Carbon fluxes of China's coastal wetlands and impacts of reclamation and restoration.

Coastal wetlands play an important role in regulating atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) concentrations and contribute significantly to climate change mitigation. However, climate change, reclamation, and restoration have been causing substantial changes in coastal wetland areas and carbon exchange in China during recent decades. Here we compiled a carbon flux database consisting of 15 coastal wetland sites to assess the magnitude, patterns, and drivers of carbon fluxes and to compare fluxes among contrasting natural, disturbed, and restored wetlands. The natural coastal wetlands have the average net ecosystem exchange of CO2 (NEE) of -577 g C m-2 year-1, with -821 g C m-2 year-1 for mangrove forests and -430 g C m-2 year-1 for salt marshes. There are pronounced latitudinal patterns for carbon dioxide exchange of natural coastal wetlands: NEE increased whereas gross primary production (GPP) and respiration of ecosystem decreased with increasing latitude. Distinct environmental factors drive annual variations of GPP between mangroves and salt marshes; temperature was the dominant controlling factor in salt marshes, while temperature, precipitation, and solar radiation were co-dominant in mangroves. Meanwhile, both anthropogenic reclamation and restoration had substantial effects on coastal wetland carbon fluxes, and the effect of the anthropogenic perturbation in mangroves was more extensive than that in salt marshes. Furthermore, from 1980 to 2020, anthropogenic reclamation of China's coastal wetlands caused a carbon loss of ~3720 Gg C, while the mangrove restoration project during the period of 2021-2025 may switch restored coastal wetlands from a carbon source to carbon sink with a net carbon gain of 73 Gg C. The comparison of carbon fluxes among these coastal wetlands can improve our understanding of how anthropogenic perturbation can affect the potentials of coastal blue carbon in China, which has implications for informing conservation and restoration strategies and efforts of coastal wetlands.

The neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio, lymphocyte-to-monocyte ratio, and neutrophil-to-high-density-lipoprotein ratio are correlated with the severity of Parkinson's disease.

Background: Inflammation plays a pivotal role in the pathogenesis of Parkinson's disease (PD). However, the correlation between peripheral inflammatory markers and the severity of PD remains unclear. Methods: The following items in plasma were collected for assessment among patients with PD (n = 303) and healthy controls (HCs; n = 303) were assessed for the neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), lymphocyte-to-monocyte ratio (LMR) and neutrophil-to-high-density-lipoprotein ratio (NHR) in plasma, and neuropsychological assessments were performed for all patients with PD. Spearman rank or Pearson correlation was used to evaluate the correlation between the NLR, the LMR and the NHR and the severity of PD. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were used to evaluate the diagnostic performance of the NLR, LMR and NHR for PD. Results: The plasma NLR and NHR were substantially higher in patients with PD than in HCs, while the plasma LMR was substantially lower. The plasma NLR was positively correlated with Hoehn and Yahr staging scale (H&Y), Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS), UPDRS-I, UPDRS-II, and UPDRS-III scores. Conversely, it exhibited a negative relationship with Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) and Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) scores. Furthermore, the plasma NHR was positively correlated with H&Y, UPDRS, UPDRS-I, UPDRS-II and UPDRS-III scores. Moreover, negative associations were established between the plasma LMR and H&Y, UPDRS, UPDRS-I, UPDRS-II, and UPDRS-III scores. Finally, based on the ROC curve analysis, the NLR, LMR and NHR exhibited respectable PD discriminating power. Conclusion: Our research indicates that a higher NLR and NHR and a lower LMR may be relevant for assessing the severity of PD and appear to be promising disease-state biomarker candidates.

A Study of Pigment, Adhesive, and Firing Temperature in Pottery Figurines Excavated from the Tomb of Qibi Ming, China.

