Changes in structure and perfusion of grey matter tissues during recovery from Ischaemic subcortical stroke: a longitudinal MRI study.

Stroke recovery with changes in volume and perfusion of grey matter (GM) tissues remains largely unknown. We hypothesized that GM atrophy co-existed with GM plasticity presenting with increased volume and perfusion in specific regions in the period of post-stroke recovery. Twelve well-recovered stroke patients with pure subcortical lesions in the middle cerebral artery-perfused zone were included.

Longitudinal Alterations of Local Spontaneous Brain Activity in Parkinson's Disease.

We used resting-state fMRI to evaluate longitudinal alterations in local spontaneous brain activity in Parkinson's disease (PD) over a 2-year period. Data were acquired from 23 PD patients at baseline and follow-up, and 27 age- and sex-matched normal controls. Regional homogeneity (ReHo) and voxel-based-morphometry (VBM) were used to identify differences in local spontaneous brain activity and grey matter volume.

Inverse-designed ultra-compact star-crossings based on PhC-like subwavelength structures for optical intercross connect.

With the development of highly densified photonic integrated circuits, the optical cross nodes number exhibits dramatically increasing. Not only efficient but also ultra-compact waveguide crossings are required to materialize the full potential of silicon photonics for on-chip optical intercross connect. In this work, we proposed several inverse-designed 4 × 4, 5 × 5 and 6 × 6 star-crossings based on the photonic-crystal-like (PhC-like) subwavelength structures, which have ultra-high port density of about 7.

Dynamic MRI follow-up of radiation encephalopathy in the temporal lobe following nasopharyngeal carcinoma radiotherapy.

The natural course of radiation encephalopathy following nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) radiotherapy remains poorly understood. The present study aimed to investigate the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) characteristics and evolution of radiation encephalopathy. A series of 162 follow-up MRI examinations from 68 NPC patients with radiation encephalopathy in the temporal lobes were analyzed retrospectively.

Different patterns of gray matter density in early- and middle-late-onset Parkinson's disease: a voxel-based morphometry study.

Early-onset Parkinson's disease (EOPD) has a clinical course and characteristics distinct from middle-late-onset Parkinson's disease (M-LOPD). Although many studies have investigated these differences, the neural mechanisms of these characteristics remain unclear. This study aimed to investigate the morphological differences, and their related clinical significance, between EOPD and M-LOPD patients.

Giant cell tumor of the tendon sheath: Magnetic resonance imaging findings in 38 patients.

The present study aimed to investigate the value of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in the diagnosis of giant cell tumor of the tendon sheath (GCTTS), including localized (L-) and diffuse (D-) types. A total of 38 patients with GCTTS, including 31 with L-GCTTS and 7 with D-GCTTS, diagnosed by surgery and pathology, were retrospectively analyzed. All patients underwent MRI examination.

Associations between APOE genotype and cerebral small-vessel disease: a longitudinal study.

Objective: It remains unclear if and how the interactions between APOE genotypes and cerebral small-vessel diseases (CSVD) lead to cognitive decline in the long term. Based on ADNI cohort, this longitudinal study aimed to clarify the potential relationship among APOE genotype, CSVD and cognition by integrating multi-level data.

Method: There were 135 healthy elderly (including ε2, ε4 allele carriers and ε3 homozygotes) who had completed two years' follow-up.

Region-Specific Iron Measured by MRI as a Biomarker for Parkinson's Disease.

The identification of sensitive and specific biomarkers for Parkinson's disease (PD) poses an important clinical challenge. A potential biomarker for early diagnosis and disease monitoring of PD is region-specific iron. Iron accumulation in the substantia nigra pars compacta is considered a main characteristic of PD.

Localized shape abnormalities in the thalamus and pallidum are associated with secondarily generalized seizures in mesial temporal lobe epilepsy.

Mesial temporal lobe epilepsy (mTLE) is a common type of drug-resistant epilepsy and secondarily generalized tonic-clonic seizures (sGTCS) have devastating consequences for patients' safety and quality of life. To probe the mechanism underlying the genesis of sGTCS, we investigated the structural differences between patients with and without sGTCS in a cohort of mTLE with radiologically defined unilateral hippocampal sclerosis. We performed voxel-based morphometric analysis of cortex and vertex-wise shape analysis of subcortical structures (the basal ganglia and thalamus) on MRI of 39 patients (21 with and 18 without sGTCS).

