Establishment of gender- and age-specific reference intervals for serum liver function tests among the elderly population in northeast China: a retrospective study

Reference intervals (RIs) for younger population may not apply to the elderly population. The aim of this study was to establish gender- and age-specific RIs for serum liver function tests among the elderly population and to compare with younger population RIs currently used in China and other countries. This was a retrospective study, and subjects (≥ 18 year-old) were recruited from the laboratory information system (LIS) at the First Hospital of Jilin University between April 2020 and April 2021. The following parameters were collected: aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), gamma-glutamyltransferase (GGT), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), total protein (TP), albumin (ALB), total bilirubin (TBIL), and direct bilirubin (DBIL). The Tukey method was used to eliminate outliers. Reference intervals were established by the nonparametric method. A total of 23,597 healthy individuals were enrolled in the study. From all parameters AST, ALT, TP and ALB required no gender partition, while ALT, GGT, TP, ALB and DBIL required different partitions for age. Activities and concentrations of ALT, ALB, and TP showed a downward trend in the elderly aged 60-89. In contrast, DBIL showed a gradual upward trend. The RIs for liver function tests among healthy elderly population were different from those among young population in China. There were apparent gender and age differences in the RIs of liver function for elderly and significant differences compared with national standards and RIs in other countries. Therefore, it is necessary to establish gender- and age-specific RIs for serum liver function tests among the elderly population

Erosion-reducing potential of Salix psammophila roots in the water–wind crisscrossed erosion region of the Chinese Loess Plateau: A simulated investigation

Laboratory-simulated experiments under a one-way wind erosion–rain erosion sequence were conducted to investigate the effect of S. psammophila roots on wind and water erosion processes and quantify its erosion-reducing potential. With the collected soil of sandy loam and planted shrub of S. psammophila, 16 soil boxes including bare and root-permeated soils were arranged in March 2017 and conducted in August 2017. With the wind speeds of 11 and 14 m s−1 and rainfall intensities of 60 and 100 mm h−1, two levels of interaction (11 m s−1 × 60 mm h−1 and 14 m s−1 × 100 mm h−1) were designed. The particle-size composition and sediment transport flux were examined in the former wind tunnel experiments, and the runoff hydrodynamic parameters and runoff and water erosion rates were determined in the following rainfall tests. The sediment reduction effect by roots (%) was used to quantify the erosion-reducing potential of roots. The results demonstrated that in the former wind tunnel experiments, compared with the bare soils, the root-permeated soils showed a slight coarsening of surface soil and had 18.03% and 35.71% less sediment transport flux at wind speeds of 11 and 14 m s−1, respectively. In the following rainfall tests, S. psammophila roots weakened the hydrodynamic intensity of overland flow and decreased runoff and water erosion rates by 13.34%, 30.70% and 4.44%, 43.72% at rainfall intensities of 60 and 100 mm h−1, respectively. Different from the water erosion process of bare soils, which showed an increased fluctuated trend, the root-permeated soils presented a steady increase in the early stage of rainfall and then a decrease-stable trend at the mid and end of rainfall. In the wind tunnel–rainfall experiments, the sediment reduction effect by Salix psammophila roots showed 24.37% and 39.72% at levels of 11 m s−1 × 60 mm h−1 and 14 m s−1 × 100 mm h−1, respectively. This kind of study may provide more insights into understanding ecological impacts of sandy vegetation construction on the water–wind crisscrossed erosion region of the Chinese Loess Plateau and also sandy land

What Influences Health Professionals' Recommendations for Non-Scheduled Childhood Vaccinations? A Qualitative Study of Health Professionals' Perspectives in Three Provinces of China.

