HIV Screening and Awareness Survey for Pregnant Women in a Remote Area in Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of China

Objective: The number of people infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in China has increased in recent years. HIV screening for pregnant women was performed in a remote area in Xinjiang, as an effort to promote universal HIV screening in pregnant women and to help prevention of mother-to-child transmission. Methods: Pregnant women in Burqin and Jeminay Counties in Xinjiang were offered free voluntary HIV screening. Local mid-level medical workers were trained to use Determine® HIV-1/2 kit for HIV screening. All the tested pregnant women signed a consent form, received HIV education material, and participated in an HIV knowledge survey. Results: All the 890 pregnant women receiving HIV test had negative result. Among these women, 67.6% were Kazakh and 40.9% were farmers. Survey of HIV knowledge showed that these women's awareness about mother-to-child transmission was limited. The levels of HIV knowledge were related with ethnic background, age, education and profession of the pregnant women. Conclusion: The results suggested that HIV infection had not become a significant problem among the pregnant women in this remote area of Xinjiang, but continued efforts to improve the awareness of HIV, especially the knowledge about mother-to-child transmission of HIV, in pregnant women were needed

Generalized linear model for interval mapping of quantitative trait loci

We developed a generalized linear model of QTL mapping for discrete traits in line crossing experiments. Parameter estimation was achieved using two different algorithms, a mixture model-based EM (expectation–maximization) algorithm and a GEE (generalized estimating equation) algorithm under a heterogeneous residual variance model. The methods were developed using ordinal data, binary data, binomial data and Poisson data as examples. Applications of the methods to simulated as well as real data are presented. The two different algorithms were compared in the data analyses. In most situations, the two algorithms were indistinguishable, but when large QTL are located in large marker intervals, the mixture model-based EM algorithm can fail to converge to the correct solutions. Both algorithms were coded in C++ and interfaced with SAS as a user-defined SAS procedure called PROC QTL

A Psychological Approach to ‘Public Perception’ of Land-Use Planning: A Case Study of Jiangsu Province, China

Public perception and attitudes towards public affairs in the USA since the 1960s become a societal issue of growing importance in the field of planning. Good land-use planning should deliver a bright future vision in a way that unites and inspires groups to implement it. The introduction of public perception into planning helps to understand the process of how the public develop their awareness, value judgments, behavior and attitudes. In this research, we built the framework of public perception in land-use planning based on the affect, behavior, cognition (ABC) theory of consumer behavior. We gathered empirical data for Jiangsu province in China. We used structural equation modeling, a commonly used statistical analysis method for examining the structural relationship between multiple variables. We found that the public perception towards public affairs contributed to forming a multiple iterative interaction effect, which evolves a process from primary cognition to knowledge extraction, internalized absorption, emotional judgement and finally externalization into a certain attitudes and behaviors. On the cognitive level, our research result showed that public expectation and perceived quality have opposite effects on perceived difference and the public expectation is more influential. If the planning vision provides a clear and convincing picture of the future, and the information of planning is easy to understand, the public’s cognition and emotion can be well integrated. The core element of the emotional level is perceived value. The public is more concerned about a new planning project if it can add the value to the land, protect community environment, and improve the condition of low-income and minority populations. On the behavior level, public continuous behavior intentions could enhance perceived value, subjective norms and perceived availability. The research could further account for the root of public attitudes and behavior. This is crucial to China's land-use policy, and may well provide important lessons for other developing countries

Evaluation of the Effect of Stability Schemes on the Simulation of Land Surface Processes at a Western Tibetan Site

The surface fluxes calculated in land surface models (LSMs) are sensitive to the determination of the stability parameter. Further, calculation of the surface fluxes over the Tibetan Plateau (TP) is crucial in the simulation of regional and global weather and climate. In this study, we use 2-year micrometeorological data measured from Shiquanhe, located in the western TP, to evaluate the performance of the widely used Noah LSM with five stability parameterization schemes. Results show that all five stability parameterization schemes can generally reproduce the observations, but the scheme proposed by Li has the smallest bias. The reason is that Li’s scheme is more accurate under the unstable condition, and the surface layer at Shiquanhe is mostly unstable. Further, the four non-iterative schemes show an advantage in terms of their computational efficiency compared to the iterative scheme adopted by the Noah LSM

