Location-specific Changes Research Articles

An integrated global model of local urban development and population change

High resolution models are essential to assess the localised impacts of global environmental change. To enable the estimation of the impacts of location-specific change, this paper presents a new modelling approach that disaggregates scenario-based national-level urban population estimates derived from the often-applied Shared Socioeconomic Pathways (SSPs) to high-resolution spatial grid (30 arc sec) representations of urban area and local population. By combining high-resolution spatial data, a sophisticated statistics-based calibration approach and a computationally efficient modelling framework, we can coherently describe local changes in urban area and population across the globe. Both developments are modelled simultaneously using the same scenario assumptions, but divergent patterns are shown to arise when, for example, population decline coincides with decreasing densities that yield an increase in urban area. The model can be applied in integrated global assessment studies focused on trends in local exposure to natural hazards or environmental impacts of urban change. The improved resolution of this new model is crucial to assess the impacts of future population growth in developing regions where most of the planet's biodiversity concentrates near large populations that live in clusters of smaller urban areas previously not captured by coarser resolution models.

Impact of climate change on coastal water quality and its interaction with pollution prevention efforts

The impact of climate change on nearshore coastal water quality and its interaction with pollution prevention efforts (e.g., the development of green and gray water infrastructure) still lack systematic investigation. This study performed a holistic analysis of the impact of climate change on the salinity and concentrations of total nitrogen (TN), total phosphorus (TP) and chlorophyll a (Chl.a) in Shenzhen Bay between Shenzhen and Hong Kong, the two most developed megacities in South China, based on three-dimensional hydrodynamic and water quality modeling. The major study findings were as follows. First, Chl.a was the most sensitive parameter, and its bay-wide average concentration in 2100 was predicted to be approximately 13% and 46% higher than those in 2015 under mild and rapid climate change scenarios, respectively. Second, sea level rise was found to be a major driver of all four water quality parameters, while temperature and radiation mainly influenced Chl.a and precipitation mainly influenced nutrients. Third, water quality responses to climate change were highly heterogeneous over the bay. Even under a mild climate change scenario, the highest location-specific changes (2100 vs. 2015) in salinity and TN, TP and Chl.a concentrations were projected to be approximately 21%, 19%, 25%, and 65%, respectively. Fourth, changes in seasonal variation due to climate change may lead to an enhanced ecological risk of algal blooms. Finally, the effect of reducing TN and TP concentrations by proposed water infrastructure development was found to be significantly weakened (nearly 40% and 20% for TN and TP, respectively, under a mild climate change scenario), while the negative effect (i.e., increase in the Chl.a concentration) was notably accelerated. Regional cooperation is critical for protecting the water quality of the bay, particularly under climate change. The insights obtained in this study are applicable to other coastal water zones around the world with similar socioeconomic backgrounds and climatic conditions.

Burst activity plays no role in the field-to-field variability and rate remapping of grid cells.

Grid cells in rodent medial entorhinal cortex are thought to play a key role for spatial navigation. When the animal is freely moving in an open arena the firing fields of each grid cell tend to form a highly regular, hexagonal lattice spanning the environment. However, firing rates vary from field to field and change under contextual modifications, whereas the field locations shift at most by a small amount under such "rate remapping." The observed differences in firing rate could reflect overall activity changes or changes in the detailed spike-train statistics. As these two alternatives imply distinct neural coding schemes, we investigated whether temporal firing patterns vary from field to field and whether they change under rate remapping. Focusing on short time scales, we found that the proportion of bursts compared to all discharge events is similar in all firing fields of a given grid cell and does not change under rate remapping. For each cell, mean firing rates with bursts are proportional to mean firing rates without bursts. However, this ratio varies across cells. Additionally, we looked at how rate remapping relates to entorhinal theta-frequency oscillations. Theta-phase coding was preserved despite firing-rate changes from rate remapping but we did not observe differences between the first and second half of the theta cycle, as had been reported for CA1. Our results indicate that both, the heterogeneity between firing fields and rate remapping, are not due to altered firing patterns on short time scales but reflect location-specific changes at the firing-rate level.

