Peripheral Factors Research Articles

Mediation effect of peripheral blood inflammatory factors in the association between severity of nonlactating mastitis and glycemic abnormalities

Background: The association between severity of non-lactating mastitis and glycemic abnormalities was analyzed to investigate the mediating role of peripheral inflammatory factor levels in the association. Methods: A total of 337 cases were included in this study, including 195 cases in the control group and 142 cases in the case group. Multifactorial logistic regression was used to analyze the associations between the severity of NLM and glycemic abnormality and peripheral inflammatory factors, and a mediation model was used to explore the mediating roles of the levels of hs-CRP, WBC, and IL-6 in the associations between the two. Results: The inflammatory factors IL-6, WBC, and hs-CRP had mediating effects, with effect values of 0.009 (0.003-0.038), 0.006(0.001-0.047), and 0.007(0.001-0.051), and mediating effect percentages of 2.38%, 2.12%, and 2.24%, respectively. Conclusion: NLM severity and glycemic abnormalities were positively correlated with peripheral inflammatory factors, and peripheral inflammatory factors played a partial mediating role in the association.

Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG attenuates depression-like behaviour and cognitive deficits in chronic ethanol exposure mice by down-regulating systemic inflammatory factors.

Ethanol can directly or indirectly lead to cognitive and mental disorders. The long-term intake of alcohol can directly affect the distribution of gut microbiota. Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG (LGG) is a natural bacterium isolated from healthy human intestines that has the function of preventing cytokine-induced cell apoptosis and protecting cell barriers. However, the regulatory effect of LGG on cognitive and mental disorders caused by chronic ethanol exposure (CEE) is still unclear. In this study, we established a CEE mouse model through free alcohol consumption and added LGG or antibiotics in the later stages of the model. Sequencing analysis of the 16S rRNA gene showed that CEE resulted in a decrease in the abundance and diversity of mouse gut microbial communities accompanied by alterations in the relative abundance of multiple enterobacterial genera. The use of LGG and antibiotics alleviated the depression-like behaviour and cognitive impairment of CEE-induced mice, reduced expression of inflammatory factors such as interleukin (IL)-6, IL-1β and tumour necrosis factor (TNF)-α in the ileum, serum and brain and increased the expression of synaptophysin (SYN), postsynaptic density protein-95 (PSD-95) and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) in the hippocampus. Together, LGG can alleviate depression-like behaviour caused by CEE in mice while also improving cognitive and memory functions through reducing peripheral and nervous system inflammation factors and balancing gut microbiota.

Coordination of Pharyngeal and Esophageal Phases of Swallowing.

Although swallowing has been reviewed extensively, the coordination of the phases of swallowing have not. The phases are controlled by the brainstem, but peripheral factors help coordinate the phases. The occurrence, magnitude, and duration of esophageal phase depends upon peripheral feedback activated by the bolus. The esophageal phase does not occur without peripheral feedback from the esophagus. This feedback is mediated by esophageal slowly-adapting mucosal tension receptors through the recurrent and superior laryngeal nerves. A similar reflex mediated by the same peripheral pathway is the activation of swallowing by stimulation of the cervical esophagus. This reflex occurs primarily in human infants and animals, and this reflex may be important for protecting against aspiration after esophago-pharyngeal reflux. Not only are there inter-phase excitatory processes, but also inhibitory processes. A significant inhibitory process is deglutitive inhibition. When one swallows faster than peristalsis ends, peristalsis is inhibited by the new pharyngeal phase. This process prevents the ongoing esophageal peristaltic wave from blocking the bolus being pushed into the esophagus by the new wave. The esophageal phase returns during the last swallow of the sequence. This process is probably mediated by mucosal tension receptors through the superior laryngeal nerves. A similar reflex exists, the pharyngo-esophageal inhibitory reflex, but studies indicate that it is controlled by a different neural pathway. The pharyngo-esophageal inhibitory reflex is mediated by mucosal tension receptors through the glossopharyngeal nerve. In summary, there are significant peripheral processes that contribute to swallowing, whereby one phase of swallowing significantly affects the other.

