The qualitative analysis of characteristic of callers to a psychological hotline at the early stage of COVID-19 in China.

BACKGROUND: As the outbreak of COVID-19, traditional face-to-face psychological intervention are difficult to achieve, so hotline becomes available and recommended strategies. The callers' characteristic could help us to study their experiences of emotional distress, as well as the reasons for calling during the pandemic, which can be used to inform future service design and delivery. METHODS: The information of 1558 callers called our hospital' s hotline for help from February 3, 2020, to March 16, 2020 were collected in the form of Tick-box and Free text, and the inductive content analysis was undertaken focusing on the reasons for caller engagement. RESULTS: It was indicated that more than half of the callers are female (59.7%), mostly between the age of 18-59 (76.5%). The average age was 37.13 ± 13.76 years old. The average duration of a call to the hotline was 10.03 ± 9.84 min. The most frequent description emotional state were anxious (45.1%) and calm (30.3%), with the sub-sequence of scared (18.2%), sad (11.9%), and angry (6.9%). All callers displayed a wide range of reasons for calling, with needing support around their emotion (64.6%), seeking practical help (44.0%), and sleep problems (20.3%) constituting the majority of calls. Among the subthemes, 314 callers thought the epidemic has made them upset, 198 asked questions about the epidemic, and 119 reported their life routines were disrupted. The prevalence of key reasons does not appear to differ over time. Through their feedback, 79.1% agreed that they felt emotionally better after calling, and 95.0% agreed that hotline had helped them. CONCLUSIONS: During the epidemic, the most concern of the public is still related to epidemics and its adverse effects. Fortunately, the hotline can be an active and effective rescue measure after an emergency happened.

Overexpression of miR-124 Protects Against Neurological Dysfunction Induced by Neonatal Hypoxic-Ischemic Brain Injury.

Neonatal hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) is a major cause of lifelong disabilities worldwide, without effective therapies and clear regulatory mechanisms. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) act as a significant regulator in neuroregeneration and neuronal apoptosis, thus holding great potential as therapeutic targets in HIE. In this study, we established the hypoxia-ischemia (HI) model in vivo and oxygen-glucose deprivation (OGD) model in vitro. Zea-longa score and magnetic resonance imaging were applied to verify HI-induced neuronal dysfunction and brain infarction. Subsequently, a miRNA microarray analysis was employed to profile miRNA transcriptomes. Down-regulated miR-124 was found 24 h after HIE, which corresponded to the change in PC12, SHSY5Y, and neurons after OGD. To determine the function of miR-124, mimics and lentivirus-mediated overexpression were used to regulate miR-124 in vivo and in vitro, respectively. Our results showed that miR-124 overexpression obviously promoted cell survival and suppressed neuronal apoptosis. Further, the memory and neurological function of rats was also obviously improved at 1 and 2 months after HI, indicated by the neurological severity score, Y-maze test, open field test, and rotating rod test. Our findings showed that overexpression of miR-124 can be a promising new strategy for HIE therapy in future clinical practice.

The enclosed ward management strategies in psychiatric hospitals during COVID-19 outbreak.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, as a large city located in Southwest China, Chengdu was mainly affected by imported cases. For a psychiatric hospital, the enclosed management model, the crowded wards and the uncooperative patients are the risk factors of nosocomial infection. Admitting new patients while preventing the COVID-19 outbreak within the institutions was a crucial challenge. The Mental Health Centre of Chengdu proposed a series of effective management strategies to deal with the rapidly evolving situation during the COVID-19 pandemic which included regulation for the inpatients, their families and staff, and achieved Zero infection in our hospital.

Disrupted brain functional networks in drug-naïve children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder assessed using graph theory analysis.

Neuroimaging studies have revealed functional brain network abnormalities in attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), but the results have been inconsistent, potentially related to confounding medication effects. Furthermore, specific topological alterations in functional networks and their role in behavioral inhibition dysfunction remain to be established. Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging was performed on 51 drug-naïve children with ADHD and 55 age-matched healthy controls. Brain functional networks were constructed by thresholding the partial correlation matrices of 90 brain regions, and graph theory was used to analyze network topological properties. The Stroop test was used to assess cognitive inhibitory abilities. Nonparametric permutation tests were used to compare the topological architectures in the two groups. Compared with healthy subjects, brain networks in ADHD patients demonstrated altered topological characteristics, including lower global (FDR q = 0.01) and local efficiency (p = 0.032, uncorrected) and a longer path length (FDR q = 0.01). Lower nodal efficiencies were found in the left inferior frontal gyrus and anterior cingulate cortex in the ADHD group (FDR both q < 0.05). Altered global and nodal topological efficiencies were associated with the severity of inhibitory cognitive control deficits and hyperactivity symptoms in ADHD (p <0 .05). Alterations in network topologies in drug-naïve ADHD patients indicate weaker small-worldization with decreased segregation and integration of functional brain networks. Deficits in the cingulo-fronto-parietal attention network were associated with inhibitory control deficits.

