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To examine the thematic features of dignity therapy generativity documents of advanced cancer patients receiving chemotherapy in mainland China from the perspective of meaning-making during dignity therapy.
Methods
This is a qualitative descriptive study. Content analysis was used to analyze 24 dignity therapy generativity documents derived from a quasi-experimental trial of dignity therapy for advanced cancer patients receiving chemotherapy in a daycare center at a cancer hospital in northern China.
Results
Among the 24 advanced cancer patients whose generativity documents were analyzed, 14 were male and ranged in age from 26 to 78 years (average = 50.3). Two dimensions emerged from the data: (1) the sources of meaning in life, which consisted of social relationships, things and circumstances providing meaning in life, and (2) the ultimate meaning in life, referring to finding one’s real self and realizing the purpose in life, including personal life goals, dignity and autonomy, and morality of patients.
Significance of results
The multidimensional constructs of meaning in life with distinctive traditional Chinese cultural characteristics could provide insights into dignity-conserving care for advanced cancer patients with Chinese culture and provide evidence for refining the implementation protocol of DT through intentionally addressing the ultimate meaning of patients in the therapeutic session.
Genetic mutations of fused in sarcoma (FUS) causing amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) may disrupt mRNA splicing events. For example, the FUS c.1394-2delA variant was reported in two western ALS patients, but its molecular mechanism is unclear. In this study, we aim to investigate FUS splice site mutations in Chinese ALS patients.
Methods:
Sanger sequencing was used to identify FUS splicing mutations in Chinese ALS patients. We combined a deep learning tool (SpliceAI), RNA sequencing, and RT-PCR/RT-qPCR to analyze the effect of FUS c.1394-2delA mutation on RNA splicing and expression. AlphaFold was used to predict the protein structure of mutant FUS. In transfected cell lines, we used immunofluorescence to assess cytoplasmic mislocalization of mutant FUS protein.
Results:
We identified a de novo FUS splice acceptor site mutation (c.1394-2delA, p. Gly466Valfs*14) in one Chinese sporadic ALS patient, which is linked to exon 14 skipping, and upregulated total FUS mRNA expression. The FUS splice site mutation was predicted to be translated into a truncated protein product at C-terminal. In vitro studies revealed that the FUS mutation increased cytoplasmic mislocalization in both HEK293T and SH-SY5Y cells.
Conclusions:
We identified a de novo FUS splicing mutation (c.1394-2delA, p. Gly466Valfs*14) in 1 out of 233 Chinese ALS patients. It caused abnormal RNA splicing, upregulated gene expression, truncated FUS translation, and cytosolic mislocalization. Our findings suggested that FUS splice site mutation is rare in Chinese ALS patients and extended our knowledge of molecular mechanisms of the FUS c.1394-2delA mutation.
Pressure fluctuations play an essential role in the transport of turbulent kinetic energy and vibrational loading. This study focuses on examining the effect of wall cooling on pressure fluctuations in compressible turbulent boundary layers by high-fidelity direct numerical simulations. Pressure fluctuations result from the vorticity mode and the acoustic mode that are both closely dependent on compressibility. To demonstrate the effects of wall cooling at various compressibility intensities, three free-stream Mach numbers are investigated, i.e. $M_\infty =0.5$, 2.0 and 8.0, with real gas effects being absent for $M_\infty =8.0$ due to a low enthalpy inflow. Overall, opposite effects of wall cooling on pressure fluctuations are found between the subsonic/supersonic cases and the hypersonic case. Specifically, the pressure fluctuations normalized by wall shear stress $p^\prime _{rms}/\tau _w$ are suppressed in the subsonic and supersonic cases, while enhanced in the hypersonic case near the wall. Importantly, travelling-wave-like alternating positive and negative structures (APNS), which greatly contribute to pressure fluctuations, are identified within the viscous sublayer and buffer layer in the hypersonic cases. Furthermore, generating mechanisms of pressure fluctuations are explored by extending the decomposition based on the fluctuating pressure equation to compressible turbulent boundary layers. Pressure fluctuations are decomposed into five components, in which rapid pressure, slow pressure and compressible pressure are dominant. The suppression of pressure fluctuations in the subsonic and supersonic cases is due to both rapid pressure and slow pressure being suppressed by wall cooling. In contrast, wall cooling strengthens compressible pressure for all Mach numbers, especially in the hypersonic case, resulting in increased wall pressure fluctuations. Compressible pressure plays a leading role in the hypersonic case, mainly due to the APNS. Essentially, the main effects of wall cooling can be interpreted by the suppression of the vorticity mode and the enhancement of the acoustic mode.
