Regional structural abnormalities in thalamus in idiopathic cervical dystonia.

BACKGROUND: The thalamus has a central role in the pathophysiology of idiopathic cervical dystonia (iCD); however, the nature of alterations occurring within this structure remain largely elusive. Using a structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) approach, we examined whether abnormalities differ across thalamic subregions/nuclei in patients with iCD. METHODS: Structural MRI data were collected from 37 patients with iCD and 37 healthy controls (HCs). Automatic parcellation of 25 thalamic nuclei in each hemisphere was performed based on the FreeSurfer program. Differences in thalamic nuclei volumes between groups and their relationships with clinical information were analysed in patients with iCD. RESULTS: Compared to HCs, a significant reduction in thalamic nuclei volume primarily in central medial, centromedian, lateral geniculate, medial geniculate, medial ventral, paracentral, parafascicular, paratenial, and ventromedial nuclei was found in patients with iCD (P < 0.05, false discovery rate corrected). However, no statistically significant correlations were observed between altered thalamic nuclei volumes and clinical characteristics in iCD group. CONCLUSION: This study highlights the neurobiological mechanisms of iCD related to thalamic volume changes.

Topological alterations in white matter anatomical networks in cervical dystonia.

BACKGROUND: Accumulating neuroimaging evidence indicates that patients with cervical dystonia (CD) have changes in the cortico-subcortical white matter (WM) bundle. However, whether these patients' WM structural networks undergo reorganization remains largely unclear. We aimed to investigate topological changes in large-scale WM structural networks in patients with CD compared to healthy controls (HCs), and explore the network changes associated with clinical manifestations. METHODS: Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) was conducted in 30 patients with CD and 30 HCs, and WM network construction was based on the BNA-246 atlas and deterministic tractography. Based on the graph theoretical analysis, global and local topological properties were calculated and compared between patients with CD and HCs. Then, the AAL-90 atlas was used for the reproducibility analyses. In addition, the relationship between abnormal topological properties and clinical characteristics was analyzed. RESULTS: Compared with HCs, patients with CD showed changes in network segregation and resilience, characterized by increased local efficiency and assortativity, respectively. In addition, a significant decrease of network strength was also found in patients with CD relative to HCs. Validation analyses using the AAL-90 atlas similarly showed increased assortativity and network strength in patients with CD. No significant correlations were found between altered network properties and clinical characteristics in patients with CD. CONCLUSION: Our findings show that reorganization of the large-scale WM structural network exists in patients with CD. However, this reorganization is attributed to dystonia-specific abnormalities or hyperkinetic movements that need further identification.

Progressive thalamic nuclear atrophy in blepharospasm and blepharospasm-oromandibular dystonia.

