X-linked Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease after SARS-CoV-2 vaccination mimicked stroke-like episodes: A case report

BACKGROUND Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2(SARS-CoV-2) vaccinations have been administered worldwide, with occasional reports of associated neurological complications. Specifically, the impact of vaccinations on individuals with Xlinked Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease type 1(CMTX1) is unclear. Patients with CMTX1 can have stroke-like episodes with posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome on magnetic resonance imaging(MRI), although this is rare.CASE SUMMARY A 39-year-old man was admitted with episodic aphasia and dysphagia for 2 d. He received SARS-CoV-2 vaccination 39 d before admission. Physical examination showed pes cavus and reduced tendon reflexes. Brain MRI showed bilateral, symmetrical, restricted diffusion with T2 hyperintensities in the cerebral hemispheres. Nerve conduction studies revealed peripheral nerve damage. He was diagnosed with Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, and a hemizygous mutation in the GJB1 gene on the X chromosome, known to be pathogenic for CMTX1, was identified. Initially, we suspected transient ischemic attack or demyelinating leukoencephalopathy. We initiated treatment with antithrombotic therapy and immunotherapy. At 1.5 mo after discharge, brain MRI showed complete resolution of lesions, with no recurrence.CONCLUSION SARS-CoV-2 vaccination could be a predisposing factor for CMTX1 and trigger a sudden presentation.

Episode:互动小说移动应用市场的先驱

艾匹·德互动公司(Episode Interactive)开发的移动应用程序Episode是全球最早开发的互动小说应用之一,也是目前世界上最大的移动叙事网络和平台之一。凭借对移动娱乐市场的敏锐嗅觉,它在欧美移动互动小说市场取得了先发优势,构建了以用户生成内容(UGC)、自主研发、IP改编三端驱动内容生产,以年轻女性群体为主要受众,以付费道具模式和广告为主要收入来源的成熟出版生态和商业模式,并拥有世界上最大的互动叙事创作者社区之一。虽然由于受受众群体、内容主题和资本博弈等因素的影响,移动互动小说市场的竞争异常激烈,但Episode凭借着良好的用户基础和在UGC领域的多年耕耘,有应对挑战的资本和信心。

三维动画Episode的设计与制作

随着计算机处理图形图像的技术日益完善,CG制作越来越频繁地出现在生活中,其中的三维动画尤为常见。Maya是现在国际最为流行的顶级三维动画制作软件。通过Episode动画短片的制作,介绍运用Maya制作三维动画的步骤和过程。

Chemical characteristics of PM_(2.5) during a typical haze episode in Guangzhou

The chemical characteristics（water-soluble ions and carbonaceous species） of PM2.5 in Guangzhou were measured during a typical haze episode.Most of the chemical species in PM2.5 showed significant difference between normal and haze days.The highest contributors to PM2.5 were organic carbon（OC）,nitrate,and sulfate in haze days and were OC,sulfate,and elemental carbon（EC） in normal days.The concentrations of secondary species such as,NO3^-,SO4^2-,and NH4^＋ in haze days were 6.5,3.9,and 5.3 times higher than those in normal days,respectively,while primary species（EC,Ca^2＋,K^＋） show similar increase from normal to haze days by a factor about 2.2-2.4.OC/EC ratio ranged from 2.8 to 6.2 with an average of 4.7 and the estimation on a minimum OC/EC ratio showed that SOC（secondary organic carbon） accounted more than 36.6% for the total organic carbon in haze days.The significantly increase in the secondary species（SOC,NO3^-,SO4^2-,and NH4^＋）,especially in NO3^-,caused the worst air quality in this region.Simultaneously,the result illustrated that the serious air pollution in haze episodes was strongly correlated with the meteorological conditions.During the sampling periods,air pollution and visibility had a good relationship with the air mass transport distance;the shorter air masses transport distance,the worse air quality and visibility in Guangzhou,indicating the strong domination of local sources contributing to haze formation.High concentration of the secondary aerosol in haze episodes was likely due to the higher oxidation rates of sulfur and nitrogen species.

