Higher Connectivity Research Articles

Evaluating the environmental effectiveness of payments for hydrological services in Veracruz, México: A landscape approach

Payments for ecosystem services (PES) are considered an important policy tool for promoting forest conservation and restoration. The effectiveness of PES programs is typically evaluated by their capacity to reduce deforestation within and around parcels receiving these payments. Larger, landscape-scale, impacts of these programs on processes such as forest fragmentation and connectivity, and payment thresholds that could influence PES effectiveness and their role in regional conservation efforts, remain largely unexplored. Working in three regions with active programs making payments for hydrological services (PHS) in Veracruz state, Mexico, we used a mobile window analysis to identify and compare particular landscapes receiving PHS to similar landscapes not receiving PHS. Difference-in-difference techniques were used to evaluate: 1) changes in metrics of PHS program effectiveness, including deforestation and additionality, in landscapes with low-PHS and high-PHS payment densities; and 2) landscape-scale metrics of ecological integrity, including the capacity of PHS to foster landscapes with less fragmentation and higher connectivity. Maps of forest coverage immediately prior to (1993−2003), and following (2003–2013) the first ten years of, PHS program operation were used to document and compare trends in these areas. Our results suggest PHS significantly reduced deforestation rates but was limited in achieving higher additionality by enrolling mostly areas of lower deforestation risk (only 44 % of PHS occurred in areas of high or very high risk). PHS was not successful in slowing forest fragmentation or the loss of connectivity in our study regions. However, we found that the effectiveness of PHS programs was linked with payment density, with higher PHS coverages resulting in significantly greater reductions in deforestation (41.26 % more effective) vs low-PHS areas. Our findings suggest that measuring PES impact as a change in forest cover alone may over-simplify analyses of the effectiveness of these programs. Overall, a landscape-scale focus appears warranted in PES program design and evaluations of their effectiveness.

Sewage sludge application alters the composition and co-occurrence pattern of the soil bacterial community in southern China forestlands

Application of sewage sludge to forested land has been regarded as a promising method for sewage sludge disposal, because it can improve soil fertility and productivity. It is also likely to alter the soil nutrient cycle, which is mainly mediated by soil microorganisms. However, how the soil bacterial community responds to the application of sewage sludge in subtropical planted forests is poorly understood. Unlike farmland soil, forestland soil is covered with leaf litter, which might influence the effects of sewage sludge on the soil bacterial community. In this study, we investigated the effects of sewage sludge application (30 t/ha) on the soil bacterial community at 0–10 cm depth in three forest plantations (Eucalyptus urophylla, Pinus elliottii, and Schima superba) in southern China. The treatments included sewage sludge addition (treatment S), sewage sludge addition and leaf litter removal (treatment SLR), and a control (CK). The composition of the soil bacterial community differed in the three forest plantations and was affected by treatment S, but the effects of treatment S were not greatly altered by litter removal in the three forest plantations. At the community level, the composition of the soil bacterial community was significantly related to soil pH, available phosphorus (P) and potassium (K), and cadmium (Cd). At the phylum level, the relative abundance of Actinobacteria, Bacteroidetes, and Chloroflexi was increased by treatments S and SLR, while that of Acidobacteria, Proteobacteria, and Verrucomicrobia was decreased. The changes in the abundance of these bacteria were significantly related to the increase in the contents of available nutrients and heavy metals. Sewage sludge application resulted in an increased number of positive interactions among bacterial taxa, lower modularity, and higher connectivity, which indicated an unstable bacterial community. Changes in the composition, co-occurrence pattern, and keystone taxa of the bacterial community might reflect adaptation to sewage sludge application.

