Prevalence and Clinical Significance of Portal Vein Thrombosis in Patients With Cirrhosis and Acute Decompensation.

BACKGROUND & AIMS: Portal vein thrombosis (PVT) is a common and serious complication in patients with cirrhosis. However, little is known about PVT in patients with cirrhosis and acute decompensation (AD). We investigated the prevalence and clinical significance of PVT in nonmalignant patients with cirrhosis and AD. METHODS: We performed a retrospective study of 2 cohorts of patients with acute exacerbation of chronic liver disease who participated in the Chinese AcuTe on CHronic LIver FailurE study, established by the Chinese Chronic Liver Failure Consortium, from January 2015 through December 2016 (n = 2600 patients) and July 2018 through January 2019 (n = 1370 patients). We analyzed data on the prevalence, clinical manifestations, and risk factors of PVT from 2826 patients with cirrhosis, with and without AD. RESULTS: The prevalence of PVT in patients with cirrhosis and AD was 9.36%, which was significantly higher than in patients with cirrhosis without AD (5.24%) (P = .04). Among patients with cirrhosis and AD, 63.37% developed PVT recently (the first detected PVT with no indication of chronic PVT). Compared with patients without PVT, a significantly higher proportion of patients with PVT had variceal bleeding (47.33% vs 19.63%; P < .001) and patients with PVT had a significantly higher median serum level of D-dimer (2.07 vs 1.25; P < .001). Splenectomy and endoscopic sclerotherapy were independent risk factors for PVT in patients with cirrhosis and AD. The 1-year mortality rate did not differ significantly between patients with vs without PVT. CONCLUSIONS: In an analysis of data from 2826 patients with cirrhosis, a significantly higher proportion of those with AD had PVT than those without AD. PVT was associated with increased variceal bleeding, which would increase the risk for AD. Strategies are needed to prevent PVT in patients with cirrhosis, through regular screening, to reduce portal hypertension. ClinicalTrials.gov no: NCT02457637 and NCT03641872.

Psychological symptoms are associated with screen and exercise time: a cross-sectional study of Chinese adolescents.

BACKGROUND: Mental disorders among adolescents have become a worldwide public health problem. This study aimed to estimate the best combination of exercise time and screen time to promote the mental health of Chinese adolescents. METHODS: Participants included 7200 Chinese adolescents aged 13-18 years from six regions of China. Screen and exercise time data were collected via a self-rated questionnaire. Psychological symptoms (e.g., often feeling depressed, school-weary) were evaluated with the "Multidimensional Sub-health Questionnaire of Adolescents". Chi-squared tests and logistic regression analysis were conducted to investigate the differences in and correlations among screen time, exercise time, and psychological symptoms. RESULTS: The overall detection rate of psychological symptoms among Chinese adolescents was 21.4% (22.1% for boys and 20.6% for girls). Psychological symptom detection rates were lowest among adolescents with 1-2 h/d of screen time (19.5%) and those with 30-60 min/d of exercise time (17.3%). Screen time > 2 h/d (OR = 1.38, P < 0.001) and exercise time < 30 min/d (OR = 1.62, P < 0.001) were positively correlated with psychological symptoms. CONCLUSION: Screen and exercise time are associated with psychological symptoms in Chinese adolescents. A combination of 1-2 h/d of screen time and 30-60 min/d of exercise time is provided as a reference for better mental health.

Comparison of growth and nutritional status of Chinese and Japanese children and adolescents.

BACKGROUND: The difference in growth and nutritional status, both important indices of population quality, between Chinese and Japanese children and adolescents is unknown. AIM: This study aimed to compare growth and nutritional status between Chinese and Japanese children and adolescents. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: The height-for-age and BMI-for-age distribution of 9,226 children and adolescents aged 7-18 years from China and Japan were described with the Lambda Mu and Sigma method. Wasting, overweight and obesity were evaluated based on BMI-for-age cut-offs of the 2007 WHO Child Growth Reference. RESULTS: For boys, the overall average height, weight and BMI of Chinese participants were 3.0 cm, 4.8 kg and 1.2 kg/m2 greater compared with Japanese participants, respectively; for girls, these were 4.6 cm, 3.9 kg and 0.6 kg/m2, respectively. Compared with Japanese children, the 3rd, 50th and 97th percentiles of height-for-age, 1Z-score, and 2Z-score of BMI-for-age of Chinese children were greater, whereas the minus 2Z-scores of Chinese children were less. The prevalence of wasting, overweight and obesity among Chinese participants was greater. CONCLUSIONS: Compared with Japanese children, Chinese children tended to be taller. The worrying burden of overweight, obesity and wasting was recognised among Chinese children.

