The Mechanism of Theory-based HIV Behavioral Intervention on Condom Use among Rural-to-urban Migrants in China: The Mediating Roles of HIV Knowledge and Condom Use Self-efficacy

Previous studies have suggested HIV knowledge and self-efficacy are important cognitive factors that might influence condom use behaviors. However, data were limited regarding their mediating effects on condom use during behavioral interventions. This study examined the mechanistic roles of these two factors on the effect of a community-based intervention aiming to increase condom use behaviors and intention among young rural-to-urban migrants in China. Data were derived from a community-based HIV behavioral intervention trial among 639 young sexually active rural-to-urban migrants in Beijing, China. Path analyses were used to examine the direct and indirect effects of the intervention program on condom use behaviors and intention over a 12-month follow-up. HIV knowledge and condom use self-efficacy at 6-month follow-up served as mediators in models. Path analyses revealed that intervention program increased condom use behaviors at 12 months through the increase of HIV knowledge at 6 months. Likewise, the intervention program increased condom use intention through the increases of HIV knowledge and condom use self-efficacy. The results suggested HIV knowledge played an important mediating role on the effect of the intervention program on condom use behaviors and intention. Additionally, condom use self-efficacy played an important role in increasing condom use intention. To increase condom use behaviors and intention among migrants, future studies are warranted that focus on improving HIV knowledge and helping migrants overcome cognitive barriers of condom use. Other efforts targeting structural and environmental barriers, such as limited healthcare access due to household registration status, are also needed to increase HIV protective behaviors

Compromiso con el trabajo y rendimiento en el trabajo: el papel moderador del apoyo organizacional percibido.

The present research was aim to examine whether the relationship between work engagement and objective task performance is moderated by perceived organizational support (POS). Based on the existing literature, perceived organizational support is hypothesized to strengthen the positive association between employees’ work engagement and their objective task performance. The hypotheses were tested on a sample of 1049 employees. Results of hierarchical regression analysis show that: (1) work engagement is positively related to objective task performance, and (2) the relationship between work engagement and objective task performance is moderated by POS, such that the positive relationship is more significant when POS higher than lower. In the end, theoretical and practical implications, and suggestions for future research are discussed.La presente investigación tuvo el objetivo de examinar si la relación entre compromiso con el trabajo y el rendimiento en los objetivos de las tareas está moderada por el apoyo perceptivo de la organización (APO). En base a la literatura existente, el apoyo percibido de la organización se hipotetiza que fortalece la asociación positiva entre el compromiso laboral de los empleados y su rendimiento en los objetivos de las tareas. Las hipótesis fueron comprobadas en una muestra de 1049 empleados. Los resultados del análisis de regresión jerárquico muestran que: (1) el compromiso en el trabajo está positivamente relacionado con el rendimiento en los objetivos de las tareas, y (2) la relación entre compromiso en el trabajo y el rendimiento en los objetivos de las tareas está moderado por el APO, de modo que la relación positiva es más significativa cuando el APO es mayor. Al final se discuten las implicaciones teóricas y prácticas, y las sugerencias para futuras investigaciones

Depression and Sexual Risk Behaviors among Rural-to-urban Migrants in China: The Moderating Roles of Acculturation and Social Capital

Previous studies have documented that depression is positively associated with sexual risk behaviors (SRB) among rural-to-urban migrants. Existing literature has also suggested that acculturation and social capital might moderate this positive relationship. However, data regarding the moderating effects of acculturation and social capital have been inconsistent. The current study aims to examine the relationship between depression and SRB, as well as the moderating roles of acculturation and social capital in this relationship. A sample of 641 young rural-to-urban migrants was recruited through a venue-based sampling approach in Beijing, China. Results indicated that depression was positively associated with SRB. Both acculturation and social capital moderated this relationship, but they showed different moderating effects. Specifically, the level of acculturation was protective against SRB among migrants with a higher level of depression but not among migrants with a lower level of depression. Social capital played a protective role among migrants with a lower level of depression but became a risk factor for those with a higher level of depression. These findings suggested that targeted interventions aiming to reduce depression, improve acculturation stress management skills, and utilize social capital are needed to reduce SRB among rural-to-urban migrants

