The automatic detection and identification of electroencephalogram waves play an important role in the prediction, diagnosis and treatment of epileptic seizures. In this study, a nonlinear dynamics index-approximate entropy and a support vector machine that has strong generalization ability were applied to classify electroencephalogram signals at epileptic interictal and ictal periods. Our aim was to verify whether approximate entropy waves can be effectively applied to the automatic real-time detection of epilepsy in the electroencephalogram, and to explore its generalization ability as a classifier trained using a nonlinear dynamics index. Four patients presenting with partial epi-leptic seizures were included in this study. They were al diagnosed with neocortex localized epi-lepsy and epileptic foci were clearly observed by electroencephalogram. The electroencephalogram data form the four involved patients were segmented and the characteristic values of each segment, that is, the approximate entropy, were extracted. The support vector machine classifier was con-structed with the approximate entropy extracted from one epileptic case, and then electroence-phalogram waves of the other three cases were classified, reaching a 93.33%accuracy rate. Our findings suggest that the use of approximate entropy al ows the automatic real-time detection of electroencephalogram data in epileptic cases. The combination of approximate entropy and support vector machines shows good generalization ability for the classification of electroencephalogram signals for epilepsy.
作者： 刊期： 2013年第20期
Changes in neurotransmitter levels in the brain play an important role in epilepsy-like attacks after pregnancy-induced preeclampsia-eclampsia. Metabotropic glutamate receptor 1 participates in the onset of lipid metabolism disorder-induced preeclampsia. Pregnant rats were fed with a high-fat diet for 20 days. Thus, these pregnant rats experienced preeclampsia-like syndromes such as tension and proteinuria. Simultaneously, metabotropic glutamate receptor 1 mRNA and protein ex-pressions were upregulated in the rat hippocampus. These findings indicate that increased sion of metabotropic glutamate receptor 1 promotes the occurrence of high-fat diet-induced preec-lampsia in pregnant rats.
作者： 刊期： 2013年第20期
A body of evidence suggests that ethanol can lead to damage of neuronal cel s. However, the me-chanism underlying the ethanol-induced damage of neuronal cel s remains unclear. The role of mi-togen-activated protein kinases in ethanol-induced damage was investigated in SK-N-SH neurob-lastoma cel s. 3-[4,5-Dimethylthiazol-2-yl]-2,5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide cel viability assay, DNA fragmentation detection, and flow cytometric analysis showed that ethanol induced apoptotic cel death and cel cycle arrest, characterized by increased caspase-3 activity, DNA fragmentation, nuclear disruption, and G 1 arrest of cel cycle of the SK-N-SH neuroblastoma cel s. In addition, western blot analysis indicated that ethanol induced a lasting increase in c-Jun N-terminal protein kinase activity and a transient increase in p38 kinase activity of the neuroblastoma cel s. c-Jun N-terminal protein kinase or p38 kinase inhibitors significantly reduced the ethanol-induced cel death. Ethanol also increased p53 phosphorylation, fol owed by an increase in p21 tumor sup-pressor protein and a decrease in phospho-Rb (retinoblastoma) protein, leading to alterations in the expressions and activity of cyclin dependent protein kinases. Our results suggest that ethanol me-diates apoptosis of SK-N-SH neuroblastoma cel s by activating p53-related cel cycle arrest possibly through activation of the c-Jun N-terminal protein kinase-related cel death pathway.
作者： 刊期： 2013年第20期
Three-dimensional reconstruction nerve models are classically obtained from two-dimensional ages of “visible human” frozen sections. However, because of the flexibility of nerve tissues and smal color differences compared with surrounding tissues, the integrity and validity of nerve tissues can be impaired during mil ing. Thus, in the present study, we obtained two-dimensional data from a healthy volunteer based on continuous CT angiography and magnetic resonance myelography. Semi-automatic segmentation and reconstruction were then conducted at different thresholds in different tissues using Mimics software. Smal anatomical structures such as muscles and cervical nerves were reconstructed using the medical computer aided design module. Three-dimensional digital models of the cervical nerves and their surrounding structures were successful y developed, which al owed visualization of the spatial relation of anatomical structures with a strong three-dimensional effect, distinct appearance, clear distribution, and good continuity, precision, and integrality. These results indicate the validity of a three-dimensional digital visualization model of healthy human cervical nerves, which overcomes the disadvantages of mil ing, avoids data loss, and exhibits a realistic appearance and three-dimensional image.
