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Bullying is a goal-directed behavior that has long been in the spotlight of worldwide school mental health programs and research. However, the role of popularity goals in bullying and its potential mechanisms are unclear for adolescents in a non-Western cultural context. Based on 333 Chinese adolescents (52% female), the current study was the first to explore the potential moderating roles of popularity status and cognitive empathy in the association between popularity goals and early Chinese adolescents' bullying behaviors. Moderated moderation analyses indicated that popularity status and cognitive empathy significantly moderated the positive relationship between popularity goals and Chinese adolescents' bullying behaviors. Specifically, the statistically significant three-way interaction revealed that low popularity status and low cognitive empathy strengthen the positive links between popularity goals and bullying. The significant two-way interaction showed that the positive relations between popularity goals and bullying were stronger for low popularity among Chinese adolescents.

Research has shown that intrapersonal, interpersonal, and stress factors are associated with development in marital satisfaction. However, the unique contributions of early predictors and changes in these factors to the development of marital satisfaction have been overlooked. Based on data from 268 Chinese newlywed couples (M[subscript age] = 29.59, SD = 3.25 for husbands; M[subscript age] = 28.08, SD = 2.51 for wives), the current study used latent growth curve model to examine (a) the development of marital satisfaction and the unique contributions of the intrapersonal, interpersonal, and stress predictors to the developmental trajectories (i.e., the initial level and change) of marital satisfaction; (b) whether the intrapersonal, interpersonal, and stress predictors develop over time; and (c) how trajectories of these predictor domains are associated with changes in marital satisfaction. The results indicated that interpersonal variables, rather than intrapersonal or stress predictors at baseline, were associated with both the initial levels of and changes in marital satisfaction; in contrast, only the changes in the stress levels were found to be related to changes in marital satisfaction. The theoretical implications and future directions for this research are discussed.

