While significant variability existed between studies, the meta-analysis confirmed the effectiveness of pre-operative clown therapy on reducing psychological distress in children and parents. Larger randomised controlled trails and cross-cultural studies should be conducted to investigate the effectiveness of clown therapy in greater detail.

Background Since the middle of March, the COVID-19 outbreak has been well contained in China. The prevention and control measures for the outbreak have been downgraded to a normalized level. However, until now, the change in level of psychological health amongst perinatal women during the remission phase of the COVID-19 outbreak has not been investigated in China. The aim of this current study was to assess the symptoms of anxiety, depression, insomnia and quality of life (QOL) in perinatal women and to identify potential risk factors associated with these symptoms. Methods This was a cross-sectional, hospital-based survey conducted between March 25 th till June 5 th , 2020 in southern China. Convenient sampling method was adopted. Women’s anxiety, depression, insomnia symptoms and QOL was examined through standardized measurements. Multivariate logistic regression and Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) was conducted for the same. Results A total of 625 perinatal women completed the study; of them, 195 women (31.2%, 95%CI=27.56%–34.84%) reported anxiety, 120 (19.2%, 95%CI=16.10%–22.30%) reported depression, and 87 (13.9%, 95%CI=11.20%–16.64%) experienced symptoms of insomnia. Previous adverse experiences during pregnancy was a significant risk factor for anxiety (OR=1.628, 95%CI=1.069–2.480, P=0.023), depression (OR=1.853, 95%CI=1.153–2.977, P=0.011), and insomnia (OR=2.160, 95%CI=1.290-3.616, P=0.003). Participants having infected friends/families/colleagues were more likely to report anxiety (OR=2.195, 95%CI=1.245–3.871, P=0.007) and depression (OR=2.666, 95%CI=1.482–4.794, P=0.001). Those women whose regular check-ups were severely interrupted by the COVID-19 were also more likely to experience symptoms of anxiety (OR=2.935, 95%CI=1.701–5.062, P<0.001) and insomnia (OR=2.195, 95%CI=1.098–4.390, P=0.026). Conclusion The COVID-19 pandemic does affect the mental health and well being of perinatal women. Increased attention should be paid to women who have infected friends/families/colleagues and those with previous adverse experiences during pregnancy. Coping strategies that relieve psychological stress during the COVID-19 outbreak should be provided to prevent adverse outcomes for women and their infants.

A high performance ECD with a structure of glass/ITO/WO3/LiF/NiO/ITO has been prepared by electron beam and resistance evaporation methods.

The endogenous estradiol metabolite 2-methoxyestradiol (2-ME) reduces atherosclerotic lesion formation, while the underlying mechanisms remain obscure. In this work, we investigated the vasodilatory effect of 2-ME and the role of nitric oxide (NO) involved. In vivo studies using noninvasive tail-cuff methods showed that 2-ME decreased blood pressure in Sprague Dawley rats. Furthermore, in vitro studies showed that cumulative addition of 2-ME to the aorta caused a dose- and endothelium-dependent vasodilation. This effect was unaffected by the pretreatment with the pure estrogen receptor antagonist ICI 182,780, but was largely impaired by endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) inhibitor NG-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME) or by phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) inhibitor wortmannin (WM). Moreover, 2-ME（10−7 ∼10−5 M）enhanced phosphorylation of Akt and eNOS and promoted NO release from cultured human umbilical endothelial cells (HUVECs). These effects were blocked by PI3K inhibitor WM, or by the transfection with Akt specific siRNA, indicating that endothelial Akt/eNOS/NO cascade plays a crucial role in 2-ME-induced vasodilation. The peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ (PPARγ) mRNA and protein expression were detected in HUVECs and the antagonist GW9662 or the transfection with specific PPARγ siRNA inhibited 2-ME-induced eNOS and Akt phosphorylation, leading to the impairment of NO production and vasodilation. In conclusion, 2-ME induces vasodilation by stimulating NO release. These actions may be mediated by PPARγ and the subsequent activation of Akt/eNOS cascade in vascular endothelial cells.

We report here the complete genome sequence of Staphylococcus aureus T0131, which is a multiresistant clinical isolate recovered in China and the first sequenced epidemic ST239-MRSA-SCCmec type III strain obtained in Asia. Comparison with two published genomes of ST239 reveals the polymorphism among strains of this type from different continents.Staphylococcus aureus is a ubiquitous bacterial pathogen and a leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. The epidemiology of infections is influenced by rapid and widespread emergence of multidrug-resistant methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA). ST239-MRSA-SCCmec type III is considered to be an epidemic strain of hospital-associated MRSA and is prevalent all over the world (2,8,10). S. aureus strain T0131, an ST239-MRSA-SCCmecIII isolate, was recovered from an 87-year-old patient in 2006.Whole-genome sequencing of S. aureus strain T0131 was performed with a combined strategy of 454 sequencing (11) and Solexa sequencing technology (1). A genomic library containing 8-kb inserts was constructed and 368,922 paired-end reads were generated using the GS FLX system, giving 27.3-fold coverage of the genome. Then, 94.0% of the reads were assembled into 10 scaffolds totaling 2.9 Mbp using Newbler version 2.3 (454 Life Sciences, Branford, CT). A total of 9,132,826 reads (2.1-kb library) were generated to reach a depth of 313-fold coverage with an Illumina Solexa Genome Analyzer IIx and mapped to the scaffolds using the BurrowsWheeler alignment (BWA) tool (9). Gap closure was performed by sequencing PCR products using an ABI 3730 capillary sequencer. Prediction and annotation were performed as described previously (4).The complete genome of S. aureus strain T0131 contains a single circular chromosome of 2,913,900 bp, with a GC content of 32.8% and no extrachromosomal elements. In all, 2,711 protein-encoding genes, 54 tRNA-encoding genes, 6 rRNA operons, and an SCCmecIII were detected. Analyzing the seven housekeeping genes using the MLST database (http: //www.mlst.net) confirmed T0131 as a member of the ST239 complex. Over 76% of genes were assigned to specific Clusters of Orthologous Groups (COG) functional groups, and 52% were assigned an enzyme classification number.Comparison with the other two published genomes of S. aureus ST239 strains, JKD6008 (SCCmecIII, NCBI GenBank accession number CP002120) and TW20 (SCCmercury, EMBL accession number FN433596), revealed that T0131 and JKD6008 share the highest average nucleotide identity, at 99.95%, and JKD6008 and TW20 share the lowest, at 99.89%. TW20 has two plasmids which are absent in the SCCmecIII strains. T0131 shares 2,603 orthologous coding sequences (CDSs) with JKD6008 and 2,573 CDSs with TW20. T0131 has 85 specific genes compared with the other two genomes, and 65 of them form five pathogenic islands. It is worth noting that two copies of exfoliative toxin-encoding genes are present in two of the five pathogenic islands (13). T0131 possesses 21 copies of IS256 found in JKD6008, as well as three sets of Tn554 and a T...

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