Development of the tetrathioterephthalate filler incorporated PES nanofiltration membrane with efficient heavy metal ions rejection and superior antifouling properties

The novel antifouling nanofiltration membranes were developed for efficient heavy metal ions rejection from water. These membranes were fabricated by the introduction of the tetrathioterephthalate (TTTP) filler into Polyethersulfone (PES) matrix via the phase inversion. Surface roughness, pore radius distribution, average pore radius, surface charge, overall porosity, and water contact angle were also characterized. FTIR and XPS analysis were performed to confirm the presence of TTTP filler in the TTTP embedded PES (T-PES) membranes. As confirmed by FESEM images, more finger-like voids with higher connectivity were formed in the presence of TTTP fillers in the membrane matrix. Compared with the PES membrane, the T-PES membranes exhibited higher hydrophilicity, porosity, and mean pore radius. Besides, these membranes exhibited higher pure water permeation flux and superior antifouling properties. For 0.1 wt.% TTTP embedded PES membrane the FRR value stayed at a high level during five repeated filtration cycles. This improvement was mainly ascribed to the hydrophilic quiddity of TTTP fillers resulting from its functionalities like C = S and C–S bonds. Furthermore, these membranes showed high rejection towards heavy metal ions (Zn2+, 99.2%; Cu2+, 98.5%; Pb2+, 97.4%). Moreover, the metal ion removal experiments in the presence of foreign ions of Fe3+, Mg2+, and Na+ indicated acceptable results.

Analysis of Cellular and Biochemical Factors Involved in Acute Myeloid Leukemia Taking Into Account the Dysfunctional Module

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is a malignant hematological disease caused by the abnormal hematopoietic system. Its specific pathogenesis is still unclear. Therefore, we have carried out a series of related studies. Firstly, co-expression analysis of acute myeloid leukemia related genes in the Human Mendelian Genetic Database (OMIM) was carried out, and a co-expression module was constructed. Further enrichment analysis of module-related genes with Go and KEGG was carried out. Subsequently, the modules are analyzed by Crosstalk to show their interaction. Also, pivot prediction is used to identify critical factors in the regulatory module and potential target drugs. Results A total of 14 co-expression modules were obtained, which were found to be significantly involved in cell proliferation and apoptosis, Ras and Wnt signaling pathways. The modules with higher connectivity (UBB, RAC1, TP53, PIK3CA) were also counted. Also, it is found that there is significant crosstalk between these modules. On the other hand, we screened 2815 drivers of regulatory modules, including TP53, E2F1, MYC-based transcription factors, and non-coding RNA (ncRNA) dominated by microRNA-320a, microRNA-193b-3p, and microRNA-93-5p. Finally, many regulatory drugs (Copper, Artenimol, Indomethacin, etc.) with targeted pathogenic genes were predicted. Overall, this study explores the underlying pathogenesis of acute myeloid leukemia and predicts the related regulatory drugs. The results of this study provide a new method and theoretical basis for follow-up mechanism research and treatment strategy.

Tides affect plant connectivity in coastal wetlands on a small-patch scale

Coastal wetlands are ecologically and economically important; however, they are currently faced with fragmentation and loss. Plants are a fundamental element of wetlands and previous researches have focused on wetland plant connectivity; however, these researches have been conducted at the landscape but not species level. Here, given that tidal flats are important areas in coastal wetlands, we investigated the connectivity characteristics of typical plant species and environmental factors in different wetland regions influenced by various tidal conditions to reveal vegetation connectivity and its relationship with environmental factors on a small-patch scale. We found that tides negatively affect plant connectivity because both the Tamarix chinensis and Suaeda salsa have the highest connectivity on river banks, which are not influenced by tides. Of two tidal regions, different tides conditions have different influence on two plant species. T. chinensis had higher connectivity in the supratidal zone, whereas S. salsa had higher connectivity in the intertidal zone. Besides, the soil water content and soil salinity were significantly different in the three regions, but the soil total nitrogen and phosphorous were not. Soil water content and soil salinity were two factors that significantly affected plant connectivity. Specifically, soil water content positively affected the connectivity of T. chinensis and S. salsa, whereas soil salinity negatively affected the connectivity of T. chinensis. Taken together, these results indicate that tidal conditions affect plant connectivity on a small-patch scale. River banks and supratidal zone are beneficial for the recovery and growth of T. chinensis, intertidal zone and river banks are more conducive to the recovery and growth of S. salsa. Based on the above research, this study provides insights that could be applied to vegetation restoration in coastal wetlands.