Chronology of the Tungsten Deposits in Southern Jiangxi Province, and Episodes and Zonation of the Regional W-Sn Mineralization-Evidence from High-precision Zircon U-Pb, Molybdenite Re-Os and Muscovite Ar-Ar Ages

Previous studies have obtained some petrogenetic and metallogenic chronological data with SHRIMP （sensitive high-resolution ion microprobe） zircon U-Pb, zircon LA-ICPMS （laser-ablation-inductively coupled plasma mass spectroscopy） U-Pb, molybdenite Re-Os isochron and muscovite Ar-Ar methods in southern Jiangxi Province and its adjacent areas. Based on these, the purpose of this paper is to study the petrogenetic and metallogenic ages and their time gap for different genetic types of W-Sn deposits, and thus to research their numerous episodes, zonal arrangement and their geodynamic background. The result shows that the large-scale W-Sn mineralization in southern Jiangxi Province occurred in the middle to late Jurassic （170-150 Ma）, the skarn W-Sn-polymetallic deposits formed much earlier （170-161 Ma）, and all of the wolframite-quartz vein type, greisen type, altered granite type and fractured zone type tungsten deposits formed in the late Jurassic （160-150 Ma）. In one ore field or ore district, greisen type tungsten deposits formed earlier than quartz vein type ones hosted in the endoor exo-contact zone; and quartz vein type hosted in the endocontact zone formed earlier than that of exocontact zone. There is no significant time difference between tungstentin mineralization and its intimately associated parent granite emplacement （1-6 Ma）. They all formed in the same rock-forming and ore-forming system and under the same geodynamic setting. Regionally, rock-forming and ore-forming processes of the W-Sn deposits in the Nanling region （include southern Jiangxi Province, southern Hunan Province, northern Guangdong Province and eastern Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region） exhibit numerous episodes. The mineralization in the Nanling region mainly occurred at （240-210） Ma, （170-150） Ma and （130-90） Ma. The tungsten-tin deposits in this region are centered by the largest scale in southern Jiangxi Province and southern Hunan Province, and become small in the east, west, south and north directions. This displays a zonal arrangement and temporal and spatial distribution regularity. Integrated with the latest research results, it is concluded that the W-Sn mineralization in southern Jiangxi Province and its adjacent areas corresponds to the second large-scale mineralization in South China. The Indosinian W-Sn mineralization formed under the extensional tectonic regime between collisional compressional stages, while the Yanshanian large-scale petrogenetic and metallogenic processes occurred in the Jurassic intraplate extensional geodynamic setting of lithosphere extension.

Delayed Impacts of the El Nio Episodes in the Central Pacific on the Summertime Climate Anomalies of Eastern China in 2003 and 2007

In the summers of 2003 and 2007, eastern China suffered similar climate disasters with severe flooding in the Huaihe River valley and heat waves in the southern Yangtze River delta and South China. Using SST data and outgoing longwave radiation （OLR） data from NOAA along with reanalysis data from NCEP/NCAR, the 2002/03 and 2006/07 E1 Nifio episodes in the central Pacific and their delayed impacts on the following early summertime climate anomalies of eastern China were analyzed. The possible physical progresses behaved as follows： Both of the moderate E1 Ninio episodes matured in the central equatorial Pacific during the early winter. The zonal wind anomalies near the sea surface of the west-central equatorial Pacific excited equatorial Kelvin waves propagating eastward and affected the evolution of the E1 Nifio episodes. From spring to early summer, the concurring anomalous easterly winds in the central equatorial Pacific and the end of upwelling Kelvin waves propagating eastward in the western equatorial Pacific, favored the equatorial warm water both of the SST and the subsurface temperature in the western Pacific. These conditions favored the warm state of the western equatorial Pacific in the early summer for both cases of 2003 and 2007. Due to the active convection in the western equatorial Pacific in the early summer and the weak warm SST anomalies in the tropical western Pacific from spring to early summer, the convective activities in the western Pacific warm pool showed the pattern in which the anomalous strong convection only appeared over the southern regions of the tropical western Pacific warm pool, which effects the meridional shift of the western Pacific subtropical high in the summer. The physical progress of the delayed impacts of the E1 Nino episodes in the central equatorial Pacific and their decaying evolution on the climate anomalies in eastern China were interpreted through the key role of special pattern for the heat convection in the tropical western Pacific warm pool and the response of the western North Pacific anomalous anticyclone.

