Report drawn up on behalf of the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs on the possible loan from the OPEC countries to the Federal Republic of Germany and to France. EP Working Documents 1982-83, Document 1-284/82, 4 June 1982

Abstract Background Hand, foot, and mouth disease (HFMD) has become an emerging infectious disease in China in the last decade. There has been evidence that meteorological factors can influence the HFMD incidence, and understanding the mechanisms can help prevent and control HFMD. Methods HFMD incidence data and meteorological data in Minhang District, Shanghai were obtained for the period between 2009 and 2015. Distributed lag non-linear models (DLNMs) were utilized to investigate the impact of meteorological factors on HFMD incidence after adjusting for potential confounders of long time trend, weekdays and holidays. Results There was a non-linear relationship between temperature and HFMD incidence, the RR of 5th percentile compared to the median is 0.836 (95% CI: 0.671–1.042) and the RR of 95th percentile is 2.225 (95% CI: 1.774–2.792), and the effect of temperature varied across age groups. HFMD incidence increased with increasing average relative humidity (%) (RR = 1.009, 95% CI: 1.005–1.015) and wind speed (m/s) (RR = 1.197, 95% CI: 1.118–1.282), and with decreasing daily rainfall (mm) (RR = 0.992, 95% CI: 0.987–0.997) and sunshine hours (h) (RR = 0.966, 95% CI: 0.951–0.980). Conclusions There were significant relationships between meteorological factors and childhood HFMD incidence in Minhang District, Shanghai. This information can help local health agencies develop strategies for the control and prevention of HFMD under specific climatic conditions

Novel Magnetic-Sensing Modalities with Nitrogen-Vacancy Centers in Diamond

In modern-day quantum metrology, quantum sensors are widely employed to detect weak magnetic fields or nanoscale signals. Quantum devices, exploiting quantum coherence, are inevitably connected to physical constants and can achieve accuracy, repeatability, and precision approaching fundamental limits. As a result, these sensors have shown utility in a wide range of research domains spanning both science and technology. A rapidly emerging quantum sensing platform employs atomic-scale defects in crystals. In particular, magnetometry using nitrogen-vacancy (NV) color centers in diamond has garnered increasing interest. NV systems possess a combination of remarkable properties, optical addressability, long coherence times, and biocompatibility. Sensors based on NV centers excel in spatial resolution and magnetic sensitivity. These diamond-based sensors promise comparable combination of high spatial resolution and magnetic sensitivity without cryogenic operation. The above properties of NV magnetometers promise increasingly integrated quantum measurement technology, as a result, they have been extensively developed with various protocols and find use in numerous applications spanning materials characterization, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), condensed matter physics, paleomagnetism, neuroscience and living systems biology, and industrial vector magnetometry. In this chapter, NV centers are explored for magnetic sensing in a number of contexts. In general, we introduce novel regimes for magnetic-field probes with NV ensembles. Specifically, NV centers are developed for sensitive magnetometers for applications where microwaves (MWs) are prohibitively invasive and operations need to be carried out under zero ambient magnetic field. The primary goal of our discussion is to improve the utility of these NV center-based magnetometers

Future and potential spending on health 2015-40 : development assistance for health, and government, prepaid private, and out-of-pocket health spending in 184 countries

Background The amount of resources, particularly prepaid resources, available for health can affect access to health care and health outcomes. Although health spending tends to increase with economic development, tremendous variation exists among health financing systems. Estimates of future spending can be beneficial for policy makers and planners, and can identify financing gaps. In this study, we estimate future gross domestic product (GDP), all-sector government spending, and health spending disaggregated by source, and we compare expected future spending to potential future spending. Methods We extracted GDP, government spending in 184 countries from 1980-2015, and health spend data from 1995-2014. We used a series of ensemble models to estimate future GDP, all-sector government spending, development assistance for health, and government, out-of-pocket, and prepaid private health spending through 2040. We used frontier analyses to identify patterns exhibited by the countries that dedicate the most funding to health, and used these frontiers to estimate potential health spending for each low-income or middle-income country. All estimates are inflation and purchasing power adjusted. Findings We estimated that global spending on health will increase from US$9.21 trillion in 2014 to$24.24 trillion (uncertainty interval [UI] 20.47-29.72) in 2040. We expect per capita health spending to increase fastest in upper-middle-income countries, at 5.3% (UI 4.1-6.8) per year. This growth is driven by continued growth in GDP, government spending, and government health spending. Lower-middle income countries are expected to grow at 4.2% (3.8-4.9). High-income countries are expected to grow at 2.1% (UI 1.8-2.4) and low-income countries are expected to grow at 1.8% (1.0-2.8). Despite this growth, health spending per capita in low-income countries is expected to remain low, at $154 (UI 133-181) per capita in 2030 and$195 (157-258) per capita in 2040. Increases in national health spending to reach the level of the countries who spend the most on health, relative to their level of economic development, would mean $321 (157-258) per capita was available for health in 2040 in low-income countries. Interpretation Health spending is associated with economic development but past trends and relationships suggest that spending will remain variable, and low in some low-resource settings. Policy change could lead to increased health spending, although for the poorest countries external support might remain essential.Peer reviewe

