Bioadhesive-Inspired Ionomer for Membrane Electrode Assembly Interface Reinforcement in Fuel Cells.

Anion exchange membrane fuel cells promise a sustainable and ecofriendly energy conversion pathway yet suffer from insufficient performance and durability. Drawing inspiration from mussel foot adhesion proteins for the first time, we herein demonstrate catechol-modified ionomers that synergistically reinforce the membrane electrode assembly interface and triple-phase boundary inside catalyst layers. The resulting ionomers present exceptional alkaline stability with only slight ionic conductivity declines after treatment in 2 M NaOH aqueous solution at 80 °C for 2500 h. Adopting catechol-modified ionomer as both anion exchange membrane and binder achieves a single-cell performance increase of 34%, and more importantly, endows fuel cell operation at a current density of 0.4 A cm-2 for over 300 h with negligible performance degradation (with a cell voltage decay rate of 0.03 mV h-1). Combining theoretical and experimental investigations, we reveal the molecular adhesion mechanism between the catechol-modified ionomer and Pt catalyst and illuminate the effect on the catalyst layer microstructure. Of fundamental interest, this bioadhesive-inspired strategy is critical to enabling knowledge-driven ionomer design and is promising for diverse membrane electrode assembly configurational applications.

Intrinsic capacity loss rates and protective factors among individuals aged 80 years and older in Chinese nursing homes: A latent class analysis.

Prior to this cross-sectional study, the intrinsic capacity (IC) loss rates and protective factors in nursing homes for individuals aged 80 and older remained unexplored. Analysing 434 participants, this study found 86.9 % of individuals experienced the loss of at least one IC domain, with detailed losses in locomotion, vision, vitality, hearing, psychological, and cognitive capacities at rates of 83.2 %, 52.8 %, 50.9 %, 46.5 %, 44.9 %, and 44.0 %, respectively. Following latent class analysis (LCA), five distinct IC impairment patterns were noted, with locomotor impairment emerging as a central component across most classes. IC protective factors for persons aged 80 years and older included financial stability, being male or younger within the cohort, junior high school or higher education, being married, no smoking history, manageable comorbidity levels, minimal medication use, good sleep, and not using assistive devices. Based on these five classes, this study provides a potential practical framework alongside recommendations for IC care strategies in the oldest-old, emphasising the importance of locomotor function in maintaining the overall IC.

The relationship between salivary cytokines and oral cancer and their diagnostic capability for oral cancer: a systematic review and network meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Oral cancer (OC) is a common malignancy in clinical practice. Saliva testing is a convenient and noninvasive early diagnostic technique for OC. Several salivary cytokines have been identified as potential biomarkers for OC, including IL-8, IL-6, TNF-α, IL-1ß, and IL-10. Nonetheless, the optimal cytokine for OC diagnosis remains inconclusive and highly contentious. METHODS: PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, and Cochrane Library databases were comprehensively retrieved to collect all case-control studies on OC. A meta-analysis was performed to compare the levels of salivary IL-8, IL-6, IL-10, TNF-α, and IL-1ß in OC patients and healthy controls. Network meta-analysis (NMA) was carried out to probe into the accuracy of these salivary cytokines in diagnosing OC. RESULTS: This analysis included 40 studies, encompassing 1280 individuals with OC and 1254 healthy controls. Significantly higher levels of salivary IL-8, IL-6, TNF-α, IL-1ß, and IL-10 were observed in patients with OC in comparison to healthy controls. The results of NMA showed that TNF-α had the highest diagnostic accuracy for OC, with a sensitivity of 79% and a specificity of 92%, followed by IL-6 (sensitivity: 75%, specificity: 86%) and IL-8 (sensitivity: 80%, specificity: 80%). CONCLUSION: This study suggests that IL-8, IL-6, IL-10, TNF-α, and IL-1ß may be potential diagnostic biomarkers for OC. Among them, TNF-α, IL-6, and IL-8 are highly accurate in the diagnosis of OC. Nevertheless, further studies that eliminate other confounding factors are warranted, and more standardized procedures and large-scale studies are needed to support the clinical use of saliva testing.

