Deuterium Metabolic Imaging of Alzheimer Disease at 3-T Magnetic Field Strength: A Pilot Case-Control Study.

Background Impaired glucose metabolism is characteristic of several types of dementia, preceding cognitive symptoms and structural brain changes. Reduced glucose uptake in specific brain regions, detected using fluorine 18 (18F) fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) PET, is a valuable diagnostic marker in Alzheimer disease (AD). However, the use of 18F-FDG PET in clinical practice may be limited by equipment availability and high cost. Purpose To test the feasibility of using MRI-based deuterium (2H) metabolic imaging (DMI) at a clinical magnetic field strength (3 T) to detect and localize changes in the concentration of glucose and its metabolites in the brains of patients with a clinical diagnosis of AD. Materials and Methods Participants were recruited for this prospective case-control pilot study between March 2021 and February 2023. DMI was performed at 3 T using a custom birdcage head coil following oral administration of deuterium-labeled glucose (0.75 g/kg). Unlocalized whole-brain MR spectroscopy (MRS) and three-dimensional MR spectroscopic imaging (MRSI) (voxel size, 3.2 cm cubic) were performed. Ratios of 2H-glucose, 2H-glutamate and 2H-glutamine (2H-Glx), and 2H-lactate spectroscopic peak signals to 2H-water peak signal were calculated for the whole-brain MR spectra and for individual MRSI voxels. Results A total of 19 participants, including 10 participants with AD (mean age, 68 years ± 5 [SD]; eight males) and nine cognitively healthy control participants (mean age, 70 years ± 6; six males) were evaluated. Whole-brain spectra demonstrated a reduced ratio of 2H-Glx to 2H-glucose peak signals in participants with AD compared with control participants (0.41 ± 0.09 vs 0.58 ± 0.20, respectively; P = .04), suggesting an impairment of oxidative glucose metabolism in AD. However, there was no evidence of localization of these changes to the expected regions of metabolic impairment at MRSI, presumably due to insufficient spatial resolution. Conclusion DMI at 3 T demonstrated impairment of oxidative glucose metabolism in the brains of patients with AD but no evidence of regional signal differences. © RSNA, 2024 Supplemental material is available for this article.

Decision-making under uncertainty for species introductions into ecological networks.

Ecological communities are increasingly subject to natural and human-induced additions of species, as species shift their ranges under climate change, are introduced for conservation and are unintentionally moved by humans. As such, decisions about how to manage ecosystems subject to species introductions and considering multiple management objectives need to be made. However, the impacts of gaining new species on ecological communities are difficult to predict due to uncertainty in introduced species characteristics, the novel interactions that will be produced by that species, and the recipient ecosystem structure. Drawing on ecological and conservation decision theory, we synthesise literature into a conceptual framework for species introduction decision-making based on ecological networks in high-uncertainty contexts. We demonstrate the application of this framework to a theoretical decision surrounding assisted migration considering both biodiversity and ecosystem service objectives. We show that this framework can be used to evaluate trade-offs between outcomes, predict worst-case scenarios, suggest when one should collect additional data, and allow for improving knowledge of the system over time.

Using ensemble modeling to predict the impacts of assisted migration on recipient ecosystems.

Assisted migration is a controversial conservation measure that aims to protect threatened species by moving part of their population outside its natural range. Although this could save species from extinction, it also introduces a range of risks. The magnitude of the threat to recipient ecosystems has not been investigated quantitatively, despite being the most common criticism leveled at the action. We used an ensemble modeling framework to estimate the risks of assisted migration to existing species within ecosystems. With this approach, we calculated the consequences of an assisted migration project across a very large combination of translocated species and recipient ecosystems. We predicted the probability of a successful assisted migration and the number of local extinctions would result from establishment of the translocated species. Using an ensemble of 1.5×106 simulated 15-species recipient ecosystems, we estimated that translocated species will successfully establish in 83% of cases if introduced to stable, high-quality habitats. However, assisted migration projects were estimated to cause an average of 0.6 extinctions and 5% of successful translocations triggered 4 or more local extinctions. Quantifying the impacts to species within recipient ecosystems is critical to help managers weigh the benefits and negative consequences of assisted migration.

