Assessing the impact of blood alcohol concentration on the rate of in-hospital mortality following traumatic motor vehicle crash injury: A matched analysis of the National Trauma Data Bank

Background

The purpose of this study was to compare the outcomes of trauma patients who were injured in a motor vehicle crash and tested positive for alcohol upon hospital arrival versus those who tested negative.

Oxyhemoglobin changes in the prefrontal cortex in response to cognitive tasks: a systematic review

Purpose of the study: the aim of this study was to synthesize PFC fNIRS outcomes on the effects of cognitive tasks compared to resting/baseline tasks in healthy adults from studies utilizing a pre/post design.

Material and methods: original research studies were searched from seven databases (MEDLINE, EMBASE, CENTRAL, CINAHL, SCOPUS, PEDro and PubMed). Subsequently, two independent reviewers screened the titles and abstracts followed by full-text reviews to assess the studies' eligibility.

Results: eleven studies met the inclusion criteria and had data abstracted and quality assessed. Methodology varied considerably and yet cognitive tasks resulted in the ΔO₂Hb increasing in 8 of the 11 and ΔHHb decreasing in 8 of 8 studies that reported this outcome. The cognitive tasks from 10 of the 11 studies were classified as “Working Memory” and “Verbal Fluency Tasks”.

Conclusions: although, the data comparison was challenging provided the heterogeneity in methodology, the results across studies were similar.     

Normative values of the motor competence assessment (MCA) from 3 to 23 years of age

ObjectivesGrowing evidence of the importance of motor competence for developing a healthy lifestyle has been established in the last decade. Nonetheless, no single instrument or observation tool have been able to fully measure this construct, particularly because most were built for the diagnosis of children in risk for motor impairment; are limited to a few years of the developmental span; lack objectivity in the assessment protocols; or do not include the locomotor, stability, and manipulative components. This led to the difficulty of comparing researches, and longitudinally follow children into adulthood. Recently, a novel proposal to assess motor competence was presented - the Motor Competence Assessment (MCA) - and this study aims to present the MCA normative data from 3-to-23 years.Design and methodsTwo thousand and eighty-seven participants (1102 boys) between 3 and 23 years of age were evaluated in the MCA (standing long jump, 10 m shuttle run, throwing velocity, kicking velocity, lateral jumps, shifting platforms). Results for each test were introduced in the LMS Chartmaker 2.3. The best model for test and sex was used, resulting in normative curves and percentile values.ResultsFinal norms showed a good fit to the instrument developmental expectations, allowing to differentiate and classify performances along the age interval.ConclusionsThe MCA age- and sex- normative values allow to assess motor competence from childhood to early adulthood. Future directions will include obtaining a total MCA score and the normative scores for the MCA components (stability, locomotion, object control), and to expand the norms to adulthood and old age.     

三种固定剂对氯化金染色大鼠运动终板效果的比较

目的 对比分析25%甲酸、25%乙酸和4%甲醛3种固定剂对氯化金染色运动终板的效果。方法 选用30只SD大鼠,体重180～220 g,雌雄不拘。进行10次实验,每次实验随机选取3只,取右侧肱二头肌,分别置于25%甲酸、25%乙酸和4%甲醛溶液中固定后,行氯化金镀金法,光学显微镜下观察运动终板的形态结构和背景颜色。结果 3种固定剂固定的运动终板边缘整齐,中央颜色浅于周围,部分运动终板中央呈空泡状。甲酸固定的肌纤维排列有序,横纹清晰,呈紫红色;乙酸固定的肌纤维排列有序,无清晰的横纹,呈紫蓝色,但染色较浅,与运动终板形成的反差较小;甲醛固定的肌纤维排列杂乱,无横纹,呈紫红色、粉红色、紫黑色和蓝色等多种颜色。结论 甲酸固定的运动终板氯化金染色效果优于乙酸和甲醛,甲酸固定的肌组织需要的还原时间少于乙酸和甲醛。因此,进行运动终板染色选择固定剂时,25%甲酸在3种固定试剂中可作为最佳选择。     

Interaction of nicotinic acetylcholine receptors with dopamine receptors in synaptic plasticity of the mouse insular cortex

The insular cortex plays essential roles in nicotine addiction. However, much is still unknown about its cellular and synaptic mechanisms responsible for nicotine addiction. We have previously shown that in layer 5 pyramidal neurons of the mouse insular cortex, activation of the nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) suppresses synaptic potentiation through enhancing GABAergic synaptic transmission, although it enhances both glutamatergic and GABAergic synaptic transmission. In the present study, we examined whether dopamine receptors might contribute to the nicotine‐induced inhibition of synaptic potentiation. The nicotine‐induced inhibition of synaptic potentiation was decreased in the presence of a D1 dopamine receptor antagonist SCH23390 irrespective of the presence of a D2 dopamine receptor antagonist sulpiride, suggesting that D1 dopamine receptors are involved in nicotine‐induced inhibition. We also investigated how dopamine receptors might contribute to the nAChR‐induced enhancement of glutamatergic and GABAergic synaptic transmission. The nAChR‐induced enhancement of GABAergic synaptic transmission was decreased in the presence of SCH23390 irrespective of the presence of sulpiride, whereas that of glutamatergic synaptic transmission was not altered in the presence of SCH23390 and sulpiride. These results suggest that D1 dopamine receptors are involved in the nAChR‐induced enhancement of GABAergic synaptic transmission while dopamine receptors are not involved in that of glutamatergic synaptic transmission. These observations indicate that the interaction between nAChRs and D1 dopamine receptors plays critical roles in synaptic activities in layer 5 pyramidal neurons of the mouse insular cortex. These insular synaptic changes might be associated with nicotine addiction.     

