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Since the reform and opening, China's economy has grown rapidly, and people's living standards have improved significantly. As one of the most effective ways to implement national fitness, square dance has gradually become the main lifestyle of urban communities, an important part of China's sports construction, and an important indicator to reflect the fitness of the masses and the construction of a well-off society in an all-round way. On the other hand, with the rapid development of internet of things technology, many people can use intelligent bracelets based on machine learning technology to realize motion detection. This technology is also applicable in square dance, which is of great significance to exercise and protect health. This paper first reviews the research status of the internet of things communication protocol and cloud platform, then introduces and analyzes the MQTT communication protocol and Netty high-performance network framework, and studies the integration technology of the internet of things and machine learning. Then, according to the characteristics of the internet of things, a scheme to realize data preprocessing is proposed. The value to be completed is calculated based on the correlation of other attributes corresponding to the k-nearest neighbor model (KNN) and the regression model. Finally, the machine learning algorithm is used to train the results of the three models to obtain the final filling value. The whole scheme design allows the machine learning algorithm to obtain relatively high-quality data in the internal environment. This paper designs a sports monitoring data system for square dance by combining machine learning and internet of things technology, so as to promote national fitness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Online doctor-patient consultation is a new option for orthopedic patients in China to obtain a diagnosis and treatment advice. This study explores the factors associated with online consultation to formulate operational guidelines for managing online consultations in an online medical community (OMC).Methods: An empirical model was developed to identify the factors that influence online orthopedic doctor-patient consultations in an OMC while focusing on the perceived value of and perceived trust in online consultations. The moderating effects of different risk categories of orthopedic diseases were also considered. Data from 339 feedback surveys from orthopedic patients who used online consultation services and Stata software version 14.0 were used to estimate the model parameters and test the robustness of the empirical model.Results: Of those who completed the feedback surveys, 53.42% were female patients, 82.27% were between 18 and 60 years old, and 61.98% sought consultations online more than 2 times per year. Model analysis demonstrated that the regression coefficients of the perceived value of and perceived trust in online consultations are 0.489 (p < 0.01) and 0.505 (p < 0.01), respectively. The interaction coefficient between disease risk and perceived value is 0.336 (p < 0.01), and the interaction coefficient between disease risk and perceived trust is - 0.389 (p < 0.01).Conclusions: Orthopedic patients' perceived value of and perceived trust in online consultations in an OMC can significantly influence their intention to seek online disease diagnosis and treatment consultations. The effects of perceived value and perceived trust on patients' intention to consult vary significantly across different disease risk categories. Therefore, enhancing the perceived value and perceived trust of orthopedic patients is an important component of OMC operation and management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Severe air pollution in China threatens human health, and its negative impact decreases the urban settlement intentions of migrants in destination cities. We establish a comprehensive framework based on the push-pull migration model to investigate this phenomenon.Methods: We employ a logistic model to analyze air pollution's impact on the settlement intentions of the floating population based on the CMDS 2017 in China, combining the city-level socioeconomic variables with the individual-level variables.Results: Our results show that the annual average concentration of PM2.5 increases by 1 unit and that the probability of migrants' settlement intentions will decrease by 8.7%. Using a heterogeneity analysis, we find that the following migrant groups are more sensitive to air pollution: males, people over 30 years old, less educated people, and migrants with nonagricultural hukou. With every 1 unit increase in PM2.5, each group's settlement intentions decrease by 13.2, 16.7, 16.9, and 12.6%, respectively.Conclusions: Our results are consistent with existing studies. This study discovers that both external environment and internal factors influence migrants' settlement intentions. Specifically, the differences in population sizes, economic development levels, public services, infrastructure conditions, and environmental regulations between cities play a significant role in migration decisions. We also confirm heterogeneous sensitivities to air pollution of different migrant subgroups in terms of individual characteristics, family factors, migration features, social and economic attributes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: People with mild cognitive impairment have a high risk of converting to dementia. Previous studies have suggested that hypertension is implicated in the development of mild cognitive impairment, but such effect in people much older than 70 years may be quite different. The aim of the study was to reveal the relationship between hypertension and mild cognitive impairment risk in this age group. Methods: A total of 985 subjects were retrospectively enrolled from Tianjin Medical University General Hospital, and all of them were cognitively normal 7 years earlier. During these years, 134 subjects were diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment according to the Mini‐Mental State Examination. Research data of all the subjects were collected from medical records. Results: Multivariate Cox regression analysis revealed that compared with the subjects without hypertension, the subjects with grade 1 hypertension or duration <10 years showed a decreased risk of mild cognitive impairment (hazards ratio (HR): 0.54, 95%CI: 0.32–0.87; HR: 0.65, 95%CI: 0.40–0.99), and the subjects with grade 2–3 hypertension or duration ≥10 years had an increased risk of the disease (HR: 1.75, 95%CI: 1.25–2.42; HR: 1.52, 95%CI: 1.08–2.15). In addition, compared with the patients without hypertension, the patients taking angiotensin II receptor antagonists / angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors had an increased risk of the disease (HR: 1.91, 95%CI: 1.29–2.83). Conclusion: In subjects over 70 years old, short‐term and mild hypertension might be a protective factor for mild cognitive impairment and prevent them from such a disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to evaluate the prevalence of cognitive impairment and the distribution of its risk factors among residents aged ≥60 years without cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases in rural areas of northern China screened with the Chinese version of the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE). Between 2012 and 2013, a questionnaire survey was conducted to collect basic information from