Brain grey-matter volume alteration in adult patients with bipolar disorder under different conditions: a voxel-based meta-analysis

Background: The literature on grey-matter volume alterations in bipolar disorder is heterogeneous in its findings. Methods: Using effect-size differential mapping, we conducted a meta-analysis of grey-matter volume alterations in patients with bipolar disorder compared with healthy controls. Results: We analyzed data from 50 studies that included 1843 patients with bipolar disorder and 2289 controls. Findings revealed lower grey-matter volumes in the bilateral superior frontal gyri, left anterior cingulate cortex and right insula in patients with bipolar disorder and in patients with bipolar disorder type I. Patients with bipolar disorder in the euthymic and depressive phases had spatially distinct regions of altered grey-matter volume. Meta-regression revealed that the proportion of female patients with bipolar disorder or bipolar disorder type I was negatively correlated with regional grey-matter alteration in the right insula; the proportion of patients with bipolar disorder or bipolar disorder type I taking lithium was positively correlated with regional grey-matter alterations in the left anterior cingulate/paracingulate gyri; and the proportion of patients taking antipsychotic medications was negatively correlated with alterations in the anterior cingulate/paracingulate gyri. Limitations: This study was cross-sectional; analysis techniques, patient characteristics and clinical variables in the included studies were heterogeneous. Conclusion: Structural grey-matter abnormalities in patients with bipolar disorder and bipolar disorder type I were mainly in the prefrontal cortex and insula. Patients' mood state might affect grey-matter alterations. Abnormalities in regional grey-matter volume could be correlated with patients' specific demographic and clinical features.

Psychoradiologic abnormalities of white matter in patients with bipolar disorder: diffusion tensor imaging studies using tract-based spatial statistics

Background: An increasing number of psychoradiology studies that use tract-based spatial statistics (TBSS) of diffusion tensor imaging have reported abnormalities of white matter in patients with bipolar disorder; however, robust conclusions have proven elusive, especially considering some important clinical and demographic factors. In the present study, we performed a quantitative meta-analysis of TBSS studies to elucidate the most consistent white-matter abnormalities in patients with bipolar disorder. Methods: We conducted a systematic search up to May 2017 for all TBSS studies comparing fractional anisotropy (FA) between patients with bipolar disorder and healthy controls. We performed anisotropic effect size­signed differential mapping meta-analysis. Results: We identified a total of 22 data sets including 556 patients with bipolar disorder and 623 healthy controls. We found significant FA reductions in the genu and body of the corpus callosum in patients with bipolar disorder relative to healthy controls. No regions of increased FA were reported. In subgroup analyses, the FA reduction in the genu of the corpus callosum retained significance in patients with bipolar disorder type I, and the FA reduction in the body of the corpus callosum retained significance in euthymic patients with bipolar disorder. Meta-regression analysis revealed that the percentage of female patients was negatively correlated with reduced FA in the body of the corpus callosum. Limitations: Data acquisition, patient characteristics and clinical variables in the included studies were heterogeneous. The small number of diffusion tensor imaging studies using TBSS in patients with bipolar disorder type II, as well as the lack of other clinical information, hindered the application of subgroup meta-analyses. Conclusion: Our study consistently identified decreased FA in the genu and body of the corpus callosum, suggesting that interhemispheric communication may be the connectivity most affected in patients with bipolar disorder.

Neuroanatomical correlates of grit: Growth mindset mediates the association between gray matter structure and trait grit in late adolescence.

There is a long-standing interest in exploring the factors related to student achievement. As a newly explored personality trait, grit is defined as a person's tendency to pursue long-term goals with continual perseverance and passion, and grit plays a critical role in student achievement. Increasing evidence has shown that growth mindset, the belief that one's basic abilities are malleable and can be developed through effort, is a potential factor for cultivating grit. However, less is known about the association between grit and the brain and the role of growth mindset in this association. Here, we utilized voxel-based morphometry to examine the neuroanatomical correlates of grit in 231 healthy adolescent students by performing structural magnetic resonance imaging. The whole-brain regression analyses revealed that the regional gray matter volume (rGMV) in the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) negatively predicted grit. In contrast, the rGMV in the right putamen positively predicted grit. Furthermore, mediating analyses suggested that growth mindset served as a mediator in the association between left DLPFC volume and grit. Our results persisted even after controlling for the influences of self-control and delayed gratification. Overall, our study presents novel evidence for the neuroanatomical basis of grit and highlights that growth mindset might play an essential role in cultivating a student's grit level.

