Effect of Aerobic Exercise Training on Chinese Population with Mild to Moderate Depression in Hong Kong

Background. Exercise has been suggested to be a viable treatment for depression. This study investigates the effect of supervised aerobic exercise training on depressive symptoms and physical performance among Chinese patients with mild to moderate depression in early in-patient phase. Methods. A randomized repeated measure and assessor-blinded study design was used. Subjects in aerobic exercise group received 30 minutes of aerobic training, five days a week for 3 weeks. Depressive symptoms (MADRS and C-BDI) and domains in physical performance were assessed at baseline and program end. Results. Subjects in aerobic exercise group showed a more significant reduction in depressive scores (MADRS) as compared to control (between-group mean difference = 10.08 ± 9.41; = 0.026) after 3 weeks training. The exercise group also demonstrated a significant improvement in flexibility (betweengroup mean difference = 4.4 ± 6.13; = 0.02). Limitations. There was lack of longitudinal followup to examine the long-term effect of aerobic exercise on patients with depression. Conclusions. Aerobic exercise in addition to pharmacological intervention can have a synergistic effect in reducing depressive symptoms and increasing flexibility among Chinese population with mild to moderate depression. Early introduction of exercise training in in-patient phase can help to bridge the gap of therapeutic latency of antidepressants during its nonresponse period

Predicting first-episode psychosis patients who will never relapse over 10 years.

BACKGROUND: Although relapse in psychosis is common, a small proportion of patients will not relapse in the long term. We examined the proportion and predictors of patients who never relapsed in the 10 years following complete resolution of positive symptoms from their first psychotic episode. METHOD: Patients who previously enrolled in a 12-month randomized controlled trial on medication discontinuation and relapse following first-episode psychosis (FEP) were followed up after 10 years. Relapse of positive symptoms was operationalized as a change from a Clinical Global Impression scale positive score of <3 for at least 3 consecutive months to a score of ⩾3 (mild or more severe). Baseline predictors included basic demographics, premorbid functioning, symptoms, functioning, and neurocognitive functioning. RESULTS: Out of 178 first-episode patients, 37 (21%) never relapsed during the 10-year period. Univariate predictors (p ⩽ 0.1) of patients who never relapsed included a duration of untreated psychosis (DUP) ⩽30 days, diagnosed with non-schizophrenia spectrum disorders, having less severe negative symptoms, and performing better in logical memory immediate recall and verbal fluency tests. A multivariate logistic regression analysis further suggested that the absence of any relapsing episodes was significantly related to better short-term verbal memory, shorter DUP, and non-schizophrenia spectrum disorders. CONCLUSIONS: Treatment delay and neurocognitive function are potentially modifiable predictors of good long-term prognosis in FEP. These predictors are informative as they can be incorporated into an optimum risk prediction model in the future, which would help with clinical decision making regarding maintenance treatment in FEP

Maintenance treatment with quetiapine versus discontinuation after one year of treatment in patients with remitted first episode psychosis: randomised controlled trial

Objective To study rates of relapse in remitted patients with first episode psychosis who either continued or discontinued antipsychotic drugs after at least one year of maintenance treatment

321 Tb/s E/S/C/L-band Transmission with E-band Bismuth-Doped Fiber Amplifier and Optical Processor

Using a newly developed bismuth doped fiber amplifier operating across the E-band and a multi-port optical processor, we investigate wideband E/S/C/L-band transmission with signal bandwidths up to 27.8 THz and distances up to 200 km. Dense wavelength-division multiplexed (D-WDM) transmission is enabled by using a combination of thulium, erbium and bismuth doped-fiber amplifiers in combination with distributed Raman amplification. For 50 km transmission, we transmit a wideband DWDM signal comprising 1097 channels covering 212.3 nm (27.8 THz) from 1410.8 nm to 1623.1 nm for a record single-mode fiber (SMF) data-rate of 321 Tb/s (301 Tb/s after decoding), an increase of 25% on the previous record data-rate. We further show single span transmission at 100 km and 150 km before recording 270.9 Tb/s (258.1 Tb/s after decoding) for 200 km transmission over 2 amplified spans. These results show the potential of E-band transmission, to increase the information carrying capability of optical fibers and open the door to multi-band fiber networks built on already deployed fibers

Attitudes to insanity and crime

published_or_final_versionSociologyMasterMaster of Social Science

High pressure processing for dark-firm-dry beef: effect on physical properties and oxidative deterioration during refrigerated storage

