Ophiocordyceps sinensis is a fungus with medicinal value in treating lung diseases, but no study has reported how to prevent acute lung injury using this fungus. The mice were divided into normal, ...model, positive control, and O. sinensis groups to observe lung histopathological sections and transmission electron microscopy, along with liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry and hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) staining to closely identify structural differences resulting from destruction between the groups. The results of the H&E staining showed that, compared with the normal group, the model group showed alveolar collapse. Compared with the model group, the infiltration of inflammatory cells in the alveolar cavity of the O. sinensis group was significantly reduced. Mitochondrial plate-like cristae were observed in type II alveolar cells of the normal group, with normal coloration of the mitochondrial matrix. Type II alveolar cells in the model group showed obvious edema. The statuses of type II alveolar cells in the O. sinensis and positive groups were similar to that in the normal group. Twenty-nine biomarkers and 10 related metabolic pathways were identified by serum metabolomics screening. The results showed that O. sinensis mycelia had a significant effect on the prevention of lipopolysaccharide-induced inflammation.
This study aims to identify lactic acid bacteria (LAB) isolates possessing physiological characteristics suitable for use as probiotics in yogurt fermentation. Following acid and bile salt tolerance ...tests, Lactiplantibacillus plantarum (NUC08 and NUC101), Lacticaseibacillus rhamnosus (NUC55 and NUC201), and Lacticaseibacillus paracasei (NUC159, NUC216, and NUC351) were shortlisted based on intraspecies distribution for further evaluation. Their physiological probiotic properties, including transit tolerance, adhesion, autoaggregation, surface hydrophobicity, biofilm formation, and antibacterial activity, were assessed. Principal component analysis indicated that Lactiplantibacillus plantarum NUC08 was the preferred choice among the evaluated strains. Subsequent investigations revealed that co-culturing Lactiplantibacillus plantarum NUC08 with 2 yogurt starter strains resulted in a cooperative and synergistic effect, enhancing the growth of mixed strains and increasing their tolerance to simulated gastric and intestinal conditions. Additionally, when Vibrio harveyi bioluminescent reporter strain was used, the 3 cocultured strains cooperated to induce the activity of a quorum sensing (QS) molecule autoinducer-2 (AI-2), hinting a potential connection between phenotypic traits and QS in the cocultured strains. Importantly, LAB viable counts were significantly higher in yogurt co-fermented with Lactiplantibacillus plantarum NUC08, consistently throughout the storage period. In conclusion, the study demonstrates that the probiotic strain Lactiplantibacillus plantarum NUC08 can be employed in synergy with yogurt starter strains, affirming its potential for use in the development of functional fermented dairy products.
Previous investigations of geographic concentration of urban poverty indicate the contribution of a variety of factors, such as economic restructuring and class-based segregation, racial segregation, ...demographic structure, and public policy. However, the models used by most past research do not consider the possibility that poverty concentration may take different forms in different locations across a city, and most studies have been conducted in Western settings. We investigated the spatial patterning of neighborhood poverty and its correlates in Hong Kong, which is amongst cities with the highest GDP in the region, using the city-wide ordinary least square (OLS) regression model and the local-specific geographically weighted regression (GWR) model. We found substantial geographic variations in small-area poverty rates and identified several poverty clusters in the territory. Factors found to contribute to urban poverty in Western cities, such as socioeconomic factors, ethnicity, and public housing, were also mostly associated with local poverty rates in Hong Kong. Our results also suggest some heterogeneity in the associations of poverty with specific correlates (e.g. access to hospitals) that would be masked in the city-wide OLS model. Policy aimed to alleviate poverty should consider both city-wide and local-specific factors.
Abstract
Objectives
Neighborhood built environments (BEs) are increasingly recognized as being associated with late-life depression. However, their pathways are still understudied. This study ...investigates the mediating effects of physical and social activities (PA and SA) and functional ability (FA) in the relationships between BEs and late-life depression.
Methods
We conducted a cross-sectional analysis with data from 2,081 community-dwellers aged 65 years and older in Hong Kong in 2014. Two road-network-based service area buffers (200- and 500-m buffers) adjusted by terrain and slope from participants’ residences were created to define the scope of neighborhoods. BEs comprised population density in District Council Constituency Areas, urban greenness, land-use diversity, and neighborhood facilities within 200- and 500-m buffers. Multilevel path analysis models were used.
