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Primary angle closure disease (PACD) is a major cause of blindness worldwide. It has a high prevalence in East Asia, especially in China, which leads to a higher incidence of blindness than open-angle glaucoma. The aim of this study was to directly observe the circumlental space (CLS) in laser peripheral iridotomized eyes with PACD and to determine whether this structure plays a role in the pathogenesis of PACD. Fifty eyes of 50 patients with PACD, who had received laser peripheral iridotomy performed with neodymium:yttrium–aluminum-garnet were recruited from glaucoma clinics from March 2021 to May 2022, including 17 primary angle closure suspect (PACS), 16 primary angle closure (PAC) and 17 primary angle closure glaucoma (PACG). They were classified into two groups based on whether the ciliary process and the crystalline lens equator were in contact using slit-lamp photograph: the attached group and the unattached group. The demographic, clinical characteristics and anterior segment parameters measured from ultrasound biomicroscopy were compared between the attached group and the unattached group. Thirty-three eyes were assigned to the attached group and 17 eyes belonged to the unattached group. In the unattached group, the mean CLS was 0.10 ± 0.07 mm. No significant differences were identified between the different diagnosis groups in age, sex, best-corrected visual acuity, intraocular pressure, white-to-white, axial length, central corneal thickness, anterior chamber depth, flat keratometry, steep keratometry or iridotomy diameter (p > 0.05). The unattached group had shorter trabecular-ciliary process distance (p = 0.021) and larger ciliary process area (p = 0.001) compared with the attached group. Small CLS and its potential effect (partial ciliary block) might be considered as one of the mechanisms of PACD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Disentangling the underlying processes of plant adaptations to multiple abiotic stressors is crucial regarding promissory species for the restoration of riparian ecosystems prone to suffering extreme flood and drought events in the context of global climate change and human activities. Distylium chinense is a dominant evergreen shrub, distributed in the riparian areas of the Yangtze River in China. Here, one field study and five controlled experiments (Control, CK; single drought, D; single flooding, FF; from drought to recovery to full flooding, D-R-FF; from full flooding to recovery to drought, FF-R-D) were conducted. More hypertrophied lenticels, adventitious roots, and the increased stem-base hypertrophy of D. chinense were observed under the D-R-FF condition compared with FF and FF-R-D. Interestingly, the increase of the net photosynthetic rate (Pn) coincidentally occurred with the increase of heme degradation by heme oxygenase (r = 0.608, p = 0.003). Pn of D. chinense in D-R-FF was about twice as much as that in FF-R-D. The enhanced photosynthetic performance was functionally coupled with the adequate water supply to promote the tolerance of D. chinense to alternate drought–flooding condition compared with no any flooding condition. The accumulation of soluble sugar was highest under D, followed by FF-R-D, FF and D-R-FF, which showed that soluble sugar accumulation over the drought period could trigger the recovery growth of flooded plants in later flooding. These data provided the first insights into the tolerance mechanisms by a suite of morphological alterations and physiological adaptations, especially in the enhanced photosynthetic performance of D. chinense under alternating drought and flooding stresses. So, D. chinense could be considered as a prominent shrub species in the restoration practices of wetlands, riparian areas, and other flood-prone forests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the economy and society develop and the standard of living improves, people's health awareness increases and the demand for health information grows. This study introduces an advanced BERT-LDA model to conduct topic-sentiment analysis within online health communities. It examines nine primary categories of user information requirements: causes, symptoms and manifestations, examination and diagnosis, treatment, self-management and regulation, impact, prevention, social life, and knowledge acquisition. By analyzing the distribution of positive and negative sentiments across each topic, the correlation between various health information demands and emotional expressions is investigated. The model established in this paper integrates BERT's semantic comprehension with LDA's topic modeling capabilities, enhancing the accuracy of topic identification and sentiment analysis while providing a more comprehensive evaluation of user information demands. This research furthers our understanding of users' emotional reactions and presents