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In this paper, the wind energy resource in China's oilfields is analyzed, the difference between China's energy consumption structure and that of the world in average is analyzed as well, and the application prospect of wind heating technology in China's oilfields is discussed as an example to reform China's energy consumption structure. It shows that it is possible to use wind energy as an appropriate heat resource or supplementary heat source in some oilfields to supply heat energy for oil heating and living, more room to improve the energy resource utilization in various fields in China remain. It is a benefit to both oilfield and society to improve energy saving and environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Study Design: Retrospective case study of 13 primary malignant fibrous histiocytomas (MFH) of the spine. Objective: To analyze the clinic, radiologic, histologic, and prognostic features of 13 cases with the MFH of the spine. Summary Of Background Data: MFH, a soft tissue sarcoma, rarely occurs at the spine. Only sporadical cases have been reported in the English literature concerning the clinical and prognostic features of the primary MFH at the spine. Methods: Between January 1999 and December 2006, 13 cases with primary MFH of the spine were treated in the authors' spine center. Clinical history, radiographic, surgery resection, and pathologic features were recorded. The patients were followed up regarding their local recurrence and survivals. The 17 cases with primary MFH at the spine in the literature were reviewed. Results: Paraspinal or epidural mass at multiple spinal levels developed in 11 cases, with osteolytic destruction in all 13 cases. The tumor size averaged on 10.4 cm in greatest dimension. Metastases occurred in 10 of 13 cases. Compared with the 14 ± 0.60-months median survival of the debulking surgeries in seven cases, the median survival of the en bloc resection in six cases was 25 ± 6.12 months (P ∇ 0.009). The median survival was 8.7 months in 10 cases of the literature group, with 30% 1-year survival and 6.7% 2-year survival, respectively; while the median survival was 18.0 months in the authors' series, with 92.3% 1-year survival and 38.5% 2-year survival, respectively. The 5-year survival was between 25% and 69% in the extremities of MFH, but it was 28% in the head and neck and 26.7% in the abdominal cavity, compared with 7.7% in the spine in the authors' series. Conclusion: The MFH of the spine tends to extensively invade paraspinal structures at multiple spinal levels, with aggressive osteolytic destruction in the vertebrae, resulting to local huge mass, radiculopathy, and myelopathy. Regardless of recent advancements in the diagnosis, treatment methods, and adjuvant therapies, for its biologically aggressive nature, it frequently recurs at the primary site and metastasizes. It has a worse prognosis than that of MFH in other sites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Morphological characters and multi-element isotopic compositions of carbonates from the loess–paleosol sequences in Northwestern China are examined to explore the origin of the minerals. Samples are collected from various sections ranging from Holocene to 0.9Ma within the sequences and fractions with grain sizes >45 and <2μm are separated from the bulk soil and examined by SEM and TEM. The results show that the grains >45μm exhibit an almost perfect spherical shape while those <2μm are dominated by nano-rods having diameters of 30–50nm and lengths of 0.3–2μm, presumably indicating the detrital origin of the coarse fractions and the authigenic characters of the fine ones. Such implications are corroborated by the multi-elemental isotopic compositions of the carbonate minerals. A comparison of the δ13C and δ18O values between minerals and biologically originated samples indicates that the <2μm fractions have a similar composition to those of coexisting land snail shells. Additional differences between the two size fractions also manifest in the ratios of 206Pb/204Pb, 207Pb/204Pb, 208Pb/204Pb, and 87Sr/86Sr. These results suggest the utility of fine carbonate particles in the soil profile in reconstructing a potentially higher resolution δ13C and δ18O time series to elucidate the paleoclimatic fluctuation in the Chinese Loess Plateau during Pleistocene. The discovery of the nano-rod calcite in Chinese loess, together with previous findings of the similar mineral form in Asian dust, strongly suggests the possibility that these highly reactive CaCO3 form may alter the aerosol properties during transport. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Biogenic carbonates spawned from microbial activities are common occurrences in soils. Here, we investigate the carbonate biomineralization mediated by the bacterium Bacillus megaterium, a dominant strain separated from a loess profile in China. Upon completing bacterial cultivation, the ensuring products are centrifuged, and the resultant supernatant and the concentrated bacterial sludge as well as the un-separated culture are added separately into a Ca-CO3 containing solution for crystallization experiments. Results of XRD and SEM analysis indicate that calcite is the dominant mineral phase formed when the bacteria are present. When the supernatant alone is used, however, a significant portion of vaterite is also precipitated. Experimental results further reveal that the bacteria have a strong tendency to colonize the center area of the calcite {10 4} faces. Observed crystal morphology suggests that the bacterial colony may promote the growth normal to each individual {10 4} face of calcite when the cell concentration is high, but may retard it or even cause dissolution of the immediate substrate surfaces when the concentration is low. SEM images taken at earlier stages of the crystallization experiments demonstrate the nucleation of calcite on the bacterial cell walls but do not show obvious morphological changes on the nanometer- to submicron-sized nuclei. δ13C measurements unveil that the crystals grown in the presence of bacteria are further enriched in the heavy carbon isotope, implying that the bacterial metabolism may not be the carbon sources for the mineralization. Based upon these findings, we propose a mechanism for the B. megaterium mediated calcite mineralization and conclude that the whole process involves epi- and inter-cellular growth in the local microenvironments whose conditions may be controlled by cell sequestration and proton pumping during bacterial respiration. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Alternaria species are fungal pathogens that can infect maize, causing leaf blight disease and significant economic losses. This study aimed to determine the baseline sensitivity to prochloraz of A. alternata isolates obtained from diseased maize leaves collected from Heilongjiang Province by assessing the half-maximal effective concentration (EC 50 ) values. The EC 50 values of prochloraz ranged from 0.0550 to 2.3258 μg/ml, with an average of 0.9995 ± 0.5192 μg/ml. At EC 50 (1.2495 μg/ml) and 2EC 50 (2.4990 μg/ml), prochloraz increased the number of mycelial offshoots, disrupted the cell membrane integrity of conidia and mycelia, and resulted in a reduced ergosterol content in the mycelia. Prochloraz significantly affected the mycelial cell membrane permeability and increased the malondialdehyde content and superoxide dismutase activity. No cross-resistance was detected between prochloraz and other fungicides. These data demonstrate that prochloraz is a promising fungicide for managing maize leaf blight caused by A. alternata and provide novel insights into understanding the mechanism of prochloraz toxicity against A. alternata isolates., Competing Interests: The author(s) declare no conflict of interest.

