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On the basis of a single-factor experiment, a mathematical model was established by the response surface analysis method based on the Box-Behnken experimental design principle. The effects of three factors, including hot-pressing temperature, hot-pressing time, and hot-pressing pressure, and their interactions on the modulus of rupture (MOR) of Metasequoia-based three-layered structure parquet flooring were studied. The results show that the quadratic polynomial model in the regression equation is significant, and the correlation between the value predicted by the model and the experimental value is 91.17%. The optimized best hot-pressing process parameters are determined to be as follows: hot-pressing temperature of 96.03°C, hot-pressing time of 6.70 min, and hot-pressing pressure of 8 kg·cm-2. Under these conditions, the best MOR are obtained, reaching a value of 102.05 MPa. The theoretically predicted value is in good agreement with the experimental results.

In this study, samples of bamboo and carbonized bamboo were impregnated with alkaline copper quaternary (ACQ) and water glass, the resulting differences in color and resistance to decay by Gloeophyllum trabeumwere evaluated. The results showed that the impregnated bamboo and carbonized bamboo greatly reduced their lightness (L*). The red-green color index (a*) first decreased and then increased, while the yellow-blue color index (b*) first increased and then decreased. The total chromatic aberration (ΔE) was largest for bamboo and carbonized bamboo impregnated with ACQ and allowed to decay. Carbonized bamboo impregnated with ACQ and water glass and bamboo impregnated with ACQ reached level I(strong decay resistance). The decay resistance of bamboo and carbonized bamboo was as follows: ACQ impregnated > water glass impregnated > CK. Scanning electron microscopy further confirmed that the bamboo and carbonized bamboo were impregnated with ACQ had fewer hyphae, themaintained intact structure, and good decay resistance.

Dan Mu,1,* Xin Wang,1,* Huiting Wang,1 Xuan Sun,2 Qing Dai,2 Pin Lv,1 Renyuan Liu,1 Yu Qi,2 Jun Xie,2 Biao Xu,2,3 Bing Zhang1,4 1Department of Radiology, Affiliated Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital of Nanjing University Medical School, Nanjing, 210008, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Cardiology, Affiliated Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital of Nanjing University Medical School, Nanjing, 210008, People’s Republic of China; 3State Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Nanjing University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, 210023, People’s Republic of China; 4Institute of Brain Science, Nanjing University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, 210008, People’s Republic of China*These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Biao Xu; Bing Zhang, Email xubiao62@nju.edu.cn; zhangbing_nanjing@nju.edu.cnBackground: Photodynamic therapy (PDT) has achieved continued success in the treatment of tumors, but its progress in the treatment of atherosclerosis has been limited, mainly due to the low tissue-penetration ability of the excitation light for photosensitizers.Methods: In this study, we designed a chemiexcited system producing singlet oxygen in an attempt to apply PDT for the treatment of atherosclerosis without the irradiation of external light. The system designed was polymeric nanoparticles (NPs) equipped with chemical fuel and photosensitizers, cross-linked with an Fe3+–catechol complex for stabilization and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).Results: The system (FeCNPs for short) accumulated effectively in plaques, providing persistent and enhanced T1-weighted contrast ability. FeCNPs also prevented progression of atherosclerosis via macrophage elimination, and obviously reduced plaque size and thickness revealed by T1-weighted MRI. Expression of CD68, MCP1, and TNFα was significantly reduced after treatment. However, low doses of FeCNPs exhibited better therapeutic efficacy than high doses. Furthermore, low-dose FeCNPs exhibited effective macrophage elimination in aortic arches and abdominal aortae, but inefficiency in the thoracic aorta, aortic hiatus, and aorta–iliac bifurcation.Conclusion: This study provides the first example of a combination of MRI and chemiexcited PDT for atherosclerosis, evidencing the effectiveness of PDT and providing significant pointers for developing nanotherapy on atherosclerosis.Keywords: photodynamic therapy, atherosclerosis, chemi-excited, macrophages, MRI

Ischemic stroke leads to white matter damage and neurological deficits. However, the characteristics of white matter injury and repair after stroke are unclear. Additionally, the precise molecular communications between microglia and white matter repair during the stroke rehabilitation phase remain elusive. In this current study, MRI DTI scan and immunofluorescence staining were performed to trace white matter and microglia in the mouse transient middle cerebral artery occlusion (tMCAO) stroke model. We found that the most serious white matter damage was on Day 7 after the ischemic stroke, then it recovered gradually from Day 7 to Day 30. Parallel to white matter recovery, we observed that microglia centered around the damaged myelin sheath and swallowed myelin debris in the ischemic areas. Then, microglia of the ischemic hemisphere were sorted by flow cytometry for RNA sequencing and subpopulation analysis. We found that CD11c+ microglia increased from Day 7 to Day 30, demonstrating high phagocytotic capabilities, myelin-supportive genes, and lipid metabolism associated genes. CD11c+ microglia population was partly depleted by the stereotactic injecting of rAAV2/6M-taCasp3 (rAAV2/6M-CMV-DIO-taCasp3-TEVp) into CD11c-cre mice. Selective depletion of CD11c+ microglia disrupted white matter repair, oligodendrocyte maturation, and functional recovery after stroke by Rotarod test, Adhesive Removal test, and Morris Water Maze test. These findings suggest that spontaneous white matter repair occurs after ischemic stroke, while CD11c+ microglia play critical roles in this white matter restorative progress.

This study aimed to analyze the potential association between cognition reserve (CR) components, including education, working activity, and leisure time activity, and cognitive function in subjects with white matter hyperintensities (WMH). The study also explored the role of the frontoparietal control network (FPCN) in such association.White matter hyperintensities subjects with and without cognitive impairment (CI) were evaluated with multimodal magnetic resonance imaging, neuropsychological testing, and CR survey. FPCN patterns were assessed with dorsolateral prefrontal cortex seed-based functional connectivity analysis.Education was positively associated with cognitive function in WMH subjects with or without CI, whereas working activity and leisure time activity were positively associated with cognitive function only in those without CI. Similarly, education was associated with bilateral FPCN in both WMH groups, whereas working activity and leisure time activity were associated with bilateral FPCN mainly in the group without CI. Furthermore, FPCN partially mediated the association between education and cognitive function in both WMH groups.Education showed a positive impact on cognitive function in WMH subjects regardless of their cognitive status, whereas working activity and leisure time activity exhibited beneficial effects only in those without CI. The FPCN mediated the beneficial effect of education on cognitive function.

