[Clinical outcome of allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation with FLAG sequential busulfan/cyclophosphamide conditioning regimen for refractory/relapsed acute myeloid leukemia]

Objective: To investigate the therapeutic effects of allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT) with FLAG sequential busulfan/cyclophosphamide(Bu/Cy) conditioning regimen for refractory/relapsed acute myeloid leukemia. Methods: From February 2012 to June 2017, 21 patients with refractory/relapsed acute myeloid leukemia underwent allo-HSCT with FLAG sequential Bu/Cy conditioning regimen. Transplantation-related complications and clinical outcome were retrospectively analyzed. Results: After conditioning, no hepatic veno-occlusive disease (VOD) and grade Ⅲ hemorrhagic cystitis occurred. 76.2% (16/21) patients had fever with 4 septicemia. One patient died of septic shock before engraftment. Twenty patients achieved neutrophil engraftment with a median time of 13 days (range, 10 to 21 days). Seventeen patients achieved platelet engraftment with a median time of 18 days (range, 9 to 25 days). The cumulative incidence of acute graft-versus-host disease (aGVHD) was 39.5%, and 3 patients developed grade Ⅲ-Ⅳ aGVHD. Of 19 patients who survived more than 100 days after transplantation, 4 had local chronic graft-versus-host disease (cGVHD). Of 21 patients, the median survival time was 15 months (range, 0.5 to 67 months) post-transplantation. Transplantation-related mortality rate was 28.7%. Leukemia relapse occurred in 4 patients with a median time of 4 months (range, 3 to 8 months) after transplantation. The cumulative relapse rate at 1 year was 21.4%. The 1-year and 3-year overall survival (OS) rates were 60.7% and 54.9% respectively. Log-rank analysis revealed that bone marrow blasts ≥ 20% or extramedullary leukemia before transplantation, poor platelet engraftment and grade Ⅲ-Ⅳ aGVHD were significantly related to shortened OS (P<0.05). Conclusions: Allo-HSCT with FLAG sequential Bu/Cy conditioning regimen in patients with refractory/relapsed myeloid leukemia has acceptable transplantation-related risk and relapse rate. The 1-year and 3-year OS rates are comparable with those in remission patients.

Handwritten-Digit Recognition by Hybrid Convolutional Neural Network based on HfO2 Memristive Spiking-Neuron

Although there is a huge progress in complementary-metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) technology, construction of an artificial neural network using CMOS technology to realize the functionality comparable with that of human cerebral cortex containing 1010-1011 neurons is still of great challenge. Recently, phase change memristor neuron has been proposed to realize a human-brain level neural network operating at a high speed while consuming a small amount of power and having a high integration density. Although memristor neuron can be scaled down to nanometer, integration of 1010-1011 neurons still faces many problems in circuit complexity, chip area, power consumption, etc. In this work, we propose a CMOS compatible HfO2 memristor neuron that can be well integrated with silicon circuits. A hybrid Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) based on the HfO2 memristor neuron is proposed and constructed. In the hybrid CNN, one memristive neuron can behave as multiple physical neurons based on the Time Division Multiplexing Access (TDMA) technique. Handwritten digit recognition is demonstrated in the hybrid CNN with a memristive neuron acting as 784 physical neurons. This work paves the way towards substantially shrinking the amount of neurons required in hardware and realization of more complex or even human cerebral cortex level memristive neural networks.

Prognostic effect of sidedness in early stage versus advanced colon cancer

BACKGROUND AND AIMS

The prognostic effect of sidedness in colorectal cancer has been evaluated in numerous prospective and retrospective cohorts. Most of these have reported overall survival data; there is scant relapse-free survival data in early stage disease. This study aimed to determine the effect of tumor sidedness in survival in early stage and relapsed colon cancer.

METHODS

Patients with stage I-III colorectal cancer were identified from the BC Cancer Agency Gastrointestinal Cancer Outcomes Unit. Survival analysis by stage and sidedness was compared with the log-rank test. Baseline characteristics were controlled by multivariate Cox-proportional hazard models. In relapsed patients, bevacizumab and EGFR inhibitor (EGFRI) treatments were included and tested for interaction.

