CFANet: Context Feature Fusion and Attention Mechanism Based Network for Small Target Segmentation in Medical Images.

Medical image segmentation plays a crucial role in clinical diagnosis, treatment planning, and disease monitoring. The automatic segmentation method based on deep learning has developed rapidly, with segmentation results comparable to clinical experts for large objects, but the segmentation accuracy for small objects is still unsatisfactory. Current segmentation methods based on deep learning find it difficult to extract multiple scale features of medical images, leading to an insufficient detection capability for smaller objects. In this paper, we propose a context feature fusion and attention mechanism based network for small target segmentation in medical images called CFANet. CFANet is based on U-Net structure, including the encoder and the decoder, and incorporates two key modules, context feature fusion (CFF) and effective channel spatial attention (ECSA), in order to improve segmentation performance. The CFF module utilizes contextual information from different scales to enhance the representation of small targets. By fusing multi-scale features, the network captures local and global contextual cues, which are critical for accurate segmentation. The ECSA module further enhances the network's ability to capture long-range dependencies by incorporating attention mechanisms at the spatial and channel levels, which allows the network to focus on information-rich regions while suppressing irrelevant or noisy features. Extensive experiments are conducted on four challenging medical image datasets, namely ADAM, LUNA16, Thoracic OAR, and WORD. Experimental results show that CFANet outperforms state-of-the-art methods in terms of segmentation accuracy and robustness. The proposed method achieves excellent performance in segmenting small targets in medical images, demonstrating its potential in various clinical applications.

Suppressing Structural Relaxation in Nanoscale Antimony to Enable Ultralow-Drift Phase-Change Memory Applications.

Phase-change random-access memory (PCRAM) devices suffer from pronounced resistance drift originating from considerable structural relaxation of phase-change materials (PCMs), which hinders current developments of high-capacity memory and high-parallelism computing that both need reliable multibit programming. This work realizes that compositional simplification and geometrical miniaturization of traditional GeSbTe-like PCMs are feasible routes to suppress relaxation. While to date, the aging mechanisms of the simplest PCM, Sb, at nanoscale, have not yet been unveiled. Here, this work demonstrates that in an optimal thickness of only 4 nm, the thin Sb film can enable a precise multilevel programming with ultralow resistance drift coefficients, in a regime of ≈10-4 -10-3 . This advancement is mainly owed to the slightly changed Peierls distortion in Sb and the less-distorted octahedral-like atomic configurations across the Sb/SiO2 interfaces. This work highlights a new indispensable approach, interfacial regulation of nanoscale PCMs, for pursuing ultimately reliable resistance control in aggressively-miniaturized PCRAM devices, to boost the storage and computing efficiencies substantially.

Reshaping sensory representations by task-specific brain states: Toward cortical circuit mechanisms.

Perception is internally constructed by integrating brain states with external sensory inputs, a process depending on the topdown modulation of sensory representations. A wealth of earlier studies described task-dependent modulations of sensory cortex corroborating perceptual and behavioral phenomena. But only with recent technological advancements, the underlying circuit-level mechanisms began to be unveiled. We review recent progress along this line of research. It begins to be appreciated that topdown signals can encode various types of task-related information, ranging from task engagement, and category knowledge to decision execution; these signals are transferred via feedback pathways originating from distinct association cortices and interact with sensory cortical circuits. These plausible mechanisms support a broad range of computations from predictive coding to inference making, ultimately form dynamic percepts and endow behavioral flexibility.

Disturbed microcirculation and hyperaemic response in a murine model of systemic inflammation.

Systemic inflammation affects cognitive functions and increases the risk of dementia. This phenomenon is thought to be mediated in part by cytokines that promote neuronal survival, but the continuous exposure to which may lead to neurodegeneration. The effects of systemic inflammation on cerebral blood vessels, and their provision of adequate oxygen to support critical brain parenchymal cell functions, remains unclear. Here, we demonstrate that neurovascular coupling is profoundly disturbed in lipopolysaccharide (LPS) induced systemic inflammation in awake mice. In the 24 hours following LPS injection, the hyperaemic response of pial vessels to functional activation was attenuated and delayed. Concurrently, under steady-state conditions, the capillary network displayed a significant increase in the number of capillaries with blocked blood flow, as well as increased duration of 'capillary stalls'-a phenomenon previously reported in animal models of stroke and Alzheimer's disease pathology. We speculate that vascular changes and impaired oxygen availability may affect brain functions following acute systemic inflammation and contribute to the long-term risk of neurodegenerative changes associated with chronic, systemic inflammation.

