Local Multiple-site Injections of a Plasmid Encoding Human MnSOD Mitigate Radiation-induced Skin Injury by Inhibiting Ferroptosis.

BACKGROUND: Most patients who undergo radiotherapy develop radiation skin injury, for which effective treatment is urgently needed. MnSOD defends against reactive oxygen species (ROS) damage and may be valuable for treating radiation-induced injury. Here, we (i) investigated the therapeutic and preventive effects of local multiple-site injections of a plasmid, encoding human MnSOD, on radiation-induced skin injury in rats and (ii) explored the mechanism underlying the protective effects of pMnSOD. METHODS: The recombinant plasmid (pMnSOD) was constructed with human cytomegalovirus (CMV) promoter and pUC-ori. The protective effects of pMnSOD against 20-Gy X-ray irradiation were evaluated in human keratinocytes (HaCaT cells) by determining cell viability, ROS levels, and ferroptosisrelated gene expression. In therapeutic treatment, rats received local multiple-site injections of pMnSOD on days 12, 19, and 21 after 40-Gy γ-ray irradiation. In preventive treatment, rats received pMnSOD injections on day -3 pre-irradiation and on day 4 post-irradiation. The skin injuries were evaluated based on the injury score and pathological examination, and ferroptosis-related gene expression was determined. RESULTS: In irradiated HaCaT cells, pMnSOD transfection resulted in an increased SOD2 expression, reduced intracellular ROS levels, and increased cell viability. Moreover, GPX4 and SLC7A11 expression was significantly upregulated, and erastin-induced ferroptosis was inhibited in HaCaT cells. In the therapeutic and prevention treatment experiments, pMnSOD administration produced local SOD protein expression and evidently promoted the healing of radiation-induced skin injury. In the therapeutic treatment experiments, the injury score in the high-dose pMnSOD group was significantly lower than in the PBS group on day 33 post-irradiation (1.50 vs. 2.80, P < 0.05). In the prevention treatment experiments, the skin injury scores were much lower in the pMnSOD administration groups than in the PBS group from day 21 to day 34. GPX4, SLC7A11, and Bcl-2 were upregulated in irradiated skin tissues after pMnSOD treatment, while ACSL4 was downregulated. CONCLUSION: The present study provides evidence that the protective effects of MnSOD in irradiated HaCaT cells may be related to the inhibition of ferroptosis. The multi-site injections of pMnSOD had clear therapeutic and preventive effects on radiation-induced skin injury in rats. pMnSOD may have therapeutic value for the treatment of radiation-induced skin injury.

Chinese Medicine Enhancing Response Rates to Immunosuppressant PD-L1 Inhibitor and Improving the Quality of Life of Hepatocellular Carcinoma-Bearing Mice.

Background: Malignant tumors are a significant disease endangering human health. Chinese Medicine (CM) plays an important role in comprehensive and holistic tumor treatment. Objectives: We aimed to investigate whether CM combined with the immunosuppressant PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitor has a good synergistic effect and can significantly improve response rates for the immunosuppressant. Methods: We combined CM with immunosuppressant in treating six-week-old hepatocellular carcinoma-bearing mice and compared the outcomes of groups undergoing different interventions: blank group, control group, CM group, PD-L1 inhibitor group, and CM + PD-L1 inhibitor group, with ten mice in each group. The quality of life was evaluated along with the tumor inhibition effects and growth rates. Results: CM significantly reduced tumor load and improved the quality of life of cancer-bearing mice. The survival rate was 81.8% in the control group, 100% in the CM group, 90.9% in the PD-L1 inhibitor group, and 100% in the combined group in the first week. The survival rate was 45.5% in the control group, 54.5% in the CM group, 81.8% in the PD-L1 inhibitor group, and 81.8% in the combined group in the second week. 38% mice in the CM+PD-L1 inhibitor group with smaller tumor size than the average of the control group, which was much higher than other treatment groups. CM also reduced the expression of JAK2 mRNA and STAT3 mRNA, although not significantly (P > 0.05), and reduced PD-L1 mRNA in tumor tissue compared to the control group (P < 0.05). Conclusions: CM had a synergistic effect on PD-L1 inhibitors and increased response rates to PD-L1 inhibitor treatment.

