The Relationship Between Social Isolation and Psychological Well-Being Among Older Adults in the Community

Objective:To investigate the psychological well-being of the elderly in Baoding City,Hebei Province,and analyze its influencing factors,with a focus on exploring the relationship between social isolation and psychological well-being.This study aims to provide a reference for effective interventions that promote the physical and mental health of elderly individuals in the community.Methods:A total of 265 elderly individuals from six communities in Baoding City,Hebei Province were surveyed between November 2023 and March 2024 using the general information questionnaire,the Social Isolation Scale for the Elderly,and the Comprehensive Happiness Questionnaire.Results:The total score of the Social Isolation Scale for the elderly in the community was(14.15±3.73)points,indicating a moderate level of social isolation.The average score of P50 on the Psychological Well-being Scale was 4.88,suggesting that the psychological well-being of the elderly in the community was moderate to high.Multivariate regression analysis showed that the level of social isolation significantly influenced the psychological well-being of the elderly(P<0.05),with social isolation negatively correlated with psychological well-being.Conclusion:Healthcare professionals should pay attention to the social isolation of elderly individuals in the community and develop targeted interventions to improve their psychological well-being and quality of life.

Parallel Manufacturing for Industrial Metaverses:A New Paradigm in Smart Manufacturing

To tackle the complexity of human and social factors in manufacturing systems, parallel manufacturing for industrial metaverses is proposed as a new paradigm in smart manufacturing for effective and efficient operations of those systems, where Cyber-Physical-Social Systems(CPSSs) and the Internet of Minds(Io M) are regarded as its infrastructures and the "Artificial systems", "Computational experiments"and "Parallel execution"(ACP) method is its methodological foundation for parallel evolution, closed-loop feedback, and collaborative optimization. In parallel manufacturing, social demands are analyzed and extracted from social intelligence for product R&D and production planning, and digital workers and robotic workers perform the majority of the physical and mental work instead of human workers, contributing to the realization of low-cost, high-efficiency and zero-inventory manufacturing. A variety of advanced technologies such as Knowledge Automation(KA), blockchain, crowdsourcing and Decentralized Autonomous Organizations(DAOs) provide powerful support for the construction of parallel manufacturing, which holds the promise of breaking the constraints of resource and capacity, and the limitations of time and space. Finally, the effectiveness of parallel manufacturing is verified by taking the workflow of customized shoes as a case,especially the unmanned production line named Flex Vega.

CO2 capture over molecular basket sorbents:Effects of SiO2 supports and PEG additive

The objective of this work is to study the influences of silica supports and PEG additive on the sorption performance of molecular basket sorbent（MBS） for COcapture consisting of polyethylenimine and one of the following supports: SBA-15（2-D structure）, TUD-1（3-D sponge-like structure） and fumed silica HS-5（3-D disordered structure）. Effects of the supports regarding pore structures and pore properties, the PEI loading amount as well as the sorption temperature were examined. Furthermore, polyethylene glycol（PEG） was introduced as an additive into the sorbents and its effect was investigated at different PEI loadings and sorption temperatures. The results suggest that the pore properties of MBS（after PEI loading） play a more important role in the COsorption capacity, rather than those of the supports alone.MBS with 3D pore structure exhibits higher COsorption capacity and amine efficiency than those with 2D-structured support. Among the sorbents studied, fumed silica（HS-5） based MBS showed the highest COsorption capacity in the temperature range of 30-95 °C, probably due to its unique interstitial pores formed by the aggregation of polymer-loaded SiOparticles. It was found that the temperature dependence is directly related to the PEI surface coverage layers. The more PEI surface coverage layers, the higher diffusion barrier for COand the stronger temperature dependence of COcapacity. 3D MBS exceeds 2D MBS at the same PEI coverage layers due to lower diffusion barrier. Adding PEG can significantly enhance the COsorption capacity and improve amine efficiency of all MBS, most likely by alleviating the diffusion barrier within PEI bulk layers through the inter-molecular interaction between PEI and PEG.

Anti-Poverty Cooperation between China and West Asian and North African Countries in the Context of the Belt and Road Initiative

As important parts of the Belt and Road Initiative,West Asia and North Africa have rich resources and prominent strategic position.Anti-poverty has always been a crucial social issue of China,West Asia and North Africa. Through literature review and data analysis,this paper analyzed the current situations of anti-poverty in West Asia and North Africa and the causes of poverty,and objectively summarized the realistic foundation of anti-poverty cooperation between China and West Asian and North African countries. On the basis of current situations,it put forward a path for anti-poverty cooperation between China and West Asian and North African countries,in the hope of providing decisionmaking basis and policy recommendations for China to undertake anti-poverty cooperation in the worldwide range.

Viral rebound and safety of nirmatrelvir/ritonavir for lung-transplant recipients infected with SARS-CoV-2

Data on the viral rebound and safety of nirmatrelvir/ritonavir in lung transplant(LTx)recipients are limited.The study prospectively followed four LTx recipients.Clinical characteristics,viral RNA dynamic in throat swabs,and tacrolimus blood concentration were monitored regularly.All four LTx recipients,aged 35–74 years,were not vaccinated against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2(SARS‐CoV‐2).They got coronavirus disease 2019(COVID‐19)after more than one week of admission during the era of Omicron.All cases received nirmatrelvir/ritonavir(NM/r)within two days of infection,and the relative viral RNA copies dropped quickly.Viral load rebound was observed in all four cases after discontinuation of the first five days of NM/r treatment.Three of them received another 5‐days antiviral therapy with NM/r.The duration of positive viral PCR testing was 25‐28 days.None of them progressed into severe or critical COVID‐19.Tacrolimus was stopped 12 h before NM/r and held during the 5‐day course of antiviral therapy.Blood concentration of tacrolimus were maintained at a baseline level during these five days.Tacrolimus was re‐initiated at its baseline daily dose 3‐4 days after NM/r therapy.However,during the second round of antiviral therapy with NM/r,the concentration of tacrolimus fluctuated wildly.In conclusion,the 5‐day course of NM/r treatment was not sufficient for LTx recipients and the viral rebound was common.More data are needed to clarify whether LTx recipients with SARS‐CoV‐2 viral rebound could benefit from additional treatment with NM/r.

