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An important breakthrough in the coordinated development of China's low-carbon goals and food security strategies is agricultural development oriented toward quality, safety, green, and low carbon. This study integrated command-control and market-incentive environmental regulation (ER), agricultural eco-efficiency (ACEE), and food quality and safety (FQS) into a unified theoretical framework. The unexpected output-oriented Super-SBM model was used to calculate the ACEE of China's provinces and cities from 2011 to 2020 and test the bidirectional causality between ACEE and FQS through the system generalized moment estimation model. A dynamic panel smooth transition (PSTR) model was used to explore the nonlinear impact mechanisms of different types of ERs on ACEE and FQS. The results showed that there was a long-term, two-way causal relationship between ACEE and FQS. The impact of environmental regulations on ACEE and FQS has a nonlinear relationship. Among them, the role of market-incentivized ER is more significant. Therefore, building an interregional coordinated development mechanism, improving the utilization rate of agricultural resources such as fertilizers and pesticides, and coordinating the positive effects of different types of ERs are the keys to improving the ACEE and ensuring the coordinated development of FQS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China had conducted some of the most stringent public health measures to control the spread of successive SARS-CoV-2 variants. However, the effectiveness of these measures and their impacts on the associated disease burden have rarely been quantitatively assessed at the national level. To address this gap, we developed a stochastic age-stratified metapopulation model that incorporates testing, contact tracing and isolation, based on 419 million travel movements among 366 Chinese cities. The study period for this model began from September 2022. The COVID-19 disease burden was evaluated, considering 8 types of underlying health conditions in the Chinese population. We identified the marginal effects between the testing speed and reduction in the epidemic duration. The findings suggest that assuming a vaccine coverage of 89%, the Omicron-like wave could be suppressed by 3-day interval population-level testing (PLT), while it would become endemic with 4-day interval PLT, and without testing, it would result in an epidemic. PLT conducted every 3 days would not only eliminate infections but also keep hospital bed occupancy at less than 29.46% (95% CI, 22.73–38.68%) of capacity for respiratory illness and ICU bed occupancy at less than 58.94% (95% CI, 45.70–76.90%) during an outbreak. Furthermore, the underlying health conditions would lead to an extra 2.35 (95% CI, 1.89–2.92) million hospital admissions and 0.16 (95% CI, 0.13–0.2) million ICU admissions. Our study provides insights into health preparedness to balance the disease burden and sustainability for a country with a population of billions. Author summary: As China continues to be challenged by successive SARS-CoV-2 variants, rethinking population health, broader than health-care system alone, is a prerequisite for health preparedness. China has introduced several changes to its public health measures in response to evolving pandemic risk, however, the effectiveness of public health measures in controlling COVID-19 outbreaks in China and their impacts on the associated disease burden have not been quantitatively assessed at the national level. Here, we developed a stochastic age-stratified metapopulation model based on high resolution human mobility data to address these questions. Our results suggest that there's marginal effects between the testing speed and reduction in the epidemic duration. With a rapid implementation of population-level testing and a short response lag would be critical if aiming at suppression of potential future SARS-CoV-2 waves in China. Furthermore, the underlying health conditions would lead to extra hospital admissions and ICU admissions, where obesity is expected to contribute to most extra hospital admissions, while hypertension could contribute to most extra ICU admissions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• GHG emissions of rice supply chain at provincial level of China was accounted. • Emissions from rice supply chain decline due to reducing agriculture inputs. • Key emission paths came from agricultural and downstream sectors in the major rice producing areas. • The Northeast China Plain faces a high emission risk from inter-regional rice transfers. • Results can serve for building sustainable food systems and supply chain management. Affected by climate change, food systems face enormous challenges of mismatch between competition for resources and nutritional demands. More than one third of food system emissions come from pre- and post-production. Research on emissions from food supply chains is crucial for building sustainable food systems and mitigating climate change. Rice is a major staple crop for mitigating emission risks in the food system. Based on the GHG emission accounts of rice supply chain in China from 2000 to 2020, this study analyzes the emission characteristics of rice supply chain during production, consumption, and trade, then elucidates the inter-regional transfers and inter-sectoral flows of rice emissions. This study found that non-CO 2 GHGs at the production side contributes 78.56 % of total emissions of rice supply chain. Emissions of rice supply chain showed a promising downward trend of China, with the gravity center moving northward. Emission risks of inter-regional transfers were lower in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River Plain, while higher in the Northeast China Plain. Emissions of inter-sectoral flows predominantly manifest within the agriculture sector in the major rice producing areas or between the agriculture and its downstream sectors. Accordingly, this study concludes potential paths contributing to emission reduction along rice supply chain of China by improving the relationships of production and inter-sectoral and inter-regional trade. This study can provide references for building sustainable food systems under climate change. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Beckwith-Wiedemann syndrome (BWS) is a genetic overgrowth disorder with variable clinical features and cancer predisposition. In this study, we aim to characterize the clinical features and molecular defects of BWS patients in China. Methods: Thirty-one patients with clinical suspicion of BWS were retrospectively recruited to the study from Shanghai Children's Hospital between January 2014 and December 2017. Clinical data, including demographics, clinical features, and molecular testing results were extracted and systematically analyzed. Results: Twenty-one patients with a BWS score ≥ 4 (6, IQR 4, 7) were clinically diagnosed with BWS, and 10 children with a BWS score ≥ 2 and < 4 (2, IQR 2, 3) were clinically suspected BWS patients. The most common cardinal feature of clinically diagnosed patients was macroglossia (71.4%) followed by lateralized overgrowth (33.3%) and exomphalos (14.3%), and the major suggestive features were umbilical hernia and/or diastasis recti (65.0%) and ear creases or pits (61.9%). Among 10 clinically suspected BWS patients, macroglossia and lateralized overgrowth were observed in 3 (30%) and 2 (20%) patients, and umbilical hernia and/or diastasis recti occurred in 7 (70.0%) patients. Seven (33.3%) clinically diagnosed patients and 3 (30%) suspected patients were identified with loss of methylation at KCNQ1OT1:TSS differentially methylated region (DMR; IC2 LOM), 5 (23.8%) clinically diagnosed BWS patients were identified with gain of methylation at H19/IGF2:IG-DMR (IC1 GOM), and 1 (4.8%) clinically diagnosed BWS patients was identified with paternal uniparental isodisomy 11 (pUPD11). The phenotype-genotype correlation analysis showed no significant difference among patients with IC2 LOM, IC1 GOM, and pUPD11. Conclusions: The current study presents the first cohort study of BWS patients in mainland China. The clinical and molecular features of the patients are similar to those of other reported BWS patients in the Chinese population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This research aimed to quantitatively assess the effect of soil erosion factors on soil nutrients under similar rainfall conditions at a small watershed in the Loess Plateau, China, with emphasis on quantification of each factor's contribution to soil nutrients. Materials and methods: Forty-five soil samples were collected and the soil texture and nutrients were analyzed. The integrated fertility index (IFI) was quantified with laboratory-measured available phosphorus, available potassium, total nitrogen, and soil organic matter based on principal component analysis and the soil erosion factors were computed. The feature importance of soil erosion factors that affect soil nutrients was estimated based on the gradient-boosting decision tree (GBDT) method. Results and discussion: The GBDT optimized model revealed that the feature importance of soil erosion factors soil erodibility (K), slope length (L), slope steepness (S), vegetation cover (C), and mechanical erosion control (P) was 0.41, 0.11, 0.03, 0.39, and 0.06, respectively. The K and C factors occupied 80% of the importance and were the two predominant soil erosion factors affecting the soil comprehensive nutrients. The Pearson correlation coefficient between K, L, S, C, or P, and IFI was − 0.387, − 0.23, − 0.25, − 0.479, and − 0.532, respectively. The different order of factors between the Pearson correlation and feature importance may indicate that linear relation cannot be used to indicate the significance of each factor. Conclusions: The soil erodibility and the vegetation cover could basically determine the quality of soil nutrients in the small watershed under similar rainfall conditions. The soil property itself and associated effects on the amount and rate of runoff under a certain rainfall erosivity had a dominant impact on the soil nutrients. Factor C greatly contributed to runoff resistance and protection of nutrients from erosion. The L, S, and P factors had weak effects on the IFI because of the generally low rainfall intensity, short rainfall duration, and other factors that may counteract the effects in the area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Owing to the large amount of waste glass generated, the waste glass recycling base is an indispensable municipal supporting facility of a sustainable city. However, waste glass recycling is a complex process involving stages such as multiple-stage crushing and material sorting. Consequently, waste glass recycling base has a considerable impact on the surrounding environment, such as health risk of particulate matter on workers. In this study, we aimed to perform a comprehensive investigation and analysis of compound pollution characteristics and health risk evaluation of particulate matter and heavy metals generated from waste glass recycling process. Soil, particulate fallout, and glass samples were collected from inside and outside a recycling plant in eastern China. Our findings showed that the waste glass treatment process produces a large amount of air particulate matter, and the PM 2.5 and PM 10 concentrations can reach 3725 and 4055 μg/m3, respectively, in the production workshop during working hours. Meanwhile, the monitoring results show that the concentration of heavy metals on fine particles is higher compared to coarse particles. The high Zn and Pb concentrations detected in the soil and dustfall were proved to be derived from the glass raw materials. However, health risk assessment and particle deposition modeling in the human respiratory system revealed that heavy metals from the air particulate matter have no significant carcinogenicity or non-carcinogenic risk. The Gaussian dispersion model showed that the impact of particulate matter on the surrounding environment and health of the surrounding residents is minimal. Furthermore, transportation is the major emission link according to the particulate emission calculation, indicating that it is imperative to upgrade and reform the existing processes of waste glass recycling. Taken together, this study provides a scientific basis for the green development of waste glass recycling process and further environmental information regarding waste glass recycling plants. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Judging the carbon emissions of various agricultural inputs in crop planting and clarifying the decoupling level between grain production and carbon emissions from crop planting can provide data support and policy references for agricultural carbon emission reduction. Considering six carbon emission sources (plowing , irrigation , fertilizer , pesticide , agricultural film (agrifilm), and diesel fuel (diefuel)). This research accounted the carbon emissions from crop planting in 31 provinces in China from 2000 to 2021. Using the Tapio model to explore the relationship between grain production and carbon emissions from different types of agricultural inputs. The regulating effects of planting scale, technological progress, and their covariates on carbon emission reduction were explored using two-way fixed-effect regression. The results showed that the growth rate of carbon emissions from crop planting in China had a fluctuating declining trend from 2000 to 2021, and it was weakly decoupled from grain production in most years, and that an overall strong decoupling was achieved in 2021. A 1% increase in planting scale leads to 1.0%, 0.68%, and 0.31% increases in carbon emissions from plowing , irrigation , and diefuel , respectively. The synergistic effect of the planting scale and technological progress can significantly reduce the carbon emissions of crop planting, and thus promote the decoupling of grain production and carbon emissions of crop planting. This study provides valuable references for policy formulation in economies to promote synergy between grain production and carbon reduction targets to a greater extent. • The growth rate of carbon emissions from crop planting decreases. • The decoupling level in China is improving. • Technological advances for carbon reduction in plowing, irrigation, fertilizers and pesticides. • The interplay of planting scale and technological advances favors carbon mitigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In situ U–Pb dating of carbonate minerals and Rb–Sr dating of illite was carried out on the Yata sediment-hosted disseminated-type gold deposit in the Youjiang basin, South China. The new study determines the timing of gold mineralization and clarifies the geological conditions required for the successful application of in situ U–Pb dating of alteration-related carbonate minerals. The results suggest that the Yata gold deposit likely formed during two metallogenic episodes. Illite Rb–Sr ages of 178.6 ± 5.8 Ma (MSWD = 1.2) for the 2–0.5 μm fraction and 171.3 ± 3.4 Ma (MSWD = 0.62) for the 0.5–0.2 μm fraction constrain an earlier episode of gold mineralization to >178.6 Ma. Hydrothermal carbonate minerals within the Yata gold deposit are associated with organic matter. In situ U–Pb dating of paragenetically early ankerite and later calcite veins yields ages of 149.0 ± 10.4 Ma (MSWD = 2.0) and 147.3 ± 32.6 Ma (MSWD = 1.8), respectively. These mineral ages and their petrographic relationships provide unequivocal evidence that another episode of gold mineralization occurred in the Early Cretaceous. Importantly, this study demonstrates in situ U–Pb dating is applicable to low-temperature deposits consisting of organic-rich hydrothermal carbonates characteristic of relatively high common Pb. Such deposits potentially include hydrothermal antimony, Carlin-type gold deposits, gold‐uranium, and carbonate-hosted uranium deposits. • Carbonate U–Pb dating constrains the age of late mineralization to ca. 150 Ma. • Illite Rb–Sr ages constrain the early stage of gold mineralization to ca. 178–172 Ma. • U–Pb isotope analysis can provide reliable ages for U-rich hydrothermal carbonates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Yinchanggou-Qiluogou Pb-Zn deposit, located in the western Yangtze Block, southwest China, is hosted by the Upper Sinian Dengying Formation dolostone. Ore bodies occur in the Qiluogou anticline and the NS- and NNW-trending faults. Sulfide ores mainly consist of sphalerite, pyrite, galena and calcite, with subordinate dolomite and quartz. Seventeen ore bodies have been discovered to date and they have a combined 1.0 million tons of sulfide ores with average grades of 2.27wt% Zn and 6.89wt% Pb. The δDH2O-SMOW and δ18OH2O-SMOW values of fluid inclusions in quartz and calcite samples range from −68.9‰ to −48.7‰ and 7.3‰ to 15.9‰, respectively, suggesting that H2O in the hydrothermal fluids sourced from metamorphic water. Calcite samples have δ13CPDB values ranging from −6.2‰ to −4.1‰ and δ18OSMOW values ranging from 15.1‰ to 17.4‰, indicating C and O in the hydrothermal fluids likely derived from a mixed source of metamorphic fluids and the host carbonates. The δ34SCDT values of sulfide minerals range from 5.5‰ to 20.3‰, suggesting that thermal chemical reduction of sulfate minerals in evaporates were the most probable source of S in the hydrothermal fluids. The 206Pb/204Pb, 207Pb/204Pb and 208Pb/204Pb ratios of sulfide minerals fall in the range of 18.11 to 18.40, 15.66 to 15.76 and 38.25 to 38.88, respectively. The Pb isotopic data of the studied deposit plot near the upper crust Pb evolution curve and overlap with the age-corrected Proterozoic basement rocks and the Upper Sinian Dengying Formation hosting dolostone. This indicates that the Pb originated from a mixed source of the basement metamorphic rocks and the ore-hosting carbonate rocks. The ore geology and C-H-O-S-Pb isotopic data suggest that the Yinchanggou-Qiluogou deposit is an unusual carbonate-hosted, strata-bound and epigenetic deposit that derived ore-forming materials from a mixed source of the underlying Porterozoic basements and the Sinian hosting carbonates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To detect incidences and the types of chromosomal abnormalities in Chinese men with infertility and determine chromosomal factors association with various phenotypes. Methods: Semen analysis and karyotype analysis by G-banding were carried out in 4,659 idiopathic infertile males; additionally, multiplex PCR using nine specific sequence-tagged sites (STSs) was used to detect azoospermia factor (AZF) microdeletions in 412 patients with Y chromosomal abnormalities. Results: Male infertility was divided into pregestational infertility, characterized by failure to produce a fertilized ovum, and gestational infertility, characterized by embryo loss after fertilization. The former can result from azoospermia, oligozoospermia or oligoasthenozoospermia syndrome, while the latter is associated with developmental early pregnancy loss, habitual miscarriage and stillbirth. Among 4,659 male patients, 412 (8.84 %) showed abnormal chromosomal karyotypes, including 314 (6.74 %) with sex chromosomal abnormalities and 98 (2.10 %) with autosomal abnormalities. The prevalences of numerical and structural abnormalities among patients with chromosomal abnormalities were 259/412 (62.86 %) and 153/412 (37.14 %), respectively. Furthermore, structural sex chromosomal abnormalities were represented by various phenotypic profiles (46,XX, 47,XYY and 45,X/46,XY), and a prevalence of AZF microdeletions of 19/79 (24.05 %). AZF microdeletions were highly associated with Y chromosomal abnormalities ( P = 0.018). Conclusion: Various chromosomal abnormalities that result in male infertility could affect spermatogenesis or embryonic development at different levels. Sex chromosomal and autosomal abnormalities were highly associated with pregestational and gestational infertility, respectively. AZF microdeletions may play an important role in lowering the stability of the Y chromosome. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Camels are an important part of the ecosystem in desert areas. Camels can survive well under difficult conditions, therefore, they play a key role in local herdsmen's production, life, and economic structure. China's Inner Mongolia region has unique environmental and geographical advantages, making it suitable for camel breeding. Camel milk has high nutritional value and unique functional characteristics. It not only has low sensitization, but also contains various immune active factors with high medicinal value. Currently, there are various products derived from cow and goat milk, but few related to camel milk, providing an opportunity for development. This study used trypsin to hydrolyze the whey proteins of camel milk, separated and purified peptide fragments with antibacterial activity, and conducted a comparative study with cow milk. The present study provided new ideas for the use and development of camel whey protein hydrolysates and their dextran purification fractions, and indicated the future development of these peptides as nutritional additives or food preservatives. Antibacterial peptides were isolated and purified from whey proteins of camel milk (CaW) and cow milk (CoW) and their antimicrobial activities were studied. The whey proteins were hydrolyzed using trypsin, and the degree of hydrolysis was identified by gel electrophoresis. The whey hydrolysate (WH) was purified using ultrafiltration and Dextran gel chromatography to obtain small peptides with antibacterial activity. The effect of the antimicrobial peptides on the morphology of bacterial strains was investigated using transmission electron microscopy. Their amino acid composition and antimicrobial activities were then determined. Polypeptides CaWH-III (<3 kDa) and CoWH-III (<3 kDa) had the strongest antibacterial activity. Both Fr.A2 (CaWH-Ⅲ's fraction 2) and Fr.B1 (CoWH-Ⅲ's fraction 1) had antibacterial effects toward Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus, with minimum antimicrobial mass concentrations of 65 mg/mL and 130 mg/mL for Fr.A2, and 130 mg/mL and 130 mg/mL for Fr.B1, respectively. The highly active antimicrobial peptides had high amounts of alkaline amino acids (28.13% in camel milk Fr.A2 and 25.07% in the cow milk Fr.B1) and hydrophobic amino acids. (51.29% in camel milk Fr.A2 and 57.69% in the cow milk Fr.B1). This results showed that hydrolysis of CaW and CoW using trypsin produced a variety of effective antimicrobial peptides against selected pathogens, and the antibacterial activity of camel milk whey was slightly higher than that of cow milk whey. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We described a case of a 24-year-old man with multiple organ failure caused by Fusobacterium necrophorum subsp. funduliforme F1260. This is the first described case of Lemierre's syndrome with multiple organ failure due to F. necrophorum subsp. funduliforme F1260 in an adult in China. Our study highlights that there may be a risk of misdiagnosis based solely on typical manifestations of internal jugular vein thrombophlebitis, metastatic lesions, and F. necrophorum isolated from blood cultures or normally sterile sites. Clinicians should be cognizant of the potential utility of metagenomic next-generation sequencing in facilitating early pathogen detection in severe infections, thus enabling timely and appropriate administration of antibiotics to reduce mortality rates and improve prognosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) sequence type 398 (ST398) has aroused great concern for its spread throughout the world. ST398 community-acquired MRSA (CA-MRSA) has been given greater emphasis because of its high virulence and high probability of treatment failure. Herein, A 22-year-old male was admitted to our hospital with a history of fever, chest pain and dyspnea for 2 days. A chest CT scan showed infiltrative and nodular shadows. The sequence type of the isolates from blood culture was ST398, the virulence genes detected was PVL gene (lukS -PV and lukF -PV). Despite resuscitation efforts, he died of multiple organ failure on admission 3rd day. This is the first described case of severe pneumonia and sepsis due to hematogenous spread of scalp furuncles caused by Panton–Valentine leukocidin (PVL) positive community-acquired methicillin-susceptible S. aureus (CA-MSSA) ST398 strains in an immunocompentent adult in mainland China. This report highlight the emergence CA-PVL-MSSA ST398 infection and its association with life-threatening infections. Early decolonization and identification of ST398 is critical. Severe skin and soft tissue infections should be suspected for ST398 PVL-MSSA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to investigate the prevalence of androgen receptor gene mutations in idiopathic male infertility in north‐east China and to