•There is a heterogeneous spatial and temporal distribution pattern of dengue cases in China.•The primary clusters included 13 counties in Guangdong Province and the secondary clusters covered 14 ...counties in Yunnan Province.•High risk regions were located in Guangdong and Yunnan Provinces.•Meteorological and environmental factors had nonlinear relationships with dengue incidence.
To identify the high risk spatiotemporal clusters of dengue cases and explore the associated risk factors.
Monthly indigenous dengue cases in 2005-2017 were aggregated at county level. Spatiotemporal cluster analysis was used to explore dengue distribution features using SaTScan9.4.4 and Arcgis10.3.0. In addition, the influential factors and potential high risk areas of dengue outbreaks were analyzed using ecological niche models in Maxent 3.3.1 software.
We found a heterogeneous spatial and temporal distribution pattern of dengue cases. The identified high risk region in the primary cluster covered 13 counties in Guangdong Province and in the secondary clusters included 14 counties in Yunnan Province. Additionally, there was a nonlinear association between meteorological and environmental factors and dengue outbreaks, with 8.5%–57.1%, 6.7%–38.3% and 3.2%–40.4% contribution from annual average minimum temperature, land cover and annual average precipitation, respectively.
The high risk areas of dengue outbreaks mainly are located in Guangdong and Yunnan Provinces, which are significantly shaped by environmental and meteorological factors, such as temperature, precipitation and land cover.
Background To rethink the clinical significance of standardized uptake values (SUVs) of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) on .sup.18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (.sup.18F-FDG) positron-emission tomography ...(PET). Methods We retrospectively reviewed 369 NPC patients who underwent pretreatment .sup.18F-FDG PET. The predictive value of the SUVmax of the primary tumor (SUVmax-t) and regional lymph nodes (SUVmax-n) was evaluated using probability density functions. Receiver operating characteristic curves were used to determine optimal cutoffs for the SUVmax-n/SUVmax-t ratio (NTR). Kaplan-Meier and Cox regression analyses were used to assess survival. Results The optimal SUVmax-t and SUVmax-n cutoffs were 7.5 and 6.9, respectively. High SUVmax-t and SUVmax-n were related to local and regional recurrence, respectively. Patients with low SUVmax had better 3-year overall survival (OS). To avoid cross-sensitization of cutoff points, we stratified patients with high SUVmax into the low and high NTR groups. The 3-year distant metastasis-free survival (DMFS; 92.3 vs. 80.6%, P = 0.009), progression-free survival (PFS; 84.0 vs. 67.7%, P = 0.011), and OS (95.9 vs. 89.2%, P = 0.002) significantly differed between the high vs. low NTR groups for patients with high SUVmax. Multivariable analysis showed that NTR was an independent prognostic factor for DMFS (hazard ratio HR: 2.037, 95% CI: 1.039-3.992, P = 0.038), PFS (HR: 1.636, 95% CI: 1.021-2.621, P = 0.041), and OS (HR: 2.543, 95% CI: 1.214-5.325, P = 0.013). Conclusion High SUVmax was associated with NPC recurrence. NTR is a potential prognosticator for DMFS, suggesting that heterogeneity in the pretreatment .sup.18F-FDG uptake between the primary tumor and lymph nodes is associated with high invasion and metastatic potential. Keywords: Nasopharyngeal carcinoma, .sup.18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron-emission tomography, Standardized uptake values
Body size is one of the most important traits of an organism. Among reptiles, both lizards and snakes show body size differences that span a similar six orders of magnitude variation. However, the ...molecular mechanisms underlying body size variation in squamates remain obscure. Here, we performed comparative genomic analyses of 101 body-size-related genes from 28 reptilian genomes. Phylogenetic analysis by maximum likelihood (PAML) revealed that snakes showed higher evolutionary rates in body-size-related genes, and had an almost two-fold increase in the number of positively selected genes (∼20.3%) compared with lizards (∼8.9%). The high similarities in dN/dS values were obtained between the branches of large-bodied lizards and large-bodied snakes by Spearman correlation analysis. Combining the results from site model, branch-site model and clade model analyses, we found some key genes regulating the evolution of body size in squamates, such as
COL10A1
,
GHR
,
NPC1
,
GALNS
,
CDKN2C
,
FBN1
, and
LCORL
. Phylogenetic generalized least squares (PGLS) indicated that
AKT1
,
BMP1
,
IGF1
,
SOX5
,
SOX7
in lizards and
BMP5
,
BMP7
,
GPC6
,
SH2B3
,
SOX17
in snakes were significantly correlated with body length and body mass. Furthermore, ecological factors had varying degrees of impact on body size and the evolutionary rate of body-size-related genes in squamates. Intriguingly, climate had little effect on body size of lizards and snakes, but the contribution of climate-related factors to the variation in evolutionary rate of body-size-related genes were relatively higher. Our study lays a foundation for a comprehensive understanding of genetic mechanisms of body size evolution in squamates during the process of adapting to terrestrial life.