作者： 刊期： 2013年第20期
Embodied semantics theory asserts that the meaning of action-related words is neural y represented through networks that overlap with or are identical to networks involved in sory-motor processing. While some studies supporting this theory have focused on Chinese cha-racters, less attention has been paid to their semantic radicals. Indeed, there is stil disagreement about whether these radicals are processed independently. The present study investigated whether radicals are processed separately and, if so, whether this processing occurs in sensory-motor gions. Materials consisted of 72 high-frequency Chinese characters, with 18 in each of four ries:hand-action verbs with and without hand-radicals, and verbs not related to hand actions, with and without hand-radicals. Twenty-eight participants underwent functional MRI scans while reading the characters. Compared to characters without hand-radicals, reading characters with hand-radicals activated the right medial frontal gyrus. Verbs involving hand-action activated the left inferior parietal lobule, possibly reflecting integration of information in the radical with the semantic meaning of the verb. The findings may be consistent with embodied semantics theory and suggest that neural representation of radicals is indispensable in processing Chinese characters.
作者： 刊期： 2013年第20期
作者： 刊期： 2013年第20期
In the field of developmental neurobiology, accurate and ordered regulation of the cel cycle and apoptosis are crucial factors contributing to the normal formation of the neural tube. Preliminary studies identified several genes involved in the development of neural tube defects. In this study, we established a model of developmental neural tube defects by administration of retinoic acid to pregnant rats. Gene chip hybridization analysis showed that genes related to the cel cycle and apoptosis, signal transduction, transcription and translation regulation, energy and metabolism, heat shock, and matrix and cytoskeletal proteins were al involved in the formation of developmental neural tube defects. Among these, cel cycle-related genes were predominant. Retinoic acid ment caused differential expression of three cel cycle-related genes p57kip2, Cdk5 and Spin, the expression levels of which were downregulated by retinoic acid and upregulated during normal neural tube formation. The results of this study indicate that cel cycle-related genes play an im-portant role in the formation of neural tube defects. P57kip2, Cdk5 and Spin may be critical genes in the pathogenesis of neural tube defects.
作者： 刊期： 2013年第20期
Interleukin-18 gene promoter polymorphisms are potential risk factors for ischemic cerebrovascular disease, and the-607C al ele may increase ischemic stroke risk in the Han Chinese population. In the present study, we recruited 291 patients with ischemic cerebrovascular disease from the Affi-liated Hospital of Qingdao University Medical Col ege, China, and 226 healthy controls. Both pa-tients and controls were from the Han population in northern China. Immunoresonance scattering assays detected increased serum amyloid A protein, C-reactive protein, and interleukin-18 levels in ischemic cerebrovascular disease patients compared with healthy controls. Analysis of the-607C/A (rs1946518) polymorphism in the interleukin-18 gene promoter showed ischemic cerebrovascular disease patients exhibited increased frequencies of the CC genotype and C al eles than healthy controls. Genotype and al ele frequencies of the interleukin-18-137G/C (rs187238) polymorphism and the-13T/C (rs11024595) polymorphism in the 5'-flanking region of serum amyloid A, showed no significant difference between the two groups. Multivariate logistic regression analysis on the interleukin-18 promoter A/C genetic locus, for correction of age, gender, history of smoking, hyper-tension, diabetes mel itus, hypercholesteremia, and an ischemic stroke family history, showed ischemic cerebrovascular disease risk in individuals without the A al ele (C homozygotes) was 2.2-fold greater than in A al ele carriers. Overal , our findings suggest that the-13T/C (rs11024595) polymorphism in the 5′-flanking region of serum amyloid A has no correlation with ischemic cere-brovascular disease, but the C al ele of the-607C/A (rs1946518) polymorphism in the interleukin-18 promoter is a high-risk factor for ischemic cerebrovascular disease in the Han population of northern China. In addition, the A al ele is likely a protective gene for ischemic cerebrovascular disease.
