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Previous studies have revealed associations of meteorological factors with tuberculosis (TB) cases. However, few studies have examined their lag effects on TB cases. This study was aimed to analyse nonlinear lag effects of meteorological factors on the number of TB notifications in Hong Kong. Using a 22-year consecutive surveillance data in Hong Kong, we examined the association of monthly average temperature and relative humidity with temporal dynamics of the monthly number of TB notifications using a distributed lag nonlinear models combined with a Poisson regression. The relative risks (RRs) of TB notifications were >1.15 as monthly average temperatures were between 16.3 and 17.3 °C at lagged 13–15 months, reaching the peak risk of 1.18 (95% confidence interval (CI) 1.02–1.35) when it was 16.8 °C at lagged 14 months. The RRs of TB notifications were >1.05 as relative humidities of 60.0–63.6% at lagged 9–11 months expanded to 68.0–71.0% at lagged 12–17 months, reaching the highest risk of 1.06 (95% CI 1.01–1.11) when it was 69.0% at lagged 13 months. The nonlinear and delayed effects of average temperature and relative humidity on TB epidemic were identified, which may provide a practical reference for improving the TB warning system.
Adipocytokines, which are secreted during fetal development by both mothers and fetuses, may influence fetal lung development, but little human data are available. We used data from the HOME Study to investigate the associations of cord blood adipocytokine concentrations with children’s lung forced expiratory volume (FEV1; N = 160) and their risk of wheeze (N = 281). We measured umbilical cord serum adipocytokine concentrations using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays and FEV1 using a portable spirometer at ages 4 and 5 to calculate the percent predicted FEV1 (%FEV1). Parents completed standardized questionnaires of their child’s wheeze symptoms every 6 months from birth to age 5, then again at ages 6 and 8. We used multivariable linear mixed models and modified Poisson regression with generalized estimating equations to estimate associations of adipocytokine concentrations (log2-transformed) with children’s %FEV1 and the risk of wheeze, respectively, adjusting for sociodemographic, perinatal, and child factors. Cord serum leptin was not associated with children’s %FEV1. Higher cord serum adiponectin concentrations were associated with higher %FEV1 in girls (β = 3.1, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.6, 5.6), but not in boys (β = −1.3, 95% CI: −5.9, 3.3) (sex × adiponectin p-value = 0.05). Higher leptin was associated with lower risk of wheeze in girls (RR = 0.74, 95% CI: 0.66, 0.84), but not boys (RR = 0.87, 95% CI: 0.69, 1.11) (sex × leptin p-value = 0.01). In contrast, higher adiponectin concentrations were associated with lower risk of wheeze (RR = 0.84, 95% CI: 0.73, 0.96) in both boys and girls. These data suggest that fetal adipocytokines may impact lung development and function in early childhood. Future studies are needed to confirm these findings and explore the mechanisms underlying these associations.
Vanadium dioxide (VO2) has been widely studied due to its metal-insulator phase transition at 68 °C, below which it is a semiconducting monoclinic phase, P21/c, and above it is a metallic tetragonal phase, P42/mnm. Substituting vanadium with transition metals allows transition temperature tunability. An accelerated microwave-assisted synthesis for VO2 and 5d tungsten-substituted VO2 presented herein decreased synthesis time by three orders of magnitude while maintaining phase purity, particle size, and transition character. Tungsten substitution amount was determined using inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectroscopy. Differential scanning calorimetry, superconducting quantum interference device measurements, and in situ heating and cooling experiments monitored through synchrotron X-ray diffraction (XRD) confirmed the transition temperature decreased with increased tungsten substitution. Scanning electron microscopy analyzed through the line-intercept method produced an average particle size of 3–5 μm. Average structure and local structure phase purity was determined through the Rietveld analysis of synchrotron XRD and the least-squares refinement of pair distribution function data.
