The relationship between self-control and learning engagement among Chinese college students: the chain mediating roles of resilience and positive emotions.

Background: As the main driver of talent cultivation in colleges and universities, the learning and development level of college students is a core indicator of the quality of talent cultivation. The current status of college students' learning has always been a heavily researched topic. However, there is a lack of academic research on the potential mechanisms of self-control about how it affects college students' learning engagement. This study explored the relationship between college students' self-control and learning engagement and the potential mechanisms underlying this relationship with reference to a large sample. Methods: A total of 765 college students from Guangxi, China, completed the self-control scale, the resilience scale, the positive emotions scale, and the learning engagement scale. SPSS 26.0 was used to conduct common method bias tests, descriptive statistics, correlation tests, and regression analyses. Structural equation modeling was constructed using AMOS 26.0, and mediation effects were tested. Results: This article mainly used questionnaires to collect data and, on this basis, examined the relationship between self-control, resilience, positive emotions, and the learning engagement of college students. The results showed that (1) self-control positively affected college students' learning engagement; (2) resilience partially mediated the relationship between self-control and college students' learning engagement; (3) positive emotions partially mediated the relationship between self-control and college students' learning engagement; and (4) resilience and positive emotions played a chain-mediating role between self-control and college students' learning engagement. Conclusion: The present study identifies the potential mechanism underlying the association between the self-control and learning engagement of college students. The results of this study have practical implications for enhancing the learning engagement of Chinese college students by increasing their psychological resources and improving the teaching of university teachers.

Association of fat distribution differences in infertile women with assisted reproductive outcomes: A prospective cohort study.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the impacts of fat distribution on assisted reproductive outcomes in infertile women. METHODS: The study randomly recruited 576 infertile women who underwent assisted reproductive technology treatment at the Reproductive Medicine Center of the First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University between July and October 2022. Questionnaires and body composition measurements were administered to assess baseline information and fat distribution. The numbers of oocytes, zygotes presenting with two pronuclei (2PN), and available embryos were tracked at the end of the cycle. Multifactorial logistic regression models and restricted cubic spline (RCS) curve models were used to explore the relationships between fat distribution and reproductive outcomes while controlling for confounding factors. RESULTS: The study found that the participants had a mean age of 30.82 years. The analysis showed that there was a significant difference between the amount of leg body fat mass (LBFM) and the distribution of reproductive outcomes. However, there was no significant correlation between the level of visceral fat and reproductive outcomes. After taking confounding factors into account, the multifactorial regression analysis showed that the total body fat mass and the number of oocytes (odds ratio (OR) 0.92, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.84-0.99), 2PN (OR 0.92, 95% CI 0.84-0.99), and embryos available for transfer (OR 0.90, 95% CI 0.82-0.99) were negatively correlated. RCS modeling revealed a linear dose-response relationship between LBFM and assisted reproductive outcomes. CONCLUSION: Fat distribution varies among infertile women, and higher amounts of fat are associated with poorer assisted reproductive outcomes.

[Correlation of traditional Chinese medicine to reduced re-admission risk in ankylosing spondylitis patients with dampness-heat syndrome: a retrospective cohort study].

This study aimed to analyze the impact of traditional Chinese medicine(TCM) on the risk of re-admission for ankylosing spondylitis(AS) patients with dampness-heat syndrome. In this study, a telephone follow-up was conducted on 1 295 AS inpatients, and after screening and exclusions, 1 044 successfully followed-up patients were included. A retrospective cohort study was conducted using propensity score matching(PSM), and a Cox proportional risk model was employed to assess the effect of various factors on the risk of re-admission for AS patients with dampness-heat syndrome. Kaplan-Meier survival curves were used to analyze the effect of TCM intervention time on re-admission. The incidence rate of dampness-heat syndrome in AS patients was found to be 51.3% in this study. After 1∶1 PSM, 385 AS patients with dampness-heat syndrome and 385 AS patients without dampness-heat syndrome were included for analysis. The results indicated that the re-admission rate was higher for patients with dampness-heat syndrome compared with those without dampness-heat syndrome(P<0.05). AS patients with dampness-heat syndrome in the TCM group had a lower admission rate than those in the non-TCM group(P=0.01). The cox proportional risk model demonstrated that TCM was an independent protective factor, as it reduced the risk of re-admission by 35%(HR=0.35, 95%CI[0.26, 0.95], P<0.05). Moreover, the subgroup with high exposure(time to use Chinese medicine >12 months) had a significantly lower risk of re-admission than that with low TCM exposure(time to use Chinese medicine ≤12 months). The re-admission rate for AS patients with dampness-heat syndrome was higher than that without dampness-heat syndrome, and TCM was identified as a protective factor in reducing the risk of re-admission. Furthermore, a longer duration of TCM intervention was associated with a lower risk of re-admission.

