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Tangshan is a typical heavy industrial city in North China. Evernia mesomorpha (EV) from a remote site was exposed at the non-industrial and industrial sites of Tangshan in the winter heating period of 2016-2017 for 4 months. Concentration of 50 elements in the samples before and after exposure was measured using ICP (Inductively Coupled Plasma). The results show that exposure concentrations of the 49 elements are significantly higher than the background concentrations, coinciding with the fact that the exposure area had higher pollutant contents than the background area. The results show that exposure concentrations are significantly higher than the background concentrations which had a low variability, confirming the applicability of this lichen in active biomonitoring of atmospheric deposition of 49 elements in China. The elements are classified into crustal (Ag, Al, As, Cs, K, P, Rb, Si, Th, U, Sc, and 15 Lanthanides), atmospheric-crustal (Be, Bi, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Ge, Li, Mg, Mn, Mo, Nb, Ni, Pb, Sb, Se, Sn, Sr, Ti, Tl, and V), and atmospheric groups (S and Zn). PLIsite and PLIzone often reveal one class of bioaccumulation higher at industrial sites than at non-industrial sites, regardless of element sources. After taking all groups together, the bioaccumulation is evaluated as heavy and moderate at the industrial and non-industrial sites, respectively. The bioaccumulation is the highest for the atmospheric elements (heavy to severe) and the lowest for the crustal elements (low to moderate). These results indicate that EV is a good biomonitor for all elements except P. Air quality of Tangshan in winter heating period is a concern due to industrial, transport and coal combustion emissions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The biomonitoring of atmospheric element deposition often uses a single composite sample to test the local mean lichen element concentrations, so as to reduce the expenditure. However, further study is needed to test the composite sample representativeness on the mean element concentration (CSRMC) and its lichen species specificity and element specificity. In this study, we compare the concentration differences of 55 elements between three lichens (Evernia mesomorpha Nyl., EVM; Usnea aciculifera Vain., UAC; Ramalina sinensis Jatta., RSI) from a remote forest site of Hebei, northern China. The results show that the differences of element concentrations between lichens have strong element specificity. Composite samples can well represent the local mean element concentrations in three lichens. CSRMC is the highest in RSI in comparison with EVM and UAC. It is usually ranking 1 for most elements in three lichens except Al, Ca, Hg, P and Si. Therefore, when we use the composite samples with a small sample size for lichen biomonitoring, it is necessary to carefully select lichen species and the number of composite samples according to the CSRMC of the elements of interest. This method is especially suitable for sites with small spatial heterogeneity in atmospheric element depositions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Long winters led to a one‐crop‐a‐year cultivation system until the winter wheat Dongnongdongmai 1 (Dn1) was successfully cultivated in northeast China. This crop variety is resistant to extremely low temperatures (−35 °C).To better understand the adaptability of winter wheat Dn1 to low temperatures, gas chromatography time‐of‐flight mass spectrometry (GC‐TOF/MS) and metabolomics analysis was conducted on the tillering nodes of winter wheat during the overwintering period. Enzyme‐regulating genes of the metabolic products were also quantitatively analysed.The metabolomic results for the tillering nodes in the overwintering period showed that disaccharides had a strong protective effect on winter wheat Dn1. Amino acid metabolism (i.e. proline, alanine and GABA) changed significantly throughout the whole wintering process, whereas organic fatty acid metabolism changed significantly only in the late stage of overwintering. This result indicates that the metabolites used by winter wheat Dn1 differ in different overwintering stages.The relationship between field temperature and metabolite changes in winter wheat Dn1 during overwintering periods is discussed, and disaccharides were identified as the osmotic stress regulators for winter wheat Dn1 during the overwintering process, as well as maintenance of the carbon and nitrogen balance by monosaccharides, amino acids and lipids for cold resistance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Because of asymmetric information between issuing companies and investors, media coverage plays an important role in conveying information to investors during an initial public offering (IPO). The stock price is affected by a large amount of information released to the public through media coverage. Using a comprehensive sample of 1,075 IPOs on China's stock market from 2009 to 2016, this paper conducts a textual analysis to determine the tone of media coverage and examines the relationship between media tone and IPO underpricing as well as post-IPO volatility. The empirical results show that media coverage during an IPO is significantly negatively associated with IPO underpricing, which confirms our hypothesis that the tone of media coverage reduces the degree of information asymmetry between investors and issuers, regardless of whether the tone is positive or negative. Consistent with prospect theory, investors are more sensitive to media coverage with a negative tone. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We study 10-year IPO initial returns in China's small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) board between 2006 and 2016, including 755 IPO samples. At the same time, we test how policy changes of IPO pricing and trading mechanism affect first-day initial returns. Our article adopts the stochastic frontier approach to estimate the fair value of IPOs and decompose the components of deliberate underpricing and mis-valuation factors, then using linear regressions investigate correlation between first-day initial returns and deliberate underpricing or mis-valuation factors. We find it is mis-valuation factors, especially, the irrational behaviour of individual investors that mainly cause the IPO underpricing in China's SME market rather than deliberate underpricing. Besides, influenced by IPO pricing policies, the characteristic of IPO pricing varies from period to period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: The purpose of this experiment was to study the bacterial diversity and predominance of spoilage bacteria in chicken skin at different thermal treatment temperatures (60, 70, 80, 90, 100, 110, 120°C). Method and Results: Bacteria in chicken skin was collected, then propidium monoazide treatment to remove the DNA of dead cell, total DNA was extracted by Tiandz Bacterial DNA Kit, and investigated by high‐throughput sequencing of the v3/v4 regions of the 16S rDNA gene. A total of 796 008 high‐quality bacterial sequences were obtained for assessing the microbial diversity of chicken skin from seven thermal treatment group and control group. The results showed that the bacterial diversity in chicken skin at 90°C was lowest. And Acinetobacter (25·88%), Clostridium (20·70%), Bacteroides (13·93%) and Myroides (13·13%) were the main flora at 25°C; The Clostridium was dominant genus of the samples heat‐treated by 60, 70, 80 and 90°C, the proportion of this genus were up to 64·86, 77·42, 52·22 and 87·30% respectively. The Bacillus was the main flora of the samples heat‐treated by 100, 110 and 120°C, and the relative percentages were 39·44, 79·61 and 45·96% respectively. In addition, high‐temperature‐resistant Serratia was found in chicken skin. Conclusions: The study revealed that the relationship between thermal treatment temperature and bacterial diversity and dominant spoilage bacteria in chicken skin, which had a strong guiding significance for the control and prediction of micro‐organisms in foods. Significance and Impact of the Study: The results of this paper could provide a theoretical basis for meat products containing chicken skin, including the safe use of chicken skin, determination of sterilization process parameters and selection of preservatives for compounding, which has strong practicality in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The third (Es3) member of the Eocene Shahejie Formation is the main hydrocarbon source rock interval in the Raoyang Sag of the Bohai Bay Basin. The lower Es3 (Es3L) and upper Es3 (Es3U) submembers display clear differences in source rock quality. The formation mechanisms of the source rocks are investigated via geochemical methods using 60 samples from three wells to reconstruct the paleo-environment during deposition. The major element parameters exhibit changes in paleoclimate from humid to arid. Indicators such as Sr/Ba, B/Ga, the gammacerane index and isotopic data suggest fresh–brackish and hydrological open lakes with unstable water column stratification likely occurred during deposition of the Es3L submember and saline and hydrologically closed lakes with stable water column stratification likely during deposition of the Es3U submember. Carbon isotope values of organic matter, trace elements and biomarker parameters suggest that the Es3L submember had moderate productivity, with a significant contribution from terrigenous organic matter whereas the Es3U submember had slightly enhanced productivity, with no or minor contributions from terrigenous organic matter. Furthermore, the pristane/phytane ratio and the enrichment of Mo and U indicate that the euxinic bottom-water conditions (sulfidic) of the lakes during deposition of the Es3U submember were best for preserving organic matter. Comparison of the models of source rock deposition of the Es3L and Es3U submembers indicates that the redox conditions play an important role in the formation of organic-rich source rocks in the Raoyang Sag. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bluetongue is endemic in China, and Bluetongue virus (BTV) strains belonging to eight different serotypes (BTV-1, BTV-2, BTV-3, BTV-4, BTV-9, BTV-12, BTV-15 and BTV-16) had been isolated between 1996 and 1997. However, there has been a long pause in investigating the epidemiology of BTV infection since then. During 2012-2014, eight BTV strains belonging to serotypes 5, 7 and 24 were isolated for the first time in Yunnan and Guangdong provinces from the blood of sentinel animals. Phylogenetic analyses of genome segment 2 of these Chinese BTV strains grouped them into nucleotypes E, F and A, respectively, along with the reference strains of the same serotype. For each serotype, Chinese strains cluster together closely to form a China's sublineage. In addition, these strains were most closely related to strains from Africa, indicating that they may share a recent common ancestry with African strains. To our knowledge, this is the first time that BTV-5, BTV-7 and BTV-24 strains have been isolated in South-East Asia. These data will be beneficial for understanding the BTV epidemiology and improving diagnostic assays and control measures against bluetongue in China and its neighbouring countries in the Asia-Pacific region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Temporomandibular joint osteoarthritis ( TMJOA) is a complex disease and has a strong genetic component in its pathogenesis. Experimental evidence suggests the involvement of biological pathway in the disease. This case-control study was designed to investigate whether five common single nucleotide polymorphisms ( SNPs) in GDF5, SMAD3, RUNX2, TGFβ1 and CHST11, respectively, are associated with TMJOA in female Han Chinese patients. A total of 240 participants were evaluated comprising 114 female patients diagnosed with TMJOA based on Research Diagnostic Criteria for Temporomandibular Disorders and 126 healthy female controls. The SNPs of the five genes in the genomic DNA were examined by sequencing, and their allelic, genotypic and carriage rate frequency distributions, as well as the triple combination of the risk genotypes, were analysed using the logistic regression model. The SNP in GDF5 or SMAD3 showed significant association with TMJOA, a relatively weak association was observed in RUNX2. In the triple combinational analysis, the risk of TMJOA grew 5·09 times in the patients with five or six risk alleles ( P < 0·01). This is the first study to evaluate the association of GDF5, SMAD3, RUNX2, TGFβ1 and CHST11 with TMJOA in female Han Chinese. Our study suggests that the SNPs of genes related to TGFβ family might contribute to the risk of TMJOA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Composition and size distribution of atmospheric aerosols from Xi'an city (~400m, altitude) in inland China during the spring of 2009 including a massive dust event on 24 April were measured and compared with a parallel measurement at the summit (2060m, altitude) of Mt. Hua, an alpine site nearby Xi'an. EC (elemental carbon), OC (organic carbon) and major ions in the city were 2-22 times higher than those on the mountaintop during the whole sampling period. Compared to that in the non-dust period a sharp increase in OC was observed at both sites during the dust period, which was mainly caused by an input of biogenic organics from the Gobi desert. However, adsorption/heterogeneous reaction of gaseous organics with dust was another important source of OC in the urban, contributing 22% of OC in the dust event. In contrast to the mountain atmosphere where fine particles were less acidic when dust was present, the urban fine particles became more acidic in the dust event than in the non-dust event, mainly due to enhanced heterogeneous formation of nitrate and diluted NH3. Cl- and NO-3 in the urban air during the dust event significantly shifted toward coarse particles. Such redistributions were further pronounced on the mountaintop when dust was present, resulting in both ions almost entirely staying in coarse particles. On the contrary, no significant spatial difference in size distribution of SO2-4 was found between the urban ground surface and the mountain atmosphere, which dominated in the fine mode (<2.1 µm) during the nonevent and comparably distributed in the fine (<2.1 µm) and coarse (>2.1 µm) modes during the dust event. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: In China, renewable resources have attracted rising concerns in the sustainable development of circular agricultural economy because renewable resources are considered as a clean energy source and substitutes for chemical fertilizer in rural areas. However, a comprehensive analysis on renewable resources'' effect on agricultural ecosystem is still absent. To fill the blank, this paper chose two typical planting-soil ecosystems including greenhouse-soil ecosystem and orchard-soil ecosystem to evaluate the amount of nonrenewable energy (NE) saving, ecological benefits and economic benefits by utilizing biogas fertilizer, in comparison to those by using chemical fertilizer. The results show that compared with chemical fertilizer treatment, in the greenhouse-soil ecosystem, the biogas fertilizer treatment can save 82667.18MJ NE per hectare, reduce 6554.12kg carbon dioxide (CO2) emission per hectare, improve soil fertility (soil organic matter, ammonia nitrogen, available phosphorus and available potassium), enhance plant quality (dry matter, solid content, reduced sugar, VC and soluble protein content), increase plant yield and add to 59,232.5Yuan net income per hectare. We also found out that the optimum ratio of irrigation water and biogas fertilizer is water irrigated with 50% biogas slurry, which can lead to best fruit yield and quality in the orchard-soil ecosystem. It is concluded that promotion of biogas fertilizer can help China to realize low-carbon circular development of agriculture. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: With the most recent statistics available, a concrete emissions inventory is compiled for an input–output analysis to investigate the embodied CO2 emissions induced by fossil fuel combustion of Beijing economy in 2007. Results show that the total direct CO2 emissions amount to 9.45E+07t, within which 56.81% are released from coal combustion, 11.50% from coke combustion, 9.03% from kerosene combustion, 8.70% from natural gas and 6.40% from diesel, respectively. The average intensity of secondary industries (3.12t/1E+4 Yuan) is 0.65 times larger than that of primary industries (1.89t/1E+4 Yuan) and 1.58 times larger than that of tertiary industries (1.21t/1E+4 Yuan). The sector of Construction Industry contributes the largest share (21.98%) of CO2 emissions embodied in final demand for Beijing due to its considerable capital investment. Beijing is a net importer of embodied CO2 emissions with total import and export of 3.06E+08 and 2.00E+08t, respectively. Results of this study provide a sound scientific database for effective policy making in Beijing to reduce CO2 emissions. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The method of systems accounting as a combination of process analysis and input–output analysis is applied to assess the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of Longdao River constructed wetland (LRCW), a typical constructed wetland in northern China. An improved GHG emission assessment for the constructed wetland wastewater treatment is made in this paper by using a local embodied GHG emissions intensity database for the Beijing economy 2002. Results show that the indirect GHG emission of the case constructed wetland accounts for 82.31% of the total GHG emissions. More than half of the indirect GHG emission is caused by the electricity. 64.48% of the total GHG emissions happened during the operation stage. There is a great gap between the GHG emissions of the LRCW in this study and in former study, which can be attributed to the diverse economy structures and technology levels of Beijing economy and Chinese economy. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

