Psychological resilience and related factors among primary care workers in Wuhan, China: A cross-sectional study.

Purpose: Primary medical workers constitute a high-risk group for mental health problems, and psychological resilience might protect them from the negative psychological impacts of their work. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the current situation of psychological resilience among primary care workers in Wuhan, China, as well as related factors. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, a total of 417 primary care workers (30.0 % men; 38.5 ± 8.5 years old) were randomly selected to complete a questionnaire. The brief version of the National Mental Health Literacy Questionnaire and the Psychological Resilience Scale were used to assess participants' mental health literacy and psychological resilience, respectively. Multiple linear regression was performed to identify factors associated with the psychological resilience of primary care workers. Results: More than four-fifths of the primary care workers included in this study exhibited appropriate levels of mental health knowledge. In terms of mental health skills, participants' attainment rates, ranging from high to low, were 60.9 % for distracting attention, 45.3 % for interpersonal support and 43.9 % for cognitive reappraisal. The average psychological resilience score obtained by primary care workers was 27.81 ± 5.71, and the factors associated with increased psychological resilience included being male, being older, and possessing higher mental health skills, including skills pertaining to interpersonal support and distracting attention. Conclusion: The psychological resilience of primary care workers in Wuhan is at a moderate level and thus requires further improvement. Although these medical staff exhibit appropriate levels of mental health knowledge, their mental health skills are relatively poor, despite the fact that interpersonal support and distracting attention are significantly associated with psychological resilience. Hence, interventions targeting mental health skills are recommended to promote psychological resilience among primary care workers.

Protective efficacy of a recombinant enterotoxin antigen in a maternal immunization model and the inhibition of specific maternal antibodies to neonatal oral vaccination.

ETEC (enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli) infection is the leading cause of profuse watery diarrhea in mammals, especially among pre-weaning and post-weaning piglets in swine industry. Maternal immunization is a current rational strategy for providing protection to susceptive piglets and reducing the incidence of ETEC-associated diarrhea. Here we evaluated the protective efficiency of a recombinant antigen (MBP-SLS) fused by major enterotoxin subunits (STa-LTB-STb) via a maternal immunization model, and the impacts of maternal antibodies to neonatal oral vaccination were also investigated in the neonates. The high titers of specific IgG and sIgA in pups shown that the maternal antibodies could be transferred passively. Furthermore, the increases of IL-6 and IL-10 cytokines in breast milk and pup serum indicated that immunization on mother could effectively boost the immune system of neonates. Newborn rats from immunized mothers showed a 70% survival rate after ETEC infection. However, the mucosal immune responses of neonates were inhibited by the high level of maternal specific antibodies. Among the oral-vaccinated neonates, born from mock-immunized rats reached the highest survival after ETEC challenge. Collectively, the fusion MBP-SLS antigen could effectively induce strong immune responses in rats during pregnancy and the pups could receive passive protection through specific antibodies transferred via milk and placenta. However, the specific maternal antibodies exhibited an inhibition effect on the mucosal immune responses in offspring.

Atomic-Scale Structure Dynamics of Nanocrystals Revealed By In Situ and Environmental Transmission Electron Microscopy.

Nanocrystals are of great importance in material sciences and industry. Engineering nanocrystals with desired structures and properties is no doubt one of the most important challenges in the field, which requires deep insight into atomic-scale dynamics of nanocrystals during the process. The rapid developments of in situ transmission electron microscopy (TEM), especially environmental TEM, reveal insights into nanocrystals to digest. According to the considerable progress based on in situ electron microscopy, a comprehensive review on nanocrystal dynamics from three aspects: nucleation and growth, structure evolution, and dynamics in reaction conditions are given. In the nucleation and growth part, existing nucleation theories and growth pathways are organized based on liquid and gas-solid phases. In the structure evolution part, the focus is on in-depth mechanistic understanding of the evolution, including defects, phase, and disorder/order transitions. In the part of dynamics in reaction conditions, solid-solid and gas-solid interfaces of nanocrystals in atmosphere are discussed and the structure-property relationship is correlated. Even though impressive progress is made, additional efforts are required to develop the integrated and operando TEM methodologies for unveiling nanocrystal dynamics with high spatial, energy, and temporal resolutions.

Growth modes of single-walled carbon nanotubes on catalysts.

