Fruit and Vegetable Consumption, Food Acquisition Behavior, and Food Insecurity Before and After the COVID-19 Vaccine Rollout.

OBJECTIVES: To assess changes in food acquisition behavior, food insecurity, and dietary behavior and identify factors associated with fruit and vegetable (FV) consumption during the transitional period (before and after the initial vaccine rollout for all adults) of the COVID-19 pandemic. DESIGN: Successive independent samples design. Online surveys were conducted from October 2020 to February 2021 (time 1, before the vaccine rollout) and from October 2021 to December 2021 (time 2, after the vaccine rollout). Descriptive analysis examined changes in food sources, food security, and daily FV consumption in cup equivalents (CEs) from time 1 to time 2. A multivariable logistic regression analysis examined factors associated with FV consumption. SETTING: The Capital Region of New York State. PARTICIPANTS: 1553 adults 18 years of age and older. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Meeting the 2020-2025 MyPlate daily FV consumption recommendations. RESULTS: There were statistically significant (P < .05) increases in the use of supermarkets, eat-in restaurants, farmers' markets, and convenience stores from time 1 to time 2. Food insecurity (40.1% vs 39.4%) and FV consumption (2.6 CE vs 2.4 CE) slightly declined but not significantly. Home food procurement such as gardening and foraging (OR, 1.61; 95% CI, 1.08-2.37) and shopping at food co-op/health food stores (OR, 1.64; 95% CI, 1.07-2.49) were significantly associated with the FV outcome, and these relationships were not modified by food security status. CONCLUSIONS: The present study highlights the importance of food sources in understanding adult dietary behavior during the transitional period of the pandemic. Continuing efforts to monitor access to food sources, food insecurity, and dietary behavior are warranted as various COVID-related emergency food assistance measures have expired.

Postural control and cognitive flexibility in skilled athletes: Insights from dual-task performance and event-related potentials.

Athletes of skill-oriented sports (hereinafter referred to as "skilled athletes"), such as gymnasts and rhythmic gymnasts, have demonstrated better postural control than nonathletes. However, previous studies have mainly focused on single postural tasks and have not considered how skilled athletes use and allocate attentional resources during postural control. This research used the event-related potential (ERP) to explore the postural control performance of skilled athletes under cognitive processes and their utilization and allocation of attentional resources. A dual-task paradigm was used to simulate the actual situation in sports. 26 skilled athletes and 26 nonathletes were required to perform postural control and task-switching simultaneously. The results showed that skilled athletes demonstrated more postural control stability and a higher accuracy of task-switching than nonathletes in all dual tasks. Compared with nonathletes, they showed a stable enhanced N1 (electrodes: Oz, O1, and O2) amplitude during three postures. Moreover, larger N2 component on Fz, FCz, and Cz and theta band power was found in the frontal cortex (on Fz, FCz) of skilled athletes under feet together and single leg standing posture. The study illustrated that skilled athletes show greater frontal activation during dual tasks, which allows for more rational and flexible brain attentional resource input and allocation in cognitive processes, this may be due to long-term professional training, which enables them to have a higher level of automation of postural control and cognitive flexibility. This study's results offer valuable insights into the interplay between postural control and multitasking in skilled athletes, and its outcomes carry significant implications for the training and assessment of athletes across various sports.

Interface-Compatible Gel-Polymer Electrolyte Enabled by NaF-Solubility-Regulation toward All-Climate Solid-State Sodium Batteries.

