Multi-circular formation control with reinforced transient profiles for nonholonomic vehicles:A path-following framework

This article investigates a multi-circular path-following formation control with reinforced transient profiles for nonholonomic vehicles connected by a digraph.A multi-circular formation controller endowed with the feature of spatial-temporal decoupling is devised for a group of vehicles guided by a virtual leader evolving along an implicit path,which allows for a circumnavigation on multiple circles with an anticipant angular spacing.In addition,notice that it typically imposes a stringent time constraint on time-sensitive enclosing scenarios,hence an improved prescribed performance control(IPPC)using novel tighter behavior boundaries is presented to enhance transient capabilities with an ensured appointed-time convergence free from any overshoots.The significant merits are that coordinated circumnavigation along different circles can be realized via executing geometric and dynamic assignments independently with modified transient profiles.Furthermore,all variables existing in the entire system are analyzed to be convergent.Simulation and experimental results are provided to validate the utility of suggested solution.

The Effect of Blood Lipid Profiles on Chronic Kidney Disease in a Prospective Cohort:Based on a Regression Discontinuity Design

Objective Previous studies on the association between lipid profiles and chronic kidney disease(CKD)have yielded inconsistent results and no defined thresholds for blood lipids.Methods A prospective cohort study including 32,351 subjects who completed baseline and follow-up surveys over 5 years was conducted.Restricted cubic splines and Cox models were used to examine the association between the lipid profiles and CKD.A regression discontinuity design was used to determine the cutoff value of lipid profiles that was significantly associated with increased the risk of CKD.Results Over a median follow-up time of 2.2(0.5,4.2)years,648(2.00%)subjects developed CKD.The lipid profiles that were significantly and linearly related to CKD included total cholesterol(TC),triglycerides(TG),high-density lipoprotein cholesterol(HDL-C),TC/HDL-C,and TG/HDL-C,whereas lowdensity lipoprotein cholesterol(LDL-C)and LDL-C/HDL-C were nonlinearly correlated with CKD.TC,TG,TC/HDL-C,and TG/HDL-C showed an upward jump at the cutoff value,increasing the risk of CKD by 0.90%,1.50%,2.30%,and 1.60%,respectively,whereas HDL-C showed a downward jump at the cutoff value,reducing this risk by 1.0%.Female and participants with dyslipidemia had a higher risk of CKD,while the cutoff values for the different characteristics of the population were different.Conclusion There was a significant association between lipid profiles and CKD in a prospective cohort from Northwest China,while TG,TC/HDL-C,and TG/HDL-C showed a stronger risk association.The specific cutoff values of lipid profiles may provide a clinical reference for screening or diagnosing CKD risk.

Radical Hysterectomy in Cervical Cancer: Patients’ Epidemiological and Clinical Profiles and Perioperative Outcome in Two Referral Hospitals in Cameroon

Background: Cervical cancer (CC) is one of the most frequent cancers and the leading cause of death from gynecological cancer in Low and middle income countries, Cameroon inclusive. Surgery is the primary treatment modality when the disease is diagnosed at early stage. Radical hysterectomy in cervical cancer has not been evaluated in recent years in Cameroon. The purpose of this study is thus to evaluate the epidemiological and clinical features and short term outcomes of patients who underwent surgery. Patients and methods: This retrospective study was conducted at the Douala Gynaeco-obstetric and Pediatric Hospital and the Douala General Hospital. Cervical cancer patients who underwent Radical hysterectomy between January 2015 and December 2020 were included. A pre-established data collection tool was used to record socio-demographic, clinical and outcomes information from patients’ files;additional outcome information was obtained from phone calls. Descriptive analysis was done using the SPSS version 26. Bivariate analysis was used to determine associations between disease and patients characteristics and occurrence of adverse postoperative outcome. P value of 0.05 was considered. Results: Sixty one patients were enrolled. Their ages ranged from 33 to 74 years with a mean age of 51.95 ± 10.29 years. Over 85% of women were married, 65.57% were unemployed and 86.88% were multiparous. Only 28% had never done cervical cancer screening. Most patients had stage IB1 to IB2 stage disease (57.1%). Less than 9% underwent radical hysterectomy and 8 of those (13.11%) suffered intraoperative complications. Twenty-five patients (40.98%) presented immediate and short term complications. There was no significant association between the disease or patients’ characteristics and adverse outcomes. Conclusion: Cervical cancer patients are relatively young in our settings and only 9% of them reach the hospital at early stage. Postoperative adverse outcomes rate is higher than that reported in the literature. Sensitization on screening and awareness of early symptoms can reverse the situation.

