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Altitude plays a crucial role in shaping the diversity and distribution of species in forest landscapes in mountainous regions. However, existing studies often lack comprehensive analysis of the intricate relationships among environmental factors, disturbances, and species diversity. This study aims to address this gap by thoroughly analyzing major species' diversity, distribution, and regeneration status, along with their influencing factors, across different altitudinal gradients (1850 to 2350 m). Field surveys were conducted to examine the major species in different vegetation layers of the secondary Picea forest in Guandi Mountain. The key findings from the study include the following: (1) the study area recorded a total of nine species of adult trees, belonging to eight genera in five families, fourteen species of shrubs from eight genera in five families, and fifty-two herb species representing forty-eight genera in twenty-six families. Dominant species varied across layers, with Picea asperata Mast. and Larix principis-rupprechtii Mayr. dominating the arborous layer, Lonicera ferdinandii Franch. and Cotoneaster acutifolius Turcz. in the shrub layer, and Poa pratensis L. and Duchesnea indica (Andrews.) Focke in the herb layer. (2) Altitude significantly influenced species diversity, with the most pronounced effects observed in the shrub and herb layers. (3) Tree species regeneration varied with altitude, with Picea asperata exhibiting the highest regeneration performance, particularly in the high-altitude zone (2250–2350 m). Regeneration parameters were significantly correlated with species diversity indices in both tree and shrub layers. (4) Redundancy analysis revealed that, apart from altitude, cutting (p = 0.015) influenced the species diversity of the tree layer, while annual precipitation (p = 0.006) and temperature (p = 0.01) determined the diversity of the shrub layer. Grazing (p = 0.042) was identified as a determining factor for species diversity in the herb layer. Overall, these findings provide valuable insights into the sustainable management of forest ecosystems in the study area and offer practical guidance for forest management in similar mountainous landscapes worldwide. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Accurate assessments of the historical and current status of eco-environmental quality (EEQ) are essential for governments to have a comprehensive understanding of regional ecological conditions, formulate scientific policies, and achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). While various approaches to EEQ monitoring exist, they each have limitations and cannot be used universally. Moreover, previous studies lack detailed examinations of EEQ dynamics and its driving factors at national and local levels. Therefore, this study utilized a remote sensing ecological index (RSEI) to assess the EEQ of China from 2001 to 2021. Additionally, an emerging hot-spot analysis was conducted to study the spatial and temporal dynamics of the EEQ of China. The degree of influence of eight major drivers affecting EEQ was evaluated by a GeoDetector model. The results show that from 2001 to 2021, the mean RSEI values in China showed a fluctuating upward trend; the EEQ varied significantly in different regions of China, with a lower EEQ in the north and west and a higher EEQ in the northeast, east, and south in general. The spatio-temporal patterns of hot/cold spots in China were dominated by intensifying hot spots, persistent cold spots, and diminishing cold spots, with an area coverage of over 90%. The hot spots were concentrated to the east of the Hu Huanyong Line, while the cold spots were concentrated to its west. The oscillating hot/cold spots were located in the ecologically fragile agro-pastoral zone, next to the upper part of the Hu Huanyong Line. Natural forces have become the main driving force for changes in China's EEQ, and precipitation and soil sand content were key variables affecting the EEQ. The interaction between these factors had a greater impact on the EEQ than individual factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The occurrence of drought indicates that there is no rainfall or little rainfall within a certain period. Nevertheless, no or little rainfall within a certain time implies that drought may not happen. The drought occurrence in different regions or seasons shows a certain lag to some extent. The lag time and intensity (i.e., the contribution rate of rainfall in previous period to runoff in current period) are deeply affected by watershed water storage capacity. Subsequently, rainfall deficit is a necessary and insufficient for the droughts. To reveal the mechanism of watershed lagged effects and the impact of human activities on droughts, the characteristics of lagged effects and human activities in Central Guizhou of China are analyzed by the Lagged index and Landscape index based on land use data, rainfall and runoff data during the period 1971–2016. The results demonstrate that the impact of the same land use type in different ages (1970s–2010s) on watershed lagged intensity has a significant difference (P < 0.001). Especially for the influence of the woodland and grassland on lagged intensity is increasing with the increase of time scales and the impact difference gradually decreases in cultivated land, water body and construction land. The impact (R-value) of land use type transfer on watershed lagged effect is particularly significant (p < 0.001), and the influence (R-value) of land use type transfer on lagged frequency is shown with a W-shaped pattern in cultivated land and grassland with the ages changing, a single peak character in woodland and a peak valley alternation in water body. The impact of principal component factors (Zs) of land use morphological characteristics on watershed lagged effect has a particularly significant difference (p < 0.001) in different lag periods (Xt−0–Xt−3), different ages (1970s–2010s) and different time scales (1–12 months). Among them, the impact (F-value) of the Zs in the Xt−0–Xt−3 on lagged intensity/frequency is the largest in grassland, followed by in water body and woodland, and the smallest in cultivated land and construction land. The F-value in the 1970s–2010s is larger in construction than in cultivated land and woodland, and it is the smaller in water body and grassland. The F-value in the 1–12 month scales is grassland > water body > cultivated land > construction land > woodland. As a subsequence, this study enriches the research content of landscape ecology, and it provides a theoretical basis for revealing the mechanism of agricultural and hydrological droughts in Karst drainage basins. