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Background: Mirror visual feedback (MVF) has been widely used in neurological rehabilitation. Due to the potential gain effect of the MVF combination therapy, the related mechanisms still need be further analyzed. Methods: Our self-controlled study recruited 20 healthy subjects (age 22.150 ± 2.661 years) were asked to perform four different visual feedback tasks with simultaneous functional near infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) monitoring. The right hand of the subjects was set as the active hand (performing active movement), and the left hand was set as the observation hand (static or performing passive movement under soft robotic bilateral hand rehabilitation system). The four VF tasks were designed as RVF Task (real visual feedback task), MVF task (mirror visual feedback task), BRM task (bilateral robotic movement task), and MVF + BRM task (Mirror visual feedback combined with bilateral robotic movement task). Results: The beta value of the right pre-motor cortex (PMC) of MVF task was significantly higher than the RVF task (RVF task: − 0.015 ± 0.029, MVF task: 0.011 ± 0.033, P = 0.033). The beta value right primary sensorimotor cortex (SM1) in MVF + BRM task was significantly higher than MVF task (MVF task: 0.006±0.040, MVF + BRM task: 0.037±0.036, P=0.016). Conclusion: Our study used the synchronous fNIRS to compare the immediate hemodynamics cortical activation of four visual feedback tasks in healthy subjects. The results showed the synergistic gain effect on cortical activation from MVF combined with a soft robotic bilateral hand rehabilitation system for the first time, which could be used to guide the clinical application and the future studies.

Background: Exercise is one of the effective ways to improve cognition. Different forms of exercises have different effects on the improvement of cognitive impairment. In recent years,exergames based on Non-Immersive Virtual Reality(NIVR-Exergames) have gradually been applied to clinical rehabilitation. However, the mechanism of NIVR-Exergames on improving motor cognition has not been clarified. Therefore, the aim of this study is to find whether NIVR-Exergames result in a better neural response mechanism to improve the area of the cerebral cortex related to motor cognition under fNIRS dynamic monitoring in comparison with resistance exercise . Methods: 26 healthy young subjects (18–24 years old) were randomly divided into group A (n = 10) and group B (n = 10) according to a computerized digital table method. Task 1 was an NIVR-Exergame task, and Task 2 was resistance band stretching. Group A first performed Task 1, rested for 30 minutes (i.e., a washout period), and then performed Task 2. Group B had the reverse order. The fNIRS test was synchronized in real time during exercise tasks.The primary outcomes were beta values from the general linear model (GLM) in different regions of interest (ROIs), and the secondary outcomes were heart rate, blood pressure, reaction time of 2-back , and accuracy rate of 2-back . Results: The activation differences of Task 1 and Task 2 in the right premotor cortex (PMC) (P = 0.025) and the left PMC (P = 0.011) were statistically significant. There were statistically significant differences in the activation of the right supplementary motor area (SMA) (P = 0.001) and right PMC (P = 0.001) between baseline and Post-task 1. The differences in systolic pressure (SBP) between the two groups at three time points among women were statistically significant (P1 = 0.009, P2 < 0.001, P3 = 0.044). Conclusions: In this study, we found that NIVR-Exergames combined with motor and challenging cognitive tasks can promote the activation of SMA and PMC in healthy young people compared with resistance exercise alone, providing compelling preliminary evidence of the power for the rehabilitation of motor and cognitive function in patients with central nervous system diseases.

