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The horse played a crucial role in China through the first millennium BC, used both for military advantage and, through incorporation into elite burials, to express social status. Details of how horses were integrated into mortuary contexts during the Qin Empire, however, are poorly understood. Here, the authors present new zooarchaeological data for 24 horses from an accessory pit in Qin Shihuang's mausoleum, indicating that the horses chosen were tall, adult males. These findings provide insights into the selection criteria for animals to be included in the emperor's tomb and invite consideration of questions concerning horse breeds, husbandry practices, and the military and symbolic importance of horses in early imperial China.
The Cambrian successions at the Chihuarruita Hill outcrop, Sonora, Mexico, have yielded two successive linguliform brachiopod assemblages that are transitional between Cambrian Stage 4 and the newly recognized global Wuliuan Stage. The lowermost assemblage includes Dictyonina sp., Paterina sp., Eothele sp., Hadrotreta rara? (Cooper), and Linnarssonia arellanoi? (Cooper), coming from the upper part of the Buelna Formation. The younger, recently named El Gavilán Formation contains a more diverse linguliform brachiopod assemblage, including Acrothele concava Cooper, Batenevotreta? mexicana n. sp., Dictyonina minutipuncta Cooper, Eothele sp., Eoobolus sp., Hadrotreta rara? (Cooper), Linnarssonia arellanoi? (Cooper), Micromitra sp., Paterina sp., and Prototreta sp. The El Gavilán Formation contains a diverse trilobite fauna suggesting Delamaran age in terms of the Laurentian regional stratigraphical scheme. The base of the global Wuliuan Stage and Miaolingian Series is defined by the first occurrence of Oryctocephalus indicus; in the absence of the index species, the base should be provisionally placed at the base of the El Gavilán Formation. The Wuliuan age of the brachiopod assemblage recovered from the El Gavilán Formation is supported by the occurrence of Acrothele in the Cambrian biostratigraphical succession of Himalaya, where the genus makes its first appearance in the Kaotaia prachina Zone. In addition, the co-occurrences of Acrothele and Eothele can be taken as an indication of the Wuliuan age of the fauna. A new biogeographic analysis confirms that the Eothele Fauna first appeared at the end of Cambrian Stage 4, as a result of increased faunal migration within the southern tropical latitudes directed from Australasian Gondwana to Laurentia.
Due to the lack of research between the inner layers in the structure of colonic mucous and the metabolism of fatty acid in the constipation model, we aim to determine the changes in the mucous phenotype of the colonic glycocalyx and the microbial community structure following treatment with Rhubarb extract in our research. The constipation and treatment models are generated using adult male C57BL/6N mice. We perform light microscopy and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) to detect a Muc2-rich inner mucus layer attached to mice colon under different conditions. In addition, 16S rDNA sequencing is performed to examine the intestinal flora. According to TEM images, we demonstrate that Rhubarb can promote mucin secretion and find direct evidence of dendritic structure-linked mucus structures with its assembly into a lamellar network in a pore size distribution in the isolated colon section. Moreover, the diversity of intestinal flora has noticeable changes in constipated mice. The present study characterizes a dendritic structure and persistent cross-links have significant changes accompanied by the alteration of intestinal flora in feces in models of constipation and pretreatment with Rhubarb extract.
The association between executive dysfunction, brain dysconnectivity, and inflammation is a prominent feature across major psychiatric disorders (MPDs), schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and major depressive disorder. A dimensional approach is warranted to delineate their mechanistic interplay across MPDs.
Methods
This single site study included a total of 1543 participants (1058 patients and 485 controls). In total, 1169 participants underwent diffusion tensor and resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (745 patients and 379 controls completed the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test). Fractional anisotropy (FA) and regional homogeneity (ReHo) assessed structural and functional connectivity, respectively. Pro-inflammatory cytokine levels [interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-6, and tumor necrosis factor-α] were obtained in 325 participants using blood samples collected with 24 h of scanning. Group differences were determined for main measures, and correlation and mediation analyses and machine learning prediction modeling were performed.
