Food insecurity associated with higher COVID-19 infection in households with older adults.

OBJECTIVES: As a well-documented social determinant of health, food insecurity may be associated with COVID-19 infection in households with older adults. We examined whether older adults were vulnerable to COVID-19 infection during the early pandemic if they were food insecure versus food secure. STUDY DESIGN: A cross-sectional study using a nationally representative population-based survey of US older adults. METHODS: We used a random subsample of Health and Retirement Study (HRS) drawn in June 2020 (N = 3212). We compared the odds of reporting COVID-19 infection in a household, COVID-19 infection and mortality among acquaintances, and respondent's perceived fair or poor health across household food insecurity status resulted from financial or non-financial barriers. Baseline health and socioeconomic circumstances were adjusted in the models. RESULTS: Results showed a higher COVID-19 infection rate among food-insecure households than among their food-secure counterparts during the pandemic. Food insecurity due to non-financial obstacles was associated with greater likelihood of COVID-19 infection both within respondents' households (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] = 1.73, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.03-2.90) and among their acquaintances (aOR = 1.32, 95% CI: 1.05-1.65). Food insecurity caused by both non-financial and financial constraints was associated with twice the likelihood of knowing someone who died from COVID-19 than their food-secure counterparts (aOR = 2.14, 95% CI: 1.27-3.61). CONCLUSIONS: Food insecurity driven by non-financial constraints played an important role in the ongoing pandemic among US older adults. Policies addressing COVID-19 need to recognize the vulnerability of food-insecure older adults beyond lack of monetary resources.

Identification of potential therapeutic target genes and mechanisms in non-small-cell lung carcinoma in non-smoking women based on bioinformatics analysis.

OBJECTIVE: The study was aimed to explore the underlying mechanisms and identify the potential target genes by bioinformatics analysis for non-small-cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC) treatment in non-smoking women. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The microarray data of GSE19804 was downloaded from Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database. Paired samples (from the same patient) of tumor and normal lung tissues from 60 non-smoking female NSCLC patients were used to identify differentially expressed genes (DEGs). The functional enrichment analysis was performed. Furthermore, the protein-protein interaction (PPI) network of the DEGs was constructed by Cytoscape software. The module analysis was performed. RESULTS: Totally, 817 DEGs including 273 up- and 544 down-regulated genes were identified. The up-regulated genes were mainly enriched in extracellular matrix (ECM)-receptor interaction, focal adhesion and cell cycle functions, while down-regulated genes were mainly enriched in the cytokine-cytokine receptor interaction pathway. DEGs including hyaluronan-mediated motility receptor (HMMR), collagen, type I alpha 2 (COL1A2), cyclin A2 (CCNA2), MAD2 mitotic arrest deficient-like 1 (MAD2L1), interleukin 6 (IL6) and interleukin 1, beta (IL1B) were identified in these functions. These genes were hub nodes in PPI networks. Besides, there were 3 up-regulated modules and 1 down-regulated module. The significant pathways were ECM-receptor interaction and focal adhesion in up-regulated modules, while in down-regulated module, the significant pathway was mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling pathway. CONCLUSIONS: The ECM-receptor interaction, focal adhesion, cell cycle and cytokine-cytokine receptor interaction functions may be associated with NSCLC development. Genes such as HMMR, COL1A2, CCNA2, MAD2L1, IL6 and IL1B may be potential therapeutic target genes for NSCLC.

Self-organized nanoscale pattern formation on vicinal Si(111) surfaces via a two-stage faceting transition.

We demonstrate a self-organized pattern formation on vicinal Si(111) surfaces that are miscut toward the [2;11] direction. All the patterns, consisting of a periodic array of alternating (7 x 7) reconstructed terraces and step-bunched facets, have the same periodicity and facet structure, independent of the miscut angle, while the width of the facets increases linearly with miscut angle. We attribute such unique pattern formation to a surface faceting transition that involves two transition stages: the first stage forms a stress-domain structure defining the universal periodicity; the second stage forms the low-energy facets controlling the facet width.