Itch perception is reflected by neuronal ignition in the primary somatosensory cortex.

Multiple cortical areas including the primary somatosensory cortex (S1) are activated during itch signal processing, yet cortical representation of itch perception remains unknown. Using novel miniature two-photon microscopic imaging in free-moving mice, we investigated the coding of itch perception in S1. We found that pharmacological inactivation of S1 abolished itch-induced scratching behavior, and the itch-induced scratching behavior could be well predicted by the activity of a fraction of layer 2/3 pyramidal neurons, suggesting that a subpopulation of S1 pyramidal neurons encoded itch perception, as indicated by immediate subsequent scratching behaviors. With a newly established optogenetics-based paradigm that allows precisely controlled pruritic stimulation, we found that a small fraction of S1 neurons exhibited an ignition-like pattern at the detection threshold of itch perception. Our study revealed the neural mechanism underlying itch perceptual coding in S1, thus paving the way for the study of cortical representation of itch perception at the single-neuron level in freely moving animals.

Focal white matter microstructural alteration after anthracycline-based systemic treatment in long-term breast cancer survivors: a structural magnetic resonance imaging study.

Understanding the neural correlates of cognitive problems in patients with breast cancer (BC) after systemic treatment have been a topic of increasing investigation. The heterogeneity of the systemic treatment regimens may undermine our ability to identify brain microstructural alterations resulting from any given regimen. We investigated the detrimental effects of the anthracycline-based systemic treatment (AST) regimen (epirubicin and cyclophosphamide + docetaxel + tamoxifen) on brain gray matter (GM) and white matter (WM) microstructural alteration in long-term BC survivors. We performed a battery of neuropsychological tests and structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to 31 long-term BC survivors who had received the AST regimen (AST group) and 43 healthy controls (HC group). Voxel-based morphometry evaluated the whole-brain voxel-wise GM volume, while diffusion tensor imaging technique with tract-based spatial statistics analysis evaluated whole-brain WM microstructural alteration. Partial least squares regression (PLSR) was used to evaluate the relationship between cognitive impairment and brain microstructural alteration in BC survivors. Compared with the HC group, the AST group exhibited a significantly poorer performance in attention, as well as a marginal significantly poorer performance in verbal working memory and executive function. Significantly lower fractional anisotropy (FA), higher radial diffusivity (RD), and lower axial diffusivity (AD) in multiple brain WM regions were showed in AST group compared with the HC group. Overlap of lower FA and higher RD was found in the body of corpus callosum (CC) and bilateral superior corona radiata (SCR), whereas overlap of lower FA and AD was found in the body of CC and right SCR. The PLSR results showed that the WM regions with overlap of lower FA and AD were significantly associated with executive and verbal working memory decline. No significant difference was observed in the GM volume between groups. Our results suggest that microstructural abnormalities of certain vulnerable WM regions in the AST regimen-exposed brain may provide neuroimaging evidence for the identification of brain injury and cognitive impairment induced by specific chemotherapy regimens.

Effects of modified Zhujing pill on retinal autophagy in mice with form deprivation myopia / 国际眼科杂志(Guoji Yanke Zazhi)

