Novel drug delivery strategies for antidepressant active ingredients from natural medicinal plants: the state of the art.

Depression is a severe mental disorder among public health issues. Researchers in the field of mental health and clinical psychiatrists have long been faced with difficulties in slow treatment cycles, high recurrence rates, and lagging efficacy. These obstacles have forced us to seek more advanced and effective treatments. Research has shown that novel drug delivery strategies for natural medicinal plants can effectively improve the utilization efficiency of the active molecules in these plants and therefore improve their efficacy. Currently, with the development of treatment technologies and the constant updating of novel drug delivery strategies, the addition of natural medicinal antidepressant therapy has given new significance to the study of depression treatment against the background of novel drug delivery systems. Based on this, this review comprehensively evaluates and analyses the research progress in novel drug delivery systems, including nanodrug delivery technology, in intervention research strategies for neurological diseases from the perspective of natural medicines for depression treatment. This provided a new theoretical foundation for the development and application of novel drug delivery strategies and drug delivery technologies in basic and clinical drug research fields.

HEV prevalence and potential risk factors in a large multi-ethnic youth cohort in China.

BACKGROUND: This cohort study was designed to investigate the prevalence of and potential risk factors of HEV infection in a large multi-ethnic youth cohort in China. METHODS: Blood samples were collected from participants (n = 6269) and serum was isolated. All serum samples were tested for anti-HEV IgG, anti-HEV IgM antibodies using commercial enzyme immunoassay kits (Wantai Biological Pharmacy Enterprise, Beijing, China). RESULTS: The overall rate of anti-HEV IgG and anti-HEV IgM prevalence was 4.78% and 0.14%, 0.03% were positive for both anti-HEV IgG and anti-HEV IgM antibodies. Anti-HEV IgG positivity is significantly higher in females (5.27%) compared to males (4.14%) (P = 0.028). Anti-HEV IgG prevalence is significantly (P = 0.0001) higher in Dong (17.57%), Miao (12.23%), Yi (11.04%), Gelao (9.76%), and Bai (10.00%) compared to other ethnic groups. It is significantly higher in Guizhou (11.4%), Sichuan (10.1%), Yunnan (9.3%), and Guangxi (6.9%) than that other province. We found that ethnicity and provincial background are significantly associated with HEV infection in this cohort. CONCLUSION: This study provides comprehensive information on HEV prevalence in multi-ethnic populations in China. However, our study only focused on a youth population from different provinces of China. Future studies are recommended to investigate HEV prevalence in other age groups of the ethnic populations.

The impact of COVID-19 pandemic outbreak on education and mental health of Chinese children aged 7-15 years: an online survey.

BACKGROUND: The emerging of psychological problems triggered by COVID-19 particularly in children have been extensively highlighted and emphasized, but original research in this respect is still lagging behind. Therefore, we designed this study to evaluate the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on mental health and the effectiveness and attitudes towards online education among Chinese children aged 7-15 years. METHODS: A detailed questionnaire, comprising of 62 questions was designed and parents or caretakers of 7 to 15 years old children were invited to participate via WeChat, a multi-purpose messaging, social media and mobile payment app, which is widely used by the Chinese population. A total of 668 parents across different regions of China were included. RESULTS: During COVID-19 pandemic, 20.7 and 7.2% children report experiencing post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depressive symptoms due to the COVID-19 pandemic. PTSD and SMFQ-P scores are significantly higher in middle school and boarding school students compared to primary and day school students. Multiple logistic regression analysis revealed that school system and province of origin are factors significantly associated with developing PSTD symptoms. 44.3% respondents feel online education is effective in gaining knowledge and improving practical and communications skills. 78.0% believe the online education system is efficient. Overall 79.8% respondents are satisfied and children can adapt to this new education system. During the COVID-19 pandemic, we found 1 in five children have PTSD and 1 in 14 children have depressive symptoms. CONCLUSION: In summary, COVID-19 epidemic has caused PTSD and depression symptoms among Chinese children aged 7 to 15 years. In general, a large proportion of respondents are satisfied with online education, but still a substantial proportion of students are not comfortable with this new form of learning. Authorities should optimize online education systems and implement effective interventions to cope with the psychological effects of COVID-19 on children, as it is affecting the global population and remains uncertain when it will end.

