Sexual Education in a Youth Program in Dalian, China

Sexual education is important for adolescent health and development all over the world, especially for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and questioning (LGBTQ) youth. It should include comprehensive sex education, prevention of early pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections (STI), and risks of sexual behaviors or sexual violence. Comprehensive sex education is described by the Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States (SIECUS, 2009) as including age-appropriate sexuality topics, such as human development, relationships, decision-making, abstinence, contraception, and disease prevention (Baams, Dubas, & Van Aken, 2017)

Valor Diagnóstico de Parâmetros Tridimensionais de Strain de Imagem de Speckle Tracking para Detecção de Disfunção Cardíaca Relacionada à Quimioterapia do Câncer: Uma Metanálise

Resumo Fundamento Agentes quimioterápicos (por exemplo, antraciclinas, trastuzumabe) comumente usados para o tratamento de tumores malignos demonstraram ter efeitos cardiotóxicos, que estão associados a um prognóstico ruim. A ecocardiografia tridimensional tem sido usada para prever a disfunção cardíaca induzida pela quimioterapia do câncer. Objetivos Avaliação do desempenho diagnóstico de parâmetros de strain, área global de strain (AGS), strain longitudinal (SLG), strain circunferencial (SCG) e strain radial (SRG) por metanálise. Métodos Estudos relevantes foram pesquisados nas bases de dados Embase, PubMed e Web of Science. A análise estatística foi realizada usando Stata 12. O resumo da curva característica operacional do receptor, sensibilidade, especificidade, razão de verossimilhança positiva (RVP), razão de verossimilhança negativa (RVN), e o correspondente intervalo de confiança de 95% para os quatro parâmetros de strain foram combinados. P<0,05 foi considerado estatisticamente significativo. Resultados Nove estudos envolvendo 650 participantes foram incluídos. AGS e SLG mostraram vantagens diagnósticas significativas sobre SCG e SRG. Para AGS, a sensibilidade foi de 0,85 (0,70, 0,93) e a especificidade foi de 0,82 (0,78, 0,86) com RVP de 4,76 (3,55, 6,39) e RVN de 0,18 (0,09, 0,39) e uma área sob a curva (AUC) de 0,85 (0,82, 0,88). Para SLG, a sensibilidade foi de 0,81 (0,74, 0,86) e a especificidade foi de 0,81 (0,68, 0,90) com RVP de 4,35 (2,42, 7,80) e RVN de 0,23 (0,17, 0,33) e uma AUC de 0,85 (0,82, 0,88).OGCS mostrou uma sensibilidade de 0,63 e uma especificidade de 0,79 com uma AUC de 0,77.O SRG mostrou uma sensibilidade de 0,74e uma especificidade de 0,66 com umAUC de 0,73. Conclusão Parâmetros 3D-STI de strain AGS e SLG mostraram bom desempenho na detecção precoce de disfunção cardíaca em pacientes com tumores recebendo quimioterapia

Effects of 1-methylcyclopropene on superficial scald and related metabolism in ‘Wujiuxiang’ pears during cold storage

‘Wujiuxiang’ (Pyrus bretschneideri R. × Pyrus communis L.) pears often suffer from superficial scald after long-term cold storage. In this study, harvested ‘Wujiuxiang’ pear fruits were fumigated with 1-MCP at concentrations of 0.5 μL/L and 1.0 μL/L and subsequently stored at low temperature (0 °C). The superficial scald index; flesh firmness; total soluble solids (TSS) content; respiration and ethylene production rates; relative membrane permeability; concentrations of α-farnesene, conjugated trienols (CTols), and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2); and activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), ascorbate peroxidase (APX), and lipoxygenase (LOX) of the peel were investigated. The results showed that compared with control, 1-MCP reduced the index of superficial scald; maintained a higher firmness and a lower TSS content; inhibited the accumulation of H2O2, α-farnesene and conjugated trienols and the increase in cell membrane permeability; and maintained a higher activity of APX, SOD and CAT and a lower activity of LOX. These findings indicate that 1-MCP regulates the activities of H2O2-scavenging enzymes to inhibit the accumulation of H2O2 and thereby reduces cell membrane damage and inhibits the accumulation of conjugated trienols. Thus, 1-MCP could decrease the incidence of superficial scald in ‘Wujiuxiang’ pears

Multidimensional Resource Fragmentation-Aware Virtual Network Embedding in MEC Systems Interconnected by Metro Optical Networks

