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Freshwater lakes play a vital role in global hydrological and biogeochemical cycles, serving various functions and maintaining ecological balance. However, freshwater resources are more vulnerable to deterioration due to multiple stressors. Gaoyou Lake is one of the impounded lakes of the Eastern route of South-to-North Water Diversion Project in China, and as an important source of drinking water, the lake has been routinely monitored. Long-term monitoring of water quality in Gaoyou Lake showed that concentrations of nutrients and chlorophyll a as well as trophic state in the water column increased while water transparency decreased, indicating that the water quality has declined during the last 12 years. Specifically, there was a notable and statistically significant increase in chlorophyll a concentrations, averaging an annual rate of 9.9%. Despite a slight decline in trophic level index until 2014, subsequent years saw an upward trend, ranging from 50.7 to 56.4 and indicating a light eutrophic state. Spatially, the western area displayed higher nutrient and chlorophyll a concentrations. Changes in hydro-meteorological variables and nutrients from inflowing rivers were the main factors correlated with water quality in Gaoyou Lake. Thus, pollution source apportionment and management within Huaihe River basin should be considered to reduce the external loadings of nutrients in order to improve and sustain long-term water quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a low-carbon and environmental friendly green material, bamboo has been widely used in furniture design and interior decoration. The new Chinese style furniture, which combines traditional culture with modern design, occupies an important position in the domestic furniture market. By analysis, it was found that the traditional cultural connotation of bamboo with oriental aesthetic effect coincided with the design concept pursued by the new Chinese style furniture. However, there were not many Chinese style furniture made in bamboo materials in China's furniture market. The traits of new Chinese style furniture, the types of bamboo materials applied in furniture, the connection methods of furniture components, and the connotation of bamboo culture were briefly stated, and the possibility of combining bamboo materials with new Chinese style furniture was discussed. A set of new Chinese style bamboo furniture was designed with Phyllostachys iridescins and Qiongzhurea tumidinoda materials, bamboo glued laminated lumber, and bamboo bending plywood, supplemented by bamboo weaving and Ya flower technology, in order to uphold and inherit Chinese traditional culture and provide new ideas for the design of new Chinese style furniture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We evaluated the spatiotemporal evolution of microseismic (MS) sources generated by multiple fracturing of a hard and thick Jurassic rock stratum in the 93upper24 working face of the Nantun coal mine, China. Moment tensor inversion, stress field analysis, velocity tomography, and stress inversion were used to reveal individual rupture types and the failure process of the hard rock stratum in the working face during the mining operation. We simulated the change in Coulomb stress before and after the occurrence of mining-induced tremors, and analyzed its impact on the stability of the surrounding rock close to the working face. Our results demonstrate that the static Coulomb stress change computation is an efficient tool to predict the evolution of subsequent MS events patterns. The outcome of this work allows to identify and better understand the failure mechanism within a hard and thick Jurassic rock stratum during the mining operation, and can be an interesting approach in improving mine safety in similar environments.HighlightsInduced microseismic events (evolution of hypocenters, energy, and source types of events) are used to characterize the failure process in a hard–thick Jurassic rock stratum during mining operations.Both the near-field stress evolution during mining (secondary stresses) and the far-field regional stress regime (primary stresses) plays a role in the fracturing and failure process of the Jurassic rock stratum.An interaction mechanism of the 3upperF271 fault instability (tectonic stresses) and the rock mass failure within the working face is identified and quantified via Coulomb stress analysis.Induced microseismic events (evolution of hypocenters, energy, and source types of events) are used to characterize the failure process in a hard–thick Jurassic rock stratum during mining operations.Both the near-field stress evolution during mining (secondary stresses) and the far-field regional stress regime (primary stresses) plays a role in the fracturing and failure process of the Jurassic rock stratum.An interaction mechanism of the 3upperF271 fault instability (tectonic stresses) and the rock mass failure within the working face is identified and quantified via Coulomb stress analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mining-induced