Fabrication of a ternary biocomposite film based on polyvinyl alcohol, cellulose nanocrystals, and silver nanoparticles for food packaging.

Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) were loaded on deprotonated cellulose nanocrystals (CNCd) and incorporated into polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) to develop novel active food packaging films. The AgNPs were fabricated using the liquid phase chemical reduction method using the sodium borohydride reductant of AgNO3. The analysis using X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and Ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy (UV-Vis) showed that the CNCd surface had a homogeneous distribution of AgNPs with a diameter of about 100 nm. Additionally, CNCd/Ag was successfully incorporated into the PVA film. The developed PVA/CNCd/Ag film showed significantly improved mechanical properties, thermal stability, and UV barrier properties compared to a neat PVA film. The PVA/CNCd/Ag composite film could significantly preserve bananas for 14 days, preventing deterioration and allowing extended storage periods. This composite film generally shows promise in food packaging and prolongs food's shelf life.

Tourism social sustainability in remote communities in Vietnam: Tourists' behaviors and their drivers.

Drawing on the social practice theory, theory of planned behavior, social contagion theory, and social exchange theory, this study focused on tourist behaviors affecting tourism social sustainability and their drivers. Besides its unique contribution to distinguishing positive behaviors from negative ones, this study is the first exploring tourism social sustainability in remote communities in Vietnam, an emerging country and focusing on domestic tourists. The study reveals that tourists' knowledge about tourism social sustainability is not only the safeguard against conducting improper behaviors. Behaviors negatively impacting tourism social sustainability can be instigated by crowd, pampering of one's convenience, and superiority feeling. Furthermore, inappropriate behaviors can be nurtured by the community and service providers. This study also indicates a mixed finding regarding the role of tour operators and tour guides in enforcing the code of conduct and regulations; however, both leader and members of the community can play a critical role in promoting socially sustainable tourist behaviors.

The possible influence of third-order shim coils on gradient-magnet interactions: an inter-field and inter-site study.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the possible influence of third-order shim coils on the behavior of the gradient field and in gradient-magnet interactions at 7 T and above. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Gradient impulse response function measurements were performed at 5 sites spanning field strengths from 7 to 11.7 T, all of them sharing the same exact whole-body gradient coil design. Mechanical fixation and boundary conditions of the gradient coil were altered in several ways at one site to study the impact of mechanical coupling with the magnet on the field perturbations. Vibrations, power deposition in the He bath, and field dynamics were characterized at 11.7 T with the third-order shim coils connected and disconnected inside the Faraday cage. RESULTS: For the same whole-body gradient coil design, all measurements differed greatly based on the third-order shim coil configuration (connected or not). Vibrations and gradient transfer function peaks could be affected by a factor of 2 or more, depending on the resonances. Disconnecting the third-order shim coils at 11.7 T also suppressed almost completely power deposition peaks at some frequencies. DISCUSSION: Third-order shim coil configurations can have major impact in gradient-magnet interactions with consequences on potential hardware damage, magnet heating, and image quality going beyond EPI acquisitions.

Cellulose nanocrystals extracted from rice husk using the formic/peroxyformic acid process: isolation and structural characterization.

Cellulose derived from biomass is a renewable resource with numerous applications. Using formic/peroxyformic acid at atmospheric pressure, cellulose nanocrystals (CNC) were isolated from rice husk (RH) in this study. This method was an excellent way to get rid of lignin and hemicelluloses from RH. The cellulose was subsequently acid hydrolyzed by H2SO4 (64%) for 30 minutes at 45 °C. The chemical and microstructure analysis showed that the lignin and hemicellulose contents of raw RH had been eliminated, and the crystallinity content of CNC was 67.16%. According to transmission electron microscopy (TEM) morphological analysis, CNC measured 19 ± 3.3 nm in diameter, 195 ± 24 nm in length, and 10.2 ± 6.8 in aspect ratio. The thermal stability of RH and CNC was also investigated using thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). These encouraging findings demonstrated the potential for reusing RH agricultural waste to create CNC and include nanocomposites as a reinforcing material.

