Neural Correlates of Cognitive Dysfunctions in Cervical Spondylotic Myelopathy Patients: A Resting-State fMRI Study

Cervical spondylotic myelopathy (CSM) is a common disease of the elderly that is characterized by gait instability, sensorimotor deficits, etc. Recurrent symptoms including memory loss, poor attention, etc. have also been reported in recent studies. However, these have been rarely investigated in CSM patients. To investigate the cognitive deficits and their correlation with brain functional alterations, we conducted resting-state fMRI (rs-fMRI) signal variability. This is a novel indicator in the neuroimaging field for assessing the regional neural activity in CSM patients. Further, to explore the network changes in patients, functional connectivity (FC) and graph theory analyses were performed. Compared with the controls, the signal variabilities were significantly lower in the widespread brain regions especially at the default mode network (DMN), visual network, and somatosensory network. The altered inferior parietal lobule signal variability positively correlated with the cognitive function level. Moreover, the FC and the global efficiency of DMN increased in patients with CSM and positively correlated with the cognitive function level. According to the study results, (1) the cervical spondylotic myelopathy patients exhibited regional neural impairments, which correlated with the severity of cognitive deficits in the DMN brain regions, and (2) the increased FC and global efficiency of DMN can compensate for the regional impairment.

Effect of clinical teaching behaviours on transition shock in graduate nurses

AIM

This study aimed to explore the impact of preceptor clinical teaching behaviours on transition shock in graduate nurses using bi-directional feedback between graduate nurses and clinical preceptors and to assess preceptor clinical teaching behaviours.

DESIGN

This was a descriptive cross-sectional study.

METHODS

This study was conducted from January-February 2019. Participants included graduate nurses (N = 117) and clinical preceptors (N = 908) from a major public tertiary hospital in Western China.

RESULTS

Overall level of transition shock of graduate nurses was moderate (mean = 89 SD  17.54). Transition shock level of graduate nurses rose with the increasing of time in clinical work. Intensive care unit graduate nurses suffered the strongest transition shock, whereas surgery graduate nurses suffered the least. Graduate nurses thought that clinical preceptors were best at evaluation and feedback, whereas clinical preceptors thought they were best at showing concern and support. The primary factors associated with transition shock in graduate nurses were the time admitted to the hospital, feedback, and evaluation, use of appropriate teaching strategies, and showing concern and support, explaining 63.5% of the total variation in transition shock in graduate nurses.

CONCLUSION

In Western China, where the development of economic and medical conditions lag, transition shock is a major obstacle to the professional development of graduate nurses and clinical teaching behaviours is the key to overcoming transition obstacles. However, the serious shortage of nurses makes it difficult to not only complete heavy clinical nursing work but also to undertake the teaching of students and graduate nurses. The clinical teaching system is influenced by many factors. Focusing on clinical teaching behaviours and transition shock in graduate nurses will provide valuable data for future intervention studies.

IMPLICATION

The findings of this study will be of interest to managers at all levels and will enable them to support graduate nurses by engaging in excellent clinical teaching behaviours. In the clinical teaching process, giving more feedback and evaluation, improving the ability of using appropriate teaching strategies and focusing on the physical and mental health of graduate nurses may effectively decrease transition shock of graduate nurses and reduce the turnover rate.

Theoretical Insights into the Effect of Cations, Anions, and Water on Fixation of CO2 Catalyzed by Different Ionic Liquids