RESULTS

Among 5378 patients with stage I-III colon cancer, patients with right-sided stage II tumors experienced better relapse-free survival compared with those with left-sided tumors; right-sidedness was not prognostic for RFS in stage III disease. When survival was considered in patients who relapsed, right-sided tumors had inferior survival after relapse in both stage II and stage III tumors. At relapse, right-sided outcomes were inferior regardless of biologic therapy. An interaction test revealed a significant association between sidedness and survival with EGFRIs.

CONCLUSIONS

In this large, population-based study, right-sided presentation has a significant prognostic impact: in early stage, right-sidedness is favorably prognostic among stage II tumors and not prognostic in stage III disease. After relapse, right- sidedness is associated with an inferior prognosis, regardless of initial stage of presentation. Colon tumor sidedness is independently prognostic and may be considered in treatment assignment for both early stage and advanced disease.

On-demand electron source with tunable energy distribution

We propose a scheme to manipulate the electron-hole excitation in the voltage pulse electron source, which can be realized by a voltage-driven Ohmic contact connecting to a quantum hall edge channel. It has been known that the electron-hole excitation can be suppressed via Lorentzian pulses, leading to noiseless electron current. We show that, instead of the Lorentzian pulses, driven via the voltage pulse [Formula: see text] with duration t ₀, the electron-hole excitation can be tuned so that the corresponding energy distribution of the emitted electrons follows the Fermi distribution with temperature [Formula: see text], with T _S being the electron temperature in the Ohmic contact. Such Fermi distribution can be established without introducing additional energy relaxation mechanism and can be detected via shot noise thermometry technique, making it helpful in the study of thermal transport and decoherence in mesoscopic system.

A novel HLA-A null allele, HLA-A*66:28N

The novel HLA-A*66:28N allele differs from HLA-A*66:03 by a single nucleotide deletion at codon 185.

Identification of an HLA-A null allele, HLA-A*33:129N

HLA-A*33:129N has a single nucleotide insertion compared with its closest allele HLA-A*33:01:01 at codon 186.

Proposal of a novel CHF correlation for PWR under low pressure conditions based on stepwise regression method

Constrained by limited experimental data, development of CHF correlation for PWR fuel assemblies under transient and accidental conditions at low pressure levels (2–10 MPa) is a typical statistical problem with small sample amounts, but simultaneously has requirements of high prediction accuracy. In this study, stepwise regression method was used to develop a new CHF correlation for application in PWR under low pressure conditions. First, several essential thermal-hydraulic parameters which might influence CHF were selected based on consensus characteristics of DNB phenomenon. With stepwise regression, the form and coefficients of the proposed CHF correlation were optimized in a dynamic manner. Compared to currently available CHF correlations, represented by the Westinghouse W-3 correlation, the CHF correlation obtained by stepwise regression has a much simpler form and matches also well with the experimental data.

Pharmacokinetics of cefquinome in crucian carp (Carassius auratus gibelio) after oral, intramuscular, intraperitoneal, and bath administration

The pharmacokinetics (PK) of cefquinome (CEQ) was studied in crucian carp (Carassius auratus gibelio) after single oral, intramuscular (i.m.), and intraperitoneal (i.p.) administration at a dose of 10 mg/kg body weight and following incubation in a 5 mg/L bath for 5 hr at 25°C. The plasma concentration of CEQ was determined using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). PK parameters were calculated based on mean CEQ concentration using WinNonlin 6.1 software. The disposition of CEQ following oral, i.m., or i.p. administration was best described by a two-compartment open model with first-order absorption. After oral, i.m., and i.p. administration, the maximum plasma concentration (C_max ) values were 1.52, 40.53, and 67.87 μg/ml obtained at 0.25, 0.23, and 0.35 hr, respectively, while the elimination half-life (T_1/2β ) values were 4.68, 7.39, and 6.88 hr, respectively; the area under the concentration-time curve (AUC) values were 8.61, 339.11, and 495.06 μg hr/ml, respectively. No CEQ was detected in the plasma after bath incubation. Therapeutic blood concentrations of CEQ can be achieved in the crucian carp following i.m. and i.p. administration at a dosage of 10 mg/kg once every 2 days.

