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Although facial beauty prediction (FBP) has achieved high accuracy on images captured in a constrained environment, it is still a challenging task on face images in-the-wild. Moreover, there is no FBP benchmark dataset that includes images with various ethnic, age, gender properties and unrestricted in terms of face expression and pose. In this work, the issue of FBP in real-life scenario is addressed and a multi-ethnic facial beauty dataset, namely MEBeauty, is introduced. All face images are captured in an unconstrained environment and rated by volunteers with various ethnicity, age and gender in order to avoid any cultural and social biases in beauty perception. Different well-known CNNs with layer-wise transfer learning are performed on the dataset. Moreover, the evaluation of knowledge learning from the face recognition task across FBP is conducted. The expected high number of aberrant and outlier faces is considered and the use of various robust loss functions in order to learn deep regression networks for facial beauty prediction is evaluated. Several FBP frameworks are performed on the proposed dataset and widely-used SCUT-FBP 5500 in order to compare their effectiveness on face images in constrained and unconstrained environments.

We analyzed morphometric MRI parameters indirectly attesting to structural changes in the supragranular layer in 33 non-converted individuals at clinical high risk for endogenous psychosis (follow-up period of 6.7±0.6 years) and in 34 sex- and age-matched healthy controls. In the group of clinical high-risk individuals, changes indicative of potential predominance of supragranular thinning in comparison with a decrease of infragranular cortical layer thickness were revealed. The results are discussed in the context of the concepts of resilience and risk markers of developing endogenous psychosis.

Objective. To determine the neurophysiological features of schizophrenia at late (more than 20 years) follow- up and identify correlations between neurophysiological indicators and the clinical characteristics of the disease. Materials and methods. Patients of three groups were studied: those with a predominance of personality changes (group 1, 17 patients), those with negative disorders (group 2, 23 patients), and those with marked positive and negative disorders (group 3, 40 patients). The main study methods were psychopathological and neurophysiological, with assessment of event-linked potentials. Results and conclusions. A statistically significantly greater θ-rhythm frequency and a significantly lower α-rhythm frequency were found in group 3, the dominant frequency of the θ rhythm showing a correlation (positive) with the total score for positive disorders on the PANSS. No statistically significant between-group differences were seen in measures of the P300 wave of auditory event-related potential recorded in the oddball paradigm. These results are considered in the framework of views of the role of θ activity as a marker for hippocampal-prefrontal interactions.

Current knowledge on morphological and functional abnormalities of the thalamocortical system (TCS) in schizophrenia is incomplete and inconsistent. To study the TСS, 23 young male patients with schizophrenia and 30 healthy males were examined using structural MRI, diffusion-weighted MRI, and EEG. Structural abnormalities in the anterior and posterior thalamic radiations, multiple fronto-parietal cortical regions, and the thalamus and a decrease in α power in a subband of 11–12.5 Hz were observed in the patients with schizophrenia compared with the healthy controls. A reduced thickness of the gray matter in the medial prefrontal cortex inversely correlated with structural abnormalities of the thalamus and anterior thalamic radiation in right hemisphere. The results provide further evidence that widespread structural abnormalities of the TCS occur in early stages of schizophrenia.

Objectives. To seek neurophysiological predictors of the effi cacy of rhythmic transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) of the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex in patients with depressive disorders of different nosological categories. Materials and methods. A total of 34 juvenile patients (all male) with protracted treatment-refractory depressive states were studied. Investigation of patients used psychopathological and psychometric methods (Hamilton scale) and electroencephalography. The search for predictors of therapeutic efficacy was carried out using a wide range of neurophysiological indicators and different protocols for high-frequency rTMS (10 and 20 Hz). Results and conclusions. The most significant changes were identified on rTMS at 20 Hz. Favorable treatment effects on the EEG were found to correlate with higher spectral power in the α and β1 subranges.

The present study analyzed diffusion characteristics of white matter tracts and grey matter anatomy in 48 mentally healthy participants, including first-degree relatives of patients with schizophrenia (N=13) and affective spectrum disorders (N=13). The subgroup with familial risk of schizophrenia displayed abnormalities in the structural connectivity and increased cortical thickness in the superior frontal gyrus. No differences in the analyzed characteristics were revealed in the subgroup with familial risk for affective disorders. The results are discussed within the framework of the concepts of endophenotypes and processes reflecting compensatory and protective mechanisms.

Objectives. To identify the neuroanatomical characteristics of the gray matter in individual areas of the prefrontal cortex (PFC) and a number of subcortical formations in patients with juvenile shiftlike schizophrenia (ICD-10, F20) Materials and methods. A total of 43 patients and 54 mentally healthy men, mean age 22 years, were studied. The main methods were psychopathological investigations and MRI brain scans producing high-resolution T1-weighted images. Results. As compared with the control group, the group of patients with schizophrenia showed a decrease in the thickness of the gray matter in all segments of the prefrontal cortex studied, though no between-group differences in the volume of the subcortical formations were seen. No statistically significant correlations between structural changes and measures of the severity of psychopathological disorders were found. Conclusions. The data obtained from these studies show that structural anomalies in the frontal areas of the brain in juvenile shiftlike schizophrenia are not linked with the severity of psychopathological symptoms.