Parents play a crucial role in adolescents' Internet use. Both general parenting (i.e., autonomy-supportive and controlling parenting) and Internet-specific parenting (i.e., restrictive mediation, active mediation, and parental encouragement) are related to adolescents' online behaviors. However, existing studies have focused either on an Internet-specific parenting or general parenting strategy and have neglected their interaction, failing to capture the intricate nature of the parenting context of youth's online behaviors. Few studies have examined parental encouragement or acknowledged the bidirectional influence of parenting on adolescents' online behaviors. To address this gap, this study employed a cross-lagged panel network model to examine the associations among restrictive and active mediation, parental encouragement, and autonomy-supportive and controlling parenting, as well as the interplay of all five parenting strategies with adolescents' online behaviors. A total of 564 Chinese students (51.1% male; mean age = 14.54, SD = 0.7) completed the survey at two time points. The results indicate that in most cases, previous online behaviors are significant and strong predictors of subsequent parenting strategies and not vice versa, corroborating the child effect. The parent and reciprocal effects were observed in the problematic smartphone-use domain, suggesting that the effects may differ for distinct behavioral domains. The effects of parental mediation extend beyond parental encouragement, implying that risk-prevention-related parenting is an effective means of guiding adolescents' online behaviors. Autonomy-relevant general parenting is closely related to active mediation and parental encouragement, while restrictive general parenting is closely related to restrictive mediation, suggesting a consistency between Internet-specific and general parenting strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT Domestication has shaped the population structure and agronomic traits of tea plants, yet the complexity of tea population structure and genetic variation that determines these traits remains unclear. We here investigated the resequencing data of 363 diverse tea accessions collected extensively from almost all tea distributions and found that the population structure of tea plants was divided into eight subgroups, which were basically consistent with their geographical distributions. The genetic diversity of tea plants in China decreased from southwest to east as latitude increased. Results also indicated that Camellia sinensis var. assamica (CSA) illustrated divergent selection signatures with Camellia sinensis var. sinensis (CSS). The domesticated genes of CSA were mainly involved in leaf development, flavonoid and alkaloid biosynthesis, while the domesticated genes in CSS mainly participated in amino acid metabolism, aroma compounds biosynthesis, and cold stress. Comparative population genomics further identified ~730 Mb novel sequences, generating 6,058 full‐length protein‐encoding genes, significantly expanding the gene pool of tea plants. We also discovered 217,376 large‐scale structural variations and 56,583 presence and absence variations (PAVs) across diverse tea accessions, some of which were associated with tea quality and stress resistance. Functional experiments demonstrated that two PAV genes (CSS0049975 and CSS0006599) were likely to drive trait diversification in cold tolerance between CSA and CSS tea plants. The overall findings not only revealed the genetic diversity and domestication of tea plants, but also underscored the vital role of structural variations in the diversification of tea plant traits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Camellia atrothea H.T. Chang, H.S. Wang & B.H. Chen 1983 is a native Camellia species in China, which has significant economic and breeding values. Here, we assembled and analyzed the complete chloroplast genome sequence of C. atrothea based on the whole genome sequencing data from Illumina NovaSeq6000 platform. Results show that the complete chloroplast genome of C. atrothea is 157,099 bp in length, and comprises a large single-copy (LSC, 86,643 bp) region, a small single-copy (SSC, 18,276 bp) region, and a pair of inverted repeats (IRs, 26,090 bp) region. Annotation of the C. atrothea chloroplast genome predicts a total of 133 genes, including 88 protein-coding genes, 8 ribosomal RNA genes, and 37 transfer RNA genes. The overall GC content accounts for 37.30% of the genome, which is clearly consistent with that of other previously published Camellia species from section Thea. Phylogenetic analyses of the whole chloroplast genome sequences of 14 Camellia species using Actinidia chinensis as outgroup reveals that C. atrothea has a close relationship with C. leptophylla. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To examine how and when stress affect individual (i.e., psychological health) and relationship well-being (i.e., marital satisfaction) during the COVID-19 pandemic, the present study used latent profile analysis to identify the typologies of communication and investigated whether the typologies would moderate the associations between stress and individual and relationship well-being in a sample of adults living in China (N = 3,354). Results revealed that (a) stress was negatively associated with psychological health and marital satisfaction during the COVID-19 pandemic and that its effect on psychological health was greater than that on marital satisfaction and (b) four profiles were identified: low communication (10%), moderate communication (43%), positive communication (43%), and contradictory communication (5%). Further, the typologies moderated the effects of stress on psychological health and marital satisfaction, but the patterns of moderation differed in psychological health and marital satisfaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Surgical site infection (SSI), as one of the most common hospital-acquired infection, is usually associated with increased morbidity, mortality, and health care burden. SSI is a significant perioperative complication after colon cancer surgery, particularly for left-sided colon cancer. This paper describes the background and design of the "Surgical Site Infection after intracorporeal anastomosis for Left-sided Colon Cancer: study protocol for a non-inferiority multicenter Randomized Controlled Trial (STARS)." The STARS trial aims to compare the incidence of SSI after intracorporeal anastomosis and extracorporeal anastomosis after radical resection of colon cancer and to explore the risk factors of SSI.Methods: A total of 354 left colon cancer patients from 8 hospitals in China will be enrolled in this multi-center randomized controlled study. The primary outcome of this study is the incidence of SSI 30 days after left-sided colon cancer surgery. Secondary outcome measures include operation time, blood loss, conversion rate, incidence of perioperative complications, completeness of resection, number of lymph nodes collected and postoperative recovery characteristics, 3-year disease-free survival, and 5-year overall survival. The first patient was enrolled in January 2021.Discussion: To our knowledge, this is the first prospective multicenter study to investigate whether there is a difference in the SSI incidence after intracorporeal and extracorporeal anastomosis for left-sided colon cancer in China. The results may provide more evidence that supports performing total laparoscopic left-sided colon cancer surgery.Trial Registration: The trial has been registered on ClinicalTrials.gov website (ID: NCT04201717). Registered on September 22, 2020. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Negative family factors play an important role in depression among adolescents. Non-Western research on the relationship between lack of coparental cooperation (LCC) and adolescent depression is scarce, and it is not clear whether support from grandparents—who are important to the functioning of Asian families—and parent–grandparent relationships (PGRs) moderate this link in the Asian context. This study explored the moderating effects of those factors on the relationship between lack of coparental cooperation and depression in Chinese adolescents. Data were collected from 443 Grade 10 students (mean age = 15.40; 209 males) at a high school in Luxian, China. High school or below was the highest educational level for 58.90% and 67.30% of the participants' fathers and mothers, respectively. The participants responded to items on an adapted version of the parental cooperation subscale of the Coparenting Inventory for Parents and Adolescents scale, the Social Support Network questionnaire, Quality of Parent-grandparent Relationships Questionnaire, and Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale. The data were analyzed using a moderated moderation model. A significant three-way interaction was observed. The results show that high grandparent support (GS) and PGR levels can reduce the negative effects of LCC on depression for adolescents (p <.05). The link between lack of coparental cooperation and depression was stronger for adolescents with low or high GS and low PGR (ps <.05). Based on the family system theory, GS and PGR were found to moderate the link between LCC and depression in Chinese adolescents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An actinomycete strain, designated YIM 98757T, was isolated from the hypersaline sediment of Aiding Lake in Xinjiang province, north-west China. The strain grew well on most media tested and no diffusible pigment was produced. The substrate mycelium was well developed and fragmented. No spores were formed. The whole-cell hydrolysates contained meso-diaminopimelic acid as the cell-wall diamino acid. Xylose, galactose, ribose were the major whole-cell sugars. The phospholipids were diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylinositol, phosphatidylinositol mannosides and an unknown phospholipid. The predominant menaquinone was MK-8(H4). The major fatty acid was iso-C16:0. The DNA G + C content was 69.1 mol%. Phylogenetic analysis indicated that the isolate belongs to the genus Haloechinothrix. However, it differed from its closest relative, H. alba YIM 98757 T in many phenotypic and chemotaxonomic characteristics. Moreover, the DNA–DNA and ANI relatedness values between the novel isolate and H. alba YIM 93221 T were 53.3% and 92.5%, respectively. Based on comparative analysis of polyphasic taxonomic data, strain YIM 98757 T represents a novel species of the genus Haloechinothrix, for which the name Haloechinothrix aidingensis sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is YIM 98757T (= CGMCC 4.7627T = CCTCC AA 2020012). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research has shown that intrapersonal, interpersonal, and stress factors are associated with development in marital satisfaction. However, the unique contributions of early predictors and changes in these factors to the development of marital satisfaction have been overlooked. Based on data from 268 Chinese newlywed couples (Mage = 29.59, SD = 3.25 for husbands; Mage = 28.08, SD = 2.51 for wives), the current study used latent growth curve model to examine (a) the development of marital satisfaction and the unique contributions of the intrapersonal, interpersonal, and stress predictors to the developmental trajectories (i.e., the initial level and change) of marital satisfaction; (b) whether the intrapersonal, interpersonal, and stress predictors develop over time; and (c) how trajectories of these predictor domains are associated with changes in marital satisfaction. The results indicated that interpersonal variables, rather than intrapersonal or stress predictors at baseline, were associated with both the initial levels of and changes in marital satisfaction; in contrast, only the changes in the stress levels were found to be related to changes in marital satisfaction. The theoretical implications and future directions for this research are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Halophiles are relatively unexplored as potential sources of novel species. However, little is known about the culturable bacterial diversity thrive in hypersaline lakes. In this work, a total of 343 bacteria from sediment samples of Aiding Lake, China, were isolated using nine different media supplemented with 5% or 15% (w/v) NaCl. The number of species and genera of bacteria recovered from the different media varied, indicating the need to optimize the isolation conditions. The results showed an unexpected level of bacterial diversity, with four phyla (Actinobacteria, Firmicutes, Proteobacteria, and Rhodothermaeota), fourteen orders (Actinopolysporales, Alteromonadales, Bacillales, Balneolales, Chromatiales, Glycomycetales, Jiangellales, Micrococcales, Micromonosporales, Oceanospirillales, Pseudonocardiales, Rhizobiales, Streptomycetales, and Streptosporangiales), including 17 families, 43 genera (including two novel genera), and 71 species (including four novel species). The predominant phyla included Actinobacteria and Firmicutes and the predominant genera included Actinopolyspora, Gracilibacillus, Halomonas, Nocardiopsis, and Streptomyces. To our knowledge, this is the first time that members of phylum Rhodothermaeota were identified in sediment samples from a salt lake. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Because the ore-forming system in the crust of the Earth is a highly nonlinear system, geochemical anomaly classification is very important for improving the accuracy of metallogenic prediction. Further, since the distribution of the geochemical elements usually presents nonlinear characteristics due to the complexity and uncertainty of geology factors, the traditional linear data processing method has limited applications for an ore-forming system. The FastICA algorithm is applied to preprocessed geochemical data to reduce the interference information between elements. On the basis of obtaining the separated geochemical elements, the continuity of the spatial distribution of geochemical elements is considered, and combined with the application of the total variation (TV) in image processing; thus the total variation is introduced when processing geochemical data for anomaly analysis to eliminate the influence of singular geochemical data values. To measure the spatial distribution of geochemical elements, assays of the 1:10000 soil geochemical data in the area of Dachaidan in the Qinghai province of China are processed. The elemental anomaly zoning sequences are divided into three levels of anomaly: 85%, 90% and 95%. The anomaly isograms of Au and Cu processed by FastICA and the total variation algorithm predict the geological background of the study area better than the traditional cumulative frequency method. These results indicate that the application of the FastICA algorithm and the total variation algorithm to process geochemical data processing is valid and effective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China fusion engineering test reactor is a new tokamak device, which is one design option under the consideration of the China National Integration Design Group employs superconducting magnets. The main target of this project is to build a self-sufficient fusion engineering tokamak reactor with its fusion power 50–200 MW. Toroidal field coils, center solenoid coils, and poloidal field (PF) coils, whose rated current range from 52.9 to 90 kA, produce the magnetic field for plasma generation and confinement. The core of quench protection unit is to divert the coil current into discharge resistor by using commutation technology, which should be determined by the rated current and voltage requirement of magnets. Different kinds of technologies for quench protection unit (QPU) are considered, and an advanced commutation technology composed of a mechanical bypass switch, vacuum circuit breaker (VCB), and LC commutation circuit based on artificial current zero technology has been worked out to meet the current and voltage requirement (10 kV/100 kA). To provide a faster and more reliable removal of the energy stored in those superconducting coils, this paper analyzes in detail the feasibility of a commutation scheme based on artificial current zero technology by analyzing and simulating each stage of the commutation process at such large rated current and voltage conditions. Both analysis and simulation results verified that the operating reliability of QPU can be guaranteed by this 100 kA dc commutation scheme. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

