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Text Hawk to 66866 to become part of "Mindful Monday." Join 10's of thousands of your fellow learning leaders and receive a carefully curated email from me each Monday morning to help you start your week off right... Full show notes at www.LearningLeader.com Twitter/IG: @RyanHawk12   https://twitter.com/RyanHawk12 Dr. Julie Gurner is a doctor of psychology and is a nationally recognized executive performance coach for individual and corporate clients primarily in finance and technology. Trusted by top percentile talent and their teams to help them achieve world-class performance in fast-paced, high-pressure, extremely competitive environments. She's been compared to Wendy Rhoades of "Billions" in The Wall Street Journal (2019), and named a “Game Changer” by IBM. Notes: High Standards: Holding a high bar is uncomfortable because it is "exclusionary," and most people want to make everyone around them happy & comfortable. If you hold a standard, it can't include everything... Figuring out your line & holding to it, will mean some tough conversations. “I think that there are two ways of looking at things that have happened to you. You can be a victim or you can be a survivor. Those are two very different cognitive positions." Balance: “People will tell you in books that you have to live a “balanced life,” but if we are completely honest, almost all great things are born from periods of imbalance.” Staying Small: A concept I believe, is that most people stay small, or don't go for what they truly want...because they believe that "imaginary rules" are true Be a Learner: The worst professionals, are the ones that stop learning the moment they graduate from school. And they are the majority. Being autodidactic - a self-learner - who also takes initiative, will have you in the top 10% of anything you take on. Goals: If your goals are "realistic," you are operating in a box. Check yourself. "If you want to be a game changer, you can't blend in." Know Yourself: When people are unable to commit to anything, it's because they don't know who they are. Shiny objects professionally (or personally) reflect a lack of certainty. When you get a genuine shot in the arm from what you do...of course, it's going to be hard to stop doing it. You're on fire. So many people are living their lives with the volume turned down. They don't get it. You don't have to live that way. Crank that energy up. "The people who rise aren't always the most talented or capable, but they are fueled by self-belief. Once you understand that, much of the business world makes sense." The difference between persistence and tenacious… persistent people stick to the plan to get to the goal. Tenacious people may change their plans altogether. A trait in the people who go on to do great things? Paul Graham defines it as being “relentlessly resourceful.” I see it all the time. Here's a practical zero-to-one process to be relentlessly resourceful, if you want to set yourself up for some big swings. Julie goes on a daily walk around her farm. She uses that walk to reflect, think, and be outside. It helps her synthesize information.  What makes a great executive coach? A sweet spot between talking and listening... A great executive coach gives their clients space to talk. They listen. They ask great follow-up questions. They help unlock people. They help them become multipliers.  How to deal with imposter syndrome? "You probably have the ability, but you're not understanding your own story." It's important to keep taking chances. To keep meeting the moment. Julie helps her clients tap in to and write their own stories. 

Link to bioRxiv paper: http://biorxiv.org/cgi/content/short/2023.04.17.537131v1?rss=1 Authors: Xu, Z.-H., An, N., Chang, J. R., Yang, Y.-L. Abstract: Objective: This study investigated the acute and follow-up exercise induced hypoalgesia (EIH) effects of treadmill running with various intensities and durations in healthy individuals, and evaluated the relation between the endogenous pain modulation and the EIH effects. Methods: A total of 66 healthy female individuals were enrolled in this study. Participants were randomly assigned into 3 intervention groups, and performed a running session at the intensity of 40% reserved heart rate (HRR), 55% HRR and 70% HRR for 35min. The EIH effects were evaluated by the changes of pressure pain thresholds (PPT) and pressure pain tolerance thresholds (PPTol) before running, every 5min during running and 5min, 10min, 24h follow-ups. And the conditioned pain modulation (CPM) was also measured to determine the changes of endogenous pain modulation functions. Results: Compared with baseline, there was a significant increase of PPT and PPTol at arm and leg in all groups during running and 5-10min follow-ups. The PPT and PPTol changes of moderate and low intensity groups were significantly higher than the high intensity group during running and 24h after running. While the CPM responses of high intensity group were significantly reduced compared with other groups at 24h follow-up. Conclusion: Moderate and low intensity running may trigger the endogenous descending inhibition and elicit EIH effects following running and persisting over 24h. While the high intensity running only induced limited EIH effects for the activation of both descending pain inhibition and facilitation, with reduced CPM at 24h follow-up. And the improvement of PPTol might also contributed by the reward circuit in the pain cognitive processing, and might be limited by the fatigue induced via high intensity running. Copy rights belong to original authors. Visit the link for more info Podcast created by Paper Player, LLC

