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Cancer tissues consist of cancer cells, surrounding stromal cells and the extracellular matrix. Cancer‐associated fibroblasts (CAF) are one of the key components of stromal cells. CAF have a great impact on the behavior of cancer cells, including proliferation, invasion, metastasis and chemoresistance in many ways. However, the underlying mechanism had not been fully elucidated. In this study, we investigated the role of CAF in cisplatin resistance of lung cancer cells. By using conditioned medium from CAF (CAF‐CM), we found that CAF decreased the sensitivity of lung cancer cells to cisplatin. RNA sequencing results showed that CAF expressed a higher level of Annexin A3 (ANXA3) than normal fibroblasts (NF), and CAF‐CM incubation increased the ANXA3 level in lung cancer cells. Overexpression of ANXA3 in lung cancer cells increased cisplatin resistance and activated c‐jun N‐terminal kinase (JNK), whereas knockdown of ANXA3 increased cisplatin sensitivity. Further study showed that CAF‐CM enhanced cisplatin resistance by inhibiting cisplatin‐induced apoptosis, determined by repression of caspase‐3 and caspase‐8, through activation of the ANXA3/JNK pathway. Conversely, suppression of JNK activation by specific inhibitor retarded the effect of CAF‐CM and ANXA3 on cisplatin sensitivity. Taken together, our study demonstrated that CAF potentiated chemoresistance of lung cancer cells through a novel ANXA3/JNK pathway both in vitro and in vivo, suggesting ANXA3 could be a potential therapeutic target for the treatment of chemoresistant cancer. Cancer‐associated fibroblasts decreased the sensitivity of lung cancer cells to cisplatin. CAF expressed higher level of ANXA3 than normal fibroblasts (NF), and CAF‐CM incubation increased the ANXA3 level in lung cancer cells. CAF potentiated chemoresistance of lung cancer cells through a novel ANXA3/JNK pathway both in vitro and in vivo.

Rice cultivation usually involves high water and fertilizer application rates leading to the nonpoint pollution of surface waters with phosphorus (P) and nitrogen (N). Here, a 10-year field experiment was conducted to investigate N and P losses and their impact factors under different irrigation and fertilization regimes. Results indicated that T2 (Chemical fertilizer of 240 kg N ha −1 , 52 kg P ha −1 , and 198 kg K ha −1 combined with shallow intermittent irrigation) decreased N loss by 48.9% compared with T1 (Chemical fertilizer of 273 kg N ha −1 , 59 kg P ha −1 , and 112 kg K ha −1 combined with traditional flooding irrigation). The loss ratio (total N loss loading/amount of applied N) of N was 9.24–15.90%, whereas that of P was 1.13–1.31% in all treatments. Nitrate N (NO 3 - −N) loss was the major proportion accounting for 88.30–90.65% of dissolved inorganic N loss through surface runoff. Moreover, the N runoff loss was mainly due to high fertilizer input, soil NO 3 - −N, and ammonium N (NH 4 + −N) contents. In addition, the N loss was accelerated by Bacteroidetes , Proteobacteria , Planotomycetes , Nitrospirae , Firmicutes bacteria and Ascomycota fungi, but decreased by Chytridiomycota fungi whose contribution to the N transformation process. Furthermore, T2 increased agronomic N use efficiency (AEN) and rice yield by 32.81% and 7.36%, respectively, in comparison with T1. These findings demonstrated that T2 might be an effective approach to ameliorate soil chemical properties, regulate microbial community structure, increase AEN and consequently reduce N losses as well as maintaining rice yields in the present study.

Currently, research on the Chinese legal system is flourishing, and more and more issues are worthy of exploration. The Chinese legal system is unique among the five major legal systems in the world. It is the only ancient secular legal system, and the only ancient secular legal system to have been disseminated by non-coercive means. The openness of the Chinese legal system is a powerful proof that traditional Chinese law plays a role in importing and exporting legal policies and measures from and to other states. Indeed, these issues are important in research on the Chinese legal system, and a correct understanding of them can help to comprehensively understand traditional Chinese legal culture. It is essential to deepen the research on the Chinese legal system to contribute to its revival and to the inheritance of traditional Chinese legal culture. In addition to comprehensive discussions, it is also necessary to fill gaps and advance the research on the Chinese legal system.

