Intensity-dependent modulation of the early auditory gamma-band response in first-episode schizophrenia and its association with disease symptoms.

BACKGROUND: Gamma-band activity has been the focus of considerable research in schizophrenia. Discrepancies exist regarding the integrity of the early auditory gamma-band response (EAGBR), a stimulus-evoked oscillation, and its relationship to symptoms in early disease. Variability in task design may play a role. This study examined sensitivity of the EAGBR to stimulus intensity and its relation to symptoms and functional impairments in the first-episode schizophrenia spectrum (FESz). METHOD: Magnetoencephalography was recorded from 35 FESz and 40 matched healthy controls (HC) during presentation of 3 tone intensities (75 dB, 80 dB, 85 dB). MRIs were collected to localize auditory cortex activity. Wavelet-transformed single trial epochs and trial averages were used to assess EAGBR intertrial phase coherence (ITPC) and evoked power, respectively. Symptoms were assessed using the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale. RESULTS: Groups did not differ in overall EAGBR power or ITPC. While HC exhibited EAGBR enhancement to increasing intensity, FESz exhibited reduced power to the 80 dB tone and, relative to HC, increased power to the 75 dB tone. Larger power and ITPC were correlated with more severe negative, thought disorganization, and resistance symptoms. Stronger ITPC was associated with impaired social functioning. DISCUSSION: EAGBR showed no overall deficit at disease onset. Rather, FESz exhibited a differential response across tone intensity relative to HC, emphasizing the importance of stimulus characteristics in EAGBR studies. Associations between larger EAGBR and more severe symptoms suggest aberrant synchronization driving overinclusive perceptual binding that may relate to deficits in executive inhibition of initial sensory activity.

Repurposing Decellularized Lung to Generate Vascularized Fat.

Conventional therapies to address critically sized defects in subcutaneous adipose tissue remain a reconstructive challenge for surgeons, largely due to the lack of graft pre-vascularization. Adipose tissue relies on a dense microvasculature network to deliver nutrients, oxygen, nonadipose tissue-derived growth factors, cytokines, and hormones, as well as transporting adipose tissue-derived endocrine signals to other organ systems. This chapter addresses these vascularization issues by combining decellularized lung matrices with a step-wise seeding of patient-specific adipose-derived stem cells and endothelial cells to develop large-volume, perfusable, and pre-vascularized adipose grafts.

Cell-Surface Binding of DNA Nanostructures for Enhanced Intracellular and Intranuclear Delivery.

DNA nanostructures (DNs) have found increasing use in biosensing, drug delivery, and therapeutics because of their customizable assembly, size and shape control, and facile functionalization. However, their limited cellular uptake and nuclear delivery have hindered their effectiveness in these applications. Here, we demonstrate the potential of applying cell-surface binding as a general strategy to enable rapid enhancement of intracellular and intranuclear delivery of DNs. By targeting the plasma membrane via cholesterol anchors or the cell-surface glycocalyx using click chemistry, we observe a significant 2 to 8-fold increase in the cellular uptake of three distinct types of DNs that include nanospheres, nanorods, and nanotiles, within a short time frame of half an hour. Several factors are found to play a critical role in modulating the uptake of DNs, including their geometries, the valency, positioning and spacing of binding moieties. Briefly, nanospheres are universally preferable for cell surface attachment and internalization. However, edge-decorated nanotiles compensate for their geometry deficiency and outperform nanospheres in both categories. In addition, we confirm the short-term structural stability of DNs by incubating them with cell medium and cell lysate. Further, we investigate the endocytic pathway of cell-surface bound DNs and reveal that it is an interdependent process involving multiple pathways, similar to those of unmodified DNs. Finally, we demonstrate that cell-surface attached DNs exhibit a substantial enhancement in the intranuclear delivery. Our findings present an application that leverages cell-surface binding to potentially overcome the limitations of low cellular uptake, which may strengthen and expand the toolbox for effective cellular and nuclear delivery of DNA nanostructure systems.

Preparation and Properties of Atomic-Oxygen Resistant Polyimide Films Based on Multi-Ring Fluoro-Containing Dianhydride and Phosphorus-Containing Diamine.

