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Intertemporal choices involve tradeoffs between outcomes that occur at different times. Most of the research has used pure gains tasks and the discount rates yielding from those tasks to explain and predict real-world behaviors and consequences. However, real decisions are often more complex and involve mixed outcomes (e.g., sooner-gain and later-loss or sooner-loss and later-gain). No study has used mixed gain-loss intertemporal tradeoff tasks to explain and predict real-world behaviors and consequences, and studies involving such tasks are also scarce. Considering that tasks involving a combination of gains and losses may yield different discount rates and that existing pure gains tasks do not explain or predict real-world outcomes well, this study conducted two experiments to compare the discount rates of mixed gain-loss intertemporal tradeoffs with those of pure gains or pure losses (Experiment 1) and to examine whether these tasks predicted different real-world behaviors and consequences (Experiment 2). Experiment 1 suggests that the discount rate ordering of the four tasks was, from highest to lowest, pure gains, sooner-loss and later-gain, pure losses, and sooner-gain and later-loss. Experiment 2 indicates that the evidence supporting the claim that the discount rates of the four tasks were related to different real-world behaviors and consequences was insufficient.
Liriomyza trifolii is a significant pest of vegetable and ornamental crops across the globe. Microwave radiation has been used for controlling pests in stored products; however, there are few reports on the use of microwaves for eradicating agricultural pests such as L. trifolii, and its effects on pests at the molecular level is unclear. In this study, we show that microwave radiation inhibited the emergence of L. trifolii pupae. Transcriptomic studies of L. trifolii indicated significant enrichment of differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in ‘post-translational modification, protein turnover, chaperones’, ‘sensory perception of pain/transcription repressor complex/zinc ion binding’ and ‘insulin signaling pathway’ when analyzed with the Clusters of Orthologous Groups, Gene Ontology and the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes databases, respectively. The top DEGs were related to reproduction, immunity and development and were significantly expressed after microwave radiation. Interestingly, there was no significant difference in the expression of genes encoding heat shock proteins or antioxidant enzymes in L. trifolii treated with microwave radiation as compared to the untreated control. The expression of DEGs encoding cuticular protein and protein takeout were silenced by RNA interference, and the results showed that knockdown of these two DEGs reduced the survival of L. trifolii exposed to microwave radiation. The results of this study help elucidate the molecular response of L. trifolii exposed to microwave radiation and provide novel ideas for control.
This study is design to explore the association between dietary betaine intake and risk of all-cause and cardiovascular death in patients with CAD. In this cohort study, 1292 patients with CAD were followed-up for a median of 9.2 years. Baseline dietary betaine intake was collected using a paper-based semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) and assessed according to the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Database and the data of betaine in common foods. Cox proportional hazards regression models were used to analyze the association between dietary betaine intake and risks of all-cause and cardiovascular mortality. During the follow-up periods, 259 deaths recorded in 1292 participants, of which 167 died of cardiovascular diseases. Patients in the highest tertile of dietary betaine intake had a lower risk of all-cause (P=0.007) and cardiovascular death (P<0.001) than those in the lowest tertile after adjusting for age and sex, traditional cardiovascular risk factors and other potential confounders. After further adjusting for plasma methionine metabolites and vitamins, HRs across tertiles of dietary betaine intake were 1.00, 0.84 and 0.72 for all-cause mortality (P for trend=0.124), and 1.00, 0.77 and 0.55 for cardiovascular mortality (P for trend=0.021). Higher dietary betaine intake was associated with a decreased risk of cardiovascular death after fully adjustment for cardiovascular risk factors, other potential confounders and plasma methionine metabolites and vitamins. However, the association between dietary betaine intake and risk of all-cause mortality was not statistically significant after further adjusting for plasma methionine metabolites and vitamins.
To investigate the spiritual care needs and their attributes among Chinese elders hospitalized for severe chronic heart failure (CHF) based on the Kano model, in order to provide a reference for improving the quality and satisfaction of spiritual care.
