Subcortical volumes across the lifespan: data from 18,605 healthy individuals aged 3-90 years

Age has a major effect on brain volume. However, the normative studies available are constrained by small sample sizes, restricted age coverage and significant methodological variability. These limitations introduce inconsistencies and may obscure or distort the lifespan trajectories of brain morphometry. In response, we capitalized on the resources of the Enhancing Neuroimaging Genetics through Meta-Analysis (ENIGMA) Consortium to examine age-related trajectories inferred from cross-sectional measures of the ventricles, the basal ganglia (caudate, putamen, pallidum, and nucleus accumbens), the thalamus, hippocampus and amygdala using magnetic resonance imaging data obtained from 18,605 individuals aged 3-90 years. All subcortical structure volumes were at their maximum value early in life. The volume of the basal ganglia showed a monotonic negative association with age thereafter; there was no significant association between age and the volumes of the thalamus, amygdala and the hippocampus (with some degree of decline in thalamus) until the sixth decade of life after which they also showed a steep negative association with age. The lateral ventricles showed continuous enlargement throughout the lifespan. Age was positively associated with inter-individual variability in the hippocampus and amygdala and the lateral ventricles. These results were robust to potential confounders and could be used to examine the functional significance of deviations from typical age-related morphometric patterns.Education and Child Studie

Archaeological cereals as an isotope record of long-term soil health and anthropogenic amendment in southern Scandinavia

Maintaining soil health is integral to agricultural production, and the archaeological record contains multiple lines of palaeoclimatic and palaeoenvironmental proxy evidence that can contribute to the understanding and analysis of long-term trajectories of change that are key for contextualizing 21st century global environmental challenges. Soil is a capital resource and its nutrient balance is modified by agricultural activities, making it necessary to ensure soil productivity is maintained and managed through human choices and actions. Since prehistory this has always been the case; soil is a non-renewable resource within a human lifetime. Here, we present and interpret carbon and nitrogen isotope analysis of charred cereals from southern Scandinavia. Anthropogenic effects on soils are evident from the initiation of farming 6000 years ago, as is amendment to counteract its effects. The earliest cereals were planted on pristine soils, and by the late Neolithic, agriculture extensified. By the Iron Age it was necessary to significantly amend depleted soils to maintain crop yields. We propose that these data provide a record of soil water retention, net precipitation and amendment. From the start of the Neolithic there is a concurrent decrease in both Δ13C and δ15N, mitigated only by the replacement of soil organic content in the form of manure in the Iron Age. The cereal isotopes provide a record of trajectories of agricultural sustainability and anthropogenic adaptation for nearly the entire history of farming in the region

Histopathological and ultrastructural characteristics of myeloid leukosis in broiler chicken Características histopatológicas e ultraestruturais da leucose mielóide em galinhas de linhagem pesada

An ultrastructural and histological study was performed to determine the degree of differentiation of the neoplastic cells. The histological study revealed neoplastic cells with pleomorphism, oval nuclei, prominent nucleoli, irregularly distributed chromatin, atypical mitotic figures and moderate amount of cytoplasm containing spherical eosinophilic granulations, typical features of the myeloid lineage. Ultrastructurally, there were cells with an electron-dense, oval and voluminous nucleus, with predominant euchromatin and cytoplasm containing many spherical, electron-dense and homogeneous granules, indicative of myelocytes with differentiation to eosinophils. Type-C viral particles were also seen in the intercellular space of renal tubules and inside the intracytoplasmic vesicles of immature myelocytes in the bone marrow and ovary. PCR was positive to ALV-J.<br>Caracterizaram-se a linhagem e o grau de diferenciação das células neoplásicas no estudo histopatológico e ultraestrutural da leucose mielóide. Histologicamente as células neoplásicas apresentaram pleomorfismo, núcleos ovais, nucléolos proeminentes, cromatina distribuída de maneira irregular, figuras de mitose atípicas e moderada quantidade de citoplasma contendo granulações eosinofílicas esféricas. Essas características indicam a linhagem mielóide. Ultraestruturalmente evidenciaram-se células com núcleo oval, volumoso, eletrodenso, com predomínio de eucromatina e citoplasma com numerosos grânulos esféricos, eletrodensos e homogêneos, indicando mielócitos com diferenciação para eosinófilos. Constatou-se também a presença de partículas virais tipo-C no espaço intercelular dos túbulos renais, no interior de vesículas intracitoplasmáticas dos mielócitos imaturos presentes na medula óssea e ovário, e PCR positivo para ALV-J