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Urban–rural fringe, the frontier space for urban–rural linkage and the ecological barrier for urban–rural integration, is the most intensive area of man–land conflicts. Its scientific identification and dynamic monitoring are of great significance for balancing urban and rural development and spatial governance in the new era of China. However, existing demarcation methods are often limited to territorial uniqueness and not conducive to replication and reconstruction, making it difficult to determine the boundary accurately and objectively, let alone carry out the longitudinal comparison of the identification results. In this context, this research introduced the iterative unsupervised classification method and central gravitational agglomeration, combined with the land use information entropy model, to realize the urban–rural fringe identification of the long-time series of low-density development-type cities. Changchun city as a typical rust belt city in Northeast China was chosen as an example to identify and track the development pattern of its urban–rural fringe from 1990 to 2020. Meanwhile, time-series land use transfer and landscape analyses were applied to comparatively measure the spatial variations of stable, expanded, and reduced urban–rural fringes. The results indicated that Changchun has undergone significant peri-urbanization over the past 30 years. The urban–rural fringe primarily presented a significant ring-belt shape with continuous outreach features which could be described as “inner circle subtraction, internal hollow filling, leaping expansion, and extension spreading” types of evolution. The land use structure was mainly manifested by an obvious ecological degradation and the internal conversion in stable urban–rural fringe was particularly prominent. As the result of uninterruptedly exogenous and endogenous conflicts, the spatial arrangements were increasingly fragmented, complex, and heterogeneous, whereas these phenomena were slightly alleviated during 2015–2020, especially in stable and expanded urban–rural fringes. These findings intend to assist in the regeneration of rust belt cities and provide a reference for the new urban–rural planning system.

Abstract The construction industry is important in sustaining worldwide development. Improving the sustainability of the construction industry is not only necessary but also urgent, especially in developing countries. In China, however, studies that assess the sustainability of the construction industry at the national level remain rare, especially regarding regional comparisons. To explore the driving forces of sustainable development, the present study established a model to assess the sustainability of the construction industry in China. Social, Economic, and Environmental Benefits Index (SEEBI) and Ecological Costs Index (ECI) were established to reflect the level of sustainability. Regional differences were examined in a longitudinal way. Results indicate that the SEEB of the construction industry greatly improved in most provinces of the eastern region, but ecological costs increased. The sustainable development of the construction industry in the western region lagged behind in early years, but sustainable development achieved significant progress over the past decade. Despite the gap in economic development, no significant differences were found between these three regions in terms of material-use efficiency. Highlights • A model was established to assess the sustainability of the construction industry. • Regional differences were examined in a longitudinal way. • The western region had achieved significant progress in sustainable development. • No significant differences were found between regions on material-use efficiency. • Efforts must be made to increase the construction industry's economic efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Neonatal screening for congenital primary hypothyroidism (CH) is mandatory in Germany but medical care thereafter remains inconsistent. Therefore, the registry HypoDok of the German Society of Pediatric Endocrinology and Diabetology (DGKED) was analyzed to evaluate the implementation of evidence-based guidelines and to assess the number of included patients. Inclusion criteria were (i) date of birth between 10/2001 and 05/2020 and (ii) increased thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) at screening and/or confirmation. The cohort was divided into before (A) and after (B) guideline publication in 02/2011, to assess the guideline’s influence on medical care. A total of 659 patients were analyzed as group A (n = 327) and group B (n = 332) representing 17.5% and 10.3% of CH patients identified in the German and Austrian neonatal screening program during the respective time period. Treatment start and thyroxine doses were similar in both groups and consistent with recommendations. Regular follow-ups were documented. In the first three years of life, less than half of the patients underwent audiometry; developmental assessment was performed in 49.3% (A) and 24.8% (B) (p < 0.01). Documentation of CH patient care by pediatric endocrinologists seemed to be established, however, it reflected only a minority of the affected patients. Therefore, comprehensive documentation as an important instrument of quality assurance and evidence-based medicine should be legally enforced and officially funded in order to record, comprehend, and optimize care and outcome in patients with rare diseases such as CH.