Methods for online calibration of Q-matrix and item parameters for polytomous responses in cognitive diagnostic computerized adaptive testing.

The ability to rapidly provide examinees with detailed and effective diagnostic information is a critical topic in psychology. Knowing what diagnostic criteria the examinees have met enables the practitioner to seek the solution to help them in a timely manner, and this can be achieved by cognitive diagnostic computerized adaptive testing (CD-CAT). However, the pervasive challenge of replenishing items in the CD-CAT item bank limits its practical application. Online calibration is a means to address item replenishment, but in CD-CAT, most existing online calibration methods that jointly calibrate the Q-matrix and item parameters of the new items are developed only for dichotomous responses and are time-consuming. Notably, previous studies pay no attention to polytomously scored items that are frequently observed in testing, even though they can offer additional evidence for the examinees' diagnosis. To fill this gap, we propose a SCAD-based method (SCAD-EM) to calibrate the Q-matrix and item parameters of the new items with polytomous response data in order to promote the application of CD-CAT in practice. The performance of the SCAD-EM was investigated in two comprehensive simulation studies and compared against the revised single-item estimation method (SIE-BIC). Results indicated that the SCAD-EM produces a higher calibration accuracy for the category-level Q-matrix and is computationally more efficient across all conditions, but it produces a lower calibration accuracy for the item-level Q-matrix. An empirical study further demonstrated the utility of the SCAD-EM and the SIE-BIC methods in calibrating new items with a real dataset. The advantages of the proposed method, its limitations, and possible future research directions are offered at the end.

A Generalized Diagnostic Classification Modeling Framework Integrating Differential Speediness: Advantages and Illustrations in Psychological and Educational Testing.

To advance the theoretical foundation of incorporating response times (RTs) into diagnostic classification models (DCMs), this study attempts to further derive, test and illustrate a generalized modeling framework (known as the JVRT-LCDM) that can simultaneously analyze response accuracy and differential speediness based on an existing method (Zhan et al., British Journal of Mathematical and Statistical Psychology, 71(2), 262-286, 2018). The JVRT-LCDM not only provides fine-grained diagnostic feedback without strict model constraints but also clarifies the specific speed trajectory of individuals. Moreover, some existing models from psychometric literatures are included in the JVRT-LCDM as special cases. The feasibility of the JVRT-LCDM is investigated via a Monte Carlo simulation study using a Bayesian estimation scheme, and two empirical datasets are then analyzed to illustrate the applicability of the JVRT-LCDM in practice. The results indicate that (1) as a generalized and flexible model, the JVRT-LCDM realizes high correct classification rates and accurate speed parameter recovery; (2) the JVRT-LCDM outperforms the existing models in terms of model-data fit, diagnostic consistency, and estimation of specific individuals in practical cognitive diagnosis assessments; and (3) the JVRT-LCDM provides reliable evidence for nonconstant speed modeling.

Rapid solidification of simulated radioactive contaminated soil by continuous microwave sintering: Effects of temperature and doping level.

In order to find a rapid, efficient, safe and reliable treatment technology for radioactive contaminated soil, the microwave sintering method was used to sinter the simulated radioactive contaminated soil with different CeO2 content at 1100 °C, 1200 °C and 1300 °C for 30 min to achieve vitrification. The phase, microstructure, morphology, mechanical properties, and chemical durability of the sintered samples were investigated. XRD and SEM-EDS results showed that Ce4+ did not participate in the formation of the glass network, but was fixed in the glass network structure. The amorphous fraction of the samples sintered at 1300 °C can reach up to 98%. EDS results showed that the element distribution was uniform. In addition, the density and hardness values of the sintered matrices were in the range of 1.875-2.543 g/cm3 and 6.667-7.112 GPa, respectively. Our results show that the density and hardness values are related to the sintering temperature and CeO2 content. The normalized leaching rate of Ce in samples reached 10-7 g/(m2·d) after 28 d.

