Non-contrast free-breathing 2D CINE compressed SENSE T1-TFE cardiovascular MRI at 3T in sedated young children for assessment of congenital heart disease.

Cardiac MRI is a crucial tool for assessing congenital heart disease (CHD). However, its application remains challenging in young children when performed at 3T. The aim of this retrospective single center study was to compare a non-contrast free-breathing 2D CINE T1-weighted TFE-sequence with compressed sensing (FB 2D CINE CS T1-TFE) with 3D imaging for diagnostic accuracy of CHD, image quality, and vessel diameter measurements in sedated young children. FB 2D CINE CS T1-TFE was compared with a 3D non-contrast whole-heart sequence (3D WH) and 3D contrast-enhanced MR angiography (3D CE-MRA) at 3T in 37 CHD patients (20♂, 1.5±1.4 years). Two radiologists independently assessed image quality, type of CHD, and diagnostic confidence. Diameters and measures of contrast and sharpness of the aorta and pulmonary vessels were determined. A non-parametric multi-factorial approach was used to estimate diagnostic accuracy for the diagnosis of CHD. Linear mixed models were calculated to compare contrast and vessel sharpness. Krippendorff's alpha was determined to quantify vessel diameter agreement. FB 2D CINE CS T1-TFE was rated superior regarding image quality, diagnostic confidence, and diagnostic sensitivity for both intra- and extracardiac pathologies compared to 3D WH and 3D CE-MRA (all p<0.05). FB 2D CINE CS T1-TFE showed superior contrast and vessel sharpness (p<0.001) resulting in the highest proportion of measurable vessels (740/740; 100%), compared to 3D WH (530/620; 85.5%) and 3D CE-MRA (540/560; 96.4%). Regarding vessel diameter measurements, FB 2D CINE CS T1-TFE revealed the closest inter-reader agreement (Krippendorff's alpha: 0.94-0.96; 3D WH: 0.78-0.94; 3D CE-MRA: 0.76-0.93). FB 2D CINE CS T1-TFE demonstrates robustness at 3T and delivers high-quality diagnostic results to assess CHD in sedated young children. Its ability to function without contrast injection and respiratory compensation enhances ease of use and could encourage widespread adoption in clinical practice.

Distribution characteristics and ecological risk assessment of microplastics in intertidal sediments near coastal water.

Plastic products are widely distributed worldwide and continue to have a negative impact on the environment and organisms. Intertidal regions, which interface between upland and marine ecosystems, are regions of high ecological importance and serve as repositories for a variety of plastic wastes. However, ecological risk assessments of microplastics (MPs) in these transitional environments are still scarce. In this study, the morphological characteristics and spatial distribution of MPs in the intertidal surface sediments of Haizhou Bay were analyzed, and an ecological risk assessment framework for MPs was developed. Overall, the average abundance of MPs in the sediments was 2.31 ± 1.35 pieces/g dw. The size of the MPs was mainly less than 1 mm, and the main shape, color and polymer type of the MPs were mainly fibrous (58%), blue (30%), and PVC (22%), respectively. Cluster analyses showed that the sites could be well distinguished by size and polymer type but not by MP shape and color. According to the hazard scores, most of the sites in this area belonged to a risk level of IV, while the pollution loading index (PLI) showed that most of the sites belonged to a risk level of II. The ecological toxicity risk from the species-sensitive distribution (SSD) model showed that one-third of the sites had ecological MPs toxicity risks to marine organisms. We believe that normalized and standardized assessment methods should be implemented to monitor and manage the risk of MPs in the intertidal sediments. Particularly, the multiple dimensions, standard abundance of MPs, as well as MPs ingestion in the intertidal organisms, should be fully considered in the next step.

Technical, economic, and environmental assessment of a stand-alone power system based on diesel engine with/without energy storage using an optimization algorithm: A case study in China.

