Intermediate open state of CD4-bound HIV-1 env heterotrimers in asia CRFs.

The HIV-1 envelope glycoprotein (Env) plays crucial role in viral infection by facilitating viral attachment to host cells and inducing fusion of the virus with the host cell membrane. This fusion allows the HIV-1 viral genome to enter the target cell then triggering various stages of the viral life cycle. The native Env directly interacts with the main receptor CD4 and the co-receptor (CCR5 or CXCR4) in human cell membrane then induces membrane fusion. The elucidation of the structure of Env with CD4 and co-receptors in different HIV-1 subtypes is essential for the understanding of the mechanism of virus entry. Here we report the Cryo-EM structure of the CD4-bound HIV-1 heterotrimeric Env from Asia prevalent CRF07_BC CH119 strain. In this structure, the binding of three CD4 molecules with Env induced extensively conformational changes in gp120, resulting in the transformation of the Env from close state to intermediate open state. Additionally, the conformational shift of V1/V2 loops of the heterotrimeric Env allosterically expose the V3 loop and promoting the further interactions with co-receptor CCR5 or CXCR4. These findings not only illustrate the structural complexity and plasticity of HIV-1 Env but also give new insights how the biological trimeric Env initialize the immune recognition and membrane fusion.

Sexual risk behaviours among factory workers in Shenzhen, China: a cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: Factory workers are a key population for HIV transmission in China, as they often engage in sexual risk behaviours. This study aims to evaluate sexual risk behaviours and associated factors among factory workers in Shenzhen, China. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted by using multi-stage stratified cluster random sampling. Full-time workers aged ≥18years were eligible to participate in the study. A self-administered questionnaire was used to collect information. Univariate and multivariable logistic regression were applied to assess factors associated with sexual risk behaviours. RESULTS: A total of 2029 factory workers were included. Mean age was 37.2 (±4.4)years; 48.5% were men. Two-thirds (64.9%) had had vaginal intercourse. Their sexual risk behaviours included condomless sex with casual partners in the last sex episode (23.6%), multiple sex partners (11.5%) and engaging in commercial sex (8.4%), in the past year. Having HIV/AIDS knowledge (adjusted odds ratio (AOR) 0.41, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.24-0.70) and using a condom at sexual debut (AOR 0.08, 95% CI 0.05-0.13) were factors associated with condomless sex with casual partners in the last sex episode. Males (AOR 3.03, 95% CI 1.96-4.69 and AOR 2.19, 95% CI 1.33-3.60), local workers (AOR 2.11, 95% CI 1.01-4.42 and AOR 3.42, 95% CI 1.63-7.21), being single (AOR 2.04, 95% CI 1.39-3.01 and AOR 2.49, 95% CI 1.61-3.87), having sexual debut aged Conclusions : Sexual risk behaviours were prevalent despite most participants having basic HIV/AIDS knowledge. Future workplace-based prevention programs should target factory workers and there should be a focus on enhanced sexual education to reduce HIV transmission in China.

Evaluation and optimization of the protocols for measuring cytochrome P450 activity in aphids.

Insect cytochrome P450 plays major roles in detoxification of phytotoxin and insecticides. However, determination of P450 activity in aphids has variable success and there is no reliable method yet. In this study, we found that homogenizing the green peach aphid, Myzus persicae, in the 96-well microplate resulted in significantly higher P450 activities than those in Eppendorf tube. Homogenizing aphids in Eppendorf tube released uncharacterized compounds that inhibited aphids and pig liver P450 activities, whereas aphids homogenized in the microplate may not be completely ground and thus released fewer such inhibitors. Then, the microplate homogenization method was optimized as follows: one or two aphids were placed in one well of the 96 well-microplate and ground in phosphate buffer using pipette tips for 20 cycles, followed by addition of 7-ethoxycoumarin, and then incubated for 1 h at room temperature, after which glycine buffer-ethanol mixture was added to stop the reaction. This method is also suitable for the pea aphid, Acyrthosiphon pisum, and the bird cherry-oat aphid, Rhopalosiphum padi. These results highlight the importance of considering inhibitory effects of endogenous compounds in insects on their P450 activities and provide one possible method to reduce these inhibitory effects.