At an early stage of its foundation, new China became clear about the nature of public welfare and quickly developed medical and health services, which was well received by the World Health Organization. The marketization and the reduction of input into medical and health services from the 1980s created severe adverse consequences. After the SARS' outbreak in 2003, China started to give serious consideration to its medical and health system, and to work at developing medical and health services. The new healthcare reform launched in 2009 re-emphasizes fairness and public welfare, and China's achievements have been remarkable. Of course, there are still many problems to be solved in the reform, which also paves the way for increasing the reform in future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Perilla frutescens (L.) Britt. is a self-pollinating annual species and is widely cultivated in China, Korea and Japan as an economic crop and a source of medicine and spices. In this study, we sequenced one cultivar variety (PF98095) of P. frutescens (L.) var. frutescens Britt., which was assembled as reference and other three varieties (PF11109, weedy of var. frutescens , PF06336 and PF06353, cultivars of varieties crispa ) in order to carry out comparative expression profiling within cultivar and weedy in varieties frutescens and between varieties frutescens and varieties crispa of cultivar type in P. frutescens . Assembly of PF98095, annotation mapping, DEG (differentially expressed gene) profiling, and comparative analysis were performed. We found that more than 65% of the reads were mapped to the reference of P. frutescens gene set. Moreover, we detected 22,962 DEGs in the weedy variety compared to the cultivar, and also, 22,138 and 23,845 DEGs were identified in two cultivars according to the reference, respectively. The DEGs and functional classification were developed to analyze the differences between weedy and cultivar and between varieties frutescens and varieties crispa of Perilla . Furthermore, candidate genes for the different color and seed size of Perilla were identified that could be further investigated in future study. The herein results may play a significant role, and contribute in functional transcriptome studies of Perilla . [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The phylogenetic location of Chinese Spirometra sparganum isolates remains unclear. The aim of this study was to explore the phylogenetic location of the Spirometra sparganum isolates from China. Methods: The 28S ribosomal DNA (rDNA) D1 sequences of 14 Spirometra sparganum isolates collected from thirteen locations in China were analyzed by using Neighbor-Joining (NJ), maximum parsimony (MP) and Bayesian inference (BI), respectively. To investigate the deep variance of 28S rDNA D1 region among included species, the secondary structure of 28S rDNA D1 region was also calculated using the program RNA structure. Results: The genus Spirometra as a monophyletic group was evidenced by two inference methods (MP and BI). All sequences within the genus Spirometra had a bulge of a cytosine residue (Bulge C) in the stem 13 of the secondary structure model of 28S rRNA D1 region. Varietal sites in sequences from all thirteen Chinese isolates were appeared in loops. In loops, adenine was the most abundant base (averagely 41.9%) followed by guanine (averagely 30.0%), and cytosine (averagely 15.1%). In stems, the average percentage of G + C (58.3%) was higher than the percentage of A + T (41.7%). Conclusion: The 'Bulge C' in the stem 13 of the 28S rDNA D1 secondary structure could be as a suitable mark to identify the Spirometra species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel bacterial strain, TRM F109, was isolated from hypersaline habitat in Sichuan Province, China. It was a Gram-positive, aerobic, non-motile, halotolerant, filamentous bacterium. Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequences revealed levels of similarity of 97.0-98.4 % to the type strains of recognized species of the genus Isoptericola. Chemotaxonomic data also supported the placement of strain TRM F109 within the genus Isoptericola. The low levels of DNA-DNA relatedness between the novel strain and the type strains of recognized species of the genus Isoptericola, in combination with differential phenotypic data, demonstrate that strain TRM F109 represents a novel species of the genus Isoptericola, for which the name Isoptericola salitolerans sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is TRM F109 (=JCM 15901=KCTC 19617). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A halotolerant actinomycete strain, designated XHU 5031, was isolated from a salt lake in Xinjiang Province, northwest China. Its taxonomic status was determined using a polyphasic approach. Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequences revealed that the organism was most closely related to Myceligenerans xiligouense DSM 15700 (98.4 %), Myceligenerans halotolerans XJEEM 11063 (98.0 %) and Myceligenerans crystallogenes DSM 17134 (97.5 %). However, it had relatively low values for DNA-DNA relatedness with the above strains (46.2, 39.4 and 36.5 %, respectively). The peptidoglycan type was A4α. This organism contained glucose, mannose and galactose as the major whole cell sugars. The predominant menaquinone was MK-9(H). The major fatty acids were iso-C anteiso-C and iso-C. The polar lipids detected were diphosphatidylglycerol (DPG), phosphatidylglycerol (PG), phosphatidylinositol (PI), one unknown phospholipid (PL) and two unknown glycolipids (GL). The G+C content of genomic DNA was 71.2 mol %. Phenotypic data clearly distinguished the isolate from its closest relatives. The combined genotypic and phenotypic data indicated that the isolate XHU 5031 represented a novel species of the genus Myceligenerans. The proposed name for this organism is Myceligenerans salitolerans sp. nov., with type strain XHU 5031 (=KCTC 29128 = CCTCC AB 2012908). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Objective: There is little knowledge on whether there is clustering of inflammatory biomarkers, such as C-reactive protein (CRP), soluble intracellular adhesion molecule1-1 (sICAM-1), and angiotensin II (Ang II), in individuals with hypertension in the Mongolian population. In the present study, we investigated this relationship in a Mongolian population in China. Methods: A total of 2589 adult Mongolians, aged 20 years and older, were recruited as study participants. Data on demographics, lifestyle, family history of hypertension, blood pressure, and blood chemistry were collected, and inflammatory biomarkers were measured in all participants. Results: The proportion of subjects with increased levels of two or three biomarkers was significantly higher in those with hypertension (21.0% and 6.0%, respectively) than in those with prehypertension (12.7% and 0.5%, respectively) or normotension (8.1% and 0.2%, respectively). The multivariate adjusted odds ratios (95% confidence interval) of hypertension associated with increased levels of one, two or three biomarkers were 0.94 (0.72–1.22), 1.42 (0.93–2.16), and 11.08 (1.45–84.80), respectively, compared with subjects with no increase in any biomarker. Conclusion: Hypertension was associated with a cluster of inflammatory biomarkers in the Mongolian population. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

novel actinomycete strain, designated TRM 40133, was isolated from a hypersaline habitat of Tarim basin in Xinjiang Province, north-west China. Its taxonomic status was determined using a polyphasic approach. Phylogenetic analysis based on an almost-complete 16S rRNA gene sequence of the strain showed that it formed a well-seperated sub-branch within the radiation of the genus Saccharopolyspora. The highest levels of 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity was found between the strain TRM 40133 and Saccharopolyspora qijiaojingensis YIM 91168 (96.5%). The chemotaxonomic characteristics of the isolate are typical for the genus Saccharopolyspora. It contained meso-DAP as the diagnostic diamino acid. Whole cell hydrolysate contained arabinose, xylose, ribose and glucose. The diagnostic phospholipids were phosphatidylcholine, phosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylinositol and two unknown phospholipids. The main menaquinone was MK-9(H) and MK-9(H). No mycolic acid was detected. The predominant cellular fatty acids were iso-C and anteiso-C. The G+C content of the genomic DNA was 68.2 mol%. In addition, the strain TRM 40133 had a phenotypic profile that readily distinguished it from the recognized representatives of the genus Saccharopolyspora. The strain TRM 40133 therefore represents a novel species of the genus Saccharopolyspora, for which the name Saccharopolyspora lacisalsi sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is TRM 40133 (=KCTC 19987 =CCTCC AA 2010012). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We analyzed 546 stocks in the Singapore Stock Exchange (SGX) and 1173 stocks in the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKSE) in 2006 and 2007, to understand how financial hierarchies on these two markets change over market corrections and crashes. To do so, we introduced the digital cross correlation as a measure of the comovement tendencies between stock pairs, and also the method of partial hierarchical clustering to iteratively identify strongly-correlated clusters of stocks. From daily prices over the 2006–2007 period, we found the existence of clusters of local stocks as well as clusters of Chinese stocks traded on the two markets. We further discovered the Chinese clusters organizing into a Chinese supercluster, interacting less strongly with a supercluster dominated by local clusters. Going down to 30-minute prices within two-month overlapping time windows over 2006 and 2007, we found dips in the number of clusters before market corrections and crashes, followed by peaks in the number of clusters afterwards. On the SGX, we also found the stronger intra cluster correlation weakening, and the weaker inter cluster correlation strengthening before the February 2007 Chinese Correction. These features are in qualitative agreement with a chemical reactions picture in which clusters of stocks ‘react’ to form large superclusters of stocks that ‘dissociate’ during market crashes. Finally, on the SGX we found broad humps in the intra cluster and inter cluster correlations for the May/June 2006 market correction and the February 2007 Chinese Correction, but a sharp peak for the July 2007 Subprime Crisis. This suggests that the earlier events were endogeneous to the SGX, while the latter event was an exogeneous shock. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Investigates the prevalence of HIV-1 infection and hepatitis C virus (HCV) coinfection among injection drug users (IDU) in southern Yunnan, China. Determination of anti-HIV and hepatitis C virus antibodies; Relation between HIV infection and duration of injection drug use; Information on HIV-infected IDU; Age distribution of IDU and HIV infection.

