Individual Connections Research Articles

The effect of using group-averaged or individualized brain parcellations when investigating connectome dysfunction in psychosis.

Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) is widely used to investigate functional coupling (FC) disturbances in a range of clinical disorders. Most analyses performed to date have used group-based parcellations for defining regions of interest (ROIs), in which a single parcellation is applied to each brain. This approach neglects individual differences in brain functional organization and may inaccurately delineate the true borders of functional regions. These inaccuracies could inflate or underestimate group differences in case-control analyses. We investigated how individual differences in brain organization influence group comparisons of FC using psychosis as a case study, drawing on fMRI data in 121 early psychosis patients and 57 controls. We defined FC networks using either a group-based parcellation or an individually tailored variant of the same parcellation. Individualized parcellations yielded more functionally homogeneous ROIs than did group-based parcellations. At the level of individual connections, case-control FC differences were widespread, but the group-based parcellation identified approximately 7.7% more connections as dysfunctional than the individualized parcellation. When considering differences at the level of functional networks, the results from both parcellations converged. Our results suggest that a substantial fraction of dysconnectivity previously observed in psychosis may be driven by the parcellation method, rather than by a pathophysiological process related to psychosis.

Readiness to Face Death in Elderly in Nursing Homes, Indonesia

This qualitative research employs a phenomenological approach to investigate the readiness of elderly individuals to confront death. The study focuses on five elderly, aged 65 and above, residing in an elderly orphanage in Central Java, Indonesia. Data collection involved in-depth interviews guided by considerations of spiritual, social, psychological, and physical aspects. The analysis reveals multifaceted dimensions of psychological readiness among these elderly residents. The informants emphasize the importance of acknowledging the inevitability of death as a fundamental aspect of their life journey, providing them with a unique perspective on mortality. They find meaning in their lives, fostering a sense of fulfillment and completeness, and contemplate the possibility of an afterlife, which offers comfort and solace. Importantly, they express a remarkable lack of fear when facing death, demonstrating a profound acceptance and equanimity. Religious and spiritual practices, particularly worship, play a pivotal role in providing comfort and tranquility. This study's findings align with previous research and highlight the significance of life satisfaction, spirituality, and social connections in shaping elderly individuals' readiness to confront death. Additionally, physical well-being is recognized as a vital component of overall happiness in the context of aging. These insights shed light on the complex interplay of beliefs, meaning, and acceptance that contribute to the psychological readiness of elderly individuals to face the certainty of death. Keywords: Elderly, Death Readiness, Psychological Resilience

The role of ventral tegmental area in chronic stroke rehabilitation: an exploratory study.

The acknowledged role of external rewards in chronic stroke rehabilitation, offering positive reinforcement and motivation, has significantly contributed to patient engagement and perseverance. However, the exploration of self-reward's importance in this context remains limited. This study aims to investigate the functional connectivity of the ventral tegmental area (VTA), a key node in the brain's reward circuitry, during motor task-based rehabilitation and its correlation with the recovery process. Twelve right-handed healthy volunteers (4 men, 8 women, aged 57.4 ± 11.3 years) and twelve chronic stroke patients (5 men, 7 women, aged 48.1 ± 11.1 years) with clinically significant right-sided motor impairment (mean FM-UE score of 27.6 ± 8.7) participated. The analysis employed the CONN toolbox to assess the association between motor tasks and VTA connectivity using psychophysiological interaction (PPI). PPI analysis revealed motor-dependent changes in VTA connectivity, particularly with regions within the motor circuitry, cerebellum, and prefrontal cortex. Notably, stronger connectivity between the ipsilesional VTA and cerebellum was observed in healthy controls compared to chronic stroke patients, highlighting the importance of VTA-cerebellum interactions in motor function. Stroke patients' motor performance was associated with VTA modulation in areas related to both motor tasks and reward processing, emphasizing the role of self-reward processes in rehabilitation. Changes in VTA influence on motor circuitry were linked to improvements in motor performance resulting from rehabilitation. Our findings underscore the potential of neuroimaging techniques in quantifying and predicting rehabilitation outcomes by examining self-reward processes. The observed associations between VTA connectivity and motor performance in both healthy and stroke-affected individuals emphasize the role of psychological factors, particularly self-reward, in the rehabilitation process. This study contributes valuable insights into the intricate interplay between reward circuits and motor function, highlighting the importance of addressing psychological dimensions in neurorehabilitation strategies.

