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The objectives of this study were to: (1) investigate the efficiency of Organization Learning via Information Technology Teaching for FOSHAN University of Higher Education, (2) compare students' achievements before and after learning through Organization Learning via Information Technology Teaching, and (3) examine students' satisfaction with of using Organization Learning via Information Technology Teaching. The study successfully collected 356 valid surveys from Foshan's vocational schools, resulting in a total of 370 questionnaires and a response rate of 96.2%, providing valuable insights into the reality of the situation in these institutions at FOSHAN University of Higher Education in China, derived through purposive sampling technique. The instruments used for collecting the data were: (1) The questionnaire to enhance learning achievement, (2) a student's pre-test and a post-test for FOSHAN University of Higher Education students., and (3) a teacher satisfaction form. The data analysis statistics were percentage, mean, standard deviation, and the t-test for the dependent sample. The research findings revealed that the survey data from the Guangdong Vocational College of Environmental Protection Engineering revealed that most teachers were female, with a higher proportion of females than males. Most teachers were between 30-40 and 40-50, with a higher proportion of those between 50 and 60. The survey also revealed that 59% of the teachers held postgraduate degrees, while 14.6% held doctoral degrees. Most teachers at the college were lecturers, with 46.6% holding the lecturer position and 41.3% being associate professors. The proportion of teachers at the college was 28.4%, compared to 21.3%. The dependent variables in this study pertain to college teachers' information-based teaching capacity, including the ability to use information-based tools, develop teaching methods, create resources, and execute teaching practices. The National Guide to Teachers' Educational Technical Capacity in Colleges and Universities was used to evaluate the information-based teaching capacity of college instructors. The study found a significant association between technology perception, task flexibility, convenience, social influence, and the transfer of information in college classroom education. The convenience factor, which refers to the teachers' ability to utilize and implement technology efficiently, was a significant factor in adopting information-based teaching. The study highlights the importance of assessing the instructional proficiency of college educators and the social impact of information-based teaching.

Underground coal mining in China has gradually moved into deeper seams in recent years, which results in a higher ambient temperature in the mining space and significantly affects the mechanical behavior of coal. In this study, dehydrated coal samples were obtained at different temperatures ranging from 30 ∘ to 70 ∘ , and the mechanical behavior of the dehydrated coal was investigated through compressive loading tests. The digital image correlation (DIC) method was used to acquire the strain field of coal, and a multifractal analysis was conducted to characterize the strain evolution of coal. The findings suggest that the increasing temperatures result in higher moisture desorption rates and greater volumetric contraction strain in coal. Furthermore, coal with higher moisture desorption exhibits higher peak stress and peak strains when subjected to compressive loading. The multifractal analysis of the inhomogeneous strain evolution indicates a gradual decrease in the parameter Δ α under compressive loading, followed by a sudden increase before reaching the failure point due to strain localization. The multifractal mechanism was further investigated, revealing that the inhomogeneous strain field of coal is inherently affected by the microstructure of coal. In addition, a mathematical model was proposed to elucidate the relationship between the inhomogeneous coal strain and the microstructure of coal. The result indicates that the inhomogeneity of the coal strain is directly associated with the multifractal singularity of the coal microstructure. Finally, the feasibility of using the multifractal parameter Δ α to identify coal strain localization has been demonstrated, indicating its potential value in aiding engineers to determine the SLZ in deep coal mines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The global pandemic of COVID-19 has been over four years, and the role of intestinal microbiota in the occurrence and development of COVID-19 needs to be further clarified. During the outbreak of SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant in China, we analyzed the intestinal microbiome in fecal samples from inpatients with pneumonia and normal individuals in January 2023. The microbiota composition, alpha diversity, beta diversity, differential microbial community, co-occurrence networks, and functional abundance were analyzed. The results showed significant differences in microbiota composition between the two groups. In pneumonia group, the abundance of Bifidobacterium, Blautia, Clostridium , and Coprococcus decreased, while the abundance of Enterococcus, Lactobacillus , and Megamonas increased. Through LEfSe analysis, 37 marker microbiota were identified in pneumonia group. Co-occurrence network analysis found that Lachnospiraceae was critical for the interaction of intestinal microbiota, and the anti-inflammatory bacteria Blautia was negatively correlated with the pro-inflammatory bacteria Ruminococcus. Functional prediction found the up-regulation of steroid biosynthesis, geraniol degradation, and mRNA surveillance pathway in pneumonia group. In conclusion, opportunistic pathogens increased and probiotics, or short-chain fatty acid-producing bacteria, decreased in the intestinal microbiota of pneumonia inpatients during the Omicron epidemic. Blautia could be used as a probiotic in the treatment of pneumonia patients in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Expanding open-pit mining towards larger mining scales and greater stripping depths increases the potential risks of landslides on high and steep slopes, endangering human life and property. Therefore, it is of great significance to accurately reveal the main controlling factors and identify the key dynamic parameters to understand the formation mechanism and dynamic process of landslides in open-pit mine landslides. On February 22, 2023, a catastrophic landslide occurred at the Xinjing Open-Pit Coal Mine in the Alxa League of Inner Mongolia, resulting in 53 fatalities, 6 injuries, and economic losses of up to 204.3 million RMB. This study analyzed the formation mechanism of the Xinjing landslide based on remote sensing image interpretation, meteorological and seismic data, and geological and hydrological conditions. The results show that the dominant causes are excavation activities and rear-end slag loading, with the disaster formation process including the excavation disturbance, over-mining deformation, and failure and sliding, characterized by the formation of artificial slopes, deformation of high and steep slopes due to over-mining and coal stripping, and failure induced by external disturbance, respectively. In addition, the source location, dynamic evolution, and key kinematic parameters of the landslide were determined based on the seismic signal inversion. The inversion results show that the landslide has a volume of approximately 6.88 × 106 m3, the main sliding process lasts 35 s with a maximum velocity of 13.7 m/s, and the horizontal displacement is 165 m. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gastrodin has been used as antihypertension therapy in China; however, the mechanisms underlying the effects of gastrodin have yet to be fully elucidated. To explore the therapeutic efficiency of gastrodin as an antihypertensive and determine the mechanisms underlying this effect. C57BL/6 mice were continuously administered angiotensin II (Ang II) (500 ng/kg/min) to induce hypertension. Mice were randomly divided into control, Ang II and Ang II + gastrodin groups. Mice received intragastric administration of gastrodin (5 mg/kg) or double distilled water once a day for 4 weeks. Blood pressure, pulse wave velocity (PWV), thickness of the abdominal aorta, pathological morphology and differential expression transcripts (DETs) were assessed. Abdominal aorta rings and primary isolated vascular smooth muscle cells were subjected to Ang II stimulation to induce hypertension as ex vivo and in vitro models, respectively. Vascular ring tension, release of Ca2+ and levels of proteins involved in the myosin light chain kinase (MLCK)/phospho-myosin light chain 2 (p-MLC2) pathway were determined. Gastrodin treatment attenuated increases in blood pressure, PWV and thickness of the abdominal aorta. Treatment with gastrodin resulted in 2785 DETs and the enrichment of vascular contraction and calcium signalling pathways. Gastrodin treatment attenuated Ang II-induced vasoconstriction, produced a norepinephrine-precontracted vasodilation effect (attenuated by verapamil), and reduced intracellular Ca2+ release. Furthermore, gastrodin suppressed activation of the MLCK/p-MLC2 pathway in vivo and in vitro. Gastrodin treatment lowers blood pressure, suppresses Ang II-induced vascular contraction and MLCK/p-MLC2 pathway activation, thereby demonstrating the mechanisms underlying the therapeutic efficacy of gastrodin as an antihypertensive. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) is a common acquired hemorrhagic disease without "gold standard" for the diagnosis, long non‐coding RNA (lncRNAs) can participate in regulating gene expression through various mechanisms and may play a role in immune intolerance in ITP. Several previous studies have confirmed that lncRNA lncDC and THRIL are involved in the development of autoimmune diseases. This study investigates the relationship between expression levels of two plasma lncRNAs (lncDC and THRIL) and clinical characteristics of adult primary ITP patients, ascertain their potential applications as diagnostic markers of ITP. Methods: We recruited 102 subjects, including 41 ITP patients, 41 healthy controls (HCs) and 20 patients under myelosuppression phase after chemotherapy (MS). qRT‐PCR was used to detect the expression of two lncRNAs in the peripheral blood plasma of the three groups. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were used to test the diagnostic efficacy of lncDC and THRIL in ITP. Results: The expression level of lncDC was downregulated in ITP patients compared with HCs (p =. 012) and MS (p =.035), whereas THRIL was significantly upregulated (p =.0005, p <. 0001). We further revealed that lncDC has a high sensitivity (78. 05%), while THRIL has a high specificity (97. 56%). The area under the curve (AUC) (0.869, 95% CI: 0.795–0.943, p <.0001) of the ROC curve for this combination increased significantly. Conclusions: THRIL and lncDC expression levels were changed in adult ITP patients. The lncRNAs lncDC and THRIL can serve as potential diagnostic markers for adult primary ITP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Current endeavors to integrate competency-based learning approaches with e-learning systems designed for delivery of training to adult learners in the workplace are growing. However, academic efforts in examining learners' perceptions of, and reactions toward, this technology-delivered pedagogical innovation are limited. Drawing together perspectives from the literature on training and instructional design and technology acceptance, this research proposed a conceptual model to examine the influences of perceived individual and social learning support on employees' acceptance of competency-based e-learning systems. Structural equation modeling and multi-group structural equation modeling techniques were applied to sample data collected from work settings in Mainland China. The results show the positive effects of perceived individual learning support and perceived support for promoting a norm of cooperation on employees' intention to use the competency-based e-learning system. It was also found that perceived support for enhancing social ties had a negative effect on employees' behavioral intention. The gender, age, prior experience, and work experience differences in the main effects were also investigated. Besides, qualitative data collected via semi-structured in-depth interview provide complementary evidence to the findings.

The Web allows self-regulated learning through interaction with large amounts of learning resources. While enjoying the flexibility of learning, learners may suffer from cognitive overload and conceptual and navigational disorientation when faced with various information resources under disparate topics and complex knowledge structures. This study proposed a knowledge visualization (KV) approach to this problem in an online course. The investigation involved the design, development, and evaluation of an enhanced learning system for the course using the proposed approach. The focus was on visualization of domain knowledge structure and integrating the structure with curriculum design, learning resources, learning assessment, intellectual process, and social learning. Survey and interviews with students demonstrated high user satisfaction and acceptance with the developed system and its functions for KV. These findings lay the foundation for further exploration with the system to determine its impact on reducing cognitive load and improving the learning process. (Contains 11 figures and 3 tables.)

Vegetation canopy interception (Ic) of precipitation is a considerable component of the global hydrological cycles. Although the measurement and modeling of canopy interception have been explored worldwide at the individual, stand or ecosystem scale, it is still unclear how to recognize this process at the regional or global scales within the context of global climate change. In this study, a revised Gash model was employed to estimate canopy interception based on remote sensing and meteorological data. The spatial and temporal variations in Ic were investigated and the main environmental factors were explored in China for the 2000–2018 period. The results showed that the revised Gash model performed well in modeling canopy interception at the regional scale compared with the PML_V2 dataset product and the in-situ measurements. The average annual Ic in China from 2000 to 2018 was 166.55 mm, with a significant decreasing spatial pattern from the Southeastern to the Northwestern regions. The ratio of canopy interception to precipitation (Ir) displayed a similar spatial pattern, with an average value of 22.30%. At the temporal scale, the mean annual Ic significantly increased at a rate of 1.79 mm yr−1 (p < 0.01) during the study period, and the increasing trend was more pronounced during the 2000–2009 period, at a rate of 3.34 mm yr−1 (p < 0.01). In most vegetation types, except for the deciduous broad-leaved forest and temperate desert, canopy interception showed a significant increasing trend (p < 0.01). Precipitation, temperature, and the normalized differential vegetation index (NDVI) were considered to be the main factors affecting the variations of Ic in China during the last two decades, with specific dominant factors varying in different areas. Specifically, precipitation was considered to control the variations of Ic in the Northwestern regions, temperature mainly influenced the Southern regions, and the NDVI was identified as the main factor in regions where significant ecological conservation projects are established, such as the Loess Plateau. Our findings are expected to not only contribute to the understanding of regional ecohydrological cycle but also provide valuable insights into the methodology of interception modeling at the regional and global scales. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) strains have been experiencing extensive recombination in Chinese swine farms. This recombination usually happens in NADC30/34 strains and highly pathogenic (HP) PRRSV strains. This study identified a new PRRSV isolate that shared 99% and 99.1% nucleotide identity with CH-1a and CH-1R at the genomic level, respectively. After purification by viral plaque assay, this isolate was named PRRSV CSR1801. The isolate did not experience any recombination with other PRRSV strains common in swine herd epidemics in China, which means it still maintains the stable features of the classical PRRSV strain and did not easily recombine with other PRRSV strains. Further analysis of the pathogenicity of the PRRSV isolate CSR1801 was performed in piglets. The results indicated that none of the inoculated piglets showed the typical clinical manifestations of PRRS, which presented with runny noses, rough back hair, rectal temperatures always below 40.5 °C, and no deaths. Additionally, no obvious histopathological lesions such as severe interstitial pneumonia could be observed in the lungs of the piglets. Hence, the PRRSV isolate CSR1801 should be classified as a classical-like PRRSV strain. This classical PRRSV strain showed genetic stability and maintained low pathogenicity. This study may provide new clues for further understanding the genetic evolution and pathogenicity of PRRSV and may also be an important reference for the prevention and control of PRRS in swine farms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A high-resolution simulation with the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model is performed to investigate the characteristics of the horizontal kinetic energy (HKE) spectra of an eastward-moving southwest vortex (SWV) generated in Sichuan Province, China, during 16–19 June 2011. The results indicate that the evolution of the SWV can be divided into the development, mature, and decay stages. In the troposphere, the HKE spectrum reproduces the typical atmospheric spectrum, with a slope of approximately −3 for wavelengths greater than 300 km and −5/3 for wavelengths between 300 and 30 km in each stage. The average scale of spectral transition is around 300 km. However, the HKE spectrum in the lower stratosphere shows a −5/3 slope at mesoscales and has no clear spectral transition. During the mature stage of the SWV, the HKE increases prominently for wavelengths between 300 and 30 km. Moreover, the relative contribution of the rotational kinetic energy (RKE) and the divergent kinetic energy (DKE) was investigated. It shows that the RKE spectrum dominates the DKE spectrum for wavelengths greater than 300 km in the lower troposphere, while in the upper troposphere the magnitudes of RKE and DKE are comparable over all scales. However, in the lower stratosphere, the DKE is an order of magnitude larger than the RKE, contributing more to the total HKE spectrum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fusarium wilt of banana caused by Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cubense tropical race 4 (TR4) is globally one of the most destructive soil-borne fungal diseases. Biological control using environmental microorganisms is considered as an alternative and sustainable strategy. Actinomycetes have the potential to explore biocontrol agents due to their production of diverse metabolites. The isolation and identification of high-efficiency and broad-spectrum antagonistic actinomycetes are the key for the application of biocontrol agents. In the present study, 60 actinomycetes were obtained from the rhizosphere soil of Machilus pingii in the primitive ecological natural reserve of Hainan province, China. Seventeen isolates and their extracts exhibited significant antifungal activity against F. oxysporum TR4. Particularly, strain BITDG-11 with the strongest inhibition ability had a broad-spectrum antifungal activity. The assay of its physiological and biochemical profiles showed that strain BITDG-11 had the ability to produce IAA and siderophores and had a positive response to gelatin liquefaction and nitrate reduction. Enzyme activities of chitinase, β-1,3-glucanase, lipase, and urease were also