AIM: To investigate the effect of modified Zhujing pill on retinal autophagy in mice with form deprivation myopia.METHODS: Thirty C57BL/6 mice were randomly divided into a negative control group, a myopia model group and a traditional Chinese medicine intervention group, with 10 mice in each group. Except for the negative control group, all mice in the myopia model group and the traditional Chinese medicine intervention group used translucent EP tubes to cover their right eyes to make a form deprivation myopia(FDM)model; The traditional Chinese medicine intervention group gavage Zhujing pill modified suspension 0.546g/(kg·d)(0.15mL/d), the negative control group and the myopia model group were given an equal amount of normal saline(0.15mL/d)for 4wk. At the beginning and the end of the experiment respectively, the right eye diopter of the mouse was measured with a strip retinoscope, measurement of the axial length of the right eye of mouse by A-ultrasound. At the end of the experiment, the right eyes of all mice were taken for detection, and immunofluorescence method was used to locate and detect the activity and migration of the retinal microglia marker(Iba1); Transmission electron microscope observation of autophagosome formation in retinal pigment epithelial cells; Western Blot, real-time fluorescent quantitative PCR(q-PCR)to detect the autophagy marker LC3Ⅱ and p62 protein quantitative and gene expression in retinal tissues.RESULTS: At the end of the experiment, the refractive power of the right eyes of mice showed that the myopia model group and the traditional Chinese medicine intervention group formed relative myopia, the myopia model group and the traditional Chinese medicine intervention group were significantly lower than those of the negative control group(all P<0.01). At the end of the experiment, the axial length of the myopia model group and the Chinese medicine intervention group were significantly increased compared with the negative control group(P<0.01). Immunofluorescence method for locating and detecting Iba1 showed that the average optical density of Iba1 in the retina of the myopia model group increased the most obviously, followed by the increase in the negative control group, and the decrease in the traditional Chinese medicine intervention group. Compared with the negative control group, the myopia model group increased significantly(P<0.05), and the traditional Chinese medicine intervention group was significantly lower than the myopia model group(P<0.05). It was found that Iba1 migrated to the ganglion cell layer in the myopia model group and the traditional Chinese medicine intervention group. Transmission electron microscopy showed that autophagosomes were observed in the retinal pigment epithelial cells of the myopia model group and the Chinese medicine intervention group. The results of Western Blot and q-PCR showed that the expression of LC3Ⅱ and p62 increased most obviously in the traditional Chinese medicine intervention group, followed by the myopia model group, and the negative control group was the lowest.CONCLUSION: The results of the study show that modified Zhujing pill may enhance retinal autophagy in mice with FDM by inhibiting the activation of microglia.

Multiplexed Representation of Itch and Mechanical and Thermal Sensation in the Primary Somatosensory Cortex.

The primary somatosensory cortex (S1) plays a critical role in processing multiple somatosensations, but the mechanism underlying the representation of different submodalities of somatosensation in S1 remains unclear. Using in vivo two-photon calcium imaging that simultaneously monitors hundreds of layer 2/3 pyramidal S1 neurons of awake male mice, we examined neuronal responses triggered by mechanical, thermal, or pruritic stimuli. We found that mechanical, thermal, and pruritic stimuli activated largely overlapping neuronal populations in the same somatotopic S1 subregion. Population decoding analysis revealed that the local neuronal population in S1 encoded sufficient information to distinguish different somatosensory submodalities. Although multimodal S1 neurons responding to multiple types of stimuli exhibited no spatial clustering, S1 neurons preferring mechanical and thermal stimuli tended to show local clustering. These findings demonstrated the coding scheme of different submodalities of somatosensation in S1, paving the way for a deeper understanding of the processing and integration of multimodal somatosensory information in the cortex.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Cortical processing of somatosensory information is one of the most fundamental aspects in cognitive neuroscience. Previous studies mainly focused on mechanical sensory processing within the rodent whisking system, but mechanisms underlying the coding of multiple somatosensations remain largely unknown. In this study, we examined the representation of mechanical, thermal, and pruritic stimuli in S1 by in vivo two-photon calcium imaging of awake mice. We revealed a multiplexed representation for multiple somatosensory stimuli in S1 and demonstrated that the activity of a small population of S1 neurons is capable of decoding different somatosensory submodalities. Our results elucidate the coding mechanism for multiple somatosensations in S1 and provide new insights that improve the present understanding of how the brain processes multimodal sensory information.

A cortico-collicular pathway for motor planning in a memory-dependent perceptual decision task.

