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Abstract Background Despite the adverse effects of ambient fine particulate matter (PM2.5) on type 2 diabetes and the beneficial role of physical activity (PA), the influence of PM2.5 on the relationship between PA and type 2 diabetes remains unclear. Methods In this prospective study with 71,689 participants, PA was assessed by a questionnaire and was categorized into quartiles for volume and three groups for intensity. Long‐term PM2.5 exposure was calculated using 1‐km resolution satellite‐based PM2.5 estimates. PM2.5 exposure and PA's effect on type 2 diabetes were assessed by cohort‐stratified Cox proportional hazards models, individually and in combination. Results In 488,166 person‐years of follow‐up, 5487 incident type 2 diabetes cases were observed. The association between PA and type 2 diabetes was modified by PM2.5. Compared with the lowest quartile of PA volume, the highest quartile was associated with reduced type 2 diabetes risk in low PM2.5 stratification (≤65.02 µg/m3) other than in high PM2.5 stratification (>65.02 µg/m3), with the hazard ratio (HR) of 0.75 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.66–0.85) and 1.10 (95% CI: 0.99–1.22), respectively. Similar results were observed for PA intensity. High PM2.5 exposure combined with the highest PA levels increased the risk of type 2 diabetes the most (HR = 1.79, 95% CI: 1.59–2.01 for PA volume; HR = 1.82, 95% CI: 1.64–2.02 for PA intensity). Conclusion PA could reduce type 2 diabetes risk in low‐pollution areas, but high PM2.5 exposure may weaken or even reverse the protective effects of PA. Safety and health benefits of PA should be thoroughly assessed for long‐term polluted residents.

Abstract The unique features of the sulfenamides’ S(II)-N bond lead to interesting stereochemical properties and significant industrial functions. Here we present a chemoselective Chan–Lam coupling of sulfenamides to prepare N-arylated sulfenamides. A tridentate pybox ligand governs the chemoselectivity favoring C–N bond formation, and overrides the competitive C-S bond formation by preventing the S,N-bis-chelation of sulfenamides to copper center. The Cu(II)-derived resting state of catalyst is captured by UV-Vis spectra and EPR technique, and the key intermediate is confirmed by the EPR isotope response using 15N-labeled sulfenamide. A computational mechanistic study reveals that N-arylation is both kinetically and thermodynamically favorable, with deprotonation of the sulfenamide nitrogen atom occurring prior to reductive elimination. The origin of ligand-controlled chemoselectivity is explored, with the interaction between the pybox ligand and the sulfenamide substrate controlling the energy of the S-arylation and the corresponding product distribution, in agreement with the EPR studies and kinetic results.

BackgroundChildhood trauma is a potential threat to depression and can have a lifelong impact on the mental health of university students. Our study aimed to construct a moderated mediation model to explore the relationship between childhood trauma, psychache, ambivalence over emotional expression, physical activity, and depression in university students.MethodsA cross-sectional study was conducted in three universities in China, recruiting 476 university students using self-report questionnaires. The moderated mediation model was examined using the SPSS PROCESS model 21.ResultsAmbivalence over emotional expression (F=12.843), childhood trauma (F=117.639), and psychache (F=581.594) all had a significant positive effect on depression (p

BackgroundThe prevalence of sleep quality problems and depression in the college student population has attracted widespread attention. However, the factors influencing this are still unclear. The objective of this study was to investigate the associations between self-compassion (S-C), sleep quality (SQ), and depression (DEP) among college students and examine the mediating effects of coping style (CS) between the variables.MethodsA total of 1,038 Chinese university students were recruited for the study. The study used the Self-Compassion Scale (SCS), Simplified Coping Style Questionnaire (SCSQ), Depression Anxiety Stress Scale 21 (DASS-21), and Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) to conduct the survey.ResultsThe self-compassion and coping style showed significant negative correlations with sleep quality and depression. Coping style partially mediated the relationship between self-compassion and sleep quality. The coping style also fully mediated the relationship between self-compassion and depression.ConclusionThis study reveals the associations between self-compassion and sleep quality and depression, and the mediating role of coping style among college students. This study provides valuable insights for improving sleep quality and alleviating depression problems among college students. It emphasizes the importance of self-compassion and positive coping style.

