Affiliate stigma and its association with family burden among family members of people living with schizophrenia in China.

PURPOSE: Understanding affiliate stigma and its impact on family of people living with schizophrenia (PLS) in China is important for culturally informed intervention. This study aims to describe the pattern of affiliate stigma of family members of PLS in China and investigated the association between affiliate stigma and family burden. METHODS: PLS and their family members dwelling in community were randomly recruited from four cities across China and completed measures of affiliate stigma and family burden. Linear regression analyses were used to determine the association between affiliate stigma and family burden. RESULTS: A total of 493 dyads of family member and PLS were include in this study. The mean affiliate stigma in family members was 2.21 (SD = 0.61). The vast majority of family members reported the feeling of inferiority, helpless and sad because of their family members' schizophrenia, but few family members refusing to communicate or contact with the PLS. The mean score of overall family burden was 22.25 (SD = 14.90), with 98 % of participants reported moderate or severe burden. A higher level of affiliate stigma was associated with more family burden (b = 7.837, 95CI: 5.240 to 8.747). Affiliate stigma was significantly associated with family daily activities, entertainment activities, family relationship, physical health and mental health of family members, but not family economic burden. CONCLUSION: A higher level of affiliate stigma was associated with more family burden among family with PLS. Anti-stigma intervention of mental illness should be consider not only PLS but also their family members.

Altered white matter functional pathways in Alzheimer's disease.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is associated with functional disruption in gray matter (GM) and structural damage to white matter (WM), but the relationship to functional signal in WM is unknown. We performed the functional connectivity (FC) and graph theory analysis to investigate abnormalities of WM and GM functional networks and corpus callosum among different stages of AD from a publicly available dataset. Compared to the controls, AD group showed significantly decreased FC between the deep WM functional network (WM-FN) and the splenium of corpus callosum, between the sensorimotor/occipital WM-FN and GM visual network, but increased FC between the deep WM-FN and the GM sensorimotor network. In the clinical groups, the global assortativity, modular interaction between occipital WM-FN and visual network, nodal betweenness centrality, degree centrality, and nodal clustering coefficient in WM- and GM-FNs were reduced. However, modular interaction between deep WM-FN and sensorimotor network, and participation coefficients of deep WM-FN and splenium of corpus callosum were increased. These findings revealed the abnormal integration of functional networks in different stages of AD from a novel WM-FNs perspective. The abnormalities of WM functional pathways connect downward to the corpus callosum and upward to the GM are correlated with AD.

Corticostriatal causality analysis in children and adolescents with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.

AIM: The effective connectivity between the striatum and cerebral cortex has not been fully investigated in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Our objective was to explore the interaction effects between diagnosis and age on disrupted corticostriatal effective connectivity and to represent the modulation function of altered connectivity pathways in children and adolescents with ADHD. METHODS: We performed Granger causality analysis on 300 participants from a publicly available Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder-200 dataset. By computing the correlation coefficients between causal connections between striatal subregions and other cortical regions, we estimated the striatal inflow and outflow connection to represent intermodulation mechanisms in corticostriatal pathways. RESULTS: Interactions between diagnosis and age were detected in the superior occipital gyrus within the visual network, medial prefrontal cortex, posterior cingulate gyrus, and inferior parietal lobule within the default mode network, which is positively correlated with hyperactivity/impulsivity severity in ADHD. Main effect of diagnosis exhibited a general higher cortico-striatal causal connectivity involving default mode network, frontoparietal network and somatomotor network in ADHD compared with comparisons. Results from high-order effective connectivity exhibited a disrupted information pathway involving the default mode-striatum-somatomotor-striatum-frontoparietal networks in ADHD. CONCLUSION: The interactions detected in the visual-striatum-default mode networks pathway appears to be related to the potential distraction caused by long-term abnormal information input from the retina in ADHD. Higher causal connectivity and weakened intermodulation may indicate the pathophysiological process that distractions lead to the impairment of motion planning function and the inhibition/control of this unplanned motion signals in ADHD.

