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Mass persuasion is crucial to politics, and sophisticated leaders utilize political persuasion to influence citizens' attitudes and emotions, alter their behaviors, and solicit regime support. In recent decades, a variety of actors have engaged in mass persuasion on China's internet. Using online ethnography and archival research, this study examines a newly emerged but less studied group—pro-regime intellectuals and their online mass persuasion strategies. First, we find that pro-regime intellectuals act as outspoken critics of the West to promote China-centric theories by utilizing their academic knowledge and reasoning. Meanwhile, given their close government connections, they stand as intermediaries between the state and society to channel public discontent and articulate public policy. Furthermore, they proactively adapt to cyberculture by interacting and cultivating close bonds with netizens, as well as by collaborating with platforms to attract public attention. By deciphering this set of mass persuasion strategies, this article contributes to our understanding of how pro-regime intellectuals' digital mass persuasion helps maintain the state's discursive hegemony, which facilitates regime resilience in the era of social media. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The relationship between young people's music use and well-being has gained extensive interest in recent years. The relationship-building function of music is one of its most important functions. While many studies have documented the positive effects of this function, there is a lack of research discussing this topic from the perspective of social stratification. This study sampled 691(63.8% male, Mage = 19.43, SD = 1.42) Chinese university students to examine the social class differences among university students in acquiring well-being through the relationship-building function of music. The results revealed that university students from a higher social class are more likely to acquire well-being through the relationship-building function of music. In addition, interdependent self-construal plays a moderating role in the mediating model. The mediating effect was only significant when university students have a higher level of interdependent self-construal. These results indicated social class differences among university students in the building of relationships with music, underscoring the need for future research and interventions to address social inequality in the context of music's functions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Accurately obtaining crop cultivation extent and estimating the cultivated area are significant for adjusting regional planting structure. This study proposes a parcel-level crop classification method using time-series, medium-resolution, remote sensing images and singlephase, high-spatial-resolution, remote sensing images. The deep learning semantic segmentation network feature pyramid network with squeeze-and-excitation network (FPN-SENet) and multi-scale segmentation were used to extract cultivated land parcels from Gaofen-2 imagery, while the pixel-level crop types were classified by using support vector machine algorithms from time-series Sentinel-2 images. Then, the parcel-level crop classification was obtained from the pixel-level crop types and land parcels. The proposed method was tested in southwestern China to extract main winter-spring crops and achieved a good performance. Specifically, the FPN-SENet model outperformed other models in cultivated land extraction, with an F1 of 0.872. The crop classification overall accuracy is 0.910 and the kappa coefficient is 0.861. This study provides a technical reference for monitoring cultivated land and can be applied in other regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Conspiracy theories tend to be prevalent, particularly in societies with high economic inequality. However, few studies have examined the relationship between economic inequality and belief in conspiracy theories. We propose that economic inequality leads people to believe conspiracy theories about economically advantaged groups (i.e., upwards conspiracy theories) and that moral evaluations of those groups mediate this relationship. Study 1 (N = 300) found support for these ideas in a survey among Chinese residents. Study 2 (N = 160) manipulated participants' perceptions of economic inequality in a virtual society. The manipulation shaped moral evaluations of economically advantaged groups, and conspiracy beliefs, in the predicted manner. In Study 3 (N = 191) and Study 4 (N = 210), we experimentally manipulated participants' perceptions of economic inequality in real Chinese society and replicated the results of Study 2. In addition, in Study 4, we find that economic inequality predicts belief in conspiracy theories about economically disadvantaged groups (i.e., downward conspiracy theories), which was mediated by anomie. We conclude that perceived economic inequality predicts conspiracy theories about economically advantaged groups and that moral evaluations account for this effect. Also, upward and downward conspiracy theory beliefs are associated with different psychological processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

By distinguishing between ingroup versus outgroup conspiracy theories, this research seeks to explain a paradox in conspiracy theory research, namely, that conspiracy beliefs are associated with both derogation and justification of the social system. Study 1 (N = 1,481) was a survey in the context of the COVID‐19 pandemic in China, and the results revealed a negative correlation between belief in ingroup conspiracy theories and system‐justifying beliefs. In Study 2 (N = 195), exposure to outgroup conspiracy theories positively predicted system‐justifying beliefs, a finding that was serially mediated by external attributions and collective narcissism. In Study 3 (N = 256), exposure to ingroup conspiracy theories negatively predicted system‐justifying beliefs, a result that was serially mediated by internal attributions and anomie. In Study 4 (N = 616), exposure to a conspiracy theory about the US government increased system‐justifying beliefs among Chinese participants and decreased them among US participants. The distinction between ingroup versus outgroup conspiracy theories hence implies two different processes through which conspiracy theories affect system‐justifying beliefs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: This study recalculates the carbon emissions of urban and rural residents in China, analyzing the dynamic evolution trends of urban and rural carbon emissions. It explores the spatial spillover effects centered around the inequality in carbon emissions between urban and rural areas. Methods: The study calculates the carbon emissions of urban and rural residents in each province based on the IPCC method. Non- parametric kernel density estimation is employed to depict the dynamic evolution characteristics of national, urban, and rural carbon emissions. The Theil Index is used to measure the disparities in urban and rural carbon emissions in major strategic regions, further applying the Theil Index to evaluate the inequality of urban and rural carbon emissions across provinces. This helps identify the driving factors affecting the inequality of urban and rural carbon emissions and their spatiotemporal effects. Finding: Carbon emissions from urban and rural residents in China present a divergent development pattern. Urban emissions have increased, with interprovincial disparities widening; rural emissions tend to stabilize, with slight growth in inter-provincial gaps. The overall inequality of carbon emissions in various regions of China experiences a three-phase journey of rise, decline, and stabilization. Urban inequality first increases then decreases, while rural inequality gradually lessens, showing clear regional and urban-rural differences. Market and government factors significantly impact the inequality of urban and rural carbon emissions. The development of the digital economy aids in reducing inequality and generates significant spatial spillover effects. The relationship between economic development level and carbon emission inequality is U-shaped. Industrial structure optimization can reduce urban-rural inequality, but its spatial spillover effect is not significant. Government intervention has limited effects, while environmental regulations may increase inequality. Opening up to the outside world helps reduce inequality, and the impact of population density is complex. