In spite of the reduced visual acuity, parafoveal information plays an important role in natural reading. However, competing models on reading disagree on whether words are previewed parafoveally at ...the lexical level. We find neural evidence for lexical parafoveal processing by combining a rapid invisible frequency tagging (RIFT) approach with magnetoencephalography (MEG) and eye-tracking. In a silent reading task, target words are tagged (flickered) subliminally at 60 Hz. The tagging responses measured when fixating on the pre-target word reflect parafoveal processing of the target word. We observe stronger tagging responses during pre-target fixations when followed by low compared with high lexical frequency targets. Moreover, this lexical parafoveal processing is associated with individual reading speed. Our findings suggest that reading unfolds in the fovea and parafovea simultaneously to support fluent reading.
We saccade 3 to 5 times per second when reading. However, little is known about the neuronal mechanisms coordinating the oculomotor and visual systems during such rapid processing. Here, we ask if ...brain oscillations play a role in the temporal coordination of the visuomotor integration. We simultaneously acquired MEG and eye-tracking data while participants read sentences silently. Every sentence was embedded with a target word of either high or low lexical frequency. Our key finding demonstrated that saccade onsets were locked to the phase of alpha oscillations (8 to 13 Hz), and in particular, for saccades towards low frequency words. Source modelling demonstrated that the alpha oscillations to which the saccades were locked, were generated in the right-visual motor cortex (BA 7). Our findings suggest that the alpha oscillations serve to time the processing between the oculomotor and visual systems during natural reading, and that this coordination becomes more pronounced for demanding words.
Humans can read and comprehend text rapidly, implying that readers might process multiple words per fixation. However, the extent to which parafoveal words are previewed and integrated into the ...evolving sentence context remains disputed. We investigated parafoveal processing during natural reading by recording brain activity and eye movements using MEG and an eye tracker while participants silently read one-line sentences. The sentences contained an unpredictable target word that was either congruent or incongruent with the sentence context. To measure parafoveal processing, we flickered the target words at 60 Hz and measured the resulting brain responses (i.e. Rapid Invisible Frequency Tagging, RIFT ) during fixations on the pre-target words. Our results revealed a significantly weaker tagging response for target words that were incongruent with the previous context compared to congruent ones, even within 100ms of fixating the word immediately preceding the target. This reduction in the RIFT response was also found to be predictive of individual reading speed. We conclude that semantic information is not only extracted from the parafovea but can also be integrated with the previous context before the word is fixated. This early and extensive parafoveal processing supports the rapid word processing required for natural reading. Our study suggests that theoretical frameworks of natural reading should incorporate the concept of deep parafoveal processing.
Wave Operator on Compact Manifolds Pan Yali; Fan Dashan
Frontiers of mathematics in China,
03/2023, Letnik:
18, Številka:
2
Journal Article
Recenzirano
On an n-dimensional (n ≥ 2) compact connected manifold without boundary, we obtain the sharp range of p to ensure the Lp convergence of the wave operator. We are not able to show the optimum result ...at the end point ∣1p−12∣=1n−1 if n ≠ 3, but an interesting result for n = 3 is given. The main result is an extension of a result on n-dimensional Euclidean space ℝn.
Background
The B cell CLL/lymphoma 11A (BCL11A) is a key regulator of hemoglobin switching in β-thalassemia (β-thal). Previous study has suggested that dysregulated microRNAs are involved in the ...regulation of BCL11A expression. The aim of this study was to investigate the clinical value of hsa-miR-190b-5p in β-thal, and to confirm the regulatory effect of hsa-miR-190b-5p on BCL11A expression.
Methods
The peripheral blood of 25 pediatric β-thal patients and 25 healthy controls were selected, and qRT-PCR was used to analyze the levels of hsa-miR-190b-5p and BCL11A mRNA. The relationship between hsa-miR-190b-5p expression and hematological parameters was assessed by Pearson’s correlation test. The diagnostic power of hsa-miR-190b-5p was evaluated by ROC curves analysis. The direct integration between hsa-miR-190b-5p and BCL11A 3’-UTR was confirmed by luciferase reporter assay.
