Preparation, optimisation, and properties of O-carboxymethyl chitosan-g-cholesterol succinic acid monoester polymer nanomicelles.

Polymer nanomicelles have the advantages of small particle size, improved drug solubility, retention effect and enhanced permeability, so they can be used in the treatment of tumour diseases. The aim of this study was to prepare and optimise a nanomicelle which can improve the solubility of insoluble drugs. Firstly, the carboxyl group of cholesterol succinic acid monoester was grafted with the side chain amino group of O-carboxymethyl chitosan-g-cholesterol succinic acid monoester (CCMC), and its structure was characterized by fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and proton nuclear magnetic resonance (1H-NMR). Particle size has an important impact on tissue distribution, cell uptake, permeability and inhibition of tumour tissue. In this study, particle size and polydispersity index (PDI) were selected as indexes to optimise the preparation process of CCMC nanomicelles through single factor experiment, Plackett-Burman experiment, the steepest climbing experiment and response surface design experiment. The optimised CCMC nanomicelles showed an average particle size of 173.9 ± 2.3 nm and a PDI of 0.170 ± 0.053. The Cell Counting Kit-8 assay showed no significant effect on cell viability in the range of 0-1000 µg ml-1concentration. Coumarin-6 (C6) was used as a fluorescent probe to investigate the drug-carrying ability of CCMC nanomicelles. C6-CCMC showed 86.35 ± 0.56% encapsulation efficiency with a drug loading of 9.18 ± 0.32%. Both CCMC and C6-CCMC demonstrated excellent stability in different media. Moreover, under the same conditions, the absorption effect of C6 in C6-CCMC nanomicelles was significantly higher than that of free C6 while also exhibiting good sustained-release properties. Therefore, this study demonstrates CCMC nanomicelles as a promising new drug carrier that can significantly improve insoluble drug absorption.

Comparative transcriptome analyses reveal regulatory network and hub genes of aluminum response in roots of elephant grass (Cenchrus purpureus).

Aluminum (Al) toxicity severely restricts the growth and productivity of elephant grass in acidic soils around the world. However, the molecular mechanisms of Al response have not been investigated in elephant grass. In this study, we conducted phenotype, physiology, and transcriptome analysis of elephant grass roots in response to Al stress. Phenotypic analysis revealed that a low concentration of Al stress improved root growth while higher Al concentrations inhibit root growth. Al stress significantly increased the citrate (CA) content in roots, while the expression levels of genes related to citrate synthesis were substantially changed. The multidrug and toxic compound extrusion (MATE) family were identified as hub genes in the co-expression network of Al response in elephant grass roots. Phylogenetic analysis showed that hub genes CpMATE93 and CpMATE158 belonged to the same clade as other MATE genes reported to be involved in citrate transport. Additionally, overexpression of CpMATE93 conferred Al resistance in yeast cells. These results provide a theoretical basis for further studies of molecular mechanisms in the elephant grass response to Al stress and could help breeders develop elite cultivars with Al tolerance.

Connectivity of the insular subdivisions differentiates posttraumatic headache-associated from nonheadache-associated mild traumatic brain injury: an arterial spin labelling study.

OBJECTIVE: The insula is an important part of the posttraumatic headache (PTH) attributed to mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) neuropathological activity pattern. It is composed of functionally different subdivisions and each of which plays different role in PTH neuropathology. METHODS: Ninety-four mTBI patients were included in this study. Based on perfusion imaging data obtained from arterial spin labelling (ASL) perfusion magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), this study evaluated the insular subregion perfusion-based functional connectivity (FC) and its correlation with clinical characteristic parameters in patients with PTH after mTBI and non-headache mTBI patients. RESULTS: The insular subregions of mTBI + PTH (mTBI patients with PTH) and mTBI-PTH (mTBI patients without PTH) group had positive perfusion-based functional connections with other insular nuclei and adjacent discrete cortical regions. Compared with mTBI-PTH group, significantly increased resting-state perfusion-based FC between the anterior insula (AI) and middle cingulate cortex (MCC)/Rolandic operculum (ROL), between posterior insula (PI) and supplementary motor area (SMA), and decreased perfusion-based FC between PI and thalamus were found in mTBI + PTH group. Changes in the perfusion-based FC of the left posterior insula/dorsal anterior insula with the thalamus/MCC were significant correlated with headache characteristics. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings provide new ASL-based evidence for changes in the perfusion-based FC of the insular subregion in PTH patients attributed to mTBI and the association with headache features, revealing the possibility of potential neuroplasticity after PTH. These findings may contribute to early diagnosis of the disease and follow-up of disease progression.

