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To further the penetration level of renewable energy sources (RESs) in power systems, the paper integrates wind turbines into conventional load frequency control (LFC). A resilient model predictive control (MPC) framework is constructed in the context of potential false data injection (FDI) attacks on vulnerable communication networks of multi-area power systems. To reduce the power generation cost, an economic cost function for MPC is firstly formulated. Then, a decentralized-model-based $\chi ^{2}$ detection unit is presented to distinguish the attacked measurements sent from neighbors. Moreover, to reduce the computation burden of executing the distributed MPC strategy, an intensified event-triggered scheme that can handle incomplete and inaccurate modeling issues is proposed. Validation results illustrate the efficacy of the detection unit and the intensified event-triggered scheme, and conclude the relationships between alarming thresholds and key performance indicators. Note to Practitioners—This paper explores the applicability of LFC with the integration of wind turbines under economic MPC framework. Motivated by the underlying FDI attacks on vulnerable communication networks among different control areas, an intrusion detection unit is proposed to install at each controller side to realize resiliency enhancement. Different from the existing works, this paper meticulously investigates the relationships between alarming thresholds and key performance indicators (KPIs), aiming at providing some valuable references for power operators and managers. Besides, this paper proposes an intensified event-triggered scheme to relieve the computation burden of MPC algorithm. This intensified event-triggered scheme has two advantages. One is that it considers the historic released signals in event-triggered conditions, which makes sure the critical signals at crests or troughs of frequency dynamic curves can be triggered. The other advantage is that the supplementary event-trigged condition can well tolerant the incomplete and inaccurate modeling problems existing in conventional event-triggered conditions. Simulations verify the efficacy and feasibility of the resilient event-triggered MPC strategy for frequency regulation under FDI attacks.

Sliding mode control strategies have been widely used for tracking robot manipulators and have demonstrated their effectiveness. However, certain issues still persist. One of them is that tracking error may converge to a bounded region surrounding the origin, due to the sliding surface failing to reach zero. This can be so because system's motion depends on the designed sliding surface. In this article, a new sliding surface is proposed to enhance tracking performance with a fast convergence rate and minimum steady-state error. The sliding surface is formulated using the sliding variable value at the previous sampling instant, and the technique is therefore referred to as time-delay sliding mode control. The proposed control strategy offers several advantages: first, it achieves better precision without the need for increasing the number of tunable parameters; second, it can be readily extended to different types of sliding surfaces, without the need for complex architectures to decrease the steady-state error; third, it is robust against unknown dynamics and payload. Numerical simulations and practical experiments are reported to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach in enhancing tracking performance.

While the Internet of Things (IoT) structure is capable to facilitate the distributed load frequency control (DLFC), the open-air sensors and the intrinsically open communication networks are inevitably vulnerable to uncertain environments. This work endeavors to present a general resiliency enhancement framework for DLFC considering the IoT faults. Multiple fault sources are incorporated, including the intermittent measurements caused by sensor aging, the communication network failures caused by cyberattacks, etc. The framework is equipped with two resilient layers. The first resilient layer focuses on the offline robust DLFC design, in which we consider the intermittent measurements from sensors in system modeling. The second resilient layer concerns the online cyberattack detection, which can further tolerant the incomplete modeling issues of the first resilient layer. Simulation results verify the efficacy of the presented resilient framework.

Pedestrian trajectory prediction has been broadly applied in video surveillance and autonomous driving. Most of the current trajectory prediction approaches are committed to improving the prediction accuracy. However, these works remain drawbacks in several aspects, complex interaction modeling among pedestrians, the interactions between pedestrians and environment and the multimodality of pedestrian trajectories. To address the above issues, we propose one new trajectory distribution aware graph convolutional network to improve trajectory prediction performance. First, we propose a novel directed graph and combine multi-head self-attention and graph convolution to capture the spatial interactions. Then, to capture the interactions between pedestrian and environment, we construct a trajectory heatmap, which can reflect the walkable area of the scene and the motion trends of the pedestrian in the scene. Besides, we devise one trajectory distribution-aware module to perceive the distribution information of pedestrian trajectory, aiming at providing rich trajectory information for multi-modal trajectory prediction. Experimental results validate the proposed model can achieve superior trajectory prediction accuracy on the ETH & UCY, SSD, and NBA datasets in terms of both the final displacement error and average displacement error metrics.