Macrophage accumulation is central to the pathogenesis of atherosclerotic plaques. Reducing macrophages in plaques is an appealing approach to attenuate the development of atherosclerosis. Chemodynamic therapy, specifically inhibiting hydrogen peroxide (H2O2)-rich cells in slightly acidic microenvironment, has emerged as a new method in tumor treatment. Herein, we manufactured ultrasmall dopamine-modified hyaluronic acid (HD)-stabilized Fe(III)-tannic acid nanoparticles (HFTNPs). HFTNPs can specifically accumulate in inflammatory macrophages in atherosclerotic plaques, provide brighter magnetic resonance images, promote reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation, and induce the death of inflammatory macrophages without damaging normal cells and tissues. In conclusion, HFTNPs have a tremendous potential as safe and effective diagnostic and therapeutic reagents for atherosclerosis.

APOE ε4 allele is the strongest predictor of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) risk, but its role in the association between the deep grey matter volume and cognitive impairment is still unclear. This study investigated the effects of APOE ε4 allele on this association in non-demented elders. We enrolled 24 patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and 28 normal controls (NC), who underwent the whole brain 3DTIW MRI scanning, an APOE genotype test, and neuropsychological tests. The right thalamus (p = 0.026), the left pallidum (p = 0.026), and the bilateral amygdala (left p = 0.042, right p = 0.048) atrophied in MCI, and their volume were positively correlated with the cognitive scores (MoCA) (p

Background Vascular dementia (VAD) is the second most common type of dementia lacking effective treatments. Pentoxifylline (PTX), a nonselective phosphodiesterase inhibitor, displays protective effects in multiple cerebral diseases. In this study, we aimed to investigate the therapeutic effects and potential mechanisms of PTX in VAD. Methods Bilateral common carotid artery stenosis (BCAS) mouse model was established to mimic VAD. Mouse behavior was tested by open field test, novel object recognition test, Y-maze and Morris water maze (MWM) tests. Histological staining, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and electron microscopy were used to define white matter integrity. The impact of PTX on microglia phagocytosis, peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors-γ (PPAR-γ) activation and Mer receptor tyrosine kinase (Mertk) expression was assessed by immunofluorescence, western blotting and flow cytometry with the application of microglia-specific Mertk knockout mice, Mertk inhibitor and PPAR-γ inhibitor. Results Here, we found that PTX treatment alleviated cognitive impairment in novel object recognition test, Y-maze and Morris water maze tests. Furthermore, PTX alleviated white matter injury in corpus callosum (CC) and internal capsule (IC) areas as shown by histological staining and MRI analysis. PTX-treatment group presented thicker myelin sheath than vehicle group by electron microscopy. Mechanistically, PTX facilitated microglial phagocytosis of myelin debris by up-regulating the expression of Mertk in BCAS model and primary cultured microglia. Importantly, microglia-specific Mertk knockout blocked the therapeutic effects of PTX in BCAS model. Moreover, Mertk expression was regulated by the nuclear translocation of PPAR-γ. Through modulating PPAR-γ, PTX enhanced Mertk expression. Conclusions Collectively, our results demonstrated that PTX showed therapeutic potentials in VAD and alleviated ischemic white matter injury via modulating Mertk-mediated myelin clearance in microglia.

Both episodic memory and executive function are impaired in amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) subjects, but it is unclear if these impairments are independent or interactive. The present study aimed to explore the relationship between episodic memory deficits and executive function deficits, and the underlying functional mechanisms in aMCI subjects. Thirty-one aMCI subjects and 27 healthy subjects underwent neuropsychological tests and multimodal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans. Hippocampal networks and medial prefrontal cortex (MPFC) networks were identified based on resting-sate functional MRI (fMRI) data. AMCI subjects displayed lower episodic memory scores and executive function scores than control subjects, and the episodic memory scores were positively correlated with the executive function scores in aMCI subjects. Brain network analyses showed an interaction between the hippocampal networks and the MPFC networks, and the interaction was significantly associated with the episodic memory scores and the executive function scores. Notably, aMCI subjects displayed higher functional connectivity (FC) of the right hippocampal network with the right prefrontal cortex than did control subjects, but this difference disappeared when controlling for the MPFC networks. Furthermore, the effects of the MPFC networks on the hippocampal networks were significantly associated with the episodic memory scores in aMCI subjects. The present findings suggested that the episodic memory deficits in aMCI subjects could be partially underpinned by the modulation of the MPFC networks on the hippocampal networks.

ObjectiveTo evaluate the feasibility of 9. 4-T postmortem MRI (pm-MRI) for assessment of major congenital heart defects (CHD) cases terminated in the early stage of gestation.MethodsFetuses with CHD detected by the detailed first-trimester ultrasound scan and terminated before 18 gestational weeks were recruited between January 2018 and June 2020. All fetuses were offered 9.4-T pm-MRI examinations and those terminated over 13+6 weeks were offered conventional autopsies simultaneously. Findings of pm-MRI were compared with those of conventional autopsy and prenatal ultrasound.ResultsA total of 19 fetuses with major CHD were analyzed, including 6 cases of the atrioventricular septal defect, 5 cases of Tetralogy of Fallot, 3 cases of hypoplastic left heart syndrome, 1 case of tricuspid atresia, 1 case of transposition of the great arteries, 1 case of severe tricuspid regurgitation, and 2 cases of complex CHD. Pm-MRI had concordant findings in 73.7% (14/19) cases, discordant findings in 15.8% (3/19) cases, and additional findings in 10.5% (2/19) cases when compared with prenatal ultrasound. Pm-MRI findings were concordant with autopsy in all 8 CHD cases terminated over 13+6 weeks.ConclusionIt is feasible to exhibit the structure of fetal heart terminated in the first trimester clearly on 9.4-T pm-MRI with an optimized scanning protocol. High-field pm-MRI could provide medical imaging information of CHD for those terminated in the early stage of gestation, especially for those limited by conventional autopsy.

