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Background Numerous studies have found that depression is prevalent among correctional officers (COs), which may be related to the work-family conflict (WFC) faced by this cohort. Role conflict theory posits that WFC emerges from the incompatibility between the demands of work and family roles, which induces stress and, in turn, results in emotional problems. Thus, this study seeks to investigate the association between WFC and depression, along with examining the mediating role of stress. Further network analysis is applied to identify the core and bridge symptoms within the network of WFC, stress, and depression, providing a basis for targeted interventions. Objective This study aims to investigate the relationship between work-family conflict (WFC) and depressive symptoms among a larger sample of Chinese correctional officers (COs), exploring the potential mechanisms of stress in this population through network analysis. Methods A cross-sectional study of 472 Chinese COs was conducted from October 2021 to January 2022. WFC, stress, and depressive symptoms were evaluated using the Work-Family Conflict Scale (WFCS) and the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS). Subsequently, correlation and regression analyses were conducted using SPSS 26.0, while mediation analysis was performed using Model 4 in PROCESS. By using the EBICglasso model, network analyses were utilized to estimate the network structure of WFC, stress and depression. Visualization and centrality measures were performed using the R package. Results The results showed that (1) there was a significant positive correlation between WFC and stress and depression, as well as between stress and depression, (2) WFC and stress had a significant positive predictive effect on depression, (3) stress mediated the relationship between WFC and depression, with a total mediating effect of 0.262 (BootSE = 0.031, BCI 95% = 0.278, 0.325), which accounted for 81.62% of the total effect, and (4) in the WFC, stress, and depression network model, strain-based work interference with family (SWF, (betweenness = 2.24, closeness = -0.19, strength = 1.40), difficult to relax (DR, betweenness = 1.20, closeness = 1.85, strength = 1.06), and had nothing (HN, betweenness = -0.43, closeness = 0.62, strength = 0.73) were the core symptoms, and SWF, IT, and DH were the bridge symptoms, and (5) first-line COs had significantly higher levels of WFC, stress, and depression than non-first-line correctional officers. Conclusion Our findings elucidate the interrelationships between WFC, stress, and depression among COs. The study also enhances the understanding of the factors influencing WFC in this population and provides valuable guidance for the development of future interventions, offering practical clinical significance.

Several studies have demonstrated that patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) commonly show reductions in heart rate variability (HRV) parameters. Thus, interventions for the improvement of low HRV may be advantageous in treating MDD. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to explore the improvement effects of current clinical treatments on low HRV in patients with MDD. Based on the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines, the PubMed, EMBASE, PsycINFO, and CNKI databases were searched for relevant literature. Interventional studies of patients with confirmed MDD, which included baseline and post-intervention data and at least one HRV parameter as an outcome indicator, were included for meta-analysis. Twenty-one studies were included in the review. Several studies affirmed the role of psychotherapy in improving low HRV in patients with MDD showing a significant increase in high-frequency and low-frequency power after psychotherapy in the meta-analysis. However, both pharmacotherapy studies and physiotherapy studies included in the meta-analysis showed significant heterogeneity. The main limitation of this study was the relatively small samples for the meta-analysis, and more high-quality randomized controlled trials in this field are wanted. Psychotherapy was effective for improving low HRV in patients with MDD. However, the effect of pharmacotherapy or physical therapy on low HRV in MDD remains unclear. Regarding research methods, it is necessary to formulate and standardize operational guidelines for future HRV measurements. •Major depressive disorder often involves reductions in heart rate variability.•This meta-analysis shows that psychotherapy helps improve low HRV in MDD patients.•Pharmacotherapy and physical therapy effects on low HRV in MDD remain unclear.