Predictive Role of Atrial Strain, Aortic Stiffness, and Muscle-Related Factors for Maximal and Submaximal Exercise Capacity in Fontan Patients.

Fontan patients' exercise capacity and associated risks of morbidity and mortality necessitate a comprehensive study. We aim to explore maximal and submaximal exercise capacity, assessing the impact of cardiovascular and peripheral factors, including atrial strain, aortic stiffness, and muscle-related factors. Fontan patients and matched controls were examined. Clinical details were recorded, and atrial strain and aortic stiffness were measured using echocardiography. Hand grip and knee extensor strength were assessed, and muscle oxygenation was recorded. Cardiopulmonary exercise test determined exercise capacity, with peak oxygen uptake/kg (VO2/kg) and oxygen uptake efficiency slope/kg (OUES/kg) as markers for maximal and submaximal capacity, respectively. Thirty-one Fontan patients (median age = 18, range = 7-31years) and 30 controls (median age = 18, range = 7-32years) were studied. No significant differences in body composition and muscle strength were observed between Fontan patients and controls (p > 0.05). Fontan patients exhibited lower peak VO2/kg and OUES/kg (p < 0.001 for both), along with decreased atrial strain and increased aortic stiffness compared to controls (p < 0.001). Aortic pulse wave velocity (PWV), left atrial strain contractile phase (LASct), and knee extensor strength independently predicted peak VO2/kg (R2 = 0.514) and OUES/kg (R2 = 0.486) in Fontan patients; age was a predictor for peak VO2/kg. Atrial contractile strain, aortic stiffness, and knee extensor muscle strength are predictors of submaximal exercise capacity; furthermore, age, along with these variables, serves as predictors of maximal exercise capacity in Fontan patients. Evaluating hemodynamic, vascular, and muscular parameters, in conjunction with assessing both maximal and submaximal exercise capacities, is crucial for optimizing disease management in Fontan patients. Clinicaltrials.gov registration: NCT05011565.

Elevated peripheral inflammation is associated with choroid plexus enlargement in independent sporadic amyotrophic lateral sclerosis cohorts

BackgroundUsing neuroimaging techniques, growing evidence has suggested that the choroid plexus (CP) volume is enlarged in multiple neurodegenerative diseases, including amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Notably, the CP has been suggested to play an important role in inflammation-induced CNS damage under disease conditions. However, to our knowledge, no study has investigated the relationships between peripheral inflammation and CP volume in sporadic ALS patients. Thus, in this study, we aimed to verify CP enlargement and explore its association with peripheral inflammation in vivo in independent ALS cohorts.MethodsBased on structural MRI data, CP volume was measured using Gaussian mixture models and further manually corrected in two independent cohorts of sporadic ALS patients and healthy controls (HCs). Serum inflammatory protein levels were measured using a novel high-sensitivity Olink proximity extension assay (PEA) technique. Xtreme gradient boosting (XGBoost) was used to explore the contribution of peripheral inflammatory factors to CP enlargement. Then, partial correlation analyses were performed.ResultsCP volumes were significantly higher in ALS patients than in HCs in the independent cohorts. Compared with HCs, serum levels of CRP, IL-6, CXCL10, and 35 other inflammatory factors were significantly increased in ALS patients. Using the XGBoost approach, we established a model-based importance of features, and the top three predictors of CP volume in ALS patients were CRP, IL-6, and CXCL10 (with gains of 0.24, 0.18, and 0.15, respectively). Correlation analyses revealed that CRP, IL-6, and CXCL10 were significantly associated with CP volume in ALS patients (r = 0.462 ∼ 0.636, p < 0.001).ConclusionOur study is the first to reveal a consistent and replicable contribution of peripheral inflammation to CP enlargement in vivo in sporadic ALS patients. Given that CP enlargement has been recently detected in other brain diseases, these findings should consider extending to other disease conditions with a peripheral inflammatory component.

