Pacific Ocean-originated anthropogenic carbon and its long-term variations in the South China Sea.

Coastal oceans, traditionally seen as a conduit for transporting atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO)-derived anthropogenic carbon (C) to open oceans, exhibit complex carbon exchanges at their interface. South China Sea (SCS) exemplifies this complexity, where interactions with the Pacific, particularly through Kuroshio intrusion, challenge the understanding of C source and variability in a coastal ocean. Contrary to prevailing paradigm expectations, our high-resolution, long-term data reveal that C in the SCS primarily originates from Pacific water injection across the Luzon Strait rather than atmospheric CO invasion.

Pathophysiological relevance and therapeutic outlook of GPR43 in atherosclerosis.

Atherosclerosis (AS) is an inflammatory arterial disorder that occurs due to the deposition of the excessive lipoprotein under the artery intima, mainly including low-density lipoprotein and other apolipoprotein B-containing lipoproteins. G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) play a crucial role in transmitting signals in physiological and pathophysiological conditions. GPCRs recognize inflammatory mediators, thereby serving as important players during chronic inflammatory processes.

Heat shock treatment maintains the quality attributes of postharvest jujube fruits and delays their senescence process during cold storage.

The effects of heat shock (HT), 1-methylcyclopropene (1-MCP), or their combination (HT + 1-MCP) on the quality of fresh jujube fruits during cold storage were studied. Among them, HT showed the best preservation effect on jujube fruits, which was more effective than others in inhibiting the increase of red index, decay incidence, and weight loss and delaying the decrease of firmness, soluble solids content (SSC), titratable acidity (TA), and ascorbic acid (AsA) content. Besides, it could delay the degradation rate of the cell wall to maintain the integrity of cell membrane, and keep the high activity of active oxygen scavenging enzymes.

Health-care access among adults with epilepsy: The U.S. National Health Interview Survey, 2010 and 2013.

Introduction: Community-based and other epidemiologic studies within the United States have identified substantial disparities in health care among adults with epilepsy. However, few data analyses addressing their health-care access are representative of the entire United States. This study aimed to examine national survey data about adults with epilepsy and to identify barriers to their health care.

Falls and fall injuries among adults with arthritis--United States, 2012.

Falls are the leading cause of injury-related morbidity and mortality among older adults, with more than one in three older adults falling each year, resulting in direct medical costs of nearly $30 billion. Some of the major consequences of falls among older adults are hip fractures, brain injuries, decline in functional abilities, and reductions in social and physical activities. Although the burden of falls among older adults is well-documented, research suggests that falls and fall injuries are also common among middle-aged adults.

Valproate prescriptions for nonepilepsy disorders in reproductive-age women.

Background: Scientific evidence has consistently shown taking valproate during pregnancy increases risks of congenital malformations and cognitive impairment. As such, elimination of its use would be an important step in birth defects prevention. There are guidelines discouraging its use among women with epilepsy, but none exists for women without epilepsy, nor is the prevalence of valproate for nonepilepsy indications known.

Prevalence of specific types of arthritis and other rheumatic conditions in the ambulatory health care system in the United States, 2001-2005.

Objective: To estimate the overall prevalence of medically-treated arthritis and other rheumatic conditions (AORC) for adults, the prevalence of specific medically-treated conditions, and the overall annual number of visits for these conditions in the ambulatory health care system.

Methods: We used data from the 2001-2005 National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey and 2001-2005 National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey to estimate annual ambulatory health care visits for the International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification codes thought to represent AORC. Using data on the number of prior annual visits per patient per condition, we converted the visit estimates into prevalence estimates of adults age > or =18 years with medically-treated AORC overall and for specific conditions.

Prevalence of and annual ambulatory health care visits for pediatric arthritis and other rheumatologic conditions in the United States in 2001-2004.

Objective: To estimate the prevalence of and the annual number of ambulatory health care visits for pediatric arthritis and other rheumatologic conditions.

Methods: We used physician office visit, outpatient department visit, and emergency department visit data from the 2001-2004 National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey and 2001-2004 National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey to estimate annual visits for the International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification codes thought to represent significant pediatric arthritis and other rheumatologic conditions (SPARC). We converted visit estimates into prevalence estimates using data on the number of prior annual visits per patient.

Computations of confidence intervals for estimates in the United States National Hospital Discharge Survey, 1979-2000.

Introduction: The National Hospital Discharge Survey is a primary data source for epidemiology research in the United States. To ensure that estimates are reliable, confidence intervals need to be calculated. The original survey data source is not available to the public, and the usual statistical methods are unsuitable for calculating confidence intervals.