Furthermore, the addition of CTS-Fe increased methane production by 11.9 – 32.2% under the tested conditions, likely attributable to the enhanced hydrolysis of WAS under CTS-Fe supplementation. As the P-loaded CTS-Fe particles can be easily separated and recovered from the AD system and further reutilized in agriculture, this study could provide a new approach for simultaneous P removal/recovery and enhanced methane production from AD of WAS.Microplastic (MP) pollution is an increasing global problem due to the ubiquity of these particles in the environment and the uncertainty surrounding their fate. Most MPs undergo extensive weathering in the environment, which may result in the release of dissolved organic matter (DOM) into the aqueous phase. In this study, for the first time, we examined the adsorptive behavior of MP-derived DOM (MP-DOM) on minerals (kaolinite and goethite) using DOM samples leached from commercial plastics including polyvinylchloride (PVC) and polystyrene (PS) under dark and ultraviolet (UV) irradiation conditions. MP-DOM was characterized by a higher distribution of relatively smaller-sized molecules than natural organic matter (NOM). The PS-derived DOM (PS-DOM) leached under UV treatment exhibited more oxygen-containing groups than their counterparts in the dark. MP-DOM also exhibited net negative charges at neutral pH ranges. Adsorption isotherm experiments revealed that the mineral surfaces had high adsorption affinitiesonmental impacts of MPs.

To investigate cerebral blood flow (CBF) characteristics before and after hemodialysis initiation and their longitudinal associations with global cognitive function in older adults.

A cohort of 17 older end-stage renal disease patients anticipating standard thrice-weekly hemodialysis and a group of 11 age- and sex-matched healthy control volunteers were recruited for brain perfusion imaging studies using arterial spin labeling. Hemodialysis patients participated in a prospective longitudinal study using brain magnetic resonance imaging and global cognitive assessment using the Modified Mini-Mental State Examination (3MS) at two time points baseline, 2.9±0.9months before, and follow-up, 6.4±2.4months after hemodialysis initiation. Healthy controls were imaged once using the same protocol. CBF analyses were performed globally in grey and white matter and regionally in the hippocampus and orbitofrontal cortex. Covariate-adjusted linear mixed-effects models were used for statistical analyses (significance p&lsociation between longitudinal changes in regional CBF and 3MS scores suggest that decreased brain perfusion may contribute to the observed cognitive decline.

Insomnia disorder has been reclassified into short-term/acute and chronic subtypes based on recent etiological advances. However, understanding the similarities and differences in the neural mechanisms underlying the two subtypes and accurately predicting the sleep quality remain challenging.

Using 29 short-term/acute insomnia participants and 44 chronic insomnia participants, we used whole-brain regional functional connectivity strength to predict unseen individuals’ Pittsburgh sleep quality index (PSQI), applying the multivariate relevance vector regression method. Evaluated using both leave-one-out and 10-fold cross-validation, the pattern of whole-brain regional functional connectivity strength significantly predicted an unseen individual’s PSQI in both datasets.

There were both similarities and differences in the regions that contributed the most to PSQI prediction between the two groups. Further functional connectivity analysis suggested that between-network connectivity was re-organized between short-term/acute insomnia and chronic insomnia.

The present study may have clinical value by informing the prediction of sleep quality and providing novel insights into the neural basis underlying the heterogeneity of insomnia.

The present study may have clinical value by informing the prediction of sleep quality and providing novel insights into the neural basis underlying the heterogeneity of insomnia.Brain plasticity potential is a central theme in neuro-oncology and is currently receiving increased attention. Advances in treatment have prolonged life expectancy in neuro-oncological patients and the long-term preservation of their quality of life is, therefore, a new challenge. To this end, a better understanding of brain plasticity mechanisms is vital as it can help prevent permanent deficits following neurosurgery. Indeed, reorganization processes can be fundamental to prevent or recover neurological and cognitive deficits by reallocating brain functions outside the lesioned areas. According to more recent studies in the literature, brain reorganization taking place following neurosurgery is associated with good neurofunctioning at follow-up. Interestingly, in the last few years, the number of reports on plasticity has notably increased. Aim of the current review was to provide a comprehensive overview of pre- and postoperative neuroplasticity patterns. Within this framework, we aimed to shed light on some tricky issues, including i) involvement of the contralateral healthy hemisphere, ii) role and potential changes of white matter and connectivity patterns, and iii) reorganization in low- versus high-grade gliomas. We finally discussed the practical implications of these aspects and role of additional potentially relevant factors to be explored. Final purpose was to provide a guideline helpful in promoting increase in the extent of tumor resection while preserving the patients’ neurological and cognitive functioning.