MET amplification (METamp) represents a promising therapeutic target in non-small cell lung cancer, but no consensus has been established to identify METamp-dependent tumors that could potentially benefit from MET inhibitors. In this study, an analysis of MET amplification/overexpression status was performed in a retrospectively recruited cohort comprising 231 patients with non-small cell lung cancer from Shanghai Chest Hospital (SCH cohort) using 3 methods: fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH), hybrid capture-based next-generation sequencing, and immunohistochemistry for c-MET and phospho-MET. The SCH cohort included 130 cases known to be METamp positive by FISH and 101 negative controls. The clinical relevance of these approaches in predicting the efficacy of MET inhibitors was evaluated. Additionally, next-generation sequencing data from another 2 cohorts including 22,010 lung cancer cases were utilized to examine the biological characteristics of different METamp subtypes. Of the 231 cases, 145 showed MET amplification/overexpression using at least 1 method, whereas only half of them could be identified by all 3 methods. METamp can occur as focal amplification or polysomy. Our study revealed that the inconsistency between next-generation sequencing and FISH primarily occurred in the polysomy subtype. Further investigations indicated that compared with polysomy, focal amplification correlated with fewer co-occurring driver mutations, higher protein expressions of c-MET and phospho-MET, and higher incidence in acquired resistance than in de novo setting. Moreover, patients with focal amplification presented a more robust response to MET inhibitors compared with those with polysomy. Notably, a strong correlation was observed between focal amplification and programmed cell death ligand-1 expression, indicating potential therapeutic implications with combined MET inhibitor and immunotherapy for patients with both alterations. Our findings provide insights into the molecular complexity and clinical relevance of METamp in lung cancer, highlighting the role of MET focal amplification as an oncogenic driver and its feasibility as a primary biomarker to further investigate the clinical activity of MET inhibitors in future studies., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Soybean ( Glycine max L.) holds significant global importance and is extensively cultivated in Heilongjiang Province, China. Soybean can be infected by Fusarium species, causing root rot, seed decay, stem rot, and leaf blight. In 2021 to 2022, a field survey of soybean diseases was carried out in 11 regions of Heilongjiang Province, and 186 soybean leaves with leaf blight symptoms and 123 soybean roots with root rot symptoms were collected. Unexpectedly, a considerable number of Fusarium isolates were obtained not only from root samples but also from leaf samples. A total of 584 Fusarium isolates (416 from leaves and 168 from roots) were obtained and identified as 18 Fusarium species based on morphological features and multilocus phylogenetic analyses with tef1 and rpb2 sequences. Fusarium graminearum and Fusarium sp. 1 in FOSC were the dominant species within soybean leaf and root samples, respectively. Pathogenicity tests were conducted for all Fusarium isolates on both soybean leaves and roots. Results showed that F. graminearum , F. ipomoeae , F. citri , F. compactum , F. flagelliforme , F. acuminatum , and F. sporotrichioides were pathogenic to both soybean leaves and roots. F. solani , F. avenaceum , F. pentaseptatum , F. serpentinum , F. annulatum , and Fusarium sp. 1 in FOSC were pathogenic to soybean roots, not to leaves. To our knowledge, this is the first study to thoroughly investigate soybean-associated Fusarium populations in leaves and roots in Heilongjiang Province., Competing Interests: The author(s) declare no conflict of interest.

Winter jujube originated from China and had an extremely high nutritional value. In 2021, symptomatic winter jujube fruits were collected from eight locations in Zhanhua District of Binzhou City, Shandong Province. In total, 108 fungal isolates were obtained and grouped into 11 species based on morphological characteristics and multilocus phylogenetic analysis, including Nothophoma quercina (43.52%), Fusarium lateritium (20.37%), Alternaria alternata (12.03%), F. proliferatum (7.41%), F. graminearum (4.63%), Botryosphaeria dothidea (3.70%), Fusarium sp. (2.78%), A. tenuissima (2.78%), Diaporthe eres (1.85%), Nigrospora oryzae (0.93%), and Cercospora nicotianae (0.93%). All fungal isolates obtained in this study showed aggressiveness on detached winter jujube fruits except N. oryzae and C. nicotianae isolates, of which F. proliferatum was the most virulent, while A. alternata isolates, which have been considered the major pathogen of winter jujube fruit rot, showed a relatively low-level virulence in this study. Furthermore, D. eres , F. graminearum , F. lateritium , and an unclassified Fusarium species were first reported as causal agents of winter jujube fruit rot. The typical symptoms of winter jujube fruit rot observed in this study could be distinguished into two types. N. quercina , A. alternata , A . tenuissima , Fusarium sp., D. nobilis , and F. lateritium isolates caused reddish brown to dark gray lesions on the peel, while B. dothidea , F. graminearum , and F. proliferatum isolates caused peel and pulp decay, resulting in red to reddish brown and water-soaked lesions. In addition, haplotype analysis of N. quercina isolates obtained in this study and validly published articles showed that there were 11 haplotypes worldwide; the isolates obtained in the current study were grouped into three haplotypes (Hap 1, Hap 2, and Hap 11), and two of them (Hap 2 and Hap 11) were confirmed as new haplotypes.

Soil erosion and nutrient loss are important environmental and ecological problems in the Dianchi watershed in southwestern China. Woodlands-the primary land type in the Dianchi watershed-play an important ecological role in controlling soil and water loss. In this study, we compared soil erosion and loss of total organic carbon (TOC), total nitrogen (TN), and total phosphorus (TP) in woodlands of different ages, i.e., young forest, medium forest, and near-mature forest, at the Dongda River catchment in south-western Dianchi watershed. Furthermore, changes in stoichiometries in soil were analyzed. The average degree of erosion of each forest age stage was below moderate. Based on the non-arable soil erosion modulus models of 137 Cs and 210 Pb ex , the soil erosion rates decreased gradually with the increasing forest age. The forest age affected soil nutrient distribution and loss. The losses of TOC and TP gradually decreased, while the losses of TN first increased and then decreased with the growth of forest age. TOC, TN, and TP were enriched in the topsoil. Forest age affected soil stoichiometry and soil nutrient supply level. In general, the forest can effectively reduce soil erosion and nutrient loss in the red soil area with the forest age increasing., (© 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.)

