Association between social support and mutual-support needs among the rural adults in China: a cross-sectional study

BackgroundIn rural China, there is now a huge gap between the supply and demand for old-age care. To close the gap, developing rural mutual old-age services is extremely important. The purpose of this study is to clarify the relationship among social support, mutual support need, and mutual support willingness.MethodsWe conducted an online questionnaire survey using a Chinese Internet research company; 2,102 valid responses were received. The measures comprised the Social Support Rating Scale, the Mutual Support Willingness Questionnaire, and the Mutual Support Needs Scale. We calculated Pearson correlations to explore the association of social support with mutual-support need and mutual-support-need willingness. Multivariate analyses were also conducted using these factors as dependent variables.ResultsThe total score for the mutual support need for the adults in rural areas was 58.0 ± 12.1 and 36.96 ± 6.40 for social support, approximately 86.8% of the participants were willing to participate in mutual support. Furthermore, mutual support needs were positively correlated with subjective support (p < 0.01) and support utilization (p < 0.01), but negatively correlated with willingness to support each other (p < 0.05). The need for mutual support was also associated with age, sex, education level, dissatisfaction with the current economic situation, health status, and so on.ConclusionIt is necessary for government and health care providers to assess the different needs of rural older people and encourage individuals and organizations to provide mutual support for older people, especially to enhance emotional care for older people and improve their use of support. This is of great significance for developing mutual support services in rural China

Vascular risk factors for idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus: a systematic review and meta-analysis

ObjectiveIdiopathic normal-pressure hydrocephalus (iNPH) is a treatable cause of dementia; however, its etiology and pathogenesis remain poorly understood. The objective of this study was to investigate the prevalence and impact of vascular risk factors in patients with iNPH compared to a control cohort to better understand the potential mechanisms and preventive measures.MethodsWe systematically searched PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, and the Cochrane Library (from inception to December 20, 2022) for studies reporting vascular risk factors for the development of iNPH. Pooled odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were estimated using random-effects models.ResultsAfter screening 1,462 articles, 11 case-control studies comprising 1,048 patients with iNPH and 79,668 cognitively unimpaired controls were included in the meta-analysis. Our data showed that hypertension (N = 991, OR = 2.30, 95% CI 1.64 to 3.23, I2= 64.0%), diabetes mellitus (DM) (N = 985, OR = 3.12, 95% CI 2.29 to 4.27, I2= 44.0%), coronary heart disease (CHD; N = 880, OR = 2.34, 95% CI 1.33 to 4.12, I2= 83.1%), and peripheral vascular disease (N = 172, OR = 2.77, 95% CI 1.50 to 5.13, I2= 0.0%) increased the risk for iNPH, while overweight was a possible factor (N = 225, OR = 2.01, 95% CI 1.34 to 3.04, I2= 0.0%) based on the sensitivity analysis. Smoking and alcohol consumption were not associated with iNPH.ConclusionsOur study suggested that hypertension, DM, CHD, peripheral vascular disease, and overweight were associated with iNPH. These factors might be involved in the pathophysiological mechanisms promoting iNPH. These findings require further investigation in future studies.Systematic review registrationhttps://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/, CRD42022383004

Experimental Study on the Influence of a Two-Dimensional Cosine Hill on Wind Turbine Wake

The accurate prediction of wind energy distribution on the terrain has been of great significance for wind farm selection. Therefore, this paper evaluated the influence of a two-dimensional hill with a relatively large slope (i.e., 0.83) on wind turbine wake. Firstly, the wakes on flat terrain and wind characteristics around a single hill were investigated by using a hot-wire anemometer. Subsequently, wake distributions combined with the hill were measured when the turbine was located 2D in front and on the hilltop. The results of the hill showed that a flow separation was formed within 6D of the leeward side (where D is the rotor diameter). The turbulence intensity increased initially and then decreased as height increased, leading to a high turbulence region 2.28 times the hill height, according to the experiment of a wind turbine combined with the hill. In conclusion, wake recovery was promoted on the windward side and 4D behind the hilltop. As the longitudinal coordinate increased, the intensity of the turbulence changed to a single peak, and the peak value was more than twice as high as on flat terrain. Based on this, it may be possible to optimize the design of wind turbines for better performance

Experimental Study on the Influence of a Two-Dimensional Cosine Hill on Wind Turbine Wake

