We aimed to evaluate the effects of the COVID-19 lock down on lifestyle in China during the initial stage of the pandemic. A questionnaire was distributed to Chinese adults living in 31 provinces of China via the internet using a snowball sampling strategy. Information on 7-day physical activity recall, screen time, and emotional state were collected between January 24 and February 2, 2020. ANOVA, χ² test, and Spearman’s correlation coefficients were used for statistical analysis. 12,107 participants aged 18–80 years were included. During the initial phase of the COVID-19 outbreak, nearly 60% of Chinese adults had inadequate physical activity (95% CI 56.6%–58.3%), which was more than twice the global prevalence (27.5%, 25.0%–32.2%). Their mean screen time was more than 4 hours per day while staying at home (261.3 ± 189.8 min per day), and the longest screen time was found in young adults (305.6 ± 217.5 min per day). We found a positive and significant correlation between provincial proportions of confirmed COVID-19 cases and negative affect scores (r = 0.501, p = 0.004). Individuals with vigorous physical activity appeared to have a better emotional state and less screen time than those with light physical activity. During this nationwide lockdown, more than half of Chinese adults temporarily adopted a sedentary lifestyle with insufficient physical activity, more screen time, and poor emotional state, which may carry considerable health risks. Promotion of home-based self-exercise can potentially help improve health and wellness.

Low selenium status is associated with increased risk of thyroid disease. Increased selenium intake may reduce the risk in areas of low selenium intake that exist not only in China but also in many other parts of the world.

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Due to the conflicting reports on the antioxidant activity of cerium oxide nanoparticles, much work has been done to explore the factors influencing the antioxidant activity of nano-CeO2.

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Nanoceria has been demonstrated as a potential antioxidative nano-drug. However, its short residence time in the body, toxic solvents involved in the synthesis processes, and especially the poor water solubility hinder its potential clinical applications. In this work, water-soluble chitosan-coated nanoceria particles (CNPs) are synthesized by a facile wet chemical route. The molar weight (MW) and concentration of chitosan do not affect the particles' size and the antioxidative activity of the CNPs over a wide range, and the mechanism is explored further. The behavior of CNPs over time and with a change of pH value were also examined. The CNPs reveal excellent antioxidative activity and stability over seven months at room temperature, and importantly, chitosan widens the pH range for the stable existence of water-soluble nanoceria. As a result, including its inherent advantages of wide availability, non-toxicity, biocompatibility and biodegradability, chitosan can also present the nanoceria with good water-solubility without interfering with its antioxidative activity. In other words, chitosan can enlarge the nanoceria stability over a higher pH range. These factors show the advantages of chitosan as a coating layer, promising the further application of nanoceria in biomedical and biotechnological fields.