Land surface temperatures (LST) are vital parameters in land surface-atmosphere interactions. Constrained by technology and atmospheric interferences, LST retrievals from various satellite sensors usually return missing data, thus negatively impacting analyses. Reconstructing missing data is important for acquiring gap-free datasets. However, the current reconstruction methods are limited for maintaining spatial details and high accuracies. We developed a new gap-free algorithm termed the spatial feature-considered random forest regression (SFRFR) model; it builds stable nonlinear relationships to connect the LST with related parameters, including terrain elements, land coverage types, spectral indexes, surface reflectance data, and the spatial feature of the LST, to reconstruct the missing LST data. The SFRFR model reconstructed gap-free LST data retrieved from the Landsat 8 satellite on 27 July 2017 in Wuhan. The results show that the SFRFR model exhibits the best performance according to the various evaluation metrics among the SFRFR, random forest regression and spline interpolation, with a coefficient of determination (R 2 ) reaching 0.96, root-mean-square error (RMSE) of 0.55, and mean absolute error (MAE) of 0.55. Then, we reconstructed gap-free LST data gathered in Wuhan from 2016 to 2021 to analyze urban thermal environment changes and found that 2020 presented the coolest temperatures. The SFRFR model still displayed satisfactory results, with an average R 2 of 0.91 and an MAE of 0.63. We further discuss and discover the factors affecting the visual performance of SFRFR and identify the research priority to circumvent these disadvantages. Overall, this study provides a simple, practical method for acquiring gap-free LST data to help us better understand the spatiotemporal LST variation process.

Lake sediment records the evolution process of the interaction between human and nature. It is important to master the lacustrine sedimentation rate for the ecological environment assessment of catchment. A 60-cm sediment core was collected in the Da River Reservoir during 2019 to analyze radionuclides ( 210 Pb and 137 Cs) massic activities, grain size, total organic carbon (TOC), total nitrogen (TN), total phosphorus (TP), and metals (Mn, Cu, Al, and Pb) mass fractions to reconstruct the response of sedimentation rate to environmental evolution. The environmental changes in the small catchment were classified into the following three stages through cluster analysis (CA) for geochemical parameters in the sediment core: phase I (1881-1985), phase II (1987-1999), and phase III (2000-2018). The average depth sedimentation rates (ADSRs) of the three stages were 0.33, 0.90, and 1.50 cm/year, respectively. The sedimentation rates increased from the bottom to the surface layer, indicating that the exogenous inputs into the reservoir have been occurring. The sediment deposition in phase III was strongly disturbed by the environmental changes (such as warmer climate and intensified land use). Therefore, sedimentation rates showed a rapid increase. Both Pearson correlation analysis and redundancy analysis (RDA) showed that sedimentation rates were positively correlated with climatic factors, particle size, nutrients and metals mass fractions, elemental ratios, and socioeconomic parameters. Sedimentation rates show high sensitivity to anthropogenic activities and climatic change, which can be used to reconstruct the environmental evolution process at a small catchment scale., (© 2022. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

Objectives: To examine whether sex-specific associations between baseline PA level and follow up cognitive performance in Chinese subjects exist from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal study (CHARLS)., Method: A total of 3395 adults aged 45 or old from the CHARLS were used for analysis. The combined scores of measurements of mental status and verbal episodic memory were utilized for assessing cognitive function at baseline in 2011 and the follow-up survey in 2015. Baseline PA level was quantified as the total PA score. Multiple linear regression and logistic regression models were used to examine the association between baseline PA status and global cognitive function and cognitive domains., Results: In the female subjects ( n  = 1748), compared with individuals of PA level in the lower tertile, those grouped into the upper tertile had the lowest risk of global cognitive decline [odds ratio (OR) =0.273, 95% confidence interval (CI) =0.077-0.960; p  = 0.043] and verbal episodic memory decline [OR)=0.257, 95% CI =0.066-1.003; p  = 0.051] from 2011 to 2015. However, no significant associations were observed in the male subjects ( n  = 1647)., Conclusion: In the female subjects, higher PA level was associated with reduced risk of cognitive decline within 4 years, this might be associated with reduced decline of verbal episodic memory. Our findings confirmed that female sex would positively affect the association between PA levels and cognitive decline.

Background and Aims: Familial hypercholesterolemia (FH) is a genetic disorder with a high burden of arteriosclerotic cardiovascular disease. The prevalence of heterozygous FH is currently 0.2%-0.5% in Europe, while no such data has yet been published about the general population in China. We aimed to investigate the prevalence and characteristics of FH in a Chinese population aged 35-75 years., Methods: We used a nationwide general population from 31 provinces in mainland China (n = 1,059,936, age 35-75) based on the China PEACE (Patient-centered Evaluative Assessment of Cardiac Events) MPP (Million Persons Project). The diagnosis of FH was based on 2 (untreated LDL-C ≥4.7 mmol/L and first-degree relatives with premature ASCVD history) of the 3 diagnostic criteria from the Chinese expert consensus on diagnosis of FH (CEFH criteria). FH prevalence was estimated and clinical phenotypic characteristics were further analyzed., Results: The overall FH prevalence was 0.13% (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.12-0.14) by the CEFH criteria, and age and sex standardized FH prevalence was slightly lower (0.11%; 95%CI, 0.10-0.12). FH prevalence in female was twice as high as in male (0.16% vs. 0.08%, p < 0.001). Across different age groups, the prevalence also varied and peaked among 55-to 64-year-olds. Regarding geographical areas, the prevalence ranged from 0.19% in Eastern, to 0.11% in Central, and 0.08% in Western China (p < 0.001). Participants living in rural areas had a lower prevalence than urban participants (0.10% vs. 0.18%, p < 0.001). The rate of coronary artery disease in FH patients was 5 folds higher than in the general population (10.5% vs. 2.1%, p < 0.001). The rate of FH patients receiving lipid-lowering medications was 18.1%. None of the treated patients achieved guideline recommended LDL-C targets., Conclusions: The prevalence of FH in the Chinese population aged 35-75 years was 0.13% (about 1 in 769) defined by 2 of the CEFH criteria, and the patients were seriously undertreated and under-controlled. The screened FH prevalence varied by age, sex, geographical distributions, and urban/rural areas., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

The 2017 American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association guideline recommends a lowered threshold for hypertension diagnosis. Nonetheless, the association of blood pressure (BP) groups defined by the new guideline and all-cause mortality has not been fully estimated, especially in general Chinese. Based on the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS) during 2011-2018, 12,964 participants aged 45 years or older at baseline were enrolled for a follow-up of 7 years. Cox proportional hazards models were used to examine the relationship of BP classifications with all-cause mortality, with normal BP (<120/80 mmHg) as a reference. Afterwards, eligible studies shed light in this field were searched in public databases, and meta-analysis was conducted. In CHARLS, there were 41.21% and 16.08% individuals with stage 2 hypertension and stage 1 hypertension, respectively. During the follow-up, 1293 death occurred. The redefined stage 1 (130-139/80-89 mmHg) and stage 2 hypertension (≥140/≥90 mmHg) were found to have increased risk of death in the crude model, but only stage 2 hypertension maintained statistically significance after adjustment. Furthermore, meta-analysis including CHARLS and nine other prospective studies, with a total of 290,609 participants followed up for 3,081,532 person-years, resulted in similar results (combined hazard ratio (95% confidence interval) was 1.07 (0.99-1.15) for stage 1 hypertension, and 1.39 (1.25-1.53) for stage 2 hypertension). The present study detected that individuals with stage 2 and stage 1 hypertension had increased likelihood to die from any cause, but only the former association achieved statistically significance. Further cohorts with long-term follow-up duration are warranted, especially in China., (© 2021. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Limited part of Springer Nature.)

