The more peers are present, the more adventurous? How peer presence influences adolescent pedestrian safety.

Objective: Adolescence is a high-risk period for traffic injury. One factor that may impact adolescent safety in traffic is the presence of peers. We conducted a quasi-experimental research study to examine the impact of peer presence, peer familiarity, and peer group size on adolescent pedestrian risk-taking intentions in both sidewalk and street-crossing settings. Methods: 607 students aged 12-18 years from Nantong city, China, completed a questionnaire that presented 20 traffic scenarios. The scenarios varied based on a 3 (peer group size: no peer vs. one peer vs. multiple peers) x 2 (peer familiarity: familiar vs. unfamiliar) x 2 (traffic setting: crossing the street vs. walking on the roadside) experimental design. Adolescents' responses indicated safer vs riskier intentions in each situation. Results: Results found that: (1) Adolescents were safer when walking on the sidewalk than when crossing the street; (2) Whether crossing the street or walking on the sidewalk, adolescents' behavioral intentions were safer when there were peers present than when there were no peers present; (3) Adolescents' safety tended to be higher overall with unfamiliar peers than with familiar peers; (4) Adolescents were less safe when crossing the street with familiar peer(s) than with unfamiliar peer(s), but no differences emerged when walking on the sidewalk. Conclusions: Adolescents report safer behavior when walking with a peer or peers compared with walking alone. Familiar peers reduce adolescents' safety of behavior intentions in traffic, especially when crossing the street.

Long-Term Axial Length Shortening in Myopic Orthokeratology: Incident Probability, Time Course, and Influencing Factors.

Purpose: Long-term axial length (AL) shortening in myopia is uncommon but noteworthy. Current understanding on the condition is limited due to difficulties in case collection. The study reported percentage, probability, and time course of long-term AL shortening in myopic orthokeratology based on a large database. Methods: This study reviewed 142,091 medical records from 29,825 subjects in a single-hospital orthokeratology database that were collected over 10 years. Long-term AL shortening was defined as a change in AL of -0.1 mm or less at any follow-up beyond 1 year. Incident probability was calculated based on multivariate logistic regression. Time course was estimated using mixed-effect regression model. Results: A total of 10,093 subjects (mean initial age, 11.70 ± 2.52 years; 58.8% female) with 80,778 visits were included. The number of subjects experienced long-term AL shortening was 1,662 (16.47%; 95% confidence interval, 15.75%-17.21%). Initial age showed significant impact on the incident occurrence (OR, 1.37; 95% confidence interval, 1.34-1.40; P < 0.001). The estimated probability of AL shortening was approximately 2% for subjects with initial age of 6 years and 50% for those aged 18. Among the 1662 AL shortening cases, the median magnitude of the maximum AL reduction was 0.19 mm. The shortening process mostly occurred within the initial 2 years. Subject characteristics had limited associations with the shortening rate. Conclusions: Long-term AL shortening is possible in subjects receiving myopic orthokeratology. Although age notably affect the incident probability, the time course seems to not vary significantly.

Molecular imaging-guided extracellular vesicle-based drug delivery for precise cancer management: Current status and future perspectives.

Extracellular vesicles (EVs), the mediators of intercellular communication, have attracted the attention of researchers for the important roles they play in cancer treatment. Compared with other inorganic nano-materials, EVs possess the advantages of higher biocompatibility, better physiochemical stability, easier surface modification, and excellent biosafety. They can be used as an advanced drug delivery system with an improved therapeutic index for various therapeutic agents. Engineered EV-based imaging and therapeutic agents (engineered EVs) have emerged as useful tools in targeted cancer diagnosis and therapy. Non-invasive tracing of engineered EVs contributes to a better evaluation of their functions in cancer progression, in vivo dynamic biodistribution, therapeutic response, and drug-loading efficiency. Recent advances in real-time molecular imaging (MI), and innovative EV labeling strategies have led to the development of novel tools that can evaluate the pharmacokinetics of engineered EVs in cancer management, which may accelerate further clinical translation of novel EV-based drug delivery platforms. Herein, we review the latest advances in EVs, their characteristics, and current examples of EV-based targeted drug delivery for cancer. Then, we discuss the prominent applications of MI for tracing both natural and engineered EVs. Finally, we discuss the current challenges and considerations of EVs in targeted cancer treatment and the limitations of different MI modalities. In the coming decades, EV-based therapeutic applications for cancer with improved drug loading and targeting abilities will be developed, and better anti-cancer effects of drug delivery nanoplatform will be achieved.