Chemical fixation of CO₂ is an efficient means for decreasing amount of CO₂ in the atmosphere. One of promising technologies is the cycloaddition of CO₂ with epoxides to synthesize cyclic carbonates. In this reaction, ionic liquid (IL) catalysts show versatile and unique advantages. However, the reaction mechanism using ILs is not clear. In this work, a detailed theoretical investigation was performed by DFT calculations. The energetic profile shows that the reaction consists of three steps, with the ring-opening step being the rate-determining step. Based on the results, effects of cations, anions and water were calculated. Cations show strong hydrogen bonding interactions with epoxides, which decreases the energy barrier of the ring-opening step, indicating that hydrogen bonds play a positive role in promoting the reaction. The effect of anions was evaluated by nucleophilicity index (N_Nu ); anions with a larger N_Nu (stronger nucleophilicity) value show lower energy barriers. The influence of water was investigated by implicit and explicit models. Compared with the solvent-free case, water as an implicit solvent decreases the energy barriers through polarization with epoxides. In the explicit solvent model, the water molecules form new hydrogen bonds with epoxides and cations, which can efficiently reduce the energy barriers. The result indicates that there is a new synergic catalytic mechanism, in which the water acts not only as solvent but also as a catalyst in the reaction. Supporting experiments further confirm the calculation results.

Exploration of synthesizing fluorescent silicon nanoparticles and label-free detection of sulfadiazine sodium

Herein, silica nanoparticles (SiNPs) with blue-fluorescence have been originally synthesized through one facile hydrothermal way, and this kind of SiNPs were water-soluble with the relative quantum yield of around 6%. Meanwhile, N-(triethoxysilylpropyl) urea severed as the silica source, while potassium hydrogen phthalate as the doping reagent. Also, SiNPs exhibited the acceptable stability and excitation-dependent fluorescence property. Moreover, their surfaces of the obtained SiNPs were equipped with multiple functional groups including -Si-O-Si-, -Si-H, -COOH, -NH₂ and -OH. Importantly, the fluorescence of SiNPs could be specifically quenched by sulfadiazine sodium (SD-Na), thus achieving a label-free detection of SD-Na, which displayed a wide linear response in the range of 0.8 μM-800 μM with a detection limit of 1.02 μM. Additionally, we explored the mechanism of SiNPs sensing SD-Na on the basis of aggregation-induced quenching. To be specific, the particle size of SiNPs increased from 29.9 nm to 203.7 nm induced by the electrostatic interactions between SiNPs and SD-Na, which was further confirmed by high resolution transmission electron microscopy. Consequently, the proposed strategy here broadened the ways of assaying sulfadiazine sodium.

Knockdown lncRNA NEAT1 regulates the activation of microglia and reduces AKT signaling and neuronal apoptosis after cerebral ischemic reperfusion

Acute cerebral ischaemia may lead to serious consequences, including brain injury caused by uncontrolled reperfusion, which occurs when circulation is re-established. The long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) nuclear enriched abundant transcript 1 (NEAT1) plays an important role in the immune system. However, the potential roles and underlying molecular mechanisms of NEAT1 in cerebral ischaemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury remain unclear. The aim of the present study was to investigate the function of the lncRNA NEAT1 in cerebral I/R injury and its potential beneficial effects on neurons. In our study, oxygen-glucose deprivation (OGD)/reoxygenation (OGD/R) was induced in vitro to mimic cerebral I/R injury. Cholecystokinin-octopeptide (CCK-8) was used to measure cell viability, and flow cytometry was used to measure cell apoptosis. Real-time quantitative PCR (qRT-PCR) was used to measure the expression of phenotypic markers of classically activated (M1) and alternatively activated (M2) microglia, and western blotting was performed to detect the levels of proteins related to the AKT/STAT3 pathway. The expression of the lncRNA NEAT1 was significantly upregulated in patients with ischaemic stroke, and knockdown of the lncRNA NEAT1 alleviated OGD/R-induced apoptosis and increased neuronal viability. Furthermore, the lncRNA NEAT1 may inhibit microglial polarization towards the M1 phenotype to reduce the damage caused by OGD/R and reduce the activity of the AKT/STAT3 pathway. In conclusion, the lncRNA NEAT1 may be a potential target for new therapeutic interventions for cerebral I/R.