Methods
An observational design was implemented, and the STROBE Checklist was used to ensure quality reporting of the study. The demographic characteristics questionnaire, the Nurse Spiritual Therapeutics Scale, and the Kano model–based Nurse Spiritual Therapeutics Attributes Scale were used. A convenience sample of 451 patients were selected from 2 hospitals. Descriptive statistics, and Kano model were used to analyze the data.
Results
The total score of spiritual care needs was 29.95 ± 7.51. Among the 12 items, 3 items were attractive attributes, all of which were located in Reserving Zone IV; 5 items were one-dimensional attributes, of which 3 were located in Predominance Zone I and 2 were located in Improving Zone II; 2 items were must-be attributes, all of which were located in Improving Zone II; and 2 items were indifference attributes, all of which were located in Secondary Improving Zone III.
Significance of results
The spiritual care needs among Chinese elders hospitalized for severe CHF were moderate. The must-be and one-dimensional attributes mainly focus on “creating a good atmosphere” and “sharing self-perception” dimensions, while attractive attributes mainly focus on “sharing self-perception” and “helping thinking” dimensions. It is suggested that hospital authority should develop and innovate attractive attributes on the basis of maintaining and perfecting must-be and one-dimensional attributes, and objectively analyze and optimize indifference attributes.
Caregiver-mediated intervention (CMI), based on parent skills training, is a family-mediated intervention model for children with neurodevelopmental disorders, in particular autism spectrum disorder. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of CMI.
Methods:
Thirty-three children (aged 22–69 months from our department) and their caregivers participated in a two-week training course of ten 90-minute lessons. Caregivers were encouraged to try their best to apply intervention skills in both home routines and play routines to encourage the development of cognition, motion, social adaptability, and behavior of children. Demographic information, video-recorded data, and diagnostic scales were collected at two key time points: baseline and post-training (PT – within six months).
Results:
Three aspects were assessed – primary variables, secondary variables, and correlation analyses. Results showed an improvement in PT in (1) Adult/Child Interaction Fidelity Rating (P < 0.01) and (2) adaptability of Gesell Developmental Scale and stereotyped behaviors and limited interests of Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (P < 0.05, P < 0.01). Moreover, a negative correlation occurred between caregiver skill improvement and parent education (P < 0.05), but without correlations with other demographics.
Conclusions:
As an efficacious family intervention for both children and their caregivers, CMI is worth being generalized widely.
Telocyte (TC)—a new type of interstitial cell with long telopodes, can form cellular junctions with various tissues or cells to participate in the regulation of multitudes of physiological activities and diseases. This study aimed to characterize the morphology, molecular features, and potential functions of hormone regulation in Chinese soft-shelled turtle (Pelodiscus sinensis) testis TCs at different reproductive stages by histological evaluation, immunohistochemistry (IHC), immunofluorescence (IF), and transmission electron microscopy. During hibernation, TCs were widely distributed in the interstitial tissue. In contrast, during reproductive activity, TCs were noted to be in close proximity with peritubular myoid cells surrounding the seminiferous tubule. Moreover, formed cell–cell junctions were observed between TCs and PTMs. The results of IHC and IF showed that the immunophenotype of testicular TCs in hibernating Chinese soft-shelled turtles is CD34+Vimentin−, while the reproductive telopodes (Tps) show low expression of vimentin. The androgen receptor is expressed in Tps of TCs of testis during hibernation. Our results showed also that TCs in seasonal breeding animals regulate the activity of neighboring cells by releasing extracellular microvesicles (EXMVs), thus influencing the activity of spermatogenesis and steroidogenesis. Consideration of our novel and interesting results indicate that the whole area warrants further research.
COVID-19 has long-term impacts on public mental health, while few research studies incorporate multidimensional methods to thoroughly characterise the psychological profile of general population and little detailed guidance exists for mental health management during the pandemic. This research aims to capture long-term psychological profile of general population following COVID-19 by integrating trajectory modelling approaches, latent trajectory pattern identification and network analyses.
