[Analysis of the stressors and mental status of civil aviation pilots under the background of the major infectious disease]

Objective: To study the stressors and mental status of civil aviation pilots under the background of major infectious disease. Methods: From January to March 2021, a cluster sampling method was used to select 143 airline pilots in service as the research objects. The self-made emotion and stress source questionnaire, Chinese version of stress perception scale (CPSS) , self rating Anxiety Scale (SAS) and self rating Depression Scale (SDS) were used to investigate the airline pilot population. 136 valid questionnaires were collected, with an effective recovery rate of 95.1%. The measurement data conform to the normal distribution and are expressed by (x±s) . T-test and analysis of variance are used for comparison between groups, and Pearson correlation is used for correlation analysis. The data that do not conform to the normal distribution are expressed by the median and quartile [M (Q(1), Q(3)) ], and the non parametric test is used for the comparison between groups. Multiple linear stepwise regression was used to analyze the influencing factors of pressure perception. In addition, Amos 23.0 software was used to construct structural equation models of stress perception and negative emotions. Results: Under the background of the epidemic, the main sources of stress for civil aviation pilots are: the risk of possible reduction in income, the risk of contracting COVID-19, the pressure at work, and the risk of possible slow progress of upgrading. Among them, the first co pilot was more worried about the possible reduction of income than the instructor (P=0.009) ; The first co pilot and the captain of the airline were more worried about the possible slowdown of the upgrade progress than the instructor (P<0.001, P=0.014) . The mean pressure perception of pilots was higher than that of Chinese norm (t=3.11, P=0.002) . The standard scores of anxiety and depression were slightly higher than the standard scores of the Chinese norm under the non epidemic situation (t=7.00, 4.07, all P<0.001) . The results of multiple linear stepwise regression analysis showed that stress perception was negatively correlated with good family relations (t=-8.50, P=0.000) , and positively correlated with worries about slow progress of upgrading, COVID-19 infection, lack of interpersonal communication and income reduction (t=3.31、3.86、2.88、2.06, P<0.05) . Pressure perception was positively correlated with negative emotion (all P<0.001) . The results of structural equation model show that stress perception affects pilots' negative emotions directly or indirectly, and its standardized total effects on anxiety, depression, hypochondriac, fear, compulsion and irritability are 0.719, 0.811, 0.403, 0.355, 0.295 and 0.244 respectively. Conclusion: Public health emergencies have an impact on the mental status of pilots. Should pay attention to the stressors and psychological conditions of pilots in time, and consider formulating measures to relieve the stress of pilots.

Chip Pad Inspection Method Based on an Improved YOLOv5 Algorithm

Chip pad inspection is of great practical importance for chip alignment inspection and correction. It is one of the key technologies for automated chip inspection in semiconductor manufacturing. When applying deep learning methods for chip pad inspection, the main problem to be solved is how to ensure the accuracy of small target pad detection and, at the same time, achieve a lightweight inspection model. The attention mechanism is widely used to improve the accuracy of small target detection by finding the attention region of the network. However, conventional attention mechanisms capture feature information locally, which makes it difficult to effectively improve the detection efficiency of small targets from complex backgrounds in target detection tasks. In this paper, an OCAM (Object Convolution Attention Module) attention module is proposed to build long-range dependencies between channel features and position features by constructing feature contextual relationships to enhance the correlation between features. By adding the OCAM attention module to the feature extraction layer of the YOLOv5 network, the detection performance of chip pads is effectively improved. In addition, a design guideline for the attention layer is proposed in the paper. The attention layer is adjusted by network scaling to avoid network characterization bottlenecks, balance network parameters, and network detection performance, and reduce the hardware device requirements for the improved YOLOv5 network in practical scenarios. Extensive experiments on chip pad datasets, VOC datasets, and COCO datasets show that the approach in this paper is more general and superior to several state-of-the-art methods.

