Cross-cultural validation of the educational needs assessment tool into Chinese for use in severe knee osteoarthritis

© 2018 Zhao et al. Background: Patient education is an integral part of the management of osteoarthritis. The educational needs assessment tool (ENAT) was developed in the UK to help direct needs-based patient education in rheumatic diseases. Aim: The aim of the study was to adapt and validate the ENAT into Chinese, for use in severe knee osteoarthritis (KOA). Methods: This cross-cultural validation study took two phases: 1) adaptation of the ENAT into Chinese (CENAT) and 2) validation of the CENAT. The Construct validity was determined using factor analysis and criterion-related validity by comparing data from CENAT with data from different self-efficacy scales: patient–physician interactions scale (PEPPI-10), self-efficacy for rehabilitation outcome scale (SER), and the self-efficacy for exercise scale (SEE). Results: The sample comprised 196 patients, with mean age 63.6±8.7 years, disease duration was 11.5 years, and 57.1% were female. The CENAT was found to have high internal consistency. The CENAT had weak correlations with the Chinese versions of PEPPI r=0.40, SER r=0.40, and SEE r=0.39. There were no correlations with age r=−0.03 or disease duration r=−0.11. Conclusion: The ENAT translated well into Chinese and has evidence of validity in KOA. Future studies will further inform its usefulness in clinics, community, and online settings

Location and Capacity Optimization of Waste Recycling Centers:Mathematical Models and Numerical Experiments

With rapid urbanization growth, considerable amounts of construction waste are generated on an annual basis, posing significant economic and environmental challenges worldwide. Re-cycling construction waste is a sustainable way for waste disposal, leading to the necessity of meticulous planning of recycling centers. A well-designed plan for constructing recycling centers can effectively improve the recycling rate of construction waste while minimizing investment. This paper formulates a two-stage stochastic model for planning recycling centers with the objective of maximizing the recycling rate under different scenarios. This study comprehensively considers various uncertain factors, such as the amount of construction waste generated and the demand for recycled materials. A case study of Guangzhou is used for validation, which demonstrates the effectiveness of the developed model in planning recycling center construction. The comparison between the proposed model and a conventional mean value model shows the importance of accounting for uncertainties. Specifically, the derived results indicate that 7% more construction waste is recycled with the same investment in constructing recycling centers. Additionally, via a sensitivity analysis, valuable managerial insights on investing resources in recycling center construction are provided to decision makers. Ultimately, the research findings are expected to enhance the recycling rate of construction waste, thereby contributing to sustainable industry development

Effectiveness of adjuvant traditional Chinese medicine on macrovascular invasion in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma: a real-world propensity score-matched study

The study aimed to investigate the potential of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) in reducing the risk of macrovascular invasion (MVI) in Chinese patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). This retrospective analysis involved 2,267 HCC patients treated at our hospital. Propensity score (PS) matching was used to compare TCM users (n = 485) with non-users (n = 485) in terms of age, Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer (BCLC) staging, type of treatment, and AFP. The impact of TCM on the hazard ratio (HR) of MVI was evaluated using a Cox multivariate regression model. The efficacy of TCM therapy on MVI was further examined using the log-rank test. The analysis revealed that TCM medication was a significant protective factor for MVI in HCC patients, as evidenced by the Cox analysis (adjusted HR = 0.496, 95% CI: 0.387–0.635, p < 0.001). After PS matching, the Kaplan-Meier curve demonstrated a lower occurrence rate of MVI in TCM users compared to non-users. The study findings suggest that TCM treatment has the potential to decrease the incidence of MVI in HCC patients, irrespective of etiology, BCLC staging, liver function, or treatment type. Notably, as the use of TCM increased, the percentage of MVI in patients showed a gradual decrease, indicating the potential of TCM therapy as a successful strategy for preventing MVI

Association between the lean nonalcoholic fatty liver disease and risk of incident type 2 diabetes in a healthy population of Northwest China: a retrospective cohort study with a 2-year follow-up period