作者： 刊期： 2013年第20期
Detailed knowledge of motor outcomes enables to establish proper goals and rehabilitation strate-gies for stroke patients. Several previous studies have reported functional or motor outcomes in patients with a middle cerebral artery territory infarct. However, little is known about motor outcome in patients with a complete middle cerebral artery territory infarct. In this study, we investigated the motor outcomes in 23 patients with a complete middle cerebral artery territory infarct. Al of these patients received comprehensive rehabilitative management, including movement therapy and neuromuscular electrical stimulation of the affected finger extensors and ankle dorsiflexors, for more than 3 months. Motor outcomes were measured at 6 months after stroke onset using the Medical Research Council, Motricity Index, the modified Brunnstrom Classification, and Functional Ambula-tion Category scores. The motor function of the lower extremities was found to be better than that of the upper extremities. After receiving rehabilitation treatments for 3-6 months, about 70%of these patients were able to walk independently (Functional Ambulation Category scores>3), but no pa-tient achieved functional hand recovery.
作者： 刊期： 2013年第20期
Previous studies have suggested that the incidence of post-traumatic stress disorder in earthquake rescue workers is relatively high. Risk factors for this disorder include demographic characteristics, earthquake-related high-risk factors, risk factors in the rescue process, personality, social support and coping style. This study examined the current status of a unit of 1 040 rescue workers who participated in earthquake relief for the Wenchuan earthquake that occurred on May 12th, 2008. Post-traumatic stress disorder was diagnosed primarily using the Clinician-Administered Post-traumatic Stress Disorder Scale during structured interviews. Univariate and multivariate sta-tistical analyses were used to examine major risk factors that contributed to the incidence of post-traumatic stress disorder. Results revealed that the incidence of this disorder in the rescue group was 5.96%. The impact factors in univariate analysis included death of family members, contact with corpses or witnessing of the deceased or seriously injured, near-death experience, severe injury or mental trauma in the rescue process and working at the epicenter of the earthquake. Correlation analysis suggested that post-traumatic stress disorder was positively correlated with psychotic and neurotic personalities, negative coping and low social support. Impact factors in mul-tivariate logistic regression analysis included near-death experience, severe injury or mental trauma, working in the epicenter of the rescue, neurotic personality, negative coping and low social support, among which low social support had the largest odds ratio of 20.42. Findings showed that the oc-currence of post-traumatic stress disorder was the result of the interaction of multiple factors.
作者： 刊期： 2013年第20期
The relative frequencies of different subtypes of limb-girdle muscular dystrophies vary widely among different populations. We estimated the percentage of limb-girdle muscular dystrophy sub-types in Chinese people based on 68 patients with limb-girdle muscular dystrophy from the Myology Clinic, Neurology Department, First Hospital of Jilin University, China. A diagnosis of calpainopathy was made in 12 cases (17%), and dysferlin deficiency in 10 cases (15%). Two biopsies revealedα-sarcoglycan deficiency (3%), and two others revealed a lack of caveolin-3 (3%). A diagnosis of unclassified limb-girdle muscular dystrophy was made in the remaining patients (62%). The ap-pearances of calpain 3-and dysferlin-deficient biopsies were similar, though rimmed vacuoles were unique to dysferlinopathy, while inflammatory infiltrates were present in both these limb-girdle muscular dystrophy type 2D biopsies. Macrophages were detected in seven dysferlinopathy biop-sies. The results of this study suggest that the distribution of limb-girdle muscular dystrophy sub-types in the Han Chinese population is similar to that reported in the West. The less necrotic, re-generating and inflammatory appearance of limb-girdle muscular dystrophy type 2A, but with more lobulated fibers, supports the idea that calpainopathy is a less active, but more chronic disease than dysferlinopathy. Unusual features indicated an extended limb-girdle muscular dystrophy disease spectrum. The use of acid phosphatase stain should be considered in suspected dysferlinopathies. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report to define the relative proportions of the various forms of limb-girdle muscular dystrophy in China, based on protein testing.
作者： 刊期： 2013年第20期
作者： 刊期： 2013年第20期