Results
Executive deficits were associated with decreased FA, increased ReHo, and elevated IL-1β and IL-6 levels across MPDs, compared to controls. FA and ReHo alterations in fronto-limbic-striatal regions contributed to executive deficits. IL-1β mediated the association between FA and cognition, and IL-6 mediated the relationship between ReHo and cognition. Executive cognition was better predicted by both brain connectivity and cytokine measures than either one alone for FA-IL-1β and ReHo-IL-6.
Conclusions
Transdiagnostic associations among brain connectivity, inflammation, and executive cognition exist across MPDs, implicating common neurobiological substrates and mechanisms for executive deficits in MPDs. Further, inflammation-related brain dysconnectivity within fronto-limbic-striatal regions may represent a transdiagnostic dimension underlying executive dysfunction that could be leveraged to advance treatment.
As part of a project to implement antimicrobial dashboards at select facilities, we assessed physician attitudes and knowledge regarding antibiotic prescribing.
Design:
An online survey explored attitudes toward antimicrobial use and assessed respondents’ management of four clinical scenarios: cellulitis, community-acquired pneumonia, non–catheter-associated asymptomatic bacteriuria, and catheter-associated asymptomatic bacteriuria.
Setting:
This study was conducted across 16 Veterans’ Affairs (VA) medical centers in 2017.
Participants:
Physicians working in inpatient settings specializing in infectious diseases (ID), hospital medicine, and non-ID/hospitalist internal medicine.
Methods:
Scenario responses were scored by assigning +1 for answers most consistent with guidelines, 0 for less guideline-concordant but acceptable answers and −1 for guideline-discordant answers. Scores were normalized to 100% guideline concordant to 100% guideline discordant across all questions within a scenario, and mean scores were calculated across respondents by specialty. Differences in mean score per scenario were tested using analysis of variance (ANOVA).
Results:
Overall, 139 physicians completed the survey (19 ID physicians, 62 hospitalists, and 58 other internists). Attitudes were similar across the 3 groups. We detected a significant difference in cellulitis scenario scores (concordance: ID physicians, 76%; hospitalists, 58%; other internists, 52%; P = .0087). Scores were numerically but not significantly different across groups for community-acquired pneumonia (concordance: ID physicians, 75%; hospitalists, 60%; other internists, 56%; P = .0914), for non–catheter-associated asymptomatic bacteriuria (concordance: ID physicians, 65%; hospitalists, 55%; other internists, 40%; P = .322), and for catheter-associated asymptomatic bacteriuria (concordance: ID physicians, 27% concordant; hospitalists, 8% discordant; other internists 13% discordant; P = .12).
Conclusions:
Significant differences in performance regarding management of cellulitis and low overall performance regarding asymptomatic bacteriuria point to these conditions as being potentially high-yield targets for stewardship interventions.
The fall armyworm (Spodoptera frugiperda), a destructive pest that originated in South and North America, spread to China in early 2019. Controlling this invasive pest requires an understanding of its population structure and migration patterns, yet the invasion genetics of Chinese S. frugiperda is not clear. Here, using the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase subunit I (COI) gene, triose phosphate isomerase (Tpi) gene and eight microsatellite loci, we investigated genetic structure and genetic diversity of 16 S. frugiperda populations in China. The Tpi locus identified most S. frugiperda populations as the corn-strains, and a few were heterozygous strains. The microsatellite loci revealed that the genetic diversity of this pest in China was lower than that in South America. Furthermore, we found moderate differentiation among the populations, distinct genetic structures between adjacent populations and abundant genetic resources in the S. frugiperda populations from China sampled across 2 years. The survival rate of S. frugiperda was significantly higher when it was fed on corn leaves than on rice leaves, and the larval stage mortality rate was the highest under both treatments. Our results showed that S. frugiperda probably invaded China via multiple independent introductions and careful pesticide control, continuous monitoring and further studies will be needed to minimize its potential future outbreak.
