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Background: Hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (HDP) are a growing concern and a challenge for maternity care providers as the prevalence of hypertension continues to increase. However, optimal management of HDP is unclear. Therefore, we aimed to explore the differences in adverse fetal outcomes among women with different subtypes of HDP and different blood pressure (BP) levels, to provide evidence-based management of HDP. Methods: We obtained data from China's National Maternal Near-Miss Surveillance System from 2012 to 2020. Associations between BP management and adverse fetal outcomes, stratified by the four subtypes of HDP, were assessed using logistic regression analysis with a robust variance estimator. Results: For the period, a total of 393,353 pregnant women with HDP were included in the study; 8.51% had chronic hypertension, 2.27% had superimposed preeclampsia, 50.17% had preeclampsia or eclampsia, and 39.04% had gestational hypertension. The BP levels at delivery admission were mostly (61.14%) of non-severe stage 2 (systolic BP 140–159 mm Hg and/or diastolic BP 90–109 mm Hg) hypertension by American Heart Association classification. A high rate of adverse fetal outcomes was observed among women with HDP, especially among those aged < 20 or > 35 y or those diagnosed with superimposed preeclampsia. Compared with those with normal BP levels at delivery admission, we found an upward curve with increased risk among pregnant women with more severe BP levels, including the risk of preterm birth and small for gestational age (SGA) fetus. The odds ratios (ORs) of stillbirth, neonatal death, and low Apgar scores associated with severe stage 2 hypertension increased significantly. In addition, the association between BP at admission and fetal outcomes differed among women with varying HDP subtypes. Pregnant women with preeclampsia or eclampsia had an increased risk for preterm birth (adjusted OR [aOR], 1.33 [95% confidence interval {CI}, 1.07 ~ 1.65]) and SGA (aOR, 1.37 [95% CI, 1.10 ~ 1.71]) even when the admission BP was at stage 1 level. Conclusion: Greater attention should be paid to cases involving preeclampsia superimposed on chronic hypertension and pregnant women aged < 20 or > 35 y to mitigate the burden of adverse fetal outcomes caused by HDP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The low thermal conductivity of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) fabric, which affects the thermal conducting between different layers in composites, is often the weakness in the application of thick butadiene-vinylpyridine latex (BVL)/PET composite, slowing down the composites' processing efficiency and dissipation of frictional heat during operation. In this study, chelated titanate modified multilayer graphene (CTMMG) was used to functionalize butadiene-vinylpyridine latex (CTMMG-BVL), which was further applied for preparing composite to improve the thermal conductivity of PET-reinforced composite (CTMMG-BVL/PET). The static and dynamic stabilities of the CTMMG dispersion as well as thermal conductivity and electrostatic properties of the CTMMG-BVL film and CTMMG-BVL/PET composite were investigated. It was found that both static and dynamic stabilities of the CTMMG dispersion within 24 h were superior to unmodified multilayer graphene (MG) as the MG content and mass ratio of titanate to MG were 10 mg/mL and 25 %, respectively. Compared to the BVL film, the thermal conductivity and tensile strength of CTMMG-BVL film (CTMMG content: 2.19 wt%) were increased by 28.8 % and 4.5 %, respectively. The thermal conductivity of the CTMMG-BVL/PET composite was further enhanced by 48.3 % (from 2.65 to 3.93 W/(m·K)) compared to that of BVL/PET. The electrostatic property of the CTMMG-BVL film and CTMMG-BVL/PET composite was significantly improved. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) analysis indicated that the mechanism for the excellent static and dynamic stability of waterborne CTMMG dispersions was attributed to the synergistic effects of the hydrogen bond and chemical bond formed between titanate and MG. The prepared CTMMG-BVL/PET composite with excellent thermal conductivity and heat dissipation showed potential application in many fields such as aviation, transportation, and seals. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We aimed to describe the characteristics of adolescent pregnancy, determine its effect on adverse maternal and perinatal outcomes and explore whether that association varies with gestational age with the goal of proposing specific recommendations for adolescent health in China. This study included 2,366,559 women aged 10–24 years who had singleton pregnancies between 2012 and 2019 at 438 hospitals. Adolescent pregnancy was defined as younger than 20 years of age. We used multivariable logistic regression to estimate the effects. Women aged 20–24 years served as the reference group in all analyses. The proportion of rural girls with adolescent pregnancies rebounded after 2015 even though common-law marriage in rural areas decreased. Higher risks of eclampsia (adjusted odds ratio (aOR) 1.87, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.57 ~ 2.23), severe anaemia (aOR 1.18, 95% CI 1.09 ~ 1.28), maternal near miss (MNM; aOR 1.24, 95% CI 1.12 ~ 1.37), and small for gestational age (SGA; aOR 1.30, 95% CI 1.28 ~ 1.33) were observed when gestational age was > 37 weeks. Adolescent pregnancy was independently associated with increased risks of other perinatal outcomes. Further implementation of pregnancy prevention strategies and improved health care interventions are needed to reduce adolescent pregnancies and prevent adverse fertility outcomes among adolescent women in China at a time when adolescent fertility rate is rebounding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The star formation activity of the host galaxies of active galactic nuclei provides valuable insights into the complex interconnections between black hole growth and galaxy evolution. A major obstacle arises from the difficulty of estimating accurate star formation rates (SFRs) in the presence of a strong active galactic nucleus. Analyzing the 1–500 μm spectral energy distributions and high-resolution mid-infrared spectra of low-redshift (z < 0.5) Palomar–Green quasars with bolometric luminosity of ∼1044.5–1047.5 erg s−1, we find, from comparison with an independent SFR indicator based on [Ne II ] 12.81 μm and [Ne III ] 15.56 μm, that the torus-subtracted, total infrared (8–1000 μm) emission yields robust SFRs in the range of ∼1–250 M⊙ yr−1. Combined with available stellar mass estimates, the vast majority (∼75%–90%) of the quasars lie on or above the main sequence of local star-forming galaxies, including a significant fraction (∼50%–70%) that would qualify as starburst systems. This is further supported by the high star formation efficiencies derived from the gas content inferred from the dust masses. Inspection of high-resolution Hubble Space Telescope images reveals a wide diversity of morphological types, including a number of starbursting hosts that have not experienced significant recent dynamical perturbations. The origin of the high star formation efficiency is unknown. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Systolic blood pressure increased in middle-aged person contributes significantly to the risk of major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE). Meanwhile, different patterns (short- or long-term change) of SBP increase may result in differential risk and lead to differences in predictive ability. A total of 19,544 and 22,610 participants in the Fuxin Cardiovascular Cohort Study underwent measurement of SBP at 2 examinations for short- and long-term change study population. Cox proportional hazards models were used to relate future clinical outcomes with change in SBP. During a median follow-up period of 12.5 years, 1064 (772 stroke, 247 myocardial infarction, 528 CVD deaths) and 1316 (958 stroke, 301 myocardial infarction, 660 CVD deaths) MACE were identified during short- and long-terms SBP change, respectively. For SBP increased participants, short-term change in SBP was associated with future MACE (hazard ratio [HR]: 1.241 per 1-SD increase; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.146–1.344; P < 0.001), long-term change in SBP (HR: 1.218; 95% CI: 1.123–1.322; P < 0.001). For prehypertension participants, long-term changes conferred a strong impact than short-term. For hypertensive participants, short-term changes conferred a strong impact than long-term. Having a SBP rise in short- or long-term both confer an increased risk of MACE and its subgroups. Furthermore, short- and long-term SBP increase patterns adds different additional information beyond one single baseline examination. Change in SBP may be a prognostic surrogate marker and future studies are needed to clarify the possible mechanism for predicting MACE. • Having a SBP rise in short- or long-term both conferred an increased risk of MACE. • For prehypertension patients, SBP long-term change had a more powerful predictive ability than short-term change on MACE. • For hypertension patients, SBP short-term change had a more powerful predictive ability than long-term change on MACE. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 2017 American College of Cardiology and American Heart Association (ACC/AHA) hypertension guideline updated stage 1 hypertension defined as systolic blood pressure (SBP) of 130-139 mm Hg or diastolic blood pressure (DBP) of 80-89 mm Hg. However, the impact of 1 hypertension that affects future cardiovascular risk remains unclear among older adults in rural China. The prospective cohort study included 7503 adults aged ≥60 years with complete data and no cardiovascular disease (CVD) at baseline. Follow-up for the new adverse events was conducted from the end of the baseline survey to the end of the third follow-up survey (2007.01-2017.12). Cox proportional hazards models were used to estimate hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) for blood pressure (BP) classifications and adverse events with normal BP as reference (< 120/80 mm Hg). During the 57 290 person-years follow-up period, 2261 all-cause mortality, 1271 CVD mortality, 1159 stroke, and 347 myocardial infarctions (MI) occurred. Patients with stage 1 hypertension versus normal BP had HRs (95% CI) of 1.068 (0.904-1.261) for all-cause mortality, 1.304 (1.015-1.675) for CVD mortality, 1.449 (1.107-1.899) for stroke, and 1.735 (1.051-2.863) for MI, respectively. In conclusion, among adults aged ≥60 years, stage 1 hypertension revealed an increased hazard of CVD mortality, stroke, and MI, which is complementary evidence