A study on the association between prefrontal functional connectivity and non-suicidal self-injury in adolescents with depression.

Objective: Among adolescents with depression, the occurrence of non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) behavior is prevalent, constituting a high-risk factor for suicide. However, there has been limited research on the neuroimaging mechanisms underlying adolescent depression and NSSI behavior, and the potential association between the two remains unclear. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the alterations in functional connectivity (FC) of the regions in the prefrontal cortex with the whole brain, and elucidates the relationship between these alterations and NSSI behavior in adolescents with depression. Methods: A total of 68 participants were included in this study, including 35 adolescents with depression and 33 healthy controls. All participants underwent assessments using the 17-item Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (17-HAMD) and the Ottawa Self-Harm Inventory. In addition, functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data of the participants' brains were collected. Subsequently, the FCs of the regions in the prefrontal cortex with the whole brain was calculated. The FCs showing significant differences were then subjected to correlation analyses with 17-HAMD scores and NSSI behavior scores. Result: Compared to the healthy control group, the adolescent depression group exhibited decreased FCs in several regions, including the right frontal eye field, left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, right orbitofrontal cortex, left insula and right anterior cingulate coetex. The 17-HAMD score was positively correlated with the frequency of NSSI behavior within 1 year (rs = 0.461, p = 0.005). The FC between the right anterior cingulate cortex and the right precuneus showed a negative correlation with the 17-HAMD scores (rs = -0.401, p = 0.023). Additionally, the FC between the right orbitofrontal cortex and the right insula, demonstrated a negative correlation with the frequency of NSSI behavior within 1 year (rs = -0.438, p = 0.012, respectively). Conclusion: Adolescents with depression showed decreased FCs of the prefrontal cortex with multiple brain regions, and some of these FCs were associated with the NSSI frequency within 1 year. This study provided neuroimaging evidence for the neurophysiological mechanisms underlying adolescent depression and its comorbidity with NSSI behavior.

Abnormal dynamic functional connectivity of thalamic subregions in patients with first-episode, drug-naïve major depressive disorder.

Background: Recent studies have shown that major depressive disorder (MDD) is associated with altered intrinsic functional connectivity (FC) of the thalamus; however, investigations of these alterations at a finer time scale and the level of thalamic subregions are still lacking. Methods: We collected resting-state functional MRI data from 100 treatment-naïve, first-episode MDD patients and 99 age-, gender- and education-matched healthy controls (HCs). Seed-based whole-brain sliding window-based dFC analyses were performed for 16 thalamic subregions. Between-group differences in the mean and variance of dFC were determined using threshold-free cluster enhancement algorithm. For significant alterations, there relationships with clinical and neuropsychological variables were further examined via bivariate and multivariate correlation analyses. Results: Of all thalamic subregions, only the left sensory thalamus (Stha) showed altered variance of dFC in the patients characterized by increases with the left inferior parietal lobule, left superior frontal gyrus, left inferior temporal gyrus, and left precuneus, and decreases with multiple frontal, temporal, parietal, and subcortical regions. These alterations accounted for, to a great extent, clinical, and neuropsychological characteristics of the patients as revealed by the multivariate correlation analysis. In addition, the bivariate correlation analysis revealed a positive correlation between the variance of dFC between the left Stha and right inferior temporal gurus/fusiform and childhood trauma questionnaires scores (r = 0.562, P < 0.001). Conclusion: These findings suggest that the left Stha is the most vulnerable thalamic subregion to MDD, whose dFC alterations may serve as potential biomarkers for the diagnosis of the disease.

Cell-Free Supernatant of Bacillus subtilis Reduces Kiwifruit Rot Caused by Botryosphaeria dothidea through Inducing Oxidative Stress in the Pathogen.

Biological control of postharvest diseases has been proven to be an effective alternative to chemical control. As an environmentally friendly biocontrol agent, Bacillus subtilis has been widely applied. This study explores its application in kiwifruit soft rot and reveals the corresponding mechanisms. Treatment with cell-free supernatant (CFS) of Bacillus subtilis BS-1 significantly inhibits the mycelial growth of the pathogen Botryosphaeria dothidea and attenuates the pathogenicity on kiwifruit in a concentration-dependent manner. In particular, mycelial growth diameter was only 21% of the control after 3 days of treatment with 5% CFS. CFS caused swelling and breakage of the hyphae of B. dothidea observed by scanning electron microscopy, resulting in the leakage of nucleic acid and soluble protein and the loss of ergosterol content. Further analysis demonstrated that CFS significantly induces the expression of Nox genes associated with reactive oxygen species (ROS) production by 1.9-2.7-fold, leading to a considerable accumulation of ROS in cells and causing mycelial cell death. Our findings demonstrate that the biocontrol effect of B. subtilis BS-1 CFS on B. dothidea is realized by inducing oxidative damage to the mycelia cell.

Post-Ike economic resilience along the Texas coast.

The economic devastation resulting from recent natural disasters has spawned intense interest in programmes that promote regional resilience. The economic impacts of Hurricane Ike (September 2008) endured long beyond the storm's landfall, compounded by a national recession. This study analyses the pattern of post-Ike industrial growth in eight coastal counties of Texas, United States, and identifies sources of resilience and potential drivers of recovery. The results indicate that post-disaster growth patterns differ from established growth patterns. Levels of resilience vary across industrial sectors, and service sectors tend to lead a recovery. The resilience of the hotel and restaurant sector, for instance, suggests that the presence of relief workers might immunise certain sectors against a post-disaster economic downturn. Besides the sectors that are generally resilient, each county has its own distinct sectors that, depending on the extent of the damage suffered, tend to perform strongly after a disaster, owing to the characteristics of the respective county's economy.