Link to bioRxiv paper: http://biorxiv.org/cgi/content/short/2023.03.28.534567v1?rss=1 Authors: Zafeiropoulos, S., Ahmed, U., Mughrabi, I., Jayaprakash, N., Chadwick, C., Daytz, A., Bekiaridou, A., Saleknezhad, N., Atish-Fregoso, Y., Carroll, K., Giannakoulas, G., al-Abed, Y., Puleo, C., Nicolls, M. R., Diamond, B., Zanos, S. Abstract: Rationale: Chronic inflammation is pathogenically implicated in pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), however, it has not been adequately targeted therapeutically. Objectives: We investigated whether neuromodulation of an anti-inflammatory neuroimmune pathway using noninvasive, focused ultrasound stimulation of the spleen (sFUS) can improve experimental pulmonary hypertension (PH). Methods: PH was induced in rats by SU5416 (20 mg/kg SQ) injection, followed by 21 (or 35) days of hypoxia (10% FiO2). Animals were randomized to receive either daily, 12-min-long sessions of sFUS or sham-stimulation, for 14 days. Invasive hemodynamics, echocardiography, autonomic function parameters, lung and heart histology/immunohistochemistry, and lung single-cell-RNA sequencing were performed after treatment to assess effects of sFUS. Results: Compared to sham, sFUS treatment reduces right ventricular (RV) systolic pressure by 25-30%; it improves RV function and indices of autonomic function. sFUS treatment reduces wall thickness in small pulmonary arterioles, suppresses inflammatory cell infiltration in lungs and RV fibrosis and hypertrophy, and lowers serum levels of brain natriuretic peptide. Beneficial effects persist for weeks after sFUS treatment discontinuation and are more robust when treatment is initiated earlier and delivered for longer. Selective ablation of the splenic nerve abolishes the therapeutic benefits of sFUS. sFUS treatment downregulates several inflammatory genes and pathways in nonclassical and classical monocytes, and macrophages in the lung; differentially expressed genes in those cell types are significantly enriched for genes associated with human PAH. Conclusions: Noninvasive, sFUS treatment causes sustained improvement of hemodynamic, autonomic, laboratory and pathological manifestations of experimental PH, and downregulates inflammatory genes and pathways in the lung, many of which are relevant in human disease. Copy rights belong to original authors. Visit the link for more info Podcast created by Paper Player, LLC

Link to bioRxiv paper: http://biorxiv.org/cgi/content/short/2023.02.06.527402v1?rss=1 Authors: Yu, B. Abstract: Objective: To facilitate in vitro mechanistic studies in pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) and subsequent tubal factor infertility, as well as ovarian carcinogenesis, we sought to establish patient tissue derived fallopian tube (FT) organoids and to study their inflammatory response to acute vaginal bacterial infection. Design: Experimental study. Setting: Academic medical and research center. Patients: FT tissues were obtained from four patients after salpingectomy for benign gynecological diseases. Interventions: We introduced acute infection in the FT organoid culture system by inoculating the organoid culture media with two common vaginal bacterial species, Lactobacillus crispatus and Fannyhessea vaginae. Main Outcome Measures: The inflammatory response elicited in the organoids after acute bacterial infection was analyzed by the expression profile of 249 inflammatory genes. Results: Compared to the negative controls that were not cultured with any bacteria, the organoids cultured with either bacterial species showed multiple differentially expressed inflammatory genes. Marked differences were noted between the Lactobacillus crispatus infected organoids and those infected by Fannyhessea vaginae. Genes from the C-X-C motif chemokine ligand (CXCL) family were highly upregulated in F. vaginae infected organoids. Flow cytometry showed that immune cells quickly disappeared during the organoid culture, indicating the inflammatory response observed with bacterial culture was generated by the epithelial cells in the organoids. Conclusion: Patient tissue derived FT organoids respond to acute bacterial infection with upregulation of inflammatory genes specific to different vaginal bacterial species. FT organoids is a useful model system to study the host-pathogen interaction during bacterial infection which may facilitate mechanistic investigations in PID and its contribution to tubal factor infertility and ovarian carcinogensis. Copy rights belong to original authors. Visit the link for more info Podcast created by Paper Player, LLC

Link to bioRxiv paper: http://biorxiv.org/cgi/content/short/2023.01.04.521609v1?rss=1 Authors: Fani, N., Guelfo, A., La Barrie, D., Teer, A. P., Clendinen, C., Karimzadeh, L., Jain, J., Ely, T. D., Powers, A., Kaslow, N. J., Bradley, B., Siegle, G. J. Abstract: Background: Dissociative symptoms can emerge after trauma and interfere with attentional control and interoception, both of which are barriers to mind-body interventions such as breath-focused mindfulness (BFM). To overcome these barriers, we tested the use of an exteroceptive augmentation to BFM, using vibrations equivalent to the amplitude of the auditory waveform of the actual breath, delivered via a wearable subwoofer in real time (VBFM). We tested whether this device enhanced interoceptive processes, attentional control and autonomic regulation in trauma-exposed women with dissociative symptoms. Method: 65 women, majority (82%) Black American, aged 18-65 completed self-report measures of interoception and 6 BFM sessions, during which electrocardiographic recordings were taken to derive high-frequency heart rate variability (HRV) estimates. A subset (n=31) of participants completed functional MRI at pre- and post-intervention, during which they were administered an affective attentional control task. Results: Compared to those who received BFM only, women who received VBFM demonstrated greater increases in interoception, particularly their ability to trust body signals, increased sustained attention, and as well as increased connectivity between nodes of emotion processing and interoceptive networks. Intervention condition moderated the relationship between interoception change and dissociation change, as well as the relationship between dissociation and HRV change. Conclusions: Vibration feedback during breath focus yielded greater improvements in interoception, sustained attention and increased connectivity of emotion processing and interoceptive networks. Augmenting BFM with vibration appears to have considerable effects on interoception, attention and autonomic regulation; it could be used as a monotherapy or to address trauma treatment barriers. Copy rights belong to original authors. Visit the link for more info Podcast created by Paper Player, LLC

