Specific Types Research Articles

The relation between peritraumatic dissociation and coping strategies: A network analysis.

Peritraumatic dissociation (PD) and coping strategies (CS) around the time of trauma are significant predictors of acute and long-term posttraumatic symptomatology (PTS), but it is unclear how they relate to each other. The aim of this study was to examine their association using a nationwide, representative sample following the September 11 attacks in the United States (N = 3,134). We used exploratory and confirmatory network analyses to estimate reliable associations between PD and CS, as well as looking at those variables as predictors of PTS at 2, 6, and 12 months after the attack. Analyses showed that: (a) PD formed 3 factors (alterations of consciousness, depersonalization, and compartmentalization) distinct from coping strategies; (b) PD related only to some CS; (c) coping through denial had a particularly strong link to alterations of consciousness among adults. Both altered consciousness and denial predicted PTS significantly 2, 6, and 12 months after the attack, with altered consciousness being the stronger predictor (and a better predictor of PTS than other types of PD). For teens, the only significant link between PD and CS was for compartmentalization and substance abuse. PD and CS were related in adults and contributed independently to later PTS. Future research should evaluate longitudinally the interactions between specific types of PD and CS. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Empathy is associated with interpersonal emotion regulation goals in everyday life.

Responding to the emotions of the people around us is a phenomenon traversing human lives; however, research has only recently started exploring the predictors of interpersonal emotion regulation (IER). In two ecological momentary assessment studies conducted in 2021 and 2022, we tested whether facets of empathy (i.e., mentalizing, experience sharing, empathic concern, and personal distress) are associated with other-focused IER goals and their attainment in everyday life (Ns = 125 and 204). Study 1 examined associations between mentalizing, experience sharing, and global hedonic and counter-hedonic IER goals (i.e., making others feel better or worse) in a relatively young and predominantly female student sample in Germany. Study 2 expanded these findings to empathic concern, personal distress, and specific types of hedonic and counter-hedonic IER goals (i.e., increasing, decreasing, and/or maintaining others' positive and/or negative emotions) in a more diverse U.S. community sample. Participants primarily endorsed hedonic IER goals, which were associated with higher mentalizing and experience sharing in both studies and higher empathic concern and lower personal distress in Study 2. Counter-hedonic IER goals were positively associated with experience sharing and personal distress in Study 2. Conversely, empathic concern and mentalizing were negatively related to counter-hedonic IER goals. We also found differential associations for state and trait empathy with IER goals. All empathy facets except personal distress were positively associated with goal attainment in Study 2. These findings address a major gap in our knowledge about everyday IER and offer a novel perspective on empathy in social emotion regulation processes. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Bibliometric and visualized analysis of global research on microRNAs in gastric cancer: from 2013 to 2023.

Gastric cancer (GC) imposes a heavy burden on global public health, and microRNAs (miRNAs) play a crucial role in the diagnosis and treatment of GC. Therefore, it is necessary to clarify the hotspots and frontiers in the field of miRNAs in GC to guide future research. A total of 2,051 publications related to miRNAs in GC from January 2013 to December 2023 were searched from the Web of Science Core Collection database. CiteSpace was used to identify research hotspots and delineate developmental trends. In the past decade, China, Nanjing Medical University, and Ba Yi were the most contributing research country, institute, and author in this field, respectively. The role of miRNAs as biomarkers in GC, the mechanism of miRNAs in the progression of GC, and the impact of the mutual effects between miRNAs and Helicobacter pylori on GC have been regarded as the research hotspots. The mechanisms of miRNAs on glucose metabolism and the application of the roles of circular RNAs as miRNA sponges in GC treatment will likely be frontiers. Overall, this study called for strengthened cooperation to identify targets and therapeutic regimes for local specificity and high-risk GC types, and to promote the translation of research results into clinical practice.

Counting Sorting Scenarios and Intermediate Genomes for the Rank Distance.

