Association between baseline pulse pressure and hospital mortality in non-traumatic subarachnoid hemorrhage patients: a retrospective cohort study

Background and purposePrevious studies have described an association between pulse pressure (PP) level and mortality in stroke patients. Evidence of associations between PP level and the risk of mortality remains unknown in non-traumatic subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) patients. We aimed to explore the relationship between the baseline PP level and hospital mortality.MethodsThis cohort study of 693 non-traumatic SAH adults used Medical Information Mart for Intensive Care (MIMIC-IV) data from 2008–2019 admissions to Intensive Care Unit (ICU). PP level was calculated as the first value after admission to the ICU. The endpoint of the study was in-hospital mortality. Cox proportional hazards models were utilized to analyze the association between baseline PP level and hospital mortality. Restricted Cubic Splines (RCS) analysis was utilized to determine the relationship curve between hospital mortality and PP level and examine the threshold saturation effect. We further applied Kaplan–Meier survival curve analysis to examine the consistency of these correlations. The interaction test was used to identify subgroups with differences.ResultsThe mean age of the study population was 58.8 ± 14.6 years, and 304 (43.9%) of participants were female. When baseline PP level was assessed in quartiles, compared to the reference group (Q1 ≤ 56 mmHg), the adjusted hazard ratio (HR) in Q2 (57–68 mmHg), Q3(69–82 mmHg), Q4 (≥83 mmHg) were 0.55 (95% CI: 0.33–0.93, p = 0.026), 0.99 (95% CI, 0.62–1.59, p = 0.966), and 0.99 (95% CI: 0.62–1.59, p = 0.954), respectively. In the threshold analysis, for every 5 mmHg increase in PP level, there was an 18.2% decrease in hospital mortality (adjusted HR, 0.818; 95% CI, 0.738–0.907; p = 0.0001) in those with PP level less than 60 mmHg, and a 7.7% increase in hospital mortality (adjusted HR, 1.077; 95% CI, 1.018–1.139; p = 0.0096) in those with PP level was 60 mmHg or higher.ConclusionFor patients with non-traumatic SAH, the association between baseline PP and risk of hospital mortality was non-linear, with an inflection point at 60 mmHg and a minimal risk at 57 to 68 mmHg (Q2) of baseline PP level

Response of seasonal soil freeze depth to climate change across China

Abstract. The response of seasonal soil freeze depth to climate change has repercussions for the surface energy and water balance, ecosystems, the carbon cycle, and soil nutrient exchange. Despite its importance, the response of soil freeze depth to climate change is largely unknown. This study employs the Stefan solution and observations from 845 meteorological stations to investigate the response of variations in soil freeze depth to climate change across China. Observations include daily air temperatures, daily soil temperatures at various depths, mean monthly gridded air temperatures, and the normalized difference vegetation index. Results show that soil freeze depth decreased significantly at a rate of −0.18 ± 0.03 cm yr−1, resulting in a net decrease of 8.05 ± 1.5 cm over 1967–2012 across China. On the regional scale, soil freeze depth decreases varied between 0.0 and 0.4 cm yr−1 in most parts of China during 1950–2009. By investigating potential climatic and environmental driving factors of soil freeze depth variability, we find that mean annual air temperature and ground surface temperature, air thawing index, ground surface thawing index, and vegetation growth are all negatively associated with soil freeze depth. Changes in snow depth are not correlated with soil freeze depth. Air and ground surface freezing indices are positively correlated with soil freeze depth. Comparing these potential driving factors of soil freeze depth, we find that freezing index and vegetation growth are more strongly correlated with soil freeze depth, while snow depth is not significant. We conclude that air temperature increases are responsible for the decrease in seasonal freeze depth. These results are important for understanding the soil freeze–thaw dynamics and the impacts of soil freeze depth on ecosystem and hydrological process. </jats:p

Internet-Based HIV Self-Testing Among Men Who Have Sex With Men Through Pre-exposure Prophylaxis: 3-Month Prospective Cohort Analysis From China.

BACKGROUND: Routine HIV testing accompanied with pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) requires innovative support in a real-world setting. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to determine the usage of HIV self-testing (HIVST) kits and their secondary distribution to partners among men who have sex with men (MSM) in China, who use PrEP, in an observational study between 2018 and 2019. METHODS: In 4 major cities in China, we prospectively followed-up MSM from the China Real-world oral PrEP demonstration study, which provides daily or on-demand PrEP for 12 months, to assess the usage and secondary distribution of HIVST on quarterly follow-ups. Half of the PrEP users were randomized to receive 2 HIVSTs per month in addition to quarterly facility-based HIV testing. We evaluated the feasibility of providing HIVST to PrEP users. RESULTS: We recruited 939 MSM and randomized 471 to receive HIVST, among whom 235 (49.9%) were daily and 236 (50.1%) were on-demand PrEP users. At baseline, the median age was 29 years, 390 (82.0%) men had at least college-level education, and 119 (25.3%) had never undergone facility-based HIV testing before. Three months after PrEP initiation, 341 (74.5%) men had used the HIVST provided to them and found it very easy to use. Among them, 180 of 341 (52.8%) men had distributed the HIVST kits it to other MSM, and 132 (51.6%) among the 256 men who returned HIVST results reported that used it with their sexual partners at the onset of intercourse. Participants on daily PrEP were more likely to use HIVST (adjusted hazard ratio=1.3, 95% CI 1.0-1.6) and distribute HIVST kits (adjusted hazard ratio=1.3, 95% CI 1.1-1.7) than those using on-demand PrEP. CONCLUSIONS: MSM who used PrEP had a high rate of usage and secondary distribution of HIVST kits, especially among those on daily PrEP, which suggested high feasibility and necessity for HIVST after PrEP initiation. Assuming that fourth-generation HIVST kits are available, HIVST may be able to replace facility-based HIV testing to a certain extent. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Chinese Clinical Trial Registry ChiCTR1800020374; https://www.chictr.org.cn/showprojen.aspx?proj=32481. INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT IDENTIFIER (IRRID): RR2-10.1136/bmjopen-2019-036231

