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Background: Accurate microsatellite instability (MSI) testing is essential for identifying gastric cancer (GC) patients eligible for immunotherapy. We aimed to develop and validate a CT-based radiomics signature to predict MSI and immunotherapy outcomes in GC. Methods: This retrospective multicohort study included a total of 457 GC patients from two independent medical centers in China and The Cancer Imaging Archive (TCIA) databases. The primary cohort (n = 201, center 1, 2017–2022), was used for signature development via Least Absolute Shrinkage and Selection Operator (LASSO) and logistic regression analysis. Two independent immunotherapy cohorts, one from center 1 (n = 184, 2018–2021) and another from center 2 (n = 43, 2020–2021), were utilized to assess the signature's association with immunotherapy response and survival. Diagnostic efficiency was evaluated using the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC), and survival outcomes were analyzed via the Kaplan-Meier method. The TCIA cohort (n = 29) was included to evaluate the immune infiltration landscape of the radiomics signature subgroups using both CT images and mRNA sequencing data. Results: Nine radiomics features were identified for signature development, exhibiting excellent discriminative performance in both the training (AUC: 0.851, 95%CI: 0.782, 0.919) and validation cohorts (AUC: 0.816, 95%CI: 0.706, 0.926). The radscore, calculated using the signature, demonstrated strong predictive abilities for objective response in immunotherapy cohorts (AUC: 0.734, 95%CI: 0.662, 0.806; AUC: 0.724, 95%CI: 0.572, 0.877). Additionally, the radscore showed a significant association with PFS and OS, with GC patients with a low radscore experiencing a significant survival benefit from immunotherapy. Immune infiltration analysis revealed significantly higher levels of CD8 + T cells, activated CD4 + B cells, and TNFRSF18 expression in the low radscore group, while the high radscore group exhibited higher levels of T cells regulatory and HHLA2 expression. Conclusion: This study developed a robust radiomics signature with the potential to serve as a non-invasive biomarker for GC's MSI status and immunotherapy response, demonstrating notable links to post-immunotherapy PFS and OS. Additionally, distinct immune profiles were observed between low and high radscore groups, highlighting their potential clinical implications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Following China's official designation as malaria-free country by WHO, the imported malaria has emerged as a significant determinant impacting the malaria reestablishment within China. The objective of this study is to explore the application prospects of machine learning algorithms in imported malaria risk assessment of China. Methods: The data of imported malaria cases in China from 2011 to 2019 was provided by China CDC; historical epidemic data of malaria endemic country was obtained from World Malaria Report, and the other data used in this study are open access data. All the data processing and model construction based on R, and map visualization used ArcGIS software. Results: A total of 27,088 malaria cases imported into China from 85 countries between 2011 and 2019. After data preprocessing and classification, clean dataset has 765 rows (85 * 9) and 11 cols. Six machine learning models was constructed based on the training set, and Random Forest model demonstrated the best performance in model evaluation. According to RF, the highest feature importance were the number of malaria deaths and Indigenous malaria cases. The RF model demonstrated high accuracy in forecasting risk for the year 2019, achieving commendable accuracy rate of 95.3%. This result aligns well with the observed outcomes, indicating the model's reliability in predicting risk levels. Conclusions: Machine learning algorithms have reliable application prospects in risk assessment of imported malaria in China. This study provides a new methodological reference for the risk assessment and control strategies adjusting of imported malaria in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Amatoxins and phallotoxins are toxic cyclopeptides found in the genus Amanita and are among the predominant causes of foodborne sickness and poisoning-related fatalities in China. This study introduces and validates a simple, rapid and cost-effective ultra-performance liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry method for the simultaneous determination and quantification of α-amanitin, β-amanitin, γ-amanitin, phallisacin, phallacidin and phalloidin in human blood and urine. Quick therapeutic decision-making is supported by a 9 min chromatographic separation performed on a Waters Acquity UPLC HSS T3 column (100 mm × 2.1 mm, 1.8 µm) using a gradient of high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC)-grade water and methanol:0.005% formic acid. The analyte limit of quantification was 1–3 ng/mL in blood and 0.5–2 ng/mL in urine. Calibrations curves, prepared by spiking drug-free blood and urine, demonstrated acceptable linearity with mean correlation coefficients (r) greater than 0.99 for all phallotoxins and amatoxins. Acceptable intraday and interday precision (relative standard deviation <15%) and accuracy (bias, −4.8% to 13.0% for blood and—9.0% to 14.7% for urine) were achieved. The validated method was successfully applied to analyze 9 blood samples and 2 urine samples testing positive for amatoxins and/or phallotoxins. Amatoxins and/or phallotoxins were identified in each whole blood sample at a range of 1.12–5.63 ng/mL and in two urine samples from 1.01–9.27 ng/mL. The method has the benefits of simple sample preparation (protein precipitation) and wide analyte coverage, making it suitable for emergency quantitative surveillance toxicological analysis in clinics and forensic poisoning practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Landslide identification in alpine and canyon areas is difficult due to the terrain limitations. The main objective of this research was to explore the method of combining small baseline subset interferometric synthetic aperture radar (SBAS-InSAR), multi-temporal optical images and field surveys to identify potential landslides in the human-modified alpine and canyon area of the Niulan River in southwestern China based on terrain visibility analysis. The visibility of the terrain is analyzed using the different incident and heading angles of the Sentinel satellite's ascending and descending orbits. Based on the SAR image data of Sentinel-1A satellites from 2016 to 2019, the SBAS-InSAR method was used to identify landslides, and then multi-temporal optical images were used to facilitate landslide identification. Field surveys were carried out to verify the identification accuracy. A total of 28 landslides were identified, including 13 indicated by SBAS-InSAR, 8 by optical imaging and 7 by field investigation. Many landslides were induced by the impoundment and fluctuation of reservoir water. The comparison and verification of typical landslide monitoring data and reservoir water fluctuations revealed that a sudden drop of reservoir water had a great influence on landslide stability. These research results can facilitate a comprehensive understanding of landslide distribution in the reservoir area and guide the follow-up landslide risk management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Antiphospholipid syndrome (APS) is an autoimmune disorder that is characterized by venous or arterial thrombosis and/or obstetric morbidity in the constant presence of persistent antiphospholipid antibodies (aPLs). In patients with APS, the relationship between production of immunoglobulin (Ig)A antiphospholipid antibodies and adverse events in pregnancy is still unclear. As a result of massive trials, the clinical efficiency of IgA-aPLs is used to evaluate pregnancy outcomes in patients with APS. Methods We enrolled 381 female patients with APS and 93 healthy pregnant women. Silica clotting time ratio, dilute Russell viper venom time (dRVVT) ratio, and 6 aPLs, including IgA/IgG/IgM isotypes aβ2GPI and IgA/IgG/IgM isotypes anticardiolipin (aCL), were detected using commercial kits. Results We found no significant differences in laboratory parameters between patients with APS and the control group. The total prevalence of aCL IgA was 2.9%; the prevalence of aβ2GPI IgA was 3.4%. Only 1.3% of the individuals who tested aCL-positive (5/381) had isolated aCL IgA. Similarly, isolated aβ2GPI IgA was present in only 0.8% (3/381) of the aβ2GPI-positive subjects. Meanwhile, aCL IgA showed the maximum area under the curve (AUC) of 0.666 (95% CI, 0.60–0.73; P <.001), followed by dRVVT ratio (AUC = 0.649; 0.58–0.72; P <.001). Conclusion Positive aCL IgA and aβ2GPI IgA ratios were