Fabrication of a High-Performance and Reusable Planar Face Mask in Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic

The coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19)pandemic has caused a surge in demand for face masks,with the massive consumption of masks leading to an increase in resource-related and environmental con-cerns.In this work,we fabricated meltblown polypropylene(mb-PP)-based high-performance planar face masks and investigated the effects of six commonly used disinfection methods and various mask-wearing periods on the reusability of these masks.The results show that,after three cycles of treatment using hot water at 70℃ for 30 min,which is one of the most scalable,user-friendly methods for viral disinfection,the particle filtration efficiency(PFE)of the mask remained almost unchanged.After mask wearing for 24 h and subsequent disinfection using the same treatment procedures,the PFE decreased to 91.3%;the average number of bacterial and fungal colonies was assessed to be 9.2 and 51.6 colony-forming units per gram(CFU∙g^(-1)),respectively;and coliform and pyogenic bacteria were not detected.Both the PFE and the microbial indicators are well above the standard for reusable masks after disinfection.Schlieren pho-tography was then used to assess the capabilities of used and disinfected masks during use;it showed that the masks exhibit a high performance in suppressing the spread of breathed air.

Abnormal Rich-Club Organization Associated with Compromised Cognitive Function in Patients with Schizophrenia and Their Unaffected Parents

Schizophrenia is considered to be a disorder of brain connectivity, which might result from a disproportionally impaired rich-club organization. The rich-club is composed of highly interconnected hub regions that play crucial roles in integrating information between different brain regions. Few studies have yet investigated whether the structural rich-club organization is impaired in patients and their first-degree relatives. In this study, we established a weighted network model of white matter connections using diffusion tensor imaging of 19 patients and 39 unaffected parents, 22 young healthy controls for the patients, and 25 old healthy controls for the parents. Feeder edges between rich-club nodes and non-rich-club nodes were significantly decreased in both schizophrenic patients and their unaffected parents compared with controls.Furthermore, the feeder edges showed significant positive correlations with the scores in Category Fluency Test—animal naming in the unaffected parents. Specific feeder edges exhibited discriminative power with accuracy of 84.4% in distinguishing unaffected parents from old healthy controls. Our findings suggest that impaired richclub organization, especially impaired feeder edges, may be related to familial vulnerability to schizophrenia,possibly reflecting a genetic predisposition for schizophrenia.

Compromised small-world efficiency of structural brain networks in schizophrenic patients and their unaffected parents

Several lines of evidence suggest that efficient information integration between brain regions is disrupted in schizophrenia. Abnormalities in white matter tracts that interconnect brain regions may be directly relevant to this pathophysiological process. As a complex mental disorder with high heritability, mapping abnormalities in patients and their first- degree relatives may help to disentangle the risk factors for schizophrenia. We established a weighted network model of white matter connections using diffusion tensor imaging in 25 nuclear families with schizophrenic probands （19 patients and 41 unaffected parents） and two unrelated groups of normal controls （24 controls matched with patients and 26 controls matched with relatives）. The patient group showed lower global efficiency and local efficiency. The decreased regional efficiency was localized in hubs such as the bilateral frontal cortices, bilateral anterior cingulate cortices, and left precuneus. The global efficiency was negatively correlated with cognition scores derived from a 5-factor model of schizophrenic psychopathology.We also found that unaffected parents displayed decreased regional efficiency in the right temporal cortices, left supplementary motor area, left superior temporal pole, and left thalamus. The global efficiency tended to be lower in unaffected parents. Our data suggest that （1） the global efficiency loss in neuroanatomical networks may be associated with the cognitive disturbances in schizophrenia; and （2） genetic vulnerability to schizophrenia may influence the anatomical organization of an individual＇s brain networks.

