Unraveling the link between childhood maltreatment and depression: Insights from the role of ventral striatum and middle cingulate cortex in hedonic experience and emotion regulation.

Childhood maltreatment is an established risk factor for psychopathology. However, it remains unclear how childhood traumatic events relate to mental health problems and how the brain is involved. This study examined the serial mediation effect of brain morphological alterations and emotion-/reward-related functions on linking the relationship from maltreatment to depression.

Mouse strain-specific responses of mitochondrial respiratory function and cardiac hypertrophy to isoproterenol treatment.

Cardiac hypertrophy is a common pathological process of various cardiovascular diseases and eventually develops into heart failure. This paper was aimed to study the different pathological characteristics exhibited by different mouse strains after hypertrophy stimulation. Two mouse strains, A/J and FVB/nJ, were treated with isoproterenol (ISO) by osmotic pump to induce cardiac hypertrophy.

A Sensitive LC-MS/MS Method for the Determination of Afatinib in Human Plasma and Its Application to a Bioequivalence Study.

A high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry assay for the determination of afatinib (AFT) in human plasma was established. A simple sample preparation of protein precipitation was used and separation was achieved on a C18 column by the gradient mixture of mobile Phase A of water (containing 0.1% ammonia) and the mobile Phase B of acetonitrile and water (V:V = 95:5, containing 0.

Simultaneous determination and determination of sildenafil and its active metabolite in human plasma using LC-MS/MS method.

A sensitive and selective high-performance liquid chromatography-tandam mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) method was developed and validated for the simultaneous quantification of sildenafil and its metabolite N-desmethyl sildenafil in human plasma. Sildenafil-d8 was used as an internal standard. The analytes were extracted by precipitation extraction and chromatographed on a C column using mobile phase A of water (containing 0.

A trend toward smaller optical angles and medial-ocular distance in schizophrenia spectrum, but not in bipolar and major depressive disorders.

Minor physical anomalies (MPAs) are subtle signs of fetal developmental abnormalities that have been considered to be among the most replicated risk markers for schizophrenia-spectrum disorders. However, quantitative approaches are needed to measure craniofacial MPAs. The present study adopted an imaging-based quantitative approach to examine craniofacial MPAs across the spectrum of schizophrenia and affective disorders, to address their sensitivity and specificity.

Differential mesolimbic and prefrontal alterations during reward anticipation and consummation in positive and negative schizotypy.

Schizotypy is associated with anhedonia. However, previous findings on the neural substrates of anhedonia in schizotypy are mixed. In the present study, we measured the neural substrates associated with reward anticipation and consummation in positive and negative schizotypy using functional MRI.

Multivariate Neural Representations of Value during Reward Anticipation and Consummation in the Human Orbitofrontal Cortex.

The role of the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) in value processing is a focus of research. Conventional imaging analysis, where smoothing and averaging are employed, may not be sufficiently sensitive in studying the OFC, which has heterogeneous anatomical structures and functions. In this study, we employed representational similarity analysis (RSA) to reveal the multi-voxel fMRI patterns in the OFC associated with value processing during the anticipatory and the consummatory phases.

Production of Bioactive Recombinant Bovine Chymosin in Tobacco Plants.

Chymosin (also known as rennin) plays an essential role in the coagulation of milk in the cheese industry. Chymosin is traditionally extracted from the rumen of calves and is of high cost. Here, we present an alternative method to producing bovine chymosin from transgenic tobacco plants.

Neural evidence for the use of digit-image mnemonic in a superior memorist: an fMRI study.

Some superior memorists demonstrated exceptional memory for reciting a large body of information. The underlying neural correlates, however, are seldom addressed. C.

Abnormal functional connectivity of the amygdala-based network in resting-state FMRI in adolescents with generalized anxiety disorder.

Background: We aimed to investigate the disruptions of functional connectivity of amygdala-based networks in adolescents with untreated generalized anxiety disorder (GAD).

Material And Methods: A total of 26 adolescents with first-episode GAD and 20 normal age-matched volunteers underwent resting-state and T1 functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). We analyzed the correlation of fMRI signal fluctuation between the amygdala and other brain regions.

Neurobiological changes of schizotypy: evidence from both volume-based morphometric analysis and resting-state functional connectivity.

The current study sought to examine the underlying brain changes in individuals with high schizotypy by integrating networks derived from brain structural and functional imaging. Individuals with high schizotypy (n = 35) and low schizotypy (n = 34) controls were screened using the Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire and underwent brain structural and resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging on a 3T scanner. Voxel-based morphometric analysis and graph theory-based functional network analysis were conducted.

Acute aerobic exercise increases cortical activity during working memory: a functional MRI study in female college students.

There is increasing evidence that acute aerobic exercise is associated with improved cognitive function. However, neural correlates of its cognitive plasticity remain largely unknown. The present study examined the effect of a session of acute aerobic exercise on working memory task-evoked brain activity as well as task performance.

Neural correlates of prospective memory in individuals with schizotypal personality features.

Objective: Prospective memory (PM) refers to the ability to remember to perform actions in the future. Schizophrenia spectrum disorders show impairments in PM but neural correlates of these impairments remain unclear. The present study aimed to examine brain activation during PM to identify impairments in individuals with schizotypal personality features.

Interferon-γ improves renal interstitial fibrosis and decreases intrarenal vascular resistance of hydronephrosis in an animal model.

Objectives: To investigate the effect of interferon (IFN)-γ administration on renal interstitial fibrosis (RIF) and intrarenal vascular resistance of diseased kidneys in a reversible unilateral ureteral obstruction (RUUO) animal model.

Methods: Thirty-six male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into three groups: RUUO with intramuscular IFN-γ treatment (400 IU/d; RUUO + IFN), RUUO with vehicle treatment, and sham operation. RUUO was induced by clamping the left ureter using a small polyethylene tube.