Displaying publications 21 - 40 of 389 in total

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  1. Rusmin R, Sarkar B, Mukhopadhyay R, Tsuzuki T, Liu Y, Naidu R
    J Colloid Interface Sci, 2021 Sep 22;608(Pt 1):575-587.
    PMID: 34628317 DOI: 10.1016/j.jcis.2021.09.109
    Development of polymeric magnetic adsorbents is a promising approach to obtain efficient treatment of contaminated water. However, the synthesis of magnetic composites involving multiple components frequently involves tedious preparation steps. In the present study, a magnetic chitosan-palygorskite (MCP) nanocomposite was prepared through a straight-forward one pot synthesis approach to evaluate its lead (Pb2+) removal capacity from aqueous solution. The nano-architectural and physicochemical properties of the newly-developed MCP composite were described via micro- and nano-morphological analyses, and crystallinity, surface porosity and magnetic susceptibility measurements. The MCP nanocomposite was capable to remove up to 58.5 mg Pb2+ g-1 of MCP from water with a good agreement of experimental data to the Langmuir isotherm model (R2 = 0.98). The Pb2+ adsorption process on MCP was a multistep diffusion-controlled phenomenon evidenced by the well-fitting of kinetic adsorption data to the intra-particle diffusion model (R2 = 0.96). Thermodynamic analysis suggested that the adsorption process at low Pb2+ concentration was controlled by chemisorption, whereas that at high Pb2+ concentration was dominated by physical adsorption. X-ray photoelectron and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy results suggested that the Pb adsorption on MCP was governed by surface complexation and chemical reduction mechanisms. During regeneration, the MCP retained 82% Pb2+ adsorption capacity following four adsorption-desorption cycles with ease to recover the adsorbent using its strong magnetic property. These findings highlight the enhanced structural properties of the easily-prepared nanocomposite which holds outstanding potential to be used as an inexpensive and green adsorbent for remediating Pb2+ contaminated water.
  2. Bi W, Song Y, Liu Y, Li Z, Zhang Y
    Int J Environ Res Public Health, 2022 Sep 30;19(19).
    PMID: 36231821 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph191912524
    Food security is the cornerstone that ensures the stable development of a country. Based on panel data of 31 provinces (including autonomous regions and municipalities) in China from 2015 to 2019, we use the mediating effect model to explore the mechanism by which food consumption structure affects food security. The results indicate that grain consumption has a significant promoting effect on food security, while plant and animal food consumption have significant inhibiting effects on food security. Furthermore, agricultural R&D and investment play mediating roles in the impact of food consumption structure on food security. Obvious differences exist in the relationship between food consumption structure and food security between urban and rural areas, as well as between Eastern, Central, and Western regions. Animal food consumption had a negative and significant impact on food security, with a stronger effect on rural residents than on urban residents. Compared with the central and western regions, grain consumption and animal food consumption in the eastern region had a stronger marginal impact on food security. This paper enriches and expands the research on influencing factors of food security from the perspective of consumer demand, which has important theoretical value and practical significance for ensuring food security.
  3. Zhou R, Luo Z, Zhong S, Zhang X, Liu Y
    Int J Environ Res Public Health, 2022 Dec 17;19(24).
    PMID: 36554845 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph192416965
    With the rapid development and widespread popularity of the Internet, employee social media use at work has become an increasingly common phenomenon in organizations. This paper analyzes 105 related papers from the Social Science Citation Index in Web of Science through Scoping Review to clarify the definition and characteristics of employee social media use and the types of social media and summarizes the current research methods. Then, the reasons for employees' willingness and refusal to use social media and the positive and negative effects of employee social media use on employees' work attitudes, behaviors, and performance are discussed. Then, the mediating variables, moderating variables, and theoretical frameworks used in the relevant studies are described, and a comprehensive model of employee social media use is constructed. Finally, this paper indicates future research directions based on the latest research results in 2020-2022, i.e., improving research methods, increasing antecedent studies, expanding consequence research, and expanding mediating variables, moderating variables, and theoretical perspectives.
  4. Dama G, Du J, Zhu X, Liu Y, Lin J
    Diabetes Res Clin Pract, 2023 Jan;195:110201.
    PMID: 36493913 DOI: 10.1016/j.diabres.2022.110201
    Chronic wounds fail to heal through the three normal stages of healing (inflammatory, proliferative, and remodelling), resulting in a chronic tissue injury that is not repaired within the average time limit. Patients suffering from type 1 and type 2 diabetes are prone to develop diabetic foot ulcers (DFUs), which commonly develop into chronic wounds that are non treatable with conventional therapies. DFU develops due to various risk factors, such as peripheral neuropathy, peripheral vascular disease, arterial insufficiency, foot deformities, trauma and impaired resistance to infection. DFUs have gradually become a major problem in the health care system worldwide. In this review, we not only focus on the pathogenesis of DFU but also comprehensively summarize the outcomes of preclinical and clinical studies thus far and the potential therapeutic mechanism of bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) for the treatment of DFU. Based on the published results, BMSC transplantation can contribute to wound healing through growth factor secretion, anti-inflammation, differentiation into tissue-specific cells, neovascularization, re-epithelialization and angiogenesis in DFUs. Moreover, clinical trials showed that BMSC treatment in patients with diabetic ulcers improved ulcer healing and the ankle-brachial index, ameliorated pain scores, and enhanced claudication walking distances with no reported complications. In conclusion, although BMSC transplantation exhibits promising therapeutic potential in DFU treatment, additional studies should be performed to confirm their efficacy and long-term safety in DFU patients.
