Visual (Mis)Representations on Sports and Weight Loss : A Multimodal Critical Discourse Study of Images in Official Health Posts on WeChat in China

In response to physical inactivity and rising levels of obesity among the population, the Chinese government has used social media, such as WeChat, to engage and encourage the public to do sports in order to lose weight and maintain health. Images in official social media posts on sports and weight loss constitute an important, but currently underexplored site. Using multimodal critical discourse analysis (MCDA), this paper examines the images in the posts in “健康中国 (Healthy China),” the official WeChat account of the National Health Commission of the People’s Republic of China, on sports and weight loss. It is found that the images employ medical-style discursive features to establish authority on sport. Neoliberal themes of individual responsibility and competition also emerge, framing sports as self-improvement and a personal obligation. Moreover, female figures dominate, and often are depicted in alignment with societal thinness ideals, reinforcing gendered body norms and anxiety. We suggest that the discourses in the official media may lead to certain misrepresentations, obscuring structural barriers to sports, and perpetuating sports anxiety and weight biases in the society, especially among women

Toxicities comparison of rotenone and acetone extract of Tephrosiavogelii and Derris trifoliate against Solenopsis invicta

The high rotenone content and the rotenone crude extract of Tephrosia vogelii and Derris trifoliata were evaluated for its efficacy in the control of red imported fire (RIFA), Solenopsis invicta under both laboratory and field conditions. The acetone extracts of D. trifoliata roots and T. vogelii leaves exhibited strong toxicity to macroergate and micrergate of RIFA. When active ingredients of the crude extracts were convert to rotenone, the activity of the acetone extracts were higher than that of rotenone technical material. At the same time, the extracts showed significant inhibitory effect on walking ability and grasping ability of worker ants and stronger than the effect of 98.6% rotenone technical material. Under field conditions, the 0.01% rotenone-bait, formulated with the acetone extract of D. trifoliata roots and T. vogelii leaves, had the same control effect on RIFA as that of 0.01% fipronil-bait when treated after 30 d. The bait formulated with the extract of D. trifoliata exhibited quicker and higher effect on RIFA than that of rotenone technical material. It was showed that the acetone extracts of D. trifoliata roots and T. vogelii leaves are able to control S. invicta under both laboratory and field conditions and can be used as an effective agent against RIFA

On-chip black hole: Hawking radiation and curved spacetime in a superconducting quantum circuit with tunable couplers

Hawking radiation is one of quantum features of a black hole, which can be understood as a quantum tunneling across the event horizon of the black hole, but it is quite difficult to directly observe the Hawking radiation of an astrophysical black hole. Remarkable experiments of analogue black holes on various platforms have been performed. However, Hawking radiation and its quantum nature such as entanglement have not been well tested due to the experimental challenges in accurately constructing curved spacetime and precisely measuring the thermal spectrum. Based on the recent architecture breakthrough of tunable couplers for superconducting processor, we realize experimentally an analogue black hole using our new developed chip with a chain of 10 superconducting transmon qubits with interactions mediated by 9 transmon-type tunable couplers. By developing efficient techniques to engineer the couplings between qubits via tuning couplers, we realize both the flat and curved spacetime backgrounds. The quantum walks of quasi-particle in the curved spacetime reflect the gravitational effect around the black hole, resulting in the behavior of Hawking radiation. By virtue of the state tomography measurement of all 7 qubits outside the analogue event horizon, we show that Hawking radiation can be verified. In addition, an entangled pair is prepared inside the horizon and the dynamics of entanglement in the curved spacetime is directly measured. Our results would stimulate more interests to explore information paradox, entropy and other related features of black holes using programmable superconducting processor with tunable couplers.Comment: modified manuscripts, 7 pages, 4 figures (main text) + 12 pages (supplementary information

First report and multilocus genotyping of Enterocytozoon bieneusi from Tibetan pigs in southwestern China

Enterocytozoon bieneusi is a common intestinal pathogen in a variety of animals. While E. bieneusi genotypes have become better-known, there are few reports on its prevalence in the Tibetan pig. This study investigated the prevalence, genetic diversity, and zoonotic potential of E. bieneusi in the Tibetan pig in southwestern China. Tibetan pig feces (266 samples) were collected from three sites in the southwest of China. Feces were subjected to PCR amplification of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region. Enterocytozoon bieneusi was detected in 83 (31.2%) of Tibetan pigs from the three different sites, with 25.4% in Kangding, 56% in Yaan, and 26.7% in Qionglai. Prevalence varies according to age group, from 24.4% (age 0–1 years) to 44.4% (age 1–2 years). Four genotypes of E. bieneusi were identified: two known genotypes EbpC (n = 58), Henan-IV (n = 24) and two novel genotypes, SCT01 and SCT02 (one of each). We compare our results with a compilation of published results on the host range and geographical distribution of E. bieneusi genotypes in China. Phylogenetic analysis showed these four genotypes clustered to group 1 with zoonotic potential. Multilocus sequence typing (MLST) analysis of three microsatellites (MS1, MS3, MS7) and one minisatellite (MS4) was successful in 47, 48, 23 and 47 positive specimens and identified 10, 10, 5 and 5 genotypes at four loci, respectively. This study indicates the potential danger of E. bieneusi to Tibetan pigs in southwestern China, and offers basic advice for preventing and controlling infections

Cross-cultural validation and psychometric testing of the Debriefing Experience Scale (DES): a cross-sectional study

