[Effects of different planting density, leaf position and leaf age on growth and quality of Artemisia argyi var. argyi 'Qiai'].

In order to guide the standardized planting and scientific harvesting of Artemisia argyi var. argyi 'Qiai', effects of diffe-rent planting density, leaf position and leaf age on the growth and quality of A. argyi var. argyi 'Qiai' were studied in this paper. The results showed that appropriate sparse planting could increase stem diameter, compact leaf spacing, increase the leaf size, reduce the rate of withered leaves and increase the number of effective leaves. Dense planting can significantly increase the yield of A. argyi var. argyi 'Qiai' per Mu(1 Mu≈667 m~2) and the output rate of moxa, but reduce the yield per plant and the number of effective leaves. With the decrease of leaf position and the increase of leaf age, the leaf size and the weight of one hundred leaves increased at first and then decreased, the density of non-glandular hair field of the lower epidermis and the output rate of moxa decreased. With the increase of planting density, the contents of eucalyptus oleoresin, camphor, α-platyclone, and cyanidin decreased gradually, the contents of chlorogenic acid, isochlorogenic acid B, isochlorogenic acid A and isochlorogenic acid C in the leaves of A. argyi var. argyi 'Qiai' increased gradually, while the contents of borneol, bornyl acetate and isozelanin increased at first and then decreased significantly. With the decrease of leaf position and the increase of leaf age, the contents of volatile oil, phenolic acid and flavonoid in A. argyi var. argyi 'Qiai' decreased gradually. PCA analysis can divide the leaf quality characteristics of A. argyi var. argyi 'Qiai' into two parts: the middle and upper 10-30 days leaf age, the middle and lower 40-50 days above leaf age. Based on the above factors, the planting density of 28 000 plants/Mu(row spacing of 10 cm×20 cm) can be selected for cultivation of A. argyi var. argyi 'Qiai' rhizome, and the effective plants in the field are about 142 800 plants/Mu. In terms of harvesting, it is suggested that the A. argyi var. argyi 'Qiai' should be harvested on "March 3 rd" and "May 5 th" of the lunar calendar. If it is the traditionally harvested at one time in May, the A. argyi var. argyi 'Qiai' should be divided into two parts: the middle and upper leaves, the middle and lower leaves, so as to achieve high quality and high price of A. argyi var. argyi 'Qiai' leaves and improve the economic benefits of A. argyi var. argyi 'Qiai' planting.

[Effect of planting period and ridge pattern on yield and quality of Artemisia argyi var.argyi 'Qiai'].

To solve the problems of the unclear planting period and the traditional flat planting of Artemisia argyi var.argyi 'Qiai', such as the serious dead leaves in the middle and lower parts of the plant and the low yield and low quality in the field, the effects of different planting period and ridge pattern on yield and quality of A. argyi var.argyi 'Qiai' were studied. The results showed that the growth and development of A. argyi var.argyi 'Qiai' was better when planted in autumn and winter, and the ridge directions had little effect on the growth and yield of A. argyi var.argyi 'Qiai', while the ridge width had a significant effect. Compared the traditional wide ridge planting mode(the width of the ridge is 160 cm) with the ridge width of 80 cm, 60 cm and 40 cm, the results showed that the density per unit area, the number of effective plants, and the rate of dead leaves were decreased, while the number of productive leaves per plant, the number of lateral branches, and the total yield per plant were increased, the total yield was decreased. The output rates of moxa in the leaves of A. argyi var.argyi 'Qiai' decreased with the planting time postponed and the width of planting ridge increased. The contents of volatile oil, 1,8-oxido-p-menthane, camphor and borneol in A. argyi var.argyi 'Qiai' reach to the highest when planted in autumn and winter and the ridge width was 80 cm. In addition, the contents of total flavonoids, kaempferol, jeceosidin and eupatilin flavonoids in the leaves of A. argyi var.argyi 'Qiai' gradually decreased as the planting period postponed and the ridge width increased. The results show that the A. argyi var.argyi 'Qiai' should be planted in autumn and winter, and the double row ridge planting mode with width of 60-80 cm is more suitable for the cultivation and production of A. argyi var.argyi 'Qiai' in Qichun County of Hubei Province. This study will provide a theoretical basis and guidance for higher yield and quality in cultivation of A. argyi var.argyi 'Qiai' in Qichun county.

Changes in extrafrontal integrity and cognition in frontal lobe epilepsy: a diffusion tensor imaging study.

We used diffusion tensor imaging to characterize microstructural changes and their associations with cognition in Chinese patients with frontal lobe epilepsy (FLE). We examined 18 adult patients with FLE and 20 healthy controls. Compared with normal controls, patients with FLE had increased mean diffusivity (MD) in the right frontal lobe and decreased fractional anisotropy (FA) in both thalami. Patients with FLE also had decreased FA in the right frontal lobe that correlated with patient age at seizure onset and increased MD in the left thalamus that correlated with duration of epilepsy. Patients with FLE performed significantly worse on nearly all cognitive tasks, and there was a positive correlation between Mini-Mental Status Examination scores and FA in the left frontal lobe and the left thalamus. Our results suggest that the thalamus might be an important extrafrontal structure involved in FLE and that a longer duration of epilepsy might result in more abnormalities in the thalamus. Our results also support the hypothesis that the left frontal lobe white matter and the thalamus contribute to cognitive impairment in patients with FLE.

