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Abstract The effects of ultraviolet (UV) radiation on brain function have previously been investigated; however, the specific neurotransmitter-mediated mechanisms responsible for UV radiation-induced neurobehavioral changes remain elusive. In this study, we aimed to explore the mechanisms underlying UV radiation-induced neurobehavioral changes. In a mouse model, we observed that UV irradiation of the skin induces deficits in hippocampal memory, synaptic plasticity, and adult neurogenesis, as well as increased dopamine levels in the skin, adrenal glands, and brain. Chronic UV exposure altered the expression of genes involved in dopaminergic neuron differentiation. Furthermore, chronic peripheral dopamine treatments resulted in memory deficits. Systemic administration of a dopamine D1/D5 receptor antagonist reversed changes in memory, synaptic plasticity, adult neurogenesis, and gene expression in UV-irradiated mice. Our findings provide converging evidence that chronic UV exposure alters dopamine levels in the central nervous system and peripheral organs, including the skin, which may underlie the observed neurobehavioral shifts, such as hippocampal memory deficits and impaired neurogenesis. This study underscores the importance of protection from UV exposure and introduces the potential of pharmacological approaches targeting dopamine receptors to counteract the adverse neurological impacts of UV exposure.

We present a method to efficiently apply turbo coding to OFDM in-phase/quadrature index modulation (OFDM-IQ-IM) for both cases of presence and absence of puncturing. We show that using the posterior probabilities of turbo-coded bits in the Bahl-Cocke-Jelinek-Raviv (BCJR) decoding algorithm yields the same decoding performance as using the likelihood probabilities of turbo-coded bits. We investigate the difference in error rate between systematic bits and parity check bits of systematic turbo coding and the difference in error rate between index selecting bits (ISBs) and symbol selecting bits (SSBs) of OFDM-IQ-IM. Based on the results, we devise a new bit mapping scheme that can efficiently split turbo-coded bits into ISBs and SSBs in OFDM-IQ-IM. Simulations show that the proposed bit mapping scheme improves the bit error rate (BER) of the turbo-coded 4QAM-based OFDM-IQ-IM approach and that the turbo-coded 4QAM-based OFDM-IQ-IM approach applying the proposed bit mapping scheme outperforms the turbo-coded 4QAM-based OFDM approach in the high signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) region.

Background and Purpose The outcomes of acute internal carotid artery (ICA) terminus occlusions are poor. We classified ICA terminus occlusions into 2 groups according to the occlusion pattern of the circle of Willis and hypothesized that clinical outcomes would significantly differ between them. Methods Consecutive patients with acute ICA terminus occlusions evaluated by baseline computed tomographic angiography were enrolled. We investigated the occlusion patterns in the circle of Willis, retrospectively classified patients into simple ICA terminus occlusion (STO; with good Willisian collaterals from neighboring cerebral circulation) and complex ICA terminus occlusion (CTO; with one or more of A2 anterior cerebral artery, fetal posterior cerebral artery occlusion, or hypoplastic/absent contralateral A1; or with poor collaterals from anterior communicating artery) groups, and compared their baseline characteristics and outcomes. Results The STO group (n=58) showed smaller infarct volumes at 72 hours than the CTO group (n=34) (median, 81 mL [interquartile range, 38-192] vs. 414 mL [193-540], P

Based on grouping the pulses that compose the sub-carrier of the time-multiplexed binary offset carrier (TMBOC), we present an unambiguous correlation function that has no side-peaks causing the ambiguity in the TMBOC signal tracking, and also, that has a higher degree of the sharpness of the main-peak (DSM) over those of the conventional unambiguous correlation functions. Splitting the pulses composing the TMBOC sub-carrier into 12 groups, and, subsequently, forming the 12 group correlations corresponding to the 12 groups, we investigate the contribution of each of the 12 group correlations to the side peaks and main peak of the TMBOC autocorrelation function. Then, we propose a combining method of the 12 group correlations based on the investigation to remove the side peaks while improving the DSM. Numerical results demonstrate that the proposed unambiguous correlation function not only has no side-peaks, but also has a higher DSM, and, consequently, has a better tracking error performance than those of the conventional unambiguous correlation functions.

Background and Purpose The goal of stent retriever–based thrombectomy is removal of embolic clots in patients with intracranial large artery occlusion. However, outcomes of stent retrieval may differ between acute arterial occlusions due to intracranial atherosclerotic disease (IAD) and those due to embolism. This case series describes the outcomes of stent retriever–based thrombectomy and rescue treatments in 9 patients with IAD-related occlusion. Methods Among patients who underwent endovascular treatment for acute intracranial large artery occlusion, those in whom stent retrieval was attempted as first-line treatment were included in this review. IAD was defined as significant fixed focal stenosis at the occlusion site, which was evident on final angiographic assessment or observed during endovascular treatment. Results Median number of stent retriever passes was 2 (range, 1-3), and temporary bypass was seen in all patients. Immediate partial recanalization (arterial occlusive lesion grade 2-3) was observed in 7 patients. Immediate modified thrombolysis in cerebral infarction grade 2b-3 was seen in 6 patients, but the lesions often required rescue treatment due to reocclusion or flow insufficiency. In terms of rescue treatments, angioplasty and intra-arterial tirofiban infusion seemed to be effective. Conclusions Our findings suggest that stent retrieval can effectively remove thrombi from stenotic lesions and achieve partial recanalization despite the tendency toward reocclusion in most patients with IAD-related occlusion. Further research into the use of rescue treatments, such as tirofiban infusion and angioplasty, is warranted.

We synthesized lead-free piezoelectric (Bi0.5Na0.5-xKx)TiO3 (BNKT) ceramics using a conventional solid-state reaction method. We have investigated the structural and electrical properties of the materials with x = 0.05 to 0.40. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis suggests that the BNKT ceramics show the transition from rhombohedral to tetragonal structure. The ratio of the tetragonal structure increased continuously in accordance with the increasing composition of x. The sample of x = 0.10 showed a similar ratio between the tetragonal and rhombohedral structures. Frequency-dependent dielectric measurements showed a sort of relaxor properties emerged with increasing x composition, this effect may be interpreted in terms of the formation of polar nano-regions (PNRs) in samples. The value of remnant polarization (Pr) decreases rapidly as x increases beyond the point of x = 0.10 from 25.3 μC/cm2 to 5.9 μC/cm2. On the contrary, as for inverse piezoelectric coefficient (d33*), a higher value of d33* (336 pm/V) at x = 0.10, was observed when compared with x = 0.05 (d33* = 51 pm/V). These results can be explained by the formation of PNRs and their variations with the external applied field. We here propose a possible mechanism showing the effects of dipolar defects, which can be resulted from the K ion substitution on (Bi,Na)TiO3 (BNT) ceramics.