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Selected AbstractsReduced activation in lateral prefrontal cortex and anterior cingulate during attention and cognitive control functions in medication-naïve adolescents with depression compared to controlsTHE JOURNAL OF CHILD PSYCHOLOGY AND PSYCHIATRY AND ALLIED DISCIPLINES, Issue 3 2009Rozmin Halari Background:, There is increasing recognition of major depressive disorder (MDD) in adolescence. In adult MDD, abnormalities of fronto-striatal and fronto-cingulate circuitries mediating cognitive control functions have been implicated in the pathogenesis and been related to problems with controlling negative thoughts. No neuroimaging studies of cognitive control functions, however, exist in paediatric depression. This study investigated whether medication-naïve adolescents with MDD show abnormal brain activation of fronto-striatal and fronto-cingulate networks when performing tasks of attentional and cognitive control. Methods:, Event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging was used to compare brain activation between 21 medication-naïve adolescents with a first-episode of MDD aged 14,17 years and 21 healthy adolescents, matched for handedness, age, sex, demographics and IQ. Activation paradigms were tasks of selective attention (Simon task), attentional switching (Switch task), and motor response inhibition and error detection (Stop task). Results:, In all three tasks, adolescents with depression compared to healthy controls demonstrated reduced activation in task-relevant right dorsolateral (DLPFC), inferior prefrontal cortex (IFC) and anterior cingulate gyrus (ACG). Additional areas of relatively reduced activation were in the parietal lobes during the Stop and Switch tasks, putamen, insula and temporal lobes during the Switch task and precuneus during the Simon task. Conclusions:, This study shows first evidence that medication-naïve adolescents with MDD are characterised by abnormal function in ACG and right lateral prefrontal cortex during tasks of attention and performance monitoring, suggesting an early pathogenesis of these functional abnormalities attributed to MDD. [source] Assessing the Effectiveness of Reserve Acquisition Programs in Protecting Rare and Threatened SpeciesCONSERVATION BIOLOGY, Issue 6 2006WILL R. TURNER Lake Wales Ridge (Florida); especies en peligro; índice de protección; Lista Roja IUCN; matorral Abstract:,Measuring the effectiveness of reserve networks is essential to ensure that conservation objectives such as species persistence are being met. We devised a new approach for measuring the effectiveness of land conservation in protecting rare and threatened species and applied it to an ecosystem of global significance. We compiled detailed global distributional data for 36 rare and threatened plants and animals found in the Lake Wales Ridge ecosystem in central Florida (U.S.A.). For each species, we developed a set of protection indices based in part on criteria used to categorize species for the World Conservation Union's Red List. We calculated protection indexes under three different conservation scenarios: a past scenario, which assumed recent, major land-acquisition efforts never occurred; a current scenario, which assumed no additional areas are saved beyond what is currently protected; and a targeted scenario, which assumed all of the remaining areas targeted for protection are eventually acquired. This approach enabled us to quantify the progress, in terms of reduced risk of extinction, that conservationists have made in protecting target species. It also revealed the limited success these land-acquisition efforts have had in reducing those extinction risks associated with loss of habitat or small geographic ranges. Many species of the Lake Wales Ridge will remain at high risk of extinction even if planned land-acquisition efforts are completely successful. By calculating protection indexes with and without each site for all imperiled species, we also quantified the contribution of each protected area to the conservation of each species, enabling local conservation decisions to be made in the context of a larger (global) perspective. The protection index approach can be adapted readily to other ecosystems with multiple rare and threatened species. Resumen:,La cuantificación de la efectividad de las redes de reservas es esencial para asegurar que objetivos, como la persistencia de especies, se cumplan. Diseñamos un nuevo método para medir la efectividad de la conservación de tierras en la protección de especies raras y amenazadas y lo aplicamos a un ecosistema de importancia global. Compilamos datos detallados de la distribución global de 36 especies raras y amenazadas de plantas y animales que se encuentran en el ecosistema de la Lake Wales Ridge en el centro de Florida (E.U.A.). Para cada especie desarrollamos un conjunto de índices de protección basado parcialmente en criterios utilizados para clasificar especies para la Lista Roja de la Unión