Switching of brain networks across different cerebral perfusion states: insights from EEG dynamic microstate analyses.

The alteration of neural interactions across different cerebral perfusion states remains unclear. This study aimed to fulfill this gap by examining the longitudinal brain dynamic information interactions before and after cerebral reperfusion. Electroencephalogram in eyes-closed state at baseline and postoperative 7-d and 3-month follow-ups (moyamoya disease: 20, health controls: 23) were recorded. Dynamic network analyses were focused on the features and networks of electroencephalogram microstates across different microstates and perfusion states. Considering the microstate features, the parameters were disturbed of microstate B, C, and D but preserved of microstate A. The transition probabilities of microstates A-B and B-D were increased to play a complementary role across different perfusion states. Moreover, the microstate variability was decreased, but was significantly improved after cerebral reperfusion. Regarding microstate networks, the functional connectivity strengths were declined, mainly within frontal, parietal, and occipital lobes and between parietal and occipital lobes in different perfusion states, but were ameliorated after cerebral reperfusion. This study elucidates how dynamic interaction patterns of brain neurons change after cerebral reperfusion, which allows for the observation of brain network transitions across various perfusion states in a live clinical setting through direct intervention.

Taurine ameliorates sensorimotor function by inhibiting apoptosis and activating A2 astrocytes in mice after subarachnoid hemorrhage.

Subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) is a form of severe acute stroke with very high mortality and disability rates. Early brain injury (EBI) and delayed cerebral ischemia (DCI) contribute to the poor prognosis of patients with SAH. Currently, some researchers have started to focus on changes in amino acid metabolism that occur in brain tissues after SAH. Taurine is a sulfur-containing amino acid that is semi-essential in animals, and it plays important roles in various processes, such as neurodevelopment, osmotic pressure regulation, and membrane stabilization. In acute stroke, such as cerebral hemorrhage, taurine plays a neuroprotective role. However, the role of taurine after subarachnoid hemorrhage has rarely been reported. In the present study, we established a mouse model of SAH. We found that taurine administration effectively improved the sensorimotor function of these mice. In addition, taurine treatment alleviated sensorimotor neuron damage and reduced the proportion of apoptotic cells. Furthermore, taurine treatment enhanced the polarization of astrocytes toward the neuroprotective phenotype while inhibiting their polarization toward the neurotoxic phenotype. This study is the first to reveal the relationship between taurine and astrocyte polarization and may provide a new strategy for SAH research and clinical treatment.

Origin of Immediate Damping of Coherent Oscillations in Photoinduced Charge-Density-Wave Transition.

In stark contrast to the conventional charge density wave (CDW) materials, the one-dimensional CDW on the In/Si(111) surface exhibits immediate damping of the CDW oscillation during the photoinduced phase transition. Here, we successfully reproduce the experimental observation of the photoinduced CDW transition on the In/Si(111) surface by performing real-time time-dependent density functional theory (rt-TDDFT) simulations. We show that photoexcitation promotes valence electrons from the Si substrate to the empty surface bands composed primarily of the covalent p-p bonding states of the long In-In bonds. Such photoexcitation generates interatomic forces to shorten the long In-In bonds and thus drives the structural transition. After the structural transition, these surface bands undergo a switch among different In-In bonds, causing a rotation of the interatomic forces by about π/6 and thus quickly damping the oscillations in feature CDW modes. These findings provide a deeper understanding of photoinduced phase transitions.

In silico identification of novel ACE and DPP-IV inhibitory peptides derived from buffalo milk proteins and evaluation of their inhibitory mechanisms.

The capacity of buffalo milk proteins to release bioactive peptides was evaluated and novel bioactive peptides were identified. The sequential similarity between buffalo milk proteins and their cow counterparts was analysed. Buffalo milk proteins were simulated to yield theoretical peptides via in silico proteolysis. The potential of selected proteins to release specific bioactive peptides was evaluated by the A value obtained from the BIOPEP-UWM database (Minkiewicz et al. in Int J Mol Sci 20(23):5978, 2019). Buffalo milk protein is a suitable precursor to produce bioactive peptides, particularly dipeptidyl peptidase IV (DPP-IV) and angiotensin I-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitory peptides. Two novel ACE inhibitory peptides (KPW and RGP) and four potential DPP-IV inhibitory peptides (RGP, KPW, FPK and KFTW) derived from in silico proteolysis of buffalo milk proteins were screened using different integrated bioinformatic approaches (PeptideRanker, Innovagen, peptide-cutter and molecular docking). The Lineweaver-Burk plots showed that KPW (IC50 = 136.28 ± 10.77 µM) and RGP (104.72 ± 8.37 µM) acted as a competitive inhibitor against ACE. Similarly, KFTW (IC50 = 873.92 ± 32.89 µM) was also a competitive inhibitor of DPP-IV, while KPW and FPK (82.52 ± 10.37 and 126.57 ± 8.45 µM, respectively) were mixed-type inhibitors. It should be emphasized that this study does not involve any clinical trial.

