Coordination between scientific and technological innovation and the high-quality development of Baijiu industry: The coupling and decoupling perspective.

The Baijiu industry is a significant contributor to both the food industry and the light industry. Its high tax characteristics effectively promote the sustainable development of the regional economy. First, the evaluation index system of scientific and technological innovation (STI) and high-quality development of Baijiu industry (HQDBI) were constructed. The entropy-improved CRITIC method was used to measure the weights. Second, the coordination relationship and evolution trend of STI and HQDBI were explored using the coupling coordination model and the Tapio decoupling model. Then, the transfer law and key influencing factors were further investigated using the Markov chain and grey correlation, respectively. The main contribution is the dynamic evolution of the coupling and decoupling relationships from the perspective of multiple Baijiu provinces, and deeply depicts the coordination relationship and evolutionary trends of STI and HQDBI. The results show that: the spatial distribution of the coupling coordination degree shows high values in the east-west and low values in the north-south characteristics. In 2021, a pattern of coordinated development in Baijiu provinces has emerged along the Yangtze River basin. The decoupling state is mainly strong decoupling, but it remains poor in Shanxi. The coordination process is unstable and difficult to achieve leapfrog development. Coordination, sustainability and innovation environment have a greater impact on the coordination of subsystems.

Regional differences and dynamic evolution of high-quality development in service industry: A case study of the Chengdu-Chongqing economic circle.

The high-quality development of service industry has become an important engine for promoting sustainable economic development. This paper first constructed the evaluation index system of high-quality development of service industry, based on panel data from 2005 to 2020. Second, Kernel density, Markov chain and Dagum Gini coefficient were used to represent the regional differences and dynamic evolution of service industry, and the Koo method was used to explore the characteristics of spatial agglomeration. Finally, social network analysis was used to identify core indicators. The study found that: (1) From 2005 to 2020, the overall level of service industry first decreases and then increases, with Chengdu and Chongqing leading other cities. (2) The development of service industry in the CCEC has large spatial differences, mainly due to inter-regional differences. (3) The level of spatial agglomeration is less variable, with high agglomeration mainly in Chengdu. (4) Indicators such as the level of human capital are the core factors of its high-quality development. This study is of great theoretical and practical significance for the optimization and upgrading of service industry in the CCEC and the synergetic development of the region.

Effects of perfluoroalkyl substances on root and rhizosphere bacteria: Phytotoxicity, phyto-microbial remediation, risk assessment.

BACKGROUND: Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) is easily sink into soil, affecting plants growth and microenvironment. However, the impacts of PFAS-related risk assessment on root and rhizosphere microbiomes are still poorly understood. OBJECTIVE: Researched on Arabidopsis thaliana and Nicotiana benthamiana growing in contaminated with perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), hexafluoropropylene oxide-dimer acid (HFPO-DA) and their mixtures. RESULTS: (i) Bioaccumulation of PFAS in roots was positively correlated with carbon chain length, contamination levels and exposure time, the phytotoxicity was as follows: HFPO-DA < (PFOA + HFPO-DA) < PFOA; (ii) Both short-term and long-term accumulation of PFAS would affect the changes in root antioxidant system and physiological metabolism; (iii) Single or mixed contamination of PFAS had unique influences on rhizosphere microbial diversity, community composition and interspecies interaction, and mixture was more complex. More importantly, the performance of Sphingomonadaceae and Rhizobiaceae microbial communities could contribute to the practice of phyto-microbial soil remediation. FUTURE DIRECTION: Pay more attention on novel pollution pathway in cultivation, exposure levels for different plants (especially crops), as well as more exact and scientific risk assessments. Establish a new PFAS grouping strategy and ecotoxicity life cycle assessment framework.

Pollution assessment and sources of dissolved heavy metals in coastal water of a highly urbanized coastal area: The role of groundwater discharge.