Colorless and transparent polyimide (CPI) films with good atomic oxygen (AO) resistance and high thermal endurance are highly required in low earth orbit (LEO) space exploration. Conventional CPI films based on fluoro-containing 4,4'-(hexafluoroisopropylidene)diphthalic anhydride (6FDA) have been widely used in space applications. However, the AO erosion yields and glass transition temperatures (Tg) of the 6FDA-based CPI films have to be modified in order to meet the severe serving environments. In the current work, novel CPI films based on a multi-ring fluoro-containing 9,9-bis(trifluoromethyl)xanthene-2,3,6,7-tetracarboxylicdianhydride (6FCDA) monomer were developed. In order to enhance the AO resistance of the derived CPI film, a phosphorus-containing aromatic diamine, 2,5-bis[(4-aminophenoxy)phenyl]diphenylphosphine oxide (BADPO) was used to polymerize with the dianhydride to create the organo-soluble resin. Then, two phosphorus-containing CPI films (PPI), including PPI-1 (6FDA-BADPO) and PPI-2 (6FCDA-BADPO) were prepared by thermally curing of the PPI solutions at elevated temperatures. The PPI films maintained good optical transparency with transmittance values over 80% at a wavelength of 450 nm. PPI-2 exhibited a Tg value of 311.0 °C by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) measurement, which was 46.7 °C higher than that of the PPI-1 counterpart (Tg = 264.3 °C). In addition, the PPI-2 film showed a coefficient of linear thermal expansion (CTE) value of 41.7 × 10-6/K in the range of 50~250 °C, which was apparently lower than that of the PPI-1 sample (CTE = 49.2 × 10-6/K). Lastly, both of the two PPI films exhibited good AO resistance with the erosion yields (Ey) of 6.99 × 10-25 cm3/atom for PPI-1 and 7.23 × 10-25 cm3/atom for PPI-2 at an exposure flux of 5.0 × 1020 atoms/cm2. The Ey values of the current PPI films were obviously lower than that of the standard polyimide (PI) film based on pyromellitic dianhydride (PMDA) and 4,4'-oxydianiline (ODA) (Ey = 3.0 × 10-24 cm3/atom).

Lung Progenitor and Stem Cell Transplantation as a Potential Regenerative Therapy for Lung Diseases.

Chronic lung diseases are debilitating illnesses ranking among the top causes of death globally. Currently, clinically available therapeutic options capable of curing chronic lung diseases are limited to lung transplantation, which is hindered by donor organ shortage. This highlights the urgent need for alternative strategies to repair damaged lung tissues. Stem cell transplantation has emerged as a promising avenue for regenerative treatment of the lung, which involves delivery of healthy lung epithelial progenitor cells that subsequently engraft in the injured tissue and further differentiate to reconstitute the functional respiratory epithelium. These transplanted progenitor cells possess the remarkable ability to self-renew, thereby offering the potential for sustained long-term treatment effects. Notably, the transplantation of basal cells, the airway stem cells, holds the promise for rehabilitating airway injuries resulting from environmental factors or genetic conditions such as cystic fibrosis. Similarly, for diseases affecting the alveoli, alveolar type II cells have garnered interest as a viable alveolar stem cell source for restoring the lung parenchyma from genetic or environmentally induced dysfunctions. Expanding upon these advancements, the use of induced pluripotent stem cells to derive lung progenitor cells for transplantation offers advantages such as scalability and patient specificity. In this review, we comprehensively explore the progress made in lung stem cell transplantation, providing insights into the current state of the field and its future prospects.

Integrated Manipulation and Addressing of Spin Defect in Diamond.

Scalable and addressable integrated manipulation of qubits is crucial for practical quantum information applications. Different waveguides have been used to transport the optical and electrical driving pulses, which are usually required for qubit manipulation. However, the separated multifields may limit the compactness and efficiency of manipulation and introduce unwanted perturbation. Here, we develop a tapered fiber-nanowire-electrode hybrid structure to realize integrated optical and microwave manipulation of solid-state spins at nanoscale. Visible light and microwave driving pulses are simultaneously transported and concentrated along an Ag nanowire. Studied with spin defects in diamond, the results show that the different driving fields are aligned with high accuracy. The spatially selective spin manipulation is realized. And the frequency-scanning optically detected magnetic resonance (ODMR) of spin qubits is measured, illustrating the potential for portable quantum sensing. Our work provides a new scheme for developing compact, miniaturized quantum sensors and quantum information processing devices.