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Accurate prediction of individual tree mortality is essential for informed decision making in forestry. In this study, we proposed machine learning models to forecast individual tree mortality within the temperate Larix gmelinii var. principis-rupprechtii forests in Northern China. Eight distinct machine learning techniques including random forest, logistic regression, artificial neural network, generalized additive model, support vector machine, gradient boosting machine, k-nearest neighbors, and naive Bayes models were employed, to construct an ensemble learning model based on comprehensive dataset from this specific ecosystem. The random forest model emerged as the most accurate, demonstrating 92.9% accuracy and 92.8% sensitivity, making it the best model among those tested. We identified key variables impacting tree mortality, and the results showed that a basal area larger than the target trees (BAL), a diameter at 130 cm (DBH), a basal area (BA), an elevation, a slope, NH4-N, soil moisture, crown density, and the soil's available phosphorus are important variables in the Larix Principis-rupprechtii individual mortality model. The variable importance calculation results showed that BAL is the most important variable with an importance value of 1.0 in a random forest individual tree mortality model. By analyzing the complex relationships of individual tree factors, stand factors, environmental, and soil factors, our model aids in decision making for temperate Larix gmelinii var. principis-rupprechtii forest conservation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• This study developed a multi-feature decision approach for extraction of tidal flats based on the Landsat time series and GEE platform. • The spatial-temporal distribution of tidal flats in Zhoushan Archipelago, China is mapped. • The spatio-temporal characteristics of tidal flats in Zhoushan Archipelago, China are analyzed from 1985 to 2020. Tidal flats serve as vital spatial resources within coastal wetlands and play crucial roles in biological habitat preservation, environmental conservation, and human development. However, accurately delineating their extent from instantaneous remote sensing images poses challenges, owing to the dynamic interplay between seawater and land. Therefore, this study utilized the consistency of remote sensing satellites and developed a multi-feature decision approach based on the long-term remote sensing datasets and the Google Earth Engine (GEE) cloud platform for determining the spatial extent, classifying types, and mapping the spatial-temporal distribution of the tidal flats. Initially, a multi-temporal image stack was compiled from the filtered remote sensing images. Subsequently, the modified normalized difference water index (MNDWI) and automated water extraction index (AWEI) were calculated to establish the maximum and minimum water surfaces using the extreme value composite algorithm (EVCA). The Otsu algorithm and spatial overlay analysis method were then utilized to accurately delineate the spatial extent of the tidal flats. Additionally, the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) was utilized to accurately identify tidal flat types. Post-processing involves elevation data and mathematical morphological methods to mitigate the impact of permanent water bodies. Finally, the accuracy of the extracted spatial extent and types of tidal flats was evaluated. The efficacy and practicality of the proposed method were validated using the Zhoushan Archipelago and Landsat time series in China. The results revealed the following: (1) the acquired tidal flat information exhibited evident boundaries and accurate types, achieving an overall accuracy (OA) of 94.80 % and a Kappa coefficient of 0.89; (2) the area of tidal flats in the Zhoushan Archipelago increased from 2,182.19 ha in 1985 to 3,761.21 ha in 2020, with an average annual increase of 45.12 ha and an average annual increase rate of 1.57 %; and (3) over 35 periods, the area transformed from other land types to tidal flats amounted to 2,895.74 ha, while the area converted from tidal flats to other land types totaled 1,651.90 ha. The three islands with the most rapid growth in tidal flat area were Liuheng Island, Dachangtu Island, and Daishan Island, with changes of 675.68 ha, 380.47 ha, and 362.63 ha, respectively. This method can offer an automated, swift, and accurate approach for tidal flat extraction, demonstrating high precision and practical effectiveness, thereby providing robust technical support for coastal resource surveys. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the process of rapid urbanisation, maintaining urban water supplies and reducing flood risks are increasingly serious global problems. To address these issues, in 2013, the Chinese government proposed a development plan for 'sponge cities', which involves the implementation of various water management systems for natural storage, infiltration and cleaning of water in urban areas. In 2016, 30 pilot cities were identified. In the work reported in this paper, similarities and differences between the concept of sponge cities in China and overseas rainwater management systems were determined, considering that China could draw lessons from the latter. The construction characteristics of the pilot cities were analysed with regard to the different implementation measures in semi-arid, semi-humid and humid climatic zones to provide a reference for the selection of construction measures in different cities. Taking Xiamen as a case study, this study analysed whether the selection methods of annual runoff and pollution control in Xiamen would be sufficient to meet the implementation goals of sponge cities. The results showed that China's sponge city approach can effectively control urban rainfall–runoff and reduce runoff contaminants, although the plan should continually consider and adapt methods developed elsewhere. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Many New Farmers use the WeChat platform to sell their agricultural products. • The concept, characteristics, and classification of New Farmers are summarized. • The purely sales-oriented New Farmers' quality and safety knowledge was studied by using a seemingly unrelated ordered probit (SUOP) model. • We surveyed 873 New Farmers, including 504 purely sales-oriented New Farmers. • Results could help to strengthen the quality and safety management, training, and supervision of New Farmers. The internet of things has revolutionized Chinese agricultural production and marketing sectors, creating "New Farmers." WeChat is one of the most popular social media platforms in China, and WeChat marketing of agricultural products has become a widespread phenomenon. To respond to the quality and safety concerns of consumers on the social media marketing platform, New Farmers should pay more attention and maintain the quality and safety of the agricultural products they sell on WeChat. Our objective is to understand the determinants influencing the New Farmers' quality and safety knowledge of the fresh fruits they sell on WeChat. For this purpose, we collected data in 2018 from a sample of 504 purely sales-oriented New Farmers in China. We analyzed the influence of WeChat marketing, food safety awareness, personal characteristics, and external factors on purely sales-oriented New Farmers' quality and safety knowledge related to the fresh fruits they sell on WeChat based on the Stimulus-Organism-Response framework. Results indicated that purely sales oriented New Farmers' ranking of their understanding of the quality and safety status (pesticides, fertilizers, and quality and safety certifications) of the fruits depend on factors such as consumers' consultation frequency about quality and safety information to New Farmers, consumers' word of mouth, sales status of fruits, WeChat regulation, quality and safety awareness of New Farmers, gender, training received, government regulations, and consumers attention to food safety. The findings should be helpful to strengthen the quality and safety management, training, and supervision of New Farmers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: While the surface of Tibet is undergoing pervasive pure shear, stable terranes, straddling subsurface sutures, remain in the sub-continental lithospheric mantle (SCLM), attesting to its strength. Furthermore, sub-horizontal, cohesive remnant of Indian SCLM is traced northward from the Himalayan deformation front for about 600km, exemplifying the longevity of buoyant, strong SCLM of Archean shields. Bimodal distribution of earthquake depths, with peaks concentrating in the upper/middle crust and near the Moho, has been a longstanding evidence for strong SCLM. Recent results from the Himalayas—Tibet and along the East African rift system not only corroborate the bimodal distribution but also firmly established that large earthquakes occur below the Moho. Intriguingly, non-volcanic tremors—newly discovered mode of elastic strain release—also occur near the Moho but well below the seismogenic zone in the upper/middle crust. Considering recent field observations and laboratory experiments of viscosity contrast across the Moho, the SCLM must be strong enough to accumulate elastic strain, a prerequisite for earthquakes, over geological time. Moreover, under laboratory conditions, recent advances that link the termination of frictional instability, an analogue for earthquakes, and the onset of crystal plasticity, provided a physical basis for limiting temperatures of crustal (~300–400°C) and mantle (~600–700°C) earthquakes. While any single rheological model cannot possibly account for all tectonic settings (which also evolve with time), lithological contrast across the Moho is important in shaping the bimodal distribution of strength in the continental lithosphere. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Tongue crack is an important pathological feature in traditional Chinese tongue diagnosis. However, in computerized tongue diagnosis, tongue cracks are not commonly used because the tongue crack features are hard to be accurately extracted. In this paper, we propose a new scheme for tongue crack extraction. First, for the purpose of enhancement of the tongue crack regions, we get line response image using tongue image gray-level and color information as well as the pixel distant gradient. Then tongue crack regions are extracted from line response image by methods such as hysteresis thresholding algorithm and so on. A database of 286 tongue images is established and used in our test, and the experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness of our proposed tongue crack detection method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Eleven intracontinental earthquakes, with magnitudes ranging from 4.9 to 6, occurred in the mantle beneath the western Himalayan syntaxis, the western Kunlun Mountains, and southern Tibet (near Xigaze) between 1963 and 1999. High-resolution seismic waveforms show that some focal depths exceeded 100 kilometers, indicating that these earthquakes occurred in the mantle portion of the lithosphere, even though the crust has been thickened there. The occurrence of earthquakes in the mantle beneath continental regions where the subduction of oceanic lithosphere ceased tens of millions years ago indicates that the mantle lithosphere is sufficiently strong to accumulate elastic strain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Currently available high-resolution digital elevation model (DEM) is not particularly useful to geologists for understanding the long-term changes in fluvial landforms induced by tectonic uplift, although DEMs that are generated from satellite stereo images such as the ZiYuan-3 (ZY3) satellite include characteristics with significant coverage and rapid acquisition. Since an ongoing analysis of fluvial systems is lacking, the ZY3 DEM was generated from block adjustment to describe the mountainous area of the Qianhe Basin that have been induced by tectonic uplift. Moreover, we evaluated the overall elevation difference in ZY3 DEM, Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (1″ × 1″) (SRTM1), and Reflection Radiometer Global Digital Elevation Model (ASTER GDEM) by using the Ice Cloud and Land Elevation Satellite/Geoscience Laser Altimeter (ICESat/GLAH14) point cloud and a DEM of 1:50,000 scale. The values of the root mean square error (RMSE) of the elevation difference for ZY3 DEM were 9.31 and 9.71 m, respectively, and are in good agreement with SRTM1. The river long profiles and terrace heights were also extracted to compare the differences in channel steepness and the incision rates with SRTM1 and ASTER GDEM. Our results prove that ZY3 DEM would be a good alternative to SRTM1 in achieving the 1:50,000 scale for DEM products in China, while ASTER GDEM is unsuitable for extracting river longitudinal profiles. In addition, the northern and southern river incision rates were estimated using the ages and heights of river terraces, demonstrating a range from 0.12–0.45 to 0.10–0.33 m/kyr, respectively. Collectively, these findings suggest that ZY3 DEM is capable of estimating tectonic geomorphological features and has the potential for analyzing the continuous evolutionary response of a landscape to changes in climate and tectonics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A mixed-effects height to crown base model (hcb) was developed