Identification and expression analysis of CCCH gene family and screening of key low temperature stress response gene CbuC3H24 and CbuC3H58 in Catalpa bungei.

Catalpa bungei, a tree indigenous to China, is renowned for its superior timber quality and as an ornamental in horticulture. To promote the cultivation of C. bungei in cold regions and expand its distribution, enhancing its cold tolerance is essential. The CCCH gene family is widely involved in plant growth, development, and expression under stress conditions, including low-temperature stress. However, a comprehensive identification and analysis of these genes have not yet been conducted. This study aims to identify key cold-tolerance-related genes within the CCCH gene family of C. bungei, providing the necessary theoretical support for its expansion in cold regions. In this study, 61 CCCH genes within C. bungei were identified and characterized. Phylogenetic assessment divided these genes into 9 subfamilies, with 55 members mapped across 16 chromosomes. The analysis of gene structures and protein motifs indicated that members within the same subfamily shared similar exon/intron distribution and motif patterns, supporting the phylogenetic classification. Collinearity analysis suggested that segmental duplications have played a significant role in the expansion of the C. bungei CCCH gene family. Notably, RNA sequencing analysis under 4 °C cold stress conditions identified CbuC3H24 and CbuC3H58 as exhibiting the most significant responses, highlighting their importance within the CCCH zinc finger family in response to cold stress. The findings of this study lay a theoretical foundation for further exploring the mechanisms of cold tolerance in C. bungei, providing crucial insights for its cultivation in cold regions.

Job burnout and its influencing factors among primary healthcare workers during the COVID-19 epidemic in Guangzhou, China, 2021-2022: from the perspective of institutional operation and management.

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to explore the job burnout of primary healthcare workers in Guangzhou during the prevention and control of COVID-19 epidemic and its influencing factors from the perspective of institutional operation and management in 2021-2022. METHODS: A cross-sectional study involved 866 primary healthcare workers from different districts of Guangzhou, China. The Chinese version of the Maslach Burnout Inventory-General Survey (MBI-GS) was utilized to assess job burnout. From the perspective of organizational operation and management, the possible causes of job burnout among primary healthcare workers during COVID-19 have been categorized into 7 major aspects. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were conducted to identify influencing factors for job burnout in primary healthcare workers. RESULTS: The detection rate of job burnout among primary healthcare workers was 78.29%. Men (OR = 2.39) and whose institution was located in urban-rural fringe (OR = 1.56) were more likely to detect job burnout. Conversely, institution heads showed a lower risk of job burnout. From the perspective of institutional operation and management, workers who were not satisfied with personnel management (OR = 2.41), materials and vehicles (OR = 2.89), subsidies and compensation (OR = 2.18), humanistic care (OR = 2.11), superior management (OR = 8.32) were found to have a higher risk of job burnout. CONCLUSION: The detection rate of job burnout among primary healthcare workers in Guangzhou was relatively high during the period of COVID-19. When there is another sudden major epidemic, the managers of institutions can focus on and deal with the problems related to the operation and management of institutions such as personnel management, materials and vehicles, subsidies and compensation, humanistic care, and superior management, so as to provide logistical support for the workers and alleviate their job burnout.

The association between long-term exposure to ambient formaldehyde and respiratory mortality risk: A national study in China.

