Non-destructive estimation of flesh oil content in avocado (Persea americana Mill.) using fluorescence images from 365-nm UV light excitation.

The flesh oil content (OC) is a crucial commercial indicator of avocado maturity and directly correlates with its nutritional quality. To meet export standards and optimize edible characteristics, avocados must be harvested at the appropriate stage of physiological maturity. The significant variability in OC during maturation, without any external morphological indicators, poses a longstanding challenge. Currently, harvesting maturity is optimized through time-consuming, destructive laboratory methods like freeze-drying and chemical extraction, which use representative samples to estimate the maturity of entire orchards. In this study, for the first time, we employed fluorescence imaging of avocado skin using 365-nm UV polarized light excitation to estimate the OC in the 'Bacon' avocado cultivar. We developed a surface fluorescence index that strongly correlates with OC, achieving correlation coefficients up to - 0.91. Our non-destructive and rapid approach achieved a cross-validation accuracy with an R2 value of 0.81, enabling the classification of avocados with low and high OC. This pioneering method shows considerable potential for further improvement and refinement. This study lays the groundwork for developing a portable, cost-effective, and real-time method for non-destructive in situ monitoring of avocado OC in the field and its integration into large-scale post-harvest grading systems.

Serum trace elements and osteoarthritis: A meta-analysis and Mendelian randomization study.

OBJECTIVE: This study aims to establish the correlation between shifts in serum trace element (TE) levels and the progression of osteoarthritis (OA), while also exploring the underlying causal relationship between these variables. METHODS: An investigation was conducted, which included a systematic review, a meta-analysis of observational studies, and a two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) study. RESULTS: This meta-analysis revealed significant differences in serum levels of copper, manganese, cadmium, and selenium between OA patients and healthy controls, after adjusting for heterogeneity. Specifically, significant disparities were observed for copper (SMD 0.118 [95 % CI: 0.061 ∼ 0.175], P < 0.001), manganese (SMD -0.180 [95 % CI: -0.326 ∼ -0.034], P = 0.016), cadmium (SMD 0.227 [95 % CI: 0.131 ∼ 0.322], P < 0.001), and selenium (SMD -0.138 [95 % CI: -0.209 ∼ -0.068], P < 0.001), while zinc levels did not show a significant difference (SMD -0.02 [95 % CI: -0.077 ∼ 0.038], P = 0.503). Further, MR analysis suggested a causal link between genetically predicted serum copper level changes and OA development, but not for other TEs. CONCLUSION: The study suggests that there is an association between the occurrence of OA and variations in serum levels of copper, manganese, cadmium, and selenium. Elevated serum copper may play a pivotal role. Further research is needed to explore the therapeutic potential of TE level modulation in OA management.

A recombinant pseudorabies virus surface - displaying the classical swine fever E2 protein induces specific antibodies rapidly.

Pseudorabies virus (PRV) and classical swine fever virus (CSFV) are both economically important pathogens threatening the pig industry in many countries. The triple-gene-deleted variant of PRV, herein referred to as rPRVTJ-delgE/gI/TK, has exhibited pronounced efficacy and safety profiles. This underscores its viability as a prospective vaccine vector. However, the generation of specific anti-E2 antibodies necessitates elevated immunization doses and extended durations when the extracellular domain of the E2 protein of CSFV is secreted via the recombinant rPRVTJ-delgE/gI/TK vector. To enhance the presentation of exogenous antigens by antigen-presenting cells (APCs), we engineered the E2 protein expressed on the surface of PRV particles in this study. The recombinant virus expressing the E2 protein with a heterogonous transmembrane domain was generated in the backbone of rPRVTJ-delgE/gI/TK and designated as rPRVTJ-UL44-E2. The E2 gene was fused to the 3' terminus of the UL44 gene utilizing P2A, a self-cleaving peptide sequence. The electron microscopy showed that the E2 protein was anchored on the surface of the viral particles of rPRVTJ-delgE/gI/TK-E2. The insertion of the E2 gene did not alter the native biological characteristics of the viral vector. Rabbits immunized with 107 median tissue culture infective doses (TCID50) of rPRVTJ-UL44-E2 exhibited a rapid seroconversion to anti-E2 specific antibodies within 7 days post-immunization (dpi). All the rabbits immunized with the rPRVTJ-UL44-E2 had generated antibodies specific to E2 prior to the administration of the booster immunization. However, the immunized rabbits were not protected from the CSFV C-strain challenge. Nevertheless, this strategy has notably achieved rapid induction of E2-specific non-neutralizing antibodies. These findings provide insights that the design of rPRVTJ-UL44-E2 requires optimization, thereby indicating a promising avenue for augmenting vaccine-induced immune responses.