Modelación en Conjunto para Predecir los Impactos de la Migración Asistida sobre los Ecosistemas Receptores Resumen La migración asistida es una medida controversial de conservación que busca proteger a las especies amenazadas mediante la mudanza de parte de su población fuera de su extensión natural. Este método podría salvar a las especies de la extinción, pero también implica una gama de riesgos. La magnitud de la amenaza para el ecosistema receptor no ha sido investigada cuantitativamente a pesar de ser la crítica más común para esta acción. Usamos un marco de trabajo de modelación en conjunto para estimar los riesgos de la migración asistida para las especies existentes dentro de los ecosistemas. Mediante este enfoque calculamos las consecuencias de un proyecto de migración asistida en una combinación de especies reubicadas y ecosistemas receptores. Pronosticamos la probabilidad de una migración asistida exitosa y el número local de extinciones que resultarían de la introducción de especies reubicadas. Con un conjunto simulado de 1.5×106 ecosistemas receptores con 15 especies, estimamos que las especies reubicadas se establecerán exitosamente en 83% de los casos si son introducidas a hábitats estables y de alta calidad. Sin embargo, se estimó que los proyectos de migración asistida causarían un promedio de 0.6 extinciones y el 5% de las reubicaciones exitosas generaron cuatro o más extinciones locales. La cuantificación de los impactos para las especies dentro de los ecosistemas receptores es crítica para ayudar a los manejadores a sopesar los beneficios y las consecuencias negativas de la migración asistida.

Structural correlates of cognitive impairment in normal pressure hydrocephalus.

OBJECTIVES: The pathological bases for the cognitive and neuropsychiatric symptoms in normal pressure hydrocephalus (NPH) have not been elucidated. However, the symptoms may indicate dysfunction of subcortical regions. Previously, volume reductions of subcortical deep grey matter (SDGM) structures have been observed in NPH patients. The present study used automated segmentation methods to investigate whether SDGM structure volumes are associated with cognitive and neuropsychiatric measures. METHODS: Fourteen NPH patients and eight healthy controls were included in the study. Patients completed neuropsychological tests of general cognition, verbal learning and memory, verbal fluency and measures of apathy and depression pre- and postshunt surgery. Additionally, patients underwent 3 Tesla T1-weighted magnetic resonance imaging at baseline and 6 months postoperatively. Controls were scanned once. SDGM structure volumes were estimated using automated segmentation (FSL FIRST). Since displacement of the caudate nuclei occurred for some patients due to ventriculomegaly, patient caudate volumes were also estimated using manual tracing. Group differences in SDGM structure volumes were investigated, as well as associations between volumes and cognitive and neuropsychiatric measures in patients. RESULTS: Volumes of the caudate, thalamus, putamen, pallidum, hippocampus and nucleus accumbens (NAcc) were significantly reduced in the NPH patients compared to controls. In the NPH group, smaller caudate and NAcc volumes were associated with poorer performance on neuropsychological tests and increased severity of neuropsychiatric symptoms, while reduced volume of the pallidum was associated with better performance on the MMSE and reduced apathy. CONCLUSIONS: Striatal volume loss appears to be associated with cognitive and neuropsychiatric changes in NPH.

Fe- and Ln-DOTAm-F12 Are Effective Paramagnetic Fluorine Contrast Agents for MRI in Water and Blood.

