A comparison of psychiatric symptoms between mental health professionals with and without post-infection sequelae of COVID-19.

Post-infection sequelae of COVID-19 (PISC) have raised public health concerns. However, it is not clear whether infected mental health professionals (MHPs) with PISC have experienced more psychiatric symptoms than MHPs without PISC do. This study examined differences in the prevalence of self-reported depression, anxiety, insomnia and suicidality as well as the network structures of these symptoms between these two groups. Participants completed questionnaire measures of psychiatric symptoms and demographics. Expected influence was used to measure centrality of symptoms and network comparison tests were adopted to compare differences in the two network models. The sample comprised 2,596 participants without PISC and 2,573 matched participants with PISC. MHPs with PISC had comparatively higher symptom levels related to depression (55.2% vs. 23.5 %), anxiety (32.0% vs. 14.9 %), insomnia (43.3% vs. 17.3 %), and suicidality (9.6% vs. 5.3 %). PHQ4 ("Fatigue"), PHQ6 ("Guilt"), and GAD2 ("Uncontrollable Worrying") were the most central symptoms in the "without PISC" network model. Conversely, GAD3 ("Worry too much"), GAD5 ("Restlessness"), and GAD4 ("Trouble relaxing") were more central in the "with PISC" network model. In sum, MHPs with PISC experienced comparatively more psychiatric symptoms and related disturbances. Network results provide foundations for the expectation that MHPs with PISC may benefit from interventions that address anxiety-related symptoms, while those without PISC may benefit from interventions targeting depression-related symptoms.

Traditional Chinese Medicine for Breast Cancer: A Review.

A total of 18% of global breast cancer (BC) deaths are attributed to BC in China, making it one of the five most common cancers there. There has been a steady rise in BC morbidity and mortality in women in the last few years and it is now a leading cancer among Chinese women. Conventional treatments for BC are currently effective but have several limitations and disadvantages, and Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) plays a vital role in the overall process of cancer prevention and therapy. It is known that TCM can treat a variety of conditions at a variety of sites and targets. In recent years, increasingly, research has been conducted on TCM's ability to treat BC. TCM has shown positive results in the treatment of breast cancer and the adverse effects of radiotherapy and chemotherapy. This review describes the progress of clinical observation and mechanism research of TCM in the treatment of breast cancer in recent years. It provides some ideas and theoretical basis for the treatment of BC with TCM.

PPARG: A Promising Therapeutic Target in Breast Cancer and Regulation by Natural Drugs.

Breast cancer (BC) is the most common type of cancer among females. Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARG) can regulate the production of adipocyte-related genes and has anti-inflammatory and anti-tumor effects. Our aim was to investigate PPARG expression, its possible prognostic value, and its effect on immune cell infiltration in BC, and explore the regulatory effects of natural drugs on PPARG to find new ways to treat BC. Using different bioinformatics tools, we extracted and comprehensively analyzed the data from the Cancer Genome Atlas, Genotype-Tissue Expression, and BenCaoZuJian databases to study the potential anti-BC mechanism of PPARG and potential natural drugs targeting it. First, we found that PPARG was downregulated in BC and its expression level correlates with pathological tumor stage (pT-stage) and pathological tumor-node-metastasis stage (pTNM-stage) in BC. PPARG expression was higher in estrogen receptor-positive (ER+) BC than in estrogen receptor-negative (ER-) BC, which tends to indicate a better prognosis. Meanwhile, PPARG exhibited a significant positive correlation with the infiltration of immune cells and correlated with better cumulative survival in BC patients. In addition, PPARG levels were shown to be positively associated with the expression of immune-related genes and immune checkpoints, and ER+ patients had better responses to immune checkpoint blocking. Correlation pathway research revealed that PPARG is strongly associated with pathways, such as angiogenesis, apoptosis, fatty acid biosynthesis, and degradation in ER+ BC. We also found that quercetin is the most promising natural anti-BC drug among natural medicines that upregulate PPARG. Our research showed that PPARG may reduce BC development by regulating the immune microenvironment. Quercetin as PPARG ligands/agonists is a potential natural drug for BC treatment.

