| 1. |
- Dima, Danai, et al.
(författare)
-
Subcortical volumes across the lifespan : Data from 18,605 healthy individuals aged 3-90 years.
- 2022
-
Ingår i: Human Brain Mapping. - : Wiley. - 1065-9471 .- 1097-0193. ; 43:1, s. 452-469
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Age has a major effect on brain volume. However, the normative studies available are constrained by small sample sizes, restricted age coverage and significant methodological variability. These limitations introduce inconsistencies and may obscure or distort the lifespan trajectories of brain morphometry. In response, we capitalized on the resources of the Enhancing Neuroimaging Genetics through Meta-Analysis (ENIGMA) Consortium to examine age-related trajectories inferred from cross-sectional measures of the ventricles, the basal ganglia (caudate, putamen, pallidum, and nucleus accumbens), the thalamus, hippocampus and amygdala using magnetic resonance imaging data obtained from 18,605 individuals aged 3-90 years. All subcortical structure volumes were at their maximum value early in life. The volume of the basal ganglia showed a monotonic negative association with age thereafter; there was no significant association between age and the volumes of the thalamus, amygdala and the hippocampus (with some degree of decline in thalamus) until the sixth decade of life after which they also showed a steep negative association with age. The lateral ventricles showed continuous enlargement throughout the lifespan. Age was positively associated with inter-individual variability in the hippocampus and amygdala and the lateral ventricles. These results were robust to potential confounders and could be used to examine the functional significance of deviations from typical age-related morphometric patterns.
|
|
| 2. |
- Frangou, Sophia, et al.
(författare)
-
Cortical thickness across the lifespan : Data from 17,075 healthy individuals aged 3-90 years
- 2022
-
Ingår i: Human Brain Mapping. - : John Wiley & Sons. - 1065-9471 .- 1097-0193. ; 43:1, s. 431-451
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Delineating the association of age and cortical thickness in healthy individuals is critical given the association of cortical thickness with cognition and behavior. Previous research has shown that robust estimates of the association between age and brain morphometry require large-scale studies. In response, we used cross-sectional data from 17,075 individuals aged 3-90 years from the Enhancing Neuroimaging Genetics through Meta-Analysis (ENIGMA) Consortium to infer age-related changes in cortical thickness. We used fractional polynomial (FP) regression to quantify the association between age and cortical thickness, and we computed normalized growth centiles using the parametric Lambda, Mu, and Sigma method. Interindividual variability was estimated using meta-analysis and one-way analysis of variance. For most regions, their highest cortical thickness value was observed in childhood. Age and cortical thickness showed a negative association; the slope was steeper up to the third decade of life and more gradual thereafter; notable exceptions to this general pattern were entorhinal, temporopolar, and anterior cingulate cortices. Interindividual variability was largest in temporal and frontal regions across the lifespan. Age and its FP combinations explained up to 59% variance in cortical thickness. These results may form the basis of further investigation on normative deviation in cortical thickness and its significance for behavioral and cognitive outcomes.
|
|
| 3. |
- Lembrechts, Jonas J., et al.
(författare)
-
SoilTemp : A global database of near-surface temperature
- 2020
-
Ingår i: Global Change Biology. - : Wiley. - 1354-1013 .- 1365-2486. ; 26:11, s. 6616-6629
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Current analyses and predictions of spatially explicit patterns and processes in ecology most often rely on climate data interpolated from standardized weather stations. This interpolated climate data represents long-term average thermal conditions at coarse spatial resolutions only. Hence, many climate-forcing factors that operate at fine spatiotemporal resolutions are overlooked. This is particularly important in relation to effects of observation height (e.g. vegetation, snow and soil characteristics) and in habitats varying in their exposure to radiation, moisture and wind (e.g. topography, radiative forcing or cold-air pooling). Since organisms living close to the ground relate more strongly to these microclimatic conditions than to free-air temperatures, microclimatic ground and near-surface data are needed to provide realistic forecasts of the fate of such organisms under anthropogenic climate change, as well as of the functioning of the ecosystems they live in. To fill this critical gap, we highlight a call for temperature time series submissions to SoilTemp, a geospatial database initiative compiling soil and near-surface temperature data from all over the world. Currently, this database contains time series from 7,538 temperature sensors from 51 countries across all key biomes. The database will pave the way toward an improved global understanding of microclimate and bridge the gap between the available climate data and the climate at fine spatiotemporal resolutions relevant to most organisms and ecosystem processes.
|
|
| 4. |
- Lippman, Sheri A., et al.
