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In order to identify biomarkers of prodromal mood disorders, we examined functional brain activation in children and adolescent at familial risk for bipolar disorder. Offspring of parents with bipolar I disorder (at-risk youth; N = 115, mean ± SD age: 13.6 ± 2.7; 54 % girls) and group-matched offspring of healthy parents (healthy controls; N = 58, mean ± SD age: 14.2 ± 3.0; 53 % girls) underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging while performing a continuous performance task with emotional and neutral distracters. At baseline, at-risk youth had no history of mood episodes or psychotic disorders. Subjects were followed longitudinally until developing their first mood episode or being lost to follow-up. Standard event-related region-of-interest (ROI) analyses were performed to compare brain activation at baseline between groups and in survival analyses. At baseline, at-risk youth exhibited reduced activation to emotional distracters in the right ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (VLPFC) (p = 0.04). Activation was not significantly altered in additional ROIs, including left VLPFC, bilateral amygdala, caudate, or putamen. In those at-risk youth who developed their first mood episode during follow-up (n = 17), baseline increased activation in right VLPFC, right caudate, and right putamen activation predicted the development of a mood episode. Sample size of converters, loss to follow-up, and number of statistical comparisons. We found preliminary evidence that a reduced activation in right VLPFC might be a marker of risk for or resilience to mood disorders in at-risk youth. Conversely, an increased activation in the right VLPFC, caudate, and putamen might indicate an increased risk for the later development of their first mood episode. • Offspring of parents with bipolar I disorder are at high risk for mood disorders. • We studied risk for mood disorders in bipolar offspring using brain imaging. • We used an attentional task with emotional stimuli to probe brain function. • Bipolar offspring had abnormal functional activation in right prefrontal cortex. • Right prefrontal cortex activation predicted a mood episode in bipolar offspring. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The number of umbrella reviews, the systematic reviews of all systematic reviews and meta-analyses in a specified subject, have increased exponentially in recent years. In February 2024, a PubMed search with the term "umbrella review" yielded 840 publications in 2023, compared with 77 in 2013, and 16 in 2003. As the number of scientific publications grows, also does the need to synthesize the current state of knowledge to guide research efforts, clinical practice, and health policies. 1,2 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Carbonate rocks usually present a wide variation in pore size within a sample and may contain macroscopic pores ranging from a few millimeters to microscopic pores smaller than one micrometer. Therefore, studying the fluid flow inside carbonates presents a challenging problem. This study proposes a methodology to create dual-porosity micromodels for studying single and two-phase fluid flow in multiscale, carbonate-like, rocks. For this purpose, a design technique for Rock-on-a-Chip (ROC) devices based on the Voronoi tessellation was extended to take into account bimodal pore size distributions, allowing the creation of a macroporous system made up of larger channels and vugs that can be filled with distinct microporosity types. The porous media thus generated were then employed to fabricate polymer micromodels by applying the soft lithography technique. Experimental and numerical results show that the microporosity can increase or reduce the permeability, depending on whether it is added to the grains and/or to the large channels. Even when the microporous matrix completely filled the large channels, the addition of vugs did not increase the permeability. Regarding two-phase fluid flow, the location of the steady-state fluids after drainage clearly depends on the proportion and spatial distribution of microporosity, as well as its type. For the micromodel with microporous grains, no significant amount of wetting fluid was displaced from the micropores. In contrast, when microporosities fill the large channels, the injected fluid forces the displacement of the wetting liquid from the micropores, although far from effectively. The novel approach presented in this work represents a step forward in the artificial generation of more representative micromodels for studying fluid flow at the pore scale. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article aims at performing maritime target classification in SAR images using machine learning (ML) and deep learning (DL) techniques. In particular, the targets of interest are oil platforms and ships located in the Campos Basin, Brazil. Two convolutional neural networks (CNNs), VGG-16 and VGG-19, were used for attribute extraction. The logistic regression (LR), random forest (RF), support vector machine (SVM), k-nearest neighbours (kNN), decision tree (DT), naive Bayes (NB), neural networks (NET), and AdaBoost (ADBST) schemes were considered for classification. The target classification methods were evaluated using polarimetric images obtained from the C-band synthetic aperture radar (SAR) system Sentinel-1. Classifiers are assessed by the accuracy indicator. The LR, SVM, NET, and stacking results indicate better performance, with accuracy ranging from 84.1% to 85.5%. The Kruskal–Wallis test shows a significant difference with the tested classifier, indicating that some classifiers present different accuracy results. The optimizations provide results with more significant accuracy gains, making them competitive with those shown in the literature. There is no exact combination of methods for SAR image classification that will always guarantee the best accuracy. The optimizations performed in this article were for the specific data set of the Campos Basin, and results may change depending on the data set format and the number of images. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: To investigate the mechanism of action of N‐acetylcysteine (NAC) in depressive symptoms in young individuals at familial risk for bipolar disorder. Methods: We conducted an 8‐week open label clinical trial of NAC 2400 mg/days in 15–24 years old depressed offspring of a bipolar I disorder parent, with baseline and endpoint proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy acquired within the left ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (VLPFC). Results: Nine participants were enrolled and finished the study. NAC significantly improved depressive and anxiety symptom scores, and clinical global impression (all p <.001). There was a non‐significant reduction in glutamate levels in the left VLPFC. Reduction in depressive symptom scores was positively associated with reduction in glutamate levels in the left VLPFC (p =.007). Conclusions: This pilot study suggests that NAC might be efficacious for depressive symptoms in at‐risk youth, and that its mechanism of action involves the modulation of glutamate in the left VLPFC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Previous studies and meta‐analyses suggested that N‐acetylcysteine (NAC) was superior to placebo in improving depression in bipolar disorder. However, more recent data, including two larger trials, found that NAC was no more effective than placebo. We conducted a meta‐analysis to appraise the possible efficacy of NAC in treating bipolar depression. Methods: A systematic review and meta‐analysis of double‐blind, placebo‐controlled trials of NAC as a treatment augmentation strategy for bipolar depression was carried out in PubMed (1966–2020). We utilized random‐effect analysis to evaluate improvement in depressive symptoms from baseline to endpoint as the primary efficacy measure. Results: Six trials including 248 patients were included. Treatment augmentation with NAC showed a moderate effect size favoring NAC over placebo (d = 0.45, 95% C.I.: 0.06–0.84). There was substantial heterogeneity (I2 = 49%). Meta‐regression analyses did not identify any moderator that might explain variation in heterogeneity, including baseline depressive symptom scores, mean NAC dose, or duration of study. Conclusions: Results from six clinical trials suggest that treatment augmentation with NAC for bipolar depression appears to be superior to placebo, with a moderate effect size, but a large confidence