Assessment of cognitive function in patients with schizophrenia based on virtual reality serious games: a prospective nonrandomized clinical trial.

Introduction: Conventional neuropsychological tests for assessing cognitive function in schizophrenia face critical limitations in ecological validity and efficiency. We developed , a virtual reality serious game simulating real-world cognitive demands, to address these challenges. This study aimed to validate its diagnostic validity in differentiating cognitive impairments between schizophrenia patients (SZs) and healthy controls (HCs), while evaluating user experience feasibility.

Impact of early detection and management of emotional distress on length of stay in non-psychiatric inpatients: A retrospective hospital-based cohort study.

Background: While emotional distress, encompassing anxiety and depression, has been associated with negative clinical outcomes, its impact across various clinical departments and general hospitals has been less explored. Previous studies with limited sample sizes have examined the effectiveness of specific treatments (e.g.

Sertraline plus repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation for the treatment of postpartum depression.

Objective: Postpartum depression significantly affects maternal mental health and family dynamics. Effective and safe treatments are crucial to enhance the quality of life for affected women. This study assesses the effectiveness and safety of combining sertraline with repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation in treating postpartum depression.

Influence of Ion Chelating Agents with Different Chelating Abilities on the Properties and Microstructure of Cement-Based Materials.

Concrete structures are prone to cracking and seepage issues due to material degradation during long-term service. Ionic chelating agents (ICAs) can significantly enhance the durability and extend the service life of concrete structures by chelating metal ions in the cement matrix and promoting the formation of crystalline products within pores. The study selected commonly used ICAs, including sodium gluconate, sodium maleate, and sodium citrate, as well as a self-made high-efficiency ICA, to compare their chelating abilities for metal ions (such as Al, Mg, Fe, and Ca).

Structural and molecular insights into diisocyanate functionalized lignosulfonate for improving asphaltic aging resistance.

Lignosulfonate (LS) is used to improve asphaltic aging resistance owing to absorbing ultraviolet (UV) light and trapping free radicals. However, excessive addition of LS disrupts uniform dispersion in the asphaltic matrix due to polarity mismatch, causing aggregation, phase separation, and matrix hardening, which collectively reduces anti-aging effectiveness. Herein, we demonstrate a strategy of diisocyanate to enhance LS on asphaltic compatibility with asphalt by synergistically reducing hydrophilic groups and surface free energy.

Evolution of physician resources in China (2003-2021): quantity, quality, structure, and geographic distribution.

Introduction: Physicians are an indispensable part of the healthcare system, crucial for maintaining public health. Since the issues in market-oriented healthcare reform emerged in 2003, China has implemented a series of healthcare system reforms to improve the equitable distribution of medical resources. The impact of these reform measures on the physician workforce has yet to be systematically assessed.

Interactions between environmental pollutants and gut microbiota: A review connecting the conventional heavy metals and the emerging microplastics.

Growing epidemiological evidence suggests that the diverse and functional gut microbiota plays a vital role in regulating the health and disease of organisms including human. However, organisms are inevitably exposed to widespread environmental pollutants, and the interactions between their gut microbiota and pollutants are relatively underreported. The present paper considers heavy metals (HMs) and microplastics (MPs) as representatives of traditional and emerging pollutants and systematically summarizes their effects on gut microbiota and the effects of gut microbiota on pollutants.

Immobilisation remediation of arsenic-contaminated soils with promising CaAl-layered double hydroxide and bioavailability, bioaccessibility, and speciation-based health risk assessment.

Arsenic (As)-contaminated soil poses great health risk to human mostly through inadvertent oral exposure. We investigated CaAl-layered double hydroxide (CaAl-LDH), a promising immobilising agent, for the remediation of As-contaminated Chinese soils. The effects on specific soil properties and As fractionation were analyzed, and changes in the health risk of soil As were accurately assessed by means of advanced in vivo mice model and in vitro PBET-SHIME model.

Influences of coexisting aged polystyrene microplastics on the ecological and health risks of cadmium in soils: A leachability and oral bioaccessibility based study.

Whether coexisting microplastics (MPs) affect the ecological and health risks of cadmium (Cd) in soils is a cutting-edge scientific issue. In this study, four typical Chinese soils were prepared as artificially Cd-contaminated soils with/without aged polystyrene (PS). TCLP and in vitro PBET model were used to determine the leachability (ecological risk) and oral bioaccessibility (human health risk) of soil Cd.

Diversity and community composition of strictly anaerobic and culturable bacteria from the feces of Styrofoam-fed larvae: a culturomics-based study.

Introduction: In recent years, researchers have been exploring the plastic-degrading abilities of bacteria residing in the guts of Styrofoam-eating larvae. However, none of the reported strains have displayed highly efficient plastic degradation capabilities, and it's noteworthy that none of the existing studies have focused on strictly anaerobic microbes.

Methods: In this study, we exclusively fed Styrofoam to larvae and examined how this dietary change influence the gut's bacterial community composition, as observed through fecal bacteria using bacterial 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing and the small-scale culturomics method with 20 types of anaerobic media under four different conditions.

Investigation on DOPO as reactive fumes suppressant to reduce the fumes emission of asphalt.

