A Nanocapsule System Combats Aging by Inhibiting Age-Related Angiogenesis Deficiency and Glucolipid Metabolism Disorders.

Insufficient angiogenic stimulation and dysregulated glycolipid metabolism in senescent vascular endothelial cells (VECs) constitute crucial features of vascular aging. Concomitantly, the generation of excess senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP) and active immune-inflammatory responses propagates within injured vessels, tissues, and organs. Until now, targeted therapies that efficiently rectify phenotypic abnormalities in senescent VECs have still been lacking. Here, we constructed a Pd/hCeO2-BMS309403@platelet membrane (PCBP) nanoheterostructured capsule system loaded with fatty acid-binding protein 4 (FABP4) inhibitors and modified with platelet membranes and investigated its therapeutic role in aged mice. PCBP showed significant maintenance in aged organs and demonstrated excellent biocompatibility. Through cyclic tail vein administration, PCBP extended the lifespan and steadily ameliorated abnormal phenotypes in aged mice, including SASP production, immune and inflammatory status, and age-related metabolic disorders. In senescent ECs, PCBP mediated the activation of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) signaling and glycolysis and inhibition of FABP4 by inducing the synthesis of hypoxia-inducible factor-1α, thereby reawakening neovascularization and restoring glycolipid metabolic homeostasis. In conclusion, the PCBP nanocapsule system provides a promising avenue for interventions against aging-induced dysfunction.

Sex Differences in Alterations of Brain Functional Network in Tobacco Use Disorder.

INTRODUCTION: Many studies have found sex differences in alterations of brain function in cigarette-smoking adults from the perspective of functional activity or connectivity. However, no studies have systematically found different alteration patterns in brain functional topology of cigarette-smoking men and women from three perspectives: nodal and network efficiency and modular connections. AIMS AND METHODS: Fifty-six tobacco use disorder (TUD) participants (25 women) and 66 non-TUD participants (28 women) underwent a resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging scan. The whole-brain functional networks were constructed, and a two-way analysis of covariance with false discovery rate correction (q < 0.05) was performed to investigate whether men and women TUD participants had different alterations in the topological features at global, modular, and nodal levels. RESULTS: Compared to non-TUD participants, men but not women TUD participants showed significantly lower global efficiency (lower intermodular connections between the visual and executive control and between the visual and subcortical modules did not pass the correction) and significantly lower nodal global efficiency in the right superior occipital gyrus, bilateral fusiform gyrus, the right pallidum, right putamen, the bilateral paracentral lobule, the postcentral gyrus, and lower nodal local efficiency in the left paracentral lobule. CONCLUSIONS: Men and women TUD participants have different topological properties of brain functional network, which may contribute to our understanding of neural mechanisms underlying sex differences in TUD. IMPLICATIONS: Compared to non-TUD participants, we found men but not women TUD participants with significantly lower network metrics at global, modular, and nodal levels, which could improve our understanding of neural mechanisms underlying sex differences in TUD and lay a solid foundation for future sex-based TUD prevention and treatment.

Interaction effects between smoking and internet gaming disorder on resting-state functional connectivity of the ventral tegmental area and hippocampus.

Background: Many reports have focused on cigarette smoking and internet gaming disorder (IGD), with widespread alterations of resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC) in the reward and memory circuits, respectively. Epidemiological studies have also shown high comorbidity of cigarette smoking and IGD. However, the underlying mechanisms are still unknown. Therefore, this study investigates the comorbidity and interaction effects between smoking and IGD from the rsFC perspective. Methods: Resting-state functional magnetic imaging data were collected from 60 healthy controls (HC), 46 smokers, 38 IGD individuals, and 34 IGD comorbid with smoking (IGDsm) participants. Voxel-wise rsFC maps were calculated for all subjects with the ventral tegmental area, rostral hippocampus, and caudal hippocampus as regions of interest, respectively. Results: Significant interaction effects between smoking and IGD were mainly involved in the reward and memory circuits; that is, the rsFC between the ventral tegmental area and right nucleus accumbens, between the rostral hippocampus and bilateral nucleus accumbens, sensorimotor areas, and left middle temporal gyrus. Specifically, in these circuits, smokers showed decreased rsFC compared to the HC group, while IGDsm showed increased rsFC compared to smokers and IGD individuals. The IGDsm and HC groups showed no significant difference. The altered rsFC also correlated with clinical measures. Conclusion: These findings indicate that lower rsFC in smokers or IGD individuals increases under the effect of another type of addiction, such as smoking and IGD, but only increases to the normal state, which might explain the comorbidity and interaction between smoking and IGD from the perspective of functional circuits.

