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Abstract Neuroimaging studies have revealed that the mechanisms of auditory hallucinations are related to morphological changes in multiple cortical regions, but studies on brain network properties are lacking. This study aims to construct intra-individual structural covariance networks and reveal network changes related to auditory hallucinations. T1-weighted MRI images were acquired from 90 schizophrenia patients with persistent auditory hallucinations (pAH group), 55 schizophrenia patients without auditory hallucinations (non-pAH group), and 83 healthy controls (HC group). Networks were constructed using the voxel-based gray matter volume and the intra-individual structural covariance was based on the similarity between the morphological variations of any two regions. One-way ANCOVA was employed to compare global and local network metrics among the three groups, and edge analysis was conducted via network-based statistics. In the pAH group, Pearson correlation analysis between network metrics and clinical symptoms was conducted. Compared with the HC group, both the pAH group (p = 0.01) and the non-pAH group (p = 3.56 × 10−4) had lower nodal efficiency of the left medial superior frontal gyrus. Compared to the non-pAH group and HC group, the pAH group presented lower nodal efficiency of the temporal pole of the left superior temporal gyrus (p = 1.09 × 10−3; p = 7.67 × 10−4) and right insula (p = 0.02; p = 8.99 × 10−6), and lower degree centrality of the right insula (p = 0.04; p = 1.65 × 10−5). The pAH group had a subnetwork with reduced structural covariance centered by the left temporal pole of the superior temporal gyrus. In the pAH group, the normalized clustering coefficient (r = −0.36, p = 8.45 × 10−3) and small-worldness (r = −0.35, p = 9.89 × 10−3) were negatively correlated with the PANSS positive scale score. This study revealed network changes in schizophrenia patients with persistent auditory hallucinations, and provided new insights into the structural architecture related to auditory hallucinations at the network level.

Abstract Background Glutamatergic function abnormalities have been implicated in the etiology of treatment-resistant schizophrenia (TRS), and the efficacy of clozapine may be attributed to its impact on the glutamate system. Recently, evidence has emerged suggesting the involvement of immune processes and increased prevalence of antineuronal antibodies in TRS. This current study aimed to investigate the levels of multiple anti-glutamate receptor antibodies in TRS and explore the effects of clozapine on these antibody levels. Methods Enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used to measure and compare the levels of anti-glutamate receptor antibodies (NMDAR, AMPAR, mGlur3, mGluR5) in clozapine-treated TRS patients (TRS-C, n = 37), clozapine-naïve TRS patients (TRS-NC, n = 39), and non-TRS patients (nTRS, n = 35). Clinical symptom severity was assessed using the Positive and Negative Symptom Scale (PANSS), while cognitive function was evaluated using the MATRICS Consensus Cognitive Battery (MCCB). Result The levels of all four glutamate receptor antibodies in TRS-NC were significantly higher than those in nTRS (p

Abstract Background School attendance problems (SAPs), whether absenteeism or dropout, are strongly associated with poor outcomes for adolescents. We examined multiple variables that influence SAPs to identify potential leverage points for improving school attendance. Methods Self-reported SAPs and demographic information was collected from 392 adolescents in adolescents presenting to the general hospital for psychological services. PHQ-9 and GAD-7 were applied to assess the severity of depressive and anxious symptoms. We constructed logistic regression analysis and the Chi-Square Automatic Interaction Detection (CHAID) segmentation analysis via SPSS Decision Tree to identifying risk factors for the development of SAPs in adolescents. Results SAPs were self-reported by 252 (64.3%) adolescents. The SAPs group and non-SAPs group showed a significant difference in age, PHQ9 total scores, GAD7 total scores, schools, siblings, residence, parental marital quality, general health, regular exercise, and regular diet. A post hoc comparison between the two groups showed that the frequency of SAPs was significantly higher in the moderately-severe and severe depressive groups compared with other three groups (none, mild, moderate). The frequency of SAPs in severe anxious groups was significantly different from the none-anxious group. According to the binary logistic regression analysis, the depressive severity, siblings, residence, marital quality of parents, general health, and regular diet were correlated with the SAPs among adolescents. The adjusted OR of SAPs according to moderately-severe depressive symptoms was 10.84 (95%CI: 1.967–59.742) and severe depressive symptoms was 6.659 (95%CI: 1.147–38.666). In the decision tree model, PHQ-9 severity was extracted as the first splitting variable, with regular exercise and residence as the second, and siblings as the third. The ROC curves for predicting SAPs showed a fair diagnostic accuracy of the model with AUCs of CHAID model (0.705,95%CI:0.652–0.759, P = 0.000) and logistic regression model (0.777,95%CI:0.729–0.824, P = 0.000). Conclusion Our study provides insights into the associations between depressive symptoms and poor school attendance and identifies a number of risk factors associated with SAPs. Effective intervention by mental health practitioners, more attention by policy makers, and further research in this area are urgently needed for adolescents.

Abstract Background Low-grade inflammation and altered inflammatory markers have been observed in treatment-resistant schizophrenia (TRS). Interleukin-6 (IL-6) is one of the pro-inflammatory cytokines linked with TRS and receives increasing attention. Previous studies showed that patients with TRS might have higher IL-6 levels compared with healthy individuals and treatment-responsive patients. Besides, emerging evidence has suggested that there are sex differences in the associations between IL-6 levels and various illnesses, including chronic hepatitis C, metabolic syndrome, etc.; however, there is limited study on TRS. In this present study, we aimed to compare the serum IL-6 levels of TRS and partially responsive schizophrenia (PRS) and explore potential sex differences in the association of TRS and IL-6 levels. Methods The study population consisted of a total of 90 patients with schizophrenia: 64 TRS patients (45.3% males and 54.7% females) and 26 PRS patients (46.2% males and 53.8% females). We measured serum IL-6 levels using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and analyzed them separately by gender, controlling for confounders (age, education, medication, body mass index, and PANSS scores) rigorously. Result The results showed that patients with TRS had higher serum IL-6 levels than patients with PRS (p = 0.002). In females, IL-6 levels increased significantly in the TRS group compared with the PRS group (p = 0.005). And a positive correlation tendency was observed between IL-6 levels and PANSS general sub-scores (r = 0.31, p = 0.039), although this correlation was not significant after correcting for multiple comparisons. Whereas, there were no differences in IL-6 levels between the TRS and PRS (p = 0.124) in males. Conclusion Our findings provided evidence supporting the hypothesis that the inflammatory response system (IRS) may play a role in the pathogenesis of TRS in a sex-dependent manner. In addition, sex differences in the immune dysfunction of individuals with schizophrenia cannot be neglected, and inflammation in male and female TRS should be discussed separately.

