Significant Regional Differences Research Articles

Investigating the spatio–temporal characteristics of lower atmospheric ducts across the China seas by performing a long–term simulation using the WRF model

In this work, a diagnostic scheme for lower atmospheric ducts was established based on the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model. More specifically, a 10-year simulation test was conducted for the China seas to investigate the spatio-temporal characteristics of the lower atmospheric ducts phenomenon. Compared with the sounding data, the long-term simulations showed a high temporal correlation and the root mean square error of the modified atmospheric refractivity remained between 4 M and 7 M. Based on the simulations, significant regional differences in the occurrence probability of lower atmospheric ducts were detected from south to north. Among them, the surface ducts near the sea surface exhibited the highest occurrence probability, with higher probabilities being recorded in autumn and winter, and the probability gradually increased with the decreasing latitude. The spatio-temporal characteristics of duct height, thickness, and strength were generally consistent. In the seas at mid-latitudes, strong ducts mostly occurred in the spring and autumn, with the single-layer ducts being predominant and the first layer duct showing stronger characteristics than the second layer. In the lower latitude regions, the situation was exactly the opposite. The first duct layer, which existed throughout the year, exhibited weaker characteristics with less pronounced seasonal variations. On the other hand, the second duct layer demonstrated stronger features.

Study on the allocation efficiency of medical and health resources in Hainan Province: Based on the super-efficiency SBM-Malmquist model.

The equity and efficiency of medical and health resource allocation is the key point of health reform in all countries. Poor allocation efficiency of health resources will seriously affect the sustainable and high-quality development of health causes. Hainan Province is the only free trade port with Chinese characteristics in China, which means that Hainan has ushered in a brand-new development under the policy of free trade port. This study aims to adopt policies to improve the efficiency of medical and health resource allocation in Hainan Province and provide references for other regions. In this study, the Super-efficiency SBM and Malmquist models were used to analyze the static and dynamic efficiency of medical and health resource allocation in Hainan Province during 2016-2020. The results showed that, statically, the average efficiency of comprehensive allocation of health resources in Hainan Province from 2016 to 2020 was 0.975, showing poor overall performance and significant regional differences. Dynamically, the average index of allocation efficiency of medical and health resources was 0.934, showing a negative growth trend. The technical efficiency and scale efficiency of health resource allocation efficiency showed positive growth, while the technical progress and pure technical efficiency showed negative growth. It shows that it is influenced by both scale efficiency and technological progress, among which technological progress is the key factor. Therefore, some policy suggestions are put forward to further optimize the allocation of medical and health resources and improve utilization efficiency.

Evaluation of Low-Carbon Economic Efficiency under Industrial Clustering and Study of Regional Differences, Taking Xinjiang as an Example

As a major resource region, Xinjiang is both China’s energy security base and an important hub connecting Asia and Europe. Following the country’s call for carbon emission reduction, the Xinjiang government proposes to accelerate the construction of eight major industrial clusters in 2023. The concept of sustainable development is also reflected in the industrial clusters in areas such as new energy. In this study, we combined panel data from 14 regions and cities in Xinjiang from 2006 to 2020 and analyzed the synergy between the development of industrial clusters, carbon emissions, and economic growth using a coupling coordination degree model. Subsequently, we used the super-efficiency slack-based measure (SE-SBM) and Dagum’s Gini coefficient to analyze the spatial disequilibrium of efficiency measures and efficiency cases. The results show the following: (1) Overall, the industrial clusters, carbon emissions, and economic growth in the 14 regions and cities of Xinjiang are not well coordinated. The best reported level has been medium coordination, but there exists a certain degree of correlation among the three. (2) Low-carbon economic efficiency under the influence of industrial clusters in the 14 regions and cities shows significant regional differences. The regions and cities with low-carbon economic efficiency greater than 0.8, which is significantly better than the other regions in terms of efficiency, are all located in northern Xinjiang. (3) During the study period, the overall regional difference in low-carbon economic efficiency under industrial clusters in Xinjiang decreased from 0.183 to 0.17. However, the regional differences were still large. The conclusions indicate that policies for industrial clusters in Xinjiang can promote industrial development, and there may be a correlation between them and the low-carbon economy. This will effectively contribute to local sustainable development. However, overall regional differences are significant, and the degree of coordination is low. Therefore, we suggest that the government can share the advantages of development by constructing cross-regional cooperation platforms. At the same time, the Xinjiang government should make full use of the rich local wind and solar energy resources and explore a low-carbon path toward transforming the traditional energy industry. It can also be seen that industrial clusters in Xinjiang can effectively promote local sustainable development.

