Prospective evaluation of glutamine and phospholipids levels in first degree relatives of patients with Type 1 Diabetes from a multiethnic population

A dysregulation in the metabolism of lipids may be an early marker of autoimmunity in Type 1 Diabetes (T1D). It would be of general importance to identify metabolic patterns that would predict the risk for T1D later in life. The aim of this study was to perform a prospective evaluation of glutamine and phospholipids levels in Brazilian first degree relatives (FDR) of patients with T1D in a mean interval of 5 years

The Psychedelic State Induced By Ayahuasca Modulates The Activity And Connectivity Of The Default Mode Network

The experiences induced by psychedelics share a wide variety of subjective features, related to the complex changes in perception and cognition induced by this class of drugs. A remarkable increase in introspection is at the core of these altered states of consciousness. Self-oriented mental activity has been consistently linked to the Default Mode Network (DMN), a set of brain regionsmore active during rest than during the execution of a goal-directed task. Here we used fMRI technique to inspect the DMN during the psychedelic state induced by Ayahuasca in ten experienced subjects. Ayahuasca is a potion traditionally used by Amazonian Amerindians composed by a mixture of compounds that increase monoaminergic transmission. In particular, we examined whether Ayahuasca changes the activity and connectivity of the DMN and the connection between the DMN and the task-positive network (TPN). Ayahuasca caused a significant decrease in activity throughmost parts of the DMN, including its most consistent hubs: the Posterior Cingulate Cortex (PCC)/Precuneus and the medial Prefrontal Cortex (mPFC). Functional connectivity within the PCC/Precuneus decreased after Ayahuasca intake. No significant change was observed in the DMN-TPN orthogonality. Altogether, our results support the notion that the altered state of consciousness induced by Ayahuasca, like those induced by psilocybin (another serotonergic psychedelic), meditation and sleep, is linked to the modulation of the activity and the connectivity of the DMN.102Watts, A., Psychedelics and religious experience (1968) California Law Review, 56, pp. 74-85Shanon, B., (2002) The Antipodes of the Mind: Charting the Phenomenology of the Ayahuasca Experience, 6, p. 475. , OxfordNew York: Oxford University PressDos Santos, R.G., Grasa, E., Valle, M., Ballester, M.R., Bouso, J.C., Pharmacology of ayahuasca administered in two repeated doses (2012) Psychopharmacology, 219, pp. 1039-1053. , PMID: 21842159Callaway, J.C., McKenna, D.J., Grob, C.S., Brito, G.S., Raymon, L.P., Pharmacokinetics of Hoasca alkaloids in healthy humans (1999) Journal of Ethnopharmacology, 65, pp. 243-256. , PMID: 10404423Fontanilla, D., Johannessen, M., Hajipour, A.R., Cozzi, N.V., Jackson, M.B., The hallucinogen N, N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT) is an endogenous sigma-1 receptor regulator (2009) Science, 323, pp. 934-937. , PMID: 19213917Mckenna, D.J., Towers, G.H.N., Abbott, F., Monoamine-oxidase inhibitors in South-American hallucinogenic plants-tryptamine and beta-carboline constituents of ayahuasca (1984) Journal of Ethnopharmacology, 10, pp. 195-223. , PMID: 6587171De Araujo, D.B., Ribeiro, S., Cecchi, G.A., Carvalho, F.M., Sanchez, T.A., Seeing with the eyes shut: Neural basis of enhanced imagery following ayahuasca ingestion (2012) Human Brain MappingRiba, J., Valle, M., Urbano, G., Yritia, M., Morte, A., Human pharmacology of ayahuasca: Subjective and cardiovascular effects, monoamine metabolite excretion, and pharmacokinetics (2003) Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, 306, pp. 73-83. , PMID: 12660312Riba, J., Rodriguez-Fornells, A., Urbano, G., Morte, A., Antonijoan, R., Subjective effects and tolerability of the South American psychoactive beverage Ayahuasca in healthy volunteers (2001) Psychopharmacology, 154, pp. 85-95. , PMID: 11292011Bouso, J.C., Fabregas, J.M., Antonijoan, R.M., Rodriguez-Fornells, A., Riba, J., Acute effects of ayahuasca on neuropsychological performance: Differences in executive function between experienced and occasional users (2013) Psychopharmacology, 230, pp. 415-424. , PMID: 23793226Riba, J., Romero, S., Grasa, E., Mena, E., Carrio, I., Increased frontal and paralimbic activation following ayahuasca, the pan-amazonian inebriant (2006) Psychopharmacology, 