Heavy metal concentrations and physicochemical parameters in coastal waters were measured to analyze the spatial distribution characteristics, pollution degrees, and sources of heavy metals in the heavily urbanized Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) in China. Heavy metal concentrations in the eastern GBA were higher than those in the west, and the levels of Pb and Zn in seawater were higher than those in groundwater and river water. Both the pollution factors and comprehensive water quality index demonstrated that seawater was not contaminated with As, Cd, Cr, and Ni, whereas low to considerable levels of contamination of Pb and Zn were observed in the central and eastern sections of the GBA. Multiple statistical analyses suggested that the Pb and Zn contaminations in seawater were probably derived from atmospheric deposition and human activities, and the excess amounts of As, Cd, Cu, Ni, and Zn in groundwater were attributed to anthropogenic activities. The heavy metal fluxes from submarine groundwater discharge (SGD) were comparable to, or even greater than, those from local rivers. Therefore, SGD is a significant invisible contributor of heavy metals into the coastal ocean that has often been overlooked in comparison to other visible pollution sources. This study suggests that SGD should be considered in the assessment of heavy metal pollution and future water quality management protocols in marine ecosystems.

Predictive value of the sequential organ failure assessment (SOFA) score for prognosis in patients with severe acute ischemic stroke: a retrospective study.

OBJECTIVE: To identify the risk factors for early death and determine the predictive value of the sequential organ failure assessment (SOFA) score for prognosis of severe acute ischemic stroke (AIS). METHODS: A total of 110 patients with severe AIS were enrolled and divided into the non-survivor (n = 34) and survivor groups (n = 76). Logistic regression analysis was conducted to identify risk factors for early death, while the receiver operator characteristic (ROC) curve was used to determine the predictive effect of the SOFA score on prognosis. RESULTS: Logistic regression analysis showed that urinary tract infection (odds ratio [OR] = 17.364, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.903-158.427), mechanical ventilation (OR = 1.754, 95% CI: 1.648-2.219), and osmotic therapy (OR = 2.835, 95% CI: 1.871-5.102) were significantly correlated with early death of severe AIS. ROC curve analysis of the area under the curve after hospitalization showed that the maximum SOFA and ΔSOFA scores exceeded 0.7. CONCLUSION: Our study shows that urinary tract infection, mechanical ventilation, and osmotic therapy are risk factors for early death of severe AIS. The SOFA score has good predictive value for prognosis of severe AIS. These findings may provide a guideline for improving clinical outcome.

Assessment of sleep quality in benign paroxysmal positional vertigo recurrence.

OBJECTIVE: Despite the availability of highly effective treatments, there is a significant recurrence rate of benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV). This study is aimed to quantitatively measure sleep quality in BPPV patients and correlate it with the recurrence of BPPV. METHODS: In this longitudinal cohort study, the clinical records of 67 elderly or middle-aged adult patients who were diagnosed with BPPV at Neurology Clinic, Beijing Chaoyang Hospital affiliated to Capital Medical University between 2013 and 2014. The 'recurrent' and 'non-recurrent' BPPV were respectively defined. Primary data collection included the medical history, blood test and Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index measurement. RESULTS: Among the total 67 patients after successful treatment, recurrent BPPV is observed in 37.31% patients (n = 25) within 2 years. Among all 11 variables analyzed between recurrent and non-recurrent groups, only the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) scores showed significant difference (p<.001). In details, these differences were also measured in five individual sleep items, including the subjective assessment of sleep quality, sleep latency, sleep duration, the use of sleep-aid medication and daytime dysfunctions (all p<.05). Regression analysis showed patients with higher PSQI score (lower sleep quality) had higher risk of BPPV recurrence [odds ratio (OR)=1.17, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.04-1.32, p=.0082]. CONCLUSIONS: The sleep quality in patients with BPPV recurrence is significantly poorer compared to non-recurrent patients. Our result suggested sleep quality as measured by PSQI is an independent risk factor of BPPV recurrence.

Assessment of Homocysteine as a Diagnostic and Early Prognostic Biomarker for Patients with Acute Lacunar Infarction.