To investigate the spiritual care needs and associated influencing factors among elderly inpatients with stroke, and to examine the correlations among spiritual care needs, spiritual well-being, self-perceived burden, self-transcendence, and social support.
Methods
A cross-sectional quantitative design was implemented, and the STROBE Checklist was used as the foundation of the study. A convenience sample of 458 elderly inpatients with stroke was selected from three hospitals in China. The sociodemographic characteristics questionnaire, the Nurse Spiritual Therapeutics Scale, the Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy—Spiritual Well-being, the Self-Perceived Burden Scale, the Chinese Self-Transcendence Scale, and the Perceived Social Support Scale were used. Descriptive statistics, correlation, Student's t-test, ANOVA, non-parametric, and multiple linear regression analyses were used to analyze the data.
Results
The total score of spiritual care needs was 29.82 ± 7.65. Spiritual care needs were positively correlated with spiritual well-being (r = 0.709, p < 0.01), self-transcendence (r = 0.710, p < 0.01), and social support (r = 0.691, p < 0.01), whereas being negatively correlated with self-perceived burden (r = −0.587, p < 0.01). Religious beliefs, educational level, residence place, disease course, spiritual well-being, self-perceived burden, self-transcendence, and social support were found to be the main influencing factors.
Significance of results
The spiritual care needs were prevalent and moderate. It is suggested that nurses should enhance spiritual care knowledge and competence, take targeted spiritual care measures according to inpatients’ individual personality traits or characteristics and differences of patients, reduce their self-perceived burden and improve their spiritual well-being, self-transcendence and social support in multiple ways and levels, so as to meet their spiritual care needs to the greatest extent and enhance their spiritual comfort.
Interactions between the boundary layer and two successive incident shock waves (ISWs) often occur in the supersonic mixed-compression inlets. However, the flow mechanism involved in such interactions has been studied rarely. In this study, we investigate experimentally and analytically the turbulent boundary layer separation flow induced by the single ISW and dual ISWs at the identical total deflection angles in a Mach 2.73 flow. Schlieren photography, wall pressure measurement and surface oil-flow visualisation are employed to diagnose the flow field. Experiments with the impingement points of the two ISWs intersecting on the bottom wall exhibit a separated flow with a triangle-like separation bubble, namely the first kind of dual-ISW/turbulent boundary layer interaction (ISWTBLI). Comparative studies show that various flow features of this kind of dual-ISWTBLI, including the extent of the separation region, pressure distribution and surface-flow topological structures, are nearly identical to those of the single-ISWTBLI with an identical total deflection angle. As the distance between the two ISWs increases, the shape of the separation region in the dual-ISWTBLI changes from triangle-like to quadrilateral-like, and the height of the separation region decreases accordingly, forming the second kind of dual-ISWTBLI. Furthermore, an inviscid model is developed for the dual-ISWTBLI to describe the complex shock wave system and elucidate the cause of a quadrilateral-like separation bubble in the second kind of dual-ISWTBLI. Moreover, based on a previous work by Souverein et al. (J. Fluid Mech., vol. 714, 2013, pp. 505–535) on the single-ISWTBLI, a modified scaling method is established for the first kind of dual-ISWTBLI.
Archaeological fieldwork at the fortified site of Kuiyukexiehai'er (Koyuk Shahri) in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region of north-western China yields the earliest known evidence for urban occupation in the Tarim Basin, providing new insights into early urbanism and agro-pastoral subsistence practices in the region during the first millennium BC.
The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) may potentially reduce trade barriers between China and countries along the Belt and Road (BR) route, affecting the positions in Global Value Chains (GVCs) of agricultural products of these countries. This study explores the BRI influence on the GVC positions using a global computable general equilibrium (CGE) model and focusing on China and the BR countries. The study finds that the reduction of tariff barriers and non-tariff barriers between countries along ‘the Belt and Road’ results in increased producer prices and volumes of almost all agricultural products exported from China, which improves the position of China in the GVCs of these agricultural products in our best estimate scenario. Countries along the BR route also benefit from the reduction in trade barriers, with improved positions in the GVCs of agricultural products in the best estimate scenario, especially those products that have comparative advantages in GVCs.