Some painted pottery figurines were excavated from the tomb of Qibi Ming of the Tang Dynasty. A series of analytical techniques were employed to understand the craftsmanship of these painted pottery figurines. The pigment, cross-section, adhesive, and firing temperature were analyzed using microscopy (OM), energy X-ray fluorescence spectrometry (EDX), micro-Raman spectroscopy, pyrolysis-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (Py-GC/MS), and a dilatometer (DIL). The results demonstrated that the surface of the pigment layers had degraded to different degrees. The pigment particles were litharge, gypsum, malachite, cinnabar, hematite, minium, white lead, and carbon black. The cross-sectional images show that the painted layer of figurines 10-0966 and 10-0678 included a pigment layer and a preparation layer. The preparation layer of both pigments was lead white. Animal glue was used as an adhesive. The firing temperature of the pottery figurines was likely 1080 °C. This study can provide more accurate information with regard to the composition of the raw materials utilized in the making of these artifacts and support the selection of appropriate substances for the purposes of conservation and restoration of the painted pottery figurines.

Integrating monthly spring tidal waves into estuarine carbon budget of meta-ecosystems.

The contribution of lateral carbon (C) to hydrological processes is well known for its ecological functions in the estuarine C budget across the terrestrial-aquatic interfaces. However, sampling of individual daily tides during multiple months or seasons in heterogeneous patches of landscape makes extrapolation from days to months or seasons challenging. In this paper, we examine the terrestrial-aquatic lateral hydrological C flux for an estuarine marsh where monthly tides, including consecutive daily spring tides, were measured over the course of an entire year. We found a significant correlation between imported and exported hydrological dissolved C, both dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC), although a similar correlation was not found for particulate organic carbon (POC). Based on a total of 44 sampling trips over a year, this saltmarsh appeared to be a net exporter of DOC and DIC but a net sink of POC. Furthermore, the lateral hydrological C budget functioned as a limited lateral C sink in terms of organic C (i.e., ΔPOC and ΔDOC), while the marsh functioned as a small lateral C source. Our findings highlight the importance of lateral hydrologic inflows/outflows in wetland C budgets of land-water interfaces, especially in those characterized by the meta-ecosystem framework. Surprisingly, different C species responded unequally to the lateral hydrological C budget, suggesting that a conceptual realization of meta-ecosystem is a powerful theoretical framework to extend the outwelling hypothesis.

Short- and Medium-Chain Chlorinated Paraffins in the Sediment of the East China Sea and Yellow Sea: Distribution, Composition, and Ecological Risks.

Chlorinated paraffins (CPs), a class of complex mixtures synthesized from polychlorinated n-alkanes, are widely used as flame retardants, plasticizers, lubricant additives, coolants, metalworking cutting fluids, and sealants. This study investigated the spatial distribution, the potential pollution sources, and ecological risk of 24 short-chain CPs (SCCPs) and 24 medium-chain CPs (MCCPs) from 29 surface marine sediment samples from the East China Sea and Yellow Sea in September 2019. All of the 48 CPs were detected. The concentrations of SCCPs and MCCPs ranged from 0.703 to 13.4 ng/g dw and 0.0936 to 4.19 ng/g dw, respectively. C10 congeners showed the highest abundancy. The median concentrations of the SCCPs and MCCPs declined gradually with carbon atoms and chlorine atoms, except for Cl5 congeners. Spatial variations showed that all CP congeners in the East China Sea were larger than in the Yellow Sea and displayed a point-source-type distribution, which is consistent with the industrial park distribution. Although the potential ecological risk was at a relatively low level, bioaccumulation and trophic magnification could amplify the risk to marine organisms. Our results provide data support and theoretical assistance for SCCP and MCCP pollution control and sewage outlets in the East China Sea and Yellow Sea.

Association between pulmonary ventilatory function and mild cognitive impairment: A population-based study in rural China.