Abstract Background Population‐based epidemiological evidence regarding the association between fruit and vegetable intake and the incidence of hypertension is inconsistent. This prospective cohort study aimed to investigate the association between fruit and vegetable intake and the risk of new‐onset hypertension. Methods Based on the project of Prediction for Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease Risk in China (China‐PAR), 58,981 Chinese adults without hypertension at baseline were included. Information on fruit and vegetable intake was collected using a food‐frequency questionnaire. Cox proportional hazards models were performed to estimate the hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) of incident hypertension. Results During 640,795 person‐years of follow‐up, 21,008 new cases of hypertension were recorded. Compared with participants in the lowest quintile (Q1) of total fruit and vegetable (TFV) intake, the HRs (95% CIs) of incident hypertension were 0.90 (0.86–0.95), 0.85 (0.81–0.90), 0.82 (0.78–0.86), and 0.83 (0.78–0.88) for the Q2 to Q5 group (ptrend

The relationship of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) exposure and insulin resistance remains inclusive. Our study aimed to investigate this association in the project of Prediction for Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease Risk in China (China-PAR). Specifically, we examined the associations between long-term PM2.5 exposure and three surrogate indicators of insulin resistance: the triglyceride-glucose index (TyG), TyG with waist circumference (TyG-WC) and metabolic score for insulin resistance (METS-IR). Additionally, we explored potential effect modification of dietary intake and components. Generalized estimating equations were used to evaluate the associations between PM2.5 and the indicators with an unbalanced repeated measurement design. Our analysis incorporated a total of 162,060 observations from 99,329 participants. Each 10 μg/m3 increment of PM2.5 was associated with an increase of 0.22 % [95 % confidence interval (CI): 0.20 %, 0.25 %], 1.60 % (95 % CI: 1.53 %, 1.67 %), and 2.05 % (95 % CI: 1.96 %, 2.14 %) in TyG, TyG-WC, and METS-IR, respectively. These associations were attenuated among participants with a healthy diet, particularly those with sufficient intake of fruit and vegetable, fish or tea (pinteraction

Abstract Background Familial hypercholesterolemia (FH) is underrecognized, and its association with coronary artery disease (CAD) remains limited, especially in China. We aimed to investigate the prevalence of FH and its relationship with CAD in a large Chinese cohort. Methods FH was defined using the Make Early Diagnosis to Prevent Early Death (MEDPED) criteria. The crude and age‐sex standardized prevalence of FH were calculated based on surveys of the Prediction for Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease Risk in China (China‐PAR) project during 2007−2008. The associations of FH with incident CAD and its major subtypes were estimated with the cohort‐stratified multivariate Cox proportional hazard models based on the data from the baseline to the last follow‐up (2018−2020). Results Among 98,885 included participants, 190 participants were defined as FH. Crude and age−sex standardized prevalence and 95% confidence interval (CI) of FH were 0.19% (0.17%–0.22%) and 0.13% (0.10%–0.16%), respectively. The prevalence varied across age groups and peaked in the group of 60–

Abstract Background The effect of long‐standing prediabetes or its transition on incident cardiovascular disease (CVD) is unclear. This study aimed to evaluate the association of changes in fasting blood glucose (FBG) status with the risk of developing CVD. Methods This research included 12 145 Chinese adults aged 35–74 years and free from diabetes mellitus (DM) at baseline. Study participants were cross‐classified into six categories according to glucose at the first (1998–2001) and the second visit after 8 years: normal fasting glucose (NFG; 50–99 mg/dl), impaired FBG (IFG; 100–125 mg/dl), and DM. Cox proportional hazard regression model was used to estimate the hazard ratio (HR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) for CVD associated with transition of glucose status. Results During a median follow‐up of 5.5 years, 373 incident CVD cases occurred. Compared with participants remaining persistent NFG, a higher risk of developing CVD was identified among those remaining persistent IFG, progressing to DM from NFG or from IFG, with the multivariate‐adjusted HR (95% CI) of 1.792 (1.141, 2.816), 1.723 (1.122, 2.645) and 1.946 (1.120, 3.381), respectively. Furthermore, when stratified by glucose status at baseline, persistent IFG and progression from IFG to DM still increased CVD risk in comparison with reversion from IFG to NFG, with the multivariate‐adjusted HR (95% CI) of 1.594 (1.003, 2.532) and 1.913 (1.080, 3.389). Conclusions Participants with long‐standing IFG and progressing to DM had a higher risk of developing CVD. Further well‐designed studies are warranted to assess the association of other phenotypes or prediabetes duration with CVD.