tremor is a dynamic phenomenon occurring during the fracturing or slipping of rock and coal mass in coal mines, and the tremor mechanism is one of the key problems in the field of rockburst. The Bayesian inversion method can more accurately analyse the source rupture type under the premise of considering waveform data and model errors. First, we added different noise levels to the waveform and determined filtering parameters based on the spectrum. The rationality of the Bayesian inversion was verified by observing the focal mechanism solution. Finally, a total of fourteen mining-induced tremors were selected, and the parameters of the moment tensor (MT), type of rupture, and fault plane solutions were obtained. The results demonstrate that (1) the tremor events in the roof are mainly tensile/shear failure, and compression failure mainly occurs in the coal seam. (2) Events on the floor are closely related to gob and mining activities. (3) The rupture form of the events near the tectonic region is more complex, and the fault plane solutions (strike, dip, and slip) were obtained by MT conversion. (4) The relation between rockbursts and mining-induced tremors is discussed by analysing events 1# and 14# that occurred in the Xinjulong coal mine. These research findings can provide a reference for the analysis of source parameters and rupture forms of mining-induced tremors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ophiocordyceps xuefengensis is a kind of caterpillar fungus and used as ethnopharmacological invigorant in China. A transcriptomic approach was applied to reveal the differential gene expression of O. xuefengensis under breathable and airtight conditions, and the targeted metabolites were determined by HPLC-QTOF-MS/MS technology. Growth was inhibited during 28 d cultivation and a total of 170 differentially expressed genes were obtained under airtight condition. The differentially expressed genes were mainly significantly enriched into amino acid metabolic pathways, namely tryptophan metabolism, phenylalanine metabolism, arginine and proline metabolism. These significantly enriched metabolic pathways were all involved in the enzyme amidase. Meanwhile, the content of tryptophan, phenylalanine, arginine and proline were increased under airtight condition. Consequently, the metabolism of these amino acids was supposed to be suppressed in O. xuefengensis under airtight condition. The detailed knowledge of this transcriptional program and biochemical analysis will allow for a systematic understanding of cordyceps fungus cultivation. • Growth of O. xuefengensis was inhibited in airtight condition. • Genes relating to amidase were down-regulated in airtight stress. • DEG-associated amino acids were accumulated in airtight stress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Among coal-producing countries, China has witnessed the highest frequency and severity of coal fires. During mining in the re-mining face and the lower part of the thick coal seam (or coal seam group), second or multiple oxidations of the residual coal can readily occur in mined-out areas, severely increasing the risk of coal fires. The study of multiple oxidations of coal aids in the early detection of spontaneous combustion of remaining coal in the mined-out areas. The characteristics of coal fires are demonstrated using fresh coal samples (first-oxidized coal) and oxidized coal samples (second-oxidized coal) from four different ranks of coals. Proximate and elemental analysis, Fourier transform spectroscopy, and thermogravimetry-differential scanning calorimetry were adopted to investigate the quality, microcharacteristics, characteristic temperatures, and apparent activation energy of second-oxidized coal. In addition, the effect of spontaneous combustion at heating rates of 5.0, 10.0, and 15.0 °C min was studied. Compared with the four samples of first-oxidized coal, those of second-oxidized coals cause fire easily under the same conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Conclusion: Chinese patients have a higher rate of lymphoepithelial carcinoma (LEC) and salivary duct carcinoma (SDC). Comprehensive use of diagnostic modalities, neck dissection, and postoperative radiation will improve the treatment results for salivary gland tumors (SGTs). Objectives: To study the clinicopathological characteristics of SGTs in a Chinese population. Methods: The records of SGT patients operated in a tertiary cancer hospital of China were retrieved. Results: From December 1997 to December 2007, 289 malignant and 887 benign SGTs were operated at Cancer Hospital, Shanghai, China. Pleomorphic adenoma and Warthin's tumor were the most common types of SGT. Mucoepidermoid carcinoma (24.6% of malignant cases) and adenoid cystic carcinoma (18.0%) were the most frequent malignant cases, followed by acinic cell carcinoma (12.1%), LEC (9.7%), and SDC (9.3%). The sensitivity and specificity of ultrasound scan, fine needle aspiration biopsy, and frozen section were 58.3 and 88.6%, 87.2 and 96.7%, 86.9 and 99.6%, respectively. Neck