High cognitive reserve (CR) protects against cognitive decline in individuals with white matter hyperintensities (WMH). However, the functional mechanisms remain relatively unknown. This work aimed to explore the effects of CR on the frontoparietal control network (FPCN) and cognitive function in subjects with WMH. One hundred and thirty-seven subjects with WMH and 95 control subjects without WMH underwent neuropsychological testing, CR assessments, and multimodal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanning. A mixed analysis of covariance with CR level (high CR vs. low CR) and WMH status (with WMH vs. without WMH) as fixed factors was performed on the FPCN. WMH volume was negatively correlated with global cognitive function in subjects with low CR not in those with high CR, suggesting a buffering effect of high CR. An interaction between CR and WMH was detected on the right FPCN in frontal regions. Specifically, control subjects with high CR had significantly higher functional connectivity (FC) in frontal regions than control subjects with low CR, whereas this relation was inverted in WMH subjects. Correlative analyses showed positive associations of the FC with cognitive performance in both WMH subjects and control subjects, although the associations were not significant after correction for multiple comparisons. In conclusion, CR differentially regulated the FPCN in frontal regions between subjects with WMH and those without WMH. This regulation supports the flexibility of CR in regulating brain function and may underlie the effects of CR on cognitive function in WMH subjects.

This study aimed to explore the relationship between sub-cortical structures alterations and the cognitive domains in Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) patients, expected to find identifying sub-cortical structure markers of MCI progression to dementia. A total of 67 MCI patients (8 subjects refused to follow up) were recruited, who were divided into 21 stable MCI (sMCI) and 38 progress MCI (pMCI), according to cognitive assays. FreeSurfer software was used to perform volumetric measurements of the sub-cortical structures from 3.0 T magnetic resonance scans. Data revealed that pMCI subjects had lower scores in memory, language, executive and visual spatial compared with sMCI subjects. Compared with the sMCI group, the volume of the left thalamus, bilateral hippocampus, corpus callosum posterior and corpus callosum central was smaller in pMCI subjects. Partial correlation and general linear regression analysis showed that the left hippocampus was predicted region for memory, left thalamus was predicted region for language, executive and visual spatial. These current results suggest that the volumes of sub-cortical structures in stable MCI and progress MCI patients were heterogeneous. Among these regions, the left hippocampus was predicted region for memory, left thalamus was predicted region for language, executive and visual spatial, suggesting that these structures might be important for detecting the subtle effects of MCI patients’ cognitive domain or to assess the effectiveness of therapeutic intervention for MCI.

This paper introduces the result of Team Grenzlinie’s experiment in SemEval-2021 task 7: HaHackathon: Detecting and Rating Humor and Offense. This task has two subtasks. Subtask1 includes the humor detection task, the humor rating prediction task, and the humor controversy detection task. Subtask2 is an offensive rating prediction task. Detection task is a binary classification task, and the rating prediction task is a regression task between 0 to 5. 0 means the task is not humorous or not offensive, 5 means the task is very humorous or very offensive. For all the tasks, this paper chooses RoBERTa as the pre-trained model. In classification tasks, Bi-LSTM and adversarial training are adopted. In the regression task, the Bi-LSTM is also adopted. And then we propose a new approach named compare method. Finally, our system achieves an F1-score of 95.05% in the humor detection task, F1-score of 61.74% in the humor controversy detection task, 0.6143 RMSE in humor rating task, 0.4761 RMSE in the offensive rating task on the test datasets.

This paper introduces the result of Team Grenzlinie’s experiment in CONSTRAINT 2021 shared task. This task has two subtasks. Subtask1 is the COVID-19 Fake News Detection task in English, a binary classification task. This paper chooses RoBERTa as the pre-trained model, and tries to build a graph from news datasets. Finally, our system achieves an accuracy of 98.64% and an F1-score of 98.64% on the test dataset. Subtask2 is a Hostile Post Detection task in Hindi, a multi-labels task. In this task, XLM-RoBERTa is chosen as the pre-trained model. The adapted threshold is adopted to solve the data unbalanced problem, and then Bi-LSTM, LEAM, LaSO approaches are adopted to obtain more abundant semantic information. The final approach achieves the accuracy of 74.11% and weight F1-score of 81.77% on the test dataset.

Frontotemporal dementia (FTD) and Alzheimer’s disease (AD) have overlapping symptoms, and accurate differential diagnosis is important for targeted intervention and treatment. Previous studies suggest that the deep learning (DL) techniques have the potential to solve the differential diagnosis problem of FTD, AD and normal controls (NCs), but its performance is still unclear. In addition, existing DL-assisted diagnostic studies still rely on hypothesis-based expert-level preprocessing. On the one hand, it imposes high requirements on clinicians and data themselves; On the other hand, it hinders the backtracking of classification results to the original image data, resulting in the classification results cannot be interpreted intuitively. In the current study, a large cohort of 3D T1-weighted structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) volumes (n = 4,099) was collected from two publicly available databases, i.e., the ADNI and the NIFD. We trained a DL-based network directly based on raw T1 images to classify FTD, AD and corresponding NCs. And we evaluated the convergence speed, differential diagnosis ability, robustness and generalizability under nine scenarios. The proposed network yielded an accuracy of 91.83% based on the most common T1-weighted sequence [magnetization-prepared rapid acquisition with gradient echo (MPRAGE)]. The knowledge learned by the DL network through multiple classification tasks can also be used to solve subproblems, and the knowledge is generalizable and not limited to a specified dataset. Furthermore, we applied a gradient visualization algorithm based on guided backpropagation to calculate the contribution graph, which tells us intuitively why the DL-based networks make each decision. The regions making valuable contributions to FTD were more widespread in the right frontal white matter regions, while the left temporal, bilateral inferior frontal and parahippocampal regions were contributors to the classification of AD. Our results demonstrated that DL-based networks have the ability to solve the enigma of differential diagnosis of diseases without any hypothesis-based preprocessing. Moreover, they may mine the potential patterns that may be different from human clinicians, which may provide new insight into the understanding of FTD and AD.

