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Objective:To understand the current status of self-management positivity of postoperative patients with esophageal cancer and to analyze its influencing factors.Methods:From August 2022 to September 2023, 158 postoperative patients with esophageal cancer at Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Prevention and Control Center were selected by convenience sampling method, and were investigated using a general information questionnaire, Patient Activation Measure (PAM), Fear of Progression Questionnaire Short Form (FOP-Q-SF), and Family APGAR Index (IAPGAR) for a cross-sectional survey, and multiple linear regression was used to analyze the influencing factors of the self-management positivity in patients with postoperative esophageal cancer.Results:Totally 144 questionnaires were effectively collected, of which 106 males and 38 females, with 22 cases aged 18-39 years old, 55 cases aged 40-59 years old, and 67 cases aged ≥ 60 years old. Totally 144 patients scored (59.61 ± 16.07) points on the PAM, (40.45 ± 9.76) on the FOP-Q-SF, and (11.41 ± 2.36) on the IAPGAR, and the results of the multiple linear regression analysis showed that the literacy level, fear of disease progression, and family caring index were the influencing factors of the positivity of the patients′ self-management after the surgery of esophageal cancer ( t=2.54, -13.49, 2.45, all P<0.05). Conclusions:There is always room for improvement in the degree of active self-management of postoperative patients with esophageal cancer. Clinical care workers should pay close attention to the current status of self-management positivity of postoperative patients with esophageal cancer, and formulate a systematic, scientific, and effective intervention strategy for self-management positivity.
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We present numerical results for three-dimensional (3D) solitons with symmetries of the semi-vortex (SV) and mixed-mode (MM) types, which can be created in spinor Bose-Einstein condensates of Rydberg atoms under the action of the spin-orbit coupling (SOC). By means of systematic numerical computations, we demonstrate that the interplay of SOC and long-range spherically symmetric Rydberg interactions stabilize the 3D solitons, improving their resistance to collapse. We find how the stability range depends on the strengths of the SOC and Rydberg interactions and the soft-core atomic radius.
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Developmental sevoflurane exposure leads to neuronal cell death, and subsequent learning and memory cognitive defects. The underlyi\ng mechanism remains to be elucidated. Gasdermin D (GSDMD)-mediated pyroptosis is a form of inflammatory cell death and participates in a variety of neurodegenerative diseases. Several studies illustrated that dysregulation of mTOR activity is involved in pyroptotic cell death. The current study was designed to interrogate the role of GSDMD-mediated pyroptosis and mTOR activity in developmental sevoflurane exposure. We found that inhibition of GSDMD pore formation with Disulfiram (DSF) or Necrosulfonamide (NSA) significantly attenuated sevoflurane neurotoxicity in vitro. In addition, treatment with DSF or NSA also mitigated damage-associated molecular patterns (DAMPs) release and subsequent plasma membrane rupture (PMR) induced by sevoflurane challenge. Further investigation showed that the overactivation of mTOR signaling is involved in sevoflurane induced pyroptosis both in vivo and in vitro. Intriguingly, we found that the DAMPs release and subsequent PMR triggered by developmental sevoflurane priming were compromised by knocking down the expression of mTORC1 component Raptor, but not mTORC2 component Rictor. Moreover, sevoflurane induced pyroptosis could also be restored by suppressing mTOR activity or knocking down the expressions of Ras-related small GTPases RagA or RagC. Finally, administration of DSF or NSA dramatically improved the spatial and emotional cognitive disorders without alternation of locomotor activity. Taken together, these results indicate that mTORC1-dependent and GSDMD-mediated pyroptosis contributes to the developmental sevoflurane neurotoxicity. Characterizing these processes may provide experimental evidence for the possible prevention of developmental sevoflurane neurotoxicity.