As the basis for constructing ecological security network, the ecological source has been broadly understood as larger patches that provide important ecosystem services and high comprehensive habitat quality. But the traditional methods for identifying ecological source (e.g. selecting natural vegetation patches and connectivity analysis) are not suitable for the Yanhe River Basin due to its fragmented patches and high vegetation cover. With the progress of research, the multidimensional evaluation framework is used to extract ecological source to mine more function and characteristic of ecosystem. Considering the fragmented nature of patches and the rapid recovery characteristics of vegetation in the Yanhe River Basin, a comprehensive evaluation model was developed based on the three-dimensional framework of ecological adaptability cycle (potential-resilience-connectivity) to extract ecological source. Additionally, due to the insufficient size of the extracted ecological source area to meet the increasing demand for ecosystem services in the future, the potential patches with high ecosystem services and large distribution were considered as secondary ecological source, and the patches with weak connectivity but high potential resilience were as considered tertiary ecological source. Finally, the ecological corridors were delineated based on the three ecological sources and the selected ecological resistance surface. The primary ecological sources were predominantly located in the central region, where grassland was the dominant land use type. The secondary ecological sources were mainly distributed in the southern woodland belt with the highest ecological services, but further enhancements to these services were unattainable. The tertiary ecological sources were mainly distributed in the western region and represented high-quality potential targets for future ecological source expansion. Therefore, it is recommended to give priority to the construction of a primary ecological corridors. The secondary ecological corridors exhibit the lowest comprehensive resistance, and can be constructed concurrently with the primary ecological corridors. Given its highest total comprehensive resistance, construction of tertiary ecological corridors should be contingent upon economic feasibility.

AbstractAims Diabetic kidney disease (DKD) is the most common cause of end-stage kidney disease (ESKD). The identification of risk factors involved in the progression of DKD to ESKD is expected to result in early detection and appropriate intervention and improve prognosis. This study aimed to explore whether plasma N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) was associated with kidney outcomes in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and biopsy-proven DKD.Methods Patients with biopsy-proven DKD who were followed up at West China Hospital over 12 months were enrolled. The kidney outcome was defined as progression to ESKD. The cutoff value of plasma NT-proBNP concentration was calculated by using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis. The influence of NT-proBNP levels on kidney outcome in patients with DKD was assessed using Cox regression analysis.Results A total of 30 (24.5%) patients reached ESKD during a median follow-up of 24.1 months. The baseline serum NT-proBNP level had a significant correlation with baseline proteinuria, kidney function, glomerular lesions, interstitial fibrosis tubular atrophy (IFTA), and arteriolar hyalinosis. Multivariate Cox regression analysis indicated that increased NT-proBNP level was significantly associated with a higher risk of progression to ESKD (HR 6.43; 95% CI (1.65–25.10, p = 0.007), and each 1 SD increase in LG (NT-proBNP) was also associated with a higher risk (HR 2.43; 95% CI 1.94–5.29, p = 0.047) of an adverse kidney outcome after adjusting for confounding factors.Conclusions A higher level of plasma NT-proBNP predicts kidney prognosis in patients with biopsy-proven DKD. This warrants further investigation into the potential mechanisms.

Efficient task execution and optimized combat effectiveness can be achieved when a cluster of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) work collaboratively by assigning various tasks to each UAV reasonably. This paper suggests an algorithm for assigning tasks to a cluster of UAVs using an improved version of the Artificial Gorilla Troops Optimizer (GTO) that incorporates multiple strategies. The proposed algorithm adopts the Halton sequence to generate the initial population to ensure diversity. It uses an information sharing search strategy to enhance communication between the silverback gorilla and the population, effectively jumping out of the local optimal solution. In addition, the problem of inadequate solution accuracy caused by rapid convergence in the middle and later stages of iteration is improved using the golden sine strategy to coordinate GTO’s global searching and local mining capabilities. Based on the experimental results, it has been determined that the proposed algorithm outperforms other swarm intelligence algorithms in terms of convergence value and rate across various test functions. Additionally, it has been found to achieve faster and more stable task assignment results.

Due to the development of its own technology, the Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) play an increasingly important role in today’s social production practice. The complex and changeable environment requires the development of innovative UAV path planning algorithms. In order to meet the requirements of the increasingly complex UAV flight environment, a new UAV flight path planning algorithm based on a version of the White Sharks Optimization (WSO) is proposed in this research. Firstly, the terrain matrix is used to establish the three-dimensional terrain environment and constraint function, and then WSO is improved for handling the path planning. In the process of path planning, multi-trajectory search, nonlinear convergence factor and the model of fish movement behavior are adopted to enrich the population diversity, excavate the search space, speed up the convergence and reduce the likelihood of falling into local optima. Based on the simulation results, it can be observed that the proposed algorithm outperforms in terms of optimization accuracy, convergence speed, and robustness, leading to improved outcomes in UAV flight path planning.