For galling aphids and their hosts, tannins are crucial for plant-insect interactions and for protecting the host plant from herbivory. Due to their peculiar chemical characteristics, tannins from ...plant galls have been used for medical and chemical purposes for more than 2000 years. In this study, hydrolyzable tannin concentrations in galls increased from gall initiation (38.34% on June 21) to maturation (74.79% on August 8), then decreased gradually thereafter (58.83% on October 12). We identified a total of 81 genes (named as GTS1-81) with putative roles in gallotannin biosynthesis and 22 genes (TS1-22) in condensed tannin biosynthesis. We determined the expression profiles of these genes by real-time PCR over the course of gall development. Multiple genes encoding 1-beta-D-glucosyl transferases were identified, which may play a vital role in gallotannin accumulation in plant galls. This study is the first attempt to examine the molecular basis for the regulation of tannin accumulation in insect gallnuts. The differentially expressed genes we identified may play important roles in both tannin biosynthesis and plant-insect interactions.
Hand, foot, and mouth disease (HFMD) is a contagious viral illness that commonly affects infants and children. This infection is an emerging infectious disease in Rizhao in recent years. The present ...study examined the short-term effects of meteorological factors on adolescent HFMD in Rizhao.
A generalized additive Poisson model was applied to estimate the effects of meteorological factors on adolescent HFMD occurrence in 2010-2012. Subgroup analyses were also conducted to examine the potential effect modifiers of the association in terms of age, sex, and occupation.
A positive effect of temperature was observed (ER excess risk=1.93%, 95% CI: 1.05 to 2.82% for 1°C increase on lag 5 day). A negative effect of relative humidity at lag 1 day and positive effects were found on lag 5-7 days, and an adverse effect was observed for sunshine at lag days 3-4 (ER=−0.71%, 95% CI: −1.25 to −0.17% on lag day 4). We also found that age, sex, and occupation might be important effect modifiers of the effects of weather variables on HFMD.
This study suggests that meteorological factors might be an important predictor of adolescent HFMD occurrence in Rizhao. Age, sex, and occupation might be important effect modifiers of the effects.
Understanding the health consequences of continuously rising temperatures—as is projected for China—is important in terms of developing heat-health adaptation and intervention programs. This study ...aimed to examine the association between mortality and daily maximum (Tmax), mean (Tmean), and minimum (Tmin) temperatures in warmer months; to explore threshold temperatures; and to identify optimal heat indicators and vulnerable populations.
Daily data on temperature and mortality were obtained for the period 2007–2013. Heat thresholds for condition-specific mortality were estimated using an observed/expected analysis. We used a generalised additive model with a quasi-Poisson distribution to examine the association between mortality and Tmax/Tmin/Tmean values higher than the threshold values, after adjustment for covariates.
Tmax/Tmean/Tmin thresholds were 32/28/24°C for non-accidental deaths; 32/28/24°C for cardiovascular deaths; 35/31/26°C for respiratory deaths; and 34/31/28°C for diabetes-related deaths. For each 1°C increase in Tmax/Tmean/Tmin above the threshold, the mortality risk of non-accidental-, cardiovascular-, respiratory, and diabetes-related death increased by 2.8/5.3/4.8%, 4.1/7.2/6.6%, 6.6/25.3/14.7%, and 13.3/30.5/47.6%, respectively. Thresholds for mortality differed according to health condition when stratified by sex, age, and education level. For non-accidental deaths, effects were significant in individuals aged ≥65 years (relative risk=1.038, 95% confidence interval: 1.026–1.050), but not for those ≤64 years. For most outcomes, women and people ≥65 years were more vulnerable.