Harnessing the power of traditional Chinese medicine monomers and compound prescriptions to boost cancer immunotherapy.

At present, cancer is the largest culprit that endangers human health. The current treatment options for cancer mainly include surgical resection, adjuvant radiotherapy and chemotherapy, but their therapeutic effects and long-term prognosis are unsatisfactory. Immunotherapy is an emerging therapy that has completely transformed the therapeutic landscape of advanced cancers, and has tried to occupy a place in the neoadjuvant therapy of resectable tumors. However, not all patients respond to immunotherapy due to the immunological and molecular features of the tumors. Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) provides a new perspective for cancer treatment and is considered to have the potential as promising anti-tumor drugs considering its immunoregulatory properties. This review concludes commonly used TCM monomers and compounds from the perspective of immune regulatory pathways, aiming to clearly introduce the basic mechanisms of TCM in boosting cancer immunotherapy and mechanisms of several common TCM. In addition, we also summarized closed and ongoing trials and presented prospects for future development. Due to the significant role of immunotherapy in the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), TCM combined with immunotherapy should be emphasized in NSCLC.

The Role of Complementary and Alternative Medicine on Cancer-Related Fatigue in Adults: An Overview of Systematic Reviews.

BACKGROUND: Cancer-related fatigue (CRF) has an enormous adverse impact on quality of life and subsequent therapy of cancer patients. Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is reported to improve CRF in many systematic reviews (SRs), but the effects are controversial because of variations in the quality and outcomes. METHODS: Thirteen databases were searched from inception to September 2022. Only SRs of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) were included. We assessed the quality of included SRs with the AMSTAR-2 tool, the strength of evidence with the GRADE system, the risk of bias with the ROBIS tool, and the integrity of SRs with the PRISMA checklist. RESULTS: We included 30 eligible SRs (27 meta-analyses). Based on the AMSTAR-2 tool, 29 SRs were rated as "critically low" quality, and only one was rated as "low" quality. With the ROBIS tool, 19 SRs demonstrated a low risk of bias. According to the PRISMA checklist, no SRs reported all the items, and 10 SRs sufficiently reported over 70%. Based on the GRADE system, 7 outcomes were assessed as high-quality evidence. CONCLUSION: This overview demonstrates promising evidence for the effectiveness of CAM interventions in the treatment of CRF in adults. The roles of qigong, music, auricular point therapy, and dietary supplements in CRF need further evaluation. Although findings are mixed, it is recommend to select appropriate CAM to manage cancer-related fatigue under the guidance of physicians. More studies with rigorous methodological designs and sufficient sample sizes are needed.

Efficacy and safety of acupuncture-point stimulation combined with opioids for the treatment of moderate to severe cancer pain: a network meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

