The brain markers of creativity measured by divergent thinking in childhood: Hippocampal volume and functional connectivity.

Creativity, a high-order cognitive ability, has received wide attention from researchers and educators who are dedicated to promoting its development throughout one's lifespan. Currently, creativity is commonly assessed with divergent thinking tasks, such as the Alternative Uses Task. Recent advancements in neuroimaging techniques have enabled the identification of brain markers for high-order cognitive abilities. One such brain structure of interest in this regard is the hippocampus, which has been found to play an important role in generating creative thoughts in adulthood. However, such role of the hippocampus in childhood is not clear. Thus, this study aimed to investigate the associations between creativity, as measured by divergent thinking, and both the volume of the hippocampus and its resting-state functional connectivity in 116 children aged 8-12 years. The results indicate significant relations between divergent thinking and the volume of the hippocampal head and the hippocampal tail, as well as the volume of a subfield comprising cornu ammonis 2-4 and dentate gyrus within the hippocampal body. Additionally, divergent thinking was significantly related to the differences between the anterior and the posterior hippocampus in their functional connectivity to other brain regions during rest. These results suggest that these two subregions may collaborate with different brain regions to support diverse cognitive processes involved in the generation of creative thoughts. In summary, these findings indicate that divergent thinking is significantly related to the structural and functional characteristics of the hippocampus, offering potential insights into the brain markers for creativity during the developmental stage.

The effect of glycopyrrolate vs. atropine in combination with neostigmine on cardiovascular system for reversal of residual neuromuscular blockade in the elderly: a randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Glycopyrrolate-neostigmine (G/N) for reversing neuromuscular blockade (NMB) causes fewer changes in heart rate (HR) than atropine-neostigmine (A/N). This advantage may be especially beneficial for elderly patients. Therefore, this study aimed to compare the cardiovascular effects of G/N and A/N for the reversal of NMB in elderly patients. METHODS: Elderly patients aged 65-80 years who were scheduled for elective non-cardiac surgery under general anesthesia were randomly assigned to the glycopyrrolate group (group G) or the atropine group (group A). Following the last administration of muscle relaxants for more than 30 min, group G received 4 ug/kg glycopyrrolate and 20 ug/kg neostigmine, while group A received 10 ug/kg atropine and 20 ug/kg neostigmine. HR, mean arterial pressure (MAP), and ST segment in lead II (ST-II) were measured 1 min before administration and 1-15 min after administration. RESULTS: HR was significantly lower in group G compared to group A at 2-8 min after administration (P < 0.05). MAP was significantly lower in group G compared to group A at 1-4 min after administration (P < 0.05). ST-II was significantly depressed in group A compared to group G at 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11, 13, 14, and 15 min after administration (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: In comparison to A/N, G/N for reversing residual NMB in the elderly has a more stable HR, MAP, and ST-II within 15 min after administration.

Dynamic evolution of eukaryotic mitochondrial and nuclear genomes: a case study in the gourmet pine mushroom Tricholoma matsutake.

Fungi, as eukaryotic organisms, contain two genomes, the mitochondrial genome and the nuclear genome, in their cells. How the two genomes evolve and correlate to each other is debated. Herein, taking the gourmet pine mushroom Tricholoma matsutake as an example, we performed comparative mitogenomic analysis using samples collected from diverse locations and compared the evolution of the two genomes. The T. matsutake mitogenome encodes 49 genes and is rich of repetitive and non-coding DNAs. Six genes were invaded by up to 11 group I introns, with one cox1 intron cox1P372 showing presence/absence dynamics among different samples. Bioinformatic analyses suggested limited or no evidence of mitochondrial heteroplasmy. Interestingly, hundreds of mitochondrial DNA fragments were found in the nuclear genome, with several larger than 500 nt confirmed by PCR assays and read count comparisons, indicating clear evidence of transfer of mitochondrial DNA into the nuclear genome. Nuclear DNA of T. matsutake showed a higher mutation rate than mitochondrial DNA. Furthermore, we found evidence of incongruence between phylogenetic trees derived from mitogenome and nuclear DNA sequences. Together, our results reveal the dynamic genome evolution of the gourmet pine mushroom.

Comparative Mitogenomics of Fungal Species in Stachybotryaceae Provides Evolutionary Insights into Hypocreales.

