Autism-spectrum quotient mediates the relationship between clinical symptoms and quality of life in schizophrenia.

Background: Social dysfunctions can affect the quality of life (QOL) of patients with schizophrenia. The autism-spectrum quotient (AQ) is a widely used measure of innate autistic traits. However, in patients with schizophrenia, the score may represent the severity of autism-like social dysfunctions as a consequence of symptoms.

Electroconvulsive therapy-specific volume changes in nuclei of the amygdala and their relationship to long-term anxiety improvement in depression.

Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is one of the most effective treatments for depression. ECT induces volume changes in the amygdala, a key center of anxiety. However, the clinical relevance of ECT-induced changes in amygdala volume remains uncertain.

Warming suppresses grassland recovery in biomass but not in community composition after grazing exclusion in a Mongolian grassland.

We conducted a 4-year temperature manipulation experiment in a Mongolian grassland to examine the effect of daytime and nighttime warming on grassland recovery after grazing exclusion. After constructing a livestock exclusion fence in the grassland, we established daytime and daytime-and-nighttime warming treatments within the fenced area by a combination of open-top chambers (OTC) and electric heaters. We measured the numbers of plants and aboveground biomass by species after recording percentage vegetation cover every summer for three warming treatments inside the fence-non-warming, daytime warming, and daytime-and-nighttime warming-and for the grassland outside of the fence.