Gray matter bases of psychotic features in adult bipolar disorder: A systematic review and voxel-based meta-analysis of neuroimaging studies.

Psychotic bipolar disorder (P-BD) is a specific subset that presents greater risk of relapse and worse outcomes than nonpsychotic bipolar disorder (NP-BD). To explore the neuroanatomical bases of psychotic dimension in bipolar disorder (BD), a systematic review was carried out based on the gray matter volume (GMV) among P-BD and NP-BD patients and healthy controls (HC). Further, we conducted a meta-analysis of GMV differences between P-BD patients and HC using a whole-brain imaging approach. Our review revealed that P-BD patients exhibited smaller GMVs mainly in the prefronto-temporal and cingulate cortices, the precentral gyrus, and insula relative to HC both qualitatively and quantitatively. Qualitatively the comparison between P-BD and NP-BD patients suggested inconsistent GMV alterations mainly involving the prefrontal cortex, while NP-BD patients showed GMV deficits in local regions compared with HC. The higher proportions of female patients and patients taking psychotropic medication in P-BD and P-BD type I were associated with smaller GMV in the right precentral gyrus, and the right insula, respectively. In conclusions, psychosis in BD might be associated with specific cortical GMV deficits. Gender and psychotropic medication might have effects on the regional GMVs in P-BD patients. It is necessary to distinguish psychotic dimension in neuroimaging studies of BD.

Psychoradiological patterns of small-world properties and a systematic review of connectome studies of patients with 6 major psychiatric disorders

Background: Brain connectome research based on graph theoretical analysis shows that small-world topological properties play an important role in the structural and functional alterations observed in patients with psychiatric disorders. However, the reported global topological alterations in small-world properties are controversial, are not consistently conceptualized according to agreed-upon criteria, and are not critically examined for consistent alterations in patients with each major psychiatric disorder. Methods: Based on a comprehensive PubMed search, we systematically reviewed studies using noninvasive neuroimaging data and graph theoretical approaches for 6 major psychiatric disorders: schizophrenia, major depressive disorder (MDD), attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), bipolar disorder (BD), obsessive­compulsive disorder (OCD) and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Here, we describe the main patterns of altered small-world properties and then systematically review the evidence for these alterations in the structural and functional connectome in patients with these disorders. Results: We selected 40 studies of schizophrenia, 33 studies of MDD, 5 studies of ADHD, 5 studies of BD, 7 studies of OCD and 5 studies of PTSD. The following 4 patterns of altered small-world properties are defined from theperspectives of segregation and integration: "regularization," "randomization," "stronger small-worldization" and "weaker small-worldization." Although more differences than similarities are noted in patients with these disorders, a prominent trend is the structural regularization versus functional randomization in patients with schizophrenia. Limitations: Differences in demographic and clinical characteristics, preprocessing steps and analytical methods can produce contradictory results, increasing the difficulty of integrating results across different studies. Conclusion: Four psychoradiological patterns of altered small-world properties are proposed. The analysis of altered smallworld properties may provide novel insights into the pathophysiological mechanisms underlying psychiatric disorders from a connectomic perspective. In future connectome studies, the global network measures of both segregation and integration should be calculated to fully evaluate altered small-world properties in patients with a particular disease.

Intercellular adhesion molecular-1, Fas, and Fas ligand as diagnostic biomarkers for acute allograft rejection of pancreaticoduodenal transplantation in pigs.

