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Benggang is a special type of soil erosion, which widely distributes in the granite residual soil area of southern China. Owing to the influence of local climate and topography, shallow cracks having different morphological characteristics are easily formed on the slope surface. These shallow cracks damage the surface structure of the slope and accelerate water infiltration, making it easier to cause severe soil and water loss. However, the mechanism of Benggang process is still unclear, especially for slopes with different shallow crack characteristics. In this study, granite residual soil was collected from Benngang erosion area in Yudu County, Jiangxi Province, southern China. Three experimental treatments with slope surface crack rates of 0%, 5.23%, and 11.70% were performed. Simultaneous monitoring of moisture content and soil temperature in the slope were carried out during rainfall, and the characteristics of preferential flow were monitored with different crack rates. Morphological development and evolution process of Benggang with different crack rates were studied. Results show that high surface crack rate of the shallow surface on the slope accelerated the development of shallow gully erosion, leading to premature occurrence of gully erosion. As the shallow crack rate increased from 0% to 5.23% and 11.70%, the width-depth ratio of the rills at the slope bottom increased from 0.69 to 1.02 and 1.16, respectively. At the same time, a correlation between moisture and temperature data was observed for the process of water-heat coupled migration. The upper soil temperature of slope decreased quickly due to preferential flow. The simultaneous monitoring of soil moisture and temperature can effectively track preferential flow and indicate the water movement. Temperature data was a more sensitive indicator of the seepage paths of preferential flow compared to moisture data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Large stocks of many kinds of zinc smelting solid waste have been generated; moreover, the disposal process consumes high amounts of energy and takes low output rate of metal resources, which seriously endangers regional ecological environment and human health. The purpose of this study is to compare the environmental impact of the production process of zinc in the "traditional smelting mode" and the "solid waste synergism mode"; to further investigate the efficiency of material utilization, resource recovery, and carbon reduction in the two modes; and to provide expectations and suggestions for reducing environmental risks. Methods: This study focuses on a typical zinc smelting enterprise in China, with the help of SimaPro 9.0 software, to compare and analyze the differences in direct, indirect, and overall environmental impacts between the "traditional mode" and the "synergism mode," with a focus on the production and waste disposal processes. At the same time, the potential environmental burdens and carbon emission levels that could be reduced by solid waste co-processing are further investigated. Results and discussion: The results show that although the environmental burden of "the acid production from flue gas" is slightly higher in the synergism mode than the traditional mode, the environmental burden caused by all other processes is reduced by more than 20% and the energy consumption is reduced by 20.6–21.4% with the synergism mode. For the waste residue disposal process, the recovery rate of valuable components, such as Zn, Cd, and In, increased approximately 30% compared with the traditional mode, and the total environmental burden is reduced nearly onefold. In addition, the "concentrate + slag" smelting method has reduced zinc concentrate consumption per unit of zinc product by 26.7% and cut carbon emissions by 57.3%. Conclusions: Solid waste co-processing can effectively reduce the stockpiling of waste residues and perform secondary recovery of metal resources. Enhancing the solid waste collaborative utilization level can greatly reduce environmental risks and realize resource recycling for nonferrous industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Anopheles anthropophagus (Xu and Feng 1975) is the major vector of malaria in Eastern and Southern China. The species An. anthropophagus is considered a synonym of An. lesteri (Baisas & Hu, 1936), although they differ in several key biological characteristics. Here, we report the complete mitochondrial genome of An. anthropophagus for the first time. The mitogenome of An. anthropophagus is a typical circular, double-stranded molecule with a total length of 15,413 base pairs, and contains 13 protein-coding genes, 22 transfer RNA genes, two ribosomal RNA genes, and an AT-rich control region. A phylogenetic analysis of the complete mitogenomes of 16 species of Anopheles (Culicidae) revealed that An. anthropophagus is closely related to