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The integration of material development and digital fabrication has expanded architectural design methods and construction technology, providing new imagination of transforming traditional style buildings in China. The humanistic culture and material properties of traditional architecture complement each other and evolve together. The Meiting Pavilion in Jiangsu Horticultural Expo Park inherits the image and function of traditional pavilions, but adopts new technology such as knitted fabric reinforced plastic and customized glulam elements. We experimented with a construction method that blends the old and the new. The form and structure follow the"thin and light"image of plum blossom and create a translucent roof that invites sunlight. The construction process explores new material technology, structural optimization, and digital fabrication. Traditional style architecture could redefine a natural unity between material properties and cultural image. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: Experimental studies have shown that disinfection byproducts (DBPs) including haloacetic acids (HAAs) can cause liver toxicity, but evidence linking this association in humans is sparse. OBJECTIVES: We aimed to explore the associations between HAA exposures and liver injury. METHODS: We included 922 women between December 2018 and January 2020 from the Tongji Reproductive and Environmental (TREE) cohort study in Wuhan, China. Urinary HAA concentrations including trichloroacetic acid (TCAA) and dichloroacetic acid (DCAA) and serum indicators of liver function, including alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), and gamma-glutamyltransferase (GGT) were measured. Liver injury was defined as if any of serum indicator levels were above the 90th percentile. Multivariate logistic and linear regression models were fitted to assess the associations of urinary HAA concentrations with the risk of liver injury and liver function indicators. Stratified analyses by age, body mass index (BMI), alcohol use, and passive smoking were also applied to evaluate the potential effect modifiers. RESULTS: There is little evidence of associations of urinary TCAA concentrations with liver injury risk and liver function indicators. However, urinary DCAA concentrations were associated with a higher risk of liver injury [odds ratios (OR) for 1-interquartile range (IQR) increase in natural log (ln) transformed DCAA concentrations: 1.45; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.07, 1.98]. This association was observed only among nondrinkers (푝interaction =0.058). We also found that a 1-IQR increase in ln-transformed DCAA concentrations was positively associated with ALT levels (percentage change =6.06%; 95% CI: 0.48%, 11.95%) and negatively associated with AST/ALT (percentage change= -4.48%; 95% CI: -7.80%, -1.04%). In addition, urinary DCAA concentrations in relation to higher GGT levels was observed only among passive smokers (푝interaction =0.040). CONCLUSION: Our findings suggest that exposure to DCAA but not TCAA is associated with liver injury among women undergoing assisted reproductive technology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The gut microbiota plays an important role in animal health and behavior. In marine fish, the composition of the gut microbiota is affected by many complex factors, such as diet, species, and regional factors. Since more than one hundred fish species have been cultured in fish farms along with the 3,324 km coastline of Fujian Province in South China, we chose this region to study the gut microbiota composition of marine commercial fishes because sufficient different species, diets, and regional factors were observed. We investigated the distribution characteristics of the gut microbiota of seven cultured species (Epinephelus akaara, Epinephelus coioides, Epinephelus lanceolatus d x Epinephelus fuscoguttatus $, Siganus fuscescens, Pagrus major, Lateolabrax japonicus, and Acanthopagrus schlegelii) living in the same aquatic region and one species (E. akaara) living separately in five regions separated by latitude. The impacts of diet, region, and species factors on fish gut microbiota were also evaluated. Diversity and multivariate analyses showed that the patterns of the microbiota were significantly different in different fish species within the same habitat and E. akaara with five latitude regions. Mantel analysis showed that AN, SiO32-, DO, and NO2- were the principal factors affecting the microbial community of E. akaara in the five habitats. Additionally, similar distribution characteristics occurred in different gut parts of different fishes, with an increasing trend of Proteobacteria and Vibrionaceae abundance and a decreasing trend of Firmicutes and Bacillaceae abundance from the foregut to the hindgut. Vibrionaceae was the most abundant family in the content. This study highlights that a persistent core microbiota was established in marine commercial fishes spanning multiple scales. The factors with the greatest effect on fish