Small vessel disease burden and functional brain connectivity in mild cognitive impairment

BackgroundThe role of small vessel disease in the development of dementia is not yet completely understood. Functional brain connectivity has been shown to differ between individuals with and without cerebral small vessel disease. However, a comprehensive measure of small vessel disease quantifying the overall damage on the brain is not consistently used and studies using such measure in mild cognitive impairment individuals are missing. MethodFunctional brain connectivity differences were analyzed between mild cognitive impairment individuals with absent or low (n = 34) and high (n = 34) small vessel disease burden using data from the Parelsnoer Institute, a Dutch multicenter study. Small vessel disease was characterized using an ordinal scale considering: lacunes, microbleeds, perivascular spaces in the basal ganglia, and white matter hyperintensities. Resting state functional MRI data using 3 Tesla scanners was analyzed with group-independent component analysis using the CONN toolbox. ResultsFunctional connectivity between areas of the cerebellum and between the cerebellum and the thalamus and caudate nucleus was higher in the absent or low small vessel disease group compared to the high small vessel disease group. ConclusionThese findings might suggest that functional connectivity of mild cognitive impairment individuals with low or absent small vessel disease burden is more intact than in mild cognitive impairment individuals with high small vessel disease. These brain areas are mainly responsible for motor, attentional and executive functions, domains which in previous studies were found to be mostly associated with small vessel disease markers. Our results support findings on the involvement of the cerebellum in cognitive functioning.

Social Landscape Characterisation: a people-centred, place-based approach to inclusive and transparent heritage and landscape management

ABSTRACT Landscapes are composed of physical places, affording meaning-making and value creation from everyday heritage based on personal experiences, life histories, memories, traditions and heritage practices. Individually held values form the basis for attachment and connection between people and places. Place attachment develops into a sense of place, belonging and identity. Despite the Burra Charter and Faro Convention’s aspiration to include people in the assessment process, individual, subjective or emotional connections to place are often overlooked within heritage decision-making. When places are altered, neglected or damaged, such connections can be lost, and the quality of place diminished. Most changes to landscapes happen as part of the planning process, which is not currently able to account for individual connections but based on views expressed in the language of the Authorised Heritage Discourse (AHD). This paper presents a method to meaningfully integrate insider or individual knowledge into the framework of local planning and decision-making while at the same time addressing subtleties and fluidity of such personal views. The people and place-centred method of Social Landscape Characterisation collects, analyses and visualises invisible or hidden value communities based on the same meaning (category value) or location (place value) as shared values across wider landscapes.

Gut microbiota genus network reflects Alzheimer’s disease clinical stages

AbstractBackgroundBidirectional communication through the gut‐brain axis is fundamental to maintaining physiological functions. Imbalance in the intestinal microbial composition due to taxonomic or functional dysbiosis may be related to increased deposition of amyloid‐β plaques and tau tangles, which are the main hallmarks of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). We hypothesized that dysfunctional associations between the bacterial groups of the gut microbiota could be associated with AD clinical stages. Thus, we compared gut‐microbiota networks in cognitively unimpaired (CU), mild cognitive impaired (MCI), and AD dementia individuals.MethodsWe selected 16S rRNA gene sequencing data from fecal samples of CU, MCI and AD (n = 30, per group) available at NCBI repository (PRJNA489760). Individuals of both sexes aged between 57 and 73 years were included in the study. Adaptors were removed from the FASTQ files using the Trimmomatic tool for each sample and submitted to the DADA2 pipeline. Briefly, after filter and trimming, amplicon sequence variants (ASVs) were inferred using the dada function, taxonomic assignment was implemented using the SILVA resource and normalized by rarefaction without replacement. Afterward, normalized centered‐log ratio transformed abundance data were used to construct correlation networks between genus for CU, MCI, and AD.ResultsWe observed different correlation patterns between bacterial genera in CU, MCI, and AD. More especially, we found a progressive increase in network density toward AD clinical progression. Genus reportedly associated with cerebral amyloidosis and tau show few connections in the CU individuals (Figure 1A), which are increased in MCI (Figure 1B) and highly connected in AD (Figure 1C). Interestingly, we also noted that the opportunistic pathogen Escherichia_Shigella, strongly associated with AD pathology, was exclusively present in the AD network and showed a negative correlation with Faecalibacterium, a reportedly indicator of health.ConclusionMicrobial association networks at the genus level reflect different pathological stages of AD and could provide insights into preventive therapeutic strategies aiming to delay disease progression through the modulation of the gut microbiota.