SIRT1 reduction contributes to doxorubicin-induced oxidative stress and meiotic failure in mouse oocytes.

Impaired fertility is the major side effect of chemotherapy for female cancer patients, accumulated evidence indicates this is associated with damage on oocyte quality, but the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. Previously we reported that doxorubicin (DXR) exposure, one of the most widely used chemotherapy drugs, disrupted mouse oocyte meiotic maturation in vitro. In the current study, we identified that SIRT1 expression was remarkably reduced in DXR exposure oocytes. Next, we found that increasing SIRT1 expression by resveratrol partially alleviated the effects of DXR exposure on oocyte maturation, which was counteracted by SIRT1 inhibition. Furthermore, we revealed that increasing SIRT1 expression mitigated DXR induced oocyte damage through reducing ROS levels, increasing antioxidant enzyme MnSOD expression, and preventing spindle and chromosome disorganization, lowering the incidence of aneuploidy. Importantly, by performing in vitro fertilization and embryo transfer assays, we demonstrated that increasing SIRT1 expression significantly improved the fertilization ability, developmental competence of oocytes and early embryos. In summary, our data uncover that SIRT1 reduction represents one mechanism that mediates the effects of DXR exposure on oocyte quality.

Peroxy radical chemistry during ozone photochemical pollution season at a suburban site in the boundary of Jiangsu-Anhui-Shandong-Henan region, China.

Ambient peroxy radical (RO2⁎ = HO2 + RO2) concentrations were measured at a suburban site in a major prefecture-level city (Huaibei) in the boundary of Jiangsu-Anhui-Shandong-Henan region, which is the connecting belt of air pollution in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region and the Yangtze River Delta. Measurements were carried out during the period of September to October 2021 to elucidate the formation mechanism of O3 pollution. The observed maximum concentration of peroxy radicals was 73.8 pptv. A zero-dimensional box model (Framework for 0-Dimensional Atmospheric Modeling, F0AM) based on Master Chemical Mechanism (MCM3.3.1) was used to predict radical concentrations for comparison with observations. The model reproduced the daily variation of peroxy radicals well, but discrepancies still appear in the morning hours. As in previous field campaigns, systematic discrepancies between modelled and measured RO2⁎ concentrations are observed in the morning for NO mixing ratios higher than 1 ppbv. Between 6:00 and 9:00 am, the model significantly underpredicts RO2⁎ by a mean factor of 7.2. This underprediction can be explained by a missing RO2⁎ source of 1.2 ppbv h-1 which originated from the photochemical conversion of an alkene-like chemical species. From the model results it shows that the main sources of ROx (= OH + HO2 + RO2) are the photolysis of oxygenated volatile organic compounds (OVOCs, 33 %), O3 and HONO (25 %), and HCHO (24 %). And the major sinks of ROx transitioned from a predominant reaction of radicals with NOx in the morning to a predominant peroxy self- and cross-reaction in the late afternoon. The introduction of an alkene-like species increased RO2 radical concentration and resulted in 14 % increase in net daily integrated ozone production, indicating the possible significance of the mechanism of alkene-like species oxidation to peroxy radicals. This study provides important information for subsequent ozone pollution control policies in Jiangsu-Anhui-Shandong-Henan region.

Mobile phone use while cycling among e-bikers in China: Reasoned or social reactive?

