China\u27s Revolution in Health

China today is in the midst of a peaceful revolution that is dramatically changing the very nature of that vast country. Since the death of Chairman Mao and the political demise of the *Gang of Four, there has occurred a major re-emphasis on change and Western technology. To achieve their political goals the new regime, under Chairman Hua Kwo-Fenj, has emphasized four modernizations : science, industry, national defense, and agriculture. Health and medicine are seen as a part of the scientific arena. The planned changes in this sector will plunge China into a Western form of technology that will certainly have long-term consequences for the much acclaimed paramedical barefoot doctor system. Health modernization, the Chinese acknowledge, will open dangerous possibilities of unmanageable costs and human inequities. The question of what technology is truly appropriate is the central health question in China today

Infiltration and short-term movement of nitrogen in a silt-loam soil typical of rice cultivation in Arkansas

Rice production in Arkansas is one of the top three crop commodities in terms of cash receipts. Researchers and farmers report that nitrogen (N) needs to be managed according to a variety of factors with two important ones being soil and fertilizer type. The objectives of this experiment were to determine: 1) the degree to which floodwater-incorporated N applied as urea or as ammonium sulfate infiltrates intact cores (7.2-cm dia., 10-cm depth) containing DeWitt siltloam soil, and 2) the distribution of N during 12 h of ponding. Inorganic-N concentrations were analyzed at 2-cm depth intervals in cores following removal of the flood. Nitrogen from applied fertilizer was recovered as ammonium. Ammonium sulfate-N remained in the top 4 cm of soil with concentrations of 375 µg N g-1 in the surface 2 cm and 300 µg N g-1 at the 2 - 4 cm depth after 12 hr of ponding. At all depth intervals below 4 cm, ammonium sulfate-N remained below 30 µg N g-1. In contrast, after 12 h of ponding, N in soil receiving urea was 105 µg N g-1 in the top 2 cm and 173 µg N g-1 at 2-4 cm. At 4-6, 6-8, and 8-10 cm, N was 109, 108, and 35 µg N g-1, respectively, after 12 h of ponding. These results demonstrate immediate and deeper movement of ammonium into silt loam soil receiving urea as compared to ammonium sulfate, demonstrating how the form of N in fertilizer affects its movement into the soil profile

A randomized trial assessing the effects of health claims on choice of foods in the presence of front-of-pack labels

Background: As a public health intervention, front-of-pack labels (FoPLs) have the potential to reach large numbers of consumers and promote healthier food choices. Of the different FoPLs, those that summarize a product's overall nutritional profile tend to be most effective in guiding healthier choices. However, information is lacking as to whether FoPLs are as effective when nutrient or health claims also appear on-pack. Objective: The aim of this study was to examine how the choice of foods of varying levels of healthfulness (less healthy, moderately healthy, and healthier) is affected by the appearance of various FoPLs (Daily Intake Guide, Multiple Traffic Lights, Health Star Rating) when shown in combination with different claim conditions (no claim, nutrient claim, general-level health claim, and higher-level health claim). Design: Adults and children (n = 2069) completed a discrete-choice experiment online. Respondents were shown 8 choice sets, each containing 4 alternatives of the same food type (cookies, cornflakes, pizza, or yogurt) of varying levels of healthfulness and were asked which product they would likely purchase (or they could select none). Respondents were randomly assigned to view 1 of the 3 FoPLs across all choice sets. Claim type and healthfulness varied within choice sets in accordance with a D-efficient design. Results: The probability of choosing a healthy product and avoiding an unhealthy product was greatest when only an FoPL (especially the Health Star Rating) appeared on-pack. The addition of a nutrient or health claim did not affect the likelihood of picking healthier products but did increase the likelihood of selecting less healthy foods across all FoPL conditions. Conclusions: FoPLs are most effective in helping consumers make better food choices when nutrient and health claims are not present. Policies are required to control how nutrient and health claims are applied to less healthy foods. This trial was registered as ACTRN12617000015347 (www.anzctr.org.au/Trial/Resgistration/TrialReview.aspx?id=372055&isReview=true)

The Key Role of Heavy Precipitation Events in Climate Model Disagreements of Future Annual Precipitation Changes in California