Adaptive genetic differentiation in Pterocarya stenoptera (Juglandaceae) driven by multiple environmental variables were revealed by landscape genomics.

BACKGROUND: The investigation of the genetic basis of local adaptation in non-model species is an interesting focus of evolutionary biologists and molecular ecologists. Identifying these adaptive genetic variabilities on the genome responsible can provide insight into the genetic mechanism of local adaptation. RESULTS: We investigated the spatial distribution of genetic variation in 22 natural populations of Pterocarya stenoptera across its distribution area in China to provide insights into the complex interplay between multiple environmental variables and adaptive genetic differentiation. The Bayesian analysis of population structure showed that the 22 populations of P. stenoptera were subdivided into two groups. Redundancy analysis demonstrated that this genetic differentiation was caused by the divergent selection of environmental difference. A total of 44 outlier loci were mutually identified by Arlequin and BayeScan, 43 of which were environment-associated loci (EAL). The results of latent factor mixed model analysis showed that solar radiation in June (Sr6), minimum temperature of the coldest month (Bio6), temperature seasonality (Bio4), and water vapor pressure in January (Wvp1) were associated with the highest numbers of EAL. Sr6 was associated with the ecological habitat of "prefered light", and Bio6 and Wvp1 were associated with the ecological habitat of "warm and humid environment". CONCLUSIONS: Our results provided empirical evidence that environmental variables related to the ecological habitats of species play key roles in driving adaptive differentiation of species genome.

Leptin receptor knockout-induced depression-like behaviors and attenuated antidepressant effects of exercise are associated with STAT3/SOCS3 signaling.

Relatively little has been known about pathophysiological mechanisms contributing to the development of neuropsychiatric symptoms in the context of metabolic syndrome. Impaired leptin signaling activation in db/db mice has been proposed as a potential link between behavioral and metabolic disorders. Our previous studies have shown that exercise has the beneficial effects on a depression-like and insulin-resistant state in mice. The present study aimed to determine whether and how leptin receptor knockout (db/db) induces depression-like behaviors, and to identify the antidepressant effects of swimming exercise in db/db mice. Our results support the validity of db/db mice as an animal model to study depression with metabolic abnormalities, but fail to confirm the improvement of exercise on depression. LepRb knockout-induced depression-like behaviors are associated with STAT3/SOCS3 signaling but independent of IKKß/NFκB signaling. Our findings suggest the potential importance of LepRb as an exercise-regulated target for depression, also representing a new target underlying treatment-resistant depression.

Study on the tolerance and adaptation of rats to Angiostrongylus cantonensis infection.

Angiostrongylus cantonensis (A. cantonensis) is the most common infectious agent causing eosinophilic meningitis. As an important food-borne parasitic disease, angiostrongyliasis cantonensis is an emerging infectious disease which brings severe harm to central nerve system of human. Rat, one of the few permissive hosts of A. cantonensis known to date, plays an indispensable role in the worm's life cycle. However, the tolerance and adaptation of rat to A. cantonensis infection is rarely understood. In this study, we infected rats with different numbers the third stage larvae (L3) of A. cantonensis and explored their tolerance through analysis on survival curve, neurological function score, and detection of pathological damages in organs including the brain, lung, and heart of the animals. Results indicated that rats' survival condition worsens, and body weight dropped more significantly as more worms were used for infection. Death appeared in groups infected with 80 and more A. cantonesnsis per rat. Morris water maze revealed that the neurological function of rats damaged gradually with increasing infection number of A. cantonensis larvae. When the number of infected parasite exceeded 240 per animal, rats showed significant neurological impairments. Collection of A. cantonensis from rat lung after 35 days of infection implied an upper limit for worm entry, and the average length of worm was inversely proportional to the infection amount, while the ratio between female and male worms was positively related to the infection number. The degree of pulmonary and cardiac inflammation was proportional to the infection number of A. cantonensis. Meanwhile, there existed considerable amount of adult worms in rat's right atrium and right ventricle, leading to a right heart myocardial inflammation. The present study firstly reports the tolerance and adaptation of rat, a permissive host of A. cantonensis to its infection, which will not only provide accurate technical parameters for maintaining A. cantonensis life cycle under laboratory conditions but also help unveil the underlying mechanism of the distinct pathological outcomes in the permissive and non-permissive hosts with A. cantonensis infection.