A series of fluorinated macrocyclic complexes, M-DOTAm-F12, where M is LaIII, EuIII, GdIII, TbIII, DyIII, HoIII, ErIII, TmIII, YbIII, and FeII, was synthesized, and their potential as fluorine magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) contrast agents was evaluated. The high water solubility of these complexes and the presence of a single fluorine NMR signal, two necessary parameters for in vivo MRI, are substantial advantages over currently used organic polyfluorocarbons and other reported paramagnetic 19F probes. Importantly, the sensitivity of the paramagnetic probes on a per fluorine basis is at least 1 order of magnitude higher than that of diamagnetic organic probes. This increased sensitivity is due to a substantial-up to 100-fold-decrease in the longitudinal relaxation time (T1) of the fluorine nuclei. The shorter T1 allows for a greater number of scans to be obtained in an equivalent time frame. The sensitivity of the fluorine probes is proportional to the T2/T1 ratio. In water, the optimal metal complexes for imaging applications are those containing HoIII and FeII, and to a lesser extent TmIII and YbIII. Whereas T1 of the lanthanide complexes are little affected by blood, the T2 are notably shorter in blood than in water. The sensitivity of Ln-DOTAm-F12 complexes is lower in blood than in water, such that the most sensitive complex in water, HoIII-DOTAm-F12, could not be detected in blood. TmIII yielded the most sensitive lanthanide fluorine probe in blood. Notably, the relaxation times of the fluorine nuclei of FeII-DOTAm-F12 are similar in water and in blood. That complex has the highest T2/T1 ratio (0.57) and the lowest limit of detection (300 µM) in blood. The combination of high water solubility, single fluorine signal, and high T2/T1 of M-DOTAm-F12 facilitates the acquisition of three-dimensional magnetic resonance images.

Apathy, ventriculomegaly and neurocognitive improvement following shunt surgery in normal pressure hydrocephalus.

INTRODUCTION: Apathy - impaired motivation and goal-directed behaviour - is a common yet often overlooked symptom in normal pressure hydrocephalus (NPH). Caudate atrophy often yields apathetic symptoms; however, this structural and functional relationship has not yet been explored in NPH. Additionally, little is known about the relationship between apathy and post-shunt cognitive recovery. METHODS: This audit investigated whether apathetic symptoms improve following shunt surgery in NPH, and whether this relates to cognitive response. In addition, we assessed the relationship between ventriculomegaly and apathy using the bicaudate ratio. Twenty-two patients with NPH completed the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), the Apathy Evaluation Scale (AES) and the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS) before and 3-9 months after shunt surgery. Pre-operative ventriculomegaly was correlated with pre-operative AES and GDS scores. Difference scores (post-shunt minus baseline values) for AES and GDS were correlated with cognitive outcome. RESULTS: Greater pre-operative ventriculomegaly was associated with increased level of apathy and depression. A reduction in apathetic symptoms following shunt surgery was associated with improved performance on the MMSE. CONCLUSIONS: Apathy may be indicative of a greater degree of subcortical atrophy in NPH and may relate to functional outcome.

Effect of lanthanide complex structure on cell viability and association.

A systematic study of the effect of hydrophobicity and charge on the cell viability and cell association of lanthanide metal complexes is presented. The terbium luminescent probes feature a macrocyclic polyaminocarboxylate ligand (DOTA) in which the hydrophobicity of the antenna and that of the carboxyamide pendant arms are independently varied. Three sensitizing antennas were investigated in terms of their function in vitro: 2-methoxyisophthalamide (IAM(OMe)), 2-hydroxyisophthalamide (IAM), and 6-methylphenanthridine (Phen). Of these complexes, Tb-DOTA-IAM exhibited the highest quantum yield, although the higher cell viability and more facile synthesis of the structurally related Tb-DOTA-IAM(OMe) platform renders it more attractive. Further modification of this latter core structure with carboxyamide arms featuring hydrophobic benzyl, hexyl, and trifluoro groups as well as hydrophilic amino acid based moieties generated a family of complexes that exhibit high cell viability (ED50 > 300 µM) regardless of the lipophilicity or the overall complex charge. Only the hexyl-substituted complex reduced cell viability to 60% in the presence of 100 µM complex. Additionally, cellular association was investigated by ICP-MS and fluorescence microscopy. Surprisingly, the hydrophobic moieties did not increase cell association in comparison to the hydrophilic amino acid derivatives. It is thus postulated that the hydrophilic nature of the 2-methoxyisophthalamide antenna (IAM(OMe)) disfavors the cellular association of these complexes. As such, responsive luminescent probes based on this scaffold would be appropriate for the detection of extracellular species.

