Microstructure and Perfusion Alterations of Globus Pallidus in Neonates with Hyperbilirubinemia.

BACKGROUND: Previous studies have indicated the abnormality of the globus pallidus in neonates with hyperbilirubinemia. OBJECTIVE: This study aims to explore the microstructure and cerebral perfusion of globus pallidus in neonatal hyperbilirubinemia by using Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI) and Arterial Spin Labeling (ASL) approaches. METHODS: Thirty-seven neonates were enrolled in this study, which were classified into Bilirubin-Induced Neurologic Dysfunction (BIND) group (hyperbilirubinemia with BIND, n=12), non-BIND group (hyperbilirubinemia without BIND, n=15), and healthy controls (HC) group (n=10). The quantitative values of globus pallidus were calculated from DTI, including the Apparent Diffusion Coefficient (ADC), the Fractional Anisotropy (FA), and Volume Ratio (VR) values. Additionally, the relative Cerebral Blood Flow (rCBF) values were obtained from ASL. RESULTS: It was observed that the mean DTI signal of globus pallidus was significantly different among the three groups (p < 0.05). However, there were no significant differences in the rCBF of globus pallidus among the three groups (p > 0.05). A positive correlation was also observed between the fractional anisotropy (FA) value and serum bilirubin level (r = 0.561, p = 0.002), while the VR value showed a negative correlation with serum bilirubin level (r=-0.484, p=0.011). The area under the curve (AUC) of FA, VR, and FA and VR combined was 0.897, 0.858, and 0.933, respectively. CONCLUSION: The alterations of microstructure in globus pallidus, especially FA and VR value, may be valuable and sensitive at the early stage of hyperbilirubinemia encephalopathy, suggesting that early hyperbilirubinemia may lead to cytotoxic edema and decreased permeability of the cell membrane.

Pros and Cons in Various Immobilization Techniques and Carriers for Enzymes.

In recent years, enzyme immobilization technology has been developed, and studies on immobilized enzyme materials have become very prominent. With the immobilization technique, enzymes and compatible carrier materials are combined or enzyme crystals/aggregates are used in a carrier-free fashion, by physical, chemical, or biochemical methods. As a kind of biocatalyst, immobilized enzymes can catalyze certain chemical reactions with high selectivity and high efficiency under relatively mild reaction conditions and eliminate pollution to the environment. Considering the current status and applications of immobilized enzyme technology and materials emerging in the last 5 years, this mini-review introduces the advantages and disadvantages of various enzyme immobilization techniques with carriers as well as the pros and cons of different materials for immobilization. The future prospects of immobilization technology and carrier materials are outlined, aiming to provide a reference for further research and applications of sustainable technology.

The Impact of Using Donor Sperm After ICSI Failure in Severe Oligozoospermia on Male Mental Health and Erectile Function.

Objective: To analyze the mental health and erectile function status of men using sperm donor during pregnancy after ICSI failure in severe oligoasthenospermia and to provide reference for clinical implementation of more targeted psychological intervention and nursing for this group. Methods: A total of 410 sterile men who received assisted pregnancy treatment in our hospital from December 2020 to December 2022 and met the inclusion and exclusion criteria were collected as the study subjects. Among them, 68 patients with severe oligoasthenospermia who used donor assisted pregnancy after ICSI failure were used as the study group. Sixty-eight patients with severe oligoasthenospermia who continued to receive ICSI assisted pregnancy were matched by propensity score 1:1 as control group. General data questionnaire, self-rating Anxiety Scale (SAS), self-rating Depression Scale (SDS), Chinese version of perceived Stress Scale (CPSS) and International Erectile Function Index Rating Scale (IIEF-5) were used to conduct a cross-sectional investigation to compare the mental health and erectile function status of the two groups. Results: There were statistical differences in age and occupational status between the two groups before PSM (P < 0.05), but there was no statistical significance in social demographic data between the two groups after matching (P > 0.05). The incidence of anxiety, depression, stress and erectile dysfunction (ED) in the study group was higher than that in the control group, and there were statistical differences between the two groups (P < 0.05). Conclusion: The use of donor sperm to assist pregnancy has a great impact on the mental health and erectile function of infertile men. Medical personnel should pay attention to the mental health and erectile function of these men, and formulate targeted measures to help these patients actively cope with infertility, so as to improve the life and marriage quality of this group and improve their mental health status.

