A multidimensional comparative study of help-seeking messages on Weibo under different stages of COVID-19 pandemic in China.

Objective: During the COVID-19 pandemic, people posted help-seeking messages on Weibo, a mainstream social media in China, to solve practical problems. As viruses, policies, and perceptions have all changed, help-seeking behavior on Weibo has been shown to evolve in this paper. Methods: We compare and analyze the help-seeking messages from three dimensions: content categories, time distribution, and retweeting influencing factors. First, we crawled the help-seeking messages from Weibo, and successively used CNN and xlm-roberta-large models for text classification to analyze the changes of help-seeking messages in different stages from the content categories dimension. Subsequently, we studied the time distribution of help-seeking messages and calculated the time lag using TLCC algorithm. Finally, we analyze the changes of the retweeting influencing factors of help-seeking messages in different stages by negative binomial regression. Results: (1) Help-seekers in different periods have different emphasis on content. (2) There is a significant correlation between new daily help-seeking messages and new confirmed cases in the middle stage (1/1/2022-5/20/2022), with a 16-day time lag, but there is no correlation in the latter stage (12/10/2022-2/25/2023). (3) In all the periods, pictures or videos, and the length of the text have a significant positive effect on the number of retweets of help-seeking messages, but other factors do not have exactly the same effect on the retweeting volume. Conclusion: This paper demonstrates the evolution of help-seeking messages during different stages of the COVID-19 pandemic in three dimensions: content categories, time distribution, and retweeting influencing factors, which are worthy of reference for decision-makers and help-seekers, as well as provide thinking for subsequent studies.

Geobacter sulfurreducens promoted the biosynthesis of reduced graphene oxide and coupled it for nitrobenzene reduction.

In order to explore an efficient and green method to deal with nitrobenzene (NB) pollutant, reduced graphene oxide (rGO) as an electron shuttle was applied to enhance the extracellular electron transfer (EET) process of Geobacter sulfurreducens, which was a typical electrochemically active bacteria (EAB). In this study, rGO biosynthesis was achieved via the reduction of graphene oxide (GO) by G. sulfurreducens PCA within 3 days. Also, the rGO-PCA combining system completely reduced 50-200 µmol/L of NB to aniline as end product within one day. SEM characterization revealed that PCA cells were partly wrapped by rGO, and therefore the distance of electron transfer between strain PCA and rGO material was reduced. Beside, the ID/IG of GO, rGO, and rGO-PCA combining system were 0.990, 1.293 and 1.31, respectively. Moreover, highest currents were observed in rGO-PCA-NB as 12.950 µA/-12.560 µA at -408 mV/156 mV, attributing to the faster electron transfer efficiency in EET process. Therefore, the NB reduction was mainly due to: (I) direct EET process from G. sulfurreducens PCA to NB; (II) rGO served as electron shuttle and accelerated electron transfer to NB, which was the main degradation pathway. Overall, the biosynthesis of rGO via GO reduction by Geobacter promoted the NB removal process, which provided a facile strategy to alleviate the problematic nitroaromatic pollution in the environment.

Intensifying single-stage denitrogen by a dissolved oxygen-differentiated airlift internal circulation reactor under organic matter stress: Nitrogen removal pathways and microbial interactions.

Current research focuses on efficient single-stage nitrogen removal from organic matter wastewater using the partial nitritation-anammox (PNA) process. In this study, we constructed a single-stage partial nitritation-anammox and denitrification (SPNAD) system using a dissolved oxygen-differentiated airlift internal circulation reactor. The system was operated continuously for 364 days at 250 mg/L NH4+-N. During the operation, the COD/NH4+-N ratio (C/N) was increased from 0.5 to 4 (0.5, 1, 2, 3, and 4), and the aeration rate (AR) gradually increased. The results showed that the SPNAD system maintained efficient and stable operation at C/N = 1-2 and AR = 1.4-1.6 L/min, with an average total nitrogen removal efficiency of 87.2%. The removal pathways of pollutants in the system and the interactions between microbes were revealed by analyzing the changes in sludge characteristics and microbial community structure at different phases. As the influent C/N increased, the relative abundance of Nitrosomonas and Candidatus Brocadia decreased, and that of denitrifying bacteria, such as Denitratisoma, increased to 44%. The nitrogen removal pathway of the system gradually changed from autotrophic nitrogen removal to nitrification-denitrification. At the optimum C/N, the SPNAD system synergistically removed nitrogen through PNA and nitrification-denitrification. Overall, the unique reactor configuration facilitated the formation of dissolved oxygen compartments, providing a suitable environment for different microbes. An appropriate organic matter concentration maintained the dynamic stability of microbial growth and interactions. These enhance microbial synergy and enable efficient single-stage nitrogen removal.

