Search

The regulatory potency of circular RNA (circRNA) has been acknowledged in multiple human diseases, including ischaemic stroke (IS). However, only a few circRNAs were investigated in this disorder. We aimed to uncover the role of circ_0001360 in cell models of IS in vitro. SK-N-SH cells were subjected to oxygen-glucose deprivation/reoxygenation (OGD/R) to simulate IS pathology conditions in vitro. Quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR) and western blot were applied for expression detection. Cell viability, proliferation and apoptosis were investigated by CCK-8, EdU and flow cytometry assays. The predicted binding of miR-671-5p to circ_0001360 or BMF 3'UTR was validated by dual-luciferase reporter and RIP assays. Proteins on the NF-κB pathway were quantified by western blot to assess NF-κB pathway activity. Circ_0001360 was upregulated in SK-N-SH cells after OGD/R treatment. OGD/R provoked SK-N-SH cell growth impairment, apoptosis and inflammation, while circ_0001360 knockdown relieved these injuries. Circ_0001360 targeted miR-671-5p, and miR-671-5p deficiency recovered SK-N-SH cell injury that was repressed by circ_0001360 knockdown. MiR-671-5p directly combined with BMF and repressed BMF expression. Accordingly, circ_0001360 targeted miR-671-5p to regulate the expression of BMF. Circ_0001360 knockdown weakened the phosphorylated levels of P65 and IκBα, while further miR-671-5p deficiency or BMF overexpression restored their expression levels. Circ_0001360 contributed to OGD/R-caused SK-N-SH cell injury via targeting the miR-671-5p/BMF network and activating the NF-κB pathway, thus participating in the development of IS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bimanual coordination is important for developing a natural motor brain-computer interface (BCI) from electroencephalogram (EEG) signals, covering the aspects of bilateral arm training for rehabilitation, bimanual coordination for daily-life assistance, and also improving the multidimensional control of BCIs. For the same task targets of both hands, simultaneous and sequential bimanual movements are two different bimanual coordination manners. Planning and performing motor sequences are the fundamental abilities of humans, and it is more natural to execute sequential movements compared to simultaneous movements in many complex tasks. However, to date, for these two different manners in which two hands coordinated to reach the same task targets, the differences in the neural correlate and also the feasibility of movement discrimination have not been explored. In this study, we aimed to investigate these two issues based on a bimanual reaching task for the first time. Finally, neural correlates in the view of the movement-related cortical potentials, event-related oscillations, and source imaging showed unique neural encoding patterns of sequential movements. Besides, for the same task targets of both hands, the simultaneous and sequential bimanual movements were successfully discriminated in both pre-movement and movement execution periods. This study revealed the neural encoding patterns of sequential bimanual movements and presented its values in developing a more natural and good-performance motor BCI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Sensory stimulation can play a fundamental role in the activation of the primary sensorimotor cortex (S1-M1), which can promote motor learning and M1 plasticity in stroke patients. However, studies have focused mainly on investigating the influence of brain lesion profiles on the activation patterns of S1-M1 during motor tasks instead of sensory tasks. Therefore, the objective of this study is to explore the lesion-specific activation patterns due to different brain lesion profiles and types during focal vibration (FV). Methods: In total 52 subacute stroke patients were recruited in this clinical experiment, including patients with basal ganglia hemorrhage/ischemia, brainstem ischemia, other subcortical ischemia, cortical ischemia, and mixed cortical–subcortical ischemia. Electroencephalograms (EEG) were recorded following a resting state lasting for 4 min and three sessions of FV. FV was applied over the muscle belly of the affected limb's biceps for 3 min each session. Beta motor-related EEG power desynchronization overlying S1-M1 was used to indicate the activation of S1-M1, while the laterality coefficient (LC) of the activation of S1-M1 was used to assess the interhemispheric asymmetry of brain activation. Results: (1) Regarding brain lesion profiles, FV could lead to the significant activation of bilateral S1-M1 in patients with basal ganglia ischemia and other subcortical ischemia. The activation of ipsilesional S1-M1 in patients with brainstem ischemia was higher than that in patients with cortical ischemia. No activation of S1-M1 was observed in patients with lesions involving