Link to bioRxiv paper: http://biorxiv.org/cgi/content/short/2022.12.30.522346v1?rss=1 Authors: Doren, S., Schwab, S. M., Bigner, K., Calvelage, J., Preston, K., Laughlin, A., Drury, C., Tincher, B., Carl, D., Awosika, O. O., Boyne, P. Abstract: Background: Motivation is critically important for rehabilitation, exercise, and motor performance, but its neural basis is poorly understood. Recent correlational research suggests that superior frontal gyrus medial area 9 (SFG9m) may be involved in motivation for walking activity. This study experimentally evaluated brain activity changes in periods of additional motivation during walking exercise, and tested how these brain activity changes relate to self-reported exercise motivation and walking speed. Methods: Non-disabled adults (N=26; 65% female; 25 {+/-} 5 years old) performed a vigorous exercise experiment involving 20 trials of maximal speed overground walking. Half of the trials were randomized to include "extra motivation" stimuli (lap timer, tracked best lap time and verbal encouragement). Wearable near-infrared spectroscopy measured oxygenated hemoglobin responses ({Delta}HbO2) from frontal lobe regions, including the SFG9m, primary motor, dorsolateral prefrontal, anterior prefrontal, supplementary motor and dorsal premotor cortices. Results: Compared with standard trials, participants walked faster during "extra-motivation" trials (2.67 vs. 2.43 m/s; p less than 0.0001) and had higher {Delta}HbO2 in all tested brain regions. This extra motivation effect on {Delta}HbO2 was greatest for SFG9m (+703 uM) compared with other regions (+45 to +354 uM; p less than or equal to 0.04). Greater SFG9m activity was correlated with more self-determined motivation for exercise and faster walking speed. Conclusions: Simple motivational stimuli during walking exercise seem to upregulate widespread brain regions, especially SFG9m. This could help explain the positive effects of motivational feedback on gait outcomes observed in prior rehabilitation research. Thus, these findings provide a potential biologic basis for the benefits of motivational stimuli, elicited with clinically-feasible methods during walking exercise. Future clinical studies could build on this information to develop prognostic biomarkers and test novel brain stimulation targets for enhancing exercise motivation (e.g. SFG9m). Copy rights belong to original authors. Visit the link for more info Podcast created by Paper Player, LLC

Link to bioRxiv paper: http://biorxiv.org/cgi/content/short/2022.12.21.521411v1?rss=1 Authors: Lin, C.-P., Knoop, L. E., Frigerio, I., Bol, J. G., Rozemuller, A. J., Berendse, H. W., Pouwels, P. J., van de Berg, W. D., Jonkman, L. E. Abstract: Background Motor and cognitive impairment in Parkinson's disease (PD) is associated with dopaminergic dysfunction that stems from substantia nigra (SN) degeneration and concomitant -synuclein accumulation. Diffusion MRI can detect microstructural alterations of the SN and its tracts to (sub)cortical regions, but their pathological sensitivity is still poorly understood. Objective To unravel the pathological substrate underlying microstructural alterations of the SN, and its tracts to the dorsal striatum and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) in PD. Methods Combining post-mortem in-situ MRI and histopathology, T1-weighted and diffusion MRI of 9 PD, 6 PD with dementia (PDD), 5 dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB), and 10 control donors were collected. From MRI, mean diffusivity (MD) and fractional anisotropy (FA) were derived from the SN, and tracts between the SN and caudate nucleus, putamen, and DLPFC. Phosphorylated-Ser129--synuclein and tyrosine hydroxylase immunohistochemistry was included to quantify nigral Lewy pathology and dopaminergic degeneration, respectively. Results Compared to controls, PD and PDD/DLB showed increased MD of the SN and SN-DLPFC tract, as well as increased FA of the SN-caudate nucleus tract. Both PD and PDD/DLB showed nigral Lewy pathology and dopaminergic loss compared to controls. Increased FA of the SN and SN-caudate nucleus tract was associated with SN dopaminergic loss, while increased MD of the SN-DLPFC tract was associated with increased SN Lewy neurite load. Conclusions In PD and PDD/DLB, diffusion MRI captures microstructural alterations of the SN and tracts to the dorsal striatum and DLPFC, which differentially associates with SN dopaminergic degeneration and Lewy neurite pathology. Copy rights belong to original authors. Visit the link for more info Podcast created by Paper Player, LLC

