Professional chess expertise modulates whole brain functional connectivity pattern homogeneity and couplings.

Previous studies have revealed changed functional connectivity patterns between brain areas in chess players using resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI). However, how to exactly characterize the voxel-wise whole brain functional connectivity pattern changes in chess players remains unclear. It could provide more convincing evidence for establishing the relationship between long-term chess practice and brain function changes. In this study, we employed newly developed whole brain functional connectivity pattern homogeneity (FcHo) method to identify the voxel-wise changes of functional connectivity patterns in 28 chess master players and 27 healthy novices. Seed-based functional connectivity analysis was used to identify the alteration of corresponding functional couplings. FcHo analysis revealed significantly increased whole brain functional connectivity pattern similarity in anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), anterior middle temporal gyrus (aMTG), primary visual cortex (V1), and decreased FcHo in thalamus and precentral gyrus in chess players. Resting-state functional connectivity analyses identified chess players showing decreased functional connections between V1 and precentral gyrus. Besides, a linear support vector machine (SVM) based classification achieved an accuracy of 85.45%, a sensitivity of 85.71% and a specificity of 85.19% to differentiate chess players from novices by leave-one-out cross-validation. Finally, correlation analyses revealed that the mean FcHo values of thalamus were significantly negatively correlated with the training time. Our findings provide new evidences for the important roles of ACC, aMTG, V1, thalamus and precentral gyrus in chess players. The findings also indicate that long-term professional chess training may enhance the semantic and episodic processing, efficiency of visual-motor transformation, and cognitive ability.

Diagnostic Role of Carotid Intima-Media Thickness for Coronary Artery Disease: A Meta-Analysis.

BACKGROUND: The present meta-analysis was conducted to confirm whether carotid intima-media thickness (IMT) could serve as an accurate diagnostic method for coronary artery disease (CAD). METHODS: Databases of PubMed, Google Scholar, and Embase were searched for potential articles. The articles were selected according to inclusion criteria. Pooled sensitivity and specificity with corresponding 95% confidence interval (CI) were used to confirm the diagnostic role of IMT for CAD. I 2 and P value were used to assess the existence of heterogeneity. I 2 and P value were used to assess the existence of heterogeneity. RESULTS: 22 eligible articles were selected in the present meta-analysis. Pooled sensitivity and specificity of IMT for diagnosing CAD were 0.68 (0.57-0.77) and 0.70 (0.64-0.75), respectively. The corresponding AUC was 0.74 (0.70-0.78). Subgroup analyses based on cutoff value of IMT were performed. A cutoff value of 1 mm was demonstrated to be much more accurate diagnostic criteria for CAD (sensitivity: 0.66; specificity: 0.79; AUC: 0.80). Sensitivity analysis indicated that the pooled results were robust. Deek's funnel plot indicated no significant publication bias (P value were used to assess the existence of heterogeneity. CONCLUSION: Carotid IMT may serve as an accurate diagnostic tool. A cutoff value of 1 mm seems to provide much more accurate diagnostic results for CAD.

Melatonin attenuates white matter damage after focal brain ischemia in rats by regulating the TLR4/NF-κB pathway.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the possible neuroprotective effects of melatonin against brain white matter damage via the Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4)/ nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB) signaling pathway in focal cerebral ischemic rats. METHODS: Fifty-four Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into the Sham, middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO), and melatonin groups. The successful MCAO models were evaluated by Laser Doppler flowmetry, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) with T2-weighted imaging (T2WI) examination and 2, 3, 5-triphenyltetrazolium chloride (TTC) staining. White matter damage was assessed by myelin basic protein (MBP) immunohistochemical, Luxol Fast Blue (LFB) staining, and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) examination. The proliferation of oligodendrocyte progenitor cells (OPCs) was examined by proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA)/neural glial antigen 2 (NG2)/DAPI immunofluorescent staining. And the effects of melatonin therapy on the TLR4, NF-κB, and interleukin (IL)-1ß proteins were examined by immunohistochemical staining. The correlation between the proliferating OPCs and TLR4 protein, IL-1ß and TLR4 protein was respectively analyzed by linear regression analysis. RESULTS: The infarct volume was significantly reduced and white matter damage was also significantly alleviated in the melatonin group as compared with the MCAO group (P <  0.05), and there were more TLR4+, NF-κB+ and IL-1ß+ cells in the MCAO group compared with the melatonin group (P <  0.01). Similarly, more PCNA+NG2+ cells were observed in the subventricular zone and white matter areas in the melatonin group compared with the MCAO group (P <  0.01). The number of TLR4+ cells was closely positively correlated with that of IL-1ß+ cells, and negatively correlated with that of PCNA+NG2+ cells. CONCLUSIONS: In summary, melatonin could promote the proliferation of endogenous OPCs and suppress the expression of IL-1ß protein via inhibiting TLR4/NF-κB signaling, thus alleviate the white matter damage in focal cerebral ischemic rats.

A Meta-Analysis about the Screening Role of Pulse Oximetry for Congenital Heart Disease.

