Effects of acupuncture and nicotine patch on smoking: a multicenter, randomized, controlled, double-blind clinical trial.

Aims: To evaluate the effects of acupuncture and/or nicotine patches on smoking cessation. Methods: Eighty-eight participants were randomly allocated into four groups: acupuncture combined with nicotine patch (ACNP), acupuncture combined with sham nicotine patch (ACSNP), sham acupuncture combined with nicotine patch (SACNP), and sham acupuncture combined with sham nicotine patch (SACSNP). The primary outcome was self-reported smoking abstinence verified with expiratory Carbon Monoxide (CO) after 8 weeks of treatment. The modified Fagerstrom Test for Nicotine Dependence (FTND) score, Minnesota Nicotine Withdrawal Scale (MNWS), and the Brief Questionnaire of Smoking Urge (QSU-Brief) score were used as secondary indicators. SPSS 26.0 and Prism 9 software were used for statistical analyses. Results: Seventy-eight participants completed the study. There were no significant differences in patient characteristics at baseline across the four groups. At the end of treatment, there was a statistically significant difference (χ2 = 8.492, p = 0.037) in abstaining rates among the four groups. However, there were no significant differences in the reduction in the number of cigarettes smoked daily (p = 0.111), expiratory CO (p = 0.071), FTND score (p = 0.313), and MNWS score (p = 0.088) among the four groups. There was a statistically significant difference in QUS-Brief score changes among the four groups (p = 0.005). There was no statistically significant interaction between acupuncture and nicotine patch. Conclusion: Acupuncture combined with nicotine replacement patch therapy was more effective for smoking cessation than acupuncture alone or nicotine replacement patch alone. No adverse reactions were found in the acupuncture treatment process. Clinical trial registration: http://www.chictr.org.cn/showproj.aspx?proj=61969, identifier ChiCTR2100042912.

General-purpose mid-infrared micro-spectrometer based on hierarchical residual CNN and data augmentation.

Taking advantage of broad response range and snap-shot operation mode, reconstructive spectrometers based on integrated frequency-modulation microstructure and computational techniques attract lots of attention. The key problems in reconstruction are sparse samplings related with the limited detectors and generalization ability due to data-driving principle. Here, we demonstrate abstractly a mid-infrared micro-spectrometer covering 2.5-5 µm, which utilizes a grating-integrated lead selenide detector array for sampling and a hierarchal residual convolutional neural network (HRCNN) for reconstructions. Leveraging data augmentation and the powerful feature extraction ability of HRCNN, a spectral resolution of 15 nm is realized. Over one hundred chemicals, including untrained chemicals species tested with an average reconstruction error of ∼1E-4, exhibit the excellent reliability of the micro-spectrometer. The demonstration of the micro-spectrometer promotes the development of the reconstructed strategy.

Knowledge and willingness to receive a COVID-19 vaccine: a survey from Anhui Province, China.

OBJECTIVES: Vaccinations can prevent COVID-19 and control its spread quickly and efficiently. This study aimed to investigate knowledge and willingness of geriatric care facility staff to receive a COVID-19 vaccine, and to provide a basis for the government to promote the COVID-19 vaccine and guide people to get vaccinated. STUDY DESIGN: A cross-sectional study. METHODS: Data on characteristics of the participants, knowledge about the COVID-19 vaccine, and willingness to get vaccinated for COVID-19 were collected through an online survey from May 19 to June 18, 2021. Statistical analyses were conducted with ANOVA, chi-square, logistic regression. RESULTS: The survey illustrated that the highest score of COVID-19 vaccine knowledge was 50, the lowest 20, and the average 44.22. It also demonstrated that 91.3% of the participants had a good knowledge of COVID-19 vaccine, and that 97.3% participants were willing to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. The results showed that geriatric care facility staff had varied level of the COVID-19 vaccine knowledge depending upon their age, educational background, and other factors, and correspondingly, their willingness to receive COVID-19 vaccine was affected by their knowledge level of COVID-19 vaccine. CONCLUSIONS: In general, the participants, the staff of geriatric care facilities in Anhui Province, had good mastery of the COVID-19 vaccine, and they were willing to get vaccinated. However, there still existed a few participants with poor knowledge, who were unwilling to get vaccinated against COVID-19. Government can guide people to accept vaccination by enhancing publicity about the effects and adverse reactions of COVID-19 vaccines.

Prolonged parent-child separation and pain in adolescence: The role of HPA-axis genetic variations.