Objectives This study aimed to analyze histological and clinical characteristics of patients with antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA)-associated vasculitis (AAV) showing renal involvement to investigate the associations between immune complexes (IC) and clinicopathological indicators, and explore the renal outcomes of AAV.Methods We retrospectively evaluated the histopathological features and clinical characteristics of 80 renal biopsies of patients with AAV with renal involvement. Renal morphology was classified into two (with and without the presence of IC and complement deposition). Endpoints included end-stage kidney disease (ESKD) and death.Results Compared with patients without IC, patients with immune deposition had lower complement C3 (0.80 ± 0.27 vs. 0.93 ± 0.20, p = 0.024), more severe hematuria [133 (46–299) vs. 33 (15–115), p = 0.001] but had milder chronic pathology, including chronic tubular atrophy (p = 0.03), chronic interstitial fibrosis (p = 0.049). Patients in the immune deposition group showed a tendency to have more severe crescent formation and less glomerulosclerosis, but the difference was not statistically significant. Endpoints such as death and ESKD were not significantly different between the two groups.Conclusions Immune deposition may indicate lower complement C3, more severe hematuria and glomerular lesions, milder tubular atrophy, and interstitial fibrosis, but it cannot predict the renal outcome.

We aimed to determine the utility of biopsy data and anemia for the prediction of renal outcomes in Chinese patients with type 2 diabetes. In total, 441 Chinese patients with type 2 diabetes and biopsy-confirmed diabetic nephropathy (DN) were enrolled in a retrospective study. Their renal pathology was assessed using the Renal Pathology Society system. Cox proportional hazards models were used to estimate hazard ratios (HRs) for end-stage renal disease (ESRD), and immunofluorescence staining was used to assess the expression of hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF)-α in patients’ kidneys. We found that glomerular pathology classification was an independent pathological predictor of low hemoglobin concentration, according to linear and logistic regression analyses. Each 1 g/dL decrease in baseline hemoglobin concentration was associated with a 42% higher risk of an adverse renal outcome, after adjustment for clinical and pathologic covariates. In patients with severe glomerular lesions, the risk of progression to ESRD was significantly higher if mild or moderate/severe anemia was present, but in patients with mild glomerular lesions, the risk was only significantly higher in those with moderate or severe anemia than in the absence of anemia. Harrell’s C Concordance was improved, but the Akaike information criterion was worsened by adding the glomerular pathology classification to the use of anemia status and clinical data. Immunofluorescence staining revealed that renal HIF-1α and HIF-2α expression was significantly higher in classes II–IV than class I. Thus, the addition of glomerular pathology classification increases the value of anemia status for the prediction of the progression to ESRD.

Aims Diabetic kidney disease (DKD) is the most common cause of end-stage renal disease (ESRD) and is associated with increased morbidity and mortality in patients with diabetes. Identification of risk factors involved in the progression of DKD to ESRD is expected to result in early detection and appropriate intervention and improve prognosis. Therefore, this study aimed to establish a risk prediction model for ESRD resulting from DKD in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM).Methods Between January 2008 and July 2019, a total of 390 Chinese patients with T2DM and DKD confirmed by percutaneous renal biopsy were enrolled and followed up for at least 1 year. Four machine learning algorithms (gradient boosting machine, support vector machine, logistic regression, and random forest (RF)) were used to identify the critical clinical and pathological features and to build a risk prediction model for ESRD.Results There were 158 renal outcome events (ESRD) (40.51%) during the 3-year median follow up. The RF algorithm showed the best performance at predicting progression to ESRD, showing the highest AUC (0.90) and ACC (82.65%). The RF algorithm identified five major factors: Cystatin-C, serum albumin (sAlb), hemoglobin (Hb), 24-hour urine urinary total protein, and estimated glomerular filtration rate. A nomogram according to the aforementioned five predictive factors was constructed to predict the incidence of ESRD.Conclusion Machine learning algorithms can efficiently predict the incident ESRD in DKD participants. Compared with the previous models, the importance of sAlb and Hb were highlighted in the current model.HighlightsWhat is already known? Identification of risk factors for the progression of DKD to ESRD is expected to improve the prognosis by early detection and appropriate intervention.What this study has found? Machine learning algorithms were used to construct a risk prediction model of ESRD in patients with T2DM and DKD. The major predictive factors were found to be CysC, sAlb, Hb, eGFR, and UTP.What are the implications of the study? In contrast with the treatment of participants with early-phase T2DM with or without mild kidney damage, major emphasis should be placed on indicators of kidney function, nutrition, anemia, and proteinuria for participants with T2DM and advanced DKD to delay ESRD, rather than age, sex, and control of hypertension and glycemia.

BackgroundAn association exists between major depression disorder (MDD), suicide attempts, and glucose metabolism, but suicide attempts in young MDD patients with comorbid impaired fasting glucose (IFG) have been less well studied. The purpose of this study was to examine the prevalence and risk factors for suicide attempts in young, first-episode, drug-naive (FEDN) MDD patients with comorbid IFG.MethodsWe recruited 917 young patients with FEDN MDD, 116 of whom were judged to have combined IFG because their blood glucose was >6.0. We collected anthropological and clinical data on all of them. The Hamilton Depression Scale (HAMD) score, the Hamilton Anxiety Scale (HAMA) score and the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) positive subscale score were used to assess their clinical symptoms. Blood glucose, plasma thyroid function and lipid indicators were measured.ResultsThe prevalence of suicide attempts in young MDD patients with IFG was 32.8% (38/116). Furthermore, among young MDD patients with comorbid IFG, suicide attempters had more severe depression and anxiety symptoms, more comorbid psychotic symptom, higher levels of antibody of thyroid stimulating hormone and thyroid peroxidases (TPOAb), and more severe lipid metabolism disorders than those without suicide attempts. In addition, HAMA scores and TPOAb were independently associated with suicide attempts in young patients with FEDN MDD.ConclusionOur study suggests that young MDD patients with IFG have a high rate of suicide attempts. Some clinical symptoms and thyroid function parameters may be the risk factor for suicide attempts in young MDD patients with impaired glucose metabolism.