valuable insights for delivering personalized health information in online communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The impact of Chinese-style fiscal decentralization on regional energy intensity has long been disputed by the supporters of "federal environmentalism" and those who hold "race to the bottom" views. At the same time, with the transformation of China's development mode, the Chinese government is paying increasing attention to the protection of ecological civilization and the realization of sustainable development, and the government's attention to the ecological environment is becoming an important factor affecting regional energy intensity. Therefore, this paper takes the fiscal decentralization and ecological attention of local governments in China as the research object and analyzes their impact mechanism on regional energy intensity. Firstly, the entropy weight method was used to measure the comprehensive score of fiscal decentralization of Chinese local governments, and the text analysis method was used to obtain the ecological attention index of Chinese provincial local governments, which was sorted into panel data of 30 provinces (municipalities and autonomous regions) in mainland China from 2007 to 2019. The spatial econometric model and panel threshold model are structured as the means for analyzing the impact that fiscal decentralization and the ecological attention of local governments have, respectively, on regional energy intensity targets. We obtained the following conclusions: Chinese fiscal decentralization can significantly improve the regional energy intensity, and the fiscal decentralization of a region can significantly reduce the energy intensity in nearby regions; the enhancement of ecological attention of local governments will significantly inhibit regional energy intensity, and also has a significant inhibitory effect on the energy intensity of neighboring regions. As the threshold variable—which is the ecological attention of local governments—increases and reaches a certain level, fiscal decentralization will significantly and reversely inhibit regional energy intensity, indicating that the ecological attention of local governments can moderate the distortion of fiscal decentralization with regards to regional energy efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Compared with unaffected individuals, patients with type 2 diabetes (T2DM) have higher risk of hypertension, and diabetes combined with hypertension can lead to server cardiovascular disease. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to establish a simple nomogram model to identify the determinants of hypertension in patients with T2DM and to quickly calculate the probability of hypertension in individuals with T2DM. Materials and methods: A total of 643,439 subjects participating in the national physical examination has been recruited in this cross-sectional study. After excluding unqualified subjects, 30,507 adults with T2DM were included in the final analysis. 21,355 and 9,152 subjects were randomly assigned to the model developing group and validation group, respectively, with a ratio of 7:3. The potential risk factors used in this study to assess hypertension in patients with T2DM included questionnaire investigation and physical measurement variables. We used the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator models to optimize feature selection, and the multivariable logistic regression analysis was for predicting model. Discrimination and calibration were assessed using the receiver operating curve (ROC) and calibration curve. Results: The results showed that the major determinants of hypertension in patients with T2DM were age, gender, drinking, exercise, smoking, obesity and atherosclerotic vascular disease. The area under ROC curve of developing group and validation group are both 0.814, indicating that the prediction model owns high disease recognition ability. The p values of the two calibration curves are 0.625 and 0.445, suggesting that the nomogram gives good calibration. Conclusion: The individualized nomogram model can facilitate improved screening and early identification of patients with hypertension in T2DM. This procedure will be useful in developing regions with high epidemiological risk and poor socioeconomic status just like Urumqi, in Northern China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Thousand Island Lake (TIL) is a fragmented landscape consisting of more than 1000 land-bridge islands isolated during reservoir formation. To evaluate the effects of fragmentation and island attributes on insect populations, we examined the genetic structure ofLoxoblemmus aomoriensis, a species of cricket widely distributed in TIL, and compared genetic diversity between islands samples. Population genetic analyses was conducted based on mitochondrial DNA haplotype frequencies of 10 sample