Interaction between catechol-O-methyltransferase Val/Met polymorphism and cognitive reserve for negative symptoms in schizophrenia

BACKGROUND Cognitive reserve(CR)and the catechol-O-methyltransferase(COMT)Val/Met polymorphism are reportedly linked to negative symptoms in schizophrenia.However,the regulatory effect of the COMT genotype on the relationship between CR and negative symptoms is still unexamined.AIM To investigate whether the relationship between CR and negative symptoms could be regulated by the COMT Val/Met polymorphism.METHODS In a cross-sectional study,54 clinically stable patients with schizophrenia underwent assessments for the COMT genotype,CR,and negative symptoms.CR was estimated using scores in the information and similarities subtests of a short form of the Chinese version of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale.RESULTS COMT Met-carriers exhibited fewer negative symptoms than Val homozygotes.In the total sample,significant negative correlations were found between negative symptoms and information,similarities.Associations between information,similarities and negative symptoms were observed in Val homozygotes only,with information and similarities showing interaction effects with the COMT genotype in relation to negative symptoms(information,β=-0.282,95%CI:-0.552 to-0.011,P=0.042;similarities,β=-0.250,95%CI:-0.495 to-0.004,P=0.046).CONCLUSION This study provides initial evidence that the association between negative symptoms and CR is under the regulation of the COMT genotype in schizophrenia.

An Innovative Approach to Separate Iron Oxide Concentrate from High-sulfur and Low-grade Pyrite Cinders

High-sulfur and low-grade pyrite cinders are the waste products of sulfuric acid manufacturing plants.Many valuable components,such as iron oxide,are contained in pyrite cinders and difficult to be separated and purified just via the high temperature roasting process.Considering this,an innovative method including water-washing,aqua regia leaching,hydrothermal alkali activation and acid-washing was developed.And the effects of different parameters on recovery efficiency of iron oxide were systematically investigated.The optimum parameters were proposed as follows：water rinse-leaching at room temperature for 5-20 min,and melting at 160 ℃ for 2.0h with NaOH（concentration of 30mass%）,followed by leaching with aqua regia solution（3.0vol.%）for 1.0h.After the treatment,the content of iron oxides increased from 54.3to 96.0mass% with the recovery rate exceeding 85%.Meanwhile,calcium sulphate was recovered as the high value-added products by alkali extraction liquid.Furthermore,the phase transformation and microstructure of the samples in the process were studied by physicochemical methods to reveal the separation mechanisms of different components in the pyrite cinders.