Dissociation between temporal attention and Consciousness: Unconscious temporal cue induces temporal expectation effect.

The debate over the independence of attention and consciousness is ongoing. Prior studies have established that invisible spatial cues can direct attention. However, our exploration extends beyond spatial dimensions to temporal information as a potent guide for attention.

Field temperature performances of in-use permeable sidewalks and asphalt vehicle roads and the potential impacts on apparent temperature and land surface temperature.

Permeable pavements help reduce surface temperatures and have been widely implemented in urban areas. This study utilized an in-use permeable pavement sidewalk in front of a mass rapid transit station in the Taipei city center of Taiwan to determine the actual pavement surface temperature performance. A neighboring asphalt road and impervious pavement were also monitored.

Focal corticarl dysplasia in epilepsy is associated with GABA increase.

Purpose: Focal cortical dysplasia (FCD) is a major cause of drug-resistant epilepsy; however the underlying epileptogenic mechanisms of FCD metabolism in epilepsy patients remain unclear. The aim of this study is to detect alterations of γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA), glutathione (GSH), and the composite of glutamate and glutamine (Glx) in MRI-typical and neuropathologically confirmed FCD-associated epilepsy using Hadamard Encoding and Reconstruction of Mega-Edited Spectroscopy (HERMES).

Materials And Methods: Fourteen epileptic patients suspected to be caused by FCD and 14 healthy controls were enrolled prospectively in this study; all subjects underwent a 3 T MRI scan, including 3D T1 weighted imaging and HERMES.

Electrophysiological Evaluation in Identifying Unique Sleep Features Among Anti-LGI1 Encephalitis Patients During Active and Recovery Phase.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to illustrate the electrophysiological features of sleep disturbances in patients with anti-leucine-rich glioma-inactivated protein 1 (anti-LGI1) encephalitis in both active and recovery stages.

Methods: Retrospectively filed video electroencephalogram (VEEG) and polysomnography (PSG) data in 24 patients with anti-LGI1 encephalitis were analyzed in comparison with that in 20 individuals without sleep disorders as control group.

Results: Sleep efficiency (SE) and total sleep time involving REM and NREM sleep were significantly decreased in patients with anti-LGI1 encephalitis during the active stage compared to that during the recovery stage and in the control group.

Association of Mean and Variability of HbA1c with Heart Failure in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes.

Heart failure (HF) is a common presentation in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Previous studies revealed that the HbA1c level is significantly associated with HF. However, little is known about the association between HbA1c variability and HF.

HMGB1/CXCL12-Mediated Immunity and Th17 Cells Might Underlie Highly Suspected Autoimmune Epilepsy in Elderly Individuals.

Purpose: Late-onset epilepsy due to autoimmune dysfunction has been reported. However, definitive diagnosis requires positive antibody results. As a result, patients with negative antibody results, but presenting with classical manifestation of autoimmune epilepsy, may be managed as suspected cases.

The exploration of the spectrum of motor manifestations of anti-LGI1 encephalitis beyond FBDS.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to characterize the spectrum of motor events in patients with acute anti-leucine-rich glioma-inactivated protein 1 (anti-LGI1) encephalitis through video-electroencephalogram (VEEG) recordings.

Method: We collected data retrospectively from 16 patients diagnosed with anti-LGI1 encephalitis who had completed VEEG recording during hospitalization.

Results: VEEG monitoring lasted a median of 11.

CXCL13 Is A Biomarker Of Anti-Leucine-Rich Glioma-Inactivated Protein 1 Encephalitis Patients.

Background: Although antibody-mediated immune responses are considered pathogenic and responsible for neural injury in anti-leucine-rich glioma-inactivated protein 1 (anti-LGI1) encephalitis, previous studies have indicated that cytokines and chemokines might play roles in the pathogenic process by serving as B cell enhancers. In this study, we detected the profiles of cytokines and chemokines in the cerebral fluid (CSF) and serum of patients with anti-LGI1 encephalitis to identify potential biomarkers.

Methods: Sixteen patients diagnosed with anti-LGI1 encephalitis and nine patients diagnosed with noninflammatory neurologic disorders were included in the study.

Carotid-cavernous fistula(CCF) presenting as paroxysmal painful ophthalmoplegia.

Background: Painful ophthalmoplegia can be caused by various etiologies, and broad differential diagnosis is needed. Carotid-cavernous fistula (CCF) is a rare cause of painful ophthalmoplegia, and early diagnosis is quite difficult.

Case Presentation: Here, we present a case of paroxysmal painful ophthalmoplegia caused by CCF.

Neuroprotective effect of recombinant adeno-associated virus human thioredoxin-PR39 on acute cerebral infarction in rats.

The recombinant adeno-associated virus human thioredoxin-PR39 (rAAV/hTRX-PR39) has been demonstrated to have a protective effect on hypoxic cells. The present study aimed to explore the potential effect of rAAV/hTRX-PR39 on acute cerebral infarction in rats. Middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) model rats were produced and divided into three groups: Normal saline group, empty virus group (rAAV, without hTRX-PR39 cDNA) and rAAV/hTRX-PR39 group.

An Approach for Measuring the Dielectric Strength of OLED Materials.

Surface roughness of electrodes plays a key role in the dielectric breakdown of thin-film organic devices. The rate of breakdown will increase when there are stochastic sharp spikes on the surface of electrodes. Additionally, surface having spiking morphology makes the determination of dielectric strength very challenging, specifically when the layer is relatively thin.

2R,4R-APDC, a Metabotropic Glutamate Receptor Agonist, Reduced Neuronal Apoptosis by Upregulating MicroRNA-128 in a Rat Model After Seizures.

