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Objective: This study investigated relationships between Neuropeptide Y levels and severity of psychiatric symptoms in first-episode schizophrenia patients, and explore the sexual heterogeneity in them. Methods: We recruited 115 first-episode schizophrenia patients and 58 matched healthy controls, and measured serum Neuropeptide Y levels of them at baseline and again after 10 weeks of risperidone treatment in patient group. Patients were also evaluated with the Positive and Negative Symptoms Scale (PANSS) to reveal the severity of symptoms. Results: 95 patients completed the whole experiment. We find that mean Neuropeptide Y levels at baseline were significantly higher in patients than in controls (p<0.001), no matter in males or females. In males, there are positive correlations between Neuropeptide Y levels and PANSS scores at baseline (p<0.01), and between the change of them (p<0.05). However, we do not find these correlations in female patients. Furthermore, the interaction terms of NPY × sex were highly significant taking PANSS as dependent variable(p<0.001). Conclusion: Neuropeptide Y plays a significant role in the pathogenesis of schizophrenia. In male patients, Neuropeptide Y is positively correlated with the severity of symptoms, while this correlation is not found in females. Continued efforts are needed to determine the sexual dimorphism in pathogeneses of schizophrenia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigate two topics of the constrained discrete KP hierarchy: the constraint on the tau functions and gauge transformations. For the constrained dKP hierarchy, the constraint on the Lax operator is shown to be equivalent to a constraint on the tau function, which provides another description of the constrained dKP hierarchy. We also find that there are two different choices of the generating functions in gauge transformation operators of the constrained discrete KP hierarchy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Photocatalytic CO2 reduction to syngas (a mixture of CO and H2) with adjustable composition is a prospective way to mitigate the energy shortage and the greenhouse effect. Herein, we synthesize a thermally stable two-dimensional cobalt-based metal–organic framework (denoted as "Co-TBAPy") consisting of cobalt metal centers and H4TBAPy (1,3,6,8-tetrakis(p-benzoic acid) pyrene) as an organic linker, which exhibits superior CO2 adsorption capability and a considerable specific surface area. In accordance with the energy levels of [Ru(bpy)3]Cl2·6H2O as a sensitizer, Co-TBAPy is active for photocatalytic reduction of CO2 to syngas with a wide controllable ratio range between 0.14 and 1.65 under visible-light irradiation. Moreover, the proportion of CO : H2 = 1 : 2 and 1 : 3 favorable for the synthesis of methanol and methane, respectively, can be precisely regulated, which few MOF-based photocatalysts have achieved so far. Furthermore, combined with DFT calculation, we reveal the influence of the water content of the reaction system in the process of photocatalytic CO2 reduction to produce a controllable proportion of syngas, which is often a profound while elusive factor in photoreduction reactions. This work provides a feasible concept for the design and application of Co-MOF materials for the photoreduction of CO2 to syngas in practical industrial fields. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Cognitive impairment is prevalent in schizophrenia. Macrophage migration inhibitory factor which is released into the circulation under stress or inflammation, is associated with cognition and also plays an important role in immunity. However, no study has investigated the relationship between macrophage migration inhibitory factor and cognitive function in first-episode schizophrenia patients at baseline or after treatment. This study investigated the pre- and post-risperidone treatment correlations between serum macrophage migration inhibitory factor levels and cognitive function in first-episode schizophrenia patients. Methods: A total of 83 first-episode schizophrenia patients who received risperidone monotherapy and 57 healthy controls – matched for sex, age, smoking status, education (years), marital status and waist-to-hip ratio – were included. Macrophage migration inhibitory factor levels were measured before and 10 weeks after treatment in the patient group and at baseline in the controls. Pre- and post-treatment cognitive functions in patients were assessed using the MATRICS Consensus Cognitive Battery. Results: At baseline, macrophage migration inhibitory factor levels were significantly higher in first-episode schizophrenia patients than those in healthy controls (p < 0.01) and decreased in patients after 10 weeks of risperidone treatment compared with baseline (p < 0.05). The MATRICS Consensus Cognitive Battery total score and the sub-scores for the Trail Making Test, Symbol Coding, Letter Number Sequence, Maze and Brief Visuospatial Memory Test–Revised improved significantly after risperidone treatment. After controlling for age, sex, education, waist-to-hip ratio and smoking status, partial correlation analysis showed a positive correlation between baseline macrophage migration inhibitory factor levels and patients' baseline MATRICS Consensus Cognitive Battery verbal memory scores (r = 0.29, p = 0.01). Macrophage migration inhibitory factor changes correlated negatively with verbal memory changes (r = −0.26, p = 0.04). Multiple linear regression analysis identified a definite correlation between the changes in word memory test score and macrophage migration inhibitory factor level (β = −0.09, p = 0.04). Conclusion: Macrophage migration inhibitory factor may be involved in the process of cognitive impairment in first-episode schizophrenia and repair mechanisms following risperidone treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An amorphous indium-gallium-zinc-oxide ( a-IGZO) thin-film transistor (TFT) with a planar split dual gate (PSDG) structure has been proposed, fabricated and characterized. Experimental results indicate that the two independent gates can provide dynamical control of device characteristics such as threshold voltage, sub-threshold swing, off-state current and saturation current. The transconductance extracted from the output characteristics of the device increases from to for a change of control gate voltage from −2 V to 2 V, and thus the device could be used in a variable-gain amplifier. A significant advantage of the PSDG structure is its flexibility in controlling the device performance according to the need of practical applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since initial identification in China, the widespread geographical occurrence of plasmid-mediated colistin resistance gene mcr-1 in Enterobacteriaceae has been of great concern. In this study, a total of 22 Salmonella enterica were resistant to colistin, while only five isolates which belonged to ST34 Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium (S. Typhimurium) were mcr-1 positive. Four of them shared nearly identical PFGE type, although they were from different host species and diverse geographical locations. All the mcr-1-positive S. Typhimurium exhibited multi-resistant phenotypes including ampicillin, streptomycin, gentamicin, florfenicol, nalidixic acid, tetracycline, trimethoprim-sulfamethox, in addition to colistin. The oqxAB and aac(6′)-Ib-cr genes were present alone or in combination in four (80.0%) and five (100%) isolates, respectively. The mcr-1 gene was located on a transferable IncI2 plasmid in the four genetically related strains. In the other one strain, mcr-1 was located on an approximately 190 kb IncHI2 plasmid. In conclusion, we report five mcr-1-positive S. Typhimurium/ST34 isolates. Both clonal expansion and horizontal transmission of IncI2-type plasmids were involved in the spread of the mcr-1 gene in Salmonella enterica from food-producing animals in China. There is a great need to monitor the potential dissemination of the mcr-1 gene. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]