Reorganization of anterior and posterior hippocampal networks associated with memory performance in mesial temporal lobe epilepsy.

Objective: To investigate the pattern of functional demarcation of hippocampal network and its relationship with memory performance in mesial temporal lobe epilepsy (mTLE) with unilateral hippocampal sclerosis.

Methods: Resting state fMRI data were acquired from fifteen left mTLE patients, fourteen right mTLE patients and twenty healthy subjects. We explore the hippocampal-cortical alterations and corresponding inter-hemispheric functional connectivity (FC) across anterior and posterior hippocampal networks.

Altered spontaneous brain activity in chronic smokers revealed by fractional ramplitude of low-frequency fluctuation analysis: a preliminary study.

Although a substantial body of previous functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies have revealed different brain responses to external stimuli in chronic cigarette smokers compared with nonsmokers, only a few studies assessed brain spontaneous activity in the resting state in chronic smokers. The aim of this study was to investigate alterations of brain activity during the resting state in chronic smokers using fractional amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation (fALFF). In the present study, 55 smokers and 49 healthy nonsmokers were included.

Alteration of regional homogeneity and white matter hyperintensities in amnestic mild cognitive impairment subtypes are related to cognition and CSF biomarkers.

Amnestic mild cognitive impairment can be further classified as single-domain aMCI (SD-aMCI) with isolated memory deficit, or multi-domain aMCI (MD-aMCI) if memory deficit is combined with impairment in other cognitive domains. Prior studies reported these clinical subtypes presumably differ in etiology. Thus, we aimed to explore the possible mechanisms between different aMCI subtypes by assessing alteration in brain activity and brain vasculature, and their relations with CSF AD biomarkers.

Increased network centrality as markers of relapse risk in nicotine-dependent individuals treated with varenicline.

Identifying smokers at high risk of relapse could improve the effectiveness of cessation therapies. Although altered regional brain function in smokers has been reported, whether the whole-brain functional organization differs smokers with relapse vulnerability from others remains unclear. Thus, the goal of this study is to investigate the baseline functional connectivity differences between relapsers and quitters.

Increased thalamic centrality and putamen-thalamic connectivity in patients with parkinsonian resting tremor.

Introduction: Evidence has indicated a strong association between hyperactivity in the cerebello-thalamo-motor cortical loop and resting tremor in Parkinson's disease (PD). Within this loop, the thalamus serves as a central hub based on its structural centrality in the generation of resting tremor. To study whether this thalamic abnormality leads to an alteration at the whole-brain level, our study investigated the role of the thalamus in patients with parkinsonian resting tremor in a large-scale brain network context.

Electro-optic chaotic system based on the reverse-time chaos theory and a nonlinear hybrid feedback loop.

A novel electro-optic chaos source is proposed on the basis of the reverse-time chaos theory and an analog-digital hybrid feedback loop. The analog output of the system can be determined by the numeric states of shift registers, which makes the system robust and easy to control. The dynamical properties as well as the complexity dependence on the feedback parameters are investigated in detail.

White matter injury induced by diabetes in acute stroke is clinically relevant: A preliminary study.

The importance of white matter injury induced by diabetes in stroke severity and prognosis is largely unknown. We aimed to investigate the relationship between diabetes-related white matter injury beyond stroke lesions with acute neurological deficits and clinical outcome after stroke. In total, 36 stroke patients within 3-7 days after onset were enrolled.

Abnormal baseline brain activity in Parkinson's disease with and without REM sleep behavior disorder: A resting-state functional MRI study.

Purpose: To investigate the differences in spontaneous brain activity between Parkinson's disease (PD) patients with rapid eye movement sleep behavior disorder (RBD), PD patients without RBD, and normal controls, which may shed new light on the neural mechanism of RBD.

Materials And Methods: Eighteen PD patients with RBD, 16 patients without RBD, and 19 age- and gender-matched normal controls underwent clinical assessment and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) with a 3.0T scanner.

Inverse-designed single-step-etched colorless 3 dB couplers based on RIE-lag-insensitive PhC-like subwavelength structures.

Inverse-designed free-form nanophotonic structures have shown great potential in designing ultra-compact integrated photonic devices, but strict fabrication requirements may hinder further applications. We propose here a photonic-crystal-like (PhC-like) subwavelength structure, which is insensitive to the lag effect that is the most common fabrication error. A colorless 3 dB coupler employing such a structure is designed, fabricated, and characterized.

