Multiplicity and dynamics of social representations of the COVID-19 pandemic on Chinese social media from 2019 to 2020.

Documenting the emergent social representations of COVID-19 in public communication is necessary for critically reflecting on pandemic responses and providing guidance for global pandemic recovery policies and practices. This study documents the dynamics of changing social representations of the COVID-19 pandemic on one of the largest Chinese social media, Weibo, from December 2019 to April 2020. We draw on the social representation theory (SRT) and conceptualize topics and topic networks as a form of social representation. We analyzed a dataset of 40 million COVID-19 related posts from 9.7 million users (including the general public, opinion leaders, and organizations) using machine learning methods. We identified 12 topics and found an expansion in social representations of COVID-19 from a clinical and epidemiological perspective to a broader perspective that integrated personal illness experiences with economic and sociopolitical discourses. Discussions about COVID-19 science did not take a prominent position in the representations, suggesting a lack of effective science and risk communication. Further, we found the strongest association of social representations existed between the public and opinion leaders and the organizations' representations did not align much with the other two groups, suggesting a lack of organizations' influence in public representations of COVID-19 on social media in China.

Examining Social Capital, Social Support, and Language Use in an Online Depression Forum: Social Network and Content Analysis.

BACKGROUND: The use of peer-to-peer online support groups and communities has grown into a social phenomenon. Many people use online support groups and communities to seek and provide social support. It is essential to examine how users' participation behaviors may contribute to different outcomes. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to (1) use the structural positions of online depression forum users in their reply network to predict received support and (2) examine their language use reflecting their health conditions. METHODS: A total of 2061 users and their 62,274 replies posted on a depression forum from July 2004 to July 2014 were extracted using a web crawler written in Python. The content of the forum users' posts and replies and their reply patterns were examined. A social network analysis method was used to build the reply networks of users. The computerized text analysis method was used to measure features of the forum users' language styles. RESULTS: Forum users' bridging social capital (operationalized as network betweenness) was positively associated with the level of communication accommodation in their received replies (P=.04). Forum users' bonding social capital (operationalized as network constraint) was negatively associated with the level of communication accommodation in their received replies (P<.001). The forum users' change in their use of self-referent words and words expressing negative emotions were examined as linguistic proxies for their health conditions and mental states. The results revealed a general negative association between the number of received replies and the degree of decrease in the use of words expressing negative emotion (P=.007). CONCLUSIONS: The structural positions of online depression forum users in the reply network are associated with different participation outcomes in the users. Thus, receiving replies can be beneficial to online depression forum users.

Using Reports of Symptoms and Diagnoses on Social Media to Predict COVID-19 Case Counts in Mainland China: Observational Infoveillance Study.

BACKGROUND: Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has affected more than 200 countries and territories worldwide. This disease poses an extraordinary challenge for public health systems because screening and surveillance capacity is often severely limited, especially during the beginning of the outbreak; this can fuel the outbreak, as many patients can unknowingly infect other people. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to collect and analyze posts related to COVID-19 on Weibo, a popular Twitter-like social media site in China. To our knowledge, this infoveillance study employs the largest, most comprehensive, and most fine-grained social media data to date to predict COVID-19 case counts in mainland China. METHODS: We built a Weibo user pool of 250 million people, approximately half the entire monthly active Weibo user population. Using a comprehensive list of 167 keywords, we retrieved and analyzed around 15 million COVID-19-related posts from our user pool from November 1, 2019 to March 31, 2020. We developed a machine learning classifier to identify "sick posts," in which users report their own or other people's symptoms and diagnoses related to COVID-19. Using officially reported case counts as the outcome, we then estimated the Granger causality of sick posts and other COVID-19 posts on daily case counts. For a subset of geotagged posts (3.10% of all retrieved posts), we also ran separate predictive models for Hubei province, the epicenter of the initial outbreak, and the rest of mainland China. RESULTS: We found that reports of symptoms and diagnosis of COVID-19 significantly predicted daily case counts up to 14 days ahead of official statistics, whereas other COVID-19 posts did not have similar predictive power. For the subset of geotagged posts, we found that the predictive pattern held true for both Hubei province and the rest of mainland China regardless of the unequal distribution of health care resources and the outbreak timeline. CONCLUSIONS: Public social media data can be usefully harnessed to predict infection cases and inform timely responses. Researchers and disease control agencies should pay close attention to the social media infosphere regarding COVID-19. In addition to monitoring overall search and posting activities, leveraging machine learning approaches and theoretical understanding of information sharing behaviors is a promising approach to identify true disease signals and improve the effectiveness of infoveillance.

