Effect of Fatty Acid Unsaturation on the Intermolecular Weak Interaction at the Low-Rank Coal-Water Interface: Density Functional Theory Calculations and Experimental Study.

The study on the effect of fatty acid saturation on low-rank coal (LRC) flotation is still limited. In this investigation, density functional theory (DFT) combined with Zeta potential and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) was used to study the mechanism of intermolecular weak interaction at the LRC-water interface of fatty acids (decanoic acid (DA), undecylenic acid (UA), and phenyl propionic acid (PA)) with different saturations and different dodecane (D) composition hydrocarbon oil-fatty acid mixed collectors (D-DA, D-UA, D-PA). The findings demonstrated that the hydrogen bond interaction and electrostatic interaction between the UA/PA with unsaturated bonded carbon chains and the LRC molecular fragments/water molecules were stronger than DA without a saturated bond carbon chain, and UA/PA strengthened its interaction with water molecules on the whole, even PA molecules would preferentially interact with water molecules. The unsaturated bond had a minimal impact on the adsorption of the LRC hydrophobic site, and the strength of the hydrogen bond between the mixed collector and LRC is D-DA > D-UA > D-PA. In the actual flotation process, the strong hydrogen bonding and electrostatic interaction between UA/PA and water molecules weaken the collection performance of the mixed collector D-UA/D-PA for LRC, which also confirmed the research results of DFT, FTIR, and Zeta.

Hypothesis Tests for Continuous Audiometric Threshold Data.

OBJECTIVES: Hypothesis tests for hearing threshold data may be challenging due to the special structure of the response variable, which consists of the measurements from the participant's two ears at multiple frequencies. The commonly-used methods may have inflated type I error rates for the global test that examines whether exposure-hearing threshold associations exist in at least one of the frequencies. We propose using both-ear methods, including all frequencies in the same model for hypothesis testing. DESIGN: We compared the both-ear method to commonly used single-ear methods, such as the worse-ear, better-ear, left/right-ear, average-ear methods, and both-ear methods that evaluate individual audiometric frequencies in separate models, through both theoretical consideration and a simulation study. Differences between the methods were illustrated using hypothesis tests for the associations between the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension adherence score and 3-year change in hearing thresholds among participants in the Conservation of Hearing Study. RESULTS: We found that (1) in the absence of ear-level confounders, the better-ear, worse-ear and left/right-ear methods have less power for frequency-specific tests and for the global test; (2) in the presence of ear-level confounders, the better-ear and worse-ear methods are invalid, and the left/right-ear and average-ear methods have less power, with the power loss in the left/right-ear much greater than the average-ear method, for frequency-specific tests and for the global test; and (3) the both-ear method with separate analyses for individual frequencies is invalid for the global test. CONCLUSIONS: For hypothesis testing to evaluate whether there are significant associations between an exposure of interest and audiometric hearing threshold measurements, the both-ear method that includes all frequencies in the same model is the recommended analytic approach.

Effect of Carboxyl Group Position on Assembly Behavior and Structure of Hydrocarbon Oil-Carboxylic Acid Compound Collector on Low-Rank Coal Surface: Sum-Frequency Vibration Spectroscopy and Coarse-Grained Molecular Dynamics Simulation Study.

In this work, the assembly behavior and structure of a compound collector with different carboxyl group positions at the low-rank coal (LRC)-water interface were investigated through coarse-grained molecular dynamics simulation (CGMD) combined with sum-frequency vibration spectroscopy (SFG). The choice of compound collector was dodecane +decanoic acid (D-DA) and dodecane +2-butyl octanoic acid (D-BA). CGMD results showed that the carboxyl group at the carbon chain's middle can better control the assembly process between carboxylic acid and D molecules. SFG research found that the carboxyl group at the carbon chain's termination had a greater impact on the displacement of the methyl/methylene symmetric stretching vibration peak, while the carboxyl group at the carbon chain's middle had a greater impact on the displacement of the methyl/methylene asymmetric stretching vibration peak. The spatial angle calculation results revealed that the methyl group's orientation angle in the D-BA molecule was smaller and the carboxyl group's orientation angle in the BA molecule was bigger, indicating that D-BA spread more flatly on the LRC surface than D-DA. This meant that the assembled structure had a larger effective adsorption area on the LRC surface. The flotation studies also verified that the assembly behavior and structure of D-BA with the carboxyl group at the carbon chain's middle at the LRC-water interface were more conducive to the improvement of flotation efficiency. The study of interface assembly behavior and structure by CGMD combined with SFG is crucial for the creation of effective compound collectors.

