Ecological risk assessment of glyphosate and its possible effect on bacterial community in surface sediments of a typical shallow Lake, northern China.

Glyphosate is a widely used herbicide worldwide and its prevalent presence in aquatic ecosystems poses a threat to living organisms. This study evaluated potential ecological risk of glyphosate to sediment-dwelling organisms and assessed the probable effect of glyphosate on structure and predicated function of sediment-attached bacterial communities from a large shallow lake in northern China based on 16S rRNA high-throughput sequencing. Results suggested that glyphosate showed a medium to high concentration (up to 8.63 mg/kg) and chronic risk to sediment-dwelling organisms (10% samples exhibiting medium to high risk quotient), especially in sites nearby farmland and residential areas in August. Bacterial community identification based on 16S rRNA sequence indicated some species of dominant phylum Proteobacteria and Campilobacterota (e.g., Steroidobacteraceae, Thiobacillus, Gallionellaceae, Sulfurimonadaceae) were stimulated while some species of dominant phylum Actinobacteriota, Acidobacteriota and Firmicutes (e.g., Nocardioidaceae, Microtrichales, Vicinamibacteraceae, Paenisporosarcina) were inhibited by glyphosate accumulation. The stimulating species were related to sulfur-oxidizing, sulfate-, iron-, or nitrate-reducing bacteria; The inhibiting species were related to plant bacterial endophytes, polyphosphate-accumulating organisms (PAOs) and denitrifers. Correspondingly, promoted bacterial metabolic functions of "sulfite respiration", "nitrogen respiration", "aromatic compound degradation" and "nitrification" but suppressed "cellulolysis", "manganese oxidation", "anoxygenic photoautotrophy S oxidizing" and "nitrate denitrification" were predicated on functional annotation of prokaryotic taxa. Although these results could only partly suggest the impacts of glyphosate on the bacterial communities due to the lack of actual results from control experiments, the identified Steroidobacteraceae could be thought as a bioindicator in the future mechanism study for the ecological effect and bioremediation of glyphosate. This work intends to arise the concern about the depletion of biodiversity and bacterial metabolic functions with contribution of glyphosate in part in eutrophic lakes.

The Effect of Population Aging on Healthcare Expenditure from a Healthcare Demand Perspective Among Different Age Groups: Evidence from Beijing City in the People's Republic of China.

BACKGROUND: With population aging (PA), the healthcare expenditure (HE) increases. The aim of this study is to analyze the HE of different age groups and the effect of age on HE among different age groups. METHODS: Combining PA and HE data, this study used the fixed effect model and parameter estimation method to evaluate the influence of different age groups on HE from 2008 to 2014. RESULTS: The age effect of HE for the population aged 65 or over was the most significant among the different age groups. Based on PA and HE data, HE per capita of the age group 65 years or over is 7.25 times as much as the population aged < 25 years, 1.61 times as much as the population aged 25~59 years, and 3.47 times as much as the population aged 60~64 years. Based on the result of the fixed effect model, HE per capita of the age group <25 years was 218.39 Yuan (CNY) (USD $31.2). HE per capita of the age group 25~59 years old increased to 1,548.62 Yuan (CNY) (USD $221.2). HE per capita of the 60~64 years age group will be 921.56 Yuan (CNY) (USD $131.7), 4.22 times as much as that of the age group < 25 years. HE per capita in the age group of 65 years or over is 2,538.88 Yuan (CNY) (USD $362.7), 11.63 times as much as that of the age group <25 years. CONCLUSION: The results suggest that PA in China is intensifying. In order to control the rising of HE, the government should not only address the supply side such as reforming medical insurance payment, developing new technologies, but also focusing on solving the demand side such as improving the quality of healthcare services, solving environmental pollution, and improving the residents' health.

The effect of different classification of hospitals on medical expenditure from perspective of classification of hospitals framework: evidence from China.

BACKGROUND: Different classification of hospitals (COH) have an important impact on medical expenditures in China. The objective of this study is to examine the impact of COH on medical expenditures with the hope of providing insights into appropriate care and resource allocation. METHODS: From the perspective of COH framework, using the Urban Employee Basic Medical Insurance (UEBMI) data of Chengdu City from 2011 to 2015, with sample size of 488,623 hospitalized patients, our study empirically analyzed the effect of COH on medical expenditure by multivariate regression modeling. RESULTS: The average medical expenditure was 5468.86 Yuan (CNY), the average expenditure of drug, diagnostic testing, medical consumables, nursing care, bed, surgery and blood expenditures were 1980.06 Yuan (CNY), 1536.27 Yuan (CNY), 500.01 Yuan (CNY), 166.23 Yuan (CNY), 221.98 Yuan (CNY), 983.18 Yuan (CNY) and 1733.21 Yuan (CNY) respectively. Patients included in the analysis were mainly elderly, with an average age of 86.65 years old. Female and male gender were split evenly. The influence of COH on total medical expenditures was significantly negative (p < 0.001). The reimbursement ratio of UEBMI had a significantly positive (p < 0.001) effect on various types of medical expenditures, indicating that the higher the reimbursement ratio was, the higher the medical expenditures would be. CONCLUSIONS: COH influenced medical expenditures significantly. In consideration of reducing medical expenditures, the government should not only start from the supply side of healthcare services, but also focus on addressing the demand side.