We explored whether medical health workers had more psychosocial problems than nonmedical health workers during the COVID-19 outbreak.
An online survey was run from February 19 to March 6, 2020; a ...total of 2,182 Chinese subjects participated. Mental health variables were assessed via the Insomnia Severity Index (ISI), the Symptom Check List-revised (SCL-90-R), and the Patient Health Questionnaire-4 (PHQ-4), which included a 2-item anxiety scale and a 2-item depression scale (PHQ-2).
Compared with nonmedical health workers (n = 1,255), medical health workers (n = 927) had a higher prevalence of insomnia (38.4 vs. 30.5%, p < 0.01), anxiety (13.0 vs. 8.5%, p < 0.01), depression (12.2 vs. 9.5%; p< 0.04), somatization (1.6 vs. 0.4%; p < 0.01), and obsessive-compulsive symptoms (5.3 vs. 2.2%; p < 0.01). They also had higher total scores of ISI, GAD-2, PHQ-2, and SCL-90-R obsessive-compulsive symptoms (p ≤ 0.01). Among medical health workers, having organic disease was an independent factor for insomnia, anxiety, depression, somatization, and obsessive-compulsive symptoms (p < 0.05 or 0.01). Living in rural areas, being female, and being at risk of contact with COVID-19 patients were the most common risk factors for insomnia, anxiety, obsessive-compulsive symptoms, and depression (p < 0.01 or 0.05). Among nonmedical health workers, having organic disease was a risk factor for insomnia, depression, and obsessive-compulsive symptoms (p < 0.01 or 0.05).
During the COVID-19 outbreak, medical health workers had psychosocial problems and risk factors for developing them. They were in need of attention and recovery programs.
Piwi‐interacting RNAs (piRNAs), a novel class of small non‐coding RNAs, were first discovered in germline cells and are thought to silence transposons in spermatogenesis. Recently, piRNAs have also ...been identified in somatic tissues, and aberrant expression of piRNAs in tumor tissues may be implicated in carcinogenesis. However, the function of piR‐823 in colorectal cancer (CRC) remains unclear. Here, we first found that piR‐823 was significantly upregulated in CRC tissues compared with its expression in the adjacent tissues. Inhibition of piR‐823 suppressed cell proliferation, arrested the cell cycle in the G1 phase and induced cell apoptosis in CRC cell lines HCT116 and DLD‐1, whereas overexpression of piR‐823 promoted cell proliferation in normal colonic epithelial cell line FHC. Interestingly, Inhibition of piR‐823 repressed the expression of heat shock protein (HSP) 27, 60, 70. Furthermore, elevated HSPs expression partially abolished the effect of piR‐823 on cell proliferation and apoptosis. In addition, we further demonstrated that piR‐823 increased the transcriptional activity of HSF1, the common transcription factor of HSPs, by binding to HSF1 and promoting its phosphorylation at Ser326. Our study reveals that piR‐823 plays a tumor‐promoting role by upregulating phosphorylation and transcriptional activity of HSF1 and suggests piR‐823 as a potential therapeutic target for CRC.
piR‐823 is up‐regulated in colorectal cancer tissues .piR‐823 promotes proliferation and inhibits apoptosis in colorectal cancer carcinogenesis.piR‐823 elevates the expression of HSP27, 60 and 70 by binding to HSF1 and enhancing its activity.
Development of high‐performance and low‐cost nonprecious metal electrocatalysts is critical for eco‐friendly hydrogen production through electrolysis. Herein, a novel nanoflower‐like electrocatalyst ...comprising few‐layer nitrogen‐doped graphene‐encapsulated nickel–copper alloy directly on a porous nitrogen‐doped graphic carbon framework (denoted as Nix
Cuy
@ NG‐NC) is successfully synthesized using a facile and scalable method through calcinating the carbon, copper, and nickel hydroxy carbonate composite under inert atmosphere. The introduction of Cu can effectively modulate the morphologies and hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) performance. Moreover, the calcination temperature is an important factor to tune the thickness of graphene layers of the Nix
Cuy
@ NG‐NC composites and the associated electrocatalytic performance. Due to the collective effects including unique porous flowered architecture and the synergetic effect between the bimetallic alloy core and graphene shell, the Ni3Cu1@ NG‐NC electrocatalyst obtained under optimized conditions exhibits highly efficient and ultrastable activity toward HER in harsh environments, i.e., a low overpotential of 122 mV to achieve a current density of 10 mA cm−2 with a low Tafel slope of 84.2 mV dec−1 in alkaline media, and a low overpotential of 95 mV to achieve a current density of 10 mA cm−2 with a low Tafel slope of 77.1 mV dec−1 in acidic electrolyte.