BackgroundPositive symptoms are a useful predictor of aggression in schizophrenia. Although a similar pattern of abnormal brain structures related to both positive symptoms and aggression has been reported, this observation has not yet been confirmed in a single sample.MethodTo study the association between positive symptoms and aggression in schizophrenia on a neurobiological level, a prospective meta-analytic approach was employed to analyze harmonized structural neuroimaging data from 10 research centers worldwide. We analyzed brain MRI scans from 902 individuals with a primary diagnosis of schizophrenia and 952 healthy controls.ResultsThe result identified a widespread cortical thickness reduction in schizophrenia compared to their controls. Two separate meta-regression analyses revealed that a common pattern of reduced cortical gray matter thickness within the left lateral temporal lobe and right midcingulate cortex was significantly associated with both positive symptoms and aggression.ConclusionThese findings suggested that positive symptoms such as formal thought disorder and auditory misperception, combined with cognitive impairments reflecting difficulties in deploying an adaptive control toward perceived threats, could escalate the likelihood of aggression in schizophrenia.

Neuroanatomical abnormalities have been reported along a continuum from at-risk stages, including high schizotypy, to early and chronic psychosis. However, a comprehensive neuroanatomical mapping of schizotypy remains to be established. The authors conducted the first large-scale meta-analyses of cortical and subcortical morphometric patterns of schizotypy in healthy individuals, and compared these patterns with neuroanatomical abnormalities observed in major psychiatric disorders. The sample comprised 3004 unmedicated healthy individuals (12–68 years, 46.5% male) from 29 cohorts of the worldwide ENIGMA Schizotypy working group. Cortical and subcortical effect size maps with schizotypy scores were generated using standardized methods. Pattern similarities were assessed between the schizotypy-related cortical and subcortical maps and effect size maps from comparisons of schizophrenia (SZ), bipolar disorder (BD) and major depression (MDD) patients with controls. Thicker right medial orbitofrontal/ventromedial prefrontal cortex (mOFC/vmPFC) was associated with higher schizotypy scores (r = 0.067, pFDR = 0.02). The cortical thickness profile in schizotypy was positively correlated with cortical abnormalities in SZ (r = 0.285, pspin = 0.024), but not BD (r = 0.166, pspin = 0.205) or MDD (r = −0.274, pspin = 0.073). The schizotypy-related subcortical volume pattern was negatively correlated with subcortical abnormalities in SZ (rho = −0.690, pspin = 0.006), BD (rho = −0.672, pspin = 0.009), and MDD (rho = −0.692, pspin = 0.004). Comprehensive mapping of schizotypy-related brain morphometry in the general population revealed a significant relationship between higher schizotypy and thicker mOFC/vmPFC, in the absence of confounding effects due to antipsychotic medication or disease chronicity. The cortical pattern similarity between schizotypy and schizophrenia yields new insights into a dimensional neurobiological continuity across the extended psychosis phenotype.

IMPORTANCE The ENIGMA clinical high risk (CHR) for psychosis initiative, the largest pooled neuroimaging sample of individuals at CHR to date, aims to discover robust neurobiological markers of psychosis risk.OBJECTIVE To investigate baseline structural neuroimaging differences between individuals at CHR and healthy controls as well as between participants at CHR who later developed a psychotic disorder (CHR-PS+) and those who did not (CHR-PS-).DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS In this case-control study, baseline T1-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data were pooled from 31 international sites participating in the ENIGMA Clinical High Risk for Psychosis Working Group. CHR status was assessed using the Comprehensive Assessment of At-Risk Mental States or Structured Interview for Prodromal Syndromes. MRI scans were processed using harmonized protocols and analyzed within a mega-analysis and meta-analysis framework from January to October 2020.MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES Measures of regional cortical thickness (CT), surface area, and subcortical volumes were extracted from T1-weighted MRI scans. Independent variables were group (CHR group vs control group) and conversion status (CHR-PS+ group vs CHR-PS- group vs control group).RESULTS Of the 3169 included participants, 1428 (45.1%) were female, and the mean (SD; range) age was 21.1 (4.9; 9.5-39.9) years. This study included 1792 individuals at CHR and 1377 healthy controls. Using longitudinal clinical information, 253 in the CHR-PS+ group, 1234 in the CHR-PS- group, and 305 at CHR without follow-up data were identified. Compared with healthy controls, individuals at CHR exhibited widespread lower CT measures (mean [range] Cohen d = -0.13 [-0.17 to -0.09]), but not surface area or subcortical volume. Lower CT measures in the fusiform, superior temporal, and paracentral regions were associated with psychosis conversion (mean Cohen d = -0.22; 95% CI, -0.35 to 0.10). Among healthy controls, compared with those in the CHR-PS+ group, age showed a stronger negative association with left fusiform CT measures (F = 9.8; P < .001; q < .001) and left paracentral CT measures (F = 5.9; P = .005; q = .02). Effect sizes representing lower CT associated with psychosis conversion resembled patterns of CT differences observed in ENIGMA studies of schizophrenia (rho = 0.35; 95% CI, 0.12 to 0.55; P = .004) and individuals with 22q11.2 microdeletion syndrome and a psychotic disorder diagnosis (rho = 0.43; 95% CI, 0.20 to 0.61; P = .001).CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE This study provides evidence for widespread subtle, lower CT measures in individuals at CHR. The pattern of CT measure differences in those in the CHR-PS+ group was similar to those reported in other large-scale investigations of psychosis. Additionally, a subset of these regions displayed abnormal age associations. Widespread disruptions in CT coupled with abnormal age associations in those at CHR may point to disruptions in postnatal brain developmental processes.Question How are brain morphometric features associated with later psychosis conversion in individuals at clinical high risk (CHR) for developing psychosis?Findings In this case-control study including 3169 participants, lower cortical thickness, but not cortical surface area or subcortical volume, was more pronounced in individuals at CHR in a manner highly consistent with thinner cortex in individuals with established psychosis. Regions that displayed lower cortical thickness in individuals at CHR who later developed a psychotic disorder additionally displayed abnormal associations with age.Meaning In this study, CHR status and later transition to psychosis was robustly associated with lower cortical thickness; abnormal age associations and specificity to cortical thickness may point to aberrant postnatal brain development in individuals at CHR, including pruning and myelination.This case-control study investigates baseline structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) differences between individuals at clinical high risk and healthy controls as well as between participants at clinical high risk who later developed a psychotic disorder and those who did not.