Effects of a Virtual Reality Game on Children's Anxiety During Dental Procedures (VR-TOOTH): Protocol for a Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial.

BACKGROUND: Dental fear and anxiety (DFA) is a condition that affects approximately one-quarter of children and adolescents. It is a significant cause for pediatric patients to avoid dental care later in adulthood. Lack of patient cooperation due to DFA can create an environment of stress, often obligating dentists to end appointments prematurely and consider alternative pharmacological treatment options. Virtual reality (VR) use during dental care, providing an immersive experience through sensory stimuli, is potentially an additional nonpharmacologic tool to better manage DFA in children with special health care needs (SHCN) undergoing dental procedures. OBJECTIVE: This pilot study aims to assess the feasibility and acceptability of VR immersion as a tool to reduce DFA in pediatric special needs patients undergoing dental procedures. The study also aims to gain insight on parent and health care provider perspectives on the use of VR during dental appointments. METHODS: This pilot randomized controlled trial study will follow a parallel design including 2 groups: a control group (clinic's standard care using a wall TV) and an experimental group (using a VR game). We will randomize 20 participants to either group. Recruitment will be carried out at the dental clinic of the Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Sainte-Justine, a tertiary-quaternary care center that mostly serves pediatric patients with SHCN. The primary outcome will be patient recruitment rates and completion rates of planned procedures. DFA in children will be assessed using both an observation-based proxy assessment with the Venham Anxiety and Behavior Rating Scale and physiological assessments using parameters such as change in heart rate and levels of salivary alpha-amylase as a stress biomarker before and 10 minutes after the procedure. Sociodemographic characteristics, measures of the levels of parent and health care professional satisfaction, occurrence of side effects, and any deviation from normal procedure length will also be collected. Descriptive statistics, nonparametric tests, and effect sizes will be used for demographic and clinical variables and to present parent and health care professional satisfaction levels as well as procedural time. RESULTS: This study will be conducted from May 2023 to May 2024, with results expected to be available in December 2024. CONCLUSIONS: The pilot study will provide insight on the feasibility and acceptability of VR use in clinical dentistry to reduce DFA for pediatric patients with SHCN. This study will guide future research on VR use in pediatric dentistry and can serve as a framework for a larger randomized clinical trial. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT05898100; https://classic.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT05898100. INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT IDENTIFIER (IRRID): DERR1-10.2196/49956.

Next-generation MRI scanner designed for ultra-high-resolution human brain imaging at 7 Tesla.

To increase granularity in human neuroimaging science, we designed and built a next-generation 7 Tesla magnetic resonance imaging scanner to reach ultra-high resolution by implementing several advances in hardware. To improve spatial encoding and increase the image signal-to-noise ratio, we developed a head-only asymmetric gradient coil (200 mT m-1, 900 T m-1s-1) with an additional third layer of windings. We integrated a 128-channel receiver system with 64- and 96-channel receiver coil arrays to boost signal in the cerebral cortex while reducing g-factor noise to enable higher accelerations. A 16-channel transmit system reduced power deposition and improved image uniformity. The scanner routinely performs functional imaging studies at 0.35-0.45 mm isotropic spatial resolution to reveal cortical layer functional activity, achieves high angular resolution in diffusion imaging and reduces acquisition time for both functional and structural imaging.

Facile Hydrothermal Synthesis of Ag/Fe3O4/Cellulose Nanocomposite as Highly Active Catalyst for 4-Nitrophenol and Organic Dye Reduction.