Subject(s)
Gasdermins , Mechanistic Target of Rapamycin Complex 1 , Neurotoxicity Syndromes , Phosphate-Binding Proteins , Pyroptosis , Humans , Intracellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins/metabolism , Mechanistic Target of Rapamycin Complex 1/metabolism , Neurotoxicity Syndromes/metabolism , Phosphate-Binding Proteins/metabolism , Sevoflurane , Gasdermins/metabolismABSTRACT
This study aims to investigate the effect and mechanism of saikosaponin D on the proliferation, apoptosis, and autophagy of pancreatic cancer Panc-1 cells. The cell counting kit(CCK-8) was used to examine the effects of 7, 10, 13, 16, 19, 22, 25, and 28 μmol·L~(-1) saikosaponin D on the proliferation of Panc-1 cells. Three groups including the control(0 μmol·L~(-1)), low-concentration(10 μmol·L~(-1)) saikosaponin D, and high-concentration(16 μmol·L~(-1)) saikosaponin D groups were designed. The colony formation assay was employed to measure the effect of saikosaponin D on the colony formation rate of Panc-1 cells. The cells treated with saikosaponin D were stained with hematoxylin-eosin(HE), and the changes of cell morphology were observed. Hoechst 33258 fluorescent staining was used to detect the effect of saikosaponin D on the cell apoptosis. The autophagy staining assay kit with MDC was used to examine the effect of saikosaponin D on the autophagy of Panc-1 cells. Western blot and immunocytochemistry(ICC) were employed to examine the effect of saikosaponin D on the expression levels and distribution of B-cell lymphoma-2(Bcl-2), Bcl-2-associated X protein(Bax), cysteine-aspartic acid protease-3(caspase-3), cleaved caspase-3, autophagy-associated protein Beclin1, microtubule-associated protein light chain 3(LC3), protein kinase B(Akt), phosphorylated protein kinase B(p-Akt), mammalian target of rapamycin(mTOR), and phosphorylated mammalian target of rapamycin(p-mTOR). The results showed that compared with the control group, saikosaponin D decreased the proliferation rate of Panc-1 cells in a dose-dependent and time-dependent manner. The colony formation rate of the cells significantly decreased after saikosaponin D treatment. Compared with the control group, the cells treated with saikosaponin D became small, accompanied by the formation of apoptotic bodies. The saikosaponin D groups showed increased apoptosis rate and autophagic vesicle accumulation. Compared with the control group, saikosaponin D up-regulated the expression of Bax, cleaved caspase3, Beclin1, LC3Ⅱ/LC3Ⅰ and down-regulated the expression of Bcl-2, caspase-3, p-Akt/Akt, and p-mTOR/mTOR. In addition, these proteins mainly existed in the cytoplasm. In conclusion, saikosaponin D can inhibit the proliferation and induce the apoptosis and autophagy of Panc-1 cells via inhibiting the Akt/mTOR pathway.
Subject(s)
Humans , Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt/genetics , Caspase 3 , bcl-2-Associated X Protein , Beclin-1/pharmacology , Cell Line, Tumor , TOR Serine-Threonine Kinases/genetics , Apoptosis , Pancreatic Neoplasms/drug therapy , Caspases , AutophagyABSTRACT
We theoretically propose a scheme to achieve all-optical nonreciprocal magnon lasing action in a composite cavity optomagnonical system considering of a yttrium iron garnet sphere coupled to a parametric resonator. The magnon lasing behavior can be engendered via the magnon-induced Brillouin scattering process in the cavity optomagnonical system. By unidirectionally driving the χ(2)-nonlinear resonator with a classical coherent field, the squeezed effect occurs only in the selected direction due to the phase-matching condition, resulting in asymmetric detuning between the two resonators, which is the physical mechanism to generate a nonreciprocal magnon laser. We further examine the gain factor and power threshold of the magnon laser. Moreover, the isolation rate can reach 21 dB by adjusting the amplitude of the parametric amplification. Our work shows a path to obtain an all-optical nonreciprocal magnon laser, which provides a means for the preparation of a coherent magnon laser and laser protection.
