[Effect of transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation on functional connectivity in the related brain regions of patients with depression based on the resting-state fMRI].

OBJECTIVE: To explore the brain effect mechanism and the correlation between brain functional imaging and cognitive function in treatment of depressive disorder (DD) with transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation (taVNS) based on the resting-state functional magenetic reasonance imaging (rs-fMRI). METHODS: Thirty-two DD patients were included in a depression group and 32 subjects of healthy condition were enrolled in a normal group. In the depression group, the taVNS was applied to bilateral Xin (CO15) and Shen (CO10), at disperse-dense wave, 4 Hz/20 Hz in frequency and current intensity ≤20 mA depending on patient's tolerance, 30 min each time, twice daily. The duration of treatment consisted of 8 weeks. The patients of two groups were undertaken rs-fMRI scanning. The scores of Hamilton depression scale (HAMD), Hamilton anxiety scale (HAMA) and Wisconsin card sorting test (WCST) were observed in the normal group at baseline and the depression group before and after treatment separately. The differential brain regions were observed before and after treatment in the two groups and the value of degree centrality (DC) of fMRI was obtained. Their correlation was analyzed in terms of HAMD, HAMA and WCST scores. RESULTS: The scores of HAMD and HAMA in the depression group were all higher than those in the normal group (P<0.05). After treatment, the scores of HAMD and HAMA were lower than those before treatment in the depression group; the scores of total responses, response errors and perseverative errors of WCST were all lower than those before treatment (P<0.05). The brain regions with significant differences included the left inferior temporal gyrus, the left cerebellar peduncles region 1, the left insula, the right putamen, the bilateral supplementary motor area and the right middle frontal gyrus. After treatment, the value of DC in left supplementary motor area was negatively correlated to HAMD and HAMA scores respectively (r=-0.324, P=0.012; r=-0.310, P=0.015); the value of DC in left cerebellar peduncles region 1 was negatively correlated to the total responses of WCST (r=-0.322, P=0.013), and the left insula was positively correlated to the total responses of WCST (r=0.271, P=0.036). CONCLUSION: The taVNS can modulate the intensity of the functional activities of some brain regions so as to relieve depressive symptoms and improve cognitive function.

The pro-inflammatory factors contribute to the EEG microstate abnormalities in patients with major depressive disorder.

Pro-inflammatory factors may be associated with abnormalities in functional brain networks, which may be a mechanism in the pathogenesis of major depressive disorder (MDD). Electroencephalogram (EEG) microstates reflect the functioning of brain networks. However, the relationship between pro-inflammatory factors and the microstate abnormalities in patients with MDD is poorly understood. 24 MDD patients and 24 age-and sex-matched healthy controls (HC) were recruited. Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale(MADRS) were assessed. Serum (interleukin- 2(IL- 2), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and hs-C-reactive protein (CRP)and EEG data were collected. K-means clustering was performed to characterize different microstates. For each microstate, duration, occurrence and coverage were estimated. Four microstates (e.g. A, B, C, D) were characterized, MDD group showed lower duration, occurrence and coverage of microstate B and microstate D, while higher duration of microstate A and microstate C and levels of IL-2, TNF-α, hs-CRP than HC group. The duration, occurrence and coverage of microstate D were negatively correlated with levels of pro-inflammatory factors (IL-2, TNF- α and hs- CRP) (all P < 0.05). Serum pro-inflammatory induced the abnormalities of microstate D. Together, these findings add to the understanding of the pathophysiology of MDD and point to pro-inflammatory factors contribute to EEG microstate abnormalities in patients with MDD.

A Comparative Study of Regional Homogeneity of Resting-State fMRI Between the Early-Onset and Late-Onset Recurrent Depression in Adults.

