Neurovascular Coupling Analysis Based on Multivariate Variational Gaussian Process Convergent Cross-Mapping.

Neurovascular coupling (NVC) provides important insights into the intricate activity of brain functioning and may aid in the early diagnosis of brain diseases. Emerging evidences have shown that NVC could be assessed by the coupling between electroencephalography (EEG) and functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS). However, this endeavor presents significant challenges due to the absence of standardized methodologies and reliable techniques for coupling analysis of these two modalities. In this study, we introduced a novel method, i.e., the collaborative multi-output variational Gaussian process convergent cross-mapping (CMVGP-CCM) approach to advance coupling analysis of EEG and fNIRS. To validate the robustness and reliability of the CMVGP-CCM method, we conducted extensive experiments using chaotic time series models with varying noise levels, sequence lengths, and causal driving strengths. In addition, we employed the CMVGP-CCM method to explore the NVC between EEG and fNIRS signals collected from 26 healthy participants using a working memory (WM) task. Results revealed a significant causal effect of EEG signals, particularly the delta, theta, and alpha frequency bands, on the fNIRS signals during WM. This influence was notably observed in the frontal lobe, and its strength exhibited a decline as cognitive demands increased. This study illuminates the complex connections between brain electrical activity and cerebral blood flow, offering new insights into the underlying NVC mechanisms of WM.

Enhancing cross-subject EEG emotion recognition through multi-source manifold metric transfer learning.

Transfer learning (TL) has demonstrated its efficacy in addressing the cross-subject domain adaptation challenges in affective brain-computer interfaces (aBCI). However, previous TL methods usually use a stationary distance, such as Euclidean distance, to quantify the distribution dissimilarity between two domains, overlooking the inherent links among similar samples, potentially leading to suboptimal feature mapping. In this study, we introduced a novel algorithm called multi-source manifold metric transfer learning (MSMMTL) to enhance the efficacy of conventional TL. Specifically, we first selected the source domain based on Mahalanobis distance to enhance the quality of the source domains and then used manifold feature mapping approach to map the source and target domains on the Grassmann manifold to mitigate data drift between domains. In this newly established shared space, we optimized the Mahalanobis metric by maximizing the inter-class distances while minimizing the intra-class distances in the target domain. Recognizing that significant distribution discrepancies might persist across different domains even on the manifold, to ensure similar distributions between the source and target domains, we further imposed constraints on both domains under the Mahalanobis metric. This approach aims to reduce distributional disparities and enhance the electroencephalogram (EEG) emotion recognition performance. In cross-subject experiments, the MSMMTL model exhibits average classification accuracies of 88.83 % and 65.04 % for SEED and DEAP, respectively, underscoring the superiority of our proposed MSMMTL over other state-of-the-art methods. MSMMTL can effectively solve the problem of individual differences in EEG-based affective computing.

Mechanisms by which silencing long-stranded noncoding RNA KCNQ1OT1 alleviates myocardial ischemia/reperfusion injury (MI/RI)-induced cardiac injury via miR-377-3p/HMOX1.