INTRODUCTION: While ambient formaldehyde (HCHO) concentrations are increasing worldwide, there was limited research on its health effects. OBJECTIVES: To assess the association of long-term exposure to ambient HCHO with the risk of respiratory (RESP) mortality and the associated mortality burden in China. METHODS: Annual and seasonal RESP death and tropospheric HCHO vertical columns data were collected in 466 counties/districts across China during 2013-2016. A difference-in-differences approach combined with a generalized linear mixed-effects regression model was employed to assess the exposure-response association between long-term ambient HCHO exposure and RESP mortality risk. Additionally, we computed the attributable fraction (AF) to gauge the proportion of RESP mortality attributable to HCHO exposure. RESULTS: This analysis encompassed 560,929 RESP deaths. The annual mean ambient HCHO concentration across selected counties/districts was 8.02×1015 ± 2.22×1015 molec.cm-2 during 2013-2016. Each 1.00×1015 molec.cm-2 increase in ambient HCHO was associated with a 1.61 % increase [excess risk (ER), 95 % confidence interval (CI): 1.20 %, 2.03 %] in the RESP mortality risk. The AF of RESP mortality attributable to HCHO was 12.16 % (95 %CI:9.33 %, 14.88 %), resulting in an annual average of 125,422 (95 %CI:96,404, 153,410) attributable deaths in China. Stratified analyses suggested stronger associations in individuals aged ≥65 years old (ER=1.87 %, 95 %CI:1.43 %, 2.32 %), in cold seasons (ER=1.00 %, 95 %CI:0.56 %, 1.44 %), in urban areas (ER=1.65 %, 95 %CI:1.15 %, 2.16 %), and in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients (ER=1.95 %, 95 %CI:1.42 %, 2.48 %). CONCLUSIONS: This study suggested that long-term HCHO exposure may significantly increase the risk of RESP mortality, leading to a substantial mortality burden. Targeted measures should be implemented to control ambient HCHO pollution promptly.

High-selective separation recovery of Ni, Co, and Mn from the spent LIBs via acid dissolution and multistage oxidation precipitation.

For recovering Ni, Co, and Mn from lithium-ion batteries, traditional chemical precipitation methods demonstrate low selectivity and significantly contribute to environmental pollution. This study proposes a separation recovery technique for transition metals, specifically Ni, Co, and Mn, from spent LIBs, involving "acid dissolution" and "multistage oxidation precipitation". More than 98% of transition metals can be extracted from spent LIBs using a low acid concentration (0.5 M) without reducing agents. The feasibility of separating different metals via multistage oxidation precipitation, based on their different electrode potentials for oxidizing Me2+ (Me = Mn/Co/Ni), was confirmed. The combination of oxidizing agent S2O82- and the precipitant OH- was universally applied to the fractional precipitation of Mn, Co, and Ni respectively. About 99% of Mn, 97.06% Co, and 96.62% Ni could be precipitated sequentially by changing the concentrations of S2O82- and the pH value of solution. XRD, XPS, XRF, ICP-MS and other methods were employed to elucidate the mechanism behind the multistage oxidation precipitation of target metal compounds, exploiting the differential electrode potentials for oxidizing Me2+ ions. This technique surpasses traditional solvent extraction in cost-effectiveness and selectivity, showing promise for large-scale industrial applications in recovering Mn, Co, and Ni.