Hemorrhagic shock (HS) is accompanied by a pronounced activation of the inflammatory response in which acute lung injury (ALI) is one of the most frequent consequences. Among the pivotal orchestrators of this inflammatory cascade, extracellular cold-inducible RNA-binding protein (eCIRP) emerges as a noteworthy focal point, rendering it as a promising target for the management of inflammation and tissue injury. Recently, we have reported that oligonucleotide poly(A) mRNA mimic termed A12selectively binds to the RNA binding region of eCIRP and inhibits eCIRP binding to its receptor TLR4. Furthermore, in vivoadministration of eCIRP induces lung injury in healthy mice and that mouse deficient in CIRP showed protection from inflammation-associated lung injury. We hypothesize that A12inhibits systemic inflammation and ALI in HS. To test the impacts of A12on systemic and lung inflammation, extent of inflammatory cellular infiltration and resultant lung damage were evaluated in a mouse model of HS. Male mice were subjected to controlled hemorrhage with a mean arterial pressure of 30 mm Hg for 90 min and then resuscitated with Ringer’s lactate solution containing phosphate-buffered saline (vehicle) or A12at a dose of 4 nmol/g body weight (treatment). The infusion volume was twice that of the shed blood. At 4 h after resuscitation, mice were euthanized, and blood and lung tissues were harvested. Blood and tissue markers of inflammation and injury were evaluated. Serum markers of injury (lactate dehydrogenase, alanine transaminase, and blood urea nitrogen) and inflammation (TNF-α, IL-6) were increased after HS and A12treatment significantly decreased their levels. A12treatment also decreased lung levels of TNF-α, MIP-2, and KC mRNA expressions. Lung histological injury score, neutrophil infiltration (Ly6G staining and myeloperoxidase activity), and lung apoptosis were significantly attenuated after A12treatment. Our study suggests that the capacity of A12in attenuating HS-induced ALI and may provide novel perspectives in developing efficacious pharmaceutics for improving hemorrhage prognosis.

Traditional thermal-based microgrids are transforming toward distributed renewable energy sources (DRESs) dominated microgrids, aiming at promoting sustainable environment and economy. This work thus incorporates two popular DRESs [i.e., wind turbines and plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs)] in the thermal-based power plants. Considering the inevitable sensor failures caused by hostile outdoor environment and the communication failures caused by resource constraints, this article proposes a novel handling method to intermittent feedback in load frequency control (LFC) for microgrids. Furthermore, to deal with the fluctuations of power outputs from DRESs, this article incorporates the robust performance index into the control law derivation. By taking into account such intermittent feedback and robust performance index, the operation of microgrid system can better realize resiliency enhancement. Validation results demonstrate the feasibility of this novel handling method under different degrees of intermittent feedback.

This brief proposes a centralized dynamic time-varying event-triggered strategy to achieve the consensus control of input constrained multi-agent systems (MASs) with small-scale networks. The Zeno phenomenon is avoided and the corresponding designable minimal inter-event time is given in the established algorithm. Specially, the MIET can be assigned as a bounded constant of arbitrary size which is unrelated the characteristics of the system itself. Numerical simulation shows the effectiveness of the proposed approach.

With the rapid developments in computational and communication resources, modern industrial electronics systems can leverage networked structures to realize wireless remote control. However, owing to the intrinsically more open attributes of their cyberrealms, an adversary could eavesdrop on the sensitive information of control systems to elaborate insidious false data injection (FDI) attacks, leading to the destruction of safety performance at the control systems level while potentially also performing disguising capabilities against traditional anomaly detectors. In this article, we first introduce three kinds of FDI attack monitoring architectures while discussing their applicability to stealthy corruptions and capturing their advantages and deficiencies. Then, we discuss the significant meanings of FDI attack monitoring for deploying secure defense control, where the interconnections as well as the distinctions between safety and security, the methodologies of isolation and compensation for FDI attack-resilient control, and their great potential of integration with information security and machine learning techniques are discussed. Finally, a case study of an autonomous robot in an industrial electronics system is performed to provide viewpoints for researchers and practitioners. The purpose of this review is to retrospect the representative results on FDI attack monitoring and control and provide meticulous insights to advance the developments in safety and reliability of cyberphysical systems (CPSs).

For a long period, automated vehicles (AVs) or vehicle platoons will coexist with human-driven vehicles (HDVs) in heterogeneous traffic flow, where the cut-in maneuver of human drivers can be frequently expected. In this paper, to understand and simulate the driver decisions on whether to continue the cut-in and when to execute the lane-change during the cut-in process, we propose a two-layer prediction-based decision model by integrating a dynamic prediction module, a continuity decision module, and an execution decision module. To our best knowledge, this is the first study to model the driver decision behavior of the cut-in process. Cut-in experiments are conducted to collect the decision and control data of drivers under one- and two-target-vehicle scenarios, which both include sixty sub-scenarios with different initial velocities, accelerations, or positions of the vehicles. We prove the effectiveness of the proposed model in simulating the driver decision behavior of the cut-in process by comparing the experimental and simulation results under various scenarios over different subjects. Besides, we analyze the effects of some model parameters on the model performance to show their ability to represent different driving styles.

