Driving factor analysis and dynamic forecast of industrial carbon emissions in resource-dependent cities: a case study of Ordos, China.

Urban carbon emissions are one of the most important areas contributing to the growth of carbon emissions, and resource-dependent cities with natural resource extraction and processing as their leading industries tend to have higher carbon emissions. Ordos is the city with the highest coal production in China, and its economic development is dominated by coal, oil and gas, and other resource extraction and processing industries, with industrial activities making a large contribution to carbon emissions. At the same time, Ordos has undergone rapid industrialization in recent years, but still faces the problem of environmental pollution, epitomizing a typical resource-dependent city in China. Therefore, this paper takes Ordos as an example and uses the Generalized Divisa Index Method (GDIM) to study the drivers of industrial carbon emissions in Ordos from 2005-2020, a typical resource-dependent city in China, and further analyzes are conducted in relation to the three phases of development. Based on the key drivers, the Monte Carlo method is used to forecast industrial carbon emissions from 2021 to 2030. The results show that the most important factors driving the growth of industrial carbon emissions are the scale of industrial output and industrial energy consumption, while the intensity of industrial energy investment is the most important factor mitigating industrial carbon emissions, and that energy efficiency and carbon intensity of energy consumption can also mitigate carbon emissions after economic transformation. At the same time, investment is the factor with the greatest potential for optimization on the path to emissions reduction.

Cognitive Benefit of a Multidomain Intervention for Older Adults at Risk of Cognitive Decline: A Cluster-Randomized Controlled Trial.

OBJECTIVE: We sought to assess cognitive benefits of a community-based multidomain intervention for improving cognition among older adults at risk of cognitive decline (COMBAT). DESIGN: A two-armed cluster-randomized controlled trial. SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: Community-dwelling older adults aged 60 years or older and were at risk of cognitive decline (n = 209). INTERVENTION: In this 9-month intervention study, 10 community hospitals in Beijing, China, were randomized (1:1) to receive either a multidomain intervention of meditation, cognitive training, exercise, and nutrition counseling or usual care. The intervention was delivered with weekly 1-hour group training sessions and weekly home homework. MEASUREMENTS: Primary outcome was change in cognition as measured by a composite Z score of seven cognitive tests. Secondary outcomes included subjective cognitive abilities, positive and negative affective experiences, physical activity, and dietary habits. Assessments were administered at baseline, end of the intervention, and 1 year after completing the intervention (1-year follow-up). RESULTS: Immediately after the intervention, the intervention group showed significant enhancement in cognitive performance (p = 0.026). The between-group difference in the Z score of change of cognition was 0.20 (95% CI: 0.053, 0.35), with a Hedges' g of 0.40 (95% CI: 0.29, 0.50). However, this cognitive benefit was not significant at 1-year follow-up. CONCLUSION: This multidomain intervention was effective to improve cognition for at-risk individuals. Long-term effects on cognitive function and individual differences in response to the intervention deserve further investigation.

Inflammatory Stimulation Mediates Nucleus Pulposus Cell Necroptosis Through Mitochondrial Function Disfunction and Oxidative Stress Pathway.

BACKGROUND: The mutual activation between nucleus pulposus (NP) cells death and inflammation is an important pathogenic factor of intervertebral disc degeneration. Whether inflammation mediates NP cells necroptosis, and its relationship with mitochondrial dysfunction and oxidative stress remains unclear. METHODS: In this study, 50 ng/mL of TNF-α and 20 ng/mL of IL-1ß were used to co-treatment with rat NP cells for 0, 24, 48, 72 hours, then Western blot and RT-PCR techniques were utilized to evaluate the expression level of necroptosis-associated target molecules, such as RIPK1, RIPK3 and MLKL. The results established that with prolongation of TNF-α and IL-1ß treatment time, the expression level of necroptosis-associated molecules gradually increased. The 48 hours of TNF-α and IL-1ß treatment was selected throughout the following experiments. The RIPK1 specific inhibitor necrostatin-1 (Nec-1), RIPK3 inhibitor GSK872, MLKL inhibitor necrosulfonamide (NSA) and small interfering RNA (siRNA) technology were employed. RESULTS: Under the treatment of TNF-α or IL-1ß, administration of Nec-1, GSK872 or NSA notably reduced NP cells death and up-regulated NP cells viability. Consistently, SiRNA-mediated knockdown of RIPK3 (SiRIPK3) or MLKL (SiMLKL) promoted the survival of NP cells. However, SiRIPK1 aggravated NP cells death. Furthermore, after 48 hours of TNF-α and IL-1ß treatment, the mitochondrial membrane potential decreased, opening of mitochondrial permeability transition pore enhanced, and oxidative stress level notably elevated. The Nec-1, GSK872 or NSA treatment largely restored the normal mitochondrial function and down-regulated oxidative stress. CONCLUSIONS: In summary, RIPK1/RIPK3/MLKL-mediated necroptosis play an important role in NP cells death during inflammatory irritation, which might be closely related to mitochondrial dysfunction and up-regulation of oxidative stress.