Mundial para la Naturaleza. Calculamos los índices de protección bajo tres escenarios de conservación distintos: un escenario pasado, que asumía que los esfuerzos recientes de adquisición de tierras nunca ocurrieron; un escenario actual, que asumía que no se protegen áreas adicionales a las ya conservadas; y un escenario deseado, que asumía que todas las áreas consideradas para ser protegidas son adquiridas eventualmente. Este método nos permitió cuantificar el progreso, en términos de la reducción del riesgo de extinción, en la protección de las especies obtenido por conservacionistas. También reveló el éxito limitado de los esfuerzos de adquisición de tierras en la disminución de los riesgos de extinción asociados con la pérdida de hábitat o con rangos geográficos pequeños. Se pronosticó que muchas especies de la Lake Wales Ridge permanecerán en alto riesgo aun si los esfuerzos de adquisición de tierra planificados son completamente exitosos. Al calcular los índices de protección con y sin cada sitio para todas las especies en peligro, también cuantificamos la contribución de cada área protegida a la conservación de cada especie, lo que permite que las decisiones de conservación se tomen en el contexto de una perspectiva mayor (global). El método del índice de protección se puede adaptar fácilmente a otros ecosistemas con múltiples especies raras y amenazadas. [source] Prospects of a unified management systemCORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY AND ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT, Issue 2 2002Dr Tine Herreborg Jørgensen In this article, the trend among management systems towards a common structure and the inclusion of additional areas of corporate concern (quality, environment, occupational health and safety and social responsibility) is outlined. The article suggests that a large part of the work associated with implementing and maintaining standardized management systems can be rationalized by developing a ,unified system'. The unified system is proposed to consist of a common basic standard of general managerial methodology expandable with supplements, which are related to the specific areas of concern that the company could wish to include in their management system and possibly have certified. It is estimated that such a unified management system would contribute to synergy between the activities related to each area of concern, resulting in a more careful and efficient treatment of the increasing number of areas of concern. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. and ERP Environment [source] Differential levels of tissue hypoxia in the developing chicken heartDEVELOPMENTAL DYNAMICS, Issue 1 2006Jamie Wikenheiser Abstract Tissue hypoxia plays a critical role in normal development, including cardiogenesis. Previously, we showed that oxygen concentration, as assessed by the hypoxia indicator EF5, is lowest in the outflow tract (OFT) myocardium of the developing chicken heart and may be regulating events in OFT morphogenesis. In this study, we identified additional areas of the embryonic chicken heart that were intensely positive for EF5 within the myocardium in discrete regions of the atrial wall and the interventricular septum (IVS). The region of the IVS that is EF5-positive includes a portion of the developing central conduction system identified by HNK-1 co-immunostaining. The EF5 positive tissues were also specifically positive for nuclear-localized hypoxia inducible factor 1, (HIF-1,), the oxygen-sensitive component of the hypoxia inducible factor 1 (HIF-1) heterodimer. The pattern of the most intensely EF5-stained myocardial regions of the atria and IVS resemble the pattern of the major coronary vessels that form in later stages within or immediately adjacent to these particular regions. These vessels include the sinoatrial nodal artery that is a branch of the right coronary artery within the atrial wall and the anterior/posterior interventricular vessels of the IVS. These findings indicate that a portion of the developing central conduction system and the patterning of coronary vessels may be subject to a level of regulation that is dependent on differential oxygen concentration within cardiac tissues and subsequent HIF-1 regulation of gene expression. Developmental Dynamics 235:115,123, 2006. © 2005 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] Osteoporosis in adults with cerebral palsyDEVELOPMENTAL MEDICINE & CHILD NEUROLOGY, Issue 2009KEVIN J SHERIDAN MD Life expectancy for the 400 000 adults with cerebral palsy (CP) in the USA is increasing. Although there is a perception of increased fractured rate in the adult with CP, it has not been well studied. Low bone mineral density is found in more than 50% of adults with a variety of disabilities, including CP. Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry scanning is commonly used to assess bone mineral density, but is limited by positioning and other artifacts in adults with CP. Novel scanning regions of interest, such as the distal femur, are not yet standardized in adults. Nutritional assessment and physical activity, the basis of most fracture prevention programs, are difficult to do in the adult with CP. A better understanding of the ,muscle-bone unit' physiology and its exploitation may lead to better treatment modifications. Clinical research trials with bisphosphonates (e.g. pamidronate), estrogen, selective estrogen receptor modulators, parathyroid hormone analogs, and growth hormone need to be targeted to the adult with CP. Longitudinal studies of fracture risk factors, genetic research in bone and neuromuscular biology, and the development of treatment surrogates for physical activity are additional areas of needed expertise. This could be facilitated by an adult CP registry and the centralization of clinical research efforts. [source] CLINICAL CONSIDERATIONS FOR RESTORING MANDIBULAR INCISORS WITH PORCELAIN LAMINATE VENEERSJOURNAL OF ESTHETIC AND RESTORATIVE DENTISTRY, Issue 4 2008Robert D. Walter DDS Authors Porcelain laminate veneers have been proven to be a successful treatment modality for maxillary incisors in clinical practice and in controlled clinical studies. However, the data in clinical studies on the success of veneers for restoring mandibular incisors are limited. Clinically, the successful restoration of mandibular incisors with porcelain laminate veneers is one of the more challenging procedures in all of esthetic restorative dentistry. Limited coronal dimensions, the small amount of enamel available for bonding (particularly in the cervical areas), materials and techniques for the bonding procedures, and the response of the tooth,veneer complex to forces generated during the incisal loading in both functional as well as parafunctional contacts must be considered as potential sources of success or failure. This Critical Appraisal reviews three recent scientific articles to shed some light on these issues and, as in all research endeavors, leads the reader to identify additional areas of concern that might stimulate further scientific inquiry. The first publication studied predictors for enamel thickness for mandibular incisors. The second examined bonding protocols for exposed dentin and suggested immediate dentin sealing. The third paper addressed fracture behavior of mandibular incisors restored with porcelain laminate veneers in vitro. [source] Functional brain imaging in pure akinesia with gait freezing: [18F] FDG PET and [18F] FP-CIT PET analyses,MOVEMENT DISORDERS, Issue 2 2009Hee K. Park MD Abstract Pure akinesia with gait freezing (PAGF) has characteristic features, including freezing of gait and prominent speech disturbance without rigidity or tremor. The purpose of this study was to investigate changes in brain glucose metabolism and presynaptic dopaminergic function in PAGF. By using [18F] fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) PET, 11 patients with PAGF were compared with 14 patients with probable progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP), 13 patients with Parkinson's disease (PD), and 11 normal controls. [18F] N -(3-fluoropropyl)-2,-carbon ethoxy-3,-(4-iodophenyl) nortropane (FP-CIT) PET was performed in 11 patients with PAGF and with 10 normal controls. The PAGF patients showed decreased glucose metabolism in the midbrain when compared with normal controls. PSP patients showed a similar topographic distribution of glucose hypometabolism with additional areas, including the frontal cortex, when compared with normal controls. The FP-CIT PET findings in patients with PAGF revealed severely decreased uptake bilaterally in the basal ganglia. These findings suggest that both PAGF and PSP may be part of the same pathophysiologic spectrum of disease. However, the reason why PAGF manifests clinically in a different manner needs to be further elucidated. © 2008 Movement Disorder Society [source] Depression and Obesity: Implications for Assessment, Treatment, and ResearchCLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY: SCIENCE AND PRACTICE, Issue 1 2008Melissa A. Napolitano Markowitz, Friedman, and Arent (2008) review the literature on the relationship between obesity and depression and (a) highlight behavioral, cognitive, physiological, and social mechanisms potentially elucidating these links and (b) provide a valuable resource both for clinicians and researchers. This commentary underscores (a) the strengths of the article; (b) additional areas of consideration; (c) implications for treatment; and (d) future clinical and research opportunities. Also included are suggestions for the design and measurement of future longitudinal observational studies, intervention trials, and other conceptual models. Finally, we comment on the responsibility of the scientist practitioner not only to consider evaluating and treating each behavior in isolation, but also to take an inclusive approach and apply the common features of evidence-based treatment for both obesity and depression. [source] | ||||||||||||||||