Association of platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio levels with the risk of cardiac adverse events in people with type 2 diabetes undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention: A large-scale prospective cohort study.

BACKGROUND: The platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR), a promising inflammatory biomarker, contributes to the development of atherosclerosis and type 2 diabetes (T2D). Therefore, this study aimed to elucidate the importance of PLR in predicting adverse events in people undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) with T2D. METHODS: We consecutively enrolled 8831 people who underwent PCI and divided them into four groups according to PLR and glycemic metabolic status (PLR-Low/High without T2D, PLR-Low/High with T2D). The endpoints were major adverse cardiovascular and cerebrovascular events (MACCE) and stent thrombosis. A multivariate Cox regression analysis was performed to determine this association. RESULTS: During the 2.4-year follow-up, 663 (7.5%) MACCE and 75 (0.85%) stent thromboses were recorded. The risk of MACCE (hazard ratio [HR]: 1.30, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.10-1.53, P = 0.002) and stent thrombosis (HR: 2.32, 95% CI: 1.38-3.90, P = 0.002) was significantly higher in people with high PLR levels than in those with low PLR. Among people with T2D, the PLR-High group showed a significantly higher risk of MACCE (HR: 1.59, 95% CI: 1.21-2.09, P = 0.001) and stent thrombosis (HR: 3.15, 95% CI: 1.32-7.52, P = 0.010). However, these associations were not significant in people without T2D. CONCLUSIONS: PLR has been originally documented as a significant predictor of poor prognosis and a high incidence of stent thrombosis in people undergoing PCI, especially in those with T2D.

Single-Cell Atlas of Atherosclerosis Patients by Cytof: Circulatory and Local Immune Disorders.

Atherosclerosis (AS) is a common underlying pathology of coronary artery disease, peripheral artery disease, and stroke. The characteristics of immune cells within plaques and their functional relationships with blood are crucial in AS. In this study, Mass cytometry (CyTOF), RNA-sequencing and immunofluorescence were combined to comprehensively analyze plaque tissues and peripheral blood from 25 AS patients (22 for Mass cytometry and 3 for RNA-sequencing), as well as blood from 20 healthy individuals. The study identified a complexity of leukocytes in the plaque, including both defined anti-inflammatory and pro-inflammatory subsets such as M2-like CD163+ macrophages, Natural killer T cells (NKT), CD11b+ CD4+ T effector memory cells (Tem), and CD8+ terminally differentiated effector memory cells (TEMRA). Functionally activated cell subsets were also found in peripheral blood in AS patients, highlighting the vivid interactions between leukocytes in plaque and blood. The study provides an atlas of the immune landscape in atherosclerotic patients, where pro-inflammatory activation was found to be a major feature of peripheral blood. The study identified NKT, CD11b+ CD4+ Tem, CD8+ TEMRA and CD163+ macrophages as key players in the local immune environment.

Preparation and Properties of Physical Gel on Medical Titanium Alloy Surface.

Medical titanium alloy Ti-6Al-4V (TC4) has been widely used in the medical field, especially in human tissue repair. However, TC4 has some shortcomings, which may cause problems with biocompatibility and mechanical compatibility in direct contact with the human body. To solve this problem, physical gels are formed on the surface of TC4, and the storage modulus of the formed physical gel matches that of the human soft tissue. 2-bromoisobutyryl bromide (BIBB) and dopamine (DA) were used to form initiators on the surface of hydroxylated medical titanium alloy. Different initiators were formed by changing the ratio of BIBB and DA, and the optimal one was selected for subsequent reactions. Under the action of the catalyst, L-lactide and D-lactide were ring-opened polymerized with hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA), respectively, to form macromolecular monomers HEMA-PLLA29 and HEMA-PDLA29 with a polymerization degree of 29. The two macromolecular monomers were stereo-complexed by ultrasound to form HEMA-stereocomplex polylactic acid (HEMA-scPLA29). Based on two monomers, 2-(2-methoxyethoxy) ethyl methacrylate (MEO2MA) and oligo (ethylene oxide) methacrylate (OEGMA), and the physical crosslinking agent HEMA-scPLA29, physical gels are formed on the surface of TC4 attached to the initiator via Atom Transfer Radical Addition Reaction (ATRP) technology. The hydrogels on the surface of titanium alloy were characterized and analyzed by a series of instruments. The results showed that the storage modulus of physical glue was within the range of the energy storage modulus of human soft tissue, which was conducive to improving the mechanical compatibility of titanium alloy and human soft tissue.

