Differences in the influence of daily behavior on health among older adults in urban and rural areas: evidence from China

BackgroundAs the population of older adult in China keeps growing, the degree of aging is becoming increasingly serious and the health of older adults is a growing concern. Comparing the personal characteristics and health levels of urban and rural older adults and determining the relationship between these factors are of great significance in maintaining their health. In addition, exploring how these relationships differ between urban and rural areas is important.MethodThis study conducted a literature review to examine the impact of various factors on the physical and mental health of older adults in urban and rural areas in China. Moreover, based on cross-sectional data from the 2017 Chinese General Social Survey (CGSS), urban–rural differences in the factors’ degree of influence on the perceived health of older adults were studied using multiple logistic regression.ResultsRegular physical exercise had a powerful protective effect on urban older adults’ physical and mental health, whereas regular participation in social activities had a positive impact on rural older adults’ health. Low income, low educational level, low social trust, lack of a partner, and having more than one child negatively affected the physical health of rural older people. Low socioeconomic status had a negative impact on rural people’s health both in mind and body. Overall, the rural adults’ health status was found to be relatively low and deserves more attention.ConclusionThis study demonstrated that older people’s physical and mental health levels can be significantly affected by the frequency of daily activities and individual and family characteristics. Furthermore, urban–rural differences were observed. These findings could provide feasible suggestions for governments, communities, and older adults’ family members to help alleviate health inequality

Urban Surface Temperature Reduction via the Urban Aerosol Direct Effect: A Remote Sensing and WRF Model Sensitivity Study

The aerosol direct effect, namely, scattering and absorption of sunlight in the atmosphere, can lower surface temperature by reducing surface insolation. By combining National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) AERONET (AErosol RObotic NETwork) observations in large cities with Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model simulations, we find that the aerosol direct reduction of surface insolation ranges from 40–100Wm−2, depending on aerosol loading and land-atmosphere conditions. To elucidate the maximum possible effect, values are calculated using a radiative transfer model based on the top quartile of the multiyear instantaneous aerosol data observed by AERONET sites. As a result, surface skin temperature can be reduced by 1°C-2°C while 2-m surface air temperature reductions are generally on the order of 0.5°C–1°C

The epidemiology of Plasmodium vivax and Plasmodium falciparum malaria in China, 2004–2012: from intensified control to elimination

BACKGROUND In China, the national malaria elimination programme has been operating since 2010. This study aimed to explore the epidemiological changes in patterns of malaria in China from intensified control to elimination stages. METHODS Data on nationwide malaria cases from 2004 to 2012 were extracted from the Chinese national malaria surveillance system. The secular trend, gender and age features, seasonality, and spatial distribution by Plasmodium species were analysed. RESULTS In total, 238,443 malaria cases were reported, and the proportion of Plasmodium falciparum increased drastically from <10% before 2010 to 55.2% in 2012. From 2004 to 2006, malaria showed a significantly increasing trend and with the highest incidence peak in 2006 (4.6/100,000), while from 2007 onwards, malaria decreased sharply to only 0.18/100,000 in 2012. Males and young age groups became the predominantly affected population. The areas affected by Plasmodium vivax malaria shrunk, while areas affected by P. falciparum malaria expanded from 294 counties in 2004 to 600 counties in 2012. CONCLUSIONS This study demonstrated that malaria has decreased dramatically in the last five years, especially since the Chinese government launched a malaria elimination programme in 2010, and areas with reported falciparum malaria cases have expanded over recent years. These findings suggest that elimination efforts should be improved to meet these changes, so as to achieve the nationwide malaria elimination goal in China in 2020.This study was supported by grants from the Ministry of Science and Technology of China (2012ZX10004-201, 2012ZX10004-220) and the Ministry of Health of China (No. 201202006), and China UK Global Health Support Programme (grant no. GHSP-CS-OP1). S.I.H. is funded by a Senior Research Fellowship from the Wellcome Trust (#095066). S.I.H. also acknowledges funding support from the RAPIDD programme of the Science & Technology Directorate, Department of Homeland Security, and the Fogarty International Center, National Institutes of Health

Effectiveness of oseltamivir on disease progression and viral RNA shedding in patients with mild pandemic 2009 influenza A H1N1: opportunistic retrospective study of medical charts in China