Comparison of amino acid digestibility and its additivity determined with slaughter or cecectomy method for yellow-feather chicken

The objective of this experiment was to compare the slaughter and cecectomy methods to determine amino acid (AA) digestibility of corn and soybean meal and their additivity in a corn-soybean meal diet. A completely randomized design was adopted to determine endogenous AA losses (EAAL) and AA digestibility in each of corn, soybean meal, and a corn-soybean meal diet using either slaughter or cecectomy methods. Each treatment contained 6 replicates with 3 chickens per replicate. The endogenous loss (EL) of histidine and glycine was lower and the EL of methionine and phenylalanine was greater when determined by slaughter vs. cecectomy (P < 0.05). The EL of arginine, isoleucine, leucine, lysine, methionine, phenylalanine, valine, alanine, aspartic acid, glutamic acid, and serine determined by slaughter were 1.2 to 3.2 times of those from cecectomy. The standard error (SE) of EL of 14 AA (excluding histidine and glycine) obtained by slaughter method was 2.1 to 9.6 times of those by cecectomy method. The apparent and standardized digestibility was not affected by methods for most AA except apparent digestibility of methionine, phenylalanine and glycine, and standardized digestibility of glycine in corn. The apparent and standardized digestibility of most AA except apparent digestibility of glycine and standardized digestibility of lysine, cysteine and glycine were less for slaughter versus cecectomy methods in soybean meal (P < 0.05). Using slaughter method resulted in reduced apparent digestibility of 15 AA (except glycine) and reduced standardized digestibility of 7 AA (arginine, isoleucine, leucine, valine, aspartic acid, glutamic acid, and proline) relative to cecectomy method (P < 0.05), but the standardized digestibility of glycine was greater when determined by slaughter vs. cecectomy methods in corn-soybean meal diet (P < 0.05). The mean value of SE of 16 AA digestibility in slaughter method was 2.9 times of that by cecectomy method. The apparent digestibility of 2 and 9 of 16 AA and the standardized digestibility of 15 and 7 of 16 AA were additive when using slaughter and cecectomy determinations, respectively. In conclusion, compared to the slaughter method, cecectomy method had less SE and EAAL but greater apparent digestibility of methionine and phenylalanine in corn, and the apparent digestibility of 15 AA (except glycine) in soybean meal and corn-soybean meal diet. Additivity in apparent and standardized AA digestibility was more inconsistent when determined with slaughter vs. cecectomy methods. These findings suggest that the cecectomy method is more suitable than the slaughter method to determine the digestibility of AA.

[Investigate developmental coordination disorder of kindergarten children in Zhejiang Province]

In order to investigate developmental coordination disorder (DCD) of kindergarten children in Zhejiang province, 200 ordinary kindergartens were randomly selected by stratified random sampling in 11 prefecture-level cities of Zhejiang Province, and 38 900 children from 1 000 classes in each grade were then randomly selected into the study from June 2019 to December 2019. The Little DCD Questionnaire and a self-designed questionnaire were used to screen the DCD of those children. There were 36 807 valid questionnaires, and 6.50% (2 391/36 807) of them were positive results. The results showed that boy, age ≤5 years, overweight or obesity, left handedness, comorbidity with motor or developmental disorders and premature infants were risk factors of DCD in children. As for parents and families, maternal gestational age<20 years, maternal overweight or obesity before pregnancy, low-middle level education of parents, direct family and low income of family were also associated with DCD in children. Therefore, it is necessary to conduct early prevention and intervention strategies targeting on identified risk factors among relevant population.

Menopausal hormone therapy: what are the problems in the perception of Chinese physicians?

OBJECTIVE

This study aimed to investigate Chinese physicians' perception and attitudes toward menopausal hormone therapy (MHT).

METHODS

This nationwide online survey was conducted in China. Physicians registered in the WeChat groups of the Gynecological Endocrinology Committee of China's Maternal and Child Health Care Association received a message invitation to complete this anonymous online survey from April 2020 to July 2020. Physicians' knowledge of and attitudes toward MHT were surveyed.

RESULTS

In total, 4672 questionnaires were submitted; only completed questionnaires could be submitted. The message was sent to 6021 doctors, so the response rate was 77.6%. Overall, 77.9-92.9% of physicians knew the common indications and contraindications to MHT. Additionally, 90.6%, 85.4%, 80.7% and 37.5% of physicians thought that MHT would increase the risk of venous thrombosis, breast cancer, endometrial cancer and weight gain, respectively. In total, 58.1% of the physicians mistakenly believed that a sex hormone test was one of the necessary examinations to reassess MHT prescription during follow-up visits. We found that 68.5% of physicians would consider using MHT themselves or recommend MHT to their partners in the future, and 11.4% were currently using MHT.

