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1.
Nat Methods ; 21(5): 857-867, 2024 May.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-38374262

ABSTRACT

Studies using antigen-presenting systems at the single-cell and ensemble levels can provide complementary insights into T-cell signaling and activation. Although crucial for advancing basic immunology and immunotherapy, there is a notable absence of synthetic material toolkits that examine T cells at both levels, and especially those capable of single-molecule-level manipulation. Here we devise a biomimetic antigen-presenting system (bAPS) for single-cell stimulation and ensemble modulation of T-cell recognition. Our bAPS uses hexapod heterostructures composed of a submicrometer cubic hematite core (α-Fe2O3) and nanostructured silica branches with diverse surface modifications. At single-molecule resolution, we show T-cell activation by a single agonist peptide-loaded major histocompatibility complex; distinct T-cell receptor (TCR) responses to structurally similar peptides that differ by only one amino acid; and the superior antigen recognition sensitivity of TCRs compared with that of chimeric antigen receptors (CARs). We also demonstrate how the magnetic field-induced rotation of hexapods amplifies the immune responses in suspended T and CAR-T cells. In addition, we establish our bAPS as a precise and scalable method for identifying stimulatory antigen-specific TCRs at the single-cell level. Thus, our multimodal bAPS represents a unique biointerface tool for investigating T-cell recognition, signaling and function.


Subject(s)
Lymphocyte Activation , T-Lymphocytes , T-Lymphocytes/immunology , Humans , Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell/immunology , Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell/metabolism , Antigen Presentation , Silicon Dioxide/chemistry , Ferric Compounds/chemistry , Peptides/chemistry , Peptides/immunology , Animals , Antigen-Presenting Cells/immunology , Nanostructures/chemistry , Mice , Receptors, Chimeric Antigen/immunology , Receptors, Chimeric Antigen/metabolism
2.
PLoS Genet ; 19(11): e1010597, 2023 Nov.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-38011285

ABSTRACT

Polygenic risk score (PRS) is a quantity that aggregates the effects of variants across the genome and estimates an individual's genetic predisposition for a given trait. PRS analysis typically contains two input data sets: base data for effect size estimation and target data for individual-level prediction. Given the availability of large-scale base data, it becomes more common that the ancestral background of base and target data do not perfectly match. In this paper, we treat the GWAS summary information obtained in the base data as knowledge learned from a pre-trained model, and adopt a transfer learning framework to effectively leverage the knowledge learned from the base data that may or may not have similar ancestral background as the target samples to build prediction models for target individuals. Our proposed transfer learning framework consists of two main steps: (1) conducting false negative control (FNC) marginal screening to extract useful knowledge from the base data; and (2) performing joint model training to integrate the knowledge extracted from base data with the target training data for accurate trans-data prediction. This new approach can significantly enhance the computational and statistical efficiency of joint-model training, alleviate over-fitting, and facilitate more accurate trans-data prediction when heterogeneity level between target and base data sets is small or high.


Subject(s)
Genome-Wide Association Study , Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide , Humans , Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide/genetics , Genetic Predisposition to Disease , Phenotype , Multifactorial Inheritance/genetics , Machine Learning , Risk Factors
3.
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A ; 119(17): e2117941119, 2022 04 26.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-35439047

ABSTRACT

Rare actinomycetes represent an underexploited source of new bioactive compounds. Here, we report the use of a targeted metabologenomic approach to identify piperazyl compounds in the rare actinomycete Lentzea flaviverrucosa DSM 44664. These efforts to identify molecules that incorporate piperazate building blocks resulted in the discovery and structural elucidation of two dimeric biaryl-cyclohexapeptides, petrichorins A and B. Petrichorin B is a symmetric homodimer similar to the known compound chloptosin, but petrichorin A is unique among known piperazyl cyclopeptides because it is an asymmetric heterodimer. Due to the structural complexity of petrichorin A, solving its structure required a combination of several standard chemical methods plus in silico modeling, strain mutagenesis, and solving the structure of its biosynthetic intermediate petrichorin C for confident assignment. Furthermore, we found that the piperazyl cyclopeptides comprising each half of the petrichorin A heterodimer are made via two distinct nonribosomal peptide synthetase (NRPS) assembly lines, and the responsible NRPS enzymes are encoded within a contiguous biosynthetic supercluster on the L. flaviverrucosa chromosome. Requiring promiscuous cytochrome p450 crosslinking events for asymmetric and symmetric biaryl production, petrichorins A and B exhibited potent in vitro activity against A2780 human ovarian cancer, HT1080 fibrosarcoma, PC3 human prostate cancer, and Jurkat human T lymphocyte cell lines with IC50 values at low nM levels. Cyclic piperazyl peptides and their crosslinked derivatives are interesting drug leads, and our findings highlight the potential for heterodimeric bicyclic peptides such as petrichorin A for inclusion in future pharmaceutical design and discovery programs.


