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Carbon dioxide (CO2) is a significant source of Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions and plays a crucial role in climate change and global warming. This study aims to explain the effects of primary and renewable energy supplies and environmental taxation and to analyse how taxation can alter their direct effects on carbon intensity. The research was conducted using a generalized method of moments model that uses instrumental variables with two-stage (2SGMM) estimators to calculate the direct and moderating effects of environmental taxes on carbon intensity. This study confirms the EKC theorem, and results have shown that primary energy supply and environmental-related taxation positively contribute to carbon intensity. The second finding indicates that a major increase in the proportion of renewable energy will greatly slow the rate of carbon dioxide emissions. The study provides additional evidence concerning the moderating role of taxation in amplifying the impacts of primary and renewable energy supply. The empirical findings suggest that the taxation impact is more fiscal than an incentive. In addition to the current energy and economic crisis, considerable funding and fiscal policies are needed to achieve more sustainable development paths towards carbon neutrality and energy security. First published online17 May 2023

Diatoms are valuable bioindicators and their traditional classification and identification are mainly based on the morphological characteristics of their frustules. However, in recent years, DNA-based methods have been proposed and are rapidly growing in the scientific literature as a complementary tool to assess the ecological status of freshwaters. Diatom-based ecological status assessment uses indices calculated from sensitivity and tolerance values as well as relative abundance of species. Correct assessment requires an accurate identification of species. In the present study, diatom assemblages of an oxbow lake were investigated using light and scanning electron microscopy as well as metabarcoding using rbcL marker, and the identification results were compared, intending to match barcode sequences of species that are currently missing in the diatom reference database. The investigated oxbow is an important wetland for bird conservation, although it is impacted by land use. Taxon lists based on morphology and metabarcoding considerably differed when bioinformatics analysis involved DADA2 pipeline with Diat.barcode database. Previously unknown sequence variants of four pennate species were found with additional BLAST search. Using phylogeny and p-distance calculations sequences could be matched to three small-celled naviculoid species that were found under a microscope. One of them was found to be a new species of the genus Mayamaea and was described as a new species, Mayamaea ectorii. Additionally, spatial distribution maps for several small-celled naviculoid species are provided for the Hungarian territory.

Background: Deep brain stimulation (DBS) is a promising investigational approach for treatment-resistant depression. However, reports suggesting changes in personality with DBS for movement disorders have raised clinical and ethical concerns. We prospectively examined changes in personality dimensions and antidepressant response to subcallosal cingulate (SCC)-DBS for treatment-resistant depression. Methods: Twenty-two patients with treatment-resistant depression underwent SCC-DBS. We used the NEO Five-Factor Inventory for personality assessment at baseline and every 3 months until 15 months post-DBS. We assessed depression severity monthly using the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale. Results: We found a significant decrease in neuroticism (p = 0.002) and an increase in extraversion (p = 0.001) over time, showing a change toward normative data. Improvement on the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale was correlated with decreases in neuroticism at 6 months (p = 0.001) and 12 months (p < 0.001), and with an increase in extraversion at 12 months (p = 0.01). Changes on the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale over time had a significant covariate effect on neuroticism (p < 0.001) and extraversion (p = 0.001). Baseline openness and agreeableness predicted response to DBS at 6 (p = 0.006) and 12 months (p = 0.004), respectively. Limitations: Limitations included a small sample size, a lack of sham control and the use of subjective personality evaluation. Conclusion: We observed positive personality changes following SCC-DBS, with reduced neuroticism and increased extraversion related to clinical improvement in depression, suggesting a state effect. As well, pretreatment levels of openness and agreeableness may have predicted subsequent response to DBS. The NEO Five-Factor Inventory assessment may have a role in clinical decision-making and prognostic evaluation in patients with treatment-resistant depression who undergo SCC-DBS.