The Intestinal Microbiota: Impacts of Antibiotics Therapy, Colonization Resistance, and Diseases.

Trillions of microbes exist in the human body, particularly the gastrointestinal tract, coevolved with the host in a mutually beneficial relationship. The main role of the intestinal microbiome is the fermentation of non-digestible substrates and increased growth of beneficial microbes that produce key antimicrobial metabolites such as short-chain fatty acids, etc., to inhibit the growth of pathogenic microbes besides other functions. Intestinal microbiota can prevent pathogen colonization through the mechanism of colonization resistance. A wide range of resistomes are present in both beneficial and pathogenic microbes. Giving antibiotic exposure to the intestinal microbiome (both beneficial and hostile) can trigger a resistome response, affecting colonization resistance. The following review provides a mechanistic overview of the intestinal microbiome and the impacts of antibiotic therapy on pathogen colonization and diseases. Further, we also discuss the epidemiology of immunocompromised patients who are at high risk for nosocomial infections, colonization and decolonization of multi-drug resistant organisms in the intestine, and the direct and indirect mechanisms that govern colonization resistance to the pathogens.

Transcriptional Response of Multidrug-Resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae Clinical Isolates to Ciprofloxacin Stress.

BACKGROUND: The term "persisters" refers to a small bacterial population that persists during treatment with high antibiotic concentration or dose in the absence of genetic resistance. The present study was designed to investigate the transcriptional response in indigenous Klebsiella pneumoniae under the ciprofloxacin stress. METHODS: Isolation and identification of K. pneumoniae were carried out through standard microbiological protocols. The characterization of quinolone resistance was performed by estimating the quinolone susceptibility testing, MIC estimation, and detecting the QRDR and PMQR. Transcriptional response of the isolates to ciprofloxacin was determined using qPCR. RESULTS: Among 34 isolates, 23 (67%) were resistant to ciprofloxacin. Both QRDR (gyrA and gyrB) and PMQR (qnrA, qnrB, and qnrS) were detected in the isolates, and all were found resistant to ciprofloxacin. The mRNA levels of both mutS and euTu under the influence of ciprofloxacin were significantly increased. On ciprofloxacin exposure, the mRNA levels of the DNA damage response element (mutS) were raised in a time-dependent fashion. K. pneumoniae showed high-level resistance to ciprofloxacin in the presence of mutations in QRDR and PMQR genes. CONCLUSION: The transcriptional response revealed the upregulation of DNA repair and protein folding elements (mutS and euTu) in ciprofloxacin stress and delayed cell division. The ciprofloxacin was found to trigger various stress responses in a time- and concentration-dependent manner.

The molecular mechanism underlying GABAergic dysfunction in nucleus accumbens of depression-like behaviours in mice.

Depression is the most frequent psychiatric disorder in the world. Recent evidence has shown that stress-induced GABAergic dysfunction in the nucleus accumbens (NAc) contributed to the pathophysiology of depression. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying these pathological changes remain unclear. In this study, mice were constantly treated with the chronic unpredictable mild stress (CUMS) till showing depression-like behaviours expression. GABA synthesis, release and uptake in the NAc tissue were assessed by analysing the expression level of genes and proteins of Gad-1, VGAT and GAT-3 by qRT-PCR and Western blotting. The miRNA/mRNA network regulating GABA was constructed based on the bioinformatics prediction software and further validated by dual-luciferase reporter assay in vitro and qRT-PCR in vivo, respectively. Our results showed that the expression level of GAT-3, Gad-1 and VGAT mRNA and protein significantly decreased in the NAc tissue from CUMS-induced depression-like mice than that of control mice. However, miRNA-144-3p, miRNA-879-5p, miR-15b-5p and miRNA-582-5p that directly down-regulated the expression of Gad-1, VGAT and GAT-3 were increased. In the mRNA/miRNA regulatory GABA network, Gad-1 and VGAT were directly regulated by binding seed sequence of miR-144-3p, and miR-15b-5p, miR-879-5p could be served negative post-regulators by binding to the different sites of VGAT 3'-UTR. Chronic stress causes the impaired GABA synthesis, release and uptake by up-regulating miRNAs and down-regulating mRNAs and proteins, which may reveal the molecular mechanisms for the decreased GABA concentrations in the NAc tissue of CUMS-induced depression.

