Immunomodulation of Proton-activated G Protein-coupled Receptors in Inflammation.

Proton-activated G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs), initially discovered by Ludwig in 2003, are widely distributed in various tissues. These receptors have been found to modulate the immune system in several inflammatory diseases, including inflammatory bowel disease, atopic dermatitis, and asthma. Proton-activated GPCRs belong to the G protein-coupled receptor family and can detect alternations in extracellular pH. This detection triggers downstream signaling pathways within the cells, ultimately influencing the function of immune cells. In this review, we specifically focused on investigating the immune response of proton-activated GPCRs under inflammatory conditions.

Association of Comorbid Asthma and the Efficacy of Bioabsorbable Steroid-eluting Sinus Stents Implanted After Endoscopic Sinus Surgery in Patients with Chronic Rhinosinusitis with Nasal Polyps.

OBJECTIVE: To identify factors affecting the efficacy of steroid-eluting sinus stents implanted after endoscopic sinus surgery (ESS) in patients with chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps (CRSwNP). METHODS: We performed a post-hoc analysis of a randomized self-controlled clinical trial on post-operative implantation of bioabsorbable steroid-eluting stents in patients with CRSwNP. Univariate logistic regression analysis was conducted to identify which of the following factors affect the response to post-operative stent implantation: sex, serum eosinophil levels, history of prior surgery, endoscopic scores, and comorbid conditions (asthma and allergic rhinitis). The primary outcome was the rate of post-operative intervention on day 30, and the secondary outcome was the rate of polypoid tissue formation (grades 2-3) on days 14, 30, and 90. RESULTS: A total of 151 patients with CRSwNP were included in the post-hoc analysis. Asthma was identified as the only risk factor for a poor response to steroid-eluting sinus stents on post-operative day 30, with an odds ratio of 23.71 (95% CI, 2.81, 200.16; P=0.004) for the need for post-operative intervention and 19 (95% CI, 2.20, 164.16; P=0.003) for moderate-to-severe polypoid tissue formation. In addition, the asthmatic group showed higher rates of post-operative intervention and polypoid tissue formation than the non-asthmatic group on post-operative day 30. Blood eosinophil levels were not identified as a risk factor for poor outcomes after stent implantation. CONCLUSION: Comorbid asthma, but not blood eosinophil level, impairs the efficacy of steroid-eluting sinus stents in the short term after ESS in patients with CRSwNP.

Association between childhood maltreatment and the Big Five personality traits in middle school students / 中国学校卫生

Objective@#The study aimed to explore the relationship between childhood maltreatment (CM) and the Big Five personality traits of middle school students, so as to provide scientific evidence for promoting the healthy development of middle school students personality.@*Methods@#A total of 5 724 middle school students from Xuancheng, Hefei and Huaibei of Anhui Province were selected by using a multi stage stratified cluster sampling method to conduct a questionnaire survey, including demographic characteristics, CM experience and Big Five personality traits. Linear regression analysis and canonical correlation analysis were used to explore the associations between CM and the Big Five personality traits.@*Results@#Physical abuse, emotional abuse, sexual abuse, physical neglect, and emotional neglect of middle school students were significantly associated with conscientiousness ( β = -1.71 --2.55) and neuroticism ( β =1.93-3.87) personality traits( P <0.05). Except physical abuse, all other types of CM were significantly associated with extraversion ( β =-1.04--2.32) and agreeableness ( β =-1.07--1.37) personality traits( P <0.05), and only sexual abuse was associated with openness personality trait( β=-0.70, P <0.05). Except for openness personality trait, the relationship between the number of CM experience and the personality traits of middle school students was statistically significant; there was a dose response relationship between the number of CM experiences and the scores of personality traits each dimension( P < 0.05). In the canonical correlation analysis, the canonical correlation coefficient was -0.375( P <0.05). CM experiences were mainly reflected by emotional abuse, emotional neglect and physical neglect (canonical load coefficient was 0.556-0.951). The Big Five personality traits were mainly reflected by neuroticism, conscientiousness and extraversion (canonical load coefficient was -0.702 -0.639).@*Conclusion@#There is a correlation between CM and the personality traits of middle school students, and prevention of CM is of great significance for promoting the healthy development of middle school students personality.

