Effects of antipsychotics on bone mineral density and prolactin levels in patients with schizophrenia: a 12-month prospective study

Objective: Effects of conventional and atypical antipsychotics on bone mineral density (BMD) and serum prolactin levels (PRL) were examined in patients with schizophrenia.Methods: One hundred and sixty-three first-episode inpatients with schizophrenia were recruited, to whom one of three conventional antipsychotics (perphenazine, sulpiride, and chlorpromazine) or one of three atypical antipsychotics (clozapine, quetiapine, and aripiprazole)was prescribed for 12 months as appropriate. BMD and PRL were tested before and after treatment. Same measures were conducted in 90 matched healthy controls.Results Baseline BMD of postero-anterior L1–L4 range from 1.04 ± 0.17 to 1.42 ± 1.23, and there was no significant difference between the patients group and healthy control group. However, post-treatment BMD values in patients (ranging from 1.02 ± 0.15 to 1.23 ± 0.10) were significantly lower than that in healthy controls (ranging from 1.15 ± 0.12 to 1.42 ± 1.36). The BMD values after conventional antipsychotics were significantly lower than that after atypical antipsychotics. The PRL level after conventional antipsychotics (53.05 ± 30.25 ng/ml) was significantly higher than that after atypical antipsychotics (32.81 ± 17.42 ng/ml). Conditioned relevance analysis revealed significant negative correlations between the PRL level and the BMD values after conventional antipsychotics.Conclusion The increase of PRL might be an important risk factor leading to a high prevalence of osteoporosis in patients with schizophrenia on long-term conventional antipsychotic medication.<br/

Comparison of Apparent Diffusion Coefficient and T2 Relaxation Time Variation Patterns in Assessment of Age and Disc Level Related Intervertebral Disc Changes

Purpose To compare the variation patterns of ADC and T2 values in different age and intervertebral disc (IVD) levels, thus to identify their sensitivities in assessing age and disc level related IVDs changes. Materials and Methods The T2 and ADC values were recorded from 345 IVDs of 69 volunteers. Kendall's correlation analysis was used to identify the relationship between age and T2/ADC mean values respectively. The one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) with post hoc analysis was then applied to test the differences of T2 and ADC values among different IVD levels and age groups, followed by linear regression analysis between age (45 years) and T2/ADC mean values. This study was approved by the Ethics Committee of the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and the Peking Union Medical College Hospital. Results: Significant negative correlation was observed between age and T2/ADC mean values. The T2 and ADC values showed significant differences among IVD levels and among age groups except for T2 values in age group 1 (25–34 years) and group 2 (35–44 years), and for ADC values at L1–2 level. Both T2 and ADC values showed significant differences between young (age45 years) at each IVD level. A linear relationship was observed between age and T2/ADC mean values in the elderly group as well as in the young group for the ADC mean values, while no such tendency was identified in the young group for the T2 mean values. Conclusions: ADC values may be a more sensitive parameter than T2 in assessing age and disc level related intervertebral disc changes

Surface skyrmions and dual topological Hall effect in antiferromagnetic topological insulator EuCd2_2As2_2

In this work, we synthesized single crystal of EuCd$_2$As$_2$, which exhibits A-type antiferromagnetic (AFM) order with in-plane spin orientation below $T_N$ = 9.5~K.Optical spectroscopy and transport measurements suggest its topological insulator (TI) nature with an insulating gap around 0.1eV. Remarkably, a dual topological Hall resistivity that exhibits same magnitude but opposite signs in the positive to negative and negative to positive magnetic field hysteresis branches emerges below 20~K. With magnetic force microscopy (MFM) images and numerical simulations, we attribute the dual topological Hall effect to the N\'{e}el-type skyrmions stabilized by the interactions between topological surface states and magnetism, and the sign reversal in different hysteresis branches indicates potential coexistence of skyrmions and antiskyrmions. Our work uncovers a unique two-dimensional (2D) magnetism on the surface of intrinsic AFM TI, providing a promising platform for novel topological quantum states and AFM spintronic applications.Comment: 7 pages, 3 figure

A Study of Real Estate Prices in Jilin Province

This study is based on data from the Jilin Construction Office's Almanac. A hedonic model is used to investigate factors affecting real estate prices in Jilin province. The model has better application potential than traditional pricing analysis and thus is useful as a guide to future planning policies.

Research on the electromagnetic radiation characteristics of the gas main switch of a capacitive intense electron-beam accelerator

Strong electromagnetic fields are radiated during the operation of the intense electron-beam accelerator (IEBA), which may lead to the nearby electronic devices out of order. In this paper, the research on the electromagnetic radiation characteristic of the gas main switch of a capacitive IEBA is carried out by the methods of theory analysis and experiment investigation. It is obtained that the gas main switch is the dominating radiation resource. In the absence of electromagnetic shielding for the gas main switch, when the pulse forming line of the IEBA is charged to 700 kV, the radiation field with amplitude of 3280 V/m, dominant frequency of 84 MHz and high frequency 100 MHz is obtained at a distance of 10 meters away from the gas main switch. The experimental results of the radiation field agree with the theoretical calculations. We analyze the achievements of several research groups and find that there is a relationship between the rise time (T) of the transient current of the gas main switch and the dominant frequency (F) of the radiation field, namely, F*T=1. Contrast experiment is carried out with a metal shield cover for the gas main switch. Experimental results show that for the shielded setup the radiation field reduces to 115 V/m, the dominant frequency increases to 86.5 MHz at a distance of 10 away meters from the gas main switch. These conclusions are beneficial for further research on the electromagnetic radiation and protection of the IEBA

Effect of a Community-Based Hepatitis B Virus Infection Detection Combined with Vaccination Program in China

Evidence on the effectiveness of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection screening and vaccination programs remains rare in China. We used a quasi-experimental method, propensity score matching, to evaluate the effects of a community-based HBV infection detection combined with vaccination (HBVIDV) program in a pilot. Data were retrieved from the HBVIDV program implemented between July 2019 and June 2020. Outcomes were the difference between the treatment and control groups in hepatitis B vaccination (&ge;1 dose), hepatitis B vaccine series completion (&ge;3 doses), and serologic evidence of vaccine-mediated immunity. Altogether, 26,180 individuals were included, where 6160 (23.5%) individuals were assigned to the treatment group, and 20,020 (76.5%) individuals were assigned to the control group. After propensity score matching, 5793 individuals were matched. The rates of hepatitis B vaccination, hepatitis B vaccine series completion, and prevalence of vaccine-mediated immunity in the treatment and control groups were 29.0% vs. 17.8%, 22.1% vs. 13.1%, and 38.2% vs. 27.6%, respectively. The HBVIDV program was significantly associated with increased hepatitis B vaccination rate (OR, 1.884, 95% CI 1.725&ndash;2.057), hepatitis B vaccine series completion rate (OR, 1.872, 95% CI 1.696&ndash;2.065), and prevalence of vaccine-mediated immunity (OR, 1.623, 95% CI 1.501&ndash;1.755). The greater magnitude of association between HBVIDV program and outcomes was observed among adults aged 35&ndash;54 years and adults who live in rural areas. The HBVIDV program was effective in increasing the hepatitis B vaccination rate, hepatitis B vaccine series completion rate, and prevalence of vaccine-mediated immunity among adults in the pilot. Further focusing the program on special populations and regions may produce more effective results