Two tocotrienol derivatives, garcipaucinones A ( 1 ) and B ( 2 ), and a biosynthetically related known analogue ( 3 ) were isolated from the fruit of Garcinia paucinervis . Their structures including absolute configurations were unequivocally determined by spectroscopic methods complemented with electronic circular dichroism (ECD) calculations and gauge-independent atomic orbital (GIAO) NMR calculations. Compounds 1 and 2 are the first naturally occurring tocotrienol derivatives with a 3,10-dioxatricyclo-[7.3.1.0 2,7 ]tridecane skeleton incorporating an unusual γ-pyrone motif. A reasonable biosynthetic pathway for formation of the two compounds is proposed. The antiproliferative and anti-inflammatory activities of compounds 1 and 2 were also evaluated.

In the last few decades, the eutrophication of lakes has been a serious issue in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River watershed. To explore the relationship between lake systems and anthropogenic activities, sediments were collected from the Shuanglong reservoir in the Dianchi watershed in Southwest China. Total nitrogen (TN), total phosphorus (TP), total organic carbon (TOC), and the carbon isotopic ratio (δ 13 C) were analyzed in sediment cores to reconstruct the effects of natural succession and human activities on the past lacustrine environmental conditions. A reliable chronology of the sediment core was established by using the 210 Pb dating technique, which indicated that the age span of the 70-cm sediment core is from the years 1871 to 2011. Above - 31 cm depth in the core, TN, TP, TOC, C/N, and δ 13 C increased significantly, indicating that eutrophication has occurred since the 1980s. By combining the indicators of δ 13 C and C/N, it was shown that terrestrial and lacustrine components were the main sources of organic matter (OM) in the reservoir, which was mostly controlled by terrestrial C 3 plants and algae. Since the 1980s, increased sewage discharge, fish aquaculture, fertilizer application, population, and economic strength have sped up the eutrophication process, and the eutrophication was further intensified in 2001.

Background: The predictive importance of visit-to-visit blood pressure variability (VVV) for high blood pressure (HBP) in a pediatric population has been largely unsettled. We aimed to evaluate it based on Health Promotion Program for Children and Adolescents (HPPCA), a school-based surveillance conducted from 2012 to 2018 in Suzhou, China., Methods: A total of 330,618 participants had BP measurement in 2018 and ≥ 3 BP records during 2012-2017, were recruited from HPPCA. Absolute BP values (in mmHg) were converted into age-, sex- and height- normalized z-scores. VVV was expressed as standard deviation (SD), coefficient of variation (CV) or average real variability (ARV) of BP z-scores during 2012-2017. Logistic regression models were used to assess the associations between VVV and HBP in 2018., Results: In 2018, 42,554 (12.87%) subjects were defined as HBP. VVV, except for SBP-CV and DBP-CV, was significantly higher in the HBP group than normotensives group. After adjusting for covariates including mean BP values from 2012 to 2017, SBP-SD, SBP-ARV, DBP-SD and DBP-ARV, increased the risk of HBP by 5.70 [95% confidence interval (95% CI) 5.54-5.87], 4.10 (95% CI 4.01-4.20), 4.70 (95% CI 4.50-4.90) and 3.39 (95% CI 3.28-3.50) times, respectively. Notably, SBP-SD significantly improved risk discrimination of HBP based on other risk variables (c-statistics, net reclassification index and integrated discrimination improvement significantly increased)., Conclusions: Higher SD or ARV of BP, was independently related with higher probability of HBP in Chinese pediatric population. SBP-SD could be potentially helpful for detecting HBP. Future researches investigating the predictive value of VVV are warrant.

Background: Associations between trajectories of systolic blood pressure (SBP) during pregnancy and pregnant outcomes remain unclear and disparate., Methods: Data of 20,353 mothers without chronic hypertension and who delivered live singletons between January, 2014 and November, 2019, was extracted from Taicang register-based cohort. Based on SBP measured during 10 to 40 weeks of gestation, SBP trajectories were explored using latent class growth mixture model, and their associations with maternal and neonatal outcomes were assessed by logistic regression analyses., Results: Six heterogeneous SBP trajectories were identified: low delayed-increasing (7.47%), low reverse-increasing (21.88%), low-stable (19.13%), medium-stable (21.64%), medium reverse-increasing (16.47%), and high stable (13.41%) trajectories. The high-stable trajectory had SBP around 125 mmHg in the 10th gestational week, and increased slightly onwards. When compared with the low-stable trajectory, the high-stable trajectory had maximally adjusted odds ratio (95% confidence interval) of 5.28 (2.76-10.10), 1.30 (1.13-1.50), 1.53 (1.12-2.08), 1.32 (1.06-1.65) and 1.64 (1.08-2.48) for gestational hypertension (GH), early-term delivery (ETD), preterm delivery (PTD), small for gestational age and low birth weight (LBW), respectively. Besides, the medium reverse-increasing trajectory showed significantly increased risk of GH and ETD, while the medium-stable trajectory had significantly elevated risk of ETD and PTD. Notably, SBP trajectories slightly but significantly improved risk discrimination of GH, ETD and LBW, over traditional risk factors., Conclusion: Women with different SBP trajectories were at varied risk of adverse maternal and fetal outcomes. Meanwhile, our study suggested that BP monitoring during pregnancy is necessary, especially for women with high SBP in early pregnancy or upward trajectory.