Background: Taxilli Herba (TH) is a commonly used Chinese medicinal herb that parasitizes different tree types, but objective methods to determine its quality and detect contamination from host substances have not been reported. Thus, we aimed to establish methods to improve the safety and quality of TH. Methods: We collected 10 samples each of TH hosted by mulberry, willow, and cinnamon trees from different regions and batches, along with twigs of the corresponding host trees. Samples were prepared by ultrasonic extraction with methanol as a solvent. HPLC was used to measure the content of quercitrin, the intrinsic component of TH, as well as of morusin, salicin, and cinnamaldehyde, characteristic of mulberry, willow, and cinnamon, respectively.Results: Quercitrin was detected in all host trees but not in host twigs. However, the accumulation of the characteristic components of the hosts in TH substantially varied among the three hosts. The contents of morusin, salicin, and cinnamaldehyde in mulberry, willow, and cinnamon twigs were 134.78-437.60, 1787.91-2564.65 and 7219.36-10783.21 µg/g respectively, and the corresponding values in TH obtained from mulberry, willow, and cinnamon were 0.27-4.27、102.62-545.83 and 11.33-120.97 µg/g, respectively. Conclusions: The host influences TH quality to varying degrees via the transfer of characteristic components. In this study, we successfully detailed a potentially generalizable, accurate, and reproducible dual-component measurement method to identify the TH host.

Background: Alzheimer’s disease (AD) has been primarily considered a progressive neurodegenerative disorder of gray matter. Neuroimaging evidence has suggested white matter microstructure are also heavily affected in AD. However, whether white matter dysfunction are localized at the specific regions of fiber tracts and whether they would be a potential biomarker for AD remain unclear.Methods：By automated fiber quantification (AFQ), we applied diffusion tensor images from 25 healthy controls (HC), 24 amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) patients and 18 AD patients to create tract profiles along 16 major white matter fibers. We compared diffusion metrics [Fractional anisotropy (FA), mean diffusivity (MD), axial diffusivity (DA) and radial diffusivity (DR)] at the global and local level of fiber tracts between groups. Partial correlation analyses were used to explore the associations between white matter changes and cognitive performance. To assess the diagnostic value, we enrolled the significantly altered diffusion metrics into a random forest (RF) classifier, a type of machine learning method.Results: In the global tract level, we found that aMCI and AD patients showed higher MD, DA and DR values in some fiber tracts mostly in the left hemisphere compared to HC. In the point-wise level, widespread disruption were distributed on specific locations of different tracts. The point-wise MD measurements presented the best classification performance with respect to differentiating AD from HC. The two most important variables were localized in the prefrontal potion of left uncinate fasciculus and anterior thalamic radiation. In addition, the point-wise DA in the posterior component of the left cingulum cingulate displayed the most robust discriminative ability to identify AD from aMCI. Conclusion：Our findings provide evidence that the left-sided microstructural integrity was vulnerable in white matter fiber tracts in AD. Furthermore, the frontal lobe portion of left uncinate fasciculus and anterior thalamic radiation and the posterior component of the left cingulum cingulate played the important role in the diagnosis and surveillance of AD. These results demonstrated the potential of white matter abnormalities as a diagnostic biomarker in AD.

Background: Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is a heterogeneous entity that can be categorized into related but different subtypes. In this study, we analyzed the gray matter structural changes of amnestic MCI (aMCI) and non-amnestic MCI (naMCI), and how it resulted in diverse cognitive impairment.Methods: Altogether 77 individuals were recruited, including 28 cognitively normal controls (NC), 25 naMCI subjects, and 24 aMCI subjects. All participants underwent a 3.0 T magnetic resonance (MR) scan and a detailed neuropsychological examination. Cortical thickness and subcortical nuclei volume were extracted by Freesurfer software and compared among groups. The areas with significant differences were further analyzed by general linear regression to identify the risk factors of each cognitive impairment subtypes.Results: Significant differences were observed in bilateral hippocampi, amygdala, thalamus, accumbens, left transverse temporal gyrus and left precuneus among groups. AMCI and naMCI were significantly different in the right hippocampus, bilateral amygdala, left precuneus, and left transverse temporal gyrus. Linear regression analysis revealed that the atrophy of left precuneus was a risk factor of memory, executive function (EF) and visuospatial impairment (p < 0.001). The atrophy of left amygdala, right accumbens and left thalamus were risk factors of memory, EF and language impairment respectively (p < 0.05).Conclusions: These findings confirmed that different gray matter structural changes could lead to specific neuropsychological features in MCI subtypes. Thorough understanding of MCI subtypes and the underlying pathology would be beneficial for precise diagnosis and intervention.

Purpose: (1) To investigate atrophy patterns of hippocampal subfield volume and Alzheimer’s disease (AD)-signature cortical thickness in mild cognitive impairment (MCI) patients; (2) to explore the association between the neuropsychological (NP) and the brain structure in the MCI and older normal cognition group; (3) to determine whether these associations were modified by the apolipoprotein E (APOE) ε4 gene and cognitive status. Methods: The FreeSurfer software was used for automated segmentation of hippocampal subfields and AD-signature cortical thickness for 22 MCI patients and 23 cognitive normal controls (NC). The volume, cortical thickness, and the neuropsychological scale were compared with two-sample t tests. Linear regression models were used to determine the association between the NP and the brain structure. Results: Compared with the NC group, MCI patients showed a decreased volume of the left presubiculum, subiculum and right CA2_3 and CA4_DG (p < 0.05, FDR corrected). The volume of these regions was positively correlated with NP scores. Of note, these associations depended on the cognitive status but not on the APOE ε4 status. The left subiculum and presubiculum volume were positively correlated with the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) scores only in the MCI patients. Conclusion: Atrophy of the hippocampal subfields may be a powerful biomarker for MCI in the Chinese population.

