Relationship between occupational stress and job burnout among rural-to-urban migrant workers in Dongguan, China: a cross-sectional study

Objectives: In China, there have been an increasing number of migrant workers from rural to urban areas, and migrant workers have the highest incidence of occupational diseases. However, few studies have examined the impact of occupational stress on job burnout in these migrant workers. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between occupational stress and job burnout among migrant workers. Design: This study used a cross-sectional survey. Setting: This investigation was conducted in Dongguan city, Guangdong Province, China. Participants: 3806 migrant workers, aged 18–60 years, were randomly selected using multistage sampling procedures. Primary and secondary outcome measures: Multistage sampling procedures were used to examine demographic characteristics, behaviour customs and jobrelated data. Hierarchical linear regression and logistic regression models were constructed to explore the relationship between occupational stress and burnout. Results: Demographics, behaviour customs and jobrelated characteristics significantly affected on burnout. After adjusting for the control variable, a high level of emotional exhaustion was associated with high role overload, high role insufficiency, high role boundary, high physical environment, high psychological strain, high physical strain, low role ambiguity, low responsibility and low vocational strain. A high level of depersonalisation was associated with high role overload, high role ambiguity, high role boundary, high interpersonal strain, high recreation, low physical environment and low social support. A low level of personal accomplishment was associated with high role boundary, high role insufficiency, low responsibility, low social support, low physical environment, low self-care and low interpersonal strain. Compared to the personal resources, the job strain and personal strain were more likely to explain the burnout of rural-to-urban migrant workers in our study. Conclusions: The migrant workers have increased job burnouts in relation to occupational stress. Relieving occupational stress and maintaining an appropriate quantity and quality of work could be important measures for preventing job burnout among these workers

Active Ingredients of Epimedii Folium and Ligustri Lucidi Fructus Balanced GR/HSP90 to Improve the Sensitivity of Asthmatic Rats to Budesonide

This study aimed to investigate the possible molecular mechanisms of active ingredients of Epimedii Folium (EF) and Ligustri Lucidi Fructus (LLF) combined with Budesonide (Bun) in asthmatic rats. Rats were divided into 5 groups, including normal group, asthma model group, Bun group, group of active ingredients of EL and LLF (EL), and group of coadministration of Bun with EL (Bun&EL). The asthmatic model was prepared by ovalbumin sensitizing and challenging. Lymphocyte apoptosis, GR protein and binding, and the protein and mRNA of GRα, GRβ, and HSP90 were tested. The results showed that Bun&EL ① markedly increased lymphocyte apoptosis, GR and HSP90 protein, and GR binding in BALF and ② enhanced the expressions of GRα and HSP90 and the ratio of GRα to GRβ or to HSP90 both in protein and in mRNA levels in lung, ③ while decrease occurred in GRβ mRNA and the mRNA ratio of GRβ to HSP90 compared with asthma or Bun group. Moreover, there was a significant correlation between GRα and GRβ in protein level, or between GRα and HSP90 both in protein and in mRNA levels. EL may effectively enhance the sensitivity of asthmatic rats to Bun via balancing GR/HSP90. And these findings will be beneficial for the treatment of asthma in the future

COVID-19-Related Stressors and Mental Health Among Chinese College Students: A Moderated Mediation Model

This study aims to examine the relation between COVID-19-related stressors and mental health among Chinese college students during the pandemic outbreaks, and the possible mediator or moderator between them. Five hundred and fifty Chinese college students were invited to complete an anonymous survey, and the data were analyzed with SPSS 16.0 software. The results shows that the number of stressors has a negative direct and indirect (through risk perception of being infected with COVID-19 disease) impacts on college students' mental health. Adaptive coping is a protective factor of students' mental health, and could be regarded as a buffer that attenuates the negative effect of the COVID-19-related stressors on risk perception of being infected with COVID-19 disease (or mental health). With regard to demographic variables, females, junior and senior students, or students whose family residence was worst hit by the pandemic tend to report poorer mental health during the pandemic outbreak. These findings enrich our understanding about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on college population and have implications for university counseling services during times of acute, large-scale infective disease outbreaks

