Biochar-based Bacillus subtilis inoculants promote plant growth: Regulating microbial community to improve soil properties.

Numerous studies support the synergistic use of biochar (BC) and plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria to enhance plant growth. Despite this, the complex and dynamic nature of soil environments necessitates further exploration of the interactions between soil microorganisms and soil properties under BC-based inoculants. This study investigated their combined effects using a BC-based inoculant, Bacillus subtilis SL-44 (BC@SL), to explore the relationship between microorganisms and soil properties.

Combined control of plant diseases by Bacillus subtilis SL44 and Enterobacter hormaechei Wu15.

Co-incubation of plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPRs) have been proposed as a potential alternative to pesticides for controlling fungal pathogens in crops, but their synergism mechanisms are not yet fully understood. In this study, combined use of Bacillus subtilis SL44 and Enterobacter hormaechei Wu15 could decrease the density of Colletotrichum gloeosporioides and Rhizoctonia solani and enhance the growth of beneficial bacteria on the mycelial surface, thereby mitigating disease severity. Meanwhile, PGPR application led to a reorganization of the rhizosphere microbial community through modulating its metabolites, such as extracellular polymeric substances and chitinase.

Cognitive Bias by Gender Interaction on N170 Response to Emotional Facial Expressions in Major and Minor Depression.

States of depression are considered to relate to a cognitive bias reactivity to emotional events. Moreover, gender effect may influence differences in emotional processing. The current study is to investigate whether there is an interaction of cognitive bias by gender on emotional processing in minor depression (MiD) and major depression (MaD).

Neurocognitive impairment on motor imagery associated with positive symptoms in patients with first-episode schizophrenia: evidence from event-related brain potentials.

Motor imagery provides direct insight into an anatomically interconnected system involved in the integration of sensory information with motor actions, a process that is associated with positive symptoms in schizophrenia (SCZ). However, very little is known about the electrophysiological processing of motor imagery in first episode SCZ. In the current study, we used a visual hand mental rotation (MR) paradigm to manipulate the processing of motor imagery while event-related brain potentials (ERPs) were recorded in 42 SCZ participants and 40 healthy controls (HC).

Distinct facial processing related negative cognitive bias in first-episode and recurrent major depression: evidence from the N170 ERP component.

Background: States of depression are associated with increased sensitivity to negative events. For this novel study, we have assessed the relationship between the number of depressive episodes and the dysfunctional processing of emotional facial expressions.

Methodology/principal Findings: We used a visual emotional oddball paradigm to manipulate the processing of emotional information while event-related brain potentials were recorded in 45 patients with first episode major depression (F-MD), 40 patients with recurrent major depression (R-MD), and 46 healthy controls (HC).

Neurocognitive impairment of mental rotation in major depressive disorder: evidence from event-related brain potentials.

Mental rotation performance may be used as an index of mental slowing or bradyphrenia and may reflect speed of motor preparation. Previous studies suggest that major depressive disorder (MDD) presents correlates of impaired behavioral performance for mental rotation and psychomotor disturbance. Very little is known about the electrophysiological mechanism underlying this deficit.

The association between the disruption of motor imagery and the number of depressive episodes of major depression.

Background: Mental rotation performance may be used as an index of mental slowing or bradyphrenia, and may reflect, in particular, speed of motor preparation. Previous studies suggest depressive patients present the correlates of impaired behavioural performance for mental rotation and psychomotor disturbance. The aim of this study is to compare the mental rotation abilities of patients with a first episode of depression, recurrent depression and healthy control subjects with regard to hand tasks.

Ego-rotation and object-rotation in major depressive disorder.

Mental rotation (MR) performance provides a direct insight into a prototypical higher-level visuo-spatial cognitive operation. Previous studies suggest that progressive slowing with an increasing angle of orientation indicates a specific wing of object-based mental transformations in the psychomotor retardation that occurs in major depressive disorder (MDD). It is still not known, however, whether the ability of object-rotation is associated with the ability of ego-rotation in MDD.

Event-related potentials during mental rotation tasks in patients with first-episode depression.

Background: The ability to mentally rotate images is impaired in depressed patients but the electrophysiological abnormalities in the brain related to this impairment remain unclear.

Aim: To compare the event-related potentials (ERPs) of depressed patients and control subjects during the completion of a mental rotation (MR) task.

Methods: Thirty-two inpatients and outpatients with first-episode depression and twenty-nine control subjects were administered an MR task that presented test stimuli at different angles of orientation.

Hemispheric dominance during the mental rotation task in patients with schizophrenia.

Background: Mental rotation is a spatial representation conversion capability using an imagined object and either object or self-rotation. This capability is impaired in schizophrenia.

Objective: To provide a more detailed assessment of impaired cognitive functioning in schizophrenia by comparing the electrophysiological profiles of patients with schizophrenia and controls while completing a mental rotation task using both normally-oriented images and mirror images.