Molecular Epidemiology of Enteroviruses Associated with Hand, Foot, and Mouth Disease in the Mainland of China

Hand, foot, and mouth disease （HFMD） is a common contagious illness which occurs worldwide both sporadically and in epidemics. The disease mainly affects, children and the typical symptoms, which may resolve spontaneously, include mucocutaneous papulovesicular lesions on the hands, feet, mouth, and buttocks. In rare cases, however, the patients may also develop neurological complications such as neurogenic pulmonary edema,

First record of Ulva californica in the mainland of China:a single alien parthenogenetic population in discontinuous distribution

Molecular investigations have raised concerns about the ecological risks of green tides caused by alien Ulva species in new habitats.The green tide-forming species U.californica Wille was generally considered to be native to North America,but new records have been widely reported in Europe,Asia,and Oceania in recent decades,indicating a strong dispersal capacity of the species.In this study,the first record of U.californica on the coastline of China's Mainland was reported,following a combined identification with multi-molecular markers and morphological characterization.It was shown that this species has a discontinuous distribution pattern along the coast of China's Mainland,with northern populations in the Yellow Sea and southern populations in the East China Sea and South China Sea.According to results of examination for life cycles and identification with mating type(MT)genetic markers,it was indicated that all U.californica samples were male gametophytes,and reproduced themselves through parthenogenesis solely.Combined with the fact that southern and northern populations are highly genetically identical,here we believed that U.californica was a recent alien species to China's Mainland with a rapid local spread.This finding provided evidences that the ability to reproduce in a variety of ways may play an important role in the spread of Ulva species,as well as essential basic data for marine risk management of green tides in China.In addition,according to the phylogeographic analysis,the possible geographical origin and global dispersal routes of U.californica were also proposed.

The depth of Moho in the mainland of China

In the last decade, deep seismic sounding (DSS) of profiles several ten thousand kilometers in length has beenconducted in the mainland of China. A lot of results published in Chinese were compiled and a map of Mohodepth was presented in this paper. Coverage of DSS profile is not uniform,and is lacking in some areas, especiaLly in the western part of China. In this case,the results from dispersions of seismic surface waves and other materials were considered. According to the Moho depth, the mainland of China can be divided into eight crustalblocks.The Moho depth is uniform and varies little inside the same block, while it changes abruptly from oneblock to another. The Tibetan Plateau is characterized by a thickest crust in the world. It may be due to thepenetration of indian crustal materials into the Tibetan crust or upper mantle. Deeper Moho in the neighbouringareas of Tibet may also be effected by the complicated collision processes between the two continents.Thin crusto f the North China Plain is considered to be related to the magmatic activities in the lower crust and uppermantle. While the crust of the eastern part of SOuth China may be due to the accretion of terrain from the oceanislands.

Preliminary characterization of acute aortic dissection in the mainland of China

Objective To explore the differences in the characteristics of acute aortic dissection （AAD） among less and more economically developed countries with various cultures and races. Data sources Reports from the International Registry of Acute Aortic Dissection （IRAD） and the mainland of China （MC） were collected by searching the PubMed Database and the Chinese Journal Full-text Database from January 2000 to March 2009. Study selection Those reports from IRAD and MC containing larger numbers of cases and complete patients＇ information were selected, which focused on concrete issues of diagnosing or managing AAD were excluded if they were not able to reflect the overall characteristics of this condition. And the data from the article containing the largest number oatients reDorted bv the same medical center in MC were taken into statistics.

Prevalence of sensitivity to cockroach allergens and IgE crossreactivity between cockroach and house dust mite allergens in Chinese patients with allergic rhinitis and asthma

Background Cockroaches are an important indoor allergen source causing allergic rhinitis and asthma. The aim of this study was to investigate the cockroach prevalence in mainland of China and the cross-reactivity of IgE between cockroach and house dust mite allergen in Chinese patients.Methods The cockroach sensitization pattern was based on a skin prick test （SPT） obtained from a national multicenter prevalence study, in which 6304 patients from 25 allergy centers across China participated. Factors, including different regions of China, age, gender and the correlations between the American and German cockroaches and house dust mite Der p were investigated. Eighteen out of 1236 clinical sera from south China were selected to perform the cross-inhibition assay between house dust mites and cockroaches.Results Totally 25.7% of patients were SPT positive to the American cockroach （Periplaneta Americana, Per a） and 18.7% SPT positive to the German cockroach （Blattella germanica, Bla g）. The prevalence of positive cockroach SPT was higher in southern than in northern China, higher in adults than in children, and higher in males than in females.Patients had relatively low levels of cockroach SPT reactions, mainly class 1 or 2. Of the SPT positive cockroach patients,88% were also SPT positive to house dust mite （Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus, Der p）. An IgE cross-inhibition study confirmed that Der P sensitization could cause false positive SPT reactions against cockroach.Conclusions A relatively high prevalence of cockroach sensitivity was found in mainland of China. However, a cross-inhibition study showed that only a small number of patients appear to have Bla g and/or Per a as primary sensitizing source. The importance of cockroaches as a risk factor for sensitization and triggers of allergic symptoms in mainland of China needs to be further investigated.