186, pp. 93-98. , PMID: 16575552Sheline, Y.I., Barch, D.M., Price, J.L., Rundle, M.M., Vaishnavi, S.N., The default mode network and self-referential processes in depression (2009) Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 106, pp. 1942-1947. , PMID: 19171889Sood, A., Jones, D.T., On mind wandering, attention, brain networks, and meditation (2013) Explore: The Journal of Science and Healing, 9, pp. 136-141. , PMID: 23643368Buckner, R.L., Andrews-Hanna, J.R., Schacter, D.L., The brain's default network. Anatomy, function, and relevance to disease (2008) Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences 2008, 1124, pp. 1-38. , PMID: 18400922Samann, P.G., Wehrle, R., Hoehn, D., Spoormaker, V.I., Peters, H., Development of the brain's default mode network from wakefulness to slow wave sleep (2011) Cerebral Cortex, 21, pp. 2082-2093. , PMID: 21330468Carhart-Harris, R.L., Erritzoe, D., Williams, T., Stone, J.M., Reed, L.J., Neural correlates of the psychedelic state as determined by fMRI studies with psilocybin (2012) Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 109, pp. 2138-2143. , PMID: 22308440Brewer, J.A., Worhunsky, P.D., Gray, J.R., Tang, Y.-Y., Weber, J., Meditation experience is associated with differences in default mode network activity and connectivity (2011) Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 108, pp. 20254-20259. , PMID: 22114193Raichle, M.E., MacLeod, A.M., Snyder, A.Z., Powers, W.J., Gusnard, D.A., A default mode of brain function (2001) Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 98, pp. 676-682. , PMID: 11209064Mason, M.F., Norton, M.I., Van Horn, J.D., Wegner, D.M., Grafton, S.T., Wandering minds: The default network and stimulus-independent thought (2007) Science, 315, pp. 393-395. , PMID: 17234951Smallwood, J., Schooler, J.W., The restless mind (2006) Psychological Bulletin, 132, pp. 946-958. , PMID: 17073528Buckner, R.L., Carroll, D.C., Self-projection and the brain (2007) Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 11, pp. 49-57. , PMID: 17188554Northoff, G., Heinzel, A., Greck, M., Bennpohl, F., Dobrowolny, H., Self-referential processing in our brain. A meta-analysis of imaging studies on the self (2006) Neuroimage, 31, pp. 440-457. , PMID: 16466680Garrity, A.G., Pearlson, G.D., McKiernan, K., Lloyd, D., Kiehl, K.A., Aberrant "default mode" functional connectivity in schizophrenia (2007) American Journal of Psychiatry, 164, pp. 450-457. , PMID: 17329470Van Eimeren, T., Monchi, O., Ballanger, B., Strafella, A.P., Dysfunction of the default mode network in parkinson disease a functional magnetic resonance imaging study (2009) Archives of Neurology, 66, pp. 877-883. , PMID: 19597090Gentili, C., Del Carlo, A., Cetani, F., Pratali, S., Pennato, T., Default mode network activity differs between patients with Social Phobia and helathy controls (2009) Psychology & Health, 24, pp. 181-181. , PMID: 25622306Bossong, M.G., Jansma, J.M., Van Hell, H.H., Jager, G., Kahn, R.S., Default mode network in the effects of Δ9-Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) on human executive function (2013) PLoS One, 8, p. e70074. , PMID: 23936144Kennedy, D.P., Courchesne, E., Functional abnormalities of the default network during self- and other-reflection in autism (2008) Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, 3, pp. 177-190. , PMID: 19015108Greicius, M.D., Srivastava, G., Reiss, A.L., Menon, V., Default-mode network activity distinguishes Alzheimer's disease from healthy aging: Evidence from functional MRI (2004) Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 101, pp. 4637-4642. , PMID: 15070770McGeown, W.J., Mazzoni, G., Venneri, A., Kirsch, I., Hypnotic induction decreases anterior default mode activity (2009) Consciousness and Cognition, 18, pp. 848-855. , PMID: 19782614Smith, S.M., The future of FMRI connectivity (2012) Neuroimage, 62, pp. 1257-1266. , PMID: 22248579Jang, J.H., Jung, W.H., Kang, D.