Previous analyses of grey and white matter volumes have reported that schizophrenia is associated with structural changes. Deep learning is a data-driven approach that can capture highly compact hierarchical non-linear relationships among high-dimensional features, and therefore can facilitate the development of clinical tools for making a more accurate and earlier diagnosis of schizophrenia.
Aims
To identify consistent grey matter abnormalities in patients with schizophrenia, 662 people with schizophrenia and 613 healthy controls were recruited from eight centres across China, and the data from these independent sites were used to validate deep-learning classifiers.
Method
We used a prospective image-based meta-analysis of whole-brain voxel-based morphometry. We also automatically differentiated patients with schizophrenia from healthy controls using combined grey matter, white matter and cerebrospinal fluid volumetric features, incorporated a deep neural network approach on an individual basis, and tested the generalisability of the classification models using independent validation sites.
Results
We found that statistically reliable schizophrenia-related grey matter abnormalities primarily occurred in regions that included the superior temporal gyrus extending to the temporal pole, insular cortex, orbital and middle frontal cortices, middle cingulum and thalamus. Evaluated using leave-one-site-out cross-validation, the performance of the classification of schizophrenia achieved by our findings from eight independent research sites were: accuracy, 77.19–85.74%; sensitivity, 75.31–89.29% and area under the receiver operating characteristic curve, 0.797–0.909.
Conclusions
These results suggest that, by using deep-learning techniques, multidimensional neuroanatomical changes in schizophrenia are capable of robustly discriminating patients with schizophrenia from healthy controls, findings which could facilitate clinical diagnosis and treatment in schizophrenia.
In order to merge the advantages of the traditional compressed sensing (CS) methodology and the data-driven deep network scheme, this paper proposes a physical model-driven deep network, termed CS-Net, for solving target image reconstruction problems in through-the-wall radar imaging. The proposed method consists of two consequent steps. First, a learned convolutional neural network prior is introduced to replace the regularization term in the traditional iterative CS-based method to capture the redundancy of the radar echo signal. Moreover, the physical model of the radar signal is used in the data consistency layer to encourage consistency with the measurements. Second, the iterative CS optimization is unrolled to yield a deep learning network, where the weight, regularization parameter, and the other parameters are learnable. A quantity of training data enables the network to extract high-dimensional characteristics of the radar echo signal to reconstruct the spatial target image. Simulation results demonstrated that the proposed method can achieve accurate target image reconstruction and was superior to the traditional CS method, in terms of mean squared error and the target texture details.
The significance of spiritual care competence among nurses has been emphasized across countries and cultures in many studies. However, there were few studies on correlations among spiritual care competence, spiritual care perceptions, and spiritual health of nurses in China.
Objective
To investigate spiritual care competence, spiritual care perceptions, and spiritual health, and examine the correlations among spiritual care competence, spiritual care perceptions and spiritual health, and the mediating role of spiritual health between other two variables of Chinese nurses.
Methods
A cross-sectional and correlational design was implemented, and the STROBE Checklist was used to report the study. A convenience sample of 2,181 nurses were selected from 17 hospitals in 3 provinces, China. Participants provided data on sociodemographic by completing the Chinese Version of the Spiritual Care Competence Scale, the Chinese Version of the Spiritual Care-Giving Scale, and the Spiritual Health Scale Short Form. Descriptive statistics, univariate, multiple linear regression, and Pearson correlation analysis were used to analyze data.
Results
The total scores of spiritual care competence, spiritual care perceptions, and spiritual health were 58.25 ± 16.21, 144.49 ± 16.87, and 84.88 ± 10.57, respectively, which both were moderate. Spiritual care competence was positively correlated with spiritual care perceptions (r = 0.653, p < 0.01) and spiritual health (r = 0.587, p < 0.01). And spiritual health played a mediating role between the other two variables (accounting for 35.6%).
