Hippocampal volumes of subjects with a history of major depressive episodes but currently in remission and with no known medical comorbidity were compared to matched normal controls by using volumetric magnetic resonance images. Subjects with a history of major depression had significantly smaller left and right hippocampal volumes with no differences in total cerebral volumes. The degree of hippocampal volume reduction correlated with total duration of major depression. In addition, large (diameter 2 4.5 mm)-hippocampal low signal foci (LSF) were found within the hippocampus, and their number also correlated with the total number of days depressed. These results suggest that depression is associated with hippocampal atrophy, perhaps due to a progressive process mediated by glucocorticoid neurotoxicity. (14,15), decreased the possibility of hypertension and occult cardiovascular disease, and increased the ability to obtain subjects, although at the cost of generalizability. Each depressed subject was matched using a case-control design for age and educational level, and the groups were matched overall for height, since this variable is a predictor of overall brain size (16). Potential subjects were screened by questionnaire, medical history, review of medical records, and physical exam to exclude those with medical problems potentially affecting the central nervous system, such as a current or past neurological disorder, head trauma, hypertension, myocardial infarction or ischemia, diabetes, Cushings disease, steroid use, or drug/ alcohol abuse. These exclusionary criteria were consistent with routine Alzheimer's Disease Research Center screening criteria (17). In addition, subjects who had received more than three courses of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) were excluded. Three subjects included in the study had received ECT previously during the course of their treatment, and the time elapsed since last ECT treatment was 34, 30, and 14 years. All subjects gave informed consent.All subjects were assessed clinically by a psychiatrist (Y.I.S.) experienced in the use of the diagnostic interview for genetic studies (DIGS), a structured interview with high reliability (18). The DIGS was used to make the diagnosis of recurrent major depression by American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th Edition (DSM-IV) criteria and to exclude other psychiatric diagnoses. Only depressive episodes that met full criteria for major depression were included. Time elapsed (months) since last depressed was determined. One subject with a single episode of major depression was included. In addition, the DIGS was used to score each depressive episode for duration (in days) and number of symptoms, which were identical to those used to make the diagnosis of major depression by DSM-IV criteria. The average number of depressive symptoms over the course of the total depressive episodes was determined. This was determined by averaging the number of symptoms occurring in each depressive ep...

Fine-tuning of effective pore size of microporous materials is necessary to achieve precise molecular sieving properties. Herein, we demonstrate that room temperature ionic liquids can be used as cavity occupants for modification of the microenvironment of MOF nanocages. Targeting CO2 capture applications, we tailored the effective cage size of ZIF-8 to be between CO2 and N2 by confining an imidazolium-based ionic liquid [bmim][Tf2 N] into ZIF-8's SOD cages by in-situ ionothermal synthesis. Mixed matrix membranes derived from ionic liquid-modified ZIF-8 exhibited remarkable combinations of permeability and selectivity that transcend the upper bound of polymer membranes for CO2 /N2 and CO2 /CH4 separation. We observed an unusual response of the membranes to varying pressure, that is, an increase in the CO2 /CH4 separation factor with pressure, which is highly desirable for practical applications in natural gas upgrading.

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The fatty liver index (FLI), which is an algorithm based on waist circumference, body mass index (BMI), triglyceride, and gamma-glutamyl-transferase (GGT), was initially developed to detect fatty liver in Western countries. Our study aimed to evaluate the accuracy and optimal cut-off point of the FLI for predicting nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) in middle-aged and elderly Chinese.This cross-sectional study included 8626 Chinese adults aged 40 years or above recruited from Jiading District, Shanghai, China. Anthropometric and biochemical features were collected by a standard protocol. NAFLD was diagnosed by hepatic ultrasonography. The accuracy and cut-off point of the FLI to detect NAFLD were evaluated by area under the receiver operator characteristic curve (AUROC) and the maximum Youden index analysis, respectively.The AUROC of the FLI for NAFLD was 0.834 (95% confidence interval: 0.825–0.842), and larger than that of its each individual component [0.786 (0.776–0.796), 0.783 (0.773–0.793), 0.727 (0.716–0.739), and 0.707 (0.695–0.719) for waist circumference, BMI, triglyceride, and GGT, respectively] (all P < .001). The optimal cut-off point of the FLI for diagnosing NAFLD was 30 with the maximum Youden Index of 0.51, achieving a high sensitivity of 79.89% and a specificity of 71.51%. The FLI-diagnosed NAFLD individuals were in worse metabolic characteristics (waist circumference, BMI, blood pressure, serum lipids, and aminotransferases) than ultrasonography-diagnosed NAFLD patients (all P < .05).The FLI could accurately identify NAFLD and the optimal cut-off point was 30 in middle-aged and elderly Chinese. As FLI-diagnosed NAFLD patients were in worse metabolism, much attention should be paid to the metabolic controls and managements of NAFLD.

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Background Sleep disturbance in bipolar disorder can be both a risk factor and symptom of mood episodes. However, the associations among sleep and clinical characteristics, function, and quality of life in bipolar disorder have not been fully investigated. Methods The prevalence of sleep disturbance, duration, and variability, as well as their associations with mood, function, and quality of life, was determined from 2,024 bipolar patients enrolled in the National Institute of Mental Health Systematic Treatment Enhancement Program for Bipolar Disorder (STEP-BD). Results Analyses indicated that 32% of patients were classified as short sleepers, 38% normal sleepers, and 23% long sleepers. Overall, short sleepers demonstrated greater mood elevation, earlier age at onset, and longer illness duration compared to both normal and long sleepers. Both short and long sleepers had greater depressive symptoms, poorer life functioning, and quality of life compared to normal sleepers. Discussion Short sleep duration in bipolar disorder was associated with a more severe symptom presentation, whereas both short and long sleep duration are associated with poorer function and quality of life compared to normal sleep duration. Sleep disturbance could be a trait marker of bipolar disorder, though longitudinal assessments are warranted to assess potential causal relations and the longer-term implications of sleep disturbance in bipolar disorder

Fine‐tuning of effective pore size of microporous materials is necessary to achieve precise molecular sieving properties. Herein, we demonstrate that room temperature ionic liquids can be used as cavity occupants for modification of the microenvironment of MOF nanocages. Targeting CO2 capture applications, we tailored the effective cage size of ZIF‐8 to be between CO2 and N2 by confining an imidazolium‐based ionic liquid [bmim][Tf2N] into ZIF‐8’s SOD cages by in‐situ ionothermal synthesis. Mixed matrix membranes derived from ionic liquid‐modified ZIF‐8 exhibited remarkable combinations of permeability and selectivity that transcend the upper bound of polymer membranes for CO2/N2 and CO2/CH4 separation. We observed an unusual response of the membranes to varying pressure, that is, an increase in the CO2/CH4 separation factor with pressure, which is highly desirable for practical applications in natural gas upgrading.

No abstract