The Effect of WeChat Usage on Upward Social Comparison in Undergraduates

To explore the status of undergraduates’ WeChat usage and upward social comparison, and analyze the relationship between the above two variables. Totally 754 WeChat undergraduates were selected through poster recruitment from 5 colleges in Guangdong Province. They were investigated with Access Frequency to Social Networking Site Scale (AFSNSS), Upward Social Comparison Subscale of Iowa-Nwtherlands Comparison Orientation Measure (INCOM-USCS). The score of overall emotional engagement(OEE) of AFSNSS and the total standard score of INCOM– USCS (TSSI-U) were (22.41±4.70) and (0±4.5), respectively. The correlation between WeChat frequency and TSSI-U was not significant. TSSI-U was significantly positively correlated with the score of OEE and other items of AFSNSS (r=0.161~0.413, P <0.01). Multiple linear regression analysis showed that The scores of item 1,7and 8 of AFSNSS, as well as family economic status, grade ranking of academic performance (GRAP) and the purpose of WeChat use were postively correlated with TSSI-U (β=.104~.234, P<.05). Class cadre or not and origin were negatively correlated with TSSI-U (β=-.089, -.130, P<.05). Conclusion: It suggests that WeChat usage may be a related factor for undergraduates’ upward social comparison

The Relationship between Flow Experience in Leisure and Life Satisfaction in Undergraduates

Objective: To understand the current situation of undergraduates' flow experience in leisure and life satisfaction, and to explore the relationship between the two. Methods: A stratified random sampling method was used to select 781 undergraduates (377 males and 410 females) from 7 colleges and universities in Guangdong Province. They were investigated using the Flow Experience in Leisure Questionnaire (FELQ) and the Youth Life Satisfaction Scale (YLSS). Results: The total scores of FELQ and YLSS of the students in this group are (161.73 ± 19.81) and (174.45 ± 26.50). FELQ's unity of knowledge and action, challenge and skill balance, concentration, grade ranking, family economic status are positively related to YLSS 'life satisfaction (β = .227, .115, .098, .158, .082, P < .05); "Like to sleep during leisure" is negatively correlated with life satisfaction of YLSS (β =-. 097, P <.05); FELQ's unity of knowledge and action, concentration, grade ranking and family economic status are positively related to YLSS's self-satisfaction (β = .286, .126, .194, .096, P <.01); "Like to sleep during leisure” is negatively correlated with YLSS ’s self-satisfaction (β =-. 091, P <.01); FELQ ’s unity of knowledge and action, challenge and skill balance, father’s occupation, “like self-study in leisure” are positively related to YLSS ’environmental satisfaction (β = .198, .131, .075, .073, P <.05); "Like to sleep during leisure", gender and YLSS environment satisfaction negatively correlated (β =-. 094, -.091, P <.01). Conclusion: Flow experience in leisure, types of leisure activities, gender, grade ranking and family factors (family economic status and father's occupation) may be related factors for the development of college students' life satisfaction

Subjective Well-Being among Empty-Nest Elderly and Its Related Factors：Taking Guangdong Province as an Example

Objective: To explore the the status of happiness and social support of empty nesters in Guangdong Province and analyze the relationship between the above two variables.Method: Totally 1148 empty nesters (776 males, 734 females) from 5 cities in Guangdong province are selected by stratified random sampling and conducted with Memorial University of Newfoundland Scale of Happiness (MUNSH), Social Support Rating Scale (SSRS), Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) and a self-edited questionnaire on the general information.Results: The total score of MUNSH is (10.20±6.37). The total score and the scores of the 3 dimensions of objective support, subject support, the use of support in SSRS are (30.79±5.51), (9.24±2.37), (19.38±4.95) and (9.22±2.15) respectively. Multiple variable linear regression show that are positively associated with the total scores of MUNSH (B= .227, .115, .098, .158, .082, respectively, P< .05). was negatively associated with total score of MUNSH (B=-.097, P< .05).Conclusion: It suggests that the sort of leisure, gender, progress rank, family characteristics, such as family economic condition and father’s career may be related factors of undergraduates life satisfaction

Changes in intestinal flora of coal workers' pneumoconiosis patients after tetrandrine intervention