participants. Cognitive function was assessed using the MMSE. In the univariate analysis, risk factors for cognitive disorders were female sex, low education and central obesity, while drinking was found to be a protective factor. In the multivariate analysis, risk factors were old age (odds ratio [OR], 1.888; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.256-2.838; P = 0.002 for the 70-year-old group compared with the 60-year-old group; OR, 3.593; 95% CI, 2.468-5.230; P < 0.001 for the ≥75-year-old group compared with the 60-year-old group), low education (OR, 3.779; 95% CI: 2.218-6.440; P < 0.001 for the illiterate group compared with the group with ≥9 years of education; OR, 1.667; 95% CI, 1.001-2.775; P = 0.05 for the group with less than primary school compared with the group with ≥9 years of education), and higher blood pressure (BP; OR, 1.655; 95% CI: 1.076-2.544; P = 0.002 for individuals with stage III hypertension compared with those with normal BP). These findings suggest that it is crucial to manage and control level of BP, and improve educational attainment in order to reduce the prevalence and burden of cognitive impairment among low-income residents in rural China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The source and sink landscape patterns refer to landscape types or units that can either promote positive evolvement of non-point source (NPS) pollution process, or can prevent/defer the ecological process, respectively. Therefore, the role of a catchment landscape pattern in nutrient losses can be identified based on the spatial arrangement of source and sink landscapes. To reveal the relations between landscape spatial characteristics and NPS pollution in small catchment, a case study was carried out in a Wangjiagou small catchment of the Three Gorges Reservoir Region (TGRR), China. Google earth imagery for 2015 were processed and used to differentiate source and sink landscape types, and six subcatchments were selected as sample regions for monitoring nitrogen and phosphorus nutrients. Relative elevation, slope gradient and relative flow length was used to construct the Lorenz curves of different source and sink landscape types in the catchment, in order to assess the source and sink landscape spatial characteristics. By calculating the location-weighted landscape indices of each subcatchment and total catchment, the landscape spatial load characteristics affecting the NPS pollution was identified, with a further Pearson correlation analysis for location-weighted landscape indices and nitrogen-phosphorus monitoring indicators. The analysis of Lorenz curve has revealed that the obtained distribution trend of Lorenz curve and curve area quantified well the spatial characteristics of source and sink landscape pattern related to the relative elevation, slope gradient and relative flow length in small catchment. Results of Pearson correction analysis indicated that location-weighted landscape index (LWLI) combining of terrain and landscape type factor did better in reflecting the status of nitrogen and phosphorus loss than the indices related to relative elevation, slope gradient and relative flow length. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The size and number of firms in a region represent key characteristics of that regional economic ecosystem, but few studies have linked such characteristics with the stringency of local environmental regulation. In this study, we discuss the effects of local firm scale on environmental regulation and its mechanism, and the optimal strategic choices theoretically and empirically for environmental regulation in regions with different firm scale. We find that when government capacity is insufficient, regional environmental regulation will be relatively more stringent when dealing with fewer but larger firms because of the government scale effect. When government capacity is sufficient, firm size has no influence on environmental regulation. Our results are robust and offer insights for government decision makers to improve local environmental regulation efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The sternum is one of the most important components of the chest wall. However, to the best of our knowledge, at present there is no reference value of the sternum length in normal Han Chinese children that has been published in the literature. The aim of the present study was therefore to establish the reference value of sternum length in a normal Han Chinese population of different ages and sex groups. Chest computed tomography scans and three-dimensional reconstruction images of 1,080 individuals who were younger than 18 years old and without congenital or acquired structural anomalies or congenital metabolic diseases were retrospectively reviewed. The length of the sternum was measured for each individual and comparisons of the sternum length according to sex were conducted using the Mann-Whitney test. Age or region group comparisons were performed using the ANOVA test, and the association between the length of the sternum and age was assessed by regression analysis. A significant association between the age (x) of the individual and the length of the sternum (y) was confirmed, although different regression patterns were identified for the sexes (the regression equation for males was y=5.616x+60.408; P<0.001; R2=0.890, whereas that for females was y=-0.134x2+6.543x+56.805; P<0.001, R2=0.890). No significant differences in sternum length were identified between the sexes for subjects aged 1-13 years old, whereas significant differences were observed comparing the sexes of the subjects aged 14-18 years old. In conclusion, the present study revealed that the length of the sternum in normal Han Chinese children can be precisely estimated by the age of the child using our formulae for the different sexes (where the most-fit formulae for the two sexes are different). This knowledge can be applied clinically in chest wall deformity assessment, and in surgery planning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: We investigated the relationship between small cell lung cancer (SCLC) and non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) based on micro ribonucleic acid (miRNA) and messenger (m)RNA expression profiles. Methods: Utilizing the differentially expressed mRNAs and the targeting miRNAs, the mRNA-miRNA network for the two cancers was constructed. By integrating the miRNA expression profile, drug, and drug targets, miRNA-drug target-drug networks were established and the mechanisms in drug therapy efficacy were compared between SCLC and NSCLC. Results: Drug targets of different expressed miRNAs of SCLC are mainly located in the organelle, act in the electron carrier activity, and consist of the synapse; while drug targets of NSCLCare the membrane-enclosed lumen, mainly distributed in the extracellular region and synapse, and function in the binding. Drug targets of miRNA expressed commonly in the two cancers are involved in the reproduction multi-organism process. In SCLC, the miR-16 in the miRNA-drug target-drug network is significant and follows the result of themRNA-miRNAnetwork.The pigmentation and rhythmic process of SCLCis different fromNSCLC, while the process of cellular component biogenesis and cellular component organization are important for the occurrence of NSCLC. miR-16 in the miRNA-mRNA-drug network of SCLC is significant and we acquired 11 potential drugs, such as dexamethasone and budesonide. The miR-124 for NSCLC is important in the network and 17 