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Summary: Background: In non-high-risk individuals, risk-category-based atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) screening strategies may be more cost-effective than one-size-fits-all approaches. However, current decisions are constrained by a lack of research evidence. We aimed to explore appropriate risk-category-based screening interval strategies for non-high-risk individuals in ASCVD primary prevention in the Chinese population. Methods: We used data from 28,624 participants in the China Kadoorie Biobank (CKB) who had completed at least two field surveys. The risk assessment tools were the 10-year ASCVD risk prediction models developed based on the CKB cohort. We constructed multistate Markov models to model disease progression and estimate transition probabilities between different risk categories. The total person-years spent unidentified in the high-risk state over a 10-year period were calculated for each screening interval protocol. We also estimated the number of ASCVD events prevented, quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) gained, and costs saved when compared to the 3-yearly screening protocol. Findings: When compared to the uniform 3-yearly protocol, most risk-category-based screening interval protocols would identify more high-risk individuals timely, thus preventing more ASCVD events and gaining QALYs. A few of them would reduce total health-care costs. The protocol, which used 6-year, 3-year, and 2-year screening intervals for low-risk, intermediate-low-risk, and intermediate-high risk individuals, was optimal, and would reduce the person-years spent unidentified in the high-risk category by 17.9% (95% CI: 13.1%–21.9%), thus preventing an estimated 113 thousand (95% CI: 83–138) hard ASCVD events for Chinese adults aged 30–79 over a 10-year period. When using a lower cost of statin therapy, more screening protocols would gain QALYs while saving costs. Interpretation: For the primary prevention of ASCVD, risk-category-based screening protocols outperformed the one-size-fits-all approach in the Chinese population. Funding: This work was supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (82192904, 82388102, 82192900) and grants (2023YFC2509400) from the National Key R&D Program of China. The CKB baseline survey and the first re-survey were supported by a grant from the Kadoorie Charitable Foundation in Hong Kong. The long-term follow-up is supported by grants from the UK Wellcome Trust (212946/Z/18/Z, 202922/Z/16/Z, 104085/Z/14/Z, 088158/Z/09/Z), grants (2016YFC0900500) from the National Key R&D Program of China, National Natural Science Foundation of China (81390540, 91846303, 81941018), and Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology (2011BAI09B01).

Summary: Background: Hospitals in China are classified into tiers (1, 2 or 3), with the largest (tier 3) having more equipment and specialist staff. Differential health insurance cost-sharing by hospital tier (lower deductibles and higher reimbursement rates in lower tiers) was introduced to reduce overcrowding in higher tier hospitals, promote use of lower tier hospitals, and limit escalating healthcare costs. However, little is known about the effects of differential cost-sharing in health insurance schemes on choice of hospital tiers. Methods: In a 9-year follow-up of a prospective study of 0.5 M adults from 10 areas in China, we examined the associations between differential health insurance cost-sharing and choice of hospital tiers for patients with a first hospitalisation for stroke or ischaemic heart disease (IHD) in 2009–2017. Analyses were performed separately in urban areas (stroke: n = 20,302; IHD: n = 19,283) and rural areas (stroke: n = 21,130; IHD: n = 17,890), using conditional logit models and adjusting for individual socioeconomic and health characteristics. Findings: About 64–68% of stroke and IHD cases in urban areas and 27–29% in rural areas chose tier 3 hospitals. In urban areas, higher reimbursement rates in each tier and lower tier 3 deductibles were associated with a greater likelihood of choosing their respective hospital tiers. In rural areas, the effects of cost-sharing were modest, suggesting a greater contribution of other factors. Higher socioeconomic status and greater disease severity were associated with a greater likelihood of seeking care in higher tier hospitals in urban and rural areas. Interpretation: Patient choice of hospital tiers for treatment of stroke and IHD in China was influenced by differential cost-sharing in urban areas, but not in rural areas. Further strategies are required to incentivise appropriate health seeking behaviour and promote more efficient hospital use. Funding: Wellcome Trust, Medical Research Council, British Heart Foundation, Cancer Research UK, Kadoorie Charitable Foundation, China Ministry of Science and Technology, and National Natural Science Foundation of China.

