Psychological health problems, especially emotional disorders, are common among adolescents. The epidemiology of emotional disorders is greatly influenced by stressful events. This study sought to ...assess the prevalence rate and socio-demographic correlates of depressive and anxiety symptoms among Chinese adolescents affected by the outbreak of COVID-19. We conducted a cross-sectional study among Chinese students aged 12–18 years during the COVID-19 epidemic period. An online survey was used to conduct rapid assessment. A total of 8079 participants were involved in the study. An online survey was used to collect demographic data, assess students’ awareness of COVID-19, and assess depressive and anxiety symptoms with the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) and the Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD-7) questionnaire, respectively. The prevalence of depressive symptoms, anxiety symptoms, and a combination of depressive and anxiety symptoms was 43.7%, 37.4%, and 31.3%, respectively, among Chinese high school students during the COVID-19 outbreak. Multivariable logistic regression analysis revealed that female gender was the higher risk factor for depressive and anxiety symptoms. In terms of grades, senior high school was a risk factor for depressive and anxiety symptoms; the higher the grade, the greater the prevalence of depressive and anxiety symptoms. Our findings show there is a high prevalence of psychological health problems among adolescents, which are negatively associated with the level of awareness of COVID-19. These findings suggest that the government needs to pay more attention to psychological health among adolescents while combating COVID-19.
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak impacts physical and mental health. The purpose of this study was to explore the association between the levels of social support and mental health ...among Chinese adolescents during the outbreak.
A total of 7,202 adolescents aged 14–18 years completed online survceys from March 8 to 15, 2020, in China. Researchers assessed the associations between depression symptoms (Patient Health Questionnaire-9), anxiety symptoms (Chinese version of the 7-item Generalized Anxiety Disorder scale), and social support (Social Support Rate Scale).
COVID-19 exposure was associated with a higher prevalence of depression symptoms (odds ratio OR = 1.38, 95% confidence interval CI: 1.14–1.66) and anxiety symptoms (OR = 1.26, 95% CI: 1.04–1.52). Only 24.6% of adolescents reported high levels of social support. Most adolescents (70%) reported medium levels of support, and 5.4% reported low support. Low support was associated with higher prevalence of depression (OR = 4.24, 95% CI: 3.38–5.33) and anxiety symptoms (OR = 3.18, 95% CI: 2.54–3.98), while controlling for gender, grade, living situation, and COVID-19 exposure; similarly, medium support was associated with higher prevalence of depression (OR = 2.79, 95% CI: 2.48–3.15) and anxiety (OR = 2.19, 95% CI: 1.94–2.48) symptoms.
This study indicates there is a higher prevalence of mental health problems among adolescents with medium and low levels of social support in China during the outbreak of COVID-19.
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The prevalence of autism spectrum disorders (ASD) is increasing, but its etiology remains elusive and hence an effective treatment is not available. Previous research conducted on ...animal models suggests that microbiota-gut-brain axis may contribute to ASD pathology and more human research is needed. This study was divided into two stages,.At the discovery stage, we compared the differences in gut microbiota profiles (using 16S rRNA sequencing), fecal SCFAs (using GC-MS) and plasma neurotransmitters (using UHPLC-MS/MS) of 26 children with ASD and 24 normal children. All 26 children with ASD participated in the intervention stage, and we measured the gut microbiota profiles, SCFAs and neurotransmitters before and after probiotics + FOS (n = 16) or placebo supplementation (n = 10). We found that gut microbiota was in a state of dysbiosis and significantly lower levels of Bifidobacteriales and Bifidobacterium longum were observed at the discovery stage in children with ASD. An increase in beneficial bacteria (Bifidobacteriales and B. longum) and suppression of suspected pathogenic bacteria (Clostridium) emerged after probiotics + FOS intervention, with significant reduction in the severity of autism and gastrointestinal symptoms. Compared to children in the control group, significantly lower levels of acetic acid, propionic acid and butyric acid were found, and a hyperserotonergic state (increased serotonin) and dopamine metabolism disorder (decreased homovanillic acid) were observed in children with ASD. Interestingly, the above SCFAs in children with autism significantly elevated after probiotics + FOS intervention and approached those in the control group. In addition, our data demonstrated that decreased serotonin and increased homovanillic acid emerged after probiotics + FOS intervention. However, the above-mentioned changes did not appear in the placebo group for ASD children. Probiotics + FOS intervention can modulate gut microbiota, SCFAs and serotonin in association with improved ASD symptoms, including a hyper-serotonergic state and dopamine metabolism disorder.