Identification of Potential Key Genes and Pathways in Early-Onset Colorectal Cancer Through Bioinformatics Analysis.

This study was designed to identify the potential key protein interaction networks, genes, and correlated pathways in early-onset colorectal cancer (CRC) via bioinformatics methods. We selected microarray data GSE4107 consisting 12 patient's colonic mucosa and 10 healthy control mucosa; initially, the GSE4107 were downloaded and analyzed using limma package to identify differentially expressed genes (DEGs). A total of 131 DEGs consisting of 108 upregulated genes and 23 downregulated genes of patients in early-onset CRC were selected by the criteria of adjusted P values <.01 and |log2 fold change (FC)| ≥ 2. The gene ontology functional enrichment analysis and the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway analysis were accomplished to view the biological process, cellular components, molecular function, and the KEGG pathways of DEGs. Finally, protein-protein interactions (PPIs) were constructed, and the hub protein module was identified. Genes such as ACTA2, ACTG2, MYH11, CALD1, MYL9, TPM2, and LMOD1 were strongly implicated in CRC. In summary, in this study, we indicated that molecular mechanisms were involved in muscle contraction and vascular smooth muscle contraction signaling pathway, which improve our understanding of CRC and could be used as new therapeutic targets for CRC.

Impact of pulsed electric field treatment on drying kinetics, mass transfer, colour parameters and microstructure of plum.

The aim of the present study was to scrutiny the impact of pulsed electric field (PEF) as a pre-treatment method on the convective drying kinetics, cell disintegration, colours and microstructural changes of fresh plums. In this study, the PEF intensities of 1-3 kV/cm, pulses number 30 and 70 °C drying temperature was applied to detect the drying kinetics. The specific energy consumption generated by PEF treatment was 10-90 kJ/kg. It was explored that the cell disintegration index increased from 0.147 to 0.572 with increased electric field intensity from 1 to 3 kV/cm. Further, we found that high cell disintegration leads to increase in drying rate and shorten drying time. The rates of water diffusion coefficient also increase with increasing PEF intensity from 0.27 to 16.47 × 10-9 m2/s. PEF pre-treatment followed by convective drying results in enhanced lightness and chroma as compared to untreated plum. Furthermore, the microscopic analysis by scanning electron microscopy at 200 × revealed that the PEF treatment at 3 kV/cm had caused shrinkage in the plum tissues which might be responsible for higher diffusion rate of water in the plum. In this work was investigated that drying kinetics and mass transfer after PEF treatment to improve quality of dried plum.

Cervical Cancer, Human Papillomavirus Infection, and Vaccine-Related Knowledge: Awareness in Chinese Women.

Cervical cancer (CC) has a high incidence and mortality and is accompanied by lack of organized CC screening programs, lack of health-care facilities, and a lack of human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination among female population in the world, particularly China. We recruited 487 females who visited the outpatient department of the First People's Hospital of Yunnan Province from November 2015 to January 2016 to complete a standardized-designed questionnaire. We found that only 39.6% of the females knew about the role of HPVs in the development of cervical cancer. Moreover, none of the females knew that HPV could cause penile carcinomas, perianal carcinomas, and head and neck carcinomas. The majority of the participants acquired information about cervical cancer, HPV, and the HPV vaccine from medical workers. Only 15.6% of the recruited females had heard about the HPV vaccine. The overall HPV vaccine acceptance rate was higher (91.2%) if the vaccine was available free of cost. In this study, we found high acceptability of the HPV vaccine in Chinese women and high awareness about cervical cancer. However, very low levels of knowledge about HPVs and their role in cancer development among the recruited women is alarming. Therefore, it is very important to initiate educational programs to raise awareness and knowledge about cervical cancer, HPV, and the HPV vaccine in this region.

