[A prospective multi-center clinical investigation of HIV-negative pulmonary cryptococcosis in China]

Objective: To investigate the current status of the diagnosis and treatment of pulmonary cryptococcosis in respiratory medicine and improve the understanding of the clinical characteristics of HIV-negative pulmonary cryptococcosis in China. Methods: A prospective multi-center open cohort study was designed to screen for pulmonary cryptococcosis in the general wards and intensive care units of the Department of Respiratory Diseases in 22 hospitals. The HIV-negative patients with positive cryptococcal etiological diagnosis based on smear culture, antigen detection and histopathology were enrolled in the study. The clinical data of enrolled patients were collected and analyzed. Results: A total of 457 cases of pulmonary cryptococcosis were enrolled, among which 3.28% (15/457) were disseminated infections. The case fatality rate was 0.88% (4/457). The majority of the cases were diagnosed by histopathological examinations (74.40%, 340/457) and cryptococcus antigen detection (37.64%, 172/457). Patients with pulmonary cryptococcosis accounted for 2.04‰ (457/223 748) of the total hospitalized patients in the Department of Respiratory Diseases during the same period, and the ratio was the highest in south and east China. Meanwhile, 70.24% (321/457) of the patients had no underlying diseases, while 87.75% (401/457) were found to have immunocompetent status. Cough and expectoration were the most common clinical symptoms in patients with pulmonary cryptococcosis. However, 25.16% (115/457) of the patients had no clinical symptom or physical signs. In terms of imaging features on pulmonary CT, multiple pulmonary lesions were more common than isolated lesions, and there were more subpleural lesions than perihilar or medial lesions. Morphologically, most of the lesions were middle-sized nodules (1-5 cm) or small-sized nodules (3 mm to 1 cm). The sensitivity of serum cryptococcus antigen test was 71.99% (203/282). Moreover, antigen-positive patients differed from antigen-negative patients in terms of basic immune status, clinical symptoms, imaging features and infection types. Meanwhile, immunocompromised patients differed from immunocompetent patients in terms of clinical symptoms, physical signs, infection-related inflammation indicator levels, imaging features, serum cryptococcus antigen positive rate and prognosis. Conclusions: The majority of cases of HIV-negative pulmonary cryptococcosis in China had no underlying disease or immunocompromised status, and the overrall prognosis was favorable. However, early diagnosis of HIV-negative pulmonary cryptococcosis remains challenging due to the complicated manifestations of the disease.

Unveiling Carbon Emission Attributions along Sale Chains

Substantial anthropogenic emissions have resulted in serious environmental problems in China. Direct emissions and demand-pulled emissions along the supply chains have been extensively investigated. However, understanding the mechanism of how the sectoral emission is transferred through production activities along the sale chains at different production layers remains a challenge. In this paper, a top-down multilayer emission attribution model is developed to unveil the metabolism of multilayer input-driven emissions. For the first time, a diagramming approach enables the exhaustive depiction of the connections between primary input attributions and final production attributions, which allows accurate reallocation of the emission responsibilities to sectors at different production layers. Individual sale chain paths and supply chain paths have been extracted and ranked according to the contributions of emissions. A four-perspective comparison of sectoral emissions (i.e., direct emissions along sale chains, enabled emissions, direct emissions along the supply chains, and embodied emissions) is assessed. We find that at multiple production layers, sectoral direct emissions along the sale chains differ greatly from direct emissions along the supply chains. By comprehensively considering providers, consumers, and producers within a metabolic system, policy-makers should encourage upstream sectors to improve their cleaner production technologies and downstream sectors to adjust their industrial structures.

R2R3-MYB Transcription Factor NtMYB330 Regulates Proanthocyanidin Biosynthesis and Seed Germination in Tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum L.)

Proanthocyanidins (PAs) are important phenolic compounds and PA biosynthesis is regulated by a ternary MBW complex consisting of a R2R3-MYB regulator, a bHLH factor and a WDR protein. In this study, a tobacco R2R3-MYB factor NtMYB330 was characterized as the PA-specific regulator in which the PA biosynthesis was promoted in the flowers of NtMYB330-overexpressing lines while decreased in the flowers of ntmyb330 mutants. NtMYB330 can interact with flavonoid-related bHLH partner NtAn1b and WDR protein NtAn11-1, and the NtMYB330-NtAn1b complex is required to achieve strong transcriptional activation of the PA-related structural genes NtDFR1, NtANS1, NtLAR1 and NtANR1. Our data reveal that NtMYB330 regulates PA biosynthesis in seeds and affects seed germination, in which NtMYB330-overexpressing lines showed higher PA accumulations in seed coats and inhibited germination, while ntmyb330 mutants had reduced seed coat PAs and improved germination. NtMYB330 affects seed germination possibly through two mechanisms: modulating seed coat PAs to affect coat-imposed dormancy. In addition, NtMYB330 regulates the expressions of abscisic acid (ABA) and gibberellin acid (GA) signaling-related genes, affecting ABA-GA crosstalk and seed germination. This study reveals that NtMYB330 specifically regulates PA biosynthesis via formation of the MBW complex in tobacco flowers and affects germination through adjustment of PA concentrations and ABA/GA signaling in tobacco seeds.

