Visual Analysis of Crop Rotation Fallow Patterns in Recent 5 Years Based on CiteSpace

Based on the "Web of Science Core Collection" (SCIE database), this article used the visualization software CiteSpace to visualize and analyze the crop rotation fallow patterns in the past five years. It analyzed the countries, institutions, keywords and hot topics of related literature to explore their research characteristics and development, and to provide reference for crop rotation fallow research and practice. The research shows that: 1) developed countries are the main research force in the field of crop rotation and fallowing, and the connection between the research of each country and each institution is not close; 2) research hotspots can be mainly summarized as: crop growth and yield, greenhouse gas emissions and soil health analysis, and the research in this field is constantly refined, combining macro and micro; 3) In recent years, there is a big gap between China and foreign countries in the field of crop rotation and fallow research. It is necessary to strengthen the cooperation with research institutions in developed countries in Europe and the United States, and to carry out crossregional and interdisciplinary research cooperation to improve the quality of papers and scientific research level

A Review of Research on Ecological Economics Based on Bibliometrics

The development of ecological economics is a major strategy for development in the 21st century. Although scholars have been rising more and more interesting for ecological economic over the past 10 years, it is still unclear what is the change will be facing in the future. In order to provide a theoretical basis for the future development of ecological economy, our article analyzes the current research progress of ecological economy on the basis of a bibliometric analysis. The results show that (1) sustainable development of an ecological economy is a hot research topic; (2) there is little cooperation and exchange between institutions and among scholars regarding ecological economics; (3) the number of publications on ecological economics is increasing, with a relatively large number being published in China. Therefore, we must strengthen the cooperation between institutions and among scholars and improve the research content, vision, and methods in this field. This study provides a theoretical basis for the future development of ecological economy

Urbanization and health in China, thinking at the national, local and individual levels

BACKGROUND: China has the biggest population in the world, and has been experiencing the largest migration in history, and its rapid urbanization has profound and lasting impacts on local and national public health. Under these conditions, a systems understanding on the correlation among urbanization, environmental change and public health and to devise solutions at national, local and individual levels are in urgent need. METHODS: In this paper, we provide a comprehensive review of recent studies which have examined the relationship between urbanization, urban environmental changes and human health in China. Based on the review, coupled with a systems understanding, we summarize the challenges and opportunities for promoting the health and wellbeing of the whole nation at national, local, and individual levels. RESULTS: Urbanization and urban expansion result in urban environmental changes, as well as residents’ lifestyle change, which can lead independently and synergistically to human health problems. China has undergone an epidemiological transition, shifting from infectious to chronic diseases in a much shorter time frame than many other countries. Environmental risk factors, particularly air and water pollution, are a major contributing source of morbidity and mortality in China. Furthermore, aging population, food support system, and disparity of public service between the migrant worker and local residents are important contributions to China’s urban health. CONCLUSIONS: At the national level, the central government could improve current environmental policies, food safety laws, and make adjustments to the health care system and to demographic policy. At the local level, local government could incorporate healthy life considerations in urban planning procedures, make improvements to the local food supply, and enforce environmental monitoring and management. At the individual level, urban residents can be exposed to education regarding health behaviour choices while being encouraged to take responsibility for their health and to participate in environmental monitoring and management.This work was supported by National Science Foundation of China (No. 41371540, No. 41201598, No. 41201155, No. 41101551), Chinese Academy of Sciences(No.KFJ-EW-STS-088), and Major Special Project-The China High-Resolution Earth Observation System

Efficacy evaluation of summer acupoint application treatment on asthma patients: a two-year follow-up clinical study

AbstractObjectiveTo evaluate the self-efficacy and satisfaction of asthma patients subjected to summer acupoint application treatment (SAAT).MethodsA two-year follow-up clinical study was conducted. Patients with asthma were treated by applying a herbal paste onto the Feishu (BL 13) and Fengmen (BL 12) acupoints on the three hottest days of summer, according to the traditional Chinese calendar, from 2008 to 2010. During a two-year follow-up, these patients were asked to fill out a questionnaire evaluating asthma degree, exacerbation frequency, concomitant medications and self-satisfaction. The self-rate and doctor-report outcomes obtained in parallel were evaluated to assess the efficacy of SAAT.ResultsA total of 527 asthma patients were initially enrolled in this study, of which 97 elderly patients and those with more severe cases of asthma were lost to follow-up. Thus, a total of 430 patients were valid for analysis using self-rate data. Nevertheless, occasional negative returns were obtained; almost all of the outcomes were rated as “No change”, “Moderate effective”, or “Very effective”. In addition, 80% of the patients were satisfied with this treatment. Moreover, 391 (91.4%) patients were somewhat improved after SAAT in 2009, and further improvement was observed in 2010. After SAAT, the average asthma-degree score decreased from 5.3 in 2008 to 4 in 2009 and, subsequently to 3.5 in 2010.ConclusionWith pronounced patient satisfaction, SAAT can reduce the exacerbation severity and frequency, concomitant medications and asthma degree. Prolonging the treatment course might enhance the efficacy of SAAT