Novel effluent treatment solutions for dangerous organic pollutants are crucial worldwide. In recent years, chemical reduction using noble metal-based nanocatalysts and NaBH4, a reducing agent, has become common practice for eliminating organic contaminants from aquatic environments. We suggest a straightforward approach to synthesizing magnetic cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) modified with magnetite (Fe3O4) and silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) as a catalyst for organic contamination removal. Significantly, the CNC surface was decorated with Ag NPs without using any reducing agents or stabilizers. PXRD, FE-SEM, TEM, EDX, VSM, BET, and zeta potential tests characterized the Ag/Fe3O4/CNC nanocomposite. The nanocomposite's catalytic activity was tested by eliminating 4-nitrophenol (4-NP) and the organic dyes methylene blue (MB) and methyl orange (MO) in an aqueous solution at 25 °C. The Ag/Fe3O4/CNC nanocomposite reduced 4-NP and decolored these hazardous organic dyes in a short time (2 to 5 min) using a tiny amount of catalyst (2.5 mg for 4-NP and 15 mg for MO and MB). The magnetic catalyst was removed and reused three times without losing catalytic activity. This work shows that the Ag/Fe3O4/CNC nanocomposite can chemically reduce harmful pollutants in effluent for environmental applications.

A 128-channel receive array for cortical brain imaging at 7 T.

PURPOSE: A 128-channel receive-only array for brain imaging at 7 T was simulated, designed, constructed, and tested within a high-performance head gradient designed for high-resolution functional imaging. METHODS: The coil used a tight-fitting helmet geometry populated with 128 loop elements and preamplifiers to fit into a 39 cm diameter space inside a built-in gradient. The signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and parallel imaging performance (1/g) were measured in vivo and simulated using electromagnetic modeling. The histogram of 1/g factors was analyzed to assess the range of performance. The array's performance was compared to the industry-standard 32-channel receive array and a 64-channel research array. RESULTS: It was possible to construct the 128-channel array with body noise-dominated loops producing an average noise correlation of 5.4%. Measurements showed increased sensitivity compared with the 32-channel and 64-channel array through a combination of higher intrinsic SNR and g-factor improvements. For unaccelerated imaging, the 128-channel array showed SNR gains of 17.6% and 9.3% compared to the 32-channel and 64-channel array, respectively, at the center of the brain and 42% and 18% higher SNR in the peripheral brain regions including the cortex. For R = 5 accelerated imaging, these gains were 44.2% and 24.3% at the brain center and 86.7% and 48.7% in the cortex. The 1/g-factor histograms show both an improved mean and a tighter distribution by increasing the channel count, with both effects becoming more pronounced at higher accelerations. CONCLUSION: The experimental results confirm that increasing the channel count to 128 channels is beneficial for 7T brain imaging, both for increasing SNR in peripheral brain regions and for accelerated imaging.

Distortion correction of functional MRI without reverse phase encoding scans or field maps.

Functional magnetic resonance images (fMRI) acquired using echo planar sequences typically suffer from spatial distortions due to susceptibility induced off-resonance fields, which may cause geometric mismatch with structural images and affect subsequent quantification and localization of brain function. State-of-the art distortion correction methods (for example, using FSL's topup or AFNI's 3dQwarp algorithms) require the collection of additional scans - either field maps or images with reverse phase encoding directions (i.e., blip-up/blip-down acquisitions) - to estimate and correct distortions. However, not all imaging protocols acquire these additional data and thus cannot take advantage of these post-acquisition corrections. In this study, we aim to enable state-of-the art processing of historical or limited datasets that do not include specific sequences for distortion correction by using only the acquired functional data and a single commonly acquired structural image. To achieve this, we synthesize an undistorted image with contrast similar to the fMRI data and use the non-distorted synthetic image as an anatomical target for distortion correction. We evaluate the efficacy of this approach, named SynBOLD-DisCo (Synthetic BOLD contrast for Distortion Correction), and show that this distortion correction process yields fMRI data that are geometrically similar to non-distorted structural images, with distortion correction virtually equivalent to acquisitions that do contain both blip-up/blip-down images. Our method is available as a Singularity container, source code, and an executable trained model to facilitate evaluation and integration into existing fMRI preprocessing pipelines.