Association between type 2 diabetes and 5-year overall survival in early-stage pancreatic cancer: a retrospective cohort study

Background This study examined the association between type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and 5-year overall survival (OS) in patients with pancreatic cancer (PC). Methods This retrospective cohort study included patients diagnosed with stage I/II PC at Shengjing Hospital of China Medical University from January 2012 to December 2017. All patients had pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma or its subtypes. The outcome was the 5-year OS rate based on data from the patient charts. Data analysis was performed using SPSS 22.0 Results A total of 238 patients were included: 72 with T2DM and 166 without T2DM. There were significant differences in blood glucose levels and OS between the two groups (all P < 0.05). The median OS was 11.4 (95% confidence interval CI [8.49–14.31]) months in the T2DM group and 16.3 (95% CI [12.44–20.16], P = 0.023) months in the non-T2DM group. After adjustment for confounders, T2DM was an independent factor affecting 5-year OS (P = 0.010). Compared with non-T2DM patients, T2DM patients had a higher risk of death (HR = 1.475, 95% CI [1.096–1.985]). Conclusions T2DM is associated with 5-year OS in patients with PC

The risk factors for urinary incontinence in female adults with chronic cough

Abstract Background Female patients with chronic cough are more likely to suffer from urinary incontinence (UI). However, there are few data in regard of risks related with UI in female adults with chronic cough. Method We recruited female adult patients with chronic cough from the cough specialist clinic. Demographic information and clinical characteristics including age, BMI, duration of cough, severity of cough, nature and timing of cough, cough triggers, concomitant symptoms, comorbidities and UI condition were collected. The demographics and clinical features of patients with UI and those without UI were compared. Result A total of 700 female patients with the main symptom of chronic cough were included, of whom 351 (50.1%) presented with UI. As compared with patients without UI, patients with UI showed a longer mean age (years) (49.5 vs. 42.4, p < 0.001), a more severe cough symptom (median of cough Visual Analogue Scale: 65 vs. 50, p < 0.001), a higher prevalence of chronic sinusitis (17.6% vs. 8.6%, p = 0.002), and combined with a higher incidence of abdominal muscle pain due to cough (39.6% vs. 18.7%, p < 0.001).In addition, patients in UI group whose cough were more easily triggered by exercise (28.2% vs. 17.2%, p = 0.048). Multivariate logistic regression analysis indicated the above five variables were risk factors for UI in female adult patients with chronic cough. Conclusion Urinary incontinence is a common complication in female patients with chronic cough. Older age, severe cough, combing with a higher proportion of chronic sinusitis and abdominal muscle pain, a cough easily triggered by exercise are identified as risk factors for urinary incontinence. We should pay more attention to female chronic coughers with these risk factors in clinics

Community Structures and Antifungal Activity of Root-Associated Endophytic Actinobacteria in Healthy and Diseased Cucumber Plants and Streptomyces sp. HAAG3-15 as a Promising Biocontrol Agent