Tobacco smoking is a leading cause of premature death in China, especially among adult men. Since the implementation of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control in 2005, nationwide tobacco control has been strengthened, but its long-term impact on smoking prevalence is unclear. Five nationally representative surveys of the China Chronic Disease and Risk Factor Surveillance (CCDRFS) were conducted in 2007, 2010, 2013, 2015, and 2018. A total of 624,568 adults (278,605 men and 345,963 women) aged 18 to 69 years were randomly selected from 31 provinces (or equivalent) in China. Temporal changes in smoking prevalence and patterns (e.g., percentages of those smoking manufactured cigarettes, amount smoked, and age at smoking initiation) were analyzed, overall and by sex, urban or rural residence, year of birth, education and occupation, using linear regression methods. Among men, the standardized prevalence of current smoking decreased from 58.4% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 56.1 to 60.7) to 50.8% (95% CI: 49.1 to 52.5, p < 0.001) between 2007 and 2018, with annual decrease more pronounced in urban (55.7% [95% CI: 51.2 to 60.3] to 46.3% [95% CI: 43.7 to 49.0], p < 0.001) than rural men (59.9% [95% CI: 57.5 to 62.4] to 54.6% [95% CI: 52.6 to 56.6], p = 0.05) and in those born before than after 1980. Among rural men born after 1990, however, the prevalence increased from 40.2% [95% CI: 34.0 to 46.4] to 52.1% ([95% CI: 45.7 to 58.5], p = 0.007), with the increase taking place mainly before 2015. Among women, smoking prevalence remained extremely low at around 2% during 2007 to 2018. No significant changes of current smoking prevalence (53.9% to 50.8%, p = 0.22) were observed in male patients with at least 1 of major chronic diseases (e.g., hypertension, diabetes, myocardial infarction, stroke, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)). In 2018, 25.6% of adults aged ≥18 years smoked, translating into an estimated 282 million smokers (271 million men and 11 million women) in China. Across 31 provinces, smoking prevalence varied greatly. The 3 provinces (Yunnan, Guizhou, and Hunan) with highest per capita tobacco production had highest smoking prevalence in men (68.0%, 63.4%, and 61.5%, respectively), while lowest prevalence was observed in Shanghai (34.8%). Since the children and teenage groups were not included in the surveys, we could not assess the smoking trends among youths. Furthermore, since the smoking behavior was self-reported, the smoking prevalence could be underestimated due to reporting bias. In this study, we observed that the smoking prevalence has decreased steadily in recent decades in China, but there were diverging trends between urban and rural areas, especially among men born after 1980. Future tobacco control strategies should target rural young men, regions with high tobacco production, and patients suffering from chronic diseases.

ZnO, aside from TiO 2 , has been considered as a promising material for purification and disinfection of water and air and remediation of hazardous waste, owing to its high activity, environment-friendly feature and lower cost. However, their poor visible light utilization greatly limited their practical applications. Herein, we demonstrate the fabrication of different aspect ratios of the ZnO nanorods with surface defects by mechanical-assisted thermal decomposition method. The experiments revealed that ZnO nanorods with higher aspect ratio and surface defects show significantly higher photocatalytic performances.

Electron-hole separation is a critical step to achieving efficient photocatalysis, towards which use of co-catalysts has become a widely used strategy. Despite the tremendous efforts and demonstrated functions of noble metal co-catalysts, seeking noble metal-free co-catalysts will always be the goal when designing cost- effective, high-performance hybrid photocatalysts. In this work, we demonstrate that MoS~ nanosheets with 1T phase （i.e., octahedral phase） can function as a co-catalyst with multiple merits： （1） Noble-metal-free; （2） high mobility for charge transport; （3） high density of active sites for H2 evolution on basal planes; （4） good performance stability; （5） high light transparency. As demonstrated in both photocatalytic hydrogen production and Rhodamine B degradation, the developed hybrid structure with TiO2 exhibits excellent performance, in sharp contrast to bare TiO2 and the hybrid counterpart with 2H-MoS2.