interval. Larger clinical trials, investigating possible moderating factors, such as NAC dose, treatment duration, baseline depression severity, or chronicity of illness, are warranted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This research examines the superiority of analysts over random walk models in forecasting the results of publicly-traded Brazilian companies in the short and long term. Originality/value: The literature indicates the uncontested superiority of market analysts because of their temporal and informational advantages. However, recent international studies call for a re-evaluation of this superiority, indicating that, for certain company characteristics, and primarily for long-term estimates, the superiority of analysts is not confirmed. Design/methodology/approach: This work evaluates the profit forecasting of analysts and simple and growth random walk models over the short and long term over 2010-2015 for publicly traded Brazilian companies, using the information available for the period with annual intervals. Findings: The results indicate: 1. the greater forecasting accuracy of simple random walk models compared to the growth random walk models; and 2. the greater forecasting accuracy of random walk models overall, with analyst forecasts only being superior for cases with three months of lag. The evidence suggests the forecasting superiority of the random walk models when compared to the market analysts' forecasts. The results suggest low efficiency of the forecasts of market analysts for the forecast of future results of publicly traded Brazilian companies in the analyzed period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We provide a lower value for the volume of a unit vector field tangent to an antipodally punctured Euclidean sphere S² depending on the length of an ellipse determined by the indexes of its singularities. We also exhibit minimizing vector fields v→k within each index class and show that they are the only ones that are sharp for the volume. These fields have areas given essentially by the length of ellipses depending just on the indexes in N and S. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Children of individuals with bipolar disorder (bipolar offspring) are at increased risk for developing mood disorders, but strategies to predict mood episodes are unavailable. In this study, we used support vector machine (SVM) to characterize the potential of proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H-MRS) in predicting the first mood episode in youth bipolar offspring. From a longitudinal neuroimaging study, 19 at-risk youth who developed their first mood episode (converters), and 19 without mood episodes during follow-up (non-converters) were selected and matched for age, sex and follow-up time. Baseline 1H-MRS data were obtained from anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and bilateral ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (VLPFC). Glutamate (Glu), myo-inositol (mI), choline (Cho), N-acetyl aspartate (NAA), and phosphocreatine plus creatine (PCr + Cr) levels were calculated. SVM with a linear kernel was adopted to classify converters and non-converters based on their baseline metabolites. SVM allowed the significant classification of converters and non-converters across all regions for Cho (accuracy = 76.0%), but not for other metabolites. Considering all metabolites within each region, SVM allowed the significant classification of converters and non-converters for left VLPFC (accuracy = 76.5%), but not for right VLPFC or ACC. The combined mI, PCr + Cr, and Cho from left VLPFC achieved the highest accuracy differentiating converters from non-converters (79.0%). Our findings from this exploratory study suggested that 1H-MRS levels of mI, Cho, and PCr + Cr from left VLPFC might be useful to predict the development of first mood episode in youth bipolar offspring using machine learning. Future studies that prospectively examine and validate these metabolites as predictors of mood episodes in high-risk individuals are necessary. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To investigate whether poor antidepressant tolerability is associated with functional brain changes in children and adolescents of parents with bipolar I disorder (at-risk youth). Methods: Seventy-three at-risk youth (ages 9-20 years old) who participated in a prospective study and had an available baseline functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scan were included. Research records were reviewed for the incidence of adverse reactions related to antidepressant exposure during follow-up. The sample was divided among at-risk youth without antidepressant exposure (n=21), at-risk youth with antidepressant exposure and no adverse reaction (n=12), at-risk youth with antidepressant-related adverse reaction (n=21), and healthy controls (n=20). The fMRI task was a continuous performance test with emotional distracters. Region-of-interest mean activation in brain areas of the fronto-limbic emotional circuit was compared among groups. Results: Right amygdala activation in response to emotional distracters significantly differed among groups (F3,66 = 3.1, p = 0.03). At-risk youth with an antidepressant-related adverse reaction had the lowest amygdala activation, while at-risk youth without antidepressant exposure had the highest activation (p = 0.004). Conclusions: Decreased right amygdala activation in response to emotional distracters is associated with experiencing an antidepressant-related adverse reaction in at-risk youth. Further studies to determine whether amygdala activation is a useful biomarker for antidepressant-related adverse events are needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: To prospectively investigate whether baseline clinical characteristics and medication exposure predict development of major depressive disorder or bipolar disorder in offspring of parents with bipolar disorder. Methods: Youth aged 9-20 years with at least one biological parent with bipolar disorder and no prior history of mood or psychotic episodes (n=93) were prospectively evaluated and treated naturalistically during the study. Participants were divided into two groups: converters, defined as those who met DSM-IV criteria for a mood episode during follow-up (n=19); or non-converters (n=74). Logistic regression models were used to investigate associations between baseline clinical variables and medication exposure during follow-up and risk of developing a first mood episode (conversion). Results: Multivariate regression analyses showed that baseline anxiety disorders and subsyndromal mood disorders were associated with increased risk of conversion during follow-up. Adding medication exposure to the multivariate model showed that exposure to antidepressants during follow-up was associated with increased risk of conversion. Conclusions: Caution should be used when treating bipolar offspring with anxiety and/or emerging depressive symptoms using antidepressant agents, given the increased risk of developing a major mood disorder. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: The Cerrado occupies 23% of Brazil. A. othonianum is a native Cerrado species that presents differently colored pseudofruits. This report describes the morphometric properties, physicochemical characterization, and phenolic and flavonoid compound compositions of 30 accessions of A. othonianum. RESULTS: The morphometric properties show that an average fruit had 21.97 mm length, 18.61 mm width, and 11.13 mm thickness, with 2.52 g mass. The pseudofruits had 28.84 mm apex width with 12.83 g of mass. The hue parameters of the pseudofruits were 18.67 ± 2.00 and 83.32 ± 1.97° (P < 0.05), reflecting their red to yellow color. The titratable acidity of the accessions was 0.91 ± 0.09 to 3.02 ± 0.02% (P < 0.05), soluble solid content was 9.60 ± 0.17 to 13.47 ± 0.38 °Brix (P < 0.05), and pH ranged from 2.83 ± 0.06 to 3.83 ± 0.06 (P < 0.05). Fourteen flavonoid compounds were identified. The most common compounds in the accessions were vitexin (93% of the accessions), hesperidin (57% of the accessions), epicatechin (34% of the accessions), and kaempferol‐3‐O‐glucoside (30% of the accessions). Cluster analysis generated four groups with the traits ΔE, °h, C, soluble solid content, titratable acidity, pH, total flavonoids, and their identified compounds. CONCLUSIONS: Although all accessions are A. othonianum, there the chemical composition and the physical characteristics of these fruits vary. This is the first report in the literature using wild accessions. Greater