INTRODUCTION: China has the largest number of e-bikers in the world, and e-bike crashes cause thousands of fatalities and tens of thousands of serious injuries annually. Mobile phone use while e-biking is a violation of Chinese law and associated with increased crash risk. The current study investigated mobile phone use behavior while cycling among Chinese e-bikers and the psychological factors surrounding why individuals might choose to engage in this risk-taking behavior. METHOD: In particular, this study investigates whether the decision to use a mobile phone while cycling is explained through reasoned decision making or is a social reactive decision, or both, as defined by the prototype willingness model (PWM). Questionnaire data were collected from 784 Chinese adults with e-bike experience. RESULTS: Results showed that 40.2 % of the participants reported mobile phone use while cycling e-bikes in the past month. Both behavioral intention and behavioral willingness were predictors of mobile phone while using e-bikes, and they were approximately equal in their magnitude of predictive power (ßBI = 0.25; ßBW = 0.26). E-bikers' attitudes, perceived behavioral control, and perception of prototype similarity and favorability were strong predictors of intention, willingness, and self-reported behavior to use mobile phones while e-biking. CONCLUSIONS: Both social reactive decision-making and reasoned decision-making contribute to decisions to use a mobile phone while riding an e-bike. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS: Results have implications for guiding development of interventions to prevent and reduce mobile phone use when e-bike cycling.

The efficacy and safety of temperature controlled dual-mode radiofrequency in women with vaginal laxity.

OBJECTIVE: Vaginal laxity could negatively influence women's sexual function. This study aimed to explore the efficacy and safety of temperature controlled dual-mode (monopolar and bipolar) radiofrequency (RF) in women with vaginal laxity. METHODS: A total of 102 patients with vaginal laxity were treated with temperature-controlled RF. The present study implemented Vaginal Laxity Questionnaire (VLQ), Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI) questionnaire and Sexual Satisfaction Questionnaire (SSQ) on all patients at baseline and after treatment. Pelvic Organ Prolapse Quantification System (POP-Q) system was applied to physical examination, and vaginal manometer to examine the strength of voluntary contractions of the pelvic floor muscles. RESULTS: The VLQ score was gradually increased after RF treatment at 1, 3, 6 and 12 months, accompanying by the significant improvement in total FSFI scores and the six domains (sexual desire, sexual arousal, lubrication, orgasm, satisfaction, pain). The increased sexual satisfaction based on the SSQ score was found after temperature-controlled RF. The result of POP-Q stage showed significant difference in women after treatment, with the women having Stage I of 45.10% at baseline, 36.27% at 1 month, 28.43% at 3 months, 19.61% at 6 months and 10.78% at 12 months. The mean pressure and mean duration of pelvic contractions were increased gradually at the 1-, 3-, 6- and 12- month follow-up. CONCLUSION: Temperature controlled dual-mode (monopolar and bipolar) radiofrequency may be associated with improvement of vaginal laxity, and contribute to enhancement to female sexual function and pelvic floor muscles.

Lineage tracing of mutant granulosa cells reveals in vivo protective mechanisms that prevent granulosa cell tumorigenesis.

Ovarian granulosa cell tumors (GCTs) originate from granulosa cells (GCs) and represent the most common sex cord-stromal tumor in humans. However, the developmental regulations and molecular mechanisms underlying their etiology are largely unknown. In the current study, we combined a multi-fluorescent reporter mouse model with a conditional knockout mouse model, in which the tumor suppressor genes Pten and p27 were deleted in GCs, to perform cell lineage tracing of mutant GCs. We found that only 30% of ovaries with substantial mutant GCs developed into GCTs that derived from a single mutant GC. In-depth molecular analysis of the process of tumorigenesis demonstrated that up-regulation of immune evasion genes Cd24a and Cd47 led, in part, to the transition of mutant GCs to GCTs. Therefore, treatment with the Cd47 inhibitor RRX-001 was tested and found to efficiently suppress the growth of GCTs in vivo. Together, our study has revealed an immune evasion mechanism via CD24/CD47 upregulation to GCT formation, shedding light on the future potential clinical therapies for GCTs.

SP1 impacts the primordial to primary follicle transition by regulating cholesterol metabolism in granulosa cells.

