Background The control of vaccine hesitancy and the promotion of vaccination are key protective measures against COVID-19. Objective This study assesses the prevalence of vaccine hesitancy and the vaccination rate and examines the association between factors of the health belief model (HBM) and vaccination. Methods A convenience sample of 2531 valid participants from 31 provinces and autonomous regions of mainland China were enrolled in this online survey study from January 1 to 24, 2021. Multivariable logistic regression was used to identify the associations of the vaccination rate and HBM factors with the prevalence of vaccine hesitancy after other covariates were controlled. Results The prevalence of vaccine hesitancy was 44.3% (95% CI 42.3%-46.2%), and the vaccination rate was 10.4% (9.2%-11.6%). The factors that directly promoted vaccination behavior were a lack of vaccine hesitancy (odds ratio [OR] 7.75, 95% CI 5.03-11.93), agreement with recommendations from friends or family for vaccination (OR 3.11, 95% CI 1.75-5.52), and absence of perceived barriers to COVID-19 vaccination (OR 0.51, 95% CI 0.35-0.75). The factors that were directly associated with a higher vaccine hesitancy rate were a high level of perceived barriers (OR 1.63, 95% CI 1.36-1.95) and perceived benefits (OR 0.51, 95% CI 0.32-0.79). A mediating effect of self-efficacy, influenced by perceived barriers (standardized structure coefficient [SSC]=−0.71, P<.001), perceived benefits (SSC=0.58, P<.001), agreement with recommendations from authorities (SSC=0.27, P<.001), and agreement with recommendations from friends or family (SSC=0.31, P<.001), was negatively associated with vaccination (SSC=−0.45, P<.001) via vaccine hesitancy (SSC=−0.32, P<.001). Conclusions It may be possible to increase the vaccination rate by reducing vaccine hesitancy and perceived barriers to vaccination and by encouraging volunteers to advocate for vaccination to their friends and family members. It is also important to reduce vaccine hesitancy by enhancing self-efficacy for vaccination, due to its crucial mediating function.

Background Gut microbiota (GMB) alteration has been reported to influence the Alzheimer’s disease (AD) pathogenesis through immune, endocrine, and metabolic pathways. This study aims to investigate metabolic output of the dysbiosis of GMB in AD pathogenesis. In this study, the fecal microbiota and metabolome from 21 AD participants and 44 cognitively normal control participants were measured. Untargeted GMB taxa was analyzed through 16S ribosomal RNA gene profiling based on next-generation sequencing and fecal metabolites were quantified by using ultrahigh performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS). Results Our analysis revealed that AD was characterized by 15 altered gut bacterial genera, of which 46.7% (7/15 general) was significantly associated with a series of metabolite markers. The predicted metabolic profile of altered gut microbial composition included steroid hormone biosynthesis, N-Acyl amino acid metabolism and piperidine metabolism. Moreover, a combination of 2 gut bacterial genera (Faecalibacterium and Pseudomonas) and 4 metabolites (N-Docosahexaenoyl GABA, 19-Oxoandrost-4-ene-3,17-dione, Trigofoenoside F and 22-Angeloylbarringtogenol C) was able to discriminate AD from NC with AUC of 0.955 in these 65 subjects. Conclusions These findings demonstrate that gut microbial alterations and related metabolic output changes may be associated with pathogenesis of AD, and suggest that fecal markers might be used as a non-invasive examination to assist screening and diagnosis of AD.

Cardiovascular diseases have overtaken cancers as the number one cause of death. Hypertension is the most dangerous factor linked to deaths caused by cardiovascular diseases. Many researchers have reported that tea has anti-hypertensive effects in animals and humans. The aim of this review is to update the information on the anti-hypertensive effects of tea in human interventions and animal studies, and to summarize the underlying mechanisms, based on ex-vivo tissue and cell culture data. During recent years, an increasing number of human population studies have confirmed the beneficial effects of tea on hypertension. However, the optimal dose has not yet been established owing to differences in the extent of hypertension, and complicated social and genetic backgrounds of populations. Therefore, further large-scale investigations with longer terms of observation and tighter controls are needed to define optimal doses in subjects with varying degrees of hypertensive risk factors, and to determine differences in beneficial effects amongst diverse populations. Moreover, data from laboratory studies have shown that tea and its secondary metabolites have important roles in relaxing smooth muscle contraction, enhancing endothelial nitric oxide synthase activity, reducing vascular inflammation, inhibiting rennin activity, and anti-vascular oxidative stress. However, the exact molecular mechanisms of these activities remain to be elucidated.

The current study aims to identify psychosocial factors based on protection motivation theory (PMT) influencing Chinese adults’ willingness to receive the COVID-19 vaccine after the emergency use authorization of the New Coronavirus Inactivated Vaccine in China. A cross-sectional online survey was conducted among Chinese residents aged 18–59 years, and 2528 respondents from 31 provinces and autonomous regions were included in the current study. Based on PMT, threat appraisals and coping appraisals were measured. Hierarchical multiple regressions and multivariate logistic regressions were used to identify the relationships between the PMT constructs and vaccination willingness after other covariates were controlled for. A total of 1411 (55.8%) respondents reported being willing to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. The PMT model explained 26.6% (p < 0.001) of the variance in the vaccine willingness. The coping appraisals, including response efficacy, self-efficacy, and response costs, were significantly correlated with the willingness to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, and response efficacy was the strongest influencing factor (adjusted OR = 2.93, 95% CI: 2.42–3.54). In conclusion, the coping appraisals for vaccination, instead of threat appraisals regarding the pandemic itself, mainly influenced people’s willingness to get vaccinated after the emergency use authorization of the COVID-19 vaccine in China. These findings are helpful for developing education and interventions to promote vaccination willingness and enhance public health outcomes during a pandemic.

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In this work, nitrogen-doped carbon quantum dots from poly(ethyleneimine) (PQDs) were synthesized by a low-cost and facile one-step hydrothermal method without other reagents. A quantum yield (QY) of up to 23.2% with maximum emission at 460 nm under an excitation wavelength of 340 nm was ascribed to the high nitrogen doping (20.59%). The PQDs selectively form a blue complex with Cu 2+ accompanied by strong quenching of the fluorescence emission. Meanwhile, the PQD-Cu 2+ complex exhibited selective fluorescence recovery and color disappearance on exposure to L-cysteine (Cys). The electron transfer from amino or oxygen groups on the PQDs to Cu 2+ leads to fluorescence quenching, and a chromogenic reaction of the cuprammonium complex results in a color change. The strong affinity between Cys and Cu 2+ causes the detachment of Cu 2+ from the surface of PQDs, so the color of the solution disappears and the fluorescence of PQDs recovers. Under the optimized condition, the proposed sensor was applied to detect Cu 2+ in the linear range of 0−280 μM. A detection limit of 4.75 μM is achieved using fluorescence spectroscopy and 4.74 μM by monitoring the absorbance variation at 272 nm. For Cys detection, the linear range of 0−800 μM with detection limits of 28.11 μM (fluorescence determination) and 19.74 μM (peak shift determination at 272 nm) was obtained. Meanwhile, the PQD-Cu 2+ system exhibits distinguishable responses to other biothiols such as L-glutathione (GSH) and DL-homocysteine (Hcy). Based on the multimode signals, an "AND" logic gate was constructed successfully. Interestingly, besides Cu 2+ , Fe 3+ can also quench the fluorescence of PQDs and the PQD-Fe 3+ system exhibits superior selectivity for Cys detection. Most importantly, the proposed assay is not only simple, cheap, and stable but also suitable for detecting Cu 2+ and Cys in some real samples.

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