Emotional and Behavioral Changes in Older Adults With High Risk of Cognitive Impairment During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

COVID-19 is not only a threat to physical health but also a stressor to mental health, particularly for older adults. Previous studies have indicated that healthy older adults have resilience to cope with such stressful event through emotional and behavioral effort. However, very few have investigated the coping ability of older adults with High Risk of Cognitive Impairment (HRCI), as they are characterized with risk factors that can make them more vulnerable to COVID-19 in both physical and mental aspects. To examine whether older adults with HRCI were able to cope with and recover from the outbreak of COVID-19, we investigated the changes of their self-reported emotional states and intentions of taking protective behaviors between the outbreak period (data collected from February 17th to 24th, 2020) and the remission period (data collected from April 7th to 20th, 2020). The results showed that compared with the outbreak period, older adults with HRCI showed better emotional states and higher levels of intention to take more protective behaviors during the remission period. Subgroup analysis showed that even those who showed relatively poor coping abilities during the outbreak period could gradually improve their emotional states and intend to take more protective behaviors later on in the remission period. Therefore, these results suggested that older adults with HRCI were able to cope with and recover from the pandemic outbreak.

Effects of Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation on Episodic Memory in Older Adults: A Meta-analysis.

OBJECTIVES: In the last two decades, the number of intervention studies using transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) has grown enormously. Though some studies have shown positive influences on episodic memory among older adults, disagreement exists in the literature. Therefore, the current meta-analysis aimed to provide a quantitative assessment of the efficacy of tDCS in modulating episodic memory functions in older adults. METHOD: Eligible studies were sham-controlled trials examining the effects of anodal tDCS on episodic memory in older adults. Twenty-four articles comprising 566 participants aged over 60 qualified for inclusion. RESULTS: Compared to the sham tDCS group, the active tDCS group showed significant memory improvements at both immediate poststimulation (Hedges' g = 0.625, p = .001) and long-term follow-up (Hedges' g = 0.404, p = .002). There were no differences in effect sizes between cognitively healthy and impaired older adults. Moderator analyses suggested that tDCS having a duration of 20 min or less, bilateral stimulation, or a larger stimulation area would produce greater benefits for episodic memory performance in older adults. DISCUSSION: These findings suggest that tDCS holds great promise to ameliorate memory decline in older individuals. In the future, well-designed randomized controlled trials are expected to verify the optimal stimulation protocols and determine the factors impacting the long-term effects of tDCS in enhancing episodic memory.

Efficacy and Safety of Ginkgo Leaf Extract and Dipyridamole Injection for Ischemic Stroke: A Systematic Review and Meta Analysis.

