Characteristics of patients with Wilson disease in the United States: An insurance claims database study

BACKGROUND Wilson disease(WD)is a progressive,potentially fatal degenerative disease affecting the liver and central nervous system.Given its low prevalence,collecting data on large cohorts of patients with WD is challenging.Comprehensive insur-ance claims databases provide powerful tools to collect retrospective data on large numbers of patients with rare diseases.AIM To describe patients with WD in the United States,their treatment and clinical outcome,using a large insurance claims database.METHODS This retrospective,longitudinal study was performed in the Clarivate Real-World Data Product database.All patients with≥2 claims associated with an Interna-tional Classification of Diseases 10(ICD-10)diagnostic code for WD(E83.01)between 2016 and 2021 were included and followed until death or study end.Patients were divided into two groups by whether or not they were documented to have received a specific treatment for WD.Clinical manifestations,hospital-isations,liver transplantation and death were documented.RESULTS Overall,5376 patients with an ICD-10 diagnostic code for WD were identified.The mean age at inclusion was 41.2 years and 52.0%were men.A specific WD treatment was documented for 885 patients(15.1%),although the number of patients taking zinc salts may be underestimated due to over the counter purchase.At inclusion,the mean age of patients with a documented treatment was 36.6±17.8 years vs 42.2±19.6 years in those without a documented treatment.During follow-up,273 patients(5.1%)died.Compared with the American general population,the standardised mortality ratio was 2.19.The proportion of patients with a documented WD-specific treatment who died during follow-up was 4.0%and the mean age at death 52.7 years.CONCLUSION Patients treated for WD in the United States had an excess early mortality compared with the American population.These findings indicate that there is a significant unmet need for effective treatment for WD in the United States.

Travel-Limiting Disabilities in the United States: Why Accessibility Matters?

This study evaluates the distribution of travel-limiting disabilities across genders and geographic locations in the United States. This study aims to describe and compare the socioeconomic and demographic variables of the people with and without travel-limiting disabilities across geographic locations and gender. The study further evaluates the trip purpose and impact of Covid-19 fourth wave pandemic on the use of public transit and travel to physical workplace for the people with and without travel-limiting disabilities across gender and geographic locations. The study uses the 2022 weighted National Household Travel Survey dataset and employs descriptive statistics. Results reaffirm the findings from previous literature that there are more people with travel-limiting disabilities in urban areas and among women. Over 50 percent of people aged 65 and above have a form of travel-limiting disabilities. The most trip for people with travel-limiting disabilities is made for shopping and medical purposes. Across all categories, rural areas, urban areas, male and female for the people without travel-limiting disabilities, COVID-19 fourth wave did not change the pattern of trips made to physical workplace as pre-COVID-19 era. This pattern is also observable for the people with travel-limiting disabilities in rural and urban areas. Females with travel-limiting disabilities reported making less trips to physical workplaces while male reported doing the same as before COVID-19 era. The study concludes that the quantification of travel-limiting disabilities across geographic location and gender is vital in disability study and could drive policy implementation for improved accessibility for the vulnerable population.

Coping with the Impact of Climate Change: A Dive into Precision Agriculture in the United States

With the continued increase in the number of people that are food insecure globally, which could be increasing because of the ongoing Ukraine-Russia war, leading to reduction in international agribusinesses, coupled with drastic climate change exacerbating the problem of food insecurity, there is a constant need to come up with innovative approaches to solve this global issue. In this article, we articulated how precision agriculture can be a tool for ensuring food security in the United States. This study aims to reiterate the significance of precision agriculture in solving global food insecurity.

Evolution and impacts of the United States’Arctic strategy and China’s responses

On 7 October,2022,the Biden administration released an updated version of the National Strategy for the Arctic Region based on new developments in the Arctic region and global affairs.This strategy emphasizes traditional security issues in the Arctic,attaches great importance to climate governance in the region,and advocates for restoring American leadership through international cooperation.In view of the strong influence of the United States(U.S.)in the Arctic region,the changes of the U.S.Arctic strategy will inevitably have an impact on China’s scientific researchrights,economic interests,and governance rights in the Arctic region.To respond to the new situation brought about by the changes in the U.S.Arctic strategy,China should take the initiative to maintain positive relationships with all Arctic countries,and continue its active participation in Arctic affairs.

Strategic Planning for Drug Regulatory Science in the United States and Its Enlightenments to China

Objective To study the strategic planning of drug regulatory science,the effectiveness and role of policy implementation in the United States so as to gain insights and make suggestions for further improving the strategic planning of drug regulatory science in China.Methods Literature research method and comparative research method were used to compare and analyze the strategic planning of regulatory science in China and the United States.Results and Conclusion Drawing on the US experience,China should set goals based on mission and vision and identify problems,knowledge gaps,and key areas,then concrete measures can be taken to advance regulatory science.

A Comparative Study of the Value Orientations of Foreign Language Education Policies in China and the United States in the 21st Century

Since the 21 st century, both Chinese Mainland and the United States have formulated foreign language education policiesbased on their national needs. This paper makes a comparative study of the value orientations of foreign language education poli-cies in Chinese Mainland and the United States in the 21 st century and finds that both China and the United States have regardedtheir national interests as the essential value orientation of their foreign language education policies. To be specific,the core valueorientation of foreign language education policies in China is to enhance its cultural soft power.In contrast,the core value orienta-tion of foreign language education policies in the United States is to safeguard its national security. Through the comparison of thedifferent value orientations of foreign language education policies of the two countries, the paper provides some reference for the for-eign language education policy-making in Chinese Mainland.

