Effect of visual impairment on subjective cognitive decline in older adults: a cross-sectional study in China.

OBJECTIVE: People with visual impairment have more functional limitations associated with subjective cognitive decline (SCD), and those with SCD are extremely susceptible to transitioning to irreversible cognitive impairment. This study aimed to explore if visual impairment is a significant predictor of SCD compared with other socioeconomic and health factors associated with SCD. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study. SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: The investigation aimed to assess the factors influencing SCD among 428 participants aged 60 and above in Zhaoyuan, China. PRIMARY OUTCOME MEASURES: The primary outcome variable was SCD, measured by the Chinese version of SCD questionnaire. Multiple logistic regression and propensity score matching (PSM) were used to analyse the influence of visual impairment on the subjective cognition of the elderly.32.2% of the elderly were experiencing SCD. Older adults with SCD showed a higher prevalence of visual impairment (72.5%) than the elderly without SCD (58.6%) (P=0.006). Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that bad self-reported health status, lack of physical exercise and visual impairment were the risk factors for SCD in older adults, while more than 9 years of education was a protective factor. In addition, PSM model showed that after eliminating the dominant biases caused by the individual observable heterogeneity of older adults with and without visual impairment, the risk of SCD in the elderly with visual impairment was increased by 13.6%-14.5% and the difference was statistically significant (P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: It was found that older adults experiencing visual impairments are at an elevated risk of developing SCD compared with their counterparts without such impairments. Additionally, visual impairment remains a significant risk factor for SCD in the elderly, even adjusting for potential biases arising from individual observable heterogeneity.

Decoding the diagnostic potential of T cell repertoires in peripheral blood of patients from amnestic mild cognitive impairment to Alzheimer's disease.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is currently an incurable neurodegenerative disorder and is the most common etiological cause of dementia. Consequently, it has severe burden on its patients and on their caregivers and represents a global health concern. Clinical investigations have indicated that a dysregulation of peripheral T cell immune homeostasis may be involved in the pathogenesis of AD, as well as in the early stages of AD, characterized by mild cognitive impairment (MCI). However, the characteristics and concomitant feasibility of the use of T-cell receptor (TCR) typing for disease diagnosis remains largely unknown. We employed a high-throughput sequencing and multidimensional bioinformatics analyses for the identification of TCR repertoires present in peripheral blood samples of 10 patients with amnestic MCI (aMCI), 10 patients with AD, and 10 healthy controls (HCs). Based on the characteristics of the TCR repertoires in the amount and diversity of combinations of V-J, the spectrum of immune defense, and differentially expressed genes (DEGs), single and specific TCR profiles were observed in the patient samples of aMCI and AD compared to profiles of HCs. In particular, the diversity of TCR clonotypes manifested a pattern of "decreased first and then increased" pattern during the progression from aMCI to AD, a pattern that was not observed in HC samples. Additionally, a total of 46 and 35 amino acid CDR3 sequences with consistent and reverse expressive abundance with diversity of TCR clonotypes were identified, respectively. Taken together, we provide novel and essential preliminary evidence demonstrating the presence of diversity of T cell repertoires from differentially expressed V-J gene segments and amino acid clonotypes using peripheral blood samples from patients with AD, aMCI, and from HC. Such findings have the potential to reveal potential mechanisms through which aMCI progresses to AD and provide a reference for the future development of immune-related diagnoses and therapies for AD.

The Ability to Use Contextual Information in Object and Scene Recognition in Patients with Mild Cognitive Impairment.