Distributed cyber–physical systems (CPSs) are with complex and interconnected framework to receive, process, and transmit data. However, they may suffer from adversarial false data injection attacks due to the more open attribute of their cyber layers, and the connections with neighbor agents could aggravate the disastrous consequences on the system performance degradation. In this article, we focus on investigating distributed secure estimation paradigms against sparse actuator and sensor corruptions by virtue of combinational optimization. First, the consensus-based static batch optimization and secure observer design problems are established, based on which the concepts of sparsity repairability and restricted eigenvalues under attacks are discussed. Then, both the distributed projected heavy-ball estimator and distributed projected Luenberger-like observer are designed, in terms of the intensified combinational vote locations and distributed implementation of projection operator, with strict convergence guarantees. Finally, two numerical examples are performed to verify the effectiveness of our theoretical derivation.

To ensure the safety of global navigation satellite system (GNSS) users, spoofing detection is generally performed using additional correlators, where a detection metric is built to analyze the distortion of the cross correlation function (CCF). Increasing the probability of detection is usually achieved by increasing the number of additional correlators, and yet such measure can induce a heavy computational burden. To address this limitation, we propose a sliding composite delta (SCD) metric, where the threshold is obtained by maximum likelihood estimation (MLE). Using only eight correlators, the proposed metric exhibits sufficient superiority in probability of detection. The interval between the additional correlators can be regularly adjusted to build a composite detection metric, which can facilitate the detection of spoofing signals with varying delays. In addition, the adopted MLE-based method allows for the determination of an optimal detection threshold. Simulation and experiment results show that, compared with the existing metrics, the proposed metric achieves a higher probability of detection and a shorter time to alarm. Therefore, the proposed metric is more suitable for spoofing detection.

Pedestrian trajectory prediction is a critical research area with numerous domains, e.g., blind navigation, autonomous driving systems, and service robots. There exist two challenges in this research field: spatio-temporal interaction modeling among pedestrians and the uncertainty of pedestrian trajectories. To tackle these challenges, we propose a spatio-temporal interaction aware and trajectory distribution aware graph convolution network. First, we propose a spatio-temporal interaction aware module that integrates a graph convolutional network and self-attention mechanism to model spatio-temporal interactions among pedestrians. Second, we design a trajectory distribution aware module to learn latent trajectory distribution information from the measured trajectories at observed and future times. This can provide knowledge-rich trajectory distribution information for the multimodality of the predicted trajectories. Finally, to address the problem of the propagation and accumulation of prediction errors, we design a trajectory decoder to generate the multimodal future trajectories. The proposed model is evaluated utilizing videos recorded by a camera sensor in crowded areas and can be applied to predict multiple pedestrians’ future trajectories from in-vehicle cameras. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed approach can achieve superior results on the average displacement error (ADE) and final displacement error (FDE) metrics to state-of-the-art approaches and can predict socially acceptable future trajectories.

Longitudinal vehicle platooning provides one of the critical ancillary services in autonomous intelligent transportations for maintaining the appropriate longitudinal distance with preceding vehicles. In view of the vulnerabilities of control module to underlying denial-of-service (DoS) attacks, this paper designs a resilient controller for longitudinal vehicle platooning to realize security enhancement. Firstly, the DoS attacks on communication links from sensors to controllers are depicted by random Bernoulli variables. Then, robust mean-square asymptotic stability criteria are derived for the composite system model, based on which the resilient controller gains are obtained. Finally, simulation results validate the effectiveness of the presented resilient controller under different DoS attack probabilities.

AbstractThe main cable is one of the essential components of the suspension bridge; accurate calculation of the main cable shape is crucial in constructing a suspension bridge. This paper solves the challenge of the main cable shape for a “short span” in a three-tower suspension bridge by the analytical method of the ideal bridge shape and empty cable shape of the main cable. Feng Chu suspension bridge Xiangyang is taken as a prototype. This paper discusses the main cable shape and anchor-span tension control method in the construction stage of the main cable analyzes the deflection and stress characteristics of the main tower in the hoisting stage of the stiffening beam. The influence of pushing the cable saddle on the main tower provides accurate control of the main cable shape. Design sag and span of the main cable were taken as the known quantities. The sectional catenary equation is used to deduce and iteratively calculate the completed bridge alignment. The completed bridge alignment was taken as the target, the iterative calculation method of main cable bridge alignment and empty cable alignment compiles the corresponding program with MATLAB software. The calculation values of the unstressed length of the main cable, the pre-deflection of the saddle, and the mid-span sag of the empty cable are compared with the design values. The results show that the calculation accuracy of the program is high.

