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Abstract With a large population of people vaccinated, it is possible that at-risk people are shielded, and the coronavirus disease is contained. Given the low vaccine uptakes, achieving herd immunity via vaccination campaigns can be challenging. After a literature review, we found a paucity of research studies of vaccine hesitancy from social media settings. This study aims to categorise and create a typology of social media contents and assess the priority of concerns for future public health messaging. With a dataset of 43,203 YouTube comments, we applied text analytics and multiple regression analyses to examine the correlations between vaccine hesitancy factors and vaccination intention. Our major findings are (i) Polarized views on vaccines existed in the social media ecology of public discourse, with a majority of people unwilling to get vaccinated against COVID-19; (ii) Reasons behind vaccine hesitancy included concerns about vaccine safety, potential side-effects, lack of trust in government and pharmaceutical companies; (iii) Political partisan-preferences were exemplified in vaccine decision-making processes; (iv) Anti-vaccine movements with amplified misinformation fuelled vaccine hesitancy and undermined public confidence in COVID-19 vaccines. We suggest public health practitioners engage in social media and craft evidenced-based messages to online communities in a balanced and palatable way.

By applying the mixed-ligand approach, two coordination polymers (CPs) based on Cu(II) of {[Cu(3-bpdb)(fum)(H2O)2]}n (1, 3-bpdb = 1,4-bis(3-pyridyl)-2,3-diaza-1,3-butadiene and fum = fumarate) and {[Cu4(4-bpdb)2(suc)3(OH)2]·5(H2O)}n (2, 4-bpdb = 1,4-bis(4-pyridyl)-2,3-diaza-1,3-butadiene and suc = succinate) were triumphantly synthesized via a slow volatilization method. The magnetic properties for complexes 1 and 2 have been studied, which reveal their antiferromagnet interactions among the metal ions. Their protective activity on the restless leg syndrome was evaluated. First of all, the tyrosine hydroxylase relative expression in dopaminergic neuron of anterior horn of spinal cord was detected through the real time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) method. In addition to this, the inflammatory response in the anterior horn of spinal cord was also assessed by determining the inflammatory cytokines levels by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The microstructure evolution and diffusion of silicon during heat-treatment and plastic deformation process were studied on the clad plates of Al–Mn/Al–Si aluminum composite fabricated by continuous casting. The results show that when the clad slab is homogenized and hot rolled, silicon diffuses across the interface from the Al–Si alloy (4004) side to the Al–Mn alloy (3003) side and dissolves into the 3003 matrix forming a solid solution. However, after deformation by cold-rolling, the increased driving force for precipitation of the solute elements in the core alloy side along with the abundant defects introduced by the severe deformation promotes the precipitation. Some Mg2Si particles precipitate from the solid solutions to form a transition region close to the interface of the two components. The presented transition area not only benefits the microstructure of the clad sheet but also improves the distribution of the microhardness across the interface, a tendency of gradient transition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A newly developed red Chinese cabbage (Brassica rapa ssp. campestris; CC) was analyzed to determine the changes in functional compounds, especially in phenolic compounds. In the red CC, cyanidin was the major anthocyanidin, with 4.11 mg⋅g-1 dry weight (dw), while pelargonidin and peonidin were minor components. The control CC, however, contained no anthocyanidins. In both CCs, four hydroxycinnamic acids were detected, and sinapic acid was the principal compound found. Hydroxycinnamic acids in the red CC were significantly more abundant than were those in the control, by a factor of 1.4-13.3. Quercetin was the principal flavonol in the red CC, with 2.7 mg⋅g-1 dw, whereas it was the flavonol with the lowest concentration in the control CC (0.5 mg⋅g-1 dw). Kaempferol and isorhamnetin concentrations were also increased in the red CC by 1.41- and 3.10-times, respectively. The results imply that, due to the common synthetic pathways of the phenolic compounds, the creation of a red phenotype from the presence of anthocyanidin increased the levels of flavonols and phenolic acids. Pectin, reducing sugar, and cellulose levels in the red CC indicate that the red CC could be preferred by consumers because of its better taste. Consequently, the new red CC, by accumulating significant amounts of the bioactive anthocyanidin, has significant value for human nutrition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and the purpose of this study: Mushroom polysaccharides have traditionally been used for the prevention and treatment of a multitude of disorders like infectious illnesses, cancers and various autoimmune diseases. In vitro and in vivo studies suggest that certain polysaccharides affect immune system function. Morchella conica (M. conica) is a species of rare edible mushroom whose multiple medicinal functions have been proven. Thus, the objective of this study is to isolate and characterize of exopolysaccharide from submerged mycelial culture of M. conica, and to evaluate its immunomodulatory activity. Methods: A water-soluble Morchella conica Polysaccharides (MCP) were extracted and isolated from the fermentation broth of M. conica through a combination of DEAE-cellulose and Sephacryl S-300 HR chromatograph. NMR and IR spectroscopy has played a developing role in identification of polysaccharide with different structure and composition from fungal and plant sources, as well as complex glycosaminoglycans of animal origin. Thus, NMR and IR spectroscopy were used to analyze the chemical structure and composition of the isolated polysaccharide. Moreover, the polysaccharide was tested for its immunomodulatory activity at different concentrations using in vitro model. Results: The results showed that MCP may significantly modulate nitric oxide production in macrophages, and promote splenocytes proliferation. Analysis from HPLC, infrared spectra and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy showed that MCP was a homogeneous mannan with an average molecular weight of approximately 81.2 kDa. The glycosidic bond links is →6)-α-D-Man p-(1→. Conclusion: The results suggested that the extracted MCP may modulate nitric oxide production in macrophages and promote splenocytes proliferation, and it may act as a potent immunomodulatory agent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We grew epitaxial SrTiO3 (STO) thin films on (001) LaAlO3 substrates via a two-step procedure using pulsed laser deposition and studied them with transmission electron microscopy in plane-view and cross-sectional samples. We found that partial misfit dislocations are the main interfacial defects, whereas planar defects are the main defects in STO films. Our results suggest that a three-dimensional island mode dominates the growth of the STO film. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

PGG–PTX is a water-soluble formulation of paclitaxel (PTX), made by conjugating PTX to poly( l-γ-glutamylglutamine) acid (PGG) via ester bonds, that spontaneously forms a nanoparticle in aqueous environments. The purpose of this study was to compare the pharmacokinetics and tissue distribution of PTX following injection of either free PTX or PGG–PTX in mice. Both [3H]PTX and PGG–[3H]PTX were administered as an IV bolus injection to mice bearing SC NCI-H460 lung cancer xenografts at a dose of 40-mg PTX equivalents/kg. Plasma, tumor, major organs, urine, and feces were collected at intervals out to 340 h. Total taxanes, taxane extractable into ethyl acetate, and native PTX were quantified by liquid scintillation counting and HPLC. Conjugation of PTX to the PGG polymer increased plasma and tumor Cmax, prolonged plasma half-life and the period of accumulation in tumor, and reduced washout from tumor. In plasma injection of PGG–PTX increased total taxane AUC0–340 by 23-fold above that attained with PTX. In tumors, it increased the total taxane by a factor of 7.7, extractable taxane by 5.7, and native PTX by a factor of 3.5-fold. Conjugation delayed and reduced total urinary and fecal excretion of total taxanes. Incorporation of PTX into the PGG–PTX polymer significantly prolonged the half-life of total taxanes, extractable taxane, and native PTX in both the plasma and tumor compartments. This resulted in a large increase in the amount of active PTX delivered to the tumor. PGG–PTX is an attractive candidate for further development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined cultural influence on personal and behavioral correlates of lack of regular physical activity (PA) among college students in four countries, i.e., the United States, Costa Rica, India, and South Korea. Public universities were randomly chosen among the four countries. A total of 4,685 students participated in the study during the 2006–2007 academic year with a response rate of 90.1%. The vast majority of the questions on the instrument were adopted from the Youth Risk Behavior Survey and the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System questionnaires. The instrument was translated into Spanish and Korean and then back-translated into English to check accuracy of the translation. Low fruit consumption was a culture-universal predictor of lack of regular PA. Gender, perceived body weight, vegetable consumption, and cigarette smoking were culture-specific predictors, indicating PA might be a transversal value. Body mass index, binge drinking, and TV/video watching were not associated with lack of regular PA in any of the four countries. While PA is valued across different segments of many cultures, given the several culture-specific predictors, PA appears to be more transversal than universal. Therefore, culturally sensitive interventions are necessary to promote PA among young adults. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined the association between cigarette smoking and dieting behaviors and trends in that association among US adolescents in grades 9–12 between 1999 and 2007. Youth Risk Behavior Survey datasets were analyzed using the multivariable logistic regression method. The sample size of each survey year ranged from 13,554 to 15,273 with girls representing 49–51% of the sample ( N = 71,854). About 62% of the entire study participants were whites and 14% were blacks. Prevalence estimates of current smoking and corresponding 95% confidence intervals were computed across four comparison groups formed by gender and body weight. Extreme dieting was an independent predictor of smoking. Extreme dieters showed a higher variability of smoking behavior than their peers. The magnitude of the association