Results
Hsa-miR-190b-5p expression in pediatric β-thal was upregulated, and negatively correlated with the MCH and HbA levels, but positively correlated with the HbF level. Hsa-miR-190b-5p showed a good diagnostic capability for pediatric β-thal equivalent to that of HbA
2
(AUC: 0.760 vs. 0.758). Moreover, the levels of BCL11A mRNA in pediatric β-thal were decreased, and hsa-miR-190b-5p had a negative correlation with BCL11A mRNA expression (
r
= -0.403). BCL11A was a target gene of hsa-miR-190b-5p. The mRNA and protein levels of BCL11A were diminished by introduction of hsa-miR-190b-5p, whereas its expression was upregulated by knockdown of hsa-miR-190b-5p.
Conclusions
Hsa-miR-190b-5p expression was upregulated in pediatric β-thal and might be an effective diagnostic biomarker. BCL11A was negatively regulated by hsa-miR-190b-5p, which might provide new target for the treatment of pediatric β-thal.
In this study, chlorogenic acid (CGA) was injected into the amniotic cavity of chicken embryos to study the effects of in ovo feeding of CGA on the antioxidant capacity of postnatal broilers. On the ...17th day of embryonic age, a total of 300 healthy broiler fertile eggs with similar weights were randomly subjected to five groups as follows; in ovo injection with 0.5 ml CGA at 4 mg/egg (4CGA) or 7 mg/egg (7CGA) or 10 mg/egg (10CGA), or sham-injection with saline (positive control, PC) or no injection (negative control, NC). Each group had six replicates of ten embryos. Six healthy chicks with similar body weights hatched from each replicate were selected and reared until heat stress treatment (35°C ± 1°C, 8 h/d) at 28-42 days of age. The results showed that there was no significant difference in the hatching rate between the groups (
> 0.05). After heat stress treatment, 4CGA group showed an improved intestinal morphology which was demonstrated by a higher villus height in the duodenum and a higher villus height/crypt depth ratio in the jejunum, compared with the NC group (
< 0.05). The antioxidant capacity of chickens was improved by in ovo feeding of CGA since 4CGA decreased the plasma content of malondialdehyde (MDA) (
< 0.05), whereas, it increased the superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GPX), and catalase (CAT) activities compared with NC group (
< 0.05). Also, the MDA content of the different injection groups had a quadratic effect, with the 4CGA group having the lowest MDA content (
< 0.05). In the duodenum, 4CGA injection significantly increased the mRNA expressions of
and
compared to the NC and PC groups (
< 0.05). The mRNA expressions of
and
were significantly increased in all CGA-treated groups compared with the PC group (
< 0.05), while the mRNA expression of
was significantly increased by 4CGA group than the NC group (
< 0.05). The mRNA expressions of epigenetic-related genes,
and
in the duodenum of 4CGA injected group was significantly increased compared with the NC and PC groups (
< 0.05). The mRNA expressions of
,
, and
showed a significant quadratic effects with the 4CGA group having the highest expression (
< 0.05). In conclusion, in ovo feeding of CGA alleviated heat stress-induced intestinal oxidative damage. Injection with CGA of 4 mg/egg is considered most effective due to its actions in improving intestinal antioxidant capacity, especially in the duodenum. The antioxidant effects of in ovo CGA on postnatal heat-stressed broilers may be related to its regulation of epigenetic mechanisms. Thus, this study provides technical knowledge to support the in ovo feeding of CGA to alleviate oxidative stress in postnatal heat-stressed broilers.
We aimed to examine the relationship between the Triglyceride-glucose (TyG) index and the incidence of type 2 diabetes in people with different phenotypes of obesity.
From May 1, 1994 to December 31, ...2016, 15,464 participants were enrolled in the medical examination program at the Murakami Memorial Hospital to determine the relationship between the TyG index and the incidence of type 2 diabetes in people with different phenotypes of obesity after 5.38 years of follow-up.
Besides triglycerides, HbA1c%, and FPG, the incidence of type 2 diabetes was found to be significantly associated with the TyG index (p <0.001), age (p <0.001), BMI (p = 0.033), current smoker (p <0.001), and fatty liver (p <0.001). In participants with visceral fat obesity and/or ectopic fat obesity and normal BMI, the TyG index was significantly associated with the incidence of type 2 diabetes after adjusting for confounding factors. In patients with BMI ≥25 mg/m
, although there was a trend of the relationship between the TyG index and the incidence of type 2 diabetes, the relationship was no longer positive.
In participants with obesity involving visceral fat obesity and/or fatty liver and normal BMI which is not a measure of body fat distribution, there was a significant association between the TyG index and incidence of T2DM.
