Search

Global climate change has resulted in an increase in the frequency, intensity, and duration of extreme events. However, we know very little about the associations between large temperature changes lasting for several days (LTCD) and CVD, particularly in less-developed, rural areas. We collected daily data on cardiovascular-related diseases and weather conditions from 119 villages in seven counties between 2010 and 2016. A distributed lag non-linear model was used to investigate the association between LTCD and relative risk (RR) of hospital admissions for CVD. Analyses were stratified by the duration and intensity of LTCD, age, and sex. The RR of CVD increases with the intensity and duration of LTCD. Men and young people were more vulnerable to LTCD of longer duration and higher intensity than women and old. Our findings may help local public health authorities develop adaptive preventive strategies targeting inhabitants of villages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is one of the main causes of liver cancer and imposes an enormous social and economic burden. The blood-borne virus screening policy for preventing iatrogenic infections renders hospitals important for identifying individuals infected with hepatitis C. Therefore, we aimed to investigate the establishment of a multi-disciplinary cooperation model in medical institutions to leverage the screening results of patients with hepatitis C. Our objective is to ensure that patients receive timely and effective diagnosis and treatment, thereby enabling the elimination of hepatitis C by 2030. Method: A multi-disciplinary cooperation model was established in October 2021. This retrospective study was based on the establishment of antibody-positive and HCV RNA-positive patient databases. A Chi-square test was used to compare the HCV RNA confirmation rate in anti-HCV-positive patients, as well as the hepatitis C diagnosis rate and treatment rate in RNA-positive patients before and after the multi-disciplinary cooperation. A multivariable logistic regression was used to analyse the factors affecting the treatment of patients with hepatitis C. In addition, we examined changes in the level of hepatitis C knowledge among medical staff. Results: After the implementation of the multi-disciplinary cooperation model, the RNA confirmation rate of hepatitis C antibody-positive patients increased from 36.426% to 88.737%, the diagnostic accuracy rate of RNA-positive patients increased from 67.456% to 98.113%, and the treatment rate of patients with hepatitis C increased from 12.426% to 58.491%. Significant improvements were observed among the clinicians regarding their ability to understand the characteristics of hepatitis C (93.711% vs. 58.861%), identify people at high risk (94.340% vs. 53.797%), manage patients with hepatitis C after diagnosis (88.679% vs. 67.089%), and effectively treat hepatitis C (84.277% vs. 51.899%). Multi-disciplinary cooperation in medical institutions was the most important factor for patients to undergo HCV treatment (odds ratio: 0.024, 95% confidence interval: 0.007–0.074). Conclusions: This study showed that the use of a multi-disciplinary cooperation model to utilise the results of HCV antibody screening fully in patients through further tracking, referral, and treatment may facilitate the detection and treatment of patients with hepatitis C and accelerate the elimination of HCV in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Current research on group decision making (GDM) focuses on how to quickly reach a consensus, in which decision makers' opinions are mainly changed by feedback suggestion, not by changing circumstances over time. In a long-term GDM problem, decision-makers may be affected by the environment to change their views. For example, real estate market prices will affect residents' opinions in time-consuming demolition negotiations. We introduce time uncertainty to study the long-term GDM problem with random opinions following this idea. This article constructs the minimum cost and maximum utility-based consensus models in GDM with random opinion based on the time uncertainty. The optimal time of decision-making can be determined. Specifically, the real options theory is employed to study time uncertainty. Furthermore, the feasibility of the models is verified by case analysis of China's demolition negotiation for old communities' renewal projects, and sensitivity analyses are developed to analyse the robustness of our models. In the case analysis and sensitivity analysis, we obtain the optimal solution of models by using a genetic algorithm based on MATLABR2018b. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effect of ambient temperature on relative risk (RR) of cardiovascular disease (CVD) is different in China than in other countries due to the different geographical environment, climate the different inter- and intra-individual characteristics of the population within China. It is therefore important to integrate information to evaluate the impact of temperature on RR of CVD in China. We performed a meta-analysis to evaluate the effect of temperature on RR of CVD. The Web of Science, Google Scholar, and China National Knowledge Infrastructure databases were searched back to 2022 and nine studies were included in the study. The Cochran Q test and I2 statistics were used to assess heterogeneity, while Egger's test was used to assess publication bias. The pooled estimated size of the relationship between ambient temperature and CVD hospitalization in the random effect model was 1.2044 (95%CI: 1.0610—1.3671) for the cold effect and 1.1982 (95%CI: 1.0166—1.4122) for the heat effect. The Egger's test showed a potential publication bias for the cold effect, whereas there was no apparent publication bias for the heat effect. There is a significant effect of ambient temperature on RR of CVD for both the cold effect and heat effect. The effect of socioeconomic factors should be considered more thoroughly in future studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Limited qualitative studies exist on nurses' experience in terms of communicating with and caring for patients with endemic diseases. The purpose of this study was to describe the working experiences of nurses caring for Tibetan patients with Kashin–Beck disease in China. Method: A qualitative design was used in this study. Sixteen nurses who worked in the orthopedics department of a large tertiary general hospital in Wuhan, China, constituting a purposive sample, were interviewed face-to-face using semi-structured guided questions. Results: Three major themes and nine subthemes were identified. Major themes included the challenge in cross-cultural nursing, stress adjustment in cross-cultural nursing, and reshaping competencies in cross-cultural nursing. Discussion: This study revealed that nurses encountered multifaceted challenges when caring for Tibetan patients with Kashin–Beck disease. In a multiethnic society, communication and language skills, cultural competency and cultural sensitivity, and diverse training methods to improve cross-cultural knowledge could increase ethnic minority patient satisfaction with cross-cultural care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change is increasing the incidence of extreme weather events which have a significant impact on public health. Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are the number one cause of death globally (40%). Apparent temperature (AT) and diurnal temperature range (DTR) have been extensively used to evaluate the effects of temperature on cardiovascular disease (CVD). However, the relevant information is quite limited from analysis and comparison of effects and differing pathogenesis of DTR and AT on CVD especially in less-developed, rural areas of China. This is the first attempt to analyze different effects between AT and DTR on CVD using distributed lag nonlinear modeling (DLNM) in rural area. Data on CVD hospital admission in Qingyang (Northwest China) in 2014–2017 originated from the New Rural Cooperative Medical System (NRCMS) of Gansu Province, and meteorological variables were provided by the Meteorological Science Data Sharing Service. Both AT and DTR had significant nonlinear and delayed impacts on hospital admissions for CVD. DTR had a stronger and more persistent effect on CVD incidence than AT. Females were more affected by high AT and low DTR than were males, while males were more vulnerable to low AT and high DTR. Temperature effects were not significantly different between people above and below 65 years of age. These findings provide local public health authorities with reference concerning sensitive temperature indices for susceptible populations with a view to improve CVD preventive strategies in rural areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: To explore the experiences of patients with cancers in hospitals during the COVID‐19 pandemic. Design: A qualitative research study. Methods: Using a phenomenological approach, we enrolled 22 patients with cancers in the Hunan Cancer Hospital from 20 February 2020 to 10 April 2020. The interviews were conducted face‐to‐face and were analysed by Colaizzi's 7‐step method. This study aligns with the COREQ checklist. Results: The experiences of patients with cancers in hospitals during the COVID‐19 pandemic can be categorized into four major themes: (1) emotional changes; (2) delays in visiting hospital; (3) barriers to accessing medical care services, and (4) inconvenience related to logistics services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ecological discourse, as object of ecolinguistics and cultural discourse studies, has far-reaching implications for fostering human beings’ ecological consciousness. However, European ecological discourse is inapt for promoting ecological consciousness due to its roots in critical discourse, Eurocentralization and Cartesianism. This paper aims to pursue a Confucian–Daoist inquiry to Chinese ecological discourse concerning its Confucian–Daoist dimensions in Chinese discursive, cultural and philosophical traditions. This Confucian–Daoist inquiry can be conducted in three parts: a conceptual inquiry into Chinese ecological discourse, a comparative inquiry into Sino-European ecological discourses and a constructive inquiry into a harmonious discourse based on harmosophy. This approach has an important twofold role: first, it can offer profound discursive and spiritual recourses for fostering ecological consciousness in addressing the global ecological crisis. Second, and more importantly, it can help European ecological discourse transcend the negative influences from its roots, which may underplay its role in ecological consciousness. By so doing, an intercultural dialogue for a harmonious world can arise for mutually dealing with ecological problems. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Background: Human papillomavirus (HPV) infection is the main etiological factor for the development of cervical cancer. Here we assessed the prevalence and distribution of HPV genotypes in Fujian population.Methods: A total of 8678 women aging from 17 to 84 years olds were recruited from the Fujian Medical University Union Hospital in Fujian Province. Every woman had a face-to-face interview. Cervical samples were collected from each participant and HPV screening was conducted using microarray hybridization.Results: Our study showed that the HPV prevalence in Fujian province was 38.3%. Among the positive individuals, 70.6% were detected for single HPV infection, 29.4% for multiple HPV infections. Further analysis showed that the prevalence of HPV infection significantly increased from 2009 to 2015. The four most common high risk human papillomavirus (HR-HPV) genotypes were HPV16 (8.5%), HPV52 (7.9%), HPV58 (6.2%), HPV 53 (3.5%), collectively accounting for 60.5% of all detected HPV infection. Age subgroup analysis showed two peaks for the frequencies of overall and multiple HPV infections, one for the group of women under 25 years old, and the other for the group over 55 years old.Conclusions: HPV infection is becoming serious in Fujian province, which indicates the imperative to implement a HPV vaccination and screening program for this region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, we focused on measuring levels of nurse burnout and job dissatisfaction in the daily practice of nurses in Hunan province, China, analyzed factors related to nurse burnout and job dissatisfaction, and explored the relationship between them. Previous studies have shown a high level of burnout and job dissatisfaction among nurses worldwide. A cross-sectional survey of 1100 nurses was conducted. The nurses worked at 20 hospitals in 11 cities and counties throughout China's Hunan province. Nurse burnout was measured by the Maslach Burnout Inventory. Nurse-rated job dissatisfaction was described using a four point scale, and work environment was measured using the Nursing Work Index - Practice Environment Scale. The results showed that nurses had high burnout scores and were dissatisfied with their jobs. Staffing, work environment, and work hours were all significantly associated with nurse burnout and job dissatisfaction. Adequate staffing, improved work environment, and reasonable work hours are related to decreasing nurse burnout and job dissatisfaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Objectives: To study the effects of group reminiscence therapy on depressive symptoms, self-esteem, and affect balance among community dwelling elderly. Methods: Eight communities were randomly selected from 372 eligible communities in Changsha city. They were randomly divided into four experimental groups and four control group. Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS) was used to screen entire 478 older adults living in these 8 communities. One hundred and sixty five of them had a GDS score between 11 and 25; among them, 125 participated in the study finally. The elderly group who were in the control group received health education, while the intervention group received both health education and group reminiscence therapy for 6 weeks. Both groups were assessed with the GDS, Self-Esteem Scale (SES), and Affect Balance Scale (ABS) before and after the 6-week-intervention. The results were analyzed using a mixed effect model with fixed effect of the intervention and random effect of the community, incorporating the structured randomness at the community level. Results: After 6 weeks’ therapy, the GDS scores in the intervention group decreased significantly compared to those in the control group (p <0.001). Scores on the positive affect subscale and affect balance in the intervention group increased significantly higher than control group, and scores on the negative affect subscale decreased significantly lower than control group (p <0.01). After the intervention, there were no statistically significant differences in self-esteem scores between intervention and control groups. Conclusions: Group reminiscence therapy was effective in reducing symptoms of depression, improving affect balance, and promoting mental health of community-dwelling elderly. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