for the application of 2017 ACC/AHA hypertension guidelines in an older Chinese population. Therefore, BP control in patients with stage 1 hypertension may be beneficial to reduce the hazard of CVD in elderly Chinese individuals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Constructing an anisotropic Gaussian spot model. • Designing the spot measurement kernel to accurately estimate spot parameters. • Building the anisotropic scale-space tensor to separate overlapping spots. • Localizing subpixel spot centers via the scale-adapted anisotropic-based kernels. Spot localization is a fundamental but crucial issue in many optical applications. However, the existing approaches either have limited localization accuracy for overlapping elliptic spots or are noise-sensitive. To overcome these limitations, a novel subpixel spot localization method based on the multiscale anisotropic Gaussian tensor is proposed. Firstly, an anisotropic Gaussian spot model is developed to better describe spots under perspective projection. Then, the anisotropic scale-space tensor representation is generated to separate overlapping spots and determine the initial centers. Afterwards, the scale-adapted anisotropic Gaussian kernel and its second-order partial derivates are constructed to obtain subpixel centers. The simulation results show that the highest score of 1.00 is achieved on overlapping elliptic spot images. When estimating homography matrix, the proposed method yields the reprojection error of 0.06 pixels and is more robust to noise. Thus, the proposed method achieves robust subpixel localization for overlapping elliptic spots. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Constructing a graph-based top-down visual attention model. • Defining a novel connectivity function to construct an undirected graph. • Proposing an improved shortest path algorithm based on the redefined cost function. • Designing three saliency metrics to build a global saliency map. As a locking device, lockwire is widely used in industrial fields that produces high levels of vibration. Lockwire detection is vital for ensuring mechanical stability. However, the existing methods are inapplicable to detect all types of small-size lockwires in complex backgrounds. In this paper, we construct a graph-based top-down visual attention model via the multiscale top-hat transformation to pick out lockwires from various complex backgrounds. Since lockwires typically exhibit separated bright spot-like structures at different scales in images, we firstly construct multiscale anisotropic Gaussian structuring elements to obtain the top-hat feature map. Based on a novel connectivity function, an undirected graph is then constructed. Afterwards, we propose an improved shortest path algorithm to remove prominent complex background components and extract lockwire candidates by minimizing the redefined cost function. Taking full advantages of imaging characteristics of lockwires, we design three saliency metrics to strengthen the saliency of lockwires while weakening backgrounds. Finally, a global top-down saliency map is produced to detect lockwires from complex backgrounds by combining three saliency maps. The experimental results show that our proposed method achieves superior performance compared to state-of-the-art methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigate the dust properties in three spectroscopically anomalous galaxies (IRAS F10398+1455, IRAS F21013–0739 and SDSS J0808+3948). Their Spitzer /IRS spectra are characterized by a steep ∼5–8 μm emission continuum, strong emission bands from polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) molecules, and prominent 10 μm silicate emission. The steep ∼5–8 μm continuum and strong PAH emission features suggest the presence of starbursts, while the silicate emission is indicative of significant heating from AGNs. The simultaneous detection of these two observational properties has rarely been reported on galactic scale. We employ the PAHFIT software to estimate their starlight contributions, and the CLUMPY model for the components contributed by the AGN tori. We find that the CLUMPY model is generally successful in explaining the overall dust infrared emission, although it appears to emit too flat at the ∼5–8 μm continuum to be consistent with that observed in IRAS F10398+1455 and IRAS F21013–0739. The flat ∼5–8 μm continuum calculated from the CLUMPY model could arise from the adopted specific silicate opacity of Ossenkopf et al. (1992) which exceeds that of the Draine and Lee (1984) “astronomical silicate” by a factor up to 2 in the ∼5–8 μm wavelength range. Future models with a variety of dust species incorporated in the CLUMPY radiation transfer regime are needed for a thorough understanding of the dust properties of these spectroscopically anomalous galaxies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The lattice preferred orientation (LPO) of an anorthosite (composed of andesine) sampled from a highly deformed anorthositic mylonite (Grenville Province, Quebec) was measured by TOF neutron diffraction and SEM-EBSD. The quantitative texture analysis of neutron data was accomplished by using the Rietveld texture analysis with the WIMV algorithm, implemented in the program package Materials Analysis Using Diffraction (MAUD). The texture calculations of the EBSD data were performed by using