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HIV self-testing (HIVST) increases testing frequency among men who have sex with men (MSM). However, its impact on sexual risk behaviors is unclear. In a randomized controlled trial conducted in Hunan Province, China, HIV-negative MSM were randomized to receive one of two interventions for one year: (1) facility-based HIV testing, or (2) facility-based HIV testing augmented with free HIVST. From April to June 2018, 230 MSM were enrolled. They self-reported sexual behaviors every 3 months for 12 months. Among 216 MSM with follow-ups (intervention: 110; control: 106), adjusting for potential confounders in Generalized Estimating Equation models, there were no statistically significant differences in consistent condom use with male partners (regular/casual) or female partners, nor on number of male or female sexual partners. Provision of free HIVST kits does not increase risky sex and should be included in comprehensive HIV prevention packages, particularly for sexual minority men in China.

The positive psychology intervention (PPI) is an effective therapy designed to motivate individuals' positive quality and power, to help them survive in an adverse situation, and to establish a high-quality personal and social life. This study aims to evaluate the efficacy and mechanism of PPI on the psychological capital, psychological distress, and life satisfaction among colostomy patients.Patients (n = 120) with permanent stomas were recruited and randomly assigned into two groups. Patients in the experimental group (n = 60) received standard care and PPI, whereas patients in the control group (n = 60) only received standard care. The psychological capital, psychological distress, and life satisfaction were measured and compared between two groups before the intervention, the immediate post-intervention, and follow-up.All 120 patients completed the study. The hope, optimism, resilience, psychological distress, and life satisfaction score of the experimental group were significantly higher than those of the control group at T1 and T2 (P 0.05). Self-efficacy score of the experimental group had no significant difference at the two time points after the intervention than the control group (P 0.05). Changes in hope and resilience which belong to psychological capital mediated the intervention's efficacy on changes in PPI on life satisfaction (β = 0.265, P = 0.005; β = 0.686, P = 0.002).PPI could effectively improve psychological capital, psychological distress, and life satisfaction among patients with stomas. Besides, our findings add novel support that increased hope and resilience are the active ingredients that promote intervention change.

Background Depressive symptoms are highly prevalent among people living with HIV (PLWH). We leveraged Latent Profile Analysis (LPA) to identify profiles of depressive symptoms among PLWHs. We also investigated differences in psychological factors of interest, demographic characteristics, and HIV-related factors across patients’ profiles. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted at one hospital and two designated prison facilities in Hunan province, China. A total sample of 533 PLWHs (320 recruited from the hospital, 213 recruited from prisons) completed the survey. Depressive symptoms were assessed using the 9-item Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9). Family function, resilience, childhood trauma, demographic characteristics, and HIV-related factors were also evaluated. We conducted LPA and multinomial logistic regression analyses to: 1) identify distinct profiles for depressive symptoms; 2) identify demographic characteristics, and HIV-related, and psychological factors predicting PLWHs’ likelihood to express a specific profile. Results We identified three distinct profiles of depressive symptoms among PLWHs: severe symptoms (11.8%), moderate symptoms (40.5%), and low/no symptoms (47.7%). Moderate/ severe family dysfunction, low resilience, experiencing emotional abuse and neglect were more likely to fall in the “severe symptoms” rather than the “low/no symptoms” profile. In addition, severe family dysfunction, low resilience, and experiencing emotional neglect indicated a higher likelihood of being classified in the “moderate symptoms” profile, compared to the “low/no symptoms” profile. Conclusion Identifying profiles of depressive symptoms among PLWHs using the PHQ-9 items allows for understanding of the distinct paths of development of depressive symptoms and for developing tailored prevention and intervention programs for PLWHs.

BackgroundG-quadruplexes (G4s) are unique noncanonical nucleic acid secondary structures, which have been proposed to physically interact with transcription factors and chromatin remodelers to regulate cell type-specific transcriptome and shape chromatin landscapes.ResultsBased on the direct interaction between G4 and natural porphyrins, we establish genome-wide approaches to profile where the iron-liganded porphyrin hemin can bind in the chromatin. Hemin promotes genome-wide G4 formation, impairs transcription initiation, and alters chromatin landscapes, including decreased H3K27ac and H3K4me3 modifications at promoters. Interestingly, G4 status is not involved in the canonical hemin-BACH1-NRF2-mediated enhancer activation process, highlighting an unprecedented G4-dependent mechanism for metabolic regulation of transcription. Furthermore, hemin treatment induces specific gene expression profiles in hepatocytes, underscoring the in vivo potential for metabolic control of gene transcription by porphyrins.ConclusionsThese studies demonstrate that G4 functions as a sensor for natural porphyrin metabolites in cells, revealing a G4-dependent mechanism for metabolic regulation of gene transcription and chromatin landscapes, which will deepen our knowledge of G4 biology and the contribution of cellular metabolites to gene regulation.