An important problem in genome comparison is the genome sorting problem, that is, the problem of finding a sequence of basic operations that transforms one genome into another whose length (possibly weighted) equals the distance between them. These sequences are called optimal sorting scenarios. However, there is usually a large number of such scenarios, and a naïve algorithm is very likely to be biased towards a specific type of scenario, impairing its usefulness in real-world applications. One way to go beyond the traditional sorting algorithms is to explore all possible solutions, looking at all the optimal sorting scenarios instead of just an arbitrary one. Another related approach is to analyze all the intermediate genomes, that is, all the genomes that can occur in an optimal sorting scenario. In this article, we show how to enumerate the optimal sorting scenarios and the intermediate genomes between any two given genomes, under the rank distance.

Exploring the Influence of Virtual Avatar Heads in Mixed Reality on Social Presence, Performance and User Experience in Collaborative Tasks.

In Mixed Reality (MR), users' heads are largely (if not completely) occluded by the MR Head-Mounted Display (HMD) they are wearing. As a consequence, one cannot see their facial expressions and other communication cues when interacting locally. In this paper, we investigate how displaying virtual avatars' heads on-top of the (HMD-occluded) heads of participants in a Video See-Through (VST) Mixed Reality local collaborative task could improve their collaboration as well as social presence. We hypothesized that virtual heads would convey more communicative cues (such as eye direction or facial expressions) hidden by the MR HMDs and lead to better collaboration and social presence. To do so, we conducted a between-subject study ($\mathrm{n}=88$) with two independent variables: the type of avatar (CartoonAvatar/RealisticAvatar/NoAvatar) and the level of facial expressions provided (HighExpr/LowExpr). The experiment involved two dyadic communication tasks: (i) the "20-question" game where one participant asks questions to guess a hidden word known by the other participant and (ii) a urban planning problem where participants have to solve a puzzle by collaborating. Each pair of participants performed both tasks using a specific type of avatar and facial animation. Our results indicate that while adding an avatar's head does not necessarily improve social presence, the amount of facial expressions provided through the social interaction does have an impact. Moreover, participants rated their performance higher when observing a realistic avatar but rated the cartoon avatars as less uncanny. Taken together, our results contribute to a better understanding of the role of partial avatars in local MR collaboration and pave the way for further research exploring collaboration in different scenarios, with different avatar types or MR setups.

Comparative Analysis of Dynamic Power Consumption of Parallel Prefix Adder

The Newcomb-Benford law, also known as Benford's law, is the law of anomalous numbers stating that in many real-life numerical datasets, including physical and statistical ones, numbers have a small initial digit. Numbers irregularity observed in nature leads to the question, is the arithmetical-logical unit, responsible for performing calculations in computers, optimal? Are there other architectures, not as regular as commonly used Parallel Prefix Adders, that can perform better, especially when operating on the datasets that are not purely random, but irregular? In this article, structures of a propagate-generate tree are compared including regular and irregular configurations—various structures are examined: regular, irregular, with gray cells only, with both gray and black, and with higher valency cells. Performance is evaluated in terms of energy consumption. The evaluation was performed using the extended power model of static CMOS gates. The model is based on changes of vectors, naturally taking into account spatio-temporal correlations. The energy parameters of the designed cells were calculated on the basis of electrical (Spice) simulation. Designs and simulations were done in the Cadence environment and calculations of the power dissipation were performed in MATLAB. The results clearly show that there are PPA structures that perform much better for a specific type of numerical data. Negligent design can lead to an increase greater than two times of power consumption. The novel architectures of PPA described in this work might find practical applications in specialized adders dealing with numerical datasets, such as, for example, sine functions commonly used in digital signal processing.