Purpose To report a diffusion imaging technique insensitive to off-resonance artifacts and motion-induced ghost artifacts using multishot Cartesian turbo spin-echo (TSE) acquisition and iterative POCS-based reconstruction of multiplexed sensitivity encoded magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) (POCSMUSE) for phase correction. Materials and Methods Phase insensitive diffusion preparation was used to deal with the violation of the Carr–Purcell–Meiboom–Gill (CPMG) conditions of TSE diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI), followed by a multishot Cartesian TSE readout for data acquisition. An iterative diffusion phase correction method, iterative POCSMUSE, was developed and implemented to eliminate the ghost artifacts in multishot TSE DWI. The in vivo human brain diffusion images (from one healthy volunteer and 10 patients) using multishot Cartesian TSE were acquired at 3T and reconstructed using iterative POCSMUSE, and compared with single-shot and multishot echo-planar imaging (EPI) results. These images were evaluated by two radiologists using visual scores (considering both image quality and distortion levels) from 1 to 5. Results The proposed iterative POCSMUSE reconstruction was able to correct the ghost artifacts in multishot DWI. The ghost-to-signal ratio of TSE DWI using iterative POCSMUSE (0.0174 ± 0.0024) was significantly (P < 0.0005) smaller than using POCSMUSE (0.0253 ± 0.0040). The image scores of multishot TSE DWI were significantly higher than single-shot (P = 0.004 and 0.006 from two reviewers) and multishot (P = 0.008 and 0.004 from two reviewers) EPI-based methods. Conclusion The proposed multishot Cartesian TSE DWI using iterative POCSMUSE reconstruction can provide high-quality diffusion images insensitive to motion-induced ghost artifacts and off-resonance related artifacts such as chemical shifts and susceptibility-induced image distortions. Level of Evidence: 1 Technical Efficacy: Stage 1 J. MAGN. RESON. IMAGING 2017;46:167–174

End-to-end speech synthesis breaks away from the original system framework and directly converts text into speech. Although it is shown that Tacotron2 is superior to traditional piping systems in terms of speech naturalness, it still has many defects. A flaw in tacotron2 is mentioned in this paper., which impacts negatively upon the synthesis quality and the synthesized length of speech. It is cumulative error between training process (forward) and synthesis process (inference). In order to improve this problem, an unsupervised GAN (Generative Adversarial Network) model was proposed based on the Tacotron2. The proposed GAN model can also optimize the prosody of synthesize speech because of the prosody discriminator is also designed in our model. For further reduce the cumulative error mentioned above, this paper propose a training strategy called "random down" based on Tacotron2. And then demonstrate that the unimportant attention weights could be a contributing factor to cumulative error when the input sequence is too long. For this, a window has been added to the attention weights. Through these method, the length of the speech synthesis is improved to about 1000 encoder output. The prosody of synthetic speech has also been improved.

Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is increasingly recognized as a risk factor for Alzheimer's disease (AD). Neuroimaging studies have revealed structural abnormalities in the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) in MCI patients, while other findings fail to report anatomical alterations. Accordingly, structural changes in this brain region amongst MCI patients has not been well characterized. Given that OFC sulcogyral organization has increasingly been demonstrated as a reliable pre-morbid marker of pathological conditions in several neuropsychiatric disorders, we examined the distribution of OFC sulcogyral patterns (classified into Type I, II and III) based on structural brain data from 68 MCI patients and 55 healthy controls. Our results, supported by both Frequentist and Bayesian statistics, showed that MCI patients exhibited an increased prevalence of Type II pattern compared with healthy controls, particularly in the right hemisphere. Meanwhile, MCI patients showed a decreased prevalence of Type I pattern compared with healthy controls. Taken together, our results reveal a skewed distribution of OFC sulcogyral in MCI patients, possibly reflecting a potential neurodevelopmental risk marker of MCI.

To evaluate the effect of the host plant on the quality of Loranthaceae species as medicinal raw material, ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography coupled to quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UPLC-Q-TOF-MS/MS) was used to identify cardiac glycosides in Nerium indicum and its parasitic plant species Taxillus chinensis and Scurrula parasitica. Samples were collected from N. indicum and these parasites, while Morus alba and its parasite T. chinensis and Osmanthus fragrans and its parasite S. parasitica were used as controls. Based on mass spectrometry data and elemental composition analysis of positive and negative ion modes, in combination with standard cardiac glycosides and relevant literature, cardiac glycosides in N. indicum and its parasites T. chinensis and S. parasitica were identified, and their correlations were analyzed. A total of 29 cardiac glycosides were identified, among which 28 were found in N. indicum parasitized by T. chinensis; 25 cardiac glycosides were identified in the same host under attack by S. parasitica; five cardiac glycosides were identified in both T. chinensis and S. parasitica, which grew parasitically on N. indicum, whereas no cardiac glycosides were identified in M. alba parasitized by T. chinensis, or in O. fragrans parasitized by S. parasitica. We conclude that UPLC-Q-TOF-MS/MS technology can identify cardiac glycosides in N. indicum and parasites T. chinensis and S. parasitica rapidly, accurately, and thoroughly. N. indicum will transfer its own cardiac glycosides to its parasites through the special host-parasite interaction. Our results provide a reference basis for evaluating the influence of the host plant on the quality of medicinal compounds obtained from Loranthaceae species.

Background: Cerebral small vessel disease (SVD) is a common cause of cognitive dysfunction. However, little is known whether the altered reconfiguration pattern of brain modular architecture regulates cognitive dysfunction in cerebral small vessel disease. Methods: We recruited 25 cases of SVD without cognitive impairment (SVD-NCI) and 24 cases of SVD with mild cognitive impairment (SVD-MCI). According to the Framingham Stroke Risk Profile, healthy controls (HC) were divided into 17 subjects (HC-low risk) and 19 subjects (HC-high risk). All individuals underwent resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging and cognitive assessments. Graph-theoretical analysis was used to explore alterations in the modular organization of functional brain networks. Multiple regression and mediation analyses were performed to investigate the relationship between MRI markers, network metrics and cognitive performance. Results: We identified four modules that corresponded to the default mode network (DMN), executive control network (ECN), sensorimotor network and visual network. With increasing vascular risk factors, the inter- and intranetwork compensation of the ECN and a relatively reserved DMN itself were observed in individuals at high risk for SVD. With declining cognitive ability, those with SVD-MCI showed a disrupted ECN intra-network and evoked DMN connection. Furthermore, the intermodule connectivity of the right inferior frontal gyrus of the ECN mediated the relationship between periventricular white matter hyperintensities and visuospatial processing in SVD-MCI. Conclusions: The reconfiguration pattern of the modular architecture within/between the DMN and ECN advances our understanding of the neural underpinning in response to vascular risk and SVD burden. These observations may provide novel insight into the underlying neural mechanism of SVD-related cognitive impairment and may serve as a potential non-invasive biomarker to predict and monitor disease progression.