Understanding the growth mechanism of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) and achieving selective growth requires insights into the catalyst structure-function relationship. Using an in situ aberration-corrected environmental transmission electron microscope, we reveal the effects of the state and structure of catalysts on the growth modes of SWCNTs. SWCNTs grown from molten catalysts via a vapor-liquid-solid process generally present similar diameters to those of the catalysts, indicating a size correlation between nanotubes and catalysts. However, SWCNTs grown from solid catalysts via a vapor-solid-solid process always have smaller diameters than the catalysts, namely, an independent relationship between their sizes. The diameter distribution of SWCNTs grown from crystalline Co7W6, which has a unique atomic arrangement, is discrete. In contrast, nanotubes obtained from crystalline Co are randomly dispersed. The different growth modes are linked to the distinct chiral selectivity of SWCNTs grown on intermetallic and monometallic catalysts. These findings will enable rational design of catalysts for chirality-controlled SWCNTs growth.

Fe doped NiS nanosheet arrays grown on carbon fiber paper for a highly efficient electrocatalytic oxygen evolution reaction.

Developing efficient and low-cost non-noble metal catalysts for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) is important for hydrogen production through water electrolysis. Herein, Fe doped NiS nanosheets directly grown on conductive carbon fiber paper (Fe-NiS@CFP) were fabricated through a two-step hydrothermal process. The microstructure, interface and electronic states of the prepared sample were modulated by Fe doping, exhibiting small internal and interface charge-transfer resistance. Benefiting from these factors, Fe-NiS@CFP shows superior electrocatalytic performance with an overpotential of 275 mV at 100 mA cm-2 and maintains the activity for at least 50 h as a working electrode for the OER. This work may provide insights into the design and fabrication of non-noble metal sulfide electrocatalysts.

Psychometric Properties and Measurement Invariance of the Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire in Chinese Adolescents With and Without Major Depressive Disorder: A Horizontal and Longitudinal Perspective.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to examine the psychometric properties and posited nine-factor structure of the Chinese version of the Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (CERQ-C) in high school students and adolescents with major depressive disorder (MDD), including assessment of measurement invariance of CERQ-C and its subscales across gender, time, and presence of depression. Methods: Chinese high school students from Hunan Province (N = 1,253) and adolescents with major depressive disorder (MDD) from the Medical Psychological Institute outpatient clinic at The Second Xiangya Hospital (N = 205) were enrolled. We examined the reliability, and model fit of the CERQ-C. Multigroup confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was used to test measurement invariance of the subscales across gender, time, and presence of depression. Results: The CERQ-C subscales showed good internal consistency and moderate test-retest reliability in high school students and excellent internal consistency in adolescents with MDD group. The nine-factor model yielded adequate fit indices in different samples. Multigroup CFA confirmed that CERQ-C is strongly equivalent across gender, time, and presence of depression. Conclusions: The CERQ-C is a valid, reliable, and stable instrument for the evaluation of the cognitive emotion regulation (ER) strategies for different samples, including high school students and adolescents with MDD. The horizontal and longitudinal equivalences are strongly established.

Potential structural trait markers of depression in the form of alterations in the structures of subcortical nuclei and structural covariance network properties.

It has been proposed recently that major depressive disorder (MDD) could represent an adaptation to conserve energy after the perceived loss of an investment in a vital source, such as group identity, personal assets, or relationships. Energy conserving behaviors associated with MDD may form a persistent marker in brain regions and networks involved in cognition and emotion regulation. In this study, we examined whether subcortical regions and volume-based structural covariance networks (SCNs) have state-independent alterations (trait markers). First-episode drug-naïve currently depressed (cMDD) patients (N = 131), remitted MDD (RD) patients (N = 67), and healthy controls (HCs, N = 235) underwent structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Subcortical gray matter volumes (GMVs) were calculated in FreeSurfer software, and group differences in GMVs and SCN were analyzed. Compared to HCs, major findings were decreased GMVs of left pallidum and pulvinar anterior of thalamus in the cMDD and RD groups, indicative of a trait marker. Relative to HCs, subcortical SCNs of both cMDD and RD patients were found to have reduced small-world-ness and path length, which together may represent a trait-like topological feature of depression. In sum, the left pallidum, left pulvinar anterior of thalamus volumetric alterations may represent trait marker and reduced small-world-ness, path length may represent trait-like topological feature of MDD.

Atomic origins of the strong metal-support interaction in silica supported catalysts.