Prevalence of colorectal cancer and breast cancer screening according to history of diabetes in 2010-2019.

As cancer is overtaking cardiovascular disease as the leading cause of death among diabetics, improved cancer prevention efforts are needed for individuals with diabetes. In this research letter, we used data from the US National Health Interview Survey to examine the use of screening for two major diabetes-related cancers, colorectal cancer, and breast cancer, in individuals with and without diabetes. We found that individuals with diabetes had slightly higher use of colorectal cancer screening and similar use of breast cancer screening compared to those without diabetes in the US. Besides, despite the increasing use of colorectal cancer and breast cancer screening over the past 10 years, screening uptake remains suboptimal. We believe that these findings provide important data to inform policymaking and cancer prevention efforts.

Upregulation of ROBO3 promotes proliferation, migration and adhesion of AML cells and affects the survival of AML patients.

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is a heterogeneous hematological malignancy, which is the most common and severe acute leukemia in adults. Its occurrence, development and prognosis are affected by many factors, and more research is still needed to further guide its treatment. Here, we found that roundabout3 (ROBO3) was associated with poor prognosis in AML through bioinformatics analysis. We then found that overexpression of ROBO3 promoted AML cell proliferation, adhesion and migration while knockdown of ROBO3 had opposite effects. We subsequently found that ROBO3 regulated CD34 expression in AML cells, and this regulatory effect may be achieved through the Hippo-YAP pathway. The inhibitors of this pathway, K-975 and verteporfin, showed an inhibitory effect on AML cells with high ROBO3 expression. ROBO3 was also found to be significantly increased in bone marrow samples from AML patients. Our research indicates that ROBO3 plays an important role in the development of AML, which suggests that ROBO3 can be a prognostic biomarker and potential therapeutic target for AML.

Food Safety Governance in the Age of COVID-19: How Does Employees' Attitude on Public-Private Governance System Affect Their Willingness to Blow the Whistle on Food Violations?

Online food delivery increases dramatically during the COVID-19 era and has grown into a global marketplace worth more than $150 billion dollars, necessitating a more effective and responsive governance system. Public-private governance systems with whistleblowing to the public are seen as an effective tool for addressing the formidable challenges of food security in modern society. Accordingly, this study aims to explore the determinants of whistleblowing intentions and to propose policy policies for the whistleblowing system to fully utilize the advantages of public-private governance systems. Through empirical research, this paper finds that employees' perceived effectiveness of government authorities, as well as their familiarity with whistleblowing systems, positively affect their intentions to blow the whistle. However, the whistleblowing intent of restaurant employees is adversely affected by the online platform's focus. The root cause lies in the employee's trust in both the government sector and corporate sector. This study thus argues that a suite of measures to promote individual trust in public-private governance systems is desired and that this is an effective means of better mitigating food safety governance challenges in terms of capacity and resources.

The extent and nature of television food and non-alcoholic beverage advertising to children during chinese New Year in Beijing, China.