The thalamus is considered a key region in the neuromechanisms of blepharospasm. However, previous studies considered it as a single, homogeneous structure, disregarding potentially useful information about distinct thalamic nuclei. Herein, we aimed to examine (i) whether grey matter volume differs across thalamic subregions/nuclei in patients with blepharospasm and blepharospasm-oromandibular dystonia; (ii) causal relationships among abnormal thalamic nuclei; and (iii) whether these abnormal features can be used as neuroimaging biomarkers to distinguish patients with blepharospasm from blepharospasm-oromandibular dystonia and those with dystonia from healthy controls. Structural MRI data were collected from 56 patients with blepharospasm, 20 with blepharospasm-oromandibular dystonia and 58 healthy controls. Differences in thalamic nuclei volumes between groups and their relationships to clinical information were analysed in patients with dystonia. Granger causality analysis was employed to explore the causal effects among abnormal thalamic nuclei. Support vector machines were used to test whether these abnormal features could distinguish patients with different forms of dystonia and those with dystonia from healthy controls. Compared with healthy controls, patients with blepharospasm exhibited reduced grey matter volume in the lateral geniculate and pulvinar inferior nuclei, whereas those with blepharospasm-oromandibular dystonia showed decreased grey matter volume in the ventral anterior and ventral lateral anterior nuclei. Atrophy in the pulvinar inferior nucleus in blepharospasm patients and in the ventral lateral anterior nucleus in blepharospasm-oromandibular dystonia patients was negatively correlated with clinical severity and disease duration, respectively. The proposed machine learning scheme yielded a high accuracy in distinguishing blepharospasm patients from healthy controls (accuracy: 0.89), blepharospasm-oromandibular dystonia patients from healthy controls (accuracy: 0.82) and blepharospasm from blepharospasm-oromandibular dystonia patients (accuracy: 0.94). Most importantly, Granger causality analysis revealed that a progressive driving pathway from pulvinar inferior nuclear atrophy extends to lateral geniculate nuclear atrophy and then to ventral lateral anterior nuclear atrophy with increasing clinical severity in patients with blepharospasm. These findings suggest that the pulvinar inferior nucleus in the thalamus is the focal origin of blepharospasm, extending to pulvinar inferior nuclear atrophy and subsequently extending to the ventral lateral anterior nucleus causing involuntary lower facial and masticatory movements known as blepharospasm-oromandibular dystonia. Moreover, our results also provide potential targets for neuromodulation especially deep brain stimulation in patients with blepharospasm and blepharospasm-oromandibular dystonia.

Abnormal supplementary motor areas are associated with idiopathic and acquired blepharospasm.

Blepharospasm is a common form of focal dystonia characterized by excessive and involuntary spasms of the orbicularis oculi. In addition to idiopathic blepharospasm, lesions in various brain regions can also cause acquired blepharospasm. Whether these two types of blepharospasm share a common brain network remains largely unknown. Herein, we performed lesion coactivation network mapping, based on meta-analytic connectivity modeling, to test whether lesions causing blepharospasm could be mapped to a common coactivation brain network. We then tested the abnormality of the network in patients with idiopathic blepharospasm (n = 42) compared with healthy controls (n = 44). We identified 21 cases of lesion-induced blepharospasms through a systematic literature search. Although these lesions were heterogeneous, they were part of a co-activated brain network that mainly included the bilateral supplementary motor areas. Coactivation of these regions defines a single brain network that encompasses or is adjacent to most heterogeneous lesions causing blepharospasm. Moreover, the bilateral supplementary motor area is primarily associated with action execution, visual motion, and imagination, and participates in finger tapping and saccades. They also reported decreased functional connectivity with the left posterior cingulate cortex in patients with idiopathic blepharospasm. These results demonstrate a common convergent abnormality of the supplementary motor area across idiopathic and acquired blepharospasms, providing additional evidence that the supplementary motor area is an important brain region that is pathologically impaired in patients with blepharospasm.

Longitudinal Associations Between Reactive and Proactive Aggression and Depression in Early Adolescence: Between- and Within-Person Effects.

Depressive symptoms and aggression often co-occur, and previous studies have found different bidirectional links between depressive symptoms and aggression, suggesting inconsistent developmental cascades. Moreover, it is unclear whether different functions of aggression are differentially associated with depressive symptoms over time. The present study examined the longitudinal associations of reactive and proactive aggression with depressive symptoms in early adolescence. Adolescents (n = 942, 50.7% girls; mean age = 12.54 years, SD = 0.42) were surveyed annually over three years (2019-2021). Random-intercept cross-lagged panel models were used to disentangle between- and within-person effects. The results showed moderate between-person associations of depressive symptoms with the two aggressive functions. And depressive symptoms were more highly associated with reactive aggression than with proactive aggression. However, the state-level bidirectional cross-lagged associations between reactive and proactive aggression and depressive symptoms were not significant. This study highlights the stable trait-like association between depressive symptoms and reactive aggression, and the absence of state-level bidirectional cross-lagged associations challenges previous developmental cascades in adolescents.

Pepsinogen ratio and brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity: a cross-sectional study on their interrelationship in atherosclerosis.