There is increasing evidence of white matter (WM) and grey matter pathology in subjects at ultra-high risk of psychosis (UHR), although a limited number of diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (DW-MRI) and surface-based morphometry (SBM) studies have revealed anatomically inconsistent results. The present multimodal study applies tractography and SBM to analyze WM microstructure, whole-brain cortical anatomy, and potential interconnections between WM and grey matter abnormalities in UHR subjects. Thirty young male UHR patients and 30 healthy controls underwent DW-MRI and T1-weighted MRI. Fractional anisotropy; mean, radial, and axial diffusivity in 18 WM tracts; and vertex-based cortical thickness, area, and volume were analyzed. We found increased radial diffusivity in the left anterior thalamic radiation and reduced bilateral thickness across the frontal, temporal, and parietal cortices. No correlations between WM and grey matter abnormalities were identified. These results provide further evidence that WM microstructure abnormalities and cortical anatomical changes occur in the UHR state. Disruption of structural connectivity in the prefrontal-subcortical circuitry, likely caused by myelin pathology, and cortical thickness reduction affecting the networks presumably involved in processing and coordination of external and internal information streams may underlie the widespread deficits in neurocognitive and social functioning that are consistently reported in UHR subjects.

ImportanceThe ENIGMA clinical high risk for psychosis (CHR) initiative, the largest pooled CHR-neuroimaging sample to date, aims to discover robust neurobiological markers of psychosis risk in a sample with known heterogeneous outcomes.ObjectiveWe investigated baseline structural neuroimaging differences between CHR subjects and healthy controls (HC), and between CHR participants who later developed a psychotic disorder (CHR-PS+) and those who did not (CHR-PS-). We assessed associations with age by group and conversion status, and similarities between the patterns of effect size maps for psychosis conversion and those found in other large-scale psychosis studies.Design, Setting, and ParticipantsBaseline T1-weighted MRI data were pooled from 31 international sites participating in the ENIGMA CHR Working Group. MRI scans were processed using harmonized protocols and analyzed within a mega- and meta-analysis framework from January-October 2020.Main Outcome(s) and Measure(s)Measures of regional cortical thickness (CT), surface area (SA), and subcortical volumes were extracted from T1-weighted MRI scans. Independent variables were group (CHR, HC) and conversion status (CHR-PS+, CHR-PS-, HC).ResultsThe final dataset consisted of 3,169 participants (CHR=1,792, HC=1,377, age range: 9.5 to 39.8 years, 45% female). Using longitudinal clinical information, we identified CHR-PS+ (N=253) and CHR-PS- (N=1,234). CHR exhibited widespread thinner cortex compared to HC (average d=-0.125, range: -0.09 to -0.17), but not SA or subcortical volume. Thinner cortex in the fusiform, superior temporal, and paracentral regions was associated with psychosis conversion (average d=-0.22). Age showed a stronger negative association with left fusiform and left paracentral CT in HC, compared to CHR-PS+. Regional CT psychosis conversion effect sizes resembled patterns of CT alterations observed in other ENIGMA studies of psychosis.Conclusions and RelevanceWe provide evidence for widespread subtle CT reductions in CHR. The pattern of regions displaying greater CT alterations in CHR-PS+ were similar to those reported in other large-scale investigations of psychosis. Additionally, a subset of these regions displayed abnormal age associations. Widespread CT disruptions coupled with abnormal age associations in CHR may point to disruptions in postnatal brain developmental processes.Key PointsQuestionHow do baseline brain morphometric features relate to later psychosis conversion in individuals at clinical high risk (CHR)?FindingsIn the largest coordinated international analysis to date, reduced baseline cortical thickness, but not cortical surface area or subcortical volume, was more pronounced in CHR, in a manner highly consistent with thinner cortex in established psychosis. Regions that displayed greater cortical thinning in future psychosis converters additionally displayed abnormal associations with age.MeaningCHR status and later transition to psychosis is robustly associated with reduced cortical thickness. Abnormal age associations and specificity to cortical thickness may point to aberrant postnatal brain development in CHR, including pruning and myelination.

