A comparative study of prepulse inhibition in children with first episode schizophrenia and normal children

Objective·To explore the characteristics of sensory gating and its variation in children with first episode schizophrenia (COS) by using a new technique of prepulse suppression (PI).Methods·By using the ERP recording and analysis system of brain products, PI was detected in 56 patients with COS and 38 healthy children (NC) using the paradigm of single strong stimulus and weak stimulus+strong stimulus. The patients′ performance was comprehensively evaluated with Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS), Social Disability Screening Schedule (SDSS), Social Adjustment Rating Scale (SSRS), and Family Interview Schedule (FIS).Results·The social objective support formed by summing up the above scales was compared with the quantitative stanard of social support [the standard of social support scale was (8±2) points, and the value of COS group was (10±3) points], and the difference was statistically significant (P=0.007). No correlation was found between PI and PANSS total score and each factor score (all P>0.05). The latency of startle reflex in the COS group was longer than that in the NC group [the NC group was (86±11) ms, the COS group was (97±13) ms, P=0.001]. In the COS group, the amplitude of startle reflex of weak stimulus+strong stimulus was higher, and the latency was longer than that of the NC group [NC group: (39±12) μV, COS group (47±21) μV, P=0.007; the latency of the normal group was (84±17) ms, and that of the COS group was (97±20) ms, P=0.003]. PI inhibition rate in the COS group was lower than that in the NC group [(66±32) % in the NC group, (43±37) % in the COS group, P=0.000].Conclusion·COS patients have the same PI abnormality as adult schizophrenia. The change of PI inhibition may be the result of biological markers reflecting the change of agitated emotion in COS patients

Morphological supplementary description of Indocalamus semifalcatus (H. R. Zhao et Y. L. Yang) T. P. Yi (Bambusoideae)

In the protologue of Indocalamus semifalcatus (H. R. Zhao et Y. L. Yang) T. P. Yi, there were only parts of vegetative organs reported. Based on field population investigation, indoor stereoscopic anatomy and scanning electron microscope (SEM), its reproductive organs, complete vegetative organs and micromorphological features of the abaxial leaf epidermis, were described and illustrated herein, and its geographical distribution was also updated. The results were as follows: (1) Reproductive organ features: panicle, spikelet and spike densely white pubescent, glume, pelea and lemma both smooth and glabrous, stamens 3, anthers purple, stigmas 2, white, feathery. (2) Vegetative features: culms up to 4.5 m tall, up to 2 cm in diameter, culm sheath auricle semifalcate or weak, culm sheath erect close to culm, foliage auricle weak or absent, ligule margin with densely ciliate; both sides of leaf blade homochromatic and glabrous. (3) Micromorphologic characteristics of the abaxial leaf: stomatal apparatus invisible, eight to ten elongated papillae covered the stomatal apparatus, silica bodies saddle-shaped, micro-hairs and macro-hairs both absent. (4) The new distribution area was Guanyin Mountain of Guiyang in Guizhou. The species is the most similar to I. longiauritus Hand.-Mazz., differed by culm sheath and leaf sheath with auricles semifalcate or rare, culm up to 4.5 m tall and 2 cm in diameter

Altered spontaneous brain activity in patients with acute spinal cord injury revealed by resting-state functional MRI.

Previous neuroimaging studies have provided evidence of structural and functional reorganization of brain in patients with chronic spinal cord injury (SCI). However, it remains unknown whether the spontaneous brain activity changes in acute SCI. In this study, we investigated intrinsic brain activity in acute SCI patients using a regional homogeneity (ReHo) analysis based on resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging.A total of 15 patients with acute SCI and 16 healthy controls participated in the study. The ReHo value was used to evaluate spontaneous brain activity, and voxel-wise comparisons of ReHo were performed to identify brain regions with altered spontaneous brain activity between groups. We also assessed the associations between ReHo and the clinical scores in brain regions showing changed spontaneous brain activity.Compared with the controls, the acute SCI patients showed decreased ReHo in the bilateral primary motor cortex/primary somatosensory cortex, bilateral supplementary motor area/dorsal lateral prefrontal cortex, right inferior frontal gyrus, bilateral dorsal anterior cingulate cortex and bilateral caudate; and increased ReHo in bilateral precuneus, the left inferior parietal lobe, the left brainstem/hippocampus, the left cingulate motor area, bilateral insula, bilateral thalamus and bilateral cerebellum. The average ReHo values of the left thalamus and right insula were negatively correlated with the international standards for the neurological classification of spinal cord injury motor scores.Our findings indicate that acute distant neuronal damage has an immediate impact on spontaneous brain activity. In acute SCI patients, the ReHo was prominently altered in brain regions involved in motor execution and cognitive control, default mode network, and which are associated with sensorimotor compensatory reorganization. Abnormal ReHo values in the left thalamus and right insula could serve as potential biomarkers for assessment of neuronal damage and the prediction of clinical outcomes in acute SCI

Detrital Zircon Age Constraints on the Evolution of Paleo‐Tethys in NE Iran: Implications for Subduction and Collision Tectonics