Gel-polymer electrolyte (GPE) is a pragmatic choice for high-safety sodium batteries but still plagued by interfacial compatibility with both cathode and anode simultaneously. Here, salt-in-polymer fibers with NaF salt inlaid in polylactide (PLA) fiber network was fabricated via electrospinning and subsequent in situ forming gel-polymer electrolyte in liquid electrolytes. The obtained PLA-NaF GPE achieves a high ion conductivity (2.50×10-3 S cm-1) and large Na+ transference number (0.75) at ambient temperature. Notably, the dissolution of NaF salt occupies solvents leading to concentrated-electrolyte environment, which facilitates aggregates with increased anionic coordination (anion/Na+ >1). Aggregates with higher HOMO realize the preferential oxidation on the cathode so that inorganic-rich and stable CEI covers cathode' surface, preventing particles' breakage and showing good compatibility with different cathodes (Na3V2(PO4)3, Na2+2xFe2-x(SO4)3, Na0.72Ni0.32Mn0.68O2, NaTi2(PO4)3). While, passivated Na anode induced by the lower LUMO of aggregates, and the lower surface tension between Na anode and PLA-NaF GPE interface, leading to the dendrites-free Na anode. As a result, the assembled Na || Na3V2(PO4)3 cells display excellent electrochemical performance at all-climate conditions.

Occurrence and fate of pharmaceuticals and personal care products in a wastewater treatment plant with Bacillus bio-reactor treatment.

Pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) have attracted wide attention due to their environmental impacts and health risks. PPCPs released through wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) are estimated to be 80 %. Nevertheless, the occurrence of PPCPs in the WWTPs equipped with Bacillus spec.-based bioreactors (BBR) treatment system remains unclear. In this study, sludge and waste water samples were collected during separate winter and summer sampling campaigns from a typical BBR treatment system. The results indicate that out of 58 target PPCPs, 27 compounds were detected in the waste water (0.06-1900 ng/L), and 23 were found in the sludge (0.6-7755 ng/g dw). Paraxanthine was the chemical of the highest abundance in the influent due to the high consumption of the parent compounds caffeine and theobromine. The profile for PPCPs in the wastewater and sludge exhibited no seasonal variation. Overall, the removal of target PPCPs in summer is more effective than the winter. In the BBR bio-reactor, it was found that selected PPCPs (at ng/L level) can be completely removed. The efficiency for individual PPCP removal was increased from 1.0 % to 50 % in this unit, after target specific adjustments of the process. The effective removal of selected PPCPs by the BBR treatment system is explained by combined sorption and biodegradation processing. The re-occurrence of PPCPs in the wastewater was monitored. Negative removal efficiency was explained by the cleavage of Phase II metabolites after the biotransformation process, and the lack of equilibrium for PPCPs in the sludge of the second clarifier. A compound specific risk quotient (RQ) was calculated and applied for studying the potential environmental risks. Diphenhydramine is found with the highest environmental risk in wastewater, and 15 other PPCPs show negligible risks in sewage sludge.

Glial fibrillary acidic protein astrocytopathy presented as meningitis: A case report.

Introduction: Glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) astrocytopathy is a novel autoimmune neurological disorder and is diagnosed by GFAP-IgG in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) measurement. Case report: Herein, we described a 10-year-old boy with abnormal neurological symptoms and signs. GFAP-IgG was detected in CSF using cell-based assay (CBA), and his CSF showed an increase in lymphocytes, a slight decrease in glucose and an increase in protein level in the early stage. The cranial MRI showed multiple strips of T2-FLAIR hyperintense signal changes on the surface of medulla oblongata, pons, and gyrus in bilateral cerebral hemispheres. He was treated with immunoglobulin (IVIG) and high-dose methylprednisolone pulse treatment, and his clinical presentations gradually improved. Conclusion: We highlight that patients with normal inflammatory markers in peripheral blood have obvious meningitis-like symptoms, and clinicians need to consider GFAP astrocytopathy. The early diagnosis and treatment of GFAP astrocytopathy are important for improving the prognosis.

Ni and Co Active Site Transition and Competition in Fluorine-Doped NiCo(OH)2 LDH Electrocatalysts for Oxygen Evolution Reaction.