islands. By comparing three island attributes with population genetic diversity reveals that island area influenced population genetic diversity (r2 = 0.5094,p = 0.00204). Using Pairwise Fst values, we also found that long-distance isolation increased the genetic differentiation, while short-distance isolation can be offset by dispersal. These results indicate that fragmentation can impact populations on a genetic level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nitrogen pollution caused serious environmental problems in reservoir ecosystems. Reducing nitrogen pollution by enhancing nitrogen removal in river sediments deserved intensive research. Distributions of nitrogen contents in sediment-water interface were characterized along the Xiangxi bay (XXB), a eutrophic tributary in Three Gorges Reservoir, China. More than 47% of total Kjeldahl nitrogen (TKN) and 67% of total organic nitrogen (TON) were degraded during burial. Higher TN, TON and NH 4 + consuming at downstream sites indicated stronger nitrogen mineralization and release due to higher turbulence of the overlying density currents. Nitrifying bacteria, denitrifying bacteria, anaerobic ammonium oxidizing (anammox) bacteria and nitrite/nitrate-dependent anaerobic methane oxidation (N-DAMO) bacteria were detected in nitrate-ammonium transition zone. Nitrogen contents transitions were responded to microbial stakeholders indicated microbially mediated nitrogen cycling in sediments. The dissolved oxygen and nitrate availabilities were the key limits of denitrification and associated reactions. These results suggested microbial mediated nitrogen cycling processes in sediments were critical for nitrogen removal in aquatic ecosystems, and replenishing dissolved oxygen and nitrate was expected to enhance sediment denitrification and strengthen potential environmental self-purification. [Display omitted] • Nitrogen contents varied strongly in a eutrophic tributary's sediments in the TGR. • Sediment nitrogen contents highly responded to functional composition of microbial community. • Significant nitrogen transition indicated effectively nitrogen removal in sediments. • Oxygen and nitrate availabilities were the key limits of nitrogen removal in the sediments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vegetation growing concrete (VGC) is a kind of concrete composed of a sand-free porous concrete skeleton and plant-growing substrate, which has a certain strength and is suitable for plant growth. In this study, Lolium perenne , Festuca arundinacea , and Festuca rubra were used to construct VGC. The variation and temporal changes in the effects of these three herbaceous plants on the performance of VGC in terms of soil stabilization and slope protection were assessed herein. Plant growth at different growth stages, rainfall interception by the aboveground parts of the plants, and the erosion resistance and shear strength of the substrates were evaluated concurrently. The growth rate of the stems, leaves, and root systems of the three species of plants decreased over time. Overall, L. perenne had the best growth state, followed by F. rubra and F. arundinacea. The maximum interception amount and the maximum interception rate of the aboveground part of the vegetation increased initially then decreased over time. L. perenne had the highest maximum interception amount and rate, which were 83.5% and 12.7% higher than those of F. arundinacea , respectively, and 32.7% and 7.7% higher than those of F. rubra , respectively. Plant roots enhanced the erosion resistance and shearing strength of VGC. The erosion resistance and shearing strength of VGC increased over time and reached the maximum value at the later stages of plant growth. L. perenne had the highest enhancement effect on erosion resistance and the highest shearing strength, which were 5.9% and 8.3% higher than those of F. rubra , respectively, and 10.7% and 16.4% higher than those of F. arundinacea , respectively. Among the three herbs, L. perenne is the appropriate species for the construction of VGC for slope protection in the mountainous areas of southwest China. • Lolium perenne , Festuca arundinacea , and Festuca rubra vegetation concrete differed significantly in the rainfall interception. • Plant roots enhanced the erosion resistance and shearing strength of the vegetation concretes. • Among the three herbs, L. perenne is the appropriate species for the construction of vegetation concrete for slope protection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Different temperatures, air humidity, soil moisture content, and light intensity had significant effects on the photosynthesis and chlorophyll fluorescence characteristics of Distylium chinense from heterogeneous habitats. • D. chinense adopted different photosynthetic acclimation patterns and species-specific water use strategies under heterogeneous habitats. • D. chinense