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Transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation (taVNS) has garnered increasing attention as a safe and effective peripheral neuromodulation technique in various clinical and cognitive neuroscience fields. However, there is ongoing debate about whether the commonly used earlobe control interferes with the objective assessment of taVNS regulatory effects. This study aims to further explore the regulatory effects of taVNS and earlobe stimulation (ES) on alertness levels and physiological indicators following 24 h of sleep deprivation (SD), based on previous findings that both taVNS and ES showed significant positive effects. The goal is to evaluate whether ES can serve as a neutral sham condition. Using a within-subject randomized experimental design involving 56 participants, we assessed alertness, heart rate variability (HRV), and salivary alpha-amylase (sAA) levels in the morning of the first day. After 24 h of SD and 30 min of either taVNS or ES intervention, these indicators were re-evaluated, and the changes in both groups were analyzed. The results indicated that both taVNS and ES improved alertness levels following SD. However, taVNS significantly increased sAA levels, indicating activation of the LC-NE system, whereas ES significantly increased HR and reduced HRV, promoting sympathetic nervous activity. Additionally, the regulatory effect of taVNS on the alertness showed a higher correlation with SD impairment. Although taVNS and ES may involve different and separable neuromodulation mechanisms, both can enhance alertness following SD. Future studies should carefully consider the potential regulatory effects of ES when using it as a sham condition in taVNS research., (© 2024 Society for Psychophysiological Research.)

Study Objective: With the growing prominence of peripheral nerve stimulation technology, the clinical applications and potential neurophysiological mechanisms of external trigeminal nerve stimulation (eTNS) have garnered increasing attention. Despite its status as the sole neuromodulation method commonly employed in sleep, no studies have explored the effects of eTNS at varying frequencies on sleep activities. This study aims to investigate the regulatory effects of high-frequency and low-frequency eTNS on sleep activities using polysomnography., Methods: In this within-subjects experiment, 20 participants underwent a night of adaptation sleep, followed by 8-h sessions of sham, 120Hz-, and 2Hz-eTNS interventions in a randomized order in the sleep laboratory, with polysomnographic signals collected throughout., Results: The results indicated that 120Hz-eTNS significantly improved sleep efficiency, increased N2 sleep proportion, and reduced sleep latency, without significantly affecting sleep stage transition probabilities, sleep duration, or sleep-specific wave activities. Conversely, while 2Hz-eTNS did not impact sleep efficiency or latency, it increased the proportion of N3 sleep, stabilizes N3 sleep, and enhanced the survival probability of N3 and REM sleep duration. Additionally, it increases the density of slow oscillations (SOs), improved the coupling ratio of SO-spindles, and enhanced coupling timing accuracy., Conclusions: These findings suggest that eTNS during sleep can indeed modulate sleep activities, with different frequencies exerting distinct regulatory effects. This may hold significant value for advancing the clinical application and efficacy of eTNS., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing interest There is no conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2024. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

Neuroimaging studies have revealed disturbances in brain functional connectivity (FC) after one night of sleep deprivation (SD). These researches explored the alterations of FC using classical regions of interest (ROI)-based analysis or functional connectivity density. However, these methods need for a priori information about the selected ROIs and a specific correlation threshold to define a connection between two ROIs or voxels, which may bring inconsistent results. In the present study, we adopted a data-driven, whole brain voxel-based graph-theoretical approach, intrinsic connectivity distribution (ICD) analysis, to examine changes of brain connectivity after SD in 52 normal young subjects without any prior knowledge. The cross-hemisphere ICD (ch-ICD) analysis was also performed to discover the effect of SD on cerebral lateralization. We found that sleep-deprived subjects showed significant reduced ICD in default mode network (DMN) and limbic network, and increased ICD in sensorimotor network. Furthermore, after SD, the ICD in the right precuneus showed significant correlation with psychomotor vigilance test (PVT) performance following the stepwise regression analysis after Bonferroni correction (ICD = 0.43 - 0.62∗10 % fast reaction time + 0.31∗the standard deviation of reaction time, p = 0.0012). Follow-up seed-based FC analyses in the right precuneus revealed decreased FC to regions in DMN, visual network, ventral attentional network and frontal-parietal network. Nevertheless, no striking difference of ch-ICD was found following SD. In conclusion, these findings suggested that DMN, especially precuneus may be hubs of FC disturbances associated with vigilance after SD, and may provide new insights into the intervention for SD., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