Spatial and temporal patterns of initial plant establishment in salt marsh communities

AbstractQuestionsHow are dispersal processes, abiotic and biotic interactions determining the initial salt marsh plant community establishment and development when connectivity is different? We aim to answer this question by analysing the spatial and temporal patterns of plant establishment along an environmental gradient at two connectivity settings.LocationBack‐barrier salt marsh and tidal flats of Spiekeroog, northwest Germany.MethodsWe established an experiment along a saltmarsh elevation gradient with bare sediment open for spontaneous colonisation on the natural salt marsh and on the experimental salt marsh islands built on the tidal flats approximately 500 m from the natural salt marsh for low connectivity. Plant establishment was identified from georeferenced photos at least monthly.ResultsExperimental islands as low‐connectivity plots had limited colonisation by annual halophytes that produced large number of small seeds. Number of individuals increased with higher connectivity at patches enclosed by salt marsh. Number of individuals was highest at the mid elevations whereas peak species richness was at the upper salt marsh. Temporal patterns of seedling emergence showed increasing plant numbers until the end of April followed by a gradual decline over the season at the pioneer and lower salt marsh zones. Upper elevations on the other hand had a stable number of low individual counts over time. Spatial clustering of plant individuals indicating possible facilitation was important at the initial stages of salt marsh development at pioneer and lower salt marsh elevation, but only early in the season.ConclusionsStochastic patterns of early salt marsh colonisation indicated that success of species colonisation was determined by seed properties, seed availability and environmental conditions mediated by elevation. We found indications that at the initial stages, further colonisation was supported by already colonised plants but shifted to avoidance later in the season.

Auditory localization should be considered as a sign of minimally conscious state based on multimodal findings.

Auditory localization (i.e. turning the head and/or the eyes towards an auditory stimulus) is often part of the clinical evaluation of patients recovering from coma. The objective of this study is to determine whether auditory localization could be considered as a new sign of minimally conscious state, using a multimodal approach. The presence of auditory localization and the clinical outcome at 2 years of follow-up were evaluated in 186 patients with severe brain injury, including 64 with unresponsive wakefulness syndrome, 28 in minimally conscious state minus, 71 in minimally conscious state plus and 23 who emerged from the minimally conscious state. Brain metabolism, functional connectivity and graph theory measures were investigated by means of 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography, functional MRI and high-density electroencephalography in two subgroups of unresponsive patients, with and without auditory localization. These two subgroups were also compared to a subgroup of patients in minimally conscious state minus. Auditory localization was observed in 13% of unresponsive patients, 46% of patients in minimally conscious state minus, 62% of patients in minimally conscious state plus and 78% of patients who emerged from the minimally conscious state. The probability to observe an auditory localization increased along with the level of consciousness, and the presence of auditory localization could predict the level of consciousness. Patients with auditory localization had higher survival rates (at 2-year follow-up) than those without localization. Differences in brain function were found between unresponsive patients with and without auditory localization. Higher connectivity in unresponsive patients with auditory localization was measured between the fronto-parietal network and secondary visual areas, and in the alpha band electroencephalography network. Moreover, patients in minimally conscious state minus significantly differed from unresponsive patients without auditory localization in terms of brain metabolism and alpha network centrality, whereas no difference was found with unresponsive patients who presented auditory localization. Our multimodal findings suggest differences in brain function between unresponsive patients with and without auditory localization, which support our hypothesis that auditory localization should be considered as a new sign of minimally conscious state. Unresponsive patients showing auditory localization should therefore no longer be considered unresponsive but minimally conscious. This would have crucial consequences on these patients’ lives as it would directly impact the therapeutic orientation or end-of-life decisions usually taken based on the diagnosis.