BACKGROUND: Although increasing evidence has demonstrated that elevated homocysteine (Hcy) levels may be an important contributor for the development of cerebral infarction, rare studies focused on its diagnostic and early prognostic roles in acute lacunar infarction. METHODS: A total of 197 patients with acute lacunar infarction and 192 to form the control group were prospectively recruited between January 2013 and February 2017. Early neurological deterioration was defined as an increase of ≥2 points in National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale or the decrease in Barthel index (BI) score at discharge. RESULTS: Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses revealed that higher levels of fibrinogen and Hcy were independently clinical predictors associated with lacunar infarction. Receiver operating characteristic curves analysis demonstrated that the diagnosis value of Hcy was superior to fibrinogen, with the area under the curve of 0.881 and 0.688 respectively. Using the optimal cutoff value of 15.5 µmol/L of Hcy, a sensitivity of 65% and a specificity of 100% were achieved for predicting lacunar infarction. Hcy was only significantly related with BI reduction in the males (30.5 [15.5-65.5] vs. 18 [15-24], p = 0.034) in the univariate analysis but not in the females and the multivariate analysis. CONCLUSIONS: Serum Hcy may be an independent diagnostic and not an early prognostic biomarker for patients with acute lacunar infarction.

The effects of infection on severe stroke patients in the neurological intensive care unit in China.

OBJECTIVE: To study the effects of infection on severe stroke patients in the neurological intensive care unit and to find the related risk factors for mortality of severe stroke patients. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective study including 343 patients with ischaemic or haemorrhagic stroke and staying for more than 2 patient-days in the neurological intensive care unit at Beijing Chaoyang Hospital from January 2011 to December 2015 to analyse the infection features of patients with severe stroke in the neurological intensive care unit. All analyses were conducted using SPSS 18.0. RESULTS: The mortality rate, hospital staying time and hospital costs between infected and uninfected stroke patients were higher in the infected patients than in the uninfected patients, P < 0.05, and except for the hospital staying time, the mortality rate and hospital costs were both significantly higher in the infected patients. Respiratory tract infection was the most common infection type at all time periods, P < 0.05. However, urinary tract infection increased at 72 h after stroke compared with infection within 72 h after stroke. Blood sugar level, mean arterial pressure, scores of APACHE II, history of stroke, history of heart diseases, infections and respiratory tract infection were significantly different in dead patients compared with the alive patients, P < 0.05. CONCLUSION: Infection can significantly influence the mortality rate and hospital costs of stroke patients, and is an independent risk factor for mortality of stroke patients.

Higher blood-brain barrier permeability is associated with higher white matter hyperintensities burden.

The pathogenesis of white matter hyperintensities (WMH) is incompletely understood but blood-brain barrier (BBB) dysfunction may play a key role. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between BBB permeability and the severity of WMH burden. Consecutive participants without symptomatic stroke history presented for physical examination were recruited in this cross-sectional study and divided into three WMH burden groups according to total Fazekas scores. They received dynamic contrast-enhanced-magnetic resonance imaging to measure BBB permeability, and received Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) and Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA). A total of 102 participants aged 49-90 years (mean age of 69.82 years) were enrolled (36 with low WMH burden, 35 with medium WMH burden, and 31 with high WMH burden). Multivariable linear regression analyses revealed that participants with higher WMH burden had significantly higher BBB leakage rate and area under the leakage curve in normal-appearing white matter, WMH, cortical gray matter, and deep gray matter (DGM) after adjustment for age, sex, and vascular risk factors. Scores on MMSE and MoCA decreased with increasing leakage rate in WMH and DGM after adjustment for age, sex, WMH burden, and education years. We found that higher BBB permeability is associated with higher WMH burden and cognitive decline. The compromised BBB integrity may be a critical contributor to the pathogenesis of WMH and part of a series of pathological processes that finally lead to cognitive impairment.

Grain Size Distribution and Health Risk Assessment of Metals in Outdoor Dust in Chengdu, Southwestern China.

A total of 27 outdoor dust samples from roads, parks, and high spots were collected and analyzed to investigate the contamination of 11 metals (Cr, Mn, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, As, Sr, Cd, Sb, and Pb) in Chengdu, China. The results showed that the samples from the high spots exhibited the highest heavy metal level compared with those from the roads and the parks, except for Ni, Cu, and Pb. The dust was classified into five grain size fractions. The mean loads of each grain size fraction of 11 determined metals displayed similar distribution, and the contribution of median size (63-125, 125-250, 250-500 µm) fractions accounted for more than 70% of overall heavy metal loads. The health risk posed by the determined metals to human via dust ingestion, dermal contact, and inhalation was investigated. Oral and respiratory bioaccessible parts of the metals in dust were extracted using simulated stomach solution and composite lung serum. The mean bioaccessibilities of 11 investigated metals in the gastric solution were much higher than those in the composite lung serum, especially Zn, Cd, and Pb. Ingestion was the most important exposure pathway with percentage greater than 70% for both children and adults. Risk evaluation results illustrated that children in Chengdu might suffer noncarcinogenic risk when exposed to outdoor dust. Given that the cancer risk values of Pb and Cr larger than 1 × 10(-4), potential carcinogenic risk might occur for Chengdu residents through outdoor dust intake.

