Convergent and divergent gray matter volume abnormalities in unaffected first-degree relatives and ultra-high risk individuals of schizophrenia.

High-risk populations of schizophrenia can be mainly identified as genetic high-risk based on putative endophenotypes or ultra-high-risk (UHR) based on clinically manifested symptoms. Previous studies have consistently shown brain structural abnormalities in both genetic high-risk and UHR individuals. In this study, we aimed to disentangle the convergent and divergent pattern of gray matter alterations between UHR and unaffected first-degree relatives from genetic high-risk individuals. We used structural MRI scans and voxel-based morphometry method to examine gray matter volume (GMV) differences among 23 UHR subjects meeting the Structured Interview for Prodromal Syndromes (SIPS) criteria, 18 unaffected first-degree relatives (UFDR), 26 first-episode schizophrenia patients (FES) and 54 healthy controls (CN). We found that a number of brain regions exhibited a monotonically decreasing trend of GMV from CN to UFDR to UHR to FES. Compared with CN, the UHR subjects showed significant decreases of GMV similar to the patients in the inferior temporal gyrus, fusiform gyrus, middle occipital gyrus, insula, and limbic regions. Moreover, the UHR transformed subgroup had significantly lower GMV than UHR non-transformed subgroup in the right inferior temporal/fusiform gyrus. On the other hand, the UFDR subjects only showed significant GMV decreases in the inferior temporal gyrus and fusiform. Moreover, we found GMV in the occipital lobe was negatively correlated with the UHR subjects' composite positive symptom of SIPS, and GMV in the cerebellum was positively correlated with FES subjects' symptom severity. Our results suggest that GMV deficits and regional dysfunction are evident prior to the onset of psychosis and are more prominent in the UHR than the UFDR individuals.

Altered resting-state functional connectivity of the insula in individuals with clinical high-risk and patients with first-episode schizophrenia.

OBJECTIVES: Abnormalities in insular functional connectivity have been implicated in many clinical features of schizophrenia. The aim of this study was to determine to what degree such abnormalities occur in individuals with clinical high risk for psychosis (CHR), and whether which is associated with symptom severity. METHODS: Resting-state fMRI data were collected from 47 healthy controls, 24 CHR individuals and 19 patients with first-episode schizophrenia. Using the posterior, dorsal and ventral insular subregions as separate seeds, we examined resting-state functional connectivity differences between different groups and the association between concurrent symptom severity and dysconnectivity. RESULTS: Compared with healthy controls, both CHR individuals and schizophrenia patients showed hypoconnectivity between posterior insula (PI) and somatosensory areas, and between dorsal anterior insula (dAI) and putamen. Schizophrenia patients also showed dAI and ventral anterior insula(vAI) hyperconnectivity with visual areas relative to controls and CHR individuals. Correlation analysis revealed that dAI functional connectivity with superior temporal gyrus was positively correlated with positive symptoms of CHR, and vAI connectivity with dorsolateral prefrontal cortex was negatively correlated with the severity of the symptoms of first-episode schizophrenia. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that insular functional dysconnectivity with the sensory cortex may be a system-level neural substrate preceding the onset of psychosis.

Formation of nanoscale Te0 and its effect on TeO32- reduction in CH4-based membrane biofilm reactor.

Formation and recovery of elemental tellurium (Te0) from wastewaters are required by increasing demands and scarce resources. Membrane biofilm reactor (MBfR) using gaseous electron donor has been reported as a low-cost and benign technique to reduce and recover metal (loids). In this study, we demonstrate the feasibility of nanoscale Te0 formation by tellurite (TeO32-) reduction in a CH4-based MBfR. Biogenic Te0 intensively attached on cell surface, within diameters ranging from 10 nm to 30 nm and the hexagonal nanostructure. Along with the Te0 formation, the TeO32- reduction was inhibited. After flushing, biofilm resumed the TeO32- reduction ability, suggesting that the formed nanoscale Te0 might inhibit the reduction by hindering substrate transfer of TeO32- to microbes. The 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing revealed that Thermomonas and Hyphomicrobium were possibly responsible for TeO32- reduction since they increased consecutively along with the experiment operation. The PICRUSt (Phylogenetic Investigation of Communities by Reconstruction of Unobserved States) analysis showed that the sulfite reductases were positively correlated with the TeO32- flux, indicating they were potential enzymes involved in reduction process. This study confirms the capability of CH4-based MBfR in tellurium reduction and formation, and provides more techniques for resources recovery and recycles.