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Improving energy efficiency is crucial for achieving the carbon peaking and carbon neutrality goals. The digital economy, which is characterized by big data, artificial intelligence, the internet of things, and a new generation of mobile Internet, has quietly penetrated all aspects of the economy and society, profoundly changing the means of production and lives of human beings. Digital technologies have great potential to improve the global energy system's security, productivity, efficiency, and sustainability. Based on the panel data of 30 provinces in mainland China from 2006 to 2021, this study divided energy efficiency into total and single factor energy efficiency. The two-way fixed-effect model and the Driscol-Kraay method were used to adjust the standard error test in order to examine the impact of digital technology represented by industrial robots on energy efficiency and its path mechanism. Studies have shown that digital technology can significantly improve total factor energy efficiency and reduce energy intensity per unit of GDP. This conclusion was found to be still valid after the robustness test using feasible generalized least squares, time-varying difference in difference and fixed effect space Durbin model. The results of the mechanism test show that digital technology can improve energy efficiency by increasing the degree of industrial virtual agglomeration and the channels of foreign direct investment. This paper provides a valuable discussion on how information technology advances can improve energy efficiency in the era of the digital economy. The conclusions will help relevant market players to formulate policies and measures and corporate strategies to improve energy efficiency. At the same time, it also deepens the theoretical understanding and mechanism path of digital technology's impact on energy consumption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Accurate carbon (C) stock estimation is crucial for C sequestration research, environmental protection, and policy formulation related to C management. Although research on C stock in forests, oceans, soil, and desert has received increasing attention, relatively few studies have focused on urban C stock. Moreover, the current mainstream methods for C stock assessment, including field surveys and satellite mapping, are characterised by notable limitations, including being labour-intensive and having limited real-time data acquisition capabilities. Therefore, this paper aims to assess urban C stock and proposes a novel two-stage estimation model based on deep learning and unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) remote sensing. The first stage is that tree areas recognition via YOLOv5 and achieved 0.792 precision, 0.814 recall, and 0.805 mAP scores, respectively. In the second stage, a grid generation strategy and a Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) regression model were developed to estimate C stock based on recognised tree areas (R² = 0.711, RMSE = 26.08 kg). Three regions with a minimum of 300 trees in each area were selected as validation sets. The experimental results, in terms of R² and RMSE in kg, were (0.717, 0.711, 0.686) and (27.263, 27.857, 28.945), respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS) is an important viral disease, causing significant economic losses to the swine industry worldwide. Atypical cases caused by highly pathogenic PRRS virus (HP-PRRSV) emerged in 2006 in China. The vaccine strain HuN4-F112 has been developed from the wild-type HP-PRRSV HuN4 through repeated passages on MARC-145 cells. However, the mechanisms of attenuation have yet to be defined. Previous studies have shown that the vaccine strain HuN4-F112 could not effectively replicate in porcine alveolar macrophages (PAMs). In the present study, a series of chimeric and mutant PRRSVs were constructed to investigate regions associated with the virus attenuation. Firstly, the corresponding genome regions (ORF1a, ORF1b and ORFs 2-7) were exchanged between two infectious clones of HuN4 and HuN4-F112, and then the influence of small regions in ORF1a and ORF2-7 was evaluated, then influence of specific amino acids on NSP2 was tested. NSP2 was determined to be the key gene that regulated infection efficiency on PAMs, and amino acids at 893 and 979 of NSP2 were the key amino acids. The results of in vivo study indicated that NSP2 was not only important for infection efficiency in vitro, but also influenced the virulence, which was indicated by the results of survival rate, temperature, viremia, lung score and tissue score. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous studies have reported contradictory relationships between social class and prosocial behaviour. Some studies have found that higher class individuals are more likely to exhibit prosocial behaviour than lower class individuals; whereas in others the opposite was observed. In view of this difference, this study proposed and tested the moderating role of perception of class mobility. Studies 1 and 2, using different operational definitions, revealed that the interaction effect between social class and perceived class mobility on prosocial behaviour was significant. Under the condition of lower perception of class mobility, lower class individuals showed less prosocial behaviour than higher class individuals. When perception of class mobility was higher, however, the prosocial behaviour of lower class individuals increased, showing no significant difference between lower and higher class individuals. Study 3 further explored why perception of class mobility might influence lower class individuals' prosocial behaviour and supported a mediating role of system‐justifying belief. To some extent, these results provide a new perspective to understand the relationship between social class and prosocial behaviour. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines political criticism and oppositional discourses on China's Internet from 2012, near the end of Hu Jintao's era, up through the current Xi Jinping administration. We focus on two main types of Internet activity in which criticism and discourses emerge—online mass incidents and defiant enclaves—and compare their discursive elements. The core messages and critiques by leading activists and dissidents and their followers in the latter have become more multilayered, radical, and antiregime. Both types of political dissent are alive and persist, but the potential for them to connect various social grievances has declined in recent years, as state control over the Internet and digital spaces has significantly tightened. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Top-down atmospheric inversion infers surface-atmosphere fluxes from spatially distributed observations of atmospheric compositions, which is a vital means for quantifying large-scale anthropogenic and natural emissions. In this study, we developed a Regional multi-Air Pollutant Assimilation System (RAPAS v1.0) based on the Weather Research and Forecasting/Community Multiscale Air Quality Modeling System (WRF/CMAQ) model, the three-dimensional variational (3DVAR) algorithm and the ensemble square root filter (EnSRF) algorithm. It is capable to simultaneously assimilate spatially distributed hourly in-situ measurements of CO, SO2, NO2, PM2.5 and PM10 concentrations to quantitatively optimize gridded emissions of CO, SO2, NOx, primary PM2.5 (PPM2.5) and coarse PM10 (PMC) on regional scale. RAPAS includes two subsystems, initial field assimilation (IA) subsystem and emission inversion (EI) subsystem, which are used to generate a "perfect" chemical initial condition (IC), and conduct inversions of anthropogenic emissions, respectively. A "two-step" inversion scheme is adopted in the EI subsystem in its each data assimilation (DA) window, in which the emission is inferred in the first step, and then, it is input into the CMAQ model to simulate the initial field of the next window, meanwhile, it is also transferred to the next window as the prior emission. The chemical IC is optimized through the IA subsystem, and the original emission inventory is only used in the first DA window. Besides, a "super-observation" approach is implemented based on optimal estimation theory to decrease the computational costs and observation error correlations and reduce the influence of representativeness errors. With this system, we estimated the emissions of CO, SO2, NOx, PPM2.5 and PMC in December 2016 over China using the corresponding nationwide surface observations. The 2016 Multi-resolution Emission Inventory for China (MEIC 2016) was used as the prior emission. The system was run from 26 November to 31 December, in which the IA subsystem was run in the first 5 days, and the EI subsystem was run in the following days. The optimized ICs at the first 5 days and the posterior emissions in December were evaluated against the assimilated and independent observations. Results showed that the root mean squared error (RMSE) decreased by 50.0-73.2%, and the correlation coefficient (CORR) increased to 0.78-0.92 for the five species compared to the simulations without 3DVAR. Additionally, the RMSE decreased by 40.1-56.3 %, and the CORR increased to 0.69-0.87 compared to the simulations without optimized emissions. For the whole mainland China, the uncertainties were reduced by 44.4 %, 45.0 %, 34.3 %, 51.8 % and 56.1 % for CO, SO2, NOx, PPM2.5 and PMC, respectively. Overall, compared to the prior emission (MEIC 2016), the posterior emissions increased by 129 %, 20 %, 5 %, and 95 % for CO, SO2, NOx and PPM2.5, respectively, indicating that there was significant underestimation in the MEIC inventory. The posterior PMC emissions, including anthropogenic and natural dust contributions, increased by 1045 %. A series of sensitivity tests were conducted with different inversion processes, prior emissions, prior uncertainties, and observation errors. Results showed that the "two-step" scheme clearly outperformed the simultaneous assimilation of ICs and emissions ("one-step" scheme), and the system is rather robust in estimating the emissions using the nationwide surface observations over China. Our study offers a useful tool for accurately quantifying multi-species anthropogenic emissions at large scales and near-real time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Construction of the reefs in the South China Sea is a significant foundation to the secure stability and economic development of China. The construction of an airport runway is necessary for this realization. The calcareous sand is the main primary material in the runway construction. A certain type of calcareous sand near a certain reef of the South China Sea was studied in this paper. To investigate this specific calcareous sand, quartz sand was used as a reference for comparison. Microscopic 3-D imaging, compression and triaxial tests were conducted to test the micro, squeezing and shear properties. The effect mechanism of gradation on the calcareous sand's compressibility and shear characteristics are discussed from a mesoscopic viewpoint using 3-D morphology. Calcareous sand particles are multiangular and flatter in comparison with quartz sand. The larger the particle sizes are, the more different the two sands' morphologies are. The compressibility of calcareous sand is greater, and the effect of the coarse fraction (5–1 mm) content in the gradation plays the most significant role in this feature. When the coarse particles' content is less than 25% and the mass ratio of the middle and fine particles (M) is constant, there is the worst coarse fraction content causing the calcareous sand to be most likely compressed. The worst coarse fraction content decreases with the increase in M, and an empirical formula is proposed. When the gradation, relative density and confining pressure are the same, the peak shear stress and strain of calcareous sand are all at a high level. The effect of confining pressure is manifested in calcareous sand. The shear strength and dilation of calcareous sand are also most affected by the medium coarse fraction (5–0.25 mm) content. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sense of entitlement can be defined as a pervasive sense that one deserves more and is entitled to more than others. Two studies examined the relationship between social class and sense of entitlement and how this relationship is moderated by system-justifying belief (SJB) in China. In Study 1, we conducted a survey among adults (N = 669) with results showing that social class was positively correlated with sense of entitlement for those endorsing SJB, but negatively correlated with sense of entitlement for those opposing SJB. In Study 2, we conducted an experiment among undergraduates (N = 128) with both social class and SJB being primed and the results replicated the pattern: the positive effect of primed higher social class on pay entitlement existed only for those primed with high SJB, and was dampened for those primed with low SJB. Therefore, higher-class individuals do not necessarily feel more entitled, and SJB may play an important role in shaping their sense of entitlement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Voids, which considerably degrade mechanical performance, are the most common and dangerous type of flaw found in composite materials. In this study, a smart acoustic attenuation model was proposed to estimate porosity (ie void content) in carbon fibre composite materials. The attenuation model was developed using a priori knowledge, which consisted of determining porosity using a metalloscope and estimating the corresponding acoustic attenuation via ultrasonic testing. A Hilbert transform-based processing method was introduced to process ultrasonic echoes, which were used to compute acoustic attenuation. Several textile glass fibre laminates and unidirectional carbon fibre laminates used in the AVIC Leadair AG300 aircraft (a whole fuselage composite aircraft built in China) were selected as specimens. Experimental results indicated that the porosity estimated using the acoustic attenuation model agreed well with the results obtained using the destructive method of metallography. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Medical crowdfunding is an accessible alternative for individuals to meet their unaffordable health needs. This study explores the role of personal networks in medical crowdfunding performance from the perspective of tie strength and whether gender inequality persists in the returns of personal networks in this survival context, using bilateral data of both the ego and the alters collected from a large representative medical crowdfunding platform in China. It is found that kin ties play a fundamental and predominant role while pseudo-kin ties, being less strong than kin ties in terms of mutual sentiment and reciprocal obligations to help each other, play an accumulative role and are more influential in increasing crowdfunding performance, and neighbour and other role relations have the weakest effect and contribution. Importantly, women are not discriminated against when mobilizing personal networks for medical crowdfunding as they enjoy the same returns of most personal ties as men do. • Personal networks significantly facilitate medical crowdfunding. • Women enjoy the same returns of personal networks as men. • Bilateral data about personal networks is collected directly from ego and alters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Heart failure due to volume overload is a major reason for rehospitalization in continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis patients. Strict volume control provides better cardiac functions and blood pressure in this population. Volume management, which is a volume control strategy, may decrease volume overload and related complications. Using a quasi-experimental design, 66 continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis patients were randomly assigned to the intervention group (n = 34) and control group (n = 32). The patients were followed up for 6 months with scheduled clinic and/or telephone visits; the intervention group adopted volume management strategy, while the control group adopted conventional care. Volume overload and cardiac function were compared between the two groups at the baseline and at 6 months. At Month 6, the intervention group resulted in significant improvement in volume overloaded status, cardiac function, and volume-overload-related rehospitalization. Volume management strategy allows for better control of volume overload and is associated with fewer volume-related readmissions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates the relationship between summer low-frequency rainfall over southern China and tropical intraseasonal oscillation (ISO) in the atmosphere by examining systematically the propagation features of the tropical ISO in terms of focusing on five large-scale low-frequency rainfall regimes in summer over southern China. It is demonstrated that there is a close linkage between the five rainfall regimes over southern China and the northward propagation of the tropical ISO. The moist ISO signals, which influence the low-frequency rainfall events in different regions of southern China, mainly propagate northwestward from the tropical ocean to the southeast of China. The southeast China rainfall regime is intimately associated with the moist ISO signals propagating northwestward from the equatorial mid-western Pacific Ocean. For both the Yangtze River regime and South of Yangtze River regime, the moist ISO signals over the northern South China Sea show an evident northward propagation towards the Yangtze River region, and then propagate westward. It is further found that the interaction between the northward propagation of low-latitude ISO signals and the southward propagation of high-latitude ISO signals can also make a clear influence on the low-frequency rainfall in southern China. For the Southern China regime, the moist ISO signals show a significant northward propagation from the Philippines. Moreover, for the rainless regime, southern China is under dry ISO signals' control, and the latter shows no clear propagation to southern China. This study may provide insights for the extended-range forecasting of summer rainfall in southern