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Realizing vector spatiotemporal solitons that are stable in high dimensions is a long-standing goal in the study of nonlinear optical physics. Here, a scheme is proposed to generate three-dimensional (3D) vector spatiotemporal solitons in a cold atomic system with linear and nonlinear parity-time (PT) potentials by utilizing electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT). We investigate the existence and stability of these vector 3D semilunar solitons (SSs) and vortex solitons (VSs) supported by the linear and nonlinear PT potentials. The results show that these solitons have extremely low generation power and very slow propagation velocity and can stably propagate with constant total energy in this system. The frontal head-on collisions of two vector solitons feature quasi-elastic collisions. The dynamics characteristics of these solitons depend on the linear and nonlinear PT-symmetric potential parameters, in particular, the imaginary part of PT potentials. Our study provides a new route for manipulating high-dimensional nonlinear vector optical signals via the controlled optical linear and nonlinear potentials in cold atomic gases.
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Systems exhibiting parity-time (PT) symmetry are, in general, non-Hermitian systems, in which exceptional points (EPs) emerge when the system transits from the PT-symmetric phase to the broken-PT-symmetric phase. Based on the abnormal exponential amplification effect in EPs, it is often used to generate, control and transmit light in non-Hermitian systems. In this paper, we theoretically analyze the generation of the frequency components at the sum sideband by considering the nonlinear terms of the optomechanical dynamics in a double-probe-field-driven mechanical PT-symmetric system. Using experimentally achievable parameters, we demonstrate that the efficiency of sum sideband generation (SSG) can be significantly enhanced in EPs, even that the efficiency of SSG can be raised by three orders of magnitude compared to the general optomechanical system by adjusting the appropriate system parameters. These results are beneficial to explore the transmission and conversion of light in chip-scale optical communications.
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The general epidemic characteristics of seven key human parasitic diseases in Hubei Province, including schistosomiasis, malaria, filariasis, kala-azar (visceral leishmaniasis), soil-transmitted helminth infection, food-borne parasitic diseases, and echinococcosis, is reviewed in order to analyze the current epidemic situation and trend. At present, the epidemic of parasitic diseases has dropped to the lowest level in history in Hubei Province, but there still exists high risk of infections in some local areas. Along with the deepening of global economic integration and the implementation of the strategy of "the Belt and Road", and the expanding of dietary spectrum for human pursuing diversified material and cultural life, we are facing the transmission risk from imported parasitic diseases and rare parasitic diseases. Current monitoring efforts have been weakened due to the decline in work supporting measures. There will be potential risks of local outbreaks if an epidemic is not effectively controlled in time. It is recommended to maintain the multi-sectoral cooperation mechanism under the leadership of the government, further improve capacity building to ensure a capable and stable professional team for the prevention and control of parasitic diseases, and to increase the monitoring of parasitic diseases during the "14th Five-Year Plan" period, so as to consolidate the achievements of parasitic disease prevention and control and promote the health of people in Hubei Province.
