Objective To observe any change in the laterality index (LI) in the active volume of the hand motor cortex during rehabilitation after acute cerebral infarction and to analyze the mechanisms involved in the rehabilitation of motor function.Methods Sixteen patients with acute cerebral infarcts were administered standard but individualized rehabilitation training.Blood oxygenation-dependent functional magnetic resonance imaging (BOLD-fMRI) was used to evaluate the active volume of their hand sensorimotor cortex (SMC) and the LI,at admission and after 14 days of rehabilitation.The Fugl-Meyer motor assessment for the hand (FMA) was used to evaluate hand function.Ten healthy volunteers were recruited as a control group and subjected to a single BOLD-fMRI examination to confirm the location and the volume of the active area when performing the same rehabilitation exercises.Results The baseline LI of affected hand SMC activation was significantly smaller than that of the unaffected hand [(0.010 ±0.808) versus (0.789 ± 0.157)],but no significant difference was observed between the affected and the unaffected hands after treatment.Rehabilitation therapy significantly increased the SMC LI of affected hand activation when compared with the baseline,but no such effect was observed with the unaffected hand.In 12 patients with dysfunction of the right hand as evaluated by the FMA,the baseline LI of the affected hand was smaller than that of the unaffected hand and that of the healthy volunteers.Conclusion Rehabilitation after acute infarction can promote functional recovery.The LI of the affected hand reflects cerebral plasticity during rehabilitation after acute cerebral infarction.

Objective To observe any change in the active volume of the hand motor cortex during rehabilitation therapy after acute cerebral infarction and analyze the mechanisms involved in motor function rehabilitation.Metbods Of 16 patients with acute brain infarction,8 were administered routine intemal medicine treatment only,while and the other 8 received rehabilitation therapy in addition.Before treatment and after 14 days,the patients were assessed with functional magnetic resonance imaging(fMRI)and the Fugl-Meyer assessment of motor function (FMA).The active volume of the motor cortex was compared between the two groups of patients.Ten healthy volunteers were examined with fMRI to confirm the location and the volume ofthe active area when performing the sanle exercises.Results After treatment,all the 16 patients showed increased motor cortex active volume,and their FMA scores also increased.Those receiving rehabilitation therapy improved tO a significantly greater extent than those treated with internal medicine treatment alone.Conclusion Rehabilitation of patients with acute infarction Can activate a greater volume of the motor cortex and promote functional recovery.

Objective To identify the neural substrates of three motor tasks (repetitive and sequential fin-get-to-thumb opposition movements in turn, making fates, fingers passive flexion-extension movements in turn) of dominant and subdominant hands by using the whole-brain functional magnetic resonance imaging. Methods Ten right-handed healthy volunteers were scanned while they were performing the movement tasks with their right and left fingers. The motor cortex active volume and intensity was recorded. Quantitive analysis of motor cortex was conducted with paired t test. Results Under the three hand motor tasks, activation volumes in SMC during movements of the subdominant hand were significantly larger than those during movements of the dominant hand (P < 0. 05). Activation volumes during finger-to-thumb opposition movements and passive bendlng-extending fingers movements were significantly larger than those during movements of making fasts (P < 0.05). Activation intensity during passive ben-ding-extending fingers movements was significantly larger than those during movements of making fasts (P < 0.05). Conclusion The representation of the Motor Cortex is related to the complexity of the hand motor exercises. Quantitive criterion as volume and intensity approves the dissymmetry of cortex activation by dominant and subdominant fingers'movements. It is practicable and credible to adopt invariable fingers passive flexion-extension movements in turn in the study on BOLD-fMRI.

