3,436 research outputs found

    Prevalence and correlates of sexual and gender-based violence against Chinese adolescent women who are involved in commercial sex: a cross-sectional study

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    Objectives: Despite the vast quantity of research among Chinese female sex workers (FSWs) to address concerns regarding HIV/sexually transmitted infection (STI) risk, there is a paucity of research on issues of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) and the missed opportunity for sexual and reproductive health (SRH) promotion among young FSWs. Our research aimed to assess the prevalence and correlates of SGBV among Chinese adolescent FSWs, and to explore SRH service utilisation. Design and methods: A cross-sectional study using a one-stage cluster sampling method was employed. A semistructured questionnaire was administered by trained peer educators or health workers. Multivariable logistic regression was conducted to determine individual and structural correlates of SGBV. Setting and participants: Between July and September 2012, 310 adolescent women aged 15–20 years, and who self-reported having received money or gifts in exchange for sex in the past 6 months were recruited and completed their interview in Kunming, Yunnan Province, China. Results: Findings confirm the high prevalence of SGBV against adolescent FSWs in China, with 38% (118/310) of participants affected in the past year. Moreover, our study demonstrated the low uptake of public health services and high rates of prior unwanted pregnancy (52%; 61/118), abortion (53%; 63/118) and self-reported STI symptoms (84%; 99/118) in participants who were exposed to SGBV. Forced sexual debut was reported by nearly a quarter of FSWs (23%; 70/310) and was independently associated with having had a drug-using intimate partner and younger age (\u3c17 years old) at first abortion. When controlling for potential confounders, having experienced SGBV was associated with frequent alcohol use, having self-reported symptoms of STI, having an intimate partner and having an intimate partner with illicit drug use. Conclusions: This study calls for effective and integrated interventions addressing adolescent FSWs\u27 vulnerability to SGBV and broader SRH consequences

    [(NHC)CrCl(mu-Cl)(THF)](2) and (NHC)(2)CrCl2 (NHC=1,3-Diisopropyl-4,5-dimethylimidazole-2-ylidene): Syntheses, Structures, and Polymerization Activities

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    The preparation of divalent chromium N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC, 1,3-diisopropyl-4,5-dimethylimidazole-2-ylidene) compounds is reported. The reaction of 1:1 molar ratio of NHC with CrCl2 led to an isolation of [(NHC)CrCl(mu-Cl)(THF)](2) (1), while that of 2:1 ratio resulted in the formation of (NHC)(2)CrCl2 (2). 1 can be considered as an intermediate in the formation of 2 and further converted into 2 by the addition of another equiv. of NHC. The reaction of 2 with CpNa afforded an ion pair compound [(NHC)(2)CrCp](+)[Cp](-) (3), indicating a strong coordination ability of NHC supplanting one of the ionic Cr-Cp bonding. In combination of methylalumoxane (MAO) as cocatalyst 1 and 2 both are active for catalyzing ethylene polymerization.National Natural Science Foundation of China [20842006]; Research Fund for New Teacher of Higher Education ; Initiation Research Fund for Returned Overseas Researchers ; Chinese Education Ministr

    Relationship between canopy temperature at flowering stage and soil water content, yield components in rice. Rice Sci

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    Abstract: The canopy temperature of rice at the flowering stage and the soil water content were investigated under different soil water treatments (the soil water contents were 24%, 55%, 90% and 175% at the flowering stage). The canopy temperature was lower than air temperature, and the soil water content significantly influenced the canopy temperature. The lower the soil water content, the higher the canopy temperature, the less the accumulative absolute value of canopy-air temperature difference. Moreover, the maximum difference between treatments and CK in the accumulative absolute value of canopy-air temperature difference appeared at 13:00 p.m. in a day, thus, it could be considered as a suitable measuring time. Under the lowest water content treatment, the peak flowering occurred in the first three days (about 70% of panicles flowered), resulting in shortened and lightened panicle of rice. As to the CK and the high water content treatments, the peak flowering appeared in the middle of flowering duration, with longer panicle length and higher panicle weight. Results indicated the lower the soil water content, the less the filled grain number and grain yield. Key words: rice; canopy temperature; soil water content; yield components Water deficit is one of the most important factors limiting crop yield, and the monitoring of crop water status is important for reasonable irrigation and water saving cultivation. Using crop canopy temperature to characterize crop water status is a new method for the monitoring. Tanner et al Turner et al [5] studied the relationships among rice canopy temperature, water stress, leaf rolling and growth, and found that drought stress increased the canopy-air temperature difference and leaf rolling, whereas reduced dry matter of rice. Chauham et a