Abstract Background Genetic variants within nearly 1000 loci are known to contribute to modulation of blood lipid levels. However, the biological pathways underlying these associations are frequently unknown, limiting understanding of these findings and hindering downstream translational efforts such as drug target discovery. Results To expand our understanding of the underlying biological pathways and mechanisms controlling blood lipid levels, we leverage a large multi-ancestry meta-analysis (N = 1,654,960) of blood lipids to prioritize putative causal genes for 2286 lipid associations using six gene prediction approaches. Using phenome-wide association (PheWAS) scans, we identify relationships of genetically predicted lipid levels to other diseases and conditions. We confirm known pleiotropic associations with cardiovascular phenotypes and determine novel associations, notably with cholelithiasis risk. We perform sex-stratified GWAS meta-analysis of lipid levels and show that 3–5% of autosomal lipid-associated loci demonstrate sex-biased effects. Finally, we report 21 novel lipid loci identified on the X chromosome. Many of the sex-biased autosomal and X chromosome lipid loci show pleiotropic associations with sex hormones, emphasizing the role of hormone regulation in lipid metabolism. Conclusions Taken together, our findings provide insights into the biological mechanisms through which associated variants lead to altered lipid levels and potentially cardiovascular disease risk.

This study evaluated the utilization of nano-MgO in problematic loess to enhance the dynamic performance and freeze-thaw resistance. To address these issues, samples of different blend ratios, with or without freezing-thawing, were prepared, and their dynamic modulus were examined by a series of dynamic triaxial tests. The results indicate that an addition of 2.5% nano-MgO improved the maximum shear modulus of pre- and post-freezing-thawing samples by 75.26% and 184.9% on average. Significant detrimental effects of freezing-thawing and water content were also observed. While it is found these detrimental effects could be alleviated with the addition of nano-MgO. Novel models for dynamic modulus of nano-MgO treated loess were accordingly proposed towards infrastructure design in cold regions. Additionally, the stabilizing mechanism of nano-MgO was explored by nuclear magnetic resonance tests. The results indicate that the water-absorbing effect of nano-MgO turns free water into bound water, therefore, resulting in significant improvements of dynamic performance and freeze-thaw resistance. This study provides conclusive evidence that nano-MgO is a high-function additive for the stabilization of loess soil subjected to freezing-thawing environment.

Aeolian sand flow is identified as the main factor in the formation of sandstorms. However, conventional sand fixation methods cannot meet the current development requirements of environmental protection. In this paper, the method using Microbially Induced Calcite Precipitation (MICP) combined with basalt fiber reinforcement (BFR) was adopted to solidify the aeolian sand. Consolidated undrained triaxial shear tests were carried out to analyze the influence of fiber content, fiber length, confining pressure, and other factors on stress–strain characteristics, peak strength, brittleness index, and shear strength of aeolian sand. A shear strength model of aeolian sand solidification using MICP-BFR and considering the effect of fiber length and fiber content is established according to the test results. The results show that the peak strength of aeolian sand solidified by MICP-BFR is remarkably higher than that of aeolian sand solidified by MICP alone, and the peak strength rises with the increasing fiber length, fiber content, and confining pressure. The application of fiber can effectively reduce the brittleness index of aeolian sand solidified by MICP and improve the sample ductility. As fiber content and fiber length increase, the cohesion of solidified aeolian sand increases while the internal friction angle changes relatively little. In the limited range set by the test, the fiber length of 12 mm and the fiber content of 1.0% constitute the optimum reinforcement condition. The test results coincide with the model prediction results, indicating that the new model is fitting for predicting the shear strength of aeolian sand solidified by MICP-BFR. The research results provide an important reference value for guiding the practice of wind prevention and sand fixation in desert areas.

Background: High sodium intake is an important risk factor for hypertension and cardiovascular disease. However, the association between gut microbiota composition and metabolomic profiles with dietary sodium intake and blood pressure (BP) is not well-understood. The metabolome, microbiome, and dietary salt intervention (MetaSalt) study aimed to investigate microbial and metabolomic profiles related to dietary sodium intake and BP regulation. Methods: This family-based intervention study was conducted in four communities across three provinces in rural northern China in 2019. Probands with untreated prehypertension or stage-1 hypertension were identified through community-based BP screening, and family members including siblings, offspring, spouses, and parents were subsequently included. All participants participated in a 3-day baseline examination with usual diet consumption, followed by a 10-day low-salt diet (3 g/d of salt or 51.3 mmol/d of sodium) and a 10-day high-salt diet (18 g/d of salt or 307.8 mmol/d of sodium). Differences in mean BP levels were compared according to the intervention phases using a paired Student's t-test. Results: A total of 528 participants were included in this study, with a mean age of 48.1 years, 36.7% of whom were male, 76.8% had a middle school (69.7%) or higher (7.1%) diploma, 23.4% had a history of smoking, and 24.4% were current drinkers. The mean arterial pressure at baseline was 97.2 ± 10.5 mm Hg for all participants, and significantly decreased during the low-salt intervention (93.8 ± 9.3, P