Learning implementation of a guideline based decision support system to improve hypertension treatment in primary care in China: pragmatic cluster randomised controlled trial.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effectiveness of a clinical decision support system (CDSS) in improving the use of guideline accordant antihypertensive treatment in primary care settings in China. DESIGN: Pragmatic, open label, cluster randomised trial. SETTING: 94 primary care practices in four urban regions of China between August 2019 and July 2022: Luoyang (central China), Jining (east China), and Shenzhen (south China, including two regions). PARTICIPANTS: 94 practices were randomised (46 to CDSS, 48 to usual care). 12 137 participants with hypertension who used up to two classes of antihypertensives and had a systolic blood pressure <180 mm Hg and diastolic blood pressure <110 mm Hg were included. INTERVENTIONS: Primary care practices were randomised to use an electronic health record based CDSS, which recommended a specific guideline accordant regimen for initiation, titration, or switching of antihypertensive (the intervention), or to use the same electronic health record without CDSS and provide treatment as usual (control). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The primary outcome was the proportion of hypertension related visits during which an appropriate (guideline accordant) treatment was provided. Secondary outcomes were the average reduction in systolic blood pressure and proportion of participants with controlled blood pressure (<140/90 mm Hg) at the last scheduled follow-up. Safety outcomes were patient reported antihypertensive treatment related events, including syncope, injurious fall, symptomatic hypotension or systolic blood pressure <90 mm Hg, and bradycardia. RESULTS: 5755 participants with 23 113 visits in the intervention group and 6382 participants with 27 868 visits in the control group were included. Mean age was 61 (standard deviation 13) years and 42.5% were women. During a median 11.6 months of follow-up, the proportion of visits at which appropriate treatment was given was higher in the intervention group than in the control group (77.8% (17 975/23 113) v 62.2% (17 328/27 868); absolute difference 15.2 percentage points (95% confidence interval (CI) 10.7 to 19.8); P<0.001; odds ratio 2.17 (95% CI 1.75 to 2.69); P<0.001). Compared with participants in the control group, those in the intervention group had a 1.6 mm Hg (95% CI -2.7 to -0.5) greater reduction in systolic blood pressure (-1.5 mm Hg v 0.3 mm Hg; P=0.006) and a 4.4 percentage point (95% CI -0.7 to 9.5) improvement in blood pressure control rate (69.0% (3415/4952) v 64.6% (3778/5845); P=0.07). Patient reported antihypertensive treatment related adverse effects were rare in both groups. CONCLUSIONS: Use of a CDSS in primary care in China improved the provision of guideline accordant antihypertensive treatment and led to a modest reduction in blood pressure. The CDSS offers a promising approach to delivering better care for hypertension, both safely and efficiently. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT03636334.

Relationship between sex differences in drinking, smoking, and exercising and the incidence of malignancies and medical procedures: a cross-sectional study of 21,916 participants in China.

Objectives: The unresolved issue of the relationship between sex differences in tea, coffee, and beverage consumption and malignancy risk prompted our study in 2022. Methods: Logistic proportional hazards models were used to estimate odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) in our investigation of the associations between cancer risk and tea, coffee, and beverage consumption. Results: Our findings revealed that frequent consumption of white tea significantly reduced the occurrence of malignant tumours, but this effect was detected only in the fully adjusted model for males (OR: 0.736, 95% CI: 0.095-5.704). The amount of sugar added to coffee was associated with an increased risk of malignancy in a dose-dependent manner (P for trend = 0.001), with significance observed for both men (P for trend = 0.049) and women (P for trend = 0.005) in the final model. Notably, individuals who consumed more than 2100 ml of sugary beverages daily had a statistically significant reduction in malignancy risk (OR: 0.219, 95% CI: 0.052-0.917). Interestingly, the intake of sugary beverages had a protective effect on cancer incidence, with a significant effect on males (P for trend = 0.031) but not females (P for trend = 0.096) in the final model. Conclusions: Our study highlights the substantial impact of regular white tea consumption on reducing the risk of malignant tumours in males. This study first reported that the potential protective effect of consuming sugary beverages is predominantly observed in males, and a correlation between the amount of sugar added to coffee and a heightened risk of malignancy.

PaMYB11 promotes suberin deposition in Norway spruce embryogenic tissue during cryopreservation: A novel resistance mechanism against osmosis.

The osmotic resistance mechanism has been extensively studied in whole plants or plant tissues. However, little is known about it in embryogenic tissue (ET) which is widely used in plant-based biotechnological systems. Suberin, a cell wall aliphatic and aromatic heteropolymer, plays a critical role in plant cells against osmosis stress. The suberin regulatory biosynthesis has rarely been studied in gymnosperms. Here, PaMYB11, a subgroup 11 R2R3-MYB transcription factor, plays a key role in the osmotic resistance of Norway spruce (Picea abies) ETs during cryoprotectant pretreatment. Thus, RNA-seq, histological, and analytical chemical analyses are performed on the stable transformations of PaMYB11-OE and PaMYB11-SRDX in Norway spruce ETs. DAP-seq, Y1H, and LUC are further combined to explore the PaMYB11 targets. Activation of PaMYB11 is necessary and sufficient for suberin lamellae deposition on Norway spruce embryogenic cell walls, which plays a decisive role in ET survival under osmotic stress. Transcriptome analysis shows that PaMYB11 enhances suberin lamellae monomer synthesis by promoting very long-chain fatty acid (VLCFA) synthesis. PaPOP, PaADH1, and PaTET8L, the first two (PaADH1 and PaPOP, included) involved in VLCFA synthesis, are proved to be the direct targets of PaMYB11. Our study identified a novel osmotic response directed by PaMYB11 in Norway spruce ET, which provides a new understanding of the resistance mechanism against osmosis in gymnosperms.