Digital measurement of corneal curvature and eccentricity of guinea pigs using Python / 中华实验眼科杂志

Objective:To investigate an accurate and quantitative method to measure the eyeball morphological parameters of guinea pigs through a method that combines programmed digital techniques and mathematical geometric principles.Methods:Twenty-two three-week-old clean-grade male tricolor guinea pigs were selected and sacrificed by anesthesia overdose.Eyeballs were enucleated.The horizontal and sagittal images of the eyeball were taken with the high-speed photographic model of 13 million pixels macro meter, and the pictures were imported into pycharm programming software.Using the pre-written analysis program of Python 3.9, the conversion coefficient between the photo pixel and the actual length was obtained by a scale, and then the corneal surface was fitted by arc fitting and conic curve fitting.The results of arc fitting were converted to calculate the corneal radius of curvature.The corneal eccentricity was calculated according to the general conic equation (Ax 2+ Bxy+ Cy 2+ Dx+ Ey+ F=0). The corneal asphericity was evaluated by curve fitting between the central 3-mm and the whole cornea.The use and care of the animals complied with Regulations for the Administration of Affairs Concerning Experimental Animals by State Science and Technology Commission.The study protocol was approved by the Ethics Committee of Shanghai Public Health Clinical Center (No.2022-A009-01). Results:The digital method of Python programming can show the corneal contour of guinea pigs completely and clearly.In the transverse plane, there was no significant difference in the corneal curvature measurements among the digital fitting in central 3-mm cornea, digital fitting in whole cornea and curvature meter ( F=1.693, P=0.190). In the sagittal plane, there was a significant difference in the corneal curvature measurements among the three methods ( F=3.500, P=0.030), and the corneal curvature measurements of the whole cornea measured by the curvature meter were significantly greater than those measured by the digital fitting ( P<0.05). There was no statistical significance in the measurements of corneal curvature radius among the three methods in the transverse plane and the sagittal plane ( F=1.817, P=0.170; F=2.050, P=0.133). The horizontal and sagittal corneal eccentricity measured by digital fitting in central 3-mm cornea were 0.55±0.15 and 0.53±0.17, which were lower than 0.66±0.10 and 0.64±0.14 measured by digital fitting in whole cornea, and the differences were statistically significant ( t=-4.860, -5.210; both at P<0.01). Conclusions:It is feasible to use Python programming digital method to measure the corneal curvature and eccentricity of guinea pigs.

Efficacy of modified pterygium resection combined with conjunctival autograft transplantation in the treatment of pterygium / 国际眼科杂志(Guoji Yanke Zazhi)

