Evaluating the Impact of Criminalizing Drunk Driving on Road-Traffic Injuries in Guangzhou, China: A Time-Series Study.

BACKGROUND: Road-traffic injury (RTI) is a major public-health concern worldwide. However, the effectiveness of laws criminalizing drunk driving on the improvement of road safety in China is not known. METHODS: We collected daily aggregate data on RTIs from the Guangzhou First-Aid Service Command Center from 2009 to 2012. We performed an interrupted time-series analysis to evaluate the change in daily RTIs before (January 1, 2009, to April 30, 2011) and after (May 1, 2011, to December 31, 2012) the criminalization of drunk driving. We evaluated the impact of the intervention on RTIs using the overdispersed generalized additive model after adjusting for temporal trends, seasonality, day of the week, and holidays. Daytime/Nighttime RTIs, alcoholism, and non-traffic injuries were analyzed as comparison groups using the same model. RESULTS: From January 1, 2009, to December 31, 2012, we identified a total of 54 887 RTIs. The standardized daily number of RTIs was almost stable in the pre-intervention period but decreased gradually in the post-intervention period. After the intervention, the standardized daily RTIs decreased 9.6% (95% confidence interval [CI], 6.5%-12.8%). There were similar decreases for the daily daytime and nighttime RTIs. In contrast, the standardized daily cases of alcoholism increased 38.8% (95% CI, 35.1%-42.4%), and daily non-traffic injuries increased 3.6% (95% CI, 1.4%-5.8%). CONCLUSIONS: This time-series study provides scientific evidence suggesting that the criminalization of drunk driving from May 1, 2011, may have led to moderate reductions in RTIs in Guangzhou, China.

First molecular detection and genetic characterization of porcine circovirus 4 in the Gansu Province of China.

Since its initial discovery in the Hunan province of China, genomic DNA of porcine circovirus 4 (PCV4) has been detected in pigs across multiple provinces in China, as well as in South Korea. However, the prevalence of porcine circovirus type 4 in Gansu Province, China, remains unknown. To address this gap, we undertook an extensive study where we gathered 121 clinical samples displaying diverse clinical manifestations from pig farms in Gansu Province between 2022 and 2023. Employing a real-time fluorescence quantification method, we identified the presence of PCV4 genome. Out of the 121 clinical samples analyzed, 13 samples tested positive for PCV4, resulting in a positive rate of 10.74% (13/121). This finding confirms the presence of PCV4 in pig farms within Gansu Province, China. Furthermore, we successfully sequenced and analyzed the complete genomes of two distinct PCV4 strains, comparing them with 60 reference sequences archived in the GenBank database. The results revealed a high nucleotide homology (98.2-98.8%) between the strains obtained in this study and the PCV4 reference strains, indicating a relatively low evolutionary rate of the PCV4 genome. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that two strains in this study belong to PCV4a and PCV4c. As far as we know, this study marks the inaugural report on the molecular identification and genomic attributes of PCV4 in Gansu Province, China, offering valuable insights for devising preventive and control strategies against this emerging virus.

Comparative Analyses of Soil Bacterial Colonies of Two Types of Chinese Ginger after a Major Flood Disaster.

Ginger, an important cash crop, has been cultivated for thousands of years in China. However, comparative studies on soil bacterial communities of Chinese ginger varieties, especially after flooding, are lacking. Here, we comprehensively compared the bacterial communities of two types of ginger soils from four different locations. Surprisingly, the 100-year flood (20 July 2021, in Henan, China) did not significantly affect the soil bacterial composition compared with previous reports. In contrast, flooding may have brought in nutrients and promoted the propagation of eutrophic bacteria, and Alphaproteobacteria were the most abundant in the Zhangliang region (~25%). However, due to the most severe flooding and inundation, the Zhangliang region, also probably contaminated with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and heavy metals, showed the lowest microbial diversity. Moreover, the geographical location influenced the microbial communities more than did the soil type or ginger variety. These findings help us understand the species and composition of bacteria and infection of ginger after flooding and soaking. Further, the interaction mechanisms underlying these emerging phenomena need to be further investigated. IMPORTANCE There are few comparative studies on the soil bacterial communities of Chinese ginger varieties after flooding. After a 100-year flood (20 July 2021, in Henan, China), we comprehensively compared the bacterial communities of two types of ginger soils from four different locations. Surprisingly, this flood did not significantly affect the soil bacterial composition compared with previous reports. In contrast, it was found that the flooding may have brought in nutrients and promoted the propagation of eutrophic bacteria for the Zhangliang region. However, the flooding had also brought in polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon and heavy metal contamination. Moreover, we also verified that geographical location influenced the microbial communities more than did the soil type or ginger variety. These findings help us understand the species and composition of bacteria and infection of ginger after flooding and soaking.