Coping Profiles and Differences in Psychological Distress and Quality of Life in Clients Undergoing Assisted Reproductive Techniques: A Latent Profile Analysis.

Purpose: Receiving assisted reproductive technology is stressful due to its long-lasting process, which might pose negative impacts on clients' psychological well-being and quality of life. This study was to investigate coping profiles among couples undergoing assisted reproductive technology and examine their associations with psychological distress and quality of life. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted at the IVF center of a specialized hospital in Shanghai, China. Of 502 eligible clients completed a structured, online survey of socio-demographic information, Dyadic Coping Inventory, Kessler Psychological Stress Scale, and Fertility quality of life. Coping profiles were identified using latent profile analysis and differences between identified profiles on psychological distress and quality of life were examined using analyses of covariance. Results: A three-profile solution was supported: low dyadic coping group (n = 168, 33.50%), moderate dyadic coping group (n = 241, 48.00%), and high dyadic coping group (n = 93, 18.50%). Significant differences between those groups were found in psychological distress and quality of life. Conclusion: The findings of this study have revealed dyadic coping profiles in clients undergoing assisted reproductive technology, which are differentially associated with psychological distress and quality of life.

Regulation of Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transitions by Alternative Splicing: Potential New Area for Cancer Therapeutics.

The epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) is a complicated biological process in which cells with epithelial phenotype are transformed into mesenchymal cells with loss of cell polarity and cell-cell adhesion and gain of the ability to migrate. EMT and the reverse mesenchymal-epithelial transitions (METs) are present during cancer progression and metastasis. Using the dynamic switch between EMT and MET, tumour cells can migrate to neighbouring organs or metastasize in the distance and develop resistance to traditional chemotherapy and targeted drug treatments. Growing evidence shows that reversing or inhibiting EMT may be an advantageous approach for suppressing the migration of tumour cells or distant metastasis. Among different levels of modulation of EMT, alternative splicing (AS) plays an important role. An in-depth understanding of the role of AS and EMT in cancer is not only helpful to better understand the occurrence and regulation of EMT in cancer progression, but also may provide new therapeutic strategies. This review will present and discuss various splice variants and splicing factors that have been shown to play a crucial role in EMT.

A repositioning screen using an FGFR2 splicing reporter reveals compounds that regulate epithelial-mesenchymal transitions and inhibit growth of prostate cancer xenografts.

Research in the area of hallmarks of cancer has opened the possibility of designing new therapies based on modulating these cancer properties. We present here a screen designed to find chemicals that modulate epithelial-mesenchymal transitions (EMTs) in prostate cancer. For screening, we used a repurposing library and, as a readout, an FGFR2-based splicing reporter, which has been shown previously to be a sensor for EMTs. Various properties of cancer cells were assessed, signaling pathways investigated, and in vivo experiments in nude mice xenografts performed. The screen yielded three hit compounds (a T-type Ca channel inhibitor, an L-type Ca channel inhibitor, and an opioid antagonist) that switch FGFR2 splicing and induce an epithelial phenotype in prostate cancer cells. The compounds affected differently various properties of cancer cells, but all of them decreased cell migration, which is in line with modulating EMTs. We further present mechanistic insights into one of the compounds, nemadipine-A. The administration of nemadipine-A intraperitoneally in a nude mouse xenograft model of prostate cancer slowed tumor growth. To conclude, we show that knowledge of the molecular mechanisms that connect alternative splicing and various cancer properties may be used as a platform for drug development.

Psychological Distress, Dyadic Coping, and Quality of Life in Infertile Clients Undergoing Assisted Reproductive Technology in China: A Single-Center, Cross-Sectional Study.