Background: Neurobiological mechanisms underlying the recurrence of major depressive disorder (MDD) at different ages are unclear, and this study used the regional homogeneity (ReHo) index to compare whether there are differences between early onset recurrent depression (EORD) and late onset recurrent depression (LORD). Methods: Eighteen EORD patients, 18 LORD patients, 18 young healthy controls (HCs), and 18 older HCs were included in the rs-fMRI scans. ReHo observational metrics were used for image analysis and further correlation of differential brain regions with clinical symptoms was analyzed. Results: ANOVA analysis revealed significant differences between the four groups in ReHo values in the prefrontal, parietal, temporal lobes, and insula. Compared with EORD, the LORD had higher ReHo in the right fusiform gyrus/right middle temporal gyrus, left middle temporal gyrus/left angular gyrus, and right middle temporal gyrus/right angular gyrus, and lower ReHo in the right inferior frontal gyrus/right insula and left superior temporal gyrus/left insula. Compared with young HCs, the EORD had higher ReHo in the right inferior frontal gyrus/right insula, left superior temporal gyrus/left insula, and left rolandic operculum gyrus/left superior temporal gyrus, and lower ReHo in the left inferior parietal lobule, right inferior parietal lobule, and left middle temporal gyrus/left angular gyrus. Compared with old HCs, the LORD had higher ReHo in the right fusiform gyrus/right middle temporal gyrus, right middle temporal gyrus/right angular gyrus, and left rolandic operculum gyrus/left superior temporal gyrus, and lower ReHo in the right inferior frontal gyrus/right insula. ReHo in the right inferior frontal gyrus/right insula of patients with LORD was negatively correlated with the severity of 17-item Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HAMD-17) scores (r = -0.5778, p = 0.0120). Conclusion: Adult EORD and LORD patients of different ages have abnormal neuronal functional activity in some brain regions, with differences closely related to the default mode network (DMN) and the salience network (SN), and patients of each age group exhibit ReHo abnormalities relative to matched HCs. Clinical Trial Registration: [http://www.chictr.org.cn/], [ChiCTR1800014277].

[Functional MRI-based study on neuromechanism of trans-auricular vagus nerve stimulation for treatment-resistant depression].

OBJECTIVE: To explore the neuromechanism of trans-auricular vagus nerve stimulation (taVNS) for treatment-resistant depression(TRD) based on functional brain network. METHODS: Twenty-eight patients with TRD were recruited from the psychiatric clinic or by the advertisement. The patients were treated by taVNS (5 Hz/20 Hz, 4-8 mA) at the auricular concha for 30 min, twice daily for 8 weeks. The symptom severity was assessed by 17-Item Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HAMD-17, ranging from 0 to 54 points, higher score indicates more severe conditions). Resting state fMRI data of the brain were collected to analyze changes of the regional homogeneity (ReHo), amplitude of low frequency fluctuation (ALFF) and resting state functional connectivity (rs-FC) before and after 8 weeks' taVNS by using DPARSF toolkit and the correlation between the rs-FC and clinical scale score was analyzed to assess the related brain mechanisms. RESULTS: Twenty-four patients finished the clinical study, and 23 patients finished the fMRI tests. After the treatment, the average score of HAMD-17 was significantly decreased (P<0.01), with the reduction rate being 66.95%; the ALFF and ReHo values of the right insula and putamen, the ReHo values of the right caudate nucleus and thalamus, as well as the rs-FC values of the right insula, left superior frontal gyrus and middle frontal gyrus were all significantly decreased (P<0.05). The reduced ReHo value in the right insular lobe was negatively correlated with the HAMD score reduction (P=0.001, r=-0.633). The rs-FC values of the right insula lobe and the left superior frontal gyrus were significantly negatively correlated with the reduced HAMD score(P=0.012, r=-0.512). CONCLUSION: TaVNS significantly relieves the symptoms of TRD patients, which may be related to its functions in regulating functional changes of the right insular and the left frontal gyrus network, and the limbic area and basal ganglia.

High-speed femtosecond laser plasmonic lithography and reduction of graphene oxide for anisotropic photoresponse.