Preliminary evidence that ketamine alters anterior cingulate resting-state functional connectivity in depressed individuals

Activity changes within the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) are implicated in the antidepressant effects of ketamine, but the ACC is cytoarchitectonically and functionally heterogeneous and ketamine’s effects may be subregion specific. In the context of a double-blind randomized placebo-controlled crossover trial investigating the clinical and resting-state fMRI effects of intravenous ketamine vs. placebo in patients with treatment resistant depression (TRD) vs. healthy volunteers (HV), we used seed-based resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC) analyses to determine differential changes in subgenual ACC (sgACC), perigenual ACC (pgACC) and dorsal ACC (dACC) rsFC two days post-infusion. Across cingulate subregions, ketamine differentially modulated rsFC to the right insula and anterior ventromedial prefrontal cortex, compared to placebo, in TRD vs. HV; changes to pgACC-insula connectivity correlated with improvements in depression scores. Post-hoc analysis of each cingulate subregion separately revealed differential modulation of sgACC-hippocampal, sgACC-vmPFC, pgACC-posterior cingulate, and dACC-supramarginal gyrus connectivity. By comparing rsFC changes following ketamine vs. placebo in the TRD group alone, we found that sgACC rsFC was most substantially modulated by ketamine vs. placebo. Changes to sgACC-pgACC, sgACC-ventral striatal, and sgACC-dACC connectivity correlated with improvements in anhedonia symptoms. This preliminary evidence suggests that accurate segmentation of the ACC is needed to understand the precise effects of ketamine’s antidepressant and anti-anhedonic action.

Longitudinal robustness of resting‐state functional connectivity signatures across different stages of the Alzheimer’s disease continuum

AbstractBackgroundA growing number of resting‐state fMRI (rs‐fMRI) studies report changes in network activity to be a frequent and often early pathological feature in many neurodegenerative conditions. The majority of studies have primarily focused on changes in group averages, failing to account for individual functional connectivity (FC) idiosyncrasies that have been shown to provide a unique identifier or “fingerprint” in healthy individuals (Finn et al., 2015). It thus remains unclear to what extent FC‐signatures are stable in the context of cognitive decline and Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) pathology (e.g., β‐amyloid [Aβ] and tau). We studied the robustness of subject‐specific FC in a longitudinal cohort covering the AD spectrum.Method275 participants with longitudinal rs‐fMRI data—baseline plus a follow up after approximately two‐years—were selected from the Swedish BioFINDER‐2 cohort, split into six groups: cognitively normal (CN) Aβ‐, subjective cognitive decline (SCD) Aβ‐, SCD Aβ+, mild cognitive decline (MCI) Aβ‐, MCI Aβ+, and AD Aβ+. FC matrices were derived from each subject rs‐fMRI session using the Schaefer cortical parcellation (200 and 400 ROIs), and consequently, a 275×275 identifiability matrix (IM) was derived; see Fig. 1B. For each subject, two fingerprinting measures were extracted from the IM: self identifiability (I‐self) and differential identifiability (I‐diff); see Fig.1B.ResultI‐self and I‐diff show varied distributions across the six groups, but values remain notably high even within the AD Aβ+ (Fig.2A). Both I‐self and I‐diff show significant differences between CN Aβ‐ and AD Aβ+ (Fig.2B). SCD Aβ‐ not only show a greater difference to AD Aβ+, but also to SCD Aβ+ and MCI Aβ+; see Fig.2B. Baseline tau‐PET was associated with I‐self (r = ‐0.1928,p = 0.0014) and to a lesser degree with I‐diff (r = ‐0.1293, p = 0.0334), whereas baseline MMSE was only found associated to I‐self (r = 0.1671,p = 0.0055); neither I‐self nor I‐diff were associated with age (Fig.3).ConclusionOur results suggest that resting‐state FC is mostly stable under cognitive decline and presence of AD pathology. FC was most notably differentiable for SCD Aβ‐, suggesting it as a potential signature to decipher underlying cognitive status and to predict likelihood of future conversion to AD.