potential drugs were screened, including dexamethasone and budesonide. Conclusions: These findings suggest that miR-16 and miR-124 might be novel diagnostic and prognostics markers for SCLC and NSCLC, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose The purpose of this study was to test the psychometric properties of a Chinese version of the Sense of Coherence Scale (C-SOC-13) in women with cervical cancer in Mainland China. Methods The C-SOC-13 and Health-related Quality of Life scale (Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Cervix) were administered to 238 women with cervical cancer. Validity was assessed in terms of factor validity, predictive validity, divergent validity and stability, whereas reliability was evaluated using Cronbach's alpha coefficient. Results This study showed that in confirmatory factor analysis, the first-order interrelated three-factor model and second-order model were performed based on Antonovsky's theoretical structure of Sense of Coherence (SOC). Both models fitted the data satisfactorily when the largest modification index was released. The chi-square value/degrees of freedom was 2.120, the goodness-of-fit index was 0.919, the root mean square error of approximation was 0.069, and the comparative fit index was 0.911. The Pearson correlation coefficient between SOC and Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Cervix was 0.611. Enter multiple regression with SOC as a dependent variable and medical and socio-economic variables as independent variables showed no statistically significant partial coefficient of any independent variable in regression equation except for age. The Cronbach's alpha coefficient for the scale was 0.824. Conclusion The factor validity, predictive validity and divergent validity of C-SOC-13 were reasonable, as well as the internal consistency. In general, C-SOC-13 showed to be suitable as an SOC measurement for women with cervical cancer in Mainland China. However, SOC may have a different meaning to Chinese people because of the philosophy and culture that shape the context of their lives. Generalizing the findings to other populations requires further psychometric evaluation of C-SOC-13. Further longitudinal studies are also needed to explore the stability. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Crop–hedgerow intercropping systems are important agroforestry systems for preventing soil degradation and soil nutrient losses on sloping cultivated land in the Three Gorges Reservoir (TGR) area of China. However, the mechanism by which hedgerow spatial layouts and the planting patterns affect soil nutrients and crop yields is still uncertain. A two-year field experiment was performed on a 10° slope to investigate the effects of slope position and different crop–hedgerow intercropping systems on soil physicochemical properties and crop yields. The treatments were a two-belt mulberry contour hedgerow (TM), a two-belt compound mulberry–vetiver hedgerow (TCMV), a two-belt compound mulberry–alfalfa hedgerow (TCMA), a seven-year-old two-belt mulberry contour hedgerow (7YTM), a seven-year-old mulberry border hedgerow (7YBM), a seven-year-old pure mulberry (7YPM), and a control treatment (CT, no hedgerows). In all treatments, except 7YPM, there was a significant (p < 0.05) increase in crop yield, clay content, soil total nitrogen (STN), acid-hydrolyzable nitrogen (AHN), and soil organic carbon (SOC) with declining slope position, whereas soil bulk density (BD), sand content, and soil pH showed the opposite trend. In TM, TCMV, TCMA, and 7YTM, the mustard yields and soil properties were better than those in CT, and there was no significant (p > 0.05) difference in mustard yield or soil properties between the upper-middle and lower-middle slope positions. Compared with CT, TCMV, and TCMA increased mustard yields by 8.28% and 9.86%, respectively, while 7YTM, 7YBM, and 7YPM reduced mustard yields by 7.69%, 17.69%, and 29.73%, respectively. TCMV and TCMA were confirmed to be viable intercropping systems for significantly reducing nutrient losses, improving soil quality, and changing soil nutrient distributions to maintain optimum crop yields on sloping lands. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Promotion is an overwhelming motivation for local cadres in China. In the past, local cadres used to compete in economic tournaments for career advancement. As the central government shifts to emphasizing environmental protection, it is critical to examine whether the changed incentive structure drives local cadres to pursue environmental protection. Adopting a database covering cadres and pollution discharge for prefecture-level cities from 2003 to 2016, this paper investigates the relationship between environmental protection tournaments and cadre promotion and explores the mechanism of environmental protection tournaments. The results show that environmental protection tournaments have contributed to cadres' promotion since 2007, when the central government's attention shifted to environmental protection. Environmental protection tournaments mitigate pollution in a "strong" way, through direct policy intervention. Our findings indicate that the existing incentive structure for local cadres' environmental protection is necessary but insufficient. • Political incentive promotes local cadres to conduct environmental protection tournament. • Local cadres strategically implement environmental protection policy. • Environmental protection tournament mitigates pollution by coercive means instead of adopting optimization of industry structure and innovation of technology. • Existed incentive structure for cadres' environmental performance is necessary but insufficient. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China has witnessed a drop in the speed of its economic development from 14% to 6% since 2007. The literature has attributed "the miracle of China's economic growth" over the past four decades to the compatibility of political incentives and fiscal incentives. However, as the central government shifts its priorities from "development is the last word" to "lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets", can local officials' political and financial incentives still achieve incentive compatibility? Theoretically and empirically, this paper examines the impact of the compatibility of political and financial incentives on local governments' environmental governance in different stages. We find that environmental performance has consistently been an important political promotion incentive for officials, especially after 2007. We also find that officials in cities with incentive compatibility have no promotion advantages over their opponents because incentive compatibility restrained the development of the manufacturing industry, leading to a suppression of the economic growth rate. Local governments sacrifice a certain economic growth rate – in other words, local fiscal revenue – in exchange for environmental quality improvements and adopt strategic actions to cater to the central government's new performance evaluation system, which focuses mainly on environmental protection assessment through strategic behavior. • There are dynamic roles of compatibility between political and financial incentives. • An equilibrium model can capture the change in central and local governments. • The incentive compatibility phenomenon has no promotion advantage for local officials. • Environmental performance may be achieved at the expense of the economic growth