Abstract P4-03-10: Clinical observation of lapatinib versus continued use of trastuzumab for trastuzumab-resistant HER2-positive advanced breast cancer

Objective: To compare the efficacy, adverse effects and survival of lapatinib versus continued use of trastuzumab for trastuzumab-resistant human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-positive advanced breast cancer.

Methods: Patients who began the regimen of lapatinib plus capecitabine (LC or LX) or trastuzumab beyond progression (TBP) between May 2013 and October 2016 were selected from the First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University. All of their clinical data were recorded, including age, performance status, hormone receptor status, metastatic site, primary or acquired trastuzumab resistance, previous treatment and so on. They were followed up until death or April 30, 2017. The primary end point was progression-free survival (PFS). The efficacy and safety of the two regimens were evaluated according to Response Evaluation Criteria In Solid Tumors (RECIST) version 1.1 and Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (CTCAE) version 4.0, respectively. Data were analyzed by SPSS version 19.0.

Results: In total, 95 patients were identified, including 40 treated with LX and 55 with TBP. Median follow-up time was 16.0 months. There was no difference in objective response rate (ORR) and disease control rate (DCR) between the two groups. By the end of follow-up, median PFS was 6.3 months with LX and 7.1 months with TBP (P=0.676). In patients with primary trastuzumab resisitance, longer PFS was observed in LX group compared with TBP group [median PFS: 8.0 months vs. 5.3 months, hazard ratio (HR)=0.416, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.177-0.981, P=0.038]. The incident rate of new brain metastases during treatment was 2.5% in LX group and 10.9% in TBP group, respectively (P=0.233). Both regimens showed similar outcomes in baseline brain metastases. Grade 3-4 adverse effects included diarrhea 7.5%(3/40) and hand-foot syndrome 12.5%(5/40) in LX group, along with leukopenia 18.2%(10/55), thrombocytopenia 9.1%(5/55) and nausea/vomiting 3.6%(2/55) in TBP group.

Conclusion: LX and TBP were similarly effective for patients with HER2-positive breast cancer progressing on prior trastuzumab-containing therapy. Both were well tolerated in general. Lapatinib tended to reduce the risk of disease progression in patients resistant to trastuzumab primarily. LX or TBP after local treatment appeared to show no difference in treating patients with brain metastases.

Citation Format: Yin Y, Li W, Huang X, Wang J, Fu Z, Li J. Clinical observation of lapatinib versus continued use of trastuzumab for trastuzumab-resistant HER2-positive advanced breast cancer [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 2017 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium; 2017 Dec 5-9; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2018;78(4 Suppl):Abstract nr P4-03-10.

Overlapping functions of bone sialoprotein and pyrophosphate regulators in directing cementogenesis

Although acellular cementum is essential for tooth attachment, factors directing its development and regeneration remain poorly understood. Inorganic pyrophosphate (PP_i), a mineralization inhibitor, is a key regulator of cementum formation: tissue-nonspecific alkaline phosphatase (Alpl/TNAP) null mice (increased PP_i) feature deficient cementum, while progressive ankylosis protein (Ank/ANK) null mice (decreased PP_i) feature increased cementum. Bone sialoprotein (Bsp/BSP) and osteopontin (Spp1/OPN) are multifunctional extracellular matrix components of cementum proposed to have direct and indirect effects on cell activities and mineralization. Studies on dentoalveolar development of Bsp knockout (Bsp^-/-) mice revealed severely reduced acellular cementum, however underlying mechanisms remain unclear. The similarity in defective cementum phenotypes between Bsp^-/- mice and Alpl^-/- mice (the latter featuring elevated PP_i and OPN), prompted us to examine whether BSP is operating by modulating PP_i-associated genes. Genetic ablation of Bsp caused a 2-fold increase in circulating PP_i, altered mRNA expression of Alpl, Spp1, and Ank, and increased OPN protein in the periodontia. Generation of a Bsp knock-out (KO) cementoblast cell line revealed significantly decreased mineralization capacity, 50% increased PP_i in culture media, and increased Spp1 and Ank mRNA expression. While addition of 2μg/ml recombinant BSP altered Spp1, Ank, and Enpp1 expression in cementoblasts, changes resulting from this dose were not dependent on the integrin-binding RGD motif or MAPK/ERK signaling pathway. Decreasing PP_i by genetic ablation of Ank on the Bsp^-/- mouse background reestablished cementum formation, allowing >3-fold increased acellular cementum volume compared to wild-type (WT). However, deleting Ank did not fully compensate for the absence of BSP. Bsp^-/-; Ank^-/- double-deficient mice exhibited mean 20-27% reduced cementum thickness and volume compared to Ank^-/- mice. From these data, we conclude that the perturbations in PP_i metabolism are not solely driving the cementum pathology in Bsp^-/- mice, and that PP_i is more potent than BSP as a cementum regulator, as shown by the ability to override loss of BSP by lowering PP_i. We propose that BSP and PP_i work in concert to direct mineralization in cementum and likely other mineralized tissues.