Effect of dietary intervention treatment on children with iron deficiency anemia in China: a meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Previous studies have shown beneficial effects of dietary approaches for iron deficiency anemia (IDA) control. This study was design to investigate the effect of dietary intervention treatment on children with iron deficiency anemia. METHODS: We performed a systematic review of published dietary interventions effect on IDA treatment through meta-analysis. CBM, CNKI, Wanfang database, EMBASE, VIP, PubMed and Web of science database were searched to identify studies published between January, 1980 and December, 2016. Statistical analysis was performed by Revmen5.2 software. RESULTS: Initially we retrieved for 373 studies, and then 6 studies with a total of 676 individuals were included in the analysis according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria for meta-analysis. The overall pooled estimate of odds ratio [(OR), 95% confidence intervals (95% CI)] in the dietary intervention on children with iron deficiency anemia was 6.54 (95% CI: 3.48-12.31, Z = 5.82, p<0.001) and funnel plot is symmetric. CONCLUSIONS: Our meta-analysis suggested that dietary interventions are effective in improving the iron deficiency in children with iron deficiency anemia (IDA) and should be considered in the overall strategy of IDA management.

Triglycerides and total cholesterol concentrations in association with IFG/IGT in Chinese adults in Qingdao, China.

BACKGROUND: To investigative the association of triglycerides (TG) and total cholesterol (TC) concentrations with impaired fasting glucose/ impaired glucose tolerance (IFG/IGT) in Chinese adults. METHODS: The population-based cross-sectional diabetes survey was conducted in 2006 and 2009 in Qingdao, separately. 4400 participants (1 793 men and 2607 women) were include in current analysis. IFG/IGT was defined according to fasting plasma glucose (FPG) and/or 2 h post-load plasma glucose (2 h PG). Logistic regression models and areas under receiver operating characteristic curves (AUROC) were performed to estimate the associations between TG, TC levels and IFG/IGT. RESULTS: Spearman analysis showed that serum TG and TC was independently and positively associated with FPG and 2 h PG. As compared with normoglycaemia, the odds ratio[(95% confidence intervals), OR(95%CI)] for IFG/IGT corresponding to hypertriglyceridemia (HTG) were 1.61 (1. 17, 2. 22) in men and 1.57(1.15, 2.14) in women for TG and accompany with Hypercholesterolemia (HTC) 1.56 (1.15, 2.13) and 1. 20 (0.93, 1.54) for TC, when adjusting for confounding factor. The AUROCs of TG, TC for IFG/IGT were relatively smaller (0.50 < AUROC< 0. 7) in both gender. The optimal cut-offs for TG and TC was 1.61, 4.91 in men and 1. 24, 5. 32 in women, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Evaluated TG in both gender and TC in men were independently associated with the present of the IFG/IGT, yet, could not be an authentic predictors of IFG/IGT in both men and women in current Chinese population.

The effect of atorvastatin, 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase inhibitor (HMG-CoA), on the prevention of osteoporosis in ovariectomized rabbits.

Osteoporosis is a most frequent systemic skeletal disease characterized as low bone mineral density and microarchitectural deterioration of bone tissue, resulting in increased bone fragility and fracture risk. Although several drugs such as bisphosphonates, estrogen replacement treatment, and selective estrogen receptor modulators have been used to treat osteoporosis, all these are not the ideal drugs because of insufficient curative ability and adverse side effects. Recently, atorvastatin has ordinarily been prescribed as an anti-hyperlipidemia drug, not as an anti-osteoporosis drug. However, its clinical outcome and potential treatment mechanism are still unclear. In this study, the bilateral ovariectomy of rabbits was duplicated to develop osteoporosis animal model. The effect of atorvastatin on in vivo was determined, and the functional mechanism was studied in vitro after the curative effect was explored. Atorvastatin was observed to significantly increase the mechanical parameters such as maximum load, stiffness, and energy-absorbing capacity, and it improved the microarchitecture. The anti-osteoporosis activity of atorvastatin may be the result of the promotion of differentiation of osteoblasts by inducing synthesis of vascular endothelial growth factor, bone morphogenetic protein 2 (BMP2), core-binding factor alpha 1 (CBFα1), and inhibition of osteoclast formation through the osteoprotegerin (OPG)-receptor activator for the nuclear factor κB ligand (RANKL) system. Our study observations give reliable experimental evidence for clinical application of atorvastatin to treat the disorder of osteoporosis.

Genomic characterization of a large plasmid containing a bla NDM-1 gene carried on Salmonella enterica serovar Indiana C629 isolate from China.