Removal of arsenic from water through ceramic filter modified by nano-CeO2: A cost-effective approach for remote areas

The groundwater with high arsenic concentration is widespread, especially in many remote areas of developing countries. Arsenic existing in drinking water sources has a high risk to human health. In this study, an innovative effort to remove As(V) from water using ceramic filters functionalized with CeO₂ nanocomposites (CF-CeO₂) was investigated. Considering removal efficiency and flow rate, the suitable coating amount of CeO₂ was determined for the production of CF-CeO₂. Based on the factorial analysis, influent arsenic concentration and pH were found to be significant factors in As(V) removal. Furthermore, CF-CeO₂ exhibited a good removal capability over a wide pH range and was insensitive to the change of background electrolyte concentration. In the treatment of natural water, the existence of medium and low turbidity levels facilitated As(V) removing, while the high turbidity level exhibited the opposite effect. Based on macroscopic experiments and microscopic characterizations, it was revealed that the As(V) removal mechanism by the CF-CeO₂ mainly included ion-exchange and electrostatic attraction. The findings in this study provided convincing evidence for the use of CF-CeO₂ as a high-efficiency, low-cost, and safe approach for water purification in the remote areas of developing countries.

Common diseases alter the physiological age-related blood microRNA profile

Aging is a key risk factor for chronic diseases of the elderly. MicroRNAs regulate post-transcriptional gene silencing through base-pair binding on their target mRNAs. We identified nonlinear changes in age-related microRNAs by analyzing whole blood from 1334 healthy individuals. We observed a larger influence of the age as compared to the sex and provide evidence for a shift to the 5' mature form of miRNAs in healthy aging. The addition of 3059 diseased patients uncovered pan-disease and disease-specific alterations in aging profiles. Disease biomarker sets for all diseases were different between young and old patients. Computational deconvolution of whole-blood miRNAs into blood cell types suggests that cell intrinsic gene expression changes may impart greater significance than cell abundance changes to the whole blood miRNA profile. Altogether, these data provide a foundation for understanding the relationship between healthy aging and disease, and for the development of age-specific disease biomarkers.

Effects of soybean isoflavones on the growth performance, intestinal morphology and antioxidative properties in pigs

Soybean meal is rich in soybean isoflavones, which exhibit antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antiviral and anticancer functions in humans and animals. This study was conducted to investigate the effects of soybean isoflavones on the growth performance, intestinal morphology and antioxidative properties in pigs. A total of 72 weaned piglets (7.45 ± 0.13 kg; 36 males and 36 females) were allocated into three treatments and fed corn-soybean meal (C-SBM), corn-soy protein concentrate (C-SPC) or C-SPC supplemented with equal levels of the isoflavones found in the C-SBM diet (C-SPC + ISF) for a 72-day trial. Each treatment had six replicates and four piglets per replicate, half male and half female. On day 42, one male pig from each replicate was selected and euthanized to collect intestinal samples. The results showed that compared to pigs fed the C-SPC diet, pigs fed the C-SBM and C-SPC + ISF diets had higher BW on day 72 (P < 0.05); pigs fed the C-SBM diet had significantly higher average daily gain (ADG) during days 14 to 28 (P < 0.05), with C-SPC + ISF being intermediate; pigs fed the C-SBM diet tended to have higher ADG during days 42 to 72 (P = 0.063), while pigs fed the C-SPC + ISF diet had significantly higher ADG during days 42 to 72 (P < 0.05). Moreover, compared to pigs fed the C-SPC diet, pigs fed the C-SBM diet tended to have greater villus height (P = 0.092), while pigs fed the C-SPC + ISF diet had significantly greater villus height (P < 0.05); pigs fed the C-SBM and C-SPC + ISF diets had significantly increased villus height-to-crypt depth ratio (P < 0.05). Compared with the C-SPC diet, dietary C-SPC + ISF tended to increase plasma superoxide dismutase activity on days 28 (P = 0.085) and 42 (P = 0.075) and reduce plasma malondialdehyde (MDA) content on day 42 (P = 0.089), as well as significantly decreased jejunal mucosa MDA content on day 42 (P < 0.05). However, no significant difference in the expression of tight junction genes among the three groups was found (P > 0.05). In conclusion, our results suggest that a long-term exposure to soybean isoflavones enhances the growth performance, protects the intestinal morphology and improves the antioxidative properties in pigs.