Combinatorial transcriptomics and metabolomics analysis reveals the effects of the harvesting stages on the accumulation of phenylpropanoid metabolites in Lonicera japonica.

The flower buds of Lonicera japonica are widely used for its high medicinal value. It is reported that the accumulation of phenylpropanoids in the buds of L. japonica is affected by the stage at which it is harvested. However, the changes of active components and the underlying mechanisms in flower buds at different harvesting stages have not been reported. Integrative analyses of transcriptomics and metabolomics was used to explore the underlying mechanism of harvesting stages (green bud, GB; and white bud, WB) on the phenylpropanoids metabolites accumulation in L. japonica . The result showed that 3735 differentially expressed genes were identified, and the genes related to glycolysis/gluconeogenesis and phenylalanine biosynthesis pathway were significantly upregulated in GB stage. A total of 510 differential metabolites were identified in GB stage. Among them, 14 phenylpropanoids were changed during the GB and WB, seven of which increased in GB, including caffeic acid, sauchinone, coniferin, secoisolariciresinol diglucoside, scopolin, methyl cinnamate, chlorogenic acid, 7-hydroxycoumarin, while others such as sibiricose A6, coumarin, eleutheroside E decreased. Further correlation analysis showed that the unigenes for CSE, CAD, bg1, ADH, ALDH, DLAT and ENO significantly correlated with the 10 phenylpropanoid. The above results would provide basic data for the selection of harvesting stages in the production of L. japonica .

Reciprocal modulation between cigarette smoking and internet gaming disorder on participation coefficient within functional brain networks.

Many reports indicated that cigarette smoking was associated with internet gaming disorder (IGD). However, the underlying mechanism of comorbidity between smoking and IGD and whether they had interaction effects on topological organization of brain functional network are still unknown. Therefore, we investigated the interaction between smoking and IGD in resting-state brain functional networks for 60 healthy controls, 46 smokers, 38 IGD individuals and 34 IGD comorbid with smoking participants. The modular structures of functional networks were explored and participation coefficient (Pc) was used to characterize the importance of each brain region in the communication between modules. Significant main effect of IGD was found in the left superior frontal gyrus, bilateral medial part of superior frontal gyrus and bilateral posterior cingulate gyrus with lower Pc in IGD group than in non-IGD group. Significant interaction effects between smoking and IGD were found in the left posterior orbital gyrus, right lateral orbital gyrus, left supramarginal gyrus, left middle temporal gyrus and left inferior temporal gyrus. The interaction in these brain regions was characterized by no significant difference or significantly decreased Pc in smokers or IGD individuals while significantly increased Pc in IGD comorbid with smoking group under the influence of IGD or smoking. Our findings provide valuable information underlying the neurophysiological mechanisms of smoking and IGD, and also offer a potential target for future clinical treatment of smoking and IGD comorbidity.

Sex-Dependent Alterations of Regional Homogeneity in Cigarette Smokers.

Biological sex may play a large role in cigarette use and cessation outcomes and neuroimaging studies have demonstrated that cigarette smoking is associated with sex-related differences in brain structure and function. However, less is known about sex-specific alterations in spontaneous brain activity in cigarette smokers. In this study, we investigated the sex-related effects of cigarette smoking on local spontaneous brain activity using regional homogeneity (ReHo) based on resting-state fMRI. Fifty-six smokers (24 females) and sixty-three (25 females) healthy non-smoking controls were recruited. Whole-brain voxelwise 2-way analysis of covariance of ReHo was performed to detect brain regions with sex-dependent alterations on the spontaneous brain activity. Compared to non-smokers, smokers exhibited significant ReHo differences in several brain regions, including the right medial orbitofrontal cortex extended to the ventral striatum/amygdala/parahippocampus, left precuneus, and bilateral cerebellum crus. Smoking and sex interaction analysis revealed that male smokers showed significantly lower ReHo in the right ventral striatum, left cerebellum crus1, and left fusiform gyrus compared to male non-smokers, whereas there are no significant differences between female smokers and non-smokers. Furthermore, the ReHo within the left cerebellum crus1 was negatively correlated with craving scores in male smokers but not in female smokers. Such sex-dependent differences in spontaneous brain activity lays a foundation for further understanding the neural pathophysiology of sex-specific effects of nicotine addiction and promoting more effective health management of quitting smoking.