Analysis and construction of evaluation index system for tourism management classroom teaching based on regression model

In order to construct an evaluation index system suitable for tourism management classroom teaching, this article evaluates the teaching effectiveness of teachers and improves the teaching quality of tourism management courses. This article is based on developmental evaluation theory, using Analytic Hierarchy Process, Project Response Theory, and CIPP model to construct an indicator system suitable for tourism management classroom teaching. Then, based on the collected data of 5763 students, the reliability and effectiveness of the tool and indicator system were first verified. Then, the variable of teacher teaching style was introduced to construct an OLS regression model for empirical research. The research will summarize teacher and student data collected through the platform and conduct reliability analysis in SPSS 22.0 software, using Cronbach α The credibility of coefficient testing and evaluation tools. Cronbach in Environmental Fundamentals α The cβoefficient value is 0.8350. Cronbach for resource allocation α The coefficient is 0.735, and the Cronbah of the implementation process α Cronb Bach with a coefficient of 0.7 47 for teaching performance α The coefficient is 0.7240, indicating that rat ings has high reliability. Research has found that among the four specific types, the holistic type has the greatest impact on the specific situation, the holistic type has the greatest impact on the environmental foundation and resource allocation, and the legislative type has the greatest impact on the implementation process and teaching performance.

Judgment Errors in Surgical Care.

Human error is impossible to eliminate, particularly in systems as complex as healthcare. The extent to which judgment errors in particular impact surgical patient care or lead to harm is unclear. The American College of Surgeons NSQIP (2018) procedures from a single institution with 30-day morbidity or mortality were examined. Medical records were reviewed and evaluated for judgment errors. Preoperative variables associated with judgment errors were examined using logistic regression. Of the surgical patients who experienced a morbidity or mortality, 18% (31 of 170) experienced an error in judgment during their hospitalization. Patients with hepatobiliary procedure (odds ratio [OR] 5.4 [95% CI 1.23 to 32.75], p = 0.002), insulin-dependent diabetes (OR 4.8 [95% CI 1.2 to 18.8], p = 0.025), severe COPD (OR 6.0 [95% CI 1.6 to 22.1], p = 0.007), or with infected wounds (OR 8.2 [95% CI 2.6 to 25.8], p < 0.001) were at increased risk for judgment errors. Specific procedure types and patients with certain preoperative variables had higher risk for judgment errors during their hospitalization. Errors in judgment adversely impacted the outcomes of surgical patients who experienced morbidity or mortality in this cohort. Preventing or mitigating errors and closely monitoring patients after an error in judgment is prudent and may improve surgical safety.

HLA variations in patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma and association with disease risk and prognosis: a case-control study.

Human leukocyte antigen (HLA) polymorphisms have been associated with the development of various autoimmune diseases, as well as malignant neoplasms. Non-Hodgkin lymphomas (NHLs) are a heterogenous group of lymphoid malignancies in which a genetic substrate has been established and is deemed to play a crucial role in disease pathogenesis. This study aimed to identify whether variations in the HLA gene region were associated with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) risk and prognosis. We defined HLA class I (HLA-A, HLA-B, HLA-C) and class II (HLA-DRB1, HLA-DQB1) alleles in 60 patients with DLBCL and compared the results to those found by 236 healthy adult donors from the bone marrow bank of Northern Greece. HLA typing was performed by two molecular methods, Sequence - Specific Oligonucleotide HLA typing (SSO) and Sequence - Specific Primer HLA typing (SSP), from white blood cells recovered from peripheral blood. The phenotypic frequencies of HLA-A, HLA-B, HLA-C, HLA-DRB1 and HLA-DQB1 between patients and controls were compared with the 2-sided Fisher's exact test. Results with p-value <0.05 were considered statistically significant. Odds Ratios with 95% Confidence Intervals were calculated to further strengthen the results. The 2-sided Fisher's exact test was also applied to alleles found only in one of the two groups, while the odds ratios together with the confidence intervals were corrected with Haldane-Anscombe method. Among the studied HLA polymorphisms, the frequency HLA-C*12 allele was significantly lower in patients with DLBCL compared with control subjects (6.7% vs. 34.7%, OR = 0.16, 95% CI: 0.04-0.44). Frequency of HLA-B*39 was significantly lower in patients with DLBCL compared with controls, but due to the low frequency of this polymorphism in the studied population and small sample size, determinations regarding the significance of this findings were limited. Survival analysis revealed that the presence of HLA-C*12 was not associated with improved or worsened overall and progression-free survival. No statistically significant associations were observed in the phenotypic frequencies of HLA-A, HLA-DQB1, HLA-DRB1 and the rest of HLA-B alleles between the control and DLBCL groups. Collectively, our results provide valuable insight regarding the role of HLA variations on DLBCL risk. Further studies are required to consolidate our findings and ascertain the clinical implications of these genetic variations on DLBCL management and prognosis.