The Relationship Between Mindfulness, Fatigue, and Perceived Symptoms Among Frontline Nurses Who Performed Nucleic Acid Sample Collection During the COVID-19 in China: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Objective: Given the immense stress faced by medical staff during the COVID-19 pandemic, this study aimed to evaluate the relationship between mindful attention awareness, fatigue, and perceived symptoms among frontline nurses who performed nucleic acid sample collection during the COVID-19 pandemic, to reduce their fatigue and help them cope with perceived uncomfortable symptoms. Methods: A convenience sampling method was used to survey nurses who travelled to Hainan for nucleic acid sampling in August 2022 using an online (WeChat) questionnaire. A total of 514 frontline nurses who performed nucleic acid tests completed the questionnaire. The questionnaire covered basic demographic information, Mindful Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS) ratings, and Fatigue Severity Scale (FSS) ratings. Spearman correlation analysis was used to separate the relationship between MASS and FSS, and univariate and multivariate factor analyses were used to explore the relevant influences contributing to the occurrence of fatigue. Results: A total of 514 individuals completed the survey,93.97% (n=483) were female, mean age was 31.15 ± 5.7, MASS score was 69.01 ± 13.53, and 296 (57.59%) nurses experienced symptoms of fatigue during the auxiliary period. Spearman correlation analysis showed that FSS was associated with MASS. Multifactorial analysis showed that sex, age, marital status, fertility status, years of work, adaptation to dietary habits, hidrorrhea, and MAAS scores affected the presence of fatigue symptoms among the medical staff in Hainan (P<0.05). Conclusion: The psychological status of frontline nurses undergoing nucleic acid testing during the pandemic was poor, and the appearance of fatigue symptoms could be effectively reduced by increasing levels of positive thinking among medical staff to help them cope with public health emergencies.

Light-Controlled Reconfigurable Optical Synapse Based on Carbon Nanotubes/2D Perovskite Heterostructure for Image Recognition.

Two-dimensional (2D) halide perovskite material is characterized by a mixed conducting behavior that possesses both electronic and ionic conductivity. The study on the influence of the light on ion migration in the 2D perovskite is helpful to improve the performance of perovskite-based optoelectronic devices. Here, we constructed an exfoliated 2D perovskite/carbon nanotubes (CNTs) heterostructure optical synapse, in which CNTs can be used as nanoprobes to qualitatively observe the ion aggregation or dissipation process in 2D perovskite, and found that light significantly changes the memory curve of the reconfigurable optical synapses. Through the molecular dynamic simulation, the dynamic process of ion migration in the heterostructure was simulated and the electrostatic interaction effect of nonequilibrium charge distribution of CNTs on iodide ion was demonstrated. Finally, an effective light-controlled process was realized through the synapses, which in situ regulated the performance of the weight-value discretized BP (WD-BP) neural network. This work lays a foundation for the future development of intelligent nano-optoelectronic devices.

Acupuncture Combined with Three-Step Analgesic Drug Therapy for Treatment of Cancer Pain: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomised Clinical Trials.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to systematically evaluate the efficacy and safety of acupuncture combined with the WHO three-step analgesic drug ladder for cancer pain. METHODS: The Cochrane Library, PubMed, and CNKI Database of Systematic Reviews were searched. Using the Cochrane Register for Randomized Controlled Trials, the quality of the included literature was evaluated, and the meta-analysis was carried out with RevMan 5.3 software. RESULTS: Compared with three-step analgesia alone, acupuncture combined with three-step analgesia for cancer pain increased pain relief response rates (RR = 1.12, 95% CI: 1.08∼1.17, P < 0.00001), reduced NRS score (SMD = -1.10, 95% CI: -1.86∼-0.35, P=0.004), reduced the rate of side effects (RR = 0.45, 95% CI: 0.38∼0.53, P < 0.00001), including nausea (P < 0.00001), vomiting (P=0.008), constipation (P < 0.00001), and dizziness (P=0.010), reduced the burst pain rate (SMD = -1.38; 95% CI: -2.44∼-0.32, P=0.01), shortened analgesia effect onset time (P=0.004), and extended the duration of response (P < 0.0001). CONCLUSION: For the treatment of cancer pain, acupuncture combined with three-step analgesic drugs is better than using only three-step analgesic drugs.

