The coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has brought huge and continuous damage to mental health. The mental health of non-medical college students after returning to school remains largely unknown and the influencing factors were awaited to be deciphered. This cross-sectional study was launched among 1,083 non-medical students in Zhanjiang city by means of online survey (WeChat App) from August 1st, 2022 to August 7th, 2022. Knowledge about COVID-19 and attitude toward COVID-19 were assessed by using 7-items and 5-items questionnaires, respectively. Sleep quality, anxiety and depression symptoms were evaluated by Pittsburgh sleep quality index (PSQI), Hamilton depression rating scale-17 (HDRS-17) and self-rating anxiety scale (SAS), respectively. The results showed that more than half of the participants were knowledgeable about COVID-19. The majority of the participants held positive attitude toward COVID-19. The data demonstrated that 6.8% students had poor sleep quality, and 1.86, 0.37 and 0.37% students had mild, moderate and severe anxiety, respectively. About 26.7, 4.7 and 1.7% students had minimal, mild–moderate and severe depression. Female students showed higher proportions of anxiety (p = 0.02) and depression (p < 0.0001) than male students. Students with monthly household income below 3,000 RMB were more vulnerable to anxiety (p = 0.017) and depression (p = 0.004). Correlation analysis and Multivariate logistic regression analysis results showed that lower grade was positively related with anxiety and depression. Female students, income lower than 3,000 RMB/month, poor knowledge about COVID-19 and negative attitude toward COVID-19 were associated with insomnia, anxiety and depression. This study indicated that during the COVID-19 pandemic, a majority of non-medical students returning to school remained good sleep quality and a small number of students suffered from depression and anxiety. To our knowledge, this is a novel study revealing the mental health of non-medical college students concerning COVID-19 in Zhanjiang.

Vascular aging, which is marked by brain endothelial cell (EC) senescence and functional impairment, plays a significant role in diverse age‐related cerebrovascular and neurodegenerative disorders. EC‐derived microvesicles (EMVs) and exosomes (EEXs) preserve the molecular signatures of their source cells and deliver bioactive cargo to regulate the activity of target cells, but their potentials in vascular aging remain unclear. Here, as indicated by SA‐β‐gal staining, cerebral blood flow, blood brain barrier function, aging related markers and cognitive ability test, we found that young ECs released EMVs could more effectively alleviate mice cerebrovascular and brain aging than EEXs. Aged ECs released EMVs were more effective than their released EEXs on aggravating mice cerebrovascular and brain aging. We further identified that these EMVs regulated cerebrovascular and brain aging by transferring miR‐17‐5p and could modulate ECs senescence and functions via miR‐17‐5p/PI3K/Akt pathway. Plasma EMV concentrations and EMV‐miR‐17‐5p expression were altered in older adults, showing strong associations with reactive oxygen species and vascular aging. Receiver operating characteristic analysis demonstrated the potential of EMVs and EMV‐miR‐17‐5p as diagnostic biomarkers for vascular aging. Our results revealed the novel roles for EMVs that could more effectively modulate vascular and brain aging than EEXs by regulating ECs functions through miR‐17‐5p/PI3K/Akt pathway, and also suggested that EMVs and EMV‐miR‐17‐5p represent promising biomarkers and therapeutic targets for vascular aging.

Background: Previous studies have shown the benefit of dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) for acute minor ischemic stroke. Argatroban, is a thrombin inhibitor and is primarily used in patients with acute ischemic stroke experiencing early neurological deterioration. There is no study about the benefit of antiplatelet plus anticoagulant in this population. We aim to study the difference between the combination of argatroban and clopidogrel and DAPT in the outcomes of patients with acute minor ischemic stroke (AMIS, NIHSS ≤5) presenting within 72 hours after onset. Methods: Argatroban combined with clopidogrel versus aspirin combined with clopidogrel in Stroke (ACAP study) is an investigator-initiated, multicenter, prospective, randomized, open-label trial with blinded endpoint evaluation conducted at four centers in China. This trial will randomize 464 eligible patients with minor ischemic stroke of NIHSS ≤ 5 (232 in each arm) within 72 hours of the last known well to receive intravenous argatroban with clopidogrel (treatment group) or aspirin plus clopidogrel (control group). The primary outcome is the proportion of patients achieving excellent outcome, defined as a score of 0-1 on the modified Rankin scale, at 90 days. Conclusions: The ACAP trial will provide important data on the role of intravenous argatroban in patients with acute minor ischemic stroke presenting within 72 hours of last known well. Registration: URL: https://www.chictr.org.cn ; Unique identifier: ChiCTR2400080890; Date of registration: Feb 17, 2024.