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This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of behavioral problems in children and adolescents in Chengdu, Sichuan, China and the associated risk factors. A questionnaire survey was conducted with the students and their parents or caregivers from five primary and middle schools to investigate the parent–child relationship, family financial situations, health risk behaviors, and behavioral problems. A total of 8157 questionnaires were distributed, and 7928 (97.19%) valid questionnaires were returned. Among the 7928 valid questionnaires, 3846 were completed by female students and their parents or caregivers, and 4082 were completed by male students and their parents or caregivers. The average age of the surveyed students was 10.62 years. The prevalence rate of behavioral problems in children and adolescents was 13.79%, and the prevalence rate of behavioral problems significantly varied by gender and age. The female students had a higher prevalence rate of behavioral problems than male students (14.6% versus 13.0%). The students aged 12–16 years had a higher prevalence rate of behavioral problems than those aged 6–11 years (16.4% versus 12.2%). A correlation between behavioral problems and weekly pocket money was detected in the children and adolescents. Poor parent–child relationships, excessive screen time for both parents and children, short duration of sleep, and excessive intake of sugar-sweetened beverages could lead to a significant increase to the risk of developing behavioral problems in children and adolescents. Health-risky behaviors in children and adolescents were closely correlated to their behavioral problems. More attention should be paid to encouraging children and adolescents to live healthy lifestyles and tackling their behavioral problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Early Paleozoic A-type granites in South China are rare, and their petrogenesis is still highly debated. This study focuses on the controversial Epo pluton in the Wuyi-Yunkai Orogen and conducts petrological and petrogeochemical research to discuss its origin. The Epo granites were emplaced at approximately 414 Ma and exhibit petrological and geochemical features of A-type granites. They contain only one ferromagnesian mineral, ferrum biotite. The granites mostly have high alkalis contents (Na2O + K2O = 6.48–8.85 wt.%), high field strength element (HFSE) contents (Zr + Nb + Ce + Y = 353–461 ppm), and high Ga/Al (104×Ga/Al = 2.50–3.72) and FeOT/(FeOT + MgO) (0.74–0.85) ratios. Besides, they formed under high-temperature (>850°C) and low-pressure (≤5 kbar) conditions. Their high A/CNK (average 1.20) and Eu/Eu* (average 0.46) values as well as Sr (average 128 ppm) and Ba (average 628 ppm) contents but relatively low Zr contents (approximately 200 ppm) further suggest a strongly peraluminous A-type affinity, a distinctive subtype of A-type granites. The Epo granites display enriched Sr-Nd-Hf isotope compositions with a whole-rock87Sr/86Sri average ratio of 0.712, whole-rock εNd(t) values ranging from − 8.9 to − 7.6, and zircon εHf(t) values clustering at − 8. Their two-stage Nd and Hf isotope model ages are 1.7 Ga to 2.0 Ga, suggesting ancient crustal sources. Furthermore, Nb/U (average 7.46), Ce/Pb (average 4.06) and other trace element ratios indicate negligible contributions from juvenile mantle materials. Our data on the Epo pluton, coupled with other contemporary A-type granites in South China, suggest that the high-temperature melting of metasedimentary basements generated strongly peraluminous A-type granites, while the involvement of metaigneous rocks or mantle-derived magmas resulted in metaluminous to weakly peraluminous A-type granites. Source diversity leads to different aluminium saturations. The heat required to produce high-temperature A-type magmas was supplied by upwelling mantle-derived magma in a postcollisional extensional setting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: To review the changes and survey on status quo of the surgical treatment for esophageal cancer in China. The differences in diagnosis and treatment for esophageal cancer among hospitals in different regions across China were also investigated. Methods: We sent questionnaires to 46 hospitals across China, investigating the volume of esophageal cancer surgeries, surgical procedures, and perioperative management under the guidance of esophageal surgery chiefs. Results: A total of 46 questionnaires were sent out and collected. The survey results showed that in the past 5 years, the volume of surgeries for esophageal cancer remained stable by 23.9% of those hospitals, increased by 30.4%, and decreased by 45.7%. Of those patients treated by surgery, 19.1% were in the early stages, and 80.9% were in locally advanced stages. In terms of surgical procedures, 73.4% of the patients were treated by minimally invasive surgery and 85.7% of esophageal substitutes were a gastric conduit, 93.1% of the substitutes were pulled to the neck through the esophageal bed. For the lymph node dissection, 78.5% of the patients had a complete two‐field lymph node dissection including the para‐recurrent laryngeal nerve lymph nodes. Of the patients with neoadjuvant therapy, 53.5% received chemotherapy or chemotherapy plus immunotherapy (47.0%), and 43.5% had chemoradiation. Conclusions: Currently, in China, minimally invasive surgery‐oriented multimodality treatment, including complete two‐field lymph node dissection, has become the standard approach for esophageal cancer management. Over the past decade, this standardized approach has significantly improved prognosis compared to previous decades. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Acute closed midsubstance Achilles tendon rupture(ACMATR) is common, with various treatment methods developed over time. We retrospectively compared the two mini transverse-incision repair (2MTIR) with percutaneous repair (PR) to determine which method yields better results. Methods: All cases meeting criteria from 2018 to 2021 in our hospital were included and followed up for 1 to 5 years. A final questionnaire with multiple indexes was conducted via phone call. Comparative analysis of these indexes between the two groups was performed using IBM SPSS Statistics (V.26). Continuous variables that passed tests for normality and equal variance were compared using the Student's t-test. Ranked data were compared using the Mann-Whitney U test. Categorical variables were tested with the chi-square test or Fisher's exact test. A p-value of less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: There was one rerupture in the PR group. The final indexes for "Tightness Feeling", "Heel Rising Strength", and "Foot Numbness" were statistically different (P < 0.05) between the two groups. The "Re-rupture" and "Return to Sports" indexes showed no statistical difference (P > 0.05). Conclusions: The 2MTIR technique provided a technically straightforward, minimally invasive procedure with well-preserved paratenon and direct end-to-end firm fixation in cases of ACMATR. It resulted in very low complications, easy rehabilitation, and full weight-bearing as early as 5–6 weeks postoperatively, yielding better functional outcomes compared to the PR technique in the 1–5 year follow-up. Trial registration: The study was preliminarily registered and approved by the University of Hong Kong-Shenzhen Hospital Ethical Board with Project number: hkuszh2023074 on May 4, 2023. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The optimal planning and management of modern water resources depends highly on reliable and accurate runoff forecasting. Data preprocessing technology can provide new possibilities for improving the accuracy of runoff forecasting when basic physical relationships cannot be captured using a single prediction model. Yet, few studies have evaluated the performances of various data preprocessing technologies in predicting monthly runoff time series so far. In order to fill this research gap, this paper investigates the potential of five data preprocessing techniques based on the gated recurrent unit network (GRU) model for monthly runoff prediction, namely variational mode decomposition (VMD), wavelet packet decomposition (WPD), complete ensemble empirical mode decomposition with adaptive noise (CEEMDAN), extreme-point symmetric mode decomposition (ESMD), and singular spectrum analysis (SSA). In this study, the original monthly runoff data is first decomposed into a set of subcomponents using five data preprocessing methods; second, each component is predicted by developing an appropriate GRU model; and finally, the forecasting results of different two-stage hybrid models are obtained by aggregating the forecast results of the corresponding subcomponents. Four performance metrics are employed as the evaluation benchmarks. The experimental results from two Hydropower Stations in China show that five data preprocessing techniques can attain satisfying prediction results, while VMD and WPD methods can yield better performance than CEEMDAN, ESMD, and SSA in both training and testing periods in terms of four indexes. Indeed, it is significantly important to carefully determine an appropriate data preprocessing method according to the actual characteristics of the study area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Loess Plateau is marked by intense neotectonic activity and frequent earthquakes. Its unique physico-mechanical properties, combined with the granular overhead pore structure of loess, render it prone to seismic landslides triggered by strong earthquakes. Different types of loess seismic landslides have distinct formation mechanisms, disaster-causing characteristics, and risk assessment programs. In this study, the risk of seismic-collapsed loess landslides as one of the types of loess seismic landslides was evaluated on the Loess Plateau. A risk zoning map for seismic-collapsed loess landslides on the Loess Plateau, considering various exceedance probabilities, was compiled by assessing eight factors. These factors include peak ground acceleration, microstructure of loess, and were evaluated using both the minimum disaster-causing seismic peak ground