Dynamics of symptom network in patients with first-episode schizophrenia: Insight from the CNFEST project.

BACKGROUND: Schizophrenia is a heterogeneous psychotic disorder. Recent theories have emphasized the importance of interactions among psychiatric symptoms in understanding the pathological mechanisms of schizophrenia. In the current study, we examined the symptom network in patients with first-episode schizophrenia (FES) at four time points during a six-month follow-up period. METHODS: In total, 565 patients with FES were recruited from the Chinese First-Episode Schizophrenia Trial (CNFEST) project. Clinical symptoms were measured using the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) at baseline and follow-up (514 patients at one month, 429 at three months, and 392 at six months). We used a network analysis approach to estimate symptom networks with individual symptoms as nodes and partial correlation coefficients between symptoms as edges. A cross-lagged panel network (CLPN) model was used to identify predictive pathways for clinical symptoms. RESULTS: We found stable and strongly connected edges in patients across the time points, such as links between delusions and suspiciousness/persecution (P1:P6), and emotional withdrawal and passive/apathetic social withdrawal (N2:N4). Emotional withdrawal (N2), poor rapport (N3), and passive/apathetic social withdrawal (N4) had high centrality estimates across all four time points. CLPN analysis showed that negative symptoms, including emotional withdrawal (N2), poor rapport (N3), and passive/apathetic social withdrawal (N4), and stereotyped thinking (N7) may have predictive effects for negative and general symptoms at follow-ups. CONCLUSIONS: The symptom network of schizophrenia may be dynamic as treatment progresses. Negative symptoms remain the central and stable symptoms of schizophrenia. Negative symptoms may be potential therapeutic targets that predict other symptoms.

An acid-tolerant metal-organic framework for industrial CO2 electrolysis using a proton exchange membrane.

Industrial CO2 electrolysis via electrochemical CO2 reduction has achieved progress in alkaline solutions, while the same reaction in acidic solution remains challenging because of severe hydrogen evolution side reactions, acid corrosion, and low target product selectivity. Herein, an industrial acidic CO2 electrolysis to pure HCOOH system is realized in a proton-exchange-membrane electrolyzer using an acid-tolerant Bi-based metal-organic framework guided by a Pourbaix diagram. Significantly, the Faradaic efficiency of HCOOH synthesis reaches 95.10% at a large current density of 400 mA/cm2 with a high CO2 single-pass conversion efficiency of 64.91%. Moreover, the proton-exchange-membrane device also achieves an industrial-level current density of 250 mA/cm2 under a relatively low voltage of 3.5 V for up to 100 h with a Faradaic efficiency of 93.5% for HCOOH production, which corresponds to an energy consumption of 200.65 kWh/kmol, production rate of 12.1 mmol/m2/s, and an energy conversion efficiency of 38.2%. These results will greatly aid the contemporary research moving toward commercial implementation and success of CO2 electrolysis technology.

Fabricating a high-performance anode by coating a carbon layer on a yolk-shell bimetallic selenide microsphere for enhanced lithium storage.

The rational synthesis of an electrode material with a highly active and stable architecture is very critical to achieving high-performance electrochemical energy storage. Herein, N-doped carbon restricting yolk-shell CoSe2/Ni3Se4 (CoSe2/Ni3Se4@NC) flower-like microspheres were successfully synthesized from solid CoNi-glycerate microspheres using a coating technology as an anode material for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). The unique yolk-shell CoSe2/Ni3Se4@NC microspheres with hierarchical pores can increase the contact area with the electrolyte and provide enough transfer channels for the diffusion of Li+. The carbon layer on the surface of CoSe2/Ni3Se4@NC can not only improve the conductivity of the electrode but also provide the protective effect of active nanosheets during the process of synthesis, avoiding the overall structure collapse during the charge/discharge process of LIBs. Benefiting from the high conductivity, hollow structure, and elastic NC shell bestowed by the unique architecture, the yolk-shell CoSe2/Ni3Se4@NC anode shows excellent lithium storage performances, such as an excellent reversible specific capacity of 319 mA h g-1 at a current density of 1000 mA g-1 after 500 cycles and excellent cycling stability. This synthesis strategy provides a new way to optimize the lithium storage performance of transition metal compound electrode materials, which is helpful to the design of the next generation of high-performance LIBs.

