Abstract
Internet technology has unique advantages, such as rich information, rapid dissemination, and overcoming spatial limitations. It is considered an effective approach to promote agricultural ...technology application and enhance agricultural technical efficiency. However, it is still unclear how Internet use affects the technical efficiency of smallholders in grain production. Based on the grain production data of 1699 smallholders in China, this study uses the bias-corrected stochastic production frontier and propensity score matching to obtain an unbiased estimate of the impact of Internet use on technical efficiency and examines its channels of action. The empirical results indicate that the decision of households to use the Internet is influenced by the individual characteristics of the household head, household characteristics, and village characteristics. The age of the household head has a significant negative impact on Internet use, while the education level and health status of the household head, household income and size, and the topography of the village have significant positive effects on Internet use. We also find that Internet use has a statistically significant positive effect on technical efficiency, and the selection bias leads us to underestimate this effect. Furthermore, we verified the channels of Internet use affect technical efficiency by alleviating financial constraints, broadening social capital, and improving the level of mechanization. Therefore, policymakers must strengthen the construction of Internet infrastructure in rural areas and improve the Internet penetration rate in rural areas. Furthermore, policymakers can establish technical training centers to help farmers learn Internet technology and new agricultural production techniques. Lastly, policymakers can collaborate with banks, research institutions, cooperatives, agricultural enterprises, and other entities to develop diverse policy measures that provide farmers with financial support, technology assistance, and production services.
Abstract
Background
Preeclampsia (PE) is one of the leading causes of maternal and perinatal mortality and morbidity. Low-dose aspirin (LDA) is the most widely used drug to prevent PE, but the ...recommended dose of LDA varies according to different guidelines. Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR)-γ is involved in the formation of the placenta during pregnancy and is expressed in women with severe PE. In the present study, Our purpose was to investigate whether aspirin intervention in preeclampsia was related to PPAR-γ.
Methods
We administered pregnant mice with PPAR-γ-specific antagonist(T0070907) 2 mg/kg/d at 8.5–12.5 days of pregnancy. Mice treated with T0070907 developed key features of preeclampsia. Two doses of LDA (10 mg/kg/d and 20 mg/kg/d) were administered to the mice with a PE phenotype for intervention.
Results
LDA effectively decreased the increase in blood pressure in mice caused by T0070907 and decreased urinary protein levels and the urinary protein/creatinine ratio. LDA also inhibited the overexpression of endoglin and IL-β treated by T0070907. In addition, LDA evidently increased the placental weight and alleviates the degree of placental lesions of placenta and kidney. LDA alleviated the inhibition of PPAR-γ mRNA expression. The beneficial effect of 20 mg LDA was significantly better than that of 10 mg.
Conclusions
(1) LDA has a preventive effect against PE treated by PPAR-γ antagonist. (2) The preventive effect of LDA against PE is dose-dependent.
The APPEC study is a large-population randomized controlled trial in China evaluating the role of low-dose aspirin prophylactic treatment for pre-eclampsia. There was no statistically significant ...difference in postpartum hemorrhage (PPH) incidence between the aspirin and control groups. This study aimed to evaluate the potential bleeding risk of 100 mg aspirin in high-risk pregnant women and the difference in the incidence of PPH according to maternal characteristics.
This is a secondary data analysis of the APPEC study. Platelet counts and coagulation test results were collected at five follow-up visits. Subgroups defined by maternal age (<35 years and ≥35 years), pre-pregnancy body mass index (pre-BMI, <28 kg/m 2 and ≥28 kg/m 2 ), parity, gestational age at enrollment, and medical history, including pre-eclampsia, chronic hypertension, and diabetes mellitus, were analyzed. Logistic regression analysis was used to determine the statistical significance of the difference in the incidence of PPH after aspirin administration in pregnant women in each subgroup. Adjustment using multiple logistic regression models followed these analyses. Binary logistic regression was used to determine the relationship between pre-BMI and PPH.
There was no significant difference between the aspirin and control groups in bleeding risk (3.4% 16/464 vs. 3.0% 13/434, T = 0.147, P = 0.701). No significant difference was found in the incidence of PPH in total (relative risk = 1.220, 95% confidence interval CI = 0.720-2.067, P = 0.459; aspirin group vs. control group, 6.5% 30/464 vs. 5.3% 23/434, P = 0.459) or in subgroup analysis. A significant correlation between pre-BMI and PPH was found in the aspirin group, while in the control group there was no significant correlation (aspirin group, odds ratio OR = 1.086, 95% CI = 1.004-1.175, P = 0.040; control group, OR = 1.060, 95% CI = 0.968-1.161, P = 0.209).
A dosage of 100 mg of aspirin per day, initiated from 12 to 20 gestational weeks until 34 weeks of gestation, did not increase the risk of potential bleeding and PPH regardless of the maternal characteristic. In the aspirin group, the positive correlation between BMI and PPH was significant.
ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT01979627.