The contribution of hypoperfusion to abnormal functional connectivity in Alzheimer's disease (AD) and mild cognitive impairment (MCI) remains unclear. In this study, we investigated the potential association between brain perfusion and functional connectivity (FC), and its effects on the cognitive impairment among AD, MCI, and normal controls (NC). One-time acquisition of resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) was used to study brain perfusion and FC. Compared to the NC, the perfusion in the left temporal lobe showed significantly lower in AD, and bilateral hypoperfusion in the frontal lobe showed in MCI. Using these hypoperfusion areas as seed regions, we found that FC between the left inferior temporal gyrus and medial frontal-cingulate regions in AD patients was significantly lower than that in NCs. The FC between the right medial superior frontal gyrus and left parietal lobe in MCI patients was significantly higher than that in NCs. Additionally, the FC between the right medial superior frontal gyrus and the left superior parietal gyrus were found to be correlated significantly and negatively with mini-mental state examination (MMSE) scores in MCI patients. In conclusion, hypoperfusion may affect cognitive states via abnormal FC as an additional factor contributing to cognitive impairment.

Objective: To explore the within- and between-network patterns of the default mode network (DMN), the frontoparietal control network (FPCN), and the dorsal attention network (DAN) in cerebral small vessel disease (CSVD) with and without cognitive impairment (CI). Methods: Twenty CSVD with CI subjects, 21 CSVD without CI subjects, and 25 healthy elderly controls were recruited. The within- and between-network patterns of the networks were identified based on resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging data. Results: Compared with the control group, both the CSVD with CI group and the CSVD without CI group displayed decreased within-network function of the DMN and lower negative connectivity between the DMN and other networks (i.e., DMN and DAN, DMN and FPCN), whereas the CSVD with CI group additionally showed within- and between-network alterations of the FPCN (i.e., increased within-network function of the FPCN and lower negative connectivity between the FPCN and the DMN). Furthermore, these alterations of the FPCN were correlated with the cognitive function of CSVD subjects. Interestingly, the between-network connectivity of the FPCN and the DMN was negatively correlated with deep white matter hyperintensities (DWMH) volume in CSVD subjects. Conclusion: These findings suggest that cognitive alterations of CSVD subjects may be mainly regulated by the FPCN that correlates with DWMH burden, and shed light on the investigation of surrogate markers of CSVD.

South African National Research Foundation and the Central Research Fund of the University of the Free State, Bloemfontein, South Africa.

A combined quantum chemistry and electrochemistry study of a series of tris(β-diketonato)-Cr(III) complexes showed that the different electron donating properties of the R and R' groups, substituted on the 1 and 3 positions of the β-diketonate ligand (RCOCHCOR')−, largely influence the redox properties of these complexes, due to the good communication between the R and R' groups and the metal via the β-diketonato-metal conjugated system. Linear relationships were obtained between the reduction potential of the tris(β-diketonato)-Cr(III) complexes and a variety of electronic parameters used to describe the electron-donating and -withdrawing power of the R and R' groups on the β-diketonate ligand.

Optical fibers and fiber elements are being used in voltage/current sensing equipment for control and protection of smart grid in power system. In this paper, multi-point sensing system designs and their application scheme in power grid are presented. Since three-phase voltage is the basic voltage signal in power grid, a three-phase voltage sensing system based on fiber Bragg grating (FBG) and lead zirconate titanate (PZT) tubes is proposed. This voltage system sensing for 0.5 kV–5 kV (peak to peak) over frequencies from 50 Hz to 20 kHz, instead of only at 50 Hz or 60 Hz, was firstly conducted. Basic performance was then tested. System responses to 50 Hz voltage, sinusoidal voltage and triangular voltage at 50 Hz/1 kHz have been acquired and analyzed. In addition, a three-phase high-voltage test and a single-phase grounding test with three-phase transformers are performed and analyzed. The results demonstrate the system’s potential for distributed sensing and sensor network establishment with optical power ground wires (OPGWs) in smart grid.

The electromagnetic environment under transmission lines is a concern for high-voltage transmission. For transmission corridors in which alternating-current (AC) and direct-current (DC) transmission lines are on the same tower, the electromagnetic environment at ground level is complex because of the AC/DC hybrid electric field. Generally, different instruments are used for measuring AC and DC electric fields, making it difficult to measure such fields simultaneously. Thus, we propose a method for AC/DC hybrid electric field measurement based on the Pockels effect and electric field modulation. The principle of the measurement is discussed in detail. An experimental platform is set up to verify the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed method and to calibrate the sensor. It shows that the sensor realizes simultaneous measurement of AC and DC electric field intensities as well as judgment of the polarity of the DC electric field. The measurable range is 1.05-150 kV/m (peak-to-peak value) for the AC electric field and 1.23-150 kV/m for the DC electric field with a maximum measurement error of less than 5%. The sensor has good repeatability, linearity, and low hysteresis, which can be used in power grids for AC/DC hybrid electric field measurements.

An ultra-small integrated photonic current sensor based on a silicon micro-ring resonator (MRR) with a cladding layer of Fe3O4 superparamagnetic nanoparticles (SPNPs) is demonstrated. In the magnetic field generated by an alternating current, the Fe3O4 SPNPs lose energy and change the MRR temperature, which leads to a spectral shift in the MRR transmission. The sensor was demonstrated with good linearity in the frequency range 0–60 kHz and current amplitudes from 0 to 0.5 A. This work provides a basis for integrated micro-current sensors, and promotes the development of photoelectric sensors on silicon substrates.