Mechanistic insights into Yifei Sanjie pill's regulation of EMT to enhance gefitinib treatment effect in NSCLC by in silico analysis and experimental validation.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: The Yi-Fei San-Jie pill (YFSJ) is a well-known Chinese medicine that has been used to treat non-small cell lung cancer in China for decades. AIM OF THE STUDY: Previous studies have shown that YFSJ combined with gefitinib can effectively inhibit the proliferation of gefitinib-resistant non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cell lines by promoting apoptosis and autophagy, but the molecular biological mechanisms involved and whether YFSJ combined with gefitinib can have synergistic effects still need to be further explored. Thus, the present study aimed to establish an in silico and experimental framework to decipher the underlying mechanism by which YFSJ augments the efficacy of gefitinib in treating NSCLC. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Integrated approaches, including microarray analysis, network pharmacology, RNA sequencing, bioinformatics algorithm analysis and in vivo and in vitro experiments, were applied to elucidate the underlying mechanism. RESULTS: Analysis of microarray datasets indicated that gefitinib may play a role in the regulation of the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) of PC9 cells. EMT-related Gene Ontology (GO) terms and the MAPK pathway were found to be enriched in the differentially expressed genes (DEGs), and a decreasing trend was observed in the EMT score. Network pharmacology analysis revealed that the potential NSCLC-related targets of YFSJ also showed enrichment in EMT-related GO terms and the MAPK pathway. Experimental findings demonstrated that combined YFSJ-treated serum and gefitinib treatment significantly inhibited PC9 cell migration and invasion. In addition, the combined treatment dramatically reduced the tumour volume in an animal model. The effectiveness of the combination treatment surpassed that of gefitinib alone in both cell and animal experiments. RNA sequencing analysis revealed significant enrichment of DEGs in EMT-related GO terms for the gefitinib treatment group, YFSJ treatment group, and combination treatment group compared to the control group. Notably, the negative regulation of EMT showed significant enrichment in the DEGs of the combination treatment group. The MAPK pathway was significantly enriched among the different groups. Moreover, combined treatment with YFSJ and gefitinib may exert synergistic anti-NSCLC effects by inhibiting the p-p38 MAPK/GSK3ß signalling axis, subsequently suppressing downstream EMT processes. CONCLUSION: Combined treatment with YFSJ and gefitinib could enhance the sensitivity of NSCLC cells to gefitinib by suppressing EMT through the EGFR/p-p38 MAPK/GSK3ß signalling axis. YFSJ may serve as an important adjunctive medication for NSCLC patients receiving gefitinib treatment in clinical practice.

Temperature-dependent excitonic emission characteristics of highly crystallized carbon nitride nanosheets.

Highly-crystallized carbon nitride (HCCN) nanosheets exhibit significant potential for advancements in the field of photoelectric conversion. However, to fully exploit their potential, a thorough understanding of the fundamental excitonic photophysical processes is crucial. Here, the temperature-dependent excitonic photoluminescence (PL) of HCCN nanosheets and amorphous polymeric carbon nitride (PCN) is investigated using steady-state and time-resolved PL spectroscopy. The exciton binding energy of HCCN is determined to be 109.26 meV, lower than that of PCN (207.39 meV), which is attributed to the ordered stacking structure of HCCN with a weaker Coulomb interaction between electrons and holes. As the temperature increases, a noticeable reduction in PL lifetime is observed on both the HCCN and PCN, which is ascribed to the thermal activation of carrier trapping by the enhanced electron-phonon coupling effect. The thermal activation energy of HCCN is determined to be 102.9 meV, close to the value of PCN, due to their same band structures. Through wavelength-dependent PL dynamics analysis, we have identified the PL emission of HCCN as deriving from the transitions:σ*-LP,π*-π, andπ*-LP, where theπ*-LP transition dominants the emission because of the high excited state density of the LP state. These results demonstrate the impact of high-crystallinity on the excitonic emission of HCCN materials, thereby expanding their potential applications in the field of photoelectric conversion.