BackgroundObesity often initiates or coexists with metabolic abnormalities. This study aimed to investigate the pathological characteristics and the independent or mutual relations of obesity and metabolic abnormalities with end-stage kidney disease (ESKD) in patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D) and associated diabetic kidney disease (DKD).MethodsA total of 495 Chinese patients with T2D and biopsy-confirmed DKD between 2003 and 2020 were enrolled in this retrospective study. The metabolic phenotypes were based on the body weight index (BMI)-based categories (obesity, BMI ≥ 25.0 kg/m2) and metabolic status (metabolically unhealthy status, ≥ 1 criterion National Cholesterol Education Program Adult Treatment Panel III (NCEP/ATP III) excluding waist circumference and hyperglycemia) and were categorized into four types: metabolically healthy non-obesity (MHNO), metabolically healthy obesity (MHO), metabolically unhealthy non-obesity (MUNO), and metabolically unhealthy obesity (MUO). The pathological findings were defined by the Renal Pathology Society classification. Cox proportional hazards models were used to estimate hazard ratios (HRs) for ESKD.ResultsThere are 56 (11.3%) MHNO patients, 28 (5.7%) MHO patients, 176 (35.6%) MUNO patients, and 235 (47.5%) MUO patients. The high prevalence of the Kimmelstiel–Wilson nodule and severe mesangial expansion were associated with obesity, whereas severe IFTA was related to metabolically unhealthy status. In the multivariate analysis, the adjusted HR (aHR) was 2.09 [95% confidence interval (CI) 0.99–4.88] in the MHO group, 2.16 (95% CI 1.20–3.88) in the MUNO group, and 2.31 (95% CI 1.27–4.20) in the MUO group compared with the MHNO group. Furthermore, the presence of obesity was insignificantly associated with ESKD compared with non-obese patients (aHR 1.22, 95% CI 0.88–1.68), while the metabolically unhealthy status was significantly associated with ESKD compared to the metabolically healthy status in the multivariate analysis (aHR 1.69, 95% CI 1.10–2.60).ConclusionObesity itself was insignificantly associated with ESKD; however, adding a metabolically unhealthy status to obesity increased the risk for progression to ESKD in T2D and biopsy-proven DKD.

Abstract Studies of schizophrenia (SCZ) have associated auditory verbal hallucinations (AVH) with structural and functional abnormalities in frontal cortex, especially medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC). Although abnormal prefrontal network connectivity associated with language production has been studied extensively, the relationship between mPFC dysfunction (highly relevant to the pathophysiology of SCZ) and AVH has been rarely investigated. In this study, proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy was used to measure metabolite levels in the mPFC in 61 SCZ patients with persistent AVH (pAVH), 53 SCZ patients without AVH (non-AVH), and 59 healthy controls (HC). The pAVH group showed significantly lower levels of N-acetyl-aspartate + N-acetyl-aspartyl-glutamate (tNAA) and glutamate + glutamine (Glx), compared with the non-AVH (tNAA: p = 0.022, Glx: p = 0.012) and HC (tNAA: p = 0.001, Glx: p = 0.001) groups. No difference was found in the levels of tNAA and Glx between non-AVH and HC. The levels of tNAA and Glx in the mPFC was negatively correlated with the severity of pAVH (tNAA: r = −0.24, p = 0.014; Glx: r = −0.30, p = 0.002). In conclusion, pAVH in SCZ patients might be related to decreased levels of tNAA and Glx in the mPFC, indicating that tNAA or Glx might play a key role in the pathogenesis of pAVH.

Abstract Objective To assess the quality of the doctor-patient relationship (DPR) in China and possible influencing factors during the COVID-19 period from the patient’s perspective. Methods An online survey was carried out nationwide from March 12, 2020 to March 30, 2020 in China via a convenience sampling strategy. Patients who met the inclusion criteria were invited to complete a questionnaire regarding the quality of DPR, including sociodemographic information, the Patient-Doctor Relationship Questionnaire (PDRQ-9), and influencing factors for DPR during the pandemic. Results A total of 1903 patients were included. Our result showed that participants had a higher PDRQ-9 score during the COVID-19 pandemic (4.18 ± 0.51) than that before the COVID-19 pandemic (3.86 ± 0.67). Importance-performance analysis (IPA) revealed that doctor-patient communication, patient satisfaction, consultation time, doctor’s attitude, and medical knowledge were specific aspects that needed to be prioritized to improve the DPR. Multiple linear regression analysis suggested that positive media reports, telemedicine, and national policies had a significantly positive effect on the DPR during the pandemic (P

Objective: To investigate the relationship between serum uric acid (SUA) level and renal outcome in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and diabetic nephropathy (DN). Methods: A total of 393 Chinese patients with T2DM and biopsy-proven DN and followed at least 1 year were enrolled in this study. Patients were stra tified by the quartiles of baseline level of SUA: Q1 group: 286.02 ± 46.66 μmol/L (n = 98); Q2 group: 358.23 ± 14.03 μmol/L (n = 99); Q3 group: 405.50 ± 14.59 μmol/L (n = 98) and Q4 group: 499.14 ± 56.97μmol/L (n = 98). Renal outcome was defined by progression to end-stage renal disease (ESRD). Kaplan–Meier survival analysis and Cox proportional hazards model were used to analyze the association between SUA quartiles and the renal outcomes. Results: During the median 3-year follow-up period, there were 173 ESRD outcome events (44.02%). No significant difference between SUA level and the risk of progression of DN (P = 0.747) was shown in the Kaplan–Meier survival analysis. In mul tivariable-adjusted model, hazard ratios for developing ESRD were 1.364 (0 .621–2.992; P = 0.439), 1.518 (0.768–3.002; P = 0.230) and 1.411 (0.706–2.821; P = 0.330) for the Q2, Q3 and Q4, respectively, in comparison with the Q1 (P = 0.652). Conclusions: No significant association between SUA level and renal outcome o f ESRD in Chinese patients with T2DM and DN was found in our study. Besides, the role of uric acid-lowering therapy in delaying DN progression and improving ESRD outcome had not yet been proven. Further study was needed to clarify the renal bene fit of the uric acid-lowering therapy in the treatment of DN.