In stand-alone power systems, technical, economic, and environmental (TEE) assessment of hybrid energy systems under uncertainty is an important issue. This paper focuses on the TEE assessment of a stand-alone hybrid energy system composed of photovoltaic (PV) and diesel generator (DG) with/without battery energy storage (BS) in remote islands in China. So, determining the optimal sizes of PV and DG with/without BS for economic, reliable, and efficient operation of a hybrid power system in a microgrid is important. For this goal, a modified swarm intelligence algorithm is used to optimize, techno-economic feasibility and avoid potential CO2 emission. To demonstrate the effectiveness of the modified swarm intelligence algorithm, it is compared with the standard swarm intelligence method and simple simulated annealing method in terms of operational cost reduction and power loss reduction. The aim of the optimization is to minimize the cost of a stand-alone solar power system based on diesel engine with/without battery energy storage system by optimal determination of the load uncertainty and CO2 emission. The optimal results are developed further by performing sensitivity analysis, such as the effect of the fuel cost and the penalty cost of CO2 emission. Over the case study, simulation results show that the proposed algorithm obtains more promising results in terms of TEE aspects. The reliability, low carbon, and cost-effectiveness of stand-alone solar power systems based on diesel engine with battery energy storage system can be easily calculated using the correlations derived in this analysis. The resulting cost of energy is in the range of 0.2845 to 0.6492 $/kWh.

Assessment of transmissibility and measures effectiveness of SARS in 8 regions, China, 2002-2003.

Background: Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) is a form of atypical pneumonia which took hundreds of lives when it swept the world two decades ago. The pathogen of SARS was identified as SARS-coronavirus (SARS-CoV) and it was mainly transmitted in China during the SARS epidemic in 2002-2003. SARS-CoV and SARS-CoV-2 have emerged from the SARS metapopulation of viruses. However, they gave rise to two different disease dynamics, a limited epidemic, and an uncontrolled pandemic, respectively. The characteristics of its spread in China are particularly noteworthy. In this paper, the unique characteristics of time, space, population distribution and transmissibility of SARS for the epidemic were discussed in detail. Methods: We adopted sliding average method to process the number of reported cases per day. An SEIAR transmission dynamics model, which was the first to take asymptomatic group into consideration and applied indicators of R 0, Reff, Rt to evaluate the transmissibility of SARS, and further illustrated the control effectiveness of interventions for SARS in 8 Chinese cities. Results: The R 0 for SARS in descending order was: Tianjin city (R 0 = 8.249), Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Shanxi Province, Hebei Province, Beijing City, Guangdong Province, Taiwan Province, and Hong Kong. R 0 of the SARS epidemic was generally higher in Mainland China than in Hong Kong and Taiwan Province (Mainland China: R 0 = 6.058 ± 1.703, Hong Kong: R 0 = 2.159, Taiwan: R 0 = 3.223). All cities included in this study controlled the epidemic successfully (Reff<1) with differences in duration. Rt in all regions showed a downward trend, but there were significant fluctuations in Guangdong Province, Hong Kong and Taiwan Province compared to other areas. Conclusion: The SARS epidemic in China showed a trend of spreading from south to north, i.e., Guangdong Province and Beijing City being the central regions, respectively, and from there to the surrounding areas. In contrast, the SARS epidemic in the central region did not stir a large-scale transmission. There were also significant differences in transmissibility among eight regions, with R0 significantly higher in the northern region than that in the southern region. Different regions were able to control the outbreak successfully in differences time.

Economic burden of adult patients with ß-thalassaemia major in mainland China.

BACKGROUND: ß-thalassaemia major poses a substantial economic burden, especially in adults. We aimed to estimate the economic burden of adult patients with ß-thalassaemia major from a societal perspective using the real-world data. According to the clinical guideline, we also estimated the annual medical costs for patients with the same body weight and calculated the lifetime medical costs over 50 years in mainland China. METHODS: This was a retrospective cross-sectional study. An online survey with snowball sampling covering seven provinces was conducted. We extracted patient demographics, caregiver demographics, disease and therapy information, caring burden, and costs for adult patients diagnosed with ß-thalassaemia major and their primary caregivers. In the real world, we estimated the annual direct medical cost, direct nonmedical cost, and indirect cost. In addition, we calculated the annual direct medical cost and lifetime direct medical cost by weight with discounted and undiscounted rates according to the clinical guideline. RESULTS: Direct medical costs was the main driver of total cost, with blood transfusion and iron chelation therapy as the most expensive components of direct medical cost. In addition, adult patients with ß-thalassaemia major weighing 56 kg were associated with an increase of $2,764 in the annual direct medical cost using the real-world data. The undiscounted and discounted (5% discount rate) total lifetime treatment costs were $518,871 and $163,441, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Patients with ß-thalassaemia major often encounter a substantial economic burden in mainland China. Efforts must be made to help policymakers develop effective strategies to reduce the burden and pevalence of thalassaemia.