between smoking and extreme dieting became smaller in recent years among adolescents but remained unchanged among non-overweight girls over that same time period. When adolescent smoking behavior is examined, the intensity of dieting behavior should be considered within its association with other co-occurring unhealthy behaviors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The streamwise velocity components at different vertical heights in wall turbulence were measured. Wavelet transform was used to study the turbulent energy spectra, indicating that the global spectrum results from the weighted average of Fourier spectrum based on wavelet scales. Wavelet transform with more vanishing moments can express the declining of turbulent spectrum. The local wavelet spectrum shows that the physical phenomena such as deformation or breakup of eddies are related to the vertical position in the boundary layer, and the energy-containing eddies exist in a multi-scale form. Moreover, the size of these eddies increases with the measured points moving out of the wall. In the buffer region, the small scale energy-containing eddies with higher frequency are excited. In the outer region, the maximal energy is concentrated in the low-frequency large-scale eddies, and the frequency domain of energy-containing eddies becomes narrower. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bleached hardwood (HW) kraft pulp and derived nanocellulosic structures were modified by a periodate oxidation followed by treatment with sodium bisulfite to yield the corresponding C2/3 sulfonates. The impact of this oxidative–reductive protocol on the chemical and physical properties of cellulose was evaluated by determining physical dimensions, functional groups, and their water absorbency properties. It was found that the water absorbency of cellulosic material can be enhanced by 8.0–199.0% with this oxidation/sulfonation protocol. Distinct differences were observed between sulfonated pulp fibers and nanocellulosic structures, with the latter exhibiting relatively higher water retention values (WRV). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The conservation and adaptive-reuse of historical industrial building is one of the most important issues to be solved in today’s urban development and construction in China. In this paper, the necessity and academic meaning of the conservation and adaptive-reuse of historical industrial building, were discussed by reviewing its development rend both at home and abroad, and the basic contents of the implementation of the conservation and adaptive-reuse of historical industrial building in China with specific cases provided were analyzed. It is the central task for China to put forward the restructuring and design methods, assessment principles and relevant core technical specifications based on the empirical researches on the historical industrial building and site. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Quantum Neural Network (QNN) is a burgeoning new field built upon the combination of classical neural networks and quantum computations, which has many problems needed to solve. Where the learning of the network weight vector is an issue must be settled to develop QNN. Upon the analysis of the Grover’s quantum algorithm, a model of QNN with weight vector and a training method for it are proposed in this paper. It can be shown that this model and method work in quantum mechanism. Results on the data set show that this network model can deal with some classical problem such as XOR problem and the proposed weight updating algorithm based on the Grover always can learn training examples in a certain percentage, despiting it has not been proven to excel classical learning algorithm in performance. It yet has some advantages over classical counterpart. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urbanization is one of the most important driving forces for land use and land cover change. Quantifying urban landscape pattern and its change is fundamental for monitoring and assessing ecological and socioeconomic consequences of urbanization. As the largest city in the country, Shanghai is now the fastest growing city in China. Using land use data set of 2002 and combining gradient analysis with landscape metrics, we analyzed landscape pattern of Shanghai with increasing grain size to study the impacts of road corridors on urban landscape pattern. Landscape metrics were computed along a 51×9 km² transect cutting across Shanghai with a moving window. The results showed that the urban landscape pattern of Shanghai was greatly changed when road corridors were merged with urban patches and the variation of patch density would alter when grain size changed. As a linear land use type, road corridors exhibited a different spatial signature comparing with other land use types and distinctive behavior with increasing grain size. Merging road and urban patches resulted in a sharp reduction in patch density, mainly caused by segmentation of roads corridors. The results suggested that grain size around 7.5 m might be optimal for urban landscape analysis. Landscape patch density is significantly correlated with road percent coverage and the most important effect of road corridors in urban landscape is increased habitat fragmentation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: To establish a cell-based assay to screen human dopamine D1 and D5 recep-tor agonists against compounds from a natural product compound library. Methods: Synthetic responsive