The oxygen evolution reaction (OER) performance of NiCo LDH electrocatalysts can be improved through fluorine doping. The roles of Ni and Co active sites in such catalysts remain ambiguous and controversial. In addressing the issue, this study draws upon the molecular orbital theory and proposes the active center competitive mechanism between Ni and Co. The doped F-atoms can directly impact the valence state of metal atoms or exert an indirect influence through the dehydrogenation, thereby modulating the active center. As the F-atoms are progressively aggregate, the eg orbitals of Ni and Co transition from e2 g to e1 g , and subsequently to e0 g . The corresponding valence state elevates from +2 to +3, and then to +4, signifying an initial increase followed by a subsequent decrease in the electrocatalytic performance. Furthermore, a series of F-NiCo LDH catalysts are synthesized to verify the eg orbital occupancy analysis, and the catalytic OER overpotentials are 303, 243, 240, and 246 mV at the current density of 10 mA cm-2 , respectively, which coincides well with the theoretical prediction. This investigation not only provides novel mechanistic insights into the transition and competition of Ni and Co in F-NiCo LDH catalysts but also establishes a foundation for the design of high-performance catalysts.

Calcitriol restrains microglial M1 polarization and alleviates dopaminergic degeneration in hemiparkinsonian mice by boosting regulatory T-cell expansion.

OBJECTIVE: Vitamin D deficiency is a risk factor for Parkinson's disease (PD) and vitamin D supplementation robustly alleviates neurodegeneration in PD models. However, the mechanisms underlying this effect require further clarification. Current evidence suggests that harnessing regulatory T cells (Treg) may mitigate neuronal degeneration. In this study, we investigated the therapeutic effects of vitamin D receptor activation by calcitriol on PD, specifically focusing on its role in Treg. METHODS: Hemiparkinsonian mice model was established through the injection of 6-OHDA into the striatum. Mice were pretreated with calcitriol before 6-OHDA injection. The motor performance, dopaminergic neuronal survival, contents of dopamine, and dopamine metabolites were evaluated. The pro-inflammatory cytokines levels, T-cell infiltration, mRNA expression of indicated microglial M1/M2 phenotypic markers, and microglial marker in the midbrain were detected. Populations of Treg in the splenic tissues were assessed using a flow cytometry assay. PC61 monoclonal antibody was applied to deplete Treg in vivo. RESULTS: We show that calcitriol supplementation notably improved motor performance and reduced dopaminergic degeneration in the 6-OHDA-induced PD model. Mechanistically, calcitriol promoted anti-inflammatory/neuroprotective Treg and inhibited pro-inflammatory/neurodestructive effector T-cell generation in this model. This process significantly inhibited T-cell infiltration in the midbrain, restrained microglial activation, microglial M1 polarization, and decreased pro-inflammatory cytokines release. This more favorable inflammatory microenvironment rescued dopaminergic degeneration. To further verify that the anti-inflammatory effects of calcitriol are associated with Treg expansion, we applied an antibody-mediated Treg depletion assay. As predicted, the anti-inflammatory effects of calcitriol in the PD model were diminished following Treg depletion. CONCLUSION: These findings suggest that calcitriol's anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective effects in PD are associated with its potential to boost Treg expansion.

Evaluation of the Expansion and Neuronal Differentiation Potency of Cultured Olfactory Epithelium Progenitor Cells from a Rat Model of Depression.

BACKGROUND: Olfactory impairment has been reported in patients with depression and in rodent models of depression. Olfactory epithelium (OE) is the only peripheral neural tissue connected to the brain that has the potential for self-renewal. We hypothesized the olfactory deficit during depression may be related to the dysfunction of OE progenitor cells. The aim of the present study was therefore to evaluate the expansion and neuronal differentiation potency of cultured OE progenitor cells obtained from a rat model of depression. METHODS: Rats were exposed to chronic unpredictable mild stress procedures to establish a depressive-like state. Depressive-like behavior and olfactory sensing function were then evaluated and compared with control rats. Primary OE progenitor cells were cultured in vitro. The proliferation potency and survival of OE progenitor cells were assessed by 5-Ethynyl-2'-deoxyuridine staining and Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK8), respectively, while cellular apoptosis was measured by flow cytometry. The neuronal differentiation potency of OE progenitor cells was evaluated by measurement of the protein and mRNA level of ß-3 tubulin, a marker of neural cells. mRNA expression associated with neural stemness was examined by quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). RESULTS: Depressive-like rats showed decreased olfactory function. OE progenitor cells from depressive-like rats showed reduced cell proliferation/survival and neuronal differentiation potency. Moreover, OE progenitor cells from depressive-like rats showed decreased expression of mRNA related to neural stemness. CONCLUSIONS: These results indicate the impaired function of OE progenitor cells may contribute to the olfactory deficit observed during depression. The OE may therefore provide a window for the study of depression.