Brain Biometrics of Steady-State Visual Evoked Potential Functional Networks

Brain biometrics, due to its unique confidentiality and concealment, has received the increasing attention of scientific researchers in recent years. It has shown that Steady-State Visual Evoked Potential (SSVEP) signals with a high signal-to-noise ratio and stable spectrum can be used as identification features. However, current studies rely on the extraction of features characterizing the activity of single brain regions, ignoring the functional coupling between different brain regions. In this study, we proposed a novel approach that considers the functional connectivity of SSVEP signals collected by different electrodes as practical biometric features. We investigated individual coherence connectivity and phase synchronization according to different visual stimulations in terms of frequency component analysis of different principal bands. Fifteen subjects were identified by the support vector machine, random forest, and k-nearest neighbor algorithm. The results show that distinctive features in SSVEP functional networks among individuals can achieve high precision identification (up to 98%). The obtained identification performance shows that SSVEP spectral coherence and phase synchronization have the potential for biometric applications.

Effects of sling exercises on pain, function, and corticomuscular functional connectivity in individuals with chronic low back pain- preliminary study.

Individuals with chronic low back pain (CLBP) exhibit altered brain function and trunk muscle activation. This study examined the effects of sling exercises on pain, function, and corticomuscular coherence (CMC) in healthy adults and individuals with CLBP. Eight individuals with CLBP and 15 healthy adults received sling exercise training for 6 weeks. Before and after training, participants performed two motor tasks: rapid arm lifts and repeated trunk flexion-extension tasks, and electromyography of the trunk muscles and electroencephalography of the sensorimotor cortex were recorded. Chi-squared test and Mann-Whitney U tests were used for between group comparison, and Wilcoxon signed-rank tests were used for pre- and post-training comparison. Spearman's Rank Correlation Coefficient (Rs) was used to identify for the relationship between motor performance and Corticomuscular coherence. Sling exercises significantly improved pain (median from 3 to 1, p = .01) and Oswestry Disability Index scores (median from 2.5 to 2, p = .03) in the CLBP group. During rapid arm lifts, individuals with CLBP showed lower beta CMC of the transverse abdominis and internal oblique (Tra/IO) (0.8 vs. 0.49, p = .01) and lumbar erector spinae (0.70 vs. 0.38, p = .04) than the control group at baseline. During trunk flexion-extension, the CLBP group showed higher gamma CMC of the left Tra/IO than the control group at baseline (0.28 vs. 0.16 , p = .001). After training, all CMC became statistically non-significant between groups. The training induced improvement in anticipatory activation of the Tra/IO was positively correlated with the beta CMC (rs = 0.7851, p = .02). A 6-week sling exercises diminished pain and disability in patients with CLBP and improved the anticipatory activation and CMC in some trunk muscles. These improvements were associated with training induced changes in corticomuscular connectivity in individuals with CLBP.

A prospective survey to ascertain the symptoms, health issues and subsequent otc mediction usage during menstruation among college students

Up to 14 days before your period begins, you might see bulging, Migraines, temperament swings, or other physical and enthusiastic changes. These Month to month side effects are known as premenstrual disorder, or PMS. Around 85% of ladies experience some level of PMS. A couple have more serious. Manifestations that disturb work or individual connections, known as premenstrual Dysphoric problem (PMDD). The etiology of these disorders remains uncertain, Research suggests that altered regulation of neurohormones and neurotransmitters is involved. Study Site: college students studying in Nirmala College of pharmacy Muvattupuzha. Design: The study will be done as an online survey using Google form. The Developed questionnaire consists of knowledge of premenstrual syndrome, Quality of Life, Medication. Conclusion: Premenstrual syndrome and premenstrual dysphoric disorder are Complex but highly treatable disorder and can improved by providing patient education on Premenstrual symptoms and counseling women on lifestyle interventions.