You Get What You Give: Understanding Reply Reciprocity and Social Capital in Online Health Support Forums.

Adopting a social network analysis approach, the present study examined social capital and network dynamics of online support seeking and support provision in a depression forum. We constructed a depression forum network by mapping out all of the users and the reply ties among them. The findings showed a consistently reciprocal pattern between users' replies sent to others and replies received from others. Forum users' bridging social capital was positively associated with the source diversity of their received replies and negatively associated with the average length of their received replies. Furthermore, forum users' bonding social capital was positively associated with the average length of their received replies and negatively associated with the source diversity of their received replies.

A rapid PCR-free next-generation sequencing method for comprehensive diagnosis of chromosome disease syndromes in prenatal samples.

The aim of this study is to investigate the application performance of rapid copy number variation sequencing (rCNV-seq) technology for the detection of chromosomal abnormalities during prenatal diagnosis. Samples were collected from 424 pregnant women who were at high-risk for noninvasive prenatal screening in Kunming Maternal and Child Care Hospital from January 2018 to May 2022. rCNV-seq technique was used to detect fetal chromosome abnormalities and compare the results with that of chromosomal karyotype analysis. The Result showed that 330 (77.83%, 330/424) cases indicated chromosomal abnormalities among 424 high-risk pregnant women who underwent rCNV-seq. Moreover, 94 (22.17%, 94/424) cases were discovered to have copy number variations. Among the 330 fetuses with chromosomal abnormalities, common autosomal aneuploidy was observed in 203 cases (47.87%, 203/424) and sex chromosome aneuploidy was observed in 91 cases (21.46%, 91/424). Moreover, the abnormalities in multiple chromosomes were discovered in 33 cases (7.78%, 33/424), and the rare autosomal aneuploidy was observed in 3 cases (0.71%, 3/424). There were 63 fetuses (14.86%, 63/424) with pathogenic CNVs among the 94 fetuses with variable copy numbers. Of the 245 pregnant women who voluntarily selected G-band karyotyping, 1 fetus with copy number variation had normal karyotype results, and the remaining women were consistent with rCNV-seq. Our study revealed that rCNV-seq has higher accuracy in detecting common trisomy and can also detect chromosomal microdeletions or microduplications that cannot be detected by G-banding karyotype analysis. There is no effective treatment for chromosomal diseases, so it is particularly important to prevent chromosomal diseases through genetic counseling and prenatal diagnosis of chromosomal diseases.

Changes in expression levels of immune cells and inflammatory cytokines in pre-eclampsia patients before and after delivery.

OBJECTIVE: By analyze the expression levels of immune cells and cytokines secreted by preeclampsia patients before and after delivery. Furthermore, to determine the inflammatory and immunological mechanism responsible for preeclampsia, to provide better future prevention and treatment. METHODS: Twenty-one preeclampsia-diagnosed pregnant women were involved in this study as an observation group. Twenty pregnant women with no history of PE, age-matched, were added to the control group. Thirty NP women, age-matched were included as the reference. The levels of cytokines secreted by T, B, NK and Treg immune cells and Th1, Th2 and Th17 cells were detected before and after delivery. RESULTS: The number of CD3 + cells in women without preeclampsia before delivery was not statistically different from that in PE patients, but the number of CD4 + and CD8 + cells was lower than that in women without preeclampsia. After delivery, CD4 + cells were larger than those in pregnant women without preeclampsia, while CD8 + cells were smaller than those in pregnant women without preeclampsia. The level of cytokines secreted by Th1 in pregnant women without preeclampsia before delivery was higher than that in PE patients. The levels of cytokines produced by Th1, Th2 and Th17 cells before and after delivery were higher in pregnant women without preeclampsia than in NP women, while Th2 and Th17 were in PE group. CONCLUSION: PE patients may reduce CD4 + cells and CD8 + cells, and down-regulate the level of cytokines (especially TNF-ß) secreted by Th1 cells to reduce the maternal rejection of embryos, thereby reducing the risk of premature delivery, which is a protective adaptive compensation mechanism in favor of embryos.

