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Studies have shown that course participation and academic performance are key factors in defining the success of online education, but much remains unknown regarding how best to define the success of online K-12 after-school education that are popular in Asian countries. To address this issue, we used a longitudinal clustering approach to analyze the course records of a large online education company in China. In total, we analyzed data on 166 online English courses offered by a Chinese K12 after-school education company for the entire fall semester, and after excluding data on 10 classes where there were consecutive missing courses, the remaining 156 classes covered more than 200,000 primary school students enrolled in grades 1-6 in public schools. The results showed that there were two different patterns: classes with poor learning outcomes generally had high participation rates, while classes with good learning outcomes generally had low participation rates. Further analysis revealed that teacher's teaching experience, the difficulty of the course, and students' grade level helped explain the dichotomy. This finding shows that there can be dissociation between participation and achievement at the class level in online K-12 after-school education, which likely resulted from misalignment between requirements set by the course and the expectations from teachers and parents. This study provides important insight for future research and practice in online K-12 after-school education.

Background: This meta-analysis was performed to assess the prevalence and circulating strains of rotavirus (RV) among Chinese children under 5 years of age after the implantation of the RV vaccine. Material and methods: Studies published between 2019 and 2023, focused on RV-based diarrhea among children less than 5 years were systematically reviewed using PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, CNKI, Wanfang and SinoMed Data. We synthesized their findings to examine prevalence and genetic diversity of RV after the RV vaccine implementation using a fixedeffects or random-effects model. Results: Seventeen studies met the inclusion criteria for this meta-analysis. The overall prevalence of RV was found to be 19.00%. The highest infection rate was noted in children aged 12-23months (25.79%), followed by those aged 24-35 months (23.91%), and 6-11 months (22.08%). The serotype G9 emerged as the most predominant RV genotype, accounting for 85.48% of infections, followed by G2 (7.70%), G8 (5.74%), G1 (4.86%), and G3 (3.21%). The most common P type was P[8], representing 64.02% of RV cases. Among G-P combinations, G9P[8] was the most frequent, responsible for 78.46% of RV infections, succeeded by G8P[8] (31.22%) and G3P[8] (8.11%). Conclusion: Despite the variation of serotypes observed in China, the G1, G2, G3, G8 and G9 serotypes accounted for most RV strains. The genetic diversity analysis highlights the dynamic nature of RV genotypes, necessitating ongoing surveillance to monitor changes in strain distribution and inform future vaccine strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: β-Glucosidase serves as the pivotal rate-limiting enzyme in the cellulose degradation process, facilitating the hydrolysis of cellobiose and cellooligosaccharides into glucose. However, the widespread application of numerous β-glucosidases is hindered by their limited thermostability and low glucose tolerance, particularly in elevated-temperature and high-glucose environments. Methods: This study presents an analysis of a β-glucosidase gene belonging to the GH1 family, denoted lqbg8, which was isolated from the metagenomic repository of Hehua hot spring located in Tengchong, China. Subsequently, the gene was cloned and heterologously expressed in Escherichia coli BL21(DE3). Post expression, the recombinant β-glucosidase (LQBG8) underwent purification through a Ni affinity chromatography column, thereby enabling the in-depth exploration of its enzymatic properties. Results: LQBG8 had an optimal temperature of 70°C and an optimum pH of 5.6. LQBG8 retained 100 and 70% of its maximum activity after 2-h incubation periods at 65°C and 70°C, respectively. Moreover, even following exposure to pH ranges of 3.0–10.0 for 24 h, LQBG8 retained approximately 80% of its initial activity. Notably, the enzymatic prowess of LQBG8 remained substantial at glucose concentrations of up to 3 M, with a retention of over 60% relative activity. The kinetic parameters of LQBG8 were characterized using cellobiose as substrate, with Km and Vmax values of 28 ± 1.9 mg/mL and 55 ± 3.2 μmol/min/mg, respectively. Furthermore, the introduction of LQBG8 (at a concentration of 0.03 mg/mL) into a conventional cellulase reaction system led to an impressive 43.7% augmentation in glucose yield from corn stover over a 24-h period. Molecular dynamics simulations offered valuable insights into LQBG8’s thermophilic nature, attributing its robust stability to reduced fluctuations, conformational changes, and heightened structural rigidity in comparison to mesophilic β-glucosidases. Discussion: In summation, its thermophilic, thermostable, and glucose-tolerant attributes, render LQBG8 ripe for potential applications across diverse domains encompassing food, feed, and the production of lignocellulosic ethanol. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cretaceous aeolian deposition is important for understanding variations of the tropical--subtropical atmospheric circulation under the greenhouse background. Nevertheless, detailed records revealing the response of aeolian deposition to rising atmospheric CO2 are still lacking. To shed light on their linkage, we examined the Early Cretaceous stratigraphic evolution of the Hekou Group in the Baiyin-Jingyuan Basin, northern China, using multiple methods. The results indicate that the lower Hekou Group is characterized by a transition from submerged alluvial to shallow lacustrine deposition. Overlying these facies is loess-like deposition without bedding, distinguished by grain-size distribution, surface microtextures, and geochemical analysis, which is followed by palustrine deposition. In the palustrine deposition, aeolian sand-dune and sand-sheet deposition can be identified, which gradually developed upward in the Hekou Group, with intercalated wet interdunes, damp interdunes, and pebble-sand sheetflood beds. Finally, aeolian sand dunes and sand sheets dominated the upper Hekou Group. Overall, the upwardchanging facies indicated the development of aeolian deposition from an aqueous environment, revealing a long-term paleoclimatic shift from semi-humid, semi-arid to extremely arid, which reflects the expanded aeolian activity in East Asia during the Early Cretaceous. Furthermore, various records were combined to investigate the expanding aeolian activity in East Asia, which indicates a west--east-trending arid belt that was wider than the modern counterpart during the late Barremian--Early Aptian and late Aptian--Early Albian, respectively. These stepwise expansions of aeolian activity were mainly driven by rising atmospheric CO2, which strengthened the subsiding branches of Hadley circulation and the subtropical high, eventually leading to intensified aridification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Genomic prediction (GP) in plant breeding has the potential to predict and identify the best-performing hybrids based on the genotypes of their parental lines. In a GP experiment, 34 elite inbred lines were selected to make 285 single-cross hybrids in a partial-diallel cross design. These lines represented a mini-core collection of Chinese maize germplasm and comprised 18 inbred lines from the Stiff Stalk heterotic group and 16 inbred lines from the Non-Stiff Stalk heterotic group. The parents were genotyped by sequencing and the 285 hybrids were phenotyped for nine yield and yield-related traits at two locations in the summer sowing area (SUS) and three locations in the spring sowing area (SPS) in the main maizeproducing regions of China. Multiple GP models were employed to assess the accuracy of trait prediction in the hybrids. By ten-fold cross-validation, the prediction accuracies of yield performance of the hybrids estimated by the genomic best linear unbiased prediction (GBLUP) model in SUS and SPS were 0.51 and 0.46, respectively. The prediction accuracies of the remaining yield-related traits estimated with GBLUP ranged from 0.49 to 0.86 and from 0.53 to 0.89 in SUS and SPS, respectively. When additive, dominance, epistasis effects, genotype-by-environment interaction, and multi-trait effects were incorporated into the prediction model, the prediction accuracy of hybrid yield performance was improved. The ratio of training to testing population and size of training population optimal for yield prediction were determined. Multiple prediction models can improve prediction accuracy in hybrid breeding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently, sustainability practices have become a global requirement to attain the high-performance goals of the organizations and capture the focus of regulators and recent researchers. Therefore, the present article aim is to investigate the board diversity (percentage of women directors, percentage of non-executive directors and board member nationality) and firm size (logarithm of