Walking Ability and Brain Natriuretic Peptide Are Highly Predictive of Kidney Transplant Waiting List Removal.

Kidney transplant waitlist management is complex because waiting time is long, and the patients have significant comorbidities. Identification of patients at highest risk for waiting list removal for death and medical complications could allow better outcomes and allocation of resources. Methods: Demographics, functional and frailty assessment' and biochemical data were retrospectively analyzed on 313 consecutive patients listed for kidney transplant. Troponin, brain natriuretic peptide, components of the Fried frailty metrics, pedometer activity, and treadmill ability were measured at the time of transplant evaluation and at subsequent re-evaluations. Cox proportional hazards models were used to identify factors associated with death or waiting list removal for medical reasons. Multivariate models were created to identify significant predictor sets. Results: Among 249 patients removed while waitlisted, 19 (6.1%) died and 51 (16.3%) were removed for medical reasons. Mean follow-up duration was 2.3 y (±1.5 y). 417 sets of measurements were collected. Significant (P < 0.05) non-time-dependent variables associated with the composite outcome identified on univariate analysis included N-terminal probrain natriuretic peptide (BNP), treadmill ability, pedometer activity, diagnosis of diabetes and the Center of Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale question asking how many days per week could you not get going. Significant time-dependent factors included BNP, treadmill ability, Up and Go, pedometer activity, handgrip, 30 s chair sit-stand test, and age. The optimal time-dependent predictor set included BNP, treadmill ability, and patient age. Conclusions: Changes in functional and biochemical markers are predictive of kidney waitlist removal for death and medical reasons. BNP and measures of walking ability were of particular importance.

Clathrin-mediated endocytosis facilitates the internalization of Magnaporthe oryzae effectors into rice cells.

Fungi and oomycetes deliver effectors into living plant cells to suppress defenses and control plant processes needed for infection. Little is known about the mechanism by which these pathogens translocate effector proteins across the plasma membrane into the plant cytoplasm. The blast fungus Magnaporthe oryzae secretes cytoplasmic effectors into a specialized biotrophic interfacial complex (BIC) before translocation. Here, we show that cytoplasmic effectors within BICs are packaged into punctate membranous effector compartments that are occasionally observed in the host cytoplasm. Live cell imaging with fluorescently labeled proteins in rice (Oryza sativa) showed that these effector puncta colocalize with the plant plasma membrane and with CLATHRIN LIGHT CHAIN 1, a component of clathrin-mediated endocytosis (CME). Inhibiting CME using virus-induced gene silencing and chemical treatments resulted in cytoplasmic effectors in swollen BICs lacking effector puncta. By contrast, fluorescent marker colocalization, gene silencing, and chemical inhibitor studies failed to support a major role for clathrin-independent endocytosis in effector translocation. Effector localization patterns indicated that cytoplasmic effector translocation occurs underneath appressoria before invasive hyphal growth. Taken together, this study provides evidence that cytoplasmic effector translocation is mediated by CME in BICs and suggests a role for M. oryzae effectors in coopting plant endocytosis.

Variation of Benzo[a]pyrene, NNN, and NNK Levels in 16 Commercial Smokeless Tobacco Products.

This study examined the variation of benzo[a]pyrene (B[a]P), N'-nitrosonornicotine (NNN), and 4-(methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanone (NNK) levels in 16 smokeless tobacco products from several different product subcategories obtained at two different locations and at two different procurement times. B[a]P quantities range from 0.6 to 160 ng/g on a wet-weight basis, whereas NNN and NNK quantities range from 276 to 10473 ng/g and 79 to 28882 ng/g, respectively. The B[a]P, NNN, and NNK quantities vary widely among various smokeless tobacco product categories and among various brands within each product subcategory. Dry snuff products contain the highest B[a]P, NNN, and NNK quantities, whereas loose and portioned snus products contain the lowest B[a]P, NNN, and NNK levels. In general, variation of B[a]P, NNN, and NNK levels across four sets of each product brand purchased six months apart and at two different locations show statistically significant differences (p < 0.05), although with a much narrower product set-to-set variability.

