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Emerging adulthood is a critical period for developing internalizing symptoms. Emerging adults can encounter many changes in education, relationships, career, and living situation, making the period stressful and a risk for developing depression or anxiety. The presence of internalizing symptoms during this period could affect multiple aspects, including lower academics, unemployment, and difficulty creating intimate relationships. The changes in this period also can make people feel unsure about questions such as "who am I?" or "What do I want to do with my life?" which leads to uncertainty in their self-concept. Struggling to develop a clear self-concept, in turn, might result in symptoms of distress, anxiety, and depression. Therefore, understanding factors associated with self-concept clarity and internalizing symptoms might help protect emerging adults from maladaptive development. During emerging adulthood, parents continue to exert their effects on the mental health of their children. Theories on self-concept and research in adolescence have also shown the significance of the parent-child relationship in shaping self-concept clarity. Furthermore, given the crucial role of self-concept clarity in the development of internalizing symptoms, there may be a mediating effect of self-concept clarity in the relation between parent-child relationship quality and internalizing symptoms. In this study, we aim to explore this potential mediating effect in the context of changes in emerging adults' living status.

Recently the methods of Data mining and machine learning are widely used in medical field. These methods/techniques have given better results in the prediction of respective diseases. Hepatitis B is a Liver inflammation; it can affect people of all age groups. Lakhs of people across the globe are thought to be affected by Hepatitis B. Early prediction of Hepatitis B with accurate results can save many people. Hepatitis B is a tough challenge for public health care system because of limited clinical diagnosis in the early stages of disease. This paper presents the decision tree algorithm to diagnose the Hepatitis B. The proposed algorithm includes collection of datasets, pre-processing, EDA (Exploratory Data Analysis), Feature Selection, data visualizing, Interpreting, saving and evaluating the model. After the data visualization process decision tree algorithm is implemented to diagnose the disease along with the patient chances of living. Keywords: Hepatitis B virus, Machine Learning, Decision Tree, Public Health, EDA

This study measured the social participation score of the Chinese elderly, described its decayed trajectory based on birth cohort, and analyzed the gender differences of factors that affected the social participation of the elderly based on MIMIC model by groups. Results showed that age, economic status, and living status were the influencing factors with significant gender differences on social participation level of Chinese elderly. At any age, the social participation of Chinese elderly women was lower than that of elderly men, and this gap widened with age. Social participation of older women was more vulnerable to economic conditions. Living with children had a significant negative impact on the social participation of elderly women. There was no significant gender difference in the influence of marital status and educational level on the social participation of the elderly.

This study aimed to evaluate the association between visual impairment (VI) and psychological distress (PD) among older adults in Taiwan. The present cohort study included participants aged >65 years who participated in a physical examination program. Participants were divided into two groups on the basis of whether they had PD at baseline. The association between PD and VI with other variables was compared using the two-sample t-test for continuous variables and chi-squared test for discrete variables. Cox regression analyses were used to calculate the hazard ratio (HR). Cumulative incidence of PD was analyzed using the Kaplan-Meier method, and differences among participants with different severities of VI were analyzed using the two-tailed log-rank test. Subgroup analyses were performed to calculate the HR for PD among participants with different severities of VI. The PD group showed a significantly high percentage of VI. In addition, participants with VI showed a significantly higher HR and seven-year cumulative incidence rate of PD than those without VI. VI was independently and significantly associated with a higher incidence of PD among older Asian people. Therefore, identifying and treating correctible VI is important to prevent PD and improve the overall quality of life.

Objectives: We examined cross-sectional associations of living alone with social isolation among community-dwelling older adults in Worcester County, Massachusetts, USA. Methods: Four hundred participants 65 years old and older were recruited in community group settings or by direct mail. Participants were queried for living status, social support, frequency of social activity, sociodemographic and lifestyle factors, and health conditions. Social isolation was assessed by lack of social support and decreased frequency of social activity. Physical activity (PA) was measured via an accelerometer and global positioning system (GPS), which was worn by the participant, for at least 7 consecutive days. Results: Participants living alone (N = 110) had less social support than those living with others (N = 290) (p < 0.001) but did not differ significantly in the frequency of their social activities. Group-setting recruitment was strongly associated with greater social activity (p < 0.001). Less social support was independently associated with a less-than-high-school education (p = 0.001), higher CES-D depression score (p < 0.001) and lower PA (p = 0.003). Less social activity was independently associated with a less-than-high-school education (p = 0.007) and annual income less than $50,000 (p = 0.01). Discussion: Older adults who are socioeconomically disadvantaged, have less social support, and who live alone are more likely to be socially isolated and may benefit from continuation of low-cost social activities and increased social support inside the home. Identifying correlates of social isolation may inform future interventions.