Methods
Longitudinal data were collected from a nationwide sample of 18 804 adults in 12 months after COVID-19 outbreak in China. Patient Health Questionnaire-9, Generalised Anxiety Disorder-7 and Insomnia Severity Index were used to measure depression, anxiety and insomnia, respectively. The unconditional and conditional latent growth curve models were fitted to investigate trajectories and long-term predictors for psychological symptoms. We employed latent growth mixture model to identify the major psychological symptom trajectory patterns, and ran sparse Gaussian graphical models with graphical lasso to explore the evolution of psychopathological network.
Results
At 12 months after COVID-19 outbreak, psychological symptoms generally alleviated, and five psychological symptom trajectories with different demographics were identified: normal stable (63.4%), mild stable (15.3%), mild-increase to decrease (11.7%), mild-decrease to increase (4.0%) and moderate/severe stable (5.5%). The finding indicated that there were still about 5% individuals showing consistently severe distress and approximately 16% following fluctuating psychological trajectories, who should be continuously monitored. For individuals with persistently severe trajectories and those with fluctuating trajectories, central or bridge symptoms in the network were mainly ‘motor abnormality’ and ‘sad mood’, respectively. Compared with initial peak and late COVID-19 phase, aftermath of initial peak might be a psychologically vulnerable period with highest network connectivity. The central and bridge symptoms for aftermath of initial peak (‘appetite change’ and ‘trouble of relaxing’) were totally different from those at other pandemic phases (‘sad mood’).
Conclusions
This research identified the overall growing trend, long-term predictors, trajectory classes and evolutionary pattern of psychopathological network of psychological symptoms in 12 months after COVID-19 outbreak. It provides a multidimensional long-term psychological profile of the general population after COVID-19 outbreak, and accentuates the essentiality of continuous psychological monitoring, as well as population- and time-specific psychological management after COVID-19. We believe our findings can offer reference for long-term psychological management after pandemics.
The finite-amplitude instability of the buoyancy-driven boundary layer is considered on a vertical plate immersed in a thermally stratified ambient medium, where the wall and surrounding fluid have different temperature gradients. Although the linear stability in this configuration has been investigated, the finite-amplitude solution arising from the critical instability has been studied only for specific parameter values. We extend this by using the amplitude expansion method. The primary bifurcations to the two-dimensional least unstable mode for different temperature gradient ratios ($0 \leqslant \lambda \leqslant 10$) and Prandtl numbers ($10^{-1} \leqslant Pr \leqslant 10^{4}$) are investigated. Only supercritical bifurcations are found to occur when $0 \leqslant \lambda < 2$ and $Pr \leqslant 2800$, while subcritical bifurcations are also found for larger values of temperature gradient ratio and Prandtl number. Analysis of the contribution of the nonlinear terms in the Landau coefficient reveals that the interaction of the modification of the mean flow and second harmonic for velocity with the fundamental mode for temperature plays an important role in subcritical bifurcation. Based on the Landau equation, the threshold amplitude of the nonlinear equilibrium solution is discussed as well. These encouraging results should be helpful for understanding such a buoyancy-driven flow system.
To investigate spiritual care perceptions, spiritual well-being, and empathy, examine the correlations among spiritual care perceptions, spiritual well-being, and empathy, and explore the mediating role of spiritual well-being between other two variables of Chinese nursing students.
Methods
A cross-sectional design was implemented, and the Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (STROBE) Checklist was used to ensure quality reporting of the study. A cluster sample of 2,718 nursing students was selected from 7 universities and colleges in China. The demographic characteristics questionnaire, the Chinese Version of the Spiritual Care-Giving Scale (C-SCGS), the Spiritual Health Scale Short Form (SHS-SF), and the Jefferson Scale of Physician Empathy-Nursing Student (JSPE-NS) were used. Descriptive statistics, correlation, and process plug-in mediation effect analyses were used to analyze the data.