Magnetoluminescent light switches--dual modality in DNA detection.

The synthesis and properties of two responsive magnetoluminescent iron oxide nanoparticles for dual detection of DNA by MRI and luminescence spectroscopy are presented. These magnetoluminescent agents consist of iron oxide nanoparticles conjugated with metallointercalators via a polyethylene glycol linker. Two metallointercalators were investigated: Ru(bpy')(phen)(dppz), which turns on upon DNA intercalation, and Eu-DOTA-Phen, which turns off. The characteristic light-switch responses of the metallointercalators are not affected by the iron oxide nanoparticles; upon binding to DNA the luminescence of the ruthenium complexes increases by ca. 20-fold, whereas that of the europium complex is >95% quenched. Additionally, the 17-20 nm magnetite cores, having permeable PEG coatings and stable dopamide anchors, render the two constructs efficient responsive contrast agents for MRI with unbound longitudinal and transverse relaxivities of 12.4-9.2 and 135-128 mM(-1)(Fe)s(-1), respectively. Intercalation of the metal complexes in DNA results in the formation of large clusters of nanoparticles with a resultant decrease of both r1 and r2 by 32-63% and 24-38%, respectively. The potential application of these responsive magnetoluminescent assemblies and their reversible catch-and-release properties for the purification of DNA is presented.

Basis for sensitive and selective time-delayed luminescence detection of hydroxyl radical by lanthanide complexes.

Molecular probes for the detection of hydroxyl radical (HO•) by time-delayed luminescence spectroscopy directly in water at neutral pH with high sensitivity and selectivity are presented. The bimolecular probes consist of a lanthanide complex with open coordination sites and a reactive pre-antenna composed of an aromatic acid or amide; the latter binds to and sensitizes terbium emission upon hydroxylation by HO•. These probes exhibit long luminescence lifetimes compatible with time-delayed measurements that remove interfering background fluorescence from the sample. Six different reactive pre-antenna (benzoate, benzamide, isophthalate, isophthalamide, trimesate, and trimesamide) and two different terbium complexes [Tb-(1,4,7,10-tetraazacyclododecane-1,4,7-tris(acetic acid)) (Tb-DO3A) and Tb-(1,4,7,10-tetraazacyclododecane-1,7-bis(acetic acid)) (Tb-DO2A)] were evaluated. Of these the trimesamide/Tb-DO3A system enables the most sensitive detection of HO• with an about 1000-fold increase in metal-centered time-delayed emission upon hydroxylation of the pre-antenna to 2-hydroxytrimesamide. Excellent selectivity for both the trimesamide/Tb-DO3A and trimesate/Tb-DO3A systems over other reactive oxygen and nitrogen species are observed. Notably, the increase in metal-centered luminescence intensity is not associated with a decrease in the hydration number (q) of Tb-DO3A, suggesting that the antenna is interacting with the lanthanide via a second sphere coordination environment or that coordination by the antenna occurs by displacement of one or more of the carboxylate arms of DO3A. Formation of a weak ternary complex Tb-DO3A•hydroxytrimesamide was confirmed by temperature-dependent titration and a decrease in K(app) with increasing temperature.

Verbal fluency tests assess global cognitive status but have limited diagnostic differentiation: evidence from a large-scale examination of six neurodegenerative diseases.