rate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The perceived acceptance of migrants in receiving cities is inextricably tied to their health status. However, existing research on migrant health focuses on individual self-assessments, and few studies have considered the accessibility of medical support in the city as part of the analytical framework. To address a research gap, we examine the influence of migrants' health status and medical support on their perceived acceptance and analyse the moderating role and potential mechanisms of amenities. The findings show that the health of migrant workers significantly affects their perceived acceptance. Holding other conditions constant, each unit increase in health status is associated with a 0.1706 unit increase in perceived acceptance. Each unit of improvement in medical support is associated with a 0.0461 unit increase in perceived acceptance. This result remains valid after various robustness checks by changing the dependent variable and conducting group regressions. Our analyses further reveal that urban hukou threshold and environmental amenities largely moderated the effects of medical support and health status on perceived acceptance. Mechanism results indicate that hukou restrictions on access to resources limit migrants' opportunities to improve their medical support in urban areas, thereby exposing them to greater health risks. Additionally, environmental amenities play an additional positive role in improving medical support by improving environmental quality. The study suggests that achieving health equity promotes inclusive growth and long-term sustainability in urban areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Genital herpes caused by herpes simplex virus (HSV) infection is one of the most prevalent sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and the most common cause of genital ulcer disease (GUD) in developed and developing countries. The monitoring of HSV-2 seroprevalence in pregnant women can identify women at a higher risk of HIV and of neonatal HSV transmission. Very few data are available on type specific seroprevalence of HSV-2 in China, with only one previous study from southern China. Consequently, we conducted a survey to determine type specific seroprevalence of HSV-2 and associated risk factors in Fuzhou City, eastern China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Urban environmental degradation hinders the choice of migrants to settle in cities. • There is a structural characteristic underlying the environmental effect on migration intentions. • Environmental degradation causes a wave effect on migrants' settlement intentions. • Cities should improve their environmental quality to attract migrants in the future. In the existing literature, it has been indicated that there is a negative link between air pollution and the settlement intentions of migrants. However, the underlying mechanism is still sleeps in the unopened black box. Based on China Migrants Dynamic Survey data, this paper applies a two-step conditional maximum likelihood method and quantile regression method to analyze the mechanism underlying environmental migration. The results confirm a nonlinear relationship between air quality and migrants' settlement intentions. Different conditions of air quality differences between cities will lead to structural changes in the settlement intentions of migrants. Specifically, the real curve falls first decreases, increases and then decreases again. Under specific urban environment dimensions, the paper provides a new policy path for urban decision-makers on how to coordinate the human capital of migrants and sustainable urban development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article determines the prevalence of sexually transmitted infections (STI) among women attending an antenatal clinic in urban China. It shows whether reported symptoms and findings on clinical examination predicted STIs in the population. A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted among pregnant women attending antenatal clinic in Fuzhou, China.

Understanding the oil emplacement influence on diagenesis is one of the most key factors of reservoir quality prediction. The Devonian Donghe sandstones are deeply buried to 5700～6000 m, and they are important exploration target in the Tarim Basin, additional the reservoirs experienced multi-phase hydrocarbon accumulation and destruction. The Donghe sandstones contain various diagenetic minerals, which are mainly composed of calcite cement, a small amount of quartz overgrowth and pyrite, trace ankerite and ferrocalctie. The current study investigates the influence of multiple-stage oil emplacement on the diagenesis with particular attention to calcite and quartz cementation of marine clastic reservoir interval of the Donghe sandstones in the Tarim Basin. The samples in the oil leg and water leg have been collected and a series of studies were performed, including thin section petrography, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), carbon and oxygen isotopes and cathodoluminescence (CL) analysis. The δ13C V-PDB values of calcite cement from the oil leg and water leg between −4.73 and −1.21‰ and −3.81 to −0.86‰, respectively. The δ18O V-PDB values of calcite cement from the oil leg and water leg range from −15.59 to −6.61‰ and −14.97 to −7.76‰, respectively. Both of them display no obviously different in the oil leg and water leg. All of the δ13C V-PDB values in the whole interval of the Donghe sandstones show lightly depletion was explained mixing from marine carbon and carbon produced from bacterial sulfate reduction (BSR) that happens during petroleum degradation associated with sulfate reduced by hydrocarbons bacterially. Two dull-luminescence zones, trace Fe and Mn content, and high Fe accompanied by low Mn content, and orange-red- and bright-orange-yellow-luminescence zones in oil leg indicate four generations of calcite occurred, whereas two generations of calcite occurs in water leg, which are dull- and orange-red-luminescence zones. Two origins of calcite cement were clearly identified: marine biogenic carbonates and hydrocarbon-related from palaeo-reservoir BSR during uplift. The first generation of calcite cement originated from biogenic carbonate, the second and third generations of calcite cement were mixing from predate carbonate cement dissolved and re-precipitated, and calcite precipitated by BSR directly. Some quartz grains and K-feldspars were dissolved by residual organic acids that remained in the irreducible water, and following replaced by the fourth generation of calcite cement. Some calcite cement in the oil leg precipitated in a temperature higher than the homogeneous temperature of fluid inclusion, which indicates oil emplacement has no influence on calcite cementation. The quartz overgrowth postdate the first hydrocarbon accumulation and predate the second hydrocarbon accumulation, which originated from quartz grains dissolved by organic acids that produced from BSR and re-precipitated at a low temperature (<80 °C). The pyrite cement formed as the by-product of BSR in the water leg implies the palaeo-reservoir existed. The current study can promote the understanding of the influence of multiple-stage hydrocarbon accumulation on diagenesis, and it can also inspire the diagenesis process of other Paleozoic hydrocarbon reservoirs in the Tarim Basin. • Very sufficient data set from the oil leg and water leg providing insight in the impact of oil emplacement on diagenesis. • The data set supports the model of oil emplacement inhibits quartz overgrowth but calcite cementation does not retarded. • Hydrocarbon biodegradation can cause a series of diagenesis alterations. • A model of diagenesis evolution pathways involved in multiple-stage oil emplacement is established. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • More fertilizer and pesticides were used in orchard and vegetables. • Large-scale farmers used more fertilizers and pesticides than general farmers. • Average age, education level and environmental awareness were the main factors. • Policy and alternative technology will help to reduce fertilizers and pesticides. Studying the characteristics and driving factors of chemical fertilizer and pesticide application of farmers is helpful for the prevention and control of regional non-point source pollution (NPSP). In this study, 320 farmers in Chongqing were surveyed, and the characteristics and main factors influencing chemical fertilizer and pesticide applications were analyzed by spatial analysis and partial least squares regression (PLSR). The results can be showed that: (1) Aaverage unit area applications of N, P 2 O 5 and pesticide were 6.01 kg/ha/yr, 3.78 kg/ha/yr and 107.89 g/ha/yr. Among them, the fertilizer and pesticide application rates of large-scale households are 8.46 kg/ha/yr/, 5.82 kg/ha/yr and 287.61 g/ha/yr, and the application rates of general farmers are 4.54 kg/ha/yr, 2.55 kg/ha/yr and 40.21 g/ha/yr. Larger amount were applied to orchard and vegetable by large-scale farmer, while larger amounts were applied to grain by general farmers. (2) Fertilizer were spatially agglomerated on a household scale, while pesticide were spatially discrete on a county scale. (3) Average age (AA) of farmers and planting scale (PL) are the main factors affecting fertilizer amounts. Education level (EL), policy guidance (PG), and awareness of environmental effects (AEE) are the main factors influencing pesticide applications. Governments need to formulate rural labor policies and promote land transfer, while also strengthening fertilizer and pesticide reduction policies to enhance farmers' environmental awareness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Ethnopharmacological relevance: Salvia Miltiorrhiza Bunge (also known as herb Danshen in Chinese) is a widely used Chinese herbal medicine. Tanshinone IIA (TSN IIA) is considered to be the most important bioactive ingredient in Danshen and exhibits an anti-atherosclerotic activity. Aim of study: To evaluate the protective effect of TSN IIA on the human endothelial EA.hy926 cells injured by hydrogen peroxide in vitro and its possible mechanism. Materials and methods: The EA.hy926 cells were incubated for 24h with different concentrations of TSN IIA (5, 10 and 20μg/μL ) or DMEM. Subsequently, cells were treated with 300μmol/L H2O2 for another 4h. Then, the percentage of cell viability was evaluated by 3-(4, 5-di-methylthiazol-2-yl)-2, 5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay. The apoptosis of EA.hy926 cells was detected by flow cytometry with AnnexinV-FITC/PI double staining and laser scanning spectral confocal technique. The generation of intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation was analyzed by flow cytometry. The mRNA expressions of caspase-3, Bcl-2 and Bax were tested by real time-reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (real time RT-PCR). The protein expression of Bcl-2 and Bax was determined by Western blotting. MDA levels, NO production, LDH leakage, and SOD as well as caspase-3 activities were also measured using standard methods. Results: Loss of cell viability and excessive cell apoptosis were observed in EA.hy926 cells after 4h of challenge with H2O2 (300μmol/L). However, cell apoptosis was attenuated in different concentrations of TSN IIA (5, 10 and 20μg/μL) pretreated cells. Furthermore, TSN IIA markedly inhibited the elevation of ROS evoked by H2O2. Real time RT-PCR and Western blotting analysis showed that TSN IIA significantly decreased the expressions of pro-apoptotic proteins (Bax and caspase-3) while significantly increased the expression of anti-apoptotic protein Bcl-2, and resulted in obvious reduction of Bax/Bcl-2 ratio in EA.hy926 cells induced by H2O2. Conclusion: These observations provide preliminary evidence that TSN IIA protects EA.hy926 cells against H2O2 damage, which is mainly associated with the ROS generation, followed by the imbalance of the Bax/Bcl-2 ratio, and caspase-3 activation leading to apoptosis. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Background: Ageing and diabetes are growing global health burdens. The current understanding of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and mortality risk across the glycaemic spectrum in older populations is limited., Objectives: This study sought to characterise CVD and all-cause mortality risk across the glycaemic spectrum among Chinese adults aged 75 years or older in a community-based setting over10 years., Methods: The 3,989 adults in the Kailuan Study were aged over 75 years (median age was 79 years [interquartile range: 76-82]; 2,785 normoglycaemic, 691 prediabetic and 513 diabetic, determined by fasting blood glucose levels) at baseline, predominantly male (92.9% male) and followed until December 2019. Time-varying Cox regression and competing-risk models were used to examine the hazard ratio (HR) of incident CVD and mortality across the glycaemic exposures., Results: During median follow-up of 11.3 years, 433 first CVD and 2,222 deaths were recorded. Compared with normoglycaemia, multivariable-adjusted models revealed the following: (i) prediabetes was not associated with future risks for CVD (HR: 1.17; 95% CI 0.82-1.69) and all-cause mortality (HR 1.06; 95% CI 0.70-1.60); (ii) diabetes-associated enhanced risks for CVD and all-cause mortality were mainly confined to those exhibiting low-grade inflammation (high-sensitivity C-reactive protein ≥2.0 mg/L) levels. The results were consistent after multiple sensitivity analyses., Conclusions: Among a male-predominant Chinese population aged 75 years or older, compared with normoglycaemic participants, prediabetes was not associated with an enhanced 10-year CVD and all-cause mortality risk, and diabetes-associated enhanced 10-year risk was mainly confined to individuals exhibiting low-grade inflammation., (© The Author(s) 2022. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the British Geriatrics Society. All rights reserved. For permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

Background: Patients with breast cancer receiving chemotherapy can experience chemotherapy-related cognitive impairment (CRCI)., Objectives: This study observed the interventional effects of multisensory stimulation training on CRCI in patients with breast cancer receiving chemotherapy., Methods: Eighty patients with breast cancer receiving chemotherapy at a grade A tertiary hospital in Tangshan City, Hebei Province, China, were divided into two intervention groups (audiovisual and multisensory) by random sampling (40 patients per group)., Findings: After four intervention cycles, participants' cognitive and executive function scores were higher in the multisensory group than in the audiovisual group. Multisensory stimulation training had stronger effects than audiovisual training and effectively attenuated CRCI and executive dysfunction caused by breast cancer chemotherapy. Given the convenience and ease of use, multisensory stimulation has good potential for application in clinical practice.

