Correlation between mobile phone addiction tendency and its related risk factor among Chinese college students: A cross-sectional study

Purpose: Mobile phone addiction prevalence is a global concern which has attracted great attention. It is now considered that excessive mobile phone usage is associated with potentially harmful and/or disturbing behaviors. The present study was aimed at exploring the current situation and related factors of mobile phone addiction tendency and providing a scientific suggestion for its prevention among college students. Methods: A cross-sectional study was applied for stratified cluster random sampling among college students, including five survey tools: the basic information questionnaire, UCLA loneliness scale, college students’ interpersonal comprehensive diagnostic scale, the Pittsburgh sleep quality index scale and mobile phone addiction tendency scale (MPATS). SPSS v 17.0 statistical tool was applied to analyze data from the survey. Results: A total of 760 questionnaires were administered of which 735 questionnaires were retrieved and the valid questionnaires were 730. Classification of mobile phone addiction tendency has statistical significance with grade. Also, classification of loneliness has statistical significance with major, grade and home address. Furthermore, classification of interpersonal relationship has statistical significance with romance status and grade. Additionally, classification of MPATS was positively correlated with classification of UCLA loneliness scale, Pittsburgh sleep quality index scale and interpersonal relationship scale. Interpersonal relationship, sleep quality, and loneliness were linearly correlated with mobile phone addiction tendency. Conclusion: Grade, interpersonal relationship, sleep quality and loneliness were positively correlated with mobile phone addiction tendency, which are the associated risk factors. Therefore, concerns and interventions are required to decrease the risk factor for the sake of college students’ health

An upper bound for the amplitude of limit cycles of Liénard-type differential systems

In this paper, we investigate the position problem of limit cycles for a class of Liénard-type differential systems. By considering the upper bound of the amplitude of limit cycles on $\{(x,y)\in\mathbb{R}^2: x0\}$ respectively, we provide a criterion concerning an explicit upper bound for the amplitude of the unique limit cycle of the Liénard-type system on the plane. Here the amplitude of a limit cycle on $\{(x,y)\in\mathbb{R}^2: x0\}$) is defined as the minimum (resp. maximum) value of the $x$-coordinate on such a limit cycle. Finally, we give two examples including an application to predator-prey system model to illustrate the obtained theoretical result, and Matlab simulations are presented to show the agreement between our theoretical result with the simulation analysis

Structural integrity and characteristics at lattice and nanometre levels of ZrN polycrystalline irradiated by 4 MeV Au ions

We report an as-hot-pressed zirconium nitride polycrystalline with its primary crystal structure maintained no change but lattice defects and features were introduced at nanometre-scale after being irradiated by 4 MeV Au 2+ with a total fluence of 5 × 10 16 /cm 2 . The variation of grey-level seen in backscattered electron images and electron backscattered diffraction maps directly evidenced the structure integrity of the polycrystalline ZrN is well maintained with no crystal structure change of ZrN. The irradiation depth had no relevance to crystal orientation, and Au deposition peaked at a depth of ∼0.58 μm with a near-Gaussian distribution. Within a depth < 0.58 μm, long dislocation lines were developed with a Burgers vector of [01¯] b /2 and density 3.2 × 10 14 1/m 2 ; beyond this depth, dislocation loops were formed with much higher density. In the ionization zone, cubic ZrO 2 crystallites precipitated in a size of ∼5 nm. The irradiation damage processes are discussed based on the observed features

Association of the triglyceride-glucose index and vascular target organ damage in a Beijing community-based population