Background: In the face of inevitable declines in alertness and fatigue resulting from sleep deprivation, effective countermeasures are essential for maintaining performance. External trigeminal nerve stimulation (eTNS) presents a potential avenue for regulating alertness by activating the locus coeruleus and reticular activating system., Methods: Here, we conducted a within-subject study with 66 habitual nappers, subjecting them to afternoon nap-deprivation and applying either 20-minute of 120 Hz eTNS or sham stimulation. We compared participants' performance in PVT and N-back tasks, subjective fatigue level and alertness ratings, and changes in heart rate variability, cortisol, and salivary alpha-amylase before and after stimulation., Results: The results revealed a significant decline in PVT and N-back tasks performance, along with increased subjective fatigue levels in the sham stimulation group. In contrast, the eTNS stimulation group maintained behavioral performance, with lower post-stimulation fatigue levels than sham group. After stimulation, the eTNS group exhibited decreased mean R-R interval and elevated LF/HF ratios, i.e., a shift in autonomic nervous system activity towards sympathetic dominance, and a significant reduction in cortisol levels, indicating a state of relaxation alleviating drowsiness., Conclusion: These findings suggested that 120 Hz eTNS stimulation might induce a relaxing effect, and thereby alleviate fatigue while preserving alertness and cognitive performance., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024. Published by Elsevier Inc.)

Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) is pivotal in the field of major depressive disorder treatment. Due to its unsatisfied response rate, an increasing number of researchers have turned their attention towards optimizing TMS site localization. Since the influence of TMS in reducing heart rate (HR) offers insights into its regulatory impact on the autonomic nervous system, a novel approach, called neurocardiac-guided TMS (NCG-TMS), has been proposed to pinpoint the brain region eliciting the maximal individual reduction in HR as a personalized optimal stimulation target. The present study intends to systematically explore the effects of stimulation frequency, left and right hemispheres, stimulation positions, and individual differences on HR modulation using the NCG-TMS method. In experiment 1, low-frequency TMS was administered to 30 subjects, and it was found that low-frequency NCG-TMS significantly downregulated HR, with more significant effects in the right hemisphere than in the left hemisphere and the prefrontal cortex than in other brain areas. In experiment 2, high-frequency NCG-TMS stimulation was administered to 30 subjects, showing that high-frequency NCG-TMS also downregulated HR and had the greatest modulatory effect in the right prefrontal region. Simultaneously, both experiments revealed sizeable individual variability in the optimal stimulation site, which in turn validated the feasibility of the NCG-TMS method. In conclusion, the present experiments independently replicated the effect of NCG-TMS, provided an effect of high-/low-frequency TMS stimulation to downregulate HR, and identified a right lateralization of the HR modulation effect., (© 2024 Society for Psychophysiological Research.)

This research focused on utilizing banana peel as the primary material for producing mesoporous biomass charcoal through one-step potassium hydroxide activation. Subsequently, the biomass charcoal underwent high-temperature calcination with varying impregnation ratios of KOH : BC for different durations in tubular furnaces set at different temperatures. The resultant biomass charcoal was then subjected to hydrothermal treatment with FeCl 3 ·6H 2 O to produce biochar/iron oxide composites. The adsorption capabilities of these composites towards methylene blue (MB) were examined under various conditions, including pH (ranging from 3 to 12), temperature variations, and initial MB concentrations (ranging from 50 to 400 mg L -1 ). The adsorption behavior aligned with the Langmuir model and demonstrated quasi-secondary kinetics. After five adsorption cycles, the capacity decreased from 618.64 mg g -1 to 497.18 mg g -1 , indicating considerable stability. Notably, Fe 3 O 4 -N-BC exhibited exceptional MB adsorption performance., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflicts of interest., (This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry.)