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Lysophosphatidic acid(LPA)is a small bioactive phospholipid that mediates various cellular processes such as proliferation, survival, and migration. In particular, LPA signaling has been shown to affect the development of diverse tissues. Our previous work demonstrated that LPA could promote primary neonatal rat cardiomyocytes proliferation. However, the role of LPA and its receptor in postnatal heart de-velopment is unknown. By using databases for biological information and RT-qPCR, we analyzed the ex-pression of six LPA receptors (LPA
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Objective:To study the protective effect of the Wenyang Huoxue Huatan prescription (WYHXHT) on cardiotoxicity induced by adriamycin. Method:SD rats were randomly divided into the following six groups: a normal control group, an adriamycin model group, a low-dose (4.86 g·kg<sup>-1</sup>) WYHXHT group, a middle-dose (9.72 g·kg<sup>-1</sup>) WYHXHT group, a high-dose (19.44 g·kg<sup>-1</sup>) WYHXHT group, and a dexrazoxane group. Except for the normal control group, the rats in other groups received intraperitoneal injection of 2.5 mg·kg<sup>-1</sup> adriamycin, once a week for six weeks, with a cumulative dose of 15 mg·kg<sup>-1</sup>. The normal control group, the adriamycin model group, and the dexrazoxane group received 10 mL·kg<sup>-1</sup> normal saline daily by gavage. In the dexrazoxane group, the rats were subjected to intraperitoneal injection of 25 mg·kg<sup>-1</sup> dexrazoxane 30 min before doxorubicin administration, once a week for six weeks. The general condition of rats was observed and their body weight was monitored. A high-resolution micro-ultrasound imaging system was used to detect rat cardiac function. Hematoxylin-eosin (HE) staining was performed to observe the pathological changes of myocardial tissues of rats. Western blot was used to detect the protein expression of microtubule-associated protein 1 light chain 3 (LC3) Ⅱ, the mammalian homolog of yeast Atg6 (Beclin-1), and p62 protein in rat myocardial tissues. Result:Compared with the normal control group, rats in the adriamycin model group showed dull fur, reduced food intake and activity, loose stool, low energy, and slow response. Besides, it also displayed reduced body weight (<italic>P</italic><0.01), decreased left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) and left ventricular fractional shortening (LVFS) (<italic>P</italic><0.01), myocardial cell degeneration, edema, rupture, and dissolution, expansion of myocardial interstitium, uneven staining of myocardial fiber, visible inflammatory cell infiltration, up-regulated expression of Beclin-1 and LC3Ⅱ in rat myocardial tissues (<italic>P</italic><0.01), and down-regulated p62 expression (<italic>P</italic><0.01). Compared with the adriamycin model group, the medium- and high-dose WYHXHT groups exhibited increased body weight, LVEF, and LVFS (<italic>P</italic><0.01), relieved pathological injury of myocardial tissues, down-regulated expression of LC3Ⅱ and Beclin-1 (<italic>P</italic><0.05,<italic>P</italic><0.01), and up-regulated expression of p62 (<italic>P</italic><0.05,<italic>P</italic><0.01). Conclusion:WYHXHT can effectively prevent and treat adriamycin-induced cardiotoxicity, and its effect may be related to the inhibition of myocardial cell autophagy. The effect is dominant in the high-dose group.
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Objective To establish an indicator system for assessment of schistosomiasis transmission risk after transmission interruption in Hubei Province, so as to provide insights into the precise control of schistosomiasis. Methods The indicator system was preliminarily established based on data collection, literature review, expert interviews. Two rounds of expert consultation were performed. The indicator system was screened based on the importance, operability, sensitivity and comprehensive score of the indicators, and the weights of each indicator were calculated. The credibility of the Delphi method was evaluated by calculating the active coefficient of the experts, degree of expert authority and coordination levels of experts’ opinions. Results An indicator system for assessment of schistosomiasis transmission risk was preliminarily established, including 3 primary indicators, 12 secondary indicators and 44 tertiary indicators. A Delphi consultation was performed among 17 experts participating in schistosomiasis control, management and research. Following two rounds of consultation, a risk assessment indicator system was finally constructed, including 3 primary indicators, 10 secondary indicators and 35 tertiary indicators. Among the primary indicators, the variable with the highest normalized weight was the current status of schistosomiasis (0.420 2), followed by social factors (0.397 3) and natural environments (0.182 5). Among the secondary indicators, those with high combined weights included risk monitoring (0.142 3), current snail status (0.140 1), and current prevalence of human and livestock infections (0.137 8). Among the tertiary indicators, those with high combined weights included the positive rate of wild feces (0.049 8), the prevalence of snail infections (0.047 4), and the area of snail habitats submerged by floods (0.046 8). During the two-round consultation, the active coefficients of the experts were 85.00% and 100.00%, the degree of expert authority was both 0.75 and greater, and the coordination levels of experts’ opinions were 0.405 to 0.521 and 0.592 to 0.695 (all P values < 0.05). Conclusion An indicator system for assessment of schistosomiasis transmission risk is successfully established after transmission interruption in Hubei Province based on the Delphi method, which provides insights into the identification of the schistosomiasis transmission risk and the targets for schistosomiasis control in Hubei Province.
