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Groundwater is a primary freshwater resource for human consumption and an essential source for industry and agriculture. Therefore, understanding its spatial and temporal trends and drivers is crucial for governments to take appropriate measures to manage water resources. This paper uses Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) satellite data and the Global Land Data Assimilation System (GLDAS) to derive groundwater storage anomalies (GWSAs) and to analyze the spatial and temporal trends of GWSA in different regions of China (Xinjiang, Tibet, Inner Mongolia, North China Plain, South China, and Northeast China). It used groundwater-level observation data to verify the accuracy of GWSA estimates and analyzed the drivers of regional GWSA changes. The results showed that: (1) GWSA in South China increased at a rate of 4.79 mm/a from 2003 to 2016, and GWSA in other regions in China showed a decreasing trend. Among them, the decline rates of GWSA in Xinjiang, Tibet, Inner Mongolia, North China Plain, and Northeast China were −6.24 mm/a, −3.33 mm/a, −3.17 mm/a, −7.35 mm/a, and −0.75 mm/a, respectively. (2) The accuracy of the annual-scale GWSA estimates was improved after deducting gravity losses due to raw coal quality, and the correlation coefficient between GWSA and groundwater levels monitored by observation wells increased. (3) In Xinjiang, the annual water consumed by raw coal mining, industrial, and agricultural activities had a greater impact on GWSA than rainfall and temperature, so these human activities might be the main drivers of the continued GWSA decline in Xinjiang. Water consumption by raw coal mining and industry might be the main drivers of the continued decline in GWSA in Inner Mongolia and the North China Plain. The increase in groundwater storage in South China was mainly due to the recharge of rainfall. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

GM crops, as a widely researched and applied biotechnology, hold significant strategic and practical implications for promoting the commercialization of GM crops in China, driving agricultural industry upgrading, and fostering economic and social development. However, despite their potential benefits, the commercialization of GM crops in China has been consistently delayed. Therefore, this study aims to explore the trust relationship between the government and the public in the field of genetically modified organisms and the heterogeneous impacts generated at the production and consumption ends. We primarily focus on insect-resistant cotton and genetically modified papaya as representatives and base our research on survey data from Xinjiang and Guangdong. By employing factor analysis and establishing multiple Probit models with government trust, crop purposes, and farmer expectations as independent variables, and the commercialization of GM crops as the dependent variable, we conduct two sets of empirical analyses. The study finds that government trust has a more significant impact on consumer concerns about whether to consume GM products than on producers, who prioritize farmers' desire for agricultural product profitability. Age and education levels also influence the public's acceptance of planting GM crops, but the effects are not as significant as the core variables mentioned earlier. Based on this, we conclude that consumers and farmers have different positions and contradictions in the specific scenario of delayed GM commercialization in China. In this context, this paper argues that diversified strategies should be adopted to address the issue of commercialization of GM crops in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The supply of coins and their metal materials is important for state governance. Many details about the monetary supply network in ancient China still need to be verified. In this paper, 15 early Tang dynasty Kaiyuan Tongbao 開元通寶 coins excavated from the Lafu Queke 拉甫却克 cemetery, Hami 哈密 city, were studied by combining scientific analyses (PXRF and MC-ICP-MS etc.) with the archaeological context and historical texts. The results show that all of these coins are made of Cu-Sn–Pb ternary alloy. The lead isotopes match with the isotopic signatures of some southwest China lead mines consistent with historical records, 14 coins are located in the range of Southern China geochemical province, and the lead of 5 coins could be considered as highly radiogenic lead (HRL). Combining these results with the archaeological context and historical texts, it can be inferred that the coins minted in southwest China were made from locally exploited raw metal, and supplied to the northwest borderland of the Tang dynasty in the seventh century CE. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article outlines the ways in which Islamophobia, as a growing transnational phenomenon, embraces and engenders structural violence against Muslims in the context of China. How have expressions of anti-Muslim racism become part and parcel of anti-terror strategies in the context of the Global War on Terror (GWOT)? And in what ways has Islamophobia been increasingly embedded within the context of the everyday, especially with regards to exclusionary policies? This paper examines this contemporary issue with attention to historical processes, while remaining cognizant of broader global trends of increasingly accepted religious persecution and racism. In a post-9/11 hyper-securitized world, the Uyghurs' religious Muslim identity became the target of the government's campaign against terrorism. With antiterror policies so loosely defined, Islam--often synonymous with terrorism and difference--and those who visibly practice it became convenient marks of increased surveillance, suppression, detention, and even torture/death, all officially under the guise of the elusive war on terror and for the purpose of state security. In China, Islamophobia has effectively been state-sanctioned, legislated, and securitized. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Health improvement is an important social development goal for every country. By using a geographical weighted regression (GWR) model on the 5th and 6th censuses data, this paper analyzes the spatially varied influencing factors of the change in life expectancy of residents in Chinses cities. The results indicate that: (1) The initial level of life expectancy may have a negative correlation with its increase, indicating that life expectancy in different areas may eventually converge to a higher level; moreover, the degree of convergence of life expectancy in cities with different economic development levels is variant. (2) Results of geographically weighted regression model demonstrate significant spatial heterogeneity in the effects of the level of economic development, medical conditions, demographic structure, and natural environment on health improvement. Natural conditions, such as topography, dictate the change in life expectancy in most cities in the middle eastern region of China. Change of educational level is the leading factor in the vast western region while the change in birth rate is the most critical in Xinjiang. Thus, local-based strategies are critical for solving health problems, especially with a focus on promoting health conditions in middle-income and low-income areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The evaluation of regional water and energy consumption is of great significance to improving regional resource utilization. This paper analyzed the water and energy footprints in different provinces of China, considering regional economic levels. The results indicate: (1) both the largest water footprint and water footprint per capita were in Xinjiang and agriculture had the largest value; (2) Shandong was the largest energy consumer, Ningxia had the largest energy footprint per capita, and coal occupied the largest proportion for the top five energy footprint provinces; and (3) the resource input–output efficiencies in Beijing and Fujian were high, while water and energy consumption were low and gross regional product was high, compared with the average value of China. The situations in Xinjiang and Inner Mongolia were opposite. The change of consumption pattern for each inhabitant, the adoption of water-saving technology, and an increase to water-saving awareness would be helpful to decrease regional water consumption. An increase of regional energy use efficiency and a change to reduced energy consumption would contribute to the decreasing of regional energy consumption. More attention should be paid to renewable and clean Energies. In addition to solution from the local perspective, the virtual water trade and the energy product trade may relieve regional resource pressure in some extent, and the possible influencing should be considered at the same time. This paper could provide suggestions for regional resource utilization and sustainable development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There was presently a lack of multidimensional investigation on the impact of virtual water flow (VWF) on regional water use and scarcity. A framework for impact analysis of VWF in consideration of blue, green and grey water differentiation, taking the crop-water relationship estimation in 31 provinces of China as case study, was established in current paper. Results showed that, VWF, which mainly from northern to eastern plain and southeast, reduced agricultural water footprints by 8.3 (blue), 322.0 (green) and 52.5 (grey) G m3. National water stress index reduced from 1.20 (severe water stress) to 0.92 (high water stress), comparing crop consumption to production perspectives. VWF alleviated the resource-based water scarcity attributed to green water stress in south of the Yangtze River, and transformed the resource-based to systematic water scarcity in Xinjiang (XJ). Clarifying the influences of VWF on blue, green and grey water is the innovation of the analytical framework proposed in current paper. • Influences of virtual water flow (VWF) on blue, green and grey water footprint scarcity were quantified. • Green and grey VWFs and their effects on water resources were more impressive than blue water. • VWF alleviated water stress and changed water scarcity type in crop production of China. • Crop production improvement and optimization are proposed to increase the benefits of VWF. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Contexto Internacional is the property of Pontificia Universidade Catolica do Rio de Janeiro, Instituto de Relacoes Internacionais and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Whether or not large-scale vegetation restoration will lead to a decrease in regional terrestrial water storage is a controversial topic. This study employed the Geodetector model, in conjunction with observed and satellite hydro-meteorological data, to detect the changes in terrestrial water storage anomaly (TWSA) and to identify the contributions of climate change and vegetation greening across China during the years 1982–2019. The results revealed that: (1) during the period of 1982–2019, TWSA showed a downward trend in about two thirds of the country, with significant declines in North China, southeast Tibet, and northwest Xinjiang, and an upward trend in the remaining third of the country, with significant increases mainly in the Qaidam Basin, the Yangtze River, and the Songhua River; (2) the positive correlation between normalized vegetation index (NDVI) and TWSA accounts for 48.64% of the total vegetation area across China. In addition, the response of vegetation greenness lags behind the TWSA and precipitation, and the lag time was shorter in arid and semi-arid regions dominated by grasslands, and longer in relatively humid regions dominated by forests and savannas; (3) furthermore, TWSAs decreased with the increase in NDVI and evapotranspiration (ET) in arid and semi-arid areas, and increased with the rise in NDVI and ET in the humid regions. The Geodetector model was used to detect the effects of climate, vegetation, and human factors on TWSA. It is worth mentioning that NDVI, precipitation, and ET were some of the main factors affecting TWSA. Therefore, it is essential to implement rational ecological engineering to mitigate climate change's negative effects and maintain water resources' sustainability in arid and semi-arid regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Overgrazing is the key factor that has exacerbated grassland degradation in China's pastoral regions. Herder's grazing-based livestock production behavior becomes important to grassland conservation. Several formal environmental institutions and policies exist to improve grassland degradation; however, there remain contradicting conclusions regarding the contribution of these policies. Informal institutions become major instruments that might encourage herder's behavior on overgrazing. Using village rules and conventions (VRC) as a proxy for informal institutions, the article attempts to scrutinize whether the VRC emerge to respond to herders' willingness to reduce grazing intensity for grassland conservation and elicit factors affecting their reduction behavior using a Double-Hurdle model. Based on a survey of 193 respondents in Inner Mongolia and Xinjiang Autonomous regions of China, the empirical results provide evidence that VRC is effective in reducing herders' grazing intensity. In detail, the VRC in written form and an unchanging context within five years could significantly improve herders' willingness to reduce grazing intensity. Herders who consider the VRC as an important impact to their livestock production observe an increased reduction degree of grazing intensity. Additionally, variables referring to herder's education and religious belief play a significant role in the reduction degree of grazing intensity. Our findings highlight the importance of VRC in controlling herders' overgrazing behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vegetation, a key intermediary linking water, the atmosphere, and the ground, performs extremely important functions in nature and for our existence. Although satellite-based remote-sensing technologies have become important for monitoring vegetation dynamics, selecting the correct remote-sensing vegetation indicator has become paramount for such investigations. This study investigated the consistencies between a photosynthetic activity index (the solar-induced chlorophyll fluorescence (SIF) indicator) and the traditional vegetation index (the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI)) among different land-cover types and in different seasons and explored the applicability of NDVI and SIF in different cases by comparing their performances in gross primary production (GPP) and grain-yield-monitoring applications. The vegetation cover and photosynthesis showed decreasing trends, which were mainly concentrated in northern Xinjiang and part of the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau; a decreasing trend was also identified in a small part of Northeast China. The correlations between NDVI and SIF were strong for all land-cover types except evergreen needleleaf forests and evergreen broadleaf forests. Compared with NDVI, SIF had some advantages when monitoring the GPP and grain yields among different land-cover types. For example, SIF could capture the effects of drought on GPP and grain yields better than NDVI. To summarize, as the temporal extent of the available SIF data is extended, SIF will certainly perform increasingly wide applications in agricultural-management research that is closely related to GPP and grain-yield monitoring. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China has a marked continental monsoon climate characterized by dry and wet hazards that have destructive impacts on grape yields and quality. The purpose of this study was to analyze the spatiotemporal characteristics of dryness/wetness in the wine regions of China and explore the links between these variations and large-scale climatic factors. The crop-specific standardized precipitation evapotranspiration index (SPEI) was used to characterize the dryness/wetness using meteorological data collected at 168 meteorological stations located in or near the wine regions from 1981–2015. Results showed that most wine regions of China experienced a wetting trend. The drought and wet event characteristics were region- and site-specific. The main wine regions of China (e.g., Xinjiang, Helan Mountain and Hexi Corridor) were characterized by relatively high drought severity; the extreme drought frequencies of the