The aim of this study was to determine the seroprevalence of Babesia caballi and Theileria equi in horses imported into Shanghai port. Between 2018 and 2019, 344 horse sera samples were collected and tested for B. caballi and T. equi, using commercially available kits. Only one B. caballi seropositive sample was detected. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of a B. caballi seropositive in imported horses at Shanghai port, which reflects the importance of monitoring piroplasmosis seroprevalence in imported horses., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: Platinum-based chemotherapy (PBCT) has gained an important position as a first-line treatment for metastatic triple-negative breast cancer (mTNBC). We assessed whether maintenance chemotherapy maintenance was superior to observation after first-line PBCT in patients with mTNBC., Methods: A total of 265 patients with mTNBC who had exhibited non-PD after 4-6 cycles of firstline PBCT at the Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center from January 2008 to April 2019 were retrospectively analyzed. 107 patients who did not receive additional treatment were defined as the control observation group, and the remaining 158 patients who continued to receive maintenance therapy were defined as the maintenance treatment group., Results: The median progression-free survival (PFS) time in the maintenance group was 9.63 months, which was significantly longer than the PFS time of 7.47 months in the observation group (HR 0.49, 95% CI: 0.37-0.67, P<0.0001). The median overall survival (OS) of the observation group and the maintenance group was 25.37 months and 31.27 months, respectively (HR 0.65, 95% CI: 0.44-0.95, P=0.019). The survival benefit was still present after adjusting baseline characteristics. Moreover, multivariate analyses suggested that maintenance chemotherapy is an independent predictive factor for both PFS and OS. Interaction and stratified analyses showed no difference in the PFS with between the single-drug maintenance strategy, single agent or doublet group and the doublet-drug maintenance group. The most common adverse event in this study was hematologic toxicity. Except for hand-foot syndrome (0 vs. 7.6%, P=0.004), the incidence of other adverse events was not significantly different between the observation and maintenance groups., Conclusions: After achieving non-PD with the first-line PBCT in mTNBC patients, chemotherapy maintenance may provide OS benefit prior to the era of biologicals.

Background and Aims: Liver injury is found in some of patients with COVID-19. Liver injury of COVID-19 patients based on severity grading and abdominal radiological signs have not been reported until now. The aim of our study is to determine clinical profiles of the patients based on severity grading, describe abdominal radiological signs, and investigate the correlations of the severity with clinical profiles and radiological signs., Methods: This retrospective cohort study included 115 patients with COVID-19 from Jan 2020 to Feb 2020. Medical records of the patients were collected and CT images were reviewed., Results: Common clinical manifestations of patients with COVID-19 were fever (68.70%), cough (56.52%), fatigue (31.30%); some of them had gastrointestinal symptoms (diarrhea, 12.17%; nausea or vomiting 7.83%; inappetence, 7.83%). Abnormal liver function was observed in some of patients with COVID-19. Significant differences in the levels of AST, albumin,CRP were observed among different groups classified by the severity. Common findings of upper abdominal CT scan were liver hypodensity (26.09%) and pericholecystic fat stranding (21.27%); liver hypodensity was more frequently found in critical cases (58.82%). The severity of COVID-19 correlated with semi-quantitative CT score of pulmonary lesions, CT-quantified liver/spleen attenuation ratio in patients with COVID-19., Conclusions: Some of the patients with COVID-19 displayed liver damage revealed by liver functional tests and upper abdominal CT imaging, and the severity of COVID-19 patients correlated with some of liver functional tests and CT signs; thus, it will allow an earlier identification of high-risk patients for early effective intervention.

Interpreting disease-causing variants, especially in noncoding regions by genome-wide association studies (GWAS), has become one of the most challenging and demanding tasks. We hypothesized that functional lncRNAs variants in GWAS-identified loci might alter expression level of genes associated with persistent HBV infection and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Integrated bioinformatics approaches were used to prioritize potentially functional variants and a two-stage case-control study (2473 HBV positive HCC patients, 2248 persistent HBV carriers and 2294 spontaneously recovered subjects) was performed to assess the roles of these variants. The rs2844512 G > C variant in LINC01149 was identified to facilitate HBV spontaneous recovery (OR = 0.84, 95% CI = 0.77-0.92) but increase the risk of HCC (OR = 1.21, 95% CI = 1.11-1.32) in combined samples. Subsequent biological assays indicated this variant created a binding site for miR-128-3p and upregulated MICA expression by serving as a miRNA sponge, which might recruit NK-cells to lyse infected cells, but release highly soluble MICA by shedding to induce NK-cells exhaustion and tumor immune evasion. These findings highlight a regulatory circuit between LINC01149 and MICA, mediating by miR-128-3p, and the important role of upregulated MICA in conferring susceptibility to persistent HBV infection and HCC.