This paper provides insights of planning, execution and the results of the application of selective flotation or "mud over air" technique while running 9 5/8-in production liner into an extreme-extended-reach well in Sakhalin, the longest well ever drilled by RN-Sakhalinmorneftegaz to date. Extreme Reach Drilling (ERD) well has a shallow true vertical depth and a long horizontal departure imposing significant challenges of conveying 9 5/8-in liner to the required depth. When both conventional and full flotation methods cannot guarantee delivering casing to planned depth due to high torque and drag, lack of weight and string buckling, a new operational approach of selective flotation was considered. Mud over air, specifically "air cavity" technique implies running a bottom portion of the casing filled with mud, then an empty portion to reduce drag and a top portion filled with drilling fluid for additional weight to provide some additional push to overcome residual drag. This article outlines unique practices of selective flotation technique covering the job specific features, its main risks and corresponding mitigation measures. The selective flotation or "mud over air" concept together with detailed risk assessment and engineering of a single hydro-mechanical liner hanger and flotation collar system enabled successful conveyance of 9 5/8-in liner to its setting depth during drilling the longest extended reach well in the project.

This paper provides the results of the application of integrated approach to drill the longest extended reach well which has ever been drilled in Odoptu-more field (North Dome) in Sakhalin. Although many extended reach drilling (ERD) wells have been already drilled by the operator in Odoptu-more field, extreme reach wells always require new solutions. Reaching remote reservoirs by applying standard well design of Odoptu-more field was not possible due to high standpipe pressure (SPP) and equivalent circulating density (ECD) in 8 ½-in production section. Engineering study resulted in partial upsize of a well design and change 9 5/8-in casing to liner followed by remaining challenges: 9 5/8-in liner could not be delivered to required depth due to string buckling. Several key technical solutions were implemented in the project thus allowing to deliver the longest well accident-free. Those solutions included well design modification allowing to drill 8 ½-in production section to reach remote reservoirs and 9 5/8-in liner delivery to the required depth using "mud over air" flotation technique for the first time in the project. Having applied integrated approach, the project team broke a new record in drilling the longest well at Odoptu-more field with total measured depth 8699m, ERD ratio 4.89 and Directional Difficulty Index (DDI) of 7.6 (Alistair W. Oag 2000). Drilling extreme reach ERD well unlocked opportunities for the operator to reach and put into the production more distant offshore oil-bearing reservoirs from the land rig without changing existing pad facilities.

Studies using presentation of visual stimuli in a “go/no go” scheme revealed differences in saccadic responses in healthy subjects and patients at ultra high risk of developing schizophrenia. Patients showed a greater number of erroneous responses to inhibitory stimuli and shorter latent periods (LP) for correct and erroneous saccades. Opposite asymmetries were demonstrated for the LP of saccadic responses in healthy subjects and patients: the LP of saccades to the right was shorter than to the left in healthy subjects, while the LP of saccades to the right was longer than to the left in patients. These data showed that impairments to the mechanisms controlling voluntary behavior occur at the pre-manifest stage of the course of schizophrenia when there is a ultra high risk of developing this condition. The results obtained here suggest that patients at ultra high risk of developing schizophrenia have impairments to the processes of voluntary and involuntary attention, as well as to the processes of inhibitory control, which may be due to dysfunction of the right prefrontal cortex and weakening of top down influences in the attention and inhibitory control systems.

IntroductionMachine learning has increasingly been applied to classification of psychosis spectrum in neuroimaging research. However, a number of multimodal studies using MRI and electroencephalography (EEG) is quite limited.ObjectivesTo assess the power of multimodal structural MRI (sMRI) and EEG data to provide pairwise discrimination between first-episode schizophrenia (FES) patients, individuals at ultra-high-risk of psychosis (UHR), and healthy controls (HC) using machine learning algorithms.Methods46 FES male patients, 39 UHR individuals, and 54 matched HC underwent sMRI (3T Philips scanner) and electroencephalography. T1-weighted images were processed via FreeSurfer to obtain cortical and subcortical measures. L2 regularized logistic regression was used to evaluate the efficacy of diagnostic prediction.ResultsThe accuracies of pairwise discriminations were: 87% for FES vs HC (specificity 83%, sensitivity 91%); 77% for FES vs UHR (specificity 76%, sensitivity 79%); 75% for UHR vs HC (specificity 77%, sensitivity 73%).ConclusionsCurrent findings suggest that the patterns of anatomical and functional variability have potential as biomarkers for discrimination between schizophrenia, UHR, and healthy subjects. Furthermore, results show that the selection and multimodality of feature types are important. Specifically, adding EEG data to morphometric measures improved accuracy rates in FES vs HC and FES vs UHR contrasts, whereas standalone EEG data provided higher accuracy compared with morphometric or multimodal data in UHR vs HC discrimination. Expectedly, predictive power for the UHR was smaller than for the FES due to its intermediate anatomical features, located between those observed in healthy controls and those found in patients. The work was supported by RFBR grant 20-013-00748

