This paper reports the results of an assessment of dioxin levels in ambient air in samples collec... more This paper reports the results of an assessment of dioxin levels in ambient air in samples collected in the four provinces of Catalonia (Spain) performed by the Environment Department of the Autonomous Government of Catalonia and the Spanish Council for Scientific Research (CSIC). The study includes compiled data of more than 133 samples collected in 28 different sites (rural, urban, suburban and industrial) between 1994 and 2002. The levels revealed a variable content of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins/polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDDs/PCDFs) depending both on the area and the contamination source. Thus, concentrations from 16 to 954 fg I-TEQ/Nm(3), with a mean value of 180 fg I-TEQ/Nm(3), were determined in industrial areas. The levels found in urban and suburban sites varied from 10 to 357 fg I-TEQ/Nm(3), with a mean value of 80 fg I-TEQ/Nm(3). The lowest concentrations were found in rural areas, ranging from 5 to 125 fg I-TEQ/Nm(3), with a mean value of 42 fg I-TEQ/Nm(3). As part of the project, levels of samples collected in parallel using two different samplers, a total suspended particulate (TSP) sampler and PM10 sampler, were compared. The results of 11 different campaigns indicated that both methods are comparable and no significant differences were determined.
As part of a survey programme conducted by the Environment Department of the Autonomous Governmen... more As part of a survey programme conducted by the Environment Department of the Autonomous Government of Catalonia in collaboration with the Spanish Council for Scientific Research (CSIC), dioxin concentrations in ambient air were measured in the four provinces of Catalonia (Spain). The study was also performed with the intention of providing data as a basis for future monitoring and evaluation of temporal trends in ambient air. Thus, 91 samples were collected in 25 different sites (rural, urban, suburban and industrial) between 1994 and 2000. The levels revealed a variable content of PCDDs/PCDFs depending both on the area and the contamination source. In particular, industrial areas presented levels ranging from 18 to 954 fg I-TEQ/m 3. However, findings in urban and suburban sites varied between 13 and 357 fg I-TEQ/m 3. As expected, the lowest levels were found in rural areas with levels between 5 and 125 fg I-TEQ/m 3 .
Purpose of the study: MDD is a heterogeneous disorder with variations in etiology, course and out... more Purpose of the study: MDD is a heterogeneous disorder with variations in etiology, course and outcome. The contribution of genetic, neural and environmental factors provides an opportunity to examine the biological underpinnings of heterogeneity inherent to this disorder. Previous genetic imaging research suggest that serotonin-transporter linked promoter region (5-HHTLPR) and brain derived neurotropic factor (BDNF) genes may increase the vulnerability to stress and depression through amygdala based neural mechanisms [1,2]. However little is known about the impact of these genes on variations in intrinsic connectivity (IC) of amygdala within MDD patients. In this study we examined the independent and interactive effects of high risk alleles of 5-HTTLPR and BDNF genes on IC of amygdala in MDD patients.
Purpose of the study: MDD is a heterogeneous disorder with variations in etiology, course and out... more Purpose of the study: MDD is a heterogeneous disorder with variations in etiology, course and outcome. The contribution of genetic, neural and environmental factors provides an opportunity to examine the biological underpinnings of heterogeneity inherent to this disorder. Previous genetic imaging research suggest that serotonin-transporter linked promoter region (5-HHTLPR) and brain derived neurotropic factor (BDNF) genes may increase the vulnerability to stress and depression through amygdala based neural mechanisms [1,2]. However little is known about the impact of these genes on variations in intrinsic connectivity (IC) of amygdala within MDD patients. In this study we examined the independent and interactive effects of high risk alleles of 5-HTTLPR and BDNF genes on IC of amygdala in MDD patients.