AIM:To analyze the efficacy of modified pterygium resection combined with conjunctival autograft transplantation(CAT)in the treatment of pterygium.METHODS: A total of 140 patients(154 eyes)with pterygium treated in the ophthalmology department of our hospital from January 2018 to January 2021 were selected and grouped according to random number table method. In the observation group, 70 cases(76 eyes)were treated with modified pterygium excision combined with CAT, and improved iris restorer was used during the operation. In the control group, 70 patients(78 eyes)were treated with conventional pterygium excision combined with CAT, during which traditional iris restorer was used. Follow up for 1a, the postoperative vision, subjective symptoms, conjunctival signs(conjunctival congestion and chemosis), corneal epithelial healing, postoperative complications and recurrence rate were compared between the two groups.RESULTS: Compared with pre-operation, vision of the two groups decreased significantly on 1, 3 and 5d after operation(P&#x0026;#x003C;0.05), while there was no statistically significant difference between the groups(P&#x0026;#x003E;0.05). Compared with 1d after operation, the scores on subjective symptoms, conjunctival hyperemia and edema in the two groups decreased significantly on 3, 5 and 14d after operation(P&#x0026;#x003C;0.05), and those scores of the observation group on 3, 5 and 14d after operation were significantly lower than those of control group(P&#x0026;#x003C;0.05).The corneal fluorescein staining(FL)scores of the observation group on 3, 5 and 14d after operation were significantly lower than those of the control group(P&#x0026;#x003C;0.05). The proportion of repair time of corneal epithelial defect ≤5d in the observation group was significantly higher than that in the control group(P&#x0026;#x003C;0.05). The incidence rates of conjunctival granuloma, symblepharon, and the recurrence rate in the observation group were significantly lower than those in the control group(P&#x0026;#x003C;0.05).CONCLUSION: Modified pterygium resection combined with CAT is effective in the treatment of pterygium, which can alleviate postoperative irritative symptoms, conjunctival congestion and edema, and it is more conducive to postoperative corneal epithelial reconstruction, reduction of postoperative complications and recurrence rate.

Correlation of traditional Chinese medicine to reduced re-admission risk in ankylosing spondylitis patients with dampness-heat syndrome: a retrospective cohort study / 中国中药杂志

This study aimed to analyze the impact of traditional Chinese medicine(TCM) on the risk of re-admission for ankylosing spondylitis(AS) patients with dampness-heat syndrome. In this study, a telephone follow-up was conducted on 1 295 AS inpatients, and after screening and exclusions, 1 044 successfully followed-up patients were included. A retrospective cohort study was conducted using propensity score matching(PSM), and a Cox proportional risk model was employed to assess the effect of various factors on the risk of re-admission for AS patients with dampness-heat syndrome. Kaplan-Meier survival curves were used to analyze the effect of TCM intervention time on re-admission. The incidence rate of dampness-heat syndrome in AS patients was found to be 51.3% in this study. After 1∶1 PSM, 385 AS patients with dampness-heat syndrome and 385 AS patients without dampness-heat syndrome were included for analysis. The results indicated that the re-admission rate was higher for patients with dampness-heat syndrome compared with those without dampness-heat syndrome(P<0.05). AS patients with dampness-heat syndrome in the TCM group had a lower admission rate than those in the non-TCM group(P=0.01). The cox proportional risk model demonstrated that TCM was an independent protective factor, as it reduced the risk of re-admission by 35%(HR=0.35, 95%CI[0.26, 0.95], P<0.05). Moreover, the subgroup with high exposure(time to use Chinese medicine >12 months) had a significantly lower risk of re-admission than that with low TCM exposure(time to use Chinese medicine ≤12 months). The re-admission rate for AS patients with dampness-heat syndrome was higher than that without dampness-heat syndrome, and TCM was identified as a protective factor in reducing the risk of re-admission. Furthermore, a longer duration of TCM intervention was associated with a lower risk of re-admission.

Can environmental regulations and R&D subsidies promote GTFP in pharmaceutical industry? Evidence from Chinese provincial panel data.

Based on the panel data of 30 provinces in China's pharmaceutical industry from 2000 to 2019, this paper proposes to combine the super efficiency SBM model and GML productivity index to calculate the static and dynamic green total factor productivity (GTFP). Then, the Tobit model is adopted for regression analysis on how environmental regulations, government R&D subsidies, and their cross-terms affect the GTFP. Findings suggest that: (1) Static analysis reveals that the GTFP in China's pharmaceutical industry is markedly different among provinces and regions, and the dynamic analysis shows an upward trend from 2000 to 2019. (2) The GTFP of the pharmaceutical industry and environmental rules are connected in a U-shape. The government R&D subsidies to GTFP are positive and significant, and with the expansion of government R&D subsidies, the promotion effect of environmental regulations on GTFP is enhanced. Therefore, it is necessary to set up differentiated environmental regulations systems in different provinces and increase R&D subsidies to promote the pharmaceutical industry's green development.