Thermoelectric transports in pristine and functionalized boron phosphide monolayers.

Recently, a new monolayer Group III-V material, two-dimensional boron phosphide (BP), has shown great potential for energy storage and energy conversion applications. We study the thermoelectric properties of BP monolayer as well as the effect of functionalization by first-principles calculation and Boltzmann transport theory. Combined with a moderate bandgap of 0.90 eV and ultra-high carrier mobility, a large ZT value of 0.255 at 300 K is predicted for two-dimensional BP. While the drastically reduced thermal conductivity in hydrogenated and fluorinated BP is favored for thermoelectric conversion, the decreased carrier mobility has limited the improvement of thermoelectric figure of merit.

Predicted high thermoelectric performance in a two-dimensional indium telluride monolayer and its dependence on strain.

In recent years, another two-dimensional (2D) family, monolayer metal monochalcogenides (group IIIA-VIA), has attracted extensive attention. In this work, we adopt density functional theory (DFT) and the non-equilibrium Green's function (NEGF) method to systematically investigate the ballistic thermoelectric properties of the IIIA-VIA family, including GaS, GaSe, GaTe, InS, InSe, and InTe. Among others, the InTe monolayer possesses the highest figure of merit, ZT = 2.03 at 300 K, due to its ultra-low thermal conductance. Biaxial strain in the range of -10% (compressive) to 10% (tensile) is applied to the InTe monolayer and the strain-induced electronic and thermal transport properties are discussed. The maximum ZT (up to 2.7) for the InTe monolayer at 300 K is achieved under an 8% tensile strain.

Delayed effect of bifrontal transcranial direct current stimulation in patients with treatment-resistant depression: a pilot study.

BACKGROUND: Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) is a non-invasive brain stimulation technique, which has yielded promising results in treating major depressive disorder. However, its effect on treatment-resistant depression remains to be determined. Meanwhile, as an emerging treatment option, patients' acceptability of tDCS is worthy of attention. METHODS: This pilot study enrolled 18 patients (women = 13) with treatment-resistant unipolar (n = 13) or bipolar (n = 5) depression. Twelve sessions of tDCS were administered with anode over F3 and cathode over F4. Each session delivered a current of 2 mA for 30 min per ten working days, and at the 4th and 6th week. Severity of depression was determined by Montgomery-Åsberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS); cognitive performance was assessed by a computerized battery. RESULTS: Scores of MADRS at baseline (29.6, SD = 9.7) decreased significantly to 22.9 (11.7) (p = 0.03) at 6 weeks and 21.5 (10.3) (p = 0.01) at 8 weeks. Six (33.3%) participants were therapeutically responsive to tDCS. MADRS scores of responders were significantly lower than those of non-responders at the 6th and 8th week. Regarding change of cognitive performance, improved accuracy of paired association (p = 0.017) and social cognition (p = 0.047) was observed at the 8th week. Overall, tDCS was perceived as safe and tolerable. For the majority of patients, it is preferred than pharmacotherapy and psychotherapy. CONCLUSIONS: TDCS can be a desirable option for treatment-resistant depression, however, its efficacy may be delayed; identifying predictors of therapeutic response may achieve a more targeted application. Larger controlled studies with optimized montages and sufficient periods of observation are warranted. TRIAL REGISTRATION: This trial has been registered at the Chinese Clinical Trial Registry ( ChiCTR-INR-16008179 ).

Identification and medical utilization of incident cases of alcohol dependence: A population-based case-control study.