Pregnancy and birth outcomes among young women living with perinatally acquired HIV in Thailand and Vietnam.

We conducted a retrospective cohort study of pregnancy and infant outcomes in 670 adolescents and young adult women with perinatally acquired HIV (AYAPHIV), aged 15-24 years, in Thailand and Vietnam. Between January 2013 and December 2018, there were 52 pregnancies, for an incidence of 2.49 (95% CI 1.90-3.27) per 100 person-years. The median age at pregnancy was 17.7 years (IQR 16.8-18.9). Pregnant AYAPHIV had been on cART for a lifetime median of 9.8 years (IQR 7.3-12.4). At the time of conception, the median CD4 was 521 cells/mm3 (IQR 213-760), and 76% had HIV RNA ≤400 copies/ml. Of the 51 pregnancies with available outcomes, 90% resulted in live singleton births at a median gestational age of 38 weeks (IQR 37-39); 77% of mothers (n = 27/35) had HIV RNA ≤400 copies/ml at delivery. Among infants with available data, 50% (n = 21/42) were male and 29% (n = 12/42) were reported to be low birthweight (<2,500gm); none (n = 0/41) were breastfed. One infant was diagnosed with HIV. Our findings emphasize that efforts to strengthen reproductive health education, including contraception, pregnancy-related psychosocial support services, and prevention of vertical HIV transmission interventions, in our region are needed for adolescents with perinatally acquired HIV as they transition to young adults.

Magnetic Resonance Imaging of the Lumbar Spine: Recommendations for Acquisition and Image Evaluation from the BACPAC Spine Imaging Working Group.

Management of patients suffering from low back pain (LBP) is challenging and requires development of diagnostic techniques to identify specific patient subgroups and phenotypes in order to customize treatment and predict clinical outcome. The Back Pain Consortium (BACPAC) Research Program Spine Imaging Working Group has developed standard operating procedures (SOPs) for spinal imaging protocols to be used in all BACPAC studies. These SOPs include procedures to conduct spinal imaging assessments with guidelines for standardizing the collection, reading/grading (using structured reporting with semi-quantitative evaluation using ordinal rating scales), and storage of images. This article presents the approach to image acquisition and evaluation recommended by the BACPAC Spine Imaging Working Group. While the approach is specific to BACPAC studies, it is general enough to be applied at other centers performing magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) acquisitions in patients with LBP. The herein presented SOPs are meant to improve understanding of pain mechanisms and facilitate patient phenotyping by codifying MRI-based methods that provide standardized, non-invasive assessments of spinal pathologies. Finally, these recommended procedures may facilitate the integration of better harmonized MRI data of the lumbar spine across studies and sites within and outside of BACPAC studies.

Topical anesthetics for needle-related pain in adults and children (TOPIC): a mini-review.

Purpose: Healthcare professionals (HCP) perform various needle procedures that can be distressing and painful for children and adults. Even though many strategies have been proven effective in reducing distress and pain, topical anesthetic use before needle procedures is uncommon. However, there are limited studies in the existing literature comparing specifically liposomal lidocaine and tetracaine hydrochloride topical creams. Source: This systematic review analyzed studies on the use of two anesthetic creams, Liposomal Lidocaine (Maxilene®) and Tetracaine hydrochloride (Ametop™), in children and adults undergoing a needle-related procedure. Databases searched: PubMed, CINAHL, ClinicalTrials. Only randomized controlled trials (RCT) and Controlled Clinical Trials (CCT) studies were included. Cochrane Collaboration's Risk of Bias assessment tool was used. Strictly minimally invasive procedures were included to standardize different skin needle interventions. Principal findings: Only one study with 60 participants was available to be included in this review. No statistically significant difference was found in the mean pain score among both interventions. The outcomes of self-reported distress during cannulation and on HCP satisfaction were not reported. However, physiological characteristics associated with stress/anxiety and on cannulation success rate were reported and did not show statistical significance. Conclusion: Little to no evidence regarding the most efficient cream between liposomal lidocaine and tetracaine hydrochloride for pain management during needle-related procedures was found. Further studies, particularly RCT with larger sample sizes and standardized outcome measures, are needed to confirm the relative efficacy of either anesthetic cream.

