Neuroplasticity of the white matter tracts underlying recovery of diarrhea-predominant irritable bowel syndrome following acupuncture treatment.

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a functional bowel disorder frequently associated with other pain syndromes and psychiatric conditions, including depression and anxiety. These abnormalities coincide with alterations in the brain's structure, particularly in the thalamus and cingulate system. Acupuncture has been demonstrated to be highly effective in treating IBS. However, it remains unclear how white matter (WM) tracts change after acupuncture treatment, and whether the neuroplasticity of these tracts can serve as a neural marker to assist in the development of novel treatments. In this study, we aim to answer these questions by investigating longitudinal changes in the WM of the thalamus and cingulate system in a group of diarrhea-predominant irritable bowel syndrome (IBS-D) patients before and after acupuncture treatment. We found that after acupuncture treatment, as IBS symptoms improved, there were significant changes in the microstructure of the right thalamus radiation (TR) (p < 0.05) and the right cingulum hippocampus (CH) (p < 0.05). At the same time, patients with reduced IBS symptom severity scores (SSSs) were associated with the change of the right CH (p = 0.015, r = -0.491), while reduced depressive conditions correlated with the change of the left TR (p = 0.019, r = 0.418). In addition, the consequences for the quality of life (QOL) showed a correlation with the right cingulum [cingulate cortex (CC)] (p = 0.012, r = 0.504) and left TR (p = 0.027, r = -0.397). Our study highlighted the potential implications of neuroplasticity in WM tracts for IBS. Furthermore, these findings suggested that the right CH, TR, and right CC can serve as potential "biomarkers" of IBS-D recovery under acupuncture treatments.

Atrophy patterns in hippocampal subregions and their relationship with cognitive function in fibromyalgia patients with mild cognitive impairment.

Objectives: Fibromyalgia (FM) has been associated with decreased hippocampal volume; however, the atrophy patterns of hippocampal subregions have not yet been identified. We therefore aimed to evaluate the volumes of hippocampal subregions in FM patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), and to explore the relationship between different subregional alterations and cognitive function. Methods: The study included 35 FM patients (21 with MCI and 14 without MCI) and 35 healthy subjects. All subjects performed the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) to assess cognitive function. FreeSurfer V.7.3.2 was used to calculate hippocampal subregion volumes. We then compared hippocampal subregion volumes between the groups, and analyzed the relationship between hippocampal subregion volume and cognitive function using a partial correlation analysis method. Results: Compared with the healthy subjects, FM patients with MCI had smaller hippocampal volumes in the left and right CA1 head, Molecular layer head, GC-DG head, and CA4 head, and in the left Presubiculum head. Poorer executive function, naming ability, and attention were associated with left CA1 head and left Molecular layer head atrophy. By contrast, hippocampal subregion volumes in the FM patients without MCI were slightly larger than or similar to those in the healthy subjects, and were not significantly correlated with cognitive function. Conclusion: Smaller volumes of left CA1 head and left Molecular layer head were associated with poorer executive function, naming ability, and attention in FM patients with MCI. However, these results were not observed in the FM patients without MCI. These findings suggest that the hippocampal subregions of FM patients might present compensatory mechanisms before cognitive decline occurs.

Association of Plasma Lipids with White Matter Hyperintensities in Patients with Acute Ischemic Stroke.