[Initial implantation experience and short-term follow-up results of implanting leadless intracardiac transcatheter pacing system]

Objective: To explore the utility and safety of leadless intracardiac transcatheter pacing system. Methods: The study was a prospective observational study. Patients underwent Micra transcatheter pacing system in Beijing Anzhen hospital from December 2019 to January 2020 were enrolled. The baseline characteristics, platelet count, hemoglobin, anticoagulation and/or antiplatelet therapy, mean procedural time, average fluoroscopy time, number of deployment and electrical parameters (threshold, R-wave amplitude, impedance) were recorded. Ultrasonography of bilateral femoral and iliac veins was performed in all patients. Patients were followed including access site complication, adverse event and device evaluation at implant, hospital discharge, 1 and 3 months post-implant. R-wave≥5 mV, impedance between 400 and 1 500 Ω and threshold increase≤1.5 V than implant is considered a stable parameter. Femoral access site complications included hematoma, hemorrhage, pseudoaneurysm, and arteriovenous fistula. Adverse events included dislodgement, cardiac effusion/perforation and infection. Left ventricular end diastolic diameter and ejection fraction before and at 1 month after implant were reported. Results: Five patients were enrolled and pacemaker implantation was successful in all 5 patients. Patients were all males and the average age was (78.4±8.4) years. 2 patients received aspirin and clopidogrel therapy, 1 patient suffered from anemia and thrombocytopenia occurred in 1 patient. No stenosis, occlusion and vascular malformation of bilateral femoral and iliac veins was observed. The mean implant time was (39.6±1.7) minutes. The average fluoroscopy time was (9.2±1.3) minutes and the number of deployment was (1.40±0.55). Electrical parameters(threshold, R-Wave amplitude and impedance) were as follows: (0.40±0.10) V/0.24 ms, (10.80±3.72) mV and (822.00±162.23) Ω at implant; (0.45±0.07) V/0.24 ms, (13.04±2.41) mV, and (748.0±91.5) Ω at discharge, (0.40±0.06) V/0.24 ms, (14.26±4.11) mV, and (700.0±91.7) Ω at 1 month post-implant and (0.39±0.05) V/0.24 ms, 14.40±3.97 mV, and (682.0±96.0) Ω at 3 months post-implant, respectively. Threshold increase was ≤1.5 V compared to that during implantation, electrical parameters were acceptable and stable. There was no difference in LVEDD [(44.00±5.24) mm vs. (44.00±5.34) mm,P=1.000] and EF [(62.00±3.39)% vs. (62.20±3.56)%, P=0.861] before and 1 month post-implant. No incidence of access site complications, cardiac effusion/perforation, dislodgment or infections occurred during the 3 months. Conclusions: The leadless transcatheter pacemaker implantation performed in our study archived a high implant success rate and favorable safety profile as well as associated with low and stable pacing thresholds. The long-term safety and benefit of leadless pacemaker need to be evaluated in future clinical studies.

[Follow-up and retrospective investigation of patients with pneumoconiosis in Jiangsu Province, China]

