Local brain connectivity and associations with gender and age

ABSTRACTRegional homogeneity measures synchrony of resting-state brain activity in neighboring voxels, or local connectivity. The effects of age and gender on local connectivity in healthy subjects are unknown. We performed regional homogeneity analyses on resting state BOLD time series data acquired from 58 normal, healthy participants, ranging in age from 11 to 35 (mean 18.1±5.0 years, 32 males). Regional homogeneity was found to be highest for gray matter, with brain regions within the default mode network having the highest local connectivity values. There was a general decrease in regional homogeneity with age with the greatest reduction seen in the anterior cingulate and temporal lobe. Greater female local connectivity in the right hippocampus and amygdala was also noted, regardless of age. These findings suggest that local connectivity at the millimeter scale decreases during development as longer connections are formed, and underscores the importance of examining gender differences in imaging studies of healthy and clinical populations

Department of Radiology-Annual Executive Summary Report-July 1, 2006 to June 30, 2007

91 page Department of Radiology Annual Executive Summary Report, July 1, 2006 to June 30, 2007, Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States

Tourism in contemporary cities. Proceedings of the International Tourism Studies Association Conference: University of Greenwich, London, UK 17–19 August 2016 Conference Proceedings

The 6th International Tourism Studies Association (ITSA) Biennial conference was held at the University of Greenwich, London, England from 17‐19 August 2016. This was the first time that the conference had been held in Europe and it provided a unique opportunity to meet, hear from and network with tourism scholars and professionals from across Europe, Asia, Australasia, and North and South America. ITSA has a mission to encourage interaction and cooperation between developing and developed countries and the conference was successful in attracting 130 delegates from 29 countries. The main theme of the conference was 'Tourism in Contemporary Cities' with four conference sub‐themes of ‘Tourism Cities and Urban Tourism’, ‘The Chinese Market for European Tourism’, ‘River, Cruise and Maritime Tourism’, and ‘Heritage Tourism in Cities’, The subthemes were chosen to reflect the unique location of the conference on the UNESCO Maritime Greenwich World Heritage Site, and London which is Europe’s most visited tourist destination. The conference also presented ‘Dark Tourism and Cities’ and ‘Tourism and Communist Heritage’ as special sessions

Investigating risk factors and prevalence for neurocysticercosis: a case study of Busia District, Kenya

There has been a significant increase in pig production in the Eastern and Southern Africa region during the past decade (Githigia et al., 2002), (Thuranira, 2005), especially in rural, resource-poor, small holder communities. Accompanying this has been the emergence of porcine cysticercosis as a problem in many of these areas including western Kenya (Mutua et al., 2006).OBJECTIVES: The objective of the study was to determine the prevalence of neurocysticercosis among epileptics in Busia District, Western Province, Kenya and investigate the risk factors associated with neurocysticercosis (NCC).METHODS: A group of 628 epileptics were identified using hospital and Special School records, key informant interviews and snowball survey techniques and a standard questionnaire to assess risk factors for neurocysticercosis or taeniasis, administered. Household information was also collected and an asset index formulated for each patient's household (n=471). Sera was taken from 630 subjects and tested for exposure to T. solium using an antigen enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (Ag ELISA). The sera was also tested using an antibody (Ab) ELISA which tested for cysticercosis (metacestode exposure) and enzyme-linked immunotrarisfer blot assay (EITB, Western Blot) which tested for taeniasis and cysticercosis. Univariate and multivariate analysis was conducted to investigate the factors associated with seropositivity.RESULTS: There was one positive case of neurocysticercosis found by Ag ELISA and 209 subjects tested positive for exposure by Ab ELISA. There were 10 positive results using the EITB, 6 were positive using ES38 and 4 using Lentil Lectin purified glycoprotein (LLPG).CONCLUSION: T. solium infections have multiple societal impacts including human health and productivity as well as livestock production and there needs to be further investigation into the burden of the disease

Computer-Assisted Interactive Documentary and Performance Arts in Illimitable Space

This major component of the research described in this thesis is 3D computer graphics, specifically the realistic physics-based softbody simulation and haptic responsive environments. Minor components include advanced human-computer interaction environments, non-linear documentary storytelling, and theatre performance. The journey of this research has been unusual because it requires a researcher with solid knowledge and background in multiple disciplines; who also has to be creative and sensitive in order to combine the possible areas into a new research direction. [...] It focuses on the advanced computer graphics and emerges from experimental cinematic works and theatrical artistic practices. Some development content and installations are completed to prove and evaluate the described concepts and to be convincing. [...] To summarize, the resulting work involves not only artistic creativity, but solving or combining technological hurdles in motion tracking, pattern recognition, force feedback control, etc., with the available documentary footage on film, video, or images, and text via a variety of devices [....] and programming, and installing all the needed interfaces such that it all works in real-time. Thus, the contribution to the knowledge advancement is in solving these interfacing problems and the real-time aspects of the interaction that have uses in film industry, fashion industry, new age interactive theatre, computer games, and web-based technologies and services for entertainment and education. It also includes building up on this experience to integrate Kinect- and haptic-based interaction, artistic scenery rendering, and other forms of control. This research work connects all the research disciplines, seemingly disjoint fields of research, such as computer graphics, documentary film, interactive media, and theatre performance together.Comment: PhD thesis copy; 272 pages, 83 figures, 6 algorithm

Regular cannabis and alcohol use is associated with resting-state time course power spectra in incarcerated adolescents

Cannabis and alcohol are believed to have widespread effects on the brain. Although adolescents are at increased risk for substance use, the adolescent brain may also be particularly vulnerable to the effects of drug exposure due to its rapid maturation. Here, we examined the association between cannabis and alcohol use duration and resting-state functional connectivity in a large sample of male juvenile delinquents.The present sample was drawn from the Southwest Advanced Neuroimaging Cohort, Youth sample, and from a youth detention facility in Wisconsin. All participants were scanned at the maximum-security facilities using The Mind Research Network’s 1.5T Avanto SQ Mobile MRI scanner. Information on cannabis and alcohol regular use duration was collected using self-report. Resting-state networks were computed using group independent component analysis in 201 participants. Associations with cannabis and alcohol use were assessed using Mancova analyses controlling for age, IQ, smoking and psychopathy scores in the complete case sample of 180 male juvenile delinquents.No associations between alcohol or cannabis use and network spatial maps were found. Longer cannabis use was associated with decreased low frequency power of the default mode network, the executive control networks (ECNs), and several sensory networks, and with decreased functional network connectivity. Duration of alcohol use was associated with decreased low frequency power of the right frontoparietal network, salience network, dorsal attention network, and several sensory networks.Our findings suggest that adolescent cannabis and alcohol use are associated with widespread differences in resting-state time course power spectra, which may persist even after abstinence.Development Psychopathology in context: famil