Analysis of the effect of CICARE communication nursing on the improvement of serum IL-10, IL-6, IL-4, IL-2 and lung function in outpatients with acute bronchitis

Abstract: OBJECTIVE: The objective of the study was to investigate the impact of CICARE communication nursing on the improvement of serum interleukin-10 (IL-10), interleukin-6 (IL-6), interleukin-4 (IL-4), and interleukin-2 (IL-2) and lung function in outpatients with acute bronchitis (AB). METHODS: One hundred and twenty suffers with AB who are treated in the outpatient department during Revised to 2021 to March 2023 are chosen and grouped according to the time of admission and different nursing practices. The control group consists of 60 patients from March 2021 to March 2022 who receive routine outpatient care; the experimental group consists of 60 patients from April 2022 to March 2023, and CICARE communication nursing is implemented additionally. Before and after intervention, the cognitive level of self-care knowledge, the level of peripheral blood inflammatory factors, and the improvement of lung function are compared. RESULTS: Before intervention, there were no remarkable differences in self-care knowledge cognition scores, peripheral blood inflammatory factors, and lung function levels between them (P &gt; 0.05). After intervention, the cognitive scores of treatment coordination, medication method, daily attention, diet, and activity in experimental groups are superior to control group (P &lt; 0.05). The levels of IL-10, IL-6, IL-4, and IL-2 in test groups are inferior to control group (P &lt; 0.05). Forced vital capacity, forced expiratory volume in 1 s, maximum air volume, and peak flow rate in test groups are superior to control group (P &lt; 0.05). CONCLUSION: CICARE communication nursing can improve the cognition level of self-care knowledge of patients with AB, reduce the inflammatory response of the body, and promote the recovery of lung function.

Alterations and clinical value of peripheral lymphocyte subsets and inflammatory factors in paragangliomas.

Given the pivotal role of immune and inflammatory responses in tumor patients, the present study aimed to explore alterations and the clinical value of peripheral lymphocyte subsets and inflammatory factors in pheochromocytomas/paragangliomas (PPGLs). The clinical data of 327 patients, including 102 patients with metastatic PPGLs, were retrospectively analysed. Peripheral lymphocyte subsets were determined by flow cytometry. Relationships between immune and inflammatory parameters and clinicopathological characteristics were evaluated by intergroup comparisons and correlation analyses. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were employed to identify metastatic indicators. The corresponding nomogram was constructed and evaluated for discrimination and calibration. The median age at diagnosis was 45.0 years, and duration of follow-up was 3.0 years. Compared with those in younger patients (<45.0 years), most lymphocyte subsets were significantly reduced in older patients (≥45 years) (P<0.05). The count of lymphocytes, CD3+T cells and CD4+T cells were negatively correlated with 24h-urinary epinephrine and plasma metanephrine levels (R=-0.2∼-0.1, P<0.05). In addition, patients with lymph node (n=37) or bone metastases (n=41) had a lower percentage of CD4+T cells (P<0.05). Multivariate analysis revealed that CD3+T cell≥1446.50/μl, CD4+T cell%<39.95%, CD8+T cell%<24.95%, CD4+/CD8+T cell ratio<2.88, B cell%≥8.65%, TNF-alpha<12.45pg/ml, IL8<30.50pg/ml and PLT≥269.50*109/L were significant indicators of metastatic PPGLs. The area under the curve (AUC) of the nomogram was 0.800 (95% CI: 0.736-0.865). Immunesenescence, characterized by immune dysfunction with aging, was observed in PPGLs. Higher epinephrine and metanephrine levels might impair host's immune response. Monitoring changes in peripheral lymphocyte subsets and serum cytokines could indicate patients' conditions, especially the occurrence of metastasis.