Background Negative symptoms can be seen to represent a continuum from subclinical manifestations in the general population to severe symptoms in schizophrenia. Neuroanatomical studies show evidence of fronto-striatal structural abnormalities linked to negative symptoms in patients with schizophrenia (Walton et al. 2018). However, it remains an open question whether these structural associations are also observed in ostensibly healthy individuals reporting subclinical negative symptoms. The present study used structural T1-weighted brain imaging data from the ENIGMA Schizotypy Working Group to investigate the relationship between subclinical negative symptoms and fronto-striatal structural measures. Methods We included 2,235 healthy unmedicated individuals with varying levels of schizotypy from 17 centers around the world. The complete sample had a weighted mean (range) age of 29.2 (15.9–39.6) and 59.4% (51–100) were male. Subclinical negative symptoms were assessed at each site separately using factor scores from self-report schizotypy questionnaires (i.e., the Community Assessment of Psychic Experiences, the Oxford-Liverpool Inventory of Feelings and Experiences, or the Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire). Based on prior studies in schizophrenia, we obtained cortical thickness from 22 frontal regions-of-interest (ROIs) and subcortical volumes from 6 striatal ROIs using FreeSurfer. We performed meta-analyses of effect sizes (standardized regression coefficients) from a model predicting mean cortical thickness by subclinical negative symptom scores, adjusting for age, sex, and site. The same analysis was repeated for subcortical volumes including intracranial volume as additional covariate. Results Meta-analyses revealed significant positive associations between subclinical negative symptoms and cortical thickness of the left frontal pole (βstd=0.091; pFDR=0.009), right medial orbitofrontal cortex (βstd=0.083; pFDR=0.009) and right anterior cingulate cortex (βstd=0.07; pFDR=0.011). Discussion Using a large sample of healthy unmedicated individuals with varying levels of schizotypal personality traits, this ENIGMA meta-analysis showed that subclinical negative symptoms are associated with thicker prefrontal cortex. The present data are contrary to previous findings in schizophrenia, which demonstrates a relationship between negative symptoms and lower prefrontal cortical thickness (Walton et al. 2018). These divergent neural correlates suggest that thicker cortex could be a potential compensatory mechanism preventing individuals with schizotypy from the clinical manifestation of severe negative symptoms. Alternatively, greater prefrontal cortical thickness could also be associated with pathological processes along the negative symptom continuum prior to clinical manifestation.

To determine neuroanatomical peculiarities of grey matter in some regions of the prefrontal cortex and several subcortical structures in patients with juvenile shift like schizophrenia (F20 ICD-10).Forty-three young male patients and 54 mentally healthy men without family history of mental diseases underwent structural MRI with T1 high resolution images.As compared to mentally healthy subjects, there was a decrease of grey matter thickness in all tested regions of the prefrontal cortex in patients. No between-group differences in subcortical structures volumes were found. No correlations between structural changes and psychopathological symptoms were observed.Structural abnormalities of the frontal lobes in juvenile shift like schizophrenia are not associated with severity of psychopathological symptoms.Цель исследования. Определение нейроанатомических особенностей серого вещества в отдельных областях префронтальной коры (ПФК) и ряда подкорковых образований у больных юношеской приступообразной шизофренией (F20 по МКБ-10). Материал и методы. Обследованы 43 больных и 54 психически здоровых мужчин, средний возраст которых был 22 года. Основными методами были психопатологическое исследование и магнитно-резонансная томография (МРТ) головного мозга с получением Т1-взвешенных изображений высокого разрешения. Результаты. В группе больных шизофренией по сравнению с группой здоровых выявлено снижение толщины серого вещества коры во всех исследуемых сегментах префронтальной области, но межгрупповых различий по показателям объемов подкорковых образований не было. Статистически значимых корреляций между выявленными структурными изменениями и показателями выраженности психопатологических расстройств также установлено не было. Заключение. Полученные данные показывают, что структурные аномалии лобных отделов головного мозга при юношеской приступообразной шизофрении не сопряжены с выраженностью психопатологических явлений.