Decline of anterior cingulate functional network efficiency in first-episode, medication-naïve somatic symptom disorder and its relationship with catastrophizing.

The high prevalence of somatic symptom disorder (SSD) led to cumulative burdens to the medical system. However, the pathogenesis of this disease still remains unclear. Graph theoretical analysis discovered altered network topology across various psychiatric disorders, yet alteration in the topological structure of brain functional network in SSD patients is still unexplored. Catastrophizing is a common cognitive distortion in SSD. We hypothesize that the network topological metrics of SSD should be altered, and should correlate with catastrophizing scales. 32 medication-naïve, first-episode SSD patients and 30 age, gender matched HCs were recruited. The 17-item Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAMD-17), Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (HAMA) and Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (CERQ) were accessed. Functional MRI were scanned and brain functional networks were constructed based on 166 anatomically cerebrum regions from the automated anatomical labeling 3 (AAL3) template. Network topological metrics were calculated and compared between the two groups. Correlation between these metrics and clinical scales were also calculated. Network global efficiency of SSD was significantly lower than that of HC. Nodal global efficiency of the left subgenual anterior cingulate cortex (sgACC) of SSD was significantly lower than that of HC. FCs between the left sgACC and other 21 seed nodes were significantly declined in SSD in comparison with HC. In SSD group, HAMD total score was significantly negatively correlated with the connection between the left medial superior frontal gyrus and the left sgACC. CERQ catastrophizing score was significantly negatively correlated with nodal global efficiency of left sgACC and with the FCs between the left sgACC and other 13 seed nodes. Catastrophizing could reflect the specific sgACC-centered dysfunction of brain network global efficiency of SSD. The left sgACC may be a future treatment target of dealing with catastrophizing, which is a core cognitive distortion of SSD.

Proteomic reveals the influences of smoke-water and karrikinolide on the biosynthesis of salvianolic acids and lignins in Salvia miltiorrhiza hairy roots.

MAIN CONCLUSION: The proteins related to the biosynthesis of salvianolic acids and lignins were regulated by smoke-water and karrikinolide in Salvia miltiorrhiza hairy roots. The effects of smoke-water (SW) and karrikinolide (KAR1) on the biosynthesis of salvianolic acids and lignins in Salvia miltiorrhiza hairy roots have been studied using proteomic technology. The results showed that a total of 1290 and 1678 differentially expressed proteins were respectively obtained in SW and KAR1 comparing to the control. Bioinformatics analysis indicated the differentially expressed proteins responding to SW and KAR1 treatments mainly involved in macromolecule metabolic process, cell part, binding, etc., and most of the proteins were located at the cytoplasm and cell membrane, followed by nuclear. In addition, the proteins involved in salvianolic acids biosynthesis were up-regulated, including 4-coumarate-CoA ligase (EC 6.2.1.12) and shikimate O-hydroxycinnamoyl-transferase (EC 2.3.1.133). Enzymes involved in lignins biosynthesis were also identified, e.g. cinnamyl-alcohol dehydrogenase (EC 1.1.1.195) and peroxidase (EC 1.11.1.7). The results indicated that proteins related to the biosynthesis of salvianolic acids and lignins were regulated by SW and KAR1 in S. miltiorrhiza hairy roots. This study will enhance our understanding of the mechanism by which SW and KAR1 on the biosynthesis of salvianolic acids and lignins in S. miltiorrhiza hairy roots.

Gray Matter Density of the Dorsomedial Prefrontal Cortex Mediates the Relationship Between Catastrophizing and Anxiety in Somatic Symptom Disorder.

OBJECTIVE: Catastrophizing is commonly co-occurrence with anxiety in somatic symptom disorder (SSD). However, the quantitative relationship between catastrophizing and anxiety in SSD and its underlying neuropsychopathology remains unclear. METHODS: To address the issue, twenty-eight SSD patients and twenty-nine healthy controls (HCs) completed the Hamilton anxiety scale and the catastrophizing subscale of the cognitive emotion regulation questionnaire. Then they underwent structural magnetic resonance imaging and voxel-based morphometry analysis was performed to obtain gray matter density (GMD) of the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (dmPFC). RESULTS: Independent samples t-tests showed no significance between SSD patients and HCs in the scores on the catastrophizing subscale and GMD of the dmPFC. However, correlation analysis found that catastrophizing was significantly positively associated with anxiety in SSD. Further, mediation analyses revealed that GMD of the dmPFC (bilateral medial Brodmann area 8) mediated the relationship between catastrophizing and anxiety in SSD. CONCLUSION: These findings support Kirmayer's disease model of SSD that catastrophic interpretations of somatic symptoms resulted in increased anxiety and demonstrate that the dmPFC may be a potential neural site linking catastrophizing and anxiety in SSD.