Episodes of Cenozoic Gold Mineralization on the Eastern Margin of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau:40Ar/39Ar Dating and Implication for Geodynamic Events

A lot of new gold deposits have been found on the eastern margin of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau during the past two decades. Among them, three main types of gold deposits have been recognized, including quartz-vein-type, shear- zone-type and porphyry-type. The former two types of gold deposits are mainly hosted within metamorphic rocks, while the latter is related to Cenozoic magmatism. Although all of these gold deposits are believed to have been formed during the uplift process of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau in the Cenozoic era (Wang et al., 2002b), precise isotopic age constraints have still been lacking until quite recently. This paper presents new 40Ar/39Ar data of some gold deposits on the eastern margin of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, which indicate that gold mineralization in the region occurred in response to the episodic stages of the orogenies. Recently obtained 40Ar/39Ar data on quartz and feldspars from several gold deposits, such as the Sandiao deposit, the Baijintaizi deposit, the Pusagang deposits, provide new constraints on gold mineralization on the eastern margin of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. Geochronological studies of gold deposits along the Daduhe River indicate that there are three stages of gold mineralization. The early two stages occurred as early as 65.1 Ma in the Shuibaiyang deposit and 58.95 Ma in the Ruoji deposit, while the latter stage occurred as late as 25.35 Ma in Baijintaizi and 24.70 Ma in Sandiao. Isotopic dating of three plagioclases from the Beiya deposit, Zhifanggou deposit and Luobodi deposit and a K-feldspar from the Jinchangqing deposit in Yunnan Province indicates that these deposits were formed at two stages. The Zhifanggou and Jinchangqing deposits have early stage records as old as 58.82 Ma in Zhifanggou and 55.49 Ma in Jinchangqing, but all of the above four deposits in Yunnan have late stage records of 23.18 Ma in Jinchangqing, 24.54 Ma in Zhifanggou, 24.60 Ma in Luobodi and 24.56 Ma in Hongnitang. The above results suggest that the gold deposits on the eastern margin of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau were formed concentratedly at two main episodes, i.e. the end of the Paleocene (about 58 Ma) and the boundary between the Paleogene and the Neogene (about 25 Ma). The later episode appears to be looks like more important and was coupled with the Sichuan movement, which was extensively activated at that period. The beginning of the Cenozoic Era (about 65 Ma) might be another episode of gold mineralization, but only one deposit (Shuibaiyang) in this study has been proved to have been be formed at this stage and might be earlier than the initial collision between the Indian Plate and the Eurasia Plate. In view of geology, the above three episodes of gold mineralization are associated with three events of tectonic- magmatism and/or fluid events. Even though the gold deposits (for example, the Shuibaiyang deposit, Ruoji deposit and Pusagang deposit) were formed at different episodes, all of them are genetically related to tectonic movements in large- scale shear zones. It looks like theat tectonic events (including large-scale strike-slip) between Paleogene and Neogene had a wide influence upon gold mineralization, with new deposits formed and old deposits enriched or superimposed to be a higher grade by new stage of mineralization. The above data suggest that gold deposits were not only concentrated in some areas, but also formed mainly at different boundaries of geological times, indicating that there existed some peak stages of gold mineralization (metallogenic episodes), and that the gold deposits were formed mainly by episodic mineralization.

