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Biochar is widely used to improve soil physical properties and carbon sequestration. However, few studies focuse on the impact of maize stalk biochar on labile organic carbon (LOC) pool and the relationship between physical properties and LOC fractions. A field positioning experiment was performed in Mollisols region of Northeast China to evaluate the influence of maize stalk biochar on the spatial distribution and temporal changes of physical properties and LOC fractions. Maize stalk biochar treatments included C1 (1.5 kg ⋅ hm-2), C2 (3 kg ⋅ hm-2), C3 (15 kg ⋅ hm-2), C4 (30 kg ⋅ hm-2), and CK (0). The results showed that maize stalk biochar increased soil water contents (SWC) and soil porosity (SP), but reduced bulk density (BD). Maize stalk biochar reduced dissolved organic carbon (DOC) contents in the 0-20 cm soil layer, ranging from 0.25 g ⋅ kg-1 to 0.31 g ⋅ kg-1 in harvest period, while increased in the 20-40 cm soil layer. In addition, the application of biochar had a significant impact on the spatial distribution and temporal change of SWC, BD, SP, DOC, hot-water extractable carbon (HWC), acid hydrolyzed organic carbon (AHC I, II), and readily oxidized organic carbon (ROC). High amounts of maize stalk biochar up-regulated the contents of soil organic carbon SOC, HWC, AHC I, AHC II, and ROC. In addition, SWC and SP were the key physical factors to affect LOC fractions. In conclusions, maize stalk biochar could improve physical properties, and then influence LOC fractions, and maize stalk biochar could be used as an organic amendment for restoring degraded soils governed by their rates of addition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To explore the association between socioeconomic status (SES) and postoperative outcomes in patients with chronic sinusitis (CRS) after functional endoscopic sinus surgery (ESS). We conducted an observational cohort study of 1,047 patients with CRS undergoing ESS. Discharged patients were followed up to 72 weeks for all-cause recurrence events. Baseline SES was established based on occupation, education level, and family income of the patients 1 year before the operation. Kaplan–Meier method was used to calculate the recovery rate after ESS, and Cox proportional hazards regression analysis was used to evaluate the relationship between SES and prognosis. Patients of middle SES had lower unadjusted all-cause recurrence than those of low or high SES; 24-week overall recovery rate was 90.4% [95 % confidence interval (CI) : 89.6%–91.2%] in patients of middle SES, 13.5% (95 % CI : 12.8%–14.2%) in patients of low SES, and 31.7% (95 % CI : 30.7%–32.7%) in patients of high SES (both log-rank P < 0.001). After adjustment for covariates, hazard ratios (HRs) were 7.69 (95 % CI: 6.17–9.71, P trend < 0.001) for all-cause recurrence for low SES versus middle SES, and 6.19 (95 % CI : 4.78–7.93, P trend < 0.001) for middle SES versus high SES. Low SES and high SES were more associated with the worse prognosis of CRS patients after ESS than middle SES. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) in the Stockholm Convention List were banned for a period of time, the residue of OCPs in environment was still detected recently. Therefore, the continuous environmental monitoring was necessary and important for the deep understanding on the temporal trend of environmental fate of OCPs. In this study, the national scale surface soil samples in 26 provinces of China in 2012 were collected, and 28 OCPs were analyzed. The mean concentrations (ng/g dw) of Σhexachlorocyclohexanes (HCHs), Σdichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDTs), hexachlorobenzene (HCB), and hexachlorobutadiene (HCBD) were 2.47 ± 5.4, 4.29 ± 8.28, 3.33 ± 7.68, and 0.041 ± 0.097, respectively. The correlations between OCPs concentrations with temperature, latitude, and longitude were conducted for the deep study of the spatial distribution pattern of OCPs. It was found that HCHs, HCB, and HCBD are positively correlated with latitude and longitude; however, the correlations were not significant. HCHs followed the secondary distribution pattern, and DDTs followed both the primary and/or secondary distribution patterns. Except for HCB, other OCPs showed a gradual downward trend from 2005 to 2012, indicating the effectiveness of the phase-out of OCPs. In summary, the results of the study provided new insight into the related studies, which will help us to better understand the long-term environmental fate of OCPs on large scales. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the context of increasing consumption of herbivorous livestock products, competition between humans and animals for food, and increasing environmental constraints, it is necessary to solve the problem of sustainable development of China's livestock industry and increase the protection and development of the grassland livestock industry while making good use of production resources in agricultural areas in order to explore the development potential of the herbivorous livestock industry in agricultural areas. The Converting Food Crops to Forage Crops Policy (CFFP), as an important measure of agricultural supply-side structural reform, aims to develop a high-quality forage industry and a high-quality herbivorous livestock industry. However, over the years of policy implementation, few studies have examined the impact effects of the policy on the development of the regional herbivorous livestock industry. To fill this research gap and provide theoretical support for subsequent policy implementation, the study used the synthetic control method to examine the impact of policy implementation on the development of herbivorous livestock production in the pilot counties in Hebei Province from 2010 to 2020. The study discovered that the policy's implementation encouraged the expansion of herbivorous livestock production in the pilot counties, but the policy's effects on various regions and livestock species varied due to the influence of local production bases and resource endowments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Oesophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) remains