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Background: Coronary artery disease is prevalent in China, with concomitant increases in the volume of coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG). The present study aims to compare CABG-related outcomes between China and the United States among large teaching and urban hospitals.Methods and Results: Observational analysis of patients aged ≥18 years, discharged from acute-care, large teaching and urban hospitals in China and the United States after hospitalization for an isolated CABG surgery. Data were obtained from the Chinese Cardiac Surgery Registry in China and the National Inpatient Sample in the United States. Analysis was stratified by 2 periods: 2007, 2008, and 2010; and 2011 to 2013 periods. The primary outcome was in-hospital mortality, and the secondary outcome was length of stay. The sample included 51 408 patients: 32 040 from 77 hospitals in the China-CABG group and 19 368 from 303 hospitals in the US-CABG group. In the 2007 to 2008, 2010 period and for all-age and aged ≥65 years, the China-CABG group had higher mortality than the US-CABG group (1.91% versus 1.58%, P=0.059; and 3.12% versus 2.20%, P=0.004) and significantly higher age-, sex-, and comorbidity-adjusted odds of death (odds ratio, 1.58; 95% confidential interval, 1.22-2.04; and odds ratio, 1.73; 95% confidential interval, 1.24-2.40). There were no significant mortality differences in the 2011 to 2013 period. For preoperative, postoperative, and total hospital stay, respectively, the median (interquartile range) length of stay across the entire study period between China-CABG and US-CABG groups were 9 (8) versus 1 (3), 9 (6) versus 6 (3), and 20 (12) versus 7 (5) days (all P<0.001). This difference did not change significantly over time.Conclusions: In 2011 to 2013, there was no significant difference in in-hospital mortality among patients who underwent an isolated CABG surgery in large teaching and urban hospitals in China and the United States. The longer length of stay in China may represent an opportunity for improvement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigated differences in osteoporosis knowledge, self-efficacy, and health beliefs among Chinese and American college students. Information obtained will be used in developing osteoporosis prevention programs for younger adults. Methods. Chinese (n = 409) and US (n = 408) college students completed the Osteoporosis Health Belief, Self-Efficacy, and Knowledge Tests. Results. Differences were seen in osteoporosis knowledge (M(us) = 14.52, M(Chinese) = 11.82), exercise knowledge (M(us) = 8.16, M(Chinese) = 9.04), calcium knowledge (M(us) = 8.47, M(Chinese) = 9.73), perceptions of exercise benefits (M(us) = 24.07, M(Chinese) = 21.09), calcium benefits (M(us) = 23.17, M(Chinese) = 18.36), exercise barriers (M(us) = 11.75, M(Chinese) = 14.96), calcium barriers (M(us) = 13.04, M(Chinese) = 15), and exercise self-efficacy (M(us) = 73.71, M(Chinese) = 63.81). Conclusion. US college students know more about osteoporosis and its risk factors; however, there are similarities in perception of risk between US and Chinese students. Chinese students perceive greater barriers to reducing their risk through exercise and dietary calcium intake. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present fossil pollen data from a sediment core at Lake Grinnell in northern New Jersey of the northeastern United States. The 12 500-yr chronology of the sediment record was controlled by seven calibrated AMS radiocarbon dates on terrestrial plant macrofossils. Similar to many pollen profiles in the region, our data show that vegetation changed from Picea- and Pinus-dominated woodland/forest at 12.5-11.4 ka (1 ka = 1000 cal. yr BP), through Pinus-dominated mixed forest at 11.4-9.3 ka, to Quercus-dominated forest after 9.3 ka. Some main tree taxa, including Tsuga, Ulmus and Acer, arrived and expanded during the Quercus expansion phase at 11.4-9.3 ka in the early Holocene, while other trees, including Fagus and Carya, established and expanded much later around 9 ka. Pollen data show that major forest shifts were in response to climatic change as independently inferred from oxygen-isotope records in the same core. These responses include major turnovers of tree species at the onset of the Holocene after the Younger Dryas, including the disappearance of Picea, declines of boreal taxa Betula and Alnus, and expansions of most other temperate trees. Our new records show two hemlock (Tsuga canadensis) decline events during the Holocene that were both likely caused by climatic change. The early-Holocene hemlock decline centering around 9.5 ka was marked by >10-fold decrease in hemlock populations, which was probably caused by summer high temperature as inferred from high oxygen isotope values. The mid-Holocene hemlock decline from 5.3 ka to 3.0 ka corresponds with a pronounced shift in oxygen isotopes at Grinnell and with a dry climate interval documented from other records in northeastern North America. Our results support the notion that a dry climate caused or triggered the mid-Holocene hemlock decline and that the Appalachian Forest has shown sensitive responses to climatic change in the Holocene. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

No Child Left Behind (NCLB) performance mandates, embedded within state accountability systems, focus school AYP (adequate yearly progress) compliance squarely on the percentage of students at or above proficient. The singular importance of this quantity for decision-making purposes has initiated extensive research into percent proficient as a measure of school quality. In particular, technical discussions have scrutinized the impact of sampling, measurement, and other sources of error on percent proficient statistics. In this article, we challenge the received orthodoxy that measurement error associated with individual students' scores is inconsequential for aggregate percent proficient statistics. Synthesizing current classification accuracy research with techniques from randomized response designs, we establish results which specify the extent to which measurement error—manifest as performance level misclassifications—produces bias and increases error variability for percent at performance level statistics. The results have direct relevance for the design of coherent and fair accountability systems based upon assessment outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Buffalograss [Buchloe dactyloides (Nutt.) Engelm.] is a warm-season grass for low-maintenance lawns. The objective of our study was to assess the genetic variation in 10 accessions of buffalograss obtained from the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences by random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) markers. Fourteen of the 60 primers screened generated 72 highly repeatable polymorphic bands. A dendrogram constructed on the basis of the unweighted pair group method arithmetic average clustering algorithm revealed that nine of 10 accessions formed two distinct clusters. Genetic similarity coefficients calculated from the RAPD data ranged from 0.30 to 0.89 with the lowest value of 0.30 measured between No. 4 and No. 7 from Japan and the United States, respectively. The highest value of 0.89 was measured between No. 6 and No. 8 from the United States and Mexico, respectively. The cophenetic correlation coefficient (r) was 0.92, indicative of a very good fit between the data matrix and the resulting cluster analysis. Principal coordinate analysis (PCO) clearly grouped nine accessions on the two axes with a single accession from the United States that did not cluster with others. The PCO clustering pattern corresponded well with the dendrogram. No. 7 from the United States did not cluster with any other accessions either in the dendrogram or on the basis of the PCO. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]