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Accurate diagnosis of bipolar disorder (BPD) is difficult in clinical practice, with an average delay between symptom onset and diagnosis of about 7 years. A depressive episode often precedes the first manic episode, making it difficult to distinguish BPD from unipolar major depressive disorder (MDD).
Aims
We use genome-wide association analyses (GWAS) to identify differential genetic factors and to develop predictors based on polygenic risk scores (PRS) that may aid early differential diagnosis.
Method
Based on individual genotypes from case–control cohorts of BPD and MDD shared through the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium, we compile case–case–control cohorts, applying a careful quality control procedure. In a resulting cohort of 51 149 individuals (15 532 BPD patients, 12 920 MDD patients and 22 697 controls), we perform a variety of GWAS and PRS analyses.
Results
Although our GWAS is not well powered to identify genome-wide significant loci, we find significant chip heritability and demonstrate the ability of the resulting PRS to distinguish BPD from MDD, including BPD cases with depressive onset (BPD-D). We replicate our PRS findings in an independent Danish cohort (iPSYCH 2015, N = 25 966). We observe strong genetic correlation between our case–case GWAS and that of case–control BPD.
Conclusions
We find that MDD and BPD, including BPD-D are genetically distinct. Our findings support that controls, MDD and BPD patients primarily lie on a continuum of genetic risk. Future studies with larger and richer samples will likely yield a better understanding of these findings and enable the development of better genetic predictors distinguishing BPD and, importantly, BPD-D from MDD.
This study aimed to estimate the nationwide prevalence of cardiometabolic diseases (CMD) among adults with underweight in the US general population. Using data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (1999–2020), we estimated the age-standardised prevalence of dyslipidemia, hypertension, diabetes, chronic kidney disease, CVD and the presence of zero or at least two CMD. Multivariable Poisson regressions were used to compare CMD prevalence between subgroups, adjusting for age, sex and race/ethnicity. Among the 855 adults with underweight included, the weighted mean age was 40·8 years, with 68·1 % being women and 70·4 % non-Hispanic White. The estimated prevalence rates were 23·4 % for dyslipidemia (95 % CI 19·4 %, 27·5 %), 15·6 % for hypertension (95 % CI 13·3 %, 17·8 %), 2·5 % for diabetes (95 % CI 1·5 %, 3·5 %), 7·9 % for chronic kidney disease (95 % CI 6·9 %, 8·8 %) and 6·1 % for CVD (95 % CI 4·3 %, 7·9 %). The prevalence of having zero and at least two CMD was 50·6 % (95 % CI 44·1 %, 57·0 %) and 12·3 % (95 % CI 8·1 %, 16·4 %), respectively. Non-Hispanic Black adults had significantly higher prevalence of diabetes (adjusted prevalence ratio, 3·35; 95 % CI 1·35, 8·30) compared with non-Hispanic White adults. In conclusion, approximately half of the underweight adults had at least one CMD, and 12·3 % had at least two CMD. Prevention and management of CMD in underweight adults are critical yet neglected public health challenges.
The pth ($p\geq 1$) moment exponential stability, almost surely exponential stability and stability in distribution for stochastic McKean–Vlasov equation are derived based on some distribution-dependent Lyapunov function techniques.
In 2018, an Ionplus 200 kV MIni-CArbon DAting System (MICADAS) accelerator mass spectrometer (AMS) was installed at the Laboratory of AMS Dating and the Environment, Nanjing University (NJU-AMS Laboratory), China. The NJU-AMS Laboratory is largely devoted to research on radiocarbon dating and 14C analysis in fields of earth, environmental and archaeological sciences. The laboratory has successfully employed various pretreatment methods, including routine pretreatment of tree rings, buried wood and subfossil wood, seeds, charcoal, pollen concentrates, organic matter, and shells. In this study, operational status of the NJU-AMS is presented, and results of radiocarbon measurements made on different sample types are reported. Measurements on international standards, references of known age, and blank samples demonstrate that the NJU-AMS runs stably and has good reproducibility on measurement of single samples. The facility is capable of measuring 14C in samples with the precision and accuracy that meet the requirements for investigating annual 14C changes, history-prehistory age dating, and Late Quaternary stratigraphic chronology research.