ObjectiveGiven a large number of community-based older adults with mild cognitive impairment, it is essential to better understand the relationship between unmet palliative care (PC) needs and mild cognitive impairment in community-based samples.MethodParticipants consisted of adults ages 60+ receiving services at senior centers located in New York City. The Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) and the Unmet Palliative Care Needs screening tool were used to assess participants’ cognitive status and PC needs.ResultsOur results revealed a quadratic relationship between unmet PC needs and mild cognitive impairment, controlling for gender, living status, and age. Participants with either low or high MoCA scores reported lower PC needs than participants with average MoCA scores, mean difference of the contrast (low and high vs. middle) = 2.15, P = 0.08.Significance of resultsThis study is a first step toward elucidating the relationship between cognitive impairment and PC needs in a diverse community sample of older adults. More research is needed to better understand the unique PC needs of older adults with cognitive impairment living in the community.

This paper provides new estimates of the impact of the time to death on health care expenditures when the time to death is assumed endogenous. It further proposes estimation methods that take into account the right censoring of time to death. The data consist of twins from Denmark aged over 70 in 1999. The age of death of the mother and the living status of the co-twin are used as instruments for time to death. The results show that IV estimators give estimates higher than those obtained in previous studies when the time to death is assumed exogenous. Furthermore, the estimators proposed in this paper provide estimates that are generally lower compared to the ones obtained with the IV estimator. These results indicate that the impact of time to death has been potentially overestimated in previous studies.

Objectives: This study sought to assess the effectiveness of information and communications technology(ICT)-based socially assistive robot for the in-home care of dwelling elderly. Methods: Participants of the study were 42 elders (65 years or older) from Chuncheon City, South Korea. The study compared the improvements in the emotional functions and life management activities of the participants before and after using the toy robot. Results: The depression scores of participants were significantly lower after using the toy robots (OR=0.316, 95% CI:0.138-0.726), as well life management activities were improved (OR=22.144, 95% CI:10.501-46.697). Participants displayed a high level of intent for the consistent use of the robot (2.29 points out of 3 points). Differences in the intent of consistently use of robots were found between the group, such as age, living status, and time spent alone. Notably, participants aged 80 years and older, who lived and spent more time alone, showed a high level of intent for consistent use of the toy robot. Conclusions: ICT-based socially assistive toy robots were found to play an effective role in providing emotional support and assistance in the life management activities of elderly participants. These robots may be an effective tool in elderly home care.

Art is increasingly perceived as an investment asset among investors in Poland. In order to achieve high rates of return it is crucial to identify the main factors affecting the value of the works of art in the art market. Death of the artist seems to be one of the essential determinants influencing art market prices. The main aim of the study is to examine if the artist’s living status (i.e. information whether the artist did or did not live when the transaction was held) affects the prices of the works of art. According to the findings the largest percentage of the works of art that showed a price increase between the first and second auction was in the group of artists alive at the time of the first sale and deceased at the time of the second sale in comparison with artists alive and deceased at the time of both transactions.

Objective: This study investigates the psychological impacts and their associated factors on patients with COVID-19 at a Thai field hospital. Methods: All eligible patients confirmed to have COVID-19 at Thammasat University field hospital completed an online self-reported mental health screening questionnaire which collected sociodemographic data, their clinical characteristics, and used the depression, anxiety, and stress scale (DASS-21). Results: A total of 40 patients participated in the study. The depression rate was found to be 22.5%, while the anxiety rate was 30%, and the stress rate was 20%. Having a history of psychiatric disorder alone was significantly associated with a higher DASS-21 score (p = 0.001). Meanwhile, gender, age, level of education, occupation, living status, severity of COVID-19, and the number of days admitted to hospital prior to the field hospital were not found to be associated with the DASS-21 scores (P > 0.05). Conclusion: The depression, anxiety, and stress symptoms in patients with COVID-19 at the field hospital were common. Patients with a history of psychiatric disorder should undergo specific evaluation during the isolation phase.