Objective: To investigate the features, changing trend, and rules of pneumoconiosis in Jiangsu Province, China, as well as the health status of patients with pneumoconiosis. Methods: From July to October 2019, the patients with pneumoconiosis, reported up to the end of 2018 in Jiangsu Province, were enrolled as respondents, and follow-up and retrospective investigation were performed. A total of 24405 patients with pneumoconiosis were investigated, and related data were collected from the monitoring system of cause of death for residents, pneumoconiosis network reporting system, occupational disease diagnosis institution, management institutions for the reporting of occupational diseases, and related residents' committee or village committee. The patients with pneumoconiosis, who had been reported, were followed up by telephone or on-site visit to obtain the information on their conditions. A descriptive analysis was performed for age of onset, working years, sex, category of industry, type of pneumoconiosis, annual disease onset, geographic distribution, and medical security. Results: Among the 24405 patients, a male/female ratio was 16.81∶1. Of all 24405 patients, 15948 (65.35%) had stage 1 pneumoconiosis, 5289 (21.67%) had stage 2 pneumoconiosis, and 1637 (6.71%) had stage 3 pneumoconiosis. The mean working years for dust exposure was 16.25±9.95 years for all patients, and the mean working years for dust exposure was 15.80±9.95 years for patients with stage 1 pneumoconiosis, 17.82±9.80 years for patients with stage 2 pneumoconiosis, and 16.31±9.90 years for patients with stage 3 pneumoconiosis. The highest number of cases of pneumoconiosis was reported in Wuxi (5744 cases, accounting for 23.54%) , followed by Zhenjiang (4160 cases, accounting for 17.05%) , Xuzhou (3851 cases, accounting for 15.78%) , Yancheng (3340 cases, accounting for 13.69%) , and Suzhou (2948 cases, accounting for 12.08%) . Major types of pneumoconiosis included silicosis (15392 cases, accounting for 63.07%) and coal workers' pneumoconiosis (5253 cases, accounting for 21.52%) . In this survey, 21115 completed follow-up, among whom 15924 survived and 5191 died, 15924 patients with pneumoconiosis survived, among whom 7461 (46.85%) had an age of ≥70 years and 2515 (15.79%) were exposed to dust for 5-9 years. The industries involved were mainly coal mining and washing industry (5687 cases, accounting for 35.71%) and public management, social security, and social organization (3349 cases, accounting for 21.03%) ; in terms of security, 7999 patients (50.23%) were covered by occupational injury insurance, 946 (5.94%) were compensated by employers, 4537 (28.49%) were covered by basic medical insurance for urban and rural residents, 1590 (9.98%) were covered by critical illness insurance, and 5458 (34.28%) were covered by other types of social security, such as medical assistance and poverty relief. Conclusion: Silicosis and coal worker's pneumoconiosis are the key points for the prevention and treatment of pneumoconiosis in Jiangsu Province, and supervision should be strengthened for industries and regions with serious dust hazards.

In situ preparation of 2D MoS2 nanosheets vertically supported on TiO2/PVDF flexible fibers and their photocatalytic performance

Two-dimensional (2D) MoS₂ nanosheets vertically supported on TiO₂/PVDF flexible fibers have been successfully synthesized by combining electrospinning with a low temperature hydrothermal method without acid. The morphology of the 2D MoS₂ nanosheets could be controlled by adjusting the experimental parameters. The loaded 2D MoS₂ nanosheets can not only broaden the light capture range of TiO₂, but also greatly inhibit the recombination rate of photogenerated electron-hole pairs. Due to the synergistic effect between MoS₂ and TiO₂, the photocatalytic rate for levofloxacin hydrochloride is about 40 times higher than that for MoS₂ only. Recycle experiments have proved the stability and reusability of TiO₂/PVDF@2D MoS₂ nanosheets. The mechanism is investigated by quenching experiments. The results show that the superoxide anion radical (•O₂ ^-), the hydroxyl radical (•OH) and the hole (h⁺) all have contributions to photocatalysis. This work widens the range of materials to synthesize the composites of 2D MoS₂ nanosheets and provides a new and gentle method for preparing flexible large-scale heterostructures for environmental protection.

Multi-dimensional diagnosis model for the sustainable development of regions facing water scarcity problem: A case study for Guangdong, China

Freshwater consumption and wastewater discharge of economic activities have caused water scarcity problem in many regions. This study aims to develop a multi-dimensional diagnosis model (MDDM) to provide new insights for the sustainable development of regions which face water scarcity problem. In detail, the sectorial blue water, grey water and total water consumptions are assessed to reveal the direct effects of economic activities on water quantity and water quality. Then, hypothetical extraction method is integrated into input-output model and ecological network analysis to quantify the system-based effects of sectors in three dimensions: economy, water and metabolism. A case study of Guangdong province, China is conducted to illustrate the availability of the developed model. We found that the multi-dimensional performances of Guangdong's socioeconomic system are dominated by a few sectors. Wastewater, especially that discharged from the primary industry, is the main reason for the local water scarcity. Specifically, the unique role that every sector plays in the socioeconomic system is quantitatively revealed by MDDM, which could guide the relevant policy development at sectorial level.

Metabolome and transcriptome analyses of the molecular mechanisms of flower color mutation in tobacco

BACKGROUND

Anthocyanins determinate the flower color of many plants. Tobacco is a model plant for studying the molecular regulation of flower coloration. We investigated the mechanism underlying flower coloration in tobacco by profiling flavonoid metabolites,expression of anthocyanin biosynthetic structural genes and their regulator genes in the pink-flowered tobacco cultivar Yunyan 87 and white-flowered Yunyan 87 mutant.

