Resilience as moderator of the relationship between left-behind experience and mental health of Chinese adolescents

BACKGROUND

In China, since the rural labor, leaving their children in the hometown to other caregivers is a trend that has been increasing, and the impact of parental absence on the well-being of left-behind children is increasingly drawing attention in the Chinese society. However, there is a lack of study on the potential impacts of being left behind on later psychosocial outcomes in adolescence and associated protective factors.

AIM

This study was conducted on a large sample of Chinese college students to test the moderating effect of resilience between left-behind experience and mental health problems.

METHODS

The Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale and Symptom Checklist as well as a self-reported questionnaire about left-behind experience designed by the authors were adopted for a survey with 2,968 Chinese college students as respondents.

RESULTS

Totally, 1,063 students (35.8%) had 1 year or more left-behind experience. Compared to those who had no left-behind experience, the students who had left-behind experience were rated lower on resilience score and higher on mental health problem score. Mental health problems had a negative correlation with resilience. Regression analysis showed that resilience moderated left-behind experience and mental health problems.

CONCLUSION

Individuals with left-behind experience are more vulnerable to mental health problems. Promoting resilience may be helpful for prevention of mental health problems in college students with left-behind experience.

Note: Proof of principle of a new type of cluster beam source with potential for scale-up

We introduce a new type of cluster beam source based on the assembly of (metal) clusters within a condensed (rare gas) matrix. The "Matrix Assembly Cluster Source" employs an ion beam to enhance collisions between metal atoms in the matrix and to sputter out clusters to form a beam. We demonstrate the formation and deposition of gold and silver nanoclusters with mean size tunable from a few atoms to a few thousand atoms. The cluster flux is equivalent to a current nanoAmp regime but potentially scalable to milliAmps, which would open up a number of interesting experiments and applications.

Hypermethylation and Expression Silencing of PDCD4 Gene in Hepatocellular Carcinoma: A Consort Study

Programmed cell death 4 (PDCD4) is a novel tumor suppressor, which is involved in the initiation and progression of cancers. However, the role of PDCD4 in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) has not been reported. The aim of this study was to investigate the molecular mechanism and clinical significance of PDCD4 inactivation in HCC.The mRNA levels of PDCD4 in HCC tissues and adjacent nontumor tissues were analyzed by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). Bisulfite sequencing PCR was performed to determine the methylation status of PDCD4 promoter. Furthermore, the mRNA expression level and the methylated level of PDCD4 were analyzed with the clinical and pathological characteristics.qRT-PCR analysis showed that PDCD4 mRNA levels in tumor tissues were significantly decreased compared with that in adjacent nontumor tissues. The methylation rate of PDCD4 promoter was significantly higher in HCC tissues than that in adjacent nontumor tissues. PDCD4 mRNA levels and promoter methylation levels were both statistically correlated with metastasis and the degree of differentiation in HCC. In addition, the correlation between PDCD4 hypermethylation, mRNA levels, and overall survival (OS) was statistically significant.Our results indicated that PDCD4 may be a novel candidate of tumor suppressor gene in HCC, and that promoter hypermethylation is an important mechanism for its downregulation and is also a good predictor of OS for HCC.

Clinical significance of different virus load of human bocavirus in patients with lower respiratory tract infection

To assess the impact of human bocavirus (HBoV) virus load on epidemiologic and clinical characteristics in children with lower respiratory tract infection (LRTI). Clinical records of a total of 654 patients with HBoV infection during January 2013 and December 2014 were retrospectively reviewed. Patients with high HBoV virus load infection had a similar age distribution with the total HBoV infection, which had a peak age group of 6–24 months. Patients with high virus load are significantly younger (P < 0.01) than those with low load. The patients who had wheeze and tachypnea/dyspnea at presentation were more strongly affiliated with the patients with high virus load (both P < 0.01). Co-infection was found significantly more frequently among patients with low virus load than those with high virus load (57.0% vs 38.9%; P < 0.01). High virus load was a significant predictor of severe LRTI (P < 0.05). HBoV infections are found in an important proportion of the hospitalized children with respiratory illnesses (8.85% in our series). A high HBoV virus load could be an etiologic agent for LRTI, which may lead to more severe lower respiratory tract symptom and severe disease.

Correlation Between ABCA1 Gene Polymorphism and aopA-I and HDL-C in Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm

BACKGROUND

As the most common type of aneurysm, abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) has an unfavorable prognosis due to the high frequency of rupture. Studies have indicated a close relationship between the pathogenesis and progression of AAA and abnormal serum lipid levels. ATP-binding cassette transport protein A1 (ABCA1) is a cell-surface protein facilitating cellular efflux of cholesterol. The single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) of ABCA1 gene has been suggested to be correlated with abnormal metabolism of lipids. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the relationship between ABCA1 polymorphism and apoA-I and HDL-C in an attempt to elucidate its correlation with AAA occurrence.

MATERIAL/METHODS

We included 126 AAA patients and 119 healthy controls in this study. PCR and restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) were used to detect the SNP pattern of ABCA1 gene at locus rs2230806 from both AAA patients and healthy controls. The distribution pattern and correlation with apoA-I and HDL-C was analyzed.

RESULTS

The distribution of KK/RR genotype of ABCA1 gene had significant difference between disease and control group, with lower rates of RR genotype and R allele in the disease group (p<0.05). Levels of apoA-I and HDL-C, but not triglyceride and LDL-C levels, in AAA patients who carried R allele in ABCA1 gene (including RR and RK genotypes) were higher than in non-carriers (p<0.05). The R allele of ABCA1 gene was shown to be related with the occurrence of AAA (p<0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

Polymorphism of ABCA1 gene is correlated with AAA occurrence, possibly via the regulation of serum lipid metabolism by R allele.