Clinical efficacy of intratympanic steroid injection for treating idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss.

BACKGROUND: Idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss (ISSNHL) is an emergency that causes permanent hearing loss if timely treatment is not provided. However, the evidence supporting the effect of intratympanic steroid injection (ITSI) starting time on hearing outcome is limited. METHODS: We retrospectively enrolled 582 patients with ISSNHL who were treated with ITSIs and reviewed their clinical and audiological variables. The relationship between ITSI starting time and hearing recovery was analyzed. RESULTS: The mean starting time of ITSI was 13.17 ± 16.53 days. The overall hearing recovery rate was 55.15% (recovery = mean hearing level gain of ≥10 dB). The recovery rates were 79.2%, 67.4%, 50%, 36.6%, and 17.8% for the ITSI starting times of 1 to 3, 4 to 7, 8 to 14, 15 to 28, and ≥29 days, respectively. A multivariate analysis revealed that ITST starting time (odds ratio [OR] = 0.94, 95% CI, 0.92-0.96, p < 0.001) and salvage therapy (OR = 0.55, 95% CI, 0.35-0.86, p = 0.009) were independent poor prognostic factors for patients with ISSNHL. CONCLUSION: Earlier ITSI treatment is associated with a higher hearing recovery rate. Comorbidities and post-ITSI complications were nonsignificant independent risk factors.

Patient's disability and caregiver burden among Chinese family caregivers of individual living with schizophrenia: mediation effects of potentially harmful behavior, affiliate stigma, and social support.

Evidence on the associations between patient's disability and caregiver burden among Chinese family caregivers of individual living with schizophrenia is lacking. This study aimed at explore the underlying mechanisms between patient's disability and caregiver burden among Chinese family caregivers of individual living with schizophrenia. A cross-sectional study was carried out in four Chinese cities (Wuhan, Changsha, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen), between April, 2021 and March, 2022. A total of 493 patients and their family caregivers were invited to report related data. The Zarit burden interview, WHODAS 2.0, the Potentially harmful behavior scale, the Affiliate Stigma Scale, and the Multidimensional Scale of perceived social support were used to collect data. Linear regression analysis and bootstrapping analysis were conducted. The adjusted regression results showed that patients' disability (B = 0.616; 95% CI: 0.479-0.753), potentially harmful behavior on caregivers (B = 0.474; 95% CI: 0.232-0.716), and caregiver's low social support (B = -0.079; 95% CI: -0.158- -0.002), high level of affiliate stigma (B = 13.045; 95% CI: 10.227-15.864) were associated with higher level of caregiver burden (p < 0.05). In the mediation model, the direct path from patient's disability to caregiver burden (B = 0.428, ß = 0.371, p < 0.001) was significant and positive. Patient's disability was indirectly associated with caregiver burden through patient's potentially harmful behavior, caregiver's affiliate stigma, and social support, the standardized regression coefficients ranged from 0.026-0.049 (p < 0.05). Patient's potentially harmful behavior, caregiver's affiliate stigma, and social support mediated the relationship between patients' disability and caregiver burden. Future intervention studies designed to target these three factors may be beneficial for family caregivers of persons living with schizophrenia.

Structural-functional connectivity deficits of callosal-white matter-cortical circuits in schizophrenia.