S100A6 promotes the development of thyroid cancer and inhibits apoptosis of thyroid cancer cells through the PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway.

High levels of S100A6 have been associated with progression in some types of human cancers. Cancers related to S100A6 have been reported to include lung cancer, cervical cancer, pancreatic cancer, gastric cancer, colon cancer, etc., but its role in the molecular pathogenesis of these cancers is largely unknown. This study investigated the expression and functional roles of S100A6 in human thyroid cancer. The expression level of S100A6 in thyroid cancer cells was determined by bioinformatics and transcriptomic analysis. Furthermore, the potential functions of S100A6 in tumorigenesis were analyzed by cell proliferation, migration, invasion, and Western blot assays in human thyroid cancer cells. Public database queries revealed high S100A6 expression in thyroid cancer. In addition, we also found that high expression of S100A6 was positively correlated with malignant clinicopathological characteristics of thyroid cancer in The Cancer Genome Atlas database. qPCR results confirmed the high expression of S100A6 in thyroid cancer cells. S100A6 silencing inhibited cell proliferation, migration, and invasion. Western blot assays and response experiments showed that S100A6 promotes cell proliferation and tumorigenicity partly through the PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling pathway. These results suggest that S100A6 affects the progression of thyroid cancer and can be used as a target in the future treatment of thyroid cancer.

Use of Monte Carlo simulation to optimize antibiotic selection for bloodstream infections caused by Enterobacteriaceae in Shandong Province, China.

The increasing rates of resistance to ß-lactams have made it more challenging for clinicians to select appropriate antibiotic treatment for bloodstream infections (BSIs) caused by suspected Enterobacteriaceae. The objective of this analysis was to determine the optimal dosage regimens of ß-lactams for treatment of BSIs based on analysis of 19,334 Enterobacteriaceae collected from blood specimens. Monte Carlo simulation using pharmacokinetic parameters of infected patients was performed to determine the probability of overall pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic (PK/PD) target attainment (OPTA). E. coli, K. pneumoniae, and E. cloacae were the 3 most common species. Nine of the 16 tested regimens had optimal OPTAs (>90%) for Enterobacteriaceae overall (meropenem 2g q8h, 3 h infusion; meropenem 2g q8h, 0.5h; meropenem 1g q8h, 0.5h; piperacillin/tazobactam 4.5g q8h, 3h; ceftazidime 2g q8h, 3h; imipenem 0.5g q6h, 0.5h; imipenem 1g q8h, 0.5h; piperacillin/tazobactam 3.375g q6h, 0.5h; ceftazidime 2g q8h, 0.5h). Four other regimens had sub-optimal OPTAs of 80 to 90% (piperacillin/tazobactam 4.5g q8h, 0.5h; ceftazidime 1g q8h, 0.5h; cefepime 2g q12h, 3h; and cefepime 2g q12h, 0.5h). Although there are high antibiotic MICs among Enterobacteriaceae in Shandong Province, carbapenem- , ceftazidime- and piperacillin/tazobactam- based regimens provide the optimal treatment.

Pharmacokinetic/Pharmacodynamic Modeling of Seven Antimicrobials for Empiric Treatment of Adult Bloodstream Infections with Gram-Negative Bacteria in China.