extremely low for each isolated isotype of aPLs. For patients with APS who experienced fetal loss, aCL IgA may be utilized as a risk factor for pregnancy loss among patients with APS. Establishing a standardized diagnosis of IgA aPLs is also important for these patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since China put forward its carbon neutrality goal, the issue of environmental governance has attracted increasing attention. When strengthening the supervision of enterprise pollution sources, environmental regulators often ignore the impact of zombie enterprises on environmental investment by normal enterprises. Taking China's A-share listed companies from 2010 to 2019 as research samples, this paper collected and analyzed the data of their environmental investment, and used the fixed effect model to explore the impact of the proportion of zombie companies in the industry on the environmental investment of normal companies and such impact's heterogeneity and mechanism. The results of this study showed that the proportion of zombie enterprises in the industry delivered a significant negative impact on the environmental investment of normal enterprises in the same industry by the following internal mechanism: Firstly, a higher proportion of zombie enterprises would exacerbate the financing constraints faced by normal enterprises and result in difficulties with their fund-raising, finally leading to the decline in environmental investment. The mediating effect of financing constraints was 13.97%. Secondly, the existence of zombie enterprises would distort the fair competition in the market, lead to vicious price competition and lower the profitability of normal enterprises, thus thwarting the environmental protection investment by normal enterprises. The mediating effect of profitability was 14.26%. Further research demonstrated that in the sample of non-state-owned enterprises, low-social-responsibility enterprises and heavily polluting enterprises, the negative effects of zombie enterprises on normal corporate environmental investment were more obvious. In the robustness test, the regression results were proved to be robust by different levels, different zombie enterprise identification methods and the measurement methods of enterprise environmental protection investment. Among them, the proportion of zombie enterprises in an individual province had a significant negative effect on the environmental investment of normal enterprises in the same province, showing that such negative impact existed not only at the industrial level, but also at the provincial level. Therefore, governments should pay attention to the negative impact of the existence of zombie enterprises on the environmental investment of normal enterprises, adhere to the principle of environmental regulation neutrality and establish a multi-level and diversified financial system. This approach can eliminate the policy environment on which zombie enterprises rely in their survival and gradually form a new pattern for steady economic growth and an increasingly perfect environment. From the perspective of dealing with zombie enterprises, this study provides some policy suggestions on improving environmental protection investment by normal enterprises. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A set of indices are constructed to measure electric vehicle (EV) market resilience. • A conceptual framework is proposed to explore contributors to EV market resilience. • China's provincial EV market resilience and underlying contributors are investigated. • China's EV market resilience presents regional heterogeneity and spatial agglomeration. • Key contributors to China's provincial EV market resilience are identified. This study assesses electric vehicle (EV) market resilience and explores its underlying contributors. We develop a set of indices to measure the resistance, recoverability, and comprehensive resilience of the EV market. A four-dimensional conceptual framework, encompassing market foundation, industrial foundation, policy support and usage environment, is proposed to investigate the potential contributors to the EV market resilience. The models are applied to China's provincial EV markets, and the geographical detector model is used for empirical investigation. We identify an imbalanced distribution of regional EV market resilience, characterized by a spatial clustering of high-performing regions. Notably, a majority of regions encounter challenges in simultaneously achieving high performance in both resistance and recoverability. It is found that contributors across the conceptual framework exhibit varying degrees of influence on resilience, with resistance shaped by inherent factors and recoverability by agency-based factors. However, diverse initiatives may counteract each other, due to interactions among contributors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

More than 50% major road accidents are caused by risk driving behaviors from professional drivers of Heavy Duty Vehicles (HDVs). The quantitative estimation of driving performance and driving behaviors portrait for professional drivers is helpful to measure the driver's driving risk and inherent driving style. Previous studies have attempted to evaluate risk driving behavior, but most of them rely on high-demand vehicle and driving data. However, few studies can dig into the causes and correlations behind individual driving behavior and quantify the driving behaviors portrait for professional driver based on long-term naturalistic driving. In this study, the data is from On-Board Unit (OBU) devices mounted in the HDVs in China. Based on the driving behavior pattern diagram and the frequency and ranking of drivers' typical driving patterns, a driving behavior portrait approach is proposed by comprehensively considering the vehicle safety, driving comfort, and fuel economy indicators. The similarities and differences of different drivers' driving behaviors are quantitatively analyzed. The high precision and sampling frequency data from vehicles are used to verify the proposed approach. The results demonstrated that the driving behavior portrait approach can digitally describe the individual driving behaviors styles and identify the potential driving behaviors with long-term naturalistic driving data. The development of this approach can help quantitatively evaluate the individual characteristic of risk driving behaviors to prevent road accidents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We analyzed data from 8,710 participants in the 2013 China General Social Survey by using the instrumental variable method to assess the impact of the number of years of individuals' formal education on their environmental behavior. The results show that more formal education significantly increased individuals' public and private environmental behavior. Higher levels of formal education improved individuals' environmental knowledge and their environmental pollution awareness, which directly affected their environmental behavior. Having had more formal education was also associated with having a higher socioeconomic status and economic income, which increased the demand these individuals reported for a better environment and affordability of environmentally friendly actions, which indirectly affected their environmental behavior. Our findings indicate that a further increase in the supply of education may improve China's current environmental problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Most coal seams in China are characterized by high‐gas pressure and high‐gas content, which seriously threaten the safety of coal mines. Gas extraction is an effective measure for preventing gas disasters. However, the drilling process in soft coal seams is inefficient; it is difficult for the boreholes to reach the design length. The rate of penetration (ROP) plays an important role in determining drilling efficiency and borehole length in soft coal seams. In this study, we establish a simplified ROP model for soft coal seams and evaluate the maximum ROP of Hebi No. 6 coal mine. First, the drill cutting transport capacity of the drilling system and drill cutting quantity generated during the drilling process are analyzed. By simplifying drill cutting transport and coal seam properties, the ROP model is established. Second, the Rock Failure Process Analysis software is used to analyze the deformation region of boreholes, which has a great influence on the drill cutting transport space. Finally, a field test is implemented in Hebi No. 6 coal mine in Henan Province, China, to verify the model, and we propose a measure to control the ROP below the maximum value to increase the length of the borehole. The test results indicate that the model has high accuracy, with errors less than 15%, and the lengths of boreholes in