Knowledge and coping style about depression in medical students: A cross-sectional study in China.

OBJECTIVES: The current study aimed at ascertaining the depression levels of medical students and their knowledge levels of depression, and exploring the relationship between the level of knowledge and coping styles of the medical students on depression. METHODS: An online-based survey was developed in Changzhi Medical College. The questionnaire included demographic and socioeconomic data, questions about depression knowledge and copying styles of depression, and the Zung Self-Rating Depression Scale (SDS). A total of 1931 questionnaires were returned by respondents. RESULTS: The medical students produced a mean SDS score of 44.29 (SD = 11.67). The prevalence of depression was 29.7%. Sophomore, female, and poor family relationships were parameters associated with a higher SDS score. The total correct rate for knowledge of depression was 64.14%. There were statistical differences between with depression students and non-depression students on the rate of the correct answers in the following questions:"Female has more probability", "Depression can be adjusted by oneself", "Associated with one's character", "Know cure method of depression", "Know drug use of depression", "Know depression influence for health", and "Know prevention method of depression". Depression students were more likely to have a lower rate of correct answer for above questions. Asking for help from psychological consultation was the primary coping mechanism among the medical students. The logistic regression analysis results found that depressed students who chose the coping way of no ways of coping were more likely to be females OR = 1.470 (1.078, 2.005), residents in rural area OR = 1.496 (1.038, 2.156), in poor family relationships OR = 2.428 (1.790, 3.293), and have lower cognitive level of depression knowledge OR = 1.920 (1.426, 3.226). CONCLUSIONS: It is necessary to focus on mental health of medical students, especially in female, residents in rural area, in poor family relationships, and having lower cognitive level of depression knowledge. Medical students were insufficient on depression knowledge and coping styles, and efforts that train students know risk of impaired mental health could also improve diagnosis and treatment.

Outcome of management based on "1+X" model in a health examination center.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effect of management measures based on the "1+X" model in physical examination centers. METHODS: This retrospective study was conducted on 5362 individuals who underwent physical examinations in Heping Hospital Affiliated to Changzhi Medical College from January 1, 2020 to December 31, 2022. These subjects were divided into an observation group (n=2681) and a control group (n=2681) according to the different management measures. Subjects from the control group were given routine management measures, while those from the observation group were given management measures based on the "1+X" model. The scores of negative emotions, waiting time for physical examination, acquisition of health knowledge, satisfaction for the physical examinations, and efficiency and degree of credibility in medical management were evaluated and compared between the two groups. RESULTS: After management, the scores of anxiety and depression in both groups were significantly reduced in contrast to before management, and the two scores were significantly lower in the observation group than those in the control group (P<0.05). The observation group experienced significantly shorter waiting time for routine urination, blood sampling, internal and surgical examinations, and electrocardiogram than the control group (all P<0.001). The acquisition of health knowledge in the observation group was significantly better than that in the control group (P<0.05). The satisfaction rates of the observation group in the terms of service attitude, examination environment, health education, and follow-up services were significantly better than those in the control group (all P<0.05). Moreover, the efficiency and degree of credibility in medical management in the observation group were better than those in the control group. CONCLUSION: The application of management measures based on the "1+X" model has a good effect in our physical examination center. On the one hand, it can significantly reduce the waiting time for various physical examinations and alleviate the negative emotions of physical examinees. On the other hand, it can effectively enhance the overall acquisition of health knowledge, the satisfaction of physical examination, and the efficiency and degree of credibility in medical management. This management model is worthy of clinical promotion and application.

Long-term SARS-CoV-2 neutralizing antibody level prediction using multimodal deep learning: A prospective cohort study on longitudinal data in Wuhan, China.