As critical prerequisite for sustainable development research of social ecosystem (SDSE), the relationship between landscape security pattern and ecosystem services should be explicitly evaluated to support SDSE research. However, the existing evaluation system lacking of integrating analysts of the factors led to vague knowledge of the SDSE mechanism. To tackle this issue, this study, therefore, explored the relationship between landscape ecological risk and ecosystem services (e.g. carbon sequestration, soil conservation, water yield, crop production and residential support) at Xi’an Metropolitan Area using remote sensing data in 2010 and 2020. The results show that the overall landscape ecological risk decreased from 0.2618 to 0.2479. Although the rapid development of urban leading improvement for landscape ecological security and residential support, the total ecosystem services has declined due to the decline in water yield and crop production. Preventing the landscape ecological risk on landscape fragmentation cannot improve the level of ecosystem services. Notably, the stronger interference of human activities overwhelmingly caused a single advantageous ecosystem services with extreme risk, while the less caused multiple advantageous ecosystem services of ecological regulation with medium–low level ecological risk. Additionally, the competitive relationship between the crop production and residential support would not produce higher risk led by the intervention of human activity. The integrating of crop production and carbon sequestration (or soil conservation) resulted in high risk. Using these results, a potential spatial plan of Xi'an Metropolitan Area is then made based on multiple advantageous areas of ecosystem services. This study benefits decision-making for regional comprehensive risk prevention, future spatial pattern planning and development orientation, and sustainable development research of social ecosystem.

Auditory verbal hallucinations (AVHs) are one of the most common and severe symptoms of schizophrenia (SCZ), but the neuroanatomical mechanisms underlying AVHs remain unclear. This study aimed to investigate whether persistent AVHs (pAVH) are associated with cortical thinning of certain brain regions in patients with SCZ. With the use of the 3T magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technology, we acquired and analyzed data from 79 SCZ patients with pAVH (pAVH group), 60 SCZ patients without AVHs (non-AVH group), and 83 healthy controls (HC group). The severity of pAVH was assessed by the P3 hallucination items in the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) and the Auditory Hallucinations Rating Scale (AHRS). Cortical thickness analysis was used to compare the region of interest (ROI) cortical thickness between the groups. The relationship between the severity of pAVH and cortical thickness was also explored. Compared with the non-AVH and HC groups, the pAVH group exhibited significantly reduced cortical thickness in the bilateral lateral orbitofrontal region (p < 0.0007, after Bonferroni correction); no significant difference was found between the non-AVH group and the HC group. The cortical thickness of the left lateral orbitofrontal cortex (P3: r = −0.44, p < 0.001; AHRS: r = −0.45, p < 0.001) and the right lateral orbitofrontal cortex (P3: r = −0.36, p = 0.002; AHRS: r = −0.33, p = 0.004) were negatively correlated with the severity of pAVH (after Bonferroni correction, p < 0.0125). Therefore, abnormal thickness of the bilateral lateral orbitofrontal cortices might be associated with pAVHs in SCZ patients.

Abstract Few histological prognostic indicators for end-stage renal disease (ESRD) have been validated in diabetic patients. This biopsy-based study aimed to identify nephropathological risk factors for ESRD in Chinese patients with type 2 diabetes. Histological features of 322 Chinese type 2 diabetic patients with biopsy-confirmed diabetic nephropathy (DN) were retrospectively analysed. Cox proportional hazards analysis was used to estimate the hazard ratio (HR) for ESRD. Single glomerular proteomics and immunohistochemistry were used to identify differentially expressed proteins and enriched pathways in glomeruli. During the median follow-up period of 24 months, 144 (45%) patients progressed to ESRD. In multivariable models, the Renal Pathology Society classification failed to predict ESRD, although the solidified glomerulosclerosis (score 1: HR 1.65, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.04–2.60; score 2: HR 2.48, 95% CI 1.40–4.37) and extracapillary hypercellularity (HR 2.68, 95% CI 1.55–4.62) were identified as independent risk factors. Additionally, single glomerular proteomics, combined with immunohistochemistry, revealed that complement C9 and apolipoprotein E were highly expressed in solidified glomerulosclerosis. Therefore, solidified glomerulosclerosis and extracapillary hypercellularity predict diabetic ESRD in Chinese patients. Single glomerular proteomics identified solidified glomerulosclerosis as a unique pathological change that may be associated with complement overactivation and abnormal lipid metabolism.

Aims Chronic kidney disease (CKD) and diabetes mellitus increase atherosclerotic cardiovascular diseases (ASCVD) risk. However, the association between renal outcome of diabetic kidney disease (DKD) and ASCVD risk is unclear. Methods This retrospective study enrolled 218 type 2 diabetic patients with biopsy-proven DKD, and without known cardiovascular diseases. Baseline characteristics were obtained and the 10-year ASCVD risk score was calculated using the Pooled Cohort Equation (PCE). Renal outcome was defined as progression to end-stage renal disease (ESRD). The association between ASCVD risk and renal function and outcome was analyzed with logistic regression and Cox analysis. Results Among all patients, the median 10-year ASCVD risk score was 14.1%. The median of ASCVD risk score in CKD stage 1, 2, 3, and 4 was 10.9%, 12.3%, 16.5%, and 14.8%, respectively (p = 0.268). Compared with patients with lower ASCVD risk (＜14.1%), those with higher ASCVD risk had lower eGFR, higher systolic blood pressure, and more severe renal interstitial inflammation. High ASCVD risk (>14.1%) was an independent indicator of renal dysfunction in multivariable-adjusted logistic analysis (OR, 3.997; 95%CI, 1.385–11.530; p = 0.010), though failed to be an independent risk factor for ESRD in patients with DKD in univariate and multivariate Cox analysis. Conclusions DKD patients even in CKD stage 1 had comparable ASCVD risk score to patients in CKD stage 2, 3, and 4. Higher ASCVD risk indicated severe renal insufficiency, while no prognostic value of ASVCD risk for renal outcome was observed, which implied macroangiopathy and microangiopathy in patients with DKD were related, but relatively independent.

