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Objectives: The frail elderly have an increased risk of frailty because of reduced physical activity, cognitive ability and quality of life. This study aims to evaluate the effects of integrated exercise intervention on the attenuation of frailty in elderly nursing home residents. Design: This study was a cluster randomized controlled trial. SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: 146 elderly frailty people from 8 elderly nursing homes in Harbin, China, were randomly assigned into the intervention group and control group after obtaining their informed consent. Intervention: The intervention group performed integrated exercise interventions for 12 months, while the control group only continued with their daily activities. Measurements: Sociodemographic, health-related data, frailty levels, gait parameters, cognition, and quality of life were evaluated. Results: The mean age of participants was 80.74± 2.89 years, and 70.37% (n=95) were female. The Difference-in-difference regression showed that, compared with the control group, phenotypic frailty score (β3 =−1.40, p < 0.001) and stride time (β3 = −0.38, p < 0.001) decreased significantly in the intervention group, stride velocity (β3 = 0.24, p < 0.001), step length (β3 = 0.08, p <0.001), cadence (β3 = 17.79, p < 0.001), MMSE total score (β3 = 1.90, p < 0.001) and QOL total score (β3 = 11.84, p < 0.001) increased significantly in the intervention group. Conclusion: The integrated exercise intervention can effectively improve the attenuation of frailty, gait parameters, cognitive function, and quality of life in elderly nursing homes. We can use the findings of this study as a reference for the design of activities for the elderly nursing home residents, to provide them with appropriate exercises, improve their physical functions, and improve or delay their frailty level, which is principally important for developing countries in east Asia where rehabilitation resources are generally scarce. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Currently, immune checkpoint inhibitors have been shown to extend the survival of many cancer patients. However, few studies have focused on immune checkpoint inhibition for the treatment of patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). Here, by screening at an early stage, we obtained a strain of anti-PD-1 monoclonal antibody (mAb) that targets programmed cell death-1 (PD-1) does not contain the CH1 and CL fragment. In this study, the role of our novel mAb was tested in the treatment of OSCC in vitro and in vivo. We found that our novel mAb can significantly augment T cell mediated cytokine secretion, target cellular lytic and apoptotic abilities, and inhibit tumor growth and inflammation in vivo. The PD-L1 blockade was accompanied by the inhibition of AKT and ERK1/2, thus suggesting that the PD-L1/PD-1 signaling pathway may play an important immunopreventive role in the tumorigenic properties of OSCC cells by modulating the AKT and ERK1/2 pathways. Additionally, PD-L1 staining was observed both in human OSCC tissues and normal oral mucous tissue adjacent to the tumor, which occurred at different rates. Taken together, these results indicated that our novel anti-PD-1 mAb may be used as a clinical therapy in human OSCC development and progression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: In this study, we determined serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH) D] levels in serum, and investigated their associations with risk of recurrent stroke and mortality in a 24-month follow up study in Chinese patients with first-ever ischemic stroke. Methods: In this preplanned post hoc analysis, serum levels of 25(OH) D and NIH stroke scale (NIHSS) were measured at the time of admission in a cohort of patients with ischemic stroke. We used logistic regression model to assess the relationship between 25(OH) D levels and risk recurrent stroke or mortality. Results: The follow-up rate was 98.2% in 220 stroke patients. Of 216 patients, 18.5% (95%CI: 13.3%-23.7%) patients had a stroke recurrence, and 30.1% (95% CI: 24.0%-36.2%) died. After adjustment for traditional risk factors, serum 25(OH) D levels were negatively associated with the risk of stroke recurrence (odds ratio [OR], 0.77; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.70-0.85; P< 0.001) and negatively associated with mortality during 24 months of follow-up (OR, 0.72; 95% CI, 0.64-0.80; P< 0.001). Compared with the first quartile of serum 25(OH) D levels, the ORs for stroke recurrence and mortality were as follows: second quartile, 0.80 (95% CI, 0.63-0.93) and 0.77 (95% CI, 0.65-0.89); third quartile, 0.42 (95% CI, 0.31-0.55) and 