An ultra-low carbon bainitic steel is developed through nanoprecipitation of high-density Mn/Fe-rich intermetallic B2-NiAl. A high yield strength of ~ 1.3 GPa and a good total elongation of ~ 13 pct are attained via minimal lattice misfit nanoprecipitation. Atom probe tomography and high-resolution transmission electron microscope were applied to characterize nanoscale precipitates. An increment of 544 MPa in yield strength is achieved after an aging process, predominantly attributed to the order strengthening mechanism.

Single-atom catalysis recently attracts great attentions, however, whether single atom or their nanoparticle (NP) has the advantage in its intrinsic activity remains under heated debate. Ag/Al2O3 is a widely used catalyst for many catalytic reactions, while the effect of Ag particle size on the activity is seldom investigated due to the great difficulty in synthesizing single atom Ag and Ag clusters/particles with different sizes. Herein, we firstly prepared an atomically dispersed Ag/Al2O3 catalyst using a nano-sized γ-Al2O3 as the support, subsequently obtained a series of Ag0/Al2O3 catalysts with different Ag particle sizes by H2 reducing single-atom Ag/Al2O3 catalyst at various temperatures. The Ag0/Al2O3 treated at 600 °C demonstrated superior CO oxidation performance over single-atom Ag/Al2O3 and the Ag/Al2O3 treated at 400 and 800 °C. Based on experimental data and density functional theory (DFT) calculation results, we reveal that the larger Ag0 particle is beneficial to oxygen activation and improves the valence stability during oxidation reaction, while the aggregation of Ag0 particle also accordingly decreases the concentration of surface active sites, hence, there is an optimum Ag0 particle size. Our findings clearly confirm that Ag0 nanoparticle has the advantage over single-atom Ag species in its intrinsic activity for CO oxidation.

The effects of nitrogen content and hot forming temperature on prior austenite grain size for normalizing cryogenic pressure-vessel steels were described. The evolution of V(C,N) precipitates during thermal cycle of hot forming was analyzed. The optical microscopy displays that as increasing N content from 0.0094 to 0.0198 wt.% the refinement of prior austenite grain was seen at each hot forming temperature of 870, 910 and 950 °C. The transmission electron microscopy presents that much finer V(C,N) precipitates were found in sample with 0.0198 wt.% N content than in sample with 0.0094 wt.% N content. Thermo-Calc calculation reveals the precipitation temperature of V(C,N) was increased by increasing N content. While the Ostwald ripening rate of V(C,N) was decreased by increasing N content. TEM result and Thermo-Calc calculation indicate that increasing N content enhanced the thermal stability of V(C,N) precipitates. The stable finer V(C,N) precipitates contribute to the finer prior austenite grain and good mechanical properties for sample with 0.0198 wt.% N content even at higher temperature of 950 °C during hot forming process.

Pratylenchus neglectus and P. thornei are economically important migratory plant endoparasitic nematodes and are widely found in a wide variety of crops. Based on 28 s rDNA D2D3 expansion region, a duplex real-time quantitative (qPCR) assay was developed to simultaneously detect and quantify these two nematodes. The qPCR system included two pairs of primers and two Taqman probes, that is the P. neglectus-specific primer pair 28sPnF5/28sPnR7 and probe pntaq3 and the P. thornei-specific primer pair 28sPtF1/28sPtR1 and probe pttaq3. The optimal conditions of the qPCR assay were 20 μL reaction volume comprising 10 μL THUNDERBIRD Probe qPCR Mix, 0.2 μM of primer 28sPnF5 and 28sPnR7, 0.25 μM of primer 28sPtF1and 28sPtR1, 0.1 μM of probe pntaq3 and 0.08 μM of probe pttaq3, 1 μL template DNA. And the amplification program were 95 °C for 2 min, 40 cycles of 95 °C for 10s, 65 °C for 25 s. The specificity of the qPCR assay was confirmed by the lack of fluorescence signal from non-target nematode populations including seven other Pratylenchus species and five other nematode species. The assay was very sensitive as it can detect a single target nematode and a single target nematode mixed with up to 100 individuals of non-target nematodes. A dilution series from P. neglectus and P. thornei DNAs resulted in two standard curves respectively showing a highly significant linearity between the Cycle threshold (Ct) values and the dilution rates. This study is the first to provide a molecular tool for simultaneous detection and quantification of P. neglectus and P. thornei.