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Objective To understand the application value of spacial clusters detection of human schistosomiasis epidemic,based on small scale level in heavy mountainous and hilly endemic areas, Songzi County,Hubei Province,China. Methods Positive results of human serological detection antibody titer equal or above 80,and positive schistosomiasis cases of fecal examination from 2016 to 2018 as research object in Songzi County.The flexible irregular space scan statistics was used to analyse the spatial clustering analysis of human schistosomiasis epidemic in the heavy mountainous and hilly endemic areas, setting parameter K=2 ,K=6 or K=10, respectively,based on small scale of village level in Songzi County. Results There was none positive schistosomiasis cases of fecal examination in Songzi County from 2016 to 2018.The number of human serological detection antibody titer equal or above 80 were 74, 206, 83, from 2016 to 2018,respectively.There was spatial clusters of positive of human serological detection antibody titer equal or above 80 for schistosomiasis cases in the county from 2016-2018. Areas of flexible irregular space scan statistic in cluster detection changing with the change of different K values. Under different parameters of flexible irregular space scan statistic results show that the most likely cluster of 40 endemic villages in three towns,inculding Laocheng town,Chendian town and Wangjiaqiao town were the prominent. Conclusion There are spatial clusters of human schistosomiasis based on small scale of village level by flexible irregular space scan statistic in mountainous and hilly endemic areas, Songzi County,Hubei Province.Therefore,the monitoring and control of schistosomiasis should be consolidated in the future,in order to achieve schistosomiasis elimination in Hubei Province at an early date.
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We propose a realistic physical scheme to realize linear Gaussian optical potential with parity-time (PT) symmetry and two dimensional (2D) spacial solitons in a coherent atomic gas. It is shown that the PT-symmetric potential can be created through the spatial modulation of the control and relevant atomic parameters. We find that the Gaussian PT potential parameters, the imaginary part and the width and the position, play crucial roles in the occurrence of the PT phase transition. We demonstrate that the system supports stable 2D dipole solitons and vortex solitons, which can be managed via tuning PT potential. Furthermore, the dynamic characteristics of the symmetric scatter and collision of solitons are shown.
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A scheme is proposed to generate stable light bullets (LBs) in a cold Rydberg atomic system with a parity-time (PT) symmetric potential, by utilizing electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT). Using an incoherent population pumping between two low-lying levels and spatial modulations of control and auxiliary laser fields, we obtain a two-dimensional (2D) periodic optical potential with PT symmetry. Based on PT symmetry potential and the long-range Rydberg-Rydberg atomic interaction, the system may support slow LBs with low light intensity. Further, it is found that the local and non-local nonlinear coefficients and PT-symmetric potential can be tuned and used to manipulate the behavior of LBs.