Background: Pain is one of the most common and troublesome symptoms of cancer. Although potential positive effects of acupuncture-point stimulation (APS) on cancer pain have been observed, knowledge regarding the selection of the optimal APS remains unclear because of a lack of evidence from head-to-head randomized controlled trials (RCTs). Objective: This study aimed to carry out a network meta-analysis to compare the efficacy and safety of different APS combined with opioids in treating moderate to severe cancer pain and rank these methods for practical consideration. Methods: A comprehensive search of eight electronic databases was conducted to obtain RCTs involving different APS combined with opioids for moderate to severe cancer pain. Data were screened and extracted independently using predesigned forms. The quality of RCTs was appraised with the Cochrane Collaboration risk-of-bias tool. The primary outcome was the total pain relief rate. Secondary outcomes were the total incidence of adverse reactions, the incidence of nausea and vomiting, and the incidence of constipation. We applied a frequentist, fixed-effect network meta-analysis model to pool effect sizes across trials using rate ratios (RR) with their 95% confidence intervals (CI). Network meta-analysis was performed using Stata/SE 16.0. Results: We included 48 RCTs, which consisted of 4,026 patients, and investigated nine interventions. A network meta-analysis showed that a combination of APS and opioids was superior in relieving moderate to severe cancer pain and reducing the incidence of adverse reactions such as nausea, vomiting, and constipation compared to opioids alone. The ranking of total pain relief rates was as follows: fire needle (surface under the cumulative ranking curve (SUCRA) = 91.1%), body acupuncture (SUCRA = 85.0%), point embedding (SUCRA = 67.7%), auricular acupuncture (SUCRA = 53.8%), moxibustion (SUCRA = 41.9%), transcutaneous electrical acupoint stimulation (TEAS) (SUCRA = 39.0%), electroacupuncture (SUCRA = 37.4%), and wrist-ankle acupuncture (SUCRA = 34.1%). The ranking of total incidence of adverse reactions was as follows: auricular acupuncture (SUCRA = 23.3%), electroacupuncture (SUCRA = 25.1%), fire needle (SUCRA = 27.2%), point embedding (SUCRA = 42.6%), moxibustion (SUCRA = 48.2%), body acupuncture (SUCRA = 49.8%), wrist-ankle acupuncture (SUCRA = 57.8%), TEAS (SUCRA = 76.3%), and opioids alone (SUCRA = 99.7%). Conclusions: APS seemed to be effective in relieving cancer pain and reducing opioid-related adverse reactions. Fire needle combined with opioids may be a promising intervention to reduce moderate to severe cancer pain as well as reduce opioid-related adverse reactions. However, the evidence was not conclusive. More high-quality trials investigating the stability of evidence levels of different interventions on cancer pain must be conducted. Systematic Review Registration: https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/#searchadvanced, identifier CRD42022362054.

[Removal of lipopolysaccharides from anti-complementary crude polysaccharides of Houttuynia Herba].

An Affi-Prep Polymyxin column was combined with a Phenyl Sepharose column and a Sephacryl S-300 column, respectively, to remove the lipopolysaccharides(LPS) in the anti-complementary crude polysaccharides of Houttuynia Herba. The contents of LPS in the polysaccharides were determined by chromogenic tachypleus amebocyte lysate(TAL)method during the procedure of purifying. The anti-complementary activities of the polysaccharides were also compared before and after the removal of LPS. Less remanent LPS was detected after purified using Penyl Sepharose combined with polymyxin column, with the clearance rate of 42.85%. All the columns had no effect on the anti-complementary activity of the polysaccharides. Penyl Sepharose combined with polymyxin column would be sound for LPS removal of the anti-complementary polysaccharides without reducing their bioactivity.

Regulating effect of TongXie-YaoFang on colonic epithelial secretion via Cl- and HCO3- channel.

AIM: To investigate the pharmacological effect of TongXie-YaoFang (TXYF) formula, a Chinese herbal formula, on Diarrhea-predominant irritable bowel syndrome (D-IBS) rats. METHODS: In a neonatal maternal separation plus restraint stress (NMS + RS) model of D-IBS, male Sprague Dawley rats were randomly divided into two groups (NMS + RS group and TXYF-formula group) with no handlings were used as controls (NH group). Starting from postnatal day 60, rats in TXYF-formula group were administered TXYF-formula (4.92 g/100 g bodyweight) orally twice a day for 14 consecutive days while NH group and NMS + RS group were given distilled water. Using short-circuit current technology, we observed 5-HT-induced changes of current across ion channels, such as cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) Cl- channel, epithelial Na+ channel (ENaC), Ca2+-dependent Cl- channel (CACC), Na+-K+-2Cl- co-transporter (NKCC), and Na+-HCO3- co-transporter (NBC), in the colonic epithelium of three groups after exposure to drugs and specific blockers with a Power Lab System (AD Instruments International). RESULTS: Under basal conditions, the changes of short-circuit current (∆Isc, µA/cm2) induced by 5-HT were similar in NH group and TXYF-formula group, and both higher than NMS + RS group (70.86 µA/cm2 ± 12.32 µA/cm2, 67.67 µA/cm2 ± 11.68 µA/cm2vs 38.8 µA/cm2 ± 7.25 µA/cm2, P < 0.01, respectively). When CACC was blocked by 4,4'-diisothiocyanato-stilbene-2,2'-disulfonic acid, 5-HT-induced ∆Isc was smaller in NMS + RS group than in NH group and TXYF-formula group, respectively (48.41 µA/cm2 ± 13.15 µA/cm2vs 74.62 µA/cm2 ± 10.73 µA/cm2, 69.22 µA/cm2 ± 11.7 µA/cm2, P < 0.05, respectively). The similar result could be obtained when ENaC was blocked by Amiloride (44.69 µA/cm2 ± 12.58 µA/cm2vs 62.05 µA/cm2 ± 11.26 µA/cm2, 62.11 µA/cm2 ± 12.01 µA/cm2, P < 0.05, respectively). However, when CFTR Cl- channel was blocked by 1,1-dimethyl piperidinium chloride (DPC), 5-HT-induced ∆Isc did not significantly differ in three groups (42.28 µA/cm2 ± 10.61 µA/cm2vs 51.48 µA/cm2 ± 6.56 µA/cm2vs 47.75 µA/cm2 ± 7.99 µA/cm2, P > 0.05, respectively). The similar results could also be obtained in three groups when NBC and NKCC were respectively blocked by their blockers. CONCLUSION: TXYF-formula can regulate the Cl- and HCO3- secretion of colonic mucosa via CFTR Cl- channel, Cl-/HCO3- exchanger, NBC and NKCC co-transporters.