Schizophrenia is increasingly recognized as a disorder with altered integration between large-scale functional networks and cortical-subcortical pathways. This spatial long-distance information communication must be associated with white matter (WM) fiber bundles. With accumulating evidence that WM functional signals reflect the intrinsic neural activities, how the deep callosal organization modulates cortical functional activities through WM remains unclear in schizophrenia. Using a data-driven method, we identified nine WM and gray matter (GM) functional networks, and then parcellated corpus callosum into distinct sub-regions. Combining functional connectivity and fiber tracking analysis, we estimated the structural and functional connectivity changes of callosal-WM-cortical circuits in schizophrenia. We observed higher structural and functional connectivity between corpus callosum, WM and GM functional networks involving visual network (visual processing), executive control network (executive controls), ventral attention network (processing of salience), and limbic network (emotion processing) in schizophrenia compared to healthy controls. We also found nine abnormal pathways of callosal-WM-cortical circuits involving the above networks and default mode network (self-related thought). These results highlight the role of connectivity deficits in callosal-WM-cortical circuits may play in understanding the delusions, hallucinations and cognitive impairment of schizophrenia.

Family caregivers' abusive behaviour and its association with internalized stigma of people living with schizophrenia in China.

Family caregiving of people living with schizophrenia (PLS) can be burdensome, and some family caregivers may perpetrate abusive behavior that could be harmful to PLS. This study aims to examine the association of family caregivers' abusive behavior with internalized stigma of PLS and draw attention to this problem. PLS were recruited from four cities across China and completed measures of abusive behavior and internalized stigma. Linear regression analyses were used to determine the association between family caregivers' abusive behavior and internalized stigma of PLS. A total of 693 PLS were include in this study. 22.7% of the participants had experienced one or more of the abusive behaviors perpetrated by family caregivers. The most common type of abusive behavior towards PLS was verbal abuse and 4.2% of the participants reported physical abuse. 44.6 % of participants reported a high level of internalized stigma. PLS who experienced any abusive behavior by family caregivers had significantly higher levels of internalized stigma. Family caregivers' abusive behavior is positively associated with alienation and social withdrawal but not with stereotype endorsement and discrimination of PLS. To end all forms of stigma and discrimination against PLS, more attention needs to be paid to the families of PLS.

Preparation of degradable chemically cross-linked polylactic acid films and its application on disposable straws.

The semi-rigidity of the polylactic acid (PLA) molecular chain makes it brittle, poor impact resistance and barrier properties, which severely limits its practical applications. In this paper, a bio-based reactive plasticizer epoxy soybean oil (ESO) was used to improve the mechanical and barrier properties of maleic anhydride grafted polylactic acid (MAPLA) by the chemical reaction between the epoxy and anhydride group. Firstly, the optimum curing conditions were 93.5 °C, 100 °C, and 110.8 °C for 2 h. The effects of different mass fractions of ESO on the properties of MAPLA-ESO (ME) films were systematically investigated. It was found that when the content of ESO was 10 wt%, the tensile properties of the resulting ME films were the best, with a tensile strength of 35.2 MPa. And it had an elongation at break of 20.0 % and toughness of 5.4 MJ/m3, which increased to 690 % and 675 %, respectively, compared with pure MAPLA films. The chemically crosslinked ME films also displayed excellent water resistance, well degradation, low migration properties, and better performance than that of commercial paper straws and PLA straws, exhibiting great application potential as degradable disposable straws. Therefore, this work provides an effective way to develop high-performance, green, and degradable PLA films and products.

The Status Quo and Influencing Factors of Care Activities and Support Behaviors of the Main Caregivers of Stroke Patients During the Transition Period from Discharge.

Objective: This study investigated stroke patients and their primary caregivers, examining the impact of stroke events on caregivers and families, identifying factors affecting burden levels, and proposing measures to improve caregivers' quality of life and reduce family burden. Methods: This study adopted a questionnaire method, which includes a general information questionnaire, a patient self-care ability evaluation scale (Barthel index), a caregiver needs evaluation scale, and a social support evaluation scale (SSRS). Results: A total of 163 primary caregivers, mostly spouses or children of the patients, participated with an average age of 55.99 ± 11.92 years. A significant portion (36.81%) provided care alone for an average of 6.06 years. Social support received by caregivers was generally low, with only 1.84% reporting high support. 90.13% of caregivers experienced varying levels of burden, with 61.35% experiencing mild burden, 25.15% moderate burden, and 3.68% severe burden. Conclusion: The study concluded that China's nursing system for stroke patients is inadequate, relying heavily on family members for rehabilitation.