Recommendations by health professionals are important for vaccines that are not included in national schedules. This study explored health professionals' perspectives on recommending non-scheduled (user-fee) childhood vaccinations in China, identifying key influences on professionals' interactions with caregivers. We conducted individual semi-structured interviews with 20 health professionals from three provinces in China and analyzed data thematically using deductive and inductive coding. Health professionals from all three provinces were uncomfortable about being perceived to encourage parents to accept vaccines that incurred a fee. They provided information about non-scheduled vaccines but emphasized parental autonomy in decision-making. Rural parents were less aware of unscheduled vaccines and health professionals were more likely to encourage parents living in more affluent areas to consider these vaccines; varicella vaccine was preferred by parents as a way of preventing school absence. Economic incentives for unscheduled vaccines were given to staff at most study sites, although the amount given varied widely. These variations meant that staff receiving lower incentives were not motivated to promote non-scheduled vaccines if their workload was high; on the contrary, those receiving higher incentives were more likely to promote these vaccines. Health professionals need more guidance on how to recommend unscheduled vaccines in an informative, positive and appropriate manner. It is evident that parents' awareness of these vaccines, and their economic circumstances, influence vaccinators recommendation practice. Economic incentives prompted health professionals to recommend non-scheduled vaccines; however, the application of such staff incentives varied widely in China. To adopt appropriate economic incentives, professional organizations should develop protocols for the use of incentives that account for their influence on recommendation practices. Suitable recommendation policy needs to balance basic salaries with performance-based incentives, consider overall workload, and include monitoring and evaluation of economic incentives

Health System Barriers and Facilitators to Delivering Additional Vaccines through the National Immunisation Programme in China: A Qualitative Study of Provider and Service-User Perspectives.

In China, there are two categories of vaccines available from the Chinese Center for Disease Control and associated public health agencies. Extended Program of Immunization (EPI) vaccines are government-funded and non-EPI vaccines are voluntary and paid for out-of-pocket. The government plans to transition some non-EPI vaccines to EPI in the coming years, which may burden public health system capacity, particularly in terms of budget, workforce, supply chains, and information systems. Our study explored vaccinator and caregiver perspectives on introducing non-EPI vaccines into routine immunization and perceived facilitators and barriers affecting this transition. We conducted a qualitative study from a realist perspective, analysing semi-structured interviews with 26 vaccination providers and 160 caregivers in three provinces, selected to represent regional socioeconomic disparities across Eastern, Central, and Western China. Data were analysed thematically, using deductive and inductive coding. Most participants were positive about adding vaccines to the national schedule. Candidate EPI vaccines most frequently recommended by participants were varicella, mumps vaccine, and hand-foot-mouth disease. Providers generally considered existing workspaces, cold-chain equipment, and funding sufficient, but described frontline staffing and vaccine information systems as requiring improvement. This is the first qualitative study to explore interest, barriers, and facilitators related to adding vaccines to China's national schedule from provider and caregiver perspectives. Findings can inform government efforts to introduce additional vaccines, by including efforts to retain and recruit vaccine programme staff and implement whole-process data management and health information systems that allow unified nationwide data collection and sharing

Effect of Azo Dye Layer on Rewriting Speed of Optical Rewritable E-paper

A new method to increatse the operation speed for optical rewritable (ORW) liquid crystal alignment technology has been proposed. Conventionally, we prepared the azo dye layer by spin-coating solution of SD1 with different concentrations. The new method is to form a super thin azo-dye molecular alignment layer for LC display cell without spin-coating and rubbing processes. Compared to the conventional one, the new method provides much smaller azimuthal anchoring energy, and increases the rewriting speed a lot. Providing the advantages of conventional photoalignment methods, the use of super thin layer can obviously improve the operation speed of ORW technology for e-paper application. Copyright © 2012 Taylor and Francis Group, LLC

Flexible Optically Rewritable Electronic Paper

In this article, we present the procedure of preparation of flexible electronic paper with a photosensitive azo dye layer as the key element for changing the orientation of the polarization plane. The main steps of the technology for the fabrication of flexible e-paper are reported. The possible production of Digital Mirror Devices and the roll-to-roll process is discussed. Images on flexible e-paper are demonstrated, including bank card options. The advantages of optically rewritable e-paper technology in comparison with the e-ink usually used for this purpose are highlighted. Potential applications of flexible optically rewritable e-paper include price tags for supermarkets, indoor and outdoor advertisements, smart card labels, etc

