Effect of online game policy on smartphone game play time, addiction, and emotion in rural adolescents of China.

BACKGROUND: Smartphone game addiction has emerged as a major public health problem in China and worldwide. In November 2019 and August 2021, the National Press and Publication Administration of China implemented two increasingly strict policies, as a means of preventing smartphone game addiction in adolescents aged 18 or below. This study aimed to analyze the effect of the policies on smartphone game play time, addiction, and emotion among rural adolescents in China. METHODS: We sent the questionnaire to rural adolescents through the online survey tool Questionnaire Star, a professional online survey evaluation platform. The questionnaire included demographic data, smartphone use survey, smartphone game addiction and emotion evaluation scales. The Smartphone Addiction Scale-Short Version (SAS-SV) measured adolescents' smartphone game addiction. The Short Version of UPPS-P Impulsive Behavior Scale (SUPPS-P) and Social Anxiety Scale for Children (SASC) measured emotion. According to SAS-SV score, the enrolled rural adolescents were divided into addiction group and non-addiction group. The t-test, Chi-square test, and repeated measure ANOVA assessed the effect of the policies on adolescents' smartphone game addiction and emotion. RESULTS: Among enrolled 459 rural adolescents with a mean age of 14.36 ± 1.37years, 151 (32.90%) were in the addiction group and 308 (67.10%) were in the non-addiction group. Adolescents in the addiction group were older, more male, and higher grade. There were time and group effects between the two groups in playtime. After a year of policies implementation, the weekly game time dropped from 3.52 ± 1.89 h to 2.63 ± 1.93 h in the addiction group and from 2.71 ± 1.75 h to 2.36 ± 1.73 h in the non-addiction group. There were also time and group effects in SAS-SV and SASC scores, but not for SUPPS-P score. In the addiction group, the SAS-SV score dropped from 41.44 ± 7.45 to 29.58 ± 12.43, which was below the cut-off value for addiction, and the level of social anxiety was consistently higher than non-addiction group. CONCLUSIONS: The playtime of rural adolescents spent on smartphone games has decreased significantly due to the restriction of the policies rather than the lack of addiction or social anxiety. The policies had practically significant effects in reducing smartphone game play time for rural adolescents in China.

High-throughput and specific detection of microorganisms by intelligent modular fluorescent photoelectric microbe detector.

Food safety has emerged as a major global issue. Detecting foodborne pathogenic microorganisms and controlling them is vital to guard against foodborne diseases caused by microorganisms. However, the current detection methods need to meet the demand for real-time detection on the spot after a simple operation. Considering unresolved challenges, we developed an Intelligent Modular Fluorescent Photoelectric Microbe (IMFP) system containing a special detection reagent. This IMFP system can automatically monitor microbial growth in which the photoelectric detection, temperature control, fluorescent probe, and bioinformatics screen are integrated into one platform and employed to detect pathogenic microorganisms. Moreover, a specific culture medium was also developed, which matched the system platform for Coliform bacteria and Salmonella typhi. The developed IMFP system could attain a limit of detection (LOD) of about 1 CFU/mL for both bacteria, while the selectivity could reach 99%. In addition, the IMFP system was applied to detect 256 bacterial samples simultaneously. This platform reflects the high-throughput needs of fields for microbial identification and related requirements, such as the development of pathogenic microbial diagnostic reagents, antibacterial sterilization performance tests, and microbial growth kinetics. The IMFP system also confirmed the other merits, such as high sensitivity, high-throughput, and operation simplicity compared to conventional methods, and it has a high potential as a tool for application in the health and food security fields.

Fluorescent Probe Combined with Photoelectric Analysis Technology for Detection of Escherichia coli.