total assets) on the sustainability practices (expenditures on environmental sustainability) of the top ten registered firms in China. The researchers have adopted the secondary source of data collection and extracted the data from the financial statements of the adopted firms from 2005 to 2019. Additionally, the researchers used a fixed-effect model (FEM) and a robust standard error model to investigate the relationship between the two concepts. There were positive correlations between firm size (logarithmic total assets) and board diversity (percentage of women directors, percentage of non-executive directors, and board member nationality) and China's top ten registered firms' sustainability practises (expenditures on environmental sustainability). This research provides help to the policymakers while formulating strategies and policies related to the adoption of sustainability practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose We aimed to evaluate whether the addition of pemetrexed is effective in improving progression-free survival (PFS) in epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)-mutated patients with or without concomitant alterations. Materials and Methods This multicenter clinical trial was conducted in China from June 15, 2018, to May 31, 2019. A total of 92 non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients harboring EGFR-sensitive mutations were included and divided into concomitant and non-concomitant groups. Patients in each group were randomly treated with EGFR-tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) monotherapy or EGFR-TKI combined with pemetrexed in a ratio of 1:1. PFS was recorded as the primary endpoint. Results The overall median PFS of this cohort was 10.1 months. There were no significant differences in PFS between patients with and without concomitant and between patients received TKI monotherapy and TKI combined with pemetrexed (p=0.210 and p=0.085, respectively). Stratification analysis indicated that patients received TKI monotherapy had a significantly longer PFS in non-concomitant group than that in concomitant group (p=0.002). In concomitant group, patients received TKI combined with pemetrexed had a significantly longer PFS than patients received TKI monotherapy (p=0.013). Molecular dynamic analysis showed rapidly emerging EGFR T790M in patients received TKI monotherapy. EGFR mutation abundance decreased in patients received TKI combined chemotherapy, which supports better efficacy for a TKI combined chemotherapy as compared to TKI monotherapy. A good correlation between therapeutic efficacy and a change in circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) status was found in 66% of patients, supporting the guiding role of ctDNA minimal residual disease (MRD) in NSCLC treatment. Conclusion EGFR-TKI monotherapy is applicable to EGFR-sensitive patients without concomitant alterations, while a TKI combined chemotherapy is applicable to EGFR-sensitive patients with concomitant alterations. CtDNA MRD may be a potential biomarker for predicting therapeutic efficacy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Economic development and social progress in China's ethnic minority regions depend on improvements in population attributes brought about by education. Developing education in China's ethnic regions is a project of fundamental significance for realizing sustainable economic and social development in the ethnic regions. Improving the economic returns of education in China's ethnic regions is beneficial for making educational input-output more consistent with the needs of the ethnic regions' economic development. In this article, we proceed from the perspective of educational economics, take China's ethnic regions as our study subject, and draw upon relevant data from the "China Statistical Yearbook" to measure and calculate the current state of economic returns from education in the ethnic regions, analyze their influencing factors, and explore feasible ways of improving the economic returns of education in China's ethnic minority regions. (Contains 6 tables and 4 figures.)

Objective: The consequences and impact of violent behavior in schizophrenia are often serious, and identification of risk factors is of great importance to achieve early identification and effective management. Methods: This follow-up study sampled adult patients with schizophrenia in primary mental health care in a rural area of southern China, in which 491 participants completed a comprehensive questionnaire at baseline and the 2-year follow-up. Sociodemographic, clinical and psychological assessment data were collected from all participants. Paired sample T-Tests and the McNemar Test were performed to examine changes over the follow-up period. Generalized Estimating Equations (GEE) were used to analyze the risk factors for violent behavior. Results: The results showed that about two in five community-dwelling patients with schizophrenia reported violent behavior in the past year. At follow-up, participants were significantly less employed, had more times of hospitalization, more psychotropic medication, and severer depressive symptoms, but had better health-related quality of life than at baseline. Use of clozapine and better insight into medication decreased the possibility of violent behavior, while more severe positive symptoms, insomnia, as well as use of second-generation antipsychotics other than clozapine, antidepressants and mood stabilizers increased the possibility of violent behavior. Conclusions: Risk evaluation, prevention and management of violence in patients with schizophrenia are demanded in primary mental health care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background The rising incidence of thyroid cancer (TC) has generated growing concern globally; yet there are no studies examining whether this incidence was followed by a rise in related mortality. We aimed to comprehensively quantify current trends and future projections of TC incidence and mortality, and to explore the association between the TC burden and socioeconomic inequality in different income strata. Methods We obtained incidence and mortality data on TC and population from the 2019 Global Burden of Disease (GBD) study and the United Nations' World Population Prospects 2022. We applied an age-period-cohort (APC) model to estimate the overall annual percentage change (net drift) and age, period, and cohort effects from 1990 to 2019, and also constructed a Bayesian APC model to predict the TC burden through 2030. Results Over a third of global TC cases belonged to the high-income group. From 1990 to 2019, net drifts of TC incidence were >0 in all income groups, while a modest reduction (net drift <0) in mortality was observed in most income groups, except for the lower-middle-income group. Unfavourable age, period, and cohort effects were most notable in Vietnam, China, and Korea. The age-standardised incidence rate (ASIR) is predicted to increase whereas the age-standardized mortality rate (ASMR) is expected to decrease globally between 2020 and 2030, with geographic heterogeneity being detected across income groups. We observed a positive correlation between ASIR and universal health coverage index and health worker density, but a negative one between ASMR and the two indicators, primarily in upper-middle-income and high-income countries. Conclusions Opposite patterns in incidence and mortality of TC raise concerns about overdiagnosis, particularly in upper-middle-income and high-income countries. Discrepancies in the distribution of health service accessibility, including diagnostic techniques and therapeutic care, should be addressed by narrowing health inequalities in the TC burden across countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rationale: Over 40% of lung cancer cases occurred in neversmokers in China. However, high-risk never-smokers were precluded from benefiting from lung cancer screening as most screening guidelines did not consider them. Objectives: We sought to develop and validate prediction models for 3-year lung cancer risks for never- and ever-smokers, named the China National Cancer Center Lung Cancer models (China NCC-LCm2021 models). Methods: 425,626 never-smokers and 128,952 ever-smokers from the National Lung Cancer Screening programwere used as the training cohort and analyzed using multivariable Cox models. Models were validated in two independent prospective cohorts: one included 369,650 never-smokers and 107,678 ever-smokers (841 and 421 lung cancers), and the other included 286,327 never-smokers and 78,469 ever-smokers (503 and 127 lung cancers). Measurements and Main Results: The areas under the receiver operating characteristic curves in the two validation cohorts were 0.698 and 0.673 for never-smokers and 0.728 and 0.752 for ever-smokers. Our models had higher areas under the receiver operating characteristic curves than other existing models and were well calibrated in the validation cohort. The China NCC-LCm2021 >0.47% threshold was suggested for never-smokers and >0.51% for ever-smokers. Moreover, we provided a range of threshold options with corresponding expected screening outcomes, screening targets, and screening efficiency. Conclusion: The construction of the China NCC-LCm2021 models can accurately reflect individual risk of lung cancer, regardless of smoking status. Our