BACKGROUND: The ability to understand and make use of object-scene relationships are critical for object and scene recognition. OBJECTIVE: The current study assessed whether patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), possibly in the preclinical phase of Alzheimer's disease, exhibited impairment in processing contextual information in scene and object recognition. METHODS: In Experiment 1, subjects viewed images of foreground objects in either semantic consistent or inconsistent scenes under no time pressure, and they verbally reported the names of foreground objects and backgrounds. Experiment 2 replicated Experiment 1, except that subjects were required to name scene first. Experiment 3 examined object and scene recognition accuracy baselines, recognition difficulty, familiarity with objects/scenes, and object-scene consistency judgements. RESULTS: There were contextual consistency effects on scene recognition for MCI and healthy subjects, regardless of response sequence. Scenes were recognized more accurately under the consistent condition than the inconsistent condition. Additionally, MCI patients were more susceptible to incongruent contextual information, possibly due to inhibitory deficits or over-dependence on semantic knowledge. However, no significant differences between MCI and healthy subjects were observed in consistency judgement, recognition accuracy, recognition difficulty and familiarity rating, suggesting no significant impairment in object and scene knowledge among MCI subjects. CONCLUSIONS: The study indicates that MCI patients retain relatively intact contextual processing ability but may exhibit inhibitory deficits or over-reliance on semantic knowledge.

Effects of a school-based sexuality curriculum on sexual and reproductive health in freshmen at Shandong University in China.

Chinese universities have been conducting a variety of sexuality education programs, including a sexuality curriculum (SC) to increase sexual and reproductive health (SRH) knowledge and improve sexual attitudes and practices among college students. However, little is known regarding the effect of SC on students' sexual attitudes and behaviors. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of SC on SRH knowledge, sexual attitudes, and practices among college students of Shandong University. To assess these issues, an online cross-sectional survey was conducted via a WeChat applet. Four hundred and forty-nine freshmen were recruited from Shandong University, including 209 students with SC and 240 students without SC. We assessed their SRH knowledge, sexual attitude, and practice. We found that 15.8% engaged in sexual activities, while 59.2% had viewed nonscientific books or videos describing sexual behavior within the past 2 weeks. Regarding the initial source of their SRH information, 65.9% taught themselves through reading or viewing SRH content in the media, and 46.8% participated in school lectures on SRH, while only 31.2% of the participants discussed SRH matters with their parents. As compared with students without SC, students with SC had significantly greater total scores with regard to reproductive health knowledge (P < 0.001) and sexual health knowledge (P < 0.001). Students without SC showed a significant degree of prejudice against sexually transmitted disease patients and were more resistant to interact with acquaintances infected with human immunodeficiency virus (P < 0.001). Exposure to a school-based SC had a beneficial effect on increasing the SRH knowledge of these students as well as mitigating risky sexual attitudes and behaviors.NEW & NOTEWORTHY To assess the SRH knowledge, sexual attitudes, and practices in freshmen of Shandong University and assess the effect of SC, an online cross-sectional survey was conducted via a WeChat applet. Our findings indicate that these freshmen demonstrate a high prevalence of being sexually active and exposure to a school-based SC had a beneficial effect on increasing the SRH knowledge of these students as well as mitigating risky sexual attitudes and behaviors.

VCAM-1+ hUC-MSCs Exert Considerable Neuroprotection Against Cerebral Infarction in Rats by Suppression of NLRP3-Induced Pyroptosis.

Mesenchymal stem/stromal cells (MSCs) are spindle-like heterogeneous cell populations with advantageous bidirectional immunomodulatory and hematopoietic support effects. Vascular cellular adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1)+ MSCs have been reported to exhibit immunoregulatory and proangiogenic capacities. Here, we studied the effects of VCAM-1+ human umbilical cord (hUC)-MSCs on neuroprotection against cerebral infarction. Sprague-Dawley rats were subjected to middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO), and VCAM-1- and VCAM-1+ hUC-MSCs were intravenously injected into the rat 4 h post-MCAO surgery. Thereafter, modified neurological severity scores (mNSS) were determined, and the Morris water maze test, 2,3,5-triphenyltetrazolium chloride (TTC), hematoxylin and eosin (H&E), Nissl, TUNEL staining, and qRT-PCR were conducted. Following induction of oxygen-glucose deprivation/reoxygenation (OGD/R), SH-SY5Y cells were co-cultured with VCAM-1- and VCAM-1+ hUC-MSCs. CCK-8, flow cytometry, ELISA, and western blot analyses were performed in vitro. Compared with VCAM-1- hUC-MSCs, administration of VCAM-1+ hUC-MSCs revealed improved therapeutic efficacy against cerebral infarction in rats, as confirmed by lower mNSS scores and infarct volumes, as well as improved learning and memory capacities. In addition, VCAM-1+ hUC-MSCs exhibited improved efficacy against neurological defects in rats with cerebral infarction, accompanied by inhibition of the NLRP3-mediated inflammatory response. VCAM-1+ hUC-MSC co-culture improved the viability and diminished NLRP3-mediated inflammatory response in OGD/R-treated SH-SY5Y cells. Moreover, NLRP3 overexpression in SH-SY5Y cells prevented the beneficial effects of VCAM-1+ hUC-MSC co-culture. Overall, our findings demonstrated the relevance of VCAM-1+ hUC-MSC-based cytotherapy for preclinical neuroprotection against cerebral infarction.