Based on national agricultural trade panel data of Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) countries from 2002 to 2020, the structural characteristics of the RCEP national agricultural ...trade spatial network are reconstructed by the social network analysis method in this paper. Specifically, the characteristics consist of overall characteristics, individual characteristics, core-periphery structure analysis, and block models. Moreover, the influence factors on the agricultural trade network are also examined by the QAP regression model. The conclusions are summarized as follows. Firstly, the agricultural trade in RCEP countries has significant spatial correlation, showing favorable stability and accessibility. Secondly, Australia, China, Thailand, and Vietnam are the central actor’s leading position in the correlation network. While Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, and other countries are in the marginal position. Thirdly, the network can be divided into four blocks, including the net benefit block, the two-way spillover block, the broker block, and the net spillover block. The spillover effect between the blocks is transitive. And finally, geographical distance, economic and social conditions, resource endowment, and language proximity index significantly impact the RCEP agricultural trade network structure.
RESUMO: Com base nos dados do painel nacional de comércio agrícola dos países da Parceria Econômica Regional Abrangente (RCEP) de 2002 a 2020, as características estruturais da rede espacial nacional de comércio agrícola do RCEP são reconstruídas pelo método de análise de redes sociais deste artigo. Especificamente, as características consistem em características gerais, características individuais, análise da estrutura núcleo-periferia e modelos de blocos. Além disso, os fatores de influência na rede de comércio agrícola também são examinados pelo modelo de regressão QAP. As conclusões são resumidas da seguinte forma. Em primeiro lugar, o comércio agrícola nos países RCEP tem correlação espacial significativa e efeitos de transbordamento, mostrando estabilidade e acessibilidade favoráveis. Em segundo lugar, a rede pode ser dividida em quatro blocos, incluindo o bloco de benefícios líquidos, o bloco de transbordamento bidirecional, o bloco de corretagem e o bloco de transbordamento líquido. O efeito de transbordamento entre os blocos é transitivo. E, finalmente, a distância geográfica, as condições econômicas e sociais, a dotação de recursos e o índice de proximidade linguística afetam significativamente a estrutura da rede de comércio agrícola RCEP.
This paper reports a study aiming to ascertain how farmers may be encouraged to use more non-chemical methods of pest management. A randomly selected sample of 600 small-scale farmers on the Loess ...Plateau of China was investigated in 2016. We analysed the farmers' choice of non-chemical pest management by using a Poisson regression model. The results showed that subsidies for the use of non-chemical pest management methods play a key positive role in farmers' choices of these methods. Certification of green or organic agricultural products, signed sales contracts and years of formal education also have a positive role in relation to farmers' choices of non-chemical pest management. However, an increase in agricultural land has a negative impact on farmers' choices of non-chemical pest management. These results will be helpful for the improvement of related policies on the reduction in chemical pesticide use and the encouragement of non-chemical pest management in fruit-growing areas.
•Subsidies for the use of non-chemical pest management methods play a key positive role in farmers' choices of these methods.•Certification of agricultural products has a positive role on farmer's use of non-chemical pest management.•Signed sales contract has a positive role on farmer's use of non-chemical pest management.•Education years have a positive role on farmer's use of non-chemical pest management.•An increase in agricultural land has a negative impact on farmers' choices of non-chemical pest management.
Promoting the “double security” of agricultural economy and ecology is the key to the agricultural modernization strategy, and the large-scale development of agriculture is an essential way for ...modern agriculture. Based on the micro-survey of 697 corn growers from August to September 2020 in China, the super-efficiency SBM model was used to calculate farmers’ green total factor productivity. We further used the propensity score matching method to identify the impact of farmland inflow on farmers’ green total factor productivity and dissect the internal mechanism. The study found that: firstly, compared with the non-inflowed households, the green total factor productivity of the inflowed households increased by 14.66%; secondly, farmland inflow can significantly improve farmers’ green total factor productivity through the marginal output leveling effect, transaction benefit effect, and technology adoption effect; thirdly, the influence of farmland inflow on the green total factor productivity of farmers has heterogeneity in age, identity, and geographical location. Therefore, governments should establish a differentiated farmland inflow mechanism according to local conditions, enhance factor mobility and soil fertility monitoring capabilities, and drive a “win-win” between economic development and ecological protection.
This study aimed to determine the relationships among gut microbiota, primary aldosteronism (PA), and related metabolic disorders.
The study enrolled 13 PA patients, 26 sex-matched primary ...hypertension patients, and 26 sex-matched healthy controls. Demographic and clinical characteristics such as age, body mass index (BMI), blood aldosterone-renin ratio, blood potassium, blood glucose, blood lipid parameters, and history of diabetes mellitus (DM) were compared between the three groups. The gut microbiota of each participant was examined by 16S rRNA gene sequencing. Spearman correlation analysis was performed to demonstrate the relationship between gut microbiota and clinical characteristics.