BACKGROUND: The bla NDM-1 gene in Salmonella species is mostly reported in clinical cases, but is rarely isolated from red and white meat in China. METHODS: A Salmonella Indiana (S. Indiana) isolate was cultured from a chicken carcass procured from a slaughterhouse in China. Antimicrobial susceptibility was tested against a panel of agents. Whole-genome sequencing of the isolate was carried out and data was analyzed. RESULTS: A large plasmid, denoted as plasmid pC629 (210,106 bp), containing a composite cassette, consisting of IS26-bla NDM-1-ble MBL -△trpF-tat-cutA-ISCR1-sul1-qacE△1-aadA2-dfrA12-intI1-IS26 was identified. The latter locus was physically linked with bla OXA-1, bla CTX-M-65, bla TEM-1-encoding genes. A mercury resistance operon merACDEPTR was also identified; it was flanked on the proximal side, among IS26 element and the distally located on the bla NDM-1 gene. Plasmid pC629 also contained 21 other antimicrobial resistance-encoding genes, such as aac(6')-Ib-cr, aac(3)-VI, aadA5, aph(4)-Ia, arr-3, blmS, brp, catB3, dfrA17, floR, fosA, mph(A), mphR, mrx, nimC/nimA, oqxA, oqxB, oqxR, rmtB, sul1, sul2. Two virulence genes were also identified on plasmid pC629. CONCLUSION: To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of bla NDM-1 gene being identified from a plasmid in a S. Indiana isolate cultured from chicken carcass in China.

Alcohol Consumption and Gastric Cancer Risk: A Meta-Analysis.

BACKGROUND We sought to determine by meta-analysis the relationship between drinking alcohol and the risk of gastric cancer. MATERIAL AND METHODS A systematic Medline search was performed to identify all published reports of drinking alcohol and the associated risk of gastric cancer. Initially we retrieved 2,494 studies, but after applying inclusion and exclusion criteria, only ten studies were found to be eligible for our meta-analysis. RESULTS Our meta-analysis showed that alcohol consumption elevated the risk of gastric cancer with an odds ratio (OR) of 1.39 (95% CI 1.20-1.61). Additionally, subgroup analysis showed that only a nested case-control report from Sweden did not support this observation. Subgroup analysis of moderate drinking and heavy drinking also confirmed that drinking alcohol increased the risk of gastric cancer. Publication bias analysis (Begg's and Egger's tests) showed p values were more than 0.05, suggesting that the 10 articles included in our analysis did not have a publication bias. CONCLUSIONS The results from this meta-analysis support the hypothesis that alcohol consumption can increase the risk of gastric cancer; suggesting that effective moderation of alcohol drinking may reduce the risk of gastric cancer.

Knowledge and Awareness of Cervical Cancer, Human Papillomavirus (HPV), and HPV Vaccine Among HPV-Infected Chinese Women.

BACKGROUND It is important to understand the knowledge that various groups of a population have about cervical cancer and human papillomavirus (HPV) and their attitudes toward HPV vaccination, as it will ultimately influence their decision-making for or against the acceptability of vaccines and other preventive methods. This study was designed to determine the level of knowledge and awareness about cervical cancer, HPV, and the HPV vaccine among Chinese women in Yunnan province. MATERIAL AND METHODS A survey was conducted in Yunnan province by the Laboratory of Molecular Virology in collaboration with the Yunnan First People's Hospital in Feb 2015. A total of 388 women were recruited and asked to participate in a questionnaire-based interview that collected information related to their awareness and knowledge about: (1) cervical cancer, (2) HPV and HPV vaccine and willingness to have their children receive vaccination, and (3) demographic characteristics. RESULTS A total of 388 HPV-positive women were included; 300/388 (73.3%) were Han, and 88/388 (22.7%) were other ethnicities. Overall, 204/388 (52.6%) of the women were aware of cervical cancer, with a significant difference between Han women and women of other ethnic groups (168/388, 56.0% and 36/88, 40.9%; P=0.015). Overall, 26.5% of the women were aware of the role of HPV in cervical cancer; 29.0% of the Han women and 18.2% of women of other ethnic groups were aware of this role of HPV (P=0.05). The knowledge that HPV infection leads to cervical cancer was higher among Han women (29.0%) compared to women of other ethnicities (18.2%). Knowledge about the HPV vaccine was very low in all ethnic groups, but the Han women were more willing to allow their children to be vaccinated before they become sexually active. A similar difference has also been found in women from various regions. CONCLUSIONS Although level of awareness and knowledge about cervical cancer was moderate, knowledge and awareness of HPV and the HPV vaccine was very low. Targeted communication is very important among populations in which knowledge gaps exist in order to promote dialogue about the vaccine among patients and their healthcare providers.

