Associations between patterns of social support and perinatal mental health among Chinese mother: the mediating role of social trust.

This study aims to explore the correlation between different social support patterns and perinatal mental health, and the mediating role of social trust in this. A cross-sectional survey was conducted in Jiangsu, China, with a sample size of 1705 pregnant respondents. Latent class analysis (LCA) was utilized to identify various social support patterns, while a multiple regression model was employed to analyze the mediating effect of social trust on the relationship between social support patterns and perinatal mental health. The study found four distinct social support patterns among the respondents: primary relationship-centric support, overall weak support, primary-secondary relationship-balanced support, and overall strong support. In the relationship between social support patterns and perinatal mental health, social trust played both a partial and full mediating role. The findings indicate that a social support system that enhances maternal trust and promotes honest disclosure of symptoms can effectively promote perinatal mental health.

Patterns of physical and mental co-occurring developmental health among Chinese elderly: A multidimensional growth mixture model analysis.

Background: This study focuses on the heterogeneity, interaction, and imbalance in the concurrent development of physical and mental health trajectories among Chinese elderly. Methods: The data used in this study are from four waves of the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHRLS) conducted between 2011 and 2018. A multidimensional growth mixture model (MGMM) was employed to analyze the patterns and characteristics of co-occurring physical and mental health development. Additionally, multinomial logistic regression analysis was conducted to systematically investigate the factors that predict the conjoint trajectories of physical and mental health. Results: The study findings reveal the presence of four distinct latent classes of conjoint trajectories for physical and mental health. These classes are categorized as follows: 'physical and mental health deteriorating', 'physical disease increasing & low mental vulnerability maintaining', 'low physical & mental vulnerability maintaining', and 'high physical disease increased & mental health moderate-stable'. Furthermore, demographic characteristics, socioeconomic status, family-society relations, health behaviors, and institutional factors were found to significantly predict these latent classes. Conclusion: The study emphasizes the diversity and complexity of physical and mental co-occurring developmental health issues in the elderly population in China. These findings have significant implications for the development of targeted intervention strategies that take into account the unique health changes experienced by older adults. Additionally, they can serve as evidence for the establishment of a comprehensive long-term care system.

Serial multiple mediation of perceived professional healthcare support and social structural factors in the relationship between care-seeking behavior and perinatal mental health in Chinese mothers.

BACKGROUND: In previous studies, it has been observed that mother's perinatal mental health (PMH) problems can be improved by engaging in appropriate health care-seeking behaviors. However, the exact mechanism that influences the relationship between these two factors is still not fully understood. This cross-sectional study aims to examine the serial multiple mediating effects of perceived professional healthcare support (PPHS) and social structural factors on the association between care-seeking behavior and PMH. METHODS: The cross-sectional study evaluated 1705 Chinese mothers (pregnancy 12 to 41 weeks) through questionnaires from October 2021 to November 2022. These mothers were selected from three hospitals in Wuxi, with an annual delivery volume of at least 5000. We conducted a structural equation model (SEM) analysis to examine the multiple mediating effect of PPHS and social structural factors (social stigma or social trust) between care-seeking behavior and PMH. After analyzing the results of the SEM, we used bootstrapping to further test the mediating effect. RESULTS: Among the 1705 Chinese mothers surveyed, 636 (37.3%) sought help from professionals. It was observed that more women tended to seek professional help during the early stages of pregnancy (12 to 28 weeks) compared to the later stages (28 to 41 weeks) (t = 1.47, p < 0.05). The results of the SEM analysis indicated that the mother's care-seeking behavior did not have a significant direct effect on PMH. However, it was identified as a crucial distal variable, with its significant effect being fully mediated by PPHS and social structural factors. The mediation effect of PPHS and social stigma on the pathway from care-seeking behavior to PMH was found to be 92.9% (direct effect = 0.002; indirect effect = 0.026). Additionally, the mediating effect of stigma contributed to 21.9% of the association between care-seeking behavior and PPHS (direct effect = 0.405; indirect effect = 0.114). Similarly, the mediation effect of PPHS and social trust on the pathway from care-seeking behavior to PMH was 73.3% (direct effect = 0.008; indirect effect = 0.022). Moreover, the mediating effect of social trust contributed to 22.0% of the association between care-seeking behavior and PPHS (direct effect = 0.407; indirect effect = 0.115). The proposed model showed a good fit with the collected data. CONCLUSION: This study examines the serial multiple mediation effect, in which PPHS and social structural factors mediate the relationship between PMH and professional care-seeking behavior. We suggest three levels of intervention: implementing mental health in all policies, providing training for healthcare providers, and establishing healthcare channels with easily accessible information.

