The value of nomogram analysis in prediction of cerebral spread of hepatic alveolar echinococcosis.

BACKGROUND: The prognosis after brain metastasis of alveolar echinococcosis is inferior, but there is currently no effective method to predict brain metastasis. PURPOSE: To explore the value of a nomogram constructed based on a CT plain scan and enhanced imaging features combined with clinical indicators in predicting brain metastasis of hepatic alveolar echinococcosis (HAE). MATERIALS AND METHODS: The imaging characteristics and clinical indicators of 116 patients diagnosed with HAE in the Affiliated Hospital of Qinghai University from 2015 to 2022 were retrospectively collected. The data were randomly divided into a training set and a validation set according to 7:3, and the difference between the two groups was analyzed. Binary logistic regression analysis was used to obtain independent predictors of brain metastasis in HAE, and a prediction model was constructed based on this and expressed in the form of a nomogram. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve and calibration curve (CRC) were used to evaluate model performance, and decision curve analysis (DCA) was used to assess the clinical value of the predictive model. RESULT: A total of 116 HAE patients were included (average age 38.07±15.09 years old, 54 males and 62 females, 81 patients (70 %) in the training set, and 35 patients (30 %) in the validation set). There was no statistically significant difference between CT plain scan and enhanced imaging features combined with clinical indicators between the training set and the validation set (p > 0.05). After statistical analysis, it was found that whether there is invasion of the inferior vena cava, whether there is invasion of the hepatic artery, and whether there is metastasis to other organs are independent predictors of brain metastasis in HAE. A prediction model was built based on these three variables. The area under the ROC curve (AUC), cutoff value, sensitivity, and specificity of the training set and validation set were 0.922 and 0.886, 0.6934 and 0.6643, 75.00 and 84.62, 94.34 and 81.82, respectively. CRC shows good consistency between the predicted probability and the actual value of the sample. DCA showed that the clinical value of the model was high. CONCLUSION: The nomogram constructed based on imaging features combined with clinical indicators can effectively predict whether HAE will develop brain metastasis, which is helpful for clinicians to quickly screen out high-risk patients with HAE developing brain metastases, evaluate patient prognosis, and is more conducive to the realization of individualized and precise medical decisions.

The value of nomogram based on MRI functional imaging in differentiating cerebral alveolar echinococcosis from brain metastases.

OBJECTIVE: This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of a nomogram model constructed using Diffusion Kurtosis Imaging (DKI) and 3D Arterial Spin Labeling (3D-ASL) functional imaging techniques in distinguishing between cerebral alveolar echinococcosis (CAE) and brain metastases (BM). METHODS: Prospectively collected were 24 cases (86 lesions) of patients diagnosed with CAE and 16 cases (69 lesions) of patients diagnosed with BM at the affiliated hospital of Qinghai University from 2018 to 2023, confirmed either pathologically or through comprehensive diagnosis. Both patient groups underwent DKI and 3D-ASL scanning. DKI parameters (Kmean, Dmean, FA, ADC) and cerebral blood flow (CBF) were analyzed for the parenchymal area, edema area, and symmetrical normal brain tissue area in both groups. There were 155 lesions in total in the two groups of patients. We used SPSS to randomly select 70% as the training set (108 lesions) and the remaining 30% as the test set (47 lesions) and performed a difference analysis between the two groups. The independent factors distinguishing CAE from BM were identified using univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses. Based on these factors, a diagnostic model was constructed and expressed as a nomogram. RESULT: Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses identified nDmean1 and nCBF1 in the lesion parenchyma area, as well as nKmean2 and nDmean2 in the edema area, as independent factors for distinguishing CAE from BM. The model's performance, measured by the area under the ROC curve (AUC), had values of 0.942 and 0.989 for the training and test sets, respectively. Calibration curves demonstrated that the predicted probabilities were highly consistent with the actual values, and DCA confirmed the model's high clinical utility. CONCLUSION: The nomogram model, which incorporates DKI and 3D-ASL functional imaging, effectively distinguishes CAE from BM. It offers an intuitive, accurate, and non-invasive method for differentiation, thus providing valuable guidance for subsequent clinical decisions.

