How do we decide what to do? Resting-state connectivity patterns and components of self-generated thought linked to the development of more concrete personal goals

Human cognition is not limited to the available environmental input but can consider realities that are different to the here and now. We describe the cognitive states and neural processes linked to the refinement of descriptions of personal goals. When personal goals became concrete, participants reported greater thoughts about the self and the future during mind-wandering. This pattern was not observed for descriptions of TV programmes. Connectivity analysis of participants who underwent a resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging scan revealed neural traits associated with this pattern. Strong hippocampal connectivity with ventromedial pre-frontal cortex was common to better-specified descriptions of goals and TV programmes, while connectivity between hippocampus and the pre-supplementary motor area was associated with individuals whose goals were initially abstract but became more concrete over the course of the experiment. We conclude that self-generated cognition that arises during the mind-wandering state can allow goals to be refined, and this depends on neural systems anchored in the hippocampus

Chemical contaminants in breast milk: a brief critical overview

Breast milk is the reference food for the infant both for its content in nutrients, necessary for normal growth and development, and for the presence of biologically active substances that provide protection from infections and a lower susceptibility to several non-communicable diseases typical of adulthood. However, substances that the mother assimilates from the environment, and which can be potentially harmful, can be concentrated in breast milk. In fact, for a long time, breast milk has been considered a reliable biomarker of the environment. The huge increase in the production and use of chemicals that has occurred in recent decades with consequent wide dispersion in the soil, water and air makes it necessary to carefully evaluate the levels of contamination. Based on a synthetic review of current knowledge, it can be confirmed that breast milk is always the first choice. However, various aspects remain to be clarified based on more robust scientific data. This review aims to stimulate further research, managed by multi-disciplinary teams which, with the use of the most modern chemical analysis tools, determine the presence of exogenous chemicals in longitudinal studies during pregnancy and lactation, clarifying their metabolic fate and evaluating them in the 'scope of global exposure (exposome). To this end, the gaps present in the studies conducted so far are also highlighted to make future scientific approaches increasingly robust

Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals' Effects in Children: What We Know and What We Need to Learn?

Thousands of natural or manufactured chemicals were defined as endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) because they can interfere with hormone activity and the endocrine system. We summarize and discuss what we know and what we still need to learn about EDCs' pathogenic mechanisms of action, as well as the effects of the most common EDCs on endocrine system health in childhood. The MEDLINE database (PubMed) was searched on 13 May 2022, filtering for EDCs, endocrine diseases, and children. EDCs are a group of compounds with high heterogeneity, but usually disrupt the endocrine system by mimicking or interfering with natural hormones or interfering with the body's hormonal balance through other mechanisms. Individual EDCs were studied in detail, while humans' "cocktail effect" is still unclear. In utero, early postnatal life, and/or pubertal development are highly susceptible periods to exposure. Human epidemiological studies suggest that EDCs affect prenatal growth, thyroid function, glucose metabolism, obesity, puberty, and fertility through several mechanisms. Further studies are needed to clarify which EDCs can mainly act on epigenetic processes. A better understanding of EDCs' effects on human health is crucial to developing future regulatory strategies to prevent exposure and ensure the health of children today, in future generations, and in the environment

How do we decide what to do? : Resting-state connectivity patterns and components of self-generated thought linked to the development of more concrete personal goals

Human cognition is not limited to the available environmental input but can consider realities that are different to the here and now. We describe the cognitive states and neural processes linked to the refinement of descriptions of personal goals. When personal goals became concrete, participants reported greater thoughts about the self and the future during mind-wandering. This pattern was not observed for descriptions of TV programmes. Connectivity analysis of participants who underwent a resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging scan revealed neural traits associated with this pattern. Strong hippocampal connectivity with ventromedial pre-frontal cortex was common to better-specified descriptions of goals and TV programmes, while connectivity between hippocampus and the pre-supplementary motor area was associated with individuals whose goals were initially abstract but became more concrete over the course of the experiment. We conclude that self-generated cognition that arises during the mind-wandering state can allow goals to be refined, and this depends on neural systems anchored in the hippocampus

Morbidity and Aging in HIV-Infected Persons: The Swiss HIV Cohort Study

Comorbid diseases, such as myocardial infarction, stroke, diabetes mellitus, bone fractures without adequate trauma, osteoporosis, and non-AIDS-defining malignancies, among HIV-infected individuals are age-related. Consequently, multimorbidity will become an important issue in care of the aging HIV-infected populatio