Background: Although both environmental and genetic factors were linked to coronary artery disease (CAD), the extent to which the association of air pollution exposure with CAD can be influenced by genetic risk was not well understood. Methods: A total of 41,149 participants recruited from the project of Prediction for Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease Risk in China (China-PAR) were included. Genetic risk scores of CAD were constructed based on 540 genetic variants. Long-term PM2.5 exposures were assessed by adopting satellite-based PM2.5 estimations at 1-km resolution. We used stratified Cox proportional hazards regression model to examine the impact of PM2.5 exposure and genetic risk on CAD risk, and further analyzed modification effect of genetic predisposition on association between PM2.5 exposure and CAD risk. Results: During a median of 13.01 years of follow-up, 1,373 incident CAD events were observed. Long-term PM2.5 exposure significantly increased CAD risk, and the hazard ratios (HRs) [95% confidence intervals (CIs)] were 1.27 (1.05–1.54) and 1.95 (1.57–2.42) among intermediate and high PM2.5 exposure groups compared to low PM2.5 exposure group. The relative risks of CAD were 40% (HR: 1.40, 95%CI: 1.18–1.66) and 133% (HR: 2.33, 95%CI: 1.94–2.79) higher among individuals at intermediate and high genetic risk than those at low genetic risk. Compared with individuals with both low genetic risk and low PM2.5 exposure, those with high genetic risk and high PM2.5 exposure had highest CAD risk, with HR of 4.37 (95%CI: 3.13–6.11). We observed significant multiplicative (P

As one of the most widely used applications in domain adaption (DA), Cross-domain sentiment analysis (CDSA) aims to tackle the barrier of lacking in sentiment labeled data. Applying an adversarial network to DA to reduce the distribution discrepancy between source and target domains is a significant advance in CDSA. This adversarial DA paradigm utilizes a single global domain discriminator or a series of local domain discriminators to reduce marginal or conditional probability distribution discrepancies. In general, each discrepancy has a different effect on domain adaption. However, the existing CDSA algorithms ignore this point. Therefore, in this paper, we propose an effective, novel and unsupervised adversarial DA paradigm, Global-Local Dynamic Adversarial Learning (GLDAL). This paradigm is able to quantitively evaluate the weights of global distribution and every local distribution. We also study how to apply GLDAL to CDSA. As GLDAL can effectively reduce the distribution discrepancy between domains, it performs well in a series of CDSA experiments and achieves improvements in classification accuracy compared to similar methods. The effectiveness of each component is demonstrated through ablation experiments on different parts and a quantitative analysis of the dynamic factor. Overall, this approach achieves the desired DA effect with domain shifts.

