The longitudinal interplay between negative and positive symptom trajectories in patients under antipsychotic treatment: a post hoc analysis of data from a randomized, 1-year pragmatic trial

BACKGROUND: Schizophrenia is a highly heterogeneous disorder with positive and negative symptoms being characteristic manifestations of the disease. While these two symptom domains are usually construed as distinct and orthogonal, little is known about the longitudinal pattern of negative symptoms and their linkage with the positive symptoms. This study assessed the temporal interplay between these two symptom domains and evaluated whether the improvements in these symptoms were inversely correlated or independent with each other. METHODS: This post hoc analysis used data from a multicenter, randomized, open-label, 1-year pragmatic trial of patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorder who were treated with first- and second-generation antipsychotics in the usual clinical settings. Data from all treatment groups were pooled resulting in 399 patients with complete data on both the negative and positive subscale scores from the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS). Individual-based growth mixture modeling combined with interplay matrix was used to identify the latent trajectory patterns in terms of both the negative and positive symptoms. Pearson correlation coefficients were calculated to examine the relationship between the changes of these two symptom domains within each combined trajectory pattern. RESULTS: We identified four distinct negative symptom trajectories and three positive symptom trajectories. The trajectory matrix formed 11 combined trajectory patterns, which evidenced that negative and positive symptom trajectories moved generally in parallel. Correlation coefficients for changes in negative and positive symptom subscale scores were positive and statistically significant (P < 0.05). Overall, the combined trajectories indicated three major distinct patterns: (1) dramatic and sustained early improvement in both negative and positive symptoms (n = 70, 18%), (2) mild and sustained improvement in negative and positive symptoms (n = 237, 59%), and (3) no improvement in either negative or positive symptoms (n = 82, 21%). CONCLUSIONS: This study of symptom trajectories over 1 year shows that changes in negative and positive symptoms were neither inversely nor independently related with each other. The positive association between these two symptom domains supports the notion that different symptom domains in schizophrenia may depend on each other through a unified upstream pathological disease process

The Ll2 to DO19 phase transformation in the intermetallic compund Fe3Ge

Conference theme: Phase transformations and systems driven far from equilibriumA large kinetics hysteresis is found to exist between the forward and backward reactions of the LI2 «-» DO19 transformation in FejGe, The slow DOw to Ll2 transformation leaves behind very stable twins and stacking fault debris. In-situ annealing experiments in the transmission electron microscope revealed that nucieatiort for the reverse U 2 to DO 19 reaction takes place efficiently at these defects.published_or_final_versio

Baseline susceptibility and cross-resistance in aphis gossypii glover (Aphididae: Hemiptera) to phorate and sulfoxaflor

© 2013 State of New South Wales. Susceptible discriminating doses of phorate (0.2 g/L) and sulfoxaflor (0.01 g/L) against cotton aphid Aphis gossypii Glover were determined by laboratory bioassay where aphids were sprayed with insecticide with the aid of a Potter spray tower. All of the populations tested were susceptible to sulfoxaflor, and only a pirimicarb resistant strain had cross-resistance to phorate. If phorate is used as a side dressing in Australian cotton for insect control, neither pirimicarb, or any other chemical associated with insensitive acetylcholinesterase type one resistance, should be used as the first foliar spray for any subsequent aphid control

Environmental Sustainability of Digitalization in Manufacturing: A Review

The rapid development and implementation of digitalization in manufacturing has enormous impact on the environment. It is still unclear whether digitalization has positive or negative environmental impact from applications in manufacturing. Therefore, this study aims to discuss the overall implications of digitalization on environmental sustainability through a literature study, within the scope of manufacturing (product design, production, transportation, and customer service). The analysis and categorization of selected articles resulted in two main findings: (1) Digitalization in manufacturing contributes positively to environmental sustainability by increasing resource and information efficiency as a result of applying Industry 4.0 technologies throughout the product lifecycle; (2) the negative environmental burden of digitalization is primarily due to increased resource and energy use, as well as waste and emissions from manufacturing, use, and disposal of the hardware (the technology lifecycle). Based on these findings, a lifecycle perspective is proposed, considering the environmental impacts from both the product and technology lifecycles. This study identified key implications of digitalization on environmental sustainability in manufacturing to increase awareness of both the positive and negative impacts of digitalization and thereby support decision making to invest in new digital technologies