Anatase TiO 2 has evolved into one of the most attractive materials for gas sensing owing to its strong oxidation activity and excellent sensing properties. In this study, we prepared Pt and bamboo charcoal co-modified nano-TiO 2 using a one-pot hydrothermal process and applied it to detect formaldehyde. The successful incorporation of the precious metal Pt and bamboo charcoal onto TiO 2 was confirmed by scanning electron microscope, transmission electron microscopy, energy dispersive spectrometer, X-ray diffraction and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Detailed analysis revealed a homogeneous distribution of Pt nanoparticles and bamboo charcoal on the TiO 2 surface, which significantly improved the surface area and facilitated gas adsorption. These modifiers significantly enhanced the response of TiO 2 to formaldehyde, for instance, the response signal increased fourfold, while the response time decreased from 91 to 68 s. The sample with 0.5@Pt and 0.5@C bamboo charcoal performed the best, showcasing the synergistic effect of metal nanoparticles and carbonaceous materials on gas-sensing properties. Our work highlighted the potential of using biomass-derived carbon to enhance the detection of formaldehyde and demonstrated the importance of material characteristics in designing effective gas sensors., Competing Interests: We declare we have no competing interests., (© 2024 The Authors.)

The aminated sodium lignosulfonate (AELS) was prepared through a Mannich reaction and characterized via FT-IR, TG, SEM and XPS in this study. Subsequently, the adsorption capacity of AELS for methyl blue (MB) was evaluated under various conditions such as pH, adsorbent dosage, contact time, initial concentration and temperature. The adsorption kinetics, isotherms and thermodynamics of AELS for methyl blue were investigated and analyzed. The results were found to closely adhere to the pseudo-second-order kinetic model and Langmuir isotherm model, suggesting a single-molecular-layer adsorption process. Notably, the maximum adsorption capacity of AELS for methyl blue (153.42 mg g -1 ) was achieved under the specified conditions ( T = 298 K, M AELS = 0.01 g, pH = 6, V MB = 25 mL, C 0 = 300 mg L -1 ). The adsorption process was determined to be spontaneous and endothermic. Following five adsorption cycles, the adsorption capacity exhibited a minimal reduction from 118.99 mg g -1 to 114.33 mg g -1 , indicating good stability. This study contributes to the advancement of utilizing natural resources effectively and sustainably.

Cellulose-based carbon (CBC) is widely known for its porous structure and high specific surface area and is liable to adsorb gas molecules and macromolecular pollutants. However, the application of CBC in gas sensing has been little studied. In this paper, a ZnO/CBC heterojunction was formed by means of simple co-precipitation and high-temperature carbonization. As a new ammonia sensor, the prepared ZnO/CBC sensor can detect ammonia that the previous pure ZnO ammonia sensor cannot at room temperature. It has a great gas sensing response, stability, and selectivity to an ammonia concentration of 200 ppm. This study provides a new idea for the design and synthesis of biomass carbon-metal oxide composites.

Background: Previous research has found that transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation (taVNS) can improve working memory (WM) performance. It has also been shown that 0.1 Hz slow-paced breathing (SPB, i.e., breathing at a rate of approximately 6 breaths/min) can significantly influence physical state and cognitive function via changes in autonomic afferent activity. In the present study, we investigated the synergistic effects of taVNS and SPB on WM performance., Methods: A total of 96 healthy people participated in this within-subjects experiment involving four conditions, namely taVNS, SPB, combined taVNS with SPB (taVNS + SPB), and sham. Each participant underwent each intervention for 30 min and WM was compared pre- and post-intervention using the spatial and digit n-back tasks in a random order four times. Permutation-based analysis of variance was used to assess the interaction between time and intervention., Results: For the spatial 3-back task, a significant interaction between time and intervention was found for the accuracy rate of matching trials (mACC, p = 0.03). Post hoc analysis suggested that both taVNS and taVNS + SPB improved WM performance, however, no significant difference was found in the SPB or sham groups., Conclusion: This study has replicated the effects of taVNS on WM performance reported in previous studies. However, the synergistic effects of combined taVNS and SPB warrant further research., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2023 Tian, Cheng, Liu, Yin, Zhang, Cui, Zhao, Deng, Lu, Tang, Xu, Yang, Sun and Qin.)