8369 Overexpression of Neurosecretory Protein GL, a Novel Small Secretory Protein, Induces Fat Accumulation in Mice

Abstract Disclosure: K. Ukena: None. Y. Narimatsu: None. A. Ogasawara: None. M. Furumitsu: None. E. Iwakoshi-Ukena: None. Hypothalamic neuropeptides and peripheral factors influence food intake, body mass, and energy expenditure. For instance, neuropeptide Y (NPY)/agouti-related peptide (AgRP) are potent orexigenic factors and α-melanocyte-stimulating hormone (α-MSH) is an anorexigenic factor, respectively. In addition, leptin and insulin derived from peripheral tissues act on the hypothalamus to influence energy homeostasis. Precise hypothalamic control of energy balance affects puberty, thermoregulation, energy storage, and survival during different life-history stages. We have previously discovered a novel cDNA encoding the precursor of a neurosecretory small protein in the hypothalamus of birds and rodents (1, 2). The precursor protein contained a signal peptide sequence, a mature peptide sequence with 80 amino acid residues, a glycine amidation signal, and a dibasic amino acid cleavage site. Because the predicted C-terminal amino acids of the peptide were Gly-Leu-NH2, the small protein was named neurosecretory protein GL (NPGL). Quantitative RT-PCR analysis demonstrated that NPGL mRNA was expressed exclusively in the mediobasal hypothalamus (MBH), including the arcuate nucleus, and the expression was elevated on food deprivation in rodents. This finding led us to predict that NPGL was involved in the regulation of energy homeostasis. Indeed, using NPGL administration and neutralizing antibody administration in rats, we established that NPGL increased lipid accumulation in white adipose tissue (3). In the present study, to investigate the physiological function of NPGL in mice, we induced its overexpression using an adeno-associated virus (AAV) vector in NPGL-Cre driver mice. We then monitored food intake and recorded body mass changes. Npgl overexpression increased body mass. We also found that the overexpression resulted in increased masses of white adipose tissue and interscapular brown adipose tissue. Taken together, these results provide evidence for NPGL as a novel regulator of fat deposition in adipose tissues. Reference: (1) Ukena et al., Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 2014 446:298-303. (2) Ukena, Gen. Comp. Endocrinol. 2018 260:164-170. (3) Iwakoshi-Ukena et al., eLife 2017 6:e28527. Presentation: 6/3/2024

Maternal separation during lactation affects recognition memory, emotional behaviors, hippocampus and gut microbiota composition in C57BL6J adolescent female mice

BackgroundMaternal separation (MS) in rodents is a paradigm of early life events that affects neurological development in depression. Adolescence is a time of dramatic increases in psychological vulnerability, and being female is a depression risk factor. However, data on whether different MS scenarios affect behavioral deficits and the potential mechanisms in adolescent female mice are limited. MethodsC57BL/6 J female pups were exposed to different MS (no MS, NMS; MS for 15 min/day, MS15; or 180 min/day, MS180) from postnatal day (PND)1 to PND21 and subjected for behavioral tests during adolescence. Behavioural tests, specifically the open field test (OFT), novel object recognition test (NOR) test and tail suspension test (TST), were performed. The expression of proinflammatory cytokines, hippocampal neurogenesis, neuroinflammation, and gut microbiota were also assessed. ResultsThe results showed that MS180 induced emotional behavioral deficits and object recognition memory impairment; however, MS15 promoted object recognition memory in adolescent females. MS180 decreased hippocampal neurogenesis of adolescent females, induced an increase in microgliosis, and increased certain inflammatory factors in the hippocampus, including TNF-α, IL-1β, and IL-6. Furthermore, different MS altered gut microbiota diversity, and alpha diversity in the Shannon index was negatively correlated with the peripheral inflammatory factors TNF-α, IL-1β, and IL-6. Species difference analysis showed that the gut microbiota composition of the phyla Desulfobacterota and Proteobacteria was affected by the MS. LimitationsThe sex differences in adolescent animal and causality of hippocampal neurogenesis and gut microbiota under different MS need to be further analyzed in depression. ConclusionThis study indicates different MS affect recognition memory and emotional behaviors in adolescent females, and gut microbiota-neuroinflammation and hippocampal neurogenesis may be a potential site of early neurodevelopmental impairment in depression.

Synchrony within, synchrony without: establishing the link between interpersonal behavioural and brain-to-brain synchrony during role-play.

