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Background: The epidemiologic characteristics and attributable risk factors of ischemic stroke in China have changed over the past three decades. An upto- date analysis on deaths, disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs), prevalence, incidence, and attributable risk factors of ischemic stroke for China is needed. This study aims to provide a comprehensive analysis of burden and attributable risk factors of ischemic stroke at national level in China by sex from 1990 to 2019. Methods: This is a secondary analysis of the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) study 2019. All data used in this study was derived from the 2019 GBD study. Deaths, DALYs, prevalence, incidence, and attributable risk factors of ischemic stroke in China by sex from 1990 to 2019 were analyzed. Results: From 1990 to 2019, the age-standardized deaths rate decreased by 3.3%, age-standardized DALYs rate decreased by 4%, age-standardized prevalence rate increased by 33.5%, and age-standardized incidence rate of ischemic stroke in China increased by 34.7%. In 2019, ambient particulate matter pollution became an important risk factor, whereas household air pollution from solid fuels was no longer a major risk factor for ischemic stroke in China. Burden of ischemic stroke was higher in China compared to other regions. Ambient particulate matter pollution among men, and diet high in sodium, smoking, household air pollution from solid fuels among women account for the increased deaths/DALYs due to ischemic stroke in China. Conclusion: Our study revealed that great changes have occurred in burden and attributable risk factors of ischemic stroke in China in the past three decades. Distinct sex-specific differences are observed in burden and attributable risk factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: We investigated the relationship between the sarcopenia-indicating Ishii test scores and pneumonia risk in stable schizophrenia patients. Methods: This prospective investigation involves schizophrenic inpatients from two mental health centers in western China. Patient baseline information was gathered over 1 month from September 1 to 30 in 2020. All pneumoniarelated patient information, including diagnosis and treatment, was acquired over 1 year between October 2020 and October 2021. Patients with schizophrenia were screened for sarcopenia utilizing a threshold value established by Ishii et al. Using regression analysis, the link between Ishii test scores and pneumonia risk in schizophrenia patients was investigated. Result: This study recruited 232 males and 107 females with schizophrenia over the age of 50 and older. During a 1-year follow-up period, four patients (3 males and 1 female) acquired pneumonia within 1 week of relapse in schizophrenia; therefore, these patients were excluded from the study. Finally, data were collected for 335 patients. The pneumonia incidences were 29.3% in males and 14.2% in females. Our analysis confirmed that compared to the male schizophrenia patients with Ishii test scores < 105 (non-sarcopenia), those with Ishii test scores ≥ 105 (sarcopenia) exhibited an elevated pneumonia risk (OR = 2.739, 95%CI: 1.406-5.333). Following confounders adjustment, Ishii test scores ≥ 105 remained a risk factor for pneumonia (OR = 2.064, 95%CI: 1.029-4.143). Among females with schizophrenia, the Ishii test scores were not associated with pneumonia risk. Conclusion: In conclusion, our results demonstrated that the Ishii test scores ≥ 105 were strongly associated with pneumonia risk in stable schizophrenic male patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: Here, we investigate the relationship between mid-upper arm circumference (MUAC) and calf circumference (CC) screening indicators of sarcopenia and the risk of pneumonia in stable patients diagnosed with schizophrenia. Method: The study is prospective and includes inpatients with schizophrenia from two mental health centers in Western China. The studied screening indicators, MUAC and CC were assessed in standing patients. The relationship between MUAC and CC as sarcopenia screening indicators with the risk of pneumonia in patients with schizophrenia was analyzed by performing a statistical logistic regression analysis. Result: For this study, 339 patients with schizophrenia, aged 50 years and over were recruited. Moreover, four patients with pneumonia that occurred within 1 week of the relapse of schizophrenia were excluded. As a result, only 335 patients were included in the analysis. Pneumonia has been reported in 82 (24.5%) of all included patients with schizophrenia. Our data analysis confirmed that in the male patients, the higher CC was associated with a lower risk of pneumonia (odds ratio [OR] = 0.751, 95% CI: 0.635-0.889). We have divided men into two cohorts following the values of CC. Our analysis further showed that the patients with CC = 34cm had a lower risk of pneumonia in men (OR = 0.36, 95% CI: 0.163-0.795). Conclusion: We demonstrate that CC is associated with pneumonia risk in stable men with schizophrenia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Macromotettixoides angustivertex Zha & Peng sp. nov. and M. hainanensis (Liang) (= Hyboella hainanensis Liang), collected from Hainan Island, PR China, are described, photographed and compared with their