The increasing demand for diverse emerging applications has resulted in the interconnection of multi-access edge computing (MEC) systems via metro optical networks. To cater to these diverse applications, network slicing has become a popular tool for creating specialized virtual networks. However, resource fragmentation caused by uneven utilization of multidimensional resources can lead to reduced utilization of limited edge resources. To tackle this issue, this paper focuses on addressing the multidimensional resource fragmentation problem in virtual network embedding (VNE) in MEC systems with the aim of maximizing the profit of an infrastructure provider (InP). The VNE problem in MEC systems is transformed into a bilevel optimization problem, taking into account the interdependence between virtual node embedding (VNoE) and virtual link embedding (VLiE). To solve this problem, we propose a nested bilevel optimization approach named BiVNE. The VNoE is solved using the ant colony system (ACS) in the upper level, while the VLiE is solved using a combination of a shortest path algorithm and an exact-fit spectrum slot allocation method in the lower level. Evaluation results show that the BiVNE algorithm can effectively enhance the profit of the InP by increasing the acceptance ratio and avoiding resource fragmentation simultaneously

Improved 11α-hydroxycanrenone production by modification of cytochrome P450 monooxygenase gene in Aspergillus ochraceus

Eplerenone is a drug that protects the cardiovascular system. 11α-Hydroxycanrenone is a key intermediate in eplerenone synthesis. We found that although the cytochrome P450 (CYP) enzyme system in Aspergillus ochraceus strain MF018 could catalyse the conversion of canrenone to 11α-hydroxycanrenone, its biocatalytic efficiency is low. To improve the efficiency of 11α-hydroxycanrenone production, the CYP monooxygenase-coding gene of MF018 was predicted and cloned based on whole-genome sequencing results. A recombinant A. ochraceus strain MF010 with the high expression of CYP monooxygenase was then obtained through homologous recombination. The biocatalytic rate of this recombinant strain reached 93 % at 60 h without the addition of organic solvents or surfactants and was 17–18 % higher than that of the MF018 strain. Moreover, the biocatalytic time of the MF010 strain was reduced by more than 30 h compared with that of the MF018 strain. These results show that the recombinant A. ochraceus strain MF010 can overcome the limitation of substrate biocatalytic efficiency and thus holds a high potential for application in the industrial production of eplerenone

Genetic diversity and population structure of Sepiella japonica (Mollusca: Cephalopoda: Decapoda) inferred by 16S rDNA variations

In order to describe the genetic diversity and phylogenetic relationship of five populations of cuttlefish (Sepiella japonica) along with China's coasts, partial 16S rDNA (510 bp in length) was amplified from 110 individuals. The five populations of cuttlefish inhabit Yellow Sea, East China Sea and South China Sea. In total, six haplotypes were identified and formed only one clade. Among the six haplotypes, one was shared by all populations, three appeared only in a single population, two appeared in two or three populations. Pair-wise FST were not proportional to the geographical distances. Haplotype diversity and nucleotide diversity were low, 0.3866 ± 0.067 and 0.00120 ± 0.00081 respectively. Among the five populations, Zhoushan population exhibited the highest genetic diversity which was suggested as the better select of germplasm resources for the reproduction and releasing of S. japonica

Dual-emission ratio fluorescence for selective and sensitive detection of ferric ions and ascorbic acid based on one-pot synthesis of glutathione protected gold nanoclusters

A fluorometric method was proposed for the determination of Fe3+and ascorbic acid (AA) based on blue and red dual fluorescence emissions of glutathione (GSH) stabilized-gold nanoclusters (AuNCs). AuNCs were synthesized from GSH and tetrachloroauric acid. The fluorescence peaks of AuNCs were at 425 nm and 585 nm, respectively. In the presence of Fe3+, the fluorescence peak at 425 nm can be enhanced and that at 585 nm can be quenched. There is a good linear relationship between the fluorescence intensity ratio for the 425 and 585 nm peaks (F425/F585) and the concentration of Fe3+in the range of 0.75-125 µM. However, when AA was added to the AuNCs-Fe3+system, the value ofF425/F585decreased consistently with the concentration of AA in the range of 0.25-35 µM. The limit of detection for Fe3+and AA was 227 and 75.8 nM, respectively. The interaction between AuNCs and Fe3+can induce the ligand-metal charge transfer (LMCT) effect leading to the fluorescence increment at 425 nm, while AA can reduce Fe3+to Fe2+. The production of Fe2+can not enhance or quench the fluorescence of AuNCs. By comparison with previous literature, the AuNCs prepared here show two fluorescence peaks without additional fluorescence labels. Furthermore, the method was successfully applied in the determination of Fe3+and AA in some real samples, such as water, human serum and tablets

