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Abstract Children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) have difficulties in social interactions. Studying brain activity during social interactions is difficult with conventional artificial stimuli. This pioneering study examined the neural correlates of social perception in children with ADHD and matched controls using naturalistic stimuli. We presented 20 children with ADHD and 20 age-and-sex-matched controls with tailored movies featuring high- or low-level social interactions while recording electroencephalographic signals. Both groups exhibited synchronized gamma-band oscillations, but controls demonstrated greater inter-subject correlations. Additionally, the difference in inter-subject correlations between high- and low-interaction movies was significantly larger in controls compared to ADHD patients. Between 55 and 75 Hz comparing viewing high interaction movies with low interaction moves, controls had a significantly larger weighting in the right parietal lobe, while ADHD patients had a significantly smaller weighting in the left occipital lobe. These findings reveal distinct spatiotemporal neural signatures in social interaction processing among children with ADHD and controls using naturalistic stimuli. These neural markers offer potential for group differentiation and assessing intervention efficacy, advancing our understanding ADHD-related social interaction mechanisms.

BackgroundHydrocephalus is a brain abnormality frequently encountered in neonates. There are several known etiologies of hydrocephalus, which can be classified as either congenital or acquired. Occlusion of the foramen of Monro (FOM) is a cause of hydrocephalus and can be either congenital or secondary to various disorders. Idiopathic obstruction of the FOM presenting as prenatal ventriculomegaly is extremely rare but has been reported.Case presentationWe present the case of a preterm newborn with severe bilateral hydrocephalus due to FOM occlusion in the prenatal period. Although the neonate had normal head circumference and no clinical symptoms after birth, brain sonography revealed progressive ventriculomegaly. Further image revealed bilateral ventriculomegaly with normal-sized third and fourth ventricles. We suspected a complete obstruction of the right and a partial obstruction of the left of the FOM. The neonate underwent endoscopic septostomy and foraminotomy, resulting in improvement.ConclusionWe report a case of preterm FOM occlusion in the youngest and smallest neonate to date. Endoscopic septostomy and foraminotomy were performed in order to avoid ventriculoperitoneal shunt-related complications, highlighting the viability of endoscopic procedures which should be the primary treatment in preterm neonates with FOM occlusion.

Grain filling is the physiological process for determining the obtainment of yield in cereal crops. The grain-filling characteristics of 50 maize brand hybrids released from 1964 to 2014 in China were assayed across multiple environments. We found that the grain-filling duration (54.46%) and rate (43.40%) at the effective grain-filling phase greatly contributed to the final performance parameter of 100-kernel weight (HKW). Meanwhile, along with the significant increase in HKW, the accumulated growing degree days (GDDs) for the actual grain-filling period duration (AFPD) among the selected brand hybrids released from the 1960s to the 2010s in China had a decadal increase of 23.41°C d. However, there was a decadal increase of only 19.76°C d for GDDs of the days from sowing to physiological maturity (DPM), which was also demonstrated by a continuous decrease in the ratio between the days from sowing to silking (DS) and DPM (i.e., from 53.24% in the 1960s to 49.78% in the 2010s). In contrast, there were no significant changes in grain-filling rate along with the release years of the selected hybrids. Moreover, the stability of grain-filling characteristics across environments also significantly increased along with the hybrid release years. We also found that the exotic hybrids showed a longer grain-filling duration at the effective grain-filling phase and more stability of the grain-filling characteristics than those of the Chinese local hybrids. According to the results of this study, it is expected that the relatively longer grain-filling duration, shorter DS, higher grain-filling rate, and steady grain-filling characteristics would contribute to the yield improvement of maize hybrids in the future.

ObjectiveTo compare the return to work (RTW) time between single-port laparoscopic surgery (SPLS) and multiport laparoscopic surgery (MPLS) for benign ovarian tumors.MethodsA cross-sectional cohort study was conducted, which consisted of 335 women of reproductive age with benign ovarian tumors and who were keen on returning to work as early as possible. Surgical outcomes, postoperative pain score, postoperative satisfaction with the cosmesis score (CS), and the RTW time of the SPLS group were compared with those of the MPLS group. Besides, the RTW time and CS were calculated from the questionnaire survey by a single specialized gynecologist.ResultsWomen who met the inclusion criteria were included in the SPLS (n = 106) and MPLS groups (n = 229). The RTW time in the SPLS group (22.13 ± 27. 06 days) was significantly shorter than that in the MPLS group (46.08 ± 57.86 days) (P < 0.001). The multivariate Cox analysis results showed that age (HR = 0.984, 95% CI, 0.971−0.997, P = 0.020), SPLS (HR = 3.491, 95% CI, 2.422−5. 032, P < 0.001), and return to normal activity time (HR = 0.980, 95% CI, 0.961−0.998, P = 0.029) were independent factors of the RTW time.ConclusionsSPLS may be advantageous in terms of shortening the RTW time for women with benign ovarian tumors.

ObjectiveTo investigate the relationship between sleep problems and development in preschool children with suspected developmental delay.MethodsA total of 192 preschool children (mean age 4 years; 131 males, 61 females) were recruited from the Child Development Clinic, including 98 preterm children and 94 age- and sex-matched full-term children. All participants underwent evaluation of gross motor, fine motor and speech performance. All parents of all participants completed the Children's Sleep Habits Questionnaire (CSHQ). Some of the participants also underwent psychological evaluation. Correlation analysis and community network analysis were used to investigate the interactions.ResultsThe developmental status was: 75.5% developmental delay, 19.3% borderline development, and 5.2% normal development. Eighty-nine percent of the subjects had abnormal CSHQ scores. Age, gestational age, speech development, cognitive development, and socio-emotional development were significantly correlated with the CSHQ. Significant interactions between sleep problems and development were noted mostly in the preterm group.ConclusionHigh prevalence of sleep disturbances in children at the Child Development Center was noted and associated with multiple factors. Therefore, during the multidisciplinary evaluation of children with possible developmental delay, inquiring about their sleep quality and habits is strongly recommended. Mitigating sleep problems enhances the efficacy of early intervention programs.