Objective To describe the clinical features and effectiveness of oseltamivir on disease progression and viral RNA shedding in patients with mild pandemic 2009 influenza A(H1N1) virus infection

Human Streptococcus suis Outbreak, Sichuan, China

Streptococcus suis outbreak was associated with exposure to sick or dead pigs

Determinants of the Incidence of Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease in China Using Geographically Weighted Regression Models

Child population density and climate factors are potential determinants of the HFMD incidence in most areas in China. The strength and direction of association between these factors and the incidence of HFDM is spatially heterogeneous at the local geographic level, and child population density has a greater influence on the incidence of HFMD than the climate factors

A prognostic index model for assessing the prognosis of ccRCC patients by using the mRNA expression profiles of AIF1L, SERPINC1 and CES1

Background: Kidney carcinoma is a major cause of carcinoma-related death, with the prognosis for advanced or metastatic renal cell carcinoma still very poor. The aim of this study was to investigate feasible prognostic biomarkers that can be used to construct a prognostic index model for clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) patients. Methods: The mRNA expression profiles of ccRCC samples were downloaded from the The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) dataset and the correlation of AIF1L with malignancy, tumor stage and prognosis were evaluated. Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between AIF1L-low and AIF1L-high expression groups were selected. Those with prognostic value as determined by univariate and multivariate Cox regression analysis were then used to construct a prognostic index model capable of predicting the outcome of ccRCC patients. Results: The expression level of AIF1L was lower in ccRCC samples than in normal kidney samples. AIF1L expression showed an inverse correlation with tumor stage and a positive association with better prognosis. ccRCC samples were divided into high- and low-expression groups according to the median value of AIF1L expression. In the AIF1L-high expression group, 165 up-regulated DEGs and 601 down-regulated DEGs were identified. Three genes (AIF1L, SERPINC1 and CES1) were selected following univariate and multivariate Cox regression analysis. The hazard ratio (HR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for these genes were: AIF1L (HR = 0.83, 95% CI: 0.76–0.91), SERPINC1 (HR = 1.33, 95% CI: 1.12–1.58), and CES1 (HR = 0.87, 95% CI: 0.78–0.97). A prognostic index model based on the expression level of the three genes showed good performance in predicting ccRCC patient outcome, with an area under the ROC curve (AUC) of 0.671. Conclusion: This research provides a better understanding of the correlation between AIF1L expression and ccRCC. We propose a novel prognostic index model comprising AIF1L, SERPINC1 and CES1 expression that may assist physicians in determining the prognosis of ccRCC patients

Worm Burden-Dependent Disruption of the Porcine Colon Microbiota by Trichuris suis Infection

Helminth infection in pigs serves as an excellent model for the study of the interaction between human malnutrition and parasitic infection and could have important implications in human health. We had observed that pigs infected with Trichuris suis for 21 days showed significant changes in the proximal colon microbiota. In this study, interactions between worm burden and severity of disruptions to the microbial composition and metabolic potentials in the porcine proximal colon microbiota were investigated using metagenomic tools. Pigs were infected by a single dose of T. suis eggs for 53 days. Among infected pigs, two cohorts were differentiated that either had adult worms or were worm-free. Infection resulted in a significant change in the abundance of approximately 13% of genera detected in the proximal colon microbiota regardless of worm status, suggesting a relatively persistent change over time in the microbiota due to the initial infection. A significant reduction in the abundance of Fibrobacter and Ruminococcus indicated a change in the fibrolytic capacity of the colon microbiota in T. suis infected pigs. In addition, ∼10% of identified KEGG pathways were affected by infection, including ABC transporters, peptidoglycan biosynthesis, and lipopolysaccharide biosynthesis as well as α-linolenic acid metabolism. Trichuris suis infection modulated host immunity to Campylobacter because there was a 3-fold increase in the relative abundance in the colon microbiota of infected pigs with worms compared to naïve controls, but a 3-fold reduction in worm-free infected pigs compared to controls. The level of pathology observed in infected pigs with worms compared to worm-free infected pigs may relate to the local host response because expression of several Th2-related genes were enhanced in infected pigs with worms versus those worm-free. Our findings provided insight into the dynamics of the proximal colon microbiota in pigs in response to T. suis infection