acceleration zoning method and the analytic hierarchy process. The following conclusions were obtained: (1) Earthquakes are the primary inducing factor for seismic-collapsed loess landslides, with other factors serving as influencers, among which the microstructure of loess carries the highest weight; (2) Across various exceedance probabilities, the likelihood of seismic-collapsed loess landslides occurring at 63% of the 50-year exceedance probability is low. Moreover, as the minimum hazard-causing seismic peak ground acceleration increases, the risk of occurrence of seismic-collapsed loess landslides rises, leading to a gradual expansion of the area share in moderate and high-risk zones; (3) Hazard evaluation results align well with existing data on seismic-collapsed loess landslides and findings from field investigations. The case of seismic-collapsed loess landslides induced by the M6.2 magnitude earthquake in Jishishan County, China, is presented as an illustration. The combined use of the minimum hazard-causing seismic peak ground acceleration zoning method and the analytic hierarchy process method offers a reference for geohazard hazard assessment, with earthquakes as the primary inducing factor and other factors as influencers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The saturated permeability coefficient (ks) is a key parameter for evaluating the seepage and stability of reservoir colluvial landslides. However, ks values obtained from traditional experimental methods are often characterized by large variations and low representativeness. As a result, there are significant deviations from actual observations when used in seepage field calculations for reservoir landslide analysis. This study proposes an intelligent inversion method that combines a physical model and a data-driven model for reservoir landslide ks based on actual groundwater level (GWL) monitoring data. This method combines Latin Hypercube Sampling (LHS), unsaturated flow finite element (FE) analysis, particle swarm optimization algorithm (PSO), and kernel extreme learning machine model (KELM). Taking the Hongyanzi landslide in Sichuan Province, China, as the research object, the GWL of the landslide under different ks was first obtained by LHS and transient seepage FE analysis. Then, a nonlinear functional relationship between ks and the landslide GWL was fitted based on the PSO-KELM model. Finally, the optimal landslide ks was obtained by minimizing the root-mean-squared error between the predicted and actual GWL using the PSO. A global sensitivity analysis was also conducted on the ks of different rock and soil layers to reveal their control rules on the calculation of landslide GWL. The research results demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed method and provide valuable information for similar landslides in practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Recent evidence indicates that Shexiang Baoxin Pill (MUSKARDIA), as an add-on treatment to standard therapy for stable coronary artery disease (CAD), is effective. Nevertheless, the cost-effectiveness of introducing the Shexiang Baoxin Pill (Abbreviation SBP) to the current standard treatment for patients with CAD in China remains unknown. Objective: The objective of this study was to assess the cost-effectiveness of introducing SBP into the current standard treatment in China for patients with CAD. Method: The effects of two treatment strategies—the SBP group (SBP combined with standard therapy) and the standard therapy group (placebo combined with standard therapy)—were simulated using a long-term Markov model. The simulation subjects might experience non-fatal MI and/or stroke or vascular or non-vascular death events. The study parameters were primarily derived from the MUSKARDIA trial, which was a multicenter, double-blind, placebo-controlled phase IV randomized clinical trial. Furthermore, age-related change, event costs, and event utilities were drawn from publicly available sources. Both costs and health outcomes were discounted at 5.0% per annum. One-way and probabilistic sensitivity analyses were conducted to verify the robustness of the model. Based on the MUSKARDIA trial results, the risk with the events of major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) was decreased (P < 0.05) in the female subgroup treated with SBP therapy compared with standard therapy. Consequently, a scenario analysis based on subgroups of Chinese females was conducted for this study. Incremental cost-effectiveness ratios (ICERs) were assessed for each strategy for costs per quality-adjusted life-year (QALY) saved. Results: After 30 years of simulation, the SBP group has added 0.32 QALYs, and the cost has been saved 841.00 CNY. Compared with the standard therapy, the ICER for the SBP therapy was -2628.13 CNY per QALY. Scenario analyses of Chinese females showed that, after 30 years of simulation, the SBP therapy has been increased by 0.82 QALYs, and the cost has been reduced by 19474.00 CNY. Compared with the standard therapy, the ICER for the SBP therapy was -26569.51 CNY per QALY. Similar results were obtained in various extensive sensitivity analyses. Conclusions: This is the first study to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of SBP in the treatment of CAD. In conclusion, SBP as an add-on treatment to standard therapy appears to be a cost-effective strategy for CAD in Chinese patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the past decades, many forests have been converted to monoculture plantations, which might affect the soil microbial communities that are responsible for governing the soil biogeochemical processes. Understanding how reforestation efforts alter soil prokaryotic microbial communities will therefore inform forest management. In this study, the prokaryotic communities were comparatively investigated in a secondary Chinese fir forest (original) and a reforested Chinese fir plantation (reforested from a secondary Chinese fir forest) in Southern China. The results showed that reforestation changed the structure of the prokaryotic community: the relative abundances of important prokaryotic families in soil. This might be caused by the altered soil pH and organic matter content after reforestation. Soil profile layer depth was an important factor as the upper layers had a higher diversity of prokaryotes than the lower ones (p < 0.05). The composition of the prokaryotic community presented a seasonality characteristic. In addition, the results showed that the dominant phylum was Acidobacteria (58.86%) with Koribacteraceae (15.38%) as the dominant family in the secondary Chinese fir forest and the reforested plantation. Furthermore, soil organic matter, total N, hydrolyzable N, and NH+ 4 - N were positively correlated with prokaryotic diversity (p < 0.05). Also, organic matter and NO-3 -N were positively correlated to prokaryotic abundance (p < 0.05). This study demonstrated that re-forest transformation altered soil properties, which lead to the changes in microbial composition. The changes in microbial community might in turn influence biogeochemical processes and the environmental variables. The study could contribute to forest management and policy-making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: The contamination of Trichoderma species causing green mold in substrates poses a significant obstacle to the global production of Lentinula edodes, adversely impacting both yield and quality of fruiting bodies. However, the diversity of Trichoderma species in the contaminated substrates of L. edodes (CSL) in China is not clear. The purpose of this study was to assess the biodiversity of Trichoderma species in CSL, and their interactions with L. edodes. Methods: A comprehensive two-year investigation of the biodiversity of Trichoderma species in CSL was conducted with 150 samples collected from four provinces of China. Trichoderma strains were isolated and identified based on integrated studies of phenotypic and molecular data. Resistance of L. edodes to the dominant Trichoderma species was evaluated in dual culture in vitro. Results: A total of 90 isolates were obtained and identified as 14 different Trichoderma species, including six new species named as Trichoderma caespitosus, T. macrochlamydospora, T. notatum, T. pingquanense, T. subvermifimicola, and T. tongzhouense, among which, T. atroviride, T. macrochlamydospora and T. subvermifimicola were identified as dominant species in the CSL. Meanwhile, three known species, namely, T. auriculariae, T. paraviridescens and T. subviride were isolated from CSL for the first time in the world, and T. paratroviride was firstly reported to be associated with L. edodes in China. Notebly, the in vitro evaluation of L. edodes resistance to dominant Trichoderma species showed strains of L. edodes generally possess poor resistance to Trichoderma contamination with L. edodes strain SX8 relatively higher resistant. Discussion: This study systematically investigated the diversity of Trichoderma species in the contaminated substrate of L. edodes, and a total of 31 species so far have been reported, indicating that green mold contaminated substrates of edible fungi were undoubtedly a biodiversity hotspot of Trichoderma species. Results in this study will provide deeper insight into the genus Trichoderma and lay a strong foundation for scientific management of the Trichoderma contamination in L. edodes cultivation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The frequent occurrence of extreme weather disasters under global climate change has greatly impacted agricultural production, caused crop yield and price fluctuations, affected the increase of farmers' income, and hindered the development of the rural economy. As a typical mountainous region in North China, Shandong Province is a major peanut-planting province. In recent years, the peanut planting area in Shandong Province has remained relatively stable at around 10 million hectares (approximately 6.67 million hectares), accounting for approximately 14% of the national peanut planting area. Affected by meteorological disaster risks and consequent price risks, peanut farmers in Shandong Province are faced with double threats of output and price. This study is aiming to analyze the income risks faced by peanut planting farmers in the northern regions of China and to develop a comprehensive understanding of the factors influencing their income variability. The study may investigate various aspects especially the market price fluctuations, socioeconomic factors affecting peanut farming and the correlation of the peanut pricing and the local insurance. The current policy-based peanut insurance makes it difficult to fully disperse risks and guarantee stable production with the permission of relevant government department. Therefore, based on the peanut yield and price data of Shandong Province from 1991 to 2017 and following the logical context of "meteorological disaster - yield risk - price risk - income loss - income insurance", this paper uses the Copula method to calculate the premium rate of peanut income insurance and finds that under the guaranteed level of 70%-90%, the pure premium rate is between 1.5%-4.15%. Compared with the current cost insurance with a flat rate of 4% in Shandong Province, the income insurance rate is generally lower than the current rate. Secondly, there are regional differences in income insurance rates. In addition, at a higher level of protection, the income insurance rate is higher. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wheat starch is the main business material in wheat. It has a variety of functional characteristics and broad development and utilization prospects. This article is based on a comprehensive and in-depth analysis of wheat starch patent literature. For global patent output, the current patent situation of wheat starch is clarified from many aspects such as distribution, time latitude, and patent applicants in the technical field. We focus on analyzing the public trend of patents in China, revealing the development trend of wheat starch industry in China. At present, the research on the impact of wheat starch has been slower than before, and the development trend is stable. The research institutions are mainly domestic; however, the industrialization of wheat starch is lacking in the industrialization of the application of the application of wheat starch. There is still a large room for the industrialization of wheat starch in many fields. In this paper, the functional properties of wheat starch, such as gelatinization, retrogradation, freeze-thaw stability and gel property were summarized. According to the functional characteristics of wheat starch, the quality of wheat starch-based food was improved to broaden the development channel of wheat starch. On this basis, this article proposes the potential direction and industrialization of wheat starch industrialization and industrialization, so as to provide scientific basis for discovering the value of wheat starch and the use of development of wheat starch in various aspects of my country's wheat starch [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hydrological runoff prediction is vital for water resource management. The non-linear and non-stationary runoff series and the complex hydrological features for large-scale basins make it difficult to predict. Long short-term memory (LSTM) is effective for runoff prediction but unstable for large-scale basins. This study develops three hybrid models combined with two-stage decomposition and LSTM, including wavelet transformation (WT) combined with complete ensemble empirical mode decomposition with adaptive noise (CEEMDAN), variational mode decomposition (VMD), and local mean decomposition (LMD), to predict the daily runoff of the Pearl River in China. The results indicate CEEMDAN’s broader signal decomposition applicability for runoff series preprocessing, while VMD is simpler to extract high-runoff characteristics. VMD–WT–LSTM is appropriate for predicting high and median runoff, whereas CEEMDAN–WT–LSTM is better for low-runoff and high and median runoffs with low-violent fluctuations. These hybrid models provide satisfactory predictions for NSE and R² indicators, and 97.2% of indicators fall within the acceptable range for high-runoff predictions. The hybrid models outperform traditional and standalone models in high-runoff but none of the decomposition methods in this research can identify low-runoff sub-sequence. This study provided runoff prediction methods requiring fewer data and processing time, and these methods are promising alternatives for daily runoff prediction in large-scale basins. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to analyse the policy instruments used by the China's Government on prefabricated construction (PC) development, with the aim to clarify the pattern and discover the focus of the policy instruments using the methods of bibliometric analysis and content analysis. Design/methodology/approach: Through a thorough screening by all researchers, 25 policies were identified from 1995 to 2021 were selected and analysed. The external attribute analysis clarified the issuing year, organisation, and the format of each policy. The content analysis was adopted firstly to analyse the policy instrument. An analysis framework including environmental instruments, supply instruments and demand instruments was applied in categorising and counting of each policy instrument. The bibliometric analysis was then carried out to extract keywords of the policy instruments, construct a co-word network and complete the cluster analysis. Findings: The results indicate that the policies lack consistency and had relatively low authority. The results of content analysis show that the policy system relies heavily on environmental and supply instruments, whilst the use of demand instruments seems to be grossly inadequate. The results of the bibliometric analysis identify the core ideas of each policy instrument category, discuss the existing problems and then put forward the corresponding countermeasures. Research limitations/implications: This study comprehensively and systematically analysed the policy instruments on facilitating the development of PC in China which broaden the research perspectives of the PC development by introducing the methods of political science. The research findings afford helpful information for future policy adjustments and elucidate the effective delivery of policies to facilitate PC development for developing countries. Originality/value: This study provides an in-depth understanding of policy instruments used by China's Government on PC development. By integrating the policy instrument analysis framework into the mixed methods of content analysis and bibliometric analysis, this study provides an innovative way to conduct policy instrument analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To improve the understanding of the virome and bacterial microbiome in the wildlife rescue station of Poyang Lake, China. Ten smear samples were collected in March 2019 Metagenomic sequencing was performed to delineate bacterial and viral diversity. Taxonomic analysis was performed using the Kraken2 and Bracken methods. A maximum-likelihood tree was constructed based on the RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp) region of picornavirus. We identified 363 bacterial and 6 viral families. A significant difference in microbial and viral abundance was found between samples S01–S09 and S10. In S01–S09, members of Flavobacteriia and Gammaproteobacteria were the most prevalent, while in S10, the most prevalent bacteria class was Actinomycetia. Among S01–S09, members of Myoviridae and Herelleviridae were the most prevalent, while the dominant virus family of S10 was Picornaviridae. The full genome of the pigeon mesivirus-like virus (NC-BM-233) was recovered from S10 and contained an open reading frame of 8,124 nt. It showed the best hit to the pigeon mesivirus 2 polyprotein, with 84.10% amino acid identity. Phylogenetic analysis showed that RdRp clustered into Megrivirus B. This study provides an initial assessment of the bacteria and viruses in the cage-smeared samples, broadens our knowledge of viral and bacterial diversity, and is a way to discover potential pathogens in wild birds [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The purpose of this scoping review was to organize and describe the literature on the application of clown care to the elderly population in nursing homes, including intervention time, intervention methods and intervention effects, so as to provide reference ideas for other scholars to explore clown care programs suitable for the elderly population in nursing homes. Methods: Employing Arksey and O'Malley's methodology, we searched for PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, Cochrane, CNKI, WanFang, VIP, and CBM systematically and thoroughly, and the search period was from the establishment of each database to December 12, 2022. Two researchers with evidence-based learning experience independently conducted literature retrieval, information extraction, and cross-checking in strict accordance with the inclusion and exclusion criteria. The review process is reported according to PRISMA. Results: 148 literature were initially obtained after searching, of which 18 were finally included. Among them, 17 were in English and 1 was in Chinese. There are 16 quantitative studies and 2 qualitative studies published from 2010 to 2022. It is found that the current clown care intervention program has not established a unified intervention standard and effective evaluation program. Conclusions: The results of this scoping review conclude that clown care played a significant role in the nursing home. At first, it can reduce negative emotions, cognitive impairments and physical pain among older adults. In addition, it can improve their quality of life, life satisfaction, etc. It is suggested to learn from the advanced experience of clown care in foreign countries and carry out more clown care among the elderly population in nursing homes in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

