Functional mapping of sensorimotor activation in the human thalamus at 9.4 Tesla

Although the thalamus is perceived as a passive relay station for almost all sensory signals, the function of individual thalamic nuclei remains unresolved. In the present study, we aimed to identify the sensorimotor nuclei of the thalamus in humans using task-based fMRI at a field strength of 9.4T by assessing the individual subject-specific sensorimotor BOLD response during a combined active motor (finger-tapping) and passive sensory (tactile-finger) stimulation. We demonstrate that both tasks increase BOLD signal response in the lateral nuclei group (VPL, VA, VLa, and VLp), and in the pulvinar nuclei group (PuA, PuM, and PuL). Finger-tapping stimuli evokes a stronger BOLD response compared to the tactile stimuli, and additionally engages the intralaminar nuclei group (CM and Pf). In addition, our results demonstrate reproducible thalamic nuclei activation during motor and tactile stimuli. This work provides important insight into understanding the function of individual thalamic nuclei in processing various input signals and corroborates the benefits of using ultra-high-field MR scanners for functional imaging of fine-scale deeply located brain structures

Competitividad internacional de la cadena de vinos finos de la Argentina

p.149-157Se analizó la cadena de los vinos finos en la Argentina, con el objetivo de conocer los factores que hacen a la creciente competitividad de las exportaciones. En primer lugar, se calculó la distribución de la superficie plantada entre los productores primarios, se relevó el grado de concentración de las bodegas y se efectuó un análisis descriptivo de la distribución en el mercado interno y de las exportaciones. En segundo lugar, se elaboró un análisis FODA (Fortalezas, Oportunidades, Debilidades y Amenazas) de la cadena, particularmente enfocado a su desempeño en el mercado externo, con el fin de sugerir estrategias para mejorar la competitividad internacional de la cadena de vinos finos. Asimismo, a partir de la información relevada, se elaboró una aproximación cuantitativa al concepto de competitividad a través del índice de ventajas comparativas relevadas de Bela Ballasa. Por último, se resalta que el concepto de competitividad involucra un abordaje sistémico de la cadena, comprendiendo el estudio de distintos niveles de análisis, que deben ser considerados en conjunto para una mejor aproximación

The structural connectivity mapping of the intralaminar thalamic nuclei

Abstract The intralaminar nuclei of the thalamus play a pivotal role in awareness, conscious experience, arousal, sleep, vigilance, as well as in cognitive, sensory, and sexual processing. Nonetheless, in humans, little is known about the direct involvement of these nuclei in such multifaceted functions and their structural connections in the brain. Thus, examining the versatility of structural connectivity of the intralaminar nuclei with the rest of the brain seems reasonable. Herein, we attempt to show the direct structural connectivity of the intralaminar nuclei to diencephalic, mesencephalic, and cortical areas using probabilistic tracking of the diffusion data from the human connectome project. The intralaminar nuclei fiber distributions span a wide range of subcortical and cortical areas. Moreover, the central medial and parafascicular nucleus reveal similar connectivity to the temporal, visual, and frontal cortices with only slight variability. The central lateral nucleus displays a refined projection to the superior colliculus and fornix. The centromedian nucleus seems to be an essential component of the subcortical somatosensory system, as it mainly displays connectivity via the medial and superior cerebellar peduncle to the brainstem and the cerebellar lobules. The subparafascicular nucleus projects to the somatosensory processing areas. It is interesting to note that all intralaminar nuclei have connections to the brainstem. In brief, the structural connectivity of the intralaminar nuclei aligns with the structural core of various functional demands for arousal, emotion, cognition, sensory, vision, and motor processing. This study sheds light on our understanding of the structural connectivity of the intralaminar nuclei with cortical and subcortical structures, which is of great interest to a broader audience in clinical and neuroscience research

Effect of Irrigation Level and Nitrogen Levels on Economics, Quality and Water Productivity of Garden Cress (Lepidium sativum L.)