Chinese adolescents' perceptions of parents' rearing styles: A crosstemporal meta-analysis of birth cohort changes 1994–2017

Social changes that may influence parents' rearing styles have impacted Chinese family structures in recent decades. In this study we examined changes in parents' rearing styles perceived by Chinese adolescents according to birth cohort. We performed a cross-temporal metaanalysis of 176 studies involving 181 data points (participant N = 86,960). The results showed that Chinese adolescents' scores on the Egna Minnen Beträffande Uppfostran Scale changed significantly from 1994 to 2017. The d values of the 11 scale dimensions of parental rearing style varied from –1.58 to 1.01, implying that the coefficient of determination varied from 1% to 38%. Chinese adolescents' perceptions of fathers' excessive interference and mothers' overprotection and excessive interference decreased over the period of the studies, and the adolescents' perceptions of mothers' emotional warmth increased. In addition, boys perceived more severe punishment and rejection from their fathers than girls did. Theoretical and practical implications of the changes of parental rearing styles over time are discussed.

Recent Advances in the Reactions of Cyclic Carbynes

The acyclic organic alkynes and carbyne bonds exhibit linear shapes. Metallabenzynes and metallapentalynes are six- or five-membered metallacycles containing carbynes, whose carbine-carbon bond angles are less than 180°. Such distortion results in considerable ring strain, resulting in the unprecedented reactivity compared with acyclic carbynes. Meanwhile, the aromaticity of these metallacycles would stabilize the ring system. The fascinating combination of ring strain and aromaticity would lead to interesting reactivities. This mini review summarized recent findings on the reactivity of the metal-carbon triple bonds and the aromatic ring system. In the case of metallabenzynes, aromaticity would prevail over ring strain. The reactions are similar to those of organic aromatics, especially in electrophilic reactions. Meanwhile, fragmentation of metallacarbynes might be observed via migratory insertion if the aromaticity of metallacarbynes is strongly affected. In the case of metallapentalynes, the extremely small bond angle would result in high reactivity of the carbyne moiety, which would undergo typical reactions for organic alkynes, including interaction with coinage metal complexes, electrophilic reactions, nucleophilic reactions and cycloaddition reactions, whereas the strong aromaticity ensured the integrity of the bicyclic framework of metallapentalynes throughout all reported reaction conditions.

MiR-372-3p promotes tumor progression by targeting LATS2 in colorectal cancer

OBJECTIVE

Many studies suggest that microRNAs can promote the malignant development of tumors. MiRNA-372-3p (miR-372-3p) has been proved to be associated with a variety of cancers. However, the role of miR-372-3p in colorectal cancer (CRC) is unclear.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

We analyzed the expression of miR-372-3p in CRC tissues and several CRC cell lines by quantitative Real Time-PCR. The relationship between miR-372-3p and clinical pathology was also analyzed in CRC patients. Kaplan-Meier analysis and Cox multivariate analysis were used to evaluate the prognostic significance of miR-372-3p in CRC. Next, we investigated the biological function of miR-372-3p, including cell proliferation, migration, and invasion and analyzed its potential molecular mechanism in vivo and in vitro.

RESULTS

Our data showed that the expression of miR-372-3p was dramatically increased in CRC tissues compared with normal tissues. Moreover, the high expression of miR-372-3p was significantly correlated with tumor size and differentiation. Kaplan-Meier analysis showed that the high miR-372-3p expression group patients had a significantly shorter recurrence-free survival (RFS) and disease-specific survival (DSS) than those with the low miR-372-3p group. The analysis of the prognostic factors revealed that miR-372-3p was an independent prognostic factor for RFS and DSS in CRC patients. The knockdown of miR-372-3p inhibited the proliferation, migration, and invasion in HCT116 and SW480 cells. Interestingly, the overexpression of LATS2 partially reversed the miR-372-3p -mediated cell proliferation, migration, and invasion of CRC. Besides, the Hippo signaling pathway was demonstrated to be activated by decreasing of miR-372-3p in CRC. Thus, our study revealed that miR-372-3p is involved in CRC progression by inhibiting the Hippo signaling pathway through its target LATS2. MiR-372-3p and its target genes with signaling pathways are new hope for precise treatment of CRC.

