Grevillea macleayana Seedbank Study Microsatellite Genotypes

10-locus microsatellite genotypes for inter-fire adults and seedlings emerging after fire stimulated germination in 2001, for two stands (Lower and Upper) of Grevillea macleayana. The post-fire survival of the seedlings was recorded in 2007, 2009, and 2012

A continuous fluidic bioreactor utilising electrodeposited silica for lipase immobilisation onto nanoporous gold

An electrochemically triggered sol-gel process was used to generate a thin silica layer for the immobilisation of lipase from Thermomyces lanuginosus onto dealloyed nanoporous gold (NPG). The catalytic response of the entrapped lipase was examined using the hydrolysis of 4-nitrophenyl butyrate (4-NPB) as a model reaction. For the electrodeposition process, parameters including the deposition time and the concentration of lipase affected the observed catalytic activity. A deposition time of 180 s and a lipase concentration of 3 mg mL− 1 were used to prepare the optimised electrode. The operational stability of the silica immobilised enzyme was enhanced on NPG in comparison to that on planar gold, which may arise from confinement of the enzyme in the porous structure. The modified electrodes were incorporated into a 3D printed flow cell with conversion efficiencies of up to 100% after 8 cycles

The limbic system in children and adolescents with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder: a longitudinal structural magnetic resonance imaging analysis

BACKGROUND: During childhood and adolescence, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is associated with changes in symptoms and brain structures, but the link between brain structure and function remains unclear. The limbic system, often termed the “emotional network,” plays an important role in a number of neurodevelopmental disorders, yet this brain network remains largely unexplored in ADHD. Investigating the developmental trajectories of key limbic system structures during childhood and adolescence will provide novel insights into the neurobiological underpinnings of ADHD. METHODS: Structural magnetic resonance imaging data (380 scans), emotional regulation (Affective Reactivity In-dex), and ADHD symptom severity (Conners 3 ADHD Index) were measured at up to 3 time points between 9 and 14 years of age in a sample of children and adolescents with ADHD (n = 57) and control children (n = 109). RESULTS: Compared with the control group, the ADHD group had lower volume of the amygdala (left: b standardized [b_std] = 20.38; right: b_std = 20.34), hippocampus (left: b_std = 20.44; right: b_std = 20.34), cingulate gyrus (left: b_std = 20.42; right: b_std = 20.32), and orbitofrontal cortex (right: b_std = 20.33) across development (9–14 years). There were no significant group-by-age interactions in any of the limbic system structures. Exploratory analysis found a significant Conners 3 ADHD Index-by-age interaction effect on the volume of the left mammillary body (b_std = 0.17) in the ADHD group across the 3 study time points. CONCLUSIONS: Children and adolescents with ADHD displayed lower volume and atypical development in limbic system structures. Furthermore, atypical limbic system development was associated with increased symptom severity, highlighting a potential neurobiological correlate of ADHD severity </p

The limbic system in children and adolescents with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder: a longitudinal structural magnetic resonance imaging analysis

BACKGROUND: During childhood and adolescence, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is associated with changes in symptoms and brain structures, but the link between brain structure and function remains unclear. The limbic system, often termed the “emotional network,” plays an important role in a number of neurodevelopmental disorders, yet this brain network remains largely unexplored in ADHD. Investigating the developmental trajectories of key limbic system structures during childhood and adolescence will provide novel insights into the neurobiological underpinnings of ADHD. METHODS: Structural magnetic resonance imaging data (380 scans), emotional regulation (Affective Reactivity In-dex), and ADHD symptom severity (Conners 3 ADHD Index) were measured at up to 3 time points between 9 and 14 years of age in a sample of children and adolescents with ADHD (n = 57) and control children (n = 109). RESULTS: Compared with the control group, the ADHD group had lower volume of the amygdala (left: b standardized [b_std] = 20.38; right: b_std = 20.34), hippocampus (left: b_std = 20.44; right: b_std = 20.34), cingulate gyrus (left: b_std = 20.42; right: b_std = 20.32), and orbitofrontal cortex (right: b_std = 20.33) across development (9–14 years). There were no significant group-by-age interactions in any of the limbic system structures. Exploratory analysis found a significant Conners 3 ADHD Index-by-age interaction effect on the volume of the left mammillary body (b_std = 0.17) in the ADHD group across the 3 study time points. CONCLUSIONS: Children and adolescents with ADHD displayed lower volume and atypical development in limbic system structures. Furthermore, atypical limbic system development was associated with increased symptom severity, highlighting a potential neurobiological correlate of ADHD severity </p