allies. Based on the morphological characters of the two species, generic characteristics of the genus Macromotettixoides are updated. Pseudomacromotettix taiwanensis Zheng, Li & Lin, syn. nov. is synonymized with M. taiwanensis (Liang) (= Hyboella taiwanensis Liang), and the monotypic Pseudomacromotettix Zheng, Li & Lin, syn. gen. is synonymized with Macromotettixoides Zheng, Wei & Jiang. We also give ecological information for the two described species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sandaowanzi gold deposit, Heilongjiang Province, is the only single telluride type gold deposit so far documented in the world, in which 90% of gold is hosted in gold-silver telluride minerals. Optical microscope observation, scanning electron microscope, electron probe and X-ray diffraction analysis identified abundant intergrowth textures in the Au-Ag-Te minerals, typified by sylvanite-hosting hessite crystals and hessite-hosting petzite crystals. The intergrown minerals and their chemistry are consistent, and the hosted minerals are mostly worm-like or as oriented stripes, evenly distributed in the hosting minerals, with clear and smooth interfaces. These suggest an exsolution origin for the intergrowth texture. With reference to the phase-transformation temperature derived from synthesis experiments of tellurides, the exsolution texture of Au-Ag-Te minerals implies that the veined tellurides formed at 150-220°C. The early stage disseminated tellurides formed at log f(Te) from −13.6 to −7.8, log f(S) from −11.7 to −7.6, whereas the late stage veined tellurides formed at log f(Te) ranging from −11.2 to −9.7 and log f(S) from −16.8 to −12.2. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Biological nutrient removal requires sufficient carbon source. Meanwhile, the removal of organic matter in wastewater requires energy consumption in the aeration tank. Carbon source for nutrient removal in most wastewater treatment plants with conventional primary clarifier (CPC) is generally insufficient in China. In order to increase carbon source and to save energy, a part of the CPC may be retrofitted as an activated primary clarifier (APC). In this paper, a pilot scale experiment was conducted to examine the performance of primary sludge fermentation and its effect on nitrogen and phosphorus removal. Results show that the primary sludge fermentation in APC has produced a similar VFA/TP ratio but a higher BOD5/TN ratio compared with those in the CPC effluent, and the TN concentrations in the secondary effluent are at 8.0, 10.8, and 17.4 mg/L, while TP is at 0.45, 1.10, and 2.28 mg/L when the pilot test system was fed with (1) the APC effluent, (2) 50% from the APC effluent and 50% from the CPC effluent, and (3) the CPC effluent, respectively. Results also indicate that the BOD5/TN ratio is a more sensitive factor than the VFA/TP ratio for nutrient removal and energy conservation for the APC fermentation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China's energy use has been, and will be for a long time, dominated by coal. The literature has studied little on the material metabolism of coal mines, especially for China, from a systems perspective. The aim of this study is to develop a quantitative framework to investigate the internal material metabolism of coal mining enterprises in China. This framework, three-dimensional hybrid enterprise input-output (3D-HEIO) model, combines scenario analysis and the enterprise input-output model. To illustrate the application of this framework, the material metabolism of Wang Coal-mine (WCM) in Shanxi, China is analyzed. Results show that the WCM has the annual potential to recover 10,862 tonnes of coal, reduce 404,515 tonnes of water consumption, 13 million kWh of electricity consumption, 70 tonnes of coagulant agents, 90,000 pieces of paper, and 146 tonnes of sulfur dioxide and dust emissions, and reuse 100,000 tonnes of coal gangue. The potential of economic profit can be 14.24 million yuan per year. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Lessons learnt from accidents are essential sources for updating state-of-the-art requirements in pollution accident prevention. To improve this input in the People''s Republic of China in a systematic way, a database for collecting and evaluating major pollution accidents is being established. This is being done in co-operation with Chinese Society for Environment Sciences and other national Institutions. At the time of writing over 80 major events from 2002–2006 have been collected. In this paper, a summary evaluation on the major polluting events in China from 2002 to 2006 is presented and some basic lessons drawn shown. There is no a systematic pollution accident notification system currently in China. The results from root cause analysis underline the importance of emergency measures, maintenance, human factor issues and the role of safety organization. Chronic pollution, especially water pollution and air pollution should be paid the same attention as the sudden pollution. It is important to keep in mind that collecting information from major accidents represents a small percentage of the actual number of events taking place. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Using data from a recent national survey on the ownership reform of state-owned enterprises in China, we study the effects of reducing politician control and agency problems on a number of reform outcomes. Taking into account the endogenous nature of the reform, we find that these outcome measures of the reform's success are positively affected by the lessening of politician control through increasing the firm's flexibility in labour deployment and by the mitigation of agency costs through the introduction of more effective corporate governance mechanisms such as one-share one-vote and shareholding-based board structure composition. Ownership structure also matters: relative to shareholding by the state, foreign ownership has a positive effect on reform outcomes; individual (mostly employee) shareholding has a negative or insignificant effect. Somewhat surprisingly, operating autonomy (excluding labour deployment flexibility) has a negative effect on firm performance, suggesting serious agency problems in the reformed enterprises.JEL classifications: P21, P31, D23. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Public listing is a key reform measure for large state-owned enterprises (SOEs) in China. We find evidence that public listing lowers state ownership significantly, lessens firms’ reliance on debt finance, and allows firms to increase capital expenditure, at least temporarily. We also find that ownership structure affects post-listing performance. However, we find no statistical evidence of a positive effect of public listing on firms’ profitability. We suggest alternative interpretations of the last finding. JEL classifications: P31, P27, G30. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Assesses the state of China's economic reforms. Extent of financial deficits; Reform of state-owned enterprises; Government debt; Property rights reform.

Abstract: In order to promote cleaner production in China, a package of policy options was presented based on the identification of the barriers encountered in the CP demonstration project and the effectiveness and feasibility of policy options for the CP implementation were analyzed. Furthermore, the policy mechanism framework was given, which composes of compulsory, economic incentive, social pressure and supportive function. Finally, the implementation strategy of the policy mechanism, in which the emphasis will be changed from compulsory policy options towards economic and social pressure policy options, was proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Examines the organizational changes brought about by the ownership restructuring in Chinese state-owned enterprises (SOE). Overview of the process of SOE reform since 1970; Problems that ownership restructuring intends to solve; Organizational changes in restructured enterprises.

In this paper, a program of cleaner production (CP), conducted jointly by the State Environmental Protection Agency, the World Bank and UNEP (United Nations Education Program), was presented. This program was carried out in 1993 to promote CP in China. Remarkable achievements have been attained, and 29 enterprises were audited based on the CP methodology developed. The barriers that inhibited the practice of CP were identified specifically. In order to promote CP in China, the policy mechanism was analyzed in terms of regulation, economic incentive, social pressure and supportive functions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Lake eutrophication has increasingly become a major environmental issue in China. Although significant efforts have been made towards its resolution in the last decade, most of the implemented control strategies are fragmented, and the formation of policy lacks of sound scientific basis and long-term objectives. Taking the well-known Dianchi Lake as a case study, this paper presented a comprehensive assessment for the effectiveness of various eutrophication control strategies. It is expected that the concluding lessons would have a major implication to future eutrophication control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: With the development of human genomics, the genetic factors associated with dental caries have receiving increasing attention. This study was performed to evaluate the relationship between lactoferrin ( LTF ) and mannose-binding lectin 2 ( MBL2 ) gene single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and dental caries susceptibility in Chinese children., Methods: This prospective case-control study included 360 unrelated children (aged 12-15 years) who received oral health examinations and questionnaire surveys. The children were divided into two groups by counting the numbers of decayed, missing, and filled teeth (DMFT/dmft): case group (n = 162, DMFT/dmft ≥ 1) and control group (n = 198, DMFT/dmft = 0); non-invasive saliva samples were collected to extract genomic DNA. Six SNPs ( rs2073495C/G, rs1042073C/T, rs10865941C/T , and rs1126477A/G in LTF ; rs7096206C/G and rs7095891G/A in MBL2 ) were tested by mass spectrometry., Results: The study included 360 individuals with (85 boys and 77 girls) and without a history of caries (96 boys and 102 girls). There were no statistically significant differences in alleles and genotypes among the six SNPs between the two groups., Conclusion: There is no evidence that polymorphisms of LTF and MBL2 genes are associated with dental caries susceptibility in populations from northwest China; further confirmation is needed with larger sample sizes.

