Predictive Value of auricular diagnosis on coronary heart disease

Author name used in this publication: Lorna Kwai-Ping SuenVersion of RecordPublishe

EEG microstates: Functional significance and short-term test-retest reliability

Appendix A: Supplementary data to this article can be found online at https://doi. org/10.1016/j.ynirp.2022.100089.Copyright /© 2022 The Authors. EEG signal power, may have clinical relevance; however, their functional significance and test-retest reliability remain unclear. To investigate the functional significance of the canonical EEG microstate classes and their pairwise transitions, and to establish their within-session test-retest reliability, we recorded 36-channel EEGs in 20 healthy volunteers during three eyes-closed conditions: mind-wandering, verbalization (silently repeating the word ‘square’ every 2 s), and visualization (visualizing a square every 2 s). Each condition lasted 3 min and the sequence of three conditions was repeated four times (two runs of two sequence repetitions). The participants' alertness and their sense of effort during the experiment were rated using visual-analogue scales. The EEG data were 2–20 Hz bandpass-filtered and analysed into the four canonical microstate classes: A, B, C, and D. EEG microstate classes C and D were persistently more dominant than classes A and B in all conditions. Of the first-order microstate parameters, average microstate duration was most reliable. The duration of class D microstate was longer during mind-wandering (106.8 ms) than verbalization (102.2 ms) or visualization (99.8 ms), with a concomitantly higher coverage (36.4% vs. 34.7% and 35.2%), but otherwise there was no clear association of the four microstate classes to particular mental states. The test-retest reliability was higher at the beginning of each run, together with higher average alpha power and subjective ratings of alertness. Only the transitions between classes C and D (from C to D in particular) were significantly higher than what would be expected from the respective microstates' occurrences. The transition probabilities, however, did not distinguish between conditions, and their test-retest reliability was overall lower than that of the first-order parameters such as duration and coverage. Further studies are needed to establish the functional significance of the canonical EEG microstate classes. This might be more fruitfully achieved by looking at their complex syntax beyond pairwise transitions. To ensure greater test-retest reliability of microstate parameters, study designs should allow for shorter experimental runs with regular breaks, particularly when using EEG microstates as clinical biomarkers.BIAL Foundation (grant number: 183/16)

Elicitation of a pungent sensation does not implicate memory modulation in adolescents aged 14-16

Ref no. 701.12/KKK33Pungent sensation induced by allyl isothiocyanate which is a functional ingredient in a Japanese horseradish called wasabi involves the activation of transient receptor potential ankyrin 1 (TRPA1). It has been suggested that TRPA1 is associated with cognitive impairment in Alzheimer’s disease and neuroprotection on dentate gyrus granule cells. As our previous studies focus on daily-life strategies such as physical exercise and sleep for memory enhancement in adolescents, we further investigate whether elicitation of a pungent sensation would modulate memory recall. In the present study, children aged 14-16 spend 1 minute to orally taste wasabi to acquire a pungent sense, followed by an immediate 5-minute memory recall test displaying ten random combinations of three to four English alphabets plus one to two Arabic numbers in each attempt. Our results showed that the pungent sensation induced by wasabi showed no significant modulation on memory recall in the adolescents. This implicates that immediate elicitation of a pungent sensation in which TRPA1 may be involved does not help memory recall in adolescents.postprin

Bronchogenic cyst associated with pericardial defect: Case report and review of the literature

Partial defect of the pericardium combined with bronchogenic cyst is a very rare congenital anomaly. We describe the case of a 32-year-old man with a partial defect of the left pericardium and a bronchogenic cyst arising from the border of the pericardial defect. The cyst was successfully resected with the harmonic scalpel by three-port videothoracoscopic approach

Even-denominator fractional quantum Hall physics in ZnO

The fractional quantum Hall (FQH) effect emerges in high-quality two-dimensional electron systems exposed to a magnetic field when the Landau-level filling factor, ν_e, takes on a rational value. Although the overwhelming majority of FQH states have odd-denominator fillings, the physical properties of the rare and fragile even-denominator states are most tantalizing in view of their potential relevance for topological quantum computation. For decades, GaAs has been the preferred host for studying these even-denominator states, where they occur at ν_e = 5/2 and 7/2. Here we report an anomalous series of quantized even-denominator FQH states outside the realm of III–V semiconductors in the MgZnO/ZnO 2DES electron at ν_e = 3/2 and 7/2, with precursor features at 9/2; all while the 5/2 state is absent. The effect in this material occurs concomitantly with tunability of the orbital character of electrons at the chemical potential, thereby realizing a new experimental means for investigating these exotic ground states

Repeated successful surgical rescues of early and delayed multiple ruptures of ventricular septum, right ventricle and aneurysmal left ventricle following massive biventricular infarction

