Effectiveness and safety of adjunctive non-drug measures in improving respiratory symptoms among patients with severe COVID-19: A multicenter randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: The outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection posed a huge threat and burden to public healthcare in late 2022. Non-drug measures of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), such as acupuncture, cupping and moxibustion, are commonly used as adjuncts in China to help in severe cases, but their effects remain unclear. OBJECTIVES: To observe the clinical effect of TCM non-drug measures in improving respiratory function and symptoms among patients with severe COVID-19. DESIGN, SETTING, PARTICIPANTS AND INTERVENTIONS: This study was designed as a multicenter, assessor-blind, randomized controlled trial. Hospitalized patients with COVID-19 were randomly assigned to the treatment or control group. The treatment group received individualized TCM non-drug measures in combination with prone position ventilation, while the control group received prone position ventilation only for 5 consecutive days. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The primary outcome measures were the percentage of patients with improved oxygen saturation (SpO2) at the end of the 5-day intervention, as well as changes of patients' respiratory rates. The secondary outcome measures included changes in SpO2 and total score on the self-made respiratory symptom scale. The improvement rate, defined as a 3-day consecutive increase in SpO2, the duration of prone positioning, and adverse events were recorded as well. RESULTS: Among the 198 patients included in the intention-to-treat analysis, 159 (80.3%) completed all assessments on day 5, and 39 (19.7%) patients withdrew from the study. At the end of the intervention, 71 (91%) patients in the treatment group had SpO2 above 93%, while 61 (75.3%) in the control group reached this level. The proportion of participant with improved SpO2 was significantly greater in the intervention group (mean difference [MD] = 15.7; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 4.4, 27.1; P = 0.008). Compared to the baseline, with daily treatment there were significant daily decreases in respiratory rates in both groups, but no statistical differences between groups were found (all P ≥ 0.05). Compared to the control group, the respiratory-related symptoms score was lower among patients in the treatment group (MD = -1.7; 95%CI: -2.8, -0.5; P = 0.008) after day 3 of treatment. A gradual decrease in the total scores of both groups was also observed. Thirty-one adverse events occurred during the intervention, and 2 patients were transferred to the intensive care unit due to deterioration of their illness. CONCLUSION: TCM non-drug measures combined with prone positioning can effectively treat patients with severe COVID-19. The combined therapy significantly increased SpO2 and improved symptom scores compared to prone positioning alone, thus improving the patients' respiratory function to help them recover. However, the improvement rate did not differ between the two groups. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Chinese Clinical Trial Registry (ChiCTR2300068319). Please cite this article as: Yin X, Jin Z, Li F, Huang L, Hu YM, Zhu BC, Wang ZQ, Li XY, Li JP, Lao LX, Mi YQ, Xu SF. Effectiveness and safety of adjunctive non-drug measures in improving respiratory symptoms among patients with severe COVID-19: A multicenter randomized controlled trial. J Integr Med. 2024; Epub ahead of print.

Soft composites with liquid inclusions: functional properties and theoretical models.

Soft materials containing liquid inclusions have emerged as a promising class of materials. Unlike solid inclusions, liquid inclusions possess intrinsic fluidity, which allows them to retain the excellent deformation ability of soft materials. This can prevent compliance mismatches between the inclusions and the matrix, thus leading to improved performance and durability. Various liquids, including metallic, water-based, and ionic liquids, have been selected as inclusions for embedding into soft materials, resulting in unique properties and functionalities that enable a wide range of applications in soft robotics, wearable devices, and other cutting-edge fields. This review provides an overview of recent studies on the functional properties of composites with liquid inclusions and discusses theoretical models used to estimate these properties, aiming to bridge the gap between the microstructure/components and the overall properties of the composite from a theoretical perspective. Furthermore, current challenges and future opportunities for the widespread application of these composites are explored, highlighting their potential in advancing technologies.

Dissolvable microneedle-based wound dressing transdermally and continuously delivers anti-inflammatory and pro-angiogenic exosomes for diabetic wound treatment.

