CT-based Assessment at 6-Month Follow-up of COVID-19 Pneumonia patients in China.

This study aimed to assess pulmonary changes at 6-month follow-up CT and predictors of pulmonary residual abnormalities and fibrotic-like changes in COVID-19 pneumonia patients in China following relaxation of COVID restrictions in 2022. A total of 271 hospitalized patients with COVID-19 pneumonia admitted between November 29, 2022 and February 10, 2023 were prospectively evaluated at 6 months. CT characteristics and Chest CT scores of pulmonary abnormalities were compared between the initial and the 6-month CT. The association of demographic and clinical factors with CT residual abnormalities or fibrotic-like changes were assessed using logistic regression. Follow-up CT scans were obtained at a median of 177 days (IQR, 170-185 days) after hospital admission. Pulmonary residual abnormalities and fibrotic-like changes were found in 98 (36.2%) and 39 (14.4%) participants. In multivariable analysis of pulmonary residual abnormalities and fibrotic-like changes, the top three predictive factors were invasive ventilation (OR 13.6; 95% CI 1.9, 45; P < .001), age > 60 years (OR 9.1; 95% CI 2.3, 39; P = .01), paxlovid (OR 0.11; 95% CI 0.04, 0.48; P = .01) and invasive ventilation (OR 10.3; 95% CI 2.9, 33; P = .002), paxlovid (OR 0.1; 95% CI 0.03, 0.48; P = .01), smoker (OR 9.9; 95% CI 2.4, 31; P = .01), respectively. The 6-month follow-up CT of recent COVID-19 pneumonia cases in China showed a considerable proportion of the patients with pulmonary residual abnormalities and fibrotic-like changes. Antivirals against SARS-CoV-2 like paxlovid may be beneficial for long-term regression of COVID-19 pneumonia.

Impacts of sociodemographic factors, identities and neighbourhood safety on the relationship between urban green space and adolescent mental well-being: Findings from Tamaki Makaurau Auckland, Aotearoa New Zealand.

This study explored the relationship between green space accessibility (GSA) in residential area and adolescents' mental well-being, and whether the relationship was moderated by sociodemographic factors (sex, ethnicity, neighbourhood deprivation), identities (gender and sexuality minority, disability) and perceived neighbourhood safety simultaneously. Data from 3813 adolescents who lived in Tamaki Makaurau Auckland, Aotearoa New Zealand were obtained from the Youth19 Rangatahi Smart Survey. A Gaussian-based two-step floating catchment area method was employed to measure the spatial accessibility to green space at the neighbourhood level. The World Health Organization-5 Well-being Index was used to assess emotional well-being (EW), and the Reynolds Adolescent Depression Scale-short form was employed to measure depressive symptoms (DS). Through moderation analyses, results showed that perceived neighbourhood safety plays a vital role in the GSA - mental well-being association, with a negative trend in adolescents who reported being less safe in neighbourhoods. Adverse associations of GSA were found in gender and sexuality minority, disabled, Asian and Pacific adolescents, under the condition of not feeling safe in neighbourhoods all the time. The results showed marginalised adolescents tended to feel less safe in neighbourhoods, have lower EW and a higher level of DS. Additionally, the results from bivariate correlations showed there were inequalities in GSA for adolescents who lived in most deprived neighbourhoods and adolescents of Maori ethnicity. This study provides novel evidence of the importance of safe and inclusive green space for effectively promoting mental health and mitigating health inequalities of adolescents in urban areas.

Secular trends and attributable risk factors of esophageal cancer deaths among non-elderly adults based on Global Burden of Disease Study.

OBJECTIVE: Esophageal cancer (EC) poses a persistent threat to the health of non-elderly adults. This study aims to elucidate the temporal trends of EC-related mortality and investigate the impact of various risk factors on such deaths in the age group of 20-59 years, spanning 3 decades. METHODS: Data on EC deaths were acquired from the Global Burden of Disease, Injuries, and Risk Factors (GBD) study. We employed estimated average percentage change (EAPC) and linear mixed-effects (LME) models to analyze mortality trends and pertinent risk factors for EC. RESULTS: Between 1990 and 2019, EC mortality showed a downward trend, and the global number of deaths from EC among non-elderly adults surged by 24.37%. During this period, mortality rates saw an increase in only two regions-the Caribbean and Western Sub-Saharan Africa (EAPCs > 0). For male deaths, smoking and alcohol use emerged as the primary risk factors, while high body mass index (BMI) stood out as the main risk factor for female deaths. Furthermore, the LME model identified male sex, advancing age, alcohol use, smoking, and chewing tobacco as factors associated with an additional rise in EC deaths. CONCLUSION: EC continues to exert a substantial toll on mortality among young and middle-aged adults globally. Implementing targeted interventions are significant in alleviating the burden of this disease within this population.