Background The Debriefing Experience Scale (DES) is a tool that is used to explore nursing students’ subjective experiences during a debriefing and to help determine best debriefing practices. A Chinese version of the scale has not been found; its development can enhance learning in simulation activites in Chinese healthcare education programs. Methods A simplified Chinese version of the DES was developed and tested using 34 Chinese undergraduate (second year) nursing students. They participated in six simulation scenarios and debriefings. Eight experts were consulted to determine the content validity of the scale. Critical ratio method, Cronbach’s alpha, intraclass correlation coefficient, correlation coefficient and factor analysis were used in testing the psychometric properties of the scale. Results Analysis of 200 scales showed that the simplified Chinese version of the DES had good potential in discriminatiing Chinese nursing students’ experiences of debriefing. Conclusions The simplified Chinese DES was effective in evaluating the experience of debriefing. A larger sample size and multicenter research is needed to confirm these findings

Clinical characteristics and acute complication of COVID-19 patients with diabetes: a multicenter, retrospective study in Southern China

AimsThis study aims to describe the clinical characteristics, laboratory data and complications of hospitalized COVID-19 patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) since epidemic prevention and control optimization was adjusted in December 2022 in China.MethodsThis retrospective multicenter study included 298 patients with confirmed type 2 diabetes mellitus with or without COVID-19. We collected data from the first wave of the pandemic in The Fifth Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Loudi Central Hospital and The First People’s Hospital of Xiangtan from December 1, 2022 to February 1, 2023. We extracted baseline data, clinical symptoms, acute complications, laboratory findings, treatment and outcome data of each patient from electronic medical records.ResultsFor among 298 hospitalized patients with type 2 diabetes, 136 (45.6%) were COVID-19 uninfected, and 162 (54.4%) were COVID-19 infected. We found that the incidence of cough, fatigue, fever, muscle soreness, sore throat, shortness of breath, hyposmia, hypogeusia and polyphagia (all p<0.01) were significantly higher in the exposure group. They showed higher levels of ketone (p=0.04), creatinine (p<0.01), blood potassium (p=0.01) and more diabetic ketoacidosis (p<0.01). Patients with COVID-19 less use of metformin (p<0.01), thiazolidinediones (p<0.01) and SGLT2 (p<0.01) compared with patients without COVID-19.ConclusionCOVID-19 patients with diabetes showed more severe respiratory and constitutional symptoms and an increased proportion of hyposmia and hypogeusia. Moreover, COVID-19 patients with diabetes have a higher incidence of acute complications, are more prone to worsening renal function, and are more cautious about the use of antidiabetic drugs

Design of a mutation-integrated trimeric RBD with broad protection against SARS-CoV-2.

The continuous emergence of SARS-CoV-2 variants highlights the need of developing vaccines with broad protection. Here, according to the immune-escape capability and evolutionary convergence, the representative SARS-CoV-2 strains carrying the hotspot mutations were selected. Then, guided by structural and computational analyses, we present a mutation-integrated trimeric form of spike receptor-binding domain (mutI-tri-RBD) as a broadly protective vaccine candidate, which combined heterologous RBDs from different representative strains into a hybrid immunogen and integrated immune-escape hotspots into a single antigen. When compared with a homo-tri-RBD vaccine candidate in the stage of phase II trial, of which all three RBDs are derived from the SARS-CoV-2 prototype strain, mutI-tri-RBD induced significantly higher neutralizing antibody titers against the Delta and Beta variants, and maintained a similar immune response against the prototype strain. Pseudo-virus neutralization assay demonstrated that mutI-tri-RBD also induced broadly strong neutralizing activities against all tested 23 SARS-CoV-2 variants. The in vivo protective capability of mutI-tri-RBD was further validated in hACE2-transgenic mice challenged by the live virus, and the results showed that mutI-tri-RBD provided potent protection not only against the SARS-CoV-2 prototype strain but also against the Delta and Beta variants

Long-term alterations in gut microbiota following mild COVID-19 recovery: bacterial and fungal community shifts

ObjectiveCOVID-19 has had a profound impact on public health globally. However, most studies have focused on patients with long COVID or those in the acute phase of infection, with limited research on the health of individuals who have recovered from mild COVID-19. This study investigates the long-term changes in bacterial and fungal communities in individuals recovering from mild COVID-19 and their clinical relevance.MethodsHealthy individuals from Hainan Province were enrolled before the COVID-19 outbreak, along with individuals recovering from COVID-19 at 3 months and 6 months post-recovery. Stool, blood samples, and metadata were collected. Metagenomic sequencing and Internal Transcribed Spacer (ITS) analysis characterized bacterial and fungal communities, while bacterial-fungal co-occurrence networks were constructed. A random forest model evaluated the predictive capacity of key taxa.ResultsThe gut microbiota of COVID-19 recoverees differed significantly from that of healthy individuals. At 3 months post-recovery, probiotics (e.g., Blautia massiliensis and Kluyveromyces spp.) were enriched, linked to improved metabolism, while at 6 months, partial recovery of probiotics (e.g., Acidaminococcus massiliensis and Asterotremella spp.) was observed alongside persistent pathogens (e.g., Streptococcus equinus and Gibberella spp.). Dynamic changes were observed, with Acidaminococcus massiliensis enriched at both baseline and 6 months but absent at 3 months. Co-occurrence network analysis revealed synergies between bacterial (Rothia spp.) and fungal (Coprinopsis spp.) taxa, suggesting their potential roles in gut restoration. The bacterial random forest model (10 taxa) outperformed the fungal model (8 taxa) in predicting recovery status (AUC = 0.99 vs. 0.80).ConclusionThese findings highlight the significant long-term impacts of mild COVID-19 recovery on gut microbiota, with key taxa influencing metabolism and immune regulation, supporting microbiome-based strategies for recovery management