Fucoidan prevents diabetic cognitive dysfunction via promoting TET2-mediated active DNA demethylation in high-fat diet induced diabetic mice.

Diabetic cognitive dysfunction (DCD) refers to cognitive impairment in individuals with diabetes, which is one of the most important comorbidities and complications. Preliminary evidence suggests that consuming sufficient dietary fiber could have benefits for both diabetes and cognitive function. However, the effect and underlying mechanism of dietary fiber on DCD remain unclear. We conducted a cross-sectional analysis using data from NHANES involving 2072 diabetics and indicated a significant positive dose-response relationship between the dietary fiber intake and cognitive performance in diabetics. Furthermore, we observed disrupted cognitive function and neuronal morphology in high-fat diet induced DCD mice, both of which were effectively restored by fucoidan supplementation through alleviating DNA epigenetic metabolic disorders. Moreover, fucoidan supplementation enhanced the levels of short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) in the cecum of diabetic mice. These SCFAs enhanced TET2 protein stability by activating phosphorylated AMPK and improved TETs activity by reducing the ratio of (succinic acid + fumaric acid)/ α-ketoglutaric acid, subsequently enhancing TET2 function. The positive correlation between dietary fiber intake and cognitive function in diabetics was supported by human and animal studies alike. Importantly, fucoidan can prevent the occurrence of DCD by promoting TET2-mediated active DNA demethylation in the cerebral cortex of diabetic mice.

Advances in Carbon Microsphere-Based Nanomaterials for Efficient Electromagnetic Wave Absorption.

Carbon microspheres have indeed shown great promise as effective materials for absorbing electromagnetic waves, particularly in microwave applications. Their unique properties, such as high surface area, porosity, and electronic characteristics, make them ideal candidates for addressing the growing concerns around electromagnetic pollution from electronic devices. By leveraging the properties of these materials, we can work toward creating more efficient and sustainable electromagnetic wave absorption technologies. Recent efforts have focused on synthesizing and investigating carbon microsphere-based electromagnetic wave-absorbing nanomaterials with the ambition of achieving the desired attributes of being thin, light, wide, and robust. This Review first delves into the detailed mechanism of electromagnetic wave absorption, followed by an elucidation of the preparation methods for carbon microsphere-based nanomaterials. Furthermore, it systematically outlines the common methods and strategies employed to improve the microwave absorption capabilities of carbon microspheres, including chemical vapor deposition, emulsion polymerization, hydrothermal methods, and template methods. Lastly, it outlines the challenges encountered by carbon microsphere-based electromagnetic wave absorption nanomaterials and outlines their prospects, mainly morphology change, component hybridization, and elemental doping. This Review aims to provide valuable insights into the creation of carbon microsphere nanomaterials with excellent electromagnetic wave absorption properties.

Contract governance to reduce antimicrobial overuse in hog farms in China.

Antimicrobial resistance caused by the overuse of antimicrobials by farmers is an essential health issue. Currently, signing contracts between farmers and cooperatives has become crucial for small farmers to integrate into the modern agricultural industry chain. Unlike vertical government governance, which aims to intervene in the overuse of antimicrobials by farmers through many mandatory or incentive measures, contract governance refers to the social governance model that clarifies rights and obligations between farmers and cooperatives to ensure the adequate performance of contracts, which is especially beneficial to regulate farmers' safe production behavior such as the standard use of antimicrobials. However, there is a research gap concerning the effectiveness of contract governance in inhibiting farmers' overuse of animal antimicrobials. This study applies propensity score matching and mediation analysis method to assess how contract governance affects the overuse of antimicrobials by hog farmers. The paper uses data from 498 hog farmers of China's Hebei, Henan, and Hubei provinces to explore the impact and underlying mechanisms of contract governance on antimicrobial overuse in agriculture. The results showed that contract governance was found to inhibit the overuse of antimicrobials, with the amount paid for antimicrobials reduced by 118 yuan/household. We found evidence that this effect is exerted through three mechanisms: cooperative supervision (CS), technical guidance (TG), and product premium perception (PP). The CS, TG, and PP mediation effects accounted for 19.94%, 27.90%, and 26.93% of the total impact, respectively. Therefore, policy implications of these results include strengthening the standard of contract signing procedures and the integrity of executing contracts, increasing the market premium for products that meet the antimicrobial residue standards, and enhancing farmers' knowledge and contracting ability.