gut microbiota may be (i) host genetics and (ii) geographic factors rather than the microbiota in the diet and water environment. These core microbes regularly colonized from the foregut to the hindgut, which was driven by their underlying functions, and they were well adapted to the gut environment. Moreover, the microbiota in the content may have contributed more to the gut microbial communities than previously reported. This study could complement basic data on the composition of marine commercial fishes and facilitate relatively complete investigations, which would be beneficial for the healthy and sustainable development of aquaculture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ancherythroculter nigrocauda is a cyprinid fish endemic of the upper reaches of the Yangtze River in China, where it is an important aquaculture and commercial species. It is also a threatened species as a result of overfishing, dam construction and water pollution. In this study, a chromosome‐level genome assembly of A. nigrocauda is reported and built using PacBio sequencing and the Hi‐C technology. The 1.04‐Gb sequenced genome of A. nigrocauda contained 2,403 contigs, with an N50 length of 3.12 Mb. Then, 1,297 contigs, which represented 54.0% of all contigs and 97.2% of the whole content of the genome nucleotide base, were assembled into 24 chromosomes. Combined with transcriptome data from 10 tissues, 27,042 (78.5%) genes were functionally annotated out of 34,414 predicted protein‐coding genes. Interestingly, high expression of many positively selected genes and expanded gene families in the brain suggested that these genes might play important roles in brain development in A. nigrocauda. Finally, we found tissue‐specific expression of 10,732 genes. Functional analyses showed that they were mainly composed of genes related to (a) environmental information processing, (b) the circulatory system, and (c) development, suggesting they might be important for adaptation to different environments and for development of A. nigrocauda. The high‐quality genome obtained in this study not only provides a valuable genomic resource for future studies of A. nigrocauda populations and conservation, but is also an important resource for further functional genomics studies of fishes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Normalized Difference Snow Index (NDSI) is an effective index for snow-cover mapping at large scales, but in forested regions the identification accuracy for snow using the NDSI is low because of forest cover effects. In this study, typical evergreen coniferous forest zones on Qilian Mountain in the Upper Heihe River Basin (UHRB) were chosen as example regions. By analyzing the spectral signature of snow-covered and snow-free evergreen coniferous forests with Landsat Operational Land Imager (OLI) data, a novel spectral band ratio using near-infrared (NIR) and shortwave infrared (SWIR) bands, defined as (ρnir-ρswir)/(ρnir + ρswir), is proposed. Our research shows that this band ratio, named the normalized difference forest snow index (NDFSI), can be used to effectively distinguish snow-covered evergreen coniferous forests from snow-free evergreen coniferous forests in UHRB. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Asthma is one of the most common chronic diseases worldwide with increasing morbidity. China has the largest asthmatic population and is one of the countries with the highest asthma mortality. Fortunately, asthma research in China, both clinical and scientific, has developed markedly over the past few years. This has resulted in significant increases in our understanding of Chinese asthma prevalence, risk factors, control status, pathogenesis, and new prevention or treatment strategies. In this review, the major achievements of asthma research in China from 2008 to 2012 are summarized. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Land degradation is a consequence stemming from both natural processes and social economic activities. On the bases of analyzing general situation of agricultural land degradation in China, the monetary estimating methods such as market value method and shadow engineering method were used to quantitatively assess the economic loss resulting from land deterioration. Results showed that the economic loss in 1999 was 326.81 billion RMB Yuan, which accounted for 4. 1 % of GDP in the same year of China. If taking five items namely farmland conversion, soil erosion, salinization, decline in reservoir functions, and siltation in waterways and, comparing with that in 1992, the percentage of economic loss to GDP has increased by 1.5 in the only 7 years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

an editorial is presented on research and study presented by the medical care industry in China regarding inflammation of airways and respiratory diseases. It talks about the research emphasising of the medical care provided for patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and asthma in China. It tells about the manuscripts submitted by Chinese respirologists in the industry.

