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Objectives Childhood obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is underdiagnosed. The aim of this study was to assess the awareness level of OSA among parents in the general population of Guangdong province of South China. Methods This descriptive epidemiological study was conducted from July to November 2019 using an anonymous questionnaire that evaluated the knowledge of OSA-related symptoms and complications. Exclusion criteria included age under 18 years, refusal to fill out the questionnaire, and a linguistic barrier. Results A total of 1123 respondents participated in the survey. Among them, 530 (47.2%) respondents were aware of childhood OSA. The most common source of information about childhood OSA was the internet (49.9%). On multivariate analysis, the respondents obtained higher scores if they were mothers (B: -0.105, 95% confidence interval [CI]: -0.153,-0.057), lived in an urban area (B: -0.077, 95% CI: -0.125,-0.28), and knew about childhood OSA previously (B: -0.55, 95% CI:-0.598,-0.502). Conclusion Parents demonstrated limited awareness of OSA complications. Innovative educational campaigns must be organized to inform medical practitioners and the general public about this disease and raise awareness about its complications. The effectiveness of the ongoing health education campaigns to increase awareness should be monitored by examining the temporal trends in public knowledge of childhood sleep apnea.

Introduction In recent years, tobacco control policy initiatives have emerged at the subnational level in China. In 2013, for example, Qingdao enacted a 100% smokefree policy that gave regulatory authority to multiple enforcement agencies. Given that little is known about the extent of smoke-free policy compliance in smaller Chinese cities, this study assessed compliance with Qingdao’s Tobacco Control Regulation and whether compliance differed by enforcement agency. Methods A cross-sectional observational study was undertaken between October and November 2018. Venues were selected based on enforcement agency and included restaurants, retail stores, schools, government buildings, hospitals, business offices, and other hospitality venues. Comprehensive lists of venues were identified where they existed, and a random sample of venues were subsequently selected. For venue categories for which there were no comprehensive lists, a walking protocol was used. Observational data included evidence of smoking, the presence of no-smoking signage, and designated smoking areas (DSAs). Descriptive statistics were obtained. Subsequently, logistic regression models were used to determine the association between enforcement agency and policy compliance. Results A total of 694 venues were observed. For all venue types, 64.7% were compliant with the composite indicator ‘evidence of smoking’. Findings also showed that smoke-free compliance varied by enforcement agency (p

A shock or a mini-magnetosphere was once thought to be formed by the solar wind interaction with strong lunar magnetic anomalies. However, the full structure of a mini-magnetosphere has never been verified and whether a mini-magnetosphere can be completely formed remains a controversy. In this work, we present a unique multipoint observation of such an interaction by the ARTEMIS spacecraft and the Chang’E-4 rover. Both solar wind deceleration and penetration are observed by the Chang’E-4 rover on the lunar surface near the magnetic anomaly. Meanwhile, a shock is observed by the ARTEMIS spacecraft downstream from the magnetic anomaly. It is suggested that the magnetic anomaly cannot stand off the solar wind, and there is no shock but just a boundary layer near the magnetic anomaly. Accordingly, a mini-magnetosphere is not completely formed and the downstream shock observed the ARTEMIS spacecraft just corresponds to a trailing shock.

Bacterial wilt caused by Ralstonia solanacearum is a devastating disease of flue-cured tobacco production. Amendments of biochar in soil suppress the incidence of bacterial wilt disease by improving soil health and functional diversity of rhizosphere microbes. In this study, we observed the effect of 0–5% application rate of tobacco stem biochar on soil health and the occurrence of tobacco bacterial wilt disease. Results demonstrated that the application of 2% tobacco stem biochar significantly improves soil physicochemical properties, microbial biomass carbon and nitrogen, and the functional diversity of microbes in the rhizosphere. The ability of rhizosphere microorganisms to utilize six types of carbon sources was significantly improved under the 2% application rate of tobacco stem biochar, which reduced the incidence of bacterial wilt disease and R. solanacearum population in the rhizosphere of tobacco plants. Biochar also increases the accumulation of dry matter contents in the roots, stems, and leaves of tobacco plant. We conclude that tobacco stem biochar at a certain level improves the soil physicochemical properties, functional diversity of rhizosphere microorganisms, mitigates the pathogen population, and reduces disease incidence. This study highlights the potential use of tobacco stem biochar to manage the bacterial wilt disease.

