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The macro-social and environmental conditions in which people live, such as the level of a country’s development or inequality, are associated with brain-related disorders. However, the relationship between these systemic environmental factors and the brain remains unclear. We aimed to determine the association between the level of development and inequality of a country and the brain structure of healthy adults.
Methods
We conducted a cross-sectional study pooling brain imaging (T1-based) data from 145 magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) studies in 7,962 healthy adults (4,110 women) in 29 different countries. We used a meta-regression approach to relate the brain structure to the country’s level of development and inequality.
Results
Higher human development was consistently associated with larger hippocampi and more expanded global cortical surface area, particularly in frontal areas. Increased inequality was most consistently associated with smaller hippocampal volume and thinner cortical thickness across the brain.
Conclusions
Our results suggest that the macro-economic conditions of a country are reflected in its inhabitants’ brains and may explain the different incidence of brain disorders across the world. The observed variability of brain structure in health across countries should be considered when developing tools in the field of personalized or precision medicine that are intended to be used across the world.
The rise of generative artificial intelligences (AIs) has quickly made them auxiliary tools in numerous fields, especially in the creative one. Many scientific works already discuss the comparison of the creative capacity of AIs with human beings. In the field of Engineering Design, however, numerous design methodologies have been developed that enhance the creativity of the designer in their idea generation phase. Therefore, this work aims to expand previous works by leading a Generative Pre-trained Transformer 4 (GPT-4) based generative AI to use a design methodology to generate creative concepts. The results suggest that these types of tools can be useful for designers in that they can inspire novel ideas, but they still lack the necessary capacity to discern technically feasible ideas.
This Element explores the organization of power in ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia and the interaction of diverse social actors between 2100 and 1750 BC. On the one hand, the forms of integration of towns and villages in larger political entities and the role played by local authorities, with a focus on local agency, the influence of mobile populations, the exercise of power in small localities, and the contrast between power reality and royal ideological claims, be they legal, divinely sanctioned, or other. On the other hand, the modalities of penetration of the royal authority in the local sphere, the alliances that linked court dignitaries and local potentates, and the co-option of local leaders. Finally, the influence of such networks of power on the historical evolution of the monarchies and the adaptability of the latter in coping with the challenges they faced to assert and reproduce their authority.
We determined whether dietary species richness (DSR) (i) can be robustly measured using 4-day food intake data, (ii) is dependent on socio-demographic characteristics and (iii) is associated with diet quality.
Design:
The National Diet and Nutrition Survey (NDNS) nutrient databank 2018–2019 was expanded to include FoodEx2 food classifications, ingredients, the number and identity of unique species, Nutrient Rich Food 8·3 (NRF 8·3) Index scores and greenhouse gas emissions. Four-day food intake data and socio-demographic variables were used to calculate diet quality and DSR on the food and diet level.
Setting:
The United Kingdom (UK).
Participants:
Participants from NDNS 9–11 (2016–2019).
Results:
Composite dishes had the highest DSR (median 8 (Q1 = 4, Q3 = 12)), followed by seasoning, sauces and condiments (median 7, (Q1 = 4, Q3 = 10)) and, grains and grain-based products (median 5, (Q1 = 2, Q3 = 7)). Median DSR over 4 days was 49 (Q1 = 43, Q3 = 56; range 14–92), with the first 2 days achieving 80 % of DSR measured over 4 days. DSR was significantly higher in those who were younger, those with a higher household income or those with a lower level of deprivation (all P < 0·001). Higher DSR was associated with a small but significant improvement in nutritional quality (P < 0·001). Also, adherence to dietary guidelines such as fibre, fruits and vegetables and fish was associated with significantly higher DSR (all P < 0·001).
Conclusions:
We successfully established DSR based on 4-day food intake data. We also identified opportunities to improve DSR by increasing the consumption of fruits, vegetables, fibre and fish.
Cardiac catheterisation in the postoperative period emerges as a primary tool, providing effectiveness and safety in diagnosis, treatment guidance, and resolution of major residual lesions.
Materials and methods:
This is a retrospective case-control study. We collected the clinical records of patients who underwent cardiac catheterisation between January 2003 and December 2022 within the initial 72 hours after surgery in the pediatric cardiac ICU of a national referral hospital in Mexico City. Descriptive, univariate, and multivariate analyses were performed.
Results:
A total of 6,243 surgeries were performed, of which 264 were cardiac catheterizations carried out within the first 72 hours of the postoperative period;these included 73 diagnostic procedures and 191 interventional procedures. One hundred and thirty-five (135) catheterisations targeted recent suture intervention sites. The primary indications for cardiac catheterisation included low cardiac output and the suspicion of major residual lesions. Approximately 65% of interventions occurred within the first 24 hours and solved 426 residual lesions. No significant associations were found between mortality, complications, and the need for surgical reintervention in patients who underwent interventional catheterisation at recent suture sites (OR 1.93;95% CI:0.94–4.07:p = 0.076). Seventeen patients (17) were extubated in the initial 24 hours post-catheterisation. Two major complications were identified: rupture of the systemic-to-pulmonary shunt in the anastomosis, and a pulmonary artery laceration requiring emergency surgery. One patient died.