Purpose: Infertile clients undergoing assisted reproductive technology (ART) are exposed to a stressful situation and evidence has highlighted the importance of dyadic coping in reducing stress, yet little is known about the associations between psychological distress, dyadic coping, and quality of life in this population. Patients and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted at a tertiary hospital in Shanghai, China. A structured questionnaire was administered online to assess psychological distress, dyadic coping, and fertility quality of life. Sociodemographic information was collected. Descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation, and stepwise regression models were used to analyze the data. Results: Of 715 infertile males and females who completed the survey. Results showed that there was a negative association between psychological distress and quality of life. The use of positive dyadic coping was associated with better quality of life, whereas negative dyadic coping might contribute to worse quality of life. Moreover, males reported having a better quality of life in contrast to females. Conclusion: The findings of this study highlighted the significant associations between particular dyadic coping and quality of life in clients undergoing ART. Healthcare professionals should recognize the significance of dyadic coping in the context of ART and consider improving clients' quality of life through coping-oriented interventions.

Decreased brain functional connectivity associated with cognitive dysfunction in women with second pregnancy.

Purpose: Previous research has found that women with second pregnancy may have an increased risk of cognitive dysfunction. This study aims to investigate the intrinsic functional connectivity (FC) pattern of the DMN anchored on posterior cingulate cortex (PCC) in postpartum women, especially the parous women using resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI). Methods: Twenty parous women, 26 primiparous women, and 30 nulliparous women were included for rs-fMRI scan. They were age and education well matched. A seed based FC method was conducted to reveal FC patterns with other brain regions using a region of interest in the PCC. The relationships between FC patterns and cognitive performance were further detected. Results: Relative to primiparous women, parous women had significantly decreased FC primarily between the PCC and the right middle frontal gyrus and right parahippocampal gyrus. The decreased FC to the right parahippocampal gyrus in parous women was positively associated with the reduced DST scores (rho = 0.524, p = 0.031). Moreover, parous women compared with nulliparous women showed significantly decreased FC between the PCC and the left superior frontal gyrus and left middle frontal gyrus. The reduced FC to the left superior frontal gyrus in parous women was also positively associated with the lower DST scores (rho = 0.550, p = 0.022). Conclusion: Our result highlights that women with second pregnancy revealed decreased FC between the DMN regions with the parahippocampal gyrus and prefrontal cortex, which was correlated with specific impaired cognitive function. This study may provide new insights into the neuropathological mechanisms of postpartum cognitive impairment and enhance our understanding of the neurobiological aspects during postpartum period.

Abnormal Static and Dynamic Functional Network Connectivity in Patients With Presbycusis.

Aim: This study aimed to investigate abnormal static and dynamic functional network connectivity (FNC) and its association with cognitive function in patients with presbycusis. Methods: In total, 60 patients with presbycusis and 60 age-, sex-, and education-matched healthy controls (HCs) underwent resting-state functional MRI (rs-fMRI) and cognitive assessments. Group independent component analysis (ICA) was carried out on the rs-fMRI data, and eight resting-state networks (RSNs) were identified. Static and dynamic FNCs (sFNC and dFNC) were then constructed to evaluate differences in RSN connectivity between the patients with presbycusis and the HCs. Furthermore, the correlations between these differences and cognitive scores were analyzed. Results: Patients with presbycusis had differences in sFNC compared with HCs, mainly reflected in decreased sFNC in the default mode network (DMN)-left frontoparietal network (LFPN) and attention network (AN)-cerebellum network (CN) pairs, but they had increased sFNC in the auditory network (AUN) between DMN domains. The decreased sFNC in the DMN-LFPN pair was negatively correlated with their TMT-B score (r = -0.441, p = 0.002). Patients with presbycusis exhibited aberrant dFNCs in State 2 and decreased dFNCs between the CN and AN and the visual network (VN). Moreover, the presbycusis group had a shorter mean dwell time (MDT) and fraction time (FT) in State 3 (p = 0.0027; p = 0.0031, respectively). Conclusion: This study highlighted differences in static and dynamic functional connectivity in patients with presbycusis and suggested that FNC may serve as an important biomarker of cognitive performance since abnormal alterations can better track cognitive impairment in presbycusis.

Disruption within brain default mode network in postpartum women without depression.