Heartbeat-evoked neural response abnormalities in generalized anxiety disorder during peripheral adrenergic stimulation.

Hyperarousal symptoms in generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) are often incongruent with the observed physiological state, suggesting that abnormal processing of interoceptive signals is a characteristic feature of the disorder. To examine the neural mechanisms underlying interoceptive dysfunction in GAD, we evaluated whether adrenergic modulation of cardiovascular signaling differentially affects the heartbeat-evoked potential (HEP), an electrophysiological marker of cardiac interoception, during concurrent electroencephalogram and functional magnetic resonance imaging (EEG-fMRI) scanning. Intravenous infusions of the peripheral adrenergic agonist isoproterenol (0.5 and 2.0 micrograms, µg) were administered in a randomized, double-blinded and placebo-controlled fashion to dynamically perturb the cardiovascular system while recording the associated EEG-fMRI responses. During the 0.5 µg isoproterenol infusion, the GAD group (n = 24) exhibited significantly larger changes in HEP amplitude in an opposite direction than the healthy comparison (HC) group (n = 24). In addition, the GAD group showed significantly larger absolute HEP amplitudes than the HC group during saline infusions, when cardiovascular tone did not increase. No significant group differences in HEP amplitude were identified during the 2.0 µg isoproterenol infusion. Using analyzable blood oxygenation level-dependent fMRI data from participants with concurrent EEG-fMRI data (21 GAD and 21 HC), we found that the aforementioned HEP effects were uncorrelated with fMRI signals in the insula, ventromedial prefrontal cortex, dorsal anterior cingulate cortex, amygdala, and somatosensory cortex, brain regions implicated in cardiac signal processing in prior fMRI studies. These findings provide additional evidence of dysfunctional cardiac interoception in GAD and identify neural processes at the electrophysiological level that may be independent from blood oxygen level-dependent responses during peripheral adrenergic stimulation.

Dosimetric characterization of a novel UHDR megavoltage X-ray source for FLASH radiobiological experiments.

A first irradiation platform capable of delivering 10 MV X-ray beams at ultra-high dose rates (UHDR) has been developed and characterized for FLASH radiobiological research at TRIUMF. Delivery of both UHDR (FLASH mode) and low dose-rate conventional (CONV mode) irradiations was demonstrated using a common source and experimental setup. Dose rates were calculated using film dosimetry and a non-intercepting beam monitoring device; mean values for a 100 µA pulse (peak) current were nominally 82.6 and 4.40 × 10-2 Gy/s for UHDR and CONV modes, respectively. The field size for which > 40 Gy/s could be achieved exceeded 1 cm down to a depth of 4.1 cm, suitable for total lung irradiations in mouse models. The calculated delivery metrics were used to inform subsequent pre-clinical treatments. Four groups of 6 healthy male C57Bl/6J mice were treated using thoracic irradiations to target doses of either 15 or 30 Gy using both FLASH and CONV modes. Administration of UHDR X-ray irradiation to healthy mouse models was demonstrated for the first time at the clinically-relevant beam energy of 10 MV.

Amide proton transfer-weighted magnetic resonance imaging for application in renal fibrosis: A radiological-pathological based analysis.