Background: Mild cognitive impairment (MCI), a reversible intermediate state, plays an important role in the development and prevention of dementia. The relationship between pulmonary function and MCI risk has not yet been well-elucidated. Methods: We included 2,947 rural Chinese residents aged ≥35 years who were free from a history of stroke, dementia, or other brain diseases and measured pulmonary ventilatory function using calibrated spirometry according to the recommended method. MCI was assessed with the Montreal Cognitive Assessment-Basic for Chinese scale. Logistic regression models and restricted cubic splines with covariate adjustment were performed to explore the association between pulmonary function and MCI risk. Results: The prevalence of MCI increased with decreasing pulmonary function, from the lowest quartile to the highest quartile of pulmonary function: 63.9, 50.5, 43.8, and 43.6%, respectively. After adjustment for confounding factors, participants in the first quartile had a significantly increased risk of MCI (ORs, 1.691, 95% CI, 1.267-2.258), with the highest quartile as the reference. In the subgroup analysis, a significant association of pulmonary function and MCI was found in females and those with low physical activity. Meanwhile, we observed an L-shaped relationship between pulmonary function and MCI (P non-linear = 0.032). Conclusions: Poor pulmonary function was associated with an increased risk of MCI among rural Chinese adults, and presented a non-linear relationship. These findings remind us of the need for early cognitive assessment in local populations with lower pulmonary function.

A potential biomarker of cognitive impairment: The olfactory dysfunction and its genes expression.

OBJECTIVE: Accumulation evidence has reported that olfactory impairment may be an essential clinical marker and predictor of mild cognitive impairment or Alzheimer's disease. METHOD: Participants were enrolled in the population-based, prospective study in Fuxin county, Liaoning province, China between 2019 and 2021. An inverse probability weighting logistic regression and mixed-effect models were performed to explore the association between dysosmia and cognition and rate of change in cognition, respectively. Besides, we utilized the Robust Rank Aggregation method to integrated three eligible datasets from the Gene Expression Omnibus to identify differential expressed genes. RESULTS: A total of 4695 participants were enrolled and 4221 of those were eligible for our cross-sectional study. The mean (SD) age was 59.93(9.78) years, 64.8% were men. Over a 2-year follow-up, of the 2088 participants who completed follow-up, 1559 participants were eligible for our longitude cohort study. We observed an association between dysosmia and an increased risk of cognitive impairment (OR, 0.47, [95% CI, 0.35-0.64]; p < 0.001). The OR (95% CI) for cognition in females with dysosmia was higher than (OR, 0.73[0.51, 1.05], p = .007) that for males with dysosmia (OR, 0.25[0.15, 0.42], p < 0.001; P for interaction <0.001). Dysosmia was also associated with more rapid decline in calculation ability (p < 0.001). Besides, several DEGs were identified, which are mainly associated with olfactory transduction, detection of chemical stimulus involved in sensory perception of smell, sensory perception of smell, olfactory receptor activity and odorant binding. INTERPRETATION: These findings proved novel insight into identifying olfactory dysfunction as potential biomarker for diagnosis of cognitive impairment.

Sea-level rise will reduce net CO2 uptake in subtropical coastal marshes.

Coastal marshes have a significant capacity to sequester carbon; however, sea-level rise (SLR) is expected to result in prolonged flooding and saltwater intrusion in coastal regions. To explore the effects of SLR projections on net CO2 uptake in coastal marshes, we conducted a "double-check" investigation, including the eddy covariance (EC) measurements of the CO2 fluxes in subtropical coastal marshes along inundation and salinity gradients, in combination with a mesocosm experiment for analyzing CO2 flux components under waterlogging and increased salinity conditions. During the same measurement periods, the net ecosystem CO2 exchange (NEEEC based on the EC dataset) in an oligohaline marsh was higher than that in a low-elevation mesohaline marsh, whereas the NEEEC was lower than that in a high-elevation freshwater marsh. The declines in NEEEC between the marshes could be attributed to a greater decrease in gross primary production relative to ecosystem respiration. Waterlogging slightly increased the NEEms (NEE based on the mesocosms) because of inhibited soil respiration and slight changes in plant photosynthesis and shoot respiration. However, the NEEms measured during the drainage period decreased significantly due to the stimulated soil respiration. The NEEms decreased with increasing salinity (except under mild salinity), and waterlogging exacerbated the adverse impacts of salinity. The amplificatory effect of decreases in both leaf photosynthesis and growth under hydrological stresses contributed more to reduce the NEEms than to respiratory effluxes. Both waterlogging and increased salinity reduced the root biomass, soil microbial biomass, and activities of assayed soil enzymes (except for cellulase under waterlogging conditions), leading to limited soil respiration. The declines in plant growth, photosynthesis, and soil respiration could also be attributed to the decrease in soil nutrients under waterlogging and increased salinity conditions. We propose that the coupling of SLR-driven hydrological effects lowers the capacity of CO2 uptake in subtropical coastal marshes.