Objective To investigate the effect of 17β-estradiol on insulin resistance and the expression of insulin receptor-α in skeletal muscle of ovariectomized rats with insulin resistance induced by high fructose.Methods Forty-eight mature female Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats were randomly divided into four groups: the normal control group (NC, n= 12) rats were fed with the normal diet for 8 weeks; the model group (M, n= 12)rats were ovariectomized and fed with the high fructose diet for 8 weeks, meanwhile the physiological-dose of 17βestradiol (30 μg · kg-1 · d-1 ) was injected subcutaneously every day; the vehicle control group (VC, n= 12) rats were ovariectomized and fed with the high fructose diet for eight weeks, meanwhile equivalent alcohol was injected subcutaneously every day. Systolic blood pressure (SBP), fasting blood sugar (FBS), and fasting serum insulin (FSI) were measured and insulin sensitivity index (ISI) was calculated. The expressions of mRNA and protein of insulin receptor-α in quadriceps femoris were measured by RT-PCR and Western-blot. Results Compared with the normal control group, SBP (P<0.05), FBS (P<0.05) and FSI (P<0.01) were increased significantly while ISI was decreased significantly (P < 0. 05) in the model group. The expressions of mRNA and protein of insulin receptor-α and phosphorylated Akt were decreased significantly in quadriceps femoris in the model group (P<0.05), compared with the normal control group. However, these effects were reversed by 17β-estradiol in the 17βestradiol replacement group. Conclusions 17β-Estradiol inhibits insulin resistance, and up-regulates the expression of insulin receptor-α and the level of phosphorylated Akt in ovariectomized rats with insulin resistance induced by high fructose diet.

Electroencephalogram (EEG) is the primary tool in investigation of the brain science. It is necessary to carry out a deepgoing study into the characteristics and information hidden in EEGs to meet the needs of the clinical research. In this paper, we present a wavelet-nonlinear dynamic methodology for analysis of nonlinear characteristic of EEGs and delta, theta, alpha, and beta sub-bands. We therefore studied the effectiveness of correlation dimension (CD), largest Lyapunov exponen, and approximate entropy (ApEn) in differentiation between the interictal EEG and ictal EEG based on statistical significance of the differences. The results showed that the nonlinear dynamic char acteristic of EEG and EEG subbands could be used as effective identification statistics in detecting seizures.
Brain ; physiopathology ; Electroencephalography ; Entropy ; Epilepsy ; physiopathology ; Humans ; Nonlinear Dynamics ; Seizures

Objective To investigate the effect of hydrogen sulfide (H2S) on the cholesterol efflux and ATP-binding cassette transporter A1 (ABCA1) expression in foam cells .Methods RAW 264 .7 macrophages were incubated with oxidized low density lipoprotein to induce foam cells .Foam cells were incubated with H2S donor sodium hydrosulfide .Cholesterol efflux from macropha-ges was tested by labed cholesterol .The cellular levels of free cholesterol (FC) ,cholesterol ester (CE) and total cholesterol (TC) were measured by high performance liquid chromatography assays .The mRNA and protein expressions of ABCA1 were detected by Real-time PCR and Western blot .Results Compared with the foam cells ,the rates of cholesterol efflux were significantly in-creased ,the levels of TC ,FC ,CE and CE/TC ratio were significantly decreased(P<0 .05) and expression of ABCA1 was signifi-cantly increased by treatment with H2S in dose-and time-dependent manner(P<0 .05) .Conclusion H2S up-regulates of expres-sion ABCA1 and promotes cholesterol efflux in RAW 264 .7 macrophage-derived foam cells .

