Taxonomy, biological characterization and fungicide sensitivity assays of Hypomyces cornea sp. nov. causing cobweb disease on Auricularia cornea.

Auricularia cornea is an important edible mushroom crop in China but the occurrence of cobweb disease has cause significance economic loss in its production. The rate of disease occurrence is 16.65% all over the country. In the present study, a new pathogen Hypomyces cornea sp. nov. was found to cause the cobweb disease. In July 2021, three strains of fungal pathogen were isolated from infected fruiting bodies and identified as H. cornea based on morphological studies and molecular phylogenetic analysis of internal transcribed spacer (ITS) of nuclear ribosomal DNA, mitochondrial large subunit (LSU) of rRNA and the partial translation elongation factor 1-alpha genes. The representative isolates of the pathogenic Hypomyces species used to perform pathogenicity test with spore suspension that caused similar symptoms as those observed in the cultivated field, and same pathogens could be re-isolated, which fulfill Koch's postulates. The typical biological characterization was examined of the serious pathogen to determine its favorable growth conditions, including suitable temperature, pH, carbon, nitrogen sources and light conditions. The findings revealed an optimum temperature of 25 °C, pH of 6, and soluble starch and peptone as the preferred carbon and nitrogen sources, respectively. The hyphal growth inhibition method was used for primary in vitro screening test of seven common fungicides, and the most suitable fungicide is Prochloraz manganese chloride complex, the EC50 values of cobweb pathogen and mushrooms were 0.085 µg/mL and 2.452 µg/mL, respectively. The results of our research provide an evidence-based basis for the effective prevention and treatment of A. cornea cobweb disease.

First report of cobweb disease in Auricularia cornea caused by Hypomyces mycophilus in Guizhou, China.

Auricularia cornea is a widely cultivated mushroom in China, which has high medicinal values such as hemostaticity, analgesia, antioxidation and anti-tumor (Wu et al., 2019). In 2022, an investigation on edible mushroom diseases in Guizhou Province observed a suspected cobweb disease in an A. cornea growing factory, with up to 30% incidence. The pathogen first produced flocculent hyphae on the surface of the fruiting body of A. cornea, and then developed spider web-like aerial hyphae, covering the entire fruiting bodies. It hinders the normal growth of A. cornea, resulting in deformity and rot of the fruiting bodies. These symptoms seriously affect the quantity and quality of mushroom yields and cause huge economic losses. Three fungal isolates (GUCCX001, GUCCX002 and GUCCX003) were recovered from the diseased mushroom fruiting bodies and purified through single spore isolation. The colonies of three isolates spread rapidly on PDA, reaching 79-82 mm in seven days. The flocculent mycelium was whitish, and its reverse turned from yellowish to amber after 14 days. The branched conidiophores arising from aerial mycelia were septate and each cell contained several denticulate conidiogenous loci. Each denticle contained a single conidium. Conidia were observed at the tip of conidiophore branches and were 0-1-septate, oval or spherical, transparent, 5.2-11.3 × 11.7-18.7 µm (n = 35). Chlamydospores were visible as 3-4 thick-walled cells at the tip of lateral hyphal branches. Three isolates were tentatively identified as H. mycophilus based on their morphological characteristics similar to those described by Rogerson and Samuels (1993). The sequence of internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region (primers ITS5/ITS4) (Rehner and Samuels, 1994) and nuclear ribosomal large subunit (LSU) region (primers LR0R/LR5) (Vilgalys and Heste, 1990) of GUCCX001 (ITS: OP777905; LSU: OQ152071), GUCCX002 (ITS: OP862872; LSU: OQ152072) and GUCCX003 (ITS: OP862873; LSU: OP862873) were 99%-100% similar to H. mycophilus CBS 175.56 (ITS: MH857567; LSU: MH869110). Fifteen healthy fruiting bodies of A. cornea were inoculated by spraying spore suspension (106 conidia/mL) of the three isolates and five healthy fruiting bodies were sprayed with sterile water as control. All inoculated fruiting bodies were kept at 25 ℃. After three days, fruiting bodies of A. cornea treated with the spore suspension exhibited the same symptoms of cobweb as in the factory, while no symptom appeared in the control. Pathogens re-isolated from diseased fruiting bodies were confirmed to be H. mycophilus based on morphological characteristics, which fulfills the Koch's postulate. Zeng et al. (2017) reported H. mycophilus on the fruiting bodies of Auricularia sp. as a new record in Guangdong, China. H. mycophilus caused cobweb disease on A. auricula (Liu et al., 2020), A. cornea var. Li. (Cao et al., 2023) and A. heimuer (Zhang et al., 2023). To our knowledge, this is the first report of cobweb disease in A. cornea caused by H. mycophilus in Guizhou, China. Our findings will provide a basis for correct diagnosis and management of cobweb diseases on A. cornea.

