Structural and functional abnormities of amygdala and prefrontal cortex in major depressive disorder with suicide attempts

Finding neural features of suicide attempts (SA) in major depressive disorder (MDD) may be helpful in preventing suicidal behavior. The ventral and medial prefrontal cortex (PFC), as well as the amygdala form a circuit implicated in emotion regulation and the pathogenesis of MDD. The aim of this study was to identify whether patients with MDD who had a history of SA show structural and functional connectivity abnormalities in the amygdala and PFC relative to MDD patients without a history of SA. We measured gray matter volume in the amygdala and PFC and amygdala-PFC functional connectivity using structural and functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in 158 participants [38 MDD patients with a history of SA, 60 MDD patients without a history of SA, and 60 healthy control (HC)]. MDD patients with a history of SA had decreased gray matter volume in the right and left amygdala (F = 30.270, P = 0.000), ventral/medial/dorsal PFC (F = 15.349, P = 0.000), and diminished functional connectivity between the bilateral amygdala and ventral and medial PFC regions (F = 22.467, P = 0.000), compared with individuals who had MDD without a history of SA, and the HC group. These findings provide evidence that the amygdala and PFC may be closely related to the pathogenesis of suicidal behavior in MDD and implicate the amygdala-ventral/medial PFC circuit as a potential target for suicide intervention

Structural and functional abnormities of amygdala and prefrontal cortex in major depressive disorder with suicide attempts

Finding neural features of suicide attempts (SA) in major depressive disorder (MDD) may be helpful in preventing suicidal behavior. The ventral and medial prefrontal cortex (PFC), as well as the amygdala form a circuit implicated in emotion regulation and the pathogenesis of MDD. The aim of this study was to identify whether patients with MDD who had a history of SA show structural and functional connectivity abnormalities in the amygdala and PFC relative to MDD patients without a history of SA. We measured gray matter volume in the amygdala and PFC and amygdala-PFC functional connectivity using structural and functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in 158 participants [38 MDD patients with a history of SA, 60 MDD patients without a history of SA, and 60 healthy control (HC)]. MDD patients with a history of SA had decreased gray matter volume in the right and left amygdala (F = 30.270, P = 0.000), ventral/medial/dorsal PFC (F = 15.349, P = 0.000), and diminished functional connectivity between the bilateral amygdala and ventral and medial PFC regions (F = 22.467, P = 0.000), compared with individuals who had MDD without a history of SA, and the HC group. These findings provide evidence that the amygdala and PFC may be closely related to the pathogenesis of suicidal behavior in MDD and implicate the amygdala-ventral/medial PFC circuit as a potential target for suicide intervention

Efficient Commitment to Functional CD34+ Progenitor Cells from Human Bone Marrow Mesenchymal Stem-Cell-Derived Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells

The efficient commitment of a specialized cell type from induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) without contamination from unknown substances is crucial to their use in clinical applications. Here, we propose that CD34+ progenitor cells, which retain hematopoietic and endothelial cell potential, could be efficiently obtained from iPSCs derived from human bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (hBMMSC-iPSCs) with defined factors. By treatment with a cocktail containing mesodermal, hematopoietic, and endothelial inducers (BMP4, SCF, and VEGF, respectively) for 5 days, hBMMSC-iPSCs expressed the mesodermal transcription factors Brachyury and GATA-2 at higher levels than untreated groups (P<0.05). After culturing with another hematopoietic and endothelial inducer cocktail, including SCF, Flt3L, VEGF and IL-3, for an additional 7–9 days, CD34+ progenitor cells, which were undetectable in the initial iPSC cultures, reached nearly 20% of the total culture. This was greater than the relative number of progenitor cells produced from human-skin-fibroblast-derived iPSCs (hFib-iPSCs) or from the spontaneous differentiation groups (P<0.05), as assessed by flow cytometry analysis. These induced cells expressed hematopoietic transcription factors TAL-1 and SCL. They developed into various hematopoietic colonies when exposed to semisolid media with hematopoietic cytokines such as EPO and G-CSF. Hematopoietic cell lineages were identified by phenotype analysis with Wright-Giemsa staining. The endothelial potential of the cells was also verified by the confirmation of the formation of vascular tube-like structures and the expression of endothelial-specific markers CD31 and VE-CADHERIN. Efficient induction of CD34+ progenitor cells, which retain hematopoietic and endothelial cell potential with defined factors, provides an opportunity to obtain patient-specific cells for iPSC therapy and a useful model for the study of the mechanisms of hematopoiesis and drug screening

