Mother and sibling interactions during the preweaning period influence myelination and impulse propagation of the sensory sural nerve in the adult rat.

To investigate whether mother and sibling interactions during the preweaning period influence the histological and electrophysiological characteristics of the sensory sural nerve (SUn) in the adult rat, litters composed of 1, 3, 6, 9, and 12 male pups (P) were formed and the pups routinely weighed until postnatal day 60 (PND60). At PND9, 3P and 6P litters showed greater body weight than pups without siblings or from 9P or 12P litters, and such differences in weight were maintained until adulthood. Analysis of maternal licking at PND8 and 9 showed that pups from large litters received fewer licks than pups from small size litters. At PND60, SUn of rats from 6P and 9P litters had greater compound action potential (CAP) amplitude and a higher proportion of axons with large myelin thickness than nerves from rats of 1P, 3P, or 12P litters. SUn of heaviest rats from 9P and 12P litters had greater CAP area and myelination than the lightest rats from the same litters. We propose that a complex interplay of sensory, social, and nutritional factors arising from mother and littermate interactions during the preweaning period influence myelination and the propagation of action potentials in the SUn of adult rats.

Automatic detection of facial expressions during the Cyberball paradigm in Borderline Personality Disorder: a pilot study.

Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) symptoms include inappropriate control of anger and severe emotional dysregulation after rejection in daily life. Nevertheless, when using the Cyberball paradigm, a tossing game to simulate social exclusion, the seven basic emotions (happiness, sadness, anger, surprise, fear, disgust, and contempt) have not been exhaustively tracked out. It was hypothesized that these patients would show anger, contempt, and disgust during the condition of exclusion versus the condition of inclusion. When facial emotions are automatically detected by Artificial Intelligence, "blending", -or a mixture of at least two emotions- and "masking", -or showing happiness while expressing negative emotions- may be most easily traced expecting higher percentages during exclusion rather than inclusion. Therefore, face videos of fourteen patients diagnosed with BPD (26 ± 6 years old), recorded while playing the tossing game, were analyzed by the FaceReader software. The comparison of conditions highlighted an interaction for anger: it increased during inclusion and decreased during exclusion. During exclusion, the masking of surprise; i.e., displaying happiness while feeling surprised, was significantly more expressed. Furthermore, disgust and contempt were inversely correlated with greater difficulties in emotion regulation and symptomatology, respectively. Therefore, the automatic detection of emotional expressions during both conditions could be useful in rendering diagnostic guidelines in clinical scenarios.

Liver cancer in Hidalgo State, Mexico: analysis of the status, risk factors and regional public health policy requirements: a cross-sectional correlational study.

BACKGROUND: In Latin America, liver cancer is one of the top causes of cancer mortality. It is the fifth most common cause of death among malignant tumors in Mexico and is the leading cause in Hidalgo State (43.8% of the population living in poverty). OBJECTIVE: To conduct a correlational analysis on the main risk factors for liver cancer in Hidalgo State, Mexico, including municipal disaggregation and comparison with the national level. DESIGN AND SETTING: Cross-sectional, correlational, descriptive and comparative epidemiological study using Mexican governmental databases covering 1990-2019. METHODS: A comprehensive review of the databases of the General Directorate of Health Information (DGIS) was performed to analyze official death figures, hospital discharges and national and municipal population projections, using specific search criteria defined in the Global Burden of Disease classification, based on the risk factors for liver cancer. RESULTS: Liver cancer rates showed an evident rise in Hidalgo (183%), moving from 21st place in Mexico in 1990 to 9th place in 2019. This increase was correlated with alcoholism. An increasing trend for liver cancer deaths, of 133.89%, is projected for 2030. Females and the population over 60 years of age are more affected. There are some critical regions with liver cancer death rates twice the national rate or more. CONCLUSION: Targeted effective public health strategies should be structured by identifying, characterizing and regionalizing critical marginalized municipalities that are vulnerable to alcoholism and other risk factors for liver cancer. This approach may be helpful for other states in Mexico or similar countries.

Characterization and Classification of Electrophysiological Signals Represented as Visibility Graphs Using the Maxclique Graph.