Background: We previously reported that intravenous administration of Streptococcus mutans strain TW871 caused typical non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH)-like findings in a high-fat diet (HFD) mouse model at 16 weeks after initiating the experiment. Objective: The purpose of the present study was to analyse mice administered S. mutans TW871 fed a HFD for various periods of time. Methods: First, 6-week-old C57BL/6J mice were fed an HFD for 4 weeks, then TW871 (1 × 107 CFU) or phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) were intravenously administered. Mice were euthanized 12, 16, 20, and 48 weeks after starting the experiment, and conventional clinical and histopathological evaluations were performed. Results: Typical NASH-like findings were not identified in the mice at 12 weeks, while they were observed in the TW871 group at 16 weeks, and the severity of NASH symptoms were increased at 20 weeks. Furthermore, signs of severe NASH were also observed at 48 weeks. In contrast, in the PBS-administered group, the NASH findings were identified only at 48 weeks and no typical NASH features were observed at 12, 16, or 20 weeks. Conclusion: These results suggest that intravenous administration of a specific S. mutans strain aggravates NASH in a time-dependent manner in the mice in contrast to mice without S. mutans exposure.

[Display omitted] • Quantitative identification of urban–rural fringe in rust belt city is proposed. • "Black soil region delineation" is referenced for identifying urban–rural fringe. • Time-series land use structure is used to understand urban–rural development. • Changchun has undergone significant peri -urbanization over the past 30 years. • Monitoring urban–rural fringe helps to develop a new urban–rural planning system. Urban–rural fringe, the frontier space for urban–rural linkage and the ecological barrier for urban–rural integration, is the most intensive area of man–land conflicts. Its scientific identification and dynamic monitoring are of great significance for balancing urban and rural development and spatial governance in the new era of China. However, existing demarcation methods are often limited to territorial uniqueness and not conducive to replication and reconstruction, making it difficult to determine the boundary accurately and objectively, let alone carry out the longitudinal comparison of the identification results. In this context, this research introduced the iterative unsupervised classification method and central gravitational agglomeration, combined with the land use information entropy model, to realize the urban–rural fringe identification of the long-time series of low-density development-type cities. Changchun city as a typical rust belt city in Northeast China was chosen as an example to identify and track the development pattern of its urban–rural fringe from 1990 to 2020. Meanwhile, time-series land use transfer and landscape analyses were applied to comparatively measure the spatial variations of stable, expanded, and reduced urban–rural fringes. The results indicated that Changchun has undergone significant peri -urbanization over the past 30 years. The urban–rural fringe primarily presented a significant ring-belt shape with continuous outreach features which could be described as "inner circle subtraction, internal hollow filling, leaping expansion, and extension spreading" types of evolution. The land use structure was mainly manifested by an obvious ecological degradation and the internal conversion in stable urban–rural fringe was particularly prominent. As the result of uninterruptedly exogenous and endogenous conflicts, the spatial arrangements were increasingly fragmented, complex, and heterogeneous, whereas these phenomena were slightly alleviated during 2015–2020, especially in stable and expanded urban–rural fringes. These findings intend to assist in the regeneration of rust belt cities and provide a reference for the new urban–rural planning system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background The alarming progression of the aging trend in China attracts much attention in the country and abroad. In 2003, the Chinese central government launched the New Cooperative Medical Scheme (NCMS) to resolve the inequity problem of health in regions with inadequate infrastructure and relative poverty. The rural elderly are the main beneficiaries of this policy; the improvement of their health through the policy require exploration. Methods This study used data obtained from the Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey conducted in 2005 and 2008. Elderly people living in rural areas and aged 60 and above were screened for the investigation. A total of 8658 and 9904 elderly people were selected from 2005 and 2008, respectively. By establishing models and employing multi-logistic analysis, stereotype logistic analysis, we examined the effect of NCMS organized by Chinese government on three domains of the health of the rural elderly. Results A total of 948 and 6361 elderly people participated in NCMS in 2005 (n = 5658) and 2008 (n = 9904), respectively. With regard to the independent variables, the number of participants in NCMS increased, whereas province distribution, gender, and years of education only slightly changed. As for the dependent variables, the rural elderly in 2005 had poor physical health but excellent psychological health. Significant differences were found between different moods. Old people who engage in much outdoor activity can take care of themselves. After three-year promotion of NCMS, the differences