Population ageing is an increasingly severe global issue. And this has been posing challenges for public health policies and medical resource allocation There are various features of population ...ageing in different regions worldwide.
All data were obtained from the health data of World Bank Open Data. Quantile linear regression was used to subtly measure the common variation tendency and strength of the global ageing rate and ageing population. The Bayesian space-time hierarchy model (BSTHM) was employed to assess the detailed spatial temporal evolution of ageing rate and ageing population in global 195 countries and regions.
Annual growth of the ageing (65 and above) rate occurred on six continents: Europe (0.1532%), Oceania (0.0873%), Asia (0.0834%), South America (0.0723%), North America (0.0673%) and Africa (0.0069%). The coefficient of variation of the global ageing rate increased from 0.54 in 1960 to 0.69 in 2017. The global ageing rate and ageing population increased over this period, correlating positively with their quantiles. Most countries (37/39) in Europe belong to the top level with regard to the ageing rate, including the countries with the greatest degree of ageing-Sweden, Germany, Austria, Belgium and the UK-whose spatial relative risks of ageing are 3.180 (3.113-3.214), 3.071 (3.018-3.122), 2.951 (2.903-3.001), 2.932 (2.880-2.984) and 2.917 (2.869-2.967), respectively. Worldwide, 44 low ageing areas which were distributed mainly in Africa (26 areas) and Asia (15 areas) experienced a decreasing trend of ageing rates. The local trends of ageing population in the 195 areas increased.
The differentiation of global population ageing is becoming increasingly serious. Globally, all 195 areas showed an increasing local ageing trend in absolute terms, although there were 44 low-ageing areas that experienced a decreasing local trend of ageing rate. The statistical results may provide some baseline reference for developing public health policies in various countries or regions, especially in less-developed areas.
Air pollution in the form of particulate matter (PM) is becoming one of the greatest current threats to human health on a global scale. This paper firstly presents a Bayesian space–time hierarch ...piecewise regression model (BSTHPRM) which can self-adaptively detect the transitions of local trends, accounting for spatial correlations. The spatiotemporal trends of the approximately anthropogenic PM2.5 removed natural dust (PM2.5_No Dust) concentrations and the corresponding population's PM2.5_No Dust exposure (PPM2.5E) in the global continent from 1998 to 2016 were investigated by the presented BSTHPRM. The total areas of the high and higher PM2.5_No Dust-polluted regions, whose spatial relative magnitude of PM2.5_NoDust pollution to the global continental overall level was between 1.89 and 14.68, accounted for about 13.4% of the global land area, and the corresponding exposed populations accounted for 56.0% of the global total population. The spatial heterogeneity of the global PM2.5_NoDust pollution increased generally from 1998 to 2016. The areas of hot, warm, and cold spots with increasing trends of PM2.5_NoDust concentration initially contracted and then later expanded. The local trends of the global continental PM2.5_NoDust concentrations and PPM2.5E can be parted into three changing stages, early, medium, and later stages, using the BSTHPRM. The area proportions of the regions experiencing a decreasing trend of PM2.5_NoDust concentrations and PPM2.5E were greater in the medium stage than in the early and later stages. The local trends of PM2.5_NoDust concentration and PPM2.5E in the two higher PM2.5_NoDust polluted areas, northern India and eastern and southern China, increased in the early stage and then decreased in the medium stage. In the later stage (recent years), northern India displayed a stronger increasing trend; nevertheless, the follow-up decreasing trend still occurred in eastern and southern China. In the first two stages, more than half of the areas in Europe experienced a decreasing trend of PM2.5_NoDust concentration and PPM2.5E; later, more than half of areas in Europe exhibited increasing trends in the later stage. North America and South America experienced a similar local trend of PPM2.5E to Europe. The PPM2.5E trend in Africa generally increased during the study period.