models can significantly increase the feasibility of conducting centralized lung cancer screening programs because we provide justified thresholds to define the high-risk population of lung cancer and threshold options to adapt different configurations of medical resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Besides climate change, intensive anthropogenic activities affect vegetation cover variations, particularly in highly populated regions. Herein, we investigated the impacts of anthropogenic activities in the Circum-Bohai-Sea (CBS) region in China using correlation analysis between the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) and indicators related to urban development, agricultural practices, and afforestation efforts; multivariate linear regression and residual analyses were used to quantify how anthropogenic activities contribute to NDVI change. We found that the vegetation cover in most of the study area significantly increased from 1982 to 2015. In major cities, the decrease in vegetation cover was not as expected because of the opposing effects of rapid urbanization and greening. Afforestation and improved agricultural practices dominated the increase in vegetation cover in different regions. Anthropogenic activities accounted for 42% of the increase in vegetation cover in the CBS region. Therefore, to achieve regional sustainable development, the effects of human activities in highly populated area must be heeded. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Acupuncture is widely used as adjuvant therapy for major depressive disorder (MDD). There is robust evidence that inflammation is closely associated with MDD. To date, only a few numbers of studies have investigated the potential relationship between acupuncture and the change of inflammatory biomarkers in patients with MDD. Additionally, the results are inconsistent among studies. The current study aims to provide a comprehensive, systematic review of the association between acupuncture and changes in peripheral inflammation of patients with MDD, and clarify the alterations of inflammatory cytokines before and after acupuncture treatment by meta-analysis. Methods and analysis: This study will be conducted in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines. Eligible randomized controlled trials (RCTs) reporting acupuncture, with inflammatory cytokines as the outcome measured before and after intervention in patients with MDD, were searched in electronic databases, such as PubMed, Embase, Cochrane, SINOMED, Wanfang, China national knowledge infrastructure (CNKI), and Chongqing VIP (CQVIP). Primary outcomes of interest will be validated to measure the levels of inflammatory cytokines before and after acupuncture treatment in patients with MDD. Discussion: Acupuncture can drive anti-inflammatory effects, as well as symptom changes in MDD, which may represent a viable, multi-faceted treatment approach in MDD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to establish an effective nomogram to predict the survival of heat stroke (HS) based on risk factors. METHODS: This was a retrospective, observational multicenter cohort study. We analyzed patients diagnosed with HS, who were treated between May 1 and September 30, 2018 at 15 tertiary hospitals from 11 cities in Northern China. RESULTS: Among the 175 patients, 32 patients (18.29%) died before hospital discharge. After the univariate analysis, mechanical ventilation, initial mean arterial pressure <70 mmHg, maximum heart rate, lab results on day 1 (white blood cell count, alanine aminotransferase, creatinine), and Glasgow admission prediction score were included in multivariate analysis. Multivariate Cox regression showed that invasive ventilation, initial mean arterial pressure <70 mmHg (1 mmHg=0.133 kPa), and Glasgow admission prediction score were independent risk factors for HS. The nomogram was established for predicting 7-d and 14-d survival in the training cohort. The nomogram exhibited a concordance index (C-index) of 0.880 (95% confidence interval [95% CI] 0.831-0.930) by bootstrapping validation (B=1,000). Furthermore, the nomogram performed better when predicting 14-d survival, compared to 7-d survival. The prognostic index cut-off value was set at 2.085, according to the operating characteristic curve for overall survival prediction. The model showed good calibration ability in the internal and external validation datasets. CONCLUSION: A novel nomogram, integrated with prognostic factors, was proposed; it was highly predictive of the survival in HS patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Non-native aquatic plants, as ecological engineers, change physical and chemical characteristics of invaded environments, and re-arrange the biological relationships within the colonized aquatic communities. Fanwort (Cabomba caroliniana) is a submerged aquatic plant native to the South America and southeastern United States. This species was introduced to China over 20 years ago and because of its quickly growth, large distribution and negative ecological impacts, it is included in the List of Invasive Alien Species in Chinese Natural Ecosystems by the Ministry of Ecology and Environment of China. Lack of detailed information about this species has limited its effective management and control. We summarize the introduction pathway of fanwort, its current distribution throughout China (including longitude and latitude), and the ecological impact on native species, waterways, agriculture and invasions by other non-native species. based on our investigations and a review of the literature. This study provides useful information for researchers and environmental managers to better control fanwort and other non-native aquatic plants in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Healthcare workers (HCWs) are at a high risk for latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) because of occupational exposure, and the attitudes and behaviors of frontline tuberculosis (TB)-related HCWs toward preventive treatment of LTBI in eastern China remain unknown. This study aimed to explore the attitudes and actual behaviors of TB-related HCWs toward TB preventive treatment (TPT) and to analyze the relevant factors influencing the attitudes of HCWs. A stratified random sample of 28 TB-designated hospitals was selected in Zhejiang Province, China. All TB-related HCWs in the selected hospitals were recruited to answer questionnaires and were tested for LTBI by the TB interferon gamma release assay. TPT use was assessed two years after the survey. Univariate analysis and binary logistic regression models were used to analyze the factors influencing the TPT intention of HCWs. A total of 318 TBrelated HCWs were recruited from 28 TB-designated hospitals; 62.3% of them showed positive attitudes toward TPT, while the rest were reluctant to treat positive LTBI prophylactically. binary logistic regression analysis revealed that the factors influencing the attitudes of HCWs were mainly education level, household income, history of alcohol consumption, and workplace. The IGRA test found that 35.2% (112/318) of HCWs tested positive for LTBI. Most people refused treatment because of drug side effects, followed by the belief that treatment was ineffective, wanting to wait until the onset of the disease, and that it was too much trouble to take the medication. According to the results of a follow-up survey, only one of these HCWs underwent TPT, and the consistency rate of attitudes and behaviors was 36.6% (41/112). This study reveals different attitudes toward TPT among TB-associated HCWs in eastern China and a large gap between attitudes and actual action. The management of HCWs with LTBI still needs further strengthening. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Few studies are available on the prevalence and sleep-related factors of dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) in Chinese older adults, aiming to explore the associations between sleep characteristics and DLB. Methods: A cross-sectional study with 7,528 individuals aged ≥65 years in 106 communities in Northern China was conducted from April 2019 to January 2020. Questionaries (including demographic characteristics, comorbidities, lifestyles, and sleep characteristics) were administered, and neuropsychological assessments and physical examination were conducted in phase I; screening for probable DLB was done in phase II. Logistic regressions were used to assess associations. Results: A total of 919 (12.2%, 919/7,528) participants had dementia, and 101 (1.3%, 101/7,528) participants were diagnosed with DLB. The prevalence of dementia and DLB were slightly higher or equal in women, increased with age, and roughly decreased with nighttime sleep duration. Of the 101 participants, all of them (100.0%) had cognitive impairment, 46 (44.54%) displayed fluctuating cognition, 72 (71.29%) of them showed visual hallucination, 22 (21.78%) individuals reported RBD, and 27.71% showed Parkinsonism. Sleeping for <5 h (adjusted OR = 1.795, 95%CI: 1.055–3.054, p < 0.05) or having hypersomnolence (adjusted OR = 31.213, 95% CI: 17.618–55.301, p < 0.001) were significantly associated with the occurrence of DLB. Sleep duration of <5 h or >8 h had combined diagnostic value for DLB (AUC = 0.783, 95%CI: 0.734–0.831, p < 0.001). Conclusions: The current prevalence of DLB is 1.3% in Northern China. Short or long nighttime sleep duration is independently associated with the occurrence of dementia and DLB. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Little information on rural older women in northern China has been reported, apart from three studies in southern and eastern China in the past decade. This study aims to evaluate the relationships between reproductive factors and the risk of cognitive impairment, including mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and dementia, in Chinese women with natural menopause. Methods: The cross-sectional study was conducted in 112 community primary healthcare centers in rural northern China between April 2019 and January 2020. A total of 4,275 women aged =65 years who had natural menopause were included. Reproductive factors as well as the reproductive period (= age at menopause - age at menarche) were recorded. The relationships between reproductive factors and cognitive impairment were evaluated by correlation and logistic regression analysis. Results: Overall, 28.6% and 11.4% of women were diagnosed with MCI or dementia, respectively. In natural menopause women, the age at menopause (adjusted r = 0.070, p < 0.001), reproductive period (adjusted r = 0.053, p = 0.001), and number of pregnancies (adjusted r = -0.042, p = 0.007) and parities (adjusted r = -0.068, p < 0.001) were correlated with Mini-Mental State Examination (Chinese version) scores, and with similar findings concerning MCI and dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB). Greater age at menopause and a long reproductive period significantly decreased the risk of MCI and Alzheimer's disease (AD), and more parities significantly increased the risks of MCI (odds ratio (OR) = 1.111, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.039-1.187, p = 0.002), dementia (OR = 1.162, 95% CI: 1.061-1.271, p = 0.001), particular AD (OR = 1.131, 95% CI: 1.010-1.266, p = 0.032), DLB (OR = 1.238, 95% CI: 1.003-1.528, p = 0.047), and vascular dementia (VaD) (OR = 1.288, 95% CI: 1.080-1.536, p = 0.005). Conclusions: The prevalence rates of MCI and dementia were 28.6% and 11.4% in older women. Greater age at menarche, young age at menopause, shorter reproductive period, and larger numbers of pregnancies/parities were correlated with poor cognition and significantly increased the risks of MCI and dementia, particularly AD, DLB, and VaD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Innovation adoption is the necessary element for the success of any organization around the globe, and this phenomenon needs a foremost solution. The current study examines this area and explores the impact of customers, employees, and social enterprises' traditional behavior on the resistance to innovation in social enterprises in China. The current article also investigates the mediating role of fear for change among customers, employees, and social enterprises' traditional behavior and resistance to innovation in social enterprises in China. This article has followed the primary data gathering methods and adopted the questionnaires for this purpose. The employees and customers of social enterprises are the respondents and -11,000 population in the study. According to Krejcie & Morgan, the sample size criteria is around 370. Thus, the researchers' have forwarded around 615 surveys and received only 357 after a few weeks. The present research has also applied the SPSS-AMOS to analyze the association among variables and test the hypotheses. The results revealed that the traditional behavior of customers, employees, and social enterprises has a significant and positive linkage with resistance to innovation in social enterprises in China. The findings also exposed that the fear of change also significantly mediates among customers, employees, and social enterprises' traditional behavior and resistance to innovation in social enterprises in China. This study helps the regulators establish policies related to innovation adoption by changing traditional behavior to advance the behavior of customers, employees, and social enterprises. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although students are the main recipients of internationalization in higher education (IHE), research on IHE mainly focuses on particular nations or educational institutions rather than on the individual. The perceptions of university students toward internationalization, particularly what may impact their preparedness for and critical awareness of internationalization, are largely lacking. This study explores the ways in which students’ diverse socialization or experiences of socializing with different stakeholders impact their preparedness for and awareness of increasing internationalization in higher education institutions. The study utilizes data from a survey conducted with 511 students at two Chinese universities. The study found that students with diverse socialization backgrounds are more likely to develop a critical awareness of the social impact of internationalization, and that they believe that internationalization enables them to learn from others, to develop capacities to analyze global issues, to develop skills to work with cultural others, and to make ethical decisions on social issues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) has attracted more and more attention from schools, mental health workers and even the whole society in China. The aim of this study was to explore influencing factors and clinical characteristics of NSSI in adolescent psychiatric patients in China, and provide valuable information for the intervention and treatment of NSSI. Methods: The sample included 157 adolescents, 114 were female (72.6%), aged 12-18 years (M = 15.39, SD = 1.81). Assessments were performed using Childhood Trauma Questionnaire-Short Form, the Revised Olweus Bully/Victim Questionnaire, the modified version of Adolescents Self-Harm Scale, Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale, Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale, the Young Mania Rating Scale and the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview. Clinical characteristics were collected fromelectronicmedical record system. Results: Adolescent patients with NSSI experienced more adverse life events including peer bullying, childhood trauma and romantic relationship trouble. They had more times of hospitalization, higher dosage of psychotic medication, and more severe depressive symptoms. Conclusions: It is very necessary to evaluate negative life events, including childhood trauma, peer bullying etc., in adolescent patients with NSSI. It has important clinical implications for evaluating the risk factors of NSSI and giving effective intervention treatment. Timely and effective treatment of these patients' depressive symptoms will also contribute to the relief of NSSI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study is intended to examine the impact of crisis responsibility on the reputation of the Chinese public sector organization during the COVID-19 crisis. In addition to that, the study has also examined the mediating role of crisis response strategy in the relationship between crisis responsibility and the reputation of the Chinese public sector organization during the COVID-19 crisis. Lastly, the study has also examined the moderating role of internal crisis communication in the relationship between the crisis responsibility and crisis response strategy of the Chinese public sector organization during COVID-19. This study bases on a quantitative research approach along with a cross-sectional research design. The population of the study is the Chinese public sector organization companies. Data is collected from the employees working in Chinese public sector organizations. The current study used 500 sample sizes; 205 valid responses are received which were used in data analysis. The SEM-PLS is used for the data analysis. The result of the study indicates that all the direct hypotheses are accepted significantly, which indicates that the crisis responsibility and crisis response strategy are significant determinants of organizational reputation during the COVID-19. In a similar vein, the crisis responsibility has placed a significant impact on the crisis response strategy of Chinese organizations during COVID-19. The study is among the pioneer studies on crisis responsibility in the Chinese public sector organization during COVID-19. The study has employed an extended framework encircling the literature on crisis responsibility, crisis response strategy, internal crisis communication, and organizational reputation. Theoretically, the study has extended the situational crisis communication theory framework by incorporating internal crisis communication in the framework. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The thermal state of permafrost in the present and future is fundamental to the ecosystem evolution, hydrological process, carbon release, and infrastructure integrity in cold regions. From 2011, we began to establish permafrost monitoring network along the China-Russia crude oil pipelines (CRCOPs) route at the eastern flank of the northern Da Xing'anling Mountains in Northeast China. Based on meteorological data near the southern limit of latitudinal permafrost (SLLP), ground temperature data in 20 boreholes with the depths of 10-60.6 m, soil volumetric liquid water contents and 2-D electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) data, we compiled an integrated dataset of the ground thermal state along the CRCOPs route. Study results demonstrate that permafrost in the vicinity of SLLP has experienced marked warming (2011-2020) to climate change, manifested as the rising permafrost temperatures depth. Local thermal disturbances triggered by the construction and operation of CRCOPs have resulted in significant permafrost warming and subsequent thawing on the right-of-way (ROW) of the pipeline. This permafrost thaw will persist, but it can be alleviated by adopting mitigative measures, such as insulation layer and thermosyphons. The in29 situ observational dataset is of great value for assessing the variability of permafrost under the linear disturbances of the CRCOPs and related environmental effects, for understanding hydro-thermal-mechanical interactions between the buried pipelines and permafrost foundation soils, and for evaluating the operational and structural integrity of the pipeline systems in the future. The dataset is available at the National Tibetan Plateau/Third Pole Environment Data Center (http://doi.org/10.11888/Cryos.tpdc.272357; Li, 2022). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The East Asian summer monsoon and the precipitation it brings are relevant for millions of people. Because of the monsoon's importance, there has been a substantial amount of work attempting to describe the driving mechanisms behind its past variability. However, discrepancies exist, with speleothem-based East Asian monsoon reconstructions differing from those based on loess records from the Chinese Loess Plateau during the late Quaternary. The periodicity of wet and dry phases experienced by desert areas that lie on the periphery of the East Asian monsoon's influence offer another independent view of monsoonal variability. Here, we provide environmental records based on magnetic parameters for the last 3 million years from the Tengger Desert, China, one such marginal arid region. Our results reveal wet-dry cycles at a dominant frequency of 405 kiloyears, with drier intervals corresponding to eccentricity minima. These findings are consistent with previous reconstructions of East Asian summer and North African summer monsoon precipitation variability. Our records emphasize the dominant role of eccentricity in forcing East Asian monsoonal precipitation as well as monsoonal-derived environmental fluctuations experienced in peripheral desert areas. These results challenge the traditional view that high-latitude ice sheets are the primary driver of East Asian monsoon precipitation during the Quaternary based on Chinese loess records. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Utricularia lihengiae, a new species from the Dulongjiang region of northwest Yunnan, China, is here described and illustrated. The new species belongs to the section Oligocista and is similar to U. bifida L. and U. scandens Benj., from which it can be easily distinguished by the dark purple stripe on the corolla. The new species also differs in its shorter inflorescence and the shape of the calyx lobes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Observed surface air temperature (SAT) warming at urban stations often contains both the signal of global warming and that of local urban heat island (UHI) effects; these signals are difficult to separate. In this study, an urban impact indicator (Uii) developed by the authors was modified to represent the extent to which the observed temperature from a given station was influenced by UHI effects. The Uii of a city was calculated by simplifying the city's shape to a circle. In addition, a modified Uii (MUii) was calculated by considering the realistic horizontal distribution of the urban land. We selected 45 urban stations in mainland China, along with an adjacent station for each to give a station pair. Background climate changes across each pair were near-homogeneous. Thus, differences in the trends of annual averaged daily mean SAT (Trendmean), maximum SAT (Trendmax), and minimum SAT (Trendmin) between the urban and adjacent stations (ΔTrend) could be mainly attributed to differences in MUii changes between the urban and adjacent stations (ΔMUii). Several linear regressions between ΔTrend and ΔMUii for the 45 station pairs were calculated to estimate UHI effects on Trendmean (UTmean), Trendmax (UTmax), and Trendmin (UTmin). The results showed that the mean MUii of the 45 urban stations increased from 0.06 to 0.35 during 1992 - 2013. Positive correlations between ΔMUii and ΔTrend for the 45 station pairs were significant at the 0.001 significance level (except for Trendmax). The average UTmean and UTmin of the 45 urban stations during 1954 - 2013 were approximately 0.05 and 0.11°C decade-1, respectively, accounting for 18% and 31% of the overall warming trends, respectively. The UTmin estimated in this study is about twice that of previous results based on regression equations between Uii and SAT trends. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We develop a health informatics toolbox that enables timely analysis and evaluation of the timecourse dynamics of a range of infectious disease epidemics. As a case study, we examine the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) epidemic using the publicly available data from the China CDC. This toolbox is built upon a hierarchical epidemiological model in which two observed time series of daily proportions of infected and removed cases are generated from the underlying infection dynamics governed by a Markov Susceptible-Infectious-Removed (SIR) infectious disease process. We extend the SIR model to incorporate various types of time-varying quarantine protocols, including government-level 'macro' isolation policies and community-level 'micro' social distancing (e.g. self-isolation and self-quarantine) measures. We develop a calibration procedure for underreported infected cases. This toolbox provides forecasts, in both online and offline forms, as well as simulating the overall dynamics of the epidemic. An R software package is made available for the public, and examples on the use of this software are illustrated. Some possible extensions of our novel epidemiological models are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction. Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most common degenerative disease in middle-aged and elderly individuals that causes joint deformity and limb disability. Accumulating evidence has suggested that the pathogenesis of OA has been related to various mechanisms such as apoptosis, inflammation, oxidative stress and metabolic disorders. The aim of this study is to clarify the role of Foxo3a in the progress of OA in an in vitro model. Materials and methods. The chondrocytes were derived from rabbit, and treated with IL-1β, which was used as an in vitro OA model. The over-expression and down-regulation of Foxo3a were achieved by transfection with overexpression vector or shRNA, respectively. The mRNA level of iNOS in chondrocytes was quantified by qPCR. Tenascin-c (Tnc) production was measured by ELISA and apoptosis-associated proteins were analyzed by Western blotting. The MTT assay was used to assess the viability of chondrocytes. Results. Foxo3a and iNOS expression were upregulated in IL-1β-treated chondrocytes. Foxo3a silencing decreased iNOS expression, and inhibited apoptosis of IL-1β-treated chondrocytes. The production of Tnc was significantly increased in IL-1β-treated chondrocytes and was positively regulated by Foxo3. Importantly, extracellular addition of Tnc abrogated the protective effects of Foxo3a knockdown on IL-1β -- treated chondrocytes. Conclusion. The present study indicated that down-regulation of Foxo3a protected IL-1β-treated chondrocytes by decreasing iNOS expression and suppressing chondrocytes' apoptosis via modulating tenascin-c, which could be regarded as a potent therapeutic target for the treatment of OA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Few studies have examined clozapine in cohort studies of Chinese patients with schizophrenia in rural primary care. The objective of this two-year cohort study was to describe the usage of clozapine and investigate and identify the demographic, clinical correlations and risk variables which affect the use of clozapine in patients with schizophrenia. A random cluster sampling technique was used, and participants were collected from the China National Psychiatric Management System (CNPMS). The variables for clozapine use in individuals with schizophrenia who had undergone a two-year follow-up were determined using the generalised estimating equation (GEE). In this study, 742 patients with schizophrenia were invited, and 491 completed the two-year follow-up study. Being married, having more years of education, having more waist circumference, using mood stabilisers, using anticholinergic, and having higher ITAQ (Insight and Treatment Attitude Questionnaire) scores were more significantly related to using clozapine. Older age of onset, using second-generation antipsychotics (SGAs) except clozapine, predicted a lower prevalence of using clozapine. The usage of clozapine was very common in patients with schizophrenia treated by primary care physicians and was influenced by a variety of factors, including the price of drugs, clinical factors, health regulations, and the characteristics of the treatment environment. Further examination of the rationale and appropriateness of clozapine in primary care in China is necessary. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding drivers for energy consumption is important for economic and environmentally sustainable development. To explore this issue, the SDA (structural decomposition analysis) method based on input-output theory was used to analyze the influencing mechanism of energy consumption in one of the top energy consumers, Guangdong Province in China, during 2002 to 2012. We divided the process into 2 stages: before and after the global financial crisis. The main conclusions are as follows: 1) Economic activity and population size are the main driving factors for the increase in energy consumption, while energy consumption intensity is the main factor restraining the increment, and the effects of final demand structure on energy consumption transformed from positive before the global financial crisis to negative after the global financial crisis. 2) Analysis of allocation of energy consumption changes caused by final demands shows that international and domestic trade had significant effects on changes in energy consumption. Although energy consumption embodied in international exports decreased after the global financial crisis, it is still the most significant important driver for the increments. Guangdong is a net exporter of embodied energy through international trade, while its energy-saving achievement is partly due to embodied energy transfers via China's domestic trade. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Transformations in Business & Economics is the property of Vilnius University 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.)

Antibiotic residues and antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) can be accumulated in sediments. In this study, an improved bibliometric analysis was used to evaluate publications on antibiotics in sediments from the aspects of major countries, subject categories and keywords during 1958-2016. The results indicate that USA and China dominated studies in the recent period from 2005 to 2016. The most representative journal and subject category were Applied and Environmental Microbiology and Environmental Science and Ecology respectively. ARGs and antibiotic resistance bacteria involving mechanism such as sorption, adsorption and biodegradation were the mainstream research areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Resource endowment and resource carrying capacity (RCC) are the most important cornerstones of regional sustainable development. By applying a newly established RCC method, namely, the relative resources carrying capacity (RRCC) method, we evaluated the RCC in the Tarim River basin (TRB) in arid China in Xinjiang during 2000-2011. Research results show that the relative resources carrying capacity can be effectively served as indicators of regional resources sustainable development status. Taking Xinjiang as the reference region, the TRB can be characterized as an area with an overloaded population and surplus economy during the whole research period, where land resources are relative advantage resources carrying the regional population growth and economic development and water resources are relative disadvantage resources restricting rapid regional development. Taking TRB as the reference region, 42 counties and cities in TRB performed significant temporal and spatial disparities according to the RRCC based on population and economic perspectives. Based on the spatial-temporal evolution of RRCC, 42 counties and cities in TRB were classified into four matching modes (A, B, C, and D). The spatial-temporal evolution characteristics and mechanisms about the 42 prefectures and cities were examined, and the suitable development strategies for every different mode were recommended. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study was designed to determine if respondents in the United States (Texas State) and China (Anhui province) differed in their perceptions of three stakeholder types (authorities, news media, and peers) with respect to three stakeholder characteristics (expertise, trustworthiness, and protection responsibility) and if these stakeholder perceptions were significantly correlated with protective actions for influenza. Both Texas and Anhui respondents rated expertise, trustworthiness, and protection responsibility as highest for public health authorities and lowest for Internet/social media. However, the differences between ratings for authorities and peers were greater in Texas than in Anhui and the correlations of stakeholder characteristics with protective action were quite different between Texas and Anhui. These results suggest that public health authorities should recognize that there are differences across countries in people's perceptions of authorities, news media and peers. These differences are important because people's perceptions of different stakeholders are significantly correlated with their protective actions in response to pandemic influenza. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sewage sludge in China has the characteristics of low organic content and low heating value compared with other developed countries. Self-sustaining combustion of Chinese sludge cannot be achieved when the moisture content is high. Co-combusting a small amount of sludge in the existing coal-fired boilers is a usual sludge disposal method in China. Thermogravimetric (TG) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) analysis of a bituminous coal, three different sewage sludges, and their blends have been carried out. Fitted curves by linear calculation and actual curves of blends were compared to study the interaction between sludge and coal in their co-combustion process. The results indicate that the interaction between the two fuels takes place during the devolatilization and combustion period. Sludge acts as a catalyst for coal during the co-combustion process because of the large amount of inorganic salts contained in the sludge. Co-combustion of coal and sludge is more efficient than single burning of the two fuels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: No effective constructs were available in mainland China to assess the whole spine function. The SFI was developed to evaluate spinal function based on the concept of a single kinetic chain concept for whole spine. The SFI has been translated to Spanish and Turkish with accepted psychometric properties. It is imperative to introduce the SFI in mainland China and further to explore the measurement properties.Methods: The English versions of the SFI was cross-culturally translated according to international guidelines. Measurement properties (content validity, construct validity and reliability) were tested in accordance with the COSMIN checklists. A total of 271 patients were included in this study, and 61 participants with neck pain and 64 participants with back pain paid a second visit three to seven days later. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and principal factor analysis (PCA) were applied to test the factor structure. The Functional Rating Index (FRI), Neck Disability Index (NDI), Oswestry Disability Index (ODI), SF-12 and a Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) were employed to evaluate the construct validity. Cronbach's alpha and an intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC) were calculated for internal consistency and reproducibility.Results: The means score of SC-SFI was 63.60 in patients with spinal musculoskeletal disorders. A high response rate was acquired (265/271). No item was removed due to abnormal distribution or low item-total correlation. Results of CFA did not support that one-factor structure was in goodness of fit (CMIN/DF = 3.306, NNFI = 0.687, CFI = 0.756, GFI = 0.771 and RMSEA = 0.092). Yet, PCA suggested a one-factor structure was the best, accounting for 32% of the total variance. For structural validity, the SC-SFI correlated highly with the FRI, NDI, ODI, and PF, BP in SF-12 (r = 0.661, 0.610, 0.750, 0.709, 0.605, respectively). All the a priori hypotheses were verified. The Cronbach's alpha for the SC-SFI was 0.91, and ICC was 0.96 (95% CI, 0.94-0.98). Bland-Altman plot also confirmed excellent test-retest reliability.Conclusions: The SFI has been culturally adapted into SC-SFI with remarkable clinical acceptance, excellent internal consistency, reproducibility, and construct validity when applied to patients with spinal musculoskeletal disorders. The results of current study suggest that SC-SFI can be applied by physicians and researchers to measure whole-spine functional status in mainland China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Menthae Haplocalycis herba, one kind of Chinese edible herbs, has been widely utilized for the clinical use in China for thousands of years. Over the last decades, studies on chemical constituents of Menthae Haplocalycis herba have been widely performed. However, less attention has been paid to non-volatile components which are also responsible for its medical efficacy than the volatile constituents. Therefore, a rapid and sensitive method was developed for the comprehensive identification of the