An Improved Multi-Strategy Crayfish Optimization Algorithm for Solving Numerical Optimization Problems.

The crayfish optimization algorithm (COA), proposed in 2023, is a metaheuristic optimization algorithm that is based on crayfish's summer escape behavior, competitive behavior, and foraging behavior. COA has a good optimization performance, but it still suffers from the problems of slow convergence speed and sensitivity to the local optimum. To solve these problems, an improved multi-strategy crayfish optimization algorithm for solving numerical optimization problems, called IMCOA, is proposed to address the shortcomings of the original crayfish optimization algorithm for each behavioral strategy. Aiming at the imbalance between local exploitation and global exploration in the summer heat avoidance and competition phases, this paper proposes a cave candidacy strategy and a fitness-distance balanced competition strategy, respectively, so that these two behaviors can better coordinate the global and local optimization capabilities and escape from falling into the local optimum prematurely. The directly foraging formula is modified during the foraging phase. The food covariance learning strategy is utilized to enhance the population diversity and improve the convergence accuracy and convergence speed. Finally, the introduction of an optimal non-monopoly search strategy to perturb the optimal solution for updates improves the algorithm's ability to obtain a global best solution. We evaluated the effectiveness of IMCOA using the CEC2017 and CEC2022 test suites and compared it with eight algorithms. Experiments were conducted using different dimensions of CEC2017 and CEC2022 by performing numerical analyses, convergence analyses, stability analyses, Wilcoxon rank-sum tests and Friedman tests. Experiments on the CEC2017 and CEC2022 test suites show that IMCOA can strike a good balance between exploration and exploitation and outperforms the traditional COA and other optimization algorithms in terms of its convergence speed, optimization accuracy, and ability to avoid premature convergence. Statistical analysis shows that there is a significant difference between the performance of the IMCOA algorithm and other algorithms. Additionally, three engineering design optimization problems confirm the practicality of IMCOA and its potential to solve real-world problems.

Octopus-like Microstructure of Graphene Oxide Generated through Laser-Microdroplet Interaction for Adhesive Coating.

The octopus, as one of the most famous celebrities in bionics, has provided various inspirations for camouflage materials, soft-bodied robots, and flexible grabbers. The miniaturization of such structures will help the development of microrobots, microdelivery of drugs, and surface coating. With the lack of relevant effective preparation approaches, however, the generation of such octopus-like structures with a size of ∼1 µm or below is challenging. Here, we develop an approach based on laser-microdroplet interaction for generating an octopus-like structure with a size of ∼1 µm. The developed approach uses laser-microdroplet interaction to provide a large driving force of ∼107 Pa at a confined space (<1 µm), locally crumpling the precursor in the microdroplet. The locally crumpled particles possess both crumpled and uncrumpled structures that resemble an octopus's head and soft body. In the adhesion test, the octopus-like particles exhibit high adhesive properties in air, in water, and on a flexible substrate. In the electrochemical test, the octopus-like particles on flexible electrodes show good electrochemical and adhesive properties under hundreds of bending cycles. Benefiting from the combination of crumpled and uncrumpled morphologies, the created particles with octopus-like microstructure are demonstrated to possess comprehensive performance, exhibiting wide application potentials in the fields of microswimmers, surface coatings, and electrochemistry. Additionally, the method developed in this work has the advantages of concentrated energy in a confined space, displaying prospective potentials in micro- and nanoprocessing.

Phototaxis Flight of Microdroplets in a Laser.

Phototaxis phenomenon is fundamental and critical for optical manipulation of micro-objects. Here, we report the size-dependent negative or positive phototaxis behaviors for microdroplets containing interfacial energy absorber flying in a laser. The critical diameters for such negative-to-positive turnover are studied through both experiments and simulation with different liquids and absorbers, which establishes the mechanism and reveals the role of both the liquid and the absorber inside the microdroplets. This study offers new insight for the manipulation of the phototaxis behavior of micro-objects, showing potential applications in optical trapping and transporting systems that involve light-microdroplet interactions.

Liquid metal-based soft, hermetic, and wireless-communicable seals for stretchable systems.