Swept-source optical coherence tomography and ultrasound biomicroscopy study of anterior segment parameters in primary angle-closure glaucoma.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the agreement between swept-source OCT (CASIA2) and UBM in primary angle-closure glaucoma. METHODS: Eighty eyes of 40 participants diagnosed with primary angle-closure glaucoma were examined. Parameters measured included angle opening distance (AOD), angle recess area (ARA), trabecular iris space area (TISA), trabecular iris angle (TIA), lens vault (LV), anterior chamber depth (ACD), and anterior chamber width (ACW). Angle images of nasal, temporal, superior, and inferior were acquired by the anterior segment mode of CASIA2 and UBM. One-way analysis of variance and paired t-test were used for statistical analysis, and the agreement was analyzed by internal correlation coefficient (ICC) and Bland-Altman method. RESULTS: One-way ANOVA pairwise comparison showed that CASIA2 or UBM had the narrowest superior chamber angle and the widest temporal chamber angle in patients with primary angle-closure glaucoma. The paired t-test showed that inter-device AOD, TIA, ARA, and TISA of superior chamber angle had significant differences (p < 0.001). There was no significant difference in the measured values of LV, ACD, and ACW (p > 0.05). The agreement of all parameters is good through the Bland-Altman method comparison. ICC result showed moderate agreement in other angle parameters except for superior ARA500 (0.739). CONCLUSION: In the anterior chamber angle measurement process, we should pay more attention to the superior chamber angle covered by eyelids. Although the agreement is acceptable between CASIA2 and UBM, the measurements could not be considered interchangeable due to the tremendous statistical difference between the two devices.

Investigation on the Removal Performances of Heavy Metal Copper (II) Ions from Aqueous Solutions Using Hydrate-Based Method.

Since heavy metal ion-contaminated water pollutionis becoming a serious threat to human and aquatic lives, new methods for highly efficient removal of heavy metal ions from wastewater are important to tackle environmental problems and sustainable development. In this work, we investigate the removal performances of heavy metal copper (II) ions from aqueous solutions using a gas hydrate-based method. Efficient removal of heavy metal copper (II) ions from wastewater via a methane hydrate process was demonstrated. The influence of the temperature, hydration time, copper (II) ions concentration, and stirring rate on the removal of heavy metal copper (II) ions were evaluated. The results suggested that a maximum of 75.8% copper (II) ions were removed from aqueous solution and obtained melted water with 70.6% yield with a temperature of -2 °C, stirring speed 800 r/min, and hydration time of 4 h with aninitial copper concentration of 100 mg/L. The initial concentration of copper (II) ions in the aqueous solution could be increased to between 100 and 500 mg/L. Meanwhile, our study also indicated that 65.6% copper (II) ions were removed from aqueous solution and the yield of melted water with 56.7%, even with the initial copper concentration of 500 mg/L. This research work demonstrates great potential for general applicability to heavy metal ion-contaminated wastewater treatment and provides a reference for the application of the gas hydrate method in separation.

Correlation between health literacy and life quality in elderly patients with chronic periodontitis.

OBJECTIVES: This study aims to explore the status quo of health literacy and quality of life in elderly patients with chronic periodontitis and determine their correlation to understand the influencing factors of health literacy and quality of life. METHODS: A total of 150 elderly patients with chronic periodontitis were investigated using the general information questionnaire, Oral Health Literacy-Adult Questionnaire, and Oral Health Impact Profile for Chronic Periodontitis. RESULTS: The total scores of health literacy and quality of life of elderly patients with chronic periodontitis were 6.59±4.11 and 29.25±9.42, respectively. The total score of health literacy was negatively correlated with the total score of quality of life (r=-0.234, P<0.01). Regression analysis showed that age, place of residence, education level, and disease understanding were the influencing factors of health literacy. Family history, smoking, and education level were the influencing factors of quality of life. CONCLUSIONS: The health literacy level of elderly patients with chronic periodontitis is insufficient, and their quality of life needs to be improved. Improving the health literacy of patients is an effective way to improve their quality of life. Nursing staff must formulate corresponding health education strategies to improve the health literacy of patients and improve their quality of life.

A comparison of IOLMaster 500 and IOLMaster 700 in the measurement of ocular biometric parameters in cataract patients.

