Sexual Knowledge, attitudes and behaviors among unmarried migrant female workers in China: a comparative analysis

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>In recent years, many studies have focused on adolescent's sex-related issues in China. However, there have been few studies of unmarried migrant females' sexual knowledge, attitudes and behaviors, which is important for sexual health education and promotion.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A sample of 5156 unmarried migrant female workers was selected from three manufacturing factories, two located in Shenzhen and one in Guangzhou, China. Demographic data, sexual knowledge, attitudes and behaviors were assessed by self-administered questionnaires. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was conducted to examine the factors associated with premarital sexual intercourse.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The average age of the unmarried female workers included in the sample was 20.2 years, and majority of them showed a low level of sex-related knowledge. Females from the west of China demonstrated a significant lower level of sex-related knowledge than those from the eastern or central provinces (<it>p </it>< 0.05). Approximately 13% of participants held a favorable attitude towards premarital sexual intercourse, and youths from the east/central were more likely to have favorable attitudes compared with those from the west (<it>p </it>< 0.05). About 17.0% of the unmarried female workers reported having engaged in premarital sexual intercourse, and females from the east/central were more likely to have experienced premarital sexual intercourse than those from the west (<it>p </it>< 0.05). Multivariate analysis revealed that age, education, current residential type, dating, sexual knowledge, attitudes, and pattern of communication were significantly associated with premarital sexual intercourse.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The unmarried migrant female workers lack sexual knowledge and a substantial proportion of them are engaged in premarital sexual behaviors. Interventions aimed at improving their sexual knowledge and related skills are needed.</p

Fitness Consequences of Advanced Ancestral Age over Three Generations in Humans

A rapid rise in age at parenthood in contemporary societies has increased interest in reports of higher prevalence of de novo mutations and health problems in individuals with older fathers, but the fitness consequences of such age effects over several generations remain untested. Here, we use extensive pedigree data on seven pre-industrial Finnish populations to show how the ages of ancestors for up to three generations are associated with fitness traits. Individuals whose fathers, grandfathers and great-grandfathers fathered their lineage on average under age 30 were ~13% more likely to survive to adulthood than those whose ancestors fathered their lineage at over 40 years. In addition, females had a lower probability of marriage if their male ancestors were older. These findings are consistent with an increase of the number of accumulated de novo mutations with male age, suggesting that deleterious mutations acquired from recent ancestors may be a substantial burden to fitness in humans. However, possible non-mutational explanations for the observed associations are also discussed

Diagnostic, prognostic and predictive value of cell-free miRNAs in prostate cancer : A systematic review

Publisher Copyright: © 2016 Endzeliņš et al.Prostate cancer, the second most frequently diagnosed cancer in males worldwide, is estimated to be diagnosed in 1.1 million men per year. Introduction of PSA testing substantially improved early detection of prostate cancer, however it also led to overdiagnosis and subsequent overtreatment of patients with an indolent disease. Treatment outcome and management of prostate cancer could be improved by the development of non-invasive biomarker assays that aid in increasing the sensitivity and specificity of prostate cancer screening, help to distinguish aggressive from indolent disease and guide therapeutic decisions. Prostate cancer cells release miRNAs into the bloodstream, where they exist incorporated into ribonucleoprotein complexes or extracellular vesicles. Later, cell-free miRNAs have been found in various other biofluids. The initial RNA sequencing studies suggested that most of the circulating cell-free miRNAs in healthy individuals are derived from blood cells, while specific disease-associated miRNA signatures may appear in the circulation of patients affected with various diseases, including cancer. This raised a hope that cell-free miRNAs may serve as non-invasive biomarkers for prostate cancer. Indeed, a number of cell-free miRNAs that potentially may serve as diagnostic, prognostic or predictive biomarkers have been discovered in blood or other biofluids of prostate cancer patients and need to be validated in appropriately designed longitudinal studies and clinical trials. In this review, we systematically summarise studies investigating cell-free miRNAs in biofluids of prostate cancer patients and discuss the utility of the identified biomarkers in various clinical scenarios. Furthermore, we discuss the possible mechanisms of miRNA release into biofluids and outline the biological questions and technical challenges that have arisen from these studies.publishersversionPeer reviewe

Characteristics of circulating tumor cells in organ metastases, prognosis, and T lymphocyte mediated immune response