Subject(s)
Actinobacteria , Actinomycetales , Streptomyces , Actinobacteria/genetics , Actinomycetales/genetics , Multigene Family , Peptides, Cyclic/genetics , Streptomyces/genetics
4.
Am J Gastroenterol ; 2024 May 07.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-38775939

ABSTRACT

INTRODUCTION: We investigated the impact of metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) on cardiovascular structure development in children. METHODS: We followed 1,356 children with the mean age of 6.6 years for 4.5 years in Beijing, China. We assessed the association of MASLD with cardiovascular structure (carotid intima-media thickness and left ventricular mass) outcomes at baseline and follow-up. RESULTS: Over follow-up, 59 children had persistent MASLD, 109 had incident MASLD (progression), and 35 had normalization of liver health. Children with MASLD normalization showed a significantly lower mean development in carotid intima-media thickness (0.161 vs 0.188 mm) and left ventricular mass (4.5 vs 12.4 g) than children with persistent MASLD. DISCUSSION: The control of MASLD was associated with improved cardiovascular structure development.

5.
Cytotherapy ; 25(11): 1176-1185, 2023 11.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-37516947

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND AIMS: Extracellular vesicles and exosome-mimetic nanovesicles (NVs) derived from mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) have emerged as promising to promote hair growth. However, short local skin retention after subcutaneous administration hinders their clinical applications. METHODS: In this study, we prepared magnetic nanovesicles (MNVs) from iron oxide nanoparticle-incorporated MSCs. MNVs contained more therapeutic growth factors than NVs derived from naive MSCs, and their localization and internalization were manipulated by external magnetic field. RESULTS: Following the subcutaneous injection of MNVs into a mouse model of depilation-induced hair regeneration, the magnetic attraction increased their skin retention. Then, the cellular proliferation and ß-catenin signaling in hair follicles (HF) were markedly enhanced by MNV injection and magnetic field application. Furthermore, an acceleration of HF growth was revealed by histological analysis. CONCLUSIONS: The proposed strategy can enhance the therapeutic potential of MSC-derived NVs for hair regeneration and other dermatological diseases.


Subject(s)
Hair Follicle , Mesenchymal Stem Cells , Mice , Animals , Hair Follicle/metabolism , Skin , Mesenchymal Stem Cells/metabolism , Cell Proliferation , Magnetic Phenomena
6.
BMC Womens Health ; 23(1): 358, 2023 07 05.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-37407957

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was adopts meta-analysis in evaluating the correlation between TSH and BMD, as well as osteoporosis in the postmenopausal women with normal thyroid function. METHODS: Six databases were searched for articles concerning correlation between TSH and BMD in postmenopausal women. The retrieval time was set from the date of database establishment to November 30, 2020. Revman5.3 and Stata12.0 software were used for meta-analysis. RESULTS: A total of 19 articles were incorporated. The Summary Fisher' Z of the correlation between TSH and BMD was 0.16, 95% CI (0.00, 0.32), and the correlation coefficient of Summary Fisher' Z conversion was 0.158. Study on the relationship between TSH and osteoporosis based on OR demonstrated that the combined OR was 1.76, 95% CI (1.27, 2.45), P < 0.05. The subgroup analyzing results displayed that the risk of osteoporosis of the subjects from community with low TSH was 1.89, 95% CI (1.43, 2.49). The risk of osteoporosis for subjects with low TSH and from hospitals was 1.36, 95% CI (0.46, 3.99); 1.84 for subjects with low TSH and anti-osteoporosis drugs, 95% CI (1.05, 3.22); and 1.74 for those with low TSH but not taking anti-osteoporosis drugs, 95% CI (1.08, 2.82). The dose-response relationship showed that the risk of osteoporosis tended to decrease when TSH was more than 2.5mIu/L. CONCLUSION: The serum TSH is positively related with BMD in postmenopausal women, and high TSH (> 2.5 mIu/L) within the normal range is possibly helpful to decrease the risk of osteoporosis in postmenopausal women.