A growing body of research indicates that phubbing can negatively influence adolescent development, it is not clear how perceived parental phubbing, adolescent phubbing, and adolescents' adjustment problems concurrently relate to each other at the dimension level. This study conducted the contemporaneous network analyses and cross-lagged network analysis to examine the distinct relationships between the various dimensions of perceived father phubbing, perceived mother phubbing, adolescent phubbing and adolescent's adjustment problems. A total of 1447 Chinese students (60.5% females; Mean age = 16.15, SD = 0.65) completed a survey at two-time points. The results of the contemporaneous network analyses indicated that perceived father/mother ignorance have the strongest links with the dimensions of adolescent phubbing and adolescents' adjustment problems, suggesting that adolescents who reported high levels of perceived father/mother ignorance are more likely to concurrently face other issues and thus should be a primary focus of concern. The cross-lagged panel network analysis revealed that academic burnout is the primary catalyst in this dynamic network, which underscores a child-driven effect within the network. This emphasizes the importance of addressing adolescent academic burnout as a pivotal intervention point, both to alleviate phubbing in parent-adolescent interactions and to tackle adolescents' adjustment problems., (© 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.)

The possible contamination routes, environmental adaptation, and genetic basis of Cronobacter spp. in infant and follow-up formula production factories and retailed products in mainland China have been determined by laboratory studies and whole-genome comparative analysis in a 7-year nationwide continuous surveillance spanning from 2012 to 2018. The 2-year continuous multicenter surveillance of the production process (conducted in 2013 and 2014) revealed that the source of Cronobacter spp. in the dry-blending process was the raw dry ingredients and manufacturing environment (particularly in the vibro sieve and vacuum cleaner), while in the combined process, the main contamination source was identified as the packing room. It is important to note that, according to the contamination control knowledge obtained from the production process surveillance, the contamination rate of retail powdered infant formula (PIF) and follow-up formula (FUF) products in China decreased significantly from 2016 onward, after improving the hygiene management practices in factories. The prevalence of Cronobacter spp. in retailed PIF and FUF in China in 2018 was dramatically reduced from 1.55 % (61/3925, in 2012) to an average as low as 0.17 % (13/7655 in 2018). Phenotype determination and genomic analysis were performed on a total of 90 Cronobacter spp. isolates obtained from the surveillance. Of the 90 isolates, only two showed resistance to either cefazolin or cefoxitin. The multilocus sequence typing results revealed that C. sakazakii sequence type 1 (ST1), ST37, and C. malonaticus ST7 were the dominant sequence types (STs) collected from the production factories, while C. sakazakii ST1, ST4, ST64, and ST8 were the main STs detected in the retailed PIF and FUF nationwide. One C. sakazakii ST4 isolate (1.1 %, 1/90) had strong biofilm-forming ability and 13 isolates (14.4 %, 13/90) had weak biofilm-forming ability. Genomic analysis revealed that Cronobacter spp. have a relatively stable core-genome and an increasing pan-genome size. Plasmid IncFIB (pCTU3) was prevalent in this genus and some contained 14 antibacterial biocide- and metal-resistance genes (BMRGs) including copper, silver, and arsenic resistant genes. Plasmid IncN&#95;1 was predicted to contain 6 ARGs. This is the first time that a multi-drug resistance IncN&#95;1 type plasmid has been reported in Cronobacter spp. Genomic variations with respect to BMRGs, virulence genes, antimicrobial resistance genes (ARGs), and genes involved in biofilm formation were observed among strains of this genus. There were apparent differences in copies of bcsG and flgJ between the biofilm-forming group and non-biofilm-forming group, indicating that these two genes play key roles in biofilm formation. The findings of this study have improved our understanding of the contamination characteristics and genetic basis of Cronobacter spp. in PIF and FUF and their production environment in China and provide important guidance to reduce contamination with this pathogen during the production of PIF and FUF., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Problematic internet use (PIU) and depression usually co-occur and are common among college students. According to network theory, it may be attributed to the interplay of symptoms that connect these two mental health problems. However, most studies have failed to examine complex and subtle connections at the symptom level and have not clarified how PIU and depression symptoms are intercorrelated, which symptoms serve as the source of comorbidity (i.e., the central symptoms), and whether such a comorbidity mechanism would change with higher grades. To explore these questions, this study examined four contemporaneous networks and three cross-lagged panel networks, visualizing the symptoms as nodes and the connections between symptoms as edges. A total of 2,420 college students (M age  = 18.35, SD = 0.84; 67.98 % girls) completed four annual surveys. Overall, the results of contemporaneous networks and cross-lagged panel networks indicated that (a) PIU and depression symptoms are intercorrelated; (b) the core symptoms responsible for comorbidity mostly belonged to PIU, and (c) the comorbidity mechanism would change with time. These findings explain the dynamic relation between PIU and depression and identify possible primary symptoms that comorbidity programs can mitigate at different stages of the college years., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

In China, Salmonella is one of the most frequent causes of bacterial gastroenteritis, and food handlers in restaurants as an important contaminated source were rarely reported. In May 2023, an outbreak of Salmonella enterica serovar Enteritidis infection in a restaurant in Jiangxi Province, China, was investigated. Cases were interviewed. Stool samples from cases, anal swabs from restaurant employees, suspicious raw food materials, and semifinished food were collected and examined. Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) and whole genome sequencing (WGS) were performed to determine the relatedness of the pathogen isolates. Antimicrobial resistance genes and virulence genes of isolates were analyzed by WGS. The antimicrobial profile of the isolates was detected by broth microdilution, which involved 20 different antibiotics. Among the 31 patrons, 26 showed gastrointestinal symptoms. Five Salmonella Enteritidis strains were isolated from patients (2), semifinished food (2), and food handler (1). The results of PFGE and single-nucleotide polymorphism showed that these five isolates were identical clones. These findings demonstrated that this outbreak was a restaurant Salmonella Enteritidis outbreak associated with an infected food handler. The rates of resistance to nalidixic acid and colistin and intermediate resistance to ciprofloxacin were 100%, 80%, and 100%, respectively. These outbreak isolates harbored point mutation gyrA p.D87G. The cause of inconsistency between the genotype and phenotype of resistance was deeply discussed. A total of 107 virulence genes were found in each isolate, with many being associated with Salmonella pathogenicity island (SPI)-1 and SPI-2. As an overlooked contamination source, infected food handlers can easily cause large-scale outbreaks. This outbreak highlighted that the government should enhance the training and supervision of food hygiene and safety for food handlers to prevent foodborne outbreaks.

