Development, validation, and visualization of a novel nomogram to predict stroke risk in patients.

Background: Stroke is the second leading cause of death worldwide and a major cause of long-term neurological disability, imposing an enormous financial burden on families and society. This study aimed to identify the predictors in stroke patients and construct a nomogram prediction model based on these predictors. Methods: This retrospective study included 11,435 participants aged >20 years who were selected from the NHANES 2011-2018. Randomly selected subjects (n = 8531; 75%) and the remaining subjects comprised the development and validation groups, respectively. The least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) binomial and logistic regression models were used to select the optimal predictive variables. The stroke probability was calculated using a predictor-based nomogram. Nomogram performance was assessed by the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) and the calibration curve with 1000 bootstrap resample validations. Decision curve analysis (DCA) was performed to evaluate the clinical utility of the nomogram. Results: According to the minimum criteria of non-zero coefficients of Lasso and logistic regression screening, older age, lower education level, lower family income, hypertension, depression status, diabetes, heavy smoking, heavy drinking, trouble sleeping, congestive heart failure (CHF), coronary heart disease (CHD), angina pectoris and myocardial infarction were independently associated with a higher stroke risk. A nomogram model for stroke patient risk was established based on these predictors. The AUC (C statistic) of the nomogram was 0.843 (95% CI: 0.8186-0.8430) in the development group and 0.826 (95% CI: 0.7811, 0.8716) in the validation group. The calibration curves after 1000 bootstraps displayed a good fit between the actual and predicted probabilities in both the development and validation groups. DCA showed that the model in the development and validation groups had a net benefit when the risk thresholds were 0-0.2 and 0-0.25, respectively. Discussion: This study effectively established a nomogram including demographic characteristics, vascular risk factors, emotional factors and lifestyle behaviors to predict stroke risk. This nomogram is helpful for screening high-risk stroke individuals and could assist physicians in making better treatment decisions to reduce stroke occurrence.

Independent food purchasing behavior and associated factors among primary and secondary school students in Haidian District, Beijing / 中国学校卫生

Objective@#To examine independent food purchasing behavior and influence factors among primary and secondary school students, and to provide evidence for formulating and implementing corresponding intervention measures.@*Methods@#Using a two stage stratified random cluster sampling principle, 976 primary and secondary school students in Haidian District of Beijing were selected to participate in a questionnaire survey from March to May 2021, and students independent food purchases and associated factors were considered.@*Results@#The proportion of middle school students who often purchased food independently (22.79%) was higher than that of primary school students(16.77%)( χ 2=5.58， P <0.05). The proportion of middle school students and primary school students who sometimes purchased food independently was 66.32% and 60.33%, respectively( χ 2=3.78， P >0.05). The proportion of middle school students who never purchased food independently (10.88%) was lower than that of primary school students(22.90%)( χ 2=25.10， P <0.05). The proportion of middle school students and primary school students who often purchased food with their parents was 30.80% and 32.52%, respectively( χ 2=0.33， P >0.05). The factors that primary and secondary school students often considered when purchasing food included personal factors (e.g., physical and psychological factors), family factors, social factors, and the food itself. The top five factors that middle school students often considered when purchasing food were taste, hygiene, production date, student s mood, and advertisement. The top five factors that primary school students often considered when purchasing food were hygiene, taste, production date, advertising, and quality. The proportion of students with consideration of nutritional value, calorie level and collocation type, as well as other nutritional factors, when purchasing food was low, no significant differences were observed between primary and middle school students( χ 2=3.25，2.93，3.06， P >0.05).@*Conclusion@#Independent food purchasing behavior is prevalent among primary and secondary school students. Nutritional awareness among middle and primary school students is low. Effective and comprehensive nutrition interventions should be actively carried out for primary and secondary school students, while considering multiple dimensions such as schools, families and society, so as to encourage students to adopt a healthy diet.

Ni activated Mo2C by regulating the interfacial electronic structure for highly efficient lithium-ion storage.