using LiDAR and field datasets. • LiDAR-derived tree height, crown width and dominant height significantly contributed to the model. • The developed nonlinear mixed effects hcb model showed the best prediction performance. • Five medium trees were found to be the recommended number to estimate the random-effects. Height to crown base (hcb) is an important tree-level characteristic used for determination of crown size and for prediction of the initiation and propagation potential of crown fires. Crown size variables are often used as input variables for forest growth and yield models. In this study, a nonlinear mixed-effects hcb model was developed using measurements from 510 Picea crassifolia Kom trees in 16 sample plots in the Xishui forest farm of SunanYuguzu Autonomous County, Gansu Qilian Mountain National Nature Reserve, China. The modeling data were based on the airborne light detection and ranging (LiDAR), which serves as a reliable database for large forest areas. In general, field-based measurements are considered relatively more accurate compared with remote sensing data, but the LiDAR database can be applied for large forest area at a relatively low inventory cost when appropriate hcb prediction models are available. Given that measurements from the same sample plots were significantly correlated, we incorporated the random-effect component in the model to account for hcb variations at the sample plot-level. Among several potential predictors evaluated, we observed that diameter at breast height, LiDAR-derived total tree height, LiDAR-derived crown width, and LiDAR-derived plot dominant tree height were highly significant in the nonlinear mixed-effects hcb model. Four strategies for selection of sample trees per sample plot (largest trees, medium-sized trees, smallest trees, and randomly selected trees) and seven sample sizes (two to eight selected trees per sample plot) were evaluated for calibration of our nonlinear mixed-effects hcb model. The empirical best linear unbiased prediction method was applied to estimate the random effects for calibration and sample plot-specific hcb prediction. Calibration results revealed increased accuracy with increased number of selected trees per sample plot. However, selecting many sample trees per sample plot to calibrate the nonlinear mixed-effects hcb model may increase inventory costs with little gain in accuracy. Therefore, we recommended, in our study, that selection of five medium-sized trees per sample plot provides a compromise between measurement cost, model use efficiency, and prediction accuracy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The forest growth and yield models, which are used as important decision-support tools in forest management, are commonly based on the individual tree characteristics, such as diameter at breast height (DBH), crown ratio, and height to crown base (HCB). Taking direct measurements for DBH and HCB through the ground-based methods is cumbersome and costly. The indirect method of getting such information is possible from remote sensing databases, which can be used to build DBH and HCB prediction models. The DBH and HCB of the same trees are significantly correlated, and so their inherent correlations need to be appropriately accounted for in the DBH and HCB models. However, all the existing DBH and HCB models, including models based on light detection and ranging (LiDAR) have ignored such correlations and thus failed to account for the compatibility of DBH and HCB estimates, in addition to disregarding measurement errors. To address these problems, we developed a compatible simultaneous equation system of DBH and HCB error-in-variable (EIV) models using LiDAR-derived data and ground-measurements for 510 Picea crassifolia Kom trees in northwest China. Four versatile algorithms, such as nonlinear seemingly unrelated regression (NSUR), two-stage least square (2SLS) regression, three-stage least square (3SLS) regression, and full information maximum likelihood (FIML) were evaluated for their estimating efficiencies and precisions for a simultaneous equation system of DBH and HCB EIV models. In addition, two other model structures, namely, nonlinear least squares with HCB estimation not based on the DBH (NLS and NBD) and nonlinear least squares with HCB estimation based on the DBH (NLS and BD) were also developed, and their fitting precisions with a simultaneous equation system compared. The leave-one-out cross-validation method was applied to evaluate all estimating algorithms and their resulting models. We found that only the simultaneous equation system could illustrate the effect of errors associated with the regressors on the response variables (DBH and HCB) and guaranteed the compatibility between the DBH and HCB models at an individual level. In addition, such an established system also effectively accounted for the inherent correlations between DBH with HCB. However, both the NLS and BD model and the NLS and NBD model did not show these properties. The precision of a simultaneous equation system developed using NSUR appeared the best among all the evaluated algorithms. Our equation system does not require the stand-level information as input, but it does require the information of tree height, crown width, and crown projection area, all of which can be readily derived from LiDAR imagery using the delineation algorithms and ground-based DBH measurements. Our results indicate that NSUR is a more reliable and quicker algorithm for developing DBH and HCB models using large scale LiDAR-based datasets. The novelty of this study is that the compatibility problem of the DBH model and the HCB EIV model was properly addressed, and the potential algorithms were compared to choose the most suitable one (NSUR). The presented method and algorithm will be useful for establishing similar compatible equation systems of tree DBH and HCB EIV models for other tree species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Norovirus (NoV) is a major pathogenic agent of human acute viral gastroenteritis that occurs worldwide. In March 2017, a series of acute NoV-associated gastroenteritis outbreaks occurred in Hubei Province in central China. Here, we sought to better understand the main genotypes and potential evolutionary advantages of circulating NoV strains underlying these outbreaks. During the outbreak, 111 fecal swabs and stool samples were collected from outpatients with acute NoV-associated gastroenteritis in Hubei Province. RNA was extracted from the samples and used as a template for real-time RT-PCR. Sequencing of a portion of the capsid gene and the ORF1/ORF2 overlap was used to assess DNA sequence homology, phylogeny, and recombination using pairwise alignments, MEGA, and