Background: Blood lipid levels have been widely studied in patients with sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSNHL), but it has been unclear whether dyslipidemia associates with SSNHL. Whether there is a simple and feasible blood lipid index to predict the onset of SSNHL remains to be found.Methods: This study reviewed 100 SSNHL patients and 100 healthy subjects who received relevant clinical examination in our hospital from June 1, 2015 to June 1, 2019. The demographic, clinical characteristics, lipid levels and lipid metabolism indexes of the two groups were compared.Results: In this study, 100 patients (64 men [64%]; 36 women [36%]; mean [SD] age, 38.47 [14.36] years) were included in the SSNHL group, and 100 healthy people(60 men [60%]; 40 women [40%]; mean [SD] age, 36.52 [9.86] years) served as the control group. No significant differences between the SSNHL group and the control group in age, sex, BMI, smoking habits and alcohol drinking patterns were observed. Meanwhile, it can be seen the mean (SD) concentrations of total cholesterol (TC) (194.59 [38.22] vs 176.83 [23.55] mg/dL; MD, 17.76 mg/dL; 95% CI, 26.64-46.72 mg/dL), the mean (SD) concentrations of low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) (116.99 [33.59] vs 96.91 [22.01] mg/dL; MD, 20.08 mg/dL; 95% CI, 32.43-48.26 mg/dL) and apolipoprotein (apo) B (89.82 [21.38] vs 81.16 [16.17] mg/dL; MD, 8.66 mg/dL; 95% CI, 12.03-23.21 mg/dL) were significantly higher than the control group. In addition, it was also observed that the median [IQR] concentrations of high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) (1.51 [1.33-1.76] vs 1.56 [1.40-1.84] mg/dL) and the median [IQR] concentrations of apolipoprotein (apo) AI (118.50 [103.00-141.25] vs 133.00 [115.25-1.52.75] mg/dL) were lower than those in the control group. In terms of lipid metabolism indexes, the median [IQR] value of TC/HDL-C (3.31 [2.68-3.85] vs 2.72 [2.42-3.37]), the mean (SD) value of apo B/apo AI (0.76 [0.26] vs 0.63 [0.18]; MD, 0.13; 95% CI, 0.20-0.32) and the median [IQR] value of atherogenic index (ATH index) (1.61 [0.97-2.50] vs 1.01 [0.73-1.75]) were significantly higher than the control group, while the mean (SD) value of atherogenic index of plasma (AIP) (-0.24 [0.28] vs -0.25 [0.21]; MD, 0.01; 95% CI, -0.06-0.08) showed no difference between the two groups.Conclusions: There were significant differences in blood lipid levels and lipid metabolism between the SSNHL group and the control group. LDL-C, apo AI and apo B were important independent predictors of SSNHL.

The purpose of this study was to explore the role of the newly emerging concept that involves "shifting" the tinnitus pitch and loudness in relation to the efficacy of precision sound therapy. This study is the first to investigate the effects of different pitch and loudness levels on the "shift" in tinnitus pitch and on the outcomes of precision sound therapy used to treat displaced tinnitus. We administered them therapy with 3 custom-sound music clips in which the main frequency masked the tinnitus frequency and retested them at several follow-up time points. We uncovered that precision sound therapy was beneficial in treating tinnitus. Effectiveness of long-term sound therapy was evaluated using the Tinnitus Handicap Inventory (THI) at the presound therapy assessment as well as at follow-up visits held at 1, 3months. It facilitates a new understanding and provides new insights on normal hearing and the associated altered tinnitus pitch and, therefore, may introduce a new approach for the treatment of tinnitus. These results should be interpreted with caution due to the preliminary nature of this study. Further studies should be conducted to explore more convincing benefits derived from this intervention for chronic tinnitus and the associated influencing factors using systematic approaches, such as randomised controlled trials, and comparison of tinnitus participants with varying degrees of hearing loss.

