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Purpose: Although the cost and complexity of managing diabetes is increasing around the world, placing greater burden on patients and their families, the cost of drug regimens prescribed to Chinese patients has not been evaluated. This study was conducted to evaluate the temporal changes in the costs and drugs used for people with diabetes.Methods: Patients enrolled in Beijing Medical Insurance with outpatient medical records from 2016 through 2018 were included in this study. The outcomes of interest were: (1) the number of outpatient medications, (2) the number of comorbidities diagnosed, (3) the estimated annual cost of the outpatient drug regimen, (4) the drug therapy strategies used for diabetic patients, and (5) the most commonly prescribed classes of drugs.Results: Over the 3-year period, there was a significant decrease (9.0%, P <.001) in the average number of diabetes medications used. Both antiglycemic and non-antiglycemic drug use decreased by 3.6% and 12.9%, respectively. Similarly, for estimated annual costs of medication, an 18.4% (P <.05) decrease was observed, with a gradual decreased from ¥6,868 ($1,059) in 2016 to ¥5,605 ($865) in 2018.Conclusion: This is the first large-scale cost analysis of the medical management of diabetes since the implementation of medical insurance in China. Despite the increasing availability of newer, more expensive diabetes drugs, there was a significant reduction in the number of diabetes medications used, that may be due to a more rational approach to optimizing metabolic targets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Numerous observational studies have shown that physical exercise promotes cognition in the elderly, however, the results from randomized clinical trials (RCTs) are ambiguous. In addition, potential benefits of exercise in an elderly Chinese population have not been comprehensively addressed. In this study, an investigation was launched which focused on the relationship between physical exercise and cognitive function, blood lipid profiles and brain anatomy in a non-dementia aging Chinese population. A total of 2074 non-dementia elderly subjects were included (self-selected exercise n = 1372; self-selected non-exercise n = 702). Amongst the subjects, 689 volunteered to receive blood lipid tests, 141 undergo brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and 1399 receive a 1 year cognitive evaluation follow-up. The Beijing version of the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) and the Mini-Mental States Examination (MMSE) were used to assess cognitive function. A significant difference in cognitive function was observed at the baseline and during the 1-year follow-up between the self-selected exercise and self-selected non-exercise groups, however, no significant differences in blood lipids and brain anatomy was evident. Physical exercise has a beneficial effect on cognition, particularly visuospatial function, and decreases the risk of dementia in a Chinese aging cohort. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A meteorological model, RAMS, and a commercial computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model, FLUENT are combined as a one-way off-line nested modeling system, namely, RAMS/FLUENT system. The system is experimentally applied in the wind simulation over a complex terrain, with which numerical simulations of wind field over Foyeding weather station located in the northwest mountainous area of Beijing metropolis are performed. The results show that the method of combining a meteorological model and a CFD model as a modeling system is reasonable. In RAMS/FLUENT system, more realistic boundary conditions are provided for FLUENT rather than idealized vertical wind profiles, and the finite volume method (FVM) of FLUENT ensures the capability of the modeling system on describing complex terrain in the simulation. Thus, RAMS/FLUENT can provide fine-scale realistic wind data over complex terrains. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study assessed the extent to which social sexism affects Chinese women's perception and evaluation of other women's performance. A sample of 100 college women was selected in a top university in Beijing, China, and was asked to read six scholastic essays and then evaluate the quality of the essays and competence of the authors. Male and female names were randomly assigned as authors of the essays, and the respondents were blind to the arrangement. Results showed that the essays assumed to be written by male authors did not receive higher scores than those assumed to be written by female authors on quality or competence items. Sexism is not marked among these highly educated young women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Objectives: To assess the vitamin D nutritional status (VDN) of pregnant women in early pregnancy and investigate the effects of periconceptional supplementation with multiple micronutrients (MMs) on this status. Methods and Study Design: Data were taken from the Pregnancy Health Care System and Hospital Information System in 2018 in Beijing. Vitamin D nutritional status in early pregnancy was evaluated among 4,978 pregnant women, and 4,540 women who took folic acid only (FA) or multiple micronutrients supplements (MM) during the periconceptional period, were included to estimate the associations between periconceptional supplementation with MM and prevalence of vitamin D deficiency or insufficiency with logistic regression model. Results: The mean early-pregnancy vitamin D concentration was 18.6 (±7.5) ng/mL, and the rates of deficiency and insufficiency were 31.6% and 60.5%, respectively. Compared to the FA group, the adjusted odds ratio (aOR, 95%confidence interval, CI) for insufficiency or deficiency of the MM group were 0.25(0.18–0.34), and the aOR (95%CI) for deficiency of the MM group were 0.17 (0.12–0.23). Women who took MMs for a longer period of time, at higher frequencies, and with higher compliance scores had lower rates of deficiency and insufficiency. In winter, spring, and autumn, taking MMs could reduce deficiency by about 70%; in summer, there was little effect. Conclusions: Among women in Beijing, serum concentrations of vitamin D in early pregnancy are relatively low, and the rates of deficiency and insufficiency are high. Taking MMs during the periconceptional period could improve this situation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Focuses on issues discussed at the Second Workshop on Applications of Spallation Neutron Sources held in Beijing, China from July 27 to 29, 2005. Approval of the Beijing Spallation Neutron Source project by the Chinese government; Advantages of the development of the China Advanced Research Reactor; Impact of neutron studies on research in biology, energy and the environment.