Aim: Obesity contributes to the development of mild cognitive impairment, but the potential role of normal weight obesity in this disease has not been explored in humans. The aim of the study was to reveal the relationship between normal weight obesity and mild cognitive impairment in elderly individuals., Methods: This study consisted of 360 patients with amnestic mild cognitive impairment and 360 cognitively normal controls. Normal weight obesity was defined as having metabolic syndrome but a normal weight. Metabolic health meant having no metabolic syndrome. Reverse transcription quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction was adopted to measure the messenger RNA expression of four cognitive-related genes (amyloid precursor protein, cyclic adenosine monophosphate-responsive element-binding protein 1, sortilin-related receptor 1, and synapsin I) in peripheral blood mononuclear cells., Results: Normal weight obesity was related to a higher risk of amnestic mild cognitive impairment (odds ratio = 3.14, 95% confidence interval: 2.13-4.60). In the patients, the expression of each gene in the peripheral blood mononuclear cells was linearly related to Mini-Mental State Examination and Montreal Cognitive Assessment scores (P < 0.05). The expression of these genes in the patients with metabolic health deviated from the normal levels found in the controls (P < 0.05), and the deviations were more significant in the patients with normal weight obesity (P < 0.05)., Conclusion: Normal weight obesity may be a potential risk factor for amnestic mild cognitive impairment in elderly. This relationship was reflected in the abnormal expression of several cognitive-related genes in peripheral blood mononuclear cells., (© 2019 Japanese Psychogeriatric Society.)

Objectives: To evaluate the associations of pre-endoscopy anxiety with discomfort and tolerance in patients undergoing unsedated esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD)., Methods: This is a hospital-based cohort study of 348 patients undergoing routine, non-advanced EGD without sedation. The primary outcomes were discomfort and tolerance. The anxiety before endoscopy was evaluated with a 10-point visual analogue scale (VAS). The associations of pre-endoscopy anxiety with the outcomes were evaluated with logistic regression adjusting for potential confounders like age, sex, and body mass index., Results: Seventy patients reported severe discomfort and 56 patients reported poor tolerance after endoscopy. The risk of severe discomfort increased with pre-endoscopy anxiety and reached a platform around 7-10 points. Compared with the participants with low pre-endoscopy anxiety, those with moderate (adjusted odds ratio [OR] 2.70, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.17 to 6.22) and high level of anxiety (adjusted OR 6.87, 95% CI 2.16 to 21.79) were associated with a gradual increase in the risk of severe discomfort (P-trend < 0.001). The association between pre-endoscopy anxiety and tolerance was linear, with an adjusted OR of 1.67(95% CI 1.33 to 2.08) for a 1-score increase in pre-endoscopy anxiety VAS. The associations were not modified by age, sex, pharyngitis, duration of endoscopy, and diameter of the endoscope., Conclusions: Pre-endoscopy anxiety was an independent predictor of severe discomfort and poor tolerance in Chinese patients undergoing unsedated EGD. Our findings suggested the importance of the management of anxiety to reduce adverse endoscopic experience and taking high level of anxiety as an indication for sedation., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Importance: Chronic subdural hematoma (CSDH) is a trauma-associated condition commonly found in elderly patients. Surgery is currently the treatment of choice, but it carries a significant risk of recurrence and death. Nonsurgical treatments remain limited and ineffective. Our recent studies suggest that atorvastatin reduces hematomas and improves the clinical outcomes of patients with CSDH., Objective: To investigate the safety and therapeutic efficacy of atorvastatin to nonsurgically treat patients with CSDH., Design, Setting, and Participants: The Effect of Atorvastatin on Chronic Subdural Hematoma (ATOCH) randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind phase II clinical trial was conducted in multiple centers in China from February 2014 to November 2015. For this trial, we approached 254 patients with CSDH who received a diagnosis via a computed tomography scan; of these, 200 (78.7%) were enrolled because 23 patients (9.1%) refused to participate and 31 (12.2%) were disqualified., Interventions: Patients were randomly assigned to receive either 20 mg of atorvastatin or placebo daily for 8 weeks and were followed up for an additional 16 weeks., Main Outcomes and Measures: The primary outcome was change in hematoma volume (HV) by computed tomography after 8 weeks of treatment. The secondary outcomes included HV measured at the 4th, 12th, and 24th weeks and neurological function that was evaluated using the Markwalder grading scale/Glasgow Coma Scale and the Barthel Index at the 8th week., Results: One hundred ninety-six patients received treatment (169 men [86.2%]; median [SD] age, 63.6 [14.2] years). The baseline HV and clinical presentations were similar between patients who were taking atorvastatin (98 [50%]) and the placebo (98 [50%]). After 8 weeks, the HV reduction in patients who were taking atorvastatin was 12.55 mL more than those taking the placebo (95% CI, 0.9-23.9 mL; P = .003). Forty-five patients (45.9%) who were taking atorvastatin significantly improved their neurological function, but only 28 (28.6%) who were taking the placebo did, resulting in an adjusted odds ratio of 1.957 for clinical improvements (95% CI, 1.07-3.58; P = .03). Eleven patients (11.2%) who were taking atorvastatin and 23 (23.5%) who were taking the placebo underwent surgery during the trial for an enlarging hematoma and/or a deteriorating clinical condition (hazard ratio, 0.47; 95% CI, 0.24-0.92; P = .03). No significant adverse events were reported., Conclusions and Relevance: Atorvastatin may be a safe and efficacious nonsurgical alternative for treating patients with CSDH., Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02024373.