Interpersonal synchrony is a crucial construct in understanding social interactions, which has been used in clinical studies to measure the quality of the therapeutic alliance. However, there is a lack of studies investigating the correlation between synchrony expressed on different levels: behavioural and neurophysiological. Furthermore, there are no studies that examine how the implementation of psychodramatic role-playing techniques, when individuals adopt the persona of a different character, may influence intrinsic biobehavioural synchrony between two parties. The present study, therefore, aims to uncover the relationship between behavioural and brain-to-brain synchrony across different role-playing techniques and elucidate the impact of these synchronies on participants' levels of anxiety and empathy. By using functional near-infrared imaging and behavioural coding in a dyadic role-playing paradigm (n = 41 dyads), the study found correlations between behavioural and brain-to-brain synchrony during naturalistic conversations, but not during role-play, implying a qualitative change in interpersonal synchrony when implementing role-playing techniques. Additionally, the study noted significant contributions of both behavioural and brain-to-brain synchrony as well as peripheral factors such as dyadic sex make-up and role immersion in predicting dyadic anxiety and empathy changes. Findings call for future studies to consider role-playing scenarios as a qualitatively different form of social interaction.

Barriers to Early Progress in Adult Cochlear Implant Outcomes.

Adult cochlear implant (CI) recipients obtain varying levels of speech perception from their device. Adult CI users adapt quickly to their CI if they have no peripheral "bottom-up" or neurocognitive "top-down" limiting factors. Our objective here was to understand the influence of limiting factors on the progression of sentence understanding in quiet and in noise, initially and over time. We hypothesized that the presence of limiting factors, detected using a short test battery, would predictably influence sentence recognition with practical consequences. We aimed to validate the test battery by comparing the presence of limiting factors and the success criteria of >90% sentence understanding in quiet 1 month after activation. The study was a single-clinic, cross-sectional, retrospective design incorporating 32 adult unilateral Nucleus CI users aged 27 to 90 years (mean = 70, SD = 13.5). Postoperative outcome was assessed through sentence recognition scores in quiet and in varying signal to noise ratios at 1 day, 1 to 2 months, and up to 2 years. Our clinic's standard test battery comprises physiological and neurocognitive measures. Physiological measures included electrically evoked compound action potentials for recovery function, spread of excitation, and polarity effect. To evaluate general cognitive function, inhibition, and phonological awareness, the Montreal Cognitive Assessment screening test, the Stroop Color-Word Test, and tests 3 and 4 of the French Assessment of Reading Skills in Adults over 16 years of age, respectively were performed. Physiological scores were considered abnormal, and therefore limiting, when total neural recovery periods and polarity effects, for both apical and basal electrode positions, were >1.65 SDs from the population mean. A spread of excitation of >6 electrode units was also considered limiting. For the neurocognitive tests, scores poorer than 1.65 SDs from published normal population means were considered limiting. At 1 month, 13 out of 32 CI users scored ≥90% sentence recognition in quiet with no significant dependence on age. Subjects with no limiting peripheral or neurocognitive factors were 8.5 times more likely to achieve ≥90% score in quiet at 1 month after CI switch-on (p = 0.010). In our sample, we detected 4 out of 32 cases with peripheral limiting factors that related to neural health or poor electrode-neural interface at both apical and basal positions. In contrast, neurocognitive limiting factors were identified in 14 out of 32 subjects. Early sentence recognition scores were predictive of long-term sentence recognition thresholds in noise such that limiting factors appeared to be of continuous influence. Both peripheral and neurocognitive processing factors affect early sentence recognition after CI activation. Peripheral limiting factors may have been detected less often than neurocognitive limiting factors because they were defined using sample-based criteria versus normal population-based criteria. Early performance was generally predictive of long-term performance. Understanding the measurable covariables that limit CI performance may inform follow-up and improve counseling. A score of ≥90% for sentence recognition in quiet at 1 month may be used to define successful progress; whereas, lower scores indicate the need for diagnostic testing and ongoing rehabilitation. Our findings suggest that sentence test scores as early as 1 day after activation can provide vital information for the new CI user and indicate the need for rehabilitation follow-up.

Scoring story recall for individual differences research: Central details, peripheral details, and automated scoring.