adjusted leaf area, specific leaf area, stomatal conductance, photochemical quenching coefficient and non-photochemical quenching to photochemically fix and store more carbon to meet their needs for growth under heterogeneous habitats. Distylium chinense is an evergreen dominant shrub with strong adaptability under heterogeneous habitats, including natural riparian zone (NRZ), anti-seasonal water level fluctuation zone (ASWLFZ), and no water level fluctuation zone (NWLFZ) in the Three Gorges Reservoir Region (TGRR) in China. In order to understand the photosynthetic ecological adaptability and habitat adaptation strategies of D. chinense under heterogeneous habitats, its photosynthesis and chlorophyll fluorescence parameters were investigated. The results showed that photosynthetic characteristics were significantly different among heterogeneous habitats (p <0.05). The PSII potential activity and PSII maximum photochemical efficiency (F v /F m) of D. chinense in the ASWLFZ were the highest among heterogeneous habitats. Non-photochemical quenching coefficient (qN) in the NWLFZ was higher than that in the NRZ and ASWLFZ (p <0.05). Stepwise regression analysis showed that water use efficiency and stomatal conductance were correlated with specific leaf area (SLA), leaf area and leaf dry weight. Regression curve fitting and canonical correspondence analysis revealed that light intensity, soil water content, air humidity and temperature were the main factors affecting photosynthetic characteristics and leaf functional traits. Our results evidenced that D. chinense adapted to the high water content and low light intensity environments, especially in the valley waterfall habitats, by increasing stomatal conductance and net photosynthetic rate, reducing SLA and maintaining moderate qN and F v /F m with adopting a profligate water use pattern to improve photosynthetic productivity. Therefore, D. chinense has a wide photosynthetic acclimation to different environments, which provided baseline information for the conservation and ecological restoration in the newly formed hydro-fluctuation zone and other similar degenerative riparian ecosystem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• High level of PFOA was found in fluoropolymer raw materials and products made in China. • The concentration of PFOA in fluoropolymer raw materials was higher than products. • Hexafluoropropylene oxide oligomers have been heavily used to substitute PFOA in fluoropolymer manufacture in China. • HFPO-TrA, a PFOA substitute, was found in high level in some emulsion samples. Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), its salts, and related compounds were listed as new persistent organic pollutants by the Stockholm Convention in 2019. In this study, the occurrence of residues of PFOA and other per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) in raw materials and fluoropolymer products from the Chinese fluoropolymer industries are reported for the first time. The PFOA concentrations in raw materials and fluoropolymer products were in the range of 6.7 to 1.1 × 106 ng/g, and

This study aimed to investigate the incidence and clinical characteristics of acute primary angle closure (APAC) during the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic in China. This was a retrospective study of patients diagnosed with APAC in a glaucoma clinic over a 5-year period. We compared the number of APAC cases during the COVID-19 outbreak (December 7, 2022 to January 7, 2023) with those during the same period in previous years and 2 months prior to the outbreak. We also collected data on the demographic and clinical features of APAC patients, such as age, sex, disease course, visual acuity, intraocular pressure (IOP), and lens opacity. We included 95 eyes of 88 patients with APAC were included. Of these, 65 were female and 23 were male. The mean age was 68.0 ± 8.1 years. The median disease course was 10.8 ± 9.5 days. There was a significant increase in the number of APAC cases during the COVID-19 outbreak compared with the same months over a 5-year period (44 vs 51, P < .001). A higher proportion of women developed APAC during the outbreak period than during the non-outbreak period (P < .001). Eyes with APAC in the outbreak period had a lower mean IOP than those in the preceding 6 months (40.5 ± 8.8 mm Hg vs 46.1 ± 10.1 mm Hg; P = .043). No significant differences were observed in disease duration, lens opacity, or bilateral or unilateral onset between the 2 groups. Our study suggests a potential correlation between APAC and COVID-19, marked by a significant surge in APAC cases concurrent with the COVID-19 outbreak. However, the underlying mechanisms and preventive strategies remain to be elucidated., Competing Interests: The authors have no conflicts of interest to disclose., (Copyright © 2024 the Author(s). Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc.)