The primordial to primary follicle transition (PPT) in the ovary is critical to maintain sustainable reproductive resources in female mammals. However, it is unclear how granulosa cells (GCs) of the primary follicle participate in regulating PPT. This study focused on exploring the role of transcription factor Sp1 (SP1) in regulating PPT based on the fact that SP1 is pivotal for pregranulosa cell proliferation before primordial follicle formation. The results showed that mice fertility was prolonged when Sp1 was specifically depleted from GCs (GC- Sp1 -/- ). Besides, the PPT in GC- Sp1 -/- mice was reduced, resulting in more primordial follicles being preserved. Single-cell RNA-seq also indicated that the level of cholesterol metabolism was downregulated in GC- Sp1 -/- mice. Additionally, the PPT was promoted by either overexpression of ferredoxin-1 (FDX1), one of the key genes in mediating cholesterol metabolism or supplementing cholesterol for cultured fetal ovaries. Collectively, SP1 in GCs participates in the metabolism of cholesterol partially by regulating the transcription of Fdx1 during the PPT.

The Effect of Chronotype on Risk-Taking Behavior: The Chain Mediation Role of Self-Control and Emotional Stability.

BACKGROUND: Although previous studies indicate that chronotype might be associated with risk-taking behavior, the specific mechanism has not been thoroughly discussed. This study aimed to fill this gap by exploring the mediating role of self-control and the chain mediating role of self-control and emotional stability between chronotype and risk-taking behavior. METHODS: A total of 547 Chinese college students between 18 and 24 years old were selected to complete the Morningness-Eveningness Questionnaire (MEQ), Self-Control Scale (SCS), Eysenck's Personality Questionnaire-neuroticism (EPQ-N), and Adolescent Risk-Taking Questionnaire: Risk Behavior Scale (ARQ-RB) to assess chronotype, risk-taking behavior, self-control, and emotional stability, respectively. Hayes' PROCESS macro for SPSS was used to test the relationships among these variables. RESULTS: Our result showed significant positive correlations among chronotype, self-control, emotional stability, and significant negative correlations between self-control, emotional stability, and risk-taking behavior. We also found that chronotype had a significant predictive effect on risk-taking behavior in the chain mediation model. Specifically, chronotype affected risk-taking behavior through two pathways: the separate mediating role of self-control and the serial mediation pathway of self-control → emotional stability. CONCLUSIONS: Our study provides direct evidence that chronotype is associated with risk-taking behavior. The results showed that the predictive function of chronotype was mediated by self-control and emotional stability. This study provides a new perspective on preventing and reducing risk-taking behavior.

The Relationship between Self-Concept and Negative Emotion: A Moderated Mediation Model.

Background: Emotional problems such as depression and anxiety are very serious among college students, especially during the COVID-2019 pandemic. The present study aimed to explore the mediating role of resilience in the relationship between self-concept and negative emotion, and the moderating role of exercise intensity in the direct and indirect effect of self-concept on negative emotion among college students. Methods: A total of 739 Chinese college students aged between 18 and 25 years (M = 20.13; SD = 1.67) were selected to complete the Tennessee Self-Concept Scale (TSCS), the Depression Anxiety Stress Self Rating Scale, the Adolescent Psychological Resilience Scale, and the Physical Exercise Scale (PARS-3) to assess self-concept, negative emotions, psychological resilience, and exercise intensity, respectively. Hayes' PROCESS macro for SPSS was used to test the relationships among these variables. Results: Self-concept was negatively correlated with negative emotions; psychological resilience partially mediated the association between self-concept and negative emotions; exercise intensity moderated the effect of self-concept on negative emotions, and college students with low intensity physical activity would strengthening the association between self-concept and psychological resilience, psychological resilience, and negative emotions. Conclusions: Psychological resilience is a critical mediating mechanism through which self-concept is associated with negative emotions among college students, and exercise intensity plays a role as a moderating variable in the direct and indirect influence of self-concept on negative emotions. Implications for preventing or reducing negative emotions are discussed.

The influence of music tempo on mental load and hazard perception of novice drivers.