The accurate prediction of wind energy distribution on the terrain has been of great significance for wind farm selection. Therefore, this paper evaluated the influence of a two-dimensional hill with a relatively large slope (i.e., 0.83) on wind turbine wake. Firstly, the wakes on flat terrain and wind characteristics around a single hill were investigated by using a hot-wire anemometer. Subsequently, wake distributions combined with the hill were measured when the turbine was located 2D in front and on the hilltop. The results of the hill showed that a flow separation was formed within 6D of the leeward side (where D is the rotor diameter). The turbulence intensity increased initially and then decreased as height increased, leading to a high turbulence region 2.28 times the hill height, according to the experiment of a wind turbine combined with the hill. In conclusion, wake recovery was promoted on the windward side and 4D behind the hilltop. As the longitudinal coordinate increased, the intensity of the turbulence changed to a single peak, and the peak value was more than twice as high as on flat terrain. Based on this, it may be possible to optimize the design of wind turbines for better performance

A Butterfly-Shaped Pyrene Derivative Of Cholesterol And Its Uses As A Fluorescent Probe

A butterfly-shaped pyrene derivative of cholesterol, namely, N,N′-(ethane-1,2-diyl)-bis(N-(2-(chol-amino)ethyl)pyrene-1-sulfonamide) (ECPS), has been designed and synthesized. Solvent effect studies revealed that in good solvents such as n-hexane, benzene, and 1,4-dioxane, the profile of the fluorescence emission of the compound is characterized by pyrene monomer emission, but in poor solvent such as water, the emission is dominated by pyrene excimer emission. Quantitatively speaking, the ratio of the excimer emission to monomer emission changes from 50 to 0 when ECPS is dissolved in water and n-hexane, respectively. In contrast, for a commonly used polarity probe pyrene, the ratio of I3/I1 varies only from ∼0.6 to ∼1.7, where I3 and I1 stand for the intensities of the fluorescence emission at peak 3 and peak 1, respectively. This value suggests that a more powerful discriminating ability of the new compound in polarity sensing. Furthermore, unlike the main components of the compound, pyrene and cholesterol, its main chain is composed of multiple hydrophilic structures, and it is this structure that makes the emission of the compound in organic solvents sensitive to the presence of water. Accordingly, the applicability of the compound in determination of the trace amount of water in some organic solvents was evaluated. As expected, the detection limit of the compound toward water in acetonitrile reaches 7 ppm, a result never reached before. Furthermore, the fluorescence emission of the compound is also sensitive to viscosity variation. Therefore, it is assumed that ECPS may be used both as a polarity probe and a viscosity probe. On the bases of a series of steady-state and time-resolved fluorescence, as well as dynamic light scattering studies, a structural model was proposed to rationalize the fluorescence behavior of the compound in different solvents and its polarity and viscosity probing performances. © 2013 American Chemical Society

The functions of CD4 T-helper lymphocytes in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) has been increasingly accounted for global morbidity and mortality worldwide. Although it is partially reversible, the obstructive ventilatory schema of COPD often causes chronic inflammation that primarily affects peripheral airways, pulmonary parenchyma, and the development of lung lymphoid follicles. Among various T-helper (Th) cell types associated with COPD, Th1, Th2 and Th17 cell numbers are increased in COPD patients, whereas Treg cell number is reduced. Here, we reviewed recent advance in understanding the roles of Th1/Th2 and Th17/Treg in the pathogenesis of COPD and discussed the potential underlying mechanism

Fourier Ptychographic Microscopy 10 Years on: A Review

Fourier ptychographic microscopy (FPM) emerged as a prominent imaging technique in 2013, attracting significant interest due to its remarkable features such as precise phase retrieval, expansive field of view (FOV), and superior resolution. Over the past decade, FPM has become an essential tool in microscopy, with applications in metrology, scientific research, biomedicine, and inspection. This achievement arises from its ability to effectively address the persistent challenge of achieving a trade-off between FOV and resolution in imaging systems. It has a wide range of applications, including label-free imaging, drug screening, and digital pathology. In this comprehensive review, we present a concise overview of the fundamental principles of FPM and compare it with similar imaging techniques. In addition, we present a study on achieving colorization of restored photographs and enhancing the speed of FPM. Subsequently, we showcase several FPM applications utilizing the previously described technologies, with a specific focus on digital pathology, drug screening, and three-dimensional imaging. We thoroughly examine the benefits and challenges associated with integrating deep learning and FPM. To summarize, we express our own viewpoints on the technological progress of FPM and explore prospective avenues for its future developments