Stachybotrys chartarum is one of the world's ten most feared fungi within the family Stachybotryaceae, although to date, not a single mitogenome has been documented for Stachybotryaceae. Herein, six mitogenomes of four different species in Stachybotryaceae are newly reported. The S. chartarum mitogenome was 30.7 kb in length and contained two introns (one each in rnl and cox1). A comparison of the mitogenomes of three different individuals of S. chartarum showed few nucleotide variations and conservation of gene content/order and intron insertion. A comparison of the mitogenomes of four different Stachybotryaceae species (Memnoniella echinata, Myrothecium inundatum, S. chartarum, and S. chlorohalonata), however, revealed variations in intron insertion, gene order/content, and nad2/nad3 joining pattern. Further investigations on all Hypocreales species with available mitogenomes showed greater variabilities in gene order (six patterns) and nad2/nad3 joining pattern (five patterns) although a dominant pattern always existed in each case. Ancestral state estimation showed that in each case the dominant pattern was always more ancestral than those rare patterns. Phylogenetic analyses based on mitochondrion-encoded genes supported the placement of Stachybotryaceae in Hypocreales. The crown age of Stachybotryaceae was estimated to be approximately the Early Cretaceous (141-142 Mya). This study greatly promotes our understanding of the evolution of fungal species in Hypocreales.

Effect of Continuous Infusion of Different Doses of Esketamine on the Bispectral Index During Sevoflurane Anesthesia: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

Purpose: To investigate and quantify the effect of continuous esketamine infusion at different doses on the bispectral index (BIS) during sevoflurane anesthesia. Methods: A total of 120 patients scheduled for elective laparoscopic renal surgery were randomly divided into three groups. Under steady anesthesia and surgical situations, the patient was started on continuous infusion of the study drug: 0.125 mg/kg/h esketamine (group E1), 0.25 mg/kg/h esketamine (group E2), and the same volume of saline (group C). The primary outcome was changes in BIS value after 15 min (T15), 30 min (T30), 45 min (T45), and 60 min (T60) of drug infusion. The secondary outcomes were 95% spectral edge frequency (SEF95), electromyogram (EMG), heart rate (HR), and mean arterial pressure (MAP) from T0 to T60. Furthermore, postoperative pain, postoperative recovery, and perioperative adverse events were evaluated. Results: Compared with group C, group E1 exhibited significant BIS elevation at T30-T60 and group E2 at T15-T60 (P < 0.001). Compared with group E1, group E2 showed a more significant BIS elevation at T15-T60 (P < 0.001). The area under the curve (AUC) of BIS and SEF95 were significantly higher in group E2 than in groups C and E1 (P < 0.05). BIS value for any of the three groups was significantly correlated with SEF95 (P < 0.001). No significant differences were observed in the AUC of EMG, HR, and MAP among the three groups. Intraoperative remifentanil consumption and postoperative NRS of pain on movement were significantly reduced in group E2 compared with groups C and E1 (P < 0.05). Conclusion: Continuous infusion of both 0.125 and 0.25 mg/kg/h of esketamine increased the BIS value during sevoflurane anesthesia, and the BIS value gradually stabilized with the prolongation of the infusion time.

Optimization of regional emergency supplies distribution vehicle route with dynamic real-time demand.

Given the particular characteristics of a sudden outbreak of an epidemic on a regional scale and considering the possible existence of a latent period process, this paper takes the distribution of regional emergency supplies as the research object. Form the proposes a dynamic vehicle path problem from the perspective of real-time demand changes. First, when there is a sudden outbreak of a small-scale epidemic, there is uncertainty about demand in the epidemic area. The objective functions of minimizing the vehicle travel route cost of emergency vehicles, the late arrival penalty cost of emergency vehicles, and the fixed cost of emergency vehicles, as well as the objective function of minimizing the total distance traveled by vehicles, are established. Second, a mathematical model of the dynamic real-time demand vehicle route problem is built using the actual vehicle routing problem as a basis. The model is then solved using the SFSSA method. Finally, the computational results demonstrate that the SFSSA algorithm can effectively reduce transportation cost and distance when solving the constructed mathematical model problem, providing a solution to the problem of optimizing the route of emergency material distribution vehicles for a regional scale.

A multi-center joint distribution optimization model considering carbon emissions and customer satisfaction.

