Genetics education in the People's Republic of China.

The National Education Commission of the People's Republic of China directs all educational course content from kindergarten to graduate level in all disciplines. The study of genetics is thus controlled by the members of the commission, so there is little variation of course offerings from one institution to another. Formal genetics education begins in lower middle school and is expanded somewhat in upper middle school (high school). Middle school marks the end of the formal education for most Chinese students, although many graduates learn the practical aspects of genetics while working in agricultural plant and animal breeding. Students who continue the study of genetics in universities find that course work is concentrated and research is encouraged, although facilities and supplies are limited. On graduation from a university, most students are sent to factories to use their expertise for increasing food production, while a very small percentage of students continue on to graduate school and eventual research and university teaching. The area of human genetics is handled exclusively in medical schools.     

Photosynthesis research in the People's Republic of China1

The first research paper on photosynthesis in China was published by T.T. Li² in 1929. Two photosynthesis laboratories were established in Shanghai and Beijing in the 1950s and the 1960s, respectively. A photophosphorylation `intermediate' was discovered after the energy conversion process was separated into light and dark phases in the 1960s. Since the 1980s, research has accelerated at several different levels through efforts of a large number of scientists in China. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Genotoxic activity of organic contamination of the Songhua River in the north-eastern region of the People's Republic of China

The Songhua River is one of the biggest rivers in China and is the major freshwater source for industry and agriculture, as well as the source of the drinking water for millions of residents living along it. Heavy contamination of the Songhua River is due to domestic sewage and industrial wastewater. Thus, we set out to determine the carcinogenic potential of water samples taken from drinking water source of Harbin city in the Songhua River. Short-term genotoxic bioassays using Ames, SCE, and cell transformation assays were employed to examine the genotoxic activity of the ether extracts of water samples taken from the Songhua River. The results of the Ames test indicated that there were frame shift mutagens in the water samples, which were both direct and indirect. A dose–response relationship for the SCE assay was obtained, and the SCE cumulative frequency moved obviously to the right with increasing doses of water samples. Typical transformed foci were formed in NIH3T3 cells induced by ether extracts of water samples and the transformation frequency showed a dose–response relationship. The transformed cells showed the characteristics of malignant cells. All of the results indicated that the ether extracts of water samples taken from the Songhua River showed genotoxic activity.     

Reduction Patterns of Acute Schistosomiasis in the People's Republic of China

Background

Despite significant, steady progress in schistosomiasis control in the People''s Republic of China over the past 50 years, available data suggest that the disease has re-emerged with several outbreaks of acute infections in the early new century. In response, a new integrated strategy was introduced.

Methods

This retrospective study was conducted between Jan 2005 and Dec 2012, to explore the effectiveness of a new integrated control strategy that was implemented by the national control program since 2004.

Results

A total of 1,047 acute cases were recorded between 2005 and 2012, with an annual reduction in prevalence of 97.7%. The proportion of imported cases of schistosomiasis was higher in 2011 and 2012. Nine clusters of acute infections were detected by spatio-temporal analysis between June and November, indicating that the high risk areas located in the lake and marshland regions.

Conclusion

This study shows that the new integrated strategy has played a key role in reducing the morbidity of schistosomiasis in the People''s Republic of China.     

Endotoxins in baled cottons and airborne dusts in textile mills in the People's Republic of China.

Bulk cotton samples and airborne vertical elutriated cotton dusts were obtained from textile mills in Shanghai, People's Republic of China. Analysis of endotoxin contents revealed that baled cottons which were grown in different countries varied in endotoxin contamination. The two textile mills, which operated at similar overall airborne dust levels, differed markedly in the levels of airborne endotoxins. The data suggest that the biological activity or "toxicity" of airborne cotton dusts may not be correlated directly with gravimetric dust levels.     