Effects of Stigma on the Relationship Between Perceived Social Support and Sexual Satisfaction Among Breast Cancer Survivors.

BACKGROUND: Sexual satisfaction is one of the issues faced by breast cancer survivors (BCSs). AIM: This study aims to explore the mediation of stigma in the relationship between perceived social support (PSS) and sexual satisfaction among breast cancer survivors. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 918 BCSs in Shanghai Cancer Rehabilitation Club. Data were collected using an online questionnaire including questions on sociodemographic characteristics, health status, PSS, stigma and sexual satisfaction of participants. The bootstrap method was used to test the significance of the simple mediation model. OUTCOMES: The simple mediation of stigma was found significant in the relationship between PSS and sexual satisfaction. RESULTS: Stigma plays an intermediary role in the relationship between 2 dimensions of PSS (family and friends) and sexual satisfaction, but not in the relationship between the dimension of other significant people of PSS and sexual satisfaction. CLINICAL TRANSLATION: It is important to reduce stigma when improving the sexual satisfaction of BCSs from the perspective of PSS. STRENGTHS & LIMITATIONS: The mediating role of stigma in the relationship between PSS and sexual satisfaction among BCSs has been shown for the first time. Study limitations include limitations in the representativeness of population by the study sample and the cross-sectional study design. CONCLUSIONS: Stigma mediates the relationship between PSS and sexual satisfaction, which needs to be eliminated in intervention practice. Yuxin Zhang, Jie Zhao, Nan Jiang, et al. Effects of Stigma on the Relationship Between Perceived Social Support and Sexual Satisfaction Among Breast Cancer Survivors. J Sex Med 2022;19:1002-1011.

Cordycepin enhances hyperthermia-induced apoptosis and cell cycle arrest by modulating the MAPK pathway in human lymphoma U937 cells.

BACKGROUND: Hyperthermia induces cancer cell death. However, the cytotoxic effect of hyperthermia is not sufficient. Cordycepin can also induce apoptosis in cancer cells and enhance the antitumoral activity of irradiation. To examine cordycepin-mediated enhancement of hyperthermia-induced apoptosis, this study investigated the combined effects and apoptotic mechanisms of hyperthermia and cordycepin on human leukemia U937 cells. METHODS: Cell viability and apoptosis were measured using MTT assays, Hoechst 33342 staining and Annexin V/PI double staining. The distribution of the cell cycle and sub-G1 phase, reactive oxygen species (ROS) and mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) were examined by flow cytometry. The expression of related proteins was analyzed by western blotting. RESULTS: Combined treatment with hyperthermia and cordycepin markedly augmented apoptosis by upregulating Bax and suppressing Bcl-2, Bid and activated caspase 3 and 8 expression, and apoptosis was decreased by Z-VAD-fmk (a pan caspase inhibitor). We also found that the MMP was significantly decreased and excessive ROS generation occurred. The combination treatment also induced arrest in the G2/M phase by downregulating cyclin dependent kinase 1 (CDK1) and cyclin B1 protein expression. Furthermore, it was observed that mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway including ERK, JNK and p38 signals was involved in the induction of apoptosis. The phosphorylated p38 and JNK were increased and ERK phosphorylation was decreased by the combined treatment. In addition, N-acetyl-L-cysteine (NAC) significantly protected the cells by restoring ROS levels and the activity of caspase-3, inactivating the MAPK pathway. CONCLUSION: Cordycepin significantly enhanced hyperthermia-induced apoptosis and G2/M phase arrest in U937 cells. The combined treatment enhanced apoptosis through the MAPK pathway and mitochondrial dysfunction, and these effects could be rescued by NAC. We report for the first time that cordycepin can be used as a hyperthermia sensitizer to treat leukemia.

