Enhancing genetic discovery through narrow phenotyping in schizophrenia.

Background: Schizophrenia varies greatly from person to person, mainly because of its polygenic nature. Consequently, schizophrenia patients form distinct subphenotypes of schizophrenia, with specific symptom patterns and outcomes.

Methods: This study included 4257 adults, with long-term schizophrenia (control - 8955 individuals) who were assessed for schizophrenia with potentially severe outcomes based on following criteria: disability in functional and/or physical domains before the age of 40; severe negative symptoms (present in infancy or shortly after onset); a continuous course of the disease.

Chronic Ultrasound Prenatal Stress Altered the Brain's Neurochemical Systems in Newborn Rats.

Prenatal stress (PS) affects the development and functioning of the central nervous system, but the exact mechanisms underpinning this effect have not been pinpointed yet. A promising model of PS is one based on chronic exposure of pregnant rodents to variable-frequency ultrasound (US PS), as it mimics the PS with a psychic nature that most adequately captures the human stressors in modern society. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of US PS on the brain neurotransmitter, neuropeptide, and neurotrophic systems of newborn Wistar rats.

Young's double-slit interference with single hard X-ray photons.

Double-slit interference experiments using monochromatic hard X-rays with the energy of 25 keV are presented. The experiments were performed at a synchrotron source with a distance of 110 m between the interferometer and the detector to produce an interference pattern with a sufficiently broad period that could be adequately sampled by a photon-counting detector with 75 micrometre pixels. In the single-particle version of the experiment, over one million image frames with a single registered photon in each one were collected.

Systemic and local immunosuppression in glioblastoma and its prognostic significance.

The effectiveness of tumor therapy, especially immunotherapy and oncolytic virotherapy, critically depends on the activity of the host immune cells. However, various local and systemic mechanisms of immunosuppression operate in cancer patients. Tumor-associated immunosuppression involves deregulation of many components of immunity, including a decrease in the number of T lymphocytes (lymphopenia), an increase in the levels or ratios of circulating and tumor-infiltrating immunosuppressive subsets [e.

Three-dimensional contrast-transfer-function approach in phase-contrast tomography.

A new method is developed for 3D reconstruction of multimaterial objects using propagation-based x-ray phase-contrast tomography (PB-CT) with phase retrieval via contrast-transfer-function (CTF) formalism. The approach differs from conventional PB-CT algorithms, which apply phase retrieval to individual 2D projections. Instead, this method involves performing phase retrieval to the CT-reconstructed volume in 3D.

Alteration of Blood Immune Biomarkers in MCI Patients with Different Genotypes after Cognitive Training: A 1 Year Follow-Up Cohort Study.

Many studies aim to detect the early phase of dementia. One of the major ways to achieve this is to identify corresponding biomarkers, particularly immune blood biomarkers. The objective of this study was to identify such biomarkers in patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) in an experiment that included cognitive training.

Multispectral sensor fusion in SmartWatch for in situ continuous monitoring of human skin hydration and body sweat loss.

Post-pandemic health operations have become a near-term reality, discussions around wearables are on the rise. How do wearable health solutions effectively deploy and use this opportunity to fill the gap between wellness and healthcare? In this paper, we will talk about wearable healthcare diagnosis, with a particular focus on monitoring skin hydration using optical multi-wavelength sensor fusion. Continuous monitoring of human skin hydration is a task of paramount importance for maintaining water loss dynamics for fitness lovers as well as for skin beauty, integrity and the health of the entire body.

Multimodal intrinsic speckle-tracking (MIST) to extract images of rapidly-varying diffuse X-ray dark-field.

Speckle-based phase-contrast X-ray imaging (SB-PCXI) can reconstruct high-resolution images of weakly-attenuating materials that would otherwise be indistinguishable in conventional attenuation-based X-ray imaging. The experimental setup of SB-PCXI requires only a sufficiently coherent X-ray source and spatially random mask, positioned between the source and detector. The technique can extract sample information at length scales smaller than the imaging system's spatial resolution; this enables multimodal signal reconstruction.

Inflammatory biomarkers and lipid metabolism parameters in women with mild cognitive impairment and dementia.

The detection of specific markers of dementia and mild cognitive decline (MCI) could be the key to disease prevention and forehanded treatment. Female gender is one of the major risk factor for dementia. The aim of our study was to compare serum concentration of some factors related to lipid metabolism and the immune system in patients with MCI and dementia.

Diversity of Structural, Dynamic, and Environmental Effects Explain a Distinctive Functional Role of Transmembrane Domains in the Insulin Receptor Subfamily.

Human InsR, IGF1R, and IRR receptor tyrosine kinases (RTK) of the insulin receptor subfamily play an important role in signaling pathways for a wide range of physiological processes and are directly associated with many pathologies, including neurodegenerative diseases. The disulfide-linked dimeric structure of these receptors is unique among RTKs. Sharing high sequence and structure homology, the receptors differ dramatically in their localization, expression, and functions.