High temperature significantly increases the risk of mortality in the population of Jinan, China. Climate change with rising temperatures may bring about the situation worse. Public health programs should be improved and implemented to prevent and reduce health risks during hot days, especially for the identified vulnerable groups.
•Maximum, mean, and minimum temperature thresholds differed by cause of death.•High temperature-related mortality risks were higher among women and those aged ≥65 years.•Integration of temperature-different indicators may be useful to trigger public health plans in warm months.
Traditional railway transportation can no longer meet people’s demand for logistics services. This paper takes advantage of high speed to propose a high-speed railway dynamic logistics alliance based ...on a cloud platform to make up for the lack of transport capacity at both ends of the high-speed railway logistics trunk line. Selecting partners is crucial to the high-speed rail logistics alliance. This paper uses the methods of multiobjective fuzzy optimization and dynamic programming to conduct multistage optimization of high-speed railway dynamic logistics alliance partners. When the market demand changes, in order to optimize the overall interests of the alliance, this paper uses the efficiency profit field method to achieve the dynamic selection of alliance partners or potential partners. The case study shows that the establishment of the high-speed railway dynamic logistics alliance can optimize the interests of the members of the alliance, verify the effectiveness of the method, and provide a reference for the better development of high-speed railway logistics.
In this paper, we have a further study about global robust stability of dynamical bidirectional associative memory (BAM) neural networks with norm-bounded uncertainties. By introducing four new upper ...bound norms for the interconnection matrices of the neural networks and constructing a suitable Lyapunov functional, several new criteria on global robust stability are established. The obtained results can be easily verified as they can be expressed in terms of the network parameters only. In comparison with the results reported in the literature, the proposed approach leads to results with less restrictive conditions. Two numerical examples are also worked through to illustrate our results.
Treating bone defects coupled with pathogen infections poses a formidable challenge to clinical medicine. Thus, there is an urgent need to develop orthopedic implants that provide excellent ...antibacterial and osteogenic properties. Of the various types, copper-based biomaterials capable of both regenerating bone and fighting infections are an effective therapeutic strategy for bone tissue engineering and therefore have attracted significant research interest. This review examines the advantages of copper-based biomaterials for biological functions and introduces these materials' antibacterial mechanisms. We summarize current knowledge about the application of copper-based biomaterials with antimicrobial and osteogenic properties in the prevention and treatment of bone infection and discuss their potential uses in the field of orthopedics. By examining both broad and in-depth research, this review functions as a practical guide to developing copper-based biomaterials and offers directions for possible future work.
Dengue virus serotype 4 (DENV 4) has had a relatively low prevalence worldwide for decades; however, likely due to data paucity, no study has investigated the epidemiology and evolutionary dynamics ...of DENV 4 genotype I (DENV 4-I). This study aims to understand the diversity, epidemiology and dynamics of DENV 4-I. We collected 404 full length DENV4-1 envelope (E) gene sequences from 14 countries using two sources: Yunnan Province in China (15 strains during 2013-2016) and GenBank (489 strains up to 2018-01-11). Conducting phylogenetic and phylogeographical analyses, we estimated the virus spread, population dynamics, and selection pressures using different statistical analysis methods (substitution saturation, likelihood mapping, Bayesian coalescent inference, and maximum likelihood estimation). Our results show that during the last 60 years (1956-2016), DENV 4-I was present in mainland and maritime Southeast Asia, the Indian subcontinent, the southern provinces of China, parts of Brazil and Australia. The recent spread of DENV 4-I likely originated in the Philippines and later spread to Thailand. From Thailand, it spread to adjacent countries and eventually the Indian subcontinent. Apparently diverging around years 1957, 1963, 1976 and 1990, the different Clades (Clade I-V) were defined. The mean overall evolution rate of DENV 4-I was 9.74 (95% HPD: 8.68-10.82) × 10-4 nucleotide substitutions/site/year. The most recent common ancestor for DENV 4-I traces back to 1956. While the demographic history of DENV 4-I fluctuated, peaks appeared around 1982 and 2006. While purifying selection dominated the majority of E-gene evolution of DENV 4-I, positive selection characterized Clade III (Vietnam). DENV 4-I evolved in situ in Southeast Asia and the Indian subcontinent. Thailand and Indian acted as the main and secondary virus distribution hubs globally and regionally. Our phylogenetic analysis highlights the need for strengthened regional cooperation on surveillance and sharing of sample sequences to improve global dengue control and cross-border transmission prevention efforts.
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