Insulin resistance links dysbiosis of gut microbiota with cognitive impairment in first-episode drug-naïve schizophrenia.

This study aimed to explore the relationship among gut microbiota imbalance, the homeostasis model of assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) and cognitive impairments in patients with schizophrenia (SCZ). We conducted a case-control study involving 189 first-episode, drug-naïve SCZ patients and 115 healthy controls (HCs). Main methods adopted included metagenomics analysis, glucose metabolism assessment, and cognitive function evaluation using the MATRICS Consensus Cognitive Battery (MCCB).

Development of a finer-resolution multi-year emission inventory for open biomass burning in Heilongjiang Province, China.

Open biomass burning (OBB) is a significant source of air pollutants, profoundly impacting regional air quality and global climate change. However, due to the lack of high-resolution burned area products, limited biomass data resolution, and inappropriate emission factors (EFs), current OBB emission inventories have significant uncertainties. In this study, we integrated the FireCCI51 burned area product (250 m), high-resolution gridded biomass data, localized EFs, and various statistical survey data to compile a finer-resolution (250 m) and long-term (2001-2020) inventory of 11 pollutants for Heilongjiang Province (an important agricultural and forestry region in China).

The investigation of the role of oral-originated induced inflammation in childhood asthma.

Background And Objectives: The oral and gut microbiota play significant roles in childhood asthma pathogenesis. However, the communication dynamics and pathogenic mechanisms by which oral microbiota influence gut microbiota and disease development remain incompletely understood. This study investigated potential mechanisms by which oral-originated gut microbiota, specifically genus, may contribute to childhood asthma etiology.

Deep-learning architecture for PM concentration prediction: A review.

Accurately predicting the concentration of fine particulate matter (PM) is crucial for evaluating air pollution levels and public exposure. Recent advancements have seen a significant rise in using deep learning (DL) models for forecasting PM concentrations. Nonetheless, there is a lack of unified and standardized frameworks for assessing the performance of DL-based PM prediction models.

Metatranscriptomic analysis revealed as a potential biomarker of oropharyngeal microbiomes in SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Background And Objectives: Disease severity and prognosis of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) disease with other viral infections can be affected by the oropharyngeal microbiome. However, limited research had been carried out to uncover how these diseases are differentially affected by the oropharyngeal microbiome of the patient. Here, we aimed to explore the characteristics of the oropharyngeal microbiota of COVID-19 patients and compare them with those of patients with similar symptoms.

Multiomics Analyses Reveal Microbiome-Gut-Brain Crosstalk Centered on Aberrant Gamma-Aminobutyric Acid and Tryptophan Metabolism in Drug-Naïve Patients with First-Episode Schizophrenia.

Background And Hypothesis: Schizophrenia (SCZ) is associated with complex crosstalk between the gut microbiota and host metabolism, but the underlying mechanism remains elusive. Investigating the aberrant neurotransmitter processes reflected by alterations identified using multiomics analysis is valuable to fully explain the pathogenesis of SCZ.

Study Design: We conducted an integrative analysis of multiomics data, including the serum metabolome, fecal metagenome, single nucleotide polymorphism data, and neuroimaging data obtained from a cohort of 127 drug-naïve, first-episode SCZ patients and 92 healthy controls to characterize the microbiome-gut-brain axis in SCZ patients.

Associations between Short-Term Air Pollution Exposure and the Peripheral Leukocyte Distribution in the Adult Male Population in Beijing, China.

The inflammatory effects of air pollution exposure may account for increased public health risk. However, evidence regarding the effects of air pollution on peripheral blood leukocytes in the population is inconsistent. We investigated the association between the short-term effects of ambient air pollution and the peripheral blood leukocyte distribution in adult men in Beijing, China.

New insight in the cross-talk between microglia and schizophrenia: From the perspective of neurodevelopment.

Characterized by psychotic symptoms, negative symptoms and cognitive deficits, schizophrenia had a catastrophic effect on patients and their families. Multifaceted reliable evidence indicated that schizophrenia is a neurodevelopmental disorder. Microglia, the immune cells in central nervous system, related to many neurodevelopmental diseases.

Insight into the key role of oxygen dopants over ball-milled boron nitride for efficient degradation of PFOS alternative 6:2 fluorotelomer sulfonic acid.

6:2 Fluorotelomer sulfonic acid (6:2 FTS) has been identified as an alternative to perfluorooctane sulfonic acid but has been proven to cause potential threats to humans and the environment. In this study, boron nitride (BN) photocatalysis was explored for 6:2 FTS degradation with 100% removal (k=1.8 h) and desulfurization rate of 100% as well as the defluorination rate of 57.

Gut mycobiota dysbiosis in drug-naïve, first-episode schizophrenia.

Bacterial dysbiosis has been demonstrated in patients with schizophrenia (SCH). The aim of the present study was to investigate alterations in mycobiota composition and fungi-bacteria correlation network in drug-naïve, first episode SCH. We recruited 205 SCH patients and 125 healthy controls (HCs), whose gut bacterial and fungal compositions were characterized by 16S and 18S ribosomal RNA gene amplicon sequencing, respectively.

Indirect herbivore biomanipulation may halt regime shift from clear to turbid after macrophyte restoration.

Eutrophication transforms clear water into turbid water in shallow lakes. Current restoration techniques focus on re-establishing the clear-water state rather than on its maintenance. We investigated the response of submerged macrophytes to temporary grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella) and scraping snail (Bellamya aeruginosa) introductions.

FBXO39 predicts poor prognosis and correlates with tumor progression in cervical squamous cell carcinoma.