To determine neurophysiological characteristics of patients with long-term follow up (20 years) and to find correlations between neurophysiological parameters and clinical features of schizophrenia.The patients were divided into three groups: with predomination of personality changes (group 1,In group 3, the statistically significant higher frequencies of theta-rhythm and lower of alpha-rhythm were found. Also, theta frequency correlated with PANSS positive scores. The significant intergroup differences by auditory oddball P300 were lacked. The findings are discussed in view of the hypothesis of theta-rhythm as a marker of hippocampal-prefrontal connectivity.Определение нейрофизиологических особенностей шизофрении на этапе отдаленного катамнеза (более 20 лет) и установление корреляций между нейрофизиологическими показателями и клиническими характеристиками заболевания.Обследовали пациентов из трех групп: с преобладанием личностных изменений (1-я группа, 17 пациентов), негативными расстройствами (2-я группа, 23) и выраженными как позитивными, так и негативными расстройствами (3-я группа, 40). Основными методами исследования были психопатологический и нейрофизиологический с изучением вызванных потенциалов.Установлена статистически значимо большая частота тета-ритма и меньшая частота альфа-ритма в 3-й группе, при этом величина доминирующей частоты тета-ритма коррелировала (с положительным знаком) с суммарной оценкой выраженности позитивных расстройств по шкале PANSS. Статистически значимых межгрупповых различий по параметрам волны Р300 слуховых вызванных потенциалов, регистрируемых в парадигме oddball, выявлено не было. Полученные результаты рассматриваются в рамках представлений о роли тета-активности как маркера гиппокапально-префронтальных взаимодействий.

The study aimed to confirm the association of the schizophrenia genome-wide association study (GWAS) hit rs2514218 located near the DRD2 gene with the risk of the disease and to investigate the relationships between rs2514218 and schizophrenia-related clinical and neuroimaging phenotypes. Genotypes at the rs2514218 site were determined for 2148 schizophrenia spectrum patients and 1273 control subjects from the Russian population. In subsets of subjects, we assessed symptomatic dimensions using the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (n = 1651) and Temporal Experience of Pleasure Scale (n = 471). At the brain level, gray matter volumes in striatal structures and cortical thickness in the lateral prefrontal cortical regions were investigated (n = 97). Genotype frequencies did not differ between patients and controls. The allelic association analysis yielded a near-threshold p value (p = 0.054), the magnitude (OR = 0.90), and direction of the minor allele (T) effect being in accord with those in the schizophrenia GWAS. Also, patients homozygous for the risk allele C had more severe consummatory anhedonia and a thinner cortex than controls and patients carrying the T allele. The largest effect size of the genotype with diagnosis interaction was seen in the right pars opercularis area. The findings support the role of rs2514218 in schizophrenia risk and presentation and suggest rs2514218 has an influence on brain morphology and negative symptoms.

The article discusses the problem of heteroskedasticity, which can arise in the process of calculating econometric models of large dimension and ways to overcome it. Heteroskedasticity distorts the value of the true standard deviation of the prediction errors. This can be accompanied by both an increase and a decrease in the confidence interval. We gave the principles of implementing the most common tests that are used to detect heteroskedasticity in constructing linear regression models, and compared their sensitivity. The advantage of this paper is that real empirical data are used to test for heteroskedasticity. For implementing the testing there is developed the special software with using of the algorithmic programming language MATLAB. The purpose of the article is to describe the functions implemented in the form of m-files (MATLAB environment files) to check for heteroskedasticity in multifactor regression models. To do this, modified algorithms for the tests on heteroskedasticity were used. Experimental studies of the work of the program were carried out for various linear regression models both the models of the Department of Higher Mathematics and Mathematical Methods in Economy of Simon Kuznets Kharkiv National University of Economics, and econometric models which were published recently by leading journals.

The effects of the Val66Met polymorphism of the brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) gene and levels of trait anxiety (negative emotionality) on attention were studied in 90 patients with schizophrenia and schizoaffective psychosis. Attention was evaluated using auditory event-related potentials (ERP) and neuropsychological testing. Genotype was found to have a significant effect (anxiety was not) on the efficiency of performing the neuropsychological test on attention and the amplitude of the ERP P300 wave in the frontal and temporal leads. Carriers of the Met allele has poorer performance of the attention task than subjects with the ValVal genotype, and also showed a lower P300 wave amplitude. Genotype combined with the level of anxiety was found to affect the N100 wave in response to the non-significant stimulus, significant differences being seen only in the group with a low level of anxiety: the Met allele was associated with lower N100 amplitudes. Among patients with high levels of anxiety, N100 wave amplitude was independent of the BDNF gene variant present. It is suggested that people with high levels of anxiety expend more effort to solve the task correctly at the early stages of signal recognition, the amplitudedecreasing effect of the “risk allele” being eliminated.