BACKGROUND: Renal fibrosis (RF) being the most important pathological change in the progression of CKD, is currently assessed by the evaluation of a biopsy. This present study aimed to apply a novel functional MRI (fMRI) protocol named amide proton transfer weighting (APTw) to evaluate RF non-invasively. METHODS: Male Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats were initially subjected to bilateral kidney ischemia/reperfusion injury (IRI), unilateral ureteral obstruction (UUO) and Sham operation, respectively. All rats underwent APT mapping on the 7th and the 14th day after operation. Besides, 26 patients undergoing renal biopsy at the Nephrology Department of Shanghai Tongji Hospital between July 2022 and May 2023. Patients underwent APT and apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) mappings within 1 week before biopsy. MRI results of both patients and rats were calculated by comparing with gold standard histology for fibrosis assessment. RESULTS: In animal models, the cortical APT (cAPT) and medullary APT (mAPT) values were positively correlated with the degree of renal fibrosis. Compared to the sham group, IRI group showed significantly increased cAPT and mAPT values on the 7th and 14th day after surgery, but no group differences were found in ADC values. Similar results were found in human patients. Cortical/medullary APT values were significantly increased in patients with moderate-to-severe fibrosis than patients with mild fibrosis. ROC curve analysis indicated that APT value displayed a better diagnostic value for RF. Furthermore, combination of cADC and cAPT improved fibrosis detection by imaging variables alone (p<0.1). CONCLUSION: APT values had better diagnostic capability at early stage of RF compared to ADC values, and the addition of APT imaging to conventional ADC will significantly improve the diagnostic performance for predicting kidney fibrosis.

Lewis Acid Catalyzed [4 + 2] Annulation of Propargylic Alcohols with 2-Vinylanilines.

An elegant Lewis acid catalyzed, protection-free, and straightforward synthetic strategy for the assembly of a series of sophisticated polycyclic quinoline skeletons employing propargylic alcohols and 2-vinylanilines as the substrates in the presence of Yb(OTf)3 (10 mol %) and AgOTf (10 mol %) in tetrahydrofuran has been described. This annulation protocol, which proceeds through a sequential Meyer-Schuster rearrangement/nucleophilic substitution/deprotonation sequence, provides a versatile, practical, and atom-economical approach for accessing quinoline derivatives in moderate-to-good yields.

Synthesis and Characterization of Organo-Soluble Polyimides Based on Polycondensation Chemistry of Fluorene-Containing Dianhydride and Amide-Bridged Diamines with Good Optical Transparency and Glass Transition Temperatures over 400 °C.

Polymeric optical films with light colors, good optical transparency and high thermal resistance have gained increasing attention in advanced optoelectronic areas in recent years. However, it is somewhat inter-conflicting for achieving the good optical properties to the conventional thermal resistant polymers, such as the standard aromatic polyimide (PI) films, which are well known for the excellent combined properties and also the deep colors. In this work, a series of wholly aromatic PI films were prepared via the polycondensation chemistry of one fluorene-containing dianhydride, 9,9-bis(3,4-dicarboxyphenyl)fluorene dianhydride (FDAn) and several aromatic diamines with amide linkages in the main chain, including 9,9-bis [4-(4-aminobenzamide)phenyl]fluorene (FDAADA), 2,2'-bis(trifluoromethyl)-4,4'-bis[4-(4-aminobenzamide)] biphenyl (ABTFMB), and 2,2'-bis(trifluoromethyl)-4,4'-bis[4-(4-amino-3-methyl)benzamide] biphenyl (MABTFMB). The derived FLPI-1 (FDAn-FDAADA), FLPI-2 (FDAn-ABTFMB) and FLPI-3 (FDAn-MABTFMB) resins showed good solubility in the polar aprotic solvents, such as N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone (NMP), N,N-dimethylacetamide (DMAc) and dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO). The solution-processing FDAn-PI films exhibited good optical transmittance over 80.0% at a wavelength of 500 nm (T500), yellow indices (b*) in the range of 1.01-5.20, and haze values lower than 1.0%. In addition, the FDAn-PI films showed low optical retardance with optical retardation (Rth) values in the range of 31.7-390.6 nm. At the same time, the FDAn-PI films exhibited extremely high glass transition temperatures (Tg) over 420 °C according to dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) tests. The FDAn-PI films showed good dimensional stability at elevated temperatures with linear coefficients of thermal expansion (CTE) in the range of (31.8-45.8) × 10-6/K.

Design, Synthesis and Properties of Semi-Alicyclic Colorless and Transparent Polyimide Films with High Glass Transition Temperatures and Low Retardation for Potential Applications in Flexible Electronics.

