Co-Nanomet: Co-ordination of Nanometrology in Europe

Nanometrology is a subfield of metrology, concerned with the science of measurement at the nanoscale level. Today’s global economy depends on reliable measurements and tests, which are trusted and accepted internationally. It must provide the ability to measure in three dimensions with atomic resolution over large areas. For industrial application this must also be achieved at a suitable speed/throughput. Measurements in the nanometre range should be traceable back to internationally accepted units of measurement (e.g. of length, angle, quantity of matter, and force). This requires common, validated measurement methods, calibrated scientific instrumentation as well as qualified reference samples. In some areas, even a common vocabulary needs to be defined. A traceability chain for the required measurements in the nm range has been established in only a few special cases. A common strategy for European nanometrology has been defined, as captured herein, such that future nanometrology development in Europe may build out from our many current strengths. In this way, European nanotechnology will be supported to reach its full and most exciting potential. As a strategic guidance, this document contains a vision for European nanometrology 2020; future goals and research needs, building out from an evaluation of the status of science and technology in 2010. It incorporates concepts for the acceleration of European nanometrology, in support of the effective commercial exploitation of emerging nanotechnologies. The field of nanotechnology covers a breadth of disciplines, each of which has specific and varying metrological needs. To this end, a set of four core technology fields or priority themes (Engineered Nanoparticles, Nanobiotechnology, Thin Films and Structured Surfaces and Modelling & Simulation) are the focus of this review. Each represents an area within which rapid scientific development during the last decade has seen corresponding growth in or towards commercial exploitation routes. This document was compiled under the European Commission Framework Programme 7 project, Co-Nanomet. It has drawn together input from industry, research institutes, (national) metrology institutes, regulatory and standardisation bodies across Europe. Through the common work of the partners and all those interested parties who have contributed, it represents a significant collaborative European effort in this important field. In the next decade, nanotechnology can be expected to approach maturity, as a major enabling technological discipline with widespread application. This document provides a guide to the many bodies across Europe in their activities or responsibilities in the field of nanotechnology and related measurement requirements. It will support the commercial exploitation of nanotechnology, as it transitions through this next exciting decade

Cortical brain abnormalities in 4474 individuals with schizophrenia and 5098 control subjects via the enhancing neuro Imaging genetics through meta analysis (ENIGMA) Consortium

BACKGROUND: The profile of cortical neuroanatomical abnormalities in schizophrenia is not fully understood, despite hundreds of published structural brain imaging studies. This study presents the first meta-analysis of cortical thickness and surface area abnormalities in schizophrenia conducted by the ENIGMA (Enhancing Neuro Imaging Genetics through Meta Analysis) Schizophrenia Working Group. METHODS: The study included data from 4474 individuals with schizophrenia (mean age, 32.3 years; range, 11-78 years; 66% male) and 5098 healthy volunteers (mean age, 32.8 years; range, 10-87 years; 53% male) assessed with standardized methods at 39 centers worldwide. RESULTS: Compared with healthy volunteers, individuals with schizophrenia have widespread thinner cortex (left/right hemisphere: Cohen's d = -0.530/-0.516) and smaller surface area (left/right hemisphere: Cohen's d = -0.251/-0.254), with the largest effect sizes for both in frontal and temporal lobe regions. Regional group differences in cortical thickness remained significant when statistically controlling for global cortical thickness, suggesting regional specificity. In contrast, effects for cortical surface area appear global. Case-control, negative, cortical thickness effect sizes were two to three times larger in individuals receiving antipsychotic medication relative to unmedicated individuals. Negative correlations between age and bilateral temporal pole thickness were stronger in individuals with schizophrenia than in healthy volunteers. Regional cortical thickness showed significant negative correlations with normalized medication dose, symptom severity, and duration of illness and positive correlations with age at onset. CONCLUSIONS: The findings indicate that the ENIGMA meta-analysis approach can achieve robust findings in clinical neuroscience studies; also, medication effects should be taken into account in future genetic association studies of cortical thickness in schizophrenia

Subcortical volumes across the lifespan: Data from 18,605 healthy individuals aged 3–90 years