Improvement of social functioning in patients with first-episode schizophrenia using blonanserin treatment: a prospective, multi-centre, single-arm clinical trial.

Objectives: This clinical trial primarily aimed to investigate the effects of blonanserin on social functioning in patients with first-episode schizophrenia. Methods: In this prospective, multi-centre, single-arm clinical trial study, blonanserin (flexible oral dose ranging from 8mg to 24mg per day) was given 26 weeks. Outcome measures included the Personal and Social Performance (PSP) scale for evaluating social functioning, the Measurement and Treatment Research to Improve Cognition in Schizophrenia Consensus Cognitive Battery (MCCB) for measuring neurocognitive performance, and the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) for assessing symptom severity. The primary endpoint was social function improvement evaluated by PSP scale at the end of blonanserin treatment. And the secondary endpoint was to validate the efficacy and neurocognitive effects of blonanserin. Adverse drug reactions (ADRs) were also recorded and analysed. Results: A total of 96 patients with first-episode schizophrenia were recruited and proceeded to analysis. Fifty-one participants (53.1%) completed the PSP scale measurements at baseline and week 26. Following 26 weeks of blonanserin treatment, all outcome measurements demonstrated significant improvement during the follow-up period. Notably, PSP scores exhibited a continuous increase up to 68.1% ± 103.7% at the end of the treatment (46.6 ± 14.6 at baseline, 69.4 ± 17.4 at week 26, p<0.001), indicating positive effects on social functioning that were already noticeable by week 8. Conclusion: Blonanserin treatment exhibited favourable effects on social functioning in individuals with first-episode schizophrenia. The results suggest that blonanserin was effective treatment options for patients with schizophrenia encountering functional impairments.

Anthropometric indicators may explain the high incidence of follicular lymphoma in Europeans: Results from a bidirectional two-sample two-step Mendelian randomisation.

BACKGROUND: Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma incidence rates vary between European and Asian populations. The reasons remain unclear. This two-sample two-step Mendelian randomisation (MR) study aimed to investigate the causal relationship between anthropometric indicators (AIs) and diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) and follicular lymphoma (FL) and the possible mediating role of basal metabolic rate (BMR) in Europe. METHODS: We used the following AIs as exposures: body mass index (BMI), whole-body fat mass (WBFM), whole-body fat-free mass (WBFFM), waist circumference(WC), hip circumference(HC), standing height (SH), and weight(Wt). DLBCL and FL represented the outcomes, and BMR was a mediator. A two-sample MR analysis was performed to examine the association between AIs and DLBCL and FL onset. We performed reverse-MR analysis to determine whether DLBCL and FL interfered with the AIs. A two-step MR analysis was performed to determine whether BMR mediated the causality. FINDINGS: WBFFM and SH had causal relationships with FL. A causal association between AIs and DLBCL was not observed. Reverse-MR analysis indicated the causal relationships were not bidirectional. Two-step MR suggested BMR may mediate the causal effect of WBFFM and SH on FL. CONCLUSIONS: We observed a causal relationship between WBFFM and SH and the onset of FL in Europeans, Which may explain the high incidence of follicular lymphoma in Europeans.

Initial attitudes toward a drug predict medication adherence in first-episode patients with schizophrenia: a 1-year prospective study in China.

BACKGROUND: Patients' attitudes toward medication have been shown to be a predictor of nonadherence to antipsychotic treatment. However, most previous studies that explored this relationship used a cross-sectional design. It is important to explore the association of attitudes toward drugs with discontinuation at different time points during antipsychotic treatment. In this study, we investigated the association of attitudes toward drugs (measured by the Drug Attitude Inventory (DAI-10)) with adherence at seven time points (baseline, 4 weeks, 8 weeks, 12 weeks, 26 weeks, 39 weeks, and 52 weeks) during 1 year of treatment. Factors that were potentially associated with attitudes toward drugs at the time point of interest were also studied. METHODS: Demographic characteristics, psychopathology, social functioning, and attitudes toward drugs (measured by the DAI-10) were collected at baseline, 4 weeks, 8 weeks, 12 weeks, 26 weeks, 39 weeks and 52 weeks. The association of attitudes toward drugs (measured by DAI-10) with adherence at the seven time points was calculated using the Mann‒Whitney U test. The optimal cutoff point for the DAI-10 was then determined using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis. Cox regression analysis was conducted to further investigate the association of DAI-10 scores with discontinuation, controlling for potential confounding variables. We used multiple regression analysis to identify the factors associated with DAI-10 scores. RESULTS: Among the six time points, only baseline DAI-10 total scores were significantly different between the completed and discontinued groups (p = 0.004). Female sex and a baseline DAI-10 total score greater than - 1 were found to be independent protective factors against discontinuation of antipsychotic drug treatments during the 1-year follow-up. At baseline, the severity of the disease (CGI-s) and insight regarding the disease were shown to be associated with DAI-10 total scores. CONCLUSION: Attitudes toward antipsychotic drugs at baseline were shown to play a crucial role in predicting treatment discontinuation. TRIAL REGISTRATION: The data were collected from a clinical trial and the clinical trials.gov ID of the study is NCT01057849.