Protein Misfolding and Aggregation in the Brain: Common Pathogenetic Pathways in Neurodegenerative and Mental Disorders.

Mental disorders represent common brain diseases characterized by substantial impairments of social and cognitive functions. The neurobiological causes and mechanisms of psychopathologies still have not been definitively determined. Various forms of brain proteinopathies, which include a disruption of protein conformations and the formation of protein aggregates in brain tissues, may be a possible cause behind the development of psychiatric disorders.

Positive Effect of Cognitive Training in Older Adults with Different Genotypes and COVID-19 History: A 1-Year Follow-Up Cohort Study.

(1) Background: Older people suffer from cognitive decline; several risk factors contribute to greater cognitive decline. We used acquired (COVID-19 infection) and non-modifiable (presence of rs429358 and rs7412 polymorphisms) factors to study the progression of subjective cognitive impairment while observing patients for one year. Cognitive training was used as a protective factor.

Autoimmune Effect of Antibodies against the SARS-CoV-2 Nucleoprotein.

COVID-19 caused by SARS-CoV-2 is continuing to spread around the world and drastically affect our daily life. New strains appear, and the severity of the course of the disease itself seems to be decreasing, but even people who have been ill on an outpatient basis suffer post-COVID consequences. Partly, it is associated with the autoimmune reactions, so debates about the development of new vaccines and the need for vaccination/revaccination continue.

Behavioral effects and inflammatory markers in the brain and periphery after repeated social defeat stress burdened by Opisthorchis felineus infection in mice.

The combination of 4-week repeated social defeat stress (RSDS) and Opisthorchis felineus infection was modeled in C57BL/6 mice. Various parameters were compared between three experimental groups of male mice (SS: mice subjected to RSDS, OF: mice infected with O. felineus, and OF + SS: mice subjected to both adverse factors) and behavior-tested and intact (INT) controls.

Neurobiological Highlights of Cognitive Impairment in Psychiatric Disorders.

This review is focused on several psychiatric disorders in which cognitive impairment is a major component of the disease, influencing life quality. There are plenty of data proving that cognitive impairment accompanies and even underlies some psychiatric disorders. In addition, sources provide information on the biological background of cognitive problems associated with mental illness.

Dark-field tomography of an attenuating object using intrinsic x-ray speckle tracking.

We investigate how an intrinsic speckle tracking approach to speckle-based x-ray imaging is used to extract an object's effective dark-field (DF) signal, which is capable of providing object information in three dimensions. The effective DF signal was extracted using a Fokker-Planck type formalism, which models the deformations of illuminating reference beam speckles due to both coherent and diffusive scatter from the sample. Here, we assumed that (a) small-angle scattering fans at the exit surface of the sample are rotationally symmetric and (b) the object has both attenuating and refractive properties.

Plasma Neurotrophic Factor Levels are not Associated with the Severity of Depression: Prospective Pilot Study.

Introduction: Depression is one of the most common mental illnesses. Impaired neurogenesis is observed in depression. Biomarkers of impaired neurogenesis in depression can act as a useful objective and diagnostic and prognostic tool to determine the severity of depression.

Effect of x-ray energy on the radiological image quality in propagation-based phase-contrast computed tomography of the breast.

Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women in developing and developed countries and is responsible for 15% of women's cancer deaths worldwide. Conventional absorption-based breast imaging techniques lack sufficient contrast for comprehensive diagnosis. Propagation-based phase-contrast computed tomography (PB-CT) is a developing technique that exploits a more contrast-sensitive property of x-rays: x-ray refraction.

Structural Studies Providing Insights into Production and Conformational Behavior of Amyloid-β Peptide Associated with Alzheimer's Disease Development.

Alzheimer's disease is the most common type of neurodegenerative disease in the world. Genetic evidence strongly suggests that aberrant generation, aggregation, and/or clearance of neurotoxic amyloid-β peptides () triggers the disease. accumulates at the points of contact of neurons in ordered cords and fibrils, forming the so-called senile plaques.

Differential Influence of Amyloid-β on the Kinetics of Dopamine Release in the Dorsal and Ventral Striatum of Rats.

Dopaminergic dysfunction is a part of Alzheimer's disease pathology. The brain accumulation of amyloid-β of toxic form is a key link of the pathology, which, according to the literature, is also true for dopaminergic dysfunction. An increase in the amyloid-β level in the brain changes the maximum of the evoked dopamine release in the dorsal and ventral parts of the striatum of the experimental animals.

Evaluation of the Effectiveness of Mesenchymal Stem Cells of the Placenta and Their Conditioned Medium in Local Radiation Injuries.

Background: The search for an effective therapy for local radiation injuries (LRI) is urgent; one option is mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) derived from the placenta and their conditioned medium for the regenerative processes of the skin.

Methods: We used 80 animals, randomly assigned to four groups: control (C) animals that did not receive therapy; control with the introduction of culture medium concentrate (CM); introduction of MSCs (PL); introduction of CMPL. LRI modeling was performed on an X-ray machine at a dose of 110 Gy.