To compare the agreement of ocular biometric parameters measured by IOLMaster 500 and IOLMaster 700. This is a prospective study. IOLMaster 500 and IOLMaster 700 were used to measure the axial eye length (AL), corneal flat keratometry (Kf), corneal steep keratometry (Ks), mean keratometry (Km), corneal astigmatism(CA), J0, J45, anterior chamber depth (ACD) and corneal horizontal diameter (white-to-white distance, WTW) of 518 eyes (392 patients) with cataracts. Patients were enrolled unilaterally. Subgroup analyses were done according to the AL and Km. The intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) and Bland-Altman analysis were used to evaluate the agreement. A total of 275 eyes were analyzed. The 95% confidence interval of ICC of the mean AL, Ks, Kf, Km, J0, and ACD values measured by the two instruments are indicative of excellent reliability (P < 0.001). The measurement results of WTW show good reliability (P < 0.001). The ICC of CA is of good reliability in CA < 0.5 D group (P = 0.000) and moderate reliability in the other two groups (P = 0.000). The WTW is the widest range among 95% consistency of the limit range measured by the two instruments. The results of IOLMaster 500 and IOLMaster 700 in measuring AL, keratometry, and ACD in cataract patients are of high agreement.

Design, synthesis, and biological evaluation of dinuclear bismuth(III) complexes with Isoniazid-derived Schiff bases.

Four dinuclear bismuth(III) Schiff-base complexes bearing Schiff-base ligands have been synthesized and structurally characterized by single-crystal X-ray diffraction, elemental analysis, and spectral techniques (FT-IR, NMR and MS). The analytical data reveal the bismuth(III) complexes possess 1:1 metal-ligand ratios. In vitro biological studies have revealed that bismuth(III) complexes displayed much higher antibacterial and antitumor activities than their parent ligands, which involves two gram-negative (S. aureus, B. subtili) and two gram-positive (E. coli, P. aeruginosa) bacteria, and human gastric cancer SNU-16 cells. The power-time curves of S. pombe exposed to tested compounds were detected by bio-microcalorimetry. Some thermokinetic parameters (k, Pmax,tG and Qtotal) were derived based on the metabolic power-time curves, and their quantitative relationships with the concentrations (c) were further discussed.

Advances of Synthesis Methods for Porous Silicon-Based Anode Materials.

Silicon (Si)-based anode materials have been the promising candidates to replace commercial graphite, however, there are challenges in the practical applications of Si-based anode materials, including large volume expansion during Li+ insertion/deinsertion and low intrinsic conductivity. To address these problems existed for applications, nanostructured silicon materials, especially Si-based materials with three-dimensional (3D) porous structures have received extensive attention due to their unique advantages in accommodating volume expansion, transportation of lithium-ions, and convenient processing. In this review, we mainly summarize different synthesis methods of porous Si-based materials, including template-etching methods and self-assembly methods. Analysis of the strengths and shortages of the different methods is also provided. The morphology evolution and electrochemical effects of the porous structures on Si-based anodes of different methods are highlighted.

Progress of Binder Structures in Silicon-Based Anodes for Advanced Lithium-Ion Batteries: A Mini Review.

Silicon (Si) has been counted as the most promising anode material for next-generation lithium-ion batteries, owing to its high theoretical specific capacity, safety, and high natural abundance. However, the commercial application of silicon anodes is hindered by its huge volume expansions, poor conductivity, and low coulombic efficiency. For the anode manufacture, binders play an important role of binding silicon materials, current collectors, and conductive agents, and the binder structure can significantly affect the mechanical durability, adhesion, ionic/electronic conductivities, and solid electrolyte interface (SEI) stability of the silicon anodes. Moreover, many cross-linked binders are effective in alleviating the volume expansions of silicon nanosized even microsized anodic materials along with maintaining the anode integrity and stable electrochemical performances. This mini review comprehensively summarizes various binders based on their structures, including the linear, branched, three-dimensional (3D) cross-linked, conductive polymer, and other hybrid binders. The mechanisms how various binder structures influence the performances of the silicon anodes, the limitations, and prospects of different hybrid binders are also discussed. This mini review can help in designing hybrid polymer binders and facilitating the practical application of silicon-based anodes with high electrochemical activity and long-term stability.

Effect of prealbumin level on mortality in heatstroke patients.