ObjectiveWe aimed to explore the association between the triglyceride-glucose (TyG) index, a marker of insulin resistance (IR), and vascular target organ damage (TOD) in a Beijing community-based population, China.MethodsA total of 6,015 participants from an atherosclerosis cohort survey performed in the Shijingshan District in Beijing, China were included in our analysis. Vascular TOD, such as carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (cfPWV), brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV), and the urine albumin-to-creatinine ratio (UACR) were all evaluated.ResultsThe overall mean age of all the participants was 62.35 years, 3,951 (65.69%) were female, and mean TyG index was 8.81. In univariable regression analyzes, an increased TyG index was associated with higher cfPWV, baPWV, lnUACR, and higher risk of cfPWV ≥ 10 m/s, baPWV ≥ 1,800 cm/s, and UACR ≥ 30 mg/g, respectively. Multivariable regression analyzes showed subjects with the TyG index in top tertile had a significant increase in cfPWV (β = 0.29 m/s; 95% confidence interval [95% CI] 0.19–0.40; pfortrend &lt; 0.001), baPWV (β = 69.28 cm/s; 95% CI 50.97–87.59; pfortrend &lt; 0.001), lnUACR (β = 0.23; 95% CI 0.13–0.34; pfortrend &lt; 0.001), and had a higher risk of cfPWV ≥ 10 m/s (odds ratio [OR] = 1.47; 95% CI 1.17–1.85; pfortrend &lt; 0.001), baPWV ≥ 1,800 cm/s (OR = 1.79; 95% CI 1.48–2.17; pfortrend &lt; 0.001), and UACR ≥ 30 mg/g (OR = 1.71; 95% CI 1.30–2.24; pfortrend &lt; 0.001) after fully adjusting for age, sex, body mass index (BMI), systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR), self-reported coronary heart disease (CHD) and stroke, antihypertensive drugs, hypoglycemic drugs, and lipid-lowering drugs. Consistent conclusions were obtained in the subgroups without hypoglycemic and lipid-lowering medications or aged younger than 65 years old.ConclusionsThe TyG index was positively associated with artery stiffness and nephric microvascular damage in a Beijing community-based population in China. This result provides evidence that the TyG index may serve as a simple and effective indicator to reflect vascular TOD

Scalable expansion of human pluripotent stem cells under suspension culture condition with human platelet lysate supplementation

The large-scale production of human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs), including both embryonic stem cells (hESCs) and induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs), shows potential for advancing the translational realization of hPSC technology. Among multiple cell culture methods, suspension culture, also known as three-dimensional (3D) culture, stands out as a promising method to fulfill the large-scale production requirements. Under this 3D culture condition, cell expansion and the preservation of pluripotency and identity during long-term culture heavily relies on the culture medium. However, the xenogeneic supplements in culture medium remains an obstacle for the translation of cell and gene therapy applications from bench to bedside. Here, we tested human platelet lysate (hPL), a xeno-free and serum-free biological material, as a supplement in the 3D culture of hPSCs. We observed reduced intercellular variability and enhanced proliferation in both hESC and hiPSC lines. These cells, after extended culture in the hPL-supplemented system, maintained pluripotency marker expression, the capacity to differentiate into cells of all three germ layers, and normal karyotype, confirming the practicability and safety of hPL supplementation. Furthermore, through RNA-sequencing analysis, we found an upregulation of genes associated with cell cycle regulations in hPL-treated cells, consistent with the improved cellular division efficiency. Taken together, our findings underscore the potential of hPL as a xeno-free and serum-free supplement for the large-scale production of hPSCs, which holds promise for advancing clinical applications of these cells

Transmembrane peptide 4 and 5 of APJ are essential for its heterodimerization with OX1R

Increasing evidence indicates some G protein-coupled receptors function as a heterodimer, which provide a novel target for therapeutics investigation. However, study on the receptor-receptor interaction interface, a potent target on interfering dimer formation, are still limited. Here, using bioluminescence resonance energy transfer (BRET) combined with co-immunoprecipitation (Co-IP), we found a new constitutive GPCR heterodimer, apelin receptor (APJ)-orexin receptor type 1 (OX1R). Both APJ and OX1R co-internalized when constantly subjected to cognate agonist (apelin-13 or orexin-A) specific to either protomer. Combined with BRET and immunostaining, the in vitro synthesized transmembrane peptides (TMs) interfering experiments suggests that TM4 and 5 of APJ act as the interaction interface of the APJ-OX1R heterodimer, and co-internalization could be disrupted by these peptides as well. Our study not only provide new evidence on GPCR heterodimerization, but address a novel heterodimerization interface, which can be severed as a potential pharmacological target