Due to overactive inflammation and hindered angiogenesis, self-healing of diabetic wounds (DW) remains challenging in the clinic. Platelet-derived exosomes (PLT-Exos), a novel exosome capable of anti-inflammation and pro-angiogenesis, show great potential in DW treatment. However, previous administration of exosomes into skin wounds is topical daub or intradermal injection, which cannot intradermally deliver PLT-Exos into the dermis layer, thus impeding its long-term efficacy in anti-inflammation and pro-angiogenesis. Herein, a dissolvable microneedle-based wound dressing (PLT-Exos@ADMMA-MN) was developed for transdermal and long-term delivery of PLT-Exos. Firstly, a photo-crosslinking methacrylated acellular dermal matrix-based hydrogel (ADMMA-GEL), showing physiochemical tailorability, fast-gelling performance, excellent biocompatibility, and pro-angiogenic capacities, was synthesized as a base material of our dressing. For endowing the dressing with anti-inflammation and pro-angiogenesis, PLT-Exos were encapsulated into ADMMA-GEL with a minimum effective concentration determined by our in-vitro experiments. Then, in-vitro results show that this dressing exhibits excellent properties in anti-inflammation and pro-angiogenesis. Lastly, in-vivo experiments showed that this dressing could continuously and transdermally deliver PLT-Exos into skin wounds to switch local macrophage into M2 phenotype while stimulating neovascularization, thus proving a low-inflammatory and pro-angiogenic microenvironment for DW healing. Collectively, this study provides a novel wound dressing capable of suppressing inflammation and stimulating vascularization for DW treatment.

Muscle, season, sex, and carcass weight affected pork texture, collagen characteristics, and intramuscular fat content.

In this study, pigs from 3 supply chains were slaughtered in an Australian summer and winter (n = 20 for each supply chain). The pigs were from 2 sexes (female and castrated male) and 2 carcass weight groups (high: 95.0 to 100.0 kg and low: 75.0 to 80.0 kg). From each carcass, the Biceps femoris (BF), Longissimus thoracis et lumborum (LTL), and Triceps brachii (TB) were excised at 24 h postmortem, vacuum packed, frozen at 24-48 h and transported to the lab. Cooking loss, Warner-Bratzler shear force (WBSF) and texture profile analysis (adhesiveness, chewiness, cohesiveness, hardness, resilience, and springiness) were measured in LTL and BF. pH, collagen content, and solubility and intramuscular fat (IMF) content were determined for all muscles. Results showed that BF was tougher than LTL, and winter samples were tougher than summer ones (P < 0.05). The TB had higher pH, collagen, and IMF content than BF and LTL (P < 0.05). Collagen solubility was higher in castrated male and winter samples. pH, collagen solubility, and IMF content were significantly (P < 0.05) related to chewiness and hardness in pork BF and LTL. pH and IMF were also related to cooking loss, while collagen solubility and IMF were related to WBSF (P < 0.05). The relationships of pH and IMF with pork texture were predominantly driven by the LTL, while the relationships between collagen solubility and texture were predominantly driven by the BF. Collagen solubility and IMF of pork BF and TB were related to those of LTL, but the correlations were not strong enough for prediction. Pork texture and chemical components were affected by muscle, seasons, sex and carcass weight. pH, collagen solubility, and IMF-affected pork texture.

Pork quality was affected by the season, sex, and weight of the pigs and muscle type. In this study, we determined how season, sex, weight, and muscle affected pork chemical components and texture and, how pH, collagen and intramuscular fat affected pork texture. The results showed that pork silverside was tougher than the loin, while pork collected during winter was tougher than that collected during summer. The pork shoulder had higher pH, intramuscular fat, and collagen content than silverside and loin. Pork with higher pH, collagen solubility, and intramuscular fat content would be the tenderest.

Consumer eating quality and physicochemical traits of pork Longissimus and Semimembranosus differed between genetic lines.