S715 to S1 across different sensory modalities and also a significant attenuation of the SPN that... more S715 to S1 across different sensory modalities and also a significant attenuation of the SPN that precedes electric unpleasant stimuli. We did not identified a clear SPN component before acoustic stimuli in both groups, and this may be due to a minor affective motivational anticipatory process elicited by the acustic stimuli respect to the electric ones. Conclusions: We hypothesize that the dysfunction in the attentional bottom-up elementary process (as indicated by the attenuated N1) may prevent the generation of a proper SPN which, in turn, reflects the anticipatory attention directed to the expected upcoming salient stimuli. These neurophysiological findings may reflect an atypical attentional processing in ADHD, providing an additional insight in the neurobiology of the disorder.
S715 to S1 across different sensory modalities and also a significant attenuation of the SPN that... more S715 to S1 across different sensory modalities and also a significant attenuation of the SPN that precedes electric unpleasant stimuli. We did not identified a clear SPN component before acoustic stimuli in both groups, and this may be due to a minor affective motivational anticipatory process elicited by the acustic stimuli respect to the electric ones. Conclusions: We hypothesize that the dysfunction in the attentional bottom-up elementary process (as indicated by the attenuated N1) may prevent the generation of a proper SPN which, in turn, reflects the anticipatory attention directed to the expected upcoming salient stimuli. These neurophysiological findings may reflect an atypical attentional processing in ADHD, providing an additional insight in the neurobiology of the disorder.
Forkhead box class O (FoxO) transcription factors are a family of conserved proteins that regulat... more Forkhead box class O (FoxO) transcription factors are a family of conserved proteins that regulate the cellular responses to various stimuli, such as energy deprivation, stress, and developmental cues. FoxO proteins are important mediators of the insulin signaling pathway, adjusting growth and metabolism to nutrient availability. Insulin signaling acts together with the glucagon-stimulated cAMP signaling pathway to orchestrate the organism response to various nutritional conditions. In this study, we demonstrate that Drosophila melanogaster FoxO (dFoxO) regulates cAMP signaling by directly inducing the expression of an adenylate cyclase gene, ac76e. Interestingly, ac76e is expressed in a highly restricted pattern throughout fly development, limited to the corpus allatum (CA), gastric cecum, and malpighian tubules. dFoxO activation of AC76E in the CA increases starvation resistance and limits growth. Our results unravel a new role for dFoxO, integrating cAMP and insulin signaling to ...
Forkhead box class O (FoxO) transcription factors are a family of conserved proteins that regulat... more Forkhead box class O (FoxO) transcription factors are a family of conserved proteins that regulate the cellular responses to various stimuli, such as energy deprivation, stress, and developmental cues. FoxO proteins are important mediators of the insulin signaling pathway, adjusting growth and metabolism to nutrient availability. Insulin signaling acts together with the glucagon-stimulated cAMP signaling pathway to orchestrate the organism response to various nutritional conditions. In this study, we demonstrate that Drosophila melanogaster FoxO (dFoxO) regulates cAMP signaling by directly inducing the expression of an adenylate cyclase gene, ac76e. Interestingly, ac76e is expressed in a highly restricted pattern throughout fly development, limited to the corpus allatum (CA), gastric cecum, and malpighian tubules. dFoxO activation of AC76E in the CA increases starvation resistance and limits growth. Our results unravel a new role for dFoxO, integrating cAMP and insulin signaling to ...
Introduction: High rates of psychopathology and worse performance in cognitive areas have been de... more Introduction: High rates of psychopathology and worse performance in cognitive areas have been described in high risk (HR) first degree relatives of subjects with schizophrenia. The present study aimed to examine clinical and neuropsychological characteristics in two different groups of first degree relatives of patients with schizophreniaone of siblings (HRs), and one of offspring (HRo)and compare them with healthy controls (HC). Methods: Participants were 30 HRo, 26 HRs and 33 HC, all aged between 7 and 16 years. Clinical and neuropsychological assessments were completed by all participants. Results: No significant differences were observed between HR groups in DSM-IV diagnoses. The most prevalent diagnosis in both HR samples was attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) followed by oppositional defiant disorder and generalized anxiety disorder. Both HR groups obtained worse scores than HC on prodromal symptoms, premorbid adjustment and behavioral problem scales. In cognitive areas, HRo performed worse than HC on most WISC-IV index scores, logical memory, visual memory and perceptual organization, whereas HRs only performed worse in WISC-IV indexes, logical memory and perceptual organization. Most of these differences remained stable after controlling for ADHD. The comparison between HRo and HRs showed significant differences in prodromal symptoms and working memory after controlling for ADHD. Conclusion: Similar abnormalities in HRo and HRs were found in relation to clinical and neuropsychological variables. Subtle differences were found between HR groups with HRo showing difficulties in more clinical and neuropsychological areas than HRs and HC. This suggests that, the specific kind of family relationship should to be taken into account in future HR research.