We aimed to examine the association between the quantity and quality of dietary fat in early pregnancy and gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) risk. In total, 1477 singleton pregnant women were included from Sichuan Provincial Hospital for Women and Children, Southwest China. Dietary information was collected by a 3-d 24-h dietary recall. GDM was diagnosed based on the results of a 75-g, 2-h oral glucose tolerance test at 24–28 gestational weeks. Log-binomial models were used to estimate relative risks (RR) and 95% CI. The results showed that total fat intake was positively associated with GDM risk (Q4 v. Q1: RR = 1·40; 95 % CI 1·11, 1·76; Ptrend = 0·001). This association was also observed for the intakes of animal fat and vegetable fat. After stratified by total fat intake (< 30 %E v. ≥ 30 %E), the higher animal fat intake was associated with higher GDM risk in the high-fat group, but the moderate animal fat intake was associated with reduced risk of GDM (T2 v. T1: RR = 0·65; 95 % CI 0·45, 0·96) in the normal-fat group. Vegetable fat intake was positively associated with GDM risk in the high-fat group but not in the normal-fat group. No association between fatty acids intakes and GDM risk was found. In conclusion, total fat, animal and vegetable fat intakes were positively associated with GDM risk, respectively. Whereas when total fat intake was not excessive, higher intakes of animal and vegetable fat were likely irrelevant with increased GDM risk, even the moderate animal fat intake could be linked to lower GDM risk.
Maternal gestational weight gain (GWG) is an important determinant of infant birth weight, and having adequate total GWG has been widely recommended. However, the association of timing of GWG with birth weight remains controversial. We aimed to evaluate this association, especially among women with adequate total GWG. In a prospective cohort study, pregnant women’s weight was routinely measured during pregnancy, and their GWG was calculated for the ten intervals: the first 13, 14–18, 19–23, 24–28, 29–30, 31–32, 33–34, 35–36, 37–38 and 39–40 weeks. Birth weight was measured, and small-for-gestational-age (SGA) and large-for-gestational-age were assessed. Generalized linear and Poisson models were used to evaluate the associations of GWG with birth weight and its outcomes after multivariate adjustment, respectively. Of the 5049 women, increased GWG in the first 30 weeks was associated with increased birth weight for male infants, and increased GWG in the first 28 weeks was associated with increased birth weight for females. Among 1713 women with adequate total GWG, increased GWG percent between 14 and 23 weeks was associated with increased birth weight. Moreover, inadequate GWG between 14 and 23 weeks, compared with the adequate GWG, was associated with an increased risk of SGA (43 (13·7 %) v. 42 (7·2 %); relative risk 1·83, 95 % CI 1·21, 2·76). Timing of GWG may influence infant birth weight differentially, and women with inadequate GWG between 14 and 23 weeks may be at higher risk of delivering SGA infants, despite having adequate total GWG.