The ongoing epidemic of SARS-CoV-2 is taking a substantial financial and health toll on people worldwide. Assessing the level and duration of SARS-CoV-2 neutralizing antibody (Nab) would provide key information for government to make sound healthcare policies. Assessed at 3-, 6-, 12-, and 18-month postdischarge, we described the temporal change of IgG levels in 450 individuals with moderate to critical COVID-19 infection. Moreover, a data imputation framework combined with a novel deep learning model was implemented to predict the long-term Nab and IgG levels in these patients. Demographic characteristics, inspection reports, and CT scans during hospitalization were used in this model. Interpretability of the model was further validated with Shapely Additive exPlanation (SHAP) and Gradient-weighted Class Activation Mapping (GradCAM). IgG levels peaked at 3 months and remained stable in 12 months postdischarge, followed by a significant decline in 18 months postdischarge. However, the Nab levels declined from 6 months postdischarge. By training on the cohort of 450 patients, our long-term antibody prediction (LTAP) model could predict long-term IgG levels with relatively high area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC), accuracy, precision, recall, and F1-score, which far exceeds the performance achievable by commonly used models. Several prognostic factors including FDP levels, the percentages of T cells, B cells and natural killer cells, older age, sex, underlying diseases, and so forth, served as important indicators for IgG prediction. Based on these top 15 prognostic factors identified in IgG prediction, a simplified LTAP model for Nab level prediction was established and achieved an AUC of 0.828, which was 8.9% higher than MLP and 6.6% higher than LSTM. The close correlation between IgG and Nab levels making it possible to predict long-term Nab levels based on the factors selected by our LTAP model. Furthermore, our model identified that coagulation disorders and excessive immune response, which indicate disease severity, are closely related to the production of IgG and Nab. This universal model can be used as routine discharge tests to identify virus-infected individuals at risk for recurrent infection and determine the optimal timing of vaccination for general populations.

Clinical features and prognosis of pediatric idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss: A bi-center retrospective study.

Objective: Limited research has focused on the clinical features of sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSNHL) in pediatric patients. This study is aimed to investigate the relationship between clinical features and the baseline hearing severity and outcomes of SSNHL in the pediatric population. Method: We conducted a bi-center retrospective observational study in 145 SSNHL patients aged no more than 18 years who were recruited between November 2013 and October 2022. Data extracted from medical records, audiograms, complete blood count (CBC) and coagulation tests have been assessed for the relationship with the severity (the thresholds of the initial hearing) and outcomes (recovery rate, hearing gain and the thresholds of the final hearing). Results: A lower lymphocyte count (P = 0.004) and a higher platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) (P = 0.041) were found in the patient group with profound initial hearing than in the less severe group. Vertigo (ß = 13.932, 95%CI: 4.082-23.782, P = 0.007) and lymphocyte count (ß = -6.686, 95%CI: -10.919 to -2.454, P = 0.003) showed significant associations with the threshold of the initial hearing. In the multivariate logistic model, the probability of recovery was higher for patients with ascending and flat audiograms compared to those with descending audiograms (ascending: OR 8.168, 95% CI 1.450-70.143, P = 0.029; flat: OR 3.966, 95% CI 1.341-12.651, P = 0.015). Patients with tinnitus had a 3.2-fold increase in the probability of recovery (OR 3.222, 95% CI 1.241-8.907, P = 0.019), while the baseline hearing threshold (OR 0.968, 95% CI 0.936-0.998, P = 0.047) and duration to the onset of therapy (OR 0.942, 95% CI 0.890-0.977, P = 0.010) were negatively associated with the odds of recovery. Conclusions: The present study showed that accompanying tinnitus, the severity of initial hearing loss, the time elapse and the audiogram configuration might be related to the prognosis of pediatric SSNHL. Meanwhile, the presence of vertigo, lower lymphocytes and higher PLR were associated with worse severity.

Effects of soil properties on heavy metal bioavailability and accumulation in crop grains under different farmland use patterns.