Efficacy and safety of baricitinib in patients with severe COVID-19: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to investigate the efficacy and safety of baricitinib in patients with severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). METHODS: Databases were searched for studies that compared the clinical efficacy and adverse effects of baricitinib with standard therapy for the treatment of severe COVID-19 and clearly reported relevant outcomes published until December 31, 2022. The corresponding data were extracted from these studies. A fixed-effects model was used to calculate the pooled estimates. The study protocol can be accessed at PROSPERO (CRD42023394173). RESULTS: The baricitinib group had a significantly lower mortality rate and proportion of patients who received mechanical ventilation than the control group (OR = 0.61, 0.57; P = .008, 0.02; 95% CI 0.42-0.88; 0.35-0.92; I2 = 71% and 86%, respectively). The length of hospital stay and rates of severe adverse events were not significantly different between the 2 groups. CONCLUSION: Baricitinib reduces mortality and mechanical ventilation requirements in patients with severe COVID-19. Therefore, we developed a comprehensive understanding of the role of baricitinib in patients with severe COVID-19.

Mechanisms of tumor-associated macrophages affecting the progression of hepatocellular carcinoma.

Tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) are essential components of the immune cell stroma of hepatocellular carcinoma. TAMs originate from monocytic myeloid-derived suppressor cells, peripheral blood monocytes, and kupffer cells. The recruitment of monocytes to the HCC tumor microenvironment is facilitated by various factors, leading to their differentiation into TAMs with unique phenotypes. TAMs can directly activate or inhibit the nuclear factor-κB, interleukin-6/signal transducer and signal transducer and activator of transcription 3, Wnt/ß-catenin, transforming growth factor-ß1/bone morphogenetic protein, and extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2 signaling pathways in tumor cells and interact with other immune cells via producing cytokines and extracellular vesicles, thus affecting carcinoma cell proliferation, invasive and migratory, angiogenesis, liver fibrosis progression, and other processes to participate in different stages of tumor progression. In recent years, TAMs have received much attention as a prospective treatment target for HCC. This review describes the origin and characteristics of TAMs and their mechanism of action in the occurrence and development of HCC to offer a theoretical foundation for further clinical research of TAMs.

Surface-strain-enhanced oxygen dissociation on gold catalysts.

The excellent low-temperature oxidation performance and stability of nanogold catalysts have attracted significant interest. However, the main active source of the low-temperature oxidation of gold remains to be determined. In situ electron microscopy and mass spectrometry results show that nitrogen is oxidized, and the catalyst surface undergoes reconstruction during the process. Strain analysis of the catalyst surface and first-principles calculations show that the tensile strain of the catalyst surface affects the oxidation performance of gold catalysts by enhancing the adsorption ability and dissociation of O2. The newly formed active oxygen atoms on the gold surface act as active sites in the nitrogen oxidation reaction, significantly enhancing the oxidation ability of gold catalysts. This study provides evidence for the dissociation mechanism of oxygen on the gold surface and new design concepts for improving the oxidation activity of gold catalysts and nitrogen activation.

Salidroside affects the Th17/Treg cell balance in aplastic anemia via the STAT3/HIF-1α/RORγt pathway.