Background: Previous sleep electroencephalography studies have detected abnormalities in sleep architecture and sleep spindle deficits in schizophrenia (SCZ), but the consistency of these results was not robust, which might be due to the small sample size and the influence of clinical factors such as the various medication therapies and symptom heterogeneity. This study aimed to regard auditory verbal hallucinations (AVHs) as a pointcut to downscale the heterogeneity of SCZ and explore whether some sleep architecture and spindle parameters were more severely impaired in SCZ patients with AVHs compared with those without AVHs., Methods: A total of 90 SCZ patients with AVHs, 92 SCZ patients without AVHs, and 91 healthy control subjects were recruited, and parameters of sleep architecture and spindle activities were compared between groups. The correlation between significant sleep parameters and clinical indicators was analyzed., Results: Deficits of sleep spindle activities at prefrontal electrodes and intrahemispheric spindle coherence were observed in both AVH and non-AVH groups, several of which were more serious in the AVH group. In addition, deficits of spindle activities at central and occipital electrodes and interhemispheric spindle coherence mainly manifested accompanying AVH symptoms, most of which were retained in the medication-naive first-episode patients, and were associated with Auditory Hallucination Rating Scale scores., Conclusions: Our results suggest that the underlying mechanism of spindle deficits might be different between SCZ patients with and without AVHs. In the future, the sleep feature of SCZ patients with different symptoms and the influence of clinical factors, such as medication therapy, should be further illustrated., (Copyright © 2021. Published by Elsevier Inc.)

Many human activities require high cognitive performance over long periods, while impairments induced by sleep deprivation influence various aspects of cognitive abilities, including working memory (WM), attention, and processing speed. Based on previous research, vagal nerve stimulation can modulate cognitive abilities, attention, and arousal. Two experiments were conducted to assess the efficacy of transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation (taVNS) to relieve the deleterious effects of sleep deprivation. In the first experiment, 35 participants completed N-back tasks at 8:00 a.m. for two consecutive days in a within-subject study. Then, the participants received either taVNS or earlobe stimulation (active control) intervention in two sessions at random orders after 24 h of sustained wakefulness. Then, they completed the N-back tasks again. In the second experiment, 30 participants completed the psychomotor vigilance task (PVT), and 32 completed the N-back tasks at 8:00 a.m. on the first and second days. Then, they received either taVNS or earlobe stimulation at random orders and finished the N-back and PVT tasks immediately after one hour. In Experiment 1, taVNS could significantly improve the accuracy rate of participants in spatial 3-back tasks compared to active control, which was consistent with experiment 2. However, taVNS did not specifically enhance PVT performance. Therefore, taVNS could be a powerful intervention for acute sleep deprivation as it can improve performance on high cognitive load tasks and is easy to administer., Competing Interests: Declarations of interest None., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Background: Circadian rhythm was involved in the pathogenesis of depression. The detection of circadian genes and white matter (WM) integrity achieved increasing focus for early prediction and diagnosis of major depressive disorder (MDD). This study aimed to explore the effects of PER1 gene polymorphisms (rs7221412), one of the key circadian genes, on the association between depressive level and WM microstructural integrity., Materials and Methods: Diffusion tensor imaging scanning and depression assessment (Beck Depression Inventory, BDI) were performed in 77 healthy college students. Participants also underwent PER1 polymorphism detection and were divided into the AG group and AA group. The effects of PER1 genotypes on the association between the WM characteristics and BDI were analyzed using tract-based spatial statistics method., Results: Compared with homozygous form of PER1 gene (AA), more individuals with risk allele G of PER1 gene (AG) were in depression state with BDI cutoff of 14 ( χ 2 = 7.37, uncorrected p = 0.007). At the level of brain imaging, the WM integrity in corpus callosum, internal capsule, corona radiata and fornix was poorer in AG group compared with AA group. Furthermore, significant interaction effects of genotype × BDI on WM characteristics were observed in several emotion-related WM tracts. To be specific, the significant relationships between BDI and WM characteristics in corpus callosum, internal capsule, corona radiata, fornix, external capsule and sagittal stratum were only found in AG group, but not in AA group., Conclusion: Our findings suggested that the PER1 genotypes and emotion-related WM microstructure may provide more effective measures of depression risk at an early phase., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2022 Zhao, Sun, Deng, Cheng, Li, Wang, He, Chang, Lu, Tang, Xu, Yang and Qin.)