This paper effectively evaluates the value ranges of various parameters affecting the transverse connection performance of prefabricated prestressed concrete (PC) bridges with transverse prestressed tendons. This work obtains quantitative research conclusions to guide the design. Four scale model tests with a scale ratio of 1:4 are carried out considering the influence of the number of transverse prestressed tendons, the transverse prestresses, and the pavement size. The results show that applying transverse prestress is an effective method to enhance the performance of transverse connections. According to the scale model test results, the effectiveness of the transverse connection method and the finite element method is verified. Based on the theoretical calculation and model test results, the reduction coefficient considering the longitudinal distribution of interface stress of adjacent beams is obtained. The average value of the longitudinal distribution of the transverse prestress reduction coefficient is 0.48 for the connection model with single transverse prestressed reinforcement; the average value is 0.62 for the connection model with three transverse prestressed tendons in each span. The recommended tensile force of the transverse prestressed reinforcement and the calculation method for the interface shear capacity are given. The relative differences in the interface shear capacity between the calculation method and the results of the model tests and the finite element method are within 12%; the reliability of this method is verified and can be used in the design and calculation of similar bridges.

Dear Editor, This letter addresses the resilient model predictive control (MPC) problems for adaptive cruise control (ACC) systems under sensor attacks. In the light of vulnerabilities of ACC systems to sensor attacks, an intrusion detection mechanism is proposed at the controller side to distinguish abnormal data. Then, the robust control gains are derived to design the terminal region constraint for MPC. Further, an improved event-triggered scheme is presented, which shows the ability to relieve the computation burden in the implementation of MPC, by combining the memory-based event-triggered condition and the maximum allowed time interval condition. Finally, efficacy validations are given in simulations.

ABSTRACTThis study aims to determine the intention of Chinese parents to vaccinate their children against SARS-CoV-2. Secondly, preferences for foreign- or domestically made COVID-19 vaccines were also explored. A nationwide, cross-sectional, self-administered online survey based on the Health Belief Model (HBM) and new vaccine concerns was used. Participants were eligible if they were residents of China with children aged 12 years old or younger. A total of 2,026 parents responded to the survey. Half reported a probable intent (50.7%) and 26.9% reported a definite intent. The results of the data analysis of partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) found that perceived cost barriers (B = −0.210, p< .001) and new vaccine concerns (B = −0.201, p< .001) had major effects in vaccination intent. Important constructs of vaccine concerns that predict vaccination intent were efficacy (B = 0.898, p< .001), followed by safety (B = 0.861, p< .001), side-effect (B = 0.806, p< .001) and faulty/fake vaccine (B = 0.579, p< .001). Perceived benefits (B = 1.81, p< .001), self-efficacy (B = 0.159, p< .001) and severity (B = 0.083, p< .01) were also significant predictors in vaccination intent. Almost two-thirds (62.0%; 95%CI 59.8 to 64.1) reported a preference for domestically made and 19.1% (95%CI 17.2 to 20.7) preferred foreign-made COVID-19 vaccines. Multivariable logistic regression analysis revealed that higher incomes and concern of side-effects of the new COVID-19 vaccine were two of the most important influencing factors of preference for a foreign-made vaccine. This study sheds light on the importance of addressing concerns of new vaccines and the helpfulness of HBM in understanding parental decisions toward their children being vaccinated against SARS-CoV-2.

In order to make full use of the dynamic information contained in the electrical quantity response trajectories, improve the reliability of critical sample prediction results, and correct the bias problem caused by sample imbalance to model prediction, a transient stability assessment (TSA) method based on bidirectional long short-term memory (BiLSTM) network is proposed. The method takes the dynamic trajectories of the underlying measurement data as the inputs, abstracts the features step by step from the multivariate time series through the multilayered neural network, and then establishes the nonlinear mapping relationship between the input feature and the stability category. In this paper, BiLSTM is improved by introducing truncation threshold and penalty coefficient into the loss function to give higher weights to hard samples and unstable samples, thus optimizing the gradient descent direction. Furthermore, this method enables sustainable hierarchical prediction and effectively reduces uncertain samples. The experimental results on the New England 39-bus system integrated with wind farm show that the proposed method significantly reduces the missing alarm rate of unstable samples and the false alarm rate of stable samples, and improves the credibility of the prediction results of critical samples.