Radiofrequency ablation (RFA) is a non-invasive image-guided procedure where tumors are heated in the body with electrical current. RFA procedures are commonly indicated for patients with limited local disease or who are not surgical candidates. Current methods of RFA use multiple cords and wires that ergonomically complicate the procedure and present the risk of cutting or shorting the circuit if they are damaged. A wireless RFA technique based on electromagnetic induction is presented in this paper. The transmitting and receiving coils were coupled to resonate at the same frequency to ensure the highest power output. The receiving coil was connected to two insulated electrodes on a catheter, which allowed the current to flow to the targeted tissue. The prototype system was tested with ex-vivo bovine tissue, which has similar thermal and electrical properties to human tissue. The setup can monitor the received power, efficiency, temperature, and ablation zone during ablation procedures. The maximum received power was 15 W, and the average maximum efficiency was 63.27%. The novel system was also able to ablate up to a 2 cm ablation zone in non-perfused tissue. This proof of concept for performing RFA wirelessly with electromagnetic induction may merit further optimization.
Developing alternatives to antibiotics is an urgent need in livestock production. Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are regarded as powerful antibiotic substitutes (ASs) because AMPs have broad-spectrum antimicrobial activities and growth-promoting ability. Here, we aimed to comprehensively assess the effects of AMPs on the growth performance, diarrhea rate, intestinal morphology and immunity of healthy or challenged piglets, compared with an antibiotics group or negative control group. We performed a set of meta-analyses of feeding trials from database inception to 27 May 2019. Among the 1379 identified studies, 20 were included in our meta-analyses (56 arms and 4067 piglets). The meta-analyses revealed that (1) compared with the negative control group, AMPs significantly improved the healthy piglets’ average daily gain (ADG), average daily feed intake (ADFI), gain : feed ratio (G/F), levels of immune globulin (Ig) IgM and IgG, and intestinal villus height : crypt depth ratio (V/C) (P < 0.05). Meanwhile, AMPs significantly increased the challenged piglets’ ADG, ADFI, G/F and V/C of the jejunum and ileum, and notably deceased the diarrhea rate (P < 0.05); (2) compared with antibiotics group, the effects of AMPs were slightly weaker than those of antibiotics in the healthy piglets, but AMPs have similar effects to those of antibiotics in challenged piglets. In a higher purity, the optimal dose of AMPs may be approximately 0.01%. Our findings indicate that AMPs can improve piglet growth performance, enhance immunity, benefit intestinal morphology and decrease the diarrheal rate. AMPs could be great ASs especially under infection conditions.
This paper provides a solution to the active vibration control of a microsatellite with two solar panels. At first, the microsatellite is processed as a finite element model containing a rigid body and two flexible bodies, according to the principles of mechanics, and that the dynamic characteristics are solved by modal analysis. Secondly, the equation involving vibration control is established according to the finite element calculation results. There are several actuators composed of macro fibre composite on the two solar panels for outputting control force. Furthermore, the control voltage for driving actuator is calculated by using fuzzy algorithm. It is clear that the smart structure consists of the flexible bodies and actuators. Finally, the closed-loop control simulation for suppressing harmful vibration is established. The simulation results illustrate that the responses to the external excitation are decreased significantly after adopting fuzzy control.
This paper presents a novel dual-band (DB) dual-polarized (DP) shared aperture antenna with high isolation by using a combination of microstrip dipoles and dielectric resonator antennas (DRAs) for S and C bands, respectively. In the S band, two sets of proximity coupled stacked microstrip dipoles which crossed at the center are employed to achieve dual-linear polarization (DLP) and obtain desired bandwidth (BW), isolation, and pure polarization. The rectangle DRA with hybrid feed is selected as the C band element for its advantages of small base area and high isolation, and a 2 × 2 array is presented with the “pair-wise” anti-phase feed technique to achieve a low cross-polarized level. Moreover, benefited from the back feed scheme, the proposed antenna has a symmetrical structure and has the potential of expanding into a larger aperture. The proposed antenna has been manufactured and measured, and the results agree well with simulations, which prove the validity of the proposed design.