The differential roles of contralesional frontoparietal areas in cortical reorganization after stroke

BackgroundStudies examining the contribution of contralesional brain regions to motor recovery after stroke have revealed conflicting results comprising both supporting and disturbing influences. Especially the relevance of contralesional brain regions beyond primary motor cortex (M1) has rarely been studied, particularly concerning the temporal dynamics post-stroke.MethodsWe, therefore, used online transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) interference to longitudinally assess the role of contralesional (right) frontoparietal areas for recovery of hand motor function after left hemispheric stroke: contralesional M1, contralesional dorsal premotor cortex (dPMC), and contralesional anterior intraparietal sulcus (IPS). Fourteen stroke patients and sixteen age-matched healthy subjects performed motor tasks of varying complexity with their (paretic) right hand. Motor performance was quantified using three-dimensional kinematic data. All patients were assessed twice, (i) in the first week, and (ii) after more than three months post-stroke.ResultsWhile we did not observe a significant effect of TMS interference on movement kinematics following the stimulation of contralesional M1 and dPMC in the first week post-stroke, we found improvements of motor performance upon interference with contralesional IPS across motor tasks early after stroke, an effect that persisted into the later phase. By contrast, for dPMC, TMS-induced deterioration of motor performance was only evident three months post-stroke, suggesting that a supportive role of contralesional premotor cortex might evolve with reorganization.ConclusionWe here highlight time-sensitive and region-specific effects of contralesional frontoparietal areas after left hemisphere stroke, which may influence on neuromodulation regimes aiming at supporting recovery of motor function post-stroke.     

Histological and biological developmental characterization of the human cerebellar cortex

The aim of this study was to investigate the histological and biological features of the human cerebellar cortex development and differentiation. We analyzed 52 brains of fetal and infant death victims, aged from 17 gestational weeks to 12th postnatal month. In particular, in the cerebellar cortex at different ages we evaluated, besides the structural aspects, the expression of several biomarkers implicated in proliferative processes (c-fos, PCNA and apoptosis). We observed morphological patterns progressively evolving every month, from the indefinite structure of the second gestational trimester to the four-layered structure (external granular layer, molecular layer, Purkinje cell layer, internal granular layer) of the late fetal cortex and subsequently to the three-layered postnatal definitive morphology, due to involution of the external granular layer. The evaluation of the biological features of the cerebellar cortex showed high proliferative activity mainly confined to the transient external granular layer in prenatal life, and high apoptotic index after birth. Thus, the histological examination, better with the support of biomarker investigations, allows with accuracy to describe the dynamic sequence of steps that occur in human cerebellar cortex development and to establish in each case the age, namely the pre- or postnatal month of life. Consequently, we can diagnose delayed or altered processes of differentiation during the development of the human cerebellar cortex.     

慢性强迫游泳应激对大鼠情绪和脑细胞外信号调节激酶磷酸化水平的影响

目的探讨慢性强迫游泳应激对大鼠情绪和脑细胞外信号调节激酶磷酸化(P-ERK1/2)水平的影响。方法将30只SD雄性大鼠随机分为游泳应激组、装置对照组和空白对照组,每组10只。游泳应激组每天接受5min的游泳应激,装置对照组每天接受5min的新异场景应激,均连续14 d,空白对照组不进行任何干预,然后观察大鼠行为(体质量增长量、旷场测验和糖精水溶液偏好测验)。采用免疫印迹法测定大鼠海马和前额叶皮质的P-ERK1/2。结果(1)游泳应激组在应激7d和应激14d的体质量增长[分别为(75±22)g和(70±24)g]均低于空白对照组[分别为(101±35)g和(115+47)g],均P＜0.05。(2)装置对照组的粪便排泄量[(1.4±1.9)粒]多于空白对照组[(0.4±1.0)粒]和游泳应激组[(0.1±0.3)粒],均P＜0.05；而游泳应激组的水平活动距离[(2077±1245)cm]少于空白对照组[(2990±1038)cm]和装置对照组[(3110±1462)cm],均P＜0.05。(3)游泳应激组的糖精水溶液摄入量[(11±6)g]和糖精水溶液摄入量占总液体摄入量的比例[(37±16)％]均低于空白对照组[分别为(15±4)g和(47±15)％],均P＜0.05。(4)游泳应激组在海马[(46±95)％]和前额叶皮质[(65±24)％]的P-ERK2水平均低于空白对照组[分别为(76±30)%和(99±42)%],均P＜0．05。结论慢性强迫游泳应激能诱发大鼠的抑郁情绪,降低P-ERK2在海马和前额叶皮质的水平。