Introduction: High rates of psychopathology and worse performance in cognitive areas have been de... more Introduction: High rates of psychopathology and worse performance in cognitive areas have been described in high risk (HR) first degree relatives of subjects with schizophrenia. The present study aimed to examine clinical and neuropsychological characteristics in two different groups of first degree relatives of patients with schizophreniaone of siblings (HRs), and one of offspring (HRo)and compare them with healthy controls (HC). Methods: Participants were 30 HRo, 26 HRs and 33 HC, all aged between 7 and 16 years. Clinical and neuropsychological assessments were completed by all participants. Results: No significant differences were observed between HR groups in DSM-IV diagnoses. The most prevalent diagnosis in both HR samples was attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) followed by oppositional defiant disorder and generalized anxiety disorder. Both HR groups obtained worse scores than HC on prodromal symptoms, premorbid adjustment and behavioral problem scales. In cognitive areas, HRo performed worse than HC on most WISC-IV index scores, logical memory, visual memory and perceptual organization, whereas HRs only performed worse in WISC-IV indexes, logical memory and perceptual organization. Most of these differences remained stable after controlling for ADHD. The comparison between HRo and HRs showed significant differences in prodromal symptoms and working memory after controlling for ADHD. Conclusion: Similar abnormalities in HRo and HRs were found in relation to clinical and neuropsychological variables. Subtle differences were found between HR groups with HRo showing difficulties in more clinical and neuropsychological areas than HRs and HC. This suggests that, the specific kind of family relationship should to be taken into account in future HR research.
A high-resolution time series of transcript abundance was generated to describe global expression... more A high-resolution time series of transcript abundance was generated to describe global expression dynamics in response to nutrition in Drosophila. Nonparametric change-point statistics revealed that within 7 h of feeding upon yeast, transcript levels changed significantly for ∼3,500 genes or 20% of the Drosophila genome. Differences as small as 15% were highly significant, and 80% of the changes were <1.5-fold. Notably, transcript changes reflected rapid downregulation of the nutrient-sensing insulin and target of rapamycin pathways, shifting of fuel metabolism from lipid to glucose oxidation, and increased purine synthesis, TCA-biosynthetic functions and mitochondria biogenesis. To investigate how nutrition coordinates these transcriptional changes, feeding-induced expression changes were compared with those induced by the insulin-regulated transcription factor dFOXO in Drosophila S2 cells. Remarkably, 28% (995) of the nutrient-responsive genes were regulated by activated dFOXO,...
A high-resolution time series of transcript abundance was generated to describe global expression... more A high-resolution time series of transcript abundance was generated to describe global expression dynamics in response to nutrition in Drosophila. Nonparametric change-point statistics revealed that within 7 h of feeding upon yeast, transcript levels changed significantly for ∼3,500 genes or 20% of the Drosophila genome. Differences as small as 15% were highly significant, and 80% of the changes were <1.5-fold. Notably, transcript changes reflected rapid downregulation of the nutrient-sensing insulin and target of rapamycin pathways, shifting of fuel metabolism from lipid to glucose oxidation, and increased purine synthesis, TCA-biosynthetic functions and mitochondria biogenesis. To investigate how nutrition coordinates these transcriptional changes, feeding-induced expression changes were compared with those induced by the insulin-regulated transcription factor dFOXO in Drosophila S2 cells. Remarkably, 28% (995) of the nutrient-responsive genes were regulated by activated dFOXO,...