Objective: Ginkgo leaf extract and dipyridamole injection (GDI), a kind of Chinese medicine preparation, has been considered as a promising supplementary treatment for ischemic stroke. The aim of this study was to systematically evaluate the clinical efficacy and safety of GDI mediated therapy for ischemic stroke. Methods: PubMed, Cochrane Library, Medline, Embase, Web of Science, Wanfang database, Chinese Scientific Journal Database (VIP), China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) and Chinese Biological Medicine Database (CBM), were searched systematically for clinical trials of conventional treatments combined with GDI for ischemic stroke. The reported outcomes including overall response, hemorrheology and blood lipid indexes, and adverse events were systematically investigated. Results: Data from thirty-nine trials including 3,182 ischemic stroke patients were involved. The results indicated that, compared with conventional treatments alone, the combination of conventional treatments with GDI obviously improved the overall response (odds ratio [OR] = 4.14, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 3.26-5.25, P < 0.00001), neurological status (National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale, OR = -3.13, 95% CI = -3.98 to -2.28, P < 0.00001) and activity of daily living (Barthel Index score, OR = 14.10, 95% CI = 9.51-18.68, P < 0.00001) of patients. Moreover, the hemorheology and blood lipids indexes of ischemic stroke patients were also significantly ameliorated after the combined therapy (P < 0.01). The frequency of adverse events did not differ significantly between the two groups (P > 0.05). Conclusion: Evidence from the meta-analysis suggested that the combination of conventional treatments and GDI is safe and more effective in treating ischemic stroke than conventional treatments alone. Therefore, GDI mediated therapy could be recommended as an adjuvant treatment for ischemic stroke.

Reading Independently and Reading With a Narrator: Eye Movement Patterns of Children With Different Receptive Vocabularies.

This study examined the effects of two reading styles (i.e., reading with a narrator and reading independently), receptive vocabulary and literacy on children's eye movement patterns. The sample included 46 Chinese children (aged 4-6 years) who were randomly assigned to two reading styles and read the same picture book on a screen. The results indicated that the higher the children's receptive vocabulary was, the sooner they fixated on the text. Overall, the children's fixation probability (i.e., the time spent viewing the text zones as a proportion of full-page viewing time during each period) decreased with time when reading independently but increased with time when reading with a narrator. For children in senior kindergarten, reading with a narrator is thought to help establish and consolidate the links between speech and text and thus promote reading acquisition.

Ketogenic diet poses a significant effect on imbalanced gut microbiota in infants with refractory epilepsy.

AIM: To investigate whether patients with refractory epilepsy and healthy infants differ in gut microbiota (GM), and how ketogenic diet (KD) alters GM. METHODS: A total of 14 epileptic and 30 healthy infants were recruited and seizure frequencies were recorded. Stool samples were collected for 16S rDNA sequencing using the Illumina Miseq platform. The composition of GM in each sample was analyzed with MOTHUR, and inter-group comparison was conducted by R software. RESULTS: After being on KD treatment for a week, 64% of epileptic infants showed an obvious improvement, with a 50% decrease in seizure frequency. GM structure in epileptic infants (P1 group) differed dramatically from that in healthy infants (Health group). Proteobacteria, which had accumulated significantly in the P1 group, decreased dramatically after KD treatment (P2 group). Cronobacter predominated in the P1 group and remained at a low level both in the Health and P2 groups. Bacteroides increased significantly in the P2 group, in which Prevotella and Bifidobacterium also grew in numbers and kept increasing. CONCLUSION: GM pattern in healthy infants differed dramatically from that of the epileptic group. KD could significantly modify symptoms of epilepsy and reshape the GM of epileptic infants.

Serotype distribution, antimicrobial resistance, and molecular characterization of invasive group B Streptococcus isolates recovered from Chinese neonates.

BACKGROUND: Group B Streptococcus (GBS) is an important neonatal pathogen associated with high morbidity and mortality in developed countries. However, data describing neonatal GBS disease in developing countries, particularly in Asia, are largely incomplete. The aim of this study was to determine the serotype distribution, antimicrobial resistance, and molecular characteristics of invasive GBS isolates recovered from Chinese neonates. METHODS: From 2008 to 2013, 40 GBS isolates were recovered from infected neonates less than 3 months of age. All isolates were identified with the CAMP test and commercially available techniques. Serotyping was performed by latex agglutination. Antibiotic susceptibility was tested with Etest strips and the disk diffusion method. Multilocus sequence typing and erythromycin resistance gene detection (ermB and mefA) were performed by PCR. RESULTS: Four serotypes were identified. Serotype III (85%) was the most prevalent, followed by Ia (7.5%), Ib (5%), and V (2.5%). All isolates were sensitive to penicillin, ceftriaxone, and levofloxacin. However, resistance to erythromycin (92.5%), clindamycin (87.5%), and tetracycline (100%) was observed. Among erythromycin-resistant isolates, 73.0% carried the ermB gene alone, 5.4% carried the mefA gene alone, and 21.6% expressed both ermB and mefA genes. A total of seven sequence types (STs) were identified; the most prevalent was ST17, accounting for 80% of all isolates. Further, serotype III isolates contained ST17 (94.2%), ST19 (2.9%), and ST650 (2.9%). CONCLUSION: Serotype distribution, antimicrobial susceptibility, and sequence type characterization in Asia and in other global regions may contribute to improve the prevention and treatment of neonatal GBS infections.

