Pros and cons factors influence population attitudes toward non-pharmaceutical interventions and vaccination during post-COVID-19.

OBJECTIVES: Population compliance greatly influences the effectiveness of vaccination and non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) for the curtaining of COVID-19 transmission. We aimed to determine the conceptual framework of potential factors that influence compliance. STUDY DESIGN: This was a cross-sectional study. METHODS: Questionnaires were used to survey population attitudes toward vaccination and NPIs in China. Confirmatory factor analysis of the survey data by structural equation model was used to define the pros and cons factors of attitudes. The strength and direction of each factor's effect on population attitudes were illustrated by Bayesian network analysis. RESULTS: A total of 1700 respondents aged 18-70 years were surveyed with a panel of 34 questionnaires. Of these questionnaires, the confirmatory factor and structural equation model analysis identified five categories contributing to positive attitudes, including response efficiency, willingness and behavior, trust, cues to action, and knowledge, as well as four categories contributing to negative attitudes, including autonomy, perceived barriers, threat, and mental status. Bayesian networks revealed that cues to action produced a driving force for positive attitudes, followed by willingness and behavior, trust, response efficiency, and knowledge, whereas perceived barriers produced a driving force for negative attitudes, followed by autonomy and threat. CONCLUSIONS: This study established a concise and representative list of questionnaires that could be applied to investigate the conceptual framework of potential pros and cons factors of attitudes toward vaccination and NPIs for COVID-19 prevention. The factors with driving forces should be addressed with a priority to effectively improve population compliance.

Left intermittent theta burst stimulation combined with right low-frequency rTMS as an additional treatment for major depression: A retrospective study.

Background: Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) is an effective treatment for major depression (MD). We retrospectively analyzed the efficacy of intermittent theta burst stimulation (iTBS) on the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) combined with low-frequency rTMS (LF-rTMS) on the right DLPFC as an additional therapy to standard medication treatment. Materials and Methods: The study included 54 patients with MD who completed 10 courses (5 days per week) of rTMS as an add-on therapy. Thirty patients were treated in the combination group (120% resting motor threshold; left DLPFC, iTBS, 600 stimuli + right DLPFC, 1-Hz rTMS, 600 stimuli), while 24 patients were in the high-frequency rTMS (HF-rTMS) group (120% resting motor threshold; left DLPFC, 10-Hz rTMS, 3000 stimuli). The outcome was assessed based on the changes in scores of 24-item Hamilton Depression Scale (HAMD-24) and 14-item Hamilton Anxiety Scale (HAMA-14). Results: Both depression and anxiety were significantly improved after 2 weeks of treatment by rTMS combined with medication. The combination of iTBS and LF-rTMS was significantly superior to HF-rTMS in improving the scores of HAMD-24 (P = 0.041) and HAMA-14 (P = 0.0095), and the response rate (P = 0.027). Conclusion: The pilot study showed that the combination of iTBS and LF-rTMS may hold promise as a potentially effective alternative therapy for MD due to its efficacy and time-saving benefit. The preliminary results shed light on the study of the efficacy and acceptability of the combination of iTBS and LF-rTMS for MD.

Synergistic influence of air temperature and vaccination on COVID-19 transmission and mortality in 146 countries or regions.

OBJECTIVE: We aimed to determine the influence of vaccination and air temperature on COVID-19 transmission and severity. METHODS: The study data in 146 countries from January 6, 2020 to July 28, 2022 were aggregated into 19,856 weeks. Country-level weekly incidence, time-varying reproduction number (Rt), mortality, and infection-fatality ratio (IFR) were compared among groups of these weeks with different vaccination rates and air temperatures. RESULTS: Weeks with <15 °C air temperature and 60% vaccination showed the highest incidence (mean, 604; SD, 855; 95% CI, 553-656, unit, /100,000 persons; N = 1073) and the highest rate of weeks with >1 Rt (mean, 41.6%; SD, 1.49%; 95% CI, 39.2-45.2%; N = 1090), while weeks with >25 °C and <20% showed the lowest incidence (mean, 24; SD, 75; 95% CI, 22-26; N = 5805) and the lowest rate of weeks with >1 Rt (mean, 15.3%; SD, 0.461%; 95% CI, 14.2-16.2%; N = 6122). Mortality in weeks with <15 °C (mean, 2.1; SD, 2.8; 95% CI, 2.0-2.2, unit, /100,000 persons; N = 4365) was five times of the mortality in weeks with >25 °C (mean, 0.44; SD, 1; 95% CI, 0.41-0.46; N = 7741). IFR ranged between 2% and 2.6% (SD, 1.9%-2.4%; 95% CI, 2.0-2.7%) at < 20% vaccination level, 1.8% (SD, 2%-2.2%; 95% CI, 1.7-2.0%) at 20-60% vaccination level, and 0.7%-1% (SD, 1%-1.8%; 95% CI, 0.7-1.1%) at > 60% vaccination level and at all air temperatures (all P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Vaccination was insufficient to mitigate the transmission since the significantly elevated weekly incidence and >1 Rt rate in weeks with high vaccination, while IFR was reduced by high vaccination. Countries with long-term low air temperature were affected by high transmission and high mortality.