Story recall is an episodic memory paradigm that is popular among researchers interested in the effects of aging, disease, and/or injury on memory functioning; it is less popular among individual-differences researchers studying neurotypical young adults. One reason differential psychologists may favor other episodic memory paradigms is that the prospect of scoring story recall is daunting, as it typically requires manually scoring hundreds or thousands of freely recalled narratives. In this study, I investigated two questions related to scoring story recall for individual differences research. First, whether there is anything to gain by scoring story recall for memory of central and peripheral details or if a single score is sufficient. Second, I investigated whether scoring can be automated using computational methods-namely, BERTScore and GPT-4. A total of 235 individuals participated in this study. At the latent variable level, central and peripheral factors were highly correlated (r = .99), and the two factors correlated with external factors (viz., fluid intelligence, crystallized intelligence, and working memory capacity) similarly. Regarding automated scoring, both BERTScore and GPT-4 derived scores were strongly correlated with manually derived scores (r ≥ .97); additionally, factors estimated from the various scoring methods all showed a similar pattern of correlations with the external factors. Thus, differential psychologists may be able to streamline scoring by disregarding detail type and by using automated approaches. Further research is needed, particularly of the automated approaches, as both BERTScore and GPT-4 derived scores were occasionally leptokurtic while manual scores were not.

The Characterization of the Th1/Th2 Ratio in Multiple Sclerosis Patients and its Response to a Dietary Supplement Regimen

Introduction Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a debilitating neurodegenerative disease affecting the central nervous system, causing disability and life-threatening complications. The interplay between immune cells and signaling pathways is a topic for investigating novel therapies. Past research has shown how the Th1/Th2 ratio plays a key role in the pathogenesis of MS lesions. Modulating the Th1/Th2 ratios with an efficacious dietary supplement may improve some of the consequences of MS. Methods Participants (n = 15) diagnosed with MS for an average of 12.4 years (standard deviation = 7.4; range = 2, 25) were enrolled in a clinical trial in which they consumed a dietary supplement regimen daily for 12 months. Venous blood was drawn at baseline and 12-month follow-up and peripheral blood mononuclear cells, cytokines, and growth factors were quantified. Infections, physical functioning, and quality of life were also assessed at baseline and 12 months. Results The IL-2/IL-10 and IFN-γ/IL-10 ratios were significantly higher than those of the healthy adults, and while only IFN-γ/IL-10 increased significantly at 12 months, all ratios other than IFN-γ/TNF-α increased over the course of the intervention. The decrease in yeast infections was inversely correlated with IL-2/TNF-α and IFN-γ/TNF-α. Significant improvements in physical functioning and quality of life correlated with changes in the Th1/Th2 ratios in response to the dietary supplement regimen. Conclusions The results show that dietary supplementation somewhat impacted the Th1/Th2 ratios over the course of the intervention (toward more Th1 dominance), and those changes were related to various clinical improvements of the participants’ symptoms in cognitive, motor, and psychosocial dimensions.

Relationship between amniotic fluid inflammatory factors and pregnancy outcomes after emergency cervical cerclage

Objective: To explore the relationship between amniotic fluid and peripheral blood inflammatory factors and the pregnancy outcomes after emergency cervical cerclage, and to identify effective indicators for predicting adverse pregnancy outcomes after the procedure. Methods: A case-control study was conducted, including pregnant women who were hospitalized at Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital, from January 1, 2013, to July 31, 2019, and underwent emergency cervical cerclage due to cervical dilatation at gestational age between 16 and 28 weeks. A total of 85 pregnant women who underwent amniocentesis for the detection of amniotic fluid inflammatory factors during the perioperative period were included. Based on whether their baby was perinatal death, the participants were divided into the case group (28 cases with perinatal death) and the control group (57 cases with live births). Univariate logistic regression analysis was performed to identify risk factors associated with adverse pregnancy outcomes, followed by multivariate logistic regression analysis to establish a regression model and nomogram. Results: (1) The levels of tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α), interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10 in the amniotic fluid during the perioperative period and postoperative serum C-reactive protein (CRP) were significantly higher in the case group compared to the control group (all P<0.05). The case group underwent emergency cervical cerclage at an earlier gestational age compared to the control group, and their cervical dilation was greater than that of the control group (all P<0.05). However, there were no significant differences in the white blood cell counts, neutrophil percentage, and the level of preoperative CRP in the peripheral blood of pregnant women during the perioperative period (all P>0.05). (2) Univariate logistic regression analysis showed that the levels of amniotic fluid WBC, TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-2 receptor (IL-2R), IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, postoperative CRP in the peripheral blood, gestational age at cerclage and cervical dilation were associated with adverse pregnancy outcomes (all P<0.05). Multivariate regression analysis indicated that only the levels of amniotic fluid WBC and TNF-α were independent risk factors for perinatal death. (3) Based on clinical practice, a multivariate logistic regression model was constructed including the levels of amniotic fluid TNF-α, WBC, gestational age at cervical cerclage, and cervical dilation. A nomogram and calibration curve were plotted, which suggested its good predictive value for adverse pregnancy outcomes. Conclusions: During the perioperative period of emergency cervical cerclage, the levels of amniotic fluid WBC, TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-2R, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10 are associated with adverse pregnancy outcomes, with amniotic fluid WBC and TNF-α showing the closest relationship. However, there is no significant correlation between maternal peripheral hemogram during the perioperative period and adverse pregnancy outcomes. A model constructed by amniotic fluid TNF-α, WBC, cervical cerclage gestational age, and cervical dilation has a good predictive effect on adverse pregnancy outcomes.