SnO2/Sn with core-shell structure Schottky heterojunctions loaded in graphene to promote electrochemical reaction kinetics and enable efficient lithium-ion storage.

The stannic oxide (SnO2) anode expands in volume during cycling causing a decrease in reversible capacity. In this work, we generated a spherical SnO2/Sn heterojunction with core-shell structure composites encapsulated by graphene (SnO2/Sn/G) in situ using a simple one-step hydrothermal and subsequent annealing process. SnO2/Sn heterojunction nanospheres dispersed in a porous graphene framework accelerate the diffusion kinetics of electrons and ions. In addition, the structure plays a key role in mitigating large volume changes and nanostructure agglomeration. As a result, SnO2/Sn/G exhibits excellent performance as an anode material for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs), maintaining a reversible specific capacity of 720.6 mA h g-1 even after 600 cycles at a current density of 0.5 A g-1.

A systematic discussion and comparison of the construction methods of synthetic microbial community.

Synthetic microbial community has widely concerned in the fields of agriculture, food and environment over the past few years. However, there is little consensus on the method to synthetic microbial community from construction to functional verification. Here, we review the concept, characteristics, history and applications of synthetic microbial community, summarizing several methods for synthetic microbial community construction, such as isolation culture, core microbiome mining, automated design, and gene editing. In addition, we also systematically summarized the design concepts, technological thresholds, and applicable scenarios of various construction methods, and highlighted their advantages and limitations. Ultimately, this review provides four efficient, detailed, easy-to-understand and -follow steps for synthetic microbial community construction, with major implications for agricultural practices, food production, and environmental governance.

Premature Ovarian Insufficiency Is Associated with Increased Risk of Depression, Anxiety, and Poor Life Quality: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.

Background: Premature ovarian insufficiency (POI) seriously affects the reproductive health of women. Several studies have been conducted to show that POI appears to be associated with psychological and psychosocial problems, but whether POI increases the risk of mental health problems has not been identified. Therefore, this meta-analysis provides a preliminary systematic assessment of the studies published to date on the impact of POI on women's mental health. Methods: We implemented a systematic search for studies on this topic up to October 2022. Pooled odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confident intervals (CIs) of prevalence were used to assess the impacts of POI on various psychological factors, and the publication bias was assessed by Egger's test. Results: A total of 15 articles comprising 5820 participants were included in this meta-analysis. POI was found to be related to higher risk of 13 psychological and psychosocial problems identified and classified into 3 domains: depression (OR = 1.61; 95% CI: 1.11-2.33), anxiety (OR = 3.74; 95% CI: 1.78-7.87), and poor life quality (OR = 2.55, 95% CI: 1.63-3.97). Conclusion: This meta-analysis reveals that women with POI have an increased risk of depression, anxiety, and poor life quality. The marital status of POI may be a possible influencing factor for depression, meaning that the unmarried status in POI is at high risk of psychological and psychosocial problems. We should pay attention to the mental health of women with POI who were unmarried.

Reversible Deposition/Dissolution of Double Hydroxides to Modulate Electrolyte pH Enabling High-Performance Aqueous Zinc-Ion Batteries.

