Search

Aims: The present study assessed cross-cultural differences in temperament and temperament stability between children from the United States (US) and the People’s Republic of China (PRC). Goals of the study include examining differences in three temperament factors (surgency, negative affectivity, and regulation/effortful control), conducting comparisons on fine-grained dimensions of factors demonstrating significant cross-cultural differences, and comparing temperament stability from infancy to toddlerhood. Methodology: The US sample (N = 147) and PRC sample (N = 128) consisted of children whose temperament was longitudinally assessed in infancy and toddlerhood using the Infant Behavior Questionnaire-Revised Short Form (IBQ-R SF) and the Early Childhood Behavior Questionnaire Short Form (ECBQ SF). Primary analyses involved evaluating mean differences in the three temperament factors: surgency, negative affectivity, and regulation/effortful control, with additional statistical tests conducted to investigate fine-grained distinctions. Results: Findings revealed main effects of culture for each factor with culture x time interactions indicating negative affectivity significantly differed in toddlerhood, t(273) = -8.27, P < .001, d = 1.00, 98.75% CI [-0.70, -0.37], and regulation in infancy, t(273) = -5.17, P < .001, d = 0.62, 98.75% CI [-0.62, -0.22]. Specifically, the US sample exhibited higher surgency at both time points, lower negative affectivity in toddlerhood, and lower regulation in infancy. In addition, little difference was noted in temperament stability between the US and Chinese samples. Conclusion: Our findings support previous reports identifying cultural differences in temperament and highlight that differences are not constant across early childhood, but rather that as development unfolds, their nature is subject to change.

Liposcelis entomophila is a nuisance pest that seriously threatens the safety of stored grains owing in part of pesticide resistance. To facilitate better control of L. entomophila, future studies need to focus on gene function characterization. This requires the identification of suitable reference genes (RGs) for reverse-transcription quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR), which is crucial for the normalization of target gene expression. Here, we evaluated the expression stability of 12 candidate RGs in L. entomophila across six experimental conditions (developmental stage, population, body part, phosphine fumigation, hypoxia induction, and temperature treatment). Under developmental conditions, ACTB, HSP70, and RPL23 were the most stable RGs. Among the different populations and body parts, RPL23, EF1a, and ACTB were the most stable RGs. Comparison of gene expression among adults under different environmental conditions revealed that at least seven RGs were fit for normalizing gene expression data. Among them, RPL23, EF1a, and ACTB showed the best fit as RGs in RT-qPCR analysis. After validation, our results demonstrated that EF1a and ACTB, as well as their combination, were the ideal RGs for L. entomophila across various experimental conditions. This study provides a comprehensive RG selection suggestion for gene expression studies of L. entomophila and will facilitate future functional genomic research on the development and tolerance of environmental factors in psocids.

To reveal population divergence in the mate choice and its mechanistic basis, the mating rhythm, mating preference and male volatile profiles of Tribolium castaneum (Herbst, 1797) (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae) were studied. During ten days after emergence, six geographical populations of T. castaneum exhibited an identical daily or circadian mating rhythm. Males showed significant attraction to females while females did not show attraction to males. Furthermore, male attraction to females varied significantly within six populations, while female preference to males did not. Males from the HBWH population were most attractive to females sequentially followed by males from the populations of SHJD, HNZZ, GA1, GDST, and ZJJX, which was positively correlated with their 4,8-dimethyldecanal (DMD) production. Gnotobiotic reinoculation of two gut bacteria, Citrobacter freundii and Escherichia coli, to axenic males significantly enhanced their attraction to females and DMD production. It could be concluded that: (i) in the mate choice of T. castaneum, males were more like the sexual pheromone senders and females were the pheromone receivers; (ii) there was detectable divergence in the chemical communication among six populations of T. castaneum, which could be mainly attributed to alterations in the male pheromone production rather than changes in the female pheromone perception; and (iii) gut bacteria could modulate the chemical communication of the host by interfering with the pheromone production. Such knowledge will provide insights into optimizing trapping technologies for pest management.

Although noble metal nanocrystals have been studied extensively in the past decades, the shape-controlled synthesis of non-noble metal nanocrystals has remained challenging with limited success, which is a grand obstacle to their wide applications. Herein, a novel lattice mismatch-involved shape-control mechanism of Cu nanocrystals in a seed-mediated synthesis is reported, which can produce Cu nanoplates in high yield with tailored sizes (28-130 nm), holding great potential in optical and catalytic applications. The lattice mismatch between Cu and the seed is found effective in inducing crystallographic defects for symmetry breaking toward anisotropic nanocrystals. While a too-large lattice mismatch (11.7% for Au seeds) leads to multiple twin defects to form quasi-spherical Cu nanocrystals, an appropriately large lattice mismatch (7.7% for Pt and 6.9% for Pd seeds) successfully induces planar defects for the formation of Cu nanoplates. The size of the Cu nanoplates is customizable by controlling the concentration of the seeds, leading to tunable optical properties. A prototype of a colorimetric indicator with Cu nanoplates, potentially applicable to the safety control of foods and drugs is demonstrated. This mechanism paves a new way for the shape-controlled synthesis of Cu and other metal nanocrystals for a broad range of applications.