Verbal fluency is widely used as a clinical test, but its utility in differentiating between neurodegenerative dementias and progressive aphasias, and from healthy controls, remains unclear. We assessed whether various measures of fluency performance could differentiate between Alzheimer's disease, behavioural variant of frontotemporal dementia, non-fluent and semantic variants of primary progressive aphasia, progressive supranuclear palsy, corticobasal syndrome and healthy controls. Category and letter fluency tasks were administered to 33 controls and 139 patients at their baseline clinical visit. We assessed group differences for total number of words produced, psycholinguistic word properties and associations between production order and exemplar psycholinguistic properties. Receiver operating characteristic curves determined which measure could best discriminate patient groups and controls. The total word count distinguished controls from all patient groups, but neither this measure nor the word properties differentiated the patient groups. Receiver operating characteristic curves revealed that, when comparing controls to patients, the strongest discriminators were total word count followed by word frequency. Word frequency was the strongest discriminator for semantic variant of primary progressive aphasia versus other groups. Fluency word counts were associated with global severity as measured by Addenbrooke's Cognitive Examination Revised. Verbal fluency is an efficient test for assessing global brain-cognitive health but has limited utility in differentiating between cognitively and anatomically disparate patient groups. This outcome is consistent with the fact that verbal fluency requires many different aspects of higher cognition and language.

Progesterone-stimulated endometrial cell conditioned media increases in vitro produced bovine embryo blastocyst formation.

The early bovine embryo is supported by histotroph molecules secreted by endometrial epithelial (EPI) and stroma fibroblast (SF) cells in response to luteal progesterone (P4). We hypothesized that specific histotroph molecule transcript abundance depends on cell type and P4 concentration and that endometrial cell conditioned media (CM) could improve in vitro produced (IVP) embryo development in culture. Primary bovine EPI and SF cells from seven uteri were incubated for 12 h with RPMI medium containing 0 (Control), 1, 15, or 50 ng of P4. RPMI was also incubated without cells (N-CM) and CM from EPI or SF cultures (EPI- or SF-CM) or a combination of the two (1:1; EPI/SF-CM) was used to culture IVP embryos from days 4-8 of development (n = 117). There was an effect of cell type (SLC1A1, SLC5A6, SLC7A1, FGF-2, FGF-7, CTGF, PRSS23 and NID2) and/or P4 concentration (FGF-7 and NID2) on endometrial cell histotroph molecule mRNA (P < 0.05). Compared to N-CM, blastocyst development on day 7 was greater in the EPI or SF-CM (P ≤ 0.05) and tended to be greater in the EPI/SF-CM (P = 0.07). On day 8, blastocyst development was greater only in the EPI-CM (P < 0.05). Further, culturing embryos with endometrial cell CM reduced day 8 blastocyst transcript abundance of cell adhesion molecule LGALS1 (P < 0.01). In conclusion, endometrial cell CM or histotroph molecules may be used to improve IVP embryo development in cattle.

The neural substrates of transdiagnostic cognitive-linguistic heterogeneity in primary progressive aphasia.

BACKGROUND: Clinical variants of primary progressive aphasia (PPA) are diagnosed based on characteristic patterns of language deficits, supported by corresponding neural changes on brain imaging. However, there is (i) considerable phenotypic variability within and between each diagnostic category with partially overlapping profiles of language performance between variants and (ii) accompanying non-linguistic cognitive impairments that may be independent of aphasia magnitude and disease severity. The neurobiological basis of this cognitive-linguistic heterogeneity remains unclear. Understanding the relationship between these variables would improve PPA clinical/research characterisation and strengthen clinical trial and symptomatic treatment design. We address these knowledge gaps using a data-driven transdiagnostic approach to chart cognitive-linguistic differences and their associations with grey/white matter degeneration across multiple PPA variants. METHODS: Forty-seven patients (13 semantic, 15 non-fluent, and 19 logopenic variant PPA) underwent assessment of general cognition, errors on language performance, and structural and diffusion magnetic resonance imaging to index whole-brain grey and white matter changes. Behavioural data were entered into varimax-rotated principal component analyses to derive orthogonal dimensions explaining the majority of cognitive variance. To uncover neural correlates of cognitive heterogeneity, derived components were used as covariates in neuroimaging analyses of grey matter (voxel-based morphometry) and white matter (network-based statistics of structural connectomes). RESULTS: Four behavioural components emerged: general cognition, semantic memory, working memory, and motor speech/phonology. Performance patterns on the latter three principal components were in keeping with each variant's characteristic profile, but with a spectrum rather than categorical distribution across the cohort. General cognitive changes were most marked in logopenic variant PPA. Regardless of clinical diagnosis, general cognitive impairment was associated with inferior/posterior parietal grey/white matter involvement, semantic memory deficits with bilateral anterior temporal grey/white matter changes, working memory impairment with temporoparietal and frontostriatal grey/white matter involvement, and motor speech/phonology deficits with inferior/middle frontal grey matter alterations. CONCLUSIONS: Cognitive-linguistic heterogeneity in PPA closely relates to individual-level variations on multiple behavioural dimensions and grey/white matter degeneration of regions within and beyond the language network. We further show that employment of transdiagnostic approaches may help to understand clinical symptom boundaries and reveal clinical and neural profiles that are shared across categorically defined variants of PPA.