disclosure of the species characteristic is interesting because it can increase income for the local population. © 2019 Society of Chemical Industry [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: To investigate neurochemical abnormalities in the left and right ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (VLPFC) and anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) of youth at risk for bipolar disorder using proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy before and after their first mood episode. Methods: Children and adolescents offspring of parents with bipolar I disorder (at‐risk group, n = 117) and matched healthy controls (HC group, n = 61) were recruited at the University of Cincinnati. At‐risk subjects had no lifetime major mood and psychotic disorders at baseline, and were followed up every 4 months to monitor for development of a major depressive, manic, hypomanic, or mixed mood episode. Levels of N‐acetyl‐aspartate (NAA), phosphocreatine plus creatine (PCr + Cr), choline‐containing compounds, myo‐inositol, and glutamate were determined using LCModel and corrected for partial volume effects. Results: There were no baseline differences in metabolite levels for any of the brain regions between at‐risk and HC youth. Nineteen at‐risk subjects developed a first mood episode during follow‐up. Survival analyses showed that baseline PCr + Cr levels in the left VLPFC significantly predicted a mood episode during follow‐up in the at‐risk group (HR: 0.47, 95% CI: 0.27‐0.82, P = 0.008). There were no longitudinal changes in metabolites levels in the VLPFC and ACC before and after a mood episode in at‐risk subjects. Conclusions: We found no evidence for abnormal proton spectroscopy metabolite levels in the VLPFC and ACC of at‐risk youth, prior and after the development of their first mood episode. Preliminary findings of association between baseline PCr + Cr levels in the left VLPFC and risk to develop a mood episode warrant further investigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Studying youth at high risk of developing bipolar disorder may clarify neurobiological factors associated with vulnerability to this illness. We present here a baseline characterization of brain structure in youth at-risk for bipolar disorder.Methods: Magnetic resonance images were obtained from 115 child and adolescent offspring of bipolar disorder type I subjects and 57 healthy child and adolescent offspring of healthy parents (healthy control offspring). Offspring of parents with bipolar disorder were divided into healthy bipolar offspring (n=47) or symptomatic bipolar offspring (n=68), according to presence or absence of childhood-onset psychopathology. All bipolar offspring were free of major mood and psychotic disorders. Gray (GM) and white matter (WM) volumes were compared between groups using voxel-based morphometry.Results: No differences in GM volumes were found across groups. Healthy bipolar offspring presented with decreased WM volumes in areas of the right frontal, temporal and parietal lobes, and in the left temporal and parietal lobes compared to healthy control offspring. Symptomatic bipolar offspring did not present with any differences in WM volumes compared to either healthy bipolar offspring or healthy control offspring.Limitations: Cross-sectional design and heterogeneous sample of symptomatic bipolar offspring.Conclusions: WM volume decreases in areas of the frontal, occipital, and parietal lobes are present in bipolar offspring prior to the development of any psychiatric symptoms, and may be a correlate of familial risk to bipolar disorder. In this large cohort, we have not found evidence for regional GM volume abnormalities as an endophenotype for bipolar disorder. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

OBJECTIVE: Unaffected relatives of bipolar disorder (BD) patients have been investigated for the identification of endophenotypes in an attempt to further elucidate the pathophysiology of the disease. Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) is considered to be implicated in the pathophysiology of BD, but its role as an endophenotype has been poorly studied. We investigated abnormal serum BDNF levels in BD patients, in their unaffected relatives, and in healthy controls. METHODS: BDNF levels were obtained from 25 DSM-IV bipolar I disorder patients, 23 unaffected relatives, and 27 healthy controls. All BD patients were in remission. The unaffected subjects were first-degree relatives of the proband who had no lifetime DSM-IV diagnosis of axis I disorder. BDNF serum levels were determined by sandwich ELISA using monoclonal BDNF-specific antibodies. RESULTS: There were no statistical differences in BDNF levels among BD patients, relatives, and healthy controls. CONCLUSION: Serum BDNF levels may not indicate high genetic risk for BD, possibly acting as state markers rather than trait markers of the disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we define a certain proportional volume property for a unit vector field on a spherical domain in S 3 . We prove that the volume of these vector fields has an absolute minimum, and that this value is equal to the volume of the Hopf vector field. Some examples of such vector fields are given. We also study the minimum energy of solenoidal vector fields which coincides with a Hopf flow along the boundary of a spherical domain of S 2 k + 1 . [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bipolar disorder (BD) is highly heritable. First-degree relatives of BD patient have an increased risk to develop the disease. We investigated abnormalities in gray matter (GM) volumes in healthy first-degree relatives of BD patients to identify possible brain structural endophenotypes for the disorder. 3D T1-weighted magnetic resonance images were obtained from 25 DSM-IV BD type I patients, 23 unaffected relatives, and 27 healthy controls (HC). A voxel-based morphometry protocol was used to compare differences in GM volumes between groups. BD patients presented reduced GM volumes bilaterally in the thalamus compared with HC. Relatives presented no global or regional GM differences compared with HC. Our negative results do not support the role of GM volume abnormalities as endophenotypes for BD. Thalamic volume abnormalities may be associated the pathophysiology of the disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Objectives: To compare clinical characteristics of bipolar disorder (BD) in patients with and without a family history of mood disorders (FHMD) in a large sample from the Brazilian Research Network of Bipolar Disorders. Methods: Four-hundred eighty-eight DSM-IV BD patients participating in the Brazilian Research Network of Bipolar Disorders were included. Participants were divided between those with FHMD (n=230) and without FHMD (n=258). We compared these two groups on demographic and clinical variables and performed a logistic regression to identify which variables were most strongly associated with positive family history of mood disorders. Results: BD patients with FHMD presented with significantly higher lifetime prevalence of any anxiety disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, social phobia, substance abuse, and were more likely to present history of suicide attempts, family history of suicide attempts and suicide, and more psychiatric hospitalizations than BD patients without FHMD. Logistic regression showed that the variables most strongly associated with a positive FHMD were any comorbid anxiety disorder, comorbid substance abuse, and family history of suicide. Limitations: Cross-sectional study and verification of FHMD by indirect information. Conclusion: BD patients with FHMD differ from BD patients without FHMD in rates of comorbid anxiety disorder and substance abuse, number of hospitalizations and suicide attempts. As FHMD is routinely assessed in clinical practice, these findings may help to identify patients at risk for particular manifestations of BD and may point to a common, genetically determined neurobiological substrate that increases the risk of conditions such as comorbidities and suicidality in BD patients. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The article presents a study which examined the brain structural vulnerability factors for bipolar disorder (BD), as well as discussed the challenges for the advancement of the field. It claims that individuals at high genetic risk for BD were seen to have cortical and subcortical gray matter abnormalities. It defines BD as a severe, recurrent and highly disabling psychiatric disorder.