Survival in a dynamic environment requires animals to plan future actions based on past sensory evidence, known as motor planning. However, the neuronal circuits underlying this crucial brain function remain elusive. Here, we employ projection-specific imaging and perturbation methods to investigate the direct pathway linking two key nodes in the motor planning network, the secondary motor cortex (M2) and the midbrain superior colliculus (SC), in mice performing a memory-dependent perceptual decision task. We find dynamic coding of choice information in SC-projecting M2 neurons during motor planning and execution, and disruption of this information by inhibiting M2 terminals in SC selectively impaired decision maintenance. Furthermore, we show that while both excitatory and inhibitory SC neurons receive synaptic inputs from M2, these SC subpopulations display differential temporal patterns in choice coding during behavior. Our results reveal the dynamic recruitment of the premotor-collicular pathway as a circuit mechanism for motor planning.

A cortical circuit mechanism for structural knowledge-based flexible sensorimotor decision-making.

Making flexible decisions based on prior knowledge about causal environmental structures is a hallmark of goal-directed cognition in mammalian brains. Although several association brain regions, including the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC), have been implicated, the precise neuronal circuit mechanisms underlying knowledge-based decision-making remain elusive. Here, we established an inference-based auditory categorization task where mice performed within-session flexible stimulus re-categorization by inferring the changing task rules. We constructed a reinforcement learning model to recapitulate the inference-based flexible behavior and quantify the hidden variables associated with task structural knowledge. Combining two-photon population imaging and projection-specific optogenetics, we found that auditory cortex (ACx) neurons encoded the hidden task rule variable, which requires feedback input from the OFC. Silencing OFC-ACx input specifically disrupted re-categorization behavior. Direct imaging from OFC axons in the ACx revealed task state-related feedback signals, supporting the knowledge-based updating mechanism. Our data reveal a cortical circuit mechanism underlying structural knowledge-based flexible decision-making.

A novel alkaloid from Corydalis tomentella / 中国中药杂志

The chemical constituents in the ethyl acetate extract of Corydalis tomentella was isolated and purified with normal and reversed phase silica gel column chromatography, Sephadex LH-20, MCI, and semi-preparative HPLC. The compound structures were identified based on spectroscopic experiments and reported papers. Finally, eighteen compounds(1-18) were obtained from C. tomentella, including 17 alkaloids and 1 terpenoid. Among them, compound 1(tomentellaine A) was a novel alkaloid. Compounds 2-5, 7-14, and 16-18 were isolated from this plant for the first time.

Esophageal bronchogenic cyst excised by endoscopic submucosal tunnel dissection: A case report.

BACKGROUND: Esophageal bronchogenic cyst (EBC) is a rare congenital disease that is difficult to diagnose preoperatively, and treatment remains controversial. CASE SUMMARY: We report a 53-year-old Chinese woman hospitalized in our hospital following the discovery of a submucosal protruding mass of the esophagus by upper endoscopy. A preliminary diagnosis of EBC was made by endoscopic ultrasonography (EUS), and treatment was accomplished by endoscopic submucosal tunnel dissection (ESTD). The pathological results verified the diagnosis. No scar changes or cystic lesion within the original lesion were found under EUS after a 3-mo follow-up. CONCLUSION: EUS is valuable for the preliminary diagnosis of EBC and surveillance. ESTD is a safe and effective treatment for EBC. Further evaluation of complications and long-term follow-ups are required.

Deciphering Pyramidal Neuron Diversity: Delineating Perceptual Functions of Projection-Defined Neuronal Types.

Axonal projection patterns are increasingly recognized as a defining feature for neuronal classification. How could such structural distinctions be linked to functions? In this issue of Neuron, Tang and Higley (2020) disambiguate behavior-level functions of two projection-defined subtypes of cortical projection neurons.

Progress in glaucoma and microcirculation changes / 国际眼科杂志(Guoji Yanke Zazhi)

@#Glaucoma is a major cause of visual dysfunction worldwide. It is a group of diseases involving the optic nerve and related structures. It is characterized by visual field defects and optic disc depression, which ultimately lead to irreversible blindness. Many years of research have found that the pathogenesis of induced glaucoma is mainly mechanical compression theory and vascular theory(microcirculation). In view of the current clinical research and further development of diagnosis and treatment, the latter has become the focus and development direction of modern research. Patients with glaucoma will have a decrease in blood vessel density in the corresponding parts such as the optic papilla and optic disc. Examination techniques such as deep convolutional neural network and OCT-A can objectively explain the changes in the corresponding parameters of their microcirculation and can monitor the progress of glaucoma. Therefore, this article discusses from the aspects of glaucoma and microcirculation, aiming to expand the clinical understanding of glaucoma microcirculation, so as to further guide the clinical.