Spider-Net: High-resolution multi-scale attention network with full-attention decoder for tumor segmentation in kidney, liver and pancreas

The abdominal tumor is a general term for tumors in kidney, liver and pancreas. Accurate segmentation of abdominal tumors is essential for their treatment. However, the varying shapes and sizes of abdominal organs result in significant differences in tumor regions. Existing convolution neural networks (CNNs) can only accurately segment individual abdominal tumors, lacking sufficient generalizability. We aim to design a network that can achieve good segmentation results for different abdominal tumors. To this end, a Spider-net to segment tumors is presented in this paper, which consists of a high-resolution multi-scale attention encoder and a full-attention decoder. Additionally, scale attention that integrates channel attention and spatial attention is designed for generating output. We have also designed a classification branch to distinguish whether the segmented region is a real tumor area or another benign lesion. We train and evaluate the Spider-net on three different organs: the kidney, pancreas, and liver. Spider-net achieves state-of-the-art results compared to methods that only use CNNs or transformers. Code are available at https://github.com/h2440222798/HRMA.

Multilevel Analysis on Spatial Distribution and Socio-Environmental Factors of Dental Caries in Korean Children

This study aims to identify the regional distribution in the prevalence of dental caries and related multidimensional factors among 12-year-old children in Korea. Data from the 2018 Child Oral Health Survey were used to calculate the average DMFT index of 12-year-old children in metropolitan cities, and a multi-level regression model was applied to explain the regional distribution of dental caries prevalence and related factors. Factors were divided into two levels by administrative structure. This study finds a significant regional difference in the prevalence of dental caries in 12-year-old Korean children across metropolitan cities. Multilevel analysis showed that districtlevel factors (average number of pit and fissure-sealed permanent teeth, dental treatment demand rate, preventive treatment rate, sex ratio, and number of dentists per 100,000 people) and metropolitan-level factors (intakes of cariogenic beverages and number of pediatric dental hospitals and clinics per 100,000 people) had a significant effect on dental caries prevalence (<i>p</i> < 0.05). Individual characteristics and local socio-environmental factors influence the prevalence of dental caries. Especially considering the strong dependence on preventive treatment and accessibility to dental care services, it is necessary to provide adequate preventive treatment and expand health care resources in high-risk areas of dental caries.

Multicenter study of seasonal and regional airborne allergens in Chinese preschoolers with allergic rhinitis

This study is nationwide multicenter epidemiological research, aimed at investigating the distribution changes and seasonal patterns of various airborne allergens among preschool children with allergic rhinitis (AR) in different regions of China, and analyzing the clinical correlation between sensitization to various airborne allergens and AR symptoms in children. Information on children was collected through standard questionnaires, and total IgE (tIgE) and specific IgE (sIgE) for 11 inhalant allergens were tested. The results showed that dust mites are the primary allergens for preschool AR children (39%). Among pollen allergens, Amb a had the highest positivity rate (8.1%), followed by Art v (7.8%). The sensitization rates for two mites peaked in May (46.9% and 40.6%). Art v peaked in August (21.5%), while Amb a had peaks in May (12.7%) and August (17.8%). The sensitization peaks for various tree pollens mainly occurred in August. In the Eastern monsoon region, the sensitization rate to mites was significantly higher than in the Northwest arid and semi-arid regions; whereas, for pollen allergens, the sensitization rates to Amb a, Pla a, Pin a, Pop d, and Bet v were significantly higher in the Northwest arid and semi-arid regions than in the Eastern monsoon region. The correlation among various tree pollens, specifically between Pla a, Pin r, Pop d, and Bet v was strong (0.63 ~ 0.79), with a cross-overlapping percentage of 53.9%. Children with multiple pollen sensitizations had higher cumulative nasal symptom scores than those negative for pollen (P < 0.01). Children with only pollen sensitization had higher cumulative rhinitis symptom scores than the all-negative group (P < 0.0001) and the mite-only sensitization group [P < 0.05], while the mite-only sensitization group also had higher scores than the all-negative group [P < 0.05], and the group sensitized to both pollen and mites had lower scores than the pollen-only group [P < 0.05]. This study indicates that sensitization to mites and grass pollens exhibits significant regional differences, with grass pollen allergies primarily occurring in autumn, sensitization to pollens in general exhibits a pronounced seasonal pattern. Moreover, pollen sensitization aggravates nasal and ocular symptoms in AR children.