Boosting Output Performance of Sliding Mode Triboelectric Nanogenerator by Shielding Layer and Shrouded-Tribo-Area Optimized Ternary Electrification Layered Architecture.

Sliding mode triboelectric nanogenerator (S-TENG) is effective for low-frequency mechanical energy harvesting owing to their more efficient mechanical energy extraction capability and easy packaging. Ternary electrification layered (TEL) architecture is proven useful for improving the output performance of S-TENG. However, the bottleneck of electric output is the air breakdown on the interface of tribo-layers, which seriously restricts its further improvement. Herein, a strategy is adopted by designing a shielding layer to prevent air breakdown on the central surface of tribo-layers. And the negative effects of air breakdown on the edge of sliding layer are averted by increasing the shrouded area of tribo-layers on slider. Output charge of this shielding-layer and shrouded-tribo-area optimized ternary electrification layered triboelectric nanogenerator (SS-TEL-TENG) achieves 3.59-fold enhancement of traditional S-TENG and 1.76-fold enhancement of TEL-TENG. Furthermore, even at a very low speed of 30 rpm, output charge, current, and average power of the rotation-type SS-TEL-TENG reach 4.15 µC, 74.9 µA, and 25.4 mW (2.05 W m-2 Hz-1 ), respectively. With such high-power output, 4248 LEDs can be lighted brightly by SS-TEL-TENG directly. The high-performance SS-TEL-TENG demonstrated in this work will have great applications for powering ubiquitous sensor network in the Internet of Things (IoT).

Effect of delivery mode on Chinese women's maternal satisfaction: a moderated mediation model of support from medical staff and women's self-assessment of health.

PURPOSE: In recent years, the Chinese government has implemented measures to address the rising rate of cesarean deliveries and promote vaginal births, with the aim of improving women's childbirth experience. However, non-medically necessary cesarean sections and repeated cesarean sections remain prevalent. This study seeks to explore the correlation between mode of delivery and childbirth experiences. Additionally, it examines the moderating and mediating effects of support from medical staff and women's self-assessment of health on maternal satisfaction across different delivery methods. MATERIAL AND METHOD: This cross-sectional survey was conducted with 140 Chinese mothers who were 1-10 days post-partum at three tertiary hospitals. The mothers were asked to fill out a socio-demographic data form and questionnaires related to women's maternal satisfaction, mode of delivery, self-assessed health, and perception of medical staff support while they were in the hospital after delivery. The data from the questionnaires were analyzed and compared using SPSS 24.0 and PROCESS 3.2. RESULTS: This study discovered that the mode of delivery (vaginal birth or C-section) and the perception of support from medical staff significantly influenced maternal satisfaction (ß = 0.82, t = 3.42; ß = 0.82, t = 10.23). Specifically, women who had a vaginal birth reported higher levels of satisfaction compared to those who had a C-section. The study also found that the perception of medical staff support played a mediating role in this relationship, indicating its influence on women's satisfaction (ß = 0.78, t = 9.58; indirect effect = 0.43, Boot SE = 0.15; 95% CI= [.12-.73]). Furthermore, women's self-assessed health acted as a moderator in the relationship between the mode of delivery and medical staff support (ß = -0.53, t = -2.39; indirect effect = -0.41, Boot SE = 0.19; 95% CI= [-.80-.05]). CONCLUSION: The childbirth experience of Chinese women is greatly influenced by factors such as vaginal birth, their perception of care support from medical staff, and their self-assessment of health. This highlights the importance of healthcare professionals providing women-centered maternity services and childbirth education, which can help reduce unnecessary medical intervention and the need for tertiary obstetric care.

Consistency of Delivery Mode Increases Chinese Mothers' Maternal Satisfaction: The Effect of Perception of Support from Medical Staff and Mothers' Self-Efficacy.

Maternal satisfaction is essential for women. Extant research has focused on how a practical delivery method effects maternal satisfaction. This article tried to explore the effect of the consistency of delivery mode between mothers' expectations and their experience of maternal satisfaction and proposed the mediating effect of the perception of support from medical staff and the moderated mediation effect of maternal self-efficacy. Based on two studies, this article found that the consistency of the delivery mode has a positive effect on maternal satisfaction, and women's perception of support from medical staff mediated the above relationship. The maternal perception of self-efficacy has a moderated mediation effect; specifically, for women with a high level of self-efficacy, the positive effect of the consistency of the delivery mode on maternal satisfaction through perception support from medical staff is stronger. This article highlights the importance of the consistency of the delivery mode between women's expectations and the experience of maternal satisfaction and the psychological mechanisms involved. The results extend the theoretical research on ethics in childbirth and provide implications for improving women's maternal satisfaction from medical staff and themselves.