dissections and postoperative radiation were carried out for 48.6 and 48.0% of carcinomas, respectively. The percentage of tumors by pathologic TNM stage were 23.7% for stage I, 32.9% for stage II, 17.3% for stage III, and 26.1% for stage IV. The 5-year overall survival rate was 88.0%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: There is limited data on the clinical outcome of patients with pandemic H1N1 (pH1N1) pneumonia who received oseltamivir treatment, especially when the treatment was administered more than 48 hours after symptom onset. Methods: During the pandemic in 2009, a cohort of pH1N1 influenza pneumonia was built in China, and their clinical information was collected systematically, and analyzed with Cox models. Results: 920 adults and 541 children with pneumonia who didn't receive corticosteroids were analyzed. In-hospital mortality was higher in adults who did not receive antiviral therapy (18.2%) than those with who received oseltamivir ≤ 2days (2.9%), between 2-5 days (4.6%) and >5 days after illness onset (4.9%), p<0.01. A similar trend was observed in pediatric patients. Cox regression showed that at 60 days after symptoms onset, 11 patients (10.8%) who did not receive antivirals died versus 4 (1.8%), 18 (3.3%), and 23 (3.7%) patients whose oseltamivir treatment was started ≤ 2days, between 2-5days, and >5 days, respectively. For males patients, aged ≥14 years and baseline PaO2/FiO2<200, oseltamivir administration reduced the mortality risk by 92.1%, 88% and 83.5%, respectively. Higher doses of oseltamivir (>3.8 mg/kg/d) did not improve clinical outcome (mortality, higher dose 2.5% vs standard dose 2.8%, p>0.05). Conclusions: Antiviral therapy might reduce mortality of patients with pH1N1 pneumonia, even when initiated more than 48 hours after onset of illness. Greater protective effects might be in males, patients aged 14-60 years, and patients with PaO2/FiO2<200. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Soil carbon sequestration was estimated in a conifer forest and an alpine meadow on the Tibetan Plateau using a carbon-14 radioactive label provided by thermonuclear weapon tests (known as bomb-14C). Soil organic matter was physically separated into light and heavy fractions. The concentration spike of bomb-14C occurred at a soil depth of 4 cm in both the forest soil and the alpine meadow soil. Based on the depth of the bomb-14C spike, the carbon sequestration rate was determined to be 38.5 g C/m2 per year for the forest soil and 27.1 g C/m2 per year for the alpine meadow soil. Considering that more than 60% of soil organic carbon (SOC) is stored in the heavy fraction and the large area of alpine forests and meadows on the Tibetan Plateau, these alpine ecosystems might partially contribute to “the missing carbon sink”. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Carbon fluxes were measured using a static chamber technique in an alpine steppe in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau from July 2000 to July 2001. It was shown that carbon emissions decreased in autumn and increased in spring of the next year, with higher values in growth seasons than in winters. An exponential correlation ( Ecarbon= 0.22(exp(0.09 T) + ln(0.31 P+ 1)), R2= 0.77, P < 0.001) was shown between carbon emissions and environmental factors such as temperature ( T) and precipitation ( P). Using the daily temperature ( T) and total precipitation ( R), annual carbon emission from soil to the atmosphere was estimated to be 79.6 g C/m2, 46% of which was emitted by microbial respiration. Considering an average net primary production of 92.5 g C/m2 per year within the 2 year experiment, alpine steppes can take up 55.9 g CO2-C/m2 per year. This indicates that alpine steppes are a distinct carbon sink, although this carbon reservoir was quite small. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The area along the North Xinjiang Railway (ANXR) is the region with industry concentration and is the most convenient communication region in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region. There are nine cities and eight counties in the region. This paper analyzes the economical functions and industry of the cities in the region from the following aspects: urban scale, the growth pole level, specialization sectors, and the difference of industry gradients using the principal component analysis, cluster analysis, and method of location quotient methods. These analyses clearly indicate the urban function of each city in ANRX at present and find disadvantages of similar urban functions. The results released three modes of industry collaboration for urban development in the coming years, which will provide some references for urban planning in equivalent areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background & objective: Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is an epithelial neoplasm with high occurrence rates in southern China. The disease often metastasizes to regional lymphnodes at a very early stage. Local recurrences and metastasis occur frequently in patients with NPC and are