An. sinensis (Wiedemann 1828), in the family Culicidae. The An. anthropophagus mitogenome provides new data for further taxonomic and phylogenetic studies of the genus Anopheles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Extant literature has documented the positive effects of off-farm work and non-wood forest products on economic welfare. However, little empirical evidence has been provided on the combination of participating in both of the aforementioned income diversification strategies (IDS) and an assessment of the correlation with economic welfare. This study aims to fulfill the knowledge gap by identifying the determinants of IDS and empirically assessing the association between the IDS and household welfare and resource allocation of forestry farm households in China. Using a unique survey data of 3099 forestry farm households from seven provinces of China, a recently-developed multi-valued treatment effect model was estimated to address the potential selectivity bias. The empirical results show that household size, labor force, forestland size, farmland size, access to the forestland property certificate, human capital of the household head, and regional heterogeneity are associated with the IDS decisions. Farm households that participate in IDS have a higher value of forestry income, agricultural income, off-farm income, consumption, savings, and lower odds of relative poverty compared with their counterparts without IDS participation. The improvement in economic performance, as a result of IDS, is possible because of an efficient reallocation of family resources and a high likelihood of receiving government financial and technical support. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Twenty-three surface sediment samples were collected from Jiaojiang Estuary, East China Sea in order to assess the distribution, possible sources, and potential risk of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in the environment. Total concentrations of PCBs ranged from 4.93 to 108.79ngg−1 dry weight for all sampling stations, with a substantial higher concentration in the inner part of the estuary than the outer part of the estuary. PCB patterns in sediments from sites 1–8 were extremely dominated by tetra-PCBs, which probably due to the discharge of local industrial plants but not the expected input from the nearby e-waste recycling areas. Principal component analysis revealed that the sources of PCBs for sites 9–23 were associated with Aroclor 1248 or Aroclor 1221. However, physical migration and bio-degradation may also play a role on PCB distribution. Hazard assessment of PCBs indicated possible toxic potential, particularly in areas close to point sources. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Summary: Extranodal nasal-type natural killer/T-cell lymphoma presenting in skin, either primary or secondary, is relatively rare in China, accounting for about 4.1% of tumors. The clinicopathologic features of the neoplasm are still poorly understood. Sixteen Chinese cases of cutaneous natural killer/T-cell lymphomas were investigated retrospectively by pathology, immunophenotype, genotype, Epstein-Barr virus status, and survival analysis. The mean age of the patients was 36.3 years; 81% of the patients presented with multiple cutaneous lesions. Angiocentricity and epidermotropism were observed in 43.7% and 25%, respectively; the average number of mitoses was 12 per 10 high-power fields. The neoplastic cells of all 16 cases were positive for CD3ɛ/CD45RO and granzyme B and negative for CD4, CD5, CD8, and CD20; 87.5% of the tumors expressed CD56. Signals for EBER were detected in 81.3% of cases. No clonal TCRγ/TCRβ gene rearrangement was demonstrated. Thirteen of 15 patients received chemotherapy; a partial response was achieved in 10 patients; 10 (66.7%) of 15 patients died of the disease, and the average survival time was 6.6 months. In conclusion, both primary and secondary cutaneous natural killer/T-cell lymphomas are highly aggressive. The outcome is closely related to the number and distribution of the lesions as well as the stage. In patients with generalized skin lesions and extracutaneous involvement, the prognosis usually is poor. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Purpose: To assess the performance of the Antibody Prevalence in Chinese Patients with Epilepsy and Encephalopathy (APE 2 -CHN) and Response to Immunotherapy in Chinese Patients with Epilepsy and Encephalopathy (RITE 2 -CHN) scores in Chinese patients with epilepsy of unknown etiology., Methods: We conducted a retrospective study of selected patients from Xiangya Hospital, Central South University (01/01/2017-02/28/2019) whose serum and/or cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) samples were examined for autoimmune encephalitis antibodies. Of these, patients with diagnostic code of seizure or epilepsy were selected in our study. An APE 2 -CHN score was assigned to each patient and a RITE 2 -CHN score was calculated for each patient who received immunotherapy. Receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to assess each score., Results: 191 patients were enrolled in our study. 