non-volatile constituents in Menthae Haplocalycis herba using ultra-high performance liquid chromatography coupled with linear ion trap-Orbitrap mass spectrometry (UHPLC-LTQ-Orbitrap). Separation was performed with Acquity UPLC® BEH C18 column (2.1 mm × 100 mm, 1.7 μm) with 0.2% formic acid aqueous solution and acetonitrile as the mobile phase under gradient conditions. Based on the accurate mass measurement (<5 ppm), MS/MS fragmentation patterns and different chromatographic behaviors, a total of 64 compounds were unambiguously or tentatively characterized, including 30 flavonoids, 20 phenolic acids, 12 terpenoids and two phenylpropanoids. Finally, target isolation of three compounds named Acacetin, Rosmarinic acid and Clemastanin A (first isolated from Menthae Haplocalycis herba) were performed based on the obtained results, which further confirmed the deduction of fragmentation patterns and identified the compounds profile in Menthae Haplocalycis herba. Our research firstly systematically elucidated the non-volatile components of Menthae Haplocalycis herba, which laid the foundation for further pharmacological and metabolic studies. Meanwhile, our established method was useful and efficient to screen and identify targeted constituents from traditional Chinese medicine extracts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Second Board Market is typical stock market for high tech companies in China. This paper discusses the relationship between trading volume and price changes in the case of high-tech listed companies in the Chinese Second-Board Stock Market. By using the basic concepts proposed by Kim and Verrecchia, and Kandel and Pearson, and contrasting them with ex-post information from earnings releases, the paper provides findings on the speculative behavior of informed traders with a volume shock premium. The paper suggests that these methods may be further applied to investigating investors' behavior in speculation, especially for the high-tech-company-based Second-Board Stock Market during announcement periods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Objectives: Urbanization in China has increased the prevalence of high-fat and low-fiber diets, and of adverse health behaviors associated with an increased risk of diet-related, non-communicable diseases (DR-NCDs) in eastern Chinese women. This study aimed to characterize the dietary intake and health behaviors in eastern Chinese women.Methods and Study Design: Retrospective data of 122,058 women aged 25 to 70 who completed a multi-staged, stratified, cluster sampling epidemiological survey in eastern China in 2008, including self-report of diet and lifestyle information (sleep, physical activity, work, etc.). The survey included food groups (on a 4-point scale from daily to rarely) and health behaviors.Results: Of 122,058 surveyed women, 2008 (1.6%) smoked tobacco, 4326 (3.5%) consumed alcohol, 10,274 (8.4%) reported insomnia, and 38,305 (31.4%) exercised regularly. Consumption was most commonly reported as daily for vegetables/fruits (68.1%); 3-4/week for garlic (31.7%); 1-2/week for bean products (39.4%), red meat (40.8%), corn (36.6%), and carrots (41.9%); and rarely for milk products (46.4%), fried food (42.1%) and charcuterie (55.8%).Conclusions: This study suggests some overall positive lower rates of tobacco use, alcohol consumption and insomnia than reported previously, but physical exercise was also decreased. Dietary habits were relatively healthy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Longzi River Basin in Tibet is located along the edge of the Himalaya Mountains and is characterized by complex geological conditions and numerous landslides. To evaluate the susceptibility of landslide disasters in this area, eight basic factors were analyzed comprehensively in order to obtain a final susceptibility map. The eight factors are the slope angle, slope aspect, plan curvature, distance-to-fault, distance-to-river, topographic relief, annual precipitation, and lithology. Except for the rainfall factor, which was extracted from the grid cell, all the factors were extracted and classified by the slope unit, which is the basic unit in geological disaster development. The eight factors were superimposed using the information content method (ICM), and the weight of each factor was acquired through an analytic hierarchy process (AHP). The sensitivities of the landslides were divided into four categories: low, moderate, high, and very high, respectively, accounting for 22.76%, 38.64%, 27.51%, and 11.09% of the study area. The accuracies of the area under AUC using slope units and grid cells are 82.6% and 84.2%, respectively, and it means that the two methods are accurate in predicting landslide occurrence. The results show that the high and very high susceptibility areas are distributed throughout the vicinity of the river, with a large component in the north as well as a small portion in the middle and the south. Therefore, it is necessary to conduct landslide warnings in these areas, where the rivers are vast and the population is dense. The susceptibility map can reflect the comprehensive risk of each slope unit, which provides an important reference for later detailed investigations, including research and warning studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, an innovative public transportation (PT) mode known as the customized bus (CB) has been proposed and implemented in many cities in China to efficiently and effectively shift private car users to PT to alleviate traffic congestion and traffic-related environmental pollution. The route network design activity plays an important role in the CB operation planning process because it serves as the basis for other operation planning activities, for example, timetable development, vehicle scheduling, and crew scheduling. In this paper, according to the demand characteristics and operational purpose, a methodological framework that includes the elements of large-scale travel demand data processing and analysis, hierarchical clustering-based route origin-destination (OD) region division, route OD region pairing, and a route selection model is proposed for CB network design. Considering the operating cost and social benefits, a route selection model is proposed and a branch-and-bound-based solution method is developed. In addition, a computer-aided programis developed to analyze a real-world Beijing CB route network design problem. The results of the case study demonstrate that the current CB network of Beijing can be significantly improved, thus demonstrating the effectiveness of the proposed methodology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Substantial research has shown that emotions play a critical role in physical health. However, most of these studies were conducted in industrialized countries, and it is still an open question whether the emotion-health connection is a "first-world problem".Methods: In the current study, we examined socio-economic development's influence on emotion-health connection by performing multilevel-modeling analysis in a dataset of 33,600 individuals from 162 counties in China.Results: Results showed that both positive emotions and negative emotions predicted level of physical health and regional Gross Domestic Product Per Capita (GDPPC) had some impact on the association between emotion and health through accessibility of medical resources and educational status. But these impacts were suppressed, and the total effects of GDPPC on emotion-health connections were not significant.Conclusions: These results support the universality of emotion-health connection across levels of GDPPC and provide new insight into how socio-economic development might affect these connections. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lacking cultivars with both high yield potential and tolerance to high temperature is the main constraint for planting japonica (Oryza sativa japonica) in the Middle Reaches of the Yangtze River. In this study, grain yield and quality of 11 elite japonica cultivars together with two indica(O. sativa indica) mega cultivars (YLY6 and HHZ) were studied in 2012 and 2013. The year 2012 was a cool year with an average temperature of 24.6°C, while 2013 was a hot year with an average temperature of 26.2°C. So genotypic differences in response to high temperature among the japonica cultivars were determined through analyzing the differences in grain yield and quality between the 2 yr. Compared with 2012, reduction in grain yield of 2013 ranged from 8.86 to 65.24% for japonica cultivars, and by -2.11 and 16.19% for YLY6 and HHZ, respectively. The reduction in grain yield resulted from decreases in grain-filling percentage and growth duration. There were significant differences in response to high temperature among these japonica cultivars. Cultivar CY2, HH3, and ZD11 escaped high temperature stress during the anthesis and grain-filling period due to their long growth duration. WYG24, YG4227, and NG44 were tolerant, while JD263, HD13, and LG7 sensitive to high temperature at anthesis. This study demonstrates genotypic differences in response to high temperature among the elite japonica cultivars from different areas of China and provides cultivars with high temperature tolerance that could be used as donors in rice (O. sativa L.) breeding for a warmer world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The