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Background: Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is generally considered to have a high risk of progression to Alzheimer's disease. Our study aimed to investigate the abnormal functional connectivity (FC) in prefrontal cortex (PFC) in patients with MCI and explore the relationship between the observed changes and cognitive function. Methods: Sixty-seven patients with MCI and 71 healthy individuals were recruited for this study. All participants underwent the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) and functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) examinations. Results: Compared with healthy controls (HC), the patients with MCI exhibited significantly lower MoCA scores (p < 0.001). Through FC analysis, an enhanced subnetwork was observed in the right prefrontal cortex of the MCI group, covering four pairs of channel connections: CH12-CH15, CH12-CH16, CH13-CH15, and CH13-CH16. Moreover, the FC values of these four channel pairs and the education duration were significantly correlated with MoCA scores. Subsequently, a multiple linear regression model was performed to observe the independent factors of cognition decline, serving the education duration and the average FC values of subnetwork as independent variables and the MoCA scores as the dependent variable. The regression model showed a total of 25.7% explanation power (adjusted R2 = 0.257, F = 24.723, p < 0.001). Conclusion: Our study suggested that the enhanced subnetwork within the right PFC may be involved in the pathophysiology of MCI and serve as a potential target for the treatment of MCI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Plantation-based farming cooperatives are important carriers to promote agricultural and rural modernization and increase farmers' income. Their risk management is related not only to their own sustainable development but also to the practical interests of farmers. Based on the survey data of 226 sample cooperatives in Guizhou Province, this study measures the business risk of plantation-based farming cooperatives via factor analysis and empirically tests its influencing factors using a structural equation model. This research shows that there are different types of operational risks in plantation-based farming cooperatives, and the order of these risks is as follows: market risk (0.334) > policy risk (0.162) > natural risk (0.140) > technical risk (0.104) > management risk (0.097). In terms of the factors influencing business risk, the impact effect value of the economic environment is 0.522, making it the most important external interference factor. The technology environment and policy environment have a greater impact on business risk (effect values of 0.323 and 0.219, respectively). The effect of the social service environment (an effect value of 0.114) is relatively weak. The internal factor, operator characteristics, is the core factor (an effect value of 0.533) that affects the business risk of plantation-based farming cooperatives, which determines the development prospects of the cooperatives. Resource endowment is an important internal factor affecting the business risk of cooperatives (an effect value of 0.331). According to the conclusions of our research, some policy implications on how to promote the high-quality development of plantation-based farming cooperatives are presented, i.e., to refine the policy support for plantation-based farming cooperatives, optimize the economic environment of the agricultural market, further improve agricultural infrastructure, deepen the reform of the agricultural land transfer system, and improve the internal management level of cooperatives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Cognitive deficit is common in patients with temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE). Here, we aimed to investigate the modular architecture of functional networks associated with distinct cognitive states in TLE patients together with the role of the thalamus in modular networks. Methods: Resting‐state functional magnetic resonance imaging scans were acquired from 53 TLE patients and 37 matched healthy controls. All patients received the Montreal Cognitive Assessment test and accordingly were divided into TLE patients with normal cognition (TLE‐CN, n = 35) and TLE patients with cognitive impairment (TLE‐CI, n = 18) groups. The modular properties of functional networks were calculated and compared including global modularity Q, modular segregation index, intramodular connections, and intermodular connections. Thalamic subdivisions corresponding to the modular networks were generated by applying a 'winner‐take‐all' strategy before analyzing the modular properties (participation coefficient and within‐module degree z‐score) of each thalamic subdivision to assess the contribution of the thalamus to modular functional