BACKGROUND: Exposure to food and non-alcoholic beverage advertisements (F&B ads) on television, which can affect children's nutrition knowledge, food consumption, diet quality, and purchasing preferences, is one aspect of the obesogenic environment. This aspect has been well-studied and assessed in many countries. In China, however, only few studies have been done in earlier years and all of them were focus on regular days. This study aimed to assess the extent and nature of F&B ads on television (TV) during the public holiday directed towards children aged 4-14 years in Beijing. METHOD: Top 3 channels viewed by children aged 4-14 years in Beijing were selected by TV viewership data, survey, and expert consultation. Each channel was recorded for 7 days (24 h) during the public holiday of the Chinese New Year in 2019. F&B ads were coded and analyzed following the adapted food promotion module of INFORMAS protocol. Three nutrient profile models were used to classify F&B ads as healthy or unhealthy F&B ads. RESULTS: Of the 10,082 ads in 504-hour recorded programs, 42.9% were F&B ads. The hourly average ads and F&B ads per channel were 19.8 (SD 15.32) and 8.6 (SD 9.84), while that was higher on the national children's channel (17.15, SD 12.25) than other channels (p < 0.05). Of F&B ads classified with the three nutrient profile models, more than 55% were unhealthy for children. The categories most frequently advertised were savory snacks, milk drinks, nonpermitted milk drinks, cakes/sweet biscuits, and beverages. Unhealthy F&B ads were more likely to use promotional characters, brand benefit claims, and health claims than permitted F&B ads (p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Children in Beijing were exposed to a high proportion of unhealthy F&B ads during the Chinese New Year holiday. Our findings support the need to assess and regulate TV F&B ads marketing for children.

RNA sequencing analysis between ruptured and un-ruptured brain AVM.

BACKGROUND: A brain arteriovenous malformation (BAVM) is a tangle of abnormal blood vessels connecting the arteries and veins in the brain and is associated with a higher risk for intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH). RNA sequencing technology has been recently used to investigate the mechanism of diseases owing to its ability to identify the gene changes on a transcriptome-wide level. This study aims to gain insights into the potential mechanism involved in BAVM rupture. METHODS: Sixty-five BAVM nidus samples were collected, among which 28 were ruptured and 37 were un-ruptured. Then, next-generation RNA sequencing was performed on all of them to obtain differential expressed genes (DEGs) between the two groups. In addition, bioinformatics analysis was performed to evaluate the involved biological processes and pathways by GO and KEGG analysis. Finally, we performed a univariate Cox regression analysis to obtain the early rupture-prone DEGs. RESULTS: A total of 951 genes were differentially expressed between the ruptured and un-ruptured BAVM groups, of which 740 genes were upregulated and 211 genes were downregulated in ruptured BAVMs. Then, bioinformatics analysis showed the biological processes and pathways related to the inflammatory processes and extracellular matrix organization were significantly enriched. Meanwhile, some downregulated genes are involved in cell adhesion and genes participating in response to muscle activity and the terms of nervous system development. Finally, one hundred twenty-five genes, many were involved in inflammation, were correlated with the early rupture of BAVMs. CONCLUSIONS: The upregulated genes in the ruptured BAVM group were involved in inflammatory processes and extracellular matrix organization. Some of the downregulated genes participated in cell adhesion and myofibril assembly, indicating the role of enhanced inflammation and reduced inflammation vessel strength in BAVMs rupture.

Single-cell atlas reveals different immune environments between stable and vulnerable atherosclerotic plaques.

Introduction: Regardless of the degree of stenosis, vulnerable plaque is an important cause of ischemic stroke and thrombotic complications. The changes of the immune microenvironment within plaques seem to be an important factor affecting the characteristics of the plaque. However, the differences of immune microenvironment between stable and vulnerable plaques were remained unknown. Methods: In this study, RNA-sequencing was performed on superficial temporal arteries from 5 traumatic patients and plaques from 3 atherosclerotic patients to preliminary identify the key immune response processes in plaques. Mass cytometry (CyTOF) technology was used to explore differences in immune composition between 9 vulnerable plaques and 12 stable plaques. Finally, immunofluorescence technique was used to validate our findings in the previous analysis. Results: Our results showed that more CD86+CD68+ M1 pro-inflammatory macrophages were found in vulnerable plaques, while CD4+T memory cells were mainly found in stable plaques. In addition, a CD11c+ subset of CD4+T cells with higher IFN-r secretion was found within the vulnerable plaque. In two subsets of B cells, CD19+CD20-B cells in vulnerable plaques secreted more TNF-a and IL-6, while CD19-CD20+B cells expressed more PD-1 molecules. Conclusion: In conclusion, our study suggested that M1-like macrophages are the major cell subset affecting plaque stability, while functional B cells may also contribute to plaque stability.