LINC00511 promotes gastric cancer progression by regulating SOX4 and epigenetically repressing PTEN to activate PI3K/AKT pathway.

Gastric cancer (GC) serves as a common malignancy. Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) have been proven to regulate many cancers, including GC. Long intergenic non-protein-coding RNA 511 (LINC00511) has been poorly studied in GC, but its detailed regulatory mechanism has not been identified. Here, LINC00511 was detected to be highly expressed in GC cells. Functional assays were conducted and uncovered that LINC00511 boosted cell proliferation, migration, stemness and EMT process while inhibiting the apoptosis of GC cells. From a series of mechanism experiments, it was found that at the transcriptional level, LINC00511 recruited EZH2 (enhancer of zeste 2 polycomb repressive complex 2 subunit) to the promoter of PTEN (phosphatase and tensin homolog) and facilitated methylation of PTEN promoter. LINC00511 epigenetically repressed PTEN to activate the PI3K/AKT pathway. Moreover, SRY-box transcription factor 4 (SOX4) activated the transcription of LINC00511. At the post-transcriptional level, LINC00511 sponged miR-195-5p to elevate SOX4 expression in GC cells. On the whole, the present study disclosed that SOX4-induced LINC00511 activated SOX4 via competing endogenous RNA (ceRNA) pattern and epigenetically repressed PTEN to activate PI3K/AKT pathway by recruiting EZH2, thus facilitating GC cell proliferation, migration and stemness while inhibiting GC cell apoptosis.

Feasibility of radical gastrointestinal tumor resection with simultaneous off-pump coronary artery bypass surgery for patients with severe heart problems: A retrospective cohort study from a single institutional database.

PURPOSE: Clinical treatment of gastrointestinal neoplasms in patients with severe coronary stenosis is difficult, and it remains controversial to perform staged or simultaneous surgeries. The purpose of this study was to retrospectively analyze the feasibility and indications for simultaneous gastrointestinal tumor resection and off-pump coronary artery bypass (OPCAB) graft surgery. METHODS: Data collected from a total of five patients, including three patients with gastric cancer and two patients with colorectal cancer, who underwent simultaneous radical cancer resection and OPCAB between September 2010 and October 2019, were retrospectively analyzed. Among these patients, one had an incomplete colonic obstruction. All patients had severe coronary stenosis, and one experienced acute heart failure before surgery. OPCAB was performed first, followed by the radical cancer resection. RESULTS: All five patients were discharged from hospital without perioperative death, major cardiovascular events or anastomotic leakage. The mean postoperative hospital stay was 9.4 days. One patient experienced slight gastrointestinal bleeding after surgery, which improved with conservative treatment. After a mean follow-up of 39 months, two patients with gastric cancer died from tumor metastasis at 28 months and 37 months, while the remaining three patients did not have tumor recurrence or metastasis. None of the patients experienced myocardial ischemia. CONCLUSION: It is safe and feasible to perform simultaneous OPCAB and gastrointestinal surgeries on the premise of strictly controlling the indications for patients with gastrointestinal tumors complicated with severe coronary artery stenosis.

Ratiometric Near-Infrared Fluorescent Probes Based On Through-Bond Energy Transfer and π-Conjugation Modulation between Tetraphenylethene and Hemicyanine Moieties for Sensitive Detection of pH Changes in Live Cells.