A needle nematode of the genus Paralongidorus was isolated from Cuban royal palm (Roystonea regia) in China. Detailed morphological study confirmed that this species was the described needle nematode P. sacchari. Accordingly it was formally described and photographed. This nematode is characterised by a long body (4348–5825 μm), a board and anteriorly flat lip region slightly offset from body contour, bearing a stirrup-shaped amphidial fovea, with conspicuous slit-like aperture, a long and flexible odontostyle ca 101–110 μm long, stylet guiding ring located at 27.5–33.0 μm from anterior end, vulva near mid-body (48.0–50.0%), a short dorsally convex tail, with rounded terminus, and male absent. Molecular characterisation using near full-length 18S rRNA and D2-D3 expansion segments of 28S rRNA gene was also provided. Phylogenetic trees inferred from BI analysis of the two rRNA gene fragments revealed that P. sacchari could be distinguished from all described needle nematodes with molecular data, as well as the closely related species P. bikanerensis and P. sali. This nematode is a new record of Paralongidorus species from China. Cuban royal palm is a new host plant for P. sacchari.

Background In resource-limited settings, childbirth remains a matter of life and death. High levels of childbirth fear in primigravid women are inevitable. To date, few studies have explored interventions to reduce childbirth fear in primigravid women. This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of companion-integrated childbirth preparation (C-ICP) during late pregnancy for reducing childbirth fear and improving childbirth self-efficacy, birth companion support, and other selected pregnancy outcomes in primigravid women. Methods A quasi-experimental study was carried out using a non-equivalent control group design to recruit a sample of 70 primigravid women in hospital maternity waiting homes in the intervention and control groups, with 35 in each group. The primigravid women and their birth companions in the intervention group received two sessions of companion-integrated childbirth preparation, whereas the control group received routine care. A questionnaire that incorporated the childbirth attitude questionnaire (CAQ), the childbirth self-efficacy inventory (CBSEI), the birth companion support questionnaire (BCSQ), and a review checklist of selected pregnancy outcomes was used to collect data. Pretest and post-test data were analyzed using simple linear regression. Beta coefficients were adjusted at a 95% confidence interval with statistical significance set at a P-value of Results At pretest, mean scores were similar in the intervention and control groups. At post-test, being in the intervention group significantly decreased childbirth fears (β: = − .866, t (68) = − 14.27, p β: = .903, t (68) = 17.30, p β: = − 0.781, t (68) = 10.32, p . However, no statistically significant differences regarding pregnancy outcomes were observed between the study groups (Mann–Whiney U test, p > .05). Conclusion The findings of our study suggest that C-ICP is a promising intervention to reduce childbirth fear while increasing childbirth self-efficacy and maternal support. We recommend the inclusion of C-ICP for primigravid women during late pregnancy in resource-limited settings.

Pratylenchus zeae parasitizes various crops and damages the host roots, resulting in decreased yield and quality of the host plants. Alignments of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) Cytochrome Oxidase I (COΙ) sequences revealed the genetic variation among Pratylenchus species. The results indicated 0.2–2.4% intraspecific variations for mtDNA COI sequences among eight P. zeae populations, and 25.4–35.1% interspecific variations between P. zeae and other Pratylenchus species. Based on the mtDNA COΙ region, a loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) assay was developed for the rapid and specific detection of P. zeae. The optimal conditions for the LAMP assay were 64 °C for 40 min. The LAMP products were confirmed using conventional polymerase chain reaction (PCR), analysis with the restriction enzyme Bam HI and visual inspection by adding SYBR Green I to the products. The LAMP assay could detect P. zeae populations from different hosts and different geographical origins specifically. The LAMP assay was also sensitive, detecting 0.1 individual P. zeae, which was 10 times more sensitive than conventional PCR. This is the first report of the detection of Pratylenchus spp. using LAMP. In addition, the results also suggested that use of the COI gene might allow for good resolution at the Pratylenchus species level.

