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Background: To investigate the role of antimicrobial prophylaxis in laparoscopic nephrectomy for renal cell carcinoma. Methods: We retrospectively enrolled 1000 patients who underwent laparoscopic nephrectomy from August 2019 to November 2021 in the Peking Union Medical College Hospital. Patients were divided into group without antimicrobial prophylaxis (n = 444) and group with antimicrobial prophylaxis (n = 556). Outcomes including 30-day postoperative infection rate, the increase rate of pre- and post-operative white blood cell counts and hospital stay were analyzed. Results: The overall infection rate was 5.0% (28/556) in the group with antimicrobial prophylaxis, which was similar to 4.1% (18/444) in the group without antimicrobial prophylaxis (P = 0.461). The increase rate of pre- and post-operative white blood cell counts was significantly lower (85.5% versus 97.0%) in the group with antimicrobial prophylaxis (P = 0.004). The postoperative hospital stay was 5 (4, 6) days in both groups (P = 0.483). Logistic regression analyses identified the use of antimicrobial prophylaxis had no influence on the occurrence of infection events (odds ratio = 0.797; 95% confidence interval, 0.435–1.460; P = 0.462). Hemoglobin (odds ratio = 0.430; 95% confidence interval, 0.257–0.719; P = 0.001) and partial nephrectomy (odds ratio = 2.292; 95% confidence interval, 1.724–3.046; P < 0.001) influenced the use of antimicrobial prophylaxis independently. Conclusions: The use of antimicrobial prophylaxis had no impact on postoperative infection in patients receiving laparoscopic nephrectomy for renal cell carcinoma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Viral diseases caused severe yield losses and quality decline of sweet potato. To identify viruses that are infecting sweet potato in fields in Beijing, we used small RNA deep sequencing and PCR or RT-PCR and found seven RNA viruses and four DNA viruses, including an unrecorded virus, broad bean wilt virus 2. Sweet potato leaf curl virus and sweet potato feathery mottle virus had the highest incidence (88% of tested samples). Coinfection with sweet potato viruses was common in Beijing, and most samples were simultaneously infected by four or more virus species with different genomic types. These results indicated that potyviruses and DNA viruses were prevalent in sweet potato in Beijing, which will be useful for detection and control of viral diseases. This is the first comprehensive report of sweet potato viruses in Beijing. We expected that targeted detection of viruses in sweet potato seedlings will increase the number detected and thus inform management decisions of sweet potato seedlings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the linguistic landscape (LL) signs of an "urban village" inhabited by rural–urban migrant workers in suburban Beijing. Migrant workers have moved to urban centers for low-skill low-income jobs on a massive scale over past decades as China has undergone rapid economic changes. Some of them start to invest their time and energy in building a new workers' community and in constructing urban workers' identities through linguistic and semiotic practices. Producing and displaying LL signage is part of this identity construction process. In this study, I present three examples to analyze the relationship between space, LL signs and identity construction. Ethnography allows me not only to observe the LL signs as semiotic resources but also to approach the authors and the audience and to find out their uptake of the signs. The results show that the LL signs shape social meanings of the space and the space in turn is agentive in constructing its inhabitants' identities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Peach Prunus persica (L.) Batsch is self-compatible and largely self-fertile, but under greenhouse conditions pollinators must be introduced to achieve good fruit set and quality. Because little work has been done to assess the effectiveness of different pollinators on peach trees under greenhouse conditions, we studied ‘Okubo’ peach in greenhouse tunnels near Beijing between 2012 and 2014. We measured pollen deposition, pollen-tube growth rates, ovary development, and initial fruit set after the flowers were visited by either of two managed pollinators: bumblebees, Bombus patagiatus Nylander, and honeybees, Apis mellifera L. The results show that B. patagiatus is more effective than A. mellifera as a pollinator of peach in greenhouses because of differences in two processes. First, B. patagiatus deposits more pollen grains on peach stigmas than A. mellifera, both during a single visit and during a whole day of open pollination. Second, there are differences in the fertilization performance of the pollen deposited. Half of the flowers visited by B. patagiatus are