In this paper, we present three ratiometric near-infrared fluorescent probes (A-C) for accurate, ratiometric detection of intracellular pH changes in live cells. Probe A consists of a tetraphenylethene (TPE) donor and near-infrared hemicyanine acceptor in a through-bond energy transfer (TBET) strategy, while probes B and C are composed of TPE and hemicyanine moieties through single and double sp2 carbon-carbon bond connections in a π-conjugation modulation strategy. The specific targeting of the probes to lysosomes in live cells was achieved by introducing morpholine residues to the hemicyanine moieties to form closed spirolactam ring structures. Probe A shows aggregation-induced emission (AIE) property at neutral or basic pH, while probes B and C lack AIE properties. At basic or neutral pH, the probes only show fluorescence of TPE moieties with closed spirolactam forms of hemicyanine moieties, and effectively avoid blind fluorescence imaging spots, an issue which typical intensity-based pH fluorescent probes encounter. Three probes show ratiometric fluorescence responses to pH changes from 7.0 to 3.0 with TPE fluorescence decreases and hemicyanine fluorescence increases, because acidic pH makes the spirolactam rings open to enhance π-conjugation of hemicyanine moieties. However, probe A shows much more sensitive ratiometric fluorescence responses to pH changes from 7.0 to 3.0 with remarkable ratio increase of TPE fluorescence to hemicyanine fluorescence up to 238-fold than probes B and C because of its high efficiency of energy transfer from TPE donor to the hemicyanine acceptor in the TBET strategy. The probe offers dual Stokes shifts with a large pseudo-Stokes shift of 361 nm and well-defined dual emissions, and allows for colocalization of the imaging readouts of visible and near-infrared fluorescence channels to achieve more precisely double-checked ratiometric fluorescence imaging. These platforms could be employed to develop a variety of novel ratiometric fluorescent probes for accurate detection of different analytes in applications of chemical and biological sensing, imaging, and diagnostics by introducing appropriate sensing ligands to hemicyanine moieties to form on-off spirolactam switches.

Fluorescent Probes Based on π-Conjugation Modulation between Hemicyanine and Coumarin Moieties for Ratiometric Detection of pH Changes in Live Cells with Visible and Near-infrared Channels.

We report two ratiometric fluorescent probes based on π-conjugation modulation between coumarin and hemicyanine moieties for sensitive ratiometric detection of pH alterations in live cells by monitoring visible and near-infrared fluorescence changes. In a π-conjugation modulation strategy, a coumarin dye was conjugated to a near-infrared hemicyanine dye via a vinyl connection while lysosome-targeting morpholine ligand and o-phenylenediamine residue were introduced to the hemicyanine dye to form closed spirolactam ring structures in probes A and B, respectively. The probes show only visible fluorescence of the coumarin moiety under physiological and basic conditions because the hemicyanine moieties retain their closed spirolactam ring structures. However, decrease of pH to acidic condition causes spirolactam ring opening, and significantly enhances π-conjugation within the probes, thus generating new near-infrared fluorescence peaks of the hemicyanine at 755 nm and 740 nm for probes A and B, respectively. Moreover, the probes display ratiometric fluorescence response to pH with decreases of the coumarin fluorescence and increases of the hemicyanine fluorescence when pH changes from 7.4 to 2.5. The probes are fully capable of imaging pH changes in live cells with good ratiometric responses in visible and near-infrared channels, and effectively avoid fluorescence blind spots under neutral and basic pH conditions - an issue that typical intensity-based pH fluorescent probes run into. The probe design platform reported herein can be easily applied to prepare a variety of ratiometric fluorescent probes for detection of biological thiols, metal ions, reactive oxygen and nitrogen species by introducing appropriate functional groups to hemicyanine moiety.

Neutral ceramidase activity inhibition is involved in palmitate-induced apoptosis in INS-1 cells.

Neutral ceramidase (NCDase) is a class of ceramidases, a key enzyme in ceramide degradation. Recently, it was observed that NCDase activity was suppressed by saturated fatty acids to increase ceramide content in rat muscle. However, little is known about its changes in activity and roles in palmitate (Palm)-induced lipotoxicity in pancreatic ß cells. Here, we demonstrated that Palm treatment significantly down-regulated NCDase activity, mRNA and protein levels in rat INS-1 cells. In addition, Palm caused a significant accumulation of ceramide, while SPH level remained unchanged, suggesting that inhibition of NCDase activity led to no change of SPH level after treatment with Palm for 24 h. Furthermore, NCDase overexpression significantly reduced Palm-induced apoptosis in INS-1 cells. Conversely, NCDase siRNA knockdown markedly exacerbated Palm-induced apoptosis. In conclusion, Palm treatment suppressed the activity of NCDase and down-regulated its mRNA and protein expression. Furthermore, NCDase inhibition was involved in Palm-induced apoptosis by blocking ceramide degradation in INS-1 cells.