PM10 and size-resolved particles (9-stage) were simultaneously collected at Mt. Hua and Mt. Tai in central and east China during the spring of 2009 including a massive dust storm occurring on 24 April (named as DS II), and determined for organic compounds to investigate the impact of dust storm on organic aerosols. High molecular weight (HMW) n-alkanes, fatty acids, and fatty alcohols and trehalose sharply increased and almost entirely stayed in coarse particles when dust storm was present, suggesting that high level of organic aerosols in the mountain atmospheres during the event largely originated from Gobi desert plants. However, most anthropogenic aerosols (e.g. PAHs, and aromatic and dicarboxylic acids) during the event significantly decreased due to a dilution effect, indicating that anthropogenic aerosols in the mountain atmospheres during the nonevent period largely originated from local/regional sources rather than from long-range transport. Trehalose, a metabolism product enriched in biota in dry conditions, was 62±78 and 421±181 ngm-3 at Mt. Hua and Mt. Tai during DS II, 10--30 times higher than that in the nonevent time, indicating that trehalose may be a tracer for dust emissions from Gobi desert regions. Molecular compositions of organic aerosols in the mountain samples demonstrate that domestic coal burning is still the major source of PAHs in China. n-Alkanes and fatty acids showed a bimodal size distribution during the nonevent with a major peak in fine mode (<2.1 µm) and a small peak in coarse mode (>2.1 µm). The coarse mode significantly increased and even dominated over the whole size range when dust was present. Glucose and trehalose were also dominant in the coarse mode especially in the DS II time. PAHs and levoglucosan concentrated in fine particles with no significant changes in size distribution when dust storm occurred. However, phthalic and succinic acids showed bimodal size distribution pattern with an increase in coarse mode during the event, because both are formed via a gas phase oxidation and a subsequent condensation/ adsorption onto aerosol phase. In contrast, terephthalic and malic acids are mostly emitted from combustion process as fine particles, thus both showed a fine mode pattern during the whole campaign with a minor peak in coarse mode caused by an increased coagulation with dust during the event. Geometric mean diameters (GMDs) of the organic aerosols above are in general larger at Mt. Hua than at Mt. Tai during the nonevent period. We found that during the event GMD of the fine mode organics that derived mostly from the local/regional sources rather than Gobi desert became smaller while GMD of them in coarse mode became larger. Such a splitting in sizes during the event is most likely caused by decreased fine particle coagulation due to dilution and increased adsorption/coagulation with dust. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The impact of aerosol composition on cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) activity were analyzed in this study based on field experiments carried out at downtown Tianjin, China in September 2010. In the experiments, the CCN measurements were performed at supersaturation (SS) of 0.1 %, 0.2% and 0.4% using a thermal-gradient diffusion chamber (DMT CCNC), whereas the aerosol size distribution and composition were simultaneously measured with a TSI SMPS and an Aerodyne Aerosol Mass Spectrometer (AMS), respectively. The results show that the influence of aerosol composition on CCN activity is notable under low SS (0.1 %), and their influence decreased with increasing SS. For example, under SS of 0.1%, the CCN activity increases from 4.5±2.6% to 12.8±6.1% when organics fraction decrease from 30-40% to 10-20 %. The rate of increase reached up to 184 %. While under SS of 0.4 %, the CCN activity increases only from 35.7±19.0% to 46.5±12.3% correspondingly. The calculated NCCN based on the sizeresolved activation ratio and aerosol number size distribution correlated well with observed NCCN at high SS (0.4 %), but this consistence decreased with the falling of SS. The slopes of linear fitted lines between calculated and observed NCCN are 0.708, 0.947, and 0.995 at SS of 0.1 %, 0.2% and 0.4% respectively. Moreover, the stand deviation (SD) of calculated NCCN increased with the decreasing of SS. A case study of CCN closure analyses indicated that the calculated error of NCCN could reach up to 34% at SS of 0.1% if aerosol composition were not included, and the calculated error decreased with the raising of SS. It is decreased to 9% at SS of 0.2 %, and further decreased to 4% at SS of 0.4 %. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To To cite this article: Ba L, Zhang N, Meng J, Zhang J, Lin P, Zhou P, Liu S, Bachert C. The association between bacterial colonization and inflammatory pattern in Chinese chronic rhinosinusitis patients with nasal polyps. Allergy 2011; 66: 1296-1303. Abstract Background: Chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps (CRSwNP) can be subdivided according to the mucosal inflammatory patterns. In mainland China, apart from interleukin (IL)-5-positive and IL-17-positive polyps, a large group of patients with IL-5/IL-17/interferon-gamma (IFNγ)-negative nasal polyps (referred to as key cytokine-negative (KCN) polyps) can be found. Objective: To further study the KCN polyps and evaluate the associations between bacterial colonization and mucosal inflammatory pattern in KCN vs IL-5-positive nasal polyps. Methods: Nasal polyp or nasal turbinate tissue was obtained from 89 Chinese CRSwNP patients and 36 nonatopic control subjects during surgery. Samples without and after SEB exposure were processed for the assessment of pro-inflammatory cytokines and mediators by immunoassay. Prior to surgery, nasal swabs were taken from each patient for microbiological evaluation. Results: Overall, 80% polyp tissue did not express IL-5, with about 70% (49/71) of these being KCN. Key cytokine-negative nasal polyps were characterized by the synthesis of mediators promoting neutrophilic inflammation (myeloperoxidase (MPO), IL-1β, IL-6 and IL-8), whereas IL-5-positive nasal polyps were characterized by the synthesis of mediators promoting eosinophilic inflammation (IL-5, ECP, total IgE and SE-IgE). Key cytokine-negative nasal polyps were associated with greater Gram-negative bacterial load compared with controls, while IL-5-positive nasal polyps were associated with greater Gram-positive bacterial colonization vs controls and KCN polyps. Conclusion: Our findings suggest that the bacteria colonizing nasal polyps of CRSwNP patients may impact on or be determined by the presence/absence of IL-5. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Community nursing is playing an important role in health care worldwide. Methods: We reviewed recent developments in community nursing in the Zhejiang province of China and reported that the locally tailored practical guidelines, education programmes and management models are the driving measures for promoting local community nursing. Results: In 2008, Zhejiang had 1200 community primary health-care service centres, an increase of 56% and 6789 service stations, a twofold increase, compared with 2004. At present, 27 000 community nurses, together with the same number of family doctors, are working in community health-care service centres and stations. Community nursing in Zhejiang has grown not only by numbers but also by the greatly improved infrastructures and functions of its community primary health care. Conclusion: It is the multi-pronged approach that has led to the change being successful in a local health-care system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article introduces an integrated crop condition monitoring system with remote sensing in China. The system can provide accurate and timely global-scale crop condition information. Two crop condition monitoring methods were evaluated and adopted: instantaneous monitoring and crop growth process monitoring. The objective of instantaneous monitoring is to acquire the spatial variation of crop condition, while crop growth process monitoring is used to capture its temporal variation. Instantaneous monitoring evaluates crop condition at a specific time during the growing season by computing a difference image of normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) images comparing the specified 10-day period and with the same period in previous years. These difference images can provide the spatial distribution of different crop conditions. Crop growth process monitoring extracts crop growth profiles from time-series NDVI images during the crop growing season. These extracted crop growth profiles are then compared to different years with known yields. The two monitoring methods were used jointly to assess production prospects prior to harvest. In addition, environmental condition analysis was implemented to assist crop condition monitoring. An operational system was developed to integrate the two crop condition monitoring methods and environmental condition analysis to provide an integrated crop condition analysis platform. The monitoring results have been delivered to a number of Chinese government agencies and have made significant and timely contributions to their decision-making to help avoid food shortage and market volatility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The relationship between climate change and vegetation dynamics in the southwestern karst region of China has been identified by recent studies. Based on previous researches and AVHRR (Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer) GIMMS (Global Inventory Monitoring and Modeling Studies) NDVI (Normalized Difference Vegetation Index) (1982–2003) and AVHRR GloPEM (Global Production Efficiency Model) NPP (Net Primary Production) (1981–2000) datasets, vegetation dynamics impacted by climate change in the southwestern karst region of China were assessed. The results show that: (1) since the early 1980s, both vegetation cover density and net primary production have insignificant ascending tendencies. However, the inter-annual variation rates of vegetation indexes have apparent spatial differentiations; (2) the correlation coefficients between the inter-annual variations of vegetation indexes and the inter-annual variations of climate factors vary geographically; (3) as indicated by NDVI and NPP, various vegetation types have different responses to climate change, and the annual mean temperature variation has more significant impact on vegetation dynamics than the annual precipitation variation in the study area; (4) distribution laws of correlation coefficients between the inter-annual variations of vegetation indexes and the inter-annual variations of climate factors in different climate conditions are apparent. All these findings will enrich our knowledge of the natural forces which impact the stability of the karst ecosystems and provide scientific basis for the management of the karst ecosystems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hepatitis E, caused by the hepatitis E virus (HEV), is endemic in China. However, the molecular characteristics of HEV circulating in eastern China and the seroprevalence of HEV infection in eastern China are relatively unknown. In this study, 25 HEV strains, isolated from sporadic hepatitis E cases in eastern China, were sequenced in the RNA-dependent RNA polymerase region and subjected to phylogenetic analysis. These HEV strains were 74.6–98.7% identical in nucleotides and were all clustered into HEV genotype 4. Most of them formed new sub-genotypes and revealed a high degree of genetic variance. In addition, 12,052 serum samples were collected from people of different ages, living in urban or rural areas in eastern China. Anti-HEV IgG activity was detected in 2073 (17.20%). The prevalence of anti-HEV IgG significantly increased with age ( P < 0.0001), ranging from 7.92% in children (<10 years old) to 21.48% among older persons (≥60 years old). Moreover, statistical analysis showed that there was a significant difference between rural and urban areas, with higher prevalence for people living in rural neighborhoods ( P<0.001). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A moderate snowfall event in North China is simulated using the high-resolution mesoscale model MM5. A fourfold-nest experiment, with a minimum horizontal grid size of 2 km, is run. In order to study the cloud microphysics processes associated with the snowfall, two experiments were conducted in two inner domains, one using the Goddard scheme (Goddard experiment), and the other using the Reisner scheme (Reisner experiment). The analysis focused on the comparison of the cloud microphysics processes which occurred in the experiments. It is shown that there is no implicit precipitation of cumulus parameterization in the domain of grid scale 18 km. The snowfall distribution patterns in the experiments are slightly different, but the microphysical characteristics and processes may have considerable differences between the two experiments: (1) The water substances in the cloud have cloud water, cloud ice and snow, but no rainwater and graupel in the Goddard experiment. However, the water substances in the cloud have cloud ice, snow, and graupel, but no cloud water and rainwater in the Reisner experiment. (2) The cloud ice mixing ratios in the Goddard experiment are larger than those in the Reisner experiment. (3) In the Goddard experiment, the dominant cloud microphysical processes include the growth of cloud water by the condensation of supersaturated vapor, the depositional growth of cloud ice, the initiation of cloud ice, the accretion of cloud ice by snow, the accretion of cloud water by snow, the deposition growth of snow and the Bergeron process of cloud ice. In the Reisner experiment, the dominant cloud microphysical processes include the depositional growth of cloud ice, the conversion of cloud ice to snow, the deposition of snow, and the deposition growth of graupel. (4) There is only snowfall in the Goddard experiment. Meanwhile, there is ice fall, snow fall, and graupel in the Reisner experiment. But the ice fall and graupel in the Reisner experiment is very slight and can be ignored. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The recent progress of the relativistic many-body approach by the group at Peking University will be reviewed. In particular, the adiabatic and configuration-fixed constrained triaxial RMF approaches, triaxial RMF approach with time-odd components, a Shell-model-Like APproach (SLAP), a Reflection ASymmetric RMF (RAS-RMF) approach, and a new relativistic Hartree-Fock (RHF) approach with density-dependent σ, ω, ρ and π meson-nucleon couplings for finite nuclei and nuclear matter, will be highlighted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In spite of its short history of being an oil crop in China, the Chinese semi-winter rapeseed ( Brassica napus L., 2 n = 38, AACC) has been improved rapidly by intentional introgression of genomic components from Chinese B. rapa (2 n = 20, AA). As a result, the Chinese semi-winter rapeseed has diversified genetically from the spring and winter rapeseed grown in the other regions such as Europe and North America. The objectives of this study were to investigate the roles of the introgression of the genomic components from the Chinese B. rapa in widening the genetic diversity of rapeseed and to verify the role of this introgression in the evolution of the Chinese rapeseed. Ten lines of the new type of rapeseed, which were produced by introgression of Chinese B. rapa to Chinese normal rapeseed, were compared for genetic diversity using amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) with three groups of 35 lines of the normal rapeseed, including 9 semi-winter rapeseed lines from China, 9 winter rapeseed lines from Europe and 17 spring rapeseed lines from Northern Europe, Canada and Australia. Analysis of 799 polymorphic fragments revealed that within the groups, the new type rapeseed had the highest genetic diversity, followed by the semi-winter normal rapeseed from China. Spring and winter rapeseed had the lowest genetic diversity. Among the groups, the new type rapeseed group had the largest average genetic distance to the other three groups. Principal component analysis and cluster analysis, however, could not separate the new type rapeseed group from Chinese normal rapeseed group. Our data suggested that the introgression of Chinese B. rapa could significantly diversify the genetic basis of the rapeseed and play an important role in the evolution of Chinese rapeseed. The use of new genetic variation for the exploitation of heterosis in Brassica hybrid breeding is discussed [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The crack state in the regenerator of the heavy oil catalytic cracking unit of Daqing Petrochemical Complex is summarized. The reasons for a large number of welding seam cracks in the regenerator-third-stage cyclone system of the heavy oil catalytic cracking unit are analysed. Correlated countermeasures to prevent cracks and several repair plans for the present cracks are proposed. The key technology and measures of repairs are described and could be used as guides for crack repair of similar equipment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The density functional theory with a minimal number of parameters allows a very successful phenomenological description of ground state properties of nuclei all over the nuclear chart. The recent progress on the application of the covariant density functional theory for nuclear structure and astrophysics as well as its extensions by the group in Beijing is summarized. Particularly, its application to the low-lying excited states in exotic and/or transitional nuclei is discussed in details. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The phenolic compounds in the grape skins of Cabernet Sauvignon (CS), Merlot (ML), Syrah (SY) and Marselan (MS) from Shacheng, in China, were compared using HPLC-MS/MS. The results showed that the types and levels of phenolic compounds varied greatly with cultivars. Malvidin derivatives were the main anthocyanins. CS and ML showed a higher content of malvidin-3-O-(6-O-acetyl)-glucoside than malvidin-3-O-(trans-6-O-coumaryl)-glucoside, while SY and MS differed from CS and ML. ML had higher delphinidin and cyanidin derivatives, SY had higher peonidin derivatives, while malvidin and petunidin were higher in MS. The total content of flavonols, flavan-3-ols, phenolic acids and stilbenes in grape skins showed no difference among CS, ML and MS. Isorhamnetin-3-O-glucoside (CS, ML, MY), quercetin-3-O-glucoside (SY), procyanidin trimer (SY, MS), procyanidin dimer (CS, ML), syringetin-3-O-glucoside, trans-cinnamic acid and resveratrol were the most abundant non-anthocyanin phenolic compounds. Cluster analysis showed that CS and ML, and SY and MS had similar phenolic profiles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose/objective(s): To explore the effect of age at diagnosis as a continuous variable on survival and treatment choice of patients with early-stage endometrial carcinoma (EC).Materials/methods: We retrospectively analyzed data from patients with early-stage EC from January 1999 to December 2015 in multiple institutions in China. All patients received primary hysterectomy/bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy and adjuvant radiotherapy for EC confirmed pathology of stage I and II disease (FIGO 2009 staging). All patients were divided into low-risk, intermediate-risk, high-intermediate-risk and high-risk groups according to ESMO-ESGO-ESTRO risk classification. This retrospective study was approved by the Ethics Review Committee of Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences [Protocol number S-K139]. The clinical trial ID of the study is ChiCTR-PRC-17010712. Evaluation of all data met the requirements of the Helsinki Declaration.Results: The median follow-up time was 57months, and the 5-year cancer-specific survival (CSS) was 95.7%. Age as a continuous variable was an independent prognostic factor for CSS. With an increase in age, the hazard ratio (HR) for CSS increases gradually. Other independent prognostic factors included myometrial invasion (MI), grade, and chemotherapy. In the stratified analysis of age, the HRs of age on CSS in patients >70y were 5.516, 5.015, 4.469, 4.618, 5.334, and 5.821 after adjusting for cancer characteristics, local treatment, chemotherapy and treatment-related late toxicity. In patients 66-70-year-old, the HRs were 2.509, 2.074, 2.101, 2.091, 2.157 and 1.621 after adjusting for the above covariates. In patients ≤65y, there was no significant difference in the HR of age on CSS after adjustment.Conclusion: Age as a continuous variable is an independent prognostic factor and 65 year-old may be the best cut-off point for CSS in patients with early-stage EC in the Asian population. Adjuvant radiotherapy can reduce the HR of age on CSS for patients >65 years.Author Disclosure: S. Sun: None. L. Zou: None. T. Wang: None. Z. Liu: None. J. He: None. X. Sun: None. W. Zhong: None. F. Zhao: None. X. Li: None. S. Li: None. H. Zhu: None. Z. Ma: None. W. Wang: None. J. Meng: None. F. Zhang: None. X. Hou: None. L. Wei: None. K. Hu: None. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: This study aimed to assess the knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP) of patients with impacted wisdom teeth towards tooth extraction, with the intention of identifying both gaps and opportunities for improved dental health education and practices., Design: A cross-sectional study using a web-based questionnaire., Setting: The study was conducted at the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, School and Hospital of Stomatology, Cheeloo College of Medicine, Shandong University, and Jinan Stomatological Hospital., Participants: This study included responses from 3467 individuals presenting with impacted wisdom teeth at the study settings between March and May 2023., Primary and Secondary Outcome Measures: The primary outcomes measured were the levels of KAP towards wisdom teeth extraction among participants. Knowledge was assessed on a scale of 0-11, attitudes on a scale of 10-50 and practices on a scale of 11-55. Secondary outcomes included the exploration of associations between knowledge, attitudes and practices using structural equation modelling., Results: Participants demonstrated a mean knowledge score of 9.1±1.4, mean attitude score of 38.0±2.7 and mean practice score of 41.7±8.2. The analysis using a structural equation model revealed a direct effect of knowledge on attitudes (path coefficient=2.042, p<0.001) and a direct effect of attitudes on practices (path coefficient=1.460, p<0.001)., Conclusions: The findings suggest that patients with impacted wisdom teeth possess adequate knowledge and favourable attitudes towards teeth extraction, which positively influences their practices. However, tailored interventions are still needed to further enhance KAP regarding this procedure in this population., Competing Interests: Competing interests: None declared., (© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2024. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ Group.)