Research progress on the role of extracellular vesicles in neurodegenerative diseases

Neurodegenerative diseases,such as Alzheimer’s disease,Parkinson’s disease,amyotrophic lateral sclerosis,and Huntington’s disease,affect millions of people worldwide.Tremendous efforts have been put into disease-related research,but few breakthroughs have been made in diagnostic and therapeutic approaches.Extracellular vesicles(EVs)are heterogeneous cell-derived membrane structures that arise from the endosomal system or are directly separated from the plasma membrane.EVs contain many biomolecules,including proteins,nucleic acids,and lipids,which can be transferred between different cells,tissues,or organs,thereby regulating cross-organ communication between cells during normal and pathological processes.Recently,EVs have been shown to participate in various aspects of neurodegenerative diseases.Abnormal secretion and levels of EVs are closely related to the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative diseases and contribute to disease progression.Numerous studies have proposed EVs as therapeutic targets or biomarkers for neurodegenerative diseases.In this review,we summarize and discuss the advanced research progress on EVs in the pathological processes of several neurodegenerative diseases.Moreover,we outline the latest research on the roles of EVs in neurodegenerative diseases and their therapeutic potential for the diseases.

One-pot synthesis of the highly efficient bifunctional Ni-SAPO-11 catalyst

Hydro isomerization of linear alkanes to branched isomers is an important petrochemical process for production of gasoline with high octane number.Non-noble metal bifunctional catalysts used in this process always suffer from low metal dispersion and poor metal-acid synergy.Herein,a facile one-pot synthesis method was used to simultaneously regulate metal particle sizes and acidity of the Ni-SAPO-11 hydroisomerization catalyst.The physicochemical properties are investigated using XANES,EXAFS,TEM/STEM,FT-IR,XPS,UV-vis and NH_3-TPD.Apart from the highly dispersed nickel nanoparticles with an average diameter of 8 nm,the framework Ni~(2+)ions are generated via substituting framework Al~(3+)ions of the SAPO-11.The formed NiP-OH structures have lower deprotonation energy(DPE)than the SiAl-OH ones,contributing more and stronger acid sites to the Ni-SAPO-11 catalyst.The great metal-acid synergy including high metal to acid sites ratio(n_(Ni)/n_A)and close intimacy is obtained for the Ni-SAPO-11 catalyst.The Ni-SAPO-11 catalyst outperforms the counterpart prepared by the impregnation method and exhibits comparable activity and isomers selectivity to the Pt/SAPO-11 catalyst in the n-hexane hydroisomerization.

Antagonism of toll-like receptor 2 attenuates the formation and progression of abdominal aortic aneurysm

Abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) is an inflammatory vascular disorder with high mortality. Accumulating evidence shows that toll-like receptor 2 (TLR2) plays a critical role in the regulation of wound-repairing process after tissue injury. We wondered if TLR2 signaling contributed to the pathogenesis of AAA and that targeting TLR2 would attenuate AAA development and progression. In this study, enhanced expression of TLR2 and its ligands were observed in human AAA tissue. Neutralization of TLR2 protected against AAA development and caused established AAA to regress in mouse models of AAA. In addition, TLR2-deficient mice also failed to develop AAA. The prophylactic and therapeutic effects of blocking TLR2 were accompanied by a significant resolution of inflammation and vascular remodeling, as indicated by the decreased expression or activity of MMP-2/9, alpha-SMA, inflammatory cytokines, and transcription factors NF-kappa B, AP-1 and STAT1/3 in AAA tissue. Mechanistically, blocking TLR2 decreased the expression and interaction of TLR2 and several endogenous ligands, which diminished chronic inflammation and vascular remodeling in the vascular tissue of AAA. Our studies indicate that the interactions between TLR2 and its endogenous ligands contribute to the pathogenesis of AAA and that targeting TLR2 offers great potential toward the development of therapeutic agents against AAA. (C) 2015 Chinese Pharmaceutical Association and Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences. Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V.

Al2O3 and CeO2-promoted MgO sorbents for CO2 capture at moderate temperatures

A series of Al2O3 and CeO2 modified MgO sorbents was prepared and studied for CO2 sorption at moderate temperatures. The CO2 sorption capacity of MgO was enhanced with the addition of either Al2O3 or CeO2. Over Al2O3-MgO sorbents, the best capacity of 24.6 mg- CO2/g-sorbent was attained at 100 ℃, which was 61% higher than that of MgO （15.3 mg-CO2/g-sorbent）. The highest capacity of 35.3 mg-CO2/g-sorbent was obtained over the CeO2-MgO sorbents at the optimal temperature of 200 ℃. Combining with the characterization results, we conclude that the promotion effect on CO2 sorption with the addition of Al2O3 and CeO2 can be attributed to the increased surface area with reduced MgO crystallite size. Moreover, the addition of CeO2 increased the basicity of MgO phase, resulting in more increase in the CO2 capacity than Al2O3 promoter. Both the Al2O3-MgO and CeO2- MgO sorbents exhibited better cyclic stability than MgO over the course of fifteen CO2 sorption-desorption cycles. Compared to Al2O3, CeO2 is more effective for promoting the CO2 capacity of MgO. To enhance the CO2 capacity of MgO sorbent, increasing the basicity is more effective than the increase in the surface area.