Using data from the Veterans’ Health Administration from 2010 to 2019, we examined the distribution and prevalence of community-acquired phenotypic extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL) E. coli in the United States. ESBL prevalence slowly increased during the study period, and cluster analysis showed clustering in both urban and rural locations.
In a recent survey of nematodes associated with tobacco in Shandong, China, the root-lesion nematode Pratylenchus coffeae was identified using a combination of morphology and molecular techniques. This nematode species is a serious parasite that damages a variety of plant species. The model plant benthi, Nicotiana benthamiana, is frequently used to study plant-disease interactions. However, it is not known whether this plant species is a host of P. coffeae. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the parasitism and pathogenicity of five populations of the root-lesion nematode P. coffeae on N. benthamiana.N. benthamiana seedlings with the same growth status were chosen and inoculated with 1,000 nematodes per pot. At 60 days after inoculation, the reproductive factors (Rf = final population densities (Pf)/initial population densities (Pi)) for P. coffeae in the rhizosphere of N. benthamiana were all more than 1, suggesting that N. benthamiana was a good host plant for P. coffeae.Nicotiana. benthamiana infected by P. coffeae showed weak growth, decreased tillering, high root reduction, and noticeable brown spots on the roots. Thus, we determined that the model plant N. benthamiana can be used to study plant-P. coffeae interactions.
To evaluate the associations of ultra-processed food (UPF) consumption and obesity indicators among individuals with and without type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) from the Coronary Artery Calcification in Type 1 Diabetes cohort study.
Design:
A secondary analysis. The consumption of UPF was assessed using the dietary data collected with the Harvard FFQ, and each food item was categorised according to the NOVA food processing classification. Height, weight and waist circumference were measured at baseline and after a mean of 14·6-year follow-up. Generalised estimating equations stratified by diabetes status were used to assess the associations between UPF intake and obesity indicators over 14 years of follow-up.
Setting:
USA.
Participants:
A total of 600 adults (256 T1DM and 344 non-diabetic controls) aged 39 ± 9·1 years at baseline and followed up for over 14 years were included.
Results:
Participants with T1DM consumed significantly more UPF than non-diabetic controls at baseline: 7·6 ± 3·8 v. 6·6 ± 3·4 servings per day of UPF, respectively (P < 0·01). Participants with T1DM and with the highest UPF intake had the highest weight (βQ4 v. Q1 = 3·07) and BMI (βQ4 v. Q1 = 1·02, all P < 0·05) compared with those with the lowest UPF intake. Similar positive associations were observed in non-diabetic controls.
Conclusions:
Individuals with T1DM may consume more UPF than non-diabetic controls. Positive associations between UPF consumption and obesity indicators suggest that limiting UPF can be recommended for obesity prevention and management. Further research is needed to confirm these findings.
As a major approach for controlling electromagnetic (EM) waves, metamaterials have experienced an abundant and rapid development in the 21st century. They have provided flexible and powerful techniques for controlling EM waves and brought many unique applications that are difficult to realise with natural materials. With increasing demands on dynamic controls of the EM waves, many innovations have been conducted in both three-dimensional metamaterials and two-dimensional metasurfaces, in which the meta-atom has been gradually evolved from passive to active. In 2014, coding and digital mechanisms were initially introduced to the metamaterials, further advancing the appearance of digitally programmable metamaterials. The programmable metamaterials have shown great potentials in not only real-time manipulations of the EM waves, but also direct information processing on the EM wave level. In this article, we present an in-depth review of the programmable EM metamaterials and metasurfaces, focusing on the programmable features including theoretical concepts, implementing methods and applications in EM controls. We first give a short retrospect of traditional metamaterials and metasurfaces, followed by the concepts and detailed discussions of digital coding and field-programmable metamaterials. Then, we introduce space-domain, time-domain and space–time-domain programmable metamaterials and metasurfaces, mainly focusing on their theories, functionalities, experimental implementations, and system-level applications. Finally, we conclude the current advances of the programmable metamaterials and metasurfaces, and give a prospect for the future developments.