Whole-genome sequencing of the snub-nosed monkey provides insights into folivory and evolutionary history

Colobines are a unique group of Old World monkeys that principally eat leaves and seeds rather than fruits and insects. We report the sequencing at 146× coverage, de novo assembly and analyses of the genome of a male golden snub-nosed monkey (Rhinopithecus roxellana) and resequencing at 30× coverage of three related species (Rhinopithecus bieti, Rhinopithecus brelichi and Rhinopithecus strykeri). Comparative analyses showed that Asian colobines have an enhanced ability to derive energy from fatty acids and to degrade xenobiotics. We found evidence for functional evolution in the colobine RNASE1 gene, encoding a key secretory RNase that digests the high concentrations of bacterial RNA derived from symbiotic microflora. Demographic reconstructions indicated that the profile of ancient effective population sizes for R. roxellana more closely resembles that of giant panda rather than its congeners. These findings offer new insights into the dietary adaptations and evolutionary history of colobine primates

Prosodic phrase priming during listening to Chinese ambiguous phrases in different experimental tasks

Using the structural priming paradigm, the present study investigates prosodic phrase priming with ERPs (event-related potentials). Participants listened to 2 consecutive Chinese ambiguous phrases that can be analyzed as a modifier-noun construction or as a narrative-object structure in both lexical judgment and structural judgment tasks. The results indicated that prosodic boundaries embedded in ambiguous phrases stably elicited the Closure Positive Shift (CPS). More importantly, the prosodic priming effect occurs, as evidenced by the fact that the amplitude of the CPS elicited by the target phrases was lower than that of the CPS elicited by the prime phrases. In addition, the priming effect was stronger in the structural judgment task than in the lexical judgment task. This result may suggest that prosodic priming was facilitated when the listener&#39;s attention was directed to the prosodic aspect and that under such circumstances listeners process the prosodic boundary deeply. In conclusion, prosodic phrase structures are formulated in the brain and modulate the processing of the immediately subsequent item during speech comprehension, and this process is influenced by the type of task being performed.</p

Spatio-Temporal Characteristics and Influencing Factors of Urban Spatial Quality in Northeast China Based on DMSP-OLS and NPP-VIIRS Nighttime Light Data

The quality of urban spaces is a pivotal part of high-quality spatial development. It is directly connected to the comprehensive, coordinated and sustainable development of a region. In recent years, Northeast China has characterized urban space contraction and development. To study the quality of urban space in Northeast China, this paper fitted the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program’s Operational Linescan System (DMSP-OLS) and the Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (NPP-VIIRS) nighttime light data with 11 indicators related to high-quality urban development for the period 1992–2018. The feasibility of nighttime light data reflecting urban spatial quality was verified by a linear equation, and the temporal characteristics of urban spatial quality in Northeast China were obtained. The Exploratory Spatial Data Analysis Geographically and Temporally Weighted Regression (ESDA-GTWR) explores the spatial relevance and possible influencing factors of this kind of development. The results suggest that the overall trend of spatial quality in the three northeastern provinces is “initial slow growth and significantly weakened after”. The fast developing cities include Panjin, Liaoyang, Shenyang, and Dalian in the Liaoning Province. On the other hand, cities such as Heihe and Yichun in the Heilongjiang Province have relatively slow development speeds. Furthermore, the spatial quality development in the three northeastern provinces exhibits a trend of continuous concentration. The cities with high spatial qualities are concentrated near the Liaoning Province, with low spatial qualities in the north and high spatial qualities in the southern parts of the three provinces. As there is a notable gap between the northern and the southern regions, the central region represents an area in partial transition. The spatial quality of each city in the three northeastern provinces is the result of a number of intertwined factors, with significant differences in the degree of their influence. The significant degree of influence factors on spatial quality from higher to lower is urbanization, quality of life, rural revitalization, government promotion, and infrastructure

A Correction Method of NDVI Topographic Shadow Effect for Rugged Terrain

The influence of solar altitude and azimuth angles makes shadows prevalent in remote sensing images of rugged terrains. Consequently, the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) of the shadow areas is much lower than that of sunlit areas&#x2014;a phenomenon known as the NDVI topographic shadow effect. In this study, we developed an NDVI topographic shadow effect correction (NTSEC) model. The NTSEC is based on the difference in solar radiation between the sunlit and shadow areas, and introduces a variable factor that indicates the intensity of shadows to simulate the reflectance for direct solar light not received in the shadow areas. The simulated reflectance for direct solar light in the shadow areas is used as a compensation value to be summed with the original reflectance for calculating the corrected NDVI. Landsat 8 Operational Land Imager images from two different regions were used to test the NTSEC method and multiple strategies were employed to provide objective evaluative results. The model performance was compared with four commonly used topographic correction (TC) models: C-correction, Minnaert, variable empirical coefficient algorithm, and statistical empirical. The results show that NTSEC can suppress the overcorrection of the self shadow areas that are difficult to eliminate in the TC methods, while simultaneously improving the undercorrection of the cast shadow areas. The corrected NDVI of the self shadow and cast shadow areas were almost the same. The NDVI differences between shady and sunny slopes were significantly reduced after correction. In addition, the NTSEC method did not produce outliers, and the NDVI of different land cover types retained interclass stability. In summary, the NTSEC model can be used as a simple and robust method for correcting the NDVI in shadow areas