BackgroundPneumoconiosis is a widespread occupational disease in China at present. As a type of lung diseases, its pathological damage is mainly irreversible fibrotic changes in the lungs. Several studies have shown that the occurrence and development of lung diseases such as coal workers' pneumoconiosis are closely related to intestinal flora. ObjectiveTo observe intestinal flora of coal workers' pneumoconiosis patients based on the results of 16SrDNA high-throughput sequencing and evaluate the changes of intestinal flora after treatment with tetrandrine tablets. MethodsA total of 80 patients with coal workers' pneumoconiosis attending the outpatient clinic of the Department of Occupational Diseases of the Emergency General Hospital from April to July 2022 were enrolled. All patients were treated with tetrandrine tablets for 4 weeks, with group A before the treatment of tetrandrine tablets and group B after the treatment. In the same period, 24 healthy controls (group C) were set up. Stool samples were collected before and after the treatment. Using 16SrDNA high-throughput sequencing, gene V3-V4 sequencing technology, and bioinformatic analysis platform, we evaluated the intestinal flora after treatment by groups. ResultsThe dominant flora at the phylum level and genus level were the same across three groups. The relative abundances of phylum Bacteroidetes, Bifidobacterium, Bacteroides, and Facealibacterium in groups B and C were higher than those in group A, and the relative abundances of phy-lum Actinobacteria, genus Blautia, and genus Romboutsia in groups B and C were lower than those in group A (P＜0.05). The relative abundances of genus Clostridium, genus Megamonas, and genus Lactobacillus in group C was lower than that in groups A and B (P＜0.05). The alpha diversity analysis showed that the Chao1 index was higher in group A than in group C (P＜0.01). Compared with group A, the Shannon index was higher in group B, and the increases of Simpson index were all statistically significant in stage I patients (P＜0.05), but the differences in Chao1 index were not statistically significant (P＞0.05). The differences in the values of Chao1 index, Shannon index, and Simpson index in stage Ⅱ and stage III patients were not statistically significant (P＞0.05). The beta diversity analysis showed that the difference in flora structure between group A and group C was statistically significant (P＜0.05); the differences in flora structure before and after treatment in the same stage patients were statistically significant (P＜0.05). The partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) showed that there were significant differences between group A and group C, and between group A and group B. The LEfSe analysis showed that the significant markers contributing to the differences were basically the same in stage I, stage Ⅱ, and stage Ⅲ after treatment, which were mainly phylum Bacteroidetes and its subordinate groups, class Negativicutes, or-der Selenomonas, and genus Facealibacterium. ConclusionThere are differences in the distribution of flora between coal workers' pneumoconiosis patients and healthy individuals, and the structure and relative abundance of intestinal flora are changed and the number of beneficial flora is increased after treatment with tetrandrine tablets

Development and validation of diagnostic and activity-assessing models for relapsing polychondritis based on laboratory parameters

BackgroundRelapsing polychondritis (RP) as a rare autoimmune disease is characterized by recurrent inflammation of the organs containing cartilage. Currently, no biomarkers have been integrated into clinical practice. This study aimed to construct and evaluate models based on laboratory parameters to aid in RP diagnosis, assess activity assessment, and explore associations with the pathological process.MethodsRP patients and healthy controls (HCs) were recruited at the Peking Union Medical College Hospital from July 2017 to July 2023. Clinical data including Relapsing Polychondritis Disease Activity Index (RPDAI) score and laboratory tests were collected. Differences in laboratory data between RP patients and HCs and active and inactive patients were analyzed.ResultsThe discovery cohort (cohort 1) consisted of 78 RP patients and 94 HCs. A model based on monocyte counts and neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (NLR) could effectively distinguish RP patients from HCs with an AUC of 0.845. Active RP patients exhibited increased erythrocyte sedimentation rate, complement 3, platelet to lymphocyte ratio (PLR), NLR, and C-reactive protein to albumin ratio (CAR) compared with stable patients, which were also positively correlated with RPDAI. Notably, CAR emerged as an independent risk factor of disease activity (OR = 4.422) and could identify active patients with an AUC of 0.758. To confirm the reliability and stability of the aforementioned models, a replication cohort (cohort 2) was enrolled, including 79 RP patients and 94 HCs. The monocyte-combined NLR and CAR showed a sensitivity of 0.886 and 0.577 and a specificity of 0.830 and 0.833 in RP diagnosis and activity prediction, respectively. Furthermore, lower natural killer cell levels in RP patients and higher B-cell levels in active patients may contribute to elucidating the pathological mechanisms of disease occurrence and exacerbation.ConclusionsThe utilization of laboratory parameters provides cost-effective and valuable markers that can assist in RP diagnosis, identify disease activity, and elucidate pathogenic mechanisms

Differential metabolites of bronchoalveolar lavage fluid from coal worker's pneumoconiosis patients

