rudyvdbrink/CitationDatabase huggingface dataset:
Evaluation of denoising strategies for task-based functional connectivity: Equalizing residual motion artifacts between rest and cognitively demanding tasks.
Human brain mapping, 2021

In-scanner head motion represents a major confounding factor in functional connectivity studies and it raises particular concerns when motion correlates with the effect of interest. One such instance regards research focused on functional connectivity modulations induced by sustained cognitively demanding tasks. Indeed, cognitive engagement is generally associated with substantially lower in-scanner movement compared with unconstrained, or minimally constrained, conditions. Consequently, the reliability of condition-dependent changes in functional connectivity relies on effective denoising strategies. In this study, we evaluated the ability of common denoising pipelines to minimize and balance residual motion-related artifacts between resting-state and task conditions. Denoising pipelines-including realignment/tissue-based regression, PCA/ICA-based methods (aCompCor and ICA-AROMA, respectively), global signal regression, and censoring of motion-contaminated volumes-were evaluated according to a set of benchmarks designed to assess either residual artifacts or network identifiability. We found a marked heterogeneity in pipeline performance, with many approaches showing a differential efficacy between rest and task conditions. The most effective approaches included aCompCor, optimized to increase the noise prediction power of the extracted confounding signals, and global signal regression, although both strategies performed poorly in mitigating the spurious distance-dependent association between motion and connectivity. Censoring was the only approach that substantially reduced distance-dependent artifacts, yet this came at the great cost of reduced network identifiability. The implications of these findings for best practice in denoising task-based functional connectivity data, and more generally for resting-state data, are discussed.
White matter abnormalities and cognitive function in euthymic patients with bipolar disorder and major depressive disorder.
Brain and behavior, 2020

In recent years, a growing number of diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) studies have compared white matter integrity between patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) and bipolar disorder (BD). However, few studies have examined the pathophysiological significance of different degrees of white matter abnormalities between the two disorders. The present study comprehensively assessed white matter integrity among healthy controls (HC) and euthymic patients with MDD and BD using whole-brain tractography and examined associations between white matter integrity and cognitive functioning.
Sentinel lymph node biopsy in endometrial cancer: state of the art.
Translational cancer research, 2020

Endometrial cancer (EC) is the most common gynecological neoplasm in developed countries. In literature, there are discordant data regarding the therapeutic value of systematic lymphadenectomy whereas the importance of lymph node status for determining prognosis and the need for adjuvant treatment is undoubted. Given the low risk of lymph-node metastases in the apparent early-stage disease and the significant surgical and postoperative risks when performing a complete pelvic lymphadenectomy, the surgical approach in these patients is controversial, ranging from no nodal evaluation to comprehensive pelvic and aortic lymphadenectomy. The recent introduction of sentinel node mapping represents the mid-way between the execution and omission of node dissection in EC patients. Indeed, the sentinel node mapping has rapidly emerged as an alternative to complete lymphadenectomy to reduce morbidity. In the present review, we discuss the role of sentinel node mapping in the surgical management of EC evaluating all aspects of this procedure.
KRIT1 as a possible new player in melanoma aggressiveness.
Archives of biochemistry and biophysics, 2020

Krev interaction trapped protein 1 (KRIT1) is a scaffold protein known to form functional complexes with distinct proteins, including Malcavernin, PDCD10, Rap1 and others. It appears involved in several cellular signaling pathways and exerts a protective role against inflammation and oxidative stress. KRIT1 has been studied as a regulator of endothelial cell functions and represents a determinant in the pathogenesis of Cerebral Cavernous Malformation (CCM), a cerebrovascular disease characterized by the formation of clusters of abnormally dilated and leaky blood capillaries, which predispose to seizures, neurological deficits and intracerebral hemorrhage. Although KRIT1 is ubiquitously expressed, few studies have described its involvement in pathologies other than CCM including cancer. Cutaneous melanoma represents the most fatal skin cancer due to its high metastatic propensity. Despite the numerous efforts made to define the signaling pathways activated during melanoma progression, the molecular mechanisms at the basis of melanoma growth, phenotype plasticity and resistance to therapies are still under investigation.
Optimal management of neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder with aquaporin-4 antibody by oral prednisolone maintenance therapy.
Multiple sclerosis and related disorders, 2021

Neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD) is a relapsing neuroinflammatory disease associated with aquaporin-4 antibody. Since disabilities in patients with NMOSD accumulate with attacks, relapse prevention is crucially important for improving long-term outcomes. Corticosteroids are inexpensive and promising drugs for relapse prevention in NMOSD, but few studies have analysed the efficacy of corticosteroids in NMOSD, especially regarding the appropriate dosing and tapering regimens.
Leptin down-regulates KCC2 activity and controls chloride homeostasis in the neonatal rat hippocampus.
Molecular brain, 2020

The canonical physiological role of leptin is to regulate hunger and satiety acting on specific hypothalamic nuclei. Beyond this key metabolic function; leptin also regulates many aspects of development and functioning of neuronal hippocampal networks throughout life. Here we show that leptin controls chloride homeostasis in the developing rat hippocampus in vitro. The effect of leptin relies on the down-regulation of the potassium/chloride extruder KCC2 activity and is present during a restricted period of postnatal development. This study confirms and extends the role of leptin in the ontogenesis of functional GABAergic inhibition and helps understanding how abnormal levels of leptin may contribute to neurological disorders.
Contextual factors modulate concurrent planning of sequential saccades.
Journal of vision, 2015

Natural vision typically involves making multiple eye movements to interpret complex visual scenes. Although previous work has shown that individual saccadic end points are modulated by cognitive context, whether and how contextual factors quantitatively influence the planning of sequential saccades is still unclear. We compared performance of subjects in a modified double-step task under different task instructions (FOLLOW vs. REDIRECT; Ray, Schall, & Murthy, 2004) as well as task structure (40% and 100% FOLLOW). The results support the idea of restricted concurrent preparation when the second saccade was part of the sequence as per task demands as opposed to being inadvertently made following an error. Also, increasing the probability of double-target trials in the task (100% vs. 40% FOLLOW) tended to enhance concurrent planning even when the serial order of saccades continued to remain important. Taken together, these data reveal how the concurrent planning of sequential saccades can be contextually regulated by means of task instruction and trial statistics.
Visuo-haptic transfer for object recognition in children with peripheral visual impairment.
Vision research, 2021

It is well known how early visual experience is critical for the development of multisensory processing abilities, and for this reason an early vision impairment could hinder the transfer of different sensory information during the exploration and recognition of the surrounding environment. Recently, we verified that visuo-haptic transfer for object recognition emerges early in typically developing children but matures slowly during the school-age period. Subsequently we verified the presence of a slower trend of development in unisensory and multisensory skills in children with early abnormal motor and sensory experiences due to brain lesions. Now, we investigated unimodal visual information, unimodal haptic information and visuo-haptic information transfer in children with a diagnosis of low-vision, due to congenital visual impairment. Unimodal and bimodal processes for object recognition were explored in 11 children with low-vision and the results were matched with those of 22 controls. Participants were tested using a clinical protocol involving visual exploration of black-and-white photographs of common objects, haptic exploration of real objects and visuo-haptic transfer of these two types of information. Results show a normal development in haptic unisensory processing in children with low vision and a significant difference in multisensory transfer between the two groups. In children with visual impairment, multisensory processes do not facilitate the recognition of common objects as in typical children, probably because early visual impairment may impact the cross-sensory calibration of vision and touch.
Resting-state default mode network connectivity in young individuals with Down syndrome.
Brain and behavior, 2021