networks. Relationships between network properties and cognitive performance were then further explored. Results: Both TLE‐CN and TLE‐CI patients showed lower global modularity, as well as lower modular segregation index values for the ventral attention network and the default mode network. However, different patterns of intramodular and intermodular connections existed for different cognitive states. In addition, both TLE‐CN and TLE‐CI patients exhibited anomalous modular properties of functional thalamic subdivisions, with TLE‐CI patients presenting a broader range of abnormalities. Cognitive performance in TLE‐CI patients was not related to the modular properties of functional network but rather to the modular properties of functional thalamic subdivisions. Conclusions: The thalamus plays a prominent role in modular networks and potentially represents a key neural mechanism underlying cognitive impairment in TLE. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ideally, the monitoring data collected by the Structural health monitoring (SHM) system should purely reflect the structure status. However, sensors deployed in the field can be very vulnerable to extreme conditions such as heavy rainfall, which results in large quantities of anomalous data and unavoidably leads to the inaccuracy of structural condition assessment and even false alarms. To automatically identify whether the collected data are abnormal or not, a novel deep learning-based data anomaly detection technique combining the time-frequency method and the Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) is proposed in this paper. First, the original time-series data of the SHM system were converted to the red green blue (RGB) images by using the wavelet scalograms. Subsequently, the GoogLeNet deep neural network is applied to construct a classification model by incorporating the generated 2D images. In order to evaluate the performance of the proposed technique, the SHM data (containing seven abnormal patterns) lasting for one month of a long-span cable-stayed bridge were utilized for experimental validation. The results indicate that compared with traditional deep neural network methods, the data anomaly identification accuracy can be improved by using the proposed technique. Different types of data anomaly patterns can be accurately identified, even in the case of small samples. The proposed technique exhibits good accuracy and can be integrated into advanced SHM systems with high fidelity and intelligence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) can be conceptualized as a network disease. However, the network characteristics in lateralization remain controversial. Methods: In this study, resting-state functional MRI scans were acquired from 53 TLE patients [22 with left-side TLE (LTLE) and 31 with right-side TLE (RTLE)] and 37 matched healthy controls. We focused on the characteristics of static and dynamic functional connectivity, including static connectivity patterns and topological properties, as well as temporal properties of the dynamic connectivity state and the variability of the dynamic connectivity and network topological organization. Correlation analyses were conducted between abnormal static and dynamic properties and cognitive performances. Results: The static functional connectivity analysis presented a significantly decreased cortical-cortical connectivity pattern and increased subcortical-cortical connectivity pattern in RTLE. The global-level network in RTLE showed a significant decrease in global efficiency. The dynamic functional connectivity analysis revealed that RTLE patients exhibited aberrant connectivity states, as well as increased variability in the subcortical-cortical connectivity. The global-level network in RTLE revealed increased variance in global efficiency and local efficiency. The static or dynamic functional connectivity in LTLE did not show any significant abnormalities. The altered dynamic properties were associated with worsening cognitive performance in language and conceptual thinking by the TLE patients. Conclusion: Our findings demonstrated the presence of abnormalities in the static and dynamic functional connectivity of TLE patients. RTLE patients exhibited more pronounced aberrant connectivity patterns and topological properties, which might represent a mechanism for reconfiguration of brain networks in RTLE patients. These observations extended our understanding of the pathophysiological network mechanisms of TLE. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and purpose: Anti‐N‐methyl‐d‐aspartate receptor (NMDAR) encephalitis is characterized by a range of cognitive impairments, especially in executive function. Our study aims to identify the abnormal regional homogeneity (ReHo) in anti‐NMDAR encephalitis patients and its relationship with the executive function. Methods: Forty patients and 42 healthy volunteers undertook an Attention Network Test and a resting‐state functional magnetic resonance imaging scan. ReHo analysis was performed to investigate the neuronal activity synchronization in all subjects. Based on ReHo analysis, a multivariate pattern analysis (MVPA) was carried out to identify the brain regions that differed the most between the two groups. Results: Compared to controls, the patients had higher executive control scores (p < 0.05). The patients presented reduced ReHo values in the bilateral posterior cerebellar lobe, anterior cerebellar lobe, midbrain, bilateral caudate nucleus, right superior frontal gyrus, right middle temporal gyrus, bilateral inferior parietal lobule and the left middle frontal gyrus. The ReHo values of the bilateral inferior parietal lobule in patients were found to be negatively associated with executive control scores. The classification of patients and controls using MVPA had an accuracy of 76.83%, a sensitivity of 82.50%, a specificity of 71.43% and the area under the curve was 0.83. Conclusions: Our study provides evidence of abnormal cerebral function in anti‐NMDAR encephalitis patients, which may contribute to unveiling the neuropathological mechanisms of anti‐NMDAR encephalitis and their influences on executive dysfunction. The MVPA classifier, based on ReHo, is helpful in identifying anti‐NMDAR encephalitis patients from healthy controls. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, the self-made two-dimensional MoS2 nanosheets with five-layer thickness were attempted to be modified with oleic acid (OA) with a simple one-step route, denoted OA-MoS2. The OA-MoS2 nanosheets were confirmed by a series of characterizations. The results showed that OA molecules could chemically seal MoS2 nanosheets through C-S bonds, which significantly improved the dispersibility and stability of MoS2 nanosheets in base oil. The OA-MoS2 nanosheets possessed better dispersibility in base oil and could maintain the stability in oil up to 96 h. Furthermore, the tribological properties of OA-MoS2 nanosheets as an additive in base oil were completely studied through a ball-on-ball configuration four-ball testing machine. The experimental results showed that the average friction coefficient and average wear scar diameter of the 0.04 wt.% OA-MoS2-based oil were decreased by about 41.2% and 17.1% as compared to base oil, respectively. In addition, its extreme pressure performance increased by about 13.0%. These results indicated that OA-MoS2 nanosheets exhibited better antifriction, antiwear and extreme pressure abilities in oil due to the desirable solved dispersibility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this report, circular dichroism (CD) along with steady-state fluorescence spectroscopy and molecular modeling investigations were carried out to better understand the interaction of miriplatin with human serum albumin (HSA). The presence of miriplatin in solution is found to destabilize the native structure of HSA: The tertiary structure of HSA was changed and the microenvironment of Trp residue became more hydrophobic; the binding affinity of HSA with miriplatin indicating by 8-Anilino-1-naphthalenesulfonic acid (ANS) fluorescence study was 1.74 × 10 6 L/mol; miriplatin induced the denaturation and unfolding of HSA and disrupted the polar contacts and decreasing the reversibility of the unfolding process of protein. In addition, molecular modeling studies indicated miriplatin bound to domain II of HSA by hydrophobic force, hydrogen bonds, and electrostatic force interactions. HSA retained most of its esterase activity even after its binding with miriplatin. These results provide valuable insight into the binding mechanism between miriplatin and a plasma protein that is known to play an important role in the drug delivery of medicinal drugs to target organs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There has been accumulative evidence that microRNAs (miRNAs) play essential roles in the tumorigenesis and progression of bladder cancer. However, individual studies and small sample size caused discrepant outcomes. Thus, the current study focused on a comprehensive profiling of all differentially expressed miRNAs in a total of 519 bladder cancer tissue samples, based on miRNA microarray data. Altogether, 11 prioritized miRNAs stated by 21 published microarray datasets, including five down-regulated (miR-133a-3p, miR-1-3p, miR-99a-5p, miR-490-5p, and miR-133b) and six up-regulated candidate miRNAs (miR-182-5p, miR-935, miR-518e-3p, miR-573, miR-100-3p, and miR-3171) were analyzed with vote-counting strategy and a Robust Rank Aggregation method. Subsequently, miRNA in silico target prediction and potential pathway enrichment analysis were performed to investigate the prospective molecular mechanism of miRNAs in the tumorigenesis of bladder cancer. We found that most of the relative pathways of the aberrantly expressed miRNAs