CONCLUSIONS

Most Chinese physicians have basic knowledge of MHT. Their misunderstandings about MHT mainly centered on the risks of endometrial cancer, weight gain and the necessary examinations during follow-up visits. These misunderstandings need to be clarified in future professional training programs.

[Spindle cell hemangioma: a clinicopathological and molecular analysis of eight cases]

Objective: To investigate the clinicopathological and genetic characteristics of spindle cell hemangioma (SCH). Methods: The clinical, morphological and immunohistochemical features of 8 SCHs diagnosed from January 2013 to September 2021 in West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China were retrospectively analyzed. Hotspot mutations for IDH1 codon 132 and IDH2 codon 172 were tested in 4 SCHs and 29 other non-SCH lesions using Sanger sequencing. Results: The 8 cases occurred in patients with a wide age range, from neonate to 46 years (mean 28 years, median 32 years). Both genders were equally affected. The course of the disease spanned from half a year to 31 years. Two SCHs were recurrent tumors. All tumors involved the distal extremities (4 of foot, 2 of ankle and 2 of hand). Six cases were presented as a single lesion and 2 cases as multiple lesions. The tumor diameters were 1-5 cm. All the 8 SCHs were typically composed of cavernous vascular space and solid components consisting of slit-like vessels, spindle cells and epithelioid endothelial cells which often exhibited cytoplasmic vacuolation. These two alternating components and the vacuolated epithelioid endothelial cells were the distinctive diagnostic clues for SCH. Vascular endothelial cells including epithelioid cells in the solid areas expressed CD31 (8/8), ERG (4/4), CD34 (5/8) and D2-40 (2/3). The spindle cells expressed SMA (8/8). Neither endothelial cells nor spindle cells expressed HHV8 (0/7), Desmin (0/5) or S-100 (0/3). Mutations were revealed in 2 SCHs, with IDH1 mutation (p.R132C) and IDH2 mutation (p.R172G), respectively. The IDH1/2 gene hotspot mutations were not found in the remaining 2 SCHs or the other 29 non-SCH lesions. Simple excisions were performed for 7 cases, and partial resection for 1 case. Follow-up information was obtained in 6 cases, with follow-up time ranging from 5 to 90 months (average, 46 months). No metastasis occurred in the 6 cases. No recurrence occurred in cases treated with simple excision. The residual lesions of the patient who received partial resection were stable. Conclusions: SCH is rare and should be differentiated from a variety of benign and malignant vascular lesions. An accurate diagnosis of SCH is clinically important and can be achieved by combining clinical information and typical pathological presentation. IDH1/2 gene hotspot mutations are specific to SCH in vascular lesions. Genetic detection is helpful in the diagnosis of challenging cases.

Genetic analyses of blood β-hydroxybutyrate predicted from milk infrared spectra and its association with longevity and female reproductive traits in Holstein cattle

Ketosis is one of the most prevalent and complex metabolic disorders in high-producing dairy cows and usually detected through analyses of β-hydroxybutyrate (BHB) concentration in blood. Our main objectives were to evaluate genetic parameters for blood BHB predicted based on Fourier-transform mid-infrared spectra from 5 to 305 d in milk, and estimate the genetic relationships of blood BHB with 7 reproduction traits and 6 longevity traits in Holstein cattle. Predicted blood BHB records of 11,609 Holstein cows (after quality control) were collected from 2016 to 2019 and used to derive 4 traits based on parity number, including predicted blood BHB in all parities (BHBp), parity 1 (BHB1), parity 2 (BHB2), and parity 3+ (BHB3). Single- and multitrait repeatability models were used for estimating genetic parameters for the 4 BHB traits. Random regression test-day models implemented via Bayesian inference were used to evaluate the daily genetic feature of BHB variability. In addition, genetic correlations were calculated for the 4 BHB traits with reproduction and longevity traits. The heritability estimates of BHBp, BHB1, BHB2, and BHB3 ranged from 0.100 ± 0.026 (± standard error) to 0.131 ± 0.023. The BHB in parities 1 to 3+ were highly genetically correlated and ranged from 0.788 (BHB1 and BHB2) to 0.911 (BHB1 and BHB3). The daily heritability of BHBp ranged from 0.069 to 0.195, higher for the early and lower for the later lactation periods. A similar trend was observed for BHB1, BHB2, and BHB3. There are low direct genetic correlations between BHBp and selected reproductive performance and longevity traits, which ranged from -0.168 ± 0.019 (BHBp and production life) to 0.157 ± 0.019 (BHBp and age at first calving) for the early lactation stage (5 to 65 d). These direct genetic correlations indicate that cows with higher BHBp (greater likelihood of having ketosis) in blood usually have shorter production life (-0.168 ± 0.019). Cows with higher fertility and postpartum recovery, such as younger age at first calving (0.157 ± 0.019) and shorter interval from calving to first insemination in heifer (0.111 ± 0.006), usually have lower BHB concentration in the blood. Furthermore, the direct genetic correlations change across parity and lactation stage. In general, our results suggest that selection for lower predicted BHB in early lactation could be an efficient strategy for reducing the incidence of ketosis as well as indirectly improving reproductive and longevity performance in Holstein cattle.

