Amygdala Atrophy and Its Functional Disconnection with the Cortico-Striatal-Pallidal-Thalamic Circuit in Major Depressive Disorder in Females

Background Major depressive disorder (MDD) is approximately twice as common in females than males. Furthermore, female patients with MDD tend to manifest comorbid anxiety. Few studies have explored the potential anatomical and functional brain changes associated with MDD in females. Therefore, the purpose of the present study was to investigate the anatomical and functional changes underlying MDD in females, especially within the context of comorbid anxiety. Methods In this study, we recruited antidepressant-free females with MDD (N = 35) and healthy female controls (HC; N = 23). The severity of depression and anxiety were evaluated by the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAM-D) and the Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (HAM-A), respectively. Structural and resting-state functional images were acquired on a Siemens 3.0 Tesla scanner. We compared the structural volumetric differences between patients and HC with voxel-based morphometry (VBM) analyses. Seed-based voxel-wise correlative analyses were used to identify abnormal functional connectivity. Regions with structural deficits showed a significant correlation between gray matter (GM) volume and clinical variables that were selected as seeds. Furthermore, voxel-wise functional connectivity analyses were applied to identify the abnormal connectivity relevant to seed in the MDD group. Results Decreased GM volume in patients was observed in the insula, putamen, amygdala, lingual gyrus, and cerebellum. The right amygdala was selected as a seed to perform connectivity analyses, since its GM volume exhibited a significant correlation with the clinical anxiety scores. We detected regions with disrupted connectivity relevant to seed primarily within the cortico-striatal-pallidal-thalamic circuit. Conclusions Amygdaloid atrophy, as well as decreased functional connectivity between the amygdala and the cortico-striatal-pallidal-thalamic circuit, appears to play a role in female MDD, especially in relation to comorbid anxiety

Theoretical Study of As₂O₃ Adsorption Mechanisms on CaO surface

Emission of hazardous trace elements, especially arsenic from fossil fuel combustion, have become a major concern. Under an oxidizing atmosphere, most of the arsenic converts to gaseous As2O3. CaO has been proven effective in capturing As2O3. In this study, the mechanisms of As2O3 adsorption on CaO surface under O2 atmosphere were investigated by density functional theory (DFT) calculation. Stable physisorption and chemisorption structures and related reaction paths are determined; arsenite (AsO33−) is proven to be the form of adsorption products. Under the O2 atmosphere, the adsorption product is arsenate (AsO43−), while tricalcium orthoarsenate (Ca3As2O8) and dicalcium pyroarsenate (Ca2As2O7) are formed according to different adsorption structures

Analysis of Electromagnetic Radiation of Mobile Base Stations Co-located with High-Voltage Transmission Towers

This paper presents the analysis of electromagnetic radiation of mobile base stations co-located with high-voltage transmission towers. Although the layout of power poles and towers is uniform and symmetrical, the electromagnetic field radiated to the outside world is asymmetric. Field measurements were conducted in different co-located base station scenarios, and the field strength results in both the vertical and horizontal directions were analyzed in depth. Then, the ray tracing simulation method was used to obtain the electromagnetic field distribution characteristics for the 5G base station co-located high-voltage tower. Finally, the specific absorption rate (SAR) was adopted to evaluate human exposure in co-located base station scenarios, and a physical area-based human exposure assessment method proposed. The obtained results can be useful for inspectors of mobile base stations co-located with high-voltage transmission towers to avoid or reduce the impact of electromagnetic radiation

Intercalation mechanisms of Fe atoms underneath a graphene monolayer on Ru(0001)

The intercalation process of iron atoms in the interface between graphene and Ru(0001) was systematically investigated both experimentally and computationally. Scanning tunneling microscopy and low-energy electron diffraction indicate that Fe intercalates at 700 K in the graphene/Ru(0001) system, where the graphene monolayer covers the whole substrate. An atomic-level understanding of the process is achieved using dispersion-corrected density functional theory (DFT) calculation. The results indicate that single-Fe atom intercalation causes only minor energy changes in the system. In contrast, the intercalation of a Fe dimer leads to a considerable drop in the total energy, more than twice the energy change in the case of the single-atom intercalation. In a sequential process, intercalation of the second Fe releases more energy, indicating that once the initial intercalation occurs, the subsequent process is thermodynamically more favored than the first. Combining the experimental observations with theoretical insights from the DFT calculations, we provide a clear picture of Fe intercalation into graphene/Ru(0001), which we believe is of interest to the field of interface and materials science and catalysis

Intercalation mechanisms of Fe atoms underneath a graphene monolayer on Ru(0001)

\u3cp\u3eThe intercalation process of iron atoms in the interface between graphene and Ru(0001) was systematically investigated both experimentally and computationally. Scanning tunneling microscopy and low-energy electron diffraction indicate that Fe intercalates at 700 K in the graphene/Ru(0001) system, where the graphene monolayer covers the whole substrate. An atomic-level understanding of the process is achieved using dispersion-corrected density functional theory (DFT) calculation. The results indicate that single-Fe atom intercalation causes only minor energy changes in the system. In contrast, the intercalation of a Fe dimer leads to a considerable drop in the total energy, more than twice the energy change in the case of the single-atom intercalation. In a sequential process, intercalation of the second Fe releases more energy, indicating that once the initial intercalation occurs, the subsequent process is thermodynamically more favored than the first. Combining the experimental observations with theoretical insights from the DFT calculations, we provide a clear picture of Fe intercalation into graphene/Ru(0001), which we believe is of interest to the field of interface and materials science and catalysis.\u3c/p\u3