Logistics enterprises are searching for a sustainable solution between the economy and the environment under the concept of green logistics development. Given that, this study integrates carbon emission as one of the costs into the vehicle routing problem with time window (VRPTW) and establishes a multi-center joint distribution optimization model taking into account distribution cost, carbon emission, and customer satisfaction. In the study of carbon emissions, this paper selected the vehicle load rate and vehicle distance as the main indicators. An improved ant colony algorithm is designed to solve the model by introducing the elite strategy, the saving strategy, vehicle service rules, and customer selection rules. Simulation results show that compared with the traditional ant colony optimization and genetic algorithm, the improved ant colony algorithm can effectively reduce the distribution cost and carbon emission and, improve customer satisfaction.

Transcranial ultrasound stimulation modulates the interhemispheric balance of excitability in human motor cortex.

Background. Low-intensity transcranial ultrasound stimulation (TUS) could induce both immediate and long-lasting neuromodulatory effects in human brains. Interhemispheric imbalance at prefrontal or motor cortices generally associates with various cognitive decline in aging and mental disorders. However, whether TUS could modulate the interhemispheric balance of excitability in human brain remains unknown.Objective. This study aims to explore whether repetitive TUS (rTUS) intervention can modulate the interhemispheric balance of excitability between bilateral motor cortex (M1) in healthy subjects.Approach. Motor evoked potentials (MEPs) at bilateral M1 were measured at 15 min and 0 min before a 15 min active or sham rTUS intervention on left M1 and at 0 min, 15 min and 30 min after the intervention, and the Chinese version of brief neurocognitive test battery (C-BCT) was conducted before and after the intervention respectively. Cortical excitability was quantified by MEPs, and the long-lasting changes of MEP amplitude was used as an index of plasticity.Results. In the active rTUS group (n= 20), the ipsilateral MEP amplitude increased significantly compared with baselines and lasted for up to 30 min after intervention, while the contralateral MEP amplitude decreased lasting for 15 min, yielding increased laterality between bilateral MEPs. Furthermore, rTUS intervention induced changes in some C-BCT scores, and the changes of scores correlated with the changes of MEP amplitudes induced by rTUS intervention. The sham rTUS group (n= 20) showed no significant changes in MEPs and C-BCT scores. In addition, no participants reported any adverse effects during and after the rTUS intervention, and no obvious temperature increase appeared in skull or brain tissues in simulation.Significance. rTUS intervention modulated the plasticity of ipsilateral M1 and the interhemispheric balance of M1 excitability in human brain, and improved cognitive performance, suggesting a considerable potential of rTUS in clinical interventions.

A Constructivist Ontology Relation Learning Method.

From the perspective of philosophy, ontology relations denote ultimate semantic relations of related knowledge concepts. Beyond doubt, it is still a very difficult problem on how to automatically depict and construct ontology relations because of its high abstractness. Some latest research attempted to realize ontology relation learning by learning abstract hierarchies or similarities among knowledge concepts. Inspired by the requirements of associative semantic cognition like in the human brain, a constructivist ontology relation learning (CORL) method is put forward in this study by borrowing the idea of the constructivist learning theory. Wherein, two following points are supposed: 1) each symbol knowledge is looked as a token of representing certain abstract pattern and 2) each pattern denotes a type of relation structures on other patterns, or a directly observed event data, such as physical sensing data, natural image, sound data, text word etc. So, ontology relation could be considered as the associative support degrees from other knowledge concepts to the target concept, which reflects how one knowledge ontology can be demarcated by other knowledge concepts. Then, the knowledge network can be employed to represent an entire domain knowledge system. Meanwhile, an associative random walk mechanism (ARWM) on knowledge network can be considered to explain the semantic generative process of every document. Thus, CORL can be realized by integrating ARWM into an extended latent Dirichlet allocation (LDA) model. Some theoretical and experimental analysis are done. The corresponding results demonstrate that CORL can obtain effective associative semantic relations among concept words, and gain some novel characteristics in better representing knowledge ontology than existing methods.

Demand forecast and influential factors of cold chain logistics based on a grey model.