Background: Cancer/testis antigen (CTA) is a class of antigen molecules mainly expressed in the germinal epithelium of testis and some tumor tissues. FBXO39, also known as F-box protein 39, is a crucial CTA molecule. F-box protein 39 (FBXO39) is overexpressed in cervical squamous cell carcinomas (CESCs), however its function in cancer development and clinical significance are still unknown.

Urban greenspace helps ameliorate people's negative sentiments during the COVID-19 pandemic: The case of Beijing.

The COVID-19 pandemic has had negative effects on people's mental health worldwide, especially for those who live in large cities. Studies have reported that urban greenspace may help lessen these adverse effects, but more research that explicitly considers urban landscape pattern is needed to understand the underlying processes. Thus, this study was designed to examine whether the resident sentiments in Beijing, China changed before and during the pandemic, and to investigate what urban landscape attributes - particularly greenspace - might contribute to the sentiment changes.

A Hybrid Imaging Platform(CT/PET/FMI) for Evaluating Tumor Necrosis and Apoptosis in Real-Time.

Multimodality imaging is an advanced imaging tool for monitoring tumor behavior and therapy . In this study, we have developed a novel hybrid tri-modality system that includes two molecular imaging methods: positron emission computed tomography (PET) and fluorescence molecular imaging (FMI) and the anatomic imaging modality X-ray computed tomography (CT). The following paper describes the system development.

Evaluation of polluted urban river water quality: a case study of the Xunsi River watershed, China.

Urbanization has caused severe negative impacts on intra-urban river water bodies. In this paper, 22 physicochemical parameters were measured at 20 locations in the level period and 29 locations in the wet and dry period using nearby urban area surface water samples from a medium-sized polluted river (a lake-river continuum, i.e.

Association between ambient air pollution and blood sex hormones levels in men.

Concerns are growing over time on the adverse health effects of air pollution. However, the association between ambient air pollution and blood sex hormones in men is poorly understood. We included 72,917 men aged 20-55 years from February 2014 to December 2019 in Beijing, China in this study.

Overexpression of OTX1 promotes tumorigenesis in patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.

Background: Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) is a multifactorial disease and the sixth leading cause of death from cancer worldwide. Patients with ESCC usually have a short survival period due to the late stage at diagnosis. Incidence rates of ESCC remain high among the elderly.

A Scoping Review of Drug Epidemic Models.

The phenomenon of drug epidemics has been a global issue in the past decades, causing enormous damages to the physical and mental health of drug users and social well-being. Despite great efforts to curb drug epidemics at the governmental or social level, the total number of drug users has still been on the rise in recent years, along with illicit production and trafficking around the world. Inspired by dynamical epidemic models of infectious disease, a flourishment of promising results has been observed in the exploration of drug epidemic models.

Monitoring air quality can help for lakes excessive proliferation of phytoplankton control.

Previous studies assessing excessive proliferation of phytoplankton (EPP) in lakes are generally based on single investigation and focused on limited environmental factors; meanwhile, less attention has been paid to lakes susceptibility to EPP. Here, we identify the priority of lakes for EPP control in a basin by assessing EPP in multiple lakes and identify the key factors related to lakes' vulnerability to EPP. Field measurements, as well as multi-source survey data acquisition were conducted for 63 shallow lakes in the middle-lower Yangtze River basin.

Gut microbial biomarkers for the treatment response in first-episode, drug-naïve schizophrenia: a 24-week follow-up study.

Preclinical studies have shown that the gut microbiota can play a role in schizophrenia (SCH) pathogenesis via the gut-brain axis. However, its role in the antipsychotic treatment response is unclear. Here, we present a 24-week follow-up study to identify gut microbial biomarkers for SCH diagnosis and treatment response, using a sample of 107 first-episode, drug-naïve SCH patients, and 107 healthy controls (HCs).

miR-19a-3p downregulates tissue factor and functions as a potential therapeutic target for sepsis-induced disseminated intravascular coagulation.

Sepsis-induced disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC) is a common life-threatening terminal-stage disease with high mortality. This study aimed to identify effective miRNAs as therapeutic targets for DIC. Bioinformatics and luciferase reporter gene analyses were performed to predict miR-19a-3p and validate that it targets tissue factor (TF).

A Novel Transcriptome Integrated Network Approach Identifies the Key Driver lncRNA Involved in Cell Cycle With Chromium (VI)-Treated BEAS-2B Cells.

Hexavalent chromium [Cr(VI)] is a well-known occupational carcinogen, but the mechanisms contributing to DNA damage and cell cycle alternation have not been fully characterized. To study the dose-response effects of Cr(VI) on transcription, we exposed BEAS-2B cells to Cr(VI) at concentrations of 0.2, 0.

Evaluation of the Vegetation Coverage Resilience in Areas Damaged by the Wenchuan Earthquake Based on MODIS-EVI Data.

The concept of resilience was integrated into post-earthquake ecological restoration assessments in 10 counties heavily impacted by the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake. Ecological resilience was defined as the time interval required for the vegetation coverage to recover to pre-earthquake levels in damaged areas. MODIS-EVI data from May to August in 2000 to 2016 were used to calculate the ecological resilience by fitting the curve of recovery rate (RR) versus time.

[Study on spectrum of oil film in ice-infested waters].

Oil spills in ice-infested waters are a subject of great concern to corporations, local residents, and government agencies, which participate in oil exploration, production, and transportation in ice-infested regions recently. For developing a credible and effective response to oil spill in ice-infested waters, a field experiment was performed on the spectrum of oil film in ice-infested waters. In this experiment, four groups of spectrum samples were collected, including clean sea water, brash ice and even ice and sea water/brash ice/even ice contaminated by diesel and crude oil.