Inhibitory effects and mechanisms of cinnamaldehyde against Fusarium oxysporum, a serious pathogen in potatoes.

Potatoes, a major economic crop, are significantly impacted by Fusarium dry rot, a prevalent postharvest disease. Despite the broad-spectrum antimicrobial properties of cinnamaldehyde, a naturally-derived plant substance, its efficacy against the causal pathogen of potato dry rot (Fusarium oxysporum) and the underlying mechanisms have not been extensively studied. Our study demonstrates that cinnamaldehyde effectively inhibits the growth of Fusarium oxysporum, the pathogen responsible for potato dry rot, and increases its sensitivity to environmental stress factors such as extreme temperatures and high salt stress. Treatment with cinnamaldehyde results in altered fungal mycelium morphology, compromised cell wall stability, and disrupted cell membrane integrity, thereby reducing spore viability. Specifically, it interferes with the cell membrane and cell wall structures of the fungus, potentially disrupting fungal growth by modulating signaling pathways involved in cell wall maintenance, chitin metabolism, and GPI-anchored protein function. Notably, we show that cinnamaldehyde induces a form of regulated cell death in F. oxysporum, which is characterized not as typical apoptosis, as evidenced by Annexin V negative staining. However, the specific cell death type and underlying mechanism still needed to be further explored. Cinnamaldehyde, an environmentally friendly plant-based active compound, exhibits strong inhibitory effects on F. oxysporum, indicating its potential use in the prevention and control strategies for potato dry rot. This research contributes to the understanding of novel antifungal mechanisms and offers promising insights into eco-friendly alternatives for managing this economically significant postharvest disease. © 2024 Society of Chemical Industry.

Cold-shock proteins accumulate in centrosomes and their expression and primary cilium morphology are regulated by hypothermia and shear stress.

Primary cilia act as cellular sensors for multiple extracellular stimuli and regulate many intracellular signaling pathways in response. Here we investigate whether the cold-shock proteins (CSPs), CIRP and RBM3, are present in the primary cilia and the physiological consequences of such a relationship. R28, an immortalized retinal precursor cell line, was stained with antibodies against CIRP, RBM3, and ciliary markers. Both CSPs were found in intimate contact with the basal body of the cilium during all stages of the cell cycle, including migrating with the centrosome during mitosis. In addition, the morphological and physiological manifestations of exposing the cells to hypothermia and shear stress were investigated. Exposure to moderately cold (32°C) temperatures, the hypothermia mimetic small molecule zr17-2, or to shear stress resulted in a significant reduction in the number and length of primary cilia. In addition, shear stress induced expression of CIRP and RBM3 in a complex pattern depending on the specific protein, flow intensity, and type of flow (laminar versus oscillatory). Flow-mediated CSP overexpression was detected by qRT-PCR and confirmed by Western blot, at least for CIRP. Furthermore, analysis of public RNA Seq databases on flow experiments confirmed an increase of CIRP and RBM3 expression following exposure to shear stress in renal cell lines. In conclusion, we found that CSPs are integral components of the centrosome and that they participate in cold and shear stress sensing.

Discovering consensus regions for interpretable identification of RNA N6-methyladenosine modification sites via graph contrastive clustering.