BACKGROUND: Increasing evidence has demonstrated that childhood adversity was a predictor of pain and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis genetic variation is associated with pain risk. This study aims to explore possible effects of prolonged childhood separation from parents and HPA polygenic risk score (PRS) on pain among adolescents in rural China. METHOD: We used data from 219 adolescents in rural area of Fuyang city, Anhui province, China. Parent-child separation was collected through interview and pain intensity was reported using the 11-point Numerical Rating Scale. SNP genotyping was performed using an improved multiplex ligation detection reaction (iMLDR) technique. The PRS was computed based on 3 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in 2 genes (FKBP5 and NR3C1) related to HPA-axis stress reactivity. RESULTS: Pain among adolescents separated from both parents scored higher compared to those without parent-child separation, however, this association was only observed in adolescents with moderate to high tertiles of PRS groups (parent-child separation in moderate group vs. no parent-child separation in moderate group: 3.07 vs. 1.57, P < 0.001; parent-child separation in highest group vs. no parent-child separation in highest group: 3.02 vs. 1.26, P < 0.001; parent-child separation in lowest group vs. no parent-child separation in lowest group: 2.34 vs. 1.25, P = 0.225). After controlled for demographic characteristics, psychopathological symptoms, adverse childhood experiences, parental warmth, prolonged childhood parent-child separation increased pain scores by 1.52 points (95% CI:0.72, 2.33) and 1.72 points (95% CI:1.13, 2.31) in moderate and high PRS groups, respectively. CONCLUSION: Our findings suggest that adolescents separated from both parents while carrying more risk alleles related to HPA-axis stress reactivity are at heightened risk of pain.

Association between family adversity exposed to different period and psychopathological symptoms among adolescents in rural areas / 中国学校卫生

Objective@#To investigate the cumulative and sensitive period effects of family adversity on the outcome of psychopathological symptoms,so as to provide evidence for the prevention and intervention of adverse events.@*Methods@#A total of 710 adolescents were recruited from local schools in rural area of Fuyang,Anhui Province in Dec. 2017 by using the convenience sampling method. The Adverse Childhood Experiences Questionnaire was used to assess family adversity. The MacArthur Health & Behavior Questionnaire was used to assess internalizing and externalizing symptoms. Multiple linear regression model was used to analyze the association between number and time of family adversity and psychopathological symptoms.@*Results@#Persistent family adversity was associated with increased internalizing symptoms [(β(95%CI)=0.35(0.15-0.54)] and increased externalizing symptoms [β(95%CI)=0.16(0.01-0.32)]. 2 and ≥3 family adversities were associated with increased internalizing symptoms[β(95%CI)=0.20(0.04-0.36),0.42(0.24-0.60)]and increased externalizing symptoms[β(95%CI)=0.14(0.01-0.26),0.23(0.09-0.37)]. In childhood family adversity group,2 and ≥3 family adversities were associated with increased internalizing symptoms [β(95%CI)=0.23(0.06-0.41),0.34(0.11-0.58)] and increased externalizing symptoms [β(95%CI)=0.17(0.02-0.31),0.21(0.02-0.39)]. In persistent family adversity group,≥3 family adversities were associated with increased internalizing symptoms[β(95%CI)=0.56(0.31-0.82)] and increased externalizing symptoms [β(95%CI)=0.24(0.02-0.45)]. Adolescence family adversity was not associated with psychopathological symptoms.@*Conclusion@#The cumulative family adversity may increase the risk of psychopathological symptoms,and that childhood may be the sensitive period for family adversity to cause psychopathological symptoms.

Associations between early life parent-child separation and shortened telomere length and psychopathological outcomes during adolescence.

BACKGROUND: Given the ethical limitations of exposing children to experimentally manipulated adverse experiences, evidence of the effects of parent-child separation on subsequent psychopathology are based mostly on animal studies. Left-behind children phenomenon resulting from rural-urban mobility in China offers unique "natural experiments" to explore the long-term physical and mental health consequences of parent-child separation in childhood. OBJECTIVE: To test the associations between parent-child separation with telomere length (TL) and psychopathology during adolescence. METHOD: A total of 710 adolescents (age: M = 16.86, SD = 1.52) were recruited from local schools in rural area of Fuyang, one of the top inland areas for outward migration in Anhui province, China. Parent-child separation was collected through face to face interview. The MacArthur Health & Behavior Questionnaire (HBQ) was used to assess internalizing and externalizing symptoms. Quantitative polymerase chain reaction was used to measure buccal TL. RESULTS: Nearly 60% (399/695) of the participants experienced separation from both parents. Childhood or persistent separation from parents was associated with increased internalizing symptoms (childhood: ß = 0.13, 95% CI: 0.02, 0.23; persistent: ß = 0.23, 95% CI: 0.14, 0.31), increased externalizing symptoms (childhood: ß = 0.17, 95% CI: 0.03, 0.32; persistent: ß = 0.23, 95% CI: 0.10, 0.35) and shorter telomere length (childhood: ß = -0.16, 95% CI: -0.26, -0.05; persistent: ß = -0.13, 95% CI: -0.22, -0.03). Shortened TL was estimated to explain 15.2% and 12.7% of the total effect of separation on internalizing and externalizing symptoms, while internalizing and externalizing symptoms explained 23.4% and 12.3% of the effect of separation on shortened TL. CONCLUSION: Childhood and persistent parent-child separation, as experienced by rural left-behind children in China, associates with increased vulnerability for psychopathological symptoms and makers of cellular aging. The challenge for future research is to determine whether short telomere length is in fact a long-term consequence or an underlying vulnerability factor for future mental disorders.