Influence of Dietary Salt Intake on T2D Treatment.

Backgrounds: To what extent patients undergoing long-term T2D treatment are affected by dietary salt intake has not been completely investigated. Objectives: We aimed to investigate the influence of dietary salt intakes on T2D treatment, including glucose-lowering effect and indices related to T2D progression. Methods: The study recruited 1090 patients with T2D at Ningbo City First Hospital from January 1, 2018, to December 30, 2021. We compared their one-year follow-up outcomes in terms of fasting blood glucose (FBG), glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c), blood pressure, obesity, and prevalence of retinopathy and neuropathy among groups with different dietary salt intakes. Results: The 1090 patients consisted of 287(26.3%) decreasing-, 190(17.4%) increasing-, 175(16.0%) steadily low-, 243(22.3%) steadily medium-, and 195(17.9%) steadily high-dietary salt intake patients. Compared to increasing-, steadily medium-, and steadily high-dietary salt intake patients, decreasing and steadily low salt intake led to lower baseline FBG, HbA1c, systolic blood pressure (SBP), BMI, and visceral fat area (VFA) (all p<0.05), to a larger decrease in FBG, HbA1c, SBP, BMI, and VFA after one-year treatment (all p<0.05), as well as to a slightly lower prevalence of retinopathy and a significantly lower prevalence of neuropathy. The steadily low salt patients had lower urine albumin/creatinine ratio (UAR) both at baseline and after treatment. Notably, the fasting insulin in the steadily low salt group was higher than the remaining groups after treatment (p<0.01). Conclusions: The present study concludes that lowered dietary salt intake benefits T2D treatment in multiple aspects, including main treatment targets such as FBG and HbA1c, and indices reflecting potential complications of T2D, including BMI, VFA, SBP, UAR, retinopathy, and neuropathy. Clinical Trial Registration: www.ClinicalTrials.gov, identifier: NCT03811470.

A comprehensive review on carbon source effect of microalgae lipid accumulation for biofuel production.

Energy is a major driving force for the economic development. Due to the scarcity of fossil fuels and negative impact on the environment, it is important to develop renewable and sustainable energy sources for humankind. Microalgae as the primary feedstock for biodiesel has shown great application potential. However, lipid yield from microalgae is limited by the upstream cost, which restrain the realization of large-scale biofuel production. The modification of lipid-rich microalgae cell has become the focus over the last few decades to improve the lipid content and productivity of microalgae. Carbon is a vital nutrient that regulates the growth and metabolism of microalgae. Different carbon sources are assimilated by microalgae cells via different pathways. Inorganic carbon sources are mainly used through the CO2-concentrating mechanisms (CCMs), while organic carbon sources are absorbed by microalgae mainly through the Pentose Phosphate (PPP) Pathway and the Embden-Meyerhof-Pranas (EMP) pathway. Therefore, the addition of carbon source has a significant impact on the production of microalgae biomass and lipid accumulation. In this paper, mechanisms of lipid synthesis and carbon uptake of microalgae were introduced, and the effects of different carbon conditions (types, concentrations, and addition methods) on lipid accumulation in microalgal biomass production and biodiesel production were comprehensively discussed. This review also highlights the recent advances in microalgae lipid cultivation with large-scale commercialization and the development prospects of biodiesel production. Current challenges and constructive suggestions are proposed on cost-benefit concerns in large-scale production of microalgae biodiesel.

Internet-based cognitive behavioral therapy for psychological distress in older adults without cognitive impairment living in nursing homes during the COVID-19 pandemic: A feasibility study.

BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic has had a detrimental effect on the mental health of older adults living in nursing homes. Very few studies have examined the effects of Internet-based Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (ICBT) on older adults living in nursing homes during the pandemic. We conducted a feasibility study using a single-group design, to explore the effectiveness of ICBT on psychological distress in 137 older adults (without cognitive impairment) from 8 nursing homes in 4 southeast cities in China, between January and March 2020. METHODS: Symptoms of depression, anxiety, general psychological distress, and functional disability were measured at baseline, post-treatment (5 weeks) and at a 1-month follow-up. Mixed-effects model was used to assess the effects of ICBT. RESULTS: Statistically significant changes with large effect sizes were observed from pre- to post-treatment on the PHQ-9 (p < .001, Cohen's d = 1.74), GAD-7 (p < .001, d = 1.71), GDS (p < .001, d = 1.30), K-10 (p < .001, d = 1.93), and SDS (p < .001, d = 2.03). Furthermore, improvements in treatment outcomes were sustained at 1-month follow-up, and high levels of adherence and satisfaction were indicated. CONCLUSION: ICBT was effective in reducing psychological distress in older adults without cognitive impairments living in nursing homes during the COVID-19 pandemic. Thus, it could be applied in improving the mental health of this vulnerable group during the pandemic.