INTRODUCTION: Many novice drivers listen to music while driving, but the effect of music-listening on novice driver's safety is uncertain. We explored how music tempo affects two key aspects of novice drivers' cognitive functioning, mental load and hazard perception. METHOD: In a within-subjects experimental design study, 37 novice drivers completed a hazard perception test in simulated traffic situations under four randomly-ordered conditions: while listening to fast, medium, slow tempo music, and without listening to any music. Mental load was recorded both subjectively and through psychophysiological measures during all conditions. RESULTS: When listening to fast-tempo music, novice drivers' subjective load value, heart rate and respiratory rate were significantly higher than that during the other two music tempo conditions and the no music condition. Skin temperature was significantly higher during fast-tempo music than during the slow music tempo and no music conditions. When listening to slow-tempo music, drivers' R-R interval (variability in heart rate, with longer intervals reflecting lower mental load) was significantly longer than while listening to fast and mid-tempo music, and their hazard perception scores were significantly higher than the other three conditions. CONCLUSIONS: Listening to fast tempo music was associated with increased mental load and reduced hazard perception ability in traffic among novice drivers. Listening to slow tempo music did not increase novice drivers' mental load and offered some benefit to their hazard perception.

Children's fear in traffic and its association with pedestrian decisions.

INTRODUCTION: Research on risk for child pedestrian injury risk focuses primarily on cognitive risk factors, but emotional states such as fear may also be relevant to injury risk. The current study examined children's perception of fear in various traffic situations and the relationship between fear perception and pedestrian decisions. METHOD: 150 children aged 6-12-years old made pedestrian decisions using a table-top road model. Their perceived fear in the pedestrian context was assessed. RESULTS: Children reported greater emotional fear when they faced quicker traffic, shorter distances from approaching traffic, and red rather than green traffic signals. Children who were more fearful made safer pedestrian decisions in more challenging traffic situations. However, when the least risky traffic situation was presented, fear was associated with more errors in children's pedestrian decisions: fearful children failed to cross the street when they could have done so safely. Perception of fear did not vary by child age, although safe pedestrian decisions were more common among the older children. CONCLUSIONS: Children's emotional fear may predict risk-taking in traffic. When traffic situations are challenging to cross within, fear may appropriately create safer decisions. However, when the traffic situation is less risky, feelings of fear could lead to excessive caution and inefficiency. Practical applications: Child pedestrian safety interventions may benefit by incorporating activities that introduce realistic fear of traffic risks into broader safety lessons.

Development and validation of a prediction model for axial length elongation in myopic children treated with overnight orthokeratology.

PURPOSE: To develop and validate a standardized prediction model aiming at 1-year axial length elongation and to guide the orthokeratology lens practice. METHODS: This retrospective study was based on medical records of myopic children treated with orthokeratology. Individuals aged 8-15 years (n = 1261) were included and divided into the primary cohort (n = 757) and validation cohort (n = 504). Feature selection was primarily performed to sort out influential predictors by high-throughput extraction. Then, the prediction model was developed using multivariable linear regression analysis completed by backward stepwise selection. Finally, the validation of the prediction model was performed by evaluation metrics (mean-square error, root-mean-square error, mean absolute error and R ad 2 ). RESULTS: No significant difference was found between primary and validation cohort (all p > 0.05). After the feature selection, the crude model was adjusted by demographic information in multivariable linear regression analysis, and five final predictors were identified (all p < 0.01). The interaction effect of age with 1-month change of zone-3 mm flat K was detected (p < 0.01); hence, two final prediction models were developed based on two age subgroups. The validation proved an acceptable performance. CONCLUSION: An effective multivariable prediction model aiming at 1-year axial length elongation was developed and validated. It can potentially help clinicians to predict orthokeratology efficacy and make valid adjustments. The influential variables revealed in this model can also provide designers directions to optimize the design of lens to improve the efficacy of myopia control.

Willingness to engage in and current status of social participation among Chinese merchant sailors.