Widely distributed Mid-Neoproterozoic mafic rocks of the Qilian – Qaidam – East Kunlun region record the tectonic evolution of the northeastern Tibetan Plateau. This study presents whole-rock geochemistry, zircon U–Pb geochronology and Hf isotopes for the Xialanuoer gabbros of the central South Qilian Belt (SQB). Zircon laser ablation – inductively coupled plasma – mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) U–Pb dating indicates that the gabbros were emplaced at ca. 738 Ma, indicating they are contemporaneous with mafic magmatism elsewhere in the northeastern Tibetan Plateau. The gabbros have low SiO2, Cr and Ni contents and Mg# values, are relatively enriched in light rare-earth elements (LREEs) and depleted in high-field-strength elements (HFSEs; e.g. Nb and Ta), have no positive Zr or Hf anomalies and have relatively high Nb/Ta but low Nb/La ratios. These data indicate that the Xialanuoer gabbros formed from calc-alkaline basaltic magmas that were originally generated by the partial melting of an enriched mantle of type-I (EMI-type) enriched region of the lithospheric mantle, underwent little to no crustal contamination prior to their emplacement, and have within-plate basalt geochemical affinities. Combining these data with the presence of widespread contemporaneous continental rift-related magmatism and sedimentation in the North Qilian, Central Qilian, South Qilian, Quanji, North Qaidam and East Kunlun regions suggests that the northeastern Tibetan Plateau underwent Mid-Neoproterozoic continental rifting, which also affected other Rodinian blocks (e.g. Tarim, South China, Australia, North America and Southern Africa).
Two new eurypterids, a pterygotid Erettopterus qujingensis n. sp., and a slimoniid, Slimonia sp., are described from the upper Silurian (Pridolian) Yulongsi Formation of Yunnan Province, China. Erettopterus qujingensis n. sp. is characterized by several inversely curved ramus denticles and a metastoma with a deep notch in the center. The discovery not only extends the geographic extent of the genus Erettopterus and Slimonia from Euramerica to southwest China, but also gives insight into the similarity of ecosystem structures across the Silurian world.
This study is performed to figure out how the presence of diabetes affects the infection, progression and prognosis of 2019 novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), and the effective therapy that can treat the diabetes-complicated patients with COVID-19. A multicentre study was performed in four hospitals. COVID-19 patients with diabetes mellitus (DM) or hyperglycaemia were compared with those without these conditions and matched by propensity score matching for their clinical progress and outcome. Totally, 2444 confirmed COVID-19 patients were recruited, from whom 336 had DM. Compared to 1344 non-DM patients with age and sex matched, DM-COVID-19 patients had significantly higher rates of intensive care unit entrance (12.43% vs. 6.58%, P = 0.014), kidney failure (9.20% vs. 4.05%, P = 0.027) and mortality (25.00% vs. 18.15%, P < 0.001). Age and sex-stratified comparison revealed increased susceptibility to COVID-19 only from females with DM. For either non-DM or DM group, hyperglycaemia was associated with adverse outcomes, featured by higher rates of severe pneumonia and mortality, in comparison with non-hyperglycaemia. This was accompanied by significantly altered laboratory indicators including lymphocyte and neutrophil percentage, C-reactive protein and urea nitrogen level, all with correlation coefficients >0.35. Both diabetes and hyperglycaemia were independently associated with adverse prognosis of COVID-19, with hazard ratios of 10.41 and 3.58, respectively.
Nosema bombycis is a destructive and specific intracellular parasite of silkworm, which is extremely harmful to the silkworm industry. N. bombycis is considered as a quarantine pathogen of sericulture because of its long incubation period and horizontal and vertical transmission. Herein, two single-chain antibodies targeting N. bombycis hexokinase (NbHK) were cloned and expressed in fusion with the N-terminal of Slmb (a Drosophila melanogaster FBP), which contains the F-box domain. Western blotting demonstrated that Sf9-III cells expressed NSlmb–scFv-7A and NSlmb–scFv-6H, which recognized native NbHK. Subsequently, the NbHK was degraded by host ubiquitination system. When challenged with N. bombycis, the transfected Sf9-III cells exhibited better resistance relative to the controls, demonstrating that NbHK is a prospective target for parasite controls and this approach represents a potential solution for constructing N. bombycis-resistant Bombyx mori.