Progressive Grey Matter Volume Changes in Patients with Schizophrenia over 6 Weeks of Antipsychotic Treatment and Their Relationship to Clinical Improvement

Cross-sectional and longitudinal studies have identified widespread and progressive grey matter volume （GMV） reductions in schizophrenia, especially in the frontal lobe. In this study, we found a progressive GMV decrease in the rostral medial frontal cortex （rMFC, including the anterior cingulate cortex） in the patient group during a 6-week follow-up of 40 patients with schizophrenia and 31 healthy controls well-matched for age, gender, and education. The higher baseline GMV in the rMFC predicted better improvement in the positive score on the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale （PANSS）, and this might be related to the improved reality-monitoring. Besides, a higher baseline GMV in the posterior rMFC predicted better remission of general symptoms, and a lesser GMV reduction in this region was correlated with better remission of negative symptoms, probably associated with ameliorated self-referential pro- cessing and social cognition. Besides, a shorter disease course and higher educational level contributed to better improvement in the general psychopathological PANSS score, and a family history was negatively associated with improvement of the negative and total PANSS scores. These phenomena might be important for understanding the neuropathological mechanisms underlying the symp- toms of schizophrenia and for making clinical decisions.

Testing the role of genetic variation of the MC4R gene in Chinese population in antipsychotic-induced metabolic disturbance

Antipsychotic-induced metabolic disturbance(AIMD) is a common adverse effect of antipsychotics with genetics partly underpinning variation in susceptibility among schizophrenia patients. Melanocortin4 receptor(MC4 R) gene, one of the candidate genes for AIMD, has been under-studied in the Chinese patients. We conducted a pharmacogenetic study in a large cohort of Chinese patients with schizophrenia. In this study, we investigated the genetic variation of MC4 R in Chinese population by genotyping two SNPs(rs489693 and rs17782313) in 1,991 Chinese patients and examined association of these variants with the metabolic effects that were often observed to be related to AIMD. Metabolic measures, including body mass index(BMI), waist circumference(WC), glucose, triglyceride, high-density lipoprotein(HDL), and low-density lipoprotein(LDL) levels were assessed at baseline and after 6-week antipsychotic treatment. We found that interaction of SNP×medication status(drug-na?ve/medicated) was significantly associated with BMI, WC, and HDL change %, respectively. Both SNPs were significantly associated with baseline BMI and WC in the medicated group. Moderate association of rs489693 with WC, Triglyceride, and HDL change % were observed in the whole sample. In the drug-na?ve group, we found recessive effects of rs489693 on BMI gain more than 7%, WC and Triglyceride change %, with AA incurring more metabolic adverse effects. In conclusion, the association between rs489693 and the metabolic measures is ubiquitous but moderate. Rs17782313 is less involved in AIMD. Two SNPs confer risk of AIMD to patients treated with different antipsychotics in a similar way.

The Human MSI2 Gene is Associated with Schizophrenia in the Chinese Han Population

It has been suggested that altered neurogenesis may be involved in the etiology of schizophrenia,so genes impacting on neurogenesis could be potential candidates for schizophrenia.A member of the Musashi family,the human MSI2 gene plays a substantial role in stem-cell maintenance,asymmetric division,and differentiation during neurogenesis.Our previous genome-wide association study（GWAS）implied an association of MSI2 with schizophrenia in a Han Chinese population.To further explore this association,three single-nucleotide polymorphisms（SNPs）,rs9892791,rs11657292,and rs1822381,were selected for a replication study involving 921 schizophrenia cases and 1244 controls.After rigorous Bonferroni correction,two of the SNPs（rs9892791 and rs11657292） displayed significant differences in allele and genotype distribution frequencies between the case and control groups.When our GWAS and replication samples were combined,the three MSI2 SNPs were all strongly associated with schizophrenia（rs9892791：allelic P = 1.07E-5;rs11657292：allelic P = 1.95E-12;rs1822381：allelic P = 1.44E-4）.These results indicate that the human MSI2 gene might be a susceptibility gene forschizophrenia and encourage future research on the functional relationship between this gene and schizophrenia.