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Meta-analysis was conducted on the tetanus antibody protection rate of healthy population born after 1978 in China (data from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan was excluded, the same below). Search the data on China's tetanus antibody level which were published in China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Wanfang data, VIP, SinoMed database, PubMed and the Cochrane Library. The Chinese search keywords were "Tetanus Antitoxin", "Tetanus Antibody", "Healthy Population" and "Mainland China". English search terms include "tetanus antitoxin", "tetanus vaccine", "tetanus vaccine", "general population" and "mainland of China". The time limit for inclusion in literature research was 2010-2019. Stata software was used to conduct meta-analysis on the protection rate of tetanus antibody. A total of 24 articles were included. There was no obvious publication bias in the included articles. The total number of respondents was 23 530, the antibody protection rate was 49.5%-99.0%. A total of 20 817 people got effective antibody protection, which meant the antibody level reached and exceeded 0.1 IU/ml, and the combined protection rate was 78.6% (95: 75.0%-88.2%). The combined protection rates of antibody in 0-7 years old and 8-15 years old groups were 88.9% (95: 86.9%-91.0%) and 79.3% (95: 72.9%-86.2%) respectively. The combined protection rates of antibodies in 16-20 years old, 21-30 years old and 31-40 years old groups were 58.9% (95: 46.5%-71.2%), 47.7% (95: 16.8%-78.7%) and 63.8% (95:32.6%-95.1%) respectively. The combined protection rate of tetanus antibody for 0-15 years old people was 85.6% (95: 83.1%-88.1%), and the combined protection rate of antibody for 16-40 years old people was 52.9% (95: 39.3%-66.6%). With the increase of age, the protection rate of tetanus antibody among the healthy population aged 16-40 years in our country decreases. An individualized vaccination plan should be formulated according to the previous tetanus vaccination history and the tetanus antibody level when necessary.
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Tetanus consists of neonatal tetanus and non-neonatal tetanus.Non-neonatal tetanus remains a serious public health problem,although neonatal tetanus has been eliminated in China since 2012.Non-neonatal tetanus is a potential fatal disease.In the absence of medical intervention,the mortality rate of severe cases is almost 100%.Even with vigorous treatment,the mortality rate remains 30%-50% globally.These specifications aim to regulate non-neonatal tetanus diagnosis and treatment in China,in order to improve medical quality and safety.These specifications introduce the etiology,epidemiology,pathogenesis,clinical manifestations and laboratory tests,diagnosis,differential diagnosis,grading and treatment of non-neonatal tetanus.
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Tetanus consists of neonatal tetanus and non-neonatal tetanus. Non-neonatal tetanus remains a serious public health problem, although neonatal tetanus has been eliminated in China since 2012. Non-neonatal tetanus is a potential fatal disease. In the absence of medical intervention, the mortality rate of severe cases is almost 100%. Even with vigorous treatment, the mortality rate remains 30%-50% globally. These specifications aim to regulate non-neonatal tetanus diagnosis and treatment in China, in order to improve medical quality and safety. These specifications introduce the etiology, epidemiology, pathogenesis, clinical manifestations and laboratory tests, diagnosis, differential diagnosis, grading and treatment of non-neonatal tetanus.
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Objective@#Meta-analysis was conducted on the tetanus antibody protection rate of healthy population born after 1978 in China (data from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan was excluded, the same below).@*Methods@#Search the data on China′s tetanus antibody level which were published in China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Wanfang data, VIP, SinoMed database, PubMed and the Cochrane Library. The Chinese search keywords were "Tetanus Antitoxin", "Tetanus Antibody", "Healthy Population" and "Mainland China". English search terms include "tetanus antitoxin", "tetanus vaccine", "tetanus vaccine", "general population" and "mainland of China". The time limit for inclusion in literature research was 2010-2019. Stata software was used to conduct meta-analysis on the protection rate of tetanus antibody.@*Results@#A total of 24 articles were included. There was no obvious publication bias in the included articles. The total number of respondents was 23 530, the antibody protection rate was 49.5%-99.0%. A total of 20 817 people got effective antibody protection, which meant the antibody level reached and exceeded 0.1 IU/ml, and the combined protection rate was 78.6% (95%CI: 75.0%-88.2%). The combined protection rates of antibody in 0-7 years old and 8-15 years old groups were 88.9% (95%CI: 86.9%-91.0%) and 79.3% (95%CI: 72.9%-86.2%) respectively. The combined protection rates of antibodies in 16-20 years old, 21-30 years old and 31-40 years old groups were 58.9% (95%CI: 46.5%-71.2%), 47.7% (95%CI: 16.8%-78.7%) and 63.8% (95%CI:32.6%-95.1%) respectively. The combined protection rate of tetanus antibody for 0-15 years old people was 85.6% (95%CI: 83.1%-88.1%), and the combined protection rate of antibody for 16-40 years old people was 52.9% (95%CI: 39.3%-66.6%).@*Conclusion@#With the increase of age, the protection rate of tetanus antibody among the healthy population aged 16-40 years in our country decreases. An individualized vaccination plan should be formulated according to the previous tetanus vaccination history and the tetanus antibody level when necessary.