Utilization of spectral-spatial characteristics in shortwave infrared hyperspectral images to classify and identify fungi-contaminated peanuts.

It's well-known fungi-contaminated peanuts contain potent carcinogen. Efficiently identifying and separating the contaminated can help prevent aflatoxin entering in food chain. In this study, shortwave infrared (SWIR) hyperspectral images for identifying the prepared contaminated kernels. Feature selection method of analysis of variance (ANOVA) and feature extraction method of nonparametric weighted feature extraction (NWFE) were used to concentrate spectral information into a subspace where contaminated and healthy peanuts can have favorable separability. Then, peanut pixels were classified using SVM. Moreover, image segmentation method of region growing was applied to segment the image as kernel-scale patches and meanwhile to number the kernels. The result shows that pixel-wise classification accuracies are 99.13% for breed A, 96.72% for B and 99.73% for C in learning images, and are 96.32%, 94.2% and 97.51% in validation images. Contaminated peanuts were correctly marked as aberrant kernels in both learning images and validation images.

Internal and External Factors Related to Burnout among Iron and Steel Workers: A Cross-Sectional Study in Anshan, China.

BACKGROUND: Burnout is a syndrome of emotional exhaustion, cynicism and reduced professional efficacy, which can result from long-term work stress. Although the burnout level is high among iron and steel workers, little is known concerning burnout among iron and steel worker. This study aimed to evaluate the burnout and to explore its associated internal and external factors in iron and steel workers. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey was conducted in iron and steel workers at the Anshan iron-steel complex in Anshan, northeast China. Self-administered questionnaires were distributed to 1,600 workers, and finally 1,300 questionnaires were returned. Burnout was measured using the Chinese version of the Maslach Burnout Inventory-General Survey (MBI-GS). Effort-reward imbalance (ERI), perceived organizational support (POS), and psychological capital (PsyCap) were measured anonymously. A hierarchical regression model was applied to explore the internal and external factors associated with burnout. RESULTS: Mean MBI-GS scores were 13.11±8.06 for emotional exhaustion, 6.64±6.44 for cynicism, and 28.96±10.39 for professional efficacy. Hierarchical linear regression analysis showed that ERI and POS were the most powerful predictors for emotional exhaustion and cynicism, and PsyCap was the most robust predictor for high professional efficacy. CONCLUSIONS: Chinese iron and steel workers have a high level of burnout. Burnout might be associated with internal and external factors, including ERI, POS, and PsyCap. Further studies are recommended to develop an integrated model including both internal and external factors, to reduce the level of ERI, and improve POS and workers' PsyCap, thereby alleviating the level of burnout among iron and steel workers.

[Synthetic lethal genes to mutant p53].

Targeted therapy has become a powerful approach for cancer treatment. Better understanding of oncogenes as well as synthetic lethal interactions with oncogenes will lead to new strategies for tumor-specific treatment. It is well known that mutant p53 plays an important role in tumorigenesis and tumor development. Thus, understanding the synthetic lethal relationship between p53 mutations and interacting genes in tumor is critical for the personalized treatments of p53 mutant tumors. Synthetic lethal genes to mutant p53 can be divided into cell cycle regulators and non-cell cycle regulators. This paper review show these two types of target genes contribute to synthetic lethal interactions with p53 mutations and potential applications of these interactions in anticancer therapy.