Learning spatiotemporal features of DSA using 3D CNN and BiConvGRU for ischemic moyamoya disease detection.

BACKGROUND: Moyamoya disease (MMD) is a serious intracranial cerebrovascular disease. Cerebral hemorrhage caused by MMD will bring life risk to patients. Therefore, MMD detection is of great significance in the prevention of cerebral hemorrhage. In order to improve the accuracy of digital subtraction angiography (DSA) in the diagnosis of ischemic MMD, in this paper, a deep network architecture combined with 3D convolutional neural network (3D CNN) and bidirectional convolutional gated recurrent unit (BiConvGRU) is proposed to learn the spatiotemporal features for ischemic MMD detection. METHODS: Firstly, 2D convolutional neural network (2D CNN) is utilized to extract spatial features for each frame of DSA. Secondly, the long-term spatiotemporal features of DSA sequence are extracted by BiConvGRU. Thirdly, the short-term spatiotemporal features of DSA are further extracted by 3D convolutional neural network (3D CNN). In addition, different features are extracted when gray images and optical flow images pass through the network, and multiple features are extracted by features fusion. Finally, the fused features are utilized to classify. RESULTS: The proposed method was quantitatively evaluated on a data sets of 630 cases. The experimental results showed a detection accuracy of 0.9788, sensitivity and specificity were 0.9780 and 0.9796, respectively, and area under curve (AUC) was 0.9856. Compared with other methods, we can get the highest accuracy and AUC. CONCLUSIONS: The experimental results show that the proposed method is stable and reliable for ischemic MMD detection, which provides an option for doctors to accurately diagnose ischemic MMD.

Extracranial-Intracranial Bypass and Risk of Stroke and Death in Patients With Symptomatic Artery Occlusion: The CMOSS Randomized Clinical Trial.

Importance: Prior trials of extracranial-intracranial (EC-IC) bypass surgery showed no benefit for stroke prevention in patients with atherosclerotic occlusion of the internal carotid artery (ICA) or middle cerebral artery (MCA), but there have been subsequent improvements in surgical techniques and patient selection. Objective: To evaluate EC-IC bypass surgery in symptomatic patients with atherosclerotic occlusion of the ICA or MCA, using refined patient and operator selection. Design, Setting, and Participants: This was a randomized, open-label, outcome assessor-blinded trial conducted at 13 centers in China. A total of 324 patients with ICA or MCA occlusion with transient ischemic attack or nondisabling ischemic stroke attributed to hemodynamic insufficiency based on computed tomography perfusion imaging were recruited between June 2013 and March 2018 (final follow-up: March 18, 2020). Interventions: EC-IC bypass surgery plus medical therapy (surgical group; n = 161) or medical therapy alone (medical group; n = 163). Medical therapy included antiplatelet therapy and stroke risk factor control. Main Outcomes and Measures: The primary outcome was a composite of stroke or death within 30 days or ipsilateral ischemic stroke beyond 30 days through 2 years after randomization. There were 9 secondary outcomes, including any stroke or death within 2 years and fatal stroke within 2 years. Results: Among 330 patients who were enrolled, 324 patients were confirmed eligible (median age, 52.7 years; 257 men [79.3%]) and 309 (95.4%) completed the trial. For the surgical group vs medical group, no significant difference was found for the composite primary outcome (8.6% [13/151] vs 12.3% [19/155]; incidence difference, -3.6% [95% CI, -10.1% to 2.9%]; hazard ratio [HR], 0.71 [95% CI, 0.33-1.54]; P = .39). The 30-day risk of stroke or death was 6.2% (10/161) in the surgical group and 1.8% (3/163) in the medical group, and the risk of ipsilateral ischemic stroke beyond 30 days through 2 years was 2.0% (3/151) and 10.3% (16/155), respectively. Of the 9 prespecified secondary end points, none showed a significant difference including any stroke or death within 2 years (9.9% [15/152] vs 15.3% [24/157]; incidence difference, -5.4% [95% CI, -12.5% to 1.7%]; HR, 0.69 [95% CI, 0.34-1.39]; P = .30) and fatal stroke within 2 years (2.0% [3/150] vs 0% [0/153]; incidence difference, 1.9% [95% CI, -0.2% to 4.0%]; P = .08). Conclusions and Relevance: Among patients with symptomatic ICA or MCA occlusion and hemodynamic insufficiency, the addition of bypass surgery to medical therapy did not significantly change the risk of the composite outcome of stroke or death within 30 days or ipsilateral ischemic stroke beyond 30 days through 2 years. Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT01758614.