BACKGROUND: Acquired aplastic anemia (AA) is a life-threatening disease associated with an imbalance in Th17/Treg cells. Regulating this balance may be an effective treatment approach for AA. Rhodiola rosea has shown efficacy in AA treatment, but its mechanisms remain unclear. PURPOSE: We investigated salidroside's effect (a component of Rhodiola rosea) on Th17/Treg balance in adult AA patients and a mouse model. METHODS: HIF-1α mRNA and protein levels were measured in AA patients' peripheral blood. Flow cytometry, qRT-PCR, and WB analyzed salidroside's impact on T cell differentiation, Th17 cells, Treg cells, STAT3, HIF-1α, and RORγt expression. ELISA measured hematopoietic growth factors in mouse serum. RESULTS: AA patients exhibited elevated HIF-1α levels. Salidroside improved hematopoietic function, increasing blood cell count and enhancing bone marrow. Salidroside induced SCF, TPO, and IL-3 expression while inhibiting IL-2 in mice. Salidroside reduced STAT3, HIF-1α, RORγt, and IL-17a, while increasing FoxP3 expression, correcting the Th17/Treg imbalance in vitro and in vivo. CONCLUSION: Salidroside has potential as a novel AA treatment by correcting the Th17/Treg imbalance through the STAT3/HIF-1α/RORγt pathway.

Exploring the pathogenesis of colorectal carcinoma complicated with hepatocellular carcinoma via microarray data analysis.

Background: Despite the increasing number of research endeavors dedicated to investigating the relationship between colorectal carcinoma (CRC) and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), the underlying pathogenic mechanism remains largely elusive. The aim of this study is to shed light on the molecular mechanism involved in the development of this comorbidity. Methods: The gene expression profiles of CRC (GSE90627) and HCC (GSE45267) were downloaded from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database. After identifying the common differentially expressed genes (DEGs) of psoriasis and atherosclerosis, three kinds of analyses were performed, namely, functional annotation, protein-protein interaction (PPI) network and module construction, and hub gene identification, survival analysis and co-expression analysis. Results: A total of 150 common downregulated differentially expressed genes and 148 upregulated differentially expressed genes were selected for subsequent analyses. The significance of chemokines and cytokines in the pathogenesis of these two ailments is underscored by functional analysis. Seven gene modules that were closely connected were identified. Moreover, the lipopolysaccharide-mediated signaling pathway is intricately linked to the development of both diseases. Finally, 10 important hub genes were identified using cytoHubba, including CDK1, KIF11, CDC20, CCNA2, TOP2A, CCNB1, NUSAP1, BUB1B, ASPM, and MAD2L1. Conclusion: Our study reveals the common pathogenesis of colorectal carcinoma and hepatocellular carcinoma. These common pathways and hub genes may provide new ideas for further mechanism research.

Optimal cutoff scores of the Chinese version of 15-item negative symptom assessment that indicate prominent negative symptoms of schizophrenia.

Objective: The Chinese version of 15-item negative symptom assessment (NSA-15) is an instrument with a three-factor structure specifically validated for assessing negative symptoms of schizophrenia. To provide a reference for future practical applications in the recognition of schizophrenia patients with negative symptoms, this study aimed to determine an appropriate NSA-15 cutoff score regarding negative symptoms to identify prominent negative symptoms (PNS). Methods: A total of 199 participants with schizophrenia were recruited and divided into the PNS group (n = 79) and non-PNS group (n = 120) according to scale for assessment of negative symptoms (SANS) scores. Receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was used to determine the optimal NSA-15 cutoff score for identifying PNS. Results: The optimal cutoff NSA-15 score for identifying PNS was 40. Communication, emotion and motivation factors in the NSA-15 had cutoffs of 13, 6, and 16, respectively. The communication factor score had slightly better discrimination than scores on the other two factors. The discriminant ability of the global rating of the NSA-15 was not as good as that of the NSA-15 total score (area under the curve (AUC): 0.873 vs. 0.944). Conclusion: The optimal NSA-15 cutoff scores for identifying PNS in schizophrenia were determined in this study. The NSA-15 provides a convenient and easy-to-use assessment for identifying patients with PNS in Chinese clinical situations. The communication factor of the NSA-15 also has excellent discrimination.

Weight changes following treatment with aripiprazole, risperidone and olanzapine: A 12-month study of first-episode schizophrenia patients in China.