Leveraging trans-ethnic genetic risk scores to improve association power for complex traits in underrepresented populations.

Trans-ethnic genome-wide association studies have revealed that many loci identified in European populations can be reproducible in non-European populations, indicating widespread trans-ethnic genetic similarity. However, how to leverage such shared information more efficiently in association analysis is less investigated for traits in underrepresented populations. We here propose a statistical framework, trans-ethnic genetic risk score informed gene-based association mixed model (GAMM), by hierarchically modeling single-nucleotide polymorphism effects in the target population as a function of effects of the same trait in well-studied populations. GAMM powerfully integrates genetic similarity across distinct ancestral groups to enhance power in understudied populations, as confirmed by extensive simulations. We illustrate the usefulness of GAMM via the application to 13 blood cell traits (i.e. basophil count, eosinophil count, hematocrit, hemoglobin concentration, lymphocyte count, mean corpuscular hemoglobin, mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration, mean corpuscular volume, monocyte count, neutrophil count, platelet count, red blood cell count and total white blood cell count) in Africans of the UK Biobank (n = 3204) while utilizing genetic overlap shared in Europeans (n = 746 667) and East Asians (n = 162 255). We discovered multiple new associated genes, which had otherwise been missed by existing methods, and revealed that the trans-ethnic information indirectly contributed much to the phenotypic variance. Overall, GAMM represents a flexible and powerful statistical framework of association analysis for complex traits in underrepresented populations by integrating trans-ethnic genetic similarity across well-studied populations, and helps attenuate health inequities in current genetics research for people of minority populations.

Doxorubicin-Fe(III)-Gossypol Infinite Coordination Polymer@PDA:CuO2 Composite Nanoparticles for Cost-Effective Programmed Photothermal-Chemodynamic-Coordinated Dual Drug Chemotherapy Trimodal Synergistic Tumor Therapy.

To achieve the maximum therapeutic effects and minimize adverse effects of trimodal synergistic tumor therapies, a cost-effective programmed photothermal (PTT)-chemodynamic (CDT)-coordinated dual drug chemotherapy (CT) trimodal synergistic therapy strategy in chronological order is proposed. According to the status or volumes of the tumors, the intensity and time of each therapeutic modality are optimized, and three modalities are combined programmatically and work in chronological order. The optimal synergistic therapy begins with high-intensity PTT for 10 min to ablate larger tumors, followed by medium-intensity CDT for several hours to eliminate medium-sized tumors, and then low-intensity coordinated dual drugs CT lasts over 48 h to clear smaller residual tumors. Composite nanoparticles, made of Fe-coordinated polydopamine mixed with copper peroxide as the cores and their surface dotted with lots of doxorubicin-Fe(III)-gossypol infinite coordination polymers (ICPs), have been developed to implement the strategy. These composite nanoparticles show excellent synergistic effects with the minimum dose of therapeutic agents and result in nearly 100% tumor inhibition for mice bearing PC-3 tumors and no observed recurrence within 60 days of treatment. The ratios of the different therapeutic agents in the composite nanoparticles can be adjusted to accommodate different types of tumors with this cost-effective programmed trimodal therapy strategy.

Free-breathing pseudo-golden-angle bSSFP cine cardiac MRI for biventricular functional assessment in congenital heart disease.