CONCLUSIONS

The upregulation of miR-372-3p was involved in the process of CRC progression by inhibiting the Hippo signaling pathway through inhibition of LATS2. We showed that miR-372-3p and its target genes with signaling pathways are a novel hope for precise treatment of CRC.

Epidemiological analysis of 67 local COVID-19 clusters in Sichuan Province, China

BACKGROUND

This study was intended to investigate the epidemiological characteristics of COVID-19 clusters and the severity distribution of clinical symptoms of involved cases in Sichuan Province, so as to provide information support for the development and adjustment of strategies for the prevention and control of local clusters.

METHODS

The epidemiological characteristics of 67 local clusters of COVID-19 cases in Sichuan Province reported as of March 17, 2020 were described and analyzed. Information about all COVID-19 clusters and involved cases was acquired from the China Information System for Disease Control and Prevention and analyzed with the epidemiological investigation results taken into account.

RESULTS

The clusters were temporally and regionally concentrated. Clusters caused by imported cases from other provinces accounted for 73.13%; familial clusters accounted for 68.66%; the average attack rate was 8.54%, and the average secondary attack rate was 6.11%; the median incubation period was 8.5 d; a total of 28 cases met the criteria for incubation period determination, and in the 28 cases, the incubation period was > 14 d in 21.43% (6/28). a total of 226 confirmed cases were reported in the 67 clusters. Ten cases were exposed before the confirmed cases they contacted with developed clinical symptoms, and the possibility of exposure to other infection sources was ruled out; two clusters were caused by asymptomatic carriers; confirmed cases mainly presented with fever, respiratory and systemic symptoms; a gradual decline in the severity of clinical symptoms was noted with the increase of the case generation.

CONCLUSIONS

Population movement and gathering restrictions and strict close contact management measures will significantly contribute to the identification and control of cases. Transmission during the incubation period and asymptomatic infections have been noted. Studies on the pathogenicity and transmissibility in these populations and on COVID-19 antibody levels and protective effects in healthy people and cases are required.

The effectiveness of different teaching methods on medical or nursing students: Protocol for a systematic review and network meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

One of the major challenges in nursing and medical education is to foster the critical thinking ability and autonomous learning ability for students. But the effect of different teaching methods on these abilities of nursing or medical students has not been conclusive, and few studies have directly compared the differences in the effects of different teaching methods. As a result, it is necessary for students to evaluate the impact of different teaching methods on critical thinking ability and autonomous learning ability.

METHODS

A systematic search will be performed using Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure, Wanfang Data (Chinese database), VIP Information (Chinese database), Chinese Biomedical Literature, and English language databases, including PubMed and Embase, Web of Science, CINAHL Complete (EBSCO0, Cochrane library to identify relevant studies from inception to July 10, 2020. We will include random controlled trials that evaluated the different teaching methods. The Quality Assessment of Diagnostic Accuracy Studies 2 quality assessment tool will be used to assess the risk of bias in each study. Standard pairwise meta-analysis and network meta-analysis will be performed using STATA V.12.0, MetaDiSc 1.40, and R 3.4.1 software to compare the diagnostic efficacy of different hormonal biomarkers.

RESULTS

The results of this study will be published in a peer-reviewed journal.

CONCLUSION

This study will summarize the direct and indirect evidence to determine the effectiveness of different teaching methods for medical or nursing students and attempt to find the most effective teaching method.

ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION

Ethics approval and patient consent are not required, because this study is a meta-analysis based on published studies.

INPLASY REGISTRATION NUMBER

INPLASY202070017.