This study investigates the dynamics of low-viscosity nanodroplets impacting surfaces with static contact angles from θ = 73° to 180° via molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. Two typical morphologies of impacting nanodroplets are observed at the maximum spreading state, a Hertz-ball-like in a low-Weber-number range and a thin-film-like in a high-Weber-number range. Only inertial and capillary forces dominate the impact for the former, whereas viscous force also becomes dominant for the latter. Regardless of morphologies at the maximum spreading state, the ratio of spreading time to contact time always remains constant on an ideal superhydrophobic surface with θ = 180°. With the help of different kinematic approximations of the spreading time and scaling laws of the contact time, scaling laws of the maximum spreading factor ${\beta _{max}}\sim W{e^{1/5}}$ in the low-Weber-number range (capillary regime) and ${\beta _{max}}\sim W{e^{2/3}}R{e^{ - 1/3}}$ (or ${\beta _{max}}\sim W{e^{1/2}}O{h^{1/3}}$) in the high-Weber-number range (cross-over regime) are obtained. Here, We, Re, and Oh are the Weber number, Reynolds number, and Ohnesorge number, respectively. Although the scaling laws are proposed only for the ideal superhydrophobic surface, they are tested valid for θ over 73° owing to the ignorable zero-velocity spreading effect. Furthermore, combining the two scaling laws leads to an impact number, $W{e^{3/10}}O{h^{1/3}} = 2.1$. This impact number can be used to determine whether viscous force is ignorable for impacting nanodroplets, thereby distinguishing the capillary regime from the cross-over regime.
The wheat aphid Sitobion miscanthi (CWA) is an important harmful pest in wheat fields. Insecticide application is the main method to effectively control wheat aphids. However, CWA has developed resistance to some insecticides due to its extensive application, and understanding resistance mechanisms is crucial for the management of CWA. In our study, a new P450 gene, CYP4CJ6, was identified from CWA and showed a positive response to imidacloprid and thiamethoxam. Transcription of CYP4CJ6 was significantly induced by both imidacloprid and thiamethoxam, and overexpression of CYP4CJ6 in the imidacloprid-resistant strain was also observed. The sensitivity of CWA to these two insecticides was increased after the knockdown of CYP4CJ6. These results indicated that CYP4CJ6 could be associated with CWA resistance to imidacloprid and thiamethoxam. Subsequently, the posttranscriptional regulatory mechanism was assessed, and miR-316 was confirmed to participate in the posttranscriptional regulation of CYP4CJ6. These results are crucial for clarifying the roles of P450 in the resistance of CWA to insecticides.
Gut microbiome and dietary patterns have been suggested to be associated with depression/anxiety. However, limited effort has been made to explore the effects of possible interactions between diet and microbiome on the risks of depression and anxiety.
Methods
Using the latest genome-wide association studies findings in gut microbiome and dietary habits, polygenic risk scores (PRSs) analysis of gut microbiome and dietary habits was conducted in the UK Biobank cohort. Logistic/linear regression models were applied for evaluating the associations for gut microbiome-PRS, dietary habits-PRS, and their interactions with depression/anxiety status and Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9)/Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7) score by R software.
Results
We observed 51 common diet–gut microbiome interactions shared by both PHQ score and depression status, such as overall beef intake × genus Sporobacter [hurdle binary (HB)] (PPHQ = 7.88 × 10−4, Pdepression status = 5.86 × 10−4); carbohydrate × genus Lactococcus (HB) (PPHQ = 0.0295, Pdepression status = 0.0150). We detected 41 common diet–gut microbiome interactions shared by GAD score and anxiety status, such as sugar × genus Parasutterella (rank normal transformed) (PGAD = 5.15 × 10−3, Panxiety status = 0.0347); tablespoons of raw vegetables per day × family Coriobacteriaceae (HB) (PGAD = 6.02 × 10−4, Panxiety status = 0.0345). Some common significant interactions shared by depression and anxiety were identified, such as overall beef intake × genus Sporobacter (HB).
Conclusions
Our study results expanded our understanding of how to comprehensively consider the relationships for dietary habits–gut microbiome interactions with depression and anxiety.