To investigate the potential associations between visit-to-visit blood pressure variability (VVV) and adverse birth outcomes in pregnancies, 48,209 pregnant women without proteinuria or chronic hypertension before 20 weeks of gestation who delivered live singletons between January 2014 and November 2019 in Taizhou or Taicang cities were recruited. VVV was estimated as the standard deviation and coefficient of variation of blood pressure [i.e., systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP) and mean arterial pressure (MAP)] measured from 20 weeks of gestation onwards. Pregnant women were classified into four groups according to the corresponding quartiles for each VVV index. It was found that VVV was significantly higher in women with small for gestational age (SGA) or low birth weight (LBW) infants than in their counterparts. Graded associations between VVV categories and poor birth outcomes were observed. In particular, when comparing the women with the highest to the lowest quartiles of standard deviation and coefficient variation of DBP, the odds ratios (95% confidence interval) for SGA was 1.15 (1.06-1.26) and 1.14 (1.05-1.25), respectively. Interestingly, the addition of DBP-VVV to established risk factors improved risk prediction of SGA; DBP-VVV demonstrated modestly superior predictive performance to VVV obtained from SBP or MAP. Similar results were found even among normotensive pregnancies. Our findings indicated that VVV during pregnancy, especially DBP-VVV, was independently associated with poor birth outcomes of pregnancies in East China. The inclusion of DBP-VVV with established risk factors may help in identifying pregnancies at high risk of SGA. Validations are needed.

Glycosmis pentaphylla (Retz.) DC (Rutaceae) has been traditionally considered as anti-cancer and anti-inflammatory medicine. However, active compounds of sulphur-containing amides remain largely unknown. In the present work, eighteen previously undescribed sulphur-containing amides (1-18) and three known analogues (19-21) were isolated from the leaves of G. pentaphylla. Their structures were elucidated by NMR spectroscopy and mass spectrometry. All isolated prenylated sulphur-containing amides were evaluated for their anti-inflammatory properties together with antiproliferative activities in vivo. Prenylated sulphur-containing amides exhibited significant inhibitory effects against nitric oxide (NO) production stimulated by lipopolysaccharide in mouse macrophage RAW 264.7 cells with the IC 50 values ranging from 0.16 ± 0.10 to 16.74 ± 2.81 μM. Meanwhile, sulphur-containing amides also exhibited considerable antiproliferative activities against HepG2 cell line with IC 50 values ranging from 7.47 ± 0.91 to 16.23 ± 0.80 μM. These findings enrich and improve the research on the structural diversity and biological activity of sulphur-containing amides and provide phytochemical and pharmacological evidence for the further development and utilization of the leaves of G. pentaphylla in pharmaceutical industry., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare no competing financial interest., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Three undescribed polycyclic polyprenylated acylphloroglucinols (PPAPs) and three tocotrienols derivatives, named as paucinochymol A-F (1-3 and 10-12), together with six known PPAPs, were isolated from the fruits of Garcinia paucinervis. Their structures and absolute configurations were determined by extensive NMR analysis and electronic circular dichroism (ECD) calculation methods. Paucinochymol A (1) is the first compound of this type featuring a ω-isogeranyl with tetrahydrofuran unit at C-1. Paucinochymols D and E (4-5) belong to rare tocotrienol with one glorious macrocyclic and an ortho-quinone moiety, respectively. The antiproliferative and anti-inflammatory activities of all isolates were tested. Four PPAPs exhibited weak inhibitory activities against three human cancer cell lines (HepG2, T98, MCF-7) with IC 50 values ranging from 10.0 to 16.0 μM. Paucinochymol D (10) displayed moderate inhibitory effects against nitric oxide (NO) production with the IC 50 value of 19.8 μM., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest There are no conflicts to declare., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Objective: To evaluate the clinical efficacy and safety of early tracheotomy versus delayed tracheotomy for patients with cervical spinal cord injury., Study Design: A descriptive study., Place and Duration of Study: Department of Orthopedic Surgery, The 80th Army Hospital of PLA, Weifang, Shandong, China, from January 2012 to June 2019., Methodology: Data of 45 patients with cervical spinal cord injury, who underwent tracheotomy and cervical spine internal fixation at the study place, were retrospectively analysed. Twenty-five patients underwent tracheotomy immediately after cervical spine internal fixation (early tracheotomy group) and 20 patients underwent tracheotomy 3-12 days after cervical spine internal fixation (delayed tracheotomy group). Clinical outcomes and tracheotomy complications were compared between the two groups., Results: Compared with the delayed tracheotomy, the early tracheotomy significantly reduced the total duration of mechanical ventilation (p <0.01), duration of mechanical ventilation after tracheotomy (p <0.05), duration of indwelling tracheal tube (p <0.05), and hospital stay (p <0.01). There were no significant differences in pneumonia, mortality, and complications related to tracheotomy between the groups. No incision infection for tracheotomy and cervical spine internal fixation were found in all patients., Conclusion: Compared with delayed tracheotomy, early tracheotomy can significantly reduce the duration of mechanical ventilation, duration of indwelling tracheal tube, and hospital stay. Early tracheotomy did not increase the risk of infection of the cervical spine internal fixation. Therefore, early tracheotomy was beneficial and safe for patients. Key Words: Spinal cord injuries, Tracheotomy, Complications.

Objective: The 2017 American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association (ACC/AHA) guideline recommended a lower threshold (130/80 mmHg) for hypertension in nonpregnant adults. However, the influence of this guideline in Chinese pregnant women is not well characterized., Methods: Data of 32 742 and 14 479 mothers who had blood pressure (BP) less than 130/80 mmHg and no proteinuria before 20 gestational weeks and delivered live singletons between 1 January 2014 and 30 November 2019 were extracted from Taizhou and Taicang register-based cohorts, respectively. The average measured BP in the third trimester was obtained and categorized according to the 2017 ACC/AHA guideline. The association between BP and risk of adverse birth outcomes was assessed by multivariate logistic regression analysis., Results: In the third trimester, 331 (1.01%) and 378 (2.61%) women had mean BP at least 140/90 mmHg, but 2435 (7.44%) and 1054 (7.28%) had stage 1 hypertension (130-139/80-89 mmHg) in Taizhou and Taicang, respectively. Significant associations between stage 1 hypertension and small for gestational age [odds ratio (OR) = 1.32, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.14-1.52] and low birth weight (OR = 1.81, 95% CI = 1.46-2.25) were observed in the Taizhou population. Consistent results were also shown in the Taicang population [OR (95% CI), of 1.46 (1.18-1.79) and 1.50 (1.07-2.11), respectively]., Conclusion: Stage 1 hypertension in the third trimester defined by the 2017 ACC/AHA guideline was associated with an increased risk for adverse birth outcomes in Eastern Chinese pregnant women, suggesting that this guideline may improve the detection of high BP and surveillance of adverse neonatal outcomes in China.