Summary: Background: Previous observational studies established a positive relationship between snoring and stroke. We aimed to investigate the causal effect of snoring on stroke. Methods: Based on 82,339 unrelated individuals with qualified genotyping data of Asian descent from the China Kadoorie Biobank (CKB), we conducted a Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis of snoring and stroke. Genetic variants identified in the genome-wide association analysis (GWAS) of snoring in CKB and UK Biobank (UKB) were selected for constructing genetic risk scores (GRS). A two-stage method was applied to estimate the associations of the genetically predicted snoring with stroke and its subtypes. Besides, MR analysis among the non-obese group (body mass index, BMI

There is currently no way for subway air-conditioning systems to adjust to changes in passenger capacity in terms of air-supply volume and air-supply temperature. In this paper, a study of the setting of the air-supply volume and controlling the temperature in subway trains was conducted. Based on the fact that the air-supply volume in a subway train needs to meet the requirements of cooling load and humidity load, as well as fresh-air volume, the minimum critical air-supply volume curve was determined on the basis of theoretical calculations under different passenger capacities. Under different passenger capacity and air-supply-volume conditions, the PMV (predicted mean vote) distribution of the subway train was simulated and calculated, and the results indicated that increasing the air-supply volume would not be sufficient to achieve PMV = 0. Therefore, in accordance with the theoretical formulation of the PMV, multiple linear regression was used to fit the temperature-control curve for various passenger capacities. A simulation calculation of the subway train was used to assess the uniformity of the flow field and the temperature field within the subway train in accordance with EN14750. It is evident from the results that under the control curve of the air-supply volume and temperature under different passenger capacities, the uniformity of the flow field and the temperature field can meet the standard requirements. By using the air-supply volume and temperature-control curve proposed in this paper, it is possible to adjust the air-supply volume in real-time, control the temperature of the air-conditioning system of the subway train, improve the passenger comfort of the train, and reduce the energy consumption of the air-conditioning system.

Deep-buried tunnel at high-ground temperature is prone to the sudden surge of water when crossing the water-rich formation, resulting in casualties and economic losses. Slurry injection is a common and effective method of governance for addressing this issue. However, there has been little research into pulping at high-ground temperature, with most of the existing research focusing on room temperature conditions. We studied two kinds of slurry commonly used in grouting, cement slurry and cement-sodium silicate slurry. Indoor testing was used in this paper to clarify the effect of temperature on slurry viscosity, and numerical simulation was used to study slurry diffusion in flat cracks at different temperatures. The results showed that in a hydrostatic environment, the spread rate of slurry was independent of temperature and type of slurry. For the same kind of slurry, the higher the temperature, the greater the maximum slurry pressure. The higher the temperature in a flow environment, the faster the slurry diffusion. As the temperature rised, the grouting pressure required for crack sealing decreased at first then rises. In a flow environment, the sealing effect of cement-sodium silicate slurry was superior to that of cement slurry.

The purpose of this study was to analyze the influence of the injection pressure and orifice diameter on the spray characteristics of soybean biodiesel. The macroscopic spray characteristics of the spray tip penetration (STP) and spray cone angle (SCA) were tested with a high-speed camera system. The microscopic spray characteristics, such as the statistical size distribution, Sauter mean diameter (SMD), representative diameters and dispersion boundary, were obtained using a Malvern laser particle size analyzer (PSA). The test results showed that with an increasing injection pressure, the STP and the SCA of the biodiesel increased, but the curves of size-volume distribution and cumulative volume distribution of the atomized droplets shifted to smaller diameters. The SMD and representative diameters decreased, and the dispersion boundary was reduced. Moreover, with a decreasing orifice diameter, longer STP and smaller SCA values were observed. Similarly, the size distribution curves of the atomized biodiesel droplets shifted to smaller diameters. The SMD and representative diameters were reduced, and the relative size range of the atomized biodiesel droplets was enlarged. Higher injection pressures and smaller orifice diameters improved the biodiesel atomization; however, the smaller orifice diameters caused an inhomogeneous size distribution of the atomized biodiesel droplets.