Mining activities have increased the accumulation of heavy metals in farmland soil and in food crops. To identify the key soil properties influencing heavy metal bioavailability and accumulation in food crops, 81 crop samples and 81 corresponding agricultural soil samples were collected from rape, wheat, and paddy fields. Heavy metal (copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd), iron (Fe), and manganese (Mn)) concentrations in soils and rape, wheat, rice grains were determined using inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy, and soil physicochemical properties (pH, organic matter, total nitrogen, total phosphorus, available phosphorus, and available potassium (AK)) were analyzed. Soil extractable metals were extracted using various single extractants (DTPA, EDTA, NH4OAc, NH4NO3, and HCl). The average concentrations of Cu, Zn, Pb, Cd, and Mn in the soil samples all exceeded the local geochemical background value (background values of Cu, Zn, Pb, Cd, and Mn are 43.0, 81.0, 28.5, 0.196, and 616 mg/kg, respectively), and Cd over-standard rate was the highest, at 98%. Furthermore, soil total Cd concentrations (0.1-24.8 mg/kg) of more than 86% of the samples exceeded the soil pollution risk screening value (GB 15618-2018). The sources of Cu, Zn, Pb, Cd, and Mn in soils were mainly associated with mining activities. The key factors influencing heavy metal bioavailability were associated with the types of extractants (complexing agents or neutral salt extractants) and the metals. Cd and Pb concentrations in most wheat and rice grain samples exceeded the maximum allowable Cd and Pb levels in food, respectively, and Cd concentrations in approximately 10% of the rice grain samples exceeded 1.0 mg/kg. Furthermore, rice and wheat grains exhibited higher Cd accumulation capacity than rape grains, and despite the high soil Cd concentrations in the rape fields, the rape grains were safe for consumption. High soil pH and AK restricted Cd and Cu accumulation in wheat grains, respectively. Soil properties seemed to influence heavy metal accumulation in rice grains the most.

Health protective behavior scale: Development and psychometric evaluation.

OBJECTIVE: A healthy lifestyle includes health protective and health promoting behaviors. Health promoting lifestyle profiles have been developed, but measures of health protective behavior are still lacking. This study sought to develop a health protecting behavior scale. METHODS: An initial item pool for the Health Protective Behavior Scale (HPBS) was generated based on read and referred literature and a single-item open-ended survey. An expert group screened this initial item pool using an item-level content validity index. Pilot testing was conducted. The degree of variation, the response rate, the item-total correlation coefficient, and the factor loading in factor analysis and item analysis were used to screen items using data of pilot testing. 454 subjects were recruited evaluate the psychometric properties of the HPBS. Analyses included internal consistency, test-retest reliability, factor analysis, parallel analysis, correlation analysis and criterion validity analysis. RESULTS: The final iteration of the HPBS was developed with 32 items and five dimensions: interpersonal support, general behavior, self-knowledge, nutrition behavior and health care. Cronbach's alpha coefficient, and test-retest reliability were 0.89 and 0.89 respectively. Correlation coefficients of the five dimensions ranged from 0.28 to 0.55. The Spearman correlation coefficient between the total scores on the WHOQOL-BREF and on the HPBS was 0.34. CONCLUSIONS: HPBS has sufficient validity and reliability to measure health protective behaviors in adults.

[Distribution Characteristics of Nitrifiers and Denitrifiers in the River Sediments of Tongling City].

Rivers in mining areas were influenced by contaminants such as nitrogen, phosphorus and organic matter due to domestic and agricultural wastewater discharge in addition to pollutants caused by mining activities. In this study, surface sediment samples of rivers in Tongling city were collected to address the effect of season and pollution type on the abundance of nitrifiers and denitrifiers using quantitative polymerase chain reaction (QPCR) technique targeting at the ammonia monooxygenase (amoA) and nitrite reductase (nir) genes. The results showed that the average ahundance of ammonia oxidizing archaea (AGA) (ranging from 1.74 x 105 to 1.45 x 108 copies · g⁻¹) was 4.39 times that of ammonia oxidizing hacteria (AGH) (ranging from 1.39 x 105 to 3.39 x 107 copies · g⁻¹); and the average abundance of nirK gene (ranging from 4.45 x 106 to 1.51 x 108 copies · g) was almost a thirtieth part of nirS gene (ranging from 1.69 x 107 to 8.55 x 109 copies · g⁻¹). The abundance of AOA was higher in spring and autumn, and lower in summer and winter. And sediment AOB abundance was higher in spring and winter than in summer and autumn. Meanwhile, the abundance of nir genes was in the order of spring (nirS )/autumn (nirK) > summer > winter > autumn (nirS )/spring (nirK). Moreover, the abundance of bacterial and archaeal arnoA and nirS genes in sediments influenced by mine pollution was generally higher than that in sediments influenced by agricultural non-point pollution, whereas the abundance of nirK gene showed an opposite trend.