We examined hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal stress reactivity as an indicator of differential susceptibility in moderating the links between family socioeconomic status (SES) and executive function (EF) in three-year-old urban Chinese children. The participants included 77 children (36 girls) and their families. Family income, parents’ education, and level of occupation were reported by the mothers and aggregated into a composite index of family SES. We assessed the children’s biological reactivity by salivary cortisol responses to a mild stressor, which we calculated by the area under the curve with respect to increase. We measured EF skills with a series of laboratory tasks. The results revealed significant interactive effects of SES and cortisol reactivity on children’s cognitive inhibitory control. More specifically, SES was significantly related to cognitive inhibitory control for children with higher cortisol reactivity. Conversely, for children with lower cortisol reactivity, there were no significant correlations between SES and cognitive inhibitory control. Region of significance analyses indicated a moderating effect supporting the “bright side” of differential susceptibility, meaning that high cortisol reactive children were more likely to benefit from high levels of SES. The results also manifested a direct association between SES and children’s working memory, and this association was not dependent on the features of cortisol reactivity. SES did not relate to hot EF. The results highlight the SES disparity in different EF elements and may help in the development of targeted interventions.

Background The strategy of anesthesia used during ablation of atrial fibrillation (AF) remains controversial. This study aimed to compare sedation with general anesthesia (GA) for catheter ablation of AF. Hypothesis The presence of AF is associated with an increased risk of stroke and heart failure and decreased quality of life and survival. Methods We carried out a retrospective single-centered study with 351 patients undergoing the first ablation procedure for AF under sedation or GA. The main outcome was freedom from recurrence of AF at 1 year. The total time of staying at the ablation laboratory and procedure cost were also calculated. Results Freedom from atrial arrhythmia and ablation time did not differ between AF patients under sedation and GA (77.9% vs 79.9% and 42.27 ± 9.84 minutes vs 41.51 ± 9.27 minutes, respectively), while the total procedure time and cost were lower in patients who underwent sedation than GA (171.39 ± 45.09 minutes vs 202.92 ± 43.85 and 8.00 ± 7.02 CNY vs 8.79 ± 11.63 CNY, respectively). Conclusion GA is not superior to sedation, in terms of ablation time and freedom from atrial arrhythmia at 1 year, whereas patients with GA had more anesthesia time and procedure cost than sedation.

This research aimed to examine the relations among harsh discipline (including psychological aggression and corporal punishment), parent-child attachment, and peer attachment. More specifically, two mediation models (one for psychological aggression, one for corporal punishment) were investigated in which father-child attachment and mother-child attachment were hypothesized to mediate the relations between both paternal and maternal harsh discipline and peer attachment. In addition, differences across gender of the mediation model were examined. Participants were 668 children in grades four to eight and both their parents in China. The Chinese version of Parent-Child Conflict Tactics Scale (CTSPC) and the Inventory of Parent and Peer Attachment (IPPA) were used as the main assessment tools to measure parental use of harsh discipline, parent-child attachment, and peer attachment. Findings revealed that the direct path from neither fathers’ nor mothers’ harsh discipline to peer attachment was significant. Harsh discipline by one parent was indirectly related to peer attachment through the attachment between this parent and the child, but not through the attachment between his/her spouse and the child. In addition, the direct and indirect relations between harsh parental discipline and peer attachment did not differ across child gender. The findings provided an important supplement and extension to previous examinations of the factors associated with peer attachment and its mechanisms. In addition, the results also suggested the need for intervention programs aiming at improving children’s peer relationships to take the parenting and parent-child relationships into account.

Many metal organic frameworks (MOFs) incorporate metal oxide clusters as nodes. Node sites where linkers are missing can be catalytic sites. We now show how to dial in the number and occupancy of such sites in MIL-53 and MIL-68, which incorporate aluminum-oxide-like nodes. The methods involve modulators used in synthesis and postsynthesis reactions to control the modulator-derived groups on these sites. We illustrate the methods using formic acid as a modulator, giving formate ligands on the sites, and these can be removed to leave μ2-OH groups and open Lewis acid sites. Methanol dehydration was used as a catalytic reaction to probe these sites, with infrared spectra giving evidence of methoxide ligands as reaction intermediates. Control of node surface chemistry opens the door for placement of a variety of ligands on a wide range of metal oxide cluster nodes for dialing in reactivity and catalytic properties of a potentially immense class of structurally well-defined materials.

