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A field campaign was carried out in the alpine meadow of Heihe River Basin, north-west China on 11-15 July 2002. Several bio-geophysical parameters such as leaf area index (LAI) were measured according to VALERI sampling procedures within 38 elementary sampling units (ESUs) in the 3 km × 3 km 'VALERI' site. A quarter scene of Landsat 7 ETM + with acquisition times close to the field campaign time was atmospherically and geographically corrected. Three kinds of spectral vegetation index maps including NDVI, SR and MSAVI in the sampling area were derived from the corrected ElM + image. The two sets of LA! data measured with LAI-2000 and TRAC instrument at the same site were inter-compared. This is particularly meaningful for assessing the accuracy of LAI measurements. The relationships between the measured LAI and the three kinds of vegetation indices were also investigated. These comparisons found good relationships between the measured LAI and the different vegetation indices in most cases. Among them, NDVI seems the most promising estimator for extraction of LAI for the alpine meadow. In addition, the LAI-2000 seems to perform better for LAI measurement in the alpine meadow than the TRAC instrument. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents information about the design and construction of Tongwamen Bridge (TB) in China. Composite concrete-filled steel tubular members are most suitable for structures where they are required to behave mainly under uniaxial compression. They are now being increasingly used in the construction of long-span arch bridges in China. One of the advantages of using this composite material is the ability of the steel to provide permanent integral formwork for the concrete infill. TB is a long-span, narrow bridge with the span-to-deck width ratio of 23.8. Wind power in the TB channel is quite strong and so the lateral stability of the structure was the key consideration in design.

Objective: To determine the incidence and risk factors for acute cardiac injury (ACI) and acute kidney injury (AKI), and then investigate their effect on severity and mortality in patients with COVID-19., Patients and Methods: A total of 1249 patients with COVID-19 were included in this retrospective study. Predictors of ACI and AKI were investigated. Multivariable-logistic regression models were used to determine the association of ACI (or AKI) with severity and mortality., Results: Median age of patients was 36 years and 61.9% were male. ACI and AKI were observed in 53 (4.2%) and 91 (7.3%) of patients, respectively. Patients with age > 60 years, chronic heart disease, decreased lymphocyte and increased CRP, PCT, and ESR on hospital admission, and Lopinavir/Ritonavir use showed higher odds of ACI. Patients with age > 60 years, male, obesity, hypertension, chronic kidney disease, decreased lymphocyte and increased CRP, PCT, and ESR on hospital admission showed higher odds of AKI. Increased Hs-cTnI (> 300 ng/L), Pro-BNP (> 2500 pg/ml) and decreased e-GFR (< 60 ml/min) revealed higher adjusted mortality., Conclusions: ACI and AKI were not common in COVID-19 patients in Shanghai, China. However, patients with ACI/AKI had higher severity-rate and mortality-rate when compared to those without ACI/AKI.

Objective: To describe the study design, the characteristics of participants as well as the pedigrees included in the baseline survey of Fujian Tulou Family Cohort Study. Methods: Fujian Tulou Family Cohort Study was a prospective open cohort study with a biological sample bank. A baseline survey was conducted in Tulou areas of Nanjing county in Fujian province from 2015 to 2018, including questionnaire survey, physical and biochemical indicators examinations, and blood sample collection in adults aged ≥18 years. In addition, family relationship of the participants was also recorded. The pedigree information of the juveniles under 18 years old were also collected. Results: The baseline survey included 2 727 individuals in two clans, of whom 2 373 (87.0%) were adults, and 2 126 participants completed questionnaires, physical examinations and biochemical tests. The average age of the 2 126 participants was (57.9±13.3) years, with 39.4% being males. The current smoking rates in male and female participants were 41.2% and 2.1%, respectively. The corresponding rates of current alcohol consumption were 19.0% and 2.6%. For common chronic diseases, the prevalence rates were 51.3% for hypertension, 9.7% for diabetes and 26.7% for hyperlipemia according to the self-reported disease diagnoses, health examination results and biochemical examination results in class Ⅱ or Ⅲ hospitals. Based on the family relationship information and genealogical data, 710 pedigrees were finally identified, consisting of 5 087 family members. The numbers of five, four, three, and two generations pedigrees were 3, 88, 238 and 381, respectively. The pairs of the first to the fifth degree relatives were 12 039, 2 662, 1 511, 202 and 31, respectively. Conclusion: The establishment of Fujian Tulou Family Cohort provides valuable resources for exploring the genetic risk factors, environmental risk factors and gene-environment interactions contributing to the risk of common chronic diseases.