36 were identified with specific etiologies. The remaining 155 patients had unknown etiology. Central nervous system-specific antibodies were detected in 76 (49.0 %) patients, after excluding patients with only anti-thyroid peroxidase or glutamic acid decarboxylase antibodies. N-methyl-d-aspartate receptor (NMDAR) antibody (48.7 %, 37/76) was the most common subtype of our sample, followed by γ-aminobutyric acid type B receptor (GABAR) (14.5 %, 11/76). Clinical features including new-onset epilepsy, neuropsychiatric changes, speech disorder, movement disorder and inflammatory CSF profile correlated with positive antibody results. The sensitivity and specificity of APE 2 -CHN ≥ 5 in predicting the presence of neural-specific autoantibodies in our study were 85.5 % and 58.9 % respectively. In the subset of patients who received immunotherapy (n = 112), sensitivity and specificity of a RITE 2 -CHN ≥ 8 in predicting favorable seizure outcome were 98.6 % and 63.2 % respectively. The area under the curve (AUC) of RITE 2 -CHN was greater than that of RITE 2 (Z = 3.196, p < 0.05) while there was no significant difference in AUC between APE 2 and APE 2 -CHN (Z = 1.058, p = 0.290)., Conclusion: The APE 2 -CHN and RITE 2 -CHN scores may be useful screening tools in predicting positive antibody findings and prognosis of suspected autoimmune seizures or associated epilepsy in the Chinese population., (Copyright © 2020 British Epilepsy Association. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Extranodal natural killer/T-cell lymphoma, nasal-type (ENKTL-N) initially presented in larynx is a rare condition without distinctive clinicopathologic features, with a challenging pathologic diagnosis. This study aimed to evaluate the clinicopathologic features and diagnosis of laryngeal ENKTL-N and spread awareness regarding ENKTL-N. A series of 31 cases of laryngeal ENKTL in one Chinese institution over a 9-year interval was retrospectively analyzed. Median age was 50 years (range, 13 to 77 y) with a male/female ratio of 5.2:1 (26/5). All patients initially presented with hoarseness and/or laryngalgia, and 10 patients (32.3%) experienced B symptoms. The supraglottic region was the most common site of occurrence (58.1%), the glottic area being the rarest site (6.5%). The mucosal squamous epithelium was detected in 26 specimens and pseudoepitheliomatous hyperplasia was observed in 8 cases (8/26, 30.8%). "Keratin-pearls" and a "pseudoinvasive" pattern were observed in 2 cases. Follow-up data were available for 26 patients (83.9%), the median survival duration was 9 months, and the overall survival rate at 5 years was 29.6%. Univariate analysis revealed that patients experiencing B symptoms (P=0.019) and age above 60 years had a significantly low survival (P=0.049) and that combined radiotherapy and chemotherapy prolongs overall survival (P<0.001). Laryngeal ENKTL-N is a rare entity with high aggressiveness and a poor prognosis. Multiple biopsies are usually required owing to secondary infection and massive necrosis. Laryngeal EKTL-N may mimic inflammatory lesions or well-differentiated squamous cell carcinoma. Therefore, clinical vigilance is essential to prevent misdiagnosis or a delayed diagnosis.

Anaerobic ammonium-oxidizing (anammox) bacteria have been detected in many marine and freshwater ecosystems. However, little is known about the distribution, diversity, and abundance of anammox bacteria in terrestrial ecosystems. In this study, anammox bacteria were found to be present in various agricultural soils collected from 32 different locations in China. Phylogenetic analysis of the 16S rRNA genes showed "Candidatus Brocadia," "Candidatus Kuenenia," "Candidatus Anammoxoglobus," and "Candidatus Jettenia" in the collected soils, with "Candidatus Brocadia" being the dominant genus. Quantitative PCR showed that the abundance of anammox bacteria ranged from 6.38 × 10(4) ± 0.42 × 10(4) to 3.69 × 10(6) ± 0.25 × 10(6) copies per gram of dry weight. Different levels of diversity, composition, and abundance of the anammox bacterial communities were observed, and redundancy analysis indicated that the soil organic content and the distribution of anammox communities were correlated in the soils examined. Furthermore, Pearson correlation analysis showed that the diversity of the anammox bacteria was positively correlated with the soil ammonium content and the organic content, while the anammox bacterial abundance was positively correlated with the soil ammonium content. These results demonstrate the broad distribution of diverse anammox bacteria and its correlation with the soil environmental conditions within an extensive range of Chinese agricultural soils.