-H., Byun, M.S., Kwon, S.J., Increased default mode network connectivity associated with meditation (2011) Neuroscience Letters, 487, pp. 358-362. , PMID: 21034792Greicius, M.D., Kiviniemi, V., Tervonen, O., Vainionpaa, V., Alahuhta, S., Persistent default-mode network connectivity during light sedation (2008) Human Brain Mapping, 29, pp. 839-847. , PMID: 18219620Horovitz, S.G., Braun, A.R., Carr, W.S., Picchioni, D., Balkin, T.J., Decoupling of the brain's default mode network during deep sleep (2009) Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 106, pp. 11376-11381. , PMID: 19549821Schrouff, J., Perlbarg, V., Boly, M., Marrelec, G., Boveroux, P., Brain functional integration decreases during propofol-induced loss of consciousness (2011) Neuroimage, 57, pp. 198-205. , PMID: 21524704Carhart-Harris, R.L., Leech, R., Erritzoe, D., Williams, T.M., Stone, J.M., Functional connectivity measures after psilocybin inform a novel hypothesis of early psychosis (2012) Schizophrenia Bulletin, 39, pp. 1343-1351. , PMID: 23044373Fox, M.D., Snyder, A.Z., Vincent, J.L., Corbetta, M., Van Essen, D.C., The human brain is intrinsically organized into dynamic, anticorrelated functional networks (2005) Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 102, pp. 9673-9678. , PMID: 15976020Uddin, L.Q., Kelly, A.M., Biswal, B.B., Castellanos, F.X., Milham, M.P., Functional connectivity of default mode network components: Correlation, anticorrelation, and causality (2009) Human Brain Mapping, 30, pp. 625-637. , PMID: 18219617Kriegeskorte, N., Simmons, W.K., Bellgowan, P.S.F., Baker, C.I., Circular analysis in systems neuroscience: The dangers of double dipping (2009) Nature Neuroscience, 12, p. 540Laird, A.R., Eickhoff, S.B., Li, K., Robin, D.A., Glahn, D.C., Investigating the functional heterogeneity of the default mode network using coordinate-based meta-analytic modeling (2009) Journal of Neuroscience, 29, pp. 14496-14505. , PMID: 19923283Song, X.-W., Dong, Z.-Y., Long, X.-Y., Li, S.-F., Zuo, X.-N., REST: A toolkit for resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging data processing (2011) Plos One, 6, p. e25031. , PMID: 21949842Murphy, K., Birn, R.M., Handwerker, D.A., Jones, T.B., Bandettini, P.A., The impact of global signal regression on resting state correlations: Are anti-correlated networks introduced? (2009) Neuroimage, 44, pp. 893-905. , PMID: 18976716Weissenbacher, A., Kasess, C., Gerstl, F., Lanzenberger, R., Moser, E., Correlations and anticorrelations in resting-state functional connectivity MRI: A quantitative comparison of preprocessing strategies (2009) Neuroimage, 47, pp. 1408-1416. , PMID: 19442749Keller, C.J., Bickel, S., Honey, C.J., Groppe, D.M., Entz, L., Neurophysiological investigation of spontaneous correlated and anticorrelated fluctuations of the BOLD signal (2013) The Journal of Neuroscience, 33, pp. 6333-6342. , PMID: 23575832Brefczynski-Lewis, J.A., Lutz, A., Schaefer, H.S., Levinson, D.B., Davidson, R.J., Neural correlates of attentional expertise in long-term meditation practitioners (2007) Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 104, pp. 11483-11488. , PMID: 17596341James, W., (1902) The Varieties of Religious Experiencea Study in Human Nature, 12, p. 534. , New York etc.: Longmans, Green, and co, 5311. pRinpoche, Y.M., (2007) The Joy of Living, , New York: Three Rivers, PMID: 25506957Hasenkamp, W., Wilson-Mendenhall, C.D., Duncan, E., Barsalou, L.W., Mind wandering and attention during focused meditation: A fine-grained temporal analysis of fluctuating cognitive states (2012) Neuroimage, 59, pp. 750-760. , PMID: 21782031Hasenkamp, W., Barsalou, L.W., Effects of meditation experience on functional connectivity of distributed brain networks (2012) Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, p. 6. , PMID: 23419982Ray, T.S., Psychedelics and the human receptorome (2010) PLoS One, 5, p. e9019. , PMID: 20126400Su, T.-P., Hayashi, T., Vaupel, D.B., When the endogenous hallucinogenic trace amine n, n-dimethyltryptamine meets the sigma-1 receptor (2009) Science Signaling, 2, p. e12Young, R., Biggs, J., Ziegler, V., Meyer, D., A rating scale for mania: Reliability, validity and sensitivity (1978) The British Journal of Psychiatry, 133, pp. 429-435. , PMID: 728692Boveroux, P., Vanhaudenhuyse, A., Bruno, M.A., Noirhomme, Q., Lauwick, S., Breakdown of within- and between-network resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging connectivity during propofol-induced loss of consciousness (2010) Anesthesiology, 113, pp. 1038-1053. , PMID: 20885292Josipovic, Z., Dinstein, I., Weber, J., Heeger, D.J., Influence of meditation on anti-correlated networks in the brain (2012) Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, p. 5. , PMID: 22363273Fox, M.D., Zhang, D., Snyder, A.Z., Raichle, M.E., The global signal and observed anticorrelated resting state brain networks (2009) Journal of Neurophysiology, 101, pp. 3270-3283. , PMID: 1933946