  5. Wu D, Zhang L, Tan CP, Zheng Z, Liu Y
    J Agric Food Chem, 2023 Apr 05;71(13):5403-5416.
    PMID: 36951298 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jafc.2c08857
    Human milk (HM) lipid plays a crucial role in infant development, whereas its complex lipid profiles and its dynamic changes during prolonged lactation have not been investigated yet. Comparative lipidomic analyses were employed in investigating the lipid profiles of breast milk covering all lactation stages herein. Results revealed significant differences between colostrum and the remaining lactations. A total of 237 species of glycerolipids (GLs) and 231 phospholipids (PLs) were identified. Colostrum had the most abundant lipid species and was enriched with triacylglycerols (TGs) with a high molecular weight. TG(17:1/18:1/24:1), TG(24:1/24:1/26:1), TG(24:0/24:1/26:1), and SM(d20:1/14:1) were characteristic lipids of colostrum. Differential lipid species which were responsible for distinguishing the adjacent lactations were also indicated. Our findings can help deepen the overall understanding of HM lipid profiles and its dynamic changes, which will facilitate the development of infant formulas suitable for Chinese babies in diverse age groups.
  6. Zhang Y, Shi J, Tan C, Liu Y, Xu YJ
    Food Res Int, 2023 Nov;173(Pt 1):113301.
    PMID: 37803609 DOI: 10.1016/j.foodres.2023.113301
    Oil is one of three nutritious elements. The application of omics techniques in the field of oil science and technology is attracted increasing attention. Oilomics, which emerged as an important branch of foodomics, has been widely used in various aspects of oil science and technology. However, there are currently no articles systematically reviewing the application of oilomics. This paper aims to provide a critical overview of the advantages and value of oilomics technology compared to traditional techniques in various aspects of oil science and technology, including oil nutrition, oil processing, oil quality, safety, and traceability. Moreover, this article intends to review major issues in oilomics and give a comprehensive, critical overview of the current state of the art, future challenges and trends in oilomics, with a view to promoting the optimal application and development of oilomics technology in oil science and technology.
  7. Fan JY, Dama G, Liu YL, Guo WY, Lin JT
    Mol Biol (Mosk), 2023;57(4):668-670.
    PMID: 37528786
    In an in vitro culture system, primary hepatocytes usually display a low proliferation capacity, accompanied with a decrease of viability and a loss of hepatocyte-specific functions. Previous studies have demonstrated that the combination introductions of certain hepatocyte-specific transcription factors are able to convert fibroblasts into functional hepatocyte-like cells. However, such combinational usage of transcription factors in primary hepatocytes culture has not yet sufficiently studied. The forkhead box protein A3 (FoxA3) and hepatocyte nuclear factor 4α (Hnf4α) are liver-enriched transcription factors that play vital roles in the differentiation, and maintenance of hepatocytes. Thus, we simultaneously overexpressed the two genes, Foxa3 and Hnf4α, in rat hepatocytes and observed that the combinational augmentation of these two transcription factors have enhanced the proliferation and stabilized the hepatocyte-specific functions of primary hepatocytes over a long-term culture period.
  8. Liu Y, Abdul Karim Z, Khalid N, Said FF
    J Environ Public Health, 2022;2022:5635853.
    PMID: 35719856 DOI: 10.1155/2022/5635853
    Wind is a renewable energy source. Overall, using wind to produce energy has fewer effects on the environment than many other energy sources. Wind and solar energy provide public health and environmental benefits to the social. Wind turbines may also reduce the amount of electricity generation from fossil fuels, which results in lower total air pollution and carbon dioxide emissions. In order to better optimize the effect of social energy economic management and facilitate the multiobjective decision making of coordinated development of energy and socioeconomic environment, a modeling and analysis method of economic benefits of wind power generation based on deep learning is proposed. In this paper, based on the principle of deep learning, the evaluation indicators of wind power economic benefits are excavated, a scientific and reasonable economic benefit evaluation system is constructed, a wind power economic benefit analysis model supported by public management is constructed, and the steps of wind power economic benefit analysis are simplified. It is concluded that the modeling and analysis method of wind power economic benefits based on deep learning has high practicability in the actual application process, which is convenient for the prediction and analysis of energy demand for social and economic development.
  9. Liu Y, Subramaniam S, Sasidaran R, Ruhana AAH, Jimeno ZKL
    Ann Med Surg (Lond), 2022 Jan;73:103171.
    PMID: 34984099 DOI: 10.1016/j.amsu.2021.103171
    INTRODUCTION: Extra-skeletal Ewing sarcoma - a rare clinical entity. After the tumour resection, a huge upper anterior abdominal wall defect poses a challenge in soft tissue reconstruction in a thin individual.

