Coupled ocean-land millennial-scale changes 1.26millionyears ago, recorded at Site U1385 off Portugal

While a growing body of evidence indicates that North Atlantic millennial-scale climate variability extends to the Early Pleistocene, its impact on terrestrial ecosystems has not been established. Here we present ultra-high resolution (70–140 year) joint foraminiferal isotopic and pollen analyses from IODP Site U1385 off Portugal, focusing on a short glacial section of Marine Isotope Stage 38, ~ 1.26 million years ago. Our records reveal the presence of millennial-scale variability in the coupled ocean–atmosphere-land system in the North Atlantic and provide the first direct evidence for the response of western Iberian vegetation to abrupt climate changes in the Early Pleistocene. The magnitude and pacing of changes bear significant similarities to Dansgaard-Oeschger variability of the Late/Middle Pleistocene.The work was funded by a Leverhulme Trust Research Project Grant (RPG2014-41) and a Natural Environment Research Council Grant (NE/K005804/1). This research used samples and data provided by the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP).This is the accepted manuscript. It first appeared at http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.gloplacha.2015.10.00

Glucose Metabolism, Thyroid Function, and Prolactin Level in Adolescent Patients With First Episode of Schizophrenia and Affective Disorders

Schizophrenia and affective spectrum disorders (ASD) typically begin in adolescence or early adulthood. The pathophysiological mechanisms underlying these disorders are still not fully understood, and recent studies have suggested an involvement of dysfunctions in cardiometabolic and neuroendocrine systems at the onset of both disorders. In this context, we aimed to assess thyroid function, prolactin level, glucose metabolism, and lipid profile in drug naive adolescents, comparing patients with first episode of schizophrenia spectrum disorders (SSD) and patients with ASD. We performed a retrospective chart review from inpatients aged from ten to eighteen years, referred to Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Unit of University of Bari “Aldo Moro” over a period of 4 years, with diagnosis of SSD (n=30) or ASD (n=22), according to Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders-fifth edition (DSM-5) criteria. Data on serum prolactin, glucose, insulin, total cholesterol, high density lipoprotein cholesterol, low density lipoprotein cholesterol, triglycerides, thyroid stimulating hormone, free triiodothyronin, and free thyroxin were collected, and the insulin resistance (IR) indexes “HOMA1-IR“ and “HOMA2-IR” were calculated. The multivariable linear regression models, adjusting for potential confounding factors (age, sex, and BMI), showed HOMA1-IR (p=0.001), HOMA2-IR (p=0.002), glucose (p=0.004), insulin (p=0.004) and free thyroxin (p<0.001) values higher in the SSD group than in ASD. No others significant differences were found. Our findings suggest the need for a metabolic and endocrine screening at the onset of SSD and ASD, particularly for indexes of IR, that is a testable and treatable risk factor for cardiometabolic diseases. Further studies are required to better understand the role of endocrinological and metabolic dysfunctions at the onset of severe mental illness also considering influencing factors as age, gender, and BMI

Vitamin D Deficiency in Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Cross-Sectional Study

Vitamin D plays a role in central nervous system (CNS) development. Recent literature focused on Vitamin D status in children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), but with inconsistent results. Our case-control study is aimed at evaluating serum 25-hydroxyl-Vitamin D (25(OH)D) concentration in children with ASD (ASD group, n=54) compared to children affected by other neurological and psychiatric disorders (non-ASD group, n=36). All patients were admitted at the Complex Operative Unit of Child Neuropsychiatry, Polyclinic of Bari, Italy. 25(OH)D was quantified by chemiluminescence immunoassay and level defined as: Deficiency (<20 ng/mL); insufficiency (20-30); normality (30-100); toxicity (>100). Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS20 (significance<0.05). The ASD group showed 25(OH)D a mean level significantly lower than control (p=0.014). Multivariable logistic regression analysis showed an association between ASD and Vitamin D deficiency (p=0.006). The nature of such association is unclear. Vitamin D deficiency may probably act as a risk factor for the development of ASD. Further studies are needed to unravel the role of Vitamin D in ASD etiology and investigate its therapeutic potential

Coupled ocean-land millennial-scale changes 1.26 million years ago, recorded at Site U1385 off Portugal

While a growing body of evidence indicates that North Atlantic millennial-scale climate variability extends to the Early Pleistocene, its impact on terrestrial ecosystems has not been established. Here we present ultra-high resolution (70–140 year) joint foraminiferal isotopic and pollen analyses from IODP Site U1385 off Portugal, focusing on a short glacial section of Marine Isotope Stage 38, ~ 1.26 million years ago. Our records reveal the presence of millennial-scale variability in the coupled ocean–atmosphere–land system in the North Atlantic and provide the first direct evidence for the response of western Iberian vegetation to abrupt climate changes in the Early Pleistocene. The magnitude and pacing of changes bear significant similarities to Dansgaard–Oeschger variability of the last two glacials