Status Report Of The Schenberg Gravitational Wave Antenna

Here we present a status report of the Schenberg antenna. In the past three years it has gone to a radical upgrading operation, in which we have been installing a 1K pot dilution refrigerator, cabling and amplifiers for nine transducer circuits, designing a new suspension and vibration isolation system for the microstrip antennas, and developing a full set of new transducers, microstrip antennas, and oscillators. We are also studying an innovative approach, which could transform Schenberg into a broadband gravitational wave detector.3631Aguiar, O.D., (2002) Class. Quantum Grav., 19, p. 1949Aguiar, O.D., (2004) Class. Quantum Grav., 21, pp. S457Aguiar, O.D., (2005) Class. Quantum Grav., 22, pp. S209Aguiar, O.D., (2006) Class. Quantum Grav., 23, pp. S239Aguiar, O.D., (2008) Class. Quantum Grav., 25, p. 114042Costa, C.A., (2008) Class. Quantum Grav., 25, p. 184002Johnson, W.W., Merkowitz, S.M., (1993) Phys. Rev. Lett., 70, p. 2367Coccia, E., Lobo, J.A., Ortega, J.A., (1995) Phys. Rev. D, 52, p. 3735Thorne, K.S., (1978) Phys. Rev. Lett., 40, p. 667Tobar, M.E., Ivanov, E.N., Blair, D.G., (2000) Gen. Rel. Grav., 32, p. 1799De Waard, (2005) Class. Quantum Grav., 22, pp. S215Vinet, J.-Y., (2010) Research in Astron Astrophys., 10, p. 956Costa, C.A., Aguiar, O.D., Magalhães, N.S., (2004) Class. Quantum Grav., 21, pp. S827Forward, R.L., (1971) Gen. Rel. Grav., 2, p. 149Eardley, D.M., Lee, D.L., Lightman, A.P., Wagoner, R.V., Will, C.M., (1973) Phys. Rev. Lett., 30, p. 884Bianchi, M., Coccia, E., Colacino, C.N., Fafone, V., Fucito, F., (1996) Class. Quantum Grav., 13, p. 2865Andrade, L.A., (2009) Microwave and Optical Tech. Lett., 51, p. 1120Furtado, S.R., (2012), in preparationIvanov, E.N., Hartnett, J.G., Tobar, M.E., (2000) IEEE Trans. Ultrason., Ferroelect., Freq. Contr., 47, p. 1526Pimentel, G.L., (2008) J. Phys. Conf. Series, 122, p. 012028Aguiar, (2009) Int. J. Modern Phys. D, 18, p. 2317Furtado, S.R., (2009), Ph.D. Thesis at INPE, not publishedBraginsky, V.B., Vorontsov, Y.I., Thorne, K.S., (1980) Science, 209, p. 547Thorne, K.S., The Quantum Limit for Gravitational-Wave Detectors and Methods of Circumventing It (1979) Sources of Gravitational Waves, p. 49. , ed. L L Smarr, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, US

Consumo de matéria seca e desempenho de novilhas das raças Girolando e Guzerá sob suplementação na caatinga, na época chuvosa, em Pernambuco, Brasil

Com os objetivos de estimar o consumo de matéria seca e avaliar a variação do peso vivo de novilhas, conduziu-se um experimento no período entre março e julho de 2003, com quatro estratégias de suplementação: sem suplementação (controle); torta de algodão (1 kg); palma-forrageira (10 kg); e de palma (5,0 kg) + torta de algodão (0,5 kg). O fornecimento de suplemento não influenciou o consumo de matéria seca (MS) do pasto nativo, no entanto afetou o consumo de MS total. O consumo de matéria seca total diferiu entre as raças, com valores de 5,44 e 6,75 kg/dia, respectivamente, para as raças Guzerá e Girolando. Nos animais sob suplementação com torta de algodão, o consumo de MS total foi superior ao do grupo controle (sem suplementação), porém semelhante ao daqueles sob suplementação com palma-forrageira e com torta de algodão + palma-forrageira. O ganho de peso vivo médio diário (de 517 e 434 g/animal, respectivamente, para os grupos Girolando e Guzerá) não diferiu entre as raças nem foi influenciado pela interação raça õ suplementação. Entre as estratégias de suplementação, no entanto, os valores tiveram diferença significativa e foram de 412, 620, 371 e 498 g/animal/dia, respectivamente, para os grupos controle e sob suplementação com torta de algodão; palma-forrageira; torta de algodão + palma-forrageira. No semiárido de Pernambuco, a suplementação com 1 kg de torta de algodão na época chuvosa do ano melhora o ganho de peso médio diário, independentemente da raça do animal