Trends in LDL-C and Non-HDL-C Levels with Age

Understanding how blood lipid levels change with age in the general population is a precondition to defining dyslipidemia. To explore age-related trends in LDL-C and non-HDL-C levels in the general population, a large-scale cross-sectional study with 49,201 males and 35,084 females was adopted. Trends of non-HDL-C and LDL-C levels were plotted against each age (18 to 85 years old, one-year increments); the trends, as well as the influence of confounding factors on the trends, were validated and adjusted by linear regression modeling. The trajectory of LDL-C and non-HDL-C levels by age displayed a nonlinear correlation trend. Further multivariate linear regression modeling that incorporated sex-specific age phases showed that age was positively associated with LDL-C and non-HDL-C levels, with coefficients of 0.018 and 0.031, respectively, in females aged ≥18 to ≤56 years and negatively associated with LDL-C and non-HDL-C levels, with coefficients of -0·013 and -0.015, respectively, in females aged ≥57 years. The LDL-C and non-HDL-C levels increased with age in males ≥18 to ≤33 years of age, with coefficients of 0.025 and 0.053, respectively; the lipid levels plateaued at ≥34 to ≤56 years of age and subsequently decreased in those ≥57 years of age, with coefficients of -0.008 and -0.018, respectively. In contrast, pooled analyses without age stratification concealed these details. In conclusion, fluctuating increasing and decreasing lipid levels occurred with phases of aging in both sexes. Well-grounded age stratification is necessary to improve lipid-related pathophysiological studies.

Transcriptome Analysis of FEN1 Knockdown HEK293T Cell Strain Reveals Alteration in Nucleic Acid Metabolism, Virus Infection, Cell Morphogenesis and Cancer Development

AIM AND OBJECTIVE

Flap endonuclease-1 (FEN1) plays a central role in DNA replication and DNA damage repair process. In mammals, FEN1 functional sites variation is related to cancer and chronic inflammation, and supports the role of FEN1 as a tumor suppressor. However, FEN1 is overexpressed in multiple types of cancer cells and is associated with drug resistance, supporting its role as an oncogene. Hence, it is vital to explore the multi-functions of FEN1 in normal cell metabolic process. This study was undertaken to examine how the gene expression profile changes when FEN1 is downregulated in 293T cells.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Using the RNA sequencing and real-time PCR approaches, the transcript expression profile of FEN1 knockdown HEK293T cells have been detected for the next step evaluation, analyzation, and validation.

RESULTS

Our results confirmed that FEN1 is important for cell viability. We showed that when FEN1 downregulation led to the interruption of nucleic acids related metabolisms, cell cycle related metabolisms are significantly interrupted. FEN1 may also participate in non-coding RNA processing, ribosome RNA processing, transfer RNA processing, ribosome biogenesis, virus infection and cell morphogenesis.

CONCLUSION

These findings provide insight into how FEN1 nuclease might regulate a wide variety of biological processes, and laid the foundation for understanding the role of other RAD2 family nucleases in cell growth and metabolism.

Anxiety and Depression of Nurses in a North West Province in China During the Period of Novel Coronavirus Pneumonia Outbreak

Purpose

To investigate the anxiety and depression levels of frontline clinical nurses working in 14 hospitals in Gansu Province, China, during this period.

Design

A cross‐sectional survey was conducted online between February 7 and 10, 2020, with a convenience sample of 22,034 nurses working in 14 prefecture and city hospitals in Gansu Province, located in northwest China.

Methods

A self‐reported questionnaire with four parts (demographic characteristics, general questions related to novel coronavirus‐infected pneumonia, self‐rating anxiety scale, and self‐rating depression scale) was administered. Descriptive statistics including frequencies, means, and SDs were computed. The associations between anxiety and depression with sociodemographic characteristics, work‐related concerns, and impacts were analyzed, followed by multiple stepwise linear regression to identify factors that best predicted the nurses’ anxiety and depression levels.