a clinically challenging disease with high morbidity rates and poor prognosis. ESCC is also the most common pathological type of oesophageal cancer (EC) in China. Ras-related genes are one of the most frequently mutated gene families in cancer and regulate tumour development and progression. Given this, we investigated the Ras-related gene expression profiles and their values in ESCC prognosis, using data from the Genotype-Tissue Expression (GTEx) and The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) databases. We found that we could identify three distinct oesophageal cancer clusters based on their unique expression profile for 11 differentially expressed Ras-related genes with each of these demonstrating some prognostic value when, evaluated using univariate Cox analysis. We then used multivariate Cox analysis to identify relevant independent prognostic indicators and used these to build a new prognostic prediction model for oesophageal cancer patients using these three Ras-related genes. These evaluations produced an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.932. We found that our Ras-related signatures could also act as independent factors in ESCC prognosis and that patients with low Ras scores showed a higher overall expression levels of various immune checkpoint genes, including TNFSF4, TNFRSF8, TNFRSF9, NRP1, CD28, CD70, CD200, CD276, METTL16, METTL14, ZC3H13, YTHDF3, VIRMA, FTO, and RBM15, as well as a higher CSMD3, FLG, DNAH5, MUC4, PLCO, EYS, and ZNF804B mutation rates, and better sensitivity to drugs such as erlotinib, paclitaxel, and gefitinib. In conclusion, we were able to use the unique expression profiles of several Ras-related genes to produce a novel disease signature which might facilitate improved prognosis in ESCC, providing new insight into both diagnosis and treatment in these cancers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to improve the accuracy of theoretical energy loss calculation in low voltage distribution area (LV-area), this paper proposes a new prediction method based on variational mode decomposition (VMD) and particle swarm optimization (PSO) least squares support vector machine (LSSVM). Firstly, the main influencing factors of energy loss calculation in LV-area are determined by the grey correlation method, which reflects the data-driven characteristic of the method and ensures the objectivity of the prediction results and the generalization of the calculation model. Secondly, the trend component and fluctuation component are obtained by VMD of daily energy loss series in the LV-area. The variable set of main influencing factors of energy losses is used as the input variable of LSSVM, and the VMD result of the energy loss sequence is used as the output. The theoretical energy loss training and calculation model of LV-area is established. Compared with the traditional calculation model, this model has more accurate calculation accuracy by taking into account the frequency characteristics of energy losses in different frequency bands. PSO is used to optimize the parameters of LSSVM for the purpose of improving the accuracy of LSSVM. Finally, an example of 252 LV-area in a city in northern China is given to verify the validity of the proposed method. The results indicate that the proposed method generates more accurate results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Resilience has become an essential aspect of the high-quality development of the marine economy. This study considered multiple combinations of dimensions, including politics, economy, culture, society, ecology, and security, in developing marine economy resilience. Based on the adaptability theory, this study measures the resilience of China's marine economy by constructing an evaluation index system using the three resilience sub-dimensions of resistance, adaptability, and evolution from 2000 to 2020 in 11 Chinese coastal provinces. The evaluation index system also considers social factors such as institution, culture, and history. The new technical methods such as remote sensing interpretation and text analysis are used to obtain one-hand data. We use a fuzzy comprehensive evaluation (FCE) model to calculate the comprehensive evaluation index and determine the weight of each index using the entropy weight method, analytic hierarchy process, and the least square decision model. Furthermore, based on the Local Indicators of Spatial Association (LISA) time path and spatiotemporal transition probability matrix, we analyze the spatiotemporal characteristic evolution characteristics of marine economic resilience. The results reveal that (1) the resilience, resistance, adaptability, and evolution of the marine economy in 11 coastal provinces show an upward trend from 2000 to 2020. (2) The development speed of the resilience level differs in terms of resistance, adaptability, and evolution, but the overall level shows adaptability > evolution > resistance. (3) The analysis of the spatiotemporal interaction characteristics of resilience shows that the overall spatial characteristic of resilience is relatively stable. Therefore, some measurements are suggested to improve marine economic resilience. For example, government formulates marine plans, sea-related enterprises assume social responsibilities, and individuals actively participate in marine governance. The evaluation model of marine economic resilience applies to other complex systems with multiple factors. • Assess spatiotemporal characteristics of marine economic resilience. • A new compound asymmetric spatial vector weight matrix is constructed. • A new method explores the spatiotemporal evolution of marine economic resilience. • The evaluation model of resilience is applicable to other complex systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Water, energy, and food are essential and strategic resources for human well-being and socio-economic development and form the water-energy-food (WEF) system with competition and synergy. The competitive and synergistic evolution model was developed to remedy the limitations in quantitatively analyzing the tradeoffs and synergies of the WEF system. Firstly, an assessment model was developed