Objective: To explore the etiology of acute hepatitis hospitalized patients in Beijing Ditan Hospital from 2002 to 2011., Methods: We summed up the changes in the characteristics of the etiology of acute hepatitis of patients mentioned above, and preliminarily analyze the causes., Results: From 2002 to 2011, 6235 patients with acute hepatitis were admitted to Ditan Hospital, aged between 12 and 78 years old, Of which 4309 were male and 1926 female. Acute viral hepatitis accounted for 70.44%-85.07%, while CMV, EBV, drug-induced liver injury accounted less than 5%, and acute hepatitis D and acute hepatitis C less than 1.10%. From year to year, the incidence and constitution of acute hepatitis changed significantly. The proportion of patients with acute hepatitis in total hospitalized patients was from 20. 38% to 2.05%. In 10 years, the percentage of acute hepatitis A decreased most obviously, about 99.11%, while 45.07% decline in incidence of acute hepatitis B and 62. 28% of acute hepatitis E. The constituent ratio of acute hepatitis also changed significantly. The proportion of acute hepatitis A declined from 31.31% in 2002, to less than 1% in 2011. The proportion of acute hepatitis B increased from 26.47% in 2002 to 45.88% in 2011, an increase of about 2 folds in 10 years. The proportion of acute hepatitis E increased from 26.73% in 2002 to 32.05% in 2010, a rise of 1.20 times in 10 years., Conclusions: The proportion of patients with acute hepatitis in total hospitalized patients decreased from 20. 38% in 2002 to 2. 05% in 2011 in Beijing Ditan Hospital. The constituent ratio of acute hepatitis changed, too.

Five Gram-negative, rod-shaped, moderately halophilic and denitrifying strains, designated XK1(T), XK2, XK3, XK4 and XK5, were isolated from a saline and alkaline soil in Korla, north-western China. These isolates could grow anaerobically using either nitrate or nitrite as terminal electron acceptors and produced gas from nitrate vigorously. A comparison and phylogenetic analysis of 16S rRNA gene sequences placed these isolates in the genus Halomonas within the family Halomonadaceae. The isolates shared the highest 16S rRNA gene sequence similarities with Halomonas ventosae Al12(T )(95.6 %), Halomonas alimentaria YKJ-16(T) (95.5 %) and Halomonas shengliensis SL014B-85(T) (95.2 %) (values determined by mega 3.1; direct comparison results with GenBank were even lower, not >/=94 %). Sequence similarities with other recognized species were below 95.0 %, far below the 97.0 % threshold generally accepted for the delineation of separate species. BOX-PCR fingerprinting and DNA-DNA hybridization showed high similarities among the five strains which indicated they were members of the same species. The major fatty acids were C(18 : 1)omega8t, C(16 : 0) and C(18 : 1)omega7t. The DNA G+C content was 65.3 mol%. All the results of the phenotypic and genetic analyses supported the hypothesis that the five new strains represent a novel species within the genus Halomonas, for which the name Halomonas korlensis sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is XK1(T) (=CGMCC 1.6981(T)=DSM 19633(T)).

Genital herpes caused by herpes simplex virus (HSV) infection is one of the most prevalent sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and the most common cause of genital ulcer disease (GUD) in developed and developing countries. The monitoring of HSV-2 seroprevalence in pregnant women can identify women at a higher risk of HIV and of neonatal HSV transmission. Very few data are available on type specific seroprevalence of HSV-2 in China, with only one previous study from southern China. Consequently, we conducted a survey to determine type specific seroprevalence of HSV-2 and associated risk factors in Fuzhou City, eastern China.

Objective: To determine the prevalence of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) among women attending an antenatal clinic in urban China and to show whether reported symptoms and findings on clinical examination predicted STIs in this population., Study Design: Cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted among 504 pregnant women attending an antenatal clinic in Fuzhou, China. Structured questionnaires were used to collect demographic and behavioral information, and clinical and gynecologic examinations were performed to detect clinical signs of STIs. Blood samples, vaginal swabs, and cervical swabs were collected, respectively, to test for antibodies to syphilis, culture Trichomonas vaginalis (T. vaginalis), and perform PCR to detect Chlamydia trachomatis (C. trachomatis) and Neisseria gonorrhoeae (N. gonorrhoeae)., Results: C trachomatis was detected in 51 (10.1%), N gonorrhoeae in 4 (0.8%), T vaginalis in 16 (3.2%), and syphilis in 1 (0.2%) of the 504 pregnant women. Fifty-two (73%) of 71 women with any STI were asymptomatic. Multiple logistic regression analysis indicated that age RMB 2000 yuan (OR=3.57) were significant independent risk factors for chlamydial infection (P<0.05). The reported symptom of vaginal discharge or the clinical sign of either vaginal or cervical discharge poorly predicted infection with C trachomatis, N gonorrhoeae, or T vaginalis, with a positive predictive value <25% for each STI., Conclusion: A substantial prevalence of STIs, including a large proportion of asymptomatic infections, was found among pregnant women in the study area. These results support a strategy of screening pregnant women for bacterial STIs (followed by treatment of infections), which could be integrated into routine pregnancy care in China.

To determine the feasibility of microbiological control of chironomid larvae in water sources for the city of Shenzhen, China, the toxicity characteristics of Bacillus thuringiensis var. israelensis (Bti) IPS82 on Chironomus kiiensis Tokunaga were studied. Tests on fermentation products of IPS82 showed good correlations between toxicity, cell density, dissolved oxygen, and the spore-forming phase. In this study, bioassays were carried out with different stage larvae. Results showed that the LC50s (24 h postexposure) were 8.2, 15.2, 24.7, and 38.6 mg/liter for the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th instars, respectively. Tests on environmental factors influencing toxicity of Bti to C. kiiensis showed that sunlight is the most important factor, shortening the half-life of Bti from 21 days in dark to 10 days under sunlight. Temperature variations (15-30 degrees C) caused no impact on toxicity, but a 16% increase in larval mortality was observed at 35 degrees C. The toxicity of IPS82 was greatest at a pH of 7. In field trials, dosages above 100 mg/liter were effective in the control of C. kiiensis. Our study indicated that it is feasible to use Bti to control C. kiiensis in city source water.