detected. Average nucleotide identity calculated by comparison with the standard strain genome of Streptomyces albospinus JCM3399 was 86.55% below the novel species threshold, suggesting that the strain could be a novel species. In addition, Streptomyces BITDG-11 obviously reduced the disease index of banana plantlets and promoted plant growth at 45 days post inoculation. The higher and lasting expression levels of defense genes and activities of antioxidant enzymes were induced in the roots of banana. Genome sequencing revealed that the Streptomyces BITDG-11 chromosome contained large numbers of conserved biosynthesis gene clusters encoding terpenes, non-ribosomal peptides, polyketides, siderophores, and ectoines. Fifteen bioactive secondary metabolites were further identified from Streptomyces BITDG-11 extract by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry. Dibutyl phthalate demonstrating a strong antifungal activity was the major compound with the highest peak area. Hence, Streptomyces sp. BITDG-11 has a great potential to become an essential constituent of modern agricultural practice as biofertilizers and biocontrol agents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, the studies on fine-grained sedimentation mainly focus on the rock type, sedimentary environment, sedimentation, and sequence stratigraphy, while those on the relationship between sedimentary environment and lithofacies development are rare. However, a clear understanding on the relationship is of great significance to the muddy shale oil and gas exploration. This paper studied the muddy shale of semideep and deep lacustrine facies in the lower submember of Member 3 of Shahejie Formation in FY-1 Well, Dongying Sag, Bohai Bay Basin, East China. Based on geochemical data, the sedimentary environment media conditions and vertical changes of this submember were analyzed by means of core description, thin section authentication, X-ray diffraction (XRD), and other technologies, and the relationship between sedimentary environment and lithofacies development was discussed. The results show that this environment underwent three stages and is featured by cyclicity. From the bottom up, it experienced the semideep, deep, and deep/semideep waters under the relatively dry-cold/relatively warm-wet, warm-wet, and warm-wet/relatively warm-wet paleoclimates, respectively. Correspondingly, the paleoredox transited three stages from reducibility to high reducibility to high reducibility/reducibility; the paleosalinity changed from saline water to brackish water to brackish/saline water. Paleoproductivity was low/relatively high at the beginning, then became high, and finally relatively high. In this submember, the lithofacies primarily includes organic-rich mudstone, organic-rich lime mudstone, organic-rich lime-bearing mudstone, and organic-contained argillaceous limestone/lime mudstone. The sedimentary environment controls the mineral composition and content in the lithofacies and thus determines the lithofacies types. Meanwhile, the cyclicity of environmental change not only leads to that of the lithofacies development but also affects the positions of the lithofacies and its assemblages in sequence stratigraphic framework. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Intracranial hemorrhage (ICH) is a devastating complication of immune thrombocytopenia (ITP). However, information on ICH in ITP patients under the age of 60 years is limited, and no predictive tools are available in clinical practice. A total of 93 adult patients with ITP who developed ICH before 60 years of age were retrospectively identified from 2005 to 2019 by 27 centers in China. For each case, 2 controls matched by the time of ITP diagnosis and the duration of ITP were provided by the same center. Multivariate analysis identified head trauma (OR = 3.216, 95%CI 1.296–7.979, P =.012), a platelet count ≤ 15,000/μL at the time of ITP diagnosis (OR = 1.679, 95%CI 1.044–2.698, P =.032) and severe/life-threatening bleeding (severe bleeding vs. mild bleeding, OR = 1.910, 95%CI 1.088–3.353, P =.024; life-threatening bleeding vs. mild bleeding, OR = 2.620, 95%CI 1.360–5.051, P =.004) as independent risk factors for ICH. Intraparenchymal hemorrhage (OR = 5.191, 95%CI 1.717–15.692, P =.004) and a history of severe bleeding (OR = 4.322, 95%CI 1.532–12.198, P =.006) were associated with the 30-day outcome of ICH. These findings may facilitate ICH risk stratification and outcome prediction in patients with ITP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Infantile malignant osteopetrosis (IMO) is a rare autosomal recessive disease characterized by a higher bone density in bone marrow caused by the dysfunction of bone resorption. Clinically, IMO can be diagnosed with medical examination, bone mineral density test and whole genome sequencing.Case Presentation: We present the case of a 4-month-old male infant with abnormal skull development, hypocalcemia and premature closure of the cranial sutures. Due to the hyper bone density showed by his radiographic examination, which are characteristic patterns of IMO, we speculated that he might be an IMO patient. In order to confirm this diagnosis, a high-precision whole exome sequencing of the infant and his parents was performed. The analysis of high-precision whole exome sequencing results lead to the identification of two novel heterozygous mutations c.504-1G > C (a splicing site mutation) and c.1371delC (p.G458Afs*70, a frameshift mutation) in gene TCIRG1 derived from his parents. Therefore, we propose that there is a close association between these two mutations and the onset of IMO.Conclusions: To date, these two novel mutations in gene TCIRG1 have not been reported in the reference gene database of Chinese population. These variants have likewise not been reported outside of China in the Genome Aggregation Database (gnomAD). Our case suggests that the use of whole exome sequencing to detect these two mutations will improve the identification and early diagnosis of IMO, and more specifically, the identification of homozygous individuals with TCIRG1 gene mutation. We propose that these mutations in gene TCIRG1 could be a novel therapeutic target for the IMO in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the further exploration and development of shale oil and gas, cycle division of fine-grained sedimentary rock strata has been increasingly highly focused on by scholars. Owing to the application of the theory of classical sequence stratigraphy based on water depth changes and its technical methods being unsatisfactory in the isochronous division and correlation of deep-water fine-grained sedimentary strata, the cycle division of fine-grained sedimentary rock strata has always been a difficult point in the study of sequence stratigraphy. In this paper, the Milankovitch cycle recorded from the study interval and the environment response characteristics were studied, with the lacustrine shale in the lower third submember of the Paleogene Shahejie Formation (lower Es3 submember) in Well Fanye-1 of the Dongying sag, Bohai Bay Basin, as the object of study, by such technical means as thin section identification and X-ray whole rock diffraction, based on such data as logging data and geochemistry, combining the methods of spectral analysis, wavelet transform, and modulus extremum. The results showed that the stratigraphic cycle thicknesses caused by long eccentricity, short eccentricity, and obliquity periods were 38.95 m, 12.98 m, and 4.10 m, respectively, and a total of 16 short eccentricity periods and 4.5 long eccentricity periods were identified in the study interval. Thus, it was further calculated that the sedimentation time was approximately 1.905 Ma, and the average sedimentation rate was estimated to be 0.105 m/ka. Studies have shown that the sedimentary environment of lacustrine fine-grained sedimentary rocks is controlled by the astronomical period, based on which the climate as a whole changes from relatively dry and cold to warm and wet when the eccentricity increases. The identification of the Milankovitch cycle of the lacustrine fine-grained sedimentary strata will provide references for the study of high frequency sequence and the division of high-resolution sequence strata, which can effectively solve the scientifically difficult isochronous division and correlation of lacustrine shale strata. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reservoir pore space assessment is of great significance for petroleum exploration and production. However, it is difficult to describe the pore characteristics of deep-buried dolomite reservoirs with the traditional linear method because these rocks have undergone strong modification by tectonic activity and diagenesis and show significant pore space heterogeneity. In this study, 38 dolostone samples from 4 Cambrian formations of Tarim Basin in NW China were collected and 135 thin section images were analyzed. Multifractal theory was used for evaluation of pore space heterogeneity in deep-buried dolostone based on thin section image analysis. The physical parameters, pore structure parameters, and multifractal characteristic parameters were obtained from the digital images. Then, the relationships between lithology and these parameters were discussed. In addition, the pore structure was classified into four categories using K -means clustering analysis based on multifractal parameters. The results show that the multifractal phenomenon generally exists in the pore space of deep-buried dolomite and that multifractal analysis can be used to characterize the heterogeneity of pore space in deep-buried dolomite. For these samples, multifractal parameters, such as α min , α max , Δ α L , Δ α R , Δ f , and AI, correlate strongly with porosity but only slightly with permeability. However, the parameter Δ α , which is usually used to reveal heterogeneity, does not show an obvious link with petrophysical properties. Of dolomites with different fabrics, fine crystalline dolomite and medium crystalline dolomite show the best petrophysical properties and show significant