Effect of direct current pulse stimulating acupoints of JiaJi (T10-13) and Ciliao (BL 32) with Han's Acupoint Nerve Stimulator on labour pain in women: a randomized controlled clinical study.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the clinical effect and safety of direct current (DC) pulse produced by Han's Acupoint Nerve Stimulator in reduction (HANS) of labor pain. METHODS: Totally 120 participants were enrolled in this clinical trial, and were randomly divided into 4 groups including: HANS group, patient controlled intravenous analgesia (PCIA) group, patient-controlled epidural analgesia (PCEA) group and control group. The HANS group was treated by stimulating the acupoints of JiaJi (T10-L3) and Ciliao (BL 32) with DC pulse of 100 Hz and 15-30 mA produced by a portable battery-powered Han's Acupoint Nerve Stimulator for 30 min. The PCIA group was intravenously infused Ondansetron (8 mg) for 5 min, then tramadol injection (1.5 mg/kg) was slowly dripped by using BaxterAP II electronic pump with 50 mL tramadol (0.70%) + ondansetron (8 mg), background infusion 2 mL/h, PCA dose of 2 mL, lockout interval of 10 min. In PCEA group, women received intrathecal injection ropivacaine (3 mg) in L2-3, and epidural catheter was connected to BaxterAP II electronic pump, with 100 mL Ropivacaine (0.1%) and Sufentanil (50 ug), background infusion 5 mL, Patient controlled analgesia (PCA) dose of 5 mL, lockout interval of 10 min. The control group was not received analgesia. The visual analogue scale (VAS), stage and manner of labor, Apgar score of newborn, neonatal weights, oxytocin dosage, postpartum hemorrhage and side effects were monitored in all groups. RESULTS: The vital signs were all stable in the four analgesic groups. After analgesia, there was statistical difference in VAS score between HANS group and control group, between PCEA group and the control group, between PCIA group and control group. The analgesic effect in the PCEA group was significantly better than that of other two groups. The second stage of labor in the PCEA group was longer than the other three groups, showing significant difference between them. The Apgar score of newborn 1 min after birth in the PCIA group was slightly lower than that of the other two groups, showing significant difference between them. The neonatal weights between four groups were not significantly different. The rate of cesarean section in the control group was significantly higher than that of the labor analgesia group, there was statistically difference in four groups. The number of PCIA group that used oxytocin was lower than that of other three groups. There was no significant difference in postpartum hemorrhage between four groups. The side effects of the PCEA group were itching, uroschesis and neonatal asphyxia and PCIA group were nausea and vomiting and neonatal asphyxia. However, fewer side-effects were observed in the HANS group. CONCLUSION: The DC pulse produced by HANS may be a non-pharmacological alternative to labor pain with fewer side effects.

UPLC-Q-TOF-MS/MS fingerprinting of Traditional Chinese Formula SiJunZiTang.