Climate and disease: tackling coffee brown-eye spot with advanced forecasting models.

Climate influences the interaction between pathogens and their hosts significantly. This is particularly evident in the coffee industry, where fungal diseases like Cercospora coffeicola, causing brown-eye spot, can reduce yields drastically. This study focuses on forecasting coffee brown-eye spot using various models that incorporate agrometeorological data, allowing for predictions at least 1 week prior to the occurrence of disease. Data were gathered from eight locations across São Paulo and Minas Gerais, encompassing the South and Cerrado regions of Minas Gerais state. In the initial phase, various machine learning (ML) models and topologies were calibrated to forecast brown-eye spot, identifying one with potential for advanced decision-making. The top-performing models were then employed in the next stage to forecast and spatially project the severity of brown-eye spot across 2681 key Brazilian coffee-producing municipalities. Meteorological data were sourced from NASA's Prediction of Worldwide Energy Resources platform, and the Penman-Monteith method was used to estimate reference evapotranspiration, leading to a Thornthwaite and Mather water-balance calculation. Six ML models - K-nearest neighbors (KNN), artificial neural network multilayer perceptron (MLP), support vector machine (SVM), random forests (RF), extreme gradient boosting (XGBoost), and gradient boosting regression (GradBOOSTING) - were employed, considering disease latency to time define input variables. These models utilized climatic elements such as average air temperature, relative humidity, leaf wetness duration, rainfall, evapotranspiration, water deficit, and surplus. The XGBoost model proved most effective in high-yielding conditions, demonstrating high precision and accuracy. Conversely, the SVM model excelled in low-yielding scenarios. The incidence of brown-eye spot varied noticeably between high- and low-yield conditions, with significant regional differences observed. The accuracy of predicting brown-eye spot severity in coffee plantations depended on the biennial production cycle. High-yielding trees showed superior results with the XGBoost model (R2 = 0.77, root mean squared error, RMSE = 10.53), whereas the SVM model performed better under low-yielding conditions (precision 0.76, RMSE = 12.82). The study's application of agrometeorological variables and ML models successfully predicted the incidence of brown-eye spot in coffee plantations with a 7 day lead time, illustrating that they were valuable tools for managing this significant agricultural challenge. © 2024 Society of Chemical Industry.

Re-intensification of flash drought in western China over the past decade: Implications of fluctuating wetting trend

Climate changes and human activities have led to a rise of frequency and intensity of the global flash droughts, resulting in severe consequences for ecosystems, agriculture, and human societies. However, research dedicated to flash droughts in the dryland of western China is relatively limited, leaving their evolutionary characteristics and development processes of these phenomena unclear. To bridge this gap, this study analyzed the spatiotemporal characteristics of flash droughts in western China from 1981 to 2020, based on the standardized evapotranspiration stress index. Additionally, we investigated the development mechanisms by taking meteorological conditions and soil moisture into account. The findings revealed that the northern Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, western Qilian Mountains, and western and southern Loess Plateau are hotspots of flash droughts, characterized by rapid development rates. Across most of the study area, flash drought events persisted between 25 and 30 days. Adequate precipitation is necessary before the onset of flash droughts in western China, while water scarcity and high temperatures played crucial roles in driving the mid-stage of flash droughts. Within the context of the observed “warming and wetting” trend, the average flash droughts occurrence from 2011 to 2020 was approximately 16 % lower than that from 1981 to 1990, and there was a significant annual decrease in spatial coverage of 0.01 % per year. However, in the “wetting in west, drying in east” trend, the spatial coverage of flash droughts has shifted from a declining trend to an insignificant increasing trend since 2000 in the study area, with significant regional differences between the western and eastern regions. Over the past decade, flash droughts had once again intensified in the central Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and the Loess Plateau due to warming and fluctuating wetting trends, raising significant concerns for future ecosystem and agricultural water management in these regions.