Infrared-actuated recovery of polyurethane filled by reduced graphene oxide/carbon nanotube hybrids with high energy density.

Optically actuated shape recovery materials receive much interest because of their great ability to control the creation of mechanical motion remotely and precisely. An infrared (IR) triggered actuator based on shape recovery was fabricated using polyurethane (TPU) incorporated by sulfonated reduced graphene oxide (SRGO)/sulfonated carbon nanotube (SCNT) hybrid nanofillers. Interconnected SRGO/SCNT hybrid nanofillers at a low weight loading of 1% dispersed in TPU showed good IR absorption and improved the crystallization of soft segments for a large shape deformation. The output force, energy density and recovery time of IR-triggered actuators were dependent on weight ratios of SRGO to SCNT (SRGO:SCNT). TPU nanocomposites filled by a hybrid nanofiller with SRGO:SCNT of 3:1 showed the maximum IR-actuated stress recovery of lifting a 107.6 g weight up 4.7 cm in 18 s. The stress recovery delivered a high energy density of 0.63 J/g and shape recovery force up to 1.2 MPa due to high thermal conductivity (1.473 W/mK) and Young's modulus of 23.4 MPa. Results indicate that a trade-off between the stiffness and efficient heat transfer controlled by synergistic effect between SRGO and SCNT is critical for high mechanical power output of IR-triggered actuators. IR-actuated shape recovery of SRGO/SCNT/TPU nanocomposites combining high energy density and output forces can be further developed for advanced optomechanical systems.

Identification of land-cover characteristics using MODIS time series data: an application in the Yangtze river estuary.

Land-cover characteristics have been considered in many ecological studies. Methods to identify these characteristics by using remotely sensed time series data have previously been proposed. However, these methods often have a mathematical basis, and more effort is required to better illustrate the ecological meanings of land-cover characteristics. In this study, a method for identifying these characteristics was proposed from the ecological perspective of sustained vegetation growth trend. Improvement was also made in parameter extraction, inspired by a method used for determining the hyperspectral red edge position. Five land-cover types were chosen to represent various ecosystem growth patterns and MODIS time series data were adopted for analysis. The results show that the extracted parameters can reflect ecosystem growth patterns and portray ecosystem traits such as vegetation growth strategy and ecosystem growth situations.

Spectral Discrimination of the Invasive Plant Spartina alterniflora at Multiple Phenological Stages in a Saltmarsh Wetland.

Spartina alterniflora has widely invaded the saltmarshes of the Yangtze River Estuary and brought negative effects to the ecosystem. Remote sensing technique has recently been used to monitor its distribution, but the similar morphology and canopy structure among S. alterniflora and its neighbor species make it difficult even with high-resolution images. Nevertheless, these species have divergence on phenological stages throughout the year, which cause distinguishing spectral characteristics among them and provide opportunities for discrimination. The field spectra of the S. alterniflora community as well as its major victims, native Phragmites australis and Scirpus mariqueter, were measured in 2009 and 2010 at multi-phenological stages in the Yangtze River Estuary, aiming to find the most appropriate periods for mapping S. alterniflora. Collected spectral data were analyzed separately for every stage firstly by re-sampling reflectance curves into continued 5-nm-wide hyper-spectral bands and then by re-sampling into broad multi-spectral bands - the same as the band ranges of the TM sensor, as well as calculating commonly used vegetation indices. The results showed that differences among saltmarsh communities' spectral characteristics were affected by their phenological stages. The germination and early vegetative growth stage and the flowering stage were probably the best timings to identify S. alterniflora. Vegetation indices like NDVI, ANVI, VNVI, and RVI are likely to enhance spectral separability and also make it possible to discriminate S. alterniflora at its withering stage.