BACKGROUND: Existing research has established the pepsinogen ratio (PGR) as a complex biomarker, not only as an independent predictor for various gastrointestinal diseases but also in its association with atherosclerotic cardiovascular diseases. However, the precise mechanism linking changes in PGR to cardiovascular pathologies remains unclear. The objective of this study is to quantitatively elucidate the association between PGR and brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV) as an indicator of atherosclerotic progression. METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional study that analyzed clinical data from 465 patients who underwent health screenings. One-way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) identified potential risk factors affecting baPWV. Multiple logistic regression was employed to evaluate if PGR serves as an independent risk factor for elevated baPWV after accounting for these variables. Generalized additive models and smoothed curve fitting were utilized to investigate the possibility of a nonlinear association between PGR and baPWV. When such nonlinearity was found, threshold effect analysis pinpointed the inflection point in this relationship, followed by segmented correlation analyses. RESULTS: PGR negatively correlated with both right baPWV (RbaPWV) and left baPWV (LbaPWV) after adjusting for confounders. Smoothed curve analyses revealed nonlinear relationships, with inflection points at 22.5 for RbaPWV and 22.3 for LbaPWV. For PGR values below 22.5, a significant negative correlation with RbaPWV was observed (ß = - 6.3 cm/s, P < 0.001). Conversely, for PGR values above 22.5, no significant linear relationship was found (P = 0.141). Similarly, when PGR was below 22.3, a strong negative correlation with LbaPWV was detected (ß = - 7.0 cm/s, P < 0.001), but such correlation was absent for higher PGR levels (P = 0.273). CONCLUSION: The study reveals that PGR is associated with RbaPWV and LbaPWV in a nonlinear manner. Specifically, lower levels of PGR were linearly and inversely correlated with baPWV, but this relationship became nonlinear at higher PGR levels. These findings suggest that modulating PGR levels may offer a therapeutic strategy for managing atherosclerosis.

Neural Correlates of Facial Emotion Recognition Impairment in Blepharospasm: A Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Study.

Selective impairment in recognizing facial expressions of disgust was reported in patients with focal dystonia several years ago, but the basic neural mechanisms remain largely unexplored. Therefore, we investigated whether dysfunction of the brain network involved in disgust recognition processing was related to this selective impairment in blepharospasm. Facial emotion recognition evaluations and resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging were performed in 33 blepharospasm patients and 33 healthy controls (HCs). The disgust processing network was constructed, and modularity analyses were performed to identify sub-networks. Regional functional indexes and intra- and inter-functional connections were calculated and compared between the groups. Compared to HCs, blepharospasm patients demonstrated a worse performance in disgust recognition. In addition, functional connections within the sub-network involved in perception processing rather than recognition processing of disgust were significantly decreased in blepharospasm patients compared to HCs. Specifically, decreased functional connections were noted between the left fusiform gyrus (FG) and right middle occipital gyrus (MOG), the left FG and right FG, and the right FG and left MOG. We identified decreased functional activity in these regions, as indicated by a lower amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation in the left MOG, fractional amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation in the right FG, and regional homogeneity in the right FG and left MOG in blepharospasm patients versus HCs. Our results suggest that dysfunctions of the disgust processing network exist in blepharospasm. A deficit in disgust emotion recognition may be attributed to disturbances in the early perception of visual disgust stimuli in blepharospasm patients.

Development and validation of a scale assessing parental varied responses to Chinese adolescents' negative emotions.

