Altered neural intrinsic oscillations in patients with multiple sclerosis: effects of cortical thickness

ObjectiveTo investigate the effects of cortical thickness on the identification accuracy of fractional amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation (fALFF) in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS).MethodsResting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging data were collected from 31 remitting MS, 20 acute MS, and 42 healthy controls (HCs). After preprocessing, we first calculated two-dimensional fALFF (2d-fALFF) maps using the DPABISurf toolkit, and 2d-fALFF per unit thickness was obtained by dividing 2d-fALFF by cortical thickness. Then, between-group comparison, clinical correlation, and classification analyses were performed in 2d-fALFF and 2d-fALFF per unit thickness maps. Finally, we also examined whether the effect of cortical thickness on 2d-fALFF maps was affected by the subfrequency band.ResultsIn contrast with 2d-fALFF, more changed regions in 2d-fALFF per unit thickness maps were detected in MS patients, such as increased region of the right inferior frontal cortex and faded regions of the right paracentral lobule, middle cingulate cortex, and right medial temporal cortex. There was a significant positive correlation between the disease duration and the 2d-fALFF values in the left early visual cortex in remitting MS patients (r = 0.517, Bonferroni-corrected, p = 0.008 × 4 < 0.05). In contrast with 2d-fALFF, we detected a positive correlation between the 2d-fALFF per unit thickness of the right ventral stream visual cortex and the modified Fatigue Impact Scale (MFIS) scores (r = 0.555, Bonferroni-corrected, p = 0.017 × 4 > 0.05). For detecting MS patients, 2d-fALFF and 2d- fALFF per unit thickness both performed remarkably well in support vector machine (SVM) analysis, especially in the remitting phase (AUC = 86, 83%). Compared with 2d-fALFF, the SVM model of 2d-fALFF per unit thickness had significantly higher classification performance in distinguishing between remitting and acute MS. More changed regions and more clinically relevant 2d-fALFF per unit thickness maps in the subfrequency band were also detected in MS patients.ConclusionBy dividing the functional value by the cortical thickness, the identification accuracy of fALFF in MS patients was detected to be potentially influenced by cortical thickness. Additionally, 2d-fALFF per unit thickness is a potential diagnostic marker that can be utilized to distinguish between acute and remitting MS patients. Notably, we observed similar variations in the subfrequency band

Effects of blood flow restriction training on muscle fitness and cardiovascular risk of obese college students

Purpose: The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of blood flow restriction (BFR) combined with low-intensity resistance training (RT) on cardiovascular risk factors in obese individuals.Methods: Twenty-six male obese college students were recruited and randomly assigned to a control group (CON, n = 8), a low-intensity RT group (RT, n = 9), and a combined BFR training and low-intensity RT group (BFRT, n = 9).Results: The subjects in BFRT group showed significant reductions in body fat percentage and waist-to-hip ratio and a significant increase in lean mass and muscle mass; the peak torque, peak power, and endurance ratio of knee extensors and elbow flexors were significantly upregulated; the root mean square (RMS) for the medial femoral muscle, lateral femoral muscle and biceps significantly increased; the diastolic blood pressure (DBP) showed a significant decrease. The BFRT group also showed significant up-regulations in RMS of the difference between the adjacent R-R intervals (RMSSD), high-frequency power (HF) of parasympathetic modulatory capacity, the standard deviation of R-R intervals (SDNN) of overall heart rate variability (HRV) changes and low-frequency power (LF) of predominantly sympathetic activity. In addition, glycated hemoglobin (HbA1C), insulin resistance index (HOMA-IR) and fasting blood glucose (FBG) were all significantly downregulated in BFRT group. In parallel, low-density lipoprotein (LDL-C) significantly reduced while high-density lipoprotein (HDL-C) significantly increased in BFRT group.Conclusion: BFR combined with low-intensity RT training effectively improved body composition index, increased muscle mass, improved neuromuscular activation, enhanced muscle strength and endurance, which in turn improved abnormal glucolipid metabolism and enhanced cardiac autonomic regulation