SiJunZiTang (SJZT), a classic Traditional Chinese Formula (TCMF) consisting of four herbs, Radix Ginseng, Atractylodes macrocephala, Poria cocos and Glycyrrhiza uralensis, has been demonstrated to show protective effects on intestine and stomach injure. The chromatographic quality control is needed. UPLC-Q-TOF-MS is a rapid and efficient technique for analysis of complex sample in combination with UPLC and tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS). In this paper, UPLC-MS fingerprinting of SJZT was developed. As a result, 66 compounds including ginsenosides, flavonoids, triterpenoid and coumarins were detected, 58 of them were tentatively identified. The major constituents of SJZT were ginsenosides and flavonoids that coming from Radix Ginseng and Glycyrrhiza uralensis.

[Rapid pore cranial drilling and ventricular drainage in the treatment of ventricular hemorrhage caused by thalamic hemorrhage: an analysis of 401 cases].

OBJECTIVE: To summarize the clinical efficacies and experiences of using rapid pore cranial drilling and external ventricular drainage (EVD) in the treatment of ventricular hemorrhage caused by thalamic hemorrhage. METHODS: Retrospective analysis was conducted for 401 patients at 5 hospitals from May 1983 to December 2010. They underwent EVD with an infusion of urokinase for intraventricular hemorrhage caused by thalamic hemorrhage. There were 212 males and 189 females with an age range of 19 - 78 years. RESULTS: After a 1-month therapy, the outcomes were cure 147/401 (36.7%), improvement 192/401 (47.9%) and others (death and against-advice discharge) 62/401 (15.4%). After 1-3-month treatment, their prognoses were evaluated by activity of daily living (ADL): ADLI 147/401, ADLII 82/401, ADLIII 76/401, ADLIV 19/401, ADLV 15/401, death 43/401 and against-advice discharge 19/401. During a follow-up period of 1 - 3 years, 274 patients showed the following outcomes: ADLI 122/243, ADLII 63/243, ADLIII 58/243 while 31 patients died from pulmonary infection. CONCLUSION: The procedure of EVD (including an infusion of urokinase) with rapid pore cranial drilling is preferred treatment for ventricular hemorrhage caused by thalamic hemorrhage.

Structure of a polysaccharide from Urtica fissa determined by NMR spectra.

A polysaccharide, isolated and purified from the aqueous extract of nettle plant Urtica fissa, was found to consist of D-glucose and D-arabinose. Molecular weight was determined to be Mn 4140. The NMR experiments (¹H, ¹³C, ¹H--¹H COSY, TOCSY, HSQC, NOESY, and HMBC) revealed the structure as the following repeating unit: -->6)-α-D-Glcp-(1-->6)-α-D-Glcp-(1-->6)-ß-D-Glcp--(1-->5)-ß-D-Araf-(1-->3)-ß-D-Glcp-(1-->

Neural correlates of audiovisual integration of semantic category information.

Previous studies have found a late frontal-central audiovisual interaction during the time period about 150-220 ms post-stimulus. However, it is unclear to which process is this audiovisual interaction related: to processing of acoustical features or to classification of stimuli? To investigate this question, event-related potentials were recorded during a words-categorization task with stimuli presented in the auditory-visual modality. In the experiment, congruency of the visual and auditory stimuli was manipulated. Results showed that within the window of about 180-210 ms post-stimulus more positive values were elicited by category-congruent audiovisual stimuli than category-incongruent audiovisual stimuli. This indicates that the late frontal-central audiovisual interaction is related to audiovisual integration of semantic category information.

Synthesis and optical characterizations of chain-like Si@SiSe2 nanowire heterostructures.

A new type of chain-like Si@SiSe(2) nanowire heterostructures has been successfully synthesized via a one-step Au-catalyzed chemical vapor deposition (CVD) route. The composition and microstructure of the achieved structures were investigated by scanning electron microscope (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), transmission electron microscope (TEM) and micro-Raman spectroscopy. Optical characterization was investigated using a confocal photoluminescent system with an Ar(+) laser (488 nm) as the excitation source. The results reveal that these chain-like structures emit pronounced and broadband red light, even visible with the naked eye at room temperature. A self-organization model was proposed to illustrate the formation of these heterostructures, and the photoluminescent properties were discussed in detail. These new Si-based nanostructures may be helpful for further study of the basic physical properties of SiSe(2) and will find interesting applications in nanophotonic technologies and devices.