a leading cause of death, despite improvements on treatment modalities. The molecular mechanism underlying the metastasis of nasopharyngeal carcinoma remains poorly understood, however, and requires additional elucidation. The aim of this study was to explore possible NPC gene candidates that may play key roles in NPC metastasis. Methods: Subtractive suppression hybridization (SSH) was performed to isolate differentially expressed clones between the metastatic 5-8F and non-metastatic 6-10B nasopharyngeal carcinoma cell lines. Differentially expressed clones were screened and confirmed by reverse Northern blotting. The sequences of cDNA fragments were subsequently analyzed and compared to known sequences in Genbank. Results & discussion: The SSH library contained thousands of positive clones. Random analysis of 300 clones by PCR demonstrated that 269 clones contained inserted fragments. Reverse Northern blot confirmed that 20 out of 192 clones examined were significantly up-regulated in the 5-8F cell line. Among these 20 clones, 16 were previously identified genes (flotilin-2, ezrin, pim-3, fli-1, mel, neugrin, znf216, ASB1, raly, UBE2A, keratin6A, TMED7, EIF3S9, FTL, two ribosomal proteins RPL21 and RPL16), two were predicted genes (c9orf74 and MDS006), and two sequences shared no homology with known genes listed in GenBank and may represent novel genes. The proposed functions of the genes identified in this study include cell signal transduction, cell survival, transcription regulation, cell mobility, protein synthesis, and DNA damage repair. Flotillin-2, fli-1, pim-3 and ezrin have previously been reported to be associated with tumor metastasis and progression. The remaining up-regulated genes identified in this study have not been reported to be markers of metastasis and may represent new candidates of NPC metastasis-related genes. The results of this study may provide novel points of therapeutic intervention for NPC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Horizontal and vertical variations of daily average CO_2 concentration above the wetland surface were studied in Xianghai National Nature Reserve of China in August, 2000. The primary purpose was to study spatial distribution characteristics of CO_2 concentration on the four levels of height (0.1 m, 0.6 m, 1.2 m and 2 m) and compare the differences of CO_2 concentration under different land covers. Results showed that daily average CO_2 concentration above wetland surface in Xianghai National Natural Reserve was lower than that above other wetlands in northeast China as well as the worldwide average, suggesting that Xianghai wetland absorbed CO_2 in August and acted as "sink" of CO_2. The horizontal variations on the four levels of height along the latitude were distinct, and had the changing tendency of "decreasing after increasing" with the increase of height. The areas with obvious variations were consistent on different levels of height, and those with the highest variations appeared above surface of shore, sloping field, Typha wetland and Phragmites wetland; the vertical variations were greatly different, with the higher variations in Phragmites wetland and Typha wetland, and the lands near the shore and the sloping field with the lower variations. Spatial variations of daily average CO_2 concentrations above wetland surface were affected by surface qualities and land covers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To explore the occurrence laws of garden plant sunscald in summer, the authors investigated occurrence of garden plant sunscald systematically in Suzhou classical gardens and some other gardens in the downtown areas and outskirt of the city, classified the severity of sunscald into "severe", "moderate" and "slight". The study aims at offering references for garden landscape planning and management departments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Deleted in liver cancer-1 (DLC-1), encoding a Rho GTPase-activating protein (GAP), is considered as a promising candidate tumor suppressor gene in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). The single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) −29A/T upstream of ATG start codon was found when gene mutation profile of DLC-1in NPC was analyzed. To evaluate the correlation between SNP −29A/T in the promoter region of DLC-1gene and risk of NPC, a total of 521 samples from a Chinese population, including 320 healthy individuals and 201 NPC patients, were collected for SNP analysis by PCR–single-strand conformation polymorphism and sequencing. The differences in allele and genotype frequencies between NPC patients and controls were tested using logistic regression statistical method. No significant differences were found in allele or genotype frequencies between NPC patients and controls or among different NPC clinical stages. Hence, our data indicate that the SNP −29A/T of DLC-1gene is not associated with NPC susceptibility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• bla CTX-M-27 in E. coli increasingly prevalent in humans in South Korea, Japan, China and