Down syndrome (DS) is a chromosomal disorder that causes intellectual disability. Few studies have been conducted on functional connectivity using resting-state fMRI (functional magnetic resonance imaging) signals or more specifically, on the relevant structure and density of the default mode network (DMN). Although data on this issue have been reported in adult DS individuals (age: >45 years), the DMN properties in young DS individuals have not been studied. The aim of this study was to describe the density and structure of the DMN network from fMRI signals in young DS (age: <36 years).
Neural and behavioral effects of subordinate-level training of novel objects across manipulations of color and spatial frequency.
The European journal of neuroscience, 2020

Perceptual expertise is marked by subordinate-level recognition of objects in the expert domain. In this study, participants learned one family of full-color, artificial objects at the subordinate (species) level and another family at the basic (family) level. Discrimination of trained and untrained exemplars was tested before and after training across several image manipulations [full-color, grayscale, low spatial frequency (LSF) and high spatial frequency (HSF)] while event-related potentials (ERPs) were recorded. Regardless of image manipulation, discrimination (indexed by d') of trained and of untrained exemplars was enhanced after subordinate-level training, but not after basic-level training. Enhanced discrimination after subordinate-level training generalized to untrained exemplars and to grayscale images and images in which LSF or HSF information was removed. After training, the N170 and N250, recorded over occipital and occipitotemporal brain regions, were both more enhanced after subordinate-level training than after basic-level training. However, the topographic distribution of enhanced responses differed across components. The N170 latency predicted reaction time after both basic-level training and subordinate-level training, highlighting an association between behavioral and neural responses. These findings further elucidate the role of the N170 and N250 as ERP indices of subordinate-level expert object processing and demonstrate how low-level manipulations of color and spatial frequency impact behavior and the N170 and N250 components independent of training or expertise.
Reliability and validity of the severe impairment battery in Taiwanese patients with moderate to severe Alzheimer's disease.
Journal of the Chinese Medical Association : JCMA, 2020

The severe impairment battery (SIB) was developed to evaluate cognitive functions in moderate to severe dementia patients. We aimed to examine the reliability and validity of the Taiwanese version of the SIB (T-SIB) in patients with moderate to severe Alzheimer's disease (AD).
Internet-Based Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Depression: A Systematic Review and Individual Patient Data Network Meta-analysis.
JAMA psychiatry, 2021

Personalized treatment choices would increase the effectiveness of internet-based cognitive behavioral therapy (iCBT) for depression to the extent that patients differ in interventions that better suit them.
Correction to: CEPO (carbamylated erythropoietin)-Fc protects hippocampal cells in culture against beta amyloid-induced apoptosis: considering Akt/GSK-3β and ERK signaling pathways.
Molecular biology reports, 2020

Unfortunately, the original version of this article contained a mistake in the arrangement of representative cell images in Fig. 2. In this figure, the same representative image for Aβ group was mistakenly placed for Aβ + LY group. The corrected form of this figure is provided in this correction.
Single-cell transcriptomic analysis of the adult mouse spinal cord reveals molecular diversity of autonomic and skeletal motor neurons.
Nature neuroscience, 2021

The spinal cord is a fascinating structure that is responsible for coordinating movement in vertebrates. Spinal motor neurons control muscle activity by transmitting signals from the spinal cord to diverse peripheral targets. In this study, we profiled 43,890 single-nucleus transcriptomes from the adult mouse spinal cord using fluorescence-activated nuclei sorting to enrich for motor neuron nuclei. We identified 16 sympathetic motor neuron clusters, which are distinguishable by spatial localization and expression of neuromodulatory signaling genes. We found surprising skeletal motor neuron heterogeneity in the adult spinal cord, including transcriptional differences that correlate with electrophysiologically and spatially distinct motor pools. We also provide evidence for a novel transcriptional subpopulation of skeletal motor neuron (γ*). Collectively, these data provide a single-cell transcriptional atlas ( http://spinalcordatlas.org ) for investigating the organizing molecular logic of adult motor neuron diversity, as well as the cellular and molecular basis of motor neuron function in health and disease.
A new perspective on the organization of an invertebrate brain.
Communicative & integrative biology, 2011