Exclude Me If You Can – Cultural Effects on the Outcomes of Social Exclusion

We examined how individualistic versus collectivistic cultural backgrounds affected the psychological experience of social exclusion. We found that Turkish, Chinese, and Indian participants (collectivistic background) differed in their experience of social exclusion from German participants (individualistic background): German participants experienced lower fulfillment of psychological needs in response to social exclusion, whereas Turkish, Chinese, and Indian participants were affected to a lesser extent (Turkey, India, Hong Kong) or not at all (mainland China) by social exclusion manipulations. Testing two different explanatory mechanisms in Study 3, we found that the difference in dealing with social exclusion was not associated with activating social representations in participants with collectivistic background but with exclusion being associated with more threat in participants with individualistic background. In Study 4, cultural differences emerged also on the physiological level: German participants’ heart rates were increased when excluded, whereas Chinese participants showed no change in heart rate during exclusion. The results are discussed regarding their implications for the role of self-construal and culture when dealing with the threat of social exclusion

Reconstruction of tokamak plasma safety factor profile using deep learning

In tokamak operations, accurate equilibrium reconstruction is essential for reliable real-time control and realistic post-shot instability analysis. The safety factor (q) profile defines the magnetic field line pitch angle, which is the central element in equilibrium reconstruction. The motional Stark effect (MSE) diagnostic has been a standard measurement for the magnetic field line pitch angle in tokamaks that are equipped with neutral beams. However, the MSE data are not always available due to experimental constraints, especially in future devices without neutral beams. Here we develop a deep learning-based surrogate model of the gyrokinetic toroidal code for q profile reconstruction (SGTC-QR) that can reconstruct the q profile with the measurements without MSE to mimic the traditional equilibrium reconstruction with the MSE constraint. The model demonstrates promising performance, and the sub-millisecond inference time is compatible with the real-time plasma control system

What Really Matters for Loneliness Among Left-Behind Children in Rural China: A Meta-Analytic Review

In rural China, left-behind children are likely to suffer chronic loneliness. Research has identified a variety of factors that may be associated with loneliness among these children. A meta-analysis is needed to address the empirical inconsistencies and examine the strength of relations between different factors and loneliness. The current meta-analysis included 51 studies on predictors of loneliness published from 2008 to 2017. Results showed that one individual factor (social anxiety) is a key risk factor for loneliness, whereas eight individual (older age, self-esteem, resilience, extroversion) and contextual factors (family functioning, parent–child relationship, peer relationship, social support) serve as protective factors in predicting loneliness. In addition, boys were more likely to feel lonely than girls. Findings and implications of this study were discussed

Diagnostic workup of endocrine dysfunction in recurrent pregnancy loss: a cross-sectional study in Northeast China

ObjectiveTo evaluate the prevalence of abnormal endocrine dysfunction for recurrent pregnancy loss (RPL) amongst patients with two versus three or more pregnancy losses.MethodsThis cross-sectional study retrospectively collected pre-pregnancy data of 537 women diagnosed with RPL in Shengjing Hospital of China Medical University from 2017 to 2022, including the baseline data of patients and the test results of endocrine factors. Several endocrine dysfunction included in this study were: thyroid dysfunction, obesity, hyperprolactinemia, polycystic ovary syndrome and blood glucose abnormality. Furthermore, vitamin D level were collected to study its relationship with endocrine dysfunction. Finally, we subdivided the patients according to the number of previous pregnancy loss and compared the prevalence of endocrine dysfunction between subgroups.ResultsAmong 537 RPL patients, 278 (51.8%) patients had abnormal endocrine test results. The highest incidence of endocrine dysfunction was thyroid dysfunction (24.39%, 131/537), followed by hyperprolactinemia (17.34%, 85/490), obesity (10.8%, 58/537), polycystic ovary syndrome (10.50%, 56/533), and abnormal blood glucose (5.29%, 27/510). Only 2.47%(13/527) of patients have vitamin D level that reach the standard. After subdividing the population according to the number of pregnancy loss, we did not find that the incidence of endocrine dysfunction (P=0.813), thyroid dysfunction (P=0.905), hyperprolactinemia (P=0.265), polycystic ovary syndrome (P=0.638), blood glucose abnormality (P=0.616) and vitamin D deficiency (P=0.908) were different among patients with two versus three or more pregnancy losses. However, obesity (P=0.003) was found more frequently observed in patients with more times of pregnancy loss.ConclusionThe prevalence of endocrine dysfunction in RPL population is high. There is no difference in the prevalence of endocrine dysfunction, except for obesity, among patients with two or more pregnancy losses, which may suggest investigations of endocrine dysfunction when patients have two pregnancy losses