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to assess weight changes following antipsychotic treatment in first-episode schizophrenia (FES) patients and make a comparison of aripiprazole, risperidone and olanzapine. Predictors for long-term clinically relevant weight gain (CRW, ≥7%) were examined. METHODS: We carried out a second analysis of data from the Chinese First-Episode Schizophrenia Trial. Repeated measures general linear model (GLM) statistics were used to compare body weight at each follow-up point (month of 1, 2, 3, 6, 9and 12). Logistic regression models were constructed to evaluate possible predictors for CRW. RESULTS: Body weight increased with an average rate of 0.93 % per month, with the fastest growth rate occurring in first 3 months. CRW was observed in 79 % of patients. Participants from olanzapine group showed significantly higher weight gain than risperidone group and aripiprozole group. Repeated measures GLM revealed a significant main effect of time (p < 0.001) and asignificant time*group interaction was revealed (p < 0.001), while the between-subject group effect was not statistically significant (p = 0.272). Multivariate logistic regressionmodel showed that with smaller baseline BMI (OR = 1.33, p < 0.001), with a family history of mental disorder (OR = 5.08, p = 0.004), receiving olanzapine (OR = 2.35, p = 0.001), and CRW at first-month (OR = 4.29, p = 0.032) were independent predictors for first-year CRW. CONCLUSION: Antipsychotics are associated with a clinically significant weight gain in FES patients, which occurs mostly in first 3 months. Aripiprazole might not be an ideal choice in terms of long-term metabolic side-effects. Early and close metabolic monitoring should accompany antipsychotic prescription.

Semisupervised Change Detection Based on Bihierarchical Feature Aggregation and Extraction Network.

With the rapid development of remote sensing (RS) technology, high-resolution RS image change detection (CD) has been widely used in many applications. Pixel-based CD techniques are maneuverable and widely used, but vulnerable to noise interference. Object-based CD techniques can effectively utilize the abundant spectrum, texture, shape, and spatial information but easy-to-ignore details of RS images. How to combine the advantages of pixel-based methods and object-based methods remains a challenging problem. Besides, although supervised methods have the capability to learn from data, the true labels representing changed information of RS images are often hard to obtain. To address these issues, this article proposes a novel semisupervised CD framework for high-resolution RS images, which employs small amounts of true labeled data and a lot of unlabeled data to train the CD network. A bihierarchical feature aggregation and extraction network (BFAEN) is designed to achieve the pixelwise together with objectwise feature concatenation feature representation for the comprehensive utilization of the two-level features. In order to alleviate the coarseness and insufficiency of labeled samples, a confident learning algorithm is used to eliminate noisy labels and a novel loss function is designed for training the model using true-and pseudo-labels in a semisupervised fashion. Experimental results on real datasets demonstrate the effectiveness and superiority of the proposed method.

Virtual Screening of Novel 24-Dehydroxysterol Reductase (DHCR24) Inhibitors and the Biological Evaluation of Irbesartan in Cholesterol-Lowering Effect.

Hyperlipidemia is a risk factor for the development of fatty liver and cardiovascular diseases such as atherosclerosis and coronary heart disease, and hence, cholesterol-lowering drugs are considered important and effective in preventing cardiovascular diseases. Thus, researchers in the field of new drug development are endeavoring to identify new types of cholesterol-lowering drugs. 3ß-hydroxysterol-Δ(24)-reductase (DHCR24) catalyzes the conversion of desmosterol to cholesterol, which is the last step in the cholesterol biosynthesis pathway. We speculated that blocking the catalytic activity of DHCR24 could be a novel therapeutic strategy for treating hyperlipidemia. In the present study, by virtually screening the DrugBank database and performing molecular dynamics simulation analysis, we selected four potential DHCR24 inhibitor candidates: irbesartan, risperidone, tolvaptan, and conivaptan. All four candidates showed significant cholesterol-lowering activity in HepG2 cells. The experimental mouse model of hyperlipidemia demonstrated that all four candidates improved high blood lipid levels and fat vacuolation in the livers of mice fed with a high-fat diet. In addition, Western blot analysis results suggested that irbesartan reduced cholesterol levels by downregulating the expression of the low-density lipoprotein receptor. Finally, the immune complex activity assay confirmed the inhibitory effect of irbesartan on the enzymatic activity of DHCR24 with its half-maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) value of 602 nM. Thus, to the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to report that blocking the enzymatic activity of DHCR24 via competitive inhibition is a potential strategy for developing new cholesterol-lowering drugs against hyperlipidemia or multiple cancers. Furthermore, considering that irbesartan is currently used to treat hypertension combined with type 2 diabetes, we believe that irbesartan should be a suitable choice for patients with both hypertension and hyperlipidemia.