Metabotropic Glutamate Receptor 8 Suppresses M1 Polarization in Microglia by Alleviating Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress and Mitochondrial Dysfunction.

BACKGROUND: Microglia-mediated neuroinflammation is a hallmark of neurodegeneration. Metabotropic glutamate receptor 8 (GRM8) has been reported to promote neuronal survival in neurodegenerative diseases, yet the effect of GRM8 on neuroinflammation is still unclear. Calcium overload-induced endoplasmic reticulum (ER)-mitochondrial miscommunication has been reported to trigger neuroinflammation in the brain. The aim of this study was to investigate putative anti-inflammatory effects of GRM8 in microglia, specifically focusing on its role in calcium overload-induced ER stress and mitochondrial dysfunction. METHODS: BV2 microglial cells were pretreated with GRM8 agonist prior to lipopolysaccharide administration. Pro-inflammatory cytokine levels and the microglial polarization state in BV2 cells were then quantified. Cellular apoptosis and the viability of neuron-like PC12 cells co-cultured with BV2 cells were examined using flow cytometry and a Cell Counting Kit-8, respectively. The concentration of cAMP, inositol-1,4,5-triphosphate receptor (IP3R)-dependent calcium release, ER Ca2+ concentration, mitochondrial function as reflected by reactive oxygen species levels, ATP production, mitochondrial membrane potential, expression of ER stress-sensing protein, and phosphorylation of the nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) p65 subunit were also quantified in BV2 cells. RESULTS: GRM8 activation inhibited pro-inflammatory cytokine release and shifted microglia polarization towards an anti-inflammatory-like phenotype in BV2 cells, as well as promoting neuron-like PC12 cell survival when co-cultured with BV2 cells. Mechanistically, microglial GRM8 activation significantly inhibited cAMP production, thereby desensitizing the IP3R located within the ER. This process markedly limited IP3R-dependent calcium release, thus restoring mitochondrial function while inhibiting ER stress and subsequently deactivating NF-κB signaling. CONCLUSIONS: Our results indicate that GRM8 activation can protect against microglia-mediated neuroinflammation by attenuating ER stress and mitochondrial dysfunction, and that IP3R-mediated calcium signaling may play a vital role in this process. GRM8 may thus be a potential target for limiting neuroinflammation.

Prognostic value and gene regulatory network of CMSS1 in hepatocellular carcinoma.

BACKGROUND: Cms1 ribosomal small subunit homolog (CMSS1) is an RNA-binding protein that may play an important role in tumorigenesis and development. OBJECTIVE: RNA-seq data from the GEPIA database and the UALCAN database were used to analyze the expression of CMSS1 in liver hepatocellular carcinoma (LIHC) and its relationship with the clinicopathological features of the patients. METHODS: LinkedOmics was used to identify genes associated with CMSS1 expression and to identify miRNAs and transcription factors significantly associated with CMSS1 by GSEA. RESULTS: The expression level of CMSS1 in hepatocellular carcinoma tissues was significantly higher than that in normal tissues. In addition, the expression level of CMSS1 in advanced tumors was significantly higher than that in early tumors. The expression level of CMSS1 was higher in TP53-mutated tumors than in non-TP53-mutated tumors. CMSS1 expression levels were strongly correlated with disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) in patients with LIHC, and high CMSS1 expression predicted poorer OS (P< 0.01) and DFS (P< 0.01). Meanwhile, our results suggested that CMSS1 is associated with the composition of the immune microenvironment of LIHC. CONCLUSIONS: The present study suggests that CMSS1 is a potential molecular marker for the diagnosis and prognostic of LIHC.

Exploring the Depth-Dependent Microviscosity inside a Micelle Using Butterfly-Motion-Based Fluorescent Probes.