    CASE PRESENTATION: We report an anterior abdominal wall Ewing sarcoma in a 22-year-old gentleman, arising from the left rectus abdominis muscle. After wide local excision, the reconstruction was achieved with free anterolateral thigh(ALT) fasciocutaneous flap with arteriovenous(AV) loop graft, right medial intercostal artery perforator(MICAP) flap and split-thickness skin graft(SSG).

    DISCUSSION: The goals of anterior abdominal wall reconstruction are to restore the integrity of the abdominal wall, prevent visceral eventration, and provide functional support. In view of the size of the defect, a free ALT flap was harvested and anastomosed to the left deep inferior epigastric bundle with the AV loop graft. Although the current trend is skewed towards the use of biologic mesh, an on-lay prolene mesh was used due to its affordable cost and that the biologic mesh was not available in Malaysia. The options of further reconstruction after the patient developed marginal flap necrosis and surgical site infection were also discussed. Post-operation 3 months, there was denser hair growth on the ALT flap. This finding has never been reported before and warrants further studies.

    CONCLUSION: The use of combination of various technique, namely free ALT fasciocutaneous flap with AV loop graft, right MICAP flap and SSG in reconstruction ensures a satisfactory functional and aesthetic outcome in the upper anterior abdominal wall reconstruction.

  10. Liu Y, Abdul Rahman A, Amin SIM, Ja'afar R
    Environ Sci Pollut Res Int, 2023 Oct;30(46):103164-103178.
    PMID: 37682439 DOI: 10.1007/s11356-023-29496-4
    Digital finance is an innovative financial model of great significance for sustainable economic growth. By constructing indicators of sustainable economic growth, we explore the impact of digital finance on sustainable economic growth using the fixed effect model, mediating effect model, threshold regression model, and dynamic spatial Dubin model. The study finds that digital finance can drive sustainable economic growth, and the robustness and endogenous treatment results strongly verify this. Digital finance promotes sustainable growth mainly through technological innovation. In addition, with technological innovation and the development of renewable energy, there is a significant nonlinear relationship between digital finance and sustainable economic growth. Finally, the spatial spillover effect results show that digital finance's impact on sustainable economic growth has a positive effect, whether it is a direct effect or an indirect effect. This article provides possible ideas for digital finance to promote sustainable economic growth.
  11. Li Y, Zhang Y, Dong L, Li Y, Liu Y, Liu Y, et al.
    Food Chem, 2024 Mar 30;437(Pt 1):137834.
    PMID: 37897817 DOI: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2023.137834
    In this study, strains producing feruloyl esterase were screened by Oxford Cup clear zones method and by evaluating the ability to decompose hydroxycinnamoyl esters. The strain was identified by 16S rDNA molecular biology. The contents of dietary fiber, reducing sugar, water-extractable arabinoxylans, phytic acid, total phenolics, total flavonoid, phenolic compounds composition, microstructure and antioxidant activity in bran before and after fermentation were studied. Eight strains producing feruloyl esterase were screened, among which strain P1 had the strongest ability to decompose hydroxycinnamoyl esters. The strain was identified and named L. fermentum NB02. Compared with unfermented bran, fermented bran exhibited higher contents of soluble dietary fiber, reducing sugar, water-extractable arabinoxylans, total phenolics, total flavonoid, and lower insoluble dietary fiber and phytic acid content. The dense surface structure of bran was destroyed, forming a porous structure. The release of phenolic compounds increased significantly. L. fermentum NB02 fermentation improved the antioxidant capacity of bran.
  12. Zhang S, Yahaya BH, Pan Y, Liu Y, Lin J
    Stem Cell Res Ther, 2023 Nov 13;14(1):327.
    PMID: 37957675 DOI: 10.1186/s13287-023-03551-w