As the whole society gradually realizes the scarcity of nature resources and environmental value, countries all over the world have evolved and improved the system of environmental damage assessment through the practices of pollution prevention and ecological environmental protection. On one hand, in the research prospective, the practices of environmental damage assessment brought new challenges to environmental law, environmental economics, environmental science, environmental engineering, etc. On the other hand, they constantly promoted and developed relevant laws and regulations, techniques, working mechanism, and guidelines on procedure in practice. On the hasis of comparison and analysis of international practices and experiences from US, EU, and Japan, etc., this article identified relevant concepts, content, and scope of environmental damage assessment, and presented its scientific positioning and development direction. At present, both theory and practice of environmental damage assessment in China are in their infancy period. Considering current environmental situation and socioeconomic development features of China, learning international practices and experiences and raising the orientation of environmental damage assessment have great meaning in exploring the suitable environmental damage assessment system.

Although there are plenty of evidence that single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) that fall within coding sequences of genes are involved in recurrent pregnancy loss (RPL), it is still unknown whether the polymorphisms in microRNAs (miRNAs) are related with RPL. In this study, we established this kind of association by confirming significant differences in genotype distribution of rs41275794 (P= 0.0005) and rs12976445 (P= 0.001) within the pri-miR-125a in 217 Han Chinese patients of RPL compared with 431 controls. Based on this observation, two-locus haplotypes were constructed and the A-T haplotype was found to be associated with an increased risk of RPL (OR=2.84, 95%C.I. 1.98-4.07, P=0.0000000057). Further analysis showed that the levels of pre- and mature- miR-125a were down-regulated in the cells transfected with the A-T haplotype, which was consistent with in vivo detection that the level of mature miR-125a was lower in 30 pregnant women with A-T haplotype than that with G-C haplotype. During in vitro RNA processing assays, we found a similar decrease in the amount of pre-miR-125a and decline in binding capacity of nuclear factors to pri-miR-125a with A-T haplotype. More importantly, the reduction in miR-125a, as a consequence of A-T haplotype, further led to less efficient inhibition of target genes, LIFR and ERBB2, which play important roles in the embryo implantation and decidualization. Thus, our data collectively suggest that two common polymorphisms in pre-miR-125a might contribute to the genetic predisposition to RPL by disrupting the production of miR-125a, which consequently interfered in the expression and function of target genes of miR-125a.

Biological nutrient removal requires sufficient carbon source. Meanwhile, the removal of organic matter in wastewater requires energy consumption in the aeration tank. Carbon source for nutrient removal in most wastewater treatment plants with conventional primary clarifier (CPC) is generally insufficient in China. In order to increase carbon source and to save energy, a part of the CPC may be retrofitted as an activated primary clarifier (APC). In this paper, a pilot scale experiment was conducted to examine the performance of primary sludge fermentation and its effect on nitrogen and phosphorus removal. Results show that the primary sludge fermentation in APC has produced a similar VFA/TP ratio but a higher BOD5/TN ratio compared with those in the CPC effluent, and the TN concentrations in the secondary effluent are at 8.0, 10.8, and 17.4 mg/L, while TP is at 0.45, 1.10, and 2.28 mg/L when the pilot test system was fed with (1) the APC effluent, (2) 50% from the APC effluent and 50% from the CPC effluent, and (3) the CPC effluent, respectively. Results also indicate that the BOD5/TN ratio is a more sensitive factor than the VFA/TP ratio for nutrient removal and energy conservation for the APC fermentation.