differences in multifractal parameters compared to other dolomites. More accurate porosity estimations were obtained with the multifractal generalized fractal dimension, which provides a new method for porosity prediction. The various categories derived from the K -means clustering analysis of multifractal parameters show distinct differences in petrophysical properties. This proves that reservoir evaluation and pore structure classification can be accurately performed with the K -means clustering analysis method based on multifractal parameters of pore space in deep-buried dolomite reservoirs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To evaluate the effect of art therapy on cancer patients' quality of life and physical and psychological symptoms. Methods: The databases PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, The Cochrane Library, Clinical Trial.gov, the China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Wanfang and the Chinese Biomedical Literature Database (CBM) were searched from their inception up to 20 August 2019. Trials examining the effects of art therapy on physical and psychological symptoms and quality of life versus a control group were included. The methodological quality of the included randomised controlled trials was assessed using the risk of bias tool of Cochrane Handbook. Meanwhile, the Newcastle‐Ottawa Quality Assessment Scale (NOS) was used to evaluate the methodological quality of the non‐randomised studies. Results: Twelve studies involving 587 cancer patients were included. The results revealed that art therapy significantly reduced anxiety symptoms (standard mean difference [SMD] = −0.46, 95% confidence interval [CI] [−0.90, 0.02], p =.04), depression symptoms (SMD = −0.47, 95% CI [−0.72, 0.21], p <.01), and fatigue (SMD = −0.38, 95% CI [−0.68, −0.09], p =.01) in cancer patients. Art therapy also significantly improved the quality of life of cancer patients (SMD = 0.43, 95% CI [0.18, 0.68], p <.01). Conclusions: Art therapy had a positive effect on quality of life and symptoms in cancer patients and can be used as a complementary treatment for cancer patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Enterocytozoon bieneusi is a common microsporidian species, which can infect humans and various species of animals. However, little is known about E. bieneusi prevalence and genotypes in farmed raccoon dogs (Nyctereutes procyonoides) in Shandong Province, China. In this study, a total of 356 fecal samples were collected from farmed raccoon dogs in Weihai, Weifang, and Yantai cities in Shandong Province, China. A total of 23 (6.5%) samples were E. bieneusi-positive by nested PCR amplification of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region of ribosomal DNA. Statistical analysis showed that E. bieneusi prevalence in male raccoon dogs was higher than that in female raccoon dogs, and the highest E. bieneusi prevalence was detected in adult raccoon dogs. Sequence analysis revealed four known E. bieneusi genotypes (D, type IV, CHG1, and Peru8), and type IV (11/23) was the predominant genotype. The genotypes type IV, Peru8, and CHG1 were reported in raccoon dogs for the first time in China. Phylogenetic analysis showed that three human-pathogenic genotypes (D, type IV, and Peru8) were clustered into group 1, and the CHG1 belonged to group 2. These findings expand the current understanding of E. bieneusi prevalence and genotype distribution in raccoon dogs in China. Our study also shows that raccoon dogs are hosts for E. bieneusi belonging to several genotypes, including zoonotic ones, highlighting the possibility of transmission of this pathogen between raccoon dogs and humans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Giardia duodenalis is a zoonotic enteric parasite that can infect humans and a number of animal species including rabbits with a worldwide distribution. Infection with G. duodenalis can cause serious public health problems and significant economic losses to animal husbandry. So accurate understanding of the prevalence and genotype distribution of G. duodenalis in rabbits is necessary. In the present study, a total of 616 fecal samples were collected from rabbits in Shandong province, eastern China, and examined in G. duodenalis prevalence and genotypes by nested PCR amplification of β-giardin (bg), glutamate dehydrogenase (gdh), and triosephosphate isomerase (tpi) gene loci of G. duodenalis. Sixty-nine (11.2%) of the examined rabbit fecal samples were G. duodenalis-positive. Of them, the prevalence of G. duodenalis is 8.4% (41/490) in Rizhao city and 22.2% (28/126) in Weihai city. Breeds, region, and feeding modes were highly correlated with G. duodenalis infection in rabbits. Moreover, three genotypes (assemblages A, B, and E) were identified in rabbits at three gene loci, and the assemblage E was the dominant genotype, while the assemblage A was reported in rabbits in China for the first time. It is noticeable that two rabbits were found to be infected with two different G. duodenalis assemblages (assemblages A and E, assemblages B and E, respectively). These findings enrich the genotype distribution of G. duodenalis in rabbits and provide baseline data for preventing and controlling G. duodenalis infection in rabbits in eastern China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Enterocytozoon bieneusi is a zoonotic parasite which is considered to be an opportunistic pathogen of humans and animals. A number of studies have reported E. bieneusi infection in various animals. However, no information is available on the occurrence of E. bieneusi in Tan sheep, a unique indigenous sheep species in the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, China. The objectives of the present study were to examine the prevalence and identify the genotypes of E. bieneusi in Tan sheep in China. A total of 1014 fecal specimens of Tan sheep from six farms in the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region were examined by nested PCR amplification of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) of nuclear ribosomal DNA. The total prevalence of E. bieneusi was 12.2% (124/1014), ranging from 0.5 to 22.2% on six farms. Sequence analysis identified 10 genotypes of E. bieneusi, including three known genotypes, BEB6, COS-I, and CHG13, and seven novel genotypes designated as NX1 to NX7, which all belonged to group 2 by phylogenetic analysis. This is the first report describing the prevalence of E. bieneusi in Tan sheep, and the new genotypes identified in the current study expand the genotype distribution of E. bieneusi. These findings provide baseline data and have implications for the epidemiology and control of E. bieneusi infection in Tan sheep. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To characterize the polyphase palaeokarst development of Wumishan formation in Jizhong depression, the data of outcrops, cores, thin sections, SEM, core plugs, drilling relief and leakage, and carbon isotope have been analyzed in this paper. The results reveal that the polyphase palaeokarst was petrography controlled of microbial dolostone and grain dolostone, and was identified as three phases: (1) poly-period eogenetic karst during Wumishan depositional environment, (2) two-period telogenetic karst in Triassic and Cretaceous, and (3) hydrothermal karst in Paleogene. The eogenetic karst was related to high frequent sea level fluctuations with development of vugs and selective dissolution porosities which distributed at the top of microbial dolostone and grain dolostone layers. The origin of the telogenetic karst was related to Indosinian and Yanshan orogeny which formed widespread fold belts and thrust faults, and provided the endokinetic force and a strong topography difference. Each period's telogenetic karst was characteristic of one-period fracture-cave system, and the Cretaceous telogenetic karst was stronger than the Triassic telogenetic karst in karst intensity. Moreover, the karst intensity increased downward in superimposed telogenetic karst zones. Hydrothermal karst was related to volcanic activities and provided the hydrothermal environment for its formation. It was featured by solution-enlarged porosities and new forming porosities. The microbial dolostone and grain dolostone layers with three-phase palaeokarst were the best exploration targets for high-quality reservoirs. This paper rebuilds a suitable karst model to show the palaeokarst evolution process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Purpose. To investigate the characteristics of blood in nonsyndromic retinitis pigmentosa (RP) and reveal the pathogenesis of blood cells involved in blood stasis in RP. Design. This is a retrospective observational study. Methods. We collected vein blood from 101 cases of patients with nonsyndromic RP and 120 cases of normal individuals according to a single-blind study and used routine clinical examination to detect the indicators of blood. All the subjects were mainly from the central south of China. Data were analyzed statistically between the RP group and normal control. Results. The indicator of platelet distribution width (PDW) in patients with RP was higher than that in the normal group; the indicators of red blood cell (RBCs), hemoglobin (HGB), hematocrit (HCT), basophils (BASs), platelets (PLTs), and plateletcrit (PCT) in the RP group were lower than those in the normal control. The differences were statistically very significant between the RP group and normal group (p<0.01). There were no statistical differences in the other indicators between the RP and normal group. Conclusions. The changes in RBCs and PLTs in patients with RP implied that RP induces RBC aggregation and platelet activation, leading to blood stasis which in turn initiates more apoptosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Although efforts have been taken to exploit diversity for yield and quality improvements, limited progress on using beneficial alleles in domesticated and undomesticated cotton varieties is limited. Given the complexity and limited amount of genomic information since the completion of four cotton genomes, characterizing significant variations and haplotype block inheritance under artificial selection has been challenging. Here we sequenced Gossypium hirsutum L. cv CRI‐12 (the cotton variety with the largest acreage in China), its parental cultivars, and progeny cultivars, which were bred by the different institutes in China. In total, 3.3 million SNPs were identified and 118, 126 and 176 genes were remarkably correlated with Verticillium wilt, salinity and drought tolerance in CRI‐12, respectively. Transcriptome‐wide analyses of gene expression, and functional annotations, have provided support for the identification of genes tied to these tolerances. We totally discovered 58 116 haplotype blocks, among which 23 752 may be inherited and 1029 may be recombined under artificial selection. This survey of genetic diversity identified loci that may have been subject to artificial selection and documented the haplotype block inheritance and recombination, shedding light on the genetic mechanism of artificial selection and guiding breeding efforts for the genetic improvement of cotton. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives To look at the possible effect of IGF2R rs9456497 on cardiovascular risks in a long-lived population. Methods IGF-2R rs9456497 was genotyped by iMLDR for 496 long-lived Zhuang Chinese (90–107 y/o) and their offspring (n = 723, 60–75 y/o) and healthy controls (n = 611, 60–75 y/o). Association analyses were then conducted among genotypes and cardiovascular risks. Results The G genotype (GA/GG) was found to represent more frequently in males of general population. No significantly difference was detected among genotypes in each group except that G genotype tended to reduce the systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) levels in longevity group. However, after sex stratification, total cholesterol (TC) of each genotype in offspring males was elevated versus relevant genotype in longevity and control group; the triglyceride (TG), fasting plasma glucose (FPG) and BMI of each genotype in longevity group were lower while SBP and DBP were higher than that of the relevant genotype in offspring and controls. After stratified by lipid status, the frequency of G allele was markedly increased in the dyslipidemic subgroup in the combined population and controls. Linear regressive analyses showed that HDL was positively correlated to rs9456497 GA genotype while BMI was negatively correlated to AA genotype in offspring group, whereas TC and TG were reversely while BMI was positively associated with AA genotype in CG. Conclusions IGF-2R rs9456497 G genotype correlates to detrimental cardiovascular risks in ordinary population which might partially interpret their less preservation of health as compared to long-lived cohort. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The tight sandstone reservoir of the Donghetang Formation underwent complex diagenetic processes for which the controlling factors remain unknown. Here, we present a case study of the lower member of this formation and show that this part of the reservoir consists mostly of lithic quartz sandstone with poor physical characteristics. Using core observation, thin section identification, electronic microprobe, scanning electronic microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and inclusion fluorescence microscopy, we identified five major diagenetic processes: compaction, cementation, dissolution, metasomatism, and hydrocarbon charging. Compaction and cementation have negative effects on petrophysical properties (referred to porosity and permeability of sandstone in this paper), and dissolution improves these properties. Diagenesis is affected by the depositional environment, and clastic constituents control compaction and dissolution; burial history and the geotemperature field control diagenesis at the macroscopic scale, while hydrocarbon charging affects the degree of cementation and dissolution. As oil saturation increases, the percentage of calcareous cements decreases and the development of secondary dissolved pores improves. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Most research on working memory (WM) training for children with developmental dyslexia (DD) has focused on western alphabetical languages. Moreover, most of these studies used a combination of training tasks targeting a variety of WM components, making it difficult to determine whether WM training generates a general improvement in overall reading, or improves specific cognitive skills corresponding to the WM components that are targeted in training. We tested the general and specific effects of WM training on the reading skills of 45 Chinese children with DD, grades 3 to 5. In Experiment 1, the experimental group received a program targeting the verbal WM component; in Experiment 2, the experimental group was trained with a program targeting visuospatial WM. In both experiments the control group played a placebo video game. In Experiment 1, the experimental group outperformed the control group on the visual rhyming task, which is highly correlated with verbal WM. In Experiment 2, the experimental group outperformed the control group on the orthographic awareness test, which is highly correlated with visuospatial WM. Furthermore, in both Experiment 1 and Experiment 2, the experimental groups outperformed the control groups on the fast word naming test, which is highly related to both visuospatial WM and verbal WM. Results indicated that WM training improved specific reading-related cognitive skills that are highly correlated with the specific WM components that were the target of training. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) has been implicated in cognitive performance and the modulation of several metabolic parameters in some disease models, but its potential roles in successful aging remain unclear. We herein sought to define the putative correlation between BDNF Val66Met and several metabolic risk factors including BMI, blood pressure, fasting plasma glucose (FPG) and lipid levels in a long-lived population inhabiting Hongshui River Basin in Guangxi.Methods: BDNF Val66Met was typed by ARMS-PCR for 487 Zhuang long-lived individuals (age ≥ 90, long-lived group, LG), 593 of their offspring (age 60-77, offspring group, OG) and 582 ethnic-matched healthy controls (aged 60-75, control group, CG) from Hongshui River Basin. The correlations of genotypes with metabolic risks were then determined.Results: As a result, no statistical difference was observed on the distribution of allelic and genotypic frequencies of BDNF Val66Met among the three groups (all P > 0.05) except that AA genotype was dramatically higher in females than in males of CG. The HDL-C level of A allele (GA/AA genotype) carriers was profoundly lower than was non-A (GG genotype) carriers in the total population and the CG (P = 0.009 and 0.006, respectively), which maintained in females, hyperglycemic and normolipidemic subgroup of CG after stratification by gender, BMI, glucose and lipid status. Furthermore, allele A carriers, with a higher systolic blood pressure, exhibited 1.63 folds higher risk than non-A carriers to be overweight in CG (OR = 1.63, 95% CI: 1.05 - 2.55, P = 0.012). Multiple regression analysis displayed that the TC level of LG reversely associated with BDNF Val66Met genotype.Conclusions: These data suggested that BDNF 66Met may play unfavorable roles in blood pressure and lipid profiles in the general population in Hongshui River area which might in part underscore their poorer survivorship versus the successful aging individuals and their offspring. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using atmospheric observational data from 1998 to 2013, station rainfall data, TRMM (Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission) data, as well as annual statistics for the plateau vortex and shear line, the joint activity features of sustained departure plateau vortexes (SDPVs) and southwest vortexes (SWVs) are analyzed. Some new and useful observational facts and understanding are obtained about the joint activities of the two types of vortex. The results show that: (1) The joint active period of the two vortexes is from May to August, and mostly in June and July. (2) The SDPVs of the partnership mainly originate near Zaduo, while the SWVs come from Jiulong. (3) Most of the two vortexes move in almost the same direction, moving eastward together with the low trough. The SDPVs mainly act in the area to the north of the Yangtze River, while the SWVs are situated across the Yangtze River valley. (4) The joint activity of the two vortexes often produces sustained regional heavy rainfall to the south of the Yellow River, influencing wide areas of China, and even as far as the Korean Peninsula, Japan and Vietnam. (5) Most of the two vortexes are baroclinic or cold vortexes, and they both become strengthened in terms of their joint activity. (6) When the two vortexes move over the sea, their central pressure descends and their rainfall increases, especially for SWVs. (7) The two vortexes might spin over the same area simultaneously when there are tropical cyclones in the eastern and southern seas of China, or move southward together if a tropical cyclone appears near Hainan Island. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Parametric curve-fitting techniques are routinely adopted to derive the components of individual grain-size distributions of sediment samples. However, due to the lack of methodologies and calculation platforms to efficiently generate reproducible unmixing solutions, and appropriate statistical techniques to analyze and visualize unmixing results characterized by complex and variable structures, the technique has seldom been extended to the systematic analysis of massive grain-size distributions in sedimentological and paleoenvironmental research. In this study, we use numerical techniques to develop a novel strategy enabling the efficient and flexible unmixing of single-sample grain-size distributions. The method was applied to a large set of grain-size distributions of late Quaternary aeolian sediments from the desert-loess transition zone around the Tengger Desert in North China. The potential structures of the pooled unmixed subpopulations were derived using a finite mixture model, taking variances into account, together with a pattern recognition (clustering) method. Five unimodal endmembers were identified by the finite mixture model and four prevalent structural patterns were recognized by the clustering method. The significances of the endmembers and structural patterns are discussed in detail. We demonstrate that the single-sample unmixing method can be used to complement the widely applied end-member modelling to reveal potential provenances of large datasets of grain-size distributions, and that the component structures of grain-size distributions may contain valuable information that can be used to constrain the associated paleoenvironmental conditions. • A reproducible framework for unmixing massive single-sample GSDs. • New methods for analyzing and visualizing pooled unmixing results. • Efficient and flexible open-source R functions for processing large GSD datasets. • Application to aeolian sediments from the desert-loess transition zone of the Tengger Desert. • The component structures of GSDs contain valuable paleoenvironmental information. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To evaluate the effect of bear bile powder (BBP) on angiogenesis, and investigate the underlying molecular mechanisms. Methods: A chick embryo chorioallantoic membrane (CAM) assay was used to evaluate the angiogensis in vivo. Human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) were treated with 0, 0.25, 0.5, 0.75, and 1.0 mg/mL of BBP for 24, 48 and 72 h, respectively. The 3-(4, 5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide assay was performed to determine the viability of HUVECs. Cell cycle progression of HUVECs was examined by fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS) analysis with propidium iodide staining. HUVEC migration was determined by wound healing method. An ECMatrix gel system was used to evaluate the tube formation of HUVECs. The mRNA and protein expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)-A in both HUVECs and HepG2 human cells were examined by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction and enzyme linked immunosorbent assay, respectively. Results: Compared with the untreated group, BBP inhibited angiogenesis in vivo in the CAM model ( P< 0.01). In addition, treatment with 0.25-1 mg/mL of BBP for 24, 48, or 72 h respectively reduced cell viability by 14%-27%, 29%-69% and 33%-91%, compared with the untreated control cells ( P< 0.01). Additionally, BBP inhibited the proliferation of HUVECs via blocking the cell cycle G to S progression, compared with the S phase of untreated cells 48.05%± 5.00%, 0.25-0.75 mg/mL BBP reduced S phase to 40.38%± 5.30%, 36.54± 4.50% and 32.13± 3.50%, respectively ( Pglt; 0.05). Moreover, BBP inhibited the migration and tube formation of HUVECs, compared with the tube length of untreated cells 100%± 12%, 0.25-0.75 mg/mL BBP reduced the tube length to 62%± 9%, 43%± 5% and 17%± 3%, respectively ( p< 0.01). Furthermore, BBP treatment down-regulated the mRNA and protein expression levels of VEGF-A in both HepG2 cells and HUVECs. Conclusion: BBP could inhibit the angiogenesis by reducing VEGF-A expression, which may, in part, explain its anti-tumor activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the diagnostic value of circulating miR-765 and miR-149 as noninvasive early biomarkers for geriatric coronary artery disease (CAD) patients. A total of 69 angiographically documented CAD patients including 37 stable CAD (72.9 ± 4.2 years) and 32 unstable CAD (72.03 ± 4.3 years) and 20 healthy subjects (71.7 ± 5.2 years), matched for age, sex, smoking habit, hypertension, and diabetes, were enrolled in this study. Compared with healthy subjects, circulating miR-765 levels were increased by 2.9-fold in stable CAD and 5.8-fold in unstable CAD patients, respectively, while circulating miR-149 levels were downregulated by 3.5-fold in stable CAD and 4.2-fold in unstable CAD patients, respectively. Furthermore, plasma levels of miR-765 were found to be positively correlated with ages within control, stable, and unstable groups. The ROC curves of miR-765 and miR-149 represented significant diagnostic values with an area under curve (AUC) of 0.959, 0.972 and 0.938, 0.977 in stable CAD patients and unstable CAD patients as compared with healthy subjects, respectively. Plasma levels of miR-765 and miR-149 might be used as noninvasive biomarkers for the diagnosis of CAD in geriatric people. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chronostratigraphic records in the drylands of north China provide basic archives to reveal the dynamic connections between climate changes and the behaviour of aeolian systems. However, the interpretation of aeolian chronostratigraphy is not straightforward and may be associated with significant uncertainty due to a number of external and localised forces. Taking into account this complexity of aeolian systems, excluding preservation and sampling bias from palaeoclimatic signals requires that the interpretation of chronostratigraphic records be based on as many dates from as many sites as possible. Optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating provides a direct way to date aeolian sediments. However, the determination of equivalent dose (D e) using the commonly applied single-aliquot regenerative dose (SAR) protocol is relatively time-consuming for samples with burial doses exceeding 50 or 100 Gy. In this study, the global standardised growth curve (gSGC) method is applied to multi-grain aliquots of coarse quartz from various sites covering a wide region of the south margin of the Tengger Desert in north China to rapidly determine D e for a large number of aliquots and samples. The large between-aliquot variability in the shape of the dose response curve (DRC) is significantly reduced using a least-squares normalisation procedure. The results of a leave-one-out cross-validation (LOOCV) protocol demonstrates that D e values determined using the gSGC and SAR methods are very consistent with each other up to at least 200 Gy and 400 Gy, for the 90–150 μm and 63–90 μm fractions, respectively. It suggests that the gSGC protocol can be used as an efficient procedure for D e determination of a large number of aeolian samples from multiple sites. This in turn provides a better constraint for the interpretation of Late Quaternary aeolian chronostratigraphic records in drylands of north China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is a global movement towards more budgetary transparency, in both developed and developing countries, as this lies at the heart of responsible governance. Since the promulgation of the Regulation on Open Government Information in China in 2008, China has witnessed an external demand and internal push for more budgetary transparency. Using annual survey data collected between 2009 and 2012, we found that budgetary transparency at the Chinese provincial government level, although showing slight improvement over this period, was still very low, and there was significant volatility in the amount of information disclosed by individual provinces from year to year. These findings are mostly due to a contradiction between the central government's stated desire for more transparency and deep-rooted institutional and legal barriers against transparency. Recommendations are made as to how transparency can be further improved in China and other parts of the world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Southern rice black-streaked dwarf virus (SRBSDV) causes one of the most serious viral diseases of rice in China and Vietnam. Sequence identities of S10, encoding the major capsid protein, were 98.0 %-100 % and 98.3 %-100 % at the nucleotide and amino acid level, respectively. Our results suggest that the codon at position 550 of S10 is under positive selection, while most of the other codons are under neutral evolution. Putative recombination events were identified in genomic RNA segments S1, 2, 4, 5, 6 and 10, which are rare in plant-infecting dsRNA viruses. This study reveals the current state of SRBSDV evolution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chronostratigraphic records in the drylands of north China provide essential archives to reveal the dynamic connections between climate changes and behaviours of aeolian systems. This study presents a detailed investigation of aeolian sediment accumulation around the Tengger Desert during the late Quaternary, comprising of grain-size characteristics and sources, sediment types and burial ages, and potential responses to external and localised forces. A combination of previously published chronostratigraphic records and 91 newly dated optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) samples collected from multiple sites covering a wide region of the south margin of the desert are used to constrain the accumulation of aeolian sediments during the late Quaternary. The prevailing strong near-surface winds at 22–19 ka, 18–14 ka, 13–10 ka, and 3–0 ka are found to be in anti-phase relation with the strength of the East Asia summer monsoon (EASM). The widespread attenuation of aeolian activity occurred between 7 and 3 ka. The accumulation of aeolian sediments during the past 250 ka has been controlled by multiple factors, including wind, aridity, sediment availability, and preservation capacity. We demonstrate that the interpretation of chronostratigraphic records is significantly affected by the number of available records, which emphasises the importance of sampling at multiple sites. The synchronous accumulation of aeolian sand and sandy loess at certain periods and the significant overlapping of volume percentage distributions at certain grain-size intervals between the two types of sediments indicate that their responses to external forces may not be independent and that the palaeoclimatic significance of sandy loess accumulated in the desert-loess transition zone requires a reassessment. • Grain-size analysis and sources of aeolian sediments of the Tengger Desert. • Enrichment of radionuclides in sandy loess containing more clay and silt fractions. • Parallel accumulations of aeolian sand and sandy loess. • Multiple factors control the accumulation of aeolian sediments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To investigate the molecular mechanisms by which Qianliening Capsule (前列宁胶囊, QC) treats benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). Methods: Human prostate stromal cell line WPMY-1 was treated with 0, 1, 3 and 5 mg/mL of QC for 24, 48 and 72 h, respectively, in the presence of 10 ng/mL basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF). The viability of WPMY-1 cells was determined by 3-(4,5-Dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay. Cell morphology was observed by phase-contrast microscopy. 