Pork eating quality is affected by various factors. In this study, Longissimus thoracis et lumborum (LTL) and Semimembranosus (SM) muscles from seven genetic lines (PM-LR - Pure maternal, Landrace-type; PM-LW - Pure maternal, Large White-type; PM-D - Pure maternal, Duroc-type; PT-D - Pure terminal, Duroc-type; PT-LW - Pure terminal, Large White-type; PT-LR - Pure Terminal, Landrace-type; Comp-P × LW × D - Composite Terminal - Pietran × Large white × Duroc) were analyzed for pH, intramuscular fat (IMF) content, and collagen content and solubility. A consumer sensory test using check-all-that-apply (CATA) and biometric approaches was also conducted. The results showed that the IMF content of line PM-D was the highest (P = 0.004), while line PT-LW received the highest score in tenderness, liking of flavor, purchase intent, and quality grading (P < 0.05). Line PM-LR and PT-LR showed the lowest IMF content and were least preferred by consumers. Compared to LTL, SM showed higher pH, collagen solubility, and sensory scores in tenderness, juiciness, liking of flavor, and overall liking (P < 0.05). Different muscles and lines were associated with different CATA terms but not with differences in consumer emotional responses. pH positively influenced tenderness, juiciness, and overall liking (P < 0.05), but IMF and collagen had little effect. The flavor was the most important sensory attribute contributing to overall liking, followed by tenderness. Genetic line and muscle affected pork chemical properties and eating quality. The findings are important for the Australian pork industry to improve the eating quality of their products.

LPDi GAN: A License Plate De-Identification Method to Preserve Strong Data Utility.

License plate (LP) information is an important part of personal privacy, which is protected by law. However, in some publicly available transportation datasets, the LP areas in the images have not been processed. Other datasets have applied simple de-identification operations such as blurring and masking. Such crude operations will lead to a reduction in data utility. In this paper, we propose a method of LP de-identification based on a generative adversarial network (LPDi GAN) to transform an original image to a synthetic one with a generated LP. To maintain the original LP attributes, the background features are extracted from the background to generate LPs that are similar to the originals. The LP template and LP style are also fed into the network to obtain synthetic LPs with controllable characters and higher quality. The results show that LPDi GAN can perceive changes in environmental conditions and LP tilt angles, and control the LP characters through the LP templates. The perceptual similarity metric, Learned Perceptual Image Patch Similarity (LPIPS), reaches 0.25 while ensuring the effect of character recognition on de-identified images, demonstrating that LPDi GAN can achieve outstanding de-identification while preserving strong data utility.

Global antimicrobial resistance and antibiotic use in COVID-19 patients within health facilities: A systematic review and meta-analysis of aggregated participant data.

OBJECTIVES: The COVID-19 pandemic has posed a significant threat to the global healthcare system, presenting a major challenge to antimicrobial stewardship worldwide. This study aimed to provide a comprehensive and up-to-date picture of global antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and antibiotic use in COVID-19 patients. METHODS: We conducted a systematic review to determine the prevalence of AMR and antibiotic usage among COVID-19 patients receiving treatment in healthcare facilities. Our search encompassed the PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, and Scopus databases, spanning studies published from December 2019 to May 2023. We utilized random-effects meta-analysis to assess the prevalence of multidrug-resistant organisms (MDROs) and antibiotic use in COVID-19 patients, aligning with both the WHO's priority list of MDROs and the AWaRe list of antibiotic products. Estimates were stratified by region, country, and country income. Meta-regression models were established to identify predictors of MDRO prevalence and antibiotic use in COVID-19 patients. The study protocol was registered with PROSPERO (CRD 42023449396). RESULTS: Among the 11,050 studies screened, 173 were included in the review, encompassing a total of 892,312 COVID-19 patients. MDROs were observed in 42.9% (95% CI 31.1-54.5%, I2 = 99.90%) of COVID-19 patients: 41.0% (95% CI 35.5-46.6%) for carbapenem-resistant organisms (CRO), 19.9% (95% CI 13.4-27.2%) for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), 24.9% (95% CI 16.7-34.1%) for extended-spectrum beta-lactamase-producing organisms (ESBL), and 22.9% (95% CI 13.0-34.5%) for vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus species (VRE), respectively. Overall, 76.2% (95% CI 69.5-82.9%, I2 = 99.99%) of COVID-19 patients were treated with antibiotics: 29.6% (95% CI 26.0-33.4%) with "Watch" antibiotics, 22.4% (95% CI 18.0-26.7%) with "Reserve" antibiotics, and 16.5% (95% CI 13.3-19.7%) with "Access" antibiotics. The MDRO prevalence and antibiotic use were significantly higher in low- and middle-income countries than in high-income countries, with the lowest proportion of antibiotic use (60.1% (95% CI 52.1-68.0%)) and MDRO prevalence (29.1% (95% CI 21.8-36.4%)) in North America, the highest MDRO prevalence in the Middle East and North Africa (63.9% (95% CI 46.6-81.2%)), and the highest proportion of antibiotic use in South Asia (92.7% (95% CI 90.4-95.0%)). The meta-regression identified antibiotic use and ICU admission as a significant predictor of higher prevalence of MDROs in COVID-19 patients. CONCLUSIONS: This systematic review offers a comprehensive and current assessment of MDRO prevalence and antibiotic use among COVID-19 patients in healthcare facilities. It underscores the formidable challenge facing global efforts to prevent and control AMR amidst the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic. These findings serve as a crucial warning to policymakers, highlighting the urgent need to enhance antimicrobial stewardship strategies to mitigate the risks associated with future pandemics.

