Associations between reliable changes in depression and changes in BMI, total body fatness and visceral adiposity during a 12-month weight loss trial.

We investigated associations between changes in depression and body composition over a 12-month weight loss trial. Of the 298 adults (BMI > 27 m/kg2), 219 with complete depression and body composition data were included. A 10-item Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale measured depression; dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry measured body composition. Multinomial logistic regression predicted reliable changes in depression by BMI, body fat (BF) and visceral adiposity (VAT). Multiplicative interaction terms tested modification by sex and ethnicity. Participants with increases in body composition were less likely to experience improvements in depression (BMI: RRR = 0.79 (0.68-0.91), p < 0.01; BF: RRR = 0.97 (0.94 - 0.99), p = 0.01; VAT: RRR = 0.99 (0.98-1.00), p = 0.02), but not worsening of depression (BMI: RRR = 1.29 (0.96-1.73), p = 0.10; BF: RRR = 1.04 (0.99-1.09), p = 0.15; VAT: RRR = 1.01 (1.00-1.03), p = 0.18). Sex and ethnicity interaction terms were not significant. However, the relationship was only significant among females, among non-Latinos for BMI and BF, and among Latinos for VAT. Our study supports the association between depression and obesity and highlights the need for longitudinal studies investigating VAT and depression in diverse ethnic groups

What Does Brain Response to Neutral Faces Tell Us about Major Depression? Evidence from Machine Learning and fMRI

Introduction: A considerable number of previous studies have shown abnormalities in the processing of emotional faces in major depression. Fewer studies, however, have focused specifically on abnormal processing of neutral faces despite evidence that depressed patients are slow and less accurate at recognizing neutral expressions in comparison with healthy controls. The current study aimed to investigate whether this misclassification described behaviourally for neutral faces also occurred when classifying patterns of brain activation to neutral faces for these patients. Methods: Two independent depressed samples: (1) Nineteen medication-free patients with depression and 19 healthy volunteers and (2) Eighteen depressed individuals and 18 age and gender-ratio-matched healthy volunteers viewed emotional faces (sad/neutral; happy/neutral) during an fMRI experiment. We used a new pattern recognition framework: first, we trained the classifier to discriminate between two brain states (e.g. viewing happy faces vs. viewing neutral faces) using data only from healthy controls (HC). Second, we tested the classifier using patterns of brain activation of a patient and a healthy control for the same stimuli. Finally, we tested if the classifier's predictions (predictive probabilities) for emotional and neutral face classification were different for healthy controls and depressed patients. Results: Predictive probabilities to patterns of brain activation to neutral faces in both groups of patients were significantly lower in comparison to the healthy controls. This difference was specific to neutral faces. There were no significant differences in predictive probabilities to patterns of brain activation to sad faces (sample 1) and happy faces (samples 2) between depressed patients and healthy controls. Conclusions: Our results suggest that the pattern of brain activation to neutral faces in depressed patients is not consistent with the pattern observed in healthy controls subject to the same stimuli. This difference in brain activation might underlie the behavioural misinterpretation of the neutral faces content by the depressed patients. © 2013 Oliveira et al

Quantum Brain Networks: A Perspective

We propose Quantum Brain Networks (QBraiNs) as a new interdisciplinary field integrating knowledge and methods from neurotechnology, artificial intelligence, and quantum computing. The objective is to develop an enhanced connectivity between the human brain and quantum computers for a variety of disruptive applications. We foresee the emergence of hybrid classical-quantum networks of wetware and hardware nodes, mediated by machine learning techniques and brain– machine interfaces. QBraiNs will harness and transform in unprecedented ways arts, science, technologies, and entrepreneurship, in particular activities related to medicine, Internet of Humans, intelligent devices, sensorial experience, gaming, Internet of Things, crypto trading, and business

An approach to interfacing the brain with quantum computers: practical steps and caveats

We report on the first proof-of-concept system demonstrating how one can control a qubit with mental activity. We developed a method to encode neural correlates of mental activity as instructions for a quantum computer. Brain signals are detected utilizing electrodes placed on the scalp of a person, who learns how to produce the required mental activity to issue instructions to rotate and measure a qubit. Currently, our proof-of-concept runs on a software simulation of a quantum computer. At the time of writing, available quantum computing hardware and brain activity sensing technology are not sufficiently developed for real-time control of quantum states with the brain. But we are one step closer to interfacing the brain with real quantum machines, as improvements in hardware technology at both fronts become available in time to come. The paper ends with a discussion on some of the challenging problems that need to be addressed before we can interface the brain with quantum hardware