Balloon Dilation Eustachian Tuboplasty for Dilatory Dysfunction With and Without Effusion: A Comprehensive Outcome Analysis.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed (1) to demonstrate the efficacy of balloon dilation Eustachian tuboplasty (BDET) for dilatory Eustachian tube dysfunction (ETD) and (2) to determine whether adjunctive ventilation tube insertion (VTI) is superior to myringotomy in relieving symptoms for patients with ETD and concurrent middle ear effusion (MEE) treated with BDET. STUDY DESIGN: A retrospective cohort study. SETTING: Tertiary care academic center. METHODS: Patients with dilatory ETD undergoing BDET with a ≥6-month follow-up period were enrolled and evaluated mainly using Eustachian tube function (ETF) tests and Eustachian Tube Dysfunction Questionnaire-7 (ETDQ-7). Participants with concurrent MEE were further classified into 2 subgroups, BDET with VTI and BDET with myringotomy. An intergroup comparison and comprehensive outcome evaluation were performed. RESULTS: In total, 35 patients with 50 symptomatic ears were enrolled. According to ETF test results, the normalized ETF rate was 94% on the last visit. The mean ETDQ-7 scores decreased significantly from 3.7 ± 1.4 to 2.0 ± 0.9 after interventions, with the most improvement in symptoms occurring for "ear fullness" and "muffled hearing." For the final visit, strong correlations among ETF tests, tympanometry, and Valsalva results were noted. The aforementioned assessment results did not significantly differ between (1) the patients with MEE and patients without MEE and (2) "BDET with VTI" subgroup and "BDET with myringotomy" subgroup. CONCLUSION: BDET was effective for dilatory ETD, even in cases with concurrent MEE. For patients with ETD and MEE, further research is required to evaluate the benefits of adjunctive myringotomy with or without VTI.

Flexible integration and segregation of large-scale networks during adaptive control.

Adaptive control characterizes the dynamic adjustment of cognitive control to changing environmental demand, and has obtained growing interests in its neural mechanism for the past two decades. Recent years, interpreting network reconfiguration in terms of integration and segregation has been proved to shed light on neural structure underlying various cognitive tasks. However, the relationship between network architecture and adaptive control remains unclear. Here, we quantified the network integration (global efficiency, participation coefficient, inter-subnetwork efficiency) and segregation (local efficiency, modularity) in the whole-brain and analyzed how these graph theory metrics were modulated by adaptive control. The results showed that the integration of the cognitive control network (the fronto-parietal network, FPN), the visual network (VIN) and the sensori-motor network (SMN) was significantly improved when conflict was rare, so as to cope with the incongruent trials of high cognitive control demands. Additionally, as the conflict proportion increased, the segregation of the cingulo-opercular network (CON) and the default mode network (DMN) significantly enhanced, which may contribute to specialized functioning or automatic processing, and help to solve conflict in a less resource-intensive mode. Finally, using graph metrics as features, the multivariate classifier reliably predicted the context condition. These results demonstrate how large-scale brain networks support adaptive control through flexible integration and segregation.

Stressful Life Events, Unhealthy Eating Behaviors and Obesity among Chinese Government Employees: A Follow-Up Study.