OBJECTIVES: Parental responses to children's negative emotions (PRCNE) constitute a critical construct in the study of emotion socialization in children and adolescents. The objective of this research was to develop and validate a concise scale for assessing how adolescents perceive PRCNE in a Chinese context, resulting in the creation of the parental varied responses to Chinese adolescents' negative emotions (PVRCANE) scale. The PVRCANE aims to evaluate seven forms of PRCNE, including the six types encompassed by the commonly used Coping with Children's Negative Emotions Scale-Adolescent Version (CCNES-AV), as well as an additional, culturally specific category frequently seen in Chinese families: didactic talk and teaching. METHODS: In Study 1, a group of participants (N = 901, Mage = 13.39 years, SD = 0.92) completed the initial PVRCANE and the CCNES-Adolescent Version. In Study 2: A separate group of participants (N = 320, Mage = 13.54 years, SD = 0.57) filled in PVRCANE and scales evaluating parental socialization goals and adolescents' depressive symptoms. RESULTS: In Study 1, factor analyses showed that a four-factor structure best fit the data, leading to the final version of the PVRCANE, which includes 35 items. PVRCANE scores exhibited good internal consistency (Omega > 0.79) and convergent validity, demonstrated by their close correlation with traditional CCNES scores. Study 2 confirmed the PVRCANE's measurement invariance for both male and female parents and demonstrated criterion validity by showing significant relationships between PVRCANE scores, parental socialization goals, and adolescents' symptoms of depression. CONCLUSION: The PVRCANE is a brief, valid, and reliable scale for assessing PRCNE in Chinese adolescents. The study concludes with a discussion on future directions and how this research enhances the existing literature on emotion socialization, with a particular emphasis on the scale's potential application in other cultural settings.

Cortico-basal ganglia networks dysfunction associated with disease severity in patients with idiopathic blepharospasm.

Background: Structural changes occur in brain regions involved in cortico-basal ganglia networks in idiopathic blepharospasm (iBSP); whether these changes influence the function connectivity patterns of cortico-basal ganglia networks remains largely unknown. Therefore, we aimed to investigate the global integrative state and organization of functional connections of cortico-basal ganglia networks in patients with iBSP. Methods: Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging data and clinical measurements were acquired from 62 patients with iBSP, 62 patients with hemifacial spasm (HFS), and 62 healthy controls (HCs). Topological parameters and functional connections of cortico-basal ganglia networks were evaluated and compared among the three groups. Correlation analyses were performed to explore the relationship between topological parameters and clinical measurements in patients with iBSP. Results: We found significantly increased global efficiency and decreased shortest path length and clustering coefficient of cortico-basal ganglia networks in patients with iBSP compared with HCs, however, such differences were not observed between patients with HFS and HCs. Further correlation analyses revealed that these parameters were significantly correlated with the severity of iBSP. At the regional level, the functional connectivity between the left orbitofrontal area and left primary somatosensory cortex and between the right anterior part of pallidum and right anterior part of dorsal anterior cingulate cortex was significantly decreased in patients with iBSP and HFS compared with HCs. Conclusion: Dysfunction of the cortico-basal ganglia networks occurs in patients with iBSP. The altered network metrics of cortico-basal ganglia networks might be served as quantitative markers for evaluation of the severity of iBSP.

Retrieval of tropospheric ozone profiles using ground-based MAX-DOAS.

In recent years, surface ozone concentrations have increased in many cities in China. Ground-based multi-axis differential optical absorption spectroscopy (MAX-DOAS) is a powerful technique for retrieving the profiles of tropospheric trace gases, such as NO2, SO2, and HCHO. However, since the difficulties in deducting the effects of stratospheric ozone, there are few studies on the retrieval of tropospheric ozone profiles using MAX-DOAS measurements. Here, we developed an accurate inversion method to retrieve tropospheric ozone concentrations during the PRIDE-GBA Campaign, wherein the ozone differential slant column densities (DSCDs) were retrieved in QDOAS software using the "time-interpolated zenith spectrum" as the reference spectrum. The tropospheric DSCDs (DSCDstrop) were then calculated by subtracting the simulated stratospheric DSCDs (DSCDsstr, simulated from the SCIATRAN model) from the DSCDs. Tropospheric ozone profiles were retrieved from the DSCDstrop using the optimal estimation method (OEM). The results showed that high values of tropospheric ozone were mainly distributed below 1 km, which is consistent with lidar measurements. In addition, the observed surface ozone concentrations were highly correlated with the in-situ measurements, with correlation coefficients (R) of 0.75 and 0.81, respectively. Combined with the retrieved NO2 and HCHO profiles using the MAX-DOAS measurements, we found that the planetary boundary layer ozone pollution of HeShan Observatory during the PRIDE-GBA Campaign are controlled by the NOx-limited regime. The results of this study indicate that the MAX-DOAS technique has the potential to retrieve tropospheric ozone profiles with high temporal and spatial resolution.