The Fear of COVID-19 Scale (FCV-19S) assesses the fear of the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and has been translated and validated into over 20 languages. The present study conducted confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and item response theory (IRT) analyses on the FCV-19S among a sample of 937 Pakistani adults (mean [SD] age of 25.83 [11.80] years; 537 [57.3%] females). The CFA and IRT confirmed the unidimensionality of the FCV-19S. The Likert-type scale used in the FCV-19S was supported by the proper threshold orderings. Additionally, no DIF contrast had an absolute value larger than 0.5 regarding the participants’ characteristics of gender, age, living status, and education in the IRT findings. The FCV-19S was found to be valid and reliable with strong psychometric properties among the Pakistani adult population.

Major depressive disorder (MDD) is one of the most common mental disorders in older people. There are several biological, psychological, and social factors associated with this disorder. This study aimed to describe the depressive state to identify the associated factors and potential predictors of MDD in a population of community-dwelling older people with probable MDD. The sample consisted of 378 participants with probable dementia, with 47.3% of them presenting MDD. The factors that were found to be associated with MDD were sex, living status, mobility, and nutritional status. Knowing the factors that can predict a condition such as MDD is extremely important, both for prevention and for the customization of interventions.

BACKGROUND Both age and frailty function as key preoperative risk factors for cardiac surgery. Age alone is usually a poor marker for predicting older patients’ health status, most likely due to failure to reflect functional status in the measurement. Frailty status, which takes function into account, may be a better measure for older patients’ health status. METHODS AND RESULTS The overall goal of this research was to determine the impact of varying degrees of frailty on the functional recovery of patients who undergo cardiac surgery. Specific objectives were as follows: (1) Determine the association between domains of frailty and change in HRQoL at baseline and 6 months post-surgery, (2) Determine the association between domains of frailty and dependent living status at 6 months post-surgery (3), determine the association between domains of frailty and treatment decisional regret at 6 months post-surgery. A prospective cohort pre-post design was used to evaluate the exposure (frailty)and resulting outcomes (change in HRQoL; dependent living status; treatment decisional regret). The primary outcome was HRQoL, measured preoperatively and at 6 months using EQ-5D-3L/EQ-VAS. Secondary outcomes were, dependent living status and treatment decisional regret, measured using the Functional Independence questionnaire. Worse ADL function was positively associated with higher levels of impairment in mobility and usual function HRQoL from baseline to 6 months. As well, worse ADL function was negatively associated with greater HRQoL improvement in men as measured by index scores and across all procedure types as measured by EQ-VAS. Worse mobility function was negatively associated with higher levels of improvement in HRQoL in isolated AVR patients. Lastly, those with worse ADL function had higher odds of experiencing a dependent living status 6 months after surgery (aOR = 2.06 (1.42, 3.00)), and worse ADL (aOR = 1.89 (1.35, 2.65) and cognitive (aOR = 1.77 (1.26, 2.47) function had higher odds of regretting their decision to have surgery. CONCLUSION The current study showed domain-specific frailty, particularly poor pre-operative ADL function, is negatively associated with an individual's capacity to return to optimal HRQoL post-operatively, independent living status and positively associated with experience of decisional regret. The evidence-based data has the potential to better inform patients who are at risk for loss of HRQoL and independence with cardiac surgery, allowing them to make decisions in line with values and preferences. Educating patients these risks is an important aspect of patient-centered care and individualized decision-making based on patient priorities.

