The purported advantages of second-generation or "atypical" antipsychotics relative to first-generation antipsychotics have not been examined in patients with a first episode of schizophrenia. This flexible-dose study examined efficacy and safety in a randomized, double-blind, 52-week trial, comparing chlorpromazine (CPZ) and clozapine (CLZ) in treatment naive patients experiencing their first episode of schizophrenia. In all, 160 inpatients with first-episode schizophrenia or schizophreniform disorder were randomized to CPZ or CLZ and followed them for 52 weeks or until dropout. The primary efficacy measure was time to first remission and proportion of time remaining in remission. The analysis was supplemented by comparisons on a profile of clinical symptoms and side effects. Of these first-episode patients, 80% achieved remission within 1 year (79% CPZ, 81% CLZ). The Kaplan-Meier estimated median time to first remission was 8 weeks for CLZ vs 12 weeks for CPZ (chi(2)(1)=5.56, p=0.02). Both the rate of first achieving remission and the odds for being in remission during the trial were almost doubled for the CLZ group in comparison with the CPZ group. At 12 weeks, CLZ was superior on many rating scale measures of symptom severity while CPZ was not superior on any. These symptom differences remained significant when controlling for EPS differences. By 52 weeks many of the symptom differences between groups were no longer significantly different. Generally, CLZ produced fewer side effects than CPZ, particularly extrapyramidal side effects. There was no significant difference between treatments in weight change or glucose metabolism. For each prior year of untreated psychosis, there was a 15% decrease in the odds of achieving remission (OR=0.85; CI 0.75-0.95). A high proportion of first-episode patients remitted within 1 year. We detected no difference in the proportion of first-episode patients receiving CLZ or CPZ that achieved remission. However, first-episode patients receiving CLZ remitted significantly faster and remained in remission longer than subjects receiving CPZ. While the CLZ group showed significantly less symptomatology on some measures and fewer side effects at 12 weeks, the two treatment groups seemed to converge by 1 year. Longer duration of untreated psychosis was associated with lower odds of achieving remission.

From the point of view of set theory and mathematics, the relation between the forward kinematics (FK) and the inverse kinematics (IK) can be regarded as a nonlinear mapping between the joint space and the operation space of the robot manipulator. Considering the powerful ability of the artificial neural networks (ANN) to process nonlinear mapping relations, the IK problem can be transformed into the problem of training the weights of ANN. In this work, the solution of the IK of the MOTOMAN manipulator is implemented by using ANN. Because of its local approach ability, the radial basis function (RBF) networks of six inputs and one output are designed. The method avoids the traditional complicated deriving equations procedure and programming. Examples are given to illustrate that RBF networks not only have better computation precision than back propagation (BP) networks but also converge faster than BP networks.

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Background: The novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak started in Wuhan, Hubei, China since Dec 2019 and cases of infection have been continuously reported in various countries. It is now clear that the SARS-COV-2 coronavirus is transmissible from human to human. Nucleic acid detection is considered as the gold standard for the diagnosis of COVID-19. In this case report, we describe our experience in detection of SARS-COV-2 from a confirmed patient using nucleic acid test of bronchoalveolar-lavage fluid (BALF) samples but not nasopharyngeal swabs. Case presentation: We present a case of severely ill SARS-COV-2 infected 46-year-old man with fever, coughing and chest tightness. We performed viral detection using his BALF samples and imaging method (CT) for confirmation. The patient received combination of interferonalfa-1b and ribavirin, lopinavir and ritonavir for antiviral treatment at different stages. Other medication was also given to him in combination for anti-inflammation, intestinal microbial regulation, phlegm elimination, liver protection and pulmonary fibrosis prevention purposes. We provided oxygen supply to him using BIPAP ventilator and high-flow humidification oxygen therapy instrument to facilitate respiration. The patient was cured and discharged. Conclusion: This case report described an effective supportive medication scheme to treat SARS-COV-2 infected patient and emphasized the necessity of detection of the viral genome using BALF samples and its significance in the diagnosis and prognosis of the disease.

In this study, we were able to transform CD4 + T cells into CD4 + Foxp3 + T cell by using stimulus like antibodies (anti-CD28, anti-CD3) and cytokines (IL-2, TGF-β1). Sodium butyrate contributes to CD4 + Foxp3 + T cell induction in vitro and at an optimum concentration of 5 mM. Sodium butyrate promotes expression of Ezh2 and Fxop3 of T cells in vitro; in addition, to lowering relative expression of phosphorylated Ezh2 probably be influencing some pathways like PI3K-Akt. Epigenetic modification is also thought to take essential part into the upregulation of Foxp3 from naïve CD4 + Tcells.