In recent years, men who have sex with men (MSM) constitute a major group of HIV transmission in China. High primary drug-resistance (PDR) rate in MSM also represents a serious challenge for the Chinese antiretroviral therapy (ART) program. To assess the efficiency of ART in controlling HIV/AIDS infection among MSM, we developed a compartmental model for the annually reported HIV/AIDS MSM from 2007 to 2019 in the Zhejiang Province of China. R0 was 2.3946 (95% CI (2.2961–2.4881)). We predict that 90% of diagnosed HIV/AIDS individuals will have received treatment till 2020, while the proportion of the diagnosed remains as low as 40%. Even when the proportion of the diagnosed reaches 90%, R0 is still larger than the level of AIDS epidemic elimination. ART can effectively control the spread of HIV, even in the presence of drug resistance. The 90-90-90 strategy alone may not eliminate the HIV epidemic in Chinese MSM. Behavioural and biologic interventions are the most effective interventions to control the HIV/AIDS epidemic among MSM.
It is to estimate the trend of suicide rate changes during the past three decades in China and try to identify its social and economic correlates.
Methods
Official data of suicide rates and economic indexes during 1982–2005 from Shandong Province of China were analyzed. The suicide data were categorized for the rural / urban location and gender, and the economic indexes include GDP, GDP per capita, rural income, and urban income, all adjusted for inflation.
Results
We found a significant increase of economic development and decrease of suicide rates over the past decades under study. The suicide rate decrease is correlated with the tremendous growth of economy.
Conclusion
The unusual decrease of Chinese suicide rates in the past decades is accounted for within the Chinese cultural contexts and maybe by the Strain Theory of Suicide.
Prolactin (PRL) data from adolescents treated with olanzapine are presented.
Methods:
Data from 454 adolescents (13-18, mean=15.9 yrs) with schizophrenia or bipolar mania were pooled from 4 olanzapine (2.5-20.0mg/day) studies (4-32 weeks; 2 double-blind, placebo-controlled studies [combined for acute phase endpoint PRL levels] with open-label extensions; 2 open-label studies). Age- and sex-specific Covance reference ranges defined normal PRL; categorical increases were based on multiples of the upper limit of normal (ULN). Baseline-to-endpoint PRL changes in adolescents were compared with data pooled from 84 olanzapine clinical trials in adults with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder.
Results:
Olanzapine-treated adolescents had mean PRL increases at both the acute (11.4μg/L) and open-label endpoints (4.7μg/L). Of those patients with normal PRL levels at baseline (N=311), high PRL occurred in 54.7% at anytime; 32.2% at endpoint. The percentage of patients in which PRL levels shifted from normal-to-abnormal was smaller at endpoint than at anytime during treatment; 26.7% shifted to a higher category. Among patients with normal baseline PRL, 32.7% remained <=1X ULN; 32.3% increased to 1¬<=2X; 6.0%, >2-<=3X; and 1.2%, >3X at anytime; 4.6% had at >=1 potentially PRL-related adverse event. Adolescents had significantly higher mean changes at endpoint (p=.004), and a greater incidence of high PRL levels at anytime during olanzapine treatment (p<.001) versus adults.
Conclusion:
Incidence of high PRL was significantly higher, and mean increases in PRL were significantly greater in adolescents versus adults. Mean increases and high PRL incidence were lower at the open-label compared with the acute phase endpoint.
The present study was designed to detect three single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) located on 22q11 that was thought as being of particularly importance for genetic research into schizophrenia. We recruited a total of 176 Chinese family trios of Han descent, consisting of mothers, fathers and affected offspring with schizophrenia for the genetic analysis. The transmission disequilibrium test (TDT) showed that of three SNPs, rs10314 in the 3′-untranslated region of the CLDN5 locus was associated with schizophrenia (χ2 = 4.75, P = 0.029). The other two SNPs, rs1548359 present in the CDC45L locus centromeric of rs10314 and rs739371 in the 5′-flanking region of the CLDN5 locus, did not show such an association. The global chi-square (χ2) test showed that the 3-SNP haplotype system was not associated with schizophrenia although the 1-df test for individual haplotypes showed that the rs1548359(C)-rs10314(G)-rs739371(C) haplotype was excessively non-transmitted (χ2 = 5.32, P = 0.02). Because the claudin proteins are a major component for barrier-forming tight junctions that could play a crucial role in response to changing natural, physiological and pathological conditions, the CLDN5 association with schizophrenia may be an important clue leading to look into a meeting point of genetic and environmental factors.