cortical regions. (2) Regarding brain lesion types, FV could induce the activation of bilateral S1-M1 in patients with basal ganglia hemorrhage, which was significantly higher than that in patients with basal ganglia ischemia. Additionally, LC showed no significant correlation with the modified Barthel index (MBI) in all patients, but a positive correlation with MBI in patients with basal ganglia lesions. Conclusions: These results reveal that sensory stimulation can induce lesion-specific activation patterns of S1-M1. This indicates FV could be applied in a personalized manner based on the lesion-specific activation of S1-M1 in stroke patients with different lesion profiles and types. Our study may contribute to a better understanding of the underlying mechanisms of cortical reorganization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The adhesion between a hydrate and a pipe wall is the main cause of hydrate deposition and blockage. In this study, the adhesion strength of semi-clathrate hydrate (tetrabutylammonium bromide hydrate) to four kinds of solid surfaces (E235B carbon steel, E355CC low alloy steel, SUS304 stainless steel, and polytetrafluoroethylene) was measured. This investigation reveals that the adhesion strength of the hydrate to a solid surface is negatively correlated with the wettability of the solid surface, which suggests that hydrophobic materials effectively reduced the hydrate adhesion to the pipe wall. The surface roughness showed different effects on the adhesion of the hydrate to hydrophilic or hydrophobic surfaces. To be specific, when the surface roughness increased from 3.2 µm to 12.5 µm, the hydrate adhesion strength to the hydrophilic surface of SUS304 increased by 123.6%, whereas the hydrate adhesion strength to the hydrophobic surface of polytetrafluoroethylene only increased by 21.5%. This study shows that low wettability and low surface roughness effectively reduce the critical rate required to remove hydrate deposition, which achieves the self-removal of hydrates. At the same time, it was found that the adhesion strength of the hydrate to surfaces increases with increasing subcooling. This investigation holds significant theoretical implications for designing self-cleaning surfaces for oil and gas pipes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective. Based on transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) with electroencephalography technology, this study analyzed the rehabilitation mechanism of patients' motor function reconstruction and nerve remodeling after stroke. It revealed the function of the cerebral cortex network at a deeper level and established a set of prognostic marker evaluation indicators for the reconstruction of motor function after stroke. Methods. Twenty-one patients treated at the Beijing Rehabilitation Hospital of Capital Medical University because of ischemic stroke in the territory supplied by the middle cerebral artery were selected as the experimental group. Neurophysiological evaluation, motor function evaluation, and clinical evaluation were performed 30 and 180 d after the onset of ischemic stroke. In the control group, neurophysiological evaluation was also performed as a reference index to evaluate the changes in cortical patterns after stroke. Results. The brain topographic map showed the changes in energy or power spectral density (PSD) at 1,000 ms after stimulation as compared with before stimulation, but no difference was detected in these patients. The time-frequency analysis showed that when the left primary motor cortex (M1) area was stimulated using TMS, the PSD values of the left and right M1 and posterior occipital cortex areas produced an 8–40 Hz wave band in patients S1–S11. There was no significant energy change in patients S12–S16. Conclusions. For patients with different injury types, degrees of injury, and different onset periods, individualized intervention methods should be adopted. The evaluation methods should be as diverse as possible, and the rehabilitation effects of patients should be assessed from multiple perspectives to avoid the limitations of single factors. Possible mechanism: After brain injury, the nervous system can change its structure and function through different ways and maintain it for a certain period of time. This plasticity change will change with the course of the disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: This study aimed to investigate how cerebral small vessel disease (CSVD) burden and its imaging markers are related to alterations in different gait parameters in Parkinson's disease (PD) and whether they affect attention, information processing speed, and executive function when global mental status is relatively intact. Methods: Sixty-five PD patients were divided into the low CSVD burden group (n = 43) and the high CSVD burden group (n = 22). All patients underwent brain magnetic