Metabolic profiles and morphological characteristics of leaf tips among different sweet potato(Ipomoea batatas Lam.)varieties

Sweet potato leaf tips have high nutritional value,and exploring the differences in the metabolic profiles of leaf tips among different sweet potato varieties can provide information to improve their qualities.In this study,a UPLC-Q-Exactive Orbitrap/MS-based untargeted metabolomics method was used to evaluate the metabolites in leaf tips of 32 sweet potato varieties.Three varieties with distinct overall metabolic profiles(A01,A02,and A03),two varieties with distinct profiles of phenolic acids(A20 and A18),and three varieties with distinct profiles of flavonoids(A05,A12,and A16)were identified.In addition,a total of 163 and 29 differentially expressed metabolites correlated with the color and leaf shape of sweet potato leaf tips,respectively,were identified through morphological characterization.Group comparison analysis of the phenotypic traits and a metabolite-phenotypic trait correlation analysis indicated that the color differences of sweet potato leaf tips were markedly associated with flavonoids.Also,the level of polyphenols was correlated with the leaf shape of sweet potato leaf tips,with lobed leaf types having higher levels of polyphenols than the entire leaf types.The findings on the metabolic profiles and differentially expressed metabolites associated with the morphology of sweet potato leaf tips can provide useful information for breeding sweet potato varieties with higher nutritional value.

Profiles of the Headspace Volatile Organic and Essential Oil Compounds from the Tunisian Cardaria draba (L.) Desv. and Its Leaf and Stem Epidermal Micromorphology

In this work, we investigated aroma volatiles emanated by dry roots, stems, leaves, flowers, and fruits of Cardariadraba (L.) Desv. growing wild in Tunisia and its aerial part essential oils (EOs) composition. A total of 37 volatileorganic compounds (96.7%–98.9%) were identified;4 esters, 4 alcohols, 7 hydrocarbons, 12 aldehydes, 5 ketones,1 lactone, 1 organosulfur compound, 2 organonitrogen compounds, and 1 acid. The hydrocarbons form the maingroup, representing 49.5%–84.6% of the total detected volatiles. The main constituent was 2,2,4,6,6-pentamethylheptane(44.5%–76.2%) reaching the highest relative percentages. Forty-two compounds were determined in thetwo fractions of EOs, representing 98.8% and 97.2% of the total oil composition, respectively. The principal componentswere hexadecanoic acid (34.6%), 6-methyl-5-hepten-2-one (18.3%), decanal (15.0%), 6,10,14-trimethyl-2-pentadecanone (13.2%), and n-pentacosane (13%). Micromorphological details of the leaf and stem epidermisusing light microscopy revealed polygonal cells with sinuous walls in the adaxial and abaxial leaf surfaces andnearly rectangular and long ones with linear and thick walls for the stem epidermis. The stomata complexes wereanisocytic in the leaf epidermis and mainly anisocytic and rarely paracytic in the stem epidermis. Non-glandulartrichomes were unbranched and long with an acute apex or short with a convex apex. The glandular ones wereidentified for the first time in this species. They were short-stalked with a large secretory head. The highest stomatalindex (17.02%) was recorded in the abaxial leaf surface. The identification of headspace volatiles and essentialoil compounds can be used to characterize this species, and the various epidermis micromorphologicalfeatures are very useful for biosystematics taxonomic studies within Brassicaceae.

Profile of Amoebic vs. Pyogenic Liver Abscess and Comparison of Demographical, Clinical, Radiological, and Laboratory Profiles of These Patients from Three Secondary Care Centers in Senegal

