Changes in the growth of Scots pine(Pinus sylvestris L.)stands in an urban environment in European Russia since 1862

A century and a half ago,in the European part of Russia(Moscow),forest scientists established the first long-term observations of forests,many of which are under observation to the present day.In the twentieth century,climate changes and,due to industrial development,forest areas were under air pollution.Based on observations from 157 sites,this study shows that the growth and density of Scots pine(Pinus sylvestris L.)have decreased by the end of the twentieth century.The environment has changed,and the growth and development of plantations has slowed.Pine yields(-34%stand volume)and their life expectancy(on average 50 years)have decreased.These changes are critical for forestry and for the management of forests in urban centers.Due to the decline in growth,ecosystem functions by urban forests has decreased.In order to increase the sustainability of urban forests and the provision of ecosystem services,it is preferable to create multi-species stands with a complex structure.

Key role of human leukocyte antigen in modulating human immunodeficiency virus progression: An overview of the possible applications

Host and viral factors deeply influence the human immunodeficiency virus(HIV) disease progression. Among them human leukocyte antigen(HLA) locus plays a key role at different levels. In fact, genes of the HLA locus have shown the peculiar capability to modulate both innate and adaptive immune responses. In particular, HLA class Ⅰmolecules are recognized by CD8+ T-cells and natural killers(NK) cells towards the interaction with T cell receptor(TCR) and Killer Immunoglobulin Receptor(KIR) 3DL1 respectively. Polymorphisms within the different HLA alleles generate structural changes in HLA classⅠpeptide-binding pockets. Amino acid changes in the peptide-binding pocket lead to the presentation of a different set of peptides to T and NK cells. This review summarizes the role of HLA in HIV progression toward acquired immunodeficiency disease syndrome and its receptors. Recently, many studies have been focused on determining the HLA binding-peptides. The novel use of immune-informatics tools, from the prediction of the HLA-bound peptides to the modification of the HLAreceptor complexes, is considered. A better knowledge of HLA peptide presentation and recognition are allowing new strategies for immune response manipulation to be applied against HIV virus.

New Progress in the Judicial Protection of Human Rights in China

Foreword Respecting and protecting human rights is a constitutional principle in China.It also reflects the will and pursuit of the Communist Party of China(CPC),the Chinese government and the Chinese people.The judiciary is the last line of defense to safeguard social fairness and justice,and judicial protection of human rights is an important

Letter from Li Peng Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, To China Society for Human Rights Studies

China Society for Human Rights Studies, I would like to extend my warm greetings to the launch of your Human Rights magazine. Enjoying human rights fully is a lofty goal long pursued after by human race. Over the years when they carried out revolution, construction and reforms, the Chinese people have struggled indomitably and strived incessantly to achieve this goal. Progress made in this regard has caught worldwide attention. When struggling for, safeguarding, promoting and developing human rights, the Chinese people have always combined the universality prin-

Research progress on the application of Watson’s Human Caring Theory

This paper reviews the basic content,significance and application status of Watson's human caring theory in clinical departments,aiming to provide references for future research of relevant scholars in this field.In particular,Watson believes that human care is the essence of care,it is the combination of nurse science and human knowledge and the interaction between nurses and patients.

New Progress in the Legal Protection of Human Rights in China

December 2017 Contents PreambleⅠ.Improving the Legal Framework to Ensure Human RightsⅡ.Promoting Law-based Administration to Protect the Citizens’Lawful Rights and InterestsⅢ.Effectively Enhancing Judicial Protection of Human RightsⅣ.Consolidating Social Mechanisms for Legal Protection of Human RightsⅤ.Strengthening the CPC Leadership over Legal Protection of Human RightsⅥ.Actively Promoting the Development of Global Human Rights Under the Rule of Law

Action Plan to Promote All-Round Progress in China's Human Rights Cause——An Interview with Wang Chen,director of the State Council Information Office

EDITOR＇S NOTE： The National Human Rights Action Plan of China （2009-2010） has won favorable comments in China and abroad since its publication by the Information Office of the State Council on April 13, 2009. Here is a transcript of an interview given to our reporters by Wang Chen, director of the Office, on the Action Plan, which we hope will help our readers gain a better understanding of China＇s human rights cause and its development.

Taking the Path of Poverty Reduction with Chinese Characteristics to Promote New Progress in China's Human Rights——A Keynote Speech at the Opening Ceremony of 2018 Beijing Forum on Human Rights

The 2018 Beijing Forum on Human Rights opens on this wonderful autumn day.On behalf of the China Society for Human Rights Studies, I wish to express warm congratulations on the opening of the forum and a sincere welcome to all guests from home and abroad.