This study aimed to study the protective effect of (2R,4R)-4-aminopyrrolidine-2,4-dicarboxylate (2R,4R-APDC), a selective metabotropic glutamate receptor agonist, against hippocampal neuronal apoptosis induced by seizures in a rat model of pilocarpine-induced epilepsy. The Morris water maze test was used to assess the spatial memory abilities of epileptic rats with or without 2R,4R-APDC treatment. TUNEL assay was performed to examine neuronal apoptosis in hippocampus.

Subtypes evaluation of motor dysfunction in Parkinson's disease using neuromelanin-sensitive magnetic resonance imaging.

Parkinson's disease (PD) is characterized by the loss of neuromelanin (NM)-containing neurons in the substantia nigra pars compacta (SNc), and it is divided into two motor subtypes: the postural instability gait difficulty (PIGD) and the tremor dominant (TD) subtypes. With NM-sensitive Magnetic Resonance Imaging (NM-MRI), investigators have been able to accurately detect signal attenuation in SNc of PD; however, the difference of NM loss between PIGD and TD subtypes is still unclear. Thus, the aim of this study was to evaluate the differences in NM-MRI between PD motor subtypes.

Accurate Behavioral Simulator of All-Digital Time-Domain Smart Temperature Sensors by Using SIMULINK.

This study proposes a new behavioral simulator that uses SIMULINK for all-digital CMOS time-domain smart temperature sensors (TDSTSs) for performing rapid and accurate simulations. Inverter-based TDSTSs offer the benefits of low cost and simple structure for temperature-to-digital conversion and have been developed. Typically, electronic design automation tools, such as HSPICE, are used to simulate TDSTSs for performance evaluations.

Note: All-digital CMOS MOS-capacitor-based pulse-shrinking mechanism suitable for time-to-digital converters.

This paper presents an all-digital CMOS pulse-shrinking mechanism suitable for time-to-digital converters (TDCs). A simple MOS capacitor is used as a pulse-shrinking cell to perform time attenuation for time resolving. Compared with a previous pulse-shrinking mechanism, the proposed mechanism provides an appreciably improved temporal resolution with high linearity.

Potential role of recombinant adeno-associated virus human thioredoxin-PR39 in cell and vascular protection against hypoxia.

The aim of the present study was to successfully construct a recombinant adeno-associated virus (rAAV) vector containing the human thioredoxin (hTRX)-PR39 chimeric gene (rAAV/hTRX-PR39), and verify that the vector was able to maintain a sustained, stable and efficient expression to achieve protein production in the cell. In the present study, a chicken embryo model was utilized to analyze the therapeutical effect of rAAV/hTRX-PR39 in cerebral ischemia diseases. ECV304 cells were transfected with rAAV/hTRX-PR39 and incubated under conditions of 20, 5 and 1% O.

Cellular NAD depletion and decline of SIRT1 activity play critical roles in PARP-1-mediated acute epileptic neuronal death in vitro.

Intense poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase-1 (PARP-1) activation was implicated as a major cause of caspase-independent cell death in the hippocampal neuronal culture (HNC) model of acute acquired epilepsy (AE). The molecular mechanisms are quite complicated. The linkage among neuronal death, cellular nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD) levels, apoptosis-inducing factor (AIF) translocation, SIRT1 expression and activity were investigated here.

Role of PI3K/Akt in diazoxide preconditioning against rat hippocampal neuronal death in pilocarpine-induced seizures.

Diazoxide (DZ), a highly selective opener of the mitochondrial ATP-sensitive potassium (mitoK(ATP)) channel, has neuroprotective effects. However, the mechanism of DZ protecting hippocampal neurons against cell death in pilocarpine-induced seizures is unknown. In this study, we investigated DZ attenuating neuronal loss caused by pilocarpine-induced seizures in rat hippocampus.

The role of p38 MAPK in valproic acid induced microglia apoptosis.

Valproic acid (VPA), a widely prescribed drug for seizures and bipolar disorder, induces apoptosis in microglia, but the underlying mechanism by which microglia apoptosis in response to VPA is not yet known. In this study, we found that the mitochondrial pathway played an important role in VPA-induced apoptosis in both BV-2 microglia and mouse primary microglial cells. In addition, VPA increased the level of phospho-p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK), but had no effects on phospho-ERK and phospho-JNK MAPKs.

Mitochondrial DNA damage and the involvement of antioxidant defense and repair system in hippocampi of rats with chronic seizures.

In this study, we demonstrated a decreased level of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) with a large number of oxidized bases in hippocampi of rats with epilepsy induced by pilocarpine. In order to verify the underlying mechanism of mtDNA impairment, we detected the response of antioxidant defense system and mitochondrial base excision repair (mtBER) pathway. Superoxide dismutase2 (SOD-2) and glutathione (GSH) were significantly decreased in the experimental group, manifesting a decreased capacity of scavenging free radicals.

Mitochondrial base excision repair pathway failed to respond to status epilepticus induced by pilocarpine.

Oxidative damage to mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) has been implicated as an important mechanism underlying mitochondrial deficiency in epileptic seizures. In focusing on the role of the DNA repair pathway, we determined the response of the mitochondrial base excision repair (mtBER) pathway in pilocarpine-induced status epilepticus (SE) in hippocampi of male Wistar rats. The expression of 8-oxoguanine DNA glycosylase (OGG1) and polymerase gamma (polgamma) was decreased at both the cellular mRNA and mitochondrial protein levels at 3, 9 and 25h after the onset of SE.