Background: Liver abscess (LA) is a suppurated collection in the hepatic parenchyma. In Africa, liver abscesses are most often of amoebic origin, but more recently, the rate of pyogenic liver abscesses (PLA) has increased. Objective: to assess the epidemiological characteristics, clinical features, biological radiological findings, and outcomes of patients with PLA and with amebic liver abscess (ALA) in order to determine the potential factors that may help improve diagnosis and treatment for LA in the context of secondary care centers with limited medical supports. Methods: Retrospective review of LA diagnosed and treated at three secondary care centers in Thiès over 11 years. Results: 61 patients, were included, 52.45% had ALA and 47.54% had PLA. Males were predominant (79.31% in PLA vs 65.63% in ALA, p = 0.2). The median age was 38 years for the PLA group vs 39 years for the ALA group (p = 0.4). In both groups, the most common symptom was right upper abdominal pain (81.97%), hepatomegaly (81.97%). The PLA group had a higher prevalence of fever (79.31% vs 46.88%, p = 0,009), chills (51.72% vs 18.75%, p = 0.007), right basi-thoracic pain (55.17% vs 28.13%, p = 0.032), and jaundice (55.17% vs 28%, p = 0.032). There was no difference in radiological features between PLA and ALA. Patients with PLA had a higher level of White blood cell (20.600 vs 15.400, p = 0.014). The most common bacteria identified in PLA were Escherichia coli (58.8%). All patients had received antibiotic therapy, which was combined with aspiration puncture (37.3%), transcutaneous drainage (43.3%), and surgery (9.0%). Seven patients had received antibiotic therapy alone and all had amoebic abscesses. Elsewhere, the occurrence of complications was higher in PLA cases (75.86% vs 37.5%, p = 0.003). The overall hospital mortality rate was 13.11%, higher in cases of PLA (24.14% vs 3.13%, p = 0.022). Conclusion: Clinical and biological features were more severe in PLA. But radiological features cannot be used to distinguish between PLA and ALA.

Comparative study of cancer profiles between 2020 and 2022 using global cancer statistics(GLOBOCAN)

Background:The International Agency for Research on Cancer(IARC)released the latest estimates of the global burden of cancer.We present a comparison of cancer profiles between 2020 and 2022,leveraging data from the Global Cancer Statistics(GLOBOCAN).Methods:Cancer incidence and mortality data were sourced from two different years,2020 and 2022,in the GLOBOCAN database.We tracked changes in age-standardized incidence and mortality rates,as well as estimated numbers of new cancer cases and deaths of the 15 most common cancer types globally and in China between 2020 and 2022.Additionally,we conducted comparisons to assess alterations in the cancer burden and variations in mortality-to-incidence ratio(MIR)across different regions and countries for both 2020 and 2022.Results:Lung cancer remained the most common cancer and the leading cause of cancer death worldwide.The new cases of thyroid cancer witnessed a sharp increase in 2022.Conversely,the numbers of new cancer cases and deaths from stomach and esophageal cancer decreased significantly in 2022.The geographic distribution of cancer incidence and mortality across six continents in 2022 largely mirrored that of 2020.Higher Human Development Index(HDI)levels in countries corresponded with elevated rates of cancer incidence and mortality,consistent with the previous year.Among 185 countries or territories,China’s age-standardized incidence rate(ASIR)ranked 64th and its age-standardized mortality rate(ASMR)ranked 68th,aligning with global averages.Lung cancer continued to impose the greatest burden of incidence and mortality.Stomach,breast,and esophageal cancers showed declines in both case counts and ASIR.Noteworthy reductions in both ASMR and absolute mortality numbers were observed in liver,stomach,and esophageal cancers.The global MIR decreased from 0.516 in 2020 to 0.488 in 2022.MIR trends indicated an upward trajectory with decreasing HDI levels in both 2022 and 2020.While Canada,Germany,India,Italy,Japan,and the United Kingdom demonstrated increasing MIRs,China exhibited the most significant decrease,followed by Russia and the United States.Conclusions:The global landscape of cancer incidence and mortality in 2022 reflects ongoing trends observed in 2020.Cancer burdens vary notably across countries with differing socioeconomic statuses.Decreases in stomach,liver,and esophageal cancer cases and deaths signify progress in cancer control efforts.The decrease in the global MIRs highlights potential improvements in cancer management.

Use of generated artificial road profiles in road roughness evaluation

In the evaluation of road roughness and its effects on vehicles response in terms of ride quality, loads induced on pavement, drivers＇ comfort, etc., it is very common to generate road profles based on the equation provided by ISO 8608 standard, according to which it is possible to group road surface profiles into eight different classes. However, real profiles are significantly different from the artificial ones because of the non-stationary fea- ture of the first ones and the not full capability of the ISO 8608 equation to correctly describe the frequency content of real road profiles. In this paper, the international roughness index, the frequency-weighted vertical acceleration awz according to ISO 2631, and the dynamic load index are applied both on artificial and real profiles, highlighting the different results obtained. The analysis carried out in this work has highlighted some limitation of the ISO 8608 approach in the description of performance and conditions of real pavement profiles. Furthermore, the different sensitivity of the various indices to the fitted power spectral density parameters is shown, which should be taken into account when performing analysis using artificial profiles.