Differences in adolescent activity and dietary behaviors across home, school, and other locations warrant location-specific intervention approaches

BackgroundInvestigation of physical activity and dietary behaviors across locations can inform “setting-specific” health behavior interventions and improve understanding of contextual vulnerabilities to poor health. This study examined how physical activity, sedentary time, and dietary behaviors differed across home, school, and other locations in young adolescents.MethodsParticipants were adolescents aged 12–16 years from the Baltimore-Washington, DC and the Seattle areas from a larger cross-sectional study. Participants (n = 472) wore an accelerometer and Global Positioning Systems (GPS) tracker (Mean days = 5.12, SD = 1.62) to collect location-based physical activity and sedentary data. Participants (n = 789) completed 24-h dietary recalls to assess dietary behaviors and eating locations. Spatial analyses were performed to classify daily physical activity, sedentary time patterns, and dietary behaviors by location, categorized as home, school, and “other” locations.ResultsAdolescents were least physically active at home (2.5 min/hour of wear time) and school (2.9 min/hour of wear time) compared to “other” locations (5.9 min/hour of wear time). Participants spent a slightly greater proportion of wear time in sedentary time when at school (41 min/hour of wear time) than at home (39 min/hour of wear time), and time in bouts lasting ≥30 min (10 min/hour of wear time) and mean sedentary bout duration (5 min) were highest at school. About 61% of daily energy intake occurred at home, 25% at school, and 14% at “other” locations. Proportionately to energy intake, daily added sugar intake (5 g/100 kcal), fruits and vegetables (0.16 servings/100 kcal), high calorie beverages (0.09 beverages/100 kcal), whole grains (0.04 servings/100 kcal), grams of fiber (0.65 g/100 kcal), and calories of fat (33 kcal/100 kcal) and saturated fat (12 kcal/100 kcal) consumed were nutritionally least favorable at “other” locations. Daily sweet and savory snacks consumed was highest at school (0.14 snacks/100 kcal).ConclusionsAdolescents’ health behaviors differed based on the location/environment they were in. Although dietary behaviors were generally more favorable in the home and school locations, physical activity was generally low and sedentary time was higher in these locations. Health behavior interventions that address the multiple locations in which adolescents spend time and use location-specific behavior change strategies should be explored to optimize health behaviors in each location.

Salmonella enterica Serovar Typhimurium Temporally Modulates the Enteric Microbiota and Host Responses To Overcome Colonization Resistance in Swine.

Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium is a prevalent incitant of enteritis in human beings and nonhuman animals. It has been proposed that host defense responses incited by Salmonella allow the bacterium to overcome colonization resistance. Piglets (n = 24) were orally inoculated with S. enterica serovar Typhimurium DT104 or buffer alone, and the host and microbial responses were temporally examined at the acute (2 days postinoculation [dpi]), subacute (6 dpi), and recovery (10 dpi) stages of salmonellosis. At the acute stage of disease, body temperatures were elevated, and feed consumption and weight gain were reduced. The densities of Salmonella associated with the gut mucosa decreased over time, with higher densities of the bacterium in the ileum and the large intestine. Moreover, substantive histopathological changes were observed as a function of time, with prominent epithelial injury and neutrophil infiltration observed at 2 dpi. Correspondingly, a variety of host metrics were temporally affected in piglets with salmonellosis (e.g., TNFα, IFNγ, PR39, βD2, iNOS, IL8, REGIIIγ). The enteric microbiota was characterized using culture-independent and -dependent methods in concert, and taxon- and location-specific changes to the microbiota were observed in infected piglets. Bacteroides spp. (e.g., Bacteroides uniformis, Bacteroides fragilis), Streptococcus spp. (e.g., Streptococcus gallolyticus), and various Gammaproteobacteria were highly associated with inflamed tissues, while bacteria within the Ruminococcaceae and Veillonellaceae families were mainly associated with healthy mucosae. In conclusion, the study findings showed that S Typhimurium incited temporal and spatial modifications to the swine autochthonous microbiota, and to host defense responses, that were consistent with overcoming colonization resistance to incite salmonellosis in swine.IMPORTANCE Limited information is available on host and enteric microbiota responses incited by Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium in swine and on possible mechanisms by which the bacterium overcomes colonization resistance to incite salmonellosis. Temporal characterization of a variety of host metrics in piglets (e.g., physiological, histopathological, and immunological) showed the importance of studying the progression of salmonellosis. A number of host responses integrally associated with disease development were identified. Utilization of next-generation sequence analysis to characterize the enteric microbiota was found to lack sufficient resolution; however, culture-dependent and -independent methods in combination identified taxon- and location-specific changes to bacterial communities in infected piglets. The study identified bacterial and host responses associated with salmonellosis, which will be beneficial in understanding colonization resistance and in the development of effective alternatives to antibiotics to mitigate salmonellosis.