Chlorinated paraffins (CPs) are typical semi-volatile chemicals (SVOCs) that have been used in copious quantities in indoor material additives. SVOCs distribute dynamically between the gas phase and various condensate phases, especially organic films. Investigating the dynamic behaviors of existing CPs in indoor environments is necessary for understanding their potential risk to humans from indoor exposure. We investigate the distribution profiles of CPs in both gas phase and organic films in indoor environments of residential buildings in Beijing, China. The concentrations of CPs were in the range of 32.21-1447 ng/m 3 in indoor air and in the range of 42.30-431.1 μg/m 2 and in organic films. Cooking frequency was identified as a key factor that affected the distribution profiles of CPs. Furthermore, a film/gas partitioning model was constructed to explore the transportation and fate of CPs. Interestingly, a re-emission phenomenon from organic films was observed for chemical groups with lower log K oa components, and, importantly, their residue levels in indoor air were well predicted. The estimated exposure risk of CPs in indoor environment was obtained. For the first time, these results produced convincing evidence that the co-exposure risk of short-chain CPs (SCCPs), medium-chain CPs (MCCPs), and long-chain CPs (LCCPs) in indoor air could be further increased by film/gas distribution properties, which is relevant for performing risk assessments of exposure to these SVOCs in indoor environments., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Energy efficiency and energy intensity are gradually gaining attention, and it is now an important proposition to reconcile financial marketization, fiscal decentralization, and regional energy intensity. Using Chinese mainland provincial panel data (except Tibet) from 2007 to 2019, this study applied the dynamic panel system generalized method of moments model, the spatial Durbin model, and the panel threshold model to investigate the mechanisms of financial marketization and fiscal decentralization on regional energy intensity. The study found that financial marketization can play a significant role in suppressing regional energy intensity, while fiscal decentralization promotes energy intensity. Meanwhile, financial marketization in one province can have a negative spatial transmission effect on energy intensity in other provinces, while fiscal decentralization in one province has a negative spatial spillover effect on energy intensity in other provinces. Based on the analysis of the moderating and threshold effects, financial marketization not only moderates the negative externality of fiscal decentralization, making it inhibit energy intensity in the opposite direction, but also gradually increases the moderating effect on fiscal decentralization as the degree of financial marketization increases, showing a nonlinear inhibiting effect on regional energy intensity.

The production and application of organophosphate esters (OPEs) have dramatically increased in recent years due to their use as a replacement for brominated flame retardants. In this study, 13 OPEs (Σ 13 OPEs) were analyzed in indoor air samples from kitchens and living rooms in 14 residential homes in Beijing, China. The concentrations of Σ 13 OPEs in kitchen air samples (mean: 13 ng/m 3 ) were significantly (p < 0.05) higher than in living room air samples (5.0 ng/m 3 ). In addition, paired window surface organic film samples were collected and analyzed to investigate film-air partitioning, exhibiting a mean concentration of Σ 13 OPEs of 4100 ng/m 2 . The congener profiles showed that tris(2-chloroisopropyl) phosphate (TCPP) was the predominant compound in both window film samples (48%) and the corresponding indoor air sample (56%). The estimated daily intakes (EDI) of OPEs via indoor air inhalation were 2.8 and 1.4 ng/kg/day for infants and adults, respectively, both of which are below the reference dose values (RfDs). Overall, these findings indicate that OPEs in the indoor air environment of residential homes in Beijing are not likely to pose a health risk to the general population., (Copyright © 2021. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

The epidemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has become a major public health disaster worldwide. From January 23 to March 20, total 17 patients with TMJ dislocation were treated in dental emergency department in School and Hospital of Stomatology, Wuhan University. Almost half of the patients are older than 80 years of age and they have recurrent joint dislocations. They are also at high risk for the COVID-19. The supine position technique method is suggested. The authors consider it necessary to recommend a practical management for TMJ dislocation.