Dynamics of Soil CO_2 Profiles of Pinus sylvestris var. sylvestriformis Seedlings Under CO_2 Concentration Doubled

The gas_well system permanently installed in the soil was adopted for studying the dynamic relationship between CO 2 profiles and seedling root growth of Pinus sylvestris var. sylvestriformis (Takenouchi) Cheng et C. D. Chu. The study was conducted in the Open Research Station of Changbai Mountain Forest Ecological System, The Chinese Academy of Sciences from 1999 to 2001. Four treatments were arranged in the rectangular open_top chambers (OTCs): ambient CO 2+no_seedling, 700 μmol/mol CO 2+no_seedling, ambient CO 2 +seedlings, 700 μmol/mol CO 2+seedlings. By collecting and analyzing soil gas synchronously, it was found that the dynamics of CO 2 profiles were related to the biological activity of seedlings. There were more roots distributed in the top soil and the boundary layer across soil and sand, which made more contributions to the CO 2 profiles due to respiration root. Compared with the ambient CO 2, elevated CO 2 led to the peak of CO 2 concentration distribution shifted from soil surface layer to the boundary layer as seasonally growing of seedling roots. It is suggested the gas_well system is an inexpensive, non_destructive and relatively sensitive method for study of soil CO 2 concentration profiles.

MPEG-4中的Profiles及适用场合

MPEG 4提供了极其丰富的工具集用于对音 /视频对象编码。在实现MPEG 4标准时 ,可以根据应用领域的不同有选择地使用合适的视频、音频、图形和场景描述工具子集 ,这样可提高编解码器的工作效率。那些面向不同应用的工具子集就称为Profiles(档次 ) ,它们限定了一个解码器必须实现的工具集。描述了MPEG 4标准中的Profiles及适用场合。

基于蓝牙Profiles的互连测试系统的研究和实现

对蓝牙通信软件的互连性测试进行了研究 。

Organochlorine compounds and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in surface sediment from Baiyangdian Lake,North China:Concentrations,sources profiles and potential risk

Organochlorine pesticides （OCPs）, polychlorinated biphenyls （PCBs）, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons （PAHs） were determined in nineteen surface sediment samples collected from Baiyangdian Lake and its inflowing river （Fuhe River） in North China. Total concentrations of OCPs, PCBs and PAHs in sediments ranged from 5.4 to 707.6 ng]g, 2.3 to 197.8 ng/g, and 101.3 to 6360.5 ng]g, respectively. The levels of contaminants in Fuhe River were significantly higher than those in Baiyandian Lake. For hexachlorocyclohexane （HCHs） and dichlorodiphenytrich/oroethanes （DDTs）, α-HCH and p,p＇-DDT were predominant isomers; while for PCBs, PCB 28/31, PCB 40/103, PCB 60, PCB 101, and PCB 118 were predominant congeners. Possible sources derived from historical usage for OCPs and incomplete combustion fuel, wood, and coal and exhaustion of boats or cars for PAHs. Risk assessment of sediment indicated that sediments in Fuhe River were likely to pose potential biological adverse impact.

Dynamics of profiles and storage of carbon dioxide in broadleaved/Korean forest in Changbai Mountain

CO2 concentrations at different heights in a broadleaved/Korean forest (with a mean height of 26 m) were measured with infrared gas analyzer IRGA (model 2250D, LI-COR Inc. and LI-COR, 820) from Aug. to Oct. of 1999, Apr. to Jul. of 2000, and from Aug. 2002 to Sept. 2003. Based on the collected dada, the diurnal and seasonal dynamics of profiles and storage of carbon dioxide in the forest were analyzed. The diurnal CO2 profiles showed that the vertical distribution of CO2 concentration were different for daytime and nighttime, and the CO2 concentration was highest close to forest floor, no matter at daytime and nighttime. The seasonal profiles of CO2 showed that stratification in the canopy was evident during growth season. CO2 concentrations at different heights (60 m to 2.5 m) had a little change in March, with a difference of 10 mmolmol-1, but had a significant change in July, with a difference of 60 mmolmol-1. In July, there also existed a greater gradient of CO2 concentrations at canopy (22, 26 and 32 m), with a difference of 8 mmolmol-1. The calculated total storage (ΔC/Δt ) of CO2 in the air column with height of 40 m beneath eddy covariance instrument was negative, and made a little contribution to NEE.