Conclusion:
Cardiac catheterisation has evolved into a vital instrument to diagnose and resolve abnormalities and significant residual lesions without increasing the morbidity and mortality risks.
This study aims to empirically test whether family has a unique significance for the self that cannot be captured by the social self alone. Specifically, it examines whether family self-concept, compared to social self-concept, is more closely related to family-specific indicators (i.e., parent–child communication and family functioning) as well as to indicators of emotional maladjustment like mental health deterioration (i.e., psychological distress and depressive symptoms). The sample comprised 4,953 Mexican adolescents, including 2,551 men (51.5%) and 2,402 women, aged 14–17 years (M = 15.60, SD = 0.92). Confirmatory factor analysis was applied to evaluate the proposed big five-dimensional self-concept model. Cohen’s d confidence intervals, derived from the shared variance of Pearson’s r correlations, were analyzed to relate self-concept dimensions to parent–child communication, family functioning, and mental health deterioration. Results from factorial confirmatory analysis showed that the five-dimensional oblique model (i.e., academic, social, emotional, physical, and family, as different from social) provided a better fit than competing unidimensional and orthogonal models. Correlation analyses showed that family self-concept was significantly associated with both parent–child communication and family functioning, as well as with psychological distress (d = −1.10, confidence interval [CI] −1.21 to −1.02) and depressive symptoms (d = −1.24, CI −1.31 to −1.22). These findings add evidence that family is not accurately represented within the social self-concept. Furthermore, perceiving oneself as unloved and undervalued at home (i.e., low family self-concept) is strongly associated not only with dysfunctional family processes but also with mental health deterioration.
Maize (Zea mays L.) is one of the main staples in the Peruvian Andes. Phenotypic diversity is extremely high in terms of plant morphology, grain colour, grain size and uses. However, little is known about the genetic component of the Peruvian maize. Genotyping-by-sequencing was used, for the first time, to infer the genetic diversity and population structure of 25 accessions of maize collected from two ecoregions of the departments of the Peruvian highlands, Cajamarca and Huancavelica, to provide a basis for the conservation and breeding of this crop genetic resource. A total of 29,332 single-nucleotide polymorphisms were identified along all 10 chromosomes of maize. STRUCTURE analysis revealed two clusters (open-pollinated cultivars and landraces). Principal coordinate analysis and our dendrogram showed that these accessions of Peruvian maize do not group based on their geographic origin but on their improvement status, however, this is weakly supported. Average genetic diversity was very high (0.35). Analysis of molecular variance showed a reduced variation between populations (2.85%) and indicated that variability within populations is 97.15%. The lowest population divergence was zero for populations of Colcabamba versus Pichos and Daniel Hernandez versus Colcabamba and the highest population divergence (0.041) was observed for population Cajamarca versus Santiago de Tucuma. As expected, FIS values were positive. Additional samples from other Andean and west coast Peruvian localities are needed to provide a better understanding of the genetic components of this important crop aiming to develop a modern breeding programme of maize in Peru.
Education is essential for addressing the global environmental crisis and engaging students through experiential learning is crucial. In physical education, physical literacy offers a holistic approach to sustainable education, with plogging exemplifying this integration. This study investigates the perceptions of Physical Education Teacher Education (PETE) students regarding the implementation of plogging in school curricula. Using qualitative interviews with 80 PETE students and analysing responses with NVIVO 12 software, the study reveals mixed feelings about this innovative practice. Participants see plogging as valuable for fostering both physical literacy and environmental awareness. However, concerns about feasibility include the need for institutional support, curriculum flexibility and community involvement. These findings highlight the potential of plogging to enhance educational programmes by combining physical activity with environmental stewardship. The results can inform the development of future educational strategies that integrate plogging to promote sustainability and holistic student development.
We introduce a versatile high-repetition-rate solid tape target system suitable for relativistic laser-plasma driven secondary sources. We demonstrate the operation and stability monitoring based on a petawatt laser focused at 1 Hz. Experiments were carried out at the VEGA-3 laser system of the Centro de Láseres Pulsados facility where results for different tape materials and thicknesses are presented. Experimental proton spectra were recorded by a Thomson parabola spectrometer and a time-of-flight detector. In addition, non-invasive detectors, such as a target charging monitor and ionization chamber detectors, were tested as metrology for the stability of the source. Degradation of the proton signal at high-repetition-rate operation was observed and it was solved by online optimization of the relative focus position of the target and laser beam parameters. We report the use of the tape target for bursts of 1000 shots at 1 Hz with mean cut-off energies of about 10 MeV in optimized interaction conditions.