Disrupted Brain Network in Progressive Mild Cognitive Impairment Measured by Eigenvector Centrality Mapping is Linked to Cognition and Cerebrospinal Fluid Biomarkers.

Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is a heterogeneous condition associated with a high risk of progressing to Alzheimer's disease (AD). Although functional brain network alterations have been observed in progressive MCI (pMCI), the underlying pathological mechanisms of network alterations remain unclear. In the present study, we evaluated neuropsychological, imaging, and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) data at baseline across a cohort of: 21 pMCI patients, 33 stable MCI (sMCI) patients, and 29 normal controls.

Intrinsic functional connectivity alterations in cognitively intact elderly APOE ε4 carriers measured by eigenvector centrality mapping are related to cognition and CSF biomarkers: a preliminary study.

Apolipoprotein E (APOE) ε4 allele is the best established genetic risk factor for sporadic Alzheimer's disease (AD). However, there is a need to understand the effects of this genotype on the brain by simultaneously assessing intrinsic brain network and cerebral spinal fluid (CSF) biomarkers changes in healthy older ε4 carriers. Thirteen cognitively intact, elderly APOE ε4 carriers and 22 ε3 homozygotes were included in the present study.

Carotid blowout syndrome after nasopharyngeal carcinoma radiotherapy: successful treatment by internal carotid artery occlusion after stent implantation failure.

Introduction: Carotid blowout syndrome (CBS) secondary to radiation therapy is life-threatening and requires emergency treatment. More recently, endovascular treatment has provided an effective way to control CBS-related bleeding.

Case Description: We present a case of CBS with a rupture of the internal carotid artery (ICA) pseudo-aneurysm after Gamma Knife radiation therapy for nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC).

Experimental demonstration of a 10 Gb/s non-orthogonal multi-dimensional CAP-PON system based on the ISI and CCI cancellation algorithm.

The concept of a multi-dimensional carrierless amplitude and phase modulation (CAP) passive optical network (PON) system based on non-orthogonal transceiver filters is presented for the first time, to the best of our knowledge, to improve the spectral efficiency (SE). To eliminate the interferences caused by the non-orthogonal transceiver filters, a novel inter-symbol interference (ISI) and cross-channel interference (CCI) cancellation algorithm (ICCA) is proposed. In our experiment, a 10 Gb/s four-dimensional with four levels/dimension and non-orthogonal CAP data transmission is successfully demonstrated over a 20 km standard single mode fiber.

Gliomatosis peritonei with bilateral ovarian teratomas: A report of two cases.

Gliomatosis peritonei (GP) is characterized by the presence of benign, mature neuroglial implants throughout the peritoneum and is typically accompanied by mature or immature ovarian teratomas. GP is a condition that has only been described relatively recently, with ~100 cases reported in the English literature. The majority of reported cases have focused on the pathology and clinical treatment of the disease; radiological findings are distinct, but the discussion of this is scarce in the literature.

Influence of regional iron on the motor impairments of Parkinson's disease: A quantitative susceptibility mapping study.

Purpose: Because the roles of striatal-thalamo-cortical and cerebello-thalamo-cortical circuits in the heterogeneous motor impairments of Parkinson's disease (PD) are becoming recognized, this study was designed to investigate the relationships between regional iron in the cardinal subcortical nuclei in these circuits and the different motor impairments.

Materials And Methods: Sixty-two PD patients and 40 normal subjects were included and accepted for Enhanced T -Star Weighted Angiography Scanning (3.0T).

A Comparison Study of Single-Echo Susceptibility Weighted Imaging and Combined Multi-Echo Susceptibility Weighted Imaging in Visualizing Asymmetric Medullary Veins in Stroke Patients.

Background: Asymmetric medullary veins (AMV) are frequently observed in stroke patients and single-echo susceptibility weighted imaging (SWIs) is the main technique in detecting AMV. Our study aimed to investigate which echo time (TE) on single-echo susceptibility is the optimal echo for visualizing AMV and to compare the ability in detecting AMV in stroke patients between SWIs and multi-echo susceptibility weighted imaging (SWIc).

Materials And Methods: Twenty patients with middle cerebral artery stroke were included.