Europe. • bla CTX-M-27 in Salmonella strains recently been described in food animals. • Tn 1721 -like structure harboring bla CTX-M-27 mobilize between Salmonella and Escherichia coli from food-producing animals. • From a "one health" perspective, measures are urgently needed to monitor and control its further spread. The aim of this study was to explore the characteristics of bla CTX-M-27 carriage and mobilization in Salmonella and Escherichia coli isolates from food-producing animals in China. A total of 2280 E. coli and 229 Salmonella isolates collected from food animals from June 2003 to September 2014 were screened for the presence of bla CTX-M-27 gene. The bla CTX-M-27 -positive isolates were typed and plasmid DNA sequenced to determine the genetic context of bla CTX-M-27 and plasmid types present. Bacterial fitness was evaluated by growth curve and plasmid stability in vitro. CTX-M-27-positive E. coli (18, 0.79 %) and Salmonella (34, 14.85 %) were detected. PFGE profiles of CTX-M-27-positive strains revealed a wide variety of genotypes and S. Indiana was the most prevalent serotype. Replicon typing, S1-PFGE and hybridization of CTX-M-27-carrying plasmids confirmed that bla CTX-M-27 gene was located on IncFII (12/18), IncN (4/18), and non-typeable (2/18) plasmids in E. coli and on P1-like bacteriophage (21/34), IncP (4/34), IncFIB (4/34), IncN (2/34), IncHI2 (2/34), and IncA/C (1/34) plasmids in Salmonella. Comparison and analysis of gene context of bla CTX-M-27 in P1-like bacteriophage and plasmids revealed they shared the same structure and contained an identical genetic context with the Tn 1721 -like structure ΔIS Ecp1B - bla CTX-M-27 -IS 903D - iroN -Δ map -Tn 1721. In addition, plasmid stability tests indicated that the bla CTX-M-27 P1-like bacteriophage were more stable than plasmids in the absence of cefotaxime selective pressure. These results demonstrate that Tn 1721 -like transposons harboring CTX-M-27 could be mobilized between different plasmids in E. coli and P1-like bacteriophage disseminated among Salmonella. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Experimental evidence has demonstrated that neonicotinoids (NEOs) exposure can cause lipid accumulation and increased leptin levels. However, the relationship between NEOs exposure and dyslipidemia in humans remains unclear, and the interactive effects of NEOs and their characteristic metabolites on dyslipidemia remain unknown. We detected 14 NEOs and their metabolites in urine samples of 500 individuals (236 and 264 with and without dyslipidemia, respectively) randomly selected from the baseline of the Yinchuan community-dwelling elderly cohort (Ningxia, China). The NEOs and their metabolites were widely detected in urine (87.2-99.6 %) samples, and the median levels ranged within 0.06-0.55 μg/g creatinine. The positive associations and dose-dependent relationships of thiacloprid, imidacloprid-olefin, and imidacloprid-equivalent total with dyslipidemia were validated using restricted cubic spline analysis. Mixture models revealed a positive association between the NEOs mixture and dyslipidemia risk, with urine desnitro-imidacloprid ranked as the top contributor. The Bayesian Kernel Machine Regression models showed that the NEOs mixtures were associated with increased dyslipidemia when the chemical mixtures were ≥ 25th percentile compared to their medians, and desnitro-imidacloprid and imidacloprid-olefin were the major contributors to the combined effect. Given the widespread use of NEOs and the dyslipidemia pandemic, further investigations are urgently needed to confirm our findings and elucidate the underlying mechanisms., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

The prevalence of carcinogenic N-nitrosamines in drinking water is of significant concern. In the present study, eight N-nitrosamines from three representative drinking water treatment plants (DWTPs) in Shanghai, China were monitored for an entire year to evaluate their seasonal variability, probabilistic cancer risk and the resulting disease burden. The possibility of employing routinely monitored water quality parameters as predictors of N-nitrosamines was also examined. The results showed that the Taipu River-fed reservoir suffered more serious N-nitrosamine contamination than the Yangtze River-fed reservoirs. Winter witnessed higher levels of N-nitrosamines in both source and finished water. N-nitrosamine concentrations increased from source water to finished water in autumn or winter, but no spatial variations were observed in summer. The total lifetime cancer risk (LCR) posed by N-nitrosamines in finished water was within the acceptable range (1.00 × 10 -6 to 1.00 × 10 -4 ), with N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA) and N-nitrosodiethylamine (NDEA) being the main contributors. Winter and autumn were found to have higher total LCR values. The average individual disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) lost was 4.43 × 10 -6 per person-year (ppy), exceeding the reference risk level (1.00 × 10 -6 ppy). Liver cancer accounted for 97.1 % of the total