Jinlin Li,1 Qi Wang,1 Qingping Zhang,2 Zhengyan Wang,1 Xin Wan,3 Chenfang Miao,4 Xi Zeng5 1Department of Respiratory Medicine, Suizhou Hospital, Hubei University of Medicine, Suizhou, Hubei 441300, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, Suizhou Hospital, Hubei University of Medicine, Suizhou, Hubei 441300, People’s Republic of China; 3Department of Critical Care Medicine, Mindong Hospital of Fujian Medical University, Fuan, Fujian 355000, People’s Republic of China; 4Department of Anesthesiology, Mindong Hospital of Fujian Medical University, Fuan, Fujian 355000, People’s Republic of China; 5Department of Geriatrics, Mindong Hospital of Fujian Medical University, Fuan, Fujian 355000, People’s Republic of ChinaCorrespondence: Xi ZengDepartment of Geriatrics, Mindong Hospital of Fujian Medical University, No. 89 Heshan Road, Fuan City 355000, Fujian Province, People’s Republic of ChinaTel +86 18596658975Email 987295461@qq.comBackground: Vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1) is associated with vascular-related inflammation and atherosclerosis. This study aimed to evaluate whether VCAM-1 can be used for an indication of increased risk of CV events in patients with COPD.Methods: Serum VCAM-1 levels were measured in 163 COPD patients. All COPD patients were prospectively followed up for a median period of 48 months (range=3– 54). Cox proportional hazard analysis was performed to evaluate the prognostic value of serum VCAM-1 for predicting CV events.Results: Serum VCAM-1 levels were higher in COPD patients with CV events than in those without CV events (1174.4± 365.3 ng/mL vs 947.8± 293.2 ng/mL; P< 0.001). The logistic regression analysis revealed that serum VCAM-1 (OR=1.750; 95% CI, 1.324– 2.428; Ptrend= 0.0012) was independently associated with CVD (cardiovascular disease) history after adjusting for age, sex, BMI, current smoker, current drinker, admission systolic and diastolic BP, LVEF and laboratory measurements in patients with COPD at baseline. The Kaplan–Meier analysis demonstrated that the rate of CV events was higher in COPD patients with serum VCAM-1 levels above the median (517.3 ng/mL) than in those with VCAM-1 levels below the median. The Cox proportional hazard analysis revealed that serum VCAM-1 (HR=2.617; 95% CI, 1.673– 5.328; Ptrend< 0.001) may be an independent prognostic factor for CV events in the COPD patients.Conclusion: Our results suggested that serum VCAM-1 was significantly and independently associated with CV events in COPD patients. The inflammatory marker may help clinicians predict CV complications early.Keywords: vascular cell adhesion molecule-1, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, cardiovascular events, prognostic value

The decision-making of cash holdings is very important for the daily operation of enterprises. This present paper tries to establish uncertain optimal cash holding models with the constraint of saf...

Objective. To examine the clinical efficacy of budesonide/glycopyrronium bromide/formoterol (Breztri Aerosphere) as an adjunct to acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). Methods. A prospective study enrolled 120 patients with pulmonary endogenous ARDS admitted to the Department of Critical Care Medicine at the Fourth Hospital of Baotou from January 2017 to January 2020, and all enrollments were assigned (1 : 1) to receive conventional treatment (control group) or Breztri Aerosphere (study group). Results. Breztri Aerosphere was associated with a significantly higher total efficacy versus conventional treatment. Breztri Aerosphere resulted in significantly lower acute physiology and chronic health evaluation scoring system (APACHE II) scores and Murray lung injury scores versus conventional treatment. Both groups saw an increase in the partial pressure of carbon dioxide (PCO2), partial pressure of oxygen (PO2), and oxygen saturation (SaO2) after treatment, with higher levels seen in patients given Breztri Aerosphere. After treatment, systemic vascular resistance (SVR) in both groups rose markedly, with greater elevation witnessed in the study group. The patients given Breztri Aerosphere showed significantly lower levels of pulmonary vascular resistance (PVR), mean pulmonary arterial pressure (MAPA), pulmonary artery wedge pressure (PAWP), interleukin-6 (IL-6), interleukin-10 (IL-10), tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), and procalcitonin (PCT) versus those receiving conventional treatment. The patients experienced shorter mechanical ventilation time and intensive care unit (ICU) time after treatment of Breztri Aerosphere versus conventional treatment. Conclusion. Adjuvant therapy with Breztri Aerosphere in ARDS can significantly lower APACHE II scores and Murray lung injury scores, improve blood gas indexes and pulmonary circulation function indexes, and shorten mechanical ventilation time and ICU time, which may be attributed to its improvement of organism inflammation status and reduction of inflammatory factors.

Attachment theory and research are drawn upon in many applied settings, including family courts, but misunderstandings are widespread and sometimes result in misapplications. The aim of this consensus statement is, therefore, to enhance understanding, counter misinformation, and steer family-court utilisation of attachment theory in a supportive, evidence-based direction, especially with regard to child protection and child custody decision-making. The article is divided into two parts. In the first, we address problems related to the use of attachment theory and research in family courts, and discuss reasons for these problems. To this end, we examine family court applications of attachment theory in the current context of the best-interest-of-the-child standard, discuss misunderstandings regarding attachment theory, and identify factors that have hindered accurate implementation. In the second part, we provide recommendations for the application of attachment theory and research. To this end, we set out three attachment principles: the child’s need for familiar, non-abusive caregivers; the value of continuity of good-enough care; and the benefits of networks of attachment relationships. We also discuss the suitability of assessments of attachment quality and caregiving behaviour to inform family court decision-making. We conclude that assessments of caregiver behaviour should take center stage. Although there is dissensus among us regarding the use of assessments o attachment quality to inform child custody and child-protection decisions, such assessments are currently most suitable for targeting and directing supportive interventions. Finally, we provide directions to guide future interdisciplinary research collaboration. info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion

Maize is an important crop in the world, nitrogen stress severely reduces maize yield. Although a large number of studies have identified the expression changes of microRNAs (miRNAs) under N stress in several species, the miRNAs expression patterns of N-deficient plants under N resupply remain unclear. The primary objective of this study was to identify miRNAs in response to nitrogen stress and understand relevant physiological changes in nitrogen-deficient maize after nitrogen resupply. Physiological parameters were measured to study relevant physiological changes under different nitrogen conditions. Small RNA sequencing and qRT-PCR analysis were performed to understand the response of miRNAs under different nitrogen conditions. The content of chlorophyll, soluble protein and nitrate nitrogen decreased than CK by 0.52, 0.49 and 0.82 times after N deficiency treatment and increased than ND by 0.52, 1.36 and 0.65 times after N resupply, respectively. Conversely, the activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and peroxidase (POD) increased by 0.67 and 1.64 times than CK after N deficiency, respectively, and decreased by 0.09 and 0.35 times than ND after N resupply. A total of 226 known miRNAs were identified by sRNA sequencing; 106 miRNAs were differentially expressed between the control and N-deficient groups, and 103 were differentially expressed between the N-deficient and N-resupply groups (P

The goal of our study was to determine if phosphine exposure changed the fecundity of the surviving Liposcelis entomophila, and the fitness of resulting offspring. Two strains of L. entomop...

Studies have explored brain structural abnormalities in patients with primary insomnia (PI). However, most of them are based on volumetric measures, in a specific region of interest, and have small sample sizes. Here, we investigated changes in cortical morphology (thickness and volume) in PI using an advanced surface-based morphometric method. Sixty-seven patients with PI and 55 matched healthy controls were recruited for this study and underwent a structural magnetic resonance imaging scan. The reconstructed cortical surface was processed by Freesurfer 6.0. A general linear model was used to explore group differences in surface-based morphometric features. Furthermore, the association between these cortical features and clinical characteristics were assessed in the PI group. Compared to controls, PI patients showed cortical thickening in the left orbital frontal cortex (OFC), right rostral anterior cingulate cortex (rACC), left middle cingulate cortex (MCC), bilateral insula, left superior parietal lobule (SPL), and right fusiform area (FFA), and showed increased cortical volume in the left OFC, right rACC, bilateral rostral middle frontal gyrus, and right FFA. Cortical thickness in the right OFC and FFA was positively correlated with the severity of insomnia in the PI group, suggesting a right-lateralized relationship. This study was the first to explore multiple-scale cortical morphometric changes in a relatively large sample of PI patients. Our results suggest that hypertrophic cortical morphology may underlie the neuropathology of primary insomnia.

The present study examined bidirectional effects between sleep problems (nocturnal awakenings and insufficient nocturnal sleep) and infant development (gross motor, fine motor, and cognition) in a sample of 182 infants (89 girls) and their parents living in Beijing (China). Using 3 waves of longitudinal data (at 6 months, 1 year, and 2 years of age), this study (a) explored the differences in sleep patterns and developmental outcomes between infants in the current sample and infants from other cultures; and primarily examined (b) whether nocturnal awakenings and insufficient nocturnal sleep prospectively predicted infant development; (c) or whether infant development predicted sleep problems. Mothers reported their children's sleep problems, and infant development was assessed with Bayley III. Sleep patterns of Beijing infants were slightly different from those from Finland and Singapore, and most scores on Bayley III in this Beijing sample were higher than those in Danish, Dutch and Sri Lankan samples. Sleep problems and developmental measures were stable across the 3 times of assessments, but cross-lagged associations were limited in number and strength. High scores on the Bayley at 6 months predicted less nocturnal awakenings at 1 year of age. Insufficient nocturnal sleep at 1 year predicted poor fine motor development at 2 years. Thus, findings suggest some bidirectional associations between infant development and sleep problems and further highlight the need to understand these relations within specific cultural contexts.

While social interaction between a mother and her child has been found to play an important role in the child’s committed compliance, the underlying neurocognitive process remains unclear. To investigate this process, we simultaneously recorded and assessed brain activity in 7-year-old children and in children’s mothers or strangers during a free-play task using functional near-infrared spectroscopy-based hyperscanning. The results showed that a child’s committed compliance was positively associated with the child’s responsiveness but was negatively associated with mutual responsiveness and was not associated with the mother’s responsiveness during mother–child interactions. Moreover, interpersonal neural synchronization (INS) at the temporoparietal junction mediated the relationship between the child’s responsiveness and the child’s committed compliance during mother–child interactions when the child’s brain activity lagged behind that of the mother. However, these effects were not found during stranger–child interactions, nor were there significant effects in the mother–child pair when no real interactions occurred. Finally, we found a transfer effect of a child’s committed compliance from mother–child interactions to stranger–child interactions via the mediation of mother–child INS, but the opposite did not occur. Together, these findings suggest that a child’s responsiveness during mother–child interactions can significantly facilitate her or his committed compliance by increasing mother–child INS.

