Anxiety, Loneliness, Drug Craving, and Depression Among Substance Abusers in Sichuan Province, China

Studies have reported that anxiety had a positive effect on depression among substance abusers in males. However, little is known about the mechanism underlying this relationship in substance abusers in males. The purpose of this study was to investigate the mediating effect of loneliness and drug craving between anxiety and depression in substance abusers in males. State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, The UCLA Loneliness Scale, Drug Craving Scale, and The Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale were employed into this study to investigate 585 substance abusers in males (age range of 20-58 years: M = 33.21, SD = 6.97). Structural equation modeling and the bootstrap approach were used to analyze the mediating effect of loneliness and drug craving on the relationship between anxiety and depression. The results indicated that: Loneliness had a significant positive correlation with anxiety (r = 0.37, p < 0.001) and depression (r = 0.49, p < 0.001);Drug craving had a significant positive correlation with anxiety (r = 0.28, p < 0.001) and depression (r = 0.39, p < 0.001). Loneliness and drug craving mediated the link between anxiety and depression. There was a significant positive correlation between substance abusers in male's anxiety, loneliness, drug craving, and depression. Loneliness and drug craving had a significant mediating effect on the relationship between anxiety and depression. Therefore, it was suggested that substance abusers in male's anxiety and depression might be improved and driven by decreasing loneliness and drug craving. Targeted interventions to decrease substance abusers in male's loneliness and drug craving should be developed, implemented, and help them to recover

The Study of Owl's Silent Flight and Noise Reduction on Fan Vane with Bionic Structure

In light of the bionics engineering point of view, we use the biological non-smooth surface in the surface design of the fan blade in order to reduce the fan noise and improve air flow and efficiency .We design several kinds of Sawtooth-shaped distribution, and apply the non-smooth form on the fan model. We analyzed the acoustic performance of various non-smooth fan blades that was reflected when the fan was rotating. Through the wind tunnel test, we obtained the spectrum map, wind comparison chart, efficiency curve and other important parameters that came from the comparison between smooth and non-smooth models and the noise of the fan. This paper will reveal that the non-smooth shape practically is good for preventing formation of off-body vortex, which is caused by turbulent boundary layer on the vane surface, and it will have reference significance for exploring the mechanism of noise reduction on fan vane. Key words: Owl; Bionic; Noise Reduction; Optimization Tes

Coordination of carbon assimilation, allocation, and utilization for systemic improvement of cereal yield

The growth of yield outputs is dwindling after the first green revolution, which cannot meet the demand for the projected population increase by the mid-century, especially with the constant threat from extreme climates. Cereal yield requires carbon (C) assimilation in the source for subsequent allocation and utilization in the sink. However, whether the source or sink limits yield improvement, a crucial question for strategic orientation in future breeding and cultivation, is still under debate. To narrow the knowledge gap and capture the progress, we focus on maize, rice, and wheat by briefly reviewing recent advances in yield improvement by modulation of i) leaf photosynthesis; ii) primary C allocation, phloem loading, and unloading; iii) C utilization and grain storage; and iv) systemic sugar signals (e.g., trehalose 6-phosphate). We highlight strategies for optimizing C allocation and utilization to coordinate the source–sink relationships and promote yields. Finally, based on the understanding of these physiological mechanisms, we envisage a future scenery of “smart crop” consisting of flexible coordination of plant C economy, with the goal of yield improvement and resilience in the field population of cereals crops

Clinicopathological features and CCT2 and PDIA2 expression in gallbladder squamous/adenosquamous carcinoma and gallbladder adenocarcinoma

BACKGROUND: Gallbladder cancer (GBC) is a relatively uncommon carcinoma among gastrointestinal cancers and usually has a rather poor prognosis. The most common subtype of GBC is adenocarcinoma (AC), which accounts for about 90% of GBC. Squamous carcinoma/adenosquamous carcinoma (SC/ASC) are comparatively rare histopathological subtypes of GBC. The clinicopathological features and biological behaviors of SC/ASC have not been well-characterized. No molecular biomarkers are currently available for predicting the progression, metastasis, and prognosis of the SC/ASC subtype of GBC. METHODS: We examined the expression levels of CCT2 and PDIA3 by immunohistochemistry (IHC) staining in human GBC tissue samples collected from 46 patients with SC/ASC and evaluated the clinicopathological significance of both CCT2 and PDIA3 expression in the SC/ASC subtypes of GBC by Kaplan-Meier analysis and multivariate Cox regression analysis. For comparison, we included specimens from 80 AC patients in our study to investigate the specificity of CCT2 and PDIA3 expression in GBC subtypes. RESULTS: We found that the positive expression of CCT2 and PDIA3 was significantly associated with clinicopathological features of both SC/ASC and AC specimens, including high TNM stage and lymph node metastasis. Univariate analysis revealed that the two-year survival rate was significantly lower for patients with positive expression of CCT2 and PDIA3 than for those with negative expression. Multivariate analysis also indicated that the positive expression of CCT2 and PDIA3 was negatively correlated with poor postoperative patient survival and positively correlated with high mortality. CONCLUSIONS: Our study suggests that positive expression of CCT2 or PDIA3 is associated with tumor progression and the clinical behavior of gallbladder carcinoma. Therefore, CCT2 and PDIA3 could be potentially important diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers for both SC/ASC and AC subtypes of GBC