Bioinformatics-based assessment of the relevance of candidate genes for mutation discovery

The bioinformatics resources provide a wide range of tools that can be applied in different areas of mutation screening. The enormous and constantly increasing amount of genomic data obtained in plant-oriented molecular studies requires the development of efficient techniques for its processing. There is a wide range of bioinformatics tools which can aid in the course of mutation discovery. The following chapter focuses mainly on the application of different tools and resources to facilitate a Targeting-Induced Local Lesions in Genomes (TILLING) analysis. TILLING is a technique of reverse genetics that applies a traditional mutagenesis to create DNA libraries of mutagenised individuals that are then subjected to high-throughput screening for the identification of mutations. The bioinformatics tools have shown to be useful in supporting the process of candidate gene selection for mutation screening. The availability of bioinformatics software and experimental data repositories provides a powerful tool which enables a process of multi-database mining. The existing raw experimental data (genomics-related information, expression data, annotated ontologies) can be interpreted in terms of a new biological context. This may help in selecting the proper candidate gene for mutation discovery that is controlling the target phenotype. The mutation screening using a TILLING strategy requires a former knowledge of the full genomic sequence of the gene which is of interest. Depending on whether a fully sequenced genome of a particular species is available, different bioinformatics tools can facilitate this process. Specific tools can be also useful for the identification of possible gene paralogs which may mask the effect of mutated gene. Bioinformatics resources can also support the selection of gene fragments most prone to acquire a deleterious nucleotide change. Finally, there are available tools enabling a proper design of oligonucleotide primers for the amplification of a gene fragment for the purpose of mutation screening

Model-based assessment of chromate reduction and nitrate effect in a methane-based membrane biofilm reactor

© 2019 Zhejiang University Chromate contamination can pose a high risk to both the environment and public health. Previous studies have shown that CH4-based membrane biofilm reactor (MBfR) is a promising method for chromate removal. In this study, we developed a multispecies biofilm model to study chromate reduction and its interaction with nitrate reduction in a CH4-based MBfR. The model-simulated results were consistent with the experimental data reported in the literature. The model showed that the presence of nitrate in the influent promoted the growth of heterotrophs, while suppressing methanotrophs and chromate reducers. Moreover, it indicated that a biofilm thickness of 150 μm and an influent dissolved oxygen concentration of 0.5 mg O2/L could improve the reactor performance by increasing the chromate removal efficiency under the simulated conditions

Model-Based Feasibility Assessment of Membrane Biofilm Reactor to Achieve Simultaneous Ammonium, Dissolved Methane, and Sulfide Removal from Anaerobic Digestion Liquor

In this study, the membrane biofilm reactor (MBfR) is proposed to achieve simultaneous removal of ammonium, dissolved methane, and sulfide from main-stream and side-stream anaerobic digestion liquors. To avoid dissolved methane stripping, oxygen is introduced through gas-permeable membranes, which also from the substratum for the growth of a biofilm likely comprising ammonium oxidizing bacteria (AOB), anaerobic ammonium oxidation (Anammox) bacteria, denitrifying anaerobic methane oxidation (DAMO) microorganisms, aerobic methane oxidizing bacteria (MOB), and sulfur oxidizing bacteria (SOB). A mathematical model is developed and applied to assess the feasibility of such a system and the associated microbial community structure under different operational conditions. The simulation studies demonstrate the feasibility of achieving high-level (>97.0%), simultaneous removal of ammonium, dissolved methane, and sulfide in the MBfRs from both main-stream and side-stream anaerobic digestion liquors through adjusting the influent surface loading (or hydraulic retention time (HRT)) and the oxygen surface loading. The optimal HRT was found to be inversely proportional to the corresponding oxygen surface loading. Under the optimal operational conditions, AOB, DAMO bacteria, MOB, and SOB dominate the biofilm of the main-stream MBfR, while AOB, Anammox bacteria, DAMO bacteria, and SOB coexist in the side-stream MBfR to remove ammonium, dissolved methane, and sulfide simultaneously