Vanadium oxide has been extensively studied as a host of zinc ion intercalation but still suffers from low conductivity, dissolution, and byproduct accumulation during cycling. Here, we hydrothermally synthesize the VO2@MXene Ti3C2 (MV) composite and find that in the MV//3 M Zn(CF3SO3)2//Zn system, the double hydroxide Zn12(CF3SO3)9(OH)15·nH2O (ZCOH) uniformly covers VO2 during the charging process and dissolves reversibly during the discharge process. In situ X-ray diffraction of the MV combined with in situ pH measurements reveals that ZCOH acts as a pH buffer during cycling, which is beneficial to the cycling stability of batteries. And the theoretical calculation indicates that the decomposition energy required by ZCOH on the MV surface is lower than that on pure VO2, which is more conducive to ZCOH dissolution. The coin battery exhibits high-rate performance of 65.1% capacity retention at a current density of 15 A g-1 (compared to 0.6 A g-1) and a long cycling life of 20,000 cycles with a capacity retention of 80.7%. For a 22.4 mA h soft-packaged battery, its capacity remains at 72.1% after 2000 cycles. This work demonstrates the active role of ZCOH in the electrochemical process of VO2 and provides a new perspective for exploiting this mechanism to develop high-performance aqueous zinc-ion battery vanadium oxide cathode materials.

Terahertz fingerprint reveals the effect of alcohols on sodium ions hydration shell.

Ion hydration plays a crucial role in numerous fundamental processes. Various spectroscopic methods are employed to investigate the slowing down of hydration bond dynamics in the proximity of both anions and cations. To date, most of these studies have primarily focused on the properties of binary systems. However, in comparison to ion-water binary systems, ternary systems that involve ions, water, and organic matter are more prevalent in nature and provide more realistic insights into biological processes. This study focuses on ion hydration in water and alcohol mixture using terahertz spectroscopy and x-ray diffraction (XRD). The results reveal a distinct behavior depending on the type of alcohol used. Specifically, the presence of both methanol and ethanol results in the disappearance of absorption peaks associated with NaCl hydrate at low temperatures. In contrast, tert-butanol does not exhibit such an effect, and isopropanol demonstrates a more complex response. By combining these terahertz spectroscopic findings with low-temperature XRD data, we gain insights into the formation, or lack thereof, of NaCl · 2H2O hydrate crystals. Crucially, our observations suggest a dominant correlation between the polarity of the alcohol molecules and its impact on the Na+ hydration. Strongly polar alcohols preferentially solvating the Na+ ion lead to the failure of hydrate formation, while weakly polar alcohols do not have this effect.

Fucoidan Improves Early Stage Diabetic Nephropathy via the Gut Microbiota-Mitochondria Axis in High-Fat Diet-Induced Diabetic Mice.

Diabetic nephropathy (DN) is a common microvascular complication of diabetes. Fucoidan, a polysaccharide containing fucose and sulfate group, ameliorates DN. However, the underlying mechanism has not been fully understood. This study aimed to explore the effects and mechanism of fucoidan on DN in high-fat diet-induced diabetic mice. A total of 90 C57BL/6J mice were randomly assigned to six groups (n = 15) as follows: normal control (NC), diabetes mellitus (DM), metformin (MTF), low-dose fucoidan (LFC), medium-dose fucoidan (MFC), and high-dose fucoidan (HFC). A technique based on fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC-sinistin) elimination kinetics measured percutaneously was applied to determine the glomerular filtration rate (GFR). After 24 weeks, the mice were sacrificed and an early stage DN model was confirmed by GFR hyperfiltration, elevated urinary creatinine, normal urinary albumin, tubulointerstitial fibrosis, and glomerular hypertrophy. Fucoidan significantly improved the GFR hyperfiltration and renal fibrosis. An enriched SCFAs-producing bacteria and increased acetic concentration in cecum contents were found in fucoidan groups, as well as increased renal ATP levels and improved mitochondrial dysfunction. The renal inflammation and fibrosis were ameliorated through inhibiting the MAPKs pathway. In conclusion, fucoidan improved early stage DN targeting the microbiota-mitochondria axis by ameliorating mitochondrial oxidative stress and inhibiting the MAPKs pathway.