Wuhan, the epicenter of the coronavirus disease 2019 outbreak, was locked down on January 23, 2020. We aimed to investigate the barriers to the physical prevention, negative attitudes, and anxiety levels.

ABSTRACTLittle is known regarding Chinese mothers’ intention to vaccinate their daughters against human papillomavirus (HPV) since the HPV vaccine was approved for use in China in 2016. The aim was to explore maternal HPV vaccination acceptance, preference for 2-, 4- or 9-valent HPV vaccine and acceptance of domestically manufactured HPV vaccines. Study participants were mothers of primary school children in Southeastern region of Fujian. An online cross-sectional survey was undertaken between June and August 2019. Among the total of 3,586 completed responses (response rate 28.5%), the intention to vaccinate daughter against HPV was high (83.3%). Higher maternal education and perceived benefit and barriers were associated with greater intention to vaccinate. Among mothers who did not intend to vaccinate their daughters, the three most common reasons were daughter being too young to receive HPV vaccination (40.6%), fear of side effects (31.9%) and vaccine price is too high (16.0%). The largest proportion (41.4%) preferred their daughter to be vaccinated with the 9-valent HPV vaccine (9vHPV). Greater preference for 9vHPVwas strongly associated with higher maternal education level and annual household income. The majority of mothers expressed a preference for imported HPV vaccine (56.3%). Our result indicates that lower intentions to vaccinate daughters against HPV among less educated and lower-income mothers may lead to significant social inequalities in HPV vaccine uptake in the country.

Two new ring-size-varying analogues (2and 3) of ipomoeassin F were synthesized and evaluated. Improved cytotoxicity (IC50: from 1.8 nM) and in vitro protein translocation inhibition (IC50: 35 nM) derived from ring expansion imply that the binding pocket of Sec61α (isoform 1) can accommodate further structural modifications, likely in the fatty acid portion. Streamlined preparation of the key diol intermediate 5enabled gram-scale production, allowing us to establish that ipomoeassin F is biologically active in vivo (MTD: ∼3 mg/kg).

ABSTRACTHPV vaccine hesitancy in Asia is unique compared to Western countries due to multidimensional social-cultural norms that influence beliefs regarding vaccination. Reviews on HPV vaccine hesitancy in Asia lack of in-depth discussion regarding the traditional and social-cultural norms dimensions. This paper puts forward opinions in which culture, normative beliefs, and religion influence HPV vaccine hesitancy in Asian countries. Issues surrounding HPV hesitancy among parents, young adult women, adult women, men and the sexual and gender minority people in Asian countries were highlighted. The shortage of HPV vaccine supply would soon be reduced as some Asian countries are on the way to producing the HPV vaccine which production is currently dominated by Western European countries. The culture of favoring imported Western products among many in Asia and in addition to long-existing fake vaccine crisis pose a challenge for the newly emerging HPV vaccine produced in Asia. Some recommendations, research gaps, and future research needs were discussed.

Modulating the interaction of chiral molecules with achiral plasmonic nanostructures/superstructures is an important means to realize the transfer of molecular chirality to plasmonic chirality. Especially, adsorption features of chiral molecules, such as chiral cysteine (Cys), have been found to affect chiroptical responses greatly. Herein, we found that Cys modification on gold nanorods (AuNRs) had a remarkable impact on rod etching by ferric ions and gave rise to unique etching patterns encoded with the information on Cys adsorption characteristics. Cys modification significantly accelerated rod etching by bringing Fe3+to the rod surface via Fe3+-COO–coordination. In combination with transmission electron microscopy (TEM) characterization, we were able to decipher Cys-mediated etching patterns and reconstruct Cys adsorption features on the rod surface. Our findings provide an etch-based strategy to probe the adsorption and spatial distribution of Cys on the rod surface, which will deepen our understanding of chirality transfer mechanisms and provide rational design rules for enhancing plasmonic chirality.

Wuhan, the epicenter of the coronavirus diseases 2019 outbreak, was locked down on January 23, 2020. We aimed to investigate the barriers to the physical prevention, negative attitudes, and anxiety levels.