This study investigated whether serum prealbumin level is associated with mortality in heatstroke patients. A retrospective study of 102 heatstroke patients admitted to the ICU in the Affiliated Changzhou No. 2 People's Hospital of Nanjing Medical University from June 2010 to November 2017 was performed they were divided into normal serum prealbumin group (n=79) and low prealbumin group (n=23) according to the difference in PA expression. The clinical data, laboratory inspection data, invasive positive pressure ventilation (IPPV), co-infection, shock and length of ICU stay during the ICU were compared between the two groups of patients. The study endpoints, deaths at admission, were recorded, and the survival curve plotted. Cox regression analysis was performed based on the clinical data of patients, and ROC curve plotted based on Cox multivariate independent prognostic indicators. There were significant differences in clinical variables PLT, ALT, AST, TBIL, ALB, TCH, LDH, TNI, BNP, creatinine, PT, APTT, FBG and D-dimer (P<0.05). The incidence of infection, shock and IPPV was significantly lower in normal serum prealbumin group of patients than those in low prealbumin group (P<0.05). There was a statistically significant difference in short-term survival rate between the groups of patients (χ2=29.101, P<0.001). Prognostic factors for heatstroke patients were IPPV, heart rate, WBC count, PLT count, ALB, PA, TBIL, LDH, CPK, Cr, PCT, PT, APTT, D-dimer, co-infection and shock at admission. Independent prognostic-related factors for heatstroke patients were IPPV, PA level, PLT level, ALB level, CPK level and PT level. When prealbumin <17.95 mg/dl was used as the death threshold for predicting at 28 days, the sensitivity was 77.8%, and the specificity was 85.7%. Significantly associated with the prognosis of heatstroke patients, prealbumin level can be used as an important predictive indicator of the disease progression and worse clinical outcomes.

[Predictive value of dynamic serum phosphorus levels in the prognosis of patients with sepsis].

OBJECTIVE: To explore the predictive value of dynamic serum phosphorus levels in the evaluation of prognosis in patients with sepsis. METHODS: A retrospective study was conducted. The septic patients admitted to intensive care unit (ICU) of the Second People's Hospital of Changzhou from January 2016 to June 2017 were enrolled, who were ≥18 years old and whose length of ICU stay > 72 hours. These patients were divided into survival group and death group according to 28-day outcome. The general information, the acute physiology and chronic health evaluation II (APACHE II) score within 24 hours of ICU admission, the serum phosphorus at 1, 3, 5, 7 days after admission were collected. Receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) was plotted according to the dynamic serum phosphorus levels and APACHE II score for evaluating the predictive value of 28-day prognosis. Kaplan-Meier survival curve was used to analyze the 28-day cumulative survival rate between two groups of patients, who were divided according to the corresponding time of the serum phosphorus cut-off value. RESULTS: (1) Eighty-five patients with sepsis were enrolled, among whom 25 cases were in the death group and the mortality was 29.4%. APACHE II score in the death group was significantly higher than that in the survival group (22.28±3.98 vs. 16.05±5.44, P < 0.01), the rate of using vasoactive drugs was significantly higher than that in the survival group [64.0% (16/25) vs. 31.7% (19/60), P < 0.01], but there was no significant difference in the length of invasive mechanical ventilation and ICU stay between two groups. (2) The level of serum phosphorus was increased in survival group along with time of the treatment, and the death group showed a downward trend. The levels of serum phosphorus at 3, 5, 7 days after admission to ICU in death group were significantly lower than those in survival group (mmol/L: 0.90±0.24 vs. 1.05±0.19 at 3 days, 0.96±0.16 vs. 1.11±0.17 at 5 days, 0.83±0.19 vs. 1.21±0.14 at 7 days, all P < 0.01).(3) ROC curve analysis showed that APACHE II score and serum phosphorus level on the 7th day could significantly predict 28-day mortality in patients with sepsis, and the areas under ROC curve (AUC) of them were 0.813 and 0.945 respectively (both P < 0.01). The AUC of serum phosphorus level on the 3rd day and 5th day were 0.692 and 0.745 respectively (both P < 0.01). Based on serum phosphorus cut-off value 1.01 mmol/L on the 7th day to evaluate the predictive value of 28-day mortality, the sensitivity was 91.7%, the specificity was 84.0%, the positive and negative likelihood ratios were 5.73 and 0.10 respectively. (4) Kaplan-Meier survival analysis showed that the 28-day survival rate was significantly higher and the length of survival was significantly longer if the serum phosphorus were higher than the cut-off value at different time points of ICU admission. The 28-day survival rate was significantly higher and the length of survival was significantly longer in the patients with serum phosphorus > 1.01 mmol/L than those serum phosphorus ≤ 1.01 mmol/L on the 7th day [28-day survival rate: 93.2% (55/59) vs. 22.7% (5/22), χ 2 = 49.697, P = 0.000; survival period (days): 27.1±3.6 vs. 19.8±7.8, t = 4.768, P = 0.000]. CONCLUSIONS: The continuous decline of serum phosphorus indicates poor prognosis, and the serum phosphorus level on the 7th day is one of the most important indicator to evaluate the prognosis of patients with sepsis.