Contribution of microscopy for understanding the mechanism of action against trypanosomatids

Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) has proved to be a useful tool to study the ultrastructural alterations and the target organelles of new antitrypanosomatid drugs. Thus, it has been observed that sesquiterpene lactones induce diverse ultrastructural alterations in both T. cruzi and Leishmania spp., such as cytoplasmic vacuolization, appearance of multilamellar structures, condensation of nuclear DNA, and, in some cases, an important accumulation of lipid vacuoles. This accumulation could be related to apoptotic events. Some of the sesquiterpene lactones (e.g., psilostachyin) have also been demonstrated to cause an intense mitochondrial swelling accompanied by a visible kinetoplast deformation as well as the appearance of multivesicular bodies. This mitochondrial swelling could be related to the generation of oxidative stress and associated to alterations in the ergosterol metabolism. The appearance of multilamellar structures and multiple kinetoplasts and flagella induced by the sesquiterpene lactone psilostachyin C indicates that this compound would act at the parasite cell cycle level, in an intermediate stage between kinetoplast segregation and nuclear division. In turn, the diterpene lactone icetexane has proved to induce the external membrane budding on T. cruzi together with an apparent disorganization of the pericellar cytoskeleton. Thus, ultrastructural TEM studies allow elucidating the possible mechanisms and the subsequent identification of molecular targets for the action of natural compounds on trypanosomatids.Fil: Lozano, Esteban Sebastián. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mendoza. Instituto de Medicina y Biología Experimental de Cuyo; ArgentinaFil: Spina Zapata, Renata María. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mendoza. Instituto de Histología y Embriología de Mendoza Dr. Mario H. Burgos. Universidad Nacional de Cuyo. Facultad de Ciencias Médicas. Instituto de Histología y Embriología de Mendoza Dr. Mario H. Burgos; ArgentinaFil: Barrera, Patricia Andrea. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mendoza. Instituto de Histología y Embriología de Mendoza Dr. Mario H. Burgos. Universidad Nacional de Cuyo. Facultad de Ciencias Médicas. Instituto de Histología y Embriología de Mendoza Dr. Mario H. Burgos; ArgentinaFil: Tonn, Carlos Eugenio. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - San Luis. Instituto de Investigaciones en Tecnología Química. Universidad Nacional de San Luis. Facultad de Química, Bioquímica y Farmacia. Instituto de Investigaciones en Tecnología Química; ArgentinaFil: Sosa Escudero, Miguel Angel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mendoza. Instituto de Histología y Embriología de Mendoza Dr. Mario H. Burgos. Universidad Nacional de Cuyo. Facultad de Ciencias Médicas. Instituto de Histología y Embriología de Mendoza Dr. Mario H. Burgos; Argentin

Adipocyte-specific protein tyrosine phosphatase 1B deletion increases lipogenesis, adipocyte cell size and is a minor regulator of glucose homeostasis

Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Isoforms of U1-70k control subunit dynamics in the human spliceosomal U1 snRNP

Most human protein-encoding genes contain multiple exons that are spliced together, frequently in alternative arrangements, by the spliceosome. It is established that U1 snRNP is an essential component of the spliceosome, in human consisting of RNA and ten proteins, several of which are post- translationally modified and exist as multiple isoforms. Unresolved and challenging to investigate are the effects of these post translational modifications on the dynamics, interactions and stability of the particle. Using mass spectrometry we investigate the composition and dynamics of the native human U1 snRNP and compare native and recombinant complexes to isolate the effects of various subunits and isoforms on the overall stability. Our data reveal differential incorporation of four protein isoforms and dynamic interactions of subunits U1-A, U1-C and Sm-B/B’. Results also show that unstructured post- ranslationally modified C-terminal tails are responsible for the dynamics of Sm-B/B’ and U1-C and that their interactions with the Sm core are controlled by binding to different U1-70k isoforms and their phosphorylation status in vivo. These results therefore provide the important functional link between proteomics and structure as well as insight into the dynamic quaternary structure of the native U1 snRNP important for its function.This work was funded by: BBSRC (OVM), BBSRC and EPSRC (HH and NM), EU Prospects (HH), European Science Foundation (NM), the Royal Society (CVR), and fellowship from JSPS and HFSP (YM and DAPK respectively)