New Five-Year Program and Progress of China's Human Rights Cause——A study of the guidelines set by the Fifth Plenary Session of the Seventeenth Central Committee of the Communist Party of China

The Proposal for the Twelfth Five-Year Plan for China＇s Economic and Social Development （2011-2015）（herein after referred to as the ＂Proposed Plan＂ for short） provides a complete range of guidelines for China＇s im-mediate and long-term development.

Practical Logic and Discourse Interpretation of China’s Efforts to Safeguard the Right to Subsistence

The Communist Party of China has led the Chinese people to write a brilliant chapter of national development over the past century,wherein the nation has sounded a clarion call for safeguarding the right to subsistence and made fruitful achievements in this regard.However,there is still room for improvement in its systematic discourse of the right to subsistence.To accurately understand the Chinese theory on the right to subsistence,we must base it on China’s historical background and social reality.Through mining the white papers on human rights progress in China over the years and analyzing Chinese practices recorded thereby,we can figure out the practical logic for the country’s efforts in the protection of the right to subsistence,and with this as a clue,we can further interpret its discourse on the right to subsistence.Issues related to the right to subsistence can be divided into two levels:“basically solved”and“truly solved”.The former involves the settlement of the most fundamental issues closely related to the right to subsistence in fields like food,education,medical care,housing,and drinking water,and the latter corresponds to“improvement”in the right to subsistence.While consolidating and upgrading the existing basic rights,China works to enable its people to truly gain a foothold in society and achieve their aspiration for a better life through combining assistance and support from the government and society and the efforts of individuals.Understanding the right to subsistence in a dynamic and developmental manner is instrumental in better understanding the alignment between the right to subsistence and other human rights.

Impact of human immunodeficiency virus infection on the course of hepatitis C virus infection: A meta-analysis

AIM: To analyze the influence of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection on the course of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. METHODS: We performed a meta-analysis to quantify the effect of HIV co-infection on progressive liver disease in patients with HCV infection. Published studies in the English or Chinese-language medical literature involving cohorts of HIV-negative and -positive patients coinfected with HCV were obtained by searching the PUBMED, EMBASE and CBM. Data were extracted independently from relevant studies by 2 investigators and used in a fixed-effect meta analysis to determine the difference in the course of HCV infection in the 2 groups. RESULTS: Twenty-nine trails involving 16 750 patients were identified including the outcome of histological fibrosis or cirrhosis or de-compensated liver disease or hepatocellular carcinoma or death. These studies yielded a combined adjusted odds ratio (OR) of 3.40 [95% confidence interval (CI) = 2.45 and 4.73]. Of note, studies that examined histological fibrosis/ cirrhosis, decompensated liver disease, hepatocellular carcinoma or death had a pooled OR of 1.47 (95% CI = 1.27 and 1.70), 5.45 (95% CI = 2.54 and 11.71), 0.76 (95% CI = 0.50 and 1.14), and 3.60 (95% CI = 3.12 and 4.15), respectively. CONCLUSION: Without highly active antiretroviral therapies (HAART), HIV accelerates HCV diseaseprogression, including death, histological fibrosis/ cirrhosis and decompensated liver disease. However, the rate of hepatocellular carcinoma is similar in persons who had HCV infection and were positive for HIV or negative for HIV.

Seeking Happiness for People: 70 Years of Progress on Human Rights in China

September 2019 Contents PreambleⅠ.A Splendid History of China’s Human Rights ProtectionⅡ.People-centered Approach in Human Rights ProtectionⅢ.Continuing to Improve People’s Living StandardsⅣ.Effectively Ensuring That People Enjoy Their RightsⅤ.Protecting the Rights of Special GroupsⅥ.Strengthening the Rule of Law for Human RightsⅦ.Full Participation in Global Governance of Human RightsⅧ.

Historic Progress: China has Made Three Major Strides in the Cause of Human Rights in the Past 70 Years

2019 marks the 70th year since the founding of the People’s Republic of China."Our people are the country’s solid foundation and our main source of confidence to govern,"General Secretary Xi Jinping concluded.1 This highlights the relationship between the people and the republic as well as the relationship between the people and the governance of the Communist Party of China.