Multi-decadal temperature changes off Iberia over the last two deglaciations and interglacials and their connection with the polar climate

The Iberian margin provides climatic and environmental sediment records with multi-decadal resolution over the last two deglaciations and interglacials. These records allow us to identify climatic structures and discuss interhemispherical connections.Peer reviewe

Leiter-R versus developmental quotient for estimating cognitive function in preschoolers with pervasive developmental disorders

The utility of the developmental quotient (DQ) obtained with the Psychoeducational Profile Revised (PEP-R) was assessed as a means of estimating cognitive ability in young children with pervasive developmental disorders. Data from the PEP-R were analysed in a sample of 44 children aged from 2.0 to 5.9 years (mean 3.46 ± 1), 13 with an autistic disorder and 31 with a pervasive developmental disorder not otherwise specified. DQ scores were compared with scores from the Leiter International Performance Scale Revised-Visualization and Reasoning Battery (Leiter-R) in the same 44 children. Overall and domain DQs on the PEP-R were significantly correlated with Leiter-R scores. This study suggests that DQ scores obtained from the PEP-R in preschool children with pervasive developmental disorders may be a viable alternative to the Leiter-R as an assessment tool

The MIS 13 interglacial at Ceprano, Italy, in the context of Middle Pleistocene vegetation changes in southern Europe

PCT and VM gratefully acknowledge support from The Leverhulme Trust through a research project grant (F/00 122/AH) towards the palynological investigation of the Ceprano cores. Excavations 2001–2006 at Campogrande were directed by Itallo Biddittu and GM, authorized by the Soprintendenza Archeologica del Lazio and co-financed by research grants from the SAPIENZA, University of Rome. Drillings at Campogrande were jointly financed and supervised by the Istituto per la Dinamica dei Processi Ambientali (CNR, Venice) and by the Istituto Italiano di Paleontologia Umana (Rome).Climatic and environmental changes of the Middle Pleistocene in Europe provide the context for an important phase in the evolution and dispersal of early hominins. Pollen records from terrestrial and marine sediment sequences reveal patterns not usually visible in palaeoenvironmental reconstructions from archaeological sites alone and show that hominin evolution took place against a background of marked environmental change as forests expanded and contracted in concert with global and regional climatic shifts. It is rare to find archaeological material in stratigraphically long and continuous palaeoenvironmental sequences, yet this is what is needed to enable particular phases of hominin evolution to be securely associated with climatic and environmental changes. At the well-known Middle Pleistocene archaeological site of Ceprano in Italy we have been able to produce a pollen record from the sedimentary unit directly below the stratum of the hominin remains. The new pollen data from Ceprano are presented here in full for the first time and provide a detailed picture of interglacial vegetation development during Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 13. This evidence contributes significantly to our knowledge of the spatial heterogeneity of ecosystem responses to climatic change during this period and helps to further constrain the age of the hominin remains. New sites combining both archaeology and long, continuous high quality palaeoecological records would help clarify the relationship between hominin presence and palaeoclimatic and palaeoenvironmental conditions. In the meantime, better communication between the research communities can also go a long way to improving our understanding of the links between the two.PostprintPeer reviewe

Abrupt intrinsic and extrinsic responses of southwestern Iberian vegetation to millennial-scale variability over the past 28 ka

We present new high-resolution pollen records combined with palaeoceanographic proxies from the same samples in deep-sea cores SHAK06-5K and MD01-2444 on the southwestern Iberian Margin, documenting regional vegetation responses to orbital and millennial-scale climate changes over the last 28 ka. The chronology of these records is based on high-resolution radiocarbon dates of monospecific samples of the planktonic foraminifera Globigerina bulloides, measured from SHAK06-5K and MD01-2444 and aligned using an automated stratigraphical alignment method. Changes in temperate and steppe vegetation during Marine Isotope Stage 2 are closely coupled with sea surface temperature (SST) and global ice-volume changes. The peak expansion of thermophilous woodland between ~10.1 and 8.4 cal ka bp lags behind the boreal summer insolation maximum by ~2 ka, possibly arising from residual high-latitude ice-sheets into the Holocene. Rapid changes in pollen percentages are coeval with abrupt transitions in SSTs, precipitation and winter temperature at the onset and end of Heinrich Stadial 2, the ice-rafted debris event and end of Heinrich Stadial 1, and the onset of the Younger Dryas, suggesting extrinsically forced southwestern Iberian ecosystem changes by abrupt North Atlantic climate events. In contrast, the abrupt decline in thermophilous elements at ~7.8 cal ka bp indicates an intrinsically mediated abrupt vegetation response to the gradually declining boreal insolation, potentially resulting from the crossing of a seasonality of precipitation threshold