Synthesis, crystal structure and spectroscopic studies of bismuth(III) complex with 2-substituted benzimidazole ligands.

Reaction of BiCl3 with 2-(2-hydroxy-3-methoxyphenyl)benzimidazole (HL) in tetrahydrofuran (THF) under reflux gave mononuclear complex of formula [Bi(HL)2Cl3·H2O]. The binding interaction of the complex with bovine serum albumin (BSA) was investigated using the fluorescence quenching method. The experimental results showed that the complex could bind to BSA in the proportion of about 1:1. The binding reaction was spontaneous and hydrophobic force played major role in the reaction. The binding of the complex to BSA could change the microenvironment and conformation of BSA.

Population sizes and group characteristics of Siberian Crane (Leuco-geranus leucogeranus) and Hooded Crane (Grus monacha) in Poyang Lake Wetland.

Both the Siberian Crane (Leucogeranus leucogeranus) and Hooded Crane (Grus monacha) have limited population sizes and are considered endangered by domestic Chinese and international agencies. To document the current size of their respective populations and characterize their groups, between October 2012 and April 2013 we undertook fieldwork at four nature reserve areas within the Poyang Lake wetlands. We divided Poyanghu National Nature Reserve (PYH) into the Wucheng (PWC) and Hengfeng areas (PHF), because each are each located in different counties. Our fieldwork showed that the Siberian Crane occurred mainly in PYH (364 in the PHF, 158 in the PWC) and the Nanjishan Wetland National Nature Reserve (NJS, with 200 individuals). The Hooded Crane was mainly distributed in PYH (302 in the PHF and 154 in the PWC). Family groups accounted for more than 50% of the total number of groups among both species, with Hooded Cranes forming more family groups than Siberian Cranes. Typically, these groups were formed of two adults with one offspring (Siberian Crane), and two adults with two offspring (Hooded Crane), with the mean family group size of the Siberian Crane and Hooded Crane being respectively 2.65 ± 0.53 (n=43) and 3.09 ± 0.86 (n=47) individuals per group. The mean collective group size of the Siberian Crane and Hooded Crane included 28.09 ± 24.94 (n=23) and 28.94 ± 27.97 (n=16) individuals per group, respectively, with the proportion of juveniles among Hooded Cranes being more than double that seen among the Siberian Cranes.

Synthesis of nordihydroguaiaretic acid derivatives and their bioactivities on S. pombe and K562 cell lines.

Nordihydroguaiaretic acid (NDGA) and its synthetic analogues are potentially useful in treating diseases related to cancers, diabetes, viral and bacterial infections, and inflammation. In this paper, we report the optimal synthetic methods and the bioactivity study of terameprocol 2, NDGA derivative 3, and its cyclized analogue 4. The IC50 of these three compounds 2, 3 and 4 on the growth metabolism of Schizosacchromyces pombe and K562 cell lines were determined by microcalorimetry. The preliminary results showed that the compounds 2, 3 and 4 possessed good inhibition activities on S. pombe and K562 cell lines, and exhibited bidirectional biological effect and Hormesis effect. In particular, terameprocol 2 was found to possess the most potent inhibitory effect on K562 cell lines.

[Control of residual humic acid and residual aluminium in water with enhanced coagulation].

Control of residual humic acid and residual aluminium in water with enhanced coagulation was investigated. The influence of various factors on the coagulation was studied, in order to reach the maximum humic acid removal and the minimum aluminium residue simultaneously. Results showed that residual humic acid was controlled below 0.04 cm(-1) and residual aluminium kept at about 0.1 mg/L in water with pH value between 6 and 6.5, the AlCl3 dosage of 0.5 x 10(-3) mol/L, under the temperature of 20 degrees C. Addition 0.01 mol/L of CaCl2 could improve the enhanced coagulation effect. Because the suspended granule concentration changes with seasons, the influence of the kaoline dosage on the humic acid removal process was studied.