Results
More urban greenness within both buffers and more commercial facilities within a 500-m buffer were directly associated with fewer depressive symptoms. SA mediated the relationship between the number of community facilities and depressive symptoms within a 200-m buffer. Neighborhood urban greenness and the number of commercial facilities had indirect associations on depressive symptoms within a 500-m buffer, which were mediated by FA.
Discussion
Our findings have implications for the ecological model of aging. The mediating effects of SA and FA underscore the importance of promoting active social lifestyles and maintaining FA for older adults’ mental health in high-density cities. Policy implications on how to build age-friendly communities are discussed.
Ageism is a global challenge and a public health concern that the recent COVID-19 pandemic has further exacerbated. Existing research has mainly focused on individual factors, overlooking the ...association between the neighborhood-built environment and ageism. This study examined this association and whether its effect varied among areas possessing different socioeconomic characteristics. We conducted a cross-sectional survey of 1278 older people in Hong Kong and merged this with the built environment factors derived from geographical information system data. We used multivariable linear regression to examine the association. Findings revealed that more parks were significantly associated with a lower level of ageism, an impact that remained significant in low-income or low-education areas. Conversely, more libraries in high-income areas were associated with a lower level of ageism. Our findings provide urban planners and policymakers insight into planning for the built environment that reduces ageism enabling older people to achieve a better life.
Cordyceps fumosorosea is a common species within the Cordyceps genus. In this study, the protective effect of Cordyceps fumosorosea mycelium was investigated to clarify the potential mechanism of ...alleviating acute lung injury in mice using serum metabolomic analysis, which could provide a theoretical basis for the clinical application of C. fumosorosea. Sixty mice were divided into six groups (NS, LPS, MIX, COR, COC and DMX). Lung cell nuclei were analyzed using hematoxylin and eosin staining and cellular changes were observed using transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Metabolomic analyses using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) were used to identify various compounds. In all six groups, lung nuclear inflammation was observed in the COR, COC and DMX groups, whereas the NS, LPS and MIX groups showed no cellular changes, indicating good health. Metabolomic analysis using LC-MS identified 1607 compounds across various classes. Statistical analyses, including the coefficient of variation and OPLS-DA, revealed distinct metabolic proles, indicating significant changes after the consumption of C. fumosorosea mycelia. Lipids constituted the largest proportion (30.37%) of the 30 identified classes and subclasses of metabolites. A total of 617 differentially accumulated metabolites (DAMs) were identified, both unique and shared between comparisons. Metabolite analysis identified 617 differentially accumulated metabolites, with 493 common to the LPS vs. MIX group, 75 in the LPS vs. NS group and 49 in the LPS vs. NS group and LPS vs. MIX group. This comprehensive investigation suggests that C. fumosorosea mycelia treatment holds promise as a therapeutic intervention for lung injury, influencing both the histopathological (lung) features and serum metabolic profiles.
Objectives
The geography of suicide has been widely explored among the general population. However, little is known of the geographic variations in suicides among the older adults and their spatial ...correlates. This study aims to explore the spatial variations in the elderly suicide rates and their correlates in Hong Kong.
Methods
Bayesian hierarchical models have been used to estimate smoothed standardized mortality ratios (2006‐2015) on suicide in people aged 65 years or older in each geographic unit in Hong Kong. Their associations with the Social Vulnerability Index and the accessibility of eight types of services (ie, recreational services, rehabilitation services, food services, daily necessity services, community services, and transportation services) were further analyzed.
Results
The results suggested that compared with the simple “inner‐city high suicide rate and suburban low” pattern in the Western studies and the “central low suicide rate and peripheral high” pattern in the Asian studies, the spatial variations of elderly suicides in Hong Kong exhibit a much more complicated pattern. In Hong Kong, higher elderly suicide clusters were found in both the lower‐density areas located in the New Territories and in some inner‐city areas. The spatial variations of suicide in the older adults cannot be explained by the Social Vulnerability Index. Instead, service provision such as recreational services, daily necessity resources, and community centers played a more significant role in affecting suicides in the older adults.
Conclusions
Strengthening public services, providing more public spaces and activities, and making good use of the community resources might be key and efficient strategies in elderly suicide prevention in Hong Kong.
Key points
The spatial variations of elderly suicides in Hong Kong show a much more complicated pattern compared with the simple “inner‐city high suicide rate and suburban low” pattern in the Western countries and the “central low suicide rate and peripheral high” pattern in some of the Asian countries.
In Hong Kong, suicide rates in the city centers were not higher than the average in the city. Clusters of higher suicide rates were mainly found in the New Territories, which is somewhat disconnected from the city and, in some inner‐city neighborhoods, with high‐density population.