High-Performance Broadband Bistatic Piezoelectric Composite Array for Application in Ship Wake Detection.

In the far-field wake of a ship, the intensity of the scattering of bubbles is relatively weak. In addition, the wake is relatively thin, and the hole phenomenon is prominent. Thus, it is difficult to detect the wake at a long distance. On this basis, this paper studies a broadband 1-3 high-performance composite transceiver sub-array for the improved detection of a ship's far wake flow field. The content includes frequency characteristics, transmission performance, power tolerance, the beam width of the transmitting array, and the frequency characteristics, reception performance, and beam width of the receiving array. The frequency bandwidth of the transmission array developed in this paper can reach a value of 180 kHz (the center frequency is 390 kHz). The maximum sound source level can reach a value of 228 dB. In the same frequency band, the sensitivity of the receiving array can reach a value of 184 dB, and the fluctuation is less than 5 dB. Compared with the narrowband 1-3 composite array of the same size, the acoustic performance of this sub-array has obvious advantages. Finally, to improve the effective sound path (before the first interface reflection of the sound wave) of the emitted sound wave in the ship's far-field wake, combined with the speed of the moving carrier and the wide-band detection method of the ship's wake, the configuration method of the detection array for the width and direction of the ship's far-field wake is proposed. The results of this research have an important reference value for the research on broadband 1-3 high-performance composite arrays and their application in the far-field wake detection of ships.

One-Step Reverse-Transcription Loop-Mediated Isothermal Amplification (RT-LAMP) Assay for the Detection of Canna Yellow Streak Virus.

Canna yellow streak virus (CaYSV) is a potyvirus that causes severe damage to the ornamental plant canna in the United Kingdom and Brazil. Here, we identified CaYSV in China by isolating total RNA from an infected plant, amplifying the virus genome segments, and cloning and sequencing the amplicons. After assembly, the full-length genome of the virus was obtained and uploaded to the NCBI database. Phylogenetic analysis results showed that the Guizhou isolate (OL546222) was most closely related to the KS isolate (MG545919.1). Virus detection is essential for virus disease control but the subclinical infection of CaYSV on canna in its early development increases the difficulty of CaYSV diagnosis. The goal of this study was to develop an efficient method for detection of CaYSV. We designed the primers, optimized the reaction conditions, and finally established a one-step reverse-transcription loop-mediated isothermal amplification (RT-LAMP) method. The product of RT-LAMP can be analyzed by both agarose gel electrophoresis and visible color change. The established one-step RT-LAMP assay showed high specificity and sensitivity in detecting CaYSV. This RT-LAMP method was also applied in analysis of 61 field samples collected from Guizhou and Jiangsu Provinces. The results showed that the infection rates of CaYSV on canna samples from these two provinces were very high (63 and 96% respectively).

Comparative transcriptome and WGCNA reveal key genes involved in lignocellulose degradation in Sarcomyxa edulis.

The developmental transcriptomes of Sarcomyxa edulis were assessed to explore the molecular mechanisms underlying lignocellulose degradation. Six stages were analyzed, spanning the entire developmental process: growth of mycelium until occupying half the bag (B1), mycelium under low-temperature stimulation after occupying the entire bag (B2), appearance of mycelium in primordia (B3), primordia (B4), mycelium at the harvest stage (B5), and mature fruiting body (B6). Samples from all six developmental stages were used for transcriptome sequencing, with three biological replicates for all experiments. A co-expression network of weighted genes associated with extracellular enzyme physiological traits was constructed using weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA). We obtained 19 gene co-expression modules significantly associated with lignocellulose degradation. In addition, 12 key genes and 8 kinds of TF families involved in lignocellulose degradation pathways were discovered from the four modules that exhibited the highest correlation with the target traits. These results provide new insights that advance our understanding of the molecular genetic mechanisms of lignocellulose degradation in S. edulis to facilitate its utilization by the edible mushroom industry.