Low life satisfaction status among older people with and without an intimate partner: a nationwide cross-sectional study in China.

BACKGROUND: Focusing on older people with and without an intimate partner, this study aimed to evaluate the prevalence of low life satisfaction in both groups, as well as the potential risk factors. METHODS: The 2017-2018 China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS) data were used, and 9960 individuals aged 60 years and above were included in the analyses. Factors evaluated in this survey included sociodemographic characteristics, clinical variables, physical and social activities, and economic and social factors. The associations of low life satisfaction with independent variables were analysed using multivariate logistic regression. RESULTS: Compared with those with an intimate partner (n = 2025), elders without an intimate partner (n = 7935) showed a higher prevalence of low life satisfaction (15.1 vs. 9.9%, P < 0.001). Multivariate logistic regression showed that ≥2 physical diseases (P = 0.024), poor self-reported health status (P = 0.012), and lack of community care service (P = 0.014) were risk factors for low life satisfaction among elders without an intimate partner, while poor self-reported health status (P < 0.001), ≥2 physical diseases (P = 0.001), being troubled with bodily pain (P < 0.001), lack of light physical activity >10 mins each time (P = 0.011), lack of moderate physical activity >10 mins each time (P = 0.001), lack of social activities in the previous month (P = 0.039), and lack of community care service (P < 0.001) were risk factors for elders with an intimate partner. Regarding the potential reasons for low life satisfaction in the elderly, dissatisfaction with current health status (28.0%) and air quality (15.6%) were most prevalent. CONCLUSIONS: Older people without an intimate partner have lower life satisfaction. Having ≥2 physical diseases, poor self-reported health status, and lack of community care service were common risk factors for low life satisfaction among older adults with or without an intimate partner.

Assessing intentions for a third child among Chinese adults: A nationwide online survey regarding China's 3-child policy.

Aging populations, along with low fertility rates, have become a pervasive world-wide problem. To address this challenge, China issued a universal 3-child policy on May 31, 2021. However, little is known regarding the intentions of childbearing-aged Chinese for a third child. The purpose of this study was to assess the fertility intentions of the Chinese as related to this third-child policy and identify risk factors for third-child refusal. In this cross-sectional study, a total of 2129 Chinese childbearing-aged participants were recruited nationwide from June 15 to July 22, 2021. Each participant was interviewed using questionnaires to establish their sociodemographic variables, psychosocial factors as related to third-child intentions, and reasons for third-child refusal. Finally, 2115 responses (866 men and 1249 women) were analyzed. IBM SPSS Statistical Software (version 19) was used for the statistical analyses. Multivariate logistic regression analyses were used to assess independent influences for third-child refusal. Approximately 30% of these participants reported an intention for having a third child. In those expressing a refusal for a third child, women showed a higher prevalence rate (74.1 vs 63.2%, P < .001). Results from multivariate logistic regression analyses revealed that age (P = .033), unemployment (P = .045), and currently raising 2 children (P = .017) were risk factors for third-child refusal among men, while age (P < .001), >15 years of education (P = .017), current smokers (P = .005) and residing in Northern China (P = .035) were risk factors for women. Overall, increased demands upon time and energy (41.5%), as well as economic burdens (41.4%), were the most prevalent reasons for the refusal of a third child, while achieving mutual care among siblings (52.5%) and reducing child educational costs (33.3%) were the most effective persuasions. In response to the 3-child policy, Chinese childbearing-aged adults showed low rates of intention for a third child, with women showing a higher prevalence of third-child refusal. The identification of risk factors and the reasons for third-child refusal as revealed from the results of this study provide a foundation for the development of programs needed to aid in the implementation of this 3-child policy.