As a pivotal post-transcriptional modification of RNA, N6-methyladenosine (m6A) has a substantial influence on gene expression modulation and cellular fate determination. Although a variety of computational models have been developed to accurately identify potential m6A modification sites, few of them are capable of interpreting the identification process with insights gained from consensus knowledge. To overcome this problem, we propose a deep learning model, namely M6A-DCR, by discovering consensus regions for interpretable identification of m6A modification sites. In particular, M6A-DCR first constructs an instance graph for each RNA sequence by integrating specific positions and types of nucleotides. The discovery of consensus regions is then formulated as a graph clustering problem in light of aggregating all instance graphs. After that, M6A-DCR adopts a motif-aware graph reconstruction optimization process to learn high-quality embeddings of input RNA sequences, thus achieving the identification of m6A modification sites in an end-to-end manner. Experimental results demonstrate the superior performance of M6A-DCR by comparing it with several state-of-the-art identification models. The consideration of consensus regions empowers our model to make interpretable predictions at the motif level. The analysis of cross validation through different species and tissues further verifies the consistency between the identification results of M6A-DCR and the evolutionary relationships among species.

An optimal model for detection of lung cancer using convolutional neural network

In terms of frequency and mortality, lung cancer ranks second among all cancers worldwide for both men and women. It is suggested that pattern classification and machine learning be applied to the identification and categorization of lung cancer. Convolution neural network (CNN) techniques divide the input data into groups according to the distinctive characteristics of the input. Using a standard approach to analyze a large number of computed tomography images, early detection of lung cancer can save lives. The suggested effort is centered on identifying the precise type of cancer and making predictions about whether it is benign or aggressive. The deployment of proposed model is an attempt to improve the accuracy of the system. The proposed work showed an overall accuracy of 98.4% during the detection of lung cancer and 98.8% accuracy towards the prediction of specific type in the lung cancer. Mean average precision score of 97.17% and 98.75% test and validation respectively. 0.96, 0.93, and 0.95 for malignant test data.

Adverse childhood event subtypes and routine diabetes care utilization among U.S. adults with Type 2 diabetes.

Adverse childhood events (ACEs) have significant impacts on adulthood health, including greater risk of Type 2 diabetes (T2D). While there is a known connection to increased use of outpatient and emergency healthcare services, the potential role of ACEs in routine diabetes care utilization remains unclear. This study uses ACE subtypes to explain pathways to routine diabetes care utilization among adults with T2D. Cross-sectional data were obtained from the 2019 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, a survey of a representative sample of U.S. adults. Eligible participants resided in a state that completed both the Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and Diabetes modules and were diagnosed with non-gestational diabetes (N = 9,904), of whom the majority were presumed to have T2D. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to test the measurement model for three ACE factors: household dysfunction, physical and emotional abuse, and sexual abuse. Structural equation modeling was used to relate factors to four routine diabetes care utilization outcomes. Factor loadings were strong, and fit indices indicated good measurement model and full structural model fits. In the full structural equation model, household dysfunction was associated with decreased likelihood of meeting frequency recommendations for A1C testing (β = -0.22, p < .05) and foot exams (β = -0.29, p < .01). Physical and emotional abuse were associated with greater likelihood of meeting A1C testing frequency recommendations (β = 0.21, p < .05). Specific types of ACEs may differentially relate to routine diabetes care utilization in adulthood. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Childhood maltreatment and somatic symptoms: Examining the role of specific types of childhood maltreatment and alexithymia.

Given the strong association between a history of childhood maltreatment and somatic symptoms, identification of therapeutically modifiable intervention targets is warranted. Alexithymia, or difficulty identifying and describing emotions, may be playing an important role. The present study examined contributions of alexithymia and childhood maltreatment as related to somatic symptoms. Participants (N = 447) completed measures of childhood maltreatment, alexithymia, and somatic symptoms. Two three-step hierarchical linear regressions were conducted to examine the unique contribution of alexithymia after accounting for demographic characteristics and childhood maltreatment. The first regression utilized total scores, and the second explored five domains of childhood maltreatment, a trauma validity index, and three domains of alexithymia. In the first linear regression, childhood maltreatment and alexithymia were significantly associated with higher somatic symptoms. In the second linear regression, childhood maltreatment and alexithymia both significantly added to the model; however, only emotional abuse was significantly associated with somatic symptoms. In line with previous research, childhood maltreatment and alexithymia are associated with somatic symptoms. Given specific domains of alexithymia were nonsignificant in this relationship, it appears no single aspect of alexithymia is of greater importance. Future research should examine these associations longitudinally, as improving alexithymia may help improve outcomes in individuals with childhood maltreatment history experiencing somatic symptoms. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

How Well Do Professional Reference Ratings Predict Teacher Performance?