Land surface temperature (LST) is a fundamental Earth parameter, on both regional and global scales. We used seven Landsat images to derive LST at Suzhou City, in spring and summer 1996, 2004, and 2016, and examined the spatial factors that influence the LST patterns. Candidate spatial factors include (1) land coverage indices, such as the normalized difference built-up index (NDBI), the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), and the normalized difference water index (NDWI), (2) proximity factors such as the distances to the city center, town centers, and major roads, and (3) the LST location. Our results showed that the intensity of the surface urban heat island (SUHI) has continuously increased, over time, and the spatial distribution of SUHI was different between the two seasons. The SUHIs in Suzhou were mainly distributed in the city center, in 1996, but expanded to near suburban, in 2004 and 2016, with a substantial expansion at the highest level of SUHIs. Our buffer-zone-based gradient analysis showed that the LST decays logarithmically, or decreases linearly, with the distance to the Suzhou city center. As inferred by the generalized additive models (GAMs), strong relationships exist between the LST and the candidate factors, where the dominant factor was NDBI, followed by NDWI and NDVI. While the land coverage indices were the LST dominant factors, the spatial proximity and location also substantially influenced the LST and the SUHIs. This work improved our understanding of the SUHIs and their impacts in Suzhou, and should be helpful for policymakers to formulate counter-measures for mitigating SUHI effects.

Background Previous studies have demonstrated a strong association between depression and job burnout among healthcare professionals, but the results have been inconsistent, and there is a lack of in-depth exploration of such a relationship among different healthcare professions. The present study aims to investigate the interrelationships between depression and burnout among Chinese healthcare professionals and whether there are differences in the networks of these symptoms between doctors and nurses. Methods The Maslach Burnout Inventory-General Survey and the 2-item Patient Health Questionnaire were employed to assess job burnout and depression among 3,684 healthcare professionals. The translation has been refined to ensure accuracy and academic suitability. Subsequently, network analysis was conducted on 2,244 participants with a higher level of job burnout to identify core symptoms and explore the associations between job burnout and depression. Results The present study showed a network association between lack of interest and pleasure in things and being exhausted from work , excessive tiredness facing work , tendency to collapse at work , and lack of passion for work than before among healthcare professionals, as well as a notable difference in the network association between lack of interest and pleasure in things and lack of passion for work than before between nurses and doctors. Conclusions The depression-burnout network structures differ between doctors and nurses, highlighting the need for targeted intervention measures for both groups.

Satellite‐based thermal infrared (TIR) land surface temperature (LST) is hindered by cloud cover and is applicable solely under clear‐sky conditions for estimating surface urban heat island intensity (SUHII). Clear‐sky SUHII may not accurately represent all‐sky conditions, potentially introducing quantitative biases in assessing urban heat islands. However, the differences between clear‐sky and all‐sky SUHIIs and their spatiotemporal variations are still poorly understood. Our analysis of over 600 global cities demonstrates that clear‐sky SUHII is mostly higher than all‐sky SUHII, particularly in summer, daytime, and precipitation‐rich regions. Besides, clear‐sky SUHII typically exhibits stronger seasonal and diurnal contrasts than all‐sky SUHII, especially for cities located in humid regions. These discrepancies can be attributed mainly to the increased missing LST data caused by cloud enhancement in urban areas. Our findings highlight the tendency for clear‐sky observations to overestimate SUHII, providing valuable insights for standardizing the quantification of surface urban heat islands. Plain Language Summary Surface urban heat island intensity (SUHII) and its spatial and temporal variations are important for describing the urban thermal environment. SUHII is usually estimated from remotely sensed land surface temperature (LST), which is only available under clear‐sky conditions. The SUHII derived from clear‐sky observations may differ from the SUHII under all‐sky conditions. However, there is currently a lack of large‐scale quantitative assessments addressing the differences between clear‐sky and all‐sky SUHIIs. This study fills this research gap and indicates a substantial overestimation of SUHII in humid regions when using clear‐sky LST. This overestimation can be explained by the increased occurrence of missing LST data caused by the enhanced presence of clouds in urban areas. Our findings show the importance of utilizing all‐sky LST data in the examination of urban surface thermal environments, especially for cities situated in humid regions. Key Points Clear‐sky surface urban heat island intensity (SUHII) shows higher values and stronger spatiotemporal variations than all‐sky SUHII, notably in summer, daytime, and humid areas The annual daytime SUHII for tropical cities is, on average, overestimated by 30% when relying on clear‐sky land surface temperature (LST) observations Differences in clear‐sky and all‐sky SUHIIs can be explained by more missing LST data caused by increased clouds in urban areas

