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Background: Chinese adolescents experienced a variety of stressors during the COVID-19 home confinement period. This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of emotional and behavioral problems (EBPs) among adolescents during the COVID-19 period. The study also examined the relationships between psychosocial stressors and adolescents’ EBPs, and explored the potential explanatory value of loneliness for any associations observed. // Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study which included 6,587 adolescents in Taizhou, China between April 16 and May 14, 2020. Adolescents’ EBPs were assessed by the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ), while subjective feelings of loneliness were assessed using one item from the Children’s Depression Inventory. We applied structural equation modelling to assess direct and indirect associations (explained by loneliness) between psychosocial stressors (study problems, parent-child relationship, and family or friends with COVID-19) and the total difficulties and prosocial scores. // Results: The prevalence of EBPs in the sample was 31.6% for total difficulties and 37.5% for prosocial problems. After adjustment for a range of covariates, the presence of study problems, poor parent-child relationship and family or friends with COVID-19 were significantly associated with a higher SDQ total difficulties score (β=6.20, 21.46, 5.21; P

While the design of a Li3VO4 (LVO) anode is severely hindered by its hydrophilicity, here the state-of-the-art Li3VO4/C nanoflakes with specific crystalline plane exposure (C@LVO-NFs) are designed and synthesized for the first time via a reverse water-etching strategy. A new interfacial Li-ion storage mechanism is demonstrated via theoretical calculations, which is responsible for the ultra-high capacity of the C@LVO-NFs beyond the theoretical value of LVO (850.8 mA h g−1 at 0.2 A g−1 over 150 cycles). Moreover, the exposed crystal planes of LVO and the interfaces with C are proven to be highly conductive for both Li-ions and electrons, giving rise to superior reaction kinetics. These, together, trigger outstanding high-rate and long-life performance of C@LVO-NFs, which outperform most of the LVO-based anode materials. When cycling at a discharge current of 4.0 A g−1 over 6000 cycles, the C@LVO-NFs could deliver a discharge capacity of 637.7 mA h g−1. The reverse strategy for the synthesis of C@LVO-NFs may be referential for the design of advanced LVO-based electrodes, and the outstanding high-rate performance of the C@LVO-NFs demonstrates great potential toward practical applications.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the most common malignancy of hepatocytes accounting for 75‑85% of primary hepatic carcinoma cases. Small extracellular vesicles (sEVs), previously known as exosomes with a diameter of 30‑200 nm, can transport a variety of biological molecules between cells, and have been proposed to function in physiological and pathological processes. Recent studies have indicated that the cargos of sEVs are implicated in intercellular crosstalk among HCC cells, paratumor cells and the tumor microenvironment. sEV‑encapsulated substances (including DNA, RNA, proteins and lipids) regulate signal transduction pathways in recipient cells and contribute to cancer initiation and progression in HCC. In addition, the differential expression of sEV cargos between patients facilitates the potential utility of sEVs in the diagnosis and prognosis of patients with HCC. Furthermore, the intrinsic properties of low immunogenicity and high stability render sEVs ideal vehicles for targeted drug delivery in the treatment of HCC. The present review article summarizes the carcinogenic and anti‑neoplastic capacities of sEVs and discusses the potential and prospective diagnostic and therapeutic applications of sEVs in HCC.

Purpose To determine the prevalence of depression and anxiety and associated factors among returning workers with different epidemic experience in East China. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted among 2435 employees from the enterprises located in Deqing (low-risk epidemic area) and Taizhou (high-risk epidemic area) of East China in March 2020. An online questionnaire covered information on sociodemographic and lifestyle factors as well as knowledge, attitude, behavior and experience about COVID-19. The Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) and the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7) were applied to assess depression and anxiety symptoms, respectively. Logistic regression model was used to estimate adjusted odds ratios (aORs) and their 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for depression and anxiety symptoms associated with risk factors. Results The participants were aged 36.3 ± 9.2 years on average, and nearly half of them were female. Overall, the prevalence of depression, anxiety and both were 19.4%, 12.3% and 9.8%, and decreased with age. After adjustment for covariates, 16 or more years of education, being a white-collar worker or working in the high-risk epidemic area were significantly associated with increased risks of both depression and anxiety, in contract regular physical exercise was associated with decreased risks of both mental disorders. Conclusion The depression and anxiety problems were prevalent among returning workers during the COVID-19 period. Targeted psychological interventions should be developed and implemented to improve their mental health.