[Effect of the NF-κB/iNOS Signaling Pathway on Spiral Ganglion in Mouse Model of Sensorineural Hearing Loss].

Objective: To explore the effect of changes in the expression level of necorsis factor (NF)-κB/inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) signaling pathway on hearing loss in a mouse model of sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) induced by 3-nitropropionic acid (3-NP). Methods: The animal model was established by tympanic injection. C57BL/6 male mice were divided into three groups, 3-NP group receiving tympanic injection of 3-NP solution, 3-NP+EVP4593 group receiving tympanic injection of 3-NP solution and intraperitoneal injection of EVP4593 solution, and a control group receiving tympanic injection of phosphate buffered saline (PBS). Auditory brainstem response (ABR) was tested before and after injection. After 4 weeks, the cochlea was harvested and immunohistochemistry and qRT-PCR of NF-κB p65, RelB, iNOS, and Caspase-3 were conducted accordingly. Results: The hearing thresholds of the 3-NP group were higher than those of the control group and the 3-NP+EVP4593 group ( P<0.05), and the hearing thresholds of the 3-NP+EVP4593 group were also higher than those of the control group ( P<0.05). Immunofluorescence staining and qRT-PCR results showed that 3-NP exposure caused an increase in the expressions of NF-κB p65, RelB, and iNOS in the spiral ganglion in comparison with those of the control group ( P<0.05), and their expressions decreased with the administration of EVP4593 ( P<0.05). The expression of Caspase-3 in the spiral ganglion cells in the 3-NP group was higher than that in the control group, while in the 3-NP+EVP4593 group, it was lower than that in the 3-NP group ( P<0.05). Conclusion: This study found that, by activating the NF-κB/iNOS signaling pathway, 3-NP may cause inflammation in the spiral ganglion of the cochlear in the SNHL model mice, which may play an important role in the pathogenesis of SNHL.

Reduced nucleus accumbens functional connectivity in reward network and default mode network in patients with recurrent major depressive disorder.

The nucleus accumbens (NAc) is considered a hub of reward processing and a growing body of evidence has suggested its crucial role in the pathophysiology of major depressive disorder (MDD). However, inconsistent results have been reported by studies on reward network-focused resting-state functional MRI (rs-fMRI). In this study, we examined functional alterations of the NAc-based reward circuits in patients with MDD via meta- and mega-analysis. First, we performed a coordinated-based meta-analysis with a new SDM-PSI method for all up-to-date rs-fMRI studies that focused on the reward circuits of patients with MDD. Then, we tested the meta-analysis results in the REST-meta-MDD database which provided anonymous rs-fMRI data from 186 recurrent MDDs and 465 healthy controls. Decreased functional connectivity (FC) within the reward system in patients with recurrent MDD was the most robust finding in this study. We also found disrupted NAc FCs in the DMN in patients with recurrent MDD compared with healthy controls. Specifically, the combination of disrupted NAc FCs within the reward network could discriminate patients with recurrent MDD from healthy controls with an optimal accuracy of 74.7%. This study confirmed the critical role of decreased FC in the reward network in the neuropathology of MDD. Disrupted inter-network connectivity between the reward network and DMN may also have contributed to the neural mechanisms of MDD. These abnormalities have potential to serve as brain-based biomarkers for individual diagnosis to differentiate patients with recurrent MDD from healthy controls.

[Effect of Connexin on Cochlear Blood-Labyrinth Barrier in a Mouse Model of Endolymphatic Hydrops].

