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Background & Aims: Chronic hepatitis B (CHB) can cause liver fibrosis and lead to cirrhosis even cancer, antiviral therapy can reverse liver fibrosis with limited effect, thus we aimed to evaluate the effect of An-Luo-Hua-Xian pill (ALHX) on fibrosis regression in CHB patients treated with ETV.Methods: Treatment naïve patients with CHB from Oct 1st, 2013 to Dec 31st, 2020 were randomly treated with ETV alone or combined with ALHX (ETV+ALHX). Patients’ demographic, laboratory and liver histology data before and after 78 weeks of treatment were collected. Ishak fibrosis score (F) was used and fibrosis regression means F decreased ≥1 after treatment.Results: In total, 394 patients with a second liver biopsy after treatment were included in per-protocol population: 132 patients in ETV group and 262 patients in ETV+ALHX group. After 78 weeks of treatment, the fibrosis regression rate in the ETV+ALHX group were significantly higher than ETV group in baseline F≥3 patients: 124/211 (58.8%) verse 45/98 (45.9%), p=0.035. The degradation rate of liver stiffness measurement (LSM) is also consistent with it: 154/262 (73.0%) in ETV+ALHX group and 60/132 (61.2%) in ETV group, p=0.037. Logistic regression analysis showed that combined with ALHX was related to fibrosis regression (OR=1.94, p=0.018), and family history of hepatocellular carcinoma was on the contrary (OR=0.41, p=0.031).Conclusions: ETV combined with ALHX can significantly increase liver fibrosis regression in CHB patients.

For slender structures (for example larger aspect ratio wing or fuselage), when they are under loads, the in-plane cross-section shape of these structures remains unchanged. Using this feature, in this paper, a new method called super-element method (SEM) is proposed with the hypothesis of in-plane rigidity. The stiffness matrix of one super-element which has reduced degrees of freedom compared with FEM is derived and they are assembled together to get the stiffness matrix of whole structure. Then through the boundary conditions, the stress and displacement distribution can be calculated out. Calculation analysis of three examples reveals the validity and feasibility of super-element method.

Thermally induced vibration (TIV) of composite laminate subjected to suddenly applied heating is studied using finite element (FE) method in this paper. Some Python programs written by the authors are used to process the data of the analysis flow, and complete the pre- and post-process of FE models used in the four analyses. An equivalent displacement method is proposed to calculate equivalent temperature load. Dynamic responses of six composite laminates with different sizes are analyzed with solid FE models and shell FE models. The results gotten by FE method are in close proximity to that gotten by classic theory and shear theory under certain conditions. It is proved that the TIV analysis method proposed in this paper is reliable and efficient. The TIV analysis with FE method based on equivalent displacement method can solve the dynamic response of a structure due to sudden changes of temperature or suddenly applied heating.

Experiment and Finite element analysis were used to study the strengths of composite laminates with and without holes. Finite element progressive damage analysis with Tsai-Wu criteria was applied to calculate the compressive residual strength of composite laminate. Abaqus and its user subroutine USDFLD were used for the finite element analysis. Tsai-Wu criteria as the failure criteria was realized in USDFLD as a Fortran program segment, and the stiffness degradation for the damaged elements was also realized by USDFLD. Analytic results gotten by progressive damage method were very close to the experimental results.

Aim: The purpose of this study was to broadly assess the level of knowledge, attitude and behaviors related to sexual and reproductive health (SRH) among unmarried female migrants in China. Material and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted and a self-administered questionnaire was designed for collecting information on SRH including 15 items for knowledge, 8 items for attitude and some items for contraception and abortion related behaviors. Results: A total of 1690 unmarried female migrants were interviewed. Most of the respondents had less knowledge of SRH. Only one-third of respondents was aware of emergency contraceptives and could freely talk about SRH with their friends. Over one-third of respondents were not willing to come into contact with someone with AIDS or STDs. In this study, 10.4% participants had an unwanted pregnancy and 95% of them had an abortion. Multivariate analysis showed that having a boyfriend, duration of employment in city, knowledge on SRH and freely discussing SRH with peer were associated with having premarital sex among these unmarried female migrants. Conclusion: This study revealed that the unmarried female migrant was one of the most vulnerable groups concerning SRH. In some policy reforms, appropriate and cost-effective SRH services should be provided for these migrants.