A record of spontaneous subduction initiation in the Izu–Bonin–Mariana arc

The initiation of tectonic plate subduction into the mantle is poorly understood. If subduction is induced by the push of a distant mid-ocean ridge or subducted slab pull, we expect compression and uplift of the overriding plate. In contrast, spontaneous subduction initiation, driven by subsidence of dense lithosphere along faults adjacent to buoyant lithosphere, would result in extension and magmatism. The rock record of subduction initiation is typically obscured by younger deposits, so evaluating these possibilities has proved elusive. Here we analyse the geochemical characteristics of igneous basement rocks and overlying sediments, sampled from the Amami Sankaku Basin in the northwest Philippine Sea. The uppermost basement rocks are areally widespread and supplied via dykes. They are similar in composition and age—as constrained by the biostratigraphy of the overlying sediments—to the 52–48-million-year-old basalts in the adjacent Izu–Bonin–Mariana fore-arc. The geochemical characteristics of the basement lavas indicate that a component of subducted lithosphere was involved in their genesis, and the lavas were derived from mantle source rocks that were more melt-depleted than those tapped at mid-ocean ridges. We propose that the basement lavas formed during the inception of Izu–Bonin–Mariana subduction in a mode consistent with the spontaneous initiation of subduction

Diurnal Characteristics of Gravity Waves over the Tibetan Plateau in 2015 Summer Using 10-km Downscaled Simulations from WRF-EnKF Regional Reanalysis

Diurnal variations of gravity waves over the Tibetan Plateau (TP) in summer 2015 were investigated based on high-resolution downscaled simulations from WRF-EnKF (Weather Research and Forecasting model and an ensemble Kalman filter) regional reanalysis data with particular emphasis on wave source, wave momentum fluxes and wave energies. Strong diurnal precipitations, which mainly happen along the south slope of the TP, tend to excite upward-propagating gravity waves. The spatial and temporal distributions of the momentum fluxes of small-scale (10–200 km) and meso-scale (200–500 km) gravity waves agree well with the diurnal precipitation distributions. The power spectra of momentum fluxes also show that the small- and meso-scale atmospheric processes become important during the period of the strongest rainfall. Eastward momentum fluxes and northward momentum fluxes are dominant. Wave energies are described in terms of kinetic energy (KE), potential energy (PE) and vertical fluctuation energy (VE). The diurnal variation and spatial distribution of VE in the lower stratosphere correspond to the diurnal rainfall in the troposphere

Promotion and Application of Innovative Technology in the Construction of Yunmao Expressway Green Road

With Yunfu Luoding city to Maoming Xinyi city highway as the support, builders focus on introducing innovative technology in the process of creating green road demonstration project, promoting energy conservation and emission reduction, reducing common quality problems, improving the technical level and management level of green road construction, and playing a reference role for the scientific application of innovative technology in common national and provincial highways

Alteration of Regional Homogeneity within the Sensorimotor Network after Spinal Cord Decompression in Cervical Spondylotic Myelopathy: A Resting-State fMRI Study

There is a lack of longitudinal research to evaluate the function of neurons’ adaptive changes within the sensorimotor network (SMN) following recovery after cervical cord decompression. Regional homogeneity (ReHo) may provide information that is critical to fully understand CSM-related functional neural synchrony alterations. The purpose of this study was to assess the ReHo alterations of resting state-functional MRI (rs-fMRI) within pre- and postdecompression CSM and healthy controls (HC) and its correlations with clinical indices. Predecompression CSM demonstrated a significantly lower ReHo in the left primary sensory cortex and primary motor cortex (PostG/PreG) but enhanced ReHo in the right superior parietal lobule (SPL) compared with HC. In comparison with predecompression CSM, the postdecompression CSM showed increased ReHo in the left PostG/PreG but significantly lower ReHo in the right SPL compared with HC patients. Abnormal ReHo regions in pre- or postdecompression CSM showed no significant correlation with the Japanese Orthopaedic Association (JOA) scores, Neck Disability Index (NDI) scores, and disease duration (P>0.05). This result demonstrated disrupted regional homogeneity within SMN in CSM. This adaptive change in the brain may favor the preservation of sensorimotor networks before and after cervical cord decompression and clinical symptoms independent of ReHo within SMN