Network-scale effects of invasive species on spatially-structured amphibian populations

Understanding the factors affecting the dynamics of spatially-structured populations (SSP) is a central topic of conservation and landscape ecology. Invasive alien species are increasingly important drivers of the dynamics of native species. However, the impacts of invasives are often assessed at the patch scale, while their effects on SSP dynamics are rarely considered. We used long-term abundance data to test whether the impact of invasive crayfish on subpopulations can also affect the whole SSP dynamics, through their influence on source populations. From 2010 to 2018, we surveyed a network of 58 ponds and recorded the abundance of Italian agile frog clutches, the occurrence of an invasive crayfish, and environmental features. Using Bayesian hierarchical models, we assessed relationhips between frog abundance in ponds and a) environmental features; b) connectivity within the SSP; c) occurrence of invasive species at both the patch- and the SSP-levels. If spatial relationships between ponds were overlooked, we did not detect effects of crayfish presence on frog abundance or trends. When we jointly considered habitat, subpopulation and SSP features, processes acting at all these levels affected frog abundance. At the subpopulation scale, frog abundance in a year was related to habitat features, but was unrelated to crayfish occurrence at that site during the previous year. However, when we considered the SSP level, we found a strong negative relationship between frog abundance in a given site and crayfish frequency in surrounding wetlands during the previous year. Hence, SSP-level analyses can identify effects that would remain unnoticed when focussing on single patches. Invasive species can affect population dynamics even in not invaded patches, through the degradation of subpopulation networks. Patch-scale assessments of the impact of invasive species can thus be insufficient: predicting the long-term interplay between invasive and native populations requires landscape-level approaches accounting for the complexity of spatial interactions

Predicting Alzheimer’s disease severity by means of TMS–EEG coregistration

Clinical manifestations of Alzheimer's disease (AD) are associated with a breakdown in large-scale communication, such that AD may be considered as a “disconnection syndrome.” An established method to test effective connectivity is the combination of transcranial magnetic stimulation with electroencephalography (TMS–EEG) because the TMS-induced cortical response propagates to distant anatomically connected regions. To investigate whether prefrontal connectivity alterations may predict disease severity, we explored the relationship of dorsolateral prefrontal cortex connectivity (derived from TMS–EEG) with cognitive decline (measured with Mini Mental State Examination and a face–name association memory task) in 26 patients with AD. The amplitude of TMS–EEG evoked component P30, which was found to be generated in the right superior parietal cortex, predicted Mini Mental State Examination and face–name memory scores: higher P30 amplitudes predicted poorer cognitive and memory performances. The present results indicate that advancing disease severity might be associated with effective connectivity increase involving long-distance frontoparietal connections, which might represent a maladaptive pathogenic mechanism reflecting a damaged excitatory–inhibitory balance between anterior and posterior regions

Transcriptional dynamics of induced pluripotent stem cell differentiation into β cells reveals full endodermal commitment and homology with human islets.

Abstract Background aims Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) have the capacity to generate β cells in vitro, but the differentiation is incomplete and generates a variable percentage of off-target cells. Single-cell RNA sequencing offers the possibility of characterizing the transcriptional dynamics throughout differentiation and determining the identity of the final differentiation product. Methods Single-cell transcriptomics data were obtained from four stages across differentiation of iPSCs into β cells and from human donor islets. Results Clustering analysis revealed that iPSCs undertake a full endoderm commitment, and the obtained endocrine pancreatic cells have high homology with mature islets. The iPSC-derived β cells were devoid of pluripotent residual cells, and the differentiation was pancreas-specific, as it did not generate ectodermal or mesodermal cells. Pseudotime trajectory identified a dichotomic endocrine/non-endocrine cell fate and distinct subgroups in the endocrine branch. Conclusions Future efforts to produce β cells from iPSCs must aim not only to improve the resulting endocrine cell but also to avoid differentiation into non-pancreatic endoderm cells

regenerative medicine the blurred boundaries between life sciences and biotechnology towards a new inductive medicine of the third millennium

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Language in autism: domains, profiles and co-occurring conditions

This article reviews the current knowledge state on pragmatic and structural language abilities in autism and their potential relation to extralinguistic abilities and autistic traits. The focus is on questions regarding autism language profles with varying degrees of (selective) impairment and with respect to potential comorbidity of autism and language impairment: Is language impairment in autism the co-occurrence of two distinct conditions (comorbidity), a consequence of autism itself (no comorbidity), or one possible combination from a series of neurodevelopmental properties (dimensional approach)? As for language profles in autism, three main groups are identifed, namely, (i) verbal autistic individuals without structural language impairment, (ii) verbal autistic individuals with structural language impairment, and (iii) minimally verbal autistic individuals. However, this tripartite distinction hides enormous linguistic heterogeneity. Regarding the nature of language impairment in autism, there is currently no model of how language difculties may interact with autism characteristics and with various extralinguistic cognitive abilities. Building such a model requires carefully designed explorations that address specifc aspects of language and extralinguistic cognition. This should lead to a fundamental increase in our understanding of language impairment in autism, thereby paving the way for a substantial contribution to the question of how to best characterize neurodevelopmental disorders

Slowly progressive anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody-associated renal vasculitis: clinico-pathological characterization and outcome.