Background: Up to 60% of bipolar disorder (BD) patients develop alcohol use disorders (AUD) at some point in their lives. The causes of this highly prevalent comorbidity are unknown. High trait impulsivity characterizes both isolated BD and AUD and may be a link to explain the association between BD and AUD. In this study, our aims were to investigate whether BD patients with comorbid AUD would present higher trait impulsivity levels compared to BD patients without comorbid AUD, and whether trait impulsivity levels differ within subgroups of BD according to the subcategory of AUD (abuse vs. dependence, alcoholism alone vs. alcoholism plus drug use disorders). Sampling and Methods: Forty-seven outpatients with BD with comorbid AUD (alcoholic BD group) were compared to 66 outpatients with BD alone (nonalcoholic BD group) and to 90 healthy controls (HC). BD and AUD diagnoses were obtained using the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV diagnoses. Impulsivity was assessed using the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale (BIS-11), a self-report instrument that measures trait impulsivity in three domains: nonplanning, attentional and motor. Results: Alcoholic BD patients scored significantly higher than nonalcoholic BD and HC on the total and on each subscale BIS scores. Within the alcoholic BD patients, alcohol abusers and alcohol dependents did not statistically differ from each other on the BIS-11 scores. BD patients with AUD plus drug use disorders presented statistically higher nonplanning impulsivity than BD patients with AUD alone. Conclusions: This was a cross-sectional study and causal inferences about the relationship between impulsivity and the comorbidity phenomenon cannot be made. Increased impulsivity may be a trait marker for the co-occurrence between BD and AUD, and mediate some severe manifestations of this comorbidity. Copyright © 2012 S. Karger AG, Basel [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Almeida KM, Nery FG, Moreno RA, Gorenstein C, Lafer B. Personality traits in bipolar disorder type I: a sib-pair analysis. Bipolar Disord 2011: 13: 662-669. © 2011 The Authors. Journal compilation © 2011 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Objective: The aim of this study was to compare temperament and character traits among patients with bipolar disorder (BD), their siblings, and healthy controls (HCs) in order to examine whether personality traits are related to the genetic vulnerability to develop BD. Methods: Using the Temperament and Character Inventory, we assessed 204 subjects: 67 euthymic outpatients with bipolar disorder type I, 67 siblings without BD, and 70 HCs. Results: Scores on harm avoidance, novelty seeking, and self-transcendence were significantly higher among patients with BD than among HCs, whereas those on self-directedness and cooperativeness were significantly lower. Siblings showed higher scores on harm avoidance and lower scores on self-directedness than did HCs. As some of the siblings presented at least one lifetime psychiatric disorder other than BD (n = 35), we examined the subset of siblings who had no lifetime psychiatric disorder (n = 32). This group showed statistically higher harm avoidance scores than HCs. Conclusions: Our results suggest that the harm avoidance temperament trait and, to a lesser extent, the self-directedness character trait may represent vulnerability factors for BD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Up to 50% of bipolar disorder (BD) patients present a lifetime diagnosis of alcohol use disorders (AUD). BD patients with comorbid AUD, even when in remission from the AUD, have a poorer outcome and functional impairment than patients with BD alone. The neurobiological abnormalities that potentially characterize this severe subgroup of BD patients are unknown. Our goal was to investigate gray matter (GM) volume abnormalities in BD I patients with comorbid AUD. Twenty-one BD-AUD patients, 21 BD-nonAUD BD patients, and 25 healthy controls (HC), matched by age, gender, and handedness were studied. The BD-AUD patients were in remission from AUD on average for 6.8 years. 3D SPGR MRIs (TR=25ms, TE=5ms, slice thickness=1.5mm) were acquired from all subjects using a 1.5T GE Signa Imaging System. We used an optimized voxel-based morphometry protocol to compare GM volumes among the groups. BD-AUD patients presented smaller GM volumes in the left medial frontal and the right anterior cingulate gyri compared to BD-nonAUD patients. BDnon-AUD patients did not present GM volume differences compared to HC. These findings provide evidence for an effect of comorbid AUD on regional brain structure of BD I patients and warrant further research on neurobiological aspects of this prevalent and severe comorbidity. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: A Lattice-Boltzmann method based on field mediators is proposed to simulate the capillary rise between parallel plates by considering the effect of long-range interactions between the fluids and the solid walls. As a starting point, a liquid–vapor system was employed, which was modeled using a known model described in the literature. The simulations were compared with theoretical solutions of the Bosanquet equation. The results obtained are in good agreement with theoretical predictions, particularly when the dependence between the dynamic contact angle and the capillary number is taken into account. This dependence shows that on smooth and homogeneous solid surfaces, where pinning effects in the contact line are weak, the dynamic contact angle is linearly dependent on the capillary number, in good agreement with theoretical and experimental results available in the literature. Some discrepancies were observed in the first stages of the capillary rise when the distance between the parallel plates is large, considering the high complexity involved in predicting the initial meniscus formation. The results presented in this work appear to indicate that the inclusion of long-range forces does not change significantly the fluid flow dynamics at the mesoscopic level, at least, when ideally flat and homogeneous solid surfaces are used in the simulations. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Alcoholism is highly prevalent among bipolar disorder (BD) patients, and its presence is associated with a worse outcome and refractoriness to treatment of the mood disorder. The neurobiological underpinnings that characterize this comorbidity are unknown. We sought to investigate the neurochemical profile of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) of BD patients with comorbid alcoholism. A short-TE, single-voxel 1H spectroscopy acquisition at 1.5T from the left DLFPC of 22 alcoholic BD patients, 26 non-alcoholic BD patients and 54 healthy comparison subjects (HC) were obtained. Absolute levels of N-acetyl aspartate, phosphocreatine plus creatine, choline-containing compounds, myo-inositol, glutamate plus glutamine (Glu+Gln) and glutamate were obtained using the water signal as an internal reference. Analysis of co-variance was used to compare metabolite levels among the three groups. In the primary comparison, non-alcoholic BD patients had higher glutamate concentrations compared to alcoholic BD patients. In secondary comparisons integrating interactions between gender and alcoholism, non-alcoholic BD patients presented significantly higher glutamate plus glutamine (Glu+Gln) than alcoholic BD patients and HC. These results appeared to be driven by differences in male subjects. Alcoholic BD patients with additional drug use disorders presented significantly lower myo-inositol than BD patients with alcoholism alone. The co-occurrence of BD and alcoholism may be characterized by neurochemical abnormalities related to the glutamatergic system and to the inositol second messenger system and/or in glial pathology. These abnormalities may be the neurochemical correlate of an increased risk to develop alcoholism in BD, or of a persistently worse clinical and functional status in BD patients in remission from alcoholism, supporting the clinical recommendation that efforts should be made to prevent or early diagnose and treat alcoholism in BD patients. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Few proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H spectroscopy) studies have investigated the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), a key region in the pathophysiology of major depressive disorder (MDD). We used 1H spectroscopy to verify whether MDD patients differ from healthy controls (HC) in metabolite levels in this brain area. Thirty-seven unmedicated DSM-IV MDD patients were compared with 40 HC. Subjects underwent a short echo-time 1H spectroscopy examination at 1.5 T, with an 8-cm3 single voxel placed in the left DLPFC. Reliable absolute metabolite levels of N-acetyl aspartate (NAA), phosphocreatine plus creatine (PCr+Cr), choline-containing compounds (GPC+PC), myo-inositol, glutamate plus glutamine (Glu+Gln), and glutamate were obtained using the unsuppressed water signal as an internal reference. Metabolite levels in the left DLPFC did not statistically differ between MDD patients and HC. We found an interaction between gender and diagnosis on PCr+Cr levels. Male MDD patients presented lower levels of PCr+Cr than male HC, and female MDD patients presented higher levels of PCr+Cr than female HC. Moreover, length of illness was inversely correlated with NAA levels. These findings suggest that there is not an effect of diagnosis on the left DLPFC neurochemistry. Possible effects of gender on PCr+Cr levels of MDD patients need to be further investigated. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Background: The objective of this study was to compare personality traits between major depressive disorder (MDD) patients and healthy comparison subjects (HC) and examine if personality traits in patients are associated with specific clinical characteristics of the disorder. Methods: Sixty MDD patients (45 depressed, 15 remitted) were compared to 60 HC using the Temperament and Character Inventory. Analysis of covariance, with age and gender as covariates, was used to compare the mean Temperament and Character Inventory scores among the subject groups. Results: Depressed MDD patients scored significantly higher than HC on novelty seeking, harm avoidance, and self-transcendence and lower on reward dependence, self-directedness, and cooperativeness. Remitted MDD patients scored significantly lower than HC only on self-directedness. Comorbidity with anxiety disorder had a main effect only on harm avoidance. Harm avoidance was positively correlated with depression intensity and with number of episodes. Self-directedness had an inverse correlation with depression intensity. Conclusions: MDD patients present a different personality profile from HC, and these differences are influenced by mood state and comorbid anxiety disorders. When considering patients who have been in remission for some time, the differences pertain to few personality dimensions. Cumulated number of depressive episodes may result in increased harm avoidance. Depression and Anxiety, 2009. © 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Functional and postmortem studies suggest that the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) is involved in the pathophysiology of bipolar disorder (BD). This anatomical magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) study examined whether BD patients have smaller OFC gray matter volumes compared to healthy comparison subjects (HC). Methods: Twenty-eight BD patients were compared to 28 age- and gender-matched HC. Subjects underwent a 1.5T MRI with 3D spoiled gradient recalled acquisition. Total OFC and medial and lateral subdivisions were manually traced by a blinded examiner. Images were segmented and gray matter volumes were calculated using an automated method. Results: Analysis of covariance, with intracranial volume as covariate, showed that BD patients and HC did not differ in gray matter volumes of total OFC or its subdivisions. However, total OFC gray matter volume was significantly smaller in depressed patients (n = 10) compared to euthymic patients (n = 18). Moreover, total OFC gray matter volumes were inversely correlated with depressive symptom intensity, as assessed by the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale. OFC gray matter volumes were not related to lithium treatment, age at disease onset, number of episodes, or family history of mood disorders. Conclusions: Our results suggest that abnormal OFC gray matter volumes are not a pervasive characteristic of BD, but may be associated with specific clinical features of the disorder. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • High added value products from thermal cracking of oleic acid and iron ore tailings. • Use of iron ore tailings as an iron source for the cracking of oleic acid. • Cracking reactions led to the formation of ketones, hydrogen gas and C 3 hydrocarbons. Iron ore tailings (IOT) are rich in iron oxides and silica and can be used for different applications such as allow the thermal cracking of fatty acids for the production of fuels and products with high added value. Thus, this work aimed to use of IOT as an iron source for the production of high-value products using oleic acid (OA) as carbon sources. These compounds were produced from a thermal decomposition reaction, from the mixture of OA and IOT, in a high pressure reactor (12.5 bar), using the ratio of 1:1 wt (acid:IOT), in temperatures between 250 and 450 °C (3 and 12 h). The results showed that for all reactions, the solid products obtained showed a percentage of less than 6 % of carbon material and different iron phases (Fe 2 O 3 , Fe 3 O 4 and FeOOH). For the reactions carried out at 250 and 350 °C/3h the main fraction obtained was the liquid, however the compostion was mainly the starting compound and iron oleate. For the reactions carried out at 400 and 450 °C/3h, the main fraction was gas, mainly hydrogen. For the reaction carried out at 350 °C for 12 h the mass balance showed the formation of similar amounts of liquid and gaseous products. Liquid products formed ketones as the main product, while gaseous products were identified and presented greater selectivity for C3 hydrocarbons. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The mechanical extraction of the bixin from Bixa orellanaseeds using a spouted bed was investigated in this work. The experimental program was divided into two main steps. In the first step, a two-level factorial experimental design was used to analyze the influence of the main process variables on the mechanical extraction responses. The second step of the experiment was carried out to evaluate the effect of the distance between the draft tube and the conical base (ht). Computational fluid dynamic technique was used to understand seed flow and the effect of hton the mechanical extraction process. The results obtained showed that the presence of the draft tube was the variable that most strongly affected the powder extraction. The best condition for the bixin extraction from B. orellanaseeds was the one when the draft tube was positioned at 4 cm from the air inlet. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Temperament and character traits may determine differences in clinical presentations and outcome of bipolar disorder. We compared personality traits in bipolar patients and healthy individuals using the Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI) and sought to verify whether comorbidity with alcoholism or anxiety disorders is associated with specific personality traits. Seventy-three DSM-IV bipolar patients were compared to 63 healthy individuals using the TCI. In a second step, the bipolar sample was subgrouped according to the presence of psychiatric comorbidity (alcoholism, n =10; anxiety disorders; n =23; alcoholism plus anxiety disorders, n =21; no comorbidity, n =19). Bipolar patients scored statistically higher than the healthy individuals on novelty seeking, harm avoidance and self-transcendence and lower on self-directedness and cooperativeness. Bipolar patients with only comorbid alcoholism scored statistically lower than bipolar patients without any comorbidity on persistence. Bipolar patients with only comorbid anxiety disorders scored statistically higher on harm avoidance and lower on self-directedness than bipolar patients without any comorbidity. Limitations of this study include the cross-sectional design and the small sample size, specifically in the analysis of the subgroups. However, our results suggest that bipolar patients exhibit a different personality structure than healthy individuals and that presence of psychiatric comorbidity in bipolar disorder is associated with specific personality traits. These findings suggest that personality, at least to some extent, mediates the comorbidity phenomena in bipolar disorder. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Objective: To estimate the prevalence of psychiatric disorders in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and explore their association with anti-ribosomal P (anti-P) antibodies. Methods: Seventy-one consecutive female SLE patients without neurological manifestations were evaluated for psychiatric disorders using the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV (SCID). Anti-P antibodies were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA)/immunoblot analysis. Results: The mean age of subjects was 34.8 years (SD: 10.1 years), and the mean duration of SLE was 9.8 years (SD: 6.5 years). The 30-day prevalences of psychiatric disorders were: mood disorders 26.8%, anxiety disorders 46.5%, adjustment disorders 8.4%, alcohol abuse 1.4%, and somatoform disorder 1.4%. The lifetime prevalences of psychiatric disorders were: mood disorders 69%, anxiety disorders 52.1%, alcohol abuse 1.4%, and somatoform disorder 1.4%. Subjects with and without psychiatric manifestations did not differ regarding SLE clinical and laboratorial parameters including presence or absence of anti-P antibodies (23.1% vs. 20%, respectively, p =1.0), disease activity, as measured by the Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Disease activity Index (4.08±5.7 vs. 4.95±6.3 respectively, p =0.60) and cumulated damage, as measured by the Systemic Lupus International Collaborating Clinics/American College of Rheumatology Damage Index (0.7±2.3 vs. 0.3±0.7 respectively, p =0.33). Conclusions: Mood and anxiety disorders are the most frequently observed psychiatric disorders in female SLE patients without concomitant neurological manifestations. These mild/moderate forms of psychiatric disorders are not associated with anti-P antibodies in SLE patients. Our findings reinforce the importance of systematic psychiatric evaluation for these patients in order to provide adequate and comprehensive care. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Selection of the most appropriate sonographic scanning approaches for evaluation of hips can improve the method efficacy and decrease the scanning time. To determine the sonographic scanning planes that best assess the proximal femoral vascularity in asymptomatic and pathologic hips of children with Legg-Calvé-Perthes disease (LCPD) and evaluate the frequency (number of hips with evidence of perfusion) and intensity (number of color pixels per region) of color pixels representing superficial cartilaginous and deep transphyseal vascularity in different anatomic regions of pathologic and asymptomatic hips using multipositional power Doppler approaches. Seven scanning approaches (anterior-sagittal, anterior-transverse, coronal, adduction, perineal, 30° and 70° of abduction) were applied in 26 pathologic hips of 26 children with LCPD (age range 3–11 years) and in 25 contralateral asymptomatic hips. The color Doppler signals seen within the proximal femur were analyzed both qualitatively (overall/regional frequency) and quantitatively (intensity). The coronal ( P=0.009) and 30° abduction ( P=0.047) approaches demonstrated a higher frequency of color pixels in pathologic than in asymptomatic hips. The anterior-sagittal, 30° abduction, adduction and anterior-transverse planes performed best of all approaches ( P=0.02) to assess deep transphyseal perfusion. The physis demonstrated a greater intensity of color signals representing intraosseous vascularity than other regions in pathologic hips ( P=0.027), as noted with the anterior-sagittal approach. There was a tendency ( P=0.06) towards a greater intensity of pixels representing cartilaginous vascularity in pathologic hips’ physes with the coronal approach. Specific sonographic scanning planes are recommended for assessment of the proximal femoral vascularity of LCPD hips. The physis is the anatomic region that presents with the greatest intensity of color signals in pathologic hips. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective To investigate whether the cox-2 inhibitor celecoxib has antidepressant effects in bipolar disorder (BD) patients during depressive or mixed phases. Methods We studied 28 DSM-IV BD patients who were experiencing a depressive or mixed episode and were on a stable dose of a mood stabilizer or atypical antipsychotic medication. Subjects were randomized to receive 6 weeks of double-blind placebo or celecoxib (400 mg/day) treatment. Current mood stabilizer or antipsychotic medication remained at the same doses during the trial. Results Intention-to-treat analysis showed that the patients receiving celecoxib had lower Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HamD) scores after 1 week of treatment compared to the patients receiving placebo, but this difference was not statistically significant (p = 0.09). The improvement in the first week of treatment was statistically significant when the analysis included only the subjects who completed the full 6-week trial (p = 0.03). The two groups did not differ significantly on depressive or manic symptoms from the second week until the end of the trial. Celecoxib was well tolerated with the exception of two subjects who dropped out of the study due to rash. Conclusions Our findings suggest that adjunctive treatment with celecoxib may produce a rapid-onset antidepressant effect in BD patients experiencing depressive or mixed episodes. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The dynamics of capillary flow has several practical applications in the industry and has been extensively investigated. The main focuses in these studies are the motion of the interface, especially near the three-phase contact line, and the change of contact angle during the invasion process. In this work we present several simulations results of capillary invasion in two- and three-dimensions, using the Lattice–Boltzmann model based on field mediators. We investigate the velocity field near the solid surface, the changes in the contact angle as a consequence of the flow, and the boundary conditions that can be used in the inlet and outlet of the capillary tube. In all simulations the diameter of tube is made large enough to enable the evaluation of the contact angle directly from the density field and the results of capillary rise are compared with a theoretical model based on the Bosanquet equation, which includes capillary, viscous, inertial and gravitational effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this study is to estimate the lifetime risk of hospitalization associated with Human Papilloma Virus (HPV)-related disease in Italy. This study represents the first analysis that estimates the effects of anti-HPV vaccination strategies in Italy based on real-world data. [Extracted from the article]

