Gradient effect of road transportation on economic development in different geomorphic regions

The economic benefits of transport infrastructure investment have been widely accepted.However,the varying influence of road transport development across vertical space has rarely been discussed.Taking Sichuan province in China as case study area where the landform is diverse and complex,administrative counties were categorized into 4 main types:plain counties,hill counties,mountain counties,and plateau counties.Using statistical data during 2006-2014,theperformanceofeconomic development and transport construction level in the four types of counties are discussed.Subsequently,the heterogeneous effect of each grade road on economy was calculated by local regression model(GWR).The results indicate that plain counties largely surpassed the other geomorphic counties in economic development level,while the gradient gap among them was on the decline.Similarly,distribution of transport infrastructure presented a decreasing trend from the low plain counties to high plateau counties.Regional imbalances were mainly reflected in the County road and Village road.Regarding the changes of regional gaps,National&Provincial roads and County roads were constantly expanding,whereas the disparity of Village road was slowly narrowing over time.Particularly noteworthy was the non-stationary economic influence of traffic factors across vertical gradients.On average,National&Provincial roads generated higher benefits in the high elevation regions than the lowlands.In contrast,County road and Village road were found to be more effective in promoting economic development in plains.With regard to local estimates of traffic factors,coefficients in mountain counties exhibited larger fluctuation ranges than other geomorphic units.The conclusions provide a basis for government decisionmaking in a more reasonable construction arrangement of road facilities and sustainable economic development.

The mortality of patients in a pediatric emergency department at a tertiary medical center in China: An observational study

BACKGROUND: The quality of treatment for critically ill children varies widely at different hospitals. This study aimed to analyze the characteristics of mortality in a pediatric emergency department(PED) at a tertiary children's hospital in Guangzhou, China and to investigate the risk factors associated with the mortality.METHODS: The mortality of pediatric patients at the hospital from 2011 to 2013 was retrospectively analyzed using descriptive statistics.RESULTS: Altogether 466 919 patients visited the PED during the period and 43 925 of them were admitted for further observation. In 230 deaths, the ratio of boys to girls was 1.4:1, and their age ranged from 2 hours to 16 years(median, 5 months). The time from admission to death ranged from 0 to 216 hours(median, 1.5 hours). There were 92(40%) patients who died within 24 hours after admission and 104(45.2%) patients who died on arrival. The prominent causes of the deaths were respiratory diseases, neuromuscular disorders, cardiovascular diseases, and sepsis, most of which were ascribed to severe infection. Sixty-five deaths were associated with more than one concomitant problem. The top concomitant problems were congenital malformation, low gestational age, and severe birth asphyxia.CONCLUSIONS: In our center, 40% of the patients in the PED died of fatal acute diseases, and pneumonia was the first leading cause of the deaths. Almost half of the deaths occurred on arrival and the rest were due to end-stage malignant diseases. This study emphasized the importance of prevention of birth deficits by reducing deaths in infants and children.