Person-centered trajectories of psychopathology from early childhood to late adolescence

Importance: The understanding of the development of psychopathology has been hampered by a reliance on cross-sectional data and symptom- or disorder-centered methods. Person-centered methods can accommodate both the problems of comorbidity and the movement between different psychopathological states at different phases of development. Objective: To examine the profiles and map the trajectories of psychopathology from early childhood to late adolescence. Design, setting, and participants: This cohort study used 2 longitudinal nationally representative community-based cohorts from the Growing Up in Ireland study covering developmental periods from early childhood to late adolescence. Data in this investigation came from children and their families who participated in all waves of cohorts recruited in 2008 (children ages 3, 5, and 9 years) and 1998 (adolescents ages 9, 13, and 17 or 18 years). Both samples were weighted to account for representation and attrition. Latent transition analyses were used to map the trajectories of psychopathology. Data were analyzed between October 2020 and September 2021. Main outcomes and measures: Psychopathology was measured using the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire at all ages in both samples. Results: A total of 13 546 individuals were included in the analyses. In the child cohort, mean (SD) age was 3.0 [0.01] years; 3852 (51.3%) were male participants. In the adolescent cohort, mean age was 9.0 (0.1) years; 3082 (51.0%) were male participants. Four profiles were identified in both cohorts that could be broadly labeled as no psychopathology (incidence range, 60%-70%), high psychopathology (incidence range, 3%-5%), externalizing problems (incidence range, 15%-25%), and internalizing problems (incidence range, 7%-12%). Transition between the profiles was common in both cohorts, with 3649 of 7507 participants (48.6%) in the child cohort and 2661 of 6039 participants (44.1%) in the adolescent cohort moving into 1 of the 3 psychopathology profiles at some point in development. Transition to the high psychopathology profile was most often preceded by externalizing problems. Approximately 3% to 4% of the sample had persistent psychopathology (child cohort, 203 participants [2.7%]; adolescent cohort, 216 participants [3.6%]). All psychopathology profiles were more common in boys in early life but, by late adolescence, girls were more likely to have internalizing problems. In a cross-cohort comparison at age 9, there were differences in the sex distributions of the profiles between the samples. Conclusions and relevance: Using person-centered methods, this study demonstrated that from early life young peoples' experience of psychopathology is dynamic-they can move between different mental health problems; for most children, these problems are transient, but a small proportion (fewer than 5%) have persistent difficulties. In the context of finite resources, optimizing care requires the early identification of those with persistent phenomena.</p

Only Low Frequency Event-Related EEG Activity Is Compromised in Multiple Sclerosis: Insights from an Independent Component Clustering Analysis