This paper will present the integrated extraordinary solutions founded during Extended-Reach Drilling (ERD) campaign on Lebedinskoye oilfield, which is located on the Northern East shelf of Sakhalin Island. As a green field, Lebedinskoye had a high level of geological uncertainty. Specifics of location made the well profiles complex - with a high Directional Difficulty Index – DDI (SPE ref. 59196) up to 7.2 and ERD ratio up to 2.94. Island logistics imposed critical constraints to the project planning. Rosneft and Schlumberger established the goal to optimize the well construction time to bring additional savings in the period of industry downturn. At the same time, a project team set ambitious goals to plan and execute operations to a safe and high quality standard. An integrated approach was deemed essential for success of such complex project. Integration provided a seamless interface bridging multi-discipline solutions and technologies to ensure high quality planning together with risk management. Several technologies in the project were implemented for first time in Russia. A "point the bit" rotary-steerable system enabled drilling the 17 ½" section in the one run of 2168m. A non-cemented liner eliminated the additional cost and time for a cement job as well as the potential impairment of the pay zone. The project team successfully run floated 9 5/8" casing to the final depth and eliminated major risks of the campaign. The Lebedinskoye was the first time the client implemented advanced LWD tools for deep reservoir mapping. In the result, 97% of 1962m horizontal section placed in the target zone, which became a new record for the Client. Finally, integrated approach, new technologies and solutions reduced well construction time by 25% as compared to similar offset extended-reach wells and made the project economical efficient in the period of downturn.

New developments in mobile computing, wireless networking and social networking leverage opportunities to create location-based social networks (LBSNs) such as Foursquare, Gowalla, Facebook Place. Pointof-interest (POI) recommendation is a significant task in LBSNs, since it provides recommendations that respect personal preferences and capture social and environmental parameters. Moreover, employing Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) in POIs enables to improve recommendation accuracy. Most of existing POI recommendation methods deals with the only single domain, whereas the use of information available from other application domains potentially provides better POI recommendation results. This is particularly relevantforthenewlylaunchedLBSNs, wherelittlecheckin information is available. In this paper, to the best of our knowledge, we are the first to propose a crossdomainPOIrecommendationmethodinLBSNsandapply transfer learning for this purpose. To this end, we first incorporate both user and POI knowledge in auxiliary domains by discovering the principle coordinates. Next, we transfer them to the target domain and then make predictions using the transferred knowledge. The experimental results demonstrate high performance of our method and the merits of cross-domain POI recommendation in LBSNs.

An attempt to incorporate the popular systematic of urban soils proposed by Marina Stroganova with colleagues into the new Russian soil classification system is presented. It was facilitated by the coincidence of approaches in both systems: priority of diagnostic horizons and their combinations as criteria to identify soil types being the main units in all Russian classifications. The central image of urban soils . urbanozem . in Stroganova.s system found its due place in the order of stratozems (urbostratozem type) owing to its diagnostic horizon . urbic, which combines artificial and natural properties, and to its simultaneous formation with the parent material.

Six patients in remission after first episodes of juvenile schizophrenia and seven mentally healthy subjects selected on the basis of age and gender were studied by functional magnetic resonance imaging and recording of evoked potentials, in both cases using the oddball paradigm in the auditory modality. Differences in the parameters of the P300 wave were significant, and significantly greater hemodynamic responses to test stimuli were recorded bilaterally in the supramarginal gyrus and right medial frontal gyrus in patients, pointing to pathology in these areas of the brain in their support for auditory selective attention processes.

IntroductionThe aim of the study was to analyze the microstructural and metabolic features of the corpus callosum in recently onset schizophrenia.Objectives13 young (17–28 years old) male patients with recently onset schizophrenia (F20, ICD-10) and 15 sex and age matched mentally healthy subjects were examined.Methods3 T Philips Achieva scanner with 8-channel SENSE coil was used. DTI was conducted with EPI SENSE (TR = 9431 ms; TE = 70 ms). The values of diffusion coefficient (ADC), fractional anisotropy (FA), radial (RD) and parallel (PD) diffusivity were calculated using workstation Philips EBWS 2.6.3.4. Spectroscopic voxel (2 × 1 × 1 cm) was placed consequently in the corpus callosum genu and splenium. PRESS (TR/TE = 1500/40) was used.ResultsIn patients, increased ADC (P = 0.02) and RD (P = 0.008), decreased FA (P = 0.008) and NAA (P = 0.03) were found in the corpus callosum genu, No intergroup differences by PD, Cho, Cr, Glx were found in this area. Also, no statistically significant intergroup differences were observed for the DTI and MRS characteristics of the corpus callosum splenium.ConclusionsIt has been shown that RD increase is associated with demyelination process. So, an increase of RD in the present study could reflect demyelination in CC genu. Cells membranes abnormalities should lead to an increase of Cho which was not found. NAA reduction could be caused by reduction of axonal integrity. The latter process is considered to precede demyelination and not to be accompanied by PD rise. Thus, the present study revealed axonal integrity reduction and low demyelination in the genu of the corpus callosum in the early stages of schizophrenia.Disclosure of interestThe authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.