    Chemotherapy can cause ovarian dysfunction and infertility since the ovary is extremely sensitive to chemotherapeutic drugs. Apart from the indispensable role of the ovary in the overall hormonal milieu, ovarian dysfunction also affects many other organ systems and functions including sexuality, bones, the cardiovascular system, and neurocognitive function. Although conventional hormone replacement therapy can partly relieve the adverse symptoms of premature ovarian insufficiency (POI), the treatment cannot fundamentally prevent deterioration of POI. Therefore, effective treatments to improve chemotherapy-induced POI are urgently needed, especially for patients desiring fertility preservation. Recently, mesenchymal stem cell (MSC)-based therapies have resulted in promising improvements in chemotherapy-induced ovary dysfunction by enhancing the anti-apoptotic capacity of ovarian cells, preventing ovarian follicular atresia, promoting angiogenesis and improving injured ovarian structure and the pregnancy rate. These improvements are mainly attributed to MSC-derived biological factors, functional RNAs, and even mitochondria, which are directly secreted or indirectly translocated with extracellular vesicles (microvesicles and exosomes) to repair ovarian dysfunction. Additionally, as a novel source of MSCs, menstrual blood-derived endometrial stem cells (MenSCs) have exhibited promising therapeutic effects in various diseases due to their comprehensive advantages, such as periodic and non-invasive sample collection, abundant sources, regular donation and autologous transplantation. Therefore, this review summarizes the efficacy of MSCs transplantation in improving chemotherapy-induced POI and analyzes the underlying mechanism, and further discusses the benefit and existing challenges in promoting the clinical application of MenSCs in chemotherapy-induced POI.
  13. Wang Y, Lu Y, Tian X, Liu Y, Ma W
    Heliyon, 2024 Feb 15;10(3):e25060.
    PMID: 38314296 DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e25060
    Previous research has identified a negative association between mobile phone addiction and time management disposition among college students; however, the direction of this relationship remains divergent. This study utilized a cross-lagged panel model to elucidate the directionality of the relationship between mobile phone addiction and time management disposition. A total of 466 college students completed two measures at seven-month intervals. The findings revealed a prevalence of mobile phone addiction at 10.94 % and 13.73 % in the two surveys. Notably, both mobile phone addiction and time management disposition demonstrated stability over time. Furthermore, a discernible negative bidirectional relationship was observed between the two. The present findings underscore the importance of timely intervention for college students facing challenges in mobile phone usage and time management.
  14. Qiu C, Liu Y, Chen C, Lee YY, Wang Y
    Foods, 2023 Dec 10;12(24).
    PMID: 38137235 DOI: 10.3390/foods12244431
    Water-in-oil-in-water (W/O/W) emulsions with high-melting diacylglycerol (DAG) crystals incorporated in the oil droplets were fabricated and the compositions were optimized to achieve the best physical stability. The stability against osmotic pressure, encapsulation efficiency and in vitro release profiles of both water- and oil-soluble bioactives were investigated. The presence of interfacial crystallized DAG shells increased the emulsion stability by reducing the swelling and shrinkage of emulsions against osmotic pressure and heating treatment. DAG crystals located at the inner water/oil (W1/O) interface and the gelation of the inner phase by gelatin helped reduce the oil droplet size and slow down the salt release rate. The DAG and gelatin-contained double emulsion showed improved encapsulation efficiency of bioactives, especially for the epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) during storage. The double emulsions with DAG had a lower digestion rate but higher bioaccessibility of EGCG and curcumin after in vitro digestion. DAG-stabilized double emulsions with a gelled inner phase thus can be applied as controlled delivery systems for bioactives by forming robust interfacial crystalline shells.
  15. Wang Y, Shi J, Xu YJ, Tan CP, Liu Y
    Food Chem, 2024 Apr 16;438:137400.
    PMID: 38039864 DOI: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2023.137400