Objective: To examine the expression of tight-junction connexin ZO-1 in the stria vascularis tissue of the cochlea by using spontaneous endolymphatic hydrops animal model constructed with PHEX gene mutant mice, and to analyze the dynamic changes of the gene mutant mice in pathology, imaging, and hearing function. Methods: Male Hyp-Duk/Y mice with PHEX gene mutation were selected as the experimental group at three time points, 21 days post birth (P21), 90 days post birth (P90) and 120 days post birth (P120), and wild-type male mice of the same ages were selected as the control groups. The cochlear sections were HE-stained in order to observe whether endolymphatic hydrops was present or absent and to assess its severity. The expression of connexin ZO-1 in both groups was evaluated through immunohistochemical staining of cochlear sections. Auditory-evoked brainstem response (ABR) was induced in both groups at P90 and gadolinium-enhanced MRI was conducted in vivo to observe the middle-order endolymphatic dilatation of cochlea in experimental and control mice aged P21, P90 and P120. Results: HE staining of pathological sections of PHEX Hyp-Duk/Y mice aged P90 and P120 showed increased endolymphatic hydronephrosis. The level of striae ZO-1 in PHEX Hyp-Duk/Y mice aged P90 and P120 was significantly lower than that of the controls of the same age (P<0.05). The expression level of ZO-1 was significantly negatively correlated with the degree of endolymphatic hydronephrosis (r=-0.939, P<0.01). The bilateral ABR threshold of PHEX Hyp-Duk/Y mice aged P90 was higher than that of the wild-type mice of the same age, and the mutant mice showed asymmetric hearing loss on both sides. Severe endolymphatic hydronephrosis was observed in PHEX Hyp-Duk/Y mice aged P90 and P120 through in vivo MRI gadolinium imaging. Conclusion: PHEX Hyp-Duk/Y can be used as a sound model for basic research of Ménière's disease. Compared with wild-type mice, PHEX Hyp-Duk/Y mice showed decreased expression of connexin protein ZO-1, which damaged the function of the blood-labyrinth barrier in stria vascularis, and was involved in the formation of endolymphatic hydrops. 7.0 T MRI gadolinium imaging can be used to observe the changes of severe endolymphatic hydrops in mice in vivo, providing imaging basis for the diagnosis of Ménière's disease.

Characterization of Pantoea ananatis from rice planthoppers reveals a clade of rice-associated P. ananatis undergoing genome reduction.

Pantoea ananatis is a bacterium that is found in many agronomic crops and agricultural pests. Here, we isolated a P. ananatis strain (Lstr) from the rice planthopper Laodelphax striatellus, a notorious pest that feeds on rice plant sap and transmits rice viruses, in order to examine its genome and biology. P. ananatis Lstr is an insect symbiont that is pathogenic to the host insect and appears to mostly inhabit the gut. Its pathogenicity thus raises the possibility of using the Lstr strain as a biological agent. To this end, we analysed the genome of the Lstr strain and compared it with the genomes of other Pantoea species. Our analysis of these genomes shows that P. ananatis can be divided into two mono-phylogenetic clades (clades one and two). The Lstr strain belongs to clade two and is grouped with P. ananatis strains that were isolated from rice or rice-associated samples. A comparative genomic analysis shows that clade two differs from clade one in many genomic characteristics including genome structures, mobile elements, and categories of coding proteins. The genomes of clade two P. ananatis are significantly smaller, have much fewer coding sequences but more pseudogenes than those of clade one, suggesting that clade two species are at the early stage of genome reduction. On the other hand, P. ananatis has a type VI secretion system that is highly variable but cannot be separated by clades. These results clarify our understanding of P. ananatis' phylogenetic diversity and provide clues to the interactions between P. ananatis, host insect, and plant that may lead to advances in rice protection and pest control.

The DIRECT consortium and the REST-meta-MDD project: towards neuroimaging biomarkers of major depressive disorder.