Differential methylation of circRNA m6A in an APP/PS1 Alzheimer's disease mouse model.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a chronic neurological disease characterized by memory loss and progressive cognitive impairment. The characteristic AD pathologies include extracellular senile plaques formed by ß­amyloid protein deposition, neurofibrillary tangles formed by hyper­phosphorylation of τ protein and neuronal loss caused by glial cell proliferation. However, the pathogenesis of AD is still unclear. Dysregulation of RNA methylation is associated with biological processes, including neurodevelopment and neurodegenerative disease. N6­methyladenosine (m6A) is the main modification in eukaryotic RNA and may be associated with the pathophysiology of AD. Circular RNA (circRNA) is a new type of evolutionarily conserved non­coding RNA without 5'­cap and 3'­polyadenylic acid tail. circRNA undergoes m6A RNA methylation and may be involved in the pathogenesis of AD. In the present study, high­throughput sequencing was performed to assess the degree of circRNA m6A methylation in APP/PS1 AD and C57BL/6 mice. These results suggested that circRNA m6A methylation in AD mice was markedly altered compared to the control group. Furthermore, Gene Ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathway analysis was used to predict associated pathways; genes with different circRNA m6A methylation in AD mice were associated with 'axon guidance', 'long­term potentiation', 'glutamatergic synapse', 'cholinergic synapse', 'GABAergic synapse' and 'long­term depression'. Methylated RNA immunoprecipitation reverse transcription­quantitative PCR demonstrated that among the eight selected circRNA m6A genes, there were five genes that demonstrated significantly increased methylation and three demonstrated significantly decreased methylation. In summary, the present study indicated that circRNA m6A methylation may be associated with pathogenesis of AD.

Factors associated with mental health outcomes among caregivers of older adults in long-term care facilities during COVID-19 post-epidemic era in Shandong, China.

Background: COVID-19 pandemic has altered the work mode in long-term care facilities (LTCFs), but little is known about the mental health status of caregivers of older adults. Methods: A total of 672 formal caregivers of older adults in LTCFs and 1,140 formal patient caregivers in hospitals (comparison group) responded to an online survey conducted from March 25, 2022 to April 6, 2022. Five psychological scales, including Insomnia Severity Index (ISI), Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7), Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), The 5-item World Health Organization Wellbeing Index (WHO-5) and Perceived Stress Scale-14 item (PSS-14), were applied to assess participants' mental health status. Factors, including sex, profession, marital status, economic conditions, length of working experience, frequent night shift beyond 1 day per week and having organic diseases, were included in logistic regression analysis to identify associated factors with mental health outcomes of formal caregivers of older adults in LTCFs. Results: Caregivers of older adults in LTCFs developed similar severe psychological symptoms with patient caregivers in hospital setting. For caregivers of older adults in LTCFs, unmarried status was a potent risk factor for insomnia, anxiety, impaired wellbeing and health risk stress, with odds ratios ranging from 1.91 to 3.64. Frequent night shift beyond 1 day per week was associated with higher risks of insomnia, depression and impaired wellbeing. Likewise, having organic disease or inferior economic condition, and being nurses appeared to be independent predictors for multiple mental health-related outcomes. Conclusion: During COVID-19 post-epidemic era, caregivers of older adults in LTCFs had a higher prevalence of psychological symptoms, especially those with particular risk factors. Special attention should be paid to promote their mental health.

COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy Among Older Adolescents and Young Adults: A National Cross-Sectional Study in China.