Results
The total score of spiritual care perceptions, spiritual well-being, and empathy were 173.83 ± 25.62, 98.74 ± 12.87, and 105.04 ± 21.34, respectively. Spiritual care perceptions were positively correlated with spiritual well-being (r = 0.617, p < 0.01) and empathy (r = 0.528, p < 0.01). And spiritual well-being played a partial mediating role between the other two variables (accounting for 28.1%).
Significance of results
Spiritual care perceptions, spiritual well-being, and empathy were quite moderate, which need in improving. It is suggested that nursing educators pay attention to the spiritual care education of nursing students, perfect the spiritual care education system, and take targeted measures according to nursing students’ individual personality traits and differences, improve their spiritual well-being and empathy in multiple ways, so as to improve their spiritual care perceptions and competence.
The southern Great Xing’an Range (SGXR), located in the eastern segment of the Central Asian Orogenic Belt (CAOB), is one of the most economically important Cu–Mo–Fe–Sn–Pb–Zn–Ag metallogenic provinces in China. The newly discovered Panjiaduan Cu–Pb–Zn deposit (9.3 Mt; at 1.36% Cu, 2.90% Pb, 3.80% Zn and 38.12 g/t Ag), located in the SE segment of the SGXR, is primarily hosted in fracture zones in volcanic rocks and granodiorite of the Manitu Formation. Four paragenetic stages of metallic mineralization are identified: (I) quartz-pyrite-arsenopyrite; (II) quartz-polymetallic sulphide; (III) quartz-galena-sphalerite-argentite; and (IV) quartz-calcite-minor sulphide. The hydrothermal quartz contains three types of primary fluid inclusion (FIs): vapour-rich two-phase liquid-vapour (LV-type), liquid-rich two-phase liquid-vapour (VL-type) and three-phase liquid-vapour-solid FIs (SL-type). Stages I and II contain all types with homogenization temperatures (Th) of 324–386 °C and 276–334 °C as well as salinities of 0.7–38.0 wt% and 0.9–34.7 wt%, respectively, whereas stage III is composed of VL- and LV-type FIs with Th of 210–269 °C and salinities of 0.5–7.2 wt%. Only VL-type FIs occur in stage IV, with Th of 139–185 °C and salinities of 1.6–4.2 wt%. The δ18OH2O and δD values vary from −15.7 to 2.6‰ and −132.7 to −110.2‰, respectively, indicating predominant meteoric water with an initial magmatic source. The He–Ar isotopic compositions of the pyrite inclusions from the Panjiaduan Cu–Pb–Zn veins suggest that fluids were derived from the crust.
Due to the lack of research between the inner layers in the structure of colonic mucous and the metabolism of fatty acid in the constipation model, we aim to determine the changes in the mucous phenotype of the colonic glycocalyx and the microbial community structure following treatment with Rhubarb extract in our research. The constipation and treatment models are generated using adult male C57BL/6N mice. We perform light microscopy and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) to detect a Muc2-rich inner mucus layer attached to mice colon under different conditions. In addition, 16S rDNA sequencing is performed to examine the intestinal flora. According to TEM images, we demonstrate that Rhubarb can promote mucin secretion and find direct evidence of dendritic structure-linked mucus structures with its assembly into a lamellar network in a pore size distribution in the isolated colon section. Moreover, the diversity of intestinal flora has noticeable changes in constipated mice. The present study characterizes a dendritic structure and persistent cross-links have significant changes accompanied by the alteration of intestinal flora in feces in models of constipation and pretreatment with Rhubarb extract.
The association between executive dysfunction, brain dysconnectivity, and inflammation is a prominent feature across major psychiatric disorders (MPDs), schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and major depressive disorder. A dimensional approach is warranted to delineate their mechanistic interplay across MPDs.