Characteristics of paraspinal muscle degeneration in degenerative diseases of the lumbar spine at different ages.

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the relationship between gender, age, and the degree of lumbar degenerative disease. METHODS: 290 patients with Lumbar spinal stenosis and sciatica were analyzed. Sixty patients without sciatica were collected in the control group. Patient demography including age, gender, body mass index (BMI), serum calcium, and triglyceride level was acquired. The cross-sectional area (CSA) and percentage of fat infiltration area (Intermuscular adipose tissue (IMat%) of paraspinal muscles at the L4-5 level were measured using MRI imaging. The patients were divided into five age groups: A (18-30 years old), B (31-40 years old), C (41-50 years old), D (51-60 years old), and E (> 60 years old). Analysis of variance (ANOVA) and LSD was used to analyze differences among subgroups. Student's t-test was used to compare MCSA and fat CSA in the two groups. P < 0.05 was statistically significant. RESULTS: The paraspinal muscle CSA (MCSA) was significantly smaller in women (P < 0.05). Older age was associated with less MCSA and greater fatty infiltration in erector spinae and multifidus (MF) muscle (P < 0.05). Serum calcium and BMI were positively correlated with CSA of erector spinae muscle (P < 0.05), but not with muscle fat infiltration (P > 0.05). Although there was no significant difference in MCSA between the two groups, the fat infiltration (IMat%) in the disease group was significantly higher than in the control group (p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Lumbar degenerative diseases caused the degeneration of the paravertebral muscles, which mainly resulted in increased intramuscular fat infiltration, rather than changes in the overall MCSA.

The OmpR-like Transcription Factor as a Negative Regulator of hrpR/S in Pseudomonas syringae pv. actinidiae.

Bacterial canker of kiwifruit is a devastating disease caused by Pseudomonas syringae pv. actinidiae (Psa). The type III secretion system (T3SS), which translocates effectors into plant cells to subvert plant immunity and promote extracellular bacterial growth, is required for Psa virulence. Despite that the "HrpR/S-HrpL" cascade that sophisticatedly regulates the expression of T3SS and effectors has been well documented, the transcriptional regulators of hrpR/S remain to be determined. In this study, the OmpR-like transcription factor, previously identified by DNA pull-down assay, was found to be involved in the regulation of hrpR/S genes, and its regulatory mechanisms and other functions in Psa were explored through techniques including gene knockout and overexpression, ChIP-seq, and RNA-seq. The OmpR-like transcription factor had binding sites in the promoter region of the hrpR/S, and the transcriptional level of the hrpR/S increased after the deletion of OmpR-like and decreased upon its overexpression in an OmpR-like deletion background. Additionally, OmpR-like overexpression reduced the strain's capacity to form biofilms and lipopolysaccharides, led to its slow growth in King's B medium, and reduced its swimming ability, although there was no significant effect on its pathogenicity against kiwifruit hosts. Our results indicated that OmpR-like directly and negatively regulates the transcription of hrpR/S and may be involved in the regulation of multiple biological processes in Psa. Our results provide a basis for further understanding the transcriptional regulation mechanism of hrpR/S in Psa.

Taxonomy and control of Trichoderma hymenopellicola sp. nov. responsible for the first green mold disease on Hymenopellis raphanipes.

Trichoderma spp. are a group of widespread fungi with important applications in many aspects of human life, but they are also pathogens that cause green mold disease on mushrooms. During a survey of mushroom cultivation in Guizhou, China, five strains of Trichoderma from three different localities were isolated from soil in mushroom bags of Hymenopellis raphanipes. The typical morphology of having gregarious, reddish stromata and gregarious phialides and the results of phylogenetic analyses based on a combined dataset of RPB2, TEF, and ITS gene sequences demonstrated that these green-spored Trichoderma belong to a new taxon, Trichoderma hymenopellicola. Pathogenicity tests by covering fungal mycelial blocks or soil mixed with spore suspension in mushroom bags showed similar symptoms to those in the field, and the same fungal pathogen had been observed and re-isolated from these symptoms, which fulfill Koch's postulates. A primary screening test of nine common fungicides indicated that prochloraz-manganese chloride complex and propiconazole are the top two effective fungicides inhibiting the pathogen, whereas the former was further indicated as a suitable fungicide to control Trichoderma hymenopellicola, with a high inhibition ratio to the pathogen and low toxicity to the mushroom.

