Myelin contrast across lamina at 7T, ex-vivo and in-vivo dataset

In this article we report the complete data obtained in-vivo for the paper: “Lines of Baillarger in vivo and ex-vivo: myelin contrast across lamina at 7T MRI and histology” (Fracasso et al., 2015) 1. Single participant data (4 participants) from the occipital lobe acquisition are reported for axial, coronal and sagittal slices; early visual area functional localization and laminar profiles are reported. Data from whole brain images are reported and described (5 participants), for axial, coronal and sagittal slices. Laminar profiles from occipital, parietal and frontal lobes are reported. The data reported in this manuscript complements the paper (Fracasso et al., 2015) 1 by providing the full set of results from the complete pool of participants, on a single-participant basis. Moreover, we provide histological images from the ex-vivo sample reported in Fracasso et al. (2015) 1

Adiponectin in relation to childhood myeloblastic leukaemia

Adiponectin, an adipocyte-specific secretory protein known to induce apoptosis, has been reported to be inversely related to breast and endometrial cancers and recently found to inhibit proliferation of myeloid but not lymphoid cell lines. We hypothesised that adiponectin may be inversely associated with acute myeloblastic leukaemia (AML), but not with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia of B (ALL-B) or T (ALL-T) cell origin in children. Blood samples and clinical information were collected over the period 1996–2000 from 201 children (0–14 years old) with leukaemia (22 AML, 161 ALL-B and 18 ALL-T cases) through a national network of childhood Hematology-Oncology units in Greece and from 201 controls hospitalised for minor pediatric ailments. Serum adiponectin levels were measured under code, at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA, USA using a radioimmunoassay procedure. Each of the three leukaemia groups was compared with the control group through multiple logistic regression. Odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) for an increase of adiponectin equal to 1 s.d. among controls were estimated controlling for gender, age, as well as for height and weight, expressed in age–gender-specific centiles of Greek growth curves. Adiponectin was inversely associated with AML (OR=0.56; 95% CI, 0.34–0.94), whereas it was not significantly associated with either ALL-B (OR=0.88; 95% CI, 0.71–1.10) or ALL-T (OR=1.08; 95% CI, 0.67–1.72). Biological plausibility and empirical evidence point to the importance of this hormone in the pathogenesis of childhood AML

Oktatáspolitika és -szervezés a görög állami menedzserképzésben

A szakmai, elméleti és humán személyzetfejlesztéssel foglalkozó tanulmány a görög állami szektorban működő menedzsereknek ajánlott képzési programok szerkezetét ismerteti. Leírja a résztvevők jellemzőit és a képzés módját, valamint kimutatja az oktatáspolitika összhangját a görög állami szektorban a képzésben nemrégiben beállt fordulattal, amelyben központi helyet foglalnak el a humán ismeretek. Végül pedig - az eddigi kutatásnak megfelelően - megállapítja, hogy a görög állami szektorban a vezetői státus, az iskolai végzettség és a mobilitás jelentősen befolyásolja a képzési hajlandóságot

Single session imaging of cerebellum at 7 tesla: Obtaining structure and function of multiple motor subsystems in individual subjects

The recent increase in the use of high field MR systems is accompanied by a demand for acquisition techniques and coil systems that can take advantage of increased power and accuracy without being susceptible to increased noise. Physical location and anatomical complexity of targeted regions must be considered when attempting to image deeper structures with small nuclei and/or complex cytoarchitechtonics (i.e. small microvasculature and deep nuclei), such as the brainstem and the cerebellum (Cb). Once these obstacles are overcome, the concomitant increase in signal strength at higher field strength should allow for faster acquisition of MR images. Here we show that it is technically feasible to quickly and accurately detect blood oxygen level dependent (BOLD) signal changes and obtain anatomical images of Cb at high spatial resolutions in individual subjects at 7 Tesla in a single one-hour session. Images were obtained using two high-density multi-element surface coils (32 channels in total) placed beneath the head at the level of Cb, two channel transmission, and three-dimensional sensitivity encoded (3D, SENSE) acquisitions to investigate sensorimotor activations in Cb. Two classic sensorimotor tasks were used to detect Cb activations. BOLD signal changes during motor activity resulted in concentrated clusters of activity within the Cb lobules associated with each task, observed consistently and independently in each subject: Oculomotor vermis (VI/VII) and CrusI/II for pro- and anti-saccades; ipsilateral hemispheres IV-VI for finger tapping; and topographical separation of eye- and hand- activations in hemispheres VI and VIIb/VIII. Though fast temporal resolution was not attempted here, these functional patches of highly specific BOLD signal changes may reflect small-scale shunting of blood in the microvasculature of Cb. The observed improvements in acquisition time and signal detection are ideal for individualized investigations such as differentiation of functional zones prior to surgery. Copyright

Physical anhedonia in the acute phase of schizophrenia

BACKGROUND: The aim of the current study is to investigate the relationship between physical anhedonia and psychopathological parameters, pharmacological parameters or motor side-effects in a sample of inpatients with schizophrenia in an acute episode of their illness. METHOD: Eighty one patients with schizophrenia, consecutively admitted, with an acute episode of their illness, at the Eginition Hospital, Department of Psychiatry, University of Athens, during a one-year period were investigated regarding possible relationships between physical anhedonia, social-demographic data and clinical parameters as well as motor side-effects, induced by antipsychotic agents. All patients were assessed using the Chapman Revised Physical Anhedonia Scale (RPAS), the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS), the Rating Scale for Extrapyramidal Side-Effects (EPSE), the Barnes Akathisia Rating Scale (BARS) and the Abnormal Involuntary Movement Scale (AIMS). Simple cross tabulations were initially employed. Subsequently, multiple regression analysis was performed. RESULTS: Both positive and negative symptoms were associated with physical anhedonia. A positive association between physical anhedonia and the non-paranoid sub-category of schizophrenia was also proved. CONCLUSION: According to these results, it seems that in the acute phase of schizophrenia, physical anhedonia may be a contributing factor to patient's psychopathology