three regions were higher as well (11.5%, 3.3%, and 3.6%, respectively). Xinjiang was also characterized by a high wetness severity and an extremely high wetness frequency of 16%, but the wetness severity decreased over time. A 4–6-year periodical oscillation was commonly detected over the wine regions. The dryness/wetness characteristics were highly associated with the Southern Oscillation Index, Niño 3.4 and the Indian Ocean Dipole, with highest correlation coefficients of −0.40, 0.36 and 0.43 at lag times of 11, 8, and 11 months, respectively. The serious dry and wet events that occurred in 2001 and 1998, respectively, were speculated to be associated with anomalous atmospheric circulation patterns. These results can be used to inform grapevine stakeholders at various levels (e.g., farmer and industry) for developing strategies to mitigate and adapt dryness/wetness events in the wine regions of China. It is expected that the approach proposed in this study can also be applicable to wine regions of other countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses Chinese economic expansion and marketization in the Xinjiang and Tibet regions and how these processes affect employment and migration patterns for ethnic minorities. Topics include ethnic riots in Xinjiang in 2009 and how Chinese economic policy hopes to reduce social conflict through social development and economic growth in ethnic minority regions. Additional information is presented on how marketization destabilizes demographic contexts, resulting in the exclusion or marginalization of different groups.

Since the 1990s, the idea that water should be treated as an economic good has become a widely acclaimed but also disputed principle. In Xinjiang, a dry region in north-west China, the idea has been translated into government water management policies and practices. Based on investigations in the Kaidu-Kongque River Basin, this paper describes how the idea is interpreted in concrete water fee policies and practices in local water management in irrigation agriculture, and discusses what problems exist in current water fee collection practices and expenditure, as well as in water management in irrigation agriculture. The main argument is that water management is deeply tied to the political, social and economic conditions of the state, and water pricing is part of the complex, diverse and changing social reality. In the study area, the interpretation of treating water as an economic good has not contributed to a fairer and more efficient use of scarce water resources, but rather it has been applied to achieve other political and economic goals as well as to strengthen a powerful and rapidly growing bureaucracy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. Diet and inflammation have both been studied in relation to type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). The aim of this cross-sectional study was to examine the association between the Dietary Inflammatory Index (DII R©) and T2DM. Methods. Subjects were adults enrolled in the baseline study of the Xinjiang multi- ethnic natural population cohort and health follow-up study from January to May 2019. The study involved 5,105 subjects (58.7% men) between 35 and 74 years of age. The DII score was calculated from a data obtained via a food frequency questionnaire consisting of 127 food items. Results. Logistic regression analyses were used to estimate the odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) of DII in relation to T2DM. After adjusting for potential confounders, compared to subjects in the 1st DII quintile, subjects in the 5th quintile (i.e., with the most pro-inflammatory diet) had higher odds of T2DM (OR = 3.27, 95%CI:2.38,4.50; p <0.001). Conclusions. Our results suggest that a pro-inflammatory diet is associated with a higher risk of T2DM in this population of Chinese adults. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Adab Al-Kufa is the property of Republic of Iraq Ministry of Higher Education & Scientific Research (MOHESR) and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Horseback riding was a transformative force in the ancient world, prompting radical shifts in human mobility, warfare, trade, and interaction. In China, domestic horses laid the foundation for trade, communication, and state infrastructure along the ancient Silk Road, while also stimulating key military, social, and political changes in Chinese society. Nonetheless, the emergence and adoption of mounted horseback riding in China is still poorly understood, particularly due to a lack of direct archaeological data. Here we present a detailed osteological study of eight horse skeletons dated to ca. 350 BCE from the sites of Shirenzigou and Xigou in Xinjiang, northwest China, prior to the formalization of Silk Road trade across this key region. Our analyses reveal characteristic osteological changes associated with equestrian practices on all specimens. Alongside other relevant archaeological evidence, these data provide direct evidence for mounted horseback riding, horse equipment, and mounted archery in northwest China by the late first millennium BCE. Most importantly, our results suggest that this region may have played a crucial role in the spread of equestrian technologies from the Eurasian interior to the settled civilizations of early China, where horses facilitated the rise of the first united Chinese empires and the emergence of transcontinental trade networks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: To effectively provide public health care