The Role of Nitric Oxide in the Antidepressant Actions of 5-Aminoimidazole-4-Carboxamide-1-ß-D-Ribofuranoside in Insulin-Resistant Mice.

OBJECTIVE: Depression and Type 2 diabetes mellitus are interrelated conditions, but the underlying neurobiology is insufficiently understood. The current study compared the effects of a pharmacological manipulation with 5-aminoimidazole-4-carboxamide-1-ß-D-ribofuranoside (AICAR) that targets neurobiological processes by adenosine 5'-monophosphate-activated protein kinase activation versus exercise on depression-like behavior and nitric oxide (NO)-related measures. METHODS: A mouse model of a depression-like and insulin-resistant state, induced by the co-treatment of high-fat diet and corticosterone administration, was used to examine the antidepressant action of AICAR and exercise. RESULTS: Data showed that AICAR was a putative antidepressant in the depression-like and insulin-resistant mice (total ambulatory distance in the open-field test was 5120.69 ± 167.47 cm, mobility duration in the forced swim test was 17.61 ± 1.54 seconds, latency to feed in the novelty suppressed feeding test was 255.67 ± 37.80 seconds; all p values < .05). Furthermore, the antidepressant actions of AICAR required endothelial nitric oxide synthase activity with increased NO production in the prefrontal cortex, whereas corticosterone-induced expression of neuronal nitric oxide synthase and NO production may increase the risk of depression. In contrast to the traditional antidepressants such as ketamine and imipramine, AICAR interfered with the effects of insulin in skeletal muscle in the context of high-fat diet, consistent with the potential antidepressant effects of AICAR. Exercise also resulted in activation of adenosine 5'-monophosphate-activated protein kinase, nitric oxide synthase, and NO production (all p values < .01), which in turn may be implicated in the antidepressant effects of exercise. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that NO is an essential signal mediating the antidepressant actions of AICAR. Ultimately, the concurrent effects of AICAR on brain insulin action and mitochondrial function suggest a potential of neural insulin resistance, which may contribute to our understanding of the comorbidity of depression and Type 2 diabetes.

Nutrition in Chinese-Korean Children and Adolescents.

OBJECTIVE: To study the nutrition habits among Chinese-Korean children and adolescents in Yanbian Autonomous Prefecture, Jilin, China. METHODS: Data were obtained from the Chinese National Survey on Students' Constitution and Health in 1995, 2000, 2005, and 2010 for Chinese-Korean children and adolescents aged 7-18 years. The number of the subjects included was 4789, 4704, 5875, and 5315, respectively. RESULTS: The rate of the occurrence of stunting showed a declining trend from 1995 to 2010 (for boys: urban, 6.3%; rural, 12.7% in 1995 and 3.5% for both in 2010. For girls: urban, 7.8%; rural, 13.4% in 1995 and 4.2% and 5.5%, respectively, in 2010). Although the ratio of wasting did not show significant differences between the urban and rural children and adolescents in 1995, 2000, 2005, and 2010 respectively, the ratio of occurrence of overweight or obesity increased (for boys: urban, 7.3% and 1.3% in 1995, 17.6% and 12.9% in 2010; rural, 7.0% and 1.3% in 1995, 14.6% and 12.8% in 2010, respectively. For girls: urban, 8.1% and 1.0% in 1995, 17.3% and 8.6% in 2010; rural 5.7% and 0.7% in 1995, 16.4% and 7.4% in 2010, respectively). CONCLUSION: The ratio of malnutrition in children and adolescents in Chinese-Korean areas declined from 1995 to 2010, and the distinction in malnutrition between the urban and rural areas was negligible in 2010. Further, the ratio of overweight and obesity increased over this period.

Decoding cardiovascular risks: analyzing type 2 diabetes mellitus and ASCVD gene expression.