fertilized 9–11 days after bee visits, while for flowers visited by A. mellifera, half are fertilized 13–15 days after bee visits. Consequently, fruit development is also accelerated by bumblebees, showing that the different pollinators have not only different pollination efficiency, but also influence the subsequent time course of fertilization and fruit set. Flowers visited by B. patagiatus show faster ovary growth and ultimately these flowers produce more fruit. Our work shows that pollinators may influence fruit production beyond the amount of pollen delivered. We show that managed indigenous bumblebees significantly outperform introduced honeybees in increasing peach initial fruit set under greenhouse conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A geological and hydrogeological survey was performed in the upper alluvial and proluvial fan and the northern mountain area of the Chaobai River in Beijing. Samples of local precipitation, surface water and groundwater (including spring discharges, groundwater from the fractured bedrock, and shallow and deep groundwater of the alluvium) were collected and analysed to assemble hydrochemical and isotopic data. Q-mode hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) was used to classify the groundwater samples from multiple aquifers into objective groups. Two groups and six subgroups with distinct groundwater recharge sources, flowpath histories and geochemical evolution histories were identified. Inverse geochemical modelling was adopted to study the deep groundwater chemical evolution. Hydrochemical data and isotopic data on ²H, ³H and 18O were used to evaluate groundwater recharge, flowpath histories and geochemical evolution, and 87Sr was used to provide further insight into groundwater recharge sources and flow directions. It was found that particularly in areas of groundwater cones of depression, the deep alluvial groundwater may be partly derived from the groundwater of the underlying fractured bedrock. The phreatic, or unconfined, groundwater within the northern area of the alluvial and proluvial fan is sustained mainly by the lateral flow of groundwater from the piedmont regions and by recharge from surface water bodies such as the Miyun reservoir. The shallow alluvial groundwater within the central and southern areas of the alluvial and proluvial fan is recharged primarily by the local precipitation and agricultural irrigation. The deep alluvial groundwater within the central and southern areas of the fan is sustained chiefly by the flow of groundwater from the northern area of the fan or from the underlying fractured bedrock. Methodologies adopted in this work may be useful to future investigation of groundwater in multiple aquifer systems similar to this area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Monitoring trends of sensitivity rates in a population is useful for epidemiological surveillance. The time trends for sensitivity rates of allergens have not previously been reported in China. The aim of the present study was to determine the prevalence and trends of contact allergy in patients with suspected allergic contact dermatitis in Beijing, China. A retrospective analysis of all patch test data from our database was performed. A total of 1354 patients with suspected allergic contact dermatitis between 2001 and 2006 were studied. Patch tests with 20 allergens or mixtures of allergens were performed and analysed. Sensitivity to potassium dichromate (50.1%) was most frequent, and sensitivity to imidazolidinyl urea (3.0%) was least frequent. Increasing trends in sensitivity rates for 10 allergens with significant linear regression were observed ( p < 0.05), including mercapto mix, black rubber mix, potassium dichromate, formaldehyde, epoxy resin, benzocaine, ethylenediamine dihydrochloride, paraben mix, tixocortol-21-pivalate, and sesquiterpene lactone mix. Sensitivity rates for the other 10 allergens remained stable or showed only a trend (fragrance mix) towards an increase ( p > 0.05). High sensitivity rates were observed in the study. Significant increasing trends in sensitivity rates for 10 allergens, probably reflecting increasing changes in exposure, were found. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the establishment of migrant identities through linguistic and sociolinguistic exchanges in a Beijing public school. Drawing on the data from ethnographic observation and interviews, the research demonstrates how small features of language become emblematic of individual and group identities, and how such identities have an impact on the appraisal of migrant pupils’ performance at school as well as in wider frames of macro-political order which often invoke homogeneism within the dominant language ideologies, emphasizing linguistic uniformity and homogeneity. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]