Overexpression of P5CDH from Cleistogenes songorica improves alfalfa growth performance under field drought conditions.

Water stress affects the metabolic regulation and delays the growth and development of alfalfa, causing a reduction in biomass. New alfalfa germplasm was created with improved drought tolerance in greenhouse conditions by introducing the key gene P5CDH1 from C. songorica, a xerophytic grass. However, the field adaptability and response mechanism of new drought-tolerant alfalfa germplasms under water stress are still unclear. In the present study, the yield and quality traits of transgenic CsP5CDH1 alfalfa lines under water stress and normal irrigation conditions were measured and analyzed for two years. The genetic variance components of the tested traits were calculated from the data fitted by the mixed linear model. The plant height of all lines showed significant genotypic variation (σ2g) (P < 0.05), and the stem diameter, stem number, and dry weight of all lines had a significant genotype × environment interaction (σ2ge) (P < 0.05). The heritability (H) of plant height, stem diameter, stem number, dry weight and leaf-to-stem ratio of alfalfa lines were 0.87, 0.52, 0.59, 0.52 and 0.50, respectively. There were significant genotype × environment interactions (σ2ge) (P < 0.05) for the quality traits of all lines. The heritabilities (H) of acid detergent fiber and neutral detergent fiber were 0.65 and 0.64, respectively. The results of transcriptional expression analysis with RNA-seq showed that the genes MsProDH1, MsProDH4, MsProDH5, MsP5CDH1, MsP5CS5, MsP5CS9, and MsP5CR1, which are involved in the proline metabolism pathway, played an important role in the drought tolerance of innovative alfalfa germplasm. Under water stress, with the regulation of key genes in the proline metabolism pathway, the proline content of all alfalfa lines increased to varying degrees. Among them, the proline content in the shoots and roots of transgenic line L6 was 7.29 times and 12.22 times that under normal irrigation conditions, respectively. The present study helped to clarify that the new germplasm of alfalfa transformed with the CsP5CDH gene synthesized a large amount of proline under water stress, and effectively slowed leaf water loss, thus improving the drought resistance of alfalfa.

Aberrant dynamic properties of whole-brain functional connectivity in acute mild traumatic brain injury revealed by hidden Markov models.

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to investigate the temporal dynamics of brain activity and characterize the spatiotemporal specificity of transitions and large-scale networks on short timescales in acute mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) patients and those with cognitive impairment in detail. METHODS: Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) was acquired for 71 acute mTBI patients and 57 age-, sex-, and education-matched healthy controls (HCs). A hidden Markov model (HMM) analysis of rs-fMRI data was conducted to identify brain states that recurred over time and to assess the dynamic patterns of activation states that characterized acute mTBI patients and those with cognitive impairment. The dynamic parameters (fractional occupancy, lifetime, interval time, switching rate, and probability) between groups and their correlation with cognitive performance were analyzed. RESULTS: Twelve HMM states were identified in this study. Compared with HCs, acute mTBI patients and those with cognitive impairment exhibited distinct changes in dynamics, including fractional occupancy, lifetime, and interval time. Furthermore, the switching rate and probability across HMM states were significantly different between acute mTBI patients and patients with cognitive impairment (all p < 0.05). The temporal reconfiguration of states in acute mTBI patients and those with cognitive impairment was associated with several brain networks (including the high-order cognition network [DMN], subcortical network [SUB], and sensory and motor network [SMN]). CONCLUSIONS: Hidden Markov models provide additional information on the dynamic activity of brain networks in patients with acute mTBI and those with cognitive impairment. Our results suggest that brain network dynamics determined by the HMM could reinforce the understanding of the neuropathological mechanisms of acute mTBI patients and those with cognitive impairment.

Porphyromonas gingivalis as a promotor in the development of the alcoholic liver disease via ferroptosis.