    Dissolution rate enhancement of repaglinide by solid dispersion

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    Purpose: To enhance the solubility and dissolution rate of the antidiabetic drug repaglinide by solid dispersion (SD) techniqueMethod: The solid dispersion of repaglinide was prepared by solvent evaporation method using the hydrophilic carrier,  polyethylene glycol 4000 (PEG 4000) in three drug:PEG 4000 ratios (1:1, 1:3, 1:5). For comparison, physical mixtures of repaglinide and PEG 4000 in the same ratios were also prepared. The formulations were characterized by Fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), x-ray diffractometry (XRD) and differential scanning colorimetry (DSC). Phase solubility study of pure repaglinide, physical mixture and solid dispersion was performed in distilled water. Dissolution studies were carried out in pH 7.4 phosphate buffer.Results: DSC and XRD results indicate that repaglinide exists in amorphous form in solid dispersion. FT-IR analysis demonstrated the presence of intermolecular hydrogen bonding between repaglinide and PEG 4000 in the solid dispersion. The solubility of pure repaglinide was enhanced from 22.5± 5.0 to 235.5± 5.0 μg/mL in distilled water at 37 0C. Rapid burst release (80 - 86 %) from the solid dispersion formulations was observed within 15 min.Conclusion: The solubility and dissolution rate of repaglinide are enhanced by formulating SDs of repaglinide with PEG 4000. This will likely lead to increase in bioavailability which would be beneficial for better glucose control in diabetic patients.Keywords: Diabetes, Solid dispersion, Repaglinide, Solubility, Dissolution, Burst releas

    Rapid detection of six Oceanobacillus species in Daqu starter using single-cell Raman spectroscopy combined with machine learning

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    Many traditional fermented foods and beverages industries around the world request the addition of multi-species starter cultures. However, the microbial community in starter cultures is subject to fluctuations due to their exposure to an open environment during fermentation. A rapid detection approach to identify the microbial composition of starter culture is essential to ensure the quality of the final products. Here, we applied single-cell Raman spectroscopy (SCRS) combined with machine learning to monitor Oceanobacillus species in Daqu starter, which plays crucial roles in the process of Chinese baijiu. First, a total of six Oceanobacillus species (O. caeni, O. kimchii, O. iheyensis, O. sojae, O. oncorhynchi subsp. Oncorhynchi and O. profundus) were detected in 44 Daqu samples by amplicon sequencing and isolated by pure culture. Then, we created a reference database of these Oceanobacillus strains which correlated their taxonomic data and single-cell Raman spectra (SCRS). Based on the SCRS dataset, five machine-learning algorithms were used to classify Oceanobacillus strains, among which support vector machine (SVM) showed the highest rate of accuracy. For validation of SVM-based model, we employed a synthetic microbial community composed of varying proportions of Oceanobacillus species and demonstrated a remarkable accuracy, with a mean error was less than 1% between the predicted result and the expected value. The relative abundance of six different Oceanobacillus species during Daqu fermentation was predicted within 60 min using this method, and the reliability of the method was proved by correlating the Raman spectrum with the amplicon sequencing profiles by partial least squares regression. Our study provides a rapid, non-destructive and label-free approach for rapid identification of Oceanobacillus species in Daqu starter culture, contributing to real-time monitoring of fermentation process and ensuring high-quality products

    Comparative investigation of CO2 and oxygen reduction on Fe/N/C catalysts

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    Fe/N/C catalysts have been investigated as promising non-noble metal catalysts for both CO2 reduction reaction (CO2RR) and oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). However, it is unclear whether both reactions hold the same active sites. In this study, the Fe/N/C catalysts were subjected to oxidation treatment in O2 at different temperatures to tune the reactivity. It was found that the oxidation treatment exhibits inverse effects on the CO2RR and ORR. The CO2RR activity was enhanced while ORR activity was suppressed after the oxidation treatment at temperatures from 80 to 240 °C. This result indicates that CO2RR and ORR occur at different active sites. Furthermore, it was evidenced that pyrrolic N increases significantly upon the oxidation treatment, similar to the variation tendency of the CO2RR activity, which suggests that pyrrolic N is highly relevant to the CO2RR on Fe/N/C catalysts

    Clonal status and clinicopathological observation of cervical minimal deviation adenocarcinoma

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    <p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Minimal deviation adenocarcinoma (MDA) of the uterine cervix is defined as an extremely well differentiated variant of cervical adenocarcinoma, with well-formed glands that resemble benign glands but show distinct nuclear anaplasia or evidence of stromal invasion. Thus, MDA is difficult to differentiate from other cervical hyperplastic lesions. Monoclonality is a major characteristic of most tumors, whereas normal tissue and reactive hyperplasia are polyclonal.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The clinicopathological features and clonality of MDA were investigated using laser microdissection and a clonality assay based on the polymorphism of androgen receptor (AR) and X-chromosomal inactivation mosaicism in female somatic tissues. </p> <p>Results</p> <p>The results demonstrated that the glands were positive for CEA, Ki-67, and p53 and negative for estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR), and high-risk human papilloma virus (HPV) DNA. The index of proliferation for Ki-67 was more than 50%. However, the stromal cells were positive for ER, PR, vimentin, and SM-actin. The clonal assay showed that MDA was monoclonal. Thus, our findings indicate that MDA is a true neoplasm but is not associated with high-risk HPV.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Diagnosis of MDA depends mainly on its clinical manifestations, the pathological feature that MDA glands are located deeper than the lower level of normal endocervical glands, and immunostaining.</p
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