China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Resource recycling industry is a new carrier of high-quality economic development in China which is crucial for the promotion of circular economy. However, the sustainable development of this industry cannot be achieved without huge and stable support from financial system. This paper calculates the financial support efficiency (FSE) of listed companies in this industry, explores FSE disparities among companies in different sub-industries and with different types of property right, and finally carries out the convergence test of FSE. It is found that the overall FSE of China's resource recycling industry was good (0.849) during 2016–2020, but showed a slight downward trend. The deterioration of technical efficiency was the main reason of decline. Significant differences of FSE existed among companies in different sub-industries, in which the efficiency value of Comprehensive Utilization of Mineral Resources Industry was the highest, and that of Comprehensive Utilization of Urban and Rural Domestic Waste Industry was the lowest. FSE of non-state-owned companies was higher than that of state-owned companies. The hypervariable density was the main source of sub-industry difference, and the difference within property right type was the main source of property right difference. The entire industry, every sub-industry, and both types of property right, did not show σ convergence. The entire industry and four sub-industries showed absolute β convergence. All sub-industries except Resource Recycling and Utilization Equipment Manufacturing Industry showed conditional β convergence. Both types of property right showed absolute and conditional β convergence. Several suggestions are finally proposed to improve FSE of the industry. [Display omitted] • The overall financial support efficiency (FSE) was good but showed a downtrend. • The deterioration of technical efficiency was the main reason of decline. • Significant difference of FSE existed among different sub-industries. • FSE of non-state-owned enterprises was higher than that of state-owned enterprises. • FSE of the industry did not show σ convergence but show β convergence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Adenocarcinoma in situ (AIS) is a new concept which was introduced to the 2011 The International Association for the Study of Cancer (IASLC)/ American Thoracic Society (ATS)/ European Respiratory Society (ERS) International Multidisciplinary Classification of Lung Adenocarcinoma firstly and an important supplement of The 2015 World Health Organization Classification of Lung Tumors. Because AIS is at an early stage of development of lung adenocarcinoma, the deepening understanding of its pathology, differential diagnosis, treatment strategies, has an important significance for the improvement of the prognosis of lung adenocarcinoma. This review will provide a systematic review of the main progress of occurrence and development, pathological characteristics, differential diagnosis and treatment strategy of AIS, in order to provide theoretical basis for the further research of AIS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines civic and political engagement in contemporary China by three recent cases where activists and citizens take full advantage of interactive information technologies and Web 2.0 tools to overcome obstacles and mobilize for public goods. The cases show how activists act strategically to mobilize mass-based support and use various technologies to ensure monetary transaction, resource allocation, public monitoring, and large-scale inter-organizational coordination. In addition, they also demonstrate how ordinary Chinese citizens take part in innovative civic initiatives, act upon their own decisions, and eventually contribute to the change of a failed policy and the solution to a public problem. Different forms of online mass political engagement have introduced new dynamism to public affairs in China, enhanced social autonomy, and thus can have accumulative impact on the asymmetric power relationship between the authoritarian state and society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Oil shale resource is an important supplement to conventional oil and gas in China. Thermal in situ retorting processes for producing hydrocarbons from oil shale have been utilized recently. Based on the mechanical analysis of the process of oil shale retorting, for an efficient production of shale oil and gas at least two requirements should be met. Firstly, the expulsion pressure of oil and gas from shale needs to be lower than the breakdown pressure of the overburden interval, to keep the produced oil and gas confined. Secondly, the expulsion pressure of oil and gas should be higher than the breakdown pressure of the shale reservoir to enable the development of more fractures to allow oil and gas to flow. The expulsion pressure of oil and gas from shale is primarily dominated by temperature which means that a vertical or horizontal heater delivery borehole needs place at a proper depth. The higher the heating temperature for in situ shale oil production is, the deeper and thicker the oil shale reservoir should be. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Hepatoblastoma (HB) tumor rupture is a high-risk criterion in the International Childhood Liver Tumors Strategy Group (SIOPEL) 3/4 protocol. However, the causes and risk factors for HB rupture are still unknown, and whether tumor rupture is an independent risk factor for HB prognosis is still controversial. The purpose of this study was to retrospectively analyze the clinical characteristics of children with HB tumor rupture and to search for clinical risk factors to conduct early prediction and intervention., Methods: We conducted a retrospective study of 27 patients with HB rupture between July 2009 and July 2019. To further identify the risk factors for HB rupture, we included 97 nonruptured HB patients from January 2013 to January 2019. We searched for potentially useful characteristics for HB rupture by univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses., Results: There were 27 patients with HB rupture, with the median age of 31 (12, 69) months. Nineteen cases (70.37%) were spontaneous tumor rupture, 1 case (3.70%) was posttraumatic rupture, 2 cases (7.41%) were tumor rupture after the biopsy, and 5 cases (18.52%) were tumor rupture after chemotherapy. After the tumor rupture, 4 patients died of hemorrhagic shock and multiple organ dysfunction syndrome (MODS), 4 patients refused further therapy and were discharged against medical advice, and the remaining 19 patients were stable after emergency treatment. After the treatment, 14 patients survived without disease, 2 patients died, and 3 patients were lost to follow-up. The median follow-up was 48 (33, 60) months, the 3-year overall survival (OS) was 54.7%. Compared with the non-tumor rupture group by multivariate logistic regression analysis, it was found that the maximum diameter of the primary tumor > 13.4 cm, and vascular invasion were independent risk factors for tumor rupture., Conclusion: HB rupture is rare, but it seriously threatens the life and health of children. In the acute phase of tumor rupture, surgery, rescue chemotherapy, transcatheter arterial embolization (TAE) and other supportive care can be adopted. Large tumors and vascular invasion are risk factors for HB rupture., Level of Evidence: Level IV., (© 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

Background: After repair of esophageal atresia (EA), children risk digestive and respiratory morbidity, but knowledge of their health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in China is lacking. The EA-QOL questionnaires were developed in Sweden and Germany to evaluate condition-specific HRQOL in children with EA aged 2-7 and 8-17. This study aimed to evaluate the linguistic and content validity of the Chinese Mandarin version of the EA-QOL questionnaires., Methods: The procedure was conducted in compliance with international standards, including a forward-backward translation procedure, expert reviews, and cognitive debriefing interviews with 14 Chinese families of children with EA (parents of 8 children aged 2-7/6 children aged 8-17 and their parents)., Results: Following forward-backward translation, minor issues were identified and solved. In interviews, all participants rated all EA-QOL items easy to understand, none expressed negative emotions about them and most described them comprehensive and relevant for EA. Leading from cognitive debriefing, three EA-QOL items in the questionnaire version for children aged 2-7 and three EA-QOL items in the questionnaire version for children aged 8-17 were modified in the Chinese language to improve cultural appropriateness and/or clarity., Conclusion: The Chinese Mandarin version of the EA-QOL questionnaires achieved satisfactory linguistic and content validity. This can help increase focus of HRQOL in research and clinical practice of children with EA in China.