DSSM : a deep neural network with spectrum separable module for multi-spectral remote sensing image segmentation

Over the past few years, deep learning algorithms have held immense promise for better multi-spectral (MS) optical remote sensing image (RSI) analysis. Most of the proposed models, based on convolutional neural network (CNN) and fully convolutional network (FCN), have been applied successfully on computer vision images (CVIs). However, there is still a lack of exploration of spectra correlation in MS RSIs. In this study, a deep neural network with a spectrum separable module (DSSM) is proposed for semantic segmentation, which enables the utilization of MS characteristics of RSIs. The experimental results obtained on Zurich and Potsdam datasets prove that the spectrum-separable module (SSM) extracts more informative spectral features, and the proposed approach improves the segmentation accuracy without increasing GPU consumption

A novel type 2 diabetes risk allele increases the promoter activity of the muscle-specific small ankyrin 1 gene

Genome-wide association studies have identified Ankyrin-1 (ANK1) as a common type 2 diabetes (T2D) susceptibility locus. However, the underlying causal variants and functional mechanisms remain unknown. We screened for 8 tag single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in ANK1 between 2 case-control studies. Genotype analysis revealed significant associations of 3 SNPs, rs508419 (first identified here), rs515071, and rs516946 with T2D (P 0.80); subsequent analysis indicated that the CCC haplotype associated with increased T2D susceptibility (OR 1.447, P < 0.001). Further mapping showed that rs508419 resides in the muscle-specific ANK1 gene promoter. Allele-specific mRNA and protein level measurements confirmed association of the C allele with increased small ANK1 (sAnk1) expression in human skeletal muscle (P = 0.018 and P < 0.001, respectively). Luciferase assays showed increased rs508419-C allele transcriptional activity in murine skeletal muscle C2C12 myoblasts, and electrophoretic mobility-shift assays demonstrated altered rs508419 DNA-protein complex formation. Glucose uptake was decreased with excess sAnk1 expression upon insulin stimulation. Thus, the ANK1 rs508419-C T2D-risk allele alters DNA-protein complex binding leading to increased promoter activity and sAnk1 expression; thus, increased sAnk1 expression in skeletal muscle might contribute to T2D susceptibility

A novel internal fixation technique for the treatment of olecranon avulsion fracture

ObjectiveTension band wiring and proximal ulnar plate fixation are commonly used fixation methods for olecranon fractures. However, they may not be suitable for repairing proximal olecranon avulsion fractures. In this study, we present a novel fixation technique for the treatment of proximal avulsion fractures, which is a T-shaped plate combined with a wire.Materials and methodsBetween March 2016 and May 2020, surgery was performed on 16 patients with proximal olecranon avulsion fractures by using a T-shaped plate combined with a wire fixation at our hospital. The parameters followed were fracture healing time, elbow range of motion (ROM), related functional scores (the Mayo score and the DASH score), and complications related to internal fixation.ResultsThe average follow-up period was 17 (14–21) months and fractures had healed in all patients included in the study, with an average fracture union of 9.25 (8–12) weeks. No patient reported fixation failure, serious infection, or revision surgery. The average ROM of the elbow joint was 123° (120–135°). The Mayo score was excellent in 11 patients and good in 5. The average DASH score was 17.75 (12–24).ConclusionOlecranon avulsion fractures were fixed with a T-shaped steel plate combined with a steel wire, which can be used for early functional exercise and for achieving good final functional results. This method can provide stable fixation, especially in elderly patients with osteoporosis