Link to bioRxiv paper: http://biorxiv.org/cgi/content/short/2022.12.13.520333v1?rss=1 Authors: Dickie, E. W., Shahab, S., Hawco, C., Miranda, D., Herman, G., Argyelan, M., Ji, J. L. W., Jeyachandra, J., Anticevic, A., Malhotra, A. K., Voineskos, A. N. Abstract: Background: Spatial patterns of brain functional connectivity can vary substantially at the individual level. Applying cortical surface-based approaches with individualized rather than group templates may accelerate the discovery of biological markers related to psychiatric disorders. We investigated cortico-subcortical networks from multi-cohort data in people with schizophrenia spectrum disorders (SSDs) and healthy controls using individualized connectivity profiles. Methods: We utilized resting state and anatomical MRI data from n=406 participants (n = 203 SSD, n = 203 healthy controls) from four cohorts. For each participant, functional timeseries were extracted from 80 cortical regions of interest, representing 6 intrinsic networks using 1) a volume-based approach 2) a surface-based group atlas approach, and 3) Personalized Intrinsic Network Topography (PINT), a personalized surface-based approach (Dickie et al., 2018). Timeseries were also extracted from previously defined intrinsic network subregions of the striatum (Choi et al 2011), thalamus (Ji et al 2019), and cerebellum (Buckner et al 2011). Results: Compared to a volume-based approach, the correlations between all cortical networks and the expected subregions of the striatum, cerebellum, and thalamus were increased using a surface-based approach (Cohen's D volume vs surface 0.27-1.00, all p less than 10^-6) and further increased after PINT (Cohen's D surface vs PINT 0.18-0.96, all p less than 10^-4). In SSD vs HC comparisons, controlling for age, sex, scanner and in-scanner motion, we observed robust patterns of dysconnectivity that were strengthened using a surface-based approach and PINT (Number of differing pairwise-correlations: volume: 357, surface: 562, PINT: 630, FDR corrected). These patterns were found from four different cortical networks -- frontal-parietal, sensory-motor, visual, and default mode -- to subcortical regions. Conclusion: Our results indicate that individualized approaches can more sensitively delineate cortical network dysconnectivity differences in people with SSDs. These robust patterns of dysconnectivity were visibly organized in accordance with the cortical hierarchy, as predicted by computational models (Murray et al 2019). Our results also change our understanding of the specific network-network functional connectivity alterations in people with SSDs, and the extent of those alterations. Future work will examine these new patterns of dysconnectivity with behaviour using dimensional models. Copy rights belong to original authors. Visit the link for more info Podcast created by Paper Player, LLC

Link to bioRxiv paper: http://biorxiv.org/cgi/content/short/2022.11.29.518351v1?rss=1 Authors: Quinn, S., Brusel, M., Ovadia, M., Rubinstein, M. Abstract: Objective: Dravet syndrome (Dravet) is a rare and severe form of developmental epileptic encephalopathy. First-line treatment for DS patients includes valproic acid (VA) or clobazam with or without stiripentol (CLB+STP), while sodium channel blockers like carbamazepine (CBZ) or lamotrigine (LTG) are contraindicated. As patients are rarely seizure-free, drug therapy focuses on reducing the seizure burden, as reported by caregivers. In addition to their effect on epileptic phenotypes, antiseizure medications (ASMs) were shown to modify the properties of background neuronal activity. Nevertheless, little is known about these background properties alternations in Dravet. Methods: Utilizing Dravet mice (DS, Scn1aA1783V/WT), we tested the acute effect of several ASMs on background electrocorticography (ECoG) activity and frequency of interictal spikes. Results: Compared to wild-type mice, background ECoG activity in DS had lower power and reduced phase coherence, which was not corrected by any of the tested ASMs. However, acute administration of Dravet-recommended drugs, including VA or a combination of CLB+STP, caused, in most mice, a reduction of frequency of interictal spikes, alongside an increase in the relative contribution of the beta frequency band. Conversely, CBZ and LTG increased the frequency of interictal spikes with no effect on background spectral properties. Moreover, we uncovered a correlation between the reduction in interictal spike frequency, the drug-induced effect on the power of background activity, and a spectral shift toward higher frequency bands. Significance: These data provide a comprehensive analysis of the effect of selected ASMs on the properties of background neuronal oscillations and highlight a possible correlation between their effect on epilepsy and background activity. Thus, examining these properties, following an acute administration, may be used as an additional tool for rapid evaluation of the therapeutic potential of ASMs. Copy rights belong to original authors. Visit the link for more info Podcast created by Paper Player, LLC