The timings of the onset of oceanic spreading, subduction and collision are crucial in plate reconstructions, but not always straightforward to resolve. The Paleo-Tethys evolution dominated the Paleozoic-Early Mesozoic tectonics of West Asia, but the timeline of events is still poorly constrained. We present new detrital zircon ages from the Binalud Mountains of NE Iran, in order to determine the timing of tectonic events in the region, and the wider implications for regional tectonics, paleogeography and climate change. Consistent age patterns in Paleozoic clastic rocks show a dominant provenance from the Neoproterozoic basement of northern Gondwana. We interpret this as deposition on a long-lasting passive continental margin after the initial spreading of the Paleo-Tethys Ocean. Central Iran-Eurasia collision caused coarse clastic deposition of the Mashhad Phyllite in a peripheral foreland basin on the Paleozoic sequence of the northern Central Iran Block. The Mashhad Phyllite yields age clusters at 450–250 Ma and 1,900–1,800 Ma, with a clear provenance from a long-lived continental arc at the active Eurasian margin since the latest Ordovician. Analysis of the age spectra allows us to constrain the maximum depositional age of the Mashhad Phyllite as no later than 228 Ma. This age provides a tight constraint on the timing of initial collision between Central Iran and Eurasia, which also coincides with the Carnian Pluvial Event (CPE). Our new timing evidence of collision reinforces the previous speculation on the Paleo-Tethys closure as a causal mechanism for the CPE

Weight loss efficiency and safety of tirzepatide: A Systematic review.

ObjectiveTirzeptide is a novel glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor (GLP-1) and glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide (GIP) drug, which shows good efficiency for weight loss. Therefore, we aim to investigate the efficacy and safety of tirzepatide for weight loss in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and obesity patients in this meta-analysis study.MethodsCochrane Library, PubMed, Embase, Clinical Trials, and Web of Science were searched from inception to October 5, 2022. All randomized controlled trials (RCTs) were included. The odds ratio (OR) was calculated using fixed-effects or random-effects models by Review Manager 5.3 software.ResultsIn total, ten studies (12 reports) involving 9,873 patients were identified. A significant loss body weight in the tirzepatide group versus the placebo by -9.81 kg (95% CI (-12.09, -7.52), GLP-1 RAs by -1.05 kg (95% CI (-1.48, -0.63), and insulin by -1.93 kg (95% CI (-2.81, -1.05), respectively. In sub-analysis, the body weight of patients was significantly reduced in three tirzepatide doses (5 mg, 10 mg, and 15 mg) when compared with those of the placebo/GLP-1 RA/insulin. In terms of safety, the incidence of any adverse events and adverse events leading to study drug discontinuation was higher in the tirzepatide group, but the incidence of serious adverse events and hypoglycaemia was lower. Additionally, the gastrointestinal adverse events (including diarrhea, nausea, vomiting and decreased appetite) of tirzepatide were higher than those of placebo/basal insulin, but similar to GLP-1 RAs.ConclusionIn conclusion, tirzeptide can significantly reduce the weight of T2DM and patient with obesity, and it is a potential therapeutic regimen for weight-loss, but we need to be vigilant about its gastrointestinal reaction

Detecting Stress Based on Social Interactions in Social Networks

10.1109/TKDE.2017.2686382IEEE Transactions on Knowledge and Data Engineering2991820 - 183

Detecting stress based on social interactions in social networks

Psychological stress is threatening people’s health. It is non-trivial to detect stress timely for proactive care. With the popularity of social media, people are used to sharing their daily activities and interacting with friends on social media platforms, making it feasible to leverage online social network data for stress detection. In this paper, we find that users stress state is closely related to that of his/her friends in social media, and we employ a large-scale dataset from real-world social platforms to systematically study the correlation of users’ stress states and social interactions. We first define a set of stress-related textual, visual, and social attributes from various aspects, and then propose a novel hybrid model - a factor graph model combined with Convolutional Neural Network to leverage tweet content and social interaction information for stress detection. Experimental results show that the proposed model can improve the detection performance by 6-9 percent in F1-score. By further analyzing the social interaction data, we also discover several intriguing phenomena, i.e., the number of social structures of sparse connections (i.e., with no delta connections) of stressed users is around 14 percent higher than that of non-stressed users, indicating that the social structure of stressed users’ friends tend to be less connected and less complicated than that of non-stressed users.This work is supported by National Key Research and Development Plan (2016YFB1001200), the Innovation Method Fund of China (2016IM010200). This work is also supported by the National Natural, and Science Foundation of China (61370023, 61521002, 61373022). Besides, this work is supported in part by the Australian Research Council via the Discovery Project program DP140102185, and also supported by a research fund from MSRA and the Royal Society-Newton Advanced Fellowship Award. We would also like to thank “Tsinghua University-Tencent Joint Laboratory” for its support. This research is also part of the NExT research, supported by the National Research Foundation, Prime Minister’s Office, Singapore under its IRC@SG Funding Initiativ