Simplot, respectively. Bayesian evolutionary inference analysis was performed using the BEAST software platform to assess the genetic relationships, evolution rate, and evolutionary history of norovirus. GII NoV was determined to be the major pathogen of the acute gastroenteritis outbreaks in Hubei Province, with a 57.7% positive rate. Homology and phylogenic analysis of a portion of the capsid region for GII NoV isolates collected during outbreaks in Hubei showed that the isolates had a very high sequence identity and belonged to GII.2 genotype. Phylogenetic analysis of recombination using the ORF1/ORF2 overlap region revealed a recombinant strain, GII.P16_GII.2, in samples isolated from Hubei Province. The partial polymerase region and capsid gene of the recombinant strain had very high identity (98.7–98.8%) with the NoV strains isolated in Germany in 2016. The evolutionary rate of VP1 gene of GII.2 was distinctly higher than that of the partial polymerase region of GII.16. A phylogenetic tree generated using MCMC showed that the recombinant NoV GII.16_GII.2 was significantly divergent from other GII.16_GII.2 strains observed in China and Japan. Continued circulation of this GII.16_GII.2 recombinant could overtake the predominant GII.4 NoV strain with geographic expansion. Further analysis of the evolutionary dynamics of norovirus is necessary to develop more effective prevention and control strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Humane enterovirus 71 (HEV 71) is a common contagious agent of hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD) which is normally mild but can caused deaths and severe neurological complications. In April 2011, an unpredicted HFMD outbreak in Xiangyang City of Hubei Province in China resulted in a high aggregation of HFMD cases including fatal cases and many severe cases. In this study, 71 clinical specimens were collected according to the different symptoms and RNA extraction and RT-PCR amplification were performed immediately. Laboratory testing and genetic analyses were used to identify the casual pathogen of this outbreak. HEV71 was confirmed as the etiological pathogen of the outbreak. Similarity and phylogenetic analyses of the VP1 gene of HEV71 from Xiangyang showed that they belong to C4a cluster of the C4 subgenotype. Intertypic recombinant events were found in the 3D region between the Xiangyang HEV71 strains and Coxsackievirus A16 (CV-A16). Intratypic recombination was found in the 3D region between two same subgenotypic Xiangyang HEV71 strains in this outbreak. It is suggested that these recombination events played important roles in the emergence of the various HEV 71 subgenotypes and different type of recombination of HEV71 might exist in one outbreak which might be the reason for the different virulent HEV71 strains in an outbreak. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Background: Lupus nephritis is a rare immunological disorder. Genetic factors are considered important in its causation. We aim to systematically investigate the rare pathogenic gene variants in patients with lupus nephritis., Methods: Whole-exome sequencing was used to screen pathogenic gene variants in 1886 probands with lupus nephritis. Variants were interpreted on the basis of known pathogenic variants or the American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics guidelines and studied by functional analysis, including RNA sequencing, quantitative PCR, cytometric bead array, and Western blotting., Results: Mendelian form of lupus nephritis was confirmed in 71 probands, involving 63 variants in 39 pathogenic genes. The detection yield was 4%. The pathogenic genes enriched in nuclear factor kappa-B (NF-κB), type I interferon, phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase/serine/threonine kinase Akt (PI3K/AKT), Ras GTPase/mitogen-activated protein kinase (RAS/MAPK), and Janus kinase/signal transducer and activator of transcription (JAK/STAT) pathways. Clinical manifestation patterns were diverse among different signaling pathways. More than 50% of the pathogenic gene variants were reported to be associated with lupus or lupus nephritis for the first time. The identified pathogenic gene variants of lupus nephritis overlapped with those of autoinflammatory and immunodeficiency diseases. Inflammatory signatures, such as cytokine levels of IL-6, IL-8, IL-1 β , IFN α , IFN γ , and IP10 in serum and transcriptional levels of interferon-stimulated genes in blood, were significantly higher in patients with pathogenic gene variants compared with controls. The overall survival rate of patients with pathogenic gene variants was lower than those without pathogenic gene variants., Conclusions: A small fraction of patients with lupus nephritis had identifiable pathogenic gene variants, primarily in NF-κB, type I interferon, PI3K/AKT, JAK/STAT, RAS/MAPK, and complement pathways., (Copyright © 2023 by the American Society of Nephrology.)

Norovirus (NoV) is an important cause of viral acute gastroenteritis (AGE). To gain insights into the epidemiological characteristics and genetic diversity of NoV among children in Hubei, 1216 stool samples from children (≤ 5 years) obtained under AGE surveillance from January 2017 to December 2019 were analyzed. The results showed that NoV was responsible for 14.64% of AGE cases, with the highest detection rate in children aged 7-12 months (19.76%). Statistically significant differences were found between male and female infection rates (χ2 ​= ​8.108, P ​= ​0.004). Genetic analysis of RdRp and VP1 sequences showed that NoV GII genotypes were GII.4 Sydney [P31] (34.35%), GII.3 [P12] (25.95%), GII.2 [P16] (22.90%), GII.4 Sydney [P16] (12.98%), GII.17 [P17] (2.29%), GII.6 [P7] and GII.3 [P16] (each at 0.76%). GII.17 [P17] variants were divided into the Kawasaki323-like lineage and the Kawasaki308-like lineage. A unique recombination event was detected between strains of GII.4 Sydney 2012 and GII.4 Sydney 2016. Significantly, all GII.P16 sequences associated with GII.4/GII.2 obtained in Hubei were correlated with novel GII.2 [P16] variants that re-emerged in Germany in 2016. Antigenic site analysis of complete VP1 sequences from all GII.4 variants from Hubei identified notable variable residues of antibody epitopes. Genotyping under continuous AGE surveillance and observation of the antigenic sites of VP1 are important monitoring strategies for emerging NoV strains., Competing Interests: Conflict of interest The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2023 The Authors. Publishing services by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Based on one-year observation, the concentration, sources, and potential source areas of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) were