RESULT

Significant down-accumulation of anthocyanins, including cyanidin 3-O-glucoside, cyanin, cyanidin 3-O-rutinoside, pelargonidin 3-O-beta-D-glucoside, cyanidin O-syringic acid, pelargonin, and pelargonidin 3-O-malonylhexoside (log2 fold change < - 10), endowed the flower color mutation in Yunyan 87 mutant. Transcriptome analysis showed that the coordinately down-regulated anthocyanin biosynthetic genes including chalcone isomerase, naringenin 3-dioxygenase, dihydroflavonol 4-reductase and UDP-glucose:flavonoid 3-O-glucosyltransferase played critical roles in suppressing the formation of the aforesaid anthocyanins. Several genes encoding MYB and bHLH transcription factors were also found down-regulated, and probably the reason for the suppression of structural genes.

CONCLUSION

This is the first study of tobacco flower coloration combining metabolome and transcriptome analyses, and the results shed a light on the systematic regulation mechanisms of flower coloration in tobacco. The obtained information will aid in developing strategies to modify flower color through genetic transformation.

Functional PVDF ultrafiltration membrane for Tetrabromobisphenol-A (TBBPA) removal with high water recovery

Tetrabromobisphenol-A (TBBPA) is one of the most important brominated flame retardants (BFRs), accounting for 60% of the total commercial BFR market. Increasing amounts of TBBPA and byproducts are released to the aquatic environment due to their extensive utilization in various sectors. However, research on the treatment of TBBPA contaminated wastewater using membrane filtration is still lacked. Herein, a PVDF10-PAA-ZrO₂ membrane was successfully developed and applied for the treatment of high-concentration TBBPA wastewater with super-high water recovery. The membrane was obtained through surface functionalization with nano-ZrO₂ from commercial PVDF ultrafiltration (UF) membrane. Compared to the commercial PVDF membrane, the developed membrane exhibited 4 times of permeate flux which was up to 200 L/m² min with comparable TBBPA rejection rate. Furthermore, the mechanisms of membrane development and TBBPA rejection were explored through synchrotron-based ATR-FTIR and X-ray analyses. It was revealed that ZrO₂ NPs were immobilized into membrane surface through binding with PAA layer, where the O of the carboxyl group combined with the Zr⁴⁺ on the ZrO₂ NP surface to form C-O-Zr bond through monodentate and bridging-bidentate modes. The sieving function of membrane could be the main mechanism of TBBPA removal. This research demonstrated a practical route and solid insight toward the development of highly efficient membrane for TBBPA removal. The proposed PVDF10-PAA-ZrO₂ membrane can also be promising for other industrial separation and purification applications.

Genetic modulation of RAP alters fruit coloration in both wild and cultivated strawberry

Fruit colour affects consumer preference and is an important trait for breeding in strawberry. Previously, we isolated the Reduced Anthocyanins in Petioles (RAP) gene encoding a glutathione S-transferase (GST) that binds anthocyanins to facilitate their transport from cytosol to vacuole in the diploid strawberry Fragaria vesca. The parent of rap was the F. vesca variety 'Yellow Wonder' that develops white fruit due to a natural mutation in the FveMYB10 gene. Here, we investigated the application potential of RAP in modulating fruit colours by overexpression of RAP in F. vesca and knockout of RAP in the cultivated strawberry Fragaria × ananassa. Unexpectedly, the RAP overexpression in Yellow Wonder background caused formation of red fruit. In addition, the red coloration occurs precociously at floral stage 10 and continues in the receptacle during early fruit development. Transcriptome analysis revealed that the anthocyanin biosynthesis genes were not up-regulated in RAP-ox; rap myb10 flowers at anthesis and largely inhibited at the turning stage in fruit, suggesting a coloration mechanism independent of FveMYB10. Moreover, we used CRISPR/Cas9 to knockout RAP in cultivated strawberry which is octoploid. Six copies of RAP were simultaneously knocked out in the T0 generation leading to the green stem and white-fruited phenotype. Several T1 progeny have segregated away the CRISPR/Cas9 transgene but maintain the green stem trait. Our results indicate that enhancing the anthocyanin transport could redirect the metabolic flux from proanthocyanidin to anthocyanin production at early developmental stages of fruit and that RAP is one promising candidate gene in fruit colour breeding of strawberry.