A field experiment was conducted at krishi vigyan kendra, Sawaimadhopur, Rajasthan in two consecutive years of 2018-19 and 2019-20 on “Effect of irrigation level and nitrogen levels on economics, quality and water productivity of chandrasur (L. sativum)”. The highest economics net return was found with three irrigations [25, 50 & 75 days after sowing (DAS)] I3  (57517 Rs ha-1) which was at par with I2 with two irrigations (25 & 50 DAS) in the pooled data of both years. Highest benefit-cost (B/C) ratio was also found under three irrigations (25, 50 & 75 DAS) I3 (2.60) which was at par with (I2) two irrigations (25 & 50 DAS) in the pooled data of both years. Highest net return and B/C ratio was found with application of 80 Kg N ha-1 (57628 Rs ha-1) and (2.65) which was at par with 60 Kg N ha-1. In terms of oil yield Kg ha-1 highest oil yield was found with (I2) two irrigations (25 & 50 DAS) and 60 Kg N ha-1. Water productivity (kg m-3) was found lowest in the treatment (25, 50 & 75DAS) (I3) and 80 Kg N ha-1 which was at par with (I2) two irrigations (25 & 50 DAS) and 60 Kg N ha-1

Sulfur Sources Mediated the Growth, Productivity, and Nutrient Acquisition Ability of Pearlmillet–Mustard Cropping Systems

Globally, excess soil nutrient mining is a serious challenge to sustainable agricultural production. The task is more daunting in the semi-arid region of the globe. In addition to the primary nutrient deficiency over the mining of secondary nutrients, especially sulfur is an emerging challenge in contemporary crop production systems. Hence, there is a dire need to devise an appropriate sulfur management protocol by searching for efficient and sustainable sulfur sources. Therefore, the efficacy of new sulfur molecules was evaluated on the performance and nutrient acquisition potential of the pearl millet–mustard system at the research farm of the Indian Agricultural Research Institute in New Delhi, India, for two years. The flexibility of urea–ES technology allows customized sulfur-enhanced urea formulations that suit unique crop needs, offering an all-in-one nitrogen and sulfur fertilizer solution. Hence, the study hypothesized that new sulfur molecules like sulfonated urea (SEU) will have a positive impact on crop growth, yield, and nutrient acquisition in the pearl millet–mustard system. The results revealed that the application of 50% sulfur (S) (15 kg/ha) as a base and 50% (15 kg/ha) as a topdressing (SEU 10-0-0-75) produced better growth, yield-contributing parameters, and economic productivity of the pearl millet–mustard system. However, both compositions of SEU (40-0-0-13 and 10-0-0-75) were significantly better than the recommended dose of fertilizer (RDF) and the RDF along with other S sources like single super phosphate and bentonite in enhancing crop growth and productivity. The agronomic efficiency of nitrogen (AEn) and S (Aes) of SEU (40-0-0-13 and 10-0-0-75) were 9.1 and 10.3 kg seed yield/kg N and 51.2 and 28.9 kg seed/kg, respectively. The agronomic nitrogen use efficiency of SEU (40-0-0-13) and SEU (10-0-0-75) is significantly higher than those of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium (NPK) alone. Thus, the findings inferred that splitting S (50% as a base and 50% as topdressing) through SEU is a practically feasible and economically robust S option for profitable and sustainable production of the pearl millet–mustard production model in the semi-arid region

Sulfur Sources Mediated the Growth, Productivity, and Nutrient Acquisition Ability of Pearlmillet–Mustard Cropping Systems