Objective: It aimed to learn the living status of older autistic children and to put forward countermeasures and suggestions to improve the quality of life of older autistic children and family members. Methods: Literature analysis method was used to understand the related research and policy of older autism in China. Deep interview was conducted with older autistic families. The contents of the interviews were recorded after informed consent, and the recordings were transformed into text materials. Text analysis was carried out. One family was given a six-month psychological intervention. Results: All the 6 cases cannot go out independently and seek emergency help. Only 1 case has self-care ability. The main psychological stress of family member is warrying about children’s future. 5 cases pointed out that adolescent emotional and behavioral problems are urgent problems for parents. Conclusion: It is necessary to apply psychological lectures and counseling for emotional and behavioral management to autism family members. It is important to develop employment policy and caring services. Which are helpful to improve the living status of older autism and family members.

Contains fulltext : 205187.pdf (Publisher’s version ) (Closed access) BACKGROUND & AIMS: Home parenteral nutrition-quality of life (HPN-QOL((c))) is a self-assessment tool for the measurement of QOL in patients on HPN. The aims of this study were: to re-assess the basic psychometric properties of the HPN-QOL((c)) in a multinational sample of adult patients; to provide a description of QOL dimensions by short and long HPN treatment duration; to explore clinical factors potentially associated to QOL scores. METHODS: Patients (n = 699) from 14 countries completed the HPN-QOL((c)). The questionnaires were analysed to evaluate data completeness, convergent/discriminant validity and internal-consistency reliability. The association of overall QOL and HPN treatment duration as well as other clinical factors were investigated using multivariable linear regression models. RESULTS: The analysis of the multitrait-scaling and internal consistency indicates a good fit with the questionnaire structure for most items. Item discriminant validity correlation was satisfactory and psychometric evaluation of the HPN-QOL((c)) in the different English, French and Italian language patient sub-groups confirmed psychometric equivalence of the three questionnaire versions. The results of the multivariable linear regression showed that QOL scores were significantly associated with HPN duration (better in long-term), underlying disease (better in Crohn's disease and mesenteric ischaemia) and living status (worse in living alone) and, after adjusting for the other factors, with the number of days of HPN infusion per week. CONCLUSIONS: The HPN-QOL((c)), is a valid tool for measurement of QOL in patients on HPN, to be used in the clinical practice as well as in research.

In recent years, marine organisms including seaweeds have been highlighted as potential sources of useful metabolites and bioactive compounds, with vast biological and physiological activities. Seaweeds have long been used as a food source, for medicinal purposes, and as dietary supplements in various Asian countries, and their potential benefits have recently attracted the attention of many Western and European countries. Their commercial value depends on their applications in the food, nutraceutical, and pharmaceutical industries. Seaweeds are considered a potential source of nutraceuticals or functional foods, and analysis of taste-oriented motives has revealed that seaweeds are preferentially selected over other types of marine foods by seafood consumers and people with high levels of health, education, and living status. It is a general perception that health conscious people prefer environmentally friendly food sources, and present an opportunity to focus on seaweed-based foods, which have significant nutritional benefits to humans. Among the various bioactive constituents, seaweed polysaccharides have been proven to possess various beneficial properties including anticoagulant, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, anticarcinogenic, and antiviral activities. The diversity and composition of seaweed polysaccharides play vital roles in these biological activities. Seaweeds are a rich source of sulfated polysaccharides, which are responsible for much of the bioactivity, as they can interact with various textures and cellular proteins. A number of toxicological assays and clinical trials suggest that the ingestion of seaweeds as functional foods should be considered worldwide to improve immune responses. In this review, different polysaccharides from seaweeds and their compositions and potential nutraceutical applications are discussed.