Age has a major effect on brain volume. However, the normative studies available are constrained by small sample sizes, restricted age coverage and significant methodological variability. These limitations introduce inconsistencies and may obscure or distort the lifespan trajectories of brain morphometry. In response, we capitalized on the resources of the Enhancing Neuroimaging Genetics through Meta‐Analysis (ENIGMA) Consortium to examine age‐related trajectories inferred from cross‐sectional measures of the ventricles, the basal ganglia (caudate, putamen, pallidum, and nucleus accumbens), the thalamus, hippocampus and amygdala using magnetic resonance imaging data obtained from 18,605 individuals aged 3–90 years. All subcortical structure volumes were at their maximum value early in life. The volume of the basal ganglia showed a monotonic negative association with age thereafter; there was no significant association between age and the volumes of the thalamus, amygdala and the hippocampus (with some degree of decline in thalamus) until the sixth decade of life after which they also showed a steep negative association with age. The lateral ventricles showed continuous enlargement throughout the lifespan. Age was positively associated with inter‐individual variability in the hippocampus and amygdala and the lateral ventricles. These results were robust to potential confounders and could be used to examine the functional significance of deviations from typical age‐related morphometric patterns

Cortical thickness across the lifespan: Data from 17,075 healthy individuals aged 3-90 years

Delineating the association of age and cortical thickness in healthy individuals is critical given the association of cortical thickness with cognition and behavior. Previous research has shown that robust estimates of the association between age and brain morphometry require large‐scale studies. In response, we used cross‐sectional data from 17,075 individuals aged 3–90 years from the Enhancing Neuroimaging Genetics through Meta‐Analysis (ENIGMA) Consortium to infer age‐related changes in cortical thickness. We used fractional polynomial (FP) regression to quantify the association between age and cortical thickness, and we computed normalized growth centiles using the parametric Lambda, Mu, and Sigma method. Interindividual variability was estimated using meta‐analysis and one‐way analysis of variance. For most regions, their highest cortical thickness value was observed in childhood. Age and cortical thickness showed a negative association; the slope was steeper up to the third decade of life and more gradual thereafter; notable exceptions to this general pattern were entorhinal, temporopolar, and anterior cingulate cortices. Interindividual variability was largest in temporal and frontal regions across the lifespan. Age and its FP combinations explained up to 59% variance in cortical thickness. These results may form the basis of further investigation on normative deviation in cortical thickness and its significance for behavioral and cognitive outcomes

Grey Matter Changes Associated with Heavy Cannabis Use: A Longitudinal sMRI Study.

Cannabis is the most frequently used illicit drug worldwide. Cross-sectional neuroimaging studies suggest that chronic cannabis exposure and the development of cannabis use disorders may affect brain morphology. However, cross-sectional studies cannot make a conclusive distinction between cause and consequence and longitudinal neuroimaging studies are lacking. In this prospective study we investigate whether continued cannabis use and higher levels of cannabis exposure in young adults are associated with grey matter reductions. Heavy cannabis users (N = 20, age baseline M = 20.5, SD = 2.1) and non-cannabis using healthy controls (N = 22, age baseline M = 21.6, SD = 2.45) underwent a comprehensive psychological assessment and a T1- structural MRI scan at baseline and 3 years follow-up. Grey matter volumes (orbitofrontal cortex, anterior cingulate cortex, insula, striatum, thalamus, amygdala, hippocampus and cerebellum) were estimated using the software package SPM (VBM-8 module). Continued cannabis use did not have an effect on GM volume change at follow-up. Cross-sectional analyses at baseline and follow-up revealed consistent negative correlations between cannabis related problems and cannabis use (in grams) and regional GM volume of the left hippocampus, amygdala and superior temporal gyrus. These results suggests that small GM volumes in the medial temporal lobe are a risk factor for heavy cannabis use or that the effect of cannabis on GM reductions is limited to adolescence with no further damage of continued use after early adulthood. Long-term prospective studies starting in early adolescence are needed to reach final conclusions

Structural MRI Differences between Patients with and without First Rank Symptoms: A Delusion?