China has the largest population of sailors in the world, but little is known of their social participation. This study examined Chinese merchant sailors' social participation using a nationwide survey. Across 12 Chinese provinces, 7,296 merchant sailors completed the questionnaire on sailor' willingness to engage in and status of social participation. The results showed that most Chinese merchant sailors were willing to participate in social affairs, but few of them reported having joined relevant social organizations, over half of sailors reported never having participated in public affairs, and half of them chose to ignore when they faced with an obvious mistake in shipping-related information in the media. Most of sailors reported unknowing the role of the labor union related to Chinese seafarers and NGO related to navigation well, and their evaluation of these organizations were mostly negative. Chinese merchant sailors reported higher expectations of services in terms of protection of rights, providing information and technology, and providing employment opportunity. We conclude that Chinese merchant sailors have willingness to social participation although the reality is not positive and discuss implications for improving the social participation of Chinese merchant sailors.

Effect of norepinephrine combined with sodium phosphocreatine on cardiac function and prognosis of patients with septic shock.

Septic shock (SS) leads to a high mortality rate for sepsis patients. Norepinephrine (NE) is a preferred vasoactive agent in SS treatment. This study aimed to assess the effects of NE at different administration time and NE combined with SP treatment on the cardiac function and prognosis of SS.SS patients received NE treatment at different administration time and NE combined with SP treatment were enrolled in this study. The serum levels of cardiac troponin I (cTnI) and B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP), ejection fraction (EF), and pressure-adjusted heart rate (PAR) value were analyzed to evaluate cardiac function. The 28-day survival information was collected and assessed using the Kaplan-Meier method and log-rank test.The cardiac function of SS patients was improved significantly by NE treatment, especially in the patients received NE at 2 h after fluid infusion, which evidenced by the increased BNP and cTnI levels and EF% and the decreased RAP. In the NE-2 h group, SS patients had a better 28-day survival rate compared with those patients in NE-1 h and -3 h groups. Furthermore, the significantly improved cardiac function and survival outcomes were found in patients received NE combined SP treatment.Taken together, this study results show that NE administration at 2 h after fluid infusion may be the optimal time point for the treatment of SS and NE combined with SP treatment can improve early cardiac dysfunction and 28-day survival outcomes in patients with SS.

Resveratrol attenuates doxorubicin-induced meiotic failure through inhibiting oxidative stress and apoptosis in mouse oocytes.

Doxorubicin (DXR), a widely used chemotherapeutic drug, has adverse effects on female fertility in young cancer patients. However, the underlying mechanisms of doxorubicin exposure on female fertility and how to prevent it have not been well studied yet. Here, mouse oocytes were employed to investigate the issues mentioned above. The results showed that doxorubicin treatment impaired oocyte meiotic maturation by destroying spindle assembly and chromosome arrangement. In addition, doxorubicin caused oxidative stress by increasing reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels. Furthermore, doxorubicin led to severe DNA damage in oocytes, which eventually induced apoptosis through DNA damage-P63-Caspase3 pathway. Conversely, resveratrol (RES) effectively improved oocyte quality by restoring spindle and chromosome configuration, reducing ROS levels and inhibiting apoptosis. In summary, our results indicate that RES can protect oocytes against doxorubicin-induced damage.

LSD1 contributes to programmed oocyte death by regulating the transcription of autophagy adaptor SQSTM1/p62.

In female mammals, the size of the initially established primordial follicle (PF) pool within the ovaries determines the reproductive lifespan of females. Interestingly, the establishment of the PF pool is accompanied by a remarkable programmed oocyte loss for unclear reasons. Although apoptosis and autophagy are involved in the process of oocyte loss, the underlying mechanisms require substantial study. Here, we identify a new role of lysine-specific demethylase 1 (LSD1) in controlling the fate of oocytes in perinatal mice through regulating the level of autophagy. Our results show that the relatively higher level of LSD1 in fetal ovaries sharply reduces from 18.5 postcoitus (dpc). Meanwhile, the level of autophagy increases while oocytes are initiating programmed death. Specific disruption of LSD1 resulted in significantly increased autophagy and obviously decreased oocyte number compared with the control. Conversely, the oocyte number is remarkably increased by the overexpression of Lsd1 in ovaries. We further demonstrated that LSD1 exerts its role by regulating the transcription of p62 and affecting autophagy level through its H3K4me2 demethylase activity. Finally, in physiological conditions, a decrease in LSD1 level leads to an increased level of autophagy in the oocyte when a large number of oocytes are being lost. Collectively, LSD1 may be one of indispensible epigenetic molecules who protects oocytes against preterm death through repressing the autophagy level in a time-specific manner. And epigenetic modulation contributes to programmed oocyte death by regulating autophagy in mice.