Link to bioRxiv paper: http://biorxiv.org/cgi/content/short/2022.11.16.516698v1?rss=1 Authors: He, Y., Li, Q., Fu, Z., Zeng, D., Han, Y., Li, S. Abstract: Background: Alzheimer's disease (AD) and amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) are associated with disrupted functional organization in brain networks, yet the finer changes in the topological organization in aMCI and AD remain to be investigated. Connectome gradients are a new tool representing brain functional topological organization in a low-dimensional space to smoothly capture the human macroscale hierarchy. Methods: Here, we examined altered topological organization in aMCI and AD by connectome gradient mapping. We further quantified functional segregation by gradient dispersion. Then, we systematically compared the alterations observed in aMCI and AD patients with those in normal controls (NCs) in a two-dimensional functional gradient space from both the whole-brain level and module level. Results: Compared with NCs, the first gradient, which described the neocortical hierarchy from unimodal to transmodal regions, showed a distributed and significant suppression in AD patients, while abnormalities were only limited to local regions in aMCI patients. The second gradient showed a decreased pattern in the somatomotor module in both aMCI and AD patients. Furthermore, gradient dispersion showed significant decreases in AD patients at both the global level and module level, whereas this alteration was limited only to limbic areas in aMCI. Notably, we demonstrated that suppressed gradient dispersion in aMCI and AD patients was associated with cognitive scores. Conclusions: Changes in functional gradients could reflect different degrees of altered brain network segregation in aMCI and AD. These findings provide new evidence for altered brain hierarchy in aMCI and AD, which strengthens our understanding of the progressive mechanism of cognitive decline. Copy rights belong to original authors. Visit the link for more info Podcast created by Paper Player, LLC

Link to bioRxiv paper: http://biorxiv.org/cgi/content/short/2022.11.05.515279v1?rss=1 Authors: Perera, M. P. N., Mallawaarachchi, S., Bailey, N. W., Murphy, O. W., Fitzgerald, P. B. Abstract: Background: Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is a psychiatric condition leading to significant distress and poor quality of life. Successful treatment of OCD is restricted by the limited knowledge about its pathophysiology. This study aimed to investigate the pathophysiology of OCD using electroencephalographic (EEG) event related potentials (ERP), elicited from multiple tasks to characterise disorder-related differences in underlying brain activity across multiple neural processes. Methods: ERP data were obtained from 25 OCD patients and 27 age- and sex-matched healthy controls (HC) by recording EEG during Flanker and Go/Nogo tasks. Error-related negativity (ERN) was elicited by the Flanker task, while N200 and P300 were generated using the Go/Nogo task. Primary comparisons of the neural response amplitudes and the topographical distribution of neural activity were conducted using scalp field differences across all time points and electrodes. Results: Compared to HC, the OCD group showed altered ERP distributions. Contrasting with the previous literature on ERN and N200 topographies in OCD where fronto-central negative voltages were reported, we detected positive voltages. Additionally, the P300 was found to be less negative in the frontal regions. None of these ERP findings were associated with OCD symptom severity. Conclusions: These results indicate that individuals with OCD show altered frontal neural activity across multiple executive function related processes, supporting the frontal dysfunction theory of OCD. Furthermore, due to the lack of association between altered ERPs and OCD symptom severity, they may be considered potential candidate endophenotypes for OCD. Copy rights belong to original authors. Visit the link for more info Podcast created by Paper Player, LLC

Link to bioRxiv paper: http://biorxiv.org/cgi/content/short/2022.10.28.514160v1?rss=1 Authors: Bannai, D., Reuter, M., Hegde, R., Hoang, D., Adhan, I., Gandu, S., Pong, S., Zeng, A., Raymond, N., Zeng, V., Chung, Y., He, G., Sun, D., van Erp, T. G. M., Addington, J., Bearden, C. E., Cadenhead, K., Cornblatt, B., Mathalon, D. H., McGlashan, T., Jeffries, C., Stone, W., Tsuang, M., Walker, E., Woods, S. W., Cannon, T. D., Perkins, D., Keshavan, M., Lizano, P. Abstract: Background: Choroid plexus (ChP) enlargement has been described in first-episode psychosis and psychosis spectrum disorders, but whether ChP enlargement occurs before disease onset is unknown. This study investigated whether ChP volume is enlarged in individuals with clinical high-risk (CHR) for psychosis and whether these changes are related to clinical, cortical, and plasma analyte measures. Methods: Clinical and neuroimaging data from the North American Prodrome Longitudinal Study 2 (NAPLS2) was used for analysis. A total of 509 participants (169 controls, 340 CHR) were recruited across 8 sites. Conversion status was determined until 2-years of follow-up, with 36 patients developing psychosis. The lateral ventricle ChP was manually segmented from all available baseline brain scans. A subsample of 84 participants (31 controls, 53 CHR) had plasma analyte and neuroimaging data. Results: Compared to controls, CHR overall (d=0.22, p=0.017) and converters (d=0.21, p=0.041) demonstrated higher ChP volumes, but not nonconverters. In CHR, greater ChP volume correlated with lower cortical (r=-0.22, p less than 0.001) and subcortical gray matter volume (r=-0.21, p less than 0.001), total white matter volume (r=-0.28,p less than 0.001), and larger lateral ventricle volume (r=0.63,p less than 0.001). In CHR, greater ChP volume, but not lateral ventricle volume, correlated with higher C3 (r=0.39, p=0.005) and TSH (r=0.31, p=0.026), and lower MMP7 (r=-0.30, p=0.032) and UMOD (r=-0.33, p=0.019). Conclusions and Relevance: CHR and converters to psychosis demonstrated significantly larger ChP volumes compared to controls. ChP enlargement was associated with cortical volume reduction and increased peripheral inflammatory markers. These findings suggest that the ChP may be a key biomarker in psychosis disease onset and conversion. Copy rights belong to original authors. Visit the link for more info Podcast created by Paper Player, LLC