PURPOSE: To compare standard breath-hold (BH) cine imaging to a radial pseudo-golden-angle free-breathing (FB) technique in congenital heart disease (CHD). METHODS: In this prospective study, short-axis and 4-chamber BH and FB cardiac MRI sequences of 25 participants with CHD acquired at 1.5 Tesla, were quantitatively compared regarding ventricular volumes, function, interventricular septum thickness (IVSD), apparent signal to noise ratio (aSNR), and estimated contrast to noise ratio (eCNR). For qualitative comparison, three image quality criteria (contrast, endocardial edge definition, and artefacts) were rated on a 5-point Likert scale (5: excellent, 1: non-diagnostic). Paired t-Test was used for group comparisons, Bland-Altman analysis for agreement between techniques. Inter-reader agreement was compared using intraclass correlation coefficient. RESULTS: IVSD (BH 7.4 ± 2.1 mm vs FB 7.4 ± 1.9 mm, p =.71), biventricular ejection fraction (left ventricle [LV]: 56.4 ± 10.8% vs 56.1 ± 9.3%, p =.83; right ventricle [RV]: 49.5 ± 8.6% vs 49.7 ± 10.1%, p =.83), and biventricular end diastolic volume (LV: 176.3 ± 63.9 ml vs 173.9 ± 64.9 ml, p =.90; RV: 185.4 ± 63.8 ml vs 189.6 ± 66.6 ml, p =.34) were comparable. Mean measurement time for FB short-axis sequences was 8.1 ± 1.3 compared to 4.4 ± 1.3 min for BH (p <.001). Subjective image quality between sequences was deemed comparable, (4.6 ± 0.6 vs 4.5 ± 0.6, p =.26, for 4-chamber views) with a significant difference regarding short-axis views (4.9 ± 0.3 vs 4.5 ± 0.6, p =.008). aSNR was similar (BH 25.8 ± 11.2 vs FB 22.2 ± 9.5, p =.24), while eCNR was higher for BH (89.1 ± 36.1 vs 68.5 ± 32.1, p =.03). CONCLUSION: FB sequences yielded comparable results to BH regarding image quality, biventricular volumetry, and function, though measurement times were longer. The FB sequence described might be clinically valuable when BHs are insufficiently performed.

Equity in the Allocation of General Practitioner Resources in Mainland China from 2012 to 2019.

BACKGROUND: General practitioners (GPs) play a vital role in primary health care services and promoting the health equity of residents, but there is a paucity of evidence on equity in the allocation of GP resources in mainland China. This study explores equity in the allocation of GP resources from 2012 to 2019 in mainland China. METHODS: We used GP data from 31 provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities in mainland China. Lorenz curves, Gini coefficients, Theil indices, and agglomeration degree were used to analyze the data. RESULTS: The total number of GPs in China was 365,082 in 2019, which corresponded to 2.61 GPs per 10,000 residents and accounted for 9.44% of the total number of practicing doctors in 2019. From 2012 to 2019, the Gini coefficient of GP allocation based on population decreased from 0.3123 to 0.1872. However, the Gini coefficient based on geographical area was maintained at 0.7108-0.7424. The Theil index of GP allocation based on population decreased from 0.0742 to 0.0270, but GP allocation based on geographical area was maintained at 0.5765-0.6898. The intra-regional contribution rates were higher than the inter-regional rates. The agglomeration degree based on geographical area and population decreased in the eastern region but increased in the central and western regions. CONCLUSIONS: The number of Chinese GPs has increased rapidly in recent years, but the distribution of GPs across China is uneven. In the western and middle regions, there is a relative shortage. Equity in the allocation of GP resources based on population was far greater than that based on geographical area. In the future, the tough issue of inequitable GP resource allocation should be resolved by comprehensive measures from a multidisciplinary perspective.

Pharmacoeconomic analysis (CER) of Dulaglutide and Liraglutide in the treatment of patients with type 2 diabetes.