It has been claimed that individuals with schizophrenia have difficulty in self-recognition and, consequently, are unable to identify the sources of their sensory perceptions or thoughts, resulting in delusions, hallucinations, and unusual experiences of body ownership. The deficits also contribute to the enhanced rubber hand illusion (RHI; a body perception illusion, induced by synchronous visual and tactile stimulation). Evidence based on RHI paradigms is emerging that auditory information can make an impact on the sense of body ownership, which relies on the process of multisensory inputs and integration. Hence, we assumed that auditory verbal hallucinations (AVHs), as an abnormal auditory perception, could be linked with body ownership, and the RHI paradigm could be conducted in patients with AVHs to explore the underlying mechanisms. In this study, we investigated the performance of patients with/without AVHs in the RHI. We administered the RHI paradigm to 80 patients with schizophrenia (47 with AVHs and 33 without AVHs) and 36 healthy controls. We conducted the experiment under two conditions (synchronous and asynchronous) and evaluated the RHI effects by both objective and subjective measures. Both patient groups experienced the RHI more quickly and strongly than HCs. The RHI effects of patients with AVHs were significantly smaller than those of patients without AVHs. Another important finding was that patients with AVHs did not show a reduction in RHI under asynchronous conditions. These results emphasize the disturbances of the sense of body ownership in schizophrenia patients with/without AVHs and the associations with AVHs. Furthermore, it is suggested that patients with AVHs may have multisensory processing dysfunctions and internal timing deficits.

This retrospective study included 299 patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus and biopsy-confirmed diabetic nephropathy (DN) to investigate the prognostic value of alkaline phosphatase (ALP) for renal outcome. Cox proportional hazards models were used to estimate the hazard ratios (HRs) for the serum ALP level on renal outcome, which was defined as end-stage renal disease (ESRD) or a 50% decline in estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) from baseline. The median baseline ALP was 80 IU/L with an interquartile range of 64–97 IU/L. Serum ALP was negatively associated with eGFR but positively associated with proteinuria and renal interstitial fibrosis. During a median follow-up period of 23 months, ESRD or a 50% declined in the eGFR occurred in 156 (52.2%) patients. The highest quartile of ALP was significantly associated with poor renal outcome, as defined above (HR 2.38, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.09–5.17), when adjusted for sociodemographics, baseline eGFR, proteinuria, liver function parameters, parathyroid hormone levels, and renal pathological findings. Each standard deviation higher in the natural log-transformed ALP was associated with a 25% increased risk for poor renal outcome. Additionally, there was a graded increase in the risk for poor renal outcome with higher ALP in patients with nephrotic-range proteinuria. However, no significant associations were observed between serum ALP levels and renal outcome in patients with non-nephrotic-range proteinuria. In conclusion, an elevated ALP level was independently associated with poor renal outcome in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus and nephrotic-range proteinuria after multivariate adjustment.

Methamphetamine (MA) use affects the brain structure and function. However, no studies have investigated the relationship between changes in regional homogeneity (ReHo) and impulsivity in MA dependent individuals (MADs). The aim of this study was to investigate the changes of brain activity under resting state in MADs and their relationship to impulsivity using ReHo method. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was performed to collect data from 46 MADs and 44 healthy controls (HCs) under resting state. ReHo method was used to investigate the differences in average ReHo values between the two groups. The ReHo values abnormalities of the brain regions found in inter-group comparisons were extracted and correlated with impulsivity. Compared to the HCs, MADs showed significant increased ReHo values in the bilateral striatum, while the ReHo values of the bilateral precentral gyrus and the bilateral postcentral gyrus decreased significantly. The ReHo values of the left precentral gyrus were negatively correlated with the BIS-attention, BIS-motor, and BIS-nonplanning subscale scores, while the ReHo values of the postcentral gyrus were only negatively correlated with the BIS-motor subscale scores in MADs. The abnormal spontaneous brain activity in the resting state of MADs revealed in this study may further improve our understanding of the neuro-matrix of MADs impulse control dysfunction and may help us to explore the neuropathological mechanism of MADs related dysfunction and rehabilitation.

Exploring the responses of ecosystem services to climate change is an essential prerequisite for understanding the global climate change impact on terrestrial ecosystems and their modeling. This study first evaluated the ecosystem services including net primary productivity (NPP), soil conservation (SC) and water yield (WY), and climate factors including precipitation, temperature, and solar radiation from 2000 to 2020 on the Loess Plateau, and then analyzed their relationships and threshold effects. The results found that precipitation in the region had significantly increased since 2000 while solar radiation decreased; mean annual temperature however did not change significantly. NPP and SC showed an increasing trend while WY showed a decreasing trend. The most significant climate factor affecting ESs was precipitation. With the increase of precipitation, all three types of ecosystem services showed a significant increasing trend, but the facilitating effect for NPP and WY began to be weakened when precipitation reached the thresholds of 490 mm and 600 mm, respectively. This occurred because in regions with already sufficient precipitation to support NPP there is limited capacity for NPP to increase compared to areas of arid grasslands. In these regions, high vegetation cover leads to increased evapotranspiration which reduces the positive influence of increasing precipitation on WY. The results can offer a reference for the level of ecological restoration success.