MRI-Based Radiomic Machine-Learning Model May Accurately Distinguish between Subjects with Internet Gaming Disorder and Healthy Controls.

Purpose To identify cerebral radiomic features related to the diagnosis of Internet gaming disorder (IGD) and construct a radiomics-based machine-learning model for IGD diagnosis. Methods A total of 59 treatment-naïve subjects with IGD and 69 age- and sex-matched healthy controls (HCs) were recruited and underwent anatomic and diffusion-tensor magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The features of the morphometric properties of gray matter and diffusion properties of white matter were extracted for each participant. After excluding the noise feature with single-factor analysis of variance, the remaining 179 features were included in an all-relevant feature selection procedure within cross-validation loops to identify features with significant discriminative power. Random forest classifiers were constructed and evaluated based on the identified features. Results No overall differences in the total brain volume (1,555,295.64 ± 152,316.31 mm3 vs. 154,491.19 ± 151,241.11 mm3), total gray (709,119.83 ± 59,534.46 mm3 vs. 751,018.21 ± 58,611.32 mm3) and white (465,054.49 ± 51,862.65 mm3 vs. 470,600.22 ± 47,006.67 mm3) matter volumes, and subcortical region volume (63,882.71 ± 5110.42 mm3 vs. 64,764.36 ± 4332.33 mm3) between the IGD and HC groups were observed. The mean classification accuracy was 73%. An altered cortical shape in the bilateral fusiform, left rostral middle frontal (rMFG), left cuneus, left parsopercularis (IFG), and regions around the right uncinate fasciculus (UF) and left internal capsule (IC) contributed significantly to group discrimination. Conclusions: Our study found the brain morphology alterations between IGD subjects and HCs through a radiomics-based machine-learning method, which may help revealing underlying IGD-related neurobiology mechanisms.

Sex-specific effects of cigarette smoking on caudate and amygdala volume and resting-state functional connectivity.

Recent studies have demonstrated sex-specific differences in etiology, course and brain dysfunction that are associated with cigarette smoking. However, little is known about sex-specific differences in subcortical structure and function. In this study, structural and resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data were collected from 60 cigarette smokers (25 females) and 67 nonsmokers (28 females). The structural MRI was applied to identify deficits in sex-specific subcortical volume. Using resting-state fMRI, sex-related alterations in resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC) were investigated in subcortical nuclei with volume deficits as seed regions. Compared to nonsmokers, male but not female smokers demonstrated a significantly smaller volume in the left caudate, while female but not male smokers showed a smaller volume in the right amygdala. Resting-state FC analysis revealed that male but not female smokers had increased rsFC between the left caudate and the left prefrontal cortex but decreased rsFC within the bilateral caudate and between the right amygdala and right orbitofrontal cortex (OFC). Furthermore, the right amygdala volume was negatively correlated with the impulsivity score in female but not male smokers. The rsFC of the right amygdala-OFC circuit was negatively associated with the craving score in male but not female smokers. These findings indicate that cigarette smoking may have differential effects on the caudate and amygdala volumes as well as rsFC between men and women, contributing to our knowledge of sex-specific effects of nicotine addiction. Such sex-specific differences in subcortical structure and function may provide a methodological framework for the development of sex-specific relapse prevention therapies.

Interaction Between Smoking and Internet Gaming Disorder on Spontaneous Brain Activity.

