Education and development of rehabilitation therapy in China under the background of aging.

The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that about one-third of people worldwide currently have a need for rehabilitation. This demand is expected to increase in the coming years due to changes in population health and characteristics. For example, with the intensification of global aging, the rehabilitation needs of patients with chronic diseases and disabilities, postoperative dysfunction, and cognitive impairment continue to grow, and emergencies such as conflicts, disasters, and epidemics may lead to a surge in rehabilitation needs. Early and sustained rehabilitation could reduce complications, improve function, and reduce disability in affected populations, but rehabilitation services are often underestimated due to underfunding and poor short-term outcomes. WHO sees rehabilitation as an essential part of achieving universal health coverage and the Sustainable Development Goals. With the development of China's economy and society and the trend of an aging population, the demand for rehabilitation therapists is growing rapidly. Since the development of rehabilitation education in China at the beginning of this century, great progress has been made in both the training mode and the number of people trained, especially in the construction of higher education of rehabilitation in related colleges and universities. Through descriptive qualitative analysis, this study collected information from national policy documents and official websites of colleges and universities on policies concerning degree systems, cultivating goals and ideas, courses, education internationalization, continuing education in practice, standardized training after graduation, the number of colleges and universities with rehabilitation therapy related majors in China, and summarizes the current situation of the development of rehabilitation personnel education in Chinese colleges and universities. Judging from the results, during the development of rehabilitation education, China has continuously improved in terms of policy support, educational goals and concepts, the number and quality of institutions, degree systems, and internationalization, while gradually adapting to China's development status. This also provides direction and feasible suggestions for China to improve the rehabilitation education development system and formulate a national rehabilitation education plan in the future to deal with the challenge of aging.

Effects of exogenous L-Glutamine as a sole nitrogen source on physiological characteristics and nitrogen use efficiency of poplar.

L-Glutamine (Gln) is a proteinogenic amino acid, N transporter and NH3 carrier, engaging in diversified pathways for synthesizing many important molecules. However, the effects of exogenous Gln on plant growth and development remain largely unknown. In this study, different concentrations of Gln were supplemented in the poplar hybrid 'Nanlin895' culture medium as a sole N source. Their effects on poplar growth, photosynthesis, N metabolism-related enzymes and metabolites were elucidated. Strikingly, 0.5 mM Gln-fed poplars showed no considerable growth compromise compared to the inorganic N control (CK-N), even though their N supply level was only half that of the CK-N control. What's more, their NUE was enhanced. In addition, 0.5 mM Gln treatment significantly increased the contents of amino acids in coordination with soluble sugars in the roots, while marginal effects in the leaves were observed compared to CK-N. By contrast, applying a high level of Gln (>0.5 mM) resulted in larger accumulation of amino acids and starch, but lower level of soluble sugars, particularly in the roots, followed by adverse effects on poplar biomass, photosynthesis, enzyme activities and NUE; consequently, poplar growth was inhibited. Collectively, these findings allow us to deduce that poplar plants are competent to take up and utilize Gln as a sole N source. When applied at an appropriate level, Gln could promote a dynamic equilibrium of N and C, conferring sound growth performance and additional benefit for the environment as indicated by higher NUE, lower N input and higher biocompatible nature than the inorganic N.

l-Aspartate: An Essential Metabolite for Plant Growth and Stress Acclimation.

L-aspartate (Asp) serves as a central building block, in addition to being a constituent of proteins, for many metabolic processes in most organisms, such as biosynthesis of other amino acids, nucleotides, nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD), the tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle and glycolysis pathway intermediates, and hormones, which are vital for growth and defense. In animals and humans, lines of data have proved that Asp is indispensable for cell proliferation. However, in plants, despite the extensive study of the Asp family amino acid pathway, little attention has been paid to the function of Asp through the other numerous pathways. This review aims to elucidate the most important aspects of Asp in plants, from biosynthesis to catabolism and the role of Asp and its metabolic derivatives in response to changing environmental conditions. It considers the distribution of Asp in various cell compartments and the change of Asp level, and its significance in the whole plant under various stresses. Moreover, it provides evidence of the interconnection between Asp and phytohormones, which have prominent functions in plant growth, development, and defense. The updated information will help improve our understanding of the physiological role of Asp and Asp-borne metabolic fluxes, supporting the modular operation of these networks.

Effect of temperature and its interactions with relative humidity and rainfall on malaria in a temperate city Suzhou, China.

Malaria is a climate-sensitive infectious disease. Many ecological studies have investigated the independent impacts of ambient temperature on malaria. However, the optimal temperature measures of malaria and its interaction with other meteorological factors on malaria transmission are less understood. This study aims to investigate the effect of ambient temperature and its interactions with relative humidity and rainfall on malaria in Suzhou, a temperate climate city in Anhui Province, China. Weekly malaria and meteorological data from 2005 to 2012 were obtained for Suzhou. A distributed lag nonlinear model was conducted to quantify the effect of different temperature measures on malaria. The best measure was defined as that with the minimum quasi-Akaike information criterion. GeoDetector and Poisson regression models were employed to quantify the interactions of temperature, relative humidity, and rainfall on malaria transmission. A total of 13,382 malaria cases were notified in Suzhou from 2005 to 2012. Each 5 °C rise in average temperature over 10 °C resulted in a 22% (95% CI: 17%, 28%) increase in malaria cases at lag of 4 weeks. In terms of cumulative effects from lag 1 to 8 weeks, each 5 °C increase over 10 °C caused a 175% growth in malaria cases (95% CI: 139%, 216%). Average temperature achieved the best performance in terms of model fitting, followed by minimum temperature, most frequent temperature, and maximum temperature. Temperature had an interactive effect on malaria with relative humidity and rainfall. High temperature together with high relative humidity and high rainfall could accelerate the transmission of malaria. Meteorological factors may affect malaria transmission interactively. The research findings could be helpful in the development of weather-based malaria early warning system, especially in the context of climate change for the prevention of possible malaria resurgence.

Nonlinear and Threshold Effect of Meteorological Factors on Japanese Encephalitis Transmission in Southwestern China.

Although previous studies have reported that meteorological factors might affect the risk of Japanese encephalitis (JE), the relationship between meteorological factors and JE remains unclear. This study aimed to evaluate the relationship between meteorological factors and JE and identify the threshold temperature. Daily meteorological data and JE surveillance data in Dazhou, Sichuan, were collected for the study period from 2005 to 2012 (restricting to May-October because of the seasonal distribution of JE). A distributed lag nonlinear model was used to analyze the lagged and cumulative effect of daily average temperature and daily rainfall on JE transmission. A total of 622 JE cases were reported over the study period. We found JE was positively associated with daily average temperature and daily rainfall with a 25-day lag and 30-day lag, respectively. The threshold value of the daily average temperature is 20°C. Each 5°C increase over the threshold would lead to a 13% (95% CI: 1-17.3%) increase in JE. Using 0 mm as the reference, a daily rainfall of 100 mm would lead to a 132% (95% CI: 73-311%) increase in the risk of JE. Japanese encephalitis is climate-sensitive; meteorological factors should be taken into account for the future prevention and control measure making, especially in a warm and rainy weather condition.