Follow-up study of survival of patients with advanced cancer in a hospice setting.

OBJECTIVE: This study was to present the survival of advanced cancer patients and explore the influence of various factors on survival time as well as survival rate. The results provide guidelines for clinical practice of cancer treatment. METHODS: Follow-up of 674 advanced cancer patients was performed in a hospice. The median survival time and survival rate were calculated, and survival analysis was carried out. RESULTS: The median survival time of all patients dying from cancer was 12.0 months and the average survival time was 25.1 months. The 1-year cumulative survival rate was 0.518±0.020 and the 5-year cumulative survival rate was 0.088±0.012. The following factors showed significant impacts on survival rate: gender, age, primary diagnosis, surgery and the time when pain appeared. CONCLUSIONS: The survival time of patients with advanced cancer was relatively short. Major approaches to extend the survival time include early detection, early diagnosis, effective surgical treatment, pain control, reasonable supply of nutrients and multiple interventions.

[Survival and its influencing factors of the lung cancer patients with hospice service].

BACKGROUND: Survival and the quality of life more comprehensively evaluates the survival conditions of cancer patients. This paper aims to analyze the survival time and quality of life (QOL) of hospice lung cancer patients and discusses the influencing factors to provide a basis for ameliorating their survival conditions. METHODS: Advanced lung cancer patients who are receiving hospice care in the Shengjing Hospital were retrospectively analyzed and followed-up. The data were analyzed using SPSS 13.0. The median survival of patients was determined using the Kaplan-Meier method, and their QOL were evaluated using the tumor patient's QOL scale. Finally, the relationship between the survival index and the various factors were determined. RESULTS: For 269 patients, the average QOL score was 28.76 and the median survival was 10 months. Awareness of their illness, pain relief, Karnofsky performance status (KPS) score, and nutritional status are the independent factors of QOL. Surgery, time of the occurrence of pain, pain relief, and KPS score are the independent factors of survival time. CONCLUSIONS: The survival of patients with advanced cancer is poor; hence, we should strengthen and improve hospice care in terms of the influencing factors to enhance the QOL of patients and prolong their survival.

[Spectral characteristics and identification research of soybean under different disease stressed].

The objective of this paper is to identify disease and its severity of soybean by using single leaf spectral data in the field. The soybean spectral were measured in the Sutton Bonington Campus of University of Nottingham (52.8 degrees N, 1.2 degrees W), which infected rust disease (RD) and common mosaic disease (CMD), respectively, and continuum removal method was used to process the original spectral data, and sensitive bands were selected for disease and disease severity, and vegetation index was designed for identifying RD and CMD of soybean. The result showed spectral reflectance of soybean under CMD stressed is more than that of health in the visible region. However, spectral reflectance of soybean under RD stressed will decrease in the green region and that will increase in the red region with disease severity increasing. According to the spectral changing features, a new index R500 x R550/R680 was designed for identifying the disease of soybean. In order to test the index identifying disease ability, the J-M distances were calculated among health, RD and CMD. The result indicated index R500 x R550/R680 can better identify RD and CMD, at the same time, the index has good ability for discriminating the disease severity of soybean. The research results of this paper has important theoretical value for crops disease monitoring and prevention and practical application meanings.

Factors that influence risky sexual behaviors among men who have sex with men in Liaoning province, China: a structural equation model.