Case Report: Successful Treatment of a Child With COVID-19 Reinfection-Induced Fulminant Myocarditis by Cytokine-Adsorbing oXiris® Hemofilter Continuous Veno-Venous Hemofiltration and Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation.

Background: Indirect cardiomyocyte damage-related hyperinflammatory response is one of the key mechanisms in COVID-19-induced fulminant myocarditis. In addition to the clinical benefit of using cytokines absorption hemofiltration, the effectiveness of instituting veno-arterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (VA-ECMO) support for cardiac compromise has been reported. However, current literature enunciates a paucity of available data on the effectiveness of these novel modalities. Case Presentation: We reported a 9-year-old boy with recurrent COVID-19 infection-causing fulminant myocarditis, who was treated successfully by using novel modalities of oXiris ® hemofilter continuous venovenous hemofiltration (CVVH) and VA-ECMO. The patient made a full recovery without any sequelae. Conclusion: We conclude that the novel highly-absorptive hemofilter CVVH and VA-ECMO may be effective treatment modalities in managing SARS-CoV-2-induced fulminant myocarditis. Our report highlights the need for further well-designed investigations to confirm this extrapolation.

Quantitative measurement of harmful and potentially harmful constituents, pH, and moisture content in 16 commercial smokeless tobacco products.

Smokeless tobacco products expose adult and youth tobacco users to various addictive and carcinogenic constituents that can cause long-term nicotine dependence and oral cancers. In this study, nicotine, benzo[a]pyrene (B[a]P), N'-nitrosonornicotine (NNN), 4-(methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanone (NNK), acetaldehyde, crotonaldehyde, formaldehyde, moisture, and pH levels in 16 smokeless tobacco products were measured on a wet-weight basis (wwb). In addition, change in analytical variability with increasing replicate measurements was assessed. Total nicotine in the products varied from 6.2 to 35.5 mg/g. The percentage of total nicotine in the unprotonated form ranged from 0.1 to 62%; whereas, product moisture varied from 7.4 to 57%. The quantities of harmful and potentially harmful constituents (HPHCs) range from 0.46 to 179.9 ng/g for B [a]P, 270-12206 and 81-20716 ng/g for NNN and NNK, respectively, and 0.33-6.85 and 0.13-5.67 µg/g for acetaldehyde and formaldehyde, respectively. This study shows wide variation in smokeless tobacco product HPHC quantities. The results also show that analytical variability stabilizes after seven replicate measurements.

Effect of early two-dose measles vaccination on childhood mortality and modification by maternal measles antibody in Guinea-Bissau, West Africa: A single-centre open-label randomised controlled trial.