Findings

A total of 21,199 questionnaires were checked to be valid, with an effective recovery rate of 96.21%. The mean ± SD age of the respondents was 31.89 ± 7.084 years, and the mean ± SD length of service was 9.40 ± 7.638 years. The majority of the respondents were female (98.6%) and married (73.1%). Some demographic characteristics, related concerns, and impacts of COVID‐19 were found to be significantly associated with both anxiety (p < .001) and depression (p < .001). Nurses who needed to take care of children or elderly relatives, took leave from work because they were worried about COVID‐19, avoided contact with family and friends, and wanted to obtain more COVID‐19‐related knowledge had higher levels of both anxiety and depression.

Conclusions

Results show that nurses faced with the COVID‐19 outbreak are at risk for experiencing anxiety and depression. Demographic background, psychosocial factors, and work‐related factors predicted the psychological responses. The family responsibilities and burdens of women may explain the higher levels of anxiety and depression among nurses with these obligations as compared to those without. On the other hand, nurses who chose not to take leave from work or who did not avoid going to work during this period were less anxious and depressed.

Clinical Relevance

Professional commitment might be a protective factor for adverse psychological responses. It is pertinent to provide emotional support for nurses and recognize their professional commitment in providing service to people in need.

Whole-genome sequencing reveals breed-differential CNVs between Tongcheng and Large White pigs

Large phenotypic differences have been observed between Tongcheng and Large White pigs. However, little is known about their genetic basis. This study performed a genome-wide comparison of CNVs between Tongcheng and Large White pigs using genome sequencing data. By combining the advantages of three different strategies (read depth, paired-end mapping and split read), we detected in total 18 687 CNVs that covered approximately 3.5% of the pig genome length for Tongcheng and Large White pigs. We identified 1864 breed-stratified CNVs (top 10%) by performing V_ST statistics. Functional enrichment analyses for genes located in breed-stratified CNVs were found to be involved in pigmentation, behavior, immune system and reproductive processes, which coincide with phenotypic differences between the two breeds. Using a systematic analysis of the genome and transcriptome data, we further identified four novel breed-differential CNVs on the functional genes (disease-resistant, DCUN1D2 and SPARCL1; lipid metabolism, PLEKHA2 and SLCO1A2). Subsequent PCR validation confirmed their accurate breakpoint positions in 33 Tongcheng pigs and 33 Large White pigs. This study provides essential information on differential CNVs for further research on the genetic basis of phenotypic differences between Tongcheng and Large White pigs.

Peripheral leukocyte counts vary with lipid levels, age and sex in subjects from the healthy population

BACKGROUND AND AIMS

Disorders in blood lipid metabolism and leukocyte-mediated inflammation are considered the main mechanisms of the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis. This study aims to show whether and how peripheral leukocyte counts are associated with serum lipid levels.

METHODS

This is a cross-sectional study of 175,079 subjects from the healthy population.

RESULTS

Age and sex are two key factors dictating the relationship between peripheral leukocyte counts and serum lipid levels. The log-transformed level of triglycerides (LnTG) was positively associated with all leukocyte counts in males except monocyte count in younger subjects. LnTG was positively associated with total leukocyte count in females regardless of age, and it was positively associated with lymphocyte and monocyte counts and neutrophil count only in elderly and young women, respectively. Total cholesterol levels were positively associated with total leukocyte, neutrophil and lymphocyte counts only in young males and with lymphocyte counts only in elderly women. LDL-C was negatively associated with monocyte count in males regardless of age; by contrast, it was positively associated with total leukocyte and lymphocyte counts in females regardless of age range and neutrophil and LnEosinophil counts only in young women. HDL-C was negatively associated with total leukocyte, lymphocyte and monocyte counts in both young men and young women; was negatively associated with monocyte count in elderly men and women; and was negatively associated with LnEosinophil count only in older men.

CONCLUSIONS

Peripheral leukocyte counts are extensively associated with serum lipid levels, with patterns differing by sex, age, lipid and leukocyte subset.