MYC transcriptional factors are members of the bHLH (basic helix-loop-helix) superfamily, and play important roles in plant growth and development. Recent studies have revealed that some MYCs are ...involved in the crosstalk between Jasmonic acid regulatory pathway and light signaling in Arabidopsis, but such kinds of studies are rare in wheat, especially in photo-thermo-sensitive genic male sterile (PTGMS) wheat line.
27 non-redundant MYC gene copies, which belonged to 11 TaMYC genes, were identified in the whole genome of wheat (Chinese Spring). These gene copies were distributed on 13 different chromosomes, respectively. Based on the results of phylogenetic analysis, 27 TaMYC gene copies were clustered into group I, group III, and group IV. The identified TaMYC genes copies contained different numbers of light, stress, and hormone-responsive regulatory elements in their 1500 base pair promoter regions. Besides, we found that TaMYC3 was expressed highly in stem, TaMYC5 and TaMYC9 were expressed specially in glume, and the rest of TaMYC genes were expressed in all tissues (root, stem, leaf, pistil, stamen, and glume) of the PTGMS line BS366. Moreover, we found that TaMYC3, TaMYC7, TaMYC9, and TaMYC10 were highly sensitive to methyl jasmonate (MeJA), and other TaMYC genes responded at different levels. Furthermore, we confirmed the expression profiles of TaMYC family members under different light quality and plant hormone stimuli, and abiotic stresses. Finally, we predicted the wheat microRNAs that could interact with TaMYC family members, and built up a network to show their integrative relationships.
This study analyzed the size and composition of the MYC gene family in wheat, and investigated stress-responsive and light quality induced expression profiles of each TaMYC gene in the PTGMS wheat line BS366. In conclusion, we obtained lots of important information of TaMYC family, and the results of this study was supposed to contribute novel insights and gene and microRNA resources for wheat breeding, especially for the improvement of PTGMS wheat lines.
To assess the prevalence and sociodemographic correlates of insomnia symptoms among Chinese adolescents and young adults affected by the outbreak of coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19).
This ...cross-sectional study included Chinese adolescents and young adults 12–29 years of age during part of the COVID-19 epidemic period. An online survey was used to collect demographic data, and to assess recognition of COVID-19, insomnia, depression, and anxiety symptoms using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9), and the Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD-7) questionnaires, respectively. The Social Support Rate Scale was used to assess social support.
Among 11,835 adolescents and young adults included in the study, the prevalence of insomnia symptoms during part of the COVID-19 epidemic period was 23.2%. Binomial logistic regression analysis revealed that female sex and residing in the city were greater risk factors for insomnia symptoms. Depression or anxiety were risk factors for insomnia symptoms; however, social support, both subjective and objective, was protective factors against insomnia symptoms. Furthermore, anxiety and depression symptoms were mediators of social support and insomnia symptoms.
Results of this study revealed a high prevalence of sleep problems among adolescents and young adults during the COVID-19 epidemic, especially senior high school and college students, which were negatively associated with students’ projections of trends in COVID-19. The adverse impact of COVID-19 was a risk factor for insomnia symptoms; as such, the government must devote more attention to sleep disorders in this patient population while combating COVID-19.
•An online survey was used to conduct rapid assessment during the COVID-19 epidemic.•Sleep problems among adolescents and young adults were negatively associated with the level of projections of COVID-19 trend.•Social support (including subjective support and objective support) was a protective factor for insomnia symptoms.•Anxiety and depression symptoms were mediators between social support and insomnia symptoms.
MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a class of endogenous regulatory RNA molecules 21-24 nucleotides in length that act as functional regulators of post-transcriptional repression of messenger RNA. We report the ...identification and characterization of a conserved miRNA and 171 novel miRNAs in the migratory rice pest Sogatella furcifera by deep sequencing, which were observed to be biased towards female adults of the insect, modulating the functionality and targets of the miRNAs in sex differentiation. A switch in arm usage was also observed in 9 miRNA when compared to the insect ancestor during insect evolution. The miRNA loci showed high 5' fidelity in both miRNA and star species and about 93.4% of WBPH miRNAs conserved within non-planthopper species were homologous with planthopper species. The novel miRNAs identified in this study provide a better understanding of the sRNA and the regulatory role of miRNA in sexual dimorphism and alteration in the expression or function of miRNAs in the rice pest.