•First presentation of a Bayesian space-time hierarchy piecewise regression model detecting self-adaptively transitions.•Firstly applies a developed Bayesian space-time model in investigating the global population’s exposure to PM2.5.•Deeply analyses the spatiotemporal trends of the global continental PM2.5 pollution removed natural dust.•Details the spatiotemporal trends of the global population’s exposure to anthropogenic PM2.5.
MicroRNAs (miRNAs) and small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) are short (19-25 nucleotides) non-coding RNA molecules that have large-scale regulatory effects on development and stress responses in plants. ...Verticillium wilt is a vascular disease in plants caused by the fungal pathogen Verticillium dahliae. The objective of this study is to investigate the transcriptional profile of miRNAs and other small non-coding RNAs in Verticillium-inoculated cotton roots. Four small RNA libraries were constructed from mocked and infected roots of two cotton cultured species which are with different Verticillium wilt tolerance ('Hai-7124', Gossypium barbadense L., a Verticillium-tolerant cultivar, and 'Yi-11', Gossypium hirsutum L. a Verticillium-sensitive cultivar). The length distribution of obtained small RNAs was significantly different between libraries. There were a total of 215 miRNA families identified in the two cotton species. Of them 14 were novel miRNAs. There were >65 families with different expression between libraries. We also identified two trans-acting siRNAs and thousands of endogenous siRNA candidates, and hundred of them exhibited altered expression after inoculation of Verticillium. Interesting, many siRNAs were found with a perfect match with retrotransposon sequences, suggested that retrotransposons maybe one of sources for the generation of plant endogenous siRNAs. The profiling of these miRNAs and other small non-coding RNAs lay the foundation for further understanding of small RNAs function in the regulation of Verticillium defence responses in cotton roots.
With the rapid industrial development and urbanisation in China, nitrogen dioxide
(
NO
2
)
pollution has become a severe environmental problem that threatens public health. Based on hourly ...concentration monitoring data of the six main air pollutants in mainland China, a space–time Bayesian hierarchy model was employed to analyse the spatiotemporal trends of the absolute and relative
NO
2
concentrations (i.e., the proportion of
NO
2
in the six main air pollutants:
CO
,
NO
2
,
PM
2.5
,
PM
10
,
O
3
, and
SO
2
). Both the absolute and relative
NO
2
concentrations were higher in the autumn and winter of each year during the study period. Four regions in particular—the North China Plain, the Yangtze River Delta, the Sichuan Basin, and the Pearl River Delta—experience the largest amounts of
NO
2
pollution, with a high local magnitude of more than 1.0 relative to the overall absolute and relative
NO
2
concentrations; this affects an area with a human population of 571.85 million, which is 42.47% of the total population. Central China (i.e., the Shaanxi–Shanxi–Henan region) and the Tarim Basin (northwest of Xinjiang) were heavily polluted by
NO
2
and other pollutants throughout the year, with a high local magnitude of more than 1.0 relative to the overall absolute
NO
2
concentration. The
NO
2
pollution in most of the cities in western and southern China is less serious, along with cities in the northeast. Local trends reveal that in general, cities with high
NO
2
pollution are accompanied by upward trends. Specifically, except for in the summer, there were about 86 cities showing the increasing trend, of which 66 cities are located in areas with higher absolute and relative
NO
2
concentrations. Taiyuan, for example, represents the maximal local trend, with an average annual increase of 4.39 (95% CI 1.61–7.43)
μ
g
/
m
3
and 0.43 (95% CI 0.16–0.73) %, respectively, which will lead to further increases in the population exposure-risk in heavily polluted areas.
Abstract
Background
Globally, the increasingly severe population ageing issue has been creating challenges in terms of medical resource allocation and public health policies. The aim of this study is ...to address the space-time trends of the population-ageing rate (PAR), the number of medical resources per thousand residents (NMRTR) in mainland China in the past 10 years, and to investigate the spatial and temporal matching between the PAR and NMRTR in mainland China.