Genotypic Characterization of Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus Isolated from Pigs and Retail Foods in China.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the genotypic diversity of Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) isolated from pigs and retail foods from different geographical areas in China and further to study the routes and rates of transmission of this pathogen from animals to food. METHODS: Seventy-one MRSA isolates were obtained from pigs and retail foods and then characterized by multi-locus sequencing typing (MLST), spa typing, multiple-locus variable number of tandem repeat analysis (MLVA), pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE), and antimicrobial susceptibility testing. RESULTS: All isolated MRSA exhibited multi-drug resistance (MDR). Greater diversity was found in food-associated MRSA (7 STs, 8 spa types, and 10 MLVA patterns) compared to pig-associated MRSA (3 STs, 1 spa type, and 6 MLVA patterns). PFGE patterns were more diverse for pig-associated MRSA than those of food-associated isolates (40 vs. 11 pulse types). Among the pig-associated isolates, CC9-ST9-t899-MC2236 was the most prevalent clone (96.4%), and CC9-ST9-t437-MC621 (20.0%) was the predominant clone among the food-associated isolates. The CC9-ST9 isolates showed significantly higher antimicrobial resistance than other clones. Interestingly, CC398-ST398-t034 clone was identified from both pig- and food-associated isolates. Of note, some community- and hospital-associated MRSA strains (t030, t172, t1244, and t4549) were also identified as food-associated isolates. CONCLUSION: CC9-ST9-t899-MC2236-MDR was the most predominant clone in pigs, but significant genetic diversity was observed in food-associated MRSA. Our results demonstrate the great need for improved surveillance of MRSA in livestock and food and effective prevention strategies to limit MDR-MRSA infections in China.

Ethnic and geographic variations in HPV prevalence and genotype distribution in north-western Yunnan, China.

The prevalence and genotype distribution of human papillomavirus (HPV) vary throughout the world. To assess the prevalence and genotype distribution of HPV among three ethnic groups in two geographic locations in north-western Yunnan, we recruited 522 women in Shangri-le (n = 255) and Lijiang (n = 267). PCR amplification of HPV DNA was performed on cervical cells from these women using two consensus primer systems (MY09/11 and GP5/6). Amplified-HPV DNA was genotyped using the HPV GenoArray test. Geographically, the HPV prevalence was significantly higher (P = 0.002) among Shangri-le women than among Lijiang women. Infections with high-risk (HR)-HPV and with multiple HPV genotypes were also significantly more common (P = 0.001) among women in Shangri-le than women in Lijiang. Additionally, the prevalence of overall, HR-HPV, and single genotype HPV infections was significantly higher (P = 0.001) among Tibetan women than among Naxi and Han women. HPV-16 and HPV-33 were significantly more frequent in Shangri-le women compared with Lijiang (P = 0.006) women. In addition, HPV-16 (9.81%) and HPV-33 (5.88%) were significantly more prevalent in Tibetan women than in Naxi and Han women. Here, for the first time, we highlight the significant variation in the prevalence and genotype distribution of HPV in various populations in the north-western region of Yunnan Province.

Epidemiologic characterization of human papillomavirus (HPV) infection in various regions of Yunnan Province of China.