Aim: To evaluate the treatment effect Fand pharmacoeconomic value of Dugaglutide in women with type 2 diabetes. Methods: Women (n=96) with type 2 diabetes recruited from June 2019 to December 2021 were randomized into two equal groups. The control group was treated with Liraglutide, and the observation group was treated with Dulaglutide, both for 24 weeks. The blood glucose levels, biochemical index, insulin resistance index (HOMA-IR), cost-effect ratio (CER), and drug safety were determined and compared between the two groups. Results: Blood glucose levels, the biochemical index, and HOMA-IR were lower in both groups after the treatment (P < 0.05), and there was no statistical difference in the blood glucose levels, biochemical index and HOMA-IR between the two groups (P > 0.05). The CER levels did not differ statistically between the two groups (P > 0.05). Both the cost and the incidence of drug side effects during solution injection were lower in the observation group than in the control group after 24 weeks of treatment (P < 0.05). Conclusion: Both Dulaglutide and Liraglutide can reduce blood glucose levels, improve biochemical index, and HOMA-IR levels in women with type 2 diabetes. Dulaglutide is more cost-effective and safe. Clinical trial registration: https://www.chictr.org.cn/index.aspx, identifier ChiCTR1900026514.

Assessment of aortic diameter in Marfan patients: intraindividual comparison of 3D-Dixon and 2D-SSFP magnetic resonance imaging.

OBJECTIVES: To compare the accuracy and precision of 3D-Dixon and 2D-SSFP MR-imaging for assessment of aortic diameter in Marfan patients. METHODS: This prospective single-center study investigated respiratory-gated 3D-Dixon and breath-hold 2D-SSFP non-contrast MR-imaging at 3 T in 47 Marfan patients (36.0 ± 13.2 years, 28♀,19♂). Two radiologists performed individual diameter measurements at five levels of the thoracic aorta and evaluated image quality on a four-grade scale (1 = poor, 4 = excellent) and artifacts (1 = severe, 4 = none). Aortic root diameters acquired by echocardiography served as a reference standard. Intraclass correlation coefficient, Bland-Altman analyses, F-test, t-test, and regression analyses were used to assess agreement between observers and methods. RESULTS: Greatest aortic diameters were observed at the level of the sinuses of Valsalva (SOV) for 3D-Dixon (38.2 ± 6.8 mm) and 2D-SSFP (38.3 ± 7.1 mm) (p = 0.53). Intra- and interobserver correlation of diameter measurements was excellent at all aortic levels for both 3D-Dixon (r = 0.94-0.99 and r = 0.94-0.98) and 2D-SSFP (r = 0.96-1.00 and r = 0.95-0.99). 3D-Dixon-derived and 2D-SSFP-derived diameter measurements at the level of the SOV revealed a strong correlation with echocardiographic measurements (r = 0.92, p < 0.001 and r = 0.93, p < 0.001, respectively). The estimated mean image quality at the level of SOV was higher for 2D-SSFP compared to that for 3D-Dixon (3.3 (95%-CI: 3.1-3.5) vs. 2.9 (95%-CI: 2.7-3.1)) (p < 0.001). Imaging artifacts were less at all aortic levels for 3D-Dixon compared to 2D-SSFP (3.4-3.8 vs. 2.8-3.1) (all p < 0.002). CONCLUSION: Respiratory-gated 3D-Dixon and breath-hold 2D-SSFP MR-imaging provide accurate and precise aortic diameter measurements. We recommend 3D-Dixon imaging for monitoring of aortic diameter in Marfan patients due to fewer imaging artifacts and the possibility of orthogonal multiplanar reformations of the aortic root. KEY POINTS: • Respiratory-gated 3D-Dixon and breath-hold 2D-SSFP imaging provide accurate and precise aortic diameter measurements in patients suffering from Marfan syndrome. • Imaging artifacts are stronger in 2D-SFFP imaging than in 3D-Dixon imaging. • We recommend 3D-Dixon imaging for monitoring of aortic diameter in Marfan patients due to fewer imaging artifacts and the possibility of orthogonal multiplanar reformations.

Establishment and psychometric characteristics of emotional words list for suicidal risk assessment in speech emotion recognition.