Background Considerable sexual and reproductive health (SRH) challenges have been reported among rural-to-urban migrants in China. Predictors thereof are urgently needed to develop targeted interventions.Study design A cross-sectional study assessed determinants of unmet need for contraception using semi-structured interviews in two cities in China: Guangzhou and Qingdao.Results Between July and September 2008, 4867 female rural-to-urban migrants aged 18-29 years participated in the study. Of these, 2264 were married or cohabiting. Among sexually-active women (n = 2513), unmet need for contraception was reported by 36.8% and 51.2% of respondents in Qingdao and Guangzhou, respectively; it was associated with being unmarried, having no children, less schooling, poor SRH knowledge, working in non-food industry, and not being covered by health insurance. A substantial proportion of unmarried migrants reported they had sexual intercourse (16.6 % in Qingdao and 21.4% in Guangzhou) contrary to current sexual standards in China.Conclusion The study emphasises the importance of improving the response to the needs of rural-to-urban migrants and recommends strategies to address the unmet need for contraception. These should enhance open communication on sexuality, increase the availability of condoms, and improve health insurance coverage.

The iterative optimization method of using equivalent model is used to design launch vehicle payload bearing structure—composite cross beam. The strategy is based on the idea of the substitution of equivalent models for detailed models. Using the engineering software Patran/Nastran, optimization finds geometry of cross-sectional with a minimum weight and stacking sequences satisfying laminate design rules. Equivalent model method can decrease numbers of design variable as well as ensures reliability of result. The strategy showed weight savings of 38% compared with the initial design with little computational effort. This has demonstrated that the strategy appears efficient, reliable and extendable into the cross beam structure.

Poor sexual and reproductive health status has been reported among rural-to-urban migrants in China. Therefore, some effective and feasible interventions are urgently needed. The authors developed a workplace-based intervention to compare 2 young labor migrant service packages (A and B) on the knowledge, attitude related to contraception, and contraceptive use among unmarried male migrants in Chengdu. Fourteen construction sites were randomly assigned to either of the 2 intervention packages. Interventions were completed in 3 months, and data were collected in 2 rounds independently (before and after interventions). After the intervention, the median scores for knowledge and attitude in migrants in package B were significantly higher than in migrants in package A. Although migrants in both packages increased use of condom, the increase was pronounced in migrants in package B, with odds ratio (OR) = 9.65 (95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.41-66.28). The rate of unwanted pregnancies was reduced more significantly in migrants in package B than in migrants in package A (OR = 0.16; 95%CI = 0.03-0.45). Unmarried male migrants who received the comprehensive intervention (package B) were more willing to use condoms and avoid unwanted pregnancies effectively.

Objective The objective of this study was to investigate the current sexual and reproductive health (SRH) status including SRH-related knowledge and associated factors, self-reported symptoms of reproductive tract infection (RTI), medical assistance seeking behavior, sexual experience and contraceptive use, reproductive information approach and reproductive service utilization among female migrant workers in Huangpu district, Guangzhou city, China. Study design A cross-sectional study was conducted in 2008 in eight factories, which were selected randomly from 32 eligible factories in the Huangpu district in Guangzhou. Descriptive statistics were used to describe the SRH status of migrant workers. Factors associated with the level of SRH knowledge were determined by a logistic regression model. Results Of 1346 female migrant workers, 831(61.7%) were unmarried and 515 (38.3%) were married. 27.2% of the unmarried respondents and 40.2% of the married respondents had suffered self-reported RTI symptoms. Among unmarried respondents, the median knowledge score was 5 points, compared to 8 points for the married. For unmarried migrant workers, factors associated with the knowledge level were age, education level, access to SRH information and service, sexual experiences and RTI symptoms. For married migrant workers, factors associated with the knowledge level were age, education level, access to SRH services and RTI symptoms. Conclusions A high prevalence of self-reported RTI symptoms and a low knowledge level were found among young female migrant workers. Unmarried migrant workers are more vulnerable to SRH problems. Those findings demand more specific interventions targeting female migrants and in particular the unmarried.

A novel receiver-buffer-driven layered quality adap- tation mechanism is proposed for multimedia streaming over the Internet. The receiver constantly monitors its buffer occupancy and initiates quality adaptation by sending back the request command to the sender when its buffer occupancy is out of range. The sender then adjusts the quality and the amount of layered multimedia packets to be sent out according to the requests. Simulation results show that by using the proposed mechanism, a steady buffer occupancy and overall quality improvement for the multimedia streams can be achieved. Moreover, an efficient utilization of network resources is ensured by using the spare time in the time window to transmit more higher level enhancement layer packets.

