Glutamatergic and Resting-State Functional Connectivity Correlates of Severity in Major Depression – The Role of Pregenual Anterior Cingulate Cortex and Anterior Insula

Glutamatergic mechanisms and resting-state functional connectivity alterations have been recently described as factors contributing to major depressive disorder (MDD). Furthermore, the pregenual anterior cingulate cortex (pgACC) seems to play an important role for major depressive symptoms such as anhedonia and impaired emotion processing. We investigated 22 MDD patients and 22 healthy subjects using a combined magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) and resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) approach. Severity of depression was rated using the 21-item Hamilton depression scale (HAMD) and patients were divided into severely and mildly depressed subgroups according to HAMD scores. Because of their hypothesized role in depression we investigated the functional connectivity between pgACC and left anterior insular cortex (AI). The sum of Glutamate and Glutamine (Glx) in the pgACC, but not in left AI, predicted the resting-state functional connectivity between the two regions exclusively in depressed patients. Furthermore, functional connectivity between these regions was significantly altered in the subgroup of severely depressed patients (HAMD > 15) compared to healthy subjects and mildly depressed patients. Similarly the Glx ratios, relative to Creatine, in the pgACC were lowest in severely depressed patients. These findings support the involvement of glutamatergic mechanisms in severe MDD which are related to the functional connectivity between pgACC and AI and depression severity

Human access impacts biodiversity of microscopic animals in sandy beaches

Whereas most work to understand impacts of humans on biodiversity on coastal areas has focused on large, conspicuous organisms, we highlight effects of tourist access on the diversity of microscopic marine animals (meiofauna). We used a DNA metabarcoding approach with an iterative and phylogeny-based approach for the taxonomic assignment of meiofauna and relate diversity patterns to the numbers of tourists accessing sandy beaches on an otherwise un-impacted island National Park. Tourist frequentation, independently of differences in sediment granulometry, beach length, and other potential confounding factors, affected meiofaunal diversity in the shallow “swash” zone right at the mean water mark; the impacts declined with water depth (up to 2 m). The indicated negative effect on meiofauna may have a consequence on all the biota including the higher trophic levels. Thus, we claim that it is important to consider restricting access to beaches in touristic areas, in order to preserve biodiversity

REFORMA E DESAFIOS DA EDUCAÇÃO SUPERIOR: O PROCESSO DE BOLONHA DEZ ANOS DEPOIS

Este artigo trata da implementação do Processo de Bolonha iniciado em 1998. Tal processo consiste em uma ampla reforma da educação superior na Europa. Após se examinar a trajetória de consolidação dos objetivos e as metas desse programa, é focalizada, privilegiadamente, a situação atual do ensino superior na Alemanha. São abordados três aspectos centrais: o processo de formulação de uma reforma de proporções continentais por meio das conferências e dos comunicados; as mudanças introduzidas na organização do ensino superior; e, por fim, a análise do processo de adoção do modelo Bolonha no sistema de ensino superior na Alemanha e os problemas e desafios dez anos depois

High Mountain Areas

The cryosphere (including, snow, glaciers, permafrost, lake and river ice) is an integral element of high-mountain regions, which are home to roughly 10% of the global population. Widespread cryosphere changes affect physical, biological and human systems in the mountains and surrounding lowlands, with impacts evident even in the ocean. Building on the IPCC’s Fifth Assessment Report (AR5), this chapter assesses new evidence on observed recent and projected changes in the mountain cryosphere as well as associated impacts, risks and adaptation measures related to natural and human systems. Impacts in response to climate changes independently of changes in the cryosphere are not assessed in this chapter. Polar mountains are included in Chapter 3, except those in Alaska and adjacent Yukon, Iceland, and Scandinavia, which are included in this chapter

Willingness to Pay to Reduce Mortality Risks: Evidence from a Three-Country Contingent Valuation Study

Valuing a change in the risk of death is a key input into the calculation of the benefits of environmental policies that save lives. Typically such risks are monetized using the Value of a Statistical Life (VSL). Because the majority of the lives saved by environmental policies are those of older persons, there has been much recent debate about whether the VSL should be lower for the elderly to reflect their fewer remaining life years. We conducted a contingent valuation survey in the UK, Italy and France designed to answer this question. The survey was administered in these three countries following a standardized protocol. Persons of age 40 and older were asked questions about their willingness to pay for a specified risk reduction. We use their responses to these questions to estimate the willingness to pay (WTP) for such a risk reduction and VSL. Our results suggest that the VSL ranges between €1.052 and €2.258 million. The VSL is not significantly lower for older persons, but is higher for persons who have been admitted to the hospital or emergency room for cardiovascular and respiratory problems. These results suggest that there is no evidence supporting that VSL should be adjusted to reflect the age of the beneficiaries of environmental policy. They are also partly inconsistent with the QALY-based practice of imputing lower values for persons with a compromised health status. We also find that income is positively and significantly associated with WTP. The income elasticities of the WTP increase gradually with income levels and are typically between 0.15 and 0.5 for current income levels in EU countries. We use the responses to the WTP questions to estimate the value of an extension in remaining life expectancy. We find that the value of a month's extension in life expectancy increases with age and with serious cardiovascular and respiratory illnesses experienced by the respondent. The value of a loss of one year's life expectancy is between €55,000 and €142,000

Robustness of VSL Values from Contingent Valuation Surveys

This paper examines factors that may influence the estimates of the Value of a Statistical Life obtained from contingent valuation surveys that elicit the willingness to pay (WTP) for mortality risk reductions. We examine the importance of distributional assumptions, the choice of the welfare statistics of interest, the procedure for computing them, outliers, undesirable response effects, and internal validity of the WTP responses. We illustrate the importance of these factors using dichotomous-choice and open-ended WTP data from four recent contingent valuation surveys

MR Thermometry Data Correlate with Pathological Response for Soft Tissue Sarcoma of the Lower Extremity in a Single Center Analysis of Prospectively Registered Patients

Background: There is a strong biologic rationale for using locoregional hyperthermia in soft tissue sarcoma and a randomized trial reported significant improvements with hyperthermia. The aim of this study was to describe the opportunities of magnetic resonance (MR)-based thermometry in a cohort of soft tissue sarcoma patients undergoing combined radiotherapy and locoregional hyperthermia. Patients and Methods: For eleven evaluable patients, tumor volume (VTu) and a separate volume for temperature analysis with reliable temperature distribution (Vtherm) were contoured for every hyperthermia treatment (103 therapies). Temperature data were recorded for all tumors and were correlated with clinical features and pathologic response data. Results: Of 48 patients with high-risk soft tissue sarcomas treated with radio(chemo)therapy and locoregional hyperthermia, MR thermometry was possible in 11 (23%) patients. For all patients, the temperature superseded by 90% of VTu (T90(VTu)) and T90 (Vtherm) were in the range of 37–43 °C and 40–45 °C, respectively. Larger tumors tended to reach higher temperatures. For tumors showing a pathologic response in the resection specimen after preoperative treatment, temperature (T90 (Vtherm)) was significantly higher than in tumors without pathologic response. Conclusion: Lower extremity sarcomas undergoing preoperative treatment with locoregional hyperthermia are especially suitable for MR thermometry. MR thermometry is a promising non-invasive way for temperature measurement during locoregional hyperthermia, showing a positive dose-response relationship