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Objective: The Polygonatum cyrtonema was processed to investigated its effects on material and energy metabolism in CUMS depressed model mice. Methods: 80 KM/SPF mice were randomly divided into model group, positive group, processed P. cyrtonema group and compatible group, with male and female were equally divided. CUMS depressed mice model were established by unpredictable mild stress for 28 days. The levels of ICD, α-KGDHC, ATPs and Na+-K+ ATPase in brain, cerebellum, liver, kidney and spleen were detected by ELISA. Results: Processed P. cyrtonema and its compatibility had different effects on the enzyme levels of material and energy metabolism in both male and female mice. Compared to the positive group, each treatment group was affected significantly (P＜0.05). P. cyrtonema could significantly increase the α-KGDHC content in brain, cerebellum, liver, kidney and spleen of female mice (P＜0.01), and complex differences in levels of ICD α-KGDHC, ATPs and Na+-K+ ATPase in different organs of male and female mice were observed. Conclusion: Processed P. cyrtonema and its compatibility had different effects on the enzyme levels of marerial and energy metabolism in both male and female mice. P cyrtonema group had the strongest effect on depressed mice.

Purpose: To optimize the design and demonstrate the integration of a helmet‐shaped container filled with a high‐permittivity material (HPM) slurry with RF head coil arrays to improve RF coil sensitivity and SNR for human‐brain proton MRI. Methods: RF reception magnetic fields (B1−$$ {\mathrm{B}}_1^{-} $$) of a 32‐channel receive‐only coil array with various geometries and permittivity values of HPM slurry helmet are calculated with electromagnetic simulation at 7 T. A 16‐channel transmit‐only coil array, a 32‐channel receive‐only coil array, and a 2‐piece HPM slurry helmet were constructed and assembled. RF transmission magnetic field (B1+$$ {\mathrm{B}}_1^{+} $$), B1−$$ {\mathrm{B}}_1^{-} $$, and MRI SNR maps from the entire human brain were measured and compared. Results: Simulations showed that averaged B1−$$ {\mathrm{B}}_1^{-} $$ improvement with the HPM slurry helmet increased from 57% to 87% as the relative permittivity (εr) of HPM slurry increased from 110 to 210. In vivo experiments showed that the average B1+$$ {\mathrm{B}}_1^{+} $$ improvement over the human brain was 14.5% with the two‐piece HPM slurry (εr ≈ 170) helmet, and the average B1−$$ {\mathrm{B}}_1^{-} $$ and SNR were improved 63% and 34%, respectively, because the MRI noise level was increased by the lossy HPM. Conclusion: The RF coil sensitivity and MRI SNR were largely improved with the two‐piece HPM slurry helmet demonstrated by both electromagnetic simulations and in vivo human head experiments at 7 T. The findings demonstrate that incorporating an easily producible HPM slurry helmet into the RF coil array significantly enhances human‐brain MRI SNR homogeneity and quality at ultrahigh field. Greater SNR improvement is anticipated using the less lossy HPM and optimal design. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cerebral glucose and oxygen metabolism and blood perfusion play key roles in neuroenergetics and oxidative phosphorylation to produce adenosine triphosphate (ATP) energy molecules in supporting cellular activity and brain function. Their impairments have been linked to numerous brain disorders. This study aimed to develop an in vivo magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) method capable of simultaneously assessing and quantifying the major cerebral metabolic rates of glucose (CMRGlc) and oxygen (CMRO2) consumption, lactate formation (CMRLac), and tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle (VTCA); cerebral blood flow (CBF); and oxygen extraction fraction (OEF) via a single dynamic MRS measurement using an interleaved deuterium (2H) and oxygen‐17 (17O) MRS approach. We introduced a single‐loop multifrequency radio‐frequency (RF) surface coil that can be used to acquire proton (1H) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) or interleaved low‐γ X‐nuclei 2H and 17O MRS. By combining this RF coil with a modified MRS pulse sequence, 17O‐isotope‐labeled oxygen gas inhalation, and intravenous 2H‐isotope‐labeled glucose administration, we demonstrate for the first time the feasibility of simultaneously and quantitatively measuring six important physiological parameters, CMRGlc, CMRO2, CMRLac, VTCA, CBF, and OEF, in rat brains at 16.4 T. The interleaved 2H–17O MRS technique should be readily adapted to image and study cerebral energy metabolism and perfusion in healthy and diseased brains. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pathogenesis of endometriosis (EN) is still unknown, but growing evidence suggests that immune regulation may be important, and the pattern of peripheral immune changes in reproductive women with EN has yet to be fully explored. In this study, we conducted a comprehensive and systematic analysis of immune cell subsets within T cells, B cells, NK cells, and γδ T cells in peripheral blood (PB) samples from women with EN, women with uterine fibroids (UF) but without EN (UF-alone), and healthy controls using multi-parameter flow cytometry. Our findings revealed that UF, a common comorbidity of EN, exhibited similar peripheral immune features to EN, particularly in T cell and B cell immunity. Compared to healthy controls, we constructed the peripheral immune profile of EN. This profile highlighted that the immunopathogenic factors in EN predominantly relate to the immune disorder of B cells and their subsets, as well as the functional abnormalities within immune cell subsets of CD4+ T cells, CD8+ T cells, and γδ T cells. Moreover, using the random forest (RF) machine-learning method, we developed a diagnostic model that can effectively identify the patients with EN from healthy controls. The immune factors identified within this model could be pivotal for unraveling the immune pathogenic mechanisms of EN. Our study is the first to present a comprehensive depiction of the circulating immune features in EN, although the detailed roles and underlying mechanisms of these immune factors in the context of EN require further investigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In vivo phosphorus-31 (31P) magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) imaging (MRSI) is an important non-invasive imaging tool for studying cerebral energy metabolism, intracellular nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD) and redox ratio, and mitochondrial function. However, it is challenging to achieve high signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) 31P MRS/MRSI results owing to low phosphorus metabolites concentration and low phosphorous gyromagnetic ratio ( γ ). Many works have demonstrated that ultrahigh field (UHF) could significantly improve the 31P-MRS SNR. However, there is a lack of studies of the 31P MRSI SNR in the 10.5 Tesla (T) human scanner. In this study, we designed and constructed a novel 31P-1H dual-frequency loop-dipole probe that can operate at both 7T and 10.5T for a quantitative comparison of 31P MRSI SNR between the two magnetic fields, taking into account the RF coil B1 fields (RF coil receive and transmit fields) and relaxation times. We found that the SNR of the 31P MRS signal is 1.5 times higher at 10.5T as compared to 7T, and the power dependence of SNR on magnetic field strength (B0) is 1.9. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The heart is a highly aerobic organ consuming most of the oxygen the body in supporting heart function. Quantitative imaging of myocardial oxygen metabolism and perfusion is essential for studying cardiac physiopathology in vivo. Here, we report a new imaging method that can simultaneously assess myocardial oxygen metabolism and blood flow in the rat heart. Methods: This novel method is based on the 17O‐MRSI combined with brief inhalation of 17O‐isotope labeled oxygen gas for quantitative imaging of myocardial metabolic rate of oxygen consumption (MVO2), myocardial blood flow (MBF), and oxygen extraction fraction (OEF). We demonstrate this imaging method under basal and high workload conditions in rat hearts at 9.4 T. Results: We show that this 17O MRSI–based approach can directly measure and image MVO2 (1.35–4.06 μmol/g/min), MBF (0.49–1.38 mL/g/min), and OEF (0.33–0.44) in the heart of anesthetized rat under basal and high workload (21.6 × 103–56.7 × 103 mmHg • bpm) conditions. Under high workload condition, MVO2 and MBF values in healthy rats approximately doubled, whereas OEF remained unchanged, indicating a strong coupling between myocardial oxygen metabolic demand and supply through blood perfusion. Conclusion: The 17O‐MRSI method has been used to simultaneously image the myocardial metabolic rate of oxygen consumption, blood flow, and oxygen extraction fraction in small animal hearts, which are sensitive to the physiological changes induced by high workload. This approach could provide comprehensive measures that are critical for studying myocardial function in normal and diseased states and has a potential for translation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]