BackgroundTo investigate the association between sex differences and end-stage kidney disease (ESKD) in patients with biopsy-confirmed diabetic kidney disease (DKD).MethodWe performed a retrospective cohort study. A total of 336 patients with biopsy-confirmed DKD who were followed up for at least 12 months were enrolled. Baseline clinical and pathological data at the time of biopsy were collected. ESKD was defined by an estimated glomerular filtration rate of 0.05). Univariate [male: hazard ratio (HR) [95% confidence interval (CI)], 1.005, (0.702–1.439)] and multivariable ([male: HR (95%CI), 1.164, (0.675–2.007)]. Cox regression further showed that sex difference was not significantly associated with ESKD.ConclusionFemale patients had the higher systolic blood pressure, total cholesterol, LDL-C, compared with male patients. However, there was no significant association observed between sex difference and ESKD in our study.

Introduction: Wernicke's encephalopathy (WE) is a severe neurological syndrome often associated with alcoholism. Clinicians tend to ignore WE in other non-alcoholic clinical settings related to malnutrition and thiamine deficiency, resulting in delayed diagnosis. The diagnosis becomes more difficult when WE is secondary to psychiatric illnesses as symptoms can be masked by the primary disease.Case Presentation: We present a case of a 56-year-old female patient with schizophrenia who was admitted to the hospital for mental and behavioral disorder, without history of alcohol. She presented symptoms of ophthalmoplegia and high muscular tension, and the brain MRI showed symmetric lesions in the bilateral basal ganglia and third ventricle. She responded well to thiamine and was discharged on hospital day 22.Conclusion: The psychiatrists should be on the alert for starvation-induced WE, especially for patients suffering from malnutrition. WE is a preventable and treatable disease, so once suspected of WE, patients ought to take adequate supplements of thiamine immediately.

Objective: This study aimed to examine the treatment-related changes of the fractional amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations (fALFF) in the default mode network (DMN) across different bands after the medication-free patients with bipolar II depression received a 16-week treatment of escitalopram and lithium.Methods: A total of 23 medication-free patients with bipolar II depression and 29 healthy controls (HCs) were recruited. We evaluated the fALFF values of slow 4 (0.027–0.073 Hz) band and slow 5 (0.01–0.027 Hz) band of the patients and compared the results with those of the 29 HCs at baseline. After 16-week treatment of escitalopram with lithium, the slow 4 and slow 5 fALFF values of the patients were assessed and compared with the baselines of patients and HCs. The depressive symptoms of bipolar II depression in patients were assessed with a 17-item Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS) before and after treatment.Results: Treatment-related effects showed increased slow 5 fALFF in cluster D (bilateral medial superior frontal gyrus, bilateral superior frontal gyrus, right middle frontal gyrus, and bilateral anterior cingulate), cluster E (bilateral precuneus/posterior cingulate, left cuneus), and cluster F (left angular, left middle temporal gyrus, left superior temporal gyrus, and left supramarginal gyrus) in comparison with the baseline of the patients. Moreover, a positive association was found between the increase in slow 5 fALFF values (follow-up value minus the baseline values) in cluster D and the decrease in HDRS scores (baseline HDRS scores minus follow-up HDRS scores) at follow-up, and the same association between the increase in slow 5 fALFF values and the decrease in HDRS scores was found in cluster E.Conclusions: The study reveals that the hypoactivity of slow 5 fALFF in the DMN is related to depression symptoms and might be corrected by the administration of escitalopram with lithium, implying that slow 5 fALFF of the DMN plays a key role in bipolar depression.

The glutamatergic system has previously been shown to be involved in the pathophysiology of schizophrenia and the mechanisms of action of antipsychotic treatment. The present study aimed to investigate the relationship between the levels of glutamate (Glu) or Glu/total creatine (Glu/Cr+PCr) in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and psychiatric symptoms as well as the response to antipsychotic treatment. We performed proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H–MRS) to measure Glu and Glu/Cr+PCr in the ACC of 35 drug-naïve first-episode schizophrenia (FES) patients and 40 well-matched healthy controls (HCs). After scanning, we treated the patients with risperidone for eight weeks. Remission status was based on the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) scores at week 8. At baseline, there were no significant differences in the levels of Glu or Glu/Cr+PCr in the ACC between drug-naïve FES patients and HCs. Lower baseline levels of Glu/Cr+PCr but not Glu in the ACC were associated with more severe negative symptoms of schizophrenia. Compared to the remission group (RM), the non-remission group (NRM) had lower baseline ACC Glu levels (P < 0.05). Our results suggest that ACC Glu levels may be related to the severity of symptoms in the early stages of schizophrenia and therefore may be a marker with which to evaluate the treatment effect of antipsychotics in schizophrenia patients.

AimAccumulated evidence indicates that neurotrophin deregulations, oxidative stress injury, and mitochondrial dysfunction have been involved in bipolar disorder (BD); however, their real roles in BD are unclear. Investing the possible interaction between three systems is worthwhile understanding this complex process.MethodsWe measured plasma brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) level, leukocytes mitochondrial DNA copy number (mtDNAcn), and activities of antioxidant enzymes in BD patients (n = 97) and healthy controls (n = 31). Analysis of variance and linear regression analyses were performed to explore the interaction between mtDNAcn, antioxidant enzymes, and BDNF.ResultsCompared with healthy controls, there were significant decreases of glutathione peroxidase activity, BDNF levels, and mtDNA content, significant increases of manganese superoxide dismutase (MnSOD) activity among BD patients (all p < 0.05). Regression analysis showed MnSOD activity had a moderate effect on BDNF (beta = 0.23, t = 8.5, p = 0.001). Copper zinc SOD and total SOD activity were significantly correlated with Hamilton Depression Scale scores in depressive patients (r = −0.38, p = 0.013; r = −0.35, p = 0.022). Unexpectedly, we observed no significant correlation between mtDNA content and BDNF in BD patients (p > 0.05).ConclusionThe findings coincide with our hypothesis that abnormal antioxidant enzymes, mtDNAcn, and peripheral BDNF may be involved in the course of BD. There were significant correlations between peripheral BDNF, antioxidant enzyme activities and mtDNAcn, suggesting that oxidative stress, mitochondrial function, and BDNF may influence each other in BD.