Lactobacillus paracasei IMC 502 ameliorates type 2 diabetes by mediating gut microbiota-SCFA-hormone/inflammation pathway in mice.

BACKGROUND: Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is a complex and prevalent metabolic disease that seriously threatens human health. Numerous studies have shown that probiotics as dietary supplements have the potential to prevent and treat T2DM. However, the ability of various strains to improve diabetes symptoms and corresponding mechanisms are different. Thus, mechanistic investigation is required to validate the pharmacology of each probiotic strain for T2DM treatment. Lactobacillus paracasei IMC 502 was originally isolated from Italian elderly human feces and its probiotic attributes have been demonstrated. Here, the antidiabetic pharmacodynamics of L. paracasei IMC 502 on T2DM mice was explored. RESULTS: Lactobacillus paracasei IMC 502 significantly decreased blood glucose, HbA1c and lipid levels, improved insulin resistance and glucose intolerance, regulated the mRNA/protein expression of key hepatic enzymes associated with gluconeogenesis, de novo lipogenesis and PI3K/Akt pathway, and repaired pancreatic and hepatic tissue damage. This probiotic conferred beneficial outcomes in the gut microbiome of diabetic mice, which induced transformation of short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) and further enhanced the secretion of downstream hormones, and ultimately ameliorated the inflammatory response. CONCLUSION: Lactobacillus paracasei IMC 502 prevents and alleviates T2DM by mediating the gut microbiota-SCFA-hormone/inflammation pathway. © 2022 Society of Chemical Industry.

Radio frequency pasteurization and disinfestation techniques applied on low-moisture foods.

The shelf life of foods is usually limited due to the frequent contamination by pests and microorganisms. Although low risk of pathogen contamination and no growth potential compared to those in high water activity animal- or vegetal-derived products, the low-moisture food has still significantly contributed to the total number of foodborne infections and outbreaks. Radio frequency (RF) treatments can be classified as a dielectric heating, which is a promising technology for achieving effective food pasteurization and disinfestations because of the associated rapid and volumetric heating with large penetration depth. The RF technique could be applied at low-moisture food as both the dipole dispersion and ionic conductivity may play effective roles. It can selectively heat and kill the microorganisms/pests without damaging the agricultural product because of the large difference of dielectric loss factors between target microorganisms/pests and host foods. In this article, the low-moisture foods sterilized and disinfested by RF energy are reviewed through basic theories, dielectric properties, heating effect, and uniformity. The potential research directions for further RF heating applications are finally recommended in low-moisture foods.

Automatic detection of intracranial aneurysms in 3D-DSA based on a Bayesian optimized filter.

BACKGROUND: Intracranial aneurysm is a common type of cerebrovascular disease with a risk of devastating subarachnoid hemorrhage if it is ruptured. Accurate computer-aided detection of aneurysms can help doctors improve the diagnostic accuracy, and it is very helpful in reducing the risk of subarachnoid hemorrhage. Aneurysms are detected in 2D or 3D images from different modalities. 3D images can provide more vascular information than 2D images, and it is more difficult to detect. The detection performance of 2D images is related to the angle of view; it may take several angles to determine the aneurysm. As the gold standard for the diagnosis of vascular diseases, the detection on digital subtraction angiography (DSA) has more clinical value than other modalities. In this study, we proposed an adaptive multiscale filter to detect intracranial aneurysms on 3D-DSA. METHODS: Adaptive aneurysm detection consists of three parts. The first part is a filter based on Hessian matrix eigenvalues, whose parameters are automatically obtained by Bayesian optimization. The second part is aneurysm extraction based on region growth and adaptive thresholding. The third part is the iterative detection strategy for multiple aneurysms. RESULTS: The proposed method was quantitatively evaluated on data sets of 145 patients. The results showed a detection precision of 94.6%, and a sensitivity of 96.4% with a false-positive rate of 6.2%. Among aneurysms smaller than 5 mm, 93.9% were found. Compared with aneurysm detection on 2D-DSA, automatic detection on 3D-DSA can effectively reduce the misdiagnosis rate and obtain more accurate detection results. Compared with other modalities detection, we also get similar or better detection performance. CONCLUSIONS: The experimental results show that the proposed method is stable and reliable for aneurysm detection, which provides an option for doctors to accurately diagnose aneurysms.