Purpose Cerebellar connectivity is thought to be abnormal in cervical dystonia (CD) and other dystonia subtypes, based on evidence from imaging studies and animal work. The authors investigated whether transcranial magnetic stimulation-induced cerebellar brain inhibition (CBI), a measure of cerebellar efficiency at inhibiting motor outflow, is abnormal in patients with CD and/or is associated with clinical features of CD. Because of methodological heterogeneity in CBI reporting, the authors deployed additional controls to reduce potential sources of variability in this study. Methods Cerebellar brain inhibition was applied in 20 CD patients and 14 healthy control subjects. Cerebellar brain inhibition consisted of a cerebellar conditioning stimulus delivered at four different interstimulus intervals (ISIs) before a test stimulus delivered to hand muscle representation in the motor cortex. The average ratio of conditioned to unconditioned motor evoked potential was computed for each ISI. Cervical dystonia clinical severity was measured using the Toronto Western Spasmodic Torticollis Rating Scale. Control experiments involved neuronavigated transcranial magnetic stimulation, neck postural control in patients, and careful screening for noncerebellar pathway inhibition via cervicomedullary evoked potentials. Results There was no difference between CBI measured in healthy control subjects and CD patients at any of the four ISIs; however, CBI efficiency was significantly correlated with worsening CD clinical severity at the 5 ms ISI. Conclusions Cerebellar brain inhibition is a variable measure in both healthy control subjects and CD patients; much of this variability may be attributed to experimental methodology. Yet, CD severity is significantly associated with reduced CBI at the 5 ms ISI, suggestive of cerebello-thalamo-cortical tract dysfunction in this disorder.

Deep brain stimulation (DBS) of the subcallosal cingulate gyrus (SCG) is a promising therapy for treatment-resistant depression. Pre-clinical models have been widely used to investigate the neural mechanisms underlying its antidepressant benefit. The ventral division of the medial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC), particularly the infralimbic cortex (IL), is the homologous region in rat and DBS applied to vmPFC shows antidepressant-like effects in the forced swim test. Therefore we investigated the cellular mechanisms of simulated DBS (sDBS) in layer 5 IL neurons, using in vitro whole-cell patch clamp recordings. sDBS in IL layer 5 induced a prolonged after-depolarization (ADP) in both pyramidal and fast spiking neurons, which was dependent on current amplitude and pulse width. In contrast, sDBS applied in the forebrain white matter fibers, although delivered at a higher intensity, failed to induce any persistent depolarization in layer 5 IL pyramidal neurons. Cholinergic blockade (atropine, 2.0 µM) decreased both the ADP amplitude and duration in pyramidal neurons, but left those in fast spiking neurons unchanged. These data suggest that: (i) sDBS in IL gray and white matter produced different cellular effects on pyramidal neurons; (ii) sDBS-induced ADP in pyramidal, but not fast spiking neurons, was mediated by acetylcholine; and (iii) different neuromodulators may contribute to sDBS-induced ADP in IL. In summary, cholinergic mediated ADP in pyramidal neurons may contribute to the antidepressant effects of DBS in IL.