BACKGROUND: Although rapidly progressive glomerulonephritis is the main renal phenotype of anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA)-associated vasculitis (AAV), slow renal disease progression is sometimes observed. These forms have been rarely discussed; we analysed their prevalence, clinico-pathological characteristics and outcome. METHODS: We screened patients with microscopic  polyangiitis (MPA) and granulomatosis with polyangiitis followed at seven referral centres and selected those with estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) reduction 25% as compared with diagnosis, while 4/34 (12%) had started RRT. CONCLUSIONS: AAV may present with slow renal disease progression; this subset is hallmarked by advanced age at diagnosis, positive MPO-ANCA, subclinical interstitial lung lesions and chronic damage at kidney biopsy. Partial renal recovery may occur following immunosuppression

Demographic, clinical, and service-use characteristics related to the clinician’s recommendation to transition from child to adult mental health services

Purpose: The service configuration with distinct child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) and adult mental health services (AMHS) may be a barrier to continuity of care. Because of a lack of transition policy, CAMHS clinicians have to decide whether and when a young person should transition to AMHS. This study describes which characteristics are associated with the clinicians’ advice to continue treatment at AMHS. Methods: Demographic, family, clinical, treatment, and service-use characteristics of the MILESTONE cohort of 763 young people from 39 CAMHS in Europe were assessed using multi-informant and standardized assessment tools. Logistic mixed models were fitted to assess the relationship between these characteristics and clinicians’ transition recommendations. Results: Young people with higher clinician-rated severity of psychopathology scores, with self- and parent-reported need for ongoing treatment, with lower everyday functional skills and without self-reported psychotic experiences were more likely to be recommended to continue treatment. Among those who had been recommended to continue treatment, young people who used psychotropic medication, who had been in CAMHS for more than a year, and for whom appropriate AMHS were available were more likely to be recommended to continue treatment at AMHS. Young people whose parents indicated a need for ongoing treatment were more likely to be recommended to stay in CAMHS. Conclusion: Although the decision regarding continuity of treatment was mostly determined by a small set of clinical characteristics, the recommendation to continue treatment at AMHS was mostly affected by service-use related characteristics, such as the availability of appropriate services

Cohort profile : demographic and clinical characteristics of the MILESTONE longitudinal cohort of young people approaching the upper age limit of their child mental health care service in Europe

Purpose: The presence of distinct child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) and adult mental health services (AMHS) impacts continuity of mental health treatment for young people. However, we do not know the extent of discontinuity of care in Europe nor the effects of discontinuity on the mental health of young people. Current research is limited, as the majority of existing studies are retrospective, based on small samples or used non-standardised information from medical records. The MILESTONE prospective cohort study aims to examine associations between service use, mental health and other outcomes over 24 months, using information from self, parent and clinician reports. Participants: Seven hundred sixty-three young people from 39 CAMHS in 8 European countries, their parents and CAMHS clinicians who completed interviews and online questionnaires and were followed up for 2 years after reaching the upper age limit of the CAMHS they receive treatment at. Findings to date: This cohort profile describes the baseline characteristics of the MILESTONE cohort. The mental health of young people reaching the upper age limit of their CAMHS varied greatly in type and severity: 32.8% of young people reported clinical levels of self-reported problems and 18.6% were rated to be ‘markedly ill’, ‘severely ill’ or ‘among the most extremely ill’ by their clinician. Fifty-seven per cent of young people reported psychotropic medication use in the previous half year. Future plans: Analysis of longitudinal data from the MILESTONE cohort will be used to assess relationships between the demographic and clinical characteristics of young people reaching the upper age limit of their CAMHS and the type of care the young person uses over the next 2 years, such as whether the young person transitions to AMHS. At 2 years follow-up, the mental health outcomes of young people following different care pathways will be compared. Trial registration number: NCT03013595

Anodal transcranial direct current stimulation of parietal cortex enhances action naming in corticobasal syndrome

Background: Corticobasal Syndrome (CBS) is a neurodegenerative disorder that overlaps both clinically and neuropathologically with Frontotemporal dementia and is characterized by apraxia, alien limb phenomena, cortical sensory loss, cognitive impairment, behavioural changes and aphasia. It has been recently demonstrated that transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) improves naming in healthy subjects and in subjects with language deficits. Objective: The aim of the present study was to explore the extent to which anodal transcranial direct current stimulation (anodal tDCS) over the parietal cortex (PARC) could facilitate naming performance in CBS subjects. Methods: Anodal tDCS was applied to the left and right PARC during object and action naming in seventeen patients with a diagnosis of possible CBS. Participants underwent two sessions of anodal tDCS (left and right) and one session of placebo tDCS. Vocal responses were recorded and analyzed for accuracy and vocal Reaction Times (vRTs). Results: A shortening of naming latency for actions was observed only after active anodal stimulation over the left PARC, as compared to placebo and right stimulations. No effects have been reported for accuracy. Conclusions: Our preliminary finding demonstrated that tDCS decreased vocal reaction time during action naming in a sample of patients with CBS. A possible explanation of our results is that anodal tDCS over the left PARC effects the brain network implicated in action observation and representation. Further studies, based on larger patient samples, should be conducted to investigate the usefulness of tDCS as an additional treatment of linguistic deficits in CBS patients