This paper reports the results of an assessment of dioxin levels in ambient air in samples collec... more This paper reports the results of an assessment of dioxin levels in ambient air in samples collected in the four provinces of Catalonia (Spain) performed by the Environment Department of the Autonomous Government of Catalonia and the Spanish Council for Scientific Research (CSIC). The study includes compiled data of more than 133 samples collected in 28 different sites (rural, urban, suburban and industrial) between 1994 and 2002. The levels revealed a variable content of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins/polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDDs/PCDFs) depending both on the area and the contamination source. Thus, concentrations from 16 to 954 fg I-TEQ/Nm(3), with a mean value of 180 fg I-TEQ/Nm(3), were determined in industrial areas. The levels found in urban and suburban sites varied from 10 to 357 fg I-TEQ/Nm(3), with a mean value of 80 fg I-TEQ/Nm(3). The lowest concentrations were found in rural areas, ranging from 5 to 125 fg I-TEQ/Nm(3), with a mean value of 42 fg I-TEQ/Nm(3). As part of the project, levels of samples collected in parallel using two different samplers, a total suspended particulate (TSP) sampler and PM10 sampler, were compared. The results of 11 different campaigns indicated that both methods are comparable and no significant differences were determined.
As part of a survey programme conducted by the Environment Department of the Autonomous Governmen... more As part of a survey programme conducted by the Environment Department of the Autonomous Government of Catalonia in collaboration with the Spanish Council for Scientific Research (CSIC), dioxin concentrations in ambient air were measured in the four provinces of Catalonia (Spain). The study was also performed with the intention of providing data as a basis for future monitoring and evaluation of temporal trends in ambient air. Thus, 91 samples were collected in 25 different sites (rural, urban, suburban and industrial) between 1994 and 2000. The levels revealed a variable content of PCDDs/PCDFs depending both on the area and the contamination source. In particular, industrial areas presented levels ranging from 18 to 954 fg I-TEQ/m 3. However, findings in urban and suburban sites varied between 13 and 357 fg I-TEQ/m 3. As expected, the lowest levels were found in rural areas with levels between 5 and 125 fg I-TEQ/m 3 .
Purpose of the study: MDD is a heterogeneous disorder with variations in etiology, course and out... more Purpose of the study: MDD is a heterogeneous disorder with variations in etiology, course and outcome. The contribution of genetic, neural and environmental factors provides an opportunity to examine the biological underpinnings of heterogeneity inherent to this disorder. Previous genetic imaging research suggest that serotonin-transporter linked promoter region (5-HHTLPR) and brain derived neurotropic factor (BDNF) genes may increase the vulnerability to stress and depression through amygdala based neural mechanisms [1,2]. However little is known about the impact of these genes on variations in intrinsic connectivity (IC) of amygdala within MDD patients. In this study we examined the independent and interactive effects of high risk alleles of 5-HTTLPR and BDNF genes on IC of amygdala in MDD patients.
Purpose of the study: MDD is a heterogeneous disorder with variations in etiology, course and out... more Purpose of the study: MDD is a heterogeneous disorder with variations in etiology, course and outcome. The contribution of genetic, neural and environmental factors provides an opportunity to examine the biological underpinnings of heterogeneity inherent to this disorder. Previous genetic imaging research suggest that serotonin-transporter linked promoter region (5-HHTLPR) and brain derived neurotropic factor (BDNF) genes may increase the vulnerability to stress and depression through amygdala based neural mechanisms [1,2]. However little is known about the impact of these genes on variations in intrinsic connectivity (IC) of amygdala within MDD patients. In this study we examined the independent and interactive effects of high risk alleles of 5-HTTLPR and BDNF genes on IC of amygdala in MDD patients.