Comparability of three intraocular pressure measurement: iCare pro rebound, non-contact and Goldmann applanation tonometry in different IOP group.

BACKGROUND: Measurement of intraocular pressure (IOP) is essential for glaucoma patients. Many factors such as central corneal thickness (CCT) can affect the accuracy of IOP measurement. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the agreement of IOP measured by non-contact tonometer (NCT), iCare pro rebound tonometer (iCare), and Goldmann applanation tonometer (GAT) in different IOP group. METHODS: This was a Hospital-based cross-sectional study. Two hundred subjects were enrolled in this study. All subjects underwent IOP measurement using an NCT-iCare-GAT sequence. Bland-Altman, Pearson correlation and intraclass correlation analysis were performed using SPSS 17.0 software. The influence of CCT on each IOP measurement methods was evaluated by linear regression analysis. RESULTS: The mean difference (Δ) of NCT-GAT did not differ from (Δ) iCare-GAT in IOP < 10 and 10-21 mmHg group. However, (Δ) NCT-GAT was significantly higher than (Δ) iCare-GAT in IOP 22-30 and > 30 mmHg group (P < 0.05). Bland-Altman analysis showed significant agreement between the three devices (P < 0.01). IOP measurements of the three methods were significantly correlated with CCT (P < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: ICare pro shows a higher agreement with GAT over a wide range of IOP compared with NCT. The consistency between the three tonometers was similar in a low and normal IOP range. However, NCT shows a greater overestimate of IOP in moderate and higher IOP group. The variability of IOP measurement affected by CCT is NCT > iCare pro > GAT.

Determination of Fluorescent Whitening Agents in Cosmetics and Liquid Detergent by High-Performance Liquid Chromatography with Diode Array Detector in Tandem with Fluorescence Detector.

Five distyryl-type fluorescent whitening agents (FWA85, 210, 220, 351, and 353) were determined in cosmetics and liquid detergent by high-performance liquid chromatography with diode array detector in tandem with fluorescence detector. The samples were extracted with ultrasound in 33% acetonitrile for 10 minutes and the components were determined by ion-pair chromatography on an MG C18 column. The limits of detection were from 0.01 to 0.1 mg·kg-1 and the limits of quantification were from 0.04 to 0.4 mg·kg-1. The recovery was from 80.7 to 103.3%. A linear relationship was present from 0.10 to 100 µg·ml-1 of FWAs. The protocol was simple, sensitive, selective, and was successfully applied to analyze distyryl-type FWAs in cosmetics and liquid detergent. FWA351 and FWA85 were detected in several samples with the concentrations of 19.4-1,130 mg·kg-1.

Risk Factors and Stroke Characteristic in Patients with Postoperative Strokes.

BACKGROUND: Intravenous thrombolysis and intra-arterial thrombectomy are now the standard therapies for patients with acute ischemic stroke. In-house strokes have often been overlooked even at stroke centers and there is no consensus on how they should be managed. Perioperative stroke happens rather frequently but treatment protocol is lacking, In China, the issue of in-house strokes has not been explored. The aim of this study is to explore the current management of in-house stroke and identify the common risk factors associated with perioperative strokes. METHOD: Altogether, 51,841 patients were admitted to a tertiary hospital in Shanghai and the records of those who had a neurological consult for stroke were reviewed. Their demographics, clinical characteristics, in-hospital complications and operations, and management plans were prospectively studied. Routine laboratory test results and risk factors of these patients were analyzed by multiple logistic regression model. RESULT: From January 1, 2015, to December 31, 2015, over 1800 patients had neurological consultations. Among these patients, 37 had an in-house stroke and 20 had more severe stroke during the postoperative period. Compared to in-house stroke patients without a procedure or operation, leukocytosis and elevated fasting glucose levels were more common in perioperative strokes. In multiple logistic regression model, perioperative strokes were more likely related to large vessel occlusion. CONCLUSION: Patients with perioperative strokes had different risk factors and severity from other in-house strokes. For these patients, obtaining a neurological consultation prior to surgery may be appropriate in order to evaluate the risk of perioperative stroke.

