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BackgroundPrader Willi Syndrome (PWS) is a genetic disorder caused by the absence of expression of the paternal copies of maternally imprinted gene(s) located at 15q11-q13. While the physical and medical characteristics of PWS, including short stature, hyperphagia and endocrine dysfunction are well-characterized, systematic investigation of the long-recognized psychiatric manifestations has been recent.MethodsHere, we report on the first remote (web-based) assessment of neurobehavioral traits, including psychosis-risk symptoms (Prodromal Questionnaire-Brief Version; PQ-B) and sleep behaviors (Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index), in a cohort of 128 participants with PWS, of whom 48% had a paternal deletion, 36% uniparental disomy, 2.4% an imprinting mutation and 13% unknown mutation (mean age 19.3 years ± 8.4; 53.9% female). We aimed to identify the most informative variables that contribute to psychosis-risk symptoms. Multiple domains of cognition (accuracy and speed) were also assessed in a subset of PWS participants (n = 39) using the Penn Computerized Neurocognitive Battery (Penn-CNB).ResultsIndividuals with PWS reported a range of psychosis-risk symptoms, with over half reporting cognitive disorganization (63.1%) and about one third reporting unusual beliefs (38.6%) and/or suspiciousness (33.3%). Subjectively-reported sleep quality, nap frequency, sleep duration, sleep disturbance, and daytime dysfunction were significant predictors of psychosis-risk symptom frequency and severity (all p's < 0.029). Sleep disturbance ratings were the strongest predictors of psychosis-risk symptoms. Regarding cognition, individuals with PWS showed the most prominent deficits in accuracy on measures of social cognition involving faces, namely Face Memory, Age Differentiation and Emotion Recognition, and greatest slowing on measures of Attention and Emotion Recognition. However, there were no significant differences in psychosis-risk symptoms or cognitive performance as a function of PWS genetic subtype.ConclusionsPWS is associated with a high prevalence of distressing psychosis-risk symptoms, which are associated with sleep disturbance. Findings indicate that self/parent-reported neurobehavioral symptoms and cognition can be assessed remotely in individuals with PWS, which has implications for future large-scale investigations of rare neurogenetic disorders.

This study attempted to identify exosomal circular RNAs (circRNAs) as diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers for patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). The differentially expressed exosomal circRNAs (DEECs) were screened from microarray dataset (GSE160717 and GSE197137) and RNA-Seq dataset (GSE208194), and the expression levels of DEECs in patients with STEMI were validated using reverse transcription and quantitative real-time PCR. The diagnostic value of DEECs was assessed using receiver operating characteristic curves. The major adverse cardiovascular event (MACE)-free 1-year survival rate was evaluated using the Kaplan–Meier method, and the factors affecting prognosis were determined using Cox regression model analysis. Results showed that four DEECs were screened including exo-circ-0001490, exo-circ-0020887, exo-circ-0009590, and exo-circ-0055440, and only upregulated exo-circ-0020887 and exo-circ-0009590 expression was validated in patients with STEMI. The exo-circ-0020887 and exo-circ-0009590 expression was positively correlated with hs-CRP, LDL-C, cTnI, and CK-MB. The exo-circ-0020887 and exo-circ-0009590 showed good diagnostic efficacy to distinguish STEMI patients from healthy controls (area under the curves: 0.85 and 0.80). STEMI patients with high levels of exo-circ-0020887 and exo-circ-0009590 had lower MACE-free 1-year survival rate, and exo-circ-0020887 and exo-circ-0009590 expression was independent risk factors for adverse prognosis. In summary, upregulation of plasma exo-circ-0020887 and exo-circ-0009590 might act as potential biomarkers for the diagnosis and prediction of short-term adverse cardiovascular outcomes in patients with STEMI.

The work focuses on a study of the hydration characteristics and expansion behaviour of Portland cement with B-doped MgO at an early age. The B--doped MgO was prepared from the co-calcination of a magnesium hydroxide reagent and a mixture of magnesium hydroxide and boric acid at 800 °C. The hydration process, products, and the porosity of pastes were investigated. Meanwhile, the physical and mechanical properties of the mortars were also determined. The results show that the co-calcination of B and magnesium at 800 °C changes the characteristics of the MgO crystals and their activity. With an increase in the dosage of B, the dimensions of the MgO crystals become smaller, and the specific surface area increases, but the activity decreases. The mortars with B-doped MgO show a higher expansion rate. The incorporation of B-doped MgO alters the hydration process of the cement pastes; 4% B-doped MgO incorporation leads to the most increased cumulative heat at 120 h. The content of Mg(OH)₂ formed in the sample is the highest compared to that of the others. The initial setting time of cement paste is delayed by incorporating B-doped MgO. The higher the dosage of B, the later the initial setting time. The B-doped MgO incorporation increases the compressive strength of the cement pastes at 3 days, but significantly decreases at 28 days.

Li4Ti5O12 (LTO) is a very prospective anode material for lithium–sulfur batteries (LSBs) due to its ability to effectively suppress the “shuttle effect” of polysulfides in the sulfur cathode and inhibits the growth of lithium dendrites. Unfortunately, the low electronic conductivity of LTO results in low Coulombic efficiency and cycling rate. In this work, three metal Sn composite LTO and introduced doped carbon LTO/Sn/C-x (x = 20, 40, and 60) encapsulate as the anode material for LSBs were employed by high-temperature solid-phase method and the structure, morphology, and electrochemical properties of LTO/Sn/C-x have been investigated. The results demonstrate that electronic conductivity, lithium-ion diffusion rate, discharge specific capacity, discharge rate capability, and stability of LTO/Sn/C-x electrodes are significantly improved. Among them, LTO/Sn/C-20 electrode exhibits the highest initial discharge specific capacity (339.54 mAh g−1) at 0.1 C, which is 1.2-fold of LTO/C (291.56 mAh g−1), and the initial discharge capacity from 224.96 mAh g−1 to 197.39 mAh g−1 after 150 cycles, corresponds to 87.7% of the initial stable discharge capacity. The outstanding performance of LTO/Sn/C-20 can be attributed to the low interface impedance and higher electronic conductivity, and appropriate amount of metal Sn composite can improve the electrochemical activity. Moreover, the carbon layer on the material surface was proven to reduce the disadvantage of volume expansion of Sn during charge–discharge processes. This work demonstrates that composite metal Sn is an effective method to improve LTO multiplication performance, providing valuable insights into the design and optimization of anode electrode materials for Li-S batteries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]