The great demographic pressure brings tremendous volume of beef demand. The key to solve this problem is the growth and development of Chinese cattle. In order to find molecular markers conducive to the growth and development of Chinese cattle, sequencing was used to determine the position of copy number variations (CNVs), bioinformatics analysis was used to predict the function of ZNF146 gene, real-time fluorescent quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) was used for CNV genotyping and one-way analysis of variance was used for association analysis. The results showed that there exists CNV in Chr 18: 47225201-47229600 (5.0.1 version) of ZNF146 gene through the early sequencing results in the laboratory and predicted ZNF146 gene was expressed in liver, skeletal muscle and breast cells, and was amplified or overexpressed in pancreatic cancer, which promoted the development of tumour through bioinformatics. Therefore, it is predicted that ZNF146 gene affects the proliferation of muscle cells, and then affects the growth and development of cattle. Furthermore, CNV genotyping of ZNF146 gene was three types (deletion type, normal type and duplication type) by Real-time fluorescent quantitative PCR (qPCR). The association analysis results showed that ZNF146-CNV was significantly correlated with rump length of Qinchuan cattle, hucklebone width of Jiaxian red cattle and heart girth of Yunling cattle. From the above results, ZNF146-CNV had a significant effect on growth traits, which provided an important candidate molecular marker for growth and development of Chinese cattle.
Innon-life insurance, the payment history can be predictive of the timing of a settlement for individual claims. Ignoring the association between the payment process and the settlement process could bias the prediction of outstanding payments. To address this issue, we introduce into the literature of micro-level loss reserving a joint modeling framework that incorporates longitudinal payments of a claim into the intensity process of claim settlement. We discuss statistical inference and focus on the prediction aspects of the model. We demonstrate applications of the proposed model in the reserving practice with a detailed empirical analysis using data from a property insurance provider. The prediction results from an out-of-sample validation show that the joint model framework outperforms existing reserving models that ignore the payment–settlement association.
The Variables and Slow Transients Survey (VAST) on the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP) is designed to detect highly variable and transient radio sources on timescales from 5 s to
$\sim\!5$
yr. In this paper, we present the survey description, observation strategy and initial results from the VAST Phase I Pilot Survey. This pilot survey consists of
$\sim\!162$
h of observations conducted at a central frequency of 888 MHz between 2019 August and 2020 August, with a typical rms sensitivity of
$0.24\ \mathrm{mJy\ beam}^{-1}$
and angular resolution of
$12-20$
arcseconds. There are 113 fields, each of which was observed for 12 min integration time, with between 5 and 13 repeats, with cadences between 1 day and 8 months. The total area of the pilot survey footprint is 5 131 square degrees, covering six distinct regions of the sky. An initial search of two of these regions, totalling 1 646 square degrees, revealed 28 highly variable and/or transient sources. Seven of these are known pulsars, including the millisecond pulsar J2039–5617. Another seven are stars, four of which have no previously reported radio detection (SCR J0533–4257, LEHPM 2-783, UCAC3 89–412162 and 2MASS J22414436–6119311). Of the remaining 14 sources, two are active galactic nuclei, six are associated with galaxies and the other six have no multi-wavelength counterparts and are yet to be identified.
The onset of magnetic reconnection in space, astrophysical and laboratory plasmas is reviewed discussing results from theory, numerical simulations and observations. After a brief introduction on magnetic reconnection and approach to the question of onset, we first discuss recent theoretical models and numerical simulations, followed by observations of reconnection and its effects in space and astrophysical plasmas from satellites and ground-based detectors, as well as measurements of reconnection in laboratory plasma experiments. Mechanisms allowing reconnection spanning from collisional resistivity to kinetic effects as well as partial ionization are described, providing a description valid over a wide range of plasma parameters, and therefore applicable in principle to many different astrophysical and laboratory environments. Finally, we summarize the implications of reconnection onset physics for plasma dynamics throughout the Universe and illustrate how capturing the dynamics correctly is important to understanding particle acceleration. The goal of this review is to give a view on the present status of this topic and future interesting investigations, offering a unified approach.
