Prevalence of gaming disorder in East Asia: A comprehensive meta-analysis

Background and aims: Asian countries are deemed to be high prevalence areas for gaming disorder (GD). This meta-analysis is the first to synthesize the overall prevalence of GD in East Asia and investigate characteristics that influence prevalence estimates. Methods: Systematic and independent searches were conducted across PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, PsycINFO, and the Cochrane Library since their inception to January 27, 2021. The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality scale was used for quality assessment. A random effect model was used to calculate the overall GD prevalence and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Results: In total, 22 articles (26 studies) comprising 51,525 participants were included in this meta-analysis. The overall pooled prevalence of GD in East Asia was 12%, 95% CI (10%–15%); this figure was adjusted to 6%, 95% CI (3%–9%) for a representative sample. Higher prevalence was observed in males than in females (16% vs. 8%, respectively, P < 0.05). Subgroup and meta-regression analyses revealed that studies among gamers or those without random sampling reported significantly higher prevalence rates. There were no significant differences between countries/regions, sample size, quality score, proportion of males, and scale used. Discussion and conclusions: The prevalence of GD in East Asia is higher than that in other world regions. Future studies should extend such epidemiological research to other regions to calculate the accurate prevalence of GD to benefit the local identification, prevention, policy formulation, and treatment efforts. Considering its negative effects, effective preventive and treatment measures for GD in East Asia need greater attention

Hyperconnectivity of the lateral amygdala in long-term methamphetamine abstainers negatively correlated with withdrawal duration

Introduction: Several studies have reported structural and functional abnormalities of the amygdala caused by methamphetamine addiction. However, it is unknown whether abnormalities in amygdala function persist in long-term methamphetamine abstainers.Methods: In this study, 38 long-term male methamphetamine abstainers (&gt;12 months) and 40 demographically matched male healthy controls (HCs) were recruited. Considering the heterogeneous nature of the amygdala structure and function, we chose 4 amygdala subregions (i.e., left lateral, left medial, right lateral, and right medial) as regions of interest (ROI) and compared the ROI-based resting-state functional connectivity (FC) at the whole-brain voxel-wise between the two groups. We explored the relationship between the detected abnormal connectivity, methamphetamine use factors, and the duration of withdrawal using correlation analyses. We also examined the effect of methamphetamine use factors, months of withdrawal, and sociodemographic data on detected abnormal connectivity through multiple linear regressions.Results: Compared with HCs, long-term methamphetamine abstainers showed significant hyperconnectivity between the left lateral amygdala and a continuous area extending to the left inferior/middle occipital gyrus and left middle/superior temporal gyrus. Abnormal connections negatively correlated with methamphetamine withdrawal time (r = −0.85, p &lt; 0.001). The linear regression model further demonstrated that the months of withdrawal could identify the abnormal connectivity (βadj = −0.86, 95%CI: −1.06 to −0.65, p &lt; 0.001).Discussion: The use of methamphetamine can impair the neural sensory system, including the visual and auditory systems, but this abnormal connectivity can gradually recover after prolonged withdrawal of methamphetamine. From a neuroimaging perspective, our results suggest that withdrawal is an effective treatment for methamphetamine

Latitudinal differences in early growth of largehead hairtail (Trichiurus japonicus) in relation to environmental variables

Largehead hairtail (Trichiurus japonicus) in the China Seas shows an increasing catch trend, despite continued overexploitation, which could be attributed to improved recruitment as a result of strengthened early growth. To understand the early growth variability of largehead hairtail, we examined the linkages between early growth, as revealed by otolith microstructure, and the associated environmental variables over both spatial and temporal scales. Young‐of‐the‐Year largehead hairtail were collected from three regions in the Bohai, Yellow and East China Seas between 29° and 39° N. Daily increment widths of sagittal otoliths were measured and used as a proxy for somatic growth. We found two spawning cohorts, Spring‐ and Summer‐spawned cohorts, that showed latitudinal differences in both mean growth and growth pattern. The transition time from larval to juvenile stage was identified at around 40 days. Daily increment widths of two cohorts showed similar growth pattern in the first 40 days, while location had a marked effect on daily growth over 41–110 days. This suggests physiologically constrained growth pattern in larval stage, but more plastic growth subject to habitat‐specific influences in juvenile stage. The gradient forest analysis identified sea bottom temperature, vertical temperature gradient, and sea surface salinity, as the most important variables in determining early growth. Latitudinal differences in early growth pattern and their response to environmental variables suggest adaptive plasticity of early growth, which has notable implication for the management and sustainable utilization of this important but heavily exploited resource in the China Seas.acceptedVersio

Draft genome sequence of the mulberry tree Morus notabilis

Human utilization of the mulberry–silkworm interaction started at least 5,000 years ago and greatly influenced world history through the Silk Road. Complementing the silkworm genome sequence, here we describe the genome of a mulberry species Morus notabilis. In the 330-Mb genome assembly, we identify 128 Mb of repetitive sequences and 29,338 genes, 60.8% of which are supported by transcriptome sequencing. Mulberry gene sequences appear to evolve ~3 times faster than other Rosales, perhaps facilitating the species’ spread worldwide. The mulberry tree is among a few eudicots but several Rosales that have not preserved genome duplications in more than 100 million years; however, a neopolyploid series found in the mulberry tree and several others suggest that new duplications may confer benefits. Five predicted mulberry miRNAs are found in the haemolymph and silk glands of the silkworm, suggesting interactions at molecular levels in the plant–herbivore relationship. The identification and analyses of mulberry genes involved in diversifying selection, resistance and protease inhibitor expressed in the laticifers will accelerate the improvement of mulberry plants