Characterization and fungicide sensitivity of Colletotrichum godetiae causing sweet cherry fruit anthracnose in Guizhou, China.

Sweet cherry is an important fruit crop with high economic and ornamental value in China. However, cherry fruit anthracnose, caused by Colletotrichum species, greatly impacts cherry yield and quality. Here, we surveyed cherry anthracnose in Guizhou, China from 2019-2020. Necrotic sweet cherry fruits were collected from different areas in Guizhou and examined. A total of 116 Colletotrichum strains were isolated from these symptomatic fruits. Based on the morphological characteristics of the isolates and phylogenetic analyses of concatenate internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region and ACT, CHS-1, GAPDH, TUB2, and HIS3 genes, the pathogen responsible for causing sweet cherry anthracnose was identified as Colletotrichum godetiae. Pathogenicity tests were conducted by inoculating healthy sweet cherry fruits with spore suspensions of the fungal pathogen, and Koch's postulates were confirmed by pathogen re-isolation and identification. The Q-1 isolate showed different sensitivities to 13 fungicides, exhibiting seven different modes of action, and its EC50 values ranged from 0.04 to 91.26 µg ml-1. According to that, the sensitivity of 20 isolates from different samples to ten fungicides with better performance, were measured. The results showed that 6 of the 10 fungicides (difenoconazole, propiconazole, prochloraz-manganese, pyraclostrobin, trifloxystrobin-tebuconazole, and difenoconazole-azoxystrobin) all showed higher sensitive to the 20\u00B0C. godetiae isolates, and no resistance groups appeared. Its EC50 values ranged from 0.013 to 1.563 µg ml-1. In summary, this is the first report demonstrating that C. godetiae causes sweet cherry anthracnose and the results of this study provide insights into how sweet cherry anthracnose could be effectively controlled in China.

Systematic analysis of changes across different developmental stages of the mushroom Sarcomyxa edulis.

Sarcomyxa edulis is a widely harvested mushroom of Northeastern Asia. Its development can be divided into six stages: growth of mycelium until occupying half the bag (B1), mycelium under low-temperature stimulation after occupying the entire bag (B2), appearance of mycelium in primordia (B3), primordia (B4), mycelium at the harvest stage (B5), and mature fruiting body (B6). Differentially expressed gene (DEG) analysis and weighted gene coexpression network analysis (WGCNA) are important bioinformatic methods for screening key genes. To explore the growth and development mechanisms of the mushroom S. edulis and clarify its genetic background, DEG and WGCNA analyses were combined to screen key genes at different developmental stages. From A1 to A6, respectively, 459, 97, 885, 169, 277, and 712 key genes were identified. Then the Gene Ontology (GO) terms and KEGG pathways of key genes were analyzed, and GO and KEGG analyses were performed on all genes across different periods using GSEA. In summary, the genes in A1 were mainly involved in amino sugar and nucleotide sugar metabolism, structural molecule activity, and oxidative phosphorylation. At the A2 stage, genes were mainly involved in peptidase activity, peroxidase activity, oxidoreductase activity, antioxidant activity, biosynthesis of secondary metabolites, and glycolysis and gluconeogenesis. A3 genes were involved in gene expression, RNA metabolism, spliceosome, RNA transport, and ribosome biogenesis. A4 genes were mainly involved in the biosynthesis of secondary metabolites, proteasome complex, cellular protein complex assembly, actin filament-based processes, oxidative phosphorylation, and carbon metabolism. The A5 stage genes were involved in the carbohydrate metabolic process, polysaccharide metabolic process, and the biosynthesis of secondary metabolites, leucine, isoleucine, and ABC transporters. Finally, A6 genes were mainly involved in the cell cycle, meiosis of yeast, MAPK signaling pathway, cellular response to DNA damage stimulus, DNA metabolic process, DNA replication, and DNA repair. The combination of multiple analyses provides us with an in-depth understanding of the network that regulates mushroom development.

Consistency of children's hemodynamic responses during spontaneous speech.