A 58 year old man underwent 6 surgical interventions for various complications of massive biventricular myocardial infarction over a period of 2 years following acute occlusion of a possibly "hyperdominant" left anterior descending coronary artery. These included concomitant repair of apicoanterior post-infarction VSD and right ventricular free wall rupture, repeat repair of recurrent VSD following inferoposterior extension of VSD in the infarcted septum 5 weeks later, repair of delayed right ventricular free wall rupture 4 weeks subsequently, repair of a bleeding left ventricular aneurysm eroding through left chest wall 16 months thereafter, repair of right upper lobe lung tear causing massive anterior mediastinal haemorrhage, mimicking yet another cardiac rupture, 2 months later, followed, at the same admission, 2 weeks later, by sternal reconstruction for dehisced and infected sternum using pedicled myocutaneous latissimus dorsi flap. 5 years after the latissimus myoplasty, the patient remains in NYHA class 1 and is leading a normal life

Influence of Substrates on the Surface Characteristics and Membrane Proteome of Fibrobacter succinogenes S85

Although Fibrobacter succinogenes S85 is one of the most proficient cellulose degrading bacteria among all mesophilic organisms in the rumen of herbivores, the molecular mechanism behind cellulose degradation by this bacterium is not fully elucidated. Previous studies have indicated that cell surface proteins might play a role in adhesion to and subsequent degradation of cellulose in this bacterium. It has also been suggested that cellulose degradation machinery on the surface may be selectively expressed in response to the presence of cellulose. Based on the genome sequence, several models of cellulose degradation have been suggested. The aim of this study is to evaluate the role of the cell envelope proteins in adhesion to cellulose and to gain a better understanding of the subsequent cellulose degradation mechanism in this bacterium. Comparative analysis of the surface (exposed outer membrane) chemistry of the cells grown in glucose, acid-swollen cellulose and microcrystalline cellulose using physico-chemical characterisation techniques such as electrophoretic mobility analysis, microbial adhesion to hydrocarbons assay and Fourier transform infra-red spectroscopy, suggest that adhesion to cellulose is a consequence of an increase in protein display and a concomitant reduction in the cell surface polysaccharides in the presence of cellulose. In order to gain further understanding of the molecular mechanism of cellulose degradation in this bacterium, the cell envelope-associated proteins were enriched using affinity purification and identified by tandem mass spectrometry. In total, 185 cell envelope-associated proteins were confidently identified. Of these, 25 proteins are predicted to be involved in cellulose adhesion and degradation, and 43 proteins are involved in solute transport and energy generation. Our results supports the model that cellulose degradation in F. succinogenes occurs at the outer membrane with active transport of cellodextrins across for further metabolism of cellodextrins to glucose in the periplasmic space and inner cytoplasmic membrane

Modulation of microglia by Wolfberry on the survival of retinal ganglion cells in a rat ocular hypertension model

The active component of Wolfberry (Lycium barbarum), lycium barbarum polysaccharides (LBP), has been shown to be neuroprotective to retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) against ocular hypertension (OH). Aiming to study whether this neuroprotection is mediated via modulating immune cells in the retina, we used multiphoton confocal microscopy to investigate morphological changes of microglia in whole-mounted retinas. Retinas under OH displayed slightly activated microglia. One to 100 mg/kg LBP exerted the best neuroprotection and elicited moderately activated microglia in the inner retina with ramified appearance but thicker and focally enlarged processes. Intravitreous injection of lipopolysaccharide decreased the survival of RGCs at 4 weeks, and the activated microglia exhibited amoeboid appearance as fully activated phenotype. When activation of microglia was attenuated by intravitreous injection of macrophage/microglia inhibitory factor, protective effect of 10 mg/kg LBP was attenuated. The results implicated that neuroprotective effects of LBP were partly due to modulating the activation of microglia

Neurodegeneration of the retina in mouse models of Alzheimer’s disease: what can we learn from the retina?

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is an age-related progressive neurodegenerative disease commonly found among elderly. In addition to cognitive and behavioral deficits, vision abnormalities are prevalent in AD patients. Recent studies investigating retinal changes in AD double-transgenic mice have shown altered processing of amyloid precursor protein and accumulation of β-amyloid peptides in neurons of retinal ganglion cell layer (RGCL) and inner nuclear layer (INL). Apoptotic cells were also detected in the RGCL. Thus, the pathophysiological changes of retinas in AD patients are possibly resembled by AD transgenic models. The retina is a simple model of the brain in the sense that some pathological changes and therapeutic strategies from the retina may be observed or applicable to the brain. Furthermore, it is also possible to advance our understanding of pathological mechanisms in other retinal degenerative diseases. Therefore, studying AD-related retinal degeneration is a promising way for the investigation on (1) AD pathologies and therapies that would eventually benefit the brain and (2) cellular mechanisms in other retinal degenerations such as glaucoma and age-related macular degeneration. This review will highlight the efforts on retinal degenerative research using AD transgenic mouse models