Near-Infrared Fluorescent Probe for Sensitive Detection of Pb(II) Ions in Living Cells.

A new near-infrared fluorescent probe (NIR-PbP) for sensitive detection of Pb(II) ions in solution and living cells has been rationally designed and synthesized. The NIR-PbP is inherently non-fluorescent and gains fluorescence in the presence Pb(II) ions. The ion detection is based on Pb(II)-induced unmasking the fluorophore through the opening of the spyrocycle, with more than 500-fold fluorescence for sub-micromolar Pb(II) concentration. The NIR-PbP has high sensitivity, good photo-stability, low detection limit, and reversible response to Pb(II) ions.

Salidroside suppresses inflammation in a D-galactose-induced rat model of Alzheimer's disease via SIRT1/NF-κB pathway.

Age-related inflammation is the predominant factor for neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's disease (AD). In the present study, we examined memory performance and neuroinflammation in D-galactose (D-gal)-induced sub-acute aging model of rats. Our results demonstrated that chronic administration of D-gal (120 mg/kg) produced cognitive impairment as determined by Morris water maze (MWM) test and step-down passive avoidance test. D-gal also activated nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) p65/RelA by down-regulating the expression level of sirtuins 1 (SIRT1) in the hippocampus. Treatment with Salidroside (Sal, 20, 40 mg/kg) for 28 days ameliorated D-gal-induced memory deficits and inflammatory mediators including tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and interleukin-1ß (IL-1ß). Moreover, D-gal-induced activation of NF-κB signaling pathway in the brain was also inhibited by Sal via up-regulating SIRT1. These results suggest that D-gal-triggered memory impairment and inflammatory response may be associated with SIRT1/NF-κB signaling pathway, whereas treatment with Sal could positively affect these changes in hippocampus.

The cardioprotective effect of salidroside against myocardial ischemia reperfusion injury in rats by inhibiting apoptosis and inflammation.

The main purpose of this study was to investigate effect of salidroside (Sal) on myocardial ischemia reperfusion injury in rats and the underlying mechanism. Myocardial ischemia reperfusion injury (MI/RI) model was treated with 30 min of left anterior descending (LAD) occlusion followed by 24 h of reperfusion. The male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into 7 groups: (1) Sham; (2) Sham + diltiazem (Dit, 10 mg/kg); (3) Sham + Sal (40 mg/kg); (4) I/R; (5) I/R + diltiazem (Dit, 10 mg/kg); (6) I/R + Sal (20 mg/kg); (7) I/R + Sal (40 mg/kg). Sal could ameliorate myocardial ischemia reperfusion injury as evidenced by Histopathological examination and triphenyl tetrazolium chloride (TTC) staining. Moreover, terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nickend labeling (TUNEL) assay demonstrated that Sal suppressed myocardial apoptosis, which may be related to up-regulation of Bcl-2/Bax ratio and inhibition of caspase-3, caspase-9 activation. Pretreatment with Sal affected serum biochemical parameters and cardiac dysfunction compared with I/R group. Sal also attenuated the pro-inflammatory cytokines including tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin (IL)-1ß and IL-6 in serum by inhibiting TLR4/NF-κB signaling pathway. Sal exerts strong favorable cardioprotective function on myocardial I/R injury which may relate to the down-regulation of the TLR4/NF-κB signaling pathway and the inhibition of cell apoptosis.

Exposure to extremely low frequency electromagnetic fields alters the calcium dynamics of cultured entorhinal cortex neurons.