Background: Emotional disturbance is an important risk factor of suicidal behaviors. To ensure speech emotion recognition (SER), a novel technique to evaluate emotional characteristics of speech, precision in labeling emotional words is a prerequisite. Currently, a list of suicide-related emotional word is absent. The aims of this study were to establish an Emotional Words List for Suicidal Risk Assessment (EWLSRA) and test the reliability and validity of the list in a suicide-related SER task. Methods: Suicide-related emotion words were nominated and discussed by 10 suicide prevention professionals. Sixty-five tape-recordings of calls to a large psychological support hotline in China were selected to test psychometric characteristics of the EWLSRA. Results: The results shows that the EWLSRA consists of 11 emotion words which were highly associated with suicide risk scores and suicide attempts. Results of exploratory factor analysis support one-factor model of this list. The Fleiss' Kappa value of 0.42 indicated good inter-rater reliability of the list. In terms of criteria validities, indices of despair (Spearman ρ = 0.54, P < 0.001), sadness (ρ = 0.37, P = 0.006), helplessness (ρ = 0.45, P = 0.001), and numbness (ρ = 0.35, P = 0.009) were significantly associated with suicidal risk scores. The index of the emotional word of numbness in callers with suicide attempt during the 12-month follow-up was significantly higher than that in callers without suicide attempt during the follow-up (P = 0.049). Conclusion: This study demonstrated that the EWLSRA has adequate psychometric performance in identifying suicide-related emotional words of recording of hotline callers to a national wide suicide prevention line. This list can be useful for SER in future studies on suicide prevention.

Assessment of Hematologic and Biochemical Parameters for Healthy Commercial Pigs in China.

Hematologic and biochemical data are useful for indicating disease diagnosis and growth performance in swine. However, the assessment of these parameters in healthy commercial pigs is rare in China. Thus, blood samples were collected from 107 nursery pigs and 87 sows and were analyzed for 25 hematologic and 14 biochemical variables. After the rejection of the outliers and the detection of the data distribution, the correlations between the blood parameters were analyzed and the hematologic/biochemical RIs were preliminarily established using the 95% percentile RI. Correlation analysis showed that albumin was the hub parameter among the blood parameters investigated, and genes overlapping with key correlated variables were discovered. Most of the hematologic and biochemical parameters were significantly different between nursery pigs and sows. The 95% RIs of white blood cells and red blood cells were 7.18-24.52 × 109/L and 5.62-7.84 × 1012/L, respectively, for nursery pigs, but 9.34-23.84 × 109/L and 4.98-8.29 × 1012/L for sows. The 95% RIs of total protein and albumin were 43.16-61.23 g/dL and 19.35-37.86 g/dL, respectively, for nursery pigs, but 64.96-88.68 g/dL and 31.91-43.28 g/dL for sows. In conclusion, our study highlights the variability in blood parameters between nursery pigs and sows and provides fundamental data for the health monitoring of commercial pigs in China.

Understanding the Public Policy of Global Budget Payment Reform Improves the Quality of Public Healthcare From the Perspective of Patients in China.

The transformation from the retrospective to the prospective payment system is significant to improve the quality of public healthcare (QPH). This article used the quasi-natural experiment of the global budget payment reform of government (GBPRG) in Chengdu, adopted the difference in difference (DID) method to estimate the effect of the GBPRG on the QPH, and concluded that GBPRG has a significant positive impact on the healthcare outcome and has a significant effect on improving the QPH. Policy implications drawn from the results show that the government should continue to explore compound healthcare insurance payment method (HIPM), improve the governance capabilities of the government, reduce transaction costs, improve healthcare insurance reimbursement policies, adjust the proportion of healthcare insurance reimbursements, continuously optimize the allocation of healthcare resources, establish an incentive mechanism to improve the QPH, and realize the pareto optimal choice of healthcare resource allocation.

Quantifying the synergy and trade-offs among economy-energy-environment-social targets: A perspective of industrial restructuring.