Abstract Background Adherence to a healthy lifestyle is associated with substantially lower risks of mortality from all causes, cardiovascular diseases, and cancer in white populations. However, little is known about the health benefits among non-white populations. Also, no previous studies have focused on respiratory disease mortality in both white and non-white populations. We assessed the relationships between a combination of healthy lifestyle factors and multiple death outcomes in Chinese adults. Methods This study included 487,198 adults aged 30–79 years from the China Kadoorie Biobank without heart disease, stroke, and cancer at study enrolment. We defined five healthy lifestyle factors as never smoking or smoking cessation not due to illness; non-daily drinking or moderate alcohol drinking; median or higher level of physical activity; a diet rich in vegetables, fruits, legumes and fish, and limited in red meat; a body mass index of 18.5 to 27.9 kg/m2 and a waist circumference

In order to explore the possibility that adding an appropriate amount of alkaline activator into fly ash cement may improve the early activity of fly ash and ensure the strength performance of concrete, this study analyzed the influence of 0–30% fly ash substitute on the early and late (3–28 days) compressive strength of concrete by using three methods, namely, the concrete laboratory test, orthogonal test, and neural network, under the condition of 0.5 water binder. We obtained the following results: (1) The strength of the concrete mixed with fly ash at the same alkali and the same age decreases with the increase of fly ash content and decreases with the decrease of age; the strength is the highest when the alkali content is 6% or 5%. (2) The higher the content of fly ash, the lower the strength of the mixture, and the greater the decrease of the early strength of the mixture, while the optimum dosage of NaOH is the same. (3) Orthogonal experimental design can be effectively used to analyze the primary and secondary degree of each factor and the best combination of them (cement, fly ash, NaOH, standard, water, etc.). (4) High correlations between the compressive strength and the component composition of concrete can be obtained using the prediction abilities of the neural networks. The above test results show that on the basis of the concrete compressive strength test, the comprehensive application of the orthogonal test and the neural network method can be used to analyze the relationship between strength and the variables and to test the influence of the variables and their interaction on concrete strength, and the results are accurate and reliable.