disease burden, while bladder and esophagus cancers made a little contribution (2.9 %). A multiple regression model was developed to estimate the total N-nitrosamines in finished water as a function of water quality parameters, and the R 2 value was 0.735. This study not only provides fundamental data for public health policy development, but also reveals the necessity to incorporate a seasonal control strategy in DWTPs to minimize the associated health risks induced by N-nitrosamines., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Background: Most organ donation coordinators suffer varying degrees of anxiety, depression and poor sleep caused by constant work pressure, and their professional identity is only at a medium level. All of this leads to a great risk of job burnout. Objective: To identify the influencing factors of and effective countermeasures against job burnout among organ donation coordinators. Method: Semistructured interviews were used for data collection. In-person or phone interviews were conducted from December 2017 to June 2018. Results: 12 organ donation coordinators who came from 7 different provinces and cities in China were interviewed. The interview data were sorted, and relevant topics were extracted and summarized in terms of two aspects, namely, factors that influenced job burnout in organ donation coordinators and effective countermeasures for dealing with job burnout. Conclusion: Factors influencing job burnout among organ donation coordinators include personal factors, job responsibilities, salary and benefit factors, and donor family factors. Measures to help organ donation coordinators effectively address burnout include self-regulation, social support, and positive events., (Copyright © 2020 Luo, Xu, Cai, He, Mao and Xie.)

Aims: To investigate the potential effect of six previously reported candidate single nucleotide polymorphisms on age at onset (AAO) among Chinese patients with Machado-Joseph disease (MJD)., Methods: Three hundred and twenty-four unrelated molecular-confirmed MJD patients were recruited between January 2006 and December 2014. The screening of candidate polymorphisms was first performed in 173 subjects using the SNaPshot(®) Multiplex System. The mitochondrial NADH dehydrogenase subunit 3 (MT-ND3) polymorphism 10398A>G (rs2853826) was further verified with Sanger sequencing in additional 151 patients., Results: An inverse correlation was found between expanded CAG repeat length and AAO. The expanded CAG repeat length can explain 63% of AAO variance. The 10398A polymorphism was significantly associated with a 3-year earlier AAO in male patients with MJD (P = 0.001). Stepwise multiple regressions revealed that the 10398A polymorphism could account for nearly 2% of AAO variance in male patients., Conclusion: Six candidate SNPs have been screened in Chinese patients with MJD. A remarkable earlier AAO was noted in male Chinese MJD patients with MT-ND3 gene 10398A polymorphism., (© 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Background: Neuromyelitis optica (NMO) and multiple sclerosis (MS) are autoimmune demyelinating diseases of the central nerve system. Interleukin-7 (IL-7) and interleukin-7 receptor alpha (IL-7Rα) were proved to be important in the pathogenesis of both diseases because of the roles they played in the differentiations of autoimmune lymphocytes. The variants of both genes had been identified to be associated with MS susceptibility in Caucasian, Japanese and Korean populations. However, the association of these variants with NMO and MS has not been well studied in Chinese Southeastern Han population. Here, we aimed to evaluate the association of six IL-7 variants (rs1520333, rs1545298, rs4739140, rs6993386, rs7816065, and rs2887502) and one variant of IL-7RA (rs6897932) with NMO and MS among Chinese Han population in southeastern China., Methods: Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time of flight mass spectrometry (MassARRAY system) and Sanger sequencing were used to determine the variants of IL-7 and IL-7RA in 167 NMO patients, 159 MS patients and 479 healthy controls among Chinese Han population in southeastern China. Samples were excluded if the genotyping success rate <90%., Results: Statistical differences were observed in the genotypes of IL-7 rs1520333 in MS patients and IL-7RA rs6897932 in NMO patients, compared with healthy controls (P = 0.035 and 0.034, respectively). There was a statistically significant difference in the genotypes of IL-7 rs2887502 between MS and NMO patients (P = 0.014). And there were statistically significant differences in the rs6897932 genotypes (P = 0.004) and alleles (P = 0.042) between NMO-IgG positive patients and healthy controls., Conclusions: The study suggested that among Chinese Han population in southeastern China, the variant of IL-7RA (rs6897932) was associated with NMO especially NMO-IgG positive patients while the variant of IL-7 (rs1520333) with MS patients. And the genotypic differences of IL-7 rs2887502 between MS and NMO indicated the different genetic backgrounds of these two diseases.