Aggressive disseminated Rhizomucor pusillus infection in a Ph-like acute lymphoblastic leukemia patient: Early detection by cell-free DNA next-generation sequencing.

Disseminated Rhizomucor pusillus infection is a very rare but fatal complication in immunocompromised patients, because of aggressive clinical process with delayed diagnosis by routine laboratory tests. Recently, cell-free DNA next-generation sequencing (cfDNA NGS) has been used for the timely detection of infectious pathogens including mucormycosis. Herein, we described an 18-year-old male with Philadelphia-like acute lymphoblastic leukemia who received a timely diagnosis of R. pusillus infection by cell-free DNA next-generation sequencing, and confirmed by silver staining and qPCR on biopsy tissue. To the best of our knowledge, this was the first case of disseminated R. pusillus infection detected by cfDNA NGS and confirmed by histology in an adult leukemia patient. In addition, this case was supposed to be the most extensive R. pusillus infection diagnosed, involving the lung, skin, liver, kidney, spleen and brain, and the only one case who survived the infection had a favorable outcome through treatment with liposome amphotericin B sequential posaconazole. This case suggested that cfDNA NGS could be used to successfully detect rare pathogen infections, and this was especially important for R. pusillus because timely diagnosis and effective treatment could improve the prognosis of this kind of patient.

Effects of social support on oral health behavior: Serial multiple-mediator model.

OBJECTIVE: This study investigates the serial multiple mediation of job stress and perceived behavioral control (PBC) in the relationship between social support and oral health behavior (OHB). MATERIALS AND METHODS: This cross-sectional study was conducted in Minhang District, Shanghai, China, between July and November 2021. 559 Employees from 10 community health centers were recruited. A five-part survey was used to collect data on demographic characteristics, social support, job stress, PBC and OHB. Descriptive statistics, independent-sample t-test, Pearson's correlation analysis, ordinary least-squares regression and the bootstrap method were used to analyze data. RESULTS: Social support was found to impact OHB through three significant mediation pathways: the pathway through job stress (point estimate = 0.033; 95%BC CI [0.004, 0.089]), the pathway through PBC (point estimate = 0.283; 95%BC CI [0.174, 0.416]), and the serial multiple mediating pathway through first job stress and then PBC (point estimate = 0.006; 95%BC CI [0.001, 0.019]). CONCLUSION: This study indicates that job stress and PBC play a serial multiple-mediator role in the relationship between social support and OHB. To ensure the effectiveness of social support intervention on OHB, workplace managers and employees should strengthen the motivators that could promote the reduction of job stress and the improvement of PBC.

Behavioral Intention to Receive a COVID-19 Vaccination Among Chinese Factory Workers: Cross-sectional Online Survey.