Background: Tuberculosis (TB) remains a serious cause of illness in Yemen. Knowledge is believed to be associated with patients’ willingness to seek treatment and adherence to treatment. Objectives: To assess patients’ knowledge of TB and identify possible influencing factors. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted for a period of three months (October to December, 2013) to assess knowledge of TB among new TB patients in five Yemini regions. Descriptive results were presented as frequencies and percentage. Kolmogorov-Smirnov test (K-S test) was used for normality test. Chi-square (Χ2) testing and Kruskal-Wallis H test were used to describe differences between groups. Multiple linear regression was performed to identify factors influencing the knowledge. Multicollinearity was considered before performing multiple linear regression. SPSS version 18 (Chicago, IL) was used for data analysis. Results: A total of 450 patients with a mean age (±SD) of 32.7 (±13.6) years (range 15–80 years) were interviewed; 59.3% of respondents were males, 64.4% of respondents reported receiving TB information from the health staff. Slightly more than half (55.6%) of the patients’ were aware about the method of TB transmission. The majority (82.2%) of the respondents knew that TB is a curable disease. About two thirds (71.8%) of the tuberculosis patients were found to be aware about duration of treatment. About 271 (60.2%) of the respondents were categorized as having a good level of knowledge about TB. The median knowledge score was 4.0. Kruskal-Wallis H test showed significant differences in the medians between groups with regard to gender, age, education status, marital status, living status, stigma and receiving health education. However, multiple linear regression analysis showed that age, education status, stigma and receiving health education at health centers were the only factors that significantly influencing the knowledge. About 44% of the patients expressed fear of being known as tuberculosis patients in the community. Conclusion: The knowledge of TB and its treatment was generally moderate with a median score of 4. Majority of the patients knew that TB is a curable disease with regular treatment and recommended duration. This will psychologically encourage them to adhere to treatment instructions. Key words: Tuberculosis, Knowledge, Health education, Yemen.

During the period from 10th September into 31th December-2020 study has done.. Eighty five (85) stoolsamples had collected from(33) females and (52) males from different age group (1-55) years among patientssuffering from gastrointestinal disturbances who attending to various governmental hospitals (FallujahGeneral Hospital, Teaching laboratory and Consultant clinic) in Fallujah City with the main clinical features(abdominal pain, nausea, bloating , heart burn and loss of appetite), And some of them did not suffer fromany pathological symptoms (control) , 25 samples were infected with Giardia, 25 samples were uninfected(control), and 25 samples were infected with other secondary infections.The results showed that males are more likely than females to be infected, and that age greater than 10 yearswas the most affected age group, and the rate of infection in urban was slightly higher than in the rural , Theresults also showed a significant increase in the rate of white blood cells, unlike the rest of the other bloodfactors (Hb, PCV, PLT, RBC), which had no significant differences, and the blood factors for some of themhad a correlation with age, sex, living status, and other factors that did not Have no affiliation .

Widespread structural and functional alterations have been reported in the two highly prevalent mild cognitive impairment (MCI) subtypes, amnestic MCI (aMCI) and vascular MCI (VaMCI). However, the changing pattern in functional connectivity strength (FCS) remains largely unclear. The aim of the present study is to detect the differences of FCS and to further explore the detailed resting-state functional connectivity (FC) alterations among VaMCI subjects, aMCI subjects, and healthy controls (HC). Twenty-six aMCI subjects, 31 VaMCI participants, and 36 HC participants underwent cognitive assessments and resting-state functional MRI scans. At first, one-way ANCOVA and post hoc analysis indicated significant decreased FCS in the left middle temporal gyrus (MTG) in aMCI and VaMCI groups compared to HC, especially in the VaMCI group. Then, we selected the left MTG as a seed to further explore the detailed resting-state FC alterations among the three groups, and the results indicated that FC between the left MTG and some frontal brain regions were significantly decreased mainly in VaMCI. Finally, partial correlation analysis revealed that the FC values between the left MTG and left inferior frontal gyrus were positively correlated with the cognitive performance episodic memory and negatively related to the living status. The present study demonstrated that different FCS alterations existed in aMCI and VaMCI. These findings may provide a novel insight into the understanding of pathophysiological mechanisms underlying different MCI subtypes.

Survival prognostic markers are extremely needed to better define therapeutic strategies in patients with bronchial carcinoids (BC). We aim to verify the applicability of the NEP-Score in a homogeneous BC cohort and identify a derivative prognostic marker, the NEP-Score at diagnosis (NEP-D) that does not consider new metastases during follow-up. Sixty-four patients (38 females, and 26 males, mean age at diagnosis 58.9 ± 1.7 years) with BC were retrospectively evaluated. NEP-Score was calculated at the end of follow-up (NEP-T). A derivative score, the NEP-Score at diagnosis (NEP-D) that does not consider new metastases during follow-up, was then assessed. Patients were subdivided according to their living status at the end of follow-up. A NEP-Score threshold was investigated to predict survival. Mean NEP-T and mean NEP-D were significantly lower in live patients at end of follow-up. A NEP-T cut-off >138 significantly predicts survival. Atypical BC relapsed more frequently than Typical BC. Male gender and previous malignancy were negative prognostic factors for survival. We confirmed NEP-Score applicability in BC and NEP-D utility, being the latter a simple, quick, and cheap prognostic score that can help clinicians in decision making. The identified NEP-D threshold can predict NEN aggressiveness and may be used to define the best personalized therapeutic strategy. In this context, a validation study is needed.