Micro/nanoprocessing of graphene surfaces has attracted significant interest for both science and applications due to its effective modulation of material properties, which, however, is usually restricted by the disadvantages of the current fabrication methods. Here, by exploiting cylindrical focusing of a femtosecond laser on graphene oxide (GO) films, we successfully produce uniform subwavelength grating structures at high speed along with a simultaneous in situ photoreduction process. Strikingly, the well-defined structures feature orientations parallel to the laser polarization and significant robustness against distinct perturbations. The proposed model and simulations reveal that the structure formation is based on the transverse electric (TE) surface plasmons triggered by the gradient reduction of the GO film from its surface to the interior, which eventually results in interference intensity fringes and spatially periodic interactions. Further experiments prove that such a regular structured surface can cause enhanced optical absorption (>20%) and an anisotropic photoresponse (~0.46 ratio) for the reduced GO film. Our work not only provides new insights into understanding the laser-GO interaction but also lays a solid foundation for practical usage of femtosecond laser plasmonic lithography, with the prospect of expansion to other two-dimensional materials for novel device applications.

A Scan of Obesogenic Environments and a Spatial Inference of Obesity Prevalence in Chinese Children and Adolescents: Based on the Chinese Health and Nutrition Survey 2011 Data.

OBJECTIVE: To identify the characteristics of Chinese obesogenic environments at a provincial level, infer a spatial distribution map of obesity prevalence in 31 provinces, and provide a foundation for development of policy to reduce obesity in children and adolescents. METHODS: After scanning obesity data on subjects aged 7-17 years from 12 provinces in the China Health and Nutrition Survey 2011 and environmental data on 31 provinces from the China Statistical Yearbook 2011 and other sources, we selected 12 predictors. We used the 12 surveyed provinces as a training sample to fit an analytical model with partial least squares regression and prioritized the 12 predictors using variable importance in projection. We also fitted a predictive model with Bayesian analysis. RESULTS: We identified characteristics of obesogenic environments. We fitted the predictive model with a deviance information criterion of 61.96 and with statistically significant (P < 0.05) parameter estimates of intercept [95% confidence interval (CI): 329.10, 963.11], log(oil) (CI: 13.11, 20.30), log(GDP) (CI: 3.05, 6.93), log(media) (CI: -234.95, -89.61), and log(washing-machine) (CI: 0.92, 5.07). The total inferred average obesity prevalence among those aged 7-17 was 9.69% in 31 Chinese provinces in 2011. We also found obvious clustering in occurrences of obesity in northern and eastern provinces in the predicted map. CONCLUSION: Given complexity of obesity in children and adolescents, concerted efforts are needed to reduce consumption of edible oils, increase consumption of vegetables, and strengthen nutrition, health, and physical activity education in Chinese schools. The northern and eastern regions are the key areas requiring intervention.

[Influence of intra-pulpal temperature when using femtosecond laser in specific parameters to prepare cavities in tooth enamel: an in vitro study].

OBJECTIVE: To take the Real-time measurement of the intra-pulpal temperature (IPT) when using femtosecond laser in specific parameters to prepare cavities in tooth enamel in vitro, and to preliminarily evaluate the effect of air cooling. METHODS: All pulp champers of extracted human teeth (premolars and molars) were exposed by roots amputated and pulp scraped out. All chambers were tightly filled with copper powder, and thermocouple was inserted into the center of the powder stack. The bottom of the chamber was sealed with insulating tape. Thermocouple wire was fixed at the same time. The 2.25 mm×2.25 mm square cavities were prepared using femtosecond laser in the enamel with the average scan speed of 0.4 mm/s. The real-time IPT change was measured with thermocouple digital thermometer. Air cooling was added to the procedure once the temperature increased to reach a balance. RESULTS: The IPT rising was defined as ΔT . Before the usage of air cooling, the maximum of the ΔT value of the sample premolar was 12.3 °C. After using air cooling, the IPT decreased and ΔT value became 3.0 °C . The maximum of ΔT of the sample molar before using air cooling was 1.8 °C , and decreased to -0.1 °C after it. CONCLUSION: When preparing a cavity whose average depth is about 250 µm by femtosecond laser system in specific parameters, the IPT rises while the depth increass, but it could be controlled effectively by air cooling.