Objective To research the activated brain areas of decision making under uncertainty reward processing on healthy volunteers.Method The E-Prime programs were presented 3 kinds of tasks of the decision under uncertain reward processing.15 right-handed healthy volunteers made a response after receiving the task.At the same time,the GE 3.0T magnetic resonance scanner scanned the brains areas of subjects.Individual analysis and group analysis was done with SPM8 software,then the brain activating regions and the peak intensity were gotten.Results Orbitofrontal cortex was activated in certainty,peak intensity 2.4328 ± 0.1949 (P ＜ 0.05).Prefrontal cortex,occipital lobe,parietal lobe,posterior lobe of cerebellum,limbic lobe and midbrain were activated under the risk reward processing,peak intensity 2.4228 ± 1.3762 (P ＜ 0.05).When under ambiguity reward processing,prefrontal cortex,temporal lobe,occipital lobe,left inferior frontal gyrus and posterior lobe of cerebellum were activated,peak intensity 2.4056 ± 0.4222 (P ＜ 0.05).Compared with the task under certainty,posterior lobe of cerebellum,gyri subtemporalis and gyri fusiformis,inferior parietal lobule,anterior central convolution,orbitofrontal cortex,ventrolateral prefrontal cortex,both frontopolar and supramarginal gyrus were activated in task under risk (P ＜0.05) ;and both frontopolar were activated in task under ambiguity (P ＜ 0.05).Compared with the task under risk,dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and posterior lobe of cerebellum were activated in task under ambiguity (P ＜ 0.05).Conclusion There are differences in different types of reward processing of decision making.

INTRODUCTION: Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, many rumours have emerged. Given prior research linking rumour exposure to mental well-being, we conducted a nationwide survey to document the base rate of rumour exposure and factors associated with rumour vulnerability. METHODS: Between March and July 2020, 1,237 participants were surveyed on 5 widely disseminated COVID-19 rumours (drinking water frequently could be preventive, eating garlic could be preventive, the outbreak arose because of bat soup consumption, the virus was created in an American lab, and the virus was created in a Chinese lab). For each rumour, participants reported whether they had heard, shared or believed each rumour. RESULTS: Although most participants had been exposed to COVID-19 rumours, few shared or believed these. Sharing behaviours sometimes occurred in the absence of belief; however, education emerged as a protective factor for both sharing and belief. CONCLUSION Our results suggest that campaigns targeting skills associated with higher education (e.g. epistemology) may prove more effective than counter-rumour messages.
Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; COVID-19/psychology* ; Communication ; Consumer Health Information ; Culture ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Pandemics ; Self Report ; Singapore/epidemiology* ; Social Environment ; Social Media ; Surveys and Questionnaires

Objective:To explore the brain activation intensity changes of depressed patients in the phase of expected value (EV), positive prediction error (+ PE) and negative prediction error (-PE) under uncertain (risky, ambiguous) decision-making.Methods:From July 2018 to February 2021, a total of 48 depressed patients in the Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University were collected (depression group), and 69 sex-, age-, and educational level-matched healthy people were recruited as the control group. All participants completed risky and ambiguous decision-making tasks under the E-Prime system.SA-9800 brain functional audio-visual stimulation system and GE3.0 T functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scanners were used to conduct synchronous scanning and data acquisition. Using Xjview software to analyze the activation intensity of related brain areas to compare the activity intensity of the two groups.SPSS 16.0 software was used for chi square test, independent sample t-test. Results:Under risky decision-making, compared with the control group, the brain areas with reduced activation during EV phase in depression group were bilateral prefrontal cortex (PFC)(MNI coordinate: left x=-45, y=21, z=-6; right x=0, y=69, z=-3), left para hippocampal gyrus(PHG)(MNI coordinate: x=-9, y=0, z=-22), bilateral occipital lobe(OL)(MNI coordinate: left x=-51, y=-81, z=-3; right x=48, y=-84, z=-9)( P<0.05). The brain areas with reduced activation during + PE phase were bilateral PFC, left hippocampus (HIP), bilateral temporal lobe (TL), left middle occipital gyrus( P<0.05). The brain areas with reduced activation were bilateral PFC, right putamen, bilateral TL( P<0.05) during -PE phase. Under ambiguous decision-making, compared with the control group, the brain areas with reduced activation during EV phase in depression group were bilateral PFC, right OL( P<0.05); the brain areas with reduced activation during + PE phase were bilateral PFC, right putamen and hippocampus, bilateral TL, bilateral OL( P<0.05); and the brain areas with reduced activation were bilateral PFC, bilateral TL( P<0.05) during -PE phase. Conclusion:The study shows that the activities of reward brain areas such as PFC, limbic system and OL system are reduced during EV and PE phase under uncertain decision-making in depressed patients.