air‐return and transportation roadways are increased to 60 and 80 m, respectively, and the increase rate is greater than 50%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although built environment effects on travel behavior have become a popular research topic globally, studies on the subject have rarely examined how built environment effects may differ between household members. The distinction between household members may be especially important in countries like China where the household registration system and the culture encourage a clear designation of the household head. Using data from Nanjing, China, this paper applies a cluster analysis method to characterize three distinct types of residential built environment and applies the propensity score technique to control for self-selection when examining the travel behavior effects of the three built environment types. Results show that, after controlling for self-selection, built environment effects on travel behavior differ significantly between the household head and other household members. Changes in the built environment do not affect car travel duration or car trip frequency of the household head, but affect significantly car travel behavior of other household members. Moving from the outer area to core or inner urban area is associated with an increased number of leisure trips for the household head, an increased number of maintenance trips for other household members, and increased walking and bicycling travel for both the household head and other household members. The study provides unique evidence on intra-household differences when it comes to the built environment and travel behavior connection. Overlooking intra-household differences may lead to inequitable and/or inefficient urban planning and transportation policy decisions in the context of Chinese cities. • Built environment (BE) effects on travel behavior differ between household members. • BE does not affect car travel of the household head but other household members. • BE affects active travel of both the household head and other household members. • Self-selection leads to overestimation of BE effects for the household head. • Self-selection leads to underestimation of BE effects for other household members. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective. To analyze the treatment outcomes of patients who accepted IVF/ICSI-ET, diagnosed POR according to Bologna criteria. Study Design. Retrospective cohort study of one reproductive medical center, from 1st Jan., 2009, to 31st Dec., 2014. All patients fulfilled the Bologna criteria and accept IVF/ICSI-ET treatment with stimulation cycle. The main outcome measures were clinical pregnancy rate (CPR) and live birth rate (LBR). Results. There were 5770 eligible cycles included in this study. The incidence of POR was 10.3% (6286/62194). The overall CPR was 18.7%, IR was 11.6%, LBR/ET was 11.5%, and LBR/OPU was 8.3%. The cycle cancellation for no available oocyte or embryo was 4.9% and 18.6%, respectively. The subgroup of younger POR patients got highest CPR and LBR/ET, which decreased while increasing maternal age. Within three attempts, the patients got similar CPR and LBR. Conclusion. In conclusion, our study supports the Bologna criteria that defined women with poor IVF outcomes. But those younger than 42 years old with the first 3 attempts of IVF could got acceptable CPR and LBR. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• An LC-MS/MS method for the determination of mescaline in hair was developed. • LOD was 3 pg/mg and LOQ was 10 pg/mg. • The mescaline concentrations in the positive hair samples ranged from 10 to 784 pg/mg. • Combined use of mescaline and DMT in mescaline users. Mescaline, a natural alkaloid found in the peyote cactus (Lophophora williamsii) in the Americas, has gradually become a drug of abuse in China because of its psychedelic properties. Its intake may lead to hallucinations and confusion or even be life-threatening. Mescaline is classified as a class Ⅰ psychotropic drug in China, which means its use in medicine or scientific research is under strict control of the government. However, studies on surveillance of mescaline abuse in the Chinese population are lacking. A rapid and sensitive liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) method was developed and validated for the determination and quantification of mescaline in hair. The method had good linearity in the range from 10 to 1000 pg/mg, with the limit of detection (LOD) of 3 pg/mg and the limit of quantitation (LOQ) of 10 pg/mg. The total runtime was 5 min. Acceptable intraday and interday precision (RSD < 15%) and accuracy (bias, −11.2% ∼ 6.8%) were achieved. The recovery was 85.0–101.0%, and the matrix effect was 92.0–105.0%. The validated method was successfully applied to 19 real forensic cases. The concentrations of mescaline in hair ranged from 10 to 784 pg/mg. The method has the benefits of simple sample preparation, high sensitivity, and short running time, making it suitable for large-scale quantitative surveillance analysis of mescaline in forensic toxicology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Defining common reference intervals (RIs) are encouraging. The aim of this study is to establish RIs for complete blood count (CBC) in a Chinese Han population and probe their age- and sex-related CBC trends. Additionally, we will compare the CBC RIs of Han with those of other races. Methods: In total 1259 Han individuals (584 male and 675 female) were recruited in North China. CBC was processed on Sysmex XE-2100, Coulter LH750 and Mindray BC5800 whose traceability was well verified. The non-parametric 2.5th-97.5th percentiles RIs were calculated. Results: The RIs for CBC parameters did not show apparent analyzer-specificity, apart from mean cellular volume (MCV), mean platelet volume (MPV), plateletcrit (PCT) and platelet distribution width (PDW). Red blood cell (RBC), hemoglobin (HBG), hematocrit (HCT), mean cellular hemoglobin (MCH), and mean cellular hemoglobin concentration (MGHC) are higher in males; and their male mean values tend to drop after 40 years; conversely, the female mean values tend to rise. Platelet (PLT) is higher in females and tends to drop after 40 years in both sexes. White blood cell (WBC) and absolute count of neutrophils (NE) and monocytes (MO) are higher in males, but there is no apparent change with age. Lymphocytes (LY) absolute count declines with age in males, but the same change in females is not obvious. RIs for HBG and HCT are similar among Han, Nordic, US European and US Mexican populations and are lower in US Africans. WBC RIs for Han and US African populations are lower than that for US Europeans and US Mexicans. Conclusions: RIs for major blood cell parameters are not method-dependent; variations obviously exist in age, sex and race. Consequently, common RIs for most CBC parameters appear inapplicable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Soil wind erosion in northern China has become a serious environmental problem, especially on cultivated soil, but data on soil loss by wind erosion are scarce due to limitation in effective measurement methods. The objective of this study is to introduce differential global positioning system (GPS) measurements into studies of wind erosion and obtain field measured data of soil wind erosion rates during previous decades in Kangbao County, a representative area suffering from serious farmland wind erosion in northern China. Vegetative banks that were maintained between farmland plots after the original grassland had been cultivated into stripped farmland were assumed to have experienced little erosion or deposition. As a result, these banks offer a useful reference for GPS measurements in estimations of soil loss by wind erosion in the adjacent farmland plots. Differential GPS and real-time kinematic (RTK) measurement show that almost a half centimetre of top soil has been blown away in this area every year since the soil had been cultivated in the early twentieth century. To examine the reliability of the GPS measurements, average wind erosion rate in this area was derived from the 137Cs model in 30 farmland plots, which was 0.55cma−1 or 89.5tha−1 a−1. Results of both methods show the study area has been experiencing severe wind erosion, which has caused serious local environmental problems and made this area an important source of blown sand and dust that threatens the Beijing and the Tianjin metropolitan area. Both methods have advantages and limitations and generally each of them cannot be replaced by another; however, this paper presents an example that a combination of applying RTK GPS measurements in special plots with using 137Cs techniques on the regional scale produces very helpful results of regional wind erosion. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

