The burden of acute respiratory infection in children under 5 attributable to economic inequality in low- and middle-income countries.

Background: Quantifying the disease burden among children that could potentially be reduced through improvements in individual economic status and regional economic equality can greatly benefit policy making and resource allocation. However, such quantification has rarely been done. This study aimed to assess the inequality-related burden of acute respiratory infection (ARI) (the leading cause of child mortality in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs)) among under five children.

Effect of retirement on the body mass index in China: a nationwide study based on the regression discontinuity design.

Introduction: Retirement represents a significant life transition and is associated with individual health outcomes. Previous studies on the health effects of retirement have yielded inconsistent conclusions. This study aimed to estimate the impact of retirement on the body mass index (BMI) and BMI-defined overweight and obesity.

Association of Plasma Vitamins and Carotenoids, DNA Methylation of LCAT, and Risk of Age-Related Macular Degeneration.

Dysregulation of lipid metabolism has been implicated in age-related macular degeneration (AMD), the leading cause of blindness among the elderly. Lecithin cholesterol acyltransferase (LCAT) is an important enzyme responsible for lipid metabolism, which could be regulated by DNA methylation during the development of various age-related diseases. This study aimed to assess the association between LCAT DNA methylation and the risk of AMD, and to examine whether plasma vitamin and carotenoid concentrations modified this association.

The Associations of Plasma Carotenoids and Vitamins With Risk of Age-Related Macular Degeneration: Results From a Matched Case-Control Study in China and Meta-Analysis.

Background And Purpose: Data from studies support a beneficial effect of carotenoids and vitamins on an age-related macular degeneration (AMD) risk. However, studies on the relations between blood levels of these nutrients and AMD are limited and provided conflicting results. The objective of this case-control study and meta-analysis was to examine whether the blood concentrations of carotenoids and vitamins were associated with the risk of AMD.

Dietary calcium, magnesium, and phosphorus intakes and risk of stroke in Chinese adults.

Controversial results have been reported about the association of calcium, magnesium, and phosphorus and stroke risk, but none in China. To investigate the association between dietary calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, and stroke incidence in Chinese adults, we collected data from the China Health and Nutrition Survey (CHNS) from 2004 to 2011, including 6411 participants aged 45-79 years and free of stroke at baseline. Diet was assessed by interviews combining 3-d 24-h food recalls and household food inventory weighing at each survey round.

Surface modification of fly ash by non-thermal air plasma for elemental mercury removal from coal-fired flue gas.

The fly ash from a coal-fired power plants was modified with non-thermal plasma in air to improve the elemental mercury (Hg) removal performance. The Hg adsorption experiments were implemented via a bench-scale fixed-bed reactor system. Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), ultimate, X-ray diffraction (XRD) and XRF analysis were employed to characterize the fly ash.