Is matching or discrepancy between filial piety expectation and filial support better? The role of filial support of children and social support.

Filial piety in traditional Chinese culture is an essential variable in explaining intergenerational interaction. However, previous studies have not clarified whether older adults' filial responsibility expectations matched children's filial support and the effects of the filial discrepancy on their life satisfaction and loneliness. The latent profile analysis showed that older adults were divided into two groups: (1) high expectations and support, and (2) low expectations and support. The results showed that compared with older adults with low expectations and low support, those with high expectations and high support reported higher life satisfaction and lower loneliness. Additionally, social support played a moderating role in the effect of the groups of older adults on life satisfaction and loneliness. Our conclusion shows that filial support is an essential factor influencing older adult life satisfaction and loneliness, and social support is an effective supplement to filial support.

Effect and safety of electroacupuncture on weight loss in obese patients with pre-diabetes: study protocol of a randomised controlled trial.

INTRODUCTION: Obesity has been identified as a significant risk factor for several chronic conditions, including diabetes, tumours and cardiovascular disease, and has been associated with increased mortality rates. Despite the well-established clinical practice of electroacupuncture (EA) as a potential treatment option for obesity, its efficacy remains questionable, primarily due to the paucity of empirical evidence supporting its therapeutic benefits. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: The present study aims to investigate the efficacy and safety of EA for weight loss in obese individuals with pre-diabetes, using a randomised, placebo-controlled clinical trial design. A total of 256 eligible patients will be randomly assigned to one of two groups: EA (comprising EA treatment with health education) or superficial acupuncture (SA) (comprising SA treatment with health education). The intervention will be administered three times per week for the initial 12 weeks, two times per week for the subsequent 8 weeks and one time per week for the final 4 weeks, with a 24-week follow-up period. The primary outcome measure will be the percentage of patients who achieve a reduction of 10% or more in their body weight at week 24. Secondary outcome measures will include changes in body weight and body mass index, blood test results, data collected by the body composition analyser, size of adipose tissue scanned by MRI of the abdomen and the Impact of Weight on Quality of Life, the 21-item Three-Factor Eating Questionnaire-Revised and the Food Craving Questionnaire-Trait. The Treatment Emergent Symptom Scale will be employed to monitor every adverse reaction from baseline to follow-up. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: This trial has received ethical clearance from the Ethics Committee of Shanghai Municipal Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine under the registration number 2021SHL-KY-74. All participants will provide their written informed consent prior to their enrolment. The findings of this investigation will be disseminated through peer-reviewed publications and scholarly conferences. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: NCT05237089.

A novel cholesterol metabolism-related ferroptosis pathway in hepatocellular carcinoma.