AimsWe aimed to explore the metabolic features of lean nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (Lean-NAFLD) and its association with the risk of incident type 2 diabetes in young and middle-aged people.MethodsWe conducted a retrospective cohort study of 3001 participants who were enrolled in a health check-up program from January 2018 to December 2020 in the Health Management Center of Karamay People’s Hospital. The age, sex, height, weight, body mass index (BMI), blood pressure, waist circumference (WC), fasting plasma glucose (FPG), lipid profiles, serum uric acid and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) of the subjects were collected. The cutoff point of BMI for lean nonalcoholic fatty liver disease is <25 kg/m2. A COX proportional hazard regression model was used to analyze the risk ratio of lean nonalcoholic fatty liver disease to type 2 diabetes mellitus.ResultsLean NAFLD participants had many metabolic abnormalities, such as overweight and obesity with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. Compared with lean participants without nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, the fully adjusted hazard ratio (HR) for lean participants with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease was 3.83 (95% CI 2.02-7.24, p<0.01). In the normal waist circumference group (man<90cm, woman<80 cm), compared with lean participants without NAFLD, the adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) of incident type 2 diabetes for lean participants with NAFLD and overweight or obese participants with NAFLD were 1.93 (95% CI 0.70-5.35, p>0.05) and 4.20 (95% CI 1.44-12.22, p<0.05), respectively. For excess waist circumference (man≥90 cm, woman ≥80 cm) compared with lean participants without NAFLD, the adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) of incident type 2 diabetes for lean participants with NAFLD and overweight or obese participants with NAFLD were 3.88 (95% CI 1.56-9.66, p<0.05) and 3.30 (95% CI 1.52-7.14, p<0.05), respectively.ConclusionAbdominal obesity is the strongest risk factor for type 2 diabetes in lean nonalcoholic fatty liver disease

Cell transcriptomic atlas of the non-human primate Macaca fascicularis.

Studying tissue composition and function in non-human primates (NHPs) is crucial to understand the nature of our own species. Here we present a large-scale cell transcriptomic atlas that encompasses over 1 million cells from 45 tissues of the adult NHP Macaca fascicularis. This dataset provides a vast annotated resource to study a species phylogenetically close to humans. To demonstrate the utility of the atlas, we have reconstructed the cell-cell interaction networks that drive Wnt signalling across the body, mapped the distribution of receptors and co-receptors for viruses causing human infectious diseases, and intersected our data with human genetic disease orthologues to establish potential clinical associations. Our M. fascicularis cell atlas constitutes an essential reference for future studies in humans and NHPs.We thank W. Liu and L. Xu from the Huazhen Laboratory Animal Breeding Centre for helping in the collection of monkey tissues, D. Zhu and H. Li from the Bioland Laboratory (Guangzhou Regenerative Medicine and Health Guangdong Laboratory) for technical help, G. Guo and H. Sun from Zhejiang University for providing HCL and MCA gene expression data matrices, G. Dong and C. Liu from BGI Research, and X. Zhang, P. Li and C. Qi from the Guangzhou Institutes of Biomedicine and Health for experimental advice or providing reagents. This work was supported by the Shenzhen Basic Research Project for Excellent Young Scholars (RCYX20200714114644191), Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Single-Cell Omics (ZDSYS20190902093613831), Shenzhen Bay Laboratory (SZBL2019062801012) and Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Genome Read and Write (2017B030301011). In addition, L.L. was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (31900466), Y. Hou was supported by the Natural Science Foundation of Guangdong Province (2018A030313379) and M.A.E. was supported by a Changbai Mountain Scholar award (419020201252), the Strategic Priority Research Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (XDA16030502), a Chinese Academy of Sciences–Japan Society for the Promotion of Science joint research project (GJHZ2093), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (92068106, U20A2015) and the Guangdong Basic and Applied Basic Research Foundation (2021B1515120075). M.L. was supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China (2021YFC2600200).S

Study on spatial distribution and connectivity of Tusi sites based on quantitative analysis

The present study represents the spatial distribution and connection of Chinese Tusi architecture by using Thiessen polygons, fractal theory, and complex networks. The findings indicate that influenced by the concept of the Geomantic omen, the three Tusi sites share a significant degree of similarity in terms of location layout and architecture spatial distribution. Second, environmental factors play a dominant role in dividing network nodes into different clusters of aggregation, with minimal connectivity across clusters. Under the influence of social context, the network structure of the three sites exhibits multi-level centricity, with high-level building nodes, particularly administrative and religious structures, being extremely central. The spatial distribution and network connectedness of Tusi buildings show the merging of mountain nature and society, as well as the merger of ethnic minority cultures and the centralization system. Finally, this study suggests conservation and development strategies for the spatial morphology and network characteristics of Tusi sites