Respiratory phagocytes are implicated in enhanced colibacillosis in chickens co-infected with influenza virus H9N2 and Escherichia coli

1. The aim of this study was to determine the most likely time interval after infection with influenza virus H9N2 for co-infection with Escherichia coli to cause colibacillosis, the importance of lung load of E. coli and the involvement of respiratory phagocytes. 2. Specific pathogen free chickens were inoculated intranasally with 10⁶EID₅₀ of influenza virus or uninfected. After specified time intervals, 10⁷ CFU E. coli or phosphate-buffered saline was inoculated. The presence of lesions, the number of respiratory phagocytes in the respiratory lavage fluid and the E. coli load in the lung were determined after different time intervals. 3. Compared with the number of lesions in chickens receiving only E. coli inoculation, the number lesions in co-infected chickens were increased at 0- and 3-d time intervals, but reduced in the groups at 6- and 9-d intervals between co-infection. 4. At 1-3 d after E. coli inoculation, the number of lesions chickens was correlated with the number of respiratory phagocytes harvested and related to the E. coli load in the lungs at 5 d. 5. These results suggest that the lesions caused by E. coli in chickens were increased within a 0-3 d interval following H9N2 virus inoculation and that this effect is related to the number of respiratory phagocytes.

Interleukin-15 in obesity and metabolic dysfunction: current understanding and future perspectives

Obesity rises rapidly and is a major health concern for modern people. Importantly, it is a major risk factor in the development of numerous chronic diseases such as type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Recently, interleukin (IL)-15 has attracted considerable attention as a potential regulator for the prevention and/or treatment of obesity and T2DM. The beneficial effects include increased loss of fat mass and body weight, improved lipid and glucose metabolism, reduced white adipose tissue inflammation, enhanced mitochondrial function, alterations in the composition of muscle fibres and gut bacterial and attenuated endoplasmic reticulum stress. Although these beneficial effects are somewhat controversial, IL-15, exogenously delivered or endogenously produced, may be a promising target in the prevention and treatment of obesity and T2DM.

Amino acid and phosphorus digestibility of fermented corn-soybean meal mixed feed with Bacillus subtilis and Enterococcus faecium fed to pigs