Converging lines of evidence indicates that smoking and internet gaming disorder (IGD) affect spontaneous brain activity, respectively. However, little is known about whether these two factors work together on the human brain. In this study, we investigated the interaction between smoking and IGD on local spontaneous brain activity using amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation (ALFF) based on resting-state fMRI (rs-fMRI). Forty-six cigarette smokers, 38 IGD individuals, 34 participants with both IGD and cigarette smoking (IGD-Smoking), and 60 healthy individuals involved in the study. Voxel-wise analysis of covariance of ALFF revealed that there were significant interactions between IGD by smoking in the right medial pre-frontal cortex (MPFC)/ventral striatum, bilateral cerebellar, and visual-related regions as well as the left temporal gyrus. In the right MPFC/ventral striatum and left temporal gyrus, ALFF in smoking group was significantly higher than healthy group while there were no significant ALFF differences between IGD-Smoking group and IGD group. While in the bilateral cerebellar and visual-related regions, ALFF in the smoking group was significantly lower than healthy group while ALFF in IGD-Smoking group did not show significant difference with IGD group. In addition, in the smoking group, ALFF of the right MPFC/ventral striatum was associated positively with anxiety and depression scores while the ALFF value in the smoking group had a trend toward negative correlation with SDS scores in the bilateral cerebellar and visual-related regions. The ALFF value in the smoking group was associated positively with anxiety score in the left temporal gyrus. These findings indicate that smoking and IGD interacted with each other in the human brain. Our results, in terms of spontaneous brain activity, may imply the fact that IGD people are more tended to get smoking. Moreover, it is possible to predict that smokers may be more easily to get internet addiction than healthy people.

[Preliminary investigation on arbuscular mycorrhiza fungi of cultivated Panax quinquefolium roots].

In this study, the infection of root arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi(arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi, AMF of Panax quinquefolium in Shandong province was investigated, and the distribution characteristics and infection regularity of AMF were found out. The AMF of P. quinquefolium roots in different habitats was examined by alkali dissociation-trypickin blue staining method to study the infection rate and infection intensity. The contents of ginsenoside(Rb_1, Re, Rg_1, Rb_2, Rd and Rh_1) in the roots of P. quinquefolium was determined by HPLC. The experimental data were SPSS 17.0 statistical software for One-way analysis of variance, cluster analysis and correlation analysis. The results showed that the AMF infection in roots of P. quinquefolium, and there were obvious structures such as hyphae, arbuscular branches and vesicles, and the AMF infection rate and infection intensity showed obvious spatial and temporal heterogeneity with the growth age and origin of P. quinquefolium. The infection rate of AMF in roots of P. quinquefolium from 1 to 3 years increased significantly with the increase of growth years(P<0.05). The infection intensity and infection rate of P. quinquefolium showed a similar change trend, the AMF infection rate and infection intensity reached the highest level in the third year. Cluster analysis showed that the infection rates of roots of P. quinquefolium in similar geographical locations could be clustered together. Correlation analysis showed that the AMF infection rate of P. quinquefolium root was significantly positively correlated with the infection intensity, and the AMF infection rate and infection intensity were significantly positively correlated with the contents of ginsenoside Rg_1, Re and Rb_1. This study explored the distribution characteristics and regularity of AMF in roots of P. quinquefolium under the protected cultivation conditions, and provided basic data for ecological cultivation of P. quinquefolium and research and development of biological bacterial fertilizer.

Characterizing the Penumbras of White Matter Hyperintensities and Their Associations With Cognitive Function in Patients With Subcortical Vascular Mild Cognitive Impairment.

Normal-appearing white matter (NAWM) surrounding white matter hyperintensities (WMHs), frequently known as the WMH penumbra, is associated with subtle white matter injury and has a high risk for future conversion to WMHs. The goal of this study was to define WMH penumbras and to further explore whether the diffusion and perfusion parameters of these penumbras could better reflect cognitive function alterations than WMHs in subjects with subcortical vascular mild cognitive impairment (svMCI). Seventy-three svMCI subjects underwent neuropsychological assessments and 3T MRI scans, including diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and arterial spin labeling (ASL). To determine the extent of cerebral blood flow (CBF) and DTI penumbras. A NAWM layer mask was generated for periventricular WMHs (PVWMHs) and deep WMHs (DWMHs) separately. Mean values of CBF, fractional anisotropy (FA), mean diffusivity (MD) within the WMHs and their corresponding NAWM layer masks were computed and compared using paired t-tests. Pearson's partial correlations were used to assess the relations of the mean CBF, FA, and MD values within the corresponding penumbras with composite z-scores of global cognition and four cognitive domains controlling for age, sex, and education. For both PVWMHs and DWMHs, the CBF penumbras were wider than the DTI penumbras. Only the mean FA value of the PVWMH-FA penumbra was correlated with the composite z-scores of global cognition before correction (r = 0.268, p = 0.024), but that correlation did not survive after correcting the p-value for multiple comparisons. Our findings showed extensive white matter perfusion disturbances including white matter tissue, both with and without microstructural alterations. The imaging parameters investigated, however, did not correlate to cognition.