Responses of phytoliths in topsoil samples to temperature variation in temperate region.

Modern phytolith research is the premise to accurately reconstruct the regional paleovegetation and paleoclimate. It is thus particularly important to study the spatial distribution characteristics of the phytolith assemblages and the response of the phytolith to environmental factors. In this study, we collected 54 topsoil samples along the isohyet of 600 mm in Northeast China to examine the distribution patterns of phytolith along the gradient of single environmental factor. With this special sampling method, we targeted to reveal the responses of phytolith assemblages in the topsoil to the variation of temperature. The results showed that there were a large number of phytoliths with various morphotypes in the 54 topsoil samples in Northeast China. The phytolith morphotypes were the same, including elongate, lanceolate, blocky, cuneiform, tabular, saddle, rondel, bilobate, trapeziform polylobate, prism, silicified stomata, conduit, papillae, sclereid and carinate. In gene-ral, the contributions of elongate and lanceolate were high; the contributions of short cell phytoliths, blocky, tabular and cuneiform were small relatively; the contributions of the other types of phytoliths were less than 1.0% and appeared sporadically in the topsoil samples. Besides, the phytolith assemblages of the topsoil samples were different among Xiaoxing'an Mountains, Songliao Plain and Liaoxi hills. Combined with the discriminant analysis, the samples from the three regions could be effectively separated based on the phytoliths assemblages, with a total accuracy of 94.4%. Specifi-cally, the average percentage of elongate, lanceolate, prism was the largest in Xiaoxing'an Mountains, and was the smallest in Liaoxi hills; the percentage of saddle, bilobate, papillae was the largest in Liaoxi hills and the smallest in Xiaoxing'an Mountains; the percentage of blocky, tabular, cuneiform was the largest in Songliao Plain. Meanwhile, the percentages of the elongate, lanceolate, prism, saddle, bilobate, papillae, blocky, tabular, cuneiform were significant diffe-rences among the three regions. There were significant negative correlations between the percentages of elongate, lanceolate, prism and the annual average temperature, and positive relationships between the percentages of the blocky, tabular, cuneiform, bilobate, papillae and the annual average temperature. However, the percentage of saddle, rondel and trapeziform polylobate did not change with increasing annual average temperature.

A Network Pharmacology-Based Identification Study on the Mechanism of Xiao-Xu-Ming Decoction for Cerebral Ischemic Stroke.

OBJECTIVE: We used the network pharmacological analysis method to explore the mechanism of multicomponent, multitarget, and multiway actions of Xiao-Xu-Ming decoction (XXMD) for cerebral ischemic stroke (CIS), which provided a basis on the research of innovative drugs. METHOD: We used the Traditional Chinese Medicine Systems Pharmacology Database and Analysis Platform (TCMSP) to retrieve the active ingredients and targets of 12 herbs of XXMD; we used the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database of the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) to screen for differentially expressed genes in CIS to obtain the disease targets of CIS and to intersect it with the action targets of XXMD, and then the target drug efficacy is obtained. We used Cytoscape 3.6 software to construct the drug-active ingredient-action target interaction network of XXMD to treat CIS and conduct protein-protein interaction (PPI) network and topology analysis. The action target Gene Ontology (GO) biological processes and metabolic pathways in Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) of XXMD to treat CIS were enrichment analyzed with R software. RESULT: We screened out 226 active ingredients and 3646 action targets for XXMD. Among them, XXMD to treat CIS has 144 active ingredients, 12 targets, and proteins in the core network of PPI having STAT3, HIF1A, etc. Pathway enrichment analysis was based on the GO and KEGG biological processes involved in active oxygen metabolism, smooth muscle cell proliferation, cytokine production, angiogenesis, redox coenzyme metabolism, and oxidative stress. The main action processes are significantly associated with CIS signal pathways involved in microRNAs, ovarian steroid hormones, NF-кB signaling pathway, Th17 cell differentiation pathway, HIF-1 signaling pathway, folic acid synthesis pathway, galactose metabolism, and fructose and mannose metabolism. CONCLUSION: This study initially clarified the main targets and pathways of XXMD in the treatment of CIS, which can lay the foundation for further research on its pharmacological effects.