BACKGROUND: Patients with alcohol dependence (AD) often seek help from medical professionals due to alcohol-related diseases, but the overall distribution of medical specialties identifying new AD cases is unclear. We investigated how such cases were identified and how medical resources were utilized before the identification of AD in a nationwide cohort. METHODS: We enrolled a population-based cohort (N = 1,000,000) using the National Health Insurance Research Database of Taiwan; 8181 cases with incident AD were retrieved between January 1, 2000, and December 31, 2010. For this nested case-control study, four controls were matched for age and sex with each case based on risk-set sampling. We measured various dimensions of medical utilization before AD was diagnosed, including department visited, physical comorbidity, and medication used. Conditional logistic regression was used for estimating the variables associated with AD. RESULTS: Patients living in less urbanized areas who were unemployed were more likely to develop AD. The highest proportions (34.2%) of AD cases were identified in the internal medicine department, followed by the emergency (22.3%) and psychiatry (18.7%) departments. AD patients had a higher risk of comorbid chronic hepatic disease (adjusted RR = 2.72, p < 0.001) before identification of AD than controls. AD patients also had greater numbers of hospital admissions than controls, including non-psychiatric and psychiatric hospitalizations. Outpatient visit numbers were similar for AD patients and controls. CONCLUSIONS: The findings indicate that clinicians providing care in diverse medical settings should be prepared to screen for unhealthy alcohol use and to mitigate its detrimental effects.

Excess incidence and risk factors for recurrent pneumonia in bipolar disorder.

AIM: Patients with bipolar disorder (BD) tend to have poorer outcomes after pneumonia and could have a higher risk for recurrence of pneumonia. We aimed to investigate the incidence and risk factors of recurrent pneumonia in patients with BD. METHODS: In a nationwide cohort of BD patients (derived from the National Health Insurance Research Database in Taiwan) who were hospitalized for pneumonia between 1996 and 2012, we identified 188 patients who developed recurrent pneumonia after a baseline pneumonia episode. Applying risk-set sampling at a 1:2 ratio, 353 matched controls were selected from the study cohort. We used multivariate conditional logistic regression analysis to explore the association between recurrent pneumonia and physical illness, concomitant medications, and psychotropic drugs. RESULTS: The findings showed that the incidence of recurrent pneumonia in BD was 6.60 cases per 100 person-years, which was higher than that in the general population. About 10% (9.24%) of cases with recurrent pneumonia died within 30 days of hospitalization. Patients had increased risk of recurrent pneumonia if they had hypertension, diabetes mellitus, cancer, or asthma. Conversely, psychotropic drugs, both first- and second-generation antipsychotics, which are known to increase susceptibility to baseline pneumonia, were not associated with risk of pneumonia recurrence. CONCLUSION: We found an excess incidence of recurring pneumonia in patients with BD, and this risk was associated with pre-existing medical conditions but not psychotropic agents. Physicians should carefully consider the comorbid medical conditions of patients with BD that could lead to recurrent pneumonia.

Smartphone-based ecological momentary assessment for Chinese patients with depression: An exploratory study in Taiwan.

Mobile mental health has a potential to improve the recognition and management of Chinese patients with depression. Currently, evidence regarding ecological momentary assessment (EMA) for depressive disorder mostly originates from Western studies. Herein, we examined the validity of smartphone-based EMA for depression in Chinese patients and explored the determinants of use. A smartphone application, iHOPE, was used to perform daily EMA of depression, anxiety, sleep and cognitive performance. Outpatients with depressive disorder were recruited to use iHOPE for 8 weeks. Clinical characteristics and smartphone use patterns were assessed at baseline. We enrolled 59 Chinese patients with depression. In 8 weeks, participants interacted with iHOPE for an average of 10.8 (SD=12.3) days; a trend of decreased frequency of use (p=0.03) was observed. Scores of HAM-D at baseline was associated with, of the first 2 weeks, scores of PHQ-9 (p=0.005), EMA of depression (p=0.003) and anxiety (p<0.001), and poorer sleep quality (p=0.023). Among the demographic, clinical and smartphone-use variables examined, only limited internet package for smartphone (<500M per month) predicted higher use of iHOPE (p=0.04). The present study provides initial evidence for the feasibility of smartphone-based EMA in Chinese patients with depression. Level of engagement needs to be improved before determining its clinical usefulness.