OBJECTIVE: The opinions about the application of pulse oximetry in diagnosis of congenital heart disease (CHD) were debatable. We performed this meta-analysis to confirm the diagnostic role of pulse oximetry screening for CHD. METHODS: Relevant articles were searched in the databases of Pubmed, Embase, Google Scholar, and Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) up to April 2017. Data was processed in the MetaDiSc 1.4 software. Pooled sensitivity and specificity with 95% confidence interval (95% CI) were calculated to explain the diagnostic role of pulse oximetry screening for CHD. I2⩾50% or p < 0.05 indicated significant heterogeneity. Area under curve (AUC) of summary receiver operating characteristics (SROC) was calculated to assess its diagnostic accuracy. The robustness of overall results was evaluated by sensitivity analysis. Publication bias was evaluated by Deek's funnel plot. RESULTS: 22 eligible articles were selected. Pooled sensitivity and specificity were 0.69 (0.67-0.72) and 0.99 (0.99-0.99), respectively. The corresponding AUC was 0.9407, suggesting high diagnostic accuracy of pulse oximetry screening for CHD. Sensitivity analysis demonstrated that the pooled results were robust. Deek's funnel plot seemed to be symmetrical. CONCLUSIONS: Pulse oximetry screening could be used to diagnose CHD. It shows high diagnosis specificity and accuracy.

Gemstone spectral imaging for measuring adult bone mineral density.

The present study aimed to detect the bone Ca2+ content of L3 vertebrae in adults by gemstone spectral computed tomography. In total, 235 patients were selected and divided into age groups of 10 years each. The scanning data were used to detect the water-based and Ca2+-based substance levels on the L3 vertebral cancellous bone images. The results indicated that there were significant differences in vertebral Ca2+-water and water-Ca2+ densities determined by gemstone spectral imaging (GSI) between males and females in subjects aged 50-59 years, 60-69 years, 70-79 years and ≥80 years (P<0.05). The ages of male and female participants were negatively correlated with vertebral Ca2+-water density (P<0.01) and water-Ca2+ density (P<0.01). In conclusion, GSI may be used as a novel method of measuring the vertebral adult bone mineral density.

Evaluation of energy spectrum CT for the measurement of thyroid iodine content.

BACKGROUND: This study aims to provide a reference for the diagnosis of iodine deficiency disorder by evaluating the normal thyroid iodine content by energy spectrum computed tomography (CT) and calculating the iodine content ratio of thyroid to sternocleidomastoid. METHODS: The thyroid glands of 226 patients were scanned by energy spectrum CT, and the images were analyzed using the GSI Viewer software. Based on the imaging findings, the iodine levels of the thyroid lobes as well as the bilateral sternocleidomastoids were evaluated, and their iodine content ratios were calculated. RESULTS: No statistically significant difference was found in the thyroid iodine content between the left and right thyroid lobes (p > 0.05). However, there was a significant difference in the thyroid iodine content between men and women (p < 0.01). Additionally, the thyroid iodine content was found to decrease gradually with age. The iodine content ratio of thyroid to sternocleidomastoid was 96.6271 ± 33.2442. CONCLUSION: Gemstone energy spectrum CT can be used for the measurement of thyroid iodine content in the human body. It can play a significant role in the diagnosis of iodine deficiency disorder.

[Combined medial and lateral malleolus operative treatment for severe fracture of ankle].

OBJECTIVE: To explore the clinical effects of combined medial and lateral malleolus in treating severe fracture of ankle. METHODS: From May 2007 to January 2011,89 patients with ankle fracture who underment surgical treatment and had complete follow-up, the data were retrospectively analyzed. In this study, there were 66 males and 23 females with an average age of 30.9 years (ranged, 26 to 62 years). Cause of injury included road accidents in 52 cases,sprains from fall down in 17, construction injury in 16 and other injuries in 4. According to type of Denis-Weber, type A were in 13 cases, type B in 24, type C in 52. Operative technique was as follows. Chosen two-incision of combined medial and lateral malleolus, and reduced lateral malleolus fracture firstly, fixed it with 1/3 tubular armor plate or rebuilt-titanium plate. To chose one or two hollow screws according to the size of fracture block. If fracture of fibula was syntripsis,it can be multi-segmental fixed. If fracture line of posterior malleolus was no more than 1/3 articular surface of ankle or the bone displacement was not serious, it can be disregarded. And if the lesion level was over 1/3, or shift position more than 3 mm,it can be fixed with lag screw after reduction. Either front-to-back or back-to-front fixed direction was OK. At the third day after operation, the patients were instructed to exercise with affected limb, weight training after 6 weeks. RESULTS: Eighty-nine patients were followed up from 6 to 24 months with an average of 16 months. Healing time of the fracture was 10 to 12 months. According to standard of the Baird-Jackson scoring system, 68 cases got excellent results, 18 good and 3 fair. CONCLUSION: Surgical treatment is quite effective for severe fracture of ankle. It should be chosen correctly according to types of the fracture and degree of ligament injury. At the same time, damage degree of the ligament around the ankle should be considered and properly treated.

Determination of proteins using the p-acetylchlorophosphonazo-barium(II) complex as a spectroprobe.

A novel spectrophotometric method has been developed for the determination of proteins using the p-acetychlorophosphonazo (CPA-pA)-barium(II) complex as a spectroprobe. In the pH range of 2.0-2.8, the absorbance of the CPA-pA-barium(II) complex at 649 nm is greatly decreased by protein. The absorbance decrease is in proportion to the concentration of protein in the range of 0-20 mg/L. The apparent molar absorptivities are 1.56 x 10(6), 1.70 x 10(6) and 6.04 x 10(5) L mol(-1) cm(-1) for bovine serum albumin (BSA), human serum albumin (HAS) and ovalbumin (OVA), respectively. The method is reproducible and simple, and has been used to determine total protein in human sera. The results are in agreement with those obtained by the pyrocatechol violet (PV)-Mo(VI) method, with relative standard deviations of 2.5-3.5% (n=6).