<div><p>Cognitive impairment (CI), often examined with neuropsychological tests such as the Paced Auditory Serial Addition Test (PASAT), affects approximately 65% of multiple sclerosis (MS) patients. The P3b event-related potential (ERP), evoked when an infrequent target stimulus is presented, indexes cognitive function and is typically compared across subjects' scalp electroencephalography (EEG) data. However, the clustering of independent components (ICs) is superior to scalp-based EEG methods because it can accommodate the spatiotemporal overlap inherent in scalp EEG data. Event-related spectral perturbations (ERSPs; event-related mean power spectral changes) and inter-trial coherence (ITCs; event-related consistency of spectral phase) reveal a more comprehensive overview of EEG activity. Ninety-five subjects (56 MS patients, 39 controls) completed visual and auditory two-stimulus P3b event-related potential tasks and the PASAT. MS patients were also divided into CI and non-CI groups (n = 18 in each) based on PASAT scores. Data were recorded from 128-scalp EEG channels and 4 IC clusters in the visual, and 5 IC clusters in the auditory, modality were identified. In general, MS patients had significantly reduced ERSP theta power versus controls, and a similar pattern was observed for CI vs. non-CI MS patients. The ITC measures were also significantly different in the theta band for some clusters. The finding that MS patients had reduced P3b task-related theta power in both modalities is a reflection of compromised connectivity, likely due to demyelination, that may have disrupted early processes essential to P3b generation, such as orientating and signal detection. However, for posterior sources, MS patients had a greater decrease in alpha power, normally associated with enhanced cognitive function, which may reflect a compensatory mechanism in response to the compromised early cognitive processing.</p> </div

Neuroanatomical markers of psychotic experiences in adolescents: a machine-learning approach in a longitudinal population-based sample

It is important to identify accurate markers of psychiatric illness to aid early prediction of disease course. Subclinical psychotic experiences (PEs) are important risk factors for later mental ill-health and suicidal behaviour. This study used machine learning to investigate neuroanatomical markers of PEs in early and later stages of adolescence. Machine learning using logistic regression using Elastic Net regularization was applied to T1-weighted and diffusion MRI data to classify adolescents with subclinical psychotic experiences vs. controls across 3 timepoints (Time 1:11–13 years, n = 77; Time 2:14–16 years, n = 56; Time 3:18–20 years, n = 40). Neuroimaging data classified adolescents aged 11–13 years with current PEs vs. controls returning an AROC of 0.62, significantly better than a null model, p = 1.73e-29. Neuroimaging data also classified those with PEs at 18–20 years (AROC = 0.59;P = 7.19e-10) but performance was at chance level at 14–16 years (AROC = 0.50). Left hemisphere frontal regions were top discriminant classifiers for 11–13 years-old adolescents with PEs, particularly pars opercularis. Those with future PEs at 18–20 years-old were best distinguished from controls based on left frontal regions, right-hemisphere medial lemniscus, cingulum bundle, precuneus and genu of the corpus callosum (CC). Deviations from normal adolescent brain development in young people with PEs included an acceleration in the typical pattern of reduction in left frontal thickness and right parietal curvature, and accelerated progression of microstructural changes in right white matter and corpus callosum. These results emphasise the importance of multi-modal analysis for understanding adolescent PEs and provide important new insights into early phenotypes for psychotic experiences

Number of subjects and components in each IC cluster, and Talairach coordinates with associated Brodmann areas and brain regions of each IC cluster centroid.

<p>Note. BA = Brodmann area, IC = independent component, MS = MS patients, C = controls, CI = CI MS patients, non-CI = non-CI MS patients.</p

The ITC showing consistency between the trials and the degree of phase-locking to the target stimuli.

<p>Highest event-related phase consistencies for each condition are plotted in red, and lowest in green (range 0 to 1, no consistency to full consistency respectively). Statistical significance is illustrated by red/green frames, in which red areas signify statistically significant (p<0.0125 for visual condition and p<0.01 for auditory condition, controlled for multiple comparisons) differences between the CI MS patients and the non-CI MS patients in time and in log spectral power.</p

The mean ERSPs time-locked to the presentation of target stimuli in visual and auditory conditions are showing IC cluster mean differences in log spectral EEG power (dB) relative to log power in pre-stimulus EEG baseline.

<p>Red areas indicate an increase in power and blue areas a decrease in power. Statistical significance is illustrated by red/green frames beside ERSP activation frames, in which red areas signify statistically significant (p<0.0125 for visual condition and p<0.01, controlled for multiple comparisons) differences between CI MS patients and the non-CI MS patients in time and in log spectral power.</p