Temporal lobe perceptual predictions for speech are instantiated in motor cortex and reconciled by inferior frontal cortex.

Humans use predictions to improve speech perception, especially in noisy environments. Here we use 7-T functional MRI (fMRI) to decode brain representations of written phonological predictions and degraded speech signals in healthy humans and people with selective frontal neurodegeneration (non-fluent variant primary progressive aphasia [nfvPPA]). Multivariate analyses of item-specific patterns of neural activation indicate dissimilar representations of verified and violated predictions in left inferior frontal gyrus, suggestive of processing by distinct neural populations. In contrast, precentral gyrus represents a combination of phonological information and weighted prediction error. In the presence of intact temporal cortex, frontal neurodegeneration results in inflexible predictions. This manifests neurally as a failure to suppress incorrect predictions in anterior superior temporal gyrus and reduced stability of phonological representations in precentral gyrus. We propose a tripartite speech perception network in which inferior frontal gyrus supports prediction reconciliation in echoic memory, and precentral gyrus invokes a motor model to instantiate and refine perceptual predictions for speech.

Ruminant conceptus-maternal interactions: interferon-tau and beyond.

Embryonic or fetal loss in cattle is associated with problems that occur during oocyte maturation, early embryonic development, conceptus elongation, maternal recognition of pregnancy (MRP), and/or placental attachment and implantation. Many of these problems manifest as inadequate or asynchronous communication between the developing conceptus and endometrium, resulting in pregnancy failure. This review will provide an overview of how various conceptus-endometrial paracrine signaling systems control the fate of early pregnancy in cattle and other ruminants. We begin by summarizing the actions of interferon-tau, the classic MRP signal in ruminates, and then explore how other secretory factors derived from either the conceptus or endometrium influence establishment and maintenance of pregnancy. Insight into how the endometrium responds to male vs. female conceptuses or conceptuses produced by in vitro methods will also be described. Specific focus will be placed on describing how "omic" technologies and other cutting-edge techniques have assisted with identifying novel conceptus and/or endometrial factors and their functions. Recent findings indicate that the endometrial transcriptome and histotroph are altered by conceptus sex, quality, and origin, suggesting that the endometrium is a sensor of conceptus biochemistry. Although the endometrium has a certain level of flexibility in terms of conceptus-maternal interactions, this interplay is not sufficient to retain some pregnancies. However, new information inspires us to learn more and will help develop technologies that mitigate early embryonic loss and reproductive failure in ruminants and other animals.

Early pregnancy losses are common in cattle. This review describes how critical the interplay between the developing conceptus (embryo and extraembryonic membranes) and endometrium is to maintaining pregnancies in cattle and other ruminants. The discovery of interferon-tau more than 40 yr ago initiated a new field of reproductive biology focused on describing how the conceptus and endometrium communicate with one another through the secretion of paracrine factors, extracellular vesicles, and other molecules. The use of "omic" and gene editing technologies has assisted with identifying novel functions for many conceptus and endometrial secreted factors. This review provides examples of how conceptus sex, quality, and in vitro vs. in vivo development influences endometrial function. The endometrium appears to have some flexibility in its response to conceptuses, and this insight could be used to our advantage as we work towards developing schemes to rescue conceptuses that are in danger of experiencing pregnancy loss.