Neural mechanisms for the effect of prior knowledge on audiovisual integration.

Converging evidence indicates that prior knowledge plays an important role in multisensory integration. However, the neural mechanisms underlying the processes with which prior knowledge is integrated with current sensory information remains unknown. In this study, we measured event-related potentials (ERPs) while manipulating prior knowledge using a novel visual letter recognition task in which auditory information was always presented simultaneously. The color of the letters was assigned to a particular probability of being associated with audiovisual congruency (e.g., green=high probability (HP) and blue=low probability (LP)). Results demonstrate that this prior began affecting reaction times to the congruent audiovisual stimuli at about the 900th trial. Consequently, the ERP data was analyzed in two phases: the "early phase" (trial 900). The effects of prior knowledge were revealed through difference waveforms generated by subtracting the ERPs for the congruent audiovisual stimuli in the LP condition from those in the HP condition. A frontal-central probability effect (90-120 ms) was observed in the early phase. A right parietal-occipital probability effect (40-96 ms) and a frontal-central probability effect (170-200 ms) were observed in the late phase. The results suggest that during the initial acquisition of the knowledge about the probability of congruency, the brain assigned more attention to audiovisual stimuli for the LP condition. Following the acquisition of this prior knowledge, it was then used during early stages of visual processing and modulated the activity of multisensory cortical areas.

Proteomic characterization of the cellular response to chemopreventive triterpenoid astragaloside IV in human hepatocellular carcinoma cell line HepG2.

Triterpenoids are implicated in the chemoprevention of various cancers. Current challenge is to define the molecular mechanism underlying the chemopreventive activity of triterpenoids. This study was designed to characterize the intracellular proteins regulated by astragaloside IV, the major active triterpenoid in Radix Astragali. Upon the treatment with astragaloside IV, human hepatocellular carcinoma HepG2 cells were evaluated for the colonogenic survival and anchorage-independent growth. The cellular proteins of treated and untreated cells were resolved by 2-D polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The protein spots mostly altered by drug treatment were identified by mass spectrometry and subsequently verified by Western blotting using specific antibodies and RT-PCR technique using specific DNA primers. We found that astragaloside IV attenuated the colonogenic survival and anchorage-independent growth of cancer cells. Based on the proteomic profiles, top 14 upregulated and 13 down-regulated protein spots were subjected to mass spectrometric analysis. As an example, Vav3.1 belongs to the oncogene Vav family, which is implicated in tumorigenesis. Vav3.1 expression was down-regulated by astragaloside IV in a dose- and time-dependent manner. Down-regulation of Vav3.1 was highly correlated with the suppression of cell malignant transform. Thus, astragaloside IV may elicit anticancer activity via down-regulating the expression of oncogenes such as Vav3.1.

Structural characterization of polysaccharides from the roots of Urtica fissa.

Three polysaccharides were isolated from the roots of Urtica fissa by extraction, ultrafiltration, anion-exchange, and gel-filtration chromatography. The structures were characterized using acetylation, methylation, and spectral methods (GCMS, NMR). All three polysaccharides are mainly composed of D-arabinofuranosyl, D-galactopyranosyl, D-glucopyranosyl residues with different structural characteristics. Polysaccharide A of MW 5.2 x 10(3) contained a linear chain of 1-linked beta-D-glucopyranosyl, 1,6-linked beta-D-glucopyranosyl, 1,6-linked alpha-galactopyranosyl, and 1,5-linked beta-arabinofuranosyl moieties. Polysaccharide B of MW 7.7 x 10(4) possessed a chain consisting of 1,5-linked alpha-D-arabinofuranosyl, 1,3-linked beta-D-mannopyranosyl, 1,6-linked beta-D-glucopyranosyl, and 1,6-linked alpha-D-galactopyranosyl residues, but 4-O of alpha-D-galactopyranosyl residues were branched by terminal beta-D-glucopyranosyl residues. Polysaccharide C of MW 5.3 x 10(4) composed of a chain of 1,5-linked alpha-D-arabinofuranosyl, 1,4-linked beta-D-galactopyranosyl, 1,5-linked beta-D-xylopyranosyl, 1,4-linked beta-D-mannopyranosyl, 1-linked beta-D-glucopyranosyl residues, and the terminal beta-D-glucopyranosyl residues are attached to 3-O positions of 1,6-linked alpha-D-glucopyranosyl residues.