Link to bioRxiv paper: http://biorxiv.org/cgi/content/short/2022.10.03.510571v1?rss=1 Authors: Perera, M. P. N., Mallawaarachchi, S., Bailey, N. W., Murphy, O. W., Fitzgerald, P. B. Abstract: Background: Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is a mental health condition causing significant decline in the quality of life of sufferers and the limited knowledge on the pathophysiology hinders successful treatment. The aim of the current study was to examine electroencephalographic (EEG) findings of OCD to broaden our understanding of the disease. Methods: Resting-state eyes-closed EEG data was recorded from 25 individuals with OCD and 27 healthy controls (HC). The 1/f arrhythmic activity was removed prior to computing oscillatory powers of all frequency bands (delta, theta, alpha, beta, gamma). Cluster-based permutation was used for between-group statistical analyses, and comparisons were performed for the 1/f slope and intercept parameters. Functional connectivity (FC) was measured using coherence and debiased weighted phase lag index (d-wPLI), and statistically analysed using the Network Based Statistic method. Results: Compared to HC, the OCD group showed increased oscillatory power in the delta and theta bands in the fronto-temporal and parietal brain regions. However, there were no significant between-group findings in other bands or 1/f parameters. The coherence measure showed significantly reduced FC in the delta band in OCD compared to HC but the d-wPLI analysis showed no significant differences. Conclusions: OCD is associated with raised oscillatory power in slow frequency bands in the fronto-temporal brain regions, which agrees with the previous literature and therefore is a potential biomarker. Although delta coherence was found to be lower in OCD, due to inconsistencies found between measures and the previous literature, further research is required to ascertain definitive conclusions. Copy rights belong to original authors. Visit the link for more info Podcast created by PaperPlayer

Link to bioRxiv paper: http://biorxiv.org/cgi/content/short/2020.09.01.277590v1?rss=1 Authors: Vlahou, E., Ueno, K., Shinn-Cunningham, B. G., Kopco, N. Abstract: Purpose: We examined how consonant perception is affected by a preceding speech carrier simulated in the same or a different room, for a broad range of consonants. Carrier room, carrier length, and carrier length/target room uncertainty were manipulated. A phonetic feature analysis tested which phonetic categories are most influenced by the acoustic context of the carrier. Method: Two experiments were performed, each with 9 participants. Targets consisted of vowel-consonant (VC) syllables presented in one of 2 strongly reverberant rooms, preceded by a VC carrier presented either in the same room, a different reverberant room, or an anechoic room. In Experiment 1 the carrier length and the target room randomly varied from trial to trial while in Experiment 2 they were fixed within blocks of trials. Results: Compared to the no-carrier condition, a consistent carrier provided only a small advantage for consonant perception, whereas inconsistent carriers disrupted performance significantly. For a different-room carrier, carrier length had an effect; performance dropped significantly in the 2-VC compared to the 4-VC carrier length. The only effect of carrier uncertainty was an overall drop in performance. Phonetic analysis showed that an inconsistent carrier significantly degraded identification of the manner of articulation, especially for stop consonants, and, in one of the rooms, also of voicing. Conclusions: Calibration of consonant perception to strong reverberation is exhibited through disruptions in perception when the room is switched. The strength of calibration varies across different consonants and phonetic features, as well as across rooms and durations of exposure to a given room. Copy rights belong to original authors. Visit the link for more info

Link to bioRxiv paper: http://biorxiv.org/cgi/content/short/2020.07.10.197921v1?rss=1 Authors: Loxlan W Kasa, Roy AM Haast, Tristan K Kuehn, Farah N Mushtaha, Corey A Baron, Terry M Peters, Ali R Khan Abstract: Background Diffusion kurtosis imaging (DKI) quantifies the microstructure non-Gaussian diffusion properties. However, it has increased fitting parameters and requires higher b-values. Evaluation of DKI reproducibility is important for clinical purposes. Purpose To assess reproducibility in whole-brain high resolution DKI at varying b-values. Study Type Prospective. Subjects and Phantoms Forty-four individuals from the test-retest Human Connectome Project (HCP) database and twelve 3D-printed tissue mimicking phantoms. Field Strength/Sequence Multiband echo-planar imaging for in vivo and phantom diffusion-weighted imaging at 3T and 9.4T respectively. MPRAGE at 3T for in vivo structural data. Assessment From HCP data with b-value =1000,2000,3000 s/mm2 (dataset A), two additional datasets with b-values=1000, 3000 s/mm2 (dataset B) and b-values=1000, 2000 s/mm2 (dataset C) were extracted. Estimated DKI metrics from each dataset were used for evaluating reproducibility and fitting quality in whole-brain white matter (WM), region of interest (ROI) and gray matter (GM). Statistical Tests DKI reproducibility was assessed using the within-subject coefficient of variation (CoV), fitting residuals to evaluate DKI fitting accuracy and Pearson's correlation to investigate presence of systematic biases. Results Compared to dataset C, the CoV from DKI parameters from datasets A and B were comparable, with WM and GM CoVs