comprehensively analyzed to investigate the pollution characteristics of ambient VOCs in Haikou, China. The results showed that the annual average concentration of total VOCs (TVOCs) was 11.4 ppbV, and the composition was dominated by alkanes (8.2 ppbV, 71.4%) and alkenes (1.3 ppbV, 20.5%). The diurnal variation in the concentration of dominant VOC species showed a distinct bimodal distribution with peaks in the morning and evening. The greatest contribution to ozone formation potential (OFP) was made by alkenes (51.6%), followed by alkanes (27.2%). The concentrations of VOCs and nitrogen dioxide (NO 2 ) in spring and summer were low, and it was difficult to generate high ozone (O 3 ) concentrations through photochemical reactions. The significant increase in O 3 concentrations in autumn and winter was mainly related to the transmission of pollutants from the northeast. Traffic sources (40.1%), industrial sources (19.4%), combustion sources (18.6%), solvent usage sources (15.5%) and plant sources (6.4%) were identified as major sources of VOCs through the positive matrix factorization (PMF) model. The southeastern coastal areas of China were identified as major potential source areas of VOCs through the potential source contribution function (PSCF) and concentration-weighted trajectory (CWT) models. Overall, the concentration of ambient VOCs in Haikou was strongly influenced by traffic sources and long-distance transport, and the control of VOCs emitted from vehicles should be strengthened to reduce the active species of ambient VOCs in Haikou, thereby reducing the generation of O 3 ., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2022. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

Objectives: While timely assessment of long-term survival for patients with cervical cancer is essential for the evaluation of early detection and screening programs for cervical cancer, those data are extremely scarce in China. We aimed to timely and accurately assess long-term survival for patients with cervical cancer in eastern China, using cancer registry data from Taizhou, eastern China., Methods: Patients diagnosed with cervical cancer during 2004-2018 from four cancer registries with high-quality data from Taizhou, eastern China were included. A period analysis was used to calculate the 5-year relative survival (RS) overall and on stratification by sex, age at diagnosis, and region. Additionally, the projected 5-year relative survival (RS) of patients with cervical cancer during 2019-2023 was evaluated, using a model-based period analysis., Results: Overall 5-year RS for patients with cervical cancer during 2014-2018 reached 90.9%. When stratified by age at diagnosis, we found a clear age gradient for 5-year RS, declining from 95.6% for age <45 years to 68.7% for age >74 years, while urban areas had higher 5-year RS compared to rural areas (92.9 vs. 88.6%). We found a clear increasing trend of 5-year RS during 2004-2018 overall and on stratification by region and age at diagnosis. The projected overall 5-year RS is expected to reach 94.2% for the period 2019-2023., Conclusions: We found that, for the first time in China, using period analysis, the most up-to-date (during 2014-2018) 5-year RS for patients with cervical cancer reached 90.9%. Our data have important implications for the timely evaluation of early detection and screening programs for patients with cervical cancer in eastern China., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2022 Lu, Li, Cheng, Yang, Cao, Zhang, Qiao, Wang and Chen.)

Human melanoma is a highly malignant tumor originating from cutaneous melanocytes. The noncoding RNA microRNA (miR)-21-5p has been reported to be expressed at high levels in malignant melanocytic skin tissues, but its potential functional role in melanoma remains poorly understood. Here, we explored the cellular effects of miR-21-5p on melanoma in vitro and the underlying mechanisms. Quantitative real-time PCR was used to show that miR-21-5p is significantly up-regulated in clinical samples from patients with melanoma as compared with adjacent noncancerous tissues. Overexpression of miR-21-5p significantly enhanced, whereas knockdown attenuated, cell proliferation and G1/S transition in melanoma cell lines (A375 and M14). Luciferase reporter assays were used to show that the cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor 2C (CDKN2C) is a downstream target of miR-21-5p. Furthermore, miR-21-5p mimics resulted in a decrease in CDKN2C expression, and CDKN2C expression was observed to be inversely correlated with miR-21-5p expression in melanoma tissues. Rescue experiments were performed to show that overexpression of CDKN2C partially reversed the effects of miR-21-5p up-regulation on A375 cells. Consistently, knockdown of CDKN2C abolished the effects of miR-21-5p down-regulation on A375 cells. Overall, our studies demonstrate that miR-21-5p can promote the growth of melanoma cells by targeting CDKN2C, which may induce G0/G1 phase arrest of melanoma cells., (© 2020 The Authors. Published by FEBS Press and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Consumers' food safety risk information-seeking behavior plays a vital role in improving their food quality and safety awareness and preventing food safety risks. Based on the Risk Information Seeking and Processing Model (RISP), this paper empirically analyzes the food safety risk information-seeking intention of consumers in WeChat and influencing factors under the impact of food safety incidents. We use data from 774 WeChat users and apply the Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) approach. We also conduct multigroup analysis with demographic characteristics as moderating variables. The results demonstrated that: (1) Risk perception ( p ≤ 0.01) has direct significant positive effects on consumers' intention to seek food safety information. Besides, higher risk perception ( p ≤ 0.01) regarding food safety risks will make people feel more anxious and threatened, and then expand the gap between the information they need and the relevant knowledge they actually have ( p ≤ 0.1), which will further stimulate them to seek more information ( p ≤ 0.05). (2) Informational subjective norms ( p ≤ 0.01) can not only directly affect consumers' information-seeking about food safety, but also indirectly affect consumers' intention through information insufficiency ( p ≤ 0.01). (3) The more consumers trust the relevant channels ( p ≤ 0.01), the stronger their intention to search for food safety risk information. Moreover, the multiple-group analysis also shows that the effects of consumers' gender, age, educational background, and average monthly earnings are different among different groups. Furthermore, implications are