Background Heterosexual contact is the primary mode of HIV transmission in China and commercial sex is thought to play a crucial role in China’s epidemic. Female sex workers (FSWs) in China tend to be either brothel-based (BSWs) or street-based (SSWs), but few studies have investigated the differences between these important segments of this difficult-to-reach, high-risk population. Our aim was to explore the differences between SSWs and BSWs in terms of socio-demographic characteristics, sexual and risky practices, HIV/STI-related knowledge, health services, HIV/STI prevalence and other aspects.Methods A cross-sectional survey was conducted in Yunnan Province of China in partnership with a local FSW-friendly non-governmental organization. Face-to-face interviews using a structured questionnaire were conducted to collect data on socio-demographic characteristics, sex work history, sexual behaviours, HIV/STI-related knowledge, HIV testing history, and healthcare services uptake. Blood samples were taken for HIV and syphilis testing, and urine samples for gonorrhea and chlamydia testing. Descriptive statistics were used to evaluate differences between SSWs and BSWs.Results A total of 185 BSWs and 129 SSWs were included in the study. SSWs were older and less educated, had more dependents and more clients, lower condom use and accessed fewer healthcare services. Moreover, 37.2% of SSWs and 24.9% of BSWs were found to have HIV/STI infection. Unfortunately, the awareness related to STIs was relatively low in both groups, especially SSWs.Conclusions Our study provides evidence that confirms the disproportionately high vulnerability of SSWs to HIV and other STIs, underscoring the urgent need for the Chinese health and public health sectors to prioritize outreach to SSWs. Awareness and educational programs, condom distribution, testing and health check-ups should be included in a comprehensive strategy for HIV/STI prevention in this high-risk population.

Ipomoeassin F is a potent natural cytotoxin that inhibits growth of many tumor cell lines with single-digit nanomolar potency. However, its biological and pharmacological properties have remained largely unexplored. Building upon our earlier achievements in total synthesis and medicinal chemistry, we used chemical proteomics to identify Sec61α (protein transport protein Sec61 subunit alpha isoform 1), the pore-forming subunit of the Sec61 protein translocon, as a direct binding partner of ipomoeassin F in living cells. The interaction is specific and strong enough to survive lysis conditions, enabling a biotin analogue of ipomoeassin F to pull down Sec61α from live cells, yet it is also reversible, as judged by several experiments including fluorescent streptavidin staining, delayed competition in affinity pulldown, and inhibition of TNF biogenesis after washout. Sec61α forms the central subunit of the ER protein translocation complex, and the binding of ipomoeassin F results in a substantial, yet selective, inhibition of protein translocation in vitroand a broad ranging inhibition of protein secretion in live cells. Lastly, the unique resistance profile demonstrated by specific amino acid single-point mutations in Sec61α provides compelling evidence that Sec61α is the primary molecular target of ipomoeassin F and strongly suggests that the binding of this natural product to Sec61α is distinctive. Therefore, ipomoeassin F represents the first plant-derived, carbohydrate-based member of a novel structural class that offers new opportunities to explore Sec61α function and to further investigate its potential as a therapeutic target for drug discovery.

Background: Up to April 2022, there were six waves of infection of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Japan. As the outbreaks continue to grow, it is critical to detect COVID-19’s clusters to allocate health resources and improve decision-making substantially. This study aimed to identify active clusters of COVID-19 in Nagasaki Prefecture and form the spatiotemporal pattern of high-risk areas in different infection periods. Methods: We used the prospective space-time scan statistic to detect emerging COVID-19 clusters and examine the relative risk in five consecutive periods from April 1, 2020 to April 7, 2022, in Nagasaki Prefecture. Results: The densely inhabited districts (DIDs) in Nagasaki City have remained the most affected areas since December 2020. Most of the confirmed cases in the early period of each wave had a history of travelling to other prefectures. Community-level transmissions are suggested by the quick expansion of spatial clusters from urban areas to rural areas and remote islands. Moreover, outbreaks in welfare facilities and schools may lead to an emerging cluster in Nagasaki Prefecture’s rural areas. Conclusions: This study gives an overall analysis of the transmission dynamics of the COVID-19 pandemic in Nagasaki Prefecture, based on the number of machi-level daily cases. Furthermore, the findings in different waves can serve as references for subsequent pandemic prevention and control. This method helps the health authorities track and investigate outbreaks of COVID-19 that are specific to these environments, especially in rural areas where healthcare resources are scarce.

