To investigate the prevalence of Toxoplasma gondii infection among hepatitis B virus (HBV) patients in northern Shaanxi Province,139 patients and 43 healthy controls were recruited.All the plasma was screened for IgG antibody of Toxoplasma gondii.Then,the association between Toxoplasma gondii infection and HBV were analyzed.Results showed that the prevalence of Toxoplasma gondii infection was relative low with just 5.04％ in HBV patients but zero in healthy control.Most of those infected with toxoplasma gondii were male,HBeAg positive or with higher HBV viral load.However,no significant relationship was found between Toxoplasma gondii infection and gender,HBeAg status or viral load in univariate analyses.This study indicated the relative low infection rate of Toxoplasma gondii,which had no association with HBV infection in northern Shaanxi Province.

Objective:To analyze the activation of primary somatosensory cortex(S1)neurons in post-traumatic stress disorder(PTSD)mice after tactile stimulation of whiskers and the changes of S1 cortical neurons in PTSD mice.Methods:Using the neuron cytoskeleton-associated protein(Arc)labeling strategy and immunofluorescence staining technique,the Arc of S1 cortical neurons in PTSD mice and control mice after whisker stimulation was marked and ob-served.By analyzing the difference in the spatial expression position of Arc labeled neurons and the number of positive cells,the activation level of S1 cortical neurons in the two groups was compared and analyzed.The pyramidal neurons of S1 cortex were labeled by sparse virus labeling method,and the number of dendrites and the morphology and number distribution of dendritic spines were compared between the two groups.Results:After whisker stimulation,it was found that Arc positive neurons were distributed from shallow layer to deep layer of S1,and more densely distributed in layersⅡ/Ⅲ and V.Compared with the control group,the number of positive neurons in different layers of the PTSD group was significantly increased.The results of cell morphology and structure analysis showed that,compared with the control group,the density of dendritic spines in layer Ⅱ/Ⅲ of mice with PTSD increased,and the number of mushroom dendrit-ic spines increased,while the number of filamentous pseudopod dendritic spines decreased.The number of dendritic spines of Si V layer mushroom type and slender type was higher,but the total number of dendritic spines was not sig-nificantly different.Conclusion:After whisker stimulation in PTSD mice,S1 neurons were over-activated,and the structure and morphology of neurons changed significantly.

Objective:To establish contact dermatitis pruritus model and detect itch,anxiety and depression-like behaviors.To observe the activation of the medial prefrontal cortex(mPFC)neurons and provide morphological evi-dence for its involvement in the regulation of itch perception information.Methods:A model of contact dermatitis pruri-tus was constructed with diphenylcyclopyrenone(DCP)applied on the neck and back of the mouse,and the itch per-ception video tracking system was used to detect the scratching behavior.Open field and suspended tail behavioral ex-periments were conducted to explore the anxiety and depression-like behaviors of mice under contact dermatitis.The dis-tribution of c-Fos and p-ERK1/2 positive cells in the mPFC of contact dermatitis model mice was investigated by immu-nofluorescence staining.Results:The contact dermatitis pruritus model was successfully established,and the bouts of scratching in the contact dermatitis model group was significantly higher than that in the control group(P＜0.05).The results of open field test showed that the time and distances were significantly reduced in the central area of the contact dermatitis model group.The results of the tail suspension experiment suggested that the time of immobility increased sig-nificantly in the contact dermatitis model group(P＜0.05).There were more c-Fos positive and p-ERK1/2 positive cells in the mPFC compared with the control group(P＜0.05).Conclusion:Bouts of scratching were increased in the contact dermatitis group and the mice had anxiety and depression-like behaviors.In the contact dermatitis state,mPFC neurons were activated,providing morphological evidence for the involvement of mPFC neurons in contact dermatitis pruritus and accompanying affective disorders such as anxiety and depression.