Summary: Background: Stroke is a leading cause of death and disability worldwide. Despite considerable improvements in diagnosis and treatment, little is known about the short-term and long-term prognosis after a first stroke in low-income and middle-income countries, including China. We aimed to assess the short-term and long-term risk of recurrent stroke and mortality after a first stroke for each of the major pathological stroke types. Methods: This population-based cohort study included adults aged 35–74 years without disability who were recruited to the China Kadoorie Biobank (CKB). A baseline survey was conducted in ten geographical areas (five urban, five rural) in China, and participants had clinical measurements recorded. Participants were followed up by monitoring death registries and by electronic linkage to health registries and health insurance claims databases, with follow-up until Jan 1, 2017. Participants were excluded from analyses if they had a previous history of stroke, transient ischaemic attack, or ischaemic heart disease at baseline. All incidences of fatal and non-fatal stroke during the study period were recorded by type (ischaemic stroke, intracerebral haemorrhage, subarachnoid haemorrhage, and unspecified type). Primary outcome measures were 28-day mortality, recurrent stroke, major vascular events (recurrent stroke, myocardial infarction, or vascular death), vascular mortality, and all-cause mortality. Findings: Of 512 715 individuals in the CKB, 489 586 participants without previous ischaemic heart disease and stroke at recruitment were included, of whom 45 732 (42 073 [92%] confirmed by brain imaging) had a stroke during the study period. The mean age was 59·3 years (SD 9·8) for participants who had a stroke (54% women) and 50·8 years (10·3) for participants with no stroke (60% women). 36 588 (80%) of the incident cases of stroke were ischaemic stroke, 7440 (16%) were intracerebral haemorrhage, 702 (2%) were subarachnoid haemorrhage, and 1002 (2%) were an unspecified stroke type. 28-day mortality was 3% (95% CI 3–4) for ischaemic stroke, 47% (46–48)for intracerebral haemorrhage, 19% (17–22; 52% for rural areas and 32% for urban areas) subarachnoid haemorrhage, and 24% (22–27) for unspecified stroke. Among participants who survived stroke at 28 days, 41% (41–42) had recurrent stroke at 5 years (ischaemic stroke 41% [41–42], intracerebral haemorrhage 44% [42–46], subarachnoid haemorrhage 22% [18–27], unspecified stroke type 40% [35–44]) and mortality at 5 years was 17% ([17–18] ischaemic stroke 16% [15–16], intracerebral haemorrhage 28% [26–29], subarachnoid haemorrhage 16% [12–20], unspecified stroke type 15% [12–19]). After a first ischaemic stroke, 91% of recurrent strokes were also ischaemic stroke; after an intracerebral haemorrhage, 56% of recurrent strokes were intracerebral haemorrhage, and 41% of recurrent strokes were ischaemic stroke. Interpretation: After a first stroke, the risk of recurrence or death within 5 years was high among this population of Chinese adults. Urgent improvements to secondary prevention of stroke in China are needed to reduce these risks. Funding: Wellcome Trust, Medical Research Council, British Heart Foundation, Cancer Research UK, Kadoorie Charitable Foundation, Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology, National Natural Science Foundation of China. Copyright: © 2020 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an Open Access article under the CC BY 4.0 license.

Summary: Background: Cooking practice has transitioned from use of solid fuels to use of clean fuels, with addition of better ventilation facilities. However, the change in mortality risk associated with such a transition remains unclear. Methods: The China Kadoorie Biobank (CKB) Study enrolled participants (aged 30–79 years) from ten areas across China; we chose to study participants from five urban areas where transition from use of solid fuels to clean fuels for cooking was prevalent. Participants who reported regular cooking (weekly or more frequently) at baseline were categorised as persistent clean fuel users, previous solid fuel users, or persistent solid fuel users, according to self-reported fuel use histories. All-cause and cardiopulmonary mortality were identified through linkage to China's Disease Surveillance Point system and local mortality records. Findings: Between June 24, 2004, and July 15, 2008, 226 186 participants living in five urban areas of China were enrolled in the CKB Study. Among 171 677 participants who reported cooking regularly (weekly or more frequently), 75 785 (44%) were persistent clean fuel users, 80 511 (47%) were previous solid fuel users, and 15 381 (9%) were persistent solid fuel users. During a mean of 9·8 (SD 1·7) years of follow-up, 10 831 deaths were documented, including 3819 cardiovascular deaths and 761 respiratory deaths. Compared with persistent clean fuel users, persistent solid fuel users had significantly higher risks of all-cause mortality (hazard ratio [HR] 1·19, 95% CI 1·10–1·28), cardiovascular mortality (1·24, 1·10–1·39), and respiratory mortality (1·43, 1·10–1·85). The excess risk of all-cause and cardiopulmonary mortality fell by more than 60% in 5 years after cessation of solid fuel use and continued to decrease afterwards. Use of ventilation was associated with lower all-cause mortality risk, even among persistent clean fuel users (HR 0·78, 0·69–0·89). Interpretation: Solid fuel use for cooking is associated with a higher risk of mortality, and cessation of solid fuel use cuts excess mortality risks swiftly and substantially within 5 years. Ventilation use also lowers the risk of mortality, even among people who persistently use clean fuels. It is of prime importance for both policy makers and the public to accelerate the transition from solid fuels to clean fuels and promote efficient ventilation to minimise further adverse health effects. Funding: National Natural Science Foundation of China, Wellcome Trust, and Kadoorie Charitable Foundation.