BACKGROUND: COVID-19 vaccines will become available in China soon. Understanding communities' responses to the forthcoming COVID-19 vaccines is important. We applied the theory of planned behavior as the theoretical framework. OBJECTIVE: This study investigates the prevalence of and factors associated with behavioral intention to receive self-financed or free COVID-19 vaccinations among Chinese factory workers who resumed work during the pandemic. We examined the effects of factors including sociodemographics, perceptions related to COVID-19 vaccination, exposure to information about COVID-19 vaccination through social media, and COVID-19 preventive measures implemented by individuals and factories. METHODS: Participants were full-time employees 18 years or older who worked in factories in Shenzhen. Factory workers in Shenzhen are required to receive a physical examination annually. Eligible workers attending six physical examination sites were invited to complete a survey on September 1-7, 2020. Out of 2653 eligible factory workers, 2053 (77.4%) completed the online survey. Multivariate two-level logistic regression models and ordinal logistic regression models were fitted. RESULTS: The prevalence of behavioral intention to receive a COVID-19 vaccination was 66.6% (n=1368, conditional on 80% vaccine efficacy and market rate) and 80.6% (n=1655, conditional on 80% vaccine efficacy and free vaccines). After adjusting for significant background characteristics, positive attitudes toward COVID-19 vaccination (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] 1.20, 95% CI 1.15-1.25 and AOR 1.24, 95% CI 1.19-1.30), perceived support from significant others for getting a COVID-19 vaccination (AOR 1.43, 95% CI 1.32-1.55 and AOR 1.37, 95% CI 1.25-1.50), and perceived behavioral control to get a COVID-19 vaccination (AOR 1.51, 95% CI 1.32-1.73 and AOR 1.28, 95% CI 1.09-1.51) were positively associated with both dependent variables (conditional on 80% vaccine efficacy and market rate or free vaccines, respectively). Regarding social media influence, higher frequency of exposure to positive information related to COVID-19 vaccination was associated with a higher intention to receive a COVID-19 vaccination at market rate (AOR 1.53, 95% CI 1.39-1.70) or a free vaccination (AOR 1.52, 95% CI 1.35-1.71). Higher self-reported compliance with wearing a face mask in the workplace (AOR 1.27, 95% CI 1.02-1.58 and AOR 1.67, 95% CI 1.24-2.27) and other public spaces (AOR 1.80, 95% CI 1.42-2.29 and AOR 1.34, 95% CI 1.01-1.77), hand hygiene (AOR 1.21, 95% CI 1.00-1.47 and AOR 1.52, 95% CI 1.19-1.93), and avoiding social gatherings (AOR 1.22, 95% CI 1.01-1.47 and AOR 1.55, 95% CI 1.23-1.95) and crowded places (AOR 1.24, 95% CI 1.02-1.51 and AOR 1.73, 95% CI 1.37-2.18) were also positively associated with both dependent variables. The number of COVID-19 preventive measures implemented by the factory was positively associated with the intention to receive a COVID-19 vaccination under both scenarios (AOR 1.08, 95% CI 1.04-1.12 and AOR 1.06, 95% CI 1.01-1.11). CONCLUSIONS: Factory workers in China reported a high behavioral intention to receive a COVID-19 vaccination. The theory of planned behavior is a useful framework to guide the development of future campaigns promoting COVID-19 vaccination.

Distributed representation and one-hot representation fusion with gated network for clinical semantic textual similarity.

BACKGROUND: Semantic textual similarity (STS) is a fundamental natural language processing (NLP) task which can be widely used in many NLP applications such as Question Answer (QA), Information Retrieval (IR), etc. It is a typical regression problem, and almost all STS systems either use distributed representation or one-hot representation to model sentence pairs. METHODS: In this paper, we proposed a novel framework based on a gated network to fuse distributed representation and one-hot representation of sentence pairs. Some current state-of-the-art distributed representation methods, including Convolutional Neural Network (CNN), Bi-directional Long Short Term Memory networks (Bi-LSTM) and Bidirectional Encoder Representations from Transformers (BERT), were used in our framework, and a system based on this framework was developed for a shared task regarding clinical STS organized by BioCreative/OHNLP in 2018. RESULTS: Compared with the systems only using distributed representation or one-hot representation, our method achieved much higher Pearson correlation. Among all distributed representations, BERT performed best. The highest Person correlation of our system was 0.8541, higher than the best official one of the BioCreative/OHNLP clinical STS shared task in 2018 (0.8328) by 0.0213. CONCLUSIONS: Distributed representation and one-hot representation are complementary to each other and can be fused by gated network.

Heterologous Expression of a Glycine soja C2H2 Zinc Finger Gene Improves Aluminum Tolerance in Arabidopsis.