Background: The underlying mechanisms of the relationship between stressful life events and obesity among Chinese workers are unclear. Objective: This study aimed to understand the processes and mechanisms involved in stressful life events, unhealthy eating behavior, and obesity among Chinese workers. Methods: From January 2018 to December 2019, a total of 15,921 government employees were included at baseline and they were followed-up until May 2021. Stressful life events were assessed using the Life Events Scale, and unhealthy eating behavior was assessed using four items. BMI was calculated as weight (kg) divided by height (m2) using physically measured data. Results: Overeating at each mealtime (OR = 2.21, 95%CI: 1.78-2.71) at baseline led to reports of higher risk of obesity at follow up. Eating before going to bed at night sometimes (OR = 1.51, 95%CI: 1.31-1.73) or often (OR = 3.04, 95%CI: 2.28-4.05) at baseline led to reports of higher risk of obesity at follow-up. Eating out sometimes (OR = 1.74, 95%CI: 1.47-2.07) or often (OR = 1.59, 95%CI: 1.07-2.36) at baseline led to reports of higher risk of obesity at follow-up. Stressful life events were not directly associated with obesity, but unhealthy eating behaviors, including overeating at each mealtime (ß = 0.010, 95%CI: 0.007-0.014; ß = 0.002, 95%CI: 0.001-0.004, respectively) and irregular meal timing (ß = -0.011, 95%CI: -0.015--0.008; ß = -0.004, 95%CI: -0.006--0.001, respectively), significantly mediated the associations between stressful life events at baseline and obesity at both baseline and follow-up. Conclusions: Unhealthy eating behaviors mediated the relationship between stressful life events and obesity. Interventions should be provided to workers who have experienced stressful life events and unhealthy eating behaviors.

Trends in mortality and causes of death among Chinese adolescents aged 10-19 years from 1990 to 2019.

Objective: Promoting adolescent health is essential to achieving the goals of the Healthy China 2030 (HC 2030) initiative. As socioeconomic conditions improve and medical practices and disease patterns evolve, adolescent mortality rates and causes of death vary considerably. This study provides up-to-date data on adolescent mortality and causes of death in China, highlighting key areas of focus for investment in adolescent health. Methods: Data regarding mortality and causes of death in Chinese adolescents aged 10-19 years were extracted from the Global Burden of Disease study from 1990 to 2019. The data variables were examined according to year, sex, and age. The autoregressive integrated moving average model was used to predict non-communicable disease (NCD) mortality rates and rank changes in the leading causes of death until 2030. Results: The all-cause mortality rate (per 100,000 population) of Chinese adolescents aged 10-19 years steadily declined from 1990 (72.6/100,000) to 2019 (28.8). Male adolescents had a higher mortality (37.5/100,000 vs. 18.6 in 2019) and a slower decline rate (percent: -58.7 vs. -65.0) than female adolescents. Regarding age, compared with those aged 10-14 years, the mortality rate of adolescents aged 15-19 years had a higher mortality (35.9/100,000 vs. 21.2 in 2019) and a slower decrease rate (percent: -57.6 vs. -63.2). From 1990 to 2019, the rates of communicable, maternal, and nutritional diseases declined the most (percent: -80.0), while injury and NCDs mortality rates were relatively slow (percent: -50.0 and -60.0). In 2019, the five leading causes of death were road injuries (6.1/100,000), drowning (4.5), self-harm (1.9), leukemia (1.9), and congenital birth defects (1.3). Furthermore, NCDs' mortality rate decreased by -46.6% and -45.4% between 2015-2030 and 2016-2030, respectively. Conclusion: A notable decline was observed in all-cause mortality rates among Chinese adolescents aged 10-19 years. In addition, the mortality rates of NCDs are projected to meet the target from the Global Strategy for Women's, Children's, and Adolescents' Health (2016-2030) and HC2030 reduction indicators by 2030. However, it should be noted that injury is the leading cause of death, with sexual and age disparities remaining consistent.

Association of Healthy Lifestyles with Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease: A Prospective Cohort Study in Chinese Government Employees.