Sensory-to-Category Transformation via Dynamic Reorganization of Ensemble Structures in Mouse Auditory Cortex.

The ability to group physical stimuli into behaviorally relevant categories is fundamental to perception and cognition. Despite a large body of work on stimulus categorization at the behavioral and cognitive levels, little is known about the underlying mechanisms at the neuronal level. Here, combining mouse auditory psychophysical behavior and in vivo two-photon imaging from the auditory cortex, we investigate how sensory-to-category transformation is implemented by cortical neurons during a stimulus categorization task. Distinct from responses during passive listening, many neurons exhibited emergent selectivity to stimuli near the category boundary during task performance, reshaping local tuning maps; other neurons became more selective to category membership of stimuli. At the population level, local cortical ensembles robustly encode category information and predict trial-by-trial decisions during task performance. Our data uncover a task-dependent dynamic reorganization of cortical response patterns serving as a neural mechanism for sensory-to-category transformation during perceptual decision-making.

Causal contributions of parietal cortex to perceptual decision-making during stimulus categorization.

The posterior parietal cortex (PPC) has been implicated in perceptual decision-making and categorization, but whether its activity plays a causal role remains controversial. Here we examined the population dynamics of PPC activity during an auditory-guided decision task in mice. We found that silencing of PPC activity impaired several aspects of decision-making. First, categorization of new, but not well-learned, stimuli was impaired. Second, re-categorization of previously experienced stimuli based on newly learned categories was also impaired. Third, the bias on behavioral choices created by preceding trials significantly increased. In vivo two-photon imaging of PPC activity during stimulus categorization revealed differential dynamics in representations of new stimuli and learned categories, consistent with rapid incorporation of new sensory information during categorization. At the circuit level, inactivation of PPC axonal projections to the auditory cortex also significantly reduced categorization performance. Thus, PPC circuits play a causal role in decision-making during stimulus categorization.

Multiple gastric angiolipomas: A case report.

BACKGROUND: Angiolipoma is a benign tumor and is generally found in subcutaneous tissues. Angiolipomas are rare in the gastrointestinal tract, including the stomach. Preoperative diagnosis of the tumor is difficult, although there are several radiological examinations such as computed tomography and endoscopic ultrasound. CASE SUMMARY: We report a 24-year-old Chinese man with multiple gastric angiolipomas, with a positive stool occult blood examination. Endoscopic biopsy only showed nonspecific inflammation. Histological examination of the specimen by endoscopic snare resection showed that the tumor consisted of adipose tissues and blood vessels. We also performed a literature review. After the use of proton pump inhibitor, the fecal occult blood test was negative. Due to the difficulty of resecting multiple lesions in the stomach completely and the benign characteristics of angiolipoma, we chose to have regular upper gastrointestinal endoscopy evaluation of the lesion. No evidence of significant change in lesion size was detected after 3-years follow-up. CONCLUSION: Gastric angiolipoma is rare, and benign neoplasm should be considered when lesions occur submucosally in the gastrointestinal tract.

Necroptosis in inflammatory bowel disease and other intestinal diseases.

For a long time, it was believed that apoptosis and necrosis were the main pathways for cell death, but a growing body of research has shown that there are other pathways. Among these, necroptosis, a regulatory caspase-independent, programmed cell death pathway, is supposed to be of importance in the pathogenesis of many diseases. The mechanism of regulating, inducing and blocking necroptosis is a complex process that involves expression and regulation of a series of molecules including receptor interacting protein kinase 1 (RIPK1), RIPK3, and mixed lineage kinase like protein. By blocking or downregulating expression of key molecules in the necroptotic pathway, intestinal inflammation can be affected to some extent. In this paper, we introduce the concept of necroptosis, its main pathway, and its impact on the pathogenesis of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and other intestinal diseases, to explore new drug targets for intestinal diseases, including IBD.