Cure rates for pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) have reached an all-time high (>90%); however, neurocognitive difficulties continue to affect quality of life in at least a subset of survivors. There are relatively few quantitative neuroimaging studies in child and adolescent ALL survivors treated with chemotherapy only. Use of different outcome measures or limited sample sizes restrict our ability to make inferences about patterns of brain development following chemotherapy treatment. In this study, we used magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to evaluate brain outcomes in ALL survivors, comparing against a group of typically developing, cancer free peers.

Participants included 71 ALL survivors, on average 8years after diagnosis and 8-18years of age, and 83 typically developing controls. Anatomical MRI was performed to evaluate brain structure; diffusion and magnetization transfer MRI were used to examine brain tissue microstructure.

Successful MRI scans were acquired in 67 survivors (94%) anmical alterations in late childhood and adolescent ALL survivors treated with chemotherapy-only protocols are widespread, with white matter being somewhat more affected than gray matter. These MRI results indicate brain development is altered in ALL survivors and highlight the need to examine how these alterations emerge.

Neuroanatomical alterations in late childhood and adolescent ALL survivors treated with chemotherapy-only protocols are widespread, with white matter being somewhat more affected than gray matter. These MRI results indicate brain development is altered in ALL survivors and highlight the need to examine how these alterations emerge.

To systematically explore the relationship between type and severity of brain lesion on Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) and visual function in a large cohort of children with periventricular leukomalacia (PVL).

94 children with bilateral cerebral palsy (CP) and history of PVL were recruited at Stella Maris Scientific Institute in Pisa (Italy). We included data of participants (72) with at least one MRI after the age of three years and an evaluation of visual function including fixation, following, saccades, nystagmus, acuity, visual field, stereopsis and color perception. Brain lesions location and extent were assessed by a semi-quantitative MRI-scale for children with CP.

Brain lesion severity strongly correlated with visual function total score (global MRI score p=.000; hemispheric score p=.001 and subcortical score p=.000). Moreover, visual acuity, visual field, stereopsis and colour were compromised when a cortical damage was present, while ocular motricity (and in particular fixation and saccades) were compromised in presence of subcortical brain damage.

Structural MRI is valuable for understanding the relationship between brain lesion severity and visual function in children with CP.

Structural MRI is valuable for understanding the relationship between brain lesion severity and visual function in children with CP.Trait anxiety refers to the stable tendency to attend to threats and experience fears and worries across many situations. According to the widely noticed, pioneering investigation by Etkin et al. (2004) trait anxiety is strongly associated with reactivity in the right basolateral amygdala to non-conscious threat. Although this observation was based on a sample of only 17 individuals, no replication effort has been reported yet. We reexamined automatic amygdala responsiveness as a function of anxiety in a large sample of 107 participants. Besides self-report instruments, we administered an indirect test to assess implicit anxiety. To assess early, automatic stages of emotion processing, we used a color-decision paradigm presenting brief (33 ms) and backward-masked fearful facial expressions. N = 56 participants were unaware of the presence of masked faces. In this subset of unaware participants, the relationship between trait anxiety and basolateral amygdala activation by fearful faces was successfully replicated in region of interest analyses. Additionally, a relation of implicit anxiety with masked fear processing in the amygdala and temporal gyrus was observed. We provide evidence that implicit measures of affect can be valuable predictors of automatic brain responsiveness and may represent useful additions to explicit measures. Our findings support a central role of amygdala reactivity to non-consciously perceived threat in understanding and predicting dispositional anxiety, i.e. the frequency of spontaneously occurring anxiety in everyday life.

Hospital staff are vulnerable and at high risk of novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) infection. The aim of this study was to monitor the psychological distress in hospital staff and examine the relationship between the psychological distress and possible causes during the COVID-19 epidemic.

An online survey was conducted from February 1 to February 14, 2020. Hospital staff from five national COVID-19 designated hospitals in Chongqing participated. Data collected included demographics and stress responses to COVID-19 1) the impact of event scale to measure psychological stress reactions; 2) generalizedanxietydisorder 7 to measure anxiety symptoms; 3) Patient Health Questionnaire 9 to measure depression symptoms; 4) Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale to measure obsessive-compulsive symptoms (OCS); and 5) Patient Health Questionnaire 15 to measure somatization symptoms. Multiple logistic regression analysis was used to identify factors that were correlated with psychological distress.

Hospital staff that participated in this study were identified as either doctors or nurses.