Background: Active commuting as a contributor to daily physical activity is beneficial for cardiovascular health, but leads to more chances of exposure to ambient air pollution. This study aimed to investigate associations between active commuting to work with cardiovascular disease (CVD), mortality and life expectancy among general Chinese adults, and to further evaluate the modification effect of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) exposure on these associations. Methods: We included 76,176 Chinese adults without CVD from three large cohorts of the Prediction for Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease Risk in China project. Information about commuting mode and physical activity were collected by unified questionnaire. Satellite-based PM2.5 concentrations at 1-km spatial resolution was used for estimating PM2.5 exposure of participants. Hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for CVD incidence, mortality and all-cause mortality were estimated using Cox proportional hazards regression models. Multiplicative interaction term of commuting mode and PM2.5 level was tested to investigate potential effect modification. Results: During 448,499 person-years of follow-up, 2230 CVD events and 2777 all-cause deaths were recorded. Compared with the non-active commuters, the multivariable-adjusted HRs (95% CIs) of CVD incidence and all-cause mortality were 0.95(0.85–1.05) and 0.79(0.72–0.87) for walking commuters, respectively. Corresponding HRs (95% CIs) for cycling commuters were 0.71(0.62–0.82) and 0.67(0.59–0.76). Active commuters over 45 years old were estimated to have more CVD-free years and life expectancy than non-active commuters under lower PM2.5 concentration. However, these beneficial effects of active commuting were alleviated or counteracted by long-term exposure to high PM2.5 concentration. Significant multiplicative interaction of commuting mode and PM2.5 level was showed in all-cause mortality, with the lowest risk observed in cycling participants exposed to lower level of PM2.5. Conclusions: Active commuting was associated with lower risk of CVD, all-cause mortality, and longer life expectancy among Chinese adults under ambient settings with lower PM2.5 level. It will be valuable to encourage active commuting among adults and develop stringent strategies on ambient PM2.5 pollution control for prevention of CVD and prolongation of life expectancy.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the association between fruit intake and stroke risk considering the genetic predisposition. We used data from 34,871 participants from the project of Prediction for Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease Risk in China (China-PAR project) from 2007 to 2020. A polygenic risk score comprising 534 genetic variants associated with stroke and its related factors was constructed to categorize individuals into low, intermediate, and high genetic risk groups. The associations of genetic and fruit intake with incident stroke were assessed by the Cox proportional hazard regression. We documented 2586 incident strokes during a median follow-up of 11.2 years. Compared with fruit intake < 200 g/week, similar relative risk reductions in stroke with adherence to fruit intake > 100 g/day across the genetic risk categories were observed (28–32%), but the absolute risk reductions were relatively larger in the highest genetic risk group (p for trend = 0.03). In comparison to those with a fruit intake < 200 g/week, those with a fruit intake >100 g/day in the low, intermediate, and high genetic risk groups had an average of 1.45 (95% CI, 0.61–2.31), 2.12 (1.63–2.59), and 2.19 (1.13–3.22) additional stroke-free years at aged 35, respectively. Our findings suggest that individuals with a high genetic risk could gain more absolute risk reductions and stroke-free years than those with a low genetic risk from increasing fruit intake for the stroke primary prevention.

Background: Decline in pulmonary function contributes to increasing cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk. Although adverse effects of short-term exposure to fine particulate matter (PM2.5) on pulmonary function have been recognized in healthy people or patients with respiratory disease, these results were not well illustrated among people with elevated CVD risk. Materials and methods: A panel study was conducted in three Chinese cities with three repeated visits among populations at intermediate to high-risk of CVD, defined as treated hypertension patients or those with blood pressure ≥ 130/80 mmHg, who met any of the three conditions including abdominal obesity, dyslipidemia, and diabetes mellitus. Individualized PM2.5 exposure and pulmonary function were measured during each seasonal visit. Linear mixed-effect models were applied to analyze the associations of PM2.5 concentrations with pulmonary function indicators, including forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1), FEV1/forced vital capacity (FVC), maximal mid-expiratory flow (MMF), and peak expiratory flow (PEF). Results: Short-term PM2.5 exposure was significantly associated with decreased pulmonary function and an increment of 10 μg/m3 in PM2.5 concentrations during lag 12–24 hour was associated with declines of 41.7 ml/s (95% confidence interval [CI]: 7.7–75.7), 0.35% (95% CI: 0.01, 0.69), and 20.9 ml/s (95% CI: 0.5–41.3) for PEF, FEV1/FVC, and MMF, respectively. Results from stratified and sensitivity analyses were generally similar with the overall findings, while the adverse effects of PM2.5 on pulmonary functions were more pronounced in those who were physically inactive. Conclusions: This study first identified short-term exposure to PM2.5 was associated with impaired pulmonary function and physical activity might attenuate the adverse effects of PM2.5 among populations at intermediate to high-risk of CVD. These findings provide new robust evidence on health effects of air pollution and call for effective prevention measures among people at CVD risk.

New azobenzene derivatives with dihydropyrazole heterocycle have been prepared and characterized. According to thermal polarizing microscopy and differential scanning calorimetry studies, the compounds consisting of four linearly linked rings and a long alkoxy chain on the azobenzene side (3a-8 and 3a-14) displayed no liquid crystal properties. When the length of mesogenic unit increased to five rings, except for compound 5a-8, all compounds from 5a-10 to 5a-16 containing a long chain of 10–16 carbon atoms on the side of ester group displayed liquid crystalline properties, and the mesogenic domain gradually narrowed with increase of the chain length. However, in the case of the molecule with long alkoxy chains on both sides, only 5c-16 with a long chain of 16 carbon atoms exhibited liquid crystal behaviour. In addition, these azo compounds underwent isomerization from E to Z under ultraviolet irradiation and then thermal back relaxation slowly in the dark, which can be recycled many times.