The COVID-19 pandemic is profoundly affecting the minds and behaviors of people worldwide. This study investigated the differences in the need for structure among people from different social classes and the psychological mechanisms underlying this need, as well as the moderating effect of the threat posed by the pandemic. Using data collected from non-student adults in China, we found that the lower an individual's social class, the lower their need for structure, and this effect was based on the mediating role of perceived control. However, the mediating effect was moderated by pandemic threat, and the above relationship existed only when this threat was low. When the level of pandemic threat was higher, neither the effect of social class nor of perceived control on the need for structure were significant. Specifically, in higher-threat situations, the need for structure among individuals from higher social classes and who had a higher sense of control increased significantly, meaning the mediating effect was no longer significant. This finding showed that under the threat of a pandemic, individuals who have a lower need for structure will still pursue and prefer structure and order. The theoretical and practical implications of the research are also discussed.

Purpose: Breast cancer-related lymphedema (BCRL) is a major long-term complication for post-surgery breast cancer survivors. Although several risk factors have been identified, lifestyle characteristics have been neglected in previous studies. The aim of this study was to develop and validate a nomogram for estimating this population's risk of developing lymphedema, taking into consideration their demographic, clinical, and personal lifestyle behaviors., Methods: In a cross-sectional study, we collected data from 775 post-operative breast cancer survivors who had attended a follow-up session in the recent 10 years (primary cohort). Lymphedema was assessed using the Norman telephone questionnaire, self-reported by patients. Multiple logistic regression was used to identify risk factors for lymphedema, including demographic, clinical, and lifestyle-related factors. A nomogram was constructed based on those factors and was validated using a separate group of 314 breast cancer patients (validation cohort)., Results: The factors independently associated with lymphedema were higher body mass index (BMI), modified radical mastectomy (MRM), postsurgical infection, chemotherapy, radiotherapy, exercise of the affected arm, and the active participation in physical activity (P<0.05). The area under the curve (AUC) values of the primary and the validation cohorts were 0.721 (95% confidence interval: 0.685-0.756) and 0.702 (95% confidence interval: 0.646-0.759), respectively., Conclusions: BCRL risk factors include MRM, radiotherapy, chemotherapy, and higher BMI, while the active physical activity behavior of patients appears to be a factor against lymphedema. The nomogram incorporating the patients' clinical and lifestyle factors might be useful for predicting lymphedema in breast cancer survivors., (© 2021. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

A Gram-negative bacterium, designated S1-65 T , was isolated from soil samples collected from a cotton field located in the Xinjiang region of PR China. Results of 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis revealed that strain S1-65 T was affiliated to the genus Steroidobacter with its closest phylogenetic relatives being ' Steroidobacter cummioxidans ' 35Y (98.4 %), ' Steroidobacter agaridevorans ' SA29-B (98.3 %) and Steroidobacter agariperforans KA5-B T (98.3 %). 16S rRNA-directed phylogenetic analysis showed that strain S1-65 T formed a unique phylogenetic subclade next to ' S. agaridevorans ' SA29-B and S. agariperforans KA5-B T , suggesting that strain S1-65 T should be identified as a member of the genus Steroidobacter . Further, substantial differences between the genotypic properties of strain S1-65 T and the members of the genus Steroidobacter , including average nucleotide identity and digital DNA-DNA hybridization, resolved the taxonomic position of strain S1-65 T and suggested its positioning as representing a novel species of the genus Steroidobacter . The DNA G+C content of strain S1-65 T was 62.5 mol%, based on its draft genome sequence. The predominant respiratory quinone was ubiquinone-8. The main fatty acids were identified as summed feature 3 (C 16:1 ω6 c /C 16:1 ω7 c ), C 16 : 0 and iso-C 15 : 0 . In addition, its polar lipid profile was composed of aminophospholipid, diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylethanolamine and phosphatidylglycerol. Here, we propose a novel species of the genus Steroidobacter : Steroidobacter gossypii sp. nov. with the type strain S1-65 T (=JCM 34287 T =CGMCC 1.18736 T ).