A 'Mini Linguistic State Examination' to classify primary progressive aphasia.

There are few available methods for qualitatively evaluating patients with primary progressive aphasia. Commonly adopted approaches are time-consuming, of limited accuracy or designed to assess different patient populations. This paper introduces a new clinical test-the Mini Linguistic State Examination-which was designed uniquely to enable a clinician to assess and subclassify both classical and mixed presentations of primary progressive aphasia. The adoption of a novel assessment method (error classification) greatly amplifies the clinical information that can be derived from a set of standard linguistic tasks and allows a five-dimensional profile to be defined. Fifty-four patients and 30 matched controls were recruited. Five domains of language competence (motor speech, phonology, semantics, syntax and working memory) were assessed using a sequence of 11 distinct linguistic assays. A random forest classification was used to assess the diagnostic accuracy for predicting primary progressive aphasia subtypes and create a decision tree as a guide to clinical classification. The random forest prediction model was 96% accurate overall (92% for the logopenic variant, 93% for the semantic variant and 98% for the non-fluent variant). The derived decision tree produced a correct classification of 91% of participants whose data were not included in the training set. The Mini Linguistic State Examination is a new cognitive test incorporating a novel and powerful, yet straightforward, approach to scoring. Rigorous assessment of its diagnostic accuracy confirmed excellent matching of primary progressive aphasia syndromes to clinical gold standard diagnoses. Adoption of the Mini Linguistic State Examination by clinicians will have a decisive impact on the consistency and uniformity with which patients can be described clinically. It will also facilitate screening for cohort-based research, including future therapeutic trials, and is suitable for describing, quantifying and monitoring language deficits in other brain disorders.

A meta-analytic investigation of emotional intelligence and alcohol involvement.

The relationship between emotional intelligence (EI) and alcohol involvement has been investigated by numerous studies. The present meta-analysis analyzed the findings of these studies. The meta-analysis, based on 16 effect sizes from 11 studies with a total of 2,271 participants, showed that lower EI was significantly related to higher alcohol involvement, r = -.18. Lower EI was significantly associated with both alcohol-related problems, r = -.32 and level of alcohol use, r = -.10, but the association was significantly higher with alcohol-use-related problems. The results suggest that future research would most profitably examine the role of EI in alcohol consumption-related problems.

Language impairment in progressive supranuclear palsy and corticobasal syndrome.

Although commonly known as movement disorders, progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) and corticobasal syndrome (CBS) may present with changes in speech and language alongside or even before motor symptoms. The differential diagnosis of these two disorders can be challenging, especially in the early stages. Here we review their impact on speech and language. We discuss the neurobiological and clinical-phenomenological overlap of PSP and CBS with each other, and with other disorders including non-fluent agrammatic primary progressive aphasia and primary progressive apraxia of speech. Because language impairment is often an early and persistent problem in CBS and PSP, there is a need for improved methods for language screening in primary and secondary care, and more detailed language assessments in tertiary healthcare settings. Improved language assessment may aid differential diagnosis as well as inform clinical management decisions.

Phylogenetic diversity and community assembly in a naturally fragmented system.

We sought to assess effects of fragmentation and quantify the contribution of ecological processes to community assembly by measuring species richness, phylogenetic, and phenotypic diversity of species found in local and regional plant communities. Specifically, our fragmented system is Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve, Idaho, USA. CRMO is characterized by vegetated islands, kipukas, that are isolated in a matrix of lava. We used floristic surveys of vascular plants in 19 kipukas to create a local species list to compare traditional dispersion metrics, mean pairwise distance, and mean nearest taxon distance (MPD and MNTD), to a regional species list with phenotypic and phylogenetic data. We combined phylogenetic and functional trait data in a novel machine-learning model selection approach, Community Assembly Model Inference (CAMI), to infer probability associated with different models of community assembly given the data. Finally, we used linear regression to explore whether the geography of kipukas explained estimated support for community assembly models. Using traditional metrics of MPD and MNTD neutral processes received the most support when comparing kipuka species to regional species. Individually no kipukas showed significant support for overdispersion. Rather, five kipukas showed significant support for phylogenetic clustering using MPD and two kipukas using MNTD. Using CAMI, we inferred neutral and filtering models structured the kipuka plant community for our trait of interest. Finally, we found as species richness in kipukas increases, model support for competition decreases and lower elevation kipukas show more support for habitat filtering models. While traditional phylogenetic community approaches suggest neutral assembly dynamics, recently developed approaches utilizing machine learning and model choice revealed joint influences of assembly processes to form the kipuka plant communities. Understanding ecological processes at play in naturally fragmented systems will aid in guiding our understanding of how fragmentation impacts future changes in landscapes.