found in the current study were closely correlated with different biological processes, cellular components, molecular functions, cancer pathogeneses, and some cell signalings, such as Wnt signaling, insulin/IGF, PI3 kinase, and FGF signaling pathways. Hence, a comprehensive overview on the miRNA expression pattern in bladder cancer tissues was gained by the current study. These miRNAs might be involved in the tumorigenesis and deterioration of bladder cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: There have been numerous articles as to whether the staining index (SI) of astrocyte elevated gene-1 (AEG-1) adversely affects clinical progression and prognosis of gastrointestinal cancers. Nevertheless, controversy still exists in terms of correlations between AEG-1 SI and clinicopathological parameters including survival data. Consequently, we conducted a comprehensive meta-analysis to confirm the role of AEG-1 in clinical outcomes of gastrointestinal carcinoma patients. Methods: We performed a comprehensive search in PubMed, ISI Web of Science, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, EMBASE, Science Direct, Wiley Online Library, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), WanFang and Chinese VIP databases. STATA 12.0 (STATA Corp., College, TX) was used to analyze the data extracted from suitable studies and Newcastle-Ottawa Scale was applied to assess the quality of included articles. Results: The current meta-analysis included 2999 patients and our results suggested that strong associations emerged between AEG-1 SI and histological differentiation (OR = 2.129, 95%CI: 1.377–3.290, P = 0.001), tumor (T) classification (OR = 2.272, 95%CI: 1.147–4.502, P = 0.019), lymph node (N) classification (OR = 2.696, 95%CI: 2.178–3.337, P<0.001) and metastasis (M) classification (OR = 3.731, 95%CI: 2.167–6.426, P<0.001). Furthermore, high AEG-1 SI was significantly associated with poor overall survival (OS) (HR = 2.369, 95%CI: 2.005–2.800, P<0.001) and deteriorated disease-free survival (DFS) (HR = 1.538, 95%CI: 1.171–2.020, P = 0.002). For disease-specific survival (DSS) and relapse-free survival (RFS), no statistically significant results were observed (HR = 1.573, 95%CI: 0.761–3.250, P = 0.222; HR = 1.432, 95%CI: 0.108–19.085, P = 0.786). Subgroup analysis demonstrated that high AEG-1 SI was significantly related to poor prognosis in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) (HR = 1.715, 95%CI: 1.211–2.410, P = 0.002), gastric carcinoma (GC) (HR = 2.255, 95%CI: 1.547–3.288, P<0.001), colorectal carcinoma (CRC) (HR = 2.922, 95%CI: 1.921–4.444, P<0.001), gallbladder carcinoma (GBC) (HR = 3.047, 95%CI: 1.685–5.509, P<0.001), hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) (HR = 2.245, 95%CI: 1.620–3.113, P<0.001), pancreatic adenocarcinoma (PAC) (HR = 2.408, 95%CI: 1.625–3.568, P<0.001). Conclusions: The current meta-analysis indicated that high AEG-1 SI might be associated with tumor progression and poor survival status in patients with gastrointestinal cancer. AEG-1 might play a vital role in promoting tumor aggression and could serve as a potential target for molecular treatments. Further clinical trials are needed to validate whether AEG-1 SI provides valuable insights into improving treatment decisions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective In order to find out the cause of molar intrusion and how to avoid molar intrusion, we analyze the movement tendency of tooth by changing the angles of upper accentuated-curve and the height of free traction hook. Methods Spiral CT scanning and Mimics 10.0 software were employed in this study to construct the three dimensional finite element model of maxillary teeth, periodontal ligaments and alveolar bone as well as "the inch stainless steel upper accentuated-curve archwires with different angles (5°, 10°, 15°, 20°, 25°) and the free traction hook with different height (2.1, 4.0, 5.5 mm). By exerting 1.5 N backward force to analysis the displacement trend of maxillary tooth. Results Upper accentuated-curve archwires made the incisors labially lip, intruse, distally upright and mesilabially torsion; made the canines labially tip, prolong, mesial-tipped and mesi-labially torsion; made the second premolars and the first molars buccal tip, intruse, distal upright and mesi-labially torsion. With the angle of upper accentuated-curve archwires increased, all tooth movement tendency increased; while with the height of free traction hook increased, all tooth movement tendency decreased. Conclusion When the angle of upper accentuated-curve archwires increased, the extent of molar intrusion increased, but when the height of free traction hook increased, the degree of molar intrusion decreased. The degree of. molar intrusion was minimum using 5° upper accentuated-curve archwires cooperated with 5.5 mm free traction hook. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]