0.39 (95% CI, 0.30-0.52); fourth quartile, 0.12 (95% CI, 0.07-0.19) and 0.10 (95% CI, 0.06-0.15), respectively. Conclusions: Lower serum levels of 25(OH) D are independently associated with the stroke recurrence and mortality at 24 months in ischemic stroke patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Banana bacterial sheath rot is a new disease causing significant economic losses in banana production in China. Pathogenic bacteria infect the middle and bottom parts of the leaf sheath and produce black and brown spots. These spots lead to folding and bending of the sheath, drooping of leaves, and eventual browning and rotting of the entire leaf sheath. In this work, twenty representative strains from five different provinces in China were confirmed by Koch's postulates, and two of them (XJ5-1 and XJ5-2) were characterized by morphological, physiological, biochemical, and molecular assays. Results showed that the strains were more similar to Dickeya dadantii and were less related to Dickeya paradisiaca and Dickeya zeae based on several phenotype characteristics. Phylogenetic analysis and comparison of strains from banana and Dickeya spp. were performed using concatenated partial sequences of the seven housekeeping genes dnaJ, dnaX, gyrB, recN, fusA, gyrA and recA1, indicating that the strains isolated from banana-sheath-rot tissues were closely related to D. dadantii and distinct from other Dickeya spp. Therefore, the banana pathogen was determined to be D. dadantii. This report is the first one on the banana-sheath-rot disease caused by D. dadantii in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Study design:Adult spinal cord injury without radiologic abnormalities (SCIWORA) is evidenced to be underreported. Some abnormalities that were not present on computed tomography (CT) were identified on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), but the diagnostic reliability of early MRI remains considerable disagreement.Objective:The present study was retrospectively designed to assess a potential correlation between clinical and imaging findings in adults experiencing SCIWORA.Setting:A total of 2964 adult patients (age >18 or older) with acute cervical spine injury presented to the single institution between January 2009 and June 2014.Methods:Fifty-nine patients with SCIWORA were included in the study. Initial MRI findings at admission were analyzed, and a 6-month follow-up was performed.Results:On admission, complete spinal cord injury was found in 32 patients, incomplete spinal cord injury in 20 patients and central cord syndrome in seven patients. MRI findings showed varying degrees of degenerative or spondylotic changes in 45% of the patients (n=27). The cord contusion was shown in 12 patients, cord edema in 7, cord hemorrhage in 2 and ligamentum flavum bulging in 4 patients. In all, two of these patients had no positive findings on the initial MRI, but presented with positive abnormalities on repeat MRI 72 h after trauma. At discharge, most of the patients presented with complete remission, but some of the patients presented with partial remission. After 6 months, all patients significantly improved, and only two patients did not show full recovery.Conclusions:Early use of MRI added little in the determination of stability of the cervical spine in the presence of a negative CT. Our study suggested that the neurological outcome did not correlate with early MRI findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Leaves were collected from a total of 62 trees displaying virus-like disease symptoms such as rugose mosaic in leaf, irregular shaped leaf blades or small leaf blades in a survey of sweet cherry (Prunus avium L. cv Red Lamp) in Shandong Province, the largest cherry production area in China. Reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) analysis indicated that Prunus necrotic ringspot virus (PNRSV), Prune dwarf virus (PDV), Little cherry virus- 2 (LChV-2), Cherry virus A (CVA) and Cherry green ring mottle virus (CGRMV) were present and that most of the samples (70%) were infected by at least two viruses. A case study in this survey of two selected trees revealed that a mixed infection with these five viruses simultaneously caused two types of field symptoms: late-maturity in fruits or fruit blast. Real-time quantitative RT-PCR analysis revealed that the relative proportion of the virus titers was distinct in the two sampled trees. The PNRSV titer was significantly higher than the four other viruses in the trees that exhibited fruit blast. Phylogenetic analysis of the PNRSV coat protein (CP) gene showed that the isolates HSY-4-1 and X-3, obtained from the two sampled trees separately, were classified into different