A novel nanoflower‐like electrocatalyst comprising few‐layer nitrogen‐doped graphene‐encapsulated nickel–copper alloy on a porous nitrogen‐doped graphic carbon framework is synthesized by a facile and scalable method, and exhibits high activity and excellent stability for hydrogen evolution due to the collective effects, including unique porous flowered architecture and the synergetic effect between the bimetallic alloy core and the graphene shell.
In order to evaluate the isomeric effects of donors on the structures and photophysical properties of donor-acceptor-π bridge-donor (D1-A-π-D2) prototype fluorophores, three D1-A-π-D2 prototype ...isomers were designed and synthesized:
o
-BMNM
,
m
-BMNM
, and
p
-BMNM
, where the isomeric biphenyl units functioned as a terminal donor (D2). In addition, the three isomers possessed the same malononitrile acceptors (A) and 6-methoxynaphthalene donors (D1). Molecular structural, computational, and photophysical analyses were conducted to investigate the isomeric effect of a biphenyl donor (D2) on such D1-A-π-D2 prototype isomers. Molecular structural analysis indicated that changing the type of biphenyl donor (D2) would give rise to different molecular geometries, electronic structures and packing modes of the three isomers, which would lead to their different photophysical properties. The three isomers displayed solvatochromic properties and large Stokes shifts. Furthermore, density functional theory (DFT) and time-dependent density functional theory (TD-DFT) calculations indicated that due to the single bond between the 6-methoxynaphthalene donors (D1) and malononitrile acceptors (A), the three isomers displayed the intramolecular charge transfer (TICT) effect, which would endow them with large Stokes shifts.
In order to evaluate the isomeric effect of donors on the structures and photophysical properties of small organic fluorophores, three D1-A-π-D2 prototype isomers were designed and synthesized.
A series of covalent organic cages built from fluorophores capable of aggregation‐induced emission (AIE) were elegantly prepared through the reduction of preorganized M2(LA)3(LB)2‐type metallacages, ...simultaneously taking advantage of the synthetic accessibility and well‐defined shapes and sizes of metallacages, the good chemical stability of the covalent cages as well as the bright emission of AIE fluorophores. Moreover, the covalent cages could be further post‐synthetically modified into an amide‐functionalized cage with a higher quantum yield. Furthermore, these presented covalent cages proved to be good energy donors and were used to construct light‐harvesting systems employing Nile Red as an energy acceptor. These light‐harvesting systems displayed efficient energy transfer and relatively high antenna effect, which enabled their use as efficient photocatalysts for a dehalogenation reaction. This research provides a new avenue for the development of luminescent covalent cages for light‐harvesting and photocatalysis.
A series of covalent organic cages with aggregation‐induced emission characteristics were elegantly prepared through the reduction of preorganized metallacages. These covalent cages performed well as energy donors for the construction of artificial light‐harvesting systems for the photocatalytic dehalogenation reaction.
Diabetic cognitive impairment (DCI) is a serious neurodegenerative disorder caused by diabetes, with chronic inflammation being a crucial factor in its pathogenesis. Pterostilbene is a well‐known ...natural stilbene derivative that has excellent anti‐inflammatory activity, suggesting its potential medicinal advantages for treating DCI. Therefore, this study is to explore the beneficial effects of pterostilbene for improving cognitive dysfunction in DCI mice. A diabetic model was induced by a high‐fat diet plus streptozotocin (40 mg·kg−1) for consecutive 5 days. After the animals were confirmed to be in a diabetic state, they were treated with pterostilbene (20 or 60 mg·kg−1, i.g.) for 10 weeks. Pharmacological evaluation showed pterostilbene could ameliorate cognitive dysfunction, regulate glycolipid metabolism disorders, improve neuronal damage, and reduce the accumulation of β‐amyloid in DCI mice. Pterostilbene alleviated neuroinflammation by suppressing oxidative stress and carbonyl stress damage, astrocyte and microglia activation, and dopaminergic neuronal loss. Further investigations showed that pterostilbene reduced the level of lipopolysaccharide, modulated colon and brain TLR4/NF‐κB signaling pathways, and decreased the release of inflammatory factors, which in turn inhibited intestinal inflammation and neuroinflammation. Furthermore, pterostilbene could also improve the homeostasis of intestinal microbiota, increase the levels of short‐chain fatty acids and their receptors, and suppress the loss of intestinal tight junction proteins. In addition, the results of plasma non‐targeted metabolomics revealed that pterostilbene could modulate differential metabolites and metabolic pathways associated with inflammation, thereby suppressing systemic inflammation in DCI mice. Collectively, our study found for the first time that pterostilbene could alleviate diabetic cognitive dysfunction by inhibiting the TLR4/NF‐κB pathway through the microbiota‐gut‐brain axis, which may be one of the potential mechanisms for its neuroprotective effects.
Pterostilbene could alleviate diabetic cognitive impairment by inhibiting the TLR4/NF‐κB pathway through the microbiota‐gut‐brain axis.