Methods
The Bayesian space-time hierarchy model was employed to investigate the spatiotemporal variation of PAR and NMRTR in mainland China over the past 10 years. Subsequently, a Bayesian Geo-Detector model was developed to evaluate the spatial and temporal matching levels between PAR and NMRTR at national level. The matching odds ratio (OR) index proposed in this paper was applied to measure the matching levels between the two terms in each provincial area.
Results
The Chinese spatial and temporal matching q-statistic values between the PAR and three vital types of NMRTR were all less than 0.45. Only the spatial matching Bayesian q-statistic values between the PAR and the number of beds in hospital reached 0.42 (95% credible interval: 0.37, 0.48) nationwide. Chongqing and Guizhou located in southwest China had the highest spatial and temporal matching ORs, respectively, between the PAR and the three types of NMRTR. The spatial pattern of the spatial and temporal matching ORs between the PAR and NMRTR in mainland China exhibited distinct geographical features, but the geographical structure of the spatial matching differed from that of the temporal matching between the PAR and NMRTR.
Conclusion
The spatial and temporal matching degrees between the PAR and NMRTR in mainland China were generally very low. The provincial regions with high PAR largely experienced relatively low spatial matching levels between the PAR and NMRTR, and vice versa. The geographical pattern of the temporal matching between the PAR and NMRTR exhibited the feature of north-south differentiation.
Most countries are experiencing growth in the number and proportion of their ageing populations and this issue is posing challenges for economies and societies worldwide. The most populated country ...in the world, China, is experiencing a dramatic increase in its ageing population. As China is the world's largest developing country, its serious ageing issue may have far-reaching effects not only domestically but also in other countries and even globally.
In order to overcome the weaknesses of traditional statistical models and reveal further detail regarding the local area evolution, an improved Bayesian space-time model is presented in this paper and used to estimate the spatiotemporal evolution of Chinese ageing from 1992 to 2015.
The six eastern provinces with high levels of ageing have been experiencing an almost steady state, while Jiangsu, Shanghai and Zhejiang have weak increased trends of ageing, and the weak increased trend is decreasing. Although the northern and western provinces belong to the low ageing area, five of them have strong local growth trends and therefore strong potential to exacerbate ageing. Under the background of the "comprehensive two children" policy, the forecast value of China's ageing rate is 13.80% (95% CI:11.24%,18.83% is) in 2030.
Considering developments over the past 24 years, it has been determined that the areas of the Chinese mainland that are experiencing the highest levels of growth in ageing populations are the two central provinces, which are connected to seven eastern provinces and five southwestern provinces. High ageing areas are not only concentrated in the eastern provinces, but also include Sichuan and Chongqing in the southwest region and Hubei and Hunan of the central region. The seven provinces (municipalities or autonomous regions) of the central and western regions have both high ageing levels and strong growth rates, but the growth rate is decreasing.
Surface electromyography (sEMG) studies have indicated that chronic low back pain (cLBP) involves altered electromyographic activity and morphological structure of the lumbar multifidus (LM) beyond ...pain perception; however, most studies have evaluated the superficial lumbar multifidus. It is difficult to record electromyography (EMG) signals from the deep multifidus (DM) to determine the neuromuscular activation patterns, making it difficult to determine the relationship between functional and structural changes in cLBP. We developed a novel method to record intramuscular EMG signals in the DM based on the sEMG system and fine-wire electrodes. We measured EMG signals of the DM in 24 cLBP patients and 26 pain-free healthy controls to identify changes in neuromuscular activation. We also used ultrasound to measure DM muscle thickness, cross-sectional area, and contraction activity to identify potential relationships between EMG activity and structural damage. cLBP patients had decreased average EMG and root mean square, but increased median frequency and mean power frequency. Average EMG was positively correlated with contractile activity, but not statistically correlated with noncontractile anatomical abnormalities. Our results suggest that cLBP alters the neuromuscular activation patterns and morphological structure of the contractile activity of the DM, providing insights into the mechanisms underlying pain perception.
Objective
To compare medium-term clinical and radiological outcomes of primary unilateral uncemented (UN) or cemented (CE) femoral component total hip arthroplasty (THA) in elderly patients with ...osteoporosis.