Concentrations and health risk assessment of metal(loid)s in indoor dust from two typical cities of China.

Eleven trace metal(loid)s were determined in the household dust samples from Chengdu and Tianjin, China, and related human exposure and health risk to metal(loid)s via indoor dust intake were evaluated. The trace metal(loid)s were found to be highly concentrated and polluted in the indoor environment of Chengdu and Tianjin, especially for Cu, Zn, Cd, Sb, and Pb, of which the enrichment factors exceeding 5. Metal(loid) levels in the indoor dust samples exhibited no statistical differences between the two cities, with the exception of Sb, which was detected higher in the Chengdu samples. Bioaccessibilities in stomach phase of each element were estimated, Cd, Pb, and Sr exhibited higher bioaccessibility, and Sb showed the lowest bioaccessibility in both Chengdu and Tianjin. Dust ingestion was the main metal(loid) exposure pathway for Chengdu and Tianjin inhabitants, followed by dermal contact, dust inhalation accounted for less than 1 % of the total daily metal(loid) intakes and thus could be negligible. Children suffered more risk when exposure to metal(loid)s via indoor dust intake due to their higher frequency of hand to mouth activities. Risk evaluation indicated that, for most Chengdu and Tianjin inhabitants, there is little non-cancer and carcinogen risk when exposure to indoor dust. However, there is a potential non-cancer and carcinogen risk for children and adults in Chengdu, in the case of highly exposed scenario based on the current study.

The INITIATOR study: pilot data on real-world clinical and economic outcomes in US patients with type 2 diabetes initiating injectable therapy.

INTRODUCTION: Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) progression often results in treatment intensification with injectable therapy to maintain glycemic control. Using pilot data from the Initiation of New Injectable Treatment Introduced after Anti-diabetic Therapy with Oral-only Regimens study, real-world treatment patterns among T2DM patients initiating injectable therapy with insulin glargine or liraglutide were assessed. METHODS: This was a retrospective analysis of claims from the OptumInsight™ (OI; January 1, 2010 to July 30, 2010) and HealthCore(®) (HC; January 1, 2010 to June 1, 2010) health insurance databases. Baseline characteristics, health care resource utilization, and costs were compared between adults with T2DM initiating injectable therapy with insulin glargine pen versus liraglutide. Follow-up outcomes, including glycated hemoglobin A1c (A1C), hypoglycemia, health care utilization, and costs, were assessed. RESULTS: At baseline, almost one in three liraglutide patients (OI, n = 363; HC, n = 521) had A1C <7.0%, while insulin glargine patients (OI, n = 498; HC, n = 1,188) had poorer health status, higher A1C (insulin glargine: 9.8% and 9.1% versus liraglutide: 7.9% and 7.7%, OI and HC, respectively, both P < 0.001), and were less likely to be obese (insulin glargine: 10.8% and 9.2% versus liraglutide: 17.4% and 18.8%, OI and HC, respectively, both P < 0.01). The percentage of patients experiencing a hypoglycemic event was numerically higher for insulin pen use for both cohorts (OI 4.4% versus 3.0%; HC 6.2% versus 2.3%). During follow-up, in the insulin glargine cohort, annualized diabetes-related costs remained unchanged ($8,344 versus $7,749 OI, and $7,094 versus $7,731 HC), despite a significant increase in pharmacy costs, due to non-significant decreases in medical costs, while the liraglutide cohort had a significant increase in annualized diabetes-related costs ($4,510 versus $7,731 OI, and $4,136 versus $7,111 HC; both P < 0.001) due to a non-significant increase in medical costs coupled with a significant increase in pharmacy costs. CONCLUSION: These descriptive data identified differences in demographic and baseline clinical characteristics among patients initiating injectable therapies. The different health care utilization and cost patterns warrant further cost-effectiveness analysis.