Background: Early 2-dose measles vaccine (MV) at 4 and 9 months of age vs. the WHO strategy of MV at 9 months of age reduced all-cause child mortality in a previous trial. We aimed to test two hypotheses: 1) a 2-dose strategy reduces child mortality between 4 and 60 months of age by 30%; 2) receiving early MV at 4 months in the presence versus absence of maternal measles antibodies (MatAb) reduces child mortality by 35%. Methods: Single-centre open-label community-based randomised controlled trial in Guinea-Bissau, with 2:1 block-randomisation by sex to a 2-dose (4 + 9 months) vs. 1-dose (9 months) MV strategy. Healthy children were eligible 4 weeks after the 3rd diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis-containing vaccine. Before randomisation a blood sample was collected to determine MatAb level. The primary outcome was all-cause mortality. Hazard ratios (HR) were derived from Cox regression in the per protocol population. We tested for interactions with national campaigns with oral polio vaccine (C-OPV). Trial registration: NCT01486355. Findings: Between August 2011-April 17th 2015, 6,636 children were enroled, 6,598[n2-dose=4,397; n1-dose=2,201] were included in the analysis of the primary outcome, The HR(2-dose/1-dose) between 4 and 60 months was 1.38 (95%CI: 0.92-2.06) [deaths: n2-dose=90; n1-dose=33]. Before the 9-month MV and the HR(1-dose/no dose) was 0.94 (0.45-1.96) [deaths: n2-dose=21; n1-dose=11]. The HR(2-dose/1-dose) was 0.81 (0.29-2.22) for children, who received no C-OPV [deaths/children: n2-dose=10/2,801; n1-dose=6/1,365], and 4.73 (1.44-15.6) for children, who received C-OPV before and after enrolment (p for interaction=0.027) [deaths/children: n2-dose=27/1,602; n1-dose=3/837]. In the 2-dose group receiving early MV at 4 months, mortality was 50% (20-68%) lower for those vaccinated in the presence of MatAb vs. the absence of MatAb [deaths/children: nMatAb=51/3,132; nnoMatAb=31/1,028]. Interpretation: The main result contrasts with previous findings but may, though based on a small number of events, be explained by frequent OPV campaigns that reduced the mortality rate, but apparently interacted negatively with early MV. The beneficial non-specific effects of MV in the presence of MatAb should be investigated further. Funding: ERC, Danish National Research Foundation, the Danish Council for Development Research, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Novo Nordisk Foundation, European Union and the Lundbeck Foundation.

Reimagining Perinatal Mental Health: An Expansive Vision For Structural Change.

Diagnoses of depression, anxiety, or other mental illness capture just one aspect of the psychosocial elements of the perinatal period. Perinatal loss; trauma; unstable, unsafe, or inhumane work environments; structural racism and gendered oppression in health care and society; and the lack of a social safety net threaten the overall well-being of birthing people, their families, and communities. Developing relevant policies for perinatal mental health thus requires attending to the intersecting effects of racism, poverty, lack of child care, inadequate postpartum support, and other structural violence on health. To fully understand and address this issue, we use a human rights framework to articulate how and why policy makers must take progressive action toward this goal. This commentary, written by an interdisciplinary and intergenerational team, employs personal and professional expertise to disrupt underlying assumptions about psychosocial aspects of the perinatal experience and reimagines a new way forward to facilitate well-being in the perinatal period.

The Role of Cerebral Metabolism in Improving Time Pressured Decisions.

Speed-accuracy tradeoff (SAT) theory dictates that decisions can be made more quickly by sacrificing accuracy. Here we investigate whether the human brain can operate in a brief metabolic overdrive to overcome SAT and successfully make decisions requiring both high levels of speed and accuracy. In the context of BOLD fMRI we expect "a brief metabolic overdrive" to involve an increase in cerebral oxygen metabolism prior to increased cerebral blood flow-a phenomenon known as the "initial dip" which results from a sudden drop in oxyhemoglobin in perfusing blood. Human subjects performed a motion discrimination task consisting of different difficulties while emphasizing either accuracy (i.e., without time pressure) or both speed and accuracy (i.e., with time pressure). Using simultaneous multi-slice fMRI, for very fast (333 ms) measurement of whole brain BOLD activity, revealed two modes of physiological overdrive responses when subjects emphasized both speed and accuracy. The majority of subjects exhibited the hypothesized enhancement of initial dip amplitude in posterior visual cortex (PVC) with the size of the enhancement significantly correlated with improvement in behavioral performance. For these subjects, the traditionally analyzed post-stimulus overshoot was not affected by task emphasis. These results demonstrate the complexity and variability of the BOLD hemodynamic response. The discovered relationships between BOLD response and behavior were only observed when subjects emphasized both speed and accuracy in more difficult trials suggesting that the brain can perform in a state of metabolic overdrive with enhanced neural processing of sensory information specifically in challenging situations.