The current status of cardiovascular surgery in the People's Republic of China

Dr. David Bregman was invited to participate in a thirteen-physician American Teaching Delegation led by Dr. Tsung O. Cheng, Professor of Medicine at George Washington University Medical Center in Washington, D.C. The trip was sponsored by the American College of Physicians. Deputy Director of the delegation was Dr. Samuel Asper, Deputy Executive Vice President of the American College of Physicians and Professor of Medicine at Johns Hopkins University. The American Teaching Delegation was the first of its kind to be invited to lecture and impart new medical-surgical techniques throughout the People's Republic of China. The trip lasted approximately one month, from September to October, 1979, and included the September 30 to October 1 celebrations in Peking commemorating the 30th Anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China. Principal cities visited were Peking and Shanghai, as well as Chengtu, Chungking, and Wuhan. Dr. Bregman demonstrated, for the first time in the People's Republic of China, intraaortic balloon pumping, a new percutaneous intraaortic balloon, and other cardiac assist techniques.     

Immunization interview survey in the Mongolian People's Republic.

An immunization interview survey was carried out in the urban and rural areas of Mongolia. The population sample interrogated comprised 1359 households with 6994 household members, 3634 of them younger than 15 years. The data collection unit was a private household, where information on administrative, demographic and socio-economic items was obtained in addition to detailed information on vaccination histories. A fair number of individuals with a positive history was found among children aged 1 to 5 years; the highest rates were determined among preschool and school-children aged 5 to 9. Significant differences in vaccination rates were found between urban and rural dwellers, urban areas displaying a higher proportion of vaccinated children in the younger age groups and rural areas among school-age children. A significantly higher proportion of vaccinated individuals was found among children living in somons than those living in aimac centres. No significant differences were found between children attending child collective institutions and those educated solely at home. The immunization interview survey was specially directed toward obtaining an estimate of the vaccinated population segment with reference to age in demarcated areas and thus detecting "weak spots" requiring remedial action.     

Some developments in mathematical demography and their application to the People's Republic of China

Some new results in mathematical demography with applications to the population analysis of the People's Republic of China are summarized. Based on discrete and continuous population equations, most demographic indices are reconstructed in this paper as functionals on the space of solutions to population equation. Some formulae and estimated values of life expectancy and other indexes are listed. A stability theorem for population systems is presented.     

Model for food chain transfer and dose assessment in areas of the Slovak Republic

The radio-ecological model ECOSYS-87 developed for German ecological conditions, has been adapted to the conditions of two sub-regions in the Slovak Republic. In particular, the selection of plant varieties used for animal feeding, the plants’ growing cycles and harvests, the animal feeding practices and the human consumption rates were subjected to adaptation. Measurements of caesium and iodine radioactivity in soil, plants and animal products that have mainly been performed in the vicinity of the Bohunice nuclear power plant after the Chernobyl accident, are compared with the results of the adapted model. Data from various locations with dry, mixed or predominantly wet deposition show in general good agreement. Received: 10 April 2000 / Accepted: 23 October 2000     

Neoliberalism reified: suzhi discourse and tropes of neoliberalism in the People's Republic of China

Since the mid-1990s, 'neoliberalism' has grown in importance as an explanatory trope for socio-cultural anthropologists. This article seeks to unravel the various strands of neoliberalism's anthropological meaning and demonstrate the blind spots of using neoliberalism as an overarching trope. I begin by analysing the contradictions between two common forms of theorizing neoliberalism. The remainder of the article then focuses the initial discussion by examining a particular case: suzhi discourse in the People's Republic of China (PRC). Suzhi may be glossed as human quality, and suzhi discourse refers to the myriad ways in which this notion of human quality is used in processes of governing contemporary China. I discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the arguments of those who explain suzhi discourse in terms of neoliberalism and suggest ways in which this discourse might be contextualized more fruitfully than as a form of neoliberalism.     

Peat characteristics and groundwater geochemistry of calcareous fens in the Minnesota River Basin, U.S.A.