Aluminum (Al) toxicity limits plant growth and has a major impact on the agricultural productivity in acidic soils. The zinc-finger protein (ZFP) family plays multiple roles in plant development and abiotic stresses. Although previous reports have confirmed the function of these genes, their transcriptional mechanisms in wild soybean (Glycine soja) are unclear. In this study, GsGIS3 was isolated from Al-tolerant wild soybean gene expression profiles to be functionally characterized in Arabidopsis. Laser confocal microscopic observations demonstrated that GsGIS3 is a nuclear protein, containing one C2H2 zinc-finger structure. Our results show that the expression of GsGIS3 was of a much higher level in the stem than in the leaf and root and was upregulated under AlCl3, NaCl or GA3 treatment. Compared to the control, overexpression of GsGIS3 in Arabidopsis improved Al tolerance in transgenic lines with more root growth, higher proline and lower Malondialdehyde (MDA) accumulation under concentrations of AlCl3. Analysis of hematoxylin staining indicated that GsGIS3 enhanced the resistance of transgenic plants to Al toxicity by reducing Al accumulation in Arabidopsis roots. Moreover, GsGIS3 expression in Arabidopsis enhanced the expression of Al-tolerance-related genes. Taken together, our findings indicate that GsGIS3, as a C2H2 ZFP, may enhance tolerance to Al toxicity through positive regulation of Al-tolerance-related genes.

Neurotrophin-3 acts on the endothelial-mesenchymal transition of heterotopic ossification in rats.

Despite the fact that extensive studies have focused on heterotopic ossification (HO), its molecular mechanism remains unclear. The endothelial-mesenchymal transition (EndMT), which may be partially modulated by neuroendocrine cytokines is thought to play a major role in HO. Neurotrophin-3 (NT-3), which has neuroendocrine characteristics is believed to promote skeletal remodeling. Herein, we suggest that that NT-3 may promote HO formation through regulation of EndMT. Here, we used an in vivo model of HO and an in vitro model of EndMT induction to elucidate the effect and underlying mechanism of NT-3 on EndMT in HO. Our results showed that heterotopic bone and cartilage arose from EndMT and NT-3 promoted HO formation in vivo. Our in vitro results showed that NT-3 up-regulated mesenchymal markers (FSP-1, α-SMA and N-cadherin) and mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) markers (STRO-1, CD44 and CD90) and down-regulated endothelial markers (Tie-1, VE-cadherin and CD31). Moreover, NT-3 enhanced a chondrogenesis marker (Sox9) and osteogenesis markers (OCN and Runx2) via activation of EndMT. However, both EndMT specific inhibitor and tropomyosin-related kinase C (TrkC) specific inhibitor rescued NT-3-induced HO formation and EndMT induction in vivo and in vitro. In conclusion, our findings demonstrate that NT-3 promotes HO formation via modulation of EndMT both in vivo and in vitro, which offers a new potential target for the prevention and therapy of HO.

Molecular features of lung adenocarcinoma in young patients.

BACKGROUND: Lung cancer in young patients is rare and has unique clinicopathological features. However, the molecular features of lung cancer in these patients are unclear. In this study, we aimed to describe the molecular features and outcomes of lung adenocarcinoma in patients aged ≤35 years. METHODS: A total of 89 patients aged ≤35 years with pathologically diagnosed lung adenocarcinoma were retrospectively evaluated. Mutations in 59 cancer-associated genes and fusions of ALK and ROS1 were analyzed to understand the molecular features of young patients with lung adenocarcinoma. The clinicopathological characteristics and prognosis of each patient were reviewed. RESULTS: Of the 89 young patients, 25 (28.1%) were male, 9 (10.1%) were smokers, and the median age was 32 years (range, 18-35 years). The authors analyzed 59 genes and a total of 6 mutations and 2 fusion genes were detected. These genes were distributed among 60 patients, 12 of which had two or more mutations. ERBB2 mutations were most common (24.7%), followed by EGFR mutation (21.3%), ALK fusion (16.9%), TP53 mutation (9.0%), BRAF mutation (3.4%), PIK3CA mutation (1.1%), CTNNB1 mutation (1.1%), and ROS1 fusion (1.1%). EGFR, ERBB2, and TP53 mutations, gene abnormalities, and ALK fusions all had significant correlations with histopathological differentiation (P < 0.01). ALK fusions and EGFR mutations conferred a significantly worse prognosis than did ERBB2 mutations and tumors that contained no mutations or fusions (P < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: The molecular features of lung adenocarcinoma in young patients are different from those of common adenocarcinoma, and the main driver genes are closely correlated with tumor differentiation and prognosis.