Housing policies in Greater China and Singapore

This paper provides a comparative study of housing policies in the greater China area and Singapore.We trace out the key features of the housing markets in the Chinese mainland,the Hong Kong SAR,the Macao SAR,and Singapore and review policies adopted in these markets.Soaring housing prices may distort capital allocation efficiency as money flows into housing market instead of more productive sectors,which poses threat to longterm sustainability and economic growth.Governments in these four jurisdictions have implemented various macroprudential policies and regulations in an attempt to curb housing demand,however the effectiveness of housing policies varies across markets.The housing prices stabilise in Singapore but continue to rise in Greater China despite the introductions of various tightening policies.The policy effectiveness is contingent on not only the characteristics of the market but also on its design and implementations.

Gap between evidence and physicians＇ knowledge and practice regarding hypertension and its drug treatment： a survey in a Chinese city

Background Evidence-based medicine has come into its second decade. How prepared clinicians are in practicing it in particular in developing countries remains unclear. Thus we conducted this survey of physicians in urban hospitals in China to determine the size of the gap between research evidence and physicians＇ knowledge and practice regarding antihypertensive drugs for primary prevention of cardiovascular diseases in China.Methods A cross sectional survey by a face-to-face interview was conducted in 20 tertiary general hospitals in China in 2005. A total of 444 physicians （mostly cardiologists） in internal medicine who had treated at least one hypertensive patient in the past 12 months were invited for the interview on their perception of the cardiovascular risk of hypertension,the magnitude of the benefit of antihypertensive drugs, knowledge on the overall risk approach, first-line drugs used, the risk above which drug treatment is recommended, and knowledge on evidence-based medicine.Results A total of 444 of the 468 eligible physicians were successfully interviewed with a response rate of 94.9%. They estimated that a hypertensive man with an actual 5-year cardiovascular risk of 8.4% would have a 5-year cardiovascular risk of 40% （95% CI： 38% to 42%） if not treated, and have an absolute risk reduction and relative risk reduction from drug treatment by 20% （95% CI. 18% to 22%） and 39% （95% CI： 37% to 42%） respectively, as compared to 3.3% and 33%respectively shown in research evidence. On average, the physicians would recommend drug treatment at a number needed to treat （NNT） of 368 or smaller, as compared to the actual NNT of 50 for drug treatment in an average hypertensive Chinese. Fifty-five percent （95% CI： 50% to 59%） of them had never intently used the national hypertension guidelines. The majority still prescribed drugs primarily based on blood pressure alone by ignoring other risk factors or the overall risk and 78% （95 % C/. 76% to 83%） used new expensive drugs such as calcium channel blockers and angiotensin converting enzyme （ACE） inhibitors as first-line treatment. Only 13% （95% CI：9% to 18%） could correctly interpret the NNT. Forty-three percent （95% CI： 39% to 48%） did not know the randomized controlled trial was scientifically the most rigorous among other study designs for evaluating the effectiveness of anti-hypertensive drugs.Ninety-two percent （95% CI： 90% to 94%） did not know they could start by searching systematic reviews when looking for evidence on the effectiveness of anti-hypertensive drugs as opposed to trials. Ninety-six percent （95% CI： 94% to 98%）did not know the Cochrane Library was an important source of systematic reviews.Conclusions The surveyed physicians significantly over-estimated the cardiovascular risk of hypertension and the benefit of drug treatment, and had insufficient knowledge on the overall risk approach. They recommended drug treatment at a cardiovascular risk which was even much lower than the cutoff suggested for western populations, which would make many more people eligible for drug treatment. They also tended to prescribe new expensive drugs although the older cheaper ones may be more appropriate in many patients. They showed inappropriate knowledge on the basics of evidence-based medicine.