Gallic acid-grafted chitosan antibacterial hydrogel incorporated with polydopamine-modified hydroxyapatite for enhancing bone healing

An open critical-size bone defect is a major medical problem because of the difficulty in self-healing, leading to an increased risk of bacterial infection owing to wound exposure, resulting in treatment failure. Herein, a composite hydrogel was synthesized by chitosan, gallic acid, and hyaluronic acid, termed “CGH.” Hydroxyapatite was modified with polydopamine (PDA@HAP) and introduced to CGH to obtain a mussel-inspired mineralized hydrogel (CGH/PDA@HAP). The CGH/PDA@HAP hydrogel exhibited excellent mechanical performances, including self-healing and injectable properties. Owing to its three-dimensional porous structure and polydopamine modifications, the cellular affinity of the hydrogel was enhanced. When adding PDA@HAP into CGH, Ca2+ and PO43- could release and then promoted differentiation of BMSCs into osteoblasts. Without any osteogenic agent or stem cells, the area of new bone at the site of defect was enhanced and the newly formed bone had a dense trabecular structure after implanting of the CGH/PDA@HAP hydrogel for 4 and 8 weeks. Moreover, the growth of Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli was effectively inhibited through the grafting of gallic acid onto chitosan. Above, this study provides a reasonable alternative strategy to manage open bone defects

Isolation and Characterization of Clinical Listeria monocytogenes in Beijing, China, 2014–2016

Listeria monocytogenes is an important foodborne pathogen with a significant impact on public health worldwide. A great number of outbreaks caused by L. monocytogenes has been reported, especially in the United States, and European countries. However, listeriosis has not yet been included in notifiable disease in China, and thus information on this infection has been scarce among the Chinese population. In this study, we described a 3-year surveillance of listeriosis in Beijing, China. Fifty-six L. monocytogenes strains isolated from 49 clinical infectious cases (27 pregnancy-associated infections and 22 non-pregnancy-associated infections) were analyzed by serotyping, pulsed field gel electrophoresis (PFGE), multilocus sequence typing (MLST), and antimicrobial susceptibility testing between 2014 and 2016 in Beijing. The predominant serogroups were 1/2a,3a and 1/2b,3b,7 which accounted for 92% of the overall isolates. Four strains were serogroup 4b,4d,4e, isolated from patients with pregnancy-associated infections. Based on PFGE, these isolates were divided into 32 pulsotypes (PTs) and 3 clusters associated with serogroups. Ten PTs were represented by more than one isolate with PT09 containing the most number of isolates. MLST differentiated the isolates into 18 STs, without new ST designated. The three most common STs were ST8 (18.4%), ST5 (16.3%), and ST87 (12.2%), accounting for 46.9% of the isolates. STs prevalent in other parts of the world were also present in China such as ST1, ST2, ST5, ST8, and ST9 which caused maternal fetal infections or outbreaks. However, the STs and serogroup distribution of clinical L. monocytogenes in Beijing, China was different from those in other countries. Strains of ST1 and ST2 were isolated from patients with pregnancy-associated infection, whereas none of ST155 isolates caused pregnancy-associated cases. Surveillance of molecular characterization will provide important information for prevention of listeriosis. This study also enhances our understanding of genetic diversity of clinical L. monocytogenes in China

Building a Methodological Foundation for Impactful Urban Planetary Health Science.

Anthropogenic environmental change will heavily impact cities, yet associated health risks will depend significantly on decisions made by urban leaders across a wide range of non-health sectors, including transport, energy, housing, basic urban services, and others. A subset of planetary health researchers focus on understanding the urban health impacts of global environmental change, and how these vary globally and within cities. Such researchers increasingly adopt collaborative transdisciplinary approaches to engage policy-makers, private citizens, and other actors in identifying and evaluating potential policy solutions that will reduce environmental impacts in ways that simultaneously promote health, equity, and/or local economies-in other words, maximising 'co-benefits'. This report presents observations from a participatory workshop focused on challenges and opportunities for urban planetary health research. The workshop, held at the 16th International Conference on Urban Health (ICUH) in Xiamen, China, in November 2019, brought together 49 participants and covered topics related to collaboration, data, and research impact. It featured research projects funded by the Wellcome Trust's Our Planet Our Health (OPOH) programme. This report aims to concisely summarise and disseminate participants' collective contributions to current methodological practice in urban planetary health research

Developing a programme theory for a transdisciplinary research collaboration: Complex Urban Systems for Sustainability and Health