Wen-Wen Sun,1,* Zhi-Hong Xu,1,* Peng Lian,1 Bei-Li Gao,2 Jia-An Hu1 1Department of Geriatrics, 2Department of Respiration, Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiaotong University, Shanghai, People&rsquo;s Republic of China *These authors contributed equally to&nbsp;this work Abstract: Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) possess profound influence on tumor metastases and disease progression. This study aimed to investigate the correlation of CTCs with clinical characteristics and T-cell immunity, and to explore whether CTCs and the subpopulations can serve as an independent prognostic factor in advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). A prospective study was conducted in late stages of NSCLC patients. The levels of overall CTCs and the three subpopulation CTCs were enumerated using the CanPatrol&trade; CTC enrichment system. The information about the patients which included the clinical characteristics, survival status at the 200th day postdiagnosis, and the levels of T cells was collected. Mann&ndash;Whitney U test, Kruskal&ndash;Wallis H test, Cox regression, and Spearman&rsquo;s rank correlation coefficient were the statistical methods used in this study. We detected CTCs in 27 of the 31 eligible patients; the level of epithelial&ndash;mesenchymal circulating tumor cells (EMCTCs) was higher than that of epithelial circulating tumor cells and that of mesenchymal circulating tumor cells (MCTCs) in the majority of NSCLC patients. Organ metastases were positively associated with the levels of overall CTCs, EMCTCs, and MCTCs (P&lt;0.05). EMCTCs and MCTCs were associated with worse clinical outcomes. Additionally, the levels of EMCTCs were negatively associated with the levels of CD3+ T cells (P=0.01) and CD8+ T cells (P=0.04). In conclusion, the levels of CTCs were positively associated with organ metastases, particularly bone metastases, but were negatively associated with T-cell levels. The levels of EMCTCs and MCTCs had negative prognostic value. Keywords: clinical trial, non-small cell lung cancer, circulating tumor cells, organ metastases, prognosis, lymphocyte T immune syste

Large Low-Field Magnetoresistance Observed in Heterostructure La0.7Ca0.3MnO3 / Gd0.7Ca0.3MnO3 Multilayers

The behaviour of resistivity versus temperature in a series of La0.7Ca0.3MnO3(LCMO)/Gd0.7MnO3(GCMO) multilayers has been studied. The resistivity peak temperature of the multilayers decreases with decreasing thickness of the LCMO layers. Large low-field magnetoresistance (LFMR) of Delta rho/rho(H) = 278% is obtained at 78.5 K in heterostructure LCMO/GCMO multilayers when a magnetic field is swept within +/-3100 Oe. This result suggests that the interface strain between LCMO and GCMO layers may influence the magnetic transport properties and a suitable Nm structure could be used to increase the LFMR.http://gateway.webofknowledge.com/gateway/Gateway.cgi?GWVersion=2&SrcApp=PARTNER_APP&SrcAuth=LinksAMR&KeyUT=WOS:000078448700004&DestLinkType=FullRecord&DestApp=ALL_WOS&UsrCustomerID=8e1609b174ce4e31116a60747a720701Physics, AppliedSCI(E)EI7ARTICLE290-933

Large Low-Field Magnetoresistance Observed in Polycrystalline La0.7Ca0.3MnO3 Films

Large low-field magnetoresistance (LFMR) of Delta rho/rho(H) = 40% is obtained at 163 K within +/-3000 Oe in a polycrystalline La0.7Ca0.3MnO3 (LCMO) films prepared by pulsed laser deposition. The ratio Delta rho/rho(H) increases almost linearly with H in the measuring magnetic field range and the peak of LFMR ratios is observed near the resistivity peak temperature, which is different from the observation of spin-polarized intergrain tunnels. This experiment suggests that grain boundaries have large influences an the LFMR. The results indicate that a suitable film process can be used to increase the LFMR of LCMO films.http://gateway.webofknowledge.com/gateway/Gateway.cgi?GWVersion=2&SrcApp=PARTNER_APP&SrcAuth=LinksAMR&KeyUT=WOS:000079124600021&DestLinkType=FullRecord&DestApp=ALL_WOS&UsrCustomerID=8e1609b174ce4e31116a60747a720701Physics, MultidisciplinarySCI(E)中国科学引文数据库(CSCD)2ARTICLE159-611