Functional brain responses to emotional faces after three to five weeks of intake of escitalopram in healthy individuals: a double-blind, placebo-controlled randomised study

Short-term intake of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) modulates threat-related amygdala responses in healthy individuals. However, how SSRI intake over a clinically relevant time period modulates threat-related amygdala responses is less clear. In a semi-randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled study of 64 healthy individuals (SSRI n = 32, placebo n = 32), we examined the effect of 3–5 weeks of SSRI escitalopram (20 mg daily) on brain response to angry, fearful and neutral faces using BOLD fMRI. Data was analysed using a whole-brain region-wise approach extracting standardised effects (i.e., Cohen’s D). The study was conducted at the Copenhagen University Hospital. A priori, we hypothesised that SSRI would attenuate amygdala responses to angry and fearful faces but not to neutral ones. Whether SSRI modulates correlations between amygdala responses to emotional faces and negative mood states was also explored. Compared to placebo, 3–5 weeks of SSRI intake did not significantly affect the amygdala response to angry, fearful, or neutral faces (|Cohen’s D|< 0.2, PFWER = 1). Whole-brain, region-wise analyses revealed significant differences in frontal (|Cohen’s D|< 0.6, PFWER < .01) and occipital regions (|Cohen’s D|< 0.5, PFWER < .01). SSRI did not modulate correlations between amygdala responses to emotional faces and negative mood states. Our findings indicate that a 3–5 week SSRI intake impacts cortical responses to emotional stimuli, an effect possibly involved in SSRI’s therapeutic efficacy.Trial registration Clinical Trials NCT04239339.

Kadınların Güçlendirilmesi ve Göç Etme Niyeti Üzerine Hanehalkı Düzeyinde Bir Araştırma: Afganistan Örneği

This study investigates the relationship between two important concerns, which are migration intentions of households and women empowerment in the case of Afghanistan where migration is a process that continues from its history to the present, and international indicators shows a quite bad picture on women empowerment or gender equality. It is obvious that women in this country presents a great vulnerability and they need to be empowered. However, it is not that obvious whether their empowerment is associated with migration intention of households. Therefore, this paper questions how and in which way the empowerment of women as a vulnerable group within different segments of Afghan society influence migration intention of households. Findings show that women empowerment measures, that are Women_leader, Women_support, Women_job, and Girls_edu, do not significantly influence migration intentions of households when they exist separately. However, it significantly influence migration intentions when they are allowed to interact together. It might be said that empowerment of women from political, social, and economic aspects that are presented by four of abovementioned measures is important to explain potential movements of population. Besides, there is significant regional differences to explain migration intentions. These findings are expected to be useful for policy makers on migration policies.

WELLNESS TOURISM SERVICES INNOVATION: A BIBLIOMETRIC REVIEW AND FUTURE RESEARCH AGENDA

This research analyzes 657 studies in the Web of Science (WOS) and 288 studies in the China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) database from 2010 to 2023. This research employs the scientific quantitative knowledge graph method to analyze literature characteristics, core author, institution network, hotspots, and trends. The CiteSpace software analysis results show that the number of published papers is rising but fluctuates slightly. A core group of authors has not yet formed in this field, and the cooperation density between authors and institutions is low. Their distribution spreads in space with significant regional differences, mainly in European and Asian countries. The causes, impacts, and solutions of multi-actor engagement in service innovation are the focus of WOS and CNKI literature. However, scholars discuss the enterprise supply side, customer demand side, and government policy side in WOS, while scholars mainly discuss the interaction between variables in CNKI. A lack of an evaluation system for service innovation in wellness tourism restricts further research on service innovation. There is an essential potential for topics such as multi-actor engagement in the wellness tourism service innovation, digital technology, knowledge management, service innovation ecosystem performances, and wellness tourism development in developing countries. This study promotes an overview and reference for future scholars' research of service innovation in the wellness tourism industry.