Regulating the electronic structure plays a positive role in improving the ion/electron kinetics of electrode materials for lithium ion batteries (LIBs). Herein, an effective approach is demonstrated to achieve Ni/Mo2C hybrid nanoparticles embedded in porous nitrogen-doped carbon nanofibers (Ni/Mo2C/NC). Density functional theory calculations indicate that Ni can activate the interface of Ni/Mo2C by regulating the electronic structure, and accordingly improve the electron/Li-ion diffusion kinetics. The charge at the interface transfers from Ni atoms to Mo atoms on the surface of Mo2C, illustrating the formation of an interfacial electric field in Ni/Mo2C. The formed interfacial electric field in Ni/Mo2C can improve the intrinsic electronic conductivity, and reduce the Li adsorption energy and the Li+ diffusion barrier. Thus, the obtained Ni/Mo2C/NC shows an excellent high-rate capability of 344.1 mA h g-1 at 10 A g-1, and also displays a superior cyclic performance (remaining at 412.7 mA h g-1 after 1800 cycles at 2 A g-1). This work demonstrates the important role of electronic structure regulation by assembling hybrid materials and provides new guidance for future work on designing novel electrode materials for LIBs.

C-dot doping for enhanced catalytic performance of TiO2/5A for toluene degradation in non-thermal plasma-catalyst system.

Non-thermal plasma (NTP) is gaining attention as a powerful tool to induce various reactions. The combination of NTP with catalysts has been successfully used to degrade volatile organic compounds (VOCs) for pollution control. In this study, a series of TiO2-C/5A catalysts, synthesized by carbon dots (C-dots) that decorate TiO2 by sol-gel and wetness impregnation methods, were incorporated with a dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) reactor in a single-stage structure to degrade toluene at atmospheric pressure and room temperature. A proton-transfer reaction mass spectrometer and a CO2 analyzer were used to monitor the concentration variations of organic by-products and CO2 online. The effects of input power, mass ratio of C-dots/TiO2 (TiO2/5A (0 wt%), TiO2-C1/5A (2.5 wt%), TiO2-C2/5A (5 wt%), TiO2-C3/5A (10 wt%)), gas flow rate, initial concentration of toluene on the toluene degradation efficiency, and CO2 selectivity were studied. The plasma-catalyst hybrid system could effectively improve the energy efficiency and reaction selectivity, attaining a maximum toluene degradation efficiency of 99.6% and CO2 selectivity of 83.0% compared to 79.5% and 37.5%, respectively, using the conventional plasma alone. Moreover, the generation of organic by-products also declined dramatically, averaging only half as much in plasma alone. The results also indicated that the appropriate amount of C-dot doping could greatly improve the catalyst efficiency in the hybrid plasma system. This is because the interaction between C-dots and TiO2 favors the formation of photoelectron holes and reduces the energy band gap and the recombination rate of photogenerated electron holes, which facilitates the generation of more active species on the catalyst surface, thereby leading to a more effective degradation reaction. These observations will provide guidance for the interaction studies between NTP and catalysts, not only for the exploration of new chemical mechanisms of aromatic compounds, but also for the screening of favorable materials for the desired reactions.

Direct Analysis of Soil Composition for Source Apportionment by Laser Ablation Single-Particle Aerosol Mass Spectrometry.

Soil has always been the most complex biomaterial on the planet. The rapid determination of the components in the soil and their original source is a prerequisite for soil quality, environmental, and human health risk assessments. In this study, the chemical compositions and source apportionment of surface soil samples collected from five sites in Shanghai, China, were successfully investigated using a laboratory-developed laser ablation single-particle aerosol mass spectrometry (LA-SPAMS) instrument combined with an adaptive resonance theory-based neural network algorithm (ART-2a) data-processing method for the first time. In total, more than 35,000 particles, ranging from 200 to 2000 nm, were sized, and around 15-20% of the particles were chemically analyzed by LA-SPAMS to generate both positive and negative mass spectra. The results show that there are significant differences in particle size distribution among the five samples, with peaks of various sizes and different profiles, while all five soil samples contain crustal elements, heavy metals, organic and inorganic components, and so forth. The chemical composition of each sample varied considerably, so different classes of SPAMS particle classes were identified, which were later grouped into seven general categories: EC-rich (containing elemental carbon), secondary components, organic nitrogen, crust, HM (containing heavy metal), PAH (containing polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons), and NaK-rich particles, based on the dominant marked ions. The composition analysis and source apportionment showed that soil components in different areas have been affected by the local environment, such as local industrial emissions and automobile exhaust, which are usually characterized by varying degrees of mixing between the crust and environmental aerosols. In combination with the ART-2a method, LA-SPAMS enables rapid and direct analysis of soil samples based on real-time single-particle measurements, which will help in understanding the distribution, transport, and fate of the soil components, thus providing new insights into soil-quality assessment. Moreover, the established LA-SPAMS can also be practically applied to other daily inspection tasks, such as rocks, minerals, metals, ceramics, polymers, and other solid materials for ingredient analysis and quality evaluation.