Acute effect of ambient air pollution on heart failure in Guangzhou, China.

BACKGROUND: Heart failure (HF) is a global public health problem of increasing importance. The association between acute exposure to air pollution and HF has been well established in developed countries, but little evidence was available in developing countries where air pollution levels were much higher. We conducted a time-series study to investigate the short-term association between air pollution and overall emergency ambulance dispatches (EAD) due to HF in Guangzhou, China. METHODS: Daily data of EAD due to HF from 1 January 2008 to 31 December 2012 were obtained from Guangzhou Emergency Center. We applied the over-dispersed Poisson generalized addictive model to analyze the associations after controlling for the seasonality, day of the week and weather conditions. RESULTS: We identified a total of 3375 EAD for HF. A 10-µg/m(3) increase in the present-day concentrations of particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter of less than 10 µm, sulfur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide corresponded to increases of 3.54% [95% confidence interval (CI): 1.35%, 5.74%], 5.29% (95% CI: 2.28%, 8.30%) and 4.34% (95% CI: 1.71%, 6.97%) in daily EAD for HF, respectively. The effects of air pollution on acute HF were restricted on the concurrent day and in the cool seasons. CONCLUSIONS: Our results provided the first population-based evidence in Mainland China that outdoor air pollution could trigger the exacerbation of HF.

Argentaffine Cells in the Digestive Tract of Hibernating and Non-hibernating in Chinese Fire-bellied Newt (Cynops orientalis) / Celulas Argentafines en el Tracto Digestivo del Tritón de Vientre de Fuego Chino (Cynops orientalis) en Periódos de Hibernación y No Hibernación

In order to further studying the relationship between the gastrointestinal endocrine cells and the hibernation of Chinese fire-bellied newt, histological techniques were used in this study to explore the distributed density and morphology of argentaffine cells in the digestive tract during hibernation and non-hibernation. The argentaffine cells could be observed throughout the digestive tract of Chinese fire-bellied newt during hibernation and non-hibernation and mainly distributed in the acinar epithelial cells, epithelial cells and intrinsic membrane. They had appeared in the shape of goblet, pyramid, ellipse, round, cone-shaped, spindle-shaped. The cytoplasm contains secretory granules at the basal regions with spherical nuclei in the basal regions. Most of them had processes in different directions, suggesting that the argentaffine cells have combined the function of endocrine and exocrine. The distribution density curves of argentaffine cells were generally wavelike during the two periods. It was highest in the body of stomach in hibernation, while in non-hibernation it was highest in the pyloric. Totally the density of argentaffine cells was higher in hibernation period than that in non-hibernation period. The results showed that the activity of the digestive tract was expectedly weakened during the hibernation, but the function of endocrine was actually strengthened.

Con el fin de promover el estudio de la relación entre las células endocrinas gastrointestinales y la hibernación del tritón vientre de fuego chino, fueron utilizados técnicas histológicas para explorar la densidad de distribuición y la morfología de las células argentafines en el tracto digestivo durante la hibernación y la no hibernación. Las células argentafines pudieron ser observadas en todo el tracto digestivo de tritón vientre de fuego chino durante la hibernación y no hibernación, y se distribuyeron principalmente en las células epiteliales acinares, células epiteliales y la membrana intrínseca. Aparecieron de forma caliciforme, piramidal, elíptica, redonda, cónica y de huso. El citoplasma contenía gránulos de secreción en las regiones basales con núcleos esféricos en esa región. La mayoría de ellos tenía procesos en diferentes direcciones, lo que sugiere que las células argentafines combinaron la función del sistema endocrino y exocrino. Las curvas de densidad de distribución de las células argentafines fueron generalmente ondulante durante los dos períodos. Esta fue más alta en el cuerpo del estómago en estado de hibernación, mientras que en la no hibernación fue mayor en el píloro. En total, la densidad de las células argentafines era mayor en el periodo de hibernación. Los resultados mostraron que la actividad del tracto digestivo se debilitó, como era de esperar, durante la hibernación, pero la función del sistema endocrino se fortaleció.