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Eating behaviors are associated with mental health. However, although most studies have assessed specific eating behaviors, none have evaluated the association of eating rates and post-dinner snacking with depressive symptoms. This study investigated this relationship in adult Chinese men. A total of 1552 participants aged 25–68 years were included in this study. Logistic regression analysis was conducted to examine the relationship between eating behaviors and depressive symptoms, and the corresponding odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated. Self-administered questionnaires were used to evaluate eating rates and post-dinner snacking, and the Self-Rating Depression Scale was used to assess depressive symptoms. In the unadjusted model, the odds ratios and 95% CIs for depressive symptoms associated with normal and fast eating compared with slow eating were 1.47 (1.15, 1.89) and 1.60 (1.14, 2.23), respectively (p for trend = 0.002). This significant positive association remained unchanged in the final adjusted model (p for trend = 0.006). No significant relationship was found between post-dinner snacking and depressive symptoms. These findings showed that eating fast was linked to a higher risk of depressive symptoms and suggested that speed of eating may influence the mental health of adult men.

Environmental exposures during pregnancy have been associated with adverse obstetric outcomes. However, limited and inconsistent evidence exists regarding the association between air temperature exposure and the risk of preeclampsia (PE). This study aimed to evaluate the correlation between ambient temperature exposure during pregnancy and PE risk, as well as identify the specific time window of temperature exposure that increases PE risk. A population-based cohort study was conducted from January 2012 to April 2022 in Guangzhou, China. Pregnant women were recruited in early pregnancy and followed until delivery. A total of 3,314 PE patients and 114,201 normal pregnancies were included. Ambient temperature exposures at different gestational weeks were recorded for each participant. Logistic regression models were used to evaluate the correlation between ambient temperature exposure and PE risk. Stratified analyses were conducted based on maternal age and pre-pregnancy BMI. Distributed lag models were employed to identify the time window of temperature exposure related to PE. Exposure to extreme high temperature (aOR = 1.24, 95 % CI 1.12–1.38) and moderate high temperature (aOR = 1.22, 95 % CI 1.10–1.35) during early pregnancy was associated with an increased risk of PE. Furthermore, women with higher pre-pregnancy BMI had a higher risk of developing PE when exposed to high temperature during early pregnancy compared to normal-weight women. The time window of temperature exposure related to PE was identified as pregnancy weeks 1 to 8. This study provides evidence for the association of high temperature exposure during early pregnancy with the risk of PE, as well as identifies the specific time window of temperature exposure related to PE. These findings have implications for developing potential strategies to protect pregnant women, particularly those with higher pre-pregnancy BMI, from the adverse effects of extreme temperatures during early pregnancy.

Streptococcus equi subsp. equi (S. equi) is the pathogen causing strangles, a highly infectious disease that can affect equids including donkeys of all ages. It can persistently colonize the upper respiratory tract of animals asymptomatically for years, which serves as a source of infection. Several strangles outbreaks have been reported in the donkey industry in China in the last few years and pose a great threat to health, production, and the welfare of donkeys. Nasopharyngeal swab samples for culture and PCR are used widely in strangles diagnosis. Additionally, microbiomes within and on the body are essential to host homoeostasis and health. Therefore, the microbiome of the equid nasopharynx may provide insights into the health of the upper respiratory tract in animals. There has been no study investigating the nasopharyngeal microbiome in healthy donkeys, nor in donkeys shedding S. equi. This study aimed to compare nasopharyngeal microbiomes in healthy and carrier donkeys using 16S rRNA gene sequencing. Nasopharyngeal samples were obtained from 16 donkeys recovered from strangles (group S) and 14 healthy donkeys with no history of strangles exposure (group H). Of those sampled, 7 donkeys were determined to be carriers with positive PCR and culture results in group S. In group H, all 14 donkeys were considered free of strangles based on the history of negative exposure, negative results of PCR and culture. Samples from these 21 donkeys were used for microbial analysis. The nasopharyngeal microbiome composition was compared between the two groups. At the phylum level, relative abundance of Proteobacteria was predominantly higher in the S. equi carrier donkeys than in healthy donkeys (P < 0.01), while Firmicutes and Actinobacteria were significantly less abundant in the S. equi carrier donkeys than in healthy donkeys (P < 0.05). At the genus level, Nicoletella was detected in the upper respiratory tract of donkeys for the first time and dominated in carrier donkeys. It is suspected to suppress other normal flora of URT microbiota including Streptococcus spp., Staphylococcus spp., and Corynebacterium spp. We concluded that the nasopharyngeal microbiome in S. equi carrier donkeys still exhibited microbial dysbiosis, which might predispose them to other airway diseases.