Food safety is facing great challenges in preventing foodborne diseases caused by pathogenic pollution, especially in resource-limited areas. The rapid detection technique of microorganisms, such as immunological methods and molecular biological methods, plays a crucial key in timely bioanalysis and disease treatment strategies. However, it is difficult for these methods to simultaneously meet the criteria of simple operation, high specificity, and sensitivity, as well as low cost. Coconut water is known as the "water of life" in Hainan. It is a refreshing and nutritious beverage which is widely consumed due to its beneficial properties to health. Coconut water processing is an important pillar industry in Hainan. The detection of pathogenic microorganisms, such as Escherichia coli, in coconut water has become an important factor which has restricted the upgrading and development of this industry. Based on the needs of industrial development, we developed a microbial photoelectric detection system which was composed of a fluorescent probe detection reagent and a photoelectric sensor detection device. This system combined microbial enzyme targets, selective fluorescent substrate metabolism characteristics, and a photoelectric sensor signal transduction mechanism, which produce a strong signal with a high signal-to-noise ratio. The microbial detection system developed here has a simple structure, simple and convenient operation, short detecting time (≥2 h), and high sensitivity (1 CFU/mL). This system may also enable early warning and monitoring programs for other pathogenic microorganisms in order to promote the overall competitiveness of the Hainan coconut water industry.

Fluorescent and Opt-Electric Recording Bacterial Identification Device for Ultrasensitive and Specific Detection of Microbials.

Since microbial detection is an important aspect for the prevention and control of foodborne diseases, an ideal detection system with high sensitivity, strong specificity, and timeliness is needed. Here, we proposed a fluorescent and opt-electric recording bacterial identification device (FORBID) for fully automatic real-time photoelectric sensing analysis of microbials by integrating the metabolic characteristics of microbial and selective substrate catalysis. It simplifies the testing process (one-step) and decreases the need of professional technicians. Besides, the system exhibits ultrasensitive (1 CFU/mL) and specific detection (99%) in both microbials, Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. More importantly, the timeliness of this system is even better than that of the traditional culture methods. It is believed that this system can be extended to the detection of other microorganisms and provide a potential alternative for the detection of pathogens.

Variations of circulating endothelial progenitor cells and transforming growth factor-beta-1 (TGF-ß1) during thoracic radiotherapy are predictive for radiation pneumonitis.

BACKGROUND: The vascular endothelial cells are important targets of radiotherapy, which may be involved in the pathogenesis of radiation pneumonitis (RP). This study investigated the variations of circulating endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) and transforming growth factor-beta-1 (TGF-ß1) during three-dimensional conformal radiation therapy (3D-CRT) in patients with non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and analyzed the correlation between these variations with the occurrence of RP. PATIENTS AND METHODS: From November 2008 to November 2009, eighty-four consecutive patients receiving 3D-CRT for stage III disease were evaluated prospectively. Circulating EPCs and TGF-ß1 levels were measured at baseline, every 2 weeks during, and at the end of treatment. RP was evaluated prospectively at 6 weeks after 3D-CRT. RESULTS: Thirty-eight patients (47.5%) experienced score 1 or more of RP. The baseline levels of EPCs and TGF-ß1 were analyzed, no difference was found between patients with and without RP during and after 3D-CRT. By serial measurement of TGF-ß1 and EPCs levels, we found that the mean levels of EPCs in the whole population remained stable during radiotherapy, but the mean levels of TGF-ß1 increased slowly during radiotherapy. TGF-ß1 and EPCs levels were all significantly higher at week 2, week 4 and week 6 in patients with RP than that in patients without RP, respectively. During the period of radiation treatment, TGF-ß1 levels began to increase in the first 2 weeks and became significantly higher at week 6 (P < 0.01). EPCs levels also began to increase in the first 2 weeks and reached a peak at week 4. Using an ANOVA model for repeated-measures, we found significant associations between the levels of TGF-ß1 and EPCs during the course of 3D-CRT and the risk of developing RP (P < 0.01). Most of the dosimetric factors showed a significant association with RP. CONCLUSION: Early variations of TGF-ß1 and EPCs levels during 3D-CRT are significantly associated with the risk of RP. Variations of circulating TGF-ß1 and EPCs levels during 3D-CRT may serve as independent predictive factors for RP. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Trials registration number: 20070618.