Protecting our environment while maintaining economic growth, requires a delicate balance among interlinked sustainable development policies. In this paper, we examine China's economic industries, including a high-resolution of the country's electricity sector during 2020-2030, using a multi-objective optimization model based on Input-Output analysis. This model, investigates the synergy and trade-offs of sustainable development goals in maximizing employment and GDP while minimizing energy and water consumption, CO2 emissions, and five major pollutants to advance a sustainable industrial structure adjustment pathway for China. Our results reveal that there exists both synergies and trade-offs among multiple objectives, e.g., synergy among goals of minimizing air pollutant emissions and trade-offs between minimizing energy consumption and maximizing employment. Through the planned industrial restructuring period (2020-2030), the GDP, employment, carbon emission, and energy consumption will increase respectively by, 96.1%, 7.2%, 16.8%, 16.8%, and 6.3%, while pollutant emissions would decrease. Moreover, our research indicates that energy and water conservation should be prioritized in industrial structure adjustment strategies and policies. Our model demonstrates how the synergies and trade-offs among multiple policy targets can empower policy-makers, especially in developing nations, to make more informed and optimized industrial structure adjustment policies for sustainable development.

Impact of fertility on the longevity of older rural Chinese women: an analysis of a longitudinal survey.

BACKGROUND: This study evaluates the impact of fertility during the childbearing period on the longevity of older rural Chinese women and verifies whether any trade-off exists between women's longevity and their number of children to provide empirical evidence for improving health intervention policies and formulating active fertility policies in low-fertility countries. METHODS: Based on the data of the deaths of 1623 older adults aged 65 and above during 2014-2018 in the Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey, this study explores the relationship between the number of children born and older rural women's longevity using the ordinary least squares method. Furthermore, the impact of fertility on the longevity of men and women in rural and urban areas, along with other reproductive behaviours on older rural women's longevity, were analysed. RESULTS: There was a significant negative correlation between the number of children born and women's longevity (ß = - 0.555, p < 0.05). Additionally, their longevity exhibited a decreasing trend with having birthed more sons and an increasing trend with more daughters. Age at first and last births had a significant positive relationship with rural women's longevity; however, the effect of fertility on the longevity of older rural and urban men and older urban women was not significant. CONCLUSIONS: It is confirmed that there is a trade-off between fertility and longevity for rural women in China. Future research should focus on compensating for the decline in female longevity caused by the number of children born and promote the concept of a healthy pregnancy, scientific nurture, and gender equality in fertility.

Compressed SENSE in Pediatric Brain Tumor MR Imaging : Assessment of Image Quality, Examination Time and Energy Release.

PURPOSE: To compare the image quality, examination time, and total energy release of a standardized pediatric brain tumor magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) protocol performed with and without compressed sensitivity encoding (C-SENSE). Recently introduced as an acceleration technique in MRI, we hypothesized that C­SENSE would improve image quality, reduce the examination time and radiofrequency-induced energy release compared with conventional examination in a pediatric brain tumor protocol. METHODS: This retrospective study included 22 patients aged 2.33-18.83 years with different brain tumor types who had previously undergone conventional MRI examination and underwent follow-up C­SENSE examination. Both examinations were conducted with a 3.0-Tesla device and included pre-contrast and post-contrast T1-weighted turbo-field-echo, T2-weighted turbo-spin-echo, and fluid-attenuated inversion recovery sequences. Image quality was assessed in four anatomical regions of interest (tumor area, cerebral cortex, basal ganglia, and posterior fossa) using a 5-point scale. Reader preference between the standard and C­SENSE images was evaluated. The total examination duration and energy deposit were compared based on scanner log file analysis. RESULTS: Relative to standard examinations, C­SENSE examinations were characterized by shorter total examination times (26.1 ± 3.93 vs. 22.18 ± 2.31 min; P = 0.001), reduced total energy deposit (206.0 ± 19.7 vs. 92.3 ± 18.2 J/kg; P < 0.001), and higher image quality (overall P < 0.001). CONCLUSION: C­SENSE contributes to the improvement of image quality, reduction of scan times and radiofrequency-induced energy release relative to the standard protocol in pediatric brain tumor MRI.

How to Reach a Regional Cooperation Mechanism to Deal With the Epidemic: An Analysis From the Game Theory Perspective.