Study on the “Space Gene” Diversity of Traditional Dong Villages in the Southwest Hunan Province of China

Traditional villages are essential carriers of traditional culture and ethnic culture. Hence, it is of great significance to study and protect them in the context of urban–rural integration. From the perspective of the “Space Gene”, this study proposes the identification and extraction of the space gene. Then, we examine six traditional Dong villages in the Pingtan River Basin selected as cases to quantify their space gene diversity. The results show that (i) traditional Dong villages are rich and diverse in terms of their space types. (ii) The important value of the public space reflects the social cohesion of the Dong people. (iii) However, the sample villages still have differences in their space gene diversity index values. (iv) The characteristic culture encapsulated by the spaces of traditional Dong villages is facing disappearance. Furthermore, we propose a conservation strategy for traditional villages. Through the space gene diversity index, we can examine the current state of the protection and development of the village. The main objective of this study was to deepen our interpretation of the space in order to study the cultural value behind it

Study on the “Space Gene” Diversity of Traditional Dong Villages in the Southwest Hunan Province of China

Traditional villages are essential carriers of traditional culture and ethnic culture. Hence, it is of great significance to study and protect them in the context of urban–rural integration. From the perspective of the “Space Gene”, this study proposes the identification and extraction of the space gene. Then, we examine six traditional Dong villages in the Pingtan River Basin selected as cases to quantify their space gene diversity. The results show that (i) traditional Dong villages are rich and diverse in terms of their space types. (ii) The important value of the public space reflects the social cohesion of the Dong people. (iii) However, the sample villages still have differences in their space gene diversity index values. (iv) The characteristic culture encapsulated by the spaces of traditional Dong villages is facing disappearance. Furthermore, we propose a conservation strategy for traditional villages. Through the space gene diversity index, we can examine the current state of the protection and development of the village. The main objective of this study was to deepen our interpretation of the space in order to study the cultural value behind it

Research on optimisation of minimum air clearance of 1000 kV UHV AC substation

Based on air clearance discharge characteristic curve and insulation coordination method, it is pointed out that the minimum air clearance of 1000 kV ultra-high voltage (UHV) AC substation can be further optimised. On the basis of analysis of the merits and demerits of the two insulation coordination methods for air clearances of UHV substation stated in the national standard GB/Z 24842–2009, it is concluded that using statistical method for insulation coordination is more reasonable and feasible. The minimum air clearance of UHV substation is optimised with the statistical method based on 1000 μs switching impulse characteristic test results. According to the study results, the phase-to-earth air clearance A1′ can be 1 m less than that specified in standard, the air clearance between conductors 0.5 m less than that specified in standard, and the phase-to-phase air clearance of grading ring and tubular bus 0.6 and 1.8 m, respectively, less than that specified in standard

Formation conditions and geological characteristics of deep giant gas provinces in the Kuqa foreland thrust belt

A series of seismic exploration technologies, such as “wide line and big combination” mountainous seismic acquisition, high steep structure pre-stack depth migration processing and deep tectonic modeling, were used to explore Kuqa deep structures. Pre-salt deep structures were preliminarily confirmed and a group of large structural traps were found. The research shows that the Kuqa foreland thrust belt is favorable for forming giant gas accumulations. Large-scale imbricated thrust systems can provide traps for large-scale oil and gas accumulation; excellent hydrocarbon source conditions and later intense charges of gas provide sufficient hydrocarbon reserves; the deep mass effective reservoir sandstone works as good reservoir volume for giant gas accumulations and thick gypsum deposits serve as good cap rocks. The geological characteristics of deep pre-salt structure giant gas accumulations typically have hydrocarbon distributions controlled by structural traps and structural gas reservoirs are dominant, reservoir properties of the deep thrust belts are generally poor, with fractures being the important controlling factor for hydrocarbon enrichment, oil and gas distribution is characterized by joint control of source and cap rock, stacking of multi-layer beds, and overall beds containing gas. Reserves are large, and single well productivity is high. Key words: Kuqa foreland thrust belt, Crassus' deep beds, pre-salt structure giant gas province, formation conditions, geological characteristics, Tarim Basi