Cornus bretschneideri L.Henry (Cornaceae), a shrub or small tree, is a potential horticultural plant or a soil-fixing plant. In this study, the complete sequence and characterization of the chloroplast genome of C. bretschneideri was studied. The size of the chloroplast genome is 158,270 bp in length, including a large single copy region (LSC) of 87,466 bp, a small single copy region (SSC) of 18,730 bp, and a pair of inverted repeat (IR) regions with 26,037 bp. The GC content of the chloroplast genome was 37.86%. Moreover, a total of 132 functional genes were annotated, including 87 protein-coding genes, 37 tRNA genes, and 8 rRNA genes. The neighbor-joining phylogenetic tree suggested that C. bretschneideri was closely related to C. sanguinea and C. macrophylla.

The water footprint (WF) vividly links water resources with virtual water of food, providing a novel perspective on food demand and water resources management. This study estimates the per capita WF of food consumption for six provinces in North China. Then, the study applies the logarithmic mean Divisia index method to decompose the driving forces of their WF changes. Results show that the per capita WF of food consumption in Beijing, Tianjin, and Inner Mongolia increases significantly in 2005–2017, whereas that in the other three provinces in North China varies slightly. All provinces have shown the same trend of food structure changes: the grain decreased, whereas the meat increased. In general, the urban effect was positive, and the rural effect was negative for all regions. The urban effects in Beijing and Tianjin played a leading role, whereas the rural effects in the other four provinces played a leading role from 2005–2009. However, the urban effects in all provinces played a leading role in 2010–2017. The WF efficiency increased in each province, and the effect in urban areas is stronger due to the higher water use efficiency. For most provinces, the consumption structure was positive because the diet shifted toward more meat consumption. The food consumption per capita effect was the major driving force in Beijing and Tianjin due to the increased consumption level, whereas the population proportion effect exerted a weak effect. To alleviate the pressure on water resources, further improving water use efficiency in food production and changing the planting structure should be emphasized for all regions in North China.

Summary: Background: China has high stroke rates despite the population being relatively lean. Uncertainty persists about the relevance of adiposity to risk of stroke types. We aimed to assess the associations of adiposity with incidence of stroke types and effect mediation by blood pressure in Chinese men and women. Methods: The China Kadoorie Biobank enrolled 512 891 adults aged 30–79 years from ten areas (five urban and five rural) during 2004–08. During a median 9 years (IQR 8–10) of follow-up, 32 448 strokes (about 90% confirmed by neuroimaging) were recorded among 489 301 participants without previous cardiovascular disease. Cox regression analysis was used to produce adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) for ischaemic stroke (n=25 210) and intracerebral haemorrhage (n=5380) associated with adiposity. Findings: Mean baseline body-mass index (BMI) was 23·6 kg/m2 (SD 3·2), and 331 723 (67·8%) participants had a BMI of less than 25 kg/m2. Throughout the range examined (mean 17·1 kg/m2 [SD 0·9] to 31·7 kg/m2 [2·0]), each 5 kg/m2 higher BMI was associated with 8·3 mm Hg (SE 0·04) higher systolic blood pressure. BMI was positively associated with ischaemic stroke, with an HR of 1·30 (95% CI 1·28–1·33 per 5 kg/m2 higher BMI), which was generally consistent with that predicted by equivalent differences in systolic blood pressure (1·25 [1·24–1·26]). The HR for intracerebral haemorrhage (1·11 [1·07–1·16] per 5 kg/m2 higher BMI) was less extreme, and much weaker than that predicted by the corresponding difference in systolic blood pressure (1·48 [1·46–1·50]). Other adiposity measures showed similar associations with stroke types. After adjustment for usual systolic blood pressure, the positive associations with ischaemic stroke were attenuated (1·05 [1·03–1·07] per 5 kg/m2 higher BMI); for intracerebral haemorrhage, they were reversed (0·73 [0·70–0·77]). High adiposity (BMI >23 kg/m2) accounted for 14·7% of total stroke (16·5% of ischaemic stroke and 6·7% of intracerebral haemorrhage). Interpretation: In Chinese adults, adiposity was strongly positively associated with ischaemic stroke, chiefly through its effect on blood pressure. For intracerebral haemorrhage, leanness, either per se or through some other factor (or factors), might increase risk, offsetting the protective effects of lower blood pressure. Funding: UK Wellcome Trust, UK Medical Research Council, British Heart Foundation, Cancer Research UK, Kadoorie Charitable Foundation, Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology, Chinese National Natural Science Foundation.