Spatial-temporal assessment of agricultural virtual water and uncertainty analysis: The case of Kazakhstan (2000-2016)

In this study, a fuzzy-vertex-based virtual-water analysis method (FVAM) is developed for assessing the virtual water content (VWC) of main agricultural products, imports, and exports at a national scale. FVAM has advantages in quantifying state-level VWC with a bottom-up approach and reflecting uncertain parameters based on vertex analysis technique. FVAM is applied to a real case of Kazakhstan in Central Asia. Results reveal that (i) the VWC of Kazakhstan's agricultural products is between 55.61 and 83.98 billion m³/yr in 2000-2016, where wheat is the largest water consumer and the Kostanay state has the largest VWC; (ii) Kazakhstan is a net exporter of virtual water, most of which flows to neighboring countries such as Russia and Azerbaijan; (iii) uncertainties in crop coefficient (Kc), feed water requirement (FWR), drinking water requirement (DWR) and service water requirement (SWR) can affect the VWC assessment; (iv) the massive export of water-intensive products makes the water resources more severe in Kazakhstan, which further squeezes the local ecological water use. Therefore, reducing the export of virtual water should be the focus of future agricultural policies. The findings are useful for decision makers to optimize Kazakhstan's agricultural structure, mitigate the national water scarcity, and facilitate the regional sustainable development.

The role of autophagy in the cytotoxicity induced by trastuzumab emtansine (T-DM1) in HER2-positive breast cancer cells

Trastuzumab emtansine (T-DM1), an antibody–drug conjugate (ADC) of trastuzumab and cytotoxic agent emtansine (DM1), has been approved for the therapy of metastatic HER2-positive breast cancer after prior treatment of trastuzumab and taxane. The impressive efficacy exhibited by T-DM1 has heightened the need for more further studies on the underlying mechanisms of T-DM1 cytotoxicity. Previous research suggested that autophagy was crucial for cancer therapy, but the role of autophagy in T-DM1 treatment has not been investigated. Here, we demonstrated for the first time that T-DM1 triggered obvious autophagy in HER2-positive SK-BR-3 and BT-474 breast cancer cells. Blocking autophagy with pharmacological inhibitors chloroquine (CQ) or LY294002 partly reduced T-DM1-induced apoptosis and Caspase-3/7 activation, suggesting that autophagy played an essential role in the cytotoxicity induced by T-DM1 in HER2-positive breast cancer cells. Further investigation demonstrated that Akt/mTOR signaling pathway was involved in T-DM1-induced autophagy in a time-dependent manner. Altogether, our results highlighted the important role of autophagy as a novel mechanism for T-DM1-induced cytotoxicity and elucidated the critical relationships between T-DM1-induced autophagy and apoptosis in human HER2-positive breast cancer cells, which provides novel insight into the underlying anti-tumor mechanism of T-DM1.

Genome-wide association study of leaf chemistry traits in tobacco

Leaf chemistry traits are some of the key factors influencing tobacco quality, which can be significantly reduced by lower chemical components in cured leaf. To improve tobacco quality through breeding, genetic diversity analysis, population structure analysis, and genome-wide association studies were performed in a panel of 347 tobacco germplasms and the markers associated with five leaf chemistry traits, including total sugar (TS), reducing sugar (RS), total nitrogen (TN), nicotine (NIC), and total potassium (TP) contents were identified. Four groups were classified at a genetic distance of 0.316 by genetic diversity analysis based on coefficient parameter NEI72 using a program NTSYS-pc2.10e, whereas four well-differentiated subpopulations were postulated in the 347 tobacco accessions. A total of 47 target trait-associated SNPs was detected in at least three environments as well as the best linear unbiased predictions (BLUPs) across all environments, among which two, two, four, six, and one highly suggestive associated SNPs were repeatedly detected in all environments and BLUPs for TS, RS, TN, NIC, and TP, respectively. On the basis of the phenotypic effects of the alleles corresponding to suggestive associated SNPs, five tobacco accessions harboring favorable alleles with elite phenotypic performance in leaf chemistry traits were identified. The results could facilitate quality tobacco breeding for higher leaf chemistry trait contents through molecular marker-assisted approaches.