Crystallization of Poly (ethylene glycol) in Poly (methyl methacrylate) Networks

The crystallization of poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) in poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) networks were studied, which was compared with that of PEG homopolymer. Melting point (Tm) of PEG in PMMA networks is lower than that of pure PEG; the crystallinity and Tms of PEG in PMMA networks somewhat increase with increasing of PEG content; the cross-linker content of PMMA networks plays an important role for the crystallization of PEG. When the cross-linker content is between 3.5 wt% and 5.8 wt%, the distinct endothermic peak of PEG crystal fusion can be observed. Optical microscopic observation of the crystallized PEG in PMMA networks showed spherulite formation, indicating there was the co-continuous crystalline PEG in PMMA networks.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5755/j01.ms.19.2.4430</p

Gene expression profile based classification models of psoriasis

AbstractPsoriasis is an autoimmune disease, which symptoms can significantly impair the patient's life quality. It is mainly diagnosed through the visual inspection of the lesion skin by experienced dermatologists. Currently no cure for psoriasis is available due to limited knowledge about its pathogenesis and development mechanisms. Previous studies have profiled hundreds of differentially expressed genes related to psoriasis, however with no robust psoriasis prediction model available. This study integrated the knowledge of three feature selection algorithms that revealed 21 features belonging to 18 genes as candidate markers. The final psoriasis classification model was established using the novel Incremental Feature Selection algorithm that utilizes only 3 features from 2 unique genes, IGFL1 and C10orf99. This model has demonstrated highly stable prediction accuracy (averaged at 99.81%) over three independent validation strategies. The two marker genes, IGFL1 and C10orf99, were revealed as the upstream components of growth signal transduction pathway of psoriatic pathogenesis

Knowledge, attitude, and practice towards thyroid nodules and cancer among patients: a cross-sectional study

AimThis study aimed to explore the knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP) towards thyroid nodules (TN) and thyroid cancer (TC) among patients.Subject and methodsThis cross-sectional study enrolled patients with TN or TC at the Second Affiliated Hospital of the University of South China between September 2022 and February 2023. A self-administered questionnaire was developed to collect demographic information of the participants, and their knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP) towards TN and TC.ResultsA total of 510 valid questionnaires were collected. Among the participants, 102 (20.00%) were male, and 197 (38.63%) had the diagnosis of TC. The knowledge, attitude and practice scores were 5.76 ± 3.09 (possible range: 0–12), 31.07 ± 2.73 (possible range: 9–45), and 18.97 ± 2.92 (possible range: 5–25), respectively. Multivariate logistic regression showed that age of above 50 years old (OR = 0.27, 95%CI: 0.12–0.64, p = 0.003), junior college or bachelor’s degree and above (OR = 4.97, 95%CI: 1.74–14.20, p = 0.003), monthly income of 5,000–10,000 CNY (OR = 2.02, 95%CI: 1.09–3.74, p = 0.025) and &gt; 10,000 CNY (OR = 5.67, 95%CI: 2.49–12.94, p &lt; 0.001) were independently associated with knowledge. The good knowledge (OR = 3.87, 95%CI: 1.89–7.95, p &lt; 0.001), high school or technical secondary school (OR = 0.52, 95%CI: 0.30–0.88, p = 0.016), and monthly income of 5,000–10,000 CNY (OR = 2.02, 95%CI: 1.13–3.63, p = 0.018) were independently associated with practice.ConclusionPatients demonstrated poor knowledge, moderate attitude, and proactive practice towards TN and TC

The goose genome sequence leads to insights into the evolution of waterfowl and susceptibility to fatty liver

BACKGROUND: Geese were domesticated over 6,000 years ago, making them one of the first domesticated poultry. Geese are capable of rapid growth, disease resistance, and high liver lipid storage capacity, and can be easily fed coarse fodder. Here, we sequence and analyze the whole-genome sequence of an economically important goose breed in China and compare it with that of terrestrial bird species. RESULTS: A draft sequence of the whole-goose genome was obtained by shotgun sequencing, and 16,150 protein-coding genes were predicted. Comparative genomics indicate that significant differences occur between the goose genome and that of other terrestrial bird species, particularly regarding major histocompatibility complex, Myxovirus resistance, Retinoic acid-inducible gene I, and other genes related to disease resistance in geese. In addition, analysis of transcriptome data further reveals a potential molecular mechanism involved in the susceptibility of geese to fatty liver disease and its associated symptoms, including high levels of unsaturated fatty acids and low levels of cholesterol. The results of this study show that deletion of the goose lep gene might be the result of positive selection, thus allowing the liver to adopt energy storage mechanisms for long-distance migration. CONCLUSIONS: This is the first report describing the complete goose genome sequence and contributes to genomic resources available for studying aquatic birds. The findings in this study are useful not only for genetic breeding programs, but also for studying lipid metabolism disorders. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13059-015-0652-y) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users