Osteoarthritis (OA), which is principally featured by progressive joint metabolic imbalance and subsequent degeneration of articular cartilage, is a common chronic joint disease. Arctigenin (ATG), a dietary phyto‐oestrogen, has been described to have potent anti‐inflammatory effects. Nevertheless, its protective effects on OA have not been clearly established. The target of our following study is to evaluate the protective effects of ATG on IL‐1β–induced human OA chondrocytes and mouse OA model. Our results revealed that the ATG pre‐treatment effectively decreases the level of pro‐inflammatory mediators, such as prostaglandin E2 (PGE2), nitrous oxide (NO), inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), cyclooxygenase‐2 (COX‐2), IL‐6 and tumour necrosis factor alpha (TNF‐α) in IL‐1β–induced human chondrocytes. In addition, ATG protects against the degradation of extracellular matrix (ECM) under the stimulation of IL‐1β and the possible mechanism might be connected with the inactivation of phosphatidylinositol‐3‐kinase (PI3K)/Akt/nuclear factor‐kappa B (NF‐κB) axis. Furthermore, a powerful binding capacity between ATG and PI3K was also uncovered in our molecular docking research. Meanwhile, ATG may act as a protector on the mouse OA model. Collectively, all these findings suggest that ATG could be utilized as a promising therapeutic agent for the treatment of OA.

Surface upward longwave radiation (SULR) is an indicator of thermal conditions over the Earth’s surface. In this study, we validated the simulated SULR from 51 Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP6) general circulation models (GCMs) through a comparison with ground measurements and satellite-retrieved SULR from the Clouds and the Earth’s Radiant Energy System, Energy Balanced and Filled (CERES EBAF). Moreover, we improved the SULR estimations by a fusion of multiple CMIP6 GCMs using multimodel ensemble (MME) methods. Large variations were found in the monthly mean SULR among the 51 CMIP6 GCMs, the bias and root mean squared error (RMSE) of the individual CMIP6 GCMs at 133 sites ranged from −3 to 24 W m−2 and 22 to 38 W m−2, respectively, which were higher than those found between the CERES EBAF and GCMs. The CMIP6 GCMs did not improve the overestimation of SULR compared to the CMIP5 GCMs. The Bayesian model averaging (BMA) method showed better performance in simulating SULR than the individual GCMs and simple model averaging (SMA) method, with a bias of 0 W m−2 and an RMSE of 19.29 W m−2 for the 133 sites. In terms of the global annual mean SULR, our best estimation for the CMIP6 GCMs using the BMA method was 392 W m−2 during 2000–2014. We found that the SULR varied between 386 and 393 W m−2 from 1850 to 2014, exhibiting an increasing tendency of 0.2 W m−2 per decade (p &lt, 0.05).

As a common disease in modern society, osteoporosis is caused by osteoclast hyperactivation, leading to enhanced bone resorption. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) metobolism and nuclear factor-activated T cells 1 (NFATc1) activities are two crucial processes during osteoclastogenesis. AZD1390 (AZD), an inhibitor of ataxia telangiectasia mutated (ATM), has been reported for antitumor effects, but little is known about how it plays a function in metabolic bone disease. Here, we found that AZD inhibitsthe generation, function and ROS-scavenging enzyme activity of mature osteoclast induced by RANKL stimulation, in a dose-dependent manner.Mechanistic analysis shows thatAZD affects osteoclast function and differentiation by inhibiting RANKL-induced NFATc1 signaling pathway and by increasing ROS-scavenging enzymes production in oxidative stress pathways. Preclinical studies have shown that AZD protects against bone loss in an ovariectomy (OVX) mouse model. Finally, our data confirm that AZD may prevent OVX-induced bone loss by abrogating RANKL-induced AKT/GSK3β/NFATc1 signaling pathways, and by promoting the expression of ROS scavenging enzymes in oxidative stress pathways.Collectively, our research shows that AZD has the potential as a new therapeutic agent for osteoporosis.

