This study aims to evaluate the impact of low-carbohydrate diet, balanced dietary guidance, and pharmacotherapy on weight loss among individuals with overweight or obesity over a period of three months. The study involves 339 individuals with overweight or obesity and received weight loss treatment at the Department of Clinical Nutrition at the Second Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University, School of Medicine, between January 1st, 2020 and December 31st, 2023. The primary outcome is the percentage weight loss. Among the studied patients, the majority chose low-carbohydrate diet as their primary treatment (168 [49.56%]), followed by balanced dietary guidance (139[41.00%]) and pharmacotherapy (32 [9.44%]). The total percentage weight loss for patients who were followed up for 1 month, 2 months, and 3 months was 4.98 (3.04,6.29) %,7.93 (5.42, 7.93) % and 10.71 (7.74,13.83) %, respectively. Multivariable logistic regression analysis identified low-carbohydrate diet as an independent factor associated with percentage weight loss of ≥3% and ≥5% at 1 month (OR [odds ratio] =0.461, P＜0.05; OR=0.349, P＜0.001). The results showed that a low-carbohydrate diet was an effective weight loss strategy in the short term. However, its long-term effects were comparable to those observed with balanced dietary guidance and pharmacotherapy.

Characterised by the extensive use of obsidian, a blade-based tool inventory and microblade technology, the late Upper Palaeolithic lithic assemblages of the Changbaishan Mountains are associated with the increasingly cold climatic conditions of Marine Isotope Stage 2, yet most remain poorly dated. Here, the authors present new radiocarbon dates associated with evolving blade and microblade toolkits at Helong Dadong, north-east China. At 27 300–24 100 BP, the lower cultural layers contain some of the earliest microblade technology in north-east Asia and highlight the importance of the Changbaishan Mountains in understanding changing hunter-gatherer lifeways in this region during MIS 2.

Two-dimensional montmorillonite nanolayers (2D Mnt) are excellent adsorbents for methylene blue due to the fully exposed active sites, but the separation of 2D Mnt from water is difficult. The objective of the present study was to assemble 2D Mnt and graphene oxide sheets into a three-dimensional aerogel (3D Mnt-rGO Gel) to achieve easy solid–liquid separation. Structural characterization demonstrated that the Mnt-rGO Gel has a porous 3D structure with Mnt nanolayers distributed uniformly within; the introduction of 2D Mnt could reduce significantly the degree of restacking of graphene sheets. Adsorption tests indicated that 2D Mnt enhances the methylene blue (MB) removal performance of Mnt-rGO Gel with a large adsorption capacity of 207 mg g–1, which may be attributed to the adsorption of MB onto 2D Mnt and the increased adsorption surface of rGO resulting from the reduced restacking of graphene sheets. The MB was removed completely by 300 mg L–1 of Mnt-rGO Gel-3 in 180 min. The adsorption process of MB onto Mnt-rGO Gel followed the pseudo-second order kinetic model and the Langmuir isotherm model. Mnt-rGO Gel also showed good reusability. Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) results suggested that the adsorption of MB onto Mnt-rGO Gel may be attributed to the π–π interactions between aromatic rings of MB and graphene, hydrogen bonding, and the electrostatic interactions between the nitrogen groups on the MB and oxygen-containing groups on the Mnt-rGO Gel.

As frontline workers, pharmacists often face significant work stress, especially in psychiatric settings. A multicenter cross-sectional design was conducted in 41 psychiatric hospitals. The Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale–21 (DASS-21) was used to measure the mental health of 636 pharmacists. We also collected demographic data and work-related variables. The prevalence of depression, anxiety and stress was 20.60%, 22.96% and 8.96%, respectively. Multivariate logistic regression showed that several common factors were associated with depression, anxiety and stress, including professional identity (odds ratio [OR] = 0.132, 0.381 and 0.352) and verbal violence (OR = 2.068, 2.615 and 2.490). Those who were satisfied with their job were less likely to develop depression (OR = 0.234) or anxiety (OR = 0.328). We found specific factors associated with mental health. Older age (OR = 1.038) and perceived negative impact (OR = 2.398) of COVID-19 on medical work were associated with anxiety, and those with frontline experience with COVID-19 patients (OR = 2.306) were more likely to experience stress. More than one-fifth of pharmacists in psychiatric hospitals experienced symptoms of depression or anxiety during the pandemic, highlighting the need for policy change to improve workplace conditions and psychological well-being for this professional group.