Tectonic evolution of structures in Southern Sindh Monocline,Indus Basin,Pakistan formed in multi-extensional tectonic episodes of Indian Plate

There are a number of structures and structural styles found in extensional tectonic settings of the world,and it is a big challenge to study the evolution of these structures. Evolution of structures formed in extensional tectonic settings have been studied by researchers on different extensional basins of the world. Southern Sindh Monocline lies on the western corner of Indian Plate and the tectonic history of Indian plate has also experienced different extensional episodes, and its journey rifted from Gondwanaland to its final welding to Asia. The aim of this study is to figure out the evolution of structures in the subsurface of Southern Sindh Monocline, Pakistan using the seismic data interpretation and flattening of horizons approach. Structures within the subsurface of Southern Sindh Monocline have been characterized by different tectonic episodes of Indian plate while rifting from Gondwanaland, rifting from other plates at different geological times and to its collision with the Asia. Basic structures within study area are classified into nine types while the structural styles have been classified into six types as horst and grabens, dominos, crotch, synthetic and antithetic, negative and flashlight structural style. The structures within the study area revealed evidence for three major structural episodes which can be characterized as Episode 1: Structures associated with rifting of Indian plate from Gondwanaland during Late Jurassic to Early Cretaceous, Episode 2: Modification and reactivation of previous structures while Madagascar rifted from Indian Plate during the Middle Cretaceous and during Episode 3: Inversion and reactivation of structures occurred when Indian Plate collided with Asia during Early Eocene.

Study of negatives symptoms in first episode schizophrenia

Background: Prevalence of negative symptoms in the early phase of schizophrenia remains uncertain. Negative symptoms are the primary cause of long term disability and poor functional outcome. The purpose of this study is to examine the presence of negative symptoms in patients with fist episode psychosis in schizophrenia who were hospitalized. Methods: Negative symptoms were measured in 72 patients presenting with FEP using the scale for assessment of negative symptoms (SANS) and ascertained diagnosis using DSM-IV. Prevalence of SANS items and subscales were examined for both schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. Results: This study shows that a significant number of patients with first episode schizophrenia had negative symptoms 66 (87.5%). All five subtypes of negative symptoms were present in 47% of patients suggesting primary negative symptoms, and about 40% have secondary negative symptoms. Independently, each subtype of negative symptoms was seen in 48% - 76% of patients. The most prevalent negative symptom in first-episode schizophrenia was found to be blunting (72%). 46% of patients had significant level of depression, overall psychopathology was severe and level of functioning was poor. We found that 45.8% patients were prescribed anticholinergic medications which indicated that at least 45% subjects had extra-pyramidal symptoms (EPS). Conclusion: Primary negative symptoms are prevalent in about half of First episode Psychosis (FEP) schizophrenia patients. These findings have implications for identification, early treatment, and reduced treatment resistance for negative symptoms in order to increase social and clinical outcome of schizophrenia. Further research is required in this area.

Cluster headache as a manifestation of a stroke-like episode in a carrier of the MT-ND3 variant m.10158T>C

In a recent article Fu et al reported about a 52 years old female with a mitochondrial disorder due to the variant m.10158T>C in the mtDNA located gene MT-ND3.The study has a number of shortcomings.The study would particularly profit from providing more data about multisystem disease,from providing the current medication,the cerebro-spinal fluid findings,the detailed phenotypic presentation,and the genotype of first-degree relatives.Since the index patient had experienced recurrent seizures it is crucial to know the current and previous anti-seizure medication as it may strongly determine the outcome.Some of them are mitochondrion-toxic and particularly valproic acid may exhibit fatal side effects.The outcome may also depend on the degree of multisystem involvement why it is crucial to prospectively investigate the patient for subclinical involvement of organs not obviously affected.Additionally,the outcome of the stroke-like lesions on imaging would be interesting to see.Strokelike lesions may completely disappear or may end up as white matter lesion,laminar cortical necrosis,focal atrophy,cyst,or as the so-called toenail sign.There is also a need of discussing more profoundly the imaging findings and their diagnostic significance and to investigate first degree relatives of the index patient clinically and genetically.Though highly interesting,the presentation of this case of a mitochondrial disorder lacks clinical and genetic data of the patient and his relatives.Outcome parameters,such as severity of disease,degree of progression,drugs,pathogenicity of the mutation,and multisystem involvement require a profound discussion.