4′,6-diamidino-2-phenylindole (DAPI) staining and fluorescence activated cell sorting (FACS) analysis with Annexin-V/propidium iodide (PI) staining were performed to determine cell apoptosis. The loss of mitochondrial membrane potential was examined by FACS analysis with 5,5′,6,6′-tetrachloro-1,1′,3,3′-tetraethylbenzimidazolyl-carbocyarine iodide (JC-1) staining. Activation of caspase-3 and -9 was evaluated by colorimetric assay. The mRNA and protein expression levels of Bcl-2 and Bax were measured by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and Western blotting, respectively. Results: Upon bFGF stimulation, the viability of WPMY-1 cells was increased to 122%-118% compared with the control cells ( P <0.05). However, treatment with 1-5 mg/mL of QC for 24, 48 and 72 h decreased the viability of bFGF-stimulated cells to 80%-92%, 59%-82%, 36%-62% compared with the untreated cells ( P <0.05). In addition, QC treatment reduced WPMY-1 cell density in a dose-dependent manner. Moreover, QC treatment dose-dependently induced the loss of plasma membrane asymmetry, the nuclear condensation and fragmentation, collapse of mitochondrial membrane potential, activation of caspase-9 and caspase-3, and increase of pro-apoptotic Bax/Bcl-2 ratio. Conclusion: Promoting mitochondrion-dependent apoptosis of prostate stromal cells might be one of the mechanisms by which QC treats BPH. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on the data from gauging stations, the changes in water discharge and sediment load of the Huanghe (Yellow) River were analyzed by using the empirical mode decomposition (EMD) method. The results show that the periodic oscillation of water discharge and sediment load of the Huanghe River occurs at the interannual, decadal, and multi-decadal scales, caused by the periodic oscillations of precipitation, and El Niño/Southern Oscillation (ENSO) affects water discharge by influencing precipitation distribution and contributes to periodic varations in precipitation and water discharge at interannual timescale. The water discharge and sediment load of the Huanghe River have decreased since the 1960s under the influence of precipitation and huamn activities, and human activities attribute more than precipitation to the reduction in the water discharge and sediment load, furthermore, water abstraction and water-soil conservation practices are the main causes of the decrease in water discharge and sediment load, respectively. The reduction in sediment load has directly impacted on the lower reaches of the Huanghe River and the river delta, causing considerable erosion of the river channel in the lower reaches since the 1970s along with River Delta changing siltation into erosion around 2000. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Long-term changes to the Yellow River delta in China have received considerable attention not only because of the growing economic importance of the delta region but also because they provide a clear example of the dominant role played by anthropogenic effects upon a large dynamic river delta. This paper presents a detailed study on the morphological consequences of reduction in river sediment load and influence of human activities based on sediment load data at three gauging stations in the upper, middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River basin from 1950 to 2007. The results indicate that sediment loads at all three gauging stations display a gradually decreasing trend over the past 58years. The primary reason for this decrease is shown to be due to various human activities, including the construction of Longyangxia and Liujiaxia reservoirs in the upper reaches, water–soil conservation practices and the commissioning of Sanmenxia and Xiaolangdi reservoirs in the middle reaches. It is estimated that water–soil conservation practices which are a major factor to the decrease of sediment load at Huayuankou gauging station account for 40% of the total amount of reduction, sediment trapping by Sanmenxia and Xiaolangdi reservoirs account for 30% of the total amount of reduction and the 10% decrease is caused by human activities in the upper reaches. The remaining 20% decrease is attributed to precipitation decrease. The reduction of sediment load has directly impacted on the lower Yellow River and the delta region, causing alternate changes between siltation and scouring in the lower river channel along with an increased rate of erosion over the whole Yellow River delta. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The Upper Sinian bedded cherts are widely distributed on the southeast continental margin of the Yangtze plate, with a total thickness ranging from 20 to 150 m. The cherts are very simple in chemical composition, with the contents of siliceous minerals exceeding 90% and those of other mineral species being very low. The total content of trace elements is considerably variable. The contents of most trace elements are low as compared with their crust clarke values. But these cherts are very rich in the trace elements Ba, As, Ab, Ag and U, coupled with relatively high contents of Fe, Mn and low crescents of Al, Ti, and Mg. It can be identified as the cherts of hydrothermal origin in terms of the values of Fe/Ti, (Fe + Mn)/Ti, Al/(Al + Fe + Mn) and U/Th. In the Al-Fe-Mn, and Fe-Mn-(Cu + Ni + Co) x 10 diagrams and lg [U]-lg[Th], Cr-Zr diagrams, all the samples from the area studied fall within the hydrothermal sediment field. All these characteristics show that the cherts are mainly the product of hydrothermal processes. The fact that the δ [sup 30]Si values of the chert range from 0.0% to 0.7%, with δ [sup 18]O from 20.1% to 23.6% clearly manifests that the submarine hydrothermal water is the main source of silica. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Myocardial ischaemia/reperfusion (I/R) results in myocardial injury via excessive autophagy. Huoxue Jiedu Formula (HJF) has been widely applied in China for the treatment of ischaemic heart disease. However, the mechanisms of HJF are still poorly understood. Thus, the present experiment was designed to observe the effects of HJF on myocardial I/R injury and explore the possible mechanism. Methods: Myocardial injury in rats subjected to myocardial I/R was reflected by nitrotetrazolium blue chloride staining, thioflavin S staining, serum creatine kinase-MB (CK-MB) and cardiac troponin T (cTnT). Autophagy was determined by electron microscopy, laser confocal microscopy, Q-PCR and western blot. The possible pathway was predicted by network pharmacology and validated in vivo and in vitro. Results: Pretreatment of HJF decreased the no-reflow area, infarcted area, serum CK-MB levels and serum cTnT levels in I/R rat model. In addition, pretreatment of HJF decreased autophagy in heart tissues (decrease in Beclin-1 and LC3-II, and increase in Bcl-2, p62 and ratio of LC3-I/LC3-II). In the vivo study, pretreatment of HJF significantly decreased hypoxia/reoxygenation (H/R)-induced autophagy in H9C2 cells. Network pharmacology was applied to predict the possible mechanism by which HJF affects cardiac autophagy, and the PI3K/AKT/mTOR signalling pathway was the most significantly enriched pathway. And experimental studies demonstrated that pretreatment of HJF increased the phosphorylation of AKT and mTOR, and the effects of HJF on autophagy would be offset by PI3K inhibitor LY294002. Conclusion: Pretreatment of HJF ameliorates myocardial I/R injury by decreasing autophagy through activating PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Banana streak virus (BSV) is a significant constraint to banana production and genetic improvement. It is necessary to develop and use BSV detection strategies that are both reliable and sensitive for the management of the virus. A loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) assay was developed and evaluated for the detection of BSV. Four primers matching a total of six sequences of the conserved ORF III polyprotein genes were synthesized for developing a specific and sensitive LAMP for DNA extracts from field-infected banana plants. LAMP assay could detect as low as 1 pg/μl template DNA. Test results of all field samples collected from different regions of South China showed that LAMP is more sensitive than PCR. This relatively simple and sensitive technique showed excellent potential with field-collected samples and for routine screening of tissue culture materials in South China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Giardia duodenalis is a common intestinal protozoa, which can cause the occurrence of diarrhea, weight loss, and even death in animals or human, this threatens the husbandry industry and public health. It can infect virtually humans and all domestic animals including sheep. Tan sheep is one of the most important sheep breeds, which is short-tailed indigenous sheep breed used for production of high quality meat and pelts in China. However, there are no report regarding the occurrence and multilocus genotyping of G. duodenalis in Tan sheep in northwestern China. Thus, the objective of the present study was to investigate the prevalence and multilocus genotypes of G. duodenalis in Tan sheep. 