Effects of Malnutrition on Economic Productivity in China As Estimated by PROFILES

Objective To calculate the effects of malnutrition on economic productivity in China. Methods PROFILES was used to quantify the function consequences of malnutrition in term of protein energy malnutrition, iron deficiency and iodine deficiency. Results Productivity gained due to improved iodine nutrition. The reduction in the TGR in 1992 to 2001 increased the net present value of further economic productivity by $142 billion. Reduction of the TGR rate to 5% over next 10 years would result in future productivity gains with value of $40 billion. Productivity gain due to reductions in child stunting would result in future economic productivity gains with the value of $101 billion. Reducing stunting further over the next 10 years would gain $20 billion. Productivity gain due to reduction of iron deficiency anemia reduced by 30% over the next 10 years would gain worth $107 billion and if childhood anemia reduced by 30% over next 10 years would gain $348 billion. Conclusion These interventions have huge economic payoff. That is likely to exceed their costs many times over.

Retrieving Atmospheric Temperature Profiles from AMSU-A Data with Neural Networks

Back propagation neural networks are used to retrieve atmospheric temperature profiles from NOAA-16 Advanced Microwave Sounding Unit-A (AMSU-A) measurements over East Asia. The collocated radiosonde observation and AMSU-A data over land in 2002-2003 are used to train the network, and the data over land in 2004 are used to test the network. A comparison with the multi-linear regression method shows that the neural network retrieval method can significantly improve the results in all weather conditions. When an offset of 0.5 K or a noise level of ±0.2 K is added to all channels simultaneously, the increase in the overall root mean square (RMS) error is less than 0.1 K. Furthermore, an experiment is conducted to investigate the effects of the window channels on the retrieval. The results indicate that the brightness temperatures of window channels can provide significantly useful information on the temperature retrieval near the surface. Additionally, the RMS errors of the profiles retrieved with the trained neural network are compared with the errors from the International Advanced TOVS (ATOVS) Processing Package (IAPP). It is shown that the network-based algorithm can provide much better results in the experiment region and comparable results in other regions. It is also noted that the network can yield remarkably better results than IAPP at the low levels and at about the 250-hPa level in summer skies over ocean. Finally, the network-based retrieval algorithm developed herein is applied in retrieving the temperature anomalies of Typhoon Rananim from AMSU-A data.

Value of inflammatory mediator profiles and procalcitonin in predicting postoperative infection in patients with hypertensive cerebral hemorrhage

BACKGROUND Hypertensive cerebral hemorrhage(HICH)is a common clinical cerebrovascular disease and one of the most serious complications of hypertension.Early warning of the occurrence of infection during treatment and timely anti-infective treatment are of great significance for the early prevention and treatment of postoperative infection in patients with HICH.Changes in the levels of inflammatory mediators,which are closely related to the occurrence and development of postoperative infection,and procalcitonin(PCT),which is a sensitive indicator for diagnosing bacterial infections,are widely used in clinical practice.AIM To explore the application value of inflammatory mediator profiles and PCT in predicting postoperative infection in patients with HICH.METHODS A total of 271 patients who underwent HICH surgery at our hospital between March 2019 and March 2021 were selected and divided into the infection(n=80)and non-infection(n=191)groups according to whether postoperative infection occurred.The postoperative infection status and etiological characteristics of the infective pathogens in the infection group were analyzed.Changes in inflammatory mediator profile indices and PCT levels were compared between the two groups,pre-and postoperatively.RESULTS A total of 109 strains of pathogenic bacteria were detected in the infection group,including 67 strains(61.47%)of gram-negative bacteria,32 strains(29.36%)of gram-positive bacteria,and 10 strains(9.17%)of fungi.The main infection site of the patients in the infection group was the respiratory system(63.75%).Preoperative interleukin(IL)-4,IL-6,IL-10,tumor necrosis factor-α,interferon-γ,and PCT levels were higher in the infection group than in the non-infection group(P<0.05),and there were no significant differences in the IL-2 Levels between the two groups(P>0.05).The inflammatory mediator profile indices and PCT levels were higher in the two groups of patients on the first postoperative day than preoperatively(P<0.05),and were higher than those in the non-infection group(P<0.05).Logistic regression analysis showed that preoperative IL-6 and PCT levels correlated with postoperative infection(P<0.05).Operating characteristic curve analysis results showed that the area under the curve(AUC)values of preoperative IL-6 and PCT levels in predicting postoperative infection in patients with HICH were 0.755 and 0.824,respectively.The AUC value of joint detection was 0.866,which was significantly higher than that of the single index(P<0.05).CONCLUSION Preoperative IL-6 and PCT levels are correlated with postoperative infection in patients with HICH.Their detection is clinically significant for early identification of patients at high risk for postoperative infection.