Despite a growing neuroimaging literature on the pathophysiology of major depressive disorder (MDD), reproducible findings are lacking, probably reflecting mostly small sample sizes and heterogeneity in analytic approaches. To address these issues, the Depression Imaging REsearch ConsorTium (DIRECT) was launched. The REST-meta-MDD project, pooling 2428 functional brain images processed with a standardized pipeline across all participating sites, has been the first effort from DIRECT. In this review, we present an overview of the motivations, rationale, and principal findings of the studies so far from the REST-meta-MDD project. Findings from the first round of analyses of the pooled repository have included alterations in functional connectivity within the default mode network, in whole-brain topological properties, in dynamic features, and in functional lateralization. These well-powered exploratory observations have also provided the basis for future longitudinal hypothesis-driven research. Following these fruitful explorations, DIRECT has proceeded to its second stage of data sharing that seeks to examine ethnicity in brain alterations in MDD by extending the exclusive Chinese original sample to other ethnic groups through international collaborations. A state-of-the-art, surface-based preprocessing pipeline has also been introduced to improve sensitivity. Functional images from patients with bipolar disorder and schizophrenia will be included to identify shared and unique abnormalities across diagnosis boundaries. In addition, large-scale longitudinal studies targeting brain network alterations following antidepressant treatment, aggregation of diffusion tensor images, and the development of functional magnetic resonance imaging-guided neuromodulation approaches are underway. Through these endeavours, we hope to accelerate the translation of functional neuroimaging findings to clinical use, such as evaluating longitudinal effects of antidepressant medications and developing individualized neuromodulation targets, while building an open repository for the scientific community.

Disrupted intrinsic functional brain topology in patients with major depressive disorder.

Aberrant topological organization of whole-brain networks has been inconsistently reported in studies of patients with major depressive disorder (MDD), reflecting limited sample sizes. To address this issue, we utilized a big data sample of MDD patients from the REST-meta-MDD Project, including 821 MDD patients and 765 normal controls (NCs) from 16 sites. Using the Dosenbach 160 node atlas, we examined whole-brain functional networks and extracted topological features (e.g., global and local efficiency, nodal efficiency, and degree) using graph theory-based methods. Linear mixed-effect models were used for group comparisons to control for site variability; robustness of results was confirmed (e.g., multiple topological parameters, different node definitions, and several head motion control strategies were applied). We found decreased global and local efficiency in patients with MDD compared to NCs. At the nodal level, patients with MDD were characterized by decreased nodal degrees in the somatomotor network (SMN), dorsal attention network (DAN) and visual network (VN) and decreased nodal efficiency in the default mode network (DMN), SMN, DAN, and VN. These topological differences were mostly driven by recurrent MDD patients, rather than first-episode drug naive (FEDN) patients with MDD. In this highly powered multisite study, we observed disrupted topological architecture of functional brain networks in MDD, suggesting both locally and globally decreased efficiency in brain networks.

Brain structural alterations in MDD patients with gastrointestinal symptoms: Evidence from the REST-meta-MDD project.

OBJECTIVE: While gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms are very common in patients with major depressive disorder (MDD), few studies have investigated the neural basis behind these symptoms. In this study, we sought to elucidate the neural basis of GI symptoms in MDD patients by analyzing the changes in regional gray matter volume (GMV) and gray matter density (GMD) in brain structure. METHOD: Subjects were recruited from 13 clinical centers and categorized into three groups, each of which is based on the presence or absence of GI symptoms: the GI symptoms group (MDD patients with at least one GI symptom), the non-GI symptoms group (MDD patients without any GI symptoms), and the healthy control group (HCs). Structural magnetic resonance images (MRI) were collected of 335 patients in the GI symptoms group, 149 patients in the non-GI symptoms group, and 446 patients in the healthy control group. The 17-item Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAMD-17) was administered to all patients. Correlation analysis and logistic regression analysis were used to determine if there was a correlation between the altered brain regions and the clinical symptoms. RESULTS: There were significantly higher HAMD-17 scores in the GI symptoms group than that of the non-GI symptoms group (P < 0.001). Both GMV and GMD were significant different among the three groups for the bilateral superior temporal gyrus, bilateral middle temporal gyrus, left lingual gyrus, bilateral caudate nucleus, right Fusiform gyrus and bilateral Thalamus (GRF correction, cluster-P < 0.01, voxel-P < 0.001). Compared to the HC group, the GI symptoms group demonstrated increased GMV and GMD in the bilateral superior temporal gyrus, and the non-GI symptoms group demonstrated an increased GMV and GMD in the right superior temporal gyrus, right fusiform gyrus and decreased GMV in the right Caudate nucleus (GRF correction, cluster-P < 0.01, voxel-P < 0.001). Compared to the non-GI symptoms group, the GI symptoms group demonstrated significantly increased GMV and GMD in the bilateral thalamus, as well as decreased GMV in the bilateral superior temporal gyrus and bilateral insula lobe (GRF correction, cluster-P < 0.01, voxel-P < 0.001). While these changed brain areas had significantly association with GI symptoms (P < 0.001), they were not correlated with depressive symptoms (P > 0.05). Risk factors for gastrointestinal symptoms in MDD patients (p < 0.05) included age, increased GMD in the right thalamus, and decreased GMV in the bilateral superior temporal gyrus and left Insula lobe. CONCLUSION: MDD patients with GI symptoms have more severe depressive symptoms. MDD patients with GI symptoms exhibited larger GMV and GMD in the bilateral thalamus, and smaller GMV in the bilateral superior temporal gyrus and bilateral insula lobe that were correlated with GI symptoms, and some of them and age may contribute to the presence of GI symptoms in MDD patients.