analyse the relationship between genotype and phenotype. Cohorts of 400 male patients with idiopathic infertility and 200 fertile controls were recruited. Clinical investigations were carried out by experienced andrologists. Targeted exome sequencing was used to detect androgen receptor gene mutations, and reproductive hormone levels were measured. We found four mutations in 8/400 patients (2%) and no mutations in controls. In addition, two recurrent mutations (p.S176R and p.A403V) were found in four patients and two patients respectively. Of four mutations, two (p.S233F and p.H715N) represented novel mutations. Almost all of the men with androgen receptor gene mutations showed smaller testicular volumes. However, the reproductive hormone levels were normal or lightly higher in seven men with mutation, apart from one man (P24) who had high follicle‐stimulating hormone and luteinising hormone levels but a low testosterone level. In north‐east China, there was a higher androgen receptor gene mutation rate among these infertile men, and the mutation of p.S176R deserved more attention particularly. Hormone levels and clinical phenotypes did not help in screening patients at risk of mutations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Late Permian bauxite and pyrite deposition indicates extensive magmatic events. • Bauxite and pyrite ores were sourced from both arc volcanism and Emeishan LIP. • Prolonged arc volcanism induced environmental stress in the semi-enclosed Tethys. • The coincidental eruption of Emeishan LIP promoted the end-Guadalupian extinction. Mass extinction was commonly considered as the response to interaction between geosystems, and volcanism can be viewed as a vital link between the surface systems and deep geodynamic processes. This causative link between end-Guadalupian mass extinction and volcanism has been clarified, based on the research of bauxite and pyrite deposits in the Youjiang Basin, South China Block (SCB). Geochronological and geochemical evidences show that the source materials of bauxite-pyrite deposits were mainly derived from the Emeishan large igneous province (LIP) to the northwest and the continental arc along the SW margin of SCB associated with the subduction of the Paleo-Tethys Ocean underneath the Indochina block. Volcanic ash fallout by atmospheric dispersal driven by the easterly trade winds could best account for the spatial variation of both bauxite and pyrite deposits given their relative paleogeographic positions with respect to the two flanking sources. Massive volcanic tephra from arc volcanism fell on exposed carbonate platforms, underwent intensive chemical weathering and transformed into bauxites under the warm and humid tropical climate in Tethys, which could be also favored by acid precipitation caused by volcanic degassing. Extensive SO 2 released from Emeishan LIP emission could be the major source of pyrite ores, probably with minor contribution from arc volcanism. This indicates that the prolonged and extensive continental arc volcanism induced environmental stress in the poorly-ventilated Paleo-Tethys Ocean, while the coincidental eruption of the large igneous provinces was the final straw, leading to the dramatic biotic crises during the Middle-Late Permian interval. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While many countries employed digital contact tracing to contain the spread of SARS-CoV-2, the contribution of cospace-time interaction (i.e., individuals who shared the same space and time) to transmission and to super-spreading in the real world has seldom been systematically studied due to the lack of systematic sampling and testing of contacts. To address this issue, we utilized data from 2230 cases and 220,878 contacts with detailed epidemiological information during the Omicron outbreak in Beijing in 2022. We observed that contact number per day of tracing for individuals in dwelling, workplace, cospace-time interactions, and community settings could be described by gamma distribution with distinct parameters. Our findings revealed that 38% of traced transmissions occurred through cospace-time interactions whilst control measures were in place. However, using a mathematical model to incorporate contacts in different locations, we found that without control measures, cospace-time interactions contributed to only 11% (95%CI: 10%-12%) of transmissions and the super-spreading risk for this setting was 4% (95%CI: 3%-5%), both the lowest among all settings studied. These results suggest that public health measures should be optimized to achieve a balance between the benefits of digital contact tracing for cospace-time interactions and the challenges posed by contact tracing within the same setting., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Carbon peaking, carbon neutrality goals and food security are the basis of sustainable development, and exploring the coordination relationship between China's agricultural eco-efficiency and food security system has a major significance for the implementation of relevant strategies. This paper is based on collaboration research on the synergistic relationship between agricultural eco-efficiency and food security systems using methods such as entropy weight method, coupling coordination model, spatial autocorrelation model, etc., revealing the evolution-driven mechanism of the coupling coordination degree. This study found that a higher level of coupling coordination always occurs in those areas with high standard farmland construction and large grain production scale, while economically developed areas appear to have a lower overall coordination level limited by endowment constraints and division of labor in development planning. It shows a positive spatial correlation in terms of geographical distance between agricultural eco-efficiency and food security, and the positive spillover effect gradually increases but is not strong overall. China should combine regional resource endowment and development planning, pay attention to the improvement of large-scale and standardized agricultural production, continue to strengthen the development of clean agricultural production, and achieve food security under the constraints of the carbon peaking and carbon neutrality goals.