Oxford Shoulder Score (OSS) is a reliable and valid construct measuring non-specific shoulder pain, which are widely used to evaluate shoulder related quality of life. This study was to cross-culturally adapt and psychometrically validate a simplified Chinese version of the OSS (SC-OSS).Methods: Cross-cultural adaptation was performed according to the international recognized guidelines. Consecutive patients with nonspecific shoulder pain were recruited to test the psychometric properties of SC-OSS. Item response trend and item-total correlation were evaluated to measure homogeneity. Principal component analysis (PCA) was used to evaluate the factorial structure. Cronbach's α and intra-class correlations were used to determine the reliability. Construct validity was analyzed by evaluating the correlations between SC-OSS and the Constant-Murley shoulder outcome score (CMSOS), the short form (36) health survey (SF-36) containing eight domains, and pain visual analogue scale (VAS).Results: Overall, 121 patients were recruited. Each of the 12 items was properly responded and correlated with the total items. PCA extracted one factor for SC-OSS. SC-OSS had excellent reliability, with a Cronbach's α of 0.92 and intra-class correlation coefficient of 0.97 (95 % CI: 0.94-0.98). SC-OSS had a high correlation with CMSOS, physical functioning (PF) and bodily pain (BP) domains of SF-36 and VAS (r = -0.70, -0.65, -0.53, and -0.66, respectively). SC-OSS moderately correlated with role-physical (RP), social functioning (SF), general health perception (GH) and vitality (VT) (r = -0.45, -0.42, -0.39 and -0.36, respectively), but had a low correlation with role-emotional (RE) and mental health (MH) domains of SF-36 (r = -0.28 and -0.23, respectively).Conclusions: SC-OSS demonstrated excellent acceptability, internal consistency, reliability and construct validity, which can be recommended for application in mainland China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Angina pectoris (Angina) is a medical condition related to myocardial ischemia. Although acupuncture has been widely accepted as a clinical approach for angina, there is no sufficient evidence of its effectiveness against this syndrome, and its mechanisms have not yet been well elucidated. We develop this protocol to confirm the clinical efficacy of electro-acupuncture on stable angina pectoris by needling on acupoint Neiguan (PC6). Furthermore, we employ high-throughput sequencing technology to investigate the gene expression profiling and determine involvement of histone modifications in the regulation of genes after electro-acupuncture treatment. Methods/Design: A randomized, controlled, double-blinded (assessor and patients) trial will be carried out. Sixty participants will be randomly assigned to two acupuncture treatment groups and one control group in a 1:1:1 ratio. Participants in acupuncture groups will receive 12 sessions of electro-acupuncture treatment across 4 weeks, followed by a 12-week randomization period. The acupuncture groups are divided into Neiguan (PC6) on Pericardium Meridian of Hand-jueyin or a non-acupoint. The primary clinical measure of effect is the frequency of angina attacks between these groups for four weeks after randomization. RNAs are extracted from peripheral neutrophils collected from all participants on day 0, day 30, and week 16, and are processed to RNA-Seq. We then investigate profiles of histone modifications by ChIP-Seq, for H3 Lysine 4 (H3K4me) and acetylation of H3 Lysine 27 (H3K27ac), in the presence or absence of acupuncture treatment. Discussion: This study determines the efficacy and mechanisms of electro-acupuncture on stable angina pectoris. We focus on effectiveness of acupuncture on alleviating symptoms of myocardial ischemia and the gene regulation and the chromatin remodeling marks, including H3K4me1, H3K4me2, and H3K27ac, which could be key factors for regulating gene expressions caused by electro-acupuncture treatment at Neiguan. This is the first genome-wide study of electro-acupuncture treatment in angina patients, and will provide valuable information for future studies in the fields of acupuncture and its underlying mechanisms. Fourteen patients have been recruited since recruitment opened in November of 2012. This study is scheduled to end in November of 2014. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to assess insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) and insulin-like growth factor-binding protein-3 (IGFBP-3) concentrations in children with obstructive sleep apnea-hypopnea syndrome (OSAHS) and to compare the results according to disease severity and duration. METHODS: Fifty-one children with OSAHS underwent polysomnography and were classified as having mild, moderate, or severe disease. All children underwent bilateral tonsillectomy/adenoidectomy or adenoidectomy. IGF-1 and IGFBP-3 concentrations were assessed before surgery and 3 and 6 months after surgery. RESULTS: Before surgery, IGF-1 and IGFBP-3 concentrations were significantly higher (P < .05) in the < 5-y group (125.20 ± 42.38 μg/L and 2.00 ± 0.54 mg/L) compared with the ≥ 5-y group (61.92 ± 19.07 μg/L and 1.20 ± 0.37 mg/L). After surgery, concentrations significantly increased (P < .05) in both groups, but remained lower in the ≥ 5-y group. Before surgery, there were no significant differences in IGF-1 (mild: 93.82 ± 37.52 mg/L; moderate: 109.06 ± 58.42 mg/L; severe: 73.88 ± 28.51 mg/L) and IGFBP-3 (mild: 1.76 ± 0.57 mg/L; moderate: 1.67 ± 0.72 mg/L; severe: 1.33 ± 0.45 mg/L) concentrations by severity. After surgery, concentrations significantly increased (P < .05) in both groups, but did not differ by severity. After adjusting for time after surgery, disease duration, apnea-hypopnea index, time spent at SpO2 < 90%, and body mass index Z score, IGF-1 and IGFBP-3 concentrations significantly decreased with every year of age. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that disease duration, but not severity, affects the concentrations of 2 important mediators of growth/development (IGF-1 and IGFBP-3) in children with OSAHS before and after surgery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Immunomodulatory effect has been found to be an important therapeutic measure for immune responses against cancer. In this study, we evaluated the inhibition of Scutellaria barbata D. Don (SB), an anti-inflammatory and an antitumor Chinese herb, including flavonoids and scutebarbatines on tumor growth and its immunomodulatory effects in vivo. HPLC and LC/MS/MS methods were conducted for the analysis of flavonoids and scutebarbatines in SB. Lewis-bearing C57BL/6 mice model was established and tumor volume was evaluated by high frequency color ultrasound experiment. ELISA and western blot analysis were performed for the determination of immunomodulatory factors. SB treatment at the dose of 10, 6.67, and 3.33 g crude drug/kg/d significantly inhibited tumor growth of Lewis-bearing C57BL/6 mice with the inhibition rates of 44.41 ± 5.44%, 33.56 ± 4.85%, and 27.57 ± 4.96%, respectively. More importantly, the spleen and thymus indexes were increased remarkably by SB treatment. SB could decrease IL-17, IL-10, FOXP3, TGF-β1, RORγt, and IL-6 levels whereas it could increase remarkably IL-2 and IFN-γ levels. Our results demonstrated that SB could inhibit tumor growth in vivo through regulating immune function in tumor-bearing mice and suggested that the immunomodulatory function of SB had a potential therapeutic effect in lung cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Phytoremediation was applied to repair heavy metal-polluted sewage river dredged sediments in a coastal city of China. Six types of plants were used: Zea mays L. , Lolium multiflorum Lam. , Medicago sativa L. , Brassica junce, Elsholtzia splenden and Festuca arundinacea Scherb . A relationship between the concentration of heavy metal Ni and the bacteria diversity in the rhizosphere sediment was analyzed based on the PCR–DGGE (polymerase chain reaction-denatured gradient gel electrophoresis). The results indicated that the quantities and types of microorganism in the rhizosphere sediments differed depending on the type of plant. In three types of plants, the phytoremediation efficiency was highest midway through planting, while the repair effect was highest at harvest time for the other three types of plants. The repair effect order of the former three types of plants was Zea mays L. > Lolium multiflorum Lam. > Festuca arundinacea Scherb, and the repair effect order of the other three types of plants was Brassica junce> Medicago sativa L. > Elsholtzia splenden. The bacteria community structure of Zea mays L. changes faster than that of the other plants and stabilizes faster when adapted to the rhizosphere environment. Based on the repair effect and the repair time, Zea mays L. is the best plant for Ni phytoremediation. During the growth of plants, the change in the DGGE fingerprint of the bacteria diversity in different periods is similar to the change in the concentration of Ni in the rhizosphere soil. The dominant types of rhizosphere bacteria are plant- and growth period-specific. The Shannon index of the same plant for different growth periods was calculated, and the results indicated that the diversity index changes with the repair process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]