Recent research progress on natural small molecule bibenzyls and its derivatives in Dendrobium species

Orchidaceous plant Dendrobium genus is often used as a tonic, and its phenolic components have attracted attention for its anti-tumor and anti-diabetic complications. Bibenzyls is one of the essential phenolic active ingredients in the Dendrobium genus. At present, 89 bibenzyl derivatives have been extracted and identified from 46 Dendrobium species. The activity studies have shown that 42 compounds have pharmaceutical activity. Among them, 23 compounds showed antitumor activity; 7 compounds showed anti-diabetes and its complications activity; 10 compounds exhibited neuroprotective effects; 18 compounds showed antioxidant effects; 11 compounds had anti-inflammatory activity; 3 compounds had Antiplatelet aggregation effects; 3 compounds had antibacterial and antiviral effects. The Bibenzyls is small-molecular compounds of natural origin and widely sourced. Previous studies showed that the bibenzyls has good anti-tumor, anti-diabetes and its complications, and neuroprotective effects, and it has great potential for treating tumors, diabetes and its complications, Alzheimer's disease (AD) and Parkinson's disease (PD). Additionally, compounds such as moscatilin (1), gigantol (2) and chrysotoxine (3) have been further studied as lead compounds, and compounds exhibited therapeutical effects had been synthesized. Enough pieces of evidences have shown that the Bibenzyls have good development prospects. This article reviews the pharmacological effects of bibenzyls in Dendrobium species and provides an idea for its further development.

Gender and age differences in the association between sleep characteristics and fasting glucose levels in Chinese adults

AIM

The present study examined the associations between night-time sleep duration, midday napping duration and bedtime, and fasting glucose levels, and whether or not such associations are dependent on gender and age.

METHODS

This study was a cross-sectional analysis of 172,901 adults aged≥40 years living in mainland China. Sleep duration was obtained by self-reports of bedtime at night, waking-up time the next morning and average napping duration at midday. Fasting plasma glucose (FPG)≥7.0mmol/L was defined as hyperglycaemia. Independent associations between night-time sleep duration, midday naptime duration and bedtime with hyperglycaemia were evaluated using regression models.

RESULTS

Compared with night-time sleep durations of 6-7.9h, both short (<6h) and long (≥8h) night-time sleep durations were significantly associated with an increased risk of hyperglycaemia in women [odds ratio (OR): 1.12, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.01-1.29 and OR: 1.14, 95% CI: 1.08-1.21, respectively], and revealed a U-shaped distribution of risk in women and no significant association in men. Long midday nap durations (≥1h) were significantly but weakly associated with hyperglycaemia (OR: 1.04, 95% CI: 1.01-1.09) compared with no napping without interactions from gender or age, whereas the association between bedtime and fasting glucose levels did vary according to gender and age.

CONCLUSION

Night-time sleep duration, midday napping duration and bedtime were all independently associated with the risk of hyperglycaemia, and some of the associations between these sleep characteristics and hyperglycaemia were gender- and age-dependent.

MVPANI: A Toolkit With Friendly Graphical User Interface for Multivariate Pattern Analysis of Neuroimaging Data

With the rapid development of machine learning techniques, multivariate pattern analysis (MVPA) is becoming increasingly popular in the field of neuroimaging data analysis. Several software packages have been developed to facilitate its application in neuroimaging studies. As most of these software packages are based on command lines, researchers are required to learn how to program, which has greatly limited the use of MVPA for researchers without programming skills. Moreover, lacking a graphical user interface (GUI) also hinders the standardization of the application of MVPA in neuroimaging studies and, consequently, the replication of previous studies or comparisons of results between different studies. Therefore, we developed a GUI-based toolkit for MVPA of neuroimaging data: MVPANI (MVPA for Neuroimaging). Compared with other existing software packages, MVPANI has several advantages. First, MVPANI has a GUI and is, thus, more friendly for non-programmers. Second, MVPANI offers a variety of machine learning algorithms with the flexibility of parameter modification so that researchers can test different algorithms and tune parameters to identify the most suitable algorithms and parameters for their own data. Third, MVPANI also offers the function of data fusion at two levels (feature level or decision level) to utilize complementary information contained in different measures obtained from multimodal neuroimaging techniques. In this paper, we introduce this toolkit and provide four examples to demonstrate its usage, including (1) classification between patients and controls, (2) identification of brain areas containing discriminating information, (3) prediction of clinical scores, and (4) multimodal data fusion.