BMI and the percentage of DM in PA patients were higher than those in healthy controls (
< 0.05), but not higher than those in primary hypertension patients (
> 0.05). The gut microbiota of healthy controls and primary hypertension patients had a higher alpha diversity level than that of PA patients. PA patients had fewer short-chain fatty acid (SCFA)-producing genera (
,
,
,
, and
) and more inflammation-associated genera (
,
, and
) than healthy controls (
< 0.05). The gut microbiota of PA patients was more inclined to encode microbial pathways involved in sugar metabolism, such as starch and sucrose metabolism and fructose and mannose metabolism. Blood potassium was negatively correlated with the relative abundance of
(
= -0.364,
= 0.023). Diastolic blood pressure (DBP) was positively correlated with
(
= 0.386,
= 0.015). Systolic blood pressure (SBP) was negatively correlated with
(
= -0.349,
= 0.030).
The alteration of gut microbiota in PA patients, especially bacteria and pathways involved in inflammation, SCFAs, and sugar metabolism, may be associated with chronic metabolic disorders.
Low-dose aspirin has been the most widely studied preventive drug for preeclampsia. However, guidelines differ considerably from country to country regarding the prophylactic use of aspirin for ...preeclampsia. There is limited evidence from large trials to determine the effect of 100 mg of aspirin for preeclampsia screening in women with high-risk pregnancies, based on maternal risk factors, and to guide the use of low-dose aspirin in preeclampsia prevention in China.
The Low-Dose Aspirin in the Prevention of Preeclampsia in China study was designed to evaluate the effect of 100 mg of aspirin in preventing preeclampsia among high-risk pregnant women screened with maternal risk factors in China, where preeclampsia is highly prevalent, and the status of low-dose aspirin supply is commonly suboptimal.
We conducted a multicenter randomized controlled trial at 13 tertiary hospitals from 11 provinces in China between 2016 and 2019. We assumed that the relative reduction in the incidence of preeclampsia was at least 20%, from 20% in the control group to 16% in the aspirin group. Therefore, the targeted recruitment number was 1000 participants. Women were randomly assigned to the aspirin or control group in a 1:1 allocation ratio. Statistical analyses were performed according to an intention-to-treat basis. The primary outcome was the incidence of preeclampsia, diagnosed along with a systolic blood pressure of ≥140 mm Hg or a diastolic blood pressure of ≥90 mm Hg after 20 weeks of gestation, with a previously normal blood pressure (systolic blood pressure of <140 mm Hg and diastolic blood pressure of <90 mm Hg), and complicated by proteinuria. The secondary outcomes included maternal and neonatal outcomes. Logistic regression analysis was used to determine the significance of difference of preeclampsia incidence between the groups for both the primary and secondary outcomes. Interaction analysis was also performed.
A total of 1000 eligible women were recruited between December 2016 and March 2019, of which the final 898 patients were analyzed (464 participants in the aspirin group, 434 participants in the control group) on an intention-to-treat basis. No significant difference was found in preeclampsia incidence between the aspirin group (16.8% 78/464) and the control group (17.1% 74/434; relative risk, 0.986; 95% confidence interval, 0.738–1.317; P=.924). Likewise, adverse maternal and neonatal outcomes did not differ significantly between the 2 groups. Meanwhile, the incidence of postpartum hemorrhage between the 2 groups was similar (6.5% 30/464 in the aspirin group and 5.3% 23/434 in the control group; relative risk, 1.220; 95% confidence interval, 0.720–2.066; P=.459). We did not find any significant differences in preeclampsia incidence between the 2 groups in the subgroup analysis of the different risk factors.
A dosage of 100 mg of aspirin per day, initiated from 12 to 20 gestational weeks until 34 weeks of gestation, did not reduce the incidence of preeclampsia in pregnant women with high-risk factors in China.
Objectives
This study aimed to investigate the association of obesity with adrenal gland volume (AGV) and the effects of weight loss on AGV.
Methods
This study included obese patients (
N
= 25) who ...underwent sleeve gastrectomy and age- and sex-matched healthy volunteers (HVs) (
N
= 25) and overweight healthy volunteers (overweight-HVs) (
N
= 21). Thin-slice computed tomography was used to evaluate adrenal morphological changes. AGV was measured semiautomatically based on the digital imaging and communications in medicine (DICOM) image. The effects of weight loss on AGV and adrenal gland density were evaluated in patients for 1 year or more after sleeve gastrectomy.
Results
Left, right, and total AGV were 6.77 ± 0.36, 5.76 ± 0.31, and 12.53 ± 0.64 cm
3
in obese patients, which were significantly higher than those in the overweight-HVs (3.88 ± 0.14, 3.09 ± 0.13, and 6.97 ± 0.24 cm
3
) and HVs (3.38 ± 0.23, 2.67 ± 0.15, and 6.04 ± 0.36 cm
3
). AGV was larger in overweight-HVs than in HVs, but no statistically significant difference was identified. Sleeve gastrectomy significantly reduced body weight (− 27.1 ± 2.5 kg), left AGV (− 0.80 ± 0.26 cm
3
), and right AGV (− 0.88 ± 0.20 cm
2
). The adrenal volume in five patients was not reduced, despite significant weight loss postsurgery. The mean density of adrenal glands was lower in obese patients (
P
= 0.025) but were not significantly increased postsurgery.
Conclusions
Obesity leads to increased AGV, and in some cases, this effect seems to be irreversible. The clinical implication of obesity-induced adrenal morphological changes needs to be studied further.
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