The changes in metabolic parameters in olanzapine-treated adolescents were examined.
Methods:
Data from 454 adolescents (13–18, mean=15.9 years) with schizophrenia or bipolar I disorder were pooled from 4 olanzapine (2.5–20.0mg/day) studies (4–32 weeks). Changes in metabolic parameters in adolescents were compared with those of olanzapine-treated adults (pooled from 84 clinical trials); changes in weight and BMI were compared with US age- and sex-adjusted standardized growth curves.
Results:
Olanzapine-treated adolescents had significant increases from baseline-to-endpoint in fasting glucose (p=.021); total cholesterol, LDL, and triglycerides (p<.001); and significant decreases in HDL (p<.001). Significantly more adolescents gained >=7% of their baseline weight versus adults (65.1% vs. 35.6%, p<.001); mean change from baseline-to-endpoint in weight was significantly greater in adolescents (7.0 vs. 3.3kg, p<.001). Adolescents had significantly lower mean changes from baseline-to-endpoint in fasting glucose (0.3 vs. 0.1mmol/L, p=.002) and triglycerides (0.3 vs. 0.2mmol/L, p=.007) versus adults. Significantly more adults experienced treatment-emergent normal-to-high changes at anytime in fasting glucose (4.8% vs. 1.2%, p=.033), total cholesterol (6.9% vs. 1.1%, p=.001), LDL (5.8% vs. 1.5%, p=.014), and triglycerides (25.7% vs. 17.4%, p=.030). Compared with standardized growth curves, olanzapine-treated adolescents had greater increases from baseline-to-endpoint in weight (1.0 vs. 7.1kg, p<.001), height (0.5 vs. 0.7cm, p<.001), and BMI (0.2 vs. 2.2kg/m2, p<.001).
Conclusion:
Olanzapine-treated adolescents may gain significantly more weight compared with adults, but may have smaller changes in other metabolic parameters. Clinicians may want to consider both efficacy and changes in metabolic parameters when selecting treatment options for individual adolescent patients.
GABRB2, the gene for β2 subunit of the gamma-aminobutyric acid type A (GABAA) receptor, is known to display two splicing isoforms in the brain, namely β2L containing Exon 10 and β2S devoid of Exon 10. Previously, the expressions of these isoforms were correlated with both schizophrenia and various sequence polymorphisms of the gene. in the present study, a series of deletions made on Intron 9 of a minigene construct affected the expression of Exon 10, and generated additional splicing variations suggesting the existence of additional splicing variants of β2subunit. A search among brain cDNAs uncovered the two novel short forms: β2S1which is devoid of Exons 10 and 11 and bears an extended Exon 9, and β2S2 which is devoid of Exon 10 and bears a shortened Exon 11.Real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction, performed with a cohort of 31 schizophrenics, 30 bipolar disorder and 31 controls of US population, showed that the level of β2S2 was significantly decreased in bipolar disorder, and marginally decreased in schizophrenia, while β2S1 was marginally increased in both of these psychotic disorders. Significant genotypic effects of rs1816071, rs1816072 and rs187269 on β2S2 level were observed in male schizophrenic and bipolar patients. These findings pointed to the neighborhood of Exon 10 as an alternate-splicing hot-spot, and underlined the relevance of β2 subunit isoforms to the etiology of psychotic disorders.