Alcoholic liver disease (ALD) is a liver disease caused by heavy drinking. Porphyromonas gingivalis (P.g), a major cause of periodontitis, whose antibodies are elevated in severe ALD patients in the plasma. The purpose of this study is to further study the role and the molecular mechanism of P.g in the progress of ALD. In this study, saliva of patients with ALD was collected. Then, an animal model of ALD with oral P.g administration was established, pathology of liver and spleen, intestinal microorganisms and metabolites were analyzed. The molecular mechanism of P.g on ALD was analyzed in vitro. ALD and intestinal microflora and metabolite changes were observed more serious in the alcohol and P.g groups than the alcohol group. Moreover, ferroptosis was aggravated by P.g in the liver. Meanwhile, P.g promoted ferroptosis accomplication with alcohol in vitro, which can be reversed by ferroptosis inhibitors. In conclusion, P.g aggravates ALD through exacerbation gut microbial metabolic disorder in mice with alcohol, which maybe depend on ferroptosis activation in hepatocytes. The study provides a new strategy for prevention and treatment of ALD by improving the oral micro-environment.

The willingness to continue using wearable devices among the elderly: SEM and FsQCA analysis.

BACKGROUND: With population aging and the scarcity of resources for elderly individuals, wearable devices pose opportunities and challenges for elderly care institutions. However, few studies have examined the effects of technical characteristics, personal characteristics, and health promotion on the willingness of elderly individuals to continue using wearable devices. OBJECTIVE: This study explored the effects of technical characteristics and personal characteristics on the willingness of elderly individuals to continue using wearable devices through health promotion, drawing on the technology acceptance model and the value attitude behaviour model. METHODS: We obtained 265 valid samples through questionnaire surveys and used structural equation modelling (SEM) and fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis (FsQCA) to clarify the complex causal patterns of elderly people's willingness to continue using wearable devices. RESULTS: The SEM results showed that perceived usefulness, perceived reliability, self-perceived ageing, and health promotion affected willingness to continue using wearable devices. However, perceived ease of use had no effect. FsQCA showed that elderly individuals are highly willing to continue using wearable devices, yielding five solutions. Perceived ageing was essential in four of these solutions. The impact of perceived ease of use on continued use intention was dynamic and complex. CONCLUSIONS: This study used two methods to provide insight into the willingness of elderly individuals to continue using wearable devices. In addition, this study discussed associated implications, limitations, and future research directions.

Disrupted resting-state functional connectivity and network topology in mild traumatic brain injury: an arterial spin labelling study.

Mild traumatic brain injury can cause different degrees of cognitive impairment and abnormal brain structure and functional connectivity, but there is still a lack of research on the functional connectivity and topological organization of cerebral blood flow fluctuations. This study explored the cerebral blood flow, functional connectivity and topological organization of the cerebral blood flow network in acute mild traumatic brain injury patients. In total, 48 mild traumatic brain injury patients and 46 well-matched healthy controls underwent resting-state arterial spin labelling perfusion MRI and neuropsychological assessments. The functional connectivity and topological organization of the cerebral blood flow network were analysed. Then, the correlation between the changes in cerebral blood flow network characteristics and cognitive function was explored. Acute mild traumatic brain injury patients showed decreased cerebral blood flow in the right insula and increased cerebral blood flow in the right inferior temporal gyrus and left superior temporal gyrus. Abnormal cerebral blood flow network connection patterns mainly occur in sensorimotor network, default mode network, cingulo-opercular network and occipital network-related regions. Furthermore, mild traumatic brain injury disrupted the topological organization of the whole brain, which manifested as (i) reduced global efficiency; (ii) abnormal degree centrality, betweenness centrality, nodal clustering coefficient and nodal efficiency; and (iii) decreased intermodular connectivity between the occipital network and sensorimotor network. Finally, the change in network topology was correlated with the cognitive score of the mild traumatic brain injury. This study provided evidence of abnormal functional connectivity and network topology based on cerebral blood flow in acute mild traumatic brain injury patients, revealing their potential use as early markers for mild traumatic brain injury, which may contribute to both disease diagnosis and assessment.

The effect of digitalization on the career intentions of nursing students: A cross-sectional study.