Summary: Background: The age-specific association between blood pressure and vascular disease has been studied mostly in high-income countries, and before the widespread use of brain imaging for diagnosis of the main stroke types (ischaemic stroke and intracerebral haemorrhage). We aimed to investigate this relationship among adults in China. Methods: 512 891 adults (59% women) aged 30–79 years were recruited into a prospective study from ten areas of China between June 25, 2004, and July 15, 2008. Participants attended assessment centres where they were interviewed about demographic and lifestyle characteristics, and their blood pressure, height, and weight were measured. Incident disease was identified through linkage to local mortality records, chronic disease registries, and claims to the national health insurance system. We used Cox regression analysis to produce adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) relating systolic blood pressure to disease incidence. HRs were corrected for regression dilution to estimate associations with long-term average (usual) systolic blood pressure. Findings: During a median follow-up of 9 years (IQR 8–10), there were 88 105 incident vascular and non-vascular chronic disease events (about 90% of strokes events were diagnosed using brain imaging). At ages 40–79 years (mean age at event 64 years [SD 9]), usual systolic blood pressure was continuously and positively associated with incident major vascular disease throughout the range 120–180 mm Hg: each 10 mm Hg higher usual systolic blood pressure was associated with an approximately 30% higher risk of ischaemic heart disease (HR 1·31 [95% CI 1·28–1·34]) and ischaemic stroke (1·30 [1·29–1·31]), but the association with intracerebral haemorrhage was about twice as steep (1·68 [1·65–1·71]). HRs for vascular disease were twice as steep at ages 40–49 years than at ages 70–79 years. Usual systolic blood pressure was also positively associated with incident chronic kidney disease (1·40 [1·35–1·44]) and diabetes (1·14 [1·12–1·15]). About half of all vascular deaths in China were attributable to elevated blood pressure (ie, systolic blood pressure >120 mm Hg), accounting for approximately 1 million deaths (

Summary: Background: In developed countries, smoking is associated with increased risk of diabetes. Little is known about the association in China, where cigarette consumption has increased (first in urban, then in rural areas) relatively recently. Moreover, uncertainty remains about the effect of smoking cessation on diabetes in China and elsewhere. We aimed to assess the associations of smoking and smoking cessation with risk of incident diabetes among Chinese adults. Methods: The prospective China Kadoorie Biobank enrolled 512 891 adults (59% women) aged 30–79 years during 2004–08 from ten diverse areas (five urban and five rural) across China. Participants were interviewed at study assessment clinics, underwent physical measurements, and had a non-fasting blood sample taken. Participants were separated into four categories according to smoking history: never-smokers, ever-regular smokers, ex-smokers, and occasional smokers. Incident diabetes cases were identified through linkage with diabetes surveillance systems, the national health insurance system, and death registries. All analyses were done separately in men and women and Cox regression was used to yield adjusted hazards ratios (HRs) for diabetes associated with smoking. Findings: 68% (n=134 975) of men ever smoked regularly compared with 3% (n=7811) of women. During 9 years' follow-up, 13 652 new-onset diabetes cases were recorded among 482 589 participants without previous diabetes. Among urban men, smokers had an adjusted HR of 1·18 (95% CI 1·12–1·25) for diabetes. HRs increased with younger age at first smoking regularly (1·12, 1·20, and 1·27 at ≥25 years, 20–24 years, and