Background: With promotion of COVID-19 vaccinations, there has been a corresponding vaccine hesitancy, of which older adolescents and young adults represent groups of particular concern. In this report, we investigated the prevalence and reasons for vaccine hesitancy, as well as potential risk factors, within older adolescents and young adults in China. Methods: To assess these issues, an online survey was administered over the period from March 14 to April 15, 2021. Older adolescents (16-17 years old) and young adults (18-21 years old) were recruited nationwide from Wechat groups and results from a total of 2,414 respondents were analyzed. Socio-demographic variables, vaccine hesitancy, psychological distress, abnormal illness behavior, global well-being and social support were analyzed in this report. Results: Compared to young adults (n = 1,405), older adolescents (n = 1,009) showed higher prevalence rates of COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy (16.5 vs. 7.9%, p < 0.001). History of physical diseases (p = 0.007) and abnormal illness behavior (p = 0.001) were risk factors for vaccine hesitancy among older adolescents, while only a good self-reported health status (p = 0.048) was a risk factor for young adults. Concerns over COVID-19 vaccine side effects (67.1%) and beliefs of invulnerability regarding infection risk (41.9%) were the most prevalent reasons for vaccine hesitancy. Providing evidence on the vaccine reduction of COVID-19 infection risk (67.5%), ensuring vaccine safety (56.7%) and the low risk of side effects (52.7%) were the most effective persuasions for promoting vaccinations. Conclusion: In China, older adolescents showed a higher prevalence for vaccine hesitancy than that of young adults. Abnormal illness behavior and history of physical diseases were risk factors for vaccine hesitancy among these older adolescents, while social support represents an important factor which could help to alleviate this hesitancy.

Baicalin Alleviates Thrombin-Induced Inflammation in Vascular Smooth Muscle Cells.

Atherosclerosis (AS) is a chronic inflammatory disease of the arterial intima. As AS represents the most common type of vascular disease, it affects millions of individuals and is a source of high morbidity and mortality rates worldwide. Overwhelming evidence indicates that AS-related inflammation is mediated by proinflammatory cytokines, chemokines, adhesion molecules and inflammatory signaling pathways, with each of these factors being shown to play critical roles during the entire progression of AS. While a number of drugs have been approved for use in the treatment of AS, their benefits are modest, which underscores the urgency for the development of new drug therapies. In part, these deficits in effective drugs can be attributable to the lack of a clear understanding of the molecular mechanisms of AS. In this study, we investigate the capacity for thrombin to trigger inflammation and induce cell proliferation in vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs). We then assessed the effects of baicalin and its potential mechanisms on VSMC inflammation as induced by thrombin. Baicalin, which is a natural bioactive compound of S. baicalensis Georgi (SBG), exerted a protective effect against thrombin-induced VSMC inflammation as resulting from the upregulation of PAR-1. This protection as exerted by baicalin appears to reside in its capacity to produce an inhibitory effect on the thrombin-induced activation of the ERK1/2 pathway. These findings suggest that baicalin may be a promising candidate for the treatment of atherosclerosis.

A novel artificial intelligent model for predicting water treatment efficiency of various biochar systems based on artificial neural network and queuing search algorithm.

This study aims at providing a robust artificial intelligent model for predicting the efficiency of heavy metal removal from aqueous solutions of biochar systems with high accuracy and reliability. Not only is it environmentally significant, but it is also a powerful tool for improving biochar adsorption efficiency, reducing the risk of a global water shortage. Accordingly, 22 types of biomass feedstock with a total of 44 biochar systems and 353 experiments, aiming to remove six heavy metal ions (i.e., Cu2+, Pb2+, Zn2+, As3+, Cd2+, and Ni2+) from water were considered and evaluated. Subsequently, an artificial neural network (ANN) model was designed for predicting the heavy metal adsorption efficiency onto these biochar systems. To improve the accuracy of the ANN model, the queuing search algorithm (QSA), a human activities-based algorithm, was applied, aiming to optimize the parameters of the developed ANN model, called the QSA-ANN model. The results showed that the proposed optimization QSA-ANN model provided high accuracy with a root-mean-squared error (RMSE) of 0.051 and 0.074; determination coefficient (R2) of 0.978 and 0.960; variance accounted for (VAF) of 97.707 and 95.882, for the training and testing phases, respectively. Compared to the traditional ANN model, the accuracy of the proposed optimization QSA-ANN model was improved 2.7% on the training dataset and 2.9% on the testing dataset. With an accuracy of 96% in practice, the proposed optimization QSA-ANN model was recommended for practical engineering to predict and improve heavy metal adsorption efficiency onto biochar systems.