Background: ASCVD is the primary cause of mortality in individuals with T2DM. A potential link between ASCVD and T2DM has been suggested, prompting further investigation. Methods: We utilized linear and multivariate logistic regression, Wilcoxon test, and Spearman's correlation toanalyzethe interrelation between ASCVD and T2DM in NHANES data from 2001-2018.The Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database and Weighted Gene Co-expression Network Analysis (WGCNA) wereconducted to identify co-expression networks between ASCVD and T2DM. Hub genes were identified using LASSO regression analysis and further validated in two additional cohorts. Bioinformatics methods were employed for gene ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment analysis, along with the prediction of candidate small molecules. Results: Our analysis of the NHANES dataset indicated a significant impact of blood glucose on lipid levels within diabetic cohort, suggesting that abnormal lipid metabolism is a critical factor in ASCVD development. Cross-phenotyping analysis revealed two pivotal genes, ABCC5 and WDR7, associated with both T2DM and ASCVD. Enrichment analyses demonstrated the intertwining of lipid metabolism in both conditions, encompassing adipocytokine signaling pathway, fatty acid degradation and metabolism, and the regulation of adipocyte lipolysis. Immune infiltration analysis underscored the involvement of immune processes in both diseases. Notably, RITA, ON-01910, doxercalciferol, and topiramate emerged as potential therapeutic agents for both T2DM and ASCVD, indicating their possible clinical significance. Conclusion: Our findings pinpoint ABCC5 and WDR7 as new target genes between T2DM and ASCVD, with RITA, ON-01910, doxercalciferol, and topiramate highlighted as promising therapeutic agents.

Transformation of recurrent ALK-positive anaplastic large-cell lymphoma from common pattern to composite pattern (lymphohistiocytic and small-cell pattern) with a change in CD30 expression.

ALK-positive anaplastic large-cell lymphoma (ALK + ALCL) is characterized by expression of ALK and CD30. The current World Health Organization (WHO) classification recognizes five morphologic patterns: common, small-cell, lymphohistiocytic, Hodgkin-like, and composite. There are few reports about the morphologic transformation of ALK + ALCL. Today, we report an intriguing case of presumed transformation from common-pattern to composite-pattern (lymphohistiocytic and small-cell pattern) ALK + ALCL, with CD30 expression changing from positive to negative. This case expands understanding of morphologic transformation between different subtypes of ALK + ALCL and highlights common diagnostic pitfalls, including atypical morphology and negative CD30. Morphologic transformation of ALK + ALCL should be assigned importance, and comprehensive clinical history, histologic and immunophenotypic evaluation are vital to rendering the correct diagnosis of ALK + ALCL.

Ferroptosis participated in hippocampal neuroinflammation damage of in offspring rats after maternal sleep deprivation.

Sleep deprivation during pregnancy has important effects on the pregnant woman herself and her offspring, and some studies have found that neuroinflammation in her offspring is important, but the mechanisms are poorly understood. To investigate the involvement of ferroptosis in cognitive impairment due to hippocampal neuroinflammation in offspring rats after maternal sleep deprivation. SD rats exposed to late gestational sleep deprivation were deprived of sleep for 72 h. Their offspring were given the ferroptosis inhibitor liproxstatin-1 (5 mg/kg) intraperitoneally 3 days after birth. The results showed that MSD resulted in impaired learning memory capacity and significant downregulation of PSD95 and NeuN. Microglia were significantly activated, inflammatory factor expression was increased, the ferroptosis regulatory protein GPX4 was downregulated, ACSL4 was significantly upregulated, and lipid metabolite 4-HNE expression was increased. In contrast, the MSD-induced impairment of inflammation and learning memory capacity in the offspring was ameliorated after treatment with ferroptosis inhibitors. These results suggest that MSD-induced neural damage characterized ferroptosis in the hippocampal region of the offspring rats, leading to a decrease in learning and memory function, which may be related to the decreased levels of Nrf2 and HO-1.

Cellular and molecular mechanisms of fibrosis and resolution in bleomycin-induced pulmonary fibrosis mouse model revealed by spatial transcriptome analysis.

The bleomycin-induced pulmonary fibrosis mouse model is commonly used in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis research, but its cellular and molecular changes and efficiency as a model at the molecular level are not fully understood. In this study, we used spatial transcriptome technology to investigate the cellular and molecular changes in the lungs of bleomycin-induced pulmonary fibrosis mouse models. Our analyses revealed cell dynamics during fibrosis in epithelial cells, mesenchymal cells, immunocytes, and erythrocytes with their spatial distribution available. We confirmed the differentiation of the alveolar type II (AT2) cell type expressing Krt8, and we inferred their trajectories from both the AT2 cells and club cells. In addition to the fibrosis process, we also noticed evidence of self-resolving, especially to identify possible self-resolving related genes, including Prkca. Our findings provide insights into the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying fibrosis resolution and represent the first spatiotemporal transcriptome dataset of the bleomycin-induced fibrosis mouse model.

Increased insulin sensitivity and distorted mitochondrial adaptations during muscle unloading.