Radiological landscape of natural resources and mining: Unveiling the environmental impact of naturally occurring radioactive materials in Ghana's mining areas

This study provides a general observation of the status of naturally occurring radioactive materials (NORMs) distribution in mining and industrial areas of Ghana in order to establish regional and national data on NORMs. The study includes data on radioactivity concentrations of U-238, Th-232, and K-40 in soils and for water concentrations of Ra-226, Th-228, and K-40 from various mining, oil, and gas communities, as well as water sources used for crop farming and farmlands. The average activity concentrations of U-238, Th-232, and K-40 in the soil samples were found to be 59 ± 16 Bq/kg, 48 ± 15 Bq/kg, and 286 ± 57 Bq/kg, respectively. The average concentration of Ra-226, Th-228, and K-40 in the water samples were found to be 1.62 ± 0.33 Bq/L, 2.08 ± 0.53 Bq/L, and 22.36 ± 3.44 Bq/L, respectively. The estimated average annual effective doses from external and internal exposure pathways in soil and water samples were 0.09 mSv/y and 0.54 mSv/y, respectively. The total annual effective dose resulting from both exposure pathways was calculated to be 0.63 mSv/y, which is below the 1 mSv/y dose limit recommended by the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) for controlling public radiation exposure. Based on the radiological hazard indices, the majority of the soil samples were found to be suitable as building materials as their respective indices were below the limits except for two sample locations and the sludge and scale samples. The average Excess Lifetime Cancer Risk (ELCR) value of the water samples was 1.6 times greater than the recommended value of 1.16 × 10−3, presenting a relatively higher risk to the public of developing cancer. No significant regional differences in the levels of radioactive elements. The regression models demonstrate strong interrelationships between the studied elements, with high R-squared values suggesting a predictable nature of one element’s concentration based on others.

Behavioural and nutritional risk factors for cardiovascular diseases among the Ghanaian population- a cross-sectional study

BackgroundLifestyle behavioural risk factors have been linked to increased cardiovascular disease. Recent data have shown increased atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) burden in Ghana. This study aimed to describe the behavioural and nutritional risk factors for ASCVD among Ghanaians, and how these risk factors vary by ethnicity, demography and residence.MethodsWe used data from the Ghana Heart Study, a community-based cross-sectional study that recruited participants from eight communities from four regions using a multi-stage sampling technique. Information about various lifestyle behaviours (LBs), including cigarette smoking, alcohol intake, physical inactivity, and fruit and vegetable intake, was obtained using a questionnaire. Data was analysed using IBM SPSS statistics 25. Univariate and multivariate analysis was used to test associations between demographic characteristics and various LBs.ResultsThe participants' median (interquartile) age was 46.0 (27.0) years. Of the 1,106 participants (58% females, 80.4% urban dwellers), 8.6% reported using tobacco, 48.9% alcohol, 83.7% physically inactive, 81.4% and 84.9% inadequate fruit and vegetable intake, respectively. Age, sex, ethnicity, and religion were associated with tobacco use, whereas age, sex, educational level, marital status, ethnicity, employment status, and region of residence were associated with physical inactivity. Similarly, ethnicity, employment status, and residence region were associated with inadequate fruit and vegetable intake. Rural dwellers were more likely to be physically inactive and consume inadequate fruits and vegetables. Almost 92% had a combination of two or more LBs. The main predictors of two or more LBs for ASCVD were educational level, marital status, ethnicity, and employment status.ConclusionLifestyle risk factors for ASCVD were highly prevalent in Ghana, with significant age, sex, ethnic, and regional differences. These risky lifestyle behaviors tend to occur together and must be considered in tailoring public health education.Trial registrationThe study was registered at http://www.chictr.org.cn as ChiCTR1800017374.