S715 to S1 across different sensory modalities and also a significant attenuation of the SPN that... more S715 to S1 across different sensory modalities and also a significant attenuation of the SPN that precedes electric unpleasant stimuli. We did not identified a clear SPN component before acoustic stimuli in both groups, and this may be due to a minor affective motivational anticipatory process elicited by the acustic stimuli respect to the electric ones. Conclusions: We hypothesize that the dysfunction in the attentional bottom-up elementary process (as indicated by the attenuated N1) may prevent the generation of a proper SPN which, in turn, reflects the anticipatory attention directed to the expected upcoming salient stimuli. These neurophysiological findings may reflect an atypical attentional processing in ADHD, providing an additional insight in the neurobiology of the disorder.
S715 to S1 across different sensory modalities and also a significant attenuation of the SPN that... more S715 to S1 across different sensory modalities and also a significant attenuation of the SPN that precedes electric unpleasant stimuli. We did not identified a clear SPN component before acoustic stimuli in both groups, and this may be due to a minor affective motivational anticipatory process elicited by the acustic stimuli respect to the electric ones. Conclusions: We hypothesize that the dysfunction in the attentional bottom-up elementary process (as indicated by the attenuated N1) may prevent the generation of a proper SPN which, in turn, reflects the anticipatory attention directed to the expected upcoming salient stimuli. These neurophysiological findings may reflect an atypical attentional processing in ADHD, providing an additional insight in the neurobiology of the disorder.
Forkhead box class O (FoxO) transcription factors are a family of conserved proteins that regulat... more Forkhead box class O (FoxO) transcription factors are a family of conserved proteins that regulate the cellular responses to various stimuli, such as energy deprivation, stress, and developmental cues. FoxO proteins are important mediators of the insulin signaling pathway, adjusting growth and metabolism to nutrient availability. Insulin signaling acts together with the glucagon-stimulated cAMP signaling pathway to orchestrate the organism response to various nutritional conditions. In this study, we demonstrate that Drosophila melanogaster FoxO (dFoxO) regulates cAMP signaling by directly inducing the expression of an adenylate cyclase gene, ac76e. Interestingly, ac76e is expressed in a highly restricted pattern throughout fly development, limited to the corpus allatum (CA), gastric cecum, and malpighian tubules. dFoxO activation of AC76E in the CA increases starvation resistance and limits growth. Our results unravel a new role for dFoxO, integrating cAMP and insulin signaling to ...
Forkhead box class O (FoxO) transcription factors are a family of conserved proteins that regulat... more Forkhead box class O (FoxO) transcription factors are a family of conserved proteins that regulate the cellular responses to various stimuli, such as energy deprivation, stress, and developmental cues. FoxO proteins are important mediators of the insulin signaling pathway, adjusting growth and metabolism to nutrient availability. Insulin signaling acts together with the glucagon-stimulated cAMP signaling pathway to orchestrate the organism response to various nutritional conditions. In this study, we demonstrate that Drosophila melanogaster FoxO (dFoxO) regulates cAMP signaling by directly inducing the expression of an adenylate cyclase gene, ac76e. Interestingly, ac76e is expressed in a highly restricted pattern throughout fly development, limited to the corpus allatum (CA), gastric cecum, and malpighian tubules. dFoxO activation of AC76E in the CA increases starvation resistance and limits growth. Our results unravel a new role for dFoxO, integrating cAMP and insulin signaling to ...
Introduction: High rates of psychopathology and worse performance in cognitive areas have been de... more Introduction: High rates of psychopathology and worse performance in cognitive areas have been described in high risk (HR) first degree relatives of subjects with schizophrenia. The present study aimed to examine clinical and neuropsychological characteristics in two different groups of first degree relatives of patients with schizophreniaone of siblings (HRs), and one of offspring (HRo)and compare them with healthy controls (HC). Methods: Participants were 30 HRo, 26 HRs and 33 HC, all aged between 7 and 16 years. Clinical and neuropsychological assessments were completed by all participants. Results: No significant differences were observed between HR groups in DSM-IV diagnoses. The most prevalent diagnosis in both HR samples was attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) followed by oppositional defiant disorder and generalized anxiety disorder. Both HR groups obtained worse scores than HC on prodromal symptoms, premorbid adjustment and behavioral problem scales. In cognitive areas, HRo performed worse than HC on most WISC-IV index scores, logical memory, visual memory and perceptual organization, whereas HRs only performed worse in WISC-IV indexes, logical memory and perceptual organization. Most of these differences remained stable after controlling for ADHD. The comparison between HRo and HRs showed significant differences in prodromal symptoms and working memory after controlling for ADHD. Conclusion: Similar abnormalities in HRo and HRs were found in relation to clinical and neuropsychological variables. Subtle differences were found between HR groups with HRo showing difficulties in more clinical and neuropsychological areas than HRs and HC. This suggests that, the specific kind of family relationship should to be taken into account in future HR research.