Significance: Hemodynamic responses (HRs) are typically averaged across experimental sessions based on the assumption that brain activation is consistent over multiple trials. This may not be a safe assumption, especially in pediatric populations, due to unaccounted effects of inattention, fatigue, or habituation. Aim: The purpose of this study was to quantify the consistency of the HR over speech and language brain regions during speech production in typically developing school-aged children. Approach: Brain activity over speech and language regions of interest (ROIs) was recorded with functional near-infrared spectroscopy during a picture description paradigm with 37 children (aged 7 to 12 years). We divided the 30 experimental trials, each 5 s long, into three segments of 10 trials each corresponding with early (trials 1 to 10), middle (trials 11 to 20), and late (trials 21 to 30) trials. We then compared oxygenated (HbO) and deoxygenated (HbR) hemoglobin concentrations averaged across each 10 trial segment to overall concentrations averaged across all 30 trials. We also compared differential hemoglobin (HbD) across ROIs. Results: HbO and HbR averaged across all experimental trials most strongly correlated with HbO and HbR from early trials. HbD values from channels over most speech and language regions did not appreciably change throughout the experimental session. The exception was HbD values from channels over the dorsal inferior frontal gyrus (dIFG). This region showed significantly higher activation over the left hemisphere during the first segment of the experiment. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that brain activity from speech and language ROIs was relatively consistent over the experimental session. The exception was increased activation of left dIFG during earlier experimental trials. We suggest that researchers critically evaluate the consistency of HRs from different brain regions to determine the reliability of HRs recorded during experimental sessions. This step is instrumental in ensuring that uncontrolled effects do not mask patterns of task-related activation.

Enhancing the Nutritional and Functional Properties of Auricularia auricula through the Exploitation of Walnut Branch Waste.

As the third most edible fungus in the world, Auricularia auricular needs a lot of sawdust for cultivation; thus, it is a win-win method to develop waste wood sawdust suitable for black agaric cultivation. This study evaluated the growth, agronomic characters and nutritional quality of A. auricula cultured on different ratios of miscellaneous sawdust and walnut waste wood sawdust, and comprehensively analyzed the feasibility of cultivating black agaric with walnut sawdust using principal component method (PCA). The results showed that the macro mineral elements and phenolic substances in walnut sawdust were significantly higher than those of miscellaneous sawdust by 18.32-89.00%. The overall activity of extracellular enzymes reached the highest when the ratio of the substrate was 0:4 (miscellaneous sawdust: walnut sawdust). The mycelia of 1:3 substrates grew well and fast. In addition, the growth cycle for A. auricula was significantly lower for 0:4 (116 d) than for 4:0 (126 d). Then, the single bag yield and biological efficiency (BE) were highest at 1:3. Moreover, the nutrients and mineral elements of A. auricula cultivated in walnut sawdust were significantly higher than that of miscellaneous sawdust, expect for total sugar and protein, and the highest overall value was found at 1:3. Finally, the results of comprehensive evaluation by PCA showed that the D value was the highest when the substrate was 1:3 and the lowest when the substrate was 4:0. Therefore, the substrate ratio of 1:3 was the most suitable for the growth of A. auricula. In this study, the high yield and quality of A. auricula were cultivated by waste walnut sawdust, which provided a new way to utilize walnut sawdust.

New aniline derivatives from the volva of Phallus rubrovolvatus and their anti-inflammatory activity.

Phallus rubrovolvatus is an important commercially cultivated mushroom species in China. However, the volva of P. rubrovolvatus usually discarded as a by-product due to the unpleasant flavor and difficulty in processing. In this study, we investigated the chemical constituents and bioactivities of the volva of P. rubrovolvatus. As a result, fifteen rare aniline derivatives, including twelve new compounds (1-11, 14) and three new natural products (12, 13, 15) were isolated from the volva. Their structures were determined using 1D and 2D NMR data and HR-ESI-MS data, while the relative and absolute configurations were confirmed by NOESY correlations and comparison between experimental and calculated ECD spectra. In addition, compounds 1-15 were tested for anti-inflammatory activity against lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced NO production in RAW264.7 macrophages. Compounds 4, 9 and 10 exhibited anti-inflammatory activity with IC50 values ranging from 12.5 to 15.6 µM.

Complete Genomic Characterization and Identification of Saccharomycopsisphalluae sp. nov., a Novel Pathogen Causes Yellow Rot Disease on Phallus rubrovolvatus.