The most common type of kidney tumor, clear-cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) with relatively insidious development and easily metastatic characteristics is generally insensitive to cytotoxic chemotherapy. The abundant polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) content in advanced ccRCC allows it to be intrinsically vulnerable to ferroptosis-based therapeutic strategies. Nevertheless, the strategy to cause the “iron overload” by administration with iron-based nanomaterials has limited therapeutic efficacy. And the classic ferroptosis agonist (RSL3) with low specificity for tumors, short half-life in the blood, poor water solubility and deficient accumulation at the tumor site prevents its reliable application in vivo. In this study, iron-based metal–organic framework nanoparticles (MIL-101(Fe) NPs) delivered RSL3 to ccRCC tumors, and then released the iron ions and RSL3 accompanied by the degradation of MIL-101(Fe) NPs in the acidic tumor microenvironment. The MIL-101(Fe)@RSL3 as a pH-responsive nanodrug causes cellular iron overload and promotes the hydroxyl radical (•OH) generation by Fenton reaction to attack PUFAs, leading to the aberrant accumulation of lipid peroxides (L–OOH). Additionally, RSL3 directly inhibits glutathione peroxidase 4 (GPX4) to detoxify L–OOH, and ferrous ions further catalyze the irreversible conversion of highly reactive lipid alkoxyl radicals (L–O•) from L–OOH to triggering waterfall-like cascade ferroptosis. In contrast to the limited antitumor efficiency of free RSL3, MIL-101(Fe)@RSL3 with high encapsulation efficiency (88.7%) shows a significant ccRCC-specific antitumor effect and negligible side effects. Taken together, MIL-101(Fe)@RSL3 could aggravate ferroptosis and be expected to be a promising nanodrug for ccRCC systemic therapy due to the targeted delivery and responsive release of RSL3 and iron ions.

Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) persists among the most lethal and broad-spreading malignancies in China. The exosome is a kind of extracellular vesicle (EV) from about 30 to 200 nm in diameter, contributing to the transfer of specific functional molecules, such as metabolites, proteins, lipids, and nucleic acids. The paramount role of exosomes in the formation and development of ESCC, which relies on promoting intercellular communication in the tumor microenvironment (TME), is manifested with immense amounts. Tumor-derived exosomes (TDEs) participate in most hallmarks of ESCC, including tumorigenesis, invasion, angiogenesis, immunologic escape, metastasis, radioresistance, and chemoresistance. Published reports have delineated that exosome-encapsulated cargos like miRNAs may have utility in the diagnosis, as prognostic biomarkers, and in the treatment of ESCC. This review summarizes the function of exosomes in the neoplasia, progression, and metastasis of ESCC, which improves our understanding of the etiology and pathogenesis of ESCC, and presents a promising target for early diagnostics in ESCC. However, recent studies of exosomes in the treatment of ESCC are sparse. Thus, we introduce the advances in exosome-based methods and indicate the possible applications for ESCC therapy in the future.

Additional file 1: Figure S1. Flow chart showing sample size included in the study.

Background: The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of metabolic syndrome (MS) and MS components as well as their association with socioeconomic status among rural Chinese adults.Methods: A cross-sectional study of 26836 participants aged 20 years and older was conducted from June to December 2012 in Yuhuan City, Zhejiang Province, China, which is located on Yuhuan Island. A multivariable logistic regression model was used to identify risk factors for MS and their possible interactions.Results: Among 26836 subjects with an average age of 53.4±14.0 years, 59% were female. The overall prevalence of MS was 20.5%, and there was a significant sex difference in the prevalence (15.1% for males vs. 24.2% for females, pConclusions: The prevalence of MS and its components was relatively high in a rural island Chinese population with rapid urbanization, and sex-specific associations between socioeconomic factors and MS were found. Targeted preventive interventions should be developed and implemented to prevent and control MS among those with a low socioeconomic status, especially females.