The mixed layer modified radionuclide atmospheric diffusion based on Gaussian model.

Background: Atmospheric diffusion is often accompanied by complex meteorological conditions of inversion temperature. Methods: In response to the emergency needs for rapid consequence assessment of nuclear accidents under these complex meteorological conditions, a Gaussian diffusion-based model of radionuclide is developed with mixed layer modification. The inhibition effect of the inversion temperature on the diffusion of radionuclides is modified in the vertical direction. The intensity of the radionuclide source is modified by the decay constant. Results: The results indicate that the enhancement effect of the mixed layer on the concentration of radionuclides is reflected. The shorter the half-life of the radionuclide, the greater the effect of reducing the diffusion concentration. The Kincaid dataset validation in the Model Validation Kit (MVK) shows that, compared to the non-modified model, predictions of the modified model have an enhancement effect beyond 5 km, modulating the prediction values to be closer to the observation values. Conclusions: This development is consistent with the modification effects of the mixed layer. The statistical indicators show that the criteria of the modified model meet the criteria of the recommended model.

A Longitudinal Study on the Mental Health of College Students in Jinan During the Peak Stage of the COVID-19 Epidemic and the Society Reopening.

INTRODUCTION: COVID-19, a continuously emerging human-to-human infectious disease, has exerted a significant impact on the mental health of college students. However, little is known regarding the variations in the mental health issues experienced by college students during the peak versus reopening stages of the COVID-19 epidemic in China. METHODS: To assess these issues, an online longitudinal survey was conducted via a WeChat applet. Undergraduates (n = 300) were recruited from 26 universities throughout Jinan in February 2020 (T1 - the epidemic peak stage) and in January 2021 (T2 - the society reopening stage). Their mental status was determined using the Patient Health Questionnaire-9, the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 item, and the Insomnia Severity Index. RESULTS: Of the original 300 college students recruited for this survey, 294 responses at T1 and 285 at T2 were analyzed. Compared with responses obtained at T1, college students at T2 showed a greater prevalence of depression (65.3 vs. 51.0%; p = 0.001) and anxiety (47.7 vs. 38.1%, p = 0.019), and experienced more severe depression (p < 0.001) and anxiety (p < 0.001). Both males (p = 0.03) and females (p < 0.01) showed higher levels of depression at T2 versus T1, while no differences were obtained with regard to anxiety and insomnia. At T1, Grade 4 students showed greater levels of depression (p = 0.005) and anxiety (p = 0.008) than that of Grade 1 students. While at T2, only greater levels of depression (p = 0.004) were present when compared with that of Grade 1 students. Additionally, Grade 4 college students demonstrated a greater prevalence of depression at T2 versus T1 (p = 0.03), but no statistically differences were present for anxiety and insomnia. No statistically significant differences were obtained among the 4 grades of college students for insomnia at either the T1 or T2. CONCLUSION: With progression of the COVID-19 epidemic, college students showed increasing levels of depression and anxiety, with Grade 4 college students being most seriously affected. It is imperative that intervention strategies be implemented to mitigate against these mental health issues resulting from the COVID-19 epidemic.

A Cross-Sectional Survey on COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy Among Parents From Shandong vs. Zhejiang.

