Stepwise exhumation of the Triassic Lanling high-pressure metamorphic belt in Central Qiangtang, Tibet: Insights from a coupled study of metamorphism, deformation, and geochronology

The E-W trending Central Qiangtang metamorphic belt (CQMB) is correlated to the Triassic orogeny of the Paleo-Tethys Ocean prior to Cenozoic growth of the Tibetan Plateau. The well-exposed Lanling high-pressure, low-temperature (HP-LT) metamorphic complex was chosen to decipher the process by which it was exhumed, which thereby provides insights into the origin of the CQMB and Qiangtang terrane. After a detailed petrological and structural mapping, three distinct N-S-trending metamorphic domains were distinguished. Microscopic observations show that core domain garnet (Grt)-bearing blueschist was exhumed in a heating plus depressurization trajectory after peak eclogitic conditions, which is more evident in syntectonic vein form porphyroblastic garnets with zoning typical of a prograde path. Grt-free blueschist of the mantle domain probably underwent an exhumation path of temperature increasing and dehydration, as evidenced by pervasive epidote veins. The compilation of radiometric results of high-pressure mineral separates in Lanling and Central Qiantang, and reassessments on the published phengite data sets of Lanling using Arrhenius plots allow a two-step exhumation model to be formulated. It is suggested that core domain eclogitic rocks were brought onto mantle domain blueschist facies level starting at 244-230 Ma, with exhumation continuing to 227-223.4 Ma, and subsequently were exhumed together starting at 223-220 Ma, reaching lower greenschist facies conditions generally after 222-217 Ma. These new observations indicate that the CQMB formed as a Triassic autochthonous accretionary complex resulting from the northward subdcution of the Paleo-Tethys Ocean and that HP-LT rocks therein were very probably exhumed in an extensional regime.This work was jointly funded by the Young Scientist Fund of the National Natural Science Foundation of China (grant 41402177) and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (2652014004). Our field work was supported by a project issued by the China Geological Survey (CGS): The integrated geological survey on the west part and central uplift of Qiangtang Block (grant 12120115026901)

Health literacy and ethnic disparities in health-related quality of life among rural women: results from a Chinese poor minority area

Background: We examined the relationship between health literacy (HL) and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) as well as relationship differentials by ethnicity among rural women from a Chinese poor minority area. Methods: We conducted in-person interviews with 913 rural women aged 23 - 57 (57.5% Hui minorities/42.5% Han ethnicity) enrolled in the Ningxia Women Health Project, gathering data on EQ-5D, self-designed HL, socio-demographic characteristics, and chronic diseases. The extent of impairments in the five dimensions of the EQ-5D was used to measure HRQoL. Factor analysis yielded a single HL factor, which was used as a dichotomous variable in multivariate log-binomial regression models that examined the adjusted association of HL with HRQoL. Results: Nearly half of the women had no formal education. The most prevalent impairments were pain/discomfort and anxiety/depression (42.42% and 32.09%, respectively). The Hui minorities had 1.65 times higher rates of low HL (defined as less than mean of the factor score for HL) and 1.22 and 1.25 times for pain/discomfort and anxiety/depression impairments, respectively. Low HL was associated with poor HRQoL, with a 23% increase in the prevalence of pain/discomfort impairments after adjusting for socio-demographics. This association was significant in the Hui group (PR=1.30, 95% CI=1.06-1.58) but not for the Han group (PR=0.99, 95% CI=0.76-1.30). HL-stratified analysis revealed modification for ethnic disparities in HRQoL; for pain/discomfort impairments, high HL-PR=0.88 (95% CI=0.71-1.08), low HL-PR=1.24 (95% CI = 1.01-1.52); for anxiety/depression impairments, high HL-PR=0.98 (95% CI=0.73-1.32), low HL-PR=1.44 (95% CI = 1.05-1.98). Conclusions: Low HL is associated with poor HRQoL across the entire sample and the association may be modified by ethnicity. Similarly, ethnic disparities in HRQoL may be modified by HL, larger in low HL group. Health services should address HL in vulnerable minority women to improve their HRQoL.http://gateway.webofknowledge.com/gateway/Gateway.cgi?GWVersion=2&SrcApp=PARTNER_APP&SrcAuth=LinksAMR&KeyUT=WOS:000324526700001&DestLinkType=FullRecord&DestApp=ALL_WOS&UsrCustomerID=8e1609b174ce4e31116a60747a720701Health Care Sciences & ServicesHealth Policy & ServicesSCI(E)SSCI12ARTICLEnull1

Gender differences in job quality and job satisfaction among doctors in rural western China

Abstract Background Few studies about gender differences in job quality and job satisfaction among medical professionals have been carried out in China. So the objectives of this study were to examine whether and to what extent gender differences existed in job quality and job satisfaction of doctors in rural western China. Methods From 2009 to 2011, a total of 1472 doctors from 103 selected county-level health care facilities in rural western China were recruited into the study. Information about the doctors’ demographic characteristics, job quality, and job satisfaction was collected through a designed questionnaire. Besides examining gender differences in single dimensions of job quality and job satisfaction, principal component analysis was used to construct a composite job quality index to measure the differences in the comprehensive job quality, and exploratory factor analysis was applied to evaluate the differences in the overall job satisfaction. Chi-square test was used to calculate differences between proportions, and t-test was used to compare differences between means. Results Among the doctors, there were 705 males and 767 females (ratio 1:1.09). Male doctors had significantly higher monthly salaries, longer working hours, more times of night shifts per month, longer continuous working hours, and longer years of service at current facilities, and marginally significantly higher hourly wage and longer years of service in current professions. However, female doctors showed greater overall job qualities. Significant and marginally significant gender differences were only found in satisfaction with remuneration compared to workload, the chance of promotion and working environment. But female showed greater satisfaction in the overall job satisfaction and the factor including sub-aspects of working environment, remuneration compared to workload, the chance of promotion, utilization of subjective initiative, and sense of achievement. Conclusions Gender differences in job quality and job satisfaction did exist among doctors in rural western China. The participating female doctors were shown to have better job quality and greater job satisfaction