Doxorubicin (DOX) is a widely used first-line antitumor agent; however, acquired drug resistance and side effects have become the main challenges to effective cancer therapy. Herein, DOX is loaded into iron-rich metal–organic framework/tannic acid (TA) nanocomplex to form a tumor-targeting and acid-activatable drug delivery system (MOF/TA-DOX, MTD). Under the acidic tumor microenvironment, MTD simultaneously releases DOX and ferrous ion (Fe2+) accompanied by degradation. Apart from the chemotherapeutic effect, DOX elevates the intracellular H2O2 levels through cascade reactions, which will be beneficial to the Fenton reaction between the Fe2+ and H2O2, to persistently produce hydroxyl radicals (•OH). Thus, MTD efficiently mediates chemodynamic therapy (CDT) and remarkably enhances the sensitivity of chemotherapy. More encouragingly, the cancer cell killing efficiency of MTD is up to ~86% even at the ultralow equivalent concentration of DOX (2.26 μg/mL), while the viability of normal cells remained >88% at the same concentration of MTD. Taken together, MTD is expected to serve as drug-delivery nanoplatforms and •OH nanogenerators for improving chemo/chemodynamic synergistic therapy and reducing the toxic side effects.

Bacterial chemotaxis can improve the efficiency of aromatic compound degradation, however, knowledge of how bacteria sense high-molecular-weight polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (HMW-PAHs), is limited. Here, the chemotactic responses of Novosphingobium pentaromativorans US6-1 to 9 aromatic compounds were investigated. The results showed that US6-1 chemotactically responded to phenanthrene (PHE), pyrene (PYR), benzo[a]pyrene (BaP) and their six metabolites. Six methyl-accepting chemotaxis proteins (MCPs) were annotated from US6-1 genome, four of which contained putative ligand-binding domains (LBDs). To confirm whether these four MCPs were involved in triggering chemotaxis toward PAHs, the MCP mutants were constructed. Observations showed a loss of the chemotactic responses to benzoate, phthalate, PHE and BaP only in the mutant ∆mcp03030. Surface plasmon resonance (SPR) assays further confirmed that MCP03030LBD specifically bound phthalate, PHE, PYR and BaP, while MCP18870LBD bound only PYR. The mutant ∆mcp03030-∆mcp18870 was then constructed and was shown to have lost the chemotactic response to 5 aromatic compounds. Combined with the effects of outer membrane transporter deletion on chemotaxis and MCP deletion on the PAH degradation, our study demonstrated that the chemoreceptors MCP03030 and MCP18870 can recognize PAHs and their metabolites in the periplasm, triggering metabolism-dependent and metabolism-independent chemotaxis, and be linked with HMW-PAH biodegradation.

High theoretical capacity and safety performance endow Li3VO4 with great promising as anode material for Li-ion batteries. However, approaches and inner mechanisms to advance the performance of Li3VO4 are limited. Herein, we demonstrate for the first time, continuously-high pseudocapacitive charge storage triggered by N doped MXene in a Li3VO4-based electrode, resulting in excellent comprehensive electrochemical performance. The hybrid electrode delivers high discharge capacity of 515.2 mAh g−1 after 500 cycles at 0.1 A g−1. After periodic rate performance test from 0.1 to 2.0 A g−1 for 410 cycles, the capacity of the hybrid electrode can be fully recovered. Followed by additional 1000 cycles at 0.5 A g−1, the hybrid electrode still delivers high discharge capacity of 457.6 mAh g−1. The robust capacitive charge storage induced by N doped MXene and the remarkable comprehensive electrochemical performance are referential for the design of high performance Li3VO4-based anode material, and the facile approach is beneficial for mass production toward practical application. Graphical abstract Download : Download high-res image (210KB) Download : Download full-size image N doped MXene induced robust pseudocapacitive charge storage in a Li3VO4 electrode is firstly demonstrated responsible for the excellent comprehensive electrochemical performance.