Background: The influence of rising global temperatures on malaria dynamics and distribution remains controversial, especially in central highland regions. We aimed to address this subject by studying the spatiotemporal heterogeneity of malaria and the effect of climate change on malaria transmission over 27 years in Hainan, an island province in China., Methods: For this longitudinal cohort study, we used a decades-long dataset of malaria incidence reports from Hainan, China, to investigate the pattern of malaria transmission in Hainan relative to temperature and the incidence at increasing altitudes. Climatic data were obtained from the local meteorological stations in Hainan during 1984-2010 and the WorldClim dataset. A temperature-dependent R 0 model and negative binomial generalised linear model were used to decipher the relationship between climate factors and malaria incidence in the tropical region., Findings: Over the past few decades, the annual peak incidence has appeared earlier in the central highland regions but later in low-altitude regions in Hainan, China. Results from the temperature-dependent model showed that these long-term changes of incidence peak timing are linked to rising temperatures (of about 1·5°C). Further, a 1°C increase corresponds to a change in cases of malaria from -5·6% (95% CI -4·5 to -6·6) to -9·2% (95% CI -7·6 to -10·9) from the northern plain regions to the central highland regions during the rainy season. In the dry season, the change in cases would be 4·6% (95% CI 3·7 to 5·5) to 11·9% (95% CI 9·8 to 14·2) from low-altitude areas to high-altitude areas., Interpretation: Our study empirically supports the idea that increasing temperatures can generate opposing effects on malaria dynamics for lowland and highland regions. This should be further investigated and incorporated into future modelling, disease burden calculations, and malaria control, with attention for central highland regions under climate change., Funding: Scientific and Technological Innovation 2030: Major Project of New Generation Artificial Intelligence, National Natural Science Foundation of China, Beijing Natural Science Foundation, National Key Research and Development Program of China, Young Elite Scientist Sponsorship Program by CAST, Research on Key Technologies of Plague Prevention and Control in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, and Beijing Advanced Innovation Program for Land Surface Science., Competing Interests: Declaration of interests We declare no competing interests., (Copyright © 2022 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an Open Access article under the CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 license. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

Background: Cyclocryotherapy and transscleral cyclophotocoagulation are commonly used procedures for the treatment of refractory glaucoma, but still with many complications. Ultrasound cyclo plasty (UCP) is a novel technique that determines a selective and more precise coagulation necrosis of the ciliary body to reduce intraocular pressure (IOP), but its efficacy and safety have been less investigated in Chinese population. This study aimed to evaluate the clinical efficacy and safety of UCP in Chinese patients with refractory glaucoma., Methods: We designed a prospective, before-after study involving 36 eyes of 36 patients with refractory glaucoma that underwent uneventful UCP. Mean IOP, mean IOP reduction and subjective pain scale scores before and after UCP were compared to evaluate the efficacy of UCP in these patients. Procedural success defined as no abnormality of the treatment sites, and complications were recorded, along with confirmation of the safety of UCP., Results: The 36 UCP patients had a mean IOP of 53.61 ± 12.4 mmHg and a mean VAS score of 5.69 ± 3.02 preoperatively. Successful operation was achieved in 28 patients, with a success rate of 77.8%. In the follow-up observation at day 1, day 7, and month 1, 2, 3 and 6 postoperatively, both mean IOP and mean VAS score were significantly lower than those before operation (both P < 0.0001). The median baseline IOP reduction ranged from 22 to 36%. The mean reduction was 42.5% in 36 patients when taking IOP at the last follow-up visit as the last. No significant changes in visual acuity were achieved in 4 patients after UCP, and no adverse outcomes were present in other patients after timely treatment of complications such as conjunctival hyperemia, subconjunctival hemorrhage, or hyphema., Conclusions: UCP is a novel yet reliable option for Chinese patients with refractory glaucoma since its high efficacy and safety.

Nonobstructive azoospermia (NOA) is a severe form of male infertility. The molecular basis of NOA is still poorly understood. The aim of this study was to explore the associations between single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of the TATA-box binding protein associated factor 4b (TAF4B) gene and NOA. A total of 100 Han Chinese patients with NOA and 100 healthy men as controls were recruited. Targeted gene capture sequencing was performed. A total of 11 TAF4B SNPs were screened in the NOA and control subjects. Six synonymous and 4 nonsynonymous variants were detected. The c.11G>T (p.G4V) mutation was detected only in NOA patients. Polymorphism Phenotyping v2 and Sorting Intolerant From Tolerant analysis indicated that the p.G4V mutation influenced the protein structure of TAF4B. Haplotype analysis showed that the candidate SNPs did not independently associate with NOA and were found at extremely low frequencies in the subject population. Mutation Taster analysis indicated that the c.11G>T/p.G4V mutation was damaging. WebLogo analysis showed that the residue at amino acid 4 was relatively conserved. The p.Gly4Val substitution may affect the structure of the TAF4B protein. The c.11G>T mutation of the TAF4B gene may be associated with NOA in a Chinese population. Bioinformatics analysis indicated this variation may play an important role in the process of spermatogenesis.

Background: Non-obstructive azoospermia (NOA), a serious phenotype of male spermatogenesis failure, is a multifactorial disease which is regulated by genetic, epigenetic, and environmental factors. Some gene structural variants have been demonstrated to be related to NOA. Loss-of-function mutations of KISS1R cause normosmic idiopathic hypogonadotropic hypogonadism (IHH) which result in azoospermia at the pre-testicular level. The objective of this research was to investigate genetic variants of KISS1R in NOA patients., Methods: The entire coding region of 52 spermatogenesis-associated genes (KISS1R included) was sequenced from 200 NOA patients. Mutation screening was performed to identify genetic variations of these genes by targeted exome sequencing. Sequencing data analysis was carried out by a series of bioinformatics tools. Candidate variants confirmation was performed by Sanger sequencing. Functional analysis of candidate variants was evaluated using SIFT and PolyPhen-2., Results: Three heterozygous missense variants in KISS1R were identified in three patients, respectively. No deleterious variations in other candidate genes were found in the three patients. Two of these three variants, p.A211T and p.G186E, had been reported in the ExAC and dbSNP database, respectively, while the other variant p.A301D was novel. These variants were all predicted to be likely pathogenic by in silico analysis., Conclusion: Our study revealed three heterozygous missense variants in KISS1R which expanded the mutation spectrum of KISS1R in infertile men with NOA in the northeast of China., (© 2019 The Authors. Journal of Clinical Laboratory Analysis published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc.)

