Search

Background: Schizophrenia is a persistent incurable mental disorder and is characterized by the manifestation of negative emotions and behaviors with anxiety and depression, fear and insecurity, self-harm and social withdrawal. The intricate molecular mechanisms underlying this phenomenon remain largely elusive. Accumulating evidence points towards the gut microbiota exerting an influence on brain function via the gut-brain axis, potentially contributing to the development of schizophrenia. Therefore, the objective of this study is to delineate the gut microbial composition and metabolic profile of fecal samples from individuals with schizophrenia. Methods: Liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) and 16S ribosomal RNA (16S rRNA) gene sequencing were employed to analyze fecal metabolites and gut microbiota profiles in a cohort of 29 patients diagnosed with schizophrenia and 30 normal controls. The microbial composition of fecal samples was determined through the 16S rRNA gene sequencing, and microbial a-diversity and b-diversity indices were calculated. Principal component analysis (PCA) and orthogonal partial least squares discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA) were performed to analyze the distribution of samples. The metabolites and gut microbiota exhibiting differential expression were identified through the application of biological variance criteria. Co-occurrence analysis of bacteria and metabolites was conducted using the spearman’s rank correlation coefficient and visualized in a circular layout with the Cytoscape software. Results: The findings of the study indicated a lack of substantial evidence supporting significant disparities in a-diversity and b-diversity between individuals with schizophrenia and normal controls. In terms of metabolomics, a discernible pattern in sample distribution between the two groups was observed. Our analysis has revealed 30 bacterial species and 45 fecal metabolites that exhibited notable differences in abundance between individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia and normal controls. These alterations in multilevel omics have led to the development of a co-expression network associated with schizophrenia. The perturbed microbial genes and fecal metabolites consistently demonstrated associations with amino acid and lipid metabolism, which play essential roles in regulating the central nervous system. Conclusion: Our results offered profound insights into the impact of imbalanced gut microbiota and metabolism on brain function in individuals with schizophrenia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article introduces an online course that helps spread German linguistics throughout China. The starting point, structure and execution of the online course are described. Based on their experience, the authors also comment on the possibilities and problems of an online course. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Density functional theory was employed to investigate a series of phthalocyanine derivatives, discovering the limitation when the expansion of the conjugated system was employed to improve the hyper-Rayleigh scattering response coe?cient. Furthermore, an unusually C∞ν-type octupolar population was found by electrostatic potential analysis. In addition, the dynamic and static hyper-Rayleigh scattering responses (βHRS) were simulated using the coupled perturbed density functional theory, showing an increasing dynamic βHRS value along with an increase in incident light energy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two new chiral sandwich-type bis(phthalocyaninato) yttrium double-decker complexes including the homoleptic species (R)- and (S)-Y[Pc(OBNP)4]2 (1) and a heteroleptic analogue (R)- and (S)-Y(Pc)[Pc- (OBNP)4] (2) {Pc = unsubstituted phthalocyaninate; [Pc(OBNP)4] = tetrakis(dinaphtho[1,2-e:1',2'-g]-1,4- (dioxocine)[2,3-b;2',3'-k;2'',3''-t;2''',3'''-c']phthalocyaninate)} have been synthesized and spectroscopically characterized. In particular, the molecular structures of (R)- and (S)-1 were determined on the basis of single crystal X-ray diffraction analysis, representing the first structurally characterized chiral bis(phthalocyaninato) rare earth double-decker complexes. Perfect mirror-image CD signals observed in the whole phthalocyanine absorption range of the CD spectra of the (R)- and (S)-enantiomers for both compounds reveal the effective chiral information transfer from the peripheral binaphthyl moieties to the phthalocyanine chromophore, while the difference observed in the CD spectrum between 1 and 2 indicates the effect of the chiral substituent number on the chiral information transfer. Nevertheless, the absolute structures unambiguously elucidated for both enantiomers of the homoleptic double-decker render it possible to clarify the chirality of optically active bis(phthalocyaninato) rare earth compounds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The synthesis of peripherally octa-substituted phthalocyanine compounds with eight strong electron-withdrawing hexylsulfonyl groups was systematically studied. Three new phthalocyanines M[Pc(SO2C6H13)8] [Pc(SO2C6H13)8= 2,3,9,10,16,17,23,24-octakis(hexylsulfonyl)phthalocyaninate; M = 2H (1), Cu (2), Zn (3)] were synthesized viadirect cyclic tetramerization of 4,5-di(hexylsulfonyl)phthalonitrile or through a diiminoisoindoline intermediate. Compounds 1–3could alternatively be prepared by oxidation of the hexylthio substituents in corresponding 2,3,9,10,16,17,23,24-octakis(hexylthio)phthalocyanine compounds M[Pc(SC6H13)8] (M = 2H, Cu, Zn) with m-chloroperbenzoic acid. They were fully characterized by elemental analysis and a series of spectroscopic methods. Their electrochemistry was studied by cyclic voltammetry (CV) and differential pulse voltammetry (DPV). Density function theory (DFT) calculations were conducted to study the effect of the strong electron-withdrawing groups on the electronic structure of the phthalocyanine molecules. Particularly, the first reduction potentials in the range −0.30∼−0.04 V vs.the saturated calomel electrode (SCE) for 1–3reveal their n-type semiconducting nature. The current–voltage characteristics of their aggregates demonstrate the good semiconducting properties especially for 1and 2with the conductivity value of 5.24 × 10−4and 2.73 × 10−4S m−1, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]