BACKGROUND: This study was designed to determine the Human papillomavirus (HPV) prevalence and its distribution of genotypes in various regions of Yunnan Province, China. METHOD: In this study, participants were recruited during routine gynecologic examination between Oct 2013 and Feb 2015. A total of 17,898 women were recruited. Polymerase chain reaction was used for detecting the HPV positive samples and HPV geno-array test was used for genotyping. RESULTS: The overall HPV infection rate (19.9 %) among the south-western women was significantly higher (P = 0.001) than that among the north-western (18.0 %), south-eastern (13.3 %), north-eastern (11.1 %) and central women (12.9 %). The high-risk (HR) (18.1 %, P = 0.001) and single genotype (16.7 %, P = 0.001) infection rates among the South-western women were also significantly higher than those of among the north-western (13.9 %, 11.3 %), south-eastern (11.6 %, 10.5 %), north-eastern (9.6 %, 9.1 %) and central women (10.5 %, 10.0 %), respectively. While, the infections with multiple HPV (4.2 %) genotypes were significantly more common (P = 0.001) among women in north-western Yunnan than women in the south-western (1.3 %, 3.1 %), south-eastern (1.7 %, 2.7 %), north-eastern (1.5 %, 2.0 %) and central Yunnan (2.4 %, 2.9 %). A total of 30 HPV genotypes were detected; among them 13 were HR-HPV, 3 were PHR-HPV (Potential High risk), 8 were LR-HPV (Low risk) and six were unclassified. The most common HPV genotypes were HPV-52, 16, 58, 53 in control group, HPV-16, 52, 58, 39 and 53 in CINI (Cervical intraepithelial Neoplasia), HPV-52, 16, 58, 33, 53 and 81 in CINII, HPV16, 58, 18, 52, 81 in CINIII and HPV-16 18, 58, 52 in cervical cancer (CC), respectively. Such variation has also been observed about distribution of HPV genotypes distribution among single and multiple infections. CONCLUSION: This study gives an epidemiological estimate of HPV prevalence and different genotype distribution in various region of Yunnan province and further explains its prevalence in different neoplastic lesions. Overall HPV-16, 52, 58, and 18 are the leading HR-HPV genotypes.

Pathogenetic and Therapeutic Applications of Tumor Necrosis Factor-α (TNF-α) in Major Depressive Disorder: A Systematic Review.

Major depressive disorder (MDD) is characterized by mood, vegetative, cognitive, and even psychotic symptoms and signs that can cause substantial impairments in quality of life and functioning. Up to now, the exact pathogenesis of MDD remains poorly understood. Recent research has begun to reveal that the pro-inflammatory cytokines, particularly, tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), play an integral role in the pathophysiology of depressive disorders and the mechanism of antidepressant treatment. On the base of several observations: it is found that subsets of MDD patients have enhanced plasma levels TNF-α; antidepressant treatments had linked with the decline of TNF-α; central administration of TNF-α gives rise to sickness behavior which shares features with depression; and a blockade of it can ameliorate depressive symptomatology in animal models and clinical trials. In this review article, we focus on recent evidence linking TNF-α and MDD looking at data from animal and clinical studies, illustrating the pathophysiological role, susceptibility and its therapeutic application in depression. We conclude by discussing future directions for research, in particular the opportunities for the development of novel therapeutics that target TNF-α. This will be very important for designing preventative strategies and for the identification of new drug targets and preventative strategies.

HIV-1 prevalence and subtype/recombinant distribution among travelers entering China from Vietnam at the HeKou port in the Yunnan province, China, between 2003 and 2012.

The aim of this study was to assess HIV-1 prevalence and the distribution of HIV-1 subtypes among travelers crossing the border at the HeKou land port. Between 2003 and 2012, 22,799 persons were randomly recruited from people entering China from Vietnam. In this crossing border population, a total of 161 (0.71%) travelers were determined as HIV-1-positive. From them, 140 HIV-1-positive serum samples were collected for RNA extraction and subsequent RT-nested PCR amplification of the group-specific antigen (gag)-RT with a length of 2.6 kb. The DNA sequences were analyzed to determine the HIV-1 subtypes/recombinants. We found that the circulating recombinant form 01_AE (CRF01_AE) was the most common HIV-1 subtype, accounting for 49.4% (41/83) of the subtyped 83 samples, followed by CRF08_BC (26.5%, 22/83) and CRF07_BC (7.2%, 6/83). Only 1 sample was classified as subtype C. Thirteen cases could not be clustered into any known subtypes or CRFs and presented as unique recombinant forms (URFs). Of them, 6 recombination patterns were identified. They had distinct structures consisting of fragments of subtypes B, C, CRF01_AE, CRF07_BC and CRF08_BC. Between 2003 and 2012, CRF01_AE and CRE08_BC were shown to be the most prevalent recombinant forms identified each year. But yearly change of each subtype is uncertain regular among in these travelers during the past decade. Understanding the distribution of HIV-1 subtypes/recombinants and how it changes across time among individuals entering China from Vietnam through this land port is crucial to establish strategies for the prevention of HIV cross-border transmission.