As a central element of executive function, working memory (WM) contributes to pain regulation by balancing cognitive resources between goal-directed attention and attention captured by nociceptive stimuli. Although WM load influences pain perception, its modulatory mechanism remains to be explored, particularly functional network interactions among pain-related brain regions during distraction. This study aims to investigate the effect of different-load WM tasks on pain perception via behavioral measures and functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) data, and to explore the underlying cortical neural mechanism. Thirty-five healthy participants completed experiments under synchronized fNIRS. In the first part, participants completed a laser stimuli pain-rating task. In the second part, a 2 × 2 within-subject design was used to assess the distraction effect on pain perception. Participants performed an n-back task during two WM loads: high load (2-back) and low load (0-back), while receiving stimuli (with or without laser stimuli) to their right hand. All participants completed trials in five experimental conditions: pain task, 0-back task, 2-back task, 0-back with pain task, and 2-back with pain task. Pain intensity ratings and cognitive performance (accuracy and reaction time) were recorded. High load WM significantly reduced both the perceived pain intensity and nociceptive neural activation in the primary sensorimotor cortex (SM1) and secondary somatosensory cortex (S2). In contrast to n-back task, n-back with pain task showed a significant reduction in functional connectivity between brain regions within the high load group, including RS2-anterior prefrontal cortex (aPFC), RSM1-right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (RDLPFC), RSM1-aPFC, and LSM1-aPFC. This study provides evidence for load-dependent cortical mechanism of distraction analgesia in healthy individuals. We conclude that distraction analgesia effect of WM may result from suppression of sensorimotor cortical activity and decoupling of pain-processing networks.

Food nutrition, function, sensory quality and safety became major concerns to the food industry. As a novel technology application in food industry, low temperature plasma was commonly used in the sterilization of heat sensitive materials and is now widely used. This review provides a detailed study of the latest advancements and applications of plasma technology in the food industry, especially the sterilization field; influencing factors and the latest research progress in recent years are outlined and upgraded. It explores the parameters that influence its efficiency and effectiveness in the sterilization process. Further research trends include optimizing plasma parameters for different food types, investigating the effects on nutritional quality and sensory attributes, understanding microbial inactivation mechanisms, and developing efficient and scalable plasma-based sterilization systems. Additionally, there is growing interest in assessing the overall quality and safety of processed foods and evaluating the environmental sustainability of plasma technology. The present paper highlights recent developments and provides new perspectives for the application of low temperature plasma in various areas, especially sterilization field of the food industry. Low temperature plasma holds great promise for the food industry’s sterilization needs. Further research and technological advancements are required to fully harness its potential and ensure safe implementation across various food sectors.

Optical upconversion from lanthanide-doped nanoparticles is promising for a variety of applications ranging from bioimaging, optogenetics, nanothermometry, super-resolution nanoscopy and volumetric displays to solar cells. Despite remarkable progress made in enhancing upconversion to fuel these applications, achieving luminescence of upconversion nanoparticles (UCNPs) that is comparable to or higher than the bulk counterparts has been challenging due to nanoscale-induced quenching effects. Here we demonstrate a size-dependent lanthanide energy transfer effect in a conceptual design of hexagonal sodium yttrium fluoride (NaYF 4 ) core–shell–shell NaYF 4 @NaYF 4 :Yb/Tm@NaYF 4 UCNPs with depleted surface quenching. We show that precise control over the domain size (or the thickness of the middle shell doped with ytterbium (Yb) and thulium (Tm) from 1.2 to 13 nm) increases the lanthanide energy transfer efficiency (from 30.2 to 50.4%) and amplifies the upconversion quantum yield to a high value of 13.0 ± 1.3% in sub-50 nm UCNPs (excitation: 980 nm, 100 W cm −2 ), which is around fourfold higher than the micrometre-scale hexagonal NaYF 4 :Yb/Tm bulk counterparts. Spectroscopic studies and theoretical microscopic modelling reveal that long-range lanthanide energy transfer (>9.5 nm) takes place and underlies the observed size-dependent phenomena. Demonstration of size-dependent lanthanide energy transfer and upconversion quantum yields at the nanoscale transforms our long-existing conceptual understanding of lanthanide energy transfer (size independence), thereby having important implications for applications of lanthanide nanophotonics and biophotonics. Researchers demonstrate a size-dependent lanthanide energy transfer effect in upconversion nanoparticles with depleted surface quenching, resulting in upconversion quantum yields of 13.0 ± 1.3%.