Diet is an important factor affecting intestinal microbiota in horses. Fecal microbiota is commonly used as a substitute for studying hindgut microbiota when investigating the relationship between intestinal microbial changes and host health. So far, no study has compared the difference between the fecal microbiota found in horses that are fed pasture grass, silage, and hay. The present study aims to characterize the fecal microbiota in horses that were exclusively on one of the three forage diets, and to analyze the potential impact of these forages, especially silage, on horse intestinal health. There were 36 horses randomly assigned to each of the three groups; each group was fed only one type of forage for 8 weeks. High throughput sequencing was applied to analyze the bacterial taxa in fecal samples collected from the horses at the end of the feeding trial. The Lachnospiraceae family was statistically more abundant in horses fed with hay, while it was the least abundant in horses fed with silage. The Streptococcaceae spp., considered a core microbial component in equine intestinal microbiota, were present in significantly lower quantities in feces from horses that were fed pasture grass as compared to those from horses fed hay or silage. The novel data may help promote the balancing of horse intestinal microbiota and the maintenance of intestinal health in horses.

A 5-year-old Mongolian mare (Equus caballus Linnaeus, 1758) was observed to have corneal opacity and excessive ocular discharge. An ophthalmic examination revealed a moving thread-like cylindrical worm in the anterior chamber of the right eye. The parasite was successfully removed surgically. The worm was observed under light microscopy and confirmed as Setaria digitata by 12S rRNA gene amplification and sequencing. Phylogenetic analysis demonstrated similarity with Setaria digitata in the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) GenBank database isolated from other Asian countries. This report is the first confirmed case of equine ocular setariasis by molecular diagnosis in China, which may indicate its presence in livestock and promote research on its epidemiology.

The application of microfluidic technology to manipulate cells or biological particles is becoming one of the rapidly growing areas, and various microarray trapping devices have recently been designed for high throughput single-cell analysis and manipulation. In this paper, we design a double-slit microfluidic chip for hydrodynamic cell trapping at the single-cell level, which maintains a high capture ability. The geometric effects on flow behaviour are investigated in detail for optimizing chip architecture, including the flow velocity, the fluid pressure, and the equivalent stress of cells. Based on the geometrical parameters optimized, the double-slit chip enhances the capture of HeLa cells and the drug experiment verifies the feasibility of the drug delivery.

Background: The aim of the study was to conduct a comprehensive performance evaluation of the Mindray CX-9000 fully automated coagulation analyzer for the detection of the seven coagulation items. Methods: The performance of activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT), prothrombin time (PT), fibrinogen (FIB), thrombin time (TT), D-dimer (D-D), fibrinogen degradation product (FDP), and antithrombin? (AT) was validated for precision, linear range, carryover contamination rate, reference interval validation, inter-method agreement, and anti-interference ability. Results: The intra-and inter-precision (coefficient of variation, CV%) of all seven items was less than the target CV%; the carryover contamination rates for different concentrations and between items were < 10%. The slope of the linear regression equation for the theoretical and measured values of the linear range was within 1 ± 0.05 and R = 0.975. The reference interval quoted from the manufacturer's reference interval passed = 95%. The CX- 9000 was compared with the results of the reference instrument STAGO R MAX (STA-R MAX) and the p-values for all items ranged from 0.822 to 0.987. Within the concentration range claimed by the manufacturer, the interference errors produced by all items met the manufacturer's claimed criteria, except for triglycerides which produced interference errors > 10% for the FIB, D-D, FDP, and bilirubin which produced interference errors for the FIB and D-D assays. Conclusions: The CX-9000 automatic coagulation analyzer has good stability and repeatability, a wide linear range of detection, low carryover contamination rate, and high resistance to interference, making it suitable for the testing of clinical specimens. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The transition of households towards cleaner energy is crucial for achieving sustainable development goals. However, the impacts and associated mechanisms of early-life experiences on household energy transition have not been considered. Based on data from the 2015 Chinese General Social Survey, this study aimed to investigate whether people experiencing China's Great Famine (1959–1961) in their early life promoted household energy transition in adulthood. The varying severity of the Great Famine in different provinces was characterised as a quasi-natural experiment and was used to perform difference-in-differences (DID) estimation analysis for birth cohorts. The results showed that the transitions from firewood, agricultural waste, and animal waste to liquefied petroleum gas and electricity were significant in households with the Great Famine experiences. Specifically, the long-term energy transition effect of the famine was exhibited mostly in those who experienced the famine during childhood (4–11 years old) and adolescence (12–17 years old). Besides, early-life famine experiences led to poor physical health, and more modern forms of energy, such as electricity, were consumed to avoid further deteriorating health. Early-life famine experience also brought psychological trauma to people at that time, which led them to increase Internet use to gain emotional support, and the increased Internet use provided better access to information about the energy transition. Moreover, the household energy transition influenced by early-life famine experience occurred more in female-headed, rural, more educated, and low-income households. Our results illustrated the role of early-life famine experience in household energy transition and provided new insights into developing effective energy policies.