An increasing number of studies have described the relationship between velo-cardio-facial syndrome (VCFS) and schizophrenia. in a family-based study, we found that rs10314, a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) present in the 3’-flanking region of the CLDN5 gene, was associated with schizophrenia among a Chinese population. High false positive rate is a common problem with the association study of human diseases. It is very important to replicate an initial finding with different samples and experimental designs.
Methods:
A total of 749 patients with schizophrenia and 383 age and sex matched healthy control subjects in Chinese population were recruited. PCR-based RFLP protocol was applied to genotype rs10314 to see its disease association.
Results:
The χ2 goodness-of-fit test showed that the genotypic distributions of rs10314 were in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium in both the patient group (χ2=1.12, P=0.289) and the control group (χ2=0.22, P=0.639). rs10314 was associated with schizophrenia with an odds ratio (OR) of 1.32 in the male subjects (χ2=5.45, P=0.02, 95% CI 1.05-1.67) but not in the female subjects (χ2=0.64, P=0.425, OR=1.14, 95% CI 0.83-1.57). the χ2 test showed a genotypic association only for combined samples (χ2=7.80, df=2, P=0.02). SNP rs10314 is a G to C base change. Frequency of the genotypes containing the C allele was significantly higher in the patient group than in the control group.
Conclusions:
The present work shows that the CLDN5 gene polymorphism is more likely to be involved in schizophrenic men than women, suggesting that this gene may contribute to the gender differences in schizophrenia.
To evaluate the efficacy of lurasidone for schizophrenia using an established five-factor model of the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS).
Methods:
Patient-level data were pooled from five randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, 6-week studies of lurasidone (fixed doses, 40–160 mg/d) for patients with an acute exacerbation of schizophrenia. Changes in five established PANSS factors were assessed using mixed-model repeated measures analysis.
Results:
Compared with placebo (n = 496), lurasidone (n = 1029, dose groups pooled) significantly improved the PANSS total score at Week 6 (−22.6 vs. −12.8; P < 0.001; effect size, 0.45), as well as all factor scores (P < 0.001 for each): positive symptoms (−8.4 vs. −6.0; effect size, 0.43), negative symptoms (−5.2 vs. −3.3; effect size, 0.33), disorganized thought (−4.9 vs. −2.8; effect size, 0.42), hostility/excitement (−2.7 vs. −1.6; effect size, 0.31), and depression/anxiety (−3.2 vs. −2.3; effect size, 0.31). Separation from placebo occurred at Week 1 for the positive symptoms, disorganized thought, and hostility/excitement factors and at Week 2 for the other factors.
Conclusions:
In this pooled analysis of short-term studies in patients with acute schizophrenia, lurasidone demonstrated significant improvement for each of the five PANSS factor scores, indicating effectiveness across the spectrum of schizophrenia symptoms.
Opiate drug psychological dependence is acknowledged as a difficult problem in the world. Several studies have shown the short-term efficacy of deep brain stimulation (DBS) in reducing opiate addiction. In this case report, we report on long-term results up to five years in an opiate addiction patient.
Clinical presentation
A 24-year-old man with three-year history of opiate addiction presented with several withdraw syndromes and more than three-time failures in detoxification.
Methods
The patient was treated with bilateral DBS of the nucleus accumbens (NAc) for opiate psychological dependence. No relapse was found during the follow-up periods.
Conclusion
This study suggests that DBS of the NAC could be an effective treatment of patients in reducing psychological dependence with a good recovery in psychological dysfunction.
This double-blind (DB), relapse prevention, phase-3 study was designed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of paliperidone palmitate long-acting 3-monthly formulation (PP3M) versus placebo in delaying time-to-relapse of schizophrenia symptoms.
Methods
Adults (18-70 years old) with schizophrenia (DSM-IV-TR) were treated with PP (17-week, open-label [OL] transition phase: 50, 75, 100, or 150 mg eq, once-monthly, [PP1M]; 12-week OL maintenance phase: 3.5-fold PP1M stabilized dose, single injection), and then randomized (1:1) to PP3M fixed doses (175, 263, 350 or 525 mg eq.) or placebo.