Background: Catheter ablation of atrial fibrillation is an alternative treatment for patients with tachycardia-bradycardia syndrome (TBS) to avoid pacemaker implantation. The risk stratification for atrial fibrillation and outcomes between ablation and pacing has not been fully evaluated.Methods: This retrospective study involved 306 TBS patients, including 141 patients who received catheter ablation (Ablation group, age: 62.2 ± 9.0 months, mean longest pauses: 5.2 ± 2.2 s) and 165 patients who received pacemaker implement (Pacing group, age: 62.3 ± 9.1 months, mean longest pauses: 6.0 ± 2.3 s). The primary endpoint was a composite of call cause mortality, cardiovascular-related hospitalization or thrombosis events (stroke, or peripheral thrombosis). The second endpoint was progress of atrial fibrillation and heart failure.Results: After a median follow-up of 75.4 months, the primary endpoint occurred in significantly higher patients in the pacing group than in the ablation group (59.4 vs.15.6%, OR 6.05, 95% CI: 3.73–9.80, P < 0.001). None of deaths was occurred in ablation group, and 1 death occurred due to cancer. Cardiovascular-related hospitalization occurred in 50.9% of the pacing group compared with 14.2% in the ablation group (OR: 4.87, 95% CI: 2.99–7.95, P < 0.001). More thrombosis events occurred in the pacing group than in the ablation group (12.7 vs. 2.1%, OR 6.06, 95% CI: 1.81–20.35, P = 0.004). Significant more patients progressed to persistent atrial fibrillation in pacing group than in ablation group (23.6 vs. 2.1%, P < 0.001). The NYHA classification of the pacing group was significantly higher than that of the ablation group (2.11 ± 0.83 vs. 1.50 ± 0.74, P < 0.001). The proportion of antiarrhythmic drugs and anticoagulants used in the pacing group was significantly higher than that in the ablation group (41.2 vs. 7.1%, P < 0.001; 16.4 vs. 2.1%, P = 0.009).Conclusion: Catheter ablation for patients with TBS was associated with a significantly lower rate of a composite end point of cardiovascular related hospitalization and thromboembolic events. Furthermore, catheter ablation reduced the progression of atrial fibrillation and heart failure.

Although the research interest in parenting behaviors of Chinese parents has increased during the past two decades, there remains a lack of an adequate and comprehensive Chinese assessment tool for these parenting behaviors in early childhood. Drawn from two samples of Chinese mothers with young children (i.e., 1- to 4-year-olds), this research addressed this gap by examining the factor structure, reliability, and validity of a Chinese version of the Comprehensive Early Childhood Parenting Questionnaire (CECPAQ-CV). Confirmatory factor analyses showed that a 5-factor model, consisting of 13 micro-dimensions of parenting behaviors, best fitted the data for Sample 1 (N1 = 2179) compared with 1-factor, 2-factor, and 4-factor models. This 5-factor model was further validated with the data for Sample 2 (N2 = 160). Reliability was good. The criterion validity of the CECPAQ-CV was supported by expected relations with maternal parenting stress and child externalizing and internalizing behaviors. The convergent and discriminant validity of the CECPAQ-CV was established with the Parent-Child Conflict Tactics Scale. The results indicate that the CECPAC-CV holds promise as a reliable and valid tool to measure important dimensions of early parenting in China.

This paper applied mesoporous metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) of UiO-66 particles for pH-responsive doxorubicin (DOX) delivery and cancer treatment. Mesoporous structured UiO-66 MOFs were synthesized, and carboxymethylcellulose (CMC) was loaded for sensitive pH response and also as a linker to encapsulate the chemotherapeutic drug of DOX. The composite of UiO-66/CMC@DOX was synthesized, and the loading capacity was as high as 45 μg DOX per mg of the carrier. The structure and crystalization of the UiO-66 MOFs were determined by the Transmitting Electron Microscope (TEM) and x-ray diffraction methods, while the loading of CMC and DOX was inspected by Fourier Transform InfraRed (FT-IR) and UV–vis spectroscopy. The DOX release from UiO-66/CMC@DOX was tested under different pH at 37 °C. The DOX accumulative release could reach 78% under the pH of 5. A lower pH was more favorable for DOX release due to the CMC shrinking and higher DOX solubility in an acidic environment. The cytotoxicity study indicated that, under the DOX concentration of 4 μg ml−1, the A549 cell (Lung Carcinoma Cell Line) viability of UiO-66/CMC was 28%, which was lower than that from free DOX solution (47%). UiO-66 MOFs were demonstrated to be an efficient drug delivery carrier for chemotherapeutic drug and release.