The spatial variations of suicide in the older adults in Hong Kong cannot be explained by the neighborhood Social Vulnerability Index as in the existing literature.
Neighborhood service provision such as recreational services, daily necessity resources, and community centers played a significant role in affecting suicides in the older adults in Hong Kong.
There has been a marked rise in suicide by charcoal burning (CB) in some East Asian countries but little is known about its incidence in mainland China. We examined media-reported CB suicides and the ...availability of online information about the method in mainland China.
We extracted and analyzed data for i) the characteristics and trends of fatal and nonfatal CB suicides reported by mainland Chinese newspapers (1998-2014); ii) trends and geographic variations in online searches using keywords relating to CB suicide (2011-2014); and iii) the content of Internet search results.
109 CB suicide attempts (89 fatal and 20 nonfatal) were reported by newspapers in 13 out of the 31 provinces or provincial-level-municipalities in mainland China. There were increasing trends in the incidence of reported CB suicides and in online searches using CB-related keywords. The province-level search intensities were correlated with CB suicide rates (Spearman's correlation coefficient = 0.43 95% confidence interval: 0.08-0.68). Two-thirds of the web links retrieved using the search engine contained detailed information about the CB suicide method, of which 15% showed pro-suicide attitudes, and the majority (86%) did not encourage people to seek help.
The incidence of CB suicide was based on newspaper reports and likely to be underestimated.
Mental health and suicide prevention professionals in mainland China should be alert to the increased use of this highly lethal suicide method. Better surveillance and intervention strategies need to be developed and implemented.
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has caused a global pandemic. Antibody resistance dampens neutralizing antibody therapy and threatens current global Coronavirus ...(COVID-19) vaccine campaigns. In addition to the emergence of resistant SARS-CoV-2 variants, little is known about how SARS-CoV-2 evades antibodies. Here, we report a novel mechanism of extracellular vesicle (EV)-mediated cell-to-cell transmission of SARS-CoV-2, which facilitates SARS-CoV-2 to escape from neutralizing antibodies. These EVs, initially observed in SARS-CoV-2 envelope protein-expressing cells, are secreted by various SARS-CoV-2-infected cells, including Vero E6, Calu-3, and HPAEpiC cells, undergoing infection-induced pyroptosis. Various SARS-CoV-2-infected cells produce similar EVs characterized by extra-large sizes (1.6-9.5 μm in diameter, average diameter > 4.2 μm) much larger than previously reported virus-generated vesicles. Transmission electron microscopy analysis and plaque assay reveal that these SARS-CoV-2-induced EVs contain large amounts of live virus particles. In particular, the vesicle-cloaked SARS-CoV-2 virus is resistant to neutralizing antibodies and able to reinfect naïve cells independent of the reported receptors and cofactors. Consistently, the constructed 3D images show that intact EVs could be taken up by recipient cells directly, supporting vesicle-mediated cell-to-cell transmission of SARS-CoV-2. Our findings reveal a novel mechanism of receptor-independent SARS-CoV-2 infection via cell-to-cell transmission, provide new insights into antibody resistance of SARS-CoV-2 and suggest potential targets for future antiviral therapeutics.
The fifth wave of COVID-19, driven by the Omicron variant, started to surge in Hong Kong in December 2021. Previous studies have shown that younger adults, compared to older adults, are vulnerable to ...increased risks of side effects after vaccination. However, little is known about the COVID-19 vaccination behavior among younger adults, especially university students, in Hong Kong. Therefore, the present online survey study aimed to investigate the predictors of COVID-19 vaccination intention among university students in Hong Kong using the Health Belief Model (HBM) as a framework. Two other potential predictors, the previous influenza vaccine uptake frequency and the Hong Kong SAR government vaccination lottery program, were also examined. The intention to receive another dose of the COVID-19 vaccine was low (36.4%). Multivariate binomial logistic regression analysis showed that, after controlling for demographic and baseline characteristics, the perceived susceptibility (OR = 2.98, CI = 1.18–7.53) and previous influenza vaccine uptake frequency (OR = 1.54, CI = 1.08–2.19) significantly and positively predicted the COVID-19 vaccination intention. However, the government vaccination lottery program (i.e., wining prizes for being vaccinated) (OR = 0.87, CI = 0.34–2.26) was not a significant motivator of COVID-19 vaccination. Future public health campaigns should focus on the individual susceptibility to COVID-19 and past influenza vaccination history to promote increased vaccination uptake among university students.
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