Soft materials tend to be highly permeable to gases, making it difficult to create stretchable hermetic seals. With the integration of spacers, we demonstrate the use of liquid metals, which show both metallic and fluidic properties, as stretchable hermetic seals. Such soft seals are used in both a stretchable battery and a stretchable heat transfer system that involve volatile fluids, including water and organic fluids. The capacity retention of the battery was ~72.5% after 500 cycles, and the sealed heat transfer system showed an increased thermal conductivity of approximately 309 watts per meter-kelvin while strained and heated. Furthermore, with the incorporation of a signal transmission window, we demonstrated wireless communication through such seals. This work provides a route to create stretchable yet hermetic packaging design solutions for soft devices.

A Graphene Quantum Dot Film with a Nanoengineered Crack-Like Surface via Bubble-Induced Self-Assembly for High-Power Thermal Energy Management Applications.

Films with micro/nanostructures that show high wicking performance are promising in water desalination, atmospheric water harvesting, and thermal energy management systems. Here, we use a facile bubble-induced self-assembly method to directly generate films with a nanoengineered crack-like surface on the substrate during bubble growth when self-dispersible graphene quantum dot (GQD) nanofluid is used as the working medium. The crack-like micro/nanostructure, which is generated due to the thermal stress, enables the GQD film to not only have superior capillary wicking performance but also provide many additional nucleation sites. The film demonstrates enhanced phase change-based heat transfer performance, with a simultaneous enhancement of the critical heat flux and heat transfer coefficient up to 169% and 135% over a smooth substrate, respectively. Additionally, the GQD film with high stability enables a performance improvement in the concentration ratio and electrical efficiency of concentrated photovoltaics in an analytical study, which is promising for high-power thermal energy management applications.

Trends and disparities in 44 national notifiable infectious diseases in China: An analysis of national surveillance data from 2010 to 2019.

Research assessing the changing epidemiology of infectious diseases in China after the implementation of new healthcare reform in 2009 was scarce. We aimed to get the latest trends and disparities of national notifiable infectious diseases by age, sex, province, and season in China from 2010 to 2019. The number of incident cases and deaths, incidence rate, and mortality of 44 national notifiable infectious diseases by sex, age groups, and provincial regions from 2010 to 2019 were extracted from the China Information System for Disease Control and Prevention and official reports and divided into six kinds of infectious diseases by transmission routes and three classes (A-C) in this descriptive study. Estimated annual percentage changes (EAPCs) were calculated to quantify the temporal trends of incidence and mortality rate. We calculated the concentration index to measure economic-related inequality. Segmented interrupted time-series analysis was used to estimate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the epidemic of notifiable infectious diseases. The trend of incidence rate on six kinds of infectious diseases by transmission routes was stable, while only mortality of sexual, blood-borne, and mother-to-child-borne infectious diseases increased from 0.6466 per 100 000 population in 2010 to 1.5499 per 100 000 population in 2019 by 8.76% per year (95% confidence interval [CI]: 6.88-10.68). There was a decreasing trend of incidence rate on Class-A infectious diseases (EAPC = -16.30%; 95% CI: -27.93 to -2.79) and Class-B infectious diseases (EAPC = -1.05%; 95% CI: -1.56 to -0.54), while an increasing trend on Class-C infectious diseases (EAPC = 6.22%; 95% CI: 2.13-10.48). For mortality, there was a decreasing trend on Class-C infectious diseases (EAPC = -14.76%; 95% CI: -23.46 to -5.07), and an increasing trend on Class-B infectious diseases (EAPC = 4.56%; 95% CI: 2.44-6.72). In 2019, the infectious diseases with the highest incidence rate and mortality were respiratory diseases (340.95 per 100 000 population), and sexual, blood-borne, and mother-to-child-borne infectious diseases (1.5459 per 100 000 population), respectively. The greatest increasing trend of incidence rate was observed in seasonal influenza, from 4.83 per 100 000 population in 2010 to 253.36 per 100 000 population in 2019 by 45.16% per year (95% CI: 29.81-62.33), especially among females and children aged 0-4 years old. The top disease with the highest mortality was still AIDs, which had the highest average yearly mortality in 24 provinces from 2010 to 2019, and its incidence rate (EAPC = 14.99%; 95% CI: 8.75-21.59) and mortality (EAPC = 9.65; 95%CI: 7.71-11.63) both increased from 2010 to 2019, especially among people aged 44-59 years old and 60 or older. Male incidence rate and mortality were higher than females each year from 2010 to 2018 on 29 and 10 infectious diseases, respectively. Additionally, sex differences in the incidence and mortality of AIDS were becoming larger. The curve lay above the equality line, with the negative value of the concentration index, which indicated that economic-related health disparities exist in the distribution of incidence rate and mortality of respiratory diseases (incidence rate: the concentration index = -0.063, p < 0.0001; mortality: the concentration index = -0.131, p < 0.001), sexual, blood-borne, and mother-to-child-borne infectious diseases (incidence rate: the concentration index = -0.039, p = 0.0192; mortality: the concentration index = -0.207, p < 0.0001), and the inequality disadvantageous to the poor (pro-rich). Respiratory diseases (Dec-Jan), intestinal diseases (May-Jul), zoonotic infectious diseases (Mar-Jul), and vector-borne infectious diseases (Sep-Oct) had distinct seasonal epidemic patterns. In addition, segmented interrupted time-series analyses showed that, after adjusting for potential seasonality, autocorrelation, GDP per capita, number of primary medical institutions, and other factors, there was no significant impact of COVID-19 epidemic on the monthly incidence rate of six kinds of infectious diseases by transmission routes from 2018 to 2020 (all p > 0.05). The incidence rates of six kinds of infectious diseases were stable in the past decade, and incidence rates of Class-A and Class-B infectious diseases were decreasing because of comprehensive prevention and control measures and a strengthened health system after the implementation of the new healthcare reform in China since 2009. However, age, gender, regional, and economic disparities were still observed. Concerted efforts are needed to reduce the impact of seasonal influenza (especially among children aged 0-4 years old) and the mortality of AIDs (especially among people aged 44-59 years old and 60 or older). More attention should be paid to the disparities in the burden of infectious diseases.

