Last Decade In China Research Articles

Advances in the study of clinical electroneurophysiology during the last decade in China: electromyogram and cerebral evoked potentials

Advances in the study of clinical electroneurophysiology during the last decade in China: electromyogram and cerebral evoked potentials

Diabetes, pre‐diabetes and associated risks on Minnesota code‐indicated major electrocardiogram abnormality among Chinese: a cross‐sectional diabetic study in Fujian province, southeast China

The goal of this study was to determine the prevalence of diabetes mellitus (DM), impaired glucose regulation (IGR) and related metabolic disorders (overweight, obesity and hypertension) in a Chinese population (20-74 years old). An additional goal was to investigate the relationship between glucose metabolism and the Minnesota code-indicated major abnormal electrocardiogram (MA-ECG). There were 3960 individuals selected from urban and rural areas of Fujian, China from July 2007 to May 2008 by multistage-stratified sampling. Ultimately, data from 3208 subjects (20-74 years old) were analysed (including physical measurements, blood biochemical analysis, oral glucose tolerance test and 12-lead resting ECG). According to World Health Organization diagnostic criteria, the prevalence rates of DM and IGR were 9.51% (male, 10.08%; female, 9.14%) and 14.40% (male, 14.48%; female, 14.35%) respectively. Newly diagnosed DM was found in 53.44% of the diabetic subjects. Based on the 2000 China census, the age-standardized prevalence rates of DM and IGR were 7.19% (male, 7.74%; female, 6.61%) and 11.96 % (male, 12.35%; female, 11.56%) respectively. The age-standardized prevalence rates of DM and IGR in urban areas (7.74% and 12.97% respectively) were slightly but no significantly higher than in rural areas (6.67%, 10.86%). The prevalence rates of overweight, obesity and hypertension were 25.50%, 3.52% and 28.52% respectively (age- and sex- standardized rates: 23.69%, 3.02 % and 22.45 %). After adjusting for other confounding risk factors, multiple logistic regression analysis showed that DM and impaired glucose tolerance were independent risk factors for MA-ECG. Non-diabetic subjects with increased 30-min plasma glucose (PG) after an oral glucose load had a higher risk of MA-ECG after adjusting for other risk factors, especially in those with normal glucose tolerance but with 30-min PG >or= 7.8 mmol L(-1) (odds ratio = 1.371 [1.055-1.780]). The prevalence rates of DM and IGR as well as other metabolic disorders have increased dramatically in the last decade in China, especially in rural areas, with many undiagnosed cases of DM. Even slightly elevated PG levels may predict early cardiovascular events.

Advances in weather modification from 1997 to 2007 in China

Rapid and significant advances in issues relevant to weather modification have been made in the last decade in China due to high water resource stresses and severe weather hazards induced by climate change. This paper reported some progress in aspects of theoretical modeling, field experiment and cloud-seeding tools, as well as research projects regarding weather modification during the ten years from 1997 to 2007.

ChiWI—a road weather index for China

AbstractApplication of Road Weather Information System (RWIS) for China is starting in an international perspective. However, the strong economic development during the last decades in China has caused a dramatic increase in the number of motorized vehicles, which calls for a quick development of RWIS and its application/services to safeguard the rapid development and to improve the safety of transportation. This study focuses on application of a winter index in China to quantify the need of a RWIS in different parts of China. The index is based on a concept related to various relevant weather parameters including ice, fog, snow, and wind. Its use is flexible in the sense that different types of inputs are possible, which is illustrated by a general view of the situation in China using climatological data and a case study using detailed meteorological data in Northern China. The results reveal that there are varying needs for RWIS in large parts of China. Regions with a great need for RWIS lie in the humid middle and northeastern parts of China. Some regions, however, may have a limited need for fully equipped RWIS stations. Such areas are the unpopulated areas in northwest or the dry regions in north. The results indicate that the introduced method provides useful information for China, both in the general view and in the case study. Copyright © 2009 Royal Meteorological Society

China's airline deregulation since 1997 and the driving forces behind the 2002 airline consolidations

This paper describes events in the last decade in China's airline markets and clarifies some misunderstandings in regard to the 2002 airline consolidations that brought sweeping changes to that country's aviation markets. Some possible reasons for the 2002 consolidations are inferred through analysing the data and facts of the late 1990s and early 2000s. We conclude that the consolidations may be a natural response to the changes that accompanied airline deregulation in China.

Incidence and mortality of gastric cancer in China

Gastric cancer is one of the most frequent cancers in the world; almost two-thirds of gastric cancer cases and deaths occur in less developed regions. In China, based on two national mortality surveys conducted in 1970s and 1990s, there is an obvious clustering of geographical distribution of gastric cancer in the country, with the high mortality being mostly located in rural areas, especially in Gansu, Henan, Hebei, Shanxi and Shaanxi Provinces in the middle-western part of China. Despite a slight increase from the 1970s to early 1990s, remarkable declines in gastric cancer mortality were noticed in almost the entire population during the last decade in China. These declines were largely due to the dramatic improvements in the social-economic environment, lifestyle, nutrition, education and health care system after economic reforms started two decades ago. Nevertheless, gastric cancer will remain a significant cancer burden currently and be one of the key issues in cancer prevention and control strategy in China. It was predicted that, in 2005, 0.3 million deaths and 0.4 million new cases from gastric cancer would rank the third most common cancer. The essential package of the prevention and control strategy for gastric cancer in China would focus on controlling Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection, improving educational levels, advocating healthy diet and anti-tobacco campaign, searching for cost-effective early detection, diagnosis and treatment programs including approaches for curable management and palliative care.