Calcareous fens in Minnesota are spring-seepage peatlands with adistinctive flora of rare calciphilic species. Peat characteristics andgroundwater geochemistry were determined for six calcareous fens in theMinnesota River Basin to better understand the physical structure andchemical processes associated with stands of rare vegetation. Onset of peataccumulation in three of the fens ranged from about 4,700 to 11,000 ¹⁴C yrs BP and probably resulted from acombination of climate change and local hydrogeologic conditions. Most peatcores had a carbonate-bearing surface zone with greater than 10%carbonates (average 27%, dry wt basis), an underlyingcarbonate-depleted zone with 10% or less carbonates (average4%), and a carbonate-bearing lower zone again with greater than10% carbonates (average 42%). This carbonate zonation washypothesized to result from the effect of water-table level on carbonateequilibria: carbonate precipitation occurs when the water table is above acritical level, and carbonate dissolution occurs when the water table islower. Other processes that changed the major ion concentrations inupwelling groundwater include dilution by rain water, sulfate reduction orsulfide oxidation, and ion adsorption or exchange. Geochemical modelingindicated that average shallow water in the calcareous fens during the studyperiod was groundwater mixed with about 6 to 13% rain water.Carbonate precipitation in the surface zone of calcareous fens could bedecreased by a number of human activities, especially those that lower thewater table. Such changes in shallow water geochemistry could alter thegrowing conditions that apparently sustain rare fen vegetation.     

Work-Related and Non-Work-Related Injury Deaths in the U.S.: A Comparative Study

This study assesses the percentage of traumatic fatalities attributable to work-related causes in the US, by cause of death and population demographics. The 1993-1998 Vital Statistics Mortality data from the National Center for Health Statistics were used. There were 848,945 traumatic fatalities (E800-E999) among the general population 16 years or older in the US during this time; of these, 32,044 were work-related accounting for 3.8% of all the fatalities. The work-related percentage varied from 62.7% for machine-related deaths to 0.7% for suicides, from 4.9% for males to 1.0% for females, from 9.8% in Alaska to 1.5% in Arizona, from 4.2% for decedents with 1 to 4 year college educations to 2.9% for decedents with high school or less, from 4.4% for races other than white and black to 2.6% for black. Mean age-at-death was 42 years for work-related vs. 48 years for non-work-related fatalities. This difference is more pronounced for deaths from falls (45 years vs. 78 years). Conversely, victims of work-related homicide were older than non-work-related (41 years vs. 33 years). A more complete understanding of the burden of traumatic fatalities attributable to work-related causes requires consideration of the total work-related percentage, causes of death, and population demographics.     

Combining genetics and population history in the study of ethnic diversity in the People's Republic of China

Genomic data have increasingly been used to complement linguistic, archeological, and anthropological evidence in reconstructing the origins and migratory patterns of modern humans. East Asia is a particular hotspot of human migration, especially mainland China, where a large number of human fossils have been unearthed and more than 20% of the world's population now resides. There are 56 officially recognized ethnic populations (minzu) in China. In the present study we investigated the ancestry and genetic diversity of nine populations: the majority Han of Liaoning Province; the Miao, Yao, Kucong, and Tibetan communities of Yunnan Province in southwest China; and four Muslim populations, the Hui, Bonan, Dongxiang, and Sala from central and northern China. We used both biparental and uniparental markers to determine patterns of diversity at autosomal, mitochondrial, and Y-chromosome loci. The study populations displayed several paternal origins but restricted maternal ancestries. From the Y-chromosome data in particular, major demographic changes, such as the Neolithic population expansion and more recent historical events including migration along the Silk Road, could be inferred. Specific aspects of the internal structure and organization of the study populations, including endogamy and consanguinity, were uncovered using autosomal markers. However, we encountered interpretive problems in terms of the definition of the present-day ethnic study populations in China, which appear to reflect past and present political as well as genetic influences.