Background: The introduction of the Enterovirus A71 (EV-A71) vaccine in China in 2016 has led to a considerable decline in severe hand, foot, and mouth disease (HFMD) cases, with mild outpatient instances now representing the majority of HFMD cases in the country. Nevertheless, epidemiological investigations concerning mild outpatient cases remain scarce, resulting in inadequate descriptions of their clinical, etiological, and epidemiological characteristics. Our study aimed to analyze the clinical, etiological, and epidemiological characteristics of HFMD outpatients in Chengdu from 2019 to 2022 while identifying potential risk factors associated with the progression of outpatients requiring hospitalization., Methods: A retrospective study was conducted to summarize the clinical, etiological, and epidemiological characteristics of outpatient HFMD cases in Chengdu from 2019 to 2022. Risk factors associated with progression to hospitalization of HFMD outpatients were evaluated using binomial logistic regression analysis., Results: The study included 1,073 coxsackievirus A6 (CVA6), coxsackievirus A10 (CVA10), and coxsackievirus A16 (CVA16) HFMD nucleic acid test-positive outpatients. Among these, only 45 outpatients (4.19%) progressed to hospitalization. The median ages for CVA6, CVA10, and CVA16 infections were 25.23, 28.13, and 38.45 months, respectively (P < 0.001). CVA6 (76.51%, 821/1,073) has become the main serotype among outpatients in Chengdu, with the proportions from the second half of 2019 to 2022 being 45.59%, 95.17%, 77.67% and 80.71% respectively. EV-A71 cases even disappeared. Patients infected with CVA10 had a significantly higher likelihood of hospitalization (P < 0.05), while the presence of oral rash served as a protective factor (P < 0.05)., Conclusions: Our study highlights the critical need for enhanced surveillance of multiple HFMD pathogens, predominantly caused by the prevalent serotype CVA6. Clinically, enhanced surveillance of CVA10 is imperative to mitigate the hospitalization rate associated with HFMD., Competing Interests: Declarations. Ethics approval and consent to participate: This study was performed in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki and approved by the Ethics Committee of the West China Second University Hospital, Sichuan University. Due to the fact that this study was a retrospective study with no direct contact with human beings or human tissue samples and the data used in the study were medical record data, the need for informed consent from individual patients was waived by the Ethics Committee of the West China Second University Hospital, Sichuan University. No confidential information was involved in this research. Consent for publication: Not applicable. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Background: The Measures for Management of Investigator-Initiated Studies (IISs) Conducted by Healthcare Institutions (trial version) (referred to as Management Measures) has been piloted successively in 12 provincial regions across China since 1 October 2021 and took effect nationwide on 1 October 2024. This study aimed to examine the perspectives, attitudes and challenges of administrators and investigators within healthcare institutions in Beijing regarding IIS management to provide further strategic guidance in China., Methods: This descriptive qualitative study included 13 focus group discussions among 74 participants from 25 healthcare institutions stratified selected in Beijing, including 13 executive-level administrators, 41 functional administrators and 20 investigator representatives. The focus groups were conducted from November to December 2021. The discussion topics focussed on current status of IIS management in healthcare institutions and the participants' attitudes and challenges in implementation of the Management Measures, mainly on the specific management system establishment, independent scientific review, management by study type and whole-process supervision., Results: Opinions varied among institution presidents/directors regarding the establishment of clinical research management committees and offices, with significant challenges identified in insufficient human resources and difficulties in integrating with existing management models. While scientific review was seen as essential, there was disagreement on how to implement it. Interviewees raised concerns about redundancy for grant-supported projects, unclear distinctions between scientific and ethical reviews, efficiency delays, reviewer qualifications and intellectual property risks. Although management by study type might help control risks, the qualification restrictions on the leading sites and investigators were viewed as excessively stringent. No institution has achieved whole-process supervision of all IISs, primarily due to insufficient human resources, ineffective supervision and management systems, and insufficiently trained professionals., Conclusions: This study reveals that the current management of IISs is generally weak in Beijing and should be strengthened by implementing Management Measures. However, major challenges existed for the implementation, mainly including: a lack of clear and feasible management models to follow, insufficient human resources for both scientific review and whole-process supervision, and worries about restricting research initiatives. It takes time to overcome these challenges, which may be achieved through building management capacity at national, regional and institutional levels, learning successful management models that were piloted in various regions and further policy research to develop specific guidance., Competing Interests: Declarations. Ethics approval and consent to participate: This study has been approved by Peking University Institutional Review Board (IRB00001052-21112) on 12 November 2021. Consent for publication: Not applicable. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Objective: Chronic lung diseases (CLDs) are a major global health concern, characterized by a progressive decline in pulmonary function that severely impacts quality of life. It is essential to identify and predict the primary risk factors for CLDs. This study aims to establish a predictive model to assist healthcare providers in the early identification of high-risk patients and timely interventions and treatment options., Methods: This study utilized questionnaire data from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS) collected in 2011, 2013, and 2015. A latent class growth model (LCGM) was established using CLDs as the baseline sample. This model stratified the patients based on the extent of the decline in Δpeak expiratory flow (ΔPEF), which served as the target variable. Independent variables included age, gender, smoking status, body mass index, education level, and comorbidities. A random forest model was developed using Python, and the importance of the feature was visualized through the SHAP method. The predictive performance of the model was evaluated using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis, calibration curve analysis, and decision curve analysis., Results: After screening, a total of 553 patients with CLDs were included in the study. The random forest model pinpointed grip strength, age, education level, gender, and asthma as the top five risk factors for pulmonary function decline. Specifically, the model demonstrated robust predictive performance with an area under the ROC curve (AUC) value of 0.77, affirming its accuracy and clinical applicability. Both calibration and decision curves further substantiated the reliability of the model in identifying patients at increased risk for pulmonary function decline., Conclusion: The predictive model developed in this study serves as a valuable tool for clinicians to target early interventions and optimize treatment strategies to enhance the quality of care and patient outcomes in the management of CLDs., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest., (© 2024 Li et al.)

