E-sports playing and its relation to lifestyle behaviors and psychological well-being: A large-scale study of collegiate e-sports players in China.

BACKGROUND: The research on e-sports mainly concerns the relationship between game playing behavior and Internet addiction, especially among college students. It remained a question of how college students' e-sports playing was associated with their lifestyle behaviors and psychological well-being in China. OBJECTIVES: Our study aimed to explore whether collegiate e-sports players' e-sports participation behaviors differ across demographic backgrounds and how their e-sports playing relates to their lifestyle behaviors and psychological well-being. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey was conducted on 1441 collegiate e-sports players in China. The demographic characteristics of collegiate e-sports players were explored. The Bivariate Person correlation, linear and Tobit regression analyses were used to examine how students' e-sports playing was related to their lifestyle behaviors (i.e., sleep quality and physical activity) and psychological well-being (mobile phone addiction, online game addiction, satisfaction with life, and perceived stress). RESULTS: The results of independent t-test and ANOVA analyses revealed that students from different grades, majors, family residences, and family structures differed in their e-sports participation behaviors. The results of linear regression and Tobit regression analyses also revealed that students' e-sports participation behaviors were related to their lifestyle behaviors and psychological well-being, except for sleep quality and mobile phone addiction. It is noteworthy that the length of time in playing e-sports and e-sports consumption was related to different lifestyle behaviors and psychological well-being. CONCLUSION: The findings demonstrated that e-sports playing had penetrated college students' daily life. Appropriate time arrangement and rational e-sports consumption are crucial in promoting a healthy lifestyle and psychological well-being among college students.

Seroprevalence of Toxoplasma gondii Infection among HIV/AIDS Patients in Eastern China.

Toxoplasmosis, a neglected tropical disease caused by the protozoan parasite Toxoplasma gondii, occurs throughout the world. Human T. gondii infection is asymptomatic in 80% of the population; however, the infection is life-threatening and causes substantial neurologic damage in immunocompromised patients such as HIV-infected persons. The major purpose of this study was to investigate the seroprevalence of T. gondii infection in subjects infected with HIV/AIDS in eastern China. Our findings showed 9.7% prevalence of anti-T. gondii IgG antibody in HIV/AIDS patients, which was higher than in intravenous drug users (2.2%) and healthy controls (4.7%), while no significant difference was observed in the seroprevalence of anti-Toxoplasma IgM antibody among all participants (P>0.05). Among all HIV/AIDS patients, 15 men (7.7%) and 10 women (15.9%) were positive for anti-T. gondii IgG antibody; however, no significant difference was detected in the seroprevalence of anti-Toxoplasma IgG antibody between males and females. The frequency of anti-Toxoplasma IgG antibody was 8.0%, 13.2%, 5.5%, and 0% in patients with normal immune function (CD4(+) T-lymphocyte count ≥500 cells/ml), immunocompromised patients (cell count ≥200 and <500 cells/ml), severely immunocompromised patients (cell count ≥50 and <200 cells/ml), and advanced AIDS patients, respectively (cell count <50 cells/ml), while only 3 immunocompromised patients were positive for anti-T. gondii IgM antibody. The results indicate a high seroprevalence of T. gondii infection in HIV/AIDS patients in eastern China, and a preventive therapy for toxoplasmosis may be given to HIV/AIDS patients based on CD4(+) T lymphocyte count.

Application of magnetic hydroxyapatite nanoparticles for solid phase extraction of plasmid DNA.

We developed a facile method for plasmid DNA (pDNA) extraction from crude Escherichia coli lysate using magnetic hydroxyapatite nanoparticles (MHapNPs) in the presence of polyethylene glycol (PEG)/NaCl. DNA condensation induced by PEG/NaCl is a prerequisite for achieving pronounced DNA recovery. The quality and quantity of MHapNP-purified pDNA under optimal binding buffer conditions (0.5 volume of 20% PEG 8000/2M NaCl) were comparable to those obtained using organic solvents or commercial kits. This MHapNP technique is rapid, simple, cost-effective, and environmentally friendly and has the potential to extract DNA from other cell lysates.