Widespread sensorimotor and frontal cortical atrophy in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis

BACKGROUND: Widespread cortical atrophy in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) has been described in neuropathological studies. The presence of cortical atrophy in conventional and scientific neuroimaging has been a matter of debate. In studies using computertomography, positron emission tomography, proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy and conventional T2-weighted and proton-weighted images, results have been variable. Recent morphometric studies by magnetic resonance imaging have produced conflicting results regarding the extent of grey and white matter involvement in ALS patients. METHODS: The authors used optimized voxel-based morphometry as an unbiased whole brain approach to detect differences between regional grey and white matter volumes. Seventeen patients with a diagnosis of ALS according to El-Escorial criteria and seventeen age-matched controls received a high resolution anatomical T1 scan. RESULTS: In ALS patients regional grey matter volume (GMV) reductions were found in the pre- and postcentral gyrus bilaterally which extended to premotor, parietal and frontal regions bilaterally compared with controls (p < 0.05, corrected for the entire volume). The revised ALS functional rating scale showed a positive correlation with GMV reduction of the right medial frontal gyrus corresponding to the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. No significant differences were found for white matter volumes or when grey and white matter density images were investigated. There were no further correlations with clinical variables found. CONCLUSION: In ALS patients, primary sensorimotor cortex atrophy can be regarded as a prominent feature of the disease. Supporting the concept of ALS being a multisytem disorder, our study provides further evidence for extramotor involvement which is widespread. The lack of correlation with common clinical variables probably reflects the fact that heterogeneous disease processes underlie ALS. The discrepancy within all published morphometric studies in ALS so far may be related to differences in patient cohorts and several methodological factors of the data analysis process. Longitudinal studies are required to further clarify the time course and distribution of grey and white matter pathology during the course of ALS

Dynamika stezen i ladunku magnezu w wodach odplywajacych z obszarow szczegolnie zagrozonych splywami azotu ze zrodel rolniczych

The objective of this study was to investigate magnesium concentrations and load, and to determine their seasonal changes in runoff water from catchments classified as nitrate vulnerable zones. The results indicate that the average concentrations of 12.2 mg Mg⋅dm-3, with fluctuations within the range of 3.3 to 26.2 mg⋅dm-3, and average annual load of 14.3 kg Mg⋅ha-1⋅year-1, with fluctuations within the range of 4.8 to 41.6 kg Mg⋅ha-1⋅year-1, in runoff water from agricultural areas are determined by weather conditions (season), type of drainage system (ditches, drains) and fertilization intensity. In comparison with land drained by a network of drainage ditches, intensive farming in drained areas increases magnesium loss 2.5-fold from 10 kg per hectare of semi-intensively farmed area to 25 kg Mg⋅ha-1 in an intensively farmed area. The highest magnesium loss was reported in the non-growing season, and around 46% of total magnesium load was leached out in the winter. The magnesium loss was minimized during harsh winters and summer draughts (to around 1.2 kg Mg⋅ha-1⋅year-1) due to a seasonal absence of runoffs.Celem pracy była analiza stężeń i ładunków magnezu oraz określenie ich sezonowych zmian w wodach odpływających ze zlewni zakwalifikowanych do obszarów szczególnie narażonych na zanieczyszczenia wód azotanami ze źródeł rolniczych. Uzyskane wyniki świadczą o tym, że średnie stężenie 12,2 mg Mg·dm-3, z wahaniami od 3,3 do 26,1 mg·dm-3, i średni roczny ładunek 14,3 kg Mg·ha-1·rok-1, z wahaniami od 4,8 do 41,6 kg Mg·ha-1·rok-1, w wodach odpływających urządzeniami melioracyjnymi z obszarów rolniczych zależą od warunków meteorologicznych (pora roku), rodzaju systemu melioracyjnego (rowy, dreny) oraz intensywności nawożenia. Intensywne użytkowanie zdrenowanych gruntów ornych, w porównaniu z glebami odwadniającymi siecią rowów, powoduje ponad 2,5-krotny wzrost wymycia magnezu z 10 kg z 1 ha obszaru o średnio intensywnym rolnictwie do 25 kg Mg·ha-1 z obszaru intensywnego rolnictwa. Największy odpływ występował w okresie pozawegetacyjnym, ok. 46% ogólnej masy ładunku odpłynęło zimą. W okresie mroźnych zim oraz suszy letnich następuje minimalizacja odpływu magnezu (do ok. 1,2 kg Mg·ha-1·rok-1) w wyniku okresowego zaniku odpływu wód