A Comparison of Shale Gas Fracturing Based on Deep and Shallow Shale Reservoirs in the United States and China

China began to build its national shale gas demonstration area in 2012.The central exploration,drilling,and development technologies for medium and shallow marine shale reservoirs with less than 3,500m of buried depth in Changning-Weiyuan,Zhaotong,and other regions had matured.In this study,we macroscopically investigated the development history of shale gas in the United States and China and compared the physical and mechanical conditions of deep and shallow reservoirs.The comparative results revealed that themain reasons for the order-ofmagnitude difference between China’s annual shale gas output and the United States could be attributed to three aspects:reservoir buried depth,reservoir physical and mechanical properties,and engineering technology level.The current engineering technology level of China could not meet the requirements of increasing production and reducing costs for deep shale gas reservoirs;they had reached the beneficial threshold development stage and lacked the capacity for large-scale commercial production.We identified several physical and mechanical reasons for this threshold development stage.Deep shale reservoirs were affected by the bedding fracture,low brittleness index,low clay mineral content,and significant areal differences,as well as by the transformation from elasticity to plasticity,difficulty in sanding,and high mechanical and strength parameters.Simultaneously,they were accompanied by six high values of formation temperature,horizontal principal stress difference,pore pressure,fracture pressure,extension pressure,and closure pressure.The key to deep shale gas horizontal well fracturing was to improve the complexity of the hydraulic fracture network,formadequate proppant support of fracture surface,and increase the practical stimulated reservoir volume(SRV),which accompanied visual hydraulic discrete network monitoring.On this basis,we proposed several ideas to improve China’s deep shale gas development involving advanced technology systems,developing tools,and supporting technologies in shale gas exploration and development in the United States.These ideas primarily involved stimulation technologies,such as vertically integrated dessert identification and optimization,horizontal well multistage/multicluster fracturing,staged tools development for horizontal wells,fractures network morphology monitoring by microseismic and distributed optical fiber,shale hydration expansion,soak well,and fracturing fluid flow back.China initially developed the critical technology of horizontal well large-scale and high-strength volume fracturing with a core of“staged fracturing with dense cutting+shorter cluster spacing+fracture reorientation by pitching+forced-sand addition+increasing diameter perforating+proppant combination by high strength and small particle size particles”.We concluded that China should continue to conduct critical research on theories and technical methods of horizontal well fracturing,suitable for domestic deep and ultra-deep marine and marine-continental sedimentary shale,to support and promote the efficient development of shale gas in China in the future.It is essential to balance the relationship between the overall utilization degree of the gas reservoir and associated economic benefits and to localize some essential tools and supporting technologies.These findings can contribute to the flourishing developments of China’s deep shale gas.

The Changing Face of High Performance Computing in the United States

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The Human Rights Record Of the United States In 2004

Editor's note: Following is the full text of the Human Rights Record of the United States in 2004, released by the Information office of China's State Council on March 3, 2005.

Human Rights Record of the United States in 2003

Following is the full text of the Human Rights Record of the United States in 2003, released by the Information Office of the State Council of the People's Republic of China on March 1, 2004.

Human Rights Record of the United States in 2002

On April 3, 2003, the Information Office of the State Council of the People's Republic of China released a report entitled Human Rights Record of the United States in 2002.Following is the full text of the document:

The Human Rights Record of the United States in 2005

On March 9,2006,the Information Office of the State Council of the People＇s Republic of China released an article entitled the Human Rights Record of the United States in 2005.The following is the full text.

The Human Rights Record of the United States in 2008

The State Department of the United States released its Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2008 on February 25, 2009. As in previous years, the reports are full of accusations of the human rights situation in more than 190 countries and regions including China, but mentioned nothing of the widespread human rights abuses on its own territory. The Human Rights Record of the United States in 2008 is prepared to help people around the world understand the real situation of human rights in the United States, and as a reminder for the United States to reflect upon its own issues.

The Human Rights Record of the United States in 2006

EDIFOR＇S NOTE： On March 8, the Information Office of the State Council of the People＇s Republic of China published a document entitled the Human Rights Record of the United States in 2006. Following is the full text.

The Analysis of NGOs' Organizational Ecosystem in Participating in Climate Change Issues in the United States

How many NGOs were there in the climate change field in the United States？ Who were they？ And what was the relationship between them？ In the United States,climate change was only a branch of environmental issues at the beginning; therefore there were no specific quantitative statistics and network analysis of NGOs in climate change. Diversity was an important feature of NGOs in American climate change fields,and it showed a complex organizational ecology through varieties of networks and interaction among organizations. In order to make a difference in climate field,Chinese NGOs firstly needed to improve and enhance their own abilities.

Occupational Therapy Evaluation for Stroke Adults in the United States

Of the 700,000 people in the United States who experience a new or recurrent stroke each year,more than 500,000 survive(American Stroke Association,2007)[1]. Occupational therapy practitioners are critical rehabilitation professionals for stroke survivors.

Research on the Coverage of the Belt and Road Initiative and a Community with Shared Future for Mankind by Mainstream Media in the United States--Taking the three major mainstream media in the United States as an example

Since China put forward the Belt and Road Initiative and a community with shared future for mankind,mainstream media in the United States such as The Washington Post,The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal have given continuous reports.As the world’s superpower,the United States has a developed media system and a wide range of influence.The study extracted 173 valid texts from May 2015 to March 2020,among which only 5 reports were on a community with shared future for mankind.American media mainly reported from five aspects including economy,politics,cultural,security and environment,although there is no lack of certain sounds,there was more negative reports.It can provide a reference basis for our accurate response and creating a positive international public opinion environment that grasping the reporting trends on the Belt and Road Initiative and a community with shared future for mankind accurately.