Birth Cohort Changes in the Subjective Well-Being of Chinese College Students: A Cross-Temporal Meta-Analysis, 2002-2017

According to the happiness-income paradox, economic growth within a country does not necessarily lead to an increase in well-being. However, previous literature also showed that economic growth has a greater impact on well-being in a low-income country than a high-income country. China is a typical developing country that has experienced dramatic development in recent decades. How did the well-being of the Chinese change? To examine birth cohort changes in Chinese college students' subjective well-being, a cross-temporal meta-analysis that involved 100 studies was conducted (106 data points, N = 55,830). The results showed that Chinese college students' well-being increased by at least 0.45 standard deviations from 2002 to 2017. In addition, their subjective well-being was significantly correlated with social indicators (e.g., GDP per capita, divorce rate, and university enrollment rate) for the corresponding years and 3 years prior to the collection of subjective well-being data. It is evident that social changes play an important role in predicting changes in well-being.

SIRT3 is a downstream target of PPAR-α implicated in high glucose-induced cardiomyocyte injury in AC16 cells

Diabetic cardiomyopathy (DCM) is a worldwide public health concern that continues to display rapid growth trends. This study investigated the function of sirtuin 3 (SIRT3), a primary mitochondrial deacetylase with important roles in antioxidant defense and oxidative metabolism, during high glucose-induced cardiomyocyte (AC16 cell) injury. Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-α (PPAR-α) is directly related to the occurrence of DCM. Hence, we further examined the relationship between SIRT3 and PPAR-α. AC16 cells were treated with various concentrations of glucose. Relative mRNA expression and protein levels were detected by RT-qPCR and western blot analysis, respectively. Cell proliferation and apoptosis were assessed using CCK8 and Annexin V-FITC apoptosis detection kits, respectively. DCFH-DA assay was used to measure reactive oxygen species (ROS) accumulation. The results indicated that high glucose treatment reduced the expression of mRNA and protein of SIRT3 and PPAR-α in AC16 cells. Moreover, high glucose inhibited cell proliferation, as well as induced apoptosis, intracellular hydrogen peroxide production, and JNK1/2 phosphorylation. These effects were antagonized by SIRT3 overexpression or treatment with the PPAR-α agonist, Wy14643. Conversely, inhibition of SIRT3 via 3-TYP led to similar phenomena as those induced by high glucose treatment in AC16 cells, which were blocked by Wy14643. Lastly, chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) and luciferase assays demonstrated SIRT3 as a direct target of PPAR-α. Taken together, the results provide evidence for an important role of SIRT3 in high glucose-induced cardiomyocyte injury and regulation of JNK1/2 signaling. Further, SIRT3 is a direct downstream target of PPAR-α.

A review on the ongoing quest for a pain signature in the human brain

Developing an objective biomarker for pain assessment is crucial for understanding neural coding mechanisms of pain in the human brain as well as for effective treatment of pain disorders. Neuroimaging techniques have been proven to be powerful tools in the ongoing quest for a pain signature in the human brain. Although there is still a long way to go before achieving a truly successful pain signature based on neuroimaging techniques, important progresses have been made through great efforts in the last two decades by the Pain Society. Here, we focus on neural responses to transient painful stimuli in healthy people, and review the relevant studies on the identification of a neuroimaging signature for pain.