Dietary patterns and their associations with overweight/obesity among preschool children in Dongcheng District of Beijing: a cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: Few studies investigated the associations between dietary patterns and overweight/obesity among Chinese preschool children. Thus, the study aims to explore dietary patterns and their associations with overweight/obesity among preschool children in the Dongcheng District of Beijing. METHODS: With a stratified proportionate cluster sampling, the study included 3373 pairs of preschool children and their guardians. Children's weight and height were measured by school nurses, and their food and beverage consumption frequencies were reported by guardians via a food frequency questionnaire. Children's age, gender, physical activity time, and sedentary time, as well as their parents' highest level of educational attainment, occupation, weight, and height were also collected. Dietary patterns were identified through exploratory factor analysis. Among these identified dietary patterns, the one with the largest factor score was defined as the predominant dietary pattern for each child. The associations between predominant dietary patterns and overweight/obesity were tested by two-level random-intercept logistic models with cluster-robust standard errors. RESULTS: Four dietary patterns, i.e., a "Sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) and snack" pattern, a "Chinese traditional" pattern, a "Health conscious" pattern, and a "Snack" pattern, were identified. Among the children, 21.02% (95% CI: 19.68 to 22.43%) were predominated by the "SSB and snack" pattern, 27.78% (95% CI: 26.29 to 29.32%) by the "Chinese traditional" pattern, 24.90% (95% CI: 23.47 to 26.39%) by the "Health conscious" pattern, and 26.30% (95% CI: 24.84 to 27.81%) by the "Snack" pattern. After controlling for potential confounders, the "SSB and snack" pattern characterized by fresh fruit/vegetable juice, flavored milk drinks, carbonated drinks, flavored fruit/vegetable drinks, tea drinks, plant-protein drinks, puffed foods, fried foods, and Western fast foods was associated with a higher risk of overweight/obesity (OR: 1.61, 95% CI:1.09 to 2.38), compared with the "Chinese traditional" pattern. CONCLUSIONS: The preference for dietary patterns with high energy density but low nutritional value was prevalent among preschool children in the Dongcheng District of Beijing. Comprehensive measures to simultaneously reduce consumption of SSBs and unhealthy snacks among preschool children should be taken urgently to address the childhood obesity problem in China, particularly in metropolises.

Knowledge, attitudes and practices in relation to antimicrobial resistance amongst Chinese public health undergraduates.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to assess knowledge, attitudes and practices amongst public health undergraduates in relation to antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in China. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey was conducted amongst all final-year public health undergraduates from 18 universities across China. A structured questionnaire was used to collect information on AMR-related knowledge, attitudes and practices, whilst multivariable linear and logistic regressions were employed to detect associations among these three aspects. RESULTS: A total of 1115 participants were included in this study. The mean ± standard deviation AMR knowledge score was 7.68 ± 2.56. Moreover, 75.2% of students had performed incorrect antimicrobial practice. Studying in a key university [slope = 1.49, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.71-2.27], being male (slope = 0.36, 95% CI 0.02-0.70), having clinical experience (slope = 1.71, 95% CI 1.13-2.30) and having an affirmative attitude towards AMR were positively associated with knowledge score. Knowledge score was also positively associated with AMR practice (odds ratio = 1.07, 95% CI 1.00-1.13). CONCLUSIONS: A knowledge gap in relation to AMR was determined among Chinese public health students. This gap is associated with attitudes towards AMR and in turn influences antimicrobial use. It is clear that additional measures are needed in the curriculum, including additional AMR-specific clinical practices.

A Facile Path to Graphene-Wrapped Polydopamine-Entwined Silicon Nanoparticles with High Electrochemical Performance.

Graphene-coated silicon nanoparticles with polydopamine buffers have been designed and successfully fabricated as anodes for lithium ion batteries, where the polydopamine was grown on the silicon nanoparticles and then coated with graphene layers. The expansion cavities for silicon nanoparticles during charging and discharging process are provided by the polydopamine buffer layers. The outermost graphene coating layers not only keep the pulverized silicon particles together without disintegration, but also improve the electric conductivity of silicon nanoparticles. Silicon nanoparticles of an industrial product level with different size distributions and oxidation layers were used in this work. High electrochemical performances with specific capacities of 1100 mAh g-1 were achieved by the designed silicon composites with polydopamine and graphene after 550 cycles at a current rate of 200 mA g-1 .