Neural Activity Across the Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortex and Risk for Suicidal Ideation and Self-Injury

The current study investigated the neural correlates of non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) and suicidal ideation across the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. Two-hundred ninety-six undergraduates solved anagram tasks while being monitored by a functional near-infrared spectroscopy device, and completed a questionnaire assessing behaviors and symptoms. Repeated measures analysis of variance revealed location-specific changes in neural activity based on NSSI, suicidal ideation, task type, and cognitive demand. The presence of suicidal ideation was associated with specific patterns of neural activity, modified by sex and task type. Interestingly, participants who engaged in NSSI exhibited some deactivation of the dlPFC when faced with more difficult cognitive challenges. Future research on these processes may allow for noninvasive imaging techniques to help screen risk for suicidality and NSSI.

Longitudinal changes in location-specific cartilage thickness and T2 relaxation-times after posterior cruciate ligament reconstruction for isolated and multiligament injury

BackgroundKnee cartilage undergoes pathological changes after anterior cruciate ligament rupture. However, little is known about the development and progression of structural pathology after posterior cruciate ligament (PCL) injury. This study aimed to determine the location-specific longitudinal changes in knee cartilage morphology (thickness) and composition (T2 relaxation-times) after PCL rupture and reconstruction (PCLR) and compare these to uninjured controls. MethodsFifteen adults (mean age 39 years (standard deviation 10), 12 men) with PCLR for isolated and multiligment injury had MRIs acquired at a minimum 5 years post-PCLR and 1 year later. Location-specific changes in knee cartilage thickness and T2 relaxation-times were determined quantitatively after segmentation, and compared with annualised cartilage changes in 13 active controls (mean age 45 years (standard deviation 4), 6 men). FindingsFollowing PCLR, the annual loss of cartilage thickness was greatest in the medial femoral condyle (mean −4.0%, 95% confidence interval [95% CI] −6.7, −1.4), medial tibia (mean −3.7%, 95% CI −6.1, −1.3), and patella (mean −3.2%, 95% CI −4.7, −1.6). In the medial femoral condyle and trochlea, the PCLR group lost significantly more cartilage thickness than uninjured controls (mean difference −3.7%, 95% CI −0.9, −6.5; and −1.8%, 95% CI −0.1, −3.6, respectively). Deep and superficial zone T2 relaxation-times were relatively constant over time, without longitudinal differences between PCLR and control knees. InterpretationPCL reconstructed knees displayed substantially greater rates of cartilage loss in the medial tibiofemoral and patellofemoral compartments compared to uninjured controls, highlighting that the process of degeneration remains active many years after injury.

Identifying Vulnerable Brain Networks in Mouse Models of Genetic Risk Factors for Late Onset Alzheimer's Disease.

The major genetic risk for late onset Alzheimer’s disease has been associated with the presence of APOE4 alleles. However, the impact of different APOE alleles on the brain aging trajectory, and how they interact with the brain local environment in a sex specific manner is not entirely clear. We sought to identify vulnerable brain circuits in novel mouse models with homozygous targeted replacement of the mouse ApoE gene with either human APOE3 or APOE4 gene alleles. These genes are expressed in mice that also model the human immune response to age and disease-associated challenges by expressing the human NOS2 gene in place of the mouse mNos2 gene. These mice had impaired learning and memory when assessed with the Morris water maze (MWM) and novel object recognition (NOR) tests. Ex vivo MRI-DTI analyses revealed global and local atrophy, and areas of reduced fractional anisotropy (FA). Using tensor network principal component analyses for structural connectomes, we inferred the pairwise connections which best separate APOE4 from APOE3 carriers. These involved primarily interhemispheric connections among regions of olfactory areas, the hippocampus, and the cerebellum. Our results also suggest that pairwise connections may be subdivided and clustered spatially to reveal local changes on a finer scale. These analyses revealed not just genotype, but also sex specific differences. Identifying vulnerable networks may provide targets for interventions, and a means to stratify patients.