Preadoption assessments are the most frequent type of evaluation conducted by the Spanish Network of Agencies for Health Technology Assessment and Services of the National Health System (RedETS). RedETS aimed to develop a framework to utilize real-world data (RWD) to better adjust its assessments to the Spanish population’s context and provide live assessments throughout the lifecycle of health technologies.
Methods
A working group within RedETS was set up, which held several meetings to define the primary uses of RWD in the short term. Next, a manual review was conducted on national and international initiatives that provided guidance on the use of RWD in HTA. Common pathways for utilizing RWD in HTA were identified. The working group agreed to outline and explain the key overarching steps and provide general guidelines for working with RWD, developing as illustration a use case for an interventional technology. The Big Data project of Aragon (BIGAN) was chosen as the data source for the use case.
Results
We formulated a case for leveraging RWD in the assessment of implantable cardiac defibrillators (ICDs) for the prevention of sudden cardiac death (SCD). Based on this scenario, we developed a methodological framework outlining a workflow consistent with RedETS practices. RWD complemented the usual process of systematic review of a technology. Crucial steps comprised the definition of data requirements through a data model specification, an exploratory data analysis, and the construction of a decision model. We presented solutions for dealing with unavailable data on essential variables and unstructured records. We discussed the main limitations to account for when working with RWD.
Conclusions
The task ahead holds great hope but requires overcoming some challenges to fully deploy RWD-driven methods. This entails fostering collaboration with health authorities and designated data holders to address data access challenges. In the short term, it is essential to include data scientists in assessment teams and provide appropriate capacity-building to encompass RWD tools and modeling techniques.
The objective of this assessment was to assess diagnostic effectiveness of phosphorylated isoforms of the tau protein (p-tau) in blood samples (plasma and/or serum) in Alzheimer’s disease diagnosis compared to clinical criteria, cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) biomarkers, positron emission tomography (PET), or post-mortem pathology imaging.
Methods
A systematic review of MEDLINE, Cochrane, and Embase was undertaken from 1 January 2000 to 1 September 2022. QUADAS-2 was used to assess the quality of the studies. The selection and quality assessment was carried out independently by two reviewers.
Results
A total of 1,811 references were identified after eliminating duplicates, selecting five: two studies evaluated p-tau181, two others evaluated p-tau217, and one evaluated both isoforms. The studies provided information on diagnostic accuracy using ROC curves. However, none of the studies provided information on sensitivity and/or specificity. The ROC curve values ranged from 83.3 percent to 99.4 percent for p-tau181 and 84 percent to 94 percent for p-tau217. Information was presented in an unclear and heterogeneous way, so our PICO (population, intervention, comparator, outcome) questions were left unanswered. The heterogeneity was due to factors such as the type of isoform, the laboratory platform, and the classification criteria considered.
Conclusions
Despite technology presenting as promising in several studies, the available evidence did not provide high-quality information about its diagnostic accuracy. Diagnostic technologies are often launched and marketed without enough high-quality evidence. The generation of evidence in diagnostic studies is often based on designs that do not provide adequate health technology assessment information.
This project employs a geoarchaeological approach to explore human occupation of the highland wetlands (bofedales) and salt flats of the Dry Puna of northern Chile (>2500m above sea level) during the Holocene. Differences in the archaeological record of each ecosystem are tentatively suggested to relate to settlement patterns and the history of the landscape.
This manuscript showcases the latest advancements in deepImageJ, a pivotal Fiji/ImageJ plugin for bioimage analysis in life sciences. The plugin, known for its user-friendly interface, facilitates the application of diverse pre-trained convolutional neural networks to custom data. The manuscript demonstrates several deepImageJ capabilities, particularly in deploying complex pipelines, three-dimensional (3D) image analysis, and processing large images. A key development is the integration of the Java Deep Learning Library, expanding deepImageJ’s compatibility with various deep learning (DL) frameworks, including TensorFlow, PyTorch, and ONNX. This allows for running multiple engines within a single Fiji/ImageJ instance, streamlining complex bioimage analysis workflows. The manuscript details three case studies to demonstrate these capabilities. The first case study explores integrated image-to-image translation followed by nuclei segmentation. The second case study focuses on 3D nuclei segmentation. The third case study showcases large image volume segmentation and compatibility with the BioImage Model Zoo. These use cases underscore deepImageJ’s versatility and power to make advanced DLmore accessible and efficient for bioimage analysis. The new developments within deepImageJ seek to provide a more flexible and enriched user-friendly framework to enable next-generation image processing in life science.