Due to high requirements of storage, operation and delivery conditions, it is more difficult for cold chain logistics to meet the demand with supply in the course of disruption. And, accurate demand forecasting promotes supply efficiency for cold chain logistics in a changeable environment. This paper aims to find the main influential factors of cold chain demand and presents a prediction to support the resilience operation of cold chain logistics. After analyzing the internal relevance between potential factors and regional agricultural cold chain logistics demand, the grey model GM (1, N) with fractional order accumulation is established to forecast future agricultural cold chain logistics demand in Beijing, Tianjin, and Hebei. The following outcomes have been obtained. (1) The proportion of tertiary industry, per capita disposable income indices for urban households and general price index for farm products are the first three factors influencing the cold chain logistics demand for agricultural products in both Beijing and Tianjin. The GDP, fixed asset investment in transportation and storage, and the proportion of tertiary industry are three major influential factors in Hebei. (2) Agricultural cold chain demand in Beijing and Hebei will grow sustainably in 2021-2025, while the trend in Tianjin remains stable. In conclusion, regional developmental differences should be considered when planning policies for the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei cold chain logistics system.

MiR-7 Regulates Pathogen-Induced Immune Response via PAK1 in the Sea Cucumber Apostichopus japonicus.

MicroRNA-7 (miR-7) is a highly conserved short non-coding RNA involved in various bioprocesses via the regulation of multiple target genes. To enrich our knowledge of the functions of miR-7 in innate immune regulation in echinoderms, we first investigated the targeting relationship between miR-7 and PAK1 in the sea cucumber Apostichopus japonicus and then explored the functions of miR-7, the PAK1 gene, and the miR-7/PAK1 axis in the pathogen-induced immune response of A. japonicus. Our results showed that miR-7 can bind to the 3'UTR of PAK1 and negatively regulate the expression of PAK1 in A. japonicus. Overexpression and inhibition of miR-7 and inhibition of the expression of PAK1 can alter phagocytosis, cellular agglutination, and lysozyme contents in A. japonicus. Both miR-7 and the PAK1 gene are involved in immune defense against Vibrio splendidus infection; the miR-7/AjPAK1 axis showed immune regulatory function at 48 to 72 h post-infection (hpi) after V. splendidus infection in A. japonicus. In summary, the results of this study established that miR-7 regulates the pathogen-induced immune response by targeting PAK1 in A. japonicus.

Microbiome-Metabolome Responses in Ruminal Content and Feces of Lactating Dairy Cows With N-Carbamylglutamate Supplementation Under Heat Stress.

The objective of the present study was to investigate the effects of N-carbamylglutamate (NCG) supplementation on metabolic profile and microbiota in ruminal content and feces of lactating dairy cows under heat stress (HS). Forty-eight lactating Holstein cows (154 ± 13.6 days in milk) were assigned randomly to four treatments (n = 12), to receive 0, 15, 20, or 25 g/day of commercial NCG (proportion: 97.7%) for the period of 60 days. The recorded ambient temperature-humidity index (THI) suggested that the cows were exposed to HS for almost the entire experimental period (average THI: 80.6). Samples of ruminal content and feces were collected at the end of the trial (day 60) to determine the biological effects of NCG supplementation on metabolome and microbiota using mass spectrometry-based metabolomics and 16S rRNA gene sequencing techniques, respectively. Results showed that NCG supplementation enhanced the levels of ruminal microbial protein, total volatile fatty acids (VFAs), and the molar proportion of propionate in the rumen, but lowered the ruminal pH, ammonia nitrogen (NH3-N), and the ratio of acetate to propionate. NCG at doses of 20 and 25 g/day reduced the community richness and diversity of ruminal microbiota with the decrease of Shannon and Simpson diversity. Compositions of ruminal and fecal microbiotas were altered by NCG, and the PICRUSt results revealed that metabolic pathways of the bacteria, such as amino acid metabolism, energy metabolism, and pyruvate metabolism, were enriched in NCG groups. Distinct changes in the metabolomic profile of ruminal fluid were observed between the control and NCG groups. Changes of 26 metabolites mainly involved in arginine metabolism, glutamate metabolism, and nitrogen metabolism were observed associated with NCG supplementation. These results provided new insights into the effects of NCG on metabolomic profile and microbiota in ruminal content and feces, and the optimal dose of NCG supplemented to dairy cows was 20 g/hd/day, which contributed to understanding the effects of NCG on HS in lactating dairy cows.

Efficient mineralization of gaseous benzyl chloride by VUV/UV photodegradation in humid air.