In this study, levels of 14 organophosphate flame retardants (OPEs) were measured in 101 indoor dust samples collected from dormitories, residential homes, and offices in Beijing, China. In addition, paired air samples were also analyzed to evaluate any correlation between OPE levels in air and that in corresponding dust samples. The Σ 14 OPEs levels substantially varied between individual samples. Thereinto, significantly higher OPE levels were found in dust samples from office (mean value: 14 μg g -1 ), comparing to that in dust samples from residential homes (mean value: 5.9 μg g -1 ) and dormitories (mean value: 6.9 μg g -1 ). Congener profiles of OPEs in dust samples from different microenvironments indicated that tris (2-chloroethyl) phosphate (TCEP) was the dominant OPE in the office samples, followed by tris (2-chloroisopropyl) phosphate (TCPP). In contrast, TCPP was the dominant OPE in the residential home and dormitory samples, followed by TCEP. The mean concentration (range) of Σ 14 OPEs in the 15 air samples was 5.2 (1.0-20) ng m -3 , and TCPP was the dominated congener in these samples. The concentration of TCEP and TCPP in air was positively correlated with that in corresponding indoor dust, and OPEs with highly saturated vapor pressures have higher fractions in the air than that in the dust. The estimated daily intakes through dust ingestion, dermal absorption, and inhalation indicated that the exposure to OPEs in indoor environments do not result in significant health risk for the general population in Beijing., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Large amounts of short chain and medium chain chlorinated paraffins (SCCPs and MCCPs) are released into the environment during production and usage. However, compared to SCCPs, there is a significant lack of attention for MCCPs. In this work, 83 air samples, collected between 2012 and 2015 from the Tibetan Plateau, were analyzed to investigate the airborne levels and distributions of MCCPs, further to evaluate their potential long-range transport behavior on the alpine area. The total air MCCP concentrations at Shergyla Mountain and Lhasa were between 50 and 690 pg/m 3 and 800-6700 pg/m 3 , respectively. At Shergyla Mountain, MCCP concentrations in the air appeared an increasing trend with altitude, which indicated that MCCPs could potentially possess the ability of "mountain cold trapping". C 14 and C 15 congener groups were the dominant homologue groups. The mountain contamination potential (MCP) of different congener groups is closely related to their equilibrium partitioning coefficients between octanol and air (K OA ), and water and air (K WA ). Increasing MCCPs levels might be a potential threat to the environment and human exposure., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

This study presents the first investigation of concentrations and congener group patterns of short- and medium-chain chlorinated paraffins (SCCPs and MCCPs) in 159 dust samples from plastic sports courts and synthetic turf in Beijing, China. The geometric mean concentration of SCCPs and MCCPs in dusts from plastic tracks (5429 and 15157 μg g -1 ) and basketball courts (5139 and 11878 μg g -1 ) were significantly higher than those from plastic tennis courts, badminton courts, and synthetic turf; meanwhile, they were 1-3 orders of magnitude higher than in dusts from other indoor environments. The friction between sneaker soles and plastic track materials may lead to the wear and decomposition of rubber, which may be an important source of chlorinated paraffins (CPs) in the dust from plastic tracks. The mean estimated daily intakes of CPs from plastic tracks and basketball courts are generally higher than those estimated from dietary, breast milk, or other indoor dust sources. The margin of exposure for adults and children was greater than 1000 both at mean and high-exposure scenarios, indicating that no significant health risks were posed by CPs in the dust from plastic sports courts and synthetic turf.

As specific clinical manifestations and detection tools for early neonatal infections are lacking, early detection and treatment are ongoing challenges. The present study aimed to investigate the role and clinical significance of the CD64 index in comparison with conventional examination indices (WBC, PCT and CRP) for the early diagnosis of neonatal infection. Of 74 in-patient newborns, non-sepsis (non-specific infection but free of sepsis), sepsis and control [newborns with ABO hemolytic disease of the newborn (ABOHDN) but without infection] groups involved 32, 16 and 26 cases, respectively. Peripheral blood WBC, PCT, CRP and CD64 indices were acquired for all groups. The sepsis group showed significantly higher WBC, PCT and CRP levels than the control group. Compared with the non-sepsis group, the sepsis group demonstrated significant increases in PCT but not in WBC or CRP. Compared with the control group, the non-sepsis and sepsis groups had higher CD64 indices. Combined, compared with the WBC, PCT and CRP indices, the CD64 index is unique in its capacity to diagnose neonatal infections early. The CD64 index combined with other conventional indices may lay a basis for the future early diagnosis and effective treatment of neonatal infections.