Does the impact of COVID-19 on patients with systemic sclerosis change over time?

ObjectiveThe outcome of patients with COVID-19 improved over the pandemic, including patients with systemic rheumatic diseases. However, data on patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc) are lacking. This study aimed to assess the outcome of patients with both SSc and COVID-19 over several waves.MethodsPatients with both SSc and COVID-19 who were registered in the European Scleroderma Trials and Research group (EUSTAR) were collected between April 2020 and April 2021. Patients were assigned to waves 1, 2, or 3 depending on the date of their COVID-19 diagnosis. Primary endpoints were death, intensive care unit stay, or ventilatory support (severe outcome). Subgroup analyses of patients who were hospitalized or died were conducted. General and SSc-specific characteristics and treatment were compared over the waves. Descriptive statistics and multivariate logistic regression were applied.ResultsA total of 333 patients were included; 57 patients (17%) had a severe outcome, and 30 patients (9%) died. Compared to wave 1, significantly fewer patients with SSc suffered from severe COVID-19 in waves 2 and 3 (28.2% vs 9.8% and 12.7%; P P P = 0.001), and fewer patients died (15.7% vs 5.0% and 7.5%; P = 0.011). Patients were significantly younger, more often men, had less frequent arterial hypertension, and less SSc cardiac involvement over waves 1 to 3. Patients received significantly less medium to high doses of corticosteroids as they did SSc treatment.ConclusionThe outcome of patients with both SSc and COVID-19 improved significantly over time because of intrinsic and extrinsic factors.Pathophysiology and treatment of rheumatic disease

Risk profiles and one-year outcomes of patients with newly diagnosed atrial fibrillation in India: Insights from the GARFIELD-AF Registry.

BACKGROUND: The Global Anticoagulant Registry in the FIELD-Atrial Fibrillation (GARFIELD-AF) is an ongoing prospective noninterventional registry, which is providing important information on the baseline characteristics, treatment patterns, and 1-year outcomes in patients with newly diagnosed non-valvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF). This report describes data from Indian patients recruited in this registry. METHODS AND RESULTS: A total of 52,014 patients with newly diagnosed AF were enrolled globally; of these, 1388 patients were recruited from 26 sites within India (2012-2016). In India, the mean age was 65.8 years at diagnosis of NVAF. Hypertension was the most prevalent risk factor for AF, present in 68.5% of patients from India and in 76.3% of patients globally (P < 0.001). Diabetes and coronary artery disease (CAD) were prevalent in 36.2% and 28.1% of patients as compared with global prevalence of 22.2% and 21.6%, respectively (P < 0.001 for both). Antiplatelet therapy was the most common antithrombotic treatment in India. With increasing stroke risk, however, patients were more likely to receive oral anticoagulant therapy [mainly vitamin K antagonist (VKA)], but average international normalized ratio (INR) was lower among Indian patients [median INR value 1.6 (interquartile range {IQR}: 1.3-2.3) versus 2.3 (IQR 1.8-2.8) (P < 0.001)]. Compared with other countries, patients from India had markedly higher rates of all-cause mortality [7.68 per 100 person-years (95% confidence interval 6.32-9.35) vs 4.34 (4.16-4.53), P < 0.0001], while rates of stroke/systemic embolism and major bleeding were lower after 1 year of follow-up. CONCLUSION: Compared to previously published registries from India, the GARFIELD-AF registry describes clinical profiles and outcomes in Indian patients with AF of a different etiology. The registry data show that compared to the rest of the world, Indian AF patients are younger in age and have more diabetes and CAD. Patients with a higher stroke risk are more likely to receive anticoagulation therapy with VKA but are underdosed compared with the global average in the GARFIELD-AF. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION-URL: http://www.clinicaltrials.gov. Unique identifier: NCT01090362