Enabling the Twin Transitions: Digital Technologies Support Environmental Sustainability through Lean Principles

Manufacturing companies seek innovative approaches to achieve successful Green and Digital transitions, where adopting lean production is one alternative. However, further investigation is required to formulate the approach with empirical inputs and identify what digital technologies could be applied with which lean principles for environmental benefits. Therefore, this study first conducted a case study in three companies to collect empirical data. A complementary literature review was then carried out, investigating the existing frameworks, and complementing practices of digitalized lean implementations and the resulting environmental impact. Consequently, the Internet of Things and related connection-level technologies were identified as the key facilitators in lean implementations, specifically in visualization, communication, and poka-yoke, leading to environmental benefits. Furthermore, a framework of DIgitalization Supports Environmental sustainability through Lean principles (DISEL) was proposed to help manufacturing companies identify the opportunities of digitalizing lean principles for Environmental sustainability, thus enabling the twin transitions and being resilient

Investigation of Isolation Approaches and the Stoichiometry of SiNx Passivation Layers in “Buffer-Free” AlGaN/GaN Metal–Insulator–Semiconductor High-Electron-Mobility Transistors

Critical process modules for the fabrication of metal–insulator–semiconductor high-electron-mobility transistors (MISHEMTs) based on a novel ‘buffer-free’ AlGaN/GaN heterostructure grown with metal–organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) are presented. The methods of isolation and passivation for this type of heterostructure are investigated. Utilizing nitrogen implantation, it is possible to achieve off-state destructive breakdown voltages (BVs) of 2496 V for gate–drain distances up to 25 μm, whereas mesa isolation techniques limit the BV below 1284 V. The stoichiometry of the SiNx passivation layer displays a small impact on the static and dynamic on-resistance. However, MISHEMTs with Si-rich passivation show off-state gate currents in the range of 1–100 μA mm−1 at voltages above 1000 V, which is reduced below 10 nA mm−1 using a stoichiometric SiNx passivation layer. Destructive BVs of 1532 and 1742 V can be achieved using gate-integrated and source-connected field plates for MIHEMTs with stoichiometric and Si–rich passivation layers, respectively. By decreasing the field plate lengths, it is possible to achieve BVs of 2200 V. This demonstrates the implementation of MISHEMTs with high-voltage operation and low leakage currents on a novel “buffer-free” heterostructure by optimizing the SiNx stoichiometry

Influenza-associated mortality in Yancheng, China, 2011-15

Introduction: The Yangtze river delta in eastern China, centred on Shanghai, is one of the most populated regions of the world with more than 100 million residents. We examined the impact of influenza on excess mortality in Yancheng, a prefecture-level city with 8.2 million population located 250km north of Shanghai, during 2011-2015. Methods: We obtained individual data on deaths by date, age, sex and cause in Yancheng from the Chinese Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and used these to derive weekly rates of mortality from respiratory causes, respiratory and cardiovascular causes combined, and all causes. We used data on influenza-like illnesses and laboratory detections of influenza to construct a proxy measure of the weekly incidence of influenza virus infections in the community. We used regression models to estimate the association of influenza activity with mortality and excess mortality by age, cause and influenza type/subtype. Results: We estimated that an annual average of 4.59 (95% confidence interval: 3.94, 7.41) excess respiratory deaths per 100,000 persons were associated with influenza, which was 4.6% of all respiratory deaths in the years studied. Almost all influenza-associated excess deaths occurred in persons ≥65 years. Influenza A(H3N2) had the greatest impact on mortality and was associated with around 50% of the influenza-associated respiratory deaths in the 5 years studied. Conclusions: Influenza has a substantial impact on respiratory mortality in Yancheng, mainly in older adults. Influenza vaccination has the potential to reduce disease burden, and cost-effectiveness analysis could be used to compare policy options.published_or_final_versio