N-(3-methoxybenzyl)-(9Z,12Z,15Z)-octadecatrienamide promotes bone formation via the canonical Wnt/ß-catenin signaling pathway.

Osteoporosis is characterized by low bone mineral density and microarchitectural deterioration of bone tissue. N-(3-methoxybenzyl)-(9Z,12Z,15Z)-octadecatrienamide (MBOC) is one of the macamides isolated from Maca (Lepidium meyenii Walp.), a cruciferous plant from the Andes of Peru. In this study, C3H/10T1/2 mesenchymal stem cells were treated with MBOC in osteogenic induction medium. An ovariectomized (OVX) mouse model was used to investigate the effect of 1-month MBOC treatment on the prevention of postmenopausal osteoporosis. Remarkably, trabecular thickness, trabecular number, and bone volume/tissue volume of the distal femoral metaphysis were significantly increased in OVX + MBOC mice compared with OVX mice, as revealed by microcomputed tomography analysis. Trabecular separation was decreased in OVX + MBOC mice compared with OVX mice. Consistently, MBOC increased the levels of osteocalcin and runt-related transcription factor 2 in OVX mice, as well as the expression of runt-related transcription factor 2, osterix, and alkaline phosphatase in C3H/10T1/2 cells. Mechanistically, MBOC activates the canonical Wnt/ß-catenin signaling pathway via inhibiting phosphorylation of GSK-3ß at Tyr216 and maintaining ß-catenin expression. Collectively, the current study demonstrates the robustness of MBOC in the induction of mesenchymal stem cells osteogenic differentiation and consequent bone formation, suggesting that MBOC may be a potentially effective drug to treat postmenopausal osteoporosis.

339 J high-energy Ti:sapphire chirped-pulse amplifier for 10 PW laser facility.

We report on the laser pulse output of 339 J centered at 800 nm from a chirped-pulse amplification (CPA) Ti:sapphire laser system at the Shanghai Superintense Ultrafast Laser Facility. The experimental results demonstrated that the parasitic lasing as well as the transverse amplified spontaneous emission of the homemade 235-mm-diameter Ti:sapphire final amplifier were suppressed successfully via the temporal dual-pulse pumped scheme and the index-matching liquid cladding technique. The maximum pump-to-signal conversion efficiency of 32.1% was measured for the final amplifier. With a compressor transmission efficiency of 64% and a compressed pulse duration of 21 fs obtained for the sample light at a lower energy level, this laser system could potentially generate a compressed laser pulse with a peak power of 10.3 PW. The experimental results represent significant progress with respect to the CPA laser.

Integral Equation Prediction of the Structure of Alternating Copolymer Nanocomposites near a Substrate.

The packing structure and phase behavior of polymer-nanoparticle mixtures under confinement play an important role in developing strategies for rational design of nanomaterials. However, understanding the microscopic dispersion and aggregation mechanism of polymer nanocomposites is a great challenge through experimental techniques. In this work, the microscopic structure of alternating copolymer nanocomposites (ACNs) near a substrate is investigated systematically through extension of the inhomogeneous polymer reference interaction site model (PRISM) theory. In order to characterize the flexibility and internal chain stiffness of copolymers, a semiflexible chain model is introduced to describe the intramolecular correlations between different monomers. Based on the bridge functionals derived from the fluids density functional theory, the modified hypernetted chain closure is integrated with the PRISM equation to form a full theoretical framework to capture the density distributions of ACNs. The influence of the particle volume fraction, nanoparticle diameter, and adsorption strengths between different interaction sites on the packing structure of ACNs under confinement is analyzed and discussed in detail. With the increase of the particle volume fraction, the size asymmetry between nanoparticles and copolymer monomers can greatly influence the density profiles of ACNs near a substrate. Increasing the nanoparticle diameter, the density distribution of nanoparticles experiences a process from absorbing onto the solid surface to segregating from the wall to larger distances. With increasing the adsorption strength between copolymers and nanoparticles, the density distribution of nanoparticles decreases, which is similar to the case of nanoparticles containing attractive interactions. All these characteristics of ACNs show that the current inhomogeneous PRISM theory can give a detailed description of the packing behavior of different segments. Predictive approaches could be desired and developed for design control of alternating copolymer nanocomposites under confinement.