for rural residents, the Ministry of Health formally unveiled the contract service policy in rural China in April 2013. As the counterpart to family medicine in some developed countries, the contract service established a compact between village doctors and local governments and a service agreement between doctors and their patients. This study is a rare attempt to explore the perspectives of health providers on the contract service policy, and investigate the demand side's attitude toward the public health services delivered under the contract policy. This evidence from Xinjian County, Jiangxi Province, the first and most representative pilot site of the contract service, could serve as a reference for policymakers to understand the initial effects of the policy, whereby they can regulate and amend some items before extending it to the whole country. Methods: Official documents were collected and semi-structured interviews with human resources and villagers in Xinjian County were conducted in September 2013. A purposive sampling method was used, and eight towns from the total 18 towns in Xinjian County were selected. Ultimately, eight managers (one in each township health center), 20 village doctors from eight clinics, and 11 villagers were interviewed. A thematic approach was used to analyze the data, which reflected the people's experiences brought about by the implementation of the contract service policy. Results: While the contract service actually promoted the supply side to provide more public health services to the villagers and contracted patients felt satisfied with the doctor-patient relationship, most health providers complained about the heavy workload, insufficient remuneration, staff shortage, lack of official identity and ineffective performance appraisal, in addition to contempt from some villagers and supervisors after the implementation of the contract service. Conclusions: Contract service is a crucial step for the government to promote public health services in rural areas. To inspire the positive perspective and optimal work performance of the health workforce, it is imperative for the Chinese government to fortify financial support to health providers, adopt an advanced management model and escalate administrative capacity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High-speed railway (HSR) promote the efficient flow of the population and materials between cities and have profoundly affected urban economic development in China. However, there is currently limited research about how HSR influences urban expansion, especially related to the variable impacts on different urban agglomerations, different size cities, and the conversion of non-urban land to urban land. In this study, from two levels of regional heterogeneity and type heterogeneity, a multi-stage difference-in-differences (multi-stage DID) model and land use remote sensing data are used to investigate these research areas. The main conclusions are as follows: (1) The first opening of HSR had a more significant role in promoting urban expansion than HSR frequency, but several years after opening, HSR no longer promotes urban expansion. (2) The opening of HSR only played a significant role in promoting urban expansion in Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei. HSR frequency had a significant role in promoting urban expansion in the Yangtze River Delta. (3) The opening of HSR had no significant impact on urban expansion for different size cities, and HSR frequency only had a significant negative impact on urban expansion of small cities. (4) The first opening of HSR led to urban expansion dominated by the occupation of cultivated land. Cities in Xinjiang and Inner Mongolia mainly converted barren land and vegetation cover to urban land after the first opening of HSR. In northeast China, the first opening of HSR made the conversion of vegetation cover and cultivated land to urban land roughly equivalent in size. The results of this study are helpful to understand the impact of the first opening of HSR and the scale of conversion of different types of non-urban land into urban land on urban expansion. In the era of HSR, these findings provide a valuable reference for regional planning and preventing the disorderly expansion of cities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Antípoda is the property of Universidad de los Andes and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Background: Visceral leishmaniasis (VL) was once a severe parasitic disease in China. Thanks to the great efforts of integrated control, VL was eliminated in most epidemic areas, except for certain western provinces (autonomous region) at the end of 1950s. From then on, VL gained less attention and has seemed to spread, especially in the last 15 years. Infants are the most important population threatened by VL. However, there have been few studies on the endemic characteristics of infantile VL in China. Methods: Infantile VL cases were collected from the online National Infectious Diseases Reporting System (NIDRS). Statistical description and inference was used to reveal the endemic characteristics in gender, age group, time and regionalism. Spatial analysis was carried out to explore the high risk area for infantile VL in China. Results: A total of 1093 infantile VL cases were reported from 2006 to 2012. There was no statistically significant difference in gender over time. The minimum, maximum and mean age of these cases was 1.1, 35.9 and 13.8 months, respectively. Among them 86.92% were under 2 years of