resonance imaging scans, clinical scale evaluations, and neuropsychological tests, as well as quantitative evaluation of gait and postural control. Multivariable linear regression models were conducted to investigate associations between CSVD burden and PD symptoms. Results: Between-group analysis showed that the high CSVD group had worse attention, executive dysfunction, information processing speed, gait, balance, and postural control than the low CSVD group. Regression analysis revealed that greater CSVD burden was associated with poor attention, impaired executive function, and slow gait speed; white matter hyperintensity was associated with slow gait speed, decreased cadence, increased stride time, and increased stance phase time; the presence of lacune was associated only with poor attention and impaired executive function; enlarged perivascular space in the basal ganglia was associated with gait speed. Conclusions: CSVD burden may worsen gait, postural control, attention, and executive function in patients with PD, and different imaging markers play different roles. Early management of vascular risks and treatment of vascular diseases provide an alternate way to mitigate some motor and cognitive dysfunction in PD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to achieve a better cavitation effect, the standard K-S turbulence model and the Schnerr-Sauer cavitation model were used to numerically simulate the cavitation flow fields of Venturi tubes based on FLUENT software. By comparing and analyzing the cavitation contours, vapor volume fraction and cavitation number obtained by simulation, the effects of structural parameters such as throat diameter to pipe diameter ratio, inlet angle, throat diameter to length ratio and outlet angle of Venturi tubes on cavitation were investigated. The results show that the cavitation effect firstly increases and then decreases along with the increase of throat diameter to pipe diameter ratio, and there is an optimum value. With the increase of inlet angle, the cavitation effect is weakened. With the increase of throat diameter to length ratio, the cavitation effect is enhanced. With the increase of outlet angle, the cavitation effect is weakened. The study results provide several references for the optimum design of Venturi tube cavitators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, a calculation model of CO2 solubility in equilibrium with hydrate was developed on the basis of the Patel-Teja equation of state and Chen-Guo hydrate model. The solubility of CO2 in water and NaCl solution in equilibrium with hydrate were calculated respectively under the temperature window of 273.95 K to 282.55 K and the pressure window of 2.0 MPa to 8.0 MPa. The comparisons between the calculated and experimental values show that the average absolute deviation percentages (AADP) are 2.12 % for the CO2/H2O system and 2.31 % for the CO2/NaCl/H2O system, respectively. It demonstrates that the model proposed in this work could well predict the solubility of CO2 in NaCl solution in equilibrium with hydrate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hydrate-based technologies (HBTs) have high potential in many fields. The industrial application of HBTs is limited by the low conversion rate of the water into hydrate (RWH), and sodium lignin sulfonate (SLS) has the potential to solve the above problem. In order to make the HBTs in the presence of SLS applied in industry and promote the advances of commercial HBTs, the effect of SLS on the thermodynamic equilibrium hydrate formation pressure (Peq) was investigated for the first time, and a new model (which can predict the Peq) was proposed to quantitatively describe the thermodynamic effect of SLS on the hydrate formation. Then, the effects of pressure and initial SLS concentration on the hydrate formation rate (rR) at different stages in the process of hydrate formation were investigated for the first time to reveal the kinetic effect of SLS on hydrate formation. The experimental results show that SLS caused little negative thermodynamic effect on hydrate formation. The Peq of the ethylene-SLS solution system predicted by the model proposed in this work matches the experimental data well, with an average relative deviation of 1.6% and a maximum relative deviation of 4.7%. SLS increased RWH: the final RWH increased from 57.6 ± 1.6% to higher than 70.0% by using SLS, and the highest final RWH (77.0 ± 2.1%) was achieved when the initial SLS concentration was 0.1 mass%. The rR did not significantly change as RWH increased from 35% to 65% in the formation process in the presence of SLS. The effect of increasing pressure on increasing rR decreased with the increase in RWH when RWH was lower than 30%, and the difference in pressure led to little difference in the rR when RWH was higher than 30%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]