for measuring the synergy and competition of the WEF system based on the order degree of each subsystem (That is, the development degree of each subsystem) and synergy theory. Then the synergy evolution model (SEM), with the help of a logistic model and accelerated genetic algorithm (AGA) model, was developed to measure and identify the steady-state. Furthermore, an empirical study was conducted with 30 provinces in China as examples. The results indicated that the food subsystem had the highest average order degree (0.347), followed by the energy subsystem (0.305), and the water subsystem had the lowest (0.281). The degree of order of the three subsystems exhibited an upward trend in time and has differences in the spatial distribution. Also, the results showed that synergistic, restrictive, and competitive relationships exist within the WEF system. Areas with competitive and restrictive relationships are mainly located in South China and North China, respectively, within the relationship between the water and energy subsystems. The entire country showed a restrictive relationship between the water and food subsystems. The energy and food subsystems showed that the eastern regions with relationship, while the western regions with competitive and restrictive relationship. Finally, effective measures (e.g., optimize the industrial structure, continuing to implement the strategy of "storing grain in the land and technology", and to hold the arable land minimum) are suggested to achieve the WEF system coordinated and sustainable development. We believe that the assessment model is also applicable to assess the other complex and dynamic system worldwide that involve multiple factors. • The development degree of water, energy, and food subsystems of 30 provinces in China were measured. • Synergy evolution model and criteria of the steady-state were built with the help of synergy theory. • Synergy evolution relationships of the WEF system in China were investigated. • There were synergistic, restrictive, and competitive relationships exist within the WEF system. • The evaluation model may also be suitable for evaluating other complex and dynamic systems involving multiple factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Distribution of ecosystem services in the Three-River Headwaters region is obviously different. • Regulating services are the largest in all ecosystem services. • Synergies are the dominant correlation of ecosystem services in the Three-River Headwaters region. • The strength of a same pair-wise ecosystem services varies at different scales. We analyzed the spatial-temporal variation of ecosystem services in the Three-River Headwaters (TRH) region from 1990 to 2015 and their tradeoffs/synergies at the county-scale and grid-scale by using ecosystem service value model, correlation coefficient and bivariate spatial autocorrelation analysis. The results showed that: (i) From 1990 to 2015, the ecosystem services value (ESV) of the TRH region showed an upward trend, an increase of 60.681 billion yuan from 126.967 billion yuan in 1990 to 187.648 billion yuan in 2015. Moreover, the dynamic degree of ecosystem services was 6.59%. Regulating services accounting for 69.51% were the largest in all ecosystem services, followed by supporting, provisioning, and cultural services. Among the individual ecological services, only the values of gas regulation and environment depuration decreased, other services increased. Among various land use, the ecosystem services of grassland accounting for 47% were the largest, followed by watershed, wetland, forestland, desert, and farmlands. (ii) The spatial distribution of ecosystem services showed an increasing pattern from northwest to southeast. High-value areas of ecosystem services per unit area distributed in the lakes and basins of Zhidoi county, Madoi county, and Tanggulashan town. Low-value areas mainly distributed in the northwest of Zhidoi county. (iii) There was a significant positive correlation between climate regulation and soil conservation. Aesthetic landscape and all provisioning services were weak synergies, gas regulation and other services were weak tradeoffs. (iv) Analysis of multi-scale tradeoffs/synergies showed that synergies dominated ecosystem services, and tradeoffs transformed into synergies with the increase of scale. Quantifying the ESVs and clarifying the correlations among multiple ecosystem services at multi-scale can provide a basis for regional planning, and promote the sharing of ecological well-being among the people in the TRH region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cedirogant is an inverse agonist of retinoic acid-related orphan receptor gamma, thymus (RORγt) developed for treatment of psoriasis. This study aimed to characterize pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, safety, and tolerability of cedirogant following a single oral dose in Japanese participants and multiple oral doses in Japanese and Chinese participants. The single doses evaluated in healthy Japanese participants were 75, 225, and 395 mg. The multiple doses evaluated in both healthy Japanese and Chinese participants was 375 mg once daily for 14 days. Cedirogant plasma exposure increased dose proportionally with administration of single doses. Maximum cedirogant plasma concentration was reached within a median time of 4-5 hours after dosing. The harmonic mean elimination half-life ranged from 19 to 25 hours. Cedirogant pharmacokinetics were similar between Japanese and Chinese participants. Compared with healthy Western participants in a cross-study analysis, steady-state cedirogant plasma exposure was 38%-73% higher in Japanese or Chinese participants. Ex vivo interleukin-17 inhibition increased in a dose-dependent manner and was maximized by 375 mg once-daily doses. The cedirogant regimens tested were generally well tolerated, and no new safety issues were identified. The results supported enrollment of Japanese and Chinese subjects in subsequent clinical trials for cedirogant., (© 2024 AbbVie Inc. Clinical Pharmacology in Drug Development published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of American College of Clinical Pharmacology.)