Gravitational waves from coalescing neutron stars encode information about nuclear matter at extreme densities, inaccessible by laboratory experiments. The late inspiral is influenced by the presence of tides, which depend on the neutron star equation of state. Neutron star mergers are expected to often produce rapidly rotating remnant neutron stars that emit gravitational waves. These will provide clues to the extremely hot post-merger environment. This signature of nuclear matter in gravitational waves contains most information in the 2–4 kHz frequency band, which is outside of the most sensitive band of current detectors. We present the design concept and science case for a Neutron Star Extreme Matter Observatory (NEMO): a gravitational-wave interferometer optimised to study nuclear physics with merging neutron stars. The concept uses high-circulating laser power, quantum squeezing, and a detector topology specifically designed to achieve the high-frequency sensitivity necessary to probe nuclear matter using gravitational waves. Above 1 kHz, the proposed strain sensitivity is comparable to full third-generation detectors at a fraction of the cost. Such sensitivity changes expected event rates for detection of post-merger remnants from approximately one per few decades with two A+ detectors to a few per year and potentially allow for the first gravitational-wave observations of supernovae, isolated neutron stars, and other exotica.
In this paper the configurations of shock wave–boundary layer interactions (SWBLI) are studied theoretically and experimentally in Mach number 2 and 2.5 flows on test models with various wedge angles ranging from $9^\circ$ to $21^\circ$. The proposed theoretical method couples the free interaction theory (FIT) with the minimum entropy production (MEP) principle to predict the appearance of separation shock, resulting in convex, straight and concave separation shock waves according to different solution combinations, which agree well with current experiments. Additionally, several influences on SWBLI are studied experimentally, in which the parameters related to theoretical solutions are found mostly determining the flow configuration, and SWBLI is much more sensitive to incident shock strength than incoming flow properties. Separation could be suppressed by incident shock when the MEP solution is smaller than the FIT, while it could be intensified when the MEP solution is larger than FIT; by contrast, the effects of separation position and model mounting height could be very weak.
X-ray reference powder patterns and structures have been determined for a series of cobalt- and tungsten-containing cubic alkaline-earth perovskites, (BaxSr1–x)2CoWO6 (x = 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.5, 0.7, and 0.9). The structure of the end members of the series, Sr2CoWO6 and Ba2CoWO6, were tetragonal and cubic, respectively, agreeing with the literature data. From Rietveld refinements, it was found that when x = 0.1 and 0.2, the structure was tetragonal I4/m (a = 5.60481(6) and 5.62305(11) Å and c = 7.97989(12) and 7.9847(2) Å, respectively; Z = 2). When x > 0.2, the structure was cubic (Fm$\bar{3}$m, No. 225; Z = 4) (from x = 0.3 to 0.9, a increases from 7.98399(13) to 8.08871(10) Å). This tetragonal series of compounds exhibit the characteristics of a distorted double-perovskite structure. The bond valence sum values for the alkaline-earth (Ba, Sr) sites in all (BaxSr1−x)2CoWO6 members are greater than the ideal value of 2.0, indicating over-bonding situation, whereas for the W sites, as x increases, a change from under-bonding to slightly over-bonding situation was observed. Density functional theory calculations revealed that while Sr2CoWO6 is a semiconductor, Ba2CoWO6 and SrBaCoWO6 are half-metals. Powder X-ray diffraction patterns of this series of compounds (BaxSr1−x)2CoWO6, with x = 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.5, 0.7, and 0.9, have been submitted to be included in the Powder Diffraction File.
The present study compared the expression profile and made the classification with the leukocytes by using whole-genome cRNA microarrays among patients with SSD, major depressive disorder (MDD) and healthy controls.
Methods
Gene expression profiling was conducted in peripheral blood leucocytes from drug-free first-episode subjects with SSD, MDD, and matched controls (8 subjects in each group) using global mRNA expression arrays. Support vector machines (SVMs) were utilized for training and testing on candidate signature expression profiles from signature selection step.
Results
We identified SSD and MDD gene signatures from blood-based gene expression profile and build a SSD- MDD disorder model with higher predictive power. Firstly, we identified 63 differentially expressed SSD signatures in contrast to control (P <= 5.0E-4) and 30 differentially expressed MDD signatures in contrast to control, respectively. Then, 123 gene signatures were identified with significantly differential expression level between SSD and MDD. Secondly, in order to conduct priority selection for biomarkers for SSD and MDD together, we selected top gene signatures from each group of pair-wise comparison results, and merged the signatures together to generate better profiles used for clearly classify SSD and MDD sets in the same time. In details, we tried different combination of signatures from the three pair-wise compartmental results and finally determined 48 gene expression signatures with 100% accuracy.
Conclusion
Blood cell-derived RNA may have significant value for performing diagnostic functions and identifying disease biomarkers in SSD and MDD. These 48 gene model could classify SSD, MDD, and healthy controls.