In the present study, a 2-stage solid-state fermentation process using followed by was performed with the purpose of improving the nutritional quality of corn and soybean meal (SBM) mixed feed (MF). The matrix of native MF and fermented MF (FMF) was analyzed using scanning electron microscopy to determine external structures after solid-state fermentation. Results of the present study indicated that the FMF had a greater concentration of CP and total P compared with the unfermented feed, whereas the contents of β-conglycinin, glycinin, phytate P, raffinose, stachyose, and NDF in FMF declined by 77.6, 86.7, 41.2, 47.2, 36.6, and 38.9%, respectively. The content of trichloroacetic acid-soluble protein, particularly those of small peptides and free AA, increased more than 3 times after fermentation. Scanning electron microscopy revealed that irregular shapes and a lot of porous structures were observed in the SBM of FMF, the cell wall of corn in FMF was destroyed, and the number of starch granules was decreased after 2-stage fermentation. Two animal experiments were conducted to evaluate the digestibility of CP and P in FMF when fed to pigs. In Exp. 1, 6 barrows (15.20 ± 1.27 kg initial BW) fitted with a T-cannula in the distal ileum were allotted to a replicated 3 × 3 Latin square with 3 diets and 3 periods per square. Two diets containing unfermented MF or FMF as the only source of protein and a N-free diet were formulated. Results indicated that the apparent ileal digestibility (AID) of total AA and Lys in FMF (74.98 and 75.34%) were greater ( < 0.05) than in untreated MF (69.66 and 68.56%). The standard ileal digestibility (SID) of Lys in FMF (82.17%) was also greater ( < 0.05) than in MF (75.91%). In Exp. 2, 16 barrows (17.57 ± 1.08 kg initial BW) were allotted to 2 diets formulated to contain MF or FMF as the sole source of P to determine the digestibility of P. The apparent total tract digestibility and standardized total tract digestibility of P in FMF were 58.14 and 64.72%, respectively. These values were greater ( < 0.01) than in untreated MF (37.11 and 44.89%, respectively). Our results indicate that a solid-state fermentation process using followed by offers an effective approach to improving the quality of corn and SBM MF.

Validation of combinatorial probe-anchor ligation-based sequencing as non-invasive prenatal test for trisomy at a central laboratory

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the clinical validity of a new ultrahigh-throughput non-invasive prenatal test (NIPT) based on combinatorial probe-anchor ligation (cPAL) sequencing of cell-free fetal DNA (cffDNA) using centralized testing.

METHODS

Maternal plasma samples were obtained from 10 594 singleton pregnancies in high-risk populations at 20 centers in China, including 8155 that were collected retrospectively and 2439 prospectively. Fetal outcome data and karyotyping results were documented as gold standard and were double blinded during NIPT. The clinical performance of the ultrahigh-throughput sequencing method, cPAL, for NIPT was validated by evaluating its sensitivity, specificity and positive predictive value (PPV) in detecting trisomies 21, 18 and 13 as the centralized testing mode in the reference laboratory. To ensure stable and reproducible performance of centralized cPAL-based NIPT in detecting trisomies, a series of quality-control systems, including sequencing of two sets of artificial samples, were employed and evaluated.

RESULTS

Ten prospective cases were excluded from the study because of incomplete clinical data. Four prospective samples failed to generate a NIPT result due to assay failure, presenting a failure rate of 0.16% (4/2429). A total of 168 retrospective cases and 47 prospective cases had a positive NIPT result for trisomy, giving respective positive rates of 2.06% and 1.94%. Four false-positive and no false-positive cases were observed in the retrospective and prospective groups, respectively, resulting in PPV of 97.62% (95% CI, 94.02-99.35%) and 100% (95% CI, 92.45-100%), respectively. In the retrospective group, sensitivity and specificity were, respectively, 100% (95% CI, 97.07-100%) and 99.98% (95% CI, 99.94-100%) for trisomy 21, 100% (95% CI, 97.75-100%) and 99.98% (95% CI, 99.94-100%) for trisomy 18, and 100% (95% CI, 15.81-100%) and 100% (95% CI, 99.95-100%) for trisomy 13. In the prospective group, sensitivity and specificity were, respectively, 100% (95% CI, 90.75-100%) and 100% (95% CI, 99.85-100%) for trisomy 21, 100% (95% CI, 63.06-100%) and 100% (95% CI, 99.85-100%) for trisomy 18, and 100% (95% CI, 2.50-100%) and 100% (95% CI, 99.85-100%) for trisomy 13.