In this study, melatonin (MT) promoted lipid accumulation in Monoraphidium sp. QLY-1 under nitrogen deficiency conditions. The lipid accumulation increased 1.22- and 1.36-fold compared with a nitrogen-starved medium and a normal BG-11 medium, respectively. The maximum lipid content was 51.38%. The reactive oxygen species (ROS) level in the presence of melatonin was lower than that in the control group, likely because of the high antioxidant activities. The application of melatonin upregulated the gibberellin acid (GA) production and rbcL and accD expression levels but downregulated the abscisic acid (ABA) content and pepc expression levels. These findings demonstrated that exogenous melatonin could further improve the lipid production in Monoraphidium sp. QLY-1 by regulating antioxidant systems, signalling molecules, and lipid biosynthesis-related gene expression under nitrogen deficiency conditions.

Kaili Red Sour Soup (RSS) is a traditional fermented vegetable sauce made from red chili pepper and tomato, through special two-round anaerobic fermentations in southwest China, however, its physicochemical, microbial and flavor characteristics remain unclear. The pH value, total titratable acidity, amino acid nitrogen and nitrite of repined Kaili RSS were determined to be 3.26, 27.34 g/kg, 3.04 mg/kg and3.04 mg/kg, respectively. HPLC spectra showed 7 organic acids in RSS, and lactic acid (24.71 g/kg) and acetic acid (6.41 g/kg) mainly contribute to sour tastes. 15 Amino acids were found in RSS, and alanine (73.19 mg/100g) directly contributed to RSS's umami. The results of GC-MS illustrated totally 76 volatile organic compounds including alcohols, acids, esters, hydrocarbons, phenols, aldehydes, ketone and heterocycles, while alcohols (41.14%), acids (17.92%) and esters (29.37%) were dominant. Colony count number assay and rDNA amplicon-based high-throughput sequencing revealed 66 bacteria genera and 139 fungi during RSS fermentation, and Lactobacillus accounted for 94.81% in the first-round fermentation, while Pichia (49.71%), Dekkera (30.00%) and Saccharomyces (14.96%) were the dominant fungi in second-round fermentation. The Pearson correlation coefficient suggested that L. acetotolerans, Pichia, Dekkera and Saccharomyces could contribute mainly to the special flavors of Kaili RSS.

With the development of finite element (FE) codes, numerical modelling of delamination is often considered to be somewhat commonplace in modern engineering. However, the readily available modelling techniques often undermine the truthful understanding of the nature of the problem. In particular, a critical review of the representativeness of the numerical model is often diverted to merely a matter of numerical accuracy. The objective of this paper is to scrutinise the representativeness of cohesive zone modelling (CZM), which is readily available in most of the modern FE codes and is used extensively. By concentrating on obtaining the converged solution for the most basic types of delamination, a wide range of modelling complications are addressed systematically, through which complete clarity is brought to their FE modelling. The representativeness of the obtained predictions, i.e., their ability to reproduce the physical reality of the delamination process, is investigated by conducting a basic verification of the results, where the capability of the model to reproduce its input data in terms of critical energy release rates is assessed. It is revealed that even with converged solutions, input values of the critical energy release rates for the simple cases considered are not reproduced precisely, indicating that representativeness of the CZM for more general applications must not be taken for granted.