Subject(s)
Osteoporosis, Postmenopausal , Osteoporosis , Female , Humans , Bone Density/physiology , Thyrotropin , Postmenopause , Reference Values
7.
Ecotoxicol Environ Saf ; 262: 115343, 2023 Aug 08.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-37562173

ABSTRACT

Allergic rhinitis (AR) and adenoid hypertrophy (AH) are common nasal diseases in children. Studies have shown that heavy metals are environmental risk factors for nasal diseases, and the pathogenic mechanisms may be related to dysregulation of nasal mucosal microbiota. However, it is unclear how heavy metal exposure relates to the nasal mucosal microbiota in nasal diseases. Therefore, we explored serum metal exposure levels and nasal mucosal microbiota composition in children with different nasal disease, and further studied the potential correlation between metal exposure and disease-related taxa. There were 64 children recruited for this study. The 23 metals concentrations in serum were measured by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry, and nasal mucosal bacteria was identified by 16S rRNA sequencing. Nasal diseases (AR and AH) in children were associated with alterations in the abundance and diversity of the nasal mucosal microbiota. The nasal microbiota of children with AR showed lower diversity, while the microbiota of children with AH showed higher diversity. Linear discriminant analysis Effect Size showed 108 differentially abundant taxa between AR and control groups, 35 differentially abundant taxa among large adenoid, moderate adenoid and small adenoid groups. The serum zinc concentration was negatively correlated with Pielou's eveness index and Simpson's Index in children classified by adenoid size. The spearman correlation analysis showed that multiple disease-related taxa were closely associated with metal concentrations in serum. Our findings may support a link between metal exposure and the diversity and composition of nasal bacteria in children with nasal disease, which present new evidence for the effects of metals on children health.

8.
Sensors (Basel) ; 23(9)2023 Apr 25.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-37177476

ABSTRACT

Satellite edge computing has attracted the attention of many scholars due to its extensive coverage and low delay. Satellite edge computing research remains focused on on-orbit task scheduling. However, existing research has not considered the situation where heavily loaded satellites cannot participate in offloading. To solve this problem, this study first models the task scheduling of dynamic satellite networks as a minimization problem that considers both the weighted delay and energy consumption. In addition, a hybrid genetic binary particle swarm optimization (GABPSO) algorithm is proposed to solve this optimization problem. The simulation results demonstrate that the proposed method outperforms the other three baseline algorithms.

9.
J Environ Sci (China) ; 124: 11-18, 2023 Feb.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-36182121

ABSTRACT

Many per- and polyfluoralkyl substances (PFASs) may disrupt maternal thyroid hormone homeostasis in pregnancy. Concerns should be raised regarding the PFASs exposure in pregnant women because thyroid hormones are involved in the early development of the fetus. In this study, we measured the concentrations of 13 PFASs, including five novel short-chain PFASs, in serum from 123 pregnant women in Beijing, China. Linear regression models were used to investigate the association between thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) or free thyroxine (FT4) levels and PFASs concentrations under consideration of the impacts of pregnancy-induced physiological factors. We found that perfluorobutanoic acid (PFBA) (ß=0.189, 95%CI=-0.039, 0.417, p=0.10) and perfluorodecanoic acid (PFDA) (ß=-0.554, 95%CI=-1.16, 0.049, p=0.071) were suggestive of significant association with TSH in thyroid peroxidase antibody (TPOAb) negative women. No association was observed between all PFASs and FT4 levels after controlling for these confounding factors, such as BMI, gestational weight gain and maternal age. These findings suggest that it should pay more attention to the association between thyroid hormone levels and short-chain PFASs concentrations. Future studies could consider a greater sample and the inclusion of other clinical indicators of thyroid function, such as free T3 and total T3.