Stressing diets? Amygdala networks, cumulative cortisol, and weight loss in adolescents with excess weight.

The amygdala is importantly involved in stress and obesity, but its role on weight change and diet-related stress remains unexplored among adolescents with excess weight. We aimed to examine the functional connectivity of the Central and Basolateral amygdala nuclei (CeA and BLA) among adolescents, and to explore the longitudinal association between brain connectivity measures and diet-related cortisol and weight loss in adolescents with excess weight. We compared resting-state functional connectivity between adolescents with excess (EW, N = 34; Age = 16.44 ± 1.66) and normal weight (NW, N = 36; Age = 16.50 ± 1.40) using a seed-based (CeA and BLA) whole-brain approach. Then, in a subset of 30 adolescents with EW, followed-up after 3-months of dietary/lifestyle intervention, we explored for interactions between connectivity in the CeA/BLA networks and weight loss. Regression analyses were performed to explore the relationship between accumulated cortisol and weight loss, and to test the potential effect of the amygdala networks on such association. In EW compared with NW, the CeA regions showed higher functional connectivity with anterior portions, and lower connectivity with posterior portions of the cingulate cortex, while the left BLA regions showed lower connectivity with the dorsal caudate and angular gyrus. In addition, higher connectivity between the left CeA-midbrain network was negatively associated with weight loss. Hair cortisol significantly predicted weight change (p = 0.012). However, this association was no longer significant (p = 0.164) when considering the CeA-midbrain network in the model as an additional predictor. Adolescents with EW showed functional connectivity alterations within the BLA/CeA networks. The CeA-midbrain network might constitute an important brain pathway regulating weight change.

Disentangling the seasonal co-occurrence patterns and ecological stochasticity of planktonic and benthic bacterial communities within multiple lakes

Both the planktonic bacterial community (PBC) and benthic bacterial community (BBC) are important for biogeochemical processes in freshwater lakes. Despite their ecological significance, little is known about their seasonal co-occurrence patterns and the ecological processes that drive them. In this study, we aimed to investigate the ecological associations among bacterial taxa and assembly processes of PBC and BBC in different seasons. We used 16S rRNA gene high-throughput sequencing of a total of 150 water and sediment samples collected from multiple lakes distributed in an urban region of China during winter and summer. Our results revealed that PBC showed stronger seasonal variations in co-occurrence patterns than BBC, suggesting that BBC had greater temporal stability than PBC. Winter PBC network was characterized by higher connectivity and complexity, and thereby the formation of a highly stable community structure; whereas lower connectivity arising from the presence of fewer predicted keystone taxa (hubs and connectors in a network) was destabilizing to summer PBC network. In addition, the phylum Firmicutes identified as a putative keystone taxon of PBC in both seasons played a non-negligible role in maintaining network structure which may result from strong functional associations with other bacterioplankton. Temperature and pH were the best explanatory factors predicting the seasonal co-occurrence patterns of PBC and BBC, respectively. Normalized stochasticity ratio based on null-model analysis indicated that deterministic processes overwhelmed stochastic processes in governing the assembly of PBC and BBC in both seasons. However, we observed a greater influence of ecological stochasticity on BBC assembly than PBC assembly in both seasons. Taken together, these findings provide insights into understanding the impacts of habitat heterogeneity and seasonal variability on microbial assemblage patterns in lake ecosystems.

Controlled semantic summation correlates with intrinsic connectivity between default mode and control networks

The capacity to identify aspects of meaning that overlap across multiple concepts may relate to individual differences in the strength of intrinsic connectivity within and between distinct brain networks supporting semantic cognition. This study examined a semantic summation task, which tested the capacity to detect weak overlapping aspects of meaning, in 76 participants who were also scanned with resting-state fMRI. We examined associations between summation and the intrinsic connectivity of semantically-relevant default mode and control network regions. These networks are implicated in information integration and controlled retrieval respectively. We found higher intrinsic connectivity between default and control networks was associated with better performance in the summation task. The same pattern of coupling between semantic default mode and control networks was not associated with more efficient retrieval of individual weak as opposed to strong associations in an additional cohort of around 200 participants, suggesting this pattern is specific to the summation of multiple concepts, rather than semantic task difficulty. Finally, higher connectivity within the default mode network was associated with better performance when selecting a word that was strongly-related to a single probe item, supporting the role of this network in more automatic aspects of semantic retrieval.