Interparental conflict and depressive symptoms among Chinese adolescents: A longitudinal moderated mediation model.

While the detrimental effect of interparental conflict on adolescent depression is well-established, the underlying mechanisms linking the two continue to be inadequately understood. This study investigated the mediating role of family functioning and the moderating role of cultural beliefs about adversity in the association between interparental conflict and adolescent depression. The samples included 651 Chinese adolescents (mean age at Time 1 = 13.27 years; 56.5% girls) from a two-wave longitudinal study with data spanning 1 year. The findings from path modeling analyses provided evidence for the mediating role of family functioning; these findings indicated that interparental conflict can damage family functioning, which in turn exacerbates the risk of adolescent depression. The moderating role of cultural beliefs about adversity was also demonstrated by interactions between interparental conflict and cultural beliefs about adversity, as well as, family functioning and cultural beliefs about adversity. The results indicated a buffering role of cultural beliefs about adversity on the deleterious effect of interparental conflict on adolescent depression. They also suggested that lower levels of family functioning was associated with increased depression among adolescents were lower in cultural beliefs about adversity.

Mothers' emotional expressivity in urban and rural societies: Salience and links with young adolescents' emotional wellbeing and expressivity.

This research aims to investigate the salience of mothers' emotional expressivity and its links with adolescents' emotional wellbeing and expressivity in an urban society endorsing more individualism and a rural society ascribing to more collectivism. By comparing Chinese urban (N = 283, M age = 14.13) and rural (N = 247, M age = 14.09) adolescents, this research found that urban mothers' expression of positive-dominant and positive-submissive emotions (PD and PS) were more common while expression of negative-dominant (ND) emotions was less common than rural mothers'. PD and PS had significant links with urban and rural adolescents' increased emotional expressivity and self-esteem, however, only significantly related to urban adolescents' decreased depression but not with rural adolescents'. ND had significant links with both urban and rural adolescents' expression of negative emotions, however, only significantly correlated with urban adolescents' less level of self-esteem and rural adolescents' more expression of positive emotions. No significant difference was found in the salience of urban and rural mothers' expression of negative-submissive (NS) emotions, which positively related to both urban and rural adolescents' depression and emotional expressivity. Moreover, we found that adolescents' emotional wellbeing (i.e., self-esteem and depression) mediated the relationship between mothers' emotional expressivity and adolescents' expressivity in both societies. Overall, the study findings document that the salience of mothers' emotional expressivity and its relations with adolescents' emotional adjustment differ between urban and rural societies.

The effects of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) on ischemic stroke and the possible underlying mechanisms.

Purpose: As of November 28, 2020, COVID-19 has been reported in 220 countries with 61,036,793 confirmed cases and 1,433,316 confirmed deaths; countries became vigilant around the world. In addition to SARS-CoV-2 causing pneumonia, many studies have reported ischemic stroke in patients with COVID-19. This article describes the effects and possible underlying mechanisms of SARS-CoV-2 on ischemic stroke.Materials and methods: A literature search was performed using PubMed, Web of Science, and other COVID-dedicated databases and the combination of the keywords 'SARS-CoV-2', 'COVID-19' and 'ischemic stroke' up to November 28, 2020.Results: SARS-CoV-2 invades the host through angiotensin converting enzyme 2 (ACE2). ACE2 is expressed not only in the lungs, but also in the brain and vascular endothelial cells. SARS-CoV-2 infection might cause direct vascular disease or enhance the immunogenic thrombosis environment through several mechanisms. SARS-CoV-2 infection can modulate the host immune response and can cause inflammation, coagulation disorders, renin angiotensin system disorders, hypoxia, and stress disorders, which may lead to the occurrence of ischemic stroke.Conclusions: Some patients with COVID-19 can develop ischemic stroke. Ischemic stroke has a high risk of causing disability and is associated with a high mortality rate. It is hoped that when medical staff treat patients with COVID-19, they would pay attention to the occurrence of ischemic stroke to improve the prognosis of patients with COVID-19.

