OBJECTIVE: Depression is one of the most common mental disorders among elderly subjects. The purpose of this study is to estimate the prevalence of depressive symptoms and the association between ...soybeans consumption and depressive symptoms among older residents in rural Northeast China. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study. SETTING: A representative sample of the rural Northeast residents. PARTICIPANTS: This survey was conducted from July 2012 to August 2013 which randomly selected and examined a total of 1717 residents aged = 65 years from the rural Northeast China. MEASUREMENTS: All participants completed the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9). Information on demographic and lifestyle characteristics and blood biochemical indexes were collected by well-trained personnel. RESULTS: The prevalence of depressive symptoms in the elderly was 8.9%. Women had significantly higher prevalence of depressive symptoms than men (13.3% vs.4.6%, P<0.001). Individuals consuming soybeans =4times/week had statically lower possibility to have depressive symptoms than those rarely consuming (3.6%vs. 12.5%, P<0.05). In addition to some conventional risk factors like sex, annual income, educational status, current smoking and chronic diseases status were associated with depressive symptoms, proper sleep duration (7–8h/d) OR(95%CI):0.28(0.15,0.53) and frequently consumption of soybeans or soybean products OR (95%CI): 0.36 (0.15,0.87) for 2–3times/week and OR (95%CI):0.50 (0.34,0.74) for =4times/week significantly decreased the risk of depressive symptoms among elderly in rural Northeast China. CONCLUSION: Women had significantly higher prevalence of depressive symptoms than men in rural China. Individuals who rarely consume soybeans or soybean products are more likely to suffer depressive symptoms. Rural elderly residents should be cautiously screened to prevent or treat depression.
A bulk crystal of Yb:Sc
2
SiO
5
(Yb:SSO) with favorable thermal properties was successfully obtained by the Czochralski method. The energy level diagrams for Yb:SSO crystal were determined by optical ...spectroscopic analysis and semi-empirical crystal-field calculations using the simple overlap model. The full width at half maximum of the absorption band centering at 976 nm was calculated to be 24 nm with a peak absorption cross-section of 9.2×10
-21
cm
2
. The largest ground-state splitting of Yb
3+
ions is up to 1027 cm
-1
in a SSO crystal host. Efficient diode-pumped laser performance of Yb:SSO was primarily demonstrated with a slope efficiency of 45% and output power of 3.55 W.
To determine the occurrence mechanism and mobility of shale oil in the Shahejie Formation in the Jiyang Depression, organic geochemistry analysis, thin-section petrological observation, ...low-temperature nitrogen adsorption, high-pressure mercury intrusion porosimetry, field emission scanning electron microscopy experiments were conducted on shale samples to reveal its storage mechanism, including pore size, ratio of adsorbed oil to free oil, mobility and its influencing factors, and mode of storage. Residual shale oil is mainly present in pores less than 100 nm in diameter under the atmospheric temperature and pressure. The lower limit of pore size for free oil is 5 nm, and the lower limit of pore size for movable oil occurrence is about 30 nm. The light components, low TOC and high porosity are the main factors contributing to the high proportion of movable oil. Each type of pore can contain residual shale oil, but not all pores have shale oil. Pore connectivity and surface wettability are the determinants of shale oil enrichment degree and enrichment state.
Common bile duct stone (CBDS) is one of the common diseases in the digestive system, for which endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) is a treatment procedure. However, the risk ...factors for CBDS recurrence after ERCP remains unclear. This study aims to compare the risk factors of CBDS recurrence after ERCP, and to set up a nomogram model to predict the long-term risk.
A retrospective analysis of 355 patients was reviewed. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to identify the risk factors for recurrence. The R packages were used for the model building. The validation set contained 100 patients.
The patients were divided into three subgroups: treated by cholecystectomy after ERCP (11.76% recurrence rate), treated without surgery after ERCP (19.70%), and with a prior history of cholecystectomy (43.64%). Each of them has different independent risk factors, and high body mass index (BMI) is correlated with an increased risk among all the subgroups. A prior history of cholecystectomy is a candidate factor that increases the risk of CBDS recurrence in patients older than 60 years, with a greater BMI, or receiving ERCP combined with EPBD. We built a nomogram model to predict the risk of long-term CBDS recurrence based on the risk factors including age, BMI, CBD diameter, the number of CBDS, and the gallbladder- or biliary tract-related events.
CBDS recurrence is related to congenital and anatomical factors. Cholecystectomy would not be helpful to prevent CBDS recurrence, and a prior history of cholecystectomy may indicate a high risk of recurrence.
The purpose of this study was to observe the changes in serum IL-33 and its soluble receptors, serum sST2 level and ST2L expression in PBMCs of HIV-infected patients receiving highly-active ...antiretroviral therapy (HAART) for 12 monthes. Fifty-five chronic HIV-1-infected adults were recruited for this study before initiation of HAART. 30 age and gender matched healthy adults were recruited as control. Blood was obtained from each patient at baseline (0 month) and 12 months after initiation of highly active antiretroviral therapy(HAART), and each healthy person. The concentration of serum IL-33 and sST2 were detected by ELISA. plasma HIV RNA was detected by real-time fluorescent quantitative PCR. peripheral blood CD3+/CD4+ cell count, the ratio of CD4+ST2L+ positive peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) were determined by flow cytometry. In HIV-infected patients, serum IL-33 and sST2 levels are higher and percentage of ST2L in PBMCs is lower than normal control significantly. During HAART, serum IL-33 and sST2 levels were decreased, whereas CD4+ST2L+ level was increased in PBMCs gradually. Serum IL-33 and sST2 levels positively correlated with plasma HIV RNA levels, but negatively correlated with the peripheral blood CD3+/CD4+ cell count. CD4+ST2L+ receptor in PBMC are positively correlated with the peripheral blood CD3+/CD4+ cell count, but negatively correlated with the plasma HIV viral loading. Serum IL-33 and sST2 levels, and CD4+ST2L+ expression in PBMCs are closely associated with HIV-1 infection and immune reconstitution in patients received HAART.