ZNF804A Variation May Affect Hippocampal-Prefrontal Resting-State Functional Connectivity in Schizophrenic and Healthy Individuals

The ZNF804 A variant rs1344706 has consistently been associated with schizophrenia and plays a role in hippocampal-prefrontal functional connectivity during working memory. Whether the effect exists in the resting state and in patients with schizophrenia remains unclear. In this study, we investigated the ZNF804 A polymorphism at rs1344706 in 92 schizophrenic patients and 99 healthy controls of Han Chinese descent, and used resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging to explore the functional connectivity in the participants. We found a significant main effect of genotype on the resting-state functional connectivity（RSFC） between the hippocampus and the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex（DLPFC） in both schizophrenic patients and healthy controls. The homozygous ZNF804 A rs1344706 genotype（AA） conferred a high risk of schizophrenia, and also exhibited significantly decreased resting functional coupling between the left hippocampus and right DLPFC（F（2,165） = 13.43,P ／ 0.001）. The RSFC strength was also correlated with cognitive performance and the severity of psychosis in schizophrenia. The current findings identified the neural impact of the ZNF804 A rs1344706 on hippocampalprefrontal RSFC associated with schizophrenia.

Interaction Between Variations in Dopamine D2 and Serotonin 2A Receptor is Associated with Short-Term Response to Antipsychotics in Schizophrenia

Dear Editor,Schizophrenia is a chronic and debilitating brain disorder,which has a strong genetic component with heritability ranging from 66%to 85%[1,2].Currently,antipsychotic drugs remain the most effective treatment for the psychotic symptoms of schizophrenia[3].Because of the severe sideeffects of first-generation antipsychotics(FGAs),secondgeneration antipsychotics(SGAs)have become more widely used in the treatment of schizophrenia.

P-Rex1 Overexpression Results in Aberrant Neuronal Polarity and Psychosis-Related Behaviors

Neuronal polarity is involved in multiple developmental stages, including cortical neuron migration,multipolar-to-bipolar transition, axon initiation, apical/basal dendrite differentiation, and spine formation. All of these processes are associated with the cytoskeleton and are regulated by precise timing and by controlling gene expression. The P-Rex1(phosphatidylinositol-3,4,5-trisphosphate dependent Rac exchange factor 1) gene for example, is known to be important for cytoskeletal reorganization, cell motility, and migration. Deficiency of P-Rex1 protein leads to abnormal neuronal migration and synaptic plasticity, as well as autism-related behaviors.Nonetheless, the effects of P-Rex1 overexpression on neuronal development and higher brain functions remain unclear. In the present study, we explored the effect of P-Rex1 overexpression on cerebral development and psychosis-related behaviors in mice. In utero electroporation at embryonic day 14.5 was used to assess the influence of P-Rex1 overexpression on cell polarity and migration.Primary neuron culture was used to explore the effects of P-Rex1 overexpression on neuritogenesis and spine morphology. In addition, P-Rex1 overexpression in the medial prefrontal cortex(m PFC) of mice was used to assess psychosis-related behaviors. We found that P-Rex1 overexpression led to aberrant polarity and inhibited the multipolar-to-bipolar transition, leading to abnormal neuronal migration. In addition, P-Rex1 overexpression affected the early development of neurons, manifested as abnormal neurite initiation with cytoskeleton change,reduced the axon length and dendritic complexity, and caused excessive lamellipodia in primary neuronal culture.Moreover, P-Rex1 overexpression decreased the density of spines with increased height, width, and head area in vitro and in vivo. Behavioral tests showed that P-Rex1 overexpression in the mouse m PFC caused anxiety-like behaviors and a sensorimotor gating deficit. The appropriate P-Rex1 level plays a critical role in the developing cerebral cortex and excessive P-Rex1 might be related to psychosis-related behaviors.