Urban land expansion and arable land loss in China—a case study of Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei region

With significant economic development in the last decade in China, urban land has increasingly expanded and encroached upon arable land in the last decade. Although many papers have analyzed the characteristics of urban land expansion, relatively less attention has been paid to examining the different expansion features of different-tier cities at a regional level. This paper analyzes the spatio-temporal differences of urban land expansion and arable land loss among different-tier cities of the BTH (Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei) region in China in the 1990s, and identifies social, economic, political and spatial factors that led to these differences. Based on urban land change data determined by interpreting Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) imagery, it was found that the urban land area in the BTH region expanded by 71% between 1990 and 2000. Different-tier cites, however, had enormous differences in urban development, such as speed of urban land expansion, speed of urban land per capita growth, and so on. These differences were closely related to rapid economic development, strict household registration systems, urban development guidelines ( chengshi fazhan fangzhen), and national land use policies. Of all the new urban land, about 74% was converted from arable land, and there was a general tendency for smaller cities to have higher percentages. One of the important reasons for this result is that urban land is highly correlated with arable land in spatial distribution.

SHEEP MANURE IMPROVES THE NUTRIENT RETENTION CAPACITY OF APPLE ORCHARD SOILS

INTRODUCTION The tree fruit industry has been rapidly developed in the last decade in China. Most of the new orchards were established in mountainous areas, and the orchard soils are usually shallow, sandy and infertile. The soil nutrient and water supply, in most case, cannot satisfy the demand of trees, and therefore tree growth and development is hindered (Shu 1998). Coarse soil structure also results in serious leaching loss of applied chemical fertilizers and irrigation water, which not only increases the production cost, but also causes environmental problems. Improving soil fertility including soil nutrient retention capacity are challenges for the orchard management. It has been found that application of organic amendments can improve physical and chemical properties of soil and increase soil nutrient and water-holding ability and crop production (Martens and Frankenberger 1992, Turner et al 1994, Dong et al 1997, Zebarth et al 1999, Moskal et al 2001, Whalen et al 2002, Yamada 2002). Soil organic amendments reduced soil bulk density, promoted the formation of organic-inorganic colloid, stabilized soil aggregates and increased bioactivity. There are various soil organic amendments available for the local growers such as animal manures, municipal biosolids, crop straws and industrial wastes. The objective of this study was to determine effects of sheep manure on soil fertility with an emphasis on soil nutrient retention capacity.

Phylogenetic comparison of classical swine fever virus in China

An N-terminal fragment of the E2 gene of classical swine fever (CSF) virus encoding major immunogenic sites was amplified by RT-PCR directly from 110 clinical specimens representing 109 epizootic sites during the last decade in China. Phylogenetic relationships between these viruses as well as 20 reference strains were determined by comparison of their nucleotide sequences. A phylogenetic tree showed that 103 of the 110 field viruses (93.6%) were clustered within group 2 and subdivided into three subgroups, while the remaining seven viruses (6.4%), along with two Chinese reference strains, Shimen and HCLV (attenuated vaccine strain), were clustered into subgroup 1.1 within group 1. However, none of the Chinese CSF viruses were members of subgroup 1.2 (represented by reference strain Brescia). This is the first report on the distribution of CSF virus genotypes in China. Results indicated that CSF viruses predominating in recent epizootics within China are genetically divergent from the reference strain Shimen and the vaccine strain HCLV.

ADVANCES IN A. C. OSCILLOPOLAROGRAPHY

A. C. oscillopolarography is a simple, rapid, accurate, and economic electroanalytical technique. This paper reports the advancements achieved during the last decade in China according to following five aspects: signal excitation system, signal detection system, complexing adsorptive wave, fundamental theory, and A. C. oscillopolarographic titration. 65 references are involved.

Climate Change in China from 1880 to 1998 and its Impact on the Environmental Condition