Discrimination of Jamaican fruit bat lymphocytes by flow cytometry.

Bats are natural reservoir hosts of many important zoonotic viruses but because there are few immunological reagents and breeding colonies available for infectious disease research, little is known about their immune responses to infection. We established a breeding colony Jamaican fruit bats ( Artibeus jamaicensis ) to study bat virology and immunology. The species is used as a natural reservoir model for H18N11 influenza A virus, and as a surrogate model for SARS-CoV-2, MERS-CoV and Tacaribe virus. As part of our ongoing efforts to develop this model organism, we sought to identify commercially available monoclonal antibodies (mAb) for profiling Jamaican fruit bat lymphocytes. We identified several cross-reactive mAb that can be used to identify T and B cells; however, we were unable to identify mAb for three informative T cell markers, CD3γ, CD4 and CD8α. We targeted these markers for the generation of hybridomas, and identified several clones to each that can be used with flow cytometry and fluorescence microscopy. Specificity of the monoclonal antibodies was validated by sorting lymphocytes, followed by PCR identification of confirmatory transcripts. Spleens of Jamaican fruit bats possess about half the number of T cells than do human or mouse spleens, and we identified an unusual population of cells that expressed the B cell marker CD19 and the T cell marker CD3. The availability of these monoclonal antibodies will permit a more thorough examination of adaptive immune responses in Jamaican fruit bats that should help clarify how the bats control viral infections and without disease. Importance: Bats naturally host a number of viruses without disease, but which can cause significant disease in humans. Virtually nothing is known about adaptive immune responses in bats because of a lack of immunological tools to examine such responses. We have begun to address this deficiency by identifying several commercially available monoclonal antibodies to human and mouse antigens that are cross-reactive to Jamaican fruit bat lymphocyte orthologs. We also generated monoclonal antibodies to Jamaican fruit bat CD3γ, CD4 and CD8α that are suitable for identifying T cell subsets by flow cytometry and immunofluorescent staining of fixed tissues. Together, these reagents will allow a more detailed examination of lymphocyte populations in Jamaican fruit bats.

Mixed effects of ambient air pollutants on oocyte-related outcomes: A novel insight from women undergoing assisted reproductive technology.

Air pollution is widely acknowledged as a significant risk factor for human health, especially reproductive health. Nevertheless, many studies have disregarded the potentially mixed effects of air pollutants on reproductive outcomes. We performed a retrospective cohort study involving 8048 women with 9445 cycles undergoing In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) and Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection (ICSI) in China, from 2017 to 2021. A land-use random forest model was applied to estimate daily residential exposure to air pollutants, including sulfur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), carbon monoxide (CO), ozone (O3), and fine particulate matter (PM2.5). Individual and joint associations between air pollutants and oocyte-related outcomes of ART were evaluated. In 90 days prior to oocyte pick-up to oocyte pick-up (period A), NO2, O3 and CO was negatively associated with total oocyte yield. In the 90 days prior to oocyte pick-up to start of gonadotropin medication (Gn start, period B), there was a negative dose-dependent association of exposure to five air pollutants with total oocyte yield and mature oocyte yield. In Qgcomp analysis, increasing the multiple air pollutants mixtures by one quartile was related to reducing the number of oocyte pick-ups by -2.00 % (95 %CI: -2.78 %, -1.22 %) in period A, -2.62 % (95 %CI: -3.40 %, -1.84 %) in period B, and -0.98 % (95 %CI: -1.75 %, -0.21 %) in period C. During period B, a 1-unit increase in the WQS index of multiple air pollutants exposure was associated with fewer number of total oocyte (-1.27 %, 95 %CI: -2.16 %, -0.36 %) and mature oocyte (-1.42 %, 95 %CI: -2.41 %, -0.43 %). O3 and NO2 were major contributors with adverse effects on the mixed associations. Additionally, period B appears to be the susceptible window. Our study implies that exposure to air pollution adversely affects oocyte-related outcomes, which raises concerns about the potential adverse impact of air pollution on women's reproductive health.