We aimed to further investigate mitochondrial adaptations to muscle disuse and the consequent metabolic disorders. Male rats were submitted to hindlimb unloading (HU) for three weeks. Interestingly, HU increased insulin sensitivity index (ISI) and decreased blood level of triglyceride and insulin. In skeletal muscle, HU decreased expression of pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase 4 (PDK4) and its protein level in mitochondria. HU decreased mtDNA content and mitochondrial biogenesis biomarkers. Dynamin-related protein (Drp1) in mitochondria and Mfn2 mRNA level were decreased significantly by HU. Our findings provide more extensive insight into mitochondrial adaptations to muscle disuse, involving the shift of fuel utilization towards glucose, the decreased mitochondrial biogenesis and the distorted mitochondrial dynamics.

[Research progress of effect of anti-diabetic traditional Chinese medicines based on regulation of glucose metabolic enzyme].

Diabetes is a global threat threatening human health in the world, with an increasing incidence rate in recent years. The disorder of glucose metabolism is one of the major factors. As relevant glucose metabolic enzymes such as alpha-glucosidase, glucose-6-phosphatase (G-6-P), glycogen phosphorylase (GP) and glycogen synthase kinase-3 (GSK-3) get involved in and control the process of glucose metabolism, the regulation of the activity of glucose metabolic enzymes is of significance to the treatment of diabetes. Traditional Chinese medicines (TCMs) have been widely researched because of their low toxicology and high efficiency, and many extracts and components from TCMs have been proven to be regulators of glucose metabolic enzymes. Compared with anti-diabetic western medicines, anti-diabetic TCMs feature safety, reliability and low price. This essay summarizes the anti-diabetic effect of TCMs on regulating glucose metabolic enzymes.

A new CT metal artifacts reduction algorithm based on fractional-order sinogram inpainting.

In this paper, we propose a new metal artifacts reduction algorithm based on fractional-order total-variation sinogram inpainting model for X-ray computed tomography (CT). The numerical algorithm for our fractional-order framework is also analyzed. Simulations show that, both quantitatively and qualitatively, our method is superior to conditional interpolation methods and the classic integral-order total variation model.

Prediction of the enantioselectivity of lipases and esterases by molecular docking method with modified force field parameters.

In the work, molecular docking method was applied to extensively predict the enantioselectivity of lipases and esterases. A ligand library consisted of 69 chiral substrates was docked to four lipases and two esterases to set up the prediction model. During the docking process, necessary modification was carried out on van de Waals and hydrogen bond parameters of enzyme/substrate pair so that the ligands were able to adopt productive geometry in the enzymes. The docking results correctly indicated the enantiopreference for 91% (63/69) of docking pairs and the docking energy difference between substrate enantiomers (Delta Delta G(docking)) was significantly (correlation coefficient = 0.72, P < 0.05) correlated with the activation free energy difference (Delta Delta G( not equal)) that was quantitatively correlated with enantioselectivity of the enzymes. The prediction method was further validated by docking with another 12 enzyme/substrate pairs. Moreover, the prediction error was susceptible to the size of groups bonded to substrate's chiral center and expected Delta Delta G( not equal) values but was not related to the substrate type and reaction medium. The possible reasons of observed error were discussed. It is demonstrated that the docking method has great application potential in high performance prediction of enzyme enantioselectivity.

[Responses of potential suitable area of Paris verticillata to climate change and its dominant climate factors]. / åŒ—é‡æ¥¼æ½œåœ¨é€‚ç”ŸåŒºå¯¹æ°”å€™å˜åŒ–çš„å“åº”åŠå ¶ä¸»å¯¼æ°”å€™å› å­.

Prediction of the potential distribution of species based on the data of its current distribution in combination with climatic variables is important for understanding species evolution and reasonable conservation. Based on 220 distribution sites in China and 12 low-correlation climatic variables, we analyzed the potential distribution of Paris verticillata at present and future (2050s and 2070s) using the MaxEnt model and ArcGIS program. Further, we analyzed the dominant driving factors for its geographic distribution. The results showed that the area under the curve indices (AUC) was 0.940, with high prediction accuracy. The potential suitable regions of P. verticillata were mainly distributed in the Greater Xing'an Mountains, the Xiao Xing'an Mountains, the Changbai Mountains, the Qinling-Daba Mountains, Hebei, Shanxi and north Shandong under current climate scenario. Those regions accounted for 18.1% of the total suitable area in the country, of which the highly suitable areas accounted for 7.0% and the lowly suitable area 11.1%. The total suitable areas of P. verticillata in the 2050s and 2070s would decline under the climate change scenarios of RCP 2.6, RCP 4.5, RCP 6.0 and RCP 8.5. The highly suitable area would decline, but the lowly suitable area would increase. With the global climate change, both the range and the geometric center of its distribution would gradually spread to higher altitude in the northeast. The cumulative contributions of four dominant factors reached as high as 89.2%, namely, precipitation of wettest month, mean annual temperature, isothermality, and precipitation of January. Their appropriate ranges were 100-275 mm, -0.1-16 ℃, 21-35 and 3-14 mm, respectively.