It has been suggested that specific psychotic symptom clusters may be explained by patterns of biological abnormalities. The presence of first rank symptoms (FRS) has been associated with cognitive abnormalities, e.g., deficits in self-monitoring or in the experience of agency, suggesting that a specific network of neural abnormalities might underlie FRS. Here, we investigate differences in cortical and subcortical brain volume between patients with and without FRS

Structural MRI Differences between Patients with and without First Rank Symptoms : A Delusion?

OBJECTIVE: It has been suggested that specific psychotic symptom clusters may be explained by patterns of biological abnormalities. The presence of first rank symptoms (FRS) has been associated with cognitive abnormalities, e.g., deficits in self-monitoring or in the experience of agency, suggesting that a specific network of neural abnormalities might underlie FRS. Here, we investigate differences in cortical and subcortical brain volume between patients with and without FRS. METHODS: Three independent patient samples (referred to as A, B, and C) with different mean ages and in different illness stages were included, leading to a total of 348 patients within the schizophrenia-spectrum. All underwent magnetic resonance imaging of the brain. In addition, the presence of FRS was established using a diagnostic interview. Patients with (FRS+, A: n = 63, B: n = 129, and C: n = 96) and without FRS (FRS-, A: n = 35, B: n = 17, and C: n = 8) were compared on global and local cortical volumes as well as subcortical volumes, using a whole brain (cerebrum) approach. RESULTS: Nucleus accumbens volume was significantly smaller in FRS+ as compared with FRS- in sample A (p < 0.005). Furthermore, FRS+ showed a smaller volume of the pars-opercularis relative to FRS- in sample B (p < 0.001). No further significant differences were found in cortical and subcortical volumes between FRS+ and FRS- in either one of the three samples after correction for multiple comparison. CONCLUSION: Brain volume differences between patients with and without FRS are, when present, subtle, and not consistent between three independent samples. Brain abnormalities related to FRS may be too subtle to become visible through structural brain imaging

Flood Control: How Milk-Derived Extracellular Vesicles Can Help to Improve the Intestinal Barrier Function and Break the Gut–Joint Axis in Rheumatoid Arthritis

Many studies provided compelling evidence that extracellular vesicles (EVs) are involved in the regulation of the immune response, acting as both enhancers and dampeners of the immune system, depending on the source and type of vesicle. Research, including ours, has shown anti-inflammatory effects of milk-derived EVs, using human breast milk as well as bovine colostrum and store-bought pasteurized cow milk, in !##!Review criteria!#!The search terms 'extracellular vesicles', 'exosomes', 'microvesicles', 'rheumatoid arthritis', 'gut-joint axis', 'milk', and 'experimental arthritis' were used. English-language full text papers (published between 1980 and 2021) were identified from PubMed and Google Scholar databases. The reference list for each paper was further searched to identify additional relevant articles

Grey Matter Changes Associated with Heavy Cannabis Use: A Longitudinal sMRI Study

<div><p>Cannabis is the most frequently used illicit drug worldwide. Cross-sectional neuroimaging studies suggest that chronic cannabis exposure and the development of cannabis use disorders may affect brain morphology. However, cross-sectional studies cannot make a conclusive distinction between cause and consequence and longitudinal neuroimaging studies are lacking. In this prospective study we investigate whether continued cannabis use and higher levels of cannabis exposure in young adults are associated with grey matter reductions. Heavy cannabis users (N = 20, age baseline M = 20.5, SD = 2.1) and non-cannabis using healthy controls (N = 22, age baseline M = 21.6, SD = 2.45) underwent a comprehensive psychological assessment and a T1- structural MRI scan at baseline and 3 years follow-up. Grey matter volumes (orbitofrontal cortex, anterior cingulate cortex, insula, striatum, thalamus, amygdala, hippocampus and cerebellum) were estimated using the software package SPM (VBM-8 module). Continued cannabis use did not have an effect on GM volume change at follow-up. Cross-sectional analyses at baseline and follow-up revealed consistent negative correlations between cannabis related problems and cannabis use (in grams) and regional GM volume of the left hippocampus, amygdala and superior temporal gyrus. These results suggests that small GM volumes in the medial temporal lobe are a risk factor for heavy cannabis use or that the effect of cannabis on GM reductions is limited to adolescence with no further damage of continued use after early adulthood. Long-term prospective studies starting in early adolescence are needed to reach final conclusions.</p></div