The anterior nucleus of thalamus (ANT) has been suggested as an extended hippocampal system. The circuit of ANT and hippocampus has been widely demonstrated to be associated with memory function. ...Both lesions to each region and disrupting inter-regional information flow can induce working memory impairment. However, the role of this circuit in working memory precision remains unknown.
To test the role of the hippocampal-anterior thalamic pathway in working memory precision, we delivered intracranially electrical stimulation to the ANT. We hypothesize that ANT stimulation can improve working memory precision.
Presurgical epilepsy patients with depth electrodes in ANT and hippocampus were recruited to perform a color-recall working memory task. Participants were instructed to point out the color they were supposed to recall by clicking a point on the color wheel, while the intracranial EEG data were synchronously recorded. For randomly selected half trials, a bipolar electrical stimulation was delivered to the ANT electrodes.
We found that compared to non-stimulation trials, working memory precision judgements were significantly improved for stimulation trials. ANT electrical stimulation significantly increased spectral power of gamma (30–100 Hz) oscillations and decreased interictal epileptiform discharges (IED) in the hippocampus. Moreover, the increased gamma power during the pre-stimulus and retrieval period predicted the improvement of working memory precision judgements.
ANT electrical stimulation can improve working memory precision judgements and modulate hippocampal gamma activity, providing direct evidence on the role of the human hippocampal-anterior thalamic axis in working memory precision.
•Electrical stimulation to ANT induced the improvement of working memory precision.•Electrical stimulation to ANT increased gamma activity and decreased IED in the hippocampus.•Increased post-stimulation gamma predicted the improvement of working memory precision.
Cryptotanshinone (CT), a lipophilic compound extracted from roots of Salvia miltiorrhiza Bunge (Lamiaceae) (Danshen), has multiple properties in diseases, such as pulmonary fibrosis, lung cancer, and ...osteoarthritis. Our previous findings suggest that CT plays a protective role in cerebral stroke. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying CT protection in ischaemic stroke remain unclear.
This study examines the effect of CT on ischaemic stroke.
We used the middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) rat (Sprague-Dawley rats, 200 ± 20 g, n = 5) model with a sham operation group was treated as negative control. MCAO rats were treated with 15 mg/kg CT using intragastric administration. Moreover, TGF-β (5 ng/mL) was used to treat MCAO rats as a positive control group.
The 50% inhibitory concentration (IC
50
) of CT on CD4
+
cell damage was 485.1 μg/mL, and median effective concentration (EC
50
) was 485.1 μg/mL. CT attenuates the infarct region in the MCAO model. The percentage of CD4
+
CD25
+
FOXP3
+
Treg cells in the peripheral blood of the MCAO group was increased with CT treatment. The protein level of FOXP3 and the phosphorylation of STAT5 were recovered in the CD4
+
CD25
+
Treg cells of model group after treated with CT. Importantly, the effects of CT treatment were blocked by treatment with the inhibitor STAT5-IN-1 in CD4
+
T cells of the MCAO model.
Our findings not only enhance the understanding of the mechanisms underlying CT treatment, but also indicate its potential value as a promising agent in the treatment of ischaemic stroke. Further study will be valuable to examine the effects of CT on patients with ischaemic stroke.
Insulin resistance (IR) is a normal feature of pregnancy and plays a crucial role in the pathophysiology of hypertensive disorder of pregnancy (HDP). The triglyceride-glucose index (TyG index) has ...been shown as a simple and reliable alternative IR marker. This work aimed to investigate the association between the TyG index and the incidence of HDP and adverse pregnancy outcomes.
From January 2016 to December 2018, 289 women with HDP and 861 women without HDP were recruited at Shanghai Fifth People's Hospital, Fudan University to determine the relationship between the TyG index and the incidence of HDP and adverse pregnancy outcomes.
In the case-control study, the incidence of HDP was found to be significantly associated with the TyG index. Moreover, logistic regression indicated that the TyG index is an independent risk factor for HDP development and incidence of low birth weight (LBW) and fetal distress. In the cohort study, the results showed that the TyG index increased, there was a stepwise increase in HDP incidence, SBP, and DBP levels one week before delivery as well as in LBW and fetal distress incidence. The early trimester TyG index was positively associated with pre-pregnancy BMI, systolic blood pressure (SBP), and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) one week before delivery. Spline regression showed that there was a significant linear association between HDP incidence and early trimester TyG index when it was >8.5.
This work suggested that the early trimester TyG index was closely associated with the development of HDP and adverse pregnancy outcomes.
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