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Schima superba, commonly known as the Chinese guger tree, is highly adaptable and tolerant of poor soil conditions. It is one of the primary species forming the evergreen broad-leaved forests in southern China. Dirigent proteins (DIRs) play crucial roles in the synthesis of plant lignin and lignans, secondary metabolism, and response to adversity stress. However, research on the DIR gene family in S. superba is currently limited. This study identified 24 SsDIR genes, categorizing them into three subfamilies. These genes are unevenly distributed across 13 chromosomes, with 83% being intronless. Collinearity analysis indicated that tandem duplication played a more significant role in the expansion of the gene family compared to segmental duplication. Additionally, we analyzed the expression patterns of SsDIRs in different tissues of S. superba. The SsDIR genes exhibited distinct expression patterns across various tissues, with most being specifically expressed in the roots. Further screening identified SsDIR genes that may regulate drought stress, with many showing differential expression under drought stress conditions. In the promoter regions of SsDIRs, various cis-regulatory elements involved in developmental regulation, hormone response, and stress response were identified, which may be closely related to their diverse regulatory functions. This study will contribute to the further functional identification of SsDIR genes, providing insights into the biosynthetic pathways of lignin and lignans and the mechanisms of plant stress resistance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Drawing on the affect transfer and stakeholder theories, this study aims to examine how the performance of a sports team that a firm owns or sponsors may affect the firm's market value. It explicates that a sports team wins (loses) in the field raises the public's positive (negative) affect, which can spill over to the associated firm. Design/methodology/approach: Based on a sample of publicly listed firms in Chinese stock exchanges that are owners or sponsors of soccer teams that competed in the National soccer league of China during 2004–2017, the authors find good support for the hypotheses. Findings: The findings reveal that a firm's cumulative abnormal return is positively related to its soccer team's winning and negatively related to the team's losing, and these relationships are moderated by both firm and match characteristics. By showing a relationship between sports team's performance and associated firm's market value, executives need cautions when their firms want to own or sponsor sports team. However, owned sports team's winning could be a good strategy to improve a firm's market value. Originality/value: This study enriches the spillover literature and deepens the understanding of spillover effect. It provides evidence for the concept of affect transfer and broadens its application scope. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Prior literature suggests that the chief executive officer (CEO) plays a significant role in a firm's environmental performance or voluntary pro‐environmental behaviors; we extend this line of research to examine the effect of CEOs' military service experience on firms' investment in environmental protection. Drawing upon the insights of imprinting theory, we argue that military service experience may instill in CEOs pro‐environmental values such as duty, self‐discipline, self‐sacrifice, and sense of community, which motivate them to adopt pro‐environmental behaviors such as investing more resources in environmental protection. However, we argue that the effects of pro‐environmental values imprinted on CEOs through military service are likely to vary across regions. In regions where the market is more developed and the local value system has experienced greater exposure to the impact of foreign values, and in regions where firms are more concerned about profit, this effect is likely to be attenuated. An analysis of three waves of a nationwide survey of private firms in China using the Tobit regression model supports these predictions. This study makes a unique contribution to the existing literature by linking a firm's pro‐environmental behaviors (i.e., environmental protection investment) to its CEO's experiences in early life (i.e., military service experience). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Our knowledge about the evolution of guarantee network in downturn period is limited due to the lack of comprehensive data of the whole credit system. Here we analyze the dynamic Chinese guarantee network constructed from a comprehensive bank loan dataset that accounts for nearly 80% total loans in China, during 01/2007-03/2012. The results show that, first, during the 2007-2008 global financial crisis, the guarantee network became smaller, less connected and more stable because of many bankruptcies; second, the stimulus program encouraged mutual guarantee behaviors, resulting in highly reciprocal and fragile network structure; third, the following monetary policy adjustment enhanced the resilience of the guarantee network by reducing mutual guarantees. Interestingly, our work reveals that the financial crisis made the network more resilient, and conversely, the government bailout degenerated network resilience. These counterintuitive findings can provide new insight into the resilience of real-world credit system under external shocks or rescues. The systemic risk of real-world financial networks is understudied. Here the authors focused on the guarantee network among