Zinc Protoporphyrin Attenuates White Matter Injury after Intracerebral Hemorrhage.

Intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH)-induced white matter injury has not been well studied. The objective of this study was to examine the effect of zinc protoporphyrin (ZnPP) on white matter injury induced by ICH. This study was divided into two parts. In the first part, rats received either a needle insertion (sham) or 100 µl autologous blood into the right basal ganglia. The rats were euthanized at 1, 3, 7, 14, or 28 days later for myelin basic protein (MBP) measurement. In the second part, rats had intracerebral infusion of 100 µl autologous blood, and an intraperitoneal osmotic mini-pump was implanted immediately after ICH to deliver vehicle or ZnPP (1 nmol/h), a heme oxygenase inhibitor, for up to 14 days. Rats were euthanized at day 28 for MBP staining. The number of MBP-labeled fiber bundles and their area were determined. The time-course showed that the white matter was lost in the ipsilateral basal ganglia from day 1 to day 28 after ICH. The number of MBP-labeled bundles and their area were significantly lower 2 weeks after ICH compared with sham-operated rats (p < 0.05). Systemic treatment with ZnPP attenuated the loss of MBP-labeled bundles (p < 0.01) and area (p < 0.01). In conclusion, marked white matter injury occurs after ICH. ZnPP reduces white matter injury, suggesting a role of heme degradation products in ICH-induced white matter damage.

Regional Gray Matter Atrophy in Vascular Mild Cognitive Impairment.

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to explore the neuroanatomical bases of vascular mild cognitive impairment (VaMCI) with respect to attention/executive function, memory, language, and visuospatial function. METHODS: We used voxel-based morphometric analysis to identify brain regions that significantly differed in terms of gray matter volumes (GMVs) between 43 patients with VaMCI and 55 healthy controls. Then, we compared the individual GMVs of the selected regions with the neuropsychological profiles of the VaMCI patients. RESULTS: The delayed recall component of the Rey-Osterrieth Complex Figure Test (CFT) (74.4%), the Symbol Digit Modalities Test (74.4%), the Boston Naming Test (51.2%), and the CFT-copy (81.4%) shared the highest incidence of impairment in the 4 cognitive domains, respectively. Compared with controls, patients with VaMCI exhibited significantly reduced GMVs. This effect was mainly present in the frontal regions, including the bilateral dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), the orbital portion of the superior frontal gyrus (SFG), and the left supplemental motor area, and was also observed in the bilateral posterior cingulated cortex (PCC). GMVs were significantly correlated with performance in the Trail Making Test, part B, in the bilateral DLPFC and PCC, the clock drawing test in the right orbital portion of the SFG, and CFT-delayed recall in the right PCC. CONCLUSIONS: These results, from the perspective of brain morphology, uniquely explored the specific cerebral structural changes of VaMCI, thus providing a deeper understanding of the pathophysiology of the disease.

Application of intraoperative motor evoked potential monitoring during giant internal carotid artery aneurysm surgery using prolonged temporary occlusion.

BACKGROUND: Clipping and bypass surgery are common therapeutic options for the management of giant internal carotid artery (ICA) aneurysms. However, potential ischemic risks may be exaggerated by prolonged temporary occlusion (PTO) during the surgery. Monitoring motor-evoked potentials (MEPs) is a sensitive technique for detecting potential ischemia intraoperatively. This preliminary study was designed to evaluate the effectiveness of applying MEP monitoring during giant ICA aneurysm surgery using PTO. METHODS: From July 2009 to July 2012, 11 patients with giant ICA aneurysms who could not pass the preoperative hemodynamic evaluations were enrolled in this study. MEP monitoring was utilized intraoperatively in all cases. Clipping was performed if there were no significant MEP changes under PTO. A variant extracranial-to-intracranial (EC-IC) bypass was performed if there was reproducible loss of MEP signals after PTO or unclippable anatomic features. RESULTS: Five patients underwent clipping alone and six underwent bypass. There were no significant differences in baseline clinical data between the two groups. The overall percentage of patients with good outcomes (Glasgow Outcome Score ≥4) improved from 72.7 % (8/11) postoperatively to 90.9 % (10/11) after 26.0 ± 9.5 months of follow-up. There were no significant differences between the clipping and bypass groups regarding short- and long-term outcomes (p = 0.545 and p = 1.000). CONCLUSIONS: MEP monitoring is useful for evaluating the safety of PTO, surgical strategy, and outcomes of giant ICA aneurysm surgery. Direct clipping during safe PTO under intraoperative MEP monitoring is applicable for giant ICA aneurysms. Its use achieved favorable outcomes by indicating the need for bypass surgery.