The viscosity distribution of micellar interiors from the very center to the outer surface is dramatically varied, which has been distinguished in theoretical models, yet it remains highly challenging to quantify this issue experimentally. Herein, a series of fluorophore-substituted surfactants DPAC-Fn (n = 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, and 15) are developed by functionalizing the different alkyl-trimethylammonium bromides with the butterfly motion-based viscosity sensor, N,N'-diphenyl-dihydrodibenzo[a,c]phenazine (DPAC). The immersion depth of DPAC units of DPAC-Fn in cetrimonium bromide (C16TAB) micelles depends on the alkyl chain lengths n. From deep (n = 15) to shallow (n = 3), DPAC-Fn in C16TAB micelles exhibits efficient viscosity-sensitive dynamic multicolor emissions. With external standards for quantification, the viscosity distribution inside a C16TAB micelle with the size of ∼4 nm is changed seriously from high viscosity (∼190 Pa s) in the core center to low viscosity (∼1 Pa s) near the outer surface. This work provides a tailored approach for powerful micelle tools to explore the depth-dependent microviscosity of micellar interiors.

Direct OC-CHO coupling towards highly C2+ products selective electroreduction over stable Cu0/Cu2+ interface.

Electroreduction of CO2 to valuable multicarbon (C2+) products is a highly attractive way to utilize and divert emitted CO2. However, a major fraction of C2+ selectivity is confined to less than 90% by the difficulty of coupling C-C bonds efficiently. Herein, we identify the stable Cu0/Cu2+ interfaces derived from copper phosphate-based (CuPO) electrocatalysts, which can facilitate C2+ production with a low-energy pathway of OC-CHO coupling verified by in situ spectra studies and theoretical calculations. The CuPO precatalyst shows a high Faradaic efficiency (FE) of 69.7% towards C2H4 in an H-cell, and exhibits a significant FEC2+ of 90.9% under industrially relevant current density (j = -350 mA cm-2) in a flow cell configuration. The stable Cu0/Cu2+ interface breaks new ground for the structural design of electrocatalysts and the construction of synergistic active sites to improve the activity and selectivity of valuable C2+ products.

Prognostic significance of the systemic inflammation response index in gastrointestinal malignancy patients: a pooled analysis of 10,091 participants.

Background: We performed a meta-analysis to investigate the association of the systemic inflammation response index (SIRI) with long-term survival outcomes in patients with gastrointestinal malignancy. Methods: PubMed, Web of Science and Embase were searched for relevant studies evaluating the prognostic significance of the SIRI in gastrointestinal malignancies until May 2023. Results: 30 studies with 10,091 patients were included. The pooled results identified that patients in the high SIRI group had a worse overall survival and disease-free survival, which was observed across various tumor types, tumor stages and primary treatments. Conclusion: An elevated SIRI is negatively associated with worse survival outcomes of gastrointestinal malignancy patients and can be used as a risk stratification index for gastrointestinal malignancies.

Dynamic monitoring of self-assembly by confining conformational changes of butterfly-motion-based molecules.

A simple dynamic monitoring strategy for chiral self-assembly is achieved by confining the bent-to-planar evolution observed in N,N'-diphenyl-dihydrodibenzo[a,c]phenazine derivatives (DPAC-R/S-GLD). Besides, this approach provides a facile pathway to fabricate architectures with circularly polarized luminescence (CPL) properties.

Reductive Competition Effect-Derived Solid Electrolyte Interphase with Evenly Scattered Inorganics Enabling Ultrahigh Rate and Long-Life Span Sodium Metal Batteries.