The outbreak and persistence of COVID-19 have posed a great threat to global public health and economic development. The continuous economic deterioration has been intensified due to the continuous prevention and control measures, such as closed management. Insisting on the prevention of the epidemic or economic restart has become a dilemma for all countries. Epidemic prevention is not only the main behavior of a single country but also a common problem faced by all countries in the region. Continuous prevention measures will affect economic development, but an early restart of the economy is faced with the recurrence of the epidemic. To avoid the emergence of prisoner's dilemma in the governance of the epidemic, each country cannot make decisions with its optimization, and so it is necessary to build a regional cooperation mechanism to achieve the overall optimization of the economy and prevent the epidemic. Based on the game theory, we analyzed the behavior of countries when carrying out regional cooperation to govern the epidemic and put forward specific cooperative income distribution schemes according to the different attributes of the countries. Our results showed that in the presence of population mobility, regional cooperation to govern the epidemic can minimize the total number of infected people and maximize the overall utility of the region, which was significantly better than the overall benefits of the region in the case of non-cooperation. However, in detail, the smaller the difference of preference for preventing and controlling the epidemic between the two, the more likely it is to lead to a win-win situation. Otherwise, there will be one with damaged interests. When damaged interests appear, the appropriate distribution of cooperative income to the country with a small economic scale and low preference in preventing the epidemic is more conducive to the achievement of cooperative mechanisms and the realization of a win-win situation in the region.

Dietary Exposure to Fumonisins and Health Risk Assessment in the Sixth China Total Diet Study - China, 2015-2020.

INTRODUCTION: Fumonisins are a group of widespread mycotoxins mainly existing in staple foods. Their toxicological effects on humans cause worldwide public health threat. During 2015-2020, the 6th China Total Diet Study (TDS) was conducted to study the dietary exposure to fumonisins in the Chinese adult population. METHODS: Fumonisins were analyzed by LC-MS/MS in 288 composite dietary samples collected from 24 provincial-level administrative divisions. After combining the national consumption data with analytical results, estimated daily intakes (EDIs) were assessed and compared with health-based guide values (HBGV). RESULTS: In the 6th China TDS, the highest fumonisin B (FBs) levels were found in staple foods/cereals among the 12 food categories. EDI of FBs was 104.9 ng/kg of body weight (bw)/day at the upper bound accounting 5.25% of the provisional maximum tolerable daily intake set by Joint Food and Agriculture Organization/World Health Organization Expert Committee on Food Additives. Among the 12 food categories, cereals and cereal products were the greatest contributor to FB exposure at 95%. CONCLUSION: Although the estimated exposure to FBs in the 6th China TDS were well below the HBGV for FBs in general, it was 2 times higher than the exposure in the 5th China TDS. Furthermore, the exposure to FB3 has increased remarkable and is worth further attention in China.

Internet Use, Life Satisfaction, and Subjective Well-Being Among the Elderly: Evidence From 2017 China General Social Survey.

Purpose: The research objectives of this study are to test the scientific propositions of whether Internet use promotes life satisfaction among the elderly, whether there is variability in the effect of Internet use on the well-being of the elderly, and through what channels Internet use affects the elderly's life satisfaction. Method: Using data from the 2017 Chinese General Social Survey (CGSS), this paper employed linear regression, ordered logit model, and the propensity score matching (PSM) approach to investigate the association of Internet use with life satisfaction among the elderly in China. Results: The results show that Internet use was significantly and negatively associated with the life satisfaction of the Chinese elderly. Further analysis on group heterogeneity demonstrates that the negative association was more prominent among the participants who were males, at a lower age, had lower income and education, non-agricultural registered, and relatively healthy. Finally, the mediating effect indicates that Internet use may affect life satisfaction among the elderly through the channel of reducing their perceptions of social justice. Conclusions: In order to avoid the negative effects of using the Internet, the following policy suggestions are put forward: Improve the elderly's attitudes toward Internet use; pay attention to the sense of fairness of the elderly to improve life satisfaction; guide the elderly to reduce the time of using the Internet.