Internet Gaming Disorder (IGD), describes the abuse of Internet games with detrimental impact to the real-life social engagement of some gamers. Indeed, evidence suggests that gamers differ on the severity and way in which they express IGD symptoms, as well as their social engagement behaviours. The present study aimed to: a) profile gamers regarding their experience of IGD symptoms and; b) examine how different IGD profiles varied on social engagement behaviours. Methods: A sample consisting of 1032 gamers (18–72 years, Mage = 24) was assessed with the Internet Gaming Disorder Scale 9 Items Short Form (IGDS9-SF) and social engagement questions regarding their participation in employment, education, romantic relationships and living status. Results: Latent class analyses (LCA) resulted in 4 distinct IGD classes. These entailed ‘IGD aversive’ (11.5%), ‘Normative’ (47.9%), ‘Moderate IGD risk’ (31.2%) and ‘High IGD risk’ (9.4%) gamers. The high IGD risk profile linked with higher unemployment, lower level of education and tended to live with divorced parents, friends and/or had transient accommodation. Conclusion: Findings suggest that there are different IGD profiles driven by symptom severity, whilst gamers higher on IGD risk present with lower social engagement signs. Thus, social engagement and participation should be particularly targeted by IGD immunization and treatment protocols.

Background:Surgery-related anxiety is universal, leading to complications. The objective of this study was to assess the prevalence of pre-operative anxiety levels among a group of patients.Methods:A descriptive cross-sectional study of 64 women was conducted in a tertiary care hospital, Sri Lanka. Patients who underwent emergency surgeries, those with mental illnesses or those aged Results:The mean age of participants was 38.03 years (SD=13.53 years). The mean total score of APAIS was 10.36 (4.06), of HADS was 5.734 (4.487) and of VAS was 3.156 (2.773). All scores were higher in participants APAIS (r=-0.416, p=0.001) and VAS scores (r=-246, p=0.050) showed significant negative correlations. Excepting Sum IDC all APAIS, HADS and VAS scores were higher among the group without insurance; despite free healthcare. However only Sum S (t=-3.716, p=0.000) and Sum C (t=-2.281, p=0.026) in APAIS, HADS (t=-3.412, p=0.001) and VAS (t=-2.135, p=0.037) had statistically higher values. Anxiety scores were higher in the group that underwent minor surgeries but where not significantly related to education level, marital status, income, employment or living status.Conclusions:Pre-operative anxiety is common. Age

Introduction: Recent literature suggests that surgical fixation of elderly sacral fractures may reduce time to mobilization and ultimately self-sufficiency. However, it is unclear if predictors of success exist in this subpopulation. The objective of this study was to characterize relative change in ambulation and residential living statuses (pre-injury vs. post-surgery) of elderly patients who received surgical fixation of sacral fractures, as well as determine whether or not demographics and injury characteristics influence these findings. Methods: Fifty-four elderly patients (≥60 years old) receiving percutaneous screw fixation of sacral fractures were retrospectively reviewed. All fractures were traumatic in nature; insufficiency fractures were excluded. Patient and surgical demographic data, as well as 1-year mortality status, was reported. Primary study endpoints included relative change in patient ambulation and residential living statuses (pre-injury to post-surgery). Statistical analyses were performed to assess relative change in ambulation/living status from pre-injury to post-surgery and to determine if predictors of outcome existed. Results: Of the 54 patients who met inclusion criteria, 4 expired prior to discharge, 2 expired post-discharge, and 4 were lost to follow-up. Of those patients discharged, 95.7% regained some form of ambulation at last follow-up (mean: 22.4 ± 18.9 weeks). Of patients living independent pre-injury, 94.9% would eventually return to independent home living. Neither time-to-surgery, concomitant orthopaedic injury, Charlson Comorbidity Index, or injury mechanism were predictors of final ambulation or residential status (p ≥ 0.07). Mortality at 1-year was 11.1%. Discussion: Operative fixation supported a high rate of return to pre-injury ambulation and residential living status. However, there did not appear to be measures predictive of final functional status. Further efforts with larger, prospective cohorts are warranted.