Background: Environmental improvement is a priority for urban sustainability and health and achieving it requires transformative change in cities. An approach to achieving such change is to bring together researchers, decision-makers, and public groups in the creation of research and use of scientific evidence. Methods: This article describes the development of a programme theory for Complex Urban Systems for Sustainability and Health (CUSSH), a four-year Wellcome-funded research collaboration which aims to improve capacity to guide transformational health and environmental changes in cities. Results: Drawing on ideas about complex systems, programme evaluation, and transdisciplinary learning, we describe how the programme is understood to “work” in terms of its anticipated processes and resulting changes. The programme theory describes a chain of outputs that ultimately leads to improvement in city sustainability and health (described in an ‘action model’), and the kinds of changes that we expect CUSSH should lead to in people, processes, policies, practices, and research (described in a ‘change model’). Conclusions: Our paper adds to a growing body of research on the process of developing a comprehensive understanding of a transdisciplinary, multiagency, multi-context programme. The programme theory was developed collaboratively over two years. It involved a participatory process to ensure that a broad range of perspectives were included, to contribute to shared understanding across a multidisciplinary team. Examining our approach allowed an appreciation of the benefits and challenges of developing a programme theory for a complex, transdisciplinary research collaboration. Benefits included the development of teamworking and shared understanding and the use of programme theory in guiding evaluation. Challenges included changing membership within a large group, reaching agreement on what the theory would be ‘about’, and the inherent unpredictability of complex initiatives

Seizing the window of opportunity to mitigate the impact of climate change on the health of Chinese residents

The health threats posed by climate change in China are increasing rapidly. Each province faces different health risks. Without a timely and adequate response, climate change will impact lives and livelihoods at an accelerated rate and even prevent the achievement of the Healthy and Beautiful China initiatives. The 2021 China Report of the Lancet Countdown on Health and Climate Change is the first annual update of China’s Report of the Lancet Countdown. It comprehensively assesses the impact of climate change on the health of Chinese households and the measures China has taken. Invited by the Lancet committee, Tsinghua University led the writing of the report and cooperated with 25 relevant institutions in and outside of China. The report includes 25 indicators within five major areas (climate change impacts, exposures, and vulnerability; adaptation, planning, and resilience for health; mitigation actions and health co-benefits; economics and finance; and public and political engagement) and a policy brief. This 2021 China policy brief contains the most urgent and relevant indicators focusing on provincial data: The increasing health risks of climate change in China; mixed progress in responding to climate change. In 2020, the heatwave exposures per person in China increased by 4.51 d compared with the 1986–2005 average, resulting in an estimated 92% increase in heatwave-related deaths. The resulting economic cost of the estimated 14500 heatwave-related deaths in 2020 is US$176 million. Increased temperatures also caused a potential 31.5 billion h in lost work time in 2020, which is equivalent to 1.3% of the work hours of the total national workforce, with resulting economic losses estimated at 1.4% of China’s annual gross domestic product. For adaptation efforts, there has been steady progress in local adaptation planning and assessment in 2020, urban green space growth in 2020, and health emergency management in 2019. 12 of 30 provinces reported that they have completed, or were developing, provincial health adaptation plans. Urban green space, which is an important heat adaptation measure, has increased in 18 of 31 provinces in the past decade, and the capacity of China’s health emergency management increased in almost all provinces from 2018 to 2019. As a result of China’s persistent efforts to clean its energy structure and control air pollution, the premature deaths due to exposure to ambient particulate matter of 2.5 μm or less (PM2.5) and the resulting costs continue to decline. However, 98% of China’s cities still have annual average PM2.5 concentrations that are more than the WHO guideline standard of 10 μg/m3. It provides policymakers and the public with up-to-date information on China’s response to climate change and improvements in health outcomes and makes the following policy recommendations. (1) Promote systematic thinking in the related departments and strengthen multi-departmental cooperation. Sectors related to climate and development in China should incorporate health perspectives into their policymaking and actions, demonstrating WHO’s and President Xi Jinping’s so-called health-in-all-policies principle. (2) Include clear goals and timelines for climate-related health impact assessments and health adaptation plans at both the national and the regional levels in the National Climate Change Adaptation Strategy for 2035. (3) Strengthen China’s climate mitigation actions and ensure that health is included in China’s pathway to carbon neutrality. By promoting investments in zero-carbon technologies and reducing fossil fuel subsidies, the current rebounding trend in carbon emissions will be reversed and lead to a healthy, low-carbon future. (4) Increase awareness of the linkages between climate change and health at all levels. Health professionals, the academic community, and traditional and new media should raise the awareness of the public and policymakers on the important linkages between climate change and health.</p

Design and baseline characteristics of the finerenone in reducing cardiovascular mortality and morbidity in diabetic kidney disease trial