Nucleotide ecto-enzyme metabolic pattern and spatial distribution in calcific aortic valve disease; its relation to pathological changes and clinical presentation

BackgroundExtracellular nucleotide metabolism contributes to chronic inflammation, cell differentiation, and tissue mineralization by controlling nucleotide and adenosine concentrations and hence its purinergic effects. This study investigated location-specific changes of extracellular nucleotide metabolism in aortic valves of patients with calcific aortic valve disease (CAVD). Individual ecto-enzymes and adenosine receptors involved were analyzed together with correlation with CAVD severity and risk factors.ResultsNucleotide and adenosine degradation rates were adversely modified on the aortic surface of stenotic valve as compared to ventricular side, including decreased ATP removal (1.25 ± 0.35 vs. 2.24 ± 0.61 nmol/min/cm2) and adenosine production (1.32 ± 0.12 vs. 2.49 ± 0.28 nmol/min/cm2) as well as increased adenosine deamination (1.28 ± 0.31 vs. 0.67 ± 0.11 nmol/min/cm2). The rates of nucleotide to adenosine conversions were lower, while adenosine deamination was higher on the aortic sides of stenotic vs. non-stenotic valve. There were no differences in extracellular nucleotide metabolism between aortic and ventricular sides of non-stenotic valves. Furthermore, nucleotide degradation rates, measured on aortic side in CAVD (n = 62), negatively correlated with echocardiographic and biochemical parameters of disease severity (aortic jet velocity vs. ATP hydrolysis: r = − 0.30, p < 0.05; vs. AMP hydrolysis: r = − 0.44, p < 0.001; valvular phosphate concentration vs. ATP hydrolysis: r = − 0.26, p < 0.05; vs. AMP hydrolysis: r = − 0.25, p = 0.05) while adenosine deamination showed positive correlation trend with valvular phosphate deposits (r = 0.23, p = 0.07). Nucleotide and adenosine conversion rates also correlated with CAVD risk factors, including hyperlipidemia (AMP hydrolysis vs. serum LDL cholesterol: r = − 0.28, p = 0.05; adenosine deamination vs. total cholesterol: r = 0.25, p = 0.05; LDL cholesterol: r = 0.28, p < 0.05; triglycerides: r = 0.32, p < 0.05), hypertension (adenosine deamination vs. systolic blood pressure: r = 0.28, p < 0.05) and thrombosis (ATP hydrolysis vs. prothrombin time: r = − 0.35, p < 0.01). Functional assays as well as histological and immunofluorescence, flow cytometry and RT-PCR studies identified all major ecto-enzymes engaged in nucleotide metabolism in aortic valves that included ecto-nucleotidases, alkaline phosphatase, and ecto-adenosine deaminase. We have shown that changes in nucleotide-converting ecto-enzymes were derived from their altered activities on valve cells and immune cell infiltrate. We have also demonstrated a presence of A1, A2a and A2b adenosine receptors with diminished expression of A2a and A2b in stenotic vs. non-stenotic valves. Finally, we revealed that augmenting adenosine effects by blocking adenosine deamination with deoxycoformycin decreased aortic valve thickness and reduced markers of calcification via adenosine-dependent pathways in a mouse model of CAVD.ConclusionsThis work highlights profound changes in extracellular nucleotide and adenosine metabolism in CAVD. Altered extracellular nucleotide hydrolysis and degradation of adenosine in stenotic valves may affect purinergic responses to support a pro-stenotic milieu and valve calcification. This emphasizes a potential mechanism and target for prevention and therapy.Graphic abstract.

A spatially varying change points model for monitoring glaucoma progression using visual field data

Glaucoma disease progression, as measured by visual field (VF) data, is often defined by periods of relative stability followed by an abrupt decrease in visual ability at some point in time. Determining the transition point of the disease trajectory to a more severe state is important clinically for disease management and for avoiding irreversible vision loss. Based on this, we present a unified statistical modeling framework that permits prediction of the timing and spatial location of future vision loss and informs clinical decisions regarding disease progression. The developed method incorporates anatomical information to create a biologically plausible data-generating model. We accomplish this by introducing a spatially varying coefficients model that includes spatially varying change points to detect structural shifts in both the mean and variance process of VF data across both space and time. The VF location-specific change point represents the underlying, and potentially censored, timing of true change in disease trajectory while a multivariate spatial boundary detection structure is introduced that accounts for the complex spatial connectivity of the VF and optic disc. We show that our method improves estimation and prediction of multiple aspects of disease management in comparison to existing methods through simulation and real data application. The R package spCP implements the new methodology.

The effect of dietary carotenoid increase on painted turtle spot and stripe color.