Progress in Human Rights over the 40 Years of Reform and Opening up in China

December 2018 Contents Foreword Ⅰ. Firmly Establishing a Governance principle of Respecting and protecting Human Rights Ⅱ. Better protecting the Rights to Subsistence and Development Ⅲ. Fully Developing Human Rights in All Respects Ⅳ.

Research Progress and Preliminary Scheme of Space Transportation System for Human Mars Exploration

Human Mars exploration has significant values in terms of exploring extraterrestrial life,interplanetary immigration,promoting science and technology development,and the progress of human society.This paper summarizes the research progress on human Mars exploration and the corresponding proposed space transportation systems in the world,and analyzes the development trends.A preliminary scheme including the human Mars exploration mission architecture and corresponding space transportation system is then proposed,and the related key technologies are identified.The results can be a reference for future further research.

The Formation Mechanism of the Outlook on Human Rights Development in Contemporary China

The Western fundamentalist view of human rights,in contrast to Chinese society and culture,is external,and thus provides"conceptual form," "thinking method" and "theoretical technique"but not concrete content.In the traditional Chinese ideology,the time-honored group standard cannot be replaced by the individual standard.In New China,priority is given to the freedom and independence of "everyone" and the realization of rights and interests for"all".Contemporary China combines the human rights conception in Marxism with China’s concrete reality.Meanwhile,it integrates the socialist idea of equality with the traditional culture of the Chinese nation,creating a dual-guarantee system for universal values and individual rights.It gives a clear-cut expression to contemporary China’s rich traits of the cultural tradition of emphasizing progress for all and the equality for all,the priority of realizing the survival and development of the people,and the reference to the achievements of human rights civilizations of other countries.Human rights development in contemporary China must further consolidate the political conditions and institutional base for realizing the "public " goal of human rights and build a solid institutional guarantee for the "private" value orientation of human rights,by means of the construction of the whole-process people’s democracy.

MicroRNAs as biomarkers of diabetic retinopathy and disease progression

Diabetes mellitus, together with its complications, has been increasing in prevalence worldwide. Its complications include cardiovascular disease(e.g., myocardial infarction, stroke), neuropathy, nephropathy, and eye complications(e.g., glaucoma, cataracts, retinopathy, and macular edema). In patients with either type 1 or type 2 diabetes mellitus, diabetic retinopathy is the leading cause of visual impairment or blindness. It is characterized by progressive changes in the retinal microvasculature. The progression from nonproliferative diabetic retinopathy to a more advanced stage of moderate to severe nonproliferative diabetic retinopathy and proliferative diabetic retinopathy occurs very quickly after diagnosis of mild nonproliferative diabetic retinopathy. The etiology of diabetic retinopathy is unclear, and present treatments have limited effectiveness. Currently diabetic retinopathy can only be diagnosed by a trained specialist, which reduces the population that can be examined. A screening biomarker of diabetic retinopathy with high sensitivity and specificity would aid considerably in identifying those individuals in need of clinical assessment and treatment. The majority of the studies reviewed identified specific microRNAs in blood serum/plasma able to distinguish diabetic patients with retinopathy from those without retinopathy and for the progresion of the disease from nonproliferative diabetic retinopathy to proliferative diabetic retinopathy. In addition,certain microRNAs in vitreous humor were dysregulated in proliferative diabetic retinopathy compared to controls. A very high percentage of patients with diabetic retinopathy develop Alzheimer’s disease. Thus, identifying diabetic retinopathy by measurement of suitable biomarkers would also enable better screening and treatment of those individuals at risk of Alzheimer’s disease.

MicroRNAs in blood and cerebrospinal fluid as diagnostic biomarkers of multiple sclerosis and to monitor disease progression

Multiple sclerosis is a chronic autoimmune disease of the central nervous system.It is the main cause of non-traumatic neurological disability in young adults.Multiple sclerosis mostly affects people aged 20–50 years;however,it can occur in young children and much older adults.Factors identified in the distribution of MS include age,gender,genetics,environment,and ethnic background.Multiple sclerosis is usually associated with progressive degrees of disability.The disease involves demyelination of axons of the central nervous system and causes brain and spinal cord neuronal loss and atrophy.Diagnosing multiple sclerosis is based on a patient’s medical history including symptoms,physical examination,and various tests such as magnetic resonance imaging,cerebrospinal fluid and blood tests,and electrophysiology.The disease course of multiple sclerosis is not well correlated with the biomarkers presently used in clinical practice.Blood-derived biomarkers that can detect and distinguish the different phenotypes in multiple sclerosis may be advantageous in personalized treatment with disease-modifying drugs and to predict response to treatment.The studies reviewed have shown that the expression levels of a large number of miRNAs in peripheral blood,serum,exosomes isolated from serum,and cerebrospinal fluid are altered in multiple sclerosis and can distinguish the disease phenotypes from each other.Further studies are warranted to independently validate these findings so that individual or pairs of miRNAs in serum or cerebrospinal fluid can be used as potential diagnostic markers for adult and pediatric multiple sclerosis and for monitoring disease progression and response to therapy.