(författare)
-
Evaluation of the Tsima community mobilization intervention to improve engagement in HIV testing and care in South Africa : study protocol for a cluster randomized trial
- 2017
-
Ingår i: Implementation Science. - : BIOMED CENTRAL LTD. - 1748-5908. ; 12:9
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: HIV transmission can be decreased substantially by reducing the burden of undiagnosed HIV infection and expanding early and consistent use of antiretroviral therapy (ART). Treatment as prevention (TasP) has been proposed as key to ending the HIV epidemic. To activate TasP in high prevalence countries, like South Africa, communities must be motivated to know their status, engage in care, and remain in care. Community mobilization (CM) has the potential to significantly increase uptake testing, linkage to and retention in care by addressing the primary social barriers to engagement with HIV care-including poor understanding of HIV care; fear and stigma associated with infection, clinic attendance and disclosure; lack of social support; and gender norms that deter men from accessing care. Methods/design: Using a cluster randomized trial design, we are implementing a 3-year-theory-based CM intervention and comparing gains in HIV testing, linkage, and retention in care among individuals residing in 8 intervention communities to that of individuals residing in 7 control communities. Eligible communities include 15 villages within a health and demographic surveillance site (HDSS) in rural Mpumalanga, South Africa, that were not exposed to previous CM efforts. CM activities conducted in the 8 intervention villages map onto six mobilization domains that comprise the key components for community mobilization around HIV prevention. To evaluate the intervention, we will link a clinic-based electronic clinical tracking system in all area clinics to the HDSS longitudinal census data, thus creating an open, population-based cohort with over 30,000 18-49-year-old residents. We will estimate the marginal effect of the intervention on individual outcomes using generalized estimating equations. In addition, we will evaluate CM processes by conducting baseline and endline surveys among a random sample of 1200 community residents at each time point to monitor intervention exposure and community level change using validated measures of CM. Discussion: Given the known importance of community social factors with regard to uptake of testing and HIV care, and the lack of rigorously evaluated community-level interventions effective in improving testing uptake, linkage and retention, the proposed study will yield much needed data to understand the potential of CM to improve the prevention and care cascade. Further, our work in developing a CM framework and domain measures will permit validation of a CM conceptual framework and process, which should prove valuable for community programming in Africa.
|
|
| 5. |
- Litjens, Carlijn H. C., et al.
(författare)
-
Protein binding of rifampicin is not saturated when using high-dose rifampicin
- 2019
-
Ingår i: Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy. - : OXFORD UNIV PRESS. - 0305-7453 .- 1460-2091. ; 74:4, s. 986-990
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background Higher doses of rifampicin are being investigated as a means to optimize response to this pivotal TB drug. It is unknown whether high-dose rifampicin results in saturation of plasma protein binding and a relative increase in protein-unbound (active) drug concentrations. Objectives To assess the free fraction of rifampicin based on an in vitro experiment and data from a clinical trial on high-dose rifampicin. Methods Protein-unbound rifampicin concentrations were measured in human serum spiked with increasing total concentrations (up to 64mg/L) of rifampicin and in samples obtained by intensive pharmacokinetic sampling of patients who used standard (10mg/kg daily) or high-dose (35mg/kg) rifampicin up to steady-state. The performance of total AUC(0-24) to predict unbound AUC(0-24) was evaluated. Results The in vitro free fraction of rifampicin remained unaltered (approximate to 9%) up to 21mg/L and increased up to 13% at 41mg/L and 17% at 64mg/L rifampicin. The highest (peak) concentration in vivo was 39.1mg/L (high-dose group). The arithmetic mean percentage unbound to total AUC(0-24)in vivo was 13.3% (range=8.1%-24.9%) and 11.1% (range=8.6%-13.6%) for the standard group and the high-dose group, respectively (P=0.214). Prediction of unbound AUC(0-24) based on total AUC(0-24) resulted in a bias of -0.05% and an imprecision of 13.2%. Conclusions Plasma protein binding of rifampicin can become saturated, but exposures after high-dose rifampicin are not high enough to increase the free fraction in TB patients with normal albumin values. Unbound rifampicin exposures can be predicted from total exposures, even in the higher dose range.
|
|