Spanish Version of the Mini-Linguistic State Examination for the Diagnosis of Primary Progressive Aphasia.

BACKGROUND: Primary progressive aphasia (PPA) is a neurodegenerative syndrome with three main clinical variants: non-fluent, semantic, and logopenic. Clinical diagnosis and accurate classification are challenging and often time-consuming. The Mini-Linguistic State Examination (MLSE) has been recently developed as a short language test to specifically assess language in neurodegenerative disorders. OBJECTIVE: Our aim was to adapt and validate the Spanish version of MLSE for PPA diagnosis. METHODS: Cross-sectional study involving 70 patients with PPA and 42 healthy controls evaluated with the MLSE. Patients were independently diagnosed and classified according to comprehensive cognitive evaluation and advanced neuroimaging. RESULTS: Internal consistency was 0.758. The influence of age and education was very low. The area under the curve for discriminating PPA patients and healthy controls was 0.99. Effect sizes were moderate-large for the discrimination between PPA and healthy controls. Motor speech, phonology, and semantic subscores discriminated between the three clinical variants. A random forest classification model obtained an F1-score of 81%for the three PPA variants. CONCLUSION: Our study provides a brief and useful language test for PPA diagnosis, with excellent properties for both clinical routine assessment and research purposes.

Language Disorder in Progressive Supranuclear Palsy and Corticobasal Syndrome: Neural Correlates and Detection by the MLSE Screening Tool.

Background: Progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) and corticobasal syndrome (CBS) affect speech and language as well as motor functions. Clinical and neuropathological data indicate a close relationship between these two disorders and the non-fluent variant of primary progressive aphasia (nfvPPA). We use the recently developed Mini Linguistic State Examination tool (MLSE) to study speech and language disorders in patients with PSP, CBS, and nfvPPA, in combination with structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Methods: Fifty-one patients (PSP N = 13, CBS N = 19, nfvPPA N = 19) and 30 age-matched controls completed the MLSE, the short form of the Boston Diagnostic Aphasia Examination (BDAE), and the Addenbrooke's Cognitive Examination III. Thirty-eight patients and all controls underwent structural MRI at 3 Tesla, with T1 and T2-weighted images processed by surface-based and subcortical segmentation within FreeSurfer 6.0.0 to extract cortical thickness and subcortical volumes. Morphometric differences were compared between groups and correlated with the severity of speech and language impairment. Results: CBS and PSP patients showed impaired MLSE performance, compared to controls, with a similar language profile to nfvPPA, albeit less severe. All patient groups showed reduced cortical thickness in bilateral frontal regions and striatal volume. PSP and nfvPPA patients also showed reduced superior temporal cortical thickness, with additional thalamic and amygdalo-hippocampal volume reductions in nfvPPA. Multivariate analysis of brain-wide cortical thickness and subcortical volumes with MLSE domain scores revealed associations between performance on multiple speech and language domains with atrophy of left-lateralised fronto-temporal cortex, amygdala, hippocampus, putamen, and caudate. Conclusions: The effect of PSP and CBS on speech and language overlaps with nfvPPA. These three disorders cause a common anatomical pattern of atrophy in the left frontotemporal language network and striatum. The MLSE is a short clinical screening tool that can identify the language disorder of PSP and CBS, facilitating clinical management and patient access to future clinical trials.