Methods
This single site study included a total of 1543 participants (1058 patients and 485 controls). In total, 1169 participants underwent diffusion tensor and resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (745 patients and 379 controls completed the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test). Fractional anisotropy (FA) and regional homogeneity (ReHo) assessed structural and functional connectivity, respectively. Pro-inflammatory cytokine levels [interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-6, and tumor necrosis factor-α] were obtained in 325 participants using blood samples collected with 24 h of scanning. Group differences were determined for main measures, and correlation and mediation analyses and machine learning prediction modeling were performed.
Results
Executive deficits were associated with decreased FA, increased ReHo, and elevated IL-1β and IL-6 levels across MPDs, compared to controls. FA and ReHo alterations in fronto-limbic-striatal regions contributed to executive deficits. IL-1β mediated the association between FA and cognition, and IL-6 mediated the relationship between ReHo and cognition. Executive cognition was better predicted by both brain connectivity and cytokine measures than either one alone for FA-IL-1β and ReHo-IL-6.
Conclusions
Transdiagnostic associations among brain connectivity, inflammation, and executive cognition exist across MPDs, implicating common neurobiological substrates and mechanisms for executive deficits in MPDs. Further, inflammation-related brain dysconnectivity within fronto-limbic-striatal regions may represent a transdiagnostic dimension underlying executive dysfunction that could be leveraged to advance treatment.
To investigate the spiritual care needs and associated influencing factors among elderly inpatients with stroke, and to examine the correlations among spiritual care needs, spiritual well-being, self-perceived burden, self-transcendence, and social support.
Methods
A cross-sectional quantitative design was implemented, and the STROBE Checklist was used as the foundation of the study. A convenience sample of 458 elderly inpatients with stroke was selected from three hospitals in China. The sociodemographic characteristics questionnaire, the Nurse Spiritual Therapeutics Scale, the Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy—Spiritual Well-being, the Self-Perceived Burden Scale, the Chinese Self-Transcendence Scale, and the Perceived Social Support Scale were used. Descriptive statistics, correlation, Student's t-test, ANOVA, non-parametric, and multiple linear regression analyses were used to analyze the data.
Results
The total score of spiritual care needs was 29.82 ± 7.65. Spiritual care needs were positively correlated with spiritual well-being (r = 0.709, p < 0.01), self-transcendence (r = 0.710, p < 0.01), and social support (r = 0.691, p < 0.01), whereas being negatively correlated with self-perceived burden (r = −0.587, p < 0.01). Religious beliefs, educational level, residence place, disease course, spiritual well-being, self-perceived burden, self-transcendence, and social support were found to be the main influencing factors.
Significance of results
The spiritual care needs were prevalent and moderate. It is suggested that nurses should enhance spiritual care knowledge and competence, take targeted spiritual care measures according to inpatients’ individual personality traits or characteristics and differences of patients, reduce their self-perceived burden and improve their spiritual well-being, self-transcendence and social support in multiple ways and levels, so as to meet their spiritual care needs to the greatest extent and enhance their spiritual comfort.
We document that heightened public attention to gender equality is associated with an increase in board gender diversity. Improvements in diversity are more pronounced in firms with a corporate culture that is already sympathetic to gender equality. When public attention to gender equality increases, firms reach out to a larger pool of women, such as women without industry experience or outside their network, but female director appointments do not appear to be dilutive of the board’s skills. Instead, we observe less reliance on connections for director appointments and a decrease in the propensity to appoint connected men.
This study documents the COVID-19 disease-control measures enacted in rural China and examines the economic and social impacts of these measures. We conducted two rounds of surveys with 726 randomly selected village informants across seven provinces. Strict disease-control measures have been universally enforced and appear to have been successful in limiting disease transmission in rural communities. The infection rate in our sample was 0.001 per cent, a rate that is near the national average outside of Hubei province. None of the villages reported any COVID-19-related deaths. For a full month during the quarantine, the rate of employment of rural workers was essentially zero. Even after the quarantine measures were lifted, nearly 70 per cent of the villagers still were unable to work owing to workplace closures. Although action has been taken to mitigate the potential negative effects, these disease-control measures might have accelerated the inequality between rural and urban households in China.