put forward for food safety risk communication efforts in China., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Objective: To systematical evaluate the effect of Xuebijing injection in the treatment of multiple organ dysfunction syndrome (MODS)., Methods: With the keywords including Xuebijing, multiple organ dysfunction syndrome, multiple organ dysfunction and multiple organ failure, PubMed, the Cochrane Library, Embase, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), China Biology Medicine (CBM), VIP and Wanfang Data from the database start until March 4th, 2018 were searched for relevant randomized controlled trials (RCTs) related to Xuebijing injection combined conventional treatment versus conventional treatment alone for MODS. The control group received conventional western medicine treatment, including etiological treatment, antibiotics, mechanical ventilation, nutritional support, and comprehensive treatment to maintain fluid, electrolyte, acid and alkali balance. The experimental group was given traditional western medicine combined with Xuebijing injection. The observation parameters included 7-day and 28-day mortality, acute physiology and chronic health evaluation II (APACHE II) and Marshall score, interleukin-6 (IL-6), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), the number of platelets, activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT) and prothrombin time (PT). According to the inclusion and exclusion criteria, two evaluators independently screened the literature, extracted data and evaluated the methodological quality of the included studies. RevMan 5.3 software was used for Meta analysis. Funnel plot was used to analyze publication bias., Results: A total of 35 RCTs and 2 131 patients were enrolled, including 1 076 in the experimental group and 1 055 in the control group. The results of Meta analysis showed that compared with control group, Xuebijing combined conventional treatment was in favor to decrease the mortality of patients with MODS [7-day mortality: odds ratio (OR) = 0.42, 99% confidence interval (99%CI) = 0.26-0.69, P < 0.000 01; 28-day mortality: OR = 0.31, 99%CI = 0.21-0.45, P < 0.000 01], also could obviously reduce critical condition degree of APACHE II score and the organ function of Marshall score [APACHE II: mean difference (MD) = 3.24, 99%CI = 2.00-4.49, P < 0.000 01; Marshall score: MD = 1.95, 99%CI = 0.50-3.40, P = 0.000 5]. Meanwhile, the results of conventional western medicine combined with Xuebijing in the removal of IL-6 and TNF-α, platelets increase and improvement of PT were better than those of conventional western medicine (IL-6: MD = 5.56, 99%CI = 1.44-9.68, P = 0.000 5; TNF-α: MD = 4.97, 99%CI = 3.44-6.50, P < 0.000 01; platelets: MD = -50.79, 99%CI = -74.84 to -26.74, P < 0.000 1; PT: MD = 4.55, 99%CI = 3.96-5.14, P < 0.000 01), however, there was no obvious advantage in improving APTT (MD = 0.96, 99%CI = -5.08-7.00, P = 0.68). The analysis of funnel map showed that the effect points of various studies were mainly centered on the amount of combined effect, and the "inverted funnel" type was generally symmetrical distribution. However, because the number of the included studies was less, the literature bias could not be completely eliminated., Conclusions: Xuebijing injection may through its strong cytokines clearance, platelet increase and blood coagulation improvement to protect the organ function in patients with MODS, so as to reduce the mortality and improve the prognosis.

Though the Y-chromosome O2a-M95 lineage is one of the major haplogroups present in eastern Asian populations, especially among Austro-Asiatic speaking populations from Southwestern China and mainland Southeast Asia, to date its phylogeny lacks structure due to only one downstream SNP marker (M88) assigned to the lineage. A recent array-capture-based Y chromosome sequencing of Asian samples has yielded a variety of novel SNPs purportedly belonging to the O2a-M95 lineage, but their phylogenetic positions have yet to be determined. In this study, we sampled 646 unrelated males from 22 Austro-Asiatic speaking populations from Cambodia, Thailand and Southwestern China, and genotyped 12 SNP makers among the sampled populations, including 10 of the newly reported markers. Among the 646 males, 343 belonged to the O2a-M95 lineage, confirming the supposed dominance of this Y chromosome lineage in Austro-Asiatic speaking populations. We further characterized the phylogeny of O2a-M95 by defining 5 sub-branches: O2a1*-M95, O2a1a-F789, O2a1b*-F1252, O2a1b1*-M88 and O2a1b1a -F761. This updated phylogeny not only improves the resolution of this lineage, but also allows for greater tracing of the prehistory of human populations in eastern Asia and the Pacific, which may yield novel insights into the patterns of language diversification and population movement in these regions.

The incidence of measles in China from 1991 to 2008 was reviewed, and the nucleotide sequences from 1507 measles viruses (MeV) isolated during 1993 to 2008 were phylogenetically analyzed. The results showed that measles epidemics peaked approximately every 3 to 5 years with the range of measles cases detected between 56,850 and 140,048 per year. The Chinese MeV strains represented three genotypes; 1501 H1, 1 H2 and 5 A. Genotype H1 was the predominant genotype throughout China continuously circulating for at least 16 years. Genotype H1 sequences could be divided into two distinct clusters, H1a and H1b. A 4.2% average nucleotide divergence was found between the H1a and H1b clusters, and the nucleotide sequence and predicted amino acid homologies of H1a viruses were 92.3%-100% and 84.7%-100%, H1b were 97.1%-100% and 95.3%-100%, respectively. Viruses from both clusters were distributed throughout China with no apparent geographic restriction and multiple co-circulating lineages were present in many provinces. Cluster H1a and H1b viruses were co-circulating during 1993 to 2005, while no H1b viruses were detected after 2005 and the transmission of that cluster has presumably been interrupted. Analysis of the nucleotide and predicted amino acid changes in the N proteins of H1a and H1b viruses showed no evidence of selective pressure. This study investigated the genotype and cluster distribution of MeV in China over a 16-year period to establish a genetic baseline before MeV elimination in Western Pacific Region (WPR). Continuous and extensive MeV surveillance and the ability to quickly identify imported cases of measles will become more critical as measles elimination goals are achieved in China in the near future. This is the first report that a single endemic genotype of measles virus has been found to be continuously circulating in one country for at least 16 years.