Cellular immunotherapy as maintenance therapy prolongs the survival of the patients with small cell lung cancer.

BACKGROUND: Small cell lung cancer (SCLC) relapses rapidly after the initial response to chemotherapy and shows drug-resistance. This study was to investigate the efficacy and safety of cellular immunotherapy (CIT) with autologous natural killer (NK), γδT, and cytokine-induced killer (CIK) cells as maintenance therapy for SCLC patients. METHODS: A pilot prospective cohort study was conducted with SCLC patients who had responded to initial chemotherapy. Patients elected to receive either CIT as maintenance therapy (study group), or to be followed-up without further treatment (control group). Progression-free survival (PFS), overall survival (OS), and adverse effects were investigated. RESULTS: We recruited 58 patients (29 in each group). The patient characteristics of the 2 groups were well balanced. PFS was not significantly different between the groups, but OS was significantly longer in the study group than the control (20 vs. 11.5 months, P = 0.005; hazard ratio [HR], 0.434, 95 % confidence interval [CI], 0.236-0.797, P = 0.007). Among patients with limited-stage disease, there was no difference in PFS between the groups, but OS was longer in the study group compared to the control (26.5 vs. 11.8 months, P = 0.033; HR, 0.405, 95 % CI, 0.169-0.972, P = 0.043). Among patients with extensive-stage disease, both PFS and OS were longer in the study group than the control (5 vs. 2.7 months, P = 0.037; HR, 0.403, 95 % CI, 0.162-1.003, P = 0.051, and 14.5 vs. 9 months, P = 0.038; HR, 0.403, 95 % CI, 0.165-0.987, P = 0.047, respectively). No significant adverse reactions occurred in patients undergoing CIT. CONCLUSIONS: CIT maintenance therapy in SCLC prolonged survival with only minimal side effects. Integrating CIT into current treatment may be a novel strategy for SCLC therapy, although further multi-center randomized studies are needed.

Neuroglobin and Nogo-a as biomarkers for the severity and prognosis of traumatic brain injury.

OBJECTIVE: To identify the early changes of serum neuroglobin and Nogo-A concentrations and the relations to traumatic brain injury (TBI) severity and prognosis. METHODS: Serum samples were obtained and analyzed from 34 patients with TBI within the first 96 h after injury. Comparative analysis combined with Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) scores and the 6-month prognosis of these patients was performed. RESULTS: Significant correlations were found between peak serum neuroglobin and Nogo-A concentrations and a patient's GCS score on admission (p < 0.001). The mean peak serum neuroglobin and Nogo-A concentrations were both significantly higher in patients with an unfavorable outcome at 6 months after injury (p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Serum neuroglobin and Nogo-A levels could be suggested as biomarkers for predicting TBI severity and prognosis.

The effect of perceived social support and health literacy on parental COVID-19 vaccine hesitation in preschool children: a cross-sectional study.