    The digestion behavior of lipids plays a crucial role in their nutritional bioaccessibility, which subsequently impacts human health. This study aims to investigate potential variations in lipid digestion profiles among individuals of different ages, considering the distinct physiological functions of the gastrointestinal tract in infants, aging populations, and healthy young adults. The digestion fates of high oleic peanut oil (HOPO), sunflower oil (SO), and linseed oil (LINO) were investigated using in vitro digestion models representing infants, adults, and elders. Comparatively, lipid digestion proved to be more comprehensive in adults, leading to free fatty acid (FFA) levels of 64.53%, 62.32%, and 57.90% for HOPO, SO, and LINO, respectively. Besides, infants demonstrated propensity to selectively release FFAs with shorter chain lengths and higher saturation levels during the digestion. In addition, in the gastric phase, particle sizes among the elderly were consistently larger than those observed in infants and adults, despite adults generating approximately 15% FFAs within the stomach. In summary, this study enhances our fundamental comprehension of how lipids with varying degrees of unsaturation undergo digestion in diverse age groups.
  16. Li W, Ren Q, Feng J, Lee SY, Liu Y
    PLoS One, 2024;19(1):e0297164.
    PMID: 38241246 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0297164
    Deer products from sika deer (Cervus nippon) and red deer (C. elaphus) are considered genuine and used for Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) materials in China. Deer has a very high economic and ornamental value, resulting in the formation of a characteristic deer industry in the prescription preparation of traditional Chinese medicine, health food, cosmetics, and other areas of development and utilization. Due to the high demand for deer products, the products are expensive and have limited production, but the legal use of deer is limited to only two species of sika deer and red deer; other wild deer are prohibited from hunting, so there are numerous cases of mixing and adulteration of counterfeit products and so on. There have been many reports that other animal (pig, cow, sheep, etc.) tissues or organs are often used for adulteration and confusion, resulting in poor efficacy of deer traditional medicine and trade fraud in deer products. To authenticate the deer products in a rapid and effective manner, the analysis used 22 deer products (antler, meat, bone, fetus, penis, tail, skin, and wool) that were in the form of blind samples. Total DNA extraction using a modified protocol successfully yielded DNA from the blind samples that was useful for PCR. Three candidate DNA barcoding loci, cox1, Cyt b, and rrn12, were evaluated for their discrimination strength through BLAST and phylogenetic clustering analyses. For the BLAST analysis, the 22 blind samples obtained 100% match identity across the three gene loci tested. It was revealed that 12 blind samples were correctly labeled for their species of origin, while three blind samples that were thought to originate from red deer were identified as C. nippon, and seven blind samples that were thought to originate from sika deer were identified as C. elaphus, Dama dama, and Rangifer tarandus. DNA barcoding analysis showed that all three gene loci were able to distinguish the two Cervus species and to identify the presence of adulterant species. The DNA barcoding technique was able to provide a useful and sensitive approach in identifying the species of origin in deer products.
  17. Zhong W, Tang M, Xie Y, Huang X, Liu Y
    Foodborne Pathog Dis, 2023 Jul;20(7):294-302.
    PMID: 37347934 DOI: 10.1089/fpd.2022.0085
    Staphylococcus aureus can cause bacterial food intoxication and seriously affect human health. Tea polyphenols (TP) are a kind of natural, safe, and broad-spectrum bacteriostatic substances, with a wide range of bacteriostatic effects. In the study, we explored the possible bacteriostatic mode of TP. The minimum inhibitory concentration of TP against S. aureus was 64 μg/mL. Protein, DNA, and K+ leak experiments, fluorescence microscopy, and transmission electron microscopy suggested that TP disrupt cell membranes, leading to intracellular component loss. By studying the effect of TP on the toxicity of S. aureus, it was found that the expression levels of two toxin genes, coa and spa, were downregulated by 2.37 and 32.6, respectively. Furthermore, after treatment with TP, a large number of reactive oxygen species (ROS) were propagated and released, leading to oxidative stress in cells. We speculated that the bacteriostatic mechanism of TP may be through the destruction of the cell membrane and ROS-mediated oxidative stress. Meanwhile, the hemolysis activity proved the safety of TP. Our results suggested that TP may be a potential antimicrobial agent for food.