Calibration of Soil Electromagnetic Conductivity in Inverted Salinity Profiles with an Integration Method

Various calibration methods have been propounded to determine profiles of apparent bulk soil electrical conductivity (ECa) and soil electrical conductivity of a saturated soil paste extract (ECe) or a 1:5 soil water extract (EC1:5) using an electromagnetic induction instrument (EM38). The modeled coefficients, one of the successful and classical methods hitherto, were chosen to calibrate the EM38 measurements of the inverted salinity profiles of characteristic coastal saline soils at selected sites of Xincao Farm, Jiangsu Province, China. However, this method required three parameters for each depth layer. An integration approach, based on an exponential decay profile model, was proposed and the model was fitted to all the calibration sites. The obtained model can then be used to predict EC1:5 at a certain depth from electromagnetic measurements made using the EM38 device positioned in horizontal and vertical positions at the soil surface. This exponential decay model predicted the EC1:5 well according to the results of a one-way analysis of variance, and the further comparison indicated that the modeled coefficients appeared to be slightly superior to, but not statistically different from, this exponential decay model. Nevertheless, this exponential decay model was more significant and practical because it depended on less empirical parameters and could be used to perform point predictions of EC1:5 continuously with depth.

Substrate-induced changes in microbial community-level physiological profiles and their application to discriminate soil microbial communities

The addition of simple substrates could affect the microbial respiration in soils. This substrate-induced respiration is widely used to estimate the soil microbial biomass, but little attention has been paid to its influence on the changes of community-level physiological profiles. In this study, the process of microbial communities responding to the added substrate using sole-carbon-source utilization （BIOLOG） was investigated. BIOLOG is biased toward fast-growing bacteria; this advantage was taken to detect the prompt response of the active microbial communities to the added substrate. Four soil samples from agricultural fields adjacent to heavy metal mines were amended with L-arginine, citric acid, or D-glucose. Substrate amendments could, generally, not only increase the metabolic activity of the microbial communities, but also change the metabolic diverse patterns compared with no-substrate control. By tracking the process, it was found that the variance between substrate-induced treatment and control fluctuated greatly during the incubation course, and the influences of these three substrates were different. In addition, the application of these induced changes to discriminate soil microbial communities was tested. The distance among all samples was greatly increased, which further showed the functional variance among microbial communities in soils. This can be very useful in the discrimination of microbial communities even with high similarity.

Effect of pulsed current on temperature distribution,weld bead profiles and characteristics of gas tungsten arc welded aluminum alloy joints

Temperature distribution and weld bead profiles of constant current and pulsed current gas tungsten arc welded aluminium alloy joints were compared. The effects of pulsed current welding on tensile properties, hardness profiles, microstructural features and residual stress distribution of aluminium alloy joints were reported. The use of pulsed current technique is found to improve the tensile properties of the weld compared with continuous current welding due to grain refinement occurring in the fusion zone.

Effects of Malnutrition on Child Survival in China As Estimated by PROFILES

To estimate the benefits of reductions in underweight and Vitamin A deficiency for child survival in China that might be expected as a result of lowering the prevalence of these conditions. Methods Profiles, a process of nutrition policy analysis was used to quantify the functional consequences of malnutrition in terms of child survival. Results Underweight The actual reduction in underweight between 1992 and 2001 (from 15.7% to the current 10.1 %) resulted in saving of 176 000 child lives. As estimated, without improvements, 612 000 children will die due to underweight between 2001 and 2010, 281 000 (46%) of them living in western provinces. Reducing underweight prevalence from 10.1% to 8% could overall save 62 000 lives. The reduction of underweight prevalence in the west alone might save 56 000 lives. Vitamin A in China as a whole, vitamin A deficiency accounts, as estimated, for 7.5% of deaths of children 6-59 months old, representing 206 000 deaths over the past ten years. Halving the prevalence over the period would save 49 000 child lives. The higher prevalence and higher mortality rates in western provinces mean that even with only 28% of the Chinese population, over half of child deaths there are related to vitamin A.