Hypertension has a close affinity to brain degeneration and cognitive decline during the aging process. The default mode network (DMN) is usually affected in various diseases related to cognitive impairment (CI). The present research aimed to explore the alterations in the DMN and its subcomponents in hypertensive patients with and without CI and to investigate the associations between cognitive performance and network abnormalities. Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging and neuropsychological tests were performed in 74 subjects, namely, 30 hypertensive patients with normal cognition (HTN-NC), 25 hypertensive patients with CI (HTN-CI), and 19 healthy controls. Seed-based functional connectivity (FC) analysis was performed to identify the DMN patterns. The group differences in the DMN were mainly shown in brain regions related to the core subsystem and the dorsal medial subsystem of the DMN. Post hoc analysis revealed a trend of dissociation among the DMN subsystems in the HTN-NC group. In contrast, the HTN-CI group displayed extensively increased FC in both subsystems. Importantly, increased FC of the dorsal medial subsystem in the HTN-CI patients was associated with poor cognitive performance, such as scores on Mini-Mental State Examination (ρ = −0.438, P = 0.029) and Montreal Cognitive Assessment (ρ = −0.449, P = 0.025). The findings suggest that extensively increased connectivities in the core subsystem and the dorsal media subsystem of the DMN may distinguish hypertension with CI from hypertension with normal cognition. The characteristic change in the dorsal medial subsystem may become an early imaging biomarker for the diagnosis and treatment of cognitive impairment associated with hypertension.

Apathy is a common non-motor symptom in Parkinson's disease (PD), but little is known about apathy and white matter (WM) change. In this study, we investigated whether fractional anisotropy (FA) of the WM can distinguish apathetic patients from non-apathetic PD patients, and whether the FA value correlates with the severity of apathy in PD.Thirty-nine PD patients participated in our study, of which 18 participants were with apathy symptom, and 21 without apathy symptom. Diffusion tensor imaging was performed on all the subjects.Compared to non-apathetic PD patients, the apathetic group had reduced FA values in the genu and body of corpus callosum, bilateral anterior corona radiata, left superior corona radiata and left cingulum. Furthermore, in these WM regions, the FA values were negatively correlated with the Lille Apathy Rating Scale scores in apathetic subjects.The WM change is associated with apathy in PD patients. In addition, the FA values of specific regions of WM could be a promising marker to predict the severity of apathy.

Deep gray matter structures are associated with memory and other important functions that are impaired in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and mild cognitive impairment (MCI). However, systematic characterization of the subregional atrophy and deformations in these structures in AD and MCI still need more investigations. In this article, we combined complex volumetry- and vertex-based analysis to investigate the pattern of subregional structural alterations in deep gray matter structures and its association with global clinical scores in AD (n = 30) and MCI patients (n = 30), compared to normal controls (NCs, n = 30). Among all seven pairs of structures, the bilateral hippocampi and nucleus accumbens showed significant atrophy in AD compared with NCs (p 0.05). In conclusion, the atrophy of these four subregions in bilateral hippocampi and nucleus accumbens was associated with cognitive impairment of patients, which might be potential target regions of treatment in AD. The surface analysis could provide additional information to volume comparison in finding the early pathological progress in deep gray matter structures.

Introduction: Cerebral White matter hyperintensities(WMH) are frequent findings on MRI scan. They are well known to correlate with vascular cognitive impairment(VCI). However, controversies still remain about the relationship between WMH locations and cognitive function across studies. Hypothesis: Periventricular WMHs(PWH) rather than deep WMHs(DWH) are associated with cognitive decline in VCI. Methods: Fifty-nine subjects with WMHs on MRI were divided into three groups, normal control(NC), mild cognitive impairment(MCI) and vascular dementia(VaD), according to clinical manifestation and neuropsychological performance. WMH volumes were evaluated by Fazekas rating scale and segmental volumetric. Correlations between cognitive performance and WMH volumes were determined in virtue of Spearman correlation analysis. Receiver operator characteristic (ROC) curves were generated to define the classification cut-off value of WMH volumes for distinguishing VCI versus normal controls. Multiple linear regression analysis was used to predict cognitive performance with WMH volumes and locations after adjusting for sex ,age and education level. Results: Cognitive capacities were gradually declined from NC through MCI to VaD patients while WMH volumes and Fazekas scores altered oppositely. Both PWH and DWH volumes and Fazekas scores were correlated with cognitive performance, and moreover, WMH volumes were correlated with Fazekas scores. ROC analysis showed a cut-off value of PWH rather than DWH to distinguish VCI from NC(AUC=0.745 and 0.635, p =0.001 and 0.076, respectively). Linear regression analysis demonstrated that only PWH volumes were associated with cognitive performance( p < 0.001). Conclusion: Our study demonstrate that PWHs are independent predictors for vascular contribution in white matter lesions and suggest clinicians that PWH should be emphasized on evaluating vascular cognitive impairment related with white matter load.

Norwegian Supercomputing Program (NOTUR) through a grant of computer time (Grant No. NN4654K) (JC), the South African National Research Foundation (JC), the Central Research Fund of the University of the Free State, Bloemfontein (JC) and the University of Pretoria (ML and PHvR).

Brain white matter fiber bundles in patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and Alzheimer's disease (AD) have abnormalities not usually seen in unaffected subjects. Ideal algorithm of the localization-specific properties in white matter integrity might reveal the changes of tissue properties varying along each tract, while previous studies only detected the mean DTI parameters of each fiber. The aim of this study was to investigate whether these abnormalities of nerve fiber tracts are localized to specific regions of the tracts or spread throughout and to analyze which of the examined fiber tracts are involved in the early stages of Alzheimer's disease. In this study, we utilized VBA, TBSS as well as AFQ together to comprehensively investigate the white matter fiber impairment on 25 CE patients, 29 MCI patients and 34 normal control (NC) subjects. Two tract profiles, fractional anisotropy (FA) and mean diffusivity (MD), were extracted to evaluate the white matter integrity at 100 locations along each of 20 fiber tracts and then we validated the results with 27 CE patients, 21 MCI patients and 22 NC from the ADNI cohort. Also, we compare the AFQ with VBA and TBSS in our cohort. In comparison with NC, AD patients showed widespread FA reduction in 25% (5 /20) and MD increase in 65%(13/20) of the examined fiber tracts. The MCI patients showed a regional FA reduction in 5% (1/20) of the examined fiber tracts (right cingulum cingulate) and MD increase in 5%(1/20) of the examined fiber tracts (left arcuate fasciculus). Among these changed tracts, only the right cingulum cingulate showed widespread disruption of myelin or/and fiber axons in MCI and aggravated deterioration in AD, findings supported by FA/MD changes both by the mean and FA changes by point wise methods and TBSS. And the AFQ findings from ADNI cohort showed some similarity with our cohort, especially in the pointwise comparison of MD profiles between AD vs NC. Furthermore, the pattern of white matter abnormalities was different across neuronal fiber tracts; for example, the MCI and AD patients showed similar FA reduction in the middle part of the right cingulum cingulate, and the anterior part were not damaged. However, the left arcuate fasciculus showed MD elevation located at the temporal part of the fibers in the MCI patients and expanding to the temporal and middle part of the fibers in AD patients. So, the AFQ may be an alternative complementary method of VBA and TBSS, and may provide new insights into white matter degeneration in MCI and its association with AD., Highlights • AD and MCI patients have white matter disruption compared with NC. • The abnormalities of the fiber tracts are limited to specific regions of tracts in MCI and spread throughout in AD. • The AFQ may be an alternative complementary method of VBA and TBSS.