Chinese firms and found that the global financial crisis during 2007-2008 and economic policies in the aftermath had significant influence on the evolution of guarantee network structure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate is closely related to human longevity. In China, there are many climate types. According to national population censuses from 1982 to 2000, most provinces with a high ratio of centenarians are located in western and northwestern China far from the sea; these areas are characterized by a dry, cold climate, very high altitude, very high daily temperature range, strong winds, and partial hypoxia. Meanwhile, provinces with a high ratio of nonagenarians from 1982 to 2000 are located in southern China near the sea. Previous studies have attributed the high ratio of centenarians in western and northwestern China to the extreme local climate. However, centenarians in these areas decreased greatly in 2010, whereas residents in southern China frequently reached 90 to 100 years old in 2010. This study aims to explain this strange phenomenon and find whether extreme climate in Tibetan plateau and northwestern China or moderate climate in southern China is more conducive to longevity. The study found that mortality rate in Tibetan plateau is much higher than southern China, then a population evolution experiment was proposed to compare longevity indicators between low mortality rate and high mortality rate and shows that longevity indicators will decrease in the near future and increase above their original levels after several decades when the mortality rate is decreased. Results of this study show individuals in northwestern China do not live as long as those in eastern and southern China. A moderate climate is more conducive to longevity than extreme climate in China. The longevity of a region should be judged by long-term longevity indicators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Eight kinds of Radix Codonopsis (RC) from different origins in China were selected as the experimental samples fort his study. Their pyrolysis processes were researched by the method of thermogravimetry analysis, in which the heating course was set in the ways of programming temperature from room temperature to 500 °C at different heating rates. Research results show that the process in the heating period of RC includes three stages: water loss, fast pyrolysis, and medium rate decomposition. For cultivated RC, the average initial decomposition temperature in the fast pyrolysis stage is 115 °C, whereas the peak temperature of the fast pyrolysis stage is changed from 189 to 225 °C, in which stage the alcohol-soluble substances are mainly decomposed. It is required to control the operational temperatures of drying and concocting processes according to initial decomposition temperature. Kissinger-Akahira-Sunose model can be used to describe the process mechanism of RC pyrolysis, and the kinetic analyses based on the fast pyrolysis stage thermogravimetric data show that the activation energies change from 141 to 207 kJ mol for cultivated RC samples and 122 to 131 kJ molfor wild RC samples. The alcohol-soluble extract (ASE) content of wild RC samples is lower than that of cultivated RC samples; their thermal stability is also relatively poor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim(s): This study aims to evaluate the workload of clinical nurses by measuring the work relative value (work RVU) of common nursing items based on the resource-based relative value scale in China., Background: Various single measurements have been employed to measure the nursing workload, but no comprehensive method has yet to be developed in China., Methods: A descriptive study was conducted to construct a common item set for nursing work in general wards on the basis of the 2019 History Information System nursing database from Class A tertiary hospitals to identify the time associated with each service. Data cleaning methods, expert consensus meetings, observational methods, Delphi consensus methods and the analytic hierarchy processes were employed., Results: A common item set for nursing work was established, which contained 2 first-level indexes, 8 secondary-level indexes and 79 third-level indexes. The average working hours of the common items ranged from 1.38 to 23.76 min. The top three nursing items identified were: extra large dressing change, cleaning enema, and nasal feeding catheterization., Conclusions: The common nursing items used in general wards were universal. The work RVU of common items comprehensively evaluates clinical nurses' workload, which can better meet the needs of management., Implications: The work RVU of common items will facilitate effective and comprehensive allocation of nursing human resources and performance assessment., Reporting Method: We have adhered to relevant EQUATOR guidelines and named the reporting method., (© 2025 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Background: Carotid intima-media thickness (IMT) and diameter, stiffness, and wave reflections, are independent and important clinical biomarkers and risk predictors for cardiovascular diseases. The purpose of the present study was to establish nationwide reference values of carotid properties for healthy Chinese adults and to explore potential clinical determinants., Methods: A total of 3053 healthy Han Chinese adults (1922 women) aged 18-79 years were enrolled at 28 collaborating tertiary centers throughout China between April 2021 and July 2022. The real-time tracking of common carotid artery walls was achieved by the radio frequency (RF) ultrasound