Background: Obesity is associated with abnormal fasting and postprandial lipids, which may link obesity with atherosclerosis. We explored fasting and postprandial lipids in morbidly obese patients treated with sleeve gastrectomy and in control subjects. Methods: After fasting for 12 h 15 morbidly obese patients (BMI 51.4 +/- 6.5 kg/m(2), 43.7 +/- 12.6 years) received a standardized oral fat load before and 3 months after bariatric surgery (sleeve gastrectomy). Controls (n=9, BMI 23.1 +/- 1.4 kg/m(2)) were studied once. Plasma was obtained fasting and then postprandially every 2 h for 8 h. Triglycerides (TG), chylomicron-TG (CM-TG), VLDL/chylomicron-remnant (VLDL/CR)-TG, cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol, VLDL/CR-cholesterol and HDL-cholesterol were isolated by ultracentrifugation at each time point. Postprandial values were expressed as area under the curve (AUC) and incremental area under the curve (iAUC). In addition, fasting glucose and insulin values and HOMA-IR-Index was measured (n=14). Results: Compared to controls morbidly obese patients had elevated TG and slightly altered postprandial lipids. Following surgery (weight loss 23.4 kg +/- 6.2 kg; 150 mg/dl) a similar pattern was observed. Fasting insulin and HOMA were reduced significantly (-51.9%; p=0.004 and -47.9%; p=0.011). Conclusions: Three months after sleeve gastrectomy fasting and postprandial lipoprotein metabolism and glucose metabolism is improved in morbidly obese patients. The potential mechanisms may relate to decreased caloric intake but also to hormonal changes.

Background: First-episode schizophrenia (FE-SZ) and attention deficithyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are both neuropsychiatric disordersassociated with an impaired dopaminergic transmission. Though displayingdifferent clinical phenotypes, a common pathophysiological pathway isdiscussed controversially. Several studies using transcranial magneticstimulation (TMS) revealed abnormalities in human motor cortexexcitability in both schizophrenia and ADHD patients. Studies oncortical excitability comparing these two diseases directly are lacking.Method: In this study, a total of 94 subjects were analyzed.Twenty-fiveFE-SZ patients were directly compared with 28 ADHD patients and 41healthy controls (HC). We investigated cortical excitability (inhibitoryand facilitatory networks) with single- and paired-pulse TMS to the leftand right motor cortex. Results: Compared to HC, FE-SZ/ADHD patientsdisplayed an impaired cortical inhibition over the left hemisphere.Apart from an enhanced intracortical facilitation, FE-SZ patients didnot differ compared to ADHD patients in the main outcome measures. Bothpatient groups presented a dysfunctional hemispheric pattern of corticalinhibition and facilitation in comparison with HC. Conclusion: Theresults of this study indicate a pattern of cortical disinhibition andabnormal hemispheric balance of intracortical excitability networks intwo different psychiatric diseases. These effects might be associatedwith an imbalance in GABAergic and dopaminergic transmission and mightprovide evidence for a common pathophysiological pathway of bothdiseases.

Background/Aims: Chronic hypercortisolism in Cushing’s disease (CD) hasbeen suggested to contribute to an altered personality profile in thesepatients. We aimed to test this hypothesis and attempted to determinethe effects of disease- and treatment-related factors that mightmoderate an altered personality in CD. Methods: We assessed 50 patientswith CD (74% biochemically controlled) and compared them to 60 patientswith non-functioning pituitary adenomas (NFPA) and 100 age-andgender-matched mentally healthy controls. Personality was measured bytwo standardized personality questionnaires, TPQ (Cloninger PersonalityQuestionnaire) and EPQ-RK (Eysenck Personality Questionnaire-RK).Results: Compared to mentally healthy controls, CD patients reportedsignificantly less novelty-seeking behaviour, including less exploratoryexcitability and less extravagance. On harm avoidant subscales, theypresented with more anticipatory worries and pessimism, higher fear ofuncertainty, shyness with strangers, fatigability and asthenia.Moreover, CD patients appeared to be less extraverted, more neurotic andsocially desirable. CD patients differed from NFPA patients in terms ofhigher neuroticism scores, and NFPA patients did not show alterednovelty-seeking behaviour or extraversion. In the subgroup analysis, CDpatients with persistent hypercortisolism displayed significantly higherfear of uncertainty, fatigability and asthenia, indicating high harmavoidance in total, than those in biochemical remission. Conclusion:Patients with CD showed a distinct pattern of personality traitsassociated with high anxiety in combination with traits of lowexternalizing behaviour. Such personality changes should be taken intoaccount in the diagnosis and treatment of CD patients, as they mightinterfere with the patient-physician communication and/or challenge thepatients’ social and psychological functioning.