Item does not contain fulltext Television exposure in early childhood has increased, with concerns raised regarding adverse effects on social-emotional development, and emerging self-regulation in particular. The present study addressed television exposure (i.e., amount of time watching TV) and its associations with toddler behavioral/emotional dysregulation, examining potential differences across 14 cultures. The sample consisted of an average of 60 toddlers from each of the 14 countries from the Joint Effort Toddler Temperament Consortium (JETTC; Gartstein & Putnam, 2018). Analyses were conducted relying on the multi-level modeling framework (MLM), accounting for between- and within-culture variability, and examining the extent to which TV exposure contributions were universal vs. variable across sites. Effects of time watching TV were evaluated in relation to temperament reactivity and regulation, as well as measures of emotional reactivity, attention difficulties, and aggression. Results indicated that more time spent watching TV was associated with higher ratings on Negative Emotionality, emotional reactivity, aggression, and attention problems, as well as lower levels of soothability. However, links between TV exposure and both attention problems and soothability varied significantly between cultures. Taken together, results demonstrate that increased time spent watching television was generally associated with dysregulation, although effects were not consistently uniform, but rather varied as a function of culturally-dependent contextual factors. 15 p.

Supplemental material, sj-docx-1-tej-10.1177_2041731421995465 for Application of bioluminescence resonance energy transfer-based cell tracking approach in bone tissue engineering by Lufei Wang, Dong Joon Lee, Han Han, Lixing Zhao, Hiroshi Tsukamoto, Yong-IL Kim, Adele M Musicant, Kshitij Parag-Sharma, Xiangxiang Hu, Henry C Tseng, Jen-Tsan Chi, Zhengyan Wang, Antonio L Amelio and Ching-Chang Ko in Journal of Tissue Engineering

With the popularity of large-scale corpora, statistics-based models have become mainstream model in Natural Language Processing (NLP). The Bidirectional Encoder Representations from Transformers (BERT), as one of those models, has achieved excellent results in various tasks of NLP since its emergence. But it still has shortcomings, such as poor capability of extracting local features and exploding of training gradients. After analyzing the shortcomings of BERT, this paper proposed an Information-gain Association Vector Semi-supervised Bidirectional Encoder Representations from Transformers (IAS-BERT) model, which improves the capability of capturing local features. Considering the influence of feature's polarity to overall sentiment and association between two word-embeddings, we use information gain on the training corpus. And then, the information gain results are used as an annotation of training corpus to generate a new word embedding. At the same time, we use forward-matching to optimize the computational overhead of IAS-BERT. We experiment the model on dataset of sentiment analysis, and it have achieved good results.

Item does not contain fulltext This study advances the cross-cultural temperament literature by comparing temperament ratings of toddlers from 14 nations. Multilevel modeling (MLM) procedures were utilized to regress negative emotionality (NE) and component subscales on Hofstede's cultural value dimensions while controlling for age and gender. More individualistic values were associated with lower NE, and component discomfort, fear, motor activity, perceptual sensitivity, and soothability scales. The discomfort subscale was negatively associated with power distance and positively associated with masculine cultural values. Higher ratings of shyness were related to a more long-term cultural orientation. Results illustrate the feasibility of an MLM approach to cross-cultural research and provide a new perspective on the intersection of culture and temperament development. Limitations and future implications are discussed. 8 p.

Microarray gene technology solves the problem of obtaining gene expression data. It is a significant part for current research to obtain effective information from omics genes quickly. Feature selection is an important step of data preprocessing, and it is one of the key factors affecting the capability of algorithm information extraction. Since single feature selection method causes the deviation of feature subsets, we introduce ensemble learning to solve the problem of clusters redundancy. We propose a new method called Multi-Cluster minimum Redundancy (MCmR). Firstly, features are clustered by L1-normth. And then, redundant features among clusters are removed according to the mRMR algorithm. Finally, it can be sorted by the calculation results of each feature MCFS_score in the features subset. By this process, the feature with higher score can be used as the output result. The concept lattice constructed by MCmR reduces redundant concepts while maintaining its structure and improve the efficiency of data analysis. We verify the valid of MCmR on multiple disease gene datasets, and its ACC in Prostate_Tumor, Lung_cancer, Breast_cancer and Leukemia datasets reached 95.4, 94.9, 96.0 and 95.8 respectively.

Patients with acute exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (AECOPD) were treated with immediate or sequential withdrawal after 5 days of systemic glucocorticoids. The effects of the two withdrawal methods on the prognosis of patients were compared at 30, 90, 180, and 360 days after discharge. A multicenter, randomized, double-blind, parallel-controlled, open-label study was conducted in the respiratory department of tertiary hospitals in Central China. Patients met inclusion criteria for AECOPD and needed to use systemic glucocorticoids. They were randomly assigned to immediate and sequential withdrawal groups at a 1:1 ratio. The study was completed in August 2020 and is registered at the China Clinical Trials Registry (Chictr.org) (ChiCTR1800018894). According to general data and clinical characteristics, there were no statistically significant differences between the 329 patients in the immediate withdrawal group and the 310 patients in the sequential withdrawal group (P > 0.05). At the 30, 90, 180, and 360-days follow-up, the acute exacerbation frequency, rehospitalization rate, mortality, and intensive care unit (ICU) treatment rate were not significantly different between the immediate withdrawal group and sequential withdrawal group (P > 0.05). The modified Medical Research Council (mMRC) and COPD assessment test (CAT) scores were also not significantly different between the two groups. At the 180- and 360-day follow-up, forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1%) and peak expiratory flow (PEF) were not significantly different between the two groups (P > 0.05). The time from discharge to first acute exacerbation was significantly lower in the immediate withdrawal group (46.12 days) than in sequential withdrawal group (49.02 days) (P < 0.05). The time of stay in the hospital for the first time after discharge was not significantly different between the two groups (P > 0.05). Adverse events were not significantly different between the immediate withdrawal group and sequential withdrawal group (P < 0.05). Subgroup analysis was performed according to age, degree of disease, and relevant indicators. At the 30-day follow-up, the acute exacerbation frequency of patients with advanced age, high global strategy for chronic obstructive lung disease (GOLD), and high fractional exhaled nitric oxide was significantly higher in the immediate withdrawal group than in the sequential withdrawal group (P < 0.05). In addition, according to receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis, the frequency of acute exacerbations at the 30-day follow-up was significantly higher in patients with age > 63.5 years or GOLD > 3 in the immediate withdrawal group than in the sequential withdrawal group, suggesting that the short-term efficacy was poor.