Subject(s)
Fluorocarbons , Female , Humans , Iodide Peroxidase , Pregnancy , Pregnant Women , Thyroid Hormones , Thyrotropin , Thyroxine
10.
Pediatr Res ; 92(1): 322-330, 2022 07.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-34580427

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: Abdominal obesity is strongly associated with the development of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Early identification and intervention may reduce the risk. We aim to improve pediatric NAFLD screening by comparing discriminative performance of six abdominal obesity indicators. METHODS: We measured anthropometric indicators (waist circumference [WC], waist-to-hip ratio [WHR], waist-to-height ratio [WHtR]), body composition indicators (trunk fat index [TFI], visceral fat area [VFA]), and endocrine indicator (visceral adiposity index [VAI]) among 1350 Chinese children aged 6-8 years. Using Spearman correlation, receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves, and Logistic regression, we validated their ability to predict NAFLD. RESULTS: All six indicators can predict NAFLD robustly, with area under the curve (AUC) values ranged from 0.69 to 0.96. TFI, WC, and VFA rank in the top three for the discriminative performance. TFI was the best predictor with AUC values of 0.94 (0.92-0.97) and 0.96 (0.92-0.99), corresponding to cut-off values of 1.83 and 2.31 kg/m2 for boys and girls, respectively. Boys with higher TFI (aOR = 13.8), VFA (aOR = 11.1), WHtR (aOR = 3.1), or VAI (aOR = 2.8), and girls with higher TFI (aOR = 21.0) or VFA (aOR = 17.5), were more likely to have NAFLD. CONCLUSION: User-friendly body composition indicators like TFI can identify NAFLD and help prevent the progress of liver disease. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Chinese Clinical Trial Registry (ChiCTR) ( www.chictr.org.cn/enIndex.aspx , No. ChiCTR2100044027); retrospectively registered on 6 March 2021. IMPACT: Abdominal obesity increases the risk of pediatric non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). This study compared the discriminative performance of multiple abdominal obesity indicators measured by different methods in terms of accuracy and fastidious cut-off values through a population-based child cohort. Our results provided solid evidence of abdominal obesity indicators as an optimal screening tool for pediatric NAFLD, with area under the curve (AUC) values ranged from 0.69 to 0.96. User-friendly body composition indicators like TFI show a greater application potential in helping physicians perform easy, reliable, and interpretable weight management to prevent the progress of liver damage.


Subject(s)
Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease , Body Mass Index , Child , Cross-Sectional Studies , Female , Humans , Male , Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease/diagnosis , Obesity/diagnosis , Obesity, Abdominal/diagnosis , ROC Curve , Risk Factors , Waist Circumference , Waist-Height Ratio
11.
Curr HIV/AIDS Rep ; 19(3): 167-176, 2022 06.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-35394249

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: The impact of HIV infection on the natural history of COVID-19 is unknown, given the recency of the human spread of SARS-CoV-2 (CoV). We reviewed published case series/reports of CoV-HIV coinfections to clarify epidemiologic and clinical features in China, the first nation with pandemic experience. RECENT FINDINGS: Assuming that HIV-infected persons were at average risk of CoV infection in Wuhan, we estimated HIV-CoV coinfected persons to number 412 (95%CI: 381-442); our review encompassed an estimated 16.7% (69/412) of Wuhan. Men (many of whom reported sex with other men) accounted for 71.1% (54/76) of the cases reported in China. The median age was 48.0 years old (range 24-77, interquartile:37-57). The median CD4+ cell count at the last clinical visit was 421 cells/µL; 83.0% had an undetectable viral load. Among 31 patients with clinical details reported, fatigue (41.9%), respiratory distress (41.9%), and gastrointestinal symptoms (26.7%) were most common. Among the 52 cases reporting COVID-19 clinical severity, 46.2% were severe, 44.2% mild, and 9.6% asymptomatic COVID-19. Late antiretroviral therapy (ART) was reported by 30.4% (7/23) among whom 57.1% (4/7) were confirmed as severe COVID-19. The case fatality rate was 9.1% (3/33). Severe disease and death were less common among persons who took ART prior to the COVID-19 diagnosis. Of 16 reported IL-6 results, 68.7% were within the normal range. Earlier use of ART was associated with a better COVID-19 prognosis with CoV-HIV co-infection reported from China through early 2021, but small sample sizes limit definitive conclusions.