Supplementary motor area driving changes of structural brain network in blepharospasm.

Blepharospasm is traditionally thought to be a movement disorder that results from basal ganglia dysfunction. Recently, accumulating morphometric studies have revealed structural alterations outside the basal ganglia, such as in the brainstem, cerebellum and sensorimotor cortex, suggesting that blepharospasm may result from network disorders. However, the temporal and causal relationships between structural alterations and whether there are disease duration-related hierarchical structural changes in these patients remain largely unknown. Structural MRI was performed in 62 patients with blepharospasm, 62 patients with hemifacial spasm and 62 healthy controls to assess the structural alterations using voxel-based morphology and structural covariance networks. The use of the causal structural covariance network, modularity analysis and functional decoding were subsequently performed to map the causal effect of grey matter change pattern, hierarchical topography and functional characterizations of the structural network throughout the disease duration of blepharospasm. Greater grey matter volume in the left and right supplementary motor areas was identified in patients with blepharospasm compared to that in patients with hemifacial spasm and healthy controls, whereas no significant difference was identified between patients with hemifacial spasm and healthy controls. In addition, increased grey matter volume covariance between the right supplementary motor area and right brainstem, left superior frontal gyrus, left supplementary motor area and left paracentral gyrus was found in patients with blepharospasm compared to healthy controls. Further causal structural covariance network, modularity analysis and functional decoding showed that the right supplementary motor area served as a driving core in patients with blepharospasm, extending greater grey matter volume to areas in the cortico-basal ganglia-brainstem motor pathway and cortical regions in the vision-motor integration pathway. Taken together, our results suggest that the right supplementary motor area is an early and important pathologically impaired region in patients with blepharospasm. With a longer duration of blepharospasm, increased grey matter volume extends from the right supplementary motor area to the cortico-basal ganglia motor and visual-motor integration pathways, showing a hierarchy of structural abnormalities in the disease progression of blepharospasm, which provides novel evidence to support the notion that blepharospasm may arise from network disorders and is associated with a wide range of grey matter abnormalities.

An integrated model: marital effect on adolescent behavioral problems through siblings.

Introduction: Few studies have simultaneously focused on the effects of marital conflict and marital intimacy on adolescent development, and little is known about the role of sibling relationships. Thus, this study examined the association between marital relationships and adolescent behavioral problems, including depressive symptoms and aggressive behavior. At the same time, we explored the mediating role of sibling hostility and sibling affection and the moderating effect of birth order in multichild families in China. Methods: Participants included 842 adolescents (Mage = 12.60, 46.2% boys) from Henan Province. Marital relationship, sibling relationship, birth order, depressive symptoms and aggressive behavior were assessed by a self-administered questionnaire. SEM was then used to examine the role of sibling relationships and birth order in the association between marital relationship and adolescent behavioral problems. Results: Our results showed that marital intimacy was negatively correlated with depressive symptoms and aggressive behavior, while marital conflict was positively correlated with them. Marital intimacy was associated with depressive symptoms and aggressive behavior through both sibling hostility and sibling affection. Marital conflict was indirectly associated with depressive symptoms and aggressive behavior through sibling hostility. In addition, the first-born adolescents were more sensitive to marital intimacy. Discussion: Given that the occurrence of adolescent behavioral problems is more common in contemporary society, our findings suggest that establishing a more intimate and warmer family atmosphere and promoting positive interactions between siblings may help control adolescent mental health problems.