Dual-Mode Optical Sensor Array for Detecting and Identifying Perillaldehyde in Solution Phase and Plant Leaf with Smartphone.

Promising techniques for detecting and quantifying active components in the plants and foods have received global concern in smart agriculture. Dual-mode optical assays are becoming more attractive and popular thanks to robust and reliable analysis parameters. We herein unveil a novel turn-on and dual-mode sensor array comprising three kinds of reactive indicators including ring-closed rhodamine-hydrazine, squaraine-hydrazine, and 2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazine for evaluating perillaldehyde. Significant colorimetric and fluorescent changes were triggered through reacting primary amine/hydrazine with the active aldehyde group in perillaldehyde, thus turning on the chromogenic responses of all the indicators. Optimal colorimetric sensing showed good responses to perillaldehyde ranged up to 100 mM in ethanol. Dramatic fluorescence enhancement was also exhibited, illustrating good selectivity as well as high sensitivity (detection limit ∼20.0 µM). Inspired by rapid chemical reactions and distinct optical changes, distinct sensor array strips loaded with the optimal solid-state reactive indicators were developed for evaluating the perillaldehyde content in the perilla frutescence leaves. Smartphone-enabled readout system and digital data processing were further performed for chemometric analysis. A good correlation was obtained and the semiquantitative evaluation of the perillaldehyde content could be achieved within 15 min, possessing the significant features of naked-eye recognition, easy operation, and disposability. To the best of our knowledge, present work demonstrated the use of chromogenic sensing strips to evaluate the active perillaldehyde content in solution and vapor phases for the first time. Taken together, these characteristics also indicate that the present turn-on sensor array has great potential applications in the precise detection and evaluation of perillaldehyde in the forthcoming smart agriculture.

The association between social media use and hesitancy toward COVID-19 vaccine booster shots in China: A web-based cross-sectional survey.