Elymus tangutorum (Nevski) Handel-Mazzetti (Poaceae: Triticeae), a hexaploid perennial herb, is a kind of forage plant with large biomass. In this study, the complete plastome sequence of E. tangutorum was reported. The size of the plastome is 134,949 bp in length, including a large single copy region (LSC) of 80,556 bp, a small single copy region (SSC) of 12,767 bp, and a pair of inverted repeat (IR) regions with 20,813 bp. Moreover, a total of 131 functional genes were annotated, including 85 protein-coding genes, 38 tRNA genes, and 8 rRNA genes. The maximum likelihood (ML) phylogenetic tree suggested that E. tangutorum was closely related to Elymus libanoticus and Dasypyrum villosum.

BackgroundBreastfeeding confers substantial benefits to child health and has also been associated with lower risk of maternal cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) in later life. However, the evidence on the effects of CVD is still inconsistent, especially in East Asians, in whom the frequency and duration of breastfeeding significantly differ from those in the West. Methods and ResultsIn 2004–2008, the nationwide China Kadoorie Biobank recruited 0.5 million individuals aged 30 to 79 years from 10 diverse regions across China. During 8 years of follow‐up, 16 671 incident cases of coronary heart disease and 23 983 cases of stroke were recorded among 289 573 women without prior CVD at baseline. Cox regression yielded adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% CIs for incident CVD by breastfeeding. Overall, ≈99% of women had given birth, among whom 97% reported a history of breastfeeding, with a median duration of 12 months per child. Compared with parous women who had never breastfed, ever breastfeeding was associated with a significantly lower risk of CVD, with adjusted HRs of 0.91 (95% CI, 0.84–0.99) for coronary heart disease and 0.92 (95% CI, 0.85–0.99) for stroke. Women who had breastfed for ≥24 months had an 18% (HR, 0.82; 0.77–0.87) lower risk of coronary heart disease and a 17% (HR, 0.83; 0.79–0.87) lower risk of stroke compared with women who had never breastfed. Among women who ever breastfed, each additional 6 months of breastfeeding per child was associated with an adjusted HR of 0.96 (95% CI, 0.94–0.98) for coronary heart disease and 0.97 (95% CI, 0.96–0.98) for stroke. ConclusionsAmong Chinese women, a history of breastfeeding was associated with an ≈10% lower risk of CVD in later life and the magnitude of the inverse association was stronger among those with a longer duration of breastfeeding.

Background and purpose Previous studies, mostly focusing on the European population, have reported polygenic risk scores (PRSs) might achieve risk stratification of stroke. We aimed to examine the association strengths of PRSs with risks of stroke and its subtypes in the Chinese population.Methods Participants with genome-wide genotypic data in China Kadoorie Biobank were split into a potential training set (n=22 191) and a population-based testing set (n=72 150). Four previously developed PRSs were included, and new PRSs for stroke and its subtypes were developed. The PRSs showing the strongest association with risks of stroke or its subtypes in the training set were further evaluated in the testing set. Cox proportional hazards regression models were used to estimate the association strengths of different PRSs with risks of stroke and its subtypes (ischaemic stroke (IS), intracerebral haemorrhage (ICH) and subarachnoid haemorrhage (SAH)).Results In the testing set, during 872 919 person-years of follow-up, 8514 incident stroke events were documented. The PRSs of any stroke (AS) and IS were both positively associated with risks of AS, IS and ICH (p