Detection, characterization and classification of patterns within time series from electrophysiological signals have been a challenge for neuroscientists due to their complexity and variability. Here, we aimed to use graph theory to characterize and classify waveforms within biological signals using maxcliques as a feature for a deep learning method. We implemented a compact and easy to visualize algorithm and interface in Python. This software uses time series as input. We applied the maxclique graph operator in order to obtain further graph parameters. We extracted features of the time series by processing all graph parameters through K-means, one of the simplest unsupervised machine learning algorithms. As proof of principle, we analyzed integrated electrical activity of XII nerve to identify waveforms. Our results show that the use of maxcliques allows identification of two distinct types of waveforms that match expert classification. We propose that our method can be a useful tool to characterize and classify other electrophysiological signals in a short time and objectively. Reducing the classification time improves efficiency for further analysis in order to compare between treatments or conditions, e.g., pharmacological trials, injuries, or neurodegenerative diseases.

Alertamientos y movimientos periódicos de las piernas durante las etapas de sueño y deterioro cognitivo leve en adultos mayores. Estudio preliminar / Arousals and periodic leg movements during sleep stages and mild cognitive impairment in older adults: a preliminary study

RESUMEN La fragmentación del sueño puede asociarse con distintas enfermedades, entre ellas, la demencia. En este sentido, la fragmentación de sueño, indicada por el índice de alertamientos y/o movimientos periódicos de las piernas (MPP), podría ser un marcador temprano de deterioro cognitivo leve (DCL), un síndrome precursor de la demencia. El objetivo del presente estudio fue medir el índice de prevalencia de los alertamientos y de los MPP durante el sueño en un grupo control y un grupo con DCL, así como determinar si hay diferencia entre los grupos en ambos índices y establecer si existe una correlación entre los dos fenómenos. En 9 participantes (3 mujeres controles y 3 mujeres con DCL; y 3 hombres con DCL) (edad: 69.1 ± 5; años de educación: 8 ± 2) se registró una noche de polisomnografía. Se obtuvieron los índices por hora de alertamientos y para cada etapa de sueño, así como los MPP globales y por hora; además se realizaron análisis entre y dentro de cada grupo. Se encontró una correlación positiva y un mayor número de MPP que de alertamientos durante toda la noche en los participantes con DCL. Conocer la prevalencia y asociación de ambos fenómenos contribuye en la formulación de una evaluación más cuidadosa y profunda de los adultos mayores en riesgo de desarrollar DCL y/o demencia.

ABSTRACT Sleep fragmentation may be associated with several diseases, including dementia. In this sense, sleep fragmentation, indicated by the rates of arousals and/or periodic leg movements (PLM), could be an early marker of Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI), a syndromic stage prior to dementia. Therefore, the objective of this study was to compare the index of PLM with that of arousals and correlate both indexes in people with MCI and without MCI during all sleep stages. In 9 participants (3 control women and 3 women with MCI; and 3 men with MCI) (ages: 69.1 ± 5; years of education: 8 ± 2), one night of polysomnography was performed. Hourly rates of arousals and PLM were scored from each sleep stage. Analyses were performed within and between PLM and arousals for each group. Significant differences and a positive correlation were found between the arousal and the PLM rates for the group with MCI during the whole night. Knowledge of the prevalence and the association of both phenomena may contribute to a more careful and thorough evaluation of older adults at risk of developing MCI and/or dementia.

Differential effect of chronic undernutrition on the fiber type composition of fascicles in the extensor digitorum longus muscles of the rat.

Several studies have shown that chronic low food consumption alters the composition and metabolism of the extensor digitorum longus muscle (EDLm) fiber types. EDLm is constituted by four independent fascicles (F2-F5) of different sizes; their constitution and metabolism, however, as well as how chronic undernourishment affects these is virtually unknown. Thus, the aim of this study is to evaluate the relative fiber type composition and metabolism of each independent fascicle in the EDLm, using control and chronically undernourished young male rats by using the alkaline ATPase and NADH-TR histochemical techniques. Our results indicate that all control fascicles showed a higher percentage of intermediate fibers (P<0.001), except for F5, which had a higher percentage of fast fibers (P<0.001). After chronic undernutrition, the proportion of intermediate fibers decreased in F4 (P<0.05) and increased in F5 (P<0.001), whereas fast fibers decreased in F3 (P<0.05) and F5 (P<0.001). When we investigated fiber metabolism we found that F3 and F4 had a similar composition (mainly glycolytic), whereas F2 and F5 predominantly contained oxidative fibers. All fascicles of chronic undernourished rats showed a general decrease in oxidative fibers (P>0.05), except for F3, in which oxidative fibers increased (P<0.05). After determining the possible predominant metabolism expressed in intermediate fibers, we propose that chronic undernutrition induces the transformation of fast-glycolytic to intermediate-oxidative/glycolytic fibers, mainly in F3 and F5. Our observations confirm that chronic undernourishment differentially affects the fiber types of each fascicle in the EDLm, which could alter their individual physiological contractile properties.