Polyimide (PI) optical films with high glass transition temperatures (high-Tg), high optical transparency, and low optical retardations (low-Rth) are highly desired in advanced optoelectronic applications. However, the standard PI films usually suffer from deep colors, high optical anisotropies and limited Tg values. In the current work, a series of semi-alicyclic colorless and transparent PI (CPI) films were developed from hydrogenated pyromellitic dianhydride stereoisomers, 1S,2R,4S,5R-hydrogenated pyromellitic dianhydride and 1R,2S,4S,5R-hydrogenated pyromellitic dianhydride, and fluorene-containing diamines, including 9,9-bis(4-aminophenyl)fluorene and 9,9-bis(3-fluoro-4-aminophenyl)fluorene, respectively. The derived CPI films showed Tg values higher than 420 °C according to differential scanning calorimetry measurements. In addition, the fluorene-based CPI film showed optical transmittances higher than 80% at the wavelength of 400 nm, with yellow indices in the range of 0.60~1.01 and haze values below 3.0%. The CPI films showed average refractive indices from 1.5407 to 1.6309, extremely low birefringence at the level of minus fourth power of ten, and further exhibited quite low optical retardations below 10 nm.

Ononin Relieves the Thyroid Cancer Progression through Targeting the Caspase 3 and CD274 Expression Levels.

Thyroid cancer (TC) is the most common malignant tumor of endocrine system and head and neck. Ononin is an isoflavone component, which exhibited great antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities. This study was conducted to explore the functions of ononin in the TC progression. The cell counting kit-8 (CCK8) assay was applied for the cell viability determination. The cell death and apoptosis rate were analyzed by terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated deoxyuridine triphosphate nick-end labeling (TUNEL) staining and flow cytometry. The quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) and Western blot assays were performed for the relative expressions determination. Lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) release assay was used to assess cytotoxicity. Ononin treatment prominently inhibited the cell viability and induced the cell apoptosis of the TC cells. Besides, caspase 3 (CASP3) was down-regulated and CD274 was up-regulated in TC. Ononin treatment prominently decreased the CD274 levels and increased the CASP3 levels in the TC cells. Additionally, ononin treatment dramatically enhanced the LDH release of the cytotoxicity of T cells. What is more, CASP3 overexpression or CD274 knockdown promoted the role of ononin in TC cells. Ononin treatment induced the cell death of the TC cells through regulating the CASP3 and CD274 expressions.

Heartbeat-evoked neural response abnormalities in generalized anxiety disorder during peripheral adrenergic stimulation.

Hyperarousal symptoms in generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) are often incongruent with the observed physiological state, suggesting that abnormal processing of interoceptive signals is a characteristic feature of the disorder. To examine the neural mechanisms underlying interoceptive dysfunction in GAD, we evaluated whether adrenergic modulation of cardiovascular signaling differentially affects the heartbeat evoked potential (HEP), an electrophysiological marker of cardiac interoception, during concurrent electroencephalogram and functional magnetic resonance imaging (EEG-fMRI) scanning. Intravenous infusions of the peripheral adrenergic agonist isoproterenol (0.5 and 2.0 micrograms, µg) were administered in a randomized, double-blinded and placebo-controlled fashion to dynamically perturb the cardiovascular system while recording the associated EEG-fMRI responses. During the 0.5 µg isoproterenol infusion, the GAD group (n=24) exhibited significantly larger changes in HEP amplitude in an opposite direction than the HC group (n=24). In addition, the GAD group showed significantly larger absolute HEP amplitudes than HC during saline infusions, when cardiovascular tone did not increase. No significant group differences in HEP amplitude were identified during the 2.0 µg isoproterenol infusion. Using analyzable blood oxygenation level dependent fMRI data from participants with concurrent EEG-fMRI data (21 GAD and 21 HC), we found that the aforementioned HEP effects were uncorrelated with fMRI signals in the insula, ventromedial prefrontal cortex, dorsal anterior cingulate cortex, amygdala, and somatosensory cortex, brain regions implicated in cardiac signal processing according to prior fMRI studies. These findings provide additional evidence of dysfunctional cardiac interoception in GAD and identify neural processes at the electrophysiological level that may be independent from blood oxygen level-dependent responses during peripheral adrenergic stimulation.

Synthetic Cell Armor Made of DNA Origami.