Effects of voluntary exercise and electrical muscle stimulation on reaction time in the Go/No-Go task.

Acute exercise improves cognitive performance. However, it remains unclear what triggers cognitive improvement. Electrical muscle stimulation (EMS) facilitates the examination of physiological changes derived from peripheral muscle contraction during exercise. Thus, we compared the effects of EMS and voluntary exercise at low- or moderate-intensity on reaction time (RT) in a cognitive task to understand the contribution of central and peripheral physiological factors to RT improvement. Twenty-four young, healthy male participants performed a Go/No-Go task before and after EMS/exercise. In the EMS condition, EMS was applied to the lower limb muscles. In the low-intensity exercise condition, the participants cycled an ergometer while maintaining their heart rate (HR) at the similar level during EMS. In the moderate-intensity exercise condition, exercise intensity corresponded to ratings of perceived exertion of 13/20. The natural log-transformed root mean square of successive differences between adjacent inter-beat (R-R) intervals (LnRMSSD), which predominantly reflects parasympathetic HR modulation, was calculated before and during EMS/exercise. RT improved following moderate-intensity exercise (p = 0.002, Cohen' d = 0.694), but not following EMS (p = 0.107, Cohen' d = 0.342) and low-intensity exercise (p = 0.076, Cohen' d = 0.380). Repeated measures correlation analysis revealed that RT was correlated with LnRMSSD (Rrm(23) = 0.599, p = 0.002) in the moderate-intensity exercise condition. These findings suggest that the amount of central neural activity and exercise pressor reflex may be crucial for RT improvement. RT improvement following moderate-intensity exercise may, at least partly, be associated with enhanced sympathetic nervous system activity.

A resource prediction method for air traffic cyber-physical-social system

Air traffic is exhibiting the characteristics of large flow, strong coupling, and high time variation. Therefore, the complex network of air traffic is more vulnerable to disturbances. When it is disturbed, the failure of some nodes spreads through dependency relationships in the network, resulting in cascade failure. In the event of a cascade failure, the network may quickly collapse until it is paralyzed, with widespread delays and flight cancellations. The current flow management and deployment methods still remain in the control-oriented stage, which is mainly completed by air traffic controls (ATCs), and lack of accurate flow adjustment and effective utilization of capacity. The whole air traffic system and its peripheral factors are intricate, so human and social factors must be integrated into the control and decision-making of the system. Considering engineering and social factors such as operation environment, social environment, personnel, rules, equipment, and information processing, we analyse the air traffic in a cyber-physical-social system (CPSS). To reflect the actual system behaviour rules, dynamic response, limit state, and so on, the corresponding computational experiment and comprehensive evaluation system are established. Based on neural networks and other technologies, a resource prediction scheme based on task demand is proposed for multi-dimensional resources such as airports, air routes, and ATC, to reduce the cost of system resource scheduling and improve resource utilization through resource prediction and adjustment. Finally, the accuracy of the proposed resource prediction algorithm is verified by theoretical analysis and simulation.