Landsat-observed changes in forest cover and attribution analysis over Northern China from 1996‒2020

ABSTRACT Forest dynamics provide important information on the ecological environment. The Three-North Shelter Forest Program (TNSFP) is one of the world’s largest reforestation/afforestation programs, however the actual changes in forest cover in the Three-North Regions (TNR) of China resulting from this program are highly uncertain. This study quantified changes in fractional forest cover (FFC) at 30 m using Landsat data from 1996 to 2020. Using the Google Earth Engine platform, more than 40,000 images from Landsat-5, Landsat 7 and Landsat-8 were integrated, and the annual surface reflectance was normalized based on the multi-band least squares regression and maximum normalized difference vegetation index composite method. An ensemble learning model trained using high-resolution Gao-Fen 2 satellite imagery was used to generate the FFC long time-series product. FFC showed an increasing trend with average rates of 0.022/10a in the last 25 years, and 0.03/10a after 2010 largely corresponding to the fourth and fifth phases of the TNSFP. There are significant regional differences in the relationship between FFC and air temperature ( R 2 = 0.37) and precipitation ( R 2 = 0.49). The increased air temperature in arid and less rainy areas inhibit the FFC increase, whereas the increase in precipitation had a promoting effect. FFC appeared more sensitive to changes in solar radiation and heat conditions in humid and rainy areas. The attribution analysis revealed that 34% of FFC changes were caused by climatic variables and 66% were caused by non-climatic factors. Among them, afforestation associated with the TNSFP significantly increased FFC, and forest fire is a key factor of forest change in the Greater Khingan Ranges and Lesser Khingan Ranges regions. Planting single tree species caused biological disasters in forests of Xinjiang and Inner Mongolia. Further analysis of the increased FFC using high-level satellite products demonstrated an improvement in environmental conditions with cooler land surface temperature and higher vegetation gross primary production over the TNR.

Regional disparities, age-related changes and sex-related differences in knee osteoarthritis

BackgroundThe objective of the study is to analyse the regions, age and sex differences in the incidence of knee osteoarthritis (KOA).MethodsData were extracted from the global burden of diseases (GBD) 2019 study, including incidence, years lived with disability (YLD), disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs) and risk factors. Estimated annual percentage changes (EAPCs) were calculated to quantify the temporal trends in age standardized rate (ASR) of KOA. Paired t-test, paired Wilcoxon signed-rank test and spearman correlation were performed to analyze the association of sex disparity in KOA and socio-demographic index (SDI).ResultsThere were significant regional differences in the incidence of knee osteoarthritis. In 2019, South Korea had the highest incidence of knee osteoarthritis (474.85,95%UI:413.34–539.64) and Thailand had the highest increase in incidence of knee osteoarthritis (EAPC = 0.56, 95%CI = 0.54–0.58). Notably, higher incidence, YLD and DALYs of knee osteoarthritis were associated with areas with a high socio-demographic index (r = 0.336, p < 0.001; r = 0.324, p < 0.001; r = 0.324, p < 0.001). In terms of age differences, the greatest increase in the incidence of knee osteoarthritis was between the 35–39 and 40–44 age groups. (EAPC = 0.52, 95%CI = 0.40–0.63; 0.47, 95%CI = 0.36–0.58). In addition, there were significant sex differences in the disease burden of knee osteoarthritis (P < 0.001).ConclusionsThe incidence of knee osteoarthritis is significantly different with regions, age and sex.

Prevalence of medicare antiviral drugs use and related factors in HIV-infected people in Ningbo

Objective: To analyze the use of medicare antiviral drugs (ART) and related factors among HIV-infected people in Ningbo City. Methods: The retrospective data was collected related to infection and treatment of HIV-infected people in ART in Ningbo up to February 2023 through the National Infectious Disease Surveillance System. Binary logistic regression was used to analyze the factors related to medicare antiviral drug use in HIV-infected people. R 4.2.2 software was used for statistical analysis. Results: A total of 6 433 HIV-infected people with ART records were collected, among which 5 783 were in ART. The prevalence of medicare drugs use among people in ART was 24.8% (1 435/5 783, 95%CI: 23.7%-25.9%). Beilun District (8.7%, 43/497) and Fenghua District (5.7%, 14/247) had the lowest level in medicare drugs use. Among people in ART using medicare or out-of-pocket drugs, the prevalence of those who had at least one viral load test in the last year (84.9%, 1 352/1 593) was significantly lower than that of those using free drugs (91.4%, 3 829/4 190) (χ2=52.50, P<0.001). The results of multivariate logistic analysis showed that the factors influencing medicare drug use included low educational level (junior high school and below: aOR=0.24, 95%CI:0.17-0.34), farmer or worker (farmer: aOR=0.60, 95%CI: 0.39-0.91; worker: aOR=0.42, 95%CI: 0.27-0.64), low monthly income (<3 000 Yuan: aOR=0.29, 95%CI: 0.18-0.45), the longer interval time between diagnosis and treatment (≥21 days: aOR=0.47, 95%CI: 0.30-0.74). Conclusions: Significant regional differences on the prevalence of medicare antiviral drugs use in HIV-infected people exist in Ningbo City. Follow-up management program of patients should be improved to strengthen patient compliance to mobilize medicare drug promotion. Meanwhile, publicity of medicare drugs should be strengthened for farmers or workers with low education level and patients with delayed treatment.