Subject(s)
COVID-19 , HIV Infections , Adult , Aged , COVID-19/complications , COVID-19/diagnosis , COVID-19/epidemiology , COVID-19 Testing , China/epidemiology , HIV Infections/complications , HIV Infections/diagnosis , HIV Infections/drug therapy , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Pandemics , SARS-CoV-2 , Young Adult
12.
Environ Sci Technol ; 56(20): 14585-14593, 2022 10 18.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-36094430

ABSTRACT

Passive smoking exposure in children is prevalent worldwide and exposes children to respiratory and systemic toxins. In this study, we enrolled 568 children to study how secondhand smoke (SHS) might affect children's cardiovascular health in China. The measurement of nicotine and its metabolites in urine showed that 78.9% of children were exposed to SHS. Children exposed to SHS had greater interventricular septum thickness (p = 0.005) and left ventricular mass index (p = 0.008) than nonexposed children. Urinary norcotinine levels were associated with increased ascending aorta diameter (ß = 0.10, 95%CI 0.02-0.17) and decreased left ventricular end systolic diameter (ß = -0.10, 95%CI -0.19 to -0.01). The effects of SHS exposure on cardiovascular function: norcotinine levels associated with lower left ventricular mass index (ß = -0.32, 95%CI -0.59 to -0.05), left ventricular end diastolic volume index (ß = -0.43, 95%CI -0.85 to -0.02), and left ventricular end systolic volume index (ß = -0.20, 95%CI -0.37 to -0.03). Moreover, there no no significant associations of nicotine, cotinine, and trans-3'-hydroxycotinine with cardiovascular health. Overall, SHS exposure in children remains prevalent in Beijing and may affect children's cardiovascular development, in both structure and function. It suggests that stricter and practical measures are needed toward the elimination of tobacco use in children's environments.


Subject(s)
Cotinine , Tobacco Smoke Pollution , Beijing/epidemiology , Child , Cohort Studies , Cotinine/urine , Humans , Nicotine , Tobacco Smoke Pollution/analysis
13.
Int J Equity Health ; 20(1): 111, 2021 05 01.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-33933082

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Socio-economic inequities can strongly influence suboptimal infant feeding outcomes. Factors such as lack of knowledge about breastfeeding, low family income, low educational attainment, social and economic status, cultural norms and ethnicity may negatively affect success with offering breastfeeding following a responsive feeding approach (ie. responsive breastfeeding). Such inequities can indeed shorten breastfeeding duration, and negatively affect behavioral and cognitive infant outcomes. In China, there is a dearth of studies focusing on breastfeeding from the responsive and health equity perspective. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this article is to present a protocol of an ongoing longitudinal cohort study investigating factors associated with responsive breastfeeding behaviors, and the child's behavioral and cognitive development from birth to12 months post-partum in five centers in China. The study seeks to identify breastfeeding barriers and facilitators from a health equity perspective. METHODS: We are enrolling 700 women and their singleton full term infants in Chongqing, Huizhou and Guangzhou urban and rural areas. The study questionnaires will be administrated within 72 h, 30 days, 3, 6, 9, and 12 months post-partum during the baby's vaccination visits. We will investigate the difference between urban and rural areas sociodemographic characteristics, breastfeeding knowledge, attitudes and practice, postnatal depression, maternal emotion regulation and parenting stress, and anthropometric and cognitive development indicators of the infants at each time-point. CONCLUSION: Our article illustrates how a cohort study can be designed to understand the barriers and facilitators of responsive breastfeeding taking equity principles into account to help promote infants' growth and development in China.


Subject(s)
Breast Feeding , Mothers , Breast Feeding/psychology , Breast Feeding/statistics & numerical data , China , Female , Health Equity , Humans , Infant , Longitudinal Studies , Mothers/psychology , Mothers/statistics & numerical data , Research Design , Socioeconomic Factors
14.
Zhonghua Yu Fang Yi Xue Za Zhi ; 54(8): 875-883, 2020 08 06.
Article in Zh | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-32842317

ABSTRACT

Objective: To understand the prevalence of asthma and its variation over time in children aged 0-14 years in China. Methods: The studies on the prevalence of asthma in children in China were systematically retrieved from China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), WanFang Data, China Science and Technology Journal Database (VIP) and PubMed databases. The search time was up to June 2019, and the study site was located in the asthma surveillance cities. Random effect model was used to calculate the combined prevalence of asthma and its 95% confidence interval (CI). The subgroup analysis was conducted by period, sex and region. All analyses were performed by using Stata 15.1 and R Studio software. Results: Among 2 624 articles, 67 met the eligibility criteria, and the survey time was from 1989 to 2015. A total of 1 661 076 children were involved and 40 737 asthma cases were confirmed from 26 provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions. The prevalence of asthma varied greatly among different studies, ranging from 0.5% to 9.82%. Meta-analysis showed that the combined prevalence of asthma in Chinese children aged 0-14 was 2.6% (95%CI: 2.1%-3.1%), about 3.2% (95%CI: 2.6%-3.8%) for boys and 1.9% (95%CI: 1.6%-2.3%) for girls. The subgroup analysis showed a significant variation of the prevalence over different years, genders and regions (P<0.05). The prevalence of asthma in boys was consistently higher than that of girls. The overall prevalence of asthma showed an upward trend. Before 2010, the prevalence of asthma in the eastern region was higher than that in the central and western regions. The prevalence of asthma across regions showed a significant change and the prevalence of asthma in the central region was significantly higher than that in the eastern and western regions from 2010 to 2015 (P<0.05). Conclusion: The asthma prevalence of children aged 0-14 in China is generally increasing, and the prevalence rate of boys is higher than that of girls. The prevalence rate in the central region is significantly higher than that in the eastern region from 2010 to 2015, suggesting that those regions should strengthen the early prevention and intervention of asthma and implement a sex-specific information dissemination strategy.