Common and Specific Alterations of Amygdala Subregions in Major Depressive Disorder With and Without Anxiety: A Combined Structural and Resting-State Functional MRI Study.

Anxious major depressive disorder is a common subtype of major depressive disorder; however, its unique neural mechanism is not well-understood currently. Using multimodal MRI data, this study examined common and specific alterations of amygdala subregions between patients with and without anxiety. No alterations were observed in the gray matter volume or intra-region functional integration in either patient group. Compared with the controls, both patient groups showed decreased functional connectivity between the left superficial amygdala and the left putamen, and between the right superficial amygdala and the bilateral anterior cingulate cortex and medial orbitofrontal cortex, while only patients with anxiety exhibited decreased activity in the bilateral laterobasal and superficial amygdala. Moreover, the decreased activity correlated negatively with the Hamilton depression scale scores in the patients with anxiety. These findings provided insights into the pathophysiologic processes of anxious major depressive disorder and may help to develop new and effective treatment programs.

Disrupted hemispheric connectivity specialization in patients with major depressive disorder: Evidence from the REST-meta-MDD Project.

BACKGROUND: Functional specialization is a feature of human brain for understanding the pathophysiology of major depressive disorder (MDD). The degree of human specialization refers to within and cross hemispheric interactions. However, most previous studies only focused on interhemispheric connectivity in MDD, and the results varied across studies. Hence, brain functional connectivity asymmetry in MDD should be further studied. METHODS: Resting-state fMRI data of 753 patients with MDD and 451 healthy controls were provided by REST-meta-MDD Project. Twenty-five project contributors preprocessed their data locally with the Data Processing Assistant State fMRI software and shared final indices. The parameter of asymmetry (PAS), a novel voxel-based whole-brain quantitative measure that reflects inter- and intrahemispheric asymmetry, was reported. We also examined the effects of age, sex and clinical variables (including symptom severity, illness duration and three depressive phenotypes). RESULTS: Compared with healthy controls, patients with MDD showed increased PAS scores (decreased hemispheric specialization) in most of the areas of default mode network, control network, attention network and some regions in the cerebellum and visual cortex. Demographic characteristics and clinical variables have significant effects on these abnormalities. LIMITATIONS: Although a large sample size could improve statistical power, future independent efforts are needed to confirm our results. CONCLUSIONS: Our results highlight the idea that many brain networks contribute to broad clinical pathophysiology of MDD, and indicate that a lateralized, efficient and economical brain information processing system is disrupted in MDD. These findings may help comprehensively clarify the pathophysiology of MDD in a new hemispheric specialization perspective.

Biotypes of major depressive disorder: Neuroimaging evidence from resting-state default mode network patterns.