Purpose: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of combined microwave ablation (MWA) and osteoplasty as a palliative therapy for painful bone metastases., Materials and Methods: As an extension of a previous limited single-center study, a retrospective review was conducted for 147 patients (77 male, 70 female) with painful bone metastases who underwent MWA combined with osteoplasty. In total, 102 (69.4%), 41 (27.9%), and 4 (2.7%) patients had spinal metastases, extraspinal metastases, and both, respectively. Treatment efficacy was determined by comparing visual analog scale (VAS) scores, daily morphine equivalent opioid consumption, and Oswestry disability index (ODI) scores before treatment and during the follow-up period (mean follow-up, 9.8 months; range 3-16)., Results: The mean VAS score significantly declined from 6.4 ± 2.3 before treatment to 3.2 ± 2.1, 1.9 ± 1.6, 1.8 ± 1.6, 1.8 ± 1.6, and 1.9 ± 1.6 at 24 hours, 1 week, 4 weeks, 12 weeks, and 24 weeks after treatment, respectively (P < .01). Furthermore, the mean daily morphine equivalent opioid consumption was significantly reduced from 81.5 ± 32.8 mg before treatment to 40.0 ± 20.6, 32.4 ± 10.2, 26.4 ± 10.0, 21.5 ± 8.3, and 19.3 ± 7.4 mg. The mean ODI score also declined after treatment (P < .0001). Major complications occurred in 4 of 147 patients, with 1 pathologic fracture, 1 nerve injury, and 2 mild skin infections. Minor cement leakages were observed at 69 sites (32.8%)., Conclusions: MWA combined with osteoplasty is an effective and safe treatment for painful bone metastases., (Copyright © 2021 SIR. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: Bendamustine was approved in China on May 26th, 2019 by the National Medical Product Administration for the treatment of indolent B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL). The current study was the registration trial and the first reported evaluation of the efficacy, safety, and pharmacokinetics of bendamustine in Chinese adult patients with indolent B-cell NHL following relapse after chemotherapy and rituximab treatment., Methods: This was a prospective, multicenter, open-label, single-arm, phase 3 study (NCT01596621; C18083/3076) with a 2-year follow-up period. Eligible patients received bendamustine hydrochloride 120 mg/m2 infused intravenously on days 1 and 2 of each 21-day treatment cycle for at least six planned cycles (and up to eight cycles). The primary endpoint was the overall response rate (ORR); and secondary endpoints were duration of response (DoR), progression-free survival (PFS), safety, and pharmacokinetics. Patients were classified according to their best overall response after initiation of therapy. Proportions of patients in each response category (complete response [CR], partial response [PR], stable disease, or progressive disease) were summarized along with a two-sided binomial exact 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for the ORR., Results: A total of 102 patients were enrolled from 20 centers between August 6th, 2012, and June 18th, 2015. At the time of the primary analysis, the ORR was 73% (95% CI: 63%-81%) per Independent Review Committee (IRC) including 19% CR and 54% PR. With the follow-up period, the median DoR was 16.2 months by IRC and 13.4 months by investigator assessment; the median PFS was 18.6 months and 15.3 months, respectively. The most common non-hematologic adverse events (AEs) were gastrointestinal toxicity, pyrexia, and rash. Grade 3/4 neutropenia was reported in 76% of patients. Serious AEs were reported in 29 patients and five patients died during the study. Pharmacokinetic analysis indicated that the characteristics of bendamustine and its metabolites M3 and M4 were generally consistent with those reported for other ethnicities., Conclusion: Bendamustine is an active and effective therapy in Chinese patients with relapsed, indolent B-cell NHL, with a comparable risk/benefit relationship to that reported in North American patients., Clinical Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov, No. NCT01596621; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT01596621., (Copyright © 2021 The Chinese Medical Association, produced by Wolters Kluwer, Inc. under the CC-BY-NC-ND license.)

Purpose: Breast cancer (BC) survivors have a lifelong risk of developing lymphedema. This study investigated the prevalence of BC-related arm lymphedema among Chinese BC survivors diagnosed in the last 10 years and examined the demographic and clinical variables as well as lifestyle factors associated with lymphedema status., Methods: In this cross-sectional study, women with BC (N = 866) who had been diagnosed and followed up in the previous 10 years were recruited from the outpatient clinic of 4 general hospitals and one cancer association in China between August 2018 and October 2019. Lymphedema status was determined using the Norman telephone questionnaire as the patient-reported occurrence of hand/lower arm/upper arm swelling. Multiple logistic regression was used to identify risk factors for lymphedema., Results: The median time from BC diagnosis was 4.0 years (interquartile range, 2.0-5.0 years). 81.4% of the patients had undergone mastectomy. The prevalence of arm lymphedema among BC survivors was 49.0%. Age ≥50 years, monthly income <3000 RMB, modified radical mastectomy, postsurgical wound infection, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy were associated with an increased risk of BC-related arm lymphedema, whereas exercise of the affected arm, engagement in active physical activity, and timely reporting of symptoms of infection to a physician decreased the risk (P < 0.05)., Conclusions: Arm lymphedema is a common complication for postoperative BC survivors within 10 years. It is essential to identify patients at risk of lymphedema based on demographic, clinical, and lifestyle factors and implement interventions targeting modifiable lifestyle behaviors-eg, active physical activity during the postoperative period., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Lake reclamation for urban construction has caused serious damage to lakes in cities undergoing rapid urbanization. This process affects urban ecological environment and leads to inconsistent urban expansion, population surge, and uneven distribution of urban lakes. This study measured the fairness of urban lakes' distribution and explored the spatial matching relationship between service supply and user group demand. The interpretation and analysis of Wuhan's remote sensing images, population, administrative area, traffic network, and other data in 2018 were used as the basis. Specifically, the spatial distribution pattern and fairness of lakes' distribution in Wuhan urban development zone were investigated. This study establishes a geographic weighted regression (GWR) model of land cover types and population data based on a spatialization method of population data based on land use, and uses population spatial data and network accessibility analysis results to evaluate lake service levels in the study area. Macroscopically, the correlation analysis of sequence variables and Gini coefficient analysis method are used to measure the fairness of the Wuhan lake distribution problem and equilibrium degree, and the location entropy analysis is used to quantitatively analyze the fairness of lakes and Wuhan streets from the perspective of supply and demand location entropy. Levels improve the accuracy of the research. Results showed that (1) the area covered by lakes in Wuhan urban development zone is 1007.96 km 2 within 60-min of walking, accounting for 30.6% of the total area of the study area. This area can house 5,050,275 people, accounting for 60.8% of Wuhan's total population. (2) The lakes in the central city area are less fair than the lakes outside the Third Ring Road. (3) The service level of North Lake is the highest among all the lakes in the study area, and that of Hou Lake is the lowest. (4) The spatial layout of the fairness of the lakes' distribution is roughly distributed in circles. The fairness level collapses toward the city center, indicating that the closer to the city center, the lower the fairness level., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Highly pathogenic porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (HP-PRRS), which emerged in China in 2006, was characterized by high fever, high morbidity and high mortality. The causative agent of the disease was a highly pathogenic variant of porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (also called HP-PRRSV), which has a discontinuous deletion of 1 + 29 amino acids (aa) in the Nsp2 coding region, compared to classical PRRSV. In 2014, fattened pigs on a pig farm in Jiangxi Province suffered from clinical symptoms of high fever, dyspnoea and death. A PRRSV, termed JX2014T2, was isolated from samples of the dead pigs. Genomic analysis of the isolated PRRSV indicated that the genome of the virus was 14,960 bp in length and belonged to the North American genotype. In the Nsp2-coding region, there was a discontinuous deletion of 1 + 29 aa, similar to HP-PRRSV; however, an additional continuous deletion of 120 amino acids between aa 628 and 747 was found. Further analysis of the pathogenicity of PRRSV JX2014T2 was performed in piglets, and the results indicated that all infected piglets suffered from typical clinical symptoms of PRRS, such as high fever, cough, mental depression, anorexia, dyspnoea and palpebral swelling and died within 15 days postinfection (dpi). This demonstrated that the newly isolated PRRSV JX2014T2 strain containing an additional deletion of 120 aa is highly pathogenic to piglets, suggesting that a highly pathogenic variant with new genetic features is circulating in China., (© 2018 Blackwell Verlag GmbH.)