Urbanization and industrialization have elevated metal concentrations in soils. However, systematic investigation on their availability in regional soils under industrial impacts is lacking. In this study, 230 paired soil-rice samples were collected from two areas in Southeast China, with low and high industrial impacts. Classic equilibrium-based CaCl 2 and EDTA extraction methods, and dynamic-based diffusive gradients in thin-films (DGT) technique were used to study metal availability in soils, with the results being compared with metal concentrations in soils and rice grains. Generally, Cd, Ni, Cu, Zn, Cr and Pb concentrations in soils exceeded the Chinese Soil Quality Standard (GB15618-2018), whereas only Cd and Ni in some rice grains exceeded the Chinese Safety Guidelines. CaCl 2 and EDTA extractions, DGT method and soil total metal concentrations provided good predication of grain Cd (R = 0.51-0.66, p < 0.01), whereas only CaCl 2 and DGT tests provided good predication of grain Ni (R = 0.36-0.47, p < 0.01). Overall, CaCl 2 extraction best predicted Cd and Ni accumulation in rice grains, explaining 66% of grain Cd and 47% of grain Ni. The extraction rate of available Cd was higher than that of Ni, indicating higher Cd availability than Ni, consistent with the parameters (response time, T c , and desorption rate, k -1 ) from DIFS (DGT-induced flux in soils) model and bioconcentration factor values. This study showed that, at regional scale, CaCl 2 extraction method is efficient in predicting Cd and Ni accumulation in rice grains from contaminated soils., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Five new homoadamantane polycyclic polyprenylated acylphloroglucinols (PPAPs, 1-5) were isolated from the fruits of Garcinia multiflora. Their structures and absolute configurations were determined by extensive spectroscopic analyses including NMR, HRESIMS and electronic circular dichroism (ECD). Compounds 1-3 possessed an unique core structure consisting of tetracyclo[7.3.1.1 3,11 .0 3,7 ]tetradecane-2,12,14- trione. In comparison with those of 1-3, compound 4 had tricyclo[4.3.1.1 3,8 ]undecane- 2,9,11-trione with the loss of prenyl unit. Garcimultinone C (5) was the first example of seco-homoadamantane-type PPAPs with 5-oxatricyclo[7.3.1.0 3,7 ]tridecane skeleton derived from C(4)/C(5) carbon-carbon bond cleavage by retro-Claisen reaction., (Copyright © 2019. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

Background: The clinicopathological features and genomic rearrangements of anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) fusion cases have not been fully identified., Objective: Our objective was to explore the status of ALK in non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) specimens, to explore the relationships between ALK status and clinicopathological features and to identify genomic rearrangements via capture-based next-generation sequencing (NGS)., Methods: We tested 9889 NSCLC specimens for ALK status using the Ventana anti-ALK (D5F3) antibody. Clinicopathological features were analyzed and genomic rearrangements identified using capture-based NGS in 76 ALK-positive cases., Results: In total, 485 specimens (4.90%) tested positive for ALK. The positivity rate was higher for adenocarcinoma samples than for non-adenocarcinoma samples (6.03 vs. 1.47%; p < 0.001) and for biopsies/cell blocks than for surgical specimens (7.00 vs. 4.16%; p < 0.001). Patient age, patient sex, specimen type, specimen histotype, and patient smoking history were all significantly correlated with ALK status. Genomic rearrangements were detected in 98.68% (75/76) of the ALK-positive samples; 89.33% (67/75) carried the canonical EML4-ALK, and the remaining samples carried only noncanonical ALK rearrangements. Four of these noncanonical ALK fusion samples were identified as carrying EML4-ALK transcripts at the RNA level. A novel fusion variant, SRD5A2-ALK, was revealed., Conclusions: Younger patients with NSCLC, especially those aged < 30 years, were more likely to test positive for ALK. Positive ALK test results were more common in patients with invasive mucinous adenocarcinoma and solid-predominant invasive adenocarcinoma than in patients with other histotypes. Samples that carried only noncanonical ALK rearrangements may also have carried the canonical EML4-ALK, which was not detected by capture-based NGS. EML4-ALK transcripts might result from rare splicing mechanisms without genomic rearrangements.

Previous studies have identified recurrent oncogenic mutations in colorectal cancer (CRC), but there is limited CRC genomic data from the Chinese Han population. Whole‑genome sequencing was performed on 10 primary CRC tumors and matched adjacent normal tissues from patients from the Han population in Shanghai, at an average of 27.8x and 27.9x coverage, respectively. In the 10 tumor samples, 32 significant somatic mutated genes were identified, 13 of which were also reported as CRC mutations in The Cancer Genome Atlas Network. All the mutated genes were enriched in functions associated with channel activity, which has rarely been reported in previous studies investigating CRC. Furthermore, 21 chromosomal rearrangements were detected and 4 rearrangements encoded predicted in‑frame fusion proteins, including a fusion of phosphorylase kinase regulatory subunit b and NOTCH2 demonstrated in 2 out of 10 tumors. Chromosome 8 was amplified in 1 tumor and chromosome 20 was amplified in 2 out of 10 CRC patients. The present study produced a genomic mutation profile of CRC, which provides a valuable resource for further insight into the mutations that characterize CRC in patients from the Han population in Shanghai, eastern China.

Papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) is the fastest-growing disease caused by numerous molecular alterations in addition to previously reported DNA mutations. There is a compelling need to identify novel transcriptomic alterations that are associated with the pathogenesis of PTC with potential diagnostic and prognostic implications. Methods: We gathered and compared 242 expression profiles between paired PTC and adjacent normal tissues and identified and validated the coding and long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) associated with the extrathyroidal extension (ETE) of 655 PTC patients in two independent cohorts, followed by predicting their interactions with drugs. Co-expression, RNA interaction, Kaplan-Meier survival and multivariate Cox proportional regression analyses were performed to identify dysregulated lncRNAs and genes that correlated with clinical outcomes of PTC. Alternative splicing (AS), RNA circularization, and editing were also compared between transcriptomes to expand the repertoire of molecular alterations in PTC. Results: Numerous genes related to cellular microenvironment and steroid hormone response were associated with the ETE of PTC. Drug susceptibility predictions of the expression signature revealed two highly ranked compounds, 6-bromoindirubin-3'-oxime and lovastatin. Co-expression and RNA interaction analysis revealed the essential role of lncRNAs in PTC pathogenesis by modulating extracellular matrix and cell adhesion. Eight genes and two novel lncRNAs were identified that correlated with the aggressive nature and disease-free survival of PTC. Furthermore, this study provided the transcriptome-wide landscape of circRNAs in PTC and uncovered dissimilar expression profiles among circRNAs originating from the same host gene, suggesting the functional complexity of circRNAs in PTC carcinogenesis. The newly identified AS events in the SERPINA1 and FN1 genes may improve the sensitivity and specificity of these diagnostic biomarkers. Conclusions: Our study uncovered a comprehensive transcriptomic signature associated with the carcinogenesis and aggressive behavior of PTC, as well as presents a catalog of 10 potential biomarkers, which would facilitate PTC prognosis and development of new therapeutic strategies for this cancer., Competing Interests: Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interest exists.

