Regional research

BACKGROUND: Depression is a highly prevalent and disabling mental health condition among adolescents. The epidemiology of depression in adolescents has been changing over time, reflecting changes in risk factors as well as disease concepts and diagnosis. However, few studies have characterized the longitudinal epidemiology of depression in adolescents. Understanding trends of disease burden provides key insights to improve resource allocation and design targeted interventions for this vulnerable population...

Introduction: Widespread transmission of Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV) genotype four (GIV) occurred across mainland Australia in 2022. This resulted in forty-five human cases, including seven deaths, and the identification of JEV infection in over 80 commercial piggeries. Materials and Methods: We collected mosquitoes which were trapped using CO2 -baited light traps deployed near piggeries reporting disease or in regions linked to human cases in the Wide Bay region in the state of Queensland. Mosquitoes from four traps yielded JEV RNA by real-time RT-PCR...

The spread of COVID-19 greatly restricted physical and economic activities in global cities due to growing fears of infection and lockdown policies. Accordingly, the transfer of shopping activities from traditional markets to e-commerce has accelerated. Urban retail has substantially declined by competing with these disrupting factors, but resilience capabilities are known to vary by scale and regional characteristics. This study identifies which types of retail clusters were more resilient to the economic shock caused by the pandemic...

In Chinese archaeological research, analyzing the evolution of motifs in ancient pottery is crucial for studying the spread and growth of cultures across various eras and regions. However, such analyses are often challenging due to the complexities of identifying motifs with evolutionary connections that may manifest concurrent changes in appearance, space, and time, compounded by ineffective documentation. We propose PM-Vis, a visual analytics system for tracing and analyzing the evolution of pottery motifs...

By integrating the successful case of the European Union emissions trading system, this study proposes a water emissions trading system, a novel method of reducing water pollution. Assuming that upstream governments allocate initial quotas to upstream businesses as the compensation standard, this approach defines the foundational principles of market trading mechanisms and establishes a robust watershed ecological compensation model to address challenges in water pollution prevention. To be specific, the government establishes a reasonable initial quota for upstream enterprises, which can be used to limit the emissions of upstream pollution...

Soil amendment is an important strategy for improving soil quality and crop yield. From 2014 to 2019, we conducted a study to investigate the effects of tobacco straw return with lime on soil nutrients, soil microbial community structure, tobacco leaf yield, and quality in southern Anhui, China. A field experiment was conducted with four treatments: straw removed (CK), straw return (St), straw return with dolomite (St + D), and straw return with lime (St + L). Results showed that after 5 years of application, the St + L significantly increased the soil pH by 16...

The 5G sub-6 GHz radio frequency (RF) electromagnetic fields (EMF) are the most widely used in China's communications. The public has expressed concerns about possible brain health effects of the higher frequency bands in 5G compared to 2G, 3G, and 4G bands. It is imperative to empirically investigate the potential health hazards of these novel frequency bands in 5G communication technology. This study evaluates the assessment of brain tissue dose coupling from sub-6 GHz band EMF emitted by base stations in China...

The gut microbiota (GM) and its potential functions play a crucial role in maintaining host health and longevity. The aim of this study was to investigate the potential relationship between GM and longevity. We collected fecal samples from 92 healthy volunteers (middle-aged and elderly: 43-79 years old; longevity: ≥ 90 years old) from Changshou Town, Zhongxiang City, Hubei, China. In addition, we collected samples from 30 healthy middle-aged and elderly controls (aged 51-70 years) from Wuhan, Hubei...

Ecophysiological studies of lichens in tropical Asia are rare, and additional studies can increase the understanding of lichen life in this region. The main aim of this study was to observe the relationships between water availability and photosynthetic parameters, as well as hydration trait parameters, in macrolichens during the rainy and dry seasons in a tropical forest. A total of 11 lichen species growing in a lower montane rainforest in Thailand were collected and studied. The results clearly showed that the specific thallus mass (STM), net photosynthetic rate (Pn), the potential quantum yield of primary photochemistry (Fv/Fm), chlorophyll content, and carotenoid content of almost all lichens were lower in the dry season than in the rainy season...

In this study, the distribution of oxygen-containing functional groups on graphene with vacancies and topological defects was systematically investigated using advanced computational methods and the structure models for multi-defect graphene oxides (GOs) were proposed. All potential adsorption sites were considered through an automated structure generation program to identify energetically favorable structures. Unlike the pristine graphene surface where oxygen-containing functional groups always aggregate with each other, we observed a tendency for them to preferentially adsorb near defects...