Objective Study on the application of high pressure processing (HPP) for dark-firm-dry (DFD) beef was conducted to observe whether HPP has any impact on physical properties and to evaluate oxidative deterioration during refrigerated storage under vacuum. Methods The longissimus lumborum muscles obtained from Friesian Holstein steers (33±0.5 months old) with 24-h postmortem pH higher than 6.0 were vacuum-packed and subjected to pressurization at 200, 400, and 600 MPa for 180 s at 15°C±2°C; the samples were then stored for 9 days at 4°C±1°C and compared with control (0.1 MPa). Results HPP increased meat pH by 0.1 to 0.2 units and the tenderness of cooked DFD beef significantly with no significant effects on meat texture profile. The stability of meat pH was well maintained during refrigerated storage under vacuum. No clear effects were found on the activity of catalase and superoxide dismutase, however, glutathione peroxidase activity was significantly reduced by high pressure. HPP and storage time resulted in aroma changes and the increasing amount of malondialdehyde and metmyoglobin relative composition. Conclusion Although the increasing amount of malondialdehyde content, metmyoglobin formation and aroma changes in HPP-treated samples could not be avoided, HPP at 200 MPa increased L* and a* values with less discoloration and oxidative deterioration during storage

Effect of Aerobic Exercise Training on Chinese Population with Mild to Moderate Depression in Hong Kong

Background. Exercise has been suggested to be a viable treatment for depression. This study investigates the effect of supervised aerobic exercise training on depressive symptoms and physical performance among Chinese patients with mild to moderate depression in early in-patient phase. Methods. A randomized repeated measure and assessor-blinded study design was used. Subjects in aerobic exercise group received 30 minutes of aerobic training, five days a week for 3 weeks. Depressive symptoms (MADRS and C-BDI) and domains in physical performance were assessed at baseline and program end. Results. Subjects in aerobic exercise group showed a more significant reduction in depressive scores (MADRS) as compared to control (between-group mean difference = 10.08 ± 9.41; P=0.026) after 3 weeks training. The exercise group also demonstrated a significant improvement in flexibility (between-group mean difference = 4.4 ± 6.13; P=0.02). Limitations. There was lack of longitudinal followup to examine the long-term effect of aerobic exercise on patients with depression. Conclusions. Aerobic exercise in addition to pharmacological intervention can have a synergistic effect in reducing depressive symptoms and increasing flexibility among Chinese population with mild to moderate depression. Early introduction of exercise training in in-patient phase can help to bridge the gap of therapeutic latency of antidepressants during its nonresponse period

Long-term effects of discontinuation from antipsychotic maintenance following first-episode schizophrenia and related disorders: a 10 year follow-up of a randomised, double-blind trial.

BACKGROUND: The long-term consequences of discontinuing antipsychotic medication after successful treatment of first-episode psychosis are not well studied. We assess the relation between early maintenance therapy decisions in first-episode psychosis and the subsequent clinical outcome at 10 years. METHODS: This is a 10 year follow-up study, spanning Sept 5, 2003, to Dec 30, 2014, of a randomised, double-blind trial in seven centres in Hong Kong in which 178 patients with first-episode psychosis with full positive symptom resolution after at least 1 year of antipsychotic treatment were given maintenance treatment (n=89; oral quetiapine 400 mg daily) or early treatment discontinuation (n=89; placebo) for 12 months. After the trial, patients received naturalistic treatment. Overall this cohort of patients will have received about 3 years of treatment before entering the follow-up phase of the study: about 2 years of maintenance treatment before study entry and 1 year of treatment in the trial. The primary outcome of this follow-up was the proportion of patients in each group (including those for whom direct follow-up was not available) with good or poor long-term clinical outcomes at 10 years, with poor outcome defined as a composite of persistent psychotic symptoms, a requirement for clozapine treatment, or death by suicide. The randomised trial was registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT00334035, and the follow-up study was registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT01926340. FINDINGS: Poor 10 year clinical outcome occurred in 35 (39%) of 89 patients in the discontinuation group and 19 (21%) of 89 patients in the maintenance treatment group (risk ratio 1·84, 95% CI 1·15-2·96; p=0·012). Suicide was the only serious adverse event that occurred in the follow-up phase (four [4%] patients in the early discontinuation group vs two [2%] in the maintenance group). INTERPRETATION: In patients with first-episode psychosis with a full initial response to treatment, medication continuation for at least the first 3 years after starting treatment decreases the risk of relapse and poor long-term clinical outcome. FUNDING: Food and Health Bureau, Research Grants Council of Hong Kong, and AstraZeneca