Background Osteoarthritis (OA) is a highly prevalent human degenerative joint disorder that has long plagued patients. Glucocorticoid injection into the intra-articular (IA) cavity provides potential short-term analgesia and anti-inflammatory effects, but long-term IA injections cause loss of cartilage. Synovial mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) reportedly promote cartilage proliferation and increase cartilage content. Methods CD90 + MCS-derived micro-vesicle (CD90@MV)-coated nanoparticle (CD90@NP) was developed. CD90 + MCSs were extracted from human synovial tissue. Cytochalasin B (CB) relaxed the interaction between the cytoskeleton and the cell membranes of the CD90 + MCSs, stimulating CD90@MV secretion. Poly (lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) nanoparticle was coated with CD90@MV, and a model glucocorticoid, triamcinolone acetonide (TA), was encapsulated in the CD90@NP (T-CD90@NP). The chondroprotective effect of T-CD90@NP was validated in rabbit and rat OA models. Results The CD90@MV membrane proteins were similar to that of CD90 + MCSs, indicating that CD90@MV bio-activity was similar to the cartilage proliferation-inducing CD90 + MCSs. CD90@NP binding to injured primary cartilage cells was significantly stronger than to erythrocyte membrane-coated nanoparticles (RNP). In the rabbit OA model, the long-term IA treatment with T-CD90@NP showed significantly enhanced repair of damaged cartilage compared to TA and CD90 + MCS treatments. In the rat OA model, the short-term IA treatment with T-CD90@NP showed effective anti-inflammatory ability similar to that of TA treatment. Moreover, the long-term IA treatment with T-CD90@NP induced cartilage to restart the cell cycle and reduced cartilage apoptosis. T-CD90@NP promoted the regeneration of chondrocytes, reduced apoptosis via the FOXO pathway, and influenced type 2 macrophage polarization to regulate inflammation through IL-10. Conclusion This study confirmed that T-CD90@NP promoted chondrocyte proliferation and anti-inflammation, improving the effects of a clinical glucocorticoid treatment plan. Graphical Abstract Highlights Long-term injection of glucocorticoids in the knee joint cavity promotes loss of cartilage content. CD90-positive stem cell vesicles encapsulated with Triamcinolone acetonide-loaded nanoparticles have good materials. T-CD90@NPs drive anti-inflammatory properties and promote cartilage regeneration after osteoarthritis. T-CD90@NPs regulate the polarization of type 2 macrophages to resist inflammation. T-CD90@NPs promote chondrocyte regeneration through the FOXO signaling pathway.

Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is known as one of the most lethal malignancies in the urological system because of its high incidence of metastasis. Tetrandrine (Tet), a traditional Chinese herbal medicine, exerts a potent anti-cancer effect in a variety of cancer cells. However, the anti-metastatic effect of Tet and its possible mechanism in RCC is still unclear. The present study revealed that Tet significantly suppressed the migration and invasion of RCC 786-O and 769-P cells in vitro. Mechanistically, the protein levels of matrix metalloproteinases 9 (MMP-9), phosphorylated PI3K, PDK1, Akt and NF-κB were markedly reduced after Tet treatment. Moreover, co-treatment with LY294002 (PI3K inhibitor) could further enhance the Tet-inhibited migration and invasion, and the NF-κB and MMP-9 protein levels were further decreased. Similar results were observed after PDTC (NF-κB inhibitor) co-treatment. Conversely, SC79, an Akt activator, could partially reverse the anti-metastatic effects of Tet, accompanied by the restoration of NF-κB and MMP-9 protein levels. In conclusion, the current results indicated that Tet inhibited migration and invasion of RCC partially by regulating Akt/NF-κB/MMP-9 signaling pathway, suggesting that Tet may be a potential therapeutic candidate against metastatic RCC.