subgroups of Group I isolates, which is characterized by a six-nucleotide insertion. A non-synonymous substitution was identified in the six-nucleotide insertion in the PNRSV CP gene in one of the two isolates. This is the first detailed study of the incidence of multiple sweet cherry viruses in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Adeno-associated viruses (AAV) have attracted attention as potential vectors for gene therapy and vaccines against several diseases, including HIV-1 infection. However, the presence of neutralizing antibodies (NAbs) after natural AAV infections inhibits their transfection in re-exposed subjects. To identify candidate AAV vectors for therapeutic or prophylactic HIV vaccines, NAbs against AAV2, AAV5 and AAV8 were screened in the sera of healthy individuals in China and 10 developed countries and an HIV-1-infected Chinese population. Seroprevalence was higher for AAV2 (96.6%) and AAV8 (82.0%) than for AAV5 (40.2%) in normal Chinese subjects. Among individuals seropositive for AAV5, >80% had low NAb titers (<1:90). The prevalence and titers of NAbs against the three AAVs were significantly higher in China than in developed countries (P<0.01). The prevalence of NAbs against AAV5 did not differ significantly between healthy and HIV-1-infected Chinese subjects (P=0.39). Co-occurrence of NAbs against AAV2, AAV5, and AAV8 was observed in the healthy population, and 15, 41, and 41% of individuals were AAV2+, AAV2+/AAV8+, and AAV2+/AAV5+/AAV8+, respectively. Therefore, AAV5 exposure is low in healthy and HIV-1-infected populations Chinese individuals, and vectors based on AAV5 may be appropriate for human gene therapy or vaccines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

According to the recommendations developed by the Kinetics Committee of the International Confederation for Thermal Analysis and Calorimetry (ICTAC), non-isothermal pyrolysis experiments were carried out to analyze and compare two types of oil shale from the northeast of China using simultaneous differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and thermogravimetric (TG) analysis at temperatures ranging from 40 to 850 °C. The pyrolysis process of oil shale begins with the evaporation of small molecular substances, then continues by the pyrolysis of kerogen, and finally ends mainly with the complete decomposition of carbonates. In this whole process, almost 36 % of overall pyrolytic heat was used for the pyrolysis of kerogen. When retorting air-dried basis oil shale below 520 °C, a considerable proportion of the heat required will have to be used mainly for the evaporation of small molecular substances below 185 °C. Specific heat capacities of two oil shale semicokes were measured below 500 °C by DSC method, showing that specific heat capacity of semicoke will increase with the increase of the temperature, and carbonization of kerogen can bring about a further positive effect on it. Coats-Redfern method was used to calculate kinetic parameters in three pyrolysis stages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the rapid economic and social development in China, pressure on water resources in the Yellow River is becoming more and more prominent. For the sustainable social, economic and agricultural development in the Yellow River valley, it is imperative to create the perfect water right institution, which plays a key role in improving the efficiency, equity and sustainability of water use. This article analyzes the problems with the water right institution of the Yellow River valley, which includes unclear definition of water right, ineffective allocation mechanism, low water price, and water pollution. Correspondingly, some measures need taking in order to address these challenges. First of all, the water right, especially tradable water right should be well defined. In the article, water right is defined as a series of water management capabilities and use requirements. Then, water right allocation system should be built up, including examining and approving water usufruct, the paid transfer, and the paid utilization of water right. In the end, based on the well defined tradable water right and the well developed water right allocation system, water right market should be developed, which will promote the transfer to the highest valued water uses. When the water right trade happens, the water right price should be fixed in certain situation. On one hand, the water right price should be raised; on the other hand, the water right price should be determined according to a two-part water price system. Of course, market should not be the only role in the water right institution. The authorities should also be necessarily responsible for water right organizations, which make proper water right law, policy and regulations that assist the smooth going of water right market. There are some other measures for the yellow river, such as a water booklet should be recorded for mastering the detailed situation of water resources in the Valley; the South-to-North Water Diversion Project should be accelerated in order to alleviate the water scarcity. All the above measures will do good to resolve the problems of water resources of the Yellow River valley when they are correctly taken. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High amylose content (AC) in rice endosperm is correlated with poor grain quality, particularly in indica hybrid rice. We have generated several homozygous transgenic parent lines of indica hybrid rice carrying an antisense Waxy ( Wx) gene and demonstrated that the AC in seeds of these lines decreased dramatically. Two transgenic maintainer lines (L25B and L18B), derived from one of the key maintainer parents of an indica hybrid rice in China, Long-te-fu B (LTF-B), were selected and the antisense Wx gene was subsequently introgressed into the male-sterile counterpart, LTF-A, with the aim to generate improved indica hybrids. The indica hybrids derived from the selected transgenic male-sterile lines and restorer lines were tested for quality and agronomic performance under normal field conditions. Our results demonstrated that the reduction of AC in the homozygous transgenic maintainer lines stably passed down in five successive generations and the improved quality was also found in their relevant transgenic hybrids produced. The other two key characters of rice cooking and eating quality, the gel consistence (GC) and gelatinization temperature (GT), were also improved in the grains of both the transgenic maintainer lines and their relevant hybrids. In addition, no change was observed for most of the agronomic characters of the transgenic maintainer lines and the relevant transgenic hybrids. Although the grain weight of the transgenic line was reduced, the grain yield of the homozygous transgenic parent lines and the transgenic hybrids was similar when compared with that of the wild-type controls. These results suggest that transgenic approaches are an effective way to obtain rice lines with both improved qualities and high yield, especially for indica hybrid rice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A long-term field and lysimeter experiment under different amount of fertilizer-N application was conducted to explore the optimal N application rates for a high productive rice–wheat system and less N leaching loss in the Yangtse Delta region. In this region excessive applications of N fertilizer for the rice–wheat production has resulted in reduced N recovery rates and environment pollution. Initial results of the field experiments showed that the optimal N application rate increased with the yield. On the two major paddy soils (Hydromorphic paddy soil and Gleyed paddy soil) of the region, the optimal N application rate was 225–270 kg N hm-2 for rice and 180–225 kg N hm-2 for wheat, separately. This has resulted in the highest number of effective ears and Spikelets per unit area, and hence high yield. Nitrogen leaching in the form of NO3--N occurs mainly in the wheat-growing season and in the ponding and seedling periods of the paddy field. Its concentration in the leachate increased with the N application rate in the lysimeter experiment. When the application rate reached 225 kg N hm-2, the concentration rose to 5.4–21.3 mgN l-1 in the leachate during the wheat-growing season. About 60% of the leachate samples determined contained NO3--N beyond the criterion (NO3--N 10 mg l-1) for N pollution. In the field experiment, when the N application rate was in the range of 270–315 kg hm-2, the NO3--N concentration in the leachate during the wheat-growing season ranged from 1.9 to 11.0 mg l-1. About 20% of the leachate samples reached close to, and 10% exceeded, the criterion for N pollution. Long-term accumulation of NO3--N from leaching will no doubt constitute a potential risk of N contamination of the groundwater in the Yangtse Delta Region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ammonium adsorption by sediments plays an important role in the cycle of nitrogen in the estuarine tidal flat ecosystem. Ammonium adsorption on tidal flat sediments from the Yangtze estuary was studied using the simulation experiment. The findings indicated that there was linear adsorption by the tidal flat sediments for the lower ammonium concentration (<10 mM) in the overlying waters. The adsorption coefficient of ammonium in the study area ranged from 3.81 to 9.00, and had a significant positive