BACKGROUND: The early diagnosis of pancreas allograft dysfunction is crucial for the management and long-term survival of transplanted pancreases. We investigated whether intercellular adhesion molecular-1 (ICAM-1), Fas, and Fas ligand (FasL) can be used as novel biomarkers of acute pancreaticoduodenal allograft dysfunction in pigs. METHODS: Forty outbred landraces were randomly divided into three groups. In the control group (8 pigs), a sham operation was performed but no drugs were administered. In groups 1 and 2 (8 pairs each), pancreaticoduodenal transplantation was performed, with the latter administered immunosuppressive drugs and the former not administered drugs. The expression of ICAM-1, Fas, and FasL mRNA in the peripheral vein blood was assessed by flow cytometry and RT-PCR, pre-transplant and on days 1, 3, 5, and 7 after transplantation. Simultaneously, the levels of glucose, insulin, and glucagon in the serum of the recipients were evaluated. The allograft pancreas tissue was obtained to assess the pathological damage and the expression of Fas and FasL by immunohistochemistry. RESULTS: On the first 7 days after transplantation, ICAM-1, Fas, and FasL mRNA expression in the blood leukocytes of the recipient increased significantly in groups 1 and 2 compared with the control group (P < 0.01). However, the levels in group 2 were significantly lower than those in group 1 (P < 0.05). Interestingly, the FasL expression increased but the Fas expression decreased gradually in the graft pancreas tissue during the first week after transplantation in both groups 1 and 2 compared with the control group (P < 0.05). The levels of serous glucose, insulin, and glucagon in groups 1 and 2 obviously changed on day 1 after transplantation but returned to normal on day 2. The recipient's pancreas pathological sections did not exhibit any rejection changes on days 1 and 3 after transplantation but showed rejection damage on days 5 and 7. CONCLUSION: ICAM-1, Fas, and FasL were found to be sensitive biomarkers of acute pancreas allograft dysfunction after pancreaticoduodenal transplantation in pigs, and their monitoring could be used to evaluate the effectiveness of the immunosuppression therapy.

Effectiveness of a community-based peer support service among persons suffering severe mental illness in China.

Background: Community-based peer support service is widely and effectively deployed for persons suffering severe mental illness (SMI) in countries with well-developed outpatient mental health systems. The objective of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of a 1-year peer service project among persons with SMI implemented in China. Methods: A total of 101 consumers (service recipients) and 66 family caregivers were recruited at baseline from communities located in Beijing and Chengdu. Severity of psychiatric symptoms, personal and social functioning, self-esteem, life satisfaction, and medication adherence were evaluated among consumers. Self-esteem, life satisfaction, anxiety, and depressive symptoms were assessed among family caregivers. Participants were reevaluated at 1 year with the same measures. Changes in outcomes from baseline to 1-year follow-up were examined using paired sample t tests or Stuart-Maxwell tests. Results: Consumers' psychiatric symptoms were decreased at 1 year (p < 0.001). Their personal and social functioning (p = 0.003) and life satisfaction (p < 0.001) were increased. There were no improvements in self-esteem (p = 0.108) and medication adherence (ps ≥ 0.827) among consumers. For caregivers, no increases were presented in outcomes at the 1-year assessment (ps ≥ 0.164). Conclusions: The findings suggest that peer support services could be sustainably implemented across China, with positive impacts on the psychiatric symptoms, social functioning, and life satisfaction of participants suffering SMI.

Functional abnormalities of striatum are related to the season-specific effect on schizophrenia.

Schizophrenia is a syndrome that is typically accompanied by delusions, hallucinations and cognitive impairments. Specifically, abundant evidences support the notion that more people diagnosed with schizophrenia are born during fall-winter than spring-summer. Although pathophysiological of schizophrenia might be associated with abnormal brain functional network, little is currently known the relationship between season and deficient brain functional network of schizophrenia. To investigate this issue, in this study 51 schizophrenic subjects and 72 healthy controls underwent MRI scanning to detect the brain functional mapping, each at spring-summer and fall-winter season throughout the year. The data-driven method was used to measure the blood oxygen metabolism variability (BOMV). Decreased BOMV in spring-summer while increased in fall-winter were observed within dopaminergic network of schizophrenic subjects, including striatum, thalamus, and hippocampus. The post hoc analysis exploring the coupling among changed BOMV regions, confirmed that a positive relationship, between pallidum and hippocampus existed in fall-winter healthy controls, but not in fall-winter schizophrenic subjects. These findings identified that seasonal effect on striatum might be associated with modulation of striatum-hippocampus. Our results provide a new insight into the role of season in understanding the pathophysiological of schizophrenia.

The Benefits of Music Listening for Induced State Anxiety: Behavioral and Physiological Evidence.