Sex differences in resting-state cerebral activity alterations in internet gaming disorder.

Although evidence has shown that the prevalence rates of Internet gaming disorder (IGD) differ between males and females, few studies have examined whether such sex differences extend to brain function. This study aimed to explore the sex differences in resting-state cerebral activity alterations in IGD. Thirty male participants with IGD (IGDm), 23 female participants with IGD (IGDf), and 30 male and 22 female age-matched healthy controls (HC) underwent resting-state functional MRI. Maps of the amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation (ALFF) and functional connectivity (FC) were constructed. A two-factor ANCOVA model was performed, with sex and diagnosis as the between-subject factors. Then, post hoc pair-wise comparisons were performed using two-sample t-tests within the interaction masks. The Barratt Impulsiveness Scale-11 (BIS-11) was used to assess the behavioral inhibition function. We found that the ALFF values in the orbital part of the left superior frontal gyrus (SFG) were lower in IGDm than in HCm, which were negatively correlated with BIS-11 scores. IGDm also demonstrated lower connectivity between the orbital part of the left SFG and the posterior cingulate cortex (PCC), the right angular gyrus, and the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex than HCm. Furthermore, IGDm had lower seed connectivity between the orbital part of the left SFG and the PCC than ICDf. Our findings suggest that (1) the altered ALFF values in the orbital part of the left SFG represent a clinically relevant biomarker for the behavioral inhibition function of IGDm; (2) IGD may interact with sex-specific patterns of FC in male and female subjects.

Brain T1ρ mapping for grading and IDH1 gene mutation detection of gliomas: a preliminary study.

INTRODUCTION: The longitudinal relaxation time in the rotating frame (T1ρ) has proved to be sensitive to metabolism and useful in application to neurodegenerative diseases. However, few literature exists on its utility in gliomas. Thus, this study was conducted to explore the performance of T1ρ mapping in tumor grading and characterization of isocitrate dehydrogenase 1 (IDH1) gene mutation status of gliomas. METHODS: Fifty-seven patients with gliomas underwent brain MRI and quantitative measurements of T1ρ and apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) were recorded. Parameters were compared between high-grade gliomas (HGG) and low-grade gliomas (LGG) and between IDH1 mutant and wildtype groups. RESULTS: HGG showed significantly higher T1ρ values in both the solid and peritumoral edema areas compared with LGG (P < 0.001 and P = 0.005, respectively), whereas no significant differences in the two areas were found for ADC (both P > 0.05). Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis showed that T1ρ value in the solid area achieved the highest area under the ROC curve (AUC, 0.841) in grading with a sensitivity of 80.6% and a specificity of 81.0%. In the grade II/III glioma group, multivariate logistic regression showed that both tumor frontal lobe location (odds ratio [OR] 526.608; P = 0.045) and T1ρ value of the peritumoral edema area (OR 0.863; P = 0.037) were significant predictors of IDH1 mutation. Using the combination, the diagnostic sensitivity and specificity for IDH1 mutated gliomas were 93.3% and 88.9%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Our study shows the feasibility of applying T1ρ mapping in assessing the histologic grade and IDH1 mutation status of gliomas.

Resting-State Activity of Prefrontal-Striatal Circuits in Internet Gaming Disorder: Changes With Cognitive Behavior Therapy and Predictors of Treatment Response.

Cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) is effective for the treatment of Internet gaming disorder (IGD). However, the mechanisms by which CBT improves IGD-related clinical symptoms remain unknown. This study aimed to discover the therapeutic mechanism of CBT in IGD subjects using resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rsfMRI). Twenty-six IGD subjects and 30 matched healthy controls (HCs) received rsfMRI scan and clinical assessments; 20 IGD subjects completed CBT and then were scanned again. The amplitude of low-frequency (ALFF) values and the functional connectivity (FC) between the IGD group and the HC group were compared at baseline, as well as the ALFF values and FC before and after the CBT in the IGD group. Prior to treatment, the IGD group exhibited significantly increased ALFF values in the bilateral putamen, the right medial orbitofrontal cortex (OFC), the bilateral supplementary motor area (SMA), the left postcentral gyrus, and the left anterior cingulate (ACC) compared with the HC group. The HC group showed significantly increased FC values between the left medial OFC and the putamen compared with the IGD group, the FC values of IGD group were negatively associated with the BIS-11 scores before treatment. After the CBT, the weekly gaming time was significantly shorter, and the CIAS and BIS-II scores were significantly lower. The ALFF values in the IGD subjects significantly decreased in the left superior OFC and the left putamen, and the FC between them significantly increased after the CBT. The degree of the FC changes (ΔFC/Pre-FC) was positively correlated with the scale of the CIAS scores changes (ΔCIAS/Pre-CIAS) in the IGD subjects. CBT could regulate the abnormal low-frequency fluctuations in prefrontal-striatal regions in IGD subjects and could improve IGD-related symptoms. Resting-state alternations in prefrontal-striatal regions may reveal the therapeutic mechanism of CBT in IGD subjects.