correlation with total organic carbon (r = 0.779, α= 0.02284 , n=8), reflecting that organic matter might be one of the main factors controlling the behavior of ammonium adsorption. It also showed that salinity had a pronounced effect on ammonium adsorption, and that salinity affected the distribution of ammonium between the sediments and waters. The amount of ammonium adsorption on sediments gradually decreased with the increasing salinity. Especially within the range of lower salinity, just a little change of salinity had a dramatic influence on ammonium adsorption by sediments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Adsorption of phosphate (PO4-P) by sediments of nine sites taken from the Yangtze Estuarine and coastal tidal flats were studied in a laboratory. The results indicate that the process of phosphorus adsorption onto sediments mainly occurred within 0–10 h, and then reached a dynamic equilibrium. This experimental finding has shown maximum adsorption rates (ad-R) occurred within 0–0.5 h, ranging from 10.40–56.40 mg/kg h with regional differences. The adsorption rates were obviously related to concentrations of fine particles (<63 µm) in the sediments. Adsorption isotherm curves were fitted to the modified Langmuir equation. Adsorption capacities (ad-C) varied from 26.32 to 204.08 mg/kg, and showed good affinities for Fe3+ and TOC concentrations. The adsorption efficiency (ad-E) of phosphate on sediments ranged from 21.55 to 248.30 L/kg, showing a close correlation with TOC concentrations. A correlation between environmental factors and phosphate adsorption is presented in this experiment. Phosphate adsorption is susceptible to changes in pH, temperature and salinity conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Direct quantification of terrestrial biosphere responses to global change is crucial for projections of future climate change in Earth system models. Here, we synthesized ecosystem carbon-cycling data from 1,119 experiments performed over the past four decades concerning changes in temperature, precipitation, CO 2 and nitrogen across major terrestrial vegetation types of the world. Most experiments manipulated single rather than multiple global change drivers in temperate ecosystems of the USA, Europe and China. The magnitudes of warming and elevated CO 2 treatments were consistent with the ranges of future projections, whereas those of precipitation changes and nitrogen inputs often exceeded the projected ranges. Increases in global change drivers consistently accelerated, but decreased precipitation slowed down carbon-cycle processes. Nonlinear (including synergistic and antagonistic) effects among global change drivers were rare. Belowground carbon allocation responded negatively to increased precipitation and nitrogen addition and positively to decreased precipitation and elevated CO 2 . The sensitivities of carbon variables to multiple global change drivers depended on the background climate and ecosystem condition, suggesting that Earth system models should be evaluated using site-specific conditions for best uses of this large dataset. Together, this synthesis underscores an urgent need to explore the interactions among multiple global change drivers in underrepresented regions such as semi-arid ecosystems, forests in the tropics and subtropics, and Arctic tundra when forecasting future terrestrial carbon-climate feedback.

A small number of high-burden countries account for the majority of tuberculosis cases worldwide. Detailed data are lacking from these regions. To explore the evolutionary history of Mycobacterium tuberculosis in China-the country with the third highest tuberculosis burden-we analysed a countrywide collection of 4,578 isolates. Little genetic diversity was detected, with 99.4% of the bacterial population belonging to lineage 2 and three sublineages of lineage 4. The deeply rooted phylogenetic positions and geographic restriction of these four genotypes indicate that their populations expanded in situ following a small number of introductions to China. Coalescent analyses suggest that these bacterial subpopulations emerged in China around 1,000 years ago, and expanded in parallel from the twelfth century onwards, and that the whole population peaked in the late eighteenth century. More recently, sublineage L2.3, which is indigenous to China and exhibited relatively high transmissibility and extensive global dissemination, came to dominate the population dynamics of M. tuberculosis in China. Our results indicate that historical expansion of four M. tuberculosis strains shaped the current tuberculosis epidemic in China, and highlight the long-term genetic continuity of the indigenous M. tuberculosis population.