BACKGROUND: Some clinical studies have indicated that neutral and happy music may relieve state anxiety. However, the brain mechanisms by which these effective interventions in music impact state anxiety remain unknown. METHODS: In this study, we selected music with clinical effects for therapy, and 62 subjects were included using the evoked anxiety paradigm. After evoking anxiety with a visual stimulus, all subjects were randomly divided into three groups (listening to happy music, neutral music and a blank stimulus), and EEG signals were acquired. RESULTS: We found that different emotional types of music might have different mechanisms in state anxiety interventions. Neutral music had the effect of alleviating state anxiety. The brain mechanisms supported that neutral music ameliorating state anxiety was associated with decreased power spectral density of the occipital lobe and increased brain functional connectivity between the occipital lobe and frontal lobe. Happy music also had the effect of alleviating state anxiety, and the brain mechanism was associated with enhanced brain functional connectivity between the occipital lobe and right temporal lobe. CONCLUSIONS: This study may be important for a deep understanding of the mechanisms associated with state anxiety music interventions and may further contribute to future clinical treatment using nonpharmaceutical interventions.

Altered Spatial Organization of Dynamic Functional Network Associates With Deficient Sensory and Perceptual Network in Schizophrenia.

Schizophrenia is currently thought as a disorder with dysfunctional communication within and between sensory and cognitive processes. It has been hypothesized that these deficits mediate heterogeneous and comprehensive schizophrenia symptomatology. In this study, we investigated as to how the abnormal dynamic functional architecture of sensory and cognitive networks may contribute to these symptoms in schizophrenia. We calculated a sliding-window-based dynamic functional connectivity strength (FCS) and amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation (ALFF) maps. Then, using group-independent component analysis, we characterized spatial organization of dynamic functional network (sDFN) across various time windows. The spatial architectures of FCS/ALFF-sDFN were similar with traditional resting-state functional networks and cannot be accounted by length of the sliding window. Moreover, schizophrenic subjects demonstrated reduced dynamic functional connectivity (dFC) within sensory and perceptual sDFNs, as well as decreased connectivity between these sDFNs and high-order frontal sDFNs. The severity of patients' positive and total symptoms was related to these abnormal dFCs. Our findings revealed that the sDFN during rest might form the intrinsic functional architecture and functional changes associated with psychotic symptom deficit. Our results support the hypothesis that the dynamic functional network may influence the aberrant sensory and cognitive function in schizophrenia, further highlighting that targeting perceptual deficits could extend our understanding of the pathophysiology of schizophrenia.

Altered asymmetries of diffusion and volumetry in basal ganglia of schizophrenia.

Basal ganglia, which include the striatum and thalamus, have key roles in motivation, emotion, motor function, also contribute to higher-order cognitive function. Previous researches have documented structural and functional alterations in basal ganglia in schizophrenia. While few studies have assessed asymmetries of these characters in basal ganglia of schizophrenia. The current study investigated this issue by using diffusion tensor imaging, anatomic T1-weight image and resting-state functional data from 88 chronic schizophrenic subjects and 92 healthy controls. The structural characteristic, including fractional anisotropy, mean diffusivity (MD) and volume, were extracted and quantified from the subregions of basal ganglia, including caudate, putamen, pallidum and thalamus, through automated atlas-based method. The resting-state functional maps of these regions were also calculated through seed-based functional connectivity. Then, the laterality indexes of structural and functional features were calculated. Compared with healthy controls, schizophrenic subjects showed increased left laterality of volume in striatum and reduced left laterality of volume in thalamus. Furthermore, the difference of laterality of subregions in thalamus is compensatory in schizophrenic subjects. Importantly, the severity of patients' positive symptom was negative corelated with reduced left laterality of volume in thalamus. Our findings provide preliminary evidence demonstrating that the possibility of aberrant laterality in neural pathways and connectivity patterns related to the basal ganglia in schizophrenia.

Prevention and Control of COVID-19 Infection in a Chinese Mental Health Center.

Faced with the rapid spread of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), a global public health threat, psychiatric hospitals are under huge pressure to prevent and control nosocomial infection. The current research analyzed the COVID-19 infection control practices in a regional mental health center in China and addressed how this type of medical institutions could enhance their ability to prevent and control hospital transmission of major respiratory diseases and general management of nosocomial infection risks. Firstly, hospital-related risks of COVID-19 were analyzed, and targeted prevention and control measures were then established. Pre- and post-intervention theoretical knowledge of nosocomial infection control, hand hygiene compliance and accuracy, use of personal protective equipment, and disinfection and sterilization effectiveness were evaluated and compared. All the indexes displayed significant improvements following the implementation of the prevention and control measures. Up to the submission of this paper, the mental health center had obtained no suspected or confirmed case of COVID-19 infection due to hospital transmission. The findings provide empirical evidence for the effectiveness of the COVID-19 preventive strategies and have important implications for integrated and characterized infection control in mental health centers during a major epidemic. The establishment of the transitional isolation ward and air fumigation using traditional Chinese medicine for patients and staff are preventive measures worthy of further discussion and dissemination.