AIM: We investigate how the confirmation of expectations about digital technology in the workplace affects the career intentions of nursing students. We also explore the role of task fit in mediating (1) digital technology satisfaction and job satisfaction and (2) digital technology satisfaction and career intentions. BACKGROUND: The turnover of graduating geriatric nursing students is very high and rising. To support the work of nursing staff, elderly care institutions are beginning to adopt digital technologies that aid in nursing tasks. However, it is unclear whether students' perceptions of those digital technologies have an impact on their career intentions. DESIGN: This is a cross-sectional study. METHODS: We recruited 549 geriatric nursing students. Data were collected from December 2022 to March 2023. The questionnaire included seven sections: expectation confirmation, perceived usefulness, perceived safety, digital technology satisfaction, task fit, job satisfaction and career intentions. The validity and reliability of the model were confirmed. RESULTS: The results show that the confirmation of students' expectations for the digital technology used in elderly care services has a positive impact on their career intentions. However, the results do not confirm the impact of perceived security on digital technology satisfaction, or the effect of job satisfaction on career intentions. CONCLUSION: Elderly care institutions and educators should monitor the current state of the digital work environment to ensure that it can adequately support students in their work. They should ensure the use of advanced and appropriate technology tools in teaching and clinical environments to provide a richer and more vivid learning experience. These initiatives can support nursing students in their transition from school to practice and increase their willingness to stay in the profession.

Functional-structural large-scale brain networks are correlated with neurocognitive impairment in acute mild traumatic brain injury.

Background: This study was conducted to investigate topological changes in large-scale functional connectivity (FC) and structural connectivity (SC) networks in acute mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) and determine their potential relevance to cognitive impairment. Methods: Seventy-one patients with acute mTBI (29 males, 42 females, mean age 43.54 years) from Nanjing First Hospital and 57 matched healthy controls (HC) (33 males, 24 females, mean age 46.16 years) from the local community were recruited in this prospective study. Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) were acquired within 14 days (mean 3.29 days) after the onset of mTBI. Then, large-scale FC and SC networks with 116 regions from the automated anatomical labeling (AAL) brain atlas were constructed. Graph theory analysis was used to analyze global and nodal metrics. Finally, correlations were assessed between topological properties and neurocognitive performances evaluated by the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA). Bonferroni correction was performed out for multiple comparisons in all involved analyses. Results: Compared with HC, acute mTBI patients had a higher normalized clustering coefficient (γ) for FC (Cohen's d=4.076), and higher γ and small worldness (σ) for SC (Cohen's d=0.390 and Cohen's d=0.395). The mTBI group showed aberrant nodal degree (Dc), nodal efficiency (Ne), and nodal local efficiency (Nloc) for FC and aberrant Dc, nodal betweenness (Bc), nodal clustering coefficient (NCp) and Ne for SC mainly in the frontal and temporal, cerebellum, and subcortical areas. Acute mTBI patients also had higher functional-structural coupling strength at both the group and individual levels (Cohen's d=0.415). These aberrant global and nodal topological properties at functional and structural levels were associated with attention, orientation, memory, and naming performances (all P<0.05). Conclusions: Our findings suggested that large-scale FC and SC network changes, higher correlation between FC and SC and cognitive impairment can be detected in the acute stage of mTBI. These network aberrances may be a compensatory mechanism for cognitive impairment in acute mTBI patients.

Molecular Dynamics Simulations of the Mechanical Properties of Cellulose Nanocrystals-Graphene Layered Nanocomposites.

Cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) have received a significant amount of attention due to their excellent physiochemical properties. Herein, based on bioinspired layered materials with excellent mechanical properties, a CNCs-graphene layered structure with covalent linkages (C-C bond) is constructed. The mechanical properties are systematically studied by molecular dynamics (MD) simulations in terms of the effects of temperature, strain rate and the covalent bond content. Compared to pristine CNCs, the mechanical performance of the CNCs-graphene layered structure has significantly improved. The elastic modulus of the layered structure decreases with the increase of temperature and increases with the increase of strain rate and covalent bond coverage. The results show that the covalent bonding and van der Waals force interactions at the interfaces play an important role in the interfacial adhesion and load transfer capacity of composite materials. These findings can be useful in further modeling of other graphene-based polymers at the atomic scale, which will be critical for their potential applications as functional materials.

Causal interactions with an insular-cortical network in mild traumatic brain injury.