Background: Among people with diabetes, those with kidney disease have exceptionally high rates of cardiovascular (CV) morbidity and mortality and progression of their underlying kidney disease. Finerenone is a novel, nonsteroidal, selective mineralocorticoid receptor antagonist that has shown to reduce albuminuria in type 2 diabetes (T2D) patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) while revealing only a low risk of hyperkalemia. However, the effect of finerenone on CV and renal outcomes has not yet been investigated in long-term trials. Patients and Methods: The Finerenone in Reducing CV Mortality and Morbidity in Diabetic Kidney Disease (FIGARO-DKD) trial aims to assess the efficacy and safety of finerenone compared to placebo at reducing clinically important CV and renal outcomes in T2D patients with CKD. FIGARO-DKD is a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group, event-driven trial running in 47 countries with an expected duration of approximately 6 years. FIGARO-DKD randomized 7,437 patients with an estimated glomerular filtration rate >= 25 mL/min/1.73 m(2) and albuminuria (urinary albumin-to-creatinine ratio >= 30 to <= 5,000 mg/g). The study has at least 90% power to detect a 20% reduction in the risk of the primary outcome (overall two-sided significance level alpha = 0.05), the composite of time to first occurrence of CV death, nonfatal myocardial infarction, nonfatal stroke, or hospitalization for heart failure. Conclusions: FIGARO-DKD will determine whether an optimally treated cohort of T2D patients with CKD at high risk of CV and renal events will experience cardiorenal benefits with the addition of finerenone to their treatment regimen. Trial Registration: EudraCT number: 2015-000950-39; ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT02545049

Qi-Qin Accretionary Belt in Central China Orogen: Accretion by trench jam of oceanic plateau and formation of intra-oceanic arc in the Early Paleozoic Qin-Qi-Kun Ocean

&lt;正&gt;Most orogenic belts have experienced a complex accretionary process with multiple episodes of sea?oor subduction and trench retreat.This accretionary process is important in continenta development and growth[1,2].Three giant orogens extend in China,e.g.,the Central Asian Orogen in the north,the Central China Orogen in the middle and the Himalayan Orogen in the southwest.They are keys for the formation of the Eurasian continent(Fig.1a).The Central China Orogen isMajor State Basic Research Development Program [2015CB856105]; National Natural Science Foundation of China [41572040, 41372060]SCI(E)EDITORIAL MATERIAL151035-10386

Risk factors associated with food consumption and food-handling habits for sporadic listeriosis: a case–control study in China from 2013 to 2022

ABSTRACTThe prevalence of listeriosis in China has been increasing in recent years. Listeriosis primarily spreads through contaminated food. However, the resilient causative organism, Listeria monocytogenes, and its extended incubation period pose challenges in identifying risk factors associated with food consumption and food-handling habits. This study aimed to identify the risk factors associated with food consumption and food-handling habits for listeriosis in China. A matched case–control study (1:1 ratio) was conducted, which enrolled all eligible cases of listeriosis between 1 January 2013 and 31 December 2022 in China. Basic information and possible risk factors associated with food consumption and food-handling habits were collected. Overall, 359 patients were enrolled, including 208 perinatal and 151 non-perinatal cases. Univariate and multivariable logistic analyzes were performed for the perinatal group. For the perinatal and non-perinatal groups, ice cream and Chinese cold dishes were the high-risk foods for listeriosis (odds ratio (OR) 2.09 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.23–3.55; OR 3.17 95% CI: 1.29–7.81), respectively; consumption of leftovers and pet ownership were the high-risk food-handling habits (OR 1.92 95% CI: 1.03–3.59; OR 3.00 95% CI: 1.11–8.11), respectively. In both groups, separation of raw and cooked foods was a protective factor (OR 0.27 95% CI: 0.14–0.51; OR 0.35 95% CI: 0.14–0.89), while refrigerator cleaning reduced the infection risk by 64.94–70.41% only in the perinatal group. The identification of high-risk foods and food-handling habits for listeriosis is important for improving food safety guidelines for vulnerable populations

Significantly enhanced high-temperature mechanical properties of Cu-Cr-Zn-Zr-Si alloy with stable second phases and grain boundaries

Improving high-temperature strength and resistance to high-temperature softening is an important method to promote the application of high-performance Cu-Cr-Zr alloy in fields such as resistance welding electrodes and high-speed railway contact wires. A Cu-1.0Cr-0.4Zn-0.1Zr-0.05Si alloy was designed and the combining effects of Zn and Si elements on the microstructure and high-temperature mechanical properties of the alloy were studied. The tensile strength of the alloy at room temperature was 556 MPa, and it was 349 MPa at 500℃ with a softening temperature of 620℃. The main strengthening phases of the alloy were submicron Cr3Si and nano-scaled Cr-rich precipitates. The Zn elements were uniformly solid-solved in the Cu matrix, and the addition of Zn and Si elements significantly retarded the phase transformation of the Cr-rich precipitates. Thermodynamics and kinetics analysis showed that Zn and Si elements promoted the dispersive precipitation of the nano-scaled FCC coherent Cr-rich precipitates by reducing the nucleation energy barrier, while the Si and Zr elements inhibited the coarsening of the Cr-rich precipitates by enriching at the phase boundaries, effectively impeding dislocation motion and grain boundary migration, which mainly contributed to good high-temperature strength and resistance to softening of the Cu-Cr-Zn-Zr-Si alloy