Abstract While the practice of collecting information from applicants’ professional references is widespread, there is a paucity of research linking references’ assessments of applicants to subsequent performance. In this paper, we examine the predictive validity of a specific type of reference-provided information: categorical ratings of teacher applicants collected from their professional references—a potentially low-cost means of enhancing the applicant information available during the hiring process. We find an overall significant relationship between reference ratings and teacher performance as measured by observational evaluation ratings and teacher value added in math, but that this relationship is moderated by two factors. First, while references’ ratings of applicants with prior teaching experience are predictive of performance, those of novice applicants are not. Second, the predictive validity of reference ratings varies according to rater type: Ratings from references identified as the applicants’ Principal/Other Supervisor, Instructional Coach/Department Chair, or Colleague are significantly predictive of performance whereas those from other types of raters are not. Overall, our findings show that meaningful information can be solicited from applicants’ references in the form of categorical ratings but also demonstrate some limitations in the potential for this type of information to inform hiring decisions.

Role of direct antiglobulin test in anemia under evaluation: Its prevalence, laboratory workup, and significance in further patient management-a study from eastern India.

The direct antiglobulin test (DAT) is an important diagnostic tool for immune hemolytic anemia (IHA). The present study was primarily aimed to identify the prevalence of DAT positivity in anemia patients along with its specificity . A three months follow up of the DAT positive patients were performed for the response during course of illness in terms of transfusion requirement, hemoglobin level, persistence of DAT. This cross sectional study was performed at a government medical college on symptomatic anemia patients. At initial evaluation, complete blood count (CBC), blood grouping and DAT were performed in the EDTA blood. DAT positive blood samples were analyzed for their immunoglobulin specificity, auto or alloantibody type. Acid elution and red cell phenotyping were performed wherever applicable. Their clinical presentation, hematological and biochemical parameters of hemolysis were evaluated. Statistical analysis was performed on the results on SPSS (Version 23.0;.USA) and Graph pad Prism version 9. P value <0.05 was considered significant. DAT was present in 64 out of 501 patients with male female ratio 1: 4. Warm AIHA (WAIHA) was 93.7% with secondary WAIHA 60%. IgG was associated in 86% DAT positive samples, Only C3d was 14%. All the 4 cold AIHA (6.3%) had a higher antibody titre and thermal amplitude.DAT strength was directly proportional to the degree of hemolysis. During 3 months follow up, persistence of DAT and blood transfusion requirement was more in secondary WAIHA . Hemoglobin increment was more in primary WAIHA (75%). DAT played a significant role in the diagnosis as well as evaluation of AIHA.

The large family penalty in Italy: Poverty and eligibility to minimum incomes

AbstractThis paper argues that public policies, including minimum income schemes (MIS), should devote specific attention to large families, in terms of both benefits' generosity and targeting, to avoid unfair penalizations. Adopting a child‐centered approach to the definition of family size, and using a unique administrative‐survey linked database, this study provides two main contributions for the Italian case. First, it documents the consumption‐based absolute poverty outcomes according to sibling size, highlighting that large families are overexposed to this specific type of economic deprivation. Second, it investigates to what extent the household size and the number of children tend to be a penalizing factor for social benefit receipt. A key finding is that large families in absolute poverty are penalized in terms of both entitlement and generosity of MIS with the peculiar equivalence scale adopted by the scheme playing a crucial role.