Objective: To explore the relationships among the epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT)-related factors (SNAIL, TWIST, and E-Cadherin) and clinicopathological parameters and gastric mesangial tumor deposits (TDs) in advanced gastric cancer (AGC) patients and their value in gastric cancer prognosis judgment. Materials and Methods: The data of 190 patients who underwent radical resection of ACG were analyzed retrospectively, including 75 cases of TDs (+) and 115 cases of TDs (-). The expression of EMT-related transforming factors Snail, Twist, and E-cadherin in the primary tumor, paracancerous normal tissues, and TDs was detected by immunohistochemistry. Results: SNAIL and TWIST were overexpressed in primary tumors and TDs, whereas E-Cadherin was down-expressed in primary tumors. SNAIL was correlated significantly with tumor differentiation, lymph node metastases, and TDs (P < 0.05); TWIST was correlated strongly with tumor location, lymph node metastases, and TDs (P < 0.05); E-Cadherin was correlated closely with tumor differentiation and lymph node metastases (P < 0.05). Kaplan-Meier curves showed that SNAIL expression was correlated with DFS (P < 0.05), and TWIST expression was correlated with OS (P < 0.05). Tumor differentiation, lymph node metastasis, and TWIST expression were prognostic-independent risk factors of AGC patients (P < 0.05). Conclusion: The occurrence and development of gastric cancer and the formation of TDs may be related to EMT, analyzing the expression of EMT-related transforming proteins may be helpful to judge the prognosis of gastric cancer.

Abstract Background Global warming leading to heat stress (HS) is becoming a major challenge for broiler production. This study aimed to explore the protective effects of seaweed (Enteromorpha prolifera) polysaccharides (EPS) on the intestinal barrier function, microbial ecology, and performance of broilers under HS. A total of 144 yellow-feathered broilers (male, 56 days old) with 682.59 ± 7.38 g were randomly assigned to 3 groups: 1) TN (thermal neutral zone, 23.6 ± 1.8 °C), 2) HS (heat stress, 33.2 ± 1.5 °C for 10 h/d), and 3) HSE (HS + 0.1% EPS). Each group contained 6 replicates with 8 broilers per replicate. The study was conducted for 4 weeks; feed intake and body weights were measured at the end of weeks 2 and 4. At the end of the feeding trial, small intestine samples were collected for histomorphology, antioxidant, secretory immunoglobulin A (sIgA) content, apoptosis, gene and protein expression analysis; cecal contents were also collected for microbiota analysis based on 16S rDNA sequencing. Results Dietary EPS promoted the average daily gain (ADG) of broilers during 3–4 weeks of HS (P

The evolution of the population ecosystem is closely related to resources and the environment. Assuming that the environmental capacity of a predator population is positively correlated with the number of prey, and that the prey population has a sheltered effect, we investigated a predator–prey model with a juvenile–adult two-stage structure. The dynamical behaviour of the model was examined from two distinct environmental perspectives, deterministic and stochastic, respectively. For the deterministic model, the conditions for the existence of equilibrium points were obtained by comprehensive use of analytical and geometric methods, and the local and global asymptotic stability of each equilibrium point was discussed. For the stochastic system, the effect of noise intensity on the long-term dynamic behavior of the population was investigated. By constructing appropriate Lyapunov functions, the criteria that determined the extinction of the system and the ergodic stationary distribution were given. Finally, through concrete examples and numerical simulations, the understanding of the dynamic properties of the model was deepened. The results show that an improvement in the predator living environment would lead to the decrease in the prey population, while more prey shelters could lead to the decline or even extinction of predator populations.

SmB_{6} is a mixed-valence compound with flat f-electron bands that have a propensity to magnetism. Here, using a realistic Γ_{8} quartet model, we investigate the dynamical spin susceptibility and describe the in-gap collective mode observed in neutron scattering experiments. We show that as the Sm valence increases with pressure, the magnetic correlations enhance and SmB_{6} undergoes a first-order phase transition into a metallic antiferromagnetic state, whose symmetry depends on the model parameters. The magnetic orderings give rise to distinct band topologies: while the A-type order leads to an overlap between valence and conduction bands in the form of Dirac nodal lines, the G-type order has a negative indirect gap with weak Z_{2} indices. We also consider the spin polarized phase under a strong magnetic field, and find that it exhibits Weyl points as well as nodal lines close to the Fermi level. The magnetic phases show markedly different surface states and tunable bulk transport properties, with important implications for experiments. Our theory predicts that a magnetic order can be stabilized also by lifting the Γ_{8} cubic symmetry, thus explaining the surface magnetism reported in SmB_{6}.