We describe an extraordinarily preserved non-trilobite artiopod Bailongia longicaudata gen. et sp. nov. from the Cambrian Stage 4 Guanshan Biota in Yiliang, Kunming of the Yunnan Province in China. Its exoskeleton consists of a large semi-elliptical cephalon with paired lateral posterior eyes, nine tapering homonomous tergites and a long slender tailspine. Appendages include paired small antennae, at least three pairs of post-antennal cephalic limbs, and trunk biramous limbs consisting of an endopod and an exopod with lamellae. B. longicaudata does not conform to any taxon within Artiopoda, although the eyes invite comparisons with Xandarella spectaculum, Sinoburius lunaris and Phytophilaspis. Parsimony analyses indicate Bailongia is a member of Artiopoda and cannot be readily accommodated within any of the major artiopod clades.
The effects of chordwise deformation and the half-amplitude asymmetry on the hydrodynamic performance and vortex dynamics of batoid fish have been numerically investigated, in which the two parameters were represented by the wavenumber ($W$) and the ratio of the half-amplitude above the longitudinal axis to that below ($HAR$). Fin kinematics were prescribed based on biological data. Simulations were conducted using the immersed boundary method. It was found that moderate chordwise deformation enhances the thrust, saves the power and increases the efficiency. A large $HAR$ can also increase thrust performance. By using the derivative-moment transformation theory at several subdomains to capture the local vortical structures and a force decomposition, it was shown that, at high Strouhal numbers ($St$), the tip vortex is the main source of thrust, whereas the leading-edge vortex (LEV) and trailing-edge vortex weaken the thrust generation. However, at lower $St$, the LEV would enhance the thrust. The least deformation ($W=0$) leads to the largest effective angle of attack, and thus the strongest vortices. However, moderate deformation ($W=0.4$) has an optimal balance between the performance enhancement and the opposite effect of different local structures. The performance enhancement of $HAR$ was also due to the increase of the vortical contributions. This work provides a new insight into the role of vortices and the force enhancement mechanism in aquatic swimming.
A compact four-element ultra-wideband (UWB) multiple-input–multiple-output (MIMO) antenna with dual polarization and dual-notched capabilities was developed and fabricated. The MIMO antenna is composed of four orthogonally placed half-cutting UWB antenna elements. This orthogonal placement improves the isolation. Furthermore, an L-shaped slot and a continuous bending slot are etched to realize the band-rejection function in the WiMAX and WLAN bands. The result shows that the antenna achieved operating bands of 2.9–16.5 GHz (140.2%, S11 < −10 dB), fully covering the UWB (3.1–10.6 GHz). The port isolation is greater than 23 dB in the frequency band of interest, excluding two rejected bands. Moreover, the MIMO antenna has excellent diversity performance, such as a low envelope correlation coefficient (<0.004), high diversity gain (approximately 10 dB), and good omnidirectional radiation characteristics.
The rice water weevil, Lissorhoptrus oryzophilus Kuschel (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), is a destructive pest that causes damage to rice crops worldwide. The olfactory system is critical for host or mate location by weevils, but only limited information about the molecular mechanism of olfaction-related behaviour has been reported in this insect. In this study, we conducted SMRT-seq transcriptome analysis and obtained 54,378 transcripts, 38,706 of which were annotated. Based on these annotations, we identified 40 candidate chemosensory genes, including 31 odorant-binding proteins (OBPs), six chemosensory proteins (CSPs) and three sensory neuron membrane proteins (SNMPs). Phylogenetic analysis showed that LoryOBPs, LoryCSPs and LorySNMPs were distributed in various clades. The results of tissue expression patterns indicated that LoryOBPs were highly abundant in the antennae, whereas LoryCSPs were highly abundant not only in the antennae but also in the abdomen, head and wings. Our findings substantially expand the gene database of L. oryzophilus and may serve as a basis for identifying novel targets to disrupt key olfactory genes, potentially providing an eco-friendly strategy to control this pest in the future.