cVAN: A Novel Sleep Staging Method Via Cross-View Alignment Network.

Sleep staging is imperative for evaluating sleep quality and diagnosing sleep disorders. Extant sleep staging methods with fusing multiple data-views of physiological signals have achieved promising results. However, they remain neglectful of the relationship among different data-views at different feature scales with view position-alignment. To address this, we propose a novel cross-view alignment network, termed cVAN, utilising scale-aware attention for sleep stages classification. Specifically, cVAN principally incorporates two sub-networks of a residual- like network which learn spectral information from time-frequency images and a transformer- like network which learns corresponding temporal information. The prime advantage of cVAN is to adaptively align the learned feature scales among the different data-views of physiological signals with a scale-aware attention by reorganizing feature maps. Extensive experiments on three public sleep datasets demonstrate that cVAN can achieve a new state-of-the-art result, which is superior to existing counterparts. The source code for cVAN is accessible at the URL (https://github.com/Fibonaccirabbit/cVAN).

High stress hyperglycemia ratio predicts adverse clinical outcome in patients with coronary three-vessel disease: a large-scale cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Coronary three-vessel disease (CTVD) accounts for one-third of the overall incidence of coronary artery disease, with heightened mortality rates compared to single-vessel lesions, including common trunk lesions. Dysregulated glucose metabolism exacerbates atherosclerosis and increases cardiovascular risk. The stress hyperglycemia ratio (SHR) is proposed as an indicator of glucose metabolism status but its association with cardiovascular outcomes in CTVD patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) remains unclear. METHODS: 10,532 CTVD patients undergoing PCI were consecutively enrolled. SHR was calculated using the formula: admission blood glucose (mmol/L)/[1.59×HbA1c (%)-2.59]. Patients were divided into two groups (SHR Low and SHR High) according to the optimal cutoff value of SHR. Multivariable Cox regression models were used to assess the relationship between SHR and long-term prognosis. The primary endpoint was cardiovascular (CV) events, composing of cardiac death and non-fatal myocardial infarction (MI). RESULTS: During the median follow-up time of 3 years, a total of 279 cases (2.6%) of CV events were recorded. Multivariable Cox analyses showed that high SHR was associated with a significantly higher risk of CV events [Hazard Ratio (HR) 1.99, 95% Confidence interval (CI) 1.58-2.52, P < 0.001). This association remained consistent in patients with (HR 1.50, 95% CI 1.08-2.10, P = 0.016) and without diabetes (HR 1.97, 95% CI 1.42-2.72, P < 0.001). Additionally, adding SHR to the base model of traditional risk factors led to a significant improvement in the C-index, net reclassification and integrated discrimination. CONCLUSIONS: SHR was a significant predictor for adverse CV outcomes in CTVD patients with or without diabetes, which suggested that it could aid in the risk stratification in this particular population regardless of glucose metabolism status.

Association of Residential Greenness Exposure with Depression Incidence in Adults 50 Years of Age and Older: Findings from the Cohort Study on Global AGEing and Adult Health (SAGE) in China.