Previous studies have demonstrated that cognitive dysfunction is associated with neurophysiological changes in postpartum period. This study aimed to investigate the intrinsic functional connectivity (FC) pattern within the default mode network (DMN) and its associations with cognitive dysfunction in postpartum women without depression revealed by resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI).Resting-state fMRI scans were acquired from 21 postpartum women and 21 age- and education-matched nulliparous women. The posterior cingulate cortex (PCC) was selected as the seed region to detect the FC patterns and then determine whether these changes were related to specific cognitive performance.Compared with the nulliparous women, postpartum women had a significantly decreased FC between the PCC and the left medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC). After correcting for age and education, the reduced FC between the PCC and the left mPFC was positively correlated with the poorer Clock-Drawing Test (CDT) scores in postpartum women (r = 0.742, P < .001).The present study mainly demonstrated decreased resting-state FC pattern within the DMN regions that was linked with impaired cognitive function in postpartum women. These findings illustrated the potential role of the DMN in postpartum women that will provide novel insight into the underlying neuropathological mechanisms in postpartum period.

Disrupted Spontaneous Neural Activity Related to Cognitive Impairment in Postpartum Women.

Purpose: Prior research has demonstrated that the postpartum period is associated with an increased risk of cognitive impairment. This study aims to investigate whether disrupted spontaneous neural activity exists in postpartum women without depression using resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) and to detect the relationship between these abnormalities and cognitive impairment. Materials and Methods: Postpartum women (n = 22) were compared with age- and education-matched nulliparous women (n = 23) using rs-fMRI. We calculated the amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation (ALFF) and regional homogeneity (ReHo) values to evaluate spontaneous neural activity and detect the relationship between rs-fMRI data and cognitive performance. Results: Relative to nulliparous women, postpartum women had significantly decreased ALFF and ReHo values primarily in the left posterior cingulate cortex (PCC) and prefrontal cortex and increased ALFF values in left cerebellar posterior lobe. We found a positive correlation between the ALFF and ReHo values in the PCC and the complex figure test (CFT)-delayed scores in postpartum women (r = 0.693, p = 0.001; r = 0.569, p = 0.011, respectively). Moreover, the clock-drawing test (CDT) scores showed positive correlations with the ALFF and ReHo values in the right superior frontal gyrus (SFG; r = 0.492, p = 0.033; r = 0.517, p = 0.023, respectively). Conclusion: Our combined ALFF and ReHo analyses revealed decreased spontaneous neural activity, mainly in the PCC and prefrontal cortex, which was correlated with specific impaired cognitive functioning in postpartum women. This study may elucidate the neurophysiological mechanisms underlying postpartum cognitive impairment and enhance our understanding of the neurobiological aspects of the postpartum period.

Improvement of Expressed Breast Milk in Mothers of Preterm Infants by Recording Breast Milk Pumping Diaries in a Neonatal Center in China.

OBJECTIVES: Because inadequate expression of human milk (EBM) in mothers of hospitalized infants were noticed in a neonatal center of our hospital, family education program was carried out to increase the EBM. METHODS: A breast milk pumping diary was introduced to the mothers with preterm infant(s) admitted in the NICU. The ratios of EBM (days of EBM to NICU/hospitalized days), breast milk feeding (BMF) (days of infants fed with exclusive human milk/hospitalized days), mixed feeding (MF) (days of infants fed with partial breast milk and partial formula/hospitalized days), and formula feeding (FF) (days of infants fed with preterm formula/hospitalized days) were evaluated. RESULTS: During January to April, 2014, the ratios of EBM to the NICU, BMF, MF and FF were 28.11%, 6.6%, 32.8% and 60.6%, respectively. After the introduction of breast milk pumping diary to the mothers from May 2014, the ratio of EBM to the NICU increased significantly to 53.3% (p<0.01) within the following eight months. Both the ratios of BMF and MF also rose to 23.8% and MF 55.3%, respectively. Consequently, the ratio of FF was reduced to 20.9%. Exclusive breast milk feeding also significantly reduce the duration of nil per oral (NPO) of the very low birth weight infants during hospital stay as compared to those fed with mixed feeding and formula feeding. CONCLUSION: The introduction of a breast milk pumping diary was associated with a significant increase in the intake of EBM of the hospitalized preterm newborns.