Lnc-MEG3 acts as a potential biomarker for predicting increased disease risk, systemic inflammation, disease severity, and poor prognosis of sepsis via interacting with miR-21.

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to investigate the correlations of long non-coding RNA maternally expressed gene 3 (lnc-MEG3), microRNA (miR)-21, and lnc-MEG3/miR-21 axis with disease risk, inflammation, disease severity, and 28-day mortality of sepsis. METHODS: Totally, 219 sepsis patients and 219 health controls (HCs) were enrolled. Plasma samples were obtained from sepsis patients within 24 hours after admission and from HCs on enrollment to detect lnc-MEG3 and miR-21 expressions by real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction. RESULTS: The lnc-MEG3 expression and lnc-MEG3/miR-21 axis were increased, while miR-21 expression was decreased in sepsis patients compared with HCs. Lnc-MEG3 (area under the curve (AUC): 0.887, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.856-0.917) and lnc-MEG3/miR-21 axis (AUC: 0.934, 95% CI: 0.909-0.958) had good values for predicting elevated sepsis risk, while miR-21 (AUC: 0.801, 95% CI: 0.758-0.844) presented a good predictive value for reduced sepsis risk. Furthermore, lnc-MEG3 expression and lnc-MEG3/miR-21 axis positively correlated with, whereas miR-21 expression negatively correlated with acute pathologic and chronic health evaluation II, sequential organ failure assessment score, serum creatinine, C-reactive protein, tumor necrosis factor-α, interleukin (IL)-1ß, IL-6, and IL-17 in sepsis patients. Additionally, lnc-MEG3 (AUC: 0.704, 95% CI: 0.626-0.783) and lnc-MEG3/miR-21 axis (AUC: 0.669, 95% CI: 0.589-0.750) exhibited acceptable values in predicting higher 28-day mortality risk, while miR-21 (AUC: 0.588, 95% CI: 0.505-0.672) presented a poor predictive value for lower 28-day mortality risk in sepsis patients. CONCLUSION: Lnc-MEG3 might serve as a potential biomarker for the development, progression, and prognosis prediction of sepsis via interacting with miR-21.

Roles of individual differences and traffic environment factors on children's street-crossing behaviour in a VR environment.

OBJECTIVE: Pedestrian injuries are among the most common cause of death and serious injury to children. A range of risk factors, including individual differences and traffic environment factors, has been investigated as predictors of children's pedestrian behaviours. There is little evidence examining how risk factors might interact with each other to influence children's risk, however. The present study examined the independent and joint influences of individual differences (sex and sensation seeking) and traffic environment factors (vehicle speeds and inter-vehicle distances) on children's pedestrian safety. METHODS: A total of 300 children aged 10-13 years were recruited to complete a sensation-seeking scale, and 120 of those were selected for further evaluation based on having high or low sensation-seeking scores in each gender, with 30 children in each group. Children's pedestrian crossing behaviours were evaluated in a virtual reality traffic environment. RESULTS: Children low in sensation seeking missed more opportunities to cross and had longer start gaps to enter the roadway compared with those high in sensation seeking, and these effects were more substantial when vehicles were spread further apart but travelling slowly. Interaction effects between inter-vehicle distance and vehicle speed were also detected, with children engaging in riskier crossings when the car was moving more quickly and the vehicles were spread further than when the vehicles were moving quickly but were closer together. No sex differences or interactions emerged. CONCLUSION: Both sensation seeking and traffic environment factors impact children's behaviour in traffic, and there are interactions between traffic speeds and inter-vehicle distances that impact crossing behaviour.