BACKGROUND: Depression is a social and public health problem of great concern globally. Identifying and managing the factors influencing depression are crucial for preventing and decreasing the burden of depression. OBJECTIVES: Our objectives are to explore the association between residential greenness and the incidence of depression in an older Chinese population and to calculate the disease burden of depression prevented by greenness exposure. METHODS: This study was the Chinese part of the World Health Organization Study on Global AGEing and Adult Health (WHO SAGE). We collected the data of 8,481 residents ≥50 years of age in China for the period 2007-2018. Average follow-up duration was 7.00 (±2.51) years. Each participant was matched to the yearly maximum normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) at their residential address. Incidence of depression was assessed using the Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI), self-reports of depression, and/or taking depression medication. Association between greenness and depression was examined using the time-dependent Cox regression model with stratified analysis by sex, age, urbanicity, annual family income, region, smoking, drinking, and household cooking fuels. Furthermore, the prevented fraction (PF) and attributable number (AN) of depression prevented by exposure to greenness were estimated. RESULTS: Residential greenness was negatively associated with depression. Each interquartile range (IQR) increase in NDVI 500-m buffer was associated with a 40% decrease [hazard ratio (HR)=0.60; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.37, 0.97] in the risk of depression incidence among the total participants. Subgroup analyses showed negative associations in urban residents (HR=0.32; 95% CI: 0.12, 0.86) vs. rural residents, in high-income residents (HR=0.28; 95% CI: 0.11, 0.71) vs. low-income residents, and in southern China (HR=0.50; 95% CI: 0.26, 0.95) vs. northern China. Over 8.0% (PF=8.69%; 95% CI: 1.38%, 15.40%) and 1,955,199 (95% CI: 310,492; 3,464,909) new cases of depression may be avoided by increasing greenness exposures annually across China. DISCUSSION: The findings suggest protective effects of residential greenness exposure on depression incidence in the older population, particularly among urban residents, high-income residents, and participants living in southern China. The construction of residential greenness should be included in community planning. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP13947.

Effects of the Space Holder Shape on the Pore Structure and Mechanical Properties of Porous Cu with a Wide Porosity Range.

Porous copper (Cu), with varying porosities, has been made using carbamide as a space holder through the powder metallurgy route. Two shapes of carbamide particles were used, (i) needlelike and (ii) spherical, in order to investigate the effect of the space holder shape on the pore structure and mechanical properties of porous Cu. The compressive deformation behavior of porous Cu was studied under a compression test. The pores' structural characteristics and mechanical properties of the porous Cu varied significantly with the shape of the space holder. Although the effect of the space holder shape on the porosity was not regular, the effect on the mechanical properties was regular. The stress increased monotonically with the increase in the strain, and strain hardening occurred at the plastic yield stage. The elastic modulus and yield strength followed the power law, with the relative density irrespective of the space holder shape. The empirical constants associated with different empirically developed power law relations were different, according to the shape of space holder. A quantitative relationship between the elastic modulus and yield strength and the spacer content was obtained to control the mechanical properties of the present porous Cu or other porous metals and metal foams using the well-known space holder method.

Deciphering bat influenza H18N11 infection dynamics in male Jamaican fruit bats on a single-cell level.

Jamaican fruit bats (Artibeus jamaicensis) naturally harbor a wide range of viruses of human relevance. These infections are typically mild in bats, suggesting unique features of their immune system. To better understand the immune response to viral infections in bats, we infected male Jamaican fruit bats with the bat-derived influenza A virus (IAV) H18N11. Using comparative single-cell RNA sequencing, we generated single-cell atlases of the Jamaican fruit bat intestine and mesentery. Gene expression profiling showed that H18N11 infection resulted in a moderate induction of interferon-stimulated genes and transcriptional activation of immune cells. H18N11 infection was predominant in various leukocytes, including macrophages, B cells, and NK/T cells. Confirming these findings, human leukocytes, particularly macrophages, were also susceptible to H18N11, highlighting the zoonotic potential of this bat-derived IAV. Our study provides insight into a natural virus-host relationship and thus serves as a fundamental resource for future in-depth characterization of bat immunology.

Temporal and spatial trend analysis of all-cause depression burden based on Global Burden of Disease (GBD) 2019 study.