elements 6×cAMP response elements (CRE) and a mini promoter containing a TATA box were inserted into the pGL3 basic vector to generate the reporter gene construct pCRE/TA/Luci. CHO cells were co-trans-fected with the reporter gene construct and human D1 or D5 receptor cDNA in mammalian expression vectors. Stable cell lines were established for agonist screening. A natural product compound library from over 300 herbs has been established. The extracts from these herbs were used for human D1 and D5 receptor agonist screenings. Results: A number of extracts were identified that activated both D1 and D5 receptors. One of the herb extracts, SBG492, demon-strated distinct pharmacological characteristics with human D1 and D5 receptors. The EC50 values of SBG492 were 342.7 μg/mL for the D1 receptor and 31.7 μg/mL for the D5 receptor. Conclusion: We have established a cell-based assay for high-throughput drug screening to identify D1-like receptor agonists from natural products. Several extracts that can active D1-like receptors were discovered. These compounds could be useful tools for studies on the functions of these receptors in the brain and could potentially be developed into therapeutic drugs for the treatment of central nervous system diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The time sequence of longitudinal velocity component at different vertical locations in turbulent boundary layer was finely measured in a wind tunnel. The concept of coarse-grained velocity structure functions, which describes the relative motions of straining and compressing for multi-scale eddy structures in turbulent flows, was put forward based on the theory of locally multi-scale average. Based on the consistency between coarse-grained velocity structure function and Harr wavelet transformation, detecting method was presented, by which the coherent structures and their intermittency was identified by multi-scale flatness factor calculated by locally average structure function. Phase-averaged evolution course for multi-scale coherent eddy structures in wall turbulence were extracted by this conditional sampling to educe scheme. The dynamics course of multi-scale coherent eddy structures and their effects on statistics of turbulent flows were studied. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Experimental investigations have been devoted to the study of scaling law of coarse-grained dissipation rate structure function for velocity and temperature fluctuation of non-isotropic and inhomogeneous turbulent flows at moderate Reynolds number. Much attention has been paid to the case of turbulent boundary layer, which is typically the nonistropic and inhomogeneous trubulence because of the dynamically important existence of organized coherent structure burst process in the near wall region. Longitudinal velocity and temperature have been measured at different vertical positions in turbulent boundary layer over a heated and unheated flat plate in a wind tunnel using hot wire anemometer. The influence of non-isotropy and inhomogeneity and heating the wall on the scaling law of the dissipation rate structure function is studied because of the existence of organized coherent structure burst process in the near wall region. The scaling law of coarse-grained dissipation rate structure function is found to be independent of the mean velocity shear strain and the heating wall boundary condition. The scaling law of the dissipation rate structure function is verified to be in agreement with the hierarchical structure model that has been verified valid for isotropic and homogeneous turbulence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses a study on the creation of microstructures in soda-lime silicate glass through femtosecond (fs) laser pulsing. The study investigated the effect of fs-laser pulsing on the chemical and structural composition of soda-lime glasses. It found that Fs-laser interaction leads to the formation of sodium (Na)-rich phases. It observed that Na nanoparticles are precipitated around the phases.

Measuring Na in silicate glasses can be difficult in transmission electron microscopy due to modifications induced by electron irradiation. The modifications involve not only the loss of Na from the illuminated region, but also the formation of Na and Na2O. This work compares the electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS) of plasmon and Na L23 edge in Na2O-SiO2 glass with those in Na and Na2O. The interpretations of the fine structures in Na L23 edge were also given with the aid of full multiplescattering calculations. It demonstrates that the formation of metallic Na can be easily identified by its bulk plasmon at about 5.8 eV, and the formation of Na2O can be better seen by Na L23-edge fine structure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Broadband near-infrared (IR) luminescence in transparent alkali gallium silicate glass-ceramics containing Ni2+-doped β-Ga2O3 nanocrystals was observed. This broadband emission could be attributed to the 3T2g (3F) ? 3A2g (3F) transition of octahedral Ni2+ ions in glass-ceramics. The full width at half-maximum (FWHM) of the near-IR luminescence and fluorescent lifetime of the glass-ceramic doped with 0.10 mol% NiO were 260 nm and ~1220 µs, respectively. It is expected that transparent Ni2+-doped β-Ga2O3 glass-ceramics with this broad near-IR emission and long fluorescent lifetime have potential applications as super-broadband optical amplification media. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]