system. The IMT, diameter, compliance coefficient, β stiffness, local pulse wave velocity (PWV), local systolic blood pressure, augmented pressure (AP), and augmentation index (AIx) were then automatically measured and reported. Data were stratified by age groups and sex. The relationships between age and carotid property parameters were analyzed by Jonckheere-Terpstra test and simple linear regressions. The major clinical determinants of carotid properties were identified by Pearson's correlation, multiple linear regression, and analyses of covariance., Results: All the parameters of carotid properties demonstrated significantly age-related trajectories. Women showed thinner IMT, smaller carotid diameter, larger AP, and AIx than men. The β stiffness and PWV were significantly higher in men than women before forties, but the differences reversed after that. The increase rate of carotid IMT (5.5 μm/year in women and 5.8 μm/year in men) and diameter (0.03 mm/year in both men and women) were similar between men and women. For the stiffness and wave reflections, women showed significantly larger age-related variations than men as demonstrated by steeper regression slopes (all P for age by sex interaction <0.05). The blood pressures, body mass index (BMI), and triglyceride levels were identified as major clinical determinants of carotid properties with adjustment of age and sex., Conclusions: The age- and sex-specific reference values of carotid properties measured by RF ultrasound for healthy Chinese adults were established. The blood pressures, BMI, and triglyceride levels should be considered for clinical application of corresponding reference values., (Copyright © 2024 The Chinese Medical Association, produced by Wolters Kluwer, Inc. under the CC-BY-NC-ND license.)

Objectives: Perianal infection is a serious complication in patients undergoing chemotherapy for haematological malignancies. Therefore, we aimed to develop a predictive model to help medical staff promptly screen patients at a high risk of perianal infection during chemotherapy., Design: This was a single-centre prospective observational study., Setting: This study was conducted in a tertiary teaching hospital in Chengdu, China., Participants: The study sample comprised 850 patients with haematological malignancies who underwent chemotherapy at the department of haematology or our hospital between January 2021 and June 2022., Interventions: The included patients were randomly divided into training and validation groups in a 7:3 ratio. Based on the discharge diagnosis, patients with perianal infection were selected as the case group and the other patients were selected as the control group., Outcome Measure: The main outcome measure was the occurrence of perianal infections., Results: A predictive model for perianal infections was established. A history of perianal infection, haemorrhoids, constipation and duration of diarrhoea were independent risk factors. The area under the curve of the The area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve for the training and validation groups were 0.784 (95% CI 0.727 to 0.841) and 0.789 (95% CI 0.818 to 0.885), respectively. Additionally, the model had good calibration in both the training and validation groups with a non-significant Hosmer-Lemeshow test (p=0.999 and 0.482, respectively)., Conclusions: The risk prediction model, including a history of perianal infection, history of haemorrhoids, constipation and duration of diarrhoea ≥3 days of perianal infection in patients with haematological malignancies during chemotherapy, has good prediction reliability and can be helpful in guiding clinical medical staff in screening and early intervention of high-risk groups., Competing Interests: Competing interests: None declared., (© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2023. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.)

Objective: To assess the prevalence of brain MRI abnormalities in people with epilepsy in rural China and to compare it with that of individuals in the United Kingdom., Methods: Brain MRI scans were obtained in people with epilepsy who participated in a rural community-based program in China between July 2010 and December 2012. Individual epileptogenic lesion types were reviewed and their associations with seizure control examined. The MRI findings were compared with 2 previous similar studies in the United Kingdom., Results: Among the 597 individuals (58% male, median age 38 years) with MRI scans analyzed, 488 (82%) had active epilepsy. The MRI was abnormal in 389 individuals (65%), with potentially epileptogenic lesion in 224 (38%) and nonspecific abnormalities in 165 (28%), and 108 (18%) were potentially resectable. The potentially epileptogenic lesions were less frequently detected in children (<18 years old, 12 of 68, 18%) than in adults (212 of 529, 40%; p < 0.001). In people with potentially epileptogenic lesions, 67% (150 of 224) had failed ≥2 antiseizure medications. They had higher risk of uncontrolled epilepsy than those with normal MRI (risk ratio [RR] 1.25; p < 0.001) and those with nonspecific abnormality (RR 1.15; p = 0.002) after adjustment for age and sex. The diagnostic yield of MRI was similar to that reported in community- and hospital-based studies in the United Kingdom., Conclusions: More than one-third of people with chronic epilepsy in rural China have potentially epileptogenic lesions identifiable on brain MRI, with two-thirds fulfilling the definition of pharmacoresistance. These findings highlight the magnitude of the unmet needs for epilepsy surgery in China., (© 2020 American Academy of Neurology.)