BACKGROUND: The key complication of myocardial infarction therapy is myocardial ischemia/reperfusion injury (MI/RI), and there is no effective treatment. The present study elucidates the mechanism of action of lncRNA KCNQ1OT1 in alleviating MI/RI and provides new perspectives and therapeutic targets for cardiac injury-related diseases. METHODS: An ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury model of human adult cardiac myocytes (HACMs) was constructed, and the expression of KCNQ1OT1 and miR-377-3p was determined by RT‒qPCR. The levels of related proteins were detected by western blot analysis. Cell proliferation was detected by a CCK-8 assay, and cell apoptosis and ROS content were determined by flow cytometry. SOD and MDA expression as well as Fe2+ changes were detected by related analysis kits. The target binding relationships between lncRNA KCNQ1OT1 and miR-377-3p as well as between miR-377-3p and heme oxygenase 1 (HMOX1) were verified by a dual-luciferase reporter gene assay. RESULTS: Myocardial ischemia‒reperfusion caused oxidative stress in HACMs, resulting in elevated ROS levels, increased Fe2+ levels, decreased cell viability, and increased LDH release (a marker of myocardial injury), and apoptosis. KCNQ1OT1 and HMOX1 were upregulated in I/R-induced myocardial injury, but the level of miR-377-3p was decreased. A dual-luciferase reporter gene assay indicated that lncRNA KCNQ1OT1 targets miR-377-3p and that miR-377-3p targets HMOX1. Inhibition of HMOX1 alleviated miR-377-3p downregulation-induced myocardial injury. Furthermore, lncRNA KCNQ1OT1 promoted the level of HMOX1 by binding to miR-377-3p and aggravated myocardial injury. CONCLUSION: LncRNA KCNQ1OT1 aggravates ischemia‒reperfusion-induced cardiac injury via miR-377-3P/HMOX1.

Effects of vibration therapy for post-stroke spasticity: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

BACKGROUND: The efficacy of vibration therapy (VT) in people with post-stroke spasticity (PSS) remains uncertain. This study aims to conduct a comprehensive meta-analysis to assess the effectiveness of VT in PSS. METHODS: PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, Physiotherapy Evidence Database, and Web of Science were searched from inception to October 2022 for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of VT in people with PSS. The primary outcome was spasticity, and secondary outcomes included pain, motor function, gait performance, and adverse events. A meta­analysis was performed by pooling the standardized mean difference (SMD) with 95% confidence intervals (CI). RESULTS: A total of 12 studies met the inclusion criteria. Overall, VT had significant effects on reducing spasticity (SMD = - 0.77, 95% CI - 1.17 to - 0.36, P < 0.01) and pain (SMD = - 1.09, 95% CI - 1.74 to - 0.45, P < 0.01), and improving motor function (SMD = 0.42, 95% CI 0.21 to 0.64, P < 0.01) in people with PSS. However, VT had no significant effect on gait performance (SMD = - 0.23, 95% CI - 0.56-0.10). In addition, subgroup differences in short-term anti-spasticity effects between different vibration subtypes, vibration frequencies, vibration durations, frequency of sessions, control therapy, spasticity distribution, and population classification were not significant. CONCLUSION: We found that VT significantly alleviated spasticity and pain in people with PSS and improved motor function, but its effect on gait performance was unclear. However, further studies are needed to validate these findings.

A retrospective comparative cohort study of the effects of neural mobilization (NM) alone and NM combined with transcranial direct current stimulation in patients with cervical radiculopathy.

BACKGROUND: Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) and neural mobilization (NM) are widely used in clinical practice as two effective treatment. However, there have existed few studies of the combination of these two treatments, particularly in cervical radiculopathy (CR). To explore the value of combined tDCS and NM for the management of pain, disability, and quality of life (QoL) in patients with CR, authors designed this study. METHODS: According to certain inclusion criteria, 36 subjects were selected from 224 patients with CR enrolled in Zhejiang Provincial People's Hospital between June 2021 and December 2021. Subjects were divided into two groups based on the treatment they had already received at the hospital. Patients in the combined tDCS group received tDCS and NM therapy, while patients in the NM group received NM therapy alone. Visual analog scale (VAS), Neck Disability Index (NDI), and EuroQuol-5 dimensions (EQ-5D) scores were assessed at baseline, immediately after treatment, and at the 4-week follow-up to evaluate pain, neck disability, and the QoL of patients. SPSS 22.0 software (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY, USA) is used as main tool for data analysis. RESULTS: A total of 36 patients were enrolled (19 in the combined tDCS group and 17 in the NM group). The baseline VAS, NDI, and EQ-5D scores in the combined tDCS group were 54.3±16.4 mm, 35.1±14.7, and 0.62±0.15, respectively, while the baseline VAS, NDI, and EQ-5D scores in the NM group were 54.0±16.5 mm, 31.8±12.8, and 0.64±0.15, respectively. There was no significant difference in baseline data between the two groups. At the 4-week post-treatment follow-up, the VAS score was significantly lower in the combined tDCS group than in the NM group (24.5±16.1 and 40.7±17.3 mm, respectively, P=0.008), and the NDI was also significantly lower in the combined tDCS group than in the NM group (16.1±11.5 vs. 26.6±17.7, P=0.045). There was no significant difference between the combined tDCS and NM groups in EQ-5D (0.75±0.15 vs. 0.69±0.09, P=0.192). CONCLUSIONS: Compared with NM therapy alone, combined tDCS and NM therapy may play a role in pain relief and neck disability improvement in CR patients.