Background: Some significant differences exist between the outcomes of left- and right-sided colon cancer patients. The presence of nodal metastases is a critical prognostic factor, especially in the absence of distant metastasis. Our research studied the lymph nodes status of left- and right-sided colon cancer patients to determine the influence of this factor on prognosis., Methods: Our data were obtained from the Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) database. We used the chi-square test to analyze the clinicopathological characteristics. The X-tile program was adopted to acquire optimal cutoff points of lymph node index. Kaplan-Meier curves were used to analyze prognosis and multivariate Cox regression models were performed to identify the independent factors associated with survival. Nomograms were built to predict the overall survival of patients, Harrell's C-index and calibration plots were used to validate the nomograms., Results: The study included 189,941 patients with colon cancer without metastasis (left 69,885, right 120,056) between 2004 and 2015. There are more patients with adequate examined lymph nodes in right-sided. Lymph node status in patients with right colon cancer has a more significant impact on the risk of death. LODDS (C-index: 0.583; AIC: 6875.4) was used to assess lymph node status. The nomograms showed that lymph node status was the main factor to predict the outcome in right-sided colon patients., Conclusions: The influence of lymph node status on predicting prognosis is significantly different between patients with left and right colon cancer without metastasis. The tumor site needs to be considered when lymph node status is used to assess the outcome of patients., (© 2021 The Authors. Cancer Medicine published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Background: Few studies have explored the modifications by family stress and male gender in the relationship between early exposure to traffic-related air pollution (TRAP) and allergic rhinitis (AR) risk in preschool children., Methods: We conducted a case-control study of 388 children aged 2-4 years in Shenyang, China. These children AR were diagnosed by clinicians. By using measured concentrations from monitoring stations, we estimated the exposures of particulate matter less than 10 μm in diameter (PM 10 ), nitrogen dioxide (NO 2 ), ozone (O 3 ), carbon monoxide (CO), and sulfur dioxide (SO 2 ) in preschool children aged 2-4 years. After adjusted potential confounding factors, we used logistic regression model to evaluate the odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) for childhood AR with exposure to different air pollutants according to the increasing of the interquartile range (IQR) in the exposure level., Results: The prevalence of AR in children aged 2-4 years (6.4%) was related to early TRAP exposure. With an IQR (20 μg/m 3 ) increase in PM 10 levels, an adjusted OR was significantly elevated by 1.70 (95% CI, 1.19 to 2.66). Also, with an IQR (18 μg/m 3 ) increase in NO 2 , an elevated adjusted OR was 1.85 (95% CI, 1.52 to 3.18). Among children with family stress and boys, PM 10 and NO 2 were positively related to AR symptoms. No significant association was found among children without family stress and girls., Conclusions: Family stress and male gender may increase the risk of AR in preschool children with early exposure to PM 10 and NO 2 .

To compare the differences in dietary status and knowledge of esophageal cancer (EC) between residents of high- and low-incidence areas. We investigated dietary conditions and EC knowledge among residents in high- and low-EC incidence areas (Yanting and Qingzhen counties). Residents in Yanting consumed more pickled vegetables, salted meat and barbecued food (P < 0.05). Analysis of the past ten-year trend in Yanting consumed fresh vegetables/fruits, beans, sauerkraut, hot food, and barbecued food had gradually increased, and the trend was less than that in Qingzhen County. However, the gradual increasing trend in consumption of pickled vegetables, pickled meat, and spicy food over the past 10 years was greater (P < 0.05). Drinking water in Yanting County was healthier than that in Qingzhen County (P < 0.05). In terms of EC knowledge, the proportions of residents in Yanting who had a clear understanding, knowledge or had heard of EC or knew the common causes, primary symptoms, therapeutic measures, preventive measures, and government interventions for EC were all higher than in Qingzhen (P < 0.05). Residents in Yanting had greater EC knowledge but more harmful dietary habits than those in Qingzhen.