Microwave-assisted aqueous two-phase extraction of alkaloids from Radix Sophorae Tonkinensis with ethanol/Na2HPO4 system: process optimization, composition identification and quantification analysis

A rapid method for simultaneous extraction and separation of multiple alkaloids from Radix Sophorae Tonkinensis (RST) was developed by microwave-assisted aqueous two-phase extraction (MAATPE) using the aqueous two-phase extraction system (ATPS) of ethanol/Na2HPO4 as the extraction solvent. The effects of key factors on extraction yield were investigated by utilizing single-factor experiment coupled to response surface methodology (RSM). The regression model by RSM was significant (p < 0.0001) and adequate for prediction of process efficacy, the optimized conditions were successfully validated by the parallel experiments with the yield very close to the predicted value. The optimum conditions were summarized as follows: the phase ratio of 2.60 for the ATPS, the particle size of 100 mesh, the liquid-to-material ratio of 75:1, the extraction temperature of 90 °C and the extraction time of 5 min, respectively. In MAATPE process, alkaloids were extracted preferentially from RST in the top phase with a higher yield and shorter extraction time than those of heating reflux extraction (HRE) and ultrasonic-assisted extraction (UAE). Nine alkaloids extracted were identified and quantified by high-resolution ultra-performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole-orbitrap mass spectrometry (UPLC-Q-Orbitrap/MS) and HPLC with UV detection. The contents of matrine, sophocarpine, oxymatrin, sophoranol, oxysophocarpine, 5α-hydroxysophocarpine, sophoridine, cytisine and N-methylcytisine in RST were quantified in range of 0.493–10.284 mg/g with recoveries of 90.26–106.3% and RSD’s of 0.8–2.1%, respectively. Moreover, the MAATPE mechanism was explored using the different extraction systems in combination of scanning electron microscopy (SEM) morphological studies. Significant differences in extraction yield and cell rupture exhibited that the addition of the salt in the ethanol-water mixture not only improved the thermal and demixing effects, but also accelerated the mass transfer and biphasic extraction processes. MAATPE integrated the advantages of microwave-assisted extraction (MAE) and aqueous two-phase extraction (ATPE) was proved as a green, efficient and promising alternative to extraction of alkaloids from RST

MicroRNA-1224 Inhibits Tumor Metastasis in Intestinal-Type Gastric Cancer by Directly Targeting FAK

Intestinal-type gastric cancer (GC) of the Lauren classification system has specific epidemiological characteristics and carcinogenesis patterns. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) have prognostic significance, and some can be used as prognostic biomarkers in GC. In this study, we identified miR-1224 as a potential survival-related miRNA in intestinal-type GC patients by The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) analysis. Using quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR), we showed that the relative expression of miR-1224 was significantly decreased in intestinal-type GC tissues compared to matched adjacent normal mucosa tissues (p &lt; 0.01). We found that high miR-1224 expression was associated with no lymph-node metastasis (p &lt; 0.05) and good prognosis (p = 0.028) in 90 intestinal-type GC tissues. Transfection of intestinal-type GC cells with miR-1224 mimics showed that miR-1224 suppressed cell migration in vitro (wound healing assay and Transwell migration assay), whereas the transfection of cells with miR-1224 inhibitor promoted cell migration in vitro. miR-1224 also suppressed intestinal-type GC cell metastasis in a xenograft mouse model. Furthermore, bioinformatics, luciferase reporter, Western blotting, and immunohistochemistry (IHC) studies demonstrated that miR-1224 directly bound to the focal adhesion kinase (FAK) gene, and downregulated its expression, which decreased STAT3 and NF-κB signaling and subsequent the epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT). Repression of FAK is required for the miR-1224-mediated inhibition of cell migration in intestinal-type GC. The present study demonstrated that miR-1224 is downregulated in intestinal-type GC. miR-1224 inhibits the metastasis of intestinal-type GC by suppressing FAK-mediated activation of the STAT3 and NF-κB pathways, and subsequent EMT. miR-1224 could represent an important prognostic factor in intestinal-type GC

Correction: Symptom improvement in children with autism spectrum disorder following bumetanide administration is associated with decreased GABA/glutamate ratios.