Background: Neuromyelitis optica (NMO) and multiple sclerosis (MS) are demyelinating disorders of the central nervous system. Interferon regulatory factor 5 (IRF5) is a common susceptibility gene to different autoimmune disorders. However, the association of IRF5 variants with NMO and MS patients has not been well studied. Therefore, we aimed to evaluate whether IRF5 variants were associated with NMO and MS in the Southeastern Han Chinese population., Methods: Four single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were selected and genotyped by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time of flight mass spectrometry in 111 NMO patients, 145 MS patients and 300 controls from Southeastern China., Results: None of these 4 SNPs was associated with NMO or MS patients., Conclusions: Our preliminary study indicates that genetic variants in IRF5 may affect neither NMO nor MS in the Southeastern Han Chinese population. Further studies with a large sample size and diverse ancestry populations are needed to clarify this issue.

Context: The surgical management of papillary thyroid microcarcinoma (PTMC), especially regarding the necessity of central lymph node dissection, remains controversial., Objective: The objective of the study was to describe the clinicopathological features of PTMC and to identify the risk factors for central lymph node metastasis (CLNM) that can guide surgical strategies for patients with PTMC., Design: In this retrospective cross-sectional study, risk factors and outcome variables were assessed at the time of surgery for the primary tumor., Setting: The study was conducted at a university-based tertiary care cancer hospital., Patients: Data from the medical records of 1066 consecutive patients diagnosed with PTMC over a 5-yr period were analyzed., Results: Our multivariate logistic regression analysis found male gender, younger age (≤45 yr of age), multifocal lesions, extrathyroidal extension, and larger size of the primary tumor (>6 mm) to be associated with CLNM; multifocal lesions were associated with the highest risk (odds ratio 4.476, 95% confidence interval 2.975-6.735). Extrathyroidal extension, multifocal lesions, and CLNM were associated with lateral neck lymph node metastasis (LLNM). In patients with a solitary primary tumor, tumor location in the upper third of the thyroid lobe was associated with a lower risk of CLNM and a higher risk of LLNM., Conclusions: Prophylactic central lymph node dissection need be considered in PTMC patients presenting with risk factors. In PTMC patients with a solitary primary tumor, tumor location can assist in the evaluation of LLNM. We recommend multicenter research and long-term follow-up to better understand the risk factors and surgical management of PTMC.

Essential oils from the fruit of two species of Evodia rutaecarpa from China (Evodia rutaecarpa (Juss.) Benth. var. officinalis (Dode) Huang and Evodia rutaecarpa (Juss.) Benth.) have been obtained by hydrodistillation and analysed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry in order to discern the differences and similarities between the volatile chemical compositions of these species. More than 21 components were identified in essential oils of the studied plants. In the oil of E. rutaecarpa (Juss.) Benth. var. officinalis (Dode) Huang, the main essential oil ingredients were β-myrcene (44.43%) and β-pinene (39.88%). β-pinene (72.82%), 1R-α-pinene (8.90%) and β-myrcene (1.99%) were the major compounds in the oil of E. rutaecarpa (Juss.) Benth. The chemical compounds of the essential oils showed that there are only six common compounds between the two species.