BACKGROUND: Evidence indicates that certain healthy lifestyle factors are associated with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). However, little is known about the effect of combined healthy lifestyle factors. OBJECTIVE: To assess the association of combined healthy lifestyle factors with the incidence of NAFLD. METHODS: This cohort study was conducted in Changsha, Hunan Province, China. The healthy lifestyles factors studied were not being a current smoker, having a healthy diet, engaging in physical activity, having a normal body mass index (BMI) and engaging in non-sedentary behavior. NAFLD was diagnosed based on abdominal ultrasonography. Logistic regression models were conducted to investigate the associations being studied. RESULTS: Of the 5411 participants, 1280 participants had NAFLD, with a prevalence of 23.7% at baseline. The incidence of NAFLD among participants without NAFLD at baseline was found to be 7.2% over a mean follow-up of 1.1 years. Compared with participants with 0-1 low-risk factors, the OR of NAFLD was 0.50 (95% CI: 0.29-0.82, p = 0.008) for those with at least 4 low-risk factors. Similar associations were observed in subgroup analyses and sensitivity analyses. CONCLUSION: This study suggests that a combined healthy lifestyle pattern may considerably decrease the risk of NAFLD in Chinese government employees.

TTYH3 is a prognostic biomarker and associates with immune cell infiltrations of lung adenocarcinoma / TTYH3 es un biomarcador pronóstico y se asocia con infiltraciones de células inmunitarias del adenocarcinoma de pulmón

SUMMARY: We investigated Tweety Family Member 3 (TTYH3) level in lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) and its relationship with immune infiltration in tumors by bioinformatics. Differential expressions of TTYH3 in lung cancer were analyzed with Oncomine, TIMER, GEO, UALCAN and HPA. Relationship of TTYH3 mRNA/protein levels with clinical parameters was analyzed by UALCAN. Co-expressed genes of TTYH3 in LUAD were analyzed using Cbioportal. Its relationship with LUAD prognosis was analyzed by Kaplan-Meier plotter. GO and KEGG analysis were performed. Correlation between TTYH3 and tumor immune infiltration were tested by TIMER, TISIDB and GEPIA. We found that TTYH3 was significantly increased in LUAD tissues. TTYH3 high expression was closely related to poor overall survival, post progression survival and first progression in LUAD patients. TTYH3 mRNA/protein levels were significantly associated with multiple pathways. Specifically, TTYH3 up-regulation was mostly related to biological regulation, metabolic process, protein blinding, extracellular matrix organization and pathways in cancer. Moreover, TTYH3 was positively associated with immune cell infiltration in LUAD. Finally, TTYH3 was highly expressed in LUAD as revealed by meta-analysis. TTYH3 is closely related to the prognosis of LUAD and immune cell infiltration, and it can be used as a prognostic biomarker for LUAD and immune infiltration.

Investigamos por bioinformática el nivel de Tweety Family Member 3 (TTYH3) con adenocarcinoma de pulmón (LUAD) y su relación con la infiltración inmune en tumores. Las expresiones diferenciales de TTYH3 en cáncer de pulmón se analizaron con Oncomine, TIMER, GEO, UALCAN y HPA. Con UALCAN se analizó la relación de los niveles de ARNm/proteína de TTYH3 con los parámetros clínicos. Los genes coexpresados de TTYH3 en LUAD se analizaron utilizando Cbioportal. Su relación con el pronóstico LUAD se analizó mediante plotter de Kaplan- Meier. Se realizaron análisis GO y KEGG. TIMER, TISIDB y GEPIA probaron la correlación entre TTYH3 y la infiltración inmune tumoral. Encontramos que TTYH3 aumentó significativamente en los tejidos LUAD. La alta expresión de TTYH3 estuvo estrechamente relacionada con una supervivencia general deficiente, supervivencia posterior a la progresión y primera progresión en pacientes con LUAD. Los niveles de ARNm/ proteína de TTYH3 se asociaron significativamente con múltiples vías. Específicamente, la regulación positiva de TTYH3 se relacionó principalmente con la regulación biológica, el proceso metabólico, el cegamiento de proteínas, la organización de la matriz extracelular y las vías en el cáncer. Además, TTYH3 se asoció positivamente con la infiltración de células inmunitarias en LUAD. Finalmente, TTYH3 se expresó altamente en LUAD como lo reveló el metanálisis. TTYH3 está estrechamente relacionado con el pronóstico de LUAD y la infiltración de células inmunitarias, y se puede utilizar como biomarcador pronóstico para LUAD y la infiltración de células inmunitarias.