Contrary to the common perception of hyperarid drylands as barren and lifeless, these regions are home to some of the planet’s most unique biodiversity and support over 100 million people. Despite their ecological and human significance, hyperarid drylands remain among the least studied biomes in the world. In this article, we explore how improving our understanding of hyperarid ecosystems in the Middle East can yield valuable insights applicable to other hyperarid regions. We examine how ongoing greening initiatives in the Middle East offer a unique opportunity to deepen our knowledge of dryland ecology and advocate for the establishment of a comprehensive research program in the region. This program would focus on ecosystem functionality across spatial and temporal scales, setting the stage for a global monitoring network for hyperarid drylands. Such efforts would inform conservation strategies and climate change mitigation, while also shedding light on the resilience and adaptability of hyperarid ecosystems to environmental change. Ultimately, this monitoring would guide management practices to preserve biodiversity, enhance ecosystem services and promote sustainable development in hyperarid regions worldwide.
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is positioning as one of the most relevant threats to global public health and threatens the effective treatment of an ever-growing number of bacterial infections in various healthcare settings, particularly in acute care and surgical units, as well as in the community. Among multidrug-resistant (MDR) gram-negative bacteria (MDRGNB), Enterobacterales, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Acinetobacter baumannii require special attention, since they account for most of the mortality associated with bacterial infections and are often MDR. It is clear that there is an important global variation in antibiotic resistance profiles among MDRGNB species. Extended-spectrum β-lactamase-producing Enterobacterales, carbapenem-resistant Enterobacterales, DTR-P. aeruginosa, and MDR-A. baumannii are the focus of this review. Here, we summarize a series of relevant studies on risk factors associated with colonization and infection with these MDRGNB. Likewise, we offer a comparative overview of those studies providing scoring systems to predict the risk of infection with these MDR pathogens, and their pros and cons. Despite the variable accuracy of published risk factors for predicting colonization or infection with MDRGNB, these scores are valuable tools that may help anticipate colonization and infection among those colonized. More importantly, they may help reduce unnecessary use of broad-spectrum antimicrobials and guiding the selection of an optimal treatment.
Our aim was to evaluate a foster cow–calf rearing system on the adoption or acceptance of fostered calves, milk production and udder health, as well as calf health and weight gain, and to compare this fostering system to traditional rearing. The foster group (FG) consisted of 8 cows each suckling 3 fostered calves with continuous contact. The control group (CG) was a conventional milking system, whereby cows and control calves were kept separate. The duration of the experiment was 8 weeks. Behavioural observations were carried out after the calves were introduced to the FG to find out if and how many calves were adopted or accepted (complete or incomplete maternal behaviour expressed, respectively). Milk production (let down) was recorded daily for CG and once a week for FG (after 8-h of no suckling). Milk samples were collected once a week from both groups for California mastitis test, Wisconsin test, and somatic cell count. A daily record of the incidence of diarrhoea was made on the calves and they were weighed once a week. Results showed that six of the eight FC cows had adopted the three calves, whilst one adopted two calves and accepted one and one adopted one calf and accepted two. One other cow refused all three calves from the outset and was removed from the study. Milk production at a single milking was 2.52 ± 1.04 (mean ± sd) 10.07 ± 0.76 l for FG and CG, respectively. Udder health improved over time in FG as evidenced by a progressive reduction in SCC. The average weight gain for FG calves was higher than for CG (700.7 ± 97.7 vs. 471 ± 188.7 g/d). In conclusion, the foster-cow rearing system was well received by most cows, the udder health on FG showed an improvement in comparison to the CG, and a higher weight gain was found in FC compared to the CC in a traditional rearing system.
There is a high prevalence of neuropsychiatric disorders in myotonic dystrophy types 1 and 2 (DM1 and DM2), including autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in DM1, and depression and anxiety in both DMs. The aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to estimate the prevalence of ASD, ADHD, depression and anxiety in the population with DM, and their association with disease onset. A systematic search of Medline, Scopus, Web of Science, and the Cochrane Library was conducted from inception to November 2023. Observational studies estimating the prevalence of these disorders in DM1 or DM2 were included. A meta-analysis of the prevalence of these disorders and an association study with disease onset by prevalence ratio meta-analysis were performed. Thirty-eight studies were included. In DM1, the prevalence of ASD was 14%, with congenital onset being 79% more common than juvenile onset, while the prevalence of ADHD was 21%, with no difference between congenital and juvenile onset, and the prevalence of depression and anxiety were 14% and 16%. Depression was more common in the adult onset. Finally, the prevalence of depression in DM2 was 16%. A higher prevalence of neuropsychiatric disorders is observed in individuals with DM1 and DM2 than in the general population. Therefore, actively screening for congenital and juvenile neurodevelopmental disorders in DM1 and emotional disorders in DM1 and DM2 may improve the quality of life of those affected.