87 research outputs found
Examining Taiwan’s Paradox of Family Decline with a Household-based Convoy
No full textModified extended family, Convoy, Social support exchange, Exchange rule,
Examining Taiwan's paradox of family decline with a household-based convoy
No full text[[abstract]]Taiwan's paradox of family decline is examined with a household-based convoy, which allows us to explore the paradox from two perspectives, namely, the modified extended family and the household-based convoy. The modified extended family refers to the reunion of spatially separated families covering two generations. The household-based convoy is an extension of the modified extended family that includes relatives and friends with whom there is frequent contact. A probability sample survey with 1,979 cases completed is used to answer two questions: (1) Has there been a change in Taiwan's family function because of structural change? (2) Is the family's function being replaced by relatives and friends with whom there is frequent contact? The results of this study show that the coverage of the modified extended family is as high as 81%, indicating a high coherence among spatially separated households covering two generations. The proportions of the respondents who have provided five types of support including sick care, household chores, advice, regular allowances, and irregular allowances to non-coresiding parents are mostly around 40%. Moreover, the members of a modified extended family do have independent functions in relation to most types of support. These findings all lend evidence to refute the view that the family is declining in Taiwan
Is the Household-Based Convoy a Role-Related Support Network?
No full text Based on role theory, a household-based convoy (HbC) was proposed as a support system comprised of four kinds of networks: household types, family, kinship, and friendship. To test the feasibility of the support network concept, data from the 2001 Taiwan Social Change Survey were used to derive a latent structure with four latent classes. These classes consisted of the “prefamily convoy,” “pro-social convoy,” “mature convoy,” and the “extended convoy.” Their network characteristics revealed that the four latent classes corresponded to stages in the family life course. Moreover, these convoy subtypes had differential intergenerational support functions. Respondents from the pre-family and the pro-social convoys were found to provide fewer types of support to their parents but received more types of support from them. The findings also indicate that the household-based convoy is a role-related support network. </jats:p
Linking Gut Microbiota, Oral Microbiota, and Serum Metabolites in Insomnia Disorder: A Preliminary Study
No full textWeifeng Lin,1,2 Yifan Yang,3 Yurong Zhu,4 Rong Pan,5 Chaonan Liu,2 Jiyang Pan2 1Department of Neurology, The Tenth Affiliated Hospital, Southern Medical University (Dongguan People’s Hospital), Dongguan, Guangdong, 523000, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Psychiatry, Sleep Medicine Center, The First Affiliated Hospital of Jinan University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, 510632, People’s Republic of China; 3Sleep Medicine Center, Guangdong Provincial Hospital of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, Guangdong, 510120, People’s Republic of China; 4Department of Pathology, The Tenth Affiliated Hospital, Southern Medical University (Dongguan People’s Hospital), Dongguan, Guangdong, 523000, People’s Republic of China; 5Department of Psychology, The Third People’s Hospital of Zhaoqing, Zhaoqing, Guangdong Province, 526060, People’s Republic of ChinaCorrespondence: Jiyang Pan, Email [email protected]: Despite recent findings suggesting an altered gut microbiota in those suffering from insomnia disorder (ID), research into the gut microbiota, oral microbiota, serum metabolites, and their interactions in patients with ID is sparse.Patients and Methods: We collected a total of 114 fecal samples, 133 oral cavity samples and 20 serum samples to characterize the gut microbiota, oral microbiota and serum metabolites in a cohort of 76 ID patients (IDs) and 59 well-matched healthy controls (HCs). We assessed the microbiota as potentially biomarkers for ID for ID by 16S rDNA sequencing and elucidated the interactions involving gut microbiota, oral microbiota and serum metabolites in ID in conjunction with untargeted metabolomics.Results: Gut and oral microbiota of IDs were dysbiotic. Gut and oral microbial biomarkers could be used to differentiate IDs from HCs. Eleven significantly altered serum metabolites, including adenosine, phenol, and phenol sulfate, differed significantly between groups. In multi-omics analyses, adenosine showed a positive correlation with genus_Lachnospira (p= 0.029) and total sleep time (p=0.016). Additionally, phenol and phenol sulphate had a negative correlation with genus_Coprococcus (p=0.0059; p=0.0059) and a positive correlation with Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (p=0.006; p=0.006) and Insomnia Severity Index (p=0.021; p=0.021).Conclusion: Microbiota and serum metabolite changes in IDs are strongly correlated with clinical parameters, implying mechanistic links between altered bacteria, serum metabolites and ID. This study offers novel perspective into the interaction among gut microbiota, oral microbiota, and serum metabolites for ID.Keywords: insomnia disorder, gut microbiota, oral microbiota, serum metabolites, multi-omics, biomarker
Predicting 1-, 3-, 5-, and 8-year all-cause mortality in a community-dwelling older adult cohort: relevance for predictive, preventive, and personalized medicine