Coastal wetlands are essential in terrestrial carbon balance because they act as natural "blue carbon" sinks, influenced by anthropogenic nitrogen (N) enrichment. N enrichment alters soil environment and plant growth, impacting carbon loss through soil respiration (R soil). However, the responses of R soil to N enrichment remain elusive in coastal wetlands, hindering the estimation of carbon fluxes. To bridge this knowledge gap, we used an 8-year field N fertilization platform in the coastal wetlands of the Yellow River Delta, China, to measure R soil composed of heterotrophic respiration and autotrophic respiration, and multiple indicators of soil properties, microbial activities, and plant growth. We found long-term N enrichment increased Rsoil by 26.6 ± 1.2% (mean ± standard deviation) and quadrupled microbial biomass carbon, accounting for 26.9 ± 1.2% of the increase in heterotrophic respiration. In addition, N enrichment boosted plant growth, increasing the above-ground biomass by 28.7 ± 6.9% while inducing a cooling effect that partly offsets the increase in autotrophic respiration. In particular, N enrichment elevated soil temperature sensitivity of Rsoil with the increase of N levels, suggesting that the nutrient-related control of Rsoil responds to warming. The study indicates that N enrichment stimulates R soil in coastal wetlands by boosting microbial biomass carbon through interactions between soil environmental conditions and plant growth. These results have implications for predicting the carbon cycle with anthropogenic N enrichment. • Long-term N enrichment increased soil respiration in coastal wetlands. • Boosted microbial biomass carbon accelerated heterotrophic respiration. • N enrichment enhanced plant above-ground biomass and induced a cooling effect. • N enrichment elevated soil temperature sensitivity and soil base respiration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: In this randomised, double-blind, comparator-controlled, multicentre study conducted in China, 142 hospitalised patients aged 18–75 years with pneumonia (n =80) or complicated skin and soft-tissue infection (cSSTI) (n =62) due to suspected or known Gram-positive pathogens were randomised (1:1) to receive either linezolid 600mg (n =71) or vancomycin 1g in patients aged ≤60 years or 0.75g in patients aged >60 years (n =71) intravenously every 12h. The duration of treatment was 10–21 days for patients with pneumonia and 7–21 days for patients with cSSTI. Clinical outcomes were assessed at end-of-treatment (EOT) visit and follow-up (FU) visit 7–28 days post therapy. Staphylococcus aureus was the most common pathogen at baseline and most of these isolates were resistant to meticillin. All isolates were susceptible to linezolid and vancomycin. For the evaluable patients, the effective treatment rate for linezolid was higher than that for vancomycin at EOT (86.9% (53/61) vs. 61.7% (37/60)) and at FU (83.1% (49/59) vs. 64.9% (37/57)). Pathogen eradication rates for the microbiologically evaluable patients at FU were 79.2% (42/53) for linezolid and 61.5% (32/52) for vancomycin. The incidence of drug-related adverse events (AEs) was 25.4% (18/71) for linezolid and 16.9% (12/71) for vancomycin. Four (5.6%) linezolid-treated and eight (11.3%) vancomycin-treated patients discontinued the study drug because of an AE. Linezolid was well tolerated and effective for the treatment of infections caused by Gram-positive pathogens, including meticillin-resistant S. aureus. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Background: Safe and effective vaccines are urgently needed to end the COVID-19 pandemic caused by SARS-CoV-2 infection. We aimed to assess the preliminary safety, tolerability, and immunogenicity of an mRNA vaccine ARCoV, which encodes the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein receptor-binding domain (RBD)., Methods: This single centre, double-blind, randomised, placebo-controlled, dose-escalation, phase 1 trial of ARCoV was conducted at Shulan (Hangzhou) hospital in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, China. Healthy adults aged 18-59 years negative for SARS-CoV-2 infection were enrolled and randomly assigned using block randomisation to receive an intramuscular injection of vaccine or placebo. Vaccine doses were 5 μg, 10 μg, 15 μg, 20 μg, and 25 μg. The first six participants in each block were sentinels and along with the remaining 18 participants, were randomly assigned to groups (5:1). In block 1 sentinels were given the lowest vaccine dose and after a 4-day observation with confirmed safety analyses, the remaining 18 participants in the same dose group proceeded and sentinels in block 2 were given their first administration on a two-dose schedule, 28 days apart. All participants, investigators, and staff doing laboratory analyses were masked to treatment allocation. Humoral responses were assessed by measuring anti-SARS-CoV-2 RBD IgG using a standardised ELISA and neutralising antibodies using pseudovirus-based and live SARS-CoV-2 neutralisation assays. SARS-CoV-2 RBD-specific T-cell responses, including IFN-γ and IL-2 production, were assessed using an enzyme-linked immunospot (ELISpot) assay. The primary outcome for safety was incidence of adverse events or adverse reactions within 60 min, and at days 7, 14, and 28 after each vaccine dose. The secondary safety outcome was abnormal changes detected by laboratory tests at days 1, 4, 7, and 28 after each vaccine dose. For immunogenicity, the secondary outcome was humoral immune responses: titres of neutralising antibodies to live SARS-CoV-2, neutralising antibodies to pseudovirus, and RBD-specific IgG at baseline and 28 days after first vaccination and at days 7, 15, and 28 after second vaccination. The exploratory outcome was SARS-CoV-2-specific T-cell responses at 7 days after the first vaccination and at days 7 and 15 after the second vaccination. This trial is registered with www.chictr.org.cn (ChiCTR2000039212)., Findings: Between Oct 30 and Dec 2, 2020, 230 individuals were screened and 120 eligible participants were