• Phylogenetic analysis was used to explore genetic relationships between the Central Yunnan Han group and other populations. • Population comparisons between Central Yunnan Han and 17 previously published populations. • These 20 STR loci can provide highly informative polymorphic data for paternity testing, individual identification, and genetic population studies. A total of 20 autosomal short tandem repeat (STR) loci from 2220 unrelated healthy individuals of Han population living in the central area of Yunnan province, Southwest China were amplified with the PowerPlex® 21 System. After Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium examination, the allele frequencies and forensic statistical parameters of 20 STR loci were evaluated. A total of 298 alleles and 1225 genotypes were observed for all the 20 loci. The allele frequencies varied from 0.0002 to 0.5130. The combined power of discrimination and the combined probability of exclusion of all 20 STR loci were 0.99999999521565 and 0.999999999999999999999999637, respectively. Meanwhile, genetic distances between Central Yunnan Han and 17 previously published populations were compared and a neighbor-joining (NJ) phylogenetic tree was developed and visualized by using MEGA 7 based on Nei's standard genetic distance. The results demonstrated that these loci were highly polymorphic in the Han nationality in Central Yunnan, Southwest China and could be applied in forensic medicine and population genetics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The hybrid LCC/VSC cascaded HVDC (HC-HVDC) scheme, in which the LCC is adopted as rectifier, and one LCC in series with multiple paralleled VSC based MMCs is adopted as inverter, combines the advantages of both LCC and VSC-MMC technologies. Presently, a HC-HVDC project is planned to deliver the hydro power from Baihetan to Jiangsu in China. One of the major challenges is to suppress the DC overcurrent issue of VSC-MMCs especially under commutation failure condition of LCC at inverter side. Based on Baihetan-Jiangsu project under construction, the model of HC-HVDC system is developed in PSCAD/EMTDC. In the system, the rectifier employs a dual 12-pulse LCC, while the inverter adopts a hybrid scheme, i.e., one LCC converter in series with three paralleled VSC-MMC converters. This paper addresses the main cause and feature of the DC overcurrent, then proposes an overcurrent suppression control method for HC-HVDC system based on fuzzy clustering and identification approach. And the system transient performances with the proposed control approach are evaluated under AC fault conditions. The results show that the proposed approach can not only suppress the DC overcurrent following the commutation failure to a certain extent, but also improve the post-fault recovery performance of the overall system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective. This study aimed to develop a scale for evaluating and grading the evidence of prevention and treatment in ancient books of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), in view of providing a reference for TCM clinicians, supporting the compilation or revision of evidence-based practice guidelines for TCM, improving the level of evidence-based research on ancient TCM books, and supplementing the development of evidence-based ancient TCM books. Methods. The Delphi method was used for consultation among 40 experts in relevant fields. Excel 2016 and SPSS 21.0 were used to analyze the positive coefficient, authority coefficient, degree of concentration, degree of coordination, and degree of expert consensus. Results. In the first round of the questionnaire, a total of 17 evaluation indexes were formulated in three aspects: 5 were deleted, 1 was modified according to the expert opinions, and no additional index was added. In addition, quantitative standards, weight assignment, and grading standards were developed according to the findings of the expert consultation. The positive coefficients of experts in the first and second rounds of questionnaires were 87.5% and 82.9%, respectively. The authority coefficient was 0.835 (>0.7). The coefficient of variation of the first and second rounds were 0.14∼0.29 and 0.09∼0.27, respectively. Kendall's coefficient of concordance of the first and second rounds were 0.135 (p < 0.05) and 0.081 (p < 0.05), respectively. Conclusion. The evaluation indexes and quantitative reference values of the developed scale conform to the characteristics of prevention and treatment evidence in ancient TCM books. It can provide a useful exploration tool for the evaluation and grading of evidences in TCM ancient books. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While many studies examine the correlates of car ownership, only a few have quantified the relative contributions of individuals' socio-economic characteristics, alternative transportation choices, and built environment attributes to car ownership in developing cities. By employing gradient boosting decision trees to the 2020 regional household travel survey data from Wuhan, a megacity in China, we estimated the respective impacts of these factors on car ownership. The results of this study highlight household wealth as the dominant factor in predicting car ownership. Additionally, the ownership of Ebikes, an alternative travel option, emerges as an important mitigator of car ownership. However, most transit and built environment variables contribute marginally to the prediction of car ownership – though an exception is to direct future development into inner city neighborhoods. The findings suggest that Ebikes not only serve as a crucial alternative to cars but also complement limited transit services. Therefore, in developing cities with growing economies, banning Ebikes would not be conducive to curbing car growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Long-time-series, high-resolution datasets of the column-averaged dry-air mole fraction of carbon dioxide (XCO 2) have great practical importance for mitigating the greenhouse effect, assessing carbon emissions and implementing a low-carbon cycle. However, the mainstream XCO 2 datasets obtained from satellite observations have coarse spatial resolutions and are inadequate for supporting research applications with different precision requirements. Here, we developed a new spatial machine learning model by fusing spatial information with CatBoost, called SCatBoost, to fill the above gap based on existing global land-mapped 1° XCO 2 data (GLM-XCO 2). The 1-km-spatial-resolution dataset containing XCO 2 values in China from 2012 to 2019 reconstructed by SCatBoost has stronger and more stable predictive power (confirmed with a cross-validation (R2 = 0.88 and RSME = 0.20 ppm)) than other traditional models. According to the estimated dataset, the overall national XCO 2 showed an increasing trend, with the annual mean concentration rising from 392.65 ppm to 410.36 ppm. In addition, the spatial distribution of XCO 2 concentrations in China reflects significantly higher concentrations in the eastern coastal areas than in the western inland areas. The contributions of this study can be summarized as follows: (1) It proposes SCatBoost, integrating the advantages of machine learning methods and spatial characteristics with a high prediction accuracy; (2) It presents a dataset of fine-scale and high resolution XCO 2 over China from 2012 to 2019 by the model of SCatBoost; (3) Based on the generated data, we identify the spatiotemporal trends of XCO 2 in the scale of nation and city agglomeration. These long-term and high resolution XCO 2 data help understand the spatiotemporal variations in XCO 2 , thereby improving policy decisions and planning about carbon reduction. • We propose SCatBoost as a new model to reconstruct XCO 2 with 1 km resolution. • Validation indicates high accuracy of the novel reconstruction model. • The spatiotemporal distributions of XCO 2 in China from 2012 to 2019 is studied. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: In vitro maturation (IVM) is indicated in women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) who have a very good ovarian response during in vitro fertilization (IVF) and are therefore at high risk of ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS). According to the latest practice committee document, IVM could be a major advance in assisted reproductive technology (ART) procedures (reduced cost and simplified treatment); nevertheless, retrospective studies of IVM versus IVF still demonstrate lower chances of a live birth with IVM. Could IVM prove to be an optimal first-line treatment approach? And limited information is available concerning the success of the subsequent IVF cycle after the failure of an IVM cycle. Does IVM treatment adversely affect the subsequent IVF cycle, and is this worth considering before performing the IVF cycle for women with PCOS? Methods: This prospective nested case–control study at the Peking University Reproductive Medicine center in China was performed between March 2018 and September 2020. Women aged 20–38 years with PCOS and infertility and who were scheduled for their first IVF attempt were eligible. A total of 351 women were randomly allocated to receive one cycle of unstimulated natural IVM (n = 175) or one cycle of standard IVF with a flexible GnRH antagonist protocol followed by hCG as an ovulation trigger (n = 176). This study involved 234 women (58 women with no blastocysts in the first IVM cycle and 158 women who underwent the first IVF cycle). Cumulative live birth rate at 12 months after oocyte retrieval and OHSS of a standard controlled ovarian stimulation (COS) IVF cycle were compared between 58 women in an IVF cycle following a failed IVM cycle and 158 women who underwent the first IVF cycle. Results: No significant differences were found in the cumulative live birth rate (CLBR), ongoing pregnancy rate, or clinical pregnancy rate at 12 months after oocyte retrieval between the two groups (56.9% vs. 58.9%, p = 0.795; 58.6% vs. 60.8%, p = 0.776; and 84.5% vs. 76.0%, p = 0.178). The incidence of moderate-to-severe OHSS was not significantly different between the groups (6.9% vs. 5.7%, p = 0.742). Additionally, there were no significant differences in the total gonadotropin dose, stimulation duration, number of retrieved oocytes, number of retrieved mature oocytes, or fertilization rates. Conclusions: Even if the first IVM attempt failed in subfertile women with PCOS, comparable cumulative live birth rates were observed in the subsequent IVF cycle. IVM treatment does not adversely affect the subsequent IVF cycle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • Stir-frying, other than baking, extremely degraded anthocyanins of blueberry. • Thermal-lability of anthocyanins might be relative to the antioxidant potency. • Flavonols degraded remarkably during stir-frying, but did not vary during baking. • Up to 300 mg/kg of HMF has been produced during stir-frying. • Traditional stir-frying technology applied in Asian snacks should be improved. Abstract Bakery products with fruit fillings are growing fast. Blueberry-filled pastries are widely consumed in China. This study aimed to investigate the effects of two thermal processing procedures (stir-frying and baking) on flavonoid profile, antioxidant property, and hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) formation during preparation of blueberry-filled pastries. Stir-frying contributed the most to the variations in these values in blueberry filling. Anthocyanins (48%–53% reduction in total) were more susceptible to thermal processing than flavonols (11%–16%). Among anthocyanins, delphinidin glycosides (61%–67% reduction) were the most unstable, followed by malvidin (52%–58%), petunidin (40%–45%), and cyanidin (38%–41%). A high level of HMF (300 mg/kg) was formed during stir-frying. Except for anthocyanins, baking did not significantly influence HMF formation, flavonol degradation, and antioxidant property in the fillings. Stir-frying processing conditions rather than baking must be further investigated for nutrient retention and HMF inhibition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China has been witnessing prominent demographic ageing because of its sustained low fertility (one-child policy) and mortality rates. In 2017, nearly one in four elderly adults in the world live in China. The rapid increase of the elderly population is supposed to dramatically influence the urban and transportation system. Active travel plays an important role for the ageing Chinese population to sustain their mobility and wellbeing. To provide suitable policy implications for age-friendly travel environments in China, this study investigates how the built environment affects active travel behavior. Particularly, we explore the influences of built environment on daily active travel frequency and time expenditure while taking into account travel attitudes. A zero-inflated ordered probit model and a Cox proportional hazards model are respectively estimated based on the Nanjing Travel Survey data. Results show that the social and cultural contexts exert pronounced impacts on the travel pattern of Chinese older people. Specifically, it is found that the living pattern of co-residence, and the proximity to market, park/square, and chess/card room are influential in shaping active travel patterns. In addition, the built environment shows larger effects on the active travel behavior of older adults than on that of young people. Attitudes towards active travel are not significant in explaining the senior's travel behavior, indicating limited self-selection effects. The findings will offer insights to establish effective and appropriate land use strategies and public facility distribution for the elderly during the Chinese urban renewal process. • Active modes are the primary travel means for the Chinese ageing population. • Chinese socio-cultural norms make elderly's active travel and its determinants unique. • Household structure, the proximity to market, park/square, and chess/card room are influential factors. • Built environment shows larger effects on elderly's travel behavior than on that of young people. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Microwave irradiation is a new means of non-toxic, residue-free, and green soil disinfection that prevents and controls soil diseases, insects, and weeds and helps to improve crop quality and yield. Soil microorganisms, as an important part of the ecosystem, are closely related to crop growth and health. To investigate the changes of soil physicochemical properties and microbial communities during microwave soil disinfection for different time periods, phaeozems from northeastern China were selected for microwave treatment at 3, 6, 9, and 12 min, and their physicochemical properties were measured after 30 days of incubation. The test soils (0–20 cm) after 30 days of incubation were used, and high-throughput sequencing was performed to detect changes in their soil microbial structure under different microwave time treatments. Microwave treatment had significant effects on soil pH, nitrate (NO3--N), ammonium (NH4+-N), and available phosphorus (AP) content. As shown by the Shannon, Chao, and Ace indices, microwave treatment at 3 min had the lowest effect on bacterial diversity compared to the control treatment (CK). Shannon index decreased by 9.92%, 24.56%, 34.37%, and 38.43% after 3, 6, 9, and 12 min microwave treatments, respectively; Chao index decreased by 7.69%, 18.13%, 32.21%, and 57.91%, respectively; Ace index decreased by 6.40%, 6.98%, 20.89%, and 52.07%, respectively. The relative abundance of beneficial soil microorganisms Micromonospora, Fictibacillus, Paenibacillus, and Bacillus (Firmicutes) increased significantly compared to CK. The results indicated that although the microwave treatment altered the soil microbial community, beneficial soil microorganisms showed faster recovery. In addition, pH, soil organic carbon (SOC), total nitrogen ratio (C/N), soil-available phosphorus (AP), and NO3--N were important factors affecting bacterial community diversity and composition following microwave treatment, and bacterial community composition was driven by soil chemical properties such as soil pH, SOC, C/N, and NO3--N. Microwave treatments at different time periods affected soil microbial community structure to different degrees, and soil bacteria of copiotrophic taxa (e.g., Firmicutes) were relatively higher than the control. Overall, microwave treatment from 3–6 min may be more suitable for soil disinfection. The study of the effect of microwave on soil physicochemical properties and bacterial microbial community not only provides some scientific reference for the rational application of microwave soil disinfection, but also has positive significance for soil-borne disease control and crop quality improvement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Study Question: Does in vitro maturation (IVM) result in non-inferior cumulative live birth rates compared to those after standard in vitro fertilization (IVF) in infertile women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS)?Summary Answer: One cycle of IVM, without any stimulation, was inferior to one cycle of standard IVF in women with PCOS in terms of 6-month cumulative live birth rates, when choosing single vitrified-warmed blastocyst transfer.What Is Known Already: IVM is an emerging alternative treatment for women with PCOS who need assisted reproductive technology. Since a minimal or even zero dose of gonadotropins are required in the IVM procedure, the occurrence of ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS) is