The electrochemical behaviour of a series of Fischer ethoxycarbene complexes of the type [(CO) 5 Cr C(OEt)R] with R = 2-thienyl ( 1 ), 2-furyl ( 2 ), 2-(N-methylpyrrolyl) ( 3 ), N-methyl-2-(2′-thienyl)pyrrole) ( 4 ) and 2,2′-thienylfuran ( 5 ), is investigated by means of cyclic voltammetry. Results show that the first one electron reduction process is sensitive to the energy, shape and distribution of the LUMO orbital, leading to a linear relationship between the formal reduction potential and the LUMO energy: E 0′ (C carbene ) = –0.70 E LUMO –3.44 ( R 2 = 1.00) which is valid over a large potential range. The dimeric heteroarene substituents of 4 and 5 lead to enhanced stabilization of the reduced complexes 4 and 5 , making another one electron reduction possible. The formal reduction potential, E 0′ (Cr) of the first oxidation process of 1 – 5 lays within a narrow potential range of 0.43–0.50 V vs . Fc/Fc + , is Cr-based and is mainly sensitive to the electrophilic character of the heteroarene ring directly attached to the carbene carbon.

To report a diffusion imaging technique insensitive to off-resonance artifacts and motion-induced ghost artifacts using multishot Cartesian turbo spin-echo (TSE) acquisition and iterative POCS-based reconstruction of multiplexed sensitivity encoded magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) (POCSMUSE) for phase correction.Phase insensitive diffusion preparation was used to deal with the violation of the Carr-Purcell-Meiboom-Gill (CPMG) conditions of TSE diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI), followed by a multishot Cartesian TSE readout for data acquisition. An iterative diffusion phase correction method, iterative POCSMUSE, was developed and implemented to eliminate the ghost artifacts in multishot TSE DWI. The in vivo human brain diffusion images (from one healthy volunteer and 10 patients) using multishot Cartesian TSE were acquired at 3T and reconstructed using iterative POCSMUSE, and compared with single-shot and multishot echo-planar imaging (EPI) results. These images were evaluated by two radiologists using visual scores (considering both image quality and distortion levels) from 1 to 5.The proposed iterative POCSMUSE reconstruction was able to correct the ghost artifacts in multishot DWI. The ghost-to-signal ratio of TSE DWI using iterative POCSMUSE (0.0174 ± 0.0024) was significantly (P0.0005) smaller than using POCSMUSE (0.0253 ± 0.0040). The image scores of multishot TSE DWI were significantly higher than single-shot (P = 0.004 and 0.006 from two reviewers) and multishot (P = 0.008 and 0.004 from two reviewers) EPI-based methods.The proposed multishot Cartesian TSE DWI using iterative POCSMUSE reconstruction can provide high-quality diffusion images insensitive to motion-induced ghost artifacts and off-resonance related artifacts such as chemical shifts and susceptibility-induced image distortions.1 Technical Efficacy: Stage 1 J. MAGN. RESON. IMAGING 2017;46:167-174.

Both white matter hyperintensities (WMHs) and lacunar infarctions (LIs) are magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) markers of cerebral small vessel disease (SVD). However, the association between WMH and LI remains unclear. In this study, we asked whether WMH progression is related to LI occurrence using retrospective data. Overall, 8475 WMH patients with at least two MRI images were screened, and 187 patients were included in the final study; 76 patients had WMH with LI (WL), and 111 patients had WMH without LI (WOL). The 187 patients were divided into three groups according to WMH progression: Group 1 (no progression), Group 2 (0-53.64% WMH progression) and Group 3 (≥53.64% WMH progression). We found that both WMH volumes and Fazekas scores were higher in WL patients compared with those in WOL patients according to the 1st and 2nd MRI images (P0.05). Importantly, we found that the occurrence rates for LI were increased in Groups 2 and 3 compared with those in Group 1. Multiple logistic regression analysis demonstrated that the risk of LI occurrence was significantly increased in Group 2 versus that in Group 1 (odds ratio, 3.36; 95% CI, 1.48 to 7.67; P=0.004) after adjusting for the baseline patient characteristics and the interval between the two MRI scans. Additionally, with a stratification time of less than 24 months, the risk of LI occurrence was higher in Group 2 versus that in Group 1, after adjusting for baseline confounding factors (odds ratio, 3.68; 95% CI, 1.51 to 8.99; P=0.004). In conclusion, we found that WMH progression was significantly associated with LI occurrence, particularly within the first two years, and that this progression could serve as an independent indicator of LI development.

We studied the influence of doctor-patient communication skills training on brain functional architecture using resting-state functional MRI (rs-fMRI) with a regional homogeneity (ReHo) method. Ten medical students participated in the study. A 1-year long doctor-patient communication skills training program was conducted. RsfMRI data were collected at baseline, one month and one year after training. There was a significant increase in the communication skills test average scores between baseline and 1-month duration of training (P < 0.001). After one month of communication skills training, medical students had decreased ReHo in the right superior temporal gyrus compared with the baseline. After one year of communication skills training, students had increased ReHo in multiple regions and decreased ReHo in several regions (P < 0.05, Alphasim corrected). The change of ReHo values in the superior temporal gyrus negatively correlated with the change of communication skills scale score between one month after communication skills training and baseline (r = –0.734, P = 0.036). The training program we used can be an effective approach of improving doctor-patient communication skills, and the training resulted in functional plasticity of the brain's architecture toward optimizing locally functional organization.