Publications by authors named "Xin-Shi Zhang"

Background: The World Health Organization highlights that patient safety interventions are not lacking but that the local context affects their successful implementation. Increasing attention is being paid to patient safety in Mainland China, yet few studies focus on patient safety in organizations with mixed cultures. This paper evaluates the current patient safety culture in an experimental Chinese hospital with a Hong Kong hospital management culture, and it aims to explore the application of Hong Kong's patient safety strategies in the context of Mainland China.

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Tumor necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL) is a promising agent for anticancer therapy. The identification of small molecules that can establish the sensitivity of prostate cancer (PCa) cells to TRAIL-induced apoptosis is crucial for the targeted treatment of PCa. PC3, DU145, JAC-1, TsuPr1, and LNCaP cells were treated with Andrographolide (Andro) and TRAIL, and the apoptosis was measured using the Annexin V/PI double staining method.

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Rationale: Tussilagone is a major component in Tussilago farfara that has been widely used as an anti-tussive herbal medicine for the treatment of bronchitis, cough and asthmatic disorders in the clinic. However, its metabolism has been poorly investigated. In order to clarify its in vitro metabolism, a comparative analysis of its metabolic profile in rat liver microsomes (RLMs) and human liver microsomes (HLMs) was carried out.

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On the basis of the monthly mean temperature data of 19 meteorological stations from 1961 to 2008 in the Yili River Valley, the correlation between mean annual temperature and elevation was analyzed to get access to the temperature lapse rate of 0.564 degrees C/100 m. The main purpose of this study was to apply a spatial interpolation method based on DEM and compare with the traditional ones of inverse distance weight (IDW) and Kriging methods.

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Vegetation indexes were the most common and the most important parameters to characterizing large-scale terrestrial ecosystems. It is vital to get precise vegetation indexes for running land surface process models and computation of NPP change, moisture and heat fluxes over surface. Biological soil crusts (BSC) are widely distributed in arid and semi-arid, polar and sub-polar regions.

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The Biological Soil Crusts (BSC) (also known as organic or microphytic crust) can be formed by different combinations of microphytic communities including mosses, lichens, liverworts, algae, fungi, cyanobacteria (= blue-green algae or Cyanophyta), as well as bacteria. Large areas of sand fields in arid and semi-arid regions are covered by BSC. Remote sensing distinction should be made between physical and biogenical crust formations.

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Based on the theoretical meaning of vulnerability, a vulnerability assessment of eco-econom in fifteen counties in the northern slope region of Tianshan Mountains was conducted. The ecosystem services change to land use was regarded as the impact, and based on the fourteen indices from resource holding, society development, and economy development statistic data, the adaptive ability was evaluated by using the methods of analytic hierarchy process (AHP) and fuzzy synthetic evaluation. On the basis of assessment results of impact and adaptive capacity, the fifteen counties were divided into five classes under the assessment principles, and the district with higher-class number was of more vulnerability.

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Based on the data of land use/cover and by using eco-economic harmony index (EEH) this paper studied the spatiotemporal characteristics of ecosystem service value on the northern slope of Tianshan Mountains, and evaluated the harmony degree of eco-economic development in the region. The results showed that the total ecosystem service value on the northern slope of Tianshan Mountains was increased from 319.93 x 10(8) yuan in 1989 to 321.

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Ecological construction and restoration for sustainable development are now a driving paradigm. It is increasingly recognized that ecological principles, especially landscape ecology theory, are not only necessary but also essential to maintain the long-term sustainability worldwide. Key landscape ecology principles-element, structure and process, dynamics, heterogeneity, hierarchies, connectivity, place and time were reviewed, and use Beijing area as a case study to illustrate how these principles might be applied to ecological construction and restoration, to eventually achieve sustainability.

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Loess Plateau, an arid and semi-arid region in Northwest China, is well-known for its most serious soil erosion in terms of sediment yield each year. Soil erosion, which is intensified by agricultural activities, is the major factor influencing sustainable agriculture development in this region. It reduces productivity by removing nutrients and especially reducing water availability that is essential for crop production in the area.

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