The bioengineering applications of cells, such as cell printing and multicellular assembly, are directly limited by cell damage and death due to a harsh environment. Improved cellular robustness thus motivates investigations into cell encapsulation, which provides essential protection. Here we target the cell-surface glycocalyx and cross-link two layers of DNA nanorods on the cellular plasma membrane to form a modular and programmable nanoshell. We show that the DNA origami nanoshell modulates the biophysical properties of cell membranes by enhancing the membrane stiffness and lowering the lipid fluidity. The nanoshell also serves as armor to protect cells and improve their viability against mechanical stress from osmotic imbalance, centrifugal forces, and fluid shear stress. Moreover, it enables mediated cell-cell interactions for effective and robust multicellular assembly. Our results demonstrate the potential of the nanoshell, not only as a cellular protection strategy but also as a platform for cell and cell membrane manipulation.

Preparation and Characterization of Light-Colored Polyimide Nanocomposite Films Derived from a Fluoro-Containing Semi-Alicyclic Polyimide Matrix and Colloidal Silica with Enhanced High-Temperature Dimensionally Stability.

Light-colored and transparent polyimide (PI) films with good high-temperature dimensional stability are highly desired for advanced optoelectronic applications. However, in practice, the simultaneous achievement of good optical and thermal properties in one PI film is usually difficult due to the inter-conflicting molecular design of the polymers. In the present work, a series of PI-SiO2 nanocomposite films (ABTFCPI) were developed based on the PI matrix derived from hydrogenated pyromellitic anhydride (HPMDA) and an aromatic diamine containing benzanilide and trifluoromethyl substituents in the structure, 2,2'-bis(trifluoromethyl)-4,4'-bis [4-(4-aminobenzamide)]biphenyl (ABTFMB). The inorganic SiO2 fillers were incorporated into the nanocomposite films in the form of colloidal nanoparticles dispersed in the good solvent of N,N-dimethylacetamide (DMAc) for the PI matrix. The derived ABTFCPI nanocomposite films showed good film-forming ability, flexible and tough nature, good optical transparency, and good thermal properties with loading amounts of SiO2 up to 30 wt% in the system. The ABTFCPI-30 film with a SiO2 content of 30 wt% in the film showed an optical transmittance of 79.6% at the wavelength of 400 nm (T400) with a thickness of 25 µm, yellow index (b*) of 2.15, and 5% weight loss temperatures (T5%) of 491 °C, which are all comparable to those the pristine ABTFCPI-0 matrix without filler (T400 = 81.8%; b* = 1.77; T5% = 492 °C). Meanwhile, the ABTFCPI-30 film exhibited obviously enhanced high-temperature dimensional stability with linear coefficients of thermal expansion (CTE) of 25.4 × 10-6/K in the temperature range of 50 to 250 °C, which is much lower than that of the AMTFCPI-0 film (CTE = 32.7 × 10-6/K).

Neural habituation during acute stress signals a blunted endocrine response and poor resilience.

BACKGROUND: A blunted hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis response to acute stress is associated with psychiatric symptoms. Although the prefrontal cortex and limbic areas are important regulators of the HPA axis, whether the neural habituation of these regions during stress signals both blunted HPA axis responses and psychiatric symptoms remains unclear. In this study, neural habituation during acute stress and its associations with the stress cortisol response, resilience, and depression were evaluated. METHODS: Seventy-seven participants (17-22 years old, 37 women) were recruited for a ScanSTRESS brain imaging study, and the activation changes between the first and last stress blocks were used as the neural habituation index. Meanwhile, participants' salivary cortisol during test was collected. Individual-level resilience and depression were measured using questionnaires. Correlation and moderation analyses were conducted to investigate the association between neural habituation and endocrine data and mental symptoms. Validated analyses were conducted using a Montreal Image Stress Test dataset in another independent sample (48 participants; 17-22 years old, 24 women). RESULTS: Neural habituation of the prefrontal cortex and limbic area was negatively correlated with cortisol responses in both datasets. In the ScanSTRESS paradigm, neural habituation was both positively correlated with depression and negatively correlated with resilience. Moreover, resilience moderated the relationship between neural habituation in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex and cortisol response. CONCLUSIONS: This study suggested that neural habituation of the prefrontal cortex and limbic area could reflect motivation dysregulation during repeated failures and negative feedback, which might further lead to maladaptive mental states.