Light-Enhanced Ion Migration in Two-Dimensional Perovskite Single Crystals Revealed in Carbon Nanotubes/Two-Dimensional Perovskite Heterostructure and Its Photomemory Application.

Two-dimensional (2D) hybrid perovskite sandwiched between two long-chain organic layers is an emerging class of low-cost semiconductor materials with unique optical properties and improved moisture stability. Unlike conventional semiconductors, ion migration in perovskite is a unique phenomenon possibly responsible for long carrier lifetime, current-voltage hysteresis, and low-frequency giant dielectric response. While there are many studies of ion migration in bulk hybrid perovskite, not much is known for its 2D counterparts, especially for ion migration induced by light excitation. Here, we construct an exfoliated 2D perovskite/carbon nanotube (CNT) heterostructure field effect transistor (FET), not only to demonstrate its potential in photomemory applications, but also to study the light induced ion migration mechanisms. We show that the FET I-V characteristic curve can be regulated by light and shows two opposite trends under different CNT oxygen doping conditions. Our temperature-dependent study indicates that the change in the I-V curve is probably caused by ion redistribution in the 2D hybrid perovskite. The first principle calculation shows the reduction of the migration barrier of I vacancy under light excitation. The device simulation shows that the increase of 2D hybrid perovskite dielectric constant (enabled by the increased ion migration) can change the I-V curve in the trends observed experimentally. Finally, the so synthesized FET shows the multilevel photomemory function. Our work shows that not only we could understand the unique ion migration behavior in 2D hybrid perovskite, it might also be used for many future memory function related applications not realizable in traditional semiconductors.

Early hepatitis B viral DNA clearance predicts treatment response at week 96.

AIM: To investigate whether hepatitis viral DNA load at 24 wk of treatment predicts response at 96 wk in patients with chronic hepatitis B. METHODS: A total of 172 hepatitis B envelope antigen (HBeAg)-positive chronic hepatitis B patients who received initial treatment at 16 tertiary hospitals in Hunan Province, China were enrolled in this study. All patients received conventional doses of lamivudine and adefovir dipivoxil, telbivudine, entecavir dispersible tablets, or entecavir tablets for 96 wk. Patients who used other antiviral drugs or antitumor and immune regulation therapy were excluded. Patients were stratified into three groups according to their viral DNA load at 24 wk: < 10 IU/mL (group 1), 10-103 IU/mL (group 2), and > 103 IU/mL (group 3). Correlations of 24-wk DNA load with HBeAg negative status and HBeAg seroconversion at 96 wk were analyzed. Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis was used to test the predictive value of the HBV DNA load at 24 wk for long-term response. RESULTS: The rates of conversion to HBeAg negative status and HBeAg seroconversion rates were 53.7% and 51.9%, respectively, in group 1; 35.21% and 32.39% in group 2; and 6.38% and 6.38% in group 3. The receiver operating characteristic curves for the three subgroups revealed that the lowest DNA load (< 10 IU/mL) was better correlated with response at 96 wk than a higher DNA load (10-103 IU/mL). Nested PCR was used for amplifying and sequencing viral DNA in patients with a viral DNA load > 200 IU/mL at 96 wk; resistance mutations involving different loci were present in 26 patients, and three of these patients had a viral DNA load 10-103 IU/mL at 96 wk. CONCLUSION: Hepatitis B viral DNA load at 24 wk of antiviral treatment in patients with chronic hepatitis B is a predictor of the viral load and response rate at 96 wk.

Promising features of low-temperature grown Ge nanostructures on Si(001) substrates.

High-quality Ge nanostructures are obtained by molecular beam epitaxy of Ge on Si(001) substrates at 200 °C and ex situ annealing at 400 °C. Their structural properties are comprehensively characterized by atomic force microscopy, transmission electron microscopy and Raman spectroscopy. It is disclosed that they are almost defect free except for some defects at the Ge/Si interface and in the subsequent Si capping layer. The misfit strain in the nanostructure is substantially relaxed. Dramatically strong photoluminescence (PL) from the Ge nanostructures is observed. Detailed analyses on the power- and temperature-dependent PL spectra, together with a self-consistent calculation, indicate the confinement and the high quantum efficiency of excitons within the Ge nanostructures. Our results demonstrate that the Ge nanostructures obtained via the present feasible route may have great potential in optoelectronic devices for monolithic optical-electronic integration circuits.

