Association between Non-Suicidal Self-Injuries and Suicide Attempts in Chinese Adolescents and College Students: A Cross-Section Study

This study examined the association between non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) and suicide attempts among Chinese adolescents and college students.A total sample of 2013 Chinese students were randomly selected from five schools in Wuhan, China, including 1101 boys and 912 girls with the age ranging between 10 and 24 years. NSSI, suicidal ideation, suicide attempts and depressive symptoms were measured by self-rated questionnaires. Self-reported suicide attempts were regressed on suicidal ideation and NSSI, controlling for participants' depressive symptoms, and demographic characteristics.The self-reported prevalence rates of NSSI, suicidal ideation, suicide attempts were 15.5%, 8.8%, and 3.5%, respectively. Logistic regression analyses indicated that NSSI was significantly associated with self-reported suicide attempts. Analyses examining the conditional association of NSSI and suicidal ideation with self-reported suicide attempts revealed that NSSI was significantly associated with greater risk of suicide attempts in those not reporting suicidal ideation than those reporting suicidal ideation in the past year.These findings highlight the importance of NSSI as a potentially independent risk factor for suicide attempts among Chinese/Han adolescents and college students

Association between actual weight status, perceived weight and depressive, anxious symptoms in Chinese adolescents: a cross-sectional study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Backgroud</p> <p>The purpose of this study was to describe actual measured weight and perceived weight and to explore associations with depressive, anxiety symptoms in school adolescents in China.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A sample of 1144 Chinese adolescents was randomly selected from four schools in Wuhan, China, including 665 boys and 479 girls with ages ranging between 10 and 17 years. Actual measured weight and height and perceived weight status were compared to anxiety and depressive symptoms measured using the revised Self-Rating Anxiety Scale and Children's Depression Inventory. A general linear model was used to compare differences in psychological symptoms among the teenagers with different measured and perceived weights.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>When compared with standardized weight tables (WHO age- and gender-specific body mass index (BMI) cutoffs (2007 reference)), girls were more likely to misperceive themselves as overweight, whereas more boys misclassified their weight status as underweight. The adolescents who perceived themselves as overweight were more likely to experience depressive and anxiety symptoms (except girls) than those who perceived themselves as normal and/or underweight. However, no significant association was found between depressive and anxiety symptoms actual measured weight status.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Perceived weight status, but not the actual weight status, was associated with psychological symptoms.</p

Surface Plasmon Resonance Detection of Transgenic Cry1Ac Cotton (Gossypium spp.)

The detection and identification of genetically modified (GM) plants are challenging issues that have arisen from the potential negative impacts of extensive cultivation of transgenic plants. The screening process is a long-term focus and needs specific detection strategies. Surface plasmon resonance (SPR) has been used to detect a variety of biomolecules including proteins and nucleic acids due to its ability to monitor specific intermolecular interactions. In the present study, two high-throughput, label-free, and specific methods based on SPR technology were developed to detect transgenic CrylAc cotton (Gossypium spp.) by separately targeting protein and DNA. In the protein-based detection system, monoclonal anti-Cry1Ac antibodies were immobilized on the surface of a CMS sensor chip. Conventional cotton samples were used to define the detection threshold. Transgenic cotton was easily identified within 5 min per sample. For the DNA-based model, a 25-mer biotinylated oligonucleotide probe was immobilized on an SA sensor chip. PCR products of CrylAc (230 bp) were used to investigate the reaction conditions. The sensitivity of the constructed sensor chip was identified at concentrations as low as 0.1 nM based on its complementary base pairing

Emotional and Behavioral Changes in Older Adults With High Risk of Cognitive Impairment During the COVID-19 Pandemic

COVID-19 is not only a threat to physical health but also a stressor to mental health, particularly for older adults. Previous studies have indicated that healthy older adults have resilience to cope with such stressful event through emotional and behavioral effort. However, very few have investigated the coping ability of older adults with High Risk of Cognitive Impairment (HRCI), as they are characterized with risk factors that can make them more vulnerable to COVID-19 in both physical and mental aspects. To examine whether older adults with HRCI were able to cope with and recover from the outbreak of COVID-19, we investigated the changes of their self-reported emotional states and intentions of taking protective behaviors between the outbreak period (data collected from February 17th to 24th, 2020) and the remission period (data collected from April 7th to 20th, 2020). The results showed that compared with the outbreak period, older adults with HRCI showed better emotional states and higher levels of intention to take more protective behaviors during the remission period. Subgroup analysis showed that even those who showed relatively poor coping abilities during the outbreak period could gradually improve their emotional states and intend to take more protective behaviors later on in the remission period. Therefore, these results suggested that older adults with HRCI were able to cope with and recover from the pandemic outbreak. &nbsp;</p

Effects of transcranial direct current stimulation on episodic memory in older adults: A meta-analysis