Waste Tea-Derived Theabrownins for Solar-Driven Steam Generation.

Solar-driven seawater desalination has been considered an effective and sustainable solution to mitigate the global freshwater crisis. However, the substantial cost associated with photothermal materials for evaporator fabrication still hinders large-scale manufacturing for practical applications. Herein, we successfully obtained high yields of theabrownins (TB), which were oxidation polymerization products of polyphenols from waste and inferior tea leaves using a liquid-state fermentation strategy. Subsequently, a series of photothermal complexes were prepared based on the metal-phenolic networks assembled from TB and metal ions (Fe(III), Cu(II), Ni(II), and Zn(II)). Also, the screened TB@Fe(III) complexes were directly coated on a hydrophilic poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) membrane to construct the solar evaporation device (TB@Fe(III)@PVDF), which not only demonstrated superior light absorption property and notable hydrophilicity but also achieved a high water evaporation rate of 1.59 kg m-2 h-1 and a steam generation efficiency of 90% under 1 sun irradiation. More importantly, its long-term stability and exceptionally low production cost enabled an important step toward the possibility of large-scale practical applications. We believe that this study holds the potential to pave the way for the development of sustainable and cost-effective photothermal materials, offering new avenues for utilization of agriculture resource waste and solar-driven water remediation.

Synthesis of heterointerfaces in NiO/SnO2 coated nitrogen-doped graphene for efficient lithium storage.

Currently, it remains a challenge to make comprehensive improvements to overcome the disadvantages of volume expansion, Li2O irreversibility and low conductivity of SnO2. Heterostructure construction has been investigated as an effective strategy to promote electron transfer and surface reaction kinetics, leading to high electrochemical performance. Herein, NiO/SnO2 heterojunction modified nitrogen doped graphene (NiO/SnO2@NG) anode materials were prepared using hydrothermal and carbonization techniques. Based on the excellent structural advantages, sufficiently small NiO/SnO2 heterojunction nanoparticles increase the interfacial density to promote Li2O decomposition, and the built-in electric field accelerates the charge transport rate to improve the conductivity. The three-dimensional porous graphene framework effectively mitigates volume expansion during cycling and stabilizes the reactive interface of electrode materials. The results show that the NiO/SnO2@NG mixture has high reversible specific capacity (938.8 mA h g-1 after 450 cycles at 0.1 A g-1), superior multiplicity performance (374.5 mA h g-1 at 3.0 A g-1) and long cycle life (685.3 mA h g-1 after 1000 cycles at 0.5 A g-1). Thus, this design of introducing NiO to form heterostructures with SnO2 is directly related to enhancing the electrochemical performance of lithium-ion batteries (LIBs).

Niobium-Based Oxide for Anode Materials for Lithium-Ion Batteries.

Recently, it has become imperative to develop high energy density as well as high safety lithium-ion batteries (LIBS) to meet the growing energy demand. Among the anode materials used in LIBs, the currently used commercial graphite has low capacity and is a safety hazard due to the formation of lithium dendrites during the reaction. Among the transition metal oxide (TMO) anode materials, TMO based on the intercalation reaction mechanism has a more stable structure and is less prone to volume expansion than TMO based on the conversion reaction mechanism, especially the niobium-based oxide in it has attracted much attention. Niobium-based oxides have a high operating potential to inhibit the formation of lithium dendrites and lithium deposits to ensure safety, and have stable and fast lithium ion transport channels with excellent multiplicative performance. This review summarizes the recent developments of niobium-based oxides as anode materials for lithium-ion batteries, discusses the special structure and electrochemical reaction mechanism of the materials, the synthesis methods and morphology of nanostructures, deficiencies and improvement strategies, and looks into the future developments and challenges of niobium-based oxide anode materials.