Results
305/506 patients enrolled were randomized (PP3M: n=160; placebo: n=145); majority were men (75%), white (59%), mean age 38.4 years. Interim analysis results favored PP3M vs. placebo (p = 0.0002, two-sided log-rank test; HR: 3.45, 95% CI: 1.73; 6.88); median time-to-relapse was 274 days in placebo and not estimable in PP3M group. Final results were consistent with interim analysis. Both PANSS total score and CGI-S score showed a significant effect over time in PP3M- vs. placebo-treated patients (p>0.001). 330/506 (65.2%) patients in OL phase and 183/305 (60.0%) in DB phase (PP3M: 61.9% vs. placebo: 57.9%) had ≥1 treatment-emergent adverse event (TEAE). The TEAEs noted more frequently in PP3M-vs. placebo (DB phase) were nasopharyngitis (5.6% vs. 1.4%), weight gain (8.8% vs. 3.4%), headache (8.8% vs.4.1%) and akathisia (4.4% vs. 0.7%).
Conclusion
Compared with placebo, PP3M significantly delayed time to first relapse in patients with schizophrenia, previously treated for 4 months with PP1M. PP3M was tolerable with a safety profile generally consistent with other marketed formulations of paliperidone.
The majority of neuroimaging studies reported smaller hippocampal volumes in patients with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Our previous study found that PTSD is associated with selective volume loss of the CA3/dentate gyrus subfields However, the causality of smaller hippocampal volumes and PTSD cannot be determined in these studies because of the cross-sectional nature of them. The purpose of this longitudinal study was to determine if PTSD caused hippocampal subfields volume loss following traffic accidents. Volumes of hippocampal subfields in thirty seven traffic accident survivors were measured using 3T MRI in one week after accident, and twenty five of them completed one year follow-up MRI scan. Fourteen participants met the PTSD diagnosis in one year follow-up while other eleven did not met PTSD diagnosis criteria. PTSD was significantly associated with volumes reduction of CA3/dentate gyrus subfield (β=0.244 p=0.017) while other subfields were spared. It also shown volume loses of Entorhinal Cortex (ERC) of both side in one year follow-up for the whole sample (mean volume reduction: right 19.25mm3, left 22.04 mm3). But no association has been found between PTSD and ERC volume alteration. The findings indicate for the first time in humans that selective volume loss of the CA3/dentate gyrus subfields is the results but not the risk factor of PTSD. It also suggested that ERC may also be a stress sensitive region.
There is growing international interest in cross-cultural research of depressed patients to contribute to the aetiology discussion of the disorder and to find culture specific treatment strategies.
Objectives:
The aim of this study is to investigate the psychodynamic conflicts and structures of Chinese and German depressed patients and their influence on symptomatology.
Methods:
A total of 111, SCID-I assessed depressed patients (57 Chinese and 64 German patients) were included in this study. the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and the conflict and the structure axes of the Operationalized Psychodynamic Diagnostics (OPD-2) were applied for evaluating the severity of the symptomatology and the psychodynamic profiles, respectively.
Results:
After controlling socioeconomic factors (age, gender, familial status and employment) German patients compared with Chinese patients showed significantly lower BDI total scores (24.16 ± 8.67 vs. 28.66 ± 11.01, p < 0.05). in terms of the OPD-2 parameters, German patients suffered from more frequent conflicts like the “desire for care vs. self-sufficiency conflict” (1.84 ± 1.13 vs. 1.12 ± 1.07, p < 0.01) as well as the “guilt conflict” (1.02 ± 0.85 vs. 0.65 ± 0.95, p < 0.05). in contrast, we found more frequent “dependence vs. individuation” conflicts in the Chinese sample compared with German patients (1.21 ± 1.19 vs. 0.78 ± 0.98, p < 0.05). there was no relationship between the psychodynamic profiles and the symptoms’ severity.
Conclusion:
The findings suggest more culture specific psychodynamic psychotherapy strategies for depressed patients coming from different countries and cultures.