Objectives: In the last two decades, the number of intervention studies using transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) has grown enormously. Though some studies have shown positive influences on episodic memory among older adults, disagreement exists in the literature. Therefore, the current meta-analysis aimed to provide a quantitative assessment of the efficacy of tDCS in modulating episodic memory functions in older adults. Method: Eligible studies were sham-controlled trials examining the effects of anodal tDCS on episodic memory in older adults. Twenty-four articles comprising 566 participants aged over 60 qualified for inclusion. Results: Compared to the sham tDCS group, the active tDCS group showed significant memory improvements at both immediate poststimulation (Hedges&rsquo; g = 0.625, p = .001) and long-term follow-up (Hedges&rsquo; g = 0.404, p = .002). There were no differences in effect sizes between cognitively healthy and impaired older adults. Moderator analyses suggested that tDCS having a duration of 20 min or less, bilateral stimulation, or a larger stimulation area would produce greater benefits for episodic memory performance in older adults. Discussion: These findings suggest that tDCS holds great promise to ameliorate memory decline in older individuals. In the future, well-designed randomized controlled trials are expected to verify the optimal stimulation protocols and determine the factors impacting the long-term effects of tDCS in enhancing episodic memory. &nbsp;</p

Serotype distribution and antimicrobial resistance of Streptococcus pneumoniae isolates causing invasive diseases from Shenzhen Children's Hospital.

OBJECTIVE: To provide guidance for clinical disease prevention and treatment, this study examined the epidemiology, antibiotic susceptibility, and serotype distribution of Streptococcus pneumoniae (S. pneumoniae) associated with invasive pneumococcal diseases (IPDs) among children less than 14 years of age in Shenzhen, China. MATERIALS AND METHODS: All the clinical strains were isolated from children less than 14 years old from January 2009 to August 2012. The serotypes and antibiotic resistance of strains of S. pneumoniae were determined using the capsular swelling method and the E-test. RESULTS: A total of 89 strains were isolated and 87 isolates were included. The five prevailing serotypes were 19F (28.7%), 14 (16.1%), 23F (11.5%), 19A (9.2%) and 6B (6.9%). The most common sequence types (ST) were ST271 (21.8%), ST876 (18.4%), ST320 (8.0%) and ST81 (6.9%) which were mainly related to 19F, 14, 19A and 23F, respectively. The potential coverage by 7-, 10-, and 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine were 77.0%, 77.0%, and 89.7%, respectively. Among the 87 isolates investigated, 11.5% were resistant to penicillin, and for meningitis isolates, the resistance rate was 100%. Multi-drug resistance (MDR) was exhibited by 49 (56.3%) isolates. Eighty-four isolates were resistance to erythromycin, among which, 56 (66.7%) carried the ermB gene alone and 28 (33.3%) expressed both the ermB and mefA/E genes. CONCLUSIONS: The potential coverage of PCV13 is higher than PCV7 and PCV10 because high rates of serotypes 19A and 6A in Shenzhen. The clinical treatment of IPD needs a higher drug concentration of antibiotics. Continued surveillance of the antimicrobial susceptibility and serotypes distribution of IPD isolates may be necessary

Effects of Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation on Episodic Memory in Older Adults: A Meta-analysis

Objectives: In the last two decades, the number of intervention studies using transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) has grown enormously. Though some studies have shown positive influences on episodic memory among older adults, disagreement exists in the literature. Therefore, the current meta-analysis aimed to provide a quantitative assessment of the efficacy of tDCS in modulating episodic memory functions in older adults. Method: Eligible studies were sham-controlled trials examining the effects of anodal tDCS on episodic memory in older adults. Twenty-four articles comprising 566 participants aged over 60 qualified for inclusion. Results: Compared to the sham tDCS group, the active tDCS group showed significant memory improvements at both immediate poststimulation (Hedges' g = 0.625, p = .001) and long-term follow-up (Hedges' g = 0.404, p = .002). There were no differences in effect sizes between cognitively healthy and impaired older adults. Moderator analyses suggested that tDCS having a duration of 20 min or less, bilateral stimulation, or a larger stimulation area would produce greater benefits for episodic memory performance in older adults. Discussion: These findings suggest that tDCS holds great promise to ameliorate memory decline in older individuals. In the future, well-designed randomized controlled trials are expected to verify the optimal stimulation protocols and determine the factors impacting the long-term effects of tDCS in enhancing episodic memory

Spatiotemporal patterns and prediction of landscape ecological security in Xishuangbanna from 1996-2030.

In recent years, the landscape ecological security of Xishuangbanna in southwest China has become an essential factor affecting the cross-border ecological security in South Asia and Southeast Asia. Based on the change of land use in Xishuangbanna, with the help of "3S" technology, landscape ecology theory, and gray prediction model, the spatial and developmental trends of landscape ecological security in Xishuangbanna from 1996-2030 could be determined. In more than 20 years, the woodland landscape area in Xishuangbanna decreased, and the fragmentation of construction land has increased overall. In 1996, the overall landscape ecological safety was good, with 63.5% of the total area of grade I and II. In 2003, the proportion of the grade I and grade II areas decreased, with landscape ecological security problems appearing. In 2010, the overall landscape ecological security area reached 74.5%, the largest proportion in more than 20 years. The grade V area accounted for only 9% and was mainly distributed on the border of Menghai County and central Jinghong City. In 2017, The grade IV and V areas was further increased, and the ecological security problem intensified. The prediction results showed that from 2023 to 2030, the regions of grades I and II increased, but the proportion of level V regions increased. Furthermore, the grade IV transformed to grade V rapidly, reaching its highest value in more than 20 years. From 1996 to 2030, the landscape ecological security space significantly evolved, showing an evident "east-south" trend in movement and eventually shifting to the southeast