1128CFU/m3 and 85,015–166,094Cells/m3, respectively. The nonculturable microbes accounted for 99.13% of the total microbes. In addition, there were more culturable marine microbes than culturable terrestrial microbes, and more airborne fungi than bacteria. The concentration of airborne bacteria showed a skewed distribution pattern, while unimodal size distributions were observed for the concentrations of fungi and total microbes. The airborne microbes mainly existed in >2.1μm coarse particles. Pearson correlation analysis between the concentrations and meteorological parameters showed that the meteorological parameters had different effects on different kinds of microbes. Sandstorms increased the concentrations of both culturable microbes and total microbes in the bioaerosol. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The first Sino-German Symposium on DNA Repair and Human Diseases was held in the Capital Normal University, Beijing, China, from October 9th to 11th, 2010. It was initiated and organized by Xingzhi Xu and Zhao-Qi Wang with strong support from top scientists in the field from China, Germany and the United States. Financially, it was fully supported by the Sino-German Center for Science Promotion jointly founded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) and the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG). This report summarizes 35 plenary lectures presented during this three-day symposium, with topics ranging from DNA damage checkpoint signaling, DNA repair, posttranslational protein modifications in DNA damage response (DDR) to DDR in ageing and cancer. This symposium stimulated extensive discussions on science and potential collaboration among the 230 participants. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: A total of 2177 food samples collected from nine cities in northern China during 2005 to 2007 were screened for the presence of Listeria monocytogenes. All L. monocytogenes isolates were subjected to serotyping, antimicrobial susceptibility, pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE), as well as PCR screening to identify genes responsible for tetracycline resistance [tet(L), tet(M), tet(K), tet(S) and tet(B)], transposon Tn916, and class 1 integron. Contamination with L. monocytogenes was detected in 4.13% (90/2177) of the total samples representing various food products. The pathogen was mainly isolated from frozen food made of wheat flour or rice products (26/252, 10.32%) and raw meat products (46/733, 6.28%). Besides, 3.31% (10/302) of cooked meat, 1.17% (4/343) of seafood, 0.98% (2/204) of non-fermented bean products and 0.62% (2/323) of vegetables samples were contaminated by this bacterium. The L. monocytogenes isolates belonged to five serotypes (1/2a, 1/2b, 1/2c, 4b, and 3a), with serotype 1/2a being dominant (48.88%). Antimicrobial resistance was most frequently observed for ciprofloxacin (17.8%), tetracycline (15.6%) and streptomycin (12.2%). Overall, resistance was observed against 14 out of 18 antimicrobials tested while multiple resistances occurred among 18.9% (17/90) isolates. Interestingly, two isolates were resistant to more than five antimicrobials. Among 14 tetracycline-resistant isolates, 13 carried tet(M) gene including nine possessing Tn916, and one harbored tet(S) gene. PFGE analysis revealed genetic heterogeneity among individual serotypes as well as scattered occurrence of some genotypes without any clear-cut correlation to source or food type. The widespread distribution of epidemiologically important serotypes (1/2a, 1/2b and 4b) of L. monocytogenes, and their resistance to commonly used antibiotics indicate a potential public health risk. Our data also indicate that L. monocytogenes could act as a reservoir of mobile tet genes along the food chain. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: To evaluate eight frequently encountered mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) point mutations (A3243G, T8993G/C, A8344G, A1555G, G11778A, G3460A and T14484C) in Chinese, we recruited 1559 sporadic patients suspected of mitochondrial diseases and 206 family members. In suspected patients, 158 cases were detected with one of these eight mtDNA mutations (10.1%). A3243G was the most common mtDNA mutation both in suspected patients (9.4%) and in the relatives (34.2%). In addition, the ratios of A3243G (mutant/wild-type) and A8344G were significantly correlated with the patients’ age of examination. Moreover, in 76 unrelated probands, the ratio of A3243G was correlated well with their seizures and myopathies. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: A total of 182 Escherichia coli isolates from animals, environment and workers of dairy cattle, swine and chicken farms in Shandong which locates in Eastern China, were investigated for antimicrobial resistance as well as prevalence and the transfer mechanisms of integrons. The results revealed isolates from swine and chicken farm exhibited high levels of resistance to antimicrobial agents. The positive rate of gene cassette of class 1 integron in dairy cattle, swine and chicken farms was 5%, 20% and 41.94%, respectively. Only four isolates possessed class 2 integron, all of which were from chicken farm. Nine distinct cassette arrays were detected and two novel gene cassette arrays yheSΔ-yheR-kefBΔ and chrAΔ-sul1-qacEΔ1-orf5-aadA5-dfrA17 were identified in class 1 integron for the first time. Class 1 integrons were found to be located mostly in both chromosomal and conjugative plasmid through southern hybridization and conjugation. PFGE revealed clonal relatedness among the isolates from different sources, especially within the same farm. The results confirmed the antimicrobial resistance and prevalence of integrons were strongly associated with the selection pressure of antimicrobial agents, and resistance genes in animal farms were probably spread by both vertical and horizontal transfer. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Since the emergence of highly pathogenic North American Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome virus (H-US-PRRSV) in 2006, the classical North American PRRSV (C-US-PRRSV) and H-US-PRRSV isolates have coexisted in Chinese swine herds. A duplex real-time RT-PCR assay using minor groove binder (MGB) probes for differential detection of the two US PRRSV isolates was developed. The specificity, sensitivity, reproducibility, and interference test of this assay were validated. The sensitivity of the assay was 3.2TCID50/ml or 38 RNAcopies/μl for C-US-PRRSV and 0.4TCID50/ml or 14 RNAcopies/μl for H-US-PRRSV. Both assays were 10 times more sensitive than the current methods. A total of 302 clinical samples were tested by duplex real-time RT-PCR and conventional RT-PCR assays, and the results showed over 98.7% agreement. In addition, the new assay can be completed in less than 2h. This duplex real-time RT-PCR assay is a promising tool for rapid differential detection and epidemiology of US PRRSV in China. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Objective: The objective was to determine the prevalence and metabolic parameters of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) in southern China. Study design: The study was observational with a parallel study. Participants were studied in a medical examination center. A population of 915 women of reproductive age was investigated at the time of their annual physical examination to determine the prevalence of PCOS in unselected women from southern China. Results: Our results demonstrated a 2.2% (20/915) prevalence of PCOS. Women with PCOS had higher levels of luteinizing hormone and higher luteinizing hormone/follicle-stimulating hormone ratios than those in the other groups. Women with PCOS had higher fasting insulin levels and lower fasting glucose/fasting insulin ratios than women in any of the other groups. Conclusions: Some clinical and biochemical characteristics were apparent in PCOS patients in our population, and ethnic differences may be considered when studying the clinical and metabolic features of PCOS in China. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]