Depression has been reported as one of the most prevalent psychiatric illnesses globally. This study aimed to obtain information on the global burden of depression and its associated spatiotemporal variation, by exploring the correlation between the global burden of depression and the social development index (SDI) and associated risk factors. Using data from the Global Burden of Disease study from 1990 to 2019, we described the prevalence and burden of disease in 204 countries across 21 regions, including sex and age differences and the relationship between the global disease burden and SDI. The age-standardized rate and estimated annual percentage change were used to assess the global burden of depression. Individuals with documented depression globally ranged from 182,183,358 in 1990 to 290,185,742 in 2019, representing an increase of 0.59%. More patients experienced major depressive disorder than dysthymia. The incidence and disability-adjusted life years of depression were the highest in the 60-64 age group and much higher in females than in males, with this trend occurring across all ages. The age-standardized incidence and adjusted life-years-disability rates varied with different SDI levels. Relevant risk factors for depression were identified. National governments must support research to improve prevention and treatment interventions.

Heatwaves increase road traffic injury morbidity risk and burden in China and its provinces.

Previous studies have demonstrated health impacts of climate change, but evidence on heatwaves' associations with road traffic injury (RTI) is limited. In this study, individual information of RTI cases in May-September during 2006-2021 in China were obtained from the National Injury Surveillance System. Daily maximum temperatures (TMmax) during 2006-2021 were collected from the ERA-5 reanalysis, and the projected daily TMmax during 2020-2099 were obtained from the latest Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 6 Shared Socioeconomic Pathways scenarios (SSPs). We used a time-stratified case-crossover analysis to investigate the association between short-term exposure (lag01 days) to heatwaves (exceeding the 92.5th percentile of daily TMmax for ≥ three consecutive days) and RTI, and to project heatwave-related RTI until 2099 across China. Finally, a total of 1 031 082 RTI cases were included in the analyses. Compared with non-heatwaves, the risks of RTI increased by 3.61 % during heatwaves. Greater associations were found in people aged 15-64 years, in people with transportation occupation, for non-motor traffic vehicle injuries, for severe RTI cases, and in Western China particularly in Qinghai province. We projected substantial increases in attributable fraction (AF) of heatwave-related RTI in the future, particularly in Western and Southwest China. The national average increase in AF (per decade) during 2020s-2090s was 0.036 % for SSP1-2.6 scenario, and 0.267 % for SSP5-8.5 scenario. This study provided evidence on the associations of heatwaves with RTI, and the heatwave-related RTI will substantially increase in the future.

Insight into the status of plasma renin and aldosterone measurement: findings from 526 clinical laboratories in China.

OBJECTIVES: Accurate measurements of renin and aldosterone levels play an important role in primary aldosteronism screening, which is of great importance in the management and categorization of hypertension. The objective of this study is to investigate the current status of plasma renin and aldosterone measurements in China, which is achieved by analyzing the results of 526 clinical laboratories nationwide for three pooled fresh plasma samples derived from more than 2,000 patients. METHODS: Renin and aldosterone in three pooled plasma samples were measured four times in 526 laboratories employing various measurement systems. The inter- and intra-laboratory %CV were calculated and compared. To determine the source of the substantial inter-laboratory %CV, laboratories were categorized according to the measurement systems they are using, and both the inter- and intra-measurement-system %CV were calculated and compared. RESULTS: Regarding renin, the majority of laboratories use four primary commercial immunoassays. However, for aldosterone, in addition to commercial immunoassays, laboratory-developed liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS) methods are also used by laboratories. The median values of intra-laboratory %CVs, intra-measurement-system %CVs, inter-laboratory %CVs, and inter-measurement systems %CVs varied between 1.6 and 2.6 %, 4.6 and 14.9 %, 8.3 and 25.7 %, and 10.0 and 34.4 % for renin, respectively. For aldosterone, these values ranged from 1.4 to 2.2 %, 2.5-14.7 %, 9.9-31.0 %, and 10.0-35.5 %, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The precision within laboratories and measurement systems for plasma renin and aldosterone measurements is satisfactory. However, the comparability between laboratories using different measurement systems remains lacking, indicating the long way to achieve standardization and harmonization for these two analytes.