Characterization of macrolide resistance of Mycoplasma pneumoniae in children in Shenzhen, China.

Macrolide-resistant Mycoplasma pneumoniae (MR-M. pneumoniae) was isolated from clinical specimens in Shenzhen, China from November 2010 to July 2011. A comparative study was conducted to determine whether macrolides are effective in treating patients infected with MR-M. pneumoniae. Of 57 M. pneumoniae strains, 36 harbored point mutations on A2063G in the 23S ribosomal RNA gene. A total of 36 (63%) strains were classified as MR-M. pneumonia and 21 (37%) as macrolide-susceptible M. pneumoniae (MS-M. pneumoniae). The clinical courses of MR-M. pneumoniae-infected patients (MR patients) treated with macrolides were compared with those of MS-M. pneumoniae-infected patients (MS patients). The patient demographics (sex, age), most laboratory findings, and diagnosis did not show significant differences between the two groups. The MR patients had higher mean total febrile days compared with MS patients (6.56 ± 6.17 days vs. 3.57 ± 3.80 days, P = 0.05). The MR patients were more likely to be have levels of high-sensitivity C-reactive protein than MS patients (42% (15/36) vs. 14% (3/21), P = 0.03). Although the febrile period was prolonged in MR patients treated with macrolides, the fever resolved even when the initial prescription was unchanged. Therefore, these results suggest that macrolides are less effective in MR patients than in MS patients.

Serotype distribution and antimicrobial resistance of Streptococcus pneumoniae isolates causing invasive diseases from Shenzhen Children's Hospital.

OBJECTIVE: To provide guidance for clinical disease prevention and treatment, this study examined the epidemiology, antibiotic susceptibility, and serotype distribution of Streptococcus pneumoniae (S. pneumoniae) associated with invasive pneumococcal diseases (IPDs) among children less than 14 years of age in Shenzhen, China. MATERIALS AND METHODS: All the clinical strains were isolated from children less than 14 years old from January 2009 to August 2012. The serotypes and antibiotic resistance of strains of S. pneumoniae were determined using the capsular swelling method and the E-test. RESULTS: A total of 89 strains were isolated and 87 isolates were included. The five prevailing serotypes were 19F (28.7%), 14 (16.1%), 23F (11.5%), 19A (9.2%) and 6B (6.9%). The most common sequence types (ST) were ST271 (21.8%), ST876 (18.4%), ST320 (8.0%) and ST81 (6.9%) which were mainly related to 19F, 14, 19A and 23F, respectively. The potential coverage by 7-, 10-, and 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine were 77.0%, 77.0%, and 89.7%, respectively. Among the 87 isolates investigated, 11.5% were resistant to penicillin, and for meningitis isolates, the resistance rate was 100%. Multi-drug resistance (MDR) was exhibited by 49 (56.3%) isolates. Eighty-four isolates were resistance to erythromycin, among which, 56 (66.7%) carried the ermB gene alone and 28 (33.3%) expressed both the ermB and mefA/E genes. CONCLUSIONS: The potential coverage of PCV13 is higher than PCV7 and PCV10 because high rates of serotypes 19A and 6A in Shenzhen. The clinical treatment of IPD needs a higher drug concentration of antibiotics. Continued surveillance of the antimicrobial susceptibility and serotypes distribution of IPD isolates may be necessary.

