Results of a Pilot External Quality Assessment Scheme for Genetic Testing of Newborns with Spinal Muscular Atrophy.

BACKGROUND: This study aims to evaluate the ability of laboratories to perform spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) genetic testing in newborns based on dried blood spot (DBS) samples, and to provide reference data and advance preparation for establishing the pilot external quality assessment (EQA) scheme for SMA genetic testing of newborns in China. METHODS: The pilot EQA scheme contents and evaluation principles of this project were designed by National Center for Clinical Laboratories (NCCL), National Health Commission. Two surveys were carried out in 2022, and 5 batches of blood spots were submitted to the participating laboratory each time. All participating laboratories conducted testing upon receiving samples, and test results were submitted to NCCL within the specified date. RESULTS: The return rates were 75.0% (21/28) and 95.2% (20/21) in the first and second surveys, respectively. The total return rate of the two examinations was 83.7% (41/49). Nineteen laboratories (19/21, 90.5%) had a full score passing on the first survey, while in the second survey twenty laboratories (20/20, 100%) scored full. CONCLUSIONS: This pilot EQA survey provides a preliminary understanding of the capability of SMA genetic testing for newborns across laboratories in China. A few laboratories had technical or operational problems in testing. It is, therefore, of importance to strengthen laboratory management and to improve testing capacity for the establishment of a national EQA scheme for newborn SMA genetic testing.

Factors influencing the social participation ability of rural older adults in China: A cross-sectional study.

Objective: To investigate the epidemiology and influencing factors of social participation ability of rural older adults in China. Methods: From March to April 2021, 3450 older adults in poverty aged 60 and above registered in Jishishan County (J County) were selected by cluster sampling for a cross-sectional questionnaire survey and their social participation ability was assessed using the Ability Assessment of older adults (MZ/T039-2013). The results were statistically analyzed and an ordered multi-category logistic regression analysis was used to analyze the effect of influencing factors on the social participation ability of rural older adults. Results: 3,346 questionnaires were collected, with an effective recovery rate of 96.99%. Out of all the participants, 1,355 (40.5%) of the 3,346 cases had intact social participation ability, while 1,991 (59.5%) had different degrees of loss of social participation ability, of which 1,393 (41.14%) were mildly impaired, 419 (12.5%) were moderately impaired and 179 (5.3%) were severely impaired. Age, educational level, religious belief, living status, whether suffering from dementia and the occurrence of accidents in recent 30 days were influencing factors on the social participation ability (p < 0.05). Conclusion: The rate of impaired social participation ability among older adults was >50% and age, educational level, religious beliefs, living status, whether suffering from dementia, and the occurrence of accidents in recent 30 days (such as falls, choking, loss) were significant factors influencing the ability of social participation of rural older adults.

Assessment of different ventilation strategies on ventilation performance in immersed tunnels.

Investigations of ventilation in an immersed tunnel have recently drawn greater research attentions; however, analyses on the influence of vent design and tunnel width on ventilation performance have rarely been addressed. For the sake of the security of evacuees in an immersed tunnel fire, the influence of three vent designs and two immersed tunnel widths on mechanical ventilation performance during tunnel fires were numerically investigated using large eddy simulation. The pollutant gas flow characteristics in the tunnel after a fire were analyzed, and the pollutant gas exhaust efficiency based on the mass conservation of carbon monoxide in the smoke was proposed in this study. By comparing the smoke propagation, smoke distribution, and exhaust efficiency between three different vent designs, it was determined that the Top Vent Design has the best smoke exhaust effect, and the Sidewall Vent Design (with an activated vertical smoke screen) has a better smoke exhaust effect than the Sidewall Vent Design. The influences of the tunnel width and heat release rate of the fire on the ventilation effect were also investigated.