The mosaic 45,X/46,XY karyotype is a common sex chromosomal abnormality in infertile men. Males with this mosaic karyotype can benefit from assisted reproductive therapies, but the transmitted abnormalities contain 45,X aneuploidy as well as Y chromosome microdeletions. The aim of this study was to investigate the clinical and genetic characteristics of infertile men diagnosed with 45,X/46,XY mosaicism in China. Of the 734 infertile men found to carry chromosomal abnormalities, 14 patients were carriers of 45,X/46,XY mosaicism or its variants, giving a prevalence of 0.27% (14/5269) and accounting for 1.91% (14/734) of patients with a chromosomal abnormality. There were ten cases (71.43%, 10/14) of 45,X mosaicism exhibiting AZF microdeletions. Case 1 and Case 4 had AZFc deletions, and the other eight cases had AZFb+c deletions. A high frequency of Y chromosome microdeletions were detected in male patients with 45,X/46,XY mosaicism. Preimplantation genetic diagnosis should be offered to men having intracytoplasmic sperm injection for hypospermatogenesis caused by 45,X/46,XY mosaicism, to avoid the risk of transfering AZF microdeletions in addition to X monosomy in male offspring.

This study involved an assessment of the levels of microplastic pollution in seven small-scale estuaries in Shanghai for the first time. The abundance of microplastics ranged from 13.53 ± 4.6 to 44.93 ± 9.41 particles L - 1 , with a mean abundance of 27.84 ± 11.81 particles L - 1 . Microplastics collected from samples were classified into four types (fiber, film, granule, and fragment), and granules were the most abundant type. Up to 99.5% of microplastics were <2 mm in diameter. The microplastics had a variety of colors, with black being the dominant color. Polypropylene (37.5%) and polyethylene (50%) were the main types of microplastic component validated. Our study showed severe microplastic pollution in small-scale estuaries, and the associated rivers need urgent attention for microplastic pollution prevention., (Copyright © 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

The universal two-child policy has now been fully implemented in China. This change requires adaptations to maternal care and childcare systems, but the features of prenatal diagnosis before and after implementation of the policy have not been reported.We conducted a retrospective study of 6736 prenatal cytogenetic diagnoses performed on amniotic fluid cells over a 4-year period, including 2 years before and after implementation of the second child policy. Amniotic fluid cells collected through amniocentesis were cultured, harvested, and stained for chromosome analysis using standard laboratory protocols.The study included 3222 pregnant women referred before implementation of the policy, which we used as a control group, and 3514 pregnant women referred after policy implementation as an investigational study group. There were significantly fewer pregnant women aged <25 years in the investigational group than in the control group (P < .001). There were no significant between-group differences for other pregnant women aged >31 years and 27-28 years old (P > .05). A total of 358 cases with chromosomal abnormalities were diagnosed, including 129 (4%, 129/3222) in the control group which was significantly lower than the 229 (6.5%, 229/3514) in the study group (P < .001). In particular, significantly more trisomy 21 cases were observed in the study group than in the control group (120 vs 59). More pregnant women underwent non-invasive prenatal testing (NIPT) in the study group (46%) than in the control group (20%). In the study group, the average age of pregnant women who underwent NIPT was significantly higher than that of women who did not receive NIPT (P < .05). However, there were no significant between-group differences for the control group (P > .05).The number of cases with chromosomal abnormalities increased in northeastern China in the 2 years after implementation of the two-child policy. The number of pregnant women of advanced maternal age did not increase significantly, perhaps because of the widespread application of NIPT. However, the number of fetuses with Down syndrome increased significantly, suggesting that prenatal screening and diagnosis should be strengthened.

BACKGROUND This study aimed to screen common and low-frequency variants of nonobstructive azoospermia (NOA)-associated genes, and to construct a database for NOA-associated single nucleotide variants (SNVs). MATERIAL AND METHODS Next-generation sequencing of 466 NOA-associated genes was performed in 34 patients with NOA (mean age, 29.06±4.49 years) and 40 sperm donors (mean age, 25.08±5.75 years) from the Han population of northeast China. The SNV database was constructed by summarizing NOA non-negatively-associated SNVs showing statistical differences between NOA cases and controls, and then selecting low-frequency variants using Baylor's pipeline, to identify statistically valid SNVs. RESULTS There were 65 SNVs identified that were significantly different between both groups (p<0.05). Five genetic variants showed positive correlations with NOA: MTRR c.537T>C (rs161870), odds ratios (OR), 3.686, 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.228-11.066; MTRR, c.1049A>G (rs162036), OR, 3.686, 95% CI, 1.228-11.066; PIWIL1, c.1580G>A (rs1106042), OR, 4.737, 95% CI, 1.314-17.072; TAF4B, c.1815T>C (rs1677016), OR, 3.599, 95% CI, 1.255-10.327; and SOX10 c.927T>C (rs139884), OR, 3.192, 95% CI, 1.220-8.353. Also, 52 NOA non-negatively associated SNVs and 39 SNVs were identified by Baylor's pipeline and selected for the SNV database. CONCLUSIONS Five genetic variants were shown to have positive correlations with NOA. The SNV database constructed contained NOA non-negatively associated SNVs and low-frequency variants. This study showed that this approach was an effective strategy to identify risk alleles of NOA.