Background: Psychopathy is closely related to many negative interpersonal outcomes in daily life, including violence. Therefore, psychopathy intervention in subclinical individuals has significant application value., Objective: Guided by the personality-relationship transaction model and social investment theory, this study examined how marital quality affects self- and partner-rated psychopathy. We also used the actor-partner interdependence mediation model to explore the mediating effect of communication., Methods: We examined self-reports and partner reports of psychopathy, marital quality, and communication among 260 married Chinese couples., Results: The results indicated that marital quality directly influenced couples' self-rated psychopathy, with both actor and partner effects on husbands' psychopathy and actor effects on wives' psychopathy. Moreover, verbal communication had mediating effects at time 2 between marital quality at time 1 and partner-reported psychopathy at time 3. Meanwhile, the mediating effect of nonverbal communication was not significant., Conclusion: Our investigation of relationship effects on psychopathy revealed that the underlying mechanisms differed between self- and partner-rated psychopathy. The findings can highlight directions for exploring potential intervention strategies for subclinical psychopathy., (© 2023 Wiley Periodicals LLC.)

Adolescence is a significant period for the formation of relationship networks and the development of internalizing problems. With a sample of Chinese adolescents ( N = 3,834, 52.01% girls, M age = 16.68 at Wave 1), the present study aimed to identify the configuration of adolescents' relationship qualities from four important domains (i.e., relationship quality with mother, father, peers, and teachers) and how distinct profiles were associated with the development of internalizing problems (indicated by depressive and anxiety symptoms) across high school years. Latent profile analysis identified a five-profile configuration with four convergent profiles (i.e., relationship qualities with others were generally good or bad) and one "Father estrangement" profile (i.e., the relationship quality with others were relatively good but that with father was particularly poor). Further conditional latent growth curve analysis indicated the "Father estrangement" profile was especially vulnerable to an increase in the internalizing problems as compared with other relationship profiles. This study contributes to understanding the characteristics of interpersonal relationship qualities and their influences on adolescent internalizing problems in a non-Western context. Results were further discussed from a culturally specific perspective.

Several groups of bacteria have complex life cycles involving cellular differentiation and multicellular structures. For example, actinobacteria of the genus Streptomyces form multicellular vegetative hyphae, aerial hyphae, and spores. However, similar life cycles have not yet been described for archaea. Here, we show that several haloarchaea of the family Halobacteriaceae display a life cycle resembling that of Streptomyces bacteria. Strain YIM 93972 (isolated from a salt marsh) undergoes cellular differentiation into mycelia and spores. Other closely related strains are also able to form mycelia, and comparative genomic analyses point to gene signatures (apparent gain or loss of certain genes) that are shared by members of this clade within the Halobacteriaceae. Genomic, transcriptomic and proteomic analyses of non-differentiating mutants suggest that a Cdc48-family ATPase might be involved in cellular differentiation in strain YIM 93972. Additionally, a gene encoding a putative oligopeptide transporter from YIM 93972 can restore the ability to form hyphae in a Streptomyces coelicolor mutant that carries a deletion in a homologous gene cluster (bldKA-bldKE), suggesting functional equivalence. We propose strain YIM 93972 as representative of a new species in a new genus within the family Halobacteriaceae, for which the name Actinoarchaeum halophilum gen. nov., sp. nov. is herewith proposed. Our demonstration of a complex life cycle in a group of haloarchaea adds a new dimension to our understanding of the biological diversity and environmental adaptation of archaea., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

A novel bacterium, XHU 5135 T , belonging to the genus Aidingimonas , was isolated from a salt lake sample collected in Xinjiang Province, north-west PR China. The isolate was Gram-stain-negative, rod-shaped and non-motile. The strain was catalase-positive and oxidase-negative. Growth occurred at NaCl concentrations of 5-25 % (optimum, 10-13 %), at 13-41 °C (35-37 °C) and at pH 6.0-10.0 (pH 7.0-8.0). The predominant ubiquinone was Q-9. The major fatty acids were C 19 : 0 cyclo ω 8 c and C 16 : 0 . The G+C content of the genomic DNA was 58.1 mol%. The affiliation of strain XHU 5135 T with the genus Aidingimonas was confirmed by 16S rRNA gene sequence comparisons. The closest type strain was Aidingimonas halophile YIM 90637 T , which showed a 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity of 97.5 %. The ANI value between XHU 5135 T and the closest type strain was 80.01 %. The estimated digital DNA-DNA hybridization estimate value between strain XHU 5135 T and the closest type strain was 22.80 %. Phenotypically, the characteristics of XHU 5135 T were shown to differ from the most closely related species, A. halophila . On the basis of the data from this polyphasic study, strain XHU 5135 T represents a novel species of the genus Aidingimonas , for which the name Aidingimonas lacisalsi sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is strain XHU 5135 T (=CCTCC AB 2016344 T =KCTC 42945 T =DSM 104700 T ).

Aims/introduction: Indian individuals are more insulin resistant (IR) than Chinese individuals, even among those with a non-obese body mass index (BMI). However, BMI often underestimates body fat in Indian individuals, and it remains unclear whether Indians would remain more IR than Chinese individuals when both BMI and body fat are equally matched., Materials and Methods: Using the hyperinsulinemic-euglycemic clamp with stable-isotope infusion, we comprehensively assessed IR between 13 non-obese Indian men with 13 Chinese men matched for age, BMI and body fat. We further compared the differences in insulin metabolic clearance rate (MCR) between the two groups and its relationship with various metabolic parameters. The response of lipid and amino acid metabolism to insulin stimulation was also evaluated using metabolomic profiling., Results: The rates of endogenous glucose production during fasting were similar, and endogenous glucose production was completely suppressed during insulin clamp for both ethnic groups. Glucose disappearance during insulin clamp was also similar between the two groups, even after accounting for differences in insulin concentration. Metabolomic profiles of amino acids and various acylcarnitines were similar during both fasting and insulin clamp. However, plasma insulin during clamp was significantly higher in Indian men, indicating that insulin MCR was lower. Insulin MCR correlated significantly with total adiposity and skeletal muscle insulin sensitivity., Conclusion: When equally matched for body fat, non-obese Indian men had similar skeletal muscle insulin sensitivity and endogenous glucose production to Chinese men. The effects of insulin on lipid and amino acid metabolism were also similar. Low insulin MCR is associated with greater adiposity and lower skeletal muscle insulin sensitivity., (© 2018 The Authors. Journal of Diabetes Investigation published by Asian Association for the Study of Diabetes (AASD) and John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.)

We examined the mediating roles of communication and marital affect in the association between marital quality and neuroticism. Guided by the social investment theory and the personality-relationship transactions model, we tested the actor-partner interdependence mediation model to examine the associations among the variables. Participants were 268 Chinese newlywed couples who were a maximum of 3 years into their first marriage. The path model indicated that, first, both spouses' marital quality at Time 1 was related with their own neuroticism at Time 3 after controlling for confounding variables. However, after controlling for neuroticism at Time 1, husbands' marital quality was not directly associated with their own neuroticism. Second, for wives, communication and marital affect at Time 2 fully mediated the association between marital quality and neuroticism. Conversely, for husbands, the multiple specific indirect effects were not significant. These findings suggest that communication and marital affect are mediators underlying the association between marital quality and neuroticism. Moreover, the potential mechanisms underlying the relationship effects differ between husbands and wives. The implications and future directions of these results were discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

This study aimed to estimate the prevalence of and identify the factors influencing female sexual dysfunction (FSD) among Chinese nurses. A cross-sectional survey was conducted from March 2013 to May 2014 among 6 hospitals in Suzhou, China. In total, 2,030 married female nurses were included in the analysis. Data on the sociodemographic, lifestyle, and self-reported health status of the participants were collected, and the participants were asked to complete the Chinese version of the 19-item Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI) questionnaire. In total, 1,035 (50.99%) participants were found to have FSD. Logistic regression analysis showed that increasing age and higher body mass index, lower salary, and poor/very poor self-reported health status were risk factors for FSD; however, regular social activity and physical exercise were protective factors for FSD. The findings of this study suggest that further interventional studies are warranted to study the sexual health among Chinese nurses in detail., (Copyright © 2017 The Editorial Board of Biomedical and Environmental Sciences. Published by China CDC. All rights reserved.)