Deep Learning Enabled Neck Motion Detection Using a Triboelectric Nanogenerator.

The state of neck motion reflects cervical health. To detect the motion state of the human neck is of important significance to healthcare intelligence. A practical neck motion detector should be wearable, flexible, power efficient, and low cost. Here, we report such a neck motion detector comprising a self-powered triboelectric sensor group and a deep learning block. Four flexible and stretchable silicon rubber based triboelectric sensors are integrated on a neck collar. With different neck motions, these four sensors lead-out voltage signals with different amplitudes and/or directions. Thus, the combination of these four signals can represent one motion state. Significantly, a carbon-doped silicon rubber layer is attached between the neck collar and the sensors to shield the external electric field (i.e., electrical changes at the skin surface) for a far more robust identification. Furthermore, a deep learning model based on the convolutional neural network is designed to recognize 11 classes of neck motion including eight directions of bending, two directions of twisting, and one resting state with an average recognition accuracy of 92.63%. This developed neck motion detector has promising applications in neck monitoring, rehabilitation, and control.

Whole body vibration remodels skeletal muscle via autophagy and energy metabolism in diabetic mice.

Hyperglycemia occurs due to a defect in insulin secretion or impaired biological functions, or both. The long­term hyperglycemia during diabetes causes chronic damage and dysfunction of various tissues. Whole body vibration (WBV) has significant effects on lipid and glucose metabolism and endocrine and motor systems. In order to explore the effects of WBV on skeletal muscle, mice trained for 12 weeks with WBV (15 Hz, 30 min) were used as experimental subjects and their skeletal muscle morphology under the pathological state of diabetes was observed. In addition, the blood lipids, blood glucose, gastrocnemius muscle glycogen and mRNA and protein levels of autophagy and glucose metabolism biomarkers were compared among the three groups of mice via western blot and RT­qPCR. The results showed that WBV can significantly reshape skeletal muscle morphology and upregulate high density lipoprotein. The expression of glucose­6­phosphatase (G6P), Beclin1 and Atg7 in the gastrocnemius muscle of the WBV group was significantly increased. Therefore, it can be concluded that WBV promotes skeletal muscle remodeling in diabetic mice. The present study confirmed that WBV can attenuate the development of diabetes melitus (DM) and lead to lower level low density lipoprotein in the blood. In addition, G6P level plays an important role in WBV­treated DM model and may be used to monitor the effect of WBV in patients. The findings of the present study may provide a new molecular basis for WBV to play a therapeutic role in the treatment of diabetes and may have potential clinical applications in the future.

Wearable triboelectric sensors for biomedical monitoring and human-machine interface.

A growing advocacy of healthy and quality life makes wearable electronics spring up. Triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) has developed as an energy harvesting technology and as an advanced sensor technology in wearable electronics. The triboelectric sensor (TS) is sensitive to the mechanical motion and driven by the motion itself. Therefore, TS is capable of monitoring certain vital signs and kinds of movements of human body. Based on these monitoring, novel human-machine interfaces (HMIs) can be established. In this review, a comprehensive overview of some key progresses in this field over last 5 years are presented. Several main aspects of biomedical monitoring based on TSs are classified: pulse/cardiac/micro-motion, respiration/airflow/vibration, and pressure/tactile/body movement. The major types of HMIs taking these biomedical monitoring as basis are introduced accordingly: eye movement, voice/auditory, gesture/joint movement, and touch/tactile based HMIs. Finally, the current limitations and future trends are put forward for biomedical monitoring and HMIs based on TSs.

Is Weak Acid Beneficial for Addressing Checkpoint Inhibitor-Triggered Cancer Hyper Progression in Anti-PD1/PD-L1 Immunotherapies?

Numerous cases of checkpoint inhibitor-triggered cancer hyperprogression have been documented. A previous hypothesis attributes cancer onset to the local buildup of hydrogen chloride, jointly mediated by hydrogen bond donors and acceptors and basic amino acids. The anti-PD1/PD-L1 immunotherapies may have caused a surge of protons or chloride ions for the effective treatment of neoplasm, thus giving rise to the local formation of hydrogen chloride and subsequently cancer hyperprogression in some susceptible individuals. It was postulated that the local strength of acidity is critical for tumor growth and metastasis, as the intake of weak organic acids reduces cancer risks. The anti-PD1/PD-L1 immunotherapies can be integrated with weak organic acids to reduce adverse reactions and generate better anticancer outcomes.

Is It Possible to Establish a Tumor-Suppressive Microenvironment With Glycine and Valine Supplement?