Reduced or no progressive sperm motility in the fresh ejaculate defines asthenozoospermia as one of the major causes of male infertility. The axonemal heavy chain dynein type 11 ( DNAH11 ) gene encodes for one of the axonemal dynein heavy chain (DHC) family members and participates in assembling respiratory cilia and sperm flagella. Given the high degree of conservation of DNAH11 , mutations could give rise to primary ciliary dyskinesia (PCD) and asthenozoospermia. To date, few studies have reported on the association between variants in DNAH11 and asthenozoospermia. In the present study, 87 patients with idiopathic asthenozoospermia for variants in DNAH11 were screened by using high-throughput targeted gene sequencing technology. Bioinformatics analysis was further assessed. We found compound heterozygous variants (c.9484-1 G>T, c.12428 T>C) of DNAH11 detected in 1 of 87 patients. The variant c.9484-1 G>T was confirmed as a novel virulence variant which was predicted to affect splicing by Human Splicing Finder 3.1. And c.12428 T>C was predicted to be mildly pathogenic in silico analysis. We found that DNAH11 polymorphisms display strong associations with asthenozoospermia, and may contribute to an increased risk of male infertility in Chinese patients., (© 2019 The Author(s).)

BACKGROUND Genetic defects are commonly observed in infertile males, although the majority of cases remain idiopathic. In recent years, the relationship between single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and male infertility has received increasing attention. The objective of this study was to explore the relationship between non-obstructive azoospermia (NOA) and single-nucleotide polymorphisms in the angiotensin-converting enzyme gene (ACE) using ligase detection reaction (LDR)-PCR. MATERIAL AND METHODS A retrospective study was performed and we screened 4 ACE SNPs (rs4316, rs4331, rs4343, and rs4362) in 121 NOA cases and 256 control subjects by LDR-PCR. The relationship between SNPs and NOA was analyzed. RESULTS ACE SNPs were in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium (P=0.089 for rs4331, P=0.089 for rs4343, P=0.089 for rs4316, and P=0.381 for rs4362). The allelic and genotypic frequencies of the 4 SNPs were not significantly different between cases and controls (P=0.123 for rs4331, P=0.123 for rs4343, P=0.123 for rs4316, and P=0.179 for rs4362). Haplotype analysis showed the existence of 3 haplotypes, TGAC, CAGT, and TGAT, which showed statistical significance of 0.889, 0.889, and 0.781, respectively, between cases and controls. CONCLUSIONS No significant association was found between ACE SNPs rs4316, rs4331, rs4343, or rs4362 and NOA in the Chinese Han population of Northeast China.

For genetic counseling of male carriers of chromosomal translocations, the specific chromosomes and breakpoints involved in the translocation are relevant to know. The structural chromosomal abnormalities may lead to abnormal sperm counts, infertility, and miscarriage. These are related to the specific chromosomes and breakpoints involved in the translocation. To date, over 200 cases of non-Robertsonian translocation in male carriers have been described that involve chromosomes 13, 14, or 15.This study reports of 28 male carriers from our clinic with balanced reciprocal translocations of chromosome 13, 14, or 15, and a literature review of 201 cases. The 28 male carriers from our clinic were diagnosed by cytogenetic analyses: 19 subjects suffered from pregestational infertility and 9 from gestational infertility. The most common translocations were t(7;13), t(10;14), and t(3;15), observed respectively in 13 (46%), 8 (29%), and 8 (29%) of our subjects. The literature cases (n = 201) involved chromosome 13 (n = 83, 41%), chromosome 14 (n = 56, 28%) or 15 (n = 62, 31%) in which 75 breakpoints were identified, the most common breakpoint, 13q22, was observed in 12 subjects (6%), followed by 14q32 (n = 11), 15q15 (n = 9), and 15q22 (n = 9). Most breakpoints were related to gestational infertility, while breakpoints at 13p13, 13p12, 13p11.2, 13p11, 13q11, 13q15, 14p12, 14p10, 15p13, 15p10, and 15q22.2 were associated with pregestational infertility.Carriers of non-Robertsonian translocations involving chromosome 13, 14, or 15 and experiencing infertility should receive counseling with regard to chromosomal breakpoints as there seem to be consequences for treatment. Intracytoplasmic sperm injection with preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) for the carriers with oligozoospermia, microscopic testicular sperm extraction or sperm from the sperm bank for the carriers with azoospermia should be considered for pregestational infertility. The carriers with gestational infertility can choose PGD or prenatal diagnosis.

Genetic abnormalities could account for 10% to 15% of male infertility cases, so increasing attention is being paid to gene mutations in this context. DNAH1 gene polymorphisms are highly correlated with astheno-teratozoospermia, but limited information has been reported on pathogenic variations in DNAH1 in the Chinese population. We explored 4 novel variations of the DNAH1 gene in Chinese infertile patients. Mutation screening of the DNAH1 gene was performed on 87 cases of asthenozoospermia with targeted high-throughput sequencing technology; another 200 nonobstructive azoospermia cases were further analyzed to investigate the prevalence of DNAH1 variations. The effects of the variations on protein function were further assessed by bioinformatic prediction. For carriers of DNAH1 variations, genetic counseling should be considered. Assisted reproductive technologies should be performed for these individuals and microsurgery should be considered for patients with azoospermia. DNAH1 variations were identified in 6 of 287 patients. These included 8 heterozygous variations in exons and a splicing site. Among these, 4 variations (g.52400764G>C, g.52409336C>T, g.52430999&#95;52431000del, g.52412624C>A) had already been registered in the 1000 Genomes and Exome Aggregation Consortium databases. The other 4 novel variations (g.52418050del, g.52404762T>G, g.52430536del, g.52412620del) were all predicted to be pathogenic by in silico analysis. The variations g.52418050del and g.52430999&#95;52431000del were detected in 1 patient who was more severe than another patient with the variation g.52430999&#95;52431000del. Physicians should be aware of genetic variants in male infertility patients and DNAH1 mutations should be considered in patients with asthenospermia or azoospermia.