Constructing an inorganic-rich and robust solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) is one of the crucial approaches to improving the electrochemical performance of sodium metal batteries (SMBs). However, the low conductivity and distribution of common inorganics in SEI disturb Na+ diffusion and induce nonuniform sodium deposition. Here, we construct a unique SEI with evenly scattered high-conductivity inorganics by introducing a self-sacrifice LiTFSI into the sodium salt-base carbonate electrolyte. The reductive competition effect between LiTFSI and FEC facilitates the formation of the SEI with evenly scattered inorganics. In which the high-conductive Li3N and inorganics provide fast ions transport domains and high-flux nucleation sites for Na+, thus conducive to rapid sodium deposition at a high rate. Therefore, the SEI derived from LiTFSI and FEC enables the Na∥Na3V2(PO4)3 cell to show 89.15% capacity retention (87.62 mA h g-1) at an ultrahigh rate of 60 C after 10,000 cycles, while the cell without LiTFSI delivers only 48.44% capacity retention even after 8000 cycles. Moreover, the Na∥Na3V2(PO4)3 pouch cell with the special SEI presents a stable capacity retention of 92.05% at 10 C after 2000 cycles. This unique SEI design elucidates a new strategy to propel SMBs to operate under extreme high-rate conditions.

A dynamic multi-objective optimization method based on classification strategies.

The dynamic multi-objective optimization problem is a common problem in real life, which is characterized by conflicting objectives, the Pareto frontier (PF) and Pareto solution set (PS) will follow the changing environment. There are various dynamic multi-objective algorithms have been suggested to solve such problems, but most of the methods suffer from the inability to balance the diversity of populations with convergence. Prediction based method is a common approach to solve dynamic multi-objective optimization problems, but such methods only search for probabilistic models of optimal values of decision variables and do not consider whether the decision variables are related to diversity and convergence. Consequently, we present a prediction method based on the classification of decision variables for dynamic multi-objective optimization (DVC), where the decision variables are first pre-classified in the static phase, and then new variables are adjusted and predicted to adapt to the environmental changes. Compared with other advanced prediction strategies, dynamic multi-objective prediction methods based on classification of decision variables are more capable of balancing population diversity and convergence. The experimental results show that the proposed algorithm DVC can effectively handle DMOPs.

Effective utilization of attentional resources in postural control in athletes of skill-oriented sports: an event-related potential study.

Objective: Postural control plays a key role in skill-oriented sports. Athletes of skill-oriented sports (hereinafter referred to as "skilled athletes") usually showed better control ability compared with non-athletes. However, research focused on the single postural task, rarely considering the actual situation in skill-oriented sports in which other processes, such as cognitive control, frequently accompany postural control. This study aims to explore how skilled athletes control their posture under the dual-task situation and use limited attentional resources. Method: A total of 26 skilled athletes and 26 non-athletes were required to perform the postural control and N-back tasks simultaneously. Center of pressure (COP) trajectory, reaction times (RTs), and discriminability (d') of N-back tasks were recorded and evaluated, along with event-related potentials, including N1 (Oz, PO7, and PO8), P2 (Fz, FCz, Cz, and Pz) components, and the spectral power of alpha band. Results: Skilled athletes demonstrated more postural control stability and a higher d' than non-athletes in all dual tasks. Besides, they showed enhanced N1, P2 amplitudes and reduced alpha band power during dual-tasking. Notably, in skilled athletes, a significant negative correlation between N1 amplitude and d' was observed, while significant positive correlations between alpha band power and postural control performance were also identified. Conclusion: This study investigates the potential advantages of skilled athletes in postural control from the view of neuroscience. Compared to non-athletes, skilled athletes could decrease the consumption of attentional resources in postural control and recruit more attentional resources in stimulus discrimination and evaluation in cognitive tasks. Since the allocation of attentional resources plays a crucial part in postural control in skilled athletes, optimizing the postural control training program and the selection of skilled athletes from a dual-task perspective is important.

Characteristics and molecular mechanism of drug-tolerant cells in cancer: a review.

Drug resistance in tumours has seriously hindered the therapeutic effect. Tumour drug resistance is divided into primary resistance and acquired resistance, and the recent study has found that a significant proportion of cancer cells can acquire stable drug resistance from scratch. This group of cells first enters the drug tolerance state (DT state) under drug pressure, and gradually acquires stable drug resistance through adaptive mutations in this state. Although the specific mechanisms underlying the formation of drug tolerant cells (DTCs) remain unclear, various proteins and signalling pathways have been identified as being involved in the formation of DTCs. In the current review, we summarize the characteristics, molecular mechanisms and therapeutic strategies of DTCs in detail.