Purpose: White matter hyperintensities (WMH) are the common marker of cerebral small vessel disease (CSVD). Dyslipidemia plays a notable role in the pathogenesis of CSVD. However, the relationship between dyslipidemia and WMH is poorly elucidated. This study aims to investigate the association between serum lipid fractions and WMH in patients with acute ischemic stroke (AIS). Patients and Methods: A total of 901 patients with AIS were included in this study. The burden of WMH, including deep white matter hyperintensities (DWMH), periventricular white matter hyperintensities (PVWMH), and total WMH load, were evaluated on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) by the Fazekas scale. All the WMH burden were set as dichotomous variables. Serum levels of triglycerides (TG), total cholesterol (TC), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-c), and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-c) were collected. The association of serum lipid fractions with WMH burden was analyzed using univariate and multivariate logistic regression models. Results: The average age of the participants was 67.6±11.6 years, and 584 cases (64.8%) were male. About 33.5% (n = 302) patients were smoker, and 23.5% (n = 212) patients had a history of alcohol consumption. The proportion of previous diabetes, ischemic cardiomyopathy and hypertension was 39.0% (n = 351), 21.2% (n = 191) and 75.9% (n = 684), respectively. The average of serum HDL-c, TC, TG, LDL-c levels for all participants were 1.26 ± 0.28 mmol/l, 4.54 ± 1.06 mmol/l, 1.67 ± 1.09 mmol/l, 3.08 ± 0.94 mmol/l. There were no statistical associations between HDL-c, TG, TC, LDL-c and each type of WMH burden (P > 0.05) in multivariate logistic regression analysis. Similar findings were found in subgroup analysis based on gender classification. Conclusion: Serum lipid levels were not associated with the presence of any type of WMH in patients with AIS.

[Effects of reduced solar radiation on photosynthetic physiological characteristics and accumulation of secondary and micro elements in paddy rice.] / å¤ªé˜³è¾å°„å‡å¼±å¯¹æ°´ç¨»å ‰åˆç”Ÿç†ç‰¹æ€§å’Œä¸­å¾®é‡å ƒç´ ç§¯ç´¯çš„å½±å“.

Atmospheric haze pollution is a popular environmental issue in recent years. The aerosols reduce solar radiation reaching land surface, with consequences on the growth of crops. In order to examine the effects of low solar radiation intensity on the physiological characteristics and mineral nutrition of grain crops, the random designed field experiment of rice cultivar 'Nanjing 5055' planted under different shading degrees (CK, natural sunlight control; Y1 and Y2 were treatments with shading rates of 19% and 45%, respectively) were conducted. The response of chlorophyll content (SPAD), leaf area index (LAI), net photosynthetic rate of leaves, grain yields and secondary/micro element contents (Ca, Mg, Fe, Zn, Mn, Cu) in rice were measured during key growth stages (jointing, heading, and grain filling stages). Results showed that, shading treatments inhibited the synthesis of photosynthetic products and reduced the LAI during the whole growing period, but at the early stage it did not affect the chlorophyll content, which was significantly increased at the late growth stage. Compared with CK, the 1000-grain weight of rice was decreased by 14.4% and 18.4%, and seed setting rate was decreased by 4.3% and 12.9%, which resulted in rice yield reduction. With the increases of shading rates, rice yield was decreased by 58.5% and 66.4%, respectively. The nutrient concentrations, especially for the micro-elements, in brown rice and glume were increased. Shading had a negative effect on rice growth, which would eventually reduce the crop production. The higher contents of heavy metals such as Cu and Mn would be a pollution risk for human health. Therefore, the impacts of weakened solar radiation on quantity and quality of crops need comprehensive evaluation.

[Effects of Ozone Pollution on Growth, Yields, and Mineral Metallic Element Contents of Paddy Rice].

The increase in the surface ozone (O3) concentration causes air pollution, which has become a significant environmental issue that is of increasing concern. Ozone pollution not only directly harms human health, but also influences the agricultural ecosystem by impacting crop growth, which may then indirectly affect human health through food quality and the safety of agricultural products. The effects of O3 pollution on rice growth, yields, and mineral metal contents in grains were investigated through field experiments with increased O3 concentration treatment (remaining at 100 nL·L-1) in open top chambers (OTC). The crop growth and metal contents of two rice varieties were analyzed and compared. The results showed that the higher O3 concentration inhibited the photosynthesis of Nanjing 5055 and Yangdao 6 rice leaves, reduced the chlorophyll content and leaf area index, and subsequently led to a decline in the rice yield of 45.5% and 28.6%, respectively. However, compared with the natural control, the contents of most mineral metallic elements in the brown rice and glume of the harvested grains increased by 3.6%-19.8% and 3.9%-36.0%, respectively, thus resulting in a lack of essential trace elements or pollution of heavy metals; hence, the impact of O3 on rice food quality and safety requires a comprehensive evaluation.