Detecting living algae from treated ship’s ballast water is an important task for port state control (PSC) under the requirement of the International Ballast Water Convention. In this paper, electrokinetic detection and separation of living algae from NaClO- and UV-treated ship’s ballast water in a microfluidic chip are presented. The electrokinetic movement of algae in a straight poly ethylene glycol (PEG)–modified PDMS microchannel filled with 10% PEG solution was measured by using an optical microscope. The experimental results show that the moving velocity of dead algae is lower by more than 80% in comparison with living algae. The decreased velocity is larger for larger dead algae and the velocity is decreased to zero for dead algae larger than 6 μm in diameter. A curve was obtained to evaluate the vitality of algae with similar moving velocity but different sizes. Electrokinetic separation of living algae from a mixture sample in a straight channel was also achieved. The method presented in this paper provides a moving velocity–based approach for quickly evaluating the living status of algae in treated ship’s ballast water.

Objective To investigate caregiving in terms of personal, family and living arrangement among Chinese functionally impaired older people. Methods A secondary cross-sectional analysis of data obtained from China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS) was performed. Among 6,252 participants aged 65 years or older, people with at least one indicator of Activities of Daily Living Scales (ADLs) of disabilities were included in this research. Statistical analyses included chi-square tests and multiple logistic regression modelling. Results Data of 973 functionally impaired people aged 65 and over, and 2772 adult offspring were extracted and analysed. The level of impairment, age, gender, marital status of the functionally impaired older people, adult offspring's income and living status were significantly associated with caregiving types. Conclusion This research describes the characteristics of functionally impaired older people and their caregivers, which may help improve the efficiency, quality and equity within the Chinese social care system.

International audience; Serendipitous findings and studies on Tuber species suggest that some ectomycorrhizal fungi, beyond their complex interaction with ectomycorrhizal hosts, also colonise roots of nonectomycorrhizal plants in a loose way called endophytism. Here, we investigate endophytism of T. melanosporum and T. aestivum . We visualised endophytic T. melanosporum hyphae by fluorescent in situ hybridisation on nonectomycorrhizal plants. For the two Tuber species, microsatellite genotyping investigated the endophytic presence of the individuals whose mating produced nearby ascocarps. We quantified the expression of four T. aestivum genes in roots of endophyted, non‐ectomycorrhizal plants. Tuber melanosporum hyphae colonised the apoplast of healthy roots, confirming endophytism. Endophytic Tuber melanosporum and T. aestivum contributed to nearby ascocarps, but only as maternal parents (forming the flesh). Paternal individuals (giving only genes found in meiotic spores of ascocarps) were not detected. Gene expression of T. aestivum in non‐ectomycorrhizal plants confirmed a living status. Tuber species, and likely other ectomycorrhizal fungi found in nonectomycorrhizal plant roots in this study, can be root endophytes. This is relevant for the ecology (brûlé formation) and commercial production of truffles. Evolutionarily speaking, endophytism may be an ancestral trait in some ectomycorrhizal fungi that evolved from root endophytes.