A previous study found that combining transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) and transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation (taVNS) could evoke significantly larger activation on a range of cortical and subcortical brain regions than the numerical summation of tDCS and taVNS effects. In this study, two within-subject experiments were employed to investigate its effects on working memory (WM). In experiment 1, the WM modulatory effects of tDCS over the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), taVNS, and simultaneous joint simulation of tDCS over the left DLPFC and taVNS (SJS-L) were compared among 60 healthy subjects. They received these three interventions between the baseline test and post-test in a random manner three times. In spatial 3-back task, there was a significant interaction between time and stimulations in the accuracy rate of matching trials (mACC, p = 0.018 ). MACCs were significantly improved by SJS ( p = 0.001 ) and taVNS ( p = 0.045 ), but not by tDCS ( p = 0.495 ). Moreover, 41 subjects in the SJS group showed improvement, which was significantly larger than that in the taVNS group (29 subjects) and tDCS group (26 subjects). To further investigate the generalization effects of SJS, 72 students were recruited in experiment 2. They received tDCS over the right DLPFC, taVNS, simultaneous joint simulation of tDCS over the right DLPFC and taVNS (SJS-R), and sham stimulation in a random manner four times. No significant results were found, but there was a tendency similar to experiment 1 in the spatial 3-back task. In conclusion, combining tDCS and taVNS might be a potential non-invasive neuromodulation technique which is worthy of study in future., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2022 Zhao, He, Cheng, Tian, Cui, Chang, Wang, Kong, Deng, Yang and Sun.)

Background: Transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation (taVNS) may modulate cardiac autonomic function. However, the response rate of the traditional tonic paradigm is low, and the results remain inconsistent. A recent pilot study presented a novel burst paradigm to activate the cardiac parasympathetic system, which might offer a new approach to treat cardiac autonomic function. The present study reassessed the effect of burst taVNS on modulating heart rate variability and explored the difference between burst and traditional tonic paradigms., Materials and Methods: Forty-two young adults were recruited for this study. Each participant underwent three types of taVNS with sham (30 sec of stimulation), tonic (25 Hz, 500 μsec), and burst (five pulses at 500 Hz every 200 msec) paradigms, respectively, with simultaneous electrocardiogram recording. One-way analysis of variance, multivariate analysis of variance, and linear regression were used for analysis. Multiple testing was performed using Bonferroni correction., Results: Both burst and tonic paradigms induced a significant decrease in heart rate, which continued until poststimulation, and increased cardiac parasympathetic activity. Moreover, two parasympathetic system indicators showed significant increase only in burst taVNS. The response rates during burst (35.7%) and tonic (38.1%) stimulations were both higher than that during sham stimulation (11.9%). The response to taVNS showed parameter specificity with few nonresponders to the tonic paradigm responding to the burst paradigm. The overall response rate increased from 38.1% in tonic taVNS to 54.8% in taVNS using both burst and tonic paradigms. For both burst and tonic responders, baseline cardiac parasympathetic activity was found to be significantly negatively correlated with changes during stimulation., Conclusion: The burst parameter could be used as an alternative strategy for regulating cardiac parasympathetic function by taVNS, which has the potential to be used as a complementary paradigm to traditional tonic taVNS for promoting clinical treatment efficacy., (Copyright © 2022. Published by Elsevier Inc.)