COVID-19 vaccine booster shots are necessary to provide durable immunity and stronger protection against the emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants. As a major platform for access to information, social media plays an important role in disseminating health information. This study aimed to evaluate hesitancy toward COVID-19 vaccine booster shots in China, assess its association with social media use, and provide information to manage social media. We conducted a cross-sectional study across all 31 provinces in mainland China from November 12, 2021, to November 17, 2021. In total, 3,119 of 3,242 participants completed the questionnaire (response rate = 96.2%). COVID-19 vaccine booster shot hesitancy rate in China was 6.5% (95% CI: 5.6-7.3). Unemployment (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 2.428, 95% CI: 1.590-3.670), low monthly income (aOR 2.854,95% CI: 1.561-5.281), low scores of knowledge (aOR 0.917, 95% CI: 0.869-0.968) and low level of cues to action (aOR 0.773, 95% CI: 0.689-0.869) were associated with vaccine hesitancy. Compared with public social media, lower vaccine hesitancy was associated with high perceived importance of social media (aOR 0.252, 95% CI: 0.146-0.445) and official social media use (aOR 0.671, 95% CI: 0.467-0.954), while higher vaccine hesitancy was associated with traditional media use (aOR 3.718, 95% CI: 1.282-10.273). More efforts are needed to regulate the content of social media and filtering out misinformation. The role of official social media in disseminating health information should be enhanced.

Association Between Risk Perception and Acceptance for a Booster Dose of COVID-19 Vaccine to Children Among Child Caregivers in China.

Background: At present, the widespread variants and the weakened immunity provided by vaccines over time have further emphasized the importance of vaccination, boosters, and prevention efforts against COVID-19. Here, this study intends to investigate the acceptability of a booster dose of COVID-19 vaccine among child caregivers, aiming to explore the association between risk perception and child vaccine acceptance. Methods: This anonymous, national, cross-sectional survey was conducted for one week from November 12, 2021 in mainland China. The risk perception among child caregivers was assessed based on the Health Belief Model (HBM) and the individuals was equally divided into three levels according to the total preset scores of each perception dimension. Pearson χ2 test was used to compare the differences among participants stratified by sociodemographic characteristics, health status, knowledge factors and risk perception. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression models were performed to explore the associations between risk perception and the acceptance of a booster dose of COVID-19 vaccine. Results: A total of 88.46% of 1,724 participants were willing to accept the booster dose of the COVID-19 vaccine for their children. People who lived in central China (91.93%), had a high school or polytechnic school level education (93.98%), and had a history of COVID-19 vaccination (88.80%) were more likely to accept a booster dose of the COVID-19 vaccine for their children. The complicated vaccination process (24.5%) and uncertainty about the safety (16.5%) and efficacy (21.3%) of vaccines were the three main reasons for vaccine hesitancy among child caregivers. The acceptance of the booster dose of the COVID-19 vaccine was closely related to a higher level of perceived susceptibility (moderate: aOR = 1.56, 95% CI: 1.07-2.29, P = 0.022; high: aOR = 1.75, 95% CI: 1.06-2.89, P = 0.029) and high perceived benefit (high: aOR = 7.22, 95% CI: 2.63-19.79, P < 0.001). The results were stable in the sensitivity analysis. Conclusions: 88.46% of child caregivers were willing to have a booster dose of COVID-19 vaccine to children, and the acceptance was closely associated with a higher level of perceived susceptibility and perceived benefit. The complicated vaccination process, uncertainty about the safety and effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines were the main reasons for their hesitancy. Therefore, targeted public health measures to increase perceived susceptibility and benefit are still needed to meet the requirements of higher-level immunization coverage.

Acceptance of a Third Dose of COVID-19 Vaccine and Associated Factors in China Based on Health Belief Model: A National Cross-Sectional Study.