Evaluating the added values of regional climate modeling over China at different resolutions

Previous studies have suggested that dynamical downscaling to global climate models can produce improved climate simulations at regional and local scales. However, the expensive computational requirements of dynamical downscaling inevitably add a limit to the spatial resolution of the resulting regional climate simulations. In order to find a balance between computational requirements and simulation improvements, it is extremely important to investigate how the spatial resolution of regional climate simulation affects the added values of dynamical downscaling; yet, it is still not well understood. Therefore, in this study, we conduct long-term climate simulations for the entire country of China with the PRECIS regional climate model at two different spatial resolutions (i.e., 25 and 50 km). The purpose is to evaluate whether a fine-resolution model simulation, given its considerable requirements for computational resources, would add more valuable information for understanding regional climatology than a coarse-resolution model simulation. Our results show that the PRECIS can reasonably reproduce the spatial distribution of seasonal and monthly mean temperature and precipitation over the most of regions in China. However, in the process of downscaling, RCM with higher resolution cannot always produce more accurate output. In regard to precipitation simulations, compared with the host GCM, it is difficult to determine exactly a homogeneous improvement of performance in downscaling, both in terms of spatial patterns as well as magnitude of errors. For interannual variability, variations in temperature are closer to observation than precipitation and the high-resolution R25 has better skills over the northwest than R50. Moreover, except for the west, it is shown that PRECIS is able to better reproduce the probability distribution function of precipitation and some impact-relevant indices such as the number of consecutive wet days and simple precipitation intensity index in spatial distribution.

[Real-world efficacy and safety of lopinavir/ritonavir and arbidol in treating with COVID-19 : an observational cohort study]

Objective: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of lopinavir/ritonavir (LPV/r) and arbidol in the treatment of COVID-19 in the real world. Methods: The clinical data of 178 patients diagnosed with COVID-19 admitted to Guangzhou Eighth People's Hospital were retrospectively analyzed from January 21 to February 9, 2020. According to the patient's antiviral treatment regimen, 178 patients were divided into 4 groups including LPV/r group (59 patients), arbidol group (36 patients), combination therapy with LPV/r plus arbidol group (25 patients) and the conventional treatment group without any antiviral drugs (58 patients). The main observation end points of the study was the negative conversion time of nucleic acid of the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) in pharyngeal swab. Results: The baseline of 4 groups before treatment was consistent and comparable. The negative conversion time of nucleic acid of the 2019-nCoV in pharyngeal swab was (10.20 ± 3.49), (10.11 ± 4.68), (10.86 ± 4.74), (8.44 ± 3.51) days separately in the LPV/r group, the arbidol group, the combination therapy group, and the conventional treatment group without significant difference (F = 2.556, P = 0.058). There was also no significant difference in the rate of negative conversion rate of 2019-nCoV nucleic acid, the improvement ration in clinical symptoms, and the improvement ration of pulmonary infection in the lung CT imaging (P> 0.05). However, a statistically significant difference was found in the proportion of deterioration changing from mild/moderate to severe/critical type at day 7 (χ(2) = 9.311, P = 0.017) as follows: the combination therapy group (24.0%, 6/25), the arbidol group ( 16.7%, 6/36), LPV/r group (5.4%, 3/56) and conventional treatment group (5.2%, 3/58). Moreover, the frequency of adverse reactions in the three groups receiving antiviral drugs was significantly higher than that in the conventional treatment group (χ(2) = 14.875, P = 0.002). Conclusions: No evidences could prove that LPV/r and arbidol could shorten the negative conversion time of novel coronavirus nucleic acid in pharyngeal swab nor improve the symptoms of patients. Furthermore, the combination usage of LPV/r and arbidol may not benefit for improving the disease. Noteworthy, the adverse reactions of the antiviral drugs should be paid careful attention during the treatment.

Education intervention for older adults with osteoporosis: a systematic review

BACKGROUND

Various education interventions were developed for preventing or managing OP, but the effects of those interventions on older adults were inconclusive.

PURPOSE

This study evaluated the effectiveness of educational interventions in preventing osteoporosis in older adults. A literature search was performed in MEDLINE (PubMed), Cochrane Library, and CBM (China BioMed Database) from the initial date of each database to Oct 2016.

DATA EXTRACTION

Two investigators independently extracted essential data from qualified studies concerning the settings, population, interventions, follow-ups, and outcomes of interest, namely effects of bone mineral density tests, changes in behavior, knowledge increase, self-efficacy, medication adherence (calcium and vitamin D), and quality of life, respectively.

DATA SYNTHESIS

A total of 17 studies met the inclusion criteria and therefore were included in the current study. The overall quality of the included studies was moderate. We were unable to carry out a meta-analysis due to the heterogeneity of these studies. We fond that compared with control groups, patients' knowledge of osteoporosis increased significantly (p < .05) through all five interventions, which included PowerPoint presentations and discussion, class-based educational programs, osteoporosis self-management courses, revised health belief model and classes, computerized support programs and brush-up courses.

LIMITATION

Studies included in the present study were all conducted in Western countries and only descriptive methods were applied in synthesis due to heterogeneity in interventions and outcomes.