Children are generally susceptible to COVID-19, and infection with COVID-19 may cause serious harm to children. COVID-19 vaccination is an effective way to prevent infection at present, and many factors affect children's COVID-19 vaccination. This study aimed to explore the effects of perceived social support and health literacy on hesitancy towards first and second vaccine dose. This cross-sectional study was conducted in the Minhang District of Shanghai, China, in October 2022. A total of 1150 parents of preschool children from 10 kindergartens participated. The survey encompassed four sections, capturing data on sociodemographic attributes, health literacy, perceived social support, and parental COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy. Health literacy was measured using a self-designed questionnaire consisting of four dimensions. Perceived social support was assessed using the MSPSS questionnaire. Hierarchical multiple logistic regression was used to examine the relationship between the independent variables and parental hesitancy towards the first and second doses of COVID-19 vaccine. Parental hesitancy rate for the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine was 69.6%, and for the second dose, it was 33.1%. The final integrated model showed that parental hesitancy towards the first and the second dose of COVID-19 vaccine was associated with parental educational level, allergy in children, information decision-making and information comprehension ability, perceived social support from family and friends. Health literacy and perceived social support are influence factors for parental hesitancy towards COVID-19 vaccine for preschool children. The findings will provide insights for future intervention studies on COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy and inform the development of vaccination policies.

Effects of Social Support on Medication Adherence Among Patients with Schizophrenia: Serial Multiple Mediation Model.

Purpose: This study aims to explore the serial mediating effect of stigma and depression on the association between social support and medication adherence. Patients and Methods: A cross-sectional survey was undertaken in the Changning District of Shanghai using a five-part questionnaire from August to December 2023. A convenient sampling method was employed, and 35 patients with schizophrenia were invited from each of the 9 streets in Changning District to participate in the survey, resulting in a total of 305 valid questionnaires collected. The questionnaire measured social support, stigma, depression, medication adherence, and demographic characteristics. Data analysis involved descriptive statistics, independent samples t-tests, ANOVA, Pearson correlation analysis, and the bootstrap method. Results: There was a direct and significantly positive association between social support and medication adherence (ß = 0.69, p < 0.001). Moreover, increased levels of stigma (ß = - 0.45, p = 0.013) and depression (ß = - 0.09, p = 0.017) were both associated with a decline in medication adherence. Bootstrapping analysis revealed that the association between social support and medication adherence operated indirectly through stigma (ß = 0.11, 95% CI: 0.03, 0.18). Additionally, social support was indirectly associated with medication adherence through depression (ß = 0.15, 95% CI: 0.04, 0.30). Further analysis indicated that social support had an indirect association with medication adherence through both stigma and depression (ß = 0.04, 95% CI: 0.01, 0.07). Conclusion: Stigma and depression serially mediate the association between social support and medication adherence among patients with schizophrenia. This serial multiple mediation model underscores the importance of integrating social support interventions with psychological interventions aimed at reducing stigma and depression, thereby effectively enhancing medication adherence in patients with schizophrenia.

Semi-supervised lane detection for continuous traffic scenes.

OBJECTIVE: This article aims to upgrade the lane detection algorithm from image to video level in order to advance automatic driving technology. The objective is to propose a cost-efficient algorithm that can handle complex traffic scenes and different driving speeds using continuous image inputs. METHODS: To achieve this objective, we introduce the Multi-ERFNet-ConvLSTM network framework, which combines Efficient Residual Factorized ConvNet (ERFNet) and Convolution Long Short Term Memory (ConvLSTM). Additionally, we incorporate the Pyramidally Attended Feature Extraction (PAFE) Module into our network design to effectively handle multi-scale lane objects. The algorithm is evaluated using a divided dataset and comprehensive assessments are conducted across multiple dimensions. RESULTS: In the testing phase, the Multi-ERFNet-ConvLSTM algorithm surpasses the primary baselines and demonstrates superior performance in terms of Accuracy, Precision, and F1-score metrics. It exhibits excellent detection results in various complex traffic scenes and performs well at different driving speeds. CONCLUSIONS: The proposed Multi-ERFNet-ConvLSTM algorithm provides a robust solution for video-level lane detection in advanced automatic driving. By utilizing continuous image inputs and incorporating the PAFE Module, the algorithm achieves high performance while reducing labeling costs. Its exceptional accuracy, precision, and F1-score metrics highlight its effectiveness in complex traffic scenarios. Moreover, its adaptability to different driving speeds makes it suitable for real-world applications in autonomous driving systems.