Wplyw gospodarstwa rolnego na odplyw azotu mineralnego z wodami

W pracy przedstawiono wyniki badań nad wpływem gospodarstwa rolnego na odpływ azotu mineralnego z obszarów intensywnie użytkowanych rolniczo w okolicach jeziora Dobskiego. Teren ten został zaliczony do obszarów szczególnie wrażliwych na zanieczyszczenia azotanami ze źródeł rolniczych. Głównym źródłem zanieczyszczeń wód jest osiedle wiejskie i zanieczyszczenia z gospodarstwa. Intensyfikacja rolnictwa zwiększa ilość biogenów w wodach drenarskich, głównie zawartość azotanów. Ładunek substancji odprowadzany z obszaru zlewni był uzależniony od rodzaju systemu melioracyjnego. Największy odpływ azotu azotanowego z jednostki powierzchni stwierdzono w zlewni odprowadzającej wodę z rowu zasilanego drenami (30,58 kg N-NO₃·ha⁻¹), najmniejszy zaś w zlewni odwadnianej przez ciek wodny do zatoki (2,91 kg N-NO₃·ha⁻¹). Ładunek azotu amonowego odprowadzany do jeziora był najwyższy w zlewni odprowadzającej wodę z rowu zasilanego drenami (8,45 kg·ha⁻¹) a azotu azotynowego 0,43 kg·ha⁻¹ i był on najwyższy w przypadku zlewni odprowadzającej wodę z drenu. Rolnicze użytkowanie terenu powoduje zwiększenie zawartości azotu w wodach powierzchniowych. W wodach drenarskich z terenu nawożonego nawozami mineralnymi wzrosła głównie zawartość azotanów, w odpływie ze zlewni, która była nawożona gnojowicą wzrosła głównie ilość azotu amonowego w okresie wiosennym.The paper presents the results of the research carried out on the influence of a farmstead on the mineral nitrogen outflow from areas of an intensive agricultural use in the vicinity of Dobskie lake. The area is particularly sensitive to contamination with nitrates of agricultural origin. Main sources of water pollution are rural settlement and pollutants from the farmstead. Intensification of agriculture causes the increase in nutrient, mainly nitrates, concentrations in drainage water. The load of substances flowing out of the catchment depended on a type of reclamation system. The highest outflow of nitrate nitrogen per unit area was stated in the catchment of a ditch supplied with drains (30.58 kg N-NO₃·ha⁻¹), whereas the lowest outflow in the catchment of a stream supplying the bay (2.91 kg N-NO₃·ha⁻¹). The load of ammonia nitrogen introduced to the lake was the highest in the catchment dewatered by a ditch with drains (8.45 kg₃·ha⁻¹), whereas the load of nitrite nitrogen amounted to 0.43 kg₃·ha⁻¹ and was the highest in the drain catchment. Agricultural land use causes the increase in nitrogen concentrations in the surface water. The significant increase in nitrates was observed in drainage water form the land supplied with mineral fertilizers, whereas the increase in ammonia nitrogen concerned the outflow from the catchment fertilized with slurry in spring

Association between cytokines and cerebral MRI changes in the aging brain

The association between cytokines (IL-1β, sIL-4R, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, IL-12, TNF-α) and subcortical white matter lesions, cortical atrophy and lacunar infarctions of the aging brain was investigated among 268 elderly community participants. Single pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines were neither associated with WML nor with atrophy and lacunar infarction. An association between atrophy and the chemokine-cytokine factor (containing sIL-4R, IL-6, IL-8) remained significant after adjustment for age, gender, education, depressive symptoms, diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular diseases (stroke, TIA, myocardial infarction, myocardial insufficiency, arrhythmic heart), hypertension, body-mass index, smoking status and aggregation inhibitors as opposed to single cytokines. Atrophy of the parietal, temporal and occipital lobes was associated with the same cytokinechemokine factor for both the whole sample or restricted to those without history of stroke/TIA. The results indicate that a combination of chemokine-cytokines rather than single cytokines may contribute to inflammatory processes associated with cortical atrophy in the aging brain.Bernhard T. Baune, Gerald Ponath, Matthias Rothermundt, Andreas Roesler and Klaus Berge

Through the Iron Curtain. The Taizé Ecumenical Experience in Eastern Europe (1960-1989).

The volume retraces the history of the intertwined relationships woven by the Taizé Community amongst Christians of Eastern European countries in the second half of the last century which has not yet been written, even if it is a fundamental chapter for understanding the unique international influence of the community. The encounter with the different faces of a Christian youth beyond the Iron Curtain, who in Taizé had their first experience of a unified European space, was in fact to become one of the main directions of the community’s effort from the early 1960s. The contributions of the volume intend therefore to throw a first light on this story, relying on a completely unpublished documentation and on the testimony of many protagonists involved in the construction of this unique continental and ecumenical network