Succession of the Bacterial Communities and Functional Characteristics in Sheep Manure Composting

Bacterial community is a key factor affecting aerobic composting, and understanding bacterial community succession is important to revealing the mechanism of organic matter degradation. In this study, the succession and metabolic characteristics of bacterial communities were explored in 45 days composting of sheep manure and wheat straw by using high-throughput sequencing technology and bioinformatics tools, respectively. Results showed that the alpha diversity of bacterial community significantly decreased in the thermophilic (T2) phase and then recovered gradually in the bio-oxidative (T3) and the maturation (T4) phases. Bacterial communities varied at different stages, but there were 158 genera in common bacterial species. Unclassified_f_Bacillaceae, Oceanobacillus, Bacillus, Pseudogracilibacillus, and Nocardiopsis were identified as keystone bacterial genera. Eleven genera were significantly correlated (p < 0.05), or even extremely significantly correlated (p < 0.001), with the physicochemical factors. Redundancy analysis (RDA) showed that changes of bacterial community diversity correlated with physicochemical factors. The highest relative abundances were amino acid and carbohydrate metabolism among the metabolic groups in the compost. These results will provide theoretical support for further optimizing sheep manure composting conditions and improving the quality of organic fertilizers

How Does Value Co-Creation Behavior Affect Destination Loyalty? A Role Switching Perspective

The concept of value co-creation brings about changes in tourists’ roles from value receivers to producers. Most existing studies take value co-creation behavior as a single dimension, ignoring the role switching of tourists. Starting from the precise constitution of value co-creation behavior, this paper, utilizing the method of structural equation modeling (SEM), discusses the mechanism of the effects of tourist participation behavior and citizenship behavior on destination loyalty through each sub-dimension of perceived value. The results showed the following: (1) The participation behavior (in-role) and citizenship behavior (extra-role) of tourists affect different value dimensions. (2) The value co-created by tourists presents a hierarchical state from the primary to the higher level. Among the types of value, novelty and social value belong to the primary level while quality, economic, knowledge, and emotional value belong to the higher level. (3) Destination loyalty is driven not only by tourist behavior (in-role) but also by citizenship behavior (extra-role). Based on the perspective of role switching, this paper establishes the theoretical framework of role switching in the era of value co-creation and proposes some strategic suggestions for marketing transformation

Additional file 1: of Current perspectives on China’s national essential medicine system: primary care provider and patient views

S1: Questionnaire for patients. (DOCX 32 kb

Additional file 1: of Gender differences in job quality and job satisfaction among doctors in rural western China

Organized original database for analization. (XLSX 195 kb

Maternal education and micro-geographic disparities in nutritional status among school-aged children in rural northwestern China.

OBJECTIVES: Prior evidence suggests geographic disparities in the effect of maternal education on child nutritional status between countries, between regions and between urban and rural areas. We postulated its effect would also vary by micro-geographic locations (indicated by mountain areas, plain areas and the edge areas) in a Chinese minority area. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted with a multistage random sample of 1474 school children aged 5-12 years in Guyuan, China. Child nutritional status was measured by height-for-age z scores (HAZ). Linear mixed models were used to examine its association with place of residence and maternal education. RESULTS: Micro-geographic disparities in child nutritional status and the level of socioeconomic composition were found. Children living in mountain areas had poorer nutritional status, even after adjusting for demographic (plain versus mountain, β = 0.16, P = 0.033; edge versus mountain, β = 0.29, P = 0.002) and socioeconomic factors (plain versus mountain, β = 0.12, P = 0.137; edge versus mountain, β = 0.25, P = 0.009). The disparities significantly widened with increasing years of mothers' schooling (maternal education*plain versus mountain: β = 0.06, P = 0.007; maternal education*edge versus mountain: β = 0.07, P = 0.005). Moreover, the association between maternal education and child nutrition was negative (β = -0.03, P = 0.056) in mountain areas but positive in plain areas (β = 0.02, P = 0.094) or in the edge areas (β = 0.04, P = 0.055). CONCLUSIONS: Micro-geographic disparities in child nutritional status increase with increasing level of maternal education and the effect of maternal education varies by micro-geographic locations, which exacerbates child health inequity. Educating rural girls alone is not sufficient; improving unfavorable conditions in mountain areas might make such investments more effective in promoting child health. Nutrition programs targeting to the least educated groups in plain and in edge areas would be critical to their cost-effectiveness

Descriptive summary^a of child nutritional status and demographic, socioeconomic factors.

<p>^a Percentage is used for categorical variables. Continuous variables are described by their Mean and (Std. Dev.).</p><p>^b HAZ means height-for-age z score.</p><p>^c Maternal illiterate and paternal illiterate are both defined as no formal years of schooling attained.</p><p><i>P</i><0.05, **<i>P</i><0.01, ***<i>P</i><0.001; Chi-square or ANOVA tests are used to compare child nutritional status and sociodemographic characteristics for categorical and continuous variables across place of residence, respectively.</p

Multivariate mixed linear regression models predicting child HAZ^a.

<p>^a HAZ means height-for-age z score.</p><p>^b<i>β</i> means regression coefficient; CI means confidence interval.</p><p>^c NA means not applicable.</p><p>^*<i>P</i><0.05, **<i>P</i><0.01, ***<i>P</i><0.001.</p