Household poverty in people with severe mental illness in rural China: 1994-2015.

BACKGROUND: Little is known about poverty trends in people with severe mental illness (SMI) over a long time span, especially under conditions of fast socioeconomic development. AIMS: This study aims to unravel changes in household poverty levels among people with SMI in a fast-changing rural community in China. METHOD: Two mental health surveys, using ICD-10, were conducted in the same six townships of Xinjin county, Chengdu, China. A total of 711 and 1042 people with SMI identified in 1994 and 2015, respectively, participated in the study. The Foster-Greer-Thorbecke poverty index was adopted to measure the changes in household poverty. These changes were decomposed into effects of growth and equity using a static decomposition method. Factors associated with household poverty in 1994 and 2015 were examined and compared by regression analyses. RESULTS: The proportion of poor households, as measured by the headcount ratio, increased significantly from 29.8% in 1994 to 39.5% in 2015. Decomposition showed that poverty in households containing people with SMI had worsened because of a redistribution effect. Factors associated with household poverty had also changed during the study period. The patient's age, ability to work and family size were of paramount significance in 2015. CONCLUSIONS: This study shows that the levels of poverty faced by households containing people with SMI has become more pressing with China's fast socioeconomic development. It calls for further integration of mental health recovery and targeted antipoverty interventions for people with SMI as a development priority.

The development of the 'COVID-19 Psychological Resilience Model' and its efficacy during the COVID-19 pandemic in China.

During the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak, traditional face-to-face psychological interventions have been suspended due to high risks of rapid transmission. Developing an effective online model of psychological intervention is deemed necessary to deal with the mental health challenges brought up by this disease. An integrated psychological intervention model coined 'COVID-19 Psychological Resilience Model' was developed in Chengdu, China including live media, 24-hour hotline consultations, online video intervention and on-site crisis intervention sessions to provide services to those in need. A total of 45 episodes of live media programs on COVID-19 outbreak-related psychological problems were broadcasted with over 10 million views. A total of 4,236 hotline consultations were completed. More than 50% of the clients had positive feedback about the hotline consultations. A total of 223 cases received online video intervention, of which 84.97% were redirected from the hotline consultation and 15.03% from COVID-19-designated hospital and community-based observation spots. Seventy one-on-one psychological interventions were conducted with 39 COVID-19 patients, and one-third were treated with medication. Additionally, 5 training sessions were conducted to 98 frontline medical staff. This 'COVID-19 Psychological Resilience Model' is proven effective to the general population during the COVID-19 pandemic. We have greatly improved the overall mental health of our target population during the COVID-19 pandemic. This model could provide valuable experiences and serve as a reference guide for other countries to offer effective psychological intervention, and reduce detrimental negative mental health outcomes in public health emergency.

A single-nucleotide polymorphism induced alternative splicing in Tacr3 involves in hypoxic-ischemic brain damage.

Single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) and Alternative splicing (AS) were found to be implicated in certain diseases, nevertheless, the contributions of mRNA SNPs and AS to pathogenesis in developing rat brains with hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) remained largely vague. Additionally, the disease associated with Tacr3 was normosmic congenital hypogonadotropic hypogonadism, while the relationship between HIE and Tacr3 remained largely elusive. The current study was designed to investigate the differentially expressed mRNAs and related SNPs as well as AS in neonatal rats subjected to HIE to identify if the exhibition of AS was associated with SNPs under pathological condition. Firstly, we used postnatal day 7 Sprague-Dawley rats to construct neonatal HIE model, and analyzed the expression profiles of SNP mRNA in hypoxic-ischemic (HI) and sham brains by using RNA sequencing. Then four genes, including Mdfic, Lpp, Bag3 and Tacr3, connecting with HIE and exhibiting SNPs and AS were identified by bioinformatics analysis. Moreover, combined with exonic splicing enhancer (ESE) and alternative splice site predictor (ASSP) analysis, we found that Tacr3 is associated specifically with HIE through 258547789 G > A SNP in inside the Alt First Exon and 258548573 G > A SNP in outside the Alt First Exon. Taken together, our study provides new evidence to understand the role of Tacr3 in HIE and it is possibly a potential target for the treatment of HIE in future clinic trial.