Abstract For emerging economies lacking public budgets, continuous improvement of urban wastewater treatment efficiency (UWTE) requires effective government supervision of wastewater treatment infrastructures (WTIs) and participation of private capital seeking to profit-maximising. However, to what extent this public–private partnership (PPP) model, aimed at a reasonable sharing of benefit and risk, in delivering WTIs can improve the UWTE is unknown. We evaluated the impact of the PPP model on the UWTE by collecting data from 1303 urban wastewater treatment PPP projects in 283 prefecture-level cities in China from 2014 to 2019 and used data envelopment analysis and Tobit regression model. The UWTE was significantly higher in prefecture-level cities that introduced the PPP model in the construction and operation of WTIs, particularly those with a feasibility gap subsidy, competitive procurement, privatised operation, and non-demonstration. Moreover, the effects of PPPs on UWTE were limited by the economic development level, marketisation, and climatic conditions.

Measurement(s) GDP • electricty consumption Technology Type(s) machine learning

Abstract Global warming is one of the largest challenges humankind is facing in this century, and how to achieve low-carbon economy has become one of the most attractive topics of global concern. However, evaluations of the low-carbon economy are insufficient due to limited methodologies and data availability. In this study, satellite data (i.e., night-time light data and net primary production) were employed to estimate the net economic output (neo), and ratio of neo to the GDP (reo), which can be used to assess the quantity and quality of worldwide low-carbon economies. Based on panel vector autoregression (pvar) analysis, we further discussed the drivers of neo and reo in global climate change mitigation towards a better low-carbon society. The results show that: (1) only France and the United Kingdom ranked within the top 10 in terms of the neo and reo in 2019, implying that they were successful in increasing both quantity and quality of low-carbon economic development; (2) the pvar analysis presented that the increase of reo granger-caused neo growth, and net primary production increment greatly helped raise the worldwide reo; (3) raising CO2 abatement policy stringency can play a major role in improving the quality of low carbon economy countries with poor quantity and quality, but it cannot significantly promote groups with high reo. Additionally, the results of this study also provided basic data, such as our calibrated global 1 × 1 km gridded night-time light data during 1992–2019 for research regarding low-carbon economy and other sustainable development issues.

Measurement(s) fossil fuel Technology Type(s) machine learning

Abstract Accurate, long-term, full-coverage carbon dioxide (CO2) data in units of prefecture-level cities are necessary for evaluations of CO2 emission reductions in China, which has become one of the world’s largest carbon-emitting countries. This study develops a novel method to match satellite-based Defense Meteorological Satellite Program’s Operational Landscan System (DMSP/OLS) and Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership’s Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (NPP/VIIRS) nighttime light data, and estimates the CO2 emissions of 334 prefecture-level cities in China from 1992 to 2017. Results indicated that the eastern and coastal regions had higher carbon emissions, but their carbon intensity decreased more rapidly than other regions. Compared to previous studies, we provide the most extensive and long-term CO2 dataset to date, and these data will be of great value for further socioeconomic research. Specifically, this dataset provides a foundational data source for China’s future CO2 research and emission reduction strategies. Additionally, the methodology can be applied to other regions around the world.

Objective: Although several studies report a relationship between breakfast consumption and physical fitness, results are inconsistent and lack evidence in young adults. The objective of this study was to investigate the relationship between frequency of breakfast consumption and physical fitness among college students. Methods: This cross-sectional study investigated 10,125 Chinese college students (6251 male, 3874 female participants) who underwent physical examinations in 2015. Breakfast consumption was assessed using a self-reported questionnaire. Physical fitness was evaluated by grip strength and 50-meter sprint. Results: After adjusting for confounding factors, a significantly positive association was observed between frequency of breakfast consumption and grip strength (p < .001 for both sexes). Frequent breakfast consumption also was associated with faster sprint times in male and female participants (p < .001, and .002 respectively). Conclusions: We found that frequent breakfast consumption is significantly associated with higher grip strength and faster sprint times in Chinese college students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Let H(𝔻) denote the space of all holomorphic functions on the unit disk 𝔻 of ℂ, u∈H(𝔻) and let n be a positive integer, φ a holomorphic self-map of 𝔻, and μ a weight. In this paper, we investigate the boundedness and compactness of a weighted differentiation composition operator 𝒟φ,unf(z)=u(z)f(n)(φ(z)),f∈H(𝔻), from the logarithmic Bloch spaces to the Zygmund-type spaces.