Public health is a priority for the Chinese Government. Evidence-based decision making for health at the province level in China, which is home to a fifth of the global population, is of paramount importance. This analysis uses data from the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2017 to help inform decision making and monitor progress on health at the province level. We used the methods in GBD 2017 to analyse health patterns in the 34 province-level administrative units in China from 1990 to 2017. We estimated all-cause and cause-specific mortality, years of life lost (YLLs), years lived with disability (YLDs), disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs), summary exposure values (SEVs), and attributable risk. We compared the observed results with expected values estimated based on the Socio-demographic Index (SDI). Stroke and ischaemic heart disease were the leading causes of death and DALYs at the national level in China in 2017. Age-standardised DALYs per 100 000 population decreased by 33·1% (95% uncertainty interval [UI] 29·8 to 37·4) for stroke and increased by 4·6% (–3·3 to 10·7) for ischaemic heart disease from 1990 to 2017. Age-standardised stroke, ischaemic heart disease, lung cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and liver cancer were the five leading causes of YLLs in 2017. Musculoskeletal disorders, mental health disorders, and sense organ diseases were the three leading causes of YLDs in 2017, and high systolic blood pressure, smoking, high-sodium diet, and ambient particulate matter pollution were among the leading four risk factors contributing to deaths and DALYs. All provinces had higher than expected DALYs per 100 000 population for liver cancer, with the observed to expected ratio ranging from 2·04 to 6·88. The all-cause age-standardised DALYs per 100 000 population were lower than expected in all provinces in 2017, and among the top 20 level 3 causes were lower than expected for ischaemic heart disease, Alzheimer's disease, headache disorder, and low back pain. The largest percentage change at the national level in age-standardised SEVs among the top ten leading risk factors was in high body-mass index (185%, 95% UI 113·1 to 247·7]), followed by ambient particulate matter pollution (88·5%, 66·4 to 116·4). China has made substantial progress in reducing the burden of many diseases and disabilities. Strategies targeting chronic diseases, particularly in the elderly, should be prioritised in the expanding Chinese health-care system. China National Key Research and Development Program and Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Background Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is associated with a high mortality rate, especially in patients with severe illness. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to assess the potential predictors of mortality in patients with COVID-19. Methods PubMed, EMBASE, the Cochrane Library, and three electronic Chinese databases were searched from December 1, 2019 to April 29, 2020. Eligible studies reporting potential predictors of mortality in patients with COVID-19 were identified. Unadjusted prognostic effect estimates were pooled using the random-effects model if data from at least two studies were available. Adjusted prognostic effect estimates were presented by qualitative analysis. Results Thirty-six observational studies were identified, of which 27 were included in the meta-analysis. A total of 106 potential risk factors were tested, and the following important predictors were associated with mortality: advanced age, male sex, current smoking status, preexisting comorbidities (especially chronic kidney, respiratory, and cardio-cerebrovascular diseases), symptoms of dyspnea, complications during hospitalization, corticosteroid therapy and a severe condition. Additionally, a series of abnormal laboratory biomarkers of hematologic parameters, hepatorenal function, inflammation, coagulation, and cardiovascular injury were also associated with fatal outcome. Conclusion We identified predictors of mortality in patients with COVID-19. These findings could help healthcare providers take appropriate measures and improve clinical outcomes in such patients.

Thin endometrium has been widely recognized as a critical cause of infertility, recurrent pregnancy loss, and placental abnormalities; however, access to effective treatment is a formidable challenge due to the rudimentary understanding of the pathogenesis of thin endometrium. Here, we profiled the transcriptomes of human endometrial cells at single-cell resolution to characterize cell types, their communications, and the underlying mechanism of endometrial growth in normal and thin endometrium during the proliferative phase. Stromal cells were the most abundant cell type in the endometrium, with a subpopulation of proliferating stromal cells whose cell cycle signaling pathways were compromised in thin endometrium. Both single-cell RNA sequencing and experimental verification revealed cellular senescence in the stroma and epithelium accompanied by collagen overdeposition around blood vessels. Moreover, decreased numbers of macrophages and natural killer cells further exacerbated endometrial thinness. In addition, our results uncovered aberrant SEMA3, EGF, PTN, and TWEAK signaling pathways as causes for the insufficient proliferation of the endometrium. Together, these data provide insight into therapeutic strategies for endometrial regeneration and growth to treat thin endometrium.