Screening patients with Diabetes Mellitus for Tuberculosis in China.

Objective  There is a high burden of both diabetes (DM) and tuberculosis (TB) in China, and as DM increases the risk of TB and adversely affects TB treatment outcomes, there is a need for bidirectional screening of the two diseases. How this is best performed is not well determined. In this pilot project in China, we aimed to assess the feasibility and results of screening DM patients for TB within the routine healthcare setting of five DM clinics. Method  Agreement on how to screen, monitor and record was reached in May 2011 at a national stakeholders meeting, and training was carried out for staff in the five clinics in July 2011. Implementation started in September 2011, and we report on 7 months of activities up to 31 March 2012. DM patients were screened for TB at each clinic attendance using a symptom-based enquiry, and those positive to any symptom were referred for TB investigations. Results  In the three quarters, 72% of 3174 patients, 79% of 7196 patients and 68% of 4972 patients were recorded as having been screened for TB, resulting in 7 patients found who were already known to have TB, 92 with a positive TB symptom screen and 48 of these newly diagnosed with TB as a result of referral and investigation. All patients except one were started on anti-TB treatment. TB case notification rates in screened DM patients were several times higher than those of the general population, were highest for the five sites combined in the final quarter (774/100 000) and were highest in one of the five clinics in the final quarter (804/100 000) where there was intensive in-house training, special assignment of staff for screening and colocation of services. Conclusion  This pilot project shows that it is feasible to carry out screening of DM patients for TB resulting in high detection rates of TB. This has major public health and patient-related implications

Miraculous Survival of Three Trapping Miners by Drinking High Mineral Mine Water for 25

Little is known that how long a human been can survive a complete starvation. There were dozens of miners who lost their lives in a coal mine disaster at Qinglong,Guizhou,China in June 2009, only three of them were rescued 25 days later after they had been trapped in a coal mine 600 meters underground. They maintained their lives only by drinking mineral water in the mine, which created a miracle of life. We reported here on this life miracle in relation to high mineral mine water

Industrial symbiosis and urban areas: A systematic literature review and future research directions

This paper proposes a systematic literature review concerning the implementation of industrial symbiosis (IS) within urban areas, a concept that has been defined by the literature as "urban symbiosis" and "urban-industrial symbiosis", indifferently. 26 papers published between 2009 and 2018 are analyzed. This review is aimed at highlighting: (1) the specific research goals addressed; (2) the IS synergies currently implemented within urban areas; and (3) barriers and enablers to the implementation of IS within urban areas. Suggestions for future research are also proposed

The prevalence of autism spectrum disorders in China: A comprehensive meta-analysis

There are conflicting prevalence estimates of autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) in mainland China (China thereafter). This study is a comprehensive meta-analysis of the pooled prevalence of ASDs in the general population in China. Study investigators independently conducted a systematic literature search of the following databases: PubMed, EMBASE, PsycINFO, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Chinese biomedical literature service system, and Wan Fang. Studies reporting prevalence of ASDs and autism in Chinese population were identified and analysed using the Comprehensive Meta-Analysis program with the random effects model. Forty-four studies were included in the meta-analysis comprising 2,337,321 subjects of whom 46.66 % were females. The mean age of subjects ranged from 1.6 to 8 years. Based on diagnostic criteria the pooled prevalence of ASDs was 39.23 per 10,000 (95% CI: 28.44-50.03 per 10,000, I2=89.2%); specifically, the prevalence of autism was 10.18 per 10,000 (95% CI: 8.46-11.89 per 10,000, I2=92.5%). Subgroup analyses revealed significant difference in the prevalence of ASDs between genders (72.77 per 10,000 in males vs. 16.45 per 10,000 in females). In conclusion, the prevalence of ASDs and autism in China was found generally lower than those reported in other countries. Further studies are needed to clarify the variation in prevalence

The Emergence and Evolution of Regional Convergence Clusters in China’s Energy Markets

Employing the new regression tests for Convergence, Club Convergence and Clustering proposed by Phillips and Sul (2007), this paper models and analyzes the behavior of China‘s energy sectors. Energy market =convergence clusters‘ are identified using new price data and their regional spatial distributions are mapped for four major fuel types; coal, gasoline, diesel and electricity. It is found that: i) as yet, there are no fully integrated national energy markets in China as more than one convergence cluster is identified for all four fuels; ii) some regional energy markets can be regarded as =quite mature‘ as evidenced by the existence of some highly concentrated convergence clusters connected geographically; iii) some regional markets remain in a =state of transition‘ as witnessed by convergence clusters that are scattered geographically and growing in membership; vi) it seems that there is more regional-based integration for coal and electricity than for gasoline and diesel as more convergent clusters were identified for coal and electricity than for gasoline and diesel v) Overall, China still appears to be in the process of energy market integration as demonstrated by the number and evolution of convergence clusters over time.China; Energy market; Convergence cluster

Optimizing Guiyang's Universal Kindergarten Policy: Insights from Interview-Based Analysis

The purpose of this study is to understand the effectiveness and implementation of the universal kindergarten policy in Guiyang City, China, through the interview method and to propose strategies for improvement. The qualitative survey research project involved selecting a representative of three government workers and three kindergarten principals from six districts in Guiyang City, Southwest China, to analyze the status and challenges of the implementation of the universal kindergarten policy in Guiyang City. The study found that there is a lack of high-quality educators in the universal kindergartens in Guiyang, as well as a need to strengthen the channels of policy dissemination. Based on these findings, the researchers made recommendations, including establishing a standardized training and employment mechanism for kindergarten teachers, building an international exchange platform for universal kindergarten teachers, and upgrading the teaching force to improve the quality of education. Policy dissemination channels were also enhanced to increase parents' awareness of the policy. The study also pointed out the limitations of this study, including sample limitations and problems with interviewing techniques. The study recommended that the sample be expanded to explore a broader range of policy issues in future studies. It is also recommended that the interests of the government, kindergartens, and parents in the process of policy formulation and implementation be considered to formulate more targeted policies to promote the equitable development of pre-primary educatio

Testing for Energy Market Integration in China

This paper investigates energy market integration in China by employing univariate, and panel-based unit root tests and Granger causality tests applied to a new energy price data set. We identify price series that converge either to absolute or relative price parity. In addition we estimate the rates (speed) at which relative prices converge to their long-run values, and the direction of causality. The results show that gasoline and diesel markets are very well integrated as a whole; and that once some geographically isolated regions are excluded, we can regard the coal market as integrated; however, the electricity market is not well integrated. The estimated intercept terms are all very small and close to zero, such that most of the relative price series can be regarded as convergent to absolute price parity. The convergence rates vary little and are relatively short when compared internationally. A rich set of causal relationships are established many showing bi-directional causality between regional centres.China; Energy; Market integration; Price convergence; Time series tests

Invertible condition of quantum Fisher information matrix for a mixed qubit

Estimating multiparamter simultaneously as precise as possible is an important goal of quantum metrolo- gy. As a first step to this end, here we give a condition determining whether two arbitrary parameters can be estimated simultaneously for a qubit in the mixed state. An application of this condition is shown.Comment: The European Physical Journal D 201