Circulating n-3 PUFA, which integrate endogenous and exogenous n-3 PUFA, can be better used to investigate the relationship between n-3 PUFA and disease. However, studies examining the associations between circulating n-3 PUFA and colorectal cancer (CRC) risk were limited, and the results remained inconclusive. This case–control study aimed to examine the association between serum n-3 PUFA and CRC risk in Chinese population. A total of 680 CRC cases and 680 sex- and age-matched (5-year interval) controls were included. Fatty acids were assayed by GC. OR and 95 % CI were calculated using multivariable logistic regression after adjustment for potential confounders. Higher level of serum α-linolenic acid (ALA), docosapentaenoic acid (DPA), DHA, long-chain n-3 PUFA and total n-3 PUFA were associated with lower odds of CRC. The adjusted OR and 95 % CI were 0·34 (0·24, 0·49, Pfor trend < 0·001) for ALA, 0·57 (0·40, 0·80, Pfor trend < 0·001) for DPA, 0·48 (0·34, 0·68, Pfor trend < 0·001) for DHA, 0·39 (0·27, 0·56, Pfor trend < 0·001) for long-chain n-3 PUFA and 0·31 (0·22, 0·45, Pfor trend < 0·001) for total n-3 PUFA comparing the highest with the lowest quartile. However, there was no statistically significant association between EPA and odds of CRC. Analysis stratified by sex showed that ALA, DHA, long-chain n-3 PUFA and total n-3 PUFA were inversely associated with odds of CRC in both sexes. This study indicated that serum ALA, DPA, DHA, long-chain n-3 PUFA and total n-3 PUFA were inversely associated with odds of having CRC in Chinese population.

The mid-latitude Westerlies (MLW) are one of the most important atmospheric circulation systems in the Northern Hemisphere, exerting a huge influence on the climate of the region downwind, and thus on vegetation, water resources, and human wellbeing. However, the seasonal variation of the MLW during the Holocene is not yet been fully understood, especially when its contribution is the most important. Here, we used end-member (EM) modeling analysis of the grain-size distributions of a high-altitude aeolian sedimentary sequence (4452 m a.s.l.) from the Yarlung Zangbo River valley in the southern Tibetan Plateau to reveal variations in the winter MLW during the Holocene. Analysis of seasonal differences in modern atmospheric circulation suggests that the southern Tibetan Plateau was heavily influenced by the mid-latitude Westerlies at the 400, 500, and 600 hPa levels in winter, while it was seldom influenced at these levels in summer. Four grain-size end-members are identified, representing distinct aerodynamic environments, of which EM1 (modal grain size 8.1 μm) can be used as a proxy of the winter MLW. A reconstruction of the variation of the winter MLW during the Holocene based on EM1 revealed that a weaker winter MLW occurred during the Early to Middle Holocene, and a stronger winter MLW during the Middle to Late Holocene. Overall, we suggest that this change in the winter MLW was closely related to the insolation/temperature/pressure gradient between low and high latitudes in the Northern Hemisphere.

Propofol is a intravenous anaesthetic most commonly used in ultrasound oocyte retrieval. We studied if the use of propofol had an effect on mouse oocyte maturation, pregnancy, childbirth and progeny and investigated the correlation between propofol side effects and reproductive performance in mice. There was no statistical difference in mating, pregnancy, childbirth, litter size, the number of stillbirths and survival between each group (P>0.05). Propofol also had no effect on polar body extrusion in oocyte maturation as well as on pronucleus formation and, subsequently, early embryo development (P>0.05). An increased concentration of propofol had no effect on this result, although propofol at more than 0.01 mg/ml reduced polar body extrusion. Different concentrations of propofol had no effect on oocyte culture in vitro, pronucleus formation and early embryo development.