Evaluation, Driving Mechanism and Spatial Correlation Analysis of Atmospheric Environmental Efficiency in the “2+26” Cities Based on the Nonradial MEA Model

The “2+26” cities are 26 cities in Beijing, Tianjin and the surrounding cities, constituting a region characterized by economic prosperity and diverse industries but plagued by severe atmospheric pollution. As a focal area for atmospheric pollution control, a scientific assessment of atmospheric environmental efficiency in the “2+26” cities that measures the degree of coordination between the economy and air pollution is very important for winning the battle of blue sky defense. Based on this, this study comprehensively used the nonradial multi-directional efficiency analysis (MEA) model, Global Reference Malmquist Model and spatial correlation analysis to evaluate the atmospheric environmental efficiency, calculate the driving factors and explore the spatiotemporal distribution characteristics of the “2+26” cities from 2009 to 2018. The research findings indicate the following: (1) Atmospheric environmental efficiency showed a trend of first decreasing and then increasing, with a significant improvement potential of 26.7% in the future. (2) There was a significant discrepancy between the best- and worst-performing cities, with the best being 0.910 and the worst being 0.573, demonstrating imbalanced development between cities. The relatively low-efficiency cities were mainly located in Hebei, Shanxi and Henan provinces. (3) A value of technological efficiency change (EC) less than 1 was the main restrictive factor for improving atmospheric environmental efficiency, whereas a value of technological change (TC) greater than 1 enhanced it. (4) The atmospheric environmental efficiency presented a distinct spatial distribution pattern of high–high and low–low aggregation, forming high-value areas centered in the Beijing–Tianjin region and along the Zibo–Zhengzhou line. The western and central regions were relatively low, whereas the northern and eastern regions were relatively high, with significant regional differences in spatial distribution. The conclusions from this article’s empirical analysis can help concerned developing countries determine key factors to improve their atmospheric environmental efficiency and then formulate policies for sustainable economic and environmental development.

Accelerating decline of wildfires in China in the 21st century

Global wildfires have increased in frequency and intensity, especially in temperate regions, in the context of global warming. However, the spatiotemporal characteristics of wildfire frequency and intensity are still not well understood. Using Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) Collection 6 (C6) wildfire products during 2003–2022, here, we analyzed the spatiotemporal patterns and evolutionary characteristics of the frequency and intensity of wildfires in China. The main conclusions are: (1) Over the past 20 years, the wildfire frequency and fire radiative power (FRP) have declined at rates of –1920/year (p &amp;lt; 0.001) and –76492 MW/year (p &amp;lt; 0.001), respectively, showing a highly significant downward trend, with declines of up to 63 and 81%. (2) Wildfires in China show a single peak pattern of high incidence in winter and spring, with the most frequent in March, followed by February and April. (3) The overall spatial distribution of wildfires in China is characterized by a bimodal distribution, with more in the south and less in the north. Wildfires are most abundant but less intense in the southern region(SR), fewer but most intense in the northeastern region(NER), and significantly influenced by El Niño in the southwestern region(SWR), with significant regional differences in wildfires in China. (4) The average FRP of wildfire spots presented a decreasing trend from 47 MW/spot in 2003 to only 25 MW/spot in 2022. This may be due to more dispersed wildfires, rather than concentrated wildfires. (5) The frequency and FRP of wildfires showed an overall negative correlation with the Standardized Precipitation Evapotranspiration Index (SPEI). Drought events (negative SPEI) have a significant effect on wildfires, especially in SR. This study demonstrates the effectiveness of current fire suppression policies in China in terms of disaster prevention and mitigation, and further provides data to further explore and analyze the impact of wildfires on the regional environment.