randomly assigned to receive five-dose levels of ARCoV or a placebo (20 per group). All participants received the first vaccination and 118 received the second dose. No serious adverse events were reported within 56 days after vaccination and the majority of adverse events were mild or moderate. Fever was the most common systemic adverse reaction (one [5%] of 20 in the 5 μg group, 13 [65%] of 20 in the 10 μg group, 17 [85%] of 20 in the 15 μg group, 19 [95%] of 20 in the 20 μg group, 16 [100%] of 16 in the 25 μg group; p<0·0001). The incidence of grade 3 systemic adverse events were none (0%) of 20 in the 5 μg group, three (15%) of 20 in the 10 μg group, six (30%) of 20 in the 15 μg group, seven (35%) of 20 in the 20 μg group, five (31%) of 16 in the 25 μg group, and none (0%) of 20 in the placebo group (p=0·0013). As expected, the majority of fever resolved in the first 2 days after vaccination for all groups. The incidence of solicited systemic adverse events was similar after administration of ARCoV as a first or second vaccination. Humoral immune responses including anti-RBD IgG and neutralising antibodies increased significantly 7 days after the second dose and peaked between 14 and 28 days thereafter. Specific T-cell response peaked between 7 and 14 days after full vaccination. 15 μg induced the highest titre of neutralising antibodies, which was about twofold more than the antibody titre of convalescent patients with COVID-19., Interpretation: ARCoV was safe and well tolerated at all five doses. The acceptable safety profile, together with the induction of strong humoral and cellular immune responses, support further clinical testing of ARCoV at a large scale., Funding: National Key Research and Development Project of China, Academy of Medical Sciences China, National Natural Science Foundation China, and Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences., Competing Interests: C-FQ and BY are co-inventors on pending patent applications related to the ARCoV mRNA vaccine. LW is an employee of Suzhou Abogen Biosciences. S-YY and ZH are employees of Walvax. All other authors declare no competing interests., (© 2022 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an Open Access article under the CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 license.)

Rationale: Listeria monocytogenes rarely affects immunocompetent adults, and only a few cases of encephalitis caused by L monocytogenes in humans have been reported in China., Patient Concerns: A 37-year-old male patient presented with headache and fever of 38°C to 39°C for 2 days and dysphoria and dystrophy for 1 day., Diagnosis: The patient was diagnosed as having encephalitis, and his cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and blood cultures tested positive for L monocytogenes., Interventions: The patient was treated with intravenous vancomycin, meropenem, mannitol, methylprednisolone, and enteral nutrition. The computed tomography (CT) scan showed swelling of the brain and hydrocephalus. The patient was treated with emergent surgery, a ventricular drainage tube was inserted, and the CSF was drained daily., Outcomes: Despite adequate therapy, the illness was severe and progressed rapidly. The patient died 2 weeks after admission., Lessons: We report a rare case of L monocytogenes encephalitis in a previously healthy immunocompetent adult in China. The patient's CT scans showed increasing brain swelling and hydrocephalus, and the patient's condition progressively deteriorated.

Background: Community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) remains one of the leading causes of death from infectious diseases around the world. Most severe CAP patients are admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU), and receive intense treatment. The present study aimed to evaluate the role of the pneumonia severity index (PSI), CURB-65, and sepsis score in the management of hospitalized CAP patients and explore the effect of ICU treatment on prognosis of severe cases., Methods: A total of 675 CAP patients hospitalized in the Second Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine were retrospectively investigated. The ability of different pneumonia severity scores to predict mortality was compared for effectiveness, while the risk factors associated with 30-day mortality rates and hospital length of stay (LOS) were evaluated. The effect of ICU treatment on the outcomes of severe CAP patients was also investigated., Results: All three scoring systems revealed that the mortality associated with the low-risk or intermediate-risk group was significantly lower than with the high-risk group. As the risk level increased, the frequency of ICU admission rose in tandem and LOS in the hospital was prolonged. The areas under the receiver operating characteristic curve in the prediction of mortality were 0.94, 0.91 and 0.89 for the PSI, CURB-65 and sepsis score, respectively. Compared with the corresponding control groups, the mortality was markedly increased in patients with a history of smoking, prior admission to ICU, respiratory failure, or co-morbidity of heart disease. The differences were also identified in LOS between control groups and patients with ICU treatment, heart, or cerebrovascular disease. Logistic regression analysis showed that age over 65 years, a history of smoking, and respiratory failure were closely related to mortality in the overall CAP cohort, whereas age, ICU admission, respiratory failure, and LOS at home between disease attack and hospital admission were identified as independent risk factors for mortality in the high-risk CAP sub-group. The 30-day mortality of patients who underwent ICU treatment on admission was also higher than for non-ICU treatment, but much lower than for those patients who took ICU treatment subsequent to the failure of non-ICU treatment., Conclusions: Each severity score system, CURB-65, sepsis severity score and especially PSI, was capable of effectively predicting CAP mortality. Delayed ICU admission was related to higher mortality rates in severe CAP patients.

