(1) Objective: Resting-state fMRI studies have indicated that juvenile myoclonic epilepsy (JME) could cause widespread functional connectivity disruptions between the cerebrum and cerebellum. However, the directed influences or effective connectivities (ECs) between these brain regions are poorly understood. In the current study, we aimed to evaluate the ECs between the cerebrum and cerebellum in patients with new-onset JME. (2) Methods: Thirty-four new-onset JME patients and thirty-four age-, sex-, and education-matched healthy controls (HCs) were included in this study. We compared the degree centrality (DC) between the two groups to identify intergroup differences in whole-brain functional connectivity. Then, we used a Granger causality analysis (GCA) to explore JME-caused changes in EC between cerebrum regions and cerebellum regions. Furthermore, we applied a correlation analysis to identify associations between aberrant EC and disease severity in patients with JME. (3) Results: Compared to HCs, patients with JME showed significantly increased DC in the left cerebellum posterior lobe (CePL.L), the right inferior temporal gyrus (ITG.R) and the right superior frontal gyrus (SFG.R), and decreased DC in the left inferior frontal gyrus (IFG.L) and the left superior temporal gyrus (STG.L). The patients also showed unidirectionally increased ECs from cerebellum regions to the cerebrum regions, including from the CePL.L to the right precuneus (PreCU.R), from the left cerebellum anterior lobe (CeAL.L) to the ITG.R, from the right cerebellum posterior lobe (CePL.R) to the IFG.L, and from the left inferior semi-lunar lobule of the cerebellum (CeISL.L) to the SFG.R. Additionally, the EC from the CeISL.L to the SFG.R was negatively correlated with the disease severity. (4) Conclusions: JME patients showed unidirectional EC disruptions from the cerebellum to the cerebrum, and the negative correlation between EC and disease severity provides a new perspective for understanding the cerebro-cerebellar neural circuit mechanisms in JME.

The study investigated the composition and content of Σ15PAH in the surface and core sediments from Dachan Bay (DCB) in Shenzhen city and discussed the effects of urban development and regional energy structure on the marine environment through the spatial distribution, vertical profile, and sources of Σ15PAH. The results indicated that the concentrations of Σ15PAH in the sediments of DCB ranged between 299 ng/g and 2336 ng/g in the surface sediments and between 65 ng/g and 994 ng/g in the core sediments. The horizontal spatial distribution of PAHs content with decreasing concentrations from the coastal to central areas implied the land-based input of PAHs. The vertical profile of high PAHs concentration in 0 cm–60 cm suggested that the PAHs pollution is attributed to the urban development of Shenzhen since 1950, especially after the 1980s. According to features of the low molecular weight (LMW)/high molecular weight (HMW), PAHs diagnostic ratios and their relationships with total organic carbon (TOC) and oil, the pyrogenic PAHs were mainly from the combustion of petroleum and byproducts in the surface and 0 cm–60 cm sediments but from the combustion of biomass in 60 cm–190 cm sediments, which corresponded with the variation of energy structure in surrounding areas. This study suggested that urban development and regional energy structure have a great impact on PAHs distribution in DCB and further controls of land-based pollutant emissions are still needed.

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Cognitive and emotional impairments are frequent among patients with mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) and may reflect alterations in the brain structural properties. The relationship between microstructural changes and cognitive and emotional deficits remains unclear in patients with mTBI at the acute stage. The purpose of this study was to analyze the alterations in white matter microstructure and connectome of patients with mTBI within 7 days after injury and investigate whether they are related to the clinical questionnaires. A total of 79 subjects (42 mTBI and 37 healthy controls) underwent neuropsychological assessment and diffusion-tensor MRI scan. The microstructure and connectome of white matter were characterized by tract-based spatial statistics (TBSSs) and graph theory approaches, respectively. Mini-mental state examination (MMSE) and self-rating depression scale (SDS) were used to evaluate the cognitive function and depressive symptoms of all the subjects. Patients with mTBI revealed early increases of fractional anisotropy in most areas compared with the healthy controls. Graph theory analyses showed that patients with mTBI had increased nodal shortest path length, along with decreased nodal degree centrality and nodal efficiency, mainly located in the bilateral temporal lobe and right middle occipital gyrus. Moreover, lower nodal shortest path length and higher nodal efficiency of the right middle occipital gyrus were associated with higher SDS scores. Significantly, the strength of the rich club connection in the mTBI group decreased and was associated with the MMSE. Our study demonstrated that the neuroanatomical alterations of mTBI in the acute stage might be an initial step of damage leading to cognitive deficits and depression symptoms, and arguably, these occur due to distinct mechanisms.

Mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) is not a static event, but a progressive injury. The neuroanatomical alterations of mTBI at the acute stage can be an initial step of damage leading to cognitive and emotional deficit. The potential mechanisms conferring these deficits are poorly understood. In this study, we employed graph theory to explore alterations of white matter connectome and to study their relationship with neuropsychological examinations. We found disrupted topologic manner of the brain’s structural connectome, and the changes of right middle occipital gyrus explain depressive symptoms in the acute phase of mTBI due to white matter network alterations.