Subcortical brain volumes in young infants exposed to antenatal maternal depression: Findings from a South African birth cohort.

BACKGROUND: Several studies have reported enlarged amygdala and smaller hippocampus volumes in children and adolescents exposed to maternal depression. It is unclear whether similar volumetric differences are detectable in the infants' first weeks of life, following exposure in utero. We investigated subcortical volumes in 2-to-6 week old infants exposed to antenatal maternal depression (AMD) from a South African birth cohort. METHODS: AMD was measured with the Beck Depression Inventory 2nd edition (BDI-II) at 28-32 weeks gestation. T2-weighted structural images were acquired during natural sleep on a 3T Siemens Allegra scanner. Subcortical regions were segmented based on the University of North Carolina neonatal brain atlas. Volumetric estimates were compared between AMD-exposed (BDI-II ⩾ 20) and unexposed (BDI-II < 14) infants, adjusted for age, sex and total intracranial volume using analysis of covariance. RESULTS: Larger volumes were observed in AMD-exposed (N = 49) compared to unexposed infants (N = 75) for the right amygdala (1.93% difference, p = 0.039) and bilateral caudate nucleus (left: 5.79% difference, p = 0.001; right: 6.09% difference, p < 0.001). A significant AMD-by-sex interaction was found for the hippocampus (left: F(1,118) = 4.80, p = 0.030; right: F(1,118) = 5.16, p = 0.025), reflecting greater volume in AMD-exposed females (left: 5.09% difference, p = 0.001, right: 3.54% difference, p = 0.010), but not males. CONCLUSIONS: Volumetric differences in subcortical regions can be detected in AMD-exposed infants soon after birth, suggesting structural changes may occur in utero. Female infants might exhibit volumetric changes that are not observed in male infants. The potential mechanisms underlying these early volumetric differences, and their significance for long-term child mental health, require further investigation

Acceptability, Feasibility, Drug Safety, and Effectiveness of a Pilot Mass Drug Administration with a Single Round of Sulfadoxine-Pyrimethamine Plus Primaquine and Indoor Residual Spraying in Communities with Malaria Transmission in Haiti, 2018.

For a malaria elimination strategy, Haiti's National Malaria Control Program piloted a mass drug administration (MDA) with indoor residual spraying (IRS) in 12 high-transmission areas across five communes after implementing community case management and strengthened surveillance. The MDA distributed sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine and single low-dose primaquine to eligible residents during house visits. The IRS campaign applied pirimiphos-methyl insecticide on walls of eligible houses. Pre- and post-campaign cross-sectional surveys were conducted to assess acceptability, feasibility, drug safety, and effectiveness of the combined interventions. Stated acceptability for MDA before the campaign was 99.2%; MDA coverage estimated at 10 weeks post-campaign was 89.6%. Similarly, stated acceptability of IRS at baseline was 99.9%; however, household IRS coverage was 48.9% because of the high number of ineligible houses. Effectiveness measured by Plasmodium falciparum prevalence at baseline and 10 weeks post-campaign were similar: 1.31% versus 1.43%, respectively. Prevalence of serological markers were similar at 10 weeks post-campaign compared with baseline, and increased at 6 months. No severe adverse events associated with the MDA were identified in the pilot; there were severe adverse events in a separate, subsequent campaign. Both MDA and IRS are acceptable and feasible interventions in Haiti. Although a significant impact of a single round of MDA/IRS on malaria transmission was not found using a standard pre- and post-intervention comparison, it is possible there was blunting of the peak transmission. Seasonal malaria transmission patterns, suboptimal IRS coverage, and low baseline parasitemia may have limited the effectiveness or the ability to measure effectiveness

Increased CO2 fluxes under warming tests and soil solution chemistry in Histic and Turbic Cryosols, Salluit, Nunavik, Canada