Determination of how carotenoid-based color patches change with pigmentary access is important to understanding color patch function in animals. We performed a carotenoid addition experiment on male painted turtles (Chrysemys picta) to determine if an increase in dietary carotenoids led to location-specific changes in painted turtle spot and stripe color. Turtles fed large quantities of carotenoids had increased yellow chroma in chin stripes and increased red chroma in the neck and carapace stripes, as well as reduced ultraviolet (UV) chroma in the neck (orange to the human eye) and fore -limb (red to the human eye) stripes. Turtles fed large quantities of carotenoid had reduced brightness (B1) in the hind-limb stripes (red to the human eye) as well as reduced red and UV chroma in the post orbital spot of turtles (yellow to the human eye) compared to turtles fed moderate amounts of carotenoid. These results imply that integumentary spot and stripe colors are dependent upon carotenoid access, and increased lutein access leads to increased yellow and red chroma, as well as reduced ultra-violet chroma and brightness in male painted turtles. These results are discussed with respect to dietary access to carotenoids and color in other model systems, and the possibility that spot and stripe color functions as a visual signal.

Dynamic and diverse changes in the functional properties of vascular smooth muscle cells in pulmonary hypertension.

Pulmonary hypertension (PH) is the end result of interaction between pulmonary vascular tone and a complex series of cellular and molecular events termed 'vascular remodelling'. The remodelling process, which can involve the entirety of pulmonary arterial vasculature, almost universally involves medial thickening, driven by increased numbers and hypertrophy of its principal cellular constituent, smooth muscle cells (SMCs). It is noted, however that SMCs comprise heterogeneous populations of cells, which can exhibit markedly different proliferative, inflammatory, and extracellular matrix production changes during remodelling. We further consider that these functional changes in SMCs of different phenotype and their role in PH are dynamic and may undergo significant changes over time (which we will refer to as cellular plasticity); no single property can account for the complexity of the contribution of SMC to pulmonary vascular remodelling. Thus, the approaches used to pharmacologically manipulate PH by targeting the SMC phenotype(s) must take into account processes that underlie dominant phenotypes that drive the disease. We present evidence for time- and location-specific changes in SMC proliferation in various animal models of PH; we highlight the transient nature (rather than continuous) of SMC proliferation, emphasizing that the heterogenic SMC populations that reside in different locations along the pulmonary vascular tree exhibit distinct responses to the stresses associated with the development of PH. We also consider that cells that have often been termed 'SMCs' may arise from many origins, including endothelial cells, fibroblasts and resident or circulating progenitors, and thus may contribute via distinct signalling pathways to the remodelling process. Ultimately, PH is characterized by long-lived, apoptosis-resistant SMC. In line with this key pathogenic characteristic, we address the acquisition of a pro-inflammatory phenotype by SMC that is essential to the development of PH. We present evidence that metabolic alterations akin to those observed in cancer cells (cytoplasmic and mitochondrial) directly contribute to the phenotype of the SM and SM-like cells involved in PH. Finally, we raise the possibility that SMCs transition from a proliferative to a senescent, pro-inflammatory and metabolically active phenotype over time.

Lichenoid Dermatitis of the Vulva: Diagnosis and Differential Diagnosis for the Gynecologic Pathologist.

Inflammatory processes affecting the vulva may present a unique challenge due to location specific changes. Different factors are behind the intricacy in the presentation of vulvar dermatoses. First, the vulva is lined by different epithelia (hair-bearing keratinized epithelium, modified mucosa, and mucosa). Furthermore, among other factors, this organ is exposed to friction, occlusion, and trauma. Lastly, as there is a tendency to look for health care advice at an advanced stage of the disease, the lesion may be modified by secondary changes due to self-treatment. This article describes the clinical presentation and pathologic features of vulvar dermatoses with a lichenoid pattern and highlights practical points for their diagnoses.

The Impact of Road Development on Household Welfare in Rural Papua New Guinea

In this paper we estimate the impact of road development on household welfare in rural Papua New Guinea over the period between 1996 and 2010, using two cross-sectional household surveys and corresponding road maps. To deal with endogenous placement of road infrastructure programs we employ a correlated random effects model that corrects for location-specific changes in road quality. We also use a newly developed quantile regression method to investigate whether road works are pro-poor. Estimates show that investments in sealing roads to nearest towns led to higher consumption levels and housing quality, and to less reliance on subsistence farming. Effects are stronger among poor, less educated, and female-led households.