Alterations of Resting-State Static and Dynamic Functional Connectivity of the Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortex in Subjects with Internet Gaming Disorder.

Internet gaming disorder (IGD), a major behavior disorder, has gained increasing attention. Recent studies indicate altered resting-state static functional connectivity (FC) of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) in subjects with IGD. Whereas static FC often provides information on functional changes in subjects with IGD, investigations of temporal changes in FC between the DLPFC and the other brain regions may shed light on the dynamic characteristics of brain function associated with IGD. Thirty subjects with IGD and 30 healthy controls (HCs) matched for age, gender and education status were recruited. Using the bilateral DLPFC as seeds, static FC and dynamic FC maps were calculated and compared between groups. Correlations between alterations in static FC and dynamic FC and clinical variables were also investigated within the IGD group. The IGD group showed significantly lower static FC between the right DLPFC and the left rolandic operculum while higher static FC between the right DLPFC and the left pars triangularis when compared to HCs. The IGD group also had significantly decreased dynamic FC between the right DLPFC and the left insula, right putamen and left precentral gyrus, and increased dynamic FC in the left precuneus. Moreover, the dynamic FC between the right DLPFC and the left insula was negatively correlated with the severity of IGD. Dynamic FC can be used as a powerful supplement to static FC, helping us obtain a more comprehensive understanding of large-scale brain network activity in IGD and put forward new ideas for behavioral intervention therapy for it.

Difference in the functional connectivity of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex between smokers with nicotine dependence and individuals with internet gaming disorder.

BACKGROUND: It has been reported that internet gaming disorder (IGD) and smokers with nicotine dependence (SND) share clinical characteristics, such as over-engagement despite negative consequences and cravings. This study is to investigate the alterations in the resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC) of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) observed in SND and IGD. In this study, 27 IGD, 29 SND, and 33 healthy controls (HC) underwent a resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) scan. DLPFC connectivity was determined in all participates by investigating the synchronized low-frequency fMRI signal fluctuations using a temporal seed-based correlation method. RESULTS: Compared with the HC group, the IGD and SND groups showed decreased rsFC with DLPFC in the right insula and left inferior frontal gyrus with DLPFC. Compared with SND group, the IGD subjects exhibited increased rsFC in the left inferior temporal gyrus and right inferior orbital frontal gyrus and decreased rsFC in the right middle occipital gyrus, supramarginal gyrus, and cuneus with DLPFC. CONCLUSION: Our results confirmed that SND and IGD share similar neural mechanisms related to craving and impulsive inhibitions. The significant difference in rsFC with DLPFC between the IGD and SND subjects may be attributed to the visual and auditory stimulation generated by long-term internet gaming.

Synthesis of 6-hydroxyaurone analogues and evaluation of their α-glucosidase inhibitory and glucose consumption-promoting activity: Development of highly active 5,6-disubstituted derivatives.

A series of 6-hydroxyaurones and their analogues have been synthesized and evaluated for their in vitro α-glucosidase inhibitory and glucose consumption-promoting activity. These compounds exhibited varying degrees of α-glucosidase inhibitory activity, 11 of them showing higher potency than that of the control standard acarbose (IC50=50.30µM). Surprisingly, analogues devoid of a substituent at C-2 but having an aryl group at C-5 were found to be highly active (e.g., 7f, IC50=9.88µM). Docking analysis substantiated these findings. The kinetic analysis of compound 7f, the most potent α-glucosidase inhibitor of this study, revealed that it inhibited α-glucosidase in an irreversible and mixed competitive mode. In addition, compounds 7f and 10c exhibited significant glucose consumption promoting activity at 1µM.