A simple multiple-input-multiple-output (MIMO) antenna with quad-band-notched characteristics for ultra-wideband (UWB) system is proposed and tested in the article. Based on two similar radiators, the UWB-MIMO system only occupies 22 mm × 28 mm. By etching an inverted L-like meander slot, two inverted L-shaped slots, and adding a C-shaped stub beside the feeding line, four notched bands are realized (3.25–3.6, 5.05–5.48, 5.6–6, and 7.8–8.4 GHz) to suppress interference from WiMAX, lower WLAN, upper WLAN, and uplink of X-band satellite communication system. With a T-like stub extruding from the ground plane, port isolation is effectively improved. The results show that the antenna covers 3.1–10.6 GHz UWB frequency band except four rejected bands and has high isolation of better than −20 dB over most of the frequency band. Moreover, envelope correlation coefficient and good radiation patterns also prove that the introduced antenna is suitable for UWB applications.

The volatile compounds of crofton weed infested by cotton aphids and sprayed with MeJA were collected and analyzed by the TCT-GC/MS technique. The healthy weeds were controls. Seventeen volatiles identified from crofton weed included green leaf odors, monoterpenes and sequiterpenes, and oxo-compounds. Camphene, 2-carene, α-phellandrene, ρ-cymene, and caryophyllene were the major volatiles and constituted about 77% of the total volatile emissions from the control. In the aphid-infested weeds, no new induced component was found. Among the terpenes, ρ-cymene increased markedly in the infested weeds compared with the control, whereas all sesquiterpenes decreased markedly. Levels of endogenous JA in leaves and young stems of the aphid-infested weeds were markedly higher than in the control, whereas both endogenous SA level and ABA level were not significantly different. MeJA sprayed on crofton weed with the aphid infestation had a similar effect on volatile emissions. It is suggested that JA was one of the most important signals in crofton weed and could regulate the emission of volatile compounds.

With quad-band-notched characteristic, a compact ultrawideband (UWB) multiple-input-multiple-output (MIMO) antenna is introduced in the paper. The UWB–MIMO system has two similar monopole elements and occupies 30 × 45 mm2. By inserting two L-shaped slots, CSRR and C-shaped stubs, four notched bands are achieved (3.25–3.9, 5.11–5.35, 5.5–6.06, and 7.18–7.88 GHz) to filter WiMAX, lower WLAN, upper WLAN, and X-band. Meanwhile, the isolation is obviously enhanced with three metal strips on the ground plane. Results indicate that the antenna covers UWB frequency band of 3.1 – 10.6 GHz except four rejected bands, isolation of better than −18 dB, envelope correlation coefficient of <0.02, and good radiation pattern, thus making it useful for UWB systems.

Recent studies have suggested an association between vitamin D and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD); however, some results are subject to debate. This study was carried out to evaluate the correlation between NAFLD and vitamin D in men and women in East China. The data were obtained from a cross-sectional study that focused on the health and metabolic status of adults in sixteen areas of East China. According to ultrasonic assessments, the patients were divided into normal and NAFLD groups. Demographic characteristics and biochemical measurements were obtained. Binary logistic regression analysis was used to explore the association. In total, 5066 subjects were enrolled, and 2193 (43·3 %) were diagnosed with NAFLD; 84·56 % of the subjects showed vitamin D deficiency. Subjects with high vitamin D levels had a lower prevalence of NAFLD, particularly male subjects. Within the highest quartile of vitamin D levels, the prevalence of NAFLD was 40·8 %, whereas the lowest quartile of vitamin D levels showed a prevalence of 62·2 %, which was unchanged in women across the vitamin D levels. Binary logistic analysis showed that decreased vitamin D levels were associated with an increased risk of NAFLD (OR 1·54; 95 % CI 1·26, 1·88). This study suggests that vitamin D levels are significantly associated with NAFLD and that vitamin D acts as an independent factor for NAFLD prevalence, particularly in males in East China. Vitamin D interventional treatment might be a new target for controlling NAFLD; elucidating the mechanism requires further research.