Background Esophageal injury caused by cryoballoon-based PVI is common. Cryoablation guided by transoesophageal echocardiography (TEE) for occlusion of the pulmonary vein (PV) is safe and effective. Objective To investigate the protective effect of mechanical displacement of the esophagus by TEE probe in cryoablation of atiral fibrillation. Methods Fifty patients with paroxysmal AF (PAF) were enrolled in the present study. 25 patients underwent cryoablation without TEE (non-TEE group) and the other 25 underwent with TEE (TEE group) for PV occlusion guidance and displacement of the esophagus. In the TEE group during the procedure, TEE was used to guide the movement of the balloon to achieve PV occlusion. And before freezing, the probe of the TEE was moved to displace the esophagus away from the PV being freezed in order to reduce the risk of cryoinjury. All patients underwent esophagogastroscopy within 2 days of the procedure. The patients were followed up in our center at regularly scheduled visits every 2 months. Results There was no significant difference between the TEE group and non-TEE group in regard to the procedure time. The fluoroscopy time in the TEE group was less compared to the non-TEE group (4.1±3.3 min vs. 16.6±6.9 min, P Conclusion Cryoablation of AF with TEE for protecting the esophagus from cryoinjury is safe and effective. Lower risk of esophageal injury can be achieved with the help of TEE probe movement for mechanical displacement of the esophagus during freezing. Funding Acknowledgement Type of funding source: None

This study examined relations between behavioral inhibition in toddlerhood and social, school, and psychological adjustment in late adolescence in China. Data on behavioral inhibition were collected from a sample of 2-year-olds (initial N = 247). Follow-up data were collected at 7 years for peer relationships and 19 years for adjustment across domains. The results showed that early inhibition positively predicted later social competence and school adjustment. Peer relationships in middle childhood served as a protective factor in the development of depression of inhibited children. The results indicate the distinct functional meaning of behavioral inhibition in the Chinese context from a developmental perspective.

Background Imported falciparum malaria from Africa has become a key public health challenge in Guizhou Province since 2012. Understanding the polymorphisms of molecular markers of drug resistance can guide selection of antimalarial drugs for the treatment of malaria. This study was aimed to analyze the polymorphisms of pfcrt, pfmdr1, and K13-propeller among imported falciparum malaria cases in Guizhou Province, China. Method Fifty-five imported falciparum malaria cases in Guizhou Province during 2012–2016 were included in this study. Their demographic information and filter paper blood samples were collected. Genomic DNA of Plasmodium falciparum was extracted from the blood samples, and polymorphisms of pfcrt, pfmdr1, and K13-propeller were analyzed with nested PCR amplification followed by sequencing. Data were analyzed with the SPSS17.0 software. Results The prevalence of pfcrt K76T, pfmdr1 N86Y, and pfmdr1 Y184F mutation was 56.6, 22.2, and 72.2%, respectively, in imported falciparum malaria cases in Guizhou Province. We detected two mutant haplotypes of pfcrt, IET and MNT, with IET being more commonly found (54.7%), and five mutant haplotypes of pfmdr1, of which NFD was the most frequent (53.7%). There were totally 10 combined haplotypes of pfcrt and pfmdr1, of which the haplotype IETNFD possessed a predominance of 28.8%. In addition, three nonsynonymous mutations (S459T, C469F, and V692L) and two synonymous mutations (R471R and V589V) were detected in K13-propeller, all having prevalence less than 6.0%. In particular, a candidate K13 resistance mutation, C469F, was identified for the first time from Democratic Republic of the Congo with the prevalence of 2.0%. Conclusions The high prevalence of IET haplotype of pfcrt and NFD haplotype of pfmdr1 suggests the presence of chloroquine, artemether/lumefantrine, and dihydroartemisinin/piperaquine resistance in these cases. Therefore cautions should be made to artemisinin therapy for P. falciparum in Africa. Continuous monitoring of anti-malarial drug efficacy in imported malaria cases is helpful for optimizing antimalarial drug therapy in Guizhou Province, China.