age, and there was a statistically significant difference among age groups over time. An incidence peak appeared in 2008-2009, most cases were distributed in the months September to December, and there was a tail-raising effect in the coming two months of the next year. More than 98% of cases were reported in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Gansu Province and Sichuan Province, accounting for 61.02%, 32.75% and 4.57%, respectively. A total of 56 counties reported infantile VL cases, with the cumulative incidence ranging from 0.02 to 24.57%. There were two main zones of high endemicity for infantile VL in China. The monthly incidence clearly coincides with the number of towns where infantile VL cases were reported. Three fatalities were reported during the study period, the case fatality rate was 2.75‰. Conclusions: The endemic situation of infantile VL is serious, and there are several active foci of infantile VL prevalence in China. VL has emerged as a severe threat to infants of endemic regions in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China appears to be many things at once: it has wealthy cities and poor villages; the futuristic cityscape of Shanghai exists alongside ancient traditional temples; it is a Communist state and a booming capitalist economy; it shows a Han Chinese face to the world as it struggles with multinational diversity; it ranks well on governance for its economic development index but still confronts enormous governance challenges. How well China deals with its governance challenges will impact not only all of Asia but also the entire world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China implemented an aggressive nationwide lockdown procedure immediately after the COVID-19 outbreak in January 2020. As China emerges from the impact of COVID-19 on national economic and industrial activities, it has become the site of a large-scale natural experiment to evaluate the impact of COVID-19 on regional air quality. However, ground measurements of fine particulate matters (PM2.5) concentrations do not offer comprehensive spatial coverage, especially in suburban and rural regions. In this study, we developed a machine learning method with satellite aerosol remote sensing data, meteorological fields and land use parameters as major predictor variables to estimate spatiotemporally resolved daily PM2.5 concentrations in China. Our study period consists of a reference semester (1 November 2018–30 April 2019) and a pandemic semester (1 November 2019–30 April 2020), with six modeling months in each semester. Each period was then divided into subperiod 1 (November and December), subperiod 2 (January and February) and subperiod 3 (March and April). The reference semester model obtained a 10-fold cross-validated R2 (RMSE) of 0.79 (17.55 μg/m3) and the pandemic semester model obtained a 10-fold cross-validated R2 (RMSE) of 0.83 (13.48 μg/m3) for daily PM2.5 predictions. Our prediction results showed high PM2.5 concentrations in the North China Plain, Yangtze River Delta, Sichuan Basin and Xinjiang Autonomous Region during the reference semester. PM2.5 levels were lowered by 4.8 μg/m3 during the pandemic semester compared to the reference semester and PM2.5 levels during subperiod 2 decreased most, by 18%. The southeast region was affected most by the COVID-19 outbreak with PM2.5 levels during subperiod 2 decreasing by 31%, followed by the Northern Yangtze River Delta (29%) and Pearl River Delta (24%). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Although visceral leishmaniasis (VL), a disease caused by parasites, is controlled in most provinces in China, it is still a serious public health problem and remains fundamentally uncontrolled in some northwest provinces and autonomous regions. The objective of this study is to explore the spatial and temporal characteristics of VL in Sichuan Province, Gansu Province and Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in China from 2004 to 2018 and to identify the risk areas for VL transmission. Methods: Spatiotemporal models were applied to explore the spatio-temporal distribution characteristics of VL and the association between VL and meteorological factors in western China from 2004 to 2018. Geographic information of patients from the National Diseases Reporting Information System operated by the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention was defined according to the address code from the surveillance data. Results: During our study period, nearly 90% of cases occurred in some counties in three western regions (Sichuan Province, Gansu Province and Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region), and a significant spatial clustering pattern was observed. With our spatiotemporal model, the transmission risk, autoregressive risk and epidemic risk of these counties during our study period were also well predicted. The number of VL cases in three regions of western China concentrated on a few of counties. VL in Kashi Prefecture, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region is still serious prevalent, and integrated control measures must be taken in different endemic areas. Conclusions: The number of VL cases in three regions of western China concentrated on a few of counties. VL in Kashi Prefecture, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region is still serious prevalent, and integrated control measures must be taken in different endemic areas. Our findings will strengthen the VL control programme in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]