the program BEARTEX. Analyses from neutron and electron diffraction data gave similar results if EBSD data are smoothed to account for grain statistics. The principal pole figures show (010) roughly parallel to the rock foliation, (001) poles exhibiting a low angle (∼25°) to the pole to foliation, and (100) poles close to the Y-direction (perpendicular to the lineation and foliation pole). The [100] crystallographic direction shows a maximum in the lineation direction, [010] directions concentrate near the foliation pole. The geological deformation conditions and the constructed pole figure patterns indicate that the preferred orientation could be attributed to intracrystalline slip dominantly on (010) with [100] as slip direction. Elastic properties, calculated by averaging, document weak anisotropy that has implications for the seismic structure of the lower crust. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Background: Waist circumference (WC) and uric acid (UA) are significantly related. Still, their temporal sequence and how the sequence works on future risk of triglyceride glucose (TyG) are unknown, especially in the Chinese population. Methods: Cross-lagged panel model was used to analyze the reciprocal, longitudinal relationships among a set of interrelated variables. The mediation model was constructed to test the effect of the relationship between WC and UA on TyG. Results: A total of 5727 subjects were enrolled in our study population, of which 53.5% were women, and the mean age was 59.0 (standard deviation, 8.62) years. After adjusting for traditional confounding factors, the results showed that a higher level of baseline WC was significantly associated with a higher level of follow-up UA (β = 0.003, P = 0.031) and follow-up TyG (β = 0.003, P < 0.001);. Simultaneously, there was no statistical association between the level of baseline UA and the level of follow-up WC (β = − 0.009, P = 0.951). The mediation effects of UA on WC-TyG were estimated to be 18.1% in adults, and 36.2% in women. Conclusions: The current study demonstrated that higher baseline level of WC probably preceded UA' level in general population. In addition, UA mediated the relationship of WC to TyG, especially in females. And the possible mechanism would require further clarification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. Few studies compared the effects of BP changes in short- and long-terms on all-cause mortality and CVD mortality. Methods. We performed a 12.5-year follow-up study to examine the association between short- (2008 to 2010) and long-term [baseline (2004-2006) to 2010] BP changes and the risk of mortality (2010 to 2017) in the Fuxin prospective cohort study. The Cox proportional hazards model was used for this study, and the average BP was stratified according to the Seven Joint National Committee (JNC7). Results. We identified 1496 (805 CVD deaths) and 2138 deaths (1222 CVD deaths) in short- and long-term study. Compared with BP maintainer, in short-term BP changes, for participants from normotension or prehypertension to hypertension, the hazards ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) of all-cause mortality were 1.948 (1.118-3.392) and 1.439 (1.218-1.700), respectively, while for participants from hypertension to prehypertension, the HRs (95% CIs) were 0.766 (0.638-0.899) for all-cause mortality and 0.729 (0.585-0.908) for CVD mortality, respectively. In long-term BP changes, for participants from normotension or prehypertension to hypertension, the HRs (95% CIs) of all-cause mortality were 1.738 (1.099-2.749) and 1.203 (1.023-1.414), and they were 2.351 (1.049-5.269) and 1.323 (1.047-1.672) for CVD mortality, respectively. In addition, the effects of short-term BP changes on all-cause and CVD mortality, measured as regression coefficients (β), were significantly greater than those in long-term change (all P<0.05). Conclusions. Our study emphasizes that short-term changes in BP have a greater impact on all-cause and CVD mortality than long-term changes and assess the cut-off value of the changes in blood pressure elevation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Background and aims Recent studies have shown that trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO) is a risk factor for cardiovascular disease (CVD) in different clinical settings, but few studies confirmed the association in a community-based general population. Methods This is a nested case-control study from a prospective cohort design. A total of 86 newly diagnosed CVD cases with a median follow-up period of 4.83 years and 86 matched controls were selected for the present analysis. Results Using the LC-MS/MS assays, we found that new CVD cases had a higher baseline levels of TMAO than controls [median (inter-quartile): 1.57 (0.79–2.29) μmol/L v.s 0.68 (0.23–1.40) μmol/L, p < 0.001]. After multivariable adjustment, individuals with TMAO ≥1.89 μmol/L (Q4) and 1.05–1.89 μmol/L (Q3) had odds ratio (OR) for CVD of 2.735 [95% confidence interval (CI): 1.328–5.630] and 2.544 (95% CI: 1.251–5.172) with the lowest quartile (<0.43 μmol/L) as reference. In addition, comparisons of areas under receiver operator characteristics curves confirmed that a model including TMAO had a better discrimination than one without (0.732 vs. 0.664, p = 0.045). Conclusions In the community-based general population, there was a positive association between TMAO and future risk of CVD. Addition of TMAO improved the prediction of CVD beyond traditional risk factors. We recommend considering TMAO as a potential novel preventive target in the management of low-risk CVD adults. Graphical abstract Image 1 Highlights • TMAO has a dose-dependent relationship with risk of CVD in the general population. • Addition of TMAO significantly improved the predictive ability of CVD risk. • TMAO is a potential novel preventive target for low-risk CVD adults. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, more than 300 sets of Trouble of Running Freight Train Detection Systems (TFDSs) have been installed on railway to monitor the safety of running freight trains in China. However, TFDS is simply responsible for capturing, transmitting, and storing images, and fails to recognize faults automatically. Motivated by the success of convolutional neural networks (CNNs) in the tasks of image recognition, this paper makes essential use of CNN models and proposes an automatic fault recognition system (AFRS) for recognizing four typical faults in TFDS simultaneously. AFRS is a two-stage system: In the first stage, a coarse-to-fine scheme based on CNN model is adopted to detect the target regions of side frame keys (SFKs) and shaft bolts (SBs) simultaneously. In the second stage, we establish another CNN model for multi-fault determination to recognize four typical faults emerged in the target regions of SFKs and SBs. The experimental results show that this system has an excellent performance of multi-fault recognition in TFDS. High recognition accuracy rates, low false ratios and low omission ratios are obtained for all the four typical faults, demonstrating the high recognition ability and robustness against various low quality imaging situations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The goal of this study was to investigate whether pregnancy complications are associated with an increased risk of uterine rupture (UR) and how that risk changes with gestational age. Methods: We obtained all data from China's National Maternal Near Miss Surveillance System (NMNMSS) between 2012 and 2018. Poisson regression analysis was used to assess the risk of UR with pregnancy complications (preeclampsia, gestational diabetes mellitus, placental abruption, placenta previa and placenta percreta) among 9,454,239 pregnant women. Furthermore, we analysed the risks of UR with pregnancy complications in different gestational age groups. Results: The risk of UR was increased 2.0-fold (1.2-fold to 2.7-fold) in women with pregnancy complications (except for preeclampsia). These associations also persisted in women without a previous caesarean delivery. Moreover, an increased risk of UR before term birth was observed among women with gestational diabetes mellitus, placental abruption and placenta percreta. The risk of UR was slightly higher in women with gestational diabetes mellitus who had a large for gestational age (LGA) foetus, especially at 32 to 36 weeks gestation. Conclusions: The risk of UR is associated with gestational diabetes mellitus, placental abruption, placenta previa and placenta percreta, but varies in different gestational ages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: With the development of assisted reproductive technology, the twinning rate in China has been increasing. However, little is known about twinning from 2014 onwards. In addition, previous studies analysing optimal gestational times have rarely considered maternal health conditions. Therefore, whether maternal health conditions affect the optimal gestational time remains unclear.Methods: Data of women delivered between January 2012 and December 2020 were collected through China's National Maternal Near Miss Surveillance System. Interrupted time series analysis was used to determine the rates of twinning, stillbirth, smaller than gestational age (SGA), and low Apgar scores (< 4) among twins in China. To estimate the risk of each adverse perinatal outcome for separate gestational weeks, a multivariate generalised linear model was used. Infants born at 37 weeks of gestational age or foetuses staying in utero were used as reference separately. The analyses were adjusted for the sampling distribution of the population and the cluster effect at the hospital and individual levels were considered.Results: There were 442,268 infants enrolled in this study, and the adjusted rates for twinning, stillbirth, SGA, and low Apgar scores were 3.10%, 1.75%, 7.70%, and 0.79%, respectively. From 2012 to 2020, the twinning rate showed an increasing trend. Adverse perinatal outcomes, including stillbirth, SGA, and low Apgar scores showed a decreasing trend. A gestational age between 34 and 36 weeks decreased most for rate of stillbirth (average changing rate -9.72%, 95% confidence interval [CI] -11.41% to -8.00%); and a gestational age of between 37 and 38 weeks decreased most for rates of SGA (average changing rate -4.64%, 95% CI -5.42% to -3.85%) and low Apgar scores (average changing rate -17.61%, 95% CI -21.73% to -13.26%). No significant difference in changes in twinning rate or changes of each perinatal outcome was observed during periods of different fertility policies. Infants born at 37 weeks of gestation had a decreased risk of stillbirth, SGA, and low Apgar scores. Maternal antepartum or medical complications increased the risk of SGA and low Apgar scores in different gestational weeks.Conclusion: China's twinning rate showed an increasing trend, while adverse perinatal outcomes decreased from 2012 to 2020. Fertility policy changes have had little effect on the twinning rate or the rate of adverse perinatal outcomes such as stillbirth, SGA, or low Apgar scores. The optimal gestational age for twins was 37 weeks. Women pregnant with twins and with antepartum or medical complications should be cautious due to an increased risk of SGA and low Apgar scores. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The goal of this study was to investigate whether pregnancy complications are associated with an increased risk of uterine rupture (UR) and how that risk changes with gestational age.Methods: We obtained all data from China's National Maternal Near Miss Surveillance System (NMNMSS) between 2012 and 2018. Poisson regression analysis was used to assess the risk of UR with pregnancy complications (preeclampsia, gestational diabetes mellitus, placental abruption, placenta previa and placenta percreta) among 9,454,239 pregnant women. Furthermore, we analysed the risks of UR with pregnancy complications in different gestational age groups.Results: The risk of UR was increased 2.0-fold (1.2-fold to 2.7-fold) in women with pregnancy complications (except for preeclampsia). These associations also persisted in women without a previous caesarean delivery. Moreover, an increased risk of UR before term birth was observed among women with gestational diabetes mellitus, placental abruption and placenta percreta. The risk of UR was slightly higher in women with gestational diabetes mellitus who had a large for gestational age (LGA) foetus, especially at 32 to 36 weeks gestation.Conclusions: The risk of UR is associated with gestational diabetes mellitus, placental abruption, placenta previa and placenta percreta, but varies in different gestational ages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is unclear whether there are different body mass index (BMI) trajectories among a population with normal BMI levels, and the association between BMI patterns and incident hypertension is not well characterized. This prospective cohort study includes surveys conducted at baseline and three follow-ups. 3939 participants who are free of hypertension at baseline or first two follow-ups were enrolled. At baseline, the age of participants ranged from 35 to 82 years and the mean age was 45.9 years. The BMI trajectories were identified using latent mixture modeling with data from the baseline and first two follow-ups. The effects of different BMI trajectories on the development of hypertension were analyzed using a Cox proportional hazard model. Four distinct BMI trajectories were identified over the study period (2004-2010): normal-stable (n = 1456), normal-increasing (n = 2159), normal-fluctuated (n = 166), and normal-sharp-increasing (n = 158). Relative to the normal-stable BMI group, the hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) after adjustment for confounding factors of the normal-increasing, normal-fluctuated, and normal-sharp-increasing groups were 1.244 (1.103-1.402), 1.331 (1.008-1.756), and 1.641 (1.257-2.142), respectively. Additionally, subgroup analysis showed that the normal-fluctuated BMI trajectory was associated with a significantly higher risk of hypertension only in women (HR = 1.362; 95% CI = 1.151-1.611). The BMI trajectories were significant predictors of hypertension incidence, and increasing BMI trajectories within the currently designated normal range were associated with an increased hypertension risk, especially in women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Currently, there are no studies on changes in the incidence of uterine rupture or maternal and foetal outcomes in women with uterine rupture during different birth policy periods in China. Moreover, the results of association studies of maternal age, parity and previous caesarean section number with the risk of maternal and foetal outcomes in women with uterine rupture have not been consistent. This research aims to conduct and discuss the above two aspects.Methods: We included singleton pregnant women with no maternal complications other than uterine rupture from January 2012 to June 2019 in China's National Maternal Near Miss Surveillance System. The data in this study did not differentiate between complete and partial uterine rupture and uterine dehiscence. Through Poisson regression analysis with a robust variance estimator, we compared the incidences of uterine rupture and maternal and foetal outcomes in women with uterine rupture during different birth policy periods in China and determined the relationship between maternal age, parity or previous caesarean section number and uterine rupture or maternal and foetal outcomes in women with uterine rupture.Results: This study included 8,637,723 pregnant women. The total incidences of uterine rupture were 0.13% (12,934) overall, 0.05% during the one-child policy, 0.12% during the partial two-child policy (aRR = 1.96; 95% CI: 1.53-2.52) and 0.22% (aRR = 2.89; 95% CI: 1.94 4.29) during the universal two-child policy. The maternal near miss and stillbirth rates in women with uterine rupture were respectively 2.35% (aRR = 17.90; 95% CI: 11.81-27.13) and 2.12% (aRR = 4.10; 