Subject(s)
Asthma/epidemiology , Adolescent , Child , Child, Preschool , China/epidemiology , Cities , Female , Humans , Infant , Infant, Newborn , Male , Prevalence , Surveys and Questionnaires
15.
Zhonghua Yu Fang Yi Xue Za Zhi ; 54(6): 685-690, 2020 06 06.
Article in Zh | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-32842287

ABSTRACT

Objective: The study intends to identify gap in HIV/AIDS awareness dissemination between the official channel delivery and the needs of adolescents. Methods: We crawled all the HIV/AIDS queries from "Baidu zhidao" till June 11st, 2018. "Baidu zhidao" inquiry and information form official public service announcement (abbreviated for "official delivery" hereafter) were the data source for comparative analysis. We categorized the text data into four kinds, "prevention", "testing and treatment", "symptoms and infection" and "legalization and policies" according to official categorization. Word segmentation was used for text mining and word frequency statistics, as well word cloud was used for word frequency visualization (all based on a comparison after removing the useless words). Results: Of the official delivery, the proportion of prevention category accounted for 32.3% (n=162) (ranks 1st), and the proportion of legalization and policies category was 14.1% (n=71). While among the "Baidu zhidao" inquiry information, the proportion of testing and treatment category accounted for 51.7% (n=51 264), and the proportion of prevention category accounted for 11.4% (n=11 272). The frequencies of same terms/ repeated terms of two channels accounted for 60% (59.3%-63.9%) of each category among the official delivery, of which, the proportion of interest terms comparatively less and more diverse in "Baidu zhidao" inquiries. The proportion of the terms frequency of each category was about 45% in "prevention, testing and treatment", 34.3% (n=14 781) in "symptoms and infection" and 17.0% (n=5 744) in "legalization and policies", respectively. Conclusion: A big gap was identified between the available official source and inquiries' term, especially word frequency discrepancy between "legalization and policies" and "prevention" categories. It underscore the necessity for the official channel to address the needs and interests of adolescents in the future.


Subject(s)
Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome/prevention & control , Adolescent , Data Mining , Humans , Information Dissemination
17.
Sex Transm Infect ; 95(4): 267-272, 2019 06.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-30842346

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: We investigated syphilis prevalence among men who have sex with men (MSM) in China, as well as potential risk factors. Our principal hypothesis was that syphilis would be associated with the use of recreational drugs such as methamphetamines. METHODS: From April to October 2013, we used several methods to recruit MSM in Qingdao, collecting demographic/behavioural information via self-administrated questionnaires. Trained health workers collected blood for the Treponema pallidum particle assay (TPPA) with positives confirmed by a toluidine red unheated serum test. We used an unmatched case-control study to identify factors that might predict syphilis infection using multivariable logistic regression. RESULTS: We recruited 447 MSM who agreed to participate and who completed syphilis testing. Of 71 (15.9%) syphilis-positive MSM, 44 (62.0%) used drugs. Of 376 (84.1%) syphilis-negative MSM, 186 (49.5%) used drugs. We found a positive association with syphilis for any recreational drug use (crude OR (cOR) 1.7, 95 % CI 1.0 to 2.8), frequent methamphetamine use (cOR 2.4, 95% CI 1.1 to 5.3) and multiple drug use (adjusted OR (aOR) 3.4, 95% CI 1.3 to 9.2). Syphilis-positive men were more likely to have a higher physical depression score (aOR 5.2, 95% CI 1.1 to 24.4), be > 30 years old (aOR 2.7, 95% CI 1.5 to 4.8), report a prior STI (aOR 4.1, 95% CI 2.3 to 7.3) and report a sex party experience (aOR 2.2, 95% CI 1.1 to 4.4). CONCLUSIONS: Recreational drug use, depression and high-risk sexual behaviours were associated with syphilis infection among MSM in China. Only a multifaceted approach is likely be effective in control of both syphilis and HIV .