MiR-455 targeting SOCS3 improve liver lipid disorders in diabetic mice

MiR-455 has been verified a key regulator of brown adipose tissue and adipose tissue-specific overexpression of miR-455 (ap2-miR-455) mice could combat high-fat-diet-induced obesity. This study is to verify overexpression of miR-455 could ameliorate the lipid accumulation and metabolism in the liver of db/db diabetic mice and explore the potential mechanisms. Diabetic mice (db/db) and control mice (db/m) were randomly divided into four groups. After overexpression of miR-455 in the liver of db/db mice, the triglycerides level in both serum and liver decreased, the lipid deposit in liver was improved, the expression of fatty acid synthase, stearoyl-CoA desaturase 1, sterol regulatory element binding protein 1c (SREBP-1c) and acetyl-CoA carboxylase (ACCα) was also significantly down-regulated. TargetScan indicated that suppressor of cytokine signalling 3 (SOCS3) is predicated to target miR-455 and the protein of SOCS3 in the liver of db/db mice after intervention was significantly decreased. The dual luciferase reporter assay showed that SOCS3 was target gene of miR-455. In vitro, in Palmitate (PA)-stimulated human normal liver (LO2) cells, transfected miR-455 mimic could significantly inhibit the expression of SOCS3, while transfected miR-455 inhibitor could up-regulate the expression of SOCS3. Transfecting LO2 cells with siRNA of SOCS3 could significantly down-regulate the protein expression of SREBP-1c and ACCα. Our study showed that overexpression of miR-455 in the liver could improve lipid metabolism in diabetic mice by down-regulating its target gene SOCS3

Spatial and temporal heterogeneity of tropical cyclone precipitation over China from 1959 to 2018

Tropical cyclone precipitation (TCP) can cause serious floods and urban waterlogs as well as cause various secondary disasters, such as landslides and debris flows, which negatively affect human lives and the sustainable development of the economy. This study applied the prewhitening Mann-Kendall test, empirical orthogonal function, and continuous wavelet transform to investigate the long-term trend, spatiotemporal pattern, and periodicity of TCP at monthly, interannual, and interdecadal timescales over China. The recurrence risks of extreme TCP were analyzed using the return period estimation model. The results showed that 1) TCP displayed a significant increasing trend, especially in eastern China, inland areas, and Guangxi Province. The TCP periodicities were 2.5 and 4.9 years across all of China. However, TCP cycles had large discrepancies in the time and frequency domains in different subregions. 2) Monthly TCP demonstrated a decreasing trend in May and an increasing trend from June to October in all of China. The TCP in northeastern China and southern China tended to decrease in July and August, respectively. 3) TCP demonstrated a decreasing tendency from the 1960s–1980s followed by a rebounding trend in the 1990s–2010s. In addition, TCP showed a dipole mode in the 1970s and 2000s. 4) There was an increasing recurrence risk of extreme TCP in the Yangtze River Delta, Hainan Province, southeastern Guangxi Province, and southwestern Guangdong Province. It is therefore necessary to improve forecasting of extreme TCP events to improve risk management and prevention capacity of natural disasters, especially in regions with high population and economy exposure

Projection of future climate change in the Poyang Lake Basin of China under the global warming of 1.5–3°C

This study projected the future climate changes in the Poyang Lake Basin (PLB) of China under various global warming targets (1.5–3°C), based on the latest Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 6 (CMIP6) and 4 statistical downscaling methods, including Quantile Mapping (QM), Daily Translation (DT), Delta, and Local Intensity Scaling (LOCI). The RMSE, R$^{2}$ and KGE indicators were used to evaluate the competency of the aforementioned methods applied to daily precipitation (Pre), daily mean temperature (Tas), daily maximum temperature (Tasmax), and daily minimum temperature (Tasmin). The global warming of 1.5, 2 and 3°C will occur around 2040, from 2045 to 2080 and around 2075, respectively, for the emission scenarios of SSP1-2.6, SSP2-4.5, SSP3-7.0 and SSP5-8.5. The results demonstrated that under the 1.5, 2 and 3°C global warming targets, the projected annual precipitation declined by 14.82, 11.92 and 8.91% relative to the reference period (1986–2005), respectively. The Tas increased significantly by 0.43, 0.94 and 1.92°C and the Tasmax increased by 0.58, 1.11 and 2.09°C. The Tasmin decreased by 0.29°C under the 1.5°C warming target, while it increased by 0.19 and 1.18°C under the 2 and 3°C warming targets. The spatial distributions of future annual precipitation in the PLB were relative consistent. However, the regional variability was significant, which the southern and eastern regions experienced more precipitation than the northern and western regions. The south-central part of the Ganjiang basin was the high-value area while the northeastern part was the low-value area. The Tas, Tasmax and Tasmin had a consistent spatial variation characteristic that the high latitude areas were warmer than the low latitude areas, and the western regions were warmer than the central and eastern regions while the northeastern regions were cooler than the remaining regions