"Hongtuozhusun" (Phallus rubrovolvatus) is an important edible and medicinal mushroom endemic to Southwest China. However, yellow rot disease is a severe disease of P. rubrovolvatus that occurs extensively in Guizhou Province. It has caused major economic losses and hinders the development of the P. rubrovolvatus industry. In this study, 28 microorganism strains were isolated from diseased fruiting bodies of P. rubrovolvatus at various stages, two of which were confirmed to be pathogenic based on Koch's postulates. These two strains are introduced herein as Saccharomycopsisphalluae sp. nov. based on morphological, physiological, and molecular analysis. We reported a high-quality de novo sequencing and assembly of the S. phalluae genome using single-molecule real-time sequencing technology. The whole genome was approximately 14.148 Mb with a G+C content of 43.55%. Genome assembly generated 8 contigs with an N50 length of 1,822,654 bp. The genome comprised 5966 annotated protein-coding genes. This is the first report of mushroom disease caused by Saccharomycopsis species. We expect that the information on genome properties, particularly in pathogenicity-related genes, assist in developing effective control measures in order to prevent severe losses and make amendments in management strategies.

Genomic Analysis of Sarcomyxa edulis Reveals the Basis of Its Medicinal Properties and Evolutionary Relationships.

Yuanmo [Sarcomyxa edulis (Y.C. Dai, Niemelä & G.F. Qin) T. Saito, Tonouchi & T. Harada] is an important edible and medicinal mushroom endemic to Northeastern China. Here we report the de novo sequencing and assembly of the S. edulis genome using single-molecule real-time sequencing technology. The whole genome was approximately 35.65 Mb, with a G + C content of 48.31%. Genome assembly generated 41 contigs with an N50 length of 1,772,559 bp. The genome comprised 9,364 annotated protein-coding genes, many of which encoded enzymes involved in the modification, biosynthesis, and degradation of glycoconjugates and carbohydrates or enzymes predicted to be involved in the biosynthesis of secondary metabolites such as terpene, type I polyketide, siderophore, and fatty acids, which are responsible for the pharmacodynamic activities of S. edulis. We also identified genes encoding 1,3-ß-glucan synthase and endo-1,3(4)-ß-glucanase, which are involved in polysaccharide and uridine diphosphate glucose biosynthesis. Phylogenetic and comparative analyses of Basidiomycota fungi based on a single-copy orthologous protein indicated that the Sarcomyxa genus is an independent group that evolved from the Pleurotaceae family. The annotated whole-genome sequence of S. edulis can serve as a reference for investigations of bioactive compounds with medicinal value and the development and commercial production of superior S. edulis varieties.

Regional heterogeneity of cerebral hemodynamics in mild neonatal encephalopathy measured with multichannel near-infrared spectroscopy.

BACKGROUND: Neuromonitoring at the bedside is the key to understand the pathophysiological mechanisms of brain injury associated with neonatal encephalopathy. The current practice is to monitor the forehead using a noninvasive cerebral oximetry-it remains unknown to what extent cerebral hemodynamics in other brain regions is different to the frontal region. METHOD: A multichannel near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) system was used to monitor neonates (n = 14) with fetal acidosis and mild neonatal encephalopathy at four brain regions (the frontal, posterior, left temporal, and right temporal lobes). The data were compared to delineate the regional difference in (1) cerebral hemodynamics and (2) pressure autoregulation. For both analyses, wavelet transform coherence was applied. RESULTS: We observed frontal-posterior heterogeneity as indicated by significantly lower coherence between these two regions (p = 0.02). Furthermore, areas with regional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-detected lesions showed greater hemodynamic variations compared to non-affected areas (p = 0.03), while cerebral autoregulation was not affected and showed no difference. CONCLUSION: Cerebral hemodynamics in mild neonatal encephalopathy is heterogeneous across different brain regions, while cerebral autoregulation remains intact. These findings indicate the robustness of the wavelet measure of cerebral autoregulation in this population, but need to be further investigated in the presence of severe injury. IMPACT: This proof-of-concept study is the first to investigate the regional difference of cerebral hemodynamics and autoregulation in mild neonatal encephalopathy. Study findings confirm that brain functions are complex in the developing neonatal brain and that cerebral hemodynamics are region specific in newborns with frontal-posterior heterogeneity among brain regions probed by multichannel NIRS. Regional MRI lesions were associated with differences across NIRS regional channels among the affected side. Cerebral autoregulation with multichannel NIRS is not affected by regional MRI abnormalities.

Tracking Changes in Frontal Lobe Hemodynamic Response in Individual Adults With Developmental Language Disorder Following HD tDCS Enhanced Phonological Working Memory Training: An fNIRS Feasibility Study.

