Non-suicidal self-injury and professional psychological help-seeking among Chinese left-behind children: prevalence and influencing factors.

BACKGROUND: Non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) is a risk factor for suicide. This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of NSSI and professional psychological help-seeking status and influencing factors among left-behind children (LBC) in China. METHODS: We implemented a population-based cross-sectional study in participants aged 10-18 years. Sociodemographic characteristics, NSSI, help-seeking status and coping style were measured by self-reported questionnaires. A total of 16,866 valid questionnaires were collected, including 6096 LBC. Binary logistic regression models were used to analyze the factors influencing NSSI and professional psychological help-seeking. RESULTS: The incidence of NSSI among LBC was 4.6%, significantly higher than that of non-left-behind children (NLBC). This incidence was higher among girls. Moreover, 53.9% of LBC with NSSI did not receive any treatment and only 22.0% sought professional psychological help. LBC often adopt emotion-oriented coping styles, specifically, those with NSSI. LBC with NSSI who seek professional help tend to adopt problem-oriented coping styles. Logistic regression analysis revealed that girls, learning stage, single-parent, remarried families, patience, and emotional venting were risk factors for NSSI in LBC, while problem-solving and social support seeking were protective factors. Moreover, problem-solving was also a predictor for seeking professional psychological help, patience will prevent it. LIMITATIONS: This was an online survey. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of NSSI in LBC is high. Gender, grade, family structure, and coping style affect the occurrence of NSSI among LBC. Only a few LBC with NSSI seek professional psychological help, while the coping style will affect the help-seeking behavior.

Cross-linked enzyme aggregates of ß-glucosidase from Prunus domestica seeds.

Cross-linked enzyme aggregates (CLEAs) of ß-glucosidase were prepared and characterized. Under the optimum conditions, the activity recovery of CLEAs reached 84 %. The reduction by NaBH(4) resulted in slightly lower activities of CLEAs, while their thermostability was enhanced. CLEAs were more thermally stable than free enzyme (half lives, 973 vs. 518 min at 50 °C), while less stable than seed meal (half life, 1,090 min). In 90 % (v/v) t-butanol, the half lives of CLEAs and free enzyme were 53 and 6.7 h, respectively. Besides, the catalytic efficiency (V (max)/K (m)) of CLEAs was comparable to free enzyme (0.42 vs. 0.47 min(-1) mg(-1)). This carrier-free immobilized enzyme had a network structure with multiple layers. The productivity of salidroside using CLEAs reached 150 g/l g catalyst, while being 6.3 g/l g with seed meal.

Autism spectrum disorder-like behavior induced in rat offspring by perinatal exposure to di-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate.

Autism spectrum disorders (ASD), also known as childhood autism, is a common neurological developmental disorder. Although it is generally believed that genetic factors are a primary cause for ASD development, more and more studies show that an increasing number of ASD diagnoses are related to environmental exposure. Epidemiological studies indicated that perinatal exposure to endocrine disruptors might cause neurodevelopmental disorders in children. Di-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) is widely used as a plasticizer in many products. To explore the neurodevelopmental effect induced by perinatal exposure to DEHP on rat offspring, and the potential mechanisms, female Wistar rats were exposed to 1, 10, and 100 mg/kg/day DEHP during pregnancy and lactation, while valproic acid (VPA) was used as a positive control. The behavior tests showed that rat pups exposed to VPA and 100 mg/kg/day DEHP were not good as those from the control group in both their socialability and social novelty. Expression of mTOR pathway-related components increased while the number of autophagosomes decreased in the brain tissue of the rat offspring exposed to 100 mg/kg/day DEHP. In addition, perinatal exposure to DEHP at all dosages decreased the level of autophagy proteins LC3II and Beclin1 in the brain tissue of rat pups. Our results indicated that perinatal DEHP exposure would induce ASD-like behavioral changes in rat offspring, which might be mediated by activation of the mTOR signaling pathway, and inhibition of autophagy in the brain.

Highly efficient enzymatic synthesis of an ascorbyl unstaturated fatty acid ester with ecofriendly biomass-derived 2-methyltetrahydrofuran as cosolvent.

Enzymatic synthesis of ascorbyl undecylenate, an unsaturated fatty acid ester of ascorbic acid, was reported with biomass-derived 2-methyltetrahydrofuran (MeTHF) as the cosolvent. Of the immobilized lipases tested, Candida antarctica lipase B (CAL-B) showed the highest activity for enzymatic synthesis of ascorbyl undecylenate. Effect of reaction media on the enzymatic reaction was studied. The cosolvent mixture, t-butanol-MeTHF (1:4, v/v) proved to be the optimal medium, in which not only ascorbic acid had moderate solubility, but also CAL-B showed a high activity, thus addressing the major problem of the solvent conflict for dissolving substrate and keeping satisfactory enzyme activity. In addition, the enzyme was much more stable in MeTHF and t-butanol-MeTHF (1:4) than in previously widely used organic solvents, t-butanol, 2-methyl-2-butanol, and acetone. The much higher initial reaction rate in this cosolvent mixture may be rationalized by the much lower apparent activation energy of this enzymatic reaction (26.6 vs. 38.1-39.1 kJ/mol) and higher enzyme catalytic efficiency (Vmax /Km , 8.4 vs. 1.3-1.4 h(-1) ). Ascorbyl undecylenate was obtained with the yields of 84-89% and 6-regioselectivity of >99% in t-butanol-MeTHF (1:4) at supersaturated substrate concentrations (60 and 100 mM) after 5-8 h.