A microRNA-Messenger RNA Regulatory Network and Its Prognostic Value in Cervical Cancer.

Cervical cancer (CC) is the fourth commonest cancer in women worldwide. Increasing evidence proves that microRNA (miRNA)-messenger RNA (mRNA) network is involved in CC. In this study, miRNA and mRNA expression profiles were downloaded from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database. Differently expressed miRNAs (DE-miRNAs) and mRNAs (DE-mRNAs) were obtained by "Empirical Analysis of Digital Gene Expression Data in R (EdgeR)" package. Then, functional analyses were conducted. With Cytoscape software, a protein-protein interaction (PPI) network was established to identify hub genes that were used for building an miRNA-hub gene network. Next, a prognostic signature based on hub genes was constructed by Cox regression analysis, and its prognostic value was assessed by a nomogram. Finally, the relationship between immune cell infiltration and the three genes in the prognostic model was investigated by using the CIBERSORT algorithm. We screened out 5096 DE-mRNAs and 114 DE-miRNAs between healthy cervical and CC tissues. Then, 102 target DE-mRNAs of upregulated DE-miRNAs and 150 target DE-mRNAs of downregulated DE-miRNAs were obtained. PPI network demonstrated 20 hub nodes with higher connectivity. DE-mRNAs were mostly enriched in pathways in cancer, cell cycle, and proteoglycans in cancer. The miRNA-hub gene network showed that most hub genes could be potentially modulated by miR-200c-3p, miR-23b-3p, and miR-106b-5p. Quantitative real-time PCR proved that 10 miRNAs were downregulated and 6 mRNAs were upregulated markedly in CC tissues. Furthermore, a prognostic signature was established based on enhancer of zeste homolog 2 (EZH2), Fms-related tyrosine kinase 1 (FLT1), and glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH). The area under the curve value of the 5-year receiver operating characteristic curve was 0.609. The three genes were also found to be related to the infiltration of six types of immune cells, including dendritic cells, macrophages M0 and M1, mast cells, and monocytes. In conclusion, the development of CC is regulated by the miRNA-mRNA network we proposed in this study.

M142. INCREASED VENTRAL STRIATAL FUNCTIONAL CONNECTIVITY IN PATIENTS WITH SCHIZOPHRENIA DURING REWARD ANTICIPATION

BackgroundRecent studies have pointed at the ventral striatum as one of the main candidates underlying motivational dysfunctions in schizophrenia. Patients with negative symptoms show decreased BOLD activity in the ventral striatum and this activity strongly correlates with apathy scores during reward anticipation.While in patients with schizophrenia blunted ventral striatal activation during reward anticipation has been widely reported, little is known about abnormal striatal functional connectivity during reward anticipation. In this study, we performed generalized whole-brain psychophysiological interaction (gPPI) analyses using the right and left ventral striatum as seeds in schizophrenia patients with apathy and reduced ventral striatal activation from two published fMRI studies (Kirschner et al., 2016; Stepien et al., 2018).MethodsForty-four healthy controls (18 females, mean age = 31.1) and 40 patients with schizophrenia (10 females, mean age = 32.5) performed a variant of the Monetary Incentive Delay task within an fMRI design. Negative symptoms were assessed with the Brief Negative Symptoms Scale (BNSS). GPPI analyses were done using the PPPI toolbox on SPM 8. To examine potential difference in striatal functional connectivity, we performed two sample t-tests between patients with schizophrenia and healthy controls using the contrast [High Reward Anticipation – No Reward Anticipation].ResultsPatients with schizophrenia showed increased functional connectivity between the right ventral striatum and the anterior cingulate cortex, posterior cingulate cortex, cerebellum, motor cortex, parietal cortex, temporo-parietal junction and thalamus compared to controls (cluster-level FDR p<0.05). No higher connectivity was found in controls compared to patients.For the regions with increased functional connectivity, we performed correlations between the patients’ gPPI signal and apathy. We found significant correlations between apathy and functional connectivity between the right ventral striatum and the right posterior cingulate cortex (r=0.40, p<.05) and right parietal cortex (r=0.39, p<.05).DiscussionOur preliminary results indicate that physiological changes in the ventral striatum lead to dysfunctional connectivity with a cortex-wide network, affecting both cortico-striatal-thalamic-cortical and cortico-striatal-thalamic-cerebellar pathways. In addition, we show that some of these changes are related to apathy levels. This work provides novel insights in cortico-striatal network dysfunction during reward processing in patients with schizophrenia.