Silica supported metal catalysts are most widely used in the modern chemical industry because of the high stability and tunable reactivity. The strong metal-support interaction (SMSI), which has been widely observed in metal oxide supported catalysts and significantly affects the catalytic behavior, has been speculated to rarely happen in silica supported catalysts since silica is hard to reduce. Here we revealed at the atomic scale the interfacial reaction induced SMSI in silica supported Co and Pt catalysts under reductive conditions at high temperature using aberration-corrected environmental transmission electron microscopy coupled with in situ electron energy loss spectroscopy. In a Co/SiO2 system, the amorphous SiO2 migrated onto the Co surface to form a crystallized quartz-SiO2 overlayer, and simultaneously an interlayer of Si was generated in-between. The metastable crystalline SiO2 overlayer subsequently underwent an order-to-disorder transition due to the continuous dissociation of SiO2 and the interfacial alloying of Si with the underlying Co. The SMSI in the Pt-SiO2 system was found to remarkably boost the catalytic hydrogenation. These findings demonstrate the universality of the SMSI in oxide supported catalysts, which is of general importance for designing catalysts and understanding catalytic mechanisms.

Conductive electrodes of metallic-organic compound CH3CuS nanowires for all-solid-state flexible supercapacitors.

Development of wearable electronics puts forward higher requirements for flexible energy storage devices. Lighter and thinner electrodes with high conductivity are one of the key factors to meet this demand. Herein, a conductive paper-based electrode, assembled from metallic-organic compound CH3CuS nanowires prepared by a one-step thermal solution process, is reported. By using the conductive electrodes of CH3CuS nanowires, the fabricated all-solid-state supercapacitor device delivers an excellent electrochemical performance: an areal capacitance of 90.5 µF cm-2 at a current density of 0.5 mA cm-2, an energy density of 5.2 µW h cm-2, and 98% retention of initial capacitance after undergoing 10 000 cycles. In particular, the fabricated all-solid-state supercapacitor device can work normally under a bent state. The no-additive, cost-effective, and eco-friendly paper-based electrodes present a potential application prospect in the field of flexible energy storage devices.

Expression and Purification of a Recombinant Enterotoxin Protein Using Different E. coli Host Strains and Expression Vectors.

Infection by Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli is a common cause of diarrhea in animals. The development of vaccines against enterotoxins can effectively control the infection. We have previously constructed a recombinant antigen SLS fused by STa, LTB and STb enterotoxin and it showed a high immunogenicity in mice. Herein, we evaluated the expression of SLS in three different E. coli cells with corresponding plasmids. SLS proteins expressed in E. coli BL21 (DE3) and Rosetta-gami B (DE3) were aggregated as inclusion bodies, and the proteins solubility were not obviously promoted in low temperature combined with adjustment of inducer concentration. In contrast, SLS protein with maltose-binding protein (MBP) yielded from TB1 (DE3) cells were partially soluble. After increasing the IPTG concentration in the medium up to 2 mM and incubating at 37 ℃ for 4 h, the soluble protein yield reached the highest level (4.533 mg/0.2 L culture), which was significantly higher than the expression of SLS protein in Rosetta-gami B (DE3) (P < 0.05). Therefore, the TB1-pMAL expression system can be used for mass extraction and purification of SLS antigen prior to measuring its immunogenicity in pregnant mammals.

Intrinsic brain network alterations in non-clinical adults with a history of childhood trauma.

Background: Childhood trauma is a major social public-health problem worldwide. Previous literature suggests childhood trauma is associated with the development of psychiatric disorders and maladaptive behaviours later in life, but little is known about the neural basis underlying these associations. Objective: The aim of the current study was to investigate intrinsic brain network alterations in non-clinical adults with childhood trauma. Methods: Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data were collected from 65 non-clinical adults with moderate or severe childhood trauma (CT group), according to the international demarcation criteria of the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ), and 73 socio-demographically matched non-clinical controls without childhood trauma (no-CT group). Independent component analysis (ICA) was used to extract subnetworks of the default mode network (DMN), salience network (SN), and central executive network (CEN). Results: ICA revealed that the CT group had increased FC of the left medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) in the anterior DMN (aDMN), increased functional connectivity (FC) of the left anterior insula in the SN, and decreased FC of the inferior parietal gyrus of the right CEN (rCEN). Compared to the controls, the CT group had decreased inter-network FCs between the SN and posterior DMN (pDMN), as well as between the pDMN and rCEN. Conclusions: Impaired FC within the three key brain networks, decreased inter-FC between SN and rCEN, and decreased inter-FC between pDMN and rCEN may reflect biomarkers of childhood trauma.