BACKGROUND: Major depressive disorder (MDD) is heterogeneous disorder associated with aberrant functional connectivity within the default mode network (DMN). This study focused on data-driven identification and validation of potential DMN-pattern-based MDD subtypes to parse heterogeneity of the disorder. METHODS: The sample comprised 1397 participants including 690 patients with MDD and 707 healthy controls (HC) registered from multiple sites based on the REST-meta-MDD Project in China. Baseline resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) data was recorded for each participant. Discriminative features were selected from DMN between patients and HC. Patient subgroups were defined by K-means and principle component analysis in the multi-site datasets and validated in an independent single-site dataset. Statistical significance of resultant clustering were confirmed. Demographic and clinical variables were compared between identified patient subgroups. RESULTS: Two MDD subgroups with differing functional connectivity profiles of DMN were identified in the multi-site datasets, and relatively stable in different validation samples. The predominant dysfunctional connectivity profiles were detected among superior frontal cortex, ventral medial prefrontal cortex, posterior cingulate cortex and precuneus, whereas one subgroup exhibited increases of connectivity (hyperDMN MDD) and another subgroup showed decreases of connectivity (hypoDMN MDD). The hyperDMN subgroup in the discovery dataset had age-related severity of depressive symptoms. Patient subgroups had comparable demographic and clinical symptom variables. CONCLUSIONS: Findings suggest the existence of two neural subtypes of MDD associated with different dysfunctional DMN connectivity patterns, which may provide useful evidence for parsing heterogeneity of depression and be valuable to inform the search for personalized treatment strategies.

PASTMUS: mapping functional elements at single amino acid resolution in human cells.

Identification of functional elements for a protein of interest is important for achieving a mechanistic understanding. However, it remains cumbersome to assess each and every amino acid of a given protein in relevance to its functional significance. Here, we report a strategy, PArsing fragmented DNA Sequences from CRISPR Tiling MUtagenesis Screening (PASTMUS), which provides a streamlined workflow and a bioinformatics pipeline to identify critical amino acids of proteins in their native biological contexts. Using this approach, we map six proteins-three bacterial toxin receptors and three cancer drug targets, and acquire their corresponding functional maps at amino acid resolution.

Reduced default mode network functional connectivity in patients with recurrent major depressive disorder.

Major depressive disorder (MDD) is common and disabling, but its neuropathophysiology remains unclear. Most studies of functional brain networks in MDD have had limited statistical power and data analysis approaches have varied widely. The REST-meta-MDD Project of resting-state fMRI (R-fMRI) addresses these issues. Twenty-five research groups in China established the REST-meta-MDD Consortium by contributing R-fMRI data from 1,300 patients with MDD and 1,128 normal controls (NCs). Data were preprocessed locally with a standardized protocol before aggregated group analyses. We focused on functional connectivity (FC) within the default mode network (DMN), frequently reported to be increased in MDD. Instead, we found decreased DMN FC when we compared 848 patients with MDD to 794 NCs from 17 sites after data exclusion. We found FC reduction only in recurrent MDD, not in first-episode drug-naïve MDD. Decreased DMN FC was associated with medication usage but not with MDD duration. DMN FC was also positively related to symptom severity but only in recurrent MDD. Exploratory analyses also revealed alterations in FC of visual, sensory-motor, and dorsal attention networks in MDD. We confirmed the key role of DMN in MDD but found reduced rather than increased FC within the DMN. Future studies should test whether decreased DMN FC mediates response to treatment. All R-fMRI indices of data contributed by the REST-meta-MDD consortium are being shared publicly via the R-fMRI Maps Project.

Nodeless Bulk Superconductivity in the Time-Reversal Symmetry Breaking Bi/Ni Bilayer System.

Epitaxial bilayer films of Bi(110) and Ni host a time-reversal symmetry breaking superconducting order with an unexpectedly high transition temperature T_{c}=4.1 K. Using time-domain THz spectroscopy, we measure the low energy electrodynamic response of a Bi/Ni bilayer thin film from 0.2 to 2 THz as a function of temperature and magnetic field. We analyze the data in the context of a Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer-like superconductor with a finite normal-state scattering rate. In a zero magnetic field, all states in the film become fully gapped, providing important constraints into possible pairing symmetries. Our data appear to rule out the odd-frequency pairing that is natural for many ferromagnetic-superconductor interfaces. By analyzing the magnetic field-dependent response in terms of a pair-breaking parameter, we determine that superconductivity develops over the entire bilayer sample which may point to the p-wave like nature of unconventional superconductivity.