Chronic inflammation exerts pleiotropic effects in the aetiology and progression of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Glucosamine is widely used in many countries and may have anti-inflammatory properties. We aimed to prospectively evaluate the association of regular glucosamine use with incident COPD risk and explore whether such association could be modified by smoking in the UK Biobank cohort, which recruited more than half a million participants aged 40–69 years from across the UK between 2006 and 2010. Cox proportional hazards models with adjustment for potential confounding factors were used to calculate hazard ratios (HR) as well as 95 % CI for the risk of incident COPD. During a median follow-up of 8·96 years (interquartile range 8·29–9·53 years), 9016 new-onset events of COPD were documented. We found that the regular use of glucosamine was associated with a significantly lower risk of incident COPD with multivariable adjusted HR of 0·80 (95 % CI, 0·75, 0·85; P < 0·001). When subgroup analyses were performed by smoking status, the adjusted HR for the association of regular glucosamine use with incident COPD were 0·84 (0·73, 0·96), 0·84 (0·77, 0·92) and 0·71 (0·62, 0·80) among never smokers, former smokers and current smokers, respectively. No significant interaction was observed between glucosamine use and smoking status (Pfor interaction = 0·078). Incident COPD could be reduced by 14 % to 84 % through a combination of regular glucosamine use and smoking cessation.
Cytochrome P450 monooxygenases play a key role in pest resistance to insecticides by detoxification. Four new P450 genes, CYP6AS160, CYP6AS161, CYP4AB73 and CYP4G232 were identified from Solenopsis invicta. CYP6AS160 was highly expressed in the abdomen and its expression could be induced significantly with exposure to fipronil, whereas CYP4AB73 was not highly expressed in the abdomen and its expression could not be significantly induced following exposure to fipronil. Expression levels of CYP6AS160 and CYP4AB73 in workers were significantly higher than that in queens. RNA interference-mediated gene silencing by feeding on double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) found that the levels of this transcript decreased (by maximum to 64.6%) when they fed on CYP6AS160-specific dsRNA. Workers fed dsCYP6AS160 had significantly higher mortality after 24 h of exposure to fipronil compared to controls. Workers fed dsCYP6AS160 had reduced total P450 activity of microsomal preparations toward model substrates p-nitroanisole. However, the knockdown of a non-overexpressed P450 gene, CYP4AB73 did not lead to an increase of mortality or a decrease of total P450 activity. The knockdown effects of CYP6AS160 on worker susceptibility to fipronil, combined with our other findings, indicate that CYP6AS160 is responsible for detoxification of fipronil. Feeding insects dsRNA may be a general strategy to trigger RNA interference and may find applications in entomological research and in the control of insect pests in the field.
The Harihada–Chegendalai ophiolitic mélange, which is located between the Bainaimiao arc and the North China Craton, holds significant clues regarding the tectonic setting of the southern margin of the Central Asian Orogenic Belt. The ophiolitic mélange is mainly composed of gabbroic and serpentinized ultramafic rocks. Here, zircon U–Pb dating, in situ zircon Hf isotopic, whole-rock geochemical and in situ mineral chemical data from the ophiolitic mélange are reported. The zircons in the gabbroic rocks yielded concordia U–Pb ages of 450–448 Ma and exhibited slightly positive ϵHf(t) values (0.87–4.34). The geochemical characteristics of the gabbroic rocks indicate that they were generated from a mantle wedge metasomatized by subduction-derived melts from sediments with continental crust contamination, in a fore-arc tectonic setting. These rocks also experienced the accumulation of plagioclase. The geochemical characteristics of the ultramafic rocks and their Cr-spinels indicate that they may constitute part of residual mantle that has experienced a high degree of partial melting and has interacted with fluids/melts released from the subducted slab in the same fore-arc tectonic setting. The ophiolitic mélange may therefore have formed in this fore-arc tectonic setting, resulting from the northward subduction of the South Bainaimiao Ocean beneath the Bainaimiao arc during Late Ordovician time, prior to the collision between the Bainaimiao arc and the North China Craton during the Silurian to Carboniferous periods.