HDAC6 suppresses microRNA-199a transcription and augments HPV-positive cervical cancer progression through Wnt5a upregulation.

High-risk human papillomavirus (HR-HPV) infection is a major risk factor for the initiation and progression of cervical cancer (CC). This study aimed to explore the role of histone deacetylase 6 (HDAC6) in HPV-positive CC and the molecules implicated. Differentially expressed genes between HPV-positive and HPV-negative tissues, and differentially expressed microRNAs (miRNAs) in cells after HDAC6 downregulation were identified using microarray analyses. The expression profiles of HDAC6 and miR-199a and their cellular functions were investigated via loss-of-function studies. Xenograft tumors were induced in mice for in vivo studies. HDAC6 and Wnt5a were highly expressed, whereas miR-199a was poorly expressed in HPV-positive CC tissues. Downregulation of HDAC6 reduced proliferation, migration, invasion, and resistance to apoptosis of HPV-positive CC cells. HDAC6 suppressed the transcription of miR-199a, and miR-199a targeted Wnt5a to inactivate the Wnt signaling pathway. Further downregulation of miR-199a blocked the inhibitory effect of HDAC6 silencing on CC cell growth both in vivo and in vitro, whereas further artificial inhibition of Wnt5a inactivated Wnt signaling and blocked the malignant behaviors of CC cells. This study showed that HDAC6 suppresses the transcription of miR-199a and enhances the progression of HPV-positive cervical cancer through upregulation of Wnt5a.

Smog chamber study of the effects of NOx and NH3 on the formation of secondary organic aerosols and optical properties from photo-oxidation of toluene.

Secondary organic aerosols (SOAs) have been receiving significant attention because of their significant impacts on air quality and human health. In this study, the influences of nitrogen oxides (NOx) and ammonia (NH3) on SOA formation from photooxidation of toluene was investigated in the Shanghai university smog chamber. The chemical and physical characteristics of gas-phase products and SOAs from toluene photo-oxidation were characterized using laboratory-developed single photon ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry, single particle aerosol mass spectrometry, and cavity ring-down aerosol extinction albedo spectroscopy instruments. It was observed that increasing the initial nitrogen oxides ([NOx]0) under low-[NOx]0 conditions enhanced the SOA yield, while increasing [NOx]0 under high-[NOx]0 conditions suppressed the SOA yield. After adding NH3, the number concentration, average SOA diameter, and extinction and scattering coefficients showed an immediate and rapid increase due to the formation of significant amounts of condensable ammonium nitrate and nitrogen-containing (NOC) compounds. Moreover, a simplified reaction mechanism for the photooxidation of toluene initiated by the hydroxyl radical (OH) was believed to follow two reaction channels: minor H abstraction, and major OH addition, which continuously induced the subsequent reactions. The results of this study presented rapid analytical method for the joint use of a smog chamber with on-line analytical instruments to immediately characterize the effects of SOA formation, which will help in understanding the new particle formation and particle growth, and thus provides a new insight for in-depth understanding of the haze pollution in China.

Predicting the ischemic infarct volume at the first minute after occlusion in rodent stroke model by laser speckle imaging of cerebral blood flow.

Stroke is a worldwide medical emergency and an important issue in stroke research is looking for the early pathophysiological markers which can predict the severity of brain injury. Decreased cerebral blood flow (CBF) has been serving as the most important indicator of ischemic stroke. Particular attention is paid to study the spatio-temporal CBF changes immediately after the onset of stroke in a rat intraluminal filament middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) model and investigation of its correlation with brain infarct volume after 24 h. We implement an on-line laser speckle imaging (LSI) system, which could provide real time high spatio-temporal resolution CBF information before, during, and immediately after the rat MCAO surgery. We found a significant correlation between the affected area with 50% CBF reduction (CBF50) at the first minute after occlusion with the infarct volume. To the best of our knowledge, this is the earliest CBF marker for infarct volume prediction. Based on such a CBF-infarct volume correlation, LSI may be used as a real time guidance for improving the consistency of intraluminal filament MCAO model since the depth of filament insertion could be adjusted promptly and those unsuccessful models could be excluded in the earliest stage.