Nitrogen doped carbon bridged Li3VO4-Ga2O3 hybrid (Li3VO4-Ga2O3/NC) is first synthesized through an intermediate solution method with subsequent annealing. The Li3VO4-Ga2O3/NC hybrid exhibits robust pseudocapacitive charge storage owing to the synergetic effect between each component, resulting in ultra-high capacity and ultra-stable cyclability as anode for Li-ion batteries. At a specific current of 0.1 A g−1, the Li3VO4-Ga2O3/NC electrode delivers high reversible capacity of 652.6 mA h g−1 after 400 cycles, without obvious capacity attenuation over cycling. After three periodic rate performance testing from 0.1 to 2.0 A g−1 over 260 cycles, the Li3VO4-Ga2O3/NC electrode delivers high discharge capacity of 750.3 mA h g−1 when reverting current to 0.1 A g−1. The Li3VO4-Ga2O3/NC electrode also shows excellent long cycle stability at 1.0 A g−1, delivering high discharge capacity of 450.4 mA h g−1 after 1600 cycles.

The acute exacerbations and progressive deterioration seen in thromboangiitis obliterans (TAO) have been related to poor clinical outcomes. Here, we have studied the association of laboratory biomarkers with the acute phase of TAO (AP-TAO).We conducted a retrospective case-control study on 112 patients with TAO and 98 healthy controls; comparing the neutrophil-to-lymphocyte rate (NLR), lymphocyte-to-monocyte rate (LMR), platelet-to-neutrophil rate (PNR), fibrinogen (FIB), and apolipoprotein A-I (ApoA-I). Significantly higher NLR level, as well as lower LMR, PNR, and ApoA-I levels were observed in patients with TAO, particularly the acute phase. Significantly increased FIB was only observed in AP-TAO. A positive correlation was found between NLR and with C-reactive protein (CRP) in the acute phase (r = 0.817, P 0.001). Moreover, NLR, PNR, and FIB levels of 3.38, 45.12, and 3.69 were shown to be the predictive cut-off values for the AP-TAO (sensitivity 72.5, 82,4, and 66,7%, specificity 92.2, 78.4, and 96.1%; area under the curve [AUC] 0.875, 0.855, and 0.872), respectively. The FIB level was independently associated with the AP-TAO (OR = 11.420, P = 0.007).NLR, PNR, and FIB may be useful markers for the identification of inflammation and the AP-TAO. FIB may be an independent risk factor for the acute phase.

It is of great importance for climate change studies to construct a worldwide, long-term surface downward longwave radiation (Ld, 4–100 μm) dataset. Although a number of global Ld datasets are available, their low accuracies and coarse spatial resolutions limit their applications. This study generated a daily Ld dataset with a 5-km spatial resolution over the global land surface from 2000 to 2018 using atmospheric parameters, which include 2-m air temperature (Ta), relative humidity (RH) at 1000 hPa, total column water vapor (TCWV), surface downward shortwave radiation (Sd), and elevation, based on the gradient boosting regression tree (GBRT) method. The generated Ld dataset was evaluated using ground measurements collected from AmeriFlux, AsiaFlux, baseline surface radiation network (BSRN), surface radiation budget network (SURFRAD), and FLUXNET networks. The validation results showed that the root mean square error (RMSE), mean bias error (MBE), and correlation coefficient (R) values of the generated daily Ld dataset were 17.78 W m−2, 0.99 W m−2, and 0.96 (p < 0.01). Comparisons with other global land surface radiation products indicated that the generated Ld dataset performed better than the clouds and earth’s radiant energy system synoptic (CERES-SYN) edition 4.1 dataset and ERA5 reanalysis product at the selected sites. In addition, the analysis of the spatiotemporal characteristics for the generated Ld dataset showed an increasing trend of 1.8 W m−2 per decade (p < 0.01) from 2003 to 2018, which was closely related to Ta and water vapor pressure. In general, the generated Ld dataset has a higher spatial resolution and accuracy, which can contribute to perfect the existing radiation products.

Porous architecture of N-doped carbon coated gallium nitride sub-micrometer bricks comprising of nanoscale carbon-coating primary nanoparticles/reduced graphene oxide hybrids (GaN–NC–RGO) are firstly designed as high-performance anode for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). The GaN–NC–RGO electrode shows excellent electrochemical performance, with the integral porous architecture and the GaN nanoparticles enhancing the reaction activity, the nanoscale NC coating and the microscale RGO hybridization facilitating electron transfer, and the submicron size of the GaN bricks improving the tap density. The GaN–NC–RGO electrode delivers high discharge capacity of 398.6 mAh g−1 after 550 cycles at 0.05 A g−1, and this value increases to 445.4 mAh g−1 at 0.02 A g−1. After 5 periodic rate capability testing over 400 cycles, the discharge capacity of the GaN–NC–RGO electrode can be fully recovered when reverting current to 0.05 A g−1. The feasible electrode design strategy coupled with the facile fabrication approach and the impressive performances of the GaN–NC–RGO electrode may be referential for the development of high-performance GaN-based materials for LIBs.