Inhibition of p38 MAPK increases the sensitivity of 5-fluorouracil-resistant SW480 human colon cancer cells to noscapine

A major cause of treatment failure in advanced colon cancer is resistance to chemotherapy. p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) has been associated with cellular apoptosis and plays an important role in multidrug resistance (MDR) in cancer cells. In the present study the effect of p38 MAPK on the sensitivity of 5-fluorouracil (5-FU)-resistant SW480 (SW480/5-FU) human colon cancer cells to noscapine was investigated. Following p38 MAPK interference, the inhibitory effect of noscapine on cell viability and proliferation was increased in the SW480/5-FU cells and there was also a decrease in the expression level of minichromosome maintenance proteins, recombinant Ki-67 and proliferating cell nuclear antigen. Inhibition of p38 MAPK also enhanced noscapine-induced G₁-phase cell cycle arrest in the SW480/5-FU cells and there was also a decrease in the protein and mRNA expression level of cyclin D, cyclin E and cyclin-dependent kinase 2, and an increase in the expression level of P57. Furthermore, p38 MAPK interference increased noscapine-induced apoptosis of the SW480/5-FU cells and there was an increase in the protein and mRNA expression level of caspases-3 and 8 and Bax, and decreased Bcl-2 expression level. The sensitivity of the SW480/5-FU cells to noscapine was also increased following p38 MAPK interference, as demonstrated by MDR inhibition via decreased Akt activity and reduced protein expression level of the MDR proteins P-glycoprotein, multidrug resistance protein 1 and ATP-binding cassette G2. These observations indicated that inhibition of p38 MAPK increased the sensitivity of the SW480/5-FU cells to noscapine by suppressing proliferation, induction of cell cycle arrest and apoptosis, and reversal of MDR in the SW480/5-FU cells.

Cuticular lipids and associated gene expression analysis under NaCl stress in Thellungiella salsuginea

Cuticular lipids, including wax and cutin, protect plants against external environmental stress. The relationship between the cuticle properties and salt tolerance is not clear. In this article, photosynthetic and physiological characteristics related to water use and cuticle permeability were assessed in the leaves of Thellungiella salsuginea under NaCl stress. The chemical composition of wax and cutin monomers, and the expression of cuticle-associated genes were also analyzed. The results showed that the net photosynthetic rate and stomatal conductance in the leaves of T. salsuginea decreased, and the water use efficiency increased with increasing NaCl concentration. Salt stress caused a significant increase in total wax, but total cutin monomers only increased under high salt. Transcriptome sequencing and lipid metabolism pathway analysis were performed on rosette leaves of T. salsuginea after 24 h of NaCl treatment. We analyzed the expression of 42 genes involved in cuticle lipid metabolism, and found that most of them exhibited higher expression levels at 0.15 mol L^-1 NaCl, but lower expression levels at 0.3 mol L^-1 NaCl. The expression of 12 of these genes was further detected by qRT-PCR after 1 week of NaCl treatment: most of them were upregulated both under low and high NaCl stress. Hence, we speculate that the cuticle acts as an adaptive trait in T. salsuginea in salty environments.

Metagenomic Analysis Reveals the Heterogeneity of Conjunctival Microbiota Dysbiosis in Dry Eye Disease

Background: Dry eye disease (DED) is a multifactorial inflammatory disease of the ocular surface. It is hypothesized that dysbiosis of the conjunctival microbiota contributes to the development of DED. However, species-level compositions of the conjunctival microbiota in DED and the potential dysbiosis involving microorganisms other than bacteria remain largely uncharacterized.