Microorganisms related to plant roots are vital for plant growth and health and considered to be the second genome of the plant. When the plant is attacked by plant pathogens, the diversity and community structure of plant-associated microbes might be changed. The goal of this study is to characterize differences in root-associated endophytic actinobacterial community composition and antifungal activity between Fusarium wilt diseased and healthy cucumber and screen actinobacteria for potential biological control of Fusarium wilt of cucumber. In the present research, three healthy plants (also termed &ldquo;islands&rdquo;) and three obviously diseased plants (naturally infected by F. oxysporum f. sp. cucumerinum) nearby the islands collected from the cucumber continuous cropping greenhouse were chosen as samples. Results of culture-independent and culture-dependent analysis demonstrated that actinomycetes in the healthy roots were significantly more abundant than those of diseased roots. Moreover, there were seven strains with antifungal activity against F. oxysporum f. sp. cucumerinum in healthy cucumber roots, but only one strain in diseased cucumber roots. Out of these eight strains, the isolate HAAG3-15 was found to be best as it had the strongest antifungal activity against F. oxysporum f. sp. cucumerinum, and also exhibited broad-spectrum antifungal activity. Thus, strain HAAG3-15 was selected for studying its biocontrol efficacy under greenhouse conditions. The results suggested that the disease incidence and disease severity indices of cucumber Fusarium wilt greatly decreased (p &lt; 0.05) while the height and shoot fresh weight of cucumber significantly increased (p &lt; 0.05) after inoculating strain HAAG3-15. On the basis of morphological characteristics, physiological and biochemical properties and 100% 16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) gene sequence similarity with Streptomyces sporoclivatus NBRC 100767T, the isolate was assigned to the genus Streptomyces. Moreover, azalomycin B was isolated and identified as the bioactive compound of strain HAAG3-15 based on analysis of spectra using a bioactivity-guided method. The stronger antifungal activity against F. oxysporum f. sp. cucumerinum, the obvious effect on disease prevention and growth promotion on cucumber seedlings in the greenhouse assay, and the excellent broad-spectrum antifungal activities suggest that strain HAAG3-15 could be developed as a potential biocontrol agent against F. oxysporum f. sp. cucumerinum used in organic agriculture. These results suggested that the healthy root nearby the infected plant is a good source for isolating biocontrol and plant growth-promoting endophytes

A1180V of Cardiac Sodium Channel Gene (SCN5A): Is It a Risk Factor for Dilated Cardiomyopathy or Just a Common Variant in Han Chinese?

Our previous study of a Chinese family with dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) suggested that A1180V of the cardiac sodium channel gene (SCN5A) was associated with the disease within this family. According to data deposited in dbSNP, however, A1180V has been found in some small samples of the Asian population. In this study, we followed up the affected pedigree and expanded the investigation of the prevalence of A1180V in 460 unrelated healthy Han Chinese. Besides, we searched and analyzed it in other database as well. During the follow-up period, 1 A1180V carrier’s condition deteriorated alot, and another 4 carriers progressed to DCM or atrioventricular block (AVB). We also found that the A1180V was absent among the 460 individuals (0%, 0/460), and the carrier frequency of A1180V among Chinese was about 0.51% obtained from the 1000 genome project. In conclusion, our finding suggests that A1180V is a potential risk factor for DCM, and it is extremely rare among Healthy Han Chinese

Factors That Impact Acceptance of COVID-19 Vaccination in Different Community-Dwelling Populations in China

(1) Background: It is important to improve vaccination strategies and immunization programs to achieve herd immunity to infectious diseases. (2) Methods: To assess the acceptance of COVID-19 vaccination, we conducted face-to-face surveys and online surveys in Shanghai, Zhejiang, and Qinghai provinces. A fixed-effect model and a random effects model were used to analyze factors associated with the acceptance of COVID-19 vaccination. (3) Findings: We initially recruited 3173 participants, 3172 participants completed the full questionnaire (the response rate was nearly 100%), of which 2169 were valid questionnaires, with an effective rate of 87.3%. The results indicated that 82.6% of participants were willing to receive vaccination when it was available in the community, and 57.2% of deliverymen, 43.3% of medical workers, 78.2% of parents of primary and secondary school children, and 72.2% of parents of preschool children were willing to receive vaccination. The models showed that participants who were male (female vs. male: OR = 1.49, 95% CI (1.12, 1.98)), 60 to 69 years-old (60&ndash;69 vs. &lt;30: OR = 0.52, 95% CI (0.29, 0.92)), had less education (medium vs. low: OR = 1.50, 95% CI (1.05, 2.23)), had good health status (good vs. low: OR = 0.36, 95% CI (0.15, 0.88)), and had positive attitudes and trust (OR = 0.14, 95% CI (0.10, 0.20)) in vaccines approved by the National Health Commission were more likely to accept vaccination. Participants also had an increased vaccination acceptance if it was recommended by government sources, doctors, relatives, or friends. Most participants learned about COVID-19 vaccination from television, radio, and newspapers, followed by community or hospital campaigns and the internet. (4) Conclusions: Government sources and doctors could increase the acceptance of vaccination by promoting the efficacy and safety of COVID-19 vaccination by the use of mass media and emphasizing the necessity of vaccination for everyone