In this study, we reported the first long-term monitoring of SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater in Mainland China from November 2021 to October 2023. The city of Shijiazhuang was employed for this case study. We developed a triple reverse transcription droplet digital PCR (RT-ddPCR) method using triple primer-probes for simultaneous detection of the N1 gene, E gene, and Pepper mild mottle virus (PMMoV) to achieve accurate quantification of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in wastewater. Both the RT-ddPCR method and the commercial multiplex reverse transcription quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) method were implemented for the detection of SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater in Shijiazhuang City over a 24-month period. Results showed that SARS-CoV-2 was detected for the first time in the wastewater of Shijiazhuang City on 10 November 2022. The peak of COVID-19 cases occurred in the middle of December 2022, when the concentration of SARS-CoV-2 in the wastewater was highest. The trend of virus concentration increases and decreases forming a "long-tailed" shape in the COVID-19  outbreak and recession cycle. The results indicated that both multiplex RT-ddPCR and RT-qPCR are effective in detecting SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater, but RT-ddPCR is capable of detecting low concentrations of SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater which is more efficient. The SARS-CoV-2 abundance in wastewater is correlated to clinical data, outlining the public health utility of this work.HighlightsFirst long-term monitoring of SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater in Mainland ChinaCOVID-19 outbreak was tracked in Shijiazhuang City from outbreak to containmentWastewater was monitored simultaneously using RT-ddPCR and RT-qPCR methodsTriple primer-probe RT-ddPCR detects N1 and E genes of SARS-CoV-2 and PMMoV.

