Examination of the relationship between agricultural carbon emission efficiency and food quality and safety: from the perspective of environmental regulation.

An important breakthrough in the coordinated development of China's low-carbon goals and food security strategies is agricultural development oriented toward quality, safety, green, and low carbon. This study integrated command-control and market-incentive environmental regulation (ER), agricultural eco-efficiency (ACEE), and food quality and safety (FQS) into a unified theoretical framework. The unexpected output-oriented Super-SBM model was used to calculate the ACEE of China's provinces and cities from 2011 to 2020 and test the bidirectional causality between ACEE and FQS through the system generalized moment estimation model. A dynamic panel smooth transition (PSTR) model was used to explore the nonlinear impact mechanisms of different types of ERs on ACEE and FQS. The results showed that there was a long-term, two-way causal relationship between ACEE and FQS. The impact of environmental regulations on ACEE and FQS has a nonlinear relationship. Among them, the role of market-incentivized ER is more significant. Therefore, building an interregional coordinated development mechanism, improving the utilization rate of agricultural resources such as fertilizers and pesticides, and coordinating the positive effects of different types of ERs are the keys to improving the ACEE and ensuring the coordinated development of FQS.

Cost-effectiveness analysis of nivolumab combination therapy in the first-line treatment for advanced esophageal squamous-cell carcinoma.

Objective: We aimed to investigate the cost-effectiveness of nivolumab plus chemotherapy and nivolumab plus ipilimumab versus chemotherapy in the first-line treatment for advanced esophageal squamous-cell carcinoma (ESCC) patients from a healthcare system perspective in China. Methods: On the basis of the CheckMate 648 trial, a partitioned survival model was constructed to estimate economic costs and health outcomes among overall and PD-L1-positive advanced ESCC patients over a 10-year lifetime horizon. The health-related costs and utilities were obtained from the local charges and published literature. The lifetime costs, life-years, quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs), and incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) were measured. One-way and probabilistic sensitivity analyses (PSA) were performed to assess the robustness of the model. Results: In the base-case analysis, in overall and PD-L1-positive advanced ESCC patients, the ICERs were $415,163.81/QALY and $216,628.00/QALY for nivolumab plus chemotherapy, and$430,704.11/QALY and $185,483.94/QALY for nivolumab plus ipilimumab, respectively, compared with chemotherapy. One-way sensitivity analyses revealed that patients' weight was the most influential parameter on ICER. The PSA demonstrated that the probability of nivolumab combination therapy being cost-effective was 0% over chemotherapy at the current price and willingness-to-pay threshold ($38,351.20/QALY). When the price of nivolumab and ipilimumab decreased 80%, the cost-effective probability of nivolumab plus ipilimumab increased to 40.44% and 86.38% in overall and PD-L1-positive advanced ESCC patients, respectively. Conclusion: Nivolumab combination therapy could improve survival time and health benefits over chemotherapy for advanced ESCC patients, but it is unlikely to be a cost-effective treatment option in China.

Coupling and Coordinating Relationship between Agricultural Eco-Efficiency and Food Security System in China.

Carbon peaking, carbon neutrality goals and food security are the basis of sustainable development, and exploring the coordination relationship between China's agricultural eco-efficiency and food security system has a major significance for the implementation of relevant strategies. This paper is based on collaboration research on the synergistic relationship between agricultural eco-efficiency and food security systems using methods such as entropy weight method, coupling coordination model, spatial autocorrelation model, etc., revealing the evolution-driven mechanism of the coupling coordination degree. This study found that a higher level of coupling coordination always occurs in those areas with high standard farmland construction and large grain production scale, while economically developed areas appear to have a lower overall coordination level limited by endowment constraints and division of labor in development planning. It shows a positive spatial correlation in terms of geographical distance between agricultural eco-efficiency and food security, and the positive spillover effect gradually increases but is not strong overall. China should combine regional resource endowment and development planning, pay attention to the improvement of large-scale and standardized agricultural production, continue to strengthen the development of clean agricultural production, and achieve food security under the constraints of the carbon peaking and carbon neutrality goals.

Intraoperative assessment of tubules in predicting microdissection testicular sperm extraction outcome in men with Sertoli cell-only syndrome.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to assess the value of measuring the tubule diameter during microdissection testicular sperm extraction (micro-TESE) in predicting outcomes in patients with Sertoli cell-only syndrome (SCOS). METHODS: Fifty-six consecutive patients with SCOS were included. Patients were classified into two groups on the basis of the diameter of seminiferous tubules measured against 5/0 surgical suture (≥100 µm or <100 µm). RESULTS: The sperm retrieval rate (SRR) in men with a tubule diameter ≥100 µm was significantly lower than that in those with <100 µm (3.1% vs. 25.0%). The SRR from the contralateral testis in men with a tubule diameter ≥100 µm was lower than that in those with <100 µm (0% vs. 14.3%). Men with a tubule diameter ≥100 µm had a significantly larger testis and lower follicle-stimulating hormone levels than did men with <100 µm (8.1 ± 2.4 vs. 5.3±1.8 mL, 19.9 ± 9.7 vs. 25.9 ± 7.1 mIU/mL, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: The diameter of tubules is a useful predictor for a successful SRR in men with SCOS. Intraoperative assessment of homogeneous large tubules allows some men to perform a limited (superficial) contralateral micro-TESE after no spermatozoa are initially identified.

Effects of energy expenditure and Ucp1 on photoperiod-induced weight gain in collard lemmings.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the role of total energy expenditure (TEE) and its components in the ability of collared lemmings to increase weight in response to a decrease in photoperiod. RESEARCH METHODS AND PROCEDURES: Energy expenditure was measured by 24-hour indirect calorimetry concurrent with food-intake studies. TEE and resting and nonresting energy expenditure (REE and NREE, respectively) were adjusted for body weight by analysis of covariance (ANCOVA). Uncoupling protein 1 (Ucp1) mRNA levels from interscapular brown adipose tissue were determined by Northern blot. RESULTS: TEE and REE of lemmings exposed to a short photoperiod for 10 days were significantly lower than that of lemmings exposed to a long photoperiod (p < 0.05), whereas NREE was not significantly different (p = 0.44). Ucp1 mRNA levels in interscapular brown adipose tissue were 50% lower in short- vs. long-photoperiod lemmings (p < 0.01). Ucp1 mRNA levels were positively related to REE (r2 = 0.79, p < 0.01). After adjustment of REE for differences in Ucp1 mRNA levels, there was no longer a significant difference attributable to photoperiod treatment (p = 0.54). DISCUSSION: The results of this study indicate that the increase in body mass that occurs when collared lemmings are exposed to a short photoperiod may be primarily fueled by a decrease in REE and is correlated with a decrease in Ucp1 mRNA levels.