Observation of delocalization transition in topological waveguide arrays with long-range interactions.

Topological edge states are a generic feature of topological insulators, and the long-range interactions, which break certain properties of topological edge states, are always non-negligible in real physical systems. In this Letter, we investigate the influence of next-nearest-neighbor (NNN) interactions on the topological properties of the Su-Schrieffer-Heeger (SSH) model by extracting the survival probabilities at the boundary of the photonic lattices. By introducing a series of integrated photonic waveguide arrays with different strengths of long-range interactions, we experimentally observe delocalization transition of light in SSH lattices with nontrivial phase, which is in good agreement with our theoretical predictions. The results indicate that the NNN interactions can significantly affect the edge states, and that the localization of these states can be absent in topologically nontrivial phase. Our work provides an alternative way to investigate the interplay between long-range interactions and localized states, which may stimulate further interest in topological properties in relevant structures.

Role of hippocampus and orbitofrontal cortex in the association of interdependent self-construal with an acute stress response.

Empirical evidence indicates that high interdependent self-construal (InterSC) is correlated with exaggerated acute stress responses; however, the underlying neural correlates remain unclear. Considering the regulatory effect of the prefrontal cortex and limbic system on the acute stress response, the primary aim of this study was to investigate the role of the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) and hippocampus (HIP) in the relationship between InterSC and acute stress responses. Forty-eight healthy college students underwent a modified version of the Montreal imaging stress task (MIST), while brain activity was recorded using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Participants' saliva samples and subjective stress feelings were collected before, during, and after the MIST. Additionally, participants' self-construal was measured using questionnaires. Results revealed that InterSC was positively correlated with the activation of OFC, which, in turn, was associated with higher subjective stress feelings. A higher InterSC was also significantly associated with an enhanced salivary cortisol response in those with lower HIP activity. Furthermore, the HIP moderated the indirect effect of InterSC on subjective stress feelings by moderating the effect of InterSC on neural activity in the OFC. This indicated the mediation of the OFC was stronger in those with higher neural activity in the HIP than in those with lower activity in the HIP. In summary, the current study proposed an important role of the OFC-HIP regions in the relationship between InterSC and acute stress responses, making contribution to broadening the field of personality and stress and deepening our understanding of individual differences in acute stress responses.

Longitudinal Investigation of Auditory Dynamic Range Deficits in Early Psychosis and its Relationship to Negative Symptoms.

BACKGROUND AND HYPOTHESIS: Despite accounting for significant disease morbidity in schizophrenia, the neuropathological basis of negative symptoms remains poorly understood and options for treatment limited. Our recent study identified robust associations between diminished auditory cortex (AC) dynamic range and social functioning impairments and negative symptoms in first episode psychosis (FESz). The current investigation examined the progression of these relationships 4-8 months from baseline testing. STUDY DESIGN: Twenty-six FESz and 38 healthy controls (HC) were tested at baseline and follow-up. Magnetoencephalography (MEG) was recorded during binaural presentation of tones (75, 80, and 85 dB). Assessments included the MATRICS cognitive consensus battery (MCCB) and Global Functioning: Role and Social scales (GFR/GFS) and the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale. STUDY RESULTS: Overall, FESz exhibited a blunted response to increasing tone intensity relative to HC. While this deficit did not change over time at the group level, recovery of right hemisphere AC dynamic range (85-75 dB response) among FESz individuals was associated with reductions in negative symptoms (ρ = -0.50). Diminished dynamic range was also associated with impaired GFS (ρ = 0.65), GFR (ρ = 0.51), and MCCB (ρ = 0.49) at baseline and increased negative symptoms at baseline (ρ = -0.53) and follow-up (ρ = -0.51). CONCLUSION: Despite persistent dynamic range impairment in FESz as a group, individual recovery of this AC response property was associated with significant reduction in negative symptoms. Identification of a functional neural deficit that tracts progression of negative symptoms during a critical period for disease modification is essential to the management of these devastating and historically treatment refractory symptoms.