Changes in extratemporal integrity and cognition in temporal lobe epilepsy: a diffusion tensor imaging study.

BACKGROUND: Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) is a sensitive technique for studying cerebral white matter. Only a few studies have examined the association between changes in extratemporal integrity and cognition in temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE), especially in Chinese patients. AIM: We used DTI to characterize microstructural changes and investigate their associations with cognition in patients with temporal lobe epilepsy. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We studied 27 adult patients with TLE and 21 healthy controls. A standardized neuropsychological evaluation and diffusion tensor imaging examination were conducted on each subject. Eight patients were excluded because T2-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) results showed visible lesions. Furthermore, we determined mean diffusivity (MD) and fractional anisotropy (FA) values in the different regions of interest - normal-appearing white matter (NAWM) in the frontal lobe white matter, the occipital lobe white matter, the corpus callosum, the internal capsules, the external capsules; and normal-appearing gray matter (NAGM) in the caudate nucleus head, the putamens and the thalami. These diffusion measurements were compared between the two groups, and we examined the correlations between DTI values and clinical characteristics. In addition, multiple linear regression analysis was used to study the association of DTI values with cognitive function. RESULTS: Compared with normal controls, TLE patients demonstrated decreased FA in NAGM of both thalami and NAWM of the posterior limb of the left internal capsule (P<.01). In patients with temporal lobe epilepsy, right thalamus FA showed a tendency to correlate with age at seizure onset (ß=0.47, P=.045), and left thalamus MD showed a tendency to correlate with the duration of epilepsy (ß=0.54 P=.038). Patients with temporal lobe epilepsy showed significantly poorer performance on nearly all tasks concerning category fluency and other executive functions (P<.01). In patients with TLE, there was a positive correlation between category fluency scores and FA in the white matter of the left frontal lobe (ß=0.429, P=.041) and the right occipital lobe (ß=0.613, P=.001). CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggested that the thalamus might be a potentially important extratemporal structure involved in temporal lobe epilepsy. Moreover, a longer duration of epilepsy or an earlier age at onset may result in more abnormalities in the thalamus. Patients with temporal lobe epilepsy showed significantly poorer performance on nearly all tasks concerning category fluency and other executive functions. Our results showed that frontal lobe white matter contributed to category fluency impairment in patients with TLE, but other areas might also contribute to these impairments.

Voltage-dependent structural interactions in the Shaker K(+) channel.

Using a strategy related to intragenic suppression, we previously obtained evidence for structural interactions in the voltage sensor of Shaker K(+) channels between residues E283 in S2 and R368 and R371 in S4 (Tiwari-Woodruff, S.K., C.T. Schulteis, A.F. Mock, and D. M. Papazian. 1997. Biophys. J. 72:1489-1500). Because R368 and R371 are involved in the conformational changes that accompany voltage-dependent activation, we tested the hypothesis that these S4 residues interact with E283 in S2 in a subset of the conformational states that make up the activation pathway in Shaker channels. First, the location of residue 283 at hyperpolarized and depolarized potentials was inferred by substituting a cysteine at that position and determining its reactivity with hydrophilic, sulfhydryl-specific probes. The results indicate that position 283 reacts with extracellularly applied sulfhydryl reagents with similar rates at both hyperpolarized and depolarized potentials. We conclude that E283 is located near the extracellular surface of the protein in both resting and activated conformations. Second, we studied the functional phenotypes of double charge reversal mutations between positions 283 and 368 and between 283 and 371 to gain insight into the conformations in which these positions approach each other most closely. We found that combining charge reversal mutations at positions 283 and 371 stabilized an activated conformation of the channel, and dramatically slowed transitions into and out of this state. In contrast, charge reversal mutations at positions 283 and 368 stabilized a closed conformation, which by virtue of the inferred position of 368 corresponds to a partially activated (intermediate) closed conformation. From these results, we propose a preliminary model for the rearrangement of structural interactions of the voltage sensor during activation of Shaker K(+) channels.

Heartbeat detection using energy thresholding and template match.

Heartbeat detection is very important for retrieving the vital signs of heart functions. The morphologies and inter-beat intervals of heartbeats can reveal the condition of heart contraction. In this paper, we developed a heartbeat information integration scheme to deal with the information yielded by the energy thresholding and template match methods, which are usually used to detect the heartbeats and match the QRS, respectively. The proposed method are developed in SIMULINK 2.0 and assessed by the MIT/BIH arrhythmia database. The result demonstrated excellent sensitivity of detecting QRS and ventricular premature contraction in the proposed method.

Linear and nonlinear analysis of electroencephalogram of the coma.

The coma is common in intensive care units. The bedside physical examination provides a means to measuring the neurological status, but it cannot be a continuous evaluation, whereas electroencephalogram (EEG) can reflect the immediate electrical activities of the brain. In this paper, we investigate the spectral parameters, complexity and irregular measures, and spectral entropy in the coma. Compared to the normal subject, the EEG of the coma has a dominance of slow wave, low complexity, less irregularity, and low spectral entropy. This result demonstrates the possibility to use EEG analysis for the monitoring of neurological function.