Activation of alpha7 acetylcholine receptors reduces neuropathic pain by decreasing dynorphin A release from microglia.

Dynorphin A is increased in neuropathic pain models. Activation of α7 n acetylcholine receptor (nAchR) reduces inflammation and pain. Whether activation of α7 nAchR affects dynorphin A release is unknown. The experiments evaluated the proinflammatory effect of dynorphin A in the spinal nerve ligation-induced neuropathic pain models and the effect of α7 nAchR activation on the dynorphin A content. α7 nAchR agonist, PHA-543613 and its antagonist, methyllycaconitine citrate were used and dynorphin A content was measured after spinal nerve ligation and in microglia cultures to test the analgesic mechanisms of α7 nAchR activation. The results showed that dynorphin A content peaked 3 to 7 days after nerve injury, and dynorphin A anti-serum intrathecal injection decreased IL-ß and TNF-α content a week after nerve injury. Activation of α7 nAchR by PHA-543613 alleviated neuropathic pain behaviors and decreased dynorphin A concentration in the ipsilateral spinal cords. Also, PHA-543613 decreased dynorphin A release from the microglia cultures to LPS stimulation by activation of α7 nAchR. Our results suggest that dynorphin A contribute to the development and maintenance of neuropathic pain and that decreasing dynorphin A content by activation of α7 AchR of microglia is a potential therapeutic target for treating neuropathic pain.

Differences in Cardiorespiratory Fitness between Chinese and Japanese Children and Adolescents.

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to compare the difference in cardiorespiratory fitness between Chinese and Japanese children and adolescents. METHODS: Participants comprised 9025 children and adolescents aged 7-18 years from China and Japan. Cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) was measured by performance in the 20 m shuttle run test (20mSRT) and estimated maximal oxygen consumption (VO2max). Differences in CRF between countries were evaluated by t-tests. Centile curves for the 20mSRT and VO2max values were constructed for Chinese and Japanese children and adolescents, respectively, using the Lambda Mu and Sigma (LMS) method. RESULTS: (1) For most of the age groups, the 20mSRT and VO2max performances among Chinese participants were lower than among Japanese participants. (2) Japanese children had the most apparent gains in P10, P50, and P90 VO2max values in primary school; however, they gradually decreased in middle school. For Chinese girls, the P10, P50, and P90 VO2max values decreased gradually with age. (3) The VO2max value among Japanese children increased; however, it decreased or remained flat among Chinese children in primary school. CONCLUSIONS: CRF among Chinese participants was lower than among Japanese participants while the VO2max value showed different trends in primary school. Effective measures should be taken to improve CRF among children and adolescents.

[Interspecific association and functional group classification of the dominant populations in shrub layer in secondary forest of Pinus tabuliformis in Qinling Mountain, China.] / 秦岭山地油松天然次生林灌木层主要种群种间联结性与功能群划分.

We analyzed the interspecific association among 20 dominant populations in shrub layer in secondary natural forest of Pinus tabuliformis in Qinling Mountain, China, with X2-test, the association coefficients and the percentage of common occurrence. The results showed that the species pairs with significant positive associations accounted for only 7.4% of the total 190 species pairs. The species pairs such as Lespedeza bicolor and Elaeagnus pungens, Toxicodendron vernicifluum and Pinus tabuliformis, Euonymus alatus and Cerasus tomentosa had extremely significant positive correlations, whereas most of the species pairs showed weak interspecific association. The ratio of positive and negative correlations was less than 1. The results suggested that the interspecific association was relatively weak. Species were with certain independence among dominant populations. Community structure was at an unstable mid-stage with dynamic succession. According to the interspecific association and cluster analysis, combined with biological and ecological characters, the 20 dominant populations in shrub layer were classified into four functional groups. The ecological requirement and resource use pattern of species within the same functional groups were similar, exhibiting a close connection between the shrub species. The connection between different functional groups was relatively loose.