At least 30% of newly diagnosed people living with HIV (PLHIV) have delayed antiretroviral therapy (ART) initiation globally, resulting in irreversible impaired immune function and increased risk of HIV transmission. This study aimed to explore the decision-making process of ART initiation in China. A phenomenological research design was used and semi-structured, in-depth interviews based on dual-system theory were conducted. Participants were selected using purposive sampling between December 11, 2021 and June 25, 2022. Interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) was performed utilizing the software NVivo 12. A total of 34 PLHIV were interviewed. The heuristic system and the analytic system were involved in the complex decision-making process for ART initiation. Acceptability, negative emotion, and stigma were all parts of the heuristic system. The analytic system included the perception of ART benefits, positive support, and misconception. Two systems interacted with each other in the decision-making of ART initiation. PLHIV's initiation decision was determined by the components of the dominant system. This theory-driven qualitative study provided valuable insights on the decision-making process of ART initiation among newly diagnosed PLHIV., (© 2024 John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.)

Background: The effectiveness of nirmatrelvir-ritonavir has mainly been shown in non-hospitalized patients with mild-to-moderate coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). The real-world effectiveness of nirmatrelvir-ritonavir urgently needs to be determined using representative in-hospital patients with COVID-19 during the Omicron wave of the pandemic., Methods: We performed a multicentre, retrospective study in five Chinese PLA General Hospital medical centers in Beijing, China. Patients hospitalized with COVID-19 from 10 December 2022 to 20 February 2023 were eligible for inclusion. A 1:1 propensity score matching was performed between the nirmatrelvir-ritonavir group and the control group., Results: 1010 recipients of nirmatrelvir-ritonavir and 1010 matched controls were finally analyzed after matching. Compared with matched controls, the nirmatrelvir-ritonavir group had a lower incidence rate of all-cause death (4.6/1000 vs. 6.3/1000 person-days, p  = 0.013) and a higher incidence rate of clinical improvement (47.6/1000 vs. 45.8/1000 person-days, p  = 0.012). Nirmatrelvir-ritonavir was associated with a 22% lower all-cause mortality and a 14% higher incidence of clinical improvement. Initiation of nirmatrelvir-ritonavir within 5 days after symptom onset was associated with a 50% lower mortality and a 26% higher clinical improvement rate. By contrast, no significant associations were identified among patients receiving nirmatrelvir-ritonavir treatment more than 5 days after symptom onset. Nirmatrelvir-ritonavir was also associated with a 50% increase in survival days and a 12% decrease in days to clinical improvement., Conclusion: Among hospitalized patients with COVID-19 during the Omicron wave in Beijing, China, the early initiation of nirmatrelvir-ritonavir was associated with clinical benefits of lowering mortality and improving clinical recovery.

Maximum Entropy model (MaxEnt), as a machine learning algorithm, is widely used to identify potential risk areas for emerging infectious diseases. However, MaxEnt usually overlooks the influence of the optimal selection of spatial grid scale and the optimal combination of factor information on identification accuracy. Furthermore, the internal level information of factors is closely related to the potential risk of disease occurrence but is rarely applied to enhance MaxEnt's accuracy. In this study, the Optimal Parameters-based Geographical Detectors-Information Value-MaxEnt (OPGD-IV-MaxEnt) was first proposed to identify the potential risk areas of hand, foot, and mouth disease (HFMD) in Shenzhen and compared its identification accuracy with that of OPGD-MaxEnt and MaxEnt. Firstly, the optimal grid scale and optimal combination of factor information were determined by OPGD. Secondly, the contributions of factors' internal level information to the potential risk of HFMD occurrence were quantified and incorporated by IV. Lastly, the spatial patterns of potential risk areas and their main driving factors were elucidated. Results showed that: (i) Area under the curve (AUC) of single MaxEnt were 0.638, 0.688, 0.763, 0.796, and 0.757 at 100 m, 250 m, 500 m, 750 m, and 1000 m scale, respectively, and 750 m were deemed the optimal scale. (ii) At the optimal scale, OPGD-IV-MaxEnt (AUC = 0.868) identified potential risk areas more accurately than MaxEnt (AUC = 0.796) and OPGD-MaxEnt (AUC = 0.827). (iii) Resident (r = 0.61, q = 0.39) and Market (r = 0.61, q = 0.36) were the primary factors affecting the identification of potential risk areas. (iv) Potential high-risk areas of HFMD were mainly distributed in northwestern, southwestern, and central Shenzhen, with dense resident and market distribution. Such insights are instrumental in devising targeted infection prevention and control measures for emerging infectious diseases and provide references for improving the identification accuracy of similar machine learning algorithms., 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 © 2024 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Objective: To understand the hospitalization expenditures and the composition of hospitalized patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in Yunnan Province from 2016 to 2022 and to identify the factors that influence them. The study aims to provide evidence-based information to health administration, hospitals, health insurance offices, and other related departments to help them formulate relevant policies., Methods: This study analyzed data from 728,980 COPD patients in Yunnan Province between 2016 and 2022. This study described trends in hospitalization expenditures and their components over a 7-year period. Path analysis was used to investigate the factors that affect hospitalization expenditures., Results: The average hospitalization expenditures for 2016-2022 were 7828 CNY. The total hospitalization expenditures were continuously increasing, from 828 million CNY to 967 million CNY, which is a 16.84% increase. However, the average expenditure per hospitalization decreased from 9185 CNY to 7261 CNY, which is a decrease of 20.95%. The main components of hospitalization expenditures were diagnostic fees, medication fees, and comprehensive medical service fees. The proportion of medication fees is decreasing, while the proportion of diagnostic fees and comprehensive medical services fees are increasing. The results of the path analysis indicate that age, gender, ethnicity, hospital level, admission route, medical payment method, COPD with acute lower respiratory tract infection, non-acute exacerbation of COPD, rehabilitation treatment experience, and comorbidity have both direct and indirect effects on hospitalization expenditures through length of stay (LOS). Additionally, marital status indirectly affects hospitalization expenditures through LOS., Conclusion: Shortening the average LOS is crucial for hospitals to improve efficiency and reduce unnecessary expenses for patients. To achieve this, it is necessary to actively implement clinical pathway management and establish a standardized diagnosis and treatment system., Competing Interests: Declarations. Ethics approval and consent to participate: The study was initiated and led by the First People’s Hospital of Yunnan Province and was approved by the Ethics Committee of the First People’s Hospital of Yunnan Province (KHLL2022-KY141-C-1). Written informed consent has been obtained from all study participants. Consent for publication: Not applicable. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Background: Given the complexity and diversity of lichenoid vulvar disease (LVD) risk factors, it is crucial to actively explore these factors and construct personalized warning models using relevant clinical variables to assess disease risk in patients. Yet, to date, there has been insufficient research, both nationwide and internationally, on risk factors and warning models for LVD. In light of these gaps, this study represents the first systematic exploration of the risk factors associated with LVD., Objective: The risk factors of LVD in women were explored and a medically evidence-based warning model was constructed to provide an early alert tool for the high-risk target population. The model can be applied in the clinic to identify high-risk patients and evaluate its accuracy and practicality in predicting LVD in women. Simultaneously, it can also enhance the diagnostic and treatment proficiency of medical personnel in primary community health service centers, which is of great significance in reducing overall health care spending and disease burden., Methods: A total of 2990 patients who attended West China Second Hospital of Sichuan University from January 2013 to December 2017 were selected as the study candidates and were divided into 1218 cases in the normal vulvovagina group (group 0) and 1772 cases in the lichenoid vulvar disease group (group 1) according to the results of the case examination. We investigated and collected routine examination data from patients for intergroup comparisons, included factors with significant differences in multifactorial analysis, and constructed logistic regression, random forests, gradient boosting machine (GBM), adaboost, eXtreme Gradient Boosting, and Categorical Boosting analysis models. The predictive efficacy of these six models was evaluated using receiver operating characteristic curve and area under the curve., Results: Univariate analysis revealed that vaginitis, urinary incontinence, humidity of the long-term residential environment, spicy dietary habits, regular intake of coffee or caffeinated beverages, daily sleep duration, diabetes mellitus, smoking history, presence of autoimmune diseases, menopausal status, and hypertension were all significant risk factors affecting female LVD. Furthermore, the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve, accuracy, sensitivity, and F 1 -score of the GBM warning model were notably higher than the other 5 predictive analysis models. The GBM analysis model indicated that menopausal status had the strongest impact on female LVD, showing a positive correlation, followed by the presence of autoimmune diseases, which also displayed a positive dependency., Conclusions: In accordance with evidence-based medicine, the construction of a predictive warning model for female LVD can be used to identify high-risk populations at an early stage, aiding in the formulation of effective preventive measures, which is of paramount importance for reducing the incidence of LVD in women., (©Jian Meng, Xiaoyu Niu, Can Luo, Yueyue Chen, Qiao Li, Dongmei Wei. Originally published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research (https://www.jmir.org), 22.11.2024.)