Globally, excess soil nutrient mining is a serious challenge to sustainable agricultural production. The task is more daunting in the semi-arid region of the globe. In addition to the primary nutrient deficiency over the mining of secondary nutrients, especially sulfur is an emerging challenge in contemporary crop production systems. Hence, there is a dire need to devise an appropriate sulfur management protocol by searching for efficient and sustainable sulfur sources. Therefore, the efficacy of new sulfur molecules was evaluated on the performance and nutrient acquisition potential of the pearl millet–mustard system at the research farm of the Indian Agricultural Research Institute in New Delhi, India, for two years. The flexibility of urea–ES technology allows customized sulfur-enhanced urea formulations that suit unique crop needs, offering an all-in-one nitrogen and sulfur fertilizer solution. Hence, the study hypothesized that new sulfur molecules like sulfonated urea (SEU) will have a positive impact on crop growth, yield, and nutrient acquisition in the pearl millet–mustard system. The results revealed that the application of 50% sulfur (S) (15 kg/ha) as a base and 50% (15 kg/ha) as a topdressing (SEU 10-0-0-75) produced better growth, yield-contributing parameters, and economic productivity of the pearl millet–mustard system. However, both compositions of SEU (40-0-0-13 and 10-0-0-75) were significantly better than the recommended dose of fertilizer (RDF) and the RDF along with other S sources like single super phosphate and bentonite in enhancing crop growth and productivity. The agronomic efficiency of nitrogen (AEn) and S (Aes) of SEU (40-0-0-13 and 10-0-0-75) were 9.1 and 10.3 kg seed yield/kg N and 51.2 and 28.9 kg seed/kg, respectively. The agronomic nitrogen use efficiency of SEU (40-0-0-13) and SEU (10-0-0-75) is significantly higher than those of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium (NPK) alone. Thus, the findings inferred that splitting S (50% as a base and 50% as topdressing) through SEU is a practically feasible and economically robust S option for profitable and sustainable production of the pearl millet–mustard production model in the semi-arid region

Linking spatial gene expression patterns to sex-specific brain structural changes on a mouse model of 16p11.2 hemideletion

Neurodevelopmental disorders, such as ASD and ADHD, affect males about three to four times more often than females. 16p11.2 hemideletion is a copy number variation that is highly associated with neurodevelopmental disorders. Previous work from our lab has shown that a mouse model of 16p11.2 hemideletion (del/+) exhibits male-specific behavioral phenotypes. We, therefore, aimed to investigate with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), whether del/+ animals also exhibited a sex-specific neuroanatomical endophenotype. Using the Allen Mouse Brain Atlas, we analyzed the expression patterns of the 27 genes within the 16p11.2 region to identify which gene expression patterns spatially overlapped with brain structural changes. MRI was performed ex vivo and the resulting images were analyzed using Voxel-based morphometry for T1-weighted sequences and tract-based spatial statistics for diffusion-weighted images. In a subsequent step, all available in situ hybridization (ISH) maps of the genes involved in the 16p11.2 hemideletion were aligned to Waxholm space and clusters obtained by sex-specific group comparisons were analyzed to determine which gene(s) showed the highest expression in these regions. We found pronounced sex-specific changes in male animals with increased fractional anisotropy in medial fiber tracts, especially in those proximate to the striatum. Moreover, we were able to identify gene expression patterns spatially overlapping with male-specific structural changes that were associated with neurite outgrowth and the MAPK pathway. Of note, previous molecular studies have found convergent changes that point to a sex-specific dysregulation of MAPK signaling. This convergent evidence supports the idea that ISH maps can be used to meaningfully analyze imaging data sets

The effect of ketamine on affective modulation of the startle reflex and its resting-state brain correlates

Abstract Ketamine is a rapid-acting antidepressant that also influences neural reactivity to affective stimuli. However, the effect of ketamine on behavioral affective reactivity is yet to be elucidated. The affect-modulated startle reflex paradigm (AMSR) allows examining the valence-specific aspects of behavioral affective reactivity. We hypothesized that ketamine alters the modulation of the startle reflex during processing of unpleasant and pleasant stimuli and weakens the resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC) within the modulatory pathway, namely between the centromedial nucleus of the amygdala and nucleus reticularis pontis caudalis. In a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, cross-over study, thirty-two healthy male participants underwent ultra-high field resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging at 7 T before and 24 h after placebo and S-ketamine infusions. Participants completed the AMSR task at baseline and one day after each infusion. In contrast to our hypothesis, ketamine infusion did not impact startle potentiation during processing of unpleasant stimuli but resulted in diminished startle attenuation during processing of pleasant stimuli. This diminishment significantly correlated with end-of-infusion plasma levels of ketamine and norketamine. Furthermore, ketamine induced a decrease in rsFC within the modulatory startle reflex pathway. The results of this first study on the effect of ketamine on the AMSR suggest that ketamine might attenuate the motivational significance of pleasant stimuli in healthy participants one day after infusion