COVID-19 infections are returning to many countries because of the emergence of variants or declining antibody levels provided by vaccines. An additional dose of vaccination is recommended to be a considerable supplementary intervention. We aim to explore public acceptance of the third dose of the COVID-19 vaccine and related influencing factors in China. This nationwide cross-sectional study was conducted in the general population among 31 provinces in November, 2021. We collected information on basic characteristics, vaccination knowledge and attitudes, and vaccine-related health beliefs of the participants. Univariable and multivariable logistic regression models were used to assess factors associated with the acceptance of a third COVID-19 vaccine. A total of 93.7% (95% CI: 92.9-94.6%) of 3119 Chinese residents were willing to receive a third dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. Individuals with low level of perceived susceptibility, perceived benefit, cues to action cues, and high level of perceived barriers, old age, low educational level, low monthly household income, and low knowledge score on COVID-19 were less likely to have the acceptance of a third dose of COVID-19 (all p < 0.05). In the multivariable logistic regression model, acceptance of the third dose of COVID-19 vaccine was mainly related to previous vaccination history [Sinopharm BBIP (aOR = 6.55, 95% CI 3.30-12.98), Sinovac (aOR = 5.22, 95% CI:2.72-10.02), Convidecia (aOR = 5.80, 95% CI: 2.04-16.48)], high level of perceived susceptibility (aOR = 2.48, 95% CI: 1.48-4.31) and high level of action cues (aOR = 23.66, 95% CI: 9.97-56.23). Overall, residents in China showed a high willingness to accept the third dose of COVID-19 vaccines, which can help vaccine manufacturers in China to manage the vaccine production and distribution for the huge domestic and international vaccine demand. Relevant institutions could increase people's willingness to booster shots by increasing initial COVID-19 vaccination rates, public's perception of COVID-19 susceptibility and cues to action through various strategies and channels. Meanwhile, it also has certain reference significance for other countries to formulate vaccine promotion strategies.

Acceptance of seasonal influenza vaccination and associated factors among pregnant women in the context of COVID-19 pandemic in China: a multi-center cross-sectional study based on health belief model.

BACKGROUND: Seasonal influenza can circulate in parallel with coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in winter. In the context of COVID-19 pandemic, the risk of co-infection and the burden it poses on healthcare system calls for timely influenza vaccination among pregnant women, who are the priority population recommended for vaccination. We aimed to evaluate the acceptance of influenza vaccination and associated factors among pregnant women during COVID-19 pandemic, provide evidence to improve influenza vaccination among pregnant women, help reduce the risk of infection and alleviate the burden of healthcare system for co-infected patients. METHODS: We conducted a multi-center cross-sectional study among pregnant women in China. Sociodemographic characteristics, health status, knowledge on influenza, attitude towards vaccination, and health beliefs were collected. Locally weighted scatterplot smoothing regression analysis was used to evaluate the trends in the acceptance of influenza vaccine. Logistic regression was applied to identify factors associated with vaccination acceptance. RESULTS: The total acceptance rate was 76.5% (95%CI: 74.8-78.1%) among 2568 pregnant women enrolled. Only 8.3% of the participants had a history of seasonal influenza vaccination. In the logistic regression model, factors associated with the acceptance of influenza vaccine were western region, history of influenza vaccination, high knowledge of influenza infection and vaccination, high level of perceived susceptibility, perceived benefit, cues to action and low level of perceived barriers. Among 23.5% of the participants who had vaccine hesitancy, 48.0% of them were worried about side effect, 35.6% of them lacked confidence of vaccine safety. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings highlighted that tailored strategies and publicity for influenza vaccination in the context of COVID-19 pandemic are warranted to reduce pregnant women's concerns, improve their knowledge, expand vaccine uptake and alleviate pressure for healthcare system.

The Association between Influenza Vaccination and COVID-19 and Its Outcomes: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Observational Studies.

Influenza could circulate in parallel with COVID-19. In the context of COVID-19, some studies observed inverse associations between influenza vaccination and SARS-CoV-2 infection and clinical outcomes, while others did not. We conducted a meta-analysis to assess the association between influenza vaccination and SARS-CoV-2 infection and clinical outcomes, aiming to provide evidence for COVID-19 prevention and vaccination promotion. We searched four databases from inception to 10 March, 2021. Random effects and fixed effects models were used to pool odds ratios (ORs) and adjusted estimates with 95% confidence intervals (CIs). We used funnel plots to evaluate the publication bias, I2 statistics to evaluate the heterogeneity, and conducted subgroup analyses. Sixteen observational studies involving 290,327 participants were included. Influenza vaccination was associated with a lower risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection (pooled adjusted OR: 0.86, 95%CI: 0.81-0.91), while not significantly associated with adverse outcomes (intensive care: adjusted OR 0.63, 95%CI: 0.22-1.81; hospitalization: adjusted OR 0.74, 95%CI: 0.51-1.06; mortality: adjusted OR 0.89, 95%CI: 0.73-1.09). Our findings suggest that influenza vaccination is associated with a lower risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection. It is crucial for policy makers to implement strategies on influenza vaccination, for it may also have benefits for COVID-19 prevention.