Murine norovirus (MNV) was first found as a surrogate for human norovirus study. However, MNV infection was mostly prevalent in laboratory mice, and its immunomodulatory properties may affect the outcome of animal experiments. MNV surveillance had been performed in Europe, North America and some other countries, but not in China. Nowadays, the complete MNV virions had been used as antigen in MNV serological detection. However, the complexity in the preparation of virions might affect the antigen stability, and the virulence recovery of virion antigen had also been detected. In this study, the caspid VP1 protein was proved to be the mostly predominant antigen in MNV virions. An ELISA method using the recombination VP1 as antigen was developed (rVP1 ELISA). The rVP1 ELISA is more sensitive and less specific than the MNV virion-derived IFA method. To address the prevalence of MNV in China, a totally 600 mouse serum samples from Beijing area were tested by rVP1 ELISA and confirmed by IFA and WB. The MNV infection rate was 11.67%, but most of the MNV-positive samples were from experimental facilities (MNV rate=30.94%), not from commercial vendors (MNV rate=0.27%). Collectively, a sensitive rVP1 ELISA was developed in the current study, and the MNV investigation by rVP1 ELISA showed that MNV infection was mostly prevalent in the laboratory mice, especially the mice from experimental facilities in Beijing area in China., (Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

A novel halophilic, filamentous actinomycete, designated TRM 4064(T), was isolated from a hypersaline habitat in Sichuan Province, China. Phylogenetic analysis based on an almost-complete 16S rRNA gene sequence of strain TRM 4064(T) showed that it was most closely related to Actinopolyspora mortivallis (99.1 % sequence similarity). The sequence similarities between strain TRM 4064(T) and other Actinopolyspora species with validly-published names were <97.0 %. However, it had relatively low mean values for DNA-DNA relatedness with the A. mortivallis DSM 44261(T) (23.2 %). Optimal growth occurred at 37 °C, pH 7.0 and in the presence of 13 % (w/v) NaCl. The whole-cell sugar pattern consists of xylose, glucose, ribose and arabinose. The predominant menaquinones are MK-10(H4) (38.2 %), MK-9(H4) (25.1 %), MK-9(H2) (28.6 %) and MK-8(H4) (7.3 %). The major fatty acids are anteiso-C17:0 (36.9 %) and iso-C17:0 (19.3 %). The diagnostic phospholipids detected were diphosphatidylglycerol (DPG), phosphatidylglycerol (PG), phosphatidylcholine (PC), phosphatidylinositol (PI) and two unknown phospholipids. The G+C content of the genomic DNA of the type strain is 66.3 mol%. Strain TRM 4064(T) therefore represents a novel species of the genus Actinopolyspora, for which the name Actinopolyspora dayingensis sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is TRM 4064(T) (= KCTC 19979(T) = CCTCC AA 2010010(T)).

Twenty-four endophytic actinomycetes strains were isolated from the Salvia przewalskii in Tibetan Plateau of China by tablet coating method. Fusarium moniliforme, Helminthosporium turcicum and Bipolaris maydis were selected as indicator fungi to test the antimicrobial activities of these endophytic actinomycetes by tablet confrontation method. The results showed that 21 strains can produce antimicrobial substances which accounts for 85.7% of the total separates number. Four strains of endogenous actinomyces have more obvious antifungi activity. According to results of morphology and culture properties and 16S rDNA sequences of endophytic actinomyces, it is concluded that all of the isolates were streptomycetes trains.

A novel halophilic, filamentous actinobacterium, designated strain TRM 40139(T), was isolated from a hypersaline habitat in Xinjiang Province, north-west China. Its taxonomic status was determined using a polyphasic approach. Phylogenetic analysis based on the almost-complete 16S rRNA gene sequence of the strain showed that it formed a well-separated sub-branch within the radiation of the genus Actinopolyspora and the organism was related most closely to the type strains of Actinopolyspora alba (97.6 % similarity), Actinopolyspora xinjiangensis (97.6 %) and Actinopolyspora erythraea (97.1 %). However, it had relatively lower mean DNA-DNA relatedness values with the above strains (36.4, 31.3 and 26.1 %, respectively). Optimal growth occurred at 35 °C, at pH 7.0 and in the presence of 12 % (w/v) NaCl. The whole-cell sugar pattern consisted of xylose, glucose, ribose and arabinose. The major fatty acids were iso-C16 : 0 (28.0 %) and anteiso-C17 : 0 (27.6 %). The diagnostic phospholipids detected were diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylcholine, phosphatidylinositol and two unknown phospholipids. The predominant menaquinones were MK-9(H4) (49.8 %) and MK-10(H4) (24.2 %). The G+C content of the genomic DNA was 66.4 mol%. Strain TRM 40139(T) therefore represents a novel species of the genus Actinopolyspora, for which the name Actinopolyspora lacussalsi sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is TRM 40139(T) (= KCTC 19657(T) = CCTCC AA 2012020(T)).

A novel filamentous actinomycete strain, designated TRM 46004(T), was isolated from sediment of Aiding Lake in Tulufan Basin (42° 64' N 89° 26' E), north-west China. The isolate was characterized using a polyphasic approach. The isolate formed abundant aerial mycelium with few branches and vegetative mycelium, occasionally twisted and coiled; spherical sporangia containing one to several spherical spores developed at the ends of short sporangiophores on aerial mycelium. The G+C content of the DNA was 65.2 mol%. The isolate contained meso-diaminopimelic acid as the diagnostic diamino acid and xylose, galactose and ribose as the major whole-cell sugars. The diagnostic phospholipids were phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylcholine and phosphatidylglycerol. The predominant menaquinones were MK-9(H4), MK-9(H6) and MK-9(H10). The major fatty acids were iso-C16 : 0 and anteiso-C17 : 0. Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequences indicated that strain TRM 46004(T) formed a distinct lineage within the family Pseudonocardiaceae and showed 91.7-96.1 % 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity with members of the family Pseudonocardiaceae. On the basis of the evidence from this polyphasic study, a novel genus and species, Longimycelium tulufanense gen. nov., sp. nov., are proposed. The type strain of Longimycelium tulufanense is TRM 46004(T) (= CGMCC 4.5737(T) = NBRC 107726(T)).

Objective: To explore the association between quality of sleep and quality of life among residents of Suzhou city., Methods: A total of 3225 residents at the age of 18 - 55 years old in Suzhou city were selected through a clustered sampling method. All the participants were comprehensively evaluated on their quality of sleep by Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) and on their quality of life (QOL) by SF-36 quality of life scale. Partial canonical correlation analysis was performed., Results: Negative relationships were noticed between all the dimensions of sleep quality white all the QOL domains remained significant when the confounding effect of age, gender, marital status, occupation and cultural level were adjusted. The first pair of canonical correlation variances showed statistically significant differences, with 0.7978 of canonical correlation coefficient, 1.7505 of eigenvalue, and 92.43% of proportion. Data on daytime dysfunction, sleep disturbances and subjective sleep quality were inversely associated with factors as vitality, general health perceptions and mental health, respectively, after controlling for covariates. The inverse relationship between the quality of sleep and the quality of life mainly manifested the following aspects: the association between the status of daytime dysfunction, sleep disturbances, subjective quality of sleep and vitality, general health perceptions and mental health., Conclusion: Quality of sleep had influenced the quality of life, overall health and mental health. Daytime dysfunction, sleep disturbances and subjective sleep quality seemed the main factors in Suzhou city. Intervention programs related to improving the sleep need to be popularized among the residents, so as to make the quality of life better.