In 2009, a new viral disease of citrus caused by citrus yellow vein clearing virus (CYVCV) was first discovered in China. CYVCV is considered to be the most serious pathogen affecting lemon production. In this study, a sensitive and reliable reverse transcription droplet digital polymerase chain reaction (RT-ddPCR) assay was developed to detect and quantify CYVCV without references. The specificity of the assay was demonstrated by its failure to amplify other relevant citrus viruses. The quantitative linearity, sensitivity and accuracy of RT-ddPCR for detecting CYVCV were compared to those of real-time RT-PCR. The results showed that both methods had a high degree of linearity (R 2  = 0.9776) and quantitative correlation. Furthermore, RT-ddPCR was found to be 100 times more sensitive than real-time RT-PCR, and it can therefore be used to detect CYVCV in individual arthropods. In summary, the results demonstrated that the RT-ddPCR assay is a promising approach for quantitative detection of CYVCV with high precision and accuracy.

Objective: To investigate the detection rate and correlates of behavioral problems among eco-migrant children in Hui and Han ethnicities., Methods: Using multistage randomized sampling method, 2 653 eco-migrant teenagers, 3 174 indigenous and 2 334 homeland peers were selected. Their parents were asked to finish the Achenbach's Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) and a self-developed correlates questionnaire., Results: 765 eco-migrant children with behavioral problems were detected, with detection rate as 28.8%, higher than that of homeland group (24.2%) and native group (19.3%) (χ(2) = 73.547, P < 0.012 5). Ecological migration mainly influenced factors as bad contacts, depression, obsessive-compulsive, discipline, attack for boys aged 6-11, bad contacts for boys aged 12-16 and extraversion behavioral problems for girls aged 12-16, in Hui. These factors both associated to eco-migrant children's behavioral problems in Hui and Han:cesarean section (OR = 1.863, 95% CI:1.144-3.035, for Han) and (OR = 2.979, 95% CI:2.067-4.293, for Hui), physical defects (OR = 1.730, 95%CI:1.087-2.751, for Han) and (OR = 2.552, 95%CI:1.649-3.950, for Hui), arable as a main income way(OR = 1.272, 95%CI:1.066-1.518, for Han) and (OR = 1.212, 95%CI: 1.033-1.422, for Hui), parents' education level above middle school (OR = 0.709, 95% CI: 0.539-0.932, for Han) and (OR = 0.698, 95%CI: 0.542-0.898, for Hui), parents' frequently in good mood (OR = 0.710, 95%CI:0.613-0.821, for Han) and (OR = 0.826, 95%CI:0.718-0.949, for Hui). However, major diseases in the process of growth (OR = 1.794, 95% CI:1.163-2.767), and parents with chronic illness or disability (OR = 1.463, 95% CI:1.061-2.016) only associated with that in Han;single-parent or remarried families(OR = 1.583, 95% CI:1.078-2.325), parents often drinking (OR = 1.557, 95%CI:1.019- 2.379), the time of parents' work longer than half a year (OR = 1.494, 95% CI:1.197-1.864), parents' more content to life now(OR = 0.813, 95% CI:0.700-0.945), and children in older age (OR = 0.939, 95%CI:0.889-0.991) only related to that in Hui., Conclusion: The eco-migrant children showed a low state in mental health, especially among Hui peers, and the correlated factors were different in Han and Hui, which was supposed to get great importance when taking effective intervention.