Cross-cultural Communication Strategies for Enhancing Customer Satisfaction in the Travel and Tourism Industry

The travel and tourism sector serves as a global phenomenon that facilitates the connection of individuals from various cultural backgrounds. In order to optimize customer satisfaction within this particular market, it is imperative to possess a comprehensive understanding and genuine appreciation for the cultural variances exhibited by customers. The implementation of cross-cultural communication tactics has the potential to mitigate these disparities and augment client contentment through the establishment of an inviting and all-encompassing atmosphere. The tactics encompass cultural competence training for employees, provision of multi-lingual support, dissemination of information regarding local customs and traditions, and adjustment of communication styles to align with the cultural preferences of customers. Through the implementation of efficient cross-cultural communication techniques, the travel and tourism sector have the potential to enhance customer satisfaction and cultivate favorable relationships with clients hailing from various cultural backgrounds.

Frontoparietal functional connectivity moderates the link between time spent on social media and subsequent negative affect in daily life

Evidence on the harms and benefits of social media use is mixed, in part because the effects of social media on well-being depend on a variety of individual difference moderators. Here, we explored potential neural moderators of the link between time spent on social media and subsequent negative affect. We specifically focused on the strength of correlation among brain regions within the frontoparietal system, previously associated with the top-down cognitive control of attention and emotion. Participants (N = 54) underwent a resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging scan. Participants then completed 28 days of ecological momentary assessment and answered questions about social media use and negative affect, twice a day. Participants who spent more than their typical amount of time on social media since the previous time point reported feeling more negative at the present moment. This within-person temporal association between social media use and negative affect was mainly driven by individuals with lower resting state functional connectivity within the frontoparietal system. By contrast, time spent on social media did not predict subsequent affect for individuals with higher frontoparietal functional connectivity. Our results highlight the moderating role of individual functional neural connectivity in the relationship between social media and affect.

Individual resting-state network functional connectivity predicts treatment improvement of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation in major depressive disorder: A pilot study

The current pilot study aimed to exploratively investigate whether individual functional connectivity (FC) of the rTMS stimulation site with resting-state networks could predict the individual efficacy of rTMS treatment. We found that rTMS induced an increase of the FC between the stimulation site and the limbic network (LN) in healthy participants, and that this individualized FC was negatively correlated with the rTMS treatment improvement in MDD patients. Moreover, the LN successfully guided the personalized rTMS therapy. These findings highlighted the crucial role of the LN in understanding the mechanisms underlying rTMS treatment improvement, and the personalized therapy in MDD patients.

Regional cerebral metabolism alterations and functional connectivity in individuals with opioid use disorder: An integrated resting-state PET/fMRI study

Individuals with opioid use disorder (OUD) have been reported to show abnormal brain metabolism and impaired coupling among brain networks such as the default mode network (DMN), salience network (SN), and executive control network (ECN). However, the characteristics of brain glucose metabolism and its related functions in the brain networks in individuals with OUD remain unknown. Thirty-six individuals with OUD and thirty matched healthy controls (HCs) were recruited in this integrated positron emission tomography/magnetic resonance imaging (PET/MRI) study. Differences in glucose metabolism were analyzed by using 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (18F-FDG), and the corresponding coupling characteristics of the individuals with OUD were also analyzed. The individuals with OUD showed widespread bilateral hypometabolism in the middle temporal gyrus (MTG), superior temporal gyrus, angular gyrus, supramarginal gyrus, inferior parietal lobe, Rolandic operculum, and left insula, but obvious hypermetabolism in the brainstem and left cerebellum. Meanwhile, in individuals with OUD, the hypometabolism of right MTG which is included in the DMN was accompanied by decreased coupling with the left superior frontal gyrus and right superior parietal gyrus which are included in the ECN. Furthermore, individuals with OUD showed a positive correlation between the duration of heroin use and glucose metabolism of the left MTG. The individuals with OUD were characterized by widespread bilateral hypometabolism in the temporal and parietal regions but obvious hypermetabolism in the brainstem and left cerebellum. The results suggest that the hypometabolism in the temporal and parietal regions might be related to DMN dysfunction and the hypermetabolism in the brainstem and left cerebellum may be compensate for other brain regions showing hypometabolism. In particular, hypometabolism in the self-referential-related DMN regions in OUD might attenuate their relationships with the inhibitory-control-related ECN regions. These findings highlight the importance of evaluating the metabolic and functional profiles of the right MTG in future studies on the treatment of OUD.