95% CI: 3.19 5.26) overall, 5.46 and 8.18% during the first policy, 1.72% (aRR = 0.60; 95% CI: 0.32-1.17) and 2.02% (aRR = 0.57; 95% CI: 0.37-0.83) during the second policy, and 1.99% (aRR = 0.90; 95% CI: 0.52-1.53) and 1.04% (aRR = 0.36; 95% CI: 0.24-0.54) during the third policy. The risk of uterine rupture increased with parity and previous caesarean section number.Conclusion: The uterine rupture rate in China continues to increase among different birth policy periods, and the risk of maternal near miss among women with uterine rupture has not significantly improved. The Chinese government, obstetricians, and scholars should work together to reverse the rising rate of uterine rupture and improve the pregnancy outcomes in women with uterine rupture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: To examine the association between the Apgar score and neonatal mortality over gestational age in China and to explore whether this association changed when Apgar scores were combined at 1 and 5 min.Methods: Data for all singleton live births collected from 438 hospitals between 2012 and 2016 were used in this study. Poisson regression with a robust variance estimator adjusted for a complete set of confounders was used to describe the strength of the association between the Apgar score and neonatal mortality.Results: The relative risks of neonatal death-associated intermediate Apgar score at 5 min peaked at 39-40 weeks of gestation and subsequently decreased if the gestational age increased to 42 weeks or above, in contrast to the low Apgar score. Among both preterm and term new-borns with Apgar scores at 5 min, new-borns that were not small for gestational age had a lower mortality rate than those that were small for gestational age. The association between Apgar score and the neonatal mortality was even stronger when scores at 1 and 5 min were combined.Conclusions: Apgar score is not only meaningful for preterm new-borns but also useful for term new-borns, especially term new-borns that are not small for gestational age. Once the baby's Apgar score worsens, timely intervention is needed. There is still a gap between China and high-income countries in terms of sustained treatment of new-borns with low Apgar scores. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to assess the impact of the 2017 American College of Cardiology and American Heart Association (ACC/AHA) guideline and the 2018 Chinese hypertension guidelines on the different secular trends for hypertension prevalence. A total of 82 665 eligible individuals aged ≥20 years were selected from nine cross‐sectional study periods (1991‐2015) from the China Health and Nutrition Survey (CHNS). Over the 24‐year period, the long‐term trend for the prevalence of the 2017 ACC/AHA‐defined age‐adjusted hypertension showed an increase from 32.2% (95% confidence interval (CI): 31.0%‐33.3%) in 1991 to 60.0% (95% CI: 58.6%‐61.3%) in 2015 (Ptrend < 0.001). According to the 2018 Chinese guideline for hypertension, the weighted hypertension prevalence increased from 10.0% (95% CI: 9.4%‐10.5%) in 1991 to 28.7% (95% CI: 27.9%‐29.6%) in 2015 (Ptrend < 0.001). However, slopes of increasing prevalence of hypertension were significantly greater according to the 2017 ACC/AHA guideline than that based on Joint National Committee (JNC 7) report (β = 1.00% vs β = 0.67% per year, respectively, P = 0.041). Based on the 2017 ACC/AHA definition, the prevalence of stage 1 hypertension and elevated blood pressure significantly increase from 22.3% and 6.9% in 1991 to 31.2% and 10.1% in 2015 (all P < 0.05), respectively. The secular trend for the prevalence of hypertension according to the 2017 ACC/AHA guideline showed a greater rate of increase compared with the prevalence based on the 2018 Chinese hypertension guidelines. Public health initiatives should focus on the current status of hypertension in China because of the possible high prevalence of hypertension and concomitant vascular risks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The tori around active galactic nuclei (AGN) are potential formation sites for large amounts of dust, and they may help resolve the so-called dust budget crisis at high redshift. We investigate the dust composition in 53 of the 87 Palomar Green (PG) quasars showing the 9.7 μ m silicate feature in emission. By simultaneously fitting the mid-infrared spectroscopic features and the underlying continuum, we estimate the mass fraction in various amorphous and crystalline dust species. We find that the dust consists predominantly of alumina and amorphous silicates, with a small fraction in crystalline form. The mean crystallinity is 8 ± 6%, with more than half of the crystallinities greater than 5%, well above the upper limit determined for the Galaxy. Higher values of crystallinity are found for higher oxide fractions and for more luminous sources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The single-view perspective projection model of a pipe with constant diameter is established. • Projected axis extraction method based on two facing apparent contours is developed. • A trinocular vision system is adopted to realize the 3D reconstruction of pipe axis. • After the pipe axis is reconstructed, the pipe radius can also be measured. In perspective projection images, apparent contours are important bases for recovering the three-dimensional (3D) shapes of