  18. Li R, Liu Y, Yin C, Sun K, Zhang P
    Plant Dis, 2022 Oct 24.
    PMID: 36281022 DOI: 10.1094/PDIS-06-22-1427-PDN
    Tomato leaf curl New Delhi virus (ToLCNDV), a member of the genus Begomovirus in the family Geminiviridae is naturally transmitted by the whitefly Bemisia tabaci (order Hemiptera, family Aleyrodidae) in a circulative and persistent manner (Moriones et al. 2017). ToLCNDV has occurred in Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Iran, Italy, Malaysia, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Spain, Thailand and Tunisia (Moriones et al. 2017). To date, The primary cultivated host of ToLCNDV has been identified as tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum), but the virus is also known to infect 43 other plant species from a range of families including Cucurbitaceae, Euphorbiaceae, Solanaceae, Malvaceae and Fabaceae (Zaidi et al. 2017). In August 2021, virus-like symptoms including leaf deformation and curing were observed on tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum) in a greenhouse of about 0.5 hectares in Zhejiang Province, China. To identify viral agents potentially associated with this disease, an Oxford Nanopore cDNA library from a symptomatic sample was generated and sequenced. Total RNA was extracted using RNAiso Plus (TaKaRa, Tokyo, Japan). Libraries were constructed using Oxford Nanopore PCR-cDNA Sequencing Kit (SQK-PCS109; Oxford Nanopore Technologies, Oxford, UK), as recommended. Approximately 8.7 million reads were obtained from the Oxford MinION platform. After removing the adapters and low-quality reads, the clean reads were subjected to BLASTn analysis against the nt database. Approximately 797 and 168 reads produced high nt identities to the genome of ToLCNDV DNA-A (GeneBank Accession No. U15015.2) and ToLCNDV DNA-B (GeneBank Accession No. U15017.2) respectively. We designed 6 primer pairs (Table S1) to obtain the sequence of ToLCNDV Zhejiang (ToLCNDV-ZJ) isolate DNA-A and DNA-B. Briefly, total DNA from ToLCNDV-infected tomato was extracted using standard cetyl trimethylammonium bromide method. Segments of ToLCNDV DNA-A and DNA-B were amplified using high-fidelity DNA polymerase KOD-Plus-Neo (Toyobo, Osaka, Japan). PCR products were cloned into the pLB vector (Tiangen, Beijing, China) and Sanger sequenced. The obtained sequences were assembled into complete sequences of ToLCNDV-ZJ DNA-A (2,739 nt, GeneBank Accession No. OP356207) and DNA-B (2,693 nt, GeneBank Accession No. OP356208). Pairwise sequence comparison revealed that the ToLCNDV -ZJ shared the highest nt sequence identities of 98.7% and 98.4% with the genome segments of New Delhi isolate (genome A: HM159454) and India:Delhi:Cucumis:2012 isolate (genome B: KC545813) respectively. Furthermore, we performed PCR detection on 10 collected samples using the primer pair P1F and P1R. All eight symptomatic plants showing upward leaf curling and leaf distortion tested positive for ToLCNDV infection, whereas two asymptomatic plants were ToLCNDV free. To our knowledge, this is the first report of ToLCNDV infecting tomato in China, and with the widespread presence of B. tabaci in green houses, ToLCNDV may be a potential threat to the cultivation of tomato in China. In addition, ToLCNDV is an exceptional Old World bipartite begomovirus. In China, monopartite DNA satellite-associated begomoviruses with mostly narrow geographical ranges predominate, and are widespread (Li et al., 2022). The occurrence of ToLCNDV in China, which indicates that the success of this virus would become an emerging threat to vegetable and fiber crops.
  19. Zhang J, Lew B, Liu Y, Chistopolskaya K, Zhao S
    Omega (Westport), 2024 May;89(1):275-291.
    PMID: 35098786 DOI: 10.1177/00302228211072985
    BACKGROUND: There is a lack of religiosity studies in China especially in relation to mental health and suicidality. In this research, we focus our studies on medical workers of which some studies reported to have higher stress, and to pilot our studies in this adult age-group.