VUV/UV photodegradation technology, which is free of catalysts or oxidants, has been regarded as an efficient method to decompose gaseous VOCs. However, the mineralization of gaseous VOCs by VUV/UV photodegradation has seldom been discussed systematically. In this work, the mineralization of benzyl chloride in humid air is comprehensively investigated and the potential contributors in the system (i.e., light wavelength, O2 and H2O) are discussed. As a result, more than 95.0% benzyl chloride is mineralized at 40 min in humid air with 80% relative humidity (RH) despite its initial concentrations (i.e., ranging from 4 to 20 ppm). It is found that both 185-nm VUV light and H2O significant contribute to the efficient mineralization of benzyl chloride in humid air, while O2 only has a limited effect to the efficient mineralization of benzyl chloride in humid air. The introduction of H2O into the VUV/UV photodegradation can reduce the emission of ozone obviously. These findings are significant inspiration to application of the VUV/UV photodegradation technology on the treatment of gaseous VOCs in the actual air atmosphere.

Transcranial ultrasound stimulation of the human motor cortex.

It has been 40 years since the report of long-term synaptic plasticity on the rodent brain. Transcranial ultrasound stimulation (TUS) shows advantages in spatial resolution and penetration depth when compared with electrical or magnetic stimulation. The repetitive TUS (rTUS) can induce cortical excitability alteration on animals, and persistent aftereffects were observed. However, the effects of rTUS on synaptic plasticity in humans remain unelucidated. In the current study, we applied a 15-min rTUS protocol to stimulate left primary motor cortex (l-M1) in 24 male healthy participants. The single-pulsed transcranial magnetic stimulation-evoked motor evoked potential and Stop-signal task was applied to measure the rTUS aftereffects. Here, we report that conditioning the human motor cortex using rTUS may produce long-lasting and statistically significant effects on motor cortex excitability as well as motor behavior, without harmful side effects observed. These findings suggest a considerable potential of rTUS in cortical plasticity modulation and clinical intervention for impulsivity-related disorders.

Knowledge and attitudes regarding cancer pain management among oncology nurses in China.

OBJECTIVE: There are limited studies examining knowledge and attitudes among Chinese oncology nurses regarding cancer pain management. METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional survey among oncology nurses from 26 hospitals in China. The nurses completed the Knowledge and Attitudes Survey Regarding Pain (KASRP) questionnaire. Multivariate models were used to identify factors associated with nurses' KASRP score. RESULTS: A total of 982 nurses completed the KASRP (mean score = 21.56 ± 4.00), and 8 (0.81%) nurses had a passing score. The results of multivariate regression indicated that clinical rank and experience in cancer pain management were associated with good knowledge and attitudes regarding cancer pain management. CONCLUSION: The Chinese nurses in our study did not have adequate knowledge of or positive attitudes related to cancer pain management. Clinical rank and experience caring for patients with cancer could be used to help identify nurses with inadequate knowledge and attitudes regarding treating cancer pain.

Relationship between [corrected] spatial memory in diabetic rats and protein kinase Cγ, caveolin-1 in the hippocampus and neuroprotective effect of catalpol.

BACKGROUND: The mechanisms underlying diabetic encephalopathy are largely unknown, and no effective treatments are available. Catalpol has received much attention due to its numerous biological effects, especially in neuroprotective studies. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of catalpol on cognitive functions in diabetic rats and the underlying mechanisms. METHODS: A rat model of diabetes was established by streptozotocin injection, followed by intraperitoneal infusion of catalpol after 10 weeks. Two weeks later, the Morris water maze was used to test the spatial learning performance. Nissl staining was performed to evaluate the morphological changes in the hippocampus. Expression of protein kinase Cγ (PKCγ) and caveolin-1 (Cav-1) in the hippocampus were assessed by reverse transcription PCR and Western blotting. Activities of anti-oxidative enzymes such as glutathione (GSH), superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) and levels of malonaldehyde (MDA) were measured using commercial kits. RESULTS: Significant hippocampal neuronal injury was observed in rats with streptozotocin-induced diabetes. Moreover, cognitive dysfunction was associated with markedly increased oxidative stress in the brain. Catalpol treatment significantly attenuated cognitive deficits, neuronal damage, and oxidative stress in the brain of diabetic rats. Biochemical analyses showed that catalpol reversed the down-regulation of PKCγ and Cav-1 expression in the diabetic rats. CONCLUSIONS: Spatial memory in diabetic rats is associated with the expression of PKCγ and Cav-1. Catalpol treatment markedly attenuated oxidative stress, reversed the alteration of PKCγ, Cav-1 and spatial memory deficits.