Levofloxacin (LVFX), a fluoroquinolone agent, has a broad spectrum that covers Gram-positive and -negative bacteria and atypical pathogens. It demonstrates good clinical efficacy in the treatment of various infections, including lower respiratory tract infections (LRTIs) and urinary tract infections (UTIs). To evaluate the efficacy and safety of oral LVFX 500 mg once daily, a large open-label clinical trial was conducted in 1266 patients (899 with LRTIs and 367 with UTIs) at 32 centers in China. In the per-protocol population, the clinical efficacy rate (cure or improvement) at 7 to 14 days after the end of treatment was 96.4% (666/691) for LRTIs and 95.7% (267/279) for UTIs. In 53 patients diagnosed with atypical pneumonia the treatment was effective. The bacteriological efficacy rate was 96.6% (256/265) for LRTIs and 93.3% (126/135) for UTIs. The eradication rate of the causative pathogens was 100% (33/33) for Haemophilus influenzae and 96.0% (24/25) for Streptococcus pneumoniae in LRTIs, and 94.1% (80/85) for Escherichia coli in UTIs. The overall efficacy rates were 89.3% (617/691) for LRTIs and 87.8% (245/279) for UTIs. The incidence of drug-related adverse events (ADRs) was 17.3% (215/1245), and the incidence of drug-related laboratory abnormalities was 15.7% (191/1213). Common ADRs were dizziness, nausea, and insomnia. Common laboratory abnormalities included "WBC decreased", "alanine aminotransferase (ALT) increased", "aspartate aminotransferase (AST) increased", and "lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) increased". All of these events were mentioned in the package inserts of fluoroquinolones including LVFX, and most events were mild and transient. Thirty-four patients (2.7%) were withdrawn from the study because of the ADRs. No new ADRs were found. This study concluded that the dosage regimen of LVFX 500 mg once daily was effective and tolerable for the treatment of LRTIs and UTIs.

Objective: To evaluate the basic knowledge of asthma, the standardization of treatment and the continuing education with community physicians in Hangzhou., Methods: The survey investigated a total of 45 community health service centers in Hangzhou, and 2 - 4 western medicine physicians were randomly selected from each centre. A questionnaire was completed by totally 114 doctors under investigation., Results: Eighty-seven percent of the physicians believed asthma was an airway inflammatory disease. Sixty-nine percent chose inhaled glucocorticoids as daily first-line drug for persistent asthma and 55% had read asthma guidelines. However, only 24% had ever heard China Asthma Alliance (CAA) and only 6% had visited its website. Moreover, no one under investigation had participated in the CAA organized talks popularizing the standardization of asthma treatment. Over the past year, 55% of the respondents did not participate in any asthma-related meetings or seminars. Ninety-six percent of those surveyed expressed the hope that higher-level hospital doctors would come to the community hospital for asthma-related seminars. Among the 45 community health service centers, only 2 collected part of the registration data for asthma patients and only one conducted health education seminars for asthma patients during the past year., Conclusion: Community physicians need to be provided more continuing education opportunities in order for them to provide standard asthma treatment for patients.

Objective: To evaluate the diagnostic significance of detecting cytokeratin 19 (CK19) mRNA by quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) in benign and malignant pleural effusions., Methods: CK19 mRNA was examined by quantitative RT-PCR and CK19 was detected by Enzyme-linked immunoadsorbent assay (ELISA) in 32 patients with malignant pleural effusions and 35 patients with benign pleural effusions., Results: On the threshold of 200 copies/microl, the positive rate of CK19 mRNA in patients with malignant pleural effusions was 62.5%. The positive rates of CK19 mRNA and CK19 in the malignant pleural effusions were significantly higher than those in the benign group (P<0.01). Furthermore, the positive rate of CK19 mRNA was higher than that of CK19 in the malignant group (P<0.05)., Conclusion: Detection of CK19 mRNA can be a promising diagnostic marker in differential diagnosis of benign and malignant pleural effusions.