    DATA AND METHODOLOGY: Data were obtained by a questionnaire survey in a large public hospital in a big metropolitan city of China. The final sample consisted of 1012 respondents with 237 (23.4%) being male and 775 (76.6%) being female. The respondents were of three groups: (1) Believers (n = 34; 3.5%); (2) Non-Believers or Atheists (n = 547; 55.8%); and (3) Agnostics or Fence-Sitters (n = 400; 40.8%). Suicidality was measured by the NCS-Suicidality Scale, and standard measures were employed for other major variables.

    FINDINGS: In line with other recent studies in China, the religion rate among the urban adults remained low (3.5%). However, about 40.8% of the respondents chose "don't know" and could be fence-sitters on the issue of religious belief. Many of them are involved in various folk beliefs which may not be considered as religious. The religious believers were at higher risk of suicidality and depression than the atheists and the fence-sitters. However, the fence-sitters were higher than the believers and atheists on psychological strains, and they were higher on depression compared to the atheists.

    CONCLUSION: The religious believers and religious fence-sitters have higher psychopathologic risks and suicidal risk than the atheist group. Religion as of low prevalence in Chinese societies is a social value deviant from the norm and its practitioners are likely to be marginalized or stigmatized. The Strain Theory of Suicide is used for detailed explanations.

  20. Liu Y, Che CC, Hamdan M, Chong MC
    Midwifery, 2024 Apr 22;134:104002.
    PMID: 38669756 DOI: 10.1016/j.midw.2024.104002
    BACKGROUND: The empowerment of pregnant women is a meaningful strategy that profoundly impacts the health of women and their children. Despite a significant increase in the empowerment of pregnant women and its measurement, little attention was given to a consensus on the selection and application of assessment instruments used for pregnant women.

    OBJECTIVE: To identify the available assessment instruments for measuring the empowerment of pregnant women and to describe the appraisal content and their psychometric properties.

    METHODS: We searched nine bibliographic databases for original studies that focus on the measurement of empowerment in pregnant women. Arksey and O'Malley's methodology and PRISMA-ScR were selected to guide the implementation of this scoping review. The COSMIN criteria was employed to assess the methodological quality and the quality of psychometric properties.

    RESULTS: A total of 23 studies were included and 13 instruments were extracted. Given comprehensive considerations, Kameda's prenatal empowerment scale may be deemed suitable. The included instruments comprehensively measured the attributes of empowerment, with a particular focus on facilitating women's choice and decision-making. Except for the four most recent self-designed questionnaires, the remaining instruments had been tested for reliability and/or validity.

    CONCLUSION: There were heterogeneous results regarding the included instruments' appraisal content and psychometric properties. Future studies focusing on the development or validation of measurement instruments should be guided by influential and identical standards.

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