[Comparison of paper and electronic data management in clinical trials]

Electronic case report forms (eCRFs) instead of the traditional paper case report forms (pCRFs) are increasingly used by investigators and sponsors of clinical research. We include a total of 14 phase III studies (8 pCRF, 6 eCRF) to compare paper and electronic data documentation both quantitatively and qualitatively in clinical studies. The result suggests that adaptions of electronic data capture (EDC) in clinical trials have the advantages in optimization of data capture process, improvement of data quality and earlier clinical decision compared to paper-based methods. Furthermore, the successful implementation of EDC requires accouplements with corresponding data management processes and reallocation of resources.

Detection of human bocavirus in nasopharyngeal aspirates versus in broncho-alveolar lavage fluids in children with lower respiratory tract infections

To compare the presence of human bocavirus (HBoV) in nasopharyngeal aspirates (NPA) versus broncho-alveolar lavage fluids (BAL) in children with lower respiratory tract infections (LRTIs), as revealed by real-time PCR, in order to confirm the diagnostic validity of NPA samples. A retrospective 5-year study was performed from 2009 to 2014 in 1,194 patients under the age of 17 years (mean age of 3 years) that were diagnosed with LRTIs and from whom both NPA and BAL were obtained. Clinical and demographic data were recorded, and NPA and BAL samples were analyzed for HBoV-positivity by real-time PCR. Of the 1,194 patients enrolled, 65 (5.4%) patients had HBoV detected from NPA, and 61 (5.1%) had HBoV detected from BAL. For HBoV, there was a significant association between the NPA and BAL samples (P < 0.001), but the diagnostic validity was relatively low (kappa = 0.414). When real-time PCR-positivity for HBoV in BAL was used as a reference for diagnosis, NPA had a good specificity and better positive predictive validity in male patients or those younger than 3 years of age. NPA has a similar yield and a good specificity for diagnosis of LRTIs with HBoV compared to BAL. The best diagnostic validity for NPA was detected in male patients or those younger than 3 years old.

MicroRNA-340 Inhibits Esophageal Cancer Cell Growth and Invasion by Targeting Phosphoserine Aminotransferase 1

Background/Aims: Emerging evidence indicates that microRNA (miR)-340 is downregulated in various human cancers, suggesting that it acts as a tumor suppressor. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the expression and role of miR-340 in human esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). Methods: The expression of miR-340 was examined in 64 paired ESCC and adjacent non-tumor tissues by quantitative real time PCR. The effects of miR-340 on ESCC cell proliferation and metastasis were examined by MTT and Matrigel invasion assays. Tumor growth was assessed by subcutaneous inoculation of cells into BALB/c nude mice. Targets of miR-340 were identified by bioinformatics and verified by luciferase reporter assays, quantitative real-time PCR, and western blotting. Results: MiR-340 was significantly downregulated in ESCC tumor tissues compared to adjacent non-tumor tissues and in ESCC cell lines compared to esophageal endothelial cells. Overexpression of miR-340 inhibited ESCC cell growth, colony formation, and invasion, and tumor growth in a xenograft mouse model. PSAT1 was identified as a direct target of miR-340 and its ectopic expression partially reversed the miR-340 mediated inhibition of viability, invasion and EMT in ESCC cells. The expression of miR-340 was negatively correlated with that of PSAT1 in human ESCC samples. Conclusion: MiR-340 functions as a tumor suppressor by modulating the expression of PSAT1 and may contribute to the progression and invasiveness of ESCC.

Protective effects of low molecular weight chondroitin sulfate on amyloid beta (Aβ)-induced damage in vitro and in vivo

In the present study, we investigated the effects of low molecular weight chondroitin sulfate (LMWCS) on amyloid beta (Aβ)-induced neurotoxicity in vitro and in vivo. The in vitro results showed that LMWCS blocked Aβ25-35-induced cell viability loss and apoptosis, decreased intracellular calcium concentration, reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels, the mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) depolarization, and the protein expression of Caspase-3. During in vivo experiments, LMWCS improved the cognitive impairment induced by Aβ1-40, increased the level of choline acetyltransferase (ChAT), superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px), and decreased the level of malondialdehyde (MDA) and acetylcholinesterase (AChE) in the mouse brain. Moreover, LMWCS decreased the density of pyramidal cells of CA1 regions, and suppressed the protein expression of Bax/Bcl-2 and Caspase-3, -9 in the hippocampus of mice. In conclusion, LMWCS possessed neuroprotective properties against toxic effects induced by Aβ peptides both in vitro and in vivo, which might be related to anti-apoptotic activity. LMWCS might be a useful preventive and therapeutic compound for Alzheimer's disease.

Pt Diffusion Dynamics for the Formation Cr-Pt Core-Shell Nanoparticles

Layered core-shell bimetallic Cr-Pt nanoparticles were prepared by the formation and later reduction of an intermediate Pt-ion-containing supramolecular complex onto preformed Cr nanoparticles. The resultant nanoparticles were characterized by X-ray diffraction analysis, transmission electron microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and aberration-corrected scanning transmission electron microscopy. The results are consistent with the presence of Pt diffusion during or after bimetallic nanoparticle formation, which has resulted in a Pt/Cr-alloyed core and shell. We postulate that such Pt diffusion occurs by an electric-field-assisted process according to Cabrera-Mott theory and that it originates from the low work function of the preformed oxygen-defective Cr nanoparticles and the rather large electron affinity of Pt.