Solvent Effect on the Self-Assembly of a Thin Film Consisting of Y-Shaped Copolymer.

The self-assembly of an amphiphilic Y-shaped copolymer consisting of two hydrophilic branches and one hydrophobic branch in a thin film is investigated under different conditions by virtue of mesoscopic computer modelling, accompanied by doping with a single solvent, doping with a binary solvent, and those solvent environments together with the introduction of confinement defined by various acting distances and influencing regions. A cylindrical micellar structure is maintained, as it is in the thin film with the doping of either 10% hydrophobic solvent or 10% hydrophilic solvent, whose structure consists of the hydrophobic core and hydrophilic shell. Attributed to the hydrophobicity/hydrophilia nature of the solvents, different solvents play an obvious role on the self-assembled structure, i.e., the hydrophobic solvent presents as a swelling effect, conversely, the hydrophilic solvent presents as a shrinking effect. Further, the synergistic effect of the binary solvents on the self-assembly produces the lowest values in both the average volumetric size and free energy density when the quantity of hydrophobic solvent and hydrophilic solvent is equivalent. Interestingly, the solvent effect becomes more pronounced under the existent of a confinement. When a lateral-oriented confinement is introduced, a periodically fluctuating change in the cylindrical size occurs in two near-wall regions, but the further addition of either hydrophobic or hydrophilic solvent can effectively eliminate such resulting hierarchical-sized cylinders and generate uniform small-sized cylinders. However, with the introduction of a horizontal-orientated confinement, the copolymers self-assemble into the spherical micellar structure. Moreover, the further addition of hydrophobic solvent leads to a decrease in the average size of micelles via coalescence mechanism, in contrast, the further addition of hydrophilic solvent causes an increase in the average size of micelles via splitting mechanism. These findings enrich our knowledge of the potential for the solvent effect on the self-assembly of amphiphilic copolymer system, and then provide theoretical supports on improving and regulating the mesoscopic structure of nanomaterials.

Synthesis of belt-like bismuth-rich bismuth oxybromide hierarchical nanostructures with high photocatalytic activities.

Belt-like Bi4O5Br2 hierarchical nanostructures were synthesized through a facile one-step hydrolysis method performed at different temperatures (0-160 °C), using belt-like bismuth subsalicylate as the morphological template and bismuth source. The belt-like Bi4O5Br2 samples are found to be composed of irregular single-crystal nanosheets with highly exposed (0 1 0) facets. The photocatalytic activity of the belt-like Bi4O5Br2 was evaluated by referring to the degradation of salicylic acid and resorcinol under visible-light irradiation, and compared with those of belt-like BiOBr dominantly exposing (0 1 0) facets and plate-like Bi4O5Br2 dominantly exposing (1 0 -1) facets. The belt-like Bi4O5Br2 shows higher photocatalytic activity than belt-like BiOBr owing to the more negative conduction band potential, narrower band gap, and larger specific surface area (SBET) of the former. In addition, the belt-like Bi4O5Br2 also exhibits higher photocatalytic activity than plate-like Bi4O5Br2, mainly due to the larger SBET of the former. Interestingly, the belt-like Bi4O5Br2 obtained at room temperature (25 °C) shows the highest photocatalytic activity, because it has the largest SBET. Moreover, the as-synthesized belt-like Bi4O5Br2 exhibits excellent stability and reusability. This study provides a simple, energy-saving route for the synthesis of belt-like bismuth-rich bismuth oxyhalide hierarchical nanostructures.

catena-Poly[[[aqua-[2-(6-chloro-pyridin-3-yl)acetato-κO]sodium]-di-µ-aqua] monohydrate].

The crystal structure of the title compound, {[Na(C(7)H(5)ClNO(2))(H(2)O)(3)]·H(2)O}(n), features polymeric chains along [010]. The Na(+) cation is octa-hedrally coordinated by four bridging water mol-ecules, a terminal water mol-ecule and an O atom derived from a monodentate carboxyl-ate ligand. Adjacent polyhedra share two O⋯O edges. The polymeric chains are linked into a three-dimensional network via O-H⋯O and O-H⋯N hydrogen bonds.