We describe an ultra-wide-bandwidth, low-frequency receiver recently installed on the Parkes radio telescope. The receiver system provides continuous frequency coverage from 704 to 4032 MHz. For much of the band (
${\sim}60\%$
), the system temperature is approximately 22 K and the receiver system remains in a linear regime even in the presence of strong mobile phone transmissions. We discuss the scientific and technical aspects of the new receiver, including its astronomical objectives, as well as the feed, receiver, digitiser, and signal processor design. We describe the pipeline routines that form the archive-ready data products and how those data files can be accessed from the archives. The system performance is quantified, including the system noise and linearity, beam shape, antenna efficiency, polarisation calibration, and timing stability.
Major depressive disorder (MDD) is the second leading cause of disability in China.
Objective
To analyze functioning during the course of treating MDD in China, Taiwan and Hong Kong.
Aims
To study the influence of pain and clinical remission on functioning.
Methods
This was a post-hoc analysis of a 6-month, prospective, observational study (n = 909) with 422 patients enrolled from China (n = 205; 48.6%), Taiwan (n = 199; 47.2%) and Hong Kong (n = 18; 4.2%). Functioning was measured with the Sheehan Disability Scale (SDS), pain with the Somatic Symptom Inventory, and severity of depression with the Quick Inventory of Depressive Symptomatology-Self Report 16 (QIDS). Patients were classified as having no pain, persistent pain (pain at any visit) or remitted pain (pain only at baseline). A mixed model with repeated measures was fitted to analyze the relationship between pain and functioning.
Results
At baseline, 40% of the patients had painful physical symptoms. Patients with pain had a higher QIDS and lower SDS (P < 0.05) at baseline. At 6 months, patients with persistent pain had lower functioning (P < 0.05). The regression model confirmed that clinical remission was associated with higher functioning at endpoint and that patients with persistent pain had lower functioning at endpoint when compared with the no pain group.
Conclusions
Patients presenting with pain symptoms had lower functioning at baseline. At 6 months, pain persistence was associated with significantly lower functioning as measured by the SDS. Clinical remission was associated with better functional outcomes. The course of pain was related to the likelihood of achieving remission.
Disclosure of interest
The authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.
Estimating the feed intake of grazing herbivores is critical for determining their nutrition, overall productivity and utilization of grassland resources. A 17-day indoor feeding experiment was conducted to evaluate the potential use of Medicago sativa as a natural supplement for estimating the total feed intake of sheep. A total of 16 sheep were randomly assigned to four diets (four sheep per diet) containing a known amount of M. sativa together with up to seven forages common to typical steppes. The diets were: diet 1, M. sativa + Leymus chinensis + Puccinellia distans; diet 2, species in diet 1 + Phragmites australis; diet 3, species in diet 2 + Chenopodium album + Elymus sibiricus; and diet 4, species in diet 3 + Artemisia scoparia + Artemisia tanacetifolia. After faecal marker concentrations were corrected by individual sheep recovery, treatment mean recovery or overall recovery, the proportions of M. sativa and other dietary forages were estimated from a combination of alkanes and long-chain alcohols using a least-square procedure. Total intake was the ratio of the known intake of M. sativa to its estimated dietary proportion. Each dietary component intake was obtained using total intake and the corresponding dietary proportions. The estimated values were compared with actual values to assess the estimation accuracy. The results showed that M. sativa exhibited a distinguishable marker pattern in comparison to the other dietary forage species. The accuracy of the dietary composition estimates was significantly (P < 0.001) affected by both diet diversity and the faecal recovery method. The proportion of M. sativa and total intake across all diets could be accurately estimated using the individual sheep or the treatment mean recovery methods. The largest differences between the estimated and observed total intake were 2.6 g and 19.2 g, respectively, representing only 0.4% and 2.6% of the total intake. However, they were significantly (P < 0.05) biased for most diets when using the overall recovery method. Due to the difficulty in obtaining individual sheep recovery under field conditions, treatment mean recovery is recommended. This study suggests that M. sativa, a natural roughage instead of a labelled concentrate, can be utilized as a dietary supplement to accurately estimate the total feed intake of sheep indoors and further indicates that it has potential to be used in steppe grassland of northern China, where the marker patterns of M. sativa differ markedly from commonly occurring plant species.