Attempts to determine why some patients respond to electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) are valuable in schizophrenia. Schizophrenia is associated with aberrant dynamic functional architecture, which might impact the efficacy of ECT. We aimed to explore the relationship between pre-treatment temporal variability and ECT acute efficacy. Forty-eight patients with schizophrenia and 30 healthy controls underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging to examine whether patterns of temporary variability of functional architecture differ between high responders (HR) and low responders (LR) at baseline. Compared with LR, HR exhibited significantly abnormal temporal variability in right inferior front gyrus (IFGtriang.R), left temporal pole (TPOsup.L) and right middle temporal gyrus (MTG.R). In the pooled patient group, ∆PANSS was correlated with the temporal variability of these regions. Patients with schizophrenia with a distinct dynamic functional architecture appear to reveal differential response to ECT. Our findings provide not only an understanding of the neural functional architecture patterns that are found in schizophrenia but also the possibility of using these measures as moderators for ECT selection., (© 2022 Federation of European Neuroscience Societies and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Working memory (WM) is one of the core components of higher cognitive functions. There exists debate regarding the extent to which current techniques can enhance human WM capacity. Here, we examined the WM modulation effects of a previously less studied technique, transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation (taVNS). In experiment 1, a within-subject study, we aimed to investigate whether and which stimulation protocols of taVNS can modulate spatial WM performance in healthy adults. Forty-eight participants performed baseline spatial n-back tasks (1, 3-back) and then received online taVNS, offline taVNS, or sham stimulation before or during (online group) the posttest of spatial n-back tasks in random order. Results showed that offline taVNS could significantly increase hits in spatial 3-back task, whereas no effect was found in online taVNS or sham group. No significant taVNS effects were found on correct rejections or reaction time of accurate trials (aRT) in both online and offline protocols. To replicate the results found in experiment 1 and further investigate the generalization effect of offline taVNS, we carried out experiment 2. Sixty participants were recruited and received offline taVNS or offline earlobe stimulation in random order between baseline and posttests of behavioral tests (spatial/digit 3-back tasks). Results replicated the findings; offline taVNS could improve hits but not correct rejections or aRT in spatial WM performance, which were found in experiment 1. However, there were no significant stimulation effects on digit 3-back task. Overall, the findings suggest that offline taVNS has potential on modulating WM performance., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2021 Sun, Cheng, Tian, Yuan, Yang, Deng, Guo, Cui, Zhang, Yin, Wang and Qin.)

Background: The present study aimed to investigate the use of imaging biomarkers to predict the outcome of acupuncture in patients with migraine without aura (MwoA). Methods: Forty-one patients with MwoA received 4 weeks of acupuncture treatment and two brain imaging sessions at the Beijing Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital affiliated with Capital Medical University. Patients kept a headache diary for 4 weeks before treatment and during acupuncture treatment. Responders were defined as those with at least a 50% reduction in the number of migraine days. The machine learning method was used to distinguish responders from non-responders based on pre-treatment brain gray matter (GM) volume. Longitudinal changes in GM predictive regions were also analyzed. Results: After 4 weeks of acupuncture, 19 patients were classified as responders. Based on 10-fold cross-validation for the selection of GM features, the linear support vector machine produced a classification model with 73% sensitivity, 85% specificity, and 83% accuracy. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve was 0.7871. This classification model included 10 GM areas that were mainly distributed in the frontal, temporal, parietal, precuneus, and cuneus gyri. The reduction in the number of migraine days was correlated with baseline GM volume in the cuneus, parietal, and frontal gyri in all patients. Moreover, the left cuneus showed a longitudinal increase in GM volume in responders. Conclusion: The results suggest that pre-treatment brain structure could be a novel predictor of the outcome of acupuncture in the treatment of MwoA. Imaging features could be a useful tool for the prediction of acupuncture efficacy, which would enable the development of a personalized medicine strategy., (Copyright © 2020 Yang, Liu, Xu, Zhang, Liu, Fishers, Zhang, Sun, Liu, Zeng, Wang and Qin.)

Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) has been shown to be effective in schizophrenia, particularly when rapid symptom reduction is needed or in cases of resistance to drug treatment. However, there are no markers available to predict response to ECT. Here, we examine whether multi-parametric magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-based radiomic features can predict response to ECT for individual patients. A total of 57 treatment-resistant schizophrenia patients, or schizophrenia patients with an acute episode or suicide attempts were randomly divided into primary (42 patients) and test (15 patients) cohorts. We collected T1-weighted structural MRI and diffusion MRI for 57 patients before receiving ECT and extracted 600 radiomic features for feature selection and prediction. To predict a continuous improvement in symptoms (ΔPANSS), the prediction process was performed with a support vector regression model based on a leave-one-out cross-validation framework in primary cohort and was tested in test cohort. The multi-parametric MRI-based radiomic model, including four structural MRI feature from left inferior frontal gyrus, right insula, left middle temporal gyrus and right superior temporal gyrus respectively and six diffusion MRI features from tracts connecting frontal or temporal gyrus possessed a low root mean square error of 15.183 in primary cohort and 14.980 in test cohort. The Pearson's correlation coefficients between predicted and actual values were 0.671 and 0.777 respectively. These results demonstrate that multi-parametric MRI-based radiomic features may predict response to ECT for individual patients. Such features could serve as prognostic neuroimaging biomarkers that provide a critical step toward individualized treatment response prediction in schizophrenia., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors have declared that there are no conflicts of interest in relation to the subject of this study., (Copyright © 2019 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Atherosclerosis is a chronic inflammation condition resulting from the interaction between lipoproteins, monocyte-derived macrophages, T lymphocytes, and other cellular elements in the arterial wall. Macrophage-derived foam cells play a key role in both early and advanced stage of atherosclerosis. Previous studies have shown that berberine could inhibit foam cell formation and prevent experimental atherosclerosis. However, its underlying molecular mechanisms have not been fully clarified. In this study, we explored the cholesterol-lowering effects of berberine in macrophage-derived foam cells and investigated its possible mechanisms in prevention and treatment of atherosclerosis. Here, we demonstrated that berberine could inhibit atherosclerosis in apolipoprotein E-deficient mice and induce cholesterol reduction as well as decrease the content of macrophages. Berberine can regulate oxLDL uptake and cholesterol efflux, thus suppresses foam cell formation. Mechanisms study showed that berberine can suppress scavenger receptor expression via inhibiting the activity of AP-1 and upregulate ATP-binding cassette transporter via activating Nrf2/HO-1 signaling in human macrophage. In summary, berberine significantly inhibits atherosclerotic disease development by regulating lipid homeostasis and suppressing macrophage foam cell formation.

Two dissimilar cardanol-based unsaturated resin monomers were prepared via simple ring-opening and etherification reaction by utilizing the reactivity between phenolic hydroxyl and epoxy group with the aid of cardanol as raw material. The transformations of different groups were characterized using Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) during the synthesis process, the resin monomers' structure was further analyzed using the 1H-nuclear magnetic resonance (1H-NMR) and gel permeation chromatography (GPC), and the UV curing behaviors of resin monomers were studied by means of FTIR method. In addition, the thermal stability of UV cured resin monomers were also tested by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The molecular structure analysis demonstrated that these two target products were successfully synthesized. UV curing behaviors analysis showed that the prepared cardanol-based unsaturated resin monomers could reach ultimate curing level within 30 s. TGA results showed that the molecular structure and the content of double bond had critical influence on their thermal stability. The main initial thermal decomposition temperature of these two cured resin monomers was all above 350 degrees C.

The present study examined the relationship between vesicular glutamate transpoter-3 (VGLUT3) positive cells and the activation of neurons in the brainstem and amygdala by bitter taste, using double-labeling immunohistochemistry. Conscious animals were subjected to intraoral bitter taste stimulation with quinine solution. Following this, neuronal activation was assessed by c-Fos expression and an analysis of c-Fos expression cells, VGLUT3 positive cells and double-labeled cells was made in the nucleus of the solitary tract (NST), the parabrachial nucleus (PBN) and amygdala. Results showed that intraoral bitter taste stimulation led to significant increases in the number of c-Fos-expressing and double-labeled cells in the NST, PBN and amygdala. Results also showed a decrease in the number of c-Fos-positive and double-labeled cells in the amygdala, in comparison with neurons in the brainstem, after bitter taste stimulation. These results suggest that bitter taste activates cells in the NST, PBN and amygdala and these effects are partly mediated by VGLUT3 positive cells. Moreover, double-labeled neurons also exhibited a preferential distribution after quinine stimulation compared to water stimulation., (Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Objective: To study the molluscicidal activity, the influence on glycogen content of Oncomelania hupensis and the acute toxicity to zebra fish of the extract from Phytolacca americana Linn leaf., Methods: The different polar factions of the extract of Phytolacca americana Linn leaf were separated by using the systemic solvent segregation method, and then the molluscicidal activity of the fractions was detected according to the Laboratory Final Milluscicides Screening Method issued by WHO. The glycogen content of soft tissues of Oncomelania hupensis treated by the ethyl acetate polar fraction was determined by the anthrone method. Finally, the acute toxicity of the ethyl acetate polar fraction to non-targets was studied with zebra fish., Results: The ethyl acetate polar fraction was the best active components against the snails. Its 48 h LC50 and LC90 were 6.0 mg/100 ml and 26.1 mg/ 100 ml, respectively. The glycogen content of soft tissues of the snails decreased by 20% after treated with the fraction. The fish treated by the concentration of LC50 (48 h) of the ethyl acetate polar fraction survived for 12 h., Conclusion: The Phytolacca americana Linn leaf possesses an adequate molluscicidal activity and a significant acute toxicity to the zebra fish.