Rapid progression of hepatocellular carcinoma after Radiofrequency Ablation

AIM:To report the results of radiofrequency ablation (RFA) of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in cirrhotic patients and to describe the treatment related complications (mainly the rapid intrahepatic neoplastic progression). METHODS:Eighty-seven consecutive cirrhotic patients with 104 HCC (mean diameter 3.9 cm,1.3 SD) were submitted to RFA between January 1998 and June 2003.In all cases RFA was performed with percutaneous approach under ultrasound guidance using expandable electrode needles. Treatment efficacy (necrosis and recurrence) was estimated with dual phase computed tomography (CT) and alpha- fetoprotein (AFP)level. RESULTS:Complete necrosis rate after single or multiple treatment was 100%,87.7% and 57.1% in HCC smaller than 3 cm,between 3 and 5 cm and larger than 5 cm respectively (P=0.02).Seventeen lesions of 88(19.3%) developed local recurrence after complete necrosis during a mean follow up of 19.2 mo.There were no treatment-related deaths in 130 procedures and major complications occurred in 8 patients (6.1%).In 4 patients,although complete local necrosis was achieved,we observed rapid intrahepatic neoplastic progression after treatment.Risk factors for rapid neoplastic progression were high preoperative AFP values and location of the tumor near segmental portal branches. CONCLUSION:RFA is an effective treatment for hepatocellular carcinoma smaller than 5 cm with complete necrosis in more than 80% of lesions.Patients with elevated AFP levels and tumors located near the main portal branch are at risk for rapid neoplastic progression after RFA.Further studies are necessary to evaluate the incidence and pathogenesis of this underestimated complication.

Impact of cigarette smoking on response to interferon therapy in chronic hepatitis C Egyptian patients

AIM:Smoking may affect adversely the response rate to interferon-α.Our objective was to verify this issue among chronic hepatitis C patients. METHODS:Over the year 1998,138 chronic hepatitis C male Egyptian patients presenting to Cairo Liver Center, were divided on the basis of smoking habit into:group I which comprised 38 smoker patients(>30 cigarettes/d) and group Ⅱ which included 84 non-smoker patients. Irregular and mild smokers(16 patients)were excluded. Non eligible patients for interferon-α therapy were excluded from the study and comprised 3/38(normal ALT)in group I and 22/84 in group Ⅱ(normal ALT,advanced cirrhosis and thrombocytopenia).Group I was randomly allocated into 2 sub-groups:group Ia comprised 18 patients who were subjected to therapeutic phlebotomy while sub-group Ib consisted of 17 patients who had no phlebotomy.In sub-group la,3 patients with normal ALT after repeated phlebotomies were excluded from the study.Interferon-α 2b 3 MU/TIW was given for 6 mo to 15 patients in group Ia,17 patients in group Ib and 62 patients in group Ⅱ. Biochemical,virological end-of-treatment and sustained responses were evaluated. RESULTS:At the end of interferon-α treatment,ALT was normalized in 3/15 patients(20%)in group Ia and 2/17 patients(11.8%)in group Ib compared to17/62 patients (27.4%)in group Ⅱ(P=0.1).Whereas 2/15 patients(13.3%) in group Ia.and 2/17 patients(11.8%)in group Ib lost viraemia compared to 13/62 patients(26%)in group Ⅱ (P=0.3).Six months later,ALT was persistently normal in 2/15 patients(13.3%)in group 1a and 1/17 patients (5.9%)in group Ib compared to 9/62 patients(14.5%)in group Ⅱ(P=0.47).Viraemia was eliminated in 1/15 patients (6.7%)in group Ia and 1/17 patients(5.9%)in group Ib compared to 7/62 patients(11.3%) in group Ⅱ,but the results did not mount to statistical significance(P=0.4). CONCLUSION:Smokers suffering from chronic hepatitis C tend to have a lower response rate to interferon-α compared to non-smokers.Therapeutic phlebotomy improves the response rate to interferon-α therapy among this group.