Eleven cases of dermatomyositis accompanied with gynecological malignant tumor: clinical characteristics and short-term follow-up

Objective: To analyze the clinical characteristics, diagnosis and treatment of dermatomyositis (DM) accompanied with gynecological malignant tumor to provide evidence for early detection and intervention of the disease. Methods: The clinical data of 11 DM patients with gynecological malignant tumor treated in our hospital from 2015 to 2020 were enrolled, and the clinical characteristics and treatment protocols were analyzed. Results: In eleven patients diagnosed DM accompanied with gynecological malignant tumor, three types of cancer were identified, including endometrial cancer (4/11), cervical cancer (2/11), and ovarian cancer (5/11). Eightout of 11 patients were diagnosed stage &#x02162;-&#x02163; gynecological cancer according to 2020 FIGO(International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics) gynecological tumor staging. Ten patients were screened for gynecological cancer by imaging and tumor biomarkers,and diagnosed gynecological cancer after being confirmed as DM 1 week to 21 months. The other one patient was found to have ovarian cancer at 21st month after diagnosis of DM because of the increased level of CA12-5 (carbohydrate antigen12-5) during the follow-up, however, her CT imaging of the pelvic and abdominal cavity and tumor biomarkers were normal in initial screening. The anti-TIF1-&#x003b3; antibodies in 8 DM patients were tested, and 6 of them were positive. Except one patient with cervical cancer receiving directly radical radiotherapy and chemotherapy, the other 10 patients received gynecological tumor resection. The overall survival rate was 100% during the follow-up of 2 months to 2 years. There was no tumor recurrence duringthe follow-up, but the DM recurrence appeared in 2patients. Conclusions: For the DM patients lacking signs of malignant tumor in the initial screening, the continuing follow-upand screening for tumor biomarkers should get more attention.The DM patients accompanied gynecological malignant tumor often showed late-stage cancer (&#x02162;-&#x02163; staging) and the treatment should be mainly focused on the gynecological tumor

Catalytic Asymmetric Cycloadditions of Silyl Nitronates Bearing α‑Aryl Group

1,3-Dipolar cycloadditions of 2-alkylacroleins or atropaldehyde with triisopropylsilyl nitronates bearing an α-aryl group produced 3-aryl-2-isoxazolines having a chiral quaternary center in up to 94% ee and up to 88% yield with the aid of Corey’s oxazaborolidine catalyst. Specifically, the TIPS nitronate with an α-(<i>p</i>-methoxyphenyl) group gave mainly the 2-isoxazolines having an all-carbon quaternary center

Catalytic Asymmetric Cycloadditions of Silyl Nitronates Bearing α‑Aryl Group

1,3-Dipolar cycloadditions of 2-alkylacroleins or atropaldehyde with triisopropylsilyl nitronates bearing an α-aryl group produced 3-aryl-2-isoxazolines having a chiral quaternary center in up to 94% ee and up to 88% yield with the aid of Corey’s oxazaborolidine catalyst. Specifically, the TIPS nitronate with an α-(<i>p</i>-methoxyphenyl) group gave mainly the 2-isoxazolines having an all-carbon quaternary center

Rural Homestead System Reform in China: From the Perspective of Urban－rural Economic Circulation: 城乡经济循环下我国农村宅基地制度改革研究[J].农业经济问题

The reform of rural homestead system is not only key for Chinese land system reform in the new era，but also essential for unblocking the urban－rural economic circulation and building the new development structure. On the background of the new development structure with urban－rural economic circulation，this study tries to provide a comprehensive definition of urban－rural circulation and analyzes its requirements for the homestead system reform. Furthermore，this study designs an overall picture for future homestead system reform for circulating urban－rural economy based on the experience of its insti- tutional reform. This study points out that urban－rural economic circulation is impeded by the underde- velopment of rural area，and the homestead system reform is crucial for prospering rural development. Thus，this study suggests to deepen the rural homestead system reform in China from the following aspects，i. e. ，improving planning system in rural area and moderately relaxing the control of homestead use，clarifying the ownership of property rights and completing its rights，establishing the transaction market and standardizing the rules，etc. These measures are expected to ease the spatial ur- ban－rural separation，promote bidirectional flow of resources between city and village，equalize the pub- lic services and infrastructure，and thus further motivate rural development and eventually realize the ur- ban－rural economic circulation