Comparison of Vaccine Acceptance Between COVID-19 and Seasonal Influenza Among Women in China: A National Online Survey Based on Health Belief Model.

Background: Influenza could circulate in parallel with COVID-19. Studies focusing on the comparison of vaccine acceptance between COVID-19 and seasonal influenza are lacking. The aim of the study was to assess and compare vaccine acceptance of COVID-19 and influenza among reproductive women in China, in order to better understand and address factors associated with vaccine acceptance and to provide guidance for targeted measures to promote vaccination. Methods: A national anonymous cross-sectional survey on COVID-19 and influenza vaccine acceptance among reproductive women aged 18-49 years in China was conducted online based on health belief model, a model widely used to evaluate health beliefs. Sociodemographic characteristics, health status, knowledge, attitude, and health beliefs related to COVID-19 and influenza infection and vaccination were retrieved. Pearson's χ2 test was used to compare the vaccine acceptance by the factors mentioned above. Multivariable logistic regression was used to assess the adjusted associations of factors related to vaccine acceptance. Paired t-test was used to compare scores of health beliefs between influenza and COVID-19 vaccinations. Results: COVID-19 vaccine acceptance rate among reproductive women was 90.3% (95% CI 89.2-91.3%), which was significantly higher than influenza vaccine acceptance rate (85.5%, 95% CI: 84.2-86.7%). Influenza and COVID-19 vaccine acceptance both had the trends to decrease with age (all p < 0.05). Living in the western region, young age, a high level of knowledge scores on disease and vaccines, a high level of perceived susceptibility, a high level of cues to action, and a low level of perceived barriers were positively associated with both COVID-19 and influenza vaccine acceptance (all p < 0.05), while influenza vaccination history was additionally associated with influenza vaccine acceptance (p < 0.05). Conclusions: Our findings suggest that tailored public health measures are needed to improve reproductive women's knowledge of COVID-19, influenza, and vaccines to alleviate women's vaccine hesitancy and expand vaccine uptake.

Acceptance of a COVID-19 vaccine and associated factors among pregnant women in China: a multi-center cross-sectional study based on health belief model.

Background: Vaccine hesitancy has been recognized as an urgent public health issue. We aimed to explore the acceptance of a COVID-19 vaccine and related factors among pregnant women, a vulnerable population for vaccine-preventable diseases.Methods: A multi-center cross-sectional study among pregnant women was conducted in five provinces of mainland China from November 13 to 27, 2020. We collected sociodemographic characteristics, attitude, knowledge, and health beliefs on COVID-19 vaccination. Locally weighted scatterplot smoothing regression analysis was used to assess the trends of vaccination acceptance. Multivariable logistic regression was performed to identify factors related to vaccination acceptance.Results: Among the 1392 pregnant women, the acceptance rate of a COVID-19 vaccine were 77.4% (95%CI 75.1-79.5%). In the multivariable regression model, the acceptance rate was associated with young age (aOR = 1.87, 95% CI: 1.20-2.93), western region (aOR = 2.73, 95% CI: 1.72-4.32), low level of education (aOR = 2.49, 95% CI: 1.13-5.51), late pregnancy (aOR = 1.49, 95% CI: 1.03-2.16), high knowledge score on COVID-19 (aOR = 1.05, 95% CI: 1.01-1.10), high level of perceived susceptibility (aOR = 2.18, 95% CI: 1.36-3.49), low level of perceived barriers (aOR = 4.76, 95% CI: 2.23-10.18), high level of perceived benefit (aOR = 2.18, 95% CI: 1.36-3.49), and high level of perceived cues to action (aOR = 15.70, 95% CI: 8.28-29.80).Conclusions: About one quarters of pregnant women have vaccine hesitancy. Our findings highlight that targeted and multipronged efforts are needed to build vaccine literacy and confidence to increase the acceptance of a COVID-19 vaccine during the COVID-19 pandemic, especially for vulnerable populations.