Role of Gaming Devices Associated With Internet Gaming Disorder in China: Cross-sectional Study

BackgroundChinese gamers use computer and mobile phone games widely. Consequently, concerns regarding the development of internet gaming disorder (IGD) in adolescents have been raised. However, only a few studies have focused on the influence of gaming devices on IGD. ObjectiveThis study aims to compare sociodemographic information, gaming use characteristics, personality traits, and gaming motivations between computer game users (CGUs) and mobile phone game users (MGUs), as well as identifying IGD predictors. MethodsThis was a cross-sectional study. A total of 3593 internet game players took part in an online survey, which included sociodemographic information, gaming patterns, gaming motivations, the Chinese version of the Video Game Dependency Scale, and the Chinese Big Five Personality Inventory brief version. The population was divided into 2 groups for comparison by mobile phone or computer use, and the IGD population was also compared within the 2 groups. ResultsThere were significant differences between the 2 gaming device groups in the time (t2994=7.75, P<.001) and money (t2994=5.11, P<.001) spent on gaming and in internet game addiction scores (t2994=3.68, P<.001). Individuals using different gaming devices had different game motivations and personality traits and preferred different genres of games. Results showed that IGD predictors were different for the 2 groups, for example, strategy (odds ratio [OR] 4.452, 95% CI 1.938-10.227; P<.001) and action shooter (OR 3.725, 95% CI 1.465-9.474; P=.01) games increased the risk for MGUs. ConclusionsGaming devices should be considered during early identification, such as long daily gaming time, much money spent on gaming, neuroticism, and conscientiousness. In addition, more research should be conducted on new gaming devices and IGD treatment

Prevalence and influencing factors of suicide in first-episode and drug-naive young major depressive disorder patients with impaired fasting glucose: a cross-sectional study

BackgroundAn association exists between major depression disorder (MDD), suicide attempts, and glucose metabolism, but suicide attempts in young MDD patients with comorbid impaired fasting glucose (IFG) have been less well studied. The purpose of this study was to examine the prevalence and risk factors for suicide attempts in young, first-episode, drug-naive (FEDN) MDD patients with comorbid IFG. MethodsWe recruited 917 young patients with FEDN MDD, 116 of whom were judged to have combined IFG because their blood glucose was >6.0. We collected anthropological and clinical data on all of them. The Hamilton Depression Scale (HAMD) score, the Hamilton Anxiety Scale (HAMA) score and the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) positive subscale score were used to assess their clinical symptoms. Blood glucose, plasma thyroid function and lipid indicators were measured. ResultsThe prevalence of suicide attempts in young MDD patients with IFG was 32.8% (38/116). Furthermore, among young MDD patients with comorbid IFG, suicide attempters had more severe depression and anxiety symptoms, more comorbid psychotic symptom, higher levels of antibody of thyroid stimulating hormone and thyroid peroxidases (TPOAb), and more severe lipid metabolism disorders than those without suicide attempts. In addition, HAMA scores and TPOAb were independently associated with suicide attempts in young patients with FEDN MDD. ConclusionOur study suggests that young MDD patients with IFG have a high rate of suicide attempts. Some clinical symptoms and thyroid function parameters may be the risk factor for suicide attempts in young MDD patients with impaired glucose metabolism

Macrocyclization of linear molecules by deep learning to facilitate macrocyclic drug candidates discovery

Abstract Interest in macrocycles as potential therapeutic agents has increased rapidly. Macrocyclization of bioactive acyclic molecules provides a potential avenue to yield novel chemical scaffolds, which can contribute to the improvement of the biological activity and physicochemical properties of these molecules. In this study, we propose a computational macrocyclization method based on Transformer architecture (which we name Macformer). Leveraging deep learning, Macformer explores the vast chemical space of macrocyclic analogues of a given acyclic molecule by adding diverse linkers compatible with the acyclic molecule. Macformer can efficiently learn the implicit relationships between acyclic and macrocyclic structures represented as SMILES strings and generate plenty of macrocycles with chemical diversity and structural novelty. In data augmentation scenarios using both internal ChEMBL and external ZINC test datasets, Macformer display excellent performance and generalisability. We showcase the utility of Macformer when combined with molecular docking simulations and wet lab based experimental validation, by applying it to the prospective design of macrocyclic JAK2 inhibitors

Hydrogen‐Bond‐Mediated Surface Functionalization of Boron Nitride Micro‐Lamellae toward High Thermal Conductive Papers

Abstract Wide‐bandgap, layered hexagonal boron nitride (h‐BN) possesses excellent electrical insulation and ultrahigh thermal conductivity simultaneously, offering a perfect candidate for the growing demands of heating dissipations in modern chip industries and power electronics. Hybrids of h‐BN with polymers fulfill the thermal management materials (TMMs) requirement of flexibility, while the composite poses severe challenges in the interfacial bonding and excess thermal resistance. To date, the practical bonding between h‐BN intrinsic surfaces and polymer matrices remains elusive. This work reports on the effective alignment of h‐BN micro‐lamellae by introducing nitrogen‐atoms‐containing polymers as inter‐lamellae bridging mediums. Based on theoretical calculations the hydrogen bonding between polymer chains and the BN surface is revealed by differential charge densities mapping. It is shown experimentally that the neuron‐like polymer bundles strongly bonding surfaces of two neighboring h‐BN platelets as direct, microscopic evidence of the structure models. An extra alignment of h‐BN induced by this strong interfacial interaction leads to a higher degree of h‐BN stacking order, boosting the thermal conduction by eight times. These results reveal one unprecedented method to non‐covalently functionalize the h‐BN surface and expand the TMMs family in the dimension of the filler size, paving the way for exploring the larger‐sized ceramic TMMs