The concept of 'embodiment' and its implications for the evolution of cognitive capacities is emerging as a major issue in biology. Invertebrates have immensely diverse nervous structures and body plans, revealing the variety of solutions evolved by animals living successfully in all kinds of niches. Among invertebrates, the octopus is a special case because of its high cognitive abilities and a uniquely flexible body and manoeuvrable arms with virtually infinite degrees of freedom. Here we discuss how the octopus embodiment may be considered a 'key' to the development of its neural organisation and cognitive abilities.
Multi-dimensional connectivity: a conceptual and mathematical review.
NeuroImage, 2020

The estimation of functional connectivity between regions of the brain, for example based on statistical dependencies between the time series of activity in each region, has become increasingly important in neuroimaging. Typically, multiple time series (e.g. from each voxel in fMRI data) are first reduced to a single time series that summarises the activity in a region of interest, e.g. by averaging across voxels or by taking the first principal component; an approach we call one-dimensional connectivity. However, this summary approach ignores potential multi-dimensional connectivity between two regions, and a number of recent methods have been proposed to capture such complex dependencies. Here we review the most common multi-dimensional connectivity methods, from an intuitive perspective, from a formal (mathematical) point of view, and through a number of simulated and real (fMRI and MEG) data examples that illustrate the strengths and weaknesses of each method. The paper is accompanied with both functions and scripts, which implement each method and reproduce all the examples.
Persistent Auditory Nerve Damage Following Kainic Acid Excitotoxicity in the Budgerigar (Melopsittacus undulatus).
Journal of the Association for Research in Otolaryngology : JARO, 2018

Permanent loss of auditory nerve (AN) fibers occurs with increasing age and sound overexposure, sometimes without hair cell damage or associated audiometric threshold elevation. Rodent studies suggest effects of AN damage on central processing and behavior, but these species have limited capacity to discriminate low-frequency speech-like sounds. Here, we introduce a new animal model of AN damage in an avian communication specialist, the budgerigar (Melopsittacus undulatus). The budgerigar is a vocal learner and speech mimic with sensitive low-frequency hearing and human-like behavioral sensitivity to many complex signals including speech components. Excitotoxic AN damage was induced through bilateral cochlear infusions of kainic acid (KA). Acute KA effects on cochlear function were assessed using AN compound action potentials (CAPs) and hair cell cochlear microphonics (CMs). Long-term KA effects were assessed using auditory brainstem response (ABR) measurements for up to 31 weeks post-KA exposure. KA infusion immediately abolished AN CAPs while having mild impact on the CM. ABR wave I, the far-field AN response, showed a pronounced 40-75 % amplitude reduction at moderate-to-high sound levels that persisted for the duration of the study. In contrast, wave I latency and the amplitude of wave V were nearly unaffected by KA, and waves II-IV were less reduced than wave I. ABR thresholds, calculated based on complete response waveforms, showed no impairment following KA. These results demonstrate that KA exposure in the budgerigar causes irreversible AN damage, most likely through excitotoxic injury to afferent fibers or synapses as in other species, while sparing ABR thresholds. Normal wave V amplitude, assumed to originate centrally, may persist through compensatory mechanisms that restore central response amplitude by downregulating inhibition. Future studies in this new animal model of AN damage can explore effects of this neural lesion, in isolation from hair cell trauma and threshold elevation, on central processing and perception of complex sounds.
Can neck swelling lead to spinal cord compression?
World journal of clinical cases, 2013

Spinal cord compression (SCC) caused by cervical spinal canal invasion of a pulmonary sarcomatoid carcinoma metastasis has never been reported previously. A 59-year-old man, with a history of pulmonary carcinosarcoma, developed over several weeks important neck swelling. Admitted to our division with severe tetraparesis he underwent a cervical spine computed tomography scan that showed a large cervical mass measuring 11 cm × 27 cm × 17 cm with SCC, extending from the occiput to C7. Emergency spinal cord decompression was performed leading to minor neurological improvement. Poor outcome was due to the unusual clinical sign that led to late diagnosis and treatment.
Elevated Clozapine Concentrations in Clozapine-Treated Patients with Hypersalivation.
Clinical pharmacokinetics, 2021