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ObjectiveTo analyze the changing tendency in the endemic situation of schistosomiasis in the national surveillance sites of Hubei Province, so as to provide the scientific evidence for facilitating the progress towards the elimination of schistosomiasis in the province. Methods According to the National Schistosomiasis Surveillance Scheme (2014 version), a total of 65 national schistosomiasis surveillance sites were assigned in Hubei Province, and the Schistosoma japonicum infections in humans, domestic animals, snails and wild feces were monitored in these national surveillance sites from 2015 to 2019. All data pertaining to the surveillance results were descriptively analyzed. Results There were 151 159 person-time local residents and 70 928 person-time mobile populations screened for S. japonicum infections in the 65 national surveillance sites of Hubei Province from 2015 to 2019, and the seroprevalance of S. japonicum infections reduced from 3.45% (1 077/31 197) in 2015 to 1.57% (431/27 371) in 2019 among local residents and from 1.06% (98/9 249) in 2015 to 0.81% (116/14 318) in 2019 among mobile populations. During the period from 2015 through 2019, there were 22 egg-positive local residents and 2 egg-positive mobile populations identified in 2015, with 0.07% and 0.02% prevalence rates of S. japonicum infections, respectively. During the 5-year period, a total of 7 025 herd-time domestic animals examined for S. japonicum infections, with no infections detected, and a total of 2 035 wild feces were tested, with no egg-positives identified in the 65 national surveillance sites of Hubei Province. Snail survey was conducted covering 28 767.35 hm2 during the 5-year period, and the area of snail habitats ranged from 1 609.82 to 2 119.81 hm2. The mean density of living snails and occurrence of frames with snails reduced from 0.360 5 snails/0.1 m2 and 11.26% in 2015 to 0.175 9 snails/0.1 m2 and 8.43% in 2019, respectively, and no S. japonicum infection was found in snails during the 5-year period. In addition, no snails were found in the potential schistosomiasis transmission foci in the two national surveillance sites in the Three Gorges Dam. Conclusions The overall endemic situation of schistosomiasis appears a tendency towards a decline in Hubei Province during the period from 2015 through 2019; however, the schistosomiasis transmission risk remains. Improving the surveillance system of schistosomiasis and increasing the sensitivity and performance of the surveillance system are required to provide insights into the implementation of precision control strategy and interventions in Hubei Province.
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Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a common mood disorder that affects almost 20% of the global population. In addition, much evidence has implicated altered function of the gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABAergic) system in the pathophysiology of depression. Recent research has indicated that GABA receptors (GABARs) are an emerging therapeutic target in the treatment of stress-related disorders such as MDD. However, which cell types with GABARs are involved in this process is unknown. As hippocampal dysfunction is implicated in MDD, we knocked down GABARs in the hippocampus and found that knocking down these receptors in astrocytes, but not in GABAergic or pyramidal neurons, caused a decrease in immobility in the forced swimming test (FST) without affecting other anxiety- and depression-related behaviors. We also generated astrocyte-specific GABAR-knockout mice and found decreased immobility in the FST in these mice. Furthermore, the conditional knockout of GABARs in astrocytes selectively increased the levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor protein in hippocampal astrocytes, which controlled the decrease in immobility in the FST. Taken together, our findings contribute to the current understanding of which cell types expressing GABARs modulate antidepressant activity in the FST, and they may provide new insights into the pathological mechanisms and potential targets for the treatment of depression.