Probiotic and Oxytocin Combination Therapy in Patients with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Randomized, Double-Blinded, Placebo-Controlled Pilot Trial

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a rapidly growing neurodevelopmental disorder. Both probiotics and oxytocin were reported to have therapeutic potential; however, the combination therapy has not yet been studied. We conducted a randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled, 2-stage pilot trial in 35 individuals with ASD aged 3-20 years (median = 10.30 years). Subjects were randomly assigned to receive daily Lactobacillus plantarum PS128 probiotic (6 × 1010 CFUs) or a placebo for 28 weeks; starting on week 16, both groups received oxytocin. The primary outcomes measure socio-behavioral severity using the Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS) and Aberrant Behavior Checklist (ABC). The secondary outcomes include measures of the Clinical Global Impression (CGI) scale, fecal microbiome, blood serum inflammatory markers, and oxytocin. All outcomes were compared between the two groups at baseline, 16 weeks, and 28 weeks into treatment. We observed improvements in ABC and SRS scores and significant improvements in CGI-improvement between those receiving probiotics and oxytocin combination therapy compared to those receiving placebo (p < 0.05). A significant number of favorable gut microbiome network hubs were also identified after combination therapy (p < 0.05). The favorable social cognition response of the combination regimen is highly correlated with the abundance of the Eubacterium hallii group. Our findings suggest synergic effects between probiotics PS128 and oxytocin in ASD patients, although further investigation is warranted

Mobile robot pose estimation using laser scan matching based on Fourier Transform

Pose estimation problem is a key problem for a mobile robot system. In this paper, a new pose estimation method for the mobile robot is presented based on 2D (two dimensional) laser range finder. To get the increments between reference scan and current scan, a scan matching algorithm based on 1D Fourier Transform is presented. It is different from other methods. Because of 1D Fourier-transform-based and point-point matching, it is no need to extract features from environment and have high anti-noise and low computational cost. To get the pose of the mobile robot in the world coordinates, a pose estimation model is proposed. Finally, the proposed method is tested on the experimental platform in an indoor environment. The experimental results demonstrated its effectiveness. © 2013 IEEE.Link_to_subscribed_fulltex

BaF(p-BDC)0.5 as the Catalyst Precursor for the Catalytic Dehydrochlorination of 1-Chloro-1,1-Difluoroethane to Vinylidene Fluoride

A BaF(p-BDC)0.5 catalyst was prepared by solid state reaction at room temperature with Ba(OH)2 as precursor, NH4F as F source, and H2(p-BDC) as organic ligand. The calcined samples were used as catalysts for dehydrochlorination of 1-chloro-1,1-difluoroethane to generate vinylidene fluoride (VDF) at 350 °C. Commercial production of VDF is carried out at 600–700 °C. Clearly, pyrolysis of the BaF(p-BDC)0.5 catalyst provided a promising way to prepare VDF at low temperatures. Prior to calcination, the activity of the BaF(p-BDC)0.5 catalyst was low. Following calcination at high temperatures, BaF(p-BDC)0.5 decomposed to BaF2 and BaCO3, and then the catalyst was chlorinated and fluorinated to BaClF, which showed high activity and stable VDF selectivity for dehydrochlorination of 1-Chloro-1,1-Difluoroethane to VDF

Atypical N170 lateralization of face and word recognition in Chinese children with autism spectrum disorder

Atypical brain lateralization patterns in processing both human faces (reduced right lateralization) and alphabetic languages (reduced left lateralization) have been found in autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Yet, whether Chinese children with ASD show similar atypical brain lateralization patterns in processing faces and language is largely unknown. The aim of the present study was to examine this issue with N170, an event-related potential (ERP) component responsible for faces and visual words. Twenty Chinese children with ASD and 18 typically developing children participated in the study. ERPs were recorded while participants were presented with Chinese characters and faces. Results showed a significant right-lateralization of N170 for control children in processing both faces and characters, whereas there was no lateralization of N170 for children with ASD, either in processing faces or characters. The results suggest that Chinese children with ASD exhibited atypical lateralization in processing both faces and written words. The reduced right lateralization for processing faces in Chinese children with ASD compared with the control group was similar to the lateralization deficits demonstrated in western studies. However, the reduced right lateralization for processing Chinese characters in ASD was different from the deficit pattern of lateralization for processing alphabetic languages.</p

Top-Down Disconnectivity in Schizophrenia During P300 Tasks

Cognitive deficits in schizophrenia are correlated with the dysfunctions of distinct brain regions including anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and prefrontal cortex (PFC). Apart from the dysfunctions of the intrinsic connectivity of related areas, how the coupled neural populations work is also crucial in related processes. Twenty-four patients with schizophrenia (SZs) and 24 matched healthy controls (HCs) were recruited in our study. Based on the electroencephalogram (EEG) datasets recorded, the Dynamic Causal Modeling (DCM) was then adopted to estimate how the brain architecture adapts among related areas in SZs and to investigate the mechanism that accounts for their cognitive deficits. The distinct winning models in SZs and HCs consistently emphasized the importance of ACC in regulating the elicitations of P300s. Specifically, comparing to that in HCs, the winning model in SZs uncovered a compensatory pathway from dorsolateral PFC to intraparietal sulcus that promised the SZs' accomplishing P300 tasks. The findings demonstrated that the “disconnectivity hypothesis” is helpful and useful in explaining the cognitive deficits in SZs, while the brain architecture adapted with related compensatory pathway promises the limited brain cognitions in SZs. This study provides a new viewpoint that deepens our understanding of the cognitive deficits in schizophrenia