Cognitive conflict in audiovisual integration: an event-related potential study.

This study used event-related potentials (ERPs) to investigate the electrophysiological correlates of cognitive conflict in audiovisual integration during an audiovisual task. ERP analyses revealed: (i) the anterior N1 and P1 were elicited in both matched and mismatched conditions and (ii) audiovisual mismatched answers elicited a more negative ERP deflection at 490 ms (N490) than matched answers. Dipole analysis of the difference wave (mismatched minus matched) localized the generator of the N490 to the posterior cingulate cortex, which may be involved in the control and modulation of conflict processing of Chinese characters when visual and auditory information is mismatched.

The effect of visual reliability on auditory-visual integration: an event-related potential study.

To investigate the neural mechanisms of auditory-visual integration, we recorded event-related potentials during a word-identification task, in which the stimulus was presented in the auditory (A), visual (V), and in the auditory-visual (AV) modalities. The reliability of the visual information varied at the high-reliability (VH) and low-reliability (VL) levels in both the V and AV presentations. The modulation of sensory integrations owing to the variation of cue reliability was revealed in the format of the double-difference waveform generated by subtracting the difference waveform AVL-(A+VL) from the difference waveform AVH-(A+VH). The results demonstrated (i) the early modulation of the activity in the auditory and visual cortex; (ii) subsequent spatial-temporal sequence of activities mostly occurred in multisensory areas; and (iii) the timing of final outputs of AV integration at around 370-410 ms poststimulus.

Brain mechanisms underlying visual perception and visual mental imagery of Chinese pseudo-characters: an event-related potential study.

The aim of this study was to compare spatiotemporal cortical activation patterns that underlie the processing of visual perception and visual mental imagery of Chinese pseudo-characters. Event-related brain potentials (ERPs) were measured when 14 healthy Chinese college students performed a pseudo-character stroke judgment task. Results showed that visual mental imagery elicited a more negative ERP deflection (N240) than visual perception in the 150- to 250-ms time window after onset of the stimuli. Maps of the difference wave (mental imagery-visual perception) showed strong activity in the right frontal regions. Dipole analysis revealed that the generator of N240 was localized in the right parahippocampal cortex and possibly related to forming a visual mental imagery of the pseudo-character on the basis of initial stimuli identification and classification. Then in the time window between 400 and 600 ms, a greater negativity (N520) in visual mental imagery as compared to visual perception was detected over the right frontocentral scalp regions. Moreover, dipole source analysis of the difference wave (mental imagery-visual perception) indicated that a generator was localized in the right temporal-occipital junction (BA18), which appeared to reflect the cognitive processes of character reconstruction and stroke searching in the visual mental imagery of the pseudo-character. The results showed that the visual mental imagery of Chinese pseudo-characters might be related to the right parahippocampal cortex, and activation of the right temporal-occipital junction was possibly related to accomplishing the stroke judgment task in the visual mental imagery.

Color-changeable optical transport through Se-doped CdS 1D nanostructures.

The optical-transport properties of 1D Se-doped CdS nanostructures with different doping contents and/or crystallization degrees are reported. The locally excited photoluminescence shows a significant redshift during the transport along the long axis of the 1D structures and can leave enough PL intensity for detection. The magnitude of the redshift is found to be highly dependent on the content of doping and the crystallization degree. The experimental results are compared with theoretical calculations based on the fundamental absorption rule of the semiconductor, which demonstrates that the redshift is related to the optical reabsorption effects induced by the local structural disorder in the semiconductors. Such optical properties of 1D semiconductor structures might be of interest for potential applications in color-tunable nanosized light-emitting and/or frequency-converting devices.