Rajamannar Ramasubbu,1– 4 Sandra Golding,1,2 Kimberly Williams,1 Aaron Mackie,1 Glenda MacQueen,1,3,4 Zelma HT Kiss1– 4 1Department of Psychiatry, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada; 2Department of Clinical Neuroscience, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada; 3Mathison Centre for Mental Health Research & Education, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada; 4Hotchkiss Brain Institute, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, CanadaCorrespondence: Rajamannar RamasubbuDepartment of Psychiatry/Clinical Neurosciences, University of Calgary, Mathison Centre for Mental Health Research and Education, TRW Building, Room 4D64, 3280 Hospital Drive NW, Calgary, Alberta, T2N4Z6 Tel +1 403 210 6890Fax +1 403 210 9114Email rramasub@ucalgary.caIntroduction: Deep brain stimulation (DBS) is currently an investigational treatment for treatment-resistant depression (TRD). There is a need for more DBS trials to strengthen existing evidence of its efficacy for both regulatory and clinical reasons. Recruitment for DBS trials remains challenging due to unproven efficacy in sham-controlled DBS trials, invasive nature of the intervention and stringent eligibility criteria in patient selection. Here, we examined the referral patterns and reasons for exclusion of subjects in our DBS trial.Methods: Data were collected from all patients who expressed interest in participating in a DBS study involving subcallosal cingulate region from 2014 to 2016. Referral sources were categorized as either self-referral or professional referral. Evaluation for eligibility was performed in three stages; initial contact, brief telephone assessment, and in-person psychiatric evaluation. The reasons for exclusion were documented. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used for analysis.Results: Of the 225 patients who contacted us initially, 22 (9.2%) underwent DBS surgery. Self-referral was higher than the referral from professionals (72% versus 28%, P< 0.0001). However, the acceptance rate for surgery was higher among the professional referrals than from self-referrals (40% versus 15%, P=0.03). The common reasons for exclusion were self-withdrawal (38.4%), residing out of province or country (26.1%) and psychiatric/medical comorbidity (21.7%).Conclusion: These findings provide insight into DBS candidacy for future TRD trials. It suggests a need for comprehensive recruitment strategies including active engagement of patients and professionals throughout trials, and effective referral communication with education to optimize recruitment for future DBS trials.Keywords: patient recruitment, deep brain stimulation, treatment-resistant depression, clinical trials, subcallosal cingulate region

Deep brain stimulation (DBS) is a revolutionary treatment for movement disorders. Measuring DBS-induced hemodynamic responses may be useful for surgical guidance of DBS electrode implantation as well as to study the mechanism and assess therapeutic effects of DBS. In this study, we evaluated the performance of a single fiber spectroscopic (SFS) system for measuring hemodynamic response in different cortical layers in a DBS animal model. We showed that SFS is capable of measuring minute relative changes in oxygen saturation and blood volume fraction in-vivo at a sampling rate of 22-33 Hz. During stimulation, blood volume fraction increased, while oxygen saturation showed both increases and decreases at different cortical depths across animals. In addition, we showed the potential of using SFS for measuring other physiological parameters, for example, heart rate, and respiratory rate.

"The exploration of factors underpinning Olympic success (number of medals won) extended to the Human Development Index (HDI). Analysis of the Rio Olympic Games supported the influence of geographic and social variables. Schooling was one of the most important predictors and together with population explained 64%; when adding geographic variables (North-West and temperature) 67% of Olympic medals won were explained. This relationship was validated in the last four Olympic Games (from 2004 to 2016). This is the first study ever to demonstrate that specific social and geographical factors determine more than two thirds of the variance in Olympic success. Keywords: Olympic medals, HDI, schooling, population size."

Objectives:Occipital nerve regional stimulation (ONS) is reported to improve pain in several studies. We examined long-term pain and functional outcomes of ONS in an open-label prospective study.Methods:Patients with medically refractory and disabling craniofacial pain were prospectively selected for ONS. Primary outcome was a change in mean daily pain intensity on the numeric pain rating scale (NPRS) at 6 months. Secondary outcomes included changes in NPRS, Headache Impact Test-6 (HIT-6), Migraine Disability Assessment (MIDAS), Pain Disability Index (PDI), Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale – Revised (CESD-R), and Short Form-36 version 2 (SF36) at last follow-up.Results:Thirteen patients (mean age 49.7 ± 8.4) diagnosed with occipital neuralgia (6), hemicrania continua (2), persistent idiopathic facial pain (2), post-traumatic facial pain (1), cluster headache (1), and chronic migraine (1) were enrolled. Mean NPRS improved by 2.1 ± 2.1 at 6 months and 2.1 ± 1.9 at last follow-up (23.5 ± 18.1 months). HIT-6 decreased by 8.7 ± 8.8, MIDAS decreased by 61.3 ± 71.6, and PDI decreased by 17.9 ± 18. SF36 physical functioning, bodily pain, and social functioning improved by 16.4 ± 19.6, 18.0 ± 31.6, and 26.1 ± 37.3, respectively. Moderate to severe headache days (defined as ≥50% of baseline mean NPRS) were reduced by 8.9 ± 10.2 days per month with ONS.Conclusion:ONS reduced the long-term NPRS and moderate–severe monthly headache days by 30% and improved functional outcomes and quality of life. A prospective registry for ONS would be helpful in accumulating a larger cohort with longer follow-up in order to improve the use of ONS.

