Dissecting Psychiatric Heterogeneity and Comorbidity with Core Region-Based Machine Learning / 神经科学通报·英文版

Machine learning approaches are increasingly being applied to neuroimaging data from patients with psychiatric disorders to extract brain-based features for diagnosis and prognosis. The goal of this review is to discuss recent practices for evaluating machine learning applications to obsessive-compulsive and related disorders and to advance a novel strategy of building machine learning models based on a set of core brain regions for better performance, interpretability, and generalizability. Specifically, we argue that a core set of co-altered brain regions (namely 'core regions') comprising areas central to the underlying psychopathology enables the efficient construction of a predictive model to identify distinct symptom dimensions/clusters in individual patients. Hypothesis-driven and data-driven approaches are further introduced showing how core regions are identified from the entire brain. We demonstrate a broadly applicable roadmap for leveraging this core set-based strategy to accelerate the pursuit of neuroimaging-based markers for diagnosis and prognosis in a variety of psychiatric disorders.

Distribution of Hepatitis C virus (HCV) genotypes in seropositive patients in the state of Alagoas, Brazil / Distribuição de genótipos do Vírus da hepatite C (HCV) em pacientes soropositivos no Estado de Alagoas, Brasil

We determined the frequency of hepatitis C virus (HCV) genotypes in anti-HCV seropositive patients in the state of Alagoas, Brazil, by means of nested-reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-nested-PCR) followed by restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) of amplified fragments of the 5ïNCR. The nested-PCR with genotype-specific primers from the core region was carried out when detection was not possible by the first approach. Detectable HCV-RNA was present in 115 (74.7 percent) of 154 serum samples. Genotype 1 was the most frequent (77.4 percent), against 20.9 percent of genotype 3 and 0.8 percent of genotype 2. Subtype 1b was predominant (65.2 percent), followed by subtypes 1a (8.7 percent), and 3a (6.1 percent). Coinfection (1a/3a) was detected in 0.8 percent of the samples. Indeed, there was no significant differences in the prevalence of genotype 1 compared to what has been obtained from anti-HCV seropositive patients from other locations in Brazil. Here we report for the first time the genotype 2 in the state of Alagoas.

A frequência de genótipos do vírus da hepatite C (HCV) em pacientes soropositivos anti-HCV no estado de Alagoas, Brasil, foi determinada através da RT-PCR aninhada da região 5'NCR seguida pela análise do polimorfismo de comprimento dos fragmentos de restrição (RFLP). A RT-PCR aninhada utilizando primers genótipo-específicos da região core foi efetuada quando não foi possível determinar o genótipo pelo primeiro método. Níveis detectáveis de HCV-RNA estavam presentes em 115 (74,7 por cento) das 154 amostras de soro. O genótipo 1 foi o mais freqüente (77,4 por cento), contra 20,9 por cento do genótipo 3 e 0,8 por cento do genótipo 2. O subtipo 1b foi predominante (65,2 por cento), seguido pelos subtipos 1a (8,7 por cento) e 3a (6,1 por cento). Co-infecção (1a/3a) foi detectada em 0,8 por cento das amostras. Não foram encontradas diferenças significativas quanto à prevalência do genótipo 1 em relação ao que tem sido obtido de pacientes soropositivos anti-HCV de outras localidades do Brasil. Este é o primeiro relato da presença do genótipo 2 no estado.

Effects of inhibitory and enhancing polypeptides from HCV core region on cytotoxic T cell functions / 第三军医大学学报

Objective To investigate the pathogenesis of cytotoxic T cell (CTL) dysfunction in patients with HCV infection. Methods CTL detecting system was established. Two polypeptides which could enhance CTL function and two polypeptides which could inhibit CTL function were selected and cross-combined. BALB/c mice were immunized by subcutaneous injection of the combined polypeptides, and the CTL activity in mouse spleen cells was detected by LDH release test. Results CTL activity in BLAB/c mice immunized by polypeptides in the core region of HCV could be enhanced by CPA10 (5-23 aa) and inhibited by CPA9 (39-74 aa). CTL activity in the mice could be enhanced by polypeptides from the HCV core region, CPB2+CPB8, and CPB6+CPB8, respectively. There was no obvious difference between CPB2+CPB7, CPB6+CPB7 and the negative control. Two-factor analysis of variance showed that there was reciprocal action between the inhibitory and enhancing polypeptides from the HCV core region. Conclusion CTL activity in BLAB/c mice can be detected stably by LDH. There is an interactive effect between the inhibitory and enhancing polypeptides from the HCV core region.