Background: Social networking sites (SNSs), which provide abundant social comparison opportunities, are ubiquitous around the world, especially among adolescents. In China, Qzone stands out as the most popular SNS. Due to the opportunity it provides for meticulous self-presentation, SNS may give the impression that others are doing better, which is detrimental to individuals' well-being. Based on social comparison theory, the current study aimed to investigate the association between Chinese adolescents' SNS (Qzone) use and depression, as well as the mediating role of negative social comparison and the moderating role of self-esteem., Method: A total of 764 adolescents (aged 12-18 years, M = 14.23, SD = 1.75), who had an active Qzone account, were recruited voluntarily to complete questionnaires on Qzone use intensity, negative social comparison on Qzone, self-esteem, and depression., Results: More intense Qzone use was associated with higher level of negative social comparison on Qzone, which fully mediated the association between Qzone use and depression. Moreover, the mediating effect of negative social comparison on Qzone was moderated by self-esteem. The specific link between Qzone use and negative social comparison was weaker among adolescents with high self-esteem than those with low self-esteem., Limitations: As all the data in this study were self-reported and cross-sectional, causal associations cannot be identified. Additionally, the specific activities on SNS were not identified., Conclusions: Negative social comparison may be a key factor and mechanism accounting for the positive association between SNS use and depression, while self-esteem could protect adolescents from the adverse outcome of SNS use., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Objective: To explore the relation between the frequencies of apolipoprotein E (ApoE) alleles and the occurrence of depression in patients undergoing hemodialysis in a Chinese population., Methods: We examined the ApoE alleles in a sample of 288 subjects: 72 patients with depression under hemodialysis, 74 patients without depression under hemodialysis, 75 patients with depression under nondialytic treatment and 67 patients without depression under nondialytic treatment. The depression state was assessed using the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression (CES-D) scale. Associations between the occurrence of depression and the frequencies of ApoE alleles were examined using multinomial logistic regression models with adjustment of relevant covariates. Information about sociodemographics, clinical data, vascular risk factors and cognitive function was also collected and evaluated., Results: The frequencies of ApoE-ɛ2 were significantly different between depressed and non-depressed patients irrespective of dialysis (p < 0.05), but no significant difference was found in the frequencies of ApoE-ɛ4 (p > 0.05). Serum ApoE levels were significantly different between depressed and non-depressed patients in the whole sample (p < 0.05). Multinomial logistic regression models showed significant association between the frequency of ApoE-ɛ2 and the occurrence of depression in the Chinese population after control of relevant covariates, including age, sex, educational level, history of smoking and drinking, vascular risk factors and cognitive function., Conclusions: No association between the frequency of ApoE-ɛ4 and the occurrence of depression was found in patients undergoing hemodialysis. Further research is needed to find out if ApoE-ɛ2 acts as a protective factor in Chinese dialysis population since it might decrease the prevalence of depression and delay the onset age.

Aim: To investigate the incidence of de novo hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection after pediatric living donor liver transplantation (LDLT) and to analyze the risk factors associated with this de novo HBV infection., Methods: The clinical and laboratory data of children who underwent LDLT from June 2010 to September 2012 in First Center Hospital in Tianjin, China, were retrospectively included in the study. Intrahepatic HBV DNA in donors and recipients was quantified by real-time polymerase chain reaction using DNA extracted from formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissues., Results: Between June 2010 to September 2012, 32 consecutive pediatric patients underwent LDLT in our institute. Thirty LDLT patients (13 girls and 17 boys) were followed up for a median of 15 mo, of whom 53.3% (16/30) were hepatitis B core antibody (HBcAb) positive and 36.7% (11/30) were hepatitis B surface antibody (HBsAb)/HBcAb positive before transplantation. Sixteen of the children received HBcAb-positive allografts, and 43.7% (7/16) of the grafts were found to be intrahepatic HBV DNA positive. De novo HBV infection developed in 16.1% (5/30) of the children within a median of 11 mo after transplantation. All five of the HBV-infected children had received HBcAb-positive allografts, four of which were intrahepatic HBV DNA positive. Two of the children developed de novo HBV infection despite the preoperative presence of both HBsAb and HBcAb, Conclusion: In pediatric recipients, positive intrahepatic HBV DNA in allografts could be a risk factor for de novo HBV infection from HBcAb-positive allografts. HBsAb/HBcAb positivity in pediatric LDLT patients before transplantation exhibited only weak effectiveness in protecting them against de novo HBV infection from HBcAb-positive allografts.