Background: The concentration-response relationship between mortality and long-term exposure to fine particulate matter (PM2.5) has not been fully elucidated, especially at high levels of PM2.5 concentrations. Objective: We aimed to evaluate chronic effects of ambient PM2.5 exposure on deaths among Chinese adults in high-exposure settings. Methods: Participants of the Prediction for Atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease Risk in China (China-PAR) project were included from four prospective cohorts among Chinese adults aged ≥18 years old. The overall follow-up rate of the four cohorts was 93.4% until the recent follow-up survey that ended in 2015. The average of satellite-based PM2.5 concentrations during 2000–2015 at 1-km spatial resolution was assigned to each participant according to individual residence addresses. Based on the pooled analysis of individual data from the four cohorts, a Cox proportional hazards model was used to estimate the hazard ratio (HR) and corresponding 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) for the association of PM2.5 exposure with mortality after multivariate adjustment. Results: A total of 116,821 participants were eligible in the final analysis. During a mean of 7.7 years of follow-up, 6,395 non-accidental deaths and 2,507 cardio-metabolic deaths occurred. The mean of PM2.5 concentration was 64.9 μg/m3 ranging from 31.2 μg/m3 to 97.0 μg/m3. For each 10 μg/m3 increment in PM2.5, the HR was 1.11 (95% CI: 1.08–1.14) for non-accidental mortality and 1.22 (95% CI: 1.16–1.27) for cardio-metabolic mortality. In addition, a weak exponential curve for the concentration-response association between mortality and PM2.5 was observed among Chinese adults. Conclusions: Our study provided important evidence of the long-term effects of PM2.5 exposure on deaths among Chinese adults. The findings expand our knowledge on concentration-response relationship in high-exposure environments, which is essential to address the urgent challenge of reducing the disease burden attributable to PM2.5 exposure in rapidly industrializing countries such as China. Keywords: Satellite-based PM2.5, Long-term exposure, Cohort study, Mortality, Concentration-response relationship

Periodic freezing–thawing is recognized as a real threat to the mechanical properties of reinforced loess, which has been used in the recent construction of high-speed railways in northwest China; however, the performance of these materials under periodic freezing–thawing and dynamic loading has rarely been investigated. In this work, dynamic triaxial tests were conducted on fly ash- and polypropylene fiber-reinforced loess with different blend ratios and freeze–thaw cycles. The dynamic shear modulus and damping ratio were investigated. The results revealed that cyclic freezing–thawing had a remarkable effect on the dynamic shear modulus and damping ratio, which demonstrated considerable reductions and increases, respectively, after cyclic freezing–thawing. Additionally, the dynamic shear modulus increased notably with the fly ash content and confining pressure and decreased with the water content. Meanwhile, the damping ratio increased with the fiber content and water content and decreased with the fly ash content and confining pressure. Comparatively, the effects of polypropylene fiber on dynamic behavior were found to be not significant. Furthermore, novel models were established to predict the dynamic shear modulus and damping ratio for reinforced loess. The results provide more information towards infrastructure design in seasonal frozen regions.

Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) exhibits differences in incidence and survival patterns among races. Here, analysis of Chinese and TCGA ESCC patients reveals that Asian patients exhibit higher TP53, EP300 and NFE2L2 mutational frequencies, and mutated CSMD3 associates with better prognosis.

Field experiments were carried out in Huantai County from 2006 to 2008 to evaluate the effects of different nitrogen (N) fertilization and irrigation management practices on water leakage and nitrate leaching in the dominant wheat–maize rotation system in the North China Plain (NCP). Two N fertilization (NF1, the traditional one; NF2, fertilization based on soil testing) and two irrigation (IR1, the traditional one; IR2, irrigation based on real-time soil water content monitoring) management practices were designed in the experiments. Water and nitrate amounts leaving the soil layer at a depth of 2.0 m below the soil surface were calculated and compared. Results showed that the IR2 effectively reduced water leakage and nitrate leaching amounts in the two-year period, especially in the winter wheat season. Less than 10 percent irrigation water could be saved in a dry winter wheat season, but about 60 percent could be saved in a wet winter wheat season. Besides, 58.8 percent nitrate under single NF2IR1 and 85.2 percent under NF2IR2 could be prevented from leaching. The IR2 should be considered as the best management practice to save groundwater resources and prevent nitrate from leaching. The amounts of N input play a great role in affecting nitrate concentrations in the soil solutions in the winter wheat–summer maize rotation system. The NF2 significantly reduced N inputs and should be encouraged in ordinary agricultural production. Thus, nitrate leaching and groundwater contamination could be alleviated, but timely N supplement might be needed under high precipitation condition.