Objective multidisciplinary measurements of sleep disturbance and autonomic dysfunction as risk factors for chronic subjective tinnitus.

PURPOSE: This observational study assessed sleep disturbance and autonomic dysfunction as risk factors for chronic subjective tinnitus through polysomnography (PSG) and autonomic function tests. METHODS: Adult patients with chronic subjective tinnitus who visited the department of otolaryngology in our hospitals (n = 40), along with controls without tinnitus (n = 80), were recruited. Individuals with an average hearing threshold level (HL) exceeding 25 dB HL and a known diagnosis of insomnia were excluded. Objective assessments comprised pure-tone audiometry, PSG, and autonomic function tests (e.g., the cold pressor test). RESULTS: Patients with prolonged sleep latency, lower sleep efficiency, and sympathetic hyperactivity had significantly higher risks of developing tinnitus. No interaction effect between poor sleep quality and sympathetic hyperactivity on tinnitus was detected. CONCLUSION: This is the first study to administer PSG and autonomic function tests to patients with chronic subjective tinnitus. Poor sleep quality and autonomic dysfunction were implicated as risk factors for tinnitus. PSG and the autonomic function tests helped identify tinnitus-related comorbidities and inform tinnitus treatment. Sleep disturbance and autonomic dysfunction did not exert an interaction effect on tinnitus. Further studies with a larger sample size and the inclusion of patients with more severe tinnitus are warranted.

Knowledge of mental health diagnosis among patients and their family members: an inpatient survey in China.

BACKGROUND: Patient-oriented information disclosure has been advocated by the National Mental Health Law (NMHL) in China since 2012; however, reporting on diagnostic disclosure to patients with mental disorders after the NMHL is limited. AMIS: This study aims to investigate and compare the knowledge of mental health diagnosis among patients and their family members in China. METHODS: An inpatient survey was conducted among 205 patients with mental disorders and their family members. Group differences of the correctness of self-reported mental health diagnosis were compared, and logistic regression was performed to investigate correlates among both patients and their family members. RESULTS: Overall, 76.7% patients and 80.6% of their family members reported a correct diagnosis. Only 46.2% patients with psychotic disorders correctly knew their diagnosis, significantly lower than their family members and patients with non-psychotic disorders. Multivariate regression analysis found that the diagnosis of psychotic disorders was a risk factor of patients' diagnostic knowledge (AOR = 0.137; 95% CI = 0.044-0.429), while family members' diagnostic knowledge was associated with their employment (AOR = 6.125, 95% CI = 1.942-19.323) and parent-child relationship with patients (AOR = 3.719; 95% CI = 1.057-13.086). CONCLUSIONS: The majority of patients with non-psychotic disorders know their diagnosis correctly and informing family members of patients' diagnosis remains a common practice in psychiatric setting after the implementation of China's NMHL.

Temporal dynamics of conflict adaptation across different conflict strengths.