The global mean surface air temperature (SAT) or the Northern Hemisphere mean SAT has increased since the late nineteenth century, but the mean precipitation around the world has not formed a definite tendency to increase. A lot of studies showed that different climate and environmental changes during the past 100 years over various regions in the world were experienced. The climate change in China over the past 100 years and its impact on China's environmental conditions needs to be investigated in more detail.Data sets of surface air temperature and atmospheric precipitation over China since 1880 up to the present are now available. In this paper, a drought index has been formulated corresponding to both the temperature and precipitation. Based on three series of temperature, precipitation, and drought index, interdecadal changes in all 7 regions of China and temperature differences among individual regions are analyzed. Some interesting facts are revealed using the wavelet transform method. In Northeast China, the aridification trend has become more serious since 1970s. Drought index in North China has also reached a high value during 1990s, which seems similar to that period 1920s–1940s. In NorthwestChina, the highest temperature appeared over the period 1930s–1940s. Along the Yangtze River valley in central eastern China and Southwest China, interdecadal high temperature occurred from 1920s to 1940s and in 1990s, but the drought climate mainly appeared from 1920s to early 1940s. In South China, temperature remained at a high value over the period 1910s–1940s,but the smaller-scale variation of drought index was remarkable from 1880 to 1998. Consequently, the quasi-20-year oscillation (smaller-scale variation) and the quasi-70-year oscillation (secular variation) obviously exist in temperature and precipitation series in different regions over China.Climate change and intensified human activity in China have induced certain environmental evolutions, such as the frequency change of dust-storm event in northern China, no-flow in the lower reaches of the Yellow River and the runoff variation in Northwest China. On the other hand, frequent floods along the Yangtze River and high frequency of drought disaster have resulted in tremendous economic losses in the last decade in China. The primary reason for these happenings may be attributed to the evolution of the monsoon system in East Asian.

Clinical psychopharmacology in China: the last decade.

Clinical psychopharmacological research has focused on several aspects in the last decade in China. First, attention was paid to new drug trials, mainly on newly developed or imported antidepressants or antipsychotics. More and more newly developed antidepressants like SSRI, fluoxetine, paroxetine, sertraline, and citalopram are now available or under clinical observation. Second, studies on the relationship between blood level and clinical response of antidepressants, amitriptyline, or antipsychotics, haloperidol and clozapine were undertaken. Results on amitriptyline showed that the clinical antidepressive effect of the drug was correlated linearly to the parent compound, amitriptyline, and curvilinearly to the hydroxylated metabolite, 10-hydroxynortryptyline. It was found that the plasma level of haloperidol correlated curvilinearly to the clinical antipsychotic effect on schizophrenics with a therapeutic window ranging between 4.2 and 20 ng/mL. Third, pharmacokinetic studies on antidepressants, amitriptyline, imipramine, and maprotiline were undertaken. The results showed longer clearance rate and/or t(1/2) in Chinese literature than those reported in Western literature.

Practical interference microscopical surface measurements particularly in semiconductor technology and microelectronics : H. Beyer. Jena Review No. 6. 1974. p. 315

Increasing fertilizer phosphorus (P) application in agriculture has greatly contributed to the increase of crop yields during the last decades in China but it has also increased P flows in food production and consumption. The relationship between P use efficiency and P flow is not well quantified at national level. In present paper we report on P flows and P use efficiencies in rice, wheat, and maize production in China using the NUFER model. Conservation strategies for P utilization and the impact of these strategies on P use efficiency have been evaluated. Total amounts of P input to wheat, rice, and maize fields were 1095, 1240, and 1128 Gg, respectively, in China, approximately 80% of which was in chemical fertilizers. The accumulation of P annually in the fields of wheat, rice, and maize was 29.4, 13.6, and 21.3 kg ha−1, respectively. Phosphorus recovered in the food products of wheat, rice, and maize accounted for only 12.5%, 13.5%, and 3.8% of the total P input, or 3.2%, 2.6%, and 0.9% of the applied fertilizer P, respectively. The present study shows that optimizing phosphorus flows and decreasing phosphorus losses in crop production and utilization through improved nutrient management must be considered as an important issue in the development of agriculture in China.

Foreign steam plant uses new principle: Electrical World, October 10, 1936.)

Both the levels and patterns of outdoor and indoor air pollutants have changed dramatically during the last decade in China. However, few studies have evaluated the effects of the present air pollution on the health of Chinese children. This study examines the association between outdoor and indoor air pollution and respiratory diseases among children living in Liaoning, a heavy industrial province of China.A cross-sectional study of 23,326 Chinese children aged 6 to 13 years was conducted in 25 districts of 7 cities in Northeast China during 2009. Three-year (2006–2008) average concentrations of particles with an aerodynamic diameter of ≤ 10 μm (PM10), sulfur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen dioxides (NO2), and ozone (O3) were calculated from monitoring stations in each of the 25 districts. We used two-level logistic regression models to examine the effects of yearly variations in exposure to each pollutant, controlling for important covariates.The prevalence of respiratory symptoms was higher for those dwelling close to a busy road, those living near smokestacks or factories, those living with smokers, those living in one-story houses typically with small yards, and those with home renovation, bedroom carpet or pets. Ventilation device use was associated with decreased odds of asthma in children. The adjusted odds ratio for diagnosed-asthma was 1.34 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.24–1.45) per 31 μg/m3 increase in PM10, 1.23 (95%CI, 1.14–1.32) per 21 μg/m3 increase in SO2, 1.25 (95%CI, 1.16–1.36) per 10 μg/m3 increase in NO2, and 1.31 (95%CI, 1.21–1.41) per 23 μg/m3 increase in O3, respectively.Outdoor and indoor air pollution was associated with an increased likelihood of respiratory morbidity among Chinese children.