Improvement in the clinical outcome of human cancers requires characterization of the genetic alterations underlying their pathogenesis. Large-scale genomic and transcriptomic characterization of papillary thyroid carcinomas (PTCs) in Western populations has revealed multiple oncogenic drivers which are essential for understanding pathogenic mechanisms of this disease, while, so far, the genetic landscape in Chinese patients with PTC remains uncharacterized. Here, we conducted a large-scale genetic analysis of PTCs from patients in China to determine the mutational landscape of this cancer. By performing targeted DNA amplicon and targeted RNA deep-sequencing, we elucidated the landscape of somatic genetic alterations in 355 Chinese patients with PTC. A total of 88.7% of PTCs were found to harbor at least one candidate oncogenic driver genetic alteration. Among them, around 72.4% of the cases carried BRAF mutations; 2.8% of cases harbored RAS mutations; and 13.8% of cases were characterized with in-frame gene fusions, including seven newly identified kinase gene fusions. TERT promoter mutations were likely to occur in a sub-clonal manner in our PTC cohort. The prevalence of somatic genetic alterations in PTC was significantly different between our Chinese cohort and TCGA datasets for American patients. Additionally, combined analyses of genetic alterations and clinicopathologic features demonstrated that kinase gene fusion was associated with younger age at diagnosis, larger tumor size, and lymph node metastasis in PTC. With the analyses of DNA rearrangement sites of RET gene fusions in PTC, signatures of chromosome translocations related to RET fusion events were also depicted. Collectively, our results provide fundamental insight into the pathogenesis of PTC in the Chinese population. Copyright © 2017 Pathological Society of Great Britain and Ireland. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., (Copyright © 2017 Pathological Society of Great Britain and Ireland. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.)

Outbreak of Mycobacterium tuberculosis infections associated with acupuncture has not been reported. Thirteen patients with a painful swollen lump were referred to our hospital. The index patient received acupuncture and paraspinal muscular injection at a local acupuncture clinic in April 2011 and was diagnosed with M. tuberculosis 1 month later. From May 2011 to August 2011, 12 more patients with a swollen lump on the nuchal region or in the lower back or the buttocks region were referred to our hospital. Tuberculin skin test (TST), T-SPOT.TB, acid-fast stain, M. tuberculosis culture, chest radiograph, and lump magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) were performed and the patients were diagnosed with tuberculous abscess of the lump. All 13 patients received intramuscular injection at the paraspinal muscle by two acupuncturists at a local clinic and reported a swollen lump at the injection site. The needles and syringes were reused after autoclave sterilization. The TST was positive in all patients. Twelve patients had positive acid-fast stains. Mycobacterial cultures of abscess specimens were positive in all 13 patients. T-SPOT.TB tests were positive in all patients who underwent the test. The lesions and biopsies were subjected to polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and gene sequencing by the Disease Control Center of Zhejiang Province, China and the causative agent was identified as M. tuberculosis, Beijing type. In conclusion, physicians should consider the possibility of mycobacterial infections, apart from other bacterial agents, in patients with a swollen paraspinal lump following intramuscular injection.

Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) is one of the most common types of tumors worldwide, particularly in China, and human papillomavirus (HPV) is thought to be a potential risk factor for this cancer. To determine whether this is true, we collected 177 formalin-fixed and paraffin-embedded ESCC samples from two hospitals. We screened for 23 different HPV genotypes using a human papillomavirus genotyping kit, which allowed us to amplify the L1 gene by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and test for 23 HPV subtypes by reverse dot blot (RDB) on a single membrane. We also used immunohistochemistry (IHC) to detect the P16(INK4a) protein, the expression of which is linked to HPV E7 activity and which is used to diagnose cervical intraepithelial neoplasia. The genotyping results showed that only six samples were weakly positive for HPV: two for HPV16, two for HPV11 and two for HPV35, with no samples showing strong positive signals. The IHC results showed only five samples with diffuse positive staining, with the other samples being completely negative or having only focal positive signals, which were considered as negative. This study demonstrates that the HPV infection rate in ESCC samples is very low, suggesting that HPV is not the etiological cause of ESCC.

Cytokine interleukin-4 (IL-4) is thought to play a role in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease (AD). This study aimed to evaluate the potential association between single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) of IL-4 gene and AD susceptibility. This case-control study was conducted in Chinese Han populations consisting of 203 AD patients and 205 controls. Three common SNPs of IL-4 gene, including -590C>T (rs2243250), -33C>T (rs2070874), and -1098T>G (rs2243248), were determined by the polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) and verified using DNA sequencing methods. Our data show that -590C and -1098G alleles of IL-4 were more common in AD patients (30.5% vs 22.2% p=0.007; 14.3% vs 3.4% p<0.0001) and significantly associated with elevated risk for AD (OR=1.51 95% CI 1.05-2.23; OR=4.78 95% CI 2.37-7.67). Haplotype analysis revealed five common haplotypes CCG (OR=4.41), CCT (OR=1.22), TTT (OR=1.02), CTT (OR=0.7), and TCT (OR=0.14), from highest to lowest risk for AD. None of the associations appeared to be modified by APOE ɛ4 genetic variant. Bioinformatic analysis shows that -590C>T and -1098T>G have a linkage disequilibrium (LD) with multiple potentially functional SNPs inside IL-4 gene. Our findings indicate that the -590C and -1098G alleles located in the promoter of IL-4 may increase the susceptibility to AD among the Han Chinese and might be used as molecular markers for AD risk evaluation., (Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Background: Information tracking changes of birthweight is scarce in China. To examine trends of low birthweight (birthweight < 2500 g) and macrosomia (birthweight ≥ 4000 g) and potential risk factors in Beijing, hospital records from two major obstetrics and gynecology hospitals in urban districts in Beijing were analyzed., Methods: Hospital records from 1996 to 2010 were retrieved. Information of prenatal examination and birth outcomes was entered into a structured database. Live births were used for trend analysis. Information of live births in 2010 was used to identify potential risk factors., Results: A total of 63 661 live births were delivered during 1996-2010 in the study hospitals. The average birthweight increased from 3271 g in 1996 to 3 359 g in 2000 and slightly declined to 3 331 in 2010. The percentage of low birthweight fluctuated around 4.0%. No significant increase or decrease was observed. Preterm birth was the main cause of low birthweight, accounting for more than 73% of low birthweight. The average percentage of macrosomia was 7.6%. The percentages of macrosomia increased from 6.6% in 1996 to 9.5% in 2000 and declined to 7.0% in 2010. Excessive gestational weight gain and gestational diabetes were significantly associated with macrosomia., Conclusions: Continuously monitoring abnormal birthweight is needed and intervention should focus on appropriate gestational weight gain and reduction of preterm birth and gestational diabetes.