Previous studies have revealed that extremely low frequency electromagnetic field (ELF-EMF) exposure affects neuronal dendritic spine density and NMDAR and AMPAR subunit expressions in the entorhinal cortex (EC). Although calcium signaling has a critical role in control of EC neuronal functions, however, it is still unclear whether the ELF-EMF exposure affects the EC neuronal calcium homeostasis. In the present study, using whole-cell recording and calcium imaging, we record the whole-cell inward currents that contain the voltage-gated calcium currents and show that ELF-EMF (50Hz, 1mT or 3mT, lasting 24h) exposure does not influence these currents. Next, we specifically isolate the high-voltage activated (HVA) and low-voltage activated (LVA) calcium channels-induced currents. Similarly, the activation and inactivation characteristics of these membrane calcium channels are also not influenced by ELF-EMF. Importantly, ELF-EMF exposure reduces the maximum amplitude of the high-K(+)-evoked calcium elevation in EC neurons, which is abolished by thapsigargin, a Ca(2+) ATPase inhibitor, to empty the intracellular calcium stores of EC neurons. Together, these findings indicate that ELF-EMF exposure specifically influences the intracellular calcium dynamics of cultural EC neurons via a calcium channel-independent mechanism.

Progress of SARS-CoV-2 Main protease peptide-like inhibitors.

The pneumonia outbreak caused by Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection poses a serious threat to people worldwide. Although vaccines have been developed, antiviral drugs are still needed to combat SARS-CoV-2 infection due to the high mutability of the virus. SARS-CoV-2 main protein (Mpro ) is a special cysteine protease that is a key enzyme for SARS-CoV-2 replication. It is encoded by peptides and is responsible for processing peptides into functional proteins, making it an important drug target. The paper reviews the structure and peptide-like inhibitors of SARS-CoV-2 Mpro , also the binding mode and structure-activity relationship between the inhibitors and Mpro are introduced in detail. It is hoped that this review can provide ideas and help for the development of anti-coronavirus drugs such as COVID-19, and help to develop broad-spectrum antiviral drug for the treatment of coronavirus diseases as soon as possible.

The effect of social isolation on the cognitive ability of the oldest old in Chinese nursing homes in post-COVID-19: a moderated chain mediation model.

Background: Both pre-or post-COVID-19, older adults residing in nursing homes are at significant risk for social isolation, which is negatively associated with cognitive ability. Currently, the elderly aged 80 years and older are the fastest-growing age group globally. The extent of social isolation within this group post-COVID-19 and its impact on cognitive abilities remain inadequately explored. Objective: This research aimed to evaluate the prevalence of social isolation among the oldest old in Chinese nursing homes post-COVID-19 and to investigate the mediating and moderating roles of basic activities of daily living (BADL), depression, and subjective socioeconomic status in the relationship between social isolation and cognitive ability. Methods: This cross-sectional study included 453 participants aged 80 years and older from 11 nursing homes in Ningbo, Zhejiang Province, China. Social isolation was assessed using the Lubben Social Network Scale-6 (LSNS-6), cognitive ability using the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), BADL using the Barthel Index (BI), and depression using the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 items (PHQ-9). Mediation and moderation effects were statistically analyzed using SPSS 23.0 and PROCESS 3.5. Results: The mean age of the study sample was 87.1 ± 3.8 years, among whom 60.3% (n = 273) were female, and 56.1% experienced social isolation, with 41.1% and 63.1% being isolated from family and friends, respectively. Social isolation indirectly affected cognitive ability through BADL and depression, respectively, and through the chain mediation effect of BADL and depression. Subjective socioeconomic status moderated the relationships between social isolation and BADL and between social isolation and depression. However, no moderating effect of subjective socioeconomic status was found between social isolation and cognitive ability. Conclusion: This study deepens our understanding of the current state of social isolation and its mechanisms of action in the oldest old post-COVID-19 and provides a new basis for future public health policy development and related research.

Effects of Social Support Provided by Disabled Older Adults to Others on Their Own Depressive Symptoms: A Moderated Mediation Model.