Deferoxamine attenuates white matter injury in a piglet intracerebral hemorrhage model.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Deferoxamine reduces neuronal death in a piglet model of intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH). This study examined the effect of deferoxamine on perihematomal white matter edema in piglets. METHODS: ICH was induced by an injection of autologous blood into the right frontal lobe of piglets. In the first part of study, the time course of edema formation was determined. In the second part, the effects of deferoxamine on ICH-induced white matter edema, tumor necrosis factor α, and receptor-interacting protein kinase 1 were examined. RESULTS: ICH resulted in marked brain edema and increased tumor necrosis factor α and receptor-interacting protein kinase 1 levels in white matter. Systemic treatment with deferoxamine markedly reduced white matter tumor necrosis factor α and receptor-interacting protein kinase 1 levels and attenuated white matter edema after ICH. CONCLUSIONS: Deferoxamine reduces white matter edema, tumor necrosis factor α, and receptor-interacting protein kinase 1 levels after ICH in piglets, suggesting deferoxamine is a potential effective therapeutic agent for patients with ICH.

Determination of zinc pyrithione in shampoos by HPLC and HPLC-MS/MS.

Methods have been developed for the determination of zinc pyrithione (ZPT) in shampoos using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and high-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry/mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS). Samples were washed by water first to remove surfactant and water-soluble impurities, then ultrasonic-extracted by acetonitrile-methanol for 30 min, and finally analyzed by MG C18 column (250 mm x 4.6 mm, 5 µm) or RP-18e (100 mm x 3 mm, 2 µm) plus APCI-MS/MS. Limits of detection were determined as 0.015% (HPLC) and 0.003% (HPLC-MS/MS), with a limit of quantization of 0.05% and 0.01%, respectively. The recoveries were 85.8-104% (HPLC) and 87.6-107% (HPLC-MS/MS). A good linear relationship was obtained from 3.20 µg·ml(-1) to 200 µg·ml(-1) (HPLC) and 1.00 µg·ml(-1) to 200 µg·ml(-1) (HPLC-MS/MS). The proposed methods have been successfully applied to the analysis of ZPT in many shampoos. The established two methods were rapid and reproducible with low interference.

[Characteristics of cognitive impairment in adults with cerebral ischemia].

