Treatment Outcomes of Patients With Multidrug-Resistant and Extensively Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis According to Drug Susceptibility Testing to First- and Second-line Drugs: An Individual Patient Data Meta-analysis

The clinical validity of drug susceptibility testing (DST) for pyrazinamide, ethambutol, and second-line antituberculosis drugs is uncertain. In an individual patient data meta-analysis of 8955 patients with confirmed multidrug-resistant tuberculosis, DST results for these drugs were associated with treatment outcome

Sedimentary evidence of Late Holocene human activity in the Pearl River delta, China.

This study examines the sedimentary evidence of human activities during the last 4000 years in the Pearl River deltaic area. The analyses are focused on indentifying agricultural signatures present in the sedimentary record and establishing the timing of a change from a simple, rice-based agriculture to a more advanced, diverse agriculture. The examination is based on modern sediment and plant samples and a sediment core collected from the deltaic area. The analyses include particle size and diatom analysis to determine the environmental conditions that were associated with the period of human activities. Organic carbon isotope ratios and major metal elements reveal an expansion in commercial crop production and metal smelting in the Pearl River delta area about 2000 years ago. The input of organic matter from introduced sugarcane, a C4 plant, elevates the bulk organic carbon isotope values in the estuarine sediments above that represented by other common agricultural crops in the study area, including rice, banana and lotus, which are all C3 plants. The increase in bulk organic isotopic value coincides with the rise in the concentration of copper, iron and lead in the sedimentary sequence, suggesting a wider use of metal tools. These results indicate that advanced agriculture started about 2000 years ago as an expansion in human population took place in the area. This record also provides sedimentary evidence that help ascertain the timing and type of human activities that are linked to subsequent land reclamation on the deltaic plain, resulting in rapid shoreline advancement in the last 2000 years

The history of water salinity in the Pearl River estuary, China, during the Late Quaternary.

This research reconstructed the Late Quaternary salinity history of the Pearl River estuary, China, from diatom records of four sedimentary cores. The reconstruction was produced through the application of a diatom-salinity transfer function developed based on 77 modern surface sediment samples collected across the estuary from shallow marine environment to deltaic distributaries. The statistical analysis indicates that the majority of sediment samples from the cores has good modern analogues, thus the reconstructions are reliable. The reconstructed salinity history shows the older estuarine sequence formed during the last interglacial was deposited under similar salinity conditions to the younger estuarine sequence, which was formed during the present interglacial. Further analysis into the younger estuarine sequence reveals the interplays between sea level, monsoon-driven freshwater discharge, and deltaic shoreline movement, key factors that have influenced water salinity in the estuary. In particular, a core from the delta plain shows the effects of sea-level change and deltaic progradation, while cores from the mouth region of the estuary reveal changes of monsoon-driven freshwater discharge. This study demonstrates the advantages of quantitative salinity reconstructions to improve the quality of reconstruction and allow direct comparison with other quantitative records and the instrumentally observed values of salinity

Reconstruction of Holocene monsoon history from the Pearl River Estuary, southern China, using diatoms and carbon isotope ratios

This study employs a multiproxy approach in the reconstruction of Holocene monsoon history from sedimentary sequences obtained from the Pearl River Estuary, southern China. A set of modern surface sediment samples were collected within and outside the estuary, and a sediment core was obtained from the mouth of the estuary. A range of modern environmental variables were recorded including water salinity (summer, winter and annual average) and water depth. The diatom results show a good relationship with water salinity, with marine diatoms dominating the more distal samples from outside the main estuary and freshwater diatoms dominating the proximal samples influenced by higher freshwater flux. This pattern is matched by the bulk organic carbon isotopes. The isotope values vary between −21.1±0.3‰ for samples from the fully marine environment, between −23.2±0.8‰ and −23.7±0.8‰ for samples from the mid to outer estuary brackish water environment and less than −24.7±1.3‰ for samples from the inner estuary close to the freshwater sources. Similarly, the C/N ratios vary from below 7±0.6 in the marine end-members to over 14.8±3.0 in the freshwater end-members. Both the diatom and carbon data from the sediment core reveal a significant increase in freshwater flux from 8500 cal. yr BP resulting from the enhanced summer monsoon regime in early Holocene. The strength of freshwater flux reached its highest between 7500 and 6000 cal. yr BP. In the last 6000 years, freshwater flux decreased towards present, reflecting a gradual weakening of the summer monsoon

The effect of micro and nanotopography on endocytosis in drug and gene delivery systems

10.1016/j.biomaterials.2011.08.088Biomaterials32369866-9875BIMA

Diatoms from the Pearl River estuary, China and their suitability as a water salinity indicator for coastal environments

We collected 77 modern diatom samples from sites across the Pearl River estuary, China to analyze the relationship between diatom assemblages and environmental parameters including water salinity, water depth and sediment particle size. Results showed that marine diatoms were dominant in the high salinity environment around Hong Kong and the outer part of the estuary. Brackish water diatoms were found in high abundance in the central part of the estuary. Both marine and brackish water diatoms were predominantly planktonic taxa. Freshwater diatoms dominated in low salinity environments, with planktonic taxa in the deep tidal channel and benthic species in the shallow deltaic distributaries. Statistical tests indicated that the modern diatom distribution is strongly correlated with salinity but is also influenced by several other environmental variables including sand content and water depth. Transfer functions relating diatom assemblages and water salinity had high r2 (0.94–0.98 for WA-PLS, 0.95 for MA and 0.98 for MAT) and relatively low RMSEP (2.66–1.63‰ for WA-PLS, 2.35‰ for MA and 2.70‰ for MAT). Due to the geographical distribution of samples, some spatial autocorrelation is likely present in the dataset. When this effect is considered, r2 decreases to 0.90 and RMSEP increases to 5.41‰, although the diatom–salinity relationship remains appropriate for reconstructing paleosalinity. Based on this estimate, a diatom-based salinity transfer function with high accuracy and precision is developed and successfully applied to a sediment core for quantitative reconstruction of the Holocene paleosalinity in the Pearl River estuary

Mid-Holocene variability of the East Asian monsoon based on bulk organic δ13C and C/N records from the Pearl River estuary, southern China

Understanding the mid-Holocene dynamics of the East Asian monsoon (EAM) is integral to improving models of the Holocene development of the global climate system. Here we reconstruct the mid-Holocene EAM history from the Pearl River estuary, southern China, using bulk organic carbon isotopes (δ13C), total carbon to total nitrogen (C/N) ratios and total organic carbon (TOC) concentration. Sedimentary δ13C, C/N and TOC are potentially good indicators of changes in monsoonal precipitation strength. Sediments buried during a period of high precipitation exhibit a high proportion of terrigenous material, and have low δ13C and high C/N, and vice versa during a period of low precipitation. Results suggest a general decreasing trend in monsoonal precipitation from 6650 to 2150 cal. yr BP because of the weakening Northern Hemisphere insolation most likely related to the current precession circle. Superimposed on this trend are apparent dry–wet oscillations at centennial to millennial timescales most likely in response to solar activity. Mismatches between our δ13C record and results from the Dongge Cave in southern China at millennial timescales may indicate that the δ13C from the Pearl River estuary reveals changes in precipitation over a broader area than the δ18O from Dongge Cave

Postglacial sea-level changes in the northern South China Sea continental shelf: Evidence for a post-8200 calendar yr BP meltwater pulse

International audienc