Association of ABCB1 Gene Polymorphisms with Efficacy and Adverse Reaction to Risperidone or Paliperidone in Han Chinese Schizophrenic Patients

Dear editor, P-glycoprotein （P-gp, also known as ATP-binding cassette transport sub-family B member 1, ABCB1） is a potent ATP-dependent efflux pump for a wide variety of drugs. Although studies of its substrates are abundant [ 1, 2], and ABCB1 is a well-conserved gene, there is increasing evi- dence that its polymorphisms affect substrate specificity [3]. A previous study reported that the synonymous single nucleotide polymorphism （SNP） C3435T （rs1045642） affects the timing of co-translational folding and insertionof P-gp into the membrane,

RhoGEF Trio Regulates Radial Migration of Projection Neurons via Its Distinct Domains

The radial migration of cortical pyramidal neurons(PNs)during corticogenesis is necessary for establishing a multilayered cerebral cortex.Neuronal migration defects are considered a critical etiology of neurodevelopmental disorders,including autism spectrum disorders(ASDs),schizophrenia,epilepsy,and intellectual disability(ID).TRIO is a high-risk candidate gene for ASDs and ID.However,its role in embryonic radial migration and the etiology of ASDs and ID are not fully understood.In this study,we found that the in vivo conditional knockout or in utero knockout of Trio in excitatory precursors in the neocortex caused aberrant polarity and halted the migration of late-born PNs.Further investigation of the underlying mechanism revealed that the interaction of the Trio N-terminal SH3 domain with Myosin X mediated the adherence of migrating neurons to radial glial fibers through regulating the membrane location of neuronal cadherin(N-cadherin).Also,independent or synergistic overexpression of RAC1 and RHOA showed different phenotypic recoveries of the abnormal neuronal migration by affecting the morphological transition and/or the glial fiber-dependent locomotion.Taken together,our findings clarify a novel mechanism of Trio in regulating N-cadherin cell surface expression via the interaction of Myosin X with its N-terminal SH3 domain.These results suggest the vital roles of the guanine nucleotide exchange factor 1(GEF1)and GEF2 domains in regulating radial migration by activating their Rho GTPase effectors in both distinct and cooperative manners,which might be associated with the abnormal phenotypes in neurodevelopmental disorders.

Potential diagnostic biomarkers for schizophrenia

Schizophrenia(SCH)is a complex and severe mental disorder with high prevalence,disability,mortality and carries a heavy disease burden,the lifetime prevalence of SCH is around 0.7%–1.0%,which has a profound impact on the individual and society.In the clinical practice of SCH,key problems such as subjective diagnosis,experiential treatment,and poor overall prognosis are still challenging.In recent years,some exciting discoveries have been made in the research on objective biomarkers of SCH,mainly focusing on genetic susceptibility genes,metabolic indicators,immune indices,brain imaging,electrophysiological characteristics.This review aims to summarize the biomarkers that may be used for the prediction and diagnosis of SCH.

STON2风险变异通过影响Syt1转运和突触功能导致精神分裂症样行为

Synaptic dysfunction is a core component of the pathophysiology of schizophrenia.However,the genetic risk factors and molecular mechanisms related to synaptic dysfunction are still not fully understood.The Stonin 2(STON2)gene encodes a major adaptor for clathrin-mediated endocytosis(CME)of synaptic vesicles.In this study,we showed that the C-C(307Pro-851Ala)haplotype of STON2 increases the susceptibility to schizophrenia and examined whether STON2 variations cause schizophrenia-like behaviors through the regulation of CME.We found that schizophrenia-related STON2 variations led to protein dephosphorylation,which affected its interaction with synaptotagmin 1(Syt1),a calcium sensor protein located in the presynaptic membrane that is critical for CME.STON2307Pro851Ala knockin mice exhibited deficits in synaptic transmission,short-term plasticity,and schizophrenia-like behaviors.Moreover,among seven antipsychotic drugs,patients with the C-C(307Pro-851Ala)haplotype responded better to haloperidol than did the T-A(307Ser-851Ser)carriers.The recovery of deficits in Syt1 sorting and synaptic transmission by acute administration of haloperidol effectively improved schizophrenia-like behaviors in STON2307Pro851Ala knockin mice.Our findings demonstrated the effect of schizophreniarelated STON2 variations on synaptic dysfunction through the regulation of CME,which might be attractive therapeutic targets for treating schizophrenia-like phenotypes.