Based on comprehensive interpretation of three-dimensional seismic data and quantitative analysis of basin-boundary fault activity in the Nanpu Sag, this study employs subsidence history backstripping and equilibrium profile techniques to reconstruct the structural evolution of the main profile. The results indicate that the Cenozoic evolution of the Nanpu Sag can be divided into a syn-rift stage and a post-rift stage, with the syn-rift stage further subdivided into Rift I and Rift II episodes. During Rift I, tectonic activity was primarily controlled by the NE- and NEE-trending Xinanzhuang Fault, Shabei Fault, and No. 2 Fault Zone, which formed under a NW–SE extensional stress regime and governed the development of NE- or NEE-trending faults and associated sedimentary subsidence centers. In Rift II, tectonic activity was dominated by a southward-curved normal fault system, composed of the Xinanzhuang, Gaoliu, and Baigezhuang faults, as well as the Shabei Fault, reflecting the influence of a near N–S ex-tensional stress field. The progressive southward migration of the Sag’s subsidence center over time—from the Linque sub-sag in the third section of the Shahe Formation to the Caofeidian sub-sag in the Dongying Formation—and noting, coupled with the pronounced left-lateral strike-slip characteristics of the Baigezhuang Fault and No. 4 Fault, and regional tectonic evolution analysis of the Bohai Bay Basin, support the proposal that a strike-slip extension mechanism—characterized by lateral strike-slip and forward extension—constitutes the fundamental developmental model of the Nanpu Sag. This study deepens the understanding of the tectonic evolution of the Nanpu Sag and provides new insights in-to the dynamic mechanisms governing the formation of similar Sags in the Bohai Bay Basin.

\"The Belt and Road\" initiative has been expected to facilitate interactions among numerous city centers. This initiative would generate a number of centers, both economic and political, which would facilitate greater interaction. To explore how information flows are merged and the specific opportunities that may be offered, Chinese cities along \"the Belt and Road\" are selected for a case study. Furthermore, urban networks in cyberspace have been characterized by their infrastructure orientation, which implies that there is a relative dearth of studies focusing on the investigation of urban hierarchies by capturing information flows between Chinese cities along \"the Belt and Road\". This paper employs Baidu, the main web search engine in China, to examine urban hierarchies. The results show that urban networks become more balanced, shifting from a polycentric to a homogenized pattern. Furthermore, cities in networks tend to have both a hierarchical system and a spatial concentration primarily in regions such as Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei, Yangtze River Delta and the Pearl River Delta region. Urban hierarchy based on web search activity does not follow the existing hierarchical system based on geospatial and economic development in all cases. Moreover, urban networks, under the framework of \"the Belt and Road\", show several significant corridors and more opportunities for more cities, particularly western cities. Furthermore, factors that may influence web search activity are explored. The results show that web search activity is significantly influenced by the economic gap, geographical proximity and administrative rank of the city.

Objective. Microfold cells (M cells) are specific intestinal epithelial cells for monitoring and transcytosis of antigens, microorganisms, and pathogens in the intestine. However, the mechanism for M-cell development remained elusive. Materials and Methods. Real-time polymerase chain reaction, immunofluorescence, and western blotting were performed to analyze the effect of sorbitol-regulated M-cell differentiation in vivo and in vitro, and luciferase and chromatin Immunoprecipitation were used to reveal the mechanism through which sorbitol-modulated M-cell differentiation. Results. Herein, in comparison to the mannitol group (control group), we found that intestinal M-cell development was inhibited in response to sorbitol treatment as evidenced by impaired enteroids accompanying with decreased early differentiation marker Annexin 5, Marcksl1, Spib, sox8, and mature M-cell marker glycoprotein 2 expression, which was attributed to downregulation of receptor activator of nuclear factor kappa-В ligand (RANKL) expression in vivo and in vitro. Mechanically, in the M-cell model, sorbitol stimulation caused a significant upregulation of phosphodiesterase 4 (PDE4) phosphorylation, leading to decreased protein kinase A (PKA)/cAMP-response element binding protein (CREB) activation, which further resulted in CREB retention in cytosolic and attenuated CREB binds to RANKL promoter to inhibit RANKL expression. Interestingly, endogenous PKA interacted with CREB, and this interaction was destroyed by sorbitol stimulation. Most importantly, inhibition of PDE4 by dipyridamole could rescue the inhibitory effect of sorbitol on intestinal enteroids and M-cell differentiation and mature in vivo and in vitro. Conclusion. These findings suggested that sorbitol suppressed intestinal enteroids and M-cell differentiation and matured through PDE4-mediated RANKL expression; targeting to inhibit PDE4 was sufficient to induce M-cell development.