Background: Osteoarthritis (OA) is a degenerative joint disease prevalent in the elderly. Currently, the relationship between the senescence inhibitor Klotho and OA remains unclear. This study investigated the relationship between serum soluble Klotho (S-Klotho) and OA., Methods: This cross-sectional study was based on the 2007-2016 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). Three multifactorial logistic regression models were constructed to assess the association between serum Klotho and OA. Restricted cubic spline (RCS) curves were further used to assess whether there was a nonlinear relationship between serum Klotho and OA. Finally, stratified analyses and interaction tests were used to evaluate the association's stability. To further investigate the relationship between serum Klotho and OA, we recruited 107 patients for analysis at the First Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University., Results: The final 8,918 participants included in this study comprised 50.55% females and 49.45% males, with 18.10% of participants suffering from OA and a mean S-Klotho level of 846.41 (5.61) pg/ml. All three logistic regression models observed a negative association between continuous S-Klotho and OA risk. When S-Klotho was categorized into tertiles, the fully adjusted model showed that participants in the third tertile had a 17% lower risk of OA than those in the first tertile (OR = 0.83, 95% CI: 0.70, 0.99, P = 0.035). The RCS curves showed a linear negative association between S-Klotho and the incidence of OA (P for overall = 0.025; P for non-linearity = 0.667). Further subgroup analyses and interaction tests suggested that the negative association between S-Klotho and OA remained stable in different conditions. Research conducted in China has shown that the negative correlation between serum Klotho levels and the prevalence of OA remains evident among Chinese individuals (OR: 0.77, 95% CI: 0.66, 0.90, P<0.001)., Conclusion: Our study suggests that elevated levels of the senescence inhibitor S-Klotho may be a potential protective factor for OA, which may provide new insights into the diagnosis and treatment of OA., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: © 2024 Qiu et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

Background: Allergen component resolved diagnosis (CRD) is a method for identifying specific protein molecules that cause hypersensitivity. Unlike traditional methods that use crude allergen extracts containing multiple component species, CRD focuses on individual allergen protein molecules for more precise diagnosis. The World Allergy Organization (WAO) recommends CRD as a supplement to clinical history and allergen extract testing, and in some cases, it can replace crude extract tests., Methods: CRD involves the use of natural or recombinant proteins to detect specific IgE antibodies directed at individual allergenic components. This method allows for a more detailed analysis of a patient's allergic response compared to the use of whole allergen extracts. The Allergy Prevention and Control Specialty Committee of the Chinese Preventive Medicine Association, in collaboration with multidisciplinary experts, developed an expert consensus that incorporates the consensus of the European Academy of Allergy and Clinical Immunology (EAACI), WAO, and important domestic literature on CRD in recent years., Results: The consensus aims to standardize the algorithm of allergen diagnosis and provides a reference for clinical practice. It also offers guidance for clinicians on the common protein families identified by CRD, the scenarios where CRD is applicable, and the significance of detecting common allergen components., Conclusions: Despite its potential, CRD is not widely used in clinical practice in China due to the lack of allergen component reagents and a general unawareness among clinicians about CRD's application and interpretation of test results. The expert consensus developed by the Chinese Preventive Medicine Association aims to address this gap and enhance the clinical application of CRD in China., (© 2024 The Author(s). Pediatric Allergy and Immunology published by European Academy of Allergy and Clinical Immunology and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Objective: This study aimed to develop and validate an instrument to assess the health literacy of parents of children with asthma in a Chinese context., Methods: The preliminary Parental Health Literacy Scale for Children with Asthma (PHLSCA) was developed based on a literature review and refined to 45 items through two rounds of expert consultation using the Delphi method. A total of 481 parents of children with asthma were recruited from seven hospitals across four provinces in China between February and April 2019. Principal component analysis (PCA) and confirmatory factor analysis were conducted to evaluate the structural and construct validity of the scale., Results: The development and validation processes led to a 38 items scale comprising three subscales, namely: Health Knowledge (11 items), Health Skills (19 items) and Health Behavior (8 items). The scale demonstrated good reliability, with an internal consistency of Cronbach's α = 0.956 and a split-half reliability of r  = 0.887 ( p  < 0.01). The Item Content Validity Index (I-CVI) ranged from 0.81 to 1.00, and the Scale-CVI was 0.842. The correlation coefficients and factor analysis results indicated good construct validity, with the factors explaining 59.33% to 62.90% of the variance in each subscale., Conclusions: The final version of the questionnaire (PHLSCA) has been demonstrated to be a valid and reliable tool for assessing the health literacy of parents of Chinese children with asthma.

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are crucial precursors in the formation of ozone (O 3 ). The sources of pollution are complex and significantly impact O 3 generation. Long-term exposure to high-concentration O 3 environments causes serious damage to organisms. High-altitude areas experience continuous high temperatures and strong solar radiation, which can easily produce O 3 through photochemical reactions, making these areas prone to frequent air pollution. This study utilizes the National Positioning Station of the Yinchuan Urban Ecosystem in Ningxia to conduct field synchronous observations, gathering data on VOCs, meteorological variables, and O 3 . By employing machine learning algorithms, we examined the seasonal distribution characteristics of VOCs, their pollution sources, and their impact on O 3 . The results show that the seasonal distribution of VOCs areas is low in spring and autumn and high in summer and winter. The components with higher volume fraction contribution are m-tolualdehyde in spring and summer, ethane in autumn, and acetylene in winter. The main emission sources of VOCs pollution are hydrocarbon volatile emission in spring and winter, solvent volatilization emission in summer, and industrial sources in autumn. VOCs have a negative effect on O 3 , with a greater impact in winter and spring, evidenced by standardized effect values of -0.26 and -0.24. The key components affecting O 3 in VOCs vary by season. Aromatic hydrocarbons are the key components in spring and winter, with contribution rates of 22 % and 21.3 %. Alkenes are the key components in summer and autumn (24.5 % and 26.8 %). Among meteorological variables, temperature is the key factor affecting O 3 , while wind speed is the key factor affecting O 3 only in winter. This study aims to clarify the sources of VOCs pollution in different seasons and their impact on O 3 , providing a theoretical basis and technical support for the prevention and control of VOCs and O 3 pollution in high-altitude areas., 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 © 2024. Published by Elsevier Inc.)

Purpose: The co-occurrence of health impairments in patients and their informal caregivers may be particularly common in intimate care settings in China. Patients with Chronic Refractory Wounds (CRWs) and their informal caregivers constitute a dyad and exhibit dyadic effects during the caring process. Unfortunately, no study has yet explored the dyadic effects of stigma on the QoL of patients with CRWs and their caregivers., Methods: We used a convenience sampling method and recruited CRWs patient-caregiver dyads (N = 207) in China between April 2022 and October 2023., Results: We found that: (i) dyadic members experience varying degrees of stigma; (ii) the actor-partner effect of CRWs patients' stigma on their own and their informal caregivers' QoL was significant (Path A 1 : β = - 1.27, Path A 2 : β = - 0.37, Path P 1 : β = - 0.08, Path P 2 : β = - 0.18); (iii) informal caregivers' stigma adversely affects both their own and their patients' psychological QoL((Path A 4 : β = - 0.65, Path P 4 : β = - 0.52)). Informal caregivers' stigma can negatively impact patients' physical QoL (Path P 3 : β = - 0.17), whereas it does not significantly affect their own physical QoL., Conclusion: There is a notable actor-partner effect of the CRWs patients' stigma on their own and their informal caregivers' QoL. CRWs patients' stigma should become a priority for the government to improve CRWs patients' and informal caregivers' QoL. Besides, health professionals should be addressing several assessments and interventions to decrease informal caregivers' affiliate stigma symptoms and improve CRWs patients' and informal caregivers' QoL., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.)

Background: Dental filling is a prevalent method for treating dental defects. This study aimed to investigate the knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP) toward dental defects and dental fillings among dental patients in Jinan, Shandong Province, China., Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted at the main campus and several branch campuses of Jinan Stomatological Hospital, and community locations within Jinan city between October 2023, and January 2024. Spearman correlation analysis and mediation analysis were used to assess the associations and interrelationships between KAP scores., Results: In this study, 2529 dental patients participated, with 69.1% being females. Of these, 1711 had no dental defects, 551 had defects and fillings, and 267 had defects without fillings. Their median knowledge, attitude, and practice (Questions 1-6) scores were 8.00 [5.00, 12.00] (possible range: 0-18), 27.00 [26.00, 29.00] (possible range: 10-50), and 19.00 [15.00, 24.00] (possible range: 9-45), respectively. Mediation analysis revealed that in patients without dental defects, knowledge had a direct effect on attitude (β = -0.983, 95% CI: -0.999, -0.966, P < 0.001). Additionally, attitude had a direct effect on practice (β = -0.797, 95% CI: -1.490, -0.103, P = 0.024), while knowledge had an indirect effect on practice through attitude (β = 0.783, 95% CI: 0.096, 1.470, P = 0.026). In patients with dental defects who had undergone dental fillings, significant direct effects were observed between knowledge and attitude (β = -0.736, 95% CI: -0.821, -0.650, P < 0.001), knowledge and practice (β = 0.396, 95% CI: 0.214, 0.577, P < 0.001), and attitude and practice (β = -0.499, 95% CI: -0.683, -0.315, P < 0.001). Moreover, knowledge had an indirect effect on practice (β = 0.367, 95 CI: 0.221, 0.513, P < 0.001). In patients with dental defects but without any fillings, direct effects were found between knowledge and attitude (β = -0.929, 95% CI: -1.028, -0.829, P < 0.001)., Conclusions: Dental patients had inadequate knowledge, attitude, and practices concerning dental defects and fillings. It is recommended that clinical interventions should focus on enhancing patient education and promoting positive engagement in dental care practices., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Tuberculosis has been one of the most common communicable diseases raising global concerns. Accurately predicting the incidence of Tuberculosis remains challenging. Here we constructed a time-series analysis and fusion tool using multi-source data, and aimed to more accurately predict the incidence trend of tuberculosis of Anhui Province from 2013 to 2023. Random forest algorithm (RF), Feature Recursive Elimination (RFE) and Least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) were implemented to improve the derivation of features related to infectious diseases and feature work. Based on the characteristics of infectious disease data, a model of RF-RFE-LASSO integrated particle swarm optimization multiple inputs long short term memory recurrent neural network (RRL-PSO-MiLSTM) was created to perform more accurate prediction. Results showed that the PSO-MiLSTM achieved excellent prediction results compared with common single-input and multi-input time-series models (test set MSE:42.3555, MAE: 59.3333, RMSE: 146.7237, MAPE: 2.1133, R 2 : 0.8634). PSO-MiLSTM enriches and complements the methodological research content of calibrating the time-series predictive analysis of infectious diseases using multi-source data, and can be used as a brand-new benchmark for the analysis of influencing factors and trend prediction of infectious diseases at the public health level in the future, as well as providing a reference for incidence rate prediction of infectious diseases., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