ABSTRACTMen involvement in HPV vaccine advocacy is important in a patriarchal society. This study aimed to investigate the influence of men on HPV vaccination of adult women. An online cross-sectional survey was undertaken between June and August 2019. Participants were fathers of children enrolled in schools in Fujian Province. A total of 1953 participants responded to our survey. Just over 60% reported they would definitely or likely support their spouse/partner to receive HPV vaccine. Physician recommendation (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] = 5.68, 95%CI = 3.89–6.86) and spouse/partner communication about HPV vaccination (aOR = 5.30, 95%CI = 3.72–7.55) were significant covariates associated with higher willingness to support women’s HPV vaccination. Perceiving HPV vaccination as only for women who have had multiple sex partners and HPV vaccination as a sensitive topic were significantly associated with lower willingness to support HPV vaccination. Over two-thirds (67.3%) reported joint HPV vaccination decision-making and 2.8% reported that it was entirely the man’s decision. The role of men in HPV vaccine acceptance and hesitancy among adult women is evident in China and warrants educational interventions to target men to enhance women’s HPV vaccination uptake.

ABSTRACTIntroduction: This study aimed to investigate HPV vaccination intention among adult married women aged 27 to 45 years and its associated factors, and their spouse/partner’s influence on HPV vaccination decision-making.Methods: This is a cross-sectional, questionnaire-based study. Study participants were recruited through simple random sampling of patients attending obstetrics and gynecology outpatient clinics in a university teaching hospital. Participants were selected based on a computer-generated list of a random list of patients attending the clinic.Results: A total of 794 complete responses were received (response rate 88.2%). The mean age of the respondents was 32.2 years with a standard deviation (SD) of ±3.9 years.The vast majority (85.3%) would communicate with their spouse/partner with regard to HPV vaccination decision-making. Nearly 30% (over half were of the Malay ethnic group) perceived their spouse/partner would not consent to their HPV vaccination. Over half (54.9%) reported joint decision-making, and 9.1% (the majority of whom were Malay) reported that HPV vaccination was dependent on their spouse/partner’s decision. Intention to vaccinate against HPV was high (74.5%). Factors influencing HPV vaccination intention were spouse/partner’s consent to HPV vaccination (odds ratio [OR] = 4.51; 95% confidence interval [CI], 3.08–6.62), being a postgraduate student (OR = 4.55; 95% CI, 2.13–9.72 vs. unemployed/housewife), average household income MYR2000–4000 (OR = 2.09; 95%CI, 1.16–3.78 vs. below MYR2000), and an HPV-related knowledge score of 9–20 (OR = 1.60; 95% CI, 1.10–2.32 vs. score 0–8).Conclusion: Findings highlight the importance of culture-centered interventions to enhance male partner’s awareness and support for the HPV vaccination of married women.

ABSTRACTThis study aims to provide evidence of hesitancy in receiving the COVID-19 booster vaccine and associated factors in the vaccinated population that have completed a primary vaccination series. An anonymous web-based survey was disseminated to Malaysian adults aged ≥18 years via social media platforms. A total of 1010 responses were collected, of which 43.0% (95%CI 39.9–46.0) declared a definite willingness to receive a COVID-19 vaccine booster, 38.2% (95%CI 35.2–44.3) reported being somewhat willingand only 5.7% (95%CI 4.5–7.4) reported being definitely unwilling. Demographically younger participants, those of higher income, Chinese ethnicity and those from the central region reported significantly higher odds of a definite willingness to receive the COVID-19 vaccine booster compared to the reference group (somewhat willing/undecided/somewhat unwilling/definitely unwilling). Having no side effects with past COVID-19 vaccination was associated with a significantly higher odds of definite willingness (OR = 2.82, 95% CI 1.33–5.99). A lower (range 6–22) pandemic fatigue score (OR = 2.34, 95% CI 1.75–3.22) and higher (range 24–30) preventive practices score (OR = 2.45, 95% CI 1.80–3.34) were also associated with higher odds of definite willingness. Regarding attitudes toward COVID-19 booster vaccine, having fewer concerns about the side effects of booster vaccination and the uncertain long-term safety of multiple COVID-19 vaccinations were found to create greater odds of a definite willingness to receive the COVID-19 vaccine booster. Findings from this study provided insights into demographic characteristics and important behavioral and attitudinal factors associated with COVID-19 vaccine booster hesitancy.