1014 fecal samples were collected from Tan sheep from Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, and three loci (β-giardin (bg), glutamate dehydrogenase (gdh) and triosephosphate isomerase (tpi) genes) were amplified by nested PCR. The prevalence of G. duodenalis in Tan sheep was 14.5% (147/1014), two assemblages (assemblage A, n = 43; and E, n = 90) were detected, including one novel assemblage A at bg locus, one novel assemblage A at tpi locus, and 10 and 11 novel subtypes of assemblage E were detected at the bg and gdh loci, respectively. One MLGs was formed based on sequence variation among the three loci. Moreover, 9 Tan sheep were infected with two assemblages (A and E) based on the three loci. These findings expand the host range of G. duodenalis and revealed genetic diversity of G. duodenalis assemblages in Tan sheep. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] Rare but critical bleeding events in primary immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) present life-threatening complications in patients with ITP, which severely affect their prognosis, quality of life, and treatment decisions. Although several studies have investigated the risk factors related to critical bleeding in ITP, large sample size data, consistent definitions, large-scale multicenter findings, and prediction models for critical bleeding events in patients with ITP are unavailable. For the first time, in this study, we applied the newly proposed critical ITP bleeding criteria by the International Society on Thrombosis and Hemostasis for large sample size data and developed the first machine learning (ML)-based online application for predict critical ITP bleeding. In this research, we developed and externally tested an ML-based model for determining the risk of critical bleeding events in patients with ITP using large multicenter data across China. Retrospective data from 8 medical centers across the country were obtained for model development and prospectively tested in 39 medical centers across the country over a year. This system exhibited good predictive capabilities for training, validation, and test datasets. This convenient web-based tool based on a novel algorithm can rapidly identify the bleeding risk profile of patients with ITP and facilitate clinical decision-making and reduce the occurrence of adversities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Potato ( Solanum tuberosum ) is one of the most important economic crops in Yunnan Province (southwest China). However, under rain-fed agricultural conditions, the seeding emergence and yield suffer from seasonal spring drought. In mitigating this problem, field experiments were conducted for 2 years (2015 and 2016) to examine the effectiveness of cultivation patterns for rain-fed potato. Four experiments with different cultivation patterns were carried out: (1) no mulching on ridges and furrows (RFNM-CK), (2) ridge-furrow planting without plastic film mulching after flat planting (RFAF), (3) half mulching only on ridges (RFHM), (4) soil covering after plastic film mulching only on the ridges but not on furrows (RFSM). The temperature of topsoil (0.15 m) was similar among the cultivation patterns. The precipitation and soil conditions were the dominant ecofactors that limited the seedling emergence and yields. RFHM had the best effect on rain harvesting, then improved the topsoil moisture which contributed to good emergence rate and seedling emergence for 14–32 days earlier than CK (P < 0.05). Its superiority also resulted in higher plant height, faster accumulation of dry matter and longer period of yield formation, thereby producing the highest tuber yields (8.3–29.4% higher than CK) and economic benefits in both years. Our results from this investigation revealed that RFHM could be an appropriate cultivation mode to increase the emergency and potato productivity in the rain-fed agroecosystem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The fall armyworm (FAW), Spodoptera frugiperda (J.E. Smith), is one of the most highly polyphagous invasive pests causing serious damage to maize crops in China. However, little is known about the gut immune responses to the environment, particularly along the migration routes in Jianghuai, China, throughout the autumn and winter. In this study, high-throughput sequencing and real-time quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR) were employed to examine the variations in immune genes and gut microbiome communities between captive and wild fall armyworm populations. Results showed that the diversity and community of the gut's microbes were higher in wild populations, and the average weighted UniFrac distance between bacterial taxa varied. A wide variety of immune genes were more abundant in the wild populations than in others. Results indicated that diets and different survival conditions impacted the gut microbiota and immune system of S. frugiperda , which was crucial for environmental adaptation. These differences in gut microbiota and immune responses between wild and captive Fall armyworms are critical for comprehending the symbiotic relationship between microbes, immune genes, and hosts. They also highlight the need for increased focus on developing more effective and environmentally friendly pest control methods. • Gut microbiota analysis of the polyphagous insect pest Spodoptera frugiperda was accomplished. • A large amount of Immune genes could be significantly induced in response to field environment. • The results might be helpful to comprehend immune function of Fall Armyworms for field adaption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The efficacy of susceptible variants derived from genome-wide association studies (GWAs) optimizing discriminatory accuracy of colorectal cancer (CRC) in Chinese remains unclear. In the present validation study, we assessed 75 recently identified variants from GWAs. A risk predictive model combining 19 variants using the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) statistics offered certain clinical advantages. This model demonstrated an area under the receiver operating characteristic (AUC) of 0.61 during training analysis and yielded robust AUCs from 0.59 to 0.61 during validation analysis in three independent centers. The individuals carrying the highest quartile of risk score revealed over 2-fold risks of CRC (ranging from 2.12 to 2.90) compared with those who presented the lowest quartile of risk score. This genetic model offered the possibility of partitioning risk within the average risk population, which might serve as a first step toward developing individualized CRC prevention strategies in China. • A 19 SNP-based risk predictive model offered certain clinical advantages. • The individuals who has over 2-fold risks should be considered at risk. • The risk model has the potential to improve CRC screening. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The emergence of recombinant porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) has caused a substantial threat to the swine industry in recent years. However, the protective efficacy of different sublineage 8.7 PRRSV modified-live virus (MLV) vaccines against emerging strains were still obscure. In this study, a broad epidemiological investigation of PRRSV showed the prevalence of NADC30-like strain increased in Shandong Province, China from 2018 to 2020. Through piglet trial for vaccination and challenge with recombinant NADC30-like SDlz1601 strain, CH-1R MLV vaccine showed better protective effect than JXA1-R and TJM-F92 MLV vaccines in terms of clinical score and pathological observation. Moreover, all three MLV vaccines could reduce virus loads in the serum of piglets. This study provides valuable insights into the prevalence of the NADC30-like strain and the protective effect of PRRS MLV vaccines against recombinant NADC30-like strains, which could help to improve the prevention and control of PRRSV infections. • PRRSV NADC30-like strain became the most prevalent strain in Shandong Province, China. • Classical MLV vaccine (CH-1R) provided better protection than the other two HP-PRRSV MLV vaccines (JXA1-R and TJM-F92). • All three MLV vaccines could reduce virus loads in the serum of piglets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For multi-energy storage vehicles, the performance of online predictive energy management strategies largely relies on the length and effective utilization of predictive information. In this context, this paper proposes a novel velocity prediction method for the full driving cycle of electric vehicles based on the spatial–temporal commuting data, then the predicted velocity is applied to predictive energy management in electric vehicles with battery/supercapacitor hybrid energy storage system. Firstly, an one-year real-world commuting data set is collected on a Chinese arterial road with 10 intersections, 225 records are classified into 79 categories. Then, a real-time two-stage full driving cycle prediction method is proposed, where a medium-term prediction based on a long–short term memory (LSTM) network and a long-term prediction generated by a spatial–temporal interpolation method (STIM) are spliced for each category. The most probable category, i.e., the executed LSTM and STIM can be updated in real-time. Finally, a multi-horizon model predictive control method (MH-MPC) is established to leverage the predicted velocity for optimal power distribution. Compared with the conventional short-sighted MPC, the MH-MPC can reduce 4.2% battery degradation cost in a statistics form with real-time computation requirements satisfied. • A novel spatial–temporal data-driven velocity prediction method is proposed. • Second-level velocity prediction of the full driving cycle can be achieved. • Multi-horizon model predictive control for long-term optimal energy management. • More economy gained from leveraging the long-term prediction information. • The study is based on a one-year real-world commuting data set in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]