BACKGROUND: Emerging studies have reported the contribution of cholesterol to hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) progression. However, the specific role and mechanism of cholesterol metabolism on spontaneous and progressive HCC development from the point of view of ferroptosis are still worth exploring. The present study aimed to reveal a novel mechanism of cholesterol metabolism-related ferroptosis in hepatocellular carcinoma cells. METHODS: Two microarray datasets (GSE25097, GSE22058) related to HCC were downloaded from Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) datasets. Metabolomics analysis was performed by ultra performance liquid chromatography - tandem mass spectrometer (UPLC-MS/MS). The cholesterol-related proteins were downloaded from HMBD. Ferroptosis-related genes were extracted from FerrDb database. Data sets were separated into two groups. GSE25097 was used to identify ferroptosis-related genes, and GSE22058 was used to verify results. During these processes, chemical-protein interaction (CPI), protein-protein interaction (PPI), the Gene Ontology (GO), and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment analyses were conducted. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to test the associated pathway. RESULTS: We identified 8 differentially expressed ferroptosis-related genes (HAMP, PTGS2, IL1B, ALOX15B, CDKN2A, RRM2, NQO1 and KIF20A) and 4 differentially expressed cholesterol-related genes (LCAT, CH25H, CEL and CYP7A1). Furthermore, based on the predicted results with STITCH, we identified indomethacin and IL1B as the essential node for cholesterol-mediated ferroptosis in hepatocellular carcinoma cell. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed the activities of plasma IL1B in liver cancer patients enrolled have been significantly affected by the level of plasma cholesterol (P < 0.001) and the test result of IL1B is a predictor variable causing the changes of serum Fe levels (P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Our findings shed new light on the association between cholesterol metabolism and ferroptosis in HCC, and suggest that IL1B is the necessary node for cholesterol to lead to ferroptosis process in HCC. Also, we identified the potential role of indomethacin in adjuvant therapy of HCC with complications of abnormal cholesterol metabolism.

RBC Transfusion Strategy in Oncological Patients with Chronic RBC Transfusion Therapy.

BACKGROUND: Red blood cell (RBC) transfusion therapy has greatly reduced mortality and morbidity in multiply transfused patients with oncological malignancies. The aim of this study was to underline the necessity of introducing a policy for extended RBC phenotyping of these patients and for the issuing of antigen-matched blood (at least for E antigen). METHODS: Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to evaluate the associations of age, gender, transfusion history, and various malignancies with the development of red cell alloimmunization. RESULTS: Given the results of antibody identification, we finally obtained 732 cases to be analyzed, designating them as the p group. The respiratory system (231/732; 31.6%), digestive system (273/732; 37.3%), and female reproductive system (127/732; 17.3%) had the three highest alloimmunization rates in the p group. We screened 81 cases from the p group for which antibody screening in our laboratory had historically yielded negative results. Among the 81 cases with antibody seroconversion, anti-E was the most frequently observed antibody (37%). CONCLUSIONS: The results related to multivariate logistic regression analysis of the Rh group indicate that, in contrast to the other variates, transfusion confers a strongly increased risk of Rh blood system-related red cell alloimmunization. To reduce alloimmunization in tumor patients, it will be essential to introduce a policy for extended RBC phenotyping of high-risk patients and for the issuing of antigen-matched blood (at least for E antigen).

Moxibustion for medical personnel with negative emotion and insomnia during COVID-19 pandemic: A randomized, controlled trial.

Background: We conducted this randomized controlled trial (RCT) to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of moxibustion at Sanyinjiao (SP6) acupoint for treatment of negative mood and sleep quality in healthcare workers during the 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19). Methods: A total of 180 participants were divided in a 1:1 ratio into two groups, the treatment group (for moxibustion) and the control group (for no treatment). The treatment group had a 30-minute moxibustion therapy once a day for two weeks, followed by a two-week follow-up. The Hamilton Anxiety Scale (HAMA) was used to assess the degree of the participants' anxiety, and the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) was utilized to examine their depressed condition. The Maslach Burnout Inventory-General Survey (MBI-GS) was used to measure the level of burnout among healthcare workers. To determine the severity of insomnia, the Sleep Dysfunction Rating Scale (SDRS) was utilized. At baseline, week 2, and week 4, all scales were evaluated. Results: Compared to the control group, The treatment group improved more significantly in the HAMA at week 2 (MD = -19.01, 95% CI: -21.89 to -16.14; P<0.001) and at week 4 follow-up visits (MD = -8.96, 95% CI: -11.19 to -6.73; P<0.001). A subgroup study of HAMA scores revealed that position and education had significant impact on treatment effectiveness. During the 2-week intervention period, the treatment group showed more significant improvements in depressive symptoms measured by PHQ-9 (13.00±2.41 vs. 15.60±3.65; P<0.001), work burnout symptoms measured by MBI-GS (MD = -11.88, 95% CI, -15.73 to -8.03; P<0.001), and insomnia symptoms measured by SDRS (MD = -2.45, 95% CI, -4.24 to -0.66; P<0.01). There were no significant adverse effects reported. Conclusion: Moxibustion at SP6 may be an effective treatment to improve anxiety, depression, sleep quality, and quality of life for healthcare workers during COVID-19. Trial registration: Chinese Clinical Trial Registry (ChiCTR): ChiCTR-2200059327.