At 12:52 pm on September 5, 2022, an Ms 6.8 earthquake occurred in Luding County, Sichuan Province, China. Based on high-resolution aerial photographs and satellite imageries obtained after the earthquake, as well as field investigation, a total of 8685 earthquake-triggered landslides (EQTLs) were interpreted. The landslides covered an area of 30.7 km2, with a source area of 9.4 km2. These EQTLs were mainly distributed in areas with a seismic intensity of VIII and IX. Most of the landslides were small and medium in size, and their types included landslide, rockfall, and rock slump. Characteristic landslide distributions were found, EQTLs were distributed along the Xianshuihe fault, landslide area decreased gradually with an increased distance to the fault; EQTLs were distributed along the Daduhe River and roads; besides, landslide distribution was associated with ground deformation caused by the earthquake. EQTLs' characteristics indicated that, a large number of EQTLs were located near the foot of the slope; the full area of EQTLs and their source area followed a power function. This study concluded that Luding EQTLs were greater in number and area but relatively smaller in terms of affected area. Investigations on geo-hazards post-earthquake and risk assessment were proposed in the earthquake-stricken area to support the rehabilitation and reconstruction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Intra-oceanic arcs are one of the major building blocks of continents, and the rarely exposed calc-alkaline plutons in intra-oceanic arcs are a critical component of arc crust. These calc-alkaline plutons provide juvenile crustal materials to the continental crust, and thus their petrogenesis has important implications for the formation and evolution of continental crust. Here, we present the results of an integrated study, involving field investigation, petrology, geochronology and geochemistry, on calc-alkaline intermediate–felsic plutons and their mafic magmatic enclaves (MMEs) within a Proto-Tethyan intra-oceanic arc in the Lajishan terrane of the Qilian Orogen, northern Tibetan Plateau. These calc-alkaline intermediate–felsic plutons range from gabbroic diorites, through diorites, to granodiorites. In situ zircon U–Pb dating demonstrates that these plutons were emplaced in the Early Paleozoic (474–460 Ma), slightly older than previously identified 460–440 Ma intra-oceanic arc volcanics (boninites, ankaramites, high-Mg basaltic andesites, high-Al andesites, sanukites) in the Lajishan terrane. The geochemistry of these plutons indicates that they were differentiation products of subduction-metasomatized arc mantle-derived melts, and isotope modeling constrains that their mantle source was metasomatized by less than 10% addition of slab-derived fluids/melts. Their parental melts experienced polybaric medium- to high-pressure fractional crystallization to generate the compositional variation of these plutons. There are two types of MMEs according to their different geochemistry (high- and low-MgO MMEs) and both of them are early crystallized melts derived from the heterogeneous subduction-metasomatized arc mantle wedge, captured by evolving magmas. Alkaline high-MgO MMEs represent near-primitive alkaline melts derived from melting of pyroxenite with phlogopite-enriched veins in the heterogeneous arc mantle wedge, while low-MgO MMEs stand for relatively evolved calc-alkaline melts formed during differentiation of the melts parental to their host. The upper crustal construction of this Proto-Tethyan intra-oceanic arc was achieved through earlier emplacement of 474–460 Ma calc-alkaline plutons followed by slightly later eruption of arc volcanics at 460–440 Ma above these plutons. As approximated by the composition of these calc-alkaline plutons and arc volcanics, the upper crustal composition of this Proto-Tethyan intra-oceanic arc is still juvenile and primitive. This juvenile intra-oceanic crust was accreted to continental blocks through arc–continent collision at 440–420 Ma, in response to closure of the Proto-Tethys Ocean. The accreted intra-oceanic crust represents addition of juvenile crustal materials to existing continents and has remained primitive and intact, which could be balanced by other more evolved crustal components to form a mature bulk continental crust. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Trichoderma is known worldwide as biocontrol agents of plant diseases, producers of enzymes and antibiotics, and competitive contaminants of edible fungi. In this investigation of contaminated substrates of edible fungi from North China, 39 strains belonging to 10 Trichoderma species isolated from four kinds of edible fungi were obtained, and three novel species belonging to the Harzianum clade were isolated from the contaminated substrates of Auricularia heimuer and Pholiota adipose. They were recognized based on integrated studies of phenotypic features, culture characteristics, and molecular analyses of RNA polymerase II subunit B and translation elongation factor 1-α genes. Trichoderma auriculariae was strongly supported as a separate lineage and differed from T. vermifimicola due to its larger conidia. Trichoderma miyunense was closely related to T. ganodermatigerum but differed due to its smaller conidia and higher optimum mycelial growth temperature. As a separate lineage, T. pholiotae was distinct from T. guizhouense and T. pseudoasiaticum due to its higher optimum mycelial growth temperature and larger conidia. This study extends the understanding of Trichoderma spp. contaminating substrates of edible fungi and updates knowledge of species diversity in the group. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Thalassemia is one of southern China's most common inherited disorders. Little is known about the genotypes of thalassemia in children in Jiangxi Province, the People's Republic of China (PRC). Two thousand, nine hundred and fifty-two children with suspected thalassemia were recruited from August 2016 to December 2020 at the Jiangxi Provincial Children's Hospital, Nanchang, PRC. Reverse dot-blot hybridization was used to detect α- and β-thalassemia (α- and β-thal) genotypes. A rare mutation was detected using gap-polymerase chain reaction (gap-PCR) and gene sequencing. The overall distribution of thalassemia (1534 cases) was 51.96%, and the detection rate of α-thal (616 cases), β-thal (888 cases) and concurrent α- and β-thalassemias (30 cases) was 20.86, 30.08, and 1.02%, respectively. A rare α-thal genotype, –α27.6/– –SEA (Southeast Asian), was identified. Seventy-eight cases of severe β-thal were detected, accounting for 8.78% of the cases, including 56 double heterozygous cases and 22 cases that were homozygous. Both α- and β-thalassemias are widely distributed in the children of Jiangxi Province. Thalassemia genetic testing is essential to establish a comprehensive thalassemia prevention program and improve public education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Treatments for patients with early-stage hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) include liver transplantation (LT), liver resection (LR), radiofrequency ablation (RFA), and microwave ablation (MWA), are critical for their long-term survival. However, a computational model predicting treatment-independent prognosis of patients with HCC, such as overall survival (OS) and recurrence-free survival (RFS), is yet to be developed, to our best knowledge. The goal of this study is to identify prognostic factors associated with OS and RFS in patients with HCC and develop nomograms to predict them, respectively. Methods: We retrospectively retrieved 730 patients with HCC from three hospitals in China and followed them up for 3 and 5 years after invasive treatment. All enrolled patients were randomly divided into the training cohort and the validation cohort with a 7:3 ratio, respectively. Independent prognostic factors associated with OS and RFS were determined by the multivariate Cox regression analysis. Two nomogram prognostic models were built and evaluated by concordance index (C-index), calibration curves, area under the receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curve, time-dependent area under the ROC curve (AUC), the Kaplan-Meier survival curve, and decision curve analyses (DCAs), respectively. Results: Prognostic factors for OS and RFS were identified, and nomograms were successfully built. Calibration discrimination was good for both the OS and RFS nomogram prediction models (C-index: 0.750 and 0.746, respectively). For both nomograms, the AUC demonstrated outstanding predictive performance; the DCA shows that the model has good decision ability; and the calibration curve demonstrated strong predictive power. The nomograms successfully discriminated high-risk and low-risk patients with HCC associated with OS and RFS. Conclusions: We developed nomogram survival prediction models to predict the prognosis of HCC after invasive treatment with acceptable accuracies in both training and independent testing cohorts. The models may have clinical values in guiding the selection of clinical treatment strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Neoadjuvant intraperitoneal and systemic chemotherapy (NIPS) has shown promising results in gastric cancer (GC) with peritoneal metastasis. However, clinical practice experience of NIPS is still lacking in China. In this study, we investigate the efficacy and safety of NIPS in Chinese patients. Methods: Eligible patients received NIPS every 3 weeks. Gastrectomy was performed for patients who met the criteria of conversion surgery. The primary end point was 1-year overall survival (OS) rate. Secondary end points were the response rate, toxic effects, conversion surgery outcomes and median survival time (MST). Results: Sixty-seven patients were enrolled. The primary endpoint was achieved with 1-year OS rate reached 67.2% (95% CI, 56.8%-79.4%). Conversion surgery was performed in 42 patients (62.9%), and R0 resection was achieved in 23 patients (54.8%) with the MST of 31.3 months (95% CI, 24.3-38.3). And the MST was 19.3 months (95% CI, 16.4-22.2) for all patients. Toxicity and surgical complications were well-tolerated. Moreover, sex, R0 resection, pathological nodal stage and tumor regression grade (TRG) were independent prognostic factors for patients who underwent conversion surgery. Conclusion: The NIPS is effective and safe in treating GC patients with peritoneal metastasis. Male patients, patients who underwent R0 resection, patients with ypN0-1 or TRG 1 after conversion surgery are more likely to benefit from the NIPS. Clinical Trial Registration: http://www.chictr.org.cn/ , identifier https://clinicaltrials.gov/ (). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: To evaluate the feasibility and advantages of wedge resection plus transverse suture without mesentery detached approach applied to loop ileostomy closure by analyzing the surgical data and the incidence of postoperative complications of patients undergoing this procedure.Methods: We performed a retrospective analysis of the hospitalization data of patients who underwent ileostomy closure surgery and met the research standards from January 2017 to April 2021 in Guangxi Medical University Cancer Hospital; all surgeries were performed by the same surgeon. The perioperative data were statistically analyzed by grouping.Results: In total, 65 patients were enrolled in this study, with 12 in the wedge resection group, 35 in the stapler group, and 18 in the hand suture group. There was no significant difference in operation time between the wedge resection group and stapler group (P > 0.05), but both groups had shorter operation time than that in the hand suture group (P < 0.05). The postoperative exhaustion time of wedge resection group was earlier than that of the others, and cost of surgical consumables in the wedge resection group was significantly lower than that in the stapler group, all with statistically significant differences (P < 0.05). By contrast, there were no statistically significant differences in postoperative complication incidences among the three groups.Conclusions: The wedge resection plus transverse suture without mesentery detached approach is safe and easy for closure of loop ileostomy in selected patients, and the intestinal motility recovers rapidly postoperatively. It costs less surgical consumables, and is particularly suitable for the currently implemented Diagnosis-Related Groups payment method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gut bacterial community plays a key role in maintaining host health. The Tibetan pig (Sus scrofa), an ancient breed in China, has been known for its high adaptability to harsh environments and for its meat quality. To understand the underlying mechanisms facilitating to shape these unique features, in this study, 16S rRNA sequencing using pigs feces and subsequent bacterial functional prediction were performed. Also, the gut bacteria of two other breeds of pigs, Barkshire and Landrace, were examined for comparison. It was revealed that the structure of bacterial community in Tibetan pigs appeared to be more complex; the relative abundances of dominant bacterial families varied inversely with those of the other pigs, and the proportion of Firmicutes in Tibetan pigs was lower, but Bacteroides, Fibrobacterota , Lachnospiraceae , Oscillospiraceae , and Ruminococcaceae were higher. Bacterial functional prediction revealed that the dominant flora in the Tibetan pigs was more correlated with functions regulating the hosts' immune and inflammatory responses, such as NOD-like_receptor_signaling_pathway and vitamin metabolism. In addition, in Tibetan pigs, the taxonomic relationships in the gut bacteria on day 350 were closer than those on earlier stages. Furthermore, gender played a role in the composition and function of bacterial inhabitants in the gut; for boars, they were more correlated to drug resistance and xenobiotics metabolism of the host compared to the sows. In sum, our preliminary study on the gut bacterial composition of the Tibetan pigs provided an insight into the underlying host–microorganism interactions, emphasizing the role of intestinal bacteria in the context of modulating the host's immune system and host development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Epidemiological evidence about hormone replacement therapy and colorectal carcinogenesis by demographic and clinical traits remains unclear. We aimed to assess this postulated association in a large multicentre study and further explore the modification effect by BMI and others. Methods: We retrospectively collected records of women diagnosed with colorectal cancer (CRC) at the age of 50 years and older during 2014–2017 and their HRT dispensing prior to CRC diagnosis in three tertiary hospitals in China. CRC cases were matched with controls at a ratio of 1:3 using nearest neighbour propensity scores matching to better control for the remaining imbalance between groups, which generated a total of 824 cases with 2472 controls. Results: Our study confirmed the inversed association between colorectal cancer risk and hormone replacement therapy (OR, 0.62; 95% CI, 0.54–0.75), which was more prominent among women having multiple HRT dispenses (OR, 0.60; 95% CI, 0.52–0.76). Furthermore, significant associations were consistently observed for the short-term (OR, 0.69; 95% CI, 0.57–0.88), middle-term (OR, 0.51; 95% CI, 0.41–0.66), and long-term HRT users (OR, 0.70; 95% CI, 0.43–0.90). Estrogen-related regimen reduced CRC risk more than progestogen-only. We, for the first time, found that the modifying effect of BMI on HRT use and CRC risk was in different ways when BMI was categorized by a medium level of 27. Conclusion: Our findings mainly suggest that there might be a different mechanism for the reversed association between HRT and colorectal tumorigenesis by BMI level, providing thoughts on clinical treatment of CRC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A nontoxic and biocompatible thermoseed is developed for the magnetic hyperthermia. Two kinds of thermoseed materials: hierarchical hollow and solid lichee-like Fe3O4 assemblies, are synthesized by a facile hydrothermal method. The crystal structure of Fe3O4 assemblies are characterized by x-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and transmission electron microscopy. Moreover, the prepared Fe3O4 assemblies are used as a magnetic heat treatment agent, and their heating efficiency is investigated. Compared to solid assembly, hollow lichee-like Fe3O4 assembly exhibits a higher specific absorption rate of 116.53 W/g and a shorter heating time, which is ascribed to its higher saturation magnetization, larger initial particle size, and the unique hierarchical hollow structure. Furthermore, the magnetothermal effect is primarily attributed to NĂ©el relaxation. Overall, we propose a facile and convenient approach to enhance the heating efficiency of magnetic nanoparticles by forming hollow hierarchical assemblies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abundant well‐preserved microbially induced sedimentary structures (MISS) are exposed in the Xinji Formation, the earliest Cambrian sedimentary unit in North China. The MISS herein are categorized into microbial mat growth structure (wrinkle structures and mat biolaminites) and microbial mat destruction structure (sand cracks and 'Manchuriophycus' structures). The MISS developed on the surface of thick quartz sandstones, as well as the lithologic interface between thin sandstone and mudstone. Most of the sand cracks lack the direct evidence of microbial activities, whereas the mat biolaminites that consist of filamentous mica, clay minerals, and quartz grains may record the in situ microbial mats. The Xinji Formation deposited along with the Cambrian explosion when biodiversity and abundance of metazoan stayed relatively low. Besides, the intermittently exposed tidal flats are not the ideal place for early life, which exacerbated the ecological vacuum therein. The massive occurrence of the MISS in the siliciclastic rocks of the Xinji Formation indicated that the tidal flat setting during this period was still beneficial for accumulations of microbial mat because of the deficient grazing metazoans and weak bioturbation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Surfgrass Phyllospadix iwatensis has been declining in the past decades. Transplantation is considered to be the best option to restore the degraded surfgrass beds due to its low seed production. To develop a surfgrass transplanting strategy to increase transplant survival rate and also to minimize damage to donor beds when harvesting transplants, an experiment was conducted to assess the effects of rhizome and root trimming on transplant survival and growth. P. iwatensis shoots with different rhizome and root trimming treatments were planted in a subtidal area in Mashanli at the east end of Shandong Peninsula, China in September 2018, and after the transplantation, a bi-monthly sampling had been conducted for one year. The results showed that, at the early stage of transplantation, the transplant survival rates of all four treatment groups decreased to the lowest at four months after transplantation, and then gradually increased until reaching at least 103.2% in all the treatment groups at the end of the experiment, and the transplants with roots on both short and long rhizomes had a significantly higher survival rate than those without roots. The results also showed that, although the morphological measurements, as well as the above- and below-ground productivity varied greatly with time and among different treatments during the study period, most of them showed no significant differences between treatments at the end of the experiment. These results suggest that surfgrass shoots with roots and a short rhizome are the most strongly recommended transplant candidates, and those with a short rhizome without roots are also good candidates, which might help make full use of harvested plants, optimize transplant harvesting strategies, and hence minimize damage to donor meadows. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is difficult to determine the optimal size of unicompartmental knee arthroplasty (UKA) prosthesis both pre-operatively and intra-operatively. Inappropriate femoral and tibial components are still the leading cause of failure. Several guidelines based on the Western population may not apply to the Chinese patients. We consequently try to investigate distributions of Oxford-UKA prosthesis in Chinese patients in order to provide a good reference for surgeons preoperatively. From January 2010 to December 2019, 1909 patients (2307 knees) with primary anteromedial osteoarthritis accepted Oxford phase III UKA. Statistical analyses were performed on the distributions of the femoral, tibial, and matching of the femoral-tibial prosthesis. The possible factors affecting the sizes of femoral components, including gender, height based on gender were investigated. 