Significance of results
The spiritual care competence, spiritual care perceptions, and spiritual health of Chinese nurses need to be improved. It is recommended that nursing managers should pay attention to spiritual care education of nurses, and improve spiritual care perceptions and spiritual health in multiple ways, so as to improve their spiritual care competence and to maximize the satisfy spiritual care needs of patients in China.
The joint effects of stimulus quality and semantic context in visual word recognition were examined with event-related potential (ERP) recordings. In one-character Chinese word recognition, we manipulated stimulus quality at two degradation levels (highly vs. slightly degraded) and semantic context at two priming levels (semantically related vs. unrelated). In a prime–target–probe trial flow, ERPs were recorded to the target character which was presented in either high or slight degradation and which was preceded by either a semantically related or unrelated prime character. The target character was then followed by a probe character which was either identical to or different from the target character. Subjects were instructed to make target–probe matching judgments. The ERP results demonstrated a degradation by priming interaction, with larger N400 semantic priming effects for slightly degraded targets. Moreover, the degradation effects were observed on the P200, N250, and N400. These findings provided evidence for the cascaded model of visual word recognition such that the visual processing cascaded into the semantic stage and thus interacted on the N400 amplitude. The results were compared to an earlier study with a null ERP degradation by priming interaction. The ramifications of these results for models of visual word recognition are discussed.
To examine how individual steward characteristics (eg, steward role, sex, and specialized training) are associated with their views of antimicrobial stewardship program (ASP) implementation at their institution.
Design:
Descriptive survey from a mixed-methods study.
Setting:
Two large national healthcare systems; the Veterans’ Health Administration (VA) (n = 134 hospitals) and Intermountain Healthcare (IHC; n = 20 hospitals).
Participants:
We sent the survey to 329 antibiotic stewards serving in 154 hospitals; 152 were physicians and 177 were pharmacists. In total, 118 pharmacists and 64 physicians from 126 hospitals responded.
Methods:
The survey was grounded in constructs of the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research, and it assessed stewards’ views on the development and implementation of antibiotic stewardship programs (ASPs) at their institutions We then examined differences in stewards’ views by demographic factors.
Results:
Regardless of individual factors, stewards agreed that the ASP added value to their institution and was advantageous to patient care. Stewards also reported high levels of collegiality and self-efficacy. Stewards who had specialized training or those volunteered for the role were less likely to think that the ASP was implemented due to a mandate. Similarly volunteers and those with specialized training felt that they had authority in the antibiotic decisions made in their facility.
Conclusions:
Given the importance of ASPs, it may be beneficial for healthcare institutions to recruit and train individuals with a true interest in stewardship.
Across Eurasia, horse transport transformed ancient societies. Although evidence for chariotry is well dated, the origins of horse riding are less clear. Techniques to distinguish chariotry from riding in archaeological samples rely on elements not typically recovered from many steppe contexts. Here, the authors examine horse remains of Mongolia's Deer Stone-Khirigsuur (DSK) Complex, comparing them with ancient and modern East Asian horses used for both types of transport. DSK horses demonstrate unique dentition damage that could result from steppe chariotry, but may also indicate riding with a shallow rein angle at a fast gait. A key role for chariots in Late Bronze Age Mongolia helps explain the trajectory of horse use in early East Asia.