PatU3 plays a central role in coordinating cell division and differentiation in pattern formation of filamentous cyanobacterium Nostoc sp. PCC 7120.

Spatial periodic signal for cell differentiation in some multicellular organisms is generated according to Turing's principle for pattern formation. How a dividing cell responds to the signal of differentiation is addressed with the filamentous cyanobacterium Nostoc sp. PCC 7120, which forms the patterned distribution of heterocysts. We show that differentiation of a dividing cell was delayed until its division was completed and only one daughter cell became heterocyst. A mutant of patU3, which encodes an inhibitor of heterocyst formation, showed no such delay and formed heterocyst pairs from the daughter cells of cell division or dumbbell-shaped heterocysts from the cells undergoing cytokinesis. The patA mutant, which forms heterocysts only at the filament ends, restored intercalary heterocysts by a single nucleotide mutation of patU3, and double mutants of patU3/patA and patU3/hetF had the phenotypes of the patU3 mutant. We provide evidence that HetF, which can degrade PatU3, is recruited to cell divisome through its C-terminal domain. A HetF mutant with its N-terminal peptidase domain but lacking the C-terminal domain could not prevent the formation of heterocyst pairs, suggesting that the divisome recruitment of HetF is needed to sequester HetF for the delay of differentiation in dividing cells. Our study demonstrates that PatU3 plays a key role in cell-division coupled control of differentiation.

Benefits of exercise training on divergent thinking: The mediating role of ambiguity tolerance.

Exercise training has been proposed as a method for improving cognitive function. However, it is unknown whether chronic physical activity promotes divergent thinking and its underlying mechanism. Ambiguity tolerance has been considered relevant to divergent thinking. Therefore, this study sought to investigate whether individuals engaging in different types of exercise training differed in divergent thinking and to examine the mediating role of ambiguity tolerance underlying the training effect. The study was conducted in a sample of 492 university students who completed the unusual use task and the ambiguity tolerance questionnaire. The results revealed that individuals who underwent physical training proposed more creative ideas than non-physical training individuals did. Individuals engaging in multiple movement training scored higher in fluency, flexibility, and originality than their counterparts engaging in single movement training. Furthermore, ambiguity tolerance fully explained the difference in divergent thinking fluency between the physical and non-physical training groups. These findings provide preliminary evidence for the benefits of physical training on divergent thinking.

Do daily interaction patterns differ between empty nesters and non-empty nesters? The role of different interaction partners in a Chinese sample.

The empty nest is a phase of life that most parents will experience when their children grow up and leave home. However, little attention has been given to changes that take place in empty nesters' daily patterns of interaction. This study aimed to examine the differences between empty nesters and non-empty nesters in relation to their daily interactions and the affect of various social partners. A total of 208 participants were recruited via convenience sampling; they were asked to record their daily interactions using the Rochester Interaction Record and to rate their affect after each interaction using the Positive Affect-Negative Affect Scale. The results showed that daily interactions were related to a higher increase of positive affect in empty nesters than in non-empty nesters when interactions were with adult children. In contrast, daily interactions of non-empty nesters were related to a higher decrease in negative affect when the interactions were with friends, neighbors, and strangers. These findings indicate that the patterns of daily interactions differ between empty nesters and non-empty nesters. Specifically, the daily interactions of empty nesters were seen to be more related to a higher increase in positive affect, whereas the daily interactions of non-empty nesters were seen to be more related to a higher decrease in negative affect. This study showed the differences in daily interaction patterns between empty and non-empty nesters across diverse social partners. The findings on the daily interaction patterns have some implications for older adults: (1) empty nesters can improve daily interaction with adult children, relatives, and colleagues for a higher positive affect; (2) non-empty nesters can improve daily interactions with friends, neighbors, and strangers to relieve their negative affect.