1. The distributions of femoral size components include extra-large (XL) 0, large (L) 1.08%, medium (M) 26.09%, small (S) 59.64%, extra-small (XS) 13.18%; the tibial sizes components were F 0, E 0.69%, D 7.80%, C 19.59%, B 24.79%, A 34.16%, AA 12.96%. 2. The matching of femur-tibia components were L-E 0.52%,L-D 0.52%,M-E 0.17%, M-D 7.28%,M − C 16.60%,M − B 1.95%,M-A 0.13%, M-AA 0.04%, S-C 2.99%, S-B 22.67%, S-A 31.12%, S-AA 2.82%, XS-B 0.17%, XS-A 2.90% and XS-AA 10.10%. The optimal matches between femoral and tibial components were: XL with F; L with E; M with C and D; S with A and B. 3. The patient's gender and height based on gender are necessary considerations for selection of femoral components (P＜0.01). In Chinese patients, the size of femoral components is mainly small (S) for women, medium (M) for men. The tibial components of female patients are mainly A and B, whereas C is predominant for male patients. The more commonly used matching forms are S-A and S-B. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Pennsylvanian is characterized by intense paleoenvironmental changes related to glacio-eustatic sea-level fluctuations and major tectonic events, which affected the evolution of biocommunities. Most known Pennsylvanian tropical reefs and mounds are predominantly composed of calcareous algae (e.g. phylloid algae, Archaeolithophyllum), calcareous sponges, fenestrate bryozoans, Tubiphytes, and microbialites. However, in Houchang (southern China), the Late Pennsylvanian carbonate platform records a large coral reef lacking any analogs in age (Gzhelian), size (80–100 m thick) and composition (high biodiversity). The large coral reef developed at the border of the Luodian intraplatform basin. The intraplatform basin is characterized by the deposition of green algal grainstone, coated grain grainstone and bioclastic packstone, grainstone, floatstone and rudstone in shallow-waters. In the deep-water shelf, lithofacies are composed of burrowed bioclastic wackestone, microbioclastic peloidal packstone, grainstone, and fine-grained burrowed wackestone and packstone. In this context, the coral reef developed on a deep-shelf margin, in a moderate to low energy depositional environment, below the FWWB. The scarcity of Pennsylvanian coral reefs suggests global unfavorable conditions, which can be attributed to a complex pattern of several environmental factors, including seawater chemistry (aragonite seas), paleoclimatic cooling related to continental glaciation, and the biological competition with the more opportunistic and adaptive phylloid algal community that occupied similar platform margin paleoenvironments. The existence of the large Bianping coral reef in southern China, as well as a few additional examples of Pennsylvanian coralliferous bioconstructions, provides evidence that coral communities were able to endure the Late Paleozoic fluctuating paleoenvironmental conditions in specific settings. One of such settings appears to have been the deep shelf margin, where low light levels decreased competition with the phylloid algal community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Financial assistance has been found to be an important way to help lift people out of poverty, both theoretically and empirically. However, its effective functioning depends on certain basic conditions. Currently, contiguous poverty-stricken areas, the main areas where impoverished communities live in China, are the main battlefield for poverty alleviation. The Chinese government attaches great importance to the effective functioning of rural finance as a tool to combat poverty in these areas and has invested sizable financial resources. However, the actual impact on rural households of financial infusions has not been analyzed. This article sheds empirical light on the issue using data from a survey of rural households in such areas. The results show that the formal financial transfers from the government and informal finance do not effectively reduce poverty there. Rather, they increase income inequality among households. Nonetheless, cultivation of the human capital, material resources, and social capital of rural households plays a positive role in reducing poverty. Thus, our conclusions may be helpful for adjusting rural financial policies in these areas so as to reduce poverty among those who live there. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: A cluster of pneumonia cases were reported by Wuhan Municipal Health Commission, China in December 2019. A novel coronavirus was eventually identified, and became the COVID-19 epidemic that affected public health and life. We investigated the psychological status and behavior changes of the general public in China from January 30 to February 3, 2020. Methods: Respondents were recruited via social media (WeChat) and completed an online questionnaire. We used the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, Self-rating Depression Scale, and Symptom Checklist-90 to evaluate psychological status. We also investigated respondents' behavior changes. Quantitative data were analyzed by t-tests or analysis of variance, and classified data were analyzed with chi-square tests. Results: In total, 608 valid questionnaires were obtained. More respondents had state anxiety than trait anxiety (15.8% vs 4.0%). Depression was found among 27.1% of respondents and 7.7% had psychological abnormalities. About 10.1% of respondents suffered from phobia. Our analysis of the relationship between subgroup characteristics and psychological status showed that age, gender, knowledge about COVID-19, degree of worry about epidemiological infection, and confidence about overcoming the outbreak significantly influenced psychological status. Around 93.3% of respondents avoided going to public places and almost all respondents reduced Spring Festival-related activities. At least 70.9% of respondents chose to take three or more preventive measures to avoid infection. The three most commonly used prevention measures were making fewer trips outside and avoiding contact (98.0%), wearing a mask (83.7%), and hand hygiene (82.4%). Conclusions: We need to pay more attention to public psychological stress, especially among young people, as they are likely to experience anxiety, depression, and psychological abnormalities. Different psychological interventions could be formulated according to the psychological characteristics of different gender and age groups. The majority of respondents followed specific behaviors required by the authorities, but it will take time to observe the effects of these behaviors on the epidemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Accurate and reliable predictions of landslide displacements are difficult to perform using traditional point prediction approaches due to the associated uncertainty. Prediction intervals are effective tools for quantifying the uncertainty of point predictions by estimating the limit of future landslide displacements. In this paper, under the framework of the original lower upper bound estimation method, a direct interval prediction approach is proposed for landslide displacements based on the least squares support vector machine (LSSVM) and differential search algorithms. Two LSSVM models are directly implemented to generate the interval of future displacements, and the optimal model parameters are derived by the differential search algorithm. The Baishuihe landslide and the Tanjiahe landslide located on the shoreline of the Three Gorges Reservoir, China, are used to test the proposed approach. Compared with other models, the proposed method performed best and presented the smallest coverage width-based criterion values of 0.8927 and 1.0562 at monitoring stations XD01 and ZG118 for the Baishuihe landslide, respectively, and 0.1316 and 0.1191 at monitoring stations ZG289 and ZG287 for the Tanjiahe landslide, respectively. The results indicate that the proposed approach can provide high-quality prediction intervals for landslide displacements in the Three Gorges Reservoir area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Displacement prediction of reservoir landslide remains inherently uncertain since a complete understanding of the complex nonlinear, dynamic landslide system is still lacking. An appropriate quantification of predictive uncertainties is a key underpinning of displacement prediction and mitigation of reservoir landslide. A density prediction, offering a full estimation of the probability density for future outputs, is promising for quantification of the uncertainty of landslide displacement. In the present study, a hybrid computational intelligence approach is proposed to build a density prediction model of landslide displacement and quantify the associated predictive uncertainties. The hybrid computational intelligence approach consists of two steps: first, the input variables are selected through copula analysis; second, kernel-based support vector machine quantile regression (KSVMQR) is employed to perform density prediction. The copula-KSVMQR approach is demonstrated through a complex landslide in the Three Gorges Reservoir Area (TGRA), China. The experimental study suggests that the copula-KSVMQR approach is capable of construction density prediction by providing full probability density distributions of the prediction with perfect performance. In addition, different types of predictions, including interval prediction and point prediction, can be derived from the obtained density predictions with excellent performance. The results show that the mean prediction interval widths of the proposed approach at ZG287 and ZG289 are 27.30 and 33.04, respectively, which are approximately 60 percent lower than that obtained using the traditional bootstrap-extreme learning machine-artificial neural network (Bootstrap-ELM-ANN). Moreover, the obtained point predictions