Accounting for Greenhouse Gas Emissions in the Agricultural System of China Based on the Life Cycle Assessment Method

Agricultural systems contribute nearly one-third of global anthropogenic GHG emissions and are an important source of GHGs globally. The clarification of the GHG emission pattern from agriculture is of paramount importance in the establishment of an agricultural emission reduction mechanism and the realization of China’s dual-carbon target. Based on the life cycle assessment method (LCA), this paper comprehensively quantifies the greenhouse gas emissions from the agricultural system in China, encompassing rice, wheat, and corn cultivation as well as animal husbandry including cows, horses, donkeys, mules, camels, pigs, and sheep. The analysis covers the period 2000–2020 and examines the spatial distribution, temporal trends, and structural changes in the greenhouse gas emissions within China’s agriculture sector. The main results are as follows: (1) from 2000 to 2020, China witnessed a consistent upward trajectory in its total agricultural GHG emissions, exhibiting an average annual growth rate of 0.73%. Notably, methane (CH4) emissions emerged as the largest contributor, displaying an overall fluctuating pattern. Carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions demonstrated intermittent increases with a noteworthy annual growth rate of 3%, signifying the most rapid expansion within this context. Conversely, nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions experienced decline over the specified period. (2) GHG emissions from cultivation demonstrate an upward trajectory, primarily driven by the CH4 emissions originating from rice cultivation and CO2 resulting from straw incineration. Conversely, GHG emissions stemming from animal husbandry declined, with the primary source being CH4 emissions arising from animal enteric fermentation. Agricultural N2O emissions predominantly arise due to manure management and nitrogen fertilizer application. (3) Agricultural greenhouse gas emissions exhibit significant variations in spatial distribution, gradually concentrating towards the North China Plain, the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, and the northeast. Specifically, agricultural CH4 emissions are progressively concentrated in China’s pivotal rice-growing regions, encompassing the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River Plain, as well as livestock breeding areas like Inner Mongolia. Agricultural CO2 emissions primarily concentrate in dryland crop production zones such as North China and Northeast China. Meanwhile, Agricultural N2O emissions predominantly occur in Inner Mongolia and the North China Plain. China’s agricultural greenhouse gas emissions in 2020 show a significant spatial clustering effect, with hotspots primarily concentrated in Shandong, Anhui, Henan, and other regions and cold spots focused in the western and southern areas. The emission patterns of agricultural GHGs are closely intertwined with farming practices, regional development levels, and national policy; hence, tailored measures for emission reduction should be formulated based on specific crop types, livestock categories, agricultural production activities, and regional development characteristics.

Do changes in the frailty score differ by the type of group sports and exercises participated in? A 3-year longitudinal study

BackgroundOlder adults who engage in group sports and exercises achieve greater health benefits than those who exercise by themselves. The benefits of group participation may vary depending on the type of sports/exercise they engage in. The present study aimed to identify the association between specific sports and exercise types performed in groups and evaluate the longitudinal changes in multidimensional frailty scores among community-dwelling older adults in Japan.MethodsWe used 3-year follow-up data from the Japan Gerontological Evaluation Study and analyzed 33,746 men and 36,799 women aged ≥ 65 years. To elucidate the relationship between participation in 20 types of group sports/exercises in 2016 (baseline) and the change in frailty score (using the Kihon Checklist, KCL) from 2016 to 2019, we performed linear regression analyses through multivariate adjustments for age group, self-rated health, marital status, living alone, occupational status, years of education, alcohol drinking status, smoking status, equivalent income, and disease status using an inverse probability weighting method. P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant.ResultsThe mean change in KCL scores over 3 years was + 0.62 and + 0.61 points in men and women, respectively, implying the degree of frailty worsened. The sports/exercise types that significantly prevented increments in KCL scores for both sexes compared to non-participants were hiking (men: B, − 0.36; women: B, − 0.29), walking (men: B, − 0.26; women: B, − 0.24), tennis (men: B, − 0.23; women: B, − 0.24), ground golf (men: B, − 0.21; women: B, − 0.19), and weight exercises (men: B, − 0.19; women: B, − 0.16).ConclusionParticipation in specific sports and exercise groups offer significant physical and psychological benefits for frailty prevention among older adults in Japan. The results of this study may offer substantive evidence to encourage older adults to participate in group activities for the prevention of multidimensional frailty. It will also help public health stakeholders to decide which type of sports and exercise groups to promote in a community.