CONCLUSION

Education interventions were effective in preventing osteoporosis in older adults. Future research should focus on approaching this issue quantitatively (i.e., through meta-analysis).

A factorial Bayesian copula framework for partitioning uncertainties in multivariate risk inference

In this study, a factorial Bayesian copula (FBC) method is proposed to quantify parameter uncertainties in copula-based models and then reveal their impacts on hydrologic risk inferences within a multivariate context. In detail, Bayesian inference and factorial analysis are integrated into copula-based multivariate risk models to (1) quantify parameter uncertainties, (ii) reveal their individual and interactive effects, and (iii) identify their detailed contributions to uncertain risk inferences. Streamflow observations at Xiangxi and Wei River basins is China are used to illustrate the applicability of FBC. The results indicate that imprecise parameters in marginal distributions and the dependence structure would lead to extensive uncertainties in predictive joint return periods and failure probabilities. Also, individual and interactive effects of parameters are well revealed through multilevel factorial analysis, and the detailed contributions of one parameter to different failure probabilities under different service time scenarios are identified.

A bi-level chance-constrained programming method for quantifying the effectiveness of water-trading to water-food-ecology nexus in Amu Darya River basin of Central Asia

Issues of water scarcity, food crisis, and ecological degradation pose great challenges to the sustainable development of Central Asia. In this study, a bi-level chance-constrained programming (BCCP) method is developed for planning water-food-ecology (WFE) nexus system of the Amu Darya River basin, where the efficiency of water-trading mechanism and the impact of uncertain water-availability are examined. This is the first attempt for planning WFE nexus system by incorporating chance-constrained programming (CCP) within a bi-level optimization framework. BCCP can reflect the risk of violating probabilistic constraint under uncertainty as well as balance the tradeoff between two-level decision makers in the WFE nexus system. Under trading scheme, multiple scenarios in association with different food demand, ecological-water requirement, and water availability are examined. Major findings are: (i) compared with that under non-trading, system benefits would increase [3.9, 20.4]% under trading scenarios, disclosing that water trading is an effective mechanism for the study basin; (ii) when food demand increases 10.5%, water allocated to ecological use would decrease [0.9, 2.7]% under all scenarios, revealing that agriculture can squeeze ecological water; (iii) both system benefit and water allocation would increase with p level, implying there is a tradeoff between system benefit and system-failure risk. These findings can gain insight into the interaction between two-level stakeholders and objectives as well as provide decision support for WFE nexus synergetic management.

[The development history of CAPOS and the diagnosis and treatment of pediatric eye diseases in China since 1949]

On the occasion of the 70(th) anniversary of the founding of Chinese Journal of Ophthalmology, we review the establishment and development of Chinese Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus (CAPOS) and the major advances in the diagnosis and treatment of pediatric eye diseases in China since 1949, so as to remember our predecessors and inspire young generations, and to provide important reference for the future clinical and scientific research. (Chin J Ophthalmol, 2020, 56:161-165).

Optimizing water resources allocation and soil salinity control for supporting agricultural and environmental sustainable development in Central Asia

In this study, a stochastic-fuzzy-based fractional programming (SFFP) method is advanced for optimizing water-resources allocation and soil-salinity control under uncertainty. The developed method can address ratio objective optimization problems of complex system in association with stochastic and fuzzy uncertainties, which can help gain in-depth analysis of the interrelationships between marginal effectiveness and system reliability. Then, SFFP is applied to an irrigation region in the lower reach of Amu Darya River basin, where linear crop yield-salinity functions and salt-leaching functions are introduced into the modeling formulation for reflecting the complicated interactions among water resources, soil salinity, arable land, and electricity supply. Solutions under 96 scenarios related to different irrigation efficiencies, water availabilities, and electricity supplies have been obtained. Our findings are: i) increased water availability, electricity supply, and irrigation efficiency result in high marginal benefit; ii) irrigation efficiency is the key factor influencing water allocation patterns for crop irrigation and salt-leaching, promotion of which can facilitate mitigating economic and environmental losses in the water-deficit and soil-salinized region; iii) leaching water allocation patterns for soil-salinity washing is related to salinity characters of crops and regions, and boosting drought- and salt-tolerance crop can be effective in adaption to risks of water scarcity and land salinization. Compared to the conventional approaches, SFFP can generate more flexible alternatives and achieve higher marginal effectiveness. These findings can provide effective decision support to identify desired water management strategies under multiple uncertainties for supporting agricultural sustainability in arid regions.