Anoplocaryum: A newly recorded genus of Boraginaceae from China

Anoplocaryum (Boraginaceae), a small genus previously known from Russia and Mongolia, is newly recorded from China. The specimen was discovered in the rock crevices of Zhangjiakou City, Hebei province, China, and was identified as A. helenae Volot. based on both morphological and molecular data. This study updates our knowledge on the geographic distribution of the genus Anoplocaryum. Two taxonomic keys were provided to distinguish Anoplocaryum and Chinese related genera, also to index taxa in Anoplocaryum.

The Conservation Status and Utilization Strategies of Historic Buildings in Baoding, Hebei

Baoding of Hebei province is a national historical and cultural city with a history of more than 3,000 years. There are abundant cultural relics and historic sites in Baoding with high historical and cultural value. However, due to the rapid development of urbanization and the changes of the natural environment, coupled with the lack of experience and effort in the protection, historical buildings in Baoding have gradually been damaged or even disappeared in the course of history. In view of this, this research combines empirical investigations and in-depth interviews, and analyzes the problems and utilization strategies in the protection of historic buildings in Baoding.

Development of Refractive Parameters in 3- to 6-Year-Old Children and Its Application in Myopia Prediction and Intervention Guidance

Objective. To investigate refractive development and prevalence of myopia in children aged 3-6 years in Hebei Province, China, and to explore the developmental law of refraction, so as to clinically guide the prediction and intervention of myopia. Methods. In May 2019, a total of 6120 people were inspected in 68 kindergartens in 11 cities in Hebei Province. Child refractive refraction was checked under noncycloplegia using a handheld binocular vision screener (SW-800, SUOER, Tianjin, China). Axial length (AL) and corneal radius of curvature (CR) were measured using an ocular biometry (IOLMaster 500, Carl Zeiss, Germany). Myopia was defined as spherical equivalent SE ≤ − 0.75 D . Results. A total of 5506 children aged 3-6 years met the criteria and were included in the statistical analysis. The prevalence of myopia was 3.49% (1.93% at age 3, 2.90% at age 4, 3.78% at age 5, and 3.88% at age 6). Overall, the mean SE was + 0.67 ± 1.05 D ( + 0.81 ± 1.00 D at age 3, + 0.79 ± 1.05 D at age 4, + 0.67 ± 1.08 D at age 5, and + 0.13 ± 1.01 D at age 6); the mean CR was 7.76 ± 0.26 mm ( 7.78 ± 0.26 mm at age3, 7.75 ± 0.25 mm at age 4, 7.77 ± 0.26 mm at age 5, and 7.76 ± 0.25 mm at age 6); the mean AL was 22.31 ± 0.73 mm ( 21.98 ± 0.63 mm at age 3, 22.12 ± 0.69 mm at age 4, 22.34 ± 0.73 mm at age 5, and 22.49 ± 0.73 mm at age 6). Conclusions. Prevalence of myopia increases with age in children aged 3-6 years in Hebei, China. With the increase of age, CR is basically stable, and AL increases gradually. AL/CR, which is closely related to SE, can be used as an indicator to predict myopia and guide clinical work.

Can China’s “Tax-for-Fee” Reform Improve Water Performance–Evidence from Hebei Province

Resource tax has been widely adopted in many countries. This paper evaluates the causal effect of reform of water resources tax on water resources performance in Hebei Province, China. By using the provincial panel data, we first measure the water resources performance of 21 provinces from 2008 to 2018 by considering the NDDF-ML method of undesirable output. We found that each province in China has gradually improved its water resources performance in the past 10 years, but there are great differences between regions. Then, we employ the synthetic control method, which allows us to consider the influence of unobservable time-varying factors to evaluate the policy effect. The results show that water performance index has increased significantly by 18.0%. The effect is mainly due to technological progress (17.3%) rather than technological efficiency (0.7%), which means no significant improvement in the allocation of water, and after placebo tests, our results are still robust. The DID approach shows a similar conclusion, but unobservable time-variation caused by other policies may lead to an overestimation of DID. In order to make good use of water resources, China should accelerate the reform of water resource taxes and pay more attention to the allocation of water resources.

A multicenter survey of patients’ favorite type of nursing care and associated factors in Hebei Province, China v1

Background: Nursing care service is an important part of the healthcare system; however, patients’ favorite type of nursing care remains unknown. This study aims to investigate inpatients’ and nurses’ favorite types of nursing care and identify nurses' learning needs. Method: The study selected a province-representative sample of inpatients and nurses using a stratified random sampling method from 18 selected hospitals, including 9 Level Ⅱhospitals and 9 Level Ⅲ hospitals in 9 cities of Hebei province. All participants were personally interviewed about their favorite type of nursing care. Multinomial logistic regression analysis was applied to analyze the potential associations between favorite nursing care and factors about inpatients and nurses.