Climate model simulations disagree on whether future precipitation will increase or decrease over California, which has impeded efforts to anticipate and adapt to human-induced climate change. This disagreement is explored in terms of daily precipitation frequency and intensity. It is found that divergent model projections of changes in the incidence of rare heavy (\u3e60 mm day−1) daily precipitation events explain much of the model disagreement on annual time scales, yet represent only 0.3% of precipitating days and 9% of annual precipitation volume. Of the 25 downscaled model projections examined here, 21 agree that precipitation frequency will decrease by the 2060s, with a mean reduction of 6–14 days yr−1. This reduces California\u27s mean annual precipitation by about 5.7%. Partly offsetting this, 16 of the 25 projections agree that daily precipitation intensity will increase, which accounts for a model average 5.3% increase in annual precipitation. Between these conflicting tendencies, 12 projections show drier annual conditions by the 2060s and 13 show wetter. These results are obtained from 16 global general circulation models downscaled with different combinations of dynamical methods [Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF), Regional Spectral Model (RSM), and version 3 of the Regional Climate Model (RegCM3)] and statistical methods [bias correction with spatial disaggregation (BCSD) and bias correction with constructed analogs (BCCA)], although not all downscaling methods were applied to each global model. Model disagreements in the projected change in occurrence of the heaviest precipitation days (\u3e60 mm day−1) account for the majority of disagreement in the projected change in annual precipitation, and occur preferentially over the Sierra Nevada and Northern California. When such events are excluded, nearly twice as many projections show drier future conditions

Probabilistic estimates of future changes in California temperature and precipitation usingstatistical and dynamical downscaling

Sixteen global general circulation models were used to develop probabilistic projections of temperature (T) and precipitation (P) changes over California by the 2060s. The global models were downscaled with two statistical techniques and three nested dynamical regional climate models, although not all global models were downscaled with all techniques. Both monthly and daily timescale changes in T and P are addressed, the latter being important for a range of applications in energy use, water management, and agriculture. The T changes tend to agree more across downscaling techniques than the P changes. Year-to-year natural internal climate variability is roughly of similar magnitude to the projected T changes. In the monthly average, July temperatures shift enough that that the hottest July found in any simulation over the historical period becomes a modestly cool July in the future period. Januarys as cold as any found in the historical period are still found in the 2060s, but the median and maximum monthly average temperatures increase notably. Annual and seasonal P changes are small compared to interannual or intermodel variability. However, the annual change is composed of seasonally varying changes that are themselves much larger, but tend to cancel in the annual mean. Winters show modestly wetter conditions in the North of the state, while spring and autumn show less precipitation. The dynamical downscaling techniques project increasing precipitation in the Southeastern part of the state, which is influenced by the North American monsoon, a feature that is not captured by the statistical downscaling

Neural Stem Cells in Primary Central Nervous System Lymphoma

The initial intent of this study was to examine the origins of Primary Central Nervous System Lymphoma (PCNSL), a neoplasm whose oncogenesisin immunocompetentpatients is incompletely understood. With growing information regarding the remarkable plasticity of neural stem cells, and establishment of relationships between hematopoietic and neural stem cells, we hypothesized that PCNSL arises from neural stem/progenitor cells rather than lymphocyte precursors from elsewhere in the body. Markers of neural stem cells were chosen for immunohistochemical(IHC) staining of 5 PCNSL cases and all cases contained Sox2 positive cells, whereas 8 of 9 non-CNS B cell lymphomas so stained had no positive cells. Double-staining with Sox2 and CD20, a B-cell marker, showed no co-localization of Sox2 and CD20, and no CD20-positive tumor cells had Sox2 immunopositivity. Staining of 5 metastatic carcinomas and 1 metastatic melanoma revealed a similar pattern of immunopositivityboth regarding sox2 expression and subsequent double-staining with low molecular weight cytokeratins. These findings suggest that neural stem cells are enriched in PCNSL as a reaction rather than as a source of the tumors and that sox2 expression is indicative of a neural progenitor/stem cell response to non-neural neoplasms. It follows that not all stem cell marker-positive cells in a tumor are tumor stem cells. Further understanding of the reactive response of neural stem cells is needed for understanding of neural neoplasm pathology. The presence of these findings in diverse central nervous system neoplasms and manipulation of the observation for therapeutic benefit have yet to be explored

Construction and characterization of a BAC library from a gynogenetic channel catfish Ictalurus punctatus

A bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) library was constructed by cloning HindIII-digested high molecular weight DNA from a gynogenetic channel catfish, Ictalurus punctatus, into the vector pBeloBAC11. Approximately 53 500 clones were arrayed in 384-well plates and stored at -80°C (CCBL1), while clones from a smaller insert size fraction were stored at -80°C without arraying (CCBL2). Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis of 100 clones after NotI digestion revealed an average insert size of 165 kb for CCBL1 and 113 kb for CCBL2. Further characterization of CCBL1 demonstrated that 10% of the clones did not contain an insert. CCBL1 provides a 7.2-fold coverage of the channel catfish haploid genome. PCR-based screening demonstrated that 68 out of 74 unique loci were present in the library. This represents a 92% chance to find a unique sequence. These libraries will be useful for physical mapping of the channel catfish genome, and identification of genes controlling major traits in this economically important species