Objective: To study the overweight and obesity situation among Mongolian ethnic children and adolescents in the last 25 years and to provide a basis on related prevention and control measures., Methods: A cross-sectional study was used, with 18 366 aged 7 to 18 Mongolian ethnic children and adolescents involved. Surveys on their physical health, in 1985, 2000 and 2010 were carried out. Comparison on the mean of BMI and the prevalence rates of overweight and obesity in different years, genders, location of residence (urban or rural) was also made., Results: Over the past 25 years, among the aged 7 to 18 Mongolian ethnic children and adolescents, the overall trend on their means of BMI was increasing. The prevalence rates of overweight and obesity in Mongolian ethnic children and adolescents were 2.1%, 0.5% in 1985, and 6.3%, 2.4% in 2000, with an increase of 2 to 4 times during the last 15 years. The prevalence rates of overweight and obesity were substantially increasing in the year 2010, to have reached 9.1% and 6.6%, which were 4 to 12 times of the figures in 1985. The detection rates of overweight and obesity in urban boys were 1.2%, 0 in 1985, 7.9%, 3.4% in 2000 and 11.0%, 11.8% in 2010. However, the rate of obesity in the rural boys were 0.6% and 0.6% in 1985, 2.8%, 2.1% in 2000 and 9.0%, 3.4% in 2010. In 1985 the rates of overweight and obesity in urban girls were 1.8%, 0.3%, 8.1%, 4.3% in 2000 and 9.4%, 8.4% in 2010. However, among the rural girls, the prevalence rates of overweight and obesity prevalence was 8.8%, 2.2% in 1985, 4.5%, 0.9%, in 2000 and 10.2%, 4.5% in 2010. The rates of overweight and obesity among groups in different years showed significant differences (P < 0.05)., Conclusion: Over the past 25 years, the prevalence rates on overweight and obesity increased significantly in Mongolian ethnic children and adolescents, and continued to rise, which called for reasonable and effective measures to be taken to prevent and control the occurrence of the problem.

A novel actinomycete strain, designated TRM F103(T), was isolated from a hypersaline habitat of the Tarim basin in Xinjiang province, north-west China. Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequences showed that the isolate belonged to the genus Amycolatopsis and was most closely related to Amycolatopsis halophila YIM 93223(T) (99.3% 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity). However, DNA-DNA relatedness between these two strains, based on triplicate experiments, was only 31.6%. The isolate contained meso-diaminopimelic acid and ribose, glucose and galactose as the major whole-cell sugars. The predominant menaquinone was MK-8(H(4)). The major fatty acids were iso-C(16:0) and C(16:0). The polar lipids were diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylmethylethanolamine, phosphatidylethanolamine and glucosamine-containing phospholipids. The G+C content of the genomic DNA was 66.4 mol%. The phenotypic data clearly distinguished the isolate from its closest relatives. The combined phylogenetic, chemotaxonomic and phenotypic data indicate that the isolate represents a novel species of the genus Amycolatopsis. The proposed name is Amycolatopsis salitolerans sp. nov., with TRM F103(T) (=JCM 15899(T)=CCTCC AB 208326(T)) as the type strain.

A novel actinomycete strain, designated TRM 40137(T), was isolated from a hypersaline habitat in Xinjiang Province, north-west China, and subjected to a polyphasic taxonomic study. The strain was aerobic, Gram-positive and the optimum NaCl concentration for growth was 4-5% (w/v). Phylogenetic analysis showed that strain TRM 40137(T) has a 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity of 95.02% with the described species Glycomyces sambucus E71(T) and can be distinguished from all previously described representatives of the genus Glycomyces. The whole-cell sugar pattern consisted of xylose and galactose. The predominant menaquinone was MK-10(H(2)) and the major fatty acids were anteiso-C15:0 and anteiso-C17:0. The phospholipid pattern consists of phosphatidylglycerol, diphosphatidylglycerol, three unknown aminophospholipids and two unknown phospholipids. The G+C content of the genomic DNA was 68.8 mol%. A novel species Glycomyces halotolerans sp. nov. is proposed, with strain TRM 40137(T) (=CCTCC AA 2010013(T) = KCTC 19988(T)) as the type strain of G. halotolerans.

A novel actinomycete strain, designated TRM 40133(T), was isolated from a hypersaline habitat of Tarim basin in Xinjiang Province, north-west China. Its taxonomic status was determined using a polyphasic approach. Phylogenetic analysis based on an almost-complete 16S rRNA gene sequence of the strain showed that it formed a well-seperated sub-branch within the radiation of the genus Saccharopolyspora. The highest levels of 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity was found between the strain TRM 40133(T) and Saccharopolyspora qijiaojingensis YIM 91168(T) (96.5%). The chemotaxonomic characteristics of the isolate are typical for the genus Saccharopolyspora. It contained meso-DAP as the diagnostic diamino acid. Whole cell hydrolysate contained arabinose, xylose, ribose and glucose. The diagnostic phospholipids were phosphatidylcholine, phosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylinositol and two unknown phospholipids. The main menaquinone was MK-9(H(6)) and MK-9(H(4)). No mycolic acid was detected. The predominant cellular fatty acids were iso-C(16:0) and anteiso-C(17:0). The G+C content of the genomic DNA was 68.2 mol%. In addition, the strain TRM 40133(T) had a phenotypic profile that readily distinguished it from the recognized representatives of the genus Saccharopolyspora. The strain TRM 40133(T) therefore represents a novel species of the genus Saccharopolyspora, for which the name Saccharopolyspora lacisalsi sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is TRM 40133(T) (=KCTC 19987(T) =CCTCC AA 2010012(T)).

Background: In Indian rhesus macaques, the major histocompatibility complex Mamu gene, especially the Mamu-A*01 allele, plays an important role in simian immunodeficiency virus susceptibility and disease progression. The Mamu-A*01 allele is one of the protective genes mostly being studied in simian acquired immunodeficiency syndrome., Methods: PCR was used to amplify the Mamu-A*01 allele in 130 Chinese-origin rhesus macaques. Identification of the allele was then confirmed by sequencing and IFN-γ ELISPOT assay., Results: The Mamu-A*01 allele was detected in 3.85% (5 of 130) of the experimental Chinese-origin rhesus macaques. The sequence homology reached 99.1% in comparison with Indian rhesus macaques. A significantly large number of spots were observed in Mamu-A*01-positive monkeys when analyzed by ELISPOT with Gag181-189 epitope stimulation., Conclusions: Our study suggests that Mamu-A*01-positive Chinese-origin rhesus monkeys are suitable for use in AIDS studies., (© 2010 John Wiley & Sons A/S.)

The present study aimed to explore gene-gene and gene-environment interactions among three candidate genes and several environmental risk factors, and their impacts on hypertension in Chinese Mongolian population. A cross-sectional study was conducted in 2003-2004 among 1,575 Mongolian people in Tongliao City of Inner Mongolia, China. Epidemiologic and clinical data and blood samples were obtained from subjects. Multifactor dimensionality reduction (MDR) and logistic regression were used to analyze gene-gene and gene-environment interactions. The MDR model indicated a significant interactions among the CYP11B2 gene C(-344)T polymorphism, body mass index, age, and alcohol consumption on the risk of hypertension, with a cross-validation consistency of 10 of 10 and a prediction error of 34% (P < 0.001). Logistic regression suggested alcohol consumption (≥200 g/d) was associated with an OR of 2.4 (95% CI, 1.6-3.5) for hypertension. When stratified by the CYP11B2 genotype, the estimated OR was 1.2 (95% CI, 0.5-3.0) on hypertension for the CC genotype group, but was 3.0 (95% CI, 1.5-5.7) and 2.9 (95% CI, 1.4-5.7) for the TC and TT genotype groups, respectively. A significant interaction between the CYP11B2 genotype and alcohol consumption was also found by the logistic models (P (crude) = 0.035, P (adjusted) = 0.048). This study demonstrates a significant interaction between the CYP11B2 genotype and alcohol consumption on the risk of hypertension in Chinese Mongolian population.