Effetti degli interferenti endocrini su crescita e sviluppo puberale

Endocrine disruptors are chemicals present in many areas and materials of the common life, from plastics to detergents, from the air we breathe to the food we eat. Their effect on human health is now known and irrefutable. In fact, several epidemiological studies have identified how endocrine disruptors can act on pre- and postnatal growth, thyroid function, glucose metabolism and obesity, puberty, fertility and carcinogenesis, mainly through epigenetic action mechanisms. The activity of endocrine disruptors occurs mainly during the so-called “window periods”:phases of the child’s life particularly susceptible to epigenetic changes, due to the speed of the accretive processes. Among these periods certainly pre- and postnatal life and the period of puberty stand out, strongly influenced from the point of view of DNA methylation processes

Performance of V3-based HIV-1 sero subtyping in HIV endemic areas

HIV-1 serosubtyping based on reactivity to peptides from the V3 region of gp120 is a low-cost and easy to perform procedure often used in geographical areas with high prevalence and incidence of HIV infection. We evaluated the performance of V3-based serotyping on 148 sera from 118 HIV-1-infected individuals living in Uganda, with estimated dates of seroconversion. Of the 148 tested samples, 68 (46.0%) specifically reacted with only one of the V3 peptides included in the test (SP), 64 (43.2%) did not react with any peptide (NR) and 16 (10.8%) reacted with two or more peptides (CR). According to the estimated seroconversion date, the large majority of samples collected early after infection belonged to the NR group. These samples had also a low Avidity Index. In contrast, samples collected later after infection belonged mainly to CR and SP groups and had also a higher avidity index. These results indicate that the performance of V3-based assays depends on maturation of HIV-specific immune response and can be significantly lowered when these tests are carried out on specimens collected from recently infected individuals

Shifts in isotopic signatures of animals with complex life-cycles can complicate conclusions on cross-boundary trophic links

Stable isotopes (13C and 15N) are widely applied in studies of trophic links. We used this method to investigate the contribution of aquatic and terrestrial prey to the diet of riparian predatory arthropods in two mountain headwater streams in Colorado, USA. Aquatic and terrestrial prey and riparian predators were collected during summer 2009. To evaluate the reliability of conclusions based on stable isotope ratios, we compared the isotopic signatures of aquatic larval and terrestrial adult stages of three abundant stream insect species and assessed variation in mixing model estimates for spider diet composition under varying assumptions for trophic fractionation. Adult isotopic signatures of some aquatic prey species were indistinguishable from those of prey species with exclusively terrestrial life histories (stoneflies: 13C and 15N, chironomids: 13C). Other prey had distinctly aquatic isotopic signatures as both larvae and adults (a mayfly and a caddisfly). There was no evidence that prey with aquatic isotopic signatures contributed to the diet of the spiders near one stream. For the other stream, mixing model analysis suggested that chironomids were included in the diets of lycosid, linyphiid and liocranid spiders. Reliable estimates of the contributions of prey sources were compromised by the sensitivity of mixing models to assumptions on trophic fractionation and the presence of "isotopically cryptic” prey. This study emphasizes the importance of supporting isotope-based studies on cross-boundary trophic links with data on isotopic shifts in prey with complex life cycles and assessment of fractionation rates specific to the study syste

European Parliament Pilot Project on Exposure to Indoor air Chemicals and Possible Health Risks

This report outlines the results of the 2-year pilot project on indoor air quality and potential health effects executed by the Joint Research Centre and funded by the European Parliament via the Directorate-General Health and Consumer Protection. It had four distinct objectives as follows: 1) to identify and quantify the main air pollutants present in public buildings, including indoor environments where children frequently stay, like schools and kindergartens, 2) to identify the main sources of these pollutants, applying source apportionment analyses, 3) to estimate people¿s exposure to these pollutants while working and/or living in these areas and combined with micro-environmental activity patterns during the day, 4) to evaluate possible health risks due to (chronic) exposure to air pollutants, in particular, for children. The results indicate that indoor air pollution concentrations are consistently higher than the respective outdoor ones for the chemical families this study focused on. Differences attributable to variation in consumer behaviour, climate and type of building materials used, have been identified in the indoor:outdoor ratio of primary pollutants across Europe. These differences account for small variance in the corresponding health risk to the local population across the EU.JRC.I.5-Physical and chemical exposure