Napjainkban a klímaváltozással szemben folytatott küzdelem részeként az üvegházhatású gázok kibocsátásával kapcsolatos szabályozások egyre nagyobb teret nyernek. Munkánk során a közúti járművek szén-dioxid-kibocsátására vonatkozó európai uniós szabályozásra fókuszálunk, különös tekintettel a célértékek változására. Áttekintjük továbbá a CO2 emisszió mérésére vonatkozó mérési metódusok terén bekövetkező változásokat, mint a szabályozások egyik lényeges alappontjait.

Many countries are making considerable efforts to achieve solutions to environmental problems that we face today and developing renewable energy resources is one of the potential long-term solutions that constitute an absolute priority from a sustainable development perspective. The usage of renewable energy is one of the critical future challenges to reduce greenhouse gas emission and decrease energy dependency at the same time. Thus, replacing traditional energy sources with renewable ones, like Hydropower and wind power to produce electricity instead of fossil fuel. The objective of this study is to find a relationship between renewable energy consumption, macroeconomic factors, and the environment. There is a reliable and significant (at 1% significant level) association between REC with GHG and GDP and a relatively strong association with EC.

Background Deep brain stimulation (DBS) of the subcallosal cingulate (SCC) provided benefit for treatment-resistant depression (TRD) in open-label studies but failed in a recent randomized sham-controlled trial. Informed patient selection, based on reliable biomarkers, is needed to optimize outcome. We investigated if rostral anterior cingulate (rACC) glutamate/glutamine concentration could serve as a potential biomarker of response. Methods Sixteen adults with TRD (Major Depression; MDD = 14; Bipolar Depression; BD =2) underwent proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy using a short-echo proton spectroscopy with a voxel placed in the rACC, prior to DBS. Improvement in depression was assessed using the 17-item Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HDRS). Glutamate and glutamine concentrations at baseline in the rACC were examined in relation to clinical outcomes at six months. Results Lower baseline glutamate predicted significant reduction in HDRS scores in all TRD patients (p = 0.018), and predicted both HDRS reduction (p = 0.002) and 6-month response outcome in MDD-TRD patients (p = 0.013). Neither baseline glutamine nor glutamine/glutamate ratio significantly related to outcome or symptom improvement. Limitations Our study was limited by sample size, though it is large for a DBS study. We measured from a single voxel in the brain, so we cannot be certain our findings are specific to the rACC. Conclusions These preliminary results suggest that baseline rACC-glutamate concentration could serve as a response-predictive biomarker for SCC-DBS, particularly in patients with resistant major depression. If our findings are replicated and validated, rACC-glutamate may provide a basis to prospectively select TRD patients to improve likelihood of response to SCC-DBS.

Economic growth and energy consumption are two main factors that play a vital role in any country's overall development. The researchers built and described different econometric models to evaluate the relationship between the two variables. In this research, we chose 15 emerging economy countries to examine the relationship between renewable energy consumption and economic growth. We applied the panel ARDL approach with PMG estimator which one of the best approaches to model long-term and short-term dynamics. Gross domestic product per capita and renewable energy consumption as a percent of total final energy consumption has a positive and significant coefficient when used as an independent variable in the long run. We also checked causality between the variables to test how the causal relationship occurs. We also found a causal relation from economic growth to renewable energy consumption, thus proving the conservation hypothesis. However, our outcome showed that the relationship is not statistically significant between renewable energy and economic growth in the short run. Finally, we pointed out few policy recommendations and future work directions based on our works at the end of this article.