ABSTRACTThis study aimed to investigate multi-dimensional psychological and social factors that influence the willingness to receive a COVID-19 vaccine booster in China. A nationwide cross-sectional online survey was conducted between March and April 2022. A total of 6375 complete responses were received. The majority were of age 18 to 40 years old (80.0%) and college-educated (49.2%). In total, 79% responded extremely willing to receive a COVID-19 vaccine booster. By demographics, younger age, females, higher education, and participants with the lowest income reported higher willingness. Having a very good health status (odds ratio [OR] 3.56, 95% confidence interval [CI] 2.92–4.34) and a higher score of vaccine confidence (OR 3.50, 95% CI 2.98–4.11) were associated with an increased willingness to receive a booster shot. Experiencing no side effects with primary COVID-19 vaccination (OR 2.46, 95% CI 1.89–3.20) and higher perceived susceptibility of COVID-19 infection (OR 2.38, 95% CI 1.92–2.95) were also associated with an increased willingness to receive a booster shot. A variety of psychosocial factors, namely having no chronic diseases, lower perceived concern over the safety of a booster shot, higher perceived severity of COVID-19 infection, and a higher level of institutional trust, were also significantly associated with greater willingness to get a booster shot. In conclusion, the present study adds evidence to the significant role of psychosocial factors in predicting COVID-19 vaccine booster acceptance and provides insights to design interventions to increase booster uptake in certain targeted demographic groups.

Background:Genome-wide association studies have identified rs314276, rs314263, rs7759938, and rs314280 in or near the LIN28B gene as associated with age at menarche. To date, the effect of polymorphisms in this gene on idiopathic central precocious puberty (ICPP) in Chinese girls have not been reported. The aim of this study was to evaluate the association of the four loci with ICPP in Chinese girls.Methods:In this study, we conducted a case-control study including 502 girls with ICPP and 489 controls. Four single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were genotyped in both groups using an improved multiplex ligation detection reaction (iMLDR) technique.Results:Of the four SNPs of the LIN28B analyzed, three SNPs, rs314276, rs7759938, and rs314280, were associated with ICPP risk at P < 0.05. The association of rs314276, however, was no longer significant after adjustment for multiple testing. Compared with rs7759938 TT or TC genotype, decreased ICPP risk was associated with CC (OR = 0.527, 95% CI: 0.329–0.843) genotype (P = 0.008). Compared with rs314280 GG or GA genotype, decreased ICPP risk was associated with minor allele carrier (AA) genotype (OR = 0.538, 95% CI: 0.337–0.858, P = 0.009). The two identified variants showed the same association signals for ICPP.Conclusion:In conclusion, common genetic variations (rs7759938 and rs314280) of LIN28B may contribute to ICPP susceptibility in Chinese girls.

This article describes copper ion assisted end-cap morphology transformation and anisotropic etching of gold nanorods (GNRs) under mild conditions. The copper ions are proposed to catalyze the oxidation of the GNRs by dissolved oxygen. We suggest that the surface Au atoms with high surface energy are stabilized by forming Au–O complexes (termed as static adsorbed oxygen). At low concentration of copper ions, the Au–O complexes are removed by oxidative etching, thus leaving a “clean” Au surface. Such a clean surface can relax to a more stable state via surface atom diffusion, leading to the GNR end-cap morphology variation. This is the first time that the existence of adsorbed oxygen species on the surface of the GNRs is probed and demonstrated. At high concentration of copper ions, anisotropic etching of the GNRs is initiated by dissolved oxygen (termed as dynamic adsorbed oxygen) and leads to shorter GNRs. For other etch agents such as H2O2and Fe3+, addition of copper ions produces a synergistic effect. Due to the high affinity of oxygen to silver and palladium, such synergistic etching is observed in Au@Ag NRs and Au@Pd NRs as well. These interesting findings provide a new way to probe the surface reactivity of noble metal nanocrystals.

ABSTRACTThis study aimed to investigate nursing students’ perspectives regarding the role of nurses as HPV vaccine advocates and their perception of barriers to advocacy. A cross-sectional study using a Web-based survey was sent out to all undergraduate nursing students enrolled at the Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou, China. A total of 1,041 students responded to the survey. In total, 58.0% of students expressed an intent to advocate HPV vaccines as a counselor and 56.4% as an HPV information provider in their future practice. However, 33.4% stated that they do not intend to be HPV vaccine advocates. Grade 1 students, students from homes with higher annual household incomes and those with a higher level of knowledge about HPV and HPV vaccination expressed higher intentions to advocate for HPV vaccines as a counselor. Students who have a higher level of knowledge about HPV and HPV vaccination and have received HPV vaccines reported a higher advocacy intent in the provision of HPV information. The main perceived barriers in HPV vaccine advocacy include inadequate training (87.1%) and insufficient HPV-related knowledge (84.8%); also, anxious patients may not feel comfortable with nurses discussing HPV vaccination (52.8%). Nurses are uniquely positioned to nurture patient HPV vaccine acceptance and maybe the key strategy to increase HPV vaccination coverage in China. Institutional support is needed to train nurses as HPV vaccine advocates and should focus on enhancing HPV-related knowledge while destigmatising the embarrassment around discussing HPV-related issues with patients.