eliminated. Only one clinical trial comparing the pregnancy outcome between IVM with FSH priming and IVF has been reported. However, it is still unknown whether IVM treatment without any stimulation can offer a similar live birth outcome in women with PCOS as compared to that in women receiving the standard IVF procedure with ovarian stimulation.Study Design, Size, Duration: This single-centre, open-label randomized controlled non-inferiority trial in an academic infertility centre in China was performed between March 2018 and July 2019.Participants/materials, Setting, Methods: Women aged 20-38 years with PCOS and infertility scheduled for their first IVF attempt were eligible. In total, 351 women were randomly allocated to receive one cycle of unstimulated IVM (n = 175) or one cycle of standard IVF with a flexible GnRH antagonist protocol and hCG as ovulatory trigger (n = 176). A freeze-all and single blastocyst transfer strategy was used in both groups. The primary outcome was ongoing pregnancy (leading to live birth) within 6 months after randomization. A non-inferiority margin of 15% was considered.Main Results and the Role Of Chance: The IVM procedure without additional gonadotropin resulted in a lower ongoing pregnancy (leading to live birth) within 6 months after randomization compared to standard IVF treatment (22.3% vs. 50.6%; rate difference -28.3%; 95% confidence interval [CI]: -37.9% to -18.7%). Moderate-severe OHSS did not occur in the IVM group, while in the IVF group, ten women (5.7%) had moderate OHSS and one woman (0.6%) had severe OHSS. There was no statistically significant difference in the occurrence of obstetric and perinatal complications.Limitations, Reasons For Caution: The trial was conducted using an IVM protocol without additional stimulation in a single centre, which may limit its generalizability. In addition, a GnRH agonist trigger rather than hCG for IVF stimulation in women with PCOS would be more consistent with current clinical practice.Wider Implications Of the Findings: Although IVM is considered to be a convenient, inexpensive and safe alternative to IVF for women with PCOS, our results indicated that one cycle of IVM without any stimulation was inferior to one cycle of standard IVF in terms of the cumulative live birth rate. The inferiority of IVM without ovarian stimulation could be mainly due to the limitations in the developmental potential of embryos. Further IVM development should be tested and validated in a freeze-only and blastocyst transfer setting. Further RCTs are needed to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of other IVM protocols or multiple cycles of IVM compared to IVF.Study Funding/competing Interest(s): This study was supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China (2016YFC1000201 and 2018YFC1002104) and the National Science Foundation of China (81730038). B.W.M. is supported by a NHMRC Investigator grant (GNT1176437). All other authors declare no competing interests.Trial Registration Number: Clinicaltrials.gov NCT03463772.Trial Registration Date: 29 January 2018.Date Of First Patient’s Enrolment: 16 March 2018. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Schematic diagram of the dual-gas sensor system, which includes a gas pretreatment part, an optical part and an electrical part. [Display omitted] • A SPGC and a MPGC were developed for achieving wide measurement ranges. • The developed sensor system is intrinsically safe and explosion-proof. • The developed gas pretreatment module can remove moisture and aerosols. • Use temperature compensation algorithm to adapt to changes in ambient temperature. • The sensor system can operate normally in the laboratory and field deployment. To effectively monitor gas explosion and coal spontaneous combustion in coal mine, an intrinsically safe and explosion-proof dual-gas sensor system was developed for methane (CH 4) and carbon monoxide (CO) measurement. A distributed feedback (DFB) laser was used to scan two adjacent absorption lines (CH 4 : 4284.51 cm−1, CO: 4285.01 cm−1). Two measurement ranges of 0–500 parts per million by volume (ppmv) and 0–300,000 ppmv for CH 4 and 0–100 ppmv and 0–4000 ppmv for CO were realized using a ∼25 cm single-pass gas cell (SPGC) and a ∼25 m multi-pass gas cell (MPGC), respectively. A gas pre-treatment module was used to remove moisture and aerosols from gas samples. A temperature compensation algorithm was adopted to deal with ambient temperature change. Based on the Allan deviation analysis, the limit of detection (LoD) of CH 4 is 0.19 ppmv and the LoD of CO is 0.12 ppmv, respectively, at an averaging time of 0.5 s. A continuous two-day CH 4 measurement was performed to demonstrate the long-term stability and environmental monitoring capability. The sensor system was successfully deployed in coal mine gas analysis at Longjiapu, Changchun City, China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Although the expenses of liver cirrhosis are covered by a critical illness fund under the current health insurance program in China, the medical costs associated with hepatitis B virus (HBV) related diseases is not well addressed. In order to provide evidence to address the problem, we investigated the trend of direct medical costs and associated factors in patients with chronic HBV infection.Methods: A retrospective cohort study of 65,175 outpatients and 12,649 inpatients was conducted using a hospital information system database for the period from 2008 to 2015. Generalized estimating equations (GEE) were applied to explore associations between annual direct medical costs and corresponding factors, meanwhile quantile regression models were used to evaluate the effect of treatment modes on different quantiles of annual direct medical costs stratified by medical insurances.Results: The direct medical costs increased with time, but the proportion of antiviral costs decreased with CHB progression. Antiviral costs accounted 54.61% of total direct medical costs for outpatients, but only 6.17% for inpatients. Non-antiviral medicine costs (46.06%) and lab tests costs (23.63%) accounted for the majority of the cost for inpatients. The direct medical costs were positively associated with CHB progression and hospitalization days in inpatients. The direct medical costs were the highest in outpatients with medical insurance and in inpatients with free medical service, and treatment modes had different effects on the direct medical costs in patients with and without medical insurance.Conclusions: CHB patients had a heavy economic burden in Guangzhou, China, which increased over time, which were influenced by payment mode and treatment mode. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Acupuncture has pain-relief effects, but no data were available on the use of transcutaneous electric acupoint stimulation (TEAS) in pain relief during oocyte retrieval. This study was designed to examine the effect of TEAS for pain relief in women undergoing transvaginal ultrasound-guided oocyte aspiration. This single-blinded, multicenter, randomized controlled trial was performed in China between May 2013 and May 2015. The subjects were randomized to mock TEAS and TEAS. TEAS or mock TEAS was administered 30 min before oocyte retrieval until the end of the operation. The primary and secondary endpoints were the pain measured using the visual analog scale (VAS) within 1 min and 1 hour after oocyte retrieval, respectively. Serum β-endorphin levels were tested in the first 50 patients/group. 390 women were undergoing oocyte retrieval. Pain levels evaluated using VAS within 1 min (18.6 ± 1.3 vs. 24.4 ± 1.7, P < 0.01) and 1 h after oocyte aspiration (4.6 ± 0.7 vs. 6.8 ± 0.8, P < 0.05) were lower in the TEAS group than in the mock TEAS group. Nausea assessment revealed a significantly lower VAS score in the TEAS group within 1 min (1.2 ± 0.4 vs. 2.9 ± 0.7, P < 0.033). Serum β-endorphin levels were significantly higher in the TEAS group than in the mock TEAS group (11.4 ± 0.5 vs. 9.1 ± 0.4, P < 0.001) after retrieval. Serum β-endorphin levels were higher in the TEAS group after the procedure than baseline (11.4 ± 0.5 vs. 9.1 ± 0.3, P < 0.001). Oocyte retrieval causes pain and discomfort, but TEAS is effective and safe for suppressing the pain and alleviating nausea associated with the operation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Standardization of biogas technology is immensely important for the promotion of the biogas industry worldwide. China has built a complete biogas standard system, which is divided into common, household biogas, biogas engineering, biogas digester for domestic sewage treatment, output utilization, and service system standards. The problems and potential barriers for biogas standardization in China are analyzed and come down to sluggish standard, overlapped standard, government-dominated