The archetypical 3D topological insulators Bi2Se3, Bi2Te3 and Sb2Te3 commonly exhibit high bulk conductivities, hindering the characterization of the surface state charge transport. The optimally doped topological insulators Bi2Te2Se and Bi2-xSbxTe2S, however, allow for such characterizations to be made. Here we report the first experimental comparison of the topological surface states and bulk conductances of Bi2Te2Se and Bi1.1Sb0.9Te2S, based on temperature-dependent high-pressure measurements. We find that the surface state conductance at low temperatures remains constant in the face of orders of magnitude increase in the bulk state conductance, revealing in a straightforward way that the topological surface states and bulk states are decoupled at low temperatures, consistent with theoretical models, and confirming topological insulators to be an excellent venue for studying charge transport in 2D Dirac electron systems., 23 pages, 4 figures

In this work, we have developed a sensitive, simple, and enzyme-free assay for detection of microRNAs (miRNAs) by means of a DNA molecular motor consisting of two stem-loop DNAs with identical stems and complementary loop domains. In the presence of miRNA target, it can hybridize with one of the stem-loop DNA to open the stem and to produce a miRNA/DNA hybrid and a single strand (ss) DNA, the ssDNA will in turn hybridize with another stem-loop DNA and finally form a double strand (ds) DNA to release the miRNA. One of the stem-loop DNA is double-labeled by a fluorophore/quencher pair with efficiently quenched fluorescence. The formation of dsDNA can produced specific fluorescence signal for miRNA detection. The released miRNA will continuously initiate the next hybridization of the two stem-loop DNAs to form a cycle-running DNA molecular motor, which results in great fluorescence amplification. With the efficient signal amplification, as low as 1 pmol/L miRNA target can be detected and a wide dynamic range from 1 pmol/L to 2 nmol/L is also obtained. Moreover, by designing different stem-loop DNAs specific to different miRNA targets and labeling them with different fluorophores, multiplexed miRNAs can be simultaneously detected in one-tube reaction with the synchronous fluorescence spectrum (SFS) technique.

A new root-lesion nematode was isolated from sugarcane (Saccharum sinensis Roxb.) in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China. Morphology and molecular analyses of rRNA small subunit (SSU), D2D3 expansion domains of large subunit (LSU D2D3) and internal transcribed spacer (ITS) confirmed that this nematode is different from other previously described root-lesion nematodes. Herein it is described, illustrated and named as Pratylenchus parazeae n. sp. This new species is characterised by plain and smooth En face, three lip annuli, stylet with anteriorly rounded to indented knobs, 17.0–19.0 μm long, lateral field composed of four lines with areolated outer bands at vulval region, vulva position 68.9–74.9 %, small, oval and empty spermatheca, and a subhemispherical tail usually with smooth terminus and sometimes with a more or less pronounced dorsally indented terminus. Phylogenetic trees inferred from BI analysis based on SSU, LSU D2D3 and ITS revealed that P. parazeae n. sp. can be distinguished from all described root-lesion nematodes, especially from the most closely related species P. zeae. A species-specific duplex PCR was also developed to separate the new species from other nematode species.

To establish a NIR (near infrared)-/pH-responsive and sustained-release tumor-targeting drug delivery system (SWNT-PEI/DOX/NGR). Functionalized SWNTs with polymerised polymeric poly(ethylene imine) was linked NGR (Asn-Gly-Arg) tumor-targeting peptide by DSPE-PEG2000-Maleimide via the maleimide group and sulfhydryl group of cysteine, in the end, doxorubicin (DOX) was attached to SWNT-PEI to obtain a SWNT-PEI/DOX/NGR delivery system. The SWNT-PEI/DOX/NGR delivery system has significantly sustained-release effect and the slow release of DOX in normal tissues contribute to reduced systemic toxicity, while under 808 nm NIR laser irradiation or under lower pH environment the release of DOX can be accelerated. Due to hyperthermia sensitizer effect of DOX, chemo-photothermal exemplified by SWNT-PEI/DOX/NGR tumor-targeting delivery system is a promising approach to anticancer therapy in vivo or in vitro.

In this study, we report a facile approach to synthesize Cu2(OH)3NO3 nanosheets via simply sonochemical method, which showed high efficiency and selectivity towards the adsorption of organic dyes containing sulphonic groups. The structure and morphology of the nanosheets were characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, N2 adsorption–desorption isotherms, particle size and zeta potential analysis. The adsorption results indicated that the equilibrium data coincide very well with Langmuir isotherm, and the maximum adsorption capacities for Congo red, methyl blue and methyl orange were 1864, 1270 and 959 mg g−1, respectively. The kinetic data can be explained by pseudo-second-order model. The Cu2(OH)3NO3 nanosheets also demonstrated high selectivity towards the adsorption of dyes containing sulphonic groups from mixed dye solutions. The rational mechanism of adsorption was attributed to hydrogen bonding, electrostatic attractions and ion exchanges between the dye molecules and Cu2(OH)3NO3 in the adsorption process.

The structure of Ag nanoparticles, embedded in crystalline SiO2 by high-dose implantation, was investigated. It was found that single crystal is favored over multiple-twinned particles. In addition, the contracted (111) lattice spacing of the Ag nanocrystals was measured by x-ray diffraction.