Disentangling the topological symptom structure of schizophrenia: A network analysis.

Background And Hypothesis: The Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS), comprehensively assesses schizophrenia severity. While network analyses of schizophrenic symptoms have yielded inconsistent results, components of disorganized thought consistently rank high in centrality. The present study aims to explore the centrality of disorganized thought across patient subgroups and its potential as a treatment target.

Disorder-specific neurodynamic features in schizophrenia inferred by neurodynamic embedded contrastive variational autoencoder model.

Neurodynamic models that simulate how micro-level alterations propagate upward to impact macroscopic neural circuits and overall brain function may offer valuable insights into the pathological mechanisms of schizophrenia (SCZ). In this study, we integrated a neurodynamic model with the classical Contrastive Variational Autoencoder (CVAE) to extract and evaluate macro-scale SCZ-specific features, including subject-level, region-level parameters, and time-varying states. Firstly, we demonstrated the robust fitting of the model within our multi-site dataset.

Lung dECM matrikine-based hydrogel reverses bleomycin-induced pulmonary fibrosis by suppressing M2 macrophage polarization.

Recent studies have shown promising results using decellularized extracellular matrix (dECM) matrikines-based hydrogel as attractive strategies for preventing and alleviating fibrosis. Methods & Results: Porcine lung decellularization and pepsin digestion were used to prepare the lung dECM hydrogel. Proteomic analysis revealed that the lung dECM hydrogel was enriched in glycoproteins, collagens, laminins, fibrinogen, held receptors, and bound growth factors.

Graph theory analysis of a human body metabolic network: A systematic and organ-specific study.

Purposes: Positron emission tomography (PET) imaging is widely used to detect focal lesions or diseases and to study metabolic abnormalities between organs. However, analyzing organ correlations alone does not fully capture the characteristics of the metabolic network. Our work proposes a graph-based analysis method for quantifying the topological properties of the network, both globally and at the nodal level, to detect systemic or single-organ metabolic abnormalities caused by diseases such as lung cancer.

A rotational ellipsoid model for solid Earth tide with high precision.

Solid Earth tide represents the response of solid Earth to the lunar (solar) gravitational force. The yielding solid Earth due to the force has been thought to be a prolate ellipsoid since the time of Lord Kelvin, yet the ellipsoid's geometry such as major semi-axis's length, minor semi-axis's length, and flattening remains unresolved. Additionally, the tidal displacement of reference point is conventionally resolved through a combination of expanded potential equations and given Earth model.

Mitochondrial Dysfunction and Cognitive Impairment in Schizophrenia: The Role of Inflammation.

Background And Hypothesis: The complex immune-brain interactions and the regulatory role of mitochondria in the immune response suggest that mitochondrial damage reported in schizophrenia (SZ) may be related to abnormalities observed in immune and brain functions.

Study Design: Mitochondrial DNA copy number (mtDNA CN), a biomarker of mitochondrial function, was assessed in peripheral blood leukocytes (PBLs) of 121 healthy individuals and 118 SZ patients before and after 8 weeks of antipsychotic treatment, and a meta-analysis related to blood mtDNA CN was conducted. Plasma C-reactive protein (CRP) levels in SZ patients were obtained from the medical record system.

Bidirectional dynamic frame prediction network for total-body [Ga]Ga-PSMA-11 and [Ga]Ga-FAPI-04 PET images.

Purpose: Total-body dynamic positron emission tomography (PET) imaging with total-body coverage and ultrahigh sensitivity has played an important role in accurate tracer kinetic analyses in physiology, biochemistry, and pharmacology. However, dynamic PET scans typically entail prolonged durations ([Formula: see text]60 minutes), potentially causing patient discomfort and resulting in artifacts in the final images. Therefore, we propose a dynamic frame prediction method for total-body PET imaging via deep learning technology to reduce the required scanning time.

Predictive value of hepatic venous pressure gradient in cirrhotic portal vein thrombosis development.

Background & Aims: There are lots of risk factors reported for cirrhotic portal vein thrombosis (PVT) development, however, the relationship between hepatic venous pressure gradient (HVPG) and PVT development remains unclear.

Methods: The clinical outcomes of cirrhotic patients who had no PVT and underwent HVPG measurement at baseline between March 2018 and March 2022 were analyzed retrospectively. Screening for non-tumoral PVT development was implemented by contrast-enhanced computed tomography and/or magnetic resonance imaging every 6-12 months.

IL-15-induced CD38HLA-DRCD8 T cells correlate with liver injury via NKG2D in chronic hepatitis B cirrhosis.

Objectives: CD8 T cells play a critical role in the immune dysfunction associated with liver cirrhosis. CD38HLA-DRCD8 T cells, or bystander-activated CD8 T cells, are involved in tissue injury but their specific contribution to liver cirrhosis remains unclear. This study sought to identify the mechanism for CD38HLA-DRCD8 T cell-mediated pathogenesis during liver cirrhosis.

Aging brought additional immune response alterations after breakthrough infections with the Omicron BA.5/BF.7 variants: Protein immune mechanism.

The global spread of the Omicron variant strain BA.5/BF.7 has led to an increase in breakthrough infections.

Biocontrol mechanisms of poplar leaf blight due to Nigrospora oryzae.

Nigrospora oryzae, a newly identified pathogen, is responsible for poplar leaf blight, causing significant harm to poplar growth. Here, we describe, for the first time, a biological control method for the control of poplar leaf blight via the applications of 3 dominant Trichoderma strains/species. In this study, dominant Trichoderma species/strains with the potential for biocontrol were identified and then further characterised via dual culture assays, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and culture filtrates.

Autophagy defects at weaning impair complement-dependent synaptic pruning and induce behavior deficits.

Autophagy is crucial for synaptic plasticity and the architecture of dendritic spines. However, the role of autophagy in schizophrenia (SCZ) and the mechanisms through which it affects synaptic function remain unclear. In this study, we identified 995 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) across 19 autophagy-related genes that are associated with SCZ.

Liver biopsy-proven non-alcoholic fatty liver disease predicts no impact on antiviral response in patients with chronic hepatitis B.

Objective: The role of Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD) on antiviral response in Chronic Hepatitis B (CHB) remains unclear. Previous studies mainly focus on the impact of the Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver (NAFL) on antiviral efficacy, whereas the role of Non-Alcoholic Steatohepatitis (NASH) has not been highlighted. The authors aimed to investigate the association of NAFLD (NAFL and NASH), viral and histological characteristics with antiviral response.

Elevated plasma matrix metalloproteinase 9 in schizophrenia patients associated with poor antipsychotic treatment response and white matter density deficits.

Oxidative stress and neuroinflammation contribute to schizophrenia (SCZ) pathology and may influence treatment efficacy. Matrix metalloproteinase 9 (MMP9) is a critical molecular node mediating the interaction between oxidative stress and inflammation, and so may influence treatment efficacy. Here we examined the associations of plasma MMP9 concentration with antipsychotic drug responses, clinical symptoms, and brain structure.

Characterizing and decoding the key odor compounds of Spirulina platensis at different processing stages by sensomics.

Processing is an indispensable technology in the preparation of Spirulina platensis (S. platensis). The key odorants in liquids, muds, and powders from S.