The effect of influenza virus infection on pregnancy outcomes: A systematic review and meta-analysis of cohort studies.

BACKGROUND: Adverse pregnancy outcomes are risk factors for neonatal mortality and morbidity. While some studies have demonstrated notable associations between influenza and adverse pregnancy outcomes, the findings have contrasted with other studies. This meta-analysis was conducted to assess the effect of influenza infection on pregnancy outcomes. METHODS: We searched PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library and Web of Science from inception to 4 November 2020. Relative risks (RRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were pooled using random-effects or fixed-effects models. RESULTS: A total of 17 studies involving 2,351,204 participants were included. Influenza infection increased the risk of stillbirth (RR = 3.62, 95% CI: 1.60-8.20), with no significant effect on preterm birth (RR = 1.17, 95%CI: 0.95-1.45), fetal death (RR = 0.93, 95%CI: 0.73-1.18), small for gestational age (SGA) (RR = 1.10, 95%CI: 0.98-1.24) and low birth weight (LBW) (RR = 1.88, 95%CI: 0.46-7.66). In a subgroup analysis of LBW, the association was evident in studies conducted during the 2009 H1N1 pandemic (RR = 2.28, 95%CI: 1.81-2.87), with no evidence of an association in pre-pandemic or post-pandemic studies. CONCLUSIONS: Influenza virus infection was associated with an increased risk of stillbirth, but its effect on preterm birth, fetal death, SGA and LBW is still uncertain.

The effect of physical activity interventions on cognition function in patients with diabetes: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: In recent years, studies have revealed that cognition may be impaired by glucose metabolism disorder. Meanwhile, physical activity has been demonstrated to maintain blood glucose. This meta-analysis was conducted to assess the effect of physical activity on cognition in patients with diabetes and provide evidence for the treatment of cognition impairment among them. METHODS: We searched studies published in five databases from 1 January 1984 to 29 August 2020. A random-effect or fixed-effect meta-analysis was used to estimate the pooled effect of physical activity on the change of cognition throughout intervention duration and post-intervention cognition scores by standardized mean difference (SMD) and its 95% confidence interval (CI). We used funnel plots to evaluate the publication bias, I2 statistic to evaluate the heterogeneity and did subgroup analysis stratified by sample size and follow-up time. RESULTS: Five eligible studies involving 2581 patients with diabetes were included. The pooled effect of physical activity on cognition improvement in patients with diabetes was significant (SMD = 0.98, 95% CI: 0.34-1.62), while the effect on post-intervention cognition scores was not significant (SMD = 0.35, 95% CI: -0.04-0.73). In the subgroup analysis, the pooled effect was significantly higher in studies of follow-up time less than 1 year (SMD = 2.14, 95% CI: 1.63-2.64), while observing no significant effect in studies of follow-up time over 1 year (SMD = 0.10, 95% CI: -0.11-0.32). CONCLUSIONS: Physical activity is beneficial to improving cognition in patients with diabetes. However, the long-term effect needs to be explored in future studies.

Trends of the Global, Regional, and National Incidence of Measles, Vaccine Coverage, and Risk Factors in 204 Countries From 1990 to 2019.