OBJECTIVETo measure peripheral serum levels of matrix metalloproteinase 9 (MMP9) and matrix metalloproteinase 19 (MMP19) in patients with pneumoconiosis, and to investigate their feasibility as potential biomarkers for pneumoconiosis.

METHODSNinety-eight male patients with pneumoconiosis (49 patients in phase I, 36 patients in phase II, and 13 patients in phase III) were enrolled as subjects, which included 41 patients with silicosis and 57 patients with coal workers' pneumoconiosis. Ninety-eight healthy male physical examinees were used as controls. A fasting blood sample (3 ml) was collected from the peripheral venous blood of each patient or control, and the serum was separated from the blood sample. The expression levels of MMP9 and MMP19 in serum were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.

RESULTSSerum levels of MMP9 and MMP19 in patients with silicosis or coal workers' pneumoconiosis were significantly lower than those in the control group (P < 0.05). Serum levels of MMP19 in patients with silicosis were significantly higher than those in patients with coal workers' pneumoconiosis (P < 0.05). Serum levels of MMP19 in patients exposed to dust for less than 7 years were significantly higher than those in patients exposed to dust for more than 20 years (P < 0.05). There were no significant differences in serum levels of MMP9 and MMP19 between patients with different levels of pulmonary function impairment (P > 0.05). Serum expression levels of MMP9 and MMP19 were positively correlated with each other in both patients with pneumoconiosis and those in the control group (P < 0.05). The serum expression level of MMP9 was negatively correlated with the stage of pneumoconiosis (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONSerum MMP9 and MMP19 may be used as potential biomarkers for pneumoconiosis.

Anthracosis ; enzymology ; Biomarkers ; Coal Mining ; Dust ; Humans ; Lung ; Male ; Matrix Metalloproteinase 9 ; blood ; Matrix Metalloproteinases, Secreted ; blood ; Occupational Exposure ; Pneumoconiosis ; blood ; enzymology ; Silicosis ; enzymology

Objective:To investigate correlation between neutrophil extracellular traps(NETs) formation and T cell subsets in mice with experimental autoimmune thyroiditis(EAT) and the impact of active vitamin D intervention.Methods:Six-week-old female BALB/c mice were randomly divided into Control group, EAT group and 1, 25 dihydroxy vitamin D 3[1, 25(OH) 2D 3] treatment group(VitD group; n=6/group). HE staining was used to observe thyroid pathology. Plasma thyroglobulin antibody(TGAb), thyroid peroxidase antibody(TPOAb), and 1, 25(OH) 2D 3 were measured by ELISA. Peripheral NETs formation, Th1, Th2, and Th17 cell ratio from spleen were measured by flow cytometry. Correlation between NETs formation rate and Th1, Th2, and Th17 cell ratio was analyzed. Results:Compared with Control group, mice in EAT group had significantly increased thyroid inflammation scores, thyroiditis morbidity, TPOAb, TGAb levels, NETs formation rate, Th2(CD4 + IL-4 + or CD4 + IL-13 + )and Th17 cell proportions( P were <0.001, 0.002, 0.007, <0.001, <0.001, 0.003, 0.001, and 0.002, respectively), and significant decreased 1, 25(OH) 2D 3, Th1 cell proportions, Th1/Th2(CD4 + IL-4 + ), Th1/Th2(CD4 + IL-13 + ), and Th1/Th17 ratios( P were 0.010, 0.018, 0.010, 0.005, and 0.007, respectively). Compared with the EAT group, the VitD group had lower thyroid inflammation scores, TPOAb, TGAb levels, NETs formation rate, Th2(CD4 + IL-4 + or CD4 + IL-13 + ) and Th17 cell proportions( P were 0.044, 0.007, <0.001, 0.001, 0.014, 0.008, and 0.001, respectively), and significant higher Th1 cell ratio, Th1/Th2(CD4 + IL-13 + ) and Th1/Th17 ratio( P were 0.011, 0.009, and 0.003, respectively). The Th1/Th2(CD4 + IL-4 + ) was not significantly increased in VitD group compared with EAT group( P=0.174). NETs formation rate was positively correlated with Th2(CD4 + IL-4 + or CD4 + IL-13 + ) and Th17 cell proportion( r were 0.65, 0.59, and 0.61; and P were 0.004, 0.010, and 0.007, respectively), but not with Th1 cell proportion( r=-0.47, P=0.051). Conclusion:EAT mice were more prone to NETs formation. Active vitamin D may relieve immune imbalance with increased Th2 and Th17 cell ratio and decreased Th1 cell ratio by reducing the formation of NETs in EAT mice. Vitamin D played the protective role in thyroid by reducing thyroid pathological damage and thyroid autoantibody levels, and relived overall lymphocyte imbalance.