Cerulenin suppresses ErbB2-overexpressing breast cancer by targeting ErbB2/PKM2 pathway.

Cerulenin is a fungal metabolite and a specific inhibitor of fatty acid synthase (FASN), which has shown a potential anticancer activity. 20-25% of breast cancer patients with ErbB2-overexpressing develop resistance to treatment. Therefore, it is urgent to find an effective new target for the treatment of ErbB2-overexpressing breast cancer. Our previous study found that cerulenin inhibits the glycolysis and migration of SK-BR-3 cells, but the effect of cerulenin on other malignant phenotypes of breast cancer is still unknown. Furthermore, the mechanism by which cerulenin displays its inhibitory effects is not fully understood. In this study, we systematically investigate the inhibitory effects of cerulenin on proliferation, migration, invasion and glycolysis of ErbB2-overexpressing breast cancer cells and its molecular mechanism. We found that cerulenin obviously suppresses the proliferation, migration, invasion as well as glycolysis. Through bioinformatic analyses, we found that PKM2 might be a target of cerulenin. In addition, ErbB2 and its signaling pathway upregulated PKM2 protein levels. Furthermore, we demonstrated that cerulenin downregulated the protein levels of ErbB2, PKM2 and EMT markers (MMP9, MMP2 and Snail2) in a dose- and time-dependent manner. Finally, the inhibitory of cerulenin on colony formation, migration, invasion and glycolysis, as well as protein levels of EMT markers were rescued by replenishing with PKM2. These findings illustrated that cerulenin inhibits proliferation, migration, invasion and glycolysis by targeting ErbB2/PKM2 pathway in ErbB2-overexpressing breast cancer cells.

Trajectory of problematic smartphone use among adolescents aged 10-18 years: The roles of childhood family environment and concurrent parent-child relationships.

Background and aims: Adolescence is a period of high incidence of problematic smartphone use. Understanding the developmental trajectory of problematic smartphone use in adolescence and its influencing factors could guide the choice of timing for prevention and intervention. This study fitted the growth trajectory of problematic smartphone use among adolescents and examined its associations with the childhood family environment and concurrent parent-child relationships. Methods: Using a cohort sequential design, we investigated 2,548 Chinese adolescents and their parents three times in three years. Multiple group multiple cohort growth models were used to fit the growth trajectory. Results: The quadratic growth trajectory of problematic smartphone use in adolescents aged 10-18 years showed a clear increasing trend, with a possible decreasing trend in late adolescence or early adulthood. Early life socioeconomic status, childhood family unpredictability, and the concurrent parent-child relationship had unique impacts on the development of problematic smartphone use during adolescence. Discussion and conclusions: Early adolescence is a favorable time for problematic smartphone use prevention and intervention. A supportive family environment should be maintained throughout the different developmental stages of children and adolescents.

Study of an Arctic blowing snow-induced bromine explosion event in Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard.

Bromine explosion events (BEEs) are important processes that influence the atmospheric oxidation capacity, especially in the polar troposphere during spring. Although sea ice surface is thought to be a significant bromine source, bromine release mechanisms remain unclear. High-resolution ground-based observations of reactive bromine, such as BrO, are important for assessing the potential impacts on tropospheric ozone and evaluating chemical models. However, previous model studies paid little attention to Svalbard, which is surrounded by both open ocean and sea ice. In this paper, we present continuous BrO slant column densities and vertical column densities derived by Multi-Axis Differential Optical Absorption Spectroscopy deployed at Ny-Ålesund (78.92°N, 11.93°E) in March 2017. We focused on one BEE in mid-March, during which the vertical column densities of BrO surged from 4.26 × 1013 molecular cm-2 to the peak at 1.23 × 1014 molecular cm-2 on March 17, surface ozone depleted from a background level of 46.25 parts per billion by volume (ppbv) to 13.9 ppbv. This case study indicates that the BEE was strongly associated with blowing snow induced by the cyclone systems that approached Svalbard from March 14 to 18. By considering meteorological conditions, sea ice coverage, and airmass trajectory history, we demonstrate that sea salt aerosols (SSAs) from blowing snow on sea ice, rather than from open ocean, are attributed to the occurrence of this BEE. Model results from a parallelized-tropospheric offline model of chemistry and transport (p-TOMCAT) indicate that this BEE was mainly triggered by a blowing snow event associated with a low-pressure cyclone system. The concentration of blowing-snow-sourced SSAs surged to peak when the airmass pass across the sea-ice-covered area under high wind speed, which is a critical factor in the process of bromine explosion observed in Ny-Ålesund. Due to the coarse resolution, the possible delayed timing of bromine release from SSA and the model-data discrepancies still exist.