Antecedentes: El trauma infantil es un importante problema de salud pública social a nivel mundial. La literatura previa sugiere que el trauma infantil está asociado con el desarrollo de trastornos psiquiátricos y conductas desadaptativas posteriores en la vida, pero se sabe poco acerca de las bases neuronales que subyacen a estas asociaciones.Objetivo: El objetivo del este estudio fue el de investigar las alteraciones intrínsecas de las redes cerebrales en población adulta no clínica con trauma infantil.Métodos: Se recolectaron los datos de resonancia magnética funcional (fMRI) en estado de reposo de 65 adultos no-clínicos con trauma infantil moderado o severo (grupo de TI) de acuerdo con los criterios de demarcación internacional del Cuestionario de Trauma Infantil (CTQ en sus siglas en ingles) y de 73 controles no clínicos sin antecedente de trauma infantil (grupo sin-TI) emparejados sociodemográficamente. Se utilizó el análisis de componentes independientes (ACI) para extraer subredes de la red neuronal por defecto (RND), la red de asignación de relevancia (RAR en sus siglas en ingles) y la red ejecutiva central (REC en sus siglas en ingles).Resultados: El ACI mostró que el grupo de TI presentaba un incremento de la conectividad funcional (CF) de la corteza prefrontal medial izquierda (CPFm) en la RND anterior (RNDa), un incremento de la CF de la ínsula anterior izquierda en la RAR y una CF disminuida en la circunvolución parietal inferior de la REC derecha (RECd). En comparación con los controles, el grupo de TI mostraba menores CF entre redes. Esto se observó entre la RAR y la RND posterior (RNDp), así como entre la RNDp y la RECd.Conclusiones: Una disfunción en la CF entre tres redes cerebrales clave, una disminución de la CF entre la RAR y la RECd y una disminución de la CF entre la RNDp y la RECd podían mostrarse como biomarcadores del trauma infantil.

Influence of psychosocial stress on activation in human brain regions: moderation by the 5-HTTLPR genetic locus.

Variants of the serotonin transporter linked polymorphic region (5-HTTLPR) of the serotonin transporter gene SLC6A4 have been related with the onset of depression, anxiety, and other mental disorders. Homozygotes for the short 5-HTTLPR variant, referred to as the SS genotype, have greater cortisol responses to experimentally induced psychosocial stress. In the current study, we used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to compare regional brain activations across 5-HTTLPR genotypes in subjects performing the Montreal Imaging Stress Task (MIST). Subjects with an SS genotype had significant greater increases in cortisol concentrations after the task than subjects with at least one long 5-HTTLPR allele. Additionally, relative to L carriers, the SS group had greater activation in the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex(dmPFC), dorsal anterior cingulate cortex, anterior insula.

State-independent and -dependent structural alterations in limbic-cortical regions in patients with current and remitted depression.

BACKGROUND: The high recurrence of major depressive disorder (MDD) may derive from underlying state-independent structural alterations. METHODS: First-episode drug-naïve currently depressed (cMDD) patients (N = 97), remitted depressed (RD) patients (N = 72), and healthy controls (HCs, N = 100) underwent structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Group differences in cortical thickness (CT), surface area (SA), and local gyrification index (lGI) were analyzed in FreeSurfer. RESULTS: Both groups of depressed patients had significantly decreased CT, relative to HCs, in the left precentral gyrus and significantly increased lGI values in the left superior frontal gyrus (SFG) indicative of state-independent alterations. Relative to HCs, the cMDD group had decreased CT of the SFG, caudal middle frontal gyrus (MFG), posterior cingulate cortex (PCC), and lateral occipital regions as well as increased SA or lGI of the superior temporal gyrus, precuneus, and pericalcarine, whereas the RD group had increased SA or lGI of the SFG, caudal MFG, and supramarginal gyrus; these alterations appeared to be state-dependent. SA or lGI values of the fusiform gyrus, inferior temporal gyrus, and superior parietal lobule differed between the cMDD and RD groups, consistent with state-dependent alterations. Beck depression inventory scores correlated with CT or lGI values of the caudal MFG, lateral occipital cortex in depressed patients. LIMITATIONS: The structural features of several subcortical limbic regions were not analyzed. CONCLUSIONS: Left precentral gyrus CT and left SFG gyrification alterations may represent state-independent alterations in MDD.

Factor Structure and Measurement Invariance Across Gender Groups of the 15-Item Geriatric Depression Scale Among Chinese Elders.

The 15-item Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS-15) is widely used to screen depression among elders. But the factor structure of the Chinese version GDS-15 remains unclear. This study was conducted to determine the best-fit factor structure of GDS-15 and to assess measurement invariance across gender groups in a sample of Chinese elders recruited from Mainland China (final sample N = 2428). The best-fit factor structure was examined by confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). Multigroup CFA was utilized to test the measurement invariance across genders of the factor structure. The results of CFA revealed that a three-factor model, including life satisfaction (four items), general depressive affect (seven items), and withdrawal (three items), fits the structure of the GDS-15 best. Measurement invariance across genders was supported, fully assuming different degrees of invariance.