Hypersalivation is a common, clozapine-related adverse drug reaction with a serious impact on quality of life. Pharmacokinetic correlates of clozapine-related hypersalivation have evaded attention. The purpose of this study was to compare pharmacokinetic parameters between clozapine-treated patients with vs. without hypersalivation from a large therapeutic drug monitoring database.
Recommendations for participation in competitive sport in adolescent and adult athletes with Congenital Heart Disease (CHD): position statement of the Sports Cardiology & Exercise Section of the European Association of Preventive Cardiology (EAPC), the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) Working Group on Adult Congenital Heart Disease and the Sports Cardiology, Physical Activity and Prevention Working Group of the Association for European Paediatric and Congenital Cardiology (AEPC).
European heart journal, 2020

Improved clinical care has led to an increase in the number of adults with congenital heart disease (CHD) engaging in leisure time and competitive sports activities. Although the benefits of exercise in patients with CHD are well established, there is a low but appreciable risk of exercise-related complications. Published exercise recommendations for individuals with CHD are predominantly centred on anatomic lesions, hampering an individualized approach to exercise advice in this heterogeneous population. This document presents an update of the recommendations for competitive sports participation in athletes with cardiovascular disease published by the Sports Cardiology & Exercise section of the European Association of Preventive Cardiology (EAPC) in 2005. It introduces an approach which is based on the assessment of haemodynamic, electrophysiological and functional parameters, rather than anatomic lesions. The recommendations provide a comprehensive assessment algorithm which allows for patient-specific assessment and risk stratification of athletes with CHD who wish to participate in competitive sports.
Spinal cord stimulation in the treatment of neuropathic pain in chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy.
Journal of clinical neuroscience : official journal of the Neurosurgical Society of Australasia, 2019

We describe a case of a 70-year old man with sensorimotor chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (CIDP) with small-fibre involvement resulting in severe diffuse neuropathic pain which was refractory to immunotherapy and anti-neuropathic medication. His pain was successfully treated with implantation of a spinal cord stimulation (SCS) system comprising bilateral cervical and lumbar epidural leads. Following SCS programming, he experienced a 50% reduction in average pain severity with substantial improvement in quality of life, persisting at 18 months after surgery. SCS has been employed to treat a variety of neuropathic pain syndromes. However, this is the first report to our knowledge of SCS utilised effectively for pain in CIDP. This therapy should be considered in painful CIDP for neuropathic pain refractory to medical management, though further studies are required to evaluate its efficacy.
Evaluation of current dosing guidance for oral rifampicin treatment in adult patients with osteoarticular infections.
British journal of clinical pharmacology, 2020

For management of osteoarticular infections, rifampicin appears to be the key antibiotic. We aimed to evaluate the actual rifampicin dosing regimens using a population pharmacokinetic model of rifampicin in patients with osteoarticular infections. A Monte Carlo simulation study was performed to simulate steady-state plasma concentrations for 1000 randomly sampled subjects using a total daily dose between 600 and 1200 mg (600 and 900 mg once daily, 450 and 600 mg twice daily, or 300 mg 3 times daily). When rifampicin was administered with fusidic acid, the pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic (PK/PD) target (area under the curve/minimum inhibitory concentration ≥952) was achieved with all tested dosing regimen, except 600 mg once daily for Staphylococcus epidermidis infections. Without coadministration of fusidic acid, none of tested dosing regimens achieved this PK/PD target. Most recommended drug-dosing regimens allow attaining the fixed area under the curve/minimum inhibitory concentration target for Staphylococcus aureus and coagulase-negative staphylococcal osteoarticular infections. In future studies, PK/PD target for osteoarticular infections in human should also be confirmed.