Management of burn injuries is complex, with highly variable outcomes occurring among different populations. This meta-analysis aims to assess the outcomes of burn therapy in North American (NA) and European adults, specifically, mortality and complications, to guide further therapeutic advances. A systematic review of PubMed, Web of Science, and Cochrane was performed. Random-effect meta-analysis of proportions was conducted to assess the overall prevalence of the defined outcomes. Fifty-four studies were included, pooling 60,269 adult patients...

ConspectusIn this Account, we discuss our group's research over the past decade on a class of functionalized boron clusters with tunable chemical and physical properties, with an emphasis on accessing and controlling their redox behavior. These clusters can be thought of as three-dimensional aromatic systems that have distinct redox behavior and photophysical properties compared to their two-dimensional organic counterparts. Specifically, our lab has studied the highly tunable, multielectron redox behavior of B12 (OR)12 clusters and applied these molecules in various settings...

BACKGROUND: The study of Y-chromosomal variations provides valuable insights into male susceptibility in certain diseases like cardiovascular disease (CVD). In this study, we analyzed paternal lineage in different Iranian ethnic groups, not only to identify developing medical etiology, but also to pave the way for gender-specific targeted strategies and personalized medicine in medical genetic research studies. METHODS: The diversity of eleven Iranian ethnic groups was studied using 27 Y-chromosomal short tandem repeat (Y-STR) haplotypes from Y-filer® Plus kit...

OBJECTIVE: Escalating global challenges such as disasters, conflict, and climate change underline the importance of addressing Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear (CBRN) terrorism for sustainable public health strategies. This study aims to provide a comprehensive epidemiological analysis of CBRN incidents in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, emphasizing the necessity of sustainable responses to safeguard healthcare infrastructures. METHODS: Utilizing a retrospective approach, this research analyzes data from the Global Terrorism Database (GTD) covering the period from 2003 to 2020...

Malaria is a life-threatening disease that affects tropical and subtropical regions worldwide. Various drugs were used to treat malaria, including artemisinin and derivatives, antibiotics (tetracycline, doxycycline), quinolines (chloroquine, amodiaquine), and folate antagonists (sulfadoxine and pyrimethamine). Since the malarial parasites developed drug resistance, there is a need to develop new chemical entities with high efficacy and low toxicity. In this context, 1,2,4,5-tetraoxanes emerged as an essential scaffold and have shown promising antimalarial activity...

The anodic methanol oxidation reaction (MOR) plays a crucial role in coupling with the cathodic hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and enables the sustainable production of the high-valued formate. Nickel-based hydroxide (Ni(OH)2) as MOR electrocatalyst has attracted enormous attention. However, the key factor determining the intrinsic catalytic activity remains unknown, which significantly hinders the further development of Ni(OH)2 electrocatalyst. Here, we found that the dx2-y2 electronic state within antibonding bands plays a decisive role in the whole MOR process...

BACKGROUND: Mortality rate in rural areas is a useful measure of the health of the population and the function of the health system, which varies over space and time. The objective of this research is to explore the spatial and temporal variations in the rural mortality rate in Iran at the county level in 2006, 2011 and 2016. METHODS: data were gathered from the rural population and mortality statistics published by the Statistical Centre of Iran and the National Organization for Civil Registration...

This work aimed to identify markers and candidate genes underlying porcine digestive traits. In total, 331 pigs were genotyped by 80 K Chip data or 50 K Chip data. For apparent neutral detergent fiber digestibility, a total of 19 and 21 candidate single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) were respectively identified using a genome-wide efficient mixed-model association algorithm and linkage-disequilibrium adjusted kinship. Among them, three quantitative trait locus (QTL) regions were identified. For apparent acid detergent fiber digestibility, a total of 16 and 17 SNPs were identified by these two methods, respectively...

CONTEXT: Medical devices fall under the broad topic encompass everything from basic hardware to integrated software systems. The integration of software into hardware devices is not simple due to requirements of regional regulatory bodies. Therefore, medical businesses need to oversee not only the creation of devices but also the observance of guidelines and standards established by regulatory bodies. While plan-driven methodologies prevented software from evolving or changing, agile methodologies have inherent characteristics of insufficient planning and documentation...

Algorithm audits have increased in recent years due to a growing need to independently assess the performance of automatically curated services that process, filter and rank the large and dynamic amount of information available on the Internet. Among several methodologies to perform such audits, virtual agents stand out because they offer the ability to perform systematic experiments, simulating human behaviour without the associated costs of recruiting participants. Motivated by the importance of research transparency and replicability of results, this article focuses on the challenges of such an approach...