Objective: To investigate the factors involved in the development of retinopathy of prematurity (ROP), and to provide the preliminary data for the evaluation of current criteria for ROP screening., Method: Premature infants with birth body weight (BBW) ≤ 2000 g or gestational age (GA) ≤ 34 weeks in the two hospitals in Zhejiang between March 2005 and November 2008 were recruited and examined by indirect ophthalmoscopy. The records were analyzed., Result: One thousand two hundred and twenty-five premature infants were included. Of them, 713 were male and 512 female. There were 179 twins and 21 triplets in the premature infants. The incidence of ROP was 10.8% (132 in 1225 patients). There were 12 cases (0.98%) to the point of pre threshold ROP. 4 cases (0.3%) developed threshold ROP. Only one case developed pre threshold ROP of low risk among 65 cases without history of oxygen treatment (1.5%). The percentage has significant difference compared to that of cases with history of oxygen (χ(2) = 5.115, P < 0.01).Between ROP and Non-ROP groups, there was significant difference in BBW(F = 26.39, P < 0.001), gestational age (F = 19.73, P < 0.001), but there was no significant difference in sex (χ(2) = 0.279, P > 0.05) or twins and triplets (χ(2) = 3.449, P > 0.05). The incidence of ROP among premature infants with BBW ≤ 1000 g was more than three times of that with BBW > 1000 g, and the incidence of ROP among premature infants with GA ≤ 28 weeks was about 2.5 times of that with GA > 28 weeks. Logistic regression analysis indicated that less BBW or shorter GA or undulation of blood oxygen concentration was a significant risk factor involved in the development of ROP (r = 0.57, P < 0.05). All ROP patients were cured., Conclusion: Less BBW, shorter GA and undulation of blood oxygen concentration are the important risk factors for the development of ROP. Premature infants with BBW ≤ 1000 g or GA ≤ 28 weeks, who had oxygen history, should be given very special attention in the ROP screening. The current criteria for ROP screening should be narrowed. In general, the ROP screening has lowered the incidence of blindness among children by investigating and treating ROP timely.

Objective: To study the characteristics and influencing factors on hearing impairment among elderly population in the community of Taiyuan city., Methods: 384 ageing people above 60 years old were selected from Chaoyang and Guandi community in Taiyuan city by multi-stage sampling. Data on influencing factors of hearing impairment were collected by questionnaire. 5 ml fasting blood samples were drawn to detect the level of glucose, triglyceride and cholesterin in the blood samples. All the objects were tested with binaural hearing. The level of binaural hearing threshold at 0.5 kHz, 1 kHz, 2 kHz, 3 kHz, 4 kHz, 8 kHz were measured by GVSLN-TC-GK2000 hearing-assistant evaluative apparatus. The level of 3 kHz, 4 kHz, average hearing threshold from ear with better audition was chosen as dependent variable. Socio-demographic data, environmental factors and biochemical indicator were chosen as independent variables, t test, ANOVA and accumulative logistic regression were performed to analyze the influencing factors on hearing impairment by software SPSS 13.0., Results: The prevalence of hearing impairment among elderly population was 90.9%. The hearing disorder was 78.6% with 1.3% of them using hearing-assistant apparatus. Results from single factor analysis showed that the average levels of 3 kHz, 4 kHz, 8 kHz hearing thresholds were significantly different among elderly with different age, sex, education background and the levels of glucose and cholesterin (P < 0.01). Results of accumulative logistics regression showed that except glucose in which was the only one included in regression model of lower median frequency group, all the others were included in regression model of frequency group. Being male, older age and with higher level of glucose and cholesterin in blood were risk factors causing hearing impairment. Higher education level seemed to be a preventive factor., Conclusion: Hearing impairment appeared in higher prevalence among the elderly population, suggesting that proper measures should be taken. It is beneficial for abating hearing impairment to decrease the level of glucose and cholesterin in blood.

Deleted in liver cancer-1 (DLC-1), encoding a Rho GTPase-activating protein (GAP), is considered as a promising candidate tumor suppressor gene in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). The single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) -29A/T upstream of ATG start codon was found when gene mutation profile of DLC-1 in NPC was analyzed. To evaluate the correlation between SNP -29A/T in the promoter region of DLC-1 gene and risk of NPC, a total of 521 samples from a Chinese population, including 320 healthy individuals and 201 NPC patients, were collected for SNP analysis by PCR-single-strand conformation polymorphism and sequencing. The differences in allele and genotype frequencies between NPC patients and controls were tested using logistic regression statistical method. No significant differences were found in allele or genotype frequencies between NPC patients and controls or among different NPC clinical stages. Hence, our data indicate that the SNP -29A/T of DLC-1 gene is not associated with NPC susceptibility.