Asphalt fumes released during pavement construction posed a threat to human health and environment. In this study, 9,10-dihydro-9-oxa-10-phosphorophenanthrene-10-oxide (DOPO) was used as a reactive fumes suppressant to reduce the asphalt fumes emission. The volatilization behavior of DOPO modified asphalt (DOPO-Asphalt) was investigated through thermogravimetric analysis, volatility test and thermal destruction gas chromatography mass spectrometry, and effect of DOPO on the chemical structure and composition of asphalt was explored through nuclear magnetic resonance hydrogen spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and asphalt component testing.

Clinical effect of ultrasound-guided nerve block and dexmedetomidine anesthesia on lower extremity operative fracture reduction.

Background: Lower extremity fractures are mainly treated by surgical reduction, but this operation is often affected by the patient's level of agitation and the type of anesthesia used. The main treatment for lower-extremity fractures is operative reduction. However, operations can often be affected by both agitation and the degree of anesthesia.

The Mechanical Resistance of Asphalt Mixture with Steel Slag to Deformation and Skid Degradation Based on Laboratory Accelerated Heavy Loading Test.

Steel slag is a main form of solid waste. Using this component to replace part of the aggregate in an asphalt mixture is an effectively way of treating solid waste. To study the performance degradation of asphalt mixture with various content of steel slag under heavy loading, some large-sized basalt hot mixed asphalt mixture (BHMA) and steel slag hot mixed asphalt mixture (SHMA) in a form of specimens were prepared and a heavy loading wheel tracking test was conducted.

MiR-21-3p Inhibits Adipose Browning by Targeting FGFR1 and Aggravates Atrial Fibrosis in Diabetes.

A relationship between excess epicardial adipose tissue (EAT) and the risk of atrial fibrillation (AF) has been reported. Browning of EAT may be a novel approach for the prevention or treatment of AF by attenuating atrial fibrosis. Previous studies have identified microRNA-21 (miR-21) as a regulatory factor in atrial fibrosis.

The effect of mental health on sleep quality of front-line medical staff during the COVID-19 outbreak in China: A cross-sectional study.

Background: The 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic is a public health emergency of international concern and poses a challenge to the mental health and sleep quality of front-line medical staff (FMS). The aim of this study was to investigate the sleep quality of FMS during the COVID-19 outbreak in China and analyze the relationship between mental health and sleep quality of FMS.

Methods: From February 24, 2020 to March 22, 2020, a cross-sectional study was performed with 543 FMS from a medical center in Western China.

Preparation of CeZrO/SnInS composite photocatalyst and its degradation of typical antibiotic pollutants.

Considering the high environmental risk, the remediation of antibiotic pollutants attracted numerous attentions. In this work, a novel photocatalyst, CeZrO/SnInS, was fabricated by in situ precipitation and hydrothermal method and then applied to the degradation of norfloxacin under the irritation of visible light. The SEM, TEM, XRD, XPS, and electrochemical results clearly showed that the n-type heterojunction between CeZrO and SnInS was successfully constructed, which greatly reduces the recombination of the photogenic electron and holes, leading to the improvement of photocatalytic performance and stability (recycled over eight times).

A brief web-based screening plus emotional-disorder health education was associated with improvement of mental health awareness and service-seeking attitudes among patients seeking nonpsychiatric clinical services in China.

Objectives: Low recognition and intervention rates of emotional disorders among nonpsychiatric clinical patients are primarily attributable to poor mental health awareness of patients and a paucity of mental health care resources. This study aims to investigate the association of a resource-saving brief web-based emotional-disorder self-screening plus a health self-education program (BWBED-SS + HSE) with improved mental health awareness and service-seeking attitudes among nonpsychiatric clinical patients.

Method: A sample of 2065 patients seeking health services in nonpsychiatric clinical settings underwent BWBED-SS + HSE using mobile terminals.

[Association of CHRNA4 gene polymorphisms with response to antidepressant among ethnic Han Chinese].

Objective: To assess the association of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) CHRNA4 gene with response to selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors (SSRIs) for the treatment of major depressive disorder (MDD).

Methods: For 304 patients receiving drug treatment for major depression, 2 SNPs, namely rs4522666 and rs4603829, of the CHRNA4 gene were determined by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time of flight (MALDI-TOF) mass spectrometry. HAMD-17 was adopted as the primary rating tool to evaluate the severity of depression on the baseline and at the end of 1st, 2nd, 4th and 6th weeks treatment.

Performance Degradation of Large-Sized Asphalt Mixture Specimen under Heavy Load and its Affecting Factors Using Multifunctional Pavement Material Tester.

With the increase of heavy traffic transportation, it is meaningful to study the performance change of pavements under heavy loads. To study the development of asphalt mixture under heavy load, an AC-13 asphalt mixture was prepared and a large-sized specimen wheel tracking test was conducted. Samples from different periods were extracted to research the influence of the cumulative load times under heavy load on asphalt mixtures.

miR-146a attenuates apoptosis and modulates autophagy by targeting TAF9b/P53 pathway in doxorubicin-induced cardiotoxicity.

Clinical therapy of doxorubicin (DOX) is limited due to its cardiotoxicity. miR-146a was proved as a protective factor in many cardiovascular diseases, but its role in chronic DOX-induced cardiotoxicity is unclear. The objective of this study was to demonstrate the role of miR-146a in low-dose long-term DOX-induced cardiotoxicity.