Respiratory virus multiplex RT-PCR assay sensitivities and influence factors in hospitalized children with lower respiratory tract infections.

Multiplex RT-PCR assays have been widely used tools for detection and differentiation of a panel of respiratory viral pathogens. In this study, we evaluated the Qiagen ResPlex II V2.0 kit and explored factors influencing its sensitivity. Nasopharyngeal swab (NPS) specimens were prospectively collected from pediatric inpatients with lower respiratory tract infections at the time of admission in the Shenzhen Children's Hospital from May 2009 to April 2010. Total nucleic acids were extracted using the EZ1 system (Qiagen, Germany) and 17 respiratory viruses and genotypes including influenza A virus (FluA), FluB, parainfluenza virus 1 (PIV1), PIV2, PIV3, PIV4, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), human metapneumovirus (hMPV), rhinoviruses (RhV), enteroviruses (EnV), human bocaviruses (hBoV), adenoviruses (AdV), four coronaviruses (229E, OC43, NL63 and HKU1), and FluA 2009 pandemic H1N1(H1N1-p) were detected and identified by the ResPlex II kit. In parallel, 16 real-time TaqMan quantitative RT-PCR assays were used to quantitatively detect each virus except for RhV. Influenza and parainfluenza viral cultures were also performed. Among the total 438 NPS specimens collected during the study period, one or more viral pathogens were detected in 274 (62.6%) and 201(45.9%) specimens by monoplex TaqMan RT-PCR and multiplex ResPlex, respectively. When results from monoplex PCR or cell culture were used as the reference standard, the multiplex PCR possessed specificities of 92.9-100.0%. The sensitivity of multiplex PCR for PIV3, hMPV, PIV1 and BoV were 73.1%, 70%, 66.7% and 55.6%, respectively, while low sensitivities (11.1%-40.0%) were observed for FluA, EnV, OC43, RSV and H1N1. Among the seven viruses/genotypes detected with higher frequencies, multiplex PCR sensitivities were correlated significantly with viral loads determined by the TaqMan RT-PCR in FluA, H1N1-p and RSV (p=0.011-0.000). The Qiagen ResPlex II multiplex RT-PCR kit possesses excellent specificity for simultaneous detection of 17 viral pathogens in NPS specimens in pediatric inpatients at the time of admission. The sensitivity of multiplex RT-PCR was influenced by viral loads, specimen process methods, primer and probe design and amplification condition.

Plastic bronchitis in three children associated with 2009 influenza A(H1N1) virus infection.

Plastic bronchitis is an uncommon disorder generally associated with congenital heart disease or sickle cell acute chest syndrome. During the winter outbreak of 2009 influenza A(H1N1) [influenza A(H1N1)] virus infection, we cared for three children who developed plastic bronchitis without the typical underlying conditions. The diagnosis of plastic bronchitis was made using flexible bronchoscopy and was confirmed by histopathology. These children had influenza-like illness, and the assay for influenza A(H1N1) virus was positive in their nasopharyngeal swab and BAL fluid. The chest imaging showed consolidation or atelectasis. After bronchoscopic extraction of casts and antiviral treatment, all of the patients recovered, and there has been no recurrence of the plastic bronchitis. Infection with influenza A(H1N1) is known to cause inflammation and decreased mucociliary clearance, and this may place some patients, especially children, at risk for airway obstruction.

miR-20a promotes proliferation and invasion by targeting APP in human ovarian cancer cells.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are emerging as a class of small regulated RNAs, and the alterations of miRNAs are implicated in the initiation and progression of human cancers. Our study shows that inhibition of miR-20a in OVCAR3 ovarian cancer cell line could suppress, whereas overexpression of miR-20a could enhance cell long-term proliferation and invasion. We also confirmed amyloid precursor protein (APP) as a direct target gene of miR- 20a. Furthermore, suppression of APP expression could also promote ovarian cancer cell proliferation and invasion, which is consistent with the results of miR-20a overexpression. Therefore, we concluded that the regulation of APP is an important mechanism for miR-20a to promote proliferation and invasion in ovarian cancer cells.