A tumorigenic microenvironment can give rise to neoplasm. A shift from this condition to a tumor-suppressive microenvironment is of significant benefit to susceptible individuals. The carbonyl groups of glycine and valine have long bond lengths, consequently generating potent affinities to divalent cations such as calcium. We hypothesize that the formation of insoluble and rigid calcium oxalate augmented by glycine and valine counteracts strong acids such as HCl chemically, thus reducing cancer risks. The anticancer effects of the 2 amino acids can be explained from a chemical and biochemical perspective. A tumor-suppressive microenvironment could be established via the modification of the proteome without genome editing at the DNA level.

High glycine content in TDP-43: a potential culprit in limbic-predominant age-related TDP-43 encephalopathy.

Numerous risk factors for heart disease or dementia harbor over 10% valine plus glycine content. Interestingly, TDP-43 contains 6.0% valine and 13.3% glycine, and the buildup of this protein in the brains of patients with limbic-predominant age-related TDP-43 encephalopathy has dire consequences. The two γ-methyl groups in valine enable hyperconjugation, which enhances the van der Waals interaction between its side group and the carbonyl carbon. This extends the C=O bond length, and this weakened C=O bond augments the secondary chemical bonding of the carbonyl oxygen atom to cations. This, in turn, promotes the formation and buildup of insoluble and rigid salts such as calcium oxalate, which is postulated to be a major cause of heart disease. Similarly, the long C=O bond length in glycine results in a weakened C=O bond with an enhanced affinity toward cations and the formation of insoluble salts. Further, several prion proteins possess a high glycine content of approximately 20%. The insoluble calcium salts produced may promote aggregate formation via secondary chemical bonding between calcium and glycine, as well as between calcium and valine. Chemical and biochemical insights will help us to better understand the etiology of disorders linked to protein aggregates.

The Roles of N 6-Methyladenosine in Human Diseases.

N 6-Methyladenosine methylations and demethylations are associated with a number of human diseases. A chemical and biochemical perspective can complement the biological view of the epigenetic mechanism. The orbital of imino nitrogen and nitrogen-hydrogen orbital displays p-π conjugation and σ-σ hyperconjugation. The electron delocalization attenuates secondary chemical bonding, resulting in low affinities on the imino nitrogen atom to cations. Reduced proton accumulation via N 6-methyladenosine correlates to lower cellular proton levels which may reflect cell physiology and pathogenesis. The lower affinity of the imino nitrogen to divalent cations in the methylated form versus the nonmethylated form may lead to reduced formation of insoluble and rigid calcium oxalate, which was proposed to be the cause of many diseases. The chemical and biochemical attributes of N 6-methyladenosine crosstalk with biological pathways upregulating and/or downregulating gene expressions to give rise to various physiological and biochemical outcomes at the cellular levels and the organismal levels.

A Solo Dance or a Tango?

Previous studies have identified genetic factors and Epstein-Barr virus underlying nasopharyngeal carcinoma. A hypothesis postulated that the local buildup of HCl, mediated by hydrogen bond donors and acceptors and basic amino acids, causes cancer. Nasopharyngeal carcinoma incidences are high in the humid southern coastal China, Southeast Asia, and Mediterranean regions, but not in the noncoastal and nonhumid southern Yunnan Province, China, and nonhumid Central China. The nearly saturated humidity in the Huinan period in Guangdong can trigger the expression of proteins with extensive hydrogen bonding to protons, augmenting the formation of HCl that is mutagenic. Given that the Epstein-Barr virus carries high content of hydrogen bond donors and acceptors, the moist environment in the nasal cavity may enable the virus to colonize the site, compounding pertinent investigations as both virus and high humidity are likely to trigger carcinogenesis. Therefore, the phenomena of exceptionally high humidity in regions with high nasopharyngeal cancer rates warrant further investigations.

Functional duality of ethanol on cancer.

A previous study showed that all kinds of wines or ethanol extended lifespan. Skrott et al. described the death-preventing effect of the alcohol-abuse drug disulfiram. However, this effect, perhaps mediated at least in part by overconsumption of ethanol, cannot be excluded. Carcinogenesis can be resulted from the local buildup of HCl. Similar in molecular structure to oxalate, wines or ethanol of all kinds and acetic acid extend lifespan, despite that ethanol is moderately carcinogenic. Cancer cells are likely to overproduce organic acids such as oxalate to counteract strong acids, and the insoluble calcium oxalate is stressful to cells. It is postulated that ethanol inhibits the generation of oxalate, and thus reduces cancer mortality. To confirm this hypothesis, an extensive epidemiological studies can be performed on cancer patients to show that heavy wine drinkers have lower mortality rates than control groups without the use of alcohol-abuse drugs. This experiment will illuminate the positive and negative sides of ethanol intake, and pave the way for establishing better strategies to treat cancer.