Background: Current research suggests a neurobiological marker of developmental language disorder (DLD) in adolescents and young adults may be an atypical neural profile coupled with behavioral performance that overlaps with that of normal controls. Although many imaging techniques are not suitable for the study of speech and language processing in DLD populations, fNIRS may be a viable option. In this study we asked if fNIRS can be used to identify atypical cortical activation patterns in individual adults with DLD and track potential changes in cortical activation patterns following a phonological working memory training protocol enhanced with anodal HD tDCS stimulation to the presupplementary motor area (preSMA). Objective/Hypothesis: The purpose of this study was two-fold: (1) to determine if fNIRS can be used to identify atypical hemodynamic responses in individual young adults with DLD during active spoken word processing and, (2) to determine if fNIRS can detect changes in hemodynamic response in these same adults with DLD following anodal HD tDCS enhanced phonological working memory training. Methods: Two adult subjects with DLD (female, age 25) completed a total of two sessions of fNIRs working memory task prior to and following one session of a non-word repetition task paired with anodal HD tDCS (1.0 mA tDCS; 20 min) to the preSMA. Standardized z-scores of behavioral measures (accuracy and reaction time) and changes in hemodynamic response during an n-back working memory task for the two participants with DLD was compared to that of a normative sample of 21 age- and gender- matched normal controls (ages 18 to 25) prior to and following phonological working memory training. Results: Individual standardized z-scores for each participant with DLD indicated that prior to training, hemoglobin response in the prefrontal lobe for both participants was markedly different from each other and normal controls. Following training, standard scores showed that the hemodynamic response for both participants moved within normal limits for ROIs. Conclusion: These findings highlight the feasibility of fNIRS to establish individual differences in the link between behavior and neural patterns in single subjects with DLD, as well as track individual differences in changes in brain activity following working memory training.

Neural Networks to Predict Radiographic Brain Injury in Pediatric Patients Treated with Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation.

Brain injury is a significant source of morbidity and mortality for pediatric patients treated with Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO). Our objective was to utilize neural networks to predict radiographic evidence of brain injury in pediatric ECMO-supported patients and identify specific variables that can be explored for future research. Data from 174 ECMO-supported patients were collected up to 24 h prior to, and for the duration of, the ECMO course. Thirty-five variables were collected, including physiological data, markers of end-organ perfusion, acid-base homeostasis, vasoactive infusions, markers of coagulation, and ECMO-machine factors. The primary outcome was the presence of radiologic evidence of moderate to severe brain injury as established by brain CT or MRI. This information was analyzed by a neural network, and results were compared to a logistic regression model as well as clinician judgement. The neural network model was able to predict brain injury with an Area Under the Curve (AUC) of 0.76, 73% sensitivity, and 80% specificity. Logistic regression had 62% sensitivity and 61% specificity. Clinician judgment had 39% sensitivity and 69% specificity. Sequential feature group masking demonstrated a relatively greater contribution of physiological data and minor contribution of coagulation factors to the model's performance. These findings lay the foundation for further areas of research directions.

Rigor of Neurovascular Coupling (NVC) Assessment in Newborns Using Different Amplitude EEG Algorithms.

Birth asphyxia constitutes a major global public health burden for millions of infants with a critical need for real time physiological biomarkers. This proof of concept study targets the translational rigor of such biomarkers and aims to examine whether the variability in the amplitude-integrated EEG (aEEG) outputs impact the determination of neurovascular coupling (NVC) in newborns with encephalopathy. A convenience sample with neonatal asphyxia were monitored for twenty hours in the first day of life with EEG and near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS)-based cerebral tissue oxygen saturation (SctO2). NVC between aEEG and NIRS-SctO2 was assessed using wavelet transform coherence (WTC) analysis, specifically by the wavelet total pixel number of significant coherences within 95% confidence interval. The raw EEG was converted to aEEG using three different methods: Method (M1) derives from the algorithm by Zhang and Ding. Method (M2) uses a Neonatal EEG Analysis Toolbox (WU-NEAT). Method (M3) extracts output directly from a commercial platform with an undisclosed algorithm. Our results demonstrate excellent agreement with Bland Altman comparisons for WTC-based NVC irrespective of the algorithms used, despite significant heterogeneities in the aEEG tracings produced by three algorithms. Our findings confirm the robustness of NVC wavelet analysis in Neonatal Encephalopathy related to HIE.