Construction of chitosan-derived porous nest-like C/SnO2 materials for microwave absorption.

Electromagnetic waves have an irreplaceable role as information carriers in civil and radar stealth fields, but they also lead to electromagnetic pollution and electromagnetic leakage. Therefore, electromagnetic wave absorbing materials that can reduce electromagnetic radiation have come into being. Especially, SnO2 has made a wave among many wave-absorbing materials as an easily tunable dielectric material, but it hardly has both broadband and powerful absorption properties. Here, the nested porous C/SnO2 composites derived from nitrogen-doped chitosan is obtained by freeze-drying and supplemented with carbonization treatment. The chitosan creates a nested cross-linked conductive network that can make part of the contribution to conduction loss. The amino groups contained in the molecule either help promote in situ nitrogen doping and trigger dipole polarization. The multiphase dissimilar interface between the nested carbon layer and the inner clad SnO2 formation is the major inducer of interfacial polarization. It reached intense absorption of -48.8 dB and bandwidth of 5.2 GHz at 3.46 mm. The interfacial polarization is confirmed to be the main force of dielectric loss by simulating the electromagnetic field distribution. In addition, the RCS simulation data assure the prospect of enticing applications of C/SnO2 composites in the field of radar stealth.

A Thermal-Ball-Valve Structure Separator for Highly Safe Lithium-Ion Batteries.

The separator located between the positive and negative electrodes not only provides a lithium-ion transmission channel but also prevents short circuits for direct contact of electrodes. The inferior dimension thermostability of commercial polyolefin separators intensifies the thermal runaway of batteries under abuse such as short circuits, overcharge, and so on. a polyvinylidene fluoride/polyether imide (PVDF/PEI) separator with high thermal stability in which the high thermostable PEI microspheres are evenly dispersed in the PVDF film matrix and also located in the micro holes of the PVDF film is developed. They not only function as strong skeleton that enables the rare shrink of the separator at 200 °C avoiding short circuit but also act as ball valve that blocks the lithium ion transmission channel at 150 °C interrupting the further heat aggregation. Thus, the LiNi0.6 Co0.2 Mn0.2 O2 /Li batteries exhibit high cycle stability of 96.5% capacity retention after 100 cycles at 0.2C and 80°C. Further, the LiNi0.6 Co0.2 Mn0.2 O2 /graphite pouch cells are constructed and deliver good safety performance without smoke release and catching fire after the nail penetration test.

Influence of Wave-Absorbing Materials on the Heating Efficiency in Microwave Heating Treatment of Contaminated Soil.

China has a lot of wastelands that are usually overly contaminated as a result of the relocation of industrial enterprises. Given that long-term threats are thus generated, safe and effective treatment routines are urgently needed. Due to its low carbon footprint and environmental protection benefits, the microwave heating treatment of contaminated soil has generated substantial academic interest. Nevertheless, wave-absorbing materials must be added during the treatment process to holistically enhance the effectiveness of heating the contaminated soil. Therefore, this study selects three typical wave-absorbing materials, i.e., Fe3O4, SiC and activated carbon, to explore the influence of the addition of wave-absorbing materials on the microwave heating efficiency for contaminated soil. Moreover, the changes in the mineral phases and microscopic morphology of the contaminated soil and wave-absorbing materials after heating at different temperatures are analyzed. It is concluded that the heating rate would reach 39.5 °C/min when the amount of additive Fe3O4 reaches 8%; when the temperature exceeds 300 °C, the Fe3O4 will be gradually oxidized to Fe2O3. Activated carbon is a wave-absorbing material that has a higher thermal stability than Fe3O4, although it has less impact on the heating rate. The ability of SiC to absorb waves has a limited impact on the heating rate. During microwave heating, the microscopic morphology of the contaminated soil and wave-absorbing materials do not change significantly.