BACKGROUND:China has the highest global prevalence of cigarette smokers, accounting for more than 40% of the total cigarette consumption in the world. Considering the shortage of smoking cessation services in China, and the acceptability, feasibility, and efficacy of mobile-phone-based text messaging interventions for quitting smoking in other countries, we conducted a mobile-phone-based smoking cessation study in China. METHODS AND FINDINGS:We conducted a randomized controlled trial in China across 30 cities and provinces from August 17, 2016, to May 27, 2017. Adult smokers aged 18 years and older with the intention to quit smoking were recruited and randomized to a 12-week high-frequency messaging (HFM) or low-frequency messaging (LFM) intervention ("Happy Quit") or to a control group in a 5:2:3 ratio. The control group received only text messages unrelated to quitting. The primary outcome was biochemically verified continuous smoking abstinence at 24 weeks. Secondary outcomes included (1) self-reported 7-day point prevalence of abstinence (i.e., not even a puff of smoke, for the last 7 days) at 1, 4, 8, 12, 16, 20, and 24 weeks; (2) self-reported continuous abstinence at 4, 12, and 24 weeks; and (3) self-reported average number of cigarettes smoked per day. A total of 1,369 participants received 12 weeks of intervention or control text messages with continued follow-up for 12 weeks. The baseline characteristics of participants among the HFM (n = 674), LFM (n = 284), and control (n = 411) groups were similar. The study sample included 1,295 (94.6%) men; participants had a mean age of 38.1 (SD 9.79) years and smoked an average of 20.1 (SD 9.19) cigarettes per day. We included the participants in an intention-to-treat analysis. Biochemically verified continuous smoking abstinence at 24 weeks occurred in 44/674 participants in the HFM group (6.5%), 17/284 participants in the LFM group (6.0%), and 8/411 participants (1.9%) in the control group; participants in both the HFM (odds ratio [OR] = 3.51, 95% CI 1.64-7.55, p < 0.001) and the LFM (OR = 3.21, 95% CI 1.36-7.54], p = 0.002) intervention groups were more likely to quit smoking than those in the control group. However, there was no difference in quit rate between the HFM and LFM interventions. We also found that the 7-day point quit rate from week 1 to week 24 ranged from approximately 10% to more than 26% with the intervention and from less than 4% to nearly 12% without the intervention. Those who continued as smokers in the HFM group smoked 1 to 3 fewer cigarettes per day than those in the LFM group over the 24 weeks of trial. Among study limitations, the participants were able to use other smoking cessation services (although very few participants reported using them), cotinine tests can only detect smoking status for a few days, and the proportion of quitters was small. CONCLUSIONS:Our findings demonstrate that a mobile-phone-based text messaging intervention (Happy Quit), with either high- or low-frequency messaging, led to smoking cessation in the present study, albeit in a low proportion of smokers, and can therefore be considered for use in large-scale intervention efforts in China. Mobile-phone-based interventions could be paired with other smoking cessation services for treatment-seeking smokers in China. TRIAL REGISTRATION:ClinicalTrials.gov NCT02693626.

Background: Dopaminergic and serotonergic systems play crucial roles in the pathophysiology of schizophrenia and modulate response to antipsychotic treatment. However, previous studies of dopaminergic and serotonergic genes expression are sparse, and their results have been inconsistent. In this longitudinal study, we aim to investigate the expressions of Catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT), serotonin 2A receptor (5-HTR2A), and serotonin transporter gene (SLC6A4) mRNA in first-episode antipsychotic-naïve schizophrenia and to test if these mRNA expressions are associated with cognitive deficits and treatment outcomes or not.Method: We measured COMT, 5-HTR2A, and SLC6A4 mRNA expressions in 45 drug-naive first-episode schizophrenia patients and 38 health controls at baseline, and repeated mRNA measurements in all patients at the 8-week follow up. Furthermore, we also assessed antipsychotic response and cognitive improvement after 8 weeks of risperidone monotherapy.Results: Patients were divided into responders (N = 20) and non-responders groups (N = 25) according to the Remission criteria of the Schizophrenia Working Group. Both patient groups have significantly higher COMT mRNA expression and lower SLC6A4 mRNA expression when compared with healthy controls. Interestingly, responder patients have significantly higher levels of COMT and 5-HTR2A mRNA expressions than non-responder patients at baseline. However, antipsychotic treatment has no significant effect on the expressions of COMT, 5-HTR2A, and SLC6A4 mRNA over 8-week follow up.Conclusion: Our findings suggest that dysregulated COMT and SLC6A4 mRNA expressions may implicate in the pathophysiology of schizophrenia, and that COMT and 5-HTR2A mRNA may be potential biomarkers to predict antipsychotic response.

Background IgA nephropathy is a renal lesion in patients with end-stage liver disease, called hepatic IgA nephropathy. The common manifestation of hepatic IgA nephropathy is microscopic hematuria. Sirolimus, often used to prevent organ rejection, has been reported to induce proteinuria after organ transplantation. But few cases of nephrotic proteinuria and hematuria are reported. Case presentation In this case, a 45-year-old male with a long history of hepatic B virus infection and liver cirrhosis, received liver transplant and was taking sirolimus as one of his immunosuppression drugs. Overt proteinuria and hematuria occurred. With no proteinuria history before, renal biopsy was performed, which indicated IgA nephropathy. Conclusion We reported a liver recipient, who was taking sirolimus, developing nephrotic proteinuria and hematuria with IgA nephropathy. Further studies need to be carried out to disclose mechanism behind this phenomenon. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]