Introduction: With the approval of COVID-19 vaccinations for children and adolescents in China, parental vaccine hesitancy will emerge as a new challenge with regard to the administration of these vaccines. However, little is known regarding this hesitancy as well as regional differences that may exist between parents from Shandong vs. Zhejiang. Methods: To assess these issues, an online survey was conducted via a Wenjuanxing platform over the period from July 22 to August 14, 2021. Parents from Shandong and Zhejiang were recruited from Wechat groups and results from a total of 917 subjects were analyzed. Factors evaluated in this survey included socio-demographic variables, parental vaccine hesitancy, Parental Attitudes toward Childhood Vaccines (PACV) domains (behavior, safety and efficacy, general attitudes) and social support. Results: Compared with those from Shandong (N = 443), parents from Zhejiang (N = 474) showed significantly higher prevalence rates of COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy (19.4 vs. 11.7%, p = 0.001). Multivariate logistic regression showed that yearly household incomes of ≥120,000 RMB (p = 0.041), medical workers (p = 0.022) and general attitudes of PACV (p = 0.004) were risk factors for vaccine hesitancy among parents from Shandong, while behavior (p = 0.004), safety and efficacy (p < 0.001) and general attitudes of PACV (p = 0.002) were risk factors for parents from Zhejiang. Among parents with vaccine hesitancy (N = 144), concerns over side effects (91.0%) and unknown effects (84.0%) of the COVID-19 vaccine were the most prevalent reasons for hesitancy. Evidence providing proof of vaccine safety (67.4%) and assurance of a low risk of being infected by COVID-19 (60.4%) were the two most effective persuasive factors. Conclusion: Parents from Zhejiang showed a higher prevalence of COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy as compared with those from Shandong. Behavior, safety and efficacy, and general attitudes of PACV were the risk factors associated with this hesitancy in these parents from Zhejiang. Given the identification of the various reasons for parental vaccine hesitancy, different strategies as well as regional adjustments in these strategies will be required for an effective and convincing protocol for childhood vaccinations.

Ulinastatin inhibits NLRP3-induced apoptosis in a PD cell model.

BACKGROUND: Emerging evidence suggests that inflammation induced by the inflammasome plays a crucial role in the course of Parkinson's disease (PD). Ulinastatin (UTI) has shown significant anti-inflammatory effects. However, few studies have examined whether UTI protects neurons through its anti-inflammatory effects in PD. The purpose of this study is to determine whether UTI exerts neuroprotection in a PD cell model and to explore the mechanisms. METHODS: SH-SY5Y cells and nerve growth factor (NGF)-treated PC12 cells were used to establish MPP+ induced PD cell models. Cells were pre-treated with UTI, then cell viabilities were detected using the MTT assay. Lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) release was detected using the LDH release assay kit. Inflammatory factors such as IL-1ß, IL-6, and TNF-α were detected using ELISA. The expression levels of TH, NLRP3, caspase-1, ASC, IL-1ß, and IL-18 were measured using western blotting, and DA release was detected using HPLC. A NLRP3 activator Nigericin was used to verify the effect of NLRP3 in the neuroprotective mechanism of UTI. RESULTS: We observed decreased cell viability, increased apoptosis, and increased inflammatory factors such as IL-1ß, IL-6, and TNF-α in the MPP+ induced PD model. We also found decreased DA secretion and TH expression, as well as increased NLRP3, caspase-1, ASC, IL-1α, and IL-18 expression in the MPP+ induced PD model. These changes were significantly attenuated by UTI pre-treatment in a dose dependent manner. NLRP3 activator Nigericin markedly increased LDH release, accelerated apoptosis, increased inflammation levels and decreased DA secretion and TH expression, suggesting that Nigericin eliminated the neuroprotective effect of UTI on MPP+ treated cells. CONCLUSIONS: Our data demonstrated that UTI pre-treatment performed a neuroprotective role in the MPP+ induced PD cell models by inhibiting the NLRP3 pathway.

A Cross-Sectional Study on Mental Health Problems of Medical and Nonmedical Students in Shandong During the COVID-19 Epidemic Recovery Period.