CONCLUSION

In this multicenter study with a full quality-control system, NIPT by centralized cPAL-based testing showed high stability and performance comparable to those of previous validation studies in high-risk populations. Copyright © 2016 ISUOG. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Pharmacokinetics of enrofloxacin after oral, intramuscular and bath administration in crucian carp (Carassius auratus gibelio)

The pharmacokinetics of enrofloxacin (ENR) was studied in crucian carp (Carassius auratus gibelio) after single administration by intramuscular (IM) injection and oral gavage (PO) at a dose of 10 mg/kg body weight and by 5 mg/L bath for 5 hr at 25°C. The plasma concentrations of ENR and ciprofloxacin (CIP) were determined by HPLC. Pharmacokinetic parameters were calculated based on mean ENR or CIP concentrations using WinNonlin 6.1 software. After IM, PO and bath administration, the maximum plasma concentration (C_max ) of 2.29, 3.24 and 0.36 μg/ml was obtained at 4.08, 0.68 and 0 hr, respectively; the elimination half-life (T_1/2β ) was 80.95, 62.17 and 61.15 hr, respectively; the area under the concentration-time curve (AUC) values were 223.46, 162.72 and 14.91 μg hr/ml, respectively. CIP, an active metabolite of enrofloxacin, was detected and measured after all methods of drug administration except bath. It is possible and practical to obtain therapeutic blood concentrations of enrofloxacin in the crucian carp using IM, PO and bath immersion administration.

Nonlinear modulation of interacting between COMT and depression on brain function

BACKGROUND

The catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) gene is related to dopamine degradation and has been suggested to be involved in the pathogenesis of major depressive disorder (MDD). However, how this gene affects brain function properties in MDD is still unclear.

METHODS

Fifty patients with MDD and 35 cognitively normal participants underwent a resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging scan. A voxelwise and data-drive global functional connectivity density (gFCD) analysis was used to investigate the main effects and the interactions of disease states and COMT rs4680 gene polymorphism on brain function.

RESULTS

We found significant group differences of the gFCD in bilateral fusiform area (FFA), post-central and pre-central cortex, left superior temporal gyrus (STG), rectal and superior temporal gyrus and right ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (vlPFC); abnormal gFCDs in left STG were positively correlated with severity of depression in MDD group. Significant disease×COMT interaction effects were found in the bilateral calcarine gyrus, right vlPFC, hippocampus and thalamus, and left SFG and FFA. Further post-hoc tests showed a nonlinear modulation effect of COMT on gFCD in the development of MDD. Interestingly, an inverted U-shaped modulation was found in the prefrontal cortex (control system) but U-shaped modulations were found in the hippocampus, thalamus and occipital cortex (processing system).

CONCLUSION

Our study demonstrated nonlinear modulation of the interaction between COMT and depression on brain function. These findings expand our understanding of the COMT effect underlying the pathophysiology of MDD.

Leveraging Stem Cell Homing for Therapeutic Regeneration

Resident stem cell pools in many tissues/organs are responsible not only for tissue maintenance during physiologic turnover but also for the process of wound repair following injury. With inspiration from stem cell trafficking within the body under physiologic and pathologic conditions, recent advances have been made toward inducing stem cell mobilization and directing patients' own cells to sites of interest for treating a broad spectrum of diseases. An evolving body of work corroborates that delivering guidance cues can mobilize stem cells from the bone marrow and drive these cells toward a specific region. In addition, the transplantation of cell-friendly biomaterials incorporating certain biomolecules has led to the regeneration of lost/damaged tissue without the need for delivering cellular materials manipulated ex vivo. Recently, cell homing has resulted in remarkable biological discoveries in the laboratory as well as great curative successes in preclinical scenarios. Here, we review the biological evidence underlying in vivo cell mobilization and homing with the aim of leveraging endogenous reparative cells for therapeutic applications. Considering both the promise and the obstacles of this approach, we discuss how matrix components of the in vivo milieu can be modified to promote the native regenerative process and inspire future tissue-engineering design.

Intrinsic functional connectivity of cortico-basal ganglia-thalamo-cortical circuitry underlying psychomotor retardation in major depressive disorder

Introduction

Psychomotor retardation (PMR) in depression is analogous to the hypokinesia in Parkinson's disease, which is associated with the unbalanced direct and indirect pathways of cortico-basal ganglia-thalamo-cortical (CBTC) circuitry. This study hypothesized PMR in major depressive disorder (MDD) should be associated with the hyperactivity of CBTC indirect pathways.

Objectives

To substantiate the hypothesis that the PMR symptom of MDD might attribute to the hyperactivity of the ortico-basal ganglia-thalamo-cortical indirect pathway which could inhibit psychomotor performance.