Modeling Arctic Ocean heat transport and warming episodes in the 20th century caused by the intruding Atlantic Water

This study investigates the Arctic Ocean warming episodes in the 20th century using both a high-resolution coupled global climate model and historical observations. The model, with no flux adjustment, reproduces well the Atlantic Water core temperature （AWCT） in the Arctic Ocean and shows that four largest decadalscale warming episodes occurred in the 1930s, 70s, 80s, and 90s, in agreement with the hydrographic observational data. The difference is that there was no pre-warming prior to the 1930s episode, while there were two pre-warming episodes in the 1970s and 80s prior to the 1990s, leading the 1990s into the largest and prolonged warming in the 20th century. Over the last century, the simulated heat transport via Fram Strait and the Barents Sea was estimated to be, on average, 31.32 TW and 14.82 TW, respectively, while the Bering Strait also provides 15.94 TW heat into the west- ern Arctic Ocean. Heat transport into the Arctic Ocean by the Atlantic Water via Fram Strait and the Barents Sea correlates significantly with AWCT （ C = 0.75 ） at 0- lag. The modeled North Atlantic Oscillation （NAO） index has a significant correlation with the heat transport （ C = 0.37 ）. The observed AWCT has a significant correlation with both the modeled AWCT （ C =0.49） and the heat transport （ C =0.41 ）. However, the modeled NAO index does not significantly correlate with either the observed AWCT （ C = 0.03 ） or modeled AWCT （ C = 0.16 ） at a zero-lag, indicating that the Arctic climate system is far more complex than expected.

Relationship between Serum Uric Acid Level and Clinical Symptom Improvement in Patients with Bipolar Disorder Type I in Their Manic Episode

[Objectives]To evaluate whether the level of serum uric acid in patients with bipolar disorder type I in their manic episode was different from that in healthy subjects,and to evaluate whether the level of serum uric acid is related to the severity of manic episode and the improvement of clinical symptoms.[Methods]A total of 70 patients with bipolar disorder type I in their manic episode were selected,their serum uric acid levels were measured at the beginning of the enrollment and at the end of the first,second and third week,and the clinical symptoms were evaluated with Young Mania Rating Scale(YMRS).65 healthy subjects were enrolled,and their serum uric acid levels were measured only at the beginning of the enrollment.[Results]The level of serum uric acid in patients with bipolar disorder type I in their manic episode was higher than that in healthy adults(t=8.153,p=0.039).At the end of the third week,the YMRS score and uric acid level of the patients were lower than those of the patients at the beginning of the enrollment(t=17.107,p=0.000;t=35.864,p=0.000).[Conclusions]The level of serum uric acid in patients with bipolar disorder type I in their manic episode was higher than that in healthy subjects,and the decrease of serum uric acid level may be related to the improvement of clinical symptoms.

A Discussion on the Characteristics of Tectonic Transformation and Its Mechanism of 2nd Episode of Zhu-Qiong Movement in Zhu 1 Depression, South China

Based on the detailed interpretation of high-accuracy 3D seismic data, the characteristics of regional unconformities, fracture systems, sedimentary filling and paleo-stress field in Zhu 1 depression were comprehensively analyzed. The results showed that 2nd episode of Zhu-Qiong movement was an important tectonic transformation that occurred during rifting, basin structure patterns above and below the regional angular unconformity caused by 2nd episode had distinct differences. The orientations of those basin-controlling faults changed from NE, NEE to EW, NWW, which indicated that the paleo-stress field veered from NNW extension clockwise to sub-NS extension and basin structures patterns transformed from NE, NEE strong rifting to sub-EW, NWW weak rifting. The depocenter showed seesaw-like migration from S to N. And the sedimentary systems transformed from semi-deep-deep lacustrine facies to braided river delta facies developed in shore-shallow lacustrine. Combined with its tectonic recombination of periphery plates that period, the mechanism of above tectonic transformation had direct correspondence to the readjustment of the Indian plate and the Pacific plate. The southward subduction of the pro-to-south China Sea is the direct cause of this tectonic transformation.