standard, and lagging international standard. Accordingly, all potential biogas standards should be evaluated and placed under the same department. China Biogas Society and China Association of Rural Energy Industry play leading roles in developing enterprise or group/association biogas standards and ISO biogas standards. The bio-natural gas standard system and experimental standardization should be developed as well to replenish biogas standard system. A paradigm shift in biogas standardization should be from government-dominated to market-oriented model. The lessons learned for other developing countries includes expanding standardization to multi-aspects to realize full lifecycle control and management, building rapid responding mechanism of standardization to adopt industry transformation, integrating outdated standards into new versions, and establishing market-based standard system. • Biogas standard framework in China is presented and elaborated. • Problems and potential barriers for biogas standardization in China are analyzed. • Suggestions and learns learned for other developing countries are presented. • Biogas standardization should cover full lifecycle control and management. • Biogas standardization should shift towards market-oriented model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Melanoma is a human skin malignant tumor with high invasion and poor prognosis. The limited understanding of genomic alterations in melanomas in China impedes the diagnosis and therapeutic strategy selection. We conducted comprehensive genomic profiling of melanomas from 39 primary and metastatic formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) samples from 27 patients in China based on an NGS panel of 223 genes. No significant difference in gene alterations was found between primary and metastasis melanomas. The status of germline mutation, CNV, and somatic mutation in our cohort was quite different from that reported in Western populations. We further delineated the mutation patterns of 4 molecular subgroups (BRAF, RAS, NF1, and Triple-WT) of melanoma in our cohort. BRAF mutations were more frequently identified in melanomas without chromic sun-induced damage (non-CSD), while RAS mutations were more likely observed in acral melanomas. NF1 and Triple-WT subgroups were unbiased between melanomas arising in non-CSD and acral skin. BRAF, RAS, and NF1 mutations were significantly associated with lymph node metastasis or presence of ulceration, implying that these cancer driver genes were independent prognostic factors. In summary, our results suggest that mutational profiles of malignant melanomas in China are significantly different from Western countries, and both gene mutation and amplification play an important role in the development and progression of melanomas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With rapid economic growth and urbanization, the Yangtze River Delta (YRD) region in China has experienced serious air pollution challenges. In this study, we analyzed the air pollution characteristics and their relationship with emissions and meteorology in the YRD region during 2014–2016. In recent years, the concentrations of all air pollutants, except O 3 , decreased. Spatially, the PM 2.5 , PM 10 , SO 2 , and CO concentrations were higher in the northern YRD region, and NO 2 and O 3 were higher in the central YRD region. Based on the number of non-attainment days (i.e., days with air quality index greater than 100), PM 2.5 was the largest contributor to air pollution in the YRD region, followed by O 3 , PM 10 , and NO 2. However, particulate matter pollution has declined gradually, while O 3 pollution worsened. Meteorological conditions mainly influenced day-to-day variations in pollutant concentrations. PM 2.5 concentration was inversely related to wind speed, while O 3 concentration was positively correlated with temperature and negatively correlated with relative humidity. The air quality improvement in recent years was mainly attributed to emission reductions. During 2014–2016, PM 2.5 , PM 10 , SO 2 , NO x , CO, NH 3 , and volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions in the YRD region were reduced by 26.3%, 29.2%, 32.4%, 8.1%, 15.9%, 4.5%, and 0.3%, respectively. Regional transport also contributed to the air pollution. During regional haze periods, pollutants from North China and East China aggravated the pollution in the YRD region. Our findings suggest that emission reduction and regional joint prevention and control helped to improve the air quality in the YRD region. Unlabelled Image [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Peanut contains a high amount of oil and protein; it is easy to be contaminated or produce hazard substances during storage and processing. The study systematically analyzed the migration of hazardous substances during peanut oil squeezing. The results indicated the concentration of AFB 1 , benzo [ɑ]pyrene (Bap), peroxide value, acid value and heavy metals in peanut oil did not exceed the limit standard in China. In the color sorting stage of peanut oil squeezing process, most of AFB 1 and acid value contaminated peanut samples were eliminated. During peanut roasting stage, high temperature accelerated the oxidation of oil and the production of Bap. Therefore, the peroxide value and the concentration of Bap in the roasted peanut were significantly higher than that of unroasted peanut. After peanut oil squeezing, heavy metals were mainly concentrated in peanut meal. Except for Sn, the concentration of heavy metals in peanut oil was no more than 7% of that in peanut. The concentration of these hazard substances could not affect the quality and safety of peanut oil, nor posed a threat to human health. The results of this study provide data support for the fixed-point control of hazards substances during peanut oil squeezing. • Hazard substances in peanut oil did not exceed the limited standard in China. • After peanut oil squeezing, heavy metals were mainly concentrated in peanut meal. • In the color sorting stage, AFB 1 and acid value contaminated peanut were eliminated. • High temperature accelerated the oxidation of oil and the production of Bap. • Hazard could not affect the quality of peanut oil, nor posed threat to human health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Diagnosis of community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) caused by Mycoplasma pneumoniae (Mp) in children has been hampered by difficulty in obtaining convalescent serum and time constraints. In this study, the two diagnostic assays that targeted respectively on Mp-antibody and Mp-DNA were retrospectively investigated.Methods: A total of 3146 children were clinically diagnosed to have CAP and were confirmed by chest X-ray during March 2015 to February 2016 in Children's hospital of Hebei Province (China). Both of the sera and sputum samples were collected in 24 h after their admission. The Mp-antibody was examined by the passive particle agglutination assay and a fourfold or greater increase of antibody titers of paired sera or≧1:160 titer of single serum was set as the serology positive. Mp-DNA in the sputum samples was tested by a multiplex-PCR method named GeXP assay (multiplex PCR combined with automated capillary electrophoresis). In order to eliminate the false positive results caused by the asymptomatic carriage after infected by M. pneumoniae, the inconsistent samples were tested by the real-time isothermal transcription-mediated RNA amplification assay (SAT).Results: The inter-rated agreement test was performed in 3146 CAP patients, with a highest kappa value in the school-age children as 0.783. There were 6.29% (198/3146) cases showed inconsistent results determined by GeXP and serology assay. All of the 19 GeXP(+)/Serology (-) samples and a randomly chosen 27 from 179 GeXP(-)/Serology (+) samples were tested by SAT assay, and a 97.8% diagnosis agreement was observed between SAT and GeXP assay, but not with the serology assay. In addition, patients who were detected only by serology or only by multiplex-PCR were significantly younger than those with both methods positive (3.0 and 1.5 years vs. 5.0 years, p < 0.01). The Viral-Mp coinfection accounted for 37.0% (97/262), which was more common in winter and spring (p < 0.05) and in the infantile group (p < 0.01), compared to the pure Mp positive ones.Conclusion: In some children CAP cases, the Mp laboratory diagnosis was inconsistent between serology and multiplex-PCR assay. Verified by the SAT assay, the GeXP showed a more sensitive and reliable performance compared with the serology assay. Furthermore, employing the multiplex-PCR could provide more information on the associated pathogens for clinical assessment of CAP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The baseline methane for shallow groundwater can provide an important evidence to interpret possible methane stray associated with shale gas exploration. This study investigated and traced methane content and its origin of shallow groundwater in a karst aquifer in the Fuling shale gas block, SW China. The results show that methane contents of shallow groundwater are all less than 0.01 mg L and volumetric content in dissolved gas ranges from not detected to 0.0064%. The δC-CH ranges from −74.4 to −49.1‰, suggesting biogenic origin. For the first time, the δC-CH and He/He end-numbers were determined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