Background The current diagnostic methods and treatments still fail to lower the incidence of anthracycline-induced cardiotoxicity effectively. In this study, we aimed to (1) analyze the cardiotoxicity-related genes after breast cancer chemotherapy in gene expression database and (2) carry out bioinformatic analysis to identify cardiotoxicity-related abnormal expressions, the biomarkers of such abnormal expressions, and the key regulatory pathways after breast cancer chemotherapy. Methods Cardiotoxicity-related gene expression data (GSE40447) after breast cancer chemotherapy was acquired from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database. The biomarker expression data of women with chemotherapy-induced cardiotoxicity (group A), chemotherapy history but no cardiotoxicity (group B), and confirmatory diagnosis of breast cancer but normal ejection fraction before chemotherapy (group C) were analyzed to obtain the mRNA with differential expressions and predict the micro RNAs (miRNAs) regulating the differential expressions. The miRanda formula and functional enrichment analysis were used to screen abnormal miRNAs. Then, the Gene Ontology (GO) analysis was adapted to further screen the miRNAs related to cardiotoxicity after breast cancer chemotherapy. Result The data of differential analysis of biomarker expression of groups A, B, and C using the GSE40447-related gene expression profile database showed that there were 30 intersection genes. The differentially expressed mRNAs were predicted using the miRanda and Target Scan software, and a total of 2978 miRNAs were obtained by taking the intersections. Further, the GO analysis and targeted regulatory relationship between miRNA and target genes were used to establish miRNA-gene interaction network to screen and obtain seven cardiotoxicity-related miRNAs with relatively high centrality, including hsa-miR-4638-3p, hsa-miR-5096, hsa-miR-4763-5p, hsa-miR-1273 g-3p, hsa-miR6192, hsa-miR-4726-5p and hsa-miR-1273a. Among them, hsa-miR-4638-3p and hsa-miR-1273 g-3p had the highest centrality. The PCR verification results were consistent with those of the chip data. There are differentially expressed miRNAs in the peripheral blood of breast cancer patients with anthracycline cardiotoxicity. Among them, hsa-miR-4638-3p and hsa-miR-1273 g-3p are closely associated with the onset of anthracycline cardiotoxicity in patients with breast cancer. The signaling pathway is mainly concentrated in TGF-β signaling pathway and adhesion signaling pathway. Conclusions Changes in expression of hsa-miR-4638-3p and hsa-miR-1273 g-3p may contribute to the detection of anthracyclines induced cardiac toxicity, and their potential function may be related to TGF-β signaling pathway and adhesion signaling pathway.

Ritonavir is a protease inhibitor used in combination with other antiretroviral drugs to treat HIV, especially in children. It enhances the effectiveness of these drugs by inhibiting the cytochrome P450-3A4 enzyme, thereby increasing their bioavailability. Ritonavir is also being investigated for cancer treatment due to its mechanism of action. However, its intense bitterness, particularly in liquid formulations, can be intolerable for some children. This bitterness is attributed to its activation of bitter taste receptors, including TAS2R14 (also named T2R14), as demonstrated in our previous study. In this study, we utilized molecular modeling, site-directed mutagenesis, and cell-based calcium mobilization assays to characterize the key residues involved in TAS2R14 activation by ritonavir. Eight critical residues for ritonavir interacting with the receptor were discovered. The results indicate two potential binding sites for ritonavir in TAS2R14 receptor, including orthosteric and allosteric sites. These findings can be useful for developing bitter blockers targeting TAS2R14 to eliminate or reduce the bitter taste of ritonavir.

The COVID-19 pandemic is currently spreading widely around the world, causing huge threats to public safety and global society. This study analyzes the spatiotemporal pattern of the COVID-19 pandemic in China, reveals China’s epicenters of the pandemic through spatial clustering, and delineates the substantial effect of distance to Wuhan on the pandemic spread. The results show that the daily new COVID-19 cases mostly occurred in and around Wuhan before March 6, and then moved to the Grand Bay Area (Shenzhen, Hong Kong and Macau). The total COVID-19 cases in China were mainly distributed in the east of the Huhuanyong Line, where the epicenters accounted for more than 60% of the country’s total in/on 24 January and 7 February, half in/on 31 January, and more than 70% from 14 February. The total cases finally stabilized at approximately 84,000, and the inflection point for Wuhan was on 14 February, one week later than those of Hubei (outside Wuhan) and China (outside Hubei). The generalized additive model-based analysis shows that population density and distance to provincial cities were significantly associated with the total number of the cases, while distances to prefecture cities and intercity traffic stations, and population inflow from Wuhan after 24 January, had no strong relationships with the total number of cases. The results and findings should provide valuable insights for understanding the changes in the COVID-19 transmission as well as implications for controlling the global COVID-19 pandemic spread.