Imaging the early cerebral blood flow changes in rat middle cerebral artery occlusion stroke model.

Intraluminal middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) model in rats has been widely used to mimic human ischemic stroke and serves as an indispensable tool in the stroke research field. One limitation of this model is its high variability in infarct volume. The cerebral blood flow (CBF) information after cerebrovascular occlusion may reflect the availability of collateral circulation, which serves as a key factor for brain infarct volume. Laser speckle contrast imaging (LSCI) is a valuable tool for full-field imaging of CBF with high spatial and temporal resolution. In this paper, we investigated the spatio-temporal changes of CBF in rat MCAO stroke model using our self-developed real-time LSCI system. CBF images of adult male Sprague Dawley rats (n=13) were recorded before surgery, during first 1.5 hours after surgery, and 24 hours after stroke. We compared the CBF changes of different functional vessels during this period. In the ipsilateral hemisphere, CBF of veins and arteries both decreased as expected, while CBF of veins increased after occlusion in the contralateral hemisphere. Moreover, we found a linear correlation between early-stage CBF after occlusion and brain infarct volume, which can be utilized for surgery guidance to improve the uniformity of rat MCAO stroke models.

Cerenkov luminescence tomography for in vivo radiopharmaceutical imaging.

Cerenkov luminescence imaging (CLI) is a cost-effective molecular imaging tool for biomedical applications of radiotracers. The introduction of Cerenkov luminescence tomography (CLT) relative to planar CLI can be compared to the development of X-ray CT based on radiography. With CLT, quantitative and localized analysis of a radiopharmaceutical distribution becomes feasible. In this contribution, a feasibility study of in vivo radiopharmaceutical imaging in heterogeneous medium is presented. Coupled with a multimodal in vivo imaging system, this CLT reconstruction method allows precise anatomical registration of the positron probe in heterogeneous tissues and facilitates the more widespread application of radiotracers. Source distribution inside the small animal is obtained from CLT reconstruction. The experimental results demonstrated that CLT can be employed as an available in vivo tomographic imaging of charged particle emitters in a heterogeneous medium.

[Study on factors related to top 10 junk food consumption at 8 to 16 years of age, in Haidian District of Beijing].

OBJECTIVE: To study the current situation of ten types of junk food consumption (assessed by World Health Organization) among children and adolescent as well as the contributing factors in Haidian District, Beijing so as to provide evidence for developing preventive and control measures and interventions. METHODS: A questionnaire survey was conducted to investigate the consumption of ten types of junk food practices in 1019 children and adolescent aged 8-16 years in Beijing Haidian District. RESULTS: One month prior to the study, 97.50% of the children and adolescent had eaten at least one type of junk food and 15.88% of them had eaten all types of them. Rates on having eaten deep fried food, pickled food, processed meat products, biscuits, coke or alike drinks, convenience/fast food, canned food, dried or preserved fruit, cold and sweet food, barbecue food etc. appeared to be 70.43%, 60.14%, 79.72%, 64.24%, 69.63%, 78.72%, 42.16%, 51.95%, 68.13%, 60.14% respectively. The rate on eaten more than once a day of these ten types were 26.95%, 36.88%, 34.84%, 32.97%, 27.40%, 28.18%, 37.91%, 26.15%, 37.39%, 22.10% respectively. The rates for "do not like" and "dislike" these ten types junk food were 10.96%, 27.42%, 7.08%, 12.11%, 6.56%, 6.59%, 17.80%, 13.59%, 3.42%, 5.19% respectively. Most of the children and adolescent ate junk food mainly during breakfast at home. Most of the surveyed children and adolescent did not have correct idea on nutrition of junk food. They received the information of junk food mainly from sources as advertisement on TV (67.95%), mother (9.02%), newspaper or magazines (6.71%). Many factors, such as individual factors (including physiological and psychological situations), social factors, family factors and the characteristics of food contributed to the eating junk food practices of children and adolescent. CONCLUSION: Eating junk food is a popular event among children and adolescent in Beijing Haidian District. Education strategies on nutrition should be developed and launched in order to help children develop their own healthy eating behaviors.