Objectives COVID-19 has rapidly become a major health emergency worldwide. Patients with IBD are at increased risk of infection, especially when they have active disease and are taking immunosuppressive therapy. The characteristics and outcomes of COVID-19 in patients with IBD remain unclear. Design This Italian prospective observational cohort study enrolled consecutive patients with an established IBD diagnosis and confirmed COVID-19. Data regarding age, sex, IBD (type, treatments and clinical activity), other comorbidities (Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI)), signs and symptoms of COVID-19 and therapies were compared with COVID-19 outcomes (pneumonia, hospitalisation, respiratory therapy and death). Results Between 11 and 29 March 2020, 79 patients with IBD with COVID-19 were enrolled at 24 IBD referral units. Thirty-six patients had COVID-19-related pneumonia (46%), 22 (28%) were hospitalised, 7 (9%) required non-mechanical ventilation, 9 (11%) required continuous positive airway pressure therapy, 2 (3%) had endotracheal intubation and 6 (8%) died. Four patients (6%) were diagnosed with COVID-19 while they were being hospitalised for a severe flare of IBD. Age over 65 years (p=0.03), UC diagnosis (p=0.03), IBD activity (p=0.003) and a CCI score >1 (p=0.04) were significantly associated with COVID-19 pneumonia, whereas concomitant IBD treatments were not. Age over 65 years (p=0.002), active IBD (p=0.02) and higher CCI score were significantly associated with COVID-19-related death. Conclusions Active IBD, old age and comorbidities were associated with a negative COVID-19 outcome, whereas IBD treatments were not. Preventing acute IBD flares may avoid fatal COVID-19 in patients with IBD. Further research is needed.

ObjectiveTo assess the efficacy and safety of hydroxychloroquine plus standard of care compared with standard of care alone in adults with coronavirus disease 2019 (covid-19).DesignMulticentre, open label, randomised controlled trial.Setting16 government designated covid-19 treatment centres in China, 11 to 29 February 2020.Participants150 patients admitted to hospital with laboratory confirmed covid-19 were included in the intention to treat analysis (75 patients assigned to hydroxychloroquine plus standard of care, 75 to standard of care alone).InterventionsHydroxychloroquine administrated at a loading dose of 1200 mg daily for three days followed by a maintenance dose of 800 mg daily (total treatment duration: two or three weeks for patients with mild to moderate or severe disease, respectively).Main outcome measureNegative conversion of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 by 28 days, analysed according to the intention to treat principle. Adverse events were analysed in the safety population in which hydroxychloroquine recipients were participants who received at least one dose of hydroxychloroquine and hydroxychloroquine non-recipients were those managed with standard of care alone.ResultsOf 150 patients, 148 had mild to moderate disease and two had severe disease. The mean duration from symptom onset to randomisation was 16.6 (SD 10.5; range 3-41) days. A total of 109 (73%) patients (56 standard of care; 53 standard of care plus hydroxychloroquine) had negative conversion well before 28 days, and the remaining 41 (27%) patients (19 standard of care; 22 standard of care plus hydroxychloroquine) were censored as they did not reach negative conversion of virus. The probability of negative conversion by 28 days in the standard of care plus hydroxychloroquine group was 85.4% (95% confidence interval 73.8% to 93.8%), similar to that in the standard of care group (81.3%, 71.2% to 89.6%). The difference between groups was 4.1% (95% confidence interval –10.3% to 18.5%). In the safety population, adverse events were recorded in 7/80 (9%) hydroxychloroquine non-recipients and in 21/70 (30%) hydroxychloroquine recipients. The most common adverse event in the hydroxychloroquine recipients was diarrhoea, reported in 7/70 (10%) patients. Two hydroxychloroquine recipients reported serious adverse events.ConclusionsAdministration of hydroxychloroquine did not result in a significantly higher probability of negative conversion than standard of care alone in patients admitted to hospital with mainly persistent mild to moderate covid-19. Adverse events were higher in hydroxychloroquine recipients than in non-recipients.Trial registrationChiCTR2000029868.

SummaryBackgroundPatients with pre-existing cirrhosis are considered at increased risk of severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) but the clinical course in these patients has not yet been reported. This study aimed to provide a detailed report of the clinical characteristics and outcomes among COVID-19 patients with pre-existing cirrhosis.MethodsIn this retrospective, multicenter cohort study, we consecutively included all adult inpatients with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 and pre-existing cirrhosis that had been discharged or had died by 24 March 2020 from 16 designated hospitals in China.Demographic, clinical, laboratory and radiographic findings on admission, treatment, complications during hospitalization and clinical outcomes were collected and compared between survivors and non-survivors.FindingsTwenty-one patients were included consecutively in this study, of whom 16 were cured and 5 died in hospital. Seventeen patients had compensated cirrhosis and hepatitis B virus infection was the most common etiology. Lymphocyte and platelet counts were lower, and direct bilirubin levels were higher in patients who died than those who survived (p= 0·040, 0·032, and 0·006, respectively). Acute respiratory distress syndrome and secondary infection were both the most frequently observed complications. Only one patient developed acute on chronic liver failure. Of the 5 non-survivors, all patients developed acute respiratory distress syndrome and 2 patients progressed to multiple organ dysfunction syndrome.InterpretationLower lymphocyte and platelet counts, and higher direct bilirubin level might represent poor prognostic indicators in SARS-CoV-2-infected patients with pre-existing cirrhosis.