SO 2 and NO have caused serious haze in China. For coping with the terrible problem, this paper proposed a novel advanced oxidation process of ultraviolet (UV) catalyzing vaporized H 2 O 2 for simultaneous removal of SO 2 and NO. Effects of various factors on simultaneous removal of SO 2 and NO were investigated, such as the mass concentration of H 2 O 2 , the UV energy density, the UV wavelength, the H 2 O 2 pH, the temperatures of H 2 O 2 vaporization and UV-catalysis, the flue gas residence time, the concentrations of SO 2 , NO and O 2 , and radical scavenger. The removal efficiencies of 100% for SO 2 and 87.8% for NO were obtained under the optimal conditions. The proposed approach has some superiorities, i.e. less dosage and high utilization of oxidant, short flue gas residence time and inhibiting the competition between SO 2 and NO for oxidants. The results indicated that the desulfurization process was dominated by the absorption by HA-Na, whereas the denitrification was primarily affected by the H 2 O 2 dosage, UV energy density and H 2 O 2 pH. Interestingly, an appropriate amount of SO 2 was beneficial for NO removal. The reaction mechanism was speculated based on the characterizations of removal products by XRD, FT-IR and IC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Shenzhen's urban ecological security assessment through the PSR model. • Identification of key influencing factors of urban ecological security through factor analysis. • Prediction of future urban ecological security through Monte Carlo. • Scientific theoretical guidance for urban ecological sustainable development. The rapid development of urbanization has triggered the contradiction between population, resources and environment. As a result, urban ecological security has attracted more and more attention, and has gradually become the key to restricting the sustainable development of urban social economy. This work constructs a dynamic urban ecological security assessment and prediction research framework, which is verified by taking Shenzhen, a typical big city in China, as an example. Specifically, urban ecological security is evaluated through the "pressure-state-response" (PSR) model, and its key influencing factors are identified by the coupling factor analysis method. Finally, the future ecological security of the city is predicted and analyzed by Monte Carlo. The results show that the comprehensive safety index of Shenzhen urban ecosystem is increasing, and its key impact indicators are comprehensive development factors and human settlements factors respectively. Additionally, it is anticipated that Shenzhen's urban ecological security level will reach a comfortable level in 2025. To sum up, according to the results of urban ecological assessment and prediction, targeted suggestions on the improvement path of ecological security are put forward. It is suggested that Shenzhen should continue to increase investment in environmental protection, science and technology and other fields to ensure the sustainable development of the urban ecosystem. Using the city of Shenzhen as a case study, this research examines the typical regulatory path for urban ecological security. On the one hand, it can provide a methodological framework for the historical evaluation and future prediction of urban ecological security in China and possibly the entire world. And on the other hand, it can provide a theoretical reference for cities to formulate policies for ecological sustainable development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Designed a precise control and monitoring system for a solid fumigant sterilizer. • Improved the accuracy of control system by a linear correction. • Monitored operation information of the sterilizer based on the IoT system. • Instructed the distributor mechanism design of the sterilizer. With the development of soil disinfection technology, solid fumigant sterilization has become one of the most practical methods for the elimination of soil-borne diseases in China. To improve the accuracy of solid fumigant control and monitor the whole operation process for solid fumigant sterilizers, especially over large-scale farms, a precise control and monitoring system for solid fumigant sterilizers was designed and experimented. A linear equation was established between rotational speed and fumigant distributed per revolution of the shaft for the solid fumigant sterilizer to calculate the rotational speed of the shaft for the control system. The control system was modified by a linear correlation. The monitoring system based on the Internet of Things (IoT) platform was integrated into the solid fumigant sterilizer, which could record a variety of information such as coordinates, operation trajectory and distribution quantity in real-time. Experiments to investigate the performance of the control and monitoring systems were carried out in the laboratory and the field. The results showed that the coefficient of variation (C.V.) of all six outlets did not exceed 3%. Furthermore, the average C.V. at high rotational speed of the shaft (22 r/min to 34 r/min) was 16.18% larger than that at a low rotational speed (10 r/min to 22 r/min). For the stability and accuracy of the control system, the C.V.s of the application rates of 450 kg/ha, 525 kg/ha and 600 kg/ha were 2.52%, 4.80% and 4.48% respectively with an average of 3.93%, and the corresponding control accuracies were 95.3%, 95.6% and 92.5%. The experimental accuracy of the application rate at 600 kg/ha was relatively low because it was affected by the natural wind and incomplete collection of fumigants from the film. The error of the control and monitoring systems did not exceed 3% for the five application rates from 300 kg/ha to 600 kg/ha at an interval of 75 kg/ha in the field experiment. This research can provide technical support for precise control of solid fumigants, remote monitoring of field operations and performance evaluation of solid fumigant sterilizers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• 3.71% of children with ARTI exhibited HAdV positive. • HAdV -2, HAdV -3 and HAdV -7 were the predominant types identified from ARTI children. • 74.85% of HAdV were co-detected with other respiratory pathogens, most commonly HRV. • The co-detection rate of HAdV-C was significant higher than those of HAdV-B. • HAdV -7 positive children may not present more severe clinical outcome. Human adenovirus (HAdV) is a common pathogen in children that can cause acute respiratory tract infection (ARTI), but the molecular epidemiological and clinical information relating to HAdV among hospitalized children with ARTI are few reported in China. To evaluate the epidemiological, clinical, and molecular characteristics of HAdV infections among hospitalized children with ARTI in Hebei, Northern China from June 2017 to May 2018. A 12-month longitudinal, retrospective study on HAdV , typed by nested polymerase chain reaction targeting the hexon gene's hypervariable region (typing was merely performed by sequencing of the hexon neutralization epitope and thus genotypes could not be identified unequivocally), associated with ARTI was performed. The epidemiological and clinical data of different types of HAdV were analyzed using statistical product and service solutions (SPSS) 21.0 software. HAdV was detected in 330 (3.71%) of the 8906 specimens, with most (88.48%, 292/330) HAdV -positives cases detected among children < 3 years old. HAdV were detected throughout the year with a higher prevalence in spring. 11 types were identified, with HAdV-2 (33.33%, 110/330) as the predominant type, followed by HAdV-3 (21.21%, 70/330) and HAdV-7 (13.94%, 46/330). Of the 330 HAdV -positive specimens, 247 (74.85%) were co-detected with other respiratory pathogens, most commonly rhinovirus (HRV) (58.7%, 145/247). Additionally, patients with HAdV -7 positive had longer duration of fever than HAdV -2 or -3 positive patients. During the study period, HAdV -2, HAdV -3 and HAdV -7 were the predominant types identified from children with ARTI in Hebei Province. Pediatric patients with HAdV -7 positive may not present more severe clinical outcome except a longer duration of fever. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]