Purpose: While previous studies have extensively examined the impact of receiving positive social support during social support interactions on depressive symptoms among older adults, adverse effects experienced, such as being rejected or ignored, are often overlooked. Moreover, there has been limited discussion on the effects of giving social support to others. Thus, this study investigates the impacts of social support given by disabled older adults to others on their own depressive symptoms, as well as the mediating role of receiving social support (both positive and negative aspects) and the moderating effect of the activity of daily living (ADL). Patients and Methods: This cross-sectional, community-based study was conducted in Wenzhou and Jiaxing City, China, from September 2021 to September 2022, with a total of 255 disabled older adults meeting the inclusion and exclusion criteria. The data were collected face-to-face using a structured questionnaire. The participants were asked to complete the Barthel Index Scale, the Chinese version of the Positive and Negative Social Exchange Scale, the Giving Social Support questionnaire, and the Short Form Chinese Geriatric Depression Scale to measure disability, receiving positive and negative social support, giving social support, and depressive symptoms, respectively. Descriptive statistical analysis, correlation analysis, mediation effect tests, and moderation effect tests were used to analyse the questionnaire data. Results: The social support provided by disabled older adults to others primarily involved companionship and care. The positive aspect of social support received was largely emotional support, while the negative aspect was mainly characterised by failure to obtain help and unsympathetic behaviour. Providing social support was found to be associated with a potential beneficial effect on depressive symptoms, linked to lower severity, with this effect fully mediated by receiving social support. Specifically, receiving emotional support accounted for 56.63% of the effect size, while failure to obtain help and unsympathetic behaviour contributed 21.55%, and rejection and neglect collectively accounted for 21.83%. Additionally, the effect was partially moderated by ADL, with older adults exhibiting lower ADL scores showing a greater benefit from both giving and receiving social support compared to those with higher ADL scores. Conclusion: It is imperative to recognise and encourage disabled older adults to provide social support to others, especially emotional support, while reducing negative feedback, such as neglect and unnecessary blame. This could alleviate their depressive symptoms and promote psycho-social well-being.

α-Fetoprotein contributes to the malignant biological properties of AFP-producing gastric cancer.

This study aimed to investigate whether α-fetoprotein (AFP) could affect the malignant behavior of AFP-producing gastric cancer (AFP-GC) and to explore the relationship between AFP and mesenchymal-epithelial transition factor (c-Met) in AFP-GC. In this study, 23 patients with AFP-GC (AFP[+]) and 18 patients with common gastric cancer (AFP[-]) were evaluated for the c-Met expression using immunohistochemical analysis. The AFP-GC cell line, GCIY, was used. The AFP endoribonuclease-prepared small interfering RNA (siRNA) and eukaryotic AFP overexpression vector were used to increase/knockdown the expression of AFP. Afterward, the c-Met expression was evaluated by polymerase chain reaction and western blot. The proliferation, migration, and invasion of GCIY cells were estimated before and after the AFP overexpression/knockdown. The c-Met expression in both groups was the same (p > 0.05), and AFP[+] group had a higher positive incidence of the c-Met expression than the AFP[-] group (p < 0.01). Furthermore, the c-Met expression frequency was decreased by AFP knockdown and increased by AFP overexpression (p < 0.01). The cell counting kit-8 cell proliferation assay, cell invasion, and migration assays confirmed that the AFP could affect the malignant biological behavior of AFP-GC. These findings suggest that AFP contributes to the malignant biological properties of AFP-GC and the high expression of c-Met in AFP-GC.

Young Adults' Perception of Forests Using Landscape-Image-Sketching Technique: A Case Study of Changsha, Central China.

The forest-landscape image is the bridge for communication between human beings and the forest. The aim of this paper is to construct the landscape-image conceptual model from the personal perception of the forest, with what people are looking at and how they are viewing themselves as a part of the forest. This research constructed a forest-landscape image by young adults by utilizing the landscape-image-sketching technique and selecting 140 young adults who had lived in Changsha, Central China for ten years, using convenience sampling, during April and May 2018. The results demonstrated that the forest was considered as the people's life world, as rural scenery around the respondents' homes, instead of the perception of the objective forest, an important habitat for animals and a limited resource supplier for human living. In fact, the natural values of the forest, such as the ecological and aesthetic values, received more attention than the social ones of the forest, including the life, production, and cultural values. Finally, it is important to raise the public's awareness of the objective entity of the forest and to guide the variety of experiences for the respondents in the forest.