PURPOSE: This study aimed to investigate the insula-based directional effective connectivity in mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) using resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and to explore its relationship with cognitive performance. METHODS: Sixty mTBI patients and 55 age-, gender- and years of education- matched healthy controls (HC) were recruited in this study. Using granger causality analysis (GCA), we selected bilateral insula as two individual seed regions to compare the difference of directional effective connectivity of insula between mTBI group and HC group, and analyze its relationship with cognitive performance. RESULTS: Compared with HC, acute mTBI group showed decreased outflows from the left insula to the left middle frontal gyrus (MFG) and right rolandic operculum (Rol), increased inflow from the left supplementary motor area (SMA) to the left insula, decreased outflows from the right insula to the left superior frontal gyrus (SFG), as well as increased outflows from the right insula to the left superior temporal gyrus (STG). No significantly different inflows to the right insula from other regions were found. Correlation analyses revealed that the abnormal connectivity between insula and MFG, as well as insula and STG were associated with the cognitive function score. CONCLUSIONS: Our data demonstrated abnormalities in the effective connection pathways of insula in acute mTBI patients, while abnormal effective connectivity significantly correlated with cognitive function score. These findings may shed light on the pathophysiological mechanisms of cognitive impairment after mTBI.

Association of artificial intelligence use and the retention of elderly caregivers: A cross-sectional study based on empowerment theory.

AIM: The purpose of this study is to investigate how the use of artificial intelligence is associated with the retention of elderly caregivers. BACKGROUND: The turnover of elderly caregivers is high and increasing. Elderly care institutions are beginning to use artificial intelligence to support caregivers in their work, and the use of technology is critical to staff retention. Empowerment of elderly caregivers has been neglected by managers and researchers. METHODS: This cross-sectional study involved 511 elderly caregivers in 25 elderly institutions. Six validated standardized scales were used for data collection, and the software SPSS and SmartPLS were used for data analysis. RESULTS: The quality of artificial intelligence has a significant positive effect on empowerment. Artificial intelligence psychological empowerment (ß = .355, p < .001) and artificial intelligence structural empowerment (ß = .375, p < .001) both had positive effects on retention intention, and the jointly explained variance (R2 ) was 42.6%. CONCLUSIONS: The results show that a significant relationship exists between artificial intelligence empowerment and retention intention. Elderly caregivers with more structural empowerment have higher retention intention. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING MANAGEMENT: Artificial intelligence suppliers need to pay attention to the role of product quality in elderly care services, continuously improve artificial intelligence quality, and strengthen the application and routine maintenance of artificial intelligence technologies. Elderly care institution managers should pay special attention to artificial intelligence structural empowerment (such as artificial intelligence-related education and training, learning and development opportunities, and resource support).

Cerebral blood flow network differences correlated with cognitive impairment in mild traumatic brain injury.

Purpose: To examine whether the cerebral blood flow (CBF) and CBF connectivity differences are sex-specific and whether these differences are correlated with cognitive impairment in mTBI. Methods: Resting-state perfusion magnetic resonance imaging was performed in 40 patients with acute mTBI and 40 healthy controls by using pseudocontinuous arterial spin labeling within 14 days following injury. The differences in normalized CBF were first compared and CBF connectivity of the brain regions with significant CBF differences were compared next. The association between the normalized CBF and CBF connectivity differences and cognitive function were further investigated. Results: Men patients had lower normalized CBF in the frontal gyrus, temporal gyrus and hippocampus and decreased negative CBF connectivity between brain regions including the hippocampus, temporal gyrus, postcentral gyrus and lenticular nucleus, putamen, compared with men controls. Women patients had lower normalized CBF in the frontal gyrus, however had higher normalized CBF in the temporal gyrus and hippocampus, compared with women controls. Additionally, women patients showed increased positive CBF connectivity between the seed region of interest (ROI) of the right inferior temporal gyrus and temporal gyrus and frontal gyrus, and had increased positive CBF connectivity between the seed ROI of the right hippocampus and the temporal gyrus. Furthermore, men patients had higher CBF in the right middle temporal gyrus and left precentral gyrus than women patients. Conclusion: This study provides evidence of sex differences in both decreased and increased CBF and CBF connectivity and association with cognitive outcome in the acute stage after mTBI.

Rich-club reorganization of functional brain networks in acute mild traumatic brain injury with cognitive impairment.