BACKGROUND:It is unclear about dexamethasone effect on the regulation of microRNA-155 expression in macrophages.
OBJCTIVE:To explore whether dexamethasone can regulate the expression of microRNA-155 in macrophages.
METHODS:(1) Lipopolysaccharide stimulation of mouse macrophages: mouse macrophage cel lines, Raw264.7 cels, were culturedin vitro and stimulated by lipopolysaccharide. Cultured cels were colected at 0, 0.5, 2, 6 hours after culture to detect the dynamical expression of microRNA-155. (2) Dexamethasone intervention for macrophages: Macrophages were divided into four groups: control group treated with phosphate buffer; lipopolysaccharide group stimulated by lipopolysaccharide; combined group given intervention with dexamethasone and lipopolysaccharide; dexamethasone group cultured with dexamethasone. At 6 hours after culture, cel supernatant was colected to detect the expression of tumor necrosis factor α and interleukin-6 using ELISA method. Real-time fluorescence quantitative PCR was used to detect the expression of microRNA-155 in the Raw264.7 macrophages.
RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:Lipopolysaccharide significantly increased the expression of tumor necrosis factor α, interleukin-6 and microRNA-155 after 6 hours of culture (P < 0.05). Combined use of dexamethasone and lipopolysaccharide slightly increased the expression of tumor necrosis factor α, interleukin-6 and microRNA-155 (P< 0.05). Dexamethasone alone had no influence on the expression of tumor necrosis factor α and interleukin-6, but significantly decreased the expression of microRNA-155 (P < 0.05). These findings indicate that dexamethasone can inhibit the expression of microRNA-155 in the macrophages induced by lipopolysaccharide.

Insulin resistant rats induced by fructose were treated with rosiglitazone (RSG), and the effect of RSG on the endocrine function of vascular endothelial cells were investigated. The results showed that RSG can improve the endocrine function of endothelia by enhancing aortic NO synthase activity and the ability of anti-oxidative stress.

Aim To investigate the effects of arecoline on glucose and lipid metabolism in type 2 diabetic rats and its mechanisms in glucose metabolism.Methods A type 2 diabetic rat model was established by fed with high fructose-high fat diet.The animals were randomly divided into 7 groups: control group,high fructose-high fat diet group(HF)and high fructose-high fat diet+arecoline(1 mg?kg-1,5 mg?kg-1,10 mg?kg-1,20 mg?kg-1,50 mg?kg-1)groups.The blood glucose,lipid level,hepatic function and liver histology were measured.The mRNA expression of liver glucose-6-phosphatase(G6Pase),phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase(PEPCK),Forkhead Box O1(FoxO1)and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-? coactlvator-1? (PGC-1?)were observed through RT-PCR.Results In comparison with the high fructose-high fat diet group,the fasting blood glucose and TC of the rats were significantly decreased by arecoline in a dose-dependment manner in high fructose-high fat diet+arecoline group.But hepatic function was damaged by 10 mg?kg-1,20 mg?kg-1 and 50 mg?kg-1 arecoline.The mRNA expression of hepatic G6Pase,PEPCK,FoxO1 and PGC-1? was decreased by treatment with 1 mg?kg-1 and 5 mg?kg-1 arecoline compared with the high fructose-high fat diet group.Conclusions Low dose arecoline can decrease fasting blood glucose and TC in type 2 diabettic rats,and the mechanism in glucose metabolism may be related to its effect on the inhibition of hepatic gluconeogenesis.

AIM To investigate the action of rosiglitazone on blood glucose,blood lipid,and the vascular remodeling in rats fed with high-fructose diet. METHODS After fed with high-fructose diet for one month,rats were randomly divided into two groups:High-fructose diet group that continued feeding with high-fructose diet for another month; High-fructose diet+rosiglitazone group fed with high-fructose diet and rosiglitazone (5 mg?kg -1?d -1, dissolved in water) for one month. At last,one half of each group were anesthetized,and the fasting blood, obtained from heart,was used to detect blood glucose,blood lipid,blood insulin. The aorta and mesenteric artery were gotten from the other half of each group, fixed in formalin,sliced and HE dyed. Pathology analysis system was used to measure the remodeling indexes of aorta and mesenteric artery:Lumen ,media,media/lumen,media cross-section area. RESULTS Comparing high-fructose diet+rosiglitazone group with high-fructose diet group, rosiglitazone decreased blood pressure(16.0 kPa vs 18.0 kPa, P