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Li Li,1,2 Chaomeng Liu,1,2 Weigang Pan,1,2 Wen Wang,1,2 Wenqing Jin,1,2 Yanping Ren,1,2 Xin Ma1,2 1The National Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders & Beijing Key Laboratory of Mental Disorders, Beijing Anding Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, People’s Republic of China; 2Advanced Innovation Center for Human Brain Protection, Capital Medical University, Beijing, People’s Republic of ChinaCorrespondence: Yanping Ren; Xin Ma, the National Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders & Beijing Key Laboratory of Mental Disorders, Beijing Anding Hospital, Capital Medical University, NO. 5 Ankang Hutong, Xicheng District, Beijing, 100088, People’s Republic of China, Email renyanping@ccmu.edu.cn; maxinanding@ccmu.edu.cnAbstract: Working memory (WM) deficits are a significant component of neurocognitive impairment in individuals with schizophrenia (SCZ). Two previous meta-analyses, conducted on randomized controlled trials (RCTs), examined the effectiveness of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) in addressing WM deficits in individuals diagnosed with SCZ. However, the conclusions drawn from these analyses were inconsistent. Additionally, the commonly used random effects (RE) models might underestimate statistical errors, attributing a significant portion of perceived heterogeneity between studies to variations in study quality. Therefore, this review utilized both RE and quality effects (QE) models to assess relevant RCTs comparing TMS with sham intervention in terms of clinical outcomes. A comprehensive literature search was conducted using PubMed and Scopus databases, resulting in the inclusion of 13 studies for data synthesis. Overall, regardless of whether the RE or QE model was used, eligible RCTs suggested that the TMS and sham groups exhibited comparable therapeutic effects after treatment. The current state of research regarding the use of rTMS as a treatment for WM deficits in patients with SCZ remains in its pre

The objective of this research was to investigate the effects of gradually increasing or decreasing photosynthetic photon flux density (PPFD) during cultivation compared to a constant PPFD on biomass production. Lettuce plants (Lactuca sativa L. ‘Expertise’) were grown in climate rooms in which every three days the PPFD was increased by 16 µmol m−2 s−1 (from 140 to 300 µmol m−2 s−1 from day 0 to 30), decreased (from 300 to 140 µmol m−2 s−1), or kept constant (221 µmol m−2 s−1), while the total light integral at the end of the cultivation period (30 d) was the same for all three treatments. Gradually increasing PPFD resulted in a 16 or 13% increase in total plant dry weight compared to treatments with decreasing or constant PPFD, respectively. This increase was explained by a higher light interception mainly because, in this treatment, most of the light was provided at the end of the cultivation period when the leaf area index was high. Consequently, the light use efficiency based on incident PPFD was highest when PPFD gradually increased, even though the light use efficiency based on intercepted PPFD was highest when PPFD gradually decreased during cultivation. Despite the higher shoot dry weight when PPFD gradually increased, shoot fresh weight was not significantly affected by the light treatments. This difference in response between fresh and dry weight resulted from a higher shoot dry matter content when PPFD gradually increased. Our results show that gradually increasing PPFD had a positive effect on dry weight accumulation and increased dry matter content, but did not affect the shelf life. So, although vertical farms enable growers to keep all conditions constant, some dynamic variation of conditions might be needed for optimizing the light use efficiency.

The economic viability and energy use of vertical farms strongly depend on the efficiency of the use of light. Increasing far-red radiation (FR, 700–800 nm) relative to photosynthetically active radiation (PAR, 400–700 nm) may induce shade avoidance responses including stem elongation and leaf expansion, which would benefit light interception, and FR might even be photosynthetically active when used in combination with PAR. The aims of this study are to investigate the interaction between FR and planting density and to quantify the underlying components of the FR effects on growth. Lettuce (Lactuca sativa cv. Expertise RZ) was grown in a climate chamber under two FR treatments (0 or 52 μmol m–2 s–1) and three planting densities (23, 37, and 51 plants m–2). PAR of 89% red and 11% blue was kept at 218 μmol m–2 s–1. Adding FR increased plant dry weight after 4 weeks by 46–77% (largest effect at lowest planting density) and leaf area by 58–75% (largest effect at middle planting density). Radiation use efficiency (RUE: plant dry weight per unit of incident radiation, 400–800 nm) increased by 17–42% and incident light use efficiency (LUEinc: plant dry weight per unit of incident PAR, 400–700 nm) increased by 46–77% by adding FR; the largest FR effects were observed at the lowest planting density. Intercepted light use efficiency (LUEint: plant dry weight per unit of intercepted PAR) increased by adding FR (8–23%). Neither specific leaf area nor net leaf photosynthetic rate was influenced by FR. We conclude that supplemental FR increased plant biomass production mainly by faster leaf area expansion, which increased light interception. The effects of FR on plant dry weight are stronger at low than at high planting density. Additionally, an increased LUEint may contribute to the increased biomass production.