Methods
Consecutive patients with osteoporosis who underwent primary unilateral UN or CE THAs at our institution from 2006 to 2013 were retrospectively reviewed. All consecutive procedures were managed by high-volume surgeons, using UN or CE THA approaches. Follow-up assessments occurred at 1, 3, 6, 9, and 12 months postoperatively, and yearly thereafter. Patient-related functional outcomes were assessed using the Harris Hip Score (HHS). Primary and secondary endpoints were early revision (<5 years) and functional outcome.
Results
In total, 496 primary unilateral THAs (CE, n = 184; UN, n = 182) were assessed with a median follow-up period of 75 months (range, 65–86 months). From 3 months after surgery to the final follow-up, HHS was consistently superior in the CE group. Respective prosthetic loosening rates in the UN and CE groups were 26.4% and 16.8% at a minimum of 5 years. There was a significant difference in rate of early revision (7.6% CE vs. 14.8% UN).
Conclusion
Compared with UN THA, CE THA exhibits a superior outcome in elderly patients with primary osteoporosis.
At present, it is unclear which device (uncemented or cemented total hip arthroplasty UTA or CTA, respectively) is more suitable for the conversion of a failed proximal femoral nail anti-rotation ...(PFNA). The aim of this review was to assess the outcomes of failed PFNAs converted to a UTA or CTA device in elderly individuals with intertrochanteric femoral fractures (IFFs).
Two hundred fifty-eight elderly individuals (258 hips) with IFFs who underwent a conversion to a UTA or CTA device following failed PFNAs during 2007-2017 were retrospectively identified from the China Southern Medical Centre (CSMC) database. The primary endpoint was the Harris Hip Score (HHS); secondary endpoint was the key orthopaedic complication rate.
The median follow-up was 65 months (60-69 months). Significant distinctions were observed (87.26 ± 16.62 for UTA vs. 89.32 ± 16.08 for CTA, p = 0.021; 86.61 ± 12.24 for symptomatic UTA vs. 88.68 ± 13.30 for symptomatic CTA, p = 0.026). A significant difference in the overall key orthopaedic complication rate was detected (40.8% 40/98 vs. 19.0% 19/100, p = 0.001). Apparent distinctions were detected in terms of the rate of revision, loosening, and periprosthetic fracture (11.2% for UTA vs 3.0% for CTA, p = 0.025; 13.2% for UTA vs 5.0% for CTA, p = 0.043; 10.2% for UTA vs 3.0% for CTA, p = 0.041, respectively).
For elderly individuals with IFFs who suffered a failed PFNA, CTA devices may have a noteworthy advantage in regard to the revision rate and the rate of key orthopaedic complications compared with UTA devices, and CTA revision should be performed as soon as possible, regardless of whether these individuals have symptoms.
The TEOSINTE BRANCHED 1, CYCLOIDEA, and PROLIFERATING CELL FACTORS (TCP) gene family is a group of plant-specific transcription factors that have versatile functions in developmental processes and ...stress responses. In this study, a total of 73
genes in upland cotton were identified and characterizated. Phylogenetic analysis classified them into three subgroups: 50 belonged to PCF, 16 to CIN, and 7 to CYC/TB1.
genes are randomly distributed in 22 of the 26 chromosomes in cotton. Expression patterns of
were analyzed in 10 tissues, including different developmental stages of ovule and fiber, as well as under heat, salt, and drought stresses. Transcriptome analysis showed that 44
genes exhibited varied transcript accumulation patterns in the tested tissues and 41
genes were differentially expressed in response to heat, salt, and drought stresses. Furthermore, three
genes of the CIN clade were found to contain miR319-binding sites. An anti-correlation expression of
and
was analyzed with miR319 under salt and drought stress. Our results lay the foundation for understanding the complex mechanisms of GhTCP-mediated developmental processes and abiotic stress-signaling transduction pathways in cotton.