Background: Mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) is typically characterized by temporally limited cognitive impairment and regarded as a brain connectome disorder. Recent findings have suggested that a higher level of organization named the "rich-club" may play a central role in enabling the integration of information and efficient communication across different systems of the brain. However, the alterations in rich-club organization and hub topology in mTBI and its relationship with cognitive impairment after mTBI have been scarcely elucidated. Methods: Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) data were collected from 88 patients with mTBI and 85 matched healthy controls (HCs). Large-scale functional brain networks were established for each participant. Rich-club organizations and network properties were assessed and analyzed between groups. Finally, we analyzed the correlations between the cognitive performance and changes in rich-club organization and network properties. Results: Both mTBI and HCs groups showed significant rich-club organization. Meanwhile, the rich-club organization was aberrant, with enhanced functional connectivity (FC) among rich-club nodes and peripheral regions in acute mTBI. In addition, significant differences in partial global and local network topological property measures were found between mTBI patients and HCs (P<0.01). In patients with mTBI, changes in rich-club organization and network properties were found to be related to early cognitive impairment after mTBI (P<0.05). Conclusions: Our findings suggest that such patterns of disruption and reorganization will provide the basic functional architecture for cognitive function, which may subsequently be used as an earlier biomarker for cognitive impairment after mTBI.

Neuropathological Mechanisms of Mild Traumatic Brain Injury: A Perspective From Multimodal Magnetic Resonance Imaging.

Mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) accounts for more than 80% of the total number of TBI cases. The mechanism of injury for patients with mTBI has a variety of neuropathological processes. However, the underlying neurophysiological mechanism of the mTBI is unclear, which affects the early diagnosis, treatment decision-making, and prognosis evaluation. More and more multimodal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) techniques have been applied for the diagnosis of mTBI, such as functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), arterial spin labeling (ASL) perfusion imaging, susceptibility-weighted imaging (SWI), and diffusion MRI (dMRI). Various imaging techniques require to be used in combination with neuroimaging examinations for patients with mTBI. The understanding of the neuropathological mechanism of mTBI has been improved based on different angles. In this review, we have summarized the application of these aforementioned multimodal MRI techniques in mTBI and evaluated its benefits and drawbacks.

Clinical validation of an AI-based motion correction reconstruction algorithm in cerebral CT.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the clinical performance of an artificial intelligence (AI)-based motion correction (MC) reconstruction algorithm for cerebral CT. METHODS: A total of 53 cases, where motion artifacts were found in the first scan so that an immediate rescan was taken, were retrospectively enrolled. While the rescanned images were reconstructed with a hybrid iterative reconstruction (IR) algorithm (reference group), images of the first scan were reconstructed with both the hybrid IR (motion group) and the MC algorithm (MC group). Image quality was compared in terms of standard deviation (SD), signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR), the mean squared error (MSE), peak signal-to-noise ratio (PSNR), structural similarity index (SSIM), and mutual information (MI), as well as subjective scores. The diagnostic performance for each case was evaluated accordingly by lesion detectability or the Alberta Stroke Program Early CT Score (ASPECTS) assessment. RESULTS: Compared with the motion group, the SNR and CNR of the MC group were significantly increased. The MSE, PSNR, SSIM, and MI with respect to the reference group were improved by 44.1%, 15.8%, 7.4%, and 18.3%, respectively (all p < 0.001). Subjective image quality indicators were scored higher for the MC than the motion group (p < 0.05). Improved lesion detectability and higher AUC (0.817 vs 0.614) in the ASPECTS assessment were found for the MC to the motion group. CONCLUSIONS: The AI-based MC reconstruction algorithm has been clinically validated for reducing motion artifacts and improving diagnostic performance of cerebral CT. KEY POINTS: • An artificial intelligence-based motion correction (MC) reconstruction algorithm has been clinically validated in both qualitative and quantitative manner. • The MC algorithm reduces motion artifacts in cerebral CT and increases the diagnostic confidence for brain lesions. • The MC algorithm can help avoiding rescans caused by motion and improving the efficiency of cerebral CT in the emergency department.

Topological features of limbic dysfunction in chronicity of tinnitus with intact hearing: New hypothesis for 'noise-cancellation' mechanism.