Downward surface solar radiation (Rs) plays a dominant role in determining the climate and environment on the Earth. However, the densely distributed ground observations of Rs are usually insufficient to meet the increasing demand of the climate diagnosis and analysis well, so it is essential to build a long-term accurate Rs dataset. The extremely randomized trees (ERT) algorithm was used to generate Rs using routine meteorological observations (2000&ndash, 2015) from the Climate Data Center of the Chinese Meteorological Administration (CDC/CMA). The estimated Rs values were validated against ground measurements at the national scale with an overall correlation coefficient value of 0.97, a mean bias of 0.04 Wm&minus, 2, a root-mean-square-error value of 23.12 Wm&minus, 2, and a mean relative error of 9.81%. It indicates that the estimated Rs from the ERT-based model is reasonably accurate. Moreover, the ERT-based model was used to generate a new daily Rs dataset at 756 CDC/CMA stations from 1958 to 2015. The long-term variation trends of Rs at 454 stations covering 46 consecutive years (1970&ndash, 2015) were also analyzed. The Rs in China showed a significant decline trend (&minus, 1.1 Wm&minus, 2 per decade) during 1970&ndash, 2015. A decreasing trend (&minus, 2.8 Wm&minus, 2 per decade) in Rs during 1970&ndash, 1992 was observed, followed by a recovery trend (0.23 Wm&minus, 2 per decade) during 1992&ndash, 2015. The recovery trends at individual stations were found at 233 out of 454 stations during 1970&ndash, 2015, which were mainly located in southern and northern China. The new Rs dataset would substantially provide basic data for the related studies in agriculture, ecology, and meteorology.

Graphene and amorphous carbon decorated β-Ga2O3 nanoparticles (β-Ga2O3@G/C) were fabricated via facile freezing-dry approach and subsequent sintering treatment. In the β-Ga2O3@G/C, β-Ga2O3 nanoparticles facilitate the lithium ion diffusion, and dual carbon decoration promotes the electron transfer, triggering high pseudocapacitive contribution for charge storage. The pseudocapacitive charge storage for the fresh electrode is 61.7%, reaching 62.5% after 50 cycles, and 66.7% after 100 cycles. Stable pseudocapacitive charge storage also leads to improved cyclability. The β-Ga2O3@G/C electrode exhibits high charge/discharge capacity of 517.9 and 521.8 mAh g−1 after 100 cycles at 0.2 A g−1, and 376.7/379.9 mAh g−1 after 150 cycles at 0.5 A g−1, respectively.

Fundamental insights into Li storage mechanism in α-Ga2O3 allow manipulating materials with improved electrochemical performance. Here, conversion reactions coupled with alloying/dealloying process are uncovered for Li storage in α-Ga2O3 anode, on the basis of ex-situ XRD, XPS, SAED and EDS mapping results. Specifically, both processes are part of irreversible. α-Ga2O3 decorated with amorphous carbon and graphene (α-Ga2O3@C@G) and nitrogen doping are successfully fabricated via a facile approach, showing distinctly improved performance compared with pristine α-Ga2O3 and α-Ga2O3 decorated with graphene (α-Ga2O3@G). In the Ga2O3@C@G, dual carbon improves the electronic conductivity and facilitates electrochemical reconstruction of the Ga2O3@C@G upon cycling that renders high lithium ion diffusion, giving rise to enhanced capacitive contribution for lithium storage. As a result, the Ga2O3@C@G exhibits high discharge/charge capacity of 458/447.3 mAh g−1 after 50 cycles at 0.1 A g−1, with capacitive contribution of 59.2% for lithium ion storage at a scan rate of 1 mV s−1.