The neural basis of hazard perception differences between novice and experienced drivers - An fMRI study.

The neural mechanisms underlying hazard perception are poorly understood as to how experience leads to better driving skills. In this study we used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to examine experience-related changes in brain activation during hazard perception task between novice and aged drivers. Additionally, region of interest (ROI) and seed-to-voxel analyses were conducted to examine experience-related functional connectivity changes during visual attention and saliency networks between novice (n=15, age 22.13 ± 3.38 years years) and experienced (n=16, age 41.44 ± 5.83 years) drivers. Experienced drivers had significantly lower hazard perception reaction time (1.32 ± 1.09 s) and miss rates (11.42 ± 8.36 %) compared to the novice (3.58 ± 1.45 s and 39.67 ± 15.72 %, respectively). Blood oxygen level dependent (BOLD) activation increased in occipital, parietal and frontal areas when executing hazard perception task in both groups. In general, during the task execution, experienced drivers showed greater activation in the occipital lobe, supramarginal gyrus (SMG), right anterior insular cortex (AIC), anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and cerebellar regions compared to the novice drivers indicating more efficient visual attention and decision-making process during hazard perception task. Seed based functional analyses during the hazard perception task revealed greater connectivity between the ACC and the entire salience network (visual attention network) in the experienced group. Additionally, ACC had higher functional connectivity with the right frontal eye field (FEF), bilateral intraparietal sulcus (IPS) and lateral occipital areas in the experienced group. Our results suggest that better hazard perception in the experienced drivers is due to increase in the activation of executive attention regions and higher functional connectivity between bilateral occipital cortices and salience network. In conclusion, better hazard perception is highly dependent on emotional awareness, perception of motion velocity, spatial representation of the environment and executing control.

Structural and Functional Brain Abnormalities in Misophonia

Misophonia is a newly described condition in which specific ordinary sounds provoke disproportionately strong negative affect. Since evidence for neurobiological abnormalities underlying misophonia is scarce, we tested whether misophonia patients differed from healthy controls in grey matter volumes and resting-state functional connectivity. We collected structural magnetic resonance imaging and resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging data from 24 misophonia patients and 25 matched controls. Compared to controls, voxel-based morphometry showed larger right amygdala volume in misophonia patients. Follow-up seed-based functional connectivity analysis of the amygdala showed a different pattern of connectivity with the cerebellum, driven by greater connectivity with the left amygdala. Additional data-driven independent component analysis showed greater connectivity within lateral occipital cortices and fusiform gyri in the ventral attention network. We propose that the amygdala enlargement may be associated with heightened emotional reactivity in misophonia. The higher connectivity between left amygdala and cerebellum might be linked to a tendency to exhibit reflex-like physical reactions to triggers. Higher attention network connectivity may reflect sensory enhancement of visual triggers or visual imagery related to trigger sounds. In sum, we found structural and functional abnormalities which implicate dysfunction of emotional and attentional systems in misophonia.