Mutual Associations of Exposure to Ambient Air Pollutants in the First 1000 Days of Life With Asthma/Wheezing in Children: Prospective Cohort Study in Guangzhou, China.

BACKGROUND: The first 1000 days of life, encompassing pregnancy and the first 2 years after birth, represent a critical period for human health development. Despite this significance, there has been limited research into the associations between mixed exposure to air pollutants during this period and the development of asthma/wheezing in children. Furthermore, the finer sensitivity window of exposure during this crucial developmental phase remains unclear. OBJECTIVE: This study aims to assess the relationships between prenatal and postnatal exposures to various ambient air pollutants (particulate matter 2.5 [PM2.5], carbon monoxide [CO], sulfur dioxide [SO2], nitrogen dioxide [NO2], and ozone [O3]) and the incidence of childhood asthma/wheezing. In addition, we aimed to pinpoint the potential sensitivity window during which air pollution exerts its effects. METHODS: We conducted a prospective birth cohort study wherein pregnant women were recruited during early pregnancy and followed up along with their children. Information regarding maternal and child characteristics was collected through questionnaires during each round of investigation. Diagnosis of asthma/wheezing was obtained from children's medical records. In addition, maternal and child exposures to air pollutants (PM2.5 CO, SO2, NO2, and O3) were evaluated using a spatiotemporal land use regression model. To estimate the mutual associations of exposure to mixed air pollutants with the risk of asthma/wheezing in children, we used the quantile g-computation model. RESULTS: In our study cohort of 3725 children, 392 (10.52%) were diagnosed with asthma/wheezing. After the follow-up period, the mean age of the children was 3.2 (SD 0.8) years, and a total of 14,982 person-years were successfully followed up for all study participants. We found that each quartile increase in exposure to mixed air pollutants (PM2.5, CO, SO2, NO2, and O3) during the second trimester of pregnancy was associated with an adjusted hazard ratio (HR) of 1.24 (95% CI 1.04-1.47). Notably, CO made the largest positive contribution (64.28%) to the mutual effect. After categorizing the exposure according to the embryonic respiratory development stages, we observed that each additional quartile of mixed exposure to air pollutants during the pseudoglandular and canalicular stages was associated with HRs of 1.24 (95% CI 1.03-1.51) and 1.23 (95% CI 1.01-1.51), respectively. Moreover, for the first year and first 2 years after birth, each quartile increment of exposure to mixed air pollutants was associated with HRs of 1.65 (95% CI 1.30-2.10) and 2.53 (95% CI 2.16-2.97), respectively. Notably, SO2 made the largest positive contribution in both phases, accounting for 50.30% and 74.70% of the association, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Exposure to elevated levels of mixed air pollutants during the first 1000 days of life appears to elevate the risk of childhood asthma/wheezing. Specifically, the second trimester, especially during the pseudoglandular and canalicular stages, and the initial 2 years after birth emerge as crucial susceptibility windows. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Chinese Clinical Trial Registry ChiCTR-ROC-17013496; https://tinyurl.com/2ctufw8n.

Direct Imaging of Protein Clusters in Metal-Organic Frameworks.

Protein@metal-organic frameworks (P@MOFs) prepared by coprecipitation of protein, metal ions, and organic ligands represent an effective method for protein stabilization with a wide spectrum of applications. However, the formation mechanism of P@MOFs via the coprecipitation process and the reason why proteins can retain their biological activity in the frameworks with highly concentrated metal ions remain unsettled. Here, by a combined methodology of single molecule localization microscopy and clustering analysis, we discovered that in this process enzyme molecules form clusters with metal ions and organic ligands, contributing to both the nucleation and subsequent crystal growth. We proposed that the clusters played an important role in the retention of overall enzymatic activity by sacrificing protein molecules on the cluster surface. This work offers fresh perspectives on protein behaviors in the formation of P@MOFs, inspiring future endeavors in the design and development of artificial bionanocomposites with high biological activities.