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The colorimeter method is widely used to identify the color and grade of a cotton sample, but this method does not give information about the variation of color within the sample. We have conducted an investigation using an image analysis method to study the intra-sample distribution and variation in cotton color. High-resolution color images of cotton samples were obtained using a color scanner. For each image the Rd and +b values of the image and specific sub-areas within it were computed to analyze the color distribution. Intra- and inter-sample variations in Rd and +b values and color grade were compared with those obtained by the HVI system. The results show that for the same cotton substrate, although the variations among the color grades of different samples (replicates) may be very small, intra-sample color variations are evident, the colors of the sub-areas being distributed over a range of areas of the cotton color chart. In other words, cotton samples of the same overall color grade may exhibit different intra-sample color variations and distribution. A description of the intra-sample color variations and distributions obtainable using an image analysis method may allow a more comprehensive evaluation of color characteristics on cotton. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Introduction: Symptoms during the onset of major depressive disorder [MDD] and bipolar disorder type II [BD-II] are similar. The difference of hippocampus subregion could be a biological marker to distinguish MDD from BD-II., Methods: We recruited 61 drug-naïve patients with a first-episode MDD and BD-II episode and 30 healthy controls (HC) to participate in a magnetic resonance imaging [MRI] study. We built a general linear model (one-way analysis of covariance) with 22 hippocampal subfields and two total hippocampal volumes as dependent variables, and the diagnosis of MDD, BD-II, and HC as independent variables. We performed pair-wise comparisons of hippocampal subfield volumes between MDD and HC, BD-II and MDD, BD-II and HC with post hoc for primary analysis., Results: We identified three regions that differed significantly in size between patients and controls. The left hippocampal fissure, the hippocampal-amygdaloid transition area (HATA), and the right subiculum body were all significantly larger in patients with MDD compared with the HC. In the onset of first-episode of MDD, the hippocampal volume increased significantly, especially on the left side comparing to HC. However, we found differences between MDD and BD-II were not statistically significant. The volume of the left HATA and right subiculum body in BD-II was larger., Conclusions: The sample size of this study is relatively small, as it is a cross-sectional comparative study. In both MDD and BD-II groups, the volume of more left subregions appeared to increase. The left subregions were severely injured in the development of depressive disorder., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2024 Cong, Zhong, Wu, Chen, Cai, Ling, Wang, Wen, Hu, Zhang, Li, Liu, Zhong, Lai, Xu and Wu.)

Background: Cognitive theorists relate anxiety disorders to the way in which emotional information is processed. The existing research suggests that patients with anxiety disorders tend to allocate their attention toward threat-related information selectively, and this may differ among different types of anxious subjects. The aim of this study was to explore attentional bias in patients with generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) and panic disorder (PD) using the emotional Stroop task and compare the differences between them., Methods: Forty-two patients with GAD, 34 patients with PD, and 46 healthy controls performed the emotional Stroop task with four word types, ie, GAD-related words, PD-related words, neutral words, and positive words., Results: Patients with GAD and those with PD were slower than healthy controls to respond to all stimuli. Patients with GAD had longer response latencies in color-naming both PD-relevant words and GAD relevant words. Patients with PD had longer response latencies only in color-naming PD-related words, similar to healthy controls., Conclusion: Patients with GAD and those with PD had a different pattern of attentional bias, and there was insufficient evidence to support the existence of specific attentional bias in patients with PD.

Background: Studies using event-related potential (ERP) methods have reported a relationship between the cognitive dysfunction of patients with schizophrenia and P300 latency and amplitude, but it remains uncertain whether or not these indices change as cognitive functioning improves with pharmacological treatment., Aim: Pool the results from follow-up studies conducted in China to determine the relationship of treatment with antipsychotic medication to changes in P300 indices., Methods: Studies conducted in China and published in English or Chinese from January 1982 to December 2011 that reported P300 latency and amplitude in patients with schizophrenia before and after treatment with antipsychotic medications were identified by electronic and hand searches, and the 12 studies that met inclusion criteria for the meta-analysis were independently reviewed by two evaluators. The peak P300 amplitude results for the 17 samples reported in the 12 studies were homogenous so a fixed-effects model was used to assess pooled standardized effect size (PSES); but the results for P300 latency were heterogeneous so a random-effects model was used to compute PSES. Publication bias was assessed using Egger's test, Begg's test and funnel plots., Results: Of the pooled sample of 611 participants, the 502 participants (82.2%) who completed P300 latency and amplitude measures both before and after treatment were included in the meta-analysis. We found that antipsychotic treatment is associated with a small but significant increase in the amplitude of P300 (PSES=0.39, 95% CI [0.26, 0.51], z=6.14, p<0.001) and a small but significant decrease in the latency of P300 (PSES= -0.29, 95% CI [-0.51, -0.07]; z=2.58; p=0.010). There was no significant publication bias in either of the results., Conclusion: In contrast to meta-analysis from western countries - that are primarily based on cross-sectional studies - the current meta-analysis of follow-up treatment studies of schizophrenia in China found that P300 amplitude and latency both change with pharmacological treatment. These findings suggest that P300 indices, particularly P300 amplitude, could be valuable biomarkers to monitor changes in cognitive functioning during treatment of patients with schizophrenia.

Background: The aim of this study was to conduct a meta-analysis so we could evaluate the impact of antipsychotics on the P50 ratio in Chinese schizophrenia patients., Methods: Data were collected from the following databases: PubMed, China Biological Medicine Database, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Cochrane Library and Elsevier Science Direct, with the latest report up to May 2011. An effect size with a 95% confidence interval (CI) was used to assess the strength of various effects of antipsychotics on P50 ratio in the patients., Results: A total of six studies including 315 and 285 schizophrenia patients at the baseline and endpoint, respectively. Overall, no significant effect of these medicines on the P50 ratio was found (overall effect z=1.03, p=0.30; heterogeneity: Chi2=2.81, df=8, p=0.95, I2=0%). In subgroup analysis by drug, we did not find any significant effects on P50 ratio in either first-generation antipsychotics (effect z=0.92, p=0.36; heterogeneity: Chi2=0.00, df=1, p=0.98, I2=0%) or second-generation antipsychotics (effect z=0.55, p=0.58; heterogeneity: Chi2=2.38, df=5, p=0.79, I2=0%)., Conclusion: Our meta-analysis suggests that neither the first-generation nor the second-generation antipsychotics had any significant effects on P50 ratio in Chinese patients with schizophrenia.