Electroacupuncture improves gait locomotion, H-reflex and ventral root potentials of spinal compression injured rats.

This study explored the effect of electroacupuncture stimulation (EA) on alterations in the Hoffman reflex (H-reflex) response and gait locomotion provoked by spinal cord injury (SCI) in the rat. A compression lesion of the spinal cord was evoked by insufflating a Fogarty balloon located in the epidural space at the T8-9 spinal level of adult Wistar male rats (200-250 gr; n=60). In different groups of SCI rats, EA (frequencies: 2, 50 and 100Hz) was applied simultaneously to Huantiao (GB30), Yinmen (BL37), Jizhong (GV6) and Zhiyang (GV9) acupoints from the third post-injury day until the experimental session. At 1, 2, 3 and 4 post-injury weeks, the BBB scores of the SCI group of rats treated with EA at 50Hz showed a gradual but greater enhancement of locomotor activity than the other groups of rats. Unrestrained gait kinematic analysis of SCI rats treated with EA-50Hz stimulation showed a significant improvement in stride duration, length and speed (p<0.05), whereas a discrete recovery of gait locomotion was observed in the other groups of animals. After four post-injury weeks, the H-reflex amplitude and H-reflex/M wave amplitude ratio obtained in SCI rats had a noticeable enhancement (217%) compared to sham rats (n=10). Meanwhile, SCI rats treated with EA at 50Hz manifested a decreased facilitation of the H-reflex amplitude and H/M amplitude ratio (154%) and a reduced frequency-dependent amplitude depression of the H-reflex (66%). In addition, 50 Hz-EA treatment induced a recovery of the presynaptic depression of the Gs-VRP evoked by PBSt conditioning stimulation in the SCI rat (63.2±8.1%; n=9). In concordance with the latter, it could be suggested that 50 Hz-EA stimulation reduced the hyper-excitability of motoneurons and provokes a partial improvement of the locomotive performance and H reflex responses by a possible recovery of presynaptic mechanisms in the spinal cord of experimentally injured rats.

Liver cancer in Hidalgo State, Mexico: analysis of the status, risk factors and regional public health policy requirements: a cross-sectional correlational study

ABSTRACT BACKGROUND: In Latin America, liver cancer is one of the top causes of cancer mortality. It is the fifth most common cause of death among malignant tumors in Mexico and is the leading cause in Hidalgo State (43.8% of the population living in poverty). OBJECTIVE: To conduct a correlational analysis on the main risk factors for liver cancer in Hidalgo State, Mexico, including municipal disaggregation and comparison with the national level. DESIGN AND SETTING: Cross-sectional, correlational, descriptive and comparative epidemiological study using Mexican governmental databases covering 1990-2019. METHODS: A comprehensive review of the databases of the General Directorate of Health Information (DGIS) was performed to analyze official death figures, hospital discharges and national and municipal population projections, using specific search criteria defined in the Global Burden of Disease classification, based on the risk factors for liver cancer. RESULTS: Liver cancer rates showed an evident rise in Hidalgo (183%), moving from 21st place in Mexico in 1990 to 9th place in 2019. This increase was correlated with alcoholism. An increasing trend for liver cancer deaths, of 133.89%, is projected for 2030. Females and the population over 60 years of age are more affected. There are some critical regions with liver cancer death rates twice the national rate or more. CONCLUSION: Targeted effective public health strategies should be structured by identifying, characterizing and regionalizing critical marginalized municipalities that are vulnerable to alcoholism and other risk factors for liver cancer. This approach may be helpful for other states in Mexico or similar countries.