A DIAGNOSTIC ANALYSIS OF 1997/1998 ENSO EPISODE AND ROLE OF INTRA-SEASONAL OSCILLATION IN TROPICAL ATMOSPHERE

On the basis of comparison of 1982/1983 strong ENSO processes, key characteristics such as rapid development, immense intensity and abrupt retreat are revealed with regard to the warm episode in 1997/1998, features governing the intraseasonal oscillation for the tropical Indian Ocean and the western Pacific during its onset and evolution of the ocean and atmosphere for the process are diagnostically studied in detail.

Health Risk Impacts of Exposure to Airborne Metals and Benzo(a)Pyrene during Episodes of High PM10 Concentrations in Poland

Objective To check whether health risk impacts of exposure to airborne metals and Benzo（a） Pyrene during episodes of high PM10 concentrations lead to an increased number of lung cancer cases in Poland. Methods In this work, we gathered data from 2002 to 2014 concerning the ambient concentrations of PM10 and PM10-bound carcinogenic Benzo（a）pyrene [B（a）P] and As, Cd, Pb, and Ni. With the use of the criterion of the exceedance in the daily PM10 mass concentration on at least 50% of all the analyzed stations, the PM10 maxima’s were selected. Lung cancer occurrences in periods with and without the episodes were further compared. Results During a 12-year period, 348 large-scale smog episodes occurred in Poland. A total of 307 of these episodes occurred in the winter season, which is characterized by increased emissions from residential heating. The occurrence of episodes significantly （P 〈 0.05） increased the concentrations of PM10-bound carcinogenic As, Cd, Pb, Ni, and B（a）P. During these events, a significant increase in the overall health risk from those PM10-related compounds was also observed. The highest probability of lung cancer occurrences was found in cities, and the smallest probability was found in the remaining areas outside the cities and agglomerations. Conclusion The link between PM pollution and cancer risk in Poland is a serious public health threat that needs further investigation.

Subgrouping time-dependent prescribing patterns of first-onset major depressive episodes by psychotropics dissection

BACKGROUND Subgrouping patients with major depressive disorder is a promising solution for the issue of heterogeneity.However,the link between available subtypes and distinct pathological mechanisms is weak and yields disappointing results in clinical application.AIM To develop a novel approach for classification of patients with time-dependent prescription patterns at first onset in real-world settings.METHODS Drug-naive patients experiencing their first major depressive episode(n=105)participated in this study.Psychotropic agents prescribed in the first 24 mo following disease onset were recorded monthly and categorized as antidepressants,augmentation agents,and hypnosedatives.Monthly cumulative doses of agents in each category were converted into relevant equivalents.Four parameters were used to summarize the time-dependent prescription patterns for each psychotropic load:Stability,amount,frequency,and the time trend of monthly prescriptions.A K-means cluster analysis was used to derive subgroups of participants based on these input parameters of psychotropic agents across 24 mo.Clinical validity of the resulting data-driven clusters was compared using relevant severity indicators.RESULTS Four distinct clusters were derived from K-means analysis,which matches experts’consent:"Short-term antidepressants use","long-term antidepressants use","long-term antidepressants and sedatives use",and"long-term antidepressants,sedatives,and augmentation use".At the first 2 years of disease course,the four clusters differed on the number of antidepressants used at adequate dosage and duration,frequency of outpatient service use,and number of psychiatric admissions.After the first 2 years following disease onset,depression severity was differed in the four subgroups.CONCLUSION Our findings suggested a new approach to optimize the subgrouping of patients with major depressive disorder,which may assist future etiological and treatment response studies.