Objective: To explore the relationship between the -344T/C polymorphism of aldosterone synthase (CYP11B2) gene and essential hypertension in Chinese Mongolian population., Methods: By cluster-sampling method, a total of 1575 Mongolian people in Tongliao city of Inner Mongolia were included in this study. And 417 subjects were normotension, 596 subjects were prehypertension and 562 subjects were essential hypertension. A survey was conducted to collect data by personal interview using a standard questionnaire, meanwhile fasting blood samples were drawn. Height, weight, waist circumference, blood pressure, blood-fat indexes and fasting plasma glucose were measured. The variant genotypes of CYP11B2 were identified by PCR assays. The relationship between the -344T/C polymorphism of CYP11B2 gene and essential hypertension were analyzed by multinomial logistic regression model., Results: Crude prevalence of prehypertension among Mongolian people was 37.84% (596/1575) and hypertension was 35.68% (562/1575). The age-standardized prevalence of prehypertension was 38.57% and hypertension was 31.53%. The frequency of the T and C allele was 0.66 (481/728) and 0.34 (247/728) for normotension group, 0.69 (696/1042) and 0.33 (346/1042) for prehypertension group, 0.71 (706/998) and 0.29 (292/998) for hypertension group. The multiple logistic models showed CYP11B2 variant genotypes were associated with prehypertension (TT/CC, OR = 1.33, 95%CI: 0.87 - 2.01; TC/CC, OR = 1.74, 95%CI: 1.13 - 2.67; TC + TT/CC, OR = 1.49, 95%CI: 1.01 - 2.22); CYP11B2 variant genotypes were associated with hypertension (TT/CC, OR = 1.70, 95%CI: 1.07 - 2.70; TC/CC, OR = 1.59, 95%CI: 0.98 - 2.50; TC + TT/CC, OR = 1.66, 95%CI: 1.06 - 2.58)., Conclusion: CYP11B2 gene -344T/C polymorphism were associated with essential hypertension in Chinese Mongolian population.

A novel halophilic actinomycete, designated strain YIM 93223(T), was isolated from a salt lake in Xinjiang Province, north-west China, and was subjected to a polyphasic taxonomic study. The isolate grew at 25-45 degrees C, at pH 6-8 and in the presence of 1-15 % (w/v) NaCl; no growth was observed in the absence of NaCl. Strain YIM 93223(T) contained meso-diaminopimelic acid, glutamic acid and alanine as cell-wall amino acids, and glucose and galactose as major whole-cell-wall sugars. Major fatty acids were iso-C(16 : 0), C(16 : 0) and C(16 : 1)omega7c/iso-C(15 : 0) 2-OH. MK-8(H(4)) was the predominant menaquinone. The genomic DNA G+C content was 66.1 mol%. Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequences showed that strain YIM 93223(T) belongs to the genus Amycolatopsis. It shared highest 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity with Amycolatopsis palatopharyngis 1BDZ(T) (96.6 %) and Amycolatopsis marina Ms392A(T) (96.4 %), but lower values (94.5-96.2 %) with the type strains of other recognized species of the genus Amycolatopsis. On the basis of the data from this polyphasic study, strain YIM 93223(T) is considered to represent a novel species of the genus Amycolatopsis, for which the name Amycolatopsis halophila sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is YIM 93223(T) (=DSM 45216(T) =KCTC 19403(T)).

A novel bacterium, TRM 0175(T), belonging to the genus Halomonas, was isolated from a soil sample taken from a salt lake in Xinjiang Province, north-west China. The isolate was Gram-negative, aerobic, rod-shaped and motile by means of peritrichous flagella. It was catalase-positive and oxidase-negative. Growth occurred at NaCl concentrations of 0-20 % (optimum at 10-13 %), at 15-50 degrees C (optimum at 37 degrees C) and at pH 6.0-9.0 (optimum at pH 7.0). Metabolism was respiratory with oxygen as terminal electron acceptor. Acid was produced from D-ribose, D- and L-arabinose, D-xylose, D-galactose, D-mannose, L-rhamnose, cellobiose, maltose, trehalose and D- and L-fucose and was produced weakly from aesculin. The predominant ubiquinone was Q-9. The major fatty acids were C(18 : 1)omega7c and C(19 : 0) cyclo omega8c. The G+C content of the genomic DNA was 60.0 mol%. The affiliation of strain TRM 0175(T) with the genus Halomonas was confirmed by 16S rRNA gene sequence comparisons. The most closely related species was Halomonas anticariensis; 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity between H. anticariensis FP35(T) and strain TRM 0175(T) was 95.3 %. Phenotypically, some characteristics of TRM 0175(T) differed from those of H. anticariensis. On the basis of data from this polyphasic study, strain TRM 0175(T) represents a novel species of the genus Halomonas, for which the name Halomonas xinjiangensis sp. nov. is proposed; the type strain is TRM 0175(T) (=CCTCC AB 208329(T) =KCTC 22608(T)).

Objective: To explore the interaction between C (-344) T polymorphism of CYP11B2 and drinking index (DI) as well as their impact on the risk of hypertension in Chinese Mongolian population., Methods: A total of 1575 Mongolian people aged 20 and older including 562 hypertensive and 1013 normal-tensive from agricultural and pastoral areas in Tongliao city of Inner Mongolia, were included in this study. A cross-sectional survey was conducted to collect data by personal interview with local residents, using a standard questionnaire. Fasting blood samples were drawn and height, weight and blood pressure were measured. The variant genotypes of CYP11B2, ACE and eNOS were identified by PCR assays. Gene-environment interactions were analyzed, using multifactor dimensionality reduction (MDR) model. Based on the result of the best MDR model, a multiple logistic regression model was constructed as the final cause-effect interpretative model., Results: The interaction between CYP11B2 variant genotype and drinking index appeared the best MDR model with statistical significance (chi(2) = 66.35, P < 0.01). Testing balance accuracy of the model was 0.604. The cross-validation consistency was 10/10. Data from the final multiple logistic regression based on the MDR model showed that the main effects of both CYP11B2 variant genotype and the DI were not significantly different but the interaction between the genotype (TC) and the DI (90-) was, with regard to hypertension (OR, 10.25; 95%CI, 2.23 - 47.18; P = 0.003). The combined effects between CYP11B2 variant genotype and the DI showed that following indices as: genotype TT or TC combining non-zero drinking index, including genotype (TT) combining the drinking index (> or = 168), the genotype (TT) combining the drinking index (> or = 40), the genotype (TT) combining the drinking index (> or = 1) and the genotype (TC) combining the drinking index (> or = 90), were all risk factors of hypertension when comparing with genotype (CC) combining the drinking index (0), and the ORs (95%CI) appeared to be 2.07 (1.15 - 3.70), 2.35 (1.22 - 4.56), 2.05 (1.07 - 3.94) and 5.56 (2.54 - 12.18) respectively., Conclusion: Essential hypertension might positively be affected by the interaction of the C (-344) T polymorphism of CYP11B2 and the drinking index in Chinese Mongolian population.