HIV prevalence among men who have sex with men (MSM) has increased rapidly in China. Behavioral and biologic interventions are the key to control the spreading of HIV in the MSM population and the primary strategy for reducing the spread of AIDS in China. The objective of this study is to explore the relationship among HIV-related knowledge, the basic information of respondents, service utilization and risky sexual behavior. Respondent-driven sampling was used to recruit 225 MSM in Fushun and Huludao in China. The results of univariate analysis showed that condom use in the past 6 months was associated with age, being more knowledgeable about HIV, accepting lubricant distribution, and peer education (p<0.05). The structural equation modeling (SEM) results was as following, χ(2)=863.45 (p<0.01); root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA)=0.04; goodness of fit (GFI)=0.94, which indicated the model fitted the data well. The factor loads of HIV-related knowledge, the basic information of respondents, service utilization and risky sexual behavior was -0.06, 0.07, -0.27, respectively, which indicated that service utilization was likely to be a major factor negatively impacting risky sexual behavior. For service utilization, the greatest item load was for distribution of lubricants and peer education, 0.69, 0.68, respectively. The factor load of HIV-related knowledge and service utilization was 0.15, which suggested that risky sexual behaviors might be indirectly reduced by improving HIV/AIDS knowledge to increase service utilization. Basic information (age, income, marital status, age at first sexual intercourse) had a greater impact on service utilization, with a load factor of 0.26. For basic information, the greatest item load was age (0.96). In terms of the intervention strategies, it is essential that public health education is provided for the young, to ultimately decrease risky behaviors in MSM.

Relationship between HIV/AIDS knowledge and attitude among student nurses: a structural equation model.

With the rising incidence of HIV/AIDS in China, nurses will increasingly be caring for patients with HIV/AIDS. Thus, it is necessary that they have enough knowledge to reduce the risk of occupationally acquired HIV infection and that they change their attitude to care for HIV/AIDS patients. The objective of this study is to explore the relationship between student nurses' HIV/AIDS knowledge and their attitude using a structural equation model (SEM). A cross-sectional survey was conducted in January 2008 among 528 student nurses at the technical secondary school of the China Medical University. An SEM is proposed to determine the direction and magnitude of the interdependent effects between the latent factors. The SEM was built using LISREL version 8.5. The measurement properties of the latent factors underlying the questionnaire were based on a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). Our results as following, HIV/AIDS knowledge and attitude may be measured by seven underlying constructs, namely, preventive knowledge, knowledge of transmission routes, specialty knowledge, knowledge of nontransmission routes, positive attitude toward HIV/AIDS, negative attitude toward HIV/AIDS, and occupational attitude. The SEM fits the data well. The interdependent relationships between these constructs identified the factors of preventive knowledge, specialty knowledge, and attitude toward HIV/AIDS as having both direct and indirect effects on occupational attitude. In conclusions, our results represent an initial effort to assess the relationship between student nurses' HIV/AIDS knowledge and their attitude toward the disease. CFA and SEM analysis have demonstrated their usefulness in evaluating multifactor complex constructs.

HIV/AIDS Knowledge, Attitudes, and Behaviors of Construction Workers in China.

The objective of the study was to describe HIV/AIDS knowledge, attitudes, risk behaviors, and sources of information among construction workers in China. A cross-sectional survey of 458 construction workers was conducted among 4 construction sites in Shenyang city in 2006. All 458 participants were individually interviewed in a private setting by a trained team of medical researchers using a structured questionnaire, which included questions on general personal information and the knowledge, attitudes, practice questions and the favorable mode of health education. A total of 428 valid questionnaires were collected. Data entry and statistical analyses were performed using the SPSS 13.0. Our results indicated that the majority of construction workers in China are sexually active youths and adults with limited education and poor knowledge of HIV/AIDS. The proportions of correct answers to questions about HIV/AIDS ranged from 4.9% to 70.7%. The score was significantly different by education level (χ(2)=47.51, p<0.01), and marrital status (χ(2)=16.48, p<0.01). More than 60% of the construction workers had a negative attitude toward HIV/AIDS-infected individuals. The source of workers' knowledge toward HIV/AIDS mainly came from TV (35.8%), newspaper (14.3%), family and friend (13.1%) and others (28.2%). Chinese migrant workers in general lack knowledge about HIV/AIDS. Our study suggests prevention programs should be encouraged and these may have the potential role to limit the emergence of China's HIV/AIDS epidemic.