Effects of microbial transglutaminase on gel formation of frozen-stored longtail southern cod (Patagonotothen ramsayi) mince

The effects of addition of microbial transglutaminase (MTGase) on gel forming properties of frozen stored longtail southern cod mince (LSCM) were investigated at different incubation temperatures (35 °C, 40 °C, 45 °C, 50 °C). The results showed that frozen stored LSCM had poor gel-forming ability. With MTGase addition, the gel-forming ability of the LSCM was significantly improved, with the best performance obtained at 35 °C heating for 2 h. MTGase promoted myosin cross-linking, which led to an increase in gel strength. Circular dichroism analysis revealed that the myosin rod went through unfolding in two phases, at 30 °C and 38.5 °C, respectively. At 35 °C, myosin rod was only partially unfolded, with 40% helical structures remained which appeared to play critical roles in promoting intermolecular cross-linking. According to the scanning electron micrographs, the higher connectivity and lower porosity was correlated to the higher gel strength. This study showed that the effect of MTGase could be synergistically combined with proper selection of incubation temperature and time to improve gelation properties of fish mince products.

The Role of Hippocampal Functional Connectivity on Multisystem Subclinical Abnormalities in Schizophrenia.

Schizophrenia is associated with excess medical mortality: patients have an average life expectancy one to two decades shorter than the general population. This study investigates the relationship between aberrant hippocampal resting-state functional connectivity in schizophrenia and cumulative subclinical effects of chronic stress on metabolic, cardiovascular, and immune function using the allostatic load index. Cumulative stress was estimated using allostatic load total score (range, 0-13) in 46 patients with schizophrenia and 31 controls matched for age and sex (patients: age = 36.1 [13.7] years, sex = 32/14 male/female; controls: age = 35.5 [14.1], sex = 21/10 male/female). Hippocampal functional connectivity was assessed using resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging; hippocampal structural connectivity was assessed using fornix fractional anisotropy. Linear regression analysis was used a) to test the hypothesis that aberrant hippocampal resting-state functional connectivity in schizophrenia (identified in analysis of schizophrenia - control differences) is associated with elevated allostatic load scores in patients and b) to determine the association between fornix fractional anisotropy with allostatic load. In patients, higher allostatic load was significantly associated with reduced resting functional connectivity between the left hippocampus and right cingulate cortex and left precentral gyrus, but higher connectivity between the right hippocampus and left cerebellum lobe VI (corrected p values <. 05). In controls, reductions in both hippocampal structural connectivity and hippocampal-cingulate functional connectivity were associated with higher allostatic load scores. These findings support basic neuroscience evidence that cumulative stress and hippocampal function are closely connected and suggest that abnormal hippocampal functional communication in schizophrenia may be related to elevated multisystem subclinical medical issues in patients as indexed by allostatic load.

Quantitative electroencephalogram analysis of frontal cortex functional changes in patients with migraine.

The functional abnormality of brain areas accounting for the migraine remains to be elucidated. Most related studies have used functional magnetic resonance imaging to investigate brain areas involved in migraine. However, the results are heterogeneous. In this study, we used a convenient tool to explore the brain regions involved in migraine. In this study, 40 children with migraine and 40 sex- and age-matched health controls were enrolled, and electroencephalogram was used to explore the functional abnormal areas of migraine through electroencephalogram bands and low-resolution electromagnetic tomography analysis. The results revealed that spectrum edge frequency 50 in all electroencephalogram channels in patients with migraine were lower than those in controls. Significant differences were discovered over frontal areas. In addition, significantly higher current density over the frontopolar prefrontal cortex and orbitofrontal cortex and higher connectivity over the left prefrontal cortex were observed in patients with migraine. We suggest that functional disturbance of the prefrontal cortex may play a potential role in children with migraine, and that low-resolution electromagnetic tomography is a reliable and convenient tool for studying the functional disturbance of migraine.