Background: The subtype distribution of lymphoid neoplasms in Southwest China was analyzed according to WHO classifications. This study aims to analyze subtype distribution of lymphomas in southwest China., Methods: Lymphoid neoplasms diagnosed within 9 years in a single institution in Southwest China were analyzed according to the WHO classification., Results: From January 2000 to December 2008, a total number of 6,382 patients with lymphoma were established, of which mature B-cell neoplasms accounted for 56%, mature T- and NK-cell neoplasms occupied 26%, and precursor lymphoid neoplasms and Hodgkin lymphomas were 5% and 13%, respectively. Mixed cellularity (76%) was the major subtype of classical Hodgkin lymphoma; and the bimodal age distribution was not observed. The top six subtypes of non-Hodgkin lymphoma were as follows: diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, extranodal NK/T-cell lymphoma, nasal type, extranodal marginal zone lymphoma of mucosa associated lymphoid tissue, follicular lymphoma, precursor lymphoid neoplasms, and chronic lymphocytic leukemia/small lymphocytic lymphoma. Extranodal lymphomas comprised about half of all cases, and most frequently involved Waldeyer's ring, gastrointestinal tract, sinonasal region and skin., Conclusions: The lymphoid neoplasms of Southwest China displayed some epidemiologic features similar to those reported in literature from western and Asian countries, as well as other regions of China, whereas some subtypes showed distinct features. The high frequency of mature T/NK cell neoplasms and extranodal lymphomas, especially for extranodal NK/T-cell lymphoma, nasal type, is the most outstanding characteristic of this series.

Background: Health-related quality of life (HRQOL) has been increasingly emphasized in cancer patients. There are no reports comparing baseline HRQOL of different subgroups of glioma patients prior to surgery., Methods: HRQOL assessments by the standard Chinese version of the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Core Questionnaire 30 (EORTC QLQ-C30, version 3.0), the Mini-Mental State Examination and Karnofsky Performance Status were obtained from glioma patients prior to surgery., Results: Ninety-two pathologically confirmed glioma patients were recruited. There were 84.8% patients with emotional impairment, 75% with social and cognitive impairment, 70.7% with physical impairment, and 50% with role impairment. Eighty-two percent of patients reported fatigue symptoms, 72.8% reported pain, 50% reported appetite loss, 39.1% reported insomnia, and 36.9% reported nausea/vomiting, whereas other symptoms (dyspnea, diarrhea, constipation) in the QLQ-C30 were reported by fewer than 30% of patients. Fatigue and pain symptoms and all "functioning" scales were strongly correlated with global health status/quality of life (QoL). Fatigue was strongly related to all functioning scales, pain, appetite loss, and global health status/QoL. No difference in baseline HRQOL prior to surgery was reported between females and males, among different lesion locations, or between normal- and abnormal-cognition subgroups of glioma patients. Age, KPS, WHO grade, and tumor recurrence significantly affected HRQOL in glioma patients., Conclusions: These data provided the baseline HRQOL in glioma patients prior to surgery in China. Most pre-surgery glioma patients indicated emotional, social, cognitive, physical, and role impairment. Fatigue, pain, appetite loss, insomnia, and nausea/vomiting were common in these patients. The fatigue and pain symptoms and all types of functioning strongly affected global health status/QoL. Old age, worse performance status, WHO grade IV and tumor recurrence had deleterious effects on HRQOL.

The impact of triazophos, bensulfuron-methyl, chlobenthiazone on soil biochemical characteristics in a paddy soil under controlled moisture (flooded soil) and temperature (25 degrees C) condition was studied. The electron transport system (ETS)/dehydrogenase activity displayed a negative correlation with triazophos, bensulfuron-methyl, chlobenthiazone concentrations, and the activity decreased as the concentration of the pesticides increased. The higher doses, 5 and 10 field rates, of triazophos, bensulfuron-methyl, chlobenthiazone significantly inhibited ETS activity, while lower rates failed to produce any significant reducing effect against the control. The relative toxicity of triazophos, bensulfuron-methyl, chlobenthiazone in decreasing the ETS activity was in the order: triazophos > chlobenthiazone > bensulfuron-methyl, irrespective of the rates of application. Triazophos, bensulfuron-methyl, chlobenthiazone caused an improvement in the soil phenol content and it increased with increasing concentration of triazophos, bensulfuron-methyl, chlobenthiazone. Triazophos, bensulfuron-methyl, chlobenthiazone incorporation did not produce any significant change in soil protein content. The response of biomass phospholipid content was nearly similar to ETS activity. The phospholipid content was decreased with the addition of triazophos, bensulfuron-methyl, chlobenthiazone in the order of triazophos > chlobenthiazone > bensulfuron-methyl; and the toxicity of applied amount was in the order: 10 FR (field rate) > 5 FR > 1.0 FR > 0.5 FR > control.