Objective: To study face and emotion recognition in children with mostly expressive specific language impairment (SLI-E). Subjects and Methods: A test movie to study perception and recognition of faces and mimic-gestural expression was applied to 24 children diagnosed as suffering from SLI-E and an age-matched control group of normally developing children. Results: Compared to a normal control group, the SLI-E children scored significantly worse in both the face and expression recognition tasks with a preponderant effect on emotion recognition. The performance of the SLI-E group could not be explained by reduced attention during the test session. Conclusion: We conclude that SLI-E is associated with a deficiency in decoding non-verbal emotional facial and gestural information, which might lead to profound and persistent problems in social interaction and development. Copyright (C) 2012 S. Karger AG, Basel

Background: Pulmonary rehabilitation is a well-recognized treatment option in chronic obstructive lung disease improving exercise performance, respiratory symptoms and quality of life. In occupational respiratory diseases, which can be rather cost-intensive due to the compensation needs, very little information is available. Objectives: This study aims at the evaluation of the usefulness of pulmonary rehabilitation in patients with occupational respiratory diseases, partly involving complex alterations of lung function and of the sustainability of effects. Methods: We studied 263 patients with occupational respiratory diseases (asthma, silicosis, asbestosis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) using a 4-week inpatient rehabilitation program and follow-up examinations 3 and 12 months later. The outcomes evaluated were lung function, 6-min walking distance (6MWD), maximum exercise capacity (Wmax), skeletal muscle strength, respiratory symptoms, exacerbations and associated medical consultations, quality of life (SF-36, SGRQ), anxiety/depression (HADS) and Medical Research Council and Baseline and Transition Dyspnea Index scores. Results: Compared to baseline, there were significant (p < 0.05) improvements in 6MWD, Wmax and muscle strength immediately after rehabilitation, and these were maintained over 12 months (p < 0.05). Effects were less pronounced in asbestosis. Overall, a significant reduction in the rate of exacerbations by 35%, antibiotic therapy by 27% and use of health care services by 17% occurred within 12 months after rehabilitation. No changes were seen in the questionnaire outcomes. Conclusions: Pulmonary rehabilitation is effective even in the complex settings of occupational respiratory diseases, providing sustained improvement of functional capacity and reducing health care utilization. Copyright (C) 2012 S. Karger AG, Basel

Objectives: In artisanal small-scale gold mining (ASGM) areas in many developing countries, mercury (Hg) is used to extract gold from ore. Data of 1250 participants from Indonesia, Mongolia, Philippines, Tanzania, and Zimbabwe were combined to analyze the relation between exposure in ASGM areas and body burden. Methods: Four groups were selected relating to their intensity of contact with mercury: (i) a non-exposed control group; (ii) a low exposed group with participants only living in mining areas, but not working as miners; (iii) a medium exposed group, miners living in exposed areas and working with mercury without smelting amalgam; and (iv) a high exposed group, miners living in exposed areas and smelting amalgam. Results: Compared to the non-exposed control group, participants living and/or miners working in highly exposed areas have significantly higher concentration of total mercury in urine, hair and blood (p-value < 0.001). The median mercury value in urine in the control group is < 0.2 mu g/L. In the high exposed group of amalgam smelters, the median in urine is 12.0 mu g/L. The median in blood in the control group is < 0.93 mu g/L. The median level in blood of the high exposed group is 7.56 mu g/L. The median for mercury in hair samples from the control group is 0.21 mu g/g. In the high exposed group the median hair concentration is 2.4 mu g/g hair. Mercury levels also differ considerably between the countries, reflecting a diverse background burden due to different fish eating habits and different work place methods. Conclusions: A high percentage of exposed individuals had levels above threshold values. These high levels of mercury are likely to be related with serious health problems.

Background: In the face of costly fixation hardware with varying performance for treatment of distal humeral fractures, a novel technique (U-Frame) is proposed using conventional implants in a 180 degrees plate arrangement. In this in-vitro study the biomechanical stability of this method was compared with the established technique which utilizes angular stable locking compression plates (LCP) in a 90 degrees configuration. Methods: An unstable distal 3-part fracture (AO 13-C2.3) was created in eight pairs of human cadaveric humeri. All bone pairs were operated with either the "Frame" technique, where two parallel plates are distally interconnected, or with the LCP technique. The specimens were cyclically loaded in simulated flexion and extension of the arm until failure of the construct occurred. Motion of all fragments was tracked by means of optical motion capturing. Construct stiffness and cycles to failure were identified for all specimens. Results: Compared to the LCP constructs, the "Frame" technique revealed significant higher construct stiffness in extension of the arm (P = 0.01). The stiffness in flexion was not significantly different (P = 0.16). Number of cycles to failure was found significantly larger for the "Frame" technique (P = 0.01). Conclusions: In an in-vitro context the proposed method offers enhanced biomechanical stability and at the same time significantly reduces implant costs.