Censoring Distances Based on Labeled Cortical Distance Maps in Cortical Morphometry

Shape differences are manifested in cortical structures due to neuropsychiatric disorders. Such differences can be measured by labeled cortical distance mapping (LCDM) which characterizes the morphometry of the laminar cortical mantle of cortical structures. LCDM data consist of signed distances of gray matter (GM) voxels with respect to GM/white matter (WM) surface. Volumes and descriptive measures (such as means and variances) for each subject and the pooled distances provide the morphometric differences between diagnostic groups, but they do not reveal all the morphometric information contained in LCDM distances. To extract more information from LCDM data, censoring of the distances is introduced. For censoring of LCDM distances, the range of LCDM distances is partitioned at a fixed increment size; and at each censoring step, and distances not exceeding the censoring distance are kept. Censored LCDM distances inherit the advantages of the pooled distances. Furthermore, the analysis of censored distances provides information about the location of morphometric differences which cannot be obtained from the pooled distances. However, at each step, the censored distances aggregate, which might confound the results. The influence of data aggregation is investigated with an extensive Monte Carlo simulation analysis and it is demonstrated that this influence is negligible. As an illustrative example, GM of ventral medial prefrontal cortices (VMPFCs) of subjects with major depressive disorder (MDD), subjects at high risk (HR) of MDD, and healthy control (Ctrl) subjects are used. A significant reduction in laminar thickness of the VMPFC and perhaps shrinkage in MDD and HR subjects is observed when compared to Ctrl subjects. The methodology is also applicable to LCDM-based morphometric measures of other cortical structures affected by disease.Comment: 25 pages, 10 figure

Antibacterial, antioxidant and anti-proliferative properties and zinc content of five south Portugal herbs

Context: Crataegus monogyna L. (Rosaceae) (CM), Equisetum telmateia L. (Equisataceae) (ET), Geranium purpureum Vil. (Geraniaceae) (GP), Mentha suaveolens Ehrh. (Lamiaceae) (MS), and Lavandula stoechas L. spp. luisieri (Lamiaceae) (LS) are all medicinal. Objective: To evaluate the antioxidant, antiproliferative and antimicrobial activities of plant extracts and quantify individual phenolics and zinc. Material and methods: Aerial part extracts were prepared with water (W), ethanol (E) and an 80% mixture (80EW). Antioxidant activity was measured with TAA, FRAP and RP methods. Phenolics were quantified with a HPLC. Zinc was quantified using voltammetry. Antibacterial activity (after 48 h) was tested using Enterococcus faecalis, Bacillus cereus, Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Listeria monocytogenes. Antiproliferative activity (after 24 h) was tested using HEP G2 cells and fibroblasts. Results: Solvents influenced results; the best were E and 80EW. GP had the highest antioxidant activity (TAA and FRAP of 536.90mg AAE/g dw and 783.48mg TE/g dw, respectively). CM had the highest zinc concentration (37.21 mg/kg) and phenolic variety, with neochlorogenic acid as the most abundant (92.91 mg/100 g dw). LS was rich in rosmarinic acid (301.71 mg/100 g dw). GP and LS inhibited the most microorganisms: B. cereus, E. coli and S. aureus. GP also inhibited E. faecalis. CM had the lowest MIC: 5830 mu g/mL. The antibacterial activity is explained by the phenolics present. LS and CM showed the most significant anti-proliferative activity, which is explained by their zinc content. Conclusion: The most promising plants for further studies are CM, LS and GP.FCT, Fundacao para a Ciencia e a Tecnologia of Portugal [SFRH/BSA/139/2014