Evaluation of the Effect of Stability Schemes on the Simulation of Land Surface Processes at a Western Tibetan Site

The surface fluxes calculated in land surface models (LSMs) are sensitive to the determination of the stability parameter. Further, calculation of the surface fluxes over the Tibetan Plateau (TP) is crucial in the simulation of regional and global weather and climate. In this study, we use 2-year micrometeorological data measured from Shiquanhe, located in the western TP, to evaluate the performance of the widely used Noah LSM with five stability parameterization schemes. Results show that all five stability parameterization schemes can generally reproduce the observations, but the scheme proposed by Li has the smallest bias. The reason is that Li’s scheme is more accurate under the unstable condition, and the surface layer at Shiquanhe is mostly unstable. Further, the four non-iterative schemes show an advantage in terms of their computational efficiency compared to the iterative scheme adopted by the Noah LSM

The bZIP Transcription Factor Family Orchestrates the Molecular Response to Nitrite Stress in the Largemouth Bass Spleen

Nitrite toxicity poses a significant threat to aquatic organisms, including largemouth bass (LMB) and Micropterus salmoides. This study aimed to elucidate the role of bZIP transcription factors in mediating the molecular responses to nitrite stress in the LMB spleen. We identified 120 bZIP genes in the LMB genome using bioinformatics analysis and divided them into 11 subgroups based on phylogenetic relationships. Under nitrite stress, the bZIP_XI subgroup was upregulated, suggesting the activation of the stress response in the LMB spleen. Cellular pathway analysis revealed enrichment of pathways related to stress response, DNA repair, apoptosis, and autophagy. Co-expression network analysis highlighted bZIP_XI members such as msabZIP_49, msabZIP_12, msabZIP_39, and msabZIP_116 as potential key regulators. These transcription factors likely modulated the expression of stress-related genes like VCAM1, POLE3, and BMP1. Conserved binding motifs in the promoters of these genes may support regulation by bZIP_XI. Furthermore, bZIP_XI members correlated with immune cell infiltration in the spleen, potentially regulating immune-related genes like BCL2L1 and SELE. Homologs of bZIP_XI in other fish species exhibited similar expression patterns under stress. Overall, this study implicates the bZIP transcription factor family, notably the bZIP_XI subgroup, in orchestrating the molecular response of the LMB spleen to nitrite toxicity by regulating stress response pathways and immune function. These findings provide insights into nitrite stress adaptation in fish

Transcriptional Activator GmrA, Encoded in Genomic Island OI-29, Controls the Motility of Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli O157:H7

Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli O157:H7 is a major human enteric pathogen capable of causing large outbreaks of severe infections that induce bloody diarrhea, hemorrhagic colitis, and hemolytic uremic syndrome. Its genome contains 177 unique O islands (OIs) including those carrying the main virulence elements, Shiga toxin-converting phages (OI-45 and OI-93) and locus for enterocyte effacement (OI-148). However, many of these islands harbor only genes of unknown function. Here, we demonstrate that OI-29 encodes a newly discovered transcriptional activator, Z0639 (named GmrA), that is required for motility and flagellar synthesis in O157:H7. GmrA directly binds to the promoter of fliA, an RNA polymerase sigma factor, and thereby regulates flagellar genes controlled by FliA. Expression of gmrA is maximal under host conditions (37°C, neutral pH, and physiological osmolarity), and in the presence of host epithelial cells, indicative of a role of this gene in infection by promoting motility. Finally, GmrA was found to be a widespread regulator of bacterial motility and flagellar synthesis in different pathotypes of E. coli. Our work largely enriches our understanding of bacterial motility control, and provides another example of regulators acquired laterally that mediate flagellar synthesis