Objective: To examine the role of glutaminergic neurons in the transmission and integration of the sweat taste information in the brain stem and the amygdala., Methods: Conscious Sprague-Dawley rats were subjected to oral sweet taste or water (control) stimulations. The activated neurons were identified by detecting c-Fos expression in taste-related brain areas, and the glutaminergic neurons by detecting vesicular glutamate transpoter-3 (VGLUT3)., Results: Compared with control group, the rats with oral sucrose solution stimulation exhibited significantly increased c-Fos-expressing and double-labeled neurons in the nucleus of the solitary tract (NST), the parabrachial nucleus (PBN) and the amygdala., Conclusion: Neurons in the NST, PBN and amygdala are activated after oral sweet taste stimulation. The sweet taste perception at different levels in the CNS is partly mediated by glutamate.

In the present study, the responses of inhibitory gustatory neurons in the parabrachial nucleus (PBN) to four basic taste stimuli NaCl, HCl, quinine HCl (QHCl) and sucrose were examined using single-unit recording technique in anesthetized rats. A total of 18 inhibitory taste neurons in the PBN were obtained. Spontaneous firing rates of these inhibitory neurons were 0.2-5.5 Hz with mean firing rate of (2.15+/-0.31) Hz. Most of the neurons responded to more than one of the basic taste qualities. The inhibitory responses to taste occurred quickly and lasted 5-80 s in different PBN neurons. According to the responsive characteristics to the four basic taste stimuli, the neurons could be classified as NaCl-best (n=8), HCl-best (n=3), QHCl-best (n=3), and sucrose-best (n=4). The breadth of tuning of NaCl-best neurons was the highest (0.945). Inhibitory responsive neurons had feeble discrimination among sapid stimuli or aversive stimuli. These results suggest that there exist inhibitory taste neurons in the PBN. These neurons may play some useful roles in precise transmission of taste information and the taste coding for hedonic and aversive tastes.

Aim: To explore the effect of central serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine, 5-HT) on gastric motility in rabbit and to analysis its mechanism., Methods: Intracerebroventricular (icv) microinjection of drugs were used. The frequency and the amplitude of contractions of gastric motility were recorded., Results: (1) Injection (icv) of 25 microg 5-HT increased the amplitude of contractions and decreased the frequency of gastric motility. (2) The effects of 5-HT were inhibited by injection (icv) of atropine, but intravenous(iv) injection of atropine could only block the increase effect of 5-HT on intragastric pressure. After injection (icv or iv) of phentolamine or propranolol, the effects of 5-HT on gastric motility were not changed markedly. (3) Microinjection (icv) of naloxone or diphenhydramine inhibited the inhibitory effect of 5-HT on the frequency of gastric contractions, and the diphenhydramine reversed the increase effect of 5-HT on intragastric pressure. (4) Vagotomy abolished the effects of 5-HT completely., Conclusion: There may be different nerve mechanisms in regulation of central 5-HT on the frequency and amplitude of contractions of gastric motility. The increase effect of 5-HT on intragastric pressure is medicated by the cholinergic system in brain, and histamine may be one of the important element on the effect of 5-HT. The cholinergic fibers in vagus nerve transmit the effect. The inhibitory effect of 5-HT on the frequency of contractions is also medicated by activating the cholinergic system in brain, enkephalin and histamine are also involved, and it is transmitted via noncholinergic and nonadrenergic fibers in vagus nerve.