Objective: Optimal dosing regimens for achieving a positive clinical outcome were simulated for seven antibiotics commonly used to treat bloodstream infections (BSIs) in adults. Methods and Results: Pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic (PK/PD) modeling was used to simulate 17 regimens, including meropenem, imipenem, cefepime, ceftazidime, piperacillin-tazobactam, tigecycline, and polymyxin B based on patients' characteristics and the antimicrobial resistance data for the main pathogens isolated from blood specimens in Shandong province (China). A regimen for which the cumulative fraction of response (CFR) was 90% or more was considered optimal. For Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae, all carbapenem regimens, ceftazidime (2gq8h, 0.5 hr, and 3hr infusion), and piperacillin/tazobactam (4.5gq8h, 3 hr infusion) achieved CFRs above 90%. The meropenem regimen (2gq8h, 3 hr) achieved CFRs above 90% for both ceftriaxone or cefotaxime-resistant (CRO/CTX-R) E. coli and K. pneumoniae. For Pseudomonas aeruginosa, ceftazidime and meropenem (2gq8h, 0.5 hr, and 3 hr infusion) achieved optimal CFRs. None of the ß-lactam regimens examined achieved a CFR above 80% for Acinetobacter baumannii. For all examined bacteria, polymyxin B (50 mg q12h) led to a CFR above 90%. Conclusion: PK/PD modeling based on local antimicrobial resistance data provides valuable guidance for clinicians for the administration of empirical antibiotic treatments for BSIs.

[Otimization of auxiliary lines for proximal femoral intramedullary nail in the treatment of simple femoral intertrochanteric fractures].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the clinical outcomes of C-arm X-ray fluoroscopy before incision to make assistant lines and insert the guide wire of PFNA and PFNA blade. METHODS: From January 1st 2012 to January 1st 2015, 132 intertrochanteric fracture patients of type 31A1 and 31A2 according to AO-classification, were retrospectively analyzed. Among them, 62 patients(14 males and 48 females) aged from 52 to 95 years with a mean age of(69.58±8.55) years in traditional group were operated by traditional procedure, while 70 patients in the skin marking group included 15 males and 55 females aged from 61 to 88 years with a mean age of(71.94±7.64) years, on the basis of the traditional operation method, the assistant line of the body surface and the C-arm X-ray was increased, and the guide pin positioning of the proximal femoral nail and the spiral blade was guided by the auxiliary line in the operation. Operative time, frequency of C-arm fluoroscopy, Harris hip score of the third months after surgery and the complications in both groups were queried for statistical analysis. RESULTS: In addition to skin making group 1 patients had superficial wound infection complications, all patients were stage I wound healing. All patients were followed up for 3 to 18 months with an average of (6.81±3.07) months. The operative time was significantly reduced in skin marking group (56.16±6.36) minutes compared to traditional group (59.06±9.19) minutes (P>=0.035). And the frequency of C-arm fluoroscopy of skin marking group was(25.89±5.81) times which was also significantly reduced compared to traditional group(31.32±9.81) times (P<0.001). There was no statistical difference in Harris hip score at 3 months after operation and the complication rate between the two groups(P>0.05). CONCLUSIONS: In this study, a simple and easy method of assistant line marking can shorten the operation time and reduce the number of times of operation.

Multimodality and interactivity: connecting properties of serious games with educational outcomes.

Serious games have become an important genre of digital media and are often acclaimed for their potential to enhance deeper learning because of their unique technological properties. Yet the discourse has largely remained at a conceptual level. For an empirical evaluation of educational games, extra effort is needed to separate intertwined and confounding factors in order to manipulate and thus attribute the outcome to one property independent of another. This study represents one of the first attempts to empirically test the educational impact of two important properties of serious games, multimodality and interactivity, through a partial 2 x 3 (interactive, noninteractive by high, moderate, low in multimodality) factorial between-participants follow-up experiment. Results indicate that both multimodality and interactivity contribute to educational outcomes individually. Implications for educational strategies and future research directions are discussed.