Distant neuroinflammation acutely induced by focal brain injury and its control by endocannabinoid system

IntroductionWe studied spatiotemporal features of acute transcriptional inflammatory response induced by a focal brain injury in distant uninjured neuronal tissue and a role of endocannabinoid (eCB) system in its control. Materials and methodsA focal excitotoxic lesion was induced by a unilateral injection of kainate in the dorsal hippocampus of awake Wistar rats. During acute post-injury period (3 h and 24 h post-injection), mRNA levels of genes associated with neuroinflammation (Il1b, Il6, Tnf, Ccl2; Cx3cl1, Zc3 h12a, Tgfb1) and eCB receptors of CB1 and CB2 types (Cnr1 and Cnr2) in intact regions of the hippocampus and neocortex were measured using qPCR. Occurrence of acute symptomatic seizures was controlled electrographically. To modulate eCB signaling during injury and acute post-injury period, antagonists (AM251, AM630) and agonist (WIN55–212-2) of eCB receptors were administered before the injury induction. ResultsLocal intrahippocampal injury triggered widespread time- and region-dependent neuroinflammation in undamaged brain regions remote from the lesion site. The distant areas of the hippocampus and hippocampal meninges exhibited early (3 h) transient upregulation of pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines simultaneously with occurrence of acute symptomatic seizures. The neocortex and its meninges showed minor neuroinflammation early after injury (3 h) but later (24 h) significantly upregulated several genes, mainly with anti-inflammatory properties. Focal lesion also changed expression of eCB receptors in the distant extra-lesional regions – CB1 receptors at 3 h and both CB1 and CB2 receptors at 24 h. Within the hippocampus, significant regional differences in constitutive and post-injury expression CB1 receptors were found. Pharmacological blockade of eCB receptors during injury and early post-injury period lengthened hippocampal neuroinflammation and reversed upregulation of anti-inflammatory molecules in the neocortex. ConclusionThe findings show that focal brain injury rapidly triggers widespread parenchymal and extraparenchymal neuroinflammation. The early injury-induced response is likely to represent neurogenic neuroinflammation produced by network hyperexcitability (acute symptomatic seizures). Activation of eCB signaling during acute phase of the brain injury is important for initiation of adaptive anti-inflammatory processes and prevention of chronic pathologic neuroinflammation in distant uninjured structures. However, the beneficial role of injury-induced eCB activity appears to depend on many factors including time, brain region, eCB tone etc.

SARS-CoV-2's brain impact: revealing cortical and cerebellar differences via cluster analysis in COVID-19 recovered patients.

COVID-19 is a disease known for its neurological involvement. SARS-CoV-2 infection triggers neuroinflammation, which could significantly contribute to the development of long-term neurological symptoms and structural alterations in the gray matter. However, the existence of a consistent pattern of cerebral atrophy remains uncertain. Our study aimed to identify patterns of brain involvement in recovered COVID-19 patients and explore potential relationships with clinical variables during hospitalization. In this study, we included 39 recovered patients and 39 controls from a pre-pandemic database to ensure their non-exposure to the virus. We obtained clinical data of the patients during hospitalization, and 3months later; in addition we obtained T1-weighted magnetic resonance images and performed standard screening cognitive tests. We identified two groups of recovered patients based on a cluster analysis of the significant cortical thickness differences between patients and controls. Group 1 displayed significant cortical thickness differences in specific cerebral regions, while Group 2 exhibited significant differences in the cerebellum, though neither group showed cognitive deterioration at the group level. Notably, Group 1 showed a tendency of higher D-dimer values during hospitalization compared to Group 2, prior to p-value correction. This data-driven division into two groups based on the brain structural differences, and the possible link to D-dimer values may provide insights into the underlying mechanisms of SARS-COV-2 neurological disruption and its impact on the brain during and after recovery from the disease.