We disclosed the complete genome sequence of Corynebacterium glutamicum B253, an important lysine-producing strain in China. The genome consists a circular chromosome (3,159,203 bp) and a plasmid (24,775 bp), encoding 2767 protein coding genes in total. The genome contains all genes for lysine biosynthesis, and some mutations potentially relevant to lysine production were detected in comparison with sequence of other C. glutamicum . [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Breeding has dramatically changed the plant architecture of wheat (Triticum aestivum), resulting in the development of high-yielding varieties adapted to modern farming systems. However, how wheat breeding shaped the genomic architecture of this crop remains poorly understood. Here, we performed a comprehensive comparative analysis of a whole-genome resequencing panel of 355 common wheat accessions (representing diverse landraces and modern cultivars from China and the United States) at the phenotypic and genomic levels. The genetic diversity of modern wheat cultivars was clearly reduced compared to landraces. Consistent with these genetic changes, most phenotypes of cultivars from China and the United States were significantly altered. Of the 21 agronomic traits investigated, 8 showed convergent changes between the 2 countries. Moreover, of the 207 loci associated with these 21 traits, more than half overlapped with genomic regions that showed evidence of selection. The distribution of selected loci between the Chinese and American cultivars suggests that breeding for increased productivity in these 2 regions was accomplished by pyramiding both shared and region-specific variants. This work provides a framework to understand the genetic architecture of the adaptation of wheat to diverse agricultural production environments, as well as guidelines for optimizing breeding strategies to design better wheat varieties., Competing Interests: Conflict of interest statement. The authors declare no conflict of interest., (© American Society of Plant Biologists 2023. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

Background: There are increasing Chinese migrants in sub-Saharan Africa currently. Most of them are engaged in infrastructure construction. Research has shown that they stay at particular risk of HIV and are recommended for HIV testing. However, their HIV testing behavior, and its relevant factors, have not been researched among them by now. This study describes the recent HIV testing behavior and relevant factors among Chinese migrant workers in Kenya., Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 110 male Chinese workers from six different Chinese infrastructure construction enterprises in Kenya. Furthermore, a two-stage cluster random sampling method was used to select participants. We used a questionnaire that included HIV testing history, demographic characteristics, and putative multilevel facilitators of HIV testing. Logistic regression was used to explore the predictors of recent HIV testing behavior among Chinese migrant workers in Kenya., Result: Of the 110 participants, 30 (27.27%) were tested for HIV in the recent year. All participants were male, and the majority were married (73.2%). The mean age was 37.49 years (SD = 9.73; range: 23 to 63), and a considerable proportion refused to answer questions about transactional sexual behaviors in the last year. Most were able to obtain HIV-related information (91.8%) and were exposed to HIV-related information in the last year (68.2%), but only 47.6% had sufficient HIV knowledge. Nearly one-fifth of them believed that selling sex and paying for sex is acceptable. Multiple logistic regression analysis indicated that participants who could accept the 'pay for sex' (OR: 2.74; 95% CI: 1.02, 7.36) and exposed to HIV related information (OR: 4.75; 95% CI: 1.29, 17.44) were more likely to test for HIV in the recent 1 year., Conclusion: Higher current HIV test rates were associated with a more open sexual attitude towards paying for sex and being exposed to HIV-related information in the last year among Chinese workers in Kenya. More specific attention to HIV should be attached to this population to increase the rate of HIV testing among them., (© 2021. The Author(s).)

Background: Fragile X syndrome is the most common genetic disorder of intellectual developmental disorder/mental retardation (IDD/MR). The prevalence of FXS in a Chinese IDD children seeking diagnosis/treatment in mainland China is unknown., Methods: Patients with unknown moderate to severe IDD were recruited from two children's hospitals. Informed consent was obtained from the children's parents. The size of the CGG repeat was identified using a commercial TP-PCR assay. The influence of AGG interruptions on the CGG expansion during maternal transmission was analyzed in 24 mother-son pairs (10 pairs with 1 AGG and 14 pairs with 2 AGGs)., Results: 553 unrelated patients between six months and eighteen years of age were recruited. Specimens from 540 patients (male:female = 5.2:1) produced high-quality TP-PCR data, resulting in the determination of the FMR1 CGG repeat number for each. The most common repeat numbers were 29 and 30, and the most frequent interruption pattern was 2 or 3 AGGs. Five full mutations were identified (1 familial and 4 sporadic IDD patients), and size mosaicism was apparent in 4 of these FXS patients (4/5 = 80%). The overall yield of FXS in the IDD cohort was 0.93% (5/540). Neither the mean size of CGG expansion (0.20 vs. 0.79, p > 0.05) nor the frequency of CGG expansion (2/10 vs. 9/14, p > 0.05) was significantly different between the 1 and 2 AGG groups following maternal transmission., Conclusions: The FMR1 TP-PCR assay generates reliable and sensitive results across a large number of patient specimens, and is suitable for clinical genetic diagnosis. Using this assay, the prevalence of FXS was 0.93% in Chinese children with unknown IDD.