Culling‐induced perturbation of social networks of wild geese reinforces rather than disrupts associations among survivors

Abstract Wildlife populations may be the subject of management interventions for disease control that can have unintended, counterproductive effects. Social structure exerts a strong influence over infectious disease transmission in addition to other characteristics of populations such as size and density that are the primary target for disease control. Social network approaches have been widely used to understand disease transmission in wildlife but rarely in the context of perturbations, such as culling, despite the likely impacts of such disturbance on social structure and disease dynamics. Here we present a ‘removal’ study of a free‐living population of resident Canada geese Branta canadensis, a highly social species that is frequently managed by culling and can carry pathogens relevant to human and domestic animal health. We quantified social network structure and spatial behaviour before and after controlled culling of individuals during the summer moult. Culling did not substantially increase individual social connectivity. Individuals that moulted at cull sites or were formerly strongly associated with removed birds were more likely to strengthen and maintain any surviving existing associations while also forming new associations. However, the establishment of new associations was largely compensatory (with only small increases in the number and strength of connections) and occurred locally. Synthesis and applications: Geese that survived the cull responded by strengthening existing social relationships and forming new, compensatory relationships with birds local to them in the network. In the short term, such compensatory adjustments to patterns of association in response to culling could facilitate pathogen transmission. But in the longer term, controlled culling of geese is unlikely to strongly influence pathogen spread and may even slow transmission into new social clusters by reducing wider mixing. When managing wildlife for disease control, in addition to changes in social network structure the prevalence of infection at the time of the cull and the mode of transmission (e.g. direct vs. environmental) will also be critical determinants of disease transmission risk in perturbed populations of geese and other wild animals.

Midlife physical activity engagement is associated with later-life brain health

The relationship between midlife physical activity (PA), and cognition and brain health in later life is poorly understood with conflicting results from previous research. Investigating the contribution of midlife PA to later-life cognition and brain health in high-risk populations will propel the development of health guidance for those most in need. The current study examined the association between midlife PA engagement and later-life cognition, grey matter characteristics and resting-state functional connectivity in older individuals at high-risk for Alzheimer’s disease. The association between midlife PA and later-life cognitive function was not significant but was moderated by later-life PA. Meanwhile, greater midlife moderate-to-vigorous PA was associated with greater grey matter surface area in the left middle frontal gyrus. Moreover, greater midlife total PA was associated with diminished functional connectivity between bilateral middle frontal gyri and middle cingulum, supplementary motor areas, and greater functional connectivity between bilateral hippocampi and right cerebellum, Crus II. These results indicate the potentially independent contribution of midlife PA to later-life brain health.

Cost optimization model design of fresh food cold chain system in the context of big data

The assessment of cold chain logistics for fresh products can be more precise with high-dimensional information data, providing valuable insights for the optimization of associated costs. Nonetheless, traditional data processing techniques fail to meet the processing efficiency required for such high-dimensional cold chain logistics data. Therefore, this paper proposes a spectral clustering algorithm based on the local standard deviation and optimized initial center, which comprehensively analyzes the fixed, transportation, refrigeration, and cargo damage costs of cold chain logistics. Additionally, this algorithm includes a variation operator based on clustering and introduces a large neighborhood search mechanism for optimizing the individual connectivity gene layer after selecting the gene layer site for variation. Simulation results demonstrate that the proposed algorithm exhibits better convergence in 15 iterations, reduces error rates, and significantly cuts down on the clustering process time. This ultimately leads to a reduction in the total cost of cold chain calculation.