The chemical convergence and decomposer control hypotheses explain solid cattle manure decomposition in production grasslands

Recently, we reported for the first time that home field advantage (HFA) of litter decomposition also exists in agricultural production systems, in addition to earlier reports from natural ecosystems. Here, we provide evidence that adaptation of the soil decomposer community to differences in the chemical composition of solid cattle manure (SCM) explains the HFA. Two dairy farms were selected which differed in type of home-produced SCM (high-quality stacked or low-quality composted SCM) and soil type (sand or peat). Manure was exchanged between these two farms. Also, manure was incubated in fields of two neighbouring non-SCM farms. Using litterbags with three different mesh-sizes (125μm, 1.5mm, and 4mm), we investigated the contribution of microbiota, mesofauna and macrofauna, to SCM dry matter (DM) and nitrogen (N) disappearance after 60, 120 and 240days of litterbag placement. Home field advantage was estimated after accounting for effects related to structural differences in manure quality (quality index) and grassland soil biota communities (ability index). We found HFA in meso- (14–34%) and macro-mesh (19–31%) size litterbags. In micro-mesh litterbags, the HFA for dry matter and nitrogen disappearance was significant only after 120days (18 and 26%, respectively). With time, trends of initial increase and then decrease in HFA of both aforementioned parameters were observed, but these were not significant. The quality index indicated that the composted manure had a lower dry matter and nitrogen disappearance rate compared to the stacked manure, irrespective of the location of incubation. The difference between the two manure types for N disappearance had vanished at day 240. Also, the chemical composition of the manure that remained in the litterbags changed over time. After 120days, the C:N ratio of SCM at home was significantly higher compared to the translocated SCM (P<0.01), an indication of a higher N-use efficiency of the home soil biota communities. After 240days, no such differences in C:N ratio were observed, thus suggesting chemical convergence of SCM quality with time. Given the soil biota size-class dependent effects and location-specific changes of substrate quality with time, our findings support both the decomposer-control and chemical-convergence hypotheses. However, chemical convergence did not result in a significant reduction of the HFA. Furthermore, the location-specific temporal changes in the chemical composition of SCM indicated that the fertilisation management, which drives soil biota communities and their functions, regulates N-use efficiency in production grasslands.

Import Competition and Internal Migration

We examine the U.S. internal migration response to increased import competition following the granting of Permanent Normal Trade Relations to China in 2001. Using a range of data sets, we find that local labor markets most exposed to the policy change experienced a reduction in population growth over the following decade. The result is more pronounced among young individuals and men. Examining annual data on migration, we find that approximately 30% of the response takes place within one year of the shock, while the majority of the remaining effect occurs at a lag of 7 to 10 years. Population adjustments like those we find should influence the interpretation of evidence in the large and growing literature on the effects of import competition on local labor markets. Selective migration away from trade-shocked areas (consistent with our findings) alters local demographics so that measured location-specific changes before and after shocks can be explained by both compositional changes and direct effects of import competition on local residents.

Multifunctionality at what scale? A landscape multifunctionality assessment for the European Union under conditions of land use change

ContextThe provision of multiple ecosystem services (ES) within a landscape is commonly referred to as landscape multifunctionality. Modifying landscapes to increase multifunctionality and reduce trade-offs with concurrent services bears the potential to enhance sustainability in human-dominated landscapes. Assessing landscape multifunctionality is thus crucial for land management and planning, but lack of a clear definition and operationalization of multifunctionality impedes comparisons of different study results.ObjectivesWe want to address how elements of the study design affect results of multifunctionality assessments. Furthermore, we want to quantify future multifunctionality in the European Union (EU) and indicate the role of land use change and land use diversity on multifunctionality.MethodsWe analyzed diverging scenarios depicting land use change in the EU between 2000 and 2040 for their effects on landscape multifunctionality. We tested different multifunctionality indicators at various spatial scales based on the modelling of 12 ES and biodiversity indicators.ResultsParticularly the analysis scale determines the interpretation of landscape multifunctionality. Coldspots identified by different indicators are in higher agreement than hotspots. We could not confirm links between land use diversity and landscape multifunctionality. While, at EU scale, multifunctionality slightly increases in future scenarios, agricultural intensification and (peri-)urban growth pose large threats to multifunctional landscapes.ConclusionsThe choice of indicator and analysis scale strongly determine possible interpretations of the results. Rather than focusing on the impacts of land use change on multifunctionality, it is recommended to base land use policy on the impacts of location-specific change on ES supply and demands.