Ginsenoside Rg1 and platelet-rich fibrin enhance human breast adipose-derived stem cell function for soft tissue regeneration.

Adipose-derived stem cells (ASCs) can be used to repair soft tissue defects, wounds, burns, and scars and to regenerate various damaged tissues. The cell differentiation capacity of ASCs is crucial for engineered adipose tissue regeneration in reconstructive and plastic surgery. We previously reported that ginsenoside Rg1 (G-Rg1 or Rg1) promotes proliferation and differentiation of ASCs in vitro and in vivio. Here we show that both G-Rg1 and platelet-rich fibrin (PRF) improve the proliferation, differentiation, and soft tissue regeneration capacity of human breast adipose-derived stem cells (HBASCs) on collagen type I sponge scaffolds in vitro and in vivo. Three months after transplantation, tissue wet weight, adipocyte number, intracellular lipid, microvessel density, and gene and protein expression of VEGF, HIF-1α, and PPARγ were higher in both G-Rg1- and PRF-treated HBASCs than in control grafts. More extensive new adipose tissue formation was evident after treatment with G-Rg1 or PRF. In summary, G-Rg1 and/or PRF co-administration improves the function of HBASCs for soft tissue regeneration engineering.

Surface-plasmon mediated photoluminescence enhancement of Pt-coated ZnO nanowires by inserting an atomic-layer-deposited Al2O3 spacer layer.

Surface-plasmon mediated photoluminescence emission enhancement has been investigated for ZnO nanowire (NW)/Pt nanoparticle (NP) nanostructures by inserting an Al2O3 spacer layer. The thickness of the Al2O3 spacer layer and of the Pt NPs capped on the ZnO NWs are well controlled by atomic layer deposition. It is found that the photoluminescence property of the ZnO NW/Al2O3/Pt hybrid structure is highly tunable with respect to the thickness of the inserted Al2O3 spacer layer. The highest enhancement (∼14 times) of the near band emission of ZnO NWs is obtained with an optimized Al2O3 spacer layer thickness of 10 nm leading to a ultraviolet-visible emission ratio of 271.2 compared to 18.8 for bare ZnO NWs. The enhancement of emission is influenced by a Förster-type non-radiative energy transfer process of the exciton energy from ZnO NWs to Pt NPs as well as the coupling effect between excitons of ZnO NWs and surface plasmons of Pt NPs. The highly versatile and tunable photoluminescence properties of Pt-coated ZnO NWs achieved by introducing an Al2O3 spacer layer demonstrate their potential application in highly efficient optoelectronic devices.

Facile synthesis and enhanced luminescent properties of ZnO/HfO2 core-shell nanowires.

The morphological, structural and photoluminescence properties of one-dimensional ZnO/HfO2 core-shell nanowires (NWs) with various thicknesses of HfO2 shell layers are studied in detail in this work. The ZnO NWs have been fabricated by a simple hydrothermal method, which are then coated by thin HfO2 shell layers using atomic layer deposition (ALD). The morphological and structural characterization demonstrates that the HfO2 shells with polycrystalline structures grow on the single-crystalline ZnO NWs conformally. Moreover, the ZnO/HfO2 core/shell NWs show remarkable enhanced ultraviolet (UV) emission with increasing thickness of the HfO2 shell layer compared with bare ZnO NWs. The UV emission intensity for the sample with HfO2 shell thickness of ∼16 nm is about 9 times higher than that of bare ZnO NWs. It mainly results from the decreased surface states by surface passivation of the HfO2 shell layer as well as a typical type-I band alignment in the ZnO/HfO2 core/shell structure. A model is also proposed to explain the evolution of the wide visible emission band with the relatively low intensity of the core/shell structures. Our results suggest that the ZnO/HfO2 core/shell structures have potential applications for high-efficiency optoelectronic devices such as UV light-emitting diodes and lasers.