A 1.5-million-year record of orbital and millennial climate variability in the North Atlantic

Climate during the last glacial period was marked by abrupt instability on millennial timescales that included large swings of temperature in and around Greenland (Daansgard-Oeschger events) and smaller, more gradual changes in Antarctica (AIM events). Less is known about the existence and nature of similar variability during older glacial periods, especially during the early Pleistocene when glacial cycles were dominantly occurring at 41 kyr intervals compared to the much longer and deeper glaciations of the more recent period. Here, we report a continuous millennially resolved record of stable isotopes of planktic and benthic foraminifera at IODP Site U1385 (the "Shackleton Site") from the southwestern Iberian margin for the last 1.5 million years, which includes the Middle Pleistocene Transition (MPT). Our results demonstrate that millennial climate variability (MCV) was a persistent feature of glacial climate, both before and after the MPT. Prior to 1.2 Ma in the early Pleistocene, the amplitude of MCV was modulated by the 41 kyr obliquity cycle and increased when axial tilt dropped below 23.5° and benthic δ18O exceeded ∼3.8 ‰ (corrected to Uvigerina), indicating a threshold response to orbital forcing. Afterwards, MCV became focused mainly on the transitions into and out of glacial states (i.e. inceptions and terminations) and during times of intermediate ice volume. After 1.2 Ma, obliquity continued to play a role in modulating the amplitude of MCV, especially during times of glacial inceptions, which are always associated with declining obliquity. A non-linear role for obliquity is also indicated by the appearance of multiples (82, 123 kyr) and combination tones (28 kyr) of the 41 kyr cycle. Near the end of the MPT (∼0.65 Ma), obliquity modulation of MCV amplitude wanes as quasi-periodic 100 kyr and precession power increase, coinciding with the growth of oversized ice sheets on North America and the appearance of Heinrich layers in North Atlantic sediments. Whereas the planktic δ18O of Site U1385 shows a strong resemblance to Greenland temperature and atmospheric methane (i.e. Northern Hemisphere climate), millennial changes in benthic δ18O closely follow the temperature history of Antarctica for the past 800 kyr. The phasing of millennial planktic and benthic δ18O variation is similar to that observed for MIS 3 throughout much of the record, which has been suggested to mimic the signature of the bipolar seesaw - i.e. an interhemispheric asymmetry between the timing of cooling in Antarctica and warming in Greenland. The Iberian margin isotopic record suggests that bipolar asymmetry was a robust feature of interhemispheric glacial climate variations for at least the past 1.5 Ma despite changing glacial boundary conditions. A strong correlation exists between millennial increases in planktic δ18O (cooling) and decreases in benthic δ13C, indicating that millennial variations in North Atlantic surface temperature are mirrored by changes in deep-water circulation and remineralization of carbon in the abyssal ocean. We find strong evidence that climate variability on millennial and orbital scales is coupled across different timescales and interacts in both directions, which may be important for linking internal climate dynamics and external astronomical forcing. Copyright

Headache attributed to aeroplane travel: the first multicentric survey in a paediatric population affected by primary headaches

BACKGROUND: This multicentric survey investigates the prevalence and characteristics of Airplane Headache in children affected by primary headaches. METHODS: Patients with symptoms of Airplane Headache were recruited from nine Italian Pediatric Headache Centres. Each patient was handed a structured questionnaire which met the ICHD-III criteria. RESULTS: Among 320 children suffering from primary headaches who had flights during their lifetime, 15 (4.7%) had Airplane Headache, with mean age of 12.4 years. Most of the patients were females (80%). The headache was predominantly bilateral (80%) and localized to the frontal area (60%); it was mainly pulsating, and lasted less than 30 min in all cases. Accompanying symptoms were tearing, photophobia, phonophobia in most of the cases (73.3%). More than 30% of patients used medications to treat the attacks, with good results. CONCLUSION: Our study shows that Airplane Headache is not a rare disorder in children affected by primary headaches and highlights that its features in children are peculiar and differ from those described in adults. In children Airplane Headache prevails in females, is more often bilateral, has frequently accompanying symptoms and occurs at any time during the flight. Further studies are needed to confirm the actual frequency of Airplane Headache in the general pediatric population not selected from specialized Headache Centres, with and without other concomitant headache condition, and to better clarify the clinical characteristics, pathophysiology and potential therapies