Schizophrenia is a destructive neuropsychiatric disease with a median prevalence of 4.0 per 1,000 during the whole life. Genome-wide association studies have shown the role of copy number variants (generally deletions) and certain alleles of common single nucleotide polymorphisms in the pathogenesis of schizophrenia. This disorder predominantly follows the polygenic inheritance model. Schizophrenia has also been linked with various alterations in the transcript and protein content of the brain tissue. Recent studies indicate that alterations in non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) signature underlie a proportion of this dysregulation. High throughput microarray investigations have demonstrated momentous alterations in the expression of long non-coding RNAs (lncRNA) and microRNAs (miRNAs) in the circulation or post-mortem brain tissues of patients with schizophrenia compared with control samples. While Gomafu, PINT, GAS5, TCONS_l2_00021339, IFNG-AS1, FAS-AS1, PVT1, and TUG1 are among down-regulated lncRNAs in schizophrenia, MEG3, THRIL, HOXA-AS2, Linc-ROR, SPRY4-IT1, UCA1, and MALAT1 have been up-regulated in these patients. Moreover, several miRNAs, such as miR-30e, miR-130b, hsa-miR-130b, miR-193a-3p, hsa-miR-193a-3p, hsa-miR-181b, hsa-miR-34a, hsa-miR-346, and hsa-miR-7 have been shown to be dysregulated in blood or brain samples of patients with schizophrenia. Dysregulation of these transcripts in schizophrenia not only provides insight into the pathogenic processes of this disorder, it also suggests these transcripts could serve as diagnostic markers for schizophrenia. In the present paper, we explore the changes in the expression of miRNAs and lncRNAs in patients with schizophrenia.

In Switzerland, military service is a civic obligation for all adult male citizens, and thus, leadership style can be particularly challenging. The present study investigated the impact of superiors’ leadership styles on recruits’ achievement motivation, organizational citizenship behavior (OCB), and perceived stress during their Basic Military Training (BMT). To this end, a total of 525 male recruits (mean age: 20.3 years) recruits were assessed both cross-sectionally and longitudinally. At the start of BMT (baseline), at week 7, and at week 11, participants completed a series of self-rating questionnaires covering demographic information, achievement motivation, organizational citizenship behavior (OCB), perceived stress, and their superiors’ leadership styles (transformational, transactional und laissez-faire). Longitudinally, scores for achievement motivation and OCB showed no significant difference between baseline and the 11th week. In a group comparison, the group experiencing higher transformational leadership (from week 7 to week 11) had the highest scores for achievement motivation and OCB, and the lowest scores for perceived stress, all at week 11. Exploratively, achievement motivation and OCB at baseline were associated with transformational leadership and transactional leadership at week 7 and week 11. Perceived stress at baseline correlated only with transformational leadership but not with transactional leadership, both at week 7 and week 11. Transformational leadership style fostered achievement motivation and OCB in Swiss military recruits and protected them from stress, both cross-sectionally and longitudinally.

Background In both the general population and people with multiple sclerosis (PwMS), physical exercise is associated with improved mental well-being. Moreover, there is evidence of the possible protection of physical activity against disease progression in multiple sclerosis (MS). However, the question arises if acute or regular exercise has any impact on the immune system in PwMS. To answer this question, we performed a systematic review and meta-analysis on both plasma and serum cytokine levels (IL-6 and TNF-α) before and after acute and regular exercise among PwMS and compared to healthy controls. Method We performed an online search via PubMed, EMBASE, SCOPUS, Web of Science, and Cochrane Library till September 2021 to identify original studies on IL-6 and TNF-α changes after acute and regular exercise in PwMS and controls. Following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA), 11 original studies were included in the meta-analysis. Sensitivity analyses were used to identify the origins of heterogeneity. R 4.0.4 was used to perform the meta-analysis of IL-6 and TNF-α levels before and after acute and regular exercise in PwMS, compared to controls. This study does not qualify for a clinical trial number. Results IL-6 levels did neither increase nor decrease after acute and regular exercise in PwMS, and compared to controls (pre- vs. post-intervention: Standardized Mean Difference (SMD) -0.09, 95% CI [−0.29; 0.11], p-value = 0.37, PwMS vs. Control: SMD −0.08, 95% CI [−0.33; 0.16], p-value = 0.47). In PwMS, TNF-α levels decreased after regular exercise and when TNF-α levels of both acute and regular exercise were pooled (pre- vs. post-intervention: SMD −0.51, 95% CI [-0.91; 0.11], p-value = 0.01, PwMS vs. Control: SMD −0.23, 95% CI [−0.66; 0.18], p-value = 0.26). TNF-α levels did neither increase nor decrease after acute and regular exercise in PwMS, when compared to controls. Conclusion This systematic review and meta-analysis show that exercise does not lead to significant changes in peripheral levels of IL-6 in PwMS in contrast to the observed response in healthy subjects and other medical contexts. However, regular exercise had a specific anti-inflammatory effect on blood TNF-α levels in PwMS. It remains to be investigated why PwMS display this different exercise-induced pattern of cytokines.