between 2005 and 2008 indicate that the general health and physical health of the rural elderly worsen, whereas the psychological health improves. Conclusions (1) In the 2005 data and 2008 data, result shows that NCMS participation can promote the self-rated quality and health change of the elderly. (2)After three years, the alleviation effect on anxiety and loneliness changed from insignificant to significant. Participants in NCMS have a stronger sense of uselessness, which weakens with time. (3)NCMS participation passes the significance test in "outdoor activities" and "pick a book up from the floor" model. Elderly participants indicated higher frequencies of outdoor activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Neonatal screening for congenital primary hypothyroidism (CH) is mandatory in Germany but medical care thereafter remains inconsistent. Therefore, the registry HypoDok of the German Society of Pediatric Endocrinology and Diabetology (DGKED) was analyzed to evaluate the implementation of evidence-based guidelines and to assess the number of included patients. Inclusion criteria were (i) date of birth between 10/2001 and 05/2020 and (ii) increased thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) at screening and/or confirmation. The cohort was divided into before (A) and after (B) guideline publication in 02/2011, to assess the guideline's influence on medical care. A total of 659 patients were analyzed as group A ( n = 327) and group B ( n = 332) representing 17.5% and 10.3% of CH patients identified in the German and Austrian neonatal screening program during the respective time period. Treatment start and thyroxine doses were similar in both groups and consistent with recommendations. Regular follow-ups were documented. In the first three years of life, less than half of the patients underwent audiometry; developmental assessment was performed in 49.3% (A) and 24.8% (B) ( p < 0.01). Documentation of CH patient care by pediatric endocrinologists seemed to be established, however, it reflected only a minority of the affected patients. Therefore, comprehensive documentation as an important instrument of quality assurance and evidence-based medicine should be legally enforced and officially funded in order to record, comprehend, and optimize care and outcome in patients with rare diseases such as CH., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Background: We previously reported that intravenous administration of Streptococcus mutans strain TW871 caused typical non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH)-like findings in a high-fat diet (HFD) mouse model at 16 weeks after initiating the experiment. Objective: The purpose of the present study was to analyse mice administered S. mutans TW871 fed a HFD for various periods of time. Methods: First, 6-week-old C57BL/6J mice were fed an HFD for 4 weeks, then TW871 (1 × 107 CFU) or phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) were intravenously administered. Mice were euthanized 12, 16, 20, and 48 weeks after starting the experiment, and conventional clinical and histopathological evaluations were performed. Results: Typical NASH-like findings were not identified in the mice at 12 weeks, while they were observed in the TW871 group at 16 weeks, and the severity of NASH symptoms were increased at 20 weeks. Furthermore, signs of severe NASH were also observed at 48 weeks. In contrast, in the PBS-administered group, the NASH findings were identified only at 48 weeks and no typical NASH features were observed at 12, 16, or 20 weeks. Conclusion: These results suggest that intravenous administration of a specific S. mutans strain aggravates NASH in a time-dependent manner in the mice in contrast to mice without S. mutans exposure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Canada is among the world's leading nations with the longest life expectancy at birth (LE0), and British Columbia (BC) ranks top among Canadian provinces and territories for LE0 in both men and women. This paper examined recent data as well as projected trends in LE0 of Canadian men and women and explored the geographic and socioeconomic disparities in LE0 specific to BC., Methods: Using retrospective data on LE0 and age-standardized mortality rates, Canada was compared to 11 other Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries with the longest LE0. Projections were made using linear regression modelling to the year of 2023. The association between regional LE0 and regional socioeconomic status (SES) was examined for the province of BC using its Local Health Area (LHA) level data on SES and LE0., Results: In 2009, Canadian men (LE0: 78.7 years) and women (LE0: 83.3 years) ranked 7(th) and 8(th), respectively among the 12 OECD nations under comparison. Significantly smaller annual gains in LE0 contributed to the losing of their top ranks in LE0 for Canadian men and women in recent years, which was projected to sustain. Higher mortality risks, particularly for lung cancer and external causes of mortality among women was found for Canada compared to leading countries on these measures. Geographic variations were evident in LE0 in BC, and there was a significant gap of 3.6 years in the average LE0 for BC's LHAs in the lowest SES tertile (78.6 years, 95% CI: 78.0-79.3) compared to those in the highest SES tertile (82.2 years, 95% CI: 81.6-82.8)., Conclusions: Canada continues to remain one of the OECD countries with longest living population. With the highest LE0 in the country, British Columbia has an opportunity to address socio-economic disparities in LE0.