Active control of terahertz surface plasmonic wave excitation using electromagnetically induced transparency based graphene metasurfaces.

Surface plasmonic waves (SPWs) that propagate at meta-dielectric interface are a good source of information carrier waves for on-chip photonic devices, where SPW excitation is one key procedure. Recently, controlling SPW excitation using metasurface methods has drawn considerable attention owing to their design flexibility, wherein achieving dynamic control is of great importance. However, most studies in the terahertz regime so far are working in a passive way or only dynamically controllable at the propagation process. In this work, an active design for controlling terahertz SPWs at the excitation process is proposed using graphene metasurfaces based on the manipulation of the electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) effect. Large modulation depth with controllable SPW excitations is demonstrated. Our method is flexible and promising in achieving more controlling degree of freedom, which can find broadband applications in future integrated devices and systems.

The pooled prevalence and influential factors of non-suicidal self-injury in non-clinical samples during the COVID-19 outbreak: A meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: COVID-19 has had an enormous impact on the mental health of people around the world, particularly adolescents. Non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) is one of the most prominent and dangerous behaviors associated with suicide. However, few meta-analyses of the NSSI prevalence have ever been conducted since the COVID-19 outbreak. Here, we conducted a meta-analysis to estimate the pooled prevalence and elucidate the influencing factors for NSSI. METHODS: We searched PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, APA PsycINFO, CNKI and Wanfang Database for relevant literature published before April 2022. Pooled prevalence and 95 % confidence interval (CI) were used to assess NSSI prevalence. Subgroup and meta-regression analyses were performed to clarify the potential influencing factors. RESULTS: A total of 15 studies with 24,055 participants were eventually included. The results showed that the pooled overall prevalence of NSSI among overall samples during the COVID-19 pandemic was 22.5 % (95 % CI: 17.2 % to 28.9 %). Subgroup and meta-regression analyses revealed that the crucial influencing factors for NSSI included gender, age, regional distribution, and suicidal ideation. Specifically, the NSSI prevalence among adolescents and adults during the pandemic was 32.40 % and 15.70 %, respectively. Most importantly, gender is a significant influencing factor for NSSI among adolescents. CONCLUSIONS: The pooled prevalence of NSSI during the COVID-19 outbreak has surged to alarming heights, especially among adolescents. The prevalence of NSSI may be influenced by complex factors such as gender and age. Therefore, it is critical to pay attention to NSSI behaviors in the adolescent population, particularly male adolescents who appear to be susceptible.

A Risk Model for Prognosis and Treatment Response Prediction in Colon Adenocarcinoma Based on Genes Associated with the Characteristics of the Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition.

The epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) is an important process during metastasis in various tumors, including colorectal cancer (CRC). Thus, the study of its characteristics and related genes is of great significance for CRC treatment. In this study, 26 EMT-related gene sets were used to score each sample from The Cancer Genome Atlas program (TCGA) colon adenocarcinoma (COAD) database. Based on the 26 EMT enrichment scores for each sample, we performed unsupervised cluster analysis and classified the TCGA-COAD samples into three EMT clusters. Then, weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) was used to investigate the gene modules that were significantly associated with these three EMT clusters. Two gene modules that were strongly positively correlated with the EMT cluster 2 (worst prognosis) were subjected to Cox regression and least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) regression analysis. Then, a prognosis-related risk model composed of three hub genes GPRC5B, LSAMP, and PDGFRA was established. The TCGA rectal adenocarcinoma (READ) dataset and a CRC dataset from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) were used as the validation sets. A novel nomogram that incorporated the risk model and clinicopathological features was developed to predict the clinical outcomes of the COAD patients. The risk model served as an independent prognostic factor. It showed good predictive power for overall survival (OS), immunotherapy efficacy, and drug sensitivity in the COAD patients. Our study provides a comprehensive evaluation of the clinical relevance of this three-gene risk model for COAD patients and a deeper understanding of the role of EMT-related genes in COAD.