The availability of nutrients directly affects plant growth and development, with nitrogen being one of the most necessary nutrients in metabolism in general. Using the hypothesis that Anacardium othonianum Rizz. can be physiologically affected by different doses of nitrogen, this study aimed to evaluate aspects of growth, nutrient absorption and enzymatic activity during the production of seedlings of this species in hydroponic cultivation. The doses of 0.0, 2.5, 5.0, 7.5, 10.0, 12.5 and 15.0 mmol l-1 of N were tested. At 120 days after transplanting the seedlings into the nutrient solution, it was observed that doses higher than 10.0 mmol l-1 of N may constitute an excess, negatively affecting the number of leaves and leaf area. The enzymes glutamine synthetase and nitrate reductase showed greater activity in seedlings subjected to 2.5 mmol l-1 of N. Doses higher than this negatively affected the activity of these enzymes, indicating that A. othonianum Rizz. may be a species sensitive to ammonia. Alternatively, the absence of N (0.0 mmol l-1) stimulated root mass accumulation, absorption of K, Mg and B ions, as well as nitric oxide synthesis. The present study contributes to obtain healthy seedlings and to the knowledge of the metabolism aspects of an important Cerrado fruit tree. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: to identify patterns of associations between the degree of compliance to laboratory test requests by risk strata and the parameters of quality of care outcomes in primary health care (PHC). Method: a cross-sectional study involving 108 elderly patients with hypertension and/or diabetes treated in PHC. A semi-structured questionnaire and electronic medical record data were used. To evaluate the quality of care, the Patient Assessment of Chronic Illness Care (PACIC) questionnaire was used. Descriptive analysis, multiple correspondence analysis and k-means grouping were performed. Results: it was observed low compliance of the care practice, standing out as the worst parameter the evaluation of the diabetic foot (2.2%). Three clusters were identified, with cluster 1 having the highest number of individuals (37.0%), with better indicators of quality of care, evidenced by above 50% of compliance with laboratory tests (75.0%), high PACIC score (47.2%), control of blood pressure (70.0%) and metabolic levels (95.0%), and satisfaction with health (92.5%) and health access (90.0%). In contrast, cluster 3 (29.6%) was made up of individuals with worse outcomes of care. Conclusion: low compliance of care practice and asymmetries among health actions and users' needs were observed, indicating failures in the care process in PHC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Schizophrenia (SCZ), bipolar disorder (BD), and major depressive disorder (MDD) are heritable conditions with overlapping genetic liability. Transdiagnostic and disorder‐specific brain changes associated with familial risk for developing these disorders remain poorly understood. We carried out a meta‐analysis of diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) studies to investigate white matter microstructure abnormalities in relatives that might correspond to shared and discrete biomarkers of familial risk for psychotic or mood disorders. A systematic search of PubMed and Embase was performed to identify DTI studies in relatives of SCZ, BD, and MDD patients. Seed‐based d Mapping software was used to investigate global differences in fractional anisotropy (FA) between overall and disorder‐specific relatives and healthy controls (HC). Our search identified 25 studies that met full inclusion criteria. A total of 1,144 relatives and 1,238 HC were included in the meta‐analysis. The overall relatives exhibited decreased FA in the genu and splenium of corpus callosum (CC) compared with HC. This finding was found highly replicable in jack‐knife analysis and subgroup analyses. In disorder‐specific analysis, compared to HC, relatives of SCZ patients exhibited the same changes while those of BD showed reduced FA in the left inferior longitudinal fasciculus (ILF). The present study showed decreased FA in the genu and splenium of CC in relatives of SCZ, BD, and MDD patients, which might represent a shared familial vulnerability marker of severe mental illness. The white matter abnormalities in the left ILF might represent a specific familial risk for bipolar disorder. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) Val66Met polymorphism has been proposed as a possible candidate for involvement in the pathophysiology of bipolar disorder (BD). To determine whether an association exists between the BDNF Val66Met genotype and morphometric abnormalities of the brain regions involved in memory and learning in BD and healthy subjects. Forty-two BD patients and 42 healthy subjects were studied. Interactions between BDNF Val66Met genotype and diagnosis in gray (GM) volumes were analyzed using an optimized voxel-based morphometry technique. Declarative memory function was assessed with the California Verbal Learning Test II. Left and right anterior cingulate GM volumes showed a significant interaction between genotype and diagnosis such that anterior cingulate GM volumes were significantly smaller in the Val/Met BD patients compared with the Val/Val BD patients (left P=0.01, right P=0.01). Within-group comparisons revealed that the Val/Met carriers showed smaller GM volumes of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex compared with the Val/Val subjects within the BD patient (P=0.01) and healthy groups (left P=0.03, right P=0.03). The Val/Met healthy subjects had smaller GM volumes of the left hippocampus compared with the Val/Val healthy subjects (P<0.01). There was a significant main effect of diagnosis on memory function (P=0.04), but no interaction between diagnosis and genotype was found (P=0.48). The findings support an association between the BDNF Val66Met genotype and differential gray matter content in brain structures, and suggest that the variation in this gene may play a more prominent role in brain structure differences in subjects affected with BD.Neuropsychopharmacology (2009) 34, 1904–1913; doi:10.1038/npp.2009.23; published online 18 March 2009 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Adults with major depressive disorder (MDD) are reported to have reduced orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) volumes, which could be related to decreased neuronal density. We conducted a study on medication naïve children with MDD to determine whether abnormalities of OFC are present early in the illness course.Methods: Twenty seven medication naïve pediatric Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4(th) edition (DSM-IV) MDD patients (mean age +/- SD = 14.4 +/- 2.2 years; 10 males) and 26 healthy controls (mean age +/- SD = 14.4 +/- 2.4 years; 12 males) underwent a 1.5T magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) with 3D spoiled gradient recalled acquisition. The OFC volumes were compared using analysis of covariance with age, gender, and total brain volume as covariates.Results: There was no significant difference in either total OFC volume or total gray matter OFC volume between MDD patients and healthy controls. Exploratory analysis revealed that patients had unexpectedly larger total right lateral (F = 4.2, df = 1, 48, p = 0.05) and right lateral gray matter (F = 4.6, df = 1, 48, p = 0.04) OFC volumes compared to healthy controls, but this finding was not significant following statistical correction for multiple comparisons. No other OFC subregions showed a significant difference.Conclusions: The lack of OFC volume abnormalities in pediatric MDD patients suggests the abnormalities previously reported for adults may develop later in life as a result of neural cell loss. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: While the pathophysiology of bipolar disorder (BD) remains to be elucidated, postmortem and neuroimaging studies have suggested that abnormalities in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) are implicated. We compared the levels of specific brain chemicals of interest measured with proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H MRS) in medication-free BD subjects and age- and gender-matched healthy controls. We hypothesized that BD subjects would present abnormal cellular metabolism within the DLPFC, as reflected by lower N-acetyl-aspartate (NAA) and creatine + phosphocreatine (Cr + PCr). Methods: Thirty-two medication-free BD subjects (33.8 ± 10.2 years) and 32 matched controls (33.8 ± 9.0 years) underwent a short echo-time (TE = 30 ms) 1H MRS. An 8-cm3 single voxel was placed in the left DLPFC, and individual concentrations of NAA, Cr + PCr, choline-containing compounds (GPC + PC), myo-inositol, and glutamate were obtained, using the water signal as an internal reference. Results: BD subjects had lower Cr + PCr [ F(1,62) = 5.85; p = 0.018; one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA)] and lower GPC + PC [ F(1,62) = 5.79; p = 0.019; one-way ANOVA] levels in the left DLPFC. No significant differences were observed for other brain metabolites. Conclusions: These findings provide further evidence that the pathophysiology of BD involves impairment in the DLPFC. Our