constant diameter pipes (CDP). In order to complete the 3D reconstruction of CDP under perspective projection, this article first analyzes the single-view perspective projection model of CDP in detail. On this basis, coupled point pairs searching and projected axis extraction methods based on two facing apparent contours are proposed. After that, stereo vision technology is adopted to realize the 3D reconstruction of axis and the measurement of radius. Finally, the experiments with both synthetic and real data show that the proposed method has higher CDP reconstruction accuracy compared with the conventional method processed under orthogonal projection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: To examine the association between the Apgar score and neonatal mortality over gestational age in China and to explore whether this association changed when Apgar scores were combined at 1 and 5 min. Methods: Data for all singleton live births collected from 438 hospitals between 2012 and 2016 were used in this study. Poisson regression with a robust variance estimator adjusted for a complete set of confounders was used to describe the strength of the association between the Apgar score and neonatal mortality. Results: The relative risks of neonatal death-associated intermediate Apgar score at 5 min peaked at 39–40 weeks of gestation and subsequently decreased if the gestational age increased to 42 weeks or above, in contrast to the low Apgar score. Among both preterm and term new-borns with Apgar scores at 5 min, new-borns that were not small for gestational age had a lower mortality rate than those that were small for gestational age. The association between Apgar score and the neonatal mortality was even stronger when scores at 1 and 5 min were combined. Conclusions: Apgar score is not only meaningful for preterm new-borns but also useful for term new-borns, especially term new-borns that are not small for gestational age. Once the baby's Apgar score worsens, timely intervention is needed. There is still a gap between China and high-income countries in terms of sustained treatment of new-borns with low Apgar scores. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BzSe-Cy is a small-molecule fluorescent probe containing Se, which can respond reversibly to changes in ONOO−or reduced ascorbate and exhibit high sensitivity and selectivity for ONOO−. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Few studies investigate sex difference in stroke incidence in rural China hypertensive population. Methods: A total of 5097 hypertensive patients aged ≥35 years (mean age, 56.3 ± 11.2 years; 43.8% men) were included in our analysis with a median follow-up 8.4 years in Fuxin county of Liaoning province in China. Cox proportional hazard models were used to analyze the association between the potential factors and incident stroke. Results: We observed 501 new strokes (310 ischemic, 186 hemorrhagic, and 5 unclassified stroke) during the follow-up. The overall incidence of stroke was 1235.21 per 100,000 person-years; for men, the rates were 1652.51 and 920.80 for women. This sex difference in all stroke can be explained by approximately 25% through age, systolic blood pressure, body mass index, low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol, current smoking, current drinking, antihypertensive drugs, education and physical activity. Subgroup analysis indicated that in hemorrhagic stroke this sex difference was more remarkable (63.89% can be explained). Conclusions: The incidence of stroke was higher in men than that in women and this difference was partly explained by several traditional cardiovascular risk factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Studies have shown that non-traditional lipid profiles have a better association with stroke than traditional blood lipids in clinical applications, other studies have drawn different conclusions. Methods: This study was a large-scale study with a median follow-up of 8.4 years. The hazard ratio (HR) and 95% Confidence interval (CI) of lipid variables for risk of incident stroke were analyzed by multivariable Cox proportional hazard models. Results: During the follow-up, 502 new strokes (310 ischemic, 187 hemorrhagic, and 5 unclassified strokes) occurred among the 5099 hypertensive patients. Comparing with the lowest quarter, the HR of future ischemic stroke (IS) in the highest were 1.41(95%CI, 1.03–1.92) for TC, 1.60 (95%CI, 1.15–2.22) for TG, 1.03 (95%CI, 0.75–1.42) for HDL-C, 1.77 (95%CI, 1.29–2.44) for LDL-C, 1.42 (95%CI, 1.03–1.94) for non-HDL, 2.09 (95%CI, 1.45–3.00) for TC/HDL, 2.08 (95%CI, 1.46–2.96) for LDL/HDL, 1.86 (95%CI 1.33–2.60) for TG/HDL, respectively. No significant association was observed between lipid-related indicators and hemorrhagic stroke. The results of statistical differences showed that the correlation between LDL/HDL and the risk of ischemic stroke in non-traditional lipids was higher than that of other traditional lipids (P < 0.001), except for LDL (P = 0.056). Conclusions: We didn't find that HDL was associated with the risk of stroke and all the lipid parameters were not associated with the risk of hemorrhagic stroke. LDL/HDL was associated with a higher risk of ischemic stroke than other lipids and should be considered for clinical diagnosis and future disease prevention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]