Prior studies have shown that interpersonal self-support is related to emotional symptoms. The present study explored the relationship between interpersonal self-support and attentional disengagement from emotional faces. A spatial cueing task was administrated to 21 high and 24 low interpersonal self-support Chinese undergraduate students to assess difficulty in shifting away from emotional faces. The Sidak corrected multiple pairwise tests revealed that the low interpersonal self-support group had greater response latencies on negative faces than neutral faces or positive faces in the invalid cues condition, F(2, 41) = 5.68, p < .01, η2 = .22. In addition, in the invalid cues condition, the low interpersonal self-support group responded more slowly than the high interpersonal self-support group to negative faces, F(1, 42) = 7.63, p < .01, η2 = .15, the 95% confidence interval for difference of reaction time from 16.30 to 104.70. The results support our hypotheses that low interpersonal self-support is related to difficulty disengaging from negative emotional information and suggest that interpersonal self-support may refer to emotional dispositions, especially negative emotional dispositions.

The studies of differences in life history and suitability of both water temperatures and trophic levels among rotifer sibling species improve our understanding of speciation, sibling species coexistence and possible niche differentiation over space and time, and consequences for the functioning of ecosystems induced by climate change and eutrophication. We collected Brachionus calyciflorus from Lake Baixiang and Lake Kongque, two tropical shallow lakes, in Xishuangbanna city, Yunnan, China, clonally cultured them in laboratory, and found that the B. calyciflorus complex contains two sibling species named sibling species BNA13 and BNB3 by phylogenetic analysis, and investigated the life-table parameters of the two sibling species BNA13 and BNB3 at four temperatures (16, 20, 24 and 28°C) and four algal densities (0.5, 1.0, 2.0 and 4.0×106 cells.mL−1). The results showed that the responses to increasing temperature and algal density for each of the life-table parameters differed with rotifer sibling species. Sibling species, temperature, algal density and their interactions almost all significantly affected the durations of juvenile period, embryonic development, reproductive period, post-reproductive period, mean lifespan, net reproductive rate, generation time and intrinsic rate of population growth. Sibling species significantly affected the age-specific survivorship. Temperature, algal density and their interaction and the interaction of sibling species and temperature significantly affected the age-specific fecundity. Regardless of the effects of temperature and algal density, the durations of juvenile period, embryonic development, reproductive period, post-reproductive period and mean lifespan, age-specific survivorship, net reproductive rate and generation time of the B. calyciflorus sibling species BNA13 were greater than those of BNB3, but the intrinsic rate of population growth of BNA13 was lower than those of BNB3. This suggests that the two B. calyciflorus sibling species adopted variable life history strategies, low population growth and high survivorship for sibling species BNA13, and high population growth and low survivorship for sibling species BNB3. Both the intrinsic rates of population growth of BNA13 and BNB3 were the highest at 28°C and 4.0×106 cells.mL−1 algal density, indicating that some adaptations of the B. calyciflorus sibling species BNA13 and BNB3 in tropical shallow lakes to water temperatures and trophic levels were similar, and they have the potential for coexistence in single waterbody of higher temperature and higher trophic level.

Predator–prey interactions play major and direct roles in the structuring of zooplankton communities. Asplanchna usually predates ciliates, rotifers, cladocerans and sometimes even copepods, its predation may drive not only the ecological, but also the evolutionary dynamics of prey populations. In the present study, the life-table demography and the population growth of Asplanchna brightwelli were investigated at four temperatures (16, 20, 24 and 28°C) using Brachionus angularis as prey at four densities (10, 20, 30 and 40 ind.mL−1). The results showed that temperature affected significantly all the life-table demographic parameters (age-specific survivorship and fecundity, average lifespan, life expectancy at hatching, generation time, net reproductive rate and intrinsic rate of population increase) and the population growth rate obtained from the population growth studies, prey density affected the generation time, the net reproductive rate, the intrinsic rate of population increase and the population growth rate, and the interaction between temperature and prey density affected the generation time and the population growth rate. Both the average lifespan and the life expectancy at hatching were the longest at 16°C, the generation times were longer at lower temperatures (16 and 20°C) and higher prey densities (30 and 40 ind.mL−1), the net reproductive rates were higher at lower temperatures (16 and 20°C) and 20–40 ind.mL−1 of B. angularis, and the population growth rates were higher at 20°C under 20–40 ind.mL−1 of B. angularis.