findings can be interpreted as evidence for reduced cellular energy and phospholipid metabolism, consistent with the hypothesis of mitochondrial dysfunction in BD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A total of 26 children (26 affected, 25 control hips) with Legg-Calve´-Perthes’ disease (LCP) met the cooperation requirements for inclusion in the study using contrast-enhanced power Doppler sonography for assessment of changes in the revascularization flow. Sagittal sonograms were obtained before and at the peak effect of an intravenously injected microbubble-based contrast agent. Overall mean peak enhancement ratios were greater for children with later onset of disease (>5.8 years old) than for those with earlier onset (≤5.8) (p = 0.02). The use of ultrasound (US) contrast agents improved depiction of proximal femoral vascularity in all regions of the femoral head: epiphysis (n = 3, pre; n = 8, postcontrast), physis (n = 12, pre; n = 21, postcontrast) and metaphysis (n = 6, pre; n = 8, postcontrast) and resulted in a marked increase in the number of mean pixel intensity values within the physis (p = 0.02). In conclusion, contrast-enhanced power Doppler sonography is an effective method for demonstration of changes from the revascularization process in LCP, particularly within the physis. (E-mail:andrea.doria@sickkids.ca) [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

BACKGROUND: Anacardium othonianum Rizzini is a native Cerrado fruit, recently described in the literature. Its use is restricted to its native region and there is a lack of studies regarding production of vinegar from the pulp. This work aims to investigate the production of A. othonianum Rizzini vinegar using submerged fermentation. RESULTS: The density, alcohol content, proximal composition, pH, color coordinates, and chromatographic profile of the volatile compounds were analyzed in the slurry, fermented juice, and vinegar produced from the corpulent parts of A. othonianum Rizz. Sensory acceptance and willingness to pay were also assessed with vinegar at 4% and 6% of total acidity. The results indicated compliance with European legislation and the presence of volatile compounds such as carbon dioxide, acetic acid, ethanol, and acetaldehyde in the analyzed vinegars. Our results indicate the potential of vinegar production from A. othonianum, with 74% and 86% willingness to pay. CONCLUSIONS: The process of transformation of the fruit pulp into new products can contribute to fruit valorization and consequent preservation of the plant in the Cerrado biome. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of volatile compounds and minerals in A. othonianum Rizz. slurry. Our observations can be used as a basis for future studies regarding the preparation of vinegars from this species and for investigating their application in cooking and guiding consumer perception. © 2020 Society of Chemical Industry [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A variety of cellular responses is needed to ensure the plants survival during drought, but little is known about the signaling mechanisms involved in this process. Soybean cultivars (EMBRAPA 48 and BR 16, tolerant and sensitive to drought, respectively) were exposed to the following treatments: control conditions (plants in field capacity), drought (20% of available water in the soil), sodium nitroprusside (SNP) treatment (plants irrigated and treated with 100‐µM SNP [SNP–nitric oxide (NO) donor molecule], and Drought + SNP (plants subjected to drought and SNP treatment). Plants remained in these conditions until the reproductive stage and were evaluated for physiological (photosynthetic pigments, chlorophyll a fluorescence and gas exchange rates), hydraulic (water potential, osmotic potential and leaf hydraulic conductivity) and morpho‐anatomical traits (biomass, venation density and stomatal characterization). Exposure to water deficit considerably reduced water potential in both cultivars and resulted in decrease in photosynthesis and biomass accumulation. The addition of the NO donor attenuated these damaging effects of water deficit and increased the tolerance index of both cultivars. The results showed that NO was able to reduce plant's water loss, while maintaining their biomass production through alteration in stomatal characteristics, hydraulic conductivity and the biomass distribution pattern. These hydraulic and morpho‐anatomical alterations allowed the plants to obtain, transport and lose less water to the atmosphere, even in water deficit conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: In the treatment of Bipolar disorder (BD), achieving euthymia is highly complex and usually requires a combination of mood stabilizers. The mechanism of action in stabilizing mood has not been fully elucidated, but alterations in N-Acetylaspartate (NAA), Myo-Inositol (mI) and Choline (Cho) have been implicated. Proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H-MRS) is the gold standard technique for measuring brain NAA, Cho and mI in vivo. The objective of this study was to investigate the association of lithium use in BD type I and brain levels of NAA, mI and Cho in the (anterior cingulate cortex) ACC.Methods: 129 BD type I subjects and 79 healthy controls (HC) were submitted to a 3-Tesla brain magnetic resonance imaging scan (1H-MRS) using a PRESS ACC single voxel (8cm3) sequence.Results: BD patients exhibited higher NAA and Cho levels compared to HC. Lithium prescription was associated with lower mI (combination + monotherapy) and higher NAA levels (monotherapy).Conclusion: The results observed add to the knowledge about the mechanisms of action of mood stabilizers on brain metabolites during euthymia. Additionally, the observed decrease in mI levels associated with lithium monotherapy is an in vivo finding that supports the inositol-depletion hypothesis of lithium pharmacodynamics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The representative elementary volume (REV) is related to the minimum size of a sample that is necessary for representative measurements of a property. The REV is frequently investigated in samples with characteristic sizes extending from millimeters to few centimeters. Most of the time, the obtained information in this kind of study does not reveal any important detail of the inner structure of a porous medium. Something that can only be attained using some high spatial resolution image analysis technique, as, for instance, the X-ray computed microtomography (μCT). In this research, 3D μCT images (60 μm of resolution) were used for investigating the REV for: soil macroporosity (MAP), number of macropores (NMAP), pore tortuosity (τ) and connectivity (Euler-Poincare characteristic, EPC) of a Rhodic Ferralsol under no-tillage (NT) and conventional (CT) tillage systems. Consecutive increasing volumes, centrally and randomly, with volumes ranging from ≈0.40 to ≈36,591 mm³, were selected inside the 3D images. Results showed that MAP and NMAP presented high variability for small investigated subvolumes and for the random selection scheme. The REV for MAP (under NT) was reached at volumes of ≈10,841 mm 3 (centered scheme) and ≈17,216 mm 3 (random scheme), respectively. For the CT, the REV for MAP occurred at volumes of ≈17,216 mm 3 (random and centered schemes). The REV was not reached for NMAP, while the ratio between NMAP and sample subvolumes (here called specific NMAP, NMAP e ) presented a REV of ≈17,216 mm 3 . The tortuosity and EPC were characterized by high variability for smaller subvolumes and random selection scheme. The REV for EPC was not found and for τ it was reached at volumes of ≈17,216 mm 3 (both subvolume selection schemes and tillage systems). The results of our work present for the first time the REV definition for soil properties such as NMAP e , τ and EPC at the micrometer scale as well as the effect of tillage systems in the REV. The obtained results surprisingly demonstrated that the REV was not influenced by the tillage systems as well as it was the same for NMAP e , τ and EPC. In addition, the complexity of the soil porous system did not allow the REV determination for EPC, at least for the sample volume here analyzed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]