Longitudinal data on cortical thickness before and after working memory training.

The data and supplementary information provided in this article relate to our research article “Task complexity and location specific changes of cortical thickness in executive and salience networks after working memory training” (Metzler-Baddeley et al., 2016) [1]. We provide cortical thickness and subcortical volume data derived from parieto-frontal cortical regions and the basal ganglia with the FreeSurfer longitudinal analyses stream (http://surfer.nmr.mgh.harvard.edu [2]) before and after Cogmed working memory training (Cogmed and Cogmed Working Memory Training, 2012) [3]. This article also provides supplementary information to the research article, i.e., within-group comparisons between baseline and outcome cortical thickness and subcortical volume measures, between-group tests of performance changes in cognitive benchmark tests (www.cambridgebrainsciences.com [4]), correlation analyses between performance changes in benchmark tests and training-related structural changes, correlation analyses between the time spent training and structural changes, a scatterplot of the relationship between cortical thickness measures derived from the occipital lobe as control region and the chronological order of the MRI sessions to assess potential scanner drift effects and a post-hoc vertex-wise whole brain analysis with FreeSurfer Qdec (https://surfer.nmr.mgh.harvard.edu/fswiki/Qdec [5]).

Task complexity and location specific changes of cortical thickness in executive and salience networks after working memory training

Novel activities and experiences shape the brain's structure and organisation and, hence, our behaviour. However, evidence from structural plasticity studies remains mixed and the neural correlates of learning and practice are still poorly understood. We conducted a robustly designed study into grey matter plasticity following 2months of working memory training. We generated a priori hypotheses regarding the location of plastic effects across three cognitive control networks (executive, anterior salience and basal ganglia networks), and compared the effects of adaptive training (n=20) with a well-matched active control group (n=20) which differed in training complexity and included extensive cognitive assessment before and after the training. Adaptive training relative to control activities resulted in a complex pattern of subtle and localised structural changes: Training was associated with increases in cortical thickness in right-lateralised executive regions, notably the right caudal middle frontal cortex, as well as increases in the volume of the left pallidum. In addition the training group showed reductions of thickness in the right insula, which were correlated with training-induced improvements in backward digit span performance. Unexpectedly, control activities were associated with reductions in thickness in the right pars triangularis. These results suggest that the direction of activity-induced plastic changes depend on the level of training complexity as well as brain location. These observations are consistent with the view that the brain responds dynamically to environmental demands by focusing resources on task relevant networks and eliminating irrelevant processing for the purpose of energy reduction.

Phase-contrast magnetic resonance imaging for the evaluation of wall shear stress in the common carotid artery of a spontaneously hypertensive rat model at 7 T: Location-specific change, regional distribution along the vascular circumference, and reproducibility analysis

PurposeTo measure wall shear stress (WSS) in the common carotid arteries (CCA) of a spontaneously hypertensive rat (SHR) model and a normotensive Wistar Kyoto rat (WKY) model by 2D phase-contrast magnetic resonance imaging (PC-MRI). Materials and methodsPC-MRI was performed on 7 SHR and 7 WKY at ages of 4 and 7months at a 7T scanner. Images in the middle CCA (CCAmid) and in the bifurcation of CCA (CCAbifur) were acquired. The WSS values for differentiating characteristics between two models were calculated. Further, its location-specific change, regional distribution along the CCA circumference, and the reproducibility were evaluated. ResultsIn the 4-month-old rats, SHR showed lower temporal averaged WSS (WSSavg) and peak systolic WSS (WSSs) in the CCAbifur in comparison with WKY (WSSavg: 0.95±0.18 vs. 1.30±0.36N/m2 (P<0.01); WSSs: 1.68±0.70 vs. 3.22±2.49N/m2 (P<0.05)). We observed the same trends in the 7-month-old rats. In the SHR model, the WSSavg was lower in the CCAbifur than in the CCAmid. The regional distribution of WSSavg along the circumference of CCA showed lower values in WKY, particularly in posterior segments of CCAbifur. The intra-observer, intra-scan and inter-scan reproducibility was acceptable and the disagreements were ranged from −0.05 to 0.06N/m2. ConclusionThis study evaluated WSS in SHR and WKY models by 2D PC-MRI. High reproducibility analyses further indicated the reliability of measurements of WSS in the CCA of SHR and WKY models using PC-MRI at 7T.