This study addresses the critical gap in epidemiological data on antenatal depression in China, a condition that profoundly impacts maternal and infant health. Conducted as a cross-sectional survey from December 2019 to March 2023, the research enrolled 100,200 pregnant women across 27 hospitals in 11 provinces, municipalities, and autonomous areas. Late-pregnancy depressive symptoms were evaluated using the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS). This survey reveals that the overall prevalence of possible depression (EPDS >9) was 25.8%, and probable depression (EPDS >12) was 11.4%, with significant regional variation (highest in North China, lowest in East China). Young maternal age, low education levels, low family income, unemployment, living alone, unmarried/divorced status, unintended pregnancy, multiple pregnancy, insufficient social support, tobacco/alcohol use, and poor sleep quality were identified as risk factors for antenatal depression. Notably, family support, particularly from partners, emerges as a pivotal intervention target for reducing antenatal depression risk.

A researcher at Osaka Metropolitan University investigated the active travel effects of an mHealth app that incentivizes daily walking. The results revealed that the mHealth app’s incentives to exchange train tickets increased users’ daily walking steps by 626.2 steps/day for five months.

A University of Waterloo study found that female pilots made fewer flight control errors than their male counterparts in high-stress situations, despite showing similar visual attention and experience. The research, led by postdoctoral fellow Naila Ayala, suggests women may exhibit stronger decision-making and control under pressure, with implications for pilot training and evaluation.

Objective: Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) had lower vitamin D3 levels than neurotypical (NT)

children, as well as de cits in language, social, and ne motor abilities. Nanotechnology has appeared as a

suitable answer to absorption and bioavailability problems related to vitamin D3. This study aims to investigate

the in uence of vitamin D3-loaded nanoemulsion supplementation on adaptive behavior and language perfor-

mance in children with ASD compared to the in uence of the marketed product of vitamin D3.

Methods: Supplementation of ASD children with an oral vitamin D3-loaded nanoemulsion was performed in group

I while the marketed product of the oral vitamin D3 was used in group II for 6 months. Evaluation of their abilities

and measuring the plasma levels of 2 types of vitamin D3 were performed using ultra-performance liquid chro-

matography before and after supplementation.

Results: Supplementation in group I (n ¼ 40) has led to an elevation of levels of 25 (OH) and 1, 25 (OH)2 forms of

vitamin D3 (P < 0.000,1), to behavioral improvement in the form of a reduction in ASD severity, and to a rise in

the social IQ and total language age of ASD children (P¼ 0.000,2, 0.04, 0.000,9, respectively). On the other hand,

group II (n ¼ 40) did not show adaptive behavioral improvements.

Conclusions: The vitamin D3-loaded nanoemulsion provided better vitamin D3 bioavailability and a true in uence

on severity, adaptive behavior, ne motor abilities, and language performance, re ecting the desired bene ts of

the rise of vitamin D3 levels in the blood.

In a discovery that deepens our understanding of animal social bonds, a study led by University of Oxford researchers in collaboration with the University of Leeds has demonstrated that wild great tits exhibit clear behaviours signalling ‘divorce’ long before the breeding season. The findings, published today (30 /29 July) in Royal Society Proceedings B, provide valuable new insights into how animals navigate complex social decisions.