The need of developing renewable energy to reduce the impact on the global environment and climate change of the increasing industrial development has fostered the use of biological processes to produce biofuel from biohydrogen. The present work made a patent analysis of advanced hydrogen production techniques comparing it with similar prior art in China, Japan, the Republic of Korea, the European Union and the United States (U.S.) The aims were to find the scope, competitiveness of prior art, as well as the technology trend on biohydrogen production methods. The patents value was assessed its geographic scope and competitiveness indicators such as green image, low cost, energy efficiency and equipment design. It was found that most of the hydrogen production methods and associated technologies are developed by academic institutions, however their patents are reduced to a local level, and few are patented at international level, which reduces their competitiveness. The China (P.R.C.) is the biggest patent contributor worldwide in terms of hydrogen production methods by academic institutions. Japan is a huge patent contributor, in terms of methods aiming rear-end products application of hydrogen by private companies. The biggest amount of prior art found that the most popular methods of pre-treatment and dark fermentation produced coincide with the time of energetic crisis and the green movement to find alternative fuels. Finally, patent analysis of this study can help to discern the current technology trend and to develop the next generation of biohydrogen processes and associated technologies.

Diffusion parameters of brain tracts (n=18) were studied in 27 men with ultra-high risk of endogenous attack-like psychoses and 27 mentally healthy men of the same age group (fractional anisotropy; and average, radial, and axial diffusion). Correlation analysis was performed between these parameters and severity of mental disorders (SOPS scale). The indexes of radial diffusion and axial diffusion were shown to change in the left anterior thalamic radiation and right posterior cingulum bundle, respectively. Our results are consistent with published data that disturbances in the frontal and temporal lobes play an important role in the pathogenesis of schizophrenia. The degree of mental disorders correlated with diffusion parameters in the left and right anterior cingulum bundle.

We present a study of acoustic jets occurring in the vicinity of an orifice in a screen mounted at the end of a waveguide which conducts intense sound. The velocity field is measured by a cooling-power anemometer. We have used an impedance matching principle and demonstrated the ability to generate a strong acoustic jet and to create efficient resonant sound absorbers.

IntroductionThe aim of this study was the analysis of dynamics of motor cortex metabolite in the norm and in early stage of schizophrenia in period of BOLD response to event related single stimulus.ObjectivesThe patients group consisted of 9 mails of 16–28 years old in initial stage of schizophrenia and in remission. The group of 9 age matched healthy mails was used as a control.MethodsPhillips Achieva 3.0 T scanner was used for the study. Volume of interest in motor cortex was localized on the base of fMRI. 1Н МR spectra were run using synchronization of FID signals acquisition (PRESS, TE = 30 ms TR = 3000 ms) with dynamics of BOLD response at the same paradigm.ResultsThe BOLD signal in both groups demonstrated maximum at the 6th s after target stimulus, however its value was reliably lover in schizophrenia in comparison with the control. The only [NAA] in normal motor cortex was changed after stimulation. The stable values of [NAA], [Cr] and [Cho] were observed in dynamic of resting state as well. [NAA] in normal cortex statistically significantly decreased at the 12th s after stimulus presentation and returned to initial value at the 15th s.ConclusionDifferent behavior of [NAA] in the norm and schizophrenia might be related with a difference in location (or activity) of aspartoacylaze (ASPA). Decreased expression of glutamate transporters in schizophrenia could also reduce consumption of NAA as a source of acetate in synthesis of AcCoA which is used for restoration of ATP.Disclosure of interestThe authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.

Functional and structural brain abnormalities in people at high risk for psychosis is a subject of intensive studies in biological psychiatry over the last decades. We studied correlations between neurophysiological and neuroimaging parameters in ultra-high risk patients.Fifty-six patients, aged 17-25 years, with nonpsychotic mental disorders were examined. The control group included 30 age- and sex-matched healthy people. Neurophysiological study measured sensory gating. Proton MR-spectroscopy was used to study metabolic processes in the brain (index for glutamate/glutamine, N-acetylaspartate and choline containing compounds in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and thalamus of both hemispheres as well as in the genu and splenium of the corpus callosum).We found the abnormality of sensory gating in patients at ultra-high risk for endogenous psychosis that was not correlated with the metabolic parameters. The latter were normal or were normalized during treatment.Цель исследования. В последние десятилетия в биологической психиатрии большое внимание уделяется особенностям функциональных и структурных аномалий головного мозга в группах высокого риска по развитию эндогенных психозов. Изучали сопряженность нейрофизиологических и нейровизуализационных показателей в случаях наличия ультравысокого риска по развитию эндогенных психозов. Настоящее сообщение представляет некоторые результаты начального этапа подобного исследования. Материал и методы. Обследовали 56 больных 17-25 лет с непсихотическими психическими расстройствами. Контрольная группа состояла из 30 подобранных по возрасту и полу психически здоровых. Нейрофизиологические исследования были направлены на получение показателей, характеризующих способность головного мозга 'регулировать' объем поступающей информации (sensory gating). Одновременно методом локализационной протонной МР-спектроскопии определялись некоторые характеристики обменных процессов в головном мозге (величины индекса глутамат/глутамин, N-ацетиласпартата и холинсодержащих веществ в дорсолатеральной префронтальной коре и таламусе левого и правого полушария, а также колене и валике мозолистого тела). Результаты и заключение. Получены данные, позволяющие предположить нарушение 'сенсорного фильтра' у больных из группы ультравысокого риска по развитию эндогенных психозов, которые не коррелируют с изучавшимися метаболическими показателями. Последние были в норме или нормализовались в процессе лечения.