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Due to the joint influence of climate change and human activities, the hydrological rhythm of Poyang Lake has changed in recent years, leading to an increasingly severe drought problem during autumn and winter in this region. Notably, the extreme drought that occurred in 2022 had profound impacts on shipping, water supply and the ecological environment of the wetlands in the Poyang Lake Delta, sparking widespread concern. Based on the historical hydrometeorological data of Poyang Lake, we used statistical models (such as Chow test, correlation analysis, etc.) to analyze the cause of the extreme drought in the Poyang Lake Delta from the perspectives of natural factors and human activity. Through correlation analysis, we found that the water level, discharge, and drought duration of the Poyang Lake Delta were all significantly affected by climate change, particularly rainfall in the Poyang Lake basin. Furthermore, combining the results of Chow test and correlation analysis, we also found that the operation of the Three Gorges Reservoir had a notable impact on the water level of the Poyang Lake Delta. Based on remote sensing images, ecological and environmental sampling monitoring, the damage inflicted by the extreme drought event on the Poyang Lake Delta was analyzed. The results show that the inundated area of the delta wetlands in the extreme-drought year (2022) decreased by 45.75% compared with that in a normal year (2017). In addition, the ecological environment of the wetlands deteriorated significantly. The water quality parameters (TN, TP, NH4+-N) increased by 50.2%, 240% and 64.7%, respectively. The concentrations of TN and TP were 3.8 mg/L and 0.17 mg/L, respectively, while the context values in the delta were 1.2 mg/L and 0.075 mg/L. The density and biomass of algae increased by 87.2% and 557.9%, respectively. In contrast, the density and biomass of benthos decreased by 59.9% and 78.5%, respectively. The control strategy for the Poyang Lake Delta under extreme drought was studied through an experiment on the operation of hydraulic controllers. The results show that under extreme drought conditions, the newly built hydraulic controllers could raise the water level of the delta from 9.1 ± 0.7 m to 14.2 ± 1.8 m, thus effectively solving the water cut-off problem in the four branches of the delta. Furthermore, by adjusting the distributive ratio of the main, north, middle and south branches of the delta to 50%, 4%, 24% and 22% through newly built hydraulic controllers, the water area can be increased by 56%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to examine the prevalence of dental caries and periodontitis among children aged 5-12 years in Jinhua, Zhejiang province, and analyze the influencing factors of dental caries and periodontitis. A total of 280 children meeting the study criteria for a first-time oral examination were retrospectively analyzed and divided into caries (n = 190), no-caries (n = 90), periodontitis (n = 85) and non-periodontitis group (n = 195) groups based on the presence of caries or periodontitis. An analysis of general survey questionnaires and logistic regression of dental caries and periodontitis among children in different groups was conducted. Caries disease was diagnosed in 67.86% with an average decayed missing filled tooth (DMFT) of 2.94, and periodontitis was diagnosed in 30.36% of 280 children. The independent risk factors for dental caries were daily brushing habits, parental supervision (assisted) brushing, place of residence and frequency of eating desserts or beverages ( p < 0.05). Periodontitis was not related to parental education and knowledge of oral health care ( p > 0.05). Periodontitis is independent of plaque, tartar, mastery of brushing methods, regular oral examination, and gargling after meals ( p < 0.05). While daily brushing habits, parental supervision (assisted) brushing, place of residence and frequency of eating desserts or beverages were protective factors for dental caries ( p < 0.05). According to the prevalence of dental caries and periodontitis among children aged 5-12 in this area as well as the analysis of influencing factors, further effective measures can be taken to reduce the incidence of adverse influencing factors, thereby reducing the risk of dental caries and periodontitis for children., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest., (©2024 The Author(s). Published by MRE Press.)

Background and Aim: High levels of peripheral plasma fibrinogen have recently been revealed that related to poor clinical prognosis in various types of malignant tumors. The purpose of this research was to identify the prognostic significance of the preoperative peripheral serum fibrinogen level in patients with penile cell carcinoma., Methods: This retrospective research included 72 penile cancer patients with date about their serum fibrinogen value before surgery who undergone either partial or radical penectomy at The 2nd Hospital of Tianjin Medical University between January 2002 to January 2012. They had a mean follow-up of 30.8 months. To determine the factors that were significant in predicting a patient's prognosis, univariate and multivariate analyses were performed according to the Cox proportional hazards regression model., Results: The 5-year cancer specific survival (CSS) rate was 62.4% of patients with preoperative fibrinogen levels below 340 mg/dl and 41.9% for those with higher levels (p = 0.001). Multivariate analysis revealed that the pathological T stage (p < 0.001), tumor grade (p = 0.036), postoperative chemotherapy (p = 0.041), nodal metastasis(p < 0.001), pathological type (p < 0.001) and fibrinogen (p = 0.023) were independent prognostic factors for survival. Patients with low fibrinogen level (<340mg/dl) had significantly longer CSS and the different survival rate were defined using the log-rank test., Conclusions: The high preoperative peripheral serum fibrinogen level was related to poor survival in penile cancer patients. Fibrinogen may serve as a powerful predictor of CSS in penile cancer patients.