Ceratovacuna and Pseudoregma are important groups in Cerataphidini (Hemiptera, Hormaphidinae) that not only produce soldier aphids in galls on the primary hosts but also produce horned soldiers on the herbaceous secondary hosts. However, due to sampling bias in previous studies, the phylogenetic relationships of these two genera remain inconclusive. In this study, based on more extensive sampling and examination of both mitochondrial (cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI); cytochrome b (Cytb)) and nuclear (elongation factor-1α (EF-1α); long-wavelength opsin (LWO)) genes, we reconstructed the phylogenetic relationships of Ceratovacuna and Pseudoregma. Phylogenetic analyses, along with morphological evidence, suggested that these two genera belong to the paraphyletic groups with species clustered into three main groups. The monophyly of Ceratovacuna and Pseudoregma as a whole was generally supported by all analyses. Monophyly of Pseudoregma was also supported. The estimated divergence times demonstrated that diversification of Ceratovacuna and Pseudoregma occurred approximately at 10 mya. The relatively low resolution for the basal relationships of the three main clades may indicate that these two genera have experienced a rapid radiation along with speciation burst of their secondary hosts during the late Tertiary.

Background: Single-volume proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H MRS) has considerable diagnostic potential for Alzheimer's disease (AD). This study investigated 1H MRS in specific regions of the brain, the posterior cingulate gyri (PCG) and the hippocampus, in patients with AD, amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI), and in normal control subjects.

Methods:1H MRS analysis was carried out on 47 patients with AD, 32 patients with aMCI and 56 normal control subjects (NC group). Volumes of the PCG and hippocampus were assessed, and the metabolic signals of N-acetylaspartate (NAA), choline compounds (Cho), myo-inositol (mI), and creatine (Cr) were quantified.

Results: In the PCG, differences between the test groups were found in NAA/Cr, Cho/Cr, mI/Cr and NAA/mI ratios. Group differences were also found in mI/Cr and NAA/mI ratios in the left hippocampus, and in mI/Cr and NAA/mI ratios in the right hippocampus. NAA/Cr ratios increased in the PCG between AD and aMCI patients, and between aMCI and NC patients. Conversely, mI/Cr ratios in the PCG and left hippocampus decreased across AD, aMCI, and NC subjects. In discriminate and ROC (Receiver Operating Characteristic) analyses, a NAA/Cr ratio of ≤ 1.50 in the PCG indicated optimal potential for discriminating between aMCI patients and normal control subjects. Discriminating potential was also found to be high for a NAA/mI ratio in the PCG of ≤ 2.72. Despite significant differences between NC and aMCI patients in the mI/Cr ratio in the PCG and in the NAA/mI ratio in the left hippocampus, their sensitivity and specificity were all lower than 75%.

Conclusion: Proton MRS of the PCG using the NAA/Cr ratio as a metabolic marker indicates considerable potential for distinguishing between aMCI and NC subjects.

A 5′-flanking region and partial open reading frame (ORF) of the β-actin gene (GenBank accession No. EF026001) of Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) was cloned by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification. The segment included a 1643 bp regulatory sequence and a 90 bp partial ORF which encoded a 30-amino-acid peptide. The regulatory sequence comprised a 108 bp 5′ proximal promoter, the first untranslated exon and the first intron of the β-actin gene. The proximal promoter region contained elements that were critical for transcription activity, including a CCAAT, TATA and CArG box located at –92, –29 and –62 bp upstream of the transcription initiation site, respectively. The regulatory sequence was inserted into the promoterless pDsRed2-1 vector to construct the expressing vector pNA-DsRed. The linearized pNA-DsRed was microinjected into the fertilized eggs of Tanichthys albonubes. The expression of the DsRed2 gene in transgenic fish could be observed under the microfluoroscope and anatomical lens. The results showed that the β-actin gene promoter possessed effective transcription activity.

A facile, surfactant-assisted, hydrothermal approach has been developed to synthesize lanthanide phosphate single-crystalline nanowires/nanorods with smooth surface, uniform diameter, and good crystallinity. The surfactant Pluronic P123 was found to play a crucial role on the uniform morphology of lanthanide phosphate single-crystalline nanowires/nanorods. Photoluminescence spectra of the lanthanide phosphate single-crystalline nanowires/nanorods show that these nanowires/nanorods have strong photoluminescent emissions in the ultraviolet-visible and near-infrared regions. The present work is a preliminary and significant step toward the potential luminescent and catalytic applications of lanthanide compound based one-dimensional nanostructures.