PURPOSE: The reorganization of the limbic regions extend to general cognitive network is believed to exist in the chronicity of tinnitus with particular 'hubs' contributing to a 'noise-cancellation' mechanism. To test this hypothesis, we investigated the topological brain network of tinnitus in different periods. METHODS: Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging were obtained from 32 patients with acute tinnitus, 41 patients with chronic tinnitus and 60 age- and gender- matched healthy controls (HC). The topological features of their brain networks were explored using graph theory analysis. RESULTS: Common small-world attributes were compared between the three groups, all showed a significantly increased values in Cp, Lp, λ (all p < 0.05). Significantly increased nodal centralities in the left superior frontal gyrus and the right precuneus, significantly decreased nodal centralities in the right inferior temporal gyrus were observed for acute tinnitus patients compared to HC. While for chronic tinnitus patients, there were significant increased nodal centralities in the left hippocampus, amygdala, and temporal pole, but decreased nodal centralities in the right inferior temporal gyrus. Additionally, significant higher nodal centralities were found in bilateral medial superior frontal gyrus for acute tinnitus patients compared to chronic tinnitus patients. Besides, alterations in rich-club organization were found in acute tinnitus patients and chronic tinnitus patients compared with HC, with increased functional connections among rich-club nodes and peripheral nodes in patients with tinnitus. CONCLUSIONS: Brain network topological properties altered across prefrontal-limbic-subcortical regions in tinnitus. The existed hubs in tinnitus might indicate an emotional and cognitive burden in 'noise-cancellation' mechanism.

Aberrant Static and Dynamic Functional Network Connectivity in Acute Mild Traumatic Brain Injury with Cognitive Impairment.

PURPOSE: This study aimed to investigate differences in static and dynamic functional network connectivity (FNC) and explore their association with neurocognitive performance in acute mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI). METHODS: A total of 76 patients with acute mTBI and 70 age-matched and sex-matched healthy controls were enrolled (age 43.79 ± 10.22 years vs. 45.63 ± 9.49 years; male/female: 34/42 vs. 38/32; all p > 0.05) and underwent resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scan (repetition time/echo time = 2000/30 ms, 230 volumes). Independent component analysis was conducted to evaluate static and dynamic FNC patterns on the basis of nine resting-state networks, namely, auditory network (AUDN), dorsal attention network (dAN), ventral attention network (vAN), default mode network (DMN), left frontoparietal network (LFPN), right frontoparietal network (RFPN), somatomotor network (SMN), visual network (VN), and salience network (SN). Spearman's correlation among aberrances in FNC values, and Montreal cognitive assessment (MoCA) scores was further measured in mTBI. RESULTS: Compared with controls, patients with mTBI showed wide aberrances of static FNC, such as reduced FNC in DMN-vAN and VN-vAN pairs. The mTBI patients exhibited aberrant dynamic FNC in state 2, involving reduced FNC aberrance in the vAN with AUDN, VN with DMN and dAN, and SN with SMN and vAN. Reduced dFNC in the SN-vAN pair was negatively correlated with the MoCA score. CONCLUSION: Our findings suggest that aberrant static and dynamic FNC at the acute stage may contribute to cognitive symptoms, which not only may expand knowledge regarding FNC cognition relations from the static perspective but also from the dynamic perspective.

The Effect of Social Media Use on Depressive Symptoms in Older Adults with Self-Reported Hearing Impairment: An Empirical Study.

Older people with hearing impairment are more likely to develop depressive symptoms due to physical disability and loss of social communication. This study investigated the effects of social media on social relations, subjective aging, and depressive symptoms in these older adults based on the stimulus-organism-response (S-O-R) framework. It provides new empirical evidence to support improving the mental health and rebuilding the social relations of older people. A formal questionnaire was designed using the Wenjuanxing platform and distributed online through WeChat; 643 valid questionnaires were received from older people with self-reported hearing impairments, and SmartPLS 3.28 was used to analyze the data. The results show that (1) social media significantly impacts the social relations of older people with hearing impairment (social networks, ß = 0.132, T = 3.444; social support, ß = 0.129, T = 2.95; social isolation, ß = 0.107, T = 2.505). (2) For these older people, social isolation has the biggest impact on their psychosocial loss (ß = 0.456, T = 10.458), followed by the impact of social support (ß = 0.103, T = 2.014); a hypothesis about social network size was not confirmed (ß = 0.007, T = 0.182). Both social media (ß = 0.096, T = 2.249) and social support (ß = 0.174, T = 4.434) significantly affect the self-efficacy of hearing-impaired older people. (3) Both subjective aging (psychosocial loss, ß = 0.260, T = 6.036; self-efficacy, ß = 0.106, T = 3.15) and social isolation (ß = 0.268, T = 6.307) significantly affect depressive symptoms in older people with hearing impairment. This study expands the theories of social media aging cognition, social support, and social networks and can provide practical contributions to the social media use and mental health of special persons 60 years and older.