Subject(s)
Homosexuality, Male , Sexual Behavior , Sexually Transmitted Diseases/epidemiology , Substance-Related Disorders/epidemiology , Syphilis/epidemiology , Adult , Case-Control Studies , China/epidemiology , Demography , Humans , Logistic Models , Male , Sexually Transmitted Diseases/complications , Substance-Related Disorders/complications , Surveys and Questionnaires , Syphilis/complications , Syphilis Serodiagnosis , Young Adult
18.
Hum Factors ; 61(6): 879-894, 2019 09.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-30912987

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: The study examines the factors determining the movement time (MT) of positioning an object in an immersive 3D virtual environment. BACKGROUND: Positioning an object into a prescribed area is a fundamental operation in a 3D space. Although Fitts's law models the pointing task very well, it does not apply to a positioning task in an immersive 3D virtual environment since it does not consider the effect of object size in the positioning task. METHOD: Participants were asked to position a ball-shaped object into a spherical area in a virtual space using a handheld or head-tracking controller in the ray-casting technique. We varied object size (OS), movement amplitude (A), and target tolerance (TT). MT was recorded and analyzed in three phases: acceleration, deceleration, and correction. RESULTS: In the acceleration phase, MT was inversely related to object size and positively proportional to movement amplitude. In the deceleration phase, MT was primarily determined by movement amplitude. In the correction phase, MT was affected by all three factors. We observed similar results whether participants used a handheld controller or head-tracking controller. We thus propose a three-phase model with different formulae at each phase. This model fit participants' performance very well. CONCLUSION: A three-phase model can successfully predict MT in the positioning task in an immersive 3D virtual environment in the acceleration, deceleration, and correction phases, separately. APPLICATION: Our model provides a quantitative framework for researchers and designers to design and evaluate 3D interfaces for the positioning task in a virtual space.


Subject(s)
Acceleration , Deceleration , Motor Activity/physiology , Virtual Reality , Adult , Female , Humans , Male , Movement , Time Factors , Young Adult
20.
AIDS Behav ; 22(7): 2267-2276, 2018 Jul.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-29786768

ABSTRACT

Receptive anal intercourse, multiple partners, condomless sex, sexually transmitted infections (STIs), and drug/alcohol addiction are familiar factors that correlate with increased human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) risk among men who have sex with men (MSM). To improve estimation to HIV acquisition, we created a composite score using questions from routine survey of 3588 MSM in Beijing, China. The HIV prevalence was 13.4%. A risk scoring tool using penalized maximum likelihood multivariable logistic regression modeling was developed, deploying backward step-down variable selection to obtain a reduced-form model. The full penalized model included 19 sexual predictors, while the reduced-form model had 12 predictors. Both models calibrated well; bootstrap-corrected c-indices were 0.70 (full model) and 0.71 (reduced-form model). Non-Beijing residence, short-term living in Beijing, illegal drug use, multiple male sexual partners, receptive anal sex, inconsistent condom use, alcohol consumption before sex, and syphilis infection were the strongest predictors of HIV infection. Discriminating higher-risk MSM for targeted HIV prevention programming using a validated risk score could improve the efficiency of resource deployment for educational and risk reduction programs. A valid risk score can also identify higher risk persons into prevention and vaccine clinical trials, which would improve trial cost-efficiency.


Subject(s)
Alcohol Drinking/epidemiology , HIV Infections/epidemiology , Sexual Behavior/statistics & numerical data , Sexual and Gender Minorities/statistics & numerical data , Syphilis/epidemiology , Unsafe Sex/statistics & numerical data , Adolescent , Adult , Aged , China/epidemiology , Condoms , Cross-Sectional Studies , HIV Infections/prevention & control , Homosexuality, Male/statistics & numerical data , Humans , Logistic Models , Male , Middle Aged , Multivariate Analysis , Prevalence , Risk Assessment , Risk Factors , Risk-Taking , Safe Sex , Sexual Partners , Surveys and Questionnaires , Young Adult
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