Background: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has resulted in a plethora of psychological problems worldwide since its onset in December 2019. In the upheaval period, compared with medical college students, nonmedical students' psychological state deserves additional concern due to their lack of medical knowledge. Although the epidemic in China has been largely controlled for several months, the mental health problems resulting from the COVID-19 epidemic persist to this day. In this study, we assessed the mental health problems and associated risk factors experienced by nonmedical vs. medical college students in universities of Shandong Province during the COVID-19 epidemic recovery period. Methods: An online survey was conducted over the period from 17 to 19 December 2020. A total of 954 Chinese college students (486 nonmedical and 468 medical students) from three universities of Shandong Province participated in the survey. Mental health variables were assessed with use of Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7), and Insomnia Severity Index (ISI). Results: Compared with medical students, nonmedical college students had higher prevalence rates of depression (53.9 vs. 46.4%; p = 0.020) and insomnia (28.0 vs. 22.4%, p = 0.049), as well as higher total scores on the PHQ-9 (p = 0.03) and ISI (p < 0.01). Among nonmedical college students, being female and native of non-Shandong were risk factors for anxiety and depression (p < 0.01), while only native of non-Shandong for insomnia (p < 0.01). Among medical students, age (p < 0.01) and living in rural areas (p = 0.04) were risk factors for depression, while only age (p < 0.05) was a risk factor for anxiety and insomnia. Conclusion: Nonmedical college students in the universities of Shandong Province had more mental health problems and more risk factors for developing them during the COVID-19 epidemic recovery period than medical students. These nonmedical students require additional attention and recovery programs to alleviate the increased incidence of psychological problems related to COVID-19.

Dominant Contribution of a Lake's Internal Pollution to Eutrophication During Rapid Urbanization.

Artificial lakes that form during rapid urbanization often fail to achieve their desired functions, and gradually become eutrophic. Whether the external discharge or internal release of nutrients dominates the eutrophication of urban lakes has rarely been reported. In this study, a lake that had been formed during ten years of urbanization had become hyper-eutrophic. TP mainly contributed to the eutrophication and algal bloom in the lake. While the release potential of TP fluctuated, TN, particularly NH3-N, was constantly released from the sediment. Concentrations of anthropogenic metals (Pb, Cu and Cr) increased with the increasing depth of the sediment. Even for a lake that had formed rapidly in a short period, the internal phosphorus released from sediment was 1.9-times higher than that of the external discharge. The dominating contribution of internal pollution from sediment requires more attention to restore and manage these urban waters.

Food Co-Operatives: A Potential Community-Based Strategy to Improve Fruit and Vegetable Intake in Australia.

Only 5% of Australian children and adults eat enough fruit and vegetables. Two common barriers are high cost and limited access. Food co-operatives ('co-ops') may have the potential to reduce these barriers. We conducted a scoping analysis of food co-ops in the Sydney region to describe their characteristics and objectives. We also conducted a survey of members and non-members of co-ops to assess their fruit and vegetable intake using validated questions. Fifteen food co-ops were identified in the Sydney region and the most common objective was to provide cheap affordable produce. Most co-ops (61%) were in areas of high socio-economic status (SES). Members of food co-ops had a higher vegetable intake than non-members [mean difference (MD) = 0.54 serves/daily; 95% confidence interval (CI) of 0.15 to 0.93] and were also more likely to meet the recommendations for fruit and vegetable intake [odds ratio (OR) = 4.77 (95% CI = 1.15, 19.86)]. Implications of this study are that if food co-ops can be implemented on a wider scale, they hold potential for improving fruit and vegetable intakes.

Effects of the rs3834458 Single Nucleotide Polymorphism in FADS2 on Levels of n-3 Long-chain Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids: A Meta-analysis.

OBJECTIVES: Evaluate the effects of the single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) rs3834458 in the fatty acid desaturase 2 gene (FADS2) on n-3 long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acid (LC-PUFA) levels using statistical meta-analysis. METHODS: Literatures pertaining to the relationship between the SNP rs3834458 and LC-PUFA were retrieved from three electronic databases. Original information was analyzed using RevMan 5.3, including single statistics, test for heterogeneity, summary statistics and evaluation of publication bias. RESULTS: In total, five pieces of literature were retrieved and divided into seven trials. We observed that the minor allele (Tdel+deldel) carriers of rs3834458 had higher linolenic acid levels (P < 0.00001) and lower eicosapentaenoic acid (P < 0.00001), docosapentenoic acid (P = 0.005) and docosahexaenoic acid (P < 0.00001) levels compared to those of carrying major allele homozygote (TT). CONCLUSION: This meta-analysis indicates that minor allele of rs3834458 in FADS2 may result in lower activity of delta-6 desaturase leading to higher ALA and lower EPA, DPA and DHA in blood.