[Multiple-scale intermuscular coupling network analysis].

In order to more accurately and effectively understand the intermuscular coupling of different temporal and spatial levels from the perspective of complex networks, a new multi-scale intermuscular coupling network analysis method was proposed in this paper. The multivariate variational modal decomposition (MVMD) and Copula mutual information (Copula MI) were combined to construct an intermuscular coupling network model based on MVMD-Copula MI, and the characteristics of intermuscular coupling of multiple muscles of upper limbs in different time-frequency scales during reaching exercise in healthy subjects were analyzed by using the network parameters such as node strength and clustering coefficient. The experimental results showed that there are obvious differences in the characteristics of intermuscular coupling in the six time-frequency scales. Specifically, the triceps brachii (TB) had relatively high coupling strength with the middle deltoid (MD) and posterior deltoid (PD), and the intermuscular function was closely connected. However, the biceps brachii (BB) was independent of other muscles. The intermuscular coupling network had scale differences. MVMD-Copula MI can quantitatively describe the relationship of multi-scale intermuscular coupling strength, which has good application prospects.

Comparative Efficacy and Patient-Specific Moderating Factors of Nonsurgical Treatment Strategies for Frozen Shoulder: An Updated Systematic Review and Network Meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Frozen shoulder is a common shoulder disorder characterized by pain and restriction. Various nonsurgical treatments have been reported, but there is no consensus about their comparative efficacy and the effects of moderators. PURPOSE: To compare the efficacy of different nonsurgical interventions and identify potential patient-specific moderating factors for frozen shoulder. STUDY DESIGN: Systematic review and network meta-analysis. METHODS: PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, and Web of Science databases were searched from their inception to February 18, 2019. The search was supplemented by manual review of relevant reference lists. Randomized controlled trials of participants with frozen shoulder that compared nonsurgical interventions were selected. Measured outcomes included pain, shoulder function in daily activities, and range of motion. RESULTS: Of 3136 records identified, 92 trials were eligible, evaluating 32 nonsurgical interventions in 5946 patients. Intra-articular injection improved pain (pooled standardized mean difference [95% CI]: steroid injection, 1.68 [1.03-2.34]; capsular distension, 2.68 [1.32-4.05]) and shoulder function (steroid injection, 2.16 [1.52-2.81]; distension, 2.89 [1.71-4.06]) to a greater extent than placebo. Capsular distension and extracorporeal shockwave therapy showed the highest ranking for pain relief and functional improvement, respectively. Laser therapy also showed benefits for pain relief (3.02 [1.84-4.20]) and functional improvement (3.66 [1.65-5.67]). Subgroup analyses by disease stages revealed that steroid injection combined with physical therapy provided more benefits during the freezing phase, whereas joint manipulation provided more benefits in the adhesive phase. Adjunctive therapies, female sex, and diabetes were also identified as moderators of effectiveness. CONCLUSION: Capsular distension is a highly recommended choice for treatment of frozen shoulder, contributing greatly to pain relief and functional improvement; steroid injection is also a prevailing effective intervention. Among new options, extracorporeal shockwave therapy and laser therapy show potential benefits for multiple outcomes. Individualized optimal intervention should be considered, given that treatment effect is moderated by factors including the disease stage, time of assessment, adjunctive therapies, female sex, and diabetes.