Methods: We collected conjunctival impression samples from a cohort of 95 individuals, including 47 patients with DED and 48 healthy subjects. We examined the conjunctival microbiota of these samples using shotgun metagenomic sequencing and analyzed microbial dysbiosis in DED at the species level.

Results: The conjunctival microbiota in DED exhibited a decreased α-diversity and an increased inter-individual variation. The α-diversity of female patients with DED was higher than that of male patients. Despite a decreased prevalence in DED, 23 microbial species were identified to show abnormally high abundance in DED samples positive for the species. Among these species, a fungal species Malassezia globosa was enriched female patients. In addition, distinct patterns of associations with disease status were observed for different species of the same genus. For DED subtypes, Staphylococcus aureus and S. capitis were associated with meibomian gland dysfunction (MGD), whereas S. hominis was enriched in patients solely with aqueous tear deficiency (ATD). The microbiota of patients with a mixed type of diagnosis was more similar to MGD patients than ATD patients.

Conclusion: We demonstrated that the conjunctival microbiota dysbiosis in DED is characterized by significant heterogeneity. Microbial signatures may offer novel insights into the complicated etiology of DED and potentially promote the development of personalized treatment for DED in the future.

Epigenetic Modifications and Therapy in Uveitis

Uveitis is a sight-threatening intraocular inflammation, and the exact pathogenesis of uveitis is not yet clear. Recent studies, including multiple genome-wide association studies (GWASs), have identified genetic variations associated with the onset and progression of different types of uveitis, such as Vogt–Koyanagi–Harada (VKH) disease and Behcet’s disease (BD). However, epigenetic regulation has been shown to play key roles in the immunoregulation of uveitis, and epigenetic therapies are promising treatments for intraocular inflammation. In this review, we summarize recent advances in identifying epigenetic programs that cooperate with the physiology of intraocular immune responses and the pathology of intraocular inflammation. These attempts to understand the epigenetic mechanisms of uveitis may provide hope for the future development of epigenetic therapies for these devastating intraocular inflammatory conditions.

Urinary complement proteins and risk of end-stage renal disease: quantitative urinary proteomics in patients with type 2 diabetes and biopsy-proven diabetic nephropathy

PURPOSE

To investigate the association between urinary complement proteins and renal outcome in biopsy-proven diabetic nephropathy (DN).

METHODS

Untargeted proteomic and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) functional analyses and targeted proteomic analysis using parallel reaction-monitoring (PRM)-mass spectrometry was performed to determine the abundance of urinary complement proteins in healthy controls, type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) patients, and patients with T2DM and biopsy-proven DN. The abundance of each urinary complement protein was individually included in Cox proportional hazards models for predicting progression to end-stage renal disease (ESRD).

RESULTS

Untargeted proteomic and functional analysis using the KEGG showed that differentially expressed urinary proteins were primarily associated with the complement and coagulation cascades. Subsequent urinary complement proteins quantification using PRM showed that urinary abundances of C3, C9, and complement factor H (CFAH) correlated negatively with annual estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) decline, while urinary abundances of C5, decay-accelerating factor (DAF), and CD59 correlated positively with annual rate of eGFR decline. Furthermore, higher urinary abundance of CFAH and lower urinary abundance of DAF were independently associated with greater risk of progression to ESRD. Urinary abundance of CFAH and DAF had a larger area under the curve (AUC) than that of eGFR, proteinuria, or any pathological parameter. Moreover, the model that included CFAH or DAF had a larger AUC than that with only clinical or pathological parameters.

CONCLUSION

Urinary abundance of complement proteins was significantly associated with ESRD in patients with T2DM and biopsy-proven DN, indicating that therapeutically targeting the complement pathway may alleviate progression of DN.

Microbiota and Ocular Diseases

Recent advances have identified significant associations between the composition and function of the gut microbiota and various disorders in organ systems other than the digestive tract. Utilizing next-generation sequencing and multiomics approaches, the microbial community that possibly impacts ocular disease has been identified. This review provides an overview of the literature on approaches to microbiota analysis and the roles of commensal microbes in ophthalmic diseases, including autoimmune uveitis, age-related macular degeneration, glaucoma, and other ocular disorders. In addition, this review discusses the hypothesis of the "gut-eye axis" and evaluates the therapeutic potential of targeting commensal microbiota to alleviate ocular inflammation.