show great consistency with the observations, with correlation coefficients of 0.9998. Given the satisfactory performance, the presented copula-KSVMQR approach shows a great ability to predict landslide displacement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Accurate landslide displacement prediction has great practical significance for mitigating geohazards. Traditional deterministic forecasting methods can provide only a single point value and cannot give the degree of uncertainty associated with the forecast, thereby failing to provide information on predictive confidence. This study applied interval prediction for landslide displacement. Taking the Tanjiahe landslide of the Three Gorges Reservoir Area as an example and considering the impact of seasonal variations in reservoir level and rainfall, the uncertainties associated with landslide displacement prediction were quantified into prediction intervals (PIs) by a bootstrapped least-square support vector machine (LSSVM) method (B-LSSVM). The proposed method consists of three steps: First, the LSSVM and bootstrapping were combined to estimate the true regression means of landslide displacement and the variance with respect to model misspecification uncertainties. Second, a new LSSVM model optimized by a genetic algorithm (GA) was implemented to estimate the noise variance. Finally, the point prediction was derived from the regression means, and the PIs were constructed by combining the regression mean, the model variance, and the noise variance. We applied the proposed method to predict the displacement of four GPS monitoring points of the Tanjiahe landslide, and we comprehensively compared the prediction accuracy and the quality of the constructed PIs with benchmark methods. A simulation and performance comparison showed that the proposed method is a promising technique for providing accurate and reliable prediction results for landslide displacement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The soil parameters for large, complex landslides are typically derived from incomplete information based on a small sample set due to budgetary constraints. This informational incompleteness results in large statistical uncertainty in landslide reliability analyses. In this article, the bootstrap technique is proposed to quantify the statistical uncertainties associated with a small sample set, and a practice-oriented reliability analysis is performed. The results suggest that the obtained reliability indices are characterized by a long tail, in which the worst-case scenario has a local extreme value and a small population. The statistical uncertainties are quantified and characterized by a confidence interval at a specified confidence level. The confidence interval of the reliability index and identification of the worst-case scenario enable engineers to make more informed decisions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: There is no consensus regarding the association between hormone replacement therapy (HRT) and risk of meningioma so far. We conducted the first study among Chinese female patients to investigate the influence of HRT use on the risk of meningioma. Methods: We retrospectively collected records of diagnosis of meningioma for women aged 50 years and above during 2011–2016 and dispense of HRT prior to meningioma diagnosis in three tertiary hospitals in China. Meningioma cases were matched with controls at a ratio of 1:2 by using nearest neighbor propensity scores matching in order to balance the baseline characteristics between groups, which generated a total of 629 cases with 1258 controls. Results: We observed prior use of HRT associated with increased risk of meningioma (odds ratio [OR], 1.2; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.0–1.4) and the association was more prominent among women having multiple HRT dispenses and longer term exposure (OR, 1.3; 95% CI, 1.1–1.6), among those with combination therapy of estrogens and progestogens (OR, 1.3; 95% CI, 1.1–1.7) than monotherapy, and among progestogen users than estrogen users as for monotherapy. Furthermore, vaginal, subcutaneous implant seems to be associated with a higher risk of meningioma compared with oral administration although no significance had been reached. Conclusion: This case–control study provides evidence that hormone use for an HRT purpose might constitute the development and growth of meningioma as an independent risk factor, especially for combination therapy and/or long‐term users, which supports that meningioma might be a hormone‐sensitive tumor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research examines residential satisfaction in a large Public Rental Housing (PRH) program in the developing municipality of Chongqing, a city located in western China. Twenty-three critical factors were identified through intensive literature review and incorporated into a large-sample survey of eight residential estates of PRH in Chongqing. The survey data were analysed using factor analysis, one sample T-test, stepwise multiple regression analysis, and ANOVA. The results showed generally, the residents neither expressed satisfaction nor dissatisfaction with their current housing situation in the estates sampled. Five domains of residential satisfaction were identified ranging from dwelling features, dwelling facilities, public facilities, neighbourhood environment to housing policy. Factors in the domain of dwelling features, dwelling facilities and housing policies were found to make positive contribution to the residential satisfaction, while negative contributions were made by the factors in the domains of public facilities and neighbourhood environment. Three key determinants of overall residential satisfaction were identified using multiple regression, namely public facilities, neighbourhood environment and housing policies. In addition, the results revealed that age, education, family income, residence length and housing type have significant impact on residential satisfaction with PRH programs. Consequently, related policy interventions could be introduced to improve the residential satisfaction in public rental housing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

GIS (gas-insulated metal-enclosed switchgear) is one of the important components in modern electrical power systems. Compared with traditional open switching devices, GIS has many advantages such as compact structure, smaller occupied area, little influence from environment as well as safe and reliable operation [1–3]. Statistical data show that equipment failure rate of GIS is only 20%–40% of traditional open switching devices. However, as GIS is designed as a fully enclosed structure, once something goes wrong, the diagnosis process is much more complex and the time necessary for fault repair becomes much longer [4–5]. For instance, a severe short circuit fault occurred in Jiangsu Power Grid, China in 2014 due to the development of cracks on a disc insulator. In the same year, abnormal discharges occurred in GIS substations because of a disconnector fault that led to large economic loss and undesired social impacts. Much work had, therefore, been done on analyzing transient events in gas insulated installations in China and internationally [6–9]. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Extracellular histones have been recently identified as damage-associated molecular-pattern (DAMP) molecules involved with the pathogenesis of various inflammatory diseases. This study intended to investigate whether extracellular histones can indicate the prognosis in critically ill patients supported by extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) therapy. Methods: A total of 56 patients undergoing ECMO were analysed retrospectively. Median concentrations of extracellular histones in patients before ECMO were assessed and used to divide the patients into two groups (Group 1 <48 µg/ml and Group 2 ⩾48 µg/ml). Mortality rate, Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) scores and systemic inflammation were compared between the groups. Results: There were relatively higher concentrations of extracellular histones in Group 2 patients (57.78 µg/ml [48.4, 71.3]) than in Group 1 patients (36.76 µg/ml [28.5, 39.3], p<0.0001). The hospital mortality rate was 55.4% for the entire study subjects, with significantly worsened mortality in Group 2 in contrast to Group 1 (58.8% vs. 50%, p=0.031). Moreover, Group 2 patients had significantly higher SOFA scores and more pronounced systemic inflammation than Group 1 patients prior to ECMO initialization. Conclusions: Extracellular histones are known contributors to cell damage and organ injury. Our study showed that extracellular histones have a predictive value in the assessment of outcome of patients undergoing ECMO therapy and may be helpful for risk stratification in clinical settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Fibromyalgia (FM) can cause chronic widespread pain and seriously affect the quality of patient lives. Acupuncture therapy is widely used for pain management. However, the effect of acupuncture on FM is still uncertain. The aim of this review was to determine the effect and safety of acupuncture therapy on the pain intensity and quality of life in patients with FM. Materials and methods: We searched PubMed, the Cochrane Library, Embase, the China National Knowledge Infrastructure, the Chinese Science and Technology Periodical Database, and the Chinese Biomedical Literature Database to collect randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of acupuncture for FM published before May 2018. A meta-analysis was performed according to the Cochrane systematic review method by using RevMan 5.3 software, and GRADE was used to evaluate the quality of the evidence. Results: We identified 12 RCTs that compared acupuncture therapy to sham acupuncture or conventional medication. Meta-analysis showed that acupuncture was significantly better than sham acupuncture for relieving pain (MD =-1.04, 95% CI [-1.70, –0.38], P=0.002, I2=78%) and improving the quality of life (MD =-13.39, 95% CI [-21.69, –5.10], P=0.002, I2=82%), with low- to moderate-quality evidence in the short term. At follow-up in the long term, the effect of acupuncture was also superior to that of sham acupuncture. No serious adverse events were found during acupuncture. Conclusion: Acupuncture therapy is an effective and safe treatment for patients with FM, and this treatment can be recommended for the management of FM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Glaciers were solid reservoirs and important water resources in western China, but they were retreating significantly in context of global warming. Laohugou Glacier No. 12 was the largest valley glacier in Qilian Mountains. In this study, realtime kinematic (RTK) data, topographic map and WorldView-2 satellite imagery were used to measure changes in terminus, extent and volume of Laohugou Glacier No. 12. Results showed that Laohugou Glacier No. 12 was shrinking significantly since 1957. From 1960 to 2015, the terminus reduction of Laohugou Glacier No. 12 was 402.96 m (3.99%) in total, and glacier length decreased to 9.7 km from 10.1 km. Reduction of glacier area and volume were the most obvious. From 1957 to 2015, glacier area and volume decreased by 1.54 km2 (7.03%) and 0.1816 km3, respectively. Reduction trend of terminus and area was slowing in 1950 -1980s, even stable for a period in the mid-1980s, and then accelerated. Ice core analysis result and nearly meteorological station data shown an increasing trend of temperature in 1957 -2015, it was a main reason of continuous retreating of Laohugou Glacier No.12. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Low pathogenic H9N2 subtype avian influenza virus (AIV) can lead to moderate respiratory symptoms and low egg production rates in poultry. Due to its immunologic suppression, other various infectious pathogens give rise to the co-infection of hosts, causing heavy economic losses in the commercial poultry industry in both China and worldwide. Therefore, it is time to explore a novel, safe, and effective vaccine. We have already made use of the surface of Lactobacillus plantarum to display AIV HA2 (NC8-pSIP409-pgsA′-HA2), which demonstrated that it has a good immunogenicity. In this study, by evaluating the immune protection effect of NC8-pSIP409-pgsA′-HA2 on chickens, we found that the hemagglutination inhibition (HI) antibodies, specificity IgG antibody in chickens, the sIgA titer in broncho alveolar lavage fluids (BALF), and the T cell response were increased notably after oral vaccination with NC8-pSIP409-pgsA′-HA2. In addition, weight loss, lung titers, and lung pathologies were improved when chickens were orally vaccinated with NC8-pSIP409-pgsA′-HA2 after challenge with H9N2 AIV. This strategy lays the foundation for the development of recombinant L. plantarum oral vaccines in the prevention of AIV. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: There have been few large sample studies reporting the midterm outcome of Oxford phase 3 unicompartmental knee arthroplasty (UKA) in Asian patients.Methods: The study included 708 consecutive medial Oxford UKAs between February 2005 and May 2014 in Chinese patients. All cases were performed for the recommended indications with a minimally-invasive surgical technique. The functional and radiological outcomes were subsequently examined. In particular, we divided patients into the spontaneous osteonecrosis of the knee (SONK) group and the osteoarthritis (OA) group.Results: All patients were reviewed with a mean follow-up of 6.2 years (range 2.7-12 years). At the latest follow up, the mean Oxford knee score (OKS) increased from 22.5 to 38.5 points, while the mean knee society score (KSS) increased from 43.6 to 86.1 points. The mean visual analogue scale pain score decreased from 7.9 to 1.5 points and the mean range of motion (ROM) increased from 112.5° to 125.2°. A total of 13 UKAs (1.88%) required revisions. The most common reason was bearing dislocation and osteoarthritis of the lateral compartment. Using revision for any cause as an endpoint, the five-year cumulative survival rate was 98.8% and the ten-year survival rate was 94.3%. There was no statistically significant difference between the SONK group and the OA group for the five-year cumulative survival rate (98.7% vs. 98.8%, P > 0.05).Conclusion: This study demonstrates that Oxford UKA is a good option for the treatment of anteromedial OA and SONK of the knee in Asian patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The purpose of the present study was to examine the influence of maternal pre-pregnancy BMI and gestational weight gain (GWG) on initiation and duration of infant breast-feeding in a prospective birth cohort study. Design: Breast-feeding information was collected at 1, 3, 6 and 12 months postpartum. The association of pre-pregnancy BMI and GWG with delayed lactogenesis II and termination of exclusive breast-feeding was assessed with logistic regression analysis. The risk of early termination of any breast-feeding during the first year postpartum was assessed with Cox proportional hazards models. Setting: Urban city in China. Subjects: Women with infants from the Ma'anshan Birth Cohort Study (n 3196). Results: The median duration of any breast-feeding in this cohort was 7·0 months. Pre-pregnancy obese women had higher risks of delayed lactogenesis II (risk ratio=1·89; 95% CI 1·04, 3·43) and early termination of any breast-feeding (hazard ratio=1·38; 95% CI 1·09, 1·75) adjusted for potential maternal and infant confounders, when compared with normal-weight women. No differences in breast-feeding initiation or duration of exclusive breast-feeding according to pre-pregnancy BMI were found. Moreover, GWG was not associated with any poor breast-feeding outcomes. Conclusions: The present study indicated that pre-pregnancy obesity increases the risks of delayed lactogenesis II and early termination of any breast-feeding in Chinese women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Under the strategy of rural revitalization, China has a considerable demand for building green rural housing. Thus, it is urgent to develop related policy strategies for green rural housing development. However, the issue of green rural housing development has been overlooked in recent studies. This research fills this gap by increasing our understanding of factors that hinder green rural housing development and identifying effective policy strategies via fuzzy cognitive maps (FCM). Firstly, 23 system variables were identified including 8 policy drivers, 12 system structure variables and 3 system outcome variables. Then, the causal-effect relationships among these variables were visualized. Secondly, a fuzzy inference simulation was conducted to explore the most effective policy strategies for green rural housing development. The results show that these factors inhibiting green rural housing development are interrelated, which form solid vicious cycles not only between economic factors, social factors and technological factors but also within these sub-aspect factors. Three policy mixes were identified as the most effective policy strategies: financial support and price support, infrastructure development and technology support, guiding information and certification and labelling. The results offer a valuable reference to policy-making on facilitating rural green housing development. • Fuzzy cognitive maps technique was used to explore the best effective policy strategy for green rural housing development. • The system structure variables forming a vicious cycle severely impeded the development of green rural housing. • Better development of green rural housing can be achieved through policy mixes. • The most effective policy strategies are identified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effects of artificial shell reef (ASR) on the benthic macroinvertebrates were studied in Shuangdao Bay, Yellow Sea, China. Results showed that the biomass of macroinvertebrates in the ASR increased with the age of the ASR. Based on self-organizing map (SOM), the macroinvertebrate community of short-term artificial reef (SAR), medium-term artificial reef (MAR) and long-term artificial reef (LAR) emerged as a cluster, which may indicate that the benthic community in the ASR formed after three years. The age of the ASR was the main factor affecting the benthic community. The macroinvertebrates belonged to six phyla, Platyhelminthes, Nemertea, Annelida, Mollusca, Arthropoda and Echinodermata, among which the latter four were the ones that contributed the most for abundance. The biomass of Mollusca increased dramatically with age. The dissimilarity of the species composition of Mollusca was mainly caused by Meretrix meretrix and Protothaca jedoensis . The two species accounted for 15.61%, 28.05% and 75.11% of the macroinvertebrate biomass found in SAR, MAR and LAR, respectively. The ASR might be served as a bivalve stock enhancement tool. We conclude that ASR could assemble macrobenthos effectively and increase the environmental quality of the adjacent area, being a valid option for marine habitat restoration purposes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objectives of the present study were to investigate the mitigation of lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd), and arsenic (As) in a multi-metal contaminated soil and their accumulation in rice plants (Oryza sativaL., cv II You 93) using a combined amendment (CMF, calcium carbonate + metakaolin + fused calcium–magnesium phosphate fertilizer). The results showed that application of CMF was effective in reducing the acid-extractable concentrations of soil Pb and Cd. The exchangeable concentrations of soil As showed an initial decrease followed by a gradual increase. The application of 0.2% CMF notably reduced the concentrations of Pb, Cd, and As in brown rice by 46.5%, 43.6%, and 32.0%, respectively. The concentration of As in brown rice was 0.179 mg kg−1at 0.2% CMF, which met the maximum levels of contaminants in foods of China (MLs) (the ML of Pb, Cd, and As is 0.2 mg kg−1according to the China national standard GB 2762-2012). At 1.6% CMF, the concentrations of Pb and Cd in brown rice were 0.002 and 0.185 mg kg−1, respectively, i.e., reductions of 99.6% and 74.1%, and these values also fell within the MLs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]