An important detail was omitted in the Method of the original Article, I.E, The CARS and other evaluations were conducted 'blind' to condition (Bumetanide or no treatment) by experienced clinicians. This has now been updated in the HTML and PDF versions of this Article

Correction: Symptom improvement in children with autism spectrum disorder following bumetanide administration is associated with decreased GABA/glutamate ratios

An important detail was omitted in the Method of the original Article, I.E, The CARS and other evaluations were conducted ‘blind' to condition (Bumetanide or no treatment) by experienced clinicians. This has now been updated in the HTML and PDF versions of this Article

Symptom improvement in children with autism spectrum disorder following bumetanide administration is associated with decreased GABA/glutamate ratios

Funder: Shanghai Municipal Commission of Health and Family Planning Shanghai Shenkang Hospital Development Center Shanghai Municipal Education Commission National Natural Science Foundation of China Shanghai Committee of Science and Technology Xinhua Hospital of Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine Guangdong Key Project in "Development of new tools for diagnosis and treatment of Autism "Funder: Shanghai Municipal Commission of Health and Family Planning Shanghai Municipal Education Commission National Natural Science Foundation of China the National Key Research and Development Program of China ZJ LabFunder: National Human Genetic Resources Sharing Service Platform 111 Project ZJ LabFunder: National Natural Science Foundation of China ZJ LabAbstract: Bumetanide has been reported to alter synaptic excitation–inhibition (E-I) balance by potentiating the action of γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA), thereby attenuating the severity of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in animal models. However, clinical evidence of its efficacy in young patients with ASD is limited. This was investigated in the present clinical trial of 83 patients, randomised to the bumetanide group (bumetanide treatment, 0.5 mg twice daily) or the control group (no bumetanide treatment). Primary [Children Autism Rating Scale (CARS)], secondary [Clinical Global Impressions (CGI)], and exploratory [inhibitory (γ-aminobutyric acid, GABA) and excitatory (glutamate, Glx) neurotransmitter concentrations measured in the insular cortex (IC) and visual cortex (VC) by magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS)] outcome measures were evaluated at baseline and at the 3-month follow-up. Side effects were monitored throughout the treatment course. Compared with the control group, the bumetanide group showed significant reduction in symptom severity, as indicated by both total CARS score and number of items assigned a score ≥ 3. The improvement in clinical symptoms was confirmed by CGI. GABA/Glx ratio in both the IC and VC decreased more rapidly over the 3-month period in the bumetanide group than that in the control group. This decrease in the IC was associated with the symptom improvement in the bumetanide group. Our study confirmed the clinical efficacy of bumetanide on alleviating the core symptoms of ASD in young children and it is the first demonstration that the improvement is associated with reduction in GABA/Glx ratios. This study suggests that the GABA/Glx ratio measured by MRS may provide a neuroimaging biomarker for assessing treatment efficacy for bumetanide

Mechanically activated catalyst mixing for high-yield boron nitride nanotube growth

Boron nitride nanotubes (BNNTs) have many fascinating properties and a wide range of applications. An improved ball milling method has been developed for high-yield BNNT synthesis, in which metal nitrate, such as Fe(NO(3))(3), and amorphous boron powder are milled together to prepare a more effective precursor. The heating of the precursor in nitrogen-containing gas produces a high density of BNNTs with controlled structures. The chemical bonding and structure of the synthesized BNNTs are precisely probed by near-edge X-ray absorption fine structure spectroscopy. The higher efficiency of the precursor containing milling-activated catalyst is revealed by thermogravimetric analyses. Detailed X-ray diffraction and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy investigations disclose that during ball milling the Fe(NO(3))(3) decomposes to Fe which greatly accelerates the nitriding reaction and therefore increases the yield of BNNTs. This improved synthesis method brings the large-scale production and application of BNNTs one step closer