Aim: To investigate the expression of P450 enzyme genes by using end-stage liver disease samples and trimmed normal Chinese donor livers., Methods: The end-stage liver disease samples [n = 93, including hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), peri-HCC tissue, hepatitis B virus cirrhosis, alcoholic cirrhosis, and severe cirrhosis] and trimmed normal Chinese donor livers (n = 35) from The Institute of Organ Transplantation in Beijing, China. Total RNA was extracted, purified, and subjected to real-time RT-PCR analysis., Results: For cytochrome P450 enzymes 1 (CYP1) family, the expression of CYP1A2 was decreased 90% in HCC, 80% in alcoholic cirrhosis, and 65% in severe cirrhosis. For CYP2 family, the expression of CAR was decreased 50% in HCC, but increased 50% in peri-HCC tissues. Similar decreases (about 50%) of CYP2B6, CYP2C9, CYP2C19, CYP2D6 and CYP2E1 were observed in HCC, as compared to peri-HCC tissues and normal livers. CYP2C19 were decreased in all end-stage liver diseases and CYP2E1 also decreased in alcoholic cirrhosis and severe cirrhosis. For CYP3 family, the expression of PXR was decreased 60% in HCC, together with decreases in CYP3A4, CYP3A5, and CYP3A7. In contrast, the expression of CYP3A7 was slightly increased in HBV cirrhosis. The expression of CYP4A11 was decreased 85% in HCC, 7% in alcoholic cirrhosis and severe liver cirrhosis, along with decreases in PPARα. The 93 end-stage livers had much higher inter-individual variations in gene expression than 35 normal livers., Conclusion: The expression of CYP enzyme genes and corresponding nuclear receptors was generally decreased in end-stage liver diseases, and significant differences in gene expression were evident between peri-HCC and HCC.

Aiming at the delayed sowing of winter wheat induced by the drought and water logging often occurred in Huanghuai Plains of China, six sowing dates (15 October, normal sowing; 30 October, moderate delay; 15 November, delay; 30 November, seriously delay; 15 February, early spring sowing; and 1 March, spring sowing) were designed to investigate the effects of different sowing dates on the shoot type morphology and growth characteristics of winter wheat. With the delay of sowing date, the winter wheat grew and developed faster, and the growing period of the wheat sown in early spring and spring was 115-130 days shorter than that with normal sowing. As compared with those of the wheat with normal sowing, the shoot height, spike number per unit area, and productive spikelets per unit ear of the wheat sown delayed had a decrease, leaf position and canopy moved down, and leaf area reduced. When the sowing was delayed from the date 15 October (normal sowing) to 1 March (spring sowing), the harvest index increased from 0.46 to 0.53. Delaying sowing date also resulted in the significant reduction of grain yield, with the maximum decrement as high as 43. 6%. The spring-sown winter wheat not going through vernalization could still form yield.

A virus was isolated from mink showing clinical and pathological signs of enteritis in China. This virus, designated MEV/LN-10, was identified as mink enteritis virus (MEV) based on its cytopathic effect in the feline F81 cell line, the hemagglutination (HA) and hemagglutination inhibition (HI) assay, electron microscopy (EM) and animal infection experiments. The complete viral genome was cloned and sequenced. Phylogenetic and recombination analyses on the complete MEV/LN-10 genome showed evidence of recombination between MEV and canine parvovirus (CPV). The genome was composed of the NS1 gene originating from CPV while the VP1 gene was of MEV origin. This is the first demonstration of recombination between a CPV and MEV in nature. Our findings not only provide valuable evidence indicating that recombination is an important genetic mechanism contributing to the variation and evolution of MEV, but also that heterogeneous recombination can occur in the feline parvovirus subspecies.

A combined reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) method was developed for the detection and differentiation of wild-type and vaccine strains of the canine distemper virus (CDV). A pair of primers (P1/P2) was used to detect both CDV wild-type strains and vaccines. Another pair (P3/P4) was used to detect only CDV wild-type strains. A 335bp fragment was amplified from the genomic RNA of the vaccine and wild-type strains. A 555bp fragment was amplified specifically from the genomic RNA of the wild-type strains. No amplification was achieved for the uninfected cells, cells infected with canine parvovirus, canine coronavirus, or canine adenovirus. The combined RT-PCR method detected effectively and differentiated the CDV wild-type and vaccine strains by two separate RT-PCRs. The method can be used for clinical detection and epidemiological surveillance. The phylogenetic analysis of the hemagglutinin gene of the local wild-type CDV strains revealed that the seven local isolates all belonged to the Asia-1 lineage, and were clustered closely with one another at the same location. These results suggested that the CDV genotype Asia-1 is circulating currently in domestic dogs in China., (Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Objective: To investigate the association between genetic variations in methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) and the risk of colorectal cancer in a Chinese population., Methods: One hundred and ninety-eight cases of colorectal cancer and 420 controls were genotyped for detecting MTHFR C677T and A1298C polymorphisms by PCR-RFLP methods. The adjusted odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated by using unconditional logistic regression model., Results: The frequency of the MTHFR C677T allele found among cases was significantly more frequent than that among controls (51.3% to 44.4%, P = 0.02). As compared with the 677CC genotype, the 677TT genotypes had a 67% (95% CI, 1.05 - 2.66) increased risk of colorectal cancers. However, there appeared no any correlations between the genetic variations of MTHFR and the cancer metastasis., Conclusion: These findings demonstrated that the genetic variation of MTHFR C677T should be a genetic susceptibility factor for colorectal cancer in a Chinese population.

Objective: To study the emotional and depressive differences between severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) patients whose occupations were doctor/nurse and others., Methods: During the three months when SARS was explosive in 2003, 524 questionnaires were collected from Xuanwu Hospital, You'an Hospital, Xiaotangshan Hospital, Renmin Hospital and Ditan Hospital in Beijing. There were 109 questionnaires finished by patients as doctors/nurses themselves. For a background matching, 109 questionnaires were also finished by the others., Results: From 218 questionnaires, we found that the score on emotional condition (46.6204 +/- 8.4408 vs. 41.6789 +/- 8.612 95, P < 0.001) of SARS patients whose jobs were doctor/nurse was higher than the other groups on while the score of SARS patients whose jobs were doctor/nurse was lower than the other groups (37.7615 +/- 9.026 61 vs. 41.2844 +/- 9.655 25, P = 0.006) regarding depressive condition. The scores of emotional and depressive condition were all correlated with the factor as "I can not master my future"., Conclusion: Doctors/nurses having SARS had less emotional and depressive conditions than the others, which might due to the difference in medical knowledge, working condition and the route of infection, suggesting that psychological intervention in the post-SARS period called for attention.