Non-linear effects of heterogeneous environmental regulations on industrial relocation: Do compliance costs work?

Reasonably designing environmental regulations for compliance-driven industrial relocation can avoid new pollution havens. The Cournot duopoly model simulates that the necessary condition for industrial relocation is differentiated market costs. Then, based on the province-industrial data of six Chinese pollution-intensive industries during 2005-2019, this study applies spatial Durbin model to explore the non-linear effects of heterogeneous environmental regulations on industrial relocation. Results shown that command-and-control environmental regulation manifests a U-shaped curve with local industrial relocation, with inverted U-shaped spillover effect radiating a road distance of 650 km, and both internal and external costs play the mediating roles; Market incentive environmental regulation has inverted U-shaped curves with industrial relocation in local and neighboring regions, it creates dual costs and works well in both short and long terms, which is the most potential regulatory tool to avoid pollution relocation accompanying industrial relocation; Voluntary environmental regulation exhibits inverted U-shaped relationships with industrial relocation in direct and spillover effects, and works through increased external cost rather than internal cost. Its spatial spillover radiates the longest 1250 km due to rapid spread of public opinions, but this effect takes more than 3 years to be effective.

Theoretical modeling and simulation-based assessment of graded-bandgap AlGaAs/GaAs electron-injection cathode.

The electron emission model of a negative electron affinity graded-bandgap AlGaAs/GaAs electron-injection cathode was developed from two-dimensional continuity equations. The emission current was obtained from a simulation of the model, and the emission current efficiency and emission current per unit length were calculated. Based on the simulation results and preparation conditions, the range of optimum parameters for the cathode structure were determined. The ranges of optimum thickness for the p-AlGaAs and the graded-bandgap p-AlGaAs layers were 0.05-0.15 µm and 0.1-0.3 µm, respectively. The optimum width of the base electrode ranged from 1 to 4 µm, and the optimum molar ratios of Al in the p-AlGaAs and the n-AlGaAs layers were 0.2-0.3 and 0.4-0.5, respectively. This abrupt PN heterojunction inhibited the hole current and increased the emission current efficiency, with a maximum value of 25.3%. According to the emission current per unit length, the optimum range of width of emission unit surface was 6 to 10 µm, and the peak emission current per unit length reached 43.2 µA/µm.

Industrial policy, energy and environment efficiency: Evidence from Chinese firm-level data.

Based on a unique micro-level dataset of 30,689 mining enterprises from 2008 to 2011, this paper uses the non-radial directional distance function (NDDF) to calculate the unified efficiency index (UEI) and energy-environmental performance index (EEI) for China's mining enterprises. The double bootstrap method is then used to test how tax incentive policies affect the UEI and EEI of China's mining enterprises. The results show that: (1) the UEI and EEI of Chinese mining enterprises first decreased and then increased over the sample period; overall, Chinese mining enterprises had low energy and environmental efficiency, especially the coal mining enterprises, private mining enterprises and mining enterprises in the central and western regions. (2) Tax incentives positively affect the energy and environmental efficiency of mining enterprises, especially the efficiency of coal mining enterprises, non-state-owned mining enterprises and mining enterprises in the central and western regions. Our results remain robust after using the propensity score matching estimator (PSM). (3) There is a positive feedback between tax incentives and energy and environmental efficiency, more efficient mining enterprises receive more government incentives. Further analysis shows that although tax incentives do not reduce the total energy consumption of enterprises, reducing the energy consumption of enterprises can improve their UEI and EEI. In addition, R&D investment, profitability and resource taxes all contribute to improving the UEI and EEI of mining enterprises.