Cancer deaths determined from national vital statistics in Canadian ('Chinese') immigrants who were born in mainland China, Hong Kong or Taiwan were compared with those in the Canadian-born population. Standardized mortality ratios (SMR) based on 1981 census data and on 755 deaths among 81,740 Chinese males and 586 deaths among 83,965 females during 1980-1984, showed that the overall cancer mortality in Chinese males (SMR 141), and females (SMR 116), was significantly higher than in the Canadian-born. Moreover, SMR varied by cancer site and showed a pattern of risks similar to those reported for foreign-born Chinese in the USA: strikingly high SMR for nasopharynx and liver or gallbladder in males and females; high ratios for stomach, intestines or colon, rectum, and lung, but a low ratio for prostate in males; and high ratios for lung and cervix uteri but low ratios for breast and ovary in females. These findings indicate that useful studies on cancer mortality could be carried out in Canadian Chinese.

Diurnal birth patterns in the City of Guangzhou, China and the City of Calgary in Canada were compared. Chinese data were abstracted from the labor room log book of one large general hospital located in the Hai Zhu district of Guangzhou. Calgary birth data were abstracted from birth notification forms submitted to Calgary Health Services. Information included day of birth, time of delivery, type of delivery and parity. Calgary births are concentrated on Tuesdays to Fridays whereas in Guangzhou weekly patterns varied tremendously according to whether it was assisted or unassisted. Calgary births are below average at night and during evening shift. The time of birth in Guangzhou varied substantially with above average rates for non-assisted births noted at 0800-2400 h, and above average rates for assisted births noted at 0800-1700 h. Differences in hour of birth appeared to be related to obstetric intervention practices. Knowledge of birthing patterns are useful for effective hospital management.Diurnal birth patterns in the City of Guangzhou, China and the City of Calgary, Canada were compared. Chinese data were abstracted from the labor room log book of 1 large general hospital located in the Hai Zhu district of Guangzhou. Calgary birth data were abstracted from birth notification forms submitted to Calgary Health Services. Information included day of birth, time of delivery, type of delivery, and parity. Calgary births are concentrated on Tuesdays to Fridays whereas in Guangzhou weekly patterns varied tremendously according to whether it was assisted or unassisted. Calgary births are below average at night and during evening shift. The time of birth in Guangzhou variied substantially with above average rates for nonassisted births noted at 0800--2400 h, and above average rates for assisted births noted at 0800--1700 h. Differences in hour of birth appeared to be related to obstetric intervention practices. Several implications arise from the observations. 1st, better knowledge of birthing patterns could be used to help hospitals establish an appropriate schedule for personnel in the obstetric ward. The concern with safety combined with the reported increase in neonatal mortality associated with birth buring the night has been cited as a reason to examine the pattern. 2nd, considering the poor understanding of the normal physiological factors initiating labor, can the possible consequences of shifting birth patterns from a nighttime phenomenon to a daytime phenomenon be ignored? An explanation for these weekly and diurnal patterns, can, in a strict sense, only be speculative. Nevertheless, they do seem to suggest, especially in the case of assisted deliveries, that the pattern of birth appears to be related to the 24-h work rhythem of hospital personnel, especially in the Calgary hospitals.

Background The sexual and reproductive health (SRH) knowledge and attitudes of female migrant workers are far from optimum in China. A worksite-based intervention program on SRH-related knowledge, attitude and practice (SRH KAP) modification may be an effective approach to improve the SRH status among migrant workers. This study aimed to identify better intervention approaches via the implementation and evaluation of two intervention packages. Methods: A worksite-based cluster-randomised intervention study was conducted from June to December 2008 in eight factories in Guangzhou, China. There were 1346 female migrant workers who participated in this study. Factories were randomly allocated to the standard package of interventions group (SPIG) or the intensive package of interventions group (IPIG). Questionnaires were administered to evaluate the effect of two interventions. Results: SRH knowledge scores were higher at follow up than at baseline for all participants of the SPIG; the knowledge scores increased from 6.50 (standard deviation (s.d.) 3.673) to 8.69 (s.d. 4.085), and from 5.98 (s.d. 3.581) to 11.14 (s.d. 3.855) for IPIG; SRH attitude scores increased among unmarried women: the attitude scores changed from 4.25 (s.d. 1.577) to 4.46 (s.d. 1.455) for SPIG, and from 3.99 (s.d. 1.620) to 4.64 (s.d. 1.690) for IPIG; most SRH-related practice was also modified (P