Abstract Individuals with Rett syndrome (RTT) commonly demonstrate Parkinsonian features and dystonia at teen age; however, the pathological reason remains unclear. Abnormal iron accumulation in deep gray matter were reported in some Parkinsonian-related disorders. In this study, we investigated the iron accumulation in deep gray matter of RTT and its correlation with dystonia severity. We recruited 18 RTT-diagnosed participants with MECP2 mutations, from age 4 to 28, and 28 age-gender matched controls and investigated the iron accumulation by susceptibility weighted image (SWI) in substantia nigra (SN), globus pallidus (GP), putamen, caudate nucleus, and thalamus. Pearson’s correlation was applied for the relation between iron accumulation and dystonia severity. In RTT, the severity of dystonia scales showed significant increase in subjects older than 10 years, and the contrast ratios of SWI also showed significant differences in putamen, caudate nucleus and the average values of SN, putamen, and GP between RTT and controls. The age demonstrated moderate to high negative correlations with contrast ratios. The dystonia scales were correlated with the average contrast ratio of SN, putamen and GP, indicating iron accumulation in dopaminergic system and related grey matter. As the first SWI study for RTT individuals, we found increased iron deposition in dopaminergic system and related grey matter, which may partly explain the gradually increased dystonia.

Neurocritical monitoring is important in caring for patients in the neurological intensive care unit. Although clinical neurologic examination is standard for neurocritical monitoring, changes found during the examination are often late signs and insufficient to detect and prevent secondary brain injury. Therefore, various neuromonitoring tools have been developed to monitor different physiologic parameters, such as cerebral oxygenation, cerebral blood flow, cerebral pressure, cerebral autoregulation, cerebral electric activity, and cerebral metabolism. In this review, we have discussed current commonly used neurocritical monitoring tools. No single monitor is sufficient and perfect for neurocritical monitoring. Multimodal neurocritical monitoring is the current trend. However, the lack of common formatting standards and uncertainty of improvement in patients’ outcomes warrant further studies of multimodal neurocritical monitoring. Nevertheless, multimodal neurocritical monitoring considers individual pathophysiological variations in patients or their injuries and allows clinicians to tailor individualized management decisions.

Allergic rhinitis (AR) is the most common chronic allergic disease in school-age children. An increased prevalence of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in AR patients has been reported; however, inattention and hyperactivity in AR children have not been investigated using objective and scientific measurements. Methods: We used AR symptom score, ADHD symptom scale, and computerized continuous performance test (CPT) to study the attention and impulsivity in AR children, age-matched controls, and ADHD children (aged 6–15 years). Univariate and multivariate linear regression analyses were applied to identify risk factors for impulsivity and inattention in AR children. Results: Twenty-nine controls, 10 ADHD, and 105 AR children were enrolled. There were no differences in age and sex among the three groups. The scores of Hyperactivity/Impulsivity subscales of ADHD symptoms from both parents and teachers were significantly higher in the AR children. The CPT in AR children revealed higher commission errors, shorter reaction times, and more perseveration. Risk factors for inattention and impulsivity in AR children included younger age, male sex, higher AR symptom scores, persistent AR, moderate/severe AR, multiple atopic diseases, family history of atopy, and possible comorbidity with ADHD. Conclusion: Care for AR children should not only involve treating their allergy, but also monitoring the possible comorbidities of impulsivity and inattention. In children with impulsivity, AR should be considered in addition to ADHD.

Erythropoietin (EPO) is a neuroprotective agent against cerebral ischemia/reperfusion (I/R)-induced brain injury. However, its crossing of blood-brain barrier is limited. Focused ultrasound (FUS) sonication with microbubbles (MBs) can effectively open blood-brain barrier to boost the vascular permeability. In this study, we investigated the effects of MBs/FUS on extending the therapeutic time window of EPO and its neuroprotective effects in both acute and chronic phases. Male Wistar rats were firstly subjected to two common carotid arteries and right middle cerebral artery occlusion (three vessels occlusion, 3VO) for 50 min, and then the rats were treated with hEPO (human recombinant EPO, 5000 IU/kg) with or without MBs/FUS at 5 h after occlusion/reperfusion. Acute phase investigation (I/R, I/R+MBs/FUS, I/R+hEPO, and I/R+hEPO+MBs/FUS) was performed 24 h after I/R; chronic tests including cylinder test and gait analysis were performed one month after I/R. The experimental results showed that MBs/FUS significantly increased the cerebral content of EPO by bettering vascular permeability. In acute phase, both significant improvement of neurological score and reduction of infarct volume were found in the I/R+hEPO+MBs/FUS group, as compared with I/R and I/R+hEPO groups. In chronic phase, long-term behavioral recovery and neuronal loss in brain cortex after I/R injury was significantly improved in the I/R+hEPO+MBs/FUS group. This study indicates that hEPO administration with MBs/FUS sonication even at 5 h after occlusion/reperfusion can produce a significant neuroprotection.