Conflict adaptation is considered to reflect the adjustment of cognitive control, and it is critical for adaptive behavior. Despite intensive investigations on conflict adaptation, straightforward evidence on how changes in conflict strength influence the behavioral and neural dynamics of conflict adaptation remains scarce. To address this issue, we manipulated conflict strength by varying distractor-target congruency to investigate whether conflict strength per se or the expectancy of conflict strength triggers the adjustment of cognitive control. Behavioral and electroencephalographic (EEG) measures were recorded while participants performed a variant four-choice flanker task without feature repetitions. The behavioral results showed that reaction times increased with increasing conflict strength. Importantly, there were conflict adaptations between the congruent and incongruent-low, congruent and incongruent-high, and incongruent-low and incongruent-high conditions. Consistent with the behavioral results, the EEG results revealed that N2 and P3 were sensitive to conflict strength. Critically, there were typical conflict adaptations between every two conflict conditions on the early P3 amplitude related to the adjustment of attentional strategies. However, there were no differences among these conflict adaptation effects, both on reaction times and the early P3 amplitude, demonstrating that the expectancy of conflict strength rather than conflict strength per se may play a crucial role in conflict adaptation. Altogether, these results emphasize the functional role of expectancy based on previous conflict strength in the exertion of cognitive control, which is in accordance with the repetition expectation theory than with the conflict monitoring theory.

Performance of Sequentially Bilateral Cochlear Implanted Children Who Speak Mandarin.

INTRODUCTION: Cochlear implantation is an effective treatment for children with deafness. Although the binaural effect of bilateral cochlear implantation on sound localization and speech perception in noisy environments has been demonstrated, the outcome and performance predictors of the second cochlear implant (CI2) remain uncertain for patients receiving sequential implantation. This study evaluated the hearing performance between the first cochlear implant (CI1), CI2, and bilateral cochlear implants (CI1+2) among children with sequential bilateral cochlear implantation. METHODS: This single-center retrospective study enrolled 14 children and adolescents aged 8-18 years who underwent sequential bilateral cochlear implantation with a mean interimplant interval of 8.2 years. The Mandarin Lexical Neighborhood Test (M-LNT), the Mandarin Hearing in Noise Test (M-HINT), and the Comprehensive Cochlear Implant Questionnaire (CCIQ) scores of participants were evaluated. Mann-Whitney U tests and Spearman correlation analysis were performed to analyze factors associated with CI2 performance. RESULTS: In the 1-year follow-up period after CI2 implantation, although the M-LNT mean score for CI2 was significantly lower than that for CI1, the M-LNT scores for CI2 and CI1+2 improved significantly over time. In a noisy environment, CI1+2 significantly outperformed CI1 in the M-HINT. The M-LNT score for CI2 was significantly associated with preoperative bimodal fitting, residual hearing of the second implanted ear, and CI2 daily-usage time. Specific to CI2, the CCIQ showed improvement 1 year after CI2 implantation. CONCLUSION: CI2 improved the hearing performance and quality of life of recipients with longer interimplant intervals, especially in noisy environments, and its efficacy was associated with preoperative bimodal fitting and regular daily use.

The immunomodulatory effects of mesenchymal stem cell-derived extracellular vesicles in Alzheimer's disease.

Neuroinflammation has been identified as another significant pathogenic factor in Alzheimer's disease following Aß amyloid deposition and tau protein hyperphosphorylation, activated in the central nervous system by glial cells in response to injury-related and pathogen-related molecular patterns. Moderate glial cell activity can be neuroprotective; however, excessive glial cell activation advances the pathology of Alzheimer's disease and is accompanied by structural changes in the brain interface, with peripheral immune cells entering the brain through the blood-brain barrier, creating a vicious circle. The immunomodulatory properties of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are primarily conveyed through extracellular vesicles (EVs). MSC-EVs participate in chronic inflammatory and immune processes by transferring nucleic acids, proteins and lipids from the parent cell to the recipient cell, thus MSC-EVs retain their immunomodulatory capacity while avoiding the safety issues associated with living cell therapy, making them a promising focus for immunomodulatory therapy. In this review, we discuss the modulatory effects of MSC-EVs on Alzheimer's disease-associated immune cells and the mechanisms involved in their treatment of the condition. We have found a clinical trial of MSC-EVs in Alzheimer's disease treatment and outlined the challenges of this approach. Overall, MSC-EVs have the potential to provide a safe and effective treatment option for Alzheimer's disease by targeting neuroinflammation.