Photosensitive Alignment: Advanced Electronic Paper-Based Devices

In this review we describe the reversible photoalignment effect imposed on the director in nematic liquid crystals that provides an approach for fabrication of advanced optically addressed devices. Several new concepts have been developed to render photosensitive materials during the past decade. Functional soft azo dye compounds exhibiting distinct functionalities in response to polarized light are highly desirable for fabrication of optically rewritable electronic paper. An optically rewritable element base using simple and inexpensive materials can potentially enable the development of novel environmentally friendly, paper-like gadgets with improved functionality over regular electronic paper. We argue that an optically rewritable technique is relevant for some applications, where conventional paper might be irrelevant. In particular, we have tested and discussed several techniques of color and 3D image formation. This strategy for fabrication of novel devices offers versatile methods for visualization. We also show that the intensity modulation of the irradiation light has a potential to generate improved grayscale visualization. This principle is based on the statistical distribution control of photosensitive azo dye molecules, driven by the incident polarized light. Additionally, we discuss the functional characteristics of the developed prototypes

Photosensitive Alignment: Advanced Electronic Paper-Based Devices

In this review we describe the reversible photoalignment effect imposed on the director in nematic liquid crystals that provides an approach for fabrication of advanced optically addressed devices. Several new concepts have been developed to render photosensitive materials during the past decade. Functional soft azo dye compounds exhibiting distinct functionalities in response to polarized light are highly desirable for fabrication of optically rewritable electronic paper. An optically rewritable element base using simple and inexpensive materials can potentially enable the development of novel environmentally friendly, paper-like gadgets with improved functionality over regular electronic paper. We argue that an optically rewritable technique is relevant for some applications, where conventional paper might be irrelevant. In particular, we have tested and discussed several techniques of color and 3D image formation. This strategy for fabrication of novel devices offers versatile methods for visualization. We also show that the intensity modulation of the irradiation light has a potential to generate improved grayscale visualization. This principle is based on the statistical distribution control of photosensitive azo dye molecules, driven by the incident polarized light. Additionally, we discuss the functional characteristics of the developed prototypes

A Mesoporous Silica Nanoparticle-Doped Photo-Alignment Layer and Liquid Crystal Layer for Optimizing the Rewriting Speed and the Response Time of Optically Driving Liquid Crystal Displays

Optically driving liquid crystal displays (ODLCDs) are widely applied in display and optical devices due to their long axis of liquid crystal (LC) molecules that can be tuned by a photo-alignment layer under exposure polarized light. However, their use remains challenging due to their long rewriting time and response time. In this work, the rewriting time and the response time of an ODLCD depending on mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNs) doped in azo-dye (SD1) and LC 5CB were studied. Among the different concentration ratios of SD1-MSNs (1-0 to 1-0.1), a ratio of 1-0.07 was optimal, decreasing the rewriting time by 40 s (from 69.1 to 29.6 s). Meanwhile, the response time was improved 10 times with MSNs doped into 5CB

A Mesoporous Silica Nanoparticle-Doped Photo-Alignment Layer and Liquid Crystal Layer for Optimizing the Rewriting Speed and the Response Time of Optically Driving Liquid Crystal Displays

Optically driving liquid crystal displays (ODLCDs) are widely applied in display and optical devices due to their long axis of liquid crystal (LC) molecules that can be tuned by a photo-alignment layer under exposure polarized light. However, their use remains challenging due to their long rewriting time and response time. In this work, the rewriting time and the response time of an ODLCD depending on mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNs) doped in azo-dye (SD1) and LC 5CB were studied. Among the different concentration ratios of SD1-MSNs (1-0 to 1-0.1), a ratio of 1-0.07 was optimal, decreasing the rewriting time by 40 s (from 69.1 to 29.6 s). Meanwhile, the response time was improved 10 times with MSNs doped into 5CB