OBJECTIVE: To explore the characteristics of cognitive impairment of cerebral ischemia in adults to provide rationales for proper diagnosis and targeted treatment. METHODS: A battery of standardized neuropsychological tests including mini-mental state examination (MMSE) and memory and executive screening (MES) was administered in a cohort of consecutive patients with cerebral ischemia. According to the screening results, they were divided into 3 subgroups of vascular dementia (VaD), vascular mild cognitive impairment (VaMCI) and non-vascular cognitive impairment (VCI). The general profiles of 3 subgroups were compared and the characteristics of VaMCI subgroup examined. Then the relationship between the composition of cognitive impairment and the type of ischemia (stroke and transient ischemic attack) was analyzed. RESULTS: Fifty-six patients and 48 healthy subjects (normal control group) matched with regards to age, gender and education were recruited. Compared to normal control group, there was a decline in the scores of MMSE [(25.0 ± 5.6) vs (28.0 ± 1.4); t = 2.695, P = 0.007] and MES [(67 ± 21) vs (84 ± 7); z = 3.860, P = 0.000] in case group. There were 33 cases (58.9%) of VCI in case group, including 11 (19.6%) in VaD subgroup, 22 (39.3%) in VaMCI subgroup and 23 (41.1%) in non-VCI subgroup. And the rate of VaD/VaMCI was 1/2. The percentage of males (36.4% vs 78.3%; χ(2) = 5.720, P = 0.017) and education [(8 ± 3) vs (12 ± 4); P = 0.010] of VaD subgroup were significantly lower than that of non-VCI subgroup; the education of VaMCI subgroup was significantly lower than that of non-VCI subgroup [(7 ± 3) vs (12 ± 4); P = 0.001]; a positive correlation existed between scores of MMSE/MES and cognitive impairment. The neuropsychological tests were both sensitive and specific.In VaMCI subgroup, 22 cases (100%) presented with a deficit of at least 1 certain executive function/attention index, 21(95.5%) with at least 1 certain memory index, 17(77.3%) with at least 1 certain language index and 16(72.7%) with at least 1 certain visuospatial function index; all VaMCI cases presented with comprehensive cognitive impairment: 11 (50%) in 4 domains, 10 (45%) in 3 domains and 1 (5%) in 2 domains.No significant difference existed among 3 subgroups with regard to type of ischemia (χ(2) = 1.111, P = 0.574). In the case group, 30 patients suffered stroke and 17 (56.7%) had an onset of VCI with a rate of VaMCI/VCI at 58.8%; transient ischemic attack occurred in 26 patients and 16 (61.5%) suffered VCI with a rate of VaMCI/VCI at 75.0%. CONCLUSION: Our study not only profiles the prevalence and peculiarity of cognitive impairment in patients with cerebral ischemia, but also provides concrete rationales for further diagnosis and classification of VCI.

Progress in Multisensory Synergistic Salt Reduction.

Excessive salt intake, primarily from sodium chloride prevalent in modern food processing, poses a significant public health risk associated with hypertension, cardiovascular diseases and stroke. Researchers worldwide are exploring approaches to reduce salt consumption without compromising food flavor. One promising method is to enhance salty taste perception using multisensory synergies, leveraging gustatory, olfactory, auditory, visual, tactile and trigeminal senses to decrease salt intake while preserving food taste. This review provides a comprehensive overview of salt usage in foods, mechanisms of salty taste perception and evaluation methods for saltiness. Various strategies for reducing salt consumption while maintaining food flavor are examined, with existing salt reduction methods' advantages and limitations being critically analyzed. A particular emphasis is placed on exploring the mechanisms and potential of multisensory synergy in salt reduction. Taste interactions, olfactory cues, auditory stimulation, visual appearance and tactile sensations in enhancing saltiness perception are discussed, offering insights into developing nutritious, appealing low-sodium foods. Furthermore, challenges in current research are highlighted, and future directions for effective salt reduction strategies to promote public health are proposed. This review aims to establish a scientific foundation for creating healthier, flavorful low-sodium food options that meet consumer preferences and wellness needs.

Computer-assisted microcatheter shaping for intracranial aneurysm embolization: evaluation of safety and efficacy in a multicenter randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy, stability, and safety of computer-assisted microcatheter shaping (CAMS) in patients with intracranial aneurysms. METHODS: A total of 201 patients with intracranial aneurysms receiving endovascular coiling therapy were continuously recruited and randomly assigned to the CAMS and manual microcatheter shaping (MMS) groups. The investigated outcomes included the first-trial success rate, time to position the microcatheter in aneurysms, rate of successful microcatheter placement within 5 min, delivery times, microcatheter stability, and delivery performance. RESULTS: The rates of first-trial success (96.0% vs 66.0%, P<0.001), successful microcatheter placement within 5 min (96.04% vs 72.00%, P<0.001), microcatheter stability (97.03% vs 84.00%, P=0.002), and 'excellent' delivery performance (45.54% vs 24.00%, P<0.001) in the CAMS group were significantly higher than those in the MMS group. Additionally, the total microcatheter delivery and positioning time (1.05 minutes (0.26) vs 1.53 minutes (1.00)) was significantly shorter in the CAMS group than in the MMS group (P<0.001). Computer assistance (OR 14.464; 95% CI 4.733 to 44.207; P<0.001) and inflow angle (OR 1.014; 95% CI 1.002 to 1.025; P=0.021) were independent predictors of the first-trial success rate. CAMS could decrease the time of microcatheter position compared with MMS, whether for junior or senior surgeons (P<0.001). Moreover, computer assistance technology may be more helpful in treating aneurysms with acute angles (p<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: The use of computer-assisted procedures can enhance the efficacy, stability, and safety of surgical plans for coiling intracranial aneurysms.