Connectivity patterns between multiple allergen specific IgE antibodies and their association with severe asthma

Allergic sensitization is associated with severe asthma, but assessment of sensitization is not recommended by most guidelines. We hypothesized that patterns of IgE responses to multiple allergenic proteins differ between sensitized participants with mild/moderate and severe asthma. IgE to 112 allergenic molecules (components, c-sIgE) was measured using multiplex array among 509 adults and 140 school-age and 131 preschool children with asthma/wheeze from the Unbiased BIOmarkers for the PREDiction of respiratory diseases outcomes cohort, of whom 595 had severe disease. We applied clustering methods to identify co-occurrence patterns of components (component clusters) and patterns of sensitization among participants (sensitization clusters). Network analysis techniques explored the connectivity structure of c-sIgE, and differential network analysis looked for differences in c-sIgE interactions between severe and mild/moderate asthma. Four sensitization clusters were identified, but with no difference between disease severity groups. Similarly, component clusters were not associated with asthma severity. None of the c-sIgE were identified as associates of severe asthma. The key difference between school children and adults with mild/moderate compared with those with severe asthma was in the network of connections between c-sIgE. Participants with severe asthma had higher connectivity among components, but these connections were weaker. The mild/moderate network had fewer connections, but the connections were stronger. Connectivity between components with no structural homology tended to co-occur among participants with severe asthma. Results were independent from the different sample sizes of mild/moderate and severe groups. The patterns of interactions between IgE to multiple allergenic proteins are predictors of asthma severity among school children and adults with allergic asthma.

Industrial districts, urban areas or both? The location behaviour of foreign and domestic firms in an Italian manufacturing region

The present paper aims at exploring the location behaviour of manufacturing firms, according to their ownership: domestic firms (henceforth DOMs) and inward foreign direct investments (henceforth IFDIs). This issue is empirically addressed by using data on manufacturing IFDIs and on DOMs in Veneto (north-east Italy) from the Reprint, AIDA and ISTAT databases. Veneto is an industrial district region, specialized in the Made-in-Italy sectors, hosting a central metropolitan area (Padua) and attracting a high share of IFDIs. Geo-referenced mapping and econometric analysis (counterfactual) are developed to explore the location behaviour of the two groups of firms. In line with previous work, findings show that IFDIs are more likely to be located in areas close to the main urban centres, such as the metropolitan area of Padua, to exploit the advantages of complex environments and higher connectivity. However, they also tend to locate in district areas more often than their DOMs counterfactual, suggesting the objective of acquiring a system of specialized productive knowledge and skills developed within a district ecosystem, and hardly reproducible in other contexts.

Increased on-state cortico-mesencephalic functional connectivity in Parkinson disease with freezing of gait

BackgroundThe objective of this study was to evaluate ON-state resting state functional connectivity (FC) from the mesencephalic locomotor regions (MLR) to distributed sensorimotor cortical regions in patients with Freezing of Gait (FOG) and its association with gait performance. Methods54 individuals with PD were recruited for this study (50% of whom had FOG). All individuals received a resting state functional MRI in the ON state, and underwent a series of gait assessments during single and dual task conditions. FC with the MLR was calculated using a whole brain seed to voxel approach wherein the left and right MLR seeds were extracted from a published atlas. General linear regression was used to determine differences in connectivity between the individuals with (‘freezers’) and without (‘non-freezers’) FOG as well as the correlation between MLR connectivity and gait performance in the freezers. ResultsFreezers had significantly higher MLR connectivity to a network of sensorimotor regions compared to non-freezers. Additionally, among the freezers, higher FC with these regions was related to longer single-task and dual-task performance. There were no regions in which non-freezers had higher connectivity than freezers (p < 0.05, FWE corrected clusters for all analyses). ConclusionThese data support the hypothesis that freezers have significantly higher ON-state FC between the MLR and a network of cortical structures than non-freezers. Additionally, this elevated connectivity is directly related to worsening FOG severity. These data add to a theoretical foundation which suggests that cortical hyperconnectivity to the MLR is central to the underlying pathophysiology of FOG.