Introduction: High rates of psychopathology and worse performance in cognitive areas have been de... more Introduction: High rates of psychopathology and worse performance in cognitive areas have been described in high risk (HR) first degree relatives of subjects with schizophrenia. The present study aimed to examine clinical and neuropsychological characteristics in two different groups of first degree relatives of patients with schizophreniaone of siblings (HRs), and one of offspring (HRo)and compare them with healthy controls (HC). Methods: Participants were 30 HRo, 26 HRs and 33 HC, all aged between 7 and 16 years. Clinical and neuropsychological assessments were completed by all participants. Results: No significant differences were observed between HR groups in DSM-IV diagnoses. The most prevalent diagnosis in both HR samples was attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) followed by oppositional defiant disorder and generalized anxiety disorder. Both HR groups obtained worse scores than HC on prodromal symptoms, premorbid adjustment and behavioral problem scales. In cognitive areas, HRo performed worse than HC on most WISC-IV index scores, logical memory, visual memory and perceptual organization, whereas HRs only performed worse in WISC-IV indexes, logical memory and perceptual organization. Most of these differences remained stable after controlling for ADHD. The comparison between HRo and HRs showed significant differences in prodromal symptoms and working memory after controlling for ADHD. Conclusion: Similar abnormalities in HRo and HRs were found in relation to clinical and neuropsychological variables. Subtle differences were found between HR groups with HRo showing difficulties in more clinical and neuropsychological areas than HRs and HC. This suggests that, the specific kind of family relationship should to be taken into account in future HR research.
A high-resolution time series of transcript abundance was generated to describe global expression... more A high-resolution time series of transcript abundance was generated to describe global expression dynamics in response to nutrition in Drosophila. Nonparametric change-point statistics revealed that within 7 h of feeding upon yeast, transcript levels changed significantly for ∼3,500 genes or 20% of the Drosophila genome. Differences as small as 15% were highly significant, and 80% of the changes were <1.5-fold. Notably, transcript changes reflected rapid downregulation of the nutrient-sensing insulin and target of rapamycin pathways, shifting of fuel metabolism from lipid to glucose oxidation, and increased purine synthesis, TCA-biosynthetic functions and mitochondria biogenesis. To investigate how nutrition coordinates these transcriptional changes, feeding-induced expression changes were compared with those induced by the insulin-regulated transcription factor dFOXO in Drosophila S2 cells. Remarkably, 28% (995) of the nutrient-responsive genes were regulated by activated dFOXO,...
A high-resolution time series of transcript abundance was generated to describe global expression... more A high-resolution time series of transcript abundance was generated to describe global expression dynamics in response to nutrition in Drosophila. Nonparametric change-point statistics revealed that within 7 h of feeding upon yeast, transcript levels changed significantly for ∼3,500 genes or 20% of the Drosophila genome. Differences as small as 15% were highly significant, and 80% of the changes were <1.5-fold. Notably, transcript changes reflected rapid downregulation of the nutrient-sensing insulin and target of rapamycin pathways, shifting of fuel metabolism from lipid to glucose oxidation, and increased purine synthesis, TCA-biosynthetic functions and mitochondria biogenesis. To investigate how nutrition coordinates these transcriptional changes, feeding-induced expression changes were compared with those induced by the insulin-regulated transcription factor dFOXO in Drosophila S2 cells. Remarkably, 28% (995) of the nutrient-responsive genes were regulated by activated dFOXO,...
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