BACKGROUND: We evaluated associations between perceived social support, social integration, living alone, and colorectal cancer (CRC) outcomes in postmenopausal women. METHODS: The study included 1431 women from the Women’s Health Initiative who were diagnosed from 1993 through 2017 with stage I through IV CRC and who responded to the Medical Outcomes Study Social Support survey before their CRC diagnosis. We used proportional hazards regression to evaluate associations of social support (tertiles) and types of support, assessed up to 6 years before diagnosis, with overall and CRC-specific mortality. We also assessed associations of social integration and living alone with outcomes also in a subset of 1141 women who had information available on social ties (marital/partner status, community and religious participation) and living situation. RESULTS: In multivariable analyses, women with low (hazard ratio [HR], 1.52; 95% CI, 1.23–1.88) and moderate (HR, 1.21; 95% CI, 0.98–1.50) perceived social support had significantly higher overall mortality than those with high support (P [continuous] < .001). Similarly, women with low (HR, 1.42; 95% CI, 1.07–1.88) and moderate (HR, 1.28; 95% CI, 0.96–1.70) perceived social support had higher CRC mortality than those with high social support (P [continuous] = .007). Emotional, informational, and tangible support and positive interaction were all significantly associated with outcomes, whereas affection was not. In main-effects analyses, the level of social integration was related to overall mortality (P for trend = .02), but not CRC mortality (P for trend = .25), and living alone was not associated with mortality outcomes. However, both the level of social integration and living alone were related to outcomes in patients with rectal cancer. CONCLUSIONS: Women with low perceived social support before diagnosis have higher overall and CRC-specific mortality.

The overlap between parent and child psychological distress might be attributed to the intergenerational transmission of intolerance of uncertainty (IU). The current study explored the association between parental and child IU in female university students. Female undergraduates (N = 234) and their parents completed questionnaires assessing IU and psychological distress. First, we tested whether living status (on one’s own vs. with one or both parents) and IU predict psychological distress in undergraduates. Second, we performed between-group comparisons on IU and psychological distress measures. Third, we explored whether the path from parent to child IU is differentially mediated by child psychological distress depending on parental gender. Only IU predicted psychological distress of undergraduates. Daughters reported levels of IU and psychological distress comparable with mothers, but higher than fathers; mothers and fathers did not differ in IU, whereas the former were more psychologically distressed than the latter. Lastly, daughters’ psychological distress partially mediated the path from maternal to child IU, whereas it fully mediated the path from paternal to child IU. Current findings further support the association between IU and psychological distress during college age, and they tentatively suggest that differences in the intergenerational transmission of IU according to parental gender may occur.

A smartphone integrated microfluidic lab-on-chip device was developed for the real-time detection, counting and sizing of living algae in simulated ballast water samples. The device consists of a microfluidic chip, a customer-made fluorescence imaging platform and a smartphone. When living algae pass the laser illumination region of the microfluidic chip, chlorophyll fluorescence is emitted and shown in the smartphone. An algorithm in the smartphone detects, counts and sizes the detected living algae. As a proof of concept, two different sizes of algae were tested and a detection accuracy of larger than 92% was achieved. The sizing accuracy is 94%. The largest moving velocity allowed for detection is determined by the diameter of the algae and the frame per second (fps) of the smartphone. The device is simple in structure and operation and suitable for on-site evaluating the living status of algae in treated ship’s ballast water.

Purpose This study aims to identify demographic, clinical, and nutritional factors related to malnutrition in community-dwelling patients with schizophrenia. Design and methods We used a descriptive cross-sectional design. Between June and July 2016, 188 community-dwelling patients with schizophrenia were included in this study. Findings Of the 188 participants, 4.3% were classified as malnourished, and 40.4% were at risk of malnutrition. Living status, body weight, and appetite were significant factors related to malnutrition in community-dwelling patients with schizophrenia. Practice implication Assessment of nutritional status should be considered along with demographic and nutritional factors in community-dwelling patients with schizophrenia.

Background Family history (FH) information, including family members, side of family of family members (i.e., maternal or paternal), living status of family members, observations (diseases) of family members, etc., is very important in the decision-making process of disorder diagnosis and treatment. However FH information cannot be used directly by computers as it is always embedded in unstructured text in electronic health records (EHRs). In order to extract FH information form clinical text, there is a need of natural language processing (NLP). In the BioCreative/OHNLP2018 challenge, there is a task regarding FH extraction (i.e., task1), including two subtasks: (1) entity identification, identifying family members and their observations (diseases) mentioned in clinical text; (2) family history extraction, extracting side of family of family members, living status of family members, and observations of family members. For this task, we propose a system based on deep joint learning methods to extract FH information. Our system achieves the highest F1- scores of 0.8901 on subtask1 and 0.6359 on subtask2, respectively.