A two-step strategy comprising heterotrophic cultivation and photo-chemical modulator induction was developed to enhance biomass and lipid accumulation in the oleaginous Monoraphidium sp. QLY-1, which was isolated from Qilu Lake in Yunnan Plateau. The algae were first cultivated heterotrophically to achieve high biomass concentration (5.54gL(-1)) with a lipid content of 22.47%. The cultivated algae were diluted, transferred to light environment, and treated with different chemical elicitors. Results showed that the lipid content increased to 36.68% after 3-day of photoinduction. The lipid content was further enhanced by 1.21, 1.32, and 1.29 folds in algal cells treated with nitrogen deficiency, 20gL(-1) NaCl, and 5mM glycine betaine, respectively. The maximum lipid content (48.54%) and lipid productivity (121.27mgL(-1)d(-1)) were obtained in treatments with 20gL(-1) NaCl and 5mM GB, respectively. This study proposes a strategy to efficiently produce lipids by using microalgae.

In cross-ply laminates, the shape of delamination areas, which form due to low velocity impact, have two subtle features, which have been observed consistently in numerous experiments. Those are the pointed delamination tips and the intact zone between the lobes of delamination. However, there have not been any account available in the literature how they can be consistently captured through numerical modelling, and hence these features in published modelling results were often absent. It is the objective of this paper to identify the underlying modelling considerations so that these features can be captured with confidence. A key and unique reason has been identified in each case. Namely, inclusion of intra-laminar damage allows to reproduce the pointed delamination tips, while the gap between the lobes of delamination can be captured by models with sufficiently refined mesh, where friction between the laminas is taken into account. The capability of capturing these subtle features helps to raise the level of fidelity on the simulation of delamination due to impact.

A novel nanocomposite integrating the good biocompatibility of polyacrylic resin nanoparticles (PAR) and the good conductivity of colloidal gold nanoparticles was proposed to construct the matrix for the immobilization of hemoglobin (Hb) on the surface of a glassy carbon electrode (GCE). UV-vis spectra demonstrated that Hb preserved its native structure after being entrapped into the composite film. The direct electrochemistry of hemoglobin (Hb) in this nanocomposite films showed a pair of well-defined and quasi-reversible cyclic voltammetric peaks with a formal potential of −0.307 mV and a constant electron transfer rate of 2.51±0.2 s−1. The resultant amperometric biosensor showed fast responses to the analytes with excellent detection limits of 0.2 µM for H2O2 and 0.89 µM for TCA (S/N=3), and high sensitivity of 1108.6 for H2O2 and 77.14 mA cm−2 M−1 for TCA, respectively. The linear current response was found in the range from 0.59 to 7.3 µM (R2=0.9996) for H2O2 and from 5 to 85 µM (R2=0.9996) for TCA, while the superior apparent Michaelis–Menten constant was 0.012 mM for H2O2 and 0.536 mM for TCA, respectively. Therefore, the PAR-Au-Hb nanocomposite as a novel matrix opens up a possibility for further study on the direct electrochemistry of other proteins.

A novel sensing strategy for sensitive detection of mucin 1 protein (MUC1) and MCF-7 cells based on electrochemiluminescence (ECL) resonance energy transfer (ERET) from bis(2,2′-bipyridine)-(5-aminophenanthroline)ruthenium(II) (Ru1) to graphene oxide (GO) was proposed. The MUC1 aptamer was covalently combined with Ru1 (Ru1-aptamer) using aqueous carbodiimide coupling chemistry. Due to the strong noncovalent interaction between the Ru1-aptamer and GO, the ECL of Ru1 was efficiently quenched because of the ERET. In the presence of a target MUC1 protein, the binding between the Ru1-aptamer and MUC1 disturbed the interaction between the Ru1-aptamer and GO. These interactions led to the release of the Ru1-aptamer from GO, and resulted in the restoration of Ru1 ECL. This was shown to detect MUC1 protein sensitively in a linear range from 64.9 to 1036.8 nM with a detection limit of 40 nM. With further application in the detection of MCF-7 cells, the presented method could respond at concentrations as low as 30 cancer cells per mL. By substituting the aptamer and the corresponding target, this method could be conveniently extended for the sensitive detection of other biomolecules.