Background: Idiopathic basal ganglia calcification (IBGC) is a genetic disorder characterized by bilateral basal ganglia calcification and neural degeneration. In this study, we reported a new ...SLC2OA2 mutation of IBGC and reviewed relevant literature to explore the association between phenotypes and genotypes in Chinese IBGC patients.
Methods: Clinical information of the proband and her relatives were collected comprehensively. Blood samples of both the patient and her father were obtained, and genetic screening related to IBGC was performed using second generation sequencing with their consent. Findings were confirmed by Sanger sequencing. Polyphen-2 was used to predict the potential association between mutations and disease. Then, we retrieved literatures of Chinese IBGC patients and explored the association between phenotype and genotype.
Results: A novel mutation was identified through genetic testing, and it is suggested to be a damage mutation predicted by Polyphen-2. Through literature review, we found that SLC20A2 mutation is the most common cause for IBGC in China. Its hot spot regions are mainly on the 1st and 8th exons; the second common one is PDGFB where the hot spot covered a length of 220-230 bp localized on the 2nd exon; moreover, Chinese IBGC patients featured early-onset, more severe movement disorder and relatively mild cognitive impairment compared with those in other countries.
Conclusions: There is significant heterogeneity both in phenotype and genotype in Chinese IBGC patients. Further research of pathogenic mechanism of IBGC is required to eventually develop precise treatment for individuals who suffered this disease.
For the purpose of investigating the geometrical isomer effect on building small organic fluorophores, two geometrical isomers with unsymmetrical D1-A-π-D2 architectures were synthesized:
1-MNPM
and
...3-MNPM
. Single crystal analysis indicated that the two compounds displayed different molecular packing modes, due to the different intermolecular interactions. The frontier molecular orbital analysis indicated that the LUMOs and HOMOs of two compounds were mainly located on the 6-methoxynaphthalene donors. The two compounds showed different emission and absorption behaviors in solid and dilute solution state. Density functional theory (DFT) and time-dependent density functional theory (TD-DFT) calculations indicated that during the electron transition process, electrons mainly left the D2 donors and transferred to the acceptor moieties (A). Especially, the D1 donors of two compounds played opposite roles in the electron transition process. The emission behaviors of two compounds in different solvents indicated that they both showed solvatochromism properties and large Stokes shifts.
ABSTRACT We report Shanghai Tian Ma Radio Telescope (TMRT) detections of several long carbon-chain molecules in the C and Ku bands, including HC3N, HC5N, HC7N, HC9N, C3S, C6H, and C8H toward the ...starless cloud Serpens South 1a. We detected some transitions (HC9N J = 13-12, F = 12-11, and F = 14-13; H13CCCN J = 2-1, F = 1-0, and F = 1-1; HC13CCN J = 2-1, F = 2-2, F = 1-0, and F = 1-1; HCC13CN J = 2-1, F = 1-0, and F = 1-1) and resolved some hyperfine components (HC5N J = 6-5, F = 5-4; H13CCCN J = 2-1, F = 2-1) for the first time in the interstellar medium. The column densities of these carbon-chain molecules in the range 1012-1013 cm−2 are comparable to two carbon-chain molecule rich sources, TMC-1 and Lupus-1A. The abundance ratios are 1.00:(1.11 0.15):(1.47 0.18) for H13CCCN:HC13CCN:HCC13CN. This result implies that the 13C isotope is also concentrated in the carbon atom adjacent to the nitrogen atom in HC3N in Serpens South 1a, which is similar to TMC-1. The HC3N/H13CCCN ratio of 78 9, the HC3N/HC13CCN ratio of 70 8, and the HC3N/HCC13CN ratio of 53 4 are also comparable to those in TMC-1. Serpens South 1a proves to be a suitable testing ground for understanding carbon-chain chemistry.
Two novel organic fluorescent isomers with D-π-π-A prototype structure, namely, (
E
)-2-3-(1,1'-biphenyl-4-yl)-1-(6-methoxynaphthalen-2-yl)allylidenemalononitrile and (
E
...)-2-1-(1,1'-biphenyl-4-yl)-3-(6-methoxynaphthalen-2-yl)allylidenemalononitrile, were synthesized. Due to the exchange of naphthalene and biphenyl moieties on each side of conjugated bridge (C = C(CN)
2
)-conjugated bridge (C = C) group, two compounds are organic fluorescent isomers, and display different molecular stacking mode and photophysical property. Molecules of (
E
)-2-3-(1,1'-biphenyl-4-yl)-1-(6-methoxynaphthalen-2-yl)allylidenemalononitrile are packed with H-aggregation, while (
E
)-2-1-(1,1'-biphenyl-4-yl)-3-(6-methoxynaphthalen-2-yl)allylidenemalononitrile has a J-aggregation. Both of two compounds show solvatochromism and tunable aggregation-induced enhanced emission property.
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