Methods

We investigated the intrinsic stiato-subthalamic nucleus (STN)-thalamic functional connectivity (FC), three pivotal hubs of the indirect pathway, in 30 MDD patients with PMR (PMR group) and well matched 30 patients without PMR (NPMR group) at baseline, and 11 patients of each group at follow-up who remitted after antidepressant treatment.

Results

The results showed increased STN-striatum FC of PMR group at baseline and no more discrepancy at follow-up, and significant correlation between PMR severity and thalamo-STN FC.

Conclusions

Our findings suggested the increased STN- striatum FC should be considered as a state biomarker to distinguish MDD patients with PMR from patients without PMR at acute period, and thalamo-STN FC could be identified as the predictor of the PMR severity for MDD patients.

Disclosure of interest

The authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.

Pretreatment Predictors of Early Response Revealed by Quantitative Cerebral Blood Flow in Major Depressive Disorder

Objective

The potential pattern of regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) in major depressive disorder (MDD) underlies different response to antidepressants medication remain unclear. This study aimed to investigate the differences of rCBF between patients with different treatment response.

Methods

Eighty MDD patients [(44 treatment-responsive depression (RD) and 36 non-responding depression (NRD)] and 42 healthy controls (HC) underwent pulsed arterial spin labeling (PASL) scans in magnetic resonance imaging and clinical estimates. The exact rCBF values of each groups were obtained via quantification evaluation.

Results

Compared to NRD, the RD patients showed decreased rCBF values in frontal sensorimotor network (i.e. left paracentral lobule, left medial frontal gyrus, right superior frontal gyrus and right middle frontal gyrus), and further receiver operating curve (ROC) analyses demonstrated that the altered rCBF in these four regions exhibited outstanding performance on distinguishing NRD from RD. The NRD also exhibited reduced rCBF in bilateral cerebellum posterior lobe and right middle occipital gyrus and elevated rCBF in right postcentral gyrus and right middle frontal gyrus as compared to HC.

Conclusions

The decreased rCBF in frontal sensorimotor network appeared to be distinct characteristics for NRD, and might be severed as promising neuroimaging markers to differentiate depressed patients with weak early response to antidepressant medication. These findings expand our understanding of neural substrate underlying the antidepressant efficacy.

Disclosure of interest

The authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.

Diurnal variations and source apportionment of ozone at the summit of Mount Huang, a rural site in Eastern China

Comprehensive measurements were conducted at the summit of Mount (Mt.) Huang, a rural site located in eastern China during the summer of 2011. They observed that ozone showed pronounced diurnal variations with high concentrations at night and low values during daytime. The Weather Research and Forecasting with Chemistry (WRF-Chem) model was applied to simulate the ozone concentrations at Mt. Huang in June 2011. With processes analysis and online ozone tagging method we coupled into the model system, the causes of this diurnal pattern and the contributions from different source regions were investigated. Our results showed that boundary layer diurnal cycle played an important role in driving the ozone diurnal variation. Further analysis showed that the negative contribution of vertical mixing was significant, resulting in the ozone decrease during the daytime. In contrast, ozone increased at night owing to the significant positive contribution of advection. This shifting of major factor between vertical mixing and advection formed this diurnal variation. Ozone source apportionment results indicated that approximately half was provided by inflow effect of ozone from outside the model domain (O_3-INFLOW) and the other half was formed by ozone precursors (O_3-PBL) emitted in eastern, central, and southern China. In the O_3-PBL, 3.0% of the ozone was from Mt. Huang reflecting the small local contribution (O_3-LOC) and the non-local contributions (O_3-NLOC) accounted for 41.6%, in which ozone from the southerly regions contributed significantly, for example, 9.9% of the ozone originating from Jiangxi, representing the highest geographical contributor. Because the origin and variation of O_3-NLOC was highly related to the diurnal movements in boundary layer, the similar diurnal patterns between O_3-NLOC and total ozone both indicated the direct influence of O_3-NLOC and the importance of boundary layer diurnal variations in the formation of such distinct diurnal ozone variations at Mt. Huang.