Identification of respiratory virus in indoor air of hospitals: A comparison of adult and children's hospital

Air sampling was done inside adult and children's hospitals that were selected to treat severe cases of COVID-19. Influence of peripheral factors such as particle concentration, air velocity, sampling point dimensions, distance from the patient bed, sampling time, the flow rate of sampling pump, and factors related to COVID-19 patients (disease period, mask use, number, and age) were analyzed using multivariate analysis (RT-PCR). The results showed that 5.8% (N = 8) of indoor air samples were positive for the presence of the coronavirus. The presence of viruses in the indoor air of hospitals has a strong positive relationship with particles and the age of patients while it has a reverse relationship with the air cleaner, ventilation system, and distance from the patients. Therefore, the higher particle concentration, the age of hospitalized patients, and the remarkable number of patients increase the probability of the presence and identification of the coronavirus in the indoor air of hospital wards. Also, the presence of an air cleaner, a suitable ventilation system especially a mechanical one, and increasing the distance from the patients reduces the possibility of virus existence in the indoor air and its identification. In general, the results showed that the adult hospital has more polluted indoor air than the children's hospital in terms of the presence of SARS-COV-2. Sanitation and engineering measures like upgrading the ventilation system, particularly in vulnerable wards of hospitals are recommended.

Video-based diagnosis support system for pianists with Musician's dystonia.

Musician's dystonia is a task-specific movement disorder that deteriorates fine motor control of skilled movements in musical performance. Although this disorder threatens professional careers, its diagnosis is challenging for clinicians who have no specialized knowledge of musical performance. To support diagnostic evaluation, the present study proposes a novel approach using a machine learning-based algorithm to identify the symptomatic movements of Musician's dystonia. We propose an algorithm that identifies the dystonic movements using the anomaly detection method with an autoencoder trained with the hand kinematics of healthy pianists. A unique feature of the algorithm is that it requires only the video image of the hand, which can be derived by a commercially available camera. We also measured the hand biomechanical functions to assess the contribution of peripheral factors and improve the identification of dystonic symptoms. The proposed algorithm successfully identified Musician's dystonia with an accuracy and specificity of 90% based only on video footages of the hands. In addition, we identified the degradation of biomechanical functions involved in controlling multiple fingers, which is not specific to musical performance. By contrast, there were no dystonia-specific malfunctions of hand biomechanics, including the strength and agility of individual digits. These findings demonstrate the effectiveness of the present technique in aiding in the accurate diagnosis of Musician's dystonia.

Exercise-induced neuroplasticity: a new perspective on rehabilitation for chronic low back pain.

Chronic low back pain patients often experience recurrent episodes due to various peripheral and central factors, leading to physical and mental impairments, affecting their daily life and work, and increasing the healthcare burden. With the continuous advancement of neuropathological research, changes in brain structure and function in chronic low back pain patients have been revealed. Neuroplasticity is an important mechanism of self-regulation in the brain and plays a key role in neural injury repair. Targeting neuroplasticity and regulating the central nervous system to improve functional impairments has become a research focus in rehabilitation medicine. Recent studies have shown that exercise can have beneficial effects on the body, such as improving cognition, combating depression, and enhancing athletic performance. Exercise-induced neuroplasticity may be a potential mechanism through which exercise affects the brain. This article systematically introduces the theory of exercise-induced neuroplasticity, explores the central effects mechanism of exercise on patients with chronic low back pain, and further looks forward to new directions in targeted neuroplasticity-based rehabilitation treatment for chronic low back pain.

Emerging Roles of Microglia in Blood-Brain Barrier Integrity in Aging and Neurodegeneration.

The blood-brain barrier (BBB) is a highly selective interface between the blood and the brain parenchyma. It plays an essential role in maintaining a specialized environment for central nervous system function and homeostasis. The BBB disrupts with age, which contributes to the development of many age-related disorders due to central and peripheral toxic factors or BBB dysfunction. Microglia, the resident innate immune cells of the brain, have recently been explored for their ability to directly and indirectly regulate the integrity of the BBB. This review will focus on the current understanding of the molecular mechanisms utilized by microglia to regulate BBB integrity and how this becomes disrupted in aging and age-associated diseases. We will also discuss the rationale for considering microglia as a therapeutic target to prevent or slow down neurodegeneration.