To examine the resource utilization in different phases such as development and sales within China's real estate industry, this paper employs a two-stage Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) model to measure the production efficiency of the real estate industry across 31 provinces, municipalities, and autonomous regions of China from 2014 to 2022. By examining both overall and phase-specific trends, the study utilizes a panel Tobit model to explore the factors affecting efficiency. Empirical results indicate that the leverage ratio of companies, per capita GDP of regions, and real estate regulatory policies significantly impact production efficiency. Further analysis of regional heterogeneity and its effect on production efficiency revealed that the per capita residential building area, which reflects the housing stock configuration in different regions, exhibits a significant single threshold effect. This not only objectively assesses the utilization of real estate resources in different areas but also delves deeper into the principal factors and their mechanisms affecting the production efficiency of the real estate industry, thus providing theoretical support and policy recommendations for effectively enhancing production efficiency., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: © 2024 Meng, Bu. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

This study examined the prevalence of HIV late diagnosis (LD) and identified associated factors with LD among people living with HIV (PLWH). We extracted sociodemographic, epidemiological, and immunological information between 2018 and 2021 in Hunan, China from the HIV/AIDS Comprehensive Response Information Management System of China. The chi-squared test and multivariable logistic regression model were used to identify the factors associated with LD. Among 22,504 PLWH, 14,988 (66.6%) were diagnosed late. PLWH aged 50 and older had a higher proportion of LD (71.2%) than the younger group (60.0%). Older age, being male, Han ethnicity, being registered in Western Hunan, being transferred from health facilities, and being infected through heterosexual intercourse were associated with LD. Among PLWH younger than 50 years, apart from the factors mentioned above, individuals who had primary school or lower education, were non-student, and were divorced or widowed were more likely to be diagnosed late. Unlike younger PLWH, these factors were not associated with LD in the older group. But regional disparities in LD were more significant among them. LD in PLWH remains a severe issue, especially among older people. The study findings provided valuable insights into designing programs targeting groups at higher risk of LD to reduce its prevalence., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

The gut microbiome has been implicated in various human diseases, though findings across studies have shown considerable variability. In this study, we reanalyzed 6314 publicly available fecal metagenomes from 36 case-control studies on different diseases to investigate microbial diversity and disease-shared signatures. Using a unified analysis pipeline, we observed reduced microbial diversity in many diseases, while some exhibited increased diversity. Significant alterations in microbial communities were detected across most diseases. A meta-analysis identified 277 disease-associated gut species, including numerous opportunistic pathogens enriched in patients and a depletion of beneficial microbes. A random forest classifier based on these signatures achieved high accuracy in distinguishing diseased individuals from controls (AUC = 0.776) and high-risk patients from controls (AUC = 0.825), and it also performed well in external cohorts. These results offer insights into the gut microbiome's role in common diseases in the Chinese population and will guide personalized disease management strategies., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) have raised increasing concern worldwide due to their continuous release and potential hazards to the ecosystem and human health. This study optimized the entropy weight model (EW-WRSR) that combines entropy weight with multi-criteria decision analysis to investigate pollution patterns of PPCPs in the coasts and estuaries. The results revealed that occurrences of PPCPs from the 1940s to the present were consistent with using PPCPs, different types of human activities, and local urban development. This helped better understand the history of PPCP contamination and evaluate the uncertainty of EW-WRSR. The model predicted hotspots of PPCPs that were consistent with the actual situation, indicating that PPCPs mainly enter the nearshore ecosystem by the form of sewage discharge and residual aquaculture. This study can provide method that identifying highly contaminated regions on a global scale., 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 © 2024 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Objective: Current scoring systems for short-term prognosis in patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) lack coverage of risk factors and have limitations in risk stratification. The aim of this study was to develop a novel assessment system based on laboratory indicators and frailty quantification to better infer short-term prognosis and risk indication in patients with AMI., Methods: A total of 365 patients with MI from January 2022 to June 2023 in Northern Jiangsu Province Hospital were included. The primary endpoint was all-cause mortality and major adverse cardiac events (MACE) during follow-up. A novel scoring model ranging from 0 to 12 was constructed, and the predictive ability of this scoring system was evaluated using the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC)., Results: During follow-up, 68 patients experienced MACE. Five scoring indicators were selected through multivariate logistic regression analysis, resulting in a composite score with an AUC of 0.925, demonstrating good prognostic accuracy., Conclusion: The novel prognostic assessment system, which integrates age, Stress Hyperglycemia Ratio (SHR), Neutrophil to Lymphocyte Ratio (NLR), lactate, and frailty score, exhibits good predictive value for short-term MACE in patients with acute myocardial infarction and may enable more accurate risk classification for future use in MI patient risk management., Competing Interests: Tianqing Cao and Fei Liu are co-first authors for this study. The authors report no conflicts of interest in this work., (© 2024 Cao et al.)

Background: Children's lives are increasingly mediated by digital technologies, yet evidence regarding the associations between internet use and depression is far from comprehensive and remains unclear., Objective: This study aimed to investigate the dose-response association between internet use, including use time and addiction behaviors, and depressive symptoms among children and adolescents in Zhejiang Province., Methods: Data were collected from a school-based health survey China Common Disease and Risk Factor Surveillance Among Students, encompassing 21,336 students in Zhejiang Province. The daily internet use time, internet addiction (IA) behaviors, and depressive symptoms were assessed with questionnaires. Logistic regression models were used to explore the associations of internet use time and IA behaviors with depressive symptoms among children and adolescents. Restricted cubic spline curves were used to determine the dose-response associations., Results: A total of 6225 (29.2%) students had depressive symptoms. Compared to those reporting no internet use, boys using the internet for >2 hours/day (odds ratio [OR] 1.53, 95% CI 1.34-1.74) and girls using internet for 1.1-2 hours/day (OR 1.22, 95% CI 1.06-1.39) and >2 hours/day (OR 1.70, 95% CI 1.50-1.93) were at higher risks of depressive symptoms. A significant J-shaped association was identified between internet use time and depressive symptoms among children and adolescents, especially in boys and primary school students (nonlinear P values were .006, .003, and <.001, respectively). Increased IA behaviors were associated with a higher odd of depressive symptoms (1 IA behavior: OR 2.01, 95% CI 1.83-2.21; 2 IA behaviors: 2.91, 95% CI 2.57-3.29; and ≥3 IA behaviors: 4.72, 95% CI 4.26-5.22). A positive nonlinear association between the number of IA behaviors and depressive symptoms was found in total population, girls, and primary school students (nonlinear P values were .02, .002, .007, respectively)., Conclusions: Findings suggested that excessive internet use time and IA behaviors were significantly associated with an increased risk of depressive symptoms, highlighting the importance of interventions to regulate and educate about adequate internet use during childhood and adolescence., (© Juanjuan Li, Weidi Sun, Zeyu Luo, Yi Liu, Xuanyin Huang, Denan Jiang, Shuting Li, Jia Meng, Fang Gu, Ronghua Zhang, Peige Song. Originally published in JMIR Public Health and Surveillance (https://publichealth.jmir.org).)