A moderately diverse assemblage of brachiopods from the Latham Shale Lagerstätte (Cambrian Series 2, upper Stage 4) and the upper Cadiz Formation (Miaolingian, Wuliuan), California is described in detail for the first time. The fauna includes both linguliform and rhynchonelliform brachiopods—Hadrotreta primaea (Walcott, 1902), Paterina prospectensis (Walcott, 1884), Dictyonina pannula (White, 1874), and Mickwitzia occidens Walcott, 1908; and Nisusia fulleri Mount, 1981 and Wimanella highlandensis (Walcott, 1886), respectively—together with olenellid trilobites and hyolithids. The fauna differs from other Cambrian Konservat-Lagerstätten (notably Cambrian Series 2 Chengjiang and Guanshan Lagerstätten, eastern Yunnan) in that the brachiopod shell valves in many cases are still preserved with their original mineralization. Moreover, the excellently preserved shale-hosted valves even include cases with exquisite epithelial cell molds, otherwise only seen in acid-etched material from carbonate rocks. The pitted ornamentation in D. pannula closely resembles that described from Ordovician linguliforms. The unusual preservation of N. fulleri provides important clues for ancestral composition of the brachiopod shell. The two articulated rhynchonelliform species probably represent the oldest records of this group from the west Laurentia. The fauna could also represent the earliest onset of the transition from the Cambrian Evolutionary Fauna (CEF) to the Paleozoic Evolutionary Fauna (PEF).
The degree to which suicide risk aggregates in US families is unknown. The authors aimed to determine the familial risk of suicide in Utah, and tested whether familial risk varies based on the characteristics of the suicides and their relatives.
Methods
A population-based sample of 12 160 suicides from 1904 to 2014 were identified from the Utah Population Database and matched 1:5 to controls based on sex and age using at-risk sampling. All first through third- and fifth-degree relatives of suicide probands and controls were identified (N = 13 480 122). The familial risk of suicide was estimated based on hazard ratios (HR) from an unsupervised Cox regression model in a unified framework. Moderation by sex of the proband or relative and age of the proband at time of suicide (<25 v. ⩾25 years) was examined.
Results
Significantly elevated HRs were observed in first- (HR 3.45; 95% CI 3.12–3.82) through fifth-degree relatives (HR 1.07; 95% CI 1.02–1.12) of suicide probands. Among first-degree relatives of female suicide probands, the HR of suicide was 6.99 (95% CI 3.99–12.25) in mothers, 6.39 in sisters (95% CI 3.78–10.82), and 5.65 (95% CI 3.38–9.44) in daughters. The HR in first-degree relatives of suicide probands under 25 years at death was 4.29 (95% CI 3.49–5.26).
Conclusions
Elevated familial suicide risk in relatives of female and younger suicide probands suggests that there are unique risk groups to which prevention efforts should be directed – namely suicidal young adults and women with a strong family history of suicide.
The significance of spiritual care needs among chronic diseases patients has been emphasized across countries and cultures in many studies. However, there were few studies on spiritual care needs among elderly patients with moderate-to-severe chronic heart failure (CHF) in China.
Objective
To investigate spiritual care needs and associated influencing factors among elderly patients with moderate-to-severe CHF, and to examine the relationships among spiritual care needs, self-perceived burden, symptom management self-efficacy, and perceived social support.
Methods
A cross-sectional design was implemented, and the STROBE Checklist was used to report the study. A convenience sample of 474 elderly patients with moderate-to-severe CHF were selected from seven hospitals in Tianjin, China. The sociodemographic characteristics questionnaire, the Spiritual Needs Questionnaire Scale, the Self-Perceived Burden Scale, the Self-efficacy for Symptom Management Scale, and the Perceived Social Support Scale were used. Descriptive statistics, univariate, multiple linear regression, and Pearson's correlation analysis were used to analyze data.
Results
The total score of spiritual care needs among 474 elderly patients with moderate-to-severe CHF was 37.95 ± 14.71, which was moderate. Religious belief, educational background, self-perceived burden, symptom management self-efficacy, and perceived social support were the main factors affecting spiritual care needs, and spiritual care needs were negatively correlated with self-perceived burden (r = −0.637, p < 0.01) and positively correlated with symptom management self-efficacy (r = 0.802, p < 0.01) and social support (r = 0.717, p < 0.01).
Significance of results
The spiritual care needs of elderly patients with moderate-to-severe CHF were moderate, which were influenced by five factors. It is suggested that clinical nurses, families, and society should take targeted spiritual care measures to improve patients’ symptom management self-efficacy and perceived social support from many aspects, and reduce self-perceived burden to meet their spiritual care needs and improve the quality and satisfaction of spiritual care in nursing practice.