In a previous study, we elucidated the specific microRNA (miRNA) profile of hepatic differentiation. In this study, we aimed to clarify the instructive role of six overexpressed miRNAs (miR-1246, ...miR-1290, miR-148a, miR-30a, miR-424 and miR-542-5p) during hepatic differentiation of human umbilical cord lining-derived mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) and to test whether overexpression of any of these miRNAs is sufficient to induce differentiation of the hMSCs into hepatocyte-like cells. Before hepatic differentiation, hMSCs were infected with a lentivirus containing a miRNA inhibitor sequence. We found that downregulation of any one of the six hepatic differentiation-specific miRNAs can inhibit HGF-induced hepatic differentiation including albumin expression and LDL uptake. Although overexpression of any one of the six miRNAs alone or liver-enriched miR-122 cannot initiate hepatic differentiation, ectopic overexpression of seven miRNAs (miR-1246, miR-1290, miR-148a, miR-30a, miR-424, miR-542-5p and miR-122) together can stimulate hMSC conversion into functionally mature induced hepatocytes (iHep). Additionally, after transplantation of the iHep cells into mice with CCL4-induced liver injury, we found that iHep not only can improve liver function but it also can restore injured livers. The findings from this study indicate that miRNAs have the capability of directly converting hMSCs to a hepatocyte phenotype in vitro.
Phosphorus induced embrittlement of welding heat affected zones (HAZs) in a 2.25Cr-1Mo steel was examined by measuring the ductile to brittle transition temperature (DBTT) of the HAZs simulated with ...a peak temperature of 1320 degree C at different welding heat inputs. At the same heat input, the DBTTs of the HAZs in the P doped samples were apparently higher than those in the undoped samples and phosphorus grain boundary segregation was mainly responsible for the DBTT increase. A critical welding heat input was found to be between 36 and 100 kJ cm-1, being close to 60 kJ cm-1, at which the maximum segregation of phosphorus could be produced during the corresponding thermal cycling, leading to the maximum DBTT difference between the P doped and undoped samples.
•Dielectric tube sensor for measuring liquid soil water content in frozen soil.•Coupled-heat-water-transfer model calibrated by soil freezing characteristics.•Experimental data yielded from 2-year ...and two plots in uniform and layered fields.•Assessment of coupled-heat-water-transfer model with in-situ measured data.
Annual freeze–thaw cycles of soil significantly impact agricultural and ecosystem services in cold regions. For advancing our understanding of freeze–thaw process, both improved measurements and simulations of coupled-heat-water-transfer (CHWT) phenomenon are needed under different field conditions. This paper focused on a comparative study between a CHWT-model simulation versus in situ measurements of liquid soil water content (LSWC) and soil temperature (ST) at two agricultural field sites. The first site consisted of a layered soil profile with sandy silt loam (0–60cm) and clay loam (60–130cm) layers, and the other site was a uniform sand profile (0–110cm). Measurements were made over two winters between 2011 and 2013, i.e. the first winter is 2011–2012 (year 1) and the second winter is 2012–2013 (year 2), in the northeast of China employing an access-tube dielectric sensor combined with a temperature measurement array. During the freezing period of the year 1 winter, the soil freezing characteristic curves (SFCCs) were determined in situ in relation to the site-specific data of LSWC and ST and subsequently used for the model calibration. For the thawing process of year 1 and the freeze–thaw process of year 2, the resulting ST simulation time series were well-correlated with field measurements. In terms of the resulting LSWC, the numerical simulations also correlated well (R2>0.895, RMSE<0.0381cm3cm−3) with the in situ observations of freezing and quasi-steady-state conditions at depths of 50- and 100-cm. The reasons for relatively reduced agreement between simulated and measured LSWC during the thawing stage (i.e., R2>0.702, RMSE<0.0468cm3cm−3) are discussed. The resulting time series simulations confirm the model’s capability for describing freeze- and thaw-front migration in layered and homogeneous freezing soils.
Enemy release hypothesis predicts that alien plants that escape from their natural enemies suffer lower enemy regulation in their introduced ranges than in native ranges. An extension of this theory ...suggests that if enemy release plays a crucial role in invasive success, then in the introduced range, invasive plants should also suffer lower local enemy impact than native residents (local enemy release hypothesis, LERH). In order to test LERH, we compared invasive
Eupatorium adenophorum
with two native congeners (
E. heterophyllum
and
E. japonicum
) in terms of damage by leaf enemies at two natural field sites and two manipulated sites. We also determined enemy impact on carbon assimilation at two manipulated sites. In each site,
E. adenophorum
was only damaged by herbivores, while in native congeners, leaf scabs or (and) leaf rolls was found in addition to herbivory damage. In both manipulated sites, the total enemy impact on carbon assimilation was lower for
E. adenophorum
than for native congeners; this observation was consistent with LERH. The results of this study indicate that a short co-existence time with generalist enemies (behavior constraint) might be the main contributor to the lower enemy impact on
E. adenophorum
.
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