Modern humans have occupied almost all possible environments globally since exiting Africa about 100,000 years ago. Both behavioral and biological adaptations have contributed to their success in surviving the rigors of climatic extremes, including cold, strong ultraviolet radiation, and high altitude. Among these environmental stresses, high-altitude hypoxia is the only condition in which traditional technology is incapable of mediating its effects. Inhabiting at >3,000-m high plateau, the Tibetan population provides a widely studied example of high-altitude adaptation. Yet, the genetic mechanisms underpinning long-term survival in this environmental extreme remain unknown. We performed an analysis of genome-wide sequence variations in Tibetans. In combination with the reported data, we identified strong signals of selective sweep in two hypoxia-related genes, EPAS1 and EGLN1. For these two genes, Tibetans show unusually high divergence from the non-Tibetan lowlanders (Han Chinese and Japanese) and possess high frequencies of many linked sequence variations as reflected by the Tibetan-specific haplotypes. Further analysis in seven Tibetan populations (1,334 individuals) indicates the prevalence of selective sweep across the Himalayan region. The observed indicators of natural selection on EPAS1 and EGLN1 suggest that during the long-term occupation of high-altitude areas, the functional sequence variations for acquiring biological adaptation to high-altitude hypoxia have been enriched in Tibetan populations.

Background: Large nationwide outbreaks of hand, foot, and mouth disease (HFMD) occurred in China from 2008; most of the cases were in children under 5 years. This study aims to identify the situation of natural human enterovirus 71 (HEV71) and coxsackievirus A16 (CVA16) infections in children before 2008 in China., Results: Retrospective seroepidemiologic studies of HEV71 and CVA16 were performed with 900 serum samples collected from children ≤5 years of age in 2005. The samples were collected from 6 different geographical areas (Anhui, Guangdong, Hunan, Xinjiang, Yunnan, and Heilongjiang provinces) in mainland China. Of the 900 samples, 288 were positive for HEV71; the total positive rate was 32.0% and the geometric mean titer (GMT) was 1:8.5. Guangdong (43.7% and 1:10.8), Xinjiang (45.4% and 1:11.1), and Yunnan (43.4% and 1:12.0) provinces had relatively high rates of infection, while Heilongjiang province (8.1% and 1:4.9) had the lowest rate of infection. On the other hand, 390 samples were positive for CVA16; the total positive rate was 43.4% and the GMT was 1:9.5. Anhui (62.2% and 1:16.0) and Hunan (61.1% and 1:23.1) had relatively high rates, while Heilongjiang (8.0% and 1:4.6) had the lowest rate. Although there is a geographical difference in HEV71 and CVA16 infections, low neutralizing antibody positive rate and titer of both viruses were found in all 6 provinces., Conclusions: This report confirmed that HEV71 and CVA16 had wildly circulated in a couple provinces in China before the large-scale outbreaks from 2008. This finding also suggests that public health measures to control the spread of HEV71 and CVA16 should be devised according to the different regional characteristics.

Whole-genome sequencing of human adenovirus type 11 (HAdV-11) strain QS, isolated in China, was conducted, and its sequence was compared with the sequences of strains within the species of HAdVs. The HAdV-11 QS genome contains 34,755 nucleotides. Similar to the other HAdV subgenus B sequences, the HAdV-11 QS genome coded 37 functional proteins and could be divided into four early, two intermediate, and five late transcription regions. The amino acid sequences of the fiber and the hypervariable regions (HVRs) within the hexon gene of HAdV-11 QS were identical to the corresponding sequences of the HAdV-11a strain; further analyses that compared those amino acid sequences with the amino acid sequences of the HAdV species subgenus B:2 strains revealed that the highest degree of homology (>99.2%) existed between HAdV-11 QS and the prototypical HAdV-14 strain, except for a few coding sequences of HVRs within the hexon gene, DNA polymerase, pVI, and pre-terminal protein. This indicate that HAdV-11 strain QS, isolated in China, is a recombinant adenovirus of HAdV-14, and the recombination analyses also confirmed this finding. It is difficult to clarify the time and manner of the recombination, and further investigations are required to determine whether the emergence of recombination between HAdV-11a and HAdV-14 might increase virulence, thereby posing a new global challenge with regard to acute respiratory diseases in the near future.

An outbreak of acute respiratory tract infection occurred in Shanxi Province, China, from March to April 2006. Of the 254 patients affected by this outbreak, 247 patients were students of a senior high school; 1 of these patients died during the outbreak. Serological tests and blood culture revealed no evidence of bacterial infection. The results of direct reverse transcription-PCR or PCR performed with clinical specimens collected from the patients, including the sole patient who died, were positive for human adenoviruses (HAdVs) but negative for influenza virus, measles virus, rubella virus, mumps virus, parainfluenza virus, respiratory syncytial virus, and human enteroviruses. These findings were confirmed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for HAdV immunoglobulin A, the conventional neutralization test, and viral isolation and identification. Sequencing of the entire hexon gene revealed that HdAV type 11a (HAdV-11a) belonging to the B2 species of HAdV was the etiological agent responsible for the outbreak. However, both the analysis of the phylogenetic relationship and the similarity plot indicated that the sequence of the 3' end of the hexon gene outside the hypervariable regions the HAdV-11a strain isolated in this outbreak may be a recombinant with the sequence of the HAdV-14 strain of species B2. Although isolates of HAdV species B2 seldom cause respiratory infections, they may pose a new global challenge with regard to acute respiratory diseases; this possibility cannot be overlooked and should be carefully considered. Hence, the need to establish and improve both epidemiological and virological surveillance of HAdV infections in China should be emphasized.