Factorial Invariance of the 10-Item Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale Across Gender Among Chinese Elders.

Resilience plays an important role in the health of the elderly. The 10-item Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC-10) is widely used to evaluate resilience, but its factorial invariance has not been evaluated in the Chinese elders. In the current study, 1,238 Chinese elders aged 60 years and above completed the Chinese CD-RISC-10, yielding good reliability (Cronbach's α = 0.936, Omega coefficient = 0.83, and test-retest reliability coefficient of 0.665 after 6 months). Confirmatory factor analysis indicated that a single-factor model fitted our CD-RISC-10 data well, both for the total sample and for each gender group. Furthermore, factorial invariance across genders was supported by multigroup confirmatory factor analysis. Finally, the current study revealed greater resilience levels in Chinese elderly women than in Chinese elderly men.

Atomic Scale Stability of Tungsten-Cobalt Intermetallic Nanocrystals in Reactive Environment at High Temperature.

Catalyst design plays vital roles in structurally relevant reactions. Revealing the catalyst structure and chemistry in the reactive environment at the atomic scale is imperative for the rational design of catalysts as well as the investigation of reaction mechanisms, while in situ characterization at the atomic scale at high temperature is still a great challenge. Here, tracking intermetallic Co7W6 nanocrystals with a defined structure and a high melting point by environmental aberration-corrected transmission electron microscopy in combination with in situ synchrotron X-ray absorption spectroscopy, we directly present the structural and chemical stability of the Co7W6 nanocrystals in methane, carbon monoxide, and hydrogen at temperatures of 700-1100 °C. The evidence is in situ and in real time with both atomic scaled resolution and collective information. The results are helpful in revealing the mechanism of structural-specified synthesis of single-walled carbon nanotubes. This research offers an example of systematic investigation at the atomic scale on catalysts under reactive conditions. Such catalysts presenting high structural stability may also find applications in other structure-specific synthesis.

Au@Co2P core/shell nanoparticles as a nano-electrocatalyst for enhancing the oxygen evolution reaction.

Core/shell nanoparticles (NPs) of Au@Co2P, each comprising a Au core with a Co2P shell, were prepared, and shown to efficiently catalyze the oxygen evolution reaction (OER). In particular, Au@Co2P has a small overpotential of 321 mV at 10 mA cm-2 in 1 M KOH aqueous solution at room temperature, which is about 95 mV less than pure Co2P. More importantly, the Tafel slope of Au@Co2P, at 57 mV dec-1, is 44 mV dec-1 lower than that of Co2P. Hence, Au@Co2P outperforms Co2P drastically in practical production when a high current density is required.

A High-Rate and Stable Quasi-Solid-State Zinc-Ion Battery with Novel 2D Layered Zinc Orthovanadate Array.

Zinc-ion batteries are under current research focus because of their uniqueness in low cost and high safety. However, it is still desirable to improve the rate performance by improving the Zn2+ (de)intercalation kinetics and long-cycle stability by eliminating the dendrite formation problem. Herein, the first paradigm of a high-rate and ultrastable flexible quasi-solid-state zinc-ion battery is constructed from a novel 2D ultrathin layered zinc orthovanadate array cathode, a Zn array anode supported by a conductive porous graphene foam, and a gel electrolyte. The nanoarray structure for both electrodes assures the high rate capability and alleviates the dendrite growth. The flexible Zn-ion battery has a depth of discharge of ≈100% for the cathode and 66% for the anode, and delivers an impressive high-rate of 50 C (discharge in 60 s), long-term durability of 2000 cycles at 20 C, and unprecedented energy density ≈115 Wh kg-1 , together with a peak power density ≈5.1 kW kg-1 (calculation includes masses of cathode, anode, and current collectors). First principles calculations and quantitative kinetics analysis show that the high-rate and stable properties are correlated with the 2D fast ion-migration pathways and the introduced intercalation pseudocapacitance.

Highly efficient core-shell CuInS2-Mn doped CdS quantum dot sensitized solar cells.

A simple aqueous solution route has been used to prepare mercaptoacetic acid attached CuInS2 quantum dots. Based on this material, core-shell CuInS2-Mn doped CdS quantum dot sensitized solar cells are assembled and a power conversion efficiency of 5.38% is obtained under AM1.5 (100 mW cm(-2)) illumination.