Rechargeable zinc-air batteries call for high-performance bifunctional oxygen electrocatalysts. Transition metal single-atom catalysts constitute a promising candidate considering their maximum atom ...efficiency and high intrinsic activity. However, the fabrication of atomically dispersed transition metal sites is highly challenging, creating a need for for new design strategies and synthesis methods. Here, a clicking confinement strategy is proposed to efficiently predisperse transitional metal atoms in a precursor directed by click chemistry and ensure successful construction of abundant single-atom sites. Concretely, cobalt-coordinated porphyrin units are covalently clicked on the substrate for the confinement of the cobalt atoms and affording a Co-N-C electrocatalyst. The Co-N-C electrocatalyst exhibits impressive bifunctional oxygen electrocatalytic performances with an activity indicator Δ
of 0.79 V. This work extends the approach to prepare transition metal single-atom sites for efficient bifunctional oxygen electrocatalysis and inspires the methodology on precise synthesis of catalytic materials.
Treatment of acute pancreatitis (AP) and chronic pancreatitis (CP) remains problematic due to a lack of knowledge about disease-specific regulatory targets and mechanisms. The purpose of this study ...was to screen proteins related to endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress and apoptosis pathways that may play a role in pancreatitis. Human pancreatic tissues including AP, CP, and healthy volunteers were collected during surgery. Humanized PRSS1 (protease serine 1) transgenic (PRSS1
) mice were constructed and treated with caerulein to mimic the development of human AP and CP. Potential regulatory proteins in pancreatitis were identified by proteomic screen using pancreatic tissues of PRSS1
AP mice. Adenoviral shRNA-mediated knockdown of identified proteins, followed by functional assays was performed to validate their roles. Functional analyses included transmission electron microscopy for ultrastructural analysis; qRT-PCR, western blotting, co-immunoprecipitation, immunohistochemistry, and immunofluorescence for assessment of gene or protein expression, and TUNEL assays for assessment of acinar cell apoptosis. Humanized PRSS1
mice could mimic the development of human pancreatic inflammatory diseases. EMC6 and APAF1 were identified as potential regulatory molecules in AP and CP models by proteomic analysis. Both EMC6 and APAF1 regulated apoptosis and inflammatory injury in pancreatic inflammatory diseases. Moreover, APAF1 was regulated by EMC6, induced apoptosis to injure acinar cells and promoted inflammation. In the progression of pancreatitis, EMC6 was activated and then upregulated APAF1 to induce acinar cell apoptosis and inflammatory injury. These findings suggest that EMC6 may be a new therapeutic target for the treatment of pancreatic inflammatory diseases.
Conversion and storage of solar energy into fuels and chemicals by artificial photosynthesis has been considered as one of the promising methods to address the global energy crisis. However, it is ...still far from the practical applications on a large scale. Nanoarray structures that combine the advantages of nanosize and array alignment have demonstrated great potential to improve solar energy conversion efficiency, stability, and selectivity. This article provides a comprehensive review on the utilization of nanoarray structures in artificial photosynthesis of renewable fuels and high value‐added chemicals. First, basic principles of solar energy conversion and superiorities of using nanoarray structures in this field are described. Recent research progress on nanoarray structures in both abiotic and abiotic–biotic hybrid systems is then outlined, highlighting contributions to light absorption, charge transport and transfer, and catalytic reactions (including kinetics and selectivity). Finally, conclusions and outlooks on future research directions of nanoarray structures for artificial photosynthesis are presented.
Nanoarray structures that combine the advantages of nanosize and array alignment have demonstrated great potential to improve solar energy conversion efficiency, stability, and selectivity. The recent research progress in the development of various nanoarray structures in both abiotic and abiotic–biotic hybrid artificial photosynthetic systems is summarized, highlighting their contributions to light absorption, charge transport and transfer, and catalytic reactions.
The genome‐wide characterization of long non‐coding RNA (lncRNA) in insects demonstrates their importance in fundamental biological processes. Essentially, an in‐depth understanding of the functional ...repertoire of lncRNA in insects is pivotal to insect resources utilization and sustainable pest control. Using a custom bioinformatics pipeline, we identified 1861 lncRNAs encoded by 1852 loci in the Sogatella furcifera genome. We profiled lncRNA expression in different developmental stages and observed that the expression of lncRNAs is more highly temporally restricted compared to protein‐coding genes. More up‐regulated Sogatella furcifera lncRNA expressed in the embryo, 4th and 5th instars, suggesting that increased lncRNA levels may play a role in these developmental stages. We compared the relationship between the expression of Sogatella furcifera lncRNA and its nearest protein gene and found that lncRNAs were more correlated to their downstream coding neighbors on the opposite strand. Our genome‐wide profiling of lncRNAs in Sogatella furcifera identifies exciting candidates for characterization of lncRNAs, and also provides information on lncRNA regulation during insect development.
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