High-Throughput Peptide Arrays Identify Potential Diagnostic Autoantibody Signatures in Early-Stage Lung Adenocarcinoma.

BACKGROUND: Early diagnosis is critical to lung adenocarcinoma patients' survival but faces inadequacies in convenient early detection. METHODS: We applied a comprehensive microarray of 130,000 peptides to detect "autoantibody signature" that is autoantibodies binding to mimotopes for early detection of stage 0-I LUAD. Plasma samples were collected from 147 early-stage lung adenocarcinoma (Early-LUAD), 108 benign lung disease (BLD), and 122 normal healthy controls (NHC). Clinical characteristics, low-dose CT (LDCT), and laboratory tests were incorporated into correlation analysis. RESULTS: We identified 143 and 133 autoantibody signatures, distinguishing Early-LUAD from NHC/BLD in the discovery cohort. Autoantibody signatures significantly correlated with age, stage, tumor size, basophil count, and IgM level (P < 0.05). The random forest models based on differential autoantibody signatures displayed AUC of 0.92 and 0.87 to discern Early-LUAD from NHC/BLD in the validation cohort, respectively. Compared with LDCT, combining autoantibody signature and LDCT improved the positive predictive value from 50% to 78.33% (P = 0.049). In addition, autoantibody signatures displayed higher sensitivity of 72.4% to 81.0% compared with the combinational tumor markers (cyfra21.1, NSE, SCC, ProGRP) with a sensitivity of 22.4% (P = 0.000). Proteins matched by differential peptides were enriched in cancer-related PI3K/Akt, MAPK, and Wnt pathways. Overlaps between matched epitopes and autoantibody signatures illustrated the underlying engagement of autoantibodies in immune recognition. CONCLUSIONS: Collectively, autoantibody signatures identified by a high-throughput peptide microarray have the potential to detect Early-LUAD, which could assist LDCT to better diagnose Early-LUAD. IMPACT: Novel sensitive autoantibody signatures can adjuvant LDCT to better diagnose LUAD at very early stage.

Characteristics of newly reported HIV/AIDS cases among young students in Zhengzhou City from 2017 to 2022 / 预防医学

Objective@#To understand the characteristics of newly reported HIV/AIDS cases among young students in Zhengzhou City from 2017 to 2022, so as to provide insights into AIDS prevention and control among young students.@*Methods@#Data of newly reported HIV/AIDS cases among young students at ages of 15 years and older in Zhengzhou City from 2017 to 2022 were collected through the Infectious Disease Surveillance System of the Chinese Disease Prevention and Control Information System and the Sentinel Surveillance Questionnaire Survey System database of the AIDS Prevention and Control Information System. Demographic information, high-risk behaviors, detection pathways and the first measurement of CD4+T lymphocyte cell (CD4 cell) counts were analyzed.@*Results@#A total of 205 HIV/AIDS cases among young students were newly reported in Zhengzhou City from 2017 to 2022, accounting for 6.53% of the total number of newly reported HIV/AIDS cases in the same period. There were 201 males and 4 females, with 132 cases at ages of 20 to 24 years (64.39%). Seventy-two cases were registered in Zhengzhou City (35.12%), and the proportion of HIV/AIDS cases registered in Zhengzhou City from 2017 to 2022 showed an upward trend (P<0.05). All cases were infected through sexual contact, including 167 cases of homosexual contact (81.46%); 143 cases had their first sexual activity at ages of 18 years and older (69.76%); 105 cases had 4 or more sexual partners (51.22%), and the proportion of HIV/AIDS cases with 4 or more sexual partners from 2017 to 2022 showed an increasing trend (P<0.05); 139 cases had never used condoms (67.80%); 132 cases were detected by counseling and testing (64.39%); 59 cases had been tested for HIV antibody before confirmation (28.78%), and the proportion of those who had been tested for HIV antibody before confirmation showed a downward trend from 2017 to 2022 (P<0.05); 190 cases of CD4 cell counts were detected, with 18 cases less than 200 cells/μL (9.47%).@*Conclusion@#From 2017 to 2022, the newly reported HIV/AIDS cases among young students in Zhengzhou City were predominantly males at ages of 20 to 24 years, with increasing proportion of local residence and homosexual transmission, and some cases have had severe immunodeficiency when they were found.