Effects of European Union membership on the bibliometric indicators of Croatia’s research in the field of clinical medicine

Background: After the fall of communism, post-communist Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries struggled to advance to the level of Western European countries of similar sizes, both in quality and quantity of their publication performance. (Gui et al., 2019; Hu & Zhang, 2017; Jurajda et al., 2017) The same may apply to the field of medicine, where CEE countries still function on the basis of individual work and personal connections, with few publications in higher impact journals. (Jovanovic et al., n.d.) Being a researcher in a country with lower research performance has an effect on the extent of publication and the development of international collaborations. (Pina et al., 2019) Entering the European Union has made some difference in that field, as shown in the example of Malta and several other countries. (Makkonen & Mitze, 2016; McMillan et al., 2016)Aim: Our aim is to test the hypothesis that the quantity and quality of publications by Croatian authors in the field of clinical medicine have increased after Croatia’s accession to the EU.Methods: Bibliometric data for publications indexed in Web of Science Core Collection (WoSCC) and Scopus, and authored or co-authored by researchers with Croatian affiliations in clinical medicine were collected via the inbuilt export for two time periods: 2005-2013 and 2014-2022. Additional data will be collected through automated data extraction using Python, WoSAPI and ScopusAPI.The study sample was all publications with a Croatian affiliation indexed in WoSCC (n=113,695) and Scopus (n=122,932) at the time of the data extraction for the period between 2005 and 2022. Minimal sample size with the desired precision of estimate of 0.05 and confidence level of 95% was estimated at 385. However, we aimed to include all publications with a Croatian affiliation in clinical medicine in both databases.A list of all possible names for all types and forms of organizations dealing in clinical medicine was compiled using public domain records and lists, especially the list of registered subjects, provided by the government and public, government-run institutions. Names that shared the same relevant words, such as hospital, were grouped under a single term. Terms were then truncated to include all possible and relevant variants, e.g. hosp* for hospital, hospitals, hospice and hospices. Truncated terms, which included terms with two or more truncated and non-truncated words, were connected using a Boolean operator OR and put in brackets. Brackets were further combined to include only the results with Croatia in the affiliation, retrieving only works with a Croatian affiliation in the field of clinical medicine.The indicators that will be compared are author count, publication count, and citation count. An interrupted time-series analysis will be performed according to the Cochrane Effective Practice and Organisation of Care (EPOC) Resources for Review Authors. (Cochrane EPOC, 2017) The analysis will calculate pre- and post-intervention (membership in EU) coefficients and change in the slope of the annual value of indices, which may indicate if the intervention observed had an actual impact on possible changes. Additionally, the percentage of journal articles and reviews in all types of publications may indicate an increase in the quality of publications before and after Croatia accession to the EU.Expected results: We expect our analysis to show a positive correlation between the EU membership and quantity and quality of publications by Croatian authors in the field of clinical medicine, regardless of other influencing factors such as funding. We plan to have the results by the end of August 2023.Conclusions: The positive impact of EU membership on a small country’s quantity and perceived quality of publications may help Croatia’s decision-makers when deciding on joining other such communities, as well as decision-makers in similar countries considering EU membership. In addition, it might instigate others to conduct similar studies to see the full impact that formal international relations may have on science and scientific production.

EEG microstate analysis reveals large-scale brain network alterations in depressed adolescents with suicidal ideation

BackgroundAccumulating evidence showed abnormalities in brain network connectivity in depressive individuals with suicidal ideation (SI). We aimed to investigate the large-scale brain network dynamics in adolescents with SI and major depressive disorder (MDD). MethodsWe recruited 47 first-episode drug-naïve adolescents with MDD and SI, 26 depressed adolescents without SI (noSI), and 26 age-matched healthy controls (HC). The Columbia Suicidal Ideation Severity Scale (C-SSRS) was utilized to assess suicide ideation. We acquired 64-channel resting-state EEG recordings from all subjects and used microstate analysis to investigate the large-scale brain network dynamics. ResultsWe observed a significant reduction in the occurrence and coverage of microstate B within the SI group when contrasted with the noSI group. Conversely, there was a significant increase in the occurrence and coverage of microstate A in the SI group as compared to the HC group. Additionally, we observed heightened transition probabilities from microstates D and C to microstate A in the SI group; meanwhile, transitions from microstate D to B were more prevalent in the noSI group. Furthermore, the noSI group exhibited a significant decline in the transition probabilities from microstate D to microstate C. LimitationsThe cross-sectional nature limits the capacity to determine whether microstate dynamics have prognostic significance for SI. ConclusionWe provided evidence that depressed adolescents with SI have a distinct pattern in microstate dynamics compared to those without SI. These findings suggest that microstate dynamics might serve as a potential neurobiomarker for identifying SI in depressed adolescents.