Hexachlorobenzene Episode in Turkey

During the period 1955-1959, approximately 4000 people in southeast Anatolia developed porphyria due to the ingestion of hexachlorobenzene (HCB), a fungicide added to wheat seedlings. These HCB exposures subsequently led to the development of bullae on sun-exposed areas, hyperpigmentation, hypertrichosis, and porphyrinuria. The condition was called kara yara or 'black sore.' Many of the breast-fed children under the age of 2 years whose mothers had ingested HCB-treated grain died from a disease known as pembe yara or 'pink sore.' In this follow-up study of 252 patients, 20-30 years postexposure, there were 162 males and 90 females, with an average current age of 35.7 years, an average of onset of 7.6 years, and a duration of 2.2 years. Many patients had dermatologic, neurologic, and orthopedic symptoms and signs. The observed clinical findings include scarring of the face and hands (83.7％), hyperpigmentation (65％), hypertrichosis (44.8％), pinched facies (40.1％), painless arthritis (70.2％), small hands (66.6％), sensory shading (60.6％), myotonia (37.9％), cogwheeling (41.9％), enlarged thyroid (34.9％), and enlarged liver (4.8％). Urine and stool porphyrin levels were determined in all patients, and 17 have at least one of the porphyrins elevated. A total of 56 specimens of human milk obtained from mothers with porphyria were analyzed for HCB. The average value was 0.51 ppm in HCB-exposed patients compared to 0.07 ppm in unexposed controls. Offspring of mothers with three decades of HCB-induced porphyria appear normal. 1989 Academic Press, Inc.

Nature of Three Episodes of Magmatism(2181 Ma, 2115 Ma and 1891 Ma) in the Liaohe Rift of North China: Implications for Tectonic Evolution

To define a tectonic environment switching from rifting to subduction and their respective duration time are usually largely debated.Such case occurs for the Liaohe rift:whether it went through a long subduction from 2100to 1850 Ma or there were two different events in different

Neoproteroic Magmatism Related to Lithospheric Delamination: Implications from Three Episodes of Mafic Dykes and Associated Granitoids in the Pengguan Complex, Western Sichuan Province, Yangtze Block

The research on dyke swarms is very important,for it can not only shed light on within-plate geological processes of some regions but also contribute to our understanding on evolution of a specific orogenic belt.The Yangtze Block,

Amphetamine Versus Non Amphetamine-Related First Episode Psychosis in Saudi Arabian Patients

Background: Amphetamines are illicit psychostimulant drugs that can induce psychotic symptoms. Very few studies have been conducted in Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (SA) on amphetamine abuse and related psychosis. Recently, the pattern of amphetamine abuse in SA showed a significant trend of increased frequency. Objectives: To investigate the extent of amphetamine abuse in a sample of Saudi patients hospitalized for first episode of acute psychosis. Also, to compare in that sample between amphetamine psychosis and other psychoses regarding demographic data, premorbid personality and symptoms profile. Method: 106 patients with acute psychosis were hospitalized and screening of urine for amphetamine was conducted for all. Patients’ psychiatric evaluation included interviewing, and ICD-10 criteria for personality disorders. 30 healthy subjects were also included for comparison with patients. Results: 34/106 of psychotic patients (32%) were positive for amphetamine in urine (≥ 1000 ng/ml). The frequency of personality disorders was significantly higher (P < 0.01) in the patients (54/106;51%) compared with healthy subjects (6/30;20%). Also, the incidence of personality disorders was significantly higher (P < 0.01) in amphetamine positive psychosis (25/34;73.5%) compared with amphetamine negative psychosis (29/72;40%). Cluster B personality disorders particularly the antisocial and borderline were significantly higher in amphetamine positive psychosis (13/34;38%) compared with amphetamine negative psychoses (6/72;8%). The symptom profile showed significant difference between amphetamine positive and amphetamine negative psychosis as regards ideas of reference (50% vs. 14%), suspiciousness (44% vs. 11%), suicidal ideation (38% vs. 23%), paranoid delusions (29% vs. 17%) and increased pulse or blood pressure (29% vs. 7%) respectively. Conclusion: Screening of amphetamine in urine among patients with first episode of acute psychosis can help and support the clinical distinction of amphetamine psychosis from other types of psychosis. This is therapeutically critical since the line of treatment may be different between the two types of psychoses.