Objective: To describe the trend of multiple pregnancies and to compare the results with single pregnancy in Beijing from 1996 to 2010. Prevalence rates of pregnancy complications were compared between multiple and single pregnancies., Methods: In 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2005, 2010, live births in two hospitals in Beijing were included to describe the trend of multiple and single pregnancy. Case-retrospective analyses were used. Information was collected, including maternal age, fetus number, delivery mode, with/without pregnancy induced diseases as hypertension, diabetes or anemia, gender of the baby, birth-weight and gestation etc. Linear regression analyses were applied to assess the trend of birth-weight and the rates of prevalence., Results: 63 661 babies and 62 895 puerperal were involved in this study. From 1996 to 2010, prevalence of multiple pregnancies increased by 0.02%, prevalence of cesarean delivery among multiple pregnancy women increased by 2.25% and the proportion of women older than 30 years increased by 3.52% and 2.89% among multiple or single pregnancy women, annually. However, the birth-weight did not show obvious change in both multiple and single birth babies. No obvious change was observed in the prevalence of low birth weight. Prevalence rates of premature birth increased by 1.62% and 0.16% among multiple and single pregnancy women, annually. From 1996 to 2010, the mean values of birth-weight among single birth babies were larger than 3 250 grams and under 2 500 gram among multiple birth babies. Rates of prevalence on pregnancy induced hypertension and anemia were higher in multiple pregnancy women than in single pregnancy women. Differences of rates on prevalence rates of pregnancy diabetes between multiple and single pregnancy women were not statistically significant., Conclusion: Prevalence of multiple pregnancies increased from 1995 to 2010 in Beijing. Mothers of multiples were more likely to get pregnancy complication than the single pregnancy women.

Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most prevalent form of arthritis and its multifactorial nature has been increasingly recognized. Genetic factors play an important role in OA etiology and estrogen receptor alpha (ESR1) gene polymorphisms may be involved. This study tried to explore whether the ESR1 gene single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were associated with primary knee OA in the Chinese Han population. Two SNPs, rs2234693 and rs9340799, were genotyped in 469 cases and 522 controls. Rs2234693 was associated with knee OA in the dominant genetic model (TT + TC versus CC) (P = 0.025) and a higher T allele frequency existed (P = 0.047) among females. The combined genotype (TT + TC) (P = 0.025) and T allele (P = 0.016) were related with mild knee OA only. For rs9340799, A allele was associated with knee OA in all subjects (P = 0.031) and females (P = 0.046). Statistical differences were detected in the dominant genetic model (AA + AG versus GG) among females (P = 0.030). The combined genotype (AA + AG) (P = 0.036) and A allele (P = 0.039) were merely correlated with mild knee OA. ESR1 gene is considerably associated with knee OA etiology in the Chinese Han population.

Developmental dysplasia of the hip (DDH) is a common developmental hip disorder, which ranges from mild acetabulum malformation to irreducible hip dislocation. A previous study suggested a significant association of pregnancy-associated plasma protein-A2 (PAPPA2) with DDH susceptibility in Chinese Han population. But with the consideration of the sample size, the association was still debatable. To confirm the association of the reported single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in PAPPA2, rs726252 with DDH, we conducted a case-control study in a larger number of subjects. We genotyped rs726252 in 697 DDH subjects and 707 control subjects by TaqMan assay. The association between this SNP and DDH was evaluated statistically. No significant difference was found in any comparison of genotype distribution nor allele frequency between cases and controls. Our replication study indicated that the association between rs726252 and DDH in Chinese Han population was debatable. The association between PAPPA2 and DDH should be evaluated by additional studies.

Deep vein thrombosis is one of the common complications of orthopedic surgery. Studies indicated that genetic factors played a considerable role in the pathogenesis of deep vein thrombosis. Endothelial nitric oxide synthase which encoded by nitric oxide synthase 3 (NOS3), can generate nitric oxide in endothelial cells. As a predominant regulator for vascular homeostasis, nitric oxide might be involved in the pathogenesis of thrombosis. It had been proved that the NOS3 polymorphism (rs1799983) was associated with the development of cardiovascular diseases. Our objective was to evaluate the association between the NOS3 polymorphism (rs1799983) and deep vein thrombosis after orthopedic surgery in Chinese Han population. The polymorphism was genotyped in 224 subjects with deep vein thrombosis after orthopedic surgery and 580 controls. Allele and genotype frequencies were compared between subjects with deep vein thrombosis and control subjects. The allele and genotype frequencies of the NOS3 polymorphism (rs1799983) were significantly different between subjects with deep vein thrombosis and control subjects. There were also significant differences when the subjects were stratified by gender, surgery type and hypertension status. These findings suggested that the NOS3 polymorphism (rs1799983) was associated with susceptibility to the deep vein thrombosis after orthopedic surgery in Chinese Han population, and NOS3 might play a role in the development of deep vein thrombosis after orthopedic surgery.

Biodiesel is renewable and environmentally friendly; however, there are still many challenges for its commercial production as an alternative of petroleum-based transportation fuels, particularly in China with very limited resources for its biofuels development. In this article, the update progress of biodiesel R & D and production is reviewed, with a focus on its feedstock supply, manufacturing processes, quality control and byproduct utilization. It is concluded that the strategy of biorefinery to ultimately explore feedstock potentials will make biodiesel production more economically competitive.

Objective: This survey was conducted to examine the prevalence of sleep disorders in 2- to 12-year-old children in the Beijing area of China., Methods: From October 2001 to June 2002, 5979 children 2 to 12 years old in 6 randomly selected counties in Beijing were investigated with questionnaires., Results: The average total sleep time per day ranged from 11.38 hours among 2-year-olds down to 9.34 hours among 12-year-olds. The overall prevalence of sleep disorders was 21.2% and included parasomnia symptoms (bruxism [6.5%], sleep talking [4.9%], enuresis [1.0%], sleepwalking [0.6%], restless sleep [5.0%], and leg movements [1.9%]) and symptoms of sleep-disordered breathing (frequent snoring [5.6%], mouth breathing [4.1%], choking/gasping [0.9%], and breathing pauses [0.2%])., Conclusion: The overall prevalence of parent-reported symptoms of sleep disorders in a large sample of children in Beijing, China, was comparable to that reported in other countries, although the prevalence of some specific symptoms differed somewhat.