Background It is a research hotspot to study the changes of metabolites and metabolic pathways in the process of coal worker's pneumoconiosis (CWP) by metabonomics and to explore its pathogenesis. ObjectiveTo study the change of metabolites in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) of patients with CWP and explore the metabolic regulation mechanism of the disease. MethodsPatients with CWP who met the national diagnostic criteria according to Diagnosis of occupational pneumoconiosis (GBZ 70-2015) and underwent massive whole lung lavage were selected as the case group, and patients with tracheostenosis who underwent bronchoscopy were selected as the control group. BALF samples were collected from the cases and the controls. After filtering out large particles and mucus, the supernatant was stored in a −80 ℃ refrigerator. The samples were detected and analyzed by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry after adding extraction solution, cold bath ultrasonication, and high-speed centrifugation, and the metabolic profiles and related data of CWP patients were obtained. The differential metabolites related to the occurrence and development of CWP were screened by multiple statistical analysis; furthermore, we searched the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) database for potential metabolic pathways involved in the progression. ResultsThere was no significant difference in the general conditions of the subjects, such as weight, height, age, and length of service among the stage I group, the stage II group, the stage III group, and the control group (P˃0.05). When comparing the CWP stage I group with the control group, 48 differential metabolites were screened out, among which 14 were up-regulated and 34 were down-regulated. A total of 66 differential metabolites were screened out between the patients with CWP stage II and the controls, 14 up-regulated and 52 down-regulated differential metabolites. Compared with the control group, 63 differential metabolites were screened out in the patients with CWP stage III, including 11 up-regulated and 52 down-regulated differential metabolites. There were 36 differential metabolites that may be related to the occurrence of CWP, among which 11 differential metabolites were up-regulated, and 25 were down-regulated. Four significant differential metabolic pathways were identified through KEGG database query: linoleic acid metabolic pathway, alanine metabolic pathway, sphingolipid metabolic pathway, and glycerophospholipid metabolic pathway. ConclusionThe metabolomic study of BALF show that there are 36 different metabolites in the occurrence and development of CWP, mainly associating with linoleic acid metabolism, alanine metabolism, sphingolipid metabolism, and glycerophospholipid metabolism pathways

In search of novel immune-modulatory compounds from British Columbia wild mushrooms and their effectiveness in inflammatory micro-circulation of mice

Natural products have been an integral component of people's health and health outcomes for thousands of years. In particular, several mushroom species have demonstrated beneficial therapeutic potential. The goals of this research are to explore the immune-stimulatory and anti-inflammatory potential of wild mushrooms native to the North Central region of British Columbia. Out of 42 mushroom extracts examined, four exhibited strong immune-stimulatory activity as assessed by induction of tumor-necrosis factor alpha (TNF-a) production in macrophage cells. Out of thirty-three extracts tests, nineteen demonstrated potent anti-inflammatory activity as determined by inhibition of lipopolysaccharide-induced TNF-a production in macrophage cells. Sodium hydroxide extract of Echinodontium trinctorium exhibited potent anti-inflammatory activity and was selected for further study. A small molecular weight (~5-25 kDa) carbohydrate was successfully purified using sequential size-exclusion and ion-exchange chromatography. GC-MS analysis showed that the polysaccharide has glucose (89.7%) as the major back-bone monosaccharide, and also the presence of other monosaccharides such as mannose (3.1%), galactose (2.8%), fucose (2.4%), and xylose (2.0%). The study also revealed the presence of 1,3-linked glucose linkages. Both the semi-purified anti-inflammatory compound(s) from E. tinctorium and the methanol extract of Inonotus obliquus can ameliorate histamine-induced vasodilation in the 2A arterioles (gluteus maximus muscle) in mice. This is the first study to demonstrate the anti-inflammatory activity of purified compounds and extracts from mushroom in an animal microcirculation model using intravital microscopy

Effects of Thioglycolic Acid on Parthenogenetic Activation of Xenopus Oocytes

BACKGROUND: Existing in Permanent-wave solutions (PWS), thioglycolic acid (TGA) is widely used in hairdressing industry for its contribution to hair styling. However, the toxicity of TGA, especially its reproductive toxicity, gradually calls the attention of more and more researchers. METHOD: In this work, xenopus oocytes were pretreated with different concentration of TGA, and then activated by calcium ionophore A23187. During culture, the oocytes activation rates were taken note at different time after adding calcium ionophore A23187. At the end of the culture period, the nuclear status was detected under confocal microscope. In addition, some other samples were collected for Western-Blotting analysis. RESULT: TGA significantly inhibited the oocytes activation rate and pronuclear formation. It may be resulted from the inhibition of the degradation of p-ERK1, Mos and CyclinB2. CONCLUSION: TGA inhibits in vitro parthenogenetic activation of xenopus oocytes with inhibited the degradation of proteins involved in mitogenic-activated protein kinase (MAPK) and maturation-promoting factor (MPF) pathways

Assessing Reproducibility of Inherited Variants Detected With Short-Read Whole Genome Sequencing

Background: Reproducible detection of inherited variants with whole genome sequencing (WGS) is vital for the implementation of precision medicine and is a complicated process in which each step affects variant call quality. Systematically assessing reproducibility of inherited variants with WGS and impact of each step in the process is needed for understanding and improving quality of inherited variants from WGS. Results: To dissect the impact of factors involved in detection of inherited variants with WGS, we sequence triplicates of eight DNA samples representing two populations on three short-read sequencing platforms using three library kits in six labs and call variants with 56 combinations of aligners and callers. We find that bioinformatics pipelines (callers and aligners) have a larger impact on variant reproducibility than WGS platform or library preparation. Single-nucleotide variants (SNVs), particularly outside difficult-to-map regions, are more reproducible than small insertions and deletions (indels), which are least reproducible when \u3e 5 bp. Increasing sequencing coverage improves indel reproducibility but has limited impact on SNVs above 30×. Conclusions: Our findings highlight sources of variability in variant detection and the need for improvement of bioinformatics pipelines in the era of precision medicine with WGS