BACKGROUND: Measles is a highly contagious disease that has caused global morbidity and mortality. Though great progress has been made in measles elimination, the resurgence of measles has been observed in recent years. As extant literature were mainly confined to data of local area, we conducted a systematic analysis to explore the trends of the incidence of measles, coverage rate, and the risk factors from 1990 to 2019 on global, regional, and national levels. METHODS: Data on cases of incidence, age standardized rate (ASR), vaccine coverage, and risk factors of measles were retrieved from the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) Study 2019 database. Estimated averaged percentage change (EAPC) of ASR was calculated to quantify the trends of measles incidence. Pearson correlation was applied to assess the association of EAPC and measles-containing vaccine coverage rate with socio-demographic index (SDI) in 2019, and the correlation between ASR and measles-containing vaccine coverage rate. RESULTS: Globally, there was a significant decrease in the number (84.18%) and ASR (6.13%, 95% CI: 5.41-6.84%) of measles incidence from 1990 to 2019. More than 80% of incidence cases were attributed to children under 5 and the proportion was highest in low SDI region. Countries and territories with low ASRs are mostly clustered in North America, Southern Latin America, and Western Europe, whereas those with high ASRs are mainly clustered in Africa, East Asia, and South Asia. Lower SDI was associated with higher ASR and lower vaccine coverage rate. The more the SDI value was further away from 0.6, the smaller the absolute value did EAPC have. Child wasting accounted for the most measles-related death cases, followed by child underweight, child stunting, and vitamin A deficiency. CONCLUSIONS: Measles eradication is feasible, but urgently demands political commitment, financial support, and public engagement. In the context of COVID-19 pandemic and the global resurgence of measles, surveillance systems and routine immunization programs should be improved, while vaccine hesitancy needs to be addressed.

RING finger ubiquitin E3 ligase gene TaSDIR1-4A contributes to determination of grain size in common wheat.

Salt and drought-induced RING finger1 (SDIR1) is a RING-type E3 ubiquitin ligase that plays a key role in ABA-mediated responses to salinity and drought stress via the ubiquitination pathway in some plant species. However, its function in wheat (Triticum aestivum) is unknown. Here, we isolated a SDIR1 member in wheat, TaSDIR1-4A, and characterized its E3 ubiquitin ligase activity. DNA polymorphism assays showed the presence of two nucleotide variation sites in the promoter region of TaSDIR1-4A, leading to the detection of the haplotypes Hap-4A-1 and Hap-4A-2 in wheat populations. Association analysis showed that TaSDIR1-4A haplotypes were associated with 1000-grain weight (TGW) across a variety of different environments, including well-watered and heat-stress conditions. Genotypes with Hap-4A-2 had higher TGW than those with Hap-4A-1. Phenotypes in both gene-silenced wheat and transgenic Arabidopsis showed that TaSDIR1-4A was a negative regulator of grain size. Gene expression assays indicated that TaSDIR1-4A was most highly expressed in flag leaves, and expression was higher in Hap-4A-1 accessions than in Hap-4A-2 accessions. The difference might be attributable to the fact that TaERF3 (ethylene response factor) can act as a transcriptional repressor of TaSDIR1-4A in Hap-4A-2 but not in Hap-4A-1. Examination of modern wheat varieties shows that the favorable haplotype has been positively selected in breeding programs in China. The functional marker for TaSDIR1-4A developed in this study should be helpful for future wheat breeding.

Hypertrophic olivary degeneration: A comprehensive review focusing on etiology.

Hypertrophic olivary degeneration (HOD) is a rare form of trans-synaptic degeneration characterized by hypertrophy of the inferior olivary nucleus situated in the olivary body, part of the medulla oblongata, representing a major source of input to the cerebellum. HOD typically results from focal lesions interrupting connections from the inferior olive within the dentato-rubro-olivary pathway (DROP), a region also known as the Guillain-Mollaret triangle (GMT) (red nucleus, inferior olivary nucleus, and contralateral dentate nucleus). Clinically, HOD presents classically as palatal tremor and can include dentatorubral tremor and/or ocular myoclonus. Oppenheim first described the enlargement of the ION in his post-mortem study. Since then, a limited number of cases have been reported in the literatures. Thus, we intended to describe the definition, pathophysiology, clinical features, radiological features, diagnosis, and current management of HOD. We provide a comprehensive review of HOD focusing on etiology. The present review may lead to a better understanding of HOD clinical characteristic with the goal of contributing to existing knowledge of this rare disease.

Glycoconjugate synthesis using chemoselective ligation.

Chemoselective ligation of carbohydrates and polypeptides was achieved using an adipic acid dihydrazide cross-linker. The reducing end of a carbohydrate is efficiently attached to peptides in two steps, constructing a glycoconjugate in high yield and with high regioselectivity, enabling the production of homogeneous glycoconjugates.