COVID-19-related stressors and depression in Chinese adolescents: The effects of life history strategies and gender.

PURPOSE: The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the way people live, affecting both their physical and mental health. Adolescents are vulnerable to the stress of the pandemic, and may experience indicators of psychological distress, such as depression. This study aimed to examine the impact of COVID-19-related stressors on depression and the mediating role of life history strategies. METHODS: A two-wave longitudinal study was conducted with 1123 adolescents (51.20% girls, Mage = 14.30) recruited from three junior high schools in the Northeastern province of China. Adolescents' life history strategies, depressive symptoms, and demographic variables were assessed at Time 1 (November 2019) and Time 2 (August 2020), and adolescents' experience of COVID-19-related stressors was assessed at Time 2. None of participants was infected by COVID-19 virus. RESULTS: COVID-19-related stressors were positively associated with depressive symptoms at Time 2 (ß = 0.08, p < 0.01), after controlling for gender, age, SES and depressive symptoms at Time 1. And life history strategies partially mediated the relation of pandemic stress to depression (indirect effect = 0.02, p < 0.05, 95% CI [0.004, 0.034]). There were no gender differences in the relations between stress on depression. LIMITATIONS: The sample was from a district where the pandemic was not very severe, which may limit generalizability of the results. CONCLUSIONS: This study revealed that COVID-19-related stressors may have a long-term impact on adolescents, increasing depression through speeding up their life history strategies. Interventions should focus on life history strategies, particularly cognitive style, among adolescents during and after the pandemic.

Monocyte to high-density lipoprotein cholesterol ratio and serum uric acid in Chinese adults: a cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: Previous studies have shown that the monocyte to high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) ratio (MHR) is a predictor of various diseases such as coronary heart disease, diabetic microangiopathy, and metabolic syndrome. However, there are few scientific reports on the correlation between MHR and serum uric acid. The objective of this report is to explore the relationship between MHR and serum uric acid in Chinese adults. METHODS: This cross-sectional study included 646 participants from southwest China who underwent a health examination at the Health Management Center of Deyang People's Hospital. The examination included blood pressure readings, routine blood tests (lipid, fasting glucose, serum transaminase, and serum uric acid levels), and various standardized questionnaires. We employed a generalized additive model and smoothed curve fitting to explore the relationship between MHR and serum uric acid levels. We then performed subgroup analyses to investigate the robustness of this relationship. RESULTS: After adjusting for confounders (age, sex, body mass index, systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, aspartate transaminase, alanine aminotransferase, fasting glucose, total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein, smoking, drinking, and exercise status), MHR was found to be positively correlated with serum uric acid levels (P < 0.001). The smoothing curve showed an approximately linear correlation between MHR and serum uric acid levels, and the linear correlation coefficient was 146.74 (95% CI 96.16-197.33, P < 0.0001). The subgroup analyses showed that the effect of MHR on serum uric acid levels was smaller in occasional smokers and smokers than in nonsmokers (P = 0.0194). CONCLUSION: MHR was significantly and positively correlated with serum uric acid levels. Additionally, the effect of MHR on serum uric acid levels was lower in the individuals who smoked more.