International audienceCryosols in tundra ecosystems contain large stocks of organic carbon as peat and as organic cryoturbated layers. Increased organic mater decomposition rate in those Arctic soils due to increasing soil temperatures and to permafrost thawing can lead to the release of greenhouse gases, thus potentially creating a positive feedback on global warming. Instrumentation was installed on permafrost terrain in Salluit (Nunavik, Canada; 62 degrees 14'N, 75 degrees 38'W) to monitor respiration of two Cryosols under both natural and experimental warmed conditions and to simultaneously monitor the soil solution composition in the active layer throughout a thawing season. Two experimental sites under tussock tundra vegetation were set up: one is on a Histic Cryosol (H site) in a polygonal peatland; the other one is on a Turbic Cryosol reductaquic (T site) on post-glacial marine clays. At each site an open top chamber was installed from mid-July to the end of August 2010 to warm the soil surface. Thermistors and soil moisture probes were installed both in natural (N), or non-modified, surface thermal conditions and in warmed (W) stations, i.e. under an open top chamber. At each station, ecosystem respiration (ER) was measured three times per day every second day with an opaque closed chamber linked to a portable IRGA. Soil solutions were also sampled every alternate day at 10, 20 and 30 cm depths and analysed for dissolved organic C (DOC), total dissolved nitrogen (TON) and major elements. The experimental warming thickened the active layer in the Histic soil while it did not in the Turbic soil. In natural conditions, average ER at the HN station (1.27 +/- 0.32 mu mol CO2 m(-2) s(-1)) was lower than at the TN station (1.96 +/- 0.41 mu mol CO2 m(-2) s(-1)). A soil surface warming of 2.4 degrees C lead to a similar to 64% increase in ER at the HW station. At the TW station a similar to 2.1 degrees C increase induced an average ER increase of similar to 48%. Temperature sensitivity of ER, expressed by a Q(10) of 2.7 in the Histic soil and 3.9 in the Turbic Cryosol in natural conditions, decreased with increasing temperatures. There was no difference in soil solution composition between the N and W conditions for a given site. Mean DOC and TDN contents were higher at the H site. The H site soil solutions were more acidic and poorer in major solutes than the T ones, except for NO. The induced warming increased CO2 fluxes in both soils; this impact was however more striking in the Histic Cryosol even if ER was lower than in the Turbic Cryosol. In the Histic Cryosol, the thickening of the active layer would made available for decomposition new organic matter that was previously frozen into permafrost; due to acidic conditions, CO2 would be directly emitted to atmosphere. In contrast, the smaller increase in ER in the Turbic Cryosol may indicate the lack of organic matter input and carbon stabilization because of cold, non-acidic and more concentrated soil solutions; at this site warming mainly stimulates plant-derived respiration without decomposing a newly available carbon pool. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

Evidence for fractional anisotropy and mean diffusivity white matter abnormalities in the internal capsule and cingulum in patients with obsessive–compulsive disorder

Background: There is evidence to suggest that obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is associated with structural abnormalities in cortico-striato-thalamic circuits, yet the extent of white matter abnormalities is not well established. In this study, we used diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) to examine white matter integrity in specific regions of interest (ROIs) in patients with OCD. Methods: Patients with OCD and sex-, age- and IQ-matched healthy controls underwent DTI. The primary objective was to explore whether patients with OCD had white matter abnormalities in the anterior limb of the internal capsule (ALIC), the uncinate fasciculus, the genu of the corpus callo-sum and the cingulum. The secondary objective was to evaluate the relation between fractional anisotropy and mean diffusivity in these ROIs and other clinical variables (including age at onset of OCD, OCD severity and levels of depressive and anxiety symptomatology) in patients with OCD. Results: There were 15 patients and 17 controls enrolled in our study. Compared with healthy controls, patients with OCD showed increased fractional anisotropy in bilateral regions of the ALIC adjacent to the body of the caudate, as well as decreased fractional anisotropy in the right anterior limb near the head of the caudate. Patients also had decreased mean diffusivity in the body of the right cingulum and the left anterior cingulum compared with controls. Correlational analyses revealed significant associations of fractional anisotropy and mean diffusivity in select circuits with OCD, depression and anxiety severity scores. Limitations: Inclusion of patients with OCD receiving pharmacotherapy may have been a limitation. In addition, the patients were heterogeneous in terms of their obsessive-compulsive symptom profiles; we did not distinguish between different obsessive-compulsive symptom dimensions. Conclusion: The study results provide further evidence for OCD-related white matter abnormalities in the ALIC and cingulum, consistent with a cortico striatal model of OCD. © 2012 Canadian Medical Association

Enseigner et apprendre à l'ère de l'intelligence artificielle

International audienceAs part of the Digital Working Group (GTnum) #Scol_IA “Renewal of digital practices and creative uses of digital and AI” we are pleased to present the white paper “Teaching and learning in the era of Artificial Intelligence, Acculturation , integration and creative uses of AI in education”. The white paper edited by Margarida Romero, Laurent Heiser and Alexandre Lepage aims to provide the various educational actors with a diversified perspective both on the issues of acculturation and training in AI and on the resources and feedback from the various research teams and organisations. of scientific culture in the French-speaking countries. A multidisciplinary approach makes it possible to consider the perspectives of researchers in computer science as well as those of education and training sciences, information and communication sciences and the expertise of teaching professionals. and scientific mediation.Dans le cadre du Groupe de Travail numérique (GTnum) #Scol_IA “Renouvellement des pratiques numériques et usages créatifs du numérique et IA” nous sommes heureux de vous présenter le livre blanc “Enseigner et apprendre à l’ère de l’Intelligence Artificielle, Acculturation, intégration et usages créatifs de l’IA en éducation”. Le livre blanc édité par Margarida Romero, Laurent Heiser et Alexandre Lepage vise apporter aux différents acteurs éducatifs un éclairage diversifié tant des enjeux de l’acculturation et formation à l’IA que des ressources et retours d’expérience des différentes équipes de recherche et organismes de culture scientifique de la francophonie. Une approche pluridisciplinaire permet de considérer tant les perspectives des chercheurs en sciences de l’informatique, que celles des sciences de l’éducation et de la formation, les sciences de l’information et la communication et l’expertise des professionnels de l’enseignement et de la médiation scientifique