No full textBackground: Population aging is a global public health issue involving increased prevalence of age-related diseases, and concomitant burden on medical resources and the economy. Ninety-two diseases have been identified as age-related, accounting for 51.3% of the global adult disease burden. The economic cost per capita for older people over 60 years is 10 times that of the younger population. From the aspects of predictive, preventive, and personalized medicine (PPPM), developing a risk-prediction model can help identify individuals at high risk for all-cause mortality and provide an opportunity for targeted prevention through personalized intervention at an early stage. However, there is still a lack of predictive models to help community-dwelling older adults do well in healthcare. Objectives: This study aims to develop an accurate 1-, 3-, 5-, and 8-year all-cause mortality risk-prediction model by using clinical multidimensional variables, and investigate risk factors for 1-, 3-, 5-, and 8-year all-cause mortality in community-dwelling older adults to guide primary prevention. Methods: This is a two-center cohort study. Inclusion criteria: (1) community-dwelling adult, (2) resided in the districts of Chaonan or Haojiang for more than 6 months in the past 12 months, and (3) completed a health examination. Exclusion criteria: (1) age less than 60 years, (2) more than 30 incomplete variables, (3) no signed informed consent. The primary outcome of the study was all-cause mortality obtained from face-to-face interviews, telephone interviews, and the medical death database from 2012 to 2021. Finally, we enrolled 5085 community-dwelling adults, 60 years and older, who underwent routine health screening in the Chaonan and Haojiang districts, southern China, from 2012 to 2021. Of them, 3091 participants from Chaonan were recruited as the primary training and internal validation study cohort, while 1994 participants from Haojiang were recruited as the external validation cohort. A total of 95 clinical multidimensional variables, including demographics, lifestyle behaviors, symptoms, medical history, family history, physical examination, laboratory tests, and electrocardiogram (ECG) data were collected to identify candidate risk factors and characteristics. Risk factors were identified using least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) models and multivariable Cox proportional hazards regression analysis. A nomogram predictive model for 1-, 3-, 5- and 8-year all-cause mortality was constructed. The accuracy and calibration of the nomogram prediction model were assessed using the concordance index (C-index), integrated Brier score (IBS), receiver operating characteristic (ROC), and calibration curves. The clinical validity of the model was assessed using decision curve analysis (DCA). Results: Nine independent risk factors for 1-, 3-, 5-, and 8-year all-cause mortality were identified, including increased age, male, alcohol status, higher daily liquor consumption, history of cancer, elevated fasting glucose, lower hemoglobin, higher heart rate, and the occurrence of heart block. The acquisition of risk factor criteria is low cost, easily obtained, convenient for clinical application, and provides new insights and targets for the development of personalized prevention and interventions for high-risk individuals. The areas under the curve (AUC) of the nomogram model were 0.767, 0.776, and 0.806, and the C-indexes were 0.765, 0.775, and 0.797, in the training, internal validation, and external validation sets, respectively. The IBS was less than 0.25, which indicates good calibration. Calibration and decision curves showed that the predicted probabilities were in good agreement with the actual probabilities and had good clinical predictive value for PPPM. Conclusion: The personalized risk prediction model can identify individuals at high risk of all-cause mortality, help offer primary care to prevent all-cause mortality, and provide personalized medical treatment for these high-risk individuals from the PPPM perspective. Strict control of daily liquor consumption, lowering fasting glucose, raising hemoglobin, controlling heart rate, and treatment of heart block could be beneficial for improving survival in elderly populations
A novel repressor of floral transition, MEE3, an abiotic stress regulated protein, functions as an activator of FLC by binding to its promoter in Arabidopsis
No full textThe floral transition is a key step for the sexual reproduction in the life cycle of flowering plants. FLOWERING LOCUST (FT), is known as a floral promoter and integrator while FLOWERING LOCUS C (FLC) is a floral repressor inhibiting several floral promoters including Fr. Arabidopsis MATERNAL EFFECT EMBRYO ARREST 3 (MEE3), predicted to be a member of I-box-binding-like proteins in MYB-related family, was initially briefly reported to control embryo development but without detailed description. Whether and how MEE3 is involved in floral transition remains totally unknown. In this work, we show for the first time that MEE3 may act as a novel repressor of floral transition by functioning as an activator of PLC via binding to its promoter in Arabidopsis. Overexpression of MEE3 caused a delay in flowering time under both long-day and short-day conditions. RNA-seq and RT-qPCR assays revealed that MEE3 upregulated PLC and downregulated FT and some other floral transition and floral meristem identity genes. Genetic analyses showed that MEE3 repressed floral transition and was likely upstream of FLC. A further combination of yeast one-hybrid, EMSA and ChIP-qPCR assays demonstrated that MEE3 is bound to the promoter of FLC. (C) 2015 Published by Elsevier B.V.National Basic Research Program of China [2009CB941500]; National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) [31170239, 31370288]SCI(E)[email protected]
Is the household-based convoy a role-related support network?
No full text[[abstract]]Based on role theory, a household-based convoy (HbC) was proposed as a support system comprised of four kinds of networks: household types, family, kinship, and friendship. To test the feasibility of the support network concept, data from the 2001 Taiwan Social Change Survey were used to derive a latent structure with four latent classes. These classes consisted of the “prefamily convoy,” “pro-social convoy,” “mature convoy,” and the “extended convoy.” Their network characteristics revealed that the four latent classes corresponded to stages in the family life course. Moreover, these convoy subtypes had differential intergenerational support functions. Respondents from the pre-family and the pro-social convoys were found to provide fewer types of support to their parents but received more types of support from them. The findings also indicate that the household-based convoy is a role-related support network.[[fileno]]2040622010004[[department]]社會學研究
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