Brain Functional Interaction of Acupuncture Effects in Diarrhea-Dominant Irritable Bowel Syndrome.

Acupuncture is a traditional Chinese medicine treatment that has widely been used to modulate gastrointestinal dysfunction caused by irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and to alleviate the resulting pain. Recent studies have shown that gastrointestinal dysfunction caused by IBS is associated with dysregulation of the brain's central and peripheral nervous system, while functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) helps explore functional abnormality of the brain. However, previous studies rarely used fMRI to study the correlations between brain functional connection, interaction, or segregation (e.g., network degree and clustering coefficient) and acupuncture stimulation in IBS. To bridge this knowledge gap, we study the changed brain functional connection, interaction, and segregation before and after acupuncture stimulation for diarrhea-dominant IBS (IBS-D) with the help of complex network methods based on fMRI. Our results indicate that the abnormal functional connections (FCs) in the right hippocampus, right superior occipital gyrus, left lingual gyrus, left middle occipital gyrus, and the cerebellum, and abnormal network degree in right middle occipital gyrus, where normal controls are significantly different from IBS-D patients, are improved after acupuncture stimulation. These changed FCs and the network degree before and after acupuncture stimulation have significant correlations with the changed clinical information including IBS symptom severity score (r = -0.54, p = 0.0065) and IBS quality of life (r = 0.426, p = 0.038). We conclude that the changes of the brain functional connection, interaction, and segregation in the hippocampus, middle and superior occipital gyrus, cerebellum, and the lingual gyrus may be related to acupuncture stimulation. The abnormal functional connection, interaction, and segregation in IBS-D may be improved after acupuncture stimulation.

Assessment of glioma response to radiotherapy using 3D pulsed-continuous arterial spin labeling and 3D segmented volume.

BACKGROUND: Gliomas are the most common primary brain tumors in adults, in some cases, radiotherapy may be the preferred treatment option especially for elderly people who cannot endure surgery. Therefore, it is necessary to evaluate the effects of radiotherapy on glioma. Arterial spin labeling (ASL) is an MR imaging technique that allows for a quantitative determination of cerebral blood flow (CBF) noninvasively. Tumor volume is still an important determinant for evaluating treatment response. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between the tumor perfusion parameters and tumor volume and assess the effects of radiotherapy on glioma using pulsed-continuous arterial spin labeling (pcASL) technique. METHODS: 35 patients with gliomas, histologically classified as low-grade group (n=16) and high-grade group (n=19), treated with radiotherapy only or before using other therapies were included in this study. MR examinations, including T1 weighted image and pcASL, were performed before and 4, 8, 12, 16 weeks after radiotherapy. Regional CBF of normal tissue, mean tumor blood flow (TBFmean), maximum tumor blood flow (TBFmax), and tumor volume were evaluated at each time point. Both the percentage change in CBF (CBF ratio), TBFmean (TBFmean ratio), TBFmax (TBFmax ratio) and the percentage change in tumor volume (volume ratio) were calculated using values obtained before and after radiotherapy. The correlation between the volume ratio and CBF ratio, TBFmean ratio, TBFmax